A/N: Hi folks! Our story continues, finally...Thank you for sticking up with me, reviewing, following and favouriting this story, you make my day. So, let me know what you think!

Chapter 34: A Hen night, a wedding and a disclosure

July 7th 1978 (Friday)

The girls had decided to have Alice's hen night at Hermione's and Remus's place, after Alice had insisted that she only wanted a quiet girls' night in, with lots of wine and gossip. Remus was still in Germany, so they had the whole place for themselves. It was the first time since their graduation that the girls would spend some time together, since everyone had been quite busy with their daily lives – Hermione too, as she had worked at the Hog's Head every day during the past couple of weeks.

Their group had met a couple of weeks ago when they had attended to their first Order meeting, but the meeting had ended so late that most of them hadn't had a chance to stay and chat afterwards. Mary, Peter, Lily and Frank – Alice's fiancé, who was a new addition to their group – all had to work early the next day. The meeting itself was enlightening – Hermione and her friends finally had the chance to meet the Order members and be up-to-date on what was happening in the wizarding war. Hermione had been surprised to see James's parents there, as well as both Alice's and Frank's parents.

Hermione and her friends had learned that there had been several disappearances and attacks against the Muggleborn and Muggle families during the past months, of which some the Order had managed to stop before there had been any casualties. Still, there had been many incidents they hadn't been able to prevent. Dumbledore had informed everyone that they were working with getting someone inside Voldemort's inner circle, in order to receive more information about his movements and plans. Hermione had assumed he meant Regulus, who had taken the mark earlier that week. She felt bad because of it, truth to be told. She had met him earlier that day, at the Malfoy wedding, but had been so preoccupied with the Horcrux that she had forgotten what he was about to face later that night. But what could she have said or done to make it better for him? Probably nothing.

With the diary now destroyed, Gideon and Fabian were preparing to leave to Albania in order to search for the diadem. Dumbledore had suggested that they would continue their meetings once the brothers had returned from their trip, and in the meantime the rest of them would focus on Order business, as well as their daily lives and routines.

"Where do you want these?" Lily asked as she took three bottles of muggle wine from a shopping bag and placed them on the counter where Mary and Hermione were preparing their food for the night.

Mary eyed the bottles curiously before Hermione spoke to Lily. "Just put them in the fridge," she said, waving her hand towards the kitchen. Lily nodded and put the bottles away.

"You know we have elf-made wine as well? Like, three bottles?" Mary asked with a smirk.

Lily shrugged and gave her friend a wry smile. "Well, you never know if you and Allie decide to get totally legless tonight…"

Mary arched a brow. "Me and Allie? Let me remind you about our graduation night, Lils…" She said, exchanging a knowing smirk with Hermione.

Lily blushed and quickly changed the topic. "So, what time is Alice coming?"

"In a couple of hours," Hermione said, checking the timepiece on the wall. It was four in the afternoon.

The doorbell rang.

Hermione frowned to the others. "We're not expecting anyone now, right?" She said and went to the hallway after Mary and Lily shook their heads.

Her wand gripped in her hand behind her back, she opened the door and found Sirius leaning against the wall next to the door, looking ever the bad boy with his black fitted t-shirt, slim jeans and dragon hide boots, his leather jacket hanging over his shoulder.

"Sirius? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked in bewilderment.

Sirius lifted an eyebrow. "How do you know it's me?" He said and winked at her. "Now…What am I, kitten?"

Hermione sighed. They had been advised to take some security measurements when meeting anyone. Hermione reckoned the security questions were rather pointless, since someone could've easily used Veritaserum to learn the security questions of a certain person before impersonating him or her.

"…You're a big, bad dog," She grumbled, narrowing her eyes at him while Sirius grinned triumphantly. Sirius had insisted that that was the only correct security question and answer his friends were allowed to use, even though Hermione was quite sure only the Marauders and herself knew the true meaning behind those words. How the raven-haired man had managed to enforce something like that on his friends, was beyond her grasp.

He smirked at her. "That's my girl," He said and sniggered when Hermione nearly seethed at him.

"Hold on to your knickers, love…I just wanted to pop by and bring you girls a small treat," He said and lifted his brows with a knowing look.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sirius…Please tell me the treat isn't you?" She asked in exasperation.

Sirius barked a laugh. "No, kitten. That I'll save just for you," He said with a piercing gaze, which made her a bit uncomfortable. They still hadn't talked about their relationship, or the things he had said at the graduation party, as they both had been avoiding the subject every time they'd met. Hermione worried her lip and Sirius cleared his throat.

He pulled a bottle of Firewhiskey from the insides of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. "I reckon you didn't have any proper drinks, so…here you go," he said and smiled.

"Oh. Thanks," Hermione said with a surprised look and gave him a small smile. "But…Shouldn't you be at Frank's bachelor party?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way there." He said with a nod and turned to leave. "Have nice night," He said with a wink before he disapparated right from her doorstep. Hermione huffed as he hadn't even made sure no one was watching him leaving. She looked over the empty street before she shut the door and returned to the girls.

Mary whooped. "YESS! I knew he was useful for something!" She exclaimed and took the bottle from Hermione, who pursed her lips at her friend. Lily shook her head in amusement but gave Hermione an obscure look as she continued putting together their snacks.

A while later, Alice came and they started the evening with glasses of sparkling wine Lily had brought them.

"To your last days as a free woman!" Mary exclaimed.

Alice arched a brow at Mary. "Not exactly free now either…but, I'll drink to that." She said, and they all toasted and sipped their drinks.

After dinner, a delicious pasta salad and a variety of snacks, they retreated to the sitting area, where Hermione had duplicated the couch in order to fit them better. Mary had insisted that they should play a party game, 'Did You Ever vs. Would You Ever', where the players would draw cards with raunchy questions they had to answer truthfully.

"Okay, Allie goes first," Mary said, looking at the girl in question expectantly as she took a sip from her drink. They had decided to open the Firewhiskey bottle and each of them now had a glass of the amber liquid in their hands. They were supposed to take a sip every time they answered with a 'no' to a question.

Alice groaned and took a card, blushing when she first read it silently and then aloud, "Have you ever had owl sex?"

The girls giggled while Alice bit her lip and gave an embarrassing nod to the others, downing her drink in one gulp, even though she wasn't required to. Mary snorted and filled Alice's glass while Hermione and Lily sniggered at their friend.

It was Lily's turn. She took a card and guffawed. "Would you ever have sex on a broom?" She read the card aloud. "That's impossible! No, absolutely not!" She exclaimed incredulously, taking a sip of the burning liquid, coughing slightly at the burn.

"You know, that actually isn't impossible. I mean, I'm pretty sure I heard that a Ravenclaw did it with her boyfriend when we were at school," Mary said thoughtfully.

Hermione and Alice shared a sceptical look, while Lily seemed to be a bit…intrigued.

Hermione took the next card and read it aloud. "Would you ever have sex with someone you weren't attracted to?" She frowned. "Um…no? How does one even have sex with someone they aren't attracted to?" She asked in confusion, sipping her drink and making a face. She really didn't enjoy the Firewhiskey, like all the guys – and Mary – in their group seemed to.

Mary shrugged. "Well, maybe if you just want to get laid that badly," she said matter-of-factly. Hermione and Alice giggled.

"Well, I wouldn't. I'd have to have even more than just an attraction to have sex with someone," Lily said, pursing her lips. Alice and Hermione nodded in agreement.

Mary gave a noncommittal shrug and took a card. "Did you ever perform a striptease for someone?" She read and gave the others a shark-like grin. "Yes, I did," She said and waggled her brows, making the others laugh and blush slightly.

Alice lifted the next card. "Would you ever have sex with two people who were related by blood (not at the same time)?" She scoffed. "No! Ew. That would be…disgusting!" She said, and turned to the others, who were watching Hermione with careful looks. Hermione was frozen in place, staring at the table, her cheeks heating up with embarrassment.

Alice winced. "Oops…I'm sorry, Hermione…" She muttered.

Hermione shook her head. "It's okay. Just, can we not play this anymore?" She asked with a slight cringe. While she hadn't gone as far as to sleep with Sirius, she had still dated him, and his brother.

The others agreed hastily and soon they were watching a show that was on television, which Hermione had managed to get working with a little help from Lily and Arthur Weasley.

Hermione had invited the Weasleys and her other friends over the previous week, but from their group only James, Lily and Sirius had been able to come. While James and Sirius had been playing with the Weasley boys at the gardens in their courtyard, Arthur and Lily had been working on with the television set. Lily's father had a muggle electronics business, so she knew a thing or two about electronic devices. While the two had been struggling with the television, Hermione and Molly had been happy to catch up while feeding the twins, who were now already three months old.

"Oh, Hermione? How did you do with your NEWTs?" Alice asked as she filled four glasses of wine and interrupted Hermione's thoughts.

They had received their NEWT scores last week, and Hermione already knew Alice got accepted into the Auror program, along with James and Sirius, and that Lily and Mary would be starting their Healer training in September.

"Great, I think," Hermione said, beaming at Alice.

Lily rolled her eyes. "She means that she had the perfect score," she grumbled, taking a sip of the elf-made wine after accepting the glass from Alice.

Alice and Mary stared at Hermione and Lily curiously. "Oh?" Mary asked.

"Well, I didn't get the perfect score, thank you very much. I did receive one Exceeds Expectations. From DADA." Hermione said with a pointed look towards Lily. "You know, the course you aced?"

They all knew Lily had received all but one Outstanding as well, her only E was from Astronomy.

"I knew you both would get the highest scores in our group," Mary huffed, looking something between disgruntled and amused as she grabbed a handful of popcorn from the table.

"You know, I think Remus was the one who got the highest score," Hermione said thoughtfully.

The others turned to look at her. "How would you know? You've been in contact with him?" Lily asked with her brows furrowed.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I had to deal some apartment related things with him, and we did catch up as well," she said with a mild shrug. Hermione had finally managed to get their fireplace connected to the floo-network earlier that week, and Remus had had the chance to give her a floo-call the day after.

Hermione knew that Lily didn't dare to ask anything else, as they both knew that Remus was with Belby, but that Mary and Alice didn't. Still, the redheaded witch looked slightly affronted, and Hermione reckoned it was probably because Remus hadn't contacted Lily, even though they were close friends.

"I wonder if the boys are at some pub right now…" Alice said thoughtfully, after a short silence.

Mary whirled to look at her. "We should go too! I mean, not to the same place, but, you know, out!" She exclaimed enthusiastically, stumbling to her feet and swaying a bit. They were getting a bit tipsy after all the wine and whiskey they had consumed.

Alice looked undecided. "I dunno…"

Mary turned to Hermione and Lily and gave them a threatening stare. "You two are in, right?"

Hermione and Lily nodded hastily, while Alice worried her lip.

"Let's go, Allie! It's your last night as a single girl," Mary said with a no-nonsense voice, beckoning Alice to stand up from the couch.

"I'm not single, I'm engaged, you daft!" Alice said and shook her head but eventually stood up. "Fine…if you all are on board, I'm willing to go out," she said with a sigh.

The others whooped and went to get ready for a girls' night out.

Lily knew the boys were going to the Leaky, so the girls decided to head to one of the other three pubs situated in Diagon Alley. It was a small, but lively place, an Irish pub with live music on the weekends.

A while later, Lily and Hermione were sitting at the bar, waiting for their drinks as Alice and Mary were listening to the band play, swaying to the music and giggling incessantly.

"Is there something going on between you and Sirius?" Lily asked suddenly as she leaned against the counter, eyeing her friend carefully.

Hermione blinked at her friend, and then shook her head. "No…I don't think so…" She muttered, and Lily's brows shot up with disbelief. Their drinks arrived.

Hermione sighed and took a sip of her Butterbeer. "I think it would be best if we just stayed friends, you know?"

Lily nodded absently. "Regulus."

"Well, no, not exactly, I mean, obviously he is one of the reasons…"

Lily shook her head. "No, Regulus is here. With Sev," she said, staring across the pub, an anxious look on her face. Hermione whirled around to look at the direction where Lily's eyes were aimed, and she saw the two of them sitting in a booth, glancing at their direction. Regulus's eyes were instantly locked into hers, his gaze so intense that her mouth went dry and her heart started beating faster. The heat in the pub was starting to feel overwhelming, and the air was becoming thicker. Her head started to spin, making it hard for her to breathe properly.

Hermione turned back to Lily and swallowed hard. "I need some air. I'll be right back," Hermione muttered and stood up.

Lily frowned at her, gnawing her lip worriedly. "Is everything okay? Do you want me to come with you?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, just…stay here, I'll be right back."

After Lily gave her apprehensive nod, Hermione walked out from the back of the pub, to the narrow alleyway.

Leaning against the brick wall, she took deep breaths. Hermione knew she had to meet him eventually, being his contact and all, but she hadn't had the time to prepare for it, like she thought she should have. She heard the door open, and knew he was there, that he would follow her. Was that the reason she had come outside? Did she want him to follow her? She didn't even know the answer to that.

"You okay?" Regulus asked, leaning against the wall, facing her.

Hermione sighed and turned to him. "Yes," she said wearily, chewing the inside of her cheek.

It was odd to see him in his normal attire and not in school or dress robes. Although even his normal robes were pristine, and made of the finest fabrics; black, of course. His hair was perfectly trimmed, every strand in place. He was staring at her in a way that made her heart flutter inside her chest.

Hermione opened her mouth to speak but faltered when Regulus took a couple of steps closer, leaning towards her. Her breath hitched as she pressed herself against the wall, trying not to flinch as she held his piercing stare. He was so close that she could feel the warmth of his body radiating towards her, so close she could smell his scent. It was torture. She didn't know which was worse; the fact that she wanted nothing more than to grab him and hold onto him or knowing that she should go and be as far away from him as possible. Because in the end nothing had changed. He was still a Death Eater and a spy.

Regulus leaned even closer, his lips hovering against her neck, and she swallowed hard, glued to the place.

"There's a meeting next week. He is planning another raid against the Order," he whispered to her ear, and even though she knew what he'd said was important, and terrible news, she could not help but only think of his lips as he pulled back.

Hermione let out the breath she had been holding in. She could feel her cheeks warming as he stood in front of her, his mouth curving a bit as he watched her.

"Why didn't you just cast a silencing charm around us?" She asked, feeling a bit flustered from his behaviour.

A ghost of a smirk curved his lips. "I did," he said quietly, a wistful look in his eyes.

Hermione huffed and looked away. "I have to go."

He became solemn and nodded to her, standing in place and waiting for her to leave.

She took a couple of steps towards the pub before she stopped and turned to look at him. "Should we…We should meet, after your meeting, right?" She asked hesitantly, worrying her lip.

Regulus cleared his throat, his expression unreadable again. "Yeah. I'll be in touch."

Hermione nodded and slipped inside the pub again, and went to search for her friends.

Out of his pocket, Regulus took the watch Hermione had given him for his birthday and gave a resentful look at the red arrow that pointed towards the back door of the pub.

July 15th 1978 (Saturday)

"Up, up, up! Come on, girls! No more time to sleep." Lily yelled as she ran up the stairs, opening the door to Hermione's room with a bang.

Mary and Alice both grumbled something incoherent and tried in vain to hold on to their comforters – Lily summoned those away. The girls had stayed over at Hermione's, and while Mary and Alice had slept in Hermione's room, Hermione and Lily had slept in the sitting room downstairs. After Lily and Hermione had woken up, Lily had gone for her morning jog – something she had recently started doing, while Hermione had prepared them breakfast.

"We have lots to do!" Lily continued brightly.

"Can't we just fucking sleep a while longer…" Mary groaned and moved her pillow over her head when Lily flicked her wand to open the curtains to let the light in.

"Well, if you hadn't insisted opening the second or the third bottle of wine last night, maybe you too would be up and running by now," Lily scolded her. "I'll hit the shower now, ladies, and I expect you to be at least eating your breakfast the time I come back!"

Alice yawned and stood up, mumbling her good mornings as she walked downstairs, leaving Mary in the bedroom, groaning as she tried to find her wand in order to summon some sober up potion.

A few hours later the girls were all woken up, finished with their breakfast and showers and preparing to get ready for the wedding. Alice was rushing around the sitting room as she searched for something. "Shite! It's not here," She cried.

"What's wrong?" Mary asked with a calm voice, trying to prevent everyone, especially Alice, from freaking out. It was her job as a maid of honour, after all.

"My tiara! No, I mean Frank's mother's diamond tiara! It's missing! She'll murder me if I'm not wearing it," Alice cried helplessly.

Lily, Hermione and Mary all cringed, knowing fully well the temper of Frank's mother, and how the woman would react if Alice had managed to lose something that valuable. The girls started to look around the sitting room in panic, before Mary took her wand out, reminding everyone that they were all witches. Hermione, Alice and Lily exchanged embarrassed looks.

"I'll summon it, and you just sit down and have a drink, okay?" Mary said to Alice, nodding to Lily who was in charge of the mimosas.

Alice sighed in relief as Mary summoned the tiara, which came soaring from under the couch. She went to the kitchen, where Lily was preparing a drink for her.

"We do have more sober up, right?" Lily asked, arching a brow at Hermione when she saw Alice down the whole drink in one gulp.

Hermione frowned, and quickly racked her brains. "Well, no. Mary had the last vial. Maybe we can floo Sirius, I'm sure he has some..." Hermione muttered absently as she went back to the sitting room, where Mary was adding finishing touches to her makeup and hair. Alice was otherwise ready, only the tiara missing from her ensemble, which she was now adjusting in front of a mirror.

"Lils, will you check we have everything we need to take with us? I'll floo to Sirius's to grab some sober up and check that the boys are ready, okay?" Hermione asked and Lily nodded, already on it as she started to grab the essential items and pack them into a small bag, charmed with an Undetectable Extension Charm.

The boys and Frank had been spending the night at Sirius's place before the big day. The others had of course already known Frank because he too had attended Hogwarts, and he was only a year older than everyone else. Apparently, the guys had been spending a lot of time together before Frank had left Hogwarts, and now they were reunited once again. Frank had even asked James to be his best man, as his original best man had suffered a spell damage and wasn't able to attend to the wedding. As Hermione stepped into the fireplace, she briefly wondered if the guys were on schedule.

After reaching Sirius's apartment, she walked into the reception room and found Peter snoring on the floor, sprawled, face down to the carpet, and an empty bottle of Firewhiskey lying next to him.

Apparently not.

"Oh Godric…" She whispered in dread as she headed towards the hallway to find the others.

Hermione walked up the stairs to the first floor where she knew the joint sitting room and library was. Frank and – for some odd reason, Mark, the best arse in Hogwarts – were snoring on the couches in the sitting room, the place reeking of alcohol. "Oh my god…no, no, no…" Hermione breathed. She cursed inwardly, thanking the gods that she had come over.

"Frank!" Hermione hissed and rushed towards him, giving him a hard shove as she reached the couch he was lying on.

Frank howled in surprise, his eyes snapping open. He scampered quickly to a sitting position and searched for his wand, only relaxing when he realised it was her.

"Bloody fuck, Hermione! You gave me a fright!" He grumbled, shoving a hand through his tousled hair.

"Well…Good!" Hermione stammered, her voice rising. "The wedding, your wedding, might I add, is starting in an hour!" Hermione screeched.

Mark groaned on the next couch while Frank flinched and jumped up in panic, dashing towards the bathroom upstairs, cursing loudly as he went.

"Hey, Hermione," Mark mumbled as he peered at her under heavy lids. "You're looking fit," he said, eyeing her appreciatively as he stretched on the couch.

Hermione arched a brow at him, not even bothering to give him an answer, and glanced around her. There were many empty Butterbeer and Firewhiskey bottles scattered around the sitting room. The boys obviously had had a long night. She sighed and left the sitting room, heading towards the second floor to search the others.

The second floor was empty, except for Frank, who was making noise in the bathroom. Hermione walked briskly to the third floor where she knew Sirius's bedroom was, and didn't even bother knocking on the door, since she reckoned Sirius was also passed out, and wouldn't probably even hear the sound.

"Sirius, wake up! The wedding is – "

The words died in her throat and she only let out a small whimper as she slammed her hands to cover her eyes.

Sirius sniggered. "You know, you really ought to knock first. I might've been indecent," he said with an amused voice.

He was standing in the middle of his bedroom, clad in nothing, and considering Hermione had seen his wet hair plastered against his neck and shoulders before she had covered her vision, she reckoned he was probably coming from the bathroom that was next to his bedroom.

She swallowed and turned quickly around. "I…um…sorry." She squeaked and darted to the hallway, slamming the door behind her. Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment as she walked down the stairs towards the basement, Sirius's laugh echoing behind her.

As she reached the kitchen, which was situated in the basement, Hermione found James, fully dressed and looking fresh, eating breakfast. He smirked at Hermione but said nothing when she sent a glare at his direction.

"Do you have some sober up?" She asked from him with a hopeful look. She had to get to her place as soon as possible.

James shrugged. "Dunno. Hey mate, do we have sober up?" James asked from Frank, who emerged to the kitchen, wearing t-shirt and sweatpants, his hair wet from the shower. Frank shrugged and took the cup of coffee James was offering him.

Sirius walked in moments after, a towel hanging low on his hips. Hermione's eyes travelled down his body, and she looked away as soon as she realised that she had been ogling at him.

The raven-haired Marauder bit back a grin as he grabbed a bottle of green potion from the cupboard and handed it to her silently.

"Thanks," Hermione muttered, taking the bottle. "Are you going to be there on time?" She asked from the boys.

"Yeah, of course. Wouldn't miss it for the world," James said with a reassuring smile as Frank was busy chewing his toast.

He swallowed it down with a sip of coffee. "Hey, is everything okay? With Allie?" Frank asked with a hint of worry.

Hermione gave him a warm smile. "Everything is fine."

Frank visibly relaxed and nodded.

"Well, I'll see you guys there then," Hermione said and left the kitchen. She could hear Sirius and James sniggering as she walked upstairs towards the floo, evidently laughing at her expense.

The wedding location; an old Mill with a beautiful riverside scene, was already swarming with guests as the groom and his friends arrived. The girls had arrived timely, before any guests, making sure everything was in place. While Mary and Hermione made sure Alice had everything she needed, Lily went to check on the boys in the room across the hallway. The guests were taking their places in the reception hall, and the ceremony was about to start soon.

James let his girlfriend in, and Lily pursed her lips as she eyed the boys with a stern look in her eyes.

"I sure hope it was worth it." She said, still annoyed by their recklessness. James, Peter and Frank cringed while Sirius merely smirked at her.

"Well, actually—"

"Not the time, Sirius!" Lily nearly shrieked at him.

Sirius merely laughed at her, placed his hand around her shoulders and squeezed her close to him. "Lils, always a pleasure to wind you up," He said and winked at her.

Lily huffed and shook his hand away. "You boys ready?" She asked, eyeing them expectantly.

Frank gave her a nervous nod, and James clapped him on the shoulder before they left the room to take their places near the altar. Lily and Hermione walked with Sirius and Peter to take their places as well. The reception hall was decorated in gold and white, with white draping on the ceiling and walls, and several rows of golden chairs facing the white altar.

After everyone was situated and the ceremony started, Mary walked to the front, where Frank was waiting with James, looking a bit panicky. Mary took her place opposite to James, and then Alice was there, walking slowly towards the altar. Frank was staring at his future wife in wonder and complete adoration, all the nervousness gone.

The ceremony was delicate and sweet, and so were their vows to one another. When the ceremony was over, the altar was vanished and, in its place, came a platform where the band started to play. Everyone stood up and the chairs moved towards the many small, round white tables that had appeared to the back of the hall. Buffet tables appeared on the sides of the room, while the front-half of the hall remained empty for dancing.

An hour and a half later the dinner was wrapping up and most of the people were on the dancefloor, or mingling along each other beneath the enormous chandeliers that lit up the room.

Hermione was sitting at a table, alone, watching as Alice and Frank were wrapped around each other, staring lovingly to one another as they swayed to the music. Lily was dancing with James, both wearing similar expressions than the now married couple. Hermione briefly wondered when they were going to get married and what would Harry say if he knew she most likely was going to be attending to his parents wedding. Shaking her head at her thoughts, she turned her focus to look for her other friends.

Sirius was dancing with Mary, both of them laughing at something so hard they were shaking, and Peter was sitting with some bloke at one table, their heads drawn together as they were talking quietly to each other. Hermione eyed them suspiciously for a while, and didn't notice when Sirius sat down next to her.

"I reckon they're seeing each other," Sirius murmured close to her ear. Hermione jumped, and turned to look at the raven-haired man next to her.

She frowned. "Why do you say that?" She asked in confusion. Was Peter gay? Well, of course it didn't matter, but she was only surprised because she had heard him talk only about girls.

Sirius shrugged. "He's been busy lately, and I've run into them a couple of times at Diagon. And they weren't exactly keeping their distance…" He said, lifting his eyebrows knowingly.

"Oh," Hermione absently. It could be that, or was there something else Peter was keeping from his friends… "Who is he?" She asked quietly.

"Jason something. He's apparently apprenticing the same Runic-shite Pete is," Sirius said and took a swig of his Butterbeer.

Hermione lifted her brows at him. "Runic-shite?" She asked dryly, shaking her head when Sirius shrugged sheepishly. "And where's your usual glass of Firewhiskey?" She asked, eyeing the Butterbeer he placed on the table.

"Well, I chose to be on the safe side. Apparently, my excessive drinking can attract improper and crazy witches to come on to me," He said matter-of-factly, and Hermione flushed deep red.

"I was not coming on to you!" She hissed. Sirius grinned at her mischievously, and Hermione slapped him on the arm.

"Ouch, kitten." He said and laughed. "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy the view though," he murmured, waggling his brows.

"Merlin…Do you have to be like that?" She groaned exasperatedly.

Sirius chuckled. "Like what? I can't help it, kitten. God made me look like this for a reason," He said with a teasing grin.

Hermione arched a brow. "Oh? And what is the reason?" She asked wryly.

"Well, that's for me to know, and for you to enjoy," He said and winked at her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and groaned. "I'm leaving," she said, and left towards the drinks table, while Sirius stayed behind, sniggering quietly.

Later on, Hermione and Mary were sitting with Lily at a table, as James and Sirius were on the dance floor, swaying to a slow song and holding each other tightly. Hermione reckoned that even though they were obviously doing so to entertain everyone, they both probably enjoyed themselves. After all, they were best friends and inseparable.

"I met Sev," Lily said suddenly.

Hermione and Mary whirled to look at her.

"What? When?" Mary asked urgently, glancing around them as in to check no one heard them. Hermione and Lily had explained to Mary and Alice that Voldemort had requested him to join to his forces, but none of them knew whether he'd actually done it.

Lily sighed. "After I saw him in the pub at Diagon last weekend." She explained. "He took the mark," she said, frowning at her friends. Mary gasped.

Hermione wasn't surprised. She knew he was expected to be marked when Regulus was, and she knew he would take it, regardless of what he thought about switching sides. Hermione knew he wasn't going to openly turn his back to Voldemort.

"But he doesn't want it, right?" Hermione asked quietly, glancing at Mary, who frowned at her.

Lily gave a small nod. "I think so. He wants to be on our side," she said, levelling her friends with a confused look.

Hermione chewed the inside of her cheek. "Has he talked with Dumbledore?" She asked softly.

"Yes, and apparently they have reached some sort of understanding. He said he couldn't tell me about it though…" Lily muttered, frowning at Hermione.

Hermione bit her lip. Perhaps Snape had a similar agreement with Dumbledore than Regulus had… She couldn't say anything about it to the girls, since it was dangerous. They didn't know about Regulus's involvement in anything, and it was better that way.

Mary stared at them with her eyes widened with alarm "Fuck. Is he a..spy?" She whispered. "That's dangerous. In so many ways…" She continued.

"I know…" Hermione said thoughtfully, while Lily continued to look worried.

July 27th 1978 (Thursday)

It was almost the end of July and over a month had passed since her graduation. It seemed so far away now. After the Longbottom wedding, the newlyweds had left to their honeymoon, and they would be coming back just in time to attend to the upcoming Order meeting that was scheduled for next Sunday. Hermione hadn't really seen any of her friends after the wedding, as she had been a bit obsessed with a personal project of hers.

On Thursday morning, Hermione knocked on the closed door of the Hog's Head before flicking her wand to dismantle the wards and entering. She had been working at the pub every day during the lunch time since her graduation, but she usually came in much later.

"Ab?" She called, her voice too high.

Aberforth walked downstairs, wearing a dressing gown over his night robes and a wand in his hand.

"Hermione?" He grunted, frowning at her. "What's wrong? Why are you here so early?" He asked, a hint of alarm seeping into his voice as he blinked the sleep away.

It was early, but she had thought that he would be already awake. She hadn't slept a bit during the night, and had merely waited the morning to come. Hermione bit her lip. "Were you sleeping? I'm sorry. Go back to sleep," she mumbled quickly, but before she could continue, he waved his hand.

"No worries. Come up, I'll make us breakfast." He grumbled and walked upstairs.

Hermione followed him to the familiar kitchen and sat down as he put the kettle on.

"So…what's going on?" He asked as he sat down opposite of her, staring at her with his bright blue eyes.

Hermione sighed. "Um…I haven't been quite honest about something…" She said slowly.

Aberforth gave her a quizzical look. "Oh?"

"I…um…I've been tracking down my parents." She said quietly, frowning at the table.

When he didn't reply, she snuck a glance at him. Aberforth was eyeing her thoughtfully. "And?" He asked hesitantly.

"They, um…I found them." She said and swallowed deeply. Ab pushed a cup of tea in front of her, and she took it gratefully, glad that she had something to do with her hands. They were both quiet for a while.

During the past two weeks, Hermione had tried to find her parents. It had been a difficult job, since as it turned out, they didn't live where she had thought they would, and her mother even had a different last name.

"What happened?" He asked softly, breaking the silence.

Hermione took in a deep breath before she spoke. "They don't even know each other." She whispered, choking back a sob. Ab frowned.

"They…They have families already. Children." Hermione said, her voice wavering. She stared at the table as her eyes filled with tears. "And I'm not one of them," she said with a gasp, shaking thoroughly. Ab stood up, came to her and pulled her into a tight hug. She buried her face against him, and cried silently while he patted her back.

"I'm sorry 'Mione…" He said quietly.

After they broke off the hug, Ab proceeded to make them breakfast, and Hermione stared at the table with an empty look in her eyes. After she had found out about her parents, she had spent the whole night crying and staring at the fireplace, praying she'd had someone she could've cried her heart out to. But there really wasn't anyone, besides Dumbledore and Aberforth, and she wasn't going to interrupt them in the middle of the night. The only other people who knew where she'd come from were Gideon and Fabian, who were in a mission, and Regulus, who was…well, it was too dangerous to contact him, since she didn't know if he was with his new master or not.

"What does that even mean?" She muttered eventually, after they had both eaten.

Ab sighed. "It seems that my brother was correct," he said slowly, eyeing her carefully.

Hermione bit her lip and blinked away the tears that were threatening to come again. "I don't even know what to do now… Do I just continue my life? Is everything I knew lost for ever?"

"I don't know, Hermione… You should…you should talk with Albus," He muttered, eyeing her sorrowfully.

July 30th 1978 (Sunday)

Lily and James had invited everyone to Godric's Hollow the night before, as they finally had everything in place in their new home. Alice and Frank had returned from their honeymoon earlier that day, so everyone but Remus was there. Their group had stayed up well past midnight, catching up and talking about the upcoming Order meeting.

On Sunday afternoon they met at the Hog's Head again, which was closed to other patrons. Hermione and her friends all sat at the back of the pub, in a couple of round tables, listening to Dumbledore who was standing in front of the bar, facing everyone and talking about a raid the Death Eaters had been planning. Regulus had sent some details about the raid to Hermione through the charmed galleon a week before, and Hermione had passed the information on to Dumbledore.

Everything went peacefully until Dumbledore introduced them their new member. Snape. Dumbledore explained to everyone that Snape had taken the mark – which caused some gasping and shocked expressions throughout the participants – and that he was working as a spy to help them to stop Voldemort. As the meeting went on, and Dumbledore and the other members were focused on Alastor Moody's description about werewolf gatherings and Voldemort's affiliation with the northern pack, Snape, who was also sitting at the back of the pub, was having a staring contest with Sirius and James. Hermione, Lily, Alice and Mary all eyed the boys with unease, expecting something bad to happen. And it did. Hermione saw the black-haired Slytherin mouth something to the two Marauders which caused them both to shoot up from their places and lunge towards Snape with their fists swinging.

Some spells were fired and the boys were quickly separated, each to a different table and in different corners of the pub. Lily was red with embarrassment, so angry that she couldn't even look at James, Sirius, or even at Snape, who was staring ahead of the pub with a his mouth curved a bit as he sat with Alice's and Franks parents. James sat in a table with his parents, Alice and Frank on the other side of the room, while Sirius was situated with Hermione, Lily, Mary and Peter.

"What were you thinking?" Hermione hissed to Sirius after they'd sat in silence for a while and listened to Moody, who was now explaining some security measurements they were introducing at the Ministry.

Sirius scowled at her. "Don't ask." He grumbled and turned to stare at Moody.

Hermione shook her head in exasperation. This wasn't going to be easy.

After the meeting, James and Sirius both received a good scolding from Mrs. Potter, while her husband eyed the boys with a hint of amusement in his hazel eyes.

"Don't ever let me see that kind of behaviour from either one of you again!" Mrs. Potter hissed with a stern look in her eyes. "And in front of the ladies, for that matter," she continued, glancing at Lily and Hermione, who were lingering near them. Lily was waiting for James, even though she was disappointed with his behaviour, and Hermione was waiting for everyone to leave, as Dumbledore had asked to have a word with her after the meeting.

"Yes mum…" Both James and Sirius mumbled sheepishly.

After everyone had left, Dumbledore, Aberforth and Hermione retreated to the sitting room upstairs.

"I understand you have some news regarding your parents?" Dumbledore asked kindly as they sat down in front of the fireplace on the comfortable couch and armchairs.

Hermione worried her lip and stared at the bookshelf behind Dumbledore, compiling her thoughts.

"Um…Yes. I found them." She muttered, glancing at her previous Headmaster.

"Oh? I wasn't in the understanding that you were searching for them," Dumbledore merely said, eyeing her over his half-moon spectacles. He was wearing his light blue robes again, the same colour as his eyes.

Hermione sighed. "I had to know. I had to know if I existed in here. Or if I will exist," she said and gave him a vulnerable look.

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "And?" he asked, giving a sideways glance at his brother. Aberforth said nothing, but only eyed the pair with an unreadable expression.

Hermione took a deep breath. "They are not together, my parents," Hermione said, clenching her jaw. The mixed feelings of betrayal and sorrow were threatening to rise inside her. "They have families already," she continued weakly.

Dumbledore frowned and gave her a sad look. "I'm sorry, Hermione." He said consolingly, the twinkle in his eyes missing. Hermione took a shuddering breath and waited for him to continue.

"I believe this is a significant, albeit horrendous confirmation for your presence in a alternate timeline," Dumbledore said softly. And even though they had gone this over already, several times throughout the past year in fact, the words still stung. The truth still hurt.

Hermione swallowed back a sob. "W-What now? Do I just give up? Continue living my life in here and forget everyone and everything I knew before I came here?" She asked quietly, her voice wavering as she tried to swallow the lump from her throat. Even though she had accepted this new life, and accepted the fact that there was a slim to no chance for her to return to her old life anymore, it still caused pain. It still burned. She still grieved the loss of her old life, even though if the opportunity would present itself, she wasn't sure if she would want to return anymore.

Dumbledore gave her a pitiful look. "Someone wise once said, that one of the hardest things you will ever have to do, my dear, is to grieve the loss of a person who is still alive," he said softly.

She broke down in tears.