DISCLAIMER: If I did own Harry Potter, BEEP wouldn't have died at the end of the 6th book and Harry would have killed BEEP.

A/N: It took me a while to write this chapter because, and I'm sorry for this but some of you will understand, someone had to die. So, I had to figure out a mean, cruel, evil, diabolical way of killing this person. Plus, I've been so excited about Blazey-poo finally coming back from Ohio. So, sorry for the delay.

A/N 2: We're going to do a bit of a time jump here….

Chapter 23:

It had been a month since Hermione had been kidnapped and still the Order had no leads on her whereabouts. Sirius had not left on any wild and crazy missions that would be a sure thing to get him killed, though it now took less to upset him.

Many found that just avoiding the animagus worked best. Remus and Harry were the only ones that could really keep him calm, though admittedly they used Sirina to their advantage.

Sirina was the only person that could really keep Sirius smiling. However, since Tonks was a frequent houseguest now, her clumsiness could often bring a smile onto his face.

On a particular evening towards the end of August, Sirius sat with Lupin and Sirina in the library of the Black House when a familiar crash was heard from the front hall. The two men looked at each other and smiled, "Tonks."

Sure enough, the library door opened and in walked the young witch who today had mousy brown hair. (A/N: he he he….guess who's going to be the newest couple…)

"Wotcher Sirius," she greeted. She blushed slightly when she noticed that Remus was also in the room, "Wotcher Remus."

"Hello Nymph," Sirius teased.

Remus nodded in greeting, "Tonks."

Tonks spied Sirina and instantly rushed forward. "There's my little angel."

Sirina giggled happily as she spotted Tonks who had quickly became one of her favorite babysitters. Tonks picked her up and changed her nose shape for Sirina's pleasure.

"You're early," Sirius acknowledged to his cousin as he glanced at the clock.

"Yeah…well," Tonks started slowly, glancing quickly at Remus, "I thought I would just pop in a little bit early to….er….chat a bit."

Sirius retained his laughter at her discomfort. "Really?" he asked skeptically.

"Yeah…and I wanted to see this little girl right here," Tonks said defiantly.

"And no one else crossed your mind?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow and a grin.

Remus was now observing the blushing witch who was glaring openly at her cousin. He didn't know why, but he was interested to know what Tonks' answer would be.

"No," she said quickly, too quickly.

"Sureeee," Sirius said slowly and rose from the chair. He walked over and removed Sirina from Tonks' arms. "Well, I have to go put this little tyke down for a nap. I'll be back."

And with that, Sirius left the room and a very disgruntled witch and a confused wizard behind. They both deserved to be happy.

Sirius had, with Harry's help and Molly's insistence, made up a small room for Sirina for when he was here helping the Order on their search. Since he often stayed at the Black House for long periods of time, the extra room was very convenient.

Sirius walked into the room and sat Sirina down in her crib. Sirina obviously protested to the idea of Sirius putting her down and began to cry very loudly. She had become quite testy since Hermione had gone missing.

Sirius decided to ignore her for a bit to see if she would quiet down on her own. BIG mistake, he soon realized. With a loud bang, the side of the crib blew off.

Sirius leaped forward to catch his daughter before she fell to the floor and her cries immediately stopped as she gazed happily up at him. He exhaled a sigh of relief and noticed the frenzy footsteps approaching the room.

Sure enough, the door flew open not a second later and Harry, Molly, Remus and Tonks came rushing into the room, each with frantic looks upon their faces.

"What happened?"

"Is everyone okay?"

"We heard a bang…."

"What did you do to the crib?"

"It's okay," Sirius said quickly, "everything is fine."

No one looked as if they believed him, especially Molly, as they looked from the destroyed crib and then back up at him.

Sirius sighed and bounced Sirina lightly in his arms. "Sirina just got a bit mad at me for putting her in the crib and…well…you can see the results."

"She did that?" Harry asked unbelievingly.

"Wow," Tonks muttered admirably. "That's some powerful magic for a baby her age."

Remus laughed. "Look how powerful Hermione was."

Sirius' smile fell. "True…," he muttered and turned, drawing his wand. "Reparo," he muttered, pointing his wand at the crib which instantly fixed itself.

Sirina had now almost completely fallen asleep and allowed Sirius to deposit her into her crib for a nap. She curled one tiny fist around her stuffed black dog.

Sirius stood staring down at his sleeping daughter aware of the four pairs of eyes staring intently at him. He knew they were concerned for him.

Something brushed against Sirius' leg and he looked down. He recognized the ball of black fluff and smiled a little as he remembered the first time he saw it…

"Hello Fluffy," he muttered as he picked up the growing kitten.

Fluffy purred in his arms and nuzzled against him. His bright yellow eyes stared intently into Sirius' blue ones as if conveying a message.

"Yeah I know," Sirius said quietly, "I miss her too."

"Sirius…," Remus started.

"Please," Sirius choked out, "not now."

Remus nodded behind him. "Okay Padfoot, but I'll be here if you ever need me."

With his back turned towards the group, none of them could see the tears glistening in Sirius' eyes. "Thanks," he said quietly.

He waited until he heard them leave before letting the tears flow down over his cheeks. Fluffy purred and Sirius just clutched the kitten tighter as he stared down at his daughter.

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Hermione lounged against the wall as Draco slept. Usually one of them stayed awake while the other slept so they could keep watch.

Hermione had nursed her childhood enemy back to health and now he was doing better. Lucius had kept with his promise, though, and every time she disobeyed him, Draco would be severely punished. She had found it easier just to go along with what he said.

Hermione sat up as quick footsteps came towards the cell. There were many of them or so it sounded to her. She recognized the footsteps as the death eaters that came in to check on her.

The door burst open and the hooded figures, instead of picking up Draco like normal, came at her. One of them held out his wand and ropes wrapped securely around her.

"The Dark Lord is wanting to see you," one of them sneered.

"He has a little surprise for you," another one hissed.

Draco by this time had woken up and tried to help Hermione but there were too many of them. They easily knocked him back down to the floor.

They roughly dragged her out of the cell and down the long corridor. She tried to keep her eyes open for any possible escape routes but some passageways were coated in shadows. Only light from torches lighted the path.

They entered a large circular room that was lined with hood figures. In the middle, Lucius Malfoy sat on a large overstuffed chair smiling maliciously at her. A figure in dark robes was curled up on the floor and blood pulled around him.

"Hermione," Lucius purred, "how wonderful of you to join us."

"Didn't have much choice in the matter, did I?" Hermione drawled, her chin raised defiantly. Cold hot fury flashed in her deep brown eyes.

Lucius threw back his head and laughed along with some of the other Death Eaters in the room. He smiled mockingly at her, his icy-grey eyes removed of any human emotion.

"I have a little surprise for you Hermione," Lucius smiled mockingly.

Hermione looked at him curiously. Below him, the figure stirred and Lucius kicked out at him. The figure landed onto his back and Hermione gasped as she saw who it was.

"You see Hermione," Lucius started, moving towards her, "I learnt from Voldemort's mistakes…"

"Able to say his name now, are you?" Hermione growled.

"Some people are not meant to be trusted," he went on as if she never said anything.

"And some people are not meant to rule," Hermione hissed. "Voldemort learnt that the hard way, and so will you."

"No, my dear, I won't. I watched as he built up his armies; I watched as he fought the long tedious battle; I watched as he was overtaken, and I learnt. His mistakes caused his downfall. I will not make the same mistakes," Lucius snarled.

He turned his back on her and gazed around the room at the lingering Death Eaters. "Leave us," he barked at them and they hurriedly left the room.

After they had left, Lucius walked calmly around her, his hands behind his back and his head bent. Finally, after he made a complete circle, he turned to look at her.

"After you had left, I became quite…obsessed you can say, with researching how you left. I didn't buy the story Dumbledore and all them were saying about you moving back to Spain. Black was too…dejected and sulked way too much for you have just to gone to another country. I was suspicious, so naturally I researched and that's when I found it…"

He smirked, "Imagine how surprised I was when I found out that at certain times magic could be enhanced. And then, imagine how surprised I was to find out that the day you miraculously appeared and left was during two of those times when three stars associated with power and love were perfectly lined up. I connected the dots you see…"

"I did not tell anyone of my findings, though. I waited patiently, sure that some day I would find the girl that appeared and disappeared during my 7th year. And finally that day came in Flourish & Blotts during your second year," he smiled maliciously.

"I was very surprised when I saw you and even more surprised when I realized exactly who you were. I asked myself, could this be the same Hermione Granada that I knew? You looked remarkably like her, though younger, and you had the same intense passion for possessing as much knowledge as humanly possible."

"It was possible, I reasoned, that you could be she. Your hatred towards me fueled me to find out more about you…and your background," he went on. "You, a mudblood and best friend of Voldemort's greatest enemy, obsessed my mind like no other."

He paused and observed her quietly. Wanting to know more of what led to him capturing her, Hermione willed herself to remain quiet and to not interrupt.

"I watched you closely after that, more closely than that of my own son in fact," Lucius continued. "I watched as you grew into a woman, and watched as you became what Snape called 'an insufferable know it all.' But to me Hermione, I remembered you as you were, and I watched and waited."

Lucius bowed his head for a moment, in thought, then looked back up at her with a strange emotion in his eyes. "He wanted to kill you once, did you know that? More than once actually. You were a great asset to the Light and he wanted to destroy you for that. He also thought that if he killed you than Potter would go crazy."

"Then why didn't he?" Hermione asked softly.

"I talked him out of it," Lucius said simply. "I gave every reason why you should live, I told him it would be bad for us if you were to be killed because Potter wouldn't go crazy but would be more anxious to fight the Dark and to win."

"I don't know why," Lucius continued, a strange note in his voice, "but I didn't want you killed. I needed to know…had to know whether it was you or not."

"So your 7th year came. I dropped hints to Draco along the way about my findings sure that he would report to me the moment you disappeared if you did and sure enough…"

He withdrew a piece of parchment from his cloak and threw it at her. She caught it and opened it slowly, recognizing Draco's writing.

Father,

I remember you once mentioning something about the ability of time travel when two spells collide at the exact same time on an object. I remember that now for I believe I have just witnessed it happen. On the train, Weasley and I threw curses at each other but before they could reach their target, Granger stepped in. One minute she was standing there and the next she was gone. Do you think, father, that she could have gone back in time? Till your next instruction, I will keep my eyes and ears open for any stray information.

Your son.

Hermione closed the letter and looked back up at him, waiting for him to go on.

"Like the loyal son he was at the time, Draco reported everything he found out about your disappearance to me. I knew then that my suspicions had been confirmed and it had been you. I was thrilled and devastated at the same time for my findings. He never knew of course; it was the one thing I kept from him though it was difficult."

"Severus, here, confirmed my suspicions," Lucius smirked, looking down at the Potions Master, "though unconsciously of course."

"He had been acting whether strangely and every time I would inquire about his strange behavior he would go rather pale and put off my questions. He is not one to be trusted that man," Lucius said evenly.

"You're one to talk," Hermione bit out.

"Oh no, Hermione, Severus and I are so very different. From the very beginning of the war, my beliefs have always been widely known. I stood on and for the Dark side."

"Severus on the other hand, never liked being on the loosing team. During the first war, I do believe he was fully for the light, but during the second war….," his voice trailed off as he walked closer to her, peering at her intently.

"I believe his loyalties wavered on both sides. He knew that it would be the last war and he did not like the idea of dying so he played both sides. He was waiting to see what side would prevail before proclaiming his allegiance. When he saw that it would be the Light that would prevail, as so many of us did, he fought openly with them and broke off all connections with the Dark."

"And then he came back and tried to join us. Not for you and not for Dumbledore, for even that old man would not send him back where surely he would be killed, but for himself. He believes we will win this time and came crawling back to us…."

"No," Hermione whispered, tears prickling in her eyes.

"Do you know what he offered us Hermione?" Lucius whispered in her ear. "Do you know what he was willing to give to us if we let him join us again."

Hermione shook her head, not wanting to know the answer though deep down she suspected what he could possibly promise them.

"Potter," Lucius sneered, "and for an added bonus……your precious daughter."

Hermione gasped and glared fiercely at the figure lying on the floor. He promised them her daughter? After everything…

"Oh yes Hermione," Lucius chortled, "he promised to hand over your daughter if we would allow him to fight beside us when we proclaimed war. He was also willing to reinstate his position as a spy on Dumbledore and the Order."

Snape was now squirming on the floor, drawing Lucius away from Hermione and back to his side where he received a kick to the side.

"You see Hermione," Lucius said angrily, "you see what he would do just to live. He would have taken your daughter and your best friend from you and have them killed."

Snape had by now rolled over and was facing her. Hermione stared deeply into his fathomless black eyes, searching for any denial of what Lucius was charging him with. She found none.

"No," she choked, a sob catching in her throat as more tears welled up in her eyes. "Dumbledore trusted you. The Order trusted you. I trusted you."

"Trust comes at a high price nowadays," Lucius murmured from behind her as he circled her once more. "He betrayed the Light, Hermione. He betrayed you."

Hermione lowered her head, refusing to meet the black eyes that were staring emotionless at her without any trace of remorse. Harry? Sirina? A million thoughts flew through her head as she sat there in the quiet room. She knew Lucius was circling and watching her but she no longer cared.

She rose her head and met Snape's gaze again. "If I ever escape," Hermione harshly whispered loud enough for him and Lucius to hear, "I will kill you, that's a promise."

Lucius bent down close to her ear and whispered, "Why not now?"

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A/N: I tried to answer some questions that you guys have asked in this chapter such as why Lucius wanted her and blah, blah, blah. I hurried up and did this, though it took me two tries since my lovely grandmother erased the first one, because I have no free time this week. I baby sit from 6-5:30 then I have to be down at church at 6 for VBS. Joy, joy, joy.

I think I might bring Harlem back in…..sometime. I think I might kill her too. The 6th book has made me want to kill some people very badly and you guys can probably guess who'll be the first one to go. :insert evil laugh: I hold grudges.

This might not seem long because there are some nice long paragraphs on here that will shorten it up once I update but it's 8 pages on word. So I'm doing good, right?

BLAZE IS BACK! I got to see her yesterday. YAY! Anyways I'll try to update after I get back from Vacation Bible School and all but don't count on anything. Next week I start band practice and then I get to go see…gasp…BRAD PAISLEY AND JOSH GRACIN in concert! Can't wait. I'll update at least by the 3rd, probably sooner but I'm not making any promises.

Now on to prizes…. No one got the guy's name though Jamie Prongs did get the cartoon and the character with King Neptune so he can have…er something. To everyone else, in my great moment of generosity, you can have a cookie.

Answer is…John O'Hurley . He was on dancing with the stars…hence the "dancing" thing. He also played a news anchorman on "Scorch" where they said he was "the man with the perfect hair." He also played to voice of King Neptune on the Spongebob movie.

No trivia question this week, I know, your all disappointed, right? Anyways, the next chapter will be more Remus-Tonks time (I think), Order meeting (I hope), and a Snape killin (You better believe it). If you guys would like to submit ideas on evil and demonic ways to kill Snape, please leave it in a review or email me. I will appreciate any and all help at making the greasy git suffer. Oh, I'm also posting another Sirius/Hermione story. It's under a different penname, though, and rated M, my first attempt at one and with the help of MoonyNZ, I don't think it's too bad now. If you happen to stumble across it and like it and figure out it's me, please leave a review.

One last thing, see that little button down there beside Submit Review that says Go…Click it and make me one happy author! ; P Thanks to all you guys out there…. I'm glad you stick with me through the long periods that it takes me to update. Please review….:P

!Amaya!