Title: Right
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Regulus/Hermione/James
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 1,504
Summary: Two boys hatch a plan, and it almost backfires.
Notes:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Ancient Runes: I'd like you to write about someone planning to go, or going on a long journey. Alt: Write about time-travel, making sure to place some focus on the process/journey itself. Prompts Used – Character: Hermione Granger, AU: Time-Travel!AU
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: November Event - Medium - 12. Regulus Black
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Chocolate Frog: James Potter – Gold – Write about James Potter
The Ultimate Hermione Competition: James/Hermione/Regulus
Hermione watched the two of them. When she was told she would need to time-travel and do her best to stop the war from escalating, something Harry couldn't do because of how absolutely broken he was from the war, she didn't know what she was getting herself into.
She didn't think she would fall in love with two boys and those two boys would be in a relationship with each other. And she certainly didn't think one of those boys would be James Potter.
That made her internally question how Harry came to be, but Hermione knew James and Regulus were together before she arrived, so at least it wasn't something she changed.
Now, all she had to do was stop being in love with them.
And what made it even harder was the fact that they were both so friendly to her. Even Regulus seemed to accept her and was always smiling at her.
She didn't know what caused the fallout between Regulus and the Marauders, but right now, he got along with everyone.
Hermione thought about what she had to do. She sat in the library, thinking that no one would bother her there.
She was wrong.
When a book was placed in front of the seat next to her, Hermione looked up and met Regulus's grey eyes.
She blushed. "Hello, Regulus."
He sat down. "What are you doing here by yourself?"
She closed her textbook. "Needed some time alone. Lily might complain about how loud the boys are, but the sixth-year girls' dormitory is just as loud. Truth be told, it might be even louder."
He chuckled. "Did you tell Evans that?"
Hermione nodded, laughing quietly. "She got really angry and demanded that I stop comparing them to those 'immature prats.' Her words, not mine."
"You make friends everywhere you go, don't you?"
She shrugged. "I've never been afraid of speaking my mind."
"I like that in a girl."
Hermione's breath caught, her heart nearly stopping because of the way he was looking at her. His gaze was intense, as if he was reading into her soul.
She brushed it off, though. He was with James; there was no way he was interested in her.
"Really? I thought most Pure-bloods liked it when girls were seen but not heard."
"I'm not like most Pure-bloods."
She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and lowered her gaze to the table. "I'm starting to see that."
With a gentle finger, he lifted her chin up so her gaze was forced to meet his. "Hermione..."
Hermione's eyes widened. "Y-Yeah?"
Instead of verbally answering, he leaned forward and kissed her.
She automatically closed her eyes, opening her mouth when his tongue sought entrance and moaning softly. She reached out and grabbed his hair, holding it in a tight fist.
It felt so good, so right to be kissing him, and she never wanted it to end. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. And it came to an end in the most unpleasant way.
"Wow," a boy whistled.
Hermione jumped away and with guilty eyes, she looked at James's smirking face. She looked between the two of them and did the only thing she could think of doing, the thing that went against her Gryffindor nature. She fled.
She didn't stop, not even when both James and Regulus yelled for her to. All she knew was she had to get away. She had to get away from two boys she felt things for. She had to get away from the fact that she helped one of the boys cheat on the other. She just needed to be gone.
She ran all of the way back to the Gryffindor Tower, and went into the common room, and then up the stairs to the sixth-year girls' dormitory.
The room was blessedly empty, and she paced, nervously running her hands through her hair.
She knew she was stuck in this time. When she agreed to come and do her best to stop the war, she knew it would be a one-way ticket, and she would have to live out her life here.
She might be stuck in this time, but she wasn't stuck in Hogwarts. She could leave this place, leave behind the confusing feelings and go to some other place in the wizarding world. She'd still do her best to stop the war, but she didn't have to be at Hogwarts to do it.
She swallowed nervously, but her mind was made up.
She quickly packed, telling herself this was for the best. She knew James and Regulus would break up sometime in the future, but she didn't want to be the reason for it.
Even as she descended the stairs, she didn't think the boys would be here. They wouldn't think that she would go to the Gryffindor Tower because it was so obvious.
Once again, she was very much wrong. Waiting for her at the foot of the stairs were the two boys she was trying to avoid.
"Please, just let me go," she begged, clutching her trunk's handle tightly.
James eyes were riveted to the trunk, but he was the one who answered her. "No."
All of them ignored the common room that was full of people. Their conversation wasn't going to be private, but none of them cared.
"James, I'm sorry, but please –"
"You're sorry?" James asked.
Regulus sighed. "I knew we should have just been honest with you."
James glared at him. "I get it. You were right, and I was an idiot."
Regulus nodded. "As long as you're aware of that."
"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked, finally letting go of the trunk when James reached for it and placed it safely on the ground next to him.
James took her hand and pulled her so she stood in front of both of them. "Hermione, we both like you, a lot. We both want to be with you as much as we want to be with each other. You spend a lot of time with Regulus, so I thought if he approached you first, you wouldn't feel as threatened. I didn't expect you to get so upset, though."
Hermione opened her mouth. "You didn't expect me to get so upset?" she asked disbelievingly. "How could I not? I thought I helped Regulus cheat on you!" She ripped her hand away from his grip and defensively crossed her arms. "I don't like having my feelings played with, and I hate feeling like I've been manipulated."
James looked at Regulus. "Help?"
Regulus took Hermione's hand, and she relaxed her stance just a bit. "I told James we should just be honest from the start, but he didn't think you'd be receptive to the idea of a triad relationship. We both know it's an uncommon practice in the Muggle world. He thought you might warm up if I came to you first. It was a stupid idea, but neither of us meant to hurt you. And we certainly didn't mean to make you feel as if you've been manipulated. I'm sorry."
"Me too," James whispered.
"I'm not sure where you're planning to go, but please, don't leave. We care about you, and we think we might be falling in love with you," Regulus genuinely declared.
Hermione's mind once again turned to Harry. Would she be the cause of erasing his existence if she gave into her feelings? Or would fate make sure Harry still happened, even if he ended up being a bit different from the boy she remembered?
She looked first into brown eyes and then into grey eyes, and she knew what she had to do.
She leaned forward and first pressed a soft kiss to Regulus's lips, and then repeated it for James. "Part of me says I should say no. There are some things that you don't know about, things that worry me, but I have to believe fate will fix it and make sure things happen the way they should. I can't deny the fact that I care about you two, and I don't want to."
"So, you're not leaving?" James hopefully asked.
Hermione's answer was to kiss him, but this time it was longer and harder, reminiscent of the one she shared in the library with Regulus.
When they pulled away, both of them looked at Regulus.
His eyes were glazed as he stared at them. "You two are so beautiful together."
James pulled Regulus in and kissed him. Hermione gazed at the two boys as their tongues played, and she felt her body grow warm.
Regulus broke away from the kiss so he could claim Hermione's lips.
She wasn't sure if this would work out, and she still feared that she was dooming Harry's existence, but as Regulus's lips moved expertly over hers, she allowed her worries to slip away for the moment.
When she was with these two, it felt right, and for now, she was simply going to enjoy it.