To say that things got complicated would be the understatement of the year. Hermione knew that from the moment she left the Library, but everything that came after only made things worse. She almost wished for Sirius to come over to her dormitory, because sleep proved to be elusive that night, as various, heavy thoughts cursed through her head at a rapid pace.
She got up before the dawn, deciding that she wasted enough time as it was. Visiting Dumbledore's office so early in the morning, rather than after her classes, might not have been such a bad idea. Surely, it wasn't as good as visiting him right after she found about this entire situation, but she had no doubts that the Marauders had tracked Peter on the Map and if they had realised that her talk with him led her straight to the Headmaster's office, they would never let it go. Last thing Hermione wanted was to damage the Marauder's friendship and that felt like a real threat at that moment.
Her reflection in the mirror told her that she needed to put much more effort into her daily morning routine, if she wanted to fool anyone into thinking she had a great night full of sleep. Sirius especially... That man always noticed when something was wrong with her. With a sigh, she grabbed her wand and tried to force her brain to focus enough not to make her face blotchy and red by accident.
A couple of beauty charms did wonders for her tired complexion, but failed miserably to make her feel any better about her day. And she wasn't even the one that suffered the most... Imagining herself in Peter's skin felt truly terrible. Everyone made mistakes, but not everyone had to face their friends with the knowledge of being only a step from betraying them as a consequence of those mistakes.
She had to stop thinking about it and start working instead. Things were not lost just yet and Hermione had sworn to herself that she would do everything in her power to save all of her friends. It was time to fulfil that promise. It was time to get back to the dull reality of her life.
"This is a terrible situation, Miss Granger", Dumbledore's worried voice made her look down to her palms resting on top of her pleaded skirt.
"I am well aware of that, Professor", she replied quietly and bit her lip. "That's why I came to you. I know all of the available options, but I cannot make the decision on my own"
"And what are those options?", the man asked in a tired voice and caressed his beard absentmindedly.
"We can have Peter refuse Mulciber and let his parents die, but I think we can both agree that this option is completely unacceptable", she said and looked at the Headmaster briefly, watching for any signs of disagreement. "We can also let Peter join Voldemort's ranks and become a spy. His parents would be protected and it's hard not to see all the benefits for the Order that would come out of such solution"
"Yes, those benefits would be very, very useful indeed", Dumbledore agreed, but Hermione knew that he didn't want to even consider it, so she decided to keep going.
"We can also protect him. The Order can protect him", she corrected herself and sighed quietly. "I know that it is a lot to ask from you. I know that it's not the most reasonable of the available solutions, but I can't stand the thought of doing anything else"
Dumbledore looked at her for a moment and then gave a slight nod. Hermione knew though, that their conversation was far from over, even if he felt inclined to agree with her.
"Do you realise how difficult it will be, Miss Granger?", he asked her tiredly and she offered him a scowl in response.
Yes, that thought had definitely crossed her mind. She remembered their conversation about the Prewett twins, Fabian and Gideon, just as she remembered the reason behind Ewan's membership. Both of those situation proved that the Order was weak and understaffed. She knew that the original squad of the organisation was even less impressive as it certainly didn't have Ewan and her in it, but, as of now, they were both physically unable to make a difference, since both of them had to stay at school.
Protecting yet another family posed a lot of difficulties. The fact that Peter brought that situation on himself didn't make things any better. Hermione doubted that if Moody had heard of it, he would appreciate risking losing another Member just to fix a teenager's mess. The Auror probably wouldn't be the only one opposing such solution and Hermione knew that Dumbledore had to be aware of that fact as well.
"I do, professor", she replied in a strained tone and clenched her fists so hard, that her nails dug into her skin painfully. "He's just a kid, though. I know that he seems pretty plain and ordinary compared to the rest of my friends, but he had just found his way back to the righteous path. Peter knows that he has to work hard to achieve something in his life. If we leave him now, we might regret it", she said and lowered her gaze to her fists. "We will regret it, professor. Letting his parents die would be something unforgivable. It will break him"
This time, the Headmaster nodded without hesitation and propped himself on his elbows, joining his palms together at the level of his eyes.
"Correct. Mr Pettigrew cannot be left without help as it would no doubt lead him back to Voldemort. He was a step away from making a bad choice, but he didn't. If he had the strength to say no, I believe he can still prove himself a very valuable asset. Asset, that needs to be groomed, rather than abandoned"
Hermione didn't like Dumbledore's tone in the slightest. He made it sound as though Peter was an object, rather than a person with a lot of feelings boiling inside of his heart. Still, to say that the Headmaster was wrong would be a lie, so she decided to simply nod her head and wait for the continuation of his speech.
"I need to speak with the Order. This decision cannot be taken here and now as it will influence too many people's lives, as I am sure you know", he announced after a minute and frowned. "Can you make sure that Mr Mulciber will have no access to Peter in the next couple of days?"
She hesitated. Was it possible to shadow Peter without any of the Marauder's noticing? Not likely. Not only were they superb at spotting things out of order, but also the Map made it pretty impossible to get out of their sight, so to speak. No, fooling them wouldn't be easy and Hermione had to come up with a different solution.
"Not without telling the rest of my friends about this entire situation, which I cannot do. It would undoubtedly influence their friendship and if Mulicber watches Peter, he might figure out that he must have told them something. Fights don't happen all that often in the Marauders society", she smiled crookedly and Dumbledore let out a soft chuckle, just to lighten up the mood a bit. "But I can figure out something else, to divert Mulciber's attention"
A hint of interest sparkled in Dumbledore's blue eyes and Hermione hesitated again. It was probably the right time to mention her friendship with Severus, but was it smart to do so? Did she really want to bet on her friend making the right choice?
"Speak, Miss Granger. My old mind can still be quite useful when it comes to solving dilemmas", the man smiled and she met his gaze at once.
"I was thinking about Severus Snape, professor", she admitted quietly and watched the smile disappear from the Headmaster's face.
"What about him?"
"I'm sure you're aware of my friendship with him. I know that he still chooses to spend his time with Mulciber and the others, but I have reasons to believe that he doesn't actually follow their philosophy. I think he and Peter are very much alike. If I had somehow managed to convince him to join our cause, he could be able to switch Mulciber's attention back to me", she proposed and rubbed her suddenly very sweaty palms against the fabric of her skirt, trying to dispose of the proof of her nervousness.
Dumbledore looked at her form above his half-glasses, but it wasn't a pleasant, twinkling gaze he usually offered. No... This time his blue eyes were serious and lacking any hints of humour.
"What if he lies to you?", he asked after a minute of silence and Hermione dropped her gaze back to her knees.
"That's a possibility I can't rule out. The thing is, professor, I had known him back in the future", she said and sighed. "I don't exactly fancy the idea of manipulating someone by using my special knowledge, but I believe I'm in possession of every argument needed to convince him to join us"
"Are you willing to bet your life on it? Because I won't be able to protect you, if Mr Snape decides to betray you"
The thought of Severus doing that made her heart stop for a second. She was very aware of the fact that he hadn't been an entirely good and pure person. Just in theory, it made him capable of betraying her, just as he was able to betray Lily. But would he really do that?
"I don't see a different option", she finally stated, pushing aside her thoughts.
It wasn't the right time to start doubting herself. Actually, there never was a good time for that, but today she truly needed to be confident and calm, as things had to be played perfectly.
"In that case, I can't really argue with you", the Headmaster responded, but his tone was unusually stern. "However, I cannot allow you to tell him anything about the Order. Whatever you decide to do to divert Mr Mulciber's attention, it can't have anything to do with us. Do you understand why, Miss Granger?"
She did perfectly. Severus Snape had been brilliant and she was sure he knew all about her allegiance to the Order, but to mention it freely in their conversation... No. There were things that could be described as risky, but telling him anything about the Order until she had the absolute certainty of his own loyalties was just plain mad.
"I do. I do and I am fully prepared to deal with the consequences entirely on my own"
A small smile returned to the Headmaster's face after a while, as he nodded his head and relaxed in his chair.
"In that case, so be it", he said and Hermione exhaled sharply knowing that there was no coming back now.
Her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything since the early morning. Hermione wanted to curse out loud, when she stepped inside the Great Hall, hoping to satisfy her hunger and found Severus Snape readying himself to leave. Her situation got even worse, when suddenly she got pulled against someone's body and a familiar scent reached her nose.
"Fancy meeting you here, Kitten", Sirius purred into her ear, forcing her to smile, even if she didn't want to.
"Completely unexpected", she sighed and bit her lip, when Severus stood up and said his goodbyes to everyone around him. "You're going to be so mad at me..."
"Why?", Sirius' voice was laced with curiosity, as he spun her around and caressed her cheek gently. "Are you breaking up with me?"
"What?", she snorted with disbelief and shook her head. "Of course not. Why would I do that?"
"I have no idea. I never understood why people would want to ditch me. Just look at me...", he laughed and Hermione rolled her eyes at him.
"Yes, you're perfect", she muttered with irony and followed Severus silhouette with her gaze. "Which is why I have to leave you here. I have to do something"
It took Sirius only a couple of seconds to figure out who she was watching and as soon as he did that, a frown appeared on his face.
"You're ditching me for Snivellus?", he hissed and clenched his fists with anger. "Are you kidding me, Hermione? We were supposed to meet up in the Room of Requirement after the feast"
Hermione bit her lip and tried to overcome that sudden feeling of guilt spreading throughout her body. Tonight was supposed to be really exciting and fun. She couldn't blame Sirius for getting angry, but she also knew that her talk with Severus had to take place tonight.
"I know and I'm sorry", she whispered and switched her weight from one leg to the other. "I wouldn't change our plans if it hadn't been important"
Sirius shook his head with disbelief and waved his hand dismissively.
"Yeah, whatever. Have fun with Snivellus"
With that, he was gone, leaving her alone in the entrance to the Great Hall with aching heart and overwhelming guilt. She followed Sirius' figure with her eyes and watched as he plopped down on his usual spot with pure anger painted all over his face. She wanted nothing more but to run to him and apologize, but Hermione knew that she had to catch Severus before he had reached the dungeons.
She turned around and left the Great Hall, trying to push all of her feelings aside. Sirius will probably forgive her for ditching him tonight, while he would never forgive her for letting his friend destroy himself. Of that, she was completely sure.