Sirius looked towards the twins after a few hours had passed. It was getting quite late, and as much as he wanted, he knew he couldn't stay. They had agreed to stay in the manor, even if it was just for one night. He saw the two redheads turn towards him, and nod.

"Well mates, shall we go?" Gideon asked.

Sirius nodded and stood up to say goodbye to Harry and the rest of his little family. He walked over to Ginny and gave her a short hug. Then, he turned to the small child in her arms and ran his fingers through James' fine hair. A small smile graced Sirius' face as he gazed at the child, and gave him a light kiss on the forehead. The little boy was dead asleep, so all he did was let out a small squirm when he felt the lips on his head.

Finally, Sirius walked over to his Godson.

He looks just like his father. If only James were here to witness how far his son has come… To see how far I have come.

Sirius' thoughts were halted when he saw his godson walking over to him.

He smiled and opened his arms to embrace the young man. Harry wrapped his arms around his godfather and gave him a pat on the back.

"It's good to have you back, Sirius. You have no idea how much I missed you." Harry said lowly to the eldest Black. Sirius nodded and patted Harry on the back, as well.

"I know, my boy. I've missed you too. Now, I shall see you tomorrow, yes?"

"Of course! Yeah, come over whenever you'd like. I'll be here." Harry confirmed in excitement, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of spending more time with the man that he never got a chance to be with.

Sirius gave Harry one more pat on his shoulder and watched the twins as they too finished off their goodbyes. Once they turned around, the triad nodded at each other in confirmation, and they all three walked to the floo, departing one-by-one.

The three former Gryffindors stepped foot into a lavish drawing room and looked towards the figure that was sitting on the red velvet couch.

"Welcome to the Rosier Manor, gentlemen. You may each pick a room for yourself upstairs. Rabastan is up in his quarters right now. Dolohov is in the Library, attempting to annoy Regulus. The elves are making a late dinner, as it turns out that Antonin is still quite hungry. What a surprise, I must say... Anyways, we all agreed that it wouldn't hurt to eat some more too so, the elves will summon you when everything is ready. Go on." Evan waved his hand in dismissal.

The three wizards slowly walked up the broad set of stairs that sat on the other side of the drawing room. As they made their way up, they passed old, ancient art pieces and various paintings that littered the walls. Once at the top, there were two halls, going from left to right. The twins looked towards Sirius and shrugged their shoulders with indifference and walked down the right hall, picking rooms directly next to each other.

Sirius noted this and decided to take a chance with the left corridor, and he walked past dozens of doors, opening each sealed door, searching for any other occupants. The wizard had ended up picking the room that was adjacent to Regulus' room, which he identified when he had opened the door and saw all of his brother's old books laying on the freshly made bed.

Of course, the little swot brought with all of his books. No posters, not much clothing, just a shit ton of tattered books. Makes sense why he and Hermione seem so oddly close to each other.

Sirius trudged into his room and looked at the large bed, practically salivating at the sight of it. He was exhausted from the hectic day that he had, considering that he had literally come back from the dead, and nodding off for a few minutes sounded like the perfect remedy. I'll just lay down for a little bit and rest my eyes, and then get up to see Hermione, or perhaps I'll help Dolohov pester Reggie…

Sirius had fallen asleep. Dead asleep. His mouth was slightly open, and he had been snoring for an hour and a half. His clothes were wrinkled, and his hair was tangled into something that resembled a birds nest, right on the back of his head.

He was woken up by a hefty shove, and then he proceeded to roll entirely off of the bed and landed onto the hard floor. He jumped up, swearing, and he peered at the tiny house elf that had been the culprit. How the hell did that little bugger gather up the strength to completely shove me off of the bed?! Its arms look like bloody sticks!

The little elf was wearing a monogrammed dress that was white and stuck out its finger to chastise the disoriented wizard. "Master Evan says it's times for guests to wakey up! Come nows!"

Sirius threw up his hands in exasperation and rolled his eyes at the demanding elf. "Okay, okay. Jeez, all you had to do was tap on my shoulder or something… You didn't need to bulldoze me out of bed..." He muttered quietly under his breath. Thankfully, the elf did not hear and continued to walk on ahead of him.

The elf had lead Sirius to a set of doors and quickly popped away. As he walked into the kitchen, the aroma of the food made him salivate for real this time.

The twins were already seated right next to each other, and Sirius moved around the table to sit next to the two of them. Dolohov sat in the chair across from him, and Regulus sat on the right side of Antonin. Rosier was seated at the head of the table, and his face held an impatient look on it. Lestrange came walking into the kitchen fashionably late and rolled his eyes as he saw Evan's sneer. He sat down next to Regulus and looked at Evan pointedly.

"Well, I'm here now, so let's eat already," Rabastan said.

Regulus shook his head, and Evan glared at the pretentious wizard with an even more sour look. "We're waiting for Hermione, you selfish git." He looked at the rest of the men in questioning, "Has anyone seen her?"

Everyone shook their heads, and Fabian tilted his head in confusion as began to speak.

"The last time we saw her was about four hours ago, back at Grimmauld Place. You're saying she didn't come back here?"

Evan shook his head and pursed his lips. "No, I thought she was coming behind you all?"

Dolohov spoke up in an annoyed voice. "Who cares where the stupid witch is, let's just eat. I'm sure she'll show up later."

Sirius wanted to protest this but saw one of the twins shake their heads at him as a way of saying, 'don't start any fights, just ignore him.' His body slumped in disappointment as his brain had agreed with the two Prewetts.

Everyone began to eat, surrounded by an awkward silence. The only sound that could be heard were the forks and knives clinking against the plates. Before anyone else could say something, Sirius opened his mouth and asked a question that had been bugging him all night.

"Regulus," he said to his little brother. The younger man lifted his head and tilted it towards him.

"Ah… So, now I am worthy enough to be spoken to, brother?" He sneered.

Sirius clenched his hands and glared back. "Oh, do be quiet. I have a question."

Regulus lifted one eyebrow at this and motioned for Sirius to proceed. "Alright, continue on, then."

Sirius hesitated and looked down for a second, before making eye contact with his brother. Their identical grey eyes met each other.

"Tonight… You mentioned that Hermione had thanked you for what you had done when she first met you. What did you mean? Why on Earth would she thank you?"

Regulus became still as he realized what his brother had just asked him.

Next to him, Rabastan carefully set down his utensils and turned his head towards Regulus as well. "Interesting. Please, do tell, Regulus."

The young wizard started shaking his head in refusal and was beginning to get anxious. "No, absolutely not, it's none of your business. Either of you."

Sirius noticed the telltale signs that indicated that his brother was becoming nervous. His body went on the defensive, and his eyes lost all expression. He had turned into the perfect replica of any pureblood, especially those of prestigious families.

Sirius knew now that his brother was hiding something fairly vital from him.

Sirius looked at his little brother with a hard face and started to command him, knowing it would frighten him just enough to make him give in. "Tell me. I am not asking you anymore, Regulus, I am telling you."

Regulus was reminded of his intimidating father when Sirius had said this, and suddenly he felt himself begin to shut down.

He couldn't get out of this one.

His voice was malicious as he began to speak. "Fine, you want to know so damn badly? I had defected. I was no longer safe around the Dark Lord. He was becoming someone, something, that I could not even recognize. I could not, in good conscience, continue to obey the orders of a madman, especially once I had found out about his Horcruxes. I was the first one to find out, and I knew I had a death sentence because I had possessed this knowledge. So, I decided to steal one of his Horcruxes: Slytherin's locket. I had planned to destroy the real locket, and replace it with a fake. The Dark Lord had hidden it in a cave; somewhere significant to him I presume. I took Kreacher with me; I needed him to make sure that I wouldn't back out. When I entered the cave, I saw that the locket was inside a basin, filled with a murky liquid. It was the Drink of Despair, and the only way I could get the locket was if I drank it, so I did."

Regulus took a deep breath before he grudgingly went on.

"I saw things… While I was drinking it... Horrible things; like I was watching all of my nightmares and greatest fears play out right in front of me. A-and I was so thirsty, but I couldn't stop. It was imperative that I continue. Once I had finally gotten the locket, I knew I was no longer strong enough to destroy it. I knew I was going to die... So, knowing this, I changed the plan and gave the real locket to Kreacher, and ordered for him to leave. I told him that he could not tell anyone about what I had done."

Regulus began to look detached as he continued his story.

"Inside the cave, there was a lake. It was filled with Inferi. However, I was unfortunately not aware of this. I went to get a drink of water; I couldn't take the thirst any longer. Then, the next thing I knew, I was being dragged underwater, and I couldn't move my body to swim back up... And, that was all. I had died. Although, before I had, you know, died... Inside of the fake locket, I had placed a note. I had written out what I had done, and what I had intended to do with the real Horcrux. Hermione, she saw the note in the fake locket. I signed off the message with my initials: R.A.B. Of course, she had figured it out, and she knew that it was me. That is why she thanked me, Sirius."

The whole dining room was silent, and Regulus had begun to observe the reactions of the others. Rabastan looked confused, or appalled; Regulus didn't know which. Dolohov seemed like he didn't care much at all. The twins were shocked. Their mouths were wide open, just like their eyes. Rosier just sat there in his chair with his hands clasped together and nodded at Regulus.

Lastly, he looked at his brother.

Sirius looked as though every word that Regulus spoke was a hex thrown at him. His face looked painful, and his eyes were glistening. His hands were pulling at his hair, and then he heaved out a large breath and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. After a few seconds, he brought his head back down, and glared at his younger brother, his eyes burning with anger.

"Why didn't you fucking tell me?! I would have helped you! I could ha-"

"No, you wouldn't have! You wouldn't have given me the time of day, and you fucking know it, Sirius. I was nothing but another vile Death Eater to you." Regulus yelled at his brother.

Suddenly a soft voice had sounded in the room.

"Shite... You told him, didn't you?"

Every head in the room spun to look at the owner of the voice. Regulus was the only one who didn't turn around. His defeated head nodded from behind. He could hear her let out a loud exhale.

Abruptly, the screeching sound of a chair being pushed back echoed throughout the room. His head shot up to see Sirius stalking towards Hermione. She looked at him with a confused frown on her face and was moving backward with each step closer that the fuming wizard took. Sirius had grabbed her small shoulders within each strong hand and opened his mouth to let out a roar of words.

"You knew?! You fucking knew this whole time, and you didn't think it was something that maybe I should have known?!"

"Sirius, you have to understand, i-it wasn't my place to tell you." She said with a frightened voice.

"I don't care whose place it was! Both of you should have told me. Especially you, Hermione Granger. I expected much more from you. Merlin, Hermione, I'm starting to think that perhaps Ginny was right tonight."

A sharp gasp was heard, and Hermione had pushed herself away from Sirius so briskly that she ended up slumped on the floor. Her hand covered her mouth, partly to hide her sobs, and also to convey how hurt and shocked she was by his words. Her brown eyes were wide open, shedding warm, salty tears that streaked down her cheeks.

Sirius instantly seemed to realize what he had said, and extended his arms out as he started to move towards her to begin to apologize.

"No.. No, Hermione, you know I didn't me-"

Hermione pushed herself back away from the guilty wizard until she stood up quickly and shook her head at him. She removed her hand from her mouth and choked out three quiet words before she took off running.

"How could you?"

Despite how quietly she had spoken, her words had echoed throughout the entire room. The only other sound that could be heard was the floo activating.

Regulus felt his stomach plummet as he watched the interaction between his brother and Hermione.

"What have you done, Sirius?" He whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. "How much more do you think she can handle? I told her not to tell you. You heard what Potter's wife said to her tonight. We all heard. You honestly think that she was right? Gods, you might as well have just fucking hit her too, while you were at it. Fuck, if I thought she wasn't okay before - after the comment Rabastan made, and the rant that Potter's wife spat out - then I can tell you right now that she has finally broken. Does anyone even know where she's been for these past few hours? Merlin... No one even cared, did they?"

Regulus huffed in anger, when, without warning, Rabastan spoke up.

"Hold on, how the bloody hell do I have anything to do with all of this?!"

Evan looked at him, his light blue eyes closing in irritation, and started shaking his head. "Really, Lestrange? Didn't you see her after the comment you made about 'walking into your ancestor's house with a mudblood on your arm'? Damnit, Rabastan, she even recoiled when you said it. All she wanted was to come with you and Dolohov. I can't imagine why she would prefer to go with you two gits out of all people, but she obviously wanted to be with you both."

Rabastan went to open his mouth to retort, but Fabian spoke up before he could.

"She wanted to protect you two. She can't help it; the bonds make her feel like she needs to protect all of us. Regulus said something tonight about how she probably feels safe around us. As Rosier said, I can't imagine why she would feel safe around you two, but she does. You completely shut her down. Do you even realize who she is? Merlin… The things that Harry told us tonight… She helped save the entire wizarding world. She has done things that none of us would ever dare to do. I mean, the girl trapped Rita Skeeter in her animagus form - a beetle - in a glass jar for days! All because the woman was writing articles about Hermione and Harry. She even lured Dolores Umbridge into a herd of centaurs!"

Antonin's body seemed to perk up in intrigue as he heard what the fiery witch had done.

"She's a bloody war heroine! She is a muggle-born witch, who got the highest N.E.W.T. scores in her entire class. She beat out Draco Malfoy, and Theodore Nott; both pureblood wizards, who were born and raised in the wizarding world. Blimey, she slapped Draco Malfoy across the face during her third year!" Sirius laughed a little at this and Rabastan smirked, too.

Dolohov was at the very edge of his seat by this point.

"She's extraordinary... I don't think that I have ever met a witch who is as powerful as this woman is; both magically and intellectually. To have a witch like her actually care about me and my well being, I am the luckiest wizard in the world. I reckon there are much worse witches out there to be soul bonded to. Plus, you gotta admit, she's not bad on the eyes. The things I would do to her if I had her all to myself... " The eyes of each wizard turned dark as their thoughts lingered on the last thing Fabian had said.


Meanwhile, Hermione sat, curled up on her couch in her small flat, sobbing into her hands. At times like this, she was in desperate need of a pick-me-up.

Hermione had done enough crying in the past day to last her months. She had always tried her hardest not to allow herself to cry too often. Not that crying was a bad thing, of course, it wasn't. Sometimes it was an innate response, and other times people just needed to sit down and have a good cry and allow themselves to feel something different than that of a warrior.

Hermione knew that she could not always be strong, though she endeavored always to do her best. But, she had to admit, that right now she was tearing at the seams, and her warrior mentality couldn't be upheld any longer. Good Godric, I could really use a complimentary Weasley right now… Hermione thought to herself.

The Weasley family had always been the ones who made her smile when she was down, well, besides Ron most of the time. Bill, Charlie, even Percy sometimes would help cheer her up, but the twins were the best at it. It was as if the two jokesters knew precisely the correct thing to say that would put a smile on her face, or produce even a tiny chuckle. Contrary to a lot of other people's beliefs, she actually adored the dynamic duo.

When she was younger, their methods of pranking frustrated her, and she did yell at them quite a bit for it. But, as she got older, and especially during the war, she came to appreciate their fun personalities. Fred and George Weasley were the wizards to go to for even just a small moment of cheer. She pondered the thought of whether Fabian and Gideon would be the same.

This very thought gave Hermione an idea.

She pulled out her wand and started to wave it above her. She thought about Fred and George and all of the times they had made her laugh, and, most of all, she thought about the times when she would open up the door to the Burrow, and she would find herself squeezed in between two tall bodies before she could even take a step inside.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Her blue, ethereal otter wisped around the room and halted right in front of her face. Hermione smiled as the familiar creature nudged her for her message. Complying, she began to speak.

"Angie? It's Hermione. I was hoping that you could ask George if he could possibly stop by my flat? It's, well… It's sort of a stupid reason, but I could really use a friend to speak to right now, and I think George would be best. There is also some news that I must tell him, so if you could inform him of that, it would be a big help. Thanks, Angie. Oh, and give the kids a kiss from me!" With that said, Hermione watched as her otter nudged her one last time before it drifted away through the air.

After only about three minutes had passed, she heard the sound of her floo. She looked up right as George Weasley began to walk into her anything-but-opulent sitting room. At the sight of the now grown man, she felt herself let go.

The moment that George saw her tear stained, blotchy face, he moved as quickly as possible, and within two steps he sat down next to her and encapsulated her trembling body into his arms as she sobbed against him. He began to rub large circles over her back, and slowly she started to calm down. Finally, she lifted her head from the wizard's sweater that was now damp with her tears and cleared her throat to speak.

"Hi, George." She smiled weakly.

"Ah, there she is! 'Mione, what happened? Who do I need to prank for hurting you, love?"

Hermione laughed and shook her head, sniffling as she wiped her face with her sleeve. "No one, not yet. For me to explain why I am like this, I first need to tell you something, and I want you to promise that you won't get mad."

George nodded his head and lifted his left hand, "I, George Weasley, promise not to get mad at Hermione Granger, no matter how badly she has fudged up. Side note, let it be said that pranks are still allowed, and if said witch happens to wake up with pink hair than it shall have been done legally and therefore no punishments shall be given for said prank master."

Hermione only rolled her eyes and let out a sigh at what George had said before she began to tell him everything. She told him about finding the boxes, the things that she had learned from Lucius, her plans with them, and finally about her waking up in the arms of Sirius Black who she had brought back from the dead, along with everyone else. She may have told him about what Ginny had said, and what she had said in retaliation. She ended off by telling him what had happened at dinner tonight and the things that Sirius had told her.

George had kept his promise, and didn't yell at her at all. Though, Hermione was quite sure that his jaw would get stuck from having his mouth hanging open for so long.

"And that's everything… I thought I should tell you all of this as a sort of 'heads up,' I guess you could say. I expect Fabian and Gideon will go to see your mother tomorrow, and I wanted you to be prepared to see both of them together. I didn't want you to feel…I don't know… Sad, once you saw how similar they are compared to you and Fred. I know you don't like talking about him, but I just wanted you to know that I didn't do this to hurt anyone. I never intended for any of this to happen. But, it did, and now I must handle the consequences."

George's mouth finally shut, as he looked earnestly at Hermione, and then hugged her tightly.

"Blimey 'Mione… I mean, thank you, for telling me this. You don't know how much I appreciate this, honestly. I-I don't know what to say, and you know that's a first for me! Merlin…. You're brilliant Hermione Granger. Don't listen to what my sister says, alright? You are amazing. You brought back my uncles… You brought back Sirius bloody Black! You're a genius… Of course, I always knew that you were, but this has taken it to a new level… Gods, I'm friends with a pure genius!"

Hermione laughed at George's ramblings and grabbed one of his hands that he had been using as he was clutching his head in astonishment. She set his hand on her lap and looked down at it as she began to speak.

"George, do you really think I can do this? That I can be with seven different wizards? I can't even maintain a relationship for longer than two bloody months! How am I going to do this?! It's a mess… But at the same time, I am hopeful… They're not bad wizards. I mean, some of them have done horrible things in the past, sure, but I can't help but forgive them. And your uncles, George, they're amazing. Granted, I haven't spent much time at all with them, but they just… They feel like you and Fred… It's magical, it truly is… I can't wait for you to meet them. I know this will sound like nonsense, but, I want them, George… I want to be with all of them, just in general terms. But what if they don't want to be with me? What if they never want me? What if everyone ends up hating me? Not just them, but the wizarding world as a whole. Not everyone can be the open-minded and brilliant Mr. George Weasley." Hermione smiled as she said this.

George barked out a laugh at the words, and then looked at her with gentle eyes.

"Hermione, I don't know what will happen in the future when all of this comes out, but I want you to know that I will be there. Even when everyone has turned against you, which I hope never happens, I will be standing there right by your side. I've always had your back, Hermione. Fred... Fred will be by your side too. You're special to us, both. You have this completely odd connection with us, and I know for a fact that I would never be able to go against you. You're a great witch, Hermione Granger. You know that I love you, and, Fred... He loved you too. He still does, wherever he is. The world… The world wouldn't be the same, if you weren't here, Hermione. Don't you realize how significant that you truly are? People, they look up to you. I reckon there are a few kids out there, who, when asked what they want to be when they get older, they will say that they want to be Hermione Granger. That's incredible… You're incredible. I rather say you're almost as amazing as me. Maybe, if you try your hardest, you'll be able to surpass my greatness one day."

Hermione giggled and buried her head back into George's chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you, George."

The wizard smiled and wrapped his arms around her neck.

"It's no trouble, Hermione. No trouble at all."


End Notes: So, I've finally finished editing this chapter and decided to post it now, instead of procrastinating over it like I have been doing for days. I have a bad habit of thinking that there is always something that can be fixed in my writing, and of course, there always is- no one's writing is completely perfect, but it causes me to procrastinate and just edit a single chapter for days! I always end up making small edits on chapters even after I've posted them, so you'd think I'd have learned better. But, alas, I have not. Anyway, enough rambling. I want to thank everyone who has left comments. You are all amazing, and I am so thankful that you all take time out of your day to respond to my writing, it makes me smile every time that I read one. So, I have a spoiler alert for the next chapter! Hermione will have a small interaction with Evan, though most of the chapter will be about her and Regulus (and it will be smutty, don't fret.) Also, thanks to people who have agreed to my special treatment of Regulus in this story. I'm glad when others appreciate the special connection that he and Hermione have, and I hope that those of you who prefer the other guys will continue to read on as they will get their due time as well! Sorry for making this note so long! Thanks for reading!