He was watching her laugh with Ginny and only vaguely noted his friend coming to sit by him.

"She'll go soon."

He nodded, "She comes back, tell me she comes back mate."

Remus shook his head, "Wish I could." His voice was sad, cracking with pain.

"Can't we stop it?"

"Don't even know when or how she goes."

Sirius finally turned to stare his friend in the eyes, "How do I lose her again?" The pain in his chest was almost more than he could breathe through.

Remus sighed but said nothing, what could he say? He wished he could stop the future and change the past but mostly he wished they could keep the past and ensure the future they dreamed for. "Don't lose hope." He finally told Sirius. "All we can do is hope." They had to believe she'd return to them, she couldn't have… no, he refused to think that. It had been so hard back then and now, knowing so much more, having loved her so much longer, it was impossible.

"You two alright?" Tonks asked as she sat leaning against her husband.

"Sure." Remus slung an arm around her shoulders and tucked her closer into his body, "Just reminiscing."

She nodded and snuggled further into his side, he and Sirius had been thinking a lot about the past recently.

"She's not much younger than me you know." Tonks broke the silence again a few minutes later as she saw Sirius watching the beautiful young witch.

"Huh?" Both men turned to her and her hair went pale pink as though in a blush.

"I, maybe, thought, well, you watch her, a lot and um, well, she's not much younger than me, a few years is all, it's not to young if its what's holding you back."

"She's eight years younger than you which is eighteen years younger than me." Sirius huffed.

"So you do like her then?" Tonk's hair went from the pale pink to vibrant purple.

Sirius looked away with a quiet curse, "Shove off." He growled when she went to speak again. He got up and stormed away.

Remus sighed, "Please Dora, let it alone." He headed his matchmaking wife off as he saw the cogs in her mind spinning.

She huffed, "Well you're happy with me aren't you?"

He gave her a small smile, "You are the love of my life Dora but please, I beg you, let Sirius alone, play matchmaker with someone else, he's not up for it."

She huffed, "Didn't I do good with Ron? Everyone was convinced he and Hermione were meant to be but I knew his secret! Look at him and Neville." She smiled at the two men, both awkward and shy, their new relationship still leaving them with a glow and their newly revealed sexual preference still being settled into. "Just look at Luna and that Slytherin, I got her and Theo Nott together didn't I? It's a gift, I see true love, just like I saw it in you even if you were too stubborn to accept it for so long."

Remus sighed, "Please Dora. Please." She didn't know how right she was, Hermione was the love of Sirius Black's life, losing her had nearly destroyed him, it was why he'd been ready to believe Sirius had betrayed Lily and James, he hadn't been the same after she disappeared. She had been everything to him, she still was and he was about to lose her again and they could only pray her disappearance had been her return to this time and not her death.

Tonks looked at the swirling emotions in her husbands eyes and knew there were secrets there, slowly she nodded, Hermione and Sirius would be perfect together, she'd ground him and he'd lighten her but for Remus she wouldn't mettle, for now anyways.

Hermione laughed again and tossed the swatch of material at Harry, "You're nutters."

Harry laughed as well and shrugged, "Come on, you know you want to too!"

She got an evil glint in her eye as she grinned, "Alright." Then she looked around and lowered her voice, "Do you think Sirius would mind?"

"Oi Sirius!" Ron shouted.

"Ron!" Hermione and Harry both hissed. Ron shrugged as Sirius reappeared in the room, "Mind if while we redecorate we maybe add a few enhancements to the family portraits?"

"Enhancements?" He enquired with a lifted brow.

"A mute mother for one." Neville spoke up and then blushed.

"Just a few, changes."

"I'd personally burn the lot, my mother especially but since that miserable painting isn't coming down, do whatever you like with it."

"Knew he wouldn't mind." Harry regained everyone's focus. "Come on Mione, please?"

She rolled her eyes; he knew she couldn't really say no to him when he asked so nicely, "Fine." Then she laughed again and added to the designs they were all playing with for renovations at 12 Grimmauld Place. Neither Sirius nor Harry wanted to live there, so they were turning it into an official Head Quarters for the Order of the Phoenix which was now filled with more members, not to fight against a dark force but to fight against the possibility of future dark lords rising. Aurors, Government Officials from various countries, Teachers and Masters of every discipline and representatives of every race were members working to build a unified wizarding world.

The idea had plenty of potential to make changes in the world but they all knew those changes would be long in coming, the focus now was on blood equality but they were looking into werewolf rights and the treatment of squibs, slowly they hoped to unite all the magical world but none of them were naive enough to think most if not all the changes would be fully realized in their life times. At least the momentum of the end of the war was helping somewhat with blood purity issues and the opening of minds enough to allow an organization like the Order of the Phoenix to exist and be welcomed internationally across the wizarding world.

The group didn't begin to actually work in the house until a few weeks after the debate about messing with the Black family portraits. Sirius was shocked to walk in and not find his mothers painting in the hall, the frame was broken and still attached to the wall but the actual painting was gone.

"How?"

"Bloody brilliant she is." Ron came into the room with a grin.

"The frame is still stuck there." Hermione said with a shrug and then turned to Sirius. "I ripped the canvas taking it down, I'm sorry."

"I tried everything to get it off that bloody wall." He mused, "Even tried shredding the damn canvas."

She chuckled, "Sometimes all it takes is a little muggle ingenuity… and industrial paint thinner, a crow bar, some minor spell work and unfortunately ear plugs." She shuddered, "Your mother had some serious lungs on her."

Sirius chuckled, "She had my lungs? I rather think they were more like yours" He gave her a look that made her blush and roll her eyes.

"We're finishing emptying the house, then the proper renovations can begin." She sank into a chair, "It's more work than Mrs. Weasley had us doing that first summer." She sighed, "Who'd have thought we'd really only scratched the surface."

"Lot of rooms not touched even with so many of the order in and out Luv."

"I know." She sighed again and got up, "Let's get on with it then."

"Hermione?"

"Sirius?"

"What is that?"

"Huh?" she turned to look at him, he was pointing to a bracelet she was wearing.

"Harry gave it to me." She said lifting her wrist and swiping her finger against the little gold lion dangling from it. He nodded, distracted, "Come on." She urged them all back to work.

Sirius felt sick. It could be any day now. She was twenty. She'd been two years older than him when they'd met. She was wearing the bracelet.

He was distracted all morning and by the end of the day he was a wreck. He followed her with his eyes all day.

"Padfoot." Remus sat beside him on the couch.

"She's wearing the bracelet." He whispered.

"Could be she had it for months before going." Sirius nodded. "Can't do this to yourself mate."

Sirius turned to his friend, "What if she doesn't come back."

"We have to believe she will."

"What if she hates me when she does?"

Remus shook his head, "She could never hate you Sirius, she tried." He mused with a chuckle then shook his head again, "It will all be ok."

"When did you become an optimist?"

"Dora thinks you two are perfect for each other."

Sirius snorted, "If only she knew."

"If only." Remus said quietly with a nod.

A scream broke the silence and had them both jumping to their feet and charging up the stairs. They burst into a seldom used parlor where Ginny was looking pale and Luna was crying. Theo ran to her and pulled her into his arms.

Sirius felt his heart clench and didn't notice as he dropped to his knees. She was gone. Please Merlin let her come home safely.

Remus grabbed Sirius by the arm and moved him to a chair.

"What happened?" Harry demanded hugging Ginny to him, "Where's Hermione."

"Gone." Ginny told him softly, her voice quiet and her face still pale, she was obviously in shock.

Luna nodded her head still crying, "They grabbed her through the swirling mist and carried her away to the Otherland."

"What?"

"The Limaliak." She sobbed, pointing to a tiny door in the wall, it led to a secret stair up to the attic. Regulus and Sirius had played up there, made it a secret fort of sorts, when they were very young and hiding from their mother.

"She came tumbling down the stairs and disappeared." Ginny's voice was starting to shake with tears, her whole body shaking against Harry.

"She's gone then." Remus sighed and leaned back in the couch beside Sirius. "She'll be back, she has to be back."

Sirius didn't say anything, Merlin please let her come back. He begged.

"Gone? Back? What?" Ron sputtered and demanded.

Remus sighed, "She's gone back to before Harry was born."

"What?" Tonks was the one to voice the curiosity.

"She arrived, in our past, lived with us for two years, saved Lily's life and… she was… well she disappeared the night Harry was born."

"So she'll be back then." Ginny insisted though her voice held doubt.

"She disappeared." Sirius repeated Remus.

Remus shook his head, "She'll be back."

Sirius just closed his eyes in pain.

"She'll be back." Remus repeated.

"You were in love with her." Tonks whispered, shocking them all again.

All eyes were on him as Sirius nodded. "I've been in love with her from the first day I met her, when she all but ignored my presence." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he remembered it but the expression lasted only a moment as his heart squeezed. "Merlin let her come back." He spoke the prayer aloud this time, tilting his head back against the couch.

"What?" Harry was confused; his godfather had been in love with Hermione?

"Sit." Remus sighed, "We'll tell you about Mia. The only woman to tame and conquer Sirius Black."

Sirius felt a smile tug at his lips, "She was infuriating."

Remus chuckled, "She didn't put up with your crap."

"She was immune to my charm."

"She didn't think you had any."

"I thought she was in love with you. It drove me mad."

Remus snorted, "And you complained James was a besotted fool chasing after Lily."

"I finally got her though."

"Or she got you."

His smile fell again, "Merlin let her come back safe."

"Two years. She was gone two years." Remus sighed leaning his head in his hands.

"Time might not work the same going back and forward, she might not be gone so long." Theo spoke up finally, then added very quietly, "She might be gone much longer."

"Please Merlin, let her come back safe." Harry echoed his godfather.

"Tell us about her." Ginny asked moving to a chair, "About her years with you."

Remus nodded and they all settled around the room.

"She was infuriating." Sirius sighed.

"She was the sixth Marauder." Remus said with a smile.

"Sixth?" Neville questioned taking Ron's hand and sitting cross-legged on the floor, their knees slightly over lapping.

"Lily was the fifth, an honorary Marauder, then there was Mia." Remus chuckled, "The two out going flirts of the group the first to fall and both fell fast and hard." His arm tightened around Tonks as Sirius spoke next.

"Marauders fall forever."

"So the Limaliak's didn't take her?" Luna questioned settling in Theo's lap.

"No." Remus shook his head, "Time has."

"Tell us." Ginny asked again, curling her feet on the couch and lying against Harry's chest.

Remus nodded.

"I like stories." Luna sighed.

"What story?" Mrs. Weasley asked coming in the room. "Why aren't you lot finishing? Where's Hermione, I can always count on her to keep you in line."

"Gone." Luna sighed.

"Gone." Ginny echoed, tears finally stinging her eyes as the numbness of shock began to wear off.

"Gone?"

"Molly dear." Mr. Weasley came in, "Sit."

"What?"

"It was her?" Bill questioned setting his daughter on the floor.

"What was who?" His wife asked confused.

"A woman saved me and Charlie from a Death Eater once. Dad swore us never to tell anyone, not even mum."

"Hermione?" Charlie tried to remember but he'd been so young, he just remembered she'd been brave and beautiful and had hugged him.

"Sit." He steered his wife to a chair. "I think its time we all talked. I just need to call Professor McGonagall first."

"Better call George too, he wont want to miss anything." Charlie disappeared. A little later, the room having waited in silence, all lost in their own thoughts, a large group had gathered, all the people who loved her, waiting to hear about the girl they'd been informed was not only missing but lost in time.

"She arrived, a month after graduation, in the Potter yard…" Remus began.