The next evening, the trio found themselves in the library surrounded various books and grimoires scattered about the floor. Hermione was seated cross legged in the middle of the room, a book on dark magic open in her lap, while Remus and Sirius stood surveying the contents of various bookshelves.

"The Book of Forbidden Magic?" Remus asked.

"Useless," Hermione replied, not looking up.

"Transcendental Magic?" Sirius asked.

"Irrelevant," came Hermione's reply.

"Alchemy and Mysticism?"

"Nope."

"The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses?"

"Useless."

"The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy?"

"Which edition?"

Remus pulled the book from its shelf and flipped it open. "Umm- second looks to be?"

"Incorrect translations."

"Well, this has been productive," Sirius whined, rubbing his eyes.

"There has to be something here we can use," Hermione insisted, closing the book in her lap and levitating it back to its shelf. "Something on hydra blood."

"If there is, I'm not sure it's in the Black family library," Remus said a bit reluctantly, not looking over at the witch.

Hermione frowned.

"I say we just give the hydra blood a try and if it doesn't work it doesn't work." This was the fifth time that evening Sirius had made the suggestion.

"Absolutely not," Hermione snapped, also for the fifth time that evening. However, her resolve was cracking, a fact Sirius seemed to be able to sense.

"Hermione," Sirius said, turning to look at her. She ignored him. "Hermione."

She continued to ignore him.

"Hermiiiiiiiiiiioneeeeeee." Sirius flopped to the floor dramatically. Remus didn't even bat an eye when Sirius, now laying on the floor, began to roll towards Hermione.

"Oh my god, Sirius, do not- do NOT do this right now!" Hermione nearly shrieked, scooting away from the wizard. "Sirius! I bloody well mean it! I will kill you!"

Sirius continued rolling towards her.

"No! No!" Hermione jumped up before he could roll over her, but Sirius, having also been trained by Alastor Moody, reached out and grabbed her ankle. His reflexes well trained.

"Let me go!" Hermione shook her ankle, but Sirius held tight.

Remus still had yet to turn around.

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?" the werewolf asked.

"We tried that one already," Hermione reminded him, attempting to wrestle herself from Sirius's grip. "Oh my god! Are you ten? Let me go, you foul beast!"

"Hermione, I'm dying."

"You are not dying, Sirius Black."

"I am!" Sirius insisted, now gripping her ankle with both hands, belly on the floor. "Of boredom! I'm dying of boredom!"

"Oh for the love of- let me go." Hermione tried prying his fingers from around her ankle. "You are the most obnoxious wizard who has ever lived!"

"Probably yea," Remus agreed.

Hermione's head shot up. "Help me! Remus!"

"I had to deal with him- alone- while you were gone, so I'd call this sweet justice."

"UGH!"

You're a witch, aren't you?

Hermione pulled her wand from the bun of messy curls it was pinning to her head. With a flick of her wrist, a white light shot from the end of her wand.

"Ouch!" Sirius cried, releasing Hermione. "A stinging hex?!"

"Desperate times," Hermione said, standing up and straightening the black jumper she had borrowed from Remus as she did. The jumper was comically oversized, which seemed to directly correlate to its level of comfort: the bigger the more comfortable. It was one of three jumpers Hermione had nicked from the werewolf.

Sirius rubbed his hands together, casting a petulant glare Hermione's way. "Queen of the Harpies," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Hermione snapped.

"Nothing! Gorgeous goddess, light of my life," Sirius sang sweetly.

"Right, this is useless," Remus declared suddenly, slamming the book he'd been leafing through as if to prove his point.

"It's not useless," Hermione insisted, almost desperately. "We're just not looking in the right places, we need to try Hog-"

"Tried it," Remus reminded her.

"Well- then, maybe-" Hermione was grasping at straws.

There must be something we haven't tried! Some book we haven't searched through! I must be missing something. I must-

"Hermione," Remus began calmly, closing the distance between them in two strides of his long legs. He gently placed his hands on either of her shoulders and stared down into her eyes, amber meeting emerald. He took a breath. "I agree with Sirius."

"What!" Sirius and Hermione gasped in tandem.

"Fuck yea!" Sirius clapped his hands together gleefully. "Let's Floo, Minerva! Tell her we need the blood and the locket!"

"No!" Hermione shook her head. "You don't understand! It's not that easy. The Horcruxes they-they-"

"They what?" Remus asked patiently.

"They fight back!"

"They what?"

"They fight back," Hermione repeated. "They're-they're almost living things, they contain part of a soul, and the soul it- it doesn't want to die."

"So, what?" Sirius shrugged, flopping himself down into a chair. "No one wants to die."

"So what?" Hermione hissed.

They don't know, they've never seen it.

"They can see into your heart, Sirius," Hermione warned, voice low. "They can look into you and see your greatest fear and use it against you."

"Like a boggart?" Remus questioned.

"No, not like a boggart, not like a boggart at all because a boggart is ultimately powerless. A Horcrux has magic in nearly equal measure to its maker."

Remus's eyes widened a fraction.

"Horcruxes fight back," Hermione said again, eyes set intensely on her lupine friend.

"But if the Hydra blood isn't actually dangerous, then the Horcrux will have no reason to attack," Sirius pointed out from the chair behind Remus.

"Maybe," Hermione agreed hesitantly. "Or it might simply sense that we don't have its best interest at heart and attack anyway."

"If these things are so nefarious, why didn't it attack you when you stole it? Or McGonagall right now?" Remus asked, scratching the stubble on his chin.

"Because it wants to live, its master needs it to live, so if it isn't being bothered it simply remains or if it senses an- opportunity for corruption, it will communicate with whoever has it, it will poison their mind." Hermione searched Remus's eyes, attempting to communicate how she was absolutely not willing to budge on this. She held his stare for a long moment, and then finally, Remus nodded.

Hermione let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Alright," the werewolf nodded, "we won't try to destroy the Horcrux."

Hermione smiled.

"Yet."

She slapped Remus lightly on the arm, but her relief was palpable.

"Oi!" Sirius jumped from the chair and came to stand besides Remus and Hermione. "I thought you agreed with me?"

"Hermione presents a compelling argument."

"I can present a compelling argument!"

Remus raised both his eyebrows.

"I resent that look," Sirius pouted.

"Go ahead then," Remus said, waving a hand for Sirius to continue. "Present away."

Sirius took a deep breath and placed his hands on his hips. "I'm bored!"

Hermione made a face. "That's it? That's your argument?"

"It should be the most compelling of all! My entertainment should be of the utmost importance to all of you!"

"Oh my god." Hermione rolled her eyes.

Sirius flashed her a wicked grin, indicating, she hoped, that he too agreed that they would not be destroying Horcruxes in the near future, when it happened.

Hermione, who had been in this timeline for weeks and who had come to see Remus and Sirius in a similar way to Harry and Ron, pushed up the sleeve of her left arm to absently scratch an itch. Without thought, she then used her left hand to push a wayward curl behind her ear.

The grin fell from Sirius's face so instantaneously that Hermione took a step back.

"Sirius?" she asked, voice laced with confusion.

The wizard said nothing, but he grabbed her arm suddenly, pushing the sleeve of her jumper up past her elbow.

Hermione's eyes widened in horror and she tried to pull her arm away but as evidenced by Sirius's earlier antics, the wizard was much stronger. She looked up at Remus, amber eyes wide and pleading. Even having seen the scar before the werewolf had still paled considerably, until he noticed Hermione's eyes on him and growled.

"Let her go, Pads-"

"What the fuck is this?" Sirius asked, voice a harsh whisper. He did not look up, his eyes remained locked on Hermione's forearm. The witch continued to struggle against him, briefly she considered the stinging hex again but this wasn't really the time for such antics.

"Sirius," Hermione pleaded.

Remus reached out towards Sirius's hand but the other wizard smacked him away.

"What is this?" he asked again, this time looking up into Hermione's eyes. She nearly gasped at the malice that swirled in those grey depths.

"My arm," Hermione hissed.

"Obviously it's your arm!" Sirius snapped, the cheerfulness his voice had held moments ago now gone. "The word! Hermione, the word. The-the word. Is it-" the fingers of Sirius's free arm ghosted over the slur carved into Hermione's flesh "-is it a scar?"

Remus growled, an inhuman sound, and Hermione flinched. With biting clarity she realized how close they were to the next full moon.

"Remus," Hermione spoke with a feigned calmness, staring into his now golden eyes. "Remus, I think me and Sirius need a few moments."

Remus looked as if she'd slapped him. "What? No, I-"

Hermione shook her head.

"You don't need to tell him anything," Remus insisted, his voice an octave deeper than normal. "You certainly don't need to tell him alone-"

"Tell me what!" Sirius demanded, looking between Hermione and Remus. "What happened? When did this happen-"

"It's her story and she doesn't need to tell you!" Remus moved towards Sirius and Hermione pushed herself between them, though the motion was awkward as Sirius still had not let go of her arm.

"Remus, I won't tell him-" Sirius protested this in the form of Padfoot momentarily making himself known through a deep growl. Hermione added, "alone."

"Go make some tea," the witch commanded suddenly, forcing an authoritative air to her voice. Remus tilted his head down and looked at Hermione, searching her face. Hermione threw up every shield she had ever learned, shifted her face into what she hoped was an unreadable mask.

She held his gaze until she saw the yellow fade from his eyes and the hands she hadn't realized he'd balled into fists relax.

"Fine," Remus said, his fists clenched. "I'll be right back, then."

He took a step back and then another, his eyes not leaving Sirius until finally, Remus turned and exited the library, leaving the door open.

"Now," Hermione began, shifting her gaze to Sirius, "let go of my arm."

For a moment Sirius looked as though he wouldn't comply and Hermione began contemplating her options, but then, slowly, his vice like grip on her forearm loosened. Hermione slipped her sleeve back over her scar and motioned to one of the velvet sofas in the library.

"We should sit down," she offered.

Sirius did not move.

"I want you to know that Remus is right," Hermione said.

"Remus is right? About what?" Sirius asked, folding his arms across his chest petulantly.

The witch sighed. "I don't have to tell you anything. These are my stories and if I tell you any of them it's because I want to not because you made me."

Sirius snorted. "I would never presume to be able to make you do anything."

Damn right.

"Godric, sit down, Sirius," Hermione muttered, squeezing the bridge of her nose.

"Are we actually doing this?" the wizard asked suspiciously, but sat himself down on the sofa all the same. "Are we really going to talk about your past?"

"Yes," Hermione nodded slowly, "we are."

The witch looked around, biting her bottom lip and remembering a very similar conversation to the one she was about to have, before sitting next to Sirius. Why is it always this library?

She folded her legs underneath herself and turned so her body was facing Sirius. For a moment both were silent.

"You haven't told me anything," Sirius said softly.

"That's not true," Hermione insisted immediately. "I've told you and Remus-"

"You told Remus everything," Sirius interrupted.

Not everything.

"But the only things you've told me about your timeline pertained to to very specific aspects of our mission to that Chamber of Murder Snakes. You keep secrets-"

"You keep secrets," Hermione snapped.

"What?" The wizard guffawed. "What secrets could I be-"

"You apparated into the house last night!" Hermione pointed out accusingly, literally waving a finger at him. "Right past the wards!"

"Well that was-" Sirius cut himself off, his eyes growing a fraction wider.

"See!" Hermione declared triumphantly. "You're keeping secrets too! And you don't tell me anything that you're doing on patrol, nothing to do with your job as an Auror."

It wasn't until the accusations came tumbling from Hermione's mouth that she even realized she had been resentful. Why wouldn't she tell Remus more? Remus not only listens, but he actually talks to her.

"That shite is classified, kitten."

"My shite is classified, mutt!" Hermione hadn't tried that nickname before, it came out a bit more vicious than she had intended.

What was it about Sirius Black that brought out this side of her? All fire and venom. Briefly Hermione imagined Remus saying these exact same things, but with him she just couldn't summon the same sort of defensive anger that Sirius inspired. Sirius Black absolutely got under his skin.

"Mutt?" Sirius spat, momentarily taken aback, but he recovered quickly. "You haven't told me anything personal."

Hermione shook her head, chuckling darkly. "No, things got very personal the other night when we played that daft game. Very personal."

Heat flooded Hermione's cheeks at the memory, both from embarrassment and something else, something whispered on stairwells from unkissed lips. She raked a nervous hand through her curls.

Sirius nodded. "That's true, yea, but even then, you haven't opened up to me." The wizard sounded almost pained as the words rushed out of him. "You open up to Remus, you give him small smiles and affection and your trust, but with me it's always one step forward two back. I don't understand why you don't-"

"Because Remus is safe," Hermione whispered before she could stop herself.

Sirius froze, a frown marring his porcelain features. "He's safe?"

Hermione didn't look up, instead she buried her hands in her lap and squeezed the skin between her thumb and pointer finger on her left hand.

"Do you-" Sirius took a sharp breath, rubbing his chest as if it hurt. "Do you not trust me?"

"I do!" Hermione insisted quickly. "I do trust you!"

"But I'm not safe?" Sirius's frown deepened.

"No!" Hermione said desperately. "You're not safe! You're not safe at all."

She hated how pitiful she sounded.

"What the fuck does that mean? What do you think I'm going to do? How can I not be safe-"

"Because!" Hermione cried, scrubbing her hands against her face. "You're volatile and unpredictable and you don't listen to a damn thing I say-"

"I do listen!"

"You didn't listen in the Chamber! I told you I would take lead-"

"That's because you were being unreasonable, thinking I was going to let you lead the charge against a fucking hydra, like I would ever fucking let you put yourself in harms way-"

"And why not!"

"Why not what?"

Hermione screamed in wordless frustration and leapt from the sofa. "Why not let me put myself in harm's way?"

Sirius made a face and stood. "I thought I was the unsafe one?"

"You are!"

The wizard stood up, locking eyes with Hermione. "You're not making any bloody sense."

"You're not making sense!"

He was never making sense! When they'd first met in this timeline or, really, the previous one as well, Sirius Black had been downright hostile and then it was like a switch had flipped. He became flirty and incorrigible- to be fair he was always incorrigible- and suddenly, suddenly!

Suddenly he would smile and her stomach flipped. He would look up at her through his eyes half hooded and her breath would hitch and her world would spin and how the absolute bloody fuck could Sirius Black doing this to her?

"You're not making sense!" Hermione repeated, gripping her stomach as it ached violently with anxiety.

Talking about being tortured by Bellatrix would've been easier.

Sirius put his hands on his hips and scoffed. "Now you're just being difficult, repeating everything I'm saying. I thought we were going to talk."

"We are talking," Hermione pointed out.

"About important things!"

"This is important!"

"What even is this?!" Sirius demanded, waving his hands between them.

"I don't know, Sirius!" Hermione snapped. "Why don't you tell me?!"

"Tell you what!"

Hermione buried her hands in her curls, pulling them at the roots. "Tell me why you're doing this to me!"

Sirius shot her look of genuine confusion. "What-what I'm doing to you? You mean, what? Trying to help you?"

"Yes! No," Hermione sighed, shoulders slumping. "Why are you making me feel this way?" she whispered.

Sirius took an almost imperceptible step back. "Making you feel what way?"

"Like- like- '' Hermione looked around desperately. "Like you- you-"

Oh spit it the fuck out, Granger, we've come this far.

"Like you fancy me!"

Sirius's back straightened and he looked at Hermione through narrow grey eyes. "Are you daft, witch?"

Hermione blinked two times. Then her stomach dropped from her body, pulling the air from her lungs with it. Yes, yes of course she was. Of course she was daft. She was stupid. She was the stupidest witch to ever walk the planet.

He didn't fancy her.

She was so stupid.

But he had said things! And done things! He'd talked about kissing her!

He didn't mean it, of course he didn't mean it. Hermione was being stupid. The only man who had ever wanted her was Ron Weasley and even he didn't want her. People needed Hermione but no one wanted her.

"I-I-" Hermione struggled to breath. He didn't want her. He didn't-

"Of course I fancy you," Sirius growled, accentuating his point with a stomp of his bare foot.

Wait, what.

"What?"

"Godric, thought I'd made it pretty bloody clear, too. I basically spelled it out the other night. Or thought I'd spelled it out," Sirius muttered. "Do you think I'm this charming with everyone?"

"Y-yes?" Hermione offered tentatively.

Sirius gave a barking laugh in reply. "No, you daft, witch." He sighed, shoulder's relaxing. "No just-just with you."

Hermione rubbed her chest, her voice small as she asked, "Me?"

Me.

"You." Sirius nodded. "Well, and Moony I suppose, I'm rather charming for him too."

"Borderline flirtatious, really," Hermione agreed.

Sirius shot Hermione a wicked grin and then he opened his mouth as if to say more, but at that moment Remus burst back into the library carrying a tray of three piping hot cups of tea.

"Alright, wankers, Remus Lupin is here, so now you can go ahead and tell all the stories because I'm sure I haven't heard them all either."