Hermione didn't remember Sirius having healer training in the future. The thought of that change excited her as much as it dismayed her. Perhaps the horrible events of her future would never happen and the people she loved could live their lives fully without war invading every aspect of their day to day. But there was a heartbreak that came with the thought that all of the moments she had with her friends and family, the experiences that shaped them and bound them together, would vanish like a puff of smoke. Like a dandelion. With one breath it was destroyed, it's seeds scattered in the wind, planting new flower.

The group of three boys flanked her, as they had taken too doing when they walked through the school. There was an edge in their gaits, a predatory, defensive edge in the way they scanned the hallways. Their hands would come up to hover near her elbows and back when they passed too close to other students making their way through the castle. The levity that they had started the day with had been swept away by the events in the infirmary.

They passed the main entrance hall where the doors were propped open, inviting students out onto the grounds. The wind the night before had cleared the sky of clouds, so golden sunshine filtered onto the grass and the lingering autumn leaves still clinging to the trees at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Hermione shivered a little as the chill of the morning invaded the corridor, and the three boys seemed to inch closer, and James slung an arm around her shoulders, surprising her with the casual show of affection she had only yet experienced with Sirius.

They didn't say anything until they entered the common room and plopped her down on the couch in front of the fire. The space was empty save for a handful of students occupying the enclaves around the perimeters of the tower that overlooked the grounds. The boys flopped down in their usual seats.

"Well, it's certainly been an eventful morning so far," commented Remus, a little too lightly, belying his stress. His legs crossed at the ankles over the armrest of his chair. James chuckled humorlessly, staring into the fire blankly from the opposite chair, while Sirius sat next to her as she had grown used to.

"I guess you'll want to know what happened to me now?" Asked Hermione quietly, sinking a little further into the cushions and looking at them somewhat shyly through her lashes, her chin tucked down.

Remus tilted his head against the back of his chair and looked at her. "You don't need to, Hermione," he said tiredly. His skin was unusually pale and his manner of movements and body were more lethargic than normal. Concern swelled in Hermione, knowing that it was a full moon that night. She recalled his future, even more scarred, self slumped over in his chair by the fire in Grimmauld Place. The tenderness of his shoulders steadily getting worse as war cast its long shadow over the Wizarding world. There was comfort in knowing that unlike in that future, the Remus right now had his friends to comfort him during his most vulnerable time.

It was a secret that he didn't know she knew. A secret that she felt guilty for knowing now. Not being able to fully reciprocate with her own secrets made her feel awful. She opened her mouth, not really sure what she was planning on saying, and knowing that whatever she did tell them would be mostly lies and that she should take the out that he was offering her but was superseded by James.

"It's really okay, Hermione. We know there are secrets the two of you can't share. We'd rather know that, and have you keep them to yourself than have you tell us lies," he said, kindly. There was no animosity in his face or tone. "If Padfoot trusts you, we trust you too. Just whatever you do tell us, only tell us the truth, even if it's just part of it."

A familiar sting in her eyes and pressure behind her nose told her that she was about to cry. Hermione ducked her head down to hide her face from the boy's around her. Although, they no doubt noticed, given that Sirius cupped the side of her head and pulled her sideways to tuck her face into his shoulder.

"No one here is going to force you to talk about it, Kitten," murmured Sirius above he head. He ghosted circles into her shoulder with his fingers as she leaned against him.

She hadn't been surrounded by trust in so long. Paranoia dominated everyone she met for years. Even when it was just Harry and Ron and her on the run, trust had been in short supply. That damn locket warped their minds, creating division and bending their perception of each other. It made Ron leave them. It made her doubt herself. She hadn't expected to be given such faith ever again, much less from a group that knew she was hiding things.

"I promise not to lie to you," she said with a thick voice, peeking out from the cloud of hair that hid her face to look at the boys. They both looked back at her with easy expressions that melted the remaining trepidation and shame from her heart.

"Good! 'Cause we're still going to try and figure it out and you lying to us just confuses us," James said with a cheeky wink in her direction.

She laughed, letting the gathering tears evaporate from her eyes as the mood in the room lifted.

The portrait hole opened, catching everyone's attention, and Peter came stumbled through looking worse for the wear. He flopped down on the rug in front of the fire, spread-eagle, and groaned.

"Uh… Pete?" Sirius addressed the motionless boy on the ground. "You all right?"

Peter just made an unintelligible noise.

Hermione watched as the seated trio exchanged raised eyebrows, communicating silently with each other.

"Was it the 4th years?" Asked Remus tentatively, tugging knee up under him to be able to leverage himself to look over the coffee table better to look at the supine figure.

Peter just whined.

"That bad?"

"How can they make it so hard to deal with devil's snare in broad daylight? Two of the Ravenclaws almost passed out when they let it wrap around their necks," he complained, scrubbing his face with the heels of his hands.

"But it's the middle of the afternoon?" Piped in James.

Sirius just snorted out a laugh. "The 4th years aren't legendarily bad at Herbology for no reason. I swear, there's going to be a shortage of potions apprentices and herbalists the year they graduated."

The mood sufficiently diffused allowed the exhaustion she had been feeling before begin affecting her once more and she found her eyelids leaded as the warmth of the common room hearth soaked into her bones. Adding the comfort of resting against Sirius's steady heartbeat beneath his soft brown knit sweater that smelled of musky vanilla. Her eyes drifted shut and she felt that heavy weight of her body going boneless as she drifted into a half awake slumber. Listening idly as the conversation around her progressed to mundane topics until it lulled her completely to sleep.

"What's wrong with Hermione?" Asked Peter, propping himself up to look over at the girl resting on Sirius's shoulder. "She's not usually this tired until after dinner."

Remus and James looked over at Sirius before looking at each other.

"A lot happened this morning," said James hesitantly, turning his eyes toward the fire.

"She opened a wound on her arm after, what I think was, an altercation with Lily, and then Sirius got apprenticed to Madame Pomfrey," intoned Remus, filling in Peter more succinctly.

There was a slight pause before Peter and James seemed to verbally explode.

"Lily was there?!"

"Sirius is a healer's apprentice?!"

The shocked exclamations had Sirius swiftly shooting silencing spells at the pair.

"Can you not be so loud?" He growled out lowly. He pressed his hand to cover Hermione's ear that wasn't pressed into his shoulder.

The two boys glared at him before they glanced at the sleeping girl. Their eyes gentling on her and they nodded their assent before Sirius waved away the silencing spell.

"You think Lily had something to do with Hermione's wounds opening?" James rushed to ask Remus before Peter could say anything out of his already open mouth. He looked pained at the thought; his expression anxious.

Sirius felt a tightness in his chest at the thought. Lily, although brash towards them, was typically the nicest witch in the school. Unless it sparked her sense of injustice she treated everyone kindly. She didn't even care about house rivalries except when it came to quidditch. Also, James was completely besotted with her and Sirius knew that his best friend would never like someone who wasn't wonderful and courageous. But this conflict that Lily had inserted herself into on behalf of Marlene, had invariably ended up with Hermione in the crosshairs. If Lily had come to the Hospital Wing to sling accusations again and it resulted in Hermione physically hurt, Sirius would refuse to tolerate it.

"I could smell her, and heard someone tiptoeing out of the Hospital Wing when we were by Hermione's bedside," shrugged Remus. Although he tried for nonchalant it was obvious that he was tense. Being so close to his transformation, he was particularly sensitive, and reactive. "I don't want to jump to conclusions. But given recent events between them, it wouldn't surprise me."

"You…!" James began in a yell before stopping. Glancing at Hermione he switched to a whisper-yell."You think Lily went to the Hospital Wing for what? Threaten Hermione?!" His face was pinched in something between incredulity and fear. Like, he was scared of having some sacred belief shattered.

"Whatever happened, I don't think Lily would hurt Hermione deliberately," said Remus, placatingly with hands raised like someone trying to calm a beast. "But, given Hermione's…more delicate constitution, it wouldn't surprise me it Lily startled her enough that something happened."

"I agree," said Sirius, absent-minded thumbing Hermione's shoulder again. He looked over at James. "I thought I saw red hair between the gaps in the privacy curtain but I didn't know for sure that it was her."

"How does this all lead up to Padfoot being Pomfrey's pupil?" Piped in Peter. He had pulled himself up to hunch cross-legged in front of the coffee table, his chin resting on his folded arms over the surface.

"I don't know. Poppy just decided that I'd be learning from her. Didn't really give me a choice," Sirius said with a one shoulder shrug.

"Do you even want to be a healer? I always thought you were planning on being an auror, or bounty hunter, or something that puts you into action?" Asked Peter, sounding perplexed.

"Yeah, thought we were going to be partners!" said James.

"I don't know. I still want to be part of the action, but I guess no matter what I end up doing, having training in healing can't be a bad thing," Sirius answered, squeezing Hermione to him ever-so-slightly tighter. Privately he wondered if any of his desires for the future would be realized, or if he would end up being so embroiled in war and deception, that he would never have a chance to prove to himself that he was capable of personal success and happiness.

It wasn't even something he had put much thought into until he had read Hermione's journal. The possibility that his legacy would remain tethered to his family name, and that nearly half his life would be spent in darkness and torment, nawed at the edges of his psyche. Amid all his worries and concerns about the future and present, it felt selfish to worry about something like his career path.

He shook off those thoughts and changed the subject. "How are you feeling Moony?"

Remus slouched further into his seat and moaned. "Lady Artemis shows me no mercy."

"When has she ever?" Laughed James.

Hermione was roused by someone softly shaking her shoulder. She opened bleary eyes to the afternoon brightened room and looked up at the baby blues of a very wan Remus.

"It's time for lunch. Can you help me wake the others?"

"Sure," she answered, sitting upright and trying not to blush when the hand that was wrapped around her shoulder fell to the curve of her hip bone. Looking over at Sirius slumped against the armrest, his head supported by his hand, she called his name and patted his cheek.

"Hm…? What?" His face scrunched and his arm tightened around her hip making her have to bite down a squeak. His palm was warm through the fabric of her dress. His eyes opened, those uncanny silver-gray eyes peering up at her with that half awake fog. "Kitten?"

Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled at him. "It's time for lunch. Remus is waking the others."

Once James and Peter were awake they made their way down to the Great Hall. Word must have finally spread about a transfer student, because Hermione could feel more eyes on her than before. While at first it was only the Gryffindor's who noticed her presence at the school, they had quickly gotten used to her and questions were fended off by the Marauders. Now it seemed the rest of the school had become aware of her. Or maybe she was just becoming aware that they noticed her. The weekend crowd was significantly different than the rest of the week when students were focused on classes and staying on schedule. Now they were free to ogle and whisper all they wanted to.

A chill went through her, amid the curious stares were some that felt more sinister. A curiosity and a will to do something to abet that curiosity. Even so, no one approached her, while they sat at the great tables. The feeling of eyes on her, made her gut churn, and goosebumps to rise on the back of her neck. She clenched her hands under the table and concentrated on the plate of sandwiches in front of her.

Sirius seemed distracted and kept looking over at the Slytherin table, scanning the crowd as though looking for someone. All the while Peter and James were discussing the upcoming quidditch match between them and Slytherin that would kick off the season, and Remus sat quietly listening to their conversation looking amused but exhausted.

After a few bites of her meal and a sip of tea, Hermione calmed herself sufficiently to glance around her. Somewhat curious at what Sirius was looking for, she scanned the room, only to catch sight of a group of Slytherin upperclassmen at the end of their house table openly staring at her. A shudder went through her when she made eye contact with a young Severus Snape. The lank hair and hooked nose were unmistakable as well as the unreadable, beetle black, eyes that had her questioning when he learned legilimency and occlumency.

This was her professor. One she had all six years of her Hogwarts career and one that had left some of the shallowest scars, as well as some of the deepest emotional scars on her. This was the man that scared Neville Longbottom so much that he was the boy's boggart; this was the man who watched her best friend come into class covered in blood and his only action was to deduct house points because of improper dress.

This was the man who murdered Dumbledore and spied on the Order…

This was the man who she remembered being a little too content after Sirius fell through the Veil. The smug smirk, and the cruel words he would utter to Harry when no one was around to mediate his authority, would make her cry well into the night.

Somehow, despite knowing he was there, despite Sirius talking about him, despite the fact that they had probably been in the same room multiple times at this point… Hermione hadn't really absorbed that he was there. After her encounter with Barty Crouch Jr. the Marauders had confined her to themselves, and shielded her from the rest of the school. But now, staring into that cold gaze, she realized once again that her enemies ate, socialized, and lived well within the same bubble as she.

A sneer started to form on his face, a shot of panic made something in her jolt painfully. She looked away quickly, trying to act like she hadn't seen a face that caused her more than a few nightmares, but Sirius must have noticed her flinch because his attention was on her instantly. He leaned around to look at her.

"Hermione? Are you alright? You've gone pale," the concerned edge to his voice brought her out of the slight stupor she had started spiraling into.

She cleared her throat and tried to smile at him, but felt herself glance back at the crowd of Slytherins involuntarily, and knew Sirius had caught the look. His eyes flicked over to the other table just as James' voice carried over to them.

"What the hell is Snivellus' problem?" James tisked in distaste, leaning his head against his palm, elbow on the table, and fiddled with his wand that was tucked behind his ear. "Git seems to be asking to be hexed."

Remus' eyes narrowed on Snape, a glint of something farel in his baby-blues. "They're watching her," he said lowly.

"Can we go?" Hermione whispered, looking down at her hands. Merlin, she hated this. She felt so weak, and unprepared for everything. At least in her time she knew her enemy, knew the boundaries, and knew the fight. Or maybe she had been on the run so long that flight had become her default when faced with danger. She didn't even know what they wanted. Other than her sudden appearance they shouldn't know anything about her to be so intent on her.

"'Course, Hermione," agreed Peter, who was watching her worriedly from her other side.

"Yeah, you haven't been to the kitchens yet. Let's go eat there instead," suggested Sirius. He put on a smile for her, even as his eyes flicked over to the Slyrherin table with a dangerous gleam to them.

She just knew that they were waiting to catch her alone.

She pushed the thought aside and tried to focus on what Remus was saying as she walked out of the great hall, flanked once again by Sirius and James. Remus and Peter took spots hovering in front, and behind her.

"First Hogsmeade Weekend is next week, Prongs. Have you decided how you're going to ask Lily out this time?"

"I'm going to keep it simple and sweet," James answered. He put his hands behind his head and stretched.

"And loud," snickered Peter.

"Don't forget, very public!" Sirius mocked.

"Shut up!" James' face turned beet red and he stared forward more determinedly. They proceeded to mercilessly tease James for the rest of the walk to the kitchens.

Hermione wasn't obtuse enough to not realize that they were trying to keep her distracted. It was nice, for once, being the one protected. She spent so much time protecting Harry that it was almost a foreign feeling to her. They barely knew her but in some ways she felt more treasured than she could remember feeling in a long time. The more time she spent with them the more determined she felt. Before, their stories had left her feeling sorry, but now that she knew them, their fates were nothing short of devastating.

She looked up at Sirius, his smile broad as he needled James, and let herself marvel at a side of him that had so often seemed like sunshine that could only peek out behind clouds back in her time. She would protect that.

As though he felt her gaze, he looked down at her, his smile softening into something that was so much more familiar to her. It was that same look that he would give her when he would find her in the library reading. She never understood what the smile meant but it made her feel warm inside.

The effect hadn't changed in the slightest.