Chapter 2: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites*
16 August 1997
12 Grimmauld Place
Back arched, head back, Hermione soaked in the first moment of waking, hoping it would last just a bit longer. In that first moment, she didn't know who she was or where she was. And for some reason, didn't even care. For those precious seconds, the only thing she was thinking was how good it felt to stretch. Those beautiful few seconds just before the world came crashing back down. Those few seconds of absolute bliss gave way to flashes of memory, and eyes half-opened now jerked alert, searching her surroundings. A tiny yelp escaped her lips before she clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Sirius." Hermione glanced around the room that had been serving as her bedroom since the trio had arrived at Grimmauld Place. For a few seconds she thought perhaps she had dreamed it all, but then she noticed the voices drifting up through the floor. And one voice in particular, familiar all the same but deeper and rougher than the voices of her two best friends. Eyes wide, Hermione launched herself from the bed and ran down the stairs.
Stopping in the doorway to the kitchen, Hermione took in the scene around her. Ron was filling up glasses with water from the tap and handed one to… Remus.
Hermione felt terrible at the sudden sinking of her heart. She felt her face fall into a frown as she stood there for a moment before her best friend and ex-professor finally noticed her. They seemed a bit surprised to see her.
"Hermione!" Remus moved around the table to near her. He reached for her arms and Hermione was reminded of the way Sirius had held her in her dream. "What are you doing out of bed? You should have called for someone."
"Sorry, what? Pr-Remus, what are you talking about? Why are you here?" Hermione stopped herself from calling him Professor Lupin. After all they had been through, it just didn't seem right to address him so formerly. Confusion was starting to sink in and Hermione took a moment to examine her surroundings.
Remus and Ron were both covered in a thin layer of sweat. Ron had a black smudge on the side of his nose and similar marks on his hands. A slight breeze passed through the room and Hermione craned her neck to see the back door leading to the garden standing wide open. Remembering herself, she turned back to Remus.
"I mean, sorry, I'm so glad to see you. I'm sorry, Remus, I didn't mean to sound so harsh."
"Well, Harry and Ron sent me a patronus yesterday and I came straight away."
Hermione turned to look at Ron. "You didn't mention you were going to contact Remus. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Er, Hermione, you were passed out. It's not like you were available for conversation."
"Wait, what?"
Before Ron could answer, two more bodies moved through the open door. Harry and Sirius walked into the kitchen laughing, Sirius with one arm thrown around Harry's shoulder and Harry wiping his hands with a dirty towel. They both stopped in their tracks as soon as they saw Hermione.
"So, I didn't dream it? Sirius is back?" She glanced from Sirius to Harry to Ron to Remus back to Sirius.
"Thanks to you, love," Remus smiled down at her before guiding her toward the kitchen table. He nodded at the others. It seemed a conversation was in order.
Harry and Ron sat down on either side of Hermione with Remus and Sirius across from them. Remus flicked his wand and, after a moment of activity behind him, a small sandwich plated itself in front of Hermione. She thanked Remus and took a bit under his expectant stare. The room was silent until Hermione finished eating, slipping the last bite to Ron.
"I thought I was dreaming. I thought I made it all up. And when I woke up… But then I heard voices. And I couldn't place one of them, so I thought maybe I didn't dream it all. And then Remus, and-and–and now Sirius…" Hermione trailed off, staring deep into Sirius' eyes. "Wait, does he know what happened to him?"
Harry and Ron shared a look, and Harry nodded at Ron to continue.
"Hermione, you kind of fainted after Sirius came back. We weren't really sure what to do. You've been unconscious for an entire day. Harry sent a patronus to Remus and he came over this morning. But we've already explained everything to Sirius, he's all caught up."
"Well, not all caught up. I'd like to know exactly how you managed to bring me back, when not even my supposed best friend could figure it out." Sirius playfully glared at Remus who rolled his eyes in return. All four pairs of eyes landed on Hermione who was still trying to process how she had been asleep for the past 24 hours.
"Er, well, it kind of all happened so fast. The boys were off in Surrey, so I thought I'd read for a bit." She shot a look at Ron who'd chuckled out "typical" under his breath. "I grabbed a random book to read while the boys were off in Surrey, and I—well, I just sort of came across it."
"I'm sorry," Harry choked out. "You just happened to find a way to bring Sirius back from the dead?"
"Oh, he wasn't dead. He was in a sort of holding space. It's actually a bit ironic. See, Sirius' relative designed the Veil. That's the book I found. It's better if I—Oh, hold on!"
Hermione ran up the stairs to Sirius' room. Opening the door, it looked exactly the same as it had last night, but this time, Sirius' bed was a mess of sheets and blankets. Hermione couldn't help but smile. More proof the Marauder had returned. She found the black leather journal under the table beside Sirius' bed and flipped through the pages as she made her way back down the kitchen. She turned to the part about the Veil and held it in front of Sirius to read.
"Your relative Lycoris Black worked for the Department of Mysteries. He designed the Veil and figured out a way to return things that had fallen through. I truly just happened to pick up this book and see this chapter. I didn't even really think about it before I tried the spell, which in retrospect probably wasn't the best idea."
"I'm not complaining, Pup," Sirius interrupted her, eyes glued to the words of his great-uncle. Hermione blushed at her nickname. The summer before fifth year, Sirius had tried to call the trio his pups, but fifteen-year-old Harry and Ron were too "mature" to allow the playful nickname. Instead, Sirius designated it as a name solely for Hermione, who at the time was much too shy to protest.
"Er, Harry," Hermione said, quietly. "How up to speed is everyone? Have you explained to Sirius what we're doing here?" She glanced toward Remus nervously. The werewolf had overheard the trio making plans to go on the run at the Burrow and was very vocal about his disapproval. He didn't, however, know the details of the horcrux business.
"Oh, you mean the bit about Old Moldy's scraps of soul?" Sirius smirked bitterly.
"Harry!"
"Sorry, Hermione. We weren't sure how long you'd be out and we needed help with the polyjuice potion and Remus was here and he wanted an explanation and Ron kind of blurted out the bit about Umbridge having a horcrux—"
"Sorry," Ron mumbled.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Anyway, so then we had to give Remus the whole explanation, and Sirius got all mad 'cause he didn't want to be left out, and he started going on about how he's lost all this time and wants to be helpful, and…"
Harry trailed off, while eyeing Hermione. The witch seemed as if she was fighting with herself over whether to be upset or understanding. A few seconds passed, and it appeared she made her decision. With a sigh, she replied to the boys.
"You're right, I'm sorry. It was smart of you to ask Remus for help. There were about four steps that needed to be taken care of today. Did you get to them?" Remus nodded. "Good," she smiled and turned to Sirius as her smile slipped into a concerned frown. "I know I've been in bed all day, but don't you need to rest? You must be terribly overwhelmed."
"Slept a perfect eight hours last night." The raven-haired wizard winked at her. Remus coughed rather loudly. "Alright, five hours. But hey, that's practically a lie in for me. Plus, Harry let slip that Hagrid was riding my bike again and I figured a tune-up would be in order."
So that explained the black marks and sweat on all the boys, Hermione thought. She glanced at the four men around the table.
"This is all a bit strange isn't it? I mean, aside from the obvious of not going back to Hogwarts."
Ron rolled his eyes at Hermione. Not returning for N.E.W.T.s had been his favorite part of the plan. Hermione shot him a glare before continuing, motioning around the table.
"I mean, all of us here, in Grimmauld Place. It's like it was before, and yet everything has changed. Sirius is back, but Dumbledore is gone. Snape is bad, but Regulus was actually good. For goodness sake, I never even looked at the seventh year reading list."
"I'm sorry, Pup," Sirius said, looking intently at her. "What did you say about my brother?"
"The bit about him being good?" Hermione paled, nervous Sirius was about to go off about his brother. She was used to hearing him curse about his family, and his brother was no doubt included in the list of the damned.
"No, no, Pup. You must be mistaken. My brother was a complete coward, a marked Death Eater, devoted to the dark side."
Hermione stared at Harry and Ron incredulously. "I thought you said he was caught up? Then why doesn't he know the truth about Regulus?" The two teenagers looked sheepish. Hermione shook her head. "Sirius, what these two idiots have failed to tell you is that your brother switched sides. He actually obtained one of the horcruxes right before he died. Your brother is a hero, Sirius. He was a part of the dark side and realized his error. I think you probably managed to instill a little Gryffindor courage in him."
Sirius turned his eyes away from the group for a minute before bringing them back to rest on Remus. It seemed as if he was trying to hold a conversation with his friend with just his eyes. A conversation Remus clearly didn't understand. He raised an eyebrow and Sirius sighed deeply.
"That actually explains a lot. Explains why a certain friend of ours stayed so close to him after Hogwarts."
Remus' eyes widened and the Golden Trio shared matching looks of curiosity. It was Ron who spoke up next.
"Wait, while he was a Death Eater?"
"Yeah, we were actually really close with her, too. I could never really understood what she saw in him, but… I'm proud of him for changing sides. She must have known he was capable of good." He looked around the table at the Golden Trio. "You know she actually reminds me of h—"
"Merlin, so much new information," Remus interrupted, pulling out a pocket watch. "And well, shit, look at the time. Hermione, you should surely check on the potion. I'm not entirely sure I didn't make a mistake. And Ron and Harry, you all should go help. Off you go."
Everyone started to clear out of the kitchen, Ron taking hold of Hermione's arm to help her up the stairs. She looked back down to Remus and Sirius, smiling to herself as a familiar sense of pride bloomed in her chest. She had brought Sirius back. What no one had even considered for its impossibility, she had done. Remus really deserved a friend, and Harry needed family, and she had given that back to them. The trio continued on toward their floor of Grimmauld Place, a smile affixed to Hermione's face. Sirius began to follow before Remus called to him.
"Padfoot. Stay."
Sirius sighed and turned back toward Remus. Something in Remus' tone made Hermione pause a moment. She let Harry and Ron go ahead of her, the boys back to fighting over which Ministry employee they were going to impersonate.
"What's up, Moony?"
"Sirius, sit down."
"Aw, Moony, why the long face?"
Hermione's eyes widened as she heard Remus growl in response.
"What the hell were you thinking?"
"About what, my dear furry-friend?"
"You know what."
"Oh fuck off, mate, are you finally going to admit she existed now?"
"I've accepted long ago that her—"
"Hermione? Come on!" Ron shouted, bringing Hermione out of focus. She stole one more glance toward the hallway that led to the kitchen before following after her boys.
Chapter Title Translation: *Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine