Everything At Once

By: BonaFake

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Author's Note: As people are generally unaware, I think now would be a really good time to point out the fact that I'm newly obsessed with Regulus Black. And I've tried shipping him with EVERYONE. It's not even funny anymore. I mean, like, Lily Evans, James Potter, and most recently, Hermione Granger. This five part piece is the result of the last. I'm not sorry. Oh, and by the way, the beginning is a bit darker than the rest of this piece. It gets fluffier as it goes. And then it plunges back into darkness.

Requests for one shots, drabbles, and headcanons are still open on my tumblr, through FFN's PM function, and my gmail bonafake3 AT gmail DOT com! This month, however, will be kind of hard for me to get anything done- I'm doing these pesky things called finals in the month of May...

Anyways, enjoy!

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The cave was ominous. Well, of course it was ominous. It was the cave where Tom Riddle had taken two small children and terrified them half to death. It wasn't threatening, though. Not right now. Just, sort of ominous. Hermione contemplated that as she sat next to Harry and tried to pretend that the place didn't bother her. Today had been awful. She and Harry had finally been allowed outside, but he'd insisted on flying here. It was a week before the anniversary of Dumbledore's death, and she supposed that might be part of his reasoning for this, but that didn't mean she had to like it. No. She didn't like this at all.

"Why did you end up picking this place?"

"Because it was the last place where he was while not being killed, you know," he said, frowning at the ground and kicking at a particularly stubborn rock.

"Oh," Hermione responded, not sure what to say to that. True, it was what she had expected, but even still. "He was a good man."

"Yeah."

There was an awkward, stiff pause in the conversation.

Harry turned towards her, looking tired and wan. But alive. She reminded herself of this every time he started looking too thin or too pale. He was alive. And really, that in of itself was a miracle. "What do you think Kings wanted us out of the house for?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I think he needs to get some work done with the rest of the Order."

"Right," Harry said, scowling. "I don't see why he doesn't tell me these things. It's not fair."

"It's all for you, Harry," Hermione sighed, then looked away. Harry had been temperamental since the day of the Trace. Granted, she'd been pissed off too, but at least that didn't come out as consistently annoyed and moody. The fact that they weren't allowed to perform magic, and a capture ending in multiple executions of multiple Weasleys and other Order members had not impaired her judgement.

"I know, I guess," Harry sighed, and looked away.

Hermione frowned at him. "Harry, you guess? It's a fact!"

"Yeah, yeah," he growled. Hermione got up and started to walk around. Moody, annoyed Harry was not a Harry she particularly wished to spend time with.

"Are you feeling alright, Harry?" she asked, turning around.

"No," he grumbled. "Kingsley isn't telling me what's going on and everyone's dying! Of course I'm not okay!"

But before Harry could finish his angry rant, Hermione held a finger to his lips. "Hold on. I think I hear something." She got up and started walking towards the rather ominous cave. Harry jumped up after her. "Hermione, no!"

"I hear something!"

"So?"

"We should go and investigate. What if there's a person in there?"

"No, it's way too dangerous. Kingsley said that we shouldn't put ourselves in harm's way."

"What happened to the Gryffindor I used to know?" Hermione asked, mocking him. It was an incredibly low blow, obviously, but she really wanted to know what the sound she'd heard was. "A year or so ago our roles would have been switched."

Harry bristled a bit under her accusations. Inwardly, Hermione smiled. Her best friend was going to let her do what she wanted now, and she knew it. It was dirty of her to manipulate, she knew, but sometimes it was necessary. And Hermione Granger was the kind of girl that did necessary things.

"Alright, alright," he muttered, walking towards her crossly. "But just this once."

They stood in front of the cave, staring at the entrance. There was a sound, Hermione was sure of it. And now there it was again! "Screams, Harry. Hear them?"

He nodded and looked towards her. "Can we get in?"

"I don't know," Harry replied. "Dumbledore- he bled on the stones to get it to open, but I don't know."

"Harry, there's someone hurt in there. We have to help."

"Alright," he said, walking towards the rock. Hermione grabbed his wrist. "No. I'll do it."

"Fine," he scowled back. Merlin, he was in a bad mood.

She ran her finger across a sharp edge of the rock and let a drop of blood well up and fall down onto the grey stone. Hermione stepped back, looking at the cave. "That's what you do, right?" Hermione asked, finger in her mouth. It really sucked not being able to use magic.

Harry nodded. "Yeah."

"Why isn't the cave doing anything?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's broken?"

"There's someone in there," she insisted, and Harry sighed. "Alright, we can wait a bit longer but then we're flying back."

"Good," Hermione replied and looked back towards the cave. "What's your secret?" she asked, and kicked the wall. Suddenly, it shifted and twisted away.

"Oh, it does still work," she said, and walked through.

Hermione was not destined to walk further, however, as she looked down and noticed that the ledge dropped off and falling didn't seem to be a notable enough death for an up and coming revolutionary. A grisly murder seemed far more appropriate. She couldn't think of who would assassinate her, though, so she considered stepping for a few seconds. One. Two. Three. Harry Potter. And then the thoughts were gone and she stepped back.

"Well, I guess we won't be going that way," Hermione said a bit too cheerfully.

Harry knew, he had to know. Maybe he didn't but she was pretty sure he did anyways.

"Yeah," he replied and grabbed her elbow, guiding her away from the ledge. They continued on a narrow rocky strip, stepping carefully over the numerous rocks in their way. Harry held onto her elbow tightly, looking across at the eerie green lake carefully.

"What's in there?" she asked, pointing at the lake. Harry grabbed her hand and they nearly stumbled on the rocks.

"Don't you dare touch that," he said, holding her wrist rather indelicately.

"Why not?"

"Because the lake's filled with Inferi, alright?"

Hermione grimaced and turned away. "Really? That's horrid!"

He nodded and held out his hand for them to continue walking. Hermione didn't take it.

The walk that followed was solemn, her knowing what was in the lake, and Harry presumably reminiscing. Hermione shuddered as she thought of the Inferi. They were terrifying. The undead, but not really. It was horrid.

They reached the raft, and then they heard it again. Screams. Hermione narrowed her eyes and looked around. "Where the hell is that sound coming from?"

"C'mon, 'Mione. There's nothing here. It's probably just your imagination."

"But you heard it! You heard it too! I'm not imagining anything!"

Harry shook his head. There's nothing here."

"No," she disagreed vehemently. "I heard it."

"Please, let's just go," Harry said, turning away from the strange green lake with the island that haunted his nightmares in the middle. He grabbed her elbow.

Hermione glared. Suddenly, as though possessed, she pulled her wand from the folds of her sweater. "Harry James Potter," she said, her voice deceptively calm. Hermione's fear was only shown through her heavily shaking hand. "If you don't stay here until we figure out where the hell that screaming was coming from, I am going to bring the Death Eaters right to our doorstep by- by doing something!"

He nodded. There was no reasoning with her. Ever. So Harry stayed, preparing his mind for the nightmares that would haunt him when they got back. They were a constant menace, a reminder that he hadn't been good enough to save Dumbledore, save the Weasleys.

Hermione turned back to the path. There had been screams- she was absolutely certain of it. She was going to figure out what had happened, and she was going to stop it. Maybe it was the fact that Hermione had been locked up under the Fidelius Charm for far too long, and her wand arm was getting twitchy, or maybe it was her ingrained hero complex. Either way, she wanted to save someone before she and Harry went went to bed that night.

There it was again! Loud screams! She turned around. Was there someone... In the water?

Hermione grabbed the sleeve of Harry's robe. "Do you see that, Harry? There's someone splashing in the water!"

He nodded, wide eyed. "See," Hermione cried victoriously, "There was something in there!"

Harry leaned over. "No, wait. We shouldn't be focusing on that now. There's a person in there. We've got to save him."

She looked at the lake. "I don't know how. There's a sea of Inferi between us and this person's life."

"C'mon," he goaded her. "Where's your sense of Gryffindor bravery?"

Hermione sighed and leaned forward. "Alright, alright," she responded. "Is there any way that we can hold something out to grab him? Maybe a rope?"

"Sure," Harry responded instantly. "I have that one Kingsley gave us."

"Perfect," she said, and grabbed it after he'd yanked it out of his robes. Hermione tied a loop on the end of the rope and threw it after who- or what- was in the sea of Inferi.

"Grab this," she shouted as loudly as she could. "Hold on and we'll get you to shore!"

A hand emerged out of the slimy green water. Hermione grimaced. "C'mon!"

The hand grabbed the rope. It was a pale hand, slender fingers, definitely human. Harry let out a sigh of relief besides her. She glanced over. There was a definite tugging now, and she braced herself against the cave wall.

"Harry, help me," Hermione pleaded, and continued tugging. Harry grabbed her waist and started pulling, holding her back from the green water. White hands were stretching out towards them now. Had she touched the water? It didn't look like it, but maybe she had. Or perhaps the inferi were just annoyed by the disturbance. Harry shuddered. They couldn't use magic; there was no way of burning any inferi that approached.

Hermione continued tugging on the rope, lips thin. She was so relieved that they'd both agreed to take the muggle tool kit that Kingsley had asked them to bring. They wouldn't have been able to pull this poor person out of the sickly green water if they hadn't. She was pretty sure there were matches in there, too, in case either of them touched the inferi water.

The Inferi were grabbing at the man now, pulling at his robes and trying to drag him back under. "Oh no, you won't," Hermione muttered, and gave an especially vicious yank on the line. The man sputtered and coughed and reached his hand onto the rocky path. Harry helped to pull the man up- for he was definitely a man- but that was not to be the case, as he just threw himself back down at Hermione's feet. "My savior," he gasped, wrapping his hands around her legs.

Harry gave her a slightly amused look. She glared. "That's enough of that, now," she said, and offered her hand for him to grab. He looked up at her.

Grey eyes met amber. He was cold, that was the first thing she noticed. Cold in a different way than her hands were in the middle of the night. It was the kind of cold that felt like the first starlight on her face in months, the kind of cold that was sinking into a bath silently, the cold that blanketed her heart and wand arm. Burning ice. Hermione Granger held his gaze.

Their uncomfortable, cold silence was broken by Harry. "Who are you?" he asked, looking at the man in front of them.

Whoever he was looked up towards Harry now, the coldness in his eyes reaching them both, enveloping them both. Harry gasped and cried out, as if in physical pain. "Sirius," he said, voice trembling and breaking and shattering, while the sight of his dead godfather made him so terrified it hurt Hermione, too.

He shook his head, looking confused. "What? No, no. I'm Regulus. Regulus Arcturus Black."