Hermione sat still atop her bed, arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Around her she could hear the faint breathing of Ginny as she slept on in her own bed. Wind rattled against the windows, whistling through the cracks in ominous notes that sent shivers up and down Hermione's spine.

She hated it here in No.12, more so even at night. She found that she could hardly sleep, it seemed as though the whole house were evil. It was silly, she knew that, but it didn't stop the chills from overtaking her when the lights were out. She had tried to explain it to Ginny, but the girl just shrugged it off as being normal for an old house. She knew better than to even mention it to Ron, he would suggest having her head checked. So, all she could do was try and ignore the feeling.

The walls cracked and creaked, little pattering of mouse feet could be heard scurrying in every corner. When a large squeal came from inside the wall behind her she leapt to her feet. That was quite enough, she thought, perhaps a cup of tea and a book would help.

This wasn't the first time she had fled the room since arriving there. Most nights she sought solace within the library. There she could curl up with a book and hide within its pages. It was a habit left over from early childhood, when she feared monsters under the bed. Her father had told her that monsters were afraid of books, because within them held all the imagination and hope of mankind. So as long as she read and had a book at hand they would stay away.

She was old enough now to understand that monsters, true monsters, couldn't be frightened away with books. At least not the ones that hunted them. Still, it was a piece of comfort and home that she could hold onto.

With a steaming cup of tea in hand, she headed for the library. She was about to open the door when voices reached her ears. She held still as she recognized the familiar voices of Professor Lupin and Sirius Black. They spoke in tones so deceptively calm one could almost miss the tension coloring their voices. She could barely make out the words. But she was sure she had heard 'death', 'war', and 'Harry.' It shouldn't have surprised her, they all knew that the war was gaining speed and before they knew it their world would be changed. And yet, she felt a stone lodge in her throat to hear the older men speaking of such things in regard to her friend.

"Hermione, you can come in if you like."

The young witch in question squeaked at the loudness of Professor Lupin's voice. He hadn't yelled but compared to the hushed tones of before he might as well have.

Smiling guiltily, Hermione slipped into the room. Looking at the two men, relaxed in chairs by the fire, she was suddenly aware of the state she was in. Hair little better than a rat's nest, oversized pajamas, and bare feet. She realized she probably looked very much like a scared little child.

"Sit down, we won't bite." Sirius smiled ear to ear, tipping his head towards his friend. "Well he might."

"Sirius, don't scare the girl." Lupin pointed to the couch with a gentle wave. His mannerisms much the same as she remembered them from only a couple of years ago. He had held the same calm, quiet demeanor in the classroom. Now, as it had then, it prompted her to comply. Unlike when he was her professor, he gave her a cheeky smile and wink as he sipped on his whisky. "I only bite when asked."

Hermione swallowed nervously, feeling even more the child at the blush that rose in her cheeks. Like any girl her age, she could see the appeal of an older man. Even if she had no plans on acting on it. More than once she had found conversations with Ginny turning to the two men. They both agreed that there was something wickedly handsome about them… and dangerous.

Sirius had taken to flirting with everyone who came in or out of the house. It had been amusing to see the bright red blush covering Mrs. Weasley's face one night when he had plucked her away from the range to dance her around the kitchen. Professor Lupin had gotten into the act as well, though he usually kept it to a minimum. She guessed he must have had quite a few glasses of whisky to loosen his tongue so.

She cleared her throat when they laughed, and willed the blush heating her face to diminish. For a while she just sat there, watching as the two sipped at their drinks in silence. The light from the fire flickered across their faces, casting harsh shadows over Sirius, and illuminating the deep scars along Professor Lupin. All thoughts of flirting and handsome men left her mind, to be replaced with the knowledge that she was sitting with two weary old soldiers. These men had lived through one war already and were awaiting the next one.

The Professor adjusting himself more comfortably in his chair brought her attention to a small black book laid atop his lap. It looked old, the spine cracked one to many times until it was barely able to hold the pages together. Curiosity overtook her, and she sat straighter in her seat.

"What are you reading, Professor?"

Eyes flashed from the fire to her, surprise echoing in them. They had been so silent, perhaps he had forgotten she was even there. He cleared his throat and uncrossed his legs, leaning over to rest his elbows on his knees. The small book was clutched between his hands, one set of fingers tapping against the worn cover. Sirius as well seemed to lose his ease, tension tightening up his spine.

"I guess you could say it is sort of an attempt at grief therapy for the magical world." Professor Lupin stopped fiddling with the book and handed it over to her. She took it with shaking hands, a gasp of shock escaping at the strangely cold cover.

Her fingers played over the raised image of a black rose, her stomach churning at the skull that had been lovingly fashioned within the petals. Though no snake was present, she couldn't get over how much the image reminded her of the Dark Mark.

"Jareth Johannsson was a brilliant wizard, if not a little eccentric. He was ahead of his time even in the muggle world when it came to understanding the mind. Much of the mind magic we use today is based on his work." It was obvious that the Professor was in his element, the tension had left his shoulders and he was once again relaxed in his chair.

Not wishing to interrupt him, at least not yet, Hermione simply flicked through the book as he talked.

"Though many of his ideas have been disproved, he helped move the Wizarding World forward."

"Not that many of the old families actually listened to him, with him being a muggleborn." Sirius sneered before downing the last drop of his whisky. He had never shied away when it came to voicing his hatred of pureblood culture.

"Yes, unfortunately his work was discredited by pureblood society almost as soon as it was published. Not that it deterred him completely. He wrote one other book on the subject of death, though no one seems to know where to find a copy." Professor Lupin had seemed to hesitate when speaking of the other book but smiled when he tipped his head towards the one in Hermione's hands.

"That book is a bit out of date now, but still relevant I think."

Hermione's fingers traced over the cover again and again without her permission. There was something about it, something cold and dark that seemed wrong in regard to the subject professed to be within. Perhaps it did simply contain information on grief therapy, but she figured something much darker lay at its core.

"It seems a strange subject for this time of night." Hermione forced her fingers to stop their exploring when she noticed the look that the two men shared. Reluctantly, she handed the book back to the professor.

"Or a prudent one." The professor sighed, setting the book aside so his attention was fully on the witch before him. "Molly may refuse to see it, but you and the others are old enough to understand what is going on around you. And whether anyone likes it or not, you are in the middle of it all."

He stood from his chair, his long legs taking him to the fire. For a moment he remained silent, just standing there. Soon he looked back around, his eyes piercing Hermione where she sat.

"War is coming, it is inevitable. And you, Harry, and Ron are wrapped up in this mess. We all are really. It is… it is like last time, only I fear it may be bloodier and deadlier than before."

"We weren't prepared you see." Sirius joined in, his eyes on her and tracking his friend's movements at the same time. "We thought we were invincible; what was one dark wizard against us and Dumbledore? Then everything happened, and we started to be torn apart. Fear and suspicion crept in, and we allowed it to rule us. And…"

Sirius snapped his mouth shut, and his face showed pain. A deep and unceasing pain. One that was mirrored on the professor's face.

"And then James and Lily died." Professor Lupin finished the thought, downing the rest of his own whisky.

Hermione was silent as the two men gathered themselves. She knew that they were both still haunted by what had happened all those years ago, it was understandable. She knew if she had been in their place… well she didn't know how she would be able to deal with Harry and Ron dying.

After a moment she spoke, but her words were little more than a whisper.

"You expect one of us to die, don't you? You think Harry might…"

Professor Lupin sat down beside her, one hand going to clasp hers. Sirius had turned away, his answer easy enough to read in his face.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But there will be deaths, and I very much doubt they will be far removed from us. We are in the thick of this war, all those in this house now. How many of us will never make it to old age? It is not pleasant to think about, but it would be foolish to believe otherwise."

In the silence that followed, Hermione found a few tears trickle down her cheeks. It wasn't that she never thought about the outcome of the war. It was something that was never far from her mind. In her deepest fears there was the image of Harry laying at Voldemort's feet, his body broken and bloody, his eyes lifeless. And there was Ron, his twisted body held aloft by wand above the Death Eaters. And there was her… her body stripped of clothing, used over and over by Voldemort's minions until her screams fell to whimpers and the life blinked out from her eyes. It was a nightmare she had experienced almost nightly since the year before.

For some time after the three simply sat quietly in the library; Sirius staring blankly ahead while Professor Lupin remained at Hermione's side, his hand still holding hers tightly. She could not figure out if their fear of the future was reassuring or worrying. Should she feel better about her own worries knowing that she was not alone, or should their certainty of death frighten her more?

In the months and years to come, Hermione would look back at that night. She would remember the dread in Sirius's eyes, and the resignation in the professor's voice. And she would wonder if they knew… if they knew that the deaths they spoke of would be their own. If maybe that night they were not trying to find comfort in preparation of Harry's death, but courage to face their own.

Author's Note: So, after years of being a fan of Harry Potter I have finally decided to write for the fandom. I have written a couple of oneshots for this pairing in the past couple of months, all the while I have been working on this.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to wait until I had the whole story finished so I could update every to twice a week, but I realized that if I did that then I wouldn't be able to post this at all until summer or fall. So I decided to go ahead and start posting.

Updates will be a while in between, mainly because I do have work through the week. But I have figured out a way to be able to work on development during that time (second break is writing time) and then I write on weekends. It has been working well for the past month and so I think I can go ahead and work like this.

Now onto the bit about the story itself. This will be a slow burn, but don't worry we will get there. Also, there will be NO Ron, Weasley, or Tonks bashing in this. NONE! And of course this is completely EWE, though the Potter children will still exist. Teddy will also play a big part, and I am already having so much fun writing him.

Chapter one will probably be out in a week or two, it is already mostly done and it will depend mostly on how much time I have to write and the weather. I live in the middle of Iowa and right now we are in the midst of this stupid extreme winter weather, and as I live in the rurals our internet will flick off just because of bad weather. Also pipes freeze.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.