Chapter Five

Promises, Promises

"They're artifacts that move the user backward in time," she explained for Sirius' benefit, since Remus already appeared to have a good grasp on their function, even if he hadn't realized they actually existed until now.

Remus nodded. "Is that how you knew us? How you knew Peter meeting with the Dark Lord was trouble?"

"Yes, but it's not what you're probably thinking, there's more. There's so much more. Terrible things happen to those who meddle with time," she said, her voice shaking. "It was the first thing I was told when I was . . . entrusted with a Time Turner years ago. So I couldn't tell you the truth, not really, because I was scared that you'd turn me in if you knew. War's going on, I really couldn't blame you if you didn't want to get involved. There are other reasons, of course, but with what's happened so far, they don't really matter so much, now."

Neither Remus nor Sirius budged. Both wizards simply watched her, expectant—the werewolf visibly angry, the Animagus in a state of shock.

"I know after having been betrayed by a friend, the last thing you can deal with is anyone else deceiving you, and I'm sorry I did, but I didn't think I had a choice." She held up her hands and waved in Sirius' direction. "Could I at least get dressed, first?"

The dark-haired man only then seemed to realize that he still had her jeans. After a moment of staring at the article of clothing, he returned his gaze to hers. "No," he said, folding his arms across his chest and arching a brow. "I don't think so. Not until this is sorted."

Remus looked over his shoulder at Sirius, who only responded to the glance with a determined nod.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," she whispered in a hissing breath. "The other things I told you were true. Since I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about the Time Turner, when you asked if I was a diviner, it . . . it felt like the most serendipitous misunderstanding. I could tell you that was how I came upon the things I know without dragging either of you any further into my mess."

"Are you in a mess because you work for You Know Who and ruined his plans?"

Well, she supposed she should've expected that question. If she were in their place, the idea of someone 'exposing' Peter's treachery to get into their good graces and win their confidence would seem logical, and worse, probable.

"I don't work for him, but I absolutely did ruin his plans. In fact, I suppose I don't really work for anyone. Look, everything else I said was true. All that wasn't was how I know the things I do. I swear!"

Sirius' eyes were darting about the room, even as Remus appeared reluctant to believe a word she said. "So . . . when you said you know the chain of events that would've occurred if we hadn't caught Peter . . . you mean because you were there?"

"It's a bit trickier than that, but yes." She tried to avoid Remus' suspicious glare, her gaze skittering up to meet his and then dropping back down just as quick as she spoke. "I can only explain further if you both swear you won't breathe a word to anyone."

The werewolf set his jaw. "And why should—?"

"I know you've no reason to trust me, but I'm not asking for my own sake. I'm asking for yours."

"How do you know you can trust us at our word?"

Sniffling, she forced herself to meet his eyes steadily, then. "Because I know neither of you would ever break your word. Well, literally not unless a life depended on it, I suppose."

The wizards exchanged a glance. She sounded so sure of her assumption. Of course, it was true, but the jarring part wasn't how true it was. It was how confident she was that it was true.

"All right. You have my word," Sirius offered with a shrug and a nod. "Whatever you tell us right now does not leave this room."

Remus uttered a small, unhappy sound that was nearly a growl. "Fine." He lowered his wand. "You have my word, as well, but know that if you lie to me again, I'll not be nearly so patient as I was just now."

Meaning . . . he'd draw his wand and not stop himself from lashing out. Exhaling a deep sigh, Hermione nodded. "I understand. You, um, you both might want to sit down for this."

When still neither of them moved, she shook her head. "Or remain standing, fine. Well, at least brace yourselves, okay? I am . . . I'm from a time that's been shaped by what would've happened if Peter had disclosed the Potters' location to You Know Who."

All show of toughness drained from both of their faces. "He did it, didn't he?" Sirius asked, the fear for his godson written across his features. "When you're from, he killed Harry."

Hearing the question, she let out a humorless laugh that was no more than a puff of air, tears gathering in her eyes. "No. No. In the time I'm from, Harry's alive, and well. Oh, you should see him! He's so alive! And he's married and he's going to be a dad, and . . . ."

Her voice trailed off, but not because of the looks of shock on their faces. But because she knew she'd never see her best friend Harry, again. The little boy Voldemort had lost the chance to go after was a different version of that same person, but it would never be him. She'd never get to see the baby to whom she was supposed to be godmother.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she struggled to let it out. When it escaped in a shuddering sigh, she said, "And I'll never get back there, now."

"How far in the future are you from?" Remus' voice was a barely audible whisper. If he wasn't the one having this conversation, he'd scarcely believe any of this was really happening.

"Um, it's 1981, right? Well, in this time, the me who's supposed to be in this world is . . . ." She cleared her throat awkwardly. "That me is two years old, and I believe, in France visiting with my mother's parents? Yes, I think that's what we were doing this particular autumn."

"I think I'd better sit down," Sirius said, the words tumbling from his lips in a numb tone was he backpedaled to take a seat in the armchair by the window.

Hermione flicked her gaze in his direction, but refrained from saying I told you so.

"Harry survived," Remus started, the look in his eyes telling her clearly that he knew he wouldn't like what he was going to hear. "Even though Peter succeeded. So, what happened?"

Sniffling, she gave herself a steadying shake and met his eyes, again. "Tonight was the night the War ended. It ended because You Know Who was destroyed in his attempt on Harry's life, but . . . but not before James and Lily gave their own lives to protect him."

Both wizards appeared at a total loss for what to say. Not that she blamed them, they had to be feeling a mix of fear, relief, and sadness, all at once. The mingled impressions of how happy they were things had not turned out that way, and how thunderstruck they were at would could have come to pass were palpable in the air of the room.

"You, um, you remember I said there was more? Well . . . ." She shrugged, having to drop her gaze back to the floor. "You have to understand, I'm so happy that we interrupted that meeting. I'm happy you saved your friends . . . but the world I'm from was shaped by that loss. Now that it never happened . . . I don't even know if the world I'm from exists, anymore."

They each glared at her as though they were ready to reach for their wands. "Do you mean to go back and ensure that it does happen, now?"

Her brow furrowed as she processed Remus' question. As she looked at the way he clutched the Time Turner in a grip so tight, she was surprised the tiny hourglass didn't shatter beneath his fingers.

"No. Given that they're not supposed to travel back more than a few hours, and here I am already gone back years, I can't say that trying to go back from this point would be safe. Besides, I don't think I have the heart to deliberately create an opportunity for Harry's parents to die. And for all I know, the Time Turner won't even work properly after this."

"That's what you meant, isn't it?" Still, Sirius' voice was numb. His blue-grey eyes had a dulled appearance now that his flaring of anger had faded as quickly as it had rolled in. "When you said your whole world is gone. You already knew you'd changed things?"

"Yes." She shrugged. "Harry . . . okay, during my time, You Know Who was thought to have died, Lily giving her life to protect Harry afforded him protection based in how pure an act of love it was. But he managed . . . . Well, the war that was supposed to have ended tonight? It became known as the First Wizarding War."

Remus' eyes shot wide. "First?"

"There was a second . . . seventeen years from now. The Death Eaters reemerge, they covertly take over the Ministry, and You Know Who . . . . But that's not even important, anymore, since time has been altered. What is important is that my time in the Second War, everything I went through, everything I did . . . . I learned things about You Know Who. Dangerous things. Secrets he'd kill his familiar to protect. But also, secrets that can help end him."

Remus didn't bother searching for someplace to sit. Folding his long legs beneath him, he simply dropped to sit on the floor where he'd stood.

"I shouldn't say anymore, at least not yet. At this moment, it might only put you both in danger." There wasn't a doubt in her mind, Voldemort would do anything to stop the Order from learning about his Horcruxes. And while it might be wise to share that information, she couldn't so carelessly do something that would leave them in harm's way.

"You know us? In the future, you know us?"

She closed her eyes tight. Damn. She knew they were going to ask that. "Yes. You became our friends. You helped us fight." Uttering a sad laugh, she opened her eyes. "Remus, you taught Harry and me how to repel a Boggart."

"What else do you know about us, then?"

Snickering at Sirius' instantly so-interested tone—my, but he loved to hear about himself—Hermione couldn't help but meet his gaze. God, and she'd thought him dashing the way she remembered him. Young and vibrant like this, he was absolutely breathtaking.

"I know about the Marauders' map. The Weasleys' twin boys will grow up to be pranksters you would be proud of. They eventually nick the map from Filch and end up giving it to Harry."

"What does Harry grow up to be like?"

Remus' question pained her. She was happy they were willing to believe her, but still . . . if she couldn't get back to her own time, perhaps it was better she try to forget where she came from rather than rehashing everything. "He becomes a leader. He's . . . he's my best friend. He looks like James, but he has Lily's eyes. Everyone who knew them always says that to him. 'You have your mother's eyes.' He loves hearing it, even if he pretends he's sick of those words."

"And what of us? What becomes of us after the Second War?"

That particular question . . . . Forcing a gulp down her throat, she looked to each of them. Still fresh in her mind was the moment Sirius fell backward into the Arch. Fresh in her mind was the moment she saw Remus' body on the ground after the Battle of Hogwarts had ended.

She opened her mouth to answer, but not a sound would come, at first. Shaking her head, she tried again, aware how telling it was that her eyes welled with tears as she spoke. "Please don't ask me that."

Sirius' jaw fell open as Remus lowered his gaze. "I see," the werewolf said in a murmur. "Well, that's all been averted, now. So, to things we can do something about . . . ."

"Wait." Sirius shifted forward in the chair, propping his elbows on his knees. "If a Time Turner is only supposed to go back a few hours, how did you get back here?"

"There was a fight in the Department of Mysteries . . . actually, you were both there. Me, Harry, some Death Eaters, it was a wonder we all managed to get in there without alerting all of Wizarding Britain. Anyway, during that time there was an incident that set off all the Time Turners, knocking them into infinite time loops, so they essentially disappeared. All but that one. Someone . . . someone put that Time Turner on me and deliberately abused it to send me away. Funny thing is, that didn't even have anything to do with the Second War, or You Know Who, that was long over, he was well and truly dead. Just someone who really didn't like me."

"That's a lot of anger."

She only nodded in agreement with Sirius' observation. She'd always known Kreacher didn't like her, but to hurl her back in time like this was a level of discontent she'd never expected.

Remus spread his hands. "Look, if no one knows who you are, You Know Who will simply double any efforts to find you. Not knowing where to look will mean he'll look everywhere. He may not know that you have secrets about him, but you crossed him, and that will be enough for him to want you dead."

"Yeah, I'm aware!" Sighing, she shook her head. "Look, I had a plan. In the morning, I was going to go the robes shop and buy some things to blend in with the locals, then I was going to try to find a way back to my time."

His features sharpened in a blink. "Blending in has to happen, obviously, you look like the poster-child for Muggleborns right now. But I'm afraid we can't let you try to go back."

As she realized his meaning, Hermione's entire frame slumped. Closing her eyes, she swallowed hard as she shook her head. "You mean because there's a chance that if I go back, that, alone, might undo what happened today."

Remus nodded.

Sirius gaped as he looked back and forth between the two of them. "That's really possible?"

The witch shrugged. "That's the thing, no one knows what is or isn't possible with something like this. Time magic is so inexact, so . . . largely experimental, that we can't really be sure of anything. My timeline probably still exists separate from the world that will unfold now in the wake of today's events. I mean, such things are theorized by Muggle scientists in the future. Every decision supposedly creates separate versions of the same reality, each where one choice was made over the other. Or it's when the choice made has an actual affect on the world? I . . . sorry, I studied magic over science, so that's as clear an understanding of it as you'll get from me."

Frowning, the dark-haired wizard shook his head. "I'd hate to sit through a lecture on the subjects you have a 'clear understanding' on."

She couldn't help but grin at that. She wondered if she should tell them that someday, they both refer to her as the brightest witch of her age?

"As I was saying," Remus began as he climbed to his feet. "Blending in is a must, yes, but it was easy enough for us to track you down. We need to get you out of here. Someplace he won't think to look for you."

Hermione nodded, laughing as Sirius finally—finally—tossed her jeans to her. When she looked up at each of them, expectantly, the men exchanged a glance and shrugged.

"We've pretty much already seen everything," Remus offered with a wince.

"Unbelievable," she said under her breath.

Determinedly ignoring both of them, she threw back her covers and climbed out of bed. Shaking out her jeans, she spoke thoughtlessly as she pulled them on. "There's always the Shrieking Shack."

When she returned her attention to the wizards, they were gaping at her all over again.

"Hullo? I know you?" After a moment of silence wrapping the room, their expressions only became more shocked. "Yes, yes," she said, her tone mildly exasperated. "You're a werewolf, you're an illegal Animagus who takes the form of a big black dog. I know. I'm a witch who fell backward in time through illegal use of a magical artifact. We've all got shit, okay?"

Remus and Sirius shared another quick look. "You . . . ." Remus shook his head, frowning in thought. "You've known I'm a werewolf all along, and you're not afraid of me?"

"O' course not! You may be a beast when you miss your wolfsbane potion on the full moon, but other than that, you wouldn't harm a fly unless it was threatening a love one. Only one werewolf worth being afraid of and that . . . . Oh, dear God. Fenrir Greyback's on the loose in this time!"

Remus' brows shot up, but he was once more at a loss for what to say. This was all an awful lot to process. That they all seemed to be handling the situation with any level of aplomb was a miracle.

Sirius shook his finger at her. "Okay, if we're going to work together to protect you—and for you to eventually give us those secrets about You Know Who, which you're going to do to help us win this war, yeah?—then you're going to need to stop that."

Sighing, Remus nodded. "It is getting a bit creepy."

"Fine. I'll stop being creepy. Anything off I say around anyone else, we'll just go with the diviner story. Good enough?" She couldn't argue Sirius' point, she absolutely was going to tell them whatever she could about Voldemort, as soon as she was sure it was a safe option.

"Yeah, that works. Okay, well, you're paid for the next two nights, yeah? We'll pack up the food and sneak you into the Shack." Remus was already handing Hermione her trainers. "Let Rosie keep the difference for herself. Maybe we can memory charm her and let her think some other patron left it for her?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. You Know Who is actually quite the fan of breaking memory charms through torture. It wouldn't be fair to subject her to that possibility. Let's just make her not telling anyone about me a condition of keeping the difference. If she's forced to tell, I'd rather whoever does the forcing not feel they need to hurt her."

"Fair enough."

Though Rosie didn't seem especially thrilled to let the young woman go off with those two, she did trust Remus Lupin, despite her better judgement—there was just something about that one. Aware the girl was hiding from unsavory sorts, the blonde witch helped further by securing the food in neat containers for them, giving them a bit extra, and ushering them out the backway.

The trio was careful as they ducked through the streets of Hogsmeade, wary of revelers, in case any of them might be lurking Death Eaters. Oddly enough, there seemed a void of activity around the Shrieking Shack. Hermione thought perhaps that given the decaying property's reputation, no one wanted to be close by in case the thinning of the veil between worlds made the rumored 'violent hauntings' even more volatile.

As they sneaked along, at last making their way up the path to the house, she hissed out a string of hushed curses. Remus led the way, leaving the Animagus to walk behind her. And she realized . . . young, vibrant Sirius Black had absolutely no concept of personal space.

Up onto the dilapidated porch, through the whiny-hinged front doors, and into a foyer that looked like the entryway to a haunted house exhibit, they were silent. Even once they were in a corridor that branched in different directions, to the staircase she remembered, off into a rundown kitchen, the parlor and attached dining room in another, Remus broke off to start up the stairs.

As she followed, it happened again, and she couldn't keep silent, anymore, even with as unnatural as talking felt in this quiet space. She halted at the foot of the steps.

"Sirius? Will you back up, please? So help me, if you step on the back of my heel one more time—"

"Sorry, just making sure you don't stumble in the dark."

Dear God, it was like dealing with one of the Weasley twins! "Listen here, I don't very much appreciate any insinuation that I'm clumsy. Second of all—" She spun around to face him as she spoke, and immediately her words dropped off.

She'd expected he'd have backed up when she'd reprimanded him, yet as she turned, she found him right there. His face so close to hers, given that he was only a rough ten centimeters taller than her.

Hermione tipped her head back a little as their gazes held. Had she ever seen Sirius' face this close before? He really was achingly beautiful.

A smirk curved his lips, the light in his eyes pure mischief, even as he raised a gentle hand to cup her cheek. "So . . . should I guess that a younger version of you in the future is smitten with an older man?" He knew he shouldn't tempt fate like this, whatever was going on between him and Remus was definitely a thing he wanted to pursue, but there was just something about her . . . .

As handsome as he was, as intriguing, as much as she could absolutely imagine letting him snog her brains out right here and now, she found herself pushing to focus on his question. Concentrating on anything other than that delightful imagining was only made more difficult by the sensation of his breath on her lips. In the future, if she had to say her younger self had a fleeting moment of being smitten with any older man . . . .

Returning his smirk, she leaned a bit closer. "Actually, I can think of someone I might've felt that way toward at one point." She dropped her voice to a murmur. "And he just went upstairs."

Sirius choked out a scoffing sound as she turned and started up the steps. "Oh! You're a cruel one, aren't you?"

Hermione giggled in spite of herself as she heard Sirius fall into step behind her. She knew she shouldn't let herself develop any feelings of the sort for either of them, but being around them like this . . . . Being their age, sharing their experiences . . . .

She was going to try not to let it happen, but she wasn't certain if her heart would be able to help itself.