The house was silent for the most part, only the odd creak and groan of the structure could be heard. Harry was asleep in his room, having been there for the past month since the Battle of Hogwarts - both Ginny and Molly by his side most of the time. Everyone had lost someone in the battle, too many hearts had been shattered and too many people had been lost.

Since the battle Hermione had been trying to distract herself for the most part, trying to get back to full health whilst taking it upon herself to look after Teddy. On this day in particular however Molly had taken him for the day, insisting that she needed to get out of the house for a while and that it would do Hermione some good to get some peace and quiet as well. Hermione disagree though, alone she felt well and truly lost.

Hermione wandered the halls of Grimmauld Place feeling truly misplaced. She wanted nothing more than to just return home to her parents but they didn't even know who she was anymore - she scolded herself at that thought though, knowing that she was just lucky that they were even alive still when so many weren't. Trailing her fingers along the dado rail she collected the dust on her fingertips, rubbing it between her fingers, well and truly lost in her thoughts.

The creek of a floorboard behind her made her jump, suddenly on high alert as she turned quickly and withdrew her wand only to find that no one was there. Then she saw it, at the end of the hall a spiralling staircase that she hadn't noticed before. Hermione kept her wand drawn, edging forward, her nerves shattered. She knew that she should walk away but the curiosity was getting the better of her and before she knew what she was doing she was tentatively taking each stair at a time, wondering briefly if she should let Ginny know where she was going. She didn't want to interrupt her and risk waking Harry up though, sleep was hard to come by nowadays.

Reaching a door at the top she twisted the handle, pushing it open with her bare foot, her heart racing. The door swung open with a creek and Hermione held her breath in anticipation. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as she looked at the room before her, a thick layer of dust covering everything in sight. She stepped forward, leaving a footprint in the dust, wand still raised from habit. Hermione looked around in awe at the intricate trunks of various sizes, the grand chests and an old writing desk that sat a mass of cobwebs in the corner. Curiosity was growing in her stronger and stronger, her fingers itching to uncover the treasures up here. It was as if she had somehow stumbled across the Black's attic but she knew that couldn't be true, she was nowhere near the top floor of the house and besides, she'd been in the attic before when looking for Horcruxes with Harry and Ron and this most definitely wasn't it.

Glancing behind her the door still remained open, giving her comfort in the fact that her escape route still remained open in case things did turn sour. She went over to a chest of drawers, opening it to find it full of luxurious velvet photo albums, all engraved with the Black name and the year the photographs were taken. Hermione picked one at random, hesitating before opening it. Each of the photographs danced before her, capturing fragments of time within them. Hermione didn't recognise any of people within the photographs but knew that this must've been at least some of the family that Sirius had grown up around. She returned the photo album to the drawer before moving to one of the trunks. Her guard had dropped slightly as she pulled the lid open, coughing slightly at the dust that she had disturbed. Her curiosity was increased as she looked at the many trinkets before her. Dropping to her knees she tucked her wand up her sleeve before reaching in and taking a glistening silver ball into her hands.

Hermione inspected each object with intense interest, her mind being the most at ease that it had been in months. The pile beside her grew as she pulled one out, inspected it, placed it beside her, and then started the cycle again. As she grew closer to the bottom of the trunk she noticed a small marble like stone in the corner. She didn't hesitate before reaching for it and palming it in her hand; it was as smooth as a pebble, as bright as a diamond and as big as a marble. It didn't seem to possess magical qualities at all unlike many of the other objects which had hummed with a magical energy. Hermione brought her wand to it, uttering a revealing charm but nothing happened. Frowning she tucked away her wand again, about to put the stone back into the chest when an electric current surged through her entire body. Hermione's body went rigid, her mouth opening in shock whilst her eyes stared ahead unfocusing.

Hermione awoke feeling groggy. She was slumped over on the dusty floor of the Second Attic. She wasn't quite sure how long she had been there or what exactly had happened; her memories completely jumbled.

Her body was stiff as she pushed herself up, groaning as her neck cricked. Objects still laid scattered around her and she was about to start piling them back into the trunk when she stopped, hand outreached, someone was whistling in the house. It sounded wrong and out of place. Hermione's blood ran cold, she hadn't heard anyone whistling in Grimmauld Place in months.

Drawing her wand she immediately flew into defensive mode. Her bare feet let her pad down the spiral staircase without a sound, her senses on fire, listening for the tiniest of sounds to indicate where the intruder was. Hermione had had enough of people destroying everything she loved, she had been pushed too far. Her body still ached but she walked ahead, her heart hammering in her chest. Following the sound she realised as she drew closer that the intruder was in Sirius' room. That was the final straw.

She rounded the corner into Sirius' open doorway, a spell halfway from her lips before she fell short, mouth opening aghast. Sirius stood there, looking just as surprised as she did. Then it hit her, it was a sick trick! It couldn't be him, Sirius died years ago when he fell through the Veil. At least the imposter was caught completely unaware, standing half naked, a towel wrapped around his waist with no wand in sight. Hermione had the upper hand and she was thankful for it after her falter that would have had her killed in the battle of Hogwarts.

"Hermione? Why aren't you at school?" Sirius frowned.

"Who are you?" She yelled, anger fizzing in her, "Tell me the truth or I swear I'll kill you." She hissed, storming towards Sirius, missing the genuine look of confusion on his face.

"What's gotten into you? It's me, Padfoot," he held his hands up defensively. "I'm not armed."

"Who are you?" She repeated, furious, "you picked the wrong order member to impersonate asshole." She looked like a mad woman.

"Kitten-"

"Don't you dare call me that!"

"Hey, hey, calm down," She could see him thinking and she was ready for whatever he hit at her, "if I wasn't me, I wouldn't be able to become Padfoot," Her eyes softened at that, Sirius nodded at her, "step back and I'll show you." His voice was calm and even, his hands up to show he wasn't going to harm her. "Nothing funny, honest."

Hermione hesitated before taking a step back, her wand and eyes trained on the man before her. Sure as damnit Sirius transformed then and there, padding over to her and nudging her hand. Hermione touched his fur, her heart swelling, confusion eating at her as she pushed her fingers into his fur. This wasn't right.

Sirius transformed back into himself, grabbing his towel and securing it around his waist again. Hermione couldn't hold hold back her tears as she looked at the man living and breathing before her.

"Is that enough proof Kitten?" Sirius asked softly and Hermione didn't wait another moment before rushing forward and wrapping her arms around the man.

"Oh Sirius, Sirius," She sobbed, clinging to him like her life depended on it. He returned her embrace, hyper aware that something wasn't quite right.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" He asked softly making Hermione pull away slightly. She looked up at his face, studying it before shaking her head incredulously.

"Well I do think I might be going mad," She whispered, a month's worth of tears threatening to fall now that she had started.

"You're not the Hermione I know, are you?" Sirius finally asked as it clicked. He released his hold on her and took a step back, looking at her fully, "you're older…"

"I… I don't know what happened," She breathed.

"Did you use a time turner?"

"No… what year is it?"

"1996." Hermione felt like she was going to pass out, stumbling back until she found the edge of Sirius' bed and sitting. The year he dies. She thought to herself, willing back more tears as she looked at him standing before her, alive and well. "What year did you come from?"

"1998." Sirius paused at that, his first thought being that Hermione might be able to tell him where Voldemort was hiding. He pushed that thought from his head though, they needed to figure out whatever this even was first before he started drilling her with questions about Voldemort.

"Right, I'm going to get dressed and then we're going to talk more okay?"

"Okay," Hermione uttered softly, clawing her hands through her hair.

"Do you want to go wait for me in the kitchen? I won't be long."

"I'd rather stay with you," she uttered, looking at him with eyes that broke his heart. Hermione felt so pathetic but she was so afraid that if she left the room he might disappear agao and she couldn't risk that, not yet.

"Okay, turn around." Hermione nodded and turned her back on him. She was getting lost in her thoughts as she listened to him moving around behind her, suddenly feeling guilty that it was she here and not Harry.

Sirius had made them both tea, even using Hermione's old mug which was now in pieces after Ron had lost his temper a week or so earlier in Hermione's time. They sat in Sirius' room, Hermione insisting on it, feeling comforted by the room that was so lived in again. Nestled on the sofa she cupped her mug in her hands trying to make small talk with Harry's Godfather - she felt uncomfortable knowing so much though, on edge that she might say the wrong thing.

"Hermione, can I ask you something?" She merely nodded her head, sipping her tea. "I die, don't I?" She stilled, not wanting to confirm anything - she wasn't sure if this sort of time travel held the same consequences as the Time Turner. Hermione met his eyes and it turned out she didn't need to say anything at all, her watery eyes being enough confirmation. He inhaled sharply.

"Well," He breathed, "I suppose we all die at some point don't we," he gave a humourless laugh.

"Sirius-"

"It's okay, I won't ask details. We need to figure out what sent you back anyway, that's way more important right now."

"Okay," she uttered softly.

"So first things first, where were you last?" He seemed to shake himself out of it, setting his mind on the issue at hand instead.

"I was here, Grimmauld Place. I was on the first floor, just… wandering I guess. Then this staircase appeared. I'd never seen it before."

"Hermione Granger, ever the curious one aren't you," Sirius chuckled.

"You're telling me if a staircase you'd never seen before appeared you wouldn't go explore?"

"Well of course I would," He laughed, "but this is technically my house." He winked at her and Hermione flushed, laughing lightly. "But anyway, so you found this staircase…"

"It was like an attic, it was filled with trunks and chests. There was a chest of drawers which had a lot of photo albums in it with the Black name on them." Sirius was lounging back on the sofa, tea in one hand whilst he twiddled with his moustache with the other.

"Did you look in them?"

"Just one but I didn't recognise anyone," Sirius smiled at her, gesturing for her to continue. "And then I found..." Hermione tried hard to remember what happened next but her memories were getting fuzzy. It was like they were on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't quite grasp them.

"Hermione?" Sirius asked, leaning forward, seeing her struggling.

"I- I can't remember. There was a trunk I think but I can't remember what was in it."

"Right okay, well the good news is that I think I know of the staircase you're talking about - it's a spiral one right?"

"Yes! Exactly," Hermione breathed, relieved that she wasn't going completely mad.

"The bad news is that it's a nightmare to find," Sirius uttered, pushing his hand through his hair, "Walburga didn't have a sense of humour per se, it was more that she liked to keep things hidden from prying eyes," He mused, "to be quite honest, I'm surprised that it even revealed itself to you, I only came across it the once whilst I lived here."

"That doesn't bode well then," Hermione sighed.

"I mean the worst-case scenario is that the house knew exactly who you were and it lured you up there for a reason."

"Great, is that possible?" Hermione sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Anythings possible when that bitch is involved but don't worry Kitten," He winked, "We'll get you back. I'm going to have to look for it alone though… I have a feeling it won't reveal itself to you again."

"I came out of it when I first got here I think," she frowned, her mind hazy when she tried to remember exactly in the house it had been that she had descended to.

"Okay - don't try to think too hard you'll just give yourself a migraine," he chuckled, seeing the concentration on her face. He went to get up, placing his empty mug on the side but Hermione suddenly felt a rush of panic.

"Wait," She grabbed his wrist, pulling him back clumsily. "Sirius you can't leave me alone, please, I don't trust my memory right now. What if you don't come back?"

"Hermione I can't take you with me," he sighed softly, "it's unlikely I'll find the staircase if you come with me but I promise to shout you as soon as I find it." He crouched in front of her, tucking her hair behind her ear. This Hermione was a shadow of the feisty girl teenager he'd come to know, and it broke his heart.

"Sirius, please," she whispered, refusing to let go of his wrist. She'd been through too much for her age.

"I..." he faltered for a second, "Look I can send for Moony, he can stay with you whilst I look - we'll need his opinion on all of this anyway."

Remus didn't take long to arrive at all, immediately grumbling at Sirius for having been so vague in his letter. As soon as he'd caught scent of Hermione though, who was sat at the kitchen table with her second mug of tea in hand, he stilled, his back going up. He turned on her, the wolf inside of him knowing something was wrong and that this wasn't their Hermione. Sirius managed to calm the situation quickly, explaining what had happened, calming the wolf considerably.

"Well," Remus uttered in surprise, glancing at the exhausted witch in the corner, noticing how she now closer resembled he and Sirius' gaunt looks, "this is new. What do you need me to do?"

"I'm going to go find the staircase and Moony, you're to stay with Hermione until I find it. Then we're going to work out how to get the little witch back to her own year," his eyes actually twinkled as he spoke and Hermione silently began to wonder what exactly it was like for Sirius having to holed up in this house day after day, alone.

Sirius disappeared into the depths of the house, leaving Hermione and Remus alone. She couldn't help but think of Teddy, silently wishing that Remus could've had more time with his son before he was ripped away from him.

"You look tired," he uttered, taking the seat opposite her.

"It's been a rough year," she admitted, looking down at the table, knowing that the year they were in now was the year that everything changed and got worse. She especially remembered how after Sirius' death Remus had understandably retreated into himself for a while.

"Do we defeat him?"

"Yes." Hermione uttered, knowing there was no point in avoiding the subject.

"For good?"

"I hope so," Hermione rubbed her eyes, her voice small.

"Sorry to ask Hermione, for you, how long ago did it happen?" He asked softly.

"A month or two - I don't know Remus, it's been a blur ever since. I suppose in a way it's a relief to be here and to get away from it all."

"Yeah, I understand that, and Harry?"

"He's okay, he's getting there."

"That's a relief, once you get back will you send him our love?" Hermione glanced up at that, knowing he'd read her like a book. She damned his wolf senses, but was at least relieved that he hadn't just outright asked her like Sirius had.

"I will - if I ever get back," She added with a small forced laugh.

"We'll get you sorted," Remus smiled, "How's school going?"

They fell into an easy conversation, Hermione skipping details but giving him a rough overview of the past year; at least he would be prepared in some way If he remembered her words. She still wasn't quite sure what this was after all; she silently mused whether the shock from the marble might have actually killed her and this was her strange idea of Heaven. Hermione stopped suddenly, her hand slamming onto the table in realisation.

"A shock, something shocked me," she uttered in surprise, eyes widening as she interrupted Remus mid-sentence.

"Sorry?"

"The thing in the attic, I was holding it and it shocked me," she smiled brightly as she remembered. "Do you think Sirius has found it yet?"

"He'll have shouted us if he had," Remus couldn't help but smile slightly: this was the first time all day that she had responded to something in the way that his Hermione would.

It was getting late and Hermione kept catching Remus glancing at the clock. She had cooked some food and she and Remus had even played a game of cards, but still, Sirius didn't seem to be any closer to finding the staircase.

"Go home Remus," Hermione finally uttered, "Thank you for staying with me but please, go home,," Hermione smiled at him before letting out a yawn, "besides, I think it would be best for Sirius to call it a day; I'm pretty sure he'll have searched every nook and cranny of this house twice over by now."

"He probably stopped to take a nap somewhere," Remus smiled before heading over to do the door, "he has been uncharacteristically quiet for the past couple of hours though."

"You're probably right then," Hermione giggled.

"Padfoot?" There was a crash from above them and Hermione laughed, picturing the man jerking awake.

"Yeah?"

"I've got to get going," Remus called back.

"Alright, give me a minute," Sirius called back, sounding like he was struggling slightly.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh as he appeared in the doorway, covered in dust among other things.

"I'll carry on searching tomorrow Hermione, I promise," Sirius uttered, crestfallen that he hadn't managed to find the elusive staircase yet. He relaxed as he saw her smiling, a familiar twinkle in her eyes.

"Thank you Sirius, I really appreciate it."

"Sorry to cut this short-"

"Don't be daft," Hermione cut him off, offering him a smile.

"I'll be back to tomorrow," he promised, wrapping his arms around Hermione and she surprised herself by finding great comfort in his embrace.

Remus left and Hermione insisted on heating up the leftovers of the meal she had made, forcing Sirius to eat.

"So did you find anything?" She questioned, hopeful that Sirius might have come across even the smallest of things that might've helped even if he hadn't found the staircase.

"Well I found a stash of sweets that look like they belong to Fred and George, a dozen toothbrushes, a block of cheese that's waaaay past it's prime and a tshirt that I thought I had lost when I was 12. But alas, no staircase," Sirius sighed and Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

"Well I hope you didn't eat any of those sweets; they set up their own little business this year, selling sweets to make you ill and get you out of class."

"Did it go well?"

"It actually did," Hermione laughed, "It came in very helpful."

"Hermione Granger skipping class?" Sirius laughed gleefully.

"No! Never," She uttered, "We had an... an… altercation which they helped us get out of."

"Those boys are going to go far," He grinned to himself, his mind going back to his days at Hogwarts, completely missing the heartbreak that clutched at Hermione. She pulled herself together quickly, scolding herself.

"I remembered something earlier by the way - something shocked me. I can't remember what it was but that's what seems to have sent me back here."

"Right... okay..." Sirius uttered, getting lost in his thoughts for a second, "Well at least we have a bit of an idea what we're looking for when we find the staircase then."

Hermione and Sirius retired to his bedroom. They both sat on the sofa, Sirius on one end whilst Hermione curled up on the other with a blanket over her legs, trying her hardest not to fall asleep. He propped his head up with his hand as he spoke to her, telling her a story from when he and the Marauders had finished school. She laughed lightly at their antics, asking for more until Sirius was watching with a small smile as the witch who was fighting so hard to stay awake eventually gave in to it. He carefully picked her up, carrying her across to his bed where he laid her down before covering her with his duvet. Sirius placed a kiss on her forehead before going back to the sofa, rearranging it slightly before falling asleep himself.