Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. All characters, places, descriptions, etc (unless original and created by me) belong to her.

Summary: It was a small pack, of course, just the five of them, but together they were something wild. Hermione finds herself in the Marauders' Era with four new best friends.

Chapter 17: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet*

22 September 1977

Potions Class

Remus, stop taking notes.

I'm shocked! No, I'm disappointed! No notes, Hermione? What is the world coming to?

Knock it off, Remus. I have something serious to tell you.

What?

I want to tell the Marauders. About me.

Remus looked up from the note Hermione had passed him. They were sitting side by side in potions class while Professor Slughorn lectured about the multiple uses of fluxweed. Hermione and Remus had been pleased to have been assigned seats next to each other in class, but it had soon turned out to be a bit of trouble. Sure the two Gryffindors were extremely bright, but two werewolves dealing with pungent potions often had less than desirable results. Remus looked up at Slughorn, who was busy writing on the chalkboard at the front of the room, before turning to Hermione.

"What? You're going to tell them?" He was whispering, but his tone was still strong. And with Hermione's heightened hearing, it sounded like Remus was at normal volume.

"They already know about you, Remus. They're going to figure me out sooner or later. And I hate hiding from people."

"You have me though. You can wait to tell them." Hermione smiled at Remus.

"And you have no idea how much that I appreciate you, but it would be nice to have three more people on my side, to not have to hide a part of myself from them." Remus sighed and looked back up to the front of the classroom. Hermione stared at him until he spoke again, never taking his eyes off Slughorn.

"You're right, I'm sorry. That was a bit selfish. Of course you want to tell them. I support you, Hermione."

"Thank you, Remus." Hermione let out a breath. She needed Remus to support her. She had stretched the truth a bit, but it was necessary. She wasn't supposed to know the other Marauders were Animagi.

The full moon was fast approaching and Hermione was getting nervous. Truth be told, she was petrified with fear. She had no idea what to expect. Remus still hadn't opened up about his first moon. And not only that, but this moon would be different for both of them. Moony was accustomed to being alone. What would happen when another wolf joined?

That's why Hermione decided to tell the Marauders. Initially, she wanted to wait until she had a moon under her belt, but the fear of what could happen outweighed any embarrassment she thought she would face. She wanted the Marauders there. She wanted Prongs and Padfoot and, Merlin, even Wormtail there, just in case.

So on the one hand, she was terrified, but…

Part of her, a small part of her, was dying for it to be the full moon already. This small part of her was actually looking forward to it. Why? Well, a full moon equals more control, and Hermione definitely needed that.

Just in the past few days, she had snapped at Peter during Transfiguration, twice, almost cried at dessert, and awkwardly passed out in Charms after a tough night of nightmares. It was true though, Hermione could control herself a bit more now. Her mood swings and emotions weren't as strong and didn't last as long, but now they were just random, sneaking up on her at the worst possible times. And they left her looking forward to the scariest moment of her life.

Gryffindor Common Room

The rest of the day passed in a blur. All Hermione could think about was how she was going to tell the Marauders, how they would take it, and what that meant moving forward. Hermione, lost in her mind, fell into autopilot and moved through the day like a ghost. Hermione was so caught up in her thoughts, she was surprised to find herself in her usual seat on the couch in the common room after classes. Despite creating a new routine for 1977 where she tended joined Regulus in the library after classes, she had fallen into her old habits.

Back at Hogwarts with Harry and Ron, she had usually followed the two back to the common room after classes and attempted to do work with then before eventually making her way to the library. So when Hermione sat down on the couch in between two surprised second years, it took her a moment to realize where, well, when, she was.

Hermione quickly jumped to her feet and gathered her thoughts. Classes were over. She was supposed to meet Regulus in the library. That's where she was supposed to be. Hermione grabbed her book bag and headed toward the portrait door. But before she could reach it, the Marauders came spilling through, laughing loudly. Peter was the first to spot her.

"Oh, hi, Hermione."

"Hi, Peter."

"Where are you off to? Didn't you just get here?"

"Yeah, I've been a bit distracted today. I'm on my way to the library. I told Regulus I'd meet up with him." This seemed to get the attention of the other three Marauders. Sirius looked at Hermione, while James and Remus were focused on Sirius. Hermione, of course, was still too focused on her thoughts to notice. Instead, she said her goodbyes and climbed through the portrait.

Sirius and Remus both watched Hermione until she had completely disappeared from view. Only then did they look away and meet each other's eyes. In two swift seconds, Sirius moved past James and started toward the portrait. Remus jumped to his feet and leapt to Sirius. He grabbed the raven-haired boy by the collar and dragged him up the stairs to their dormitory. Peter and James followed, clearly amused by their friends.

Remus shoved Sirius in their room as Peter and James pushed through the door. Remus looked back at his friends, and Sirius took that moment to try to rush the door, only to be stopped again by Remus.

"Sirius, no!"

"Remus, move." Sirius practically growled. Normally, Remus would have laughed at Sirius' doggish side showing, but not now.

"Sirius, stop."

"Remus, get out of my way."

"Sirius, stop. Honestly, what are you even trying to do?" Sirius' steel eyes met Remus'.

"There's something not right about that girl, Moony."

"Sirius, what are you even talking about?"

"She's on her way to be with Regulus, Moony. I'm sorry, but you deserve to know." Remus looked at Sirius as if he had grown an extra head.

"Yeah, I know. She just said that. They're friends. He found her when she first got here, so she thinks he's got some good qualities or something."

"No," Sirius shook his head; dark locks falling into his eyes. "She's been with Regulus."

"Yeah, I know. I just said that. Didn't I just say that?" Remus looked at Peter who was scrunching his nose at Sirius. The blonde boy looked just as perplexed as his werewolf friend. Sirius pushed his hair out of his eyes.

"Remus, cut the shit, okay. I know you guys are together."

"What?!"

"I can fucking smell you on her all the damn time, mate. Come on, don't lie to me."

"Wait, wait, what?"

"I. Can. Smell. You. On. Her."

The full meaning of Sirius' words finally got through to Remus. Remus opened his mouth, but couldn't for the life of him think of what to say. Sirius, on the other hand, was not experiencing this problem.

"So while you think you may have her all to yourself, she's off doing Merlin knows what with my brother. She's playing you, Remus. Open your damn eyes before she hurts you." Remus held up his hand to stop Sirius, but the raven-haired boy knocked his hand away. Remus shook his head.

"Sirius, stop. We're not together." Sirius took a deep breath about to launch into another mini-speech, but he quickly closed it, eyebrows furrowing.

"Okay, what? You're not together? So you're just what? Messing about?"

"No, Sirius, I'm not with Hermione at all. Not in any way other than as friends. Just friends." Remus growled out his last word much to Peter's amusement. The smaller boy looked between his two friends, the cogs in his brain connecting something Sirius clearly wasn't getting. He looked at Remus.

"Remus, tell him. He keeps your secret. I'm sure he'll keep Hermione's, too." The three other boys turned to look at Peter. Sirius looked victorious at the idea that Hermione had a secret, and Remus looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Peter, wh-how?"

"Sirius said she always smells like you? For one thing. And she gets a bit moody, like switches between moods really fast sometimes. And has anyone ever paid attention to what she's been reading?"

Remus looked floored. Sirius' elation had faded into confusion.

"Wait. Okay, Hermione has a secret. What is it?" Peter opened his mouth, but Remus spoke first.

"It's not mine to tell."

"Really, Moony? You've known this bird for two weeks, two weeks, and suddenly, her friendship is more important than mine?"

"Padfoot." Sirius hardened his gaze when Remus used his nickname. "Padfoot, it's not like that. Take your head out of your ass. It's not my secret to tell."

"But Peter knows!" Sirius pouted.

"Well I didn't tell him!" Remus shouted.

"Did you bite her?"

"Peter!"

"Sorry."

Remus looked nervously at Sirius. He could see the puzzle pieces falling into place. Sirius looked as if he was wracking his memory for something specific. James moved around Peter to sit beside Sirius on his bed. The two boys stared at the floor until their brains clicked at the same time. They both looked up at Remus, shocked.

"You bit her?" "She's a werewolf?" They shouted at the same time.

"I didn't bite her!" Remus shouted.

"But she is a werewolf."

"Yes, James, she's a werewolf."

"She lied to me!"

"Really, James?"

"Sorry."

"Listen, it's not my story to tell, but she wanted to tell you guys anyway. Her first moon is next week."

"She hasn't gone through it yet?" Peter was starting to look a little queasy thinking about it. He sat down next to James, all three boys looking up at Remus.

"No. She was just recently bitten. I've-I've been trying to help her through everything, but, I don't know, it's weird."

"Wait, so when I smell you on her–"

"You're smelling the disease, the lycanthropy. It's not technically me."

"Oh." Sirius suddenly felt foolish.

"So what happens next week? I mean is she going to be at the Shrieking Shack?" James asked.

"We've planned on it, yeah." The three other boys suddenly perked up. Sirius shot to his feet.

"You told her about us!?"

"Sit down, Sirius. No, I didn't tell her about you all. I figured I'd think of a way to keep you all busy that night. But now you know about her, so, maybe you guys can be there."

"No, I don't like it." Three pairs of eyes landed on Sirius.

"What?"

"I get it, great, she's a werewolf, too. But just because she's a new werewolf and scared, doesn't mean we have to take care of her."

Remus stepped forward, but James was faster. Sirius' face cracked under the power of James' right hook. Blood started to spurt from Sirius' nose as he looked at his best friend in shock.

"Bloody hell." Peter looked from James' red knuckles to Sirius' bloody face. It was already starting to swell.

"The fuck is wrong with you, mate?"

"No, mate, the fuck is wrong with you? When did you turn into your mum? 'Just because she's a new werewolf and scared, doesn't mean we have to take care of her'? Mate, she's not a werewolf; she's our friend. And I don't think we'll have to worry about taking care of her.

She knows we know and accept Remus, and she still hasn't told us. Doesn't that tell you something? Something's not off with her, it's off with us! She's been through shit, Sirius. You don't even know. You don't even know what happened to her before she got here."

"Oh and you do?"

"Well I know she had no choice in coming here. I know her friends don't know where she is. And she doesn't even know if they're alive!"

Sirius didn't respond. James and Sirius just stared at each other, Sirius' blood dripped onto the floor. Remus and Peter looked between the two, unsure how to respond. Remus' head suddenly perked up and he turned around seconds before Hermione burst through the door.

"Oh good, you're all here. I got to the library, but then I just couldn't wait. Lily said she saw you guys come up here." Hermione turned around and shut the door behind her. When she turned back to face the Marauders, she stopped in her tracks, taking in the scene before her before springing into action. Hermione moved toward Sirius, lifted his chin, and examined his nose.

"Sirius, what happened to you?" Her tone was so full of emotion it took Sirius by surprise. He pulled his head from her hand, wincing at the movement. Hermione looked hurt at the rejection and looked at James.

"What happened?" The boys were silent. Hermione turned to Remus, who was looking quite sheepish. "Remus, what happened?"

"I'm sorry, Hermione. They know."

"They know?"

"Yes."

"Did you tell them?"

"Well, no, not exactly."

"I did." Peter spoke up, now looking sick to his stomach. "It sort of slipped out."

"Wait, how did you know?" Peter shrugged.

"I dunno. Same way we knew about Remus, I guess. I just noticed things." Hermione was floored. She had anticipated one of the Marauders to figure it out, but she honestly didn't expect it to be Peter.

"Oh." Hermione sat on the bed across from Peter, sighing. "So, you all know. I guess that's out of the way then."

"You don't have to worry, Hermione. We accept Remus; we accept you, too." Peter smiled at her, and Hermione felt warm, comfortable.

"Thank you, Peter." She looked up at James. "James?"

"I can't lie. I'm a bit mad you didn't tell me earlier, but I get it. You don't have to worry about me, Hermione. I told you. I'm here for you." He walked over to hug Hermione, who melted into his arms. Piece by piece, a wall started to crumble within Hermione. She caught Remus' eye and smiled, but the other werewolf avoided her gaze and looked at Sirius instead. Hermione followed his eyes.

"Sirius?"

Sirius wiped a hand under his nose, half clearing his face of blood, half smearing it even more. He avoided Hermione's eyes. She sighed and turned to the other three.

"Would you mind giving us a moment?"

"Are you sure?" Hermione nodded at Remus and waited for the boys to leave before turning back to Sirius.

"Sit."

"What?"

"Sit down, Sirius." Sirius sat down in a huff while Hermione pulled out her wand. A flick of the wrist later, and a washcloth floated in from the bathroom. One more flick, and a bottle of firewhisky flew out from under Sirius' bed.

"Huh, some things never change," Hermione said under her breath. She poured some of the shining amber liquid onto the washcloth and, after a bit of hesitation, she shrugged and took a swig for herself. Sirius raised an eyebrow and smirked when Hermione coughed at the taste.

"Don't start. Just let me help you."

Sirius kept quiet as Hermione moved around him. The smell of firewhisky was thick in the air as she sat down beside him. Before Hermione could put the washcloth to Sirius' face, he grabbed the bottle from her hands. He took two big gulps, barely wincing as the liquor hit his throat. Silently, Hermione applied the cloth to Sirius' face, gently wiping away blood. When the whisky hit the open cut on his nose, Sirius grimaced at the sting.

"Is the point of using firewhisky to cause me the most pain?"

"Oh hush. It's the best thing you've got up here, and I know for a fact it doesn't hurt that badly. You don't want to have to explain this to Madame Trapner, do you? It's nothing life threatening. And I happen to know that firewhiskey works just as well on wounds, if not better."

"Oh really? And where did you hear that one from?"

"Yo-er-just some guy back home."

"Uh huh, sure." Sirius smirked before sucking air back through his teeth when Hermione reapplied the cloth. She turned his head this way and that before setting the firewhisky and washcloth aside.

"Do you want to tell me why James punched you?" Sirius ignored her and reached for the firewhisky again. Hermione took the bottle away from him. "Sirius, please talk to me."

"Why is it so important to you that we're friends?" Hermione was taken aback, so she chose her next words carefully.

"I see how you all are together, and with Remus. You're all incredibly caring and loyal and really just wonderful friends. I'm all alone here, and I guess—I guess I just wanted to be a part of that."

She was met with silence.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I had no idea about your, um, your thing."

"Thank you, Sirius."

"You have to know, these guys, they're my brothers. Not Regulus, these guys. They kind of picked me up first year and that was it. I don't—I'm not–"

"I understand, Sirius."

"No, you do–"

"They're your family. You're loyal to them, a bit blindly in my opinion, but it is admirable. It's hard to let someone new in, to trust someone new. You all are protective of each other. You're... you're a pack."

"Huh, a pack. I kinda like that." Hermione smiled and felt a rush of pride.

"I know you don't trust me yet, but just give me a chance. Please."

Sirius looked deep into Hermione's eyes. He lifted a hand and wiped her cheek, pushing aside tears she didn't know had fallen.

"Okay."

A/N: *Loyal She Began; Loyal She Remains