Disclaimer: I don't own it. But I did come up with the plot.


Interlude

"There's really nothing to worry about," she assured the two boys sneaking with her through the halls of the Ministry of Magic, "It's so simple I can't believe I didn't think about it before."

"Are you sure you don't want one of us to do it?" Harry asked.

"No," she shook her head, "The two of you have to haul us out, and I'd be useless at that. Just remember to keep the charms over your ears and do pull us out when I give the signal. You do remember the signal right?"

"Three tugs, two tugs, three tugs," Ron recited dutifully.

"Good," she nodded, "We're almost there."

The first thing she did when they entered the chamber housing the veil was hand each of the two boys a pair of earmuffs charmed to repel all noises. When these were in place she hooked one end of a slender steel cable around a pillar and the other end around her waist. She checked her wand and made sure she had the extra harness before going over the cable one more time. It was the strongest cable she could get hold of and she had strengthened it with numerous charms as well as a little bit of herself. Steeling herself she gave her two friends a thumbs up and walked through the arch.

I can't believe I'm doing this she thought as she wandered through the weird and otherworldly terrain on the other side of the veil. Normally she would have gladly told her plan to Dumbledore and allowed someone else to go in her place, but not now.

It was her little trip to the past that had decided her. The little trip she still hadn't managed to tell her two friends about. Besides making her more receptive to her wild side, it left her feeling rather indebted to the man. Despite everything, the Marauders had welcomed her and made her feel less lonely: something not even Harry and Ron had done right off. She felt she owed them, all of them. She owed it to James to give his son his godfather back. She owed Remus his best friend. She owed Sirius his life. She owed Peter—ok, so she didn't owe it to all of them.

But having known them, known him, she felt the need to rescue him herself. Especially as she wasn't sure Dumbledore would trust her on this issue, not when the solution was so… silly. Not when she told them all you really had to do not to get stuck in the veil was have a link to the outside.

This is taking too long she decided. She felt like she'd been wandering around for hours. Should have known he wouldn't be easy to find she thought, He always was as stubborn git.

"Sirius Black," she yelled, "You come here right now!" Surprisingly enough, it worked. As soon as the echoes died down she heard him behind her.

"Hermione?" he sounded incredulous, "What are you doing here?"

"Getting you out," she told him matter-of-factly, "Now come here." Quickly, she fastened him to the cable alongside herself, "Now hold on. Whatever you do: Don't Let Go"

She grabbed the cable. Tug-Tug-Tug pause Tug-Tug pause Tug-Tug-Tug. Then she was heading back the way she'd come, dragging him after. Their speed began to increase as the boys outside began to pull franticly. Before they knew it they were flying from the archway as though they'd been thrown. They landed with a grunt on top of Harry and Ron.

"Oh, good" she sighed, feeling as though she'd just run a marathon, "Now all we have to do is make it out of the Ministry without getting caught."

The entire pile of people groaned at this thought before gathering up the rope, as well as the earmuffs, which had fallen off after the rude landing. When they had everything they set off for the outside world.

AN: This is for everyone who read the first part and especially those who reviewed. I hadn't really intended to add any more but this little idea came along and I figured I'd just add it rather than starting a whole new story. Eventually (and I really do stress the word as I seem to be terribly slow) there will be a third part entitled "Consequences" about when everything in the first part comes out which should be funnier than this. Until then. I hope you enjoy this as much as you did the first part.