A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing! I appreciate your thoughts and opinions on this story :)

Chapter 18: An Encounter

November 26th 1977 (Saturday)

"You know, you could've just stayed in bed after staying up for better part of last night…" Hermione said, eyeing worriedly Sirius's pale, drained complexion and the dark circles under his eyes as they walked towards the village.

It was their last Hogsmeade weekend in November and second to last trip to the village that year. The rest of the seventh year Gryffindors were staying in the castle.

Sirius yawned. "I'm perfectly capable of joining my girlfriend on this lovely Saturday walk," he said, stretching his arms. "Besides, as soon as we'll enter the bookshop, you know I'll be dozing off in one of the daybeds in the corner."

Hermione snorted. "It's not a daybed, Sirius. It's an ottoman. And you're not supposed to sleep in it…" She said and gave him an incredulous look as they reached the main road of the village.

Sirius smirked. "Well, I can't help it. The place bores me to tears," he said with a shrug.

Hermione shook her head in exasperation as they walked along the relatively empty streets of Hogsmeade. It was lunchtime already, and they had decided to head towards the Three Broomsticks first.

After lunch and a quick trip to Tomes and Scrolls, Hermione and Sirius were walking along one of the side alleys, in order to visit a recently opened Quidditch shop.

"Well, well, well…Look who it is. Itty…bitty…Blackie…" A woman's voice cooed behind them.

Hermione's eyes widened in recognition as she and Sirius both stopped in their tracks and turned swiftly around. Hermione knew already what her eyes would see before she looked up and met her torturer. Bellatrix Lestrange stood there, with her husband Rodolphus.

Hermione stared the woman in horror, the last time she had seen her flashing in her mind, bringing nauseating shivers down her spine. Hermione reckoned the woman looked much the same as she remembered. The same hooded eyes and the same sharp, angular features. Not forgetting the loathing sneer edged to her face. Only now she looked a bit younger.

Sirius gritted his teeth. "Bella. I'd say it's nice to see you, but since your face makes me want to scratch my eyes out…"

Bellatrix smirked at him unpleasantly. "Be careful what you wish for, Sirius…" She cackled as she approached him. Rodolphus followed his wife and his gaze flickered to Hermione.

"And who might this little witch be?" Rodolphus grunted at Hermione, looking at her features with a nasty leer. Hermione suppressed a shiver and saw Sirius clench his jaw.

"Leave her alone, Lestrange." Sirius growled.

"Oh, little Sirius has a girlfriend?" Bella hissed venomously, her eyes flashing with excitement. Her focus too shifted to Hermione, who was standing rigidly next to Sirius, and trying not to panic as her eyes met Bellatrix's.

"And an intriguing friend you have cousin, indeed…Miss Dumbledore, I presume…" She cackled again with glee, turning back to Sirius.

Bellatrix's words made Hermione's blood run cold. Her eyes wandered to behind the Lestranges in the hopes of finding someone who could assist them. She could see a glimpse of the main road, where the side street joined it, but the streets were empty.

"I think you should leave now, Bella." Sirius said, sneering at his cousin.

"I think not. I think you are not in a position to place commands." Bellatrix said sweetly as she smiled maniacally to Sirius. "Isn't that right, dear?" She continued with a warning in her tone as she glanced at her husband.

"It would be wise to drop the attitude, Black. Even after your little stunt, your parents might be willing to take you back. That is, if you beg for their forgiveness and do what is expected from you," Rodolphus spat, taking a step towards the raven-haired Gryffindor.

Sirius's stance didn't falter. "Never going to happen," Sirius bit back through his teeth, his eyes flashing with rage.

Hermione swallowed hard and wondered briefly if she was able to send Ab a messenger patronus without the Lestranges noticing.

Bellatrix too came closer. Too close. She leaned towards Sirius's ear. "You know, dear cousin…We could make this the hard way. What will it do? Kill one of your friends? Believe me, it would be so easy, as you have no shortage of them…or loved ones…" She whispered venomously, and her eyes flashed briefly to Hermione before she gave Sirius a meaningful look.

Sirius's eyes went cold, his expression stony and Hermione could feel him shaking slightly as he moved to stand partly in front of Hermione.

Seconds later Hermione finally saw someone familiar on the street, and relief flooded into her as she called, "Professor Prewett!"

Gideon's attention was drawn towards their direction, and after he had realised exactly who were accompanying his students, he quickly approached them. "What is going on in here?" He asked, eyeing the Lestranges with a mild disgust edged onto his face.

"Just havin' a bit of a chat," Rodolphus said with an indifferent shrug and took a step back, glancing at his wife who was still staring at Sirius and invading his personal space.

Gideon cleared his throat loudly.

After giving her cousin a final smirk, Bellatrix stepped back and turned, walking with her husband towards the main street.

Hermione let out a heavy breath as they vanished from their sight. Merlin…what would've happened if Gideon hadn't come just then?

"Everything okay?" Gideon asked, glancing at Sirius before his eyes settled to Hermione's. Sirius was staring the ground with an angry look in his eyes.

Hermione nodded and gave their professor a small smile. "Yes, it is now. Thank you."

Gideon nodded. "No problem. Perhaps it would be best if you headed back to the school…" He said tersely and motioned for them to follow him.

Hermione and Sirius walked back to the castle in a tense silence. Hermione's mind was spinning, as she debated what she should say to him.

"Sirius." Hermione said softly, as they walked up the staircase towards the Gryffindor Tower. "Don't overthink it. It's okay, everything is okay. I'm fine."

"Yeah." He said unconvincingly, as he stared ahead with an absent look. He didn't say anything else until they reached their common room.

"Hermione, I have to…I've got some things to do, so…I'll see you later." He muttered, not looking at her and heading straight to his dorm.

Hermione huffed as he hadn't bothered to wait for her reply and glanced over the nearly empty common room. None of the seventh year Gryffindors were there. She sighed and rubbed her face with her hands before she left towards the library. She needed some distraction, and she knew the place would give it to her.

November 30th 1977 (Wednesday)

A couple of days later Hermione and Lily were watching the Gryffindor Quidditch practice, sitting alone on a stand in the middle of the pitch. Sirius had been avoiding Hermione since the incident on Saturday, and she was now determined to have a chat with him. He had been sitting next to her at mealtimes and during some of their lessons, barely speaking to her. After classes he had been outside by himself or alone at the boys' dorm.

Hermione frowned as she looked at him play; a sullen expression edged on his face. James had been throwing her dubious looks every now and then, and Hermione reckoned that James suspected she had something to do with Sirius's current mood. Or perhaps the raven-haired Gryffindor had informed his friend about what had happened in the village. Hermione hadn't said anything to anyone, but of course her friends had noticed that something was amiss.

When the practice was over, Lily squeezed Hermione's shoulder. "Just talk to him, okay?" She said with a reassuring smile before she left the stand to meet James.

Sirius knew they would have to talk. He knew it had to happen after he'd seen her sitting at the stands with Lily. He knew he couldn't keep on avoiding her like he had. So, he took a deep breath and flew towards the stand where Hermione was sitting alone, as his teammates went to the locker rooms and some headed straight towards the school. After he landed on the stand, he saw Hermione eyeing him warily. Silently, he took a seat next to her and stared ahead, trying to think of what to say to her. He sighed and shoved his hands through his hair, freeing his silky locks from a hair tie.

"Sirius…?"

He swallowed and turned to look at her with a crestfallen look. "You know who threatened us?"

Hermione sighed. "Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband Rodolphus. She's, um…your cousin, right?" She said vaguely.

"No. I mean you know her, right?" He asked with a cold voice as he eyed her apprehensively.

"I…" She mumbled, looking at her lap.

"She did something to you." He said sharply. "Didn't she?" He demanded.

"No…" Hermione whispered, not looking at him.

Sirius took a deep breath and cursed under his breath. "Don't lie to me, Hermione. I saw your face," He growled, turning to look at the pitch.

Hermione swallowed. "Can't we just forget about her?" She asked wearily.

"No! We can't ignore that crazy bitch. I know better than to ignore her threats." He said bitterly. "I would never forgive myself if something happened to you because of her. Or because of me…" He continued quietly and took her hand between his.

Hermione licked her lips and it seemed like she wanted to say something but nothing came out. Sirius watched her, his stomach filling with remorse, his eyes pleading forgiveness. Hoping she would somehow understand how terrible it felt, what he was about to do.

Hermione looked at him worriedly. "Sirius, what do you…" she started until her eyes widened in understanding. She knew he was going to leave her. She knew it but he hoped, no, he prayed that she'd understand why. That he only wanted her to be safe. That he was a danger to her.

"No. Don't." She whispered pleadingly. "Don't let her win."

Sirius shook his head and dropped her hand as his chest filled with pain. As he looked at her, feeling nothing but sadness and shame, he saw the anger and fear flicker in her eyes.

Then she reached out to him, grabbing his neck and pressing herself against him. And he wanted nothing more than to give into it, to forget everything that was about to happen, forget the fear that was slicing him open.

"Don't do this, Sirius." She whispered urgently, her lips fluttering against his.

Sirius swallowed hard, his eyes burning as she kissed him desperately, as if trying to reassure him that she was safe with him. That he worried for nothing. She smoothed her fingers up the length of his neck and whimpered as he answered to her kiss, enjoying the feeling as his hands settled over her hips and as his fingers caressed her softly. How he hoped that he could've told her that everything was going to be okay. That he'd take care of her, and that Bellatrix wasn't going to be a problem. But he knew that he could not.

They kissed and touched each other so softly, so gently, and she soon let out a desperate sigh and climbed over his lap and pressed herself against him. Sirius groaned against her lips and stroked the length of her thighs before he took a hold of her hips while their lips still caressed each other. He was vaguely reminded of a certain afternoon they had spent at the Quidditch stands together after his practice. It had been one of the first times they had done something more than kissing.

But this time it was different. This time he was holding her back, instead of pressing her into him. Kissing her felt different too. He knew that she felt it too. It felt like a goodbye. His chest ached as he saw how she fought back tears and clung to him desperately.

He soon broke their kiss and pushed her gently back to her seat. "Hermione…I'm so sorry. I can't do this. Not anymore. Please don't hate me," he murmured as he looked at her, feeling nothing but anguish and wretchedness.

She looked away, swallowing hard as a variety of emotions flickered over her face. Disbelief. Sadness. Anger. Helplessness. Tears were brimming in her eyes as she finally turned to him and gave him a heartbroken look.

There was a long silence. When Hermione didn't say anything to him, he let out a deep breath and stood up.

"I wish I wouldn't have to do this…but I do." He whispered and averted his eyes, walking away from her, forcing himself to take step after step, and not look back.

It felt like he was drowning.

Sirius walked numbly towards the castle. He felt horrible, like it was hard to breathe, like he was lost and didn't know where to go, and what to do. He only knew that he didn't want to feel anything on the inside anymore. It was too overwhelming. He needed to punch someone, to have someone take a couple of good swings at him so he'd feel physical pain instead.

So, he decided that brawling with Slytherins would do it. Surely there would be someone willing to fight with him, with or without wands, he thought sullenly as he moved towards the voices that came from further along the corridor. He approached a group of Slytherins and shouted angrily "Flipendo," aiming to the group.

The four Slytherins were knocked back with a loud bang.

"What the fuck?!" One of them yelled.

"You're dead, Black!" Another one shouted as they scrambled back to their feet and drew their wands.

Three curses left at the same time and came soaring towards Sirius. He blocked deftly all of them with a strong shield charm, but then the fourth curse, "Sectumsempra!", was uttered right after the others and Sirius didn't have time to deflect it. For a second, he actually thought he might've died, because Sirius knew what the curse did.

Suddenly a shield charm was thrown in front of him, right before the curse would have hit him in the chest. Sirius turned his stunned gaze to his side and saw his brother. Regulus was holding his wand up with an angry expression on his face.

"Back the fuck off, Burke." Regulus growled coldly to his housemate. "I'll deal with him." He said with finality.

He then approached Sirius, drew away his shield charm and grabbed him by his collar, leading him away from the Slytherins. Burke and the others snarled at the brothers before leaving as well and moving along the corridor towards the opposite way. Sirius merely stared ahead with empty eyes as they moved forward.

Regulus dragged his brother into an empty classroom on the first floor. After he closed the door behind them, he threw Sirius forward, rounding on him.

"What the fuck was that, Sirius? Do you have any sanity left in that small Gryffindor brain of yours?" Regulus said with a mix of anger and worry.

Sirius glared back at him with a hint of resign in his eyes. "You should've just let them hex me."

"Are you fucking kidding me? You do realise what the spell was Burke shot at you?" Regulus yelled and sighed. "What the fuck is the matter with you? I mean…has something happened?" He asked after studying him for a moment, his voice now slightly calmer.

Sirius looked away, scoffing. "The crazy bitch of a cousin is what happened," He muttered and sneered to the wall.

Regulus's posture stiffened. "What? Bella? What did she do?" He asked cautiously frowning at his brother.

"She threatened my friends. And Hermione. We were at the village the other day, and ran into her along with that idiot husband of hers. Said if I'm not going home soon and be what I was supposed to be, they'll start persuading me through the ones close to me…" He said, getting angry again.

Sirius shoved both hands into his hair. "FUCK!" he cursed loudly and kicked a chair that fell to the floor.

Regulus watched his brother calmly, even though his eyes flickered with discomfort. "Are you going to be okay? Is Hermione okay?" He asked finally.

"No…I don't know. She said she was, afterwards, but I just couldn't, Reg, I…I can't put her in danger," Sirius said quietly, feeling nauseated. Feeling terrible.

Regulus frowned at him then his eyes flashed with recognition. "You left her, didn't you?" He demanded from Sirius darkly.

Sirius sighed and looked down. "I wish I didn't have to."

Sirius knew that even though Regulus was displeased at him for causing Hermione harm, he understood the situation. They both knew that their family was waiting to get their hands on Sirius and punish him if he didn't turn up and beg for their forgiveness. And they both knew that Sirius wasn't going back, but he wasn't going to let anyone suffer the consequences.

"Where is she?" Regulus asked quietly, his eyes moving over Sirius's face.

"The Quidditch stands." Sirius replied, knowing that his brother would go to her.

He knew Regulus and Hermione had developed a friendship during the past few months, and he wasn't one to fault them for it. After all, it had been Hermione who had brought Sirius and Regulus together. The brothers weren't as close as they had been as children, but they were getting there. Sirius let out a weary sigh as he saw that Regulus had left him alone. Slowly, he made his way back to the Gryffindor tower.

Hermione wiped angrily at her face, but the tears she willed not to fall in front of him were cascading now freely, and it seemed that there was no end to it.

She knew why he had done it, and deep down, there was a fraction of her that understood. But that fraction was now stomped by the feelings of sorrow, betrayal, and a heart wrenching ache.

"Confrigo!" Hermione shouted furiously, blasting away the fence in front of her. She felt a mix of thrill and guilt of violating the school property as she pulled her knees under her chin and stared at the empty pitch, her tears finally subsiding.

"So…I believe that would bring a bit of suspense for the next match, wouldn't you agree?" Regulus said quietly as he sat down next to her.

Hermione tensed a bit as she hadn't heard anyone approaching her, but soon relief flooded into her as she glanced at him and saw a friendly face. Even though the Black brothers resembled quite much one another, there were still some differences between them, those of which she was glad of at the moment. She took a deep breath and rested her head against his shoulder.

"What has my brother done now?"

Hermione huffed. "I don't want to talk about it. Besides, I bet he just sent you to me, so you probably know exactly what happened." She muttered, looking forlorn.

He sighed. "Yes. I'm sorry, Hermione." He put an arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

She stared at the pitch with an empty gaze and remained quiet as Regulus mended the fence in front of them. Several warming charms later it was nearly curfew, so they had to return to the castle. Regulus escorted Hermione back to her quarters, holding her hand as they walked. As they stood in front of the portrait in the entrance of the Gryffindor Tower, he tucked a curl behind her ear and hugged her close to him.

"Goodnight, love." He whispered to her ear.

As they broke their embrace, Hermione gave him a strained smile and climbed through the portrait hole, walked straight to the girls' dormitory and went to sleep.

December 6th 1977 (Tuesday)

Everything was slowly going back to normal after Hermione's and Sirius's break-up. The girls hadn't questioned Hermione after she had come to their dormitory looking dishevelled and teary-eyed. Hermione was glad of it. She knew she would talk with her friends when she was ready, and they seemed to understand it. What she didn't know, until much later, was that Sirius had received a good hexing from Lily on the corridors the next day, with McGonagall herself witnessing it, causing the redhead her first detention ever.

The first couple of days after their break-up had been quite bad in Hermione's opinion. Sirius had barely glanced at her, not to mention talked to her. Not that she sought his company or tried to talk to him herself. Even though she was quite hurt for him leaving her because of some crazed woman's threats, she still understood him. She knew why he had left her. She knew by experience that Bellatrix was a psychopath, and that her threats shouldn't be taken lightly. She knew Sirius was only trying to protect her, but she couldn't help but resent his actions.

On Tuesday, over a week after their break-up, Hermione sat in the Charms classroom after lunch. Her focus was drifting away from Professor Flitwick's description of today's charm they'd be practicing – the Geminio Charm. To her credit, she already had cast it successfully, on her fifth year nonetheless, and she knew that a few of her classmates mastered the charm as well. Hermione was sitting furthest from her group of friends, and only a slight distance away from the group of Slytherins who took NEWT Charms. Lily and Alice, who sat next to her, were scribbling notes to their parchments, as Flitwick went into detail about the charm in question.

As she was trying to gather her thoughts and get back to her notes, Hermione heard voices from the row behind her. She heard Snape muttering something under his breath to another Slytherin next to him. As Hermione glanced subtly towards their direction, she saw that their heads were drawn together, their conversation clearly not about the lesson. Curious of what they were discussing of, she strained to hear what they were saying.

"What the fuck is going on with him?" The other Slytherin, whom Hermione recognised as Amycus Carrow, hissed. "One would think he's gone soft from the way he's befriending the Gryffs. If he's not turning up to the Nott's on hols, Salazar knows he's going to be in deep shit."

Snape let out a quiet sigh of annoyance. "He'll be there. But let's not talk about this in here, Carrow. Too many prying ears." He muttered, glancing at Hermione and narrowing his eyes at her.

Hermione quickly shifted her focus towards the front of the class. They must've been talking about Regulus. She thought anxiously, before focusing on the lesson.

A while later, Hermione waved her wand and cast the Protean Charm on the fake Galleon Flitwick had handed everyone at the start of their class, and then duplicating it with Geminio Charm.

"Wow, you did that fast," Alice said, looking at her work appreciatively. Hermione gave her a small smile in return.

"Here." Hermione said, using the Geminio Charm again and handing the girls copies of her own Galleon.

"I used a Protean Charm in the original. Now we can write each other messages." She said, smiling at her friends. The girls looked surprised and each took their own fake Galleon from her. Hermione remembered when she had first used the two charms, and her thoughts wandered to the DA meetings she, Harry and Ron had organised during their 5th year. Her smile turned downwards as the memories swarmed in her head. She was quickly shaken from her musings when Lily interrupted her.

"Hey. I think it's great, Hermione. Thanks." She said, smiling and pocketing her coin after sending a message to the girls.

HI LADIES! –LE

Hermione read her coin and chuckled at her friend. Remus watched the girls with a small smile playing on his lips.

As Hermione entered the girls' dormitory after studying in the library instead of joining everyone for dinner in the Great Hall, she saw her friends waiting for her. Lily, Mary, Alice and Marlene were all sitting on a large bed with food and treats on trays next to them. Hermione was momentarily taken aback by their thoughtfulness, their kindness and the way they were looking after her. They were her friends. She blinked away tears as she smiled at the girls, who all stood up and came to hug her before urging her to sit down with them.

"I'm sorry I haven't been spending time with you recently," Hermione said with a sheepish smile and rubbed her eyes with her hands. She had been spending a lot of time in the library, and she had missed more than one meal after the break-up. Most nights, she had gone to bed early, pulling her curtains shut and withdrawing from the company.

Alice smiled at her. "You don't have to apologise, Mione. We understand. And we're here for you, you know?" She said kindly and Hermione gave her a nod.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lily asked hesitantly.

Hermione shrugged. "Well, I don't know what to say…" She muttered and let out a weary sigh. "Someone threatened to hurt me and Sirius's friends through him, and I guess he wanted to protect me. So he left me." She said bitterly. The girls gave a collective gasp.

"Who was it?" Marlene asked anxiously.

"What did they say?" Alice followed with a concerned look.

"Fuck," Mary cursed, looking angry.

Lily eyed the bed with a troubled look. "So…he thought he was being noble or something? He wanted to be with you but couldn't? Oh, Godric, it's like from some sort of a muggle novel." Lily muttered, mainly to herself, turning to look Hermione. "But with actual threats…" She said, with her eyes widened with shock as she looked at her friend apprehensively. "You should go to talk with your uncle. Just in case…" She continued, worrying her lip.

Hermione smiled at the girls. This was what she had needed all along.

"Well, yes, I already informed the Headmaster about the incident, but unfortunately he cannot do much because no harm was done to anyone, and it was outside the school grounds. But he did mention there would be possibly more patrolling in the village on Hogsmeade weekends." Hermione said with a helpless shrug.

"As for who and what – I can't say. It does involve Sirius as well and I think he doesn't want anyone to know about his business." Hermione said quietly, looking at her lap.

Lily and Marlene lifted their brows, glancing at each other with meaningful looks. They had a good suspicion on whom and what Hermione was talking of.

"Are you going to do something about it? Is he going to?" Alice asked, frowning at the situation.

"What is there to be done?" Hermione asked gravely. "He made his choice." She said roughly. "We're over."

They sat in silence for a while, eating the food the girls had gotten them from the kitchen. Hermione smiled as Lily explained about meeting the elves for the first time and how nervous she had been. They also told Hermione that a few of the elves had actually sent Hermione their regards, and told them to tell her not hesitate visiting them. Hermione's heart warmed. She had stopped by the kitchen a couple of times after her and Regulus's visit, not to ask about their working conditions but mainly to have tea and a chat with them.

"Well…As much as this makes me sound like a bitch, especially now that we've just talked about your break-up…We, uh… I'm finally officially dating Remus." Mary said, giving Hermione an apologetic look.

Hermione laughed. "It's about time." She said with a smile. If someone deserved happiness, it was Remus. And, well, Mary.

They started talking about Remus's and Mary's relationship, and Hermione was quickly distracted from her own thoughts and misery. The night went on with laughter and in high spirits, and for the first time in over a week, Hermione reckoned that perhaps everything was going to be okay.

December 12th 1977 (Monday)

"You done hexing my brother for this month?" Regulus asked as he slumped into a chair opposite to Snape. They were in the library after dinner, doing their homework. The place was fairly empty, but they both preferred it that way.

"What? I thought you'd be pleased, giving as your brother broke up with your…friend." Snape said with a hint of sneer in his features.

Regulus lifted his brows in boredom. "You want to talk about friends, Severus?" He said, giving him a meaningful look.

Snape scoffed but said nothing.

Regulus sighed. "I know you hate him, but I can't turn my back on him. Not anymore," he said quietly.

Snape's lip curled into a sneer. "And why is that? You…care?"

Regulus rolled his eyes. "Dunno if you should be moralising me about caring. I've seen you staring at the Gryffindor table, and I'm quite sure those looks aren't meant for Potter…" he said with a knowing smirk playing on his lips.

"Don't know what you are on about." Snape said with a cold voice. "And did you know that Carrow was speaking of your affiliations with Gryffindors the other day?" he continued, giving Regulus a stern look as he changed the discussion away from himself.

Regulus eyed his friend silently for a long moment.

"You have to be more careful. You know this cannot continue. If you are not an idiot, you will have to at least pretend to cut ties with them," Snape said with a low voice, and Regulus nodded in agreement. That was something he was fairly good at, Regulus thought sullenly.

Regulus hadn't told Snape everything about his collaboration with the Order, but spy or not, he knew he had to lie to the Dark Lord in order to protect the people he cared about. And he knew he would soon have to cut ties with the people who were opposing the pure-blood supremacism philosophy. Or at least pretend that he would. He also knew there would be things he had to do under the orders of the Dark Lord. Things he was sure his brother – or Hermione – wouldn't approve.

"And what about your own wandering eyes?" Snape asked after a moment of silence. "How long are you going to keep that pretence of being nothing but her friend?"

Regulus gritted his teeth and quickly schooled his expression to an indifferent one. "Don't know what you're talking about." He said harshly, taking his books from his bag and opening his Transfiguration homework.

He could feel Snape smirking at him.

"Bugger off," Regulus snarled.

"Oh! Sorry I… I'll just go then." Hermione said slowly.

Regulus's eyes widened with surprise as he looked up to see Hermione standing there, her expression a mix of shock and hurt. He jumped up from his chair before she had the chance to turn and leave them.

"No, Hermione! I'm sorry. I was talking to Severus." Regulus said quickly, taking her hand. "I didn't see you, I promise." He said with a sincere expression.

Hermione studied him for a bit before she smiled tentatively and nodded to him. They stood there, staring at each other a bit longer than usual, until he realised that he was still holding her hand. He dropped it quickly and glanced at the table. Snape was eyeing them with a smug look on his face. Regulus groaned inwardly and turned back to Hermione.

"Would you like to join us?"

"Um…sure, that'd be nice." She said warily and moved towards the table, sitting down next to Regulus's seat and pulling her books from her bag. Regulus sat down next to her, holding himself stiffly upright as he eyed her from the corner of his eye.

Snape rolled his eyes at his friend and stood up. "If you don't mind, there's someplace else I'm needed," he drawled as he swept his belongings into his tattered schoolbag.

Regulus gave him a warning glance as his friend left the library with a satisfied smirk plastered on his face, his robes billowing behind him.

"So…why were you telling Snape to bugger off?" Hermione asked, glancing at Regulus as she dipped her quill into the inkpot.

"No reason," He muttered, watching her features closely.

"What?" She asked with a bemused smile after noticing he was watching her.

Regulus shrugged. "You seem happier," he said, turning to search a reference from his book.

"I am." She said after a moment, smiling at him. Regulus looked into her eyes and swallowed deeply, before focusing back to his schoolwork.

"Those are seventh year Transfigurations," Hermione stated with a frown, sounding intrigued as she leaned on closer to him, to see what he was reading and writing about. He stopped breathing when she came so close that he could feel the warmth of her body radiating towards him and her unruly hair, which was flowing freely, was touching him, the tips of it tickling the skin on his hand.

"Yeah," He said almost breathlessly, and then she turned her face toward his. She was so near, and as his gaze dropped down to her lips, he briefly wondered if he just leaned forward a bit, would their lips touch?

"Sorry, didn't mean to snoop…I'm just a bit surprised you're studying seventh year Transfiguration already." She said quickly, backing off to her own space and frowning at her own schoolwork. She looked distracted, as if something was bothering her but that she wasn't quite sure what it was.

"Yeah, no problem." He muttered, locking quickly away the sudden urge he had felt towards her.

They continued comparing notes and talking about their other classes, some of which he was also studying further than his classmates.

"When is your birthday?" Hermione asked suddenly, eyeing him searchingly.

Regulus gave her a suspicious look. "What? Why do you want to know that?" He asked with a reserved tone in his voice.

Hermione chuckled. "Just for knowledge. No need to get your tail in a twist," she said, arching a brow at him.

Regulus smirked at her, knowing there was no harm to tell her that, since it was something that could be found out somewhere anyway. "It's May 5th. And yours?"

"September 19th."

"So, you're, what, a year and eight months older than me?" He asked, after thinking quickly their age difference.

"Um…Actually. I'm nineteen." She said, cringing a little.

His brows lifted in surprise. "What?" She was almost three years older than him…That was…a lot.

"Yeah, uh…The school where I was ends a year later than the schooling in here, and I was in my last year, so my uncle decided it would be best to finish my schooling, regardless of my age." She explained, a bit out of breath.

Regulus eyed her thoughtfully. He had heard her story about Australia, but something in it didn't feel right. Then there were her memories of Malfoy Manor, which they hadn't really talked about. He knew she was hiding something, and he was determined to learn what.

"So…you're almost three years older than me…" He muttered wryly.

Hermione laughed. "Well, two years and almost eight months, to be certain. Not that it matters…Right?" She smiled teasingly.

"I guess not." He eyed her before his mouth curved into a smile.

They studied again for a moment before she spoke to him again.

"You have any news?" She whispered, leaning closer to him and watching him carefully.

He glanced at her and then around them. Hermione waved her wand, casting a subtle silencing charm around them, to prevent them to be overheard by someone.

Regulus's mind whirled as he thought about the impending meeting. "During Christmas hols. There's a gathering at Nott's, and I'm expected to show up." He said quietly, and didn't miss how Hermione's eyes flickered with worry.

"What do you reckon they'll do to you? Or make you do?" She asked anxiously, her eyes moving over his face, reflecting her emotions perfectly, as always.

He wanted to keep staring into her eyes, to forget himself in their deepness. But he knew that it wasn't possible. Regulus cleared the sudden tightness from his throat before he answered. "To prove myself."

Hermione let out a small gasp, supposedly understanding what it meant. She frowned at him, her eyes shining with concern and something else, something he couldn't quite place.

"Are you going to be okay? Should I talk with my uncle?" She asked uncertainly.

"No. I'll be fine, Hermione. Don't worry about it." He whispered to her and squeezed her arm reassuringly.

Hermione frowned as he turned back to his book. She too returned back to her studies slowly and a bit reluctantly. Regulus knew that it was dangerous to talk about these things in the library, and hell, it was probably dangerous to be seen with her altogether, but he would worry about that later on. He could see how anxious the information about the meeting had made her, how worried she obviously was for him. And he couldn't stop the light feeling it caused in the bottom of his stomach.