"So, where exactly does this lead?"
Remus shined his Lumos around the tunnel, eyes wide with wonder as Hermione took a tight grip of his hand. They had passed through the portrait entrance in the Room of Requirement a few minutes before, and were walking through the narrow passage towards Hogsmeade,
"This will lead us straight into the Hogs Head Tavern," Hermione said, sniffling as she pushed some dark hair behind her ear, "I have a contact there who has information for me,"
"You are full of surprises, Black. Or should I say Granger?"
Remus chuckled deeply as Hermione bristled, a flush rising up onto her neck. Remus was breathing so close to her, as the tunnel was so narrow. Releasing her hand from the werewolves, Hermione nodded at another portrait hole which they had come upon,
"It's through here," she stated, "do try and behave, won't you?"
"I'll do my best," Remus stated, stepping back as the door swung open and Hermione scrambled out into the bedroom she had used a few days before. Remus followed close to her, looking around as the door opened and Aberforth appeared,
"I knew you couldn' hold it in fer long," he said, shooting down a shot of whisky, "care for a shot?"
"No sir, were both underage," Remus stated, only to grunt as Hermione smacked his chest with the back of her hand,
"Don't put words in my mouth, Lupin. Firewhiskey, please, Aberforth,"
"Aye, always knew you were a good sort, 'ermione. Bottoms up,"
Hermione smiled and took the shot with little hesitation, smirking as Remus stared at her slightly. Giving the empty glass to Quitz whom had appeared beside her, Hermione motioned to Remus with a smile,
"Aberforth, meet Remus Lupin. I trust him fully and completely, as he already knows...everything,"
"Ah," Aberforth grunted, waving his wand to throw up silencing and privacy charms, "well it's best if we sit down fer this part. Might be a tad shocking,"
Hermione and Remus both nodded in agreement, taking a seat on the nearby sofa opposite the bed in the room. Summoning a blaze to the hearth, Aberforth sank down into a chair, but sat forward on his knees.
'Something's happened,' Hermione thought, her heart stuttering in nervousness. Surely Aberforth protected his mind from the probes of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters? They didn't know who she was?!
"I believe Voldemort is once again on the move. Faster then before..."
"So what do yo need me for?" Hermione questioned, taking the cup of tea Quitz was offering to her,
"Voldemort is gettin' closer to Hogwarts,"
A stiff silence fell over the room as Hermione inhaled sharply, clutching her tea as if her life depended on it. She looked at Aberforth, clenching her jaw in anger,
"Certainly...certainly you didn't report me? I trusted you-"
"Naw! I wouldn' give nothin to them filthy Death Eaters, not even if my life depended on it. Don't think yer' friend over there would neither,"
Aberforth motioned to Remus, who choked slightly on his tea at being mentioned. Hermione chuckled, before her somber mood slipped back into place,
"So why is he coming to Hogwarts, then? He can't possibly know if we didn't tell anyone,"
Aberforth sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he swirled another small cup of whisky in a hand,
"Information gets around quick these days," he breathed, "'ermiome, I don't think he knows what's goin' on, only that somethin's different. And if He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named doesn't known somethin', he gets antsy,"
"Ain't that the truth," Hermione mumbled, "so what do we do?"
"What can we do?" Remus questioned, speaking up for the first time since the beginning of the conversation, "Lily said it right this morning, we're just students. Certainly Dumbledore has...wards or something to protect us?"
"Wait," Hermione breathed, eyes widening as she turned to Aberforth, "has Dumbledore started the Order of the Phoenix yet?"
"Eh...I'm not entire sure what Albus is up to these days," Aberforth mumbled, "he told me bout something he was planning after stoppin' by a few years back. Haven't seen 'im since then,"
"In my time, Harry started up a defense club called Dumbledore's Army. It taught Advanced technical and defensive spells which younger students wouldn't learn till their last few years at Hogwarts,"
"So you want to start a club?" Remus questioned, "but what about all the teachers, and the Slytherins? No doubt they'll all go running to mummy and daddy about what's going on,"
"It won't be just us. Where I come from, Professor Dumbledore is the main founder of a group called the Order of the Phoenix. It's an army to parallel the Death Eaters,"
Aberforth made a noise of acceptance in his throat as he nodded in contemplation,
'He may drink a lot,' Hermione thought with a crooked smile, 'but Aberforth is as smart as Dumbledore,'
"No one other then the Ministry is standin' between He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named an' the Magical World. Slimy rat already 'as many higher up's under his thumb to control,"
Hermione turned to Remus, absolutely glowing with pride,
"Once a new, stronger force steps between Voldemort and his power over the Ministry, he'll be shaking in his boots. We may not be able to destroy him, but we can certainly stonewall his efforts at absolute control,"
Remus nodded slowly, but his thin lips twisted into some form of a concerned, half grimace,
"But Hermione, what about the timeline? Wouldn't this...you know..."
"Certainly," Hermione stated, sipping on her tea which she had reheated quickly, "but if I'm being perfectly honest, I'm not living in my own world anymore. The war was almost lost the first time around; I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen again. There are so many lives I can save now that I have the chance,"
Remus huffed and nodded, reaching out and taking Hermione's hand and kissing it gently,
"You really are the brightest witch of your age," he stated, causing a blush to appear on Hermione's cheeks. Just then, there was a tapping on the outside window. Startled, Hermione quickly removed her Wand from inside her sleeve, seeing a swan sized creature flapping just outside the raven. Knitting her brows, Hermione allowed the Phoenix to enter the room and take perch on the back of a wooden chair,
"Fawkes," Hermione mumbled, stroking the birds feathers as it gently trilled in pleasure,
"What a bird," Aberforth mumbled, recasting the privacy charm on the window as he stood, "you must've call 'im with yer loyalty,"
"I thought he only responded to Dumbledore?"
Aberforth shook his head, pushing a shot of whisky into Remus' hands as the boy lifted a lip but drank it anyway,
"Naw, the Phoenix responds to pure loyalty and courage. Not jus' to my dingus brother, but to the magical world as a whole. Ye must have had pure intentions, even more so then Albus,"
"You mean Fawkes is..."
"Yer' familiar? Naw, Phoenix's don't bond to one particular person, not even Albus. But yer must be a very special witch fer him to come to you like that,"
Smiling slightly, Hermione felt Remus come up from behind her as he observed the bird with keen interest, bowing his head ever so slightly as the boy reached out to touch his feathers,
"I need to send a letter to Professor Dumbledore, Fawkes. Do you think you can deliver it for me?"
The Phoenix nodded lightly as Hermione summoned a parchment and quill, rapidly scratching a note asking for a private meeting the next morning. Rolling it up, Hermione handed it to Fawkes, who took it and burst in a cloud of flame. Coughing slightly at the ash floating about the air, Hermione smiled,
'At least he knows how to make a grand exit,'
"'Ermione, there's one more thing I want to say," Aberforth mumbled, a deep frown creasing his elderly features. Sensing this wasn't good news, Hermione sunk down to sit on the couch again, Remus holding a hand on her shoulder protectively,
"I think ye should start lookin' for a mole at Hogwarts. I know there's plenty of 'em round, but someone had to have told Voldemort somthin' strange was goin' on,"
"I understand Aberforth," Hermione mumbled, standing and embracing the man who patted her back like a grandfather would, "thank you for the warning. We'll be more alert from now on,"
"Aight' you both should be heading back to school, before someone starts gettin' suspicious of yer activities. It was a pleasure meetin' you Mr. Lupin. Take care of 'ermione,"
"I will sir," Remus said, shaking the man's hand firmly. Waving slightly, both Hermione and Remus crawled through the portrait, beginning the long walk through the dark tunnel to Hogwarts.
"A mole in Hogwarts," Remus finally said, emerging back into the side hallway of the castle as he assisted Hermione out with a hand, "who do you think it is?"
"I'm not entirely sure. But we should be more vigilant from now on,"
Hermione winced at her own lie. She knew of several candidates who could be the mole. Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape (whom she had yet to encounter) and some of the other Slytherin students. But none of them knew or even suspected she was from a different era. However, there was one person Hermione could think of who spent a lot of time around both her and Remus,
'Peter Pettigrew. Not only can he turn into a rat to listen in on conversations, but he can hide in clothing to travel with whomever he's spying on,'
"Remus?" Hermione questioned as they ascended the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower, "have you noticed anything different about your belongings lately?"
"How so?"
Hermione shrugged slightly and pushed some dark hair behind her ear, a newly formed habit when she was trying to act natural,
"I don't know. Some of my books looked to have been nibbled on, and some of my food is missing,"
Thinking hard, Remus nodded his head,
"Now that I think about it, yeah. The pocket of my robe has a new hole in it, and some of the items in my trunk looked to have been chewed on. Maybe we should talk to Flitwick about pest control, hmm?"
Hermione was about to answer with something corney when the sound of approaching footsteps reached her ears. Panicked and with nowhere to hide, Hermione slammed Remus into the nearby wall, pressing her lips firmly against his as he stood in complete shock,
"Ahem!"
Ripping away from the werewolf, Hermione blushed deeply at the sight of Professor McGonagall staring at them sternly,
"You are both out of your rooms long after curfew," she hissed, "10 points each from Gryffindor. Now get back to the dorms at once,"
"Yes ma'am," Hermione stated, grabbing Remus by the arm and dragging him away. He still seemed shellshocked, blinking and clearing his throat awkwardly,
"Uhm...n-nice save,"
"No problem," Hermione breathed, fighting down her own blush and rapid, girlish thoughts,
'I was snogging Remus Lupin. I was snogging Remus Lupin at night, alone and after curfew. In front of Professor McGonagall!'
Smiling, Hermione spoke the password to the Fat Lady who opened without a word. Unfortuanlty, as Hermione stepped into the common room a hand grabbed hold of her collar, shoving her down into a chair as a binding spell kept her from moving,
"You are in so much trouble, Hermione Jesabelle Black," Lily growled, Hermione watching as Remus was shoved into a chair and bout by Sirius, who looked just as furious. This was a 'best friend' intervention. Hermione had subject Harry to one during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, as well as during the year before the Horcrux hunt. Swallowing, Hermione smiled innocently. But based on the way Lily was glaring at her, the chance of survival was slim,
'Dear Merlin,' Hermione thought, swallowing again, 'I pray for a peaceful Death'