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Only Time Will Tell	By : chrmisha Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 3087 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Chapter 9: Revelations

Remus and Sirius were on another stake-out. At least the weather was warmer this time. On a tip from Snape, they had managed to get inside of a secured perimeter to monitor the movement of a large group of Death Eaters that were supposed to be gathering there that evening.

�I have a bad feeling about this one, Moony.�

Remus shot Sirius a worried glance. He actually did too, but he wasn�t going to admit it. �We�ve been in worse situations before, Padfoot.�

Sirius just grunted, keeping a close watch on the building as the sun sank slowly beneath the horizon.

They sat in silence through the twilight hours. Remus could sense the anxiety emanating from Sirius�s body. Suddenly it occurred to him that this was a lot like the nights they�d spent together before James and Lily were killed. The only difference was that they were too young and na�ve to realize just how much danger they had been in back then.

As night settled over the forest, Sirius relaxed a little. It was much safer in the darkness, much harder to be seen. As they watched the entrance to the building, they saw a group of wizards arrive, gathering at the front gates waiting to be admitted. Soon they would be inside, and Remus and Sirius wouldn�t have a chance to find out who they were.

�Moony, I think its time. You lie low, and I�ll go take a look.�

Remus nodded as his friend transformed into a large, shaggy dog.

Padfoot padded silently along the edge of the forest, his black fur blending with the moonless night sky. He looked back occasionally to check on Remus. As he neared the gates on the side of the building, he could just begin to make out the faces of the witches and wizards gathered there. He�d have to take a small detour to get around to the other side to get a better look. He knew the clock was ticking; soon the group of people would disappear inside and he�d lose his chance. Quickly, he made his way around the perimeter, stopping only to listen for the sound of anything unusual. When he�d made his way to the far side of the perimeter, he studied the group of people just being let through the gate. Gotcha!

Suddenly, he heard several small popping sounds, one right on top of the other. He listened intently, waiting for the group of people to clear the gate before running full speed back to where Remus was waiting.

***

Ron and Harry were practically pulling their hair out with worry. Although Hermione had encouraged them to study repeatedly, there was only three weeks left until their N.E.W.T.s. The last two weeks of classes were spent reviewing what they�d learned. Then there was one week without classes for students to prepare. And then the N.E.W.T.s were spread out over the final week of the semester.

Although Hermione was thrilled to have completed her Wolfsbane potion, she was getting a bit nervous about having not heard from Remus since the last full moon. He had written her a very quick note to let her know that he was all right after the transformation and said he had to leave on urgent business for the Order. He had promised to write her a longer letter in the next few days. She had not heard from him since. Clasping the heart on the gold necklace he�d given her, she admonished herself. Silly girl, it�s only been a week!

But soon another week had passed, and still there was no letter from Remus. Hermione was getting more and more nervous as time went by. Even if Remus didn�t have time to write her a novel, he usually took a few moments to jot down a quick note to say that he was all right so she didn�t worry.

The Gryffindor common room was buzzing with fifth and seventh year students frantically studying for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. The only thing that had kept her mind off of worrying about Remus was the pressure of her upcoming exams. Since her, Ron, and Harry were no longer taking all of the same courses, they were mostly studying different subjects; although Harry and Hermione did quiz each other on Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration. Hermione was relieved that at least Ron had stopped badgering her about her love life now that he�d managed to get one of his own. She had to laugh as Ron lamented endlessly over his relationship with Emily Brochton.

As Friday morning dawned, she found herself, once again, watching anxiously for the owls over breakfast. When one finally landed next to her, she breathed a sigh of relief. But as she went to take the scroll from the owl�s leg, she noticed something odd. The owl�s feathers looked bent and ruffled. And the scroll she removed was not addressed to her but to R. J. Lupin. She gasped, covering her mouth, as she removed it. It was the letter she�d sent him the day before.

Ginny slid closer to her and put her hand on Hermione�s shoulder. �Is everything all right?�

Hermione�s eyes filled with tears as she shook her head. Luckily, Harry, Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus were in the midst of a heated discussion about professional Quidditch teams so no one noticed when Ginny guided Hermione out of the Great Hall by the arm.

�Hermione, what�s wrong?� Ginny begged.

Hermione sat on the cold tile floor of the girl�s bathroom. �I think something�s happened to Remus.� Her voice was shaking.

�Why would you think that?�

�Because the owl returned my letter.�

Ginny shook her head in confusion. �So?�

�So! So we had it worked out that if the owl could not deliver the letter to the intended recipient, the owl would return the letter to the sender. The owl brought my letter back, don�t you see?�

�Hermione,� Ginny said comfortingly, �You said yourself that Remus was on urgent Order business. Perhaps he�s just not in a place where he can receive owls right now. Hasn�t he told you at times in the past not to send him letters for a certain period of time because it might compromise his position? Not to mention, owls do get lost sometimes, blown off course, you know. Nobody�s perfect.�

Hermione wiped her eyes. �You�re probably right. I�m just making a big deal over nothing. I�ll resend the letter at lunch. He didn�t mention that I shouldn�t be sending letters to him at the moment, so I�m sure its okay.� She spoke the words to try and convince herself as she rubbed the gold heart against her chest. He has to be okay.

***

As Padfoot ran towards the small clearing in the woods where Remus was waiting, he couldn�t pick up his scent. Surely he was close enough by now. The winds were barely noticeable. Panic was rapidly rising inside of him. Although he knew better than to run directly, carelessly to the spot, he couldn�t help himself. He had a sinking feeling he knew what those popping sounds were, and as he came upon the clearing, his blood ran cold. A viscous, angry growl escaped from somewhere deep within his canine chest. Looking around, he saw no one. He listened intently, sniffed the air trying to pick up their scent, but nothing was left behind. Nothing, but torn pieces of Remus�s robes. Rolling them over with his nose, he uncovered something else. Remus�s wand. Grasping the pieces in his mouth, Padfoot ran as fast as he could, leaping the wards in a single bound.

As soon as he�d arrived back at Headquarters, he raised the Alarm. In a matter of minutes, Order members began arriving at the front door while the portrait of Mrs. Black shrieked loudly in the background. Sirius was beside himself with guilt and grief.

Dumbledore took one look at Sirius and ushered him into the study where they could speak in private. Dumbledore sat on a chair expectantly while Sirius paced back and forth, running his hands through his unkempt hair. �What happened, Sirius?�

Sirius just shook his head, unable to speak.

Dumbledore stood and placed his hands on Sirius�s shoulders, turning Sirius to look at him and speaking gently but firmly. �Sirius, tell me what happened.�

Finally, Sirius explained the events of the evening, his transformation to get a good look at the Death Eaters, and the sight that greeted him when he went back for Remus.

�How many pops did you hear, Sirius?�

�I�m not entirely sure, but I�d guess somewhere between three and five. I have no idea where they would have Apparated to. Remus didn�t leave of his own accord, though. I found his wand laying on the ground underneath some torn pieces of his robe.� Sirius had moved to sit on the edge of the couch, his head in his hands, while Dumbledore sat beside him.

�Did you get a sense of anyone who�d been there?�

�No. And I was still in my animagis form, so my senses were heightened. I couldn�t even smell them. They must have come very quickly, ambushed him, and left,� Sirius lamented.

The grave expression on Dumbledore�s face did nothing to calm Sirius�s fears.

�You know what they�ll do to him, Headmaster.� Sirius moaned. �They�ll try and torture him into talking. If he won�t talk, they�ll just torture him until they kill him.�

Dumbledore sat silently next to Sirius.

�And you know he�ll never talk,� Sirius�s voice cracked under the weight of his emotions.

***

Friday�s first class was double Potions. Although usually Hermione was happy to get it out of the way first thing in the morning, this morning she was dreading it. She was in no mood to play Snape�s game. She was sure he would still be livid at her for completing the Wolfsbane potion successfully without the least bit of assistance from him. She�d never even asked him so much as a single question, yet her potion had been superb. Harry was already there when she arrived. Yesterday and today were spent reviewing everyone�s final project. Thankfully, Hermione had given an excellent presentation about her potion on Thursday as she was in no mood to do it today. She only half paid attention to the other students discussing their potions; what went wrong, what they�d learned.

As everyone filtered out of the classroom, Snape called to her from the front of the dungeon. �Miss Granger, a word please.�

Hermione took a deep breath and composed herself before turning to walk to the front of the classroom, her head held high. She wouldn�t show Snape weakness if it was the last thing she did.

Snape surveyed the room, waiting until the last student had filed out. �Well, well, well, Miss Granger. Have you heard the good news?� The smile that played upon his lips and the expression that danced across his face sent shivers down her spine.

�What are you talking about?�

�Oh, you haven�t?� It was obvious that Snape was taking great pleasure in tormenting the girl. �Well, it seems that we may finally be rid of that vile, disgusting creature you seem to be so taken with.�

Hermione felt her head spin and her knees weaken. Oh god, no, not Remus. Not Remus. Her mouth had gone dry and her heart was racing. She knew eyes betrayed her. �WHAT? He�s not�� but she couldn�t say the word.

�Dead? No, not yet. But I�m sure it won�t be long now. You know, the Death Eaters aren�t known for their mercy.� The evil smile that played upon Snape�s lips made her want to kill him.

�It seems that your friend walked right into their little trap. I can�t imagine how that could have happened.�

The cold words he�d spoken and the smug look on his face caused a wave of wild rage to surge through her. In a flash she heard a loud cracking noise as her open hand made contact with the bones of his face, sending his head spinning sideways.

�YOU BASTARD!� she screamed.

Snape grabbed onto the edge of the desk to keep himself from stumbling. The smug look on his face had been replaced by one of shock followed by one of unmistakable fury.

She hurried towards the door, hot, angry tears stinging her eyes.

�Miss Granger! Detention��

�GO TO HELL!�

Clutching her aching hand, she ran out of the dungeon��and straight into Harry�s broad chest. He stumbled backwards, but managed not to fall. He grabbed her shoulders to steady her and looked into her eyes.

�Hermione, my god, what happened? What�s wrong? I heard��

She fell into Harry�s arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

He held her for a moment, stroking her hair as she wept. �Hermione, please, what is it?�

Straightening herself, she gave him a look of utter despair before running off towards Gryffindor tower without saying a word.

Harry stood there thunderstruck. The only parts of the conversation he�d managed to hear was her screaming at Snape��words that he�d never heard Hermione use, and the thought of her saying them to a teacher left him absolutely stunned.

Harry replayed the one-sided conversation to Ron and Ginny over dinner. Harry was now even more concerned because Hermione hadn�t shown up for Transfiguration that morning, lunch, Charms that afternoon, and now dinner. Meals were one thing, but Hermione never missed class. Ever. Ginny had gasped as Harry relayed the events of the day. She quickly finished eating and ran back to Gryffindor tower to find out what had happened. Meanwhile, Ron and Harry speculated about Snape throwing out her Wolfsbane potion, or failing her for no reason at all.

Ginny knocked on the dormitory door but there was no answer. She opened it slowly and stepped inside. The curtains were drawn around Hermione�s bed but she could hear her sobbing.

�Hermione?� Ginny said gently as she pulled back the curtains. Hermione was curled up in a ball on her bed, holding her grandmother�s quilt tightly to her chest as she rocked back and forth.

�Hermione, what happened?� Ginny asked, sitting down next to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

�They�ve got him, Ginny. They�ve got him.�

�Who�s got him?�

�The Death Eaters,� she said, sobbing wildly into her hands.

Ginny just sat there, stunned.
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Only Time Will Tell