October 4th, 1976

"Hello, class," Fabian smiled.

Mia frowned. Something was… off. He wasn't quite right. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it was there.

"Hello, Professor," the class said together.

"Today we'll be finishing up nonverbal casting. Use stupefy and shields only." He gave them a grin. "Let's get to work!"

With a sigh, Mia stood. She'd meet him after class and they could talk then. Once she was across from Severus, who had become her partner when Peter came back to class after his day long nap, she readied her wand. "Begin!" She heard Fabian yell, and she watched as the class started. She absentmindedly put up a shield as she saw Severus begin to work on casting. He'd been having some issues, but he was certainly getting it. Still, she tried to hold the same shield the entire time. It had been a suggestion from Fabian. He told her it was like a muscle- the more you stretch it, the more you can use it, or longer, in this case. It absorbed the Stupefy, which was flawless and silent, and the other spells she'd asked he throw at her. He didn't really need to hit her, he just needed a place to aim at, and she worked fine. She turned her head, keeping the shield up, and watched Fabian stare at her, amazed.

"Fab?" She spoke quietly as he walked over, stopping when he stood next to her.

"How long have you been holding that shield?" Mia shrugged, frowning. It had been his suggestion, and he'd expected she'd keep it up this long.

"Ten minutes?"

"You haven't recast once?"

"Of course not," she frowned, annoyed. "Fab, you told me to try this, remember? You gave me a whole damn speech about it. 'You're powerful, Mia, you can do more, you just have to push yourself.'"

"Ah."

She shook herself. "Can I see you after class? My wand has been acting weird since our last session. I'm worried I messed it up trying to put out that fire. I think it's magical fire from the spell, meaning it has to be put out wandlessly. Irritating but not impossible."

His eyebrows shot up but he nodded silently, moving on to the next pair - Crabbe and Travers.

Fifty minutes later, Fred and Mia were waiting in Fabian's office for him.

"I'm serious, Fred," she said, glaring at him in anticipation for the joke in the other boy's absence. "There's something off about him. Perhaps he's just unwell, but it's war. And you know it's better to check than die."

"Hermione, I just-,"

"That's not my name," she snapped. "But if he proves it's him, I'll show him my wand and see what he thinks. Okay? I won't attack him or anything."

"Okay… Just don't shove your wand down his throat because you're paranoid."

A couple of silent minutes later, the Auror walked in, offering an apology for being late. Faster than light, Mia shot out of her chair and pushed her wand in his face. Fred groaned, a look of resigned annoyance on his face.

"Didn't I just say not to do that?" Fred complained.

"No, love, that was actually a few minutes ago," she corrected before turning to the man she had her wand pointed at. "Who are you? You are not Fabian. He's not been surprised by my power since the day we met."

The man looked at her for a long second before the corners of his mouth twitched, giving away a grin he was trying so hard to repress. "I'm Auror Prewett, Miss…?"

Mia glared. "He knows us! Why on earth would I… ever…." she trailed off, her eyes running over him critically now. His hair was parted to the right instead of the left, and he was missing the small scar on his cheek that she'd learned had come from a Quidditch accident. With a angry huff, she lowered her wand and dropped herself into her chair again.

"Gideon Prewett," she said to Fred, frustration coloring her voice, her mouth tight. The boy grinned, looking between his uncle and his friend. "I fucking hate twin pranks."

"I take offense to that," Fred glared at her playfully.

She shot forward, poking his chest. "Good! You're half of the idiot that caused my hate for said pranks!"

"To be completely fair, Granger, it was his idea first."

"And I am confident that he would say the same, were he in your position."

"Damn right he would," Fred grinned. "We have a shred of self-preservation, we do."

"Really?" She raised her eyebrow. "I had no idea, not with the way you instigate your poor mother."

"Poor mother?" His eyes widened in disbelief. "Mia, you've seen her mad! She looks like a saber tooth tiger for Merlin's sake!"

Gideon was watching the exchange with equal amounts amusement and confusion. "I happen to love twin pranks - they make life so much easier."

"See, Mione?"

"Stop calling me that!" She snapped. "You called me Granger, too," she growled - actually growled - at Fred. "You have the biggest fucking mouth of anyone I've ever met, Fred. It'll be a miracle if we survive."

Gideon frowned. It was obvious they had some sort of secret, something his twin seemed to know. "What exactly is going on here?"

"My name is Frederick Gideon Weasley," Fred started. Mia groaned angrily, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. This was going to take a while.

An hour later, they finally finished. It had taken them longer to convince Gideon, who was still shocked, but he'd believed them in the end.

"So, you're trying to find a way to go back?" He asked them, rubbing his forehead. About ten minutes in, the headache had hit, and he was desperate for some pain potion.

Mia shook her head, reaching under her robes to pull out the time turner, which was under a heavy stasis charm. "We found something."

"That's a time turner," he gasped. "But wait, isn't that what sent you back here?"

"Yes," Mia nodded. "The sands are extremely powerful. If I place them in objects and spell them correctly, they should send us back." She sighed, shoving the thing back under her robes. "We found the right spell, and Fabian has been helping me with it… it's a little dangerous. But it's possible. It'll just take some time. We're not sure how long. Six months at least, but probably more. Maybe a year."

"Wow," Gideon breathed, amazed.

Fred nodded, grinning. "Too bad we can't get them in the future. With a few restrictions, it'd be great for the store."

"Fred! This," she waved at them and then generally everywhere, indicating their situation. "Is exactly why that would be a bad idea!"

"I said with some restrictions," Fred defended.

"Why couldn't you?" Gideon tilted his head curiously.

"Um, my friends and I… there was a battle, and we kinda destroyed them all," she answered sheepishly. It hadn't technically been their fault, since a Death Eater had actually sent the cutting curse, but she was still embarrassed.

Gideon's eyes widened before he blinked, furrowing his brow. "Does that mean… are you saying there was a battle in the DOM and children fought it?"

"Uh, yeah," Mia shifted in her seat. "Harry had this dream, and we went with him because he'd get himself killed without us, and there were Death Eaters, and…" she trailed off, avoiding his eyes. His penetrating gaze made her uncomfortable, and this story was hard enough to remember, let alone tell. "We went into the Time Room and a slicing hex - I think - was sent after Neville, but it hit the table, and all of the time turners were broken." Mia finished shortly, taking a quick breath in, feeling like she hadn't been breathing. Which, she realized suddenly, was possible.

Gideon thankfully seemed to understand how touchy the subject was and let the subject drop. "Right. Well, I can look at your wand, but Fabian would know better than I would what to look for, so you might just want to wait." Mia nodded quickly. "Just write me and keep me updated, okay?"

With a smile, Mia and Fred agreed. She apologized once more for shoving her wand in his face before they said goodbye and left to consider one more person knowing.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

October 7th, 1976

"James Potter!" Mia screamed. "Put him down right now!" James turned back to look at her in surprise and immediately he felt that sinking feeling. She was pissed.

"Only if he says 'pretty please,'" James remarked, regret setting in instantly. He felt a hot, heavy substance sticking to his lower back, growing with every second. When he looked down, he saw his entire bottom half was coated with green goo. "Mia! What the hell is this?" He screamed, pulling his wand down to poke the goo with it. The wand got stuck, to his dismay, and he watched as Mia huffed and walked past him, running to the Slytherin that fell when the spell broke. She reached him and spoke a few soft words he couldn't hear, helping him up. Before she walked away with him, she turned to give James a cold look, waving her hand in the air, and James felt his head inflate suddenly.

Shit.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Are you okay?" Mia asked softly, straightening out Severus's robes. She was furious, and it showed.

Severus nodded a little, gently pushing her hand away. "I'm fine, Sano."

"He's such a prick!" She complained as they walked into the common room. "I've spoken to him about this! I don't understand why he can't just let it go, or at least ignore you!"

Severus held his tongue on the matter. He had no kind words for James Potter. His new sister, however, was possibly the most caring person he'd ever met. He truly didn't think the boy deserved her. "Where were you going?"

"Huh?" She blinked, confused.

"When you found us," he elaborated. She nodded understanding.

"I told Reg I'd be in the room tonight. You can come, if you'd like. The boys are planning something, and I'd rather avoid finding out what, and the girls," she said, waving vaguely toward the stairs to her dorm. "Are also planning something, which just… worries me."

Severus laughed a little. "Avery has been watching us. I trust him, but you don't. I'd rather avoid leading him there while you're unsure." Mia nodded and sighed. She didn't know what to do about Avery. She'd never heard much about him, aside from his name in connection to Death Eaters, and seeing his name in a book of pureblood families. As far as she was aware, he wasn't in her time. Here, he seemed all too interested in her, and she'd had confirmation that he was, in fact, a Death Eater. Severus said he'd tried to refuse, but Voldemort threatened to kill his mother, so he had agreed. Mia was… interested, but hesitant. Severus was right. She didn't trust him - not yet.

"I'll make sure I run into him sometime soon, I guess. But Severus, I'm not… invincible, and I'm no miracle. There's… only so much I can do." Severus gave her a soft smile, like he disagreed, but he just nodded.

"I know, Sano. Now go. Reg gets cranky when you're late." Severus rolled his eyes, but Mia smirked. He was right - Regulus was very cranky if she was late, often assuming the worst. He was so protective of her, and while it usually annoyed her, from most people, it made her smile coming from him.

"I know," she laughed. "But to be fair, I never told him when I'd be there." She kissed Severus's cheek in a purely friendly manner and walked away, happily making her way toward the Room.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Reg, if you ask me one more time, I will properly hex you," Mia warned sharply.

"Mia, just listen from my point of view," he insisted. "He's pranked me more times than I can count since I've gotten to this school. All I'm asking is for you to help me once. It won't hurt anyone at all."

"It could hurt you," she countered quietly, looking down at her bare arms. The pair of them had begun wearing short sleeves in the Room when it was just them, a sort of freedom that calmed them both. He walked over and ghosted his fingers over her bare arm, making her shiver. She glanced up into the sharp depths of his beautiful eyes.

"I can handle myself, Little Lion. I've done so for five years. He won't hurt me. He'll yell, but he won't hurt me unless I'm hurting someone else."

Mia shook her head, breaking eye contact and instead looking at his fingers dancing along her skin. "I don't know. He's… I'm trying to stay out of this. And besides," she added, her voice a whisper. "He's one of the closest people I've got. Do you think he'd forgive us both?" She looked up at him now and saw him grin. He knew he'd won the argument.

"Course he will, love. You've got him wrapped around your finger, and I'm his little brother, whether he likes it or not." He hugged her close and kissed the top of her head before pulling away and laughing. "Think you can handle pretending to be my girlfriend for a day?"

Mia was startled by how the thought gave her butterflies, but she nodded, giving in with a sigh. "I think it'll be harder for you than it is for me, Reg."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

October 12th, 1976

Mia and Regulus had discussed the prank countless times and gone over the plan so much that it was testing Regulus's patience. When the day came, she spent the entire time listing off all of the things that could go wrong - even the ridiculous ones. She'd paced back and forth until he was sure the floor had wears in it, and he reached out, grabbing her hand gently and pulling her over. She let him, however reluctantly, and settled on the arm of his chair.

"And what if he refuses to ever talk to me again, and-,"

"Mia, love, he would never do that. He loves you, and you know that. It's a harmless prank. I'll kiss you, he'll have a heart attack, and you can explain all of it. I promise you, it'll be perfectly fine. Do you really think Fred would have agreed to help if he thought there was a chance of you getting hurt in the end?" Regulus reasoned patiently. Mia's shoulders slumped and she sighed, slipping her fingers into his. He squeezed tightly and gave her a supportive smile.

"I suppose not. You're right. It'll be fine. He can take a joke, right? He makes enough of them, that's for sure."

"Exactly. Besides," he grinned at her brightly. "It's my birthday."

"Oh!" She gasped, jumping up to reach into her beaded bag, digging through it. "I got you something."

"Mia, you didn't have to-,"

"Shush," she rolled her eyes, bringing the small box out and handing it to him. He looked at it curiously before opening it, his eyes falling on a small pendant connected to a strap. The pendant was obviously goblin made, and it had a lion carved into it. He touched it softly, grinning.

"Mia, it's beautiful."

"It's not just a bracelet," she told him, plucking it from the box. She motioned for his arm, and he gave it to her willingly. "It's special. It's connected to me. The back of the pendant will light up with my location, and it'll glow and heat up when I'm in danger." She blushed softly at his intent gaze. "I've got one too, I just need to connect it to your core," she pulled up her sleeve, revealing her similar bracelet, though hers held a snake on it. His eyes lit up at the sight and he gently pulled the box from her hand and set it down, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"I love it."

She squeezed him back happily, a bright grin spread across her face. She let the hug last a few moments longer than was necessarily polite before she pulled back, her wand in her hand. "May I?" He nodded a little, and she tapped her bracelet. It glowed brightly, a brilliant golden color. "Anima Autem Nexum." With her words, he felt his magic light up inside of him, and he felt warm as the connection was made. Slowly, the light faded from her bracelet until it was gone, and he stared at the amazing witch in front of him.

"Mia, where did you find that spell?"

She shrugged. "I've got a book on the soul and core."

"That sort of magic is extremely rare. I didn't realize you meant it literally connected to my core," he breathed, eyes wide.

She frowned. "Well, how else would it tell me if you're hurt?" She shook her head. "It had to be like that. I connected the protaen charm to the spell, too. That's how I'll know where you are."

"What if someone gets ahold of these?" Regulus paused. "That could be dangerous, too."

She shook her head, raising her wand again. She cast this spell quietly, and Regulus assumed she either knew it well, or had practiced it before. He watched as both of their bracelets lit up together, that golden light flowing together and connecting for only a second before it slammed back into the bracelets, fading abruptly this time. "There."

"What… did that do?" he asked, frowning.

"That means they won't work for anyone but us," she shrugged.

He looked at her in amazement. She was never going to stop surprising him, was she? As he looked at her, he suddenly became aware of just how close they were. She was nearly in his lap, having tossed her legs over the chair and slid down some when searching for his present. She wasn't paying him any attention as she settled her wand back into her bag - something she'd been doing more and more when she was around the people she'd trusted, knowing she didn't really need it. His breath caught in his throat as her hair slipped down, falling into her face, and she pushed it away, annoyed. He wasn't sure why, but every little thing she did amazed him.

He coughed awkwardly. "We're going to be late, Little Lion." She turned to him with wide eyes and scrambled out of the chair - and his lap - to stand up. He chuckled quietly as he stood and offered her his hand, happy when she took it. They left the room in companionable silence, both thinking of the kiss to come.

When they got to the corridor that held the Fat Lady, they stopped and waited, talking about something obscure in potions. When they heard the cue - a very subtle "have you seen Mia lately?" from Fred - Mia took a sharp breath, locking her eyes with the beautiful boy in front of her. She squeezed his hand hard, her stomach doing flips. He smirked at her knowingly before stepping forward just a little so that there was virtually no space between them and moved his free hand to cup the back of her head, and closed the space between them. His lips touched hers softly. She gasped at the touch, though she'd expected it, because she felt that tugging feeling inside of her grow exponentially. Her lips parted slightly in surprise and he deepened the kiss, flicking his tongue over her lips. She found it tickled a little and opened them more, allowing him entrance. He adjusted his grip on her - his arm around her waist and his other hand gently holding her head, giving her just as much control as he had.

"What the fuck?"

Regulus stilled at the sound of his brother's voice. Everything inside of him screamed at him not to release the witch in his arms, but he forced himself to pull away, though she stayed tucked nervously into his side. She looked dizzy and startled with wide eyes, and he squeezed her hand gently, pulling her out of her daze. She immediately blushed furiously, and the sight pleased him immensely.

"Sirius!" Mia squeaked.

"What the hell are you doing, Mia?" He snapped, looking between them. Regulus felt the joke slipping as his odd instinct to protect her screamed at him, though he knew his brother wouldn't hurt anything but possibly her feelings, which still somehow felt unacceptable.

"Um…"

"I'd certainly hope you know what that is, brother," Regulus said, trying to sound smug. He did love riling his brother up, but there was something extremely important he needed to say to Mia, preferably without his brother's screaming in the background.

"I know what that is!" Sirius growled. "I want to know why!"

Mia looked between the brothers nervously, but Regulus turned on his brother, amazed. "Have you really not seen it?" He asked, incredulous. "She is incredible. She's brilliant, and she's sneaky, and she's mischievous, and she's kind, and she protects everyone she loves, and she has such a strong sense of what's right and wrong, it'll smack you in the face, and she cares more than is strictly healthy, and she is bloody gorgeous. Did all of that escape your grasp?"

Sirius stared at him with wide eyes, but he felt Mia staring too. She was squirming under the praise. "Sorry," Mia muttered before slipping her hand out of his and running away. Regulus looked at his brother, his eyes wide. That was definitely not supposed to go like that.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Mia?"

"What?" the small girl demanded, not moving or looking up. She was lying on a couch in the room with a blanket draped over her, her eyes closed.

"Sirius sent me to come check on you. Said there was… an incident." James cringed.

"It was… supposed to just be a joke, Jamie. Something harmless for his birthday."

James walked over, patting her legs so he could sit down. "I know, love. Sirius isn't… mad. He's just worried. He knows you trust Regulus, but… well, it's hard for him to change. Whenever he thinks of Regulus, his mind yells 'Death Eater, Death Eater!' and he can't get it to say 'brother' anymore. He worries about you, and it scared him."

"I understand that," she said, opening her eyes to look at him. "Harry was the same way with one of our professors who was a spy for the Order. But… I can handle myself, Jamie."

James sighed, running his fingers through his unruly hair. "I know. It's just… Sirius loves you. You're his sister, and you're as close as I am, and you've been here for a month." He grabbed her hand and looked her in the eye. "He wants what's best for you. Wanna know what he told me before sending me in here?" Mia nodded slowly. "He told me that if it was real, if you did want to be with Reg, he would still love and support you. Nothing can take him away from you, and he wants to apologize whenever you decide he can."

Mia sighed. She knew she was overreacting. Sirius wasn't even really the issue. She'd felt so much when she kissed Regulus, and it made her nervous. She'd never felt such strong romantic feelings, and they confused her. "Did he tell you what Reg said about me?" She worried her lip between her teeth, watching James carefully.

"No, nothing," he frowned at her, waiting for her to explain.

"He just said... all this stuff about me. A lot. And, Merlin, I've never heard anyone say those things about me before. I wasn't even sure he was talking about me and not someone else."

James sighed, gently pulling her towards him and wrapping her up in a hug. "Regulus is out there, too. He was threatening to Bombarda the entire wall." He frowned at her uncomfortable wince, and she waved her hand in the air.

"Umbridge, fifth year. The Inquisitorial Squad did just that. The wall nearly collapsed on Harry and the twins."

"She tried to kill my son?" James growled. Mia had told him who Harry was to him, and he'd been requesting stories occasionally. Mia raised an eyebrow at him, and he nodded, getting the point. "Anyways, he says that he's staying there until you talk to him, and if you refuse, he'll take down the wall."

Mia sighed, hugging him tighter and nodding. "I'll talk to Sirius and then Reg." She pulled away and smiled softly. "Thank you, Jamie." He cracked a crooked grin and nodded, kissing her forehead, before leaving and letting Sirius walk into the room instead.

"Hey, kitten," Sirius said nervously.

"Star Shine," she smiled softly. He relaxed at the use of his new nickname.

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"I'm an idiot," he added for good measure. She shook her head.

"No, you're just overprotective." She sighed. "It was a bad idea, but he wanted to get under your skin, and it's his birthday, so…"

"Well," Sirius thought, nodding a little. "I guess I should just be glad the kid has a sense of humor and a taste for pranking."

Mia snorted, rolling her eyes, though she was smiling. "He can joke, you know. You just act like he's the worst person on earth."

Sirius shrugged as if there was nothing he could do about it. "Are we okay?" He asked shortly.

Mia nodded, standing to hug him. "I don't think I'd ever be able to stay upset with you." She thought for a moment before speaking again. "Although, there are some things from the future that I'm extremely upset with you for, if you'd like to be yelled at for those." Namely, dying.

He grinned at her, stepping back and throwing his hands up in surrender. "Can't damn me for what I haven't done yet, love." She rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Alright, fine. I'll… yell at you when I get back." The lie was hard to force out, and she could only hope he believed her.

"Right. Well…" he walked to the door, giving her a comforting smile. "Guess I'll let my brother come talk now. Remember… you're more powerful than he is, and he won't expect a muggle style attack." He winked and disappeared out the door. Mia gave a breathy laugh and rolled her eyes. Moments later, Regulus walked in, smiling softly at her.

"Mia-,"

"Don't apologize, Reg," Mia interrupted nervously. "You didn't do anything that we didn't talk about a million times first." He took a step closer, leaving little space between them. She sucked in a sharp breath, meeting his eyes.

"I wasn't going to apologize."

"You… weren't?"

"Mia, I meant every word I've said. And there's more," he smiled down at her as her eyes widened. "You make me feel safe, and you make me laugh. You're so fiercely loyal, sometimes I wonder if you should be in Gryffindor. And I've felt something ever since I met you, and it keeps pulling me in. I know you felt it, too, when we were kissing. Like a rubber band about to snap into place, and it almost did. Kissing you is the very best thing I've ever done in my life, and I would very much like to do it again." He looked to her for permission and Mia nodded a little, her eyes wide in surprise.

He placed his hand behind her head gently, leaning down to press his lips gently against hers. Just as she had earlier, she let her lips fall open, and he accepted the invitation willingly, gently plunging his tongue into her mouth, exploring slowly, pleased when her own tongue came to meet his, battling for control. A rush of warmth passed through her body, and she cared about nothing but kissing him. They stayed like that for what felt like the most pleasant eternity before he dropped his hand, and she reluctantly broke the kiss, moving only to lean her forehead against his. She could feel his hot breath on her skin. Suddenly, Mia felt a gentle shiver of magic rush over her entire being, and a gold glow encircled them. She recognized it from books, and her breath was sucked out of her with a start.

It was a soul bond.

A few silent minutes later, Mia looked up at him, still close. "Reg?"

"Yes, Mia?"

"You know what just happened, right?"

"Yes, Mia."

She suppressed her panicked breathing as she considered the fact that he existed here, in the past, and not in her time. It really was her luck. What if she failed to save him? It wasn't an option to begin with, but now… she knew very little about soul bonds, but she knew that they were the strongest and rarest type and were painful to lose. She had the chance to be happy forever right in front of her, and she had no damn clue what to do with it.

Suddenly, Regulus pulled back and pointed his want at her. She stumbled, having been pressed up against him and leaning on him, before she regained control and frowned, eyes wide. "What are you doing?"

"Who are you?" He demanded sharply. Her eyes widened as she immediately understood the problem. Ever since she'd met him, he'd been gently probing her mind, and her panic had given him the perfect time to find his way in.

"Regulus, please," she begged. "I don't know what you saw-,"

"Neither do I!" He snapped angrily, hurt shining in his eyes. "The first person I've trusted after Sirius, and you're lying to me! Tell me the truth, or I swear I will not hold back." He warned her sharply, his eyes locked on hers.

With a shaky nod, Mia sighed, preparing herself for the task of explaining, though she knew he deserved more than the rest. He deserved to know all of it. "My name is not Mia Potter. It wasn't Mia until I got here and changed it for safety reasons… My name is Hermione."

"The Winter's Tale," he whispered, almost reluctantly. She nodded.

"My mum named me after her." She paused, taking a deep breath. She kept her shields down as she spoke, letting him check everything she said. He wouldn't trust her otherwise. "I'm sorry. I hated lying to you. It's just… it's so dangerous. If Voldemort knew about me, he would force me to tell him everything I know, and then kill me. I'm only keeping secrets because there's no other way."

She paused as he seemed to believe her. He still seemed angry, but there was reluctant concern as well, and she thought it was a good sign.

"October 31st, 1981, Voldemort was killed," she began. "He attacked a family - a mother, father, and child named Harry. The father died, but the mother sacrificed herself, protecting her son. Voldemort cast the Killing Curse at her son, and it rebounded, killing him instead. He… didn't die. He became a spirit.

"September 19th, 1979, Hermione Granger was born to muggle parents," she sighed, biting her lip. "In 1991, I attended my first year of Hogwarts… where I was sorted into Gryffindor." His eyes widened a little, and she nodded. "That's why I felt so… weird being here. Anyway, I was a loner for the first two months of school, being ridiculed because I was ahead of everyone else in our studies and was… well, my potions professor called me an 'insufferable know it all' if that gives you any idea."

"You said your professor was less than great," he nodded. She knew he was suspicious but he seemed to be unable to disprove what she was telling him.

"On Halloween, I ran into the bathroom crying after I heard a boy making fun of me. Our defense teacher that year, Professor Quirrell, had let a troll loose in the school. The boy who made fun of me, Ron, and his friend, Harry, ran to find me and saved me from the troll that had wandered into the bathroom. We've been best friends since. The rest of the year was spent investigating. Harry and Ron thought that our potions professor was trying to steal something from hogwarts. Well, fast forward, and the three of us managed to nearly get ourselves killed. Harry had gone to try and stop whoever was trying to steal from Hogwarts, and we followed. There were puzzles… Ron played life size wizards chess and was hurt winning the game. Harry ran off, and I stayed to make sure Ron was okay. In the end, the man died. It was Professor Quirrell - he'd been possessed by Voldemort." She paused, pouting a little. "We missed our exams that year."

He stared at her incredulously, though he nodded. "I believe you so far."

"Good. So… second year wasn't much better. The, uh… The Chamber of Secrets was opened." She watched his eyes widen comically. "Everyone thought Harry was Slytherin's heir because he's a parselmouth and was going around trying to kill muggleborns, which is ridiculous, really, since I'm his best friend." She huffed, still annoyed by that. "I was petrified for most of this, so I only know what I was told." She blushed, embarrassed. She might've saved herself with the mirror, but she had been incredibly upset that she'd been petrified in the first place. "Harry found a basilisk in the Chamber. Ron's little sister, my best girlfriend, Ginny had been taken down there by… Tom Riddle. Well, by the diary that…" she paused, running her fingers through his hair. Did he know yet about Horcruxes? "The diary that contained a piece of his soul." Regulus sucked in a breath, his eyes wide in recognition. "The horcrux was holding Ginny captive. Harry managed to kill the basilisk and destroy the diary before Ginny could die. Almost died himself, but Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, saved him."

"Merlin," Regulus breathed. He'd lowered his wand a little bit ago and was staring at her in horror. "Mia, did you say a horcrux?"

She nodded gravely. "I did. Reg, they're so horrible. If you're around one for too long… it just does horrible things to you. It messes with your mind, and… they're horrible."

He stared at her, an unreadable look on her face. "You're not saying you were around one for an extended period of time?" She shrugged, looking away. She heard him swear softly and sighed.

"Let's keep going, yeah? There's… there's a lot." He nodded, though he looked pale, and she continued. "Third year was different. Nothing within the school wanted to kill Harry or his friends, which was a nice change. But a man had broken out of Azkaban… he was after Harry. During a Hogsmeade trip, Harry found out that this man was his godfather. And then, a full moon months later, we were walking back to the castle from Hagrid's hut, and a big black dog resembling the Grim grabbed Ron by his leg and dragged him into the Whomping Willow." She paused. "It's there for a werewolf student, it leads to the Shrieking Shack. Anyway, Harry and I follow. We get there, and Ron tells us it's a trap. He pointed to the prisoner. The man… he…" Mia faltered, pain sprawled across her face as she remembered Sirius on that night, the complete lack of sanity and how he was so willing to let Harry kill him for a crime he didn't commit but felt responsible for. Tears prickled her eyes and she swiped them away aggressively before she started again.

"He was talking about killing someone. It was very dramatic, and we thought he meant Harry. We argued for a while, and then our defense teacher showed up and we found out he was friends with the prisoner. We kept fighting. The man was just… he'd spent so long in Azkaban, he wasn't quite right in the head anymore. He wasn't explaining things well, he was too emotional. He demanded Ron give him his rat, and we found out it was an animagus. He was to blame for the deaths of Harry's parents, not the prisoner like everyone thought. Harry kept the rat alive to take into custody for the prisoner's freedom. We left, but our professor was a werewolf and he was turning. The prisoner held him off and the rat got away. A howl in the forest drew away the wolf, but the grim was hurt. Harry tried to help him, but they were surrounded by Dementors, since the minister demanded they be there to catch the prisoner. They were trying to Kiss Harry and the prisoner.

"Someone cast a patronus though and the dementors left. Harry and the prisoner were found. Harry was taken to the infirmary while the prisoner was put in a cell to wait for the Kiss." She breathed out deeply. Third year was tiring to explain for a reason she couldn't explain. "I refused to let that happen. You see, Professor McGonagall had given me a legal form of time travel. It was supposed to send you a few hours into the past at most, which is apparently bullshit, but that's unrelated. I'd been using it to take every elective the school offered without overloading my schedule or burning myself out." Regulus raised an eyebrow and she pointedly ignored his doubt of her avoiding extreme exhaustion. "But Dumbledore told us to use it, so Harry and I went back. We saved a hippogriff that had been wrongly sentenced to death. I howled to distract the wolf - a poorly thought through idea - and Harry cast the patronus to save him and the prisoner. He cast it because he'd already seen himself do it, you see. We flew to the cell and I broke him out. He took the hippogriff and escaped, and we went back to the infirmary before anyone noticed we were gone."

"Who was he?" Regulus asked. It was the one thing she'd kept from him, and he'd been getting frustrated trying to figure it out.

"I… I really don't think that's a good idea," she replied slowly. "Please, just let that be."

He shook his head. "I need to know everything. Who was he?"

Mia's face fell at his stubbornness. She let her shoulders droop and spoke with great reluctance. "Sirius." Regulus's eyes sharpened. "He spent twelve years in Azkaban for murders he did not commit."

Her words were met with silence, and she could see Regulus trying to process what she'd said. "Sirius…"

"I'm sorry, Regulus. I promise you, I did everything in my power to save him," she whispered. Her mind shifted to the battle of the DOM and pain sprawled across her features. "He wasn't Kissed because of it."

"Just continue your story, Mia." From the look on his face, she knew he could tell something was wrong.

She nodded, understanding his need to focus on anything else. "Fourth year was horrible. The Tri-Wizard tournament came to Hogwarts. Someone entered Harry's name into the Goblet, and he was picked alongside a Wizard named Cedric to be Hogwarts' champions. Ron didn't forgive him for months. He'd wanted to enter and thought Harry had done it on purpose.

"The first task was a dragon. He had to get an egg from it with only his wand walking in. He summoned his broom and got it, and Ron forgave him pretty quickly after that. The second task was underwater. Each champion had a friend taken and given to the merpeople. I was actually taken for Durmstrang's champion, Viktor Krum. He grabbed me first. Harry came in last because he stopped to save someone else for a girl who was attacked underwater. He came in second. The… third and final task…" she cringed, wrapping her arms around herself at the memory. "It was a maze filled with traps. Viktor was Imperiused by a Death Eater who had kidnapped the man that was supposed to be our DADA teacher and used Polyjuice Potion to take his place. He Imperiused Viktor to make sure that Harry got to the cup without any interferences. He got Fluer, the Beauxbatons champion, out of the way and tried to get Cedric, but Harry hit him on the head, I think. He and Cedric," she sucked in a breath. "They both grabbed the cup and were portkeyed to a graveyard. The rat killed Cedric and cut Harry's arm, using his blood for a ritual that brought Voldemort back from the dead. Harry grabbed Cedric's body and escaped, grabbing the cup to get back to Hogwarts. The Death Eater posing as a teacher found him, but Dumbledore reached them pretty quickly and figured it out. I think that was when his nightmares started. He was never the same after that, and I don't blame him. Weeks after the final event, Dumbledore started the Order of the Phoenix back up and the fight against Voldemort resumed."

Regulus watched her carefully before he grabbed her hand, seeing her heavy hesitation to start again, and waved for her to continue.

"The ministry said he was lying, of course. And then during summer, Harry and his muggle cousin were attacked by dementors. He used his patronus to get rid of them and a squib helped them get home and informed Dumbledore of the situation. Harry got a letter - he'd been expelled. Dumbledore stepped in and got him a trial. He won, but the message was pretty clear - the ministry was against him. We spent the rest of the summer at Grimmauld Place," she sighed. "Your mother has a portrait. She is very fond of screaming profanities at us."

"You said you'd met her."

"Only in portrait form, thankfully," she rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we stayed there and then went back to school. The ministry had put this woman named Umbridge in charge of DADA and she was… despicable. She used blood quills for detention. Harry's got a scar that says 'I must not tell lies.'" She took a deep breath, calming herself. "She made us read out books - there was no practical application at all. Just reading. Harry made a group called Dumbledore's Army and we came here," she waved her hand around. "To practice. People joined once they realized he unfortunately had experience in that stuff. It was amazing. But eventually Umbridge kicked Dumbledore out of the school and took control. She had a group called the Inquisitorial Squad make sure everyone stayed in line… it was horrible.

"A week before Christmas break, Harry had a dream that Ron's dad was being attacked in the ministry. He told Dumbledore and Ron's dad was saved, but Harry had to start Occlumency… he was terrible at it. I think the potions professor just used the time to bully Harry. Harry retaliated and put up a shield and looked at his memories… the lessons ended."

She paused, tensing. She would give anything to skip the last part of their fifth year. She hated it. "June 18th, Harry had a dream that Sirius was being tortured in the Department of Mysteries. I lured Umbridge out into the forbidden forest after she caught us trying to check on Sirius. She tried to crucio Harry, but I distracted her. Anyway, she insulted the centaurs and attacked them, so they kinda… took her away. After that, we decided to go to the ministry, along with some of our other friends that had been in the DA. We got there, and there… there was a battle," she breathed. "Some of us got hurt. A… A Death Eater sent a curse at Sirius and… knocked him back into the veil of Death." She took in a rushed breath, trying to do anything but imagine the awful night. "He died." She wiped angrily at her cheeks and took a breath, shaking her head. She couldn't look at Regulus, but she felt his stare boring into her.

"Harry fought Voldemort. The ministry came and saw, and they had to admit he was back." She felt her hands shake, though it wasn't from her torture this time. She didn't have much left - just sixth year and then their time on the run. "Sixth year was bad, too. Some students didn't come back. Harry had private meetings with Dumbledore that he couldn't even tell us about. It was… he was learning about the Horcruxes. He was suspicious of a certain Slytherin being a Death Eater. I always told him, he couldn't be. I always said that surely even Death Eaters wouldn't do something so cruel." She laughed humorlessly. "Obviously I was wrong.

"This particular Slytherin had been given the task of breaking Death Eaters into Hogwarts and then killing Dumbledore. When they were on the astronomy tower, he disarmed Dumbledore, but… our potions professor killed him. There was a battle. I fought alongside some friends. I got hurt pretty bad," she shrugged. "Bellatrix threw a dark curse at me. I'd have died if Remus didn't push me out of the way. No one else died that night, though Ron's brother, Bill, was scratched by Greyback. Harry told us late that night about the horcruxes and his mission - he wasn't coming back to school because he had to find all of them and destroy them. Ron and I immediately decided to come, too."

She sighed, rolling her head back. Almost done. "Bill was getting married at the end of the summer. During the reception, we got a patronus. The ministry had fallen, the minister was dead - tortured, apparently, for Harry's location. They must've gotten it out of him, because there was an attack immediately after. Harry, Ron, and I apparated away, and we began our time on the run." She ran her fingers through her hair. "We went back to Grimmauld Place. Kreacher… he had one of the Horcruxes. I can't tell you why. Not because I don't want to, but because it involves you personally, and I refuse to threaten your personal future." Regulus looked surprised but nodded slowly, accepting her excuse. "We had to break into the Ministry to get it because Umbridge had it. It was a lot of time going from place to place, arguing, and running into snatchers… er, Death Eaters that arrested people when we said Voldemort's name." Her stomach did a nauseating flip at the thought of Malfoy Manor. She took a deep breath. She still had a little bit to go.

"We'd been taking turns wearing the horcrux, which was a locket. Ron faught with us, and left. We continued on our own for a while before we tried searching Harry's home when he was a baby," she sighed. "It was a trap. We were attacked. We barely made it out, and his wand was broken. We went to a forest and stayed for a while. Ron showed up. Harry had found something we needed to destroy the horcruxes, but it was at the bottom of a frozen lake. He dived in, with the locket on his neck, and got it. Ron saved him when the locket tried to drown him. They destroyed it that night."

She squeezed her hands into fists, digging her nails painfully into her palms. "Someone said it, though I'm not sure who. Snatchers showed up and caught us. I threw a stinging hex at Harry's face so they wouldn't recognize him. We were… we were taken to Malfoy Manor. They found the sword, which was what destroyed the horcruxes, and… Bellatrix was furious. She thought she'd had it placed in her vault, which she assumed to mean we'd been in her vault. She… separated us," she shivered, unable to forget the feeling of the torture, or to get the image out of her mind. "She tortured me. Then she did this," she whispered, waving to her arm. She paused then, taking many deep breaths in, trying to forget the cruel sound of laughter as she wished for death.

"We… we escaped. We went to Bill's cottage, and he formed a healing bond with me. After a while, I was allowed downstairs, but not out of my seat. I was sitting next to Fred while he and Harry played exploding snap," she sighed. "I had a time turner around my neck. There was an accident with the game, and the time turner exploded. Fred had grabbed my arm to move out of the way or to move me, I don't know, but he and I were transported twenty two years into the past." She sighed. "I was injured. The glass from the time turner had broken into my chest. James, Sirius, and Remus found us and took me to the infirmary while James went to tell Dumbledore what had happened. I was healed and reluctantly released and Dumbledore placed us with the Potters and into school."

"Merlin," Regulus breathed, clearly overwhelmed. Mia nodded.

"Fred is awful at keeping secrets," she muttered, annoyed. "He first made me tell Fabian - his uncle - and then the marauders, and then his other uncle, Gideon. They're all extremely unnecessary and dangerous risks, but Fabian agreed to help us with the spell that'll get us home, so I'm not too upset about him."

Regulus took a few silent minutes to process everything. "That's… a lot." Mia nodded silently, letting quiet fall once more before, a minute or two later, she spoke.

"Do you hate me?"

"What?" His eyes widened. "No. Why?"

She shrugged self consciously. "I lied to you. I wanted to tell you, I really did, but it wasn't safe."

He nodded. "You're right - if the Dark Lord knew what you do, he'd likely torture you and kill you."

"So you're not upset?"

"No," he gave her a tired smile before looking at her seriously. "I will keep this secret with my life."

Her heart tugged painfully. They stayed there, sitting close together for a long moment in a contemplative silence. "Reg, can we… talk about what happened earlier?"

He looked down at her, surprised. His mind, too, had been on the subject. "Considering I ruined the moment by shoving my wand in your face, I think that's well deserved."

Mia smiled at him softly, gently tracing patterns over his Mark. "What are you thinking?"

He considered the question and put more thought into what the soul bond meant. "I think… I care about you a lot. I'd like to formally court you… er, perhaps without our families intervention at this point."

"Date," Mia laughed brightly, her stomach tightening in happiness. "You'd like to date me."

"I… suppose so," he nodded slowly.

"Regulus Black," she grinned. "Are you asking to be my boyfriend?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, but nodded firmly. "Yes, I am. Mia, will you be my girlfriend?"

She pecked his cheek. "Of course."

He breathed out slowly before leaning over and gently grabbing her face in both of his hands. She let him guide her to his lips and relaxed when they touched, treasuring the feel and taste.

She gave herself over to him in that moment. He knew her, past and present, and accepted her. More than that, he was literally her soulmate. She grinned into the kiss happily. She'd already fallen for him quickly, but she wondered quietly how long it'd be before she well and truly was in love with him.

As best as she could guess, it wouldn't be long.

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