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.

A/N: Prepare for the feels, y'all.

Chapter 34: Potest Solum Unum*

22 January 1978

Seventh Year Boys Dormitory

Remus had just managed to fall back asleep when James, Sirius, and Peter came barreling back from dinner. Apparently something had occurred during the meal that was so hilarious it warranted laughter at an ungodly volume. Remus wanted to melt into his bed sheets. He groaned loudly in an attempt to remind his friends of the horridness of his suffering before shifting around in his bed to face away from the door.

The other three Marauders shared a look of understanding and instantly quieted their laughter but maintained their conversation. The three boys shed their ties and robes, and the messes around each of their beds grew in size. Peter flopped onto his bed, leaning over the side to dig through his trunk for a spare quill he could have sworn he had seen the day before. James was already by the door again, waiting for his friends and playing with his golden snitch. Sirius was walking out of the bathroom and passing by Remus' bed when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

Taking a slow, deep breath, Sirius turned toward his bedridden friend.

"Found it!" Peter's voice rang out and dragged Sirius' attention away from Remus. The shortest Marauder was holding up a quill proudly like a flag as he gathered his bag and joined James at the door. James chuckled at Peter before raising an eyebrow toward Sirius.

"You coming, mate?"

Sirius looked between James and Remus before shaking his head.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Sirius followed his friends through the door, but not before glancing back once more at Remus. The werewolf didn't miss the look on Sirius' face.

24 January 1978

Gryffindor Common Room

Sirius' skin itched, but it was a strange itch, almost as if there was a ghost layer of skin that had settled upon him. Honestly he felt as if he were going through his own pre-moon struggles, and Hogwarts' two resident werewolves were completely to blame.

Three days. It had been three days since he had even seen Hermione. Two days since he had really talked to Remus. And not for lack of trying. Sirius had honestly tried his hardest to seek the two out. But he had just so happened to have gotten detention with Filch and needed to finish an essay for McGonagall and had to completely redo his potions assignment. Every time Sirius started to make his way back to the Gryffindor common room, he had had to turn around to deal with another million problems. All in all, he was quite anxious to finally be able to speak to Remus and Hermione.

Sirius, James, and Peter were sitting by the blazing fire, patiently waiting for the two werewolves to finally descend from their beds. Remus arrived first, eyes already showing hints of the wolf within. He moved to join the other Marauders as Sirius stood up in the hopes of having words before–

And just as Sirius opened his mouth to speak, Hermione descended her own stairs. Having spent the past few nights tossing and turning, her hair was about as wild as Remus' eyes. Seeing Sirius and Remus standing so close, Hermione's cheeks reddened as she glanced at Remus. Remus left Sirius' side to reach Hermione. The smile he gave her sent a wave of warmth through her body and eased the tension between her shoulders. She returned the smile fondly.

A cough echoed from across the room. Hermione blinked. They seemed to have forgotten they weren't the only ones in the common room. Glancing around, Hermione caught the eye of Lily, who was studying by a window with Dorcas. Lily winked and motioned a quick thumbs-up, before turning back to distract Dorcas.

"Ready to go, Pup?" And suddenly James was beside her, offering his arm with a wide grin on his face. Not for the first time that day Hermione's heart ached for her own Potter.

The pack made their way down to the Whomping Willow extra carefully that night. Without the help of the Marauders Map, they were not only more likely to be found but more likely to get into trouble. That night there was no whispering on the stairs or playful joking in the halls. The Marauders kept quiet as they snuck through the castle into the cold night air.

James led the group, streaking across the grounds with practiced steps. Hermione and Remus followed closely behind. The two leaned on each other for support though their steps were sure. Sirius and Peter brought up the rear until Peter transformed into his Animagus form with a squeak. Not bothering to watch his friend dart ahead to still the Whomping Willow, Sirius kept his pace, lost in his own head.

Sirius' mind was a convoluted mess. There was too much he was trying to consider. His loyalty to the Marauders, his loyalty to himself, whatever was going on with Hermione, whatever was going on with Remus… Hell, he didn't even know what he was feeling; it was too much. Sirius was drowning in a million thoughts when suddenly a cry summoned him back to the present.

Somehow they had already made it to the Shrieking Shack without Sirius noticing. The cry sounded again. Sirius looked across the room to see Remus crouched down in front of the screen that protected Hermione's privacy. Remus groaned in pain as his ribcage expanded. Hermione answered in kind. Sirius winced.

Suddenly, a small hand shot out from behind the screen, nails scraping at the wood floor. Without a glance, Remus moved his shaking hand to meet Hermione's. A few fumbling seconds later, the two were gripping the other's hand so tightly their knuckles were white. They held hands until their cries and shouts faded to whimpers.

Remus woke first. He knew it had been a bad moon even before he felt the pain. He was already in the hospital wing, and since he had no recollection of walking there himself, he knew something had gone wrong. As his eyes adjusted to the sterile brightness of the room, a body stirred beside him.

"Merlin, I thought you'd sleep forever, mate."

"Kind of wish I could," Remus replied. He winced as he tried to sit up. James moved from his seat to help his friend readjust.

"Nonsense, Moony. Then who would help me with Ol' Slughorn's essay?"

Remus chuckled and winced again. James' boyish smile fell.

"What happened, Prongs?" Remus was starting to get worried. "I haven't felt this bad after a full moon in years."

"It was bad," James said, his voice low. "Real bad, Moony."

"I didn't…" Remus couldn't bring himself to finish the question. James shook his head.

"Padfoot, Wormtail, and I are all fine. A bit scraped up, but nothing major."

"Then what—" Remus' heart rate picked up. "Hermione."

James was silent for a minute. Remus took the time to survey the rest of the room. Hermione wasn't in any of the beds beside him. He looked around James. Hermione was across the room with a passed out Sirius draped over the chair next to her bed. Remus tried to discern what kind of state she was in but couldn't see much.

"Trapner had to separate you two. Apparently you're quite protective in your sleep."

"James, what happened?" Remus' voice had lost its earlier calmness and shook slightly.

"She just kind of lost it, mate." James sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "At first it seemed normal. She was just kind of staring at all of us and then, well, she started crying, whimpering. She wouldn't look at us, and then she was throwing herself at the walls and attacking herself. Padfoot tried to distract her, but each time he got close, you would run at him. It was like you were trying to protect her, but it was just so messed up.

"Finally she seemed to realize we were there again and then it just got weird. The noises she made—" James stopped to shake his head as if to clear it. "She tried to separate us all, kind of corral us into separate corners. I swear she almost ate Peter, but he says he was fine. It took us a while, but we finally realized what she was trying to do and just went along with it. Then she just went into the middle of the room. I don't think any of us moved until morning we were so scared she'd start hurting herself again."

James looked down at his hands. Remus' eyes were laced with shock.

"I don't know if you've ever heard a wolf cry like that before, Moony, but just this once you should be glad you can't remember anything."

Silence descended on the pair, but James and Remus shared a knowing look. In their own ways, they had become responsible for Hermione, and now she was hurting. Somehow they had failed her.

Suddenly, the doors to the hospital wing burst open with a bang. Sirius' eyes shot open as his body snapped up out of the chair. Voices carried into the room as two bodies appeared, one after the other.

"You can't go in there!" The Marauder's recognized Peter's voice cry out in desperation.

"I'll do whatever the bloody hell I want, Pettigrew. Get out of my way." James shot to his feet, glancing at Sirius, as none other than Regulus Black shoved Peter aside to move toward Hermione's bed.

All the anger that had been blazing on the Slytherin's face disappeared the moment he saw the sleeping girl. Regulus' face held a kind of affection the kind of which Sirius had never known his brother to possess.

"How is she?" Regulus didn't look away from Hermione as he addressed his brother. Without waiting for a reply, he moved closer and reached out a hand. His fingers ghosted over a bruise on Hermione's wrist. Sirius' lip curled into a sneer. He grabbed Regulus by the front of his shirt and shoved him away from the bed.

"Don't. You. Dare." Sirius was livid. Regulus moved to step forward again, but thought better of it. He squared his shoulders and hardened his gaze.

"You're not the only one who cares for her, you know."

"Don't you dare act like you care for her!" Sirius stepped menacingly toward his brother, putting himself between Regulus and Hermione.

"I do!" The brothers seemed dangerously close to a fight, but the other three Marauders were frozen in a mix of shock and confusion. "What did you animals do to her!?"

"Us?!" Sirius barked out a laugh, but his eyes held only rage. "You think we're the reason she's like this? Look in the mirror, little brother. This was you."

Regulus' face shifted to horror.

"You're the reason she tore herself apart, the reason we had to carry her back unconscious, the reason she's had to drink nearly all the healing potions in this damn place."

"I—"

"She trusted you. For some unknown, completely fucked up reason, she trusted you to help her." As Sirius continued, Regulus took a step back and then another. "You fucked up. You broke her. And you better get the hell out of here, or I'm going to break you."

Regulus glanced one last time at Hermione before fleeing out of the hospital wing.

Her eyes were open.

The hospital wing was silent as the Marauders all watched the door through which Regulus had just disappeared. Hermione stared at Sirius' back, watching the motions of his heaving shoulders slow as his breathing calmed down. Finally, it seemed the other Marauders were able to move again. James just turned and stared at Sirius. Peter began to move toward the grey-eyed boy. Remus was the only one who noticed Hermione was now awake.

"Come on, mate. Let's go to the kitchens to get something for Remus and for Hermione when she wakes up." Peter pulled slightly on Sirius' arm and tried to lead his still seething friend from the hall. Sirius wrenched his arm away but followed Peter nonetheless.

When he deemed the two far enough away, James turned to Remus.

"What. The fuck. Was that."

Instead of responding, Remus just shifted his eyes toward Hermione. James turned around, following his gaze. A lump formed in his throat as his took in the sight before him. Tears streamed down Hermione's cheeks as her face contorted from the pain caused by her trying to sit up. James rushed to her side and helped her settle, just as he had with Remus minutes before.

The blood had been cleaned from her skin hours before but the faint stain of crimson remained on her face and arms. Her fingernails were split and broken, and dirt and blood were still lodged underneath them. Her bottom lip was split and the left side of her face was badly bruised. Hermione's stomach rolled as she caught a glimpse of the empty bottle of Skelegrow beside her bed. She tried to smile at James but could only manage a weak grimace.

"Pup…"

"It's my fault, James," she spoke. Her voice was hoarse and she couldn't meet his eyes. "It's all my fault."

James reached for her hand and glanced back at Remus with confusion and pity swimming in his eyes.

"You should be sleeping," Remus said from his bed. He was back in Professor-Mode. Hermione flinched the tiniest amount at the no-nonsense tone of his voice, but Remus still saw. The next time he spoke, the warmth returned. "You still need to rest."

The two werewolves stared at each other for a minute, battling out silently until finally Remus groaned and got out of bed. James' eyes followed him as he lumbered over to Hermione. She smiled softly and motioned for the two to sit at the foot of her bed. James immediately complied, but Remus shook his head and stood with his hands on the end rail, muscles taut. Hermione thought for a moment that Remus looked like one of those soldiers from World War II, all dirty and tired, but underneath it all some incredible strength of body and mind.

"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?"

"It's my fault, James." Hermione spoke after a deep breath. "No, don't start, Remus. It is my fault." She shifted her gaze back to focus on James.

"Regulus didn't show up to our sessions before the moon. That's why I was… such a monster."

Remus flinched and opened his mouth, but James spoke first.

"Um okay, first of all you're not a monster. At all. You had a tough moon, but honestly believe me when I say, we–" he motioned between himself and Remus. "We've seen worse. And you have nothing to feel guilty or ashamed about with us. Ever."

"And secondly, I'm missing the part where this is your fault and not Regulus'. I thought you said you two had an understanding."

"We do—er, did," Hermione looked down at her hands. "I don't know."

"Well, I'll tell you what I do know." James reached out and lifted Hermione's chin to look into her eyes. "You deserve better. You deserve people who are going to be there 100 percent. And that's us. All of us. We can be there for you, Hermione. We want to be there for you. You just have to let us."

Hermione was crying now, looking into the eyes of this young man with so much love in his heart. Dumbledore always spoke of the power of Lily's love for Harry, but in that moment, Hermione knew James was capable of just as much.

Remus shifted on the balls of his feet. He could tell Hermione was losing steam. She needed rest, and she wasn't going to ask for peace on her own. Moving to the side of the bed, Remus touched James lightly on the shoulder. Once James met his eyes, Remus nodded toward the door. Nodding in understanding, James got up to take his leave.

"Get some more rest, Pup. I'll see you on the other side."

Hermione smiled to herself as she watched him leave. When she turned back to Remus, her smile fell. She lowered her eyes in submission and shifted again so she was fully lying down. Her eyes grew heavy as Remus moved beside her. The ache and pain in her limbs ebbed as he climbed into the bed. The familiar wave of comfort and safety that was just so Remus swept over her. As Remus pulled Hermione close, she let her eyes flutter close.

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione whispered, breathing Remus' scent deep into her lungs. Remus didn't respond, instead listening to Hermione's breath. In and out. Slowing. In and out. And just before she surrendered to sleep, he spoke.

"You knew this would happen, Pup." He sighed. "You knew this was coming. You can't have both. You can't have both of them. You know who they are – what they are to each other. You know Sirius. You can't ask that of him, at least not now. You have to choose, Pup. You have to choose between them."

"Don't want to choose." Hermione whispered softly. "Don't make me choose."

Hermione's eyes burned with unshed tears as she slipped off to sleep, Remus' words ringing in her ears.

"You'll have to choose or you'll lose them both."

A/N: *There Can Only Be One