A/N: Welcome to this newest addition. This Short story is an elongated fix based off of my third chapter in my death eater express drabble collection. This is dedicating to Flame4Thought who gave me something to think about in her review. I hope you all enjoy this piece. It is unbetaed so if you see mistakes I appreciate it you would actually draw my attention to where so I can fix them instead of just pointing out they exist. I want my story to be as correct as possible so all can enjoy it, but it is hard to catch them all myself.

The brunette curly haired witch could not stop thinking about Regulus Black. She was in hiding with her two best friends and they were hunting down horcruxes to attempt to destroy them and increase their odds of defeating Voldemort.

The trio, hiding out at Grimmauld Place, the now vacant former order headquarters and estate of the late Sirius Black, were trying to discover where the locket might be. The one they had was a fake, inside a simple note that proved the younger black sibling had betrayed his leader and wanted to redeem himself. But he had been murdered for his defiance.

The boy had been so young, barley out of school when he died, his life cut far too short. And he died still commonly believed to be a dark wizard, an irredeemable criminal.

It made the witch feel melancholy. She was a young witch, siding with the light but so close to darkness and danger all the time on her quest to save the world that she wondered how she would be remembered if she were to die. It seemed that the world only saw things on the surface, they didn't look deeper to discover the truth. The truth was that she was a terrified teenager trying to survive in a world where she had to defend herself and her friends because she was otherwise very much alone. It was true that Hermione was useful to her friends, saving their asses and doing their research and their homework to boot, and she was positive that they cared for her, and the order of the phoenix they considered her an asset. She was fighting for them, and if she were to be killed in this war, she certainly would be missed, but she wondered, would people even care if she died? They didn't for him. Even Sirius, a man she had called her friend, the only person who she allowed to call her nicknames that made her cringe, he never spoke of his own brother, never mentioned his name. Regulus may have been a dark wizard, but Sirius was his brother and Hermione thought that the poor boy must have felt terribly isolated, and felt that Sirius should regret the way he treated his younger brother in his life.

After days of obsessing Hermione decided that it was time to take measures into her own hands. It may be illegal, it may be dangerous, but then she did illegal and dangerous things everyday under the guise that she was fighting for the light. Hermione was going to bring him back, she was going to go back and change the course of history. Or so she hoped.

She carefully pulled out her old time-turner, which she still had in her possession since third year, from her little blue beaded bag and drew the long chain over her neck. She wouldn't be gone long, just long enough, so she was not worried about Harry or Ron.

She spun the dial twenty times and was overcome by a sense of spiraling, which in theory she was, through time. When the sensation passed she opened her brown eyes and frowned.

There she stood in the Hogwarts corridor watching a heated exchange between two wizards. One she recognized instantaneously from the way his hair hung in his face, the way he stood as if posing for something, it was Sirius. The wizard before him was similar in looks, but had a wider jaw, darker eyes and longer hair that was carefully groomed to not sit in his face. Despite the fact that Hermione had never seen a portrait of the young man she assumed it must be Regulus, the looks were just too similar for him not to be.

But it was all wrong. These were just boys, they couldn't be any older than sixteen which meant that at the most Sirius was in his fifth year. She had gone back too far, at this point Regulus wouldn't even be marked yet, if he even knew who the Dark Lord was, they wouldn't have any idea what she was talking about.

However the teenaged witch saw an opportunity to perhaps save more than one person's fate here. She just had to figure out how exactly she should do that. She noticed suddenly that the conversation, or argument depending on viewpoint, had ceased and that both wizards were staring at her.

There was a gleam in Sirius's eye that she recognized as playful, yet suddenly without so many physical age differences between them the look made her uncomfortable as the boy wizard gave her an appraising once over that was more like a public undressing.

"Hello Kitten," He said with a smirk. "Who might you be?"

Regulus on the other hand looked straight at her and Hermione didn't mistake the cold hard suspicion in his eye. The similarities in appearance between the two brothers were ill matched by their attitudes. They behaved so opposite from the other that if they didn't look alike she never would guess they were related. And the look in Regulus eyes when she met his gaze made her shiver.

"Yes who are you?" A third voice entered the equation, coming from behind her. It was a voice the young witch would recognize anywhere, and she shuddered involuntarily. Severus Snape. A young Severus Snape.

"Um" She squeaked out and flushed, embarrassed by the small sound. She wondered briefly if she could flee the room. But she was trapped, despite the long corridor, there were two wizards in front of her and one very powerful wizard who was quick with his wand behind her and there were no classrooms between where she was cornered. If she moved in any direction one of the three were sure to catch her.

It wasn't how she wanted to do this, and frankly she realized that she didn't think things all the way through. This was not one of her better ideas.

"My name is Hermione Granger." She began only to be cut off by Regulus speaking.

"I don't really care who you are, the fact is you are not a student here so what are you doing here?"

"Yes, Um, I'm getting to that point." She replied awkwardly. "As I said, My name is Hermione Granger and I've come from the future." Oh Merlin, had she just said that? How corny, It was like a bad line straight out of a movie. The looks she received from the wizards in turn proved the fact that she had made an already unbelievable statement even more so. She mentally slapped her head. Then she imagined Severus Snape whacking her on the head in his usual style she so often noticed with Harry and Ron.

"The truth would be a good thing, I think Kitten." Chuckled Sirius.

"I am telling you the truth. Look I can prove it." She pulled out her time-turner. "This is a time-turner, it allows a witch or wizard to turn the dial forwards or backwards to move through time. I have one because when I was in my third year in Hogwarts in 1994, I had too many courses that were often held at the same time, but Dumbledore allowed me to use this to be able to take all of them.

"Tall tales, time-turners are hard to come by, only highly ranked Department of Mysterious officials are allowed to use them. A young girl would not have access to one, you will have to do better than that." Severus hissed. Hermione whirled around to face him and gave him a sneer.

"You want me to prove more. Fine. You, boy, are Severus Tobias Snape, you are a half blood, your mother a squib from the Prince line, and you are in love with your childhood friend and young muggle-born witch by the name of Lily Evans." Here she paused for effect letting the truth sink and watching as his face coveted into a furious expression. "In the future you are my potions professor." Before the wizard could retaliate she had spun back around and was addressing Sirius.

"Sirius Black. You are a Gryffindor, which is a stain on your house's name if your parent's are to be listened to, and you are mates with Prongs, Mooney and Wormtail, you yourself are also known as Padfoot. You happen to be the godfather of my best friend and the only person I allow to call me kitten for your information." Before Sirius could even give his trademark grin she was already moving on.

"You're Regulus Black, the younger brother to that one there and you uphold tour family's motto Toujours Pur, but I really must confess that I don't actually know that much about you because where I come from you are dead and nobody ever utters your name." She yelled in frustration and was met by all three boys' complete silence.

Which was eventually broken by them talking over her, as if she were not standing right there, really, and to each other.

"Wait you Love Lily?" Sirius asked Severus who ignored him except for a glare.

"There is no way, no way would anybody know that much about me, nobody knows that about me." Severus commented.

"I think she might actually be telling the truth." Regulus remarked.

"Perhaps the hallway isn't the best place to have this conversation." Offered Sirius. The others nodded and in the next second she found herself being ushered into an empty classroom up ahead.

"Now. Explain." Said Severus.

"I came back to warn you, I mean, I didn't quite plan on you all being here but the more the merrier." Hermione said.

"Well gathering the fact that I'm dead in the future, I take it you came back for me then?" Inquired Regulus.

"Yes I did. I don't know the best way of going about this." She replied. "Do you all know who Voldemort is?"

Sirius froze in his place, and his gaze shot towards his brother. Severus and Regulus shared a look, and in unison they all nodded their heads in the affirmative.

"Good, then I can explain less than I thought. I came back to give Regulus a warning, but the oppetunity seems to have presented itself for me to save more than one today. I'll make this quick because I don't have much time left."

"What do you mean you don't have much time?" Sirius cried out.

"She means that stupid necklace is going to pull her forwards to her own time at any minute now you dunderhead." Severus replied.

"Severus, my warning to you is to find something in your life that brings you joy, don't fall prey to what others think of you, or how they treat you. Find some semblance of happiness. Sirius, I need you to rethink your trust in wormtail, he doesn't prove to be trustworthy in the future no matter how he seems right now, Don't ever let him become Prong's secret keeper. Also avoid the Department of Mysteries at all costs, all costs, no matter what the circumstances might be in the year 1996. Regulus, don't ever join Voldemort. Don't do it, don't care what your parents have to say about it, and don't join him to feel the need to betray him later. I can't tell you what the outcome will be if you heed my warning, only that if you don't the consequences will be dire."

Hermione finished her monologue and was aware that all three wizards were staring at her. Hermione began to feel a tugging, as if she were being pulled backwards, and she glanced down to see that her time turner was spinning forwards, she was on her way to back to her own time.

The wizards watched at the strange witch with the horrible hair began to fade from view after her ominous warning. She had certainly left them with a lot to consider, as they stared long after she had disappeared.

"I can't believe you would even consider joining that lunatic." Sirius growled at his brother.

"I'm not considering it." The boy replied.

"Oh stop it you both. Perhaps we can try and figure out why the witch might have been warning us in the first place instead of bickering over what we may do to be the people we are to her in the future." A very frustrated and annoyed Severus interjected the budding argument between the siblings.

Hermione's head was spinning when she finally felt her feet placed firmly on the ground back in her room at Grimmauld Place. The room looked the same, which was a good sign she thought. Dizzy from the journey she sank onto the mattress that graced the room. The door opened.

"Kitten, what are you doing in here?" a voice asked and broke the young witch from her reverie. It was Sirius. One part of her was horrified while the other three parts immensely glad that she had been successful in saving him.

"This is my bedroom." She replied and gave him a puzzled look.

"Well, You have no idea how pleased I am to hear you finally admidit that!" The wizard smirked and crossed the room to her. Before she could gather what he was about to do his mouth covered her own and she was being pulled up from her perch on the bed.

Her eyes widened, why was Sirius kissing her?

"Sirius." She protested when he finally let her up for air.

"You don't seem very eager kitten." He pouted, no really, the sad puppy dog eyes and everything. If she wasn't so confused she would probably laugh.

"Why did you do that?" she half shouted.

"Well I guess I just assumed that since you were claiming my bedroom as yours that you had finally decided to accept my proposal. "

Oh no. She thought. What had she done? Not only had she saved Sirius from death but she was possibly getting married to him? What else had she changed?

"Ummmm, Sirius, I honestly don't have any clue what you are talking about. I…" she cut off. How would she explain having tampered with time?

She didn't have to answer her own questions because suddenly, Regulus burst through the door and gave her an accusatory glance.

"Hermione what are you doing in here? Tell me you didn't choose him." The other wizard yelled out.

"I don't know what's going on." She moaned out in despair, freaking out about the sudden attention she was so unused to and wanting to know what she had caused to happen by going back in time.

"Brother, get out." Sirius interjected swiftly, just as Hermione's legs gave out and she collapsed. Two sets of strong arms caught her.

"What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything!" Sirius replied affronted.

"Perhaps we should call Severus." Regulus mentioned. "She does seem quite unwell."

"I don't need Snivellus poking his nose into this matter." Refuted Sirius.

"Oh quit it with your childish insults for him. You know as well as I that while you may not ever be best friends that we are all connected to each other. What year is it Sirius, You know as well as I what this could mean and he has as much a right to be here as you do." Countered the younger wizard. Sirius huffed in annoyance but really couldn't argue the point.

"Fine." He growled. In the next instant, Regulus had summoned his patrons, an Egyptian asp, and told it something in hushed tones, it went slithering off to deliver its message.

Several minutes passed and then the dead quiet of the house was met with a crack of apparition and the loud footsteps barreling up the narrow staircase. The two wizards greeted the newcomer in their typical manner. Regulus nodded and said "Severus," while Sirius merely glared.

"Why is she in your bloody room," drawled Severus to Sirius, "Has she made her decision then?"

"No, I think perhaps our respective proposals may have come too late," muttered the elder Black in a solemn tone hebrarely used.

"She fainted, I think she seemed awfully puzzled as she stood there and then she said she didn't know what was going on." Regulus explained. "Time caught up I think."

"Fuck." Hissed Severus.

Unbeknown to the three dark haired wizards, Hermione had woken up and was watching them through half-lidded eyes, feigning sleep. Time catching up, that was a common side effect of using a time-turner, and she knew that eventually she would go back, but the first rule of using the device was to not change anything, and she had. So she must have been taken back to her own time, but because she had altered the time continuum, it had caused a ripple effect on the future. Her brain was on overload.

She considered the wizards standing before her, to her they were Sirius and Snape whom she knew, but then there was Regulus as well… that alone had altered time. She supposed that the wizards present would remember her from when she went back in time. She returned feeling as though nothing was different, but she had in fact changed the course of History, she just didn't know to what extent because she was the same person who had decided to go back in time instead of the witch these three clearly knew well. She wondered how well, that kiss had been awfully familiar.

"If time caught up, then that means she has no idea about anything from the past 18 years. She would still have the memories of the girl that showed up and warned us all those years ago, and not the Hermione that Severus raised and the woman we have been chasing after for the past 18 months." Regulus voiced.

Hermione became even more agitated then she thought possible. She shifted on the bed.

"She is waking." Sirius called and knowing that she couldn't keep up the ruse any longer she opened her eyes.

"Hermione, can you tell us the last thing you remember?" Severus asked gently, which was disturbing because the man she knew was not gentle in the slightest.

"I uh, I remember using my time turner to go back in time, but I had spun it back further than I wanted, I went back to save one wizard but by opportunity I was able to warn three. Then I was pulled back through time and found myself here, and really it couldn't have been more than an hour ago." She said.

"Well, It appears that time has caught up, you must forgive me, we knew this was bound to happen but we were not prepared for it as yet. We obviously were affected by your warning and therefore choosing to heed it, altered our fates and by consequence ended up knowing a very different version of yourself, until the time that you well, returned. For you it seemed like a small amount of time, for us, it has been twenty-five years."

"I see." She said. "I gathered as much, just seeing you all here tells me that I was successful in my plan, but I didn't quite expect to meet you when I returned. Its rather a bit of a shock." Hermione stated.

"I have been working on brewing a memory restorative potion which would bind all of your memories from both the girl we have known from birth and the witch that came to warn us that we knew would catch up at some point. It's just not yet been complete and won't be for another few weeks yet."

"We had hoped that we would convince Our Hermione, to marry one of us before your inevitable arrival so that the transition could be slightly less of a burden for you, but alas, she had not yet chosen between us before well now." Regulus explained. Hermione cringed at his statement of 'our Hermione' as though she was vastly different from the person he knew.

"I guess," the witch said slowly, "That you lot will just have to explain things to me as best you can until the potion is complete."

"That is an excellent idea." Chimed Sirius.

"You would think so," commented Severus. Then to Hermione he said "I don't want to push you too hard, this must be very overwhelming for you as it is. I think perhaps we should take this slow. Could you make up a list of questions you want us to answer for you?"

"I can do that." She said and smiled in relief.

"We will leave you to your task then." Regulus stated and the three wizards left the room.

It didn't take Hermione long to come up with a list. She naturally wanted to know what was different about her friends, her parents, and the timeline and had written out about 25 questions on a piece of parchment.

She timidly opened the door to the room and poked her head out. She could hear muffled voices from down the hall so the witch cleared her throat quite loudly.

"Guys?" she called. When she did three wizards emerged from the door to what she recognized as the library, though Merlin knew if it still was or not. She handed Severus the paper and watched as he skimmed through it. Then the dark eyed man passed the note to Regulus who did the same.

"The easiest way to get through that list is to break it apart. I will explain to you your childhood and education…"

"While I will fill you in about your friends," Sirius explained.

"And I will discuss with you the war." Finished Regulus.

"Okay." Hermione agreed. "Who umm, should start?"

"I will." Severus said and gave a look that dared the other two to protest. They didn't just quietly left the room.

"Hermione," her potions master began. "You were born to muggle parents but you were not first exposed to our world at the age of 11. You grew up immersed in it. Your muggle parents were murdered in 1980 by muggles. You would have been killed to, but you had your first burst of accidental magic and such a large outburst of it that the ministry had been alerted. You were taken into the custody of aurors when they discovered the bodies of your parents and the two people who killed them. I adopted you, and raised you as my own, because Dumbledore would have otherwise sent you live as a ward of the city, until you were old enough to attend Hogwarts. I couldn't let you grow up that way, so I took you."

"My Mum and Dad." The witch gasped, pained to learn that they had died. Severus paused to allow her time to process.

"As my daughter you were naturally exposed to magic early on. You excelled in learning how to control it and you have quite a bit of power in you. Your years in school were spent being Studious, you studied potions with me from a young age and so you never took that course in school, I privately tutored you. In other courses you were the best performed student. You graduated just a couple of months ago with the highest record since Dumbledore himself."

"Well, I'm glad to know that hasn't changed any" the witch commented.

"As my adopted daughter you were exposed to quite a lot, I believe that Regulus will explain to you most of those details. Do you have any questions?"

"Sir, I'm sure that I have plenty more questions but I'm not sure that they are the type that can really be answered." She confessed.

"I understand. I'll send in Regulus."

"There's no need, I'm here." Announced the wizard in question.

"Very well." Severus said and exited the room with his standard billowing of his black robes. It delighted Hermione that some things did indeed never change.

"Are you ready to hear about the war?" Regulus asked of her. She nodded.

"I think so." She said.

"Well, when you came back in time to warn us, it was to a world where certain parties were struggling for power, but well before a war actually broke out. I was in my fourth year, Sirius and Severus in fifth. We had not heard much mentioned of the Dark Lord at that time, but within the next year that had all changed. Severus was being recruited and since your warning had not mentioned anything about him not joining he did, but not before he consulted with Dumbledore."

"Is he a spy? He was a spy in my original timeline." The witch interrupted.

"Dumbledore encouraged him to join a rising dark lord by the name of Voldermort's ranks and work his way up to the trust of the dark lord himself and use this trust to extract information and bring it to him. He did. When he graduated he studied potions at the request of both his master's, and Voldemort thinking that Severus was his sole servant and could use the opportunity to spy for him accepted a position as potions master at Hogwarts" Regulus continued.

"I refused to join the ranks, I told my parents that I was too young and too privileged to become a servant for a wizard that despite being powerful was a half-blood all the same. They allowed this, though my house continued to put on the guise of support. In 1982 the war began, but the ministry did not fall as intended and Dumbledore vanquished the Dark Lord eventually in 1985. But Dumbledore was fatally wounded in the process, he had been destroying horcruxes having been given the memory of one Horace Slughorn, and realizing what Voldemort had done. He had created six of these items and Dumbledore destroyed them but one ring was cursed to the touch and infected him with a poison with no cure. It slowly spread to his heart and after the end of the war he died. Now Severus is Headmaster." He finished.

"Poor Dumbledore, it seems that fate did not see fit to spare him in either timeline." Hermione muttered.

"Now I'm sure you are eager to hear about your social upbringing and your life to date." The wizard mentioned.

"And I'm eager to inform her," replied Sirius from where he perched in the doorway.

Regulars nodded and retreated.

"Well kitten, what say you?"

"Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Remus, Tonks, Kinsley?" The witch began listing off the names and Sirius chuckled.

"I'm surprised you think them your only friends, but fine, all fine. Harry Potter is my godson, he was prophesied to have been able to defeat the dark lord if all else failed but as forewarned I never trusted Pettigrew after that and I became the secret keeper for the Potter's and went into his myself so Voldemort was never able to locate him, though he tried. The Potter's all live a quiet but happy life in Godric's Hallow."

"You mean James and Lily are still alive?" Hermione cried, overjoyed that her dearest friend had his parents.

"Very much so. As for the Weasley Clan, they are always around, Ron and you dated for a time in school and it didn't end well, you just were not compatible and different houses made it difficult to stay real close. You are pretty tight with the twins though. Luna despite being a bit odd is a very close friend of yours as is Draco Malfoy, Theo Mott and Pansy Parkinson, they grew up with you and each offer something different in your friendship. Neville, is a little lost boy and you took him under your wing but aside from being a mentor to the lad you're not real close. Nymphadora, boy do I love calling her that, is well she is an auror and stationed right now on a project in France. Mooney is good, he finally got married to another werewolf and they bought some property in Buckinghamshire where there are some woods nearby. They live a mostly quite country life and they have a three year old daughter."

"As for Regulus and I, we knew from the moment you came back in time that you were the girl for us and have since been fighting over you. When you were brought home by Snivilus all those years ago, we struck a bargain. We would each offer you our love and devotion and ask you to marry one of us, but we wouldn't fight any longer over you since we knew you needed us both to depend on. And when you chose we would be content to live as your friend and brother as a bachelor. Severus agreed and made up a bethrothal contract, allowing you the choice between us but that you would not be we'd until after graduating."

"So I'm betrothed to one of you?"

"Hermione, as of right now you are promised to one of the Black brothers but there is no name attached to make it an actual binding. We have both loved you since we laid eyes on you." He replied honestly.

"Okay, this is all a lot to wrap my head around. Can I have some time alone please?" She asked.

"Of course, kitten. Take as long as you need, we will be downstairs in the kitchen if you need us." Sirius said and closed the door as he left the room. Hermione laid on her side and closed her eyes allowing herself to think.

While Hermione was upstairs, curled into the nest of pillows and blankets she had made for herself in Sirus's bed, the gentlemen were in the kitchen of the narrow home.

"We haven't even told her the worst of it yet." Regulars insisted in a quiet tone.

"We shouldn't reveal too much at once, the truth could hurt her more than help her." Sirius voiced.

"Loath I to admit it," drawled Severus "but the dog is right. Hermione can't find out that since the war a new darkness has risen and that she has taken control of the ministry."

"The girl was fighting in a war when she came back for us." Regulus argued. "Its not like she wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Yes but Reg," Sirius calmly pointed out "Its a bit different when you are fighting for your friends, and another thing when you are the one being targeted. We don't yet know how that knowledge would be received. Hermione Snape was dealing with it, but we don't really know this Hermione Granger, no matter how closely she resembles our girl."

"I don't like it." His brother hissed.

"None of us likes it. But the truth is what it is..." Severus was cut off mid sentence bwhen his dark mark began to burn violently. "The lady is calling and she can't know I was here, I'm already low in her favor since Hermione is my ward. I will keep in touch but don't be surprised if the messages go through Draco."

"Long live the order." Commented Sirius. "We'll keep her safe Snape." He said.

One reluctant nod of the head and a billowing of robes later Severus disaparated.

"Now Regulus, don't be telling Hermione anything about this. We have to let the truth unfold gradually, and today the girl has learned enough."

"Yeah, but what is she going to say when she finds out she can't leave this hellhole?" Remarked the younger Black sibling. Before Sirius had a chance to reply he stormed out of the room and towards the library to pursue his love of books.