A/N: Thank you for reading!

About the bet...well, Hermione will find out eventually, but soooo much will happen before that!

Please review :)

Chapter 13: Confessions

October 3rd 1977 (Monday)

Hermione had sent a note to the Headmaster about a development in their mission, after she and Sirius had met with Regulus and talked about his defection. Dumbledore had asked her to meet him in his office on Monday evening, after dinner. As she entered through the door to his office, McGonagall and the Headmaster were already waiting for her.

"Good evening, Hermione," Dumbledore said, surveying her over his half-moon spectacles. He was wearing a light blue set of robes, the same colour as his eyes.

"I trust you have some news you would like to share with us?" He said and gestured for her to sit down in an armchair facing his desk, next to McGonagall, who smiled and nodded at Hermione in greeting. Hermione sat down and compiled her thoughts.

"It's Regulus…He met me after classes the other day and told me he wants to defect." She said, looking carefully at the professors. Dumbledore nodded in acknowledgement, his brows lifting slightly in surprise.

"Well done, Hermione. This truly is a pleasant progress on our quest," he said and smiled brightly.

Hermione nodded. "Well, yes. But I reckon I didn't do much. I mean, I only said a couple of things to him. I believe he has wanted this for a while now, and I've merely given him an excuse…" Hermione trailed off thoughtfully.

"Nevertheless, it is a great progress, Hermione." McGonagall said, beaming at her.

"Indeed." Dumbledore said with a smile and waited for Hermione to continue.

"So…Regulus wanted to meet Sirius. And they met yesterday. I was with them, and Regulus told that Voldemort has already requested a meeting with him, and that he can't back out from it. He told us that he doesn't want to join Voldemort, but he thinks he has to, in order to keep his family safe…" She explained, while Dumbledore studied her, humming quietly.

"Then he should meet him," Dumbledore said simply.

"What do you mean, Albus?" McGonagall asked sharply, her brows furrowed. Hermione watched Dumbledore cautiously.

Dumbledore sighed and adjusted his half-moon spectacles. "It will be dangerous, but if he is willing, the Order could benefit from him being a spy. We could benefit from it," He said pointedly. Hermione frowned but gave a hesitant nod of agreement. She didn't like the idea, even though they had discussed it with Regulus and Sirius. It was risky, even with Regulus's Occlumency skills, as they all knew how powerful the Dark Lord was. But they needed Regulus's help with the Horcruxes, and they needed him to be in Voldemort's good graces in order to acquire them.

"And if Regulus agrees to what we are about to ask him to do, would you be his contact in the Order?" Dumbledore asked, eyeing Hermione with a searching look.

"His contact?" Hermione repeated in confusion.

"We cannot include him in the meetings, so he has to have a contact inside the Order. If Voldemort searches his mind with Legilimency, he will try to focus on finding information about the Order meetings and myself. That is the reason someone else has to be in communication with him." He clarified.

Hermione contemplated it for a moment before she inclined her head, knowing it was a reasonable request. "Sure, of course."

Dumbledore smiled briefly. "Excellent. Young Mr. Black may expose himself into great danger, and we will be grateful to him for his actions," he said gravely.

"Now, I shall meet with Regulus, and I will let you know what we agree on," Dumbledore said and clapped his hands. "Should we move on to other equally pressing matters?" He asked and both McGonagall and Hermione looked at him expectantly.

"I received a letter from the Prewetts regarding their agreement to join us. They will be joining our meetings from now on, as well as our sessions in training to master the Fiendfyre curse." He said, looking pleased of the proceeding of matters.

"When do we start the training? And where? We can hardly practice such a horrible curse inside the castle?" McGonagall asked, giving the Headmaster a sceptical look.

Dumbledore considered his answer for a moment. "I might have a solution for that," He said obscurely. "I will have to examine the possibility first. I will notify you about the time and place when I have more information," he said, beaming at the women.

After a short silence, McGonagall spoke again. "If that was all, I will retreat to my quarters. Goodnight, Albus. Hermione." She nodded to them both, stood up and walked to the fireplace to floo away.

"Um…Sir…?" Hermione asked carefully, after McGonagall had left through the fireplace.

"Yes, dear?"

"Do you have any new information about my situation?" She asked, bracing herself for the answer, whatever it was going to be. They hadn't really had the time to talk about her situation the last time she had met him, with Gideon and Fabian being there as well. The past month had gone so quickly, that she felt slightly guilty for not talking sooner with the Headmaster.

Dumbledore eyed her with an unreadable expression before he crossed his fingers on the table and spoke. "I have received some information regarding the circumstances of your arrival to this time."

Hermione sat straighter in her chair and waited anxiously for him to continue.

"I have consulted an associate of mine who is working with Time Magic at the Ministry." He said, looking at her solemnly, the twinkle in his eyes missing. Dread shivered down her spine.

"You spoke with an Unspeakable? What did they say?" She asked with haste and worried her lip in anticipation.

"I am afraid there is no way to send you back to your old life, that they know of. They believe that your arrival has in fact created an alternate timeline. They also believe that if you had merely travelled back in time, you either would have ceased to exist, or you couldn't have changed anything in the past, because it has already happened," He explained carefully, while she stared back with a blank look.

"The fact that we strongly believe you have managed to change something, indicates that you must have travelled into another timeline. I'm now quite certain of it, and my associate in the Ministry agrees to this presumption. I am sorry, dear." He said with a compassionate smile.

Her shoulders sagged with defeat. Although she had known this was possible, she somehow had still kept hoping that Dumbledore would have some revelation about her circumstances and found out that she could indeed be sent back. She reckoned that this verification to Dumbledore's theory from an Unspeakable, indeed decreased the possibility of her going back to her old life. If Dumbledore and the Ministry couldn't help her, who could? Her situation seemed hopeless. She clenched her jaw and nodded, not wanting to show him how her world seemed to collapse inside her head.

Dumbledore stood up and Hermione followed suit, both walking towards the door. Before she turned to leave, he put a hand to her shoulder and spoke. "I understand we are not as close as the story we have made up for you insinuates. However, my door is always open for you, should you want to talk," He said with a kind smile, his eyes twinkling again.

Hermione couldn't say anything, as she was sure she would have either let out a sob or simply vomited. She was briefly enthralled to know which one it would've been, before she nodded and left his office.

Hermione blinked away tears as she quickly made her way to the empty seventh floor, towards the familiar corridor, stopping just in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. She turned around and began pacing in front of a blank wall. She needed to be somewhere where she could cry her heart out without anyone asking questions. And probably break a few things. She needed someplace hidden. Somewhere no one could find her. Where everything was hidden.

A door appeared in front of her, and she walked inside. Hermione gaped at the sight that was waiting for her, and could not help but be overwhelmed by what she was seeing. When she had asked the room for a place where no one could find her, where she could break down in peace, she hadn't expected this.

The room was the size of a large cathedral, with high windows from where the moonlight spilled in. Several torches were lit along the walls, emitting flickers of light. There were endless piles and towers of objects, probably hidden by generations of Hogwarts students, professors and house-elves. There were narrow roads between the unbalanced piles of broken and grimy furniture, thousands and thousands of books, which Hermione reckoned were probably banned or stolen.

She lit her wand as she started to walk further down the room. She saw chipped bottles of suspicious looking potions, hats, jewels, cloaks; something what looked like dragon eggshells, as well as corked bottles with contents that still shimmered. Hermione shivered as she realised that the place was probably the same one where Harry had hidden the Half-blood Prince's book. He had described the room to her later on, and by the looks of it, she probably was in the same place.

Hermione let out a weary sigh and began to walk leisurely forward along one of the many alleyways between all the hidden objects. She walked past an enormous stuffed troll, and then took a random left, finally stopping beside a cupboard that seemed to have had acid thrown at its surface.

She couldn't help her curiosity and opened one of the cupboard's creaking doors. There was a cage and inside it was something that had long since died; a skeleton with five legs. She scrunched up her nose and closed the door. Her eyes flickered to a box next to the cupboard, where a chipped bust of an old warlock stood, and next to it, a tarnished tiara was lying forgotten. She continued her walk and watched her surroundings with interest until she found an old, Victorian chaise longue, on where she finally slumped.

Hermione pressed her lips together and let the memories and thoughts of her old life flood into her mind while she cried silently. She shook in place, her face buried in her hands, as she sat at the old dusty divan. She thought of her parents, her best friends, and all the others she would possibly never meet and know. Eventually she lay down on the soft, albeit dirty, pillows and shut her eyes, weeping until no more tears came and she only shivered, feeling utterly empty.

Some time passed and after nearly drifting into a slumber, she stood up. Hermione reckoned it would be best to leave the room before she would actually fall asleep in the midst of all the hidden junk. Who knew what else was there? She stood up, brushed the dust from her clothes and hair, and headed towards the exit.

As Hermione stepped into the corridor, she gasped loudly, holding her hand to her chest from the fright she experienced. Sirius was sitting under the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, his knees bent and arms resting on them. He had a parchment dangling on his other hand, and his wand on the other. He looked up from the sound of her and scampered up on his feet and took in her appearance.

"Hermione! What the hell happened to you? Where did you just come from?" He demanded with concern as he grabbed her from her shoulders. She figured she must've looked like a bloody nutter, considering his reaction.

Hermione let out a deep breath of relief. Sirius was there. "Oh, Sirius," She whispered and pressed herself against him, burying her face against his neck as she took shuddering breaths. "Thank Godric you are here." She said, her voice faltering.

"Kitten, of course I'm here…What happened?" He murmured to her ear consolingly and soothed his hand up and down her back.

Hermione took a moment before she spoke. "I miss my old life…" She said miserably.

He didn't say anything, and only hugged her tightly.

"Come on, it's getting late," He said quietly after a moment, tugging her hand and leading them away from the seventh floor, and towards the Gryffindor tower. He kept glancing at her with a mix of worry and alarm in his eyes, but he stayed quiet. As they reached the empty common room, Hermione realised it had to be past curfew already. Sirius took her into his dormitory and she didn't resist or say anything to him, only followed him numbly.

The boys' dormitory was quiet and dark, as all the boys were fast asleep in their beds. Hermione and Sirius made their way to his bed and sat on it, across from each other. He flicked his wand to shut the curtains and cast a silencing charm before looking at her closely, his eyes wide with worry as they flickered across her face.

"You want to talk about it?" He asked hesitantly, taking her hand and tracing his thumb against her knuckles. She heaved a great sigh and was quiet for a moment as she stared at their joined hands. She had to tell him something. She wanted to give him something that was real.

"Ab's not my dad." She whispered and snuck a glance at him. "He adopted me a couple of months ago."

Sirius looked surprised but nodded. "Why?"

"Because I'm a Muggleborn…To keep me safe. Because he is the reason my family isn't around anymore."

His eyes widened with shock at her mentioning Voldemort. "In Australia?" He asked, and there was a hint of confusion and disbelief in his voice.

"Yes. He wanted something…someone. My friend. We were captured and brought in Wiltshire." She said and sighed inwardly; the lies were slowly eating her from the inside out. She couldn't tell him the whole truth. There was too much at stake. She hoped it would be possible someday, perhaps when he joined the Order – if he even was going to join.

Sirius stared at her in shock. "Wiltshire…Malfoy Manor?" He said slowly, his face paling with dread.

"Yes."

"How did you get out?" He asked sharply, a calculative look in his eyes.

Hermione knew she couldn't tell him about the Time-Turner. She had to make something up. "I managed to grab a wand and Apparate the hell out of there…I left my friends behind. They didn't make it." She whispered the last sentence and swallowed hard.

Sirius frowned and stared at her with an obscure look. "Hermione…I'm sorry." He said then, his expression turning into a sympathetic one. "I'm sure you did what you could." He continued reassuringly, squeezing her hand. She looked away and wondered for the hundredth time, what had actually happened to her friends.

"What happened in there?" He asked after a moment, although it seemed that he didn't want to know the answer.

"What do you think happened?" She whispered and gave him an exhausted huff. "They tortured me. They beat me. They tried to rape me." She said with a tired voice. She hadn't talked about it, not in so many words to even Dumbledore when he had asked, and even though Sirius had a nauseated and painful look in his eyes, she still reckoned it felt good to let it out. She had the right to receive pity from that at least.

"Who?" He demanded as he shook from a mix of anger and upset, clenching his jaw.

Hermione took a sharp breath. "I can't tell you that," She said with regret. She couldn't tell him their names, as she was sure he would be on his way to seek revenge on her behalf.

Sirius's eyes hardened. "Was it Lucius? His father? That fucking son of a bitch…" He growled.

Hermione shook her head. "No, it wasn't them," she said quickly.

His expression became cold, as he stared at her with a bitter look in his eyes. "But I know them, don't I? And you don't trust me not to retaliate?" He finally said quietly. Hermione averted her eyes and stared at the bed between them.

"No, you don't know them. And even if you did, it wouldn't matter. I got out," she said and her eyes travelled back up to his piercing grey eyes which displayed a hint of regret. She reached a hand to push his silky hair away from his face.

Sirius cleared his throat and frowned. "Where were you just now? On the seventh floor? How did you appear out of nowhere…?" He asked and watched her in puzzlement.

"Oh! I, uh…was thinking. I was just so lost in my thoughts I didn't see you when I was wandering through the halls," she said vaguely. She didn't know if Sirius and the others knew about the Room of Requirement, considering it wasn't on their Map, but she wasn't going to mention it, at least not yet. Before she had left the room, she had thought briefly about it being a possible place for Dumbledore to teach them the curse – at least she was going to suggest it to him later on.

Sirius eyed her suspiciously. "What exactly are you doing with Dumbledore?"

Hermione gave him a small smile. "What do you reckon?" She said and gave him a pointed look.

His eyes widened slightly. "The Order…"

She nodded in acknowledgement.

"I want in. I want to fight." He said to her, a determined look on his face.

Hermione sighed. "Well, it's up to the Headmaster. But I don't think he takes in any students."

He lifted his brows at her.

"'Niece." She said with an innocent smirk.

Sirius huffed and shook his head in mild amusement.

Hermione stifled a yawn.

"Let's go to sleep." He said and eyed her with a small hesitation. "Stay with me?"

"Okay." She smiled and stretched her back. "Merlin, I need to bring a toothbrush in here." She said jokingly and he merely smirked and tugged her hand as he stood up, pulling her with him.

"What are you – "

"Shhh." He shushed and led her to the bathroom.

Hermione scowled at him but followed him quietly into the bathroom.

"Here." He handed her his toothbrush, stripped his clothes right in front of her and slipped into the shower. Hermione's mouth dropped from the unexpected move and she just stood in place, blinking, her round eyes trained on the darkened glass door that led to the shower.

"You okay there, kitten?" Sirius asked with a gleeful voice while he washed himself.

Hermione cleared her throat and went towards the sink. She regarded herself from the mirror and almost gave herself a fright when she saw that her hair was bushier than usual, her skin was blotchy and her eyes and lips were swollen and red from crying. As she started to brush her teeth, her thoughts wandered back to Sirius and what she had just witnessed. She thought of his rippling stomach and flawless chest, how every tiny section of him was perfectly contoured, the way his skin looked so smooth and the light dusting of black hair that ran down his belly, leading to his…

"You done?" He murmured behind her, in all his naked glory, water drippling down his hair and body. Hermione gaped at him through the mirror and coughed awkwardly. Sirius smirked at her, seeming to be pleased with her reaction. She just nodded, wide-eyed and handed him the toothbrush before dashing out of the bathroom. He laughed and went to brush his teeth.

A moment later Sirius came back to his bed, where Hermione was waiting for him with a wary look. She felt relieved as she saw him wearing his pyjama bottoms. Sirius merely smiled and lay down next to her, tugging her closer and placing his chin on top of her head.

"Sirius…"

"Yeah?"

"Have you practiced Occlumency?"

"Sure. Everyone in my family does." He said easily. Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"You can't tell anyone what we discussed." She said, backing away slightly and looking at him into his eyes.

He nodded. "You can trust me, Hermione." He said sincerely.

"I know." She smiled and pressed herself against him, breathing in his soothing scent.

"By the way...How did you happen to be on the seventh floor, right where I was?" She whispered. She knew he had had the Marauder's Map in his hands, so he must've seen her leaving the Headmaster's office and disappearing from the Map, since the Room of Requirement wasn't in it.

"Ask me no questions and I tell you no lies, kitten." He murmured and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. She huffed and rolled her eyes, and they both drifted quickly to sleep.

October 9th 1977 (Sunday)

"May I join you?" Regulus asked quietly as he approached Hermione in the library, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

She was devoting her Sunday morning to her studies again, as Sirius and the other seventh year Gryffindors were sleeping late. During the previous weeks, Hermione had researched time magic several times, even though she usually didn't find anything useful. Now she wasn't really in the mood to look at the possibilities of her return to her old life, not after the talk she'd had with Dumbledore earlier that week.

She had of course researched Horcruxes as well; studying the possibilities of the fifth one – which was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, really, as well as researching possible poisons and antidotes – which also was a lot of guessing, since she had now found several mind-altering and torturing poisons that could've been used to protect the locket.

Earlier that morning, she had browsed through the History of Magic section of the library, in order to find something that Voldemort could've used as a Horcrux but soon she had given up and moved on to her schoolwork. The library didn't exactly have that many volumes about ancient relics. She knew she had to be careful with her researches, since Regulus had made an occurring theme to join her in the library on the weekends, and she wasn't going to reveal anything to him until Dumbledore had approved it.

"Yes, of course." She said and gave him a kind smile. "So...How are things?" She asked tentatively as he sat down next to her.

On Friday, Sirius and Regulus had met the Headmaster to confirm Regulus's allegiances with the help of Veritaserum. Sirius had insisted that he should attend the meeting and also be the one asking some of the questions from his brother, since he was the only one who truly knew how Regulus thought and functioned. All Hermione knew, was that Dumbledore himself had asked a couple of questions before appearing satisfied, but Sirius had apparently dug a bit deeper, wanting to know exactly what his brother's motives were and why he had chosen to do this now. She had also learned that Regulus came out clear, as the Headmaster had sent her a letter in which he briefly mentioned that their plans were going to be set in motion.

"Brilliant." He replied with hint of sarcasm, glancing at her without emotion.

Hermione was a bit confused because he was so hard to read, that she didn't know what to say to him. She merely frowned and turned back to her studies. It was a bit frustrating since she was now his contact and she barely knew him, and still, she was supposed to interact with him frequently.

"I mean, who wouldn't love it, when the Headmaster himself hears your deepest and darkest thoughts, because your own brother decides to torment you for fun." He glanced at her with a small smirk.

Hermione chuckled. "Well, I'm sure you would have done the same to him, right?" She muttered.

Regulus laughed. "I would've, but the guy doesn't exactly have any secrets, not when he's always walking around the school and bragging about himself," he said humorously.

A smile tugged at Hermione's lips. She did know that Sirius had his moments.

"How can you be so unreadable at times and so…unreserved at others?" she asked him with a cautious smile.

"I'm a Black?" he suggested blankly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

Regulus smirked. "I know."

She stifled a laugh and shook her head in exasperation. Perhaps this could work, after all, she thought before focusing on her parchment.

They studied for a while without speaking until he glanced at her direction to see what she was scribbling in her parchment. There was a list of potion ingredients as well as some other notes.

"What are you planning to brew?" He asked and watched her reaction, his mouth twitching a bit as she flinched.

"Oh! Well, nothing, I'm just researching for our potion's project," She said vaguely. After finishing her schoolwork, she had found a couple of things from their Potions textbook which she decided to add to her own poisons research.

Regulus studied her closely. She had a feeling that he saw right through her. She tried not to blush and instead held his stare.

"What it is about?" He asked, his brow arching slightly as she shuffled the parchment under her Transfiguration notes.

Subtle, Hermione…She thought and tried to appear nonchalant. "Um…you know, uncommon poisons and antidotes," She said with a shrug.

He gave her a sceptical look, but didn't press the matter. She had an inkling that he knew that she wasn't telling him the truth.

"Yeah, I know." He said quietly.

Hermione changed the topic to NEWT level Transfiguration and together they speculated of what was likely to be tested in the NEWTs. Regulus seemed to be quite pleased to have a conversation about their courses, even though she was a year ahead of him.

October 22nd 1977 (Saturday)

It was their third Hogsmeade weekend, and Hermione had promised to go shopping with the seventh year Gryffindor girls, to find them dresses for the Halloween ball next weekend. Between her studies, missions and spending time with Sirius, she barely had had the time to talk with her dorm mates, even though she lived with them and had meals and classes with them. Hermione reckoned that she missed some girl time, and so she left the castle in high spirits, even though shopping itself wasn't one of her favourite things to do.

As they walked along the main street of the village, which was bustling with eager students from third year and up, Hermione couldn't help but blush at the sight of the Shrieking Shack, which loomed further ahead. The last time they had had a Hogsmeade trip, a couple of weeks ago, she had gone with Sirius and he had taken her to the Shack through a hidden and charmed door in the back of the building. After numerous cleaning spells, they had spent their day in a clean and intact bed, kissing and exploring each other with gentle fingers.

She was snapped out from her thoughts as Lily opened the door to the Gladrags Wizardwear, where they all marched inside. The shop was packed with girls who all swarmed through the store, excitedly browsing the racks of dresses. The seventh year Gryffindors scattered in different ways, flipping through the gowns and dresses suited for a Halloween ball. Hermione reckoned the shop was always stocked to respond for demand, since the place wasn't that big after all.

Hermione looked over a couple of gowns, not having a clue of what she should wear. The girls had talked about a simple gown and mask combination, and she'd thought it sounded fairly manageable. At least she did before she saw all the dresses hanging on the racks, waiting for her to go through them. She sighed inwardly and moved further to the shop.

Fifteen minutes later, Lily called for her from the other side of the shop. "Mione, come here! I found just the perfect one for you."

Hermione went to her, and scrunched up her nose when she saw what Lily was holding up.

She shook her head vigorously. "Absolutely not," she said and gave Lily an incredulous look. Although the dress was a charming black one, with an intricate bead pattern across the seams, the bust dipped far too low for her taste. Lily regarded the dress for a moment.

"Well, I suppose it is a bit revealing. Although you could totally pull it off. And since you are going with the bad boy…" She said, waggling her brows at Hermione.

Hermione huffed at her in response.

"Okay. I'll just find you something less revealing then." Lily said with a laugh, and went to search the racks.

Hermione chuckled. "Lils, you don't have to, I'll manage on my own, really. Besides, shouldn't you be searching for your own gown?"

"Oh, I already found one." She said with a bright smile and showed Hermione a simple, emerald green chiffon gown, the colour matching her eyes perfectly.

"It's beautiful." Hermione said quietly and smiled at Lily.

They both turned to browse the racks again, and after a while, Hermione had grabbed a couple of gowns with her to try on. In the dressing room, she saw Marlene eyeing herself appreciatively from a tall mirror. She was wearing the revealing black dress with a plunging neckline, the one Lily had offered to her first. Hermione couldn't help but feel inadequate when she saw the dress fitting Marlene's flawless figure perfectly. She reckoned that Sirius was probably used to dating the model-like girls. Girls like Marlene…

Hermione knew it was silly to feel that way since Sirius had been nothing but eager to be with her, even though he probably could've chosen almost any girl in the school. She also knew it was pointless to stress over what anyone thought of her. Still, she couldn't help it, feeling a bit insecure. She had never dated anyone, never had sex with anyone, hell, she had barely kissed a boy before Sirius. And when she had been fancying Ron when they were in school, he had chosen Lavender instead. That really hadn't helped matters. Heaving a sigh, Hermione shook away the thoughts and went to try the gowns she had brought with her.

"Well?" Lily called from the other side of the stall. Hermione was trying out her third dress and the others had already found what they were looking for. Lily and Mary were waiting in the dressing room while Alice was absently browsing through racks, with Marlene having gone already as she had told the girls she was meeting someone for an early lunch.

"Er…I'm not so sure about this…I mean, I love it, but…" Hermione said hesitantly and came out from the stall. Both Lily and Mary gasped.

She wore a long, fuchsia and silver gown with a crystal encrusted, high halter neckline bodice with an open back. The rich satin skirt reached to the floor.

"Bugger me…" Mary muttered distractedly, while gaping at the sight in front of her. "You look amazing, Hermione!" Mary exclaimed while Lily nodded beside her fervently.

"Think so? Should I take it?" Hermione asked with uncertainty.

"YES!" Both girls exclaimed and Hermione laughed. She quite liked the gown, and so she bought it, vowing herself to use it more than in this one occasion, since the dress had cost an arm and a leg. After Hermione was done with her purchase, the girls left to visit the other shops before lunch.

"Are you going to the ball with someone?" Hermione asked, glancing at Mary, who was walking beside her along the main street. Lily and Alice were walking ahead of them, chattering animatedly about the upcoming ball. There were still many students wandering around the village, some of them browsing the shop windows and others merely walking and enjoying the crisp, outside air. It had been raining for several days before their Hogsmeade weekend, but now the sky had finally cleared.

Mary looked a bit sad. "No…I, uh…Well, I suppose you know how I feel about Remus, don't you?" She said, cringing a little and glancing back at Hermione.

"Oh! No…Well, yes, I suppose I had my assumptions…" Hermione said politely. "So…have you told him?" She asked and watched Mary with a frown. Did Remus know? Why hadn't he said anything?

Mary sighed. "Yeah, I told him just the other week. I mean, we've had something going on for a while now, and he even kissed me once before summer. We were at a party and we were both drunk when it happened, and I think he regretted it the next day. He apologised his behaviour and kept his distance for some time." Mary explained, adjusting her scarf. "When the school started again and we were at the start of school party, we danced together and it was, um…pretty intense for a bit." She said and smirked at Hermione.

Hermione smiled. "Did you talk after the party?" She had missed their dance but remembered the chaste kiss Remus had given Mary during the game of Firewhiskey or dare.

Mary shook her head and looked down. "I kinda waited for him to bring it up, but when he didn't, I confronted him. Only it took over a month to do so…" She worried her lip and looked at Hermione.

"What did he say?" Hermione was intrigued, although she suspected it probably wasn't anything good since Mary was not happy about it. Hermione had talked with Remus occasionally and he at least hadn't mentioned anything to her.

"Well…" Mary started and sighed. "He said that he can't be with anyone. That he doesn't want to hurt me…It's like he already knows it's going to end, you know?" She said with frustration, looking miserable.

Hermione sighed inwardly…Oh, Remus… It seemed that he was protecting Mary from himself. Hermione felt quite sad for them both. Remus deserved happiness, and she remembered the older him trying to push Tonks away as well, and probably would have succeeded if the Metamorphmagus hadn't been as determined as she was.

"Yeah, I have a faint idea…" Hermione muttered. Perhaps it was time to have a little chat with Moony.