Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Hermione didn't think she had ever seen her Headmaster look so disappointed before. As the friends had re-entered the castle, they had encountered a panicked Peter and Dumbledore on their way to rescue them. Professor Dumbledore had stopped at the sight of them, the worried expression on his face melting into relief, then anger. He had motioned them to follow him, and they had silently walked to his office. None of them exchanged furtive glances, none of them smirked behind Dumbledore's back- they all realized the gravity of the situation and were appropriately nervous.

He led them to his office. The six friends stood silently in front of his desk, afraid to explain or beg forgiveness. This was going to be bad. Not rape-and-torture-by-Death-Eater bad, but to Hermione, a scolding from any professor, let alone her beloved Headmaster, was almost worse.

"I understand that this is a difficult time for you all," Dumbledore began. "You've become close to Miss Granger, and are sorry to see her go. I cannot understand, however, why you chose to leave your dorms after hours and venture into the very dangerous and very forbidden forest. I hope you realize the seriousness of your actions. Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, you are head boy and girl. Mr. Lupin, you are a prefect. You all know better."

"It was my idea, Professor," Hermione said. "I just wanted a little celebration before I go, and I wanted us to be alone. I didn't mean to be disrespectful, and had I known -" She stopped. Hermione had already decided not to name Lucius Malfoy by name. She felt it would lead to more trouble for the Marauders.

"Had you known Death Eaters were afoot, you wouldn't have bothered?" Dumbledore filled in. "I'm sorry, but that is not an acceptable excuse. These are dangerous times, ladies and gentlemen. It is never wise to venture out alone after dark, not even at Hogwarts. You are supposed to set examples for the other students. You're extremely lucky more did not happen to you. Unfortunately, I cannot punish you, Miss Granger, since you will be leaving in the morning. The rest of you have detention with Professor McGonagall for a month. You're getting off easy."

"Thank you, Professor," Lily said meekly, speaking for them all. Hermione's cheeks blazed. It was one thing to share in punishment, but to get off scot-free while everyone else suffered... Hermione was used to getting in trouble alongside her friends, but this was different. Still it was not as if she wasn't going to suffer, too.

"Do you have any idea of the identities of the men who accosted you?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, sir," Hermione said, hoping the others would follow her lead. "They all wore masks."

Dumbledore's eyes swept the crowd, hoping to learn the truth. None of the others students met his eyes. He thought Hermione was probably lying, but there was little he could do. He had warned her about the dangers of changing the future, so she was obviously acting as she saw fit. He would have to trust her.

"Very well. You may all return to your dorm, and I expect you to go immediately to bed. You may say goodbye in the morning. Miss Granger, please come to my office at eleven sharp tomorrow."

"Thank you, Professor," Lily said again. She took Hermione's hand and led her out of Dumbledore's office. The rest trailed behind them, not talking. It was a silent trek back to Gryffindor tower, but once inside, Sirius turned to face his friends.

"Well, it sucks that we got caught," he started, his eyes regaining their twinkle. "But I say bloody good show, mates! Those Death Eaters are no match for the Marauders! We creamed them!"

"Lord, Sirius, we could have all been killed," Lily said, exasperated.

"No way," Sirius said, grinning. "Dumbledore would have saved us if absolutely necessary, but we already had 'em licked! Well, Moony was in a bit of a tight spot, but that's only cause they caught him off guard. We'd have squared that away in another moment anyway. I only wish Prongs could've gored them a little."

"You're an idiot if you think that was a good time, Sirius," Hermione snapped. "The only reason I got away is that Malfoy was too distracted to remember I had my wand. He could have seriously hurt me before you guys got there; the others had you distracted and he had plenty of time to do what he wanted to me."

Sirius's smile faded. "I'm sorry, Hermione, I didn't mean to make light... I know that must have been traumatic."

"It was, and it wasn't easy for Remus to watch me leave with him," she said. "Look, I know you guys are tough, but you're not invincible. You must know that. Those men were careless and stupid tonight. That is not the way Death Eaters usually are."

"How do you know so much, Hermione?" Remus asked. It was the first he had spoken since the forest. "Do you have experience with Death Eaters? Where are you from? You're leaving tomorrow; can't you finally be honest with us?"

"No. None of that matters."

"It does to me!"

"Well, I've already told you as much as I can," she said, dangerously close to tears again. "I just can't say anymore now."

"When can you? You're leaving, are we always going to be in the dark?"

"For now, yes," she answered. "I"m sorry, Remus, but we've been over all of this already."

"Fine," Remus said, eyes blazing. "We're done here. Thank you guys for rescuing us. Hermione, I hope you'll understand when I don't say goodbye tomorrow. We have nothing more to say to one another."

"Moony-" James started. Remus waved his protests away, and without another look to Hermione, marched to bed.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Peter said. "But you must have realized you couldn't just waltz in and out of his life. I respect your privacy, Hermione, everyone has secrets, but you can't be hurt that he's reacting naturally to you. Not to mention you scared him to death tonight. I'm glad you came, Hermione, I really am. You're a nice girl and a lot of fun. You could've been good for Moony, too, and Merlin knows Lily needed another girl. But you've done some damage, too, and you need to know that."

"Don't be so hard on her, Wormtail," Sirius protested.

"No, he's right," said Hermione. The irony of Peter Pettigrew saying these words was not lost on her. It kept the tears from falling; would that she could explode, right now, and tell him about all the damage he would cause. "I'm sorry I befriended you all under false pretenses; I thought I was acting for the best. My feelings for you are all very genuine. I'm also sorry I hurt Remus, but that was unintentional, too. We've known each other for a short time. It won't take him long to get over me."

"I think you're wrong there, Granger," said Sirius. "But frankly, that's not your problem. It's ours and Moony's. We're his friends, we'll help him. I've liked having you here, Granger, and despite everything that's happened, so has Moony. But you really should have picked me; I bounce back a lot quicker."

"Let's go to bed," said James wearily. "There's really nothing more to talk about. Hermione, you're a Gryffindor. That, to me, means you're trustworthy. Remus knows that, deep down. We'll miss you, but you're right. You weren't here very long, and maybe we'll see you again. In the meantime, I think it's best to say goodbye and move on."

Hermione nodded. James's words both comforted and hurt her. She knew that for James, Sirius and Peter, they would be fine in a day or two without her. Remus and Lily probably wouldn't take much longer, and could she blame them? She was the new girl; here today, gone tomorrow. It wasn't like she had attended all her schooling with these people. She'd known them a few short months. As much as she loved them, they weren't Ron and Harry, and she did not belong there anymore. She just wasn't sure she belonged back home, either. The present held the evidence of what she had left unsaid, the real damage she had caused. Not Remus's heart; James's, Lily's and Sirius's lives. Tomorrow, she would begin dealing with that. For now, she just needed to sleep.

Lily woke her in the morning by jumping on the bed. She wore a huge smile, as if last night hadn't happened, as if Hermione wasn't leaving that day. It was infectious; Hermione couldn't help but grin back at her pretty friend.

"I refuse to let you leave on a down note, Hermione," she said. "Get yourself prettied up. We're having breakfast in the common room, and then we'll say goodbye. The boys are placing orders with the house elves as we speak. I've got my camera, too, so we can take a couple of pictures. Remus might even put in an appearance. Up, up, up!"

"Alright, I'm up," she said, laughing and climbing out of bed. "Let me take a quick shower, and I'll be right down." She bathed and dressed quickly, performing a drying spell on her unruly hair. She was glad Lily was being so positive and cheery. It was already making the day easier for her. Breakfast, then goodbye. I can do this. Buck up, Granger. Keep it together a little while longer, and you'll be set.

When she reached the common room, Hermione was touched to see a breakfast table laden with her favorite treats and several dozen roses. Lily and the boys - even Remus - were crowded around, smiling at her. It hardly seemed possible that the night before they had quarreled, let alone been attacked by Death Eaters. Obviously they wanted to go out on a high note, for which Hermione was grateful.

"This is too much," she said simply.

"Well, I wanted to send you out the door with a muffin and a dandelion," Sirius said. "But Moony wouldn't hear of it."

"Thank you, Remus."

"I guess you deserve a proper going away after that debacle last night," he said. "We'll talk after, okay?"

She nodded, wondering if the other boys had performed some sort of cheering charm on him. She decided not to question his motives, but to merely enjoy their last moments together as teenagers.

The breakfast was friendly and familiar. They spent the next hour laughing, hugging, snapping pictures and badmouthing Snape. It created the perfect memory, something to cherish when she returned to a future without James, Lily and Sirius. Looking at the black-haired boy, Hermione wondered for the first time if Sirius had recognized her at the Shrieking Shack third year. Surely he would have said something, since he had nothing to lose that night. She silently thanked Draco Malfoy for his nasty curse, and the subsequent shrinking of her teeth. Obviously, it made a big difference.

"Okay," James said. "Hermione, I don't want to break up our party anymore than I want you to leave, but you have to be at Dumbledore's soon. Give me a hug."

She did, clinging hard and memorizing his smile. She hugged Peter and Sirus in turn. Sirius gave her a little pinch, causing her to shriek and giggle. She decided that was how she wanted to remember Harry's brave, reckless godfather - charming, rakish and surrounded by his best friends. That was Sirius Black. She couldn't form the same sweet memory for Peter, knowing what she did, but perhaps their brief frienship would come in handy.

"Now me," said Lily, blinking back tears. "It was good while it lasted. I won't forget you, Hermione, and I hope you will come back and see us again soon. If James finally manages to wear me down I'm going to need some bridesmaids." James whooped behind her.

Hermione struggled to keep her voice even. "I think that's a pretty good possibility. I hope I see you again, too, Lily. You've meant more to me than you can know. Thank you for everything." She pulled Lily into a hug, holding her as tightly as she could.

"Hermione?" Remus said. "Can I walk you to Dumbledore's?"

"I'd like that," she said, stepping back from Lily and wiping her tears. She looked at her friends for the last time and followed Remus out of the tower. They walked in silence for several moments.

"Cheering charm, in case you were wondering," Remus said suddenly, confirming her suspicions. "Sirius distracted me while James non-verbaled me this morning on our way to the loo. He said it was for my own good. It has helped, a little. I'm not as mad at you."

"I'm glad," Hermione said. "I wish artificial means weren't the answer, but I'll take what I can get, I guess. Does this mean you understand?"

"No, and when it wears off, I'll probably be twice as mad," he answered. "But it'll do for now. Maybe it's not my place to understand, maybe it's just okay for me to accept."

"God, I wish you really felt like that," Hermione said. "You have no idea how much that would mean to me."

"It might be true, some day," said Remus. "I really care about you Hermione, you know that. I don't want you to go and I don't like you lying to me. But I lie, too. You obviouly believe it's for the best and I suppose that will have to be good enough."

"I don't know if it's for the best or not, Remus, I really don't. It's just the way it has to be, you know? I could kiss Sirius right now for giving you that potion; finally we're speaking. I wish we had a little more time."

"I hope you wouldn't waste that time kissing Padfoot," said Remus. "Like I said, it'll wear off soon. Want to take advantage before it does?"

Hermione practically threw herself into his arms, crying and kissing and hugging all at once. Remus returned her fervence, losing himself in the taste and feel of her one last time.