Chapter 17

"A glass of Blishen's Firewhisky, please Kreacher." Claudius said to the elf in a polite yet commanding tone. He looked way too comfortable and relaxed on that sofa. It was making everyone else feel uneasy.

"Make that two." Remus added.

"Three." Said Sirius. Kreacher walked off to get the drinks when he received no more requests.

They were all sitting on the sofas near the fire place. Remus and Sirius kept their eyes on Claudius, but Hermione could feel their subtle glances shifting to her every now and then. They were no doubt torn between the trust everyone had for her, and the suspicious business her grandfather got himself in with the locket and Regulus, whom they didn't trust, no matter his noble sacrifice he was still a Slytherin and a Black.

Harry and Ron on the other hand were not even trying to conceal their gaping.

She could hardly blame them. Nearly six years had gone past and they never met any of her family members. She always excused their absence at the platform or the Diagon Alley due to the fact they were muggles and the wizarding world was too strange for them, or that they were simply busy. She certainly never talked about her family.

And now. She had mixed feelings about telling them about the relation between her and Claudius. But since he already made such a bold appearance, it wasn't fair to keep it from them any longer. And, if this fact was to come out in the future, it would make her look suspicious, and she couldn't afford that.

Not with all the other secrets that accumulated over the years…

Her druidic heritage for one…

Being a descendant of Morgana…

The time travel…

Her feelings for Regulus…

Her friendship with Draco…

She never meant to hide the truth, but the lies just piled up…

"Are you sure you're not a wizard?" Remus asked mistrustful. It was odd how much Claudius seemed to know, despite being Hermione's grandfather. Which was also strange.

"I think a man of my age would have been very well aware if they were a wizard Mr. Lupin." Claudius smiled. "I hear you're an excellent Defence teacher, despite your troublesome condition. I quite like to brew potions myself you see, I always felt the wolfsbane potion had much room for improvement. I made a few improved versions but had no opportunity to test them, if you would like a…"

"Do you really have the locket?" Hermione asked suddenly, stopping him from finishing.

"Of course dear. I already told you I do. But why are you looking for it?" He asked kindly.

"We need it. Where is it?" She didn't take her eyes off him. What was her grandfather playing at?

Harry and Ron were observing the exchange. They found it odd seeing how Hermione interacted with a family member. They knew each other for years but this was the first time they met any of Hermione's family, and he was making quite an impression. They were even slightly intimidated.

Hermione told them she was living with her grandfather ever since her parents passed away but she never mentioned he was an upper-class businessman, which he clearly was, judging by the clothes he wore, the way he spoke and his demeanour.

Both boys were getting a feeling that Hermione's family was loaded, but it was strange that her grandfather knew Regulus Black, but Hermione didn't seem to question it.

"At the house, very safe I assure you." Claudius said slowly. He then turned to look around the room for the first time. "So this is the 12 Grimmauld Place I heard so much about… Walburga should have put more effort into decorating this gloomy interior and less, into terrorising her sons. No wonder Regulus was attracted to the dark arts when he grew up in a house that looks like this. On that note…" He turned to look at Sirius. "No doubt there is a multitude of dark objects around here, why would you be looking for more?" He asked taking a sip of his drink.

"It is a very dangerous object of dark magic." Sirius said carefully, his eyes moving between Claudius and Hermione. There was a lot of tension in the room in that moment. Choosing not to ask about how did he know about their mother.

"I know that much" Claudius gave a suppressed laugh. "But why are you looking for it?" He kept repeating the same question. "I was under an impression that you preferred to stay away from such things, Mr Black."

"We need to destroy it." Hermione told him, before anyone had a chance to once again question Claudius' extensive knowledge on matters a muggle should know nothing about.

"I can arrange for that. Any other requests? Do make them quick, I'm very busy today." He said looking at the watch on his wrist.

"So you keep saying." Remus folded his hands. "You might be a muggle but since you have the locket, then that makes you very much involved, so you must understand we can't just let you go, despite your relation to Hermione."

Claudius barely looked at him. Hermione sighted. How was she meant to deal with this sticky situation? She had to be very careful about everything she said. Revealing Claudius as her grandfather was like opening a Pandora's box. There were many things she didn't want them to know, about her family's muggle side of things, not to mention the Druid bit of it, which was totally out of bounds.

Thankfully, her Grandfather worked for the muggle government. Or rather, he was a part of it. He was a natural politician, so if there was ever a chance to get out of this with minimal damage, then he was it. Except, Hermione didn't hold all the cards this time, Claudius did… And that came with an uncertainty, as her grandfather was more often than not, quite unpredictable.

"How did you know my brother?" Sirius asked, feeling sceptical about Regulus entrusting a horcrux to a muggle, no matter how rich or knowledgeable he was. "Why did he give you the locket?"

"So many questions Mr. Black… Well, I suppose there was no one else he could have given it to at the time. Regulus was a good-natured boy but a very powerful wizard, and incredibly clever! I liked him very much." Claudius was obviously fond of Regulus. Which was even weirder.

"I still don't get it. Regulus hated muggles, he was a death eater. Did that not bother you?" Remus asked puzzled.

"Oh it did! Very much indeed. I worried for his safety every day. And how could I not? He was only 15 when he took the mark…" That particular information seemed to have surprised the four wizards in the room. "I don't believe he ever truly hated muggles. He was wary of them at first, but he warmed up to them over the years. I always thought, if Regulus lived without the burden of being a Black, he would have been able to be much more open about his true feelings." Claudius said.

"Fifteen?! That's insane! He must have been the youngest death eater ever." Ron exclaimed.

"He was. And he made his parents extremely proud… Before he died an early death that is." Claudius added sadly.

"You make it sound like you've known him for years, I won't even ask how you know about... all this, but I find it hard to believe that my death eater brother would acquaint himself with a muggle, much less form a friendship with one. His true feelings? Hah! He was a You-know-who's fanboy ever since his first appearance in a newspaper!" Sirius got up and paced. Regulus seemed to have suddenly return to Sirius' life and it didn't look like he was leaving any time soon either.

"How did you meet him, if you don't mind me asking?" Remus asked politely. Claudius glanced at Hermione very briefly but she took the hint because she sighted and turned to face the four confused wizards.

Looks like it was finally the time… So much for the minimal damage… She sighted.

"There is something I have never told anyone before, and I didn't mean to hide it on purpose, I just never found the right time to tell you." She swallowed hard. She didn't want to tell them.

"What is it Hermione?" Harry asked with worry.

The tension from waiting for what she was going to reveal next, hang in the air like a knife that was about to fall, and you could take and use it to cut the thick atmosphere present in the drawing room.

"Do you remember back in our third-year Professor McGonagall gave me a time tuner so I could attend all the classes?"

"Yeah, we used it to save Buckbeak and get Sirius out" Harry recalled.

"During the last day of term I went for a walk and I slipped and fell into the lake. Something happened, the time tuner broke and I ended up 19 years back in time."

"You what?"

The reactions weren't as bad as she expected.

"How did you manage that? You really are the smartest witch of your age!" Remus clasped his hands in amazement.

"That's impossible!" Ron exclaimed.

"Not impossible, just very hard to do and Hermione was very lucky to return all safe and sound." Claudius smiled.

"But how did you get back?" Sirius asked with deep curiosity. Going back in time 19 years and returning all safe, was something remarkable.

"Regulus helped me." She said looking down at her hands. "It took us two and a half years to work it out."

"You were gone for that long?" Harry and Ron were shocked. But Hermione suspected it was more due to the fact that she didn't tell them after it happened.

"Regulus helped you? You mean you met him?" Harry asked and she nodded.

"We became sort of, friends really… Regulus was a genius, he excelled at everything he did. I was quite upset to find out he disappeared a long time ago, when I returned." Hermione half confessed. "He even helped me contact my family in the past. That's how my grandfather met him." That's it Hermione, keep the details to minimum… If they don't ask directly, there is no need to tell them.

"Oh my…There was a girl, two years below us. A muggle born Gryffindor, brave enough to talk to that hostile, venomous git. She disappeared at one point and everyone thought Regulus finally snapped and did something to her. It was you!" Remus concluded in amazement. He was looking at her very differently now.

"That was her!" Sirius jumped up from his seat. How did they not recognise her sooner?

Damn… So, they did remember her… She hoped they didn't remember too much.

"Regulus would have never hurt me." Hermione rolled her eyes. "He wasn't perfect but he hasn't done the things people said he did. Him taking the dark mark wasn't as black and white as you would like to think either."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked looking conflicted. Everything he knew about his brother turned out to be much more complex than he assumed.

Hermione thought hard whether she should tell him the truth. Regulus didn't want his brother to know back then, but he was gone now and she couldn't just let Sirius think his brother was a psychopath and a cold-blooded murderer, with absolutely no context.

"One time during summer, you-know-who came here looking for you, but when he found out you were, unavailable to him, he wanted your father to join his rank instead. Regulus volunteered because Orion was too ill and wouldn't have survived the initiation."

"You must have been close if he told you all this." Sirius mumbled looking deep in thought. "He never told me."

"He didn't want you to know, in case you would blame yourself. I didn't get it back then, you know, seeing how the two of you weren't on the best of terms, but getting to know you better now as Harry's Godfather, I realise I didn't know you behind the prankster and rule breaker personality. But you can hardly judge me. I saw first-hand why Professor Snape is now the way he is."

"I'm not proud of some of the things I've done as a teenager, I admit, but Snivellus deserved it." Sirius argued.

"Not nearly dying, he didn't. You guys were awful… I remember thinking the Marauders made Draco Malfoy's attempts at bullying look pathetic."

"Fine, I get that, we were what we were back then but the one thing I don't quite get is how Regulus has taken the mark for Sirius and their father. He always gave everyone the impression he wanted the dark mark. For most of the time he certainly acted like he already had it, before he even got it."

"Yeah, that was the point." She said in a small voice, barely loud enough for them to hear. "I feel terrible telling you this but since he's not here to defend himself…" She sighted. "Regulus was always very honest with me about his supremacist beliefs, but I always suspected he only went around parroting them to keep your family safe.

He was clever, powerful, cunning, ambitious… A Slytherin through and through, and his passion for dark magic was absolute. And that's just the way he was, but I think he tried even harder to keep up his image to make up for his brother choosing to go against the tradition.

He wanted to be the one others feared, so that he had to fear no one." Hermione smiled sadly. "He told me once he wanted to become Sirius' perfect opposite, but I think you two were similar in many ways. You were brothers after all." She said quietly.

Sirius never looked this downcast and gloomy. He wished he had a chance to speak to his brother once more, and apologise he wasn't there for him.

"So we all thought he was bad but he turned out to be good, and now you're saying that he was a dark wizard but he wasn't entirely evil. Hermione, it makes no sense." Ron folded his hands. "He can't be both hero and a villain."

"There is no such thing as heroes and villains Ron, we all got both light and dark inside us. What matter is the part we choose to act on" Sirius explained, making Claudius look at him in approval.

"Well said Mr. Black. There is much more to the world than we choose to see. Sometimes we must do what is right, even if it's hard or seemingly wrong. Like our great ancestor used to say "We must remember there is no greater glory than giving your life for the cause that is right" and she was a true inspiration." Hermione resisted her urge to roll her eyes. This was Claudius' favourite thing Morgana has ever said, and according to him she said a lot of great and wise things.

"Some evils can't be justified, no matter what good might come out of them." Harry argued.

"Mr. Greenfell meant that Regulus is a hero for sacrificing his entire life for the greater good of his family, and for ultimately giving it away in an effort to retrieve the Horcrux, Harry"

"But he still worked for him, killed for him. And for what? How can you justify that?" Harry wasn't convinced of Regulus' real intentions in all this, and he was adamant about making a point against past actions of a long dead man, or rather a boy.

Because that's what Regulus was.

Just a boy, a teenager forced to be a part of the adult world way too early.

"We all have things we want to protect Harry, and we try to protect them in the best way we can. You might disagree with Regulus' choices but you can't judge him until you've been in his place." Hermione said determined to defend her saviour, her friend and her lover?

"Of course you would defend him! I can't believe you went and befriended a Slytherin! And a death eater at that! No wonder you never told us!"

"He wasn't one when I met him." She seethed. "I did what I had to Ron! I landed in Hogwarts' lake, if it wasn't for Regulus I would have drowned! He was the first person I met and the only one I knew, and he had at that point just saved my life, what was I supposed to do?"

"That's just another thing! He saved your life just like that? Did he know you were a muggleborn? Because from what we've heard about him, he doesn't sound like someone who would just do that out of goodness of his heart!"

"Oh so I don't deserve to be saved because I'm a muggleborn is that it?"

"You know what I meant!"

"He was interested in time travel. He was helping me just so he could learn more about it himself."

"Oh was he now? Is that what he told you?"

"And what other reason would he have?"

"He probably wanted to use you for information! About the future! You heard Sirius! Regulus was bigoted and a death eater!"

"I was there Ron! I think I know better what he was than you, any of you."

"And how come you forgot to mention that when we figured out it was his note Dumbledore found with the fake locker?"

"I don't know Ron! It didn't occur to me and then it just wasn't the right time."

"Alright, alright… Let's not argue over things that cannot be changed. Instead, we must consider what we are going to do next." Claudius said breaking up the growing argument.

"We?" Ron said questioningly. After all what help, could Hermione's muggle grandfather be to the cause?

"Well I think I've been involved much longer than you have, young man." Claudius said slightly offended.

"Besides it's you two's fault that I'm here" Her turned to point at Sirius and Remus. "I was minding my own business until you got your house elf to kidnap me in the middle of the day, causing me to miss three meetings, and how will you compensate me for that?" Claudius asked in a pure business tone, leaving Hermione at a loss for words…

After a long discussion between Sirius, Remus, Hermione, Harry and Ron. It has been decided that Claudius will not be oblivated and they will first consult Dumbledore about this.

Dumbledore, considering his state and the overall circumstances, decided that Claudius could be a great asset and he deserved to become a part of the order for his great help. But Hermione had a feeling his membership was granted majorly because he refused to hand over the Horcrux.

She was worried that someone would investigate and find out about their druidic heritage. Their roots were easily traceable. Thankfully, despite the different surname, nobody bothered to check anything further. The order trusted Hermione and if Claudius was her grandfather, and he by extension was to be trusted.

Besides, Claudius has been very vocal about his business and his many activities that were interrupted when Kreacher kidnaped him. That transparency sort of stopped them from looking into anything further.

It made sense how he and Regulus got to know each other due to her accident. She was grateful that Harry and Ron had somewhat forgiven her for not telling them, whilst the adult were focused more on the fact that she had managed to go and come back all safe and sound and successful. Sirius and Remus vouched for her also, recalling some few blurry memories they had of her from their school days.

Another thing was Claudius running into Kingsley during the first official meeting he attended, with everyone present.

Dumbledore explained Claudius' engagement in the order without revealing anything to do with the horcruxes, which was strictly confidential to only few people in the order, however Claudius friendly as ever managed to befriend everyone present in the room. Especially after he recognised Kingsley as the muggle Prime Minister's secretary/body guard.

Kingsley was shocked to find out Claudius was Hermione's grandfather. He confessed he has met him on multiple occasions during official Government events, which Claudius attended with vigour. Hermione didn't find it surprising, knowing how committed her grandfather was to his duty as the head of the house. For him making and maintaining the right connections was vital, so wherever he went, he always made sure he would be remembered by the important people.

Arthur Weasley however, was very interested in every word that came out of Claudius' mouth, and Claudius made sure to tell him all about the muggles and their peculiar ways. Molly also liked him a lot, since he always made sure to complement her and her food.

Upon her return to the Greenfell Manor, Hermione tried to talk to her grandfather about the locket and about his sudden need to involve himself with the order, but he dismissed her quickly.

Soon the winter break was over, and it was time to return to Hogwarts.

Just as the order decided, with the golden trio absent from that specific meeting, when discussing the Headmaster' health and the horcruxes, Dumbledore stayed away from the school to look for them, and instead, Professor McGonagall became the temporary headmistress.

This stressed-out Draco really badly.

Hermione noticed he became a shadow of himself over the winter break. He got very quiet during the lessons, passing him in the corridors became rare, and when it happened, he walked by quickly in silence, looking either depressed or nervous. He hardly every ate anything during the meals so he visibly lost a lot of weight.

She once saw Harry follow him to the bathroom. Certain of a confrontation, she followed and hid in the bathroom behind one of the stalls.

"I know what you did Malfoy!" Harry said hostile, making Draco look up and turn around from the sink where he was crying. "You hexed her, didn't you?" He said referring to how Katie Bell unintentionally got hurt before the winter break. He, of course, didn't intend for Katie to be hurt, just for her to pass it on to Dumbledore. But when Katie touched the necklace through a hole in her glove, she ended up being cursed.

Hermione caught him snooping around in the hospital wing and she manipulated him into telling her. She figured he must have been anxious when Dumbledore did not return after winter break, and it didn't look like he was going to return anytime soon.

Suddenly the sink exploded and Hermione noticed they were throwing spells at one another.

Idiots… she sighted and left her hiding spot wanting to stop them before someone got hurt, but she was too late because Harry was already standing over Draco's body. He was gasping for air as he was losing a lot of blood.

"Harry what have you done!" She shouted running up to the two and falling to her knees over Malfoy.

"I-I don't know, I used a spell from the diary and he ended up like this." Harry was stumbling over his words, in shock.

"I told you to throw that blasted thing away! I told you, and look what happened! Go and get Madame Pomphrey! Now!" She shouted and Harry ran out of the bathroom.

Hermione turned to Draco.

She tried to stop the bleeding with her hands but it wasn't working. He was bleeding from his entire body.

Think Hermione, think!

How can she save him?

Ugh… there was no time to wait for Harry to return with help. She had to act now!

Harry better not walk in on her doing this… She thought.

Hermione's eyes glowed gold as she extended her arm to catch a small piece of a sink that was lying on the bathroom floor.

If there was anything she could try to save him now, it was the Druid magic…

She tried to think of any other way, but there was no time, she had no choice…

Hermione's hands were covered in Draco's blood.

She quickly found the sharp side of the piece and used it to cut across the palm of her hand. Clenching her hand into a fist, she let her blood drop onto Draco's lips and she began to recite the spell.

" Ic þe þurhhæle þin licsare mid þam sundorcræftas þære ealdaþ æ! "

Her eyes burned gold as she was reciting the spell. That's how the old magic worked. She didn't need her wand; she was enough to channel the magic. Terrible magic that she disliked so much.

It was the spell she found in one of the oldest books. It was one of the most powerful healing spells ever cast by Merlin. It was given to him by the great dragon in order to cure Morgana from her fatal wound back in their early days when they were still friends.

It was the first time she was using her druidic abilities in such way, and to her dismay, it felt incredible.

The moment she began to chant the incantation in the old tongue, she felt the pure essence of magic fill her entire body and mind. But it wasn't taking over her, like it's typical for the dark magic to do with a witch or wizard. Instead, she was in control.

Hermione was surprised how easy it came to her. She expected some resistance due to her personal feelings and lack of overall commitment and practice.

Hermione recited the spell and felt life energy return to Draco's unconscious form. His wounds closed up and the effects of the deadly spell were being reversed.

Hermione fell back slightly, letting out the breath she was holding.

It worked!

She assumed it wouldn't since, the last time she tried to use the druid magic, she was unsuccessful.

But bringing someone back from the dead and saving someone from the brinks of death were two different things entirely.

Rituals were complicated and difficult for even very skilled and old druids, so she didn't stand a chance. But it seemed that her powers were enough for a simple the most powerful out there healing spell.

She began to feel a little drained from all the magic still pulsing within her. Her energy levels dropped by about 90%.

But it was only fair since she had no stamina built up. She began to wonder whether there were more healing spells that could prove just as effective on Draco, but wouldn't drain her energy as much.

She looked at Draco and smiled. She finally paid back her debt to him.

Life for a life ferret…

Hermione felt great relief, until she looked up to see Professor Snape standing few meters away, looking at her in shock and fear.

Oh, no…

She felt the blood drain from her face.

Did he see?

"Professor! How long have you been standing there?" She asked nervously. But he was just standing there, gaping at her.

"This way Madame Pomphrey, he's over there! In the bathroom!" She heard Harrys voice coming from the distance. She got up, her robes drenched in water and blood.

Snape finally moved. He got down on his feet and leaned over Draco's form checking if he was all fixed. He shot her his last astonished look, before Madame Pomphrey and Potter ran in.

"Professor Snape! I see you got here first! How is he?"

"Stable, but I would still recommend we take him to the hospital wing. The spell I used on him was quite …experimental" Snape drawled only glancing at Hermione when he said he was the one to fix Draco up.

"Ah yes, yes! I will take him to the wing and have a look if he's alright now, and so he can rest. Would you come with me Professor? So, you can tell me more about what exactly you have done to fix him so quickly. Mr. Potter tells me he was bleeding out severely."

"Of course." He said as she levitated him and left the bathroom.

"Miss Granger please see me in my office after dinner. I want to personally thank you for your... assistance." She only nodded, frozen in place.

"Potter! With me!" He snarled and turned to leave with Harry following behind him.

Few minutes after they were out of sight, Hermione fell to the floor breathing heavily.

She was in a lot of trouble…

Hello!

Thank you so much for your reviews! You really do make me blush lol.

It's great to hear what you guys think, especially when I opted for such an unusual twist to the story.

About the pairing... Well, I think it would be quite sad if Hermione wasn't able to bring Regulus back... I don't want to ruin the story for anyone, so all I will say is, I'm trying to cover quite a bit of storyline in the shortest amount of chapters possible, so I can get through to what I need to, without dragging it too much and boring anyone to death, but still providing all the needed context.

This story is getting longer than I intended it to be, but please be patient and keep reading. I promise it will be worth the wait haha.

Lots of love,

Livxoxo