A/N: Thanks for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! Huge thanks to lanamarymack for alpha/beta reading this chapter. You can find me on tumblr where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions. Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-one soon!
Hermione felt as though she had a target on her back after her duel with Bernie. Regulus had promised her that she wouldn't face any repercussions from the Professors — Slytherins apparently handled things within their own house — but she wasn't naive enough to think that Bernie wouldn't try to do something to get back at her again. She wished that he would just leave well enough alone, but it seemed that Bernie hadn't learned his lesson the first time.
Or maybe the lesson had been so harsh, he could think of nothing but getting even?
As a result, she found herself with a new guard of rotating friends who always seemed to be hovering around her, when Regulus couldn't be with her. Rabastan would sometimes walk with her to her next class, even though she promised that she was capable enough of taking care of herself. If it wasn't one of them, one of the Slytherin girls would slot in next to her, keeping her company.
It was nice that so many people cared about her, but she needed a bit of space. She didn't want to be surrounded every waking moment of the day. She was capable, and she hoped that facing Bernie head on would have made that obvious enough.
That didn't mean that she was reckless when she did manage to slip her guard. Even though she wasn't afraid of Rosier, that didn't mean that she didn't find herself looking over her shoulder, imagining someone was following her.
Only, maybe someone was following her.
She caught a glimpse of black shaggy fur following her after Transfiguration one afternoon and she had to fight off her smile. It seemed that she had a new guard dog, namely one called Padfoot. She wasn't sure if Sirius was still suspicious of her or if he felt some need to look out for her (evidenced by the way he'd stood up for her in Hogsmeade), but it was slightly endearing. Didn't he remember that she was from the future and that she knew him? He wasn't fooling her with his little animagus disguise.
It had been far too long since they'd spoken last.
Making up her mind, Hermione tried to act as furtive as possible, willing him to keep following after her. Her feet knew the way to the Room of Requirement by heart at this point and she led Sirius there easily enough. When the door appeared, she slipped inside and made herself at home on one of the settees, lighting a fire in the fireplace.
It was not even fifteen seconds later that she heard the door stutter as Padfoot's furry body snuck inside.
Even with his sad, dog eyes, Hermione could tell how exasperated he was and bit her lower lip to stop from laughing at him. "Hello, Padfoot," she greeted him, feeling rather smug that she'd managed to trick the future Auror. "I'm so glad that you decided to join me."
The black dog stared at her for a moment, with his unusual human eyes, before he was transforming before her very eyes — back legs elongating and front legs coming to rest at his sides — until it was Sirius standing before her, looking vexed. "How did you know it was me?" he asked, looking at her suspiciously. "How did you know to call me that name?"
Hermione couldn't resist rolling her eyes at him. "I told you, Sirius. I know you from the future," she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I know that you and James and Peter all became illegal animagi to keep Remus company during the full moons."
He huffed, before he flopped down on the settee next to her, looking utterly defeated. "Could you at least have picked a better locale to hold this little conversation?" he asked, looking around the familiar haunt, surprised by its fidelity.
Again she smiled, though she did feel a little bit sheepish when she realized that she had asked for the Black family library at Grimmauld Place — a place that Sirius of her future made no secret that he hated. "I'm sorry, but it is very comforting for me," she explained. "I was amazed at how quickly it has become home. Plus, I've always loved a library and even you have to admit that your parents' library is amazing."
Sirius nodded, reluctantly. "You could spend many an afternoon getting lost in the shelves," he agreed with her, before turning to look at him. "Though, I don't think Orion and Walburga would be too happy to hear you call them my parents. I'm disowned. Surely they warned you about me?"
Hermione had spent a lot of time thinking about Sirius and his relationship with his parents. The thing that she was most surprised to learn during her time living with Orion and Walburga was just how keenly the loss of their eldest son was felt. It was patently clear to her that they did not hate him, no matter how much Sirius seemed to think it was true.
"I know that you won't believe me, but they do not wish to be estranged from you," she said, looking away from him, hoping to give him the space to react in peace. "I believe things were likely said in haste... things that your parents — our parents — wish that they could take back. They miss you very much."
When she finally felt brave enough to look at him, Sirius's face was something of a grimace — fighting with himself not to cry. But mostly, she could tell how much he longed to believe that what she said was true. "Not possible," he said, bitterly. "I'm a blood traitor. I'm not like the rest of the family."
Hermione shook her head, furiously. "You are still their son," she said, sure that she was right. "I do not claim that they have changed their ways... that — that they have suddenly decided that anyone less than pureblood is acceptable, but I think they can be convinced, at least, that Voldemort is not the right person to put their might behind."
Sirius had a visceral reaction to her casual use of the name Voldemort. He looked down into his lap, collecting himself for a few moments, before he looked up at her again. "So, if you are from the future — and I'm not saying that I believe you — then that means that You-Know-Who is still running around in your time?" he asked, hesitantly.
Now it was her turn to flinch. She forgot how quick on the uptake all these Blacks were. There was no getting little throw away details past Sirius or Regulus or Orion. "There is a period of time where people think that he is killed, that he's gone," she explained, slowly, considering her words very carefully. "But, he never went away. Not really. By my fourth year, he was back in truth."
She didn't want to reveal too many details to Sirius when she wasn't sure if he was going to believe her or not. She wanted to trust him, but she wasn't going to make herself too vulnerable just because it was Sirius. Really, the only reason that she was telling him so much in the first place was because he was Sirius — and despite how much she'd denied it at first, because they shared blood.
But really, she needed to start telling people about Voldemort's downfall. How had he managed to come back to life in the first place? Was there a way that they could stop him while he was still weak, finishing him off for good? Though, she supposed that she hoped that James and Lily wouldn't have to sacrifice themselves in order to take him down in the first place.
"Tell me more about your future," he demanded, suddenly on the edge of his seat, eager to hear everything that she had to share about it.
"We should renew our blood pact," she suggested. "I don't want anything that I share with you falling into the wrong hands. Imagine if it got back to Voldemort how he was felled in the first place."
Sirius scoffed, but he was already using his wand to make a new cut on his palm. "I wouldn't tell anyone who would share it with him," he promised.
Hermione repeated his actions and they made a quick oath to keep their words to themselves. "I don't think that you will very much like the future that I've come from," she said with a frown, knowing that a lot of the future events that she was going to share with him would be painful for him to hear.
"I'm strong enough, kitten," he said with a smirk.
She gave him a shy smile. "I never thought that I'd hear you call me 'kitten' again," she said. "You don't like me as much now as you did in the future."
"Yeah, well, maybe you aren't all bad," he said. "Though I am still reserving my ultimate judgment on you."
"As I already explained to you, you are the godfather of my best friend — a wizard called Harry Potter," she said, enjoying the look of wonder on his face. "We have been practically inseparable since our First Year at Hogwarts. He is known as the Boy-Who-Lived, as he is the only person known to have survived the Killing Curse."
Sirius was amazed at hearing that, but he was less enthused to learn the way that Harry had lived. She explained to him that both James and Lily died to protect their son, leaving him an orphan. "So then, I was left to raise him?" he asked, his large hands holding onto the sides of his head, tears in his eyes.
Hermione looked at him and sadly shook her head. "No, everyone thought that you had given them up to Voldemort," she said, sadly. "Everyone presumed that you were their Secret Keeper once they went under the Fidelus charm." She thought about telling him about Peter, but she knew that his trust in her was fragile. She didn't want to chance him not believing her if she told him something unpleasant about one of his friends. No, she could tell him later, when he knew her better.
"I would never," Sirius hissed.
She pressed a hand to his arm. "I know, Sirius," she told him sadly, before explaining that he'd been in Azkaban prison for over a decade, before he eventually escaped, using his animagus form. "You wanted Harry to live with you, then, but it was so complicated, you see? You were hidden away in Grimmauld Place, helping the Order of the Phoenix."
Finally, she explained how they'd been lured to the Department of Mysteries, where they fought against Death Eaters. "I know this won't be easy to hear, but..." she trailed off, tears swimming in her eyes. "You were killed by Bellatrix."
Sirius swore under his breath and reached over, giving her a squeeze to the hand. "And it was during this battle that you came back in time?" he asked.
"Yes," Hermione explained. "That was Bellatrix, too. I'd grabbed a time turner, hoping to go back to when we showed up at the Ministry, just a few hours. But she grabbed at it while I was trying to Floo back to Grimmauld Place and... well, that's how I found out I belonged to your family."
He looked at her curiously for a moment. "You must miss your future an awful lot," he said, in a surprising moment of compassion. "All your friends. You might never see them again. And now you have to spend all your time with Regulus."
"Hey! He's been a very lovely brother," Hermione said, feeling the need to defend him. "You thought so, too, in the future, though you were still estranged when he died."
Hearing that Regulus was dead in the future was another gut punch to Sirius. His head dropped back and he looked at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts. "This is far too elaborate to be a farce," he finally conceded to her. "But, I for one am going to make sure that the future you come from is not the same."
"Me either," Hermione agreed, conspiratorialy. "I want to make it better, for my friends and for... for our family."
"Don't you want to go back?" he asked.
She nodded. "Of course, I daydream about it often. I left in the middle of a battle! I have no idea what happened to Harry or the rest of them, after I left... what was the outcome? Is everyone else okay? Remus and Tonks and the Weasleys and... But, I also know that it's futile to try and go back."
"You should go to Dumbledore!" Sirius said, hopefully. "I am sure that he'd know how to get you back to your proper time. And... and hopefully I could have everything fixed for you by then."
Hermione looked at him wistfully. "I can't tell Dumbledore anything and neither can you," she said imperiously. "He doesn't trust me, on account of Father. I'm sure he'd try to have me committed to St. Mungo's. In any case, I broached the topic of forward time travel with him and he has assured me that it is impossible. Father thinks so, too. And Grandfather, I expect."
Sirius was deflated for a moment, but then he perked right back up. "Then, I suppose you'll just have to help me make the future a better place," he said, giving her a squeeze on her knee.
"I'd like that," Hermione agreed, thinking that it would be nice. "And, I hope, with time, you might be convinced to give our family a second chance. They really do miss you."
His laugh was the familiar barking one that Hermione remembered from the future and she felt like a vise was tightening around her heart. "One thing at a time, kitten," he warned her.