Disclaimer in chapter one
A/N: Okay, early chapter ^^ I wanted to update on Christmas, but somehow ffnet had a glitch or something.
So, it's time to introduce some more canon characters (one of them you can only glimpse). Tell me what you think about them if you want :) By the way, I'm really happy that so many of you guys seem to like Lupin in this story. God knows he is very OOC and I was initially a bit afraid of putting him in there like this. I don't even know where he came from, I'm not that big of a Lupin fan. Sometimes characters just jump you.
Hope you guys have a happy new year!
Thanks to you all for reviewing!
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Chapter Twenty Two: Pray Not
"You're going where?!"
Ginny gaped at Hermione, eyes wide as saucers. Quickly Hermione put a hand over the red-head's mouth.
"Sh," she tried to calm the other. "No-one's supposed to know."
Ginny stared at her in utter wonder as she sat cross-legged on Hermione's bed in the Gryffindor dorm. At least she lowered her voice a bit as she said,
"Lupin's taking you into werewolf territory? That's… That is incredible, that is!" Ginny giggled excitedly. "Wow. I'm so jealous. I wish I could go, man. The Corps doesn't allow anyone on its premises."
Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Is it really such a big thing?"
Ginny nodded enthusiastically, big grin splitting her face. "You can bet your skinny ass it is. They don't tolerate any witches or wizards on their territory …well, aside from the recruits. But then again, they're already almost werewolves."
Hermione pondered that for a moment. She didn't know much about the Corps or werewolves in general. That magical folks were not allowed on their land was new to her. Then again, she was no witch and Lupin knew that now. Maybe that was why he had invited her.
"When are you leaving?" Ginny inquired, incredibly excited by the whole thing.
"Well, Lupin said he's got to take care of something, but that we'll meet in half an hour down in the Entrance Hall."
The red-head jumped up from the bed. "That soon?!"
"Yeah. I just wanted to get my cloak."
Ginny jumped up and down in an excess of enthusiasm. "When're you coming back?"
"I don't really know," Hermione informed as she pulled her cloak out of her trunk. "I mean, I have to be back tomorrow. There are classes, after all."
Ginny promptly rolled her eyes and groaned, "It's werewolves, Hermione. For Merlin's sake! Forget the stupid classes."
Instantly, Hermione narrowed her eyes at her friend and opened her mouth to lecture Ginny about the importance of school.
"Can it," Ginny beat her to it, waving Hermione's outrage away. "At least promise me, you're gonna tell me everything as soon as you're back, yes?"
Hermione smiled at her friend. "I can do that."
"Ha!" The red-head grinned contently. "I knew you were Lupin's favourite. It's because you're a know-it-all."
A blush coloured Hermione's cheeks as she slipped into her cloak. Ginny just laughed at her.
"What's your significant other saying to the whole thing?" she asked teasingly. "I bet he's all jealous and shit. Serves him right."
Hermione quickly shook her head, panic lacing her voice as she replied, "No. Tom doesn't know. He… I didn't tell him."
Instead of questioning that decision, the grin on Ginny's face grew sharper. Then she commented airily, "None of his business anyway."
She stepped over to Hermione and shoved her towards the door. "Quick. You don't wanna leave the werewolf waiting."
"Okay, okay," Hermione laughed and left the dorm. "See you tomorrow."
"Stay as long as you want," was Ginny's last advice.
†
"Last chance to turn tail," Lupin said, grinning at her.
Hermione smiled up at the man. "I said I'd come, didn't I?"
"Okay then."
Lupin grabbed her arm and Hermione threw a last look at Hogwarts' castle as it proudly stood a distance away amidst Scotland's rough landscape. Then Lupin's fingers tightened and she was pulled into apparition. The next time Hermione opened her eyes, the castle had completely disappeared. Instead, they now stood on a clearing. It was surrounded by large oak trees, throwing long shadows with the setting sun. Hermione breathed in the humid heavy air and let her gaze wander over the deep forest.
"Where are we?"
"Galloway." Lupin hesitated shortly, before he added mischievously, "I probably shouldn't have told you. Best you don't mention it."
Then he took off, wandering into the dark forest. Hermione quickly followed the werewolf. Deeper and deeper Lupin strode into the forest, Hermione stumbling behind him. There was neither a path nor any way to orient oneself and still the werewolf's gait was sure. His steps were confident and almost noiseless while Hermione ever so often tripped on a root or stepped on a twig, a loud snapping sound cutting through the silence.
"We're almost there. Just a bit further," Lupin informed cheerfully.
Hermione had to just believe him there, because she could see no difference in her surroundings. True to his word, though, just a few minutes later, Lupin stopped. Hermione stepped closer to him and blinked at the thick trees.
"I can't see a thing," she told him honestly.
"Here, take that," Lupin said smilingly and gave Hermione a chain with a tiny glass tube dangling from it.
"What's that?"
"The area around the barracks is warded," Lupin explained. "No-one but werewolves are allowed to enter."
Hermione pursed her lips as she examined the glass tube. A red liquid was lazily swashing around inside. Raising her eyebrows at the werewolf, she assessed,
"Blood wards?"
"Yep." Lupin took the chain with the small tube and put it around Hermione's neck. "It's werewolf blood. It's something like a temporary pass, so don't lose it."
Hermione nodded and cautiously pushed the chain and its pendant into her shirt.
"Okay. Let's find out if that thing really works," Lupin proclaimed teasingly.
Before Hermione could protest, the werewolf shoved her forwards. She gasped as suddenly icy water surrounded her. Another step forward and the invisible liquid released her again. Panting softly, Hermione looked around. Seemingly out of no-where, a bonfire had appeared just a few steps away, flames crackling merrily. A man stood by the fire. He was clothed in the same black uniform as Lupin. Though instead of the three golden stripes at the collar of Lupin's cloak, Hermione spotted one single green chevron on the man's collar. He watched Hermione interestedly, but stood at attention as Lupin stepped over to him.
"Good evening, sir," the man greeted Lupin respectfully.
"Evening, lance corporal," Lupin said. "Everything quite?"
"Yes, sir."
Hermione shifted closer to Lupin and eyed the other man carefully. She flinched slightly as his eyes flicked to her.
"Good evening, Miss Hermione," the man greeted in the same respectful tone. "I hope you had a pleasant journey?"
"Y- yes," she stuttered timidly. "Thank you."
Quietly, Hermione mumbled a good-bye to the man as Lupin led her away on a small trail.
"There are five entry points through the wards like the one we just passed," the werewolf explained. "They are all guarded 24/7."
"What kind of warding spells were used?" Hermione inquired curiously.
"Always the student, hm?" Lupin chuckled. "That's classified information, though."
Soon the trail grew wider and a few minutes later they finally left the forest and stepped on a stretch of open terrain. The ground was trodden in but otherwise unsurfaced. Several plain one-storey barracks stood in two symmetrical rows on the area, leading to a larger building in the centre. Hermione spied a flagpole in front of the central building. In the dying rays of the sun, she could recognise the emblem of the Corps, a black stylized wolf howling to a yellow moon.
Lupin walked towards the main building and Hermione followed him, turning her head this way and that in her curiosity. She spotted several more men and women in uniform, going about their business. One of them stepped over to Lupin.
"Back so soon?" the black-haired woman asked Lupin teasingly. "Missed us, didn't you?"
Lupin grinned at her. "Always. You know that, Andy."
The woman's piercing eyes raked over Hermione, but she didn't comment on the Gryffindor's presence.
"How'd your trip to Sofia go?" Lupin asked and Hermione was relieved as the woman's fierce attention left her.
"Was alright." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Before it all went fubar. No thanks to Farley."
Lupin laughed loudly, painting a scowl on the other's face. It was rather intimidating, but Lupin seemed to be immune. Still grinning widely, he asked,
"Where's the Colonel?"
"In the mess, I think," the woman said casually.
"You not coming?"
"Nah," she replied loftily. "Got shit to do."
She threw another suspicious glance at Hermione before she left. Lupin continued his way over to the main building. Nervously, Hermione followed him through the entrance door and into a bare corridor flanked by a few doors. At the end of the corridor, they reached a larger double door. Lupin entered and explained,
"This is the rec room. If you're not on a mission or training, this is the place to be."
Hermione nodded at him, but felt a bit jittery as she followed him into the rather large room. The first thing she saw were two men wrestling fiercely against each other. Snarling loudly, they fought violently as a throng of onlookers around them whooped and cheered them on. Everybody else in the room casually ignored the ongoing scuffle as if it was an everyday occurrence. Men and women sat at large tables and chatted animatedly, glasses in their hands. From a radio somewhere, music blared over the noise and bursts of laughter. Although no-one had yet greeted them, Hermione felt many eyes on her. Feeling rather intimidated by the werewolves' looks, she stepped closer to Lupin.
"Lupin." A harsh voice made Hermione jump.
A man was walking towards them. He was tall, taller than Lupin even, and bulky. Straggly grey hair fell down his back, ending an inch below his shoulders. Blue eyes glinted dangerously from his vicious-looking face and seemed to glow with an inhuman light as they hungrily raked over Hermione's form. Subconsciously, she shied away from him as she saw his pointed teeth and claw-like yellowish nails.
Lupin tensed, but greeted the other man respectfully, "Good evening, sir."
The man's terrifying gaze wandered from Lupin to Hermione. "And you must be our little guest for the evening," the man growled, dangerous tint to his sharp voice. "What's your name?"
"H- Hermione Rookwood, sir," Hermione stammered timidly.
The man offered his hand and she diffidently raised her own to shake it, wary of his razor sharp claws. Hermione suppressed a groan of pain as the man's fingers tightly closed around hers.
"Colonel Greyback," he introduced brusquely.
He released Hermione's now smarting hand and eyed her with a dismissive look on his face, not in the least bit impressed by her. He sniffed derisively, before he turned to Lupin and ordered,
"I need you to sort out the mission reports of your 2nd platoon."
"Yes, sir."
Hermione's eyes widened in panic as Lupin turned around, obviously intending to leave. He smiled at her soothingly.
"You stay here, Hermione. I'll be back soon."
Hermione could only nod fearfully, not at all reassured by the concerned look Lupin threw her before he left.
"Now, Hermione." She startled as a deep voice ominously whispered into her ear. "Why don't ya come and join me."
With wide fearful eyes, Hermione looked up at Greyback. The werewolf didn't even wait for her reply. Roughly, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to one of the tables. Greyback sat down and grinned at her viciously.
"Sit," he ordered sharply.
Quickly, Hermione obeyed, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. The other werewolves so far completely ignored her, merely throwing her cold looks, while Greyback positively leered at her. Meekly, Hermione avoided his eyes and lowered her head.
"So, you're Lupin's little witch, hm?" the pack leader observed, nasty tint to his voice.
Hermione shortly peered up at him. A vile smirk twisted Greyback's lips as he scanned her hungrily. Jerkily, she managed to nod her head, before she bent it again. Greyback ignored her obvious discomfort and slid closer to her on the bench. Hermione flinched as he suddenly wrapped a greedy arm around her waist.
"You're a pretty lil' flower," the werewolf purred into her ear, almost nestling his face against her neck. "If I'd known, I woulda invited you sooner."
Hermione tried to twist away from his unwanted hands, but to no avail. Greyback laughed maliciously and mocked,
"Hm, feisty, aren't ya?"
Hermione tensed as she felt his greedy fingers rubbing over her side. Desperately, she tried to pull away, but couldn't get away from the brawny man.
"Get off me!" she snapped, anger mixing into her fear.
"Oh, but why?" Greyback flirted, smirk stretching his lips. "Ya just my type."
"Maybe." Hermione glared at him irately. "But you're not mine."
"Wu's that?" said Greyback, seemingly amused by Hermione's attempts to get away. "I'm ev'rybody's type."
The werewolf leaned down and placed a wet kiss on Hermione's cheek and she shuddered in disgust. Furiously, she pushed against Greyback's heavy bulk, without much success. Hermione's rage flared to new proportions, infecting her magic.
"I think I'm gonna keep ya," Greyback whispered disturbingly.
He continued to lay kisses over her cheek and Hermione didn't want to put up with this anymore. Her magic raged inside of her and she simply let it snap. Eagerly, the riled force burst from her body. It crashed into Greyback, forcing the werewolf away from Hermione. Her magic left behind deep smoking scratches in the wooden table and bench. Now free, Hermione sprang up from her seat, pulled her wand and threateningly pointed it at the recovering pack leader.
"You keep your sticky paws to yourself," Hermione hissed at Greyback, her lost temper bending her tone into a threat. "Or I swear you'll regret it."
Shoulders set with determination, she pointed her wand at Greyback. In an angry cloud, her magic still stormed around her. A dangerous look slid on Greyback's face as his gaze wandered over Hermione's form and the wand in her hand. There was a bleeding scratch on his cheek and the easy smirk had dropped from his mouth. Hermione's breathing was fast now, body tense and ready to attack. A curse teetered at the tip of her wand as suddenly, unexpectedly, Greyback threw back his head and barked out a gruff laugh. There were tears of laughter glinting in his eyes as he again looked at Hermione.
Still laughing, he this time requested and not ordered, "Sit down."
Warily, Hermione watched him gesturing at the spot on the bench across from him. Wand still in hand, she didn't move an inch. Greyback wiped at his eyes, a wide grin still curling his mouth.
"Come on," he repeated, strangely jovial. "Not gonna eat ya. I promise."
Hermione suddenly became very aware of all the looks thrown her way. The whole room had grown deathly quiet, the other werewolves watching their leader silently. Hermione reluctantly let her wand sink. It wasn't like she could defend herself against this many werewolves. Hesitantly, she sat down across from Greyback. Ignoring her stiff posture, he reached for a bottle and poured two shot glasses. He slid one over to Hermione and grabbed the other one himself. Completely confused, she accepted the shot glass. Greyback raised his glass to Hermione and grinned as he proclaimed loudly,
"To our wolf in the sheep's clothing."
She startled as the other werewolves followed his lead and raised their glasses. Winking at her, Greyback downed the glass, the others happily following suit. Being hit by many expectant looks, Hermione drank as well. And suddenly, the loud laughter and chatter was back in the room, merry music droning from the old radio. In bewilderment Hermione scanned Greyback suspiciously. Her magic still swirled around her agitatedly. Seemingly not having a worry in his life, Greyback leaned back in his seat. There was a content smile on his face as he peered at Hermione.
"You know, I did wonder why Lupin brought ya here," he stated, mischievous tint in his voice. "Now, I know."
Hermione creased her brow in confusion. "Excuse me?"
Greyback flashed his slightly yellow, though razor-sharp, teeth at her, and explained, "Bastard dragged a child from that fancy school of his into the wolf den. Thought he's finally lost it."
He lazily refilled his glass and again downed it in one go. "But ya alright, Rookwood." At Hermione's befuddled look the pack leader added, "Got some nasty fangs and claws on ya."
"Eh…" Hermione stared at the werewolf. "Thanks?"
Greyback laughed at her. "Ya didn't think I really was coming on to ya, did ya?"
Hermione's silence was answer enough and it made Greyback snicker in amusement. Then he laid one large hand on her shoulder and said sombrely, mirth shining through the grave look on his face,
"Rookwood, I know it's hard, but ya have to get over me. We were never meant ta be. I'm married anyway."
Hermione stared at him indignantly, which sent him into another snort of laughter.
"Okay, okay," said Greyback. "Calm ya tits and don't curse me."
Now Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed but also amused by his antics.
"You know." Greyback observed her contemplatively. "Ya much too stressed. Here, have some more."
Cheerful smile in place, he poured her another drink. Hermione stared at the werewolf then at the glass in her hand. After a moment, she just shrugged and downed it, Greyback's laughter following the gesture.
†
Hermione hadn't dared to hope it after the initial frosty welcome, but her evening turned out to be quite entertaining. After some time, Lupin had returned, seemingly pleased by Greyback's acceptance of Hermione. They drank some more and laughed a lot. It was as a rather slow song was played in the radio that a big smile appeared on Lupin's face. Quickly, he excused himself. Staggering slightly, he disappeared into a throng of dancing people. The next time Hermione spied him, Lupin was whirling around with a woman, garishly pink hair standing out against Lupin's blond.
"So, you're a student?"
Hermione blinked and turned away from the dancers. A woman sat across from her. She observed Hermione through narrowed eyes. Feeling slightly put off balance, Hermione nodded politely. The woman tilted her head, hard gaze wandering over Hermione. Then she inquired bluntly,
"How's that working out for you, then?"
"Erm… pretty okay, I guess," was Hermione's confused reply.
She shifted uncomfortably as the woman's piercing gaze never wavered. Just as Hermione wanted to somehow interrupt that awkward silence, a long-haired man, carrying two glasses of beer, plopped down beside the woman. He pushed one of the glasses over to her and commented dryly,
"Don't you see that you're unsettling her, Jen?"
The woman, Jen, looked at the man in indignation. "She almost cursed the Colonel. I don't think she's easily unsettled." She turned to Hermione. "Isn't that right?"
"Er…" Hermione struggled for words. "I- I'm not sure?"
Despite that shaky reply, Jen smiled widely and clapped Hermione on the shoulder as she exclaimed triumphantly,
"See? She's fine."
The man sighed into his beer. Meanwhile Jen continued her line of questioning.
"Are you gonna join the Corps?" she asked Hermione. "After you're finished with that student thing you've got going?"
Hermione fiddled with her cup, nervously peering at the two werewolves. Timidly, she shrugged her shoulders.
"I've never thought of it."
Once again, Jen stared at Hermione ominously like a predator observing its prey, not yet having decided whether it's worth the effort of a hunt. Eventually, she opened her mouth and informed Hermione,
"Well, basic training involves a lot of crawling around in the mud."
The easy, almost joking, lilt in Jen's voice collided starkly with the hard look on her face. Hermione was bemused by the whole conversation. The yet unnamed man beside Jen wisely nodded his head.
"Lots of mud," he confirmed smilingly. "And little food. I wish we had those MREs. But no, we got nothing." He shook his head and drank from his beer. "You know, one day when I was in basic training I caught one of them water rats. Man, I almost wept for joy."
Jen finally abandoned her strange staring and laughed heartily. "Almost? I remember you crying like a baby every day, mate."
The man glared at Jen, a dangerous fire sparking in his eyes, and slapped his beer aggressively down on the table. He raised his hand and pointed at Jen, obviously about to start a heated argument. Then a grin split his face and he admitted easily,
"You're not wrong."
They both laughed loudly and Hermione furrowed her brows at them. Werewolves sure were odd.
†
Without Hermione noticing – between talking with the werewolves and having more and more drinks – evening turned into late night. The looming school day tomorrow spurred Hermione to find Lupin. Her head swirled slightly from all the alcohol as she squeezed herself through dancing people in the hopes to find her teacher. It took her some time, but in the end she spied Lupin with a beer in his hand slumped on one of the benches. Quickly she stepped over to him. Half-lying on the table, Lupin didn't seem to notice her presence at all, but continued to nip from his glass.
"Captain Lupin?"
Painfully slowly, the werewolf turned his head and with glassy eyes looked up at her.
"Oh," Lupin slurred. "It's 'ermi'ne. I love ya, girl."
"Em… that's nice," Hermione said awkwardly. "When are we leaving? I have school tomorrow…"
"Yeah, tha's right," Lupin proclaimed loudly. "No worries. I'll bring ya back."
The werewolf stood, wobbling around, and grinned down at Hermione. Then he took a step forwards and promptly fell on his face.
"Ow," came a painful groan from the floor.
Hermione waited for a second, expecting him to get back up. That hope was squashed as she heard soft snores coming from the fallen wolf. No way was Lupin bringing her back tonight.
"Nice." Sarcasm dripped thickly from her tone as she glared down at her so-called professor.
An arm was wrapped around her shoulders and, turning her head, Hermione recognized Greyback. There was a fat smirk on his face as he roughly nudged Lupin with his foot.
"Out like a light, the cocksucker," he informed sagely.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "He promised to bring me back to Hogwarts."
"Sorry, lass." Greyback shrugged his shoulders. "That dick's not gonna wake up for a few hours."
Hermione sighed tiredly, rubbing a hand over her face. All the alcohol was catching up with her and she just wanted to lie down. Greyback grinned as he saw her stifling a yawn.
"Feel free to grab yourself a cot and get some shut-eye," he offered.
Hermione wasn't thrilled to be forced to stay the night – after all there was school tomorrow, not to speak of Tom… – but she really didn't have much of a choice. Feeling rather tired, she smiled at Greyback.
"Thanks."
As she shuffled away from the werewolf, Greyback's teasing voice followed her, "Don't curse anyone on the way. We're all real nice people here."
Hermione waved at him, not even bothering to turn around, and staggered from the room. It took her some time to find an empty room with a nice bed. By this point, Hermione had stopped to care whom this room belonged. Utterly exhausted, she dropped on the bed and was already asleep as her head hit the pillow.
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Once again, his Mudblood was elusive. Tom was not amused. Incensed magic stormed inside of him as he sat in his Transfiguration class. He was barely able to concentrate on anything McGonagall said. Tom didn't know where Hermione was. The seat beside him was suspiciously empty and it drove him crazy. Hermione might have been in a dejected mood lately and maybe he was partially to blame for that, but it did not give her any right to disappear like this.
It was a relief as, thirty minutes later, McGonagall concluded her lesson. Frustrated, Tom quickly left the classroom. As he walked to his next class, he still couldn't spot Hermione anywhere. On the second floor Tom came upon one of her little friends. Reluctantly, he stepped over to the Weasley girl. He kept all annoyance from his face and even forced a small smile as he inquired,
"Ms Weasley, can I speak to you for a moment?"
The girl had the audacity to smirk at him and Tom needed to pull himself together to not curse her on the spot.
"Of course, Riddle," Weasley said, still with that infuriating grin on her face.
"Do you have any idea where Hermione might be?" Tom asked, forcing a polite lilt into his voice.
He almost growled as he had to watch the grin on Weasley's face gaining a decidedly smug aspect. The mocking glint in her eyes told him that she knew very well what Hermione was up to.
"What's that?" Weasley scoffed, playing ignorant. "Don't tell me you lost your girlfriend, Riddle. What a tragedy."
Tom's magic gave a furious budge. With force, he threw the power back and instead smiled at the girl amicably.
"I am concerned," he told her blandly. "Hermione missed her classes. Maybe she is sick. Seeing as you two share a common room, I wondered if you might know more."
The girl snorted at him disdainfully and Tom's magic irately clashed against its restraints.
"You know," Weasley said, eyeing him with nothing but contempt. "Maybe Hermione just got tired of you and decided she needed some space. Something I can fully understand."
The polite smile was nailed to his face as Tom asked, "Do you know where she is or not?"
"Well, she's certainly not with you." Weasley just shrugged nonchalantly. "Talk about a hint, huh?"
Tom wished they were alone, so he could teach her some manners. He dropped his amicable mask and stated, malice twisting his words, "I thank you for your invaluable help, Ms Weasley. I'll be sure to repay you for it."
A sadistic smirk curled his lips as he saw the unease flitter through Weasley's eyes. The girl hid it behind a derogatory sneer, but he could see through her. With that he left her standing in the corridor.
Fuming angrily, Tom searched the castle. Hermione, though, remained to be missing. In the end, although he didn't want to aggravate their already problematic relationship, Tom decided to call Hermione. He reached for the bond that chained her to him and sharply tugged at it. Tom waited for Hermione in the Heads' common room. His temper spiralled slowly out of control as after more than half an hour, she still hadn't shown. There were really only two explanations for her continued absence. Either Hermione dared to ignore his summon, which he doubted as it would be rather painful for her, or the Mudblood was out of reach and that would mean she had left Hogwarts.
Tom didn't even realise how his hands balled into tight fists, fingernails boring harshly into his skin. His magic raged around him, wrenching violently at the common room's interior. Tom didn't care as the carpet around him caught fire, his magic greedily feeding the flames.
Was Hermione trying to run away from him?!
†
The next morning, Hermione woke to a murder headache. She hissed in pain as the door to her room was loudly snapped open and someone stepped in, cursing under his breath,
"That son of bi-" The voice hesitated, obviously having spotted Hermione. "What the fuck? This is my room. Who's that? Pucey? That you? I swear to god…"
The warm blanket was ripped away from Hermione and she blinked up into the unwelcome daylight.
"Well," stated the same voice. "Not Pucey, then. Who're you, now?"
Finally Hermione's blurry eyesight cleared up and she looked up at a man standing in front of the bed. It took her not even a second to recognize him.
"S- Sirius Black?" Hermione shrieked shrilly.
The man flinched a bit away from her, anxiety flooding his face. He was rather tall and well-built with long black hair falling into his pale face. Hermione could see the resemblance to his brother Regulus, but mainly she recognized him from certain photos that had been all over the press. Grabbing her blanket uselessly, Hermione shied away from the man.
"Oh, shit," Black mumbled shakily, eyeing Hermione. "This is not good."
"Y- you are Sirius Black," Hermione hoarsely stated the obvious.
The man glanced at her and she was taken aback to see a small, timid smile tugging at his lips.
"Er…" Black awkwardly fished for words. "Yeah… Any chance you can just… I don't know… forget about this?"
Hermione's eyes narrowed at him while her hand surreptitiously groped for her wand. She needed to get out of here. Merlin knew how that killer had got into the barracks. She had to alert someone, Hermione thought frantically. The door to the room was suddenly open again and in staggered a sick looking Lupin.
"Oi, Sirius," the werewolf said. "Have you seen the-"
He stopped short as his red rimmed eyes took in the scene in front of him. Hermione still sat on the bed, blanket grabbed tightly as if to shield herself, while Black stood before her, looking quite helpless.
"Ah, never mind," Lupin said tonelessly. "I just found her."
Feeling horribly shaky, Hermione helplessly glanced at Lupin for an explanation. "Captain…?"
Black also looked at Lupin. Trying to break the ice with a joke, he said weakly, "So, you have her calling you 'captain'? You kinky bastard."
Lupin's yellow eyes glared at him. "Now's not the time, mate."
Hermione used Black's lack in attention to finally grab her wand and jump from the bed. Threateningly, she aimed her wand at Black, magic storming around her.
"What is going on here?!"
"Whoa." Black raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Why don't you calm down? No need for wands."
Never letting Black out of her sight, Hermione addressed Lupin, "Captain? What is Sirius Black doing here?"
Lupin took a step towards Hermione, but she shied away, grabbing her wand tighter. The werewolf stopped and soothed, "Hermione, it's alright. Sirius… Black's a friend."
That did not convince Hermione in the slightest. Her magic rushed through her body, already pressing itself into her wand.
"He's a murderer!"
"Hey," Black protested, hands still raised in surrender. "I'm not a criminal. I'm… er…" He peered at Lupin. "I'm an honorary member of the pack."
"You are a werewolf?" Hermione demanded to know.
Now a strange, almost sheepish look crossed Black's face. "Not directly. No."
Hermione furrowed her brow and threw a questioning look at Lupin. The werewolf sighed tiredly and let himself fall into the chair by the desk.
"It's okay, Hermione," he said, smiling softly at her. "He's okay. Sirius is not dangerous. He's a good friend."
"I'm your best friend," Black corrected confidently with a grin in place.
While Hermione did trust Lupin, she was not inclined to expand that trust to his dubious friends. So she didn't lower her wand. Lupin raised his eyebrows at her.
"What do you know about Sirius Black?"
Hermione pursed her lips, trying to think rationally over all the adrenalin in her system.
"He's a criminal." She scanned Black suspiciously. "He… he's the leader of the Order of the Phoenix."
"Exactly," Lupin nodded. "And what is the Order of the Phoenix?"
"The Order… They're terrorists. They're…" Hermione gnawed at her lower lip. "They are stealing Mudbloods."
Black threw her a small smile and corrected gently, "Not stealing. We're freeing them."
Hermione stared at him with wide eyes. Her wand hand wavered slightly. "Freeing…?"
"That's right," Lupin said firmly. "Now think, Hermione. Do you – of all people – really want to threaten someone who is helping Muggleborns?"
The hand holding her wand trembled now and Hermione glanced helplessly at Lupin.
"No?"
The werewolf smiled at her encouragingly. "I promise, he's not gonna hurt you. Lower your wand."
And Hermione did. She didn't know if it really was a good decision, but her wand sank to her side. With that, a huge smile appeared on Black's face.
"Thank fuck," he exclaimed. "Lupin was right. You're one scary witch."
Hermione eyed the man warily. While she did not return his smile, she had to admit it was rather contagious. Turned to Lupin, she inquired with a hint of accusation,
"You planned for me to meet him, didn't you?"
The werewolf now looked downright guilty and tried to defend himself, "Maybe… But I swear you were not supposed to just stumble into him like this."
†
Tom was furious.
That was probably an understatement. He remembered only a few accounts that he had lost control over his magic so profoundly and all of them lay way back in his childhood as magic had still been an abstract notion. Trying to reign in that infuriated force was difficult and Tom slipped a few times as he walked through Hogwarts. His magic found ways and channels to break away from its confines in his body. It prickled on his skin and stormed around him. A group of Ravenclaws was startled and some of them yelped in fright as Tom passed them, his magic fiercely pushing them out of his way. One of them was smacked into the corridor wall, but Tom didn't care.
Hermione was gone. She had dared to leave him.
†
"Captain, why did you want me to meet Black?" Hermione asked warily.
"I think it's time to cut the formalities," Black quipped. "Don't cha think, Lu-Lu?"
Lupin demonstratively rolled his eyes. Black shrugged, grinned at Hermione and proclaimed teasingly, "Alright-y, then. You can call him Remy."
A sour look on his face, Lupin said, "I think not."
"Yeah…" Black said pensively. "I guess Remus is quite the odd name."
"Pff. As if Sirius is so much better," Lupin scorned. Then he turned to Hermione and said kindly, "Let's just stay with Lupin, hm? Everybody calls me that. The mutt is right, Remus just sounds strange."
"Ha!" Black smirked and bowed exaggeratedly to Hermione. "You can call me Sirius. Because I think my name is awesome."
Still grinning, Black – or rather Sirius – sat down on the bed and stretched his legs lazily. Hermione didn't quite know what to make of him. Never had she thought she would one day meet the leader of the Order of the Phoenix. Freeing Mudbloods was a rather foreign concept to her. Why would any wizard do that? Confused thoughts whirled through Hermione's mind as she watched the black-haired man.
"I don't understand. Why are you doing this? You're a Pureblood. A Black. And they're…"
Sirius threw her a wry smile. "Not really known to be a liberal lot?"
Hermione shrugged and nodded. Lupin, still lounging on his chair, supplied, "James Potter."
Hermione frowned at him in confusion. "Potter? Your friend, the Auror?"
"Yes," Sirius replied instead of Lupin. "James and me, we were Aurors back in the day." A wistful look crossed his face. "We were assigned to Greyback's pack. Liaison officers. And Lupin, here, was our contact. We made a good team, didn't we? Best buddies."
Lupin nodded, sad smile on his face, and told Hermione, "We were like brothers."
Sirius winced as if something had physically hurt him. He glanced at Hermione. "Everything went really swimmingly. You know, hunting down criminals, kicking some asses… 'twas perfect. Until James screwed up." Sirius barked out a laugh. "Old sap that he was, he fell in love."
Hermione furrowed her brow in confusion. Lupin took over and explained, "Her name was Lily. Her real name."
Hermione's eyes widened in comprehension. "A Mudblood?"
"Yes," said Sirius. "My mother had one of her fancy parties. All posh and whatnot. I just went there to stir shit up. That's why I brought my good friends, the werewolf-halfblood and the blood traitor. I was kinda hoping to give dear old mum an aneurism."
Lupin threw him a reproachful look and took over, "Lily was at the party, serving the guests. She was young – not older than we were back then – and nice. James fell for her head over heels."
Sirius nodded, "Yep, he fucked that up."
"Anyway," Lupin continued. "James wanted to save Lily, but we knew Sirius' mother would never sell her to him. Not when his whole family was already stamped as blood traitors. I couldn't buy her either, because werewolves don't own Muggleborns. So-"
"That left dear old me," Sirius butted in. "Of course mum hated me with a passion, so there was no other way but steal Lily. It was actually surprisingly easy. I took her out of the mansion. Then Lupin and his wolf-buddies took over to smuggle her through half the country to James' place. All's well that ends well, we thought."
Immersed in the story, Hermione plopped down beside Sirius on the bed. "What went wrong?"
Sirius threw her a mirthless grin. "My mother is what went wrong. She's like one of them bloodhounds. Once she picks up a scent, she won't let go. And she knew from the start that I'd been behind the so-called theft of her property."
Lupin sighed deeply. "Walburga Black wanted to see us all hanged. It wasn't even about Lily. It was about power and to prove a point."
Sirius shrugged, not even a hint of a grin on his face anymore. "The Blacks are known to be discrete, efficient and cruel. Should be our family motto. And my mother was the queen of all that cloak and dagger shit. She hired people. People that were very good at their jobs."
"They found Lily?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"Yes," Lupin replied tightly. "It took them a while, but they found James, Lily and their one year old son in their cottage up in the north. That night, all three of them were killed."
Releasing a shaky breath, Hermione stared at the werewolf. She didn't really know what to say. It was a horrible story.
"That's what the Oder of the Phoenix is about," Sirius' grave voice cut through the silence. His eyes bored into Hermione. "You asked me why I fight with the Order. This is why. The shit that happened to James, Lily and their son, 's just not right."
†
Tom had left the influence of Hogwarts' wards behind and sharply tugged at the bond between him and Hermione. She was still out of reach. Tom closed his eyes and concentrated on the bond. It was difficult to grasp the weak trickle of her magic. It was barely there. A lesser wizard would have been forced to give up, but Tom knew the workings of magic. Trickle or not, he knew what to follow and with a sharp snap dove into the darkness of apparition.
It took him stops in Heaton Park by Manchester, two small villages near Glasgow and Newcastle and a trip to Northern Ireland to triangulate Hermione's position. She was hidden away in a forest in South Scotland. It was a rather large area, but Tom could sense magic deep in the forest. Once again, he stepped into the tight pressure of apparition and reappeared at the edge of those protective wards.
†
"Despite what his mother said," Lupin said, small smile on his face. "Sirius can be rather ambitious when he wants to be. Without him, the Order wouldn't be what it is today."
Hermione nodded, a smile stealing on her own face. Before Lupin could add any more, a loud howl could be heard from outside. He stiffened as he heard it.
"I guess that's my cue to leave," Lupin informed them and strode over to the door. "I'll bring you back to school later. That okay, Hermione?"
"I'm late anyway." Hermione shrugged. "It's not going to get any worse."
Sirius laughed. "That's my girl."
"You keep an eye on her," the werewolf ordered.
"Aye-aye, sir," Sirius supplied lazily. "And you watch out for Greyback. Otherwise the old drunk's gonna drown in his own vomit."
Lupin glared at him. "That's my pack leader you're talking about."
Sirius grimaced and waved the werewolf away. Then his eyes flipped to Hermione.
"Good man," Sirius said fondly. "Just a bit uptight if you ask me."
Hermione raised her eyebrows at that. 'Uptight' wasn't the word she would use to describe Lupin. Still, the same fond tint was in her voice as she replied,
"He helped me a lot. And he's a fantastic teacher."
"He told me the same about you being such a good student," Sirius said cheerfully. "Actually, he couldn't stop gushing about how talented you are."
Hermione blushed slightly under the praise, making Sirius smirk. Carefully, she scanned him. The ex-Auror lounged on the bed, easy-going attitude swirling around him. Hermione worried her lower lip, but then dared to ask what had been bothering her the whole time,
"What do you want from me?"
Sirius didn't seem in the least surprised by her question. The smile on his face never faltered, but it did lose its playfulness. His tone of voice was grave as he explained,
"You're in an exceptional position, Hermione. A Muggleborn at Hogwarts. That's not happened since Grindelwald took over."
"I know…" Hermione whispered, not really understanding where this was going.
"Don't you see what you're doing?" Sirius asked kindly.
She frowned at him and her confusion made him chuckle. "You're disproving them. They say Muggleborns are weak, that their magic is feeble at best. And yet, Lupin tells me that you're his best student. They also claim that Muggleborns are stupid, unable to learn anything. But there you are, getting nothing but O's. You are the counterevidence to all those theories that claim Muggleborns are hardly more than animals." Sirius grabbed her hand and held in gently. Gazing into her eyes, he said, "You could change things, Hermione."
Hermione pondered him before she stated, "You want me to join the Order."
"Yes."
"And you want me to fight," she breathed weakly.
"Yes."
Hermione pulled her hand away from his. "I- I don't want to fight."
"No, you don't," Sirius provided gingerly. "It's entirely your decision. And if you don't, everyone can understand. It's not an easy fight and to be honest, we're outnumbered. Badly. Sometimes I wish I hadn't started this. But I can't stop now."
"Because of James and Lily?" Hermione asked softly.
"Yes. And more," Sirius replied. "Believe me I hate asking this of you, but I needed to put it out."
Hermione nervously licked her lip. "I don't know…"
Sirius threw her an encouraging smile. "I don't want you to decide right now. This is something you need time to think over. I just needed you to know that we're here and that we want you."
Hermione peered up at the man, feeling unsettled. Sirius saw the trepidation flickering through her eyes and again grabbed her hand soothingly. The corners of his mouth curved up into a boyish grin.
"Now, enough of this grave shit. Gives me a headache this early in the morning," he said teasingly. "Let's go down and grab some breakfast. How's that sound?"
She blinked at him owlishly. There was still a wide smile on Sirius' face and it was rather contagious. Hermione grinned back at him and nodded.
†
Like a caged tiger, Tom paced the boundaries of the warding spell. His magic now and then sparked and lashed out against the barrier. Whatever he did, he couldn't breach the wards. They were almost as strong as the ones surrounding Hogwarts. At the very least, Tom had cast a spell over his own eyes so he could look past the barrier. Two werewolves had guarded the entry point and Tom had instantly known who exactly had taken Hermione. Upon his arrival, one of the wolves had hurried away, presumably to inform a superior about his presence. The other werewolf had remained behind. Although Tom didn't openly watch her, he never let the werewolf out of his line of sight. The woman stood a few metres away from the magical wall and blatantly observed Tom.
It must have been ten, maybe fifteen minutes later, that finally something happened. Tom spotted two figures walking towards the edge of the ward. He stopped his incessant pacing and stared at them. A wave of white-hot anger washed over him as he recognized them. One of the figures was Lupin. A careless grin hovered around the werewolf's face as he threw a mocking look at Tom. The other figure was indeed Hermione. Instantly Tom's eyes zeroed in on her. He was slightly taken aback as she didn't attempt to avoid his gaze despite her previous disobedient behaviour. No sign of her bending her head like she was wont to do.
"How did you find us?" Lupin's raspy voice demanded to know.
Tom's angry eyes wandered from Hermione to Lupin. Condescension dripped from his voice as he stated,
"I am Hermione's Master. Wherever she goes, I can track her down."
The threat in his tone was unmistakable and Tom smirked cruelly as he saw the anger flittering through Lupin's eyes.
"Well, let me rephrase that," the werewolf drawled, showing his sharp teeth. "What do you want here?"
Once again a strand of Tom's incensed magic licked over the warding spell and the shield flickered shortly.
"I want to retrieve what is mine," Tom snarled lividly.
His lethal glare bored into the Mudblood. Hermione dared to hold his gaze, scanning him searchingly. Tom ascribed her boldness to the ward that still spanned between them.
Unimpressed, Lupin rolled his eyes. "You do have a flair for the dramatic, don't you?"
"Did you think you could just take her?" Tom spat, malice bending his voice.
"No," Lupin explained slowly as if talking to a child. "I merely invited Hermione for a short visit. There really is no need for you to show up here like the scorned husband, Riddle."
Instantly, Tom's magic burst from him and violently rammed into the warding shield. This time he could feel the foreign magic shuddering under the onslaught. In cruel satisfaction he watched as Hermione winced and painfully rubbed her left forearm.
"It's not Lupin's fault," the girl said beseechingly. "I just wanted to see the barracks. I never planned to stay here. I wanted to be back sooner, but I slept in. I'm sorry."
As Tom stared into Hermione's brown eyes, his magic strangely calmed down. He was still angry, but he could also see the honesty on her face. Still, his voice was hard as steel as he ordered,
"Come here. We are leaving."
Hermione nodded duteously. To Tom's annoyance, though, she didn't immediately hasten to follow his command. Instead she turned to Lupin and smiled up at him.
"Thank you for inviting me. I really had a great time. But it's best I go back with Tom now."
The werewolf's yellow eyes scanned the girl and Tom balled his hands into tight fists as he saw the worry in them. The stupid dog had no business being concerned about Hermione's wellbeing.
"Okay," Lupin said reluctantly. "But you can always come back and visit us again."
Tom narrowed his eyes in suspicion as Lupin winked at Hermione and lightly tugged at a chain hanging around her neck. The Mudblood beamed up at him.
"Thank you," she said happily.
Finally, Hermione turned away from the wolf and walked over to Tom. She shuddered slightly as she passed the ward, but otherwise remained to be untouched. Wordlessly, Hermione stepped closer to him. Tom could see she was wary of him, which was a very good idea on her part, but something had shifted. It was so subtle, though, that Tom couldn't say what exactly was different. He reached for Hermione and harshly grabbed her arm, knowing but not caring that his tight grip would probably leave her bruised. Hermione didn't fight him and followed him without argument, but her posture and movements seemed to have shed their deference. Irately, Tom pulled her closer, making Hermione stumble slightly.
"You should have asked me before you ran off with that dog," Tom snapped at her, malice bending his tone.
Hermione nodded while watching him shrewdly as if trying to figure something out. Tom wondered what puzzle it was she was working on.
"You're right. I'm sorry," the Mudblood finally replied, voice firm but in no way confrontative. "But I thought you would say no."
Warningly Tom's fingers flexed around her arm. Throwing her a dark glare, he snapped, "All the more reason for you not to go, don't you think?"
Hermione's steady gaze never left him as she pondered how to reply. Cautiously, she worded, "It was an interesting opportunity. It would have been a shame to miss out on it."
It was a rather diplomatic non-answer, almost Slytherin-esque in its room for interpretation. Tom didn't like it. He also didn't like the off-handedness with which Hermione handled the situation.
"It seems I have been too lax with you," Tom told her icily. "I will have to limit your liberties more strictly, Hermione."
With that his grip on her yet again tightened, then he pulled her with him into apparition and towards Hogwarts.
{{{{{{{{+}}}}}}}}
'But pray not to defend from harm,
Nor danger to dispel;
Pray, rather, that with steadfast arm
I fight the battle well.'
- James Weldon Johnson
(*1871 † 1938)