AN: Hello, FF 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 72

The thing about dungeons, Sirius determined, was that once you experienced one, you've experienced them all. The architects behind all these old grand homes had no sense of aesthetics at all. And as someone who considered aesthetics an essential aspect of life, Sirius was most definitely not a big fan.

Drip drip drip. The water from the ceiling dripped to the floor just an arm's length away from him.

As thirsty as he was, the brown murky water dripping from the ceiling was not something he wanted to resort to until he couldn't bear it anymore. That is if he somehow even managed to find a way to get out of his current position to drink that murky water in the first place.

He heard a squeak. His little mouse friend was notifying him that he was there. He tried to turn to face the little dirty thing through his pillory but inhaled sharply when pain shot through his body. Yes, he said a pillory, as in the medieval punishment device that trapped his head and hands between two metal frameworks, effectively making him immobile. Purebloods were ancient and rich families, so honestly, as ridiculous as he thought this device was, it made sense that the Lestranges had one.

There was a part of Sirius that knew the reason he was having these random thoughts despite his terrible predicament was that he was trying to distract himself from the severe pain, fear, anxiety, and shitshow that was his current situation. It was a technique he grew up doing when his parents would punish him for bad behaviour.

After Avery's betrayal, Sirius had been beaten badly with magic and physical means by Dolohov and his men, he suspected a relatively minor collapse in his right lung, some internal bleeding, a few broken ribs, and far too many Cruciatuses to have been healthy.

Despite the pain and the torture, this fury towards Avery kept him sane.

Sirius kept his eyes on the bastard through it all. The bastard maintained eye contact, staring at him blankly. He didn't even have the human decency to look guilty.

Bastard. Fucking piece of garbage.

Now his only hope was that Reg and the other Slytherins would find Hermione.

Click click click click.

Footsteps.

He trembled; his heart palpitated as he tried to prepare himself for another hit of the Cruciatus mentally.

"There's a meeting in two days. He will be in attendance."

Sirius's eyes fluttered open to see a small cloaked figure, just beyond the light. However, he didn't need to see to know who it was.

"How dare you show your fucking face to me, you bastard!" Sirius wheezed through his collapsed lung with difficulty. He tried to lurch forward in his confines, the sound of metal jangling around ringing off the stone walls. "I'll fucking kill you, Avery! I'll fucking kill you!"

"I…" He trailed off, shrinking away into the darkness. "The meeting is in two days… Your fate and mine will be sealed in just two days. We'll see if the Dark Lord sees you as an appropriate replacement for Lily Evans or not."

"I hope he fucking kills you on the spot." Sirius spat on the floor as close to the gate of his prison cell as possible.

"There's a real possibility that it will happen... according to Dolohov, he was not happy that you were the one I brought." Avery sighed as he let out a small laugh. "You know, Hermione is the Potions genius? Not me? I played right into her hand back in first year and I was stuck. Merlin, I hated her. I actually tried to poison her a few times in Potions, but she'd look at my attempts and laugh it off."

"What? What are you going on about?"

"She used to push me so hard during training that I vomited. Every. Time. I would throw dangerous dark spells at her during our duels, even though the only objective was to disarm her. I never even got close. She made my blood boil. She made me feel like trash, like I was inferior to her in every single way, even though I was raised to believe the exact opposite. What I hated even more was the fact that it was fucking true. She is the embodiment of perfection and it only made my…lessness more and more prominent. I have never seen someone who was so impossibly good at every fucking thing. How did you date her, Black? How did you spend a minute with her and not see a reflection of your ineptitude?"

Sirius watched bewildered as the boy who betrayed him paced in front of his prison door and ranted about Hermione.

"Gods there wasn't a moment that I didn't fucking hate her. I didn't care about the other mudbloods or whatnots, I just wanted to off one person and that was her. Hermione knew it too, but all she'd say was, 'If you can do it, you can try.' Do you know how infuriating that was? Do you know how fucking furious she's made me for YEARS, but…" he stopped, curled his hand around the bars of Sirius's imprisonment and clenched his fist so hard until his knuckles turned white. "No one celebrated me like the way she did when I finally completed her demented obstacle course. Do you know she fucking made me a cupcake? It was the best fucking cupcake I'd ever tasted. And when I started studying so that I wouldn't need her in potions and get out of her grasp, she tutored me for hours, even though Potions was the only way she'd be able to keep me under her thumb! She's a fucking brilliant tutor too! I was absolutely rubbish at potions and now it's my best class, EVEN WITHOUT HER. And when I finally disarmed her… she smiled and… fuck…"

The beaten and bruised Gryffindor couldn't believe his ears as the Slytherin crumbled into tears before him.

"He has my family. I had to… he has my family. I'm not like you Black, I fucking care about them! I fucking love my family!" He finally looked up, the desperation in his eyes shook Sirius in a way that wasn't fair.

"If you're looking for forgiveness, you're preaching to the wrong person, Avery. I was crucio'd, I was beaten and fucking tortured because of you! I am in this fucking" he struggled in his physical confines "contraption because of you! You want forgiveness? Get me out. Get me out. I will help you save your parents. Regulus, Snape, Malfoy, and especially Hermione will help you save your parents if you get me out of here." Sirius urged desperately, but Avery stayed on his knees where he crumbled onto the cold floor, unmoving. "Nothing will change if I die here! Your parents will still be captured, and Hermione will hate you and never help you. Avery, I promise I will convince Hermione… I will convince everyone to forgive you and we will all work together to help your parents, all right? So let me go."

Slowly the Slytherin helped himself up, using the bars of Sirius's prison as levers to hoist himself up.

"Avery? Come on. You know that this can work."

"I'm sorry Black. That' came to say."

"No no no no no," Sirius softened his voice, coaxing him to stay. "Avery. Freddie. C'mon mate. Let me go. If I die, nothing changes for your parents or you."

Avery shook his head slightly, "But if I let you go and I'm caught, everything changes for my parents and me."

Knowing he'd lost him, Sirius jerked towards him, unable to contain his anger. "There is no crevice on this planet that you can hide, you fucking snake! Once I'm out, I won't need others, I'll fucking kill you myself you fucking coward! I'll fucking kill you!"

"Good luck in two days. I sincerely hope they find her in time."

"Come back here!" Sirius shouted as Avery turned and left. "Come back here you fucker! Uraghhhhhh!" He thrashed as hard as he could against the metal contraption that had him locked up. Twisted his wrists and neck around so much around the tight holes that kept him contained until he bled and bruised, but it didn't budge.

"LET ME OUT!" He breathed heavily, his voice echoing in the empty dungeon. "LET ME OUT!"

His chest trembled as a sob finally escaped. Fear started clouding his mind.

What if they didn't find Hermione?

What if they did… and she didn't care? What if he'd given his heart and trust so completely to a girl who ultimately didn't care?

He didn't even know who to call out as he cried… as much as he hated that bastard, Avery was right. He didn't love his parents. His parents didn't love him. His brother would shake his head in disappointment for believing in Hermione.

James. Remus and Peter. Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Lily. The family that he created out of loneliness, the family that loved and cared about him. The family that he had left behind for a girl…

"AUGHHHHHH!" He thrashed once more, feeling the old metal edges cutting deep into his flesh, drawing blood.

…

Two days later; Diagon Alley; Saturday, August 7th, 1977

Lily looked around in curiosity at the bustling crowd on the street. It wasn't unusual for Diagon Alley to have a lot of customers at this time of year, so close to September 1st, and on a Saturday, however, she couldn't help but feel it was a little too crowded.

"Excuse me," she gently pushed someone aside, only to run face-first into a sign. "Ah!" She rubbed her sore nose to glare at the person holding something like that on a crowded street only to see what was written on the placard.

Eradicate the corruption! Not innocent muggleborns!

"Excuse me," Lily reached out to the person holding the sign. "What's going on?"

"Darling, haven't you read the news lately?"

"Well, I've been—"

"FUCK THIS GOVERNMENT, GIVE US BACK OUR MONEY!"

Lily jumped at the shout, only to jump again at the screams of agreement that followed. She blinked with confusion.

"Where is the safety and security for our kids?"

"What about the workers you've assaulted?!"

Lily quickly ducked away to a less crowded part of the street to the newsstand she often frequented. The seller was an American who sold papers that had news of America. Since her family's move, Lily had made it a routine to keep up with the American news as well, which made her a regular at this newsstand.

Forgoing their usual friendly greetings, she tossed a few knuts toward the owner and grabbed the day's Daily Prophet without a word. He didn't even pay her any attention as he read the same headlines that were written across the top of the pages in big bold letters.

The Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation turns a blind eye to the murder of a British Witch because she's a muggleborn!

The new Head of the Auror Department is guilty of abusing his wife and children behind closed doors!

The Co-Head of the Magical Maintenance Department embezzles thousands of galleons!

It was headline after headline; she couldn't believe her eyes!

"None of those are the Daily Prophet's original work. They've just paraphrased this one," the old man with the American accent pulled a magazine Lily had never seen from behind the counter. "I was hiding these for my favourite customers. They're flying off the shelves faster than a snitch! I can't keep them stocked. They're gone every time I get more prints."

"Thank you," she thanked the man and paid her the money before opening the magazine. They were similar headlines, but this one had pictures. Undeniable proof of all of the misdeeds that the Daily Prophet spoke of, and with even more detail and testimonials. "My god… how?"

He shrugged.

"I'm sure they've been asked that question about a million times since they started printing these things yesterday, but they haven't come out with an answer. It must be anonymous."

"Yesterday?"

"How are you just hearing of this, kid?"

"I've been…a little isolated and distracted," Lily muttered to herself. The ward that the Potters were in was private, and the head Healers had ordered a strict no-stress policy around the family and their primary medical caretakers. However, she had noticed that some of the apprentices and administrators whispering a lot yesterday…

"That's the thing. The Quibbler has always been a monthly magazine, and wildly unpopular. They wrote about odd little creatures that no one knows about or even exists, but suddenly since yesterday, they shifted their entire focus on the corruption in the Ministry. The things they're saying that some of these men have done…"

"Do you have yesterday's?"

The man shook his head, "Once I saw their headlines, I knew I needed to put them at the forefront. I didn't even have a chance to save myself a copy."

"Where can I get one?"

"Maybe Flourish and Blotts? But I doubt it. I think your best bet is in the rubbish bins, kid."

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Lily grabbed the previous day's Prophet as well. The crowd had increased during the short time of their conversation. She turned around and gave him a nervous glance at the growing numbers. "Also, I think it'll be best for you to close shop early sir."

The man watched the angry shouts of people.

"Yes, I think you're right."

Lily swerved through the crowd, taking caution not to bump into the dozens of people she was met with at each step she took. She arrived at the closest rubbish bin and started digging around. Nothing.

She glanced around the crowded street and then the clothes in her hand that she needed to take back to St. Mungo's for James and his family…

"They won't mind me being a little late… right?" She thought to herself as she pushed into the crowd. No one needed to know of her little detour.

"Oi!" She called up to the most red-faced protester in her vicinity. "Got a copy of yesterday's Quibbler on you?"

"You joinin us, lass?" He asked intimidatingly.

It took Lily only two seconds to decide, "Yes, of course!"

He pulled out the Quibbler from his back pocket and tossed it to her, continuing to shout his rhetoric to anyone in the crowd who'd listen. And there were lots of them. People were shouting in agreement with the things he was saying, down with the government. Protect the children. Punish the corrupt.

Of course, after Lily saw the shocking articles and their subsequent proof, it wasn't that she was opposed to the things he was saying, but she knew that this wasn't exactly the way to get things done. This was a witch hunt for the entire ministry without so much as an official investigation from a 3rd party.

Within minutes, the crowd grew at an exponential rate. She was trapped, squished between 5 or 6 people in a tight circle. She couldn't get out and go back to St. Mungo's even if she wanted to now.

Lily couldn't breathe as the compactness of the crowd only increased as time passed. Instinctively she tried to give her chest some space to expand to breathe by putting her arms out in front of her, but she couldn't.

"Please, I can't—" She began to panic when someone above her grabbed her arm and pulled her into the air.

"AHH—" The person covered her mouth. Overtaken by blind fear, she thrashed intensely.

"Oi! Oi! Calm down! I'm not trying to nap 'ya!"

Lily blinked at the face of another redhead smiling down at her. It didn't take long for her to recognize him, even though she didn't know him all too well. The ginger hair dazzled in the summer sunlight as a mischievous grin looked down at her. It was Fabian, her regular customer at the Leaky Cauldron. The nice one who always treated her well left a nice tip and asked her how her day was going. They had a lot in common. He was a Gryffindor, even though he had graduated years before she even started. He had a twin brother as well, but they were identical. He said he liked her because she reminded him of his younger sister who also had a fiery temper. He told her stories of how he'd play pranks during his time in Hogwarts which led to yet another thing they could talk about, James. Lily would never tell James this to his face, but she secretly thought Fabian was funnier. He was a jokester, a comic if you will, while James was a prankster. Their conversations always felt lighthearted and fun.

"Fabian?"

"Hey, how've you been? Are the Potters doing better?"

"I-I've been busy…what are you doing?"

"Thought you needed some help."

"Fabian!" Someone shouted in the crowd. "Get ready! The drop is happening soon!"

Lily glanced at the crowd to identify the shouting man but couldn't pinpoint where the voice had come from in the group of many many angry shouting wizarding folk.

"A drop? Fabian, what is going on? Do you know something about—"

"Fabian, NOW!"

"How good is your throwing arm, Lily?"

"What?" Lily couldn't get more out of him, cut off by the fact that he shoved a large stack of paper into her abdomen.

"Here." Her regular pointed her wand to her head muttering something she couldn't hear before pulling a large hood over his face. "Let's at least protect your identity. Now throw them. As many as you can, as widespread as you can."

Lily, completely flabbergasted and overwhelmed by the numerous events that and just occurred in the span of minutes, confusedly stared at the papers in her hands.

Replacement Head of Aurors MURDERS Muggle Child To Cover Faulty Investigation!

Her brain could comprehend the words that created the headline.

"Wha—"

"Lily! Spread it around!" He haphazardly grabbed several of them and threw them in the air, the article fluttered to the ground like autumn leaves.

The crowd below was first confused, but quickly picked up the article and read it.

"What did you…" Lily stammered. "If you toss this like this, you're creating anarchy."

As soon as she said so, there was a shift in the crowd below them, so great and so significant that Lily could feel it up in the air. Whatever fire and anger that had fueled them before was nothing compared to what they were feeling now.

"Listen, kid!" Fabian shouted over the crowd that seemed seconds away from erupting like a volcano. "You aren't even supposed to be here today, which is why I was allowed to come on this mission. But when I saw you in the crowd, I knew I couldn't leave you. But that also means that I can't leave my post since I'm on the mission, so you gotta work with me here, okay?"

"What are you talking about?"

She couldn't see under the hood, but she got the feeling she was missing something very obvious.

"I'm missing something here, aren't I?"

She could feel him nodding.

"If I help you, will you explain it to me? Please?"

This time, the nod was more hesitant, but once Lily felt him nod once more, she grabbed a stack of the articles and threw them into the air like confetti.

A male voice, that sounded a lot like the voice that shouted Fabian to drop the article, cried into the momentarily still air, the quiet before the storm.

"Down with the murdering government!"

"DOWN WITH THE MURDERING GOVERNMENT!"

"Are we going to let criminals make our laws?"

"DOWN WITH THE MURDERING GOVERNMENT!"

"WHO'S GOING TO PROTECT US, IF WE DON'T PROTECT US!"

"DOWN WITH THE MURDERING GOVERNMENT!"

"TO THE MINISTRY!"

"TO THE MINISTRY!"

The crowd gave a unanimous cry of revolt before moving down the main street of Diagon Alley, towards the entrance of the ministry.

"Oh my god," Lily whispered as the large crowd moved unanimously towards their government headquarters. "Did I just help start a revolution?"

"Definitely," she could hear the grin in Fabian's voice. "Nice work, kid. You should consider joining us."

"Joining you? This could start an all-out war in this country! Historically a war between civilians versus the government rarely ends without bloodshed."

"But don't you see? This will finally get people to see the truth, the reality that has been happening for a long time. The war has already happened, it was just in secret. Now people will be moved to do something about it."

Lily opened her mouth to argue but bit her tongue. She knew she tended to be idealistic. She knew that people were already dying, and the war was already happening, but why did this feel wrong? It felt… staged. Like they were pushing people to the gallows on purpose to distract people from the real fight going somewhere else.

She opened the article and read it from beginning to end, trying not to get too swept up by the hooks and the gasp-factors, but at the facts and the details. It had the smell of Hermione Evans reeking everywhere. Lily couldn't explain it. She couldn't prove it, but she knew.

"Woah!" Fabian yelped when he felt the pointy end of her wand pushing against his back.

"Start explaining, now," Lily threatened.

He didn't answer right away, which made Lily push her wand more painfully into his back, just in case his hesitation stemmed from the idea that he thought she didn't have what it took to hex him right then and there.

"Let me land. We have about 10 minutes before the front of this crowd reaches the Ministry. 10 minutes. That's all you get. I can't spare you any more than that, no matter how curious you are, so ask good questions."

Lily gave him a firm nod while retracting her wand. Her regular customer found a flat rooftop that they could land safely on. The second their feet touched the ground, Lily bombarded him with questions.

"Who are you, really?"

"Fabian Prewett, really."

"Who do you work for?"

"My brother and I both work at Gringott's."

"As curse-breakers?"

"No, I'm an advisor while Gideon is in trade relations."

"You don't come to Leaky Cauldron just because you happen to be in Diagon Alley when I'm working, do you?"

Finally, that was the question that seemed to invoke a genuine reaction out of him.

"No."

"Why are you there?"

"To keep an eye out."

"For what?" His expression returned to the same nonchalant expression as before. She was getting colder from the real answers she desired.

"For sketchy people."

"Who ordered you to keep an eye out for these… sketchy people?"

"Professor Dumbledore."

Lily blinked. That had not been the response she had anticipated. For some reason, she believed that Hermione would have been behind all of this.

"Why?"

"He seems to think that you are in danger."

"Why?" She repeated.

"Because you probably are, little miss Gryffindor."

"What do you mean?"

"You are engaged to a high-profile Muggleborn sympathizing Pureblood family. You live with a high profile Muggleborn sympathizing outcasted Black. And finally, your sister is a wanted missing suspect in your family's murder. Need I say more?"

"I'm in danger?" Lily suddenly felt a chill go down her spine, as though someone was watching her from afar.

"No, we've been following you since the summer started. Other than a few perverted creeps, no one has been following you."

"We? Who's we?"

"That is classified information. I cannot tell you."

Lily sighed, frustrated that she had come closer to the truth, yet still had no clue what was going on.

"So Dumbledore is your superior. You follow his orders."

"Yes."

"And the headmaster ordered you to follow me."

"For your protection, yes."

"Does he know where my sister is?"

"I don't know anything about your sister other than the fact that she's missing and that her name is Hermione Evans."

Lily sighed, she had been hoping that Hermione had at least told the Headmaster about where she was going before she disappeared, but it was starting to become more and more obvious to her that she was speaking to a mere foot soldier who knew nothing of the higher-up's decisions and intel. Even if Dumbledore did know of Hermione's whereabouts, Fabian knew nothing of it.

"These articles, are they your doing?"

"Not mine, no."

"Your people's doing?"

"I don't think so."

Lily's eyes twitched at the evasive answer, "What do you mean, you don't think so?"

"As far as I know. We didn't write it. All we're doing is spreading it."

"In hopes of what?"

"That the country makes a stand. That people band together and fight the corruption of the Ministry."

Lily shook her head with disbelief. It wasn't that she thought Fabian was a liar. In fact, she was pretty sure that he was being entirely truthful with her for some reason. However, just because Fabian believed his words to be the whole truth didn't mean that it actually was. He simply wasn't high enough on the line of command of whatever group he was a part of to be privy to such confidential information.

Hermione had to be involved. She could feel it in her bones.

Lily dropped the clothes she had been holding for James and his family.

Sorry, James. She thought to herself as she reached her hand out and shouted 'Up!'. The broom flew up to her hand and she pushed it into Fabian's chest.

His eyes widened with a slight grin, "What's this?"

"Don't we have a revolution to finish?"

…

The Lestrange Estate was not a place Hermione had visited in her past. Disillusioned and armed with a mountain of other spells to prevent her detection, she walked silently through the estate in horrified interest. It was beautiful, like all other rich Pureblood homes. It was lavishly decorated with riches, finery and details that marked every corner of the house. Brilliant stained glass windows shined above them tinting the rooms and foyer with red and blue. But the closer she looked the more grotesque the details were. There were depictions of divine punishment everywhere she looked like she stepped into Dante's Inferno, not a home where people and children grew up.

According to the boys, the estate used to be a large Catholic church before the protestants took it, and then eventually the Lestranges attained it through uncertain means.

The millions of details all felt like they were drilling holes into her with their eyes, following her every move despite being as inconspicuous and undetectable as one could be without an Invisibility Cloak like Harry's.

"Hey," Regulus whispered, his eyes searching for her in the dark. "You there?"

Hermione gently tugged his robe.

"The dungeons should be down the corridor on the right, down the winding steps. There are three levels of dungeons here. I'm not sure which one Sirius is in. It's practically a labyrinth down there."

She tugged his robe twice to let him know she understood. As she took her silent steps away, she could hear his heart racing with her Animagus ears.

"Save him. Good luck." He whispered before walking away.

He was going to be Initiated today, he and Avery, along with the other boys whose initiations were delayed due to her interruption last summer. None of them knew what to expect for the Initiation test.

She pushed into his mind with Legilimency one last time to see his barriers were strong and stable. She nodded with satisfaction at his endurance of her assault. He gave a blank smile in the general direction to the corridor she was supposed to go down, thinking she was there.

"Thanks."

He walked away, leaving Hermione to her own devices. She had the mind to go down to the dungeon right away to find Sirius, but she didn't know if she had the heart to see him in the state she assumed he'd be. She didn't know if she was strong enough to stand there in silence waiting for her signal to let him loose, so she opted for ignorance for a little bit longer.

She checked the escape route that the boys had mentioned. It wasn't so much an escape route, but a servant's entrance and exit. It would be less manned by the Death Eaters once shit hit the fan. According to the boys it led out to the side of the Estate and connected to a forest in about 100 yards. Once Sirius hit the forest he'd have to run around 3 km to reach the end of the Lestrange lands and safely apparate to the Potter's.

He'd be safe and she'd return to the estate to save Avery and his parents. She'd likely never see Sirius again…

There were footsteps at the bottom of the staircase. Hermione looked down to see Dolohov walking up the stairs. His crooked face looked around the second floor, probably hearing the whispers exchanged between her and Regulus.

"Where is that boy? Where did he go?! Who was he talking to?" He asked aloud.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared right at her.

"Well?"

Hermione remained frozen.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that, young man! I am your great great uncle!" A portrait scoffed behind her.

She resisted the urge to let out a sigh of relief. For a moment she seriously doubted her disillusionment charm and had the instinct to look down at her own body, which would have exposed her for certain.

"You useless fucking portrait! What the fuck is the point of you being hung here if you don't know anything!"

"How else would you have known about that mudblood and that Black boy if I hadn't told you?"

"I knew about them! I saw them at the bloody Yule Ball!"

"Bah!" The portrait waved his argument off. "How would you know to pressure the young Avery boy if I hadn't told you about his obvious mutterings?"

Dolohov simply rolled his eyes, "And the younger Black? He was just here, wasn't he?"

"He was here," the ancestor nodded. "The old crazy in his family line popping up in that young one though," he tsked.

"What do you mean?"

"He was talking to himself."

"What did he say?"

"I couldn't hear him, he was whispering. I only heard one word; dungeon."

"Did you just say, dungeon? As in the location of his older brother right now?"

Hermione could see the dots connecting in his head, "Let it go, Dolohov. Stop turning your bloody pea-sized brain you twat." Her finger twitched on her wand to stun him and lock him up right next to Sirius's cell.

"Wait," Harry placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Wait. Regulus said it was like a Labyrinth down there. We can use this."

"I've got to go." Dolohov rushed towards the basement.

"Follow him, Hermione."

She knew he was right. She knew she should follow him, but she didn't want to see Sirius right now. She looked down at her invisible body but knew what the Disillusionment Charm was hiding. She was so thin, no longer even a boyish figure, just skin on bones. Her hair was like straw, brittle and coarse. She couldn't see him like this.

"You're worried he won't love you anymore?" Harry asked as he watched Dolohov turn the corner. "Because you look the way you look, you think he won't love you anymore?"

"Am I being silly? He won't even be able to see me."

Harry laughed nodding. "But even if he could, I don't think you have to worry. Sirius loves you."

Hermione gave her best friend a small smile as she pushed away her frivolous vanity and her useless insecurities. There were things far more important than what her estranged boyfriend thought of her appearance while she was invisible. She shook her head at her ridiculousness as she followed Dolohov down to the dungeons.

Like any proper dungeon, it was cold, damp and dark. She didn't even have arthritis in this body, but she could feel her knees and joints feeling heavy and achy in the environment. Perhaps it was the old body of Hermione Granger that was giving her the phantom pain from arthritis she gained from her torture by Bellatrix.

The longer they walked, the more Hermione realized that Regulus was right. This place was a labyrinth. There were corridors and corridors of cells, some lit, but most not, and the ones that were lit were sometimes false routes. Even Dolohov seemed to get lost as he made a few wrong turns, forcing him to turn around and nearly bump into Hermione. They were travelling down to the third floor of the dungeons, but it wasn't a straight path down through one continuous staircase. The stairs that led down to the lower floors were hidden in the ominous dark corridors or through narrow spaces that almost felt like it wasn't for humans.

The perverted Death Eater has keen senses, she had to admit. There were several times when he stopped and looked around, as though he could sense something was amiss. Perhaps if he was searching for a nearly perfect Disillusionment charm he might have been able to see her, but despite her previous displays of tremendous magical abilities, these radical Purebloods always underestimated her. Although if they were able to change their minds and their programming so easily about muggleborns such as herself, they probably wouldn't be following a murderous cult leader.

Hermione managed to distract herself as followed Dolohov down deeper and deeper into the dungeons by trying to memorize the path, keep herself from stepping on any puddles in the very dimly lit and narrow pathways, and plan more backup escapes in case the ones she made previously failed. However, she could stop her racing heart as she felt herself getting nearer and nearer to Sirius's cell.

They were 5 levels into the basement. She was starting to understand the layout of the dungeons. Whatever this estate was for in the past, it wasn't just a church. The extensive dungeons clued her in that this was where 'sinners' were brought for punishment by the church's morality warriors. The upper levels had larger and cleaner cells that had lights, probably for minor offenders or richer and blue-blooded patrons who needed a Godly reminder of their duties versus 'major' and more 'serious' offenders such as…witches.

"Up you get, Black." Dolohov whacked his wand against the metal bars of a nearby cell, the clang rang and echoed everywhere.

She felt breathless as she slowly peeked around the corner to see a beaten young man hung up and shackled to a medieval contraption. She nearly gasped out loud, exposing herself at the sight of Sirius, who barely had enough strength in his legs to stand up straight, let alone have enough energy to give his usual snarky remarks.

Exhausted eyes peeled open to look at Dolohov, but it was the lack of the usual glimmer in his stormy orbs that made Hermione want to cry. He was scarily pale and sweating despite the cold damp cell he was in. It was clear that he was running a serious fever. She scanned his body for any injuries that might be festering, but she couldn't see anything, which meant he was either injured internally or he was sick with something much nastier than an average cold. His hair was matted in sweat, old crusting blood, and what seemed to be food. She looked down at the floor to see rotten food, but seeing how skinny Sirius had gotten, it was clear that the food there wasn't meant for him to eat.

Dolohov unlocked the cell and made it look like he was circling him but closely inspected every corner of the small space with an overly cautious eye.

"I see you've had some visitors," he glanced at the floor with a smirk. "My my isn't your pretty face a wreck."

Sirius simply stared.

"Where's that smart mouth of yours?"

"Go… to hell."

"Don't you know little Black, that hell is empty, and all the devils are here?"

"Don't fucking quote a muggle playwright to me you fucking hypocrite."

Dolohov laughed, "I have to admit, muggles have the upper hand when it comes to the arts. Maybe it's because they have a short life or their lack of magic makes them want to create in some other way," he grazed his finger on the pillory. "Some might call torture a type of art too, you know. Magic makes things too simple, and too quick. Muggles knew how to prolong the agony."

Sirius, even in all his plight, managed to roll his eyes at the man next to him.

Dolohov didn't appreciate this and retaliated by grabbing Sirius by the hair and yanking it back.

"I can't wait to see you breathe your last breath, Black, because no one is going to come and save you. No one cares."

Dolohov smirked and walked out, leaving Hermione to stand in the distance watching Sirius's laboured breathing.

She wanted to run to him, hug him and kiss him. Heal him and get him the fuck out of here. Take him far away so that he will never face anything like this ever again. Save him. Love him completely without any hesitations or trepidations. Love him the way she wanted, and the way he deserved.

"Hermione."

Her heart froze once more. He couldn't know she was here. There was no way he could know she was here. Her presence was hidden, he couldn't see her, hear her, or even smell her. There was simply no way…

"Hermione, don't come here. Whatever you do. Don't come here. Don't save me."

"Oh Sirius…" Hermione internally sighed. Her sweet sweet puppy. He wasn't calling her, he was praying. Praying that she wouldn't come to save him because he didn't have a single doubt in his mind that she would. She wasn't sure that there was anyone else in this timeline who trusted her as much as he did.

"Please, whatever you do, don't come here."

"Too late." Hermione turned around and walked away.

…

"WE WANT ACCOUNTABILITY! DOWN WITH THE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT!"

Lily had never shouted so much in her life as she marched with the crowd in the Atrium. She loved it and found it exhilarating. She was tired of being on the sidelines of this bloody war, and finally, she felt like she was doing something worthwhile, something that might make a difference.

"WE WANT THE TRUTH!" Fabian shouted next to her. "You're pretty good at this little lady." He shouted, more quietly by her ear.

Lily smirked as she angrily shouted at the Ministry's Aurors who stood guard at the Atrium, preventing the crowd from moving further in.

The fuel that fired the crowd burned strong, but Lily logically knew that it couldn't last forever. Everyone would tire out, people would start going home, and live their lives once more. When this rage finally cooled slightly, the Ministry would send out a half-arsed apology and a 'promise' to do better, making a show to demote or fire the people involved, and that would be that.

It wasn't enough.

There was a rage that burned through her that she didn't know truly existed until she stood here today with everyone. A rage that had been brewing since she was little, since the first time someone called her a mudblood, looked down at her, underestimated her, or gave her that condescending look when she walked around this bloody ministry dreaming of a career amongst the so-called 'Pure'.

She thought she had brushed it off, she thought she was working hard enough to prove herself worthy of her place in this world and of the magic she was born with. However, it was clear from the disgusted look on those new Aurors' faces that none of her efforts had made even the slightest dent.

It was now less than a full hour into the protest, the rally cries were more organized, and some of the more natural leaders had taken the stand and amplified their voices to rally the majority. However, the lull in the movement seemed to be more and more noticeable by others as well.

"We need to push forward." She heard someone urge near her. It wasn't the first time she heard it either. Fabian and she shared a nervous glance. If the crowd pushed forward, it would no longer be a peaceful protest it would turn into a mob which would legally allow the Aurors to use force, and Lily had the feeling that the force they'd use was not limited to simple stunners.

"WE WANT ACCOUNTABILITY! DOWN WITH THE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT!"

"FUCK YOU! YOU RUINED MY DAUGHTER'S LIFE! FUCK ALL OF YOU?!"

"Yeah! Fuck you! Where's my brother?! He came to the Ministry to volunteer and he's been missing for months?! Where's my brother?"

"Rahhhhh!" The man who shouted about his daughter rushed forward, wand in the air, breaking from the crowd. As if this was the trigger everyone had been waiting for, the crowd echoed his angry roar and pushed forward against the line of Aurors.

"Avada Kedavra."

The father of the daughter whose life was ruined flew back as the green curse hit him square on the chest.

There was a stifling silence as though the air had disappeared from the whole Atrium. The whole crowd watched as the man's body dropped painfully to the floor, dead as soon as that jet of green light hit him.

"URAGHHHHHHHHHHH!"