Time flew by like crazy. It seemed like the semester started only a few days ago and yet, somehow, Hermione found that the end of January neared rapidly and along with it – Lily's birthday. Her friend was about to become an adult in the eyes of wizarding world's laws – something everyone looked forward to from the day they've been allowed to possess their own wands. Not a single day went by without thinking about using magic without any restrictions and turning seventeen meant exactly that.

For Hermione though, her friend's birthday meant one thing – she had to come up with a way to tell her the truth, as that was their deal, from the beginning. Now that Lily was about to become an adult, fully able to make decisions for herself, Hermione couldn't crush her hopes of getting to know at least some of her secrets. She would be stupid, though, to think that telling her would be simple.

Just as there was a risk when it came to telling Sirius, so too was it in everyone else's case. Hermione trusted her friends, but there was no way of telling how they would react to the news she had to offer. She needed to make sure, that whatever their reaction might be, they will take her secrets to the grave with them.

The Unbreakable Vow was something she considered very seriously, but it didn't exactly protected any knowledge. If someone extracted certain memories from their minds, it would result in their death, but the information would be stolen away anyway. That wasn't enough, not in her case – she didn't want any of her friends to die at all, not mentioning dying in vain, just because they weren't able to keep the terms of the Vow.

The Fidelius Charm would be much better, she fully realized that. Actually, it seemed like the only viable option, as it would fully protect not only her secrets, but also wouldn't convict any of her friends to dying just because someone tried to pry the information out of their heads. It solved basically all of the problems. Hermione, though, wasn't all that sure about using it.

All it took was a mistake in choosing the Secret's Keeper and her plan would fall apart, taking everyone along with it. If her past taught her anything, it was that nothing could ever be certain. No one had seen Peter's betrayal coming. What if this time things were to get just as bad? What if...

There were so many uncertainties concerning that spell and so little sources that could help her resolve her doubts. And that fact did nothing to lighten up her mood.

"It would be really nice if you could listen to me for just a second, Hermione", Ewan sighed and shook his head tiredly.

She blushed slightly, realising that she had managed to get lost in her own thoughts once again. Well, it couldn't be helped, could it? Her problems seemed to pile up, despite her countless efforts to make the situation better.

"Sorry. I have a lot on my mind lately"

Her friend rolled his eyes theatrically, making her blush even more. After all, it was one of her favourite excuses for spacing out on everyone.

"I feel like I've heard that one before", Ewan sighed and looked at her with his brows furrowed in concern. "Someone might think that being in love would make you loosen up, but it seems like it's kind of the opposite"

Well, she was in love, not completely bonkers...

"Sirius is great and all, but he's not a miracle worker", she smiled and bit her lip.

Maybe instead of just worrying about numerous problems, she could just take one weight of her shoulders? Hermione hadn't had the chance to talk to Ewan about the Order and Dumbledore's request, as she wanted to do it the right way. The Headmaster told her that she shouldn't rush things, although she had no doubts that this whole situation was rather urgent. Ewan wasn't stupid, though, which made Hermione painfully aware of the fact, that he would connect the dots as soon as she referred Headmaster's words to him. And admitting that she had supported his plan felt truly horrible.

She couldn't procrastinate forever, though. She had to do it and now was as good as any other occasion.

"I need to talk to you", Hermione's quiet voice was full of tension that caught Ewan's attention immediately, making him look at her with suspicion in his eyes.

"That's a change", he said with sarcasm dripping from his words, but she was too nervous to even glare at him murderously.

Ewan had been spending so much time with Leslie, that irony and sarcasm became his second nature and she wasn't sure if she liked it. Sure, it was fun to tease him back at times, but right now, she wished he could be more lenient. Things would be definitely much easier then.

"Change or not, I want you to come with me", she asked and turned abruptly, deciding that Ewan would have to become another person aware of Room of Requirement's existence.

Her fellow Housemate followed her without hesitation, although she was completely sure that weariness graced his features. Apart from her obvious doubts concerning his acceptance into the Order, no one would be able to oppose his membership – not with his impressive deductive skills and the ability to use logic at all times. He was a perfect example of a Ravenclaw; he was smart, creative and never stopped craving new knowledge, even if that meant spending hours thinking about numerous theories and possibilities.

His intelligence should have actually made her much calmer. After all, he proved himself to be more than able to look at the greater picture and wasn't naïve enough not to know that war had its costs. Would he be pleased that Dumbledore decided to simply use him? No. Would he accept that in order to do some good?

She had no doubts as to that. The only concern that made her heart thump against her chest was his reaction to her own involvement in this entire case.

The seventh floor greeted them with silence – it wasn't the most attended corridor, especially not after the classes had ended. Most of the students preferred to spend their free time with friends in their Common Rooms, or even outside as the snow provided for long hours of fun. The silence felt weirdly soothing, though she couldn't tell why.

"What I'm about to show you, has to stay a secret", Hermione said and turned her head to look at Ewan, foundig him nodding in agreement.

She focused her thoughts on a perfect place to talk to someone about important things and walked along the wall three times, watching as the door started to appear slowly. If it wasn't for that tight knot in her stomach, looking at Ewan's expression would be absolutely hilarious.

"What the heck?', he murmured and came closer to inspect the door.

"Magic", she answered and grabbed the small, metal doorknob, twisting it.

The lock clicked and Hermione opened the door, smiling slightly. It never ceased to amaze her, how things worked at Hogwarts. It truly was magical, even by their standards.

She almost laughed seeing the room on the other side of the door. Apparently, her present dormitory was a perfect place to talk. That fact seemed amusing, but Hermione had to admit that it wasn't completely untrue – after all, she did have serious conversations in that place and all of them went quite well. She didn't count those about Sirius, obviously, as they consisted mostly of Gracie's yelling, Amy's sighing and Leslie's snarky comments. But there were others, that despite their grim subjects only made her bonds to her roommates tighter and stronger.

"Where are we?", Ewan asked, looking around with uneasiness.

Judging by his sudden discomfort, he was fully aware of his current location, which made Hermione smirk, despite her nervousness.

"Room of Requirement", she said, deciding that it was not the best time to tease him about his visits to ladies' dormitories.

Her mind wondered though... How exactly did he manage to get past those stairs? Obviously, they didn't react to Animagi, as no student should be able to possess the ability to transform into an animal at such a young age, but Ewan definitely didn't qualify as one. Well, she could always pester him about it later. Right now, there were much more important things.

"What?", the boy asked, completely dumbfounded.

Hermione sighed and explained everything to him, trying not to sound annoyed. She was really getting tired of having to repeat the same story over and over, but no one was to be blamed for it. Knowledge of this place hadn't been common and not everyone had Dobby at their disposal to show it to them.

"This is unbelievable", Ewan said, after she fell silent and a genuine smile graced his face, as he looked around. "Although I have to admit, I completely don't understand why you wanted to talk to me in girls' dormitory"

"So you do know where we are", she pointed out with a smirk and watched as a tinge of pink appeared on his cheeks.

"Is that why you wanted me here? To see if I've been naughty?", he raised his eyebrows in amusement and Hermione's smile faltered a bit.

"Ew", she commented, scrunching up her nose theatrically. "That's a definite 'no' from me"

"Thank Merlin!"

Hermione shook her head lightly and plopped down on her bed, or at least at the exact same bed that would have been hers if it was her actual dormitory. Her expression grew more serious, as Ewan sat opposite to her and started to watch her.

"Well?", he asked expectantly, making Hermione swallow hard.

"How do you feel about joining the Order?", she blurted out, before her bravery went away.

Ewan looked at her, clearly surprised. His mouth flew open and Hermione felt incredibly glad that this kind of expression didn't look dumb only on her.

"You know how I feel about it", after several minutes of silence, Ewan spoke up, sounding unsure and suspicious.

Hermione guessed, she couldn't blame him. After all, no one in their right mind would expect this kind of conversation while being a student. Not many people knew about the Order, of course, but still... Even being aware of its existence couldn't prepare for being so blatantly proposed to join it, especially not by someone so young and seemingly unexperienced as Hermione.

"I'm serious, Ewan"

The boy furrowed his brows and leaned forward, his elbows propped on his knees.

"Are you offering to talk to someone about me, or have you already done it?", he asked quietly and Hermione averted her gaze.

"This idea didn't come from me. I'm just a messenger..."

"Messenger for whom? Dumbledore?"

"I can't tell you until you agree"

"Dumbledore it is, then", Ewan nodded and sighed.

She didn't know if that was the reaction she expected from him, but apparently, he wasn't going to show any extreme emotions. Was it a good thing, though? There was no way of telling that, till their conversation ended.

"Why now? Why not wait until I've finished school?"

There was that question she feared the most. She wasn't surprised that it appeared so soon – she would have asked exactly the same thing, had they switched places.

"The Order needs new recruits. You're of age and you've proved yourself quite valuable"

Ewan looked down to his feet and she knew that words weren't needed to express his thoughts. He was thinking about the attack and everything that's happened afterwards – how he decided that their friendship valued more than safety. He mentioned the Order back then and remained quite convinced that it was the right path for him to thread. He wasn't scared or worried, that the person responsible for putting him in the Hospital Wing hadn't been found. He had his theories, but refused to talk about it, making Hermione worried sick, until she realised that Ewan wasn't the person to act reckless. His lack of trauma was uncommon, but not impossible, especially if he had been completely aware of the upcoming war.

"Something tells me that that's not the main reason. You see, I've been of age for quite a while and no one from the Order has approached me. You may as well tell me the truth, Hermione"

Despite the fact that a wave of nausea flooded her body, she couldn't help but to feel proud of him. He really was smart and observant, just as she made him out to be. Unfortunately for her, it meant that lying wasn't an option.

"It's all about your parents, Ewan", she admitted reluctantly and watched as anger appeared on his face immediately. "Don't get me wrong, the Order wants you. It's just that they have a policy of keeping students out of this entire mess... But the situation had changed. I hate that I'm asking something like that of you, but we don't have a choice"

"Why don't you simply ask my parents?! It's not like they're bad people, Hermione, they would understand. Don't you think it would be better to do so than to manipulate them into joining by using me and my safety as leverage?"

Hermione closed her eyes and sighed deeply. It sounded so horrible, that she wanted to Obliviate him so that he wouldn't remember any of this. Unfortunately, she had had enough of Obliviating her close one's...

"Your parents refused, Ewan. From what I know, they've been refusing to join for the past few years. It's probably for the same reason that they will decide to accept the Membership now – they want to protect you, more than anything. If they had decided to openly ally themselves with the Order, it wouldn't be difficult for the blood purists to target you and force your parents into a terrible situation", Hermione explained quietly, knowing that every word that came out of her mouth was true.

It wasn't enough to make this entire case any less infuriating and unjust, but it was much easier to be honest, even if it hurt.

"It's not like I can't fight for myself, is it? They should know that. This war is going to make everyone suffer, it doesn't matter if they will try to stay out of it or get right into the middle of things"

Now it was Hermione's turn to be surprised. She expected a lot of different things, but to hear Ewan so clearly disappointed in his parents... Well, this wasn't one of those things.

"Ewan, no parents would ever want their children to be forced to fight a war, no matter how right it is", her gentle voice calmed him down a bit, but he still looked positively disturbed.

"That's not a choice that anyone can make for me. Actually, it shouldn't be a choice at all", he muttered and shook his head. "What about all of those parents and children who lost their lives because of one psychopath? Why should my life matter more than theirs?"

Hermione almost smiled at his words. Harry used to worry over things like that all the time – he got chosen to save the world, but he never considered himself to be someone special. He couldn't stand everyone risking their lives, in order to make him safe and sound. Ewan seemed to share her best friend's views, but Hermione knew better than to simply let him turn himself into a martyr of some kind.

"Ewan... It's not that simple. Trust me, losing someone you love is the most horrifying feeling in the entire world. It feels like your soul is getting ripped apart...", she smiled at her metaphor, although it had nothing to do with amusement. "I wouldn't wish it upon anyone"

"I know that, Herms. It's just that now is not the time to worry, to come up with horrifying scenarios. It's time to be brave. And I don't mean being fearless. I mean being scared, terrified even, but also doing everything to overcome that fear. Otherwise, you'll never be able to say that your life had truly been yours. Isn't that the same thing you told Leslie?", he asked with passion in his voice, making her eyes go wide.

He was right, in a way. If there had been anyone able to understand his point of view, it definitely had been her. After all, she was still fighting her fears, trying to make them disappear rather than simply accept their existence. But what happened to Leslie and what joining the Order meant, have been two completely different things. Les didn't have to wake up every day, feeling the world's weight on her shoulders. She didn't have to worry about the lives of complete strangers, more than her own. She had to overcome her fear of living again, rather than of giving it away for the greater good.

"There are many kinds of bravery, Ewan", Hermione whispered hollowly and looked down to her feet. "I wish everyone had the strength to fight for their family, even if from the greater perspective it is not the best thing to do. Your parents don't lack bravery. As soon as you decide to join the Order, they will follow and fight this war just like the rest of us. But this fight is just something they hadn't wished for you. Not ever"

Ewan was quiet for a few minutes and then sighed shakily, forcing her to look up.

"I can't just say 'no', Hermione. I know that they will be furious and scared, but I know I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror, if I refused your offer", he said and Hermione nodded stiffly.

"I understand. I'd probably do the same thing, but I think you should talk to them first. They will be furious and scared, and I believe the leader of the Order will have to deal with their rage for quite a while, but at least, they won't find out about everything from him", she said gently and Ewan nodded grimly. "You're going to be safe at Hogwarts and knowing how the Order functions might actually help you in the future. There is no point of letting it tear your family apart. For what is worth, I believe it might make you stronger, even if this whole thing makes me sick to my stomach"

Ewan stood up and walked over to her sitting place. Before she could say something, he embraced her, offering her comfort she didn't think she deserved.

"Dumbledore knew what he was doing, sending you to proposition me, even though it was cruel", he whispered against her hair, while her eyes filled up with tears. "If I had any doubts about this, knowing that you must have accepted it eventually, made the decision much easier. He probably knew I was going to react that way"

"Of course he knew... That man knows everything. He's probably aware of the fact that we're hugging right now and he has opened a fresh package of lemon sherbets to celebrate it", she murmured shakily, trying to lighten up the mood and succeeding at it, as Ewan chuckled.

"Sounds like him", her friend admitted and let go of her, but remained at arms distance. "So... If I'm joining the Order, does that mean you're going to let me in on those secrets of yours?"

Why did she even bother with lightening the mood, if he wanted to ask that kind of questions?

"That's what I was thinking about, earlier on. There's a lot of seventeenth birthdays coming my way...", she sighed and furrowed her brows. "I can't keep you in the dark forever. I didn't give it much thought before, but now that things changed, it might not be so simple as I've previously suspected. I need time to figure it out"

Ewan smiled at her gently and nodded agreeably.

"For what it's worth, I think you're doing the right thing by telling us. I can vouch only for myself, of course, but everyone else seems to care for you just as much. And it will be much easier to do so once we know everything"

Hermione almost smiled at his words, knowing that he could either turn out to be very right or very, very wrong. What she wouldn't give to be lucky, just this once...

"Sirius! Care to explain why you're dragging me to the Gryffindor Common Room?", Hermione asked, trying not to lose any of her books along the way, as Sirius pulled her forward relentlessly.

"You're my girlfriend and I'm sick of hanging out in the Library. I can't even kiss you properly in that freaking tomb"

Sirius's answer left her half amused, half angry. Referring to her favourite place in the entire castle as the 'tomb' wasn't exactly what she wished for, but hearing his tormented voice made her chuckle anyway.

"Do you even know what the word 'tomb' means?", she said and suddenly got her hand back, as Sirius stopped abruptly, looking at her with his eyebrows raised.

"Do you even know what 'being kissed properly' means?"

Before Hermione could answer, his lips captured her own and took her breath away. Well, it definitely was a proper kiss, although not very appropriate. After all, they were standing in the middle of the corridor and not an empty one at that. She wasn't sure how she felt with displaying her feelings in public, but... At this moment she wasn't even sure how she felt about having her clothes on.

"Mr Black, Miss Granger!", outraged voice of Minerva McGonagall sounded in the air, making Hermione's brain wake up instantly.

She jumped back, her face flushed red and lips properly swollen.

"Professor McGonagall!", Sirius chirped, brushing his hair with his fingers, looking completely relaxed and very satisfied. "Fancy seeing you here!"

Hermione almost groaned at loud, looking at the older woman's face – her expression wasn't very cheerful.

"I wish I could say the same, Mr Black. Shall I remind you that exchanging fluids between students, in the middle of corridors is forbidden?"

"Oh!", he exclaimed, while an apologetic smile appeared on his face. "We're terribly sorry, Professor. We shall step to the side next time"

Did he just... Bloody hell.

"Sirius!", she hissed furiously and looked at Professor McGonagall with panic in her eyes. "What Mr Black here was trying to say is that it was highly inappropriate and will definitely not happen again"

"Don't make promises you can't keep", Sirius muttered quietly, but unfortunately, both women had heard him.

"I shan't, Mr Black. Which is why I'm going to meet the both of you in detention. Friday, 8 p.m.. Please, refrain from such activities on the way to my office. You don't want to be late"

With that, McGonagall walked away, leaving Sirius with a stupid grin and Hermione close to tears. Never in her academic career was she given a detention for doing something so ludicrously, inappropriately... Enticing.

She bit her lip and decided that it was a bad idea, since his taste still lingered on it, making her even more dumbfounded.

"Sirius Orion Black...", she hissed furiously. "Why the heck did you do that?!"

Her voice was probably heard at the other end of the castle, but she didn't care.

"Because I wanted to?"

She slapped him in his arm, making him laugh out loud. He probably thought she looked adorable, trying to hurt him, but his joy stopped abruptly when she took out her wand and casted a nonverbal spell, with a vicious smile gracing her face.

"Well and I wanted to turn your hair pink. I guess we're even then", she chirped sweetly and resumed her walk towards the Gryffindor Tower.

She knew that Sirius would probably be furious with her and that generally wasn't a good thing. Still, seeing his long, silky hair blinding everyone with their pink shade was totally worth it.