Hermione never liked fighting. It didn't matter whether it was with her parents or with her friends. Even if she hadn't done anything wrong, she still couldn't take that overwhelming feeling of guilt, that surged through her body after each fight. This time, things were even worse. Sure, Sirius overreacted and behaved like an immature git, but Hermione knew that he would act like this as soon as she realised she had to talk to Severus –someone Sirius truly hated.

What felt even worse, was the fact that she had to face Severus and find a way to convince him to her views. She really didn't want to tell the Marauders about this entire case, not yet anyway, and switching Mulciber's attention to herself felt like an easy way to prevent that. Well, maybe not easy, but definitely safe, at least to everyone but her.

Pushing away her guilt, she ran towards Severus, trying to catch him as fast as possible. That man had incredibly long steps, she had to admit, as it took her a couple of long minutes to catch up to him.

"Severus, wait!" she yelled as soon as she spotted him marching through the corridor.

The boy stopped rapidly and turned around, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"What do you want?" he asked in his cool tone and she wanted to roll her eyes at his behaviour.

Usually, he didn't talk to her with hostility, but all it took was a couple of students around them and things changed drastically. She didn't mind it all that much, but right now it made her even more anxious.

"I need to talk to you," she informed him in a pleading, quiet tone and he crossed his arms over his chest. "It's really important."

"Is this about Pettigrew?"

Hermione looked at him with surprise, but quickly recovered from his question. She could have guessed that someone as brilliant as Severus Snape will be able to connect the dots and figure things out on his own, but it still didn't make her feel any better. Judging by his tone, he was well aware of Peter's situation and he simply didn't care for it.

"Please, just hear me out."

The Slytherin snorted and turned around, wanting to walk away, but she grabbed his shoulder and forced him to change his plans.

"Don't do that! All I want is to talk," she pleaded once again and he smiled crookedly.

"Is it? Because I see no benefits that just talking could give you."

She sighed once again and scratched her head with abashment. True enough, she wanted much more. She couldn't force him to do anything he didn't want, though. If he decided to simply ignore her or even betray her, Hermione had to simply accept that.

"You're my friend, Severus. So I'm asking you to hear me out, as my friend,", she said quietly and he looked at her with annoyance.

When he turned around and started walking, his steps were shorter and slower, clearly telling her that he wanted her to follow him. Hermione moved forward, her heart racing with anxiousness and relief at once. Even convincing him to talk to her turned out to be quite difficult. What would the actual conversation look like then?

Severus led her to an empty classroom, seemingly unused, as a thick layer of dust settled over the desks and other furniture in the room. Hermione looked around, trying to figure out is she had ever been here before, but her memories came up blank, so she fixed her gaze on Severus, who took out his wand and murmured a spell, that she knew very well.

"What are you doing?" she asked nonetheless and he shrugged.

"I don't want anyone to listen in on us, if you still insist on talking to me."

"I do," she admitted quietly and sighed. "You probably already know that Mulciber wants Peter to join Voldemort"

Severus flinched visibly, but nodded and smirked viciously.

"I've told Mulciber that Pettigrew is quite useless, but he still thinks I'm wrong," he said. "I guess I am, since you jumped in to rescue him"

She really hated his tone. He sounded almost satisfied that Peter had gotten himself into troubles. Of course, Severus hated the Marauders, even if Wormtail hadn't participated in James' and Sirius' bullying most of the time. Still, how could he be happy about sentencing someone to a fate this terrible?

"Peter has made a mistake, Severus," she said dryly and furrowed her brows. "A mistake that he will regret for the rest of his life."

"He deserves to be miserable. All of them do."

She opened her mouth with shock and clenched her fists.

"I get it, you hate them. They are still people. In a couple of years from now, they will also regret bullying you and they will be ashamed. I know it doesn't change much for you, but how can you simply wish them something so terrible?" she asked with disbelief.

"Terrible? Had you forgotten that I chose this life for myself as well?"

"Had you? Really?" she snorted and raised her brows. "Then why the hell are you friends with me?"

"I've told you already," he murmured with annoyance, but she scoffed in response immediately.

"Oh, yeah. I'm smart, aren't I? Don't be ridiculous, Sev. I'm also everything you should hate. Do you realise that when the school's over, you'll be forced to kill me?"

Despite the poor lighting inside the classroom, Hermione could have sworn that Severus paled slightly.

"Don't tell me you haven't thought about it," she said and shook her head with disbelief. "You're brilliant, Sev. What do you think will happen to you if you join Voldemort? You mean nothing to him."

"How would you know? How would you know anything about him?", he spat in response and clenched his fists. "You're just a student and, despite Mulciber's interest in you, you still mean nothing to the Dark Lord. You simply don't compare to his power"

Hermione could feel her hair frizz from all the anger she suddenly felt in her body. The nervousness she previously felt disappeared completely and she really tried to stop herself from cursing her friend.

"Power is not everything. He will destroy you, Severus. You will be forced to kill and torture innocent people, without the possibility of saying 'no' to him. If you dare to refuse him, you will be tortured just like the people he despises," she explained bitterly and rolled up her sleeve, showing him the ugly scar covering her forearm. "Do you really think that he's any different from the people who did that to me?"

His expression didn't change that much, but she had known him better than to think he was completely unaffected by her words. His eyes were glued to the letters on her forearm and she felt that with each passing second he started to feel more and more conflicted.

"That's not the only scar I have," she whispered and looked down. "And like you said, I'm just a student. I shouldn't matter, but I do, just because I'm a dirty Mudblood."

"Don't call yourself that," he hissed and she could almost see the repulsion on his face.

"Why? You see the letters on my forearm! That's what I am according to your friends!"

Severus closed his eyes in fury and she let out a shaky breath, knowing that the crucial moment of their conversation neared rapidly.

"Would you be able to do that to me, Sev? Would you be able to do that to Lily?" she whispered quietly and watched the outrage on his face.

"I was going to beg him to spare you. Both of you," he informed her with certainty and she laughed bitterly.

"Come on, Sev. You're smarter than that. You can't possibly think that he would actually indulge you. Voldemort despises us. He cannot be reasoned with and if you try it, you'll be as good as dead. Can't you see? You're going to be a fucking puppet in his hands!"

The fact that she swore out loud seemed to disturb him more than anything else, since she rarely did that. Still, he looked at her angrily and she knew that his expression was caused mostly by the fact that she was right, but also because he was too proud for his own good.

"So what do you want me to do?" he hissed and scowled with disgust. "Join the Order?"

"Yes! If you are willing to fight, you can do it on the right side! Voldemort is not the only source of power, you know"

"Dumbledore hates me, Granger. Not only me... He hates all of the Slytherins. He looks at us with suspicion, like even being sorted into this house means that we are evil. Have you ever seen him do anything about those idiots you call your friends? He's the Headmaster, he knows literally everything. And yet, Dumbledore had never bothered to protect me, just because I'm a Slytherin"

Hurt filled his voice and Hermione actually understood his words completely. Some things never changed and it didn't take a genius to figure out that the Headmaster always felt the need to favour his own beloved House. Still, she had always thought that the Slytherins fully deserved being treated like that, because of their own behaviour. Like many things, even that situation had to have two different sides of the same coin.

Even with the understanding filling her heart, she knew that there was nothing that could justify becoming evil. So many people faced worse situations and still managed to live their lives decently.

"Oh, poor Severus," she scoffed and shook her head. "Do you honestly think you're the only one who's been mistreated? Do you think that being mistreated gives you the right to become an evil, murderous outlaw?! Let me answer that for you. No, it doesn't. If people don't respect you, make them. Not by making them fear you or fight you. You make them respect you by constantly proving them wrong, by doing the right thing over and over"

Severus looked positively angered by her words and it didn't make her feel any better. Actually, for a brief moment she wondered if her lecture hadn't been too harsh, but there was nothing to be done to change it now.

"How can you scold me and still be friends with them?" he hissed through his clenched teeth after a minute of silence. "Pettigrew wanted to betray them! Do you think they will still tolerate him when they find out?!"

Hermione looked down, knowing that there was no way of telling how they would react. She believed in her friends, she knew that their hearts were on the right sides, but in situations like this one... Things were simply too complicated.

"Ah, so you don't think Pettigrew will be forgiven", Severus laughed bitterly. "That's how that magnificent friendship works, yeah?"

"Why do you always excuse yourself from your mistakes by pointing out that someone else makes them as well?" she asked tiredly and rubbed her forehead with depletion. "We are all just people. They bully you and I hate it, I condemn it even. But you don't help yourself. You fight back, you dabble in the Dark Arts and you call their friend a Mudblood. No matter how bad their behaviour is, you do nothing to make yours better. Their mistakes will never justify yours"

Her quiet voice seemed to calm him down and, for the first time, she actually thought her words might have gotten through to him. Deciding that she had to end their conversation on a strong note, she said:

"I'm not asking you to become some kind of a hero. All I want you to do is to think about my words. Because, honestly... If you are willing to let Peter throw his life away just because you don't like him or, what's even worse, you're willing to let his innocent parents die... I'm not sure if I can understand it, Severus."

Severus didn't say a word and Hermione knew that she could hardly expect him to do anything different.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but I need your help with getting Mulciber's attention off of Peter. I'd like you to tell him about my scar. That should ignite his interest with me once again and you will still be able to do whatever you please. Just have this in mind – you have the chance to become a better person. Throwing it away will cost you more than just your life."

Tears rolled down her face, surprising her completely, but she didn't stop them. His face softened at the sight of her genuine feelings and he shifted slightly, probably wanting to comfort her in his first reaction.

"I will always value your friendship, even if you decide against my advice. I appreciate your brilliant mind, I appreciate your sense of humour, no matter how discreet it is. I don't ever want to leave you, but if you decide to stand on the other side of the barricade, I won't be able to do anything else. Voldemort will see to that, trust me"

She turned around, before she could break apart completely. Walking towards the door felt like the toughest thing she had to do in a while and that said a lot. Her steps were short and slow, as she still hoped that the boy will stop her and admit that she was right. Her heart almost broke when nothing but silence reached her ears.

A minute later, she was on her way to the Ravenclaw Common Room, wishing that Sirius wouldn't be mad at her, so that he could hug her and hold her until her heart didn't hurt anymore.

Her eyes stung from the lack of sleep, her head throbbed with pain and her stomach growled loudly, reminding her of that missed supper from the day before. Everything felt wrong and she found herself wishing that she could just stay in bed all day with a book in her hand and no problems to bother her.

Unfortunately, life wasn't going to just stop because of her bad mood, so Hermione forced herself to get up, get dressed and go down to the Great Hall. Her roommates looked at her with worry, but didn't say a word – just like every single day since they had that talk. Hermione couldn't even say that things were awkward. They weren't fighting and no one held grudges. It almost seemed like the girls had been scared of her, of the things she could be hiding. The only person who didn't seem to acknowledge all that tension in the air was Leslie, as she tried to do everything in her power to lighten up the atmosphere. For some part, she had even succeeded, but it definitely wasn't enough to make things completely fine.

The Great Hall greeted her with its usual chatter and joy, but Hermione didn't have the strength to smile. Her eyes searched the room for Sirius and when she didn't find him, she switched her gaze to the Slytherin table. To her surprise, Severus wasn't there as well, but Mulciber looked at her with a smug smile, that made her skin crawl with disgust.

She hurried to the Ravenclaw table and sat down on her usual spot, immediately starting to cover her plate with breakfast. If it weren't for the rumbling sounds her stomach created, she would have never forced herself to swallow the food, as it tasted like ash in her mouth.

Suddenly, she heard Sirius' laughter and looked up from her plate only to see him walk through the threshold of the Great Hall. Only he wasn't alone. Hermione almost dropped her fork when she spotted that exact same girl he had once taken to Hogsmeade, claiming that he wanted to make Hermione jealous. What was her name? Celia?

Her heart started to ache when she noticed that flirty smile gracing Sirius' face. She had known it all too well, considering he used it quite often in her presence. Technically, he wasn't even touching that girl, so she really couldn't get mad at him, but... That smile...

Was that how it was going to be every time they had a fight? He would simply run off to flirt with another girl, trying to punish her? Just the mere thought of that made her want to scream. She trusted him to be mature, she warned him about many things that would probably influence their relationship just because of Hermione's position. How could he be this petty and childish to forget about everything she'd told him?

Hermione kept looking in their direction, while whispers started to rise, when the pair decided to stand in the doorway and talk, instead of going to their tables in order to eat breakfast as any other student. Those whispers must have caught Sirius' attention as he looked around and his eyes almost immediately met her own.

It felt almost cleansing to watch his face pale slightly, as he realised that she must have seen all those smiles and flirty looks he offered the girl standing right next to him. Judging by his expression, it was all it took to make him realise he messed up and that made Hermione feel somewhat better.

With a scowl, she pried her gaze away and looked down towards her unfinished breakfast. It didn't taste good before, but now it almost nauseated her. She put down her fork and pushed the plate away, murmuring silent apologies to the House Elves. Deciding that she didn't want to talk to Sirius, she stood up and started to walk towards the exit of the Great Hall with her gaze fixed on the floor.

"Hermione..." her boyfriend said and followed her immediately, leaving Celia behind like a used toy. "It's not what you think"

"The fact that you felt the need to clarify it, doesn't say anything good, you know? Either you consider me stupid, or you consider yourself guilty," she answered, despite her previous resolution to ignore him.

"She just chatted me up on my way here. Besides, I'm allowed to talk to other girls, yeah?" he defended himself and she sighed tiredly.

"Um, I don't know. Seems like I'm not allowed to talk to the boys, so..."

"You cancelled our plans to talk to Snivellus. Don't you think I might have been angered by it?"

"What are you, five?" she snapped, stopping abruptly. "Do you really think I would have ditched you yesterday just to talk to him about the weather? Do you even know me?"

"It's Snivellus!"

"NO!" she growled and smacked him on the shoulder. "His name is Severus, for fucks sake! You treat him like garbage and just because I don't, you get angry with me! It's not fair and I refuse to tolerate it."

"But you left me..."

"I did it, because I had to, you dunderhead!" she exclaimed and closed her eyes with anger. "I wanted nothing else but to stay with you. For your information, I don't exactly fancy Severus and I sure as hell don't flirt with him."

Sirius looked definitely embarrassed and Hermione felt a huge shot of satisfaction just because of that expression painted all over his face.

"It hurt as hell to watch you leave me, after you had promised to act all grown up, but I knew you'd probably figure it out on your own sooner rather than later. But honestly, did you think I would be okay with watching you flirt with that same girl you claimed to be completely uninterested in?"

"So, you were jealous," he smiled and she smacked him once again, this time a lot harder.

"I'm freaking angry, Sirius! I don't have time for your childish revenge or whatever it was. I had already told you that the last thing I want is to have to worry about you leaving me after I had done something to hurt your ego. If you can't trust me when I say I have to do something, I don't know how you expect me to believe you that nothing happened between you and Celia"

"Don't be ridiculous, you know that..."

"I do know that you wouldn't cheat on me. You're not that stupid. But the thing is, I know. It made me angry and I don't want you to do that again, but I trust you when you say you love me. Why can't you do the same for me?" she asked and shook her head. "If someone can have trust issues, it's me. So suck it up and don't you ever act like a freaking five year old again!"

Sirius looked at her with a stunned expression for a minute and then he smiled dreamily, pulling her against his body.

"You're so hot when you're angry," he whispered and Hermione started to wriggle out of his embrace after hearing his words, but he held her tightly. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I know that I messed up, I was just so angry. I cannot understand why would you even want to talk to him."

"He's my friend. But honestly, in that case, I wish I didn't have to talk to him. I promise to explain everything eventually, but for now, you just have to trust that it really was important."

"I'm a dick, aren't I?" he asked miserably and she nodded against his chest.

"Yes."

"Do you still love me?"

"Yes."

"Good," he answered with relief and hugged her even tighter. "I'm sorry about Celia. I meant what I said, nothing happened between us. I just don't really know how to talk to that girl other than flirt with her. She's just so dumb. I bet she doesn't even know what Golpallot's Thrid Law is", Sirius whined and Hermione chuckled, not being able to stop herself.

"Do you know what it is?"

"No. But you do," he laughed back and she shook her head with amusement.

It didn't matter that he acted all childish and he made her cry all night. Not when he hugged her, taking away that pain she felt because of what's happened between Severus and her. Somehow he always knew what to say to make her smile again. Well, almost always.

"Admit it, though. You were jealous," he murmured after a while and she sighed in defeat.

"Fine. I was"

Sirius chuckled lightly, but then his body tensed slightly as he caressed her back with feeling.

"She doesn't compare to you, kitten. No one does. Which is why I can't stand the thought of losing you. I know that Sniv... Severus is hardly a worthy opponent, but the fact that you cancelled our night made me feel scared as hell," he said in a tense voice, making her smile lovingly. "I just don't know how to deal with being a grown-up. It's probably not the last time I fucked up, but I do love you. Always"

Instead of answering, she simply raised her head and kissed him, letting him know that the feeling was mutual. Little did he know, that he had just spoken that exact same word that Severus used to describe his love for Lily and Hermione had no intentions of telling him that.

It gave her hope, though. Hope, that if nothing else could convince Severus to change his mind, his love for Lilly would.