Chapter 15: The First Piece

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the below characters. They all belong to the world of Harry Potter so cleverly created by JK Rowling. Actually, I do technically own Corvus Black and Hermione's Prophecy.

A/N: I am so, so sorry for taking so long to update. First I had writer's block for a bit and then my computer went completely haywire on me. My computer got infected with all sorts of viruses and a couple of Trojan horses and needless to say is pretty much worthless at this point. I didn't have access to any other computer that I could use either which really sucked. Anyway, right now I managed to get it to barely work by using the other login account, and accessing my documents through that account. Anyway, it looks like a may have to completely wipe out my hard drive to make it work normally again. I can't wait to get my new computer, lol. Anyway, I hope that you all forgive me and I didn't lose any readers, enjoy!

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Hermione sat there staring at the locket in her hands for a couple of minutes. She was scared to open it. She knew opening would mean she would have to face the fact that all of this

was very real. Opening this locket would throw her into the front of the war along with Harry. It wasn't like she wasn't already there, but for some reason, this was different. Before, the

weight of the world rested on Harry's shoulders and she had been there for support. Now, that weight would be hers to share. It was that thought that gave her the extra bit of

courage she needed. If she could take some of the pressure off Harry, than she would face this new challenge. Taking a deep breath, Hermione carefully opened the locket with shaking

hands. Nothing could have prepared Hermione for what happened next. Suddenly Hermione felt as if she were being pulled into another dimension. It almost felt as if she were traveling

through a portkey. Hermione closed her eyes until she felt herself stop moving. When she opened them however, she found that she was still sitting in Professor Lupin's sitting room.

The only difference was this time she wasn't alone. Standing directly in front of her was Sirius Black.

Hermione sat there in shock. She didn't know what to do. "Sirius?" she asked quietly. When he didn't respond she closed her eyes and opened them again only to find that he was still

standing there. "This isn't possible, I must be dreaming." She said to herself. "Sirius is dead, he died a year ago, I saw it with my own eyes. This can't be happening, this is a dream."

"This is no dream," than man in front of her said making her freeze. "I know that you are probably thinking this is some sort of crazy dream and I assure you it isn't. No Hermione, you

are in a memory, a memory that I created to pass on my piece of the puzzle to you."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Hermione felt all the hope that had been building up inside her deflate. This may be real, but he wasn't. For one brief moment, Hermione had

thought that maybe, just maybe she had Sirius back, but she should have known better. Remus's warning came rushing back to her though, and she did her best to pay attention to

what the image in front of her was saying.

"If you are receiving this, than I am sorry. I, like your father, was unable to stay with you and guide you in your journey. I don't have much time, so I am going to tell you what I can. As

your father told you in his letter, after you were born a prophecy was made regarding you and the defeat of Voldemort. Your father was very vague and purposely got the facts wrong in

the letter. The prophecy was made six months before he died, so over a year after Harry's. The prophecy was made by a classmate of your fathers who was in the same year and

house. He fortunately, was the only person to hear it, and knew instantly that it was regarding you. Your father was a brilliant man Hermione, and he spared no effort in making sure

you remained safe. That is why I was only left with the first part of the prophecy, and I am afraid that it will not tell you much more than you already know at this point. Here it is:

"Born in secret to one thought dead and raised without him, she will remain hidden in plain sight."

All but the last person that was left with a piece know that they were left with a piece. None of us know how many pieces there are, or who else knows. All we can do is leave you with

the clues that were left to us to pass to you to figure out on your own where the next piece might be.

The next one you are looking for was born in the middle but did not fit in and lived as an outcast. Find the one who broke the mold and you will find your next clue.

"I am sorry that I can not give you more Hermione, my brother designed it this way to protect you. After he lost his parents, he was convinced that the Black family had figured

everything out, and was more determined than ever to protect his family. We never did find any connection, but Corvus wasn't about to take any chances.

"My time is running short, but before I go, I want to say one more thing, I'm sorry I never told you Hermione. I wanted to so badly, but it would have been selfish of me to do so. Your

father gave up so much, his life, to keep you safe and so I swore I would do the same. Know that I love you very much and please tell Harry I'm sorry that we never got to be the family

I promised we would be, all of us."

And just like that Hermione felt as if she was being pulled back through a portkey and when she opened her eyes again, she was once again alone. Hermione took a deep breath and

she suddenly realized she was shaking. Hermione looked at the locket once more before collapsing to her knees in tears. She had thought she was done crying, but she had never

expected to come face to face with Sirius again and not be able to talk to him. To make matters worse, she knew no more now, than she did before she opened the locket.

Meanwhile outside the room, Lupin waited anxiously. Even though Sirius had often messed around in school and only got average grades, he himself was a smart man. If Sirius had

actually wanted to and applied himself at school, Remus had no doubt he would have been at the top of their class along side Lily. When it came to making sure Hermione received her

message, he had spent months doing research. He had made it impossible for anyone to hear the message that wasn't suppose to hear it. He had charmed the locket so that it would

serve as a pensive for this one memory. He had also placed various defensive spells on it so that it would only react to Hermione, and it would be able to tell if anyone else was in the

room. If anyone other than Hermione was in the room when she opened the locket it would appear as a normal locket. After Hermione received the message, it would destroy itself. He

had recorded the memory in Remus's living room in hopes that Hermione would open the locket there and not be thrown off by her surroundings.

Remus had also done his part when it came time to give Hermione the locket by securing the room with every defense spell, charm, and ward he could think of he had also set the spells

and charms to disable as soon as the memory destroyed itself so he would know as soon as the message was delivered. The second he had left the room and shut the door, the

defenses had gone up and he lost contact with Hermione. He paced the floor in front of the door anxiously as he waited for Hermione to receive the first part and the wards to come

down. The second he heard Hermione crying, he knew that she had opened the locket and the message had destroyed itself. He opened the door to find Hermione on her knees

clutching the locket to her chest. As she cried his heart broke for her. She was being forced to take in so much all at once, and there was really no one that could help her.

As Remus came into the room, he knelt down on the floor next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. He didn't know what to say to her, and he knew that silence was better than

saying the wrong thing. He was extremely surprised though, when Hermione through her arms around him a moment later.

"That was s..so hard." Hermione choked out.

Remus remained quite as he let Hermione cry. As Hermione's sobs began to subside and she began to calm down, her more practical side began to once again kick in. "The prophecy,"

Hermione said. "He was right, Sirius was right. His part of prophecy didn't give me any more information than I already know."

Remus sighed, "I had a feeling that it wouldn't," he admitted. Sirius had never told Remus his part of the prophecy, but he had often alluded to the fact that it wasn't very informative.

He had often told Remus that it was his clue to the next person that was the most important part.

"Can I tell you?" Hermione asked.

Remus looked at her in surprise. "Well I suppose that is really up to you. I mean, there aren't any spells or anything preventing you from telling anyone if that's what you mean."

"Yes," she said. "I know my father warned me that the less people that know the better, and he warned me to be careful with whom I trust, but I know he would have trusted you.

Sirius did, so I think that they would both be alright with me telling you."

So for the next hour, they sat talking things through. Hermione told him everything in the memory. Remus agreed with her that the first part of the prophecy was completely useless as

far as providing any more information. They went back and forth trying to figure out the clue as to who the next person was, but ultimately they came up empty. In the end they decided

to give it a rest and return to the Dursley's house.

As they turned the corner leading up to Harry's house though, they were met with chaos. Members of the order were everywhere and they could tell that something had happened

while they were gone. Remus and Hermione exchanged worried glances before breaking into a run down the street. As soon as they set foot on the front lawn they were surrounded by

three very stressed out and annoyed members.

"Where have you been!"

"We've been looking all over for you!"

"I was worried sick!"

As Moody, Tonks, and Arthur began pelting them with questions, Hermione and Remus once again looked at each in confusion. Surely all this fuss wasn't over them, Remus had told

them where they were going.

"Hold up!" Remus said loudly getting there attention. "Could somebody please explain to us what is going on?"

Hermione didn't have to wait for an answer to know what had happened though. She couldn't explain it, but she knew that it involved Harry.

"It would seem that Harry had a row with his aunt and disappeared on us," Arthur said as calmly as he could, although everyone could tell he was worried sick.

The truth was, with each minute that went by that they were unable to find Harry, Arthur's anxiety grew. The moment he had seen Hermione reappear with Remus though, his worry

had lessened a little. He knew it was usually Molly that did all the worrying about their brood, but he couldn't help it. Part of his worry was because he knew that Harry was in a great

deal of danger, but the other part was because he knew that it was no secret how close Hermione and Ron were to Harry and he knew that they were at the front of the war just as

much as Harry was.

The moment the words left Arthur's mouth, Remus paled. Hermione however, remained strangely calm. She closed her eyes for a minute and concentrated before stating, "I think I know

where he is." Everyone looked at her in surprise and he continued. "I can't explain it, but I just know where he is, just like I knew that he was the reason so many Order members were

here."

"Well, take us to him," Moody said stiffly. The truth was, he was very annoyed with Harry and wanted to give that boy a piece of his mind. Everyone could tell that was exactly what was

going through Moody's mind by the tone of his voice which is why everyone was shocked when Hermione very simply answered "No."

Hermione took a deep breath. "The last thing Harry needs right now is the entire order descending upon him. If he was upset enough to shake you guys, then there is know way he will

react kindly to being told off and lectured right now. If anything, that will only cause him to disappear on you again. I will go and find him." She turned to Remus and added, "If you wish

to discreetly follow, I think that would be ok." Hermione turned back to Moody and said, "I don't mean to be rude or disrespectful, but I can guarantee that aside from his aunt, you are

probably the last person he wants to see right now."

And with that, Hermione turned and started down the street leaving for very flabbergasted adults behind her.

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A/N: Me again just asking you to pretty please review!!! Oh, and also, I have been getting some complaints about the formatting and I honeslty am doing my best to fix it. I'm not really sure why it is breaking off in the middle of some sentences, but I carefully went over it and tried to fix everything I could.