Chapter 31: Break-ins and break offs

May 7th 1978 (Sunday)

"Pads…You reckon the girls look a bit…I dunno, like they're suffering the Irish flu?" James asked with a smirk on his lips as he and his friends eyed the four girls who had just arrived for breakfast in the Great Hall.

The girls indeed were feeling a bit under the weather after downing all three bottles of strong Elderflower wine Mary had stashed into their dorm last night.

Sirius chuckled. "Yeah, I reckon they do…Next time remember to invite me, ladies. I would love to be part of your little booze induced slumber party…" He said, waggling his brows.

Lily, Mary and Alice groaned while Hermione sent a brief scowl at him. She then turned her eyes to look over the Great Hall. Most of the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were present, but the Slytherin table was almost empty, with only the first and second years eating their breakfast quietly. She assumed everyone else was recovering from their grand celebration last night – the Slytherin Quidditch team had gained a leading spot in the league, scoring several points, and they now had a good shot on winning the Quidditch Cup if neither of the teams playing the last match of the year would make enough points.

Lily assessed the boys. "You lot don't look that chirpy yourselves..." She said thoughtfully as she took a sip from the tea James had poured her.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, someone decided to go through tactics last night…" He muttered, eyeing James with annoyance.

James narrowed his eyes. "Well, we better start to step up our game as soon as possible, since our last match is in a few weeks. And there's a lot of work to do before that…" He said, and was about to continue when Remus interrupted him.

"Prongs, please. Can you just, you know, lay off for a second, yeah?" Remus asked with a pleading look, with dark circles under his eyes as he filled his plate with bacon and eggs.

James pouted a bit but let go eventually, when Lily disrupted him with Head's business.

"So, Pete, have you heard about your apprenticeship yet?" Sirius asked from Peter, who was sitting beside him.

Peter chewed down his toast before he spoke. "Yeah, I have, actually. I received a preliminary acceptance from the rune translator. He'll still need my NEWT results though, but according to Professor Babbling, the results are merely a testimonial in this case." He said with a shrug and reached for another toast.

Remus beamed at Peter from the other side of the table. "That's great, Pete."

Peter smiled back. "Yeah, I think so too. And my parents were so thrilled about it that they decided to rent a small flat for me," He said and shook his head in amazement.

"What about you, Moony?" Peter asked. "Have you received any news?"

Remus shook his head. "No. But I've just sent my applications so I reckon I'll hear about the schools maybe in a month." He said.

"You're gonna stay with your folks?" Peter asked.

Remus shrugged. "I suppose that's the only option for me…" He replied sullenly.

Hermione glanced at Remus. "I know how you feel," She said and gave him a helpless shrug.

Sirius turned to look at her. "Oh? Do tell, kitten, what exactly are your plans after Hogwarts?" He asked curiously.

Hermione pursed her lips at the nickname, as it still irritated her from time to time. "Well, I got accepted into an apprenticeship as a potioneer, and it's starting in August." She said with a small smile. "But, like Remus, I'm afraid I have to rely on my parent's help regarding my living arrangements as the apprenticeship doesn't really pay that much." She said and let out a weary sigh.

Sirius smiled at her. "You know, I do have my own place. With plenty of space," He said with a wink. Hermione arched a brow at him.

"You're both more than welcome to stay with me," Sirius said and grinned, looking between Hermione and Remus. "I mean, Remus can have the other bedroom for himself, since, you know, he's my mate." Sirius continued with a mischievous glint in his eyes, while Remus rolled his eyes at him.

"Oh? And where would that leave me?" Hermione asked sharply, already guessing his answer.

Sirius tapped his fingers against his lips in contemplation. "Well, I would offer you to join me in the master bedroom, but since I know it might be too tempting for you, you're welcome to stay on the couch." He said and chuckled.

James shook his head from the opposite side of the table, while Hermione huffed. "Oh, how gracious of you. Even though you have three bedrooms." She said pointedly. "Nevertheless, I have to decline your offer."

Sirius sniggered. "Oh? Care to enlighten me why?"

"Well, perhaps it's just that. Couldn't resist the temptation," She said in a mocking tone, her eyes narrowing playfully.

Sirius barked a laugh. "You and me both, honey." He said with a wide grin.

Hermione merely shook her head exasperatedly, supressing a smile.

"So, Moony? How about?" Sirius winked at Remus.

Remus shook his head. "Sorry Pads, but…I'm a light sleeper. And I know for a fact that you're not capable of casting a silencing charm…" He muttered, eyeing him with a pointed look while James and Peter snorted next to them. Sirius merely rolled his eyes while Hermione and Lily lifted their brows with disapproval. It wasn't exactly a secret that Sirius had been 'seeing' many girls during the spring.

"Oh, come on Moony. You're just jealous you're not getting a piece of this amazing body," He said with a smirk, pointing at himself.

Remus sighed. "Whatever helps you sleep at nights, Pads." He muttered.

"Trust me. One night with me and they'd call you the Moaning Myrtle," Sirius grinned, lifting his brows knowingly.

The girls, James and Peter all burst in laughter, while Remus seemed to be equally embarrassed and amused.

"And that, my friend, is one more reason not to live with you…Who knows what ideas you'd get in your head..." Remus said incredulously.

Sirius sniggered.

"But really, thanks for offering." Remus eventually said with a grateful smile.

Sirius waved his hand in dismissal. "Anytime, love."

After breakfast, Hermione was trying to decide between going to the potions lab and going back to bed. She'd been at the potions lab every Sunday, making a decent progress with the antidotes, but she was still feeling a bit tired from last night. The charmed galleon in her pocket heated suddenly. She quickly picked it up, and glanced at the others who were finishing their meals and slowly getting up from the table, before looking at the message Regulus had sent.

Need help in RoR -RB

She sent a reply to him, asking what did he need her to help with, but he didn't answer anything. Hermione frowned and put the galleon back into her pocket as she stood up, and followed her friends.

"Lils, I have to see the Headmaster, so I'll see you in the dorm, okay?" Hermione said hastily and walked to the other direction as their group reached the hallway.

"Okay," Lily replied, giving her a knowing look.

"Reg? You sent a message. Is everything okay?" Hermione asked with worry as she walked across the Grimmauld Place library towards the open door of Regulus's bedroom. He was lying on his bed, the heavy, dark green curtains in front of the windows drawn shut.

"Yeah, I just wanted you to hand me the sober-up potion," He said, glancing at the small desk close to his bed.

Hermione stopped dead on her tracks and scoffed at him. "You're not serious."

"No…I'm Regulus," He said with a lazy smirk.

Her nostrils flared. She summoned a pillow and sent it to whack him on his head.

"Ouch! I'm sorry love," He chuckled, lifting his hands to cover his face. He then flicked his wand towards the pillow and it settled neatly on the bed, next to him.

Hermione arched a brow. Clearly, he didn't need her to hand him a sober-up if he had his wand in reach…

"It was a joke, okay? I just wanted to be with you." He said sincerely.

Her expression softened. She looked at him, chewing her lip as she saw his bare chest, his full lips slightly parted, and his grey eyes staring at her with such intensity.

"Come here," He murmured, holding his hand out for her.

She didn't hesitate and lowered herself next to him, staring into his eyes as he pulled her closer to him. They didn't speak for a while, but only looked into each other's eyes as their bodies entwined.

"You spent the night in here?" Hermione asked eventually.

"Yeah."

"Did you have fun last night? At the party?" She asked, and assumed he had been drinking, since she could smell the Firewhiskey in his breath.

"Did you?" He asked instead.

"Well, yes. Mary surprised us with a few bottles of Elderflower wine…" She said, her finger following the line of his collarbone.

"Oh?" He asked, and his brows lifted a bit. She knew he was steering the conversation away from himself. He'd done it before, when she had asked something he didn't wish to answer. She reckoned it had something to do with him staying in the Room of Requirement instead of the Slytherin Dungeons.

"They know about you." Hermione said quietly, eyeing him hesitantly.

She watched the muscles in his throat working as he swallowed hard. "Oh. That's unfortunate." He said blankly, turning away from her, to rest on his back.

Hermione tried not to feel hurt by his sudden withdraw. "They won't tell anyone." She said softly, brushing her fingers against his cheek. His eyes fluttered shut and he took a deep breath.

"Are you going to tell me about your sudden interest at my cousin and her wedding?" He asked, his eyes still closed. Hermione's hand shook a bit.

He opened his eyes and glanced at her with a knowing look.

Hermione sighed. "I actually wanted to talk about it with you…"

"I figured," He muttered and turned to lie on his side again, watching her closely.

"Well…um. There's something I need. Something in Malfoy Manor, that I need to acquire." She explained carefully, watching his reaction.

He stared at her with an unreadable expression, waiting for her to continue.

"I...I need to get in…" She said, looking at him pointedly.

His blank look faltered, and was replaced with tension.

"No."

"Regulus, just hear me out, okay? I need to get in, but I would disguise myself. We could figure out a cover story for me, say that I'm a foreigner who is merely on a holiday. You wouldn't have to do anything, except only to escort me in. After a while, I would just slip away for a short period and then I would leave early. You could say that I felt sick. Or you could say you barely knew me, and didn't know where I'd gone," She said and he stared at her with a heated look.

"Abso-fucking-lutely not." He gritted out, his eyes blazing.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Don't be crass. You sound like your brother." She scolded.

He scoffed. "You have got to be fucking kidding me." He said, shaking his head. "You would willingly attend my cousin's wedding, at the very place you were tortured? Where you would meet the person, who tortured you?" He asked incredulously. "And I'm not even going to begin to tell you how incredibly stupid it would be to steal something from the Malfoys." He said with a cold voice, eyeing her with disappointment.

Hermione pressed her lips together and looked away. She knew where she would be going, but she didn't know how to feel about it. Was she frightened? Would she focus only on the mission when – if – she would be there? What if she met Bellatrix? Surely, she would meet her. Bellatrix was Narcissa's sister. And what if she'd get caught?

They were silent for a while before Regulus spoke, his voice calmer now. "Hey. Just tell me what it is that you need and I'll get it for you," He murmured, taking her jaw gently between his fingers, turning her to look back at him.

Hermione shook her head. "I can't." She could see his expression harden again by her words.

He let out a frustrated groan and turned to lie on his back. "Not this again…" He muttered, pressing the heels of his palms over his eyes.

Hermione frowned. "I'm sorry. But…I really can't say what it is that I'm after. Reg…I have to do this. And I need you. I need you to be okay with this…" She said quietly.

He was quiet for some time before he turned to look at her. "Are you sure there's no other way? Where you wouldn't attend the wedding?" He asked grimly, although he already knew her answer.

"No."

He gave her a scrutinising look. "Fine." He finally grumbled.

May 10th 1978 (Wednesday)

On Wednesday, Hermione, Alice and Lily were waiting for their Arithmancy class to start, while Mary was with the boys at the Care of Magical Creatures class.

"So, you reckon it's empty tonight?" Alice asked with a quiet voice.

At breakfast, they had heard that Remus and Peter would be going to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch practice that was scheduled for later that night. James had actually booked the pitch for every single night of the week, and wanted the rest of the Marauders' presence so that they could give him comments on their tactics and strategies. Sirius had been in a bad mood. Apparently, their practice on the previous night had taken a bit more time than was scheduled, as it had been close to midnight before the team members had finally dragged themselves to their dorms in the Gryffindor tower.

"Like he'd take any criticism well at this point," Sirius had muttered to Hermione and shovelled down his breakfast, downing several cups of coffee before they'd left to their classes. Hermione had merely patted his shoulder for comfort and continued her conversation with the girls.

"Well, you heard them at breakfast!" Lily said, grinning mischievously. "So, are we doing this or what?" She asked.

Hermione grinned. "Absolutely. I'll send a message to Mary." She said and dug from her pockets the charmed galleon she used with the girls.

It's on! –HD

Soon Mary replied.

Oh my god! I'm sooo excited! –MM

The girls laughed and when their Professor arrived, they entered the classroom with excited anticipation.

Their Arithmancy class had been a bit boring, as all the girls were waiting impatiently for dinnertime, so that they could put their plans into motion. Hermione was paired with Alice, while Lily sat with Snape. They were doing basic practices, converting their partner's name into numbers, and then reducing the numbers by adding them all up together. They would also study the meanings behind the numbers, before the name was reduced into one digit.

During Potions, Hermione worked with Snape, and they continued with the Polyjuice Potion they had started last week. Hermione was crushing the Bicorn Horn as Snape was adding the Boomslang skin to their cauldron.

"No, add three and a half measures." Hermione quipped next to him. Snape merely arched a brow at her.

Hermione sighed. "Fine. Do whatever you please. It's not like this is our joint project." She grumbled, giving the mortar an extra forceful hand movement.

"Careful there, you're going to ruin it!" He hissed.

"This is getting ridiculous! You can't be in charge every time we're making a potion together. We're supposed to co-operate…" She said exasperatedly, turning to stare at him. "You do know what that is, right?" She lectured, and could hear Sirius and James chuckle behind them.

Snape narrowed his eyes to her and turned his focus back to the potion. He added the extra half measure Hermione had asked for. She smiled to herself, and said nothing, only handing him the crushed ingredients when she was ready.

The rest of the class went quite well, in her opinion. Snape was tolerable, and actually smirked when the potion looked exactly like it was supposed to before they left it to brew until their next class. Slughorn made rounds in the class, and beamed when he saw their cauldron, praising their work this far.

After potions class, the girls were all starting to feel a bit giddy, and could barely hold themselves together at dinner. Luckily the boys – mainly James – were all preoccupied with Quidditch talk, so if the girls were acting strangely, they missed it.

"Shh! I can hear someone coming!" Mary whispered from the stairs. Hermione, Lily and Alice were standing in front of the door that led to the seventh-year boys' dormitory, while Mary was in the stairway to inform them if someone was approaching.

Even though they were all disillusioned, they had to stay very still, in order to make no sound, so the two sixth year boys who left their dormitory couldn't hear them.

"Okay, all clear now!" Mary whispered.

Hermione waved her wand again to the door. "They are creative little buggers. I mean, seriously. Muggle-Repelling Charm?" She muttered incredulously.

Alice giggled next to her. "Okay, I'll take it down. You focus on the next one," She said to Hermione.

Lily was working on dismantling the Cave inimicum spell.

"We don't have much time inside, if we have to place all the spells back," Lily huffed when she tried to take apart the spell again. "Argh! It's not working!"

"No, let me…" Hermione quipped, waving her wand to the door. "That should do it."

Lily arched a brow at her friend, and even though Hermione couldn't see it, she turned to where she thought Lily was situated.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just…You seem to be familiar with the protective charms…Even the advanced ones." Lily muttered.

Hermione sighed. "Let's just get this over with, okay? Try the door."

Lily tried and it opened. All girls squealed and rushed inside, waving their wands to undo their disillusionment charms.

"Wow…" Alice muttered. She was the only girl who hadn't been in the boys' dormitory before.

"Yeah. They're slobs." Mary said, scrunching up her nose.

Hermione and Lily sniggered. She wasn't wrong. The place was a mess. Discarded clothes, underwear, and magazines were littered everywhere. Some objects they didn't even recognize.

"So, where do we leave the message?" Alice asked, while eyeing Sirius's bed shrewdly. He had decorated the wall over his bedpost with pictures of muggle girls wearing bikini.

"That's disgusting." Mary commented as she came to stand next to Alice. Hermione chuckled. It brought back memories of the older Sirius, and their conversations in Grimmauld Place where he'd told Harry, Ron and her how he'd adorned his walls at home with similar pictures, just to annoy his mother.

"We are doing something else as well, right?" Mary asked, turning to look at the others.

"Oh! I know! Let's transfigure their underwear!" Alice said enthusiastically.

"Ew." Lily said, scrunching up her nose.

Hermione laughed. "Well, it's not like we have to touch them. We use our wands," She said and pointed her wand at the pile next to her, transfiguring a pair of Remus's briefs into lacy green panties.

Mary and Alice burst in laughter.

"But won't they charm them back immediately…?" Lily said unsurely.

Hermione eyed the fetching pair of underwear thoughtfully. "Oh! I got it! Use the Immobulus Charm," She said and flicked her wand at the panties.

Alice tried to transfigure them back but nothing happened. "You're a genius!" She exclaimed. Chuckling, everyone went to work.

After every scrap of the boys' underwear was transfigured and immobilised, Lily stopped abruptly near the bathroom door, her gaze flickering to the empty parchments attached to the wall.

"What's this?" She muttered, waving her wand at them. Nothing happened. The others joined her.

"There must be a spell of some sort, to hide the contents." Lily pointed out. They tried a couple of spells on them.

Hermione frowned. She knew they had a special kind of 'password' for another parchment they used. But could she voice it in front of the girls? Oh, sod it…

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," She muttered, pointing her wand to the parchments.

The content of the parchments started to reveal itself. Four gasps were heard, and then some cursing.

After a moment, all four girls stared at the parchments with satisfied smirks on their faces.

The first parchment, which was titled 'Single girls in Hogwarts', and had previously listed every single girl, now had only two words on it, written in large letters; 'Stalking much?'

The next parchment, titled 'Fittest girls in Hogwarts', followed the pattern. The girls had wiped the four columns empty and instead written messages on them for the boys to read.

Even though both Remus and Peter had nominated Mary as the fittest girl in school, she wasn't that easily swayed. She had written on both columns; 'You're both dodgy creeps. Love – MM'

Alice sent her own message, as her name was in Sirius's and Peter's columns. She'd written for them both; 'You're disgusting. –AB'

Hermione had lifted her brows in shock as she'd seen her name in Sirius's list, as well as in Remus's. "That little beast!" She muttered, writing under Remus's column, while Lily supressed a giggle. 'You'll be hearing from this, Lupin. –HD'

James's column had only one name. Hermione had rolled her eyes for the likelihood of it. Lily had almost swooned but then wrote to him. 'James, even though I appreciate the gesture, I still think it's disgusting to rate girls like this. –LE'

To the parchment which was titled 'Dibs' they wrote yet another message and signed their names;

'So great to finally be here and go through your things.'

-Lily
-Hermione
-Alice
-Mary

They hadn't wiped the parchment, since it was almost empty anyway. Hermione's gaze flickered to Sirius's name on the parchment and then her own under it, written by him, supposedly when they were dating. Why hadn't he taken it away?

They left after admiring their work for a moment, placing the same protective spells that were in place earlier, and headed straight to their dorm, giggling through the evening.

May 11th 1978 (Thursday)

The next morning the seventh year Gryffindor girls were all sitting in the Great Hall, sipping their tea and coffee and chatting with each other, while occasionally glancing at the doors that lead to the Great Hall.

When the Marauders finally arrived, the girls tried their best to keep a straight face, failing miserably. They burst down into giggles as James and Sirius sat down opposite to each other, next to Lily and Hermione respectively, both wearing annoyed looks and ignoring the girls' presence. Remus sat next to James, an embarrassed look on his face, while Peter was chewing the inside of his cheek nervously.

"Is everything okay?" Alice asked sweetly from the boys, glancing at the other girls with a sly look.

Hermione suppressed a snort.

Sirius turned to look at Alice. "Dunno. We're disgusting and dodgy creeps, remember?" He replied with an expressionless face, glancing at the girls.

"Oh, did we get your knickers in a twist?" Mary asked cheekily. The girls burst in laughter. Everyone at their table eyed their glee with curiosity.

The boys seethed and glared at the girls. They apparently didn't take it well when someone pulled pranks on them.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Ookay..." She merely said, glancing at the girls with an incredulous look.

The day continued much like that. The boys didn't speak at them at all for the entire day, and it was getting ridiculous.

"Remus, can I speak with you for a moment?" Hermione asked as they were finishing dinner, and Sirius and James were soon heading towards Quidditch practice.

"Er…Yeah, sure." He said, scratching his head awkwardly.

"Library?" Hermione asked and Remus nodded, while Sirius and James were scowling at Remus, like he was supposed to say no.

When they had seated in a study corner with two armchairs surrounded by bookshelves, Hermione spoke.

"So, I had an idea." She said, worrying her lip with hesitation as she studied his expression.

"Oh?" He asked curiously.

"We both want to live on our own after school, right?" She asked intently.

He frowned at her. "Right…" He said slowly.

"Well, what if we moved in together?" She asked simply, smiling at him excitedly.

Remus blanched. "Oh! Hermione…I, um…" He stammered nervously, licking his lips. "I'm not…into you…" He said and winced.

"What?" Hermione exclaimed incredulously, and cringed when she could hear Madam Pince shush them from somewhere distant.

"I mean…You saw the parchment…" He said, grimacing at what it must've looked like to her. "And even though I think you're fit, I like you as a friend." He mumbled, looking away, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment.

Hermione burst in laughter. "Oh no!" She exclaimed quietly.

"No, Remus…I'm not asking you to move in with me romantically," She said between laughter. "I'm asking you to be my roommate." She continued and schooled her expression.

Remus's blush deepened and he hid his face in his palms. He groaned. "I'm sorry. I'm a sodding git…" He muttered.

Hermione sniggered. "No, you're not. But…What do you think?" She asked, prying his hands away from his face and giving him a nudge.

He stared at her in bewilderment. "Yeah. I'd like that." He said and smiled.

"Great! It's settled then," Hermione said enthusiastically.

"But only if I find a part time job. Otherwise I can't pay rent…Or food." He emphasised.

Hermione shrugged. "You'll figure something out." She said simply.

May 13th 1978 (Saturday)

It was a Hogsmeade weekend, and Hermione had agreed to spend time with Ab and then join the girls for a late lunch in the Three Broomsticks. The boys opted to skip the Hogsmeade visit, since James had scheduled yet another Quidditch practice, and needed Remus's and Peter's attendance once again.

"Hi Ab!" Hermione called to the empty pub. There would be a good few hours before the pub opened, so she could discuss with him about her future.

Aberforth emerged from the back door. "Hi there," He grunted, a small curve of his lips telling her he was glad to see her.

"Tea?" He asked, before he jerked his head towards upstairs, signalling for her to follow him.

"Yes, thank you," She said and followed him to the sitting room. Hermione sat down on the couch, while he stretched on the comfortable armchair after flicking his wand and summoning a tea tray.

Hermione poured them both a cup and took her own to the couch with her, spreading her fingers around the cup, letting it warm her hands. Although it wasn't exactly cold outside anymore, it had a calming effect on her.

Ab took his cup and took a sip. "So, how are you?"

It had been many weeks since they'd talked with each other properly. Last time she'd been in the village, she had met with Molly. And even though they'd had lunch in the Hog's Head, Hermione had been a bit preoccupied with her friend, and the small twin babies, so she hadn't really had time to talk with Ab.

Hermione smiled. "Well, I got accepted into an apprenticeship," She said excitedly.

Ab's brows lifted. "Oh?"

"As a potioneer. McGonagall has this friend who offered me a place in his company, at their research and development department." She explained, and Ab beamed at her.

"Viridian?" He grunted, a smile tugging his lips.

"You know him?" Hermione asked, intrigued.

Ab nodded. "His son Inexpugnabilis was my classmate. Received a good scolding from his old man once," he muttered, staring ahead as if remembering his younger years.

Hermione pondered of what he said. He knew Viridian's son? While McGonagall, who certainly was younger than Ab, knew Viridian? She knew wizards and witches lived long lives, several times longer than muggles, so it wasn't exactly impossible for them to know each other.

She gave Ab a questioning look. "Inexpugnabilis?"

Ab merely chuckled.

"So Viridian…he's…all right?" Hermione asked awkwardly. Even though she trusted McGonagall's judge of character, it still didn't hurt to know what Ab thought about the man.

Ab nodded. "Yeah, he's one of the good ones, if you want to put it like that." He said and smiled.

"And, um…I'd like to move out and live on my own, after the schools ends." She said awkwardly. It wasn't like she needed his approval, or anything, but she also didn't really have any money, and she did need his help regarding that.

"You need money?" He asked bluntly.

Hermione blushed. "Actually, I thought if I you could give me some shifts for the weekends? I'll be receiving a small payment throughout the apprenticeship, but I reckon it's not enough to pay for my own living…" She muttered, eyeing him carefully.

Ab barked a laugh. "Of course I'll give you shifts, Hermione. And I'll pay your rent, during your training." He said simply.

Hermione gasped. "No, no, that's not necessary Ab," She hastily said.

"Nonsense!" He grunted. "It's settled then."

Hermione gaped at him, trying to figure how to argue him, but she knew the man well enough to know nothing would budge now. "Thank you, Ab." She said softly.

He nodded at her.

"I'm actually moving in with Remus, since he too is continuing his studies after Hogwarts, also with a low income, so we can both save a bit in the living expenses," Hermione explained.

Ab frowned at her. "You two are together then?" He asked warily.

Hermione laughed. "No, we're just friends." She said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Ab gave her a nod and glanced at her wrist, where the familiar bracelet was dangling. They hadn't exactly talked about Regulus and her relationship with him, but she reckoned that Ab knew they were more than friends.

They were silent for a while, both sipping their tea.

"So, how's business?" Hermione eventually asked.

Ab rolled his eyes. "Same old bag o' shite," He muttered, and Hermione giggled.

"So, Pads…How exactly did you manage to do this the last time, if you've just figured out the freezing charm works on the girls' staircase? And how the hell didn't we think of it sooner?" James asked incredulously, as the boys walked up the girls' staircase, towards the seventh years' dormitory.

Sirius chuckled. "I told you already, I went as Padfoot." He said with a shrug. "And, well, it's a second-year spell, so I didn't even think of it the last time. I actually got the idea from the sneaky little witches…you know…How they froze their transfiguration with the Immobulus charm." He said with a wink. and James groaned.

"That had to be the most uncomfortable day I've ever experienced," Remus muttered. They hadn't figured out how to transfigure their underwear back until Thursday night, so they all had opted to go commando until that.

"I won't even begin to explain how uncomfortable it is to fly without underwear. Dunno how some people manage to do it…" Sirius grumbled as they reached top of the stairs.

Peter chuckled. "So, shall we?" He asked with a wicked grin, and opened the door.

All four boys walked in with curious expressions and started to wander around the room. James eventually hopped on Lily's bed and started to go through the drawers on her nightstand.

"Er…Prongs? Isn't that…you know…breaking some boundaries in a relationship?" Remus muttered awkwardly as he studied the books on Hermione's bedside table.

James arched a brow at him. "Says the guy who's going through his friend's things?"

Remus blushed slightly. "Well, it's not like I go through her trunk." He said and glanced pointedly at Sirius, who was rummaging Hermione's trunk at the end of her bed.

"What? I'm merely repaying the gesture," Sirius said innocently as he had gathered all her underwear in his hands and tucked them into his pockets.

James snorted. "You're not actually taking those with you?"

Sirius smirked. "Sure I am. Let's see how the girls feel without their knickers and bra." He said with a sly grin.

James and Peter sniggered, both starting to rummage Lily's and Alice's trunks. Remus eyed them hesitantly.

"Go on, Moony." Sirius said with a challenging look, nudging him towards Mary's trunk.

Remus chewed the inside of his cheek. "Sod it…" He muttered and went to open her trunk.

After they had finished going through their trunks and drawers, the boys decided to leave the girls a small note on their bathroom mirror, signing it like the girls had;

'It was nice to pay a visit as well. Hope you ladies don't mind of us taking a couple of souvenirs with us.'

-James
-Sirius
-Remus
-Peter

May 14th 1978 (Sunday)

The girls had been furious after the prank the guys had pulled on them. But one thing was certain. They weren't going to beg them to give their clothes back. After the boys had been smirking at them the whole day, Hermione was glad to leave their company and head towards McGonagall's cottage, to practice the Fiendfyre curse with Dumbledore, McGonagall and the Prewetts.

She had agreed to meet Regulus afterwards in the Room of Requirement, and when she walked into the room, he jumped up from the couch and took quick strides towards her.

"Were you hurt?" He asked, studying her features with a hint of worry in his eyes. He took her wrist and brushed his thumb against it. She knew he was checking if she had the bracelet on.

"No," Hermione said softly, wrapping her hands around his neck.

He gave a small sigh of relief. "Good," He muttered, closing the distance between them and gave a chaste kiss to her lips.

Hermione pulled him closer, parting her lips, pressing herself against him. Regulus let out a stuttering puff of breath against her lips before his fingers took a hold of her waist with a firm grip. He placed hurried, open-mouthed kisses against her lips, jaw and neck, nibbling her skin and licking her lips, the innocent brushes of lips quickly forgotten. There was only urgency and heat between them, and Hermione could only focus on her breathing and hold on to him. His touch was burning her inside out.

Regulus slid his hands under her shirt, his fingers skimming her waist, moving slowly up. Suddenly, he gave a strangled moan as he reached her breasts.

"Fuck…" He panted against her neck, her lack of bra making him loose his focus.

Hermione stifled a grin at his reaction, but the amusement was soon wiped away from her as he started to caress her breasts, pinching her nipples in the most delicious way, making her whimper and arch against him while he simultaneously kissed her into stupor.

After a while they were sprawled next to each other in Regulus's bed, catching their breaths with sated expressions on their faces.

"What was that about?" Regulus muttered after a moment of silence, eyeing her with a drained look.

"Um…Sex?" Hermione asked with a small smirk playing on her lips.

He pinched her thigh, and Hermione squealed.

"You mean…going without underwear?" She asked and bit her lip to suppress a grin.

"Mm-hmm…" He hummed, pushing himself up on his elbow and placing a kiss on her shoulder.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well…The boys in our year stole them. Lily's, Mary's and Alice's too." She said with a disgruntled look.

Regulus's lips twitched with amusement. "Even though I don't really appreciate the thought that my brother goes through your knickers, I can't really blame them…I mean, I'm reaping the benefits." He said and lifted his brows at her briefly.

Hermione merely shook her head in exasperation. Boys…

May 18th 1978 (Thursday)

The girls eventually got their underwear back, after promising the boys that they wouldn't break into their dorm again. Since there really was only a month or so left of school, they happily agreed, as long as the boys too would stay away from the girls' dormitory.

On Thursday afternoon after Charms, Sirius and James headed to Quidditch practice, while Hermione, Remus and Lily went to the library to revise for NEWTs. Many of the seating areas were taken; the library was quite packed, supposedly because of the upcoming end-of-year-exams, OWLs and NEWTs. Nevertheless, they managed to find a small reading nook next to the runes section with four armchairs in it.

They studied for their NEWTs in comfortable silence, occasionally changing thoughts about their texts.

After a couple of hours or so, when they'd moved onto their schoolwork, Lily went to search for a book for her potions project. As every pair had been brewing a different potion for the last month of classes, neither Hermione nor Remus could really give her comments, other than what they already knew about Ageing potion, which was what Lily and Alice had been working on.

As Lily reached the potions section, her eyes scanned through the shelves until she found what she was looking for - a spine with gold letters. She took the book and browsed it a bit, leaning against the bookshelf.

"Lily," Snape muttered behind her.

Lily blanched and turned around to look at him. "Godric, Severus…You gave me a fright," She uttered, her hand resting against her chest, to help her calm down.

Snape's mouth curved upwards a bit. "How are you?" He asked, his eyes viewing her with a blank look.

Lily shrugged, still feeling slightly hesitant about him. Still feeling unwilling to let him know everything that was going on with her and how she was doing. "I'm okay…And you?"

He nodded. "I'm good."

They were silent for a while. She wondered what he was doing there, why he had come to talk to her. Did he want to fix what was broken between them? Was this him trying? Him trying to do the right thing? She had to know…

"Would you…" She started, biting her lip.

"Yes?" Snape asked quickly, his eyes moving over her face, studying her features.

Lily sighed. "During summer, could we maybe meet? I mean, if I get into Mungo's, I'll probably be quite busy from September onwards, but perhaps before that…?" She asked hesitantly.

"You applied to Mungo's?" He asked quietly, a small smile forming on his lips.

When they'd been younger, Lily had mentioned more than once, that when she'd grow up, she wanted to be a Healer.

Lily nodded, feeling still a bit wary. "And you?"

"Potions apprenticeship."

Lily smiled. "How predictable."

Snape smirked at her. "I would like that…very much." He said, answering to her question, his features serious again.

She nodded, swallowing hard. "I've missed you, you know?" She said carefully, feeling the familiar pang of sadness as she thought about losing her friend.

His eyes flashed with something she wasn't able to identify. "Same here." He muttered, his eyes taking in every inch of her face again, as if he was trying to memorise her.

Lily worried her lip, trying to make a decision. She knew there was a possibility that he could read into it incorrectly, but she hoped he wouldn't. They had been friends for so many years…

With that in mind, she surprised him by enveloping him in a tight hug. At first, Snape tensed against her, but then he hugged her back, a bit clumsily on Lily's opinion, not that it mattered.

What Lily didn't see, was how his friend's black eyes were scanning the room around them over her shoulder, and finally locking into a pair of hazel ones further away. She didn't notice the way Snape tilted his head slightly closer to her, his lips curving into a triumphant smirk while he held her boyfriend's surprised gaze.

Then the moment was over. Lily gave Snape a one last kind smile and promised to owl him, before disappearing between the shelves to find her friends.

Snape knew he shouldn't have done that. But he couldn't help it. James had been the thorn on his side since their first year, since Hogwarts Express. He deserved someone to put him down a notch.

Unfortunately for him, James would retaliate.

"Hey, Snivellus!" James shouted behind Snape, as he followed him to the dungeons after dinner.

Snape turned calmly to face him, and a second later James's fist crunched against his nose.

"Fuck!" Snape spat, stumbling backwards from the hit and holding his nose which had started to bleed.

James pulled his wand from his pocket and took a couple of steps closer, pushing the tip of his wand against Snape's neck. "What the hell was that? What are you playing at?" James hissed furiously.

"You're the one who decided to make a scene here, so you tell me!" Snape bit back to him.

James's nostrils flared. "What are you doing with Lily? Why are you messing with her?" He demanded angrily.

Snape had his own wand digging into James's ribs in no time, and they both glared at each other maliciously.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Snape hissed back to James.

"What's going on?" Regulus asked calmly as he approached the pair, eyeing the two warily.

"Nothing to you, Black. So go away," James growled, keeping his eyes locked with Snape's.

"He's right. I can handle it." Snape said through gritted teeth.

"Not bloody likely, if I can do something about it," Sirius voiced from the hallway, sneering at Snape.

"Sirius." Regulus merely said, giving a cautious look at his brother.

"Reggie." Sirius replied, glancing back quickly, before returning his attention to Snape and James, holding his wand at the ready.

Snape sneered at James. "I guess you don't have it in you, Potter," He taunted. "Always counting on your pathetic little friends to do the heavy lifting."

James clenched his jaw and exclaimed "Flipendo!", sending his opponent hurling away, landing hard on his back. Snape didn't waste a minute and yelled "Diffindo!", cutting a deep gash on James's cheek, sending blood trickling down on his jaw and collar.

"You fucking Death Eater!" Sirius growled and lifted his wand, a curse on his lips, but was cut off by his brother, who quickly cast a non-verbal Langlock at him before he had the chance to attack Snape.

Sirius lunged furiously towards Regulus and rammed his fist into him, shoving him against the wall, sending both of their wands scattering onto the floor from the impact.

"Fuck, will you stop it!" Regulus exclaimed, dodging his brother's fists before throwing a punch of his own at Sirius's nose and breaking it with a sickening crunch.

Sirius groaned and took a step back, and was about to charge again when they heard Lily's scream echoing in the hallway.

"What in the name of Merlin is happening in here?!" Lily shrieked as she ran towards the group along the hallway. James and Snape were facing each other, wands at the ready, while Sirius and Regulus were both breathing heavily, facing each other without wands.

James faltered as he saw his girlfriend approaching, and when Lily saw his face and neck, which was smeared with blood, she gasped. "James, what's going on?" She exclaimed, trying to understand the scene around her.

Hermione had come with Lily to the dungeons, and she too was trying to figure out what the hell had happened. She took in the boys bleeding faces and dishevelled exteriors.

"Nothing, Lily…Just nothing." James grumbled bitterly and with a final glare towards Snape, he left the dungeons. Lily stood there, gaping at his back as he walked away.

Hermione had approached Sirius and Regulus, who were standing next to each other, watching the others.

"Sirius? Your nose is bleeding," Hermione muttered. Sirius turned to her, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

Hermione flicked her wand at his face. "Episkey," she said, fixing his nose.

Sirius picked up the two wands from the floor and cast a nonverbal finite at himself. "Thanks," he muttered to Hermione.

"Sorry about that," Regulus muttered, looking at Sirius, his eyes lingering at the now fixed nose and the trail of blood that still decorated his brother's lips and chin.

Sirius merely shrugged stiffly and handed him his wand back.

"Reg…?" Hermione said quietly. Regulus didn't acknowledge her, and only stared at his brother. Hermione frowned at him.

"You should go." Regulus said with a blank look, glancing at the hallway. Several Slytherins were now watching the scene along the hallway.

Hermione sighed. They were getting an audience and she knew it was best for them to leave before anyone started to ask questions, but she was glued into place, trying to get some sort of contact with Regulus. Trying to make him look at her. But he didn't.

"Come on," Sirius muttered to Hermione, and went to get Lily, who was standing in the middle of the hallway, watching Snape with disappointment in her eyes.

Sirius, Hermione and Lily all walked straight into the boys' dormitory, opting to skip Astronomy. James was sitting on the edge of his bed, his elbows on his knees and his hands behind his neck while Remus and Peter were standing not far from him, trying to make sense of what had happened.

"Prongs?" Sirius asked as they walked inside. "Mate?"

"Padfoot? What the hell happened?" Remus asked in confusion, his brows furrowed as he took in Sirius's bloody face and his rumpled robes. Hermione and Lily stood behind Sirius, eyeing the situation uneasily.

"We ran into Snape. And my brother." Sirius grumbled. "Prongs and Snape exchanged pleasantries while I got decked by my dear brother." He said, clenching his jaw.

Remus's gaze flickered to Hermione, trying to have some sort of confirmation. Hermione shrugged helplessly.

James looked at his friends. "Just so you know, I've wanted to pop him since first year." He grunted, wincing a bit when he spoke, the gash on his face seemingly stinging from the movement.

"Can I talk to my girlfriend for a moment?" James said quietly, glancing at his friends with a grim look.

"Yeah, sure, mate." Remus said and patted him on the shoulder. Peter nodded to him and left after Remus. Hermione and Sirius eventually followed them, and left Lily and James in the dorm.

"Should you go to the hospital wing?" Peter asked from Sirius, eyeing his face and cringing a bit.

Sirius shook his head. "Hermione fixed me up…" He muttered.

"So…Regulus?" Remus asked from Sirius, glancing briefly at Hermione.

"Yeah. I'd very much like to know what mother dearest would think if she'd know that her golden boy has already been in two muggle brawls this year." Sirius said with a dry chuckle.

Remus and Peter gave their friend amused looks, while Hermione pressed her lips together. She felt agitated because of the incident, and how Regulus had acted. She excused herself and went to her dorm to inform the girls about the situation and wait for Lily to arrive.

May 19th 1978 (Friday)

Hermione had sent Regulus a couple of messages the previous night, but he hadn't replied to her. On Friday, it was their last day of classes. The fifth and the seventh-year students would then have a two-week period without classes, to be used for revising for their OWLs and NEWTs.

The previous night Lily had come to their dorm a bit shaken, but otherwise okay. Apparently, she had had an argument with James, but she hadn't told the girls anything else about it. She had only said that she was glad the school would end soon. The girls of course knew it had something to do with Snape.

Hermione's last potions class was…tense. Snape didn't look at her or speak to her for the entire time, and only nodded when she suggested something. They eventually gave Slughorn a sample of their Polyjuice Potion, which was the perfect thick dark mud. Slughorn gave them high praises and twenty points for each house for their exceptionally talented brewing skills.

After her last class, Transfiguration, where they practiced advanced conjuring spells and human transformation, Hermione walked to the Room of Requirement. She hoped to see Regulus there, and talk to him, to talk about last night's happenings in the dungeons.

"Reg?" She called in the Grimmauld Place library.

Regulus walked from his bedroom to sit on the couch in the library seating area. She knew something was wrong the minute she saw him.

"Hey." He said, eyeing her with an unreadable expression.

"Is everything okay?" She asked as she moved closer, and sat down on the couch next to him.

"No." he said, staring ahead blankly.

"Talk to me, okay?" Hermione said quietly, worrying her lip. She took his hand and brushed her thumb against his skin.

Regulus sighed, licking his lips. "We can't do this anymore." He said quietly, looking down.

"W-What?" She whispered, staring at him in shock. She let go of his hand.

He turned to look at her, regret shining in his eyes. "I'm sorry, love," he said, his gaze flickering to her lips and back to her eyes again.

She tried to swallow a lump from her throat. "Why? Has something happened?" Hermione asked with a strangled voice. This couldn't be happening…

Regulus grit his teeth together when he saw her eyes watering, and one tear escaping from the corner of her eye.

"Hermione…I'm a Death Eater. Or I will be soon." He said dejectedly. "You heard what Sirius called Snape. It's too dangerous." He said quietly. He watched her closely, a miserable look in his eyes.

Hermione bit her lip in order to stop the tears streaming down her cheeks, but it didn't help. He frowned and looked away briefly. Hermione let out a soundless sob, and his eyes were glued to her again.

"Don't cry." He said softly, his beautiful grey eyes now filled with agony. He swallowed deeply, his throat bobbing. "We both knew this wasn't going to last. That we'd have to end it on some point." He said, gently wiping away her tears. Her whole body shook from his touch.

Her breath caught in her throat. She knew he was right. They had talked about it, back in January. They had talked about this. About the fact that he was going to be a Death Eater, and there was no room for a secret relationship with an Order member after that. But still it felt like she was going to break apart. Like her heart was going to shatter into pieces.

"Reg…" She whispered, choking back a sob. The tears were burning her eyes, blurring her vision, but she could see his eyes too were shining with unshed tears.

"I love you, Hermione." He whispered.

Hermione broke down in tears. She hid her face behind her hands, drawing her knees up close to her. She gasped for breath between her sobs.

"I'm sorry, love. I'm so sorry…" He whispered next to her, gathered her into his arms and held her close. She let him. She let him stroke her back, kiss her face and whisper words of comfort into her ear.

He carried her to his bed, where they lay together, curled against each other. Hermione said nothing, only clung to him while he soothed her, and finally fell asleep.

In the morning, he was gone.

A/N: *Hides somewhere*