AUTHORS NOTE:
Here is Part 5, hope you enjoy
Leave a review of what you though if you'd like.
I've removed the prologue, so that's why the chapters are a bit messy but yeah.
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Chapter 5
Hermione found herself back at Hogwarts for her second year, with Regulus by her side, but he seemed a bit distant. She hadn't spent much of the summer with him.
Her father wanted to soak up as much father-daughter time he could before she was off for yet another time, and he won't be seeing her till December, and that was still too long for him.
Hermione had missed Regulus, and she worried for him. But she was going to tell him what she thought they should do, survival was, indeed the only concept they needed to understand for the next seven years they spent in Hogwarts, and outside the walls of a place that was home away from home, for Hermione at least.
More importantly, she'd been hearing whispers, of things that were dark and evil, but they were only whispers for now, and that alone had worried her of the shadowed reality that loomed above their heads. As a twelve-year old, Hermione was much too smart for her own good, and observant, noticing the little details that no one ever paid attention to.
•••••••••••
One detail that Hermione noticed, as all students settled down on their respective house tables, getting ready for the welcoming feast, and the sorting of the brand new wave of first years, was that Remus Lupin had velvety pieces of skin that perturbed his skin. Scars, and she wondered to herself, as he turned to speak to Sirius, and the light shined on the pieces of skin that illuminated and stuck out, what had happened to him?
Remus was always kind to her and Regulus, regardless of the house they were placed in, as was James, and even Peter, but Pettigrew resembled a rat, with his skittish behavior and his little laughs that sounded like he was wheezing.
The pudgy boy seemed harmless, but Hermione never felt comfortable around him, maybe it was because he tried too hard to prove himself, always puffing up his chest when he regarded her and her little group of her friends, as if she was yet another snake that was beneath him, but he still seemed to be nice enough.
She kept her distance from the strange boy, and instead turned to focus on the girl that was seated near Remus. She had fiery red hair, and a smile that brightened the entire table, she was regarding James Potter with what seemed to be disgust, and beside her she felt another pair of eyes staring at the beautiful girl, and caught Severus with hands tight around his book, and his eyes swimming with an emotion she didn't quite understand.
It didn't seem to be hatred, but she couldn't tell what his problem was and she decided that she would ask him later today, when they were seated underneath the tree that was near the lake, a place that Severus claimed when he was just a first year, and that he grudgingly shared with herself and Regulus.
Speaking of Regulus, he was still so very distant, smiling at her when she regarded him and spoke to him, telling him of her summer and then asking him about his, but his smile was so dim, so forced and she wondered if she'd done anything wrong.
The though of hurting Regulus made her heart drop to her toes, and she felt her hands sweat with anticipation of when she would get him alone and confront of him of his rather strange behavior, however, for now she would remain quiet and watch as the first years were sorted, and soon she would sip at her pumpkin juice and eat the delicious turkey that was later displayed before her.
She would act normal, and hold conversations with both Lucius and Narcissa, who were sitting rather close to one another, and she frowned slightly, but kept her comments to herself, as usual.
•••••••••••
Regulus was currently being pulled by the hand by a rather anxious and annoyed Hermione, who seemed to be on some sort of mission as she kept dragging him towards the library.
Severus had left to the dungeons, and he wished that their other friend was here, because although they found his presence to be somewhat amusing, they never spoke much of their home life around him, or any parts of their life for that matter.
Trust is earned, after all.
Once they reached the library, Hermione found a corner that was secluded and quiet, and she turned towards him, her grey eyes shining with determination as she stood before him, arms crossed and foot tapping at the ground rather quickly.
"Mione… are you alright?" he asked hesitantly, his cousin seemed aggravated with him.
"I would be asking you the same Regulus, you seem very distant." she said his full name, and he felt himself get nervous, was she upset at him?
"Reggie," she dropped this hard resolve, not letting him answer, or was she asking him? She approached him, her arms no longer folded and foot no longer tapping.
"What's the matter?" she whispered, her hands suddenly reaching for his, and he didn't realize that he needed this until her warm fingers squeezed his cold ones, and he sighed, averting his gaze to the ground, concentrating on the sound of his breaths and hers mixing together in the silence that overtook the entirety of the library.
"It's nothing you need to be worried about, I promise." He tried to assure her but he could tell she wasn't have it, and she sat him down on the floor, with her sitting cross-legged in front of him, her black curls cascading onto her face and she puffed at them, blowing them out of her face.
"Don't you dare lie to me Regulus Arcturus Black. I hate liars, and besides, you wouldn't think I would believe whatever nonsense you manage to come up with." She huffed in annoyance, her glare softening slightly as she leaned a little bit closer, and grabbed at his chin, forcing him to look at her.
"What happened?" she muttered, her voice hoarse with emotion and he couldn't even lie, because he couldn't break her heart, and she was right, she knew him, she knew him too well, and lying to her would be useless.
"Mother… she was terrible this summer. She… she tried to kill him Mione. She hurt him so bad, she beat him till he was unconscious, and I didn't know what to do, there was just so much blood, and I remember thinking, why didn't I stand up for him, and to her. He needed that, he needed me, and dammit I didn't do anything Hermione! I'm just a weak little Slytherin, an obedient stupid boy!" he almost screamed, rambling, words coming out before he could stop himself, and she felt his hands shake in hers so she gripped them a little tighter.
"What happened next, c'mon Reggie, you can tell me. I'll never tell, our little secret, always." She urged him to let it out, to tell her everything he'd kept inside his breaking heart throughout the summer, and he did. He told her everything.
He told her how he found Sirius laying in the living room, blood dripping from his mouth, his nose, and his head, everywhere. He remembered shaking, and standing behind the doorway, hearing the smacks, and hexes that his mother sent at Sirius, and the grunts as he continued to spit words at her, words that she despised.
He told her about how he was glad he was in Gryffindor, and not another stupid fucking Slytherin.
He remembered stumbling into the room after their mother passed by him in the doorway, not noticing his shaking form as she disapparated to a tea party she had at the Lestrange's.
He told her how he rushed to Sirius's side, and lifted his head onto his lap, his head soaking blood onto his pants, and how he tried to remove the matted hair of his brother out of his face, muttering to himself as he tried to wipe away the blood, and lightly tapping at his brother's face, trying to keep him awake, but Sirius was so weak, and so much blood, everywhere.
And then he told her how he quickly pushed Sirius into their floor network, screaming "Potter Manor" and once Sirius was out of sight and in a place he knew he would be safe, and loved, he rushed upstairs, pushing past Kreacher, and making his way into the bathroom.
He hadn't had time to even collapse onto his knees before he was retching, his body shaking with anger, fear, and hatred. He hated this, and as he glanced at the blood that was covering him, he threw up yet again, and he was like that for the next thirty minutes, not being able to forget the way his brother looked so pale, and barely alive.
He felt Hermione squeeze his hands, and he looked up to see tears streaking her cheeks, but she quickly pulled one hand out of his grasp to wipe at the tears almost violently, and she threw herself at him then, hugging him, placing his head into the crook of his neck, and slowly running her hand through his long hair, like Sirius's hair, and she muttered comforting words, mumbling how she would protect him, how much she was sorry, but that they will be okay, the both of them.
"Listen to my Regulus," she later said, once they'd both calmed down, and she was able to cast a silencing charm around the both of them.
"You must maintain the perfect son act whenever you are home, you must act like Black in front of the Slytherins, especially in front of Lucius Malfoy and the Lestrange boys, and that Nott fellow. You must never show weakness, and you will need to keep your distance away from Sirius, do you understand? It's important that you understand, it is important that you and I act like pureblooded assholes, please Reggie." She held his face in her hands, and looked into his eyes, searching for the understanding that she knew he had.
He knew it was important to maintain this act he'd come up with since he just a little boy, and his mother started having expectations from the both of her sons. The difference between Sirius and himself, was that he was still able to keep up the act, while Sirius's wild streak had pushed him to free himself from the suffocating hold their mother had on the both of them, whereas Regulus was still choking, barely breathing.
He nodded his head, and she kissed him on both cheeks, nodding her head as well, and mumbling to herself about something he couldn't quiet comprehend.
"If you ever need to scream, when it gets too much, come to me. I'll be here for you always, you'll have me by your side, and when you feel like its gone too far, when you feel like everyone has turned against you, when you feel like you've lost Sirius, I'll be here, I'll tell you the truth, always Reggie. Always." She said, her voice soft and determined.
He loved her, like a sister, like a companion in this dark world that they lived in, and he nodded, he knew she spoke of nothing but the truth. And the world always seemed like such a lie whenever spoken by anyone, but it was anything but when she said it to him, he knew that always would last with her.
"I will stand by you through every bad and good decision Reggie, and you'll do the same for me, won't you?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly, and now it was his turn to hold her face.
"I will be the only person who will never judge you Mione, know that. Every step of the way, we'll make it." He promised her as well, and they hugged once more, before removing the silencing charm, standing up and making their way to the dungeons, as if they hadn't made such scary promises to one another, as if they hadn't unloaded the darkest parts of their harts, as if they hadn't just wept on the floor, or screamed about the things they hated and wished never existed.
And when they were each in the comfort of their own beds, they stared up at the ceiling and knew that hoping for a better tomorrow was such a Gryffindor thing, and so they both wished for a bit of strength to carry on for the next day.
•••••••••••
Sirius awoke with a bright smile on his face, knowing that he would never be returning to the house of horrors, ever.
His mother had banished him, blew his name of that family tree they had in their living room wall, and he never felt more alive.
The only thing that had him frowning at times, was remembering Regulus, and whether or not his little brother would be okay, but Reggie was brave, he knew it, and so he hoped his brother would be okay. He'll have to talk to him soon, surely the younger boy must be aware that Sirius was no longer considered apart of the most ancient and most noble house of Black.
He was once again happy as he thought of the summer he spent with the Potter's. Mr. and Mrs. Potter treated him as if he were their own, and loved him unconditionally.
He didn't know how he got to their manor, but he was thanking whatever entity was up there for throwing him into the arms of the loving family, who took him to St. Mungos and got him healed, in more ways than one.
His life was going to be better, he was determined of that.
•••••••••••
"Severus, why is that you always stare at that muggle-born witch in Gryffindor?" Hermione finally asked the question she'd held inside for the past month.
And with them sitting in the comfort of just each other, and Regulus of course, underneath that lovely tree near the lake, she watched as Severus stiffened but quickly turned to look at her, his eyebrow quirked and his mouth thin with distaste towards her.
"Your stupidity still manages to surprise me Black, I hadn't realized how blind you were until you'd made such an assumption." He spoke slowly, voice hollow, but she could see how straight he was sitting, as if holding himself together.
"You don't have to tell me anything now Sev, but we're friends. You can tell me once you're ready, I'll be patiently waiting to listen." She smiled at him, and Severus Snape wished that the use of the word 'friend' from those lips didn't mean more to him than it did, and that it didn't make him slightly happy.
"We are not friends, we merely sit with one another as I'm stuck babysitting you two blithering morons." He quipped, but Hermione still smiled at him. She knew that the stating that they were friends meant more to him than he lead on, and she could tell by the way he completely disregarded the fact that she said that he'll eventually tell her about the pretty red-head from Gryffindor.
"Calling us morons does not make the statement true Severus, and besides, you wouldn't waste time with us if we were so simple-minded, we both know this." Regulus mumbled as he was scribbling on a piece of parchment, almost done with his transfiguration essay.
Severus only snorted in response, and Hermione still smiling, returned to her own piece of parchment, finishing up that Charms assignment that Professor Flitwick had assigned.
She quiet liked this friendship that was forming between the three of them, she felt like it would be of use in the future, when they learn to rely on one another.