Chapter 22

Erica spent the rest of the night tossing and turning, unable to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about Sirius and the stupid prank he tried to pull. She felt like it was her fault. After all, if she hadn't spilled the beans about Snape's future, Sirius might have been able to restrain himself. Instead, he thought that Snape was trying to recruit his little brother for the Dark Lord. Still, she couldn't stop herself from being disappointed that Sirius had allowed Snape to pull him down to this level. Of course Snape was going to try to bait him, but Sirius didn't have to give in to him so easily. And she felt bad for Snape. He was a nosey, obnoxious jerk but he didn't deserve to be punished for something he might do in the future. Also, she was worried about what the consequences would be for him and the rest of the marauders. Remus was totally innocent, but he had the most to lose now that Snape knew his secret. Snape was the one that had revealed his secret in her second year after all, and she just hoped that he would be able to hold it in until then. She didn't think many parents would take the fact that there was a werewolf in school with their children well. James had been trying to stop the prank, and she wasn't sure what Peter's role in this had been but she was pretty sure they would be safe. Sirius, on the other hand… no one would be able to fault Dumblefore for expelling him after this. And she didn't want Sirius to go. It was strange, after all of the bullshit that he had put her through, but she felt closer to him than anyone else in 1976. There was a selfish part of her that wanted him to stay around, too. He was the only person that knew her secret and she didn't want to lose that now she had finally told someone.

She couldn't stop thinking about what had happened right before McGonnagall came in, either. She was pretty sure Sirius was about to kiss her. Not that she had much experience in that department, the only boy she had ever kissed was Davey O'Connel when she was twelve, but what else could explain the way he had been acting? He'd been staring at her lips and moving in so close that she was able to make out flecks of blue in his grey eyes. Even thinking about it made her pulse speed up, which was fairly embarrassing. It wasn't fair that he had this effect on her, especially when she really didn't want to date him. He was the best-looking boy she had ever met but she didn't want to date anyone in the 1970s. She planned on leaving as soon as the time turners were ready so what would be the point? It would only create unnecessary heartbreak. Still, there was something about Sirius Black, and it wasn't just the fact that he looked the way he did. He was… intriguing, to say the least. He seemed to have two different sides to him, the life of the party and the weird, sullen boy that preferred to stay in the shadows. He drew her in in a way that no other boy ever had and she couldn't stop thinking about him, no matter how hard she tried.

She only got about an hour of sleep that night. Every time she fell asleep, which didn't happen that often, she would jolt awake after only a few minutes, her nightmares full of a Hogwarts without the marauders around. She decided to finally get up when she noticed the darkness outside lightening to a light gray. She couldn't take anxiously laying around anymore, this was something that she could actually do something about. She got ready quickly before going down to Dumbledore's office. She had been there so frequently in the past few weeks that she knew the password, whispering it as soon as she reached the gargoyle that stood sentry outside his door.

Luckily, Dumbledore was awake. She could hear him talking to the portraits that covered the walls of his office but they all feigned sleep as soon as she knocked on the open door.

"Miss Costello," Dumbledore smiled, gesturing for her to take the seat across from him. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She sat down across from him, nervously twisting her hands in her lap. "It's my fault," she said. "What happened last night with Sirius and Snape."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at her. "You were involved as well?" he asked, looking more than a little disappointed.

Erica could feel her cheeks coloring in embarrassment. "Kind of," she answered. "I told Sirius some things about Snape. From the future. I know I shouldn't have but, well, I did. And they're not really good things, either. It must have set him off and I'm really sorry, sir, but I don't think you should expel him for it –"

"Erica," Dumbledore said gently, his blue eyes twinkling in amusement. "I have not expelled Mister Black."

"You haven't?" Erica asked, a little surprised. She hadn't realized Dumbledore would be so lenient, although she wasn't going to complain about it.

"No," Dumbledore answered. "Although I won't share the details of his punishment, I can assure you that Sirius is still a student at Hogwarts." Erica sighed in relief. "Now, what is this about sharing details about the future with him?"

Erica could tell that her face was red by then. "I didn't mean to," she said. "He kind of figured out most of it by himself."

Dumbledore sighed. "I know that it must be a relief, having someone that knows where you're actually from, but you can not tell him what happens in the future if you want to go back there."

"I know, I shouldn't have told him but…" Erica frowned and trailed off, looking down at her feet. She didn't want to see the disappointment on Dumbledore's face. At the same time, she couldn't stop feeling disappointed with herself. She couldn't stop thinking about the argument she'd had with Sirius the night before, or the sleepless hours she'd spent afterwards. She had realized last night that she didn't want to lose the friends she'd made in the 1970s. She felt so much closer to them than the few friends she'd had in her own time. She couldn't let their tragic story play out. And her family… well, they were in a mess in her own time. Maybe, if she tried her best to shield them, she could stop anything from happening to them. Her head started to hurt whenever she tried to work out the particulars of time travel, but maybe she could change the past and save her mothers life. Even if Erica could never see her, at least she would still be alive and her family would stay whole.

"Actually," Erica said suddenly, looking up at Dumbledore. "I should have. I should be doing something to change things. Those things that I told Sirius about Snape… I mean, maybe if someone actually tried to intervene then they won't happen. I can't just do nothing anymore, I can't just sit by while others die."

The headmaster watched her, his blue eyes a mixture of confusion and apprehension. "Are you sure that this is something you want to do, Miss Costello? Remember, if you try to change things, you might never be able to go back."

"Yes, I'm sure," Erica said, realizing just how true those words were as she spoke them. "Look, it's obvious that those time turners aren't going to be ready for at least another year, possibly even longer. It's time that I gave up on them. Maybe…" she trailed off, biting her lip as she remembered what Sirius had said to her down by the lake. "Maybe I got a hold of that broken time turner for a reason. Maybe I was sent back here to make things right."

Dumbledore didn't look entirely convinced. "I know you think that using your knowledge of the future will make things better, and that may be true, but there is also the possibility that things could get worse."

Erica shook her head. "I don't see how saving people can make things worse." She took a deep breath before saying, "The Brocklehursts are going to be attacked soon, possibly within the week, I'm not sure. I can't remember the exact date they were murdered."

"Brocklehurst?" Dumbledore said, his eyes wide in surprise. "Cyrus Brocklehurst?"

Erica nodded. He was the current head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and his family was going to be attacked in their home soon. It was another shock to the wizarding world, forcing them to take Voldemort more seriously. "He's going to kill them all. Even their five-year-old son. You have to stop him," Erica said imploringly. Dumbledore was speechless, which Erica was certain had to be a first. She got up then, not really interested in hearing about the risks that came with changing the past. She was certain that she would end up changing her mind if she gave herself more time and she didn't want that to happen. "Thank you, Professor," she said before turning and leaving quickly.

Sirius didn't get much sleep that night either. Dumbledore had tore him a new one the night before, banning him from all future Hogsmeade visits and giving him Saturday detentions until he left Hogwarts. In fact, the only good thing that had come out of the meeting in the headmaster's office was the fact that Severus Snape was forbidden from telling anyone Moony's secret. Sirius was extremely glad for that. He hadn't really been thinking about what would happen after Snape got the pants scared off of him, but he wouldn't put it past the greasy-haired Slytherin to tell the whole school about Remus's furry little problem and it would be all Sirius's fault. James had been too furious to even look at him after they left Dumbledore's office. Peter had seemed confused but followed James's example, ignoring him for the rest of the night. Sirius had left the dormitory at the first sign of sunrise, hurrying to the hospital wing. He wanted to be the one to tell Remus about what happened last night.

Remus was still sleeping when he got there so Sirius sat in the chair next to his bed, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to say to his friend. He had really screwed up this time and he wasn't sure how Remus was going to react, although Sirius wouldn't blame Remus if he never spoke to him again. Now that he had finally stopped to think about, he couldn't believe that he had been so stupid. He hadn't stopped to think about how this prank would affect his best friend, he had only been so focused on hurting Snape, and now Remus had barely escaped hurting someone.

"Sirius," Remus said, breaking the black-haired boy out of his thoughts. He was looking warily at his best friend while he wiped the sleep from his eyes, obviously able to see the anxiety all over Sirius's face. "What's wrong?"

Sirius took a deep breath, still unsure of what he was going to say. "I did something really stupid last night, Moony," he said, his voice low and apologetic. "And I am so, so sorry."

Remus had never seen Sirius like this before and it was starting to scare him. "What did you do?"

Sirius took a deep breath before saying, "I ran into Snape and my brother last night." He lost his nerve after that, suddenly nervous. Remus wasn't really the type to flip out and scream when he got angry, like James; instead, his anger was always quiet and full of disappointment. For some reason, Sirius found that to be so much worse.

"And?" Remus asked impatiently. He knew it couldn't be good if it involved Regulus Black. Remus knew that Sirius's relationship with his brother still bothered him quite a bit, and he could only imagine what he'd decided to do out of anger.

Sirius stared at his hands as he answered. "Well, first Snape displayed how he bosses Regulus around, and then once Regulus left, he started making some cryptic comments about seeing you out on the grounds with Madam Pomfrey when you're supposed to be sick." Remus froze, not really sure that he wanted to hear what happened next. If Severus Snape knew his secret, it would only be a matter of time until the rest of the school knew. Sirius looked up at Remus's tense silence and continued, "I told him how to get by the Whomping Willow."

Remus's eyes widened. "Did I hurt him?" he asked in horror.

"No," Sirius said quickly, trying to reassure his friend. "I stopped you while James grabbed Snape."

Remus's jaw was clenched. "Did he see me?"

Sirius nodded and the color drained from his friend's face. "No, it's okay though," Sirius said, trying to reassure him. "Dumbledore said that he would expel him if he told anyone."

Remus sighed. "And what's going to stop him from telling everyone once we finish school?" Sirius didn't have an answer for that, suddenly thinking back to when Erica told him that Remus's werewolf status was common knowledge in the future. For all he knew, that could be his fault for playing this prank on Snape. Remus shook his head at his friend's silence, his face a mixture of anger and pain.

"I'm so sorry, Moony," Sirius said, his voice cracking halfway through his apology. He couldn't take Remus's quiet disappointment, he would much rather the sandy-haired boy shouted and hit him, like James had. "I wasn't thinking –"

"That much is obvious," Remus interrupted, his voice flat and angry. He couldn't believe that his friend had been so stupid. He always knew that Sirius's temper would end up hurting someone, Remus just hadn't expected that he would play such a pivotal role. And he couldn't help being hurt by what he'd done as well. He'd known he was a monster the moment Greyback bit him as a child but his friends had never treated him like one, even after they'd learned his secret. He had foolishly hoped that meant they didn't see him like that but obviously he had been mistaken. Sirius clearly saw him as the dangerous half-breed that he was or he wouldn't have tried to use him as a way to get back at Snape.

"Moony –" Sirius started to say but Remus cut him off.

"Just go, Sirius," he said, sounding very tired. "I just want to be alone, okay?"

Sirius nodded somberly. He couldn't blame Remus for his reaction, even though it only made him feel worse. He had somehow managed to enrage all three of his closest friends in one night with one stupid act and he wouldn't blame them if they never spoke to him again. And he had no idea how he could fix this, if it was possible to fix at all.

He was feeling more than a little dejected when he walked into the Great Hall. Since it was so early, there weren't that many people sitting at their house tables. He ate quickly, practically shoveling the food into his mouth because he was hoping to get out of there long before James woke up. He didn't want to feel his friend's glare burning a hole into the side of his head again, he'd had enough of that the night before.

He ran into Erica in the Entrance Hall, on his way out onto the grounds so he could continue to avoid his friends. "Sirius!" she smiled before throwing her arms around him. Sirius patted her back awkwardly. He wasn't quite sure why she was hugging him, although he didn't mind that much. She seemed to realize what she was doing, though, because her body turned rigid and her face was pink when she pulled away. He raised an eyebrow at her and her face darkened to red. "I'm glad you weren't expelled," she explained, her voice soft.

He smiled, although it was a little bitter. "Yeah, me too."

"So what happened?" she asked curiously.

Sirius glanced around the hall, which was starting to fill up with students. "Let's take a walk," he said, nodding toward the large front door. She nodded, biting her lip as she followed him onto the lawn. They walked the grounds in silence, until they reached the covered bridge. Sirius stopped and leaned out one of the open windows before saying, "I'm lucky Snape only got a bump on the head or I probably would have been expelled. Instead, I'm banned from Hogsmeade indefinitely and I have detention every Saturday until I finish N.E.W.T.s."

Erica frowned. Sirius should have been punished for what he did but that seemed a little harsh. "What happened with Snape? Did he figure out that Remus is a…" she trailed off, not wanting to say the word out loud where she could possibly be overheard.

Sirius nodded glumly. "Dumbledore threatened to expel him if he says anything, though."

"That's good," Erica said.

"I guess," Sirius frowned, remembering what Reus had said to him earlier. "I'm sure he'll tell everyone as soon as school's over, though."

"At least you've got a year until that happens," Erica pointed out, although she knew that Sirius was probably right. After all, Professor Snape had been the leak in her second year. She had always figured he did it because he wanted Remus's job and she couldn't help noticing how strange that was either, the fact that Snape had wanted the Defense Against The Dark Arts job so badly considering the path he was on. She wondered how he managed to convince Dumbledore that he was against Voldemort; his future allegiance to the Dark Lord was obvious.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, watching her curiously.

Erica shook herself out of her thoughts. "What?" she asked, her cheeks warming when she noticed how intense his gaze was.

"You were thinking about the future, weren't you?" he replied.

"How do you do that?" Erica said, looking at him in confusion. "It's like you can read my mind."

"Just your face," Sirius answered. Erica wasn't sure if that was better. She couldn't understand how he seemed to understand her better than anyone else she'd ever met. "So what happened in the future?" he asked, looking suddenly anxious. "Did I really screw things up for Remus?"

Erica was surprised by how upset Sirius appeared. He had always given off this air of not giving a crap about anything but it was clear how much his friendship to Remus meant to him. She shrugged and he scowled at her. "I really don't know," she tried to explain. "I never knew about this so it's not like I can pinpoint something in the future and say that it happened because of this event."

Sirius sighed, clearly not satisfied with her answer. "But people know about his… problem in the future?" he whispered. Erica nodded and he groaned, putting his head in his hands.

He looked so miserable that Erica couldn't help wanting to make him feel better. "To be fair, Snape didn't actually say anything until 1994. And Remus seemed to be doing pretty well," she said. "I mean, there were some prejudiced jerks but that hadn't seemed to stop him."

He shook his head and let out a strangled laugh. "1994," he said, looking as if he thought the whole thing to be completely insane. "I'm still not convinced that you're not completely nutty, you know."

She laughed. "Neither am I, to be completely honest." Which was the truth; there were many times when she was convinced that she had somehow hit her head and this was only a strange dream brought on by a medically induced coma.

He couldn't help thinking about how insane all of this was. Being a wizard, he had always accepted some really crazy things as completely normal but the flippant way she was about the future unnerved Sirius a little. He would be thirty-six in 1994. He wondered what his life was like then; if he was still close with the rest of the Marauders. He couldn't help wondering if James had ever given up on Lily Evans or if any of them had managed to get married and have any kids. And how the hell did she know Remus in the future, as a child? "Why are you telling me this, anyways?" he asked. "I thought you couldn't say anything about the future."

Erica shrugged. "I felt bad for you." She didn't want to tell Sirius about what she had told Dumbledore about the Brocklehusts yet. It would feel more finite that way, and she didn't want to think about the repercussions for her actions just yet.

He chuckled. "Well, thanks for the pity, I guess." She smiled at him before turning to look out at the Hogwarts grounds as students started streaming outside. It was finally starting to feel like springtime, the skies were mostly clear and then sun was shining as it warmed up. She could feel Sirius next to her, her body was always so hyper aware of him, watching out the window as well. It felt strange to her, how close they were without it feeling awkward, considering what had almost happened last night. She didn't have that much experience with boys, or any experience really, but she was pretty certain that he had been about to kiss her, although she couldn't figure out why. He had spent so much time hating her that she couldn't imagine that he would ever fancy her. Plus, well, he was Sirius Black, the best looking bloke in school, and he could be with pretty much girl that he wanted – in fact, had been with most of them, judging from the stories she'd heard – so there was no possible way he would ever think of her like that. Erica shook her head, not really wanting to think about it. She assumed that he had moved past that temporary moment of insanity, and that was why he wasn't bringing it up, so she decided not to say anything either. After all, it felt like they had finally moved past everything and become actual friends. She didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize that, especially so soon after it happened.