Okay, so here it is. This chapter is a little over the place because it switches POV a lot. Sorry if that becomes confusing but it was the only way for me to show everything that was going on. Anyway, hope you guys like it.

The ball was in full swing when Harry realised Hermione was no longer in the Great Hall. He frowned at the empty table she had been sitting at before looking around the room. James also wasn't where he was supposed to be and Harry relaxed slightly; knowing he wouldn't have left his post unless it was to escort Hermione somewhere. He shook his head, already knowing where she would have gone and choosing to give her privacy.

In truth, Harry didn't know how to act around Hermione anymore; it was partially the reason he hadn't visited her since they had found her after ten years. He was still hurt that she had left but it was nothing compared to the hurt of seeing her interact with her alpha. Harry could remember when Hermione would seek him out for comfort just like he would seek her out for the same thing. Seeing Hermione getting that comfort from someone else had made jealousy rear its ugly head and Harry had scolded himself internally for it. She had been gone ten years and he couldn't have expected her to be wallowing until he found her; that wouldn't have been fair on Hermione.

It didn't make the jealousy or the hurt lessen.

Hermione was also different; there was a darkness that surrounded her that hadn't been there the last time he had seen her. It wasn't the same darkness as you could feel coming off of someone who was evil. In fact, Harry was very familiar with the darkness surrounding his friend; it was the same darkness he saw in Ginny, Ron, Lavender, and anyone else who had fought in the war. It was the same darkness he could see in his own eyes whenever he looked at a mirror.

He had had Ginny to help him through his darkness and he had helped her as well. Hermione had had David and the pack she appeared so close to within the photo he had observed in her home. But, David couldn't possibly have helped her with everything; he was a muggle after all and he couldn't possibly know what it felt like to be held under the Cruciatus curse and tortured for hours. Hermione should have broken; she didn't. He had always known she was strong but hearing her screams from the dungeons; knowing she didn't say anything to Bellatrix, it proved just how strong she was.

Harry had talked to Aurora about talking to Hermione. He knew that if anyone could understand what Hermione had gone through in that room it would be the ex-heiress. Aurora had been tortured through her seventh year of Hogwarts when they were looking for horcrux's. The Carrow siblings had taken great pleasure in placing Aurora under the Cruciatus curse and, according to Neville, Aurora had made sure she was the subject of the curse whenever they sought to use it on the other, more defenceless, students.

He looked towards the familiar head of long blonde hair and smiled as he saw her dancing with Neville. The look of love in their eyes was clear for anyone to see and had been there for years; longer for Aurora than it was for Neville but just as strong for both of them.

Aurora had proved herself time and time again during their time at school. Sure, they had all been distrustful of her for being Slytherin but she never let that get in the way of doing the right thing. She had stood up to Snape on behalf of Neville, hexed Blaise Zabini when he had copped a feel of Ginny without the red-heads permission, allowed Umbridge to use her blood-quill on her when she had looked like she was going to use it on Luna. Hell, Aurora had stood against her parents and her brother to show her loyalty to the Light side.

Neville was different when he was around her too; more relaxed and confident. Harry had been surprised to see Neville walking up to Aurora during the Yule Ball in Fourth Year to ask her to dance. Though, he had been more surprised to see just how fast Aurora ditched her very attractive date to have a single dance with the awkward teenager. There was no denying that puberty had decided to take its time with Neville and Aurora had inherited the Malfoy and Black beauty. They shouldn't have been compatible, both in looks and personality, and yet; they made it work so well that their relationship reminded him of all the stories he had been told of his parents.

Aurora was his father; chasing after Neville since First Year and Neville had been his mother; ignoring all her advances until something changed and suddenly they were hopelessly in love. Even Ginny commented on just how perfect the couple was and Harry couldn't agree more as he watched Neville lean down to place a soft kiss on Aurora's lips before the woman gave him a tender smile.

She was still a Slytherin though; a force to be reckoned with according to the twins when they had seen him watching her during the final battle as she picked off Death Eater after Death Eater without a single one knowing where she was. The way she had fought was proof of her pureblood upbringing. The grace she used as she turned away from stray spells and fired off her own was nothing short of beautiful to witness; almost like a dance. It was no wonder that Aurora had gone on to become an Auror; training under Tonks' guidance to become one of the youngest high ranking Auror's in history.

Neville had gone on to become the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts; teaching the next generation everything they needed to know before he would Floo home in the evenings. He was a magnificent teacher and a devoted husband; and, as of a few hours ago, a proud future father.

Harry watched them for a few more moments before he moved his eyes away from the scene and back towards the table Hermione had been at earlier. He frowned again, unable to ignore the feeling in his gut that something was wrong.

That was when it happened.

A silvery blur shot through the crowd of people before coming to a stop in front of him. He recognized the wolf even though he had only seen it once and the sinking feeling grew more.

"Greyback."

One word, that's all it said in Hermione's husky tone before vanishing out of sight. Harry didn't need to call for back-up. Ron, Aurora, Neville, and Tonks were standing by him in a heartbeat before they rushed from the Great Hall.

He knew she'd be in the library; it was Hermione after all. When they got there, there were four wizards standing guard at the door; none of them were Auror's.

They all had to dodge as the group began an onslaught of hexes and curses before Harry finally found an opening and sent a stunner at one of them. He slammed into the nearby wall before he shook his head and stood up with a growl; his eyes flashing gold.

"Stunners aren't going to work here, Harry," he heard Tonks call from behind the pillar she had taken up refuge behind, "werewolves are a little more tolerable towards our spells. You're gonna have to get brutal with them if you're gonna stand a chance of stopping them."

They were pinned down by the group of four and Harry was wondering what he was going to do to get to Hermione when a voice suddenly piped up.

"Expulso!"

The largest of the group was sent flying into the wall with such a force that the brick broke and the werewolf slumped unconsciously to the ground. The fighting seemed to pause as everyone turned to see who the caster was and Harry felt pride swell in his heart at the sight of his very angry wife.

"Well," she huffed at them, "are you just gonna stand there or are we going to help 'Mione?"

That got everyone moving and as Ginny bound the large werewolf she had knocked out, the other took on the other three. Tonks and Aurora were back to back as they duelled two females and Neville and Ron were keeping the third guy distracted. Harry saw Ginny slink behind a pillar and motioned for him to get in the library and help Hermione. He didn't waste a moment as he erected a shield charm and ran through the fray.

When he reached the doors to the library, he grunted as he tried to get them to open only for them to stay firmly shut. He tried every unlocking spell he knew but nothing was working. Suddenly, the air filled with a dark aura; this one telling Harry that whoever was inside with Hermione was very powerful and very bad. He kept trying to get the door open when he was suddenly unceremoniously shoved aside by a huffing Aurora.

"Honestly," she said as she pulled him back with her and pointed her wand at the door, "did you watch Hermione in school at all? Bombarda!"

The door was blown off its hinges and Harry watched as Aurora stepped into the room with a fierce look on her face. He knew Aurora and Hermione had bonded in school and that she had been thrilled to learn that they had found the curly haired witch. The look in her eyes was of a sister willing to do anything to protect her sibling.

Not that it would be necessary because, apart from a mutilated corpse, the library was empty.

"What the hell happened in here?" Tonks asked as she stepped over the door and into the library. "Looks like Mia put up one hell of a fight," she continued, nodding her head in approval at the body sized hole in several bookshelves, "bet Greyback didn't see that coming."

"I can feel two contrasting magics."

Everyone jumped at the sound of Luna's voice, turning to see her and Lavender standing beside Ginny who didn't even blink at the sudden arrival.

"One's very dark but the other is like… pure light," she continued, pausing momentarily to find the right words, "both are really powerful."

"It had to have been Hermione," Lavender spoke up, biting her lip nervously, "the light power I mean. It couldn't have been anyone else."

"Hermione's a powerful witch but she's not that powerful, Lav," Ron tried to interject only to be silenced when she looked like she was about to cry. He completely panicked when she actually began to cry, covering her face with her hands as she sobbed loudly. "Lav?" he asked cautiously, unsure how to approach the crying woman.

He saw his sister roll her eyes at him before she wrapped her arm around Lavender's waist. "What is it, Lavender?" Ginny asked softly, "why are you so upset?"

"Hermione is suffering from a build-up of magical energy," Lavender managed to get out between her sobs.

Harry watched everyone stiffen but he was confused as to why. "So? Just have her release it," he said simply, wanting to get this conversation over so they could work on finding Hermione.

"I wish it were that simple, Harry," Aurora spoke up when it looked like Lavender wouldn't be able to get the words out around her sobs. "A few months or a couple of years of repressing your magic can have some negative effects but can also be released in a controlled environment," she explained, "but, Hermione hasn't used her magic in ten years and all of that magic in a witch with the magical potential Hermione has shown throughout her time at school isn't just deadly, it has the potential to be catastrophic.

"When Hermione's repressed magic finally releases, the backlash will level a large village; if you're lucky," she finished severely, resting a hand on Harry's shoulder as his eyes became haunted.

Lavender had finally calmed down enough and looked up at all of them with terrified eyes. "I'm afraid we might be too late by the time we find, Hermione," she told them all gravely, "if her magical auror is still present in this room and as powerful as Luna says; then letting that power out would have already started the process for it to release completely."

"How long does she have?" Harry asked, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

"Honestly?" Lavender questioned sadly, "she could have anywhere from a few hours to a few days and then…"

"Then, what?" Harry asked; his green eyes fixed on Lavender who refused to meet his gaze. "Tell me, Lavender," he demanded, "then, what?"

Lavender's eyes were filled with fresh tears as she finally looked up at him.

"Then, the magical backlash will destroy everything in its path; including Hermione."

Hermione blinked awake; the surrounding area blurred before her vision finally sharpened in on the night sky above her. She sat up slowly; her body protesting the motion but not in a painful way. It felt like she hadn't moved in days and every muscle was stiff. The area around her, which she recognized as the forest she had escaped into with Lucy, was strangely silent.

Which terrified her; because Hermione couldn't hear her wolf in her head.

She looked around wildly, jumping to her feet and preparing for the werewolves to attack her only for her eyebrows to furrow when she realised she was the only person in the forest.

A low whine from behind her had Hermione turning around and almost falling over when her amber eyes met the golden gaze of a very familiar russet wolf.

"How?" she breathed as she slowly approached the frightened wolf who seemed to calm the closer she walked to her. "It's okay," she tried to soothe as she stood before her wolf and held her hand out, palm facing her wolf, before she waited for her wolf to come to her.

Hermione was in awe at what she was seeing; sure, she had seen her wolf in her head and during her dreams but it was a completely different situation to come face to face with your actual wolf.

Her wolf sniffed at her hesitantly before she pressed her large head into Hermione's palm. Hermione shivered as she felt their bond become reaffirmed; her sight and hearing sharpening and scents assaulting her senses. Her wolf remained in front of her, gazing into her eyes for a long moment before she closed her eyes.

Well, when you do something you certainly don't do it by halves, do you?

Hermione jumped as the voice echoed in her head; though, in reality, she should have been used to it after all of the years.

"I don't remember what happened," Hermione frowned, looking around the empty clearing and searching the tree line for the pack that had been surrounding her.

You lost control, her wolf told her simply, your magic was released and the ensuing wave devastate the surrounding area.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she got a flash of a blinding white light before she shook her head. "Are you sure?" she asked, "everything looks fine."

Mhm, her wolf hummed idly, this dimension was unaffected by the magical explosion.

"Dimension?"

What happens to the souls of those not dead but not alive either?

It took Hermione far longer than she wanted to admit to figure out what her wolf was trying to tell her and when she came to the realization, her eyes widened. "We're inside the Veil?" she questioned, awed as she looked around her.

And we're running out of time to do what we wanted to do here.

"This wasn't the plan," Hermione said as panic finally set in, "this wasn't what was supposed to happen."

Obviously, her wolf replied in a near perfect imitation of her old dour potions professor, it's not like anyone plans to get stuck in limbo after blowing up everything around them. Honestly, you should just be grateful that you're still alive. Well, relatively speaking.

Hermione sent her wolf a raised eyebrow. "Have you always been this sarcastic?" she deadpanned.

I try. Now, shall we go?

"Go where?" Hermione asked and she could have sworn she saw her wolf roll her eyes.

The Ministry of Magic, of course. We must find our mate before we run out of time.

And then she walked off, leaving Hermione to follow after her.

"You were supposed to make sure Greyback didn't get her!"

Harry barely flinched as a vase shattered against the wall behind him and he simply looked sadly at the young teenager, not too much older than Teddy, pacing back and forth. He could see the conflicting looks on Holland's face after Harry had broken the news to him. It was the first time he had been in Hermione's home since the first day they had found her. Now? Most of the furniture was overturned and Harry was watching patiently as the young werewolf continued to lose control of his emotions.

He knew Hermione inspired strong emotions in everyone she saw but something seemed different with Holland. David had been angry, leaving the cottage to let off steam before he had returned and had taken to brooding in the corner of the room. Holland, however, seemed to be going through a mirade of emotions including, anger, fear, and hopelessness. Harry knew that look; he had no doubt he had worn a similar look after having the nightmare of Sirius during Fifth Year. It was the look of a child fearing for a parent or parental figure and Harry hadn't realised just how strongly the young teen felt for Hermione.

"Hermione went to the library with one of the assigned Auror's," Lavender tried to soothe the young boy, having volunteered to go with Harry to inform them given that she had spent the most time with them. "Greyback must have followed her scent there, killed the Auror, and fought Hermione before he somehow overpowered her and took her," she continued, "believe me, Holland; we had no intention of letting Greyback get Hermione but we couldn't plan for everything. We're only human."

"How can you be so calm?" Holland hissed at Lavender, glaring fiercely at her, "your alpha is missing and in the hands of that psycho and yet I'm the only one that seems to care!"

Okay, so Harry hadn't known anything about Hermione being an alpha and certainly hadn't know that Lavender seemed to be a member of a pack. He looked to David who seemed to be watching Lavender and Holland curiously but without a hint of surprise at the news.

Lavender stood up from where she had been sitting, her own eyes narrowed at the young pup. "Don't you dare say I don't care about what's happened to Hermione," she growled, "I care; I'm terrified of what could be happening to her right now but I have faith in Harry and my friends. I know they'll find Hermione and I know they'll bring her back."

"How?!" Holland yelled, "how are they going to bring her back if she's already begun the process of releasing her magic?! She's dying! You said so yourself, the magical explosion will destroy everything including Hermione. You said there's never been any reports of someone surviving this."

Suddenly, his knees buckled and Harry rushed forward to catch him before he could hit the ground. Holland's forehead fell against Harry's chest and Harry wasn't surprised when the boy began to cry. He had wanted to cry as well and probably would when he finally allowed everything to fully hit him. For now, he allowed Holland to cry into his shirt, trying to offer as much support as he could to the boy who was a stranger to him but obviously very important to his best friend.

"I know everything seems hopeless right now," he whispered to Holland, aware everyone could hear him, "but you know Hermione, Holland. You know that if anyone can survive this, it'll be her. She's too stubborn to let something like this keep her away from the people she cares about."

This seemed to soothe Holland a little and Harry waited for the boy to pull himself together before he continued to talk, "come to London with us," he told the teenager whose eyes widened.

"W-what?" he stuttered, looking at Harry like he might have completely lost his mind. And, maybe he had. But he was sure that being closer to Hermione, even if it were just by being on the same continent as her, would be good for the young wolf.

"Come to London with us," he repeated, "you can stay with Ginny and I at Grimmauld Place as long as you don't mind a screaming three-year-old."

Harry watched as Holland's eyes darted over his shoulder, no doubt looking at David who was sitting behind Harry. His eyes quickly focused back in on Harry before he nodded quickly. Harry managed to give him a kind smile as they both stood to their feet. "I'll give you some time to pack up a few things and then we can go," he told Holland who nodded again before he disappeared further into the house.

"If anything happens to him, she'll never forgive you."

He sighed at the sound of David's voice; still unable to get over his jealousy at the man who had been Hermione's comfort for ten years. A part of Harry would likely always dislike David for the role he had played in Hermione's life when Harry couldn't be there; but he knew Hermione would be very unhappy with him if she ever discovered that he had disrespected her alpha.

"I know," he replied, turning to face the older man who was staring at him intently.

"I don't think you do," David continued after a moment, "if something happened to him, it wouldn't just be happening to her friend, beta, or pack mate. The bond between Holland and Hermione isn't rare amongst werewolves but it is deceptively strong."

"What are you talking about?"

David looked over at Lavender who looked just as confused as Harry and it made him sigh heavily. "Hermione's wolf has recognized Holland as a pup in her pack but the wolf has also recognized that Holland is a pup without a mother. Her wolf has chosen to step in as a sort of mother-figure for Holland and their bond has strengthened because of it. If anything happens to him, Hermione will not just be an alpha looking for revenge for a beta; she'll be a mother out for blood for her pup. Never underestimate what a mother will do for their children."

"Believe me," Harry replied seriously, "I'm very familiar with just how far a mother will go for her child."

The older man smiled ruefully, "yes, I suppose you would be. Regardless, a wolf mother protecting her pup is vastly different to a human mother defending her child. Hermione will kill anyone who stands between her and keeping Holland safe."

"Hermione's not a killer," Harry argued.

"I'm not saying she is," David retorted, "but I also know you haven't seen Hermione in ten years. A lot can change in a decade."

"Oh, and I suppose you think you know her better than me," he said through clenched teeth, his hands curling into fists as his jealousy spiked.

David stood from his chair and moved over to Harry, standing almost chest to chest with him. "I know I know her better than you. Everything changed for Hermione after the war; she changed. Getting the bite might have saved her life because when I first actually met Hermione she was wasting away. I thought the bite would kill her she was that far gone.

"Hermione weighed less than a small child. She drank herself into a stupor every night and she had to take pills to get to sleep. I was the one who carried her through the town and to the hospital when she overdosed because she couldn't handle the memories anymore. I was the one that came by every day to make sure she was eating and taking care of herself. It took me months to get her to trust me and years to develop that trust enough for her to tell me exactly what happened to her.

"She came to my house one night after getting blind drunk for the first time in months and broke down about how weak she felt. How helpless she thought she was. I knew she was strong but Hermione needed to discover it for herself. So, I trained her. I taught her to defend herself. I helped her build enough muscle so the outside strength matched the strength I knew she had on the inside. I did that; and I know that Hermione wanted to tackle the last thing she believed made her weak.

"Her compassion," he growled. Harry had gone pale during his speech, sitting down heavily as David continued to speak. He had known Hermione had struggled after the war but hearing about it was a completely different ball game. "Hermione believed her desire to see the good in everyone, to want to find a peaceful solution to everything, was her greatest weakness. So, she closed off that emotion. When Hermione needs to, she'll lock all her emotions away; pain, fear, compassion. She'll lock it all away and only allow her anger to control her actions.

"So, no; I don't think Hermione is a killer. But, with that said, I know she is perfectly capable of doing it if she or her wolf felt it was necessary. So, stop lying to yourself, Harry. Hermione may have been your best friend during Hogwarts; but, do you think you could be friends with the woman she grew to become?"

And that was the million-galleon question, wasn't it?

Hermione and her wolf, who she had taken to calling Mia, had travelled far to get to Muggle London and the witch had frustrated Mia when she had decided that their first trip would be to Saint Mungos. Of course, eventually the wolf had given in, knowing that arguing would only lengthen the time it took them to reach their mate. Unlike her wolf, Hermione didn't feel the urge to find her mate and Mia had explained that it was because they weren't currently connected as wholly as they were back in their own dimension.

Getting into Diagon Alley was simple enough and after Hermione had found something to cover her naked body with, she led Mia through the deserted streets until they came upon the wizarding hospital. She just stood there for a moment, looking up at the large building and wondering if this was even going to work. Honestly, Hermione didn't know what scared her the most; not being able to return or actually returning. And if this worked, what would people think of her? How would they react to her messing with something as delicate as life and death?

Are we going in or are you just going to stand out front and stare at it all day like a weirdo?

Hermione looked to Mia and glared but the wolf ignored her as she entered the building and Hermione was forced to follow behind her. She had quickly come to learn that Mia was very sarcastic and very opinionated; and she had no problem with expressing those opinions either.

The halls weren't completely abandoned in the Veil's version of Saint Mungos and it made Hermione shiver to see so many lost souls. Perhaps, they could help all of them? Maybe they could get everyone through the Veil and back to their bodies.

This place is creepy.

"It's a hospital," Hermione replied.

Exactly. Name one hospital that isn't creepy. Honestly, for a place you go to heal they have a way of making you want to stay as far away as physically possible.

Hermione couldn't argue that point so she continued down the hall in silence, trying to ignore the stares she could feel from the other spirits. She felt like she had memorized the path she was taking even though she had only taken it twice; once in real life and once in a dream.

They'd been searching for Hermione for days without any luck when the alarms in Grimmauld Place suddenly began to go off. Harry, Holland, Neville, Remus, Tonks, and Aurora had been in his study; going over maps of potential locations Greyback could have been keeping Hermione. Ron and Lavender were out looking for anyone that could be of use to them in their search but Harry wasn't holding his breath on the hope of them finding anyone.

He was alerted to the intruder first by the alarm and then by the sound of Ginny screaming in the library. Harry was the first to leave the room, not even bothering to use the door as he apparated to the downstairs library. He stood protectively in front of Ginny, glass crunching beneath his boots from a broken cup as he stared fiercely at the unknown intruder.

Everyone else soon followed, piling into the library with their wands ready only to freeze at the sight before them.

Lucy was terrified and in pain and seeing all these people looking so threatening was enough to make her want to throw up. A combination of that fear and whatever the hell that Portkey had done to her meant Lucy did throw up right at the moment when another contraction decided now was the perfect time to make her double over from pain. Everything hurt; her face, her feet, her wrist, and every other part of her body that decided they didn't want to be left out. She truly must have done something awful in a past life to deserve everything that had happened to her.

"I-I-I'm looking for H-Harry," she managed to get out as she cowered away from the fierce looking man with unruly dark hair and bright green eyes.

"What do you want with Harry?" Aurora demanded only to be silenced when Ginny glared at her for scaring the poor woman.

"H-Hermione sent me, w-with this," she replied, holding out the now useless Portkey for them to see.

Ginny went to rush forward, her maternal instincts already telling her to look after the scared little creature in front of her. James was napping upstairs and she was happy she had talked Harry into placing silencing charms up around his room so the alarm hadn't woken him up; that boy certainly took after the Weasley's when it came to his temper. Harry stopped her journey forward and she looked up at her husband with a frown only to see his eyes trained on the woman.

"Prove that Hermione sent you," he demanded.

The woman seemed stumped for a moment before her eyes widened and Ginny saw her looking a little hopeful. "She to-old me to t-tell you; Decem-ember 25th, 1997."

He and Ginny shared a look before Harry released his wife and allowed her to rush towards the trembling woman. Ginny reached her just as her knees buckled and she fell forward. Harry wasn't far behind and helped Ginny support the woman as they both directed her to a chair.

"When did your contractions begin?" Ginny asked kindly. Harry could hear Aurora activate her Patronus before sending it off with a message for both Lavender and another for Madam Pomfrey.

"J-just before I a-arrived," she managed to get out before she doubled over with a pained cry.

Ginny tutted as she mothered the young woman. "What's your name?" she asked softly before she raised her hand, wand now in place, and non-verbally summoned a few things.

"Lucy," she stuttered.

Harry watched as Ginny got Lucy as comfortable as possible as they waited for Lavender and Pomona to arrive. When they did, all three women ushered Lucy up the stairs and into one of the guest rooms, Tonks following just behind them. The remaining men looked towards Aurora who eyed them all critically. "What?" she demanded when they continued to look at her.

"Aren't you going to follow them?" Holland asked curiously, earning a glare from the blonde.

"Why, because I'm a woman?" she asked sarcastically.

"Uh, yeah?" Holland answered.

Aurora huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and ignoring the amused chuckle she could hear from her husband as she looked at Holland. "Being a woman doesn't immediately mean I want to witness a woman giving birth right in front of me," she huffed.

"But, aren't you going to be giving birth in a few months?"

"Yes," she answered through gritted teeth, her eyes softening a little when she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and a large hand settle over her still flat stomach, "and I'd rather not have nightmares of giving birth before I actually have to go through it myself, thank you very much."

As if to prove her point, a shrill scream pierced the air.

Do you honestly expect to find them exactly where their physical bodies are in our world?

Hermione looked at Mia as she spoke, watching as her wolf sniffed the air curiously before she sneezed. She smiled, finding the display kind of cute from the physical embodiment of her inner wolf. "I know the souls would be able to explore this dimension but they'd eventually be called back to the location of their physical body to keep the connection strong otherwise they would be forced to cross over," she explained as they began to near the room she had only been to once.

And how do you expect to talk to two people who have no idea who you are or why you even want to help them?

"I'm going to explain to them who I am and the relationship I have with their son," Hermione answered simply, "but I think some part of them is already familiar with who I am."

Because they addressed you in a dream.

"Yes."

Mia fell silent as they entered the room that had belonged to the Longbottom's for almost three decades. As Hermione had hoped, Alice and Frank were sitting beside their physical bodies, their eyes closed as they held onto their physical bodies. Hermione paused at the door, looking closely at the two figures who didn't seem to have aged a day past the age they were when they were tortured; and yet, their physical bodies certainly showed the years that had past.

Time works differently here, Mia observed as she slunk into a dark corner, well aware of how many people would perceive her. She decided her human would do all the talking whilst they were here; not that Mia could talk to them like this, the only reason she was capable of communicating with Hermione was because of their bond.

It was amazing to see how much Neville had grown up to look like his father and yet, there were so many similarities he shared with Alice as well. Physically, Neville had his father's strong jaw and tall, muscular build but possessed his mother's soft aura and kind eyes. It seemed he had gotten the best of both of his parents and it made Hermione's heart break because all three of them had had so little time to be with each other. What would have happened if Neville had grown up with both of his parents? How would it have changed Neville as a person?

She shook her head; Neville had become the man he was today because of what had happened to his parents, because he had been raised by his grandmother, because he had endured countless bullying from Slytherin, because he had discovered a strength in him that might not have been discovered if anything in his life had been changed. Although Hermione would have loved for Neville to have grown up with his family intact; she couldn't imagine growing up with that Neville compared to the Neville they all loved so much.

A hand clamping down on her shoulder broke her from her thought with a loud shriek, disturbing the Longbottom's, as Hermione turned to the person who had grabbed her. Her eyes narrowed in on the teenager who was doubled over and practically crying because he was laughing so hard. "Fred!" Hermione yelled, slapping him repeatedly, "what. The. Hell. Was. That. For?!"

It took Fred a moment to get himself under control before he stood to his full height again and Hermione was suddenly overcome with her own emotions. She rushed forward, tackling him in a hug as tear flooded her eyes and fell over her cheeks. Fred barely managed to keep them both from falling to the ground but Hermione was too busy clinging to him like an octopus to care. She knew she would run into him eventually; hell, she was determined not to leave this place until she had the redhead in tow. What she hadn't been expecting was to be assaulted with all the emotions she had forced into a box when she had believed him to be dead all these years.

She cried against his chest as his arms tightened around her, uncaring of the audience they had as she clung to him. "Come on, 'Mione," he soothed her, "you gotta calm down."

"Don't tell me what to do, Fred Weasley," she huffed, pulling away a little to smile up at him.

Fred grinned back at her, "you love it, Granger; don't lie," he replied with a wink that had her releasing a watery laugh. Fred pulled back further, keeping a grip on her shoulders as he looked her over before he whistled, "always knew you'd grow up to be a bombshell, 'Mione; got a boyfriend?"

Hermione slapped him gently in the chest, ignoring the displeased growl that came from Mia, as she rolled her eyes, "not gonna happen, Fred," she replied before they both were interrupted by a soft giggle and an awkward cough.

Fred and Hermione turned to see Alice and Frank watching them with amused glances. Hermione's face flooded with heat as she shook off Fred's grip on her shoulders and hesitantly made her way forward. "Hi," she said softly when she came to stand before Alice and Frank, "I'm…"

Before she could finish her sentence, Hermione was crushed to Alice in a grip that was much stronger than the petite woman seemed capable of. "We know exactly who you are, Hermione," she said softly, "our Neville talks about you often. When he's not talking about Aurora, of course."

"We can't thank you enough for what you've done for our son," Frank said as his arms wrapped around her and Alice, "and we're happy we're getting the chance to finally meet you in person."

"Though, we wish it were on better circumstances," Alice continued sadly, "I'm sorry you've found yourself here, Hermione."

They all stood back from one another and Hermione took the time to get her thoughts sorted before she took in a deep breath and addressed the entire room. "I think I can get you all out of here," she said quickly, not wanting to stumble over her words due to her nerves.

Everyone became quiet before two calloused hands were grabbing her and turning her to face a very hopeful looking Fred Weasley. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"Don't be daft, Fred, I'm not Sirius; I'm Hermione."

Fred blinked at her a few times before a grin just about split his face. "Did you just make a joke?" he asked, "blimey; never thought I'd live long enough to see Hermione Granger make a joke; and that joke of all things. Didn't that drive you barmy?"

Hermione shrugged, "just trying to defuse the tension. And, yes, I'm very much serious. I think I've found a way to release those trapped beyond the Veil; but we need to get to the Ministry of Magic first."

A small squeak left her lips when Fred suddenly swooped down to kiss her. It was a quick, excited kiss, that was over before it began and drew a very loud, very displeased growl from her wolf who stepped out of the corner and put herself between Hermione and a very startled Fred.

"Mia, you need to calm down," Hermione told the growling wolf as she tried to get over her own surprise, "it didn't mean anything."

Only our mate gets to kiss us, Mia growled inside her head.

"We've kissed plenty of people over the last decade; slept with just as many and you've had no problem," Hermione retorted, ignoring the choking sound coming from Fred who was looking at her with wide eyes.

We weren't ready for our mate then; they meant nothing to either of us. Just a way to relieve stress, nothing more.

"Fred's my friend," she argued back, "he was just excited; it meant nothing." Hermione turned to look at Fred, "right, Fred?"

He nodded silently, eying the wolf cautiously.

If he kisses us again, I'm going to bite him where it'll hurt the most.

"Whatever," Hermione answered with a roll of her eyes as she turned to everyone. "Uh, so, first we should discuss the wolf in the room," she began as she scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, "you see, Mia is me."

"I'm not following," Alice replied, her eyebrows furrowed as she stood close to her husband.

Hermione closed her eyes, preparing herself for the negative reactions of those around her when she finally answered. "I'm a werewolf," she replied, her heart dropping when she heard Alice gasp, "and Mia is the physical embodiment of my wolf; she appeared when I woke up in this dimension and will disappear when we leave."

"Oh, darling."

The young witch was suddenly pulled into another hug and she felt a tear fall from her eye when Alice didn't even hesitate to hold her. She had expected them to be scared or even repulsed by her. She should have known better; these two had been friend with Remus, knew about his lycanthropy and hadn't rejected him. But, they had also grown up with Remus; they knew nothing about Hermione except what Neville had told them.

"She's beautiful," Alice whispered into her ear.

Oh, I like her, Mia said smugly, she knows what she's talking about.

"Now," Alice said as she pulled back, "let's get out of this place, shall we?"

The screams only seemed to get worse and Harry had been forced to put up a silencing charm when it looked like the screams were causing Holland physical pain. Aurora and Neville were sitting on the loveseat and Remus and Harry had taken to pacing in the library. Ron was still out looking for anyone that could tell them where Greyback might have taken Hermione and Lavender was upstairs with Pomona and the other women.

Suddenly, a large stallion appeared in the room and Harry stopped pacing to look at his wife's Patronus. "Lucy says the forest you're looking for is…"

Harry barely waited for the Patronus to finish speaking before he disapparated.

He appeared a moment later in the forest that had been mentioned; a forest he was somewhat familiar with because of a previous mission a few years back. However, it certainly didn't look the same as it had back then. For one, all the trees were completely decimated and there was a large crater in the middle of it all. The entire forest was gone and Harry could just make out the remains of an old building that was now completely destroyed.

With a rapidly sinking heart, Harry made his way down the crater. It was wider than the Quidditch stadium at the QWC and at its centre was a small body laying lifeless.

"Hermione," he breathed as he stumbled forward, falling to his knees beside the body of his best friend. "No, no, no, no," he cried as he looked her over, not even noticing her state of undress, "no, you can't be gone. Come on, 'Mione; you can't leave me, not again."

He cast the only diagnostic spell he knew and waited for the longest few seconds of his life before his body slumped over when he saw the small, barely there blip that was Hermione's heart. Tears were falling from his eyes, landing on her dirt stained face that was a very concerning tinge of grey. Harry placed an arm behind her back and the other under her legs before he picked her up and cradled her as closely to him as he could managed.

"You're going to be okay," he whispered to her softly, "you're too strong not to be."

Then he was gone; taking his best friend with him and leaving the ashy remains of the pack that he hadn't even noticed.

Hermione, Mia, Fred, Alice, and Frank entered the Ministry of Magic without any problem or hesitation. Well, Hermione hesitated a bit but that was entirely due to how excited Mia seemed to be at finally being at the MoM. Hermione knew all too well that her mate was supposed to be within the halls of the Ministry and she didn't know if she actually wanted to find him.

It wasn't that she didn't want to find her mate; it was that she was scared of how she would feel. Would she be some simpering looney wanting to please her mate at all times? Merlin, she hoped not; Hermione didn't want this mate bond to change who she was as a person. She didn't want to have a mate who believed he could control every aspect of her life. It was rare that a mate abused the bond but it did happen and the results weren't pretty for anyone involved; in fact, there were cases when the wolf would kill the mate to escape the abuse before the realization of what they did would hit them and they would become insane.

She didn't want that. She never wanted that.

"Hermione, dear, are you coming?"

Hermione looked up to see Alice looking at her concernedly before she nodded her head and followed the small group into the MoM. She shivered as they entered the familiar building, remembering the last time she had been there during the war. Hermione forced the thoughts away, knowing now wasn't the best time to have an episode.

Fred was in the lead, followed by Frank and Alice with Hermione and Mia taking up the rear of their small group. Hermione felt twitchy as they walked through the halls and seeing Mia eagerly looking around wasn't helping her either. She felt like someone was watching her and it was putting her on edge.

Hermione shook her head, ignoring the feeling as best she could as they continued through the halls of the MoM.

Harry appeared in the library of Grimmauld place and the moment everyone saw who was in his arms there was chaos. Remus was the first to rush forward, moving faster than anyone had seen him move in years; his eyes flashing a pale yellow as he looked down at Hermione before he removed his coat and covered her naked frame. Holland wasn't far behind Remus, his own eyes flashing a brilliant gold as he looked over his unconscious pack mate and alpha.

"Is she…" he tried to ask, his voice breaking and unable to finish the sentence as he tried to listen to her heart.

"She's alive," Harry told them as Neville came forward and took Hermione out of his arms before Harry collapsed into the nearest chair, his head buried in his hands, "barely," he finished.

"What happened?" Remus asked as Aurora and Neville rushed from the room to find somewhere to put Hermione. Remus could hear Aurora shouting for Pomona even through the silencing charm and heard Lavender and Ginny's distressed cries when they must have caught sight of Hermione.

"I have no idea," Harry said, "when I got there, the forest was completely gone and Hermione was at the bottom of this massive crater."

"Her magic expelled," Holland answered them all as he too sat down heavily, "you said yourself that the process had been started and Hermione must have gotten Lucy as far away as she could from her when she realised what was going on."

"There shouldn't have been a body if that had happened," Remus said, "the magical outburst alone would have decimated everything in sight including Hermione."

"Believe me," Harry replied gravely, "it completely decimated everything in sight; the entire forest was gone."

"Then how is Hermione alive?" Remus questioned.

Holland growled angrily at the older wolf, "what's it matter how she's alive? She's still dying! I can hear her heart slowing down even through that stupid silencing charm! Like Lavender said, no one has ever lived through something like this."

Suddenly, his knees buckled and Holland fell to the floor with a sob, "why do I have to lose two mums? How is that fair?"

Neither man knew how to reply to that question or how to offer the distraught pup comfort. How could they? When they themselves felt entirely hopeless.

He watched them as they made their way through the halls of the Ministry but couldn't help but keep his eyes planted on the woman in the back of the group. Even stuck in this hell as he was, he was still a man and could appreciate a beautiful woman when she was walking around in clothes that showed more skin than they actually covered.

Her hair fell to the middle of her back in slightly frizzy curls and the tight tank top and little shorts showed off the very womanly curves the mystery woman possessed. His eyes wondered her form, taking in each curve his eyes laid on. He especially paid attention to her long, toned legs as she walked beside a large wolf that seemed to be looking around the place just as much as the witch herself.

He had seen a flash on ink on her side when her top had ridden up a little and couldn't deny that knowing this woman had a tattoo was a massive turn-on.

As he followed them, he kept to the shadows; having become familiar with them since he had arrived here. No one ever came to this part of the Ministry and it made him curious about what this group was doing here. He hadn't caught a glimpse of any of their faces; not wanting to be caught just because his curiosity got the best of him.

Of course, as he was studying the other three, he had taken his eyes off the woman long enough that when he looked back at her she was gone. He looked back down the hall to see if she had fallen behind only to stiffen when he felt the air move behind him.

He barely managed to duck the fist that came at the back of his head before he felt a foot strike at the back of his knees and he stumbled out of his hiding place. The group had stopped and he could have sworn he was seeing things when he looked into the faces of Fred Weasley and Alice and Frank Longbottom but he didn't have much time to think of that when a small foot was suddenly coming at his face.

When he had been rebelling against his family, he had decided the ultimate kick in the teeth would be having the ability to defend himself without their precious magic. So, he had taken up self-defence lessons and had learnt that he actually really enjoyed it. Not only was it good for his body, and his developing six pack certainly drew the right gazes from the opposite sex, but it was the perfect way to relieve stress.

However, he had never actually had a use for it until the petite creature he had been so enamoured by had begun to attack him with an agility and strength that he had rarely seen from anyone that small.

He caught the foot just before it managed to hit him in the face and found himself even more turned-on by the fact she had no trouble balancing with one leg suspended in the air. Of course, his distraction was enough to get a fist to the chest and he stumbled back with a cough, dropping her foot in the process.

"Hermione!"

That certainly got his attention and he looked at the woman just in time to see her crouch down and sweep his feet out from beneath him. She was on top of him the next second, and he finally got his first good look at her face and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Holy shit," he exclaimed as the petite witch pinned him to the floor, his hands pinned above his head as the young woman growled lowly at him. He really shouldn't have found the sound as attractive as he had but that was neither here nor there as she glared fiercely at him.

"Kitten?" he tried softly, hoping the nickname he had used on her when she was younger might break her out of whatever daze she had found herself in.

Her eyes seemed to clear a little but it wasn't his eyes that they snapped to; instead, it was to the wolf she had been travelling with. He watched as her eyes darted from the wolf to him and then back to the wolf again.

"Sirius?" came the voice of one Fred Weasley and he managed to look around the surprised woman to grin at the redheaded trickster.

"Sirius?!" came the surprised voices of Alice and Frank Longbottom.

The three voices seemed to snap Hermione out of her daze and she sat back up as Sirius met her gaze again. Her eyes seemed to take him all in before she once again looked back to the wolf and Sirius could see horrified realization fill her eyes.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

There you go. What do you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Why? How did you think Sirius and Hermione's meeting was? Honestly, I had planned for it to go like this when I first started writing this story and just didn't want to change it. We will get more Sirius and Hermione interaction in the next chapter and I hope you guys stick around for that.