Hermione woke up to the feeling of someone cradling her body; their hand caressing the side of her face. Next came the sharp pain, originating from the back of her head. She groaned and tried to lift her hand to touch the spot, but her hand would not move. This must be a dream or something... Hermione thought to herself.
She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds. Her ears finally seemed to begin working, as she heard a voice saying something, but it was too fuzzy to make out. It was like she was miles away from the voice, and she was desperately trying to catch up to it.
"...ione..." she heard the voice say. "...Mione..."
Her name. They were trying to say her name.
She tried to reply but it only came out as another groan. Then she heard a strangely familiar voice, but she couldn't give the voice a name.
"Hermione, are you alright? Hermione, you need to wake up, okay? Please wake up princess..."
Princess? Hermione thought to herself. The only person who calls me princess is Sirius. I guess I really am dreaming. She opened her mouth to reply back, and finally, something came out.
"Sirius?..." She waited to hear a response. She could feel the large hand comb a curl away from her face.
"Yes, Princess. Yes, it's me. Can you open your eyes for me?" Hermione attempted to nod her head in response but quickly regretted it as she felt the pain blossom even larger from her head. Slowly she began to blink her eyes open. Everything was blurry, and the only thing she could see was the outline of a face with lanky black hair falling down the sides of it. As she continued to blink away the fuzz, she heard another voice mutter out in anger.
"Glupaya ved'ma. (Stupid witch.)"
Huh. Russian.
"Bud'te spokoyny, idiot. (Be quiet, idiot.)" Hermione fired back at the low voice. She heard a growl in return and finally opened her eyes to see a face that she hadn't seen in years. Grey eyes met her hazel ones.
"Wow, I haven't had this dream in a while..." She whispered to herself.
The low and grating voice that had insulted her before spoke out again, in English this time. "It's not a dream, Mudblood."
As she heard this, her brows furrowed and she turned them to the person who said this. Her eyes widened for a split second before they turned into a cold glare.
"Antonin Dolohov." she spat.
A menacing smirk split across his face as he stepped closer to where she was laying. "Correct." His accented voice replied back.
She felt her hand grabbing for her wand in her pocket, but the search ended up empty. "My wand. Where is my wand? Sirius, we need to leave." Hermione said as she stared at his face.
His face... She lifted a hand and reached it towards his cheek. He flinched for a second, but then he burrowed his face into her palm. Everything else zoned out as she looked at his relaxed face.
"I miss you, Padfoot," Hermione whispered to him. His previously closed eyes began to open again, and he looked at her in sadness.
"I'm back now, Princess. I'm not leaving."
Hermione's hand dropped from his face, and she began to frown. "That's what you always say when I'm dreaming."
Sirius shook his head and cradled her closer. "No, Hermione. This isn't a dream anymore. You brought us back, princess. You brought me back."
Hermione looked confused at this, "Us? Who is us?"
Suddenly a flash of orange flew past her eyes, as a man with red hair- that looked exactly like the Weasley's signature hair color- bent over Sirius' back and looked down at Hermione with a bright smile.
"That would be us, beautiful." He motioned his hand to the room and her eyes followed it.
Next to the redhead was another, who looked identical to the first. By her feet stood Dolohov, his arms crossed over his chest and a sly smile adorning his face. Next to him stood another man who had long auburn hair, and a stiff look on his face. He looked familiar, though. She just couldn't remember who. On the side of her stood another figure, who looked quite young compared to the others. He had the same grey eyes as Sirius, and the same black hair, just a shorter length. Sitting behind him was the last person. He had short brown hair, with light blue eyes. He looked to be in his mid-20's; around the same age as her. He sat on the couch, his legs crossed and his hands clutching each other in his lap. His eyebrows were furrowed together, and he was watching her with an air of confusion. He looked as if he were appraising her.
She brought her eyes back to the man with the orange hair and squinted her eyes at him. She pursed her lips in questioning before her eyes opened in recognition.
"George? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the shop today?" She questioned him.
He looked at her like she was an anomaly. The other man, who Hermione thought was Fred, walked forward and put his hand on the other man's shoulder.
"No, sweetheart. Listen, this gorgeous man here is Gideon, and I'm his brother Fabian, the slightly more gorgeous twin." He smirked.
His brother turned around and threw his hand off his shoulder, "Hey Fab, what the hell man?! We both know I'm more good looking, so give it up!"
Hermione watched the exchange and turned her head back to Sirius. "Sirius, what is going on? Also, did you know there's two of you here?" She asked as she pointed towards the man who looked like he was the younger version of Sirius.
He smiled at her and chuckled for a second before responding. "No Hermione, he's not me. That's my little brother, Regulus."
She quickly turned her head towards the young wizard and gasped.
"Oh Gods, you're Regulus Black? There's no way. You can't be him; he's dead! And so are you, Sirius!" She said as she looked at the young boy- whose face looked at her in shock, wondering how she knew who he was- and then looked to the guy who was claiming he was 'Fabian', with accusing eyes.
"And you, Fred. You're dead too." She pointed her finger towards one of the twins.
Then she nudged her head towards Antonin, "K schast'yu, vy tozhe mertvy, Dolohov. (Thankfully you're dead as well, Dolohov.)"
This angered him and he went to lunge at her, but was stopped by the man with the long, dark-red hair.
"Antonin, you know we cannot harm her. Besides, why would you let yourself stoop so low as to touch a filthy mudblood?" He asked in contempt. Hermione looked at him and then closed her eyes in distress.
"Oh Merlin, you sound just like Malfoy. I've had enough Lucius Malfoy within these past few weeks. Please, I beg you, no more." Sirius laughed a little at her dramatic display, and her body shook with his laugh.
She winced and reached behind her head, to feel wetness on her fingertips. She brought her hand back to her face and inspected the red liquid: blood. She went to sit up and turned her body around.
Sitting behind her, was a puddle of blood, and the cardboard box sat right in the middle of it. The cover that she had over the boxes had become unwrapped, and all of the boxes were thrown about haphazardly in the blood. Hermione started to realize what this meant and began to panic.
"Oh shite, the boxes. No... No there's blood..." Her eyes opened wide in understanding.
"Oh Godric, I've really done it now. You're all real, aren't you? Fuck, I've opened the familial boxes, haven't I?" She turned her head towards Sirius, and he nodded.
She groaned as he did this, and tried to stand up. Sirius helped her, and she turned around in his arms to throw them around his neck and hug him tightly. His arms wound themselves around her waist and he hugged her back. She began to shake, as sobs tore through her.
"Sirius you're really back. Oh, Harry will be so excited. You'll get to see baby James; Sirius he's just perfect, absolutely perfect. Merlin, help me. We all missed you so much, Padfoot." She hid her face into his warm neck and after a minute or so, she pulled back and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
"I apologize, I didn't mean to cry like this. You must be Fabian Prewett," Hermione said through sniffles, as she extended her hand towards one of the twins. He looked at her in wonder, and wrapped his large hand around her petite hand, and returned the greeting.
"And you must be Gideon Prewett, then," she smiled at the second man as he shook her hand back, too.
Gideon looked at her with wonder in his eyes, just as his brother had done before. "Yes, hello. Um… How, exactly, did you know which one of us was who?"
She smiled at this question and shrugged her shoulders, as she proceeded to wink at them both.
"Magic," Hermione said.
She walked slowly over to the oldest of the bunch: Antonin Dolohov. They stared at each other, and she raised an eyebrow at him. They seemed to come to a stalemate, and he nodded his head at her. She smirked at him and held out her hand. He reluctantly took it and he pulled her body close to his.
He bent down to whisper in her ear, as she struggled to move back. "You're the only one who's survived my curse, did you know that, Myshka? How intriguing. I wonder if you could live through it a second time. Shall we try it?"
She began to feel her anger rise and she squeezed his hand and hissed into his ear.
"Listen up, Dolohov. We both know that you can't hurt me, as Malfoy number two has clearly pointed out. So, how about we cut a deal? You keep your hands off me, and I won't use one of Snape's little spells on you, hm? Sound good? Oh, and, if you tell anyone that I cried in front of you, there will be no more little Dolohov heirs to be left." Hermione growled at him.
As she said this, he laughed and let go of her. She looked up at him and saw a rare hint of amusement on his face. "Whatever you say, Myshka. " He replied.
She scoffed and moved over to the man whose hair was as dark as her blood. He did not hold out his hand, nor did he give her any sort of greeting.
He wanted to act like an arse? Fine.
She peered up at him, and slowly curtsied, while she laughed quietly to herself. As she looked at his face, she saw him sneering. She smiled and fluttered her eyes dramatically, "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir..." She let the end drag out in questioning.
He replied back towards her with a stiff voice. "Lestrange. Rabastan Lestrange." She felt her stomach drop at the spoken name but refused to let her nerves show.
She tilted her head forward and replied. "Lord Lestrange, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I've had the pleasure of meeting your sister-in-law, as I'm sure you are aware. But, never you nor your dear brother. What a day it has been, to meet one of infamous Lestrange brothers. Oh, I would like to apologize in advance for the form in which your manor has been left in; I was just there last week. Well, I'm sure it was a lovely home at some point." She smirked at him with mirth.
His eyes became hard and he did not reply. He simply bowed his head back at her.
Well played.
Then, she turned towards the wizard who was sitting on the couch. She walked towards him and smiled. "You must be a Rosier then. Do you mind if I ask which one?" She asked him politely. He had been quiet this whole time, and she appreciated the space and silence that he had given her. Seeing him sitting, and not standing and crowding around her, gave her a calming effect.
He looked at her with an expressionless face. All he did was clear his throat before he muttered out, "Evan Rosier."
Hermione searched through her head for any information on him and nodded her head in recognition.
"Ah, Evan Rosier. A pleasure to meet you," she extended her hand for him to shake. She almost explained what she knew about him, but decided that she would not throw his actions back into his face.
A skilled dualist, who took on Alastor Moody, and at the same time, took off a bit of his the Auror's nose before Moody defeated him. He was killed during that duel. A death eater who resisted arrest, rather than running away to save his own neck. Brave, for a Slytherin. Quiet. He was in the same circle as Professor Snape.
He took her hand and shook it, his eyes searching hers. They met, and she nodded to him. He nodded back, indicating that he understood that she knew who he was, but was not going to tell anyone what she knew about him.
Finally, Hermione walked over to the youngest of the wizards.
Regulus Black. Died at the age of 18, after defecting from Voldemort. Gave his life, to save others.
Hermione was always surprised at the bravery that Regulus had shown. Before he had died, he had ordered Kreacher not to tell anyone what had happened. If the Black family were to find out what Regulus had done, the Dark Lord would not hesitate in harming them. He died, trying to save his family. He gave his life for the wizarding world. Hermione admired this greatly.
Slowly, as to not frighten him, she walked closer and closer to him. He was confused, but she ignored it. Then, as she reached the point to where their feet were almost touching, she slid her arms around his neck and hugged him just like she had done to Sirius. He froze when she did this, and his hands seemed to stay glued to his side.
She realized this and whispered something that she hoped would relax him a bit more. "Thank you, R.A.B. for the letter. You did it, you know? You helped us kill him. We couldn't have done it without you, Regulus. So, thank you."
Slowly, his body relaxed a bit, and he brought one arm around her back, attempting to return the hug. He lowered his head onto her shoulder, and she brought her hand up into his hair. She ran her fingers through the end of his black curls that laid just at the nape of his neck. He let out a sigh at this, and Hermione smiled. Slowly, she brought her other hand down and took hold of his left arm that still lay motionless at his side. She grabbed his forearm and felt as he began to pull away. She loosened the hold and brought her fingers to where she assumed his dark mark had scarred his skin. She rubbed her fingers over the spot and whispered in his ear.
"It's okay."
She brought the arm around her back, right across from his other arm that he had around her. She gave him a slight squeeze and brought her hand back up to his neck.
She heard a voice behind her clear their throat, and the person began to speak.
"Princess, what are you doing?"
As Sirius spoke this, Hermione could feel Regulus start to pull away from her. She stopped Regulus, by tugging a bit on his hair. He realized that she didn't want him to let go, and stopped moving.
She pulled her head back so that she could look into his eyes. He looked back at her and started to whisper, "Does he know?"
As she heard his low voice, she shook her head.
"No."
He watched her lips move when she spoke, and couldn't find it in himself to look up into her hazel eyes just yet. Hermione noticed where his eyes had strayed, and she moved her eyes towards his lips. She could feel his breath against her face, and she could feel his heart rapidly beating against her chest. Her hand fell down to rest on his heart, and their foreheads slowly touched. She leaned her head against his, and her eyes closed as she felt her body completely relax and slump into his arms. His arms tightened around her, holding her body up against his.
A second later, she was ripped away from his embrace.
"Hermione! Listen to me! What are you doing?! You know what he is right? What the majority of these men are? Hermione, they're Death Eaters!"
She looked at his Regulus' face and frowned at him, her eyes shined with apology.
Sirius turned her around and both hands grabbed the sides of her face.
"'Mione, he's a Slytherin. They're all Slytherin. Well, besides me, Fabian and Gideon. But Princess, they will use you for their own gains. That's just how Slytherin are."
Hermione had enough of Sirius' hateful words. Her hands shot up to where his had laid on her face and ripped them off. She took a step backward and put her hands on her hip. Silently, she summoned her wand to her hand. It sailed through the air, and she caught it and pointed it straight at Sirius. Immediately he threw his hands up to protect himself, and watched her as she began to raise her voice at him.
"Sirius Orion Black, how dare you say something like that! And to your own brother, no less! Who cares if they are Slytherin? What makes Slytherins so bad, huh?! How are Gryffindor's any better?! I'll have you know, that I was told that I was becoming quite a Slytherin, myself. Does that make me a bad person?" She raised her eyebrows at him and watched him stare at her in awe.
"You listen here Sirius Black, I did not spend seven years of my life fighting for peace, just for you to act this way. Was my torture for nothing? Was me having to live in the woods for months with two clueless boys, all worth nothing?! I starved for weeks, Sirius. I had to break into Gringotts and ride out on the bloody dragon! I obliviated my parents so that they could be safe. They don't even know that I exist!" She felt her throat clog as she began spilling out all of her anger.
"I watched Dumbledore's body laying on the ground, dead. I watched Severus Snape get his throat ripped out by Voldemort's giant snake, Nagini!" She saw a few people in the room flinch at this.
"His blood was on my hands, Sirius. You would do well to remember that I saved your bloody life! I went back in time, to save you! I watched my friends die, Sirius. For fuck sake, I WATCHED YOU DIE! I ALMOST DIED, MULTIPLE TIMES! I WORE A PIECE OF VOLDEMORT'S SOUL AROUND MY NECK FOR WEEKS SO THAT HE COULD BECOME MORTAL AGAIN AND FINALLY BE DESTROYED FOR GOOD." Hermione was panting at this point, and she had stray tears running down her face. Sirius looked awestruck.
Hermione didn't mean for so much to come out, but she had been holding it in for so long. Sirius needed to know these things. So did the other wizards. She deflated and finished her rant. "Padfoot, please understand. I fought for peace, and I don't intend to let house rivalries interrupt that peace." With that, she walked forwards, back into Sirius' arms.
She buried her face in his chest, and he rubbed her back as she calmed down. He muttered apologies the whole time, and when she finally settled down, she reached up and kissed his cheek. "I know, Sirius. I'm sorry too."
Suddenly someone cleared their throat, and Hermione looked over to see Rabastan Lestrange with his eyes zoned in on her wand. He flicked his eyes up to hers and opened his mouth to speak.
"Your name, is Hermione Granger, am I correct?"
She nodded at this and suddenly realized that she hadn't told them all what her name was. "Yes, I am Hermione Granger. Otherwise known as, ' one-third of the golden trio', 'Harry Potter's best friend', 'the brains of the group', and my personal favorite: 'the brightest witch of her age.' Also, I feel I must tell you some additional information since you have just come back from being gone for so long. It has been five years since Lord Voldemort's death. The wizarding world is safe, as of right now." Everyone took this in their own way, and then Lestrange spoke again.
"May I ask, why your wand looks so similar to Bella's?"
She looked down at her wand and realized that everyone could see it when it was pointed at Sirius. She looked up at Rabastan with a cold look and replied.
"That's because it is Bellatrix Lestrange's wand." She smiled at the disturbed look on almost all of the men's faces, except Rosier's face and Dolohov's. Oddly, the latter had a smile on his face.
Interesting.
Notes: Myshka= Little Mouse
Also, I feel like I want Hermione and Regulus to really connect in this story. That is why I put in that whole scene with them hugging and almost kissing. I really like Regulus, so it will come through a lot when I write. I also have changed the age of Evan Rosier. I tried writing him as an older man, but it just didn't feel right with his personality and certain traits. I kept picturing him as a younger guy probably around 24 or something like that, so if any of you wanted to know why I didn't keep his original age, this is why. Finally, I would like to know how you guys would like this story to go in terms of relationships. As in, should I write this with smut, or no? I'm not gonna lie, I have already written most of it with smut, but if there are a lot of people out there that don't want that, I can try to re-write it and exclude the sex scenes. I also may end up making something that can show you visual things such as outfits or even the boxes and the designs because I like to be able to envision what I am reading. Let me know what you guys think about any of these ideas!
