Author's Note: Hello to all of you amazing readers! I am so sorry that I have waited so long between posts. I wasn't sure where I was going with this chapter at first and then life got in the way. It has been a crazy few weeks: my sister's bridal shower which I was planning and then work. I do appreciate all of your reviews and comments on facebook. They have definitely given me the motivation to keep writing. As always I would like to thank travelliah for being the best beta/writing buddy/cheerleader I could ask for. As always please review and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. It all belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter 3

Hermione was laying in bed on her side of the tent. Silent tears were streaming down her face, eyes wide open staring at nothing. This is how Harry found her, coming in from his watch. It was a scene he stumbled upon all too often these days. Ron had been gone for days, maybe weeks. She honestly didn't know at this point. Their time on the run seemed to blend together. One day was the same as the next, with progress never being made. Now that Ron was gone, everything seemed even more hopeless.

Harry climbed into bed behind her and held her as she cried. It was all they could do to keep each other afloat; as both of their hearts were shattered at their friend's abandonment. Hermione knew she had to pull herself out of this funk, to start making plans again, find the Horcruxes and attempt to win the war that she had been dragged into. But neither of them had any idea of where they should start.

Eventually, Harry got up to try and make something for them to eat, not that they had much. When they had first started living out of the tent, Hermione had been the one to cook but they quickly discovered she was not the best at it. Harry eventually took over seeing as he was the one with the most experience, having grown up cooking for the Dursleys. Hermione had pouted for days, unhappy that there was something she couldn't do. Harry and Ron had laughed at her, then Harry promised to teach her to cook once the war was over.

The curly haired witch followed Harry's example and got out of bed as well to join him in the kitchen, the two friends eating in silence as usual. To fill that silence, Harry started fiddling with the radio, seemingly doing anything to distract himself from the tension that constantly filled the tent. He eventually stumbled upon a station playing a song he recognized his Aunt Petunia used to listen to all the time. Hermione noticed a glint in his eye, Sirius used to refer to it as his "Marauder look", a second before he stood up and pulled her to her feet as well. Hermione half-heartedly protested but after a few seconds of Harry's cajoling he began to twirl her around the tent. The two danced through the next song as well, smiling and laughing. Maybe just maybe, Hermione thought, it wasn't so hopeless after all.

Hermione slowly came awake, realizing she had fallen asleep on the couch in the library again. Something that happened all too often in the past year, the only difference this time instead of waking up alone she woke up to the whispers of two wizards. One held her wrist gently in his hand while the other was slowly sliding a book under it. Neither realized she had woken yet.

"What are you two doing?" Hermione asked groggily, startling the Marauders.

"Hermione!" James exclaimed at the same time Sirius shouted,"You're awake!"

Both had jumped slightly, not expecting the young witch to have woken up. They had played this prank on both Lily and Remus before, both having slept through it.

"You see, we were just…" James began but trailed off.

Sirius spoke up again at the same time, "Well, we wanted to..."

Hermione held up her hand to stop their pitiful excuses, "You know what? No, just stop. I really don't care. You're both idiots, you know that?" She sat up stretching and yawning.

"What?" James gawked at her, looking slightly dumbfounded.

"No yelling? No hexing?" Sirius added. "That's it?"

"Nope. Just don't wake me up again. I've only really started sleeping through the night the past couple of months. Next time, expect a Bat-Bogey."

The two Animagi stared at each other confused. Sirius was willing to leave it, not wanting to incur the wrath of the witch he was fascinated with, but James, daredevil that he was, decided to push the issue.

"Why?" James questioned, not used to not being hexed over a prank.

Hermione simply snorted at their bewilderment, "Wait until you meet the Weasley Twins. I don't think anything you do can compare to the two of them."

James thought about this for a minute, "Fair enough. So why are you sleeping down here?"

"Fell asleep researching. Happens all the time. Why are you two bothering me?" She shot back at him, enjoying the banter between them. It was almost like having Harry back. Almost.

"I'm still on my quest to convince you to go out with me," Sirius interjected with a smirk on his unnaturally handsome face.

It truly amazed her the amount of damage Azkaban had done to the man. When she met him he looked to be a man in his late-forties early-fifties rather than his mid-thirties. To see him as a young man, whole and full of life was shocking to say the least.

Hermione snorted, "Never going to happen."

"Alright, you win. Let's skip the dating and just get married, yeah?" Sirius flashed her a winning smile, that she was sure made other witches swoon.

James shook his head, as he advised, "You really should just let it go, mate."

"You didn't let it go with, Lily," the grey-eyed Wizard pointed out.

James scowled.

"What?" Hermione asked.

James was confused. "What do you mean 'what'?"

"What was that look for?"

"What look?"

"That scowl. What happened?"

"Nothing," James tried to avoid the conversation. Unfortunately his best friend wouldn't let him.

"It's Lily," Sirius answered for James. "They've been fighting all week. Since that dinner."

"Pads, I really don't want to talk about this," James warned." Let it go for now."

"No, maybe Hermione here can help. She's a girl," Sirius exclaimed, believing his idea to be brilliant.

"Astute observation Sirius, you are the second Wizard to notice that," Hermione responded drily. "I doubt I'll be much help though. I don't really have much experience with relationships. And I've never really gotten on well with other girls."

"A pretty witch like you never had a relationship? I find that hard to believe," Sirius tried flirting with the curly-haired time traveler.

"I didn't say I've never had a relationship, just that I don't have much experience. I've had one boyfriend. He was two years older than me, didn't speak much English, and then invited me home for the summer to meet his parents," Hermione informed the two wizards, while thinking back to her relationship with Viktor. She had quite liked him, but he wanted to be more serious than she did and with the return of Voldemort she knew it would have never worked between them as her priorities were elsewhere. "Anyway, I am curious though as to what happened now. From stories I've heard about the two of you, you're supposed to be the perfect couple and deliriously in love."

James sighed, realizing it probably would be a good idea to get an outside perspective, somebody who didn't know either him or Lily. "Well, Lily and my mother don't exactly get along. My mother doesn't think that Lily is good enough for me, and Lily is just fed up with trying to get her approval. Basically Lily wants me to distance myself from the whole situation with you, and I'm refusing to. It's my duty to my family to help you in anyway possible, but Lily believes that my first duty should be to the family she and I have created."

"Wait, she isn't…." Hermione trailed off.

"Isn't what?" James was confused.

"Pregnant, is she?"

"What? No! Not that I know of at least."

"Good, it's too early," Hermione declared, mostly to herself. She knew Lily shouldn't be pregnant with Harry until sometime towards the end of 1979.

"What do you mean it's too early?" Sirius asked with an air of curiosity.

In the week that Hermione had been with them, she had yet to reveal anything about her original timeline, and she knew Sirius was getting impatient for details. The Potter's were lovely and allowing her more time, but every time she had seen Sirius, he had always pushed for more.

After her first few days she had realized Charlus and Dorea were right. There was no going back for her, and even if there was….would she want to? She loved the Weasley's and the work she did with the Wizengamot but for the most part her life was almost hollow. No matter the effect on the timeline, could she really go back to a time knowing she had the chance to bring Harry back? To allow him a childhood with his parents? To give Ginny her soulmate? It even extended beyond the Potter's. Harry and the Potter's destinies were so intertwined with Voldemort that she could give the Weasley's Fred. George would never know what it's like to lose his twin. Molly and Arthur would never have to know the pain that comes with burying a child, as no parent should ever outlive their children. Neville could have his parents. The amount of good she could do was overwhelming. Despite the fact she had no desire to fight in a war again, she would do it in a heartbeat if it meant she could give her family a better world.

"Well…" Hermione began.

"Are you finally going to tell us something?" James interrupted excitedly. He, unlike his best friend, had been patient with Hermione, but she still knew he wanted to know everything.

"I would if I knew I wouldn't be interrupted every five seconds," the time-traveler mock glared at the messy-haired wizard. "What I was going to say is that my best friend isn't supposed to be born until next July, so if Lily was pregnant now it's a little too soon."

"So I'll...I'll be a dad next year?" James was awe-struck at the idea of having a child, of being a father.

Hermione and Sirius chuckled at the look of wonderment, terror, and happiness on James's face.

"Well, in theory, but I recommend stop pissing your wife off if you ever want that to happen," Hermione joked.

James sobered a little at this comment, "You think she would be a little more grateful to you. Honestly it's like she's almost jealous, but you're just here to help."

Hermione didn't know what to say to that and it seemed neither did Sirius, so both chose to remain silent while the Potter heir worked through whatever was going on in his head.

After a few moments of silence James spoke again, "Can you tell me about him?"

Hermione blinked, "Who?"

"My son."

"You want me to tell you about Harry?" Hermione questioned, unsure as to why. This time around he would be able to get to know his son. Not to mention, anything that she knew about him could change simply due to her presence in this timeline.

"Harry? That's his name?" James asked, a little desperately.

"Why? You know anything that I knew about him could now be false. Me being here changes everything. I have no idea what this Harry will be like. He won't be my Harry," she glanced at Sirius, hoping he could give some insight into his friend, but all he did was shrug. He wanted to know about his godson, because who else would James choose as godfather, as much as James did.

"I just need…" James trailed off, but gave Hermione a pleading look, and in that moment she understood. He needed to know what she was fighting for, why she was fighting. He needed to know there was hope for not just his future, but the future of his family.

So Hermione began, "His name was Harry James. We actually met on the train to Hogwarts our first year, but didn't become friends until Halloween. After that Harry, myself, and another boy in our year Ron were all inseparable. Until the very end." She had a wistful smile on her face, remembering all the times they laughed together, fought together, saved each other.

"What happened at the end?" Sirius asked quietly after giving her a moment to collect herself.

"Harry did what Harry always did. He sacrificed himself to save the rest of us."

"Why?" James choked out. "Why would he do that?"

"Because that is who Harry was. At that point we had all been fighting for so long. The war had been going on openly for about two years, but we, Harry, Ron, and I, had been fighting Voldemort together since our first year. We had also been on the run and living in a tent for almost a year, the entirety of the Order and every single Muggleborn that could had been in hiding. You think it's bad now?" she asked the two wizards. "Imagine if Voldemort succeeded and actually took over the Ministry, because that is exactly what he did. I think, as much as Harry loved us and wanted to live, he walked toward Voldemort at peace with his decision knowing that we would be able to defeat him. Harry died knowing the world would be a better place, and he was able to move on and be with his family. You have to understand that Harry grew up unloved, and then he entered this world with no guidance and almost immediately had to fight for his life. He then lost nearly every person he considered family. None of us really had a childhood, so it didn't surprise me that he faced death so willingly."

The two wizards sat in silence, with tears in their eyes. They had expected it to be bad, but they could never guess at the amount of anguish the young woman in front of them had been through.

Sirius was the one to speak first, "You said he grew up unloved. Why? I know the Potters would never treat their grandson that way, and neither would James or Lily."

"James and Lily," Hermione started. "Fuck, this is hard. James and Lily were killed a few months after Harry's first birthday. I'm unsure what happened to Charlus and Dorea but Harry was sent to live with Lily's sister and her family as they were his only living relatives at the time."

"No," James emphatically stated. "Petunia hates Lily. She even refused to be a bridesmaid in our wedding. I'm pretty sure the only reason she was even there is because her parents forced her to be. There is no way we would have allowed that. I'm sure we stipulated in a Will that any children of ours would go to Sirius, Remus, and Peter."

"I'm sure you're correct. As I have never seen yours and Lily's Will, I can not say for sure, but there were…extenuating circumstances that prevented that from happening."

"Extenuating circumstances? What the bloody hell does that mean?" Sirius demanded.

"Please don't make me go through everything right now. Can't you just accept that I won't let it happen?" Hermione begged.

"No! I want to know," the man-child that was Sirius Black continued.

"Pads, maybe we should let this go for now?" James suggested. "She's already given us a lot."

Sirius seemed to be at war with himself for a few seconds before he acquiesced and then pouted like a petulant child, "Fine, but I demand to know later."

Hermione chuckled and rolled her eyes at his dramatics. It seemed no matter the age or time spent in Azkaban, Sirius Black would always be a drama queen.

"Well enough of this depressing shit," James declared, forcefully attempting to lighten the mood. "My wife is being a right harpy and I was looking to cause a bit of trouble with my mates, but seeing as Remus has been MIA and Peter is taking care of his Mum, I'm stuck with this git. Care to join us Miss Granger?"

"Cause some trouble? I think I've caused enough trouble for one lifetime," Hermione laughed, putting all thoughts of her task out of her head for the time being. "But what were you thinking?"

"Head down to the pub, drink away our sorrows," Sirius answered for James.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Hermione tried to get out of their plans for the rest of the afternoon and evening. "I'm not a big drinker."

Sirius snorted. "I think that much is obvious. But somebody has to keep the two of us in line, as the job usually falls to Moony and he is not here, it is up to our second favorite bookworm."

Hermione pretended to be indignant. "And just how do you know I am a bookworm?"

"Oh please, you have spent every day in the library since you've got here," James laughed.

Hermione was silent for a moment before she agreed, "Fair enough. I do enjoy a good library. Seriously though, I tended to avoid the parties at Hogwarts, and then after the war we would go out occasionally but it got to be too much. Too many people trying to talk to us or thank us for 'our services to the Wizarding World'. It was awful."

"Oh come on. It will be fun. I promise we're a riot," Sirius enticed her. "And here, nobody knows who you are. Nobody will try to talk to you if you don't want them to. You could always just say you're with me," he winked at her.

"I think I'd rather say I was with James." She smirked. At this point Hermione was simply getting entertainment out of goading Sirius. She was reminded of him purposefully antagonizing her when they all stayed at Grimmuald Place, now she enjoyed the fact the tables were reversed. "But a night out does sound fun. It could do me some good to let loose a little."

"Don't worry Mione, we'll show you a good time," James assured her with a smile.

"Just let me clean up a little bit first. I'll meet you by the Floo in an hour."

Hermione walked out of the library leaving the two wizards alone.

"I'm going to marry that witch someday, Prongs," Sirius assured his best friend.

James turned to Sirius and punched him in the arm. "Don't mess with her Padfoot. We need her."

"I know. I'm not messing with her. You said that when you first saw Lily, you just knew. When I first saw Hermione, I just knew," Sirius argued. "You know I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the family."

"I know, I know. It's just...don't push her. Even if you have good intentions, we don't want her to walk away if you push too far."

"I doubt she would ever walk away from the Potter's. You heard how she spoke about her friend. She would do anything for him."

James glared, not saying anything.

"Fine, fine. I'll back off for now, but I won't forever," the dog animagus conceded. "Come on, let's go wait for her and head to the Leaky."

James silently agreed, and the two wizards left leaving the library empty.