AN: Hello, fanfiction and Harry Potter fans. I do not own Harry Potter, but feel free to enjoy this or hate it. If you enjoy it, please leave a lovely comment, if you hate it, then leave some constructive criticism, thanks!

Can You Take the Jump?

Chapter 32

Hogwarts students went home for the rest of the winter holidays and returned for the new year, but that break didn't seem to stop people from whispering or staring when they walked to and from class together, hands intertwined. They didn't make sense to many people. She was cold, he was hot. He was social, she was not. But perhaps that was why they worked. They evened each other out; she was composure while he was reckless. She was cautious and calculating while he was all instinct and action.

Sirius didn't need anyone to understand. In fact, he rather liked it. He liked being the only one who knew this side of Hermione Evans. The girl who always saved him the last treacle tart baked by the elves that day, the girl who absentmindedly ran her fingers through his hair, traced the veins along with his hands and arms, the girl who gave him heart-stopping smiles and mind-blowing snogs.

He sat on her unbelievably comfortable sofa in her secret dorm room, watching her brew some kind of potion in her little kitchenette.

The Room of Requirement, she'd called this place. A special room that Dumbledore had given to her immediately after she was sorted into Slytherin. It amazed him every time he entered. She had a little kitchen in the corner with a king-sized bed with her own fireplace sitting area. Of course, she explained and then proceeded to demonstrate how this room worked.

He grinned wickedly, remembering the time she made the room turn into the luxurious Greco-Roman bathhouse.

Although the physical part of their relationship was slowly becoming Sirius's favorite way to spend his free time, he shocked himself every time he stopped them before sex. It wasn't that he didn't want to, because Merlin no.

He wanted it. Her. A lot.

Sometimes he truly hated himself for stopping, but he wanted this to be different. His previous relationships, if he could even call them relationships, were always about sex. It was his priority, but this time, she was his priority.

Sirius jumped off her sofa and walked towards her. He hugged her from behind and nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck.

"Merlin, you always smell so good."

She rubbed the hand that wrapped around her waist but continued to stir the potion in front of her.

"What do I smell like, to you?"

He took a big sniff. "Roses and honey. A bit of a warm sugary smell as well, like the cinnamon snaps that Mrs. Potter makes for James and me during the holidays. And…something slightly musty in the end, like worn leather?"

She let out a small laugh, "And that smells good to you?"

He looked at her puzzled. "That's not what you're supposed to smell like?"

She turned to him, her colour-changing eyes met his eyes with amusement in them. "It's an old trick. I mix a drop of amorentia with my shampoo to smell like what you love. The rose and honey are predominant because that's the actual scent of my shampoo, but the rest are all you."

He frowned.

"What's wrong?" She reached up and gently cupped his face.

"That means everyone who smells you, smell the things they love."

"Yes, but it's not enough to make them fall in love with me. Just enough to make them think I smell nice, that's it."

Sirius pouted, "Still."

She smiled, "Would you like me to stop? Even though I won't smell like Mrs. Potter's cinnamon snaps and worn leather?"

"I like the roses and honey. It's very you. Beautiful and elegant like a rose, with a sweetness that never expires." He turned her around so that they were facing each other and hovered his lips above hers.

"I think you're the only person that calls me sweet." He could feel her smile.

"Good." He closed the gap between them and kissed her softly.

It always surprised him how good it felt kissing Hermione. He loved the way they fit together, the way she melted against him, the way she moaned. She made him feel like he was the center of her world, an important pillar in her life. Vital and dependable, two things he never thought he could be, yet she made him exactly those.

Before the kiss got too heated, she gently pushed him back.

"If I don't stir that cauldron, my potion's going to be a mess."

He pulled back and kissed her on the temple. "What are you brewing?" He looked into the cauldron to see a clear liquid bubbling. "I thought you were rubbish at Potions."

Hermione blinked.

"Being Avery's Potions partner for the past 5 years made me pick up a few skills." She lied easily, despite the guilt that jabbed her insides. "It's a contraceptive potion."

Sirius raised his brow before letting out a bark of laughter.

"You're really making it hard for me to wait, witch." He growled.

"I know we agreed to wait, but if we keep going at the pace we're going, I think it's better if I'm prepared. I honestly don't trust you to remember to use the charm once…it happens."

Sirius struggled to hide the endearing look on his face as he watched Hermione's porcelain face tint with a pink glow. He nodded in understanding before hugging her once more.

"The pace. Our pace, I mean. Is it good?" He asked cautiously. "I don't want to pressure you. We can slow down if you want."

Hermione was touched by his consideration. She knew he was going extremely slowly by his standards for her benefit, and she immensely appreciated him for it. While sex itself was not a new concept to Hermione, it would be the first time for this life and this body. Although she had more experience than Sirius, she didn't have his body count. She'd only been with Ron. It was silly to feel self-conscious about such things, but she was. She blamed it on the teenage hormones.

"I like the pace. I don't feel like we need to slow down. We should do what feels natural and not let time be a determining factor for how we progress. If it feels right, then we will know and act accordingly."

He kissed her with a smile on his lips.

"I couldn't agree more."

…

"Be mine." He set her down back to the snowy floor, his stormy grey eyes boring into her. "Be mine, because I've already been yours for a long time."

It was becoming clearer and clearer to Hermione that there was little Sirius could ask that she could deny him.

They say ignorance is bliss. She didn't know who was the first to say it, but they knew what they were talking about. Being with Sirius was like a breath in her suffocating life. He made her forget about all the bad as if Hermione Granger and all her horrifying experiences never existed. When she was with Sirius, she felt like she could just be Hermione Evans.

He gave her the ignorance she desperately craved and it truly was bliss.

He sat in her room in the Room of Requirement doing his homework, brows furrowed with concentration. Affection bloomed in her chest as she looked at him with the same adoration he gave her. Like his animagus, Sirius's affection was bountiful, straightforward, and playful like a dog. He enjoyed cuddling and touching, which was something Hermione found herself enjoying more and more. It was comforting to them both.

"Oh," Sirius looked up from his homework and turned to her with hesitancy. "I'm going to be busy tonight. My friends and I are doing this thing and it's going to take until morning…"

It was the full moon tonight, and Sirius was doing a terrible job of trying to excuse himself.

"Okay." Hermione nodded.

"Okay?" Sirius did a double-take. "Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Really?"

"Really." She nodded. The conversation reminded her of their conversation in the courtyard during the Yule Ball. "Sirius, I know your friends are important to you. I don't want you to feel like you are choosing between them and me. You've been spending a lot of time with me. While I appreciate it, your friends deserve your attention too. Didn't you hate it when James's ex-girlfriends took him away from the group for too long? Besides, I think I'll hang out with Alphard tonight."

"Are you going to talk to him about us?" He asked. "I know that we haven't exactly been a secret around school, but you never officially told him."

"Yeah, us and other things. It's going to be a lot of talking and gossiping, so I won't even know you're gone."

"Ouch." He smiled at her, "I'll visit him tomorrow so he can give me the 'What are your intentions with Hermione' talk."

"Really?" She asked. "And here I was thinking I was going to get the 'What are your intentions with my nephew' talk."

…

They both grabbed the book, nearly at the same time.

"You grabbed it first, it's yours." Hermione gestured toward the book. Severus Snape frowned but accepted her gesture by taking the book off the shelf.

"How are you, Severus?" She asked, walking down the aisles of books with him. She hadn't spoken to him much since her dating life became public knowledge. They hadn't talked much. Period.

"Fine." According to his short response, he still wasn't happy with the news.

"Sev—"

"Be careful around them." He warned, "they are always up to no good, and that Remus is hiding something. There is no way that an observant person like you wouldn't have noticed how he goes missing every full moon. If my theory is correct, Hermione, that would mean he's a werewolf."

"Never mind monsters, have you spoken with Alphard since I last told you? Have you gone to see him at all?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "What is up with you and my mom telling me to talk to Alphard. Is this some type of intervention? I don't need to have 'the talk'."

"You haven't gone to see him at all?" Hermione gasped. "Severus this is important."

"Please, I'm 15, I know where babies come from."

"This isn't about sex!"

Her outburst was heard by the few people remaining in the library. Giggles erupted in the space. Severus blushed from embarrassment. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a more secluded area.

"If this isn't about that then what's gotten your knickers in a twist?" Severus whispered angrily. "You and mum have been bloody driving me up the wall!"

Hermione wanted to argue that if he couldn't even say the word 'sex', then he probably should have 'the talk', but that was for another time. Severus didn't know about Alphard yet. He was losing precious time.

"Hasn't Alphard tried to talk to you?" Hermione asked. This was not her story to tell, not her illness that she could simply reveal.

"Yeah, owls, notes during class, he even cornered me after class once. Ridicu—"

"He's dying."

The silence stretched for an inordinate amount of time. Severus stood there, his brows twitched occasionally, but otherwise, he was frozen as if she'd put an immobillus on him.

"He's...very sick and he doesn't have much time." Hermione gently explained. "I didn't want to tell you because it isn't my place, but you're being too stubborn and stupid."

"You're lying."

She blinked. It wasn't a completely implausible response on his end, but it still took her by surprise. As if she was morbid enough to joke about his death.

"Sev—"

"We saw him in class today. He looked fine. He was making jokes and laughing with us. He…he's…You're lying."

"Sev, you know I'm not lying. I'm going to see him right now. You should come with me. He'll explain everything."

"No, you're lying. You must be lying. You always fuck with me! You always get in my way! If he was dying you wouldn't be this calm!"

"Severus," She reached out gently, but he jerked his arm away.

He stormed out of the library; his vision blinded by tears. He could hear her calling out to him, but he couldn't stand the sight of her.

No. She was lying. He wiped away the moisture from his eyes. His mind felt chaotic, jumbled, and dizzy. He searched for something, anything, that made sense. Anything that he knew was the truth, that he knew to be real. None of that bullshit she told him.

"Prongs, you think this is enough chocolate eclairs for when Moony wakes up?" Peter Pettigrew carried a large tray of eclairs in his arms while Potter carried two baskets of some other food from the kitchens.

"Well, it's enough to feed all of Hufflepuff House, so yeah, I think it's just enough for Remus." Potter laughed.

Full moon. Remus Lupin. Marauders.

Truth.

…

Hermione knocked on Alphard's private room, but there was no response. She slowly opened the door to see the dark and empty room.

"Where is he?" She wondered out loud. She stepped closer to his floo and sniffed to smell any remnants of smoke but found none. He was still in the castle.

She searched high and low, but there seemed to be no sign of the old man.

She paused at the door of the Hospital Wing, dreading the idea that he'd be here. Slowly and tentatively, she opened the large oak doors of the hospital wing.

"Ah, Hermione. What can I do for you?" His jolly tone couldn't hide the weakness in his voice. He looked gaunt and ill.

"Alphard," Any hopes of returning to that blissful state that Sirius helped put her in was dashed as she walked towards the cot with a false smile on her face. "There you are, old man."

"Oi, I protest to being called old. I'm only in my 40s, you know."

Hermione struggled to smile, so she looked down, pretending to search for a stool to sit on. A man in his 40s was not old at all, especially by wizarding standards.

"Why were you looking for me?" He asked, noticing her waning smile.

"I was bored, and I felt like I haven't given you the attention you deserve."

"Yes, I've noticed you've been quite preoccupied with a certain someone." He teased, his tired eyes glinting. "I hope you're treating him well."

Hermione let out a small puff of laughter. "Don't worry, I treat him better than I treat you."

He dramatically clutched his chest. "Oh, right where it hurts!" He joked.

The gesture was similar to the one Sirius had made earlier that evening, but the difference between the young, vivacious Sirius and the dying man in front of her was jarring. His bony thin hands that clutched his chest had terrifyingly prominent veins and bones. Alphard's hands used to be strong, with long and slender fingers that expertly measured her vitals whenever she was in the hospital. He had beautiful hands.

He had beautiful everything, but the disease had ruined him completely. Green skin with boils and puss oozing out of random craters in his skin. There was an odd scaly sheen to him like he was perpetually covered with a slick layer of sweat and something else.

Alphard's eyes traveled down to where she was staring, and he covered his hands self-consciously.

"I was just too lazy to glamour them tonight."

She nodded, understanding. She often felt the same way when she woke in the morning. She hadn't meant to make him feel self-conscious, but it was hard not to notice these things when she knew him so differently.

"You, on the other hand, you're glowing. Love looks good on you." Alphard smiled warmly as he reached out and held her hand. He was still so wonderfully warm. What was it with these Blacks running warmer than the rest of them? It was winter, for Merlin's sake.

"I'm so very happy for you."

"I don't know about love…it's been…different." She touched the old fraying love bracelet that Lily had given her back in 3rd year. It had been fraying for the past few weeks, but it hadn't snapped yet. Sirius's wasn't on his wrist anymore though.

If she was being honest with herself, romantic relationships weren't something she had factored into her plan for this life. Sirius had become a surprising curveball.

He smiled at her awkwardness. This was yet another side of Hermione that he never thought to witness. He was glad he was able to see a peek of her in love before he died. He was terrified that she'd live a lonely life like he had until she came along.

"It's a good different." He reassured. "I promise."

"Is that what Eileen is to you? A good different?"

He raised his brow in surprise, "Eileen is important to me, but I meant you. Before you fell into my arms, I was quite aimless in life. I had no goals, no dreams, and no hopes. But a little pink bundle opened my eyes and my heart. I can't imagine what my life would be like if it weren't for you." He squeezed her hands. "You saved me from an aimless and pointless life. You gave me meaning and strength that I didn't think possible."

She gripped his hand back fiercely, scared that he might slip away if she didn't.

Alphard returned the squeeze, reassuring her that he was right there.

"Tell me everything about your relationship. How is it? What have you guys been up to? Does Sirius have annoying habits? Have you guys fought yet?"

The rapid-fire questions made Hermione laugh, despite the situation. They talked for hours about everything. It started off with her relationship with Sirius, moved to Alphard's experience teaching, her quirks as a baby, gossip about the professors and students. They were like old housewives dishing out the latest news with a dash of hyperbole and tons of judgment.

It was fun, reminding them of the times when she was younger, and they spent hours with each other in the hospital. Only this time, the situation was reversed where he was the one lying in bed, and she had the luxury to walk out of the room at the end of the day.

So, she stayed, past sundown, past curfew, just like he'd done for her all those years ago.

"I spoke to Severus today. I told him…I know you've been trying to tell him yourself and I was going to let you do it, but he's being stupid…I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's good you told him. He's quite impossible to get a hold of once he set his mind to it." Alphard could barely keep his eyes open. He looked exhausted like he was fighting the losing battle with sleep. "Avoidance tactics. I think he learned from the best." He let out a weak chuckle.

"Not one of my better lessons, I think." She admitted, stroking his boney hand.

"He shouldn't be alone tonight. He's an emotional boy. A lot of anger and resentment in him that he doesn't know how to express. Go find him. I want to see him. Talk to him. Would you get him for me, please?"

"Now? It's late."

He nodded. "He needs someone on a night like tonight. It's important."

Hermione hesitated, but with one look on his face, she knew that he wouldn't relent.

"Alright, sit tight. I'll bring him."

"Hermione," He called out. She turned to face him. "I love you."

She smiled. Ever since he uttered those three words, he hadn't stopped.

"I love you too."

…

She banged on the wall that led to the Slytherin common room. It was late and most students would be sleeping, but there had to be someone still up, right?

She heard the footsteps before their voice.

"Evans?"

"Thank Merlin, Avery." Hermione sagged with relief. "And Cornelia." She belatedly greeted when she recognized the girl with her Potions partner.

So much for his arranged marriage to his 'pretty' fiancée in Austria. She thought to herself. Although she had been the one to play cupid for this couple, she was surprised at how serious they'd gotten.

"What are you doing, banging on the Slytherin common room at 1 AM in the morning?"

"I tried all the usual passwords, but I couldn't get in. I need you to bring Snape downstairs."

"Why? Why should I?"

Hermione's eyes flickered back and forth between Avery and Cornelia Fletcher. He wasn't normally the type to reject small requests like this, but he seemed to be trying to save face in front of his girlfriend. With slow raise of her brow, she smirked at him.

"How's Austria this time of year, Avery?" She casually leaned against the stone wall, like she had all the time in the world. "I hear she—I mean it's lovely."

Avery clenched his jaw.

"Stay there, don't come inside. No one wants you in here. I'll bring Snape down."

He pulled Fletcher inside, leaving Hermione by her lonesome in the dungeon halls. She tapped her feet impatiently, rolling her eyes at what was taking the boys so long.

When the stones finally moved, her bones chilled when she saw Avery standing in the doorway alone.

"He's not in his—" She ran off. "Evans!"

Stonewall, pillars, portraits, and other decorative pieces whizzed past Hermione as she ran as fast as she could out of the castle.

"Maybe Snape has a girlfriend?" Harry suggested unconvincingly. "Or maybe he went back to the library."

"Harry." Hermione stopped the ridiculous guesses. "If he's not in his dorm at this time tonight, then there is only one place he could be!"

"My dad will save him like he did the first time."

"But what if he can't?" She grunted as she took the steps three at a time. "The Marauders are still so new at being animagi. What if…" She couldn't finish her sentence. Instead, she pushed her legs to go faster. She turned the corner and burst through the doors that led outside.

Her heart raged in her chest as if it were a blood-thirsty starved vampire with a girl on her period just outside of its cage.

She ran down the hill as fast as her legs could take her, where the Whomping Willow stood tall and still. Her night vision was enhanced through her animagus fox, which made out a body entering the Whomping Willow, leading him directly to the Shrieking Shack.

To a transformed Remus.

Hermione cursed herself and the expansive grounds of Hogwarts. She pushed her legs to move even faster than before. Her lungs burned and her muscles ached, but fear propelled her continuously.

Please, Severus, don't be stupid. She begged.

At record speeds, she reached the mount where the Whomping Willow was planted. Unable to completely stop her momentum, she stepped into the space of the sentient plant.

Thwap

One of its long and powerful branches attempted to smash Hermione's head in. She ducked and rolled herself out of its reach.

"Fucking tree!" She cried when one of its thinner and bendier branches cracked like a whip close to her ear.

She pulled out her wand and pointed it to the notch she knew was at the base of the tree. With a flick of nonverbal magic, the notch was pulled to pause the tree's violent tendencies. Hermione ran into the hole where the roots were, leading down to the Shrieking Shack, only to freeze at the exact sight she was trying to prevent.

Moony's eyes shifted to her as she entered the small pathway. He was standing, filling the entire pathway from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. If his giant frame wasn't terrifying enough, his fur did little to cover the muscular build packed beneath it. His yellow eyes glowed as he stared at them as prey.

Severus was on his arse, petrified with fear at the large beast, doing nothing but staring agape with shock and terror. Flanking him were Padfoot and Prongs in a position to push the werewolf back with all their strength the second he pounced.

Like a predator stalking its prey, Hermione knew Moony would attack any second. A plan quickly formulated in her mind. She couldn't communicate to the boys what it was, but hopefully, they had enough sense to act once she initiated it.

"Reducio!" she pointed to the walls of the tunnel. The fit was already snuck for the large wolf, but the shrinking charm lodged its large frame into the cavern walls. She ran to Severus's frozen form and grabbed him by the fabric of his clothes and yanked him up with all her strength.

"RUN!" She forcibly turned him around and pushed him out the passageway.

"Stop the tree!" Severus told her, pausing at the entrance of the Whomping Willow.

"Are you stupid? It's the only thing that's going to help us when he follows us out, now move!"

"Gah!" He shouted when she forcefully pushed him out of the tree. He narrowly missed a low swinging branch as he ducked out of the way and started running towards the castle.

Hermione was used to training for attacks that came from all directions. It was one of her many indoor workout methods using the Room of Requirement, but it was clear that Severus was not at all ready for such an onslaught. He clumsily dove to the ground to avoid a branch that wouldn't have hit him, making him a perfect target for one that will. She tried to grab him, but a heavy branch came swinging down before she could reach him.

A sickening crunch could be heard, followed by a pained cry.

"Ahhhhhh!" Severus clutched his leg, everything from his knees to the middle of his shins was shattered into bits. "AHHHH!"

Encouraged by the cries of weakened prey, Hermione could hear Moony howling and digging through the dirt in the tunnel to get to them.

"Fuck."

…

Sirius's stomach heaved at the sight of Hermione in the tunnel.

Why was she here? He thought to himself in panic. Why was either of them here? How did they know?

The tense silence only lasted a few seconds before Hermione threw a spell.

For a split moment, he wondered if they were done for. Werewolves were notoriously well known to be resistant to most types of magic. Even if she threw a powerful curse, there was a chance that it would harmlessly bounce off Moony's body and hit someone else in this narrow space.

It wasn't until he felt the walls shift towards him, did her spell register into his mind.

That brilliant witch. He marveled internally at her ingenuity.

With James and Sirius sharing the same track mind, they both used the distraction to push Moony back while Hermione quickly grabbed Snivellus off the floor and back out the tunnel. With Prongs's antlers and Padfoot large frame, they were able to hold back the wolf until they could hear Snape's screams.

Something had gone wrong.

The wolf went mad, he was thrashing against the enclosed dirt, making it harder and harder for the two friends to keep their friend in check.

"Padfoot!" James shouted, now in his human form. "Go help them. I'll hold him off!"

The giant black dog shook his head, pushing back the wolf with all his might.

"You need to get them out of here or we're all in deep shit! GO!" James quickly shifted into his stag and rammed his antlers into Moony once more.

Padfoot took a hesitant step back.

The stag made an aggressive huff and kicked his back leg out.

I'll come back for you; Sirius promised in his mind as he raced out of the passageway.

The sight he saw made his jaw drop.

Hermione was dragging an unconscious Severus Snape, dodging vicious branches with incredible agility and strength. She was like a leaf, flowing through the winds effortlessly, even though she was pulling a body that was easily 8kg heavier than she was.

As if the sentient tree could sense how easily she was avoiding its branches, the attacks became amped up, swinging multiple branches from multiple directions at once. Hermione couldn't avoid this. Padfoot jumped over an incoming branch and picked up the unconscious Slytherin with his mouth and knocked Hermione out of the way with his body, landing the three of them outside the reach of the tree.

"Sirius, take Severus to the Hospital wing now!"

He froze. She knew.

"I knocked him out because he was making too much noise, but his leg is fucked up. You can't move him around too much. Pomfrey will know what to do."

She knew.

"SIRIUS!" She gripped his fur and looked into his eyes. "Take him and go. I need to save James."

He opened his mouth and tried to speak, but it came out as a low growl. He shook himself out of his canine form and stool in front of his girlfriend with an unexplainable expression.

"How?"

"Questions later," She promised. "James needs help."

The sound of his best friend's name forced Sirius to focus. "I will help him; you take Snape to the hospital."

Hermione shook her head. "I'm sure I can get Remus to listen."

Fuck, she knows about Remus too?

"Don't be stupid, that's not Remus right now. He won't know you."

"No, but he will know her." Hermione closed her eyes.

If Sirius thought that there weren't any more events tonight that could shock him, he was very wrong. His beautiful red-haired girlfriend started shrinking and growing fur until a red fox with beautiful kaleidoscope eyes stared up at her.

She was an Animagus. No, she was THE Animagus. The fox Remus had told them about for months, the one that kept him company before they were able to.

She's always known. He realized.

Without giving him a chance to talk, she ran towards the hole at the base of the Whomping Willow.

"Hermione!" He took a step towards her, only to have a branch of the violent tree attempt to swipe him across his mid-torso.

"What the fuck!" He cried with frustration at the situation.

Sirius glanced down at the unconscious Slytherin who groaned in pain. With one hesitant glance back at the tree, Sirius levitated Snape and started running back to the castle.

…

Hermione wrapped James Potter's bleeding side with as linen as she could conjure, but his blood was already seeping through the bandages. Werewolf scratches were hard to heal due to their incapacity to clot and stop.

"Gahhh!" He cried when she applied pressure.

"Hush," She commanded. "Be glad it's not a bite."

James whimpered, his breath stuttering.

"Can you stand?" She asked, but when he didn't make a coherent response, she took it as a no. She could use a feather-light charm to take him back to the castle, but instead, she was stuck. Her ankle was twisted abnormally, radiating pain from when Moony grabbed her by the ankle and threw her off him.

She let out a shuddering breath, then sucked air back into her lungs and held it in as she set her ankle straight. Tears rimmed her eyes as she fought through the pain to realign her bones before she could mend them.

"Holy motherfucking shit!" She gasped when she finally finished. She hoped everything was good because if she mended her bones despite them not aligning properly, she would have to rebreak them, and this time on purpose.

"Episkey."

A sharp pain shot through her leg as the bones mended, but she now could move her ankle. There was still swelling and pain, but it felt like a bad sprain, rather than a broken bone.

Hermione quickly pulled herself up and cast a Feather Light charm on the bleeding boy. She hoisted him up over her shoulder as if he was a sack of grain, not caring how his blood was getting on her clothes and her person.

She ran as fast as her newly healed ankle would allow, grimacing every time her foot hit the floor.

Almost there. She told herself.

"Dear Merlin!"

Hermione was stopped by the sound of McGonagall's gasp.

"He's been scratched. He needs help."

Professors rushed to her side, taking the boy off her shoulder. They scurried into the castle, casting worried glances at the bleeding boy and the bloodied girl who carried him.

"Miss Evans." Dumbledore had remained by her side.

Physical exhaustion hit Hermione like a truck, as she watched James safely enter the school for treatment. She swayed where she stood when adrenaline rushed out of her but was caught by the Headmaster before she fell.

"I see you've been keeping some secrets, Miss Evans." He commented. He took note of her terrifying outer appearance. "Are you injured?"

"My ankle was busted. I think I fixed it, but I did just wrestle a werewolf and carry a bleeding boy over my shoulders, so…you know." She shrugged, "might be screwed up again."

"And the blood?"

"Potter's."

"Once Ms. Pomfrey is finished with everyone else, I will ask her to tend to you. For now, I think a pain potion and a bath is what you need." He opened his palm and a pain potion appeared inside it. "You may use the prefect's bath; the password is Loch Lomond."

Hermione nodded. She took the pain potion from Dumbledore's hand and limped her way inside the castle. Once she was sure she was out of the Headmaster's sight, she threw away the pain potion, not trusting the Headmaster to not take advantage of her vulnerable situation by slipping something like veritaserum in her pain potion.

She would drink her own damn pain potion and use her own damn bathhouse.

After pulling herself up the endless number of staircases, she stripped off her bloodied clothes and sank into the bubbling rose-scented waters. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the ledge of the bath as her overactive mind replayed the night.

She'd scratched Remus in the eye and bit his ears while Prongs used the distraction to push Moony back into the Shrieking Shack. The process was agonizingly difficult as well as heartbreaking when the wolf cried, wondering why his animal friends were treating him so terribly.

Remus would feel terrible once he woke up. The things that could have happened, the things that did happen. It was all a mess.

The cold had numbed some of her pains, but now that she was in the hot water, she could feel her whole body pulsating with throbbing pain. She reached her arm out and wandlessly summoned her pain potion.

After swallowing the pain potion in a quick gulp, she raised her arms to scrub herself down, but couldn't find the energy to do so. She dropped her arms back into the water with a splash and allowed the currents in the bath to do the work. It wasn't thorough, but it would have to do.

She glanced at the old-timey clock that she had scavenged when she turned the Room into the room of Hidden Things. It was just past 2:30 AM. Poor Pomfrey must have gotten quite the rude awakening.

Once she felt like the stench of blood was finally gone, she stepped out of the bath and examined the state of her body. Her muscles were shaking from exertion while she was covered in bruises and cuts, but all in all, she was relatively unscathed after a wrestling match with a werewolf.

A Corporal Patronus flew around her, a phoenix.

"Miss Evans." Dumbledore's voice called to her. "Once you are done, please meet me in my office."

She had half a mind to ignore the old wizard, but she had a feeling the nosy Headmaster would actively seek her out if she didn't show up.

With a sigh, she got dressed and braced herself for Dumbledore's cryptic line of questioning.

…

Sirius gripped the roots of his hair as another cry escaped James's mouth. Pomfrey had been treating him continuously, but he was still in so much pain.

"Mr. Black, you should get some rest." McGonagall gently patted his back. The Gryffindor Head looked at him kindly as she tried to reassure him. "He may be in pain, but Poppy has stopped his bleeding. He'll make a full recovery."

"Professor…I-I just left him there."

"To help Mr. Snape."

"But James—"

"Is going to be fine." McGonagall pulled him up from his spot on the floor. "While you and Mr. Potter's recklessness is astounding, your bravery to save your fellow peers was aspiring. As your Head of House, I am equally very proud and very angry with the both of you."

Sirius looked up at his stern professor with surprise. "Really?"

"You will both get extensive detention once Mr. Potter is fully healed, but yes, I am proud of you."

A white wispy looking bird soared into the room and stopped in front of Sirius.

"Mr. Black, please come to my office. There is something I must discuss with you."

…

"Headmaster, if it's possible, could we please discuss tonight's events later. I'm extremely tire…d" Hermione paused when she saw Regulus, Sirius, and Narcissa Black standing in the Headmaster's office.

"While the events of tonight are important, I believe this news takes precedent." Dumbledore was solemn. "Please sit."

The Blacks looked confused sitting in the chairs across from the Headmaster's table, but Hermione had witnessed something similar to this many years ago. A family gathered at the Headmaster's office with a grave look on Dumbledore's face, just like when Arthur Weasley was fighting for his life after Nagini had attacked him.

"There is no easy way to say this." Dumbledore linked his fingers together on top of his great mahogany desk and clenched them tightly. "I'm terribly sorry to be the one to tell you that at 2:03 AM tonight, Alphard Black passed away from a stroke."

…