Hey there! Hope you all are having a lovely day.
Heart felt thanks to everyone who favorited and followed this past week. And huge thank yous to my wonderful reviewers; Dramione Is Magic, Olivia, GhostWriter 1864, StormWitch19851, Calimocho, Raven that flies at night, Jeb59, abishop47, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, Leaf of Love, and brownie-123.
Dramione- Welcome aboard, glad you joined our ship!
Leafy- I actually had this idea ages ago. Not sure where it came from, it just popped into my head one day and wouldn't shake loose. I loved the idea of time travel being complicated, not completely explainable and the idea of a loop was just fascinating. Can she change things, can she not change things, is it even possible to change things? We'll just have to see!
Here we go! ... Good grief these chapters are getting long...
That private moment of a shared future was fleeting; but Hermione clung to it with every ounce of her being. Her imagination created a future for Sirius and herself that she knew would never quite be, but for some reason the images helped her continue to study and make calculated decisions and changes for the future.
Maybe it was the thought that if she was able to save Sirius and get back to her own time… maybe there would be some version of this 'happily ever after.' But Hermione knew that this was not a fairy tale; and this reality was much more harsh than any storybook princess could probably handle.
Sirius, for his part, didn't press the matter any further. Though he was caught staring at Hermione as she studied with Lily more than usual, and the Marauders teased him mercilessly. "The Great Playboy, Black, is finally tamed!" Peter chuckled as he looked over the defense notes that Hermione had lent to him.
"Though, we all hoped that it would happen. I'm still as shocked as Peter that you've focused your wayward eye; but I'm even more surprised by the fact that Mia insists on keeping you," Remus tried very hard to keep the smirk from his face, but he utterly failed. And James and Peter also had some trouble containing their laughter.
Sirius just leaned back in his chair and wore his wide charming grin, "Come, come now… I think a little bit of your green monsters are showing mates. Just because I've managed to catch the eye of the brightest and most gorgeous witch of our year doesn't mean you lot won't find someone… above average to take you all in as well."
James took it upon himself to knock Sirius down a quick peg or two, "Pity your bighead syndrome hasn't improved any." James then used his toes to tip Sirius just far enough that he lost the balance on his chair and fell backwards onto the floor of the common room.
Lily and Hermione stepped through the portrait hole just in time to see Sirius and his seat clatter to the floor.
"Oh Merlin, what has Black done now…" Hermione smirked as she shook her head and followed Lily over to the small table that the boys were using to hold up their enormous about of review notes and books.
Sirius again flashed one of his dazzling smiles as the two witches came into view and he decided to own his situation and remain on the floor. He laced his fingers behind his head and made himself comfortable, and positioned himself like he was sunning at a beach.
Lily leaned down slightly and kissed James on the cheek, "Did Padfoot forget which way round these are supposed to be used?" She pulled up a vacant chair and sat down between James and Peter.
"No, Lily flower. Padfoot forgot how big his head can get if he doesn't check it regularly," James cocked one of his eyebrows at his friend on the floor and tried to glare.
"Would it help my situation if I admitted that Evans was also quite fetching and almost as brilliant? Not to mention that Peter's Philipa is very easy on the eyes as well…"
"Bloody… Sirius Black , what are you…" Hermione rubbed her temple and shook her head with exasperation. "Alright you lot, I'm going up to my room before my boyfriend says anything else to deepen the crater that he is currently laying in."
The whole common room seemed to erupt into snickers, but Sirius's Cheshire smile was still in place.
He sat up quickly and caught Hermione around the waist and pulled her down to him on the floor. She ended up seated in his lap being held tightly so she was unable to run off to the dormitories.
Laughter and cat calls were heard from all the Gryffindors present.
Hermione shook her head and shared a knowing smile with Lily. The redhead understood the difficulty of dating such a mischievous extrovert, but sometimes there just wasn't much that could be done to reel them in.
Everyone quickly returned to their studies; N.E.W.T.'s and O.W.L's were only a few weeks from now and every fifth and seventh year student had their noses buried in books. Hermione noticed that it was common courtesy here for the other years to relinquish the study spaces to those years; she wondered if she had subconsciously done that during her other years at Hogwarts too.
And just to annoy Sirius a bit, Hermione refused to take the comfy chair that the Marauder had saved for his witch. She instead remained in his lap and pulled out the thickest, heaviest tome that she had in her bag and set it on her knees to review.
Sirius did his best to go over his own Charms notes, but he found the blonde witch very distracting. He casually played with the ends of her long hair. He inadvertently tickled Hermione's leg as he drew small circle patterns on her outer thigh. He even took to occasionally blowing air by Hermione's ear just to see if he could disrupt her attention.
"Aren't you supposed to meet Regulus tonight?" Hermione asked after Sirius had again tried to distract her. She hadn't even taken her eyes off her book.
"Yes, but that's not until later. Secret meeting have to be done late at night, Love," Sirius whispered by Hermione's ear and brushed his lips across her earlobe; he wanted to see if he could coax out a glare from her.
Hermione smirked, but refused to turn her head, "You won't win this one, Black. We need to study. I refuse to take the N.E.W.T.'s more than once."
Sirius smiled and returned his attention to his own review. He was slightly put out. But he did love the fact that Hermione could so easily keep up with his antics but could also gently keep him inline if the situation called for it.
A half hour later, Sirius poked Hermione in the side, "Would you like to come with me this visit. He was hoping to get to know you a bit." He spoke very softly and didn't discuss the specifics, to ensure that anyone who overheard had next to no information.
The other Marauders and Lily knew that Sirius and Regulus had been meeting a few times a month since the end of February. The brothers had caught up and fallen a bit into their former brotherly bantering selves; a little reminiscent of how they had been before Sirius had begun Hogwarts.
Hermione finally raised her eyes from her Runes book and looked over Sirius to make sure that he was really asking this. She was puzzled by the request, but she couldn't really ask for an elaboration while they sat around the common room.
"Alright. When would we be leaving?"
Sirius reached for Hermione's wrist and glanced at the time, "Right now, in fact. We're supposed to meet at eight thirty."
"Sirius… it's eight thirty-four."
Sirius smirked, "Yes well, I blame you. You're very distracting, Blondie."
Hermione rolled her eyes and put her enormous book back into her bag. Sirius stood up after her and promptly took Hermione's heavy bag and slung it over his own shoulder.
"What?" He took her hand, waved to the others and led the way out of the portrait hole. "It's not like I'm carrying my own bag… and I can be chivalrous at times."
Hermione shook her head and grasped Sirius a little tighter, "You are utterly ridiculous, Mr. Black."
They shared a sweet smile, "And yet, you still seem to love me. What on earth does that say about you?"
Hermione made a huge show of gasping, "How dare you insinuate that… that I'm mental or something, you mutt!" She pulled away from Sirius and quickly turned the corner leading to the seemingly empty corridor to the left of the staircases.
"No need for name calling," Sirius took a few large strides and easily caught up with his witch and pulled her to his chest. Hermione looped her arms around his neck and stood on her toes in an attempt to stand level with him. Sirius chuckled at her effort, "You should probably just accept that you're short, Love. It suits me just fine."
"First you call me mental and then you call me short. Why in Merlin's name am I dating you, Sirius Black?" Hermione may have been shaking her head but she wore the most brilliant grin.
"You do realize that the whole castle asks that every time you are seen together. Though Potter and Evans are far more… unusual of a couple," The cold gravelly voice filled the vacant hallway.
"Be civil Reg. I know you have little love for James, but he is my best mate. And his family did take me in," Sirius was still gazing down at Hermione as he spoke to his brother. He saw the faint flush of her cheeks as she untangled herself and took a small step away from the Marauder.
Hermione met the other Black's eyes and placed a small smile on her face, "Hello, Regulus."
She and Regulus were on civil terms, but had yet to get to know each other. Hermione had helped negotiated peace between the Black brothers, but she had left them to their own devices to reconcile in the months following their initial talk.
But now… now Sirius had asked her to come to one of their meeting.
Regulus's expression shifted as he stepped closer to the couple; it was as if his air of contempt simply fell away and a genuine smile graced his handsome face, "Hello, Amelia. Nice to see you again," His voice seemed warm as he extended his arm and shook Hermione's hand. It wasn't as stiff of a gesture as it had been in Zonko's, and Hermione noted the anxious tick of the boys lip as he smiled at her.
"Are you nervous to meet me?" Hermione clasped a hand over her mouth when she realized that her words had not been spoken in her head.
Sirius chuckled, "Sorry, Reg. She's a little exhausted from N.E.W.T. reviews. I'm afraid her normal collectiveness may be compromised at the moment."
Hermione shot her boyfriend a firm glare.
"How about we enter the room, so you can shout at him without alerting the patrols?" Regulus offered with a hearty chuckle.
Hermione crossed her arms and motioned for Sirius to begin walking the hallway to inform the Room of Requirement what was needed.
Sirius adjusted his stance and appeared anxious, "Would you mind calling the room?"
"I don't remember exactly what your Uncle's house looked like. One of you will have to ask for it."
Regulus shot Sirius a strange look and stepped forward to call their Uncle's house.
"No, wait Reg," Sirius scratched the back of his neck and looked to the ceiling momentarily. He then faced Hermione and asked with a very even voice, "Could you please call the Sitting Room?"
Hermione's eyes became a little wider, but she tried not to react otherwise to the request. She trusted Sirius with her life… and if he was asking for her sitting room, he and Regulus must have reached some kind of an understanding.
But Hermione still needed answers before she relieved her heavy secret.
The blonde witch paced the hallway asking for the Sitting Room, but requesting that the timeline wall be completely hidden until she specifically called for it.
The simple wooden door appeared and Hermione placed her opened locket into the center of the vine wood pattern inlay. She turned the handle, swept into the room and waited for the two boys to enter and close the door before she began her calculated questioning.
"Why did you ask me to bring you here?"
Sirius stood his ground, but made sure to use the soft even voice again, "I was hoping to discuss the possibility of tell Regulus everything. And it's not really a subject that can be brought up in the middle of the Great Hall, so I thought we could discuss it here."
Regulus sat down on one of the fluffy chairs and quietly observed the blonde witch and his brother. He had some ideas of what Sirius was talking about, but his brother had been very secretive and had not completely answered the questions that were asked.
"You want to tell him… everything… you mean absolutely everything?" Hermione's face looked like a horrible combination of terrified and enraged.
Sirius and Hermione stared at each other for almost a full three minutes. It was as if they were having a silent argument with just their eyes.
The silence was extremely uncomfortable for Regulus.
"Maybe I should go," The younger Black brother shifted in the seat. He stood up and began walking back to the door.
"No, wait…" Regulus was caught off guard by the female voice that asked him to stop.
Hermione took in a sharp breath, "Sirius, this is absolutely unacceptable… cornering me and forcing my hand like this. And the degree of meddling that this will be is astronomical, at best. You've already told Regulus about what his future might hold for him; you've warned him of what could happen. And he's thankfully rejected the notion and claims to not be swayed by the beliefs of blood purity."
Hermione knew that she was shouting.
She also knew that she was rambling.
But she couldn't believe that Sirius had sprung this issue on her without even a hint of a possibility that this was coming, "What could Regulus gain from knowing the truth?"
"I've been trying to convince Regulus to leave after he's finished school next year. Leave the country; get away from all this," Sirius glanced at his younger brother and then looked, almost pleadingly, back at Hermione. "I need him to know how bad it's going to get so that he'll let me get him out of the UK."
Hermione nodded, she could understand Sirius's need to protect what little family that he had left. Hadn't Hermione done the same to her parents just last summer? She turned her eyes on Regulus now, "And what do you make of all this?"
Regulus paused given himself ample time to chose his words carefully, "I don't want the Dark Mark, Amelia; I don't want anything to do with the Dark Lord or his Death Eaters. But I refuse to run away like a child." He came to stand right in front of Hermione, "I've told him this several times in fact. But Sirius insists that I need to leave; that I don't understand the sheer gravity of the hell storm that is coming down on the Wizarding World."
Hermione shifted her feet uncomfortably, "He might not be wrong, Regulus."
"Well, I've come to realize that. My brother rarely acts to the stern degree that his name may imply, but we've had many serious discussions recently. He even attempted to evoke my Sytherin self-preservation to sway me into moving to France or Italy immediately following my seventh year."
"Please, Hermione. You can trust him, I swear," Sirius closed the gap between them and took both of Hermione's hands in his own. Regulus furrowed his brow at the new name that Sirius had used to address the witch, but he decides against bringing attention to the supposed misstep my his brother.
"I… I know that now…" Hermione gazed at Regulus and tried to quickly determine all the different outcomes that the sharing of secrets could produce. None of them seemed to end well…
Hermione silently walked over to the blank wall that the sofa and chairs were arranged to face. She placed both of her hands on the wall and silently asked the Room of Requirements to reveal her timelines.
As the two lines began to materialize and all of the notations and points of interest came back into view, Hermione faced Regulus, "I'm not a seer; I have no patents for Divination, in fact. I'm a time traveler; I'm from the future…" Regulus's jaw fell open, but Hermione pressed on wanting to get the initial explanation finished as quickly as possible. "I was cursed by an ancient lightning spell that interacted badly with my time turner and it zapped me here… I have the marks to prove it…"
As Regulus's eyes looked over the bundle of scars that covered Hermione's shoulder blade and he cringed.
Regulus wordlessly walked along the wall, trying to absorb all the information that was displayed before him. He saw places he knew attacked, and people's initials that he recognized with horror, "This cannot be…"
It was almost twenty minutes before Regulus spoke again. He had carefully looked over the original timeline and still could not believe what he was seeing. The worst of it had been seeing his own initials with only a year listed and a questions mark. The second worst had been finding Sirius's initials and details about where and when his own brother was supposed to die.
Regulus took a seat in front of the horrifying wall and simply gazed at it as he asked his questions, "Do you have any other details about what happens to me?"
"I'm sorry... but no. No one in my future knew what actually happened to you. There were rumors and speculation, but no real information. We just know that you were eighteen at the time and it is believed that it happened right before your graduation," Hermione sat down next to Regulus.
"So this has already happened? There's no guarantee that things can be changed?"
"Reg, you can't think like that. Mia's already changed some things; for better or for worse, we're not entirely sure. But she has changed things," Sirius knelt down in front of his younger brother and clasped his shoulder. "We can get you to the continent; keep you safe."
"But if I'm destined to die, Sirius. There's little that can be done to change that," Regulus closed his eyes and tried to accept what he saw as his fate.
Sirius began to grow angry, "We don't know that Reg. I want to try to save you. That's what I want to do for this new timeline we're forming. I'm willing to fight tooth and nail to save both our skins, so please… just let me!"
Regulus smiled sadly, "Ever the valiant Gryffindor."
"And ever the determined Slytherin! You're not always right, Regulus," Sirius almost screamed as he stood and began pacing the floor in front of the timelines.
Hermione looked between the two boys, "Perhaps we can agree to disagree." She laid a gentle hand on Regulus's arm and asked a question that Sirius had not even fathomed to ask, "What do you want to do Regulus? Now that you know everything that we know; what do you think?"
Regulus turned to face Hermione and offered her a thankful smile. He took note of this witch's kindness, bravery and determination to carry on in spite of this heavy secret; there was no mystery why his brother loved this girl. "I am not as hopeful as you, Sirius. I believe that if I person is fated to die; then they will die."
Sirius huffed angrily and continued to pace, "So you won't even attempt to save yourself?!"
"No. I'm going to stay here like I did in the other timeline." Regulus wasn't sure where he had gotten this small seed of bravery, but he felt it begin to grow and warm his entire body. He took that as a sign that maybe this was what he was meant to do, "But you said that I defied the Dark Lord in your time, Mia. Maybe I can do that again… but maybe this time I can do more."
Sirius halted and rounded on his brother with wide eyes; Hermione cringed assuming that she knew what the next sentiment Regulus was going to suggest.
"Let me help. I've heard the rumors; I know there's an organization that is battling the Dark Lord. And I know that this Phoenix group is exactly something that you would join, Sirius," Regulus smirked as he continued; "I want to join as well. I can bring you information from the Dark Lord. Let me play the hero for once."
Sirius's jaw dropped, "You… you want to… you want to be a spy? This… this isn't a game, Reg. We're not little boys anymore; we're not playing!"
"I know the severity of the situation, Sirius. But I am of age. And I am perfectly positioned to accomplish this." Regulus stood, pulled his shoulders back and tilted his head up to be at his full height. He placed an arrogant façade on his face and dipped his voice back to its usual cool tone, "I am the last remaining honorable child of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. If the lengths at which they have been courting me is any indication, I will be welcomed within the ranks of the Death Eaters with open arms. I'm sure that my name will give me leverage to quickly be placed among the inner circle. But I'm sure my inexperience and youth will make it so that I will not be tasked with many of the important strikes. This will allow me to get information, and hopefully keep me alive long enough to find this locket you spoke of."
Regulus hoped that his demeanor and vocabulary would sway his brother into understanding that this is what he wanted… no this is what he needed to do.
If he was destined to die, Regulus was going to go down fighting.
So a little bit of Fluff and a little bit of set up... We'll just have to wait and see where it's leading us.
Let me know what you all thought of this one!
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Always,
Misha
Ps. Check out the other stories by me: 'Begin Again,' 'Life as Demigods' and 'Penelope Jackson: The Lightning Thief.'