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Sirius knew that hearing the Gryffindor Golden Girl swear shouldn't have been as arousing as it was. However, he was a man, and having a very beautiful woman straddling him as she used such language had his body reacting before he could do anything about it. He knew he should have been embarrassed, or at least ashamed, that Hermione was making him hard. He probably also should have felt ashamed that his not-so-little problem didn't go unnoticed by the curly-haired witch sitting on top of him. However, Sirius only found himself more excited; especially when the scent of her own arousal reached his sensitive nose.

He watched as Hermione turned as very appealing shade of red, his eyes following her blush before it vanished beneath her shirt, before she practically flew from on top of him; putting as much distance as she could between them, much to Sirius' displeasure.

"Really, Sirius?" Alice scolded him lightly; her own cheeks pink as she avoided looking anywhere but his face.

Sirius gave her an innocent look as he got to his feet. "What?" he asked as he shrugged slightly, "it's a natural reaction to a beautiful woman." As he said that, Sirius turned to wink at Hermione whose face darkened a few more shades before she raised her hands and covered her face, shaking her head. "Come on, kitten," Sirius teased, "don't get shy on me now."

"Some things never change," Frank snorted; earning a swat to the chest from his wife for his comment.

Alice, Frank, and Sirius looked at each other for a long moment before they all smiled widely and rushed to embrace. "Alice and Frank," Sirius laughed, "never thought I'd see you two again after everything that's happened."

"Us?" Alice scoffed as she buried her head in Sirius chest only to back away slightly when Mia growled at her. She eyed the wolf wearily before turning back to smile at her old friend, "I never thought I'd see the day when Sirius Black got his arse kicked by a girl."

Sirius scoffed but otherwise didn't say anything as he and Frank embraced before the three of them turned to Hermione and Fred. Hermione's blush was slowly beginning to recede but she seemed determined to keep her distance from Sirius who frowned at her behaviour. "Hello, Fred," Sirius smiled sadly, "can't say I'm too happy to be seeing you here." His eyes moved to Hermione who was keeping Fred between him and her like a human shield, "you too, Mia."

"It's not like either of us chose to be here, mate," Fred replied, eying Hermione curiously as she clung to his arm, "last thing I remember is a wall exploding and being buried underneath it. Woke up here and been trapped ever since."

"And you?" Sirius asked, his gaze never leaving Hermione even as he felt the wolf rub against him in an almost cat-like manner.

Hermione shrugged, not meeting his gaze and making the older man's frown deepen. "Some things happened and here I am," she answered simply. Sirius watched her eyes dart to the wolf before her shoulders sagged and she let out a heavy breath. "A lot's happened since you fell through the veil, Sirius," she continued softly, "things have changed. It's a long story and we don't have time for it right now; we need to get out of here."

"We're going to talk about this later," he told her sternly, eying her up and down before he dropped the subject and followed everyone as they continued towards the Department of Mysteries.

The whole time, Sirius couldn't take his eyes off of Hermione and the tantalizing way her hips would sway side to side as she walked.

Hermione knew Mia wasn't happy with her choice to ignore Sirius but the wolf also understood that the witch was very close to another panic attack and hadn't brought anything up because of that. She still couldn't wrap her mind around everything that had happened in the last few minutes.

Hermione was ready to knock out whoever had been following them when she heard Mia's mental sigh of contentment. Vaguely, Hermione heard the others behind her talking to the man pinned beneath her and Hermione took a moment to actually study the man. Elation filled her as she recognized Sirius Black; the man hadn't changed at all since he had fallen through the veil and Hermione was thrilled that she would be able to give Harry his Godfather back. She knew how much family meant to Harry and if she could do this for him that everything that had happened so far would certainly be worth it.

Finally, Mia sighed happily, we've found him.

The elation was replaced with confusion, then dread, then straight up horror as she realized what Mia was talking about. Her eyes darted between her wolf and the man pinned beneath her.

Sirius Black. Notorious womanizer. Heir to one of the oldest Pureblood houses in Wizarding Britain. Ex-convicted felon, however false the allegation. Her best friends Godfather.

Sirius Black was her mate.

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

She shook her head of the memory and kept her eyes trained forward as they drew closer to the Department of Mysteries. Goosebumps appeared on her arms as she past the dark alcove that had featured in one of her dreams; her mind replacing the shadowy figure of her unknown mate with Sirius and Hermione recoiled as her body physically reacted to the sensations the dream had provoked in her.

Even as a teenager, Hermione had crushed on Sirius; the rebellious older man a regular guest star in many of her teenage dreams that left her sweaty and frustrated when she woke up the next morning.

A large part of Hermione, the logical part of her, told her that teenage crushes and a mate's bond was not enough for a relationship. She wanted love, romance, and passion; the kind of passion that ignited every part of your life. She didn't want to be expected to love someone simply because her wolf had deemed them her perfect match.

And she especially didn't want to love Sirius Black.

How could the fates possibly believe they were in any way, perfect for each other? Sirius was a rich, flirtatious, womanizer who probably had more notches of his bedpost than anyone else she knew.

Not that Hermione was in any way a prude. She hadn't been lying when she had mentioned having a handful of lovers and her bedroom adventures teetered on the edge of being a 50 Shades of Grey novel. She was sure everyone expected her sex life to reflect the bookworm she had always been associated with being. They expected her to be plain and by the book; but Hermione had changed a lot over the years and her love life reflected that as well as her personality.

Her bedroom activities, however, did not mean that Hermione wasn't seeking a relationship filled with love. She wanted to fall hopelessly in love and have that love returned in full. The mate bond was basically a shackle; not only for her, but for poor Sirius as well.

'No,' she thought to herself, 'I can ignore the bond and allow us to move on with our separate lives.'

Sirius could sleep with as many witches as he desired before he finally decides to settle down; if he ever decides to settle down. Hermione may not ever find love herself, but there were things that could come a close second that she could use as the foundations for a relationship. Right?

"Don't you dare," Mia snarled behind her and Hermione could feel the heated glare of her wolf as they continued down the hall.

However, Hermione didn't care. Her whole life had been dictated for her in one way or another and she refused to let this be another thing she had no control over. She was also pretty sure Sirius would never willingly choose to settle down with his Godson's best friend when he would likely have so many willing witches throwing themselves at him once he returned.

"He is ours," Mia growled, "no one but us will have him."

That's not your decision to make, Hermione replied mentally, Sirius has been trapped in one way or another for most of his life; the last thing he needs is to be trapped in a relationship. Would you really be so cruel as to force him to be with us?

She heard Mia whine sadly behind her and stopped to turn to her wolf. Mia hadn't left Sirius' side since earlier and she could see the older man looking at the wolf in concern as she flattened her ears and tucked her tail between her legs. "Hey," he soothed softly, "what's wrong, girl?"

Hermione watched the way Sirius interacted with her wolf and felt her heart swell a little only to quickly tamper down the building emotions. She wouldn't do this; not to her and not to Sirius.

"What's wrong with your familiar, Mia? And what happened to Crookshanks?" Sirius asked, his eyes raising to meet her own.

She stiffened at the first question; she hadn't really wanted to tell Sirius that she was a werewolf even though she knew he would understand. His best friend was a werewolf after all but that didn't mean she wanted to be looked upon with pity or even suspicion. Whether she had decided to ignore the bond or not, Hermione didn't think she could handle Sirius outright rejecting her if he found out what she was and what he was to her.

"Mia isn't Hermione's familiar; she's the physical embodiment of Hermione's werewolf side."

Hermione closed her eyes and sighed heavily as Fred's voice filtered from behind her. She didn't want to look at Sirius and she certainly didn't want to look at Mia; Hermione couldn't bear to see the heartbroken look in her wolf's eyes and knew that's exactly what she would see there if she did.

"Werewolf?" Sirius asked before the air shifted in front of her and two large, warm hands fell on her shoulders. Hermione could feel the callouses on his fingers and tried to ignore the way his skin on hers made her whole body tingle. There was a part of her that wanted to pull him into one of the dark alcoves and recreate one of her dreams. She wanted to feel his lips on hers; wanted to see how his body felt pressed against her own. But Hermione knew the feelings weren't her own; they were because of the mate bond.

"Stop lying to yourself, witch," Mia huffed, "you're not fully connected to your wolf side at the moment. Anything you feel towards our mate is completely on you; not the bond."

Hermione shook her head; there was no way Mia was telling the truth. Her reaction had to be because of the mate bond; she didn't think she could handle it being anything else.

"Mia, look at me," Sirius said, his warm breath fanning over her face and making her breath hitch. She shook her head, her eyes tightly closed as she tried to focus on anything except how close he was to her. "Hermione," he repeated, his voice lower and with a hint of authority behind it. She felt her body react to the sound, warmth flooding her belly and her body itching to be closer.

The dream of her and her mate in the woods returned to her and Hermione could now clearly see Sirius' face. She could clearly see his naked body; the muscles he possessed as her eyes darted to each of his tattoos. Her centre dampened at the mental image of the older man naked before her and only increased as her mind replayed the way he sounded as he groaned when he thrusted into her for the first time.

Unknown to the petite brunette, Sirius could smell the heady scent of her arousal and felt his cock twitch in his pants as he took in a subtle breath. Ever since he had successfully completed his Animagus transformation; Sirius' senses had all been heightened. He had smelt the arousal of many women and yet, Hermione's was certainly the most appealing. Her vanilla scent was sweet to his nose but it had nothing on the spicy scent of her arousal and Sirius seriously considered abandoning his carefully constructed control and pressing her to the nearest wall so he could ravish her.

However, his mind kept his urges at bay with reminders that the woman before him was the same girl he had remembered from Hogwarts. Sirius had always admired her intelligence but he had never seen her as anything other than Harry's best friend. That image was slowly crumbling in his mind; being replaced by the beautiful woman standing in front of him, now; a woman who was less than a decade younger than him.

He also hadn't missed the way her scent spiked when his voice lowered, wanting her to look at him so they could talk this through. Sirius looked past Hermione and motioned for the others to go ahead, knowing that Fred knew how to get where they needed to go. When they disappeared down the hall, Sirius returned his gaze to the woman who had yet to open her eyes.

Hermione startled when she felt Sirius' calloused hand move from her shoulder to her cheek, her eyes snapping open involuntarily as they widened.

"Talk to me, Mia," he said softly, his grey eyes never leaving her amber ones, "when did you become a werewolf? Was it… was it Mooney?" he asked unsurely.

She shook her head, watching as his shoulders sagged from relief. Hermione knew what he was thinking; Remus would have never forgiven himself if he had been the one to bite and turn Hermione. Hell, Remus was so opposed to his wolf that he was killing himself trying to suppress his natural instincts. He had almost lost it when Hermione had asked him if he was ever going to mark Tonks as his mate. It was rare for werewolves not to mark their mates after being together for so long; especially when Hermione knew Tonks wouldn't have a problem with it. In fact, Tonks had told her that when she had asked for the mark, Remus had practically ignored her for an entire week before telling her to never bring it up again.

"It wasn't Remus," she assured him verbally, "it was a young wolf named Andrew; he got free of the older wolves in the pack and found me wandering the woods."

"How long?" Sirius asked. He already knew time worked differently within the veil and that many years would have passed since he had fallen through it if how old Hermione looked was anything to go by.

"Almost ten years," she replied quietly, "a few months after the war ended."

Sirius stiffened but gave her a nod and dropped the subject; for now. Instead, he absentmindedly rubbed her cheek with the pad of his thumb, not missing the way Hermione leaned into the touch.

"Why is your wolf upset?" he asked after a moment, watching as Hermione stiffened completely.

"It's nothing," she replied quickly; too quickly.

"Hermione…"

"Just drop it, Sirius," she practically growled, pulling away from him as he frowned, "we need to catch up with the others," she muttered, turning and walking away before he could say anything.

Sirius watched her disappear down the hall before he turned to look at Mia who still had her ears flattened and her tail between her legs. "It's okay, girl," he soothed, patting her gently on the head and watching as her body relaxed under his hold, "I'll get it outta her eventually."

And he would, because there was something different about Hermione Granger and Sirius was very excited to find out just what that was.

Harry, Remus, Ron, Neville, and Holland were waiting anxiously in the library. It had been two days since Harry had brought Hermione back to Grimmauld Place and whilst her condition hadn't gotten worse, it hadn't gotten better either. The entire time that Poppy and Lavender worked on her, Hermione showed no signs of life except the shaky rise and fall of her chest as she wheezed.

Aurora had returned to work, as had Tonks, but the two women had threatened the men with some very creative curses if they didn't inform them the moment something changed with Hermione. Ginny kept herself busy with baby Luka; James was fascinated by the small baby and the idea that in a few short weeks his mommy would be having one that he spent most of his time with his mother and the newborn.

Unfortunately, Luka was an orphan; his mother's body not having been strong enough to keep her alive after the trauma she had suffered and the ensuing birth of her son. She had managed to fight long enough to name Luka and have Ginny promise to care for him until Hermione could do so herself. Lucy had made Ginny swear that her son would be passed into Hermione's care when the witch recovered before her injuries had claimed her life.

Holland barely ate and Harry had taken to forcefully feeding the teenager to get him to do so. He knew all too well that Hermione would curse his bollocks off if the teenager passed out from lack of food or water.

Hermione. Harry hadn't told any of the men except Ron just how bad of a condition Hermione was in. He knew keeping it from them wasn't okay but Harry himself didn't want to believe what Poppy had told him.

Hermione was dying; and she was dying quickly. Her magic was so severely depleted that her body was working overtime to try and refill her energy stores but the strain was just too much for the young witch. Poppy didn't know what more to do for her either; potions and spells would only get them so far but there was just so much damage done to her internal organs from the explosion that it would be a miracle if she did wake up after everything. Even if she did wake up; Hermione would have to retrain her magic and it would be a long time until she was even at a NEWT level again.

Harry looked up when Ginny walked into the room, James cradled to the side of her body as she stumbled a little. "He wanted his daddy," she said softly as she made her way over to Harry and gently handed James over to him, "Luka's sleeping now and I'm thinking about taking a nap; do you mind watching James?"

"Of course not," Harry assured his wife, placing a soft kiss on her lips and pulling away to see her smiling softly, "get some sleep, Gin."

"Wake me up if anything changes with Hermione."

"I promise," he replied before he settled a yawning James on his lap and watched Ginny leave the library.

Harry frowned as he watched his wife go, his heart sinking as he tried to figure out just how to tell the rest of them that there was a large chance Hermione wouldn't pull through.

"I'm surprised we haven't come across any wraiths yet."

Sirius' statement had everyone pausing to look at the Black heir. Hermione frowned deeply at the predatory sensation she had been feeling for a while now. Could it be one of these wraiths that Sirius was speaking about?

"Why do you say that, Sirius?" Alice asked cautiously, "wraiths aren't that common even in the Veil."

"They are here," Sirius replied. "The closer you get to the Veil the more wraiths you see. They hang out nearby, waiting for a fissure so they can squeeze through for a couple of hours until it closes and they're stuck here again."

Wraiths. Ghosts. Poltergeist. They were all similar in one way or another. Wraiths were angry souls who wanted nothing more than to hurt anyone they could find. Hermione had personally never seen one but she had read about them at Hogwarts and it had given her nightmares for a week. Wraiths were souls that were so deformed and dark that they were basically a festering wound that infected everything around them. In the realm of the living, wraiths could be so dangerous that they could cause the death of those they were pursuing.

"Have you encountered one before?" Fred asked from where he stood beside Hermione.

Sirius shook his head, "nah, just seen them floating about the place. You can usually feel them coming so I try to blend in with the shadows so they can't see me."

"Well, this is just bloody perfect," Hermione frowned.

Fred chuckled at the petite brunette, "careful, 'Mione, you don't wanna start sounding like Ron, do ya?"

Hermione sent a glare to the redhead before she folded her arms over her chest and huffed. "Getting out of here was going to be hard enough without the added stress that the wraiths will provide," she muttered, "in fact, this could be a huge problem."

"How so?" Frank asked curiously.

The petite witch didn't look any of them in the eyes as she found a sudden interest in her feet. "Because tonight is a blood moon," she mumbled quietly.

"So?" Fred questioned.

"We can only get out of the Veil during the blood moon. If we miss our window of opportunity we'll be stuck here until the next one."

Sirius walked up to the dejected witch and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, ignoring the way her body stiffened. "It's okay, kitten," he told her softly, "if we don't make it through, we'll just wait for the next one. There's no problem there."

She looked up at him and Sirius grew concerned at the misty eyed looked she gave him.

"I can't wait that long," she whispered as she gripped the bottom of her tank top and lifted it enough to expose her stomach to their eyes.

Sirius felt his heart stop at the sight of the black veins running up her body.

"My physical body is weakening, Sirius, I'm dying and I need to get you all out of here before it's too late."

The first time Hermione's body began convulsing it was like Harry's heart stopped and his lungs seized. He watched helplessly as her body contorted unnaturally even as Lavender and Poppy tried to keep her as still as possible so she wouldn't hurt herself. Ginny was pressed to his side, her face buried in his neck as she cried silently; not wanting to distract the two witches working on trying to help Hermione.

I can't lose her, he thought to himself as he pulled Ginny closer, not again. None of us can.

They had always taken Hermione for granted in school. They never really appreciated everything she did for them until she was no longer there. Harry had felt lost without her for so long that everyone had grown worried. It had taken Ginny hexing him to get him out of his funk and years for him to learn how to live with the guilt of just how much he had depended on Hermione without ever thanking her for the things she had done for him. She had always been there; until she suddenly… wasn't.

"She's burning up," he heard Lavender mumble to Poppy; tears in her eyes as she tried to figure out how to help her friend and alpha.

"Her temperature is the least of our worries, Miss Brown," Poppy replied crisply, "if we don't stabilise her soon, Miss Granger's heart is going to…"

Hermione stopped moving, her chest rising and falling weakly almost like nothing had happened. Lavender and Poppy stared down at the witch and Harry could see that neither healer had any idea what just happened.

They had thought it was over than but her body went into convulsions three more times that day and each time they stopped on their own like nothing bad ever happened. Of course, when Poppy ran the diagnostic spells they learnt that wasn't the case. After each convulsion, Hermione's organs were weaker; her heart beat had slowed down so much that, had she not been a werewolf, Poppy had guaranteed she would have died. One of her kidneys had already shut down and her right lung was trying to make up for the much weaker left one.

What concerned Harry the most was that during one of the diagnostic spells, Hermione had shown signs of being brain dead. It had only lasted a few seconds before her werewolf genes had slowly healed it but they had been the longest few seconds of his life.

Harry and Ron found themselves alone in her room later that day; both of them sitting either side of her bed and they each held one of her pale hands. Ginny was getting Holland and James to eat and Poppy and Lavender were resting so they could recuperate their spent magic. Neville had returned home and Remus had been relentlessly pacing the library until it was time for him to pick Teddy up from Andromeda's.

"She's gonna make it."

Harry looked up at Ron as his best friend spoke, his blue eyes downcast as she rubbed little circles into Hermione's hand. He wanted to believe what Ron was saying but the paleness of her skin and the almost lifeless way she lay on the bed had all hope crumbling inside of him.

"Ron…"

His friend shook his head, his eyes snapping up to Harry to glare at him. "She's going to make it," he said firmly, "we're not giving up on her."

"No one's giving up on her, mate," Harry replied softly.

Ron ran the fingers of his free hand through his hair as he squeezed Hermione's hand with the other. "It's Malfoy manor all over again," he whispered dejectedly, "she's suffering and there's nothing we can do about it."

"And just like back then, she's gonna make it through this," Harry said firmly, hoping to convince them both, "she's stronger than both of us; she won't let this beat her."

"And then what? We still haven't found any sight of Greyback and we have no idea if he died in that explosion. What if he comes for her and she can't defend herself?"

"Then he'll have a hell of a time getting through everyone who will be lining up to protect her. Ten years might have gone by but she's still our Hermione; she's our family and we're not gonna let him get her. Not again."

Both men fell silent, both of them praying that their best friend would make it out of this alive.

"Okay, there it is."

Hermione and Fred were the first to step into the room; followed by Alice and Frank, and then a very reluctant Sirius and Mia. She could feel the black veins moving up her stomach and could now see the thin tendrils poking out of the top of her tank top. Hermione was steadfastly ignoring the worried glances being thrown at her as she looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted no wraiths around the area.

"This is too easy."

She wanted to groan at the words spoken by her wolf. You've probably just jinxed the entire thing, she grumbled in her head.

They all watched the Veil; waiting for any sign that the moon was where it needed to be. When the eerie blue/silver swirls began to turn a blood red, she sucked in a deep breath. It's time.

"Stay here and wait for my signal," she whispered to the others before she quickly ran across the room and towards the Veil. She needed to find a fissure, a tear in the fabric of the Veil that they could get through. The only time a soul that wasn't a wraith could pass through the Veil was on a blood moon according to the runes she had been translating. It would be uncomfortable, especially for Sirius considering his physical body had disappeared into the Veil as well as his soul. It'd be like apparating but ten times worse.

When Hermione found the fissure, she could have cried. Instead, she grabbed on to it, ignoring the burning sensation that began in her fingers, and began to pull the fissure apart to make it wider. It hurt, a lot, but Hermione was the only one close enough to death for the Veil not to register her as a threat. The whole point of it was to keep souls trapped away and the others were strong enough that the Veil would have sent them as far away from possible just to keep them there.

She was dying. She could feel it as she pulled the fissure apart further. But she didn't care, she had been prepared to die so many times that the only regret she had was that Mia would die with her and they'd be leaving their pup behind.

Remus will protect him, she assured herself, even as her heart began to break.

She felt a warm body press against her body and smiled at Mia as the wolf offered her silent comfort. Hermione knew she had been lucky that her wolf was as stable as Mia was; the wolf could have been insane and she would have followed soon after.

I hope Lucy's okay, she thought, I hope she made it to Harry.

Hermione shook her head and focused on her task. When she was done, she called for Fred who wasted no time in reaching her side.

"It's going to hurt," she warned as the burning increased the moment the Veil realized a stronger soul was near it.

He nodded, "I can handle it."

"No matter what, keep going forward. Think of your family; anything to make it easier. Think of George. Now, go."

And he did.

George was doing exactly what he had done every day for the last ten years. He was sitting beside Fred's hospital bed, his head in his hands as he focused on the sound of his brothers steady breathing. Once again, the healers had asked him if he would consider taking his brother off of magical life support and, once again, it had ended with George red in the face and screaming every insult he knew at them. Fred wouldn't have given up on him and there was no way he was giving up on his twin.

"You gotta wake up, Freddy," he whispered hoarsely; his eyes filled with unshed tears as he recited the speech he knew off by heart. Every day, without fail, he would have this same conversation with his brother; and everyday it was the same result. Fred remained in the coma and George remained alone and without his other half.

"It's been ten years, mate. We promised we'd never go where the other can't follow and right now you're making that real hard. Don't let that time in sixth year be the last time we get to see each other old."

He took in a shuddering breath as he felt the tears fall over his pale cheeks. "We're not done yet. We can't be done yet," he whispered as he began to cry freely.

"Of course, we're not done yet, Georgie. Can't believe you think I'd deprive the world of my handsome face. Besides, I still haven't got Minnie to let me take her on a date yet; I'm sure she's warming up to me."

George fell out of his chair at the hoarse voice that spoke out in the near silent room. His eyes snapped up to see his brother smirking weakly at him and George let loose a very unmanly sound before he was tackling his brother to the bed. Fred's arms wrapped around him as best he could with the little strength he had as he felt his twin sobbing against him, his tears soaking Fred's neck.

The healer nearby had been alerted to them by George's squeal and Fred could see him openly gaping at the two brothers before he dropped the chart he was holding and ran down the hall. Before long, Fred's room was full of healers crowding around him and asking him questions as he was fed potion after potion; each one tasting worse than the previous one.

He had already seen George's Patronus leaving the room and wasn't surprised when a shrill scream pierced the air that had all the healers scrambling away from him just as his mother practically tackled him to the bed again.

"My baby," she cried, "y-you're okay!"

"Better than okay, mum," he assured her; hugging her tightly now that the potions had restored most of his strength, "though, you're kinda crushing me."

Molly's laugh was more of a sob and if Fred were thinking his father would help him out; his lack of oxygen as the man hugged him just as tightly said otherwise. It wasn't long before his other brothers and little sister joined them for a very big, very loud Weasley reunion.

Fred couldn't help but smile.

Hermione felt when Fred's soul made it out of the Veil and sighed in relief before she motioned for Frank and Alice to come forward. They did so, hand in hand; their faces hopeful and cautious at the same time.

She smiled as reassuringly as she could manage through the pain. "It's going to be okay," she assured them, "it won't be pleasant but a few moments of pain and you'll be reunited with your son."

Alice's eyes filled with tears. "We can never thank you enough, Hermione; your giving us our lives back," she breathed through her tears.

"I'm just sorry I can't do anything about the time you lost," she replied softly.

"Any time spent with Neville is better than no time at all," Frank said before they both moved into the Veil and disappeared.

Hermione waited until she felt their souls vanish before she called for Sirius.

"I'm not leaving without you," he said the moment he stood in front of her, his hands crossed over his chest.

"You don't have a choice," she returned, "someone needs to hold open the fissure and I'll be right behind you."

His grey eyes locked on her and Hermione had to remind herself to breathe. For a moment, she thought about closing the distance between them so she could see what it was like to kiss him. Only once. She even felt herself leaning forward before she forcefully stopped herself and turned her gaze back to the Veil.

"You better be right behind me, kitten," he suddenly breathed; his lips brushing her ear and making her shiver, "or I might just have to punish you."

Arousal flooded her body at his growled words before he suddenly stepped through the Veil. It took longer for his soul to be free of the Veil and when he was Hermione was about to follow.

A laugh pierced the air.

No. Not a laugh. A cackle. A very familiar cackle that sent fear shooting straight through her body.

Mia began growling lowly as the temperature around them dropped by several degrees. Hermione whimpered; her fear freezing her in place even as her mind screamed at her to get through before it was too late. The moon would pass soon and she would be trapped until she ultimately died.

"Mmuuddbblloooodd," a deranged voice sang in a high pitch tone, "come and ppllaayy."

Hermione whimpered again only for it to turn into a pained gasp as long nails dug into her shoulder and turned her around to face…

"Bellatrix."

The deformed figure of the witch who had tortured her over a decade ago grinned before she jumped forward and Hermione was engulfed in darkness.

Harry had wanted to go with Ginny and Ron when they were informed that Fred had woken up but he knew someone needed to stay with Hermione and the kids. Even as Holland sat in the room with her as Lavender and Poppy worked tirelessly to help her; Harry couldn't find it in him to leave her.

He was just checking up on the three of them when Hermione went into convulsions again. They never lasted more than a few minutes but it was long enough to scare the hell out of all of them. He watched her contort and shift, her mouth open in a silent scream before she suddenly fell still.

Too still.

"What's going on?" Holland asked frantically, jumping from the chair he had been seated in as he ran to Hermione's bed, "why can't I hear her heart?"

The two women ignored him, shoving the young pup out of the way as Poppy began casting spell after spell and Lavender began performing CPR.

"Is she okay?" Holland cried, "tell me she's okay! Hermione!"

Harry wanted to comfort the teen but was frozen in place as he watched the two healers try to save his friend.

It was no use.

She was gone.

Hermione was dead.

Authors note: I was going to leave it here. I really was. But I'm not that mean. Sometimes.

Bellatrix's soul merging with her own was by far the worst experience of Hermione's life. Her soul was like poison, seeping into Hermione slowly. Her cackle still permeated the air as Bellatrix tried to kill her from the inside.

Somehow, Hermione found the strength to separate their souls and pushed the angry wraith away from her as she stumbled against the stone arch that made up the Veil. Her breathing was heavy and her entire being felt like it was on fire.

She could see Bellatrix's childish pout through the mangled remains of the witch's soul and recoiled at the dark look in her eyes. Hermione's entire body was shaking and she could feel a panic attack rapidly approaching as she stared down the monster that had plagued her nightmares for the last decade. The burning in her arm had returned tenfold and Hermione whimpered again before she felt warm fur against her bare leg.

You're not alone, witch, Mia told her gently, and this crazy bitch isn't going to hurt us again.

Mia's words and presence gave Hermione strength and courage. She looked down at her hands and tried to find any trace of the magic she had used in the forest before everything had turned white.

Please, she begged, just give me the power to overcome this.

What you ask for will come with a price, came the whispered voice of the woman from her dreams.

Anything.

Do not say such things so lightly, Guardian, the woman scolded even as Hermione felt her body heating up, the magic you seek requires a sacrifice. Magic negates magic; if you chose to go through with this it will truly be the end of Hermione Granger. Do you still accept?

Yes.

Very well; good luck, Guardian.

Time seemed to unfreeze and Hermione saw Bellatrix lunge for her just as the light flared brightly and she was blown into the Veil; the last thing she heard was Bellatrix's pained scream before everything went black.

Five minutes.

Hermione had been dead for five minutes.

Harry felt numb as he watched Lavender try to comfort Holland even as she herself was grieving the loss of her friend and alpha. Poppy was covering Hermione with a sheet, her own tears spilling down her cheeks as she muttered nonsensically to herself. There was a loud crack downstairs moments before the alarm started going off but Harry couldn't muster the will to move.

All he could do was stare at the unmoving chest of his best friend; his sister. He hadn't even told the others yet and was probably prolonging it due to shock and not wanting to spoil the happy moment they were having with a newly awoken Fred.

There were two more cracks and then two surprised yells before three pairs of feet were thundering up the stairs moments before the door burst open. Even in his grief, Holland moved faster than anyone; shielding Hermione from the new editions to the room as his eyes glowed a brilliant gold. His grief had allowed his wolf to take over with the sole purpose of protecting his alpha and mother.

"Kitten?"

Harry almost fell over at the sound of the familiar voice and turned quickly to see his Godfather leaning heavily against the frame of the door. He knew he was gaping but his Godfather didn't seem to pay him a single glance as his eyes stayed on Hermione.

Tonks was just behind him and Harry watched as Remus was barely able to catch his wife as she caught sight of Hermione's lifeless body. The sound that left Tonks' lips was a mix of a choke and a scream as her legs gave out on her. Her hand was covering her mouth as the other clung to Remus' shirt. The older wizard wasn't fairing any better and didn't seem to know where to look; at his newly resurrected friend or the young witch he had come to love as a daughter.

Sirius looked weary but it didn't stop him from stumbling towards Hermione's bed and shoving a still growling Holland away so he could see Hermione's face.

Remus watched his best friend fall to his knees before the young witch, whether from exhaustion or sorrow he didn't know. He watched Sirius raise a shaky hand and move a stray lock of her hair from her face. Remus had never seen Sirius' eyes so soft though he shouldn't have been surprised he supposed. He knew that Sirius had admired Hermione when she was still just a student at Hogwarts. He was certain that if Hermione had been older, Sirius would have pursued her in an instant. As much of a womanizer as his best friend was, Remus knew that Sirius had always wanted what James and Lily had had.

Unfortunately, Lily had set a pretty high standard for other women and Remus knew that even if Sirius hadn't felt anything but brotherly affection for the redhead, he had hoped to find a woman just like her. Someone who would challenge him in every aspect of his life and not be afraid to call him out on his shit. Someone who was beautiful, kind, caring but strong, independent, and fierce when she needed to be.

No, Remus wasn't surprised at the look in Sirius' eyes; but that didn't mean it didn't concern him. Hermione was a werewolf who had a mate; a mate she would never meet because she was dead. Mooney howled sadly inside his head and Remus felt his heart crack as a tear fell from his eye.

"You gotta get up, kitten," Sirius whispered hoarsely, "I've got too many questions and you have to wake up an explain all this shit to me."

Hermione didn't move and Remus watched his friend sag forward.

Suddenly white light began to fill the room and when it vanished, Hermione sat up in her bed with a large gasp of air. She looked around the room unseeingly before she fell back against the bed and her eyes closed again.

Poppy ran forward quickly, her wand waving frantically as she cast multiple spells before she inhaled sharply.

"What? What is it?" Remus managed to get out when it became obvious everyone was holding their collective breath. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Poppy replied with a shake if her head, "nothing is wrong. Her kidney has restarted and her lungs are working at full strength once more. There doesn't seem to be any damage to her whatsoever. Even the brain damage has been healed. But…"

"But, what?"

"Hermione's magical core is gone," Poppy explained, startled.

"What do you mean 'gone'?" Harry managed to croak out.

"I mean that, essentially, Hermione is now a werewolf with no magical abilities whatsoever. Her core isn't depleted; it's just gone. Here advanced healing has healed everything that was damaged but it can't replenish her magic because there is no longer any magic to replenish. It shouldn't be possible; but Hermione is now a muggle."

Poppy tried to give him a soft smile, "but she's fine, Mister Potter. Now, Sirius Black; if you don't get into a bed right now and let me check you over, I will personally hex you into oblivion!"

Sirius smiled tiredly as he stood up only to be tackled back to the ground by his Godson. "How?" Harry whispered into his chest as he cried; his arms tightening around the older man like he might disappear.

"You've got a very intelligent and very determined best friend," Sirius answered, "she got us all out like it was nothing."

Harry nodded, knowing Sirius would explain everything to him later after he had been checked over and had rested. He knew that he and Remus could have their reunions with Sirius later as well. He could wait, and he would never be able to pay Hermione back for she had done.

"Sirius Orion Black, what do you think you're doing?!"

"You told me to get into a bed."

"An empty bed!"

Harry shook his head with a fond smile as Sirius got out of Hermione's bed with a pout. Things were about to get really interesting.

He just didn't know how true that statement was going to be at the time.

Changes to chapter:

+ Lucy didn't make it in this updated version; I realised, with the injuries to her body and the trauma of giving birth not to mention already being malnourished and unhealthy that Lucy couldn't logically survive childbirth.

+ In the original write up of this story, I was going to have Hermione keep her magic. However; this version seems to fit what I have planned for Hermione much better. Without her magic, how will Hermione's fight Greyback, Dolohov, and Caleb without her magic? This plot twist gives me the opportunity to explore Hermione's werewolf side more and to give the added challenge of Hermione facing powerful wizards without her own magic.

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