Remus, Sirius, James, and Lily stood penitently in front of the Headmaster. Dumbledore sat quietly behind his desk with a very disappointed expression on his face. "I want to express to all of you the danger you put yourselves in last night. Considering the climate in the wizarding world at the moment I would have thought each of you knew better than to attempt to leave the grounds unaccompanied. Because of your reckless behavior, I am taking two hundred points from Gryffindor, forty for each of you. Furthermore, you are not to leave Gryffindor Tower for the next two weeks except to attend classes and meals."

Dumbledore seemed to be waiting for someone to say something, but all they could do was stare at their feet. "I am very disappointed in each of you," he said with a sigh, almost as if it were painful for him to admit. "If you have nothing further to say, you're dismissed."

They quietly filed out of Dumbledore's office and walked back toward Gryffindor Tower. Halfway there, Remus broke away from the group.

"Where are you going, Moony?" asked James.

"To check on Hermione."

"You can't," said Lily urgently. "You heard what Dumbledore said."

"I don't care," said Remus obstinately. "Someone tried to kill her last night and I'm going to make sure she's ok."

"Really Remus," protested Lily. "It was just an accident. We all know that Hermione's not good on a broom. She's said as much herself."

"Are you blaming her?" said Remus angrily.

"Come on, Remus. Calm down. Lily didn't mean anything by that," said James.

"Look," said Remus. "You guys go back. I'm going to check on her." James shrugged, then put his arm around Lily and walked her back to their dormitory.

"I think I'll go with him," said Sirius before hurrying after Remus. He caught up with him and the two of them walked the remainder of the way in silence.

When they got to the hospital wing, they both approached Hermione, who was turned on her side facing away from them.

"Hermione," began Remus cautiously. "Are you awake?"

Hermione turned over and gave them a small smile. "Hi guys."

"Hey Hermione," said Sirius quietly. "How are you feeling?"

"Madame Pomfrey said I'll be fine," she answered quietly.

"That's good," said Remus moving toward her. He sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand. "Did you sleep well," he asked softly.

She nodded and glanced up at Sirius. "Are we in a lot of trouble," she asked him.

"Some," began Sirius.

"Hermione, you don't have to worry about that," interrupted Remus. "The important thing is that you're ok."

"Remus, I want to know," interrupted Hermione. "Sirius," she said again.

"We got two hundred points taken from Gryffindor and we have to spend the next two weeks in Gryffindor Tower."

Hermione whistled lowly. "Well that beats my record," she said.

Sirius grinned. "Yeah right," he said.

She smiled more to herself than to them. "First year, one hundred and fifty points, of course that was split between three people, not six, so technically…"

"Five," corrected Remus.

"Huh?" said Hermione.

"Two hundred points split between five, not six."

Hermione looked at him questioningly.

"Last night, sometime after we pulled you out of the lake, Peter disappeared. We haven't seen him since," Remus explained.

"I can't say that I'm surprised," said Hermione. "It doesn't matter. It's just less points from Gryffindor. So," continued Hermione, changing the subject. "Do you guys feel like filling me in on the details from last night? I don't really remember much."

"What's the last thing you remember?" asked Sirius.

Hermione's mind flashed back to the memory of Harry and Ron standing over her, reassuring her that they would take care of her. "I remember falling off my broom," she lied.

"You landed in the lake and we couldn't find you right away," said Sirius quietly. "When we finally did, Remus jumped in and swam you to shore."

"You weren't breathing," said Remus, picking up the story. "So Sirius gave you CPR."

"Once we were sure you were breathing ok," finished Sirius. "We brought you here."

Hermione smiled wickedly. "At what point in that story did you guys take off my sweater?" Both Remus and Sirius turned brick red and Hermione laughed loudly. "Did you think I didn't notice?"

"Well we… That is, I had to. I couldn't…," stuttered Sirius.

Hermione put her hand on Sirius's arm. "I was only teasing," she reassured him. "I guess I have you to thank for saving my life."

"Remus was the one who pulled you out of the lake," said Sirius modestly, but he smiled in spite of himself.

"Yeah, well she already thanked me last night," said Remus, teasingly.

Hermione swatted his shoulder affectionately. Remus caught her hand and they shared a secretive smile, before she returned her attention back to Sirius.

"You two really shouldn't be here," said Hermione. "You could get in more trouble."

"I know," said Remus. "But I had to check and make sure you were ok."

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "I really do feel ok. I think Madam Pomfrey will let me sleep in my own room tonight."

"Good," said Remus, getting up. "Then we'll see you tonight." He leaned in and kissed her softly, lingering for a bit.

"Bye," she said softly, smiling up at him.

"See you later, Hermione," said Sirius.

"Try to stay out of trouble," she cautioned them teasingly.

"No promises," teased Sirius back.

She knew she should rest once they left, but she felt too keyed up to lie down. Her mind was filled with the memory of the previous night. She had barely slept all night because of it.

The worse part of it all was that she had no way of knowing if what she had seen last night was real. The more time passed, the more she convinced herself that it couldn't be. 'You nearly died," she told herself. 'Your mind was playing tricks on you.' She said this over and over to herself all night, but she couldn't shake the idea that it was more than just a hallucination. It had felt so real at the time.

Hermione sat quietly with her eyes closed trying to remember the details from the night before. She could see Harry and Ron's faces. Harry had mentioned the Department of Mysteries, but Hermione couldn't understand what that meant. She needed answers, but she didn't know how to get them.

With a sigh, she opened her eyes. She was surprised to see Dumbledore standing a few feet away from. "Oh," she gasped.

"Forgive me for startling you," apologized Dumbledore. "I just came to see how you were feeling."

"It's ok, sir," said Hermione quickly. "I'm feeling fine."

"You gave us all quite a scare last night," he said seriously.

"I know," said Hermione, bowing her head. "I'm sorry."

"Believe me, Miss Granger, I do vaguely remember what it was like to be young, but you out of everyone should know the danger you nearly put yourselves in last night."

"I know," said Hermione quietly. "It was stupid, very stupid. I just wanted," she paused. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted to forget about the coming war and everything that I know we're going to have to do. I just wanted to forget everything I know and just be normal."

Dumbledore sighed deeply. "Perhaps then this is my fault."

Hermione looked up sharply. "How could it be your fault?"

Dumbledore smiled kindly at her. "You act so much like an adult, that I allowed myself to forget that you are just a teenager. And what's more, you're a young woman away from everyone you've ever known and loved, thrust into an overwhelming situation."

"I know what we did last night was very irresponsible, but I don't want you to think that I did what I did because I'm under too much stress."

"Aren't you," challenged Dumbledore gently. "It's not something you should be ashamed of, Hermione."

"What are you saying sir?"

"I think that you and I should take a break from our meetings."

"No," protested Hermione.

"Miss Granger, I've already made up my mind. You need more time to be a teenager. Once you've graduated we can reevaluate the situation, but for now I can ask no more of you."

"But sir, we can't just stop fighting. Voldemort…"

"I'm not suggesting that anything be stopped. The information you've provided me has been invaluable. And for now, it will be enough."

"It's not enough," shouted Hermione. "I can't stop now, not when we've only just begun. I won't."

"Hermione, listen to yourself. You've done more than anyone had any right to ask."

"Please," she begged.

"I'm sorry, Miss Granger. My decision is final."

Hermione turned away angrily. "And if people start dying," she said, the challenge evident in her voice.

"It won't be your fault," he replied quietly. "You have taken too much on your shoulders. It's time you let others carry the burden." He moved away from her. "Please try and get some rest."

Hermione set her jaw and glared angrily at Dumbledore's exiting back. She could feel her temper rising and she wanted to shout and throw things, but she knew an angry outburst would solve nothing. She couldn't let Dumbledore stop her, not when she was making so much progress.

She jumped out of bed and immediately regretted her hasty movement. Her head pounded and she felt like she was floating. She reached out to the edge of the bed and steadied herself. Once she was sure she could stand, she grabbed her things and slowly began to dress.

As quickly as her body would let her, she walked to Gryffindor Tower. When she reached the common room, she was immediately besieged by her friends.

"Hermione, they let you out," said Lily happily. "How are you feeling?"

"Actually, I left. I didn't want to stay in the hospital wing all day."

"That wasn't very smart. Madam Pomfrey will come down on you like a hawk once she sees you're gone," said James.

"Trust me," said Hermione. "I'm well aware of how Madam Pomfrey will react, but I'm not staying there all day."

"Why, what happened?" asked Remus slowly.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter," said Hermione. Now that she was back in the dorm room she found that she didn't really want to be around anyone. "I think I'm going to go upstairs and lie down."

"Do you want some help up?" asked Lily.

"No," replied Hermione. "I can make it up. I just want to be alone."

They watched her disappear up the staircase. "Lily," began Remus. "Maybe you better go check on her. She looked kind of pale."

"She said she wanted to be alone, Remus," said Lily softly. "I think we should give her some space. Let's just sit down. It's been a long night and I'm exhausted."

They all sat together in front of the fireplace. James leaned tiredly against Lily and she played with his hair absentmindedly. Sirius sat wearily in a large chair and Remus sat opposite him, keeping his eye on the girl's staircase.

"So, has anyone seen Peter?" Lily asked carefully.

"Nope," said James.

"He'd have some nerve to come back after last night," growled Sirius.

"You guys don't still think he had something to do with that accident, do you?" Neither James nor Sirius answered her. Remus didn't appear to have heard her. "It's ridiculous. Peter would never hurt a fly." She felt James go tense in her arms. "James?"

"Lily, let's not talk about Peter. I think it's highly unlikely we'll be seeing him today. He'll wait until things cool down."

Lily sighed, but obligingly changed the subject. "Sirius, we never gave you your presents."

Sirius smiled. "It's ok, Lily."

"No, it's your birthday and you should have presents." She pushed James forward and stood up. "I'll be right back." She went upstairs and straight to her room.

She saw Hermione lying on her bed, but not sleeping. She approached her hesitatingly. "You feel ok?"

"I wish people would stop asking me that," she snapped.

"Sorry," apologized Lily.

Immediately Hermione felt bad. "No, I'm sorry. I'm just a little tense."

Lily sat on the bed next to her. "You know, you have every right to be. It was really scary last night. You should talk about it. It isn't good to keep things inside."

"Did Remus send you up here to check on me?" she asked, changing the subject.

"No, I came up to get the gift I got for Sirius. We never got a chance to give him his presents."

"That's a good idea," said Hermione. "Would you bring him mine?"

"Don't you want to give it to him yourself?" asked Lily.

"I don't really feel like being around anyone right now."

"You could wait and give it to him later."

"No, give it to him now." She reached over to the small table next to her bed, pulled out a tiny wrapped box and handed it to Lily. "It isn't likely that his parents sent him anything, so..." she paused. Lily was giving her a strange look. "What?"

Lily shook her head. "Nothing, never mind."

"What Lily?"

"It's just, sometimes it seems like you know so much about all of us, like you've known us all for years." Hermione froze, waiting for her to continue. Lily stood up and moved toward the door. "I'll come and check on you later," she said quietly. "Try to get some rest."

Hermione dropped back onto her bed. She was getting so tired of these games. She had been so sure that she was doing the right thing. Now nothing felt certain. For the first time in months she found herself really longing for home.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Snape, I need to talk to you," said Peter quietly. The two boys were in the library separated by a row of books.

"You shouldn't be here, Peter," replied Snape through gritted teeth.

"It didn't work," hissed Peter. "What do I do now?"

Snape moved from behind the bookcase to stare at Peter. "Incompetent fool," he spat. "We gave you everything you needed. How could it not work?"

"They pulled her out of the lake within minutes," said Peter with a touch of anger in his voice. "I had no control." When Snape didn't reply he continued hurriedly. "Snape, what do I do now?"

"Do? Nothing, you're done."

"No," said Peter a little too loudly grabbing Snape's arm.

"Let go and lower your voice," said Snape through gritted teeth and Peter immediately dropped his arm.

"They're not stupid," said Peter. "They'll know I did something to that broom."

"I thought you said they didn't suspect you?"

Peter stared at the floor. "They didn't, but after last night."

Snape sighed in irritation. "What did you do?"

"I snuck off after they pulled her out of the lake," mumbled Peter.

Snape laughed derisively. "And they say Gryffindors are supposed to be brave. Are you sure you weren't supposed to be sorted into Hufflepuff, Pettigrew?"

Peter said nothing, but glared angrily at Snape.

After a few silent minutes, Snape continued. "You have to figure out a way to get them to forgive you. Tell them you panicked, beg, do whatever you have to."

"They'll never accept me now," whined Peter.

Snape grabbed the front of his robe angrily and pushed him against the closest wall. "Do you think this is a game, Pettigrew? The Dark Lord does not play. If Granger knows as much as you say she does, then she must be eliminated. You guaranteed you could do it. The Dark Lord does not want to show his hand by making a move to take over Hogwarts yet. She has to be taken care of from the inside." Snape regarded Peter cautiously. "Or is it that you've been lying about what you've said about Granger?"

"No," said Peter quickly. "I swear. I've overheard her talking to James, Sirius, Remus and even Dumbledore. She knows things about the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord."

"Have you been able to figure out how she knows these things yet?"

"No," admitted Peter. "But I will. Remus, James, and Sirius know. I'm sure they do. You just have to be patient."

Snape smiled slowly. "Maybe we've been going after the wrong person then."

Peter's eyes grew wide. "You said they wouldn't be hurt."

Snape tightened his grip on Peter. "You have to decide whose side you're on Pettigrew. Besides, what have Potter, Black, and Lupin ever done but tolerate you. If you weren't a Gryffindor they would have never put up with you. They've proven that since Granger's been here. See how quickly you were replaced? Prove yourself to the Dark Lord and he will never discard you as easily as your so called friends have. Now, whose side are you on?"

"Your side," said Peter quietly.

Snape smiled again. "No Pettigrew, not my side, his side."