Another Alley

Why? Because it puts me at risk? Because I'm not spouting off visions all day? What about me makes it impossible?" Hermione asked tartly. Remus shook his head again.

"He's afraid for your safety," James said quietly. "He considers you part of his pack."

"Do you really?" Hermione asked, shocked. He nodded and blushed. Hermione moved forward and hugged him. "I think that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said about me."

"I say nice things about you," Sirius grumbled, and Hermione immediately went to him and touched her fingertips to his cheek.

"You do," she agreed. "But a werewolf's pack is his family—more than family, really. Or at least more than what humans usually consider family. It's…it's a great honor, Remus, thank you."

"So, you Saw Peter?" Remus asked haltingly. He felt horrible for asking, but he had to know. Hermione looked deep into his eyes and it was like staring straight into an abyss. He shivered involuntarily and automatically took a step back from her.

"I did," she murmured softly. "I Saw him prove himself. Call it an initiation if you like. There were children, Remus, pups. He helped to slaughter them like they were nothing."

"Sweet Circe," he breathed, his face pale and disturbed. He swallowed down the bile that was rising in his throat and shook his head. Peter, their friend, the boy they had known and hung out with and shared a dorm room with was gone forever. It would have been better if he'd died rather than sacrifice his soul like this.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could have spared you," Hermione said contritely, and Remus knew that she spoke the truth. Her grief was palpable. He shook his head.

"It's not your fault, Hermione. You're not the one with a bloody Dark Mark on his arm," Remus ground out. Hermione flinched as if he'd struck her, and she looked at Lily with guilty eyes.

"No," she whispered. "I'm not."

HP/HG/HP

On the full moon, James, Sirius and Remus did not argue with Hermione when she told them she wanted to stay in. Even if she was in the castle with Pettigrew, he couldn't get up to the girls' dormitory so they felt safe leaving her with Lily. As soon as she saw the fleeting form of her brother bounding across the lawn, with Padfoot chasing Moony in circles, Lily and Hermione slipped out of the girls' dormitory under a disillusionment charm. They waited carefully until someone else left, and they slipped out behind them. The two young women hurried quickly through the halls until they reached the seventh floor. When they entered the room of requirement, he was already there. His back was to them, and he was looking out a window that the room had provided for him. He turned when they entered, but he couldn't look at either of them. Hermione flew across the room and the impact of her small body against him almost knocked him to the floor.

"Oh, Severus!" She wailed and began crying all over his black robes. He stood there stiffly staring from the weeping girl in his arms to Lily who was watching him with an inscrutable face. He began to pat her awkwardly, stroking her curls and murmuring to her. Lily moved closer to him, her normally expressive green eyes flat and hard.

"Lily," he whispered, his eyes agonized, heartbroken. Lily glared at him.

"She could have died, Severus," Lily said coldly. "If I hadn't known the counter curse, she would have."

"I know," he whispered, pain flickering across his face. Hermione pulled back and stared up at him.

"I didn't die," Hermione said firmly. "Death is something that both of you must accept right now. I'm a Seer, and we're trying to overthrow You-know-who. I could be found out and killed tonight or tomorrow. My life will be forfeit as soon as he knows. Do not even think about blaming one another when that happens."

"But Hermione," Lily railed. "He should never have used sectumsempra! He could just have easily killed James!"

He knows that," Hermione said flatly. "He made a mistake, and he's learned his lesson. Ultimately, his mistake has helped us. Voldemort trusts him now."

"That is true enough," Severus muttered. Hermione held onto him tightly.

"Oh, I've missed you," she said sadly. Severus sighed and leaned into her hug.

"I've missed you, too. Congratulations," he murmured into her hair. She pulled back and raised a brow at him.

"No quips about my intended? No tart comments?" Hermione teased him. He shook his head.

"No. Black will take care of you. He is possibly one of the only people I'd trust, aside from Lucius, to keep you safe," Severus said honestly. Hermione snorted.

"I don't think I'll share that with Sirius. I doubt he'd care to be compared to Lucius, in any capacity," Hermione said dryly.

"Most likely not," Severus snorted in amusement. They both turned to Lily who still looked angry.

"I was so afraid," she confessed quietly, her green eyes filling rapidly with tears.

"I was, too," Severus muttered, his sallow face tightening. "I've never been more afraid than at that moment."

"Severus, this is all so dangerous," Lily whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks. This was too much to ask of him, he was just a boy. He hadn't even graduated from Hogwarts yet. "This is too much to ask of you."

"The alternative is not acceptable," Hermione's voice cracked across the room like a whip. "If Severus and Lucius and Regulus do not do this…thousands die, Lily."

"You mean James dies," Lily snapped unthinkingly in anger.

"I mean you die!" Hermione hissed, and then clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide. Severus and Lily stared at her, stunned.

"Are you making him do this to save me?" Lily demanded. She turned to Severus. "I don't want you to do this anymore. It's not worth it. I'm not worth it. All of you could die, or worse."

"How many?" Severus asked quietly. Hermione shook her head.

"No one knows, it's impossible to count all of them," Hermione whispered. Severus brooded for a moment.

"Who?" He asked quietly. Hermione shook her head.

"I don't understand," she whispered.

"Who have you Seen die?" He asked patiently. Tears slipped down her cheeks.

"I can't tell you that," she said softly. Severus glared at her.

"Who?" He demanded.

"You," She whispered, "Sirius, Remus, James, Lily, Regulus, Dumbledore, my parents, Lily's parents. People that you don't know yet, but will. Children. Parents. Elders. Even Pettigrew dies, in the end."

"Merlin's beard, Hermione," Lily whispered, her face deathly pale. "What kind of a monster is he?"

"One that we're going to destroy before he can destroy our world," Severus said firmly, his eyes on Hermione's devastated face.

"You can't tell anyone what I've said," Hermione said firmly. "This falls under the oaths you've sworn to me. This is dangerous knowledge. People start to think that their lives don't matter because they're already dead. Or people take foolish risks because they were told that they lived. We're changing everything. The future is fluid, and we all must be very, very careful."

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Lily said quietly. She was consumed with guilt for thinking badly of her blood sister. Hermione shook her head impatiently.

"We can't doubt one another, Lily. If we begin to doubt each other, everything falls apart. Our strength is in our love for one another, and our faith in one another. We can't doubt that. Ever," Hermione said passionately. Severus and Lily nodded solemnly.

"I won't Hermione, I promise," Lily whispered.

HP/HG/HP

It was perhaps a week or two after that that Hermione was deep in the stacks of the library's restricted section looking for information on spontaneous, or natural, bonds. She'd found a fascinating volume and was reading it avidly, soaking up the information when she heard several petulant voices conversing in sly whispers. She looked up from her book and listened quietly.

"So she's gotta be pregnant or something, right?" said one of the voices. "I mean, who gets engaged in school?"

"Right, and I mean, why would Sirius Black want to get married while he's still in school? It's just crazy!" agreed another voice.

The voices continued saying more and more horrible things about Hermione. All the blood had drained from her face and she listened to them almost against her will. It was as though she couldn't stop listening to them. They eventually faded away, as the girls moved away from where she was standing, and Hermione stood there for an untold amount of time, clutching the book on natural bonds. She sank to her knees in the restricted section and cried, silently. She rocked by herself and the tears slid down her cheeks unchecked. The cap to her day was walking down the hall and finding a muggleborn Hufflepuff trying to proposition Sirius.

"You may have to marry her, but that doesn't mean you still can't have fun," the girl was saying. Sirius stared at her as though she were crazy.

"What do you mean, I have to marry her? I want to marry her, that's what all the betrothal gifts are for," he said in confusion edging away from her.

"But…why would you want to get married while you're in school?" The girl asked, confused. Sirius looked at her as though she were daft.

"I think perhaps you're confused about wizarding customs," he murmured as politely as possible, and tried to escape again.

"Sirius, wait," the girl tried one last time, but by this time Hermione had reached them, and she was livid.

"Do not touch him," she hissed at the Hufflepuff girl. "He is mine."

"I've heard about how you trapped him into marriage," the Hufflepuff girl sneered at her. "I don't think that's very nice of you, or very fair."

Hermione laughed at her, and tossed her wild curls over her shoulder. The laugh was brittle, and Sirius—who knew her very well—could tell that she was emotionally upset. She took a step toward the other girl, and her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You don't know anything at all, you stupid girl," Hermione said coldly, "a wizarding betrothal contract usually takes four years to culminate in a marriage. It would be incredibly stupid of me to get pregnant now. That contract is so air-tight legally that it is almost impossible to break. He is mine. If I catch you near him again, you'll wish you'd never met him. Feel free to pass that along."

Hermione grabbed Sirius' hand, and dragged him along behind her. He followed her willingly, his heart pounding in his chest. He is mine. Maybe such words shouldn't make him so giddy, so happy, but they did. They were headed to the seventh floor, and he wasn't sure why, but he knew the Hermione was upset, so he let her drag him along. When she started pacing in front of the wall, he started to worry about her, but when a door appeared and she opened it and shoved him into a room he was flummoxed.

"Hermione?" He asked cautiously, looking around him in wonder. They were in a room that looked like a lounge, or a study. It had a fireplace and comfortable couches, and a bookcase or two. "Where are we?"

"Where I needed to be right now," she murmured before flinging herself at him. He held her tightly against him and buried his face in her hair. He kissed her temple, and stroked her back. She pulled back from him and began undoing his robes.

"Er, Hermione?" He said faintly, staring at her. She blinked up at him, and kept unbuttoning his shirt. His heart was racing in his chest, and he felt a jittery nervousness overtake him.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing," he whispered, watching her nimble fingers pull his outer robes and his shirt off of him until he was standing in front of her with his torso bare.

This," she said simply, and she put her hands on his chest, with her palms spread wide. Runes appeared on his upper chest, and they seemed to be arranged in a specific pattern. In the center of his chest was an ancient symbol that he recognized as a magical sigil for Sirius the constellation. He felt a goofy grin slide onto his face and refuse to go away. She glanced up at him and frowned slightly. "What is it?"

"You marked me," he murmured, staring at his chest. She frowned a little more.

"Well they won't leave you alone," she muttered at him.

He pulled her against his bare chest and kissed her. It was different from the other kisses they'd shared so far. This one was a little wild, a little unrestrained, but Hermione kissed him back enthusiastically. She bit his lower lip, and he groaned into her mouth. She pushed him back until the couch hit the back of his knees. He fell onto it, and Hermione straddled his lap, and continued to kiss him. The feel of her body pressed against him like this made him ache. He wound his hands into her curls and gave himself up the scent of jasmine and taste of her lips on his. She was kissing down his neck, and he was enjoying her doing so when she bit him. He squirmed against her. It wasn't that he didn't like it, or that it was too painful, he actually liked biting and she was turning him on without even realizing it. If any other girl had done that, he would have perceived it as an invitation to toss her on her back and make her mindless with pleasure, but this wasn't any other girl. This was Hermione. He struggled for control and tried to tamp down the desire that threatened to take over.

"Kitten," he panted into her hair when she bit him again. "Please, you can't do that."

She pulled back with a pout on her full lips, but when she saw his face she blushed. He was staring at her with dark, lust-filled eyes—his cheeks were flushed and his lips looked swollen, especially his lower lip. The heat from his gaze made her want to melt against him. It was incredibly sexy-looking, and she had to remind herself that she couldn't just ravish Sirius in the room of requirement.

"Sorry," she whispered. Then she looked at him hopefully. "Just one more?"

"One," he said in a slightly strained voice and she nodded.

She bit him one more time, a bit harder than before and he moaned and bucked against her. The hard heat of him pressing against her knickers made her shudder against him, and his hands slid up to her waist to move her. He was panting slightly and he wouldn't look at her, as he buttoned his shirt. Hermione knew he was embarrassed but she wasn't sure why.

"Sirius? Did I do something wrong?" she asked in a small voice, worry overtaking her. He whirled to face her, surprised.

"No, of course not! I just…I want to…," he took a deep breath, ran a hand through his hair, and sighed. "I want you to know that you're different, that you're special to me, but just now all I wanted to do was...not very gentlemanly."

"I see," she said huskily, and moved toward him to straighten his tie. He watched her warily, but when she was done all she did was kiss him on the nose. "I think I like the idea that you want me, and I like the idea that you want to make sure that I feel special. It's okay for you to want me; it's what you do with those feelings that makes the difference."

"What do you mean?" He asked cautiously as he slid into his outer robes. She tilted her head slightly.

"Well, are you going to shag me against a wall, and then forget my name later?" Hermione asked pointedly. He blushed and ducked his head.

"No," he muttered. Hermione kissed his cheek.

"Good puppy," she breathed in his ear, and turned toward the door.

"Hey," he protested. She turned back to him, one brow quirked.

"I considered putting a collar on you," she said bluntly. "But I figured that no one would get it, so I did the tattoo instead. You're mine, Sirius, and the sooner they understand that, the better off they'll be."

He followed her out of the room, grinning like an idiot.

HP/HG/HP

The Gryffindor common room was fairly quiet at the moment, and Lily was grateful for that because she really needed to work on her Charms essay. Remus was sitting at a small table with her and they were working in companionable silence. Every now and then Remus would glance toward the end of the room, where their former friend Peter sat, but then he'd turn his attention back to their work with a small frown on his face. Lily knew what was going on, she'd been there when Hermione had had her vision after all, but she knew that this was incredibly painful for the Marauders. They'd lost one of their own, and it was affecting each of them differently. Hermione came into the common room and moved immediately toward them. She sat down next to Lily and pulled out a book.

"Don't you want to work on your Charms essay?" Lily asked dryly. Hermione glanced at Lily's paper, and rolled her eyes.

"I've completed mine. It's sufficient," Hermione said firmly, and turned back to her book.

"You know, if you ever applied yourself, you'd beat Lily and me hands down," Remus observed quietly. Hermione shrugged, and turned a page.

"I'm a very busy person. I have a lot of responsibilities," Hermione said airily. Remus quirked a brow at her because, as far as he could tell, she was telling the absolute truth.

"Hermione Canopia Potter!" James was standing in the opening of the Fat Lady's picture and he made his way into the common room with every Gryffindor's eye on him. He looked absolutely furious, and he was clenching and unclenching his hands in rage. Hermione looked the very picture of innocence, sitting daintily on a couch with Lily with a book in her lap. He growled in irritation.

"Yes, Jamie?" She asked sweetly, looking up at him with wide, guileless eyes. He glared at her.

"Don't you Jamie me, Hermione Potter," he snapped at her. "What on earth possessed you?"