A/N: I'd like to remind you about the rating (M) in this chapter.

And also - there will be some explicit content (read: smut) along the way. It's mostly posted in Ao3, under the same pen name.

Chapter 11: New Allies

Saturday, 17 September 1977

It was their first Hogsmeade trip and Hermione and Remus had agreed they would leave towards the village as soon as they had had breakfast. The plan was to browse the shops and then have lunch at the Three Broomsticks, where they would meet the rest of the seventh year Gryffindors.

Hermione woke up early and after showering and getting dressed, she met Remus in the common room. They were the first Gryffindors at breakfast – the others arrived to the Great Hall as they were already leaving. After breakfast, Hermione, Remus and a handful of other students emerged to the brisk morning air. The sun shined brightly, casting shadows on the line of trees next to the path they walked along.

"So…you wanted to know about the Australian Wizarding School?" Hermione asked after a small silence, remembering he had said something of the sort.

"Yeah, I'd love to." Remus said and gave her a small smile.

Hermione stared absently at a group of Ravenclaws who were walking further along the path as she thought what to say to him.

"Hmm. Where to start. Well. The school was founded in 1816 and it is located in New South Wales Blue Mountain range. The students are split into five houses and they are sorted similarly as in Hogwarts, at the beginning of their first year. The schoolyear begins in early February and continues to late November. It's made up of four terms which are ten weeks in length, with a one week holiday in between each. The school closes for the summer in late November. Its curriculum – "

Hermione's textbook description was interrupted by Remus lifting his hand and giving her an apologising smile.

"No, no, Hermione. You understood me incorrectly. I know all of that and you have recited An Appraisal of Magical Education throughout the World almost word for word," he said and frowned at her. "What I meant was that I'd like to know about you in your previous school. What it was like to study there, about your friends and what not," he said carefully, studying her expression as they walked forward.

"Oh…" She muttered and rolled her eyes inwardly. Of course Remus had read the same book she had extracted her knowledge about her made-up previous school from. Perhaps…perhaps she could just tell him parts of the truth. She didn't have to say where or when all of it had happened…

"It…It was pretty great actually. At first, I didn't have any friends, much like you, although not for the same reasons I guess. I was a bit of a know-it-all back then and pretty much drove away anyone who was even slightly willing to get to know me." She chuckled. Remus smiled at her but she noticed a bit of sadness in his expression.

"You probably won't believe me but…when I was twelve, I faced a mountain troll with two boys in my year, Harry and Ron, and since then, we were inseparable." She said and shrugged when Remus gaped at her, seemingly trying to form words but not quite succeeding.

Hermione grinned at his expression. "Oh, that is not even close to the top of the blood-curdling occurrences I have somehow gotten into."

"W-What…a Troll…Merlin. What else?" Remus stammered as he stared at her in bewilderment.

"Um…When I was thirteen, I got petrified by a Basilisk." She said with a slight grimace. Even the mere thought brought her shivers…what if she hadn't known to look through the mirror?

"Merlin's balls…you are not taking the mickey?" He gaped at her again, stopping in the middle of the road.

Hermione gave him a wry smile. "I wish I was…" She said grimly and Remus let out a baffled laughter.

"So...Do you keep in touch with your friends and mum?" Remus asked after they continued to walk ahead.

Hermione swallowed, knowing that she had to give him a similar explanation that she had given Sirius. "No. I don't," she said quietly. Remus looked at her closely. Hermione chewed the inside of her cheek, before she continued. "They, um…we were attacked and…I was the only one who got away..." She said, her voice wavering slightly. She hated it. She hated lying to everyone.

Remus stopped again in his tracks, staring at her in horror. "W-What?" He asked, his voice rising a bit. "You were attacked? By whom?" He asked urgently, his eyes moving over her face.

She took a steadying breath. "An enemy…I…could we not talk about it?" She asked pleadingly, not wanting to lie anymore, nor telling him the truth.

Remus nodded slowly, a mix of pity and worry crossing his features. "Of course," he said quietly.

Hermione looked quickly away, feeling unworthy of his sympathy.

He surprised her by pulling her closer and enveloping her into a soft hug. "I'm sorry Hermione. That's…I don't know what to say. I can't even begin to understand what you are going through," he murmured into her hair. "You now I'm here for you, right?" Remus spoke with a muffled voice as he held her close to him.

Hermione cleared away the sudden tightness in her throat. "I know, Remus," she replied quietly as they broke off.

Even though she couldn't actually tell him about the horrors that had happened in her past and even though nearly everything she had said to him had been mixed with lies, she still felt slightly better being able to talk with someone.

Remus seemed to understand that she didn't want to discuss the topic any further, so he changed the subject to their Hogsmeade trip.

"Just to warn you; I might want to stay a while at Tomes and Scrolls, so if you find yourself in a state of boredom, just remind me, yeah?" he asked sheepishly.

Hermione laughed. "Likewise," she said pointedly and Remus grinned.

She hadn't had the chance to visit the bookshop in several days and she knew the owner would always put new volumes for display in the beginning of every month.

Once they arrived at the bookshop, Hermione surveyed the shelves for a while until she found a large tome that piqued her interest. She took the book and seated herself in a comfortable chair in a small reading nook between the shelves. Remus joined her after a moment with his own book. A half an hour later they were both engrossed by the texts. Time went by and it wasn't until after Hermione's stomach grumbled loudly in the quiet shop, when Remus snapped his book shut and smirked at her as he took her book away as well.

"Let's head to lunch before you starve, okay?" He said teasingly.

Hermione stood up and elbowed him softly before following him out of the shop. They had agreed to meet their housemates for lunch in the Three Broomsticks. As they entered the crowded pub they saw their friends already waiting for them at a table in the far corner.

They gave their orders to Madam Rosmerta and walked to the table where everyone but Sirius sat. Hermione glanced around the pub and saw him at the counter, supposedly getting a new round of drinks. She pressed her lips together in disapproval as she saw him winking at group of not so young witches who were sitting on the stools of the bar, looking very pleased by his attention.

Hermione arched a brow at him when he came back, looking ever the picture of a womanizing ladies' man. He seemed pleasantly surprised by Hermione's arrival and smiled at her expression.

"Come on, Dumbledore, it's nothing to be jealous about," Sirius said cheerfully as he sat next to Hermione, dragging his chair close to her. "I just can't help that women find me irresistible," he continued with an innocent smile.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

Sirius on the other hand was laughing now. "Now, don't get your knickers in a twist."

"You're an arse." Hermione said to him, half-jokingly.

James sniggered on the other side of the table. "You only just noticed?"

Mary, Alice and Lily laughed.

"Bugger off, Prongs," Sirius quipped and turned to Hermione.

"I apologise, my love," he said sincerely and took her hand, leaning down to kiss the back of it before gazing into her eyes.

The others eyed his moves with mild amusement, while Hermione gave him a wary look.

"I apologise for all the women who gawk at me in the most indecent way," Sirius continued, a grin slowly creeping up on his face.

Hermione huffed, wrenched her hand away from his grasp and punched him on the shoulder while their friends laughed.

Their lunch arrived and everyone was quiet for a moment as they started eating.

"So, Hermione, how long do you reckon you'll take those extra classes with Prewett?" James asked while munching his chips.

Hermione frowned, contemplating for a moment what to say. "I don't know yet actually, it depends on how fast we can go through all the necessary material for the NEWTs," she eventually replied, taking a sip from her Butterbeer.

James nodded slowly, glancing between her and Sirius, a scrutinising look in his eyes.

"You reckon he's not asking you to stay after classes to come on to you?" Sirius said with an nonchalant expression, even though his voice had a hint of suspicion in it.

Hermione saw Lily rolling her eyes at Sirius before she turned to the boy and gave him a look of disbelief. "What? Why would you think that?"

Sirius's jaw twitched and he cleared his throat. "Well, er…I just know how he was when he was still in school…" he said vaguely.

Hermione scoffed and gave him a pointed look. "Oh, so it takes one to know one?"

Sirius arched a brow at her but said nothing. James snorted into his Butterbeer and the girls exchanged amused expressions on the other end of the table. Remus and Peter were trying to suppress their grins.

Hermione sighed and gave Sirius an adamant look. "Nevertheless, I find it very hard to believe that he'd do anything like that," she said firmly. "He is a teacher, after all..."

Sirius inclined his head and gave her a slightly apologetic look, but said nothing more to the matter. After a moment of silence their group started talking about their other classes.

Monday, 19 September 1977

Hermione was heading towards the Headmaster's office on Monday evening. Excluding the mealtimes at the Great Hall, she hadn't seen Dumbledore in two weeks, not after barging into his office to demand what exactly he had told Gideon about her. She could only assume the Headmaster had been busy with other, more important things.

As Hermione walked through the corridors, she recalled the previous day's events in her head. She had met Regulus in the library again and he still hadn't uttered a word to her. He had just sat next to her and studied and had occasionally given a furtive glance at her direction. She hadn't known what to think about it and had felt a bit uncomfortable around him, so she had left the library early and headed towards the Gryffindor common room.

Sirius was lounging on the sofa with James sitting on the other end of it, while Remus and Peter were in the middle of a chess game near the fireplace. Even though the spacious room was packed and filled with noise, Sirius turned his head to see the portrait hole when she came through it and immediately seemed to notice that something was bothering her. He stood up and approached her, frowning at her.

"What is it, Hermione?" he asked quietly as she met him halfway the room.

Hermione bit her cheek and decided to tell him, but not in the middle of the common room, where everyone seemed to be idly spending their day off. "Can we talk? ...privately?" She asked, feeling disturbed.

"Yeah, of course. The guys are all down here so let's go to my dorm, okay?" He said and gave her a worried look before taking her hand and leading her towards the boys' dormitory.

"Guys, we'll take a quick stop to our dorm," he called to his roommates by the fire. Hermione gritted her teeth in annoyance. Now everyone was ogling at them and thinking Merlin knows what…

James grinned at his best mate slyly and turned his eyes to Hermione. "Remember, Hermione. If you lie down with dogs, you'll get up with fleas," he said, sniggering on the sofa. Peter joined his laughter, while Remus glanced at his friends with a mildly amused expression.

Sirius gave James the two finger salute, muttering "bloody wanker," while walking towards the staircase with Hermione.

She arched a brow at him before they started to walk up the stairs, but he merely shrugged at her. "You do realise that you and James yelling things like that makes this look like we're here for…You know…?" Hermione asked pointedly, as they reached the top floor.

Sirius chuckled and stepped inside the dorm, with Hermione trailing behind him. He walked straight to his bed and sat down, waiting for her to start talking. She merely stared at him a bit hesitantly, wondering if she should sit next to him…on his bed.

He arched his brows at her. "We can do that too if you'd like, darling, but first, tell me what's on your mind?" He said with an amused grin and gestured for her to sit down next to him.

Hermione huffed and sat on his bed. "Your brother was in the library again." She said and Sirius tensed beside her, his expression turning dark.

"What did he want?" He demanded quietly.

"Well…He didn't do or say anything. I don't know for certain why he was there, but I just thought you should know." She said tentatively. "I mean, he's probably there because of what I said to him the other day, but what's with the silent treatment…?" She asked thoughtfully and sighed.

Sirius observed her aloofly. He cursed under his breath and tried to stand up but Hermione's hand stopped him.

"Let go, Hermione." He said tightly, looking at her with dark grey eyes that were lacking emotion.

Hermione held his stare defiantly and lifted her chin. "No. I know you'll just run to the dungeons to do something foolish you might regret later," she said sternly. She then tugged his hand. "Come here," she said, her voice now gentle. She held his gaze while moving further on his bed.

Sirius looked undecided. After a short moment, the cold look in his eyes flickered away and was replaced by something between questioning and eagerness. Hermione was pleasantly surprised that he relented and moved towards her.

She lay down on the mattress and Sirius came to hover on top of her, a small frown between his brows as his eyes moved over her face. "I know you're distracting me on purpose," he muttered while her hands slid behind his neck and her fingers tangled in his hair.

"Is that so?" She whispered, her mouth curving a bit as she brought him closer, staring into his eyes nervously and leaning forward, pressing her lips to his.

The kiss was slow and soft, as their lips explored each other.

"Mm-hmm," He hummed and brought his hand to rest below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. She ran her fingers through his hair and tugged lightly, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest.

After a while, they walked back to the common room where the others were waiting for them to go to lunch together. James eyed at them with a knowing smirk and was about to say something before Sirius cut him off, "Sod off, Prongs." He took Hermione's hand and they left to the Great Hall.

As she neared the Headmaster's office, her thoughts revolved around Sirius. What was she doing with him? What happened when – if – she would leave this time to go back to her own time?

It had turned out quite difficult to be there and be around all these people and not get involved with them. The last time she had talked with Dumbledore about her situation, he had said that he would try to gather information. She hoped that he would have some answers now, as her own research hadn't progressed much.

"Chocolate Frogs," she said to the gargoyle and it moved to the side, revealing a staircase which led to the Headmaster's office. As she reached the top, she knocked softly on the door and opened it after hearing a quiet "Enter". She entered the large and beautiful circular room and saw that McGonagall and Gideon were already sitting in front of Dumbledore's enormous, claw-footed desk. There was also a third person sitting next to Gideon. The man was identical to her Defence professor, although his hair was much shorter and messier. He stood up and walked to Hermione.

"I'm honoured to finally meet the lady to whom I'm in debt," he said and winked at her, while offering his hand for her to shake. "Fabian Prewett."

Hermione smiled. "Hermione Dumbledore. Nice to meet you too Mr Prewett," she said while shaking his hand.

He chuckled, sounding exactly like his brother. "Call me Fabian." He said and Hermione nodded.

She was reminded of a certain pair of twins and the familiar sad feeling twisted her chest momentarily. She swallowed deeply. "Well then, call me Hermione." She said and Fabian nodded at her.

Dumbledore beamed from where he stood and gestured for her to sit down next to Fabian in an armchair he had conjured. Hermione sat down and Dumbledore followed suit.

The Headmaster lay his hands on the desk, steepling his hands as he eyed the group in front of him. "I believe Gideon and Fabian have some questions."

The twins nodded at him.

Dumbledore continued speaking to the two men. "But first, in order for you to receive the answers to your questions, I have to ask you both to make a binding magical contract with me. You wouldn't be able to reveal any information you receive from Hermione today or later on to anyone but those who are in this room today," he explained while Hermione tensed slightly and sat up straight.

Dumbledore took a parchment from his drawer, waved his wand on it and turned it so that the brothers could read it. Both Prewetts looked over the contract and signed it without hesitation, as if there wasn't anything unusual in Dumbledore's request. Dumbledore seemed satisfied, clapped his hands and nodded to Hermione reassuringly. Hermione braced herself for whatever it was she was about to face.

"Well, I think I want to know how exactly you got the information about our mission." Fabian said, eyeing Hermione carefully.

"I'd like to know the truth about that as well," Gideon said slowly.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't really know how to start. She then realised that Gideon hadn't bought her story about the vision after all.

Dumbledore watched them for a moment before he turned to Hermione. "I think it is best to start from the beginning, dear."

Hermione contemplated it before she spoke to the twins. "Um, I'm…not from here." she said.

The brothers gave her mildly perplexed looks. "I think that's established already, Hermione." Gideon said, frowning at her.

"No, what I meant was that…I'm not from this…time." She said with a slight grimace. Gideon and Fabian gave her confused looks. Hermione took a deep breath.

"I came from the year 1998," she said simply.

Confusion in their expressions was replaced with shock and disbelief.

"What?" Gideon asked incredulously.

Hermione swallowed. "I'm from the future," she said and Gideon waved a hand in dismissal at his brother, who let out a strangled laugh.

"Trust me I heard that..." Gideon said and stared at her suspiciously. "And you're saying that's not a load of codswallop?" He said, his eyes flickering to the Headmaster, who merely smiled at him.

Hermione sighed. "I know how it sounds, but it's the truth. I've been here less than two months..." She said, chewing the inside of her cheek.

Gideon and Fabian turned to Dumbledore and McGonagall with dumbfounded looks, who both nodded back in acknowledgement.

"How is that even possible?" Fabian asked from Hermione, shaking his head slightly.

"Well…It was a Time-Turner. I didn't do it on purpose. I was only going to go back for a few hours, but I got hit by a spell, or, well, I suppose the Time-Turner was. I woke up in the Hospital wing at Hogwarts, in 1977." She explained.

"Merlin…" Gideon whispered. "And you just happened to have a Time-Turner in your possession?" He said, giving her a slightly wary look.

"I…Might have stolen it, from, um…Dumbledore," She muttered quickly, glancing at the Headmaster with a sheepish look.

Fabian snorted and Hermione could see Dumbledore's mouth curving up a bit.

"Why were you trying to turn back time?" Fabian asked curiously.

Hermione cleared her throat, the familiar tightness making its way there as she neared the subject of their capture. "Well…I was captured. And someone – a Death Eater - was torturing me." Hermione said and tried to push the horrible memory away.

Gideon's brows lifted. "A Death Eater? Voldemort and his Death Eaters are still active in 1998?" He asked, dread clear in his eyes.

Hermione nodded. "Voldemort was defeated in 1981, but resurrected in 1995." she said grimly.

Gideon and Fabian shared an inscrutable look.

"Who defeated him?" Gideon asked, eyeing Hermione closely. "Why didn't he die?"

"Well," She sighed wearily. "That's a long story." She said while glancing at Dumbledore and his sympathetic eyes.

She recounted the important bits of Voldemort's defeat and rebirth, including the information about the Prophecy and the Horcruxes. Dumbledore then asked both Prewetts to take some time to decide if they were willing to take part in their mission to destroy the Dark Lord once and for all. The twins left the Headmaster's office, both trapped in their thoughts while Hermione left towards the Gryffindor Tower after asking if Dumbledore had any news about her situation. He didn't.

Sunday, 25 September 1977

Hermione was making her way to the library, as she usually did on weekends. She had had breakfast with Lily, James and Remus, while the other seventh years were still in their dorms, sleeping on their day off. Lily and James were having a meeting with the prefects and Remus, being a prefect, was of course attending the same meeting. Apparently, amongst other things, they were going to discuss the Halloween ball that was going to take place next month.

After entering the library, Hermione headed to her usual spot in the corner. She stopped as soon as the table came into her view. Regulus was sitting there, at her table, again. He had sat there last Sunday as well but hadn't spoken to her yet. Hermione huffed in annoyance and decided that if he wanted to sit and study with her, he had better tell her about his intentions. The library did have several vacant study spots available, after all.

She lifted her chin and marched to the corner. "Okay. What is going on in here?" Hermione said with a stern voice as she stood at the end of the table, opposite to where Regulus sat his head bent over a school book.

Regulus lifted his gaze slowly from the book, until his eyes locked with hers. He gave her a scrutinising look and she had to suppress the urge to look away.

"Studying?" He said plainly, giving her a blank expression.

"Oh...I – You – I mean," she stammered, feeling her neck warming up. She sighed and collected her thoughts. "What I meant to ask, is why do you sit at my table? Or why do you sit next to me?" She asked and frowned at him in bewilderment.

He was still watching her, his gaze moving from her eyes down her body and back up, as if he was sizing her up. She shifted uncomfortably.

"I thought about what you said to me a few weeks back." He said quietly.

Hermione lifted her brows in surprise. "…And?" She said hesitantly.

"I'm considering it." He said simply.

Hermione tried to stop herself from showing her excitement, but some of it had to be visible in her expression, because when Regulus turned his gaze back to his books, there was a small frown between his brows.

When he didn't say anything more to the subject, Hermione sat down opposite to him and they studied in silence the rest of the morning.

When it was nearly lunch time, Hermione stood up from her chair, said her goodbyes to Regulus and started to head towards the library exit. Before she got out, Sirius barged in and grabbed her by her arms.

"Where is he?" He demanded quietly, looking over her shoulder.

Hermione placed her hands against his chest in order to calm him down. "Sirius, don't. I don't think his intentions are bad-natured. Just –"

She didn't have time to finish her sentence before he stormed off, taking quick strides towards her study corner where Regulus was still supposedly sitting. Hermione practically had to run to keep up with him.

"Stay the hell away from Hermione." Sirius snarled quietly at his brother as he reached the table, his eyes blazing.

Regulus merely arched a brow at him and looked him in the eye. "Nice to see you too, brother. How are things with the blood-traitors? I hope they do treat you well," he said icily, even though his expression was still indifferent.

Sirius gritted his teeth. "Oh you are one to talk, little arsehole. Hiding behind mummy's skirt and being her little puppet, aren't you?" Sirius jibed.

Regulus stood up slowly, his eyes now cold. Both of them were glaring at each other, their jaws clenched.

Hermione watched them in alarm and tried to calm the situation before they all got kicked out from the library, or either of them drew their wands out.

"Sirius. Let's just go, leave him be. Please, just…come with me," she said to him imploringly, taking a hold of his hand.

Sirius seemed to relax slightly from her touch.

Regulus collected his things from the table. "Did you ever stop to think, dear brother, that one of us had to live up to Mother and Father's expectations, so that you could have your merry little life, with your merry little friends in the Gryffindor Tower?" He hissed.

Then, he stormed off the library.

Sirius was breathing heavily and looking at the empty spot where his brother had been sitting only moments ago, a deep frown between his brows.

Hermione took his hand and laced their fingers. "Come here." She whispered to him and led him to the Great Hall.

After lunch the girls, Remus and Peter went to watch the Gryffindor team Quidditch practice. It was actually quite a nice day, not warm enough to wear summer clothes anymore, but not cold either. The sky was clear, the sun was shining and it was a great day for spending some time outside. Even with the great weather and the fact that he was flying, Sirius still seemed to be in a sullen mood. The practice wasn't going smoothly either.

He had been in a foul mood since the library, after talking to his brother. The seventh year Gryffindors had naturally given her some questioning looks after Hermione and Sirius had joined them at the table and after Sirius had stared at his plate and poked his food sullenly the whole lunch hour. She had managed to give the others some warning looks but it wasn't like she could've said anything to them, not with Sirius there listening to her every word.

"Come on, Pads, you are flying like shite today! Focus!" James yelled as he flew past Sirius.

Hermione cringed when Sirius shot a glare at his mate and growled, "Sod off!"

Remus sat next to Hermione, with Mary on his other side. Lily was seated on Hermione's other side, next to Alice and Peter. Marlene had informed at lunch that she had much more pressing matters to do than to watch a mere practice.

Hermione observed the Quidditch stands around them and saw that there were also a handful of younger Gryffindors watching the practice, mainly girls who squealed moronically every time James threw the Quaffle through a goal hoop. Lily bristled when James actually winked at the girls, who of course swooned at him.

Remus eyed the display in amusement before he turned to talk to Hermione. "So what's got Pads so peeved up today? I mean, when we woke up, he was his normal grumpy self, but when you two came to lunch, he was practically seething with anger," he said quietly.

Hermione opened her mouth but faltered when she glanced at Sirius who was glaring daggers at them, flying not far from where they sat. She thought that he had probably heard Remus with his heightened hearing.

"I was in the library and we ran into his brother...it didn't go so well," she said with a slight grimace the moment Sirius was on the other end of the pitch.

Remus nodded in understanding and said no more.

After practice, Hermione and Sirius stayed behind as the others walked back to the castle and the rest of the Quidditch team went to their locker rooms to shower. Sirius still wore his training tracksuit, opting to clean himself up later. They sat in silence in one of the empty stands. Sirius was still somewhat brooding, evidently because of the encounter with his brother. Hermione waited for him to talk first.

Eventually Sirius let out a long sigh and took off the hair tie that was holding his hair in a bun so that it didn't flap against his face while flying. He threaded his hands through his raven locks, letting them fall freely, the tips of his hair brushing his shoulders.

"You know...I haven't told you about what happened with my parents a few years back." He said while looking at her warily. "Do you know about my family? The kind of people they are?" He asked mutedly.

Hermione gave him a sad smile and took his hand. Of course she knew all about his family, but she couldn't say simply anything to him. Still, she reckoned that perhaps she could have known some details through her 'father' and 'uncle'.

"Yes, I know that some of them are dark wizards and witches, but I also know that you are nothing like them," she said reassuringly and gave his hand a squeeze.

He sighed again and nodded. "Long story short, I got sorted into Gryffindor and they didn't like it. I met some awesome people who weren't like them and they hated that. They tried to force me to be one of his followers, but I had rather died than done that, so...that's what they supposedly tried to do after. First they tried to mark me without my consent and then threaten me through Reggie... It didn't really go as they planned and in the end, I was left alone, in a pretty bad shape," he said quietly, looking at the empty pitch.

Hermione's eyes widened in horror. She hadn't noticed she had tightened her grip on his hand, before he let out a small wince.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that…" She said sincerely, hugging him close to her and kissing his temple affectionately.

She was quite shocked. She had thought she had had a fair idea about the events and the reasons why Sirius had run away from his home. But she hadn't expected this kind of revelation. The future-Sirius hadn't really spoken about his family or his life at Grimmauld Place and certainly not in such detail.

"How did you get out of there?" Hermione whispered with concern in her voice, while brushing her thumb over his knuckles.

Sirius frowned for a moment before answering. "Reggie. He sent me to Potters. That little shit knows how to surprise me from time to time," he said with a hint of amusement and ran his hand through his hair again. "We didn't talk about it afterwards. We've been avoiding each other ever since..." He said and stared ahead, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

Hermione felt bad for him, because Sirius clearly cared about his brother but it seemed that there were too many undealt issues between them, including the most obvious one, which was being on different sides of the upcoming war.

And for what she had gathered, Regulus too did care for his brother. She just wished he would choose to do the right thing and maybe the brothers would be able to reconcile after all this time. She wanted to comfort Sirius, to distract him from the exhausting thoughts that were mulling in his head concerning his brother.

She slowly brought her mouth close to his neck, breathing in his intoxicating scent, her lips grazing the soft skin below his jaw. Sirius's breathing quickened and after a few moments, he let out a frustrated growl and dragged her to sit on his lap. He pulled her closer to him, crushing his lips against hers, making them both breathless. Their kisses quickly became passionate, their tongues dancing and flexing around each other, urging one another.

Sirius let out a soft groan and grabbed her behind with a tight grip, dragging his mouth against her neck, his lips, teeth and tongue hot against her skin. Warm shivers coursed through her and as Hermione whimpered and arched towards him, Sirius swallowed the sounds from her mouth, kissing her fiercely. It was rushed, exciting and intense; both of them were lost into each other, not caring one bit about anything other than the pleasure their actions caused. Her hand worked its way down his chest and then with a bit more hesitance against the bulge in his pants, while her other hand was busy tangling into his silky black locks.

"Fuck," Sirius breathed and thrust his hips towards her, as she slowly traced him through his pants. "Can you feel what you are doing to me, Hermione?" He groaned when she kissed him again, his hands moving all over her body.

Soon his hands slid under her sweater on her back, moving to her sides and going upward, drawing patterns on her skin as they went. She tensed slightly when he touched the underside of her breasts. It felt so good. When Sirius's thumbs moved upwards and brushed over her hardened nipples through her bra, Hermione gasped against his lips, her body arching for more.

"I like the sound of that." He said hoarsely, dipping his index finger into the cup of her bra and gently yanking it down, freeing her breast. He repeated the process to her other breast. Though she still had her sweater on and covering her mostly, Hermione felt the peaks of her breasts harden under the exposure to the outside air. Or, perhaps she reacted from his touch. He continued caressing her while licking into her mouth slowly and passionately. Their movements became hurried and needy and soon she could only focus on the pleasurable thrill he made her feel.

Hermione breathed heavily against Sirius's lips, her hand touching him lightly though his slacks, wanting nothing more than to rip their clothes off and let him have her right there in the Quidditch stand. Sirius trembled and broke their kiss with a breathless groan, dropping his forehead against her neck, out of breath.

"Hermione, I…we need to stop." He gasped, his hot breath puffing against her skin. He then carefully tugged her bra back in place, smoothed his hands down her sides under the sweater and pulled it down properly.

Hermione was still short of breath and flustered of the pent-up arousal, as was he. More than that, she was grateful that they had stopped before someone had seen them. Apparently she herself hadn't been able to regain her senses fast enough.

Sirius lifted his head and looked at her with an adoring smile. He leaned close to her and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips. "Did I go too far?" He asked sincerely, worry in her eyes.

It made her heart swell with feeling. "No, it was okay. More than okay actually," she said honestly and gave him a warm smile.

He kissed her again, sweetly and chastely, before standing up and pulling her up with him.

Wednesday, 28 September 1977

It was the day after the full moon and the seventh year Gryffindor boys were absent from classes. Remus was in the infirmary and Hermione assumed the rest of them were sleeping in their dorm, after frolicking in the forest in animal forms the previous night. She pondered whether she should visit Remus in the hospital wing after classes and still act like she didn't have a clue about why he was in there. She also made a mental note to look into Wolfsbane potion, if it had already been invented and was on the market.

They were having a double Potions class and Hermione was still Snape's partner. She had asked Lily about the dark haired Slytherin a couple days ago, and Lily had told her that they had been friends for a long time, until one day they no longer hadn't. According to Lily, Snape had decided to side with his Slytherin friends and had proceeded to cut her out of his life.

"I still don't understand it, Hermione. We were best friends, after all. How could he do that to me? How can he despise everything I am?" Lily asked sadly, tears glimmering in her eyes.

They were sitting on Hermione's bed, alone in their dorm, while the other girls were downstairs in the common room.

Hermione tried to console her friend and make her see some sense in the situation, even though she wasn't exactly eager to defend him. "Have you thought that maybe he didn't have any choice? What he did was wrong, but what if he isn't as strong as you are? Maybe he regrets his decisions? Have you given him a chance to explain himself?" She asked hesitantly.

Lily shook her head. "No…I haven't. We haven't talked since the day he and his friends called me a Mudblood. And those friends by the way are all probably you-know-who's followers by now," She said darkly.

"Lily...I have to tell you something," Hermione said and watched her friend seriously.

She recounted the discussion between Regulus and Snape in the library some weeks ago, as well as her short conversation with Regulus last Sunday. Lily gaped at her.

"You really think they are going along with it only for appearance? That they do not wish it?" Lily asked and sighed, looking overwhelmed.

Hermione stared at the bedspread between them, a deep frown between her brows. "I don't know…"

They did not speak another word on the matter, as Hermione was letting Lily make up her mind about it and also because she still wasn't sure what the deal with Regulus was. If he would be switching sides, so to speak, then maybe Snape might be willing to do that too? She had noticed that the younger Black spent much of his time with Snape… So maybe it was possible to reach out to Snape through Regulus?

"Your head is in the clouds again, Dumbledore." Snape hissed at her from her side. "Try to focus and not to screw this up, will you?" He snapped and snatched her hand away so she couldn't put the wrong ingredient into their brew.

Hermione jumped slightly. "Oh, sorry, I just...I'll focus." She gave him an apologetic smile.

His features softened a bit as he studied her. Then he cleared his throat. "So where is the idiotic boyfriend of yours and his merry band of misfits?" He grumbled quietly and turned a page from their textbook to follow the potion recipe.

Hermione pursed her lips at him and gave him a bored look. "You are not winning any points here, Snape, when insulting the people I care about," she muttered.

"And just what makes you think I want to win any points? That I would care about what you want or think?" He grunted without looking at her.

"I think you do. You want to reconcile with Lily and it might be possible through me. I've seen the way you look at her. But of course, it depends on the circumstances. On your motives." She said pointedly, her gaze flickering to his left arm.

He flinched and stared at her, his eyes turning dark. "What do you know?" He asked coldly.

Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered quietly, "I know enough. I know you are not marked yet."

Snape's jaw twitched.

"And I know you have spoken with Regulus. So the same thing I said to him, applies to you too. You always have a choice, Snape. Remember that." She whispered and watched him gravely for a moment, before moving her focus on their brew.

He didn't say anything for the rest of the class. When Hermione left the dungeons, Snape suddenly grabbed her hand and led her to an empty classroom unnoticed by anyone else.

"What are you – "

"What are your intentions with Regulus?" Snape demanded, his gaze cold and calculating.

Hermione was gobsmacked by what had happened and what Snape had said. He wasn't the first Slytherin to ask about her intentions.

"It isn't your concern, Snape," she snapped and began to move to the door, but he stepped in her way.

"Move. Aside." She gritted through her teeth. A small panic rose inside her. She didn't think he would actually do anything to her, but then again, she didn't really know him.

"Sev. Let her go," Regulus said quietly from the door. He closed it behind him and went to stand in front of Snape, facing him. "Don't interfere." Regulus continued quietly.

Hermione was mildly frightened - she was in the dungeons with two Slytherins, both of whom were thinking about joining Voldemort and they were in a middle of a staring contest. She inched her wand out of her pocket.

"Now you made her draw a wand on us," Regulus said with amusement as he turned to look at Hermione.

Hermione gripped her wand tighter in her palm and lifted her chin. "Well, you never know what to expect from a couple of snakes."

Regulus huffed a laugh while Snape merely rolled his eyes.

Regulus's expression became blank again. He cleared his throat and studied her closely. "Hermione, can I talk to you for a moment?" He asked, before giving Snape a small nod.

Snape scowled at them both and left the room without a word.

Hermione still held her wand pointed at Regulus and studied him closely. "What do you want to talk about?" She asked suspiciously.

He sighed, took his own wand, and as Hermione's eyes widened with dread, he handed it to her. "Take it. I'm not going to hurt you," he said with a sincere expression.

She hesitantly took the wand from him and stared at him in puzzlement. He licked his lips and gave her an intense stare.

"I want to defect."