Hermione had thought that Ron and George's penchant for drinking had been a Weasley trait, but as she watched Gideon and Fabian order their third- fourth?- round she began to wonder if perhaps it hadn't been inherited from the Prewett blood line. She hadn't ever seen Molly drink, had she? She should ask. Yes, good idea. Capital really. Just ask.

Hermione leaned in towards Gideon and opened her mouth intent on discovering whether or not Molly Weasley was a drinker when, "Boooooois." escaped past her lips. The shocked witch then slapped a hand over her mouth as the word she had been so artfully forming came out in a slurred waterfall. The wizards at the table erupted into very childish giggling. How many drinks had she had? Not as many as the twins, surely. Hermione looked down at her glass and then grabbed the table to keep it from spinning.

"Wha-wha're you sayin', Her-herrrrr-hermeeone." Remus slid a hand down the side of his face as he desperately attempted to speak like a sober human.

Hermione grunted and reached out a finger to poke the werewolf on the nose. "Nooo, sir! My name is...say it together... HER-MY-NEE."

In tandem Gideon and Fabian repeated. "HER-MY-NEE." and then continued giggling, their fair faces tinged pink from the alcohol.

"No, no, not you two!" Hermione swatted a hand towards the twins. "Remus! Remus!" She then leaned over the table and grabbed Remsus's face in both her hands. "Remus, I am a the queen of Sicily!"

"The beau'ful and virtuous queen." Remus nodded and Hermione patted his head.

"Yes, peeeeerfect. Good." Hermione leaned back in her chair and observed the four twins. No. That's not right. There were only two of them. The witch rubbed her eyes and then blinked rapidly until the four Prewetts settled back into two. "Fabian and G-Gideeeon."

"Yes, my queen." Fabian turned his eyes to Hermione and for a moment the witch forgot what she was saying, lost in his chocolate orbs. They were delightfully brown, like the color of chocolate frogs, with little speckles of amber around the pupil...

Fffffocus, Granger! Secrets to find. Horcruxes. Prewetts. Weasleys. Red hair. What are we talking about? We will ask the twins sneakily about Molly, we will discover where Ron's drinking gene originated!

"You 'ave siblings?" Hermione asked. Yes, good, very sneaky.

Gideon nodded. "An older sister, Molly."

"Yesss!" Hermione pointed her finger at Gideon who looked confused and not nearly as intoxicated as Hermione herself. "Molly!"

"Oh? Do you know Molly?" Fabian asked, sipping his firewhiskey.

Hermione began nodding and then, realizing what she was doing, began shaking her head vigorously which was a mistake. The room started spinning in a mad vortex of colors and the witch leaned back to steady herself, nearly falling over in the process. Fabian reached out an arm and pushed her back up.

"Whoa there, Hermione!" He chuckled, helping Hermione right herself.

"How are you so sober?" Hermione asked, clutching her head as the room continued to spin gently.

"Prewetts are excellent drinkers." Gideon raised his glass at his brother's words. "Along with being dashingly handsome and predominantly redheaded." Fabian wiggled his eyebrows at Hermione and the witch giggled. From across the table Remus leveled Fabian with a glare no one was paying attention to save Gideon, who nudged the werewolf and smiled good-naturedly.

"No, nooo I know-knew a redhead." Hermione began swaying as she spoke. "Fact, I knew a whooole lot of 'em. A gaggle. A gaggle of redheads."

"And they were all wonderful, handsome, and clever?" Gideon offered with a smirk in Remus's direction.

"Ha! Maybe a couple." Hermione said, thinking particularly of Charlie Weasley. Riding a dragon. Long hair flowing in the wind. Charlie doesn't have long hair. Short hair flowing in the wind. Hermione sighed.

Fabian waved a hand in front of her face. "Hello, are you there?"

Hermione sat up and cleared her throat, ushering thoughts of Weasley's riding dragons aside. "Yes, yes. I know aaaaall about redheads. I," Hermione announced. "was engaged to be maaaarried to a redhead."

Fabian raised an eyebrow. "Was?"

Hermione nodded and tried to take a drink, but Fabian swiftly grabbed the glass from her hands. "Let's slow down a bit, sweetheart."

Hermione stared longingly at her firewhiskey, now placed far from her reach and pouted. "That was my drink!"

"Indeed and it still is." Fabian reassured her. "It's just over here for a moment. Tell us more about how you were engaged to a redhead. Did you leave the bloke when you heard tell of the legendary Prewett twins?"

Hermione giggle and ruffled Fabian's hair, unaware of the growl this elicited from the werewolf across the table. "Stupid bloody fucking awful git left me."

Gideon laughed. "Don't hold back, Hermione, tell us how you really feel."

"Can you believe it!" Hermione demanded, waving a finger at Gideon. "He left me! Four years-no! More! Eleven really! Half my bloody life- wasted! On that-that bogey brain! Ha!" Hermione reached for her drink and finding it still out of reach, leaned over Fabian towards the not even half empty glass. "Him leave me? Ridiculous. Why would anyone leave me,I'm wonderful."

"If not a bit feisty." Fabian chuckled as she pushed Hermione back into her seat as the witch tried to climb over him. "Quite a witch you've got on your hands here, Remus."

"You don' ever know the half a it." Remus agreed with a frown.

Hermione gasped and threw her arms in the air. "This is a conspiracy! Against me! Alllll you wizards! All of you!"

"All us wizards what?" Gideon inquired unsuccessfully hiding a smile.

"You're all consp'ring against me." Hermione narrowed her eyes. "I need to hang out with more witcheeees. No more wizards! I'm done with wizards. Witches from this moment on."

Fabian grinned and bit his bottom lip. "Perhaps," He began slowly, "when you do hang out with these witches, you would be so kind as to owl me?"

"Wha' do you mean?" Hermione asked.

Fabian opened his mouth to elaborate when Remus jumped up, knocking his wooden chair to the floor.

"Aaaaaalright, I think it's time we go." Remus grabbed the bags from the floor in one hand and reached the other hand out to Hermione. "Queen of Sicily, time to be off."

Hermione was about to protest, citing hard evidence that Remus was not the boss of her, when a rather vicious bout of nausea erupted inside her stomach. She wrapped on arm around her belly and nodded at his logic. "Yes, perhaps it is."

"Wait there, Remus," Gideon put a hand on the werewolves arm. "You're in no state to be Apparating the two of you."

Remus shook his head. "We're Flooing."

"Flooing?" Gideon repeated. "Since when is your flat attached to the Floo network?"

"My flat has been attached to the Floo network for months." Remus responded and Gideon's eyes widened but a fraction and the two exchanged a look Hermione couldn't quite decipher.

"We're not going back to Remus's!" Hermione laughed and even in her drunken stupor took note of the way Gideon's shoulder's sagged minutely in relief. "We're going to Grimmauld Place."

"Going to Grimmauld Place?" Fabian asked. "Home to the Noble House of Black?"

"Mmhmm staying with Sirius." Hermione giggled and stumbled as she rose from her seat.

"Both of you?" Gideon asked.

Hermione nodded and snatched her drink from the table as Remus lead her towards the Floo, a steadying arm around her waist. Both of us! It's like," the witch began giggling to herself, "it's like a slumber party!"

"Slumber party? What's a slumber party?" Fabian called out from behind the pair. "Perhaps we'll have to drop by soon, for this slumber party."

Hermione turned and yelled over her shoulder. "Aaaaaanytime."

"No!" Remus said sternly. "Do not come visiting!"

Hermione hit Remus on the shoulder. "Don't be rude to the Wea-Prewetts!"

"Yea!" Gideon and Fabian said as one.

"Don't be rude to us!" That was Gideon.

"I'll be rude if I please!" Remus shot back before grabbing a hand full of powder from the bag hanging on the matle and throwing it into the old fireplace. "Grimmauld Place!"

When the witch and wizard stepped through the fireplace at Number 12, they were coughing and sputtering Floo powder and ashes from their lungs. Floo transportation was always a bit uncomfortable, but Hermione had never had the pleasure of a drunk Floo journey- it was rather discombobulating.

As Hermione coughed and waved a hand in front of her face to ward off the linger powder she cast a look over at Remus and roared with laughter at the sight of him. The shaggy haired werewolf's face was completely black with soot except for his green eyes which twinkled merrily at Hermione.

"What?" He asked, looking down at himself. "What's so funny?"

"Y-your face!" Hermione pointed and leaned over, holding her side.

"And you called me rude? It's not exactly polite to laugh at a wizards face." Remus crossed his arms over his chest and watched the wild haired witch before him cackle. "Are you quite done, then?"

Hermione shook her head and took a few deep breathes, wiping tears from her eyes. "S-Sorry, Remus."

"Well." A voice spoke and the two intoxicated friends turned to see the pale visage of Sirius Black leaning casually against a doorframe, his arms across his chest and his eyes narrow. The wizard was still wearing his Auror robes, which looked as though they'd seen better days, and his black hair was a mess of twigs and leaves. "Good two see you two have been having a jolly ol' time."

"Jealous, Pads?" Remus chortled, using his jumper to wipe the soot from his face.

"Jealous? Hardly." Sirius snorted. "Worried out of my fucking mind? Quite." Sirius's voice was hard as he sized up the witch and wizard before him. "I come home from a long evening of tracking dark wizards to a fucking empty house. No note, no owl, nothing. I didn't know where in the bloody hell you two were. Captured? Tortured? Lying face down in a fucking ditch somewhere?"

Remus's face dropped and he offered a silent look of apology, but the liquid fire still coursing through Hermione's system spurred her to speak. "Siriuuuus, c'mon on now, ol' chap-"

"Ol' chap?" Sirius twisted his face. "Are you eighty or something, woman?"

"We didn't mean to frighten you." Hermione continued, walking towards the wizard.

"I am not ol'." Sirius insisted as Hermione reached out and placed a placating hand on his shoulder, patting him reassuringly.

"There, there m'little doggy." Hermione giggled, bringing her hand up to scratch behind Sirius's ear.

"What the fuck are you do-Merlin's beard." Sirius leaned forward and sniffed the air around Hermione's face. "You're fucking pissed."

Hermione put her hands over her mouth and smiled with a nod. "Yes! And I met the two most wonderful wizards." She whispered to Sirius as if it were a marvelous secret she was letting him in on. "They looked like Fred and George, but they weren't! They had red hair and brown eyes and they bought us firewhiskey!"

"Who are Fred and George?" Remus asked from behind Hermione.

"Twins!" The witch responded happily.

"Twins? Fuck, did you run into the Prewetts? No wonder you smell like the inside of a pub." Sirius scratched his nose and Hermione gasped, hitting him gently on the arm.

"I do not smell, sir!" Hermione stomped her foot. "Or if I do I smell of-of... vanilla! Or lavender! No, not lavender. Never Lavender."

"Alright, you smell of sweet sweet vanilla firewhiskey then." Sirius rolled his eyes. "I can't believe this. Do either of you realize how dangerous that was? Galavanting off around Diagon Alley for all to see. We're supposed to be keeping a low fucking profile, not getting pissed down at the pub."

"Ah come off it, Sirius. We were only at the Leaky Cauldron." Remus insisted.

"Then why the hell are you carrying those bags?" Sirius asked, motioning to the shopping bags in Remus's hands.

"We went shopping!" Hermione declared, clapping her hands. "I got a jumper! And some knickers!"

"You got some- no, wait, don't continue." Sirius said, waving his hands on front of his face. "I don't want to hear any more. The mental image of a witch's knickers is too distracting right now." The wizard sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You two scared the fucking shite out of me. The least you could've done is left a fucking note."

Remus rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. "Yea, mate, you're right. I didn't think of it."

"Then think next time." Sirius barked and Remus flinched.

"Don't be rude." Hermione chastised, angered at the look of remorse on her friend's face. Remus was only trying to be helpful, he didn't need Sirius snapping at him.

"I'll be rude of I damn well-"

Hermione put a finger on Sirius's lips. "Shhhhh..."

Sirius's eyes widened as he stared down at the well truly drunk witch with her finger on his mouth, before flicking his gaze to Remus. "Gods, how much did she drink?"

"She kept up with Fabian."

"Fuck." Sirius moved away from Hermione. "She'll be vomiting soon."

"Excuse me!" Hermione yelled. "I do not vomit! Vomiting is the worst sort of-of sickness and I hate it. I only vomit in a extreme circumstances."

"Fair enough, kitten, but you should probably sit down nonetheless." Sirius suggested.

Hermione guffawed loudly and was about to launch into a diatribe on the reasons why "kitten" was a sexist- not to mention creepy- petname to call a girl when quite suddenly she was reminded of the last time Sirius had called her kitten. The witch stopped and put a to her throat, amber eyes watering.

It had been so long ago, another lifetime, when Hermione had watched Sirius fall into the Veil. The sounds of his cousin's crazed, gleeful laugh and his godson's hideously pained scream mingled in Hermione's memory, sending a cold shiver down her spine. Some cited Cedric's death as the beginning of the War, but for Hermione the true beginning hadn't come until the Department of Mysteries, when the Golden Trio had all seen death.

"Hermione, love," Remus took a step forward, concern etched on his tan face. "Are you alright?"

A curious silence hung between the trio, a trio much different than Hermione had known without warning Hermione dove at Sirius. The wizard threw his arms out, startled, but Hermione shoved them aside to wrap her own arms around him and bury her face in his chest. She took a deep breathe- Sirius smelled of cigarettes and musk and sandalwood. He smelled alive. "You're alive." She whispered into his shirt and then turned up to smile at his stunned expression. "I'm so glad you're alive."

"Y-yes, we're all alive." Sirius agreed, looking over at Remus who shook his head and shrugged. Hermione followed Sirius's gaze and then grabbed the werewolf, pulling both wizards into a tight embrace.

"You have no idea how happy I am." She sighed, hugging them closely. "Everyone I knew is still alive."

"Are you sure it was firewhiskey?" Sirius asked Remus over the top of Hermione's head.

"I'll protect you." Hermione insisted abruptly. "I'll protect both of you- all of you."

"No, love, I think that's supposed to be our job." Remus countered. "To protect you, remember?"

Hermione shook her head wildly. "No, no I... I can survive. I'm good at surviving. It's you two that have a bad track records. I won't let anything happen to you...or to anyone...I'll stop him, I swear I will. I'll stop him and everything will be okay and no one else will die... don't worry. I promise, I promise..." Hermione was babbling now, drunken tears streaming down her face.

"Shh... shh..." Remus ran his hand through Hermione's thick hair. "Enough now, let's get you to bed."

Hermione stood in the middle of the parlor clinging to a shocked Sirius and Remus while making silent vows to the stillness.

She would change things.

She would change everything.