A/N: I appreciate all the kind words. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to favorite this story or review it. I'm winding up the other story I was actively working on, so hopefully this one will trundle forward without too many problems.

Year 5, part 3 of 4

Hogsmeade Weekend

Leaves were turning colors, and the air was crisp and cool; in short, a perfect fall day. Hermione had her hand hooked through the crook of Amos Diggory's arm and her face was turned up toward his. Her eyes sparkled. She smiled, she laughed. She made sure that her lips looked lush, soft, and inviting. She did every single thing she had seen other, lesser girls do to Sirius Black. Amos Diggory, idiot that he was, ate it up. How can you possibly be related to Cedric? He must get his intelligence from his mother. Hermione let none of this show on her face however because Regulus needed to believe the lie. He was a sweet boy, and, she hoped, a friend. What she did not need or want was infatuated puppy love from Sirius' little brother. She shook her head in a way that made her curls toss enticingly and tried to pay attention to Amos Diggory.

"Oooh, Amos, you are taking me to Madame Pudifoot's aren't you?" she cooed in a sickeningly sweet way. Amos patted her hand and smiled at her fatuously.

"Of course," he said to her. Hermione made herself squeal in girlish delight. "I'd planned on it."

Ugh. Do we really have to do this? Thank the gods that Harry and Ron can't see this, they would die laughing.

Shut up, nobody asked you, did they? Sev says that yes, we do have to do it this way, so that Regulus can see that I like him as a friend, but not as a more than friend.

Personally, if this is the alternative, I don't see why you can't just date Regulus. He's cute. He's like Sirius Lite.

That's exactly why I can't date him. Anyone who dates Regulus should be dating him because they want him, not his brother.

So you do like Sirius?

Shut up. Just shut up.

"Hermione?" Amos said sternly. Hermione blinked up at him.

"Yes, Amos?"

"We're there." He motioned to Madame Pudifoot's café. Ah. Yes. The café. She squared her shoulders like a good little soldier and marched inside.

Sirius was strolling along with a very pretty girl, a Ravenclaw, erm, Electra, or Clytemnestra, or something. (Her name was Solaria Doge.) She clung to his arm proudly and preened in front of everyone. It was a salve to his ego, that these girls found him so desirable when his own family did not. He didn't really care for any of them, but they made him feel better about himself, at least for a little while. That is to say, he liked all of them well enough. Watching them turn pink and get flustered, that gave him a certain sense of power. Watching them come undone underneath him, that gave him a certain sense of power, as well. They certainly weren't complaining, so he didn't sit down and think about it for extended periods. The only girl who didn't was the only girl who was completely, utterly, totally off limits. Hermione Potter. His best friend and blood-brother's sister. Did that make her his sister, as well? He didn't think so…he hoped not anyway because a lot of his thoughts about her were definitely not brotherly. He thought about her far too often, but he never meant to. It was as though she intruded on his thoughts…she wiggled in and stayed, refusing to leave. He found himself thinking about her eyes, her lips, that magnificent hair of hers at all hours of the day and night.

Passing by Madame Puddifoot's, and seeing Hermione's wild curls at a table with some guy, made Sirius stop in the street and stare slack-jawed. All of the Marauders, as a group, had basically threatened to castrate the idiot, and there he sat practically fondling Hermione in public. He felt a strong urge to charge into the ridiculous café and grab that idiot Diggory and shake him.

"Sirius?" Whatever-her-name was cooed at him. He shuddered slightly. Whenever they did that, the sweet-girly voice thing, it made his skin crawl. He wasn't sure why. Lily never talked like that, and neither did Hermione. No, Lily was always very proper with her diction. Then there was Hermione, with her aristocratic accent. It wasn't the arrogant drawl of the Malfoys or the Blacks, which ended up sounding contrived. Instead, it sounded utterly natural, as though Hermione knew no other way to speak.

"Hmm?" He made interested noises.

"Sirius Black, are you paying any attention to me?" What's-her-name demanded, her hands on her hips. He frowned at her.

"Hang on, I have to find James," he muttered at her, and took off for the Three Broomsticks. He vaguely heard a feminine shriek, but he ignored it. He raced quickly to the Marauders favorite hangout and hurried inside.

"Er, Sirius, aren't you missing someone?" James asked curiously. Sirius frowned at him.

"What?" He asked.

"Solaria," Remus supplied calmly from over the edge of the book he was reading. "Pretty girl, clinging to your arm like a limpet just earlier today, in fact."

"Oh, very funny, Remus," Sirius groused, running a hand through his hair. Remus stopped reading and watched his friend carefully. Sirius never touched his hair. Toss his hair? Yes, to the admiration of the female students of Hogwarts. Touch his hair? Never! It might become mussed, or something.

"Sirius, did something happen?" Remus asked with some concern.

"She's in Madame Puddifoot's café, even after the talk," Sirius growled in frustration. James scowled.

"She had better not be my sister," he said darkly. Remus rolled his eyes behind his book.

"Of course she is your sister or Sirius there wouldn't give a damn," Remus snorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius growled at his friend. Remus put down his book and just looked at Sirius who ended up flushing. James was frowning slightly and looking back and forth between his friends.

"Am I missing something?" He demanded finally.

"Yes." Remus said mildly and began reading again.

"NO!" Sirius screeched. He glared at Remus. "I hate you."

"Nope, you love me. It's disgusting, really, but I try to carry on," Remus said with a dramatic sigh that made James chuckle.

"Sometimes, I wonder if you two don't belong in St. Mungo's," he said with a shake of his head. Sirius grinned.

"Oh, I know I belong there. They wouldn't have Remus—he's too normal," Sirius taunted his friend who, with all the maturity of a fifteen year-old, made an exceedingly rude gesture that caused two elderly witches at the next table to gasp in shock. Remus blushed in embarrassment and muttered an apology to the two witches who glared at him.

"So, who's at Madame Puddifoot's?" Peter asked curiously.

"Hermione," Remus said shortly.

"Well, I suggest that we continue our chat with Amos," James said darkly. Remus closed his book and looked at his friend.

"What do you suppose Hermione will do to you, if you do that in the middle of a public venue?" Remus asked pointedly. James paled.

"Right, she wouldn't like that, would she," he muttered to himself. Sirius glared at Remus.

"So you're saying that we just sit here and let him paw her in the middle of Hogsmeade?" Sirius asked indignantly. Remus rubbed his temples.

"Are you willing to swear that there was actual pawing, fondling and/or groping taking place?" Remus asked logically. Sirius frowned.

"Well, he was about to!" He insisted. Just then the door to the Three Broomsticks slammed open and an angry Solaria Doge advanced on her date.

"Sirius Black! How dare you leave me alone in the middle of town!" CRACK! Her palm left a vibrant red handprint on Sirius' cheek. He frowned at her. "I never want to speak to you again!"

"Well, fine," Sirius said with a shrug. Solaria shrieked with rage, whirled and stalked out of the pub, slamming the door behind her. James sighed heavily.

"Sirius, my friend, we have got to work on your way with women," he said with a shake of his head.

HP/HG/HP

Severus and Lily were sneaking through Hogsmeade giggling like first years. [In the spirit of full disclosure, one must note that Lily was giggling like a first year. Several witnesses thought that Severus may have been smiling, but this is hearsay.] They watched Hermione behave in a manner so foreign to her normal self that it was almost laughable. They waited patiently for Regulus to see the happy couple. He looked surprised, and then thoughtful. Good. They were truly hoping to keep Regulus as a friend. Hermione, unbeknownst to her friends, was hoping to keep him as an asset. She was working carefully, cultivating Slytherin students, and Regulus was far too important to lose.

Fate had taken a hand in certain events, and Hermione Potter was determined to make a difference. She meant to keep her brother and his family safe, that went without saying. However, it had occurred to her that winning the war was just as important as James' safety. Old Hermione was just as concerned with Harry's safety. Hermione Potter knew that she would love and protect her future nephew…she just didn't know him yet. He was a nonentity to her, viewed only through the memories of her other self. James…he was real, alive. He was her brother, her twin, and she could not imagine a world without him. Therefore, winning the war was just as important to her as anything else. Hermione had come up with a cunning plan, but it involved turning a host of Slytherins into double agents. She knew several that turned later, once they realized what Voldemort was asking them to do, but she wanted them turned now. They would be shadowed warriors for the light, and she would use them to take Voldemort down.

Regulus noted Severus and walked over to speak with him. Lily gave Severus a significant look, and slipped away to allow the two boys to speak alone.

"Severus," he said with slight frown. Severus nodded politely.

"Regulus."

"Hermione appears to be enjoying the sights of Hogsmeade," he observed carefully. Severus shrugged.

"I suppose one could say that." He replied evenly.

"Would you say that she was not?" Regulus asked after a moment.

"I would say that my normally intelligent friend appears to have given in to baser urges for the afternoon," Severus decided.

"Baser urges?" Regulus asked, his ears pink.

"Well, it's Hermione," Severus temporized, his cheeks flushing dully, "so I meant mostly the sitting in Madame Puddifoot's surrounded by all that pink."

Both boys shuddered in distaste.

"So she's dating Amos Diggory," Regulus stated flatly. Severus shrugged helplessly.

"She appears to like older men," he said finally, very carefully not agreeing with Regulus' statement. "She did date Lucius Malfoy."

"Well, yes, but at least he's not a complete idiot," Regulus muttered finally.

"No, no he isn't. If he hadn't made certain choices, I think they might still be together," Severus mused thoughtfully. He couldn't say for certain, but he and Lily both believed that their sister-of-the-heart had truly cared for the handsome Slytherin. Regulus swallowed, his eyes wide. Both boys knew the choices that Severus had hinted at.

"You don't think…she would…if we had to," Regulus rambled for a moment in panic and then attempted to regain control.

"I believe the main concern with Malfoy was that he did not believe her. Our Gryffindor Lioness trusts us, and she expects us to trust her in return," Severus said carefully with a slight frown. It was funny, but whenever he called Hermione that to her face, she twitched slightly. He didn't think anyone else noticed and it amused him to tease her.

"That is true, but sometimes she says the most outlandish things," Regulus murmured, remembering several strange conversations by the lake.

"I think sometimes that she may have a touch of the sight," Severus opined, watching Regulus. "But don't tell her that, she gets quite angry."

"I'll remember that," Regulus said softly. "Good day, Severus."

"Good day."

HP/HG/HP

"Well?" Hermione's voice was cool and business-like, her hazel eyes watching him.

"A successful endeavor, my Lioness," he said mockingly, sketching her a bow. She twitched, just slightly, and swatted him on the arm.

"Severus," she hissed at him and then looked around making sure no one saw them. He smirked at her and she rolled her eyes.

"It went well, just as we had hoped. Regulus is still a friendly…what is that word you used? Ah, yes, an asset." Severus said with a small nod.

"Good. We can't afford to lose him," Hermione said seriously, her hazel eyes hard. "Sev…do you think Lily could be trusted to be silent?"

"Of course!" He said immediately, but those hazel eyes kept watching him. He frowned and shrugged. "Well, you lot are Griffyndor. Subtlety is not exactly your watchword. Neither is discretion. Or patience, come to think of it."

"Severus," Hermione's voice had become silky and dangerous. He stopped himself from shivering. How had she not been sorted into Slytherin? It boggled the mind. She frowned at him, slightly.

"Fine. She would need something to seal her lips for her. Not out of malice, just because she wouldn't be able to help herself. She'd end up prancing over to the Slytherin table and waving at everyone. Blow our covers sky-high. Hell, if your idiot brother and his idiot friends did just the right prank we might all end up spilling our guts. The dark mark, from what I understand is more than a pretty tattoo." Severus said quickly, glancing down the halls.

"Unbreakable Vows, then," she muttered to herself. Severus glanced at her sharply. "I hadn't wanted to go there, it could cause problems, but I'll just have to be very careful. Bloody hell."

"Unbreakable Vows, that's…dangerous, Hermione," Severus whispered urgently his dark head bent to hers.

"I know, I know, but Severus it could mean lives. It could mean everything." Her voice throbbed in his ears. Sometimes, it was almost as though she knew things no one else knew. It was a little disconcerting, and made him uneasy. Sometimes, her eyes would look so bleak when she talked about the war that he would have promised anything to make them smile again.

"Okay. If that's what we have to do, that's what we have to do," he muttered. She shook her head, tears trembling on her lashes.

"Thank you." She regained control almost instantly. "The room, tonight, midnight. I'll bring Lily."

HP/HG/HP

The marauders were stretched out on their beds in varying states of undress. Remus had full pajamas on because he was self-conscious about the scars that marked his body. Peter had his pajamas as well. James was sprawled across his bed wearing pajama bottoms absently reading a transfiguration text, researching an upcoming prank. Sirius was wearing boxers and a pair of warm socks. James was grateful that Hogwarts instilled enough decency in Sirius so that he wore the boxers. Sirius was watching the map, frowning.

"What time is it?" Sirius asked suddenly.

"After curfew," Remus said sharply. Sirius gave him a rude gesture.

"Uh…almost midnight," Peter said absently.

"So is there something going on between Lily and your sister?" Sirius asked curiously. James snorted.

"I doubt it. Hermione would have said something snotty about how I wasn't her type or something." James said dryly. "She probably would have danced through the commons and put hickeys right on Lily's neck or something."

"Hermione doesn't strike me as the vindictive type," Remus said mildly. James grinned wolfishly.

"No, but she's damned possessive. If something is hers, it's hers." He explained.

"She didn't mark up Malfoy," Sirius said with a frown. James shrugged.

"No, thank Merlin! Ugh, I plan on eating this week, do not give me those kinds of images," James growled and threw a pillow at his friend.

"Well, yeah, but you said she's possessive, so maybe she didn't think of Malfoy as being hers?" Sirius was not looking anywhere near Remus because he didn't want to see the smug smile of his other friend. Still, he needed to hear the answer to this question.

"I really couldn't say," James said in irritation. "If you'll recall, she wasn't all that happy with me. I don't know, I guess. All I know, is that if something was important to My Own, she marked it. Somehow, someway, she put her mark on it. Here, look."

James pulled up his pajama pant leg and the other boys could make out a faded silvery scar that was small and looked rather like…teeth marks.

"She bit you?" Remus asked, a strange look on his face. James shrugged.

"We were five, and our grandparents wanted to take me away from her for a summer. Grandfather Potter wanted to instruct me in our legacy or some such rot," James muttered.

"She bit you," Remus said again, that strange look on his face. James nodded.

"Yeah, Remus. She bit me. First, she started shrieking that I was hers and they couldn't take me away from her. Of course, at the time we were still in the nursery and we slept together in the same bed every night. It was the first time anyone had ever tried to separate us." James said smugly, looking at his bite mark fondly.

"Potter, you have issues," Remus said faintly. James shrugged.

"Oh well, don't we all?"

"Yeah, but back to the fact that it is midnight and your sister and your future wife are skipping merrily down the dark corridors of Hogwarts," Sirius interrupted.

"What do you mean skipping merrily?" James demanded.

"Well, they could be skipping. Or walking quickly." Sirius handed over the map. James snatched it out of his hand and quickly looked it over.

"What the hell is she doing out after curfew?" James growled. Remus snickered.

"What?" Sirius asked him.

"Don't you think it's a little hypocritical for you to be upset about Hermione being out after curfew? Aren't we out after curfew all the time?" Remus, ever the voice of reason, said calmly. Peter snickered.

"We are, you know," he observed from his bed. Sirius tossed his hair.

"I suppose we are," he muttered finally. James chuckled as something occurred to him.

"They're probably getting ice cream or chocolate or something from the house elves in the kitchen. Girls do that, right?" He asked the room. The boys shrugged, and Sirius set the map aside.

HP/HG/HP

The precise wording of an Unbreakable Vow was a delicate thing. Hermione felt a twinge of her conscience that Lily would not fully understand what was being done, but she shook it off quickly. This was war, and this vow could save Lily's life. Severus understood the risks and he agreed. Once they had each sworn their vows to Hermione she moved back from them carefully and shifted forms.

"My lioness!" Lily exclaimed happily and hugged her tightly around the neck.

"No wonder you got that look on your face every time I called you Griffyndor Lioness," Severus said dryly. Hermione quickly shifted back.

"No one can know," she said fiercely, looking at each of them. They nodded. That had been part of the vow actually, that Hermione's Patronus or any other of her magical forms must remain a secret.

"I have a question, though," Severus asked. "Do you even know how to do a Patronus charm? That's a NEWT level spell, isn't it?"

"Yes, I can," she said shortly, and soon a silvery Padfoot was gamboling around the Room of Requirement. Hermione blushed furiously and glared at her stupid Patronus.

"What's so special about your Patronus?" Lily asked curiously. Hermione's blushed darkened.

"It won't be obvious for a year or two," Hermione muttered. She was pretty sure that Lily, as the future beloved of James Potter, would be included in the small group that knew all the animagus forms of the marauders.

"Planning ahead, how un-Griffyndor," Severus observed with a smirk. These were the sorts of comments that Hermione made, often unconsciously, that convinced Severus that she had some sort of gift, or a touch of the Sight. Hermione swatted him on the arm.

"You shush." Hermione admonished.

"How?" Lily asked suddenly. "When?"

"I'm an unregistered animagus, which is very, very illegal, but I can't have the Ministry tracking me right now. It would be most…inconvenient. I did it this last summer. Well, I studied and did prep work for a year or so beforehand, as well." Hermione explained carefully. There was no need to mention all the research she had done in her past life. Severus stared at her in awe.

"It's not supposed to be possible," he muttered shortly. This sort of magic was complex, delicate, and dangerous. Hermione shrugged.

"There are extenuating circumstances," she said softly. "If it makes you feel any better, you will always beat me in potions. You are amazing when it comes to potions."

"I suppose I shall have to accept that," Severus drawled, "especially since you have said it."

"Hmph." Hermione crossed her arms and pouted at him.

"What about Amos Diggory?" Lily asked innocently, her brow furrowed.

"What about him?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"Everyone thinks you two are dating now. He took you to Hogsmeade. That's the Hogwarts relationship indicator, you know," Severus stated. Hermione sighed.

"I don't really care for him. He's attractive, but the personality doesn't match up at all. In fact, he's a little arrogant," Hermione said with a slight frown.

"Well, is there anyone else you're interested in?" Lily asked curiously.

Yes.

"No."

HP/HG/HP