Remus was watching the young woman cook and sip her tea. Sirius was glancing at the paper, but watching her and his best mate. The werewolf was acting differently and Sirius was not fond of different. This witch, however, she was distracting enough as it was.
"Do you think that Harry will be alright?" Sirius asked the other young wizard.
Remus nodded with a smile, "of course he will. He is a Potter."
Hermione had spent the last hour explaining the events since meeting them. Of course, she had only her perspective and what she had heard from others, but it will suffice. Sirius was heartbroken about being wrongfully accused and sent to Azkaban. Remus was also surprised he had been a professor at Hogwarts at one point.
"Hermione, do you think we will have to go into hiding?" Sirius questioned and the witch giggled.
"No, we won't do that. It is easy enough to say you are related to your older selves than to explain this debacle."
Remus chuckled and shook his head, "you have been thinking about this."
"Of course, Remus! I want to make sure this you both are comfortable."
"Love, if you want me comfortable, I suggest you getting into something a bit prettier." Sirius murmured with a bright smile.
"I am not one of your tarts, Sirius. You will have to deal with my t-shirt and jeans." She growled and the animagus could see her get ruffled.
"Hermione?" Harry called out coming in from the front door.
"We are in the kitchen, Harry. Please be prepared." Hermione replied.
Remus and Sirius were glancing at each other and their expressions read nervously. They hadn't seen the baby in a week while they were sent off for the Order. Spending so much time with the little Potter as possible this last year. The war was coming and they were on the front lines of it. Now everything was different and it put their hair on end.
When Harry walked in the door they saw James for a split second. He was gangly like their fellow marauder and had his hair a mess, but his eyes held the green orbs of his mother. Sirius stood first and approached the wizard. "Harry..." Sirius murmured, he was fighting the urge to get emotional.
Harry glared over at his friend and then back at the two strangers. "What is this, Hermione?" Harry asked and the woman blushed.
"It's Remus and Sirius, Harry. They popped in at Hogwarts and I am quite baffled by the whole thing. They told me they came from 1981." Hermione declared, not meeting Harry's eyes.
"What did you do? What magic did you play with, Mione?" Harry inquired with a sharp tone and Remus cleared his throat.
"As far as I know she is blameless here. We were on a mission from the Order and ended up discovering an hourglass." The werewolf glared at the animagus before continuing, "Sirius made the decision to pick it up to my distaste and here we are."
"This is Sirius and Remus? What are you even talking about, Hermione? That can't be true."
The witch seemed so guilty and scowled at him, "if I was going to do something so reckless Harry, don't you think I would have said something?" He walked into the kitchen and stopped her from cooking.
Harry hugged her tightly and shook his head, "you're right, I am sorry." He then turned to Sirius and Remus.
"What are we going to do with you?" He asked them and sat down at the table between the Marauders.
Both of them glanced at each other and then back at the wizard who joined them. "I am not sure, actually. It is all very confusing." Sirius declared and Harry scratched his chin.
Harry tapped the table with his fingers and Hermione started to plate some of the food. "There is always Grimmauld Place, Harry." She murmured and he glanced over at her.
"You think so? I was wondering what to do with it for a while now. It would be alright for them, I suppose."
Sirius groaned and rubbed his face, "nothing like home, eh, Moony?"
Harry gazed over at the darker haired Marauder and shook his head, "you really are, Sirius."
Remus nodded and sipped his glass, "unfortunately, yes he is."
Harry chuckled and grasped both their shoulders, "I am actually happy to see you both, despite how young you both are." He finished with a chuckled and Sirius grinned.
"So, I know that you are attached to a certain red headed Weasley, but maybe we all could go to the pub."
Hermione shook her head and placed plates down for each of them. "Mione, I should owl, Ginny. We might make our way over to Grimmauld after a bite."
The young witch nodded with a smile and handed Harry a butterbeer. "I will send one right away. Did anyone need anything else?"
"If you would come have a drink with some randy marauders I think that would make our night," Sirius said, waggling his eyebrows and Harry groaned.
"Sirius, she is my best mate."
Hermione sat down at the table with her food and poured herself a drink. "You know, Harry. He doesn't have a slight chance." Her response would have been flawless if she was not blushing.
Remus was silently watching the exchange and was eating his food. "This is very delicious, thank you, Hermione." The werewolf said politely and she smiled.
"You are most welcome, Remus."
"I was complimenting you as well and you can't even thank me. I say that is inhumane." Sirius growled, stabbing his food with vigor.
"Honestly, she is too good for you, Sirius." Harry declared holding up his butterbeer to Hermione.
There was a ringing and the two marauders gasped. "excuse me," the witch said and stood up grabbing a block of plastic from the counter.
"Hello? Oh, Jason! Hold on give me a moment to pop into the other room." Hermione declared and disappeared into her room.
"What is she doing with that contraption?" Sirius asked and Harry shrugged his shoulders.
"She has an investigator looking for her parents still. Before the war, she erased their memories and they left for Australia. She hasn't been able to find them yet." Harry replied and Remus cleared his throat.
"You both are extremely close. Is there a reason for her to be so..." Remus trailed off trying to find the right words.
"Wounded?" Harry finished and Remus nodded. "She suffered more than she should have at the end of the war. My friends gave more of themselves than I would have wanted." Harry admitted and the room grew somber.
"I am sorry I wasn't here, Harry..." Sirius murmured and patted his shoulder.
"Shall we talk about happier events?" Remus offered and Harry nodded.
"I haven't told Hermione yet, but the Weasley's are throwing Hermione a graduation party tomorrow. She was the only one of us three to go back and complete her schooling. Ron and I decided to just go into training right away."
They grinned and the marauders nodded, "now that is something I can get behind. Everyone going to get pissed?" Sirius asked and Harry shook his head with a smile.
"So sorry, fellas. I had to take that call." Hermione muttered coming back into the room. "Let me just eat really fast and I will come help you with Grimmauld." She voiced as she sat down and the wizards stared at her.
"You want to come help us?" Sirius inquired doubtfully and she smirked.
"Of course, I do. Nothing is going to get done properly if I don't come to take your drinks away." She retorted and they all laughed.
0o0o
Hermione was in the process of cleaning up the bathroom and organizing the years of coming and going. She had transfigured her clothes into a simple maroon tank top and black leggings while she was cleaning the mess. Flicking her wand about and running a cloth over the sink, she was busying herself as the others were cleaning out the rooms.
Remus had finish organizing the room he was to stay in when he poked his head into the bathroom to watch the witch. He was curious about her and there was a familiarity that seemed unusual for the werewolf. Hermione was humming to herself as she cleaned and swayed while going through the cabinet.
"Hermione," he finally spoke and she gasped.
"Remus, you gave me a fright!" She exclaimed grasping at her chest.
He entered the room and expressed chagrin, "I am sorry, Hermione. I wasn't trying to scare you. I just came to see if you needed any assistance."
She noted his appearance for the first time in their close proximity. He was wearing a sleek gray buttoned shirt and there were fewer scars on his face. He had a youth in his eyes that the older version of himself only displayed rarely. He was notably a handsome young man but conservative by his expressions.
"No, that isn't needed, Remus." She finally declared and he could smell her contemplation on the air.
He reached for her arm and she huffed before he spoke, "I can tell this is hard. You don't have to be strong." The werewolf responded and she frowned at him.
Her gaze was dropped from him and she bit the inside of her cheek. "I have been trying to wrap my head around you and Sirius being back. I was never quite close to Sirius, but I did save him back in my third year. It is like seeing ghosts."
"We were close?" He inquired further and she shrugged.
"I looked up to you. You were intelligent and witty. A bit broody, but you always meant well. I was very devastated to hear someone I admired was gone. But now you aren't so I mustn't dwell." She finished and smiled over at him.
He frowned and exhaled, "I truly am sorry that it is like ripping open healing wounds. I am not sure how long we will be here, but I will do my very best to be supportive." He responded and she snorted.
"Supportive? Remus, if anyone should be supportive it is me. I am sorry, my problems are inconsequential."
He moved to leave and he heard her move to speak. "Remus," she murmured and he turned back to her.
"I am so glad you are here. However long we have, I am glad." She finished and he smiled.
"Me too, Hermione." With that, he left the bathroom and went down into the kitchen.
The werewolf had begun to clean the dusty counters when Harry and Sirius tripped down the stairs. They were laughing and smiling when they appeared. "Who would have known how much you took after your old man!" Sirius declared as they sat down. "Accio Firewhiskey!" He shouted and the bottle flew from the cupboard.
Remus pulled out some glasses and handed them a couple. "Careful now or Hermione might come down and hex you both. She seems like someone I would hate to get on the wrong side of." The werewolf warned and Harry nodded.
"She is fierce. Last Christmas she cursed the glasses to spew us in the face if we drank them too fast. Her own private jokes." Harry said and Sirius shook his head.
"I will have to show her how a marauder handles that type of treatment." He responded with a raised eyebrow and Remus laughed and heard the young woman come down and listen in.
"The only think you will be showing me, Sirius, is how feeble your attempts are." Hermione declared coming into the room.
Sirius was going to retort but stopped and looked at the woman a few times. "Now that is an outfit I can enjoy. Merlin's beard..." He muttered and she blushed brightly with a scowl.
Harry made a face before he spoke, "Well, I better get home to my girlfriend or she might make me sleep on the couch. I will see you all tomorrow," Harry declared standing and hugged Sirius and then Remus.
He walked toward Hermione and hugged her, "don't let them do anything irrational, alright?"
Hermione giggled and nodded against him, "alright, Harry. I will see you tomorrow."
When Harry disappeared, Hermione shook her head and sat down in his vacant seat and took his glass. She filled it and Remus frowned but did not say anything as he finished cleaning the sink. Sirius leaned over the table with a grin and waggled his eyebrows.
"It isn't irrational to get pissed with a couple of marauders tonight, is it, Hermione?" Sirius asked and Hermione sipped her drink.
"I don't think so. Unlike you, I don't get completely pissed while drinking." She snapped with a smile and Sirius chuckled.
Remus sat down and brought over an empty glass, he poured himself some firewhiskey and leaned back in his chair. "We shall see," Remus mumbled and Sirius gaped.
Hermione glared at the werewolf and shook her head, "I expected more from you, Moony." She declared and downed her glass.
The animagus poured her another glass and whispered, "I have a feeling you are in for a long night," he told her and she rolled her eyes.
"I can hold my own very well, Sirius Black."