PROLOGUE

She felt the hot prod of the spell radiating through her body and making her scream, but her mind went white with pain. The witch did not have an answer for them and even if she did, she still wouldn't give it to them. The curse subsided, and she was splayed, gasping on the floor, part of her wishing for death at this point.

"Tell us how you did it and it will all be over," The stern voice ordered, and she pressed her fingers to the stone.

"Fuck you," Hermione spat and there was a menacing chuckling heard throughout the room.

"I always love a witch who plays hard to get…" the sickly sadistic voice cooed.

She knew the hooded captors by name. Hermione could describe their faces to the minute amount of details. The three of them stood around her with wands out in their classic death eater garbs. Hermione knew the odds of her making it out of this place were slim, but all the while she couldn't help but hope that her marauders did not have to endure her fate for much longer.

"So, can I just slice her to bits slowly then? I have been meaning to cut that cursed ring finger off and take them for myself. Pretty little jewels." The female snickered and held a silver dagger in her free hand.

"Not yet, I have a feeling she will see it our way soon enough. Chain her up and find the boy… I want to see her scream as we cut out his eyes." The gravelly voice announced, and Hermione tried to climb off the floor.

"You will not touch my son!" the young witch howled as bindings curled tightly around her body.

One of the figures ducked down to her level and took her chin roughly in his hands, "What does a pretty little mudblood like you do to deserve that type of authority? Do you hide treasure in your clothing that they traveled all this way through time for you? No timeturner to be found. No magics of any sort that we could even find… tell me, do you think I won't pry it from your sweet little mouth before I kill you?"

Her eyes grew cold and narrow, "You can try, Dolohov, but I cannot give you an answer I do not know." She finished by spitting on his mask.

He tossed her roughly to the floor and erected himself, "Have the mutts in back shag her in the arse if she keeps it up. I have a child to go fetch."

"Don't you touch him, Dolohov! I will kill you myself if you harm him!" Hermione screamed after the man's back as he started to leave the room.

"I look forward to seeing you beg later, mudblood," he said with an amused chuckle and left her to her captors.

"Crucio!" she heard before the white-hot pain erupted inside of her again for another round of torture.

Her mind was flat-lining… she couldn't believe her stupid luck that she for the second time in two years would suffer a pain worse than death. Her last thoughts were of her marauders and Teddy as her body gave in and passed out.

First comes love, then comes… an odd engagement with two marauders?

Hermione was rubbing her temples in annoyance of her mountain of work she had. It all waited for her patiently over the weekend and even the glint of her rings did not bring her solace. Tilting her head to the side in thought she felt the unusual pull of them as they teemed with curiosity. It was a new feeling they had taken to since their employment at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. It had been a few months of them working and she started to feel a bit dejected by their new-found freedom that she was not a part of.

"Miss Granger, care to take a lunch before the minister will meet with you?" Percy asked and Hermione sighed and nodded.

They usually had a meeting biweekly to discuss her new bills, but this was different. "Certainly, Mr. Weasley, I will return shortly."

The young witch packed up her things and shuffled from her office, but knew of only one place she wanted to be. Her feet led her down to Diagon Alley and she shuffled through the crowd with a single goal in mind. Approaching the building, she paused and straightened her simple suit before entering the shop and taking in the scene before her.

"I told you it would work!" Sirius shouted in victory as small wispy dragons floated around the room.

"Can you imagine the sort of trouble this could get a student in at Hogwarts?" Remus mused and held up the small red item.

George saw her first and waved, "Fancy seeing a Ministry witch in here!"

The marauders stopped and grinned stupidly at their fiancé, "Trills!" Sirius exclaimed and nearly toppled a display of love potions to reach her.

He enveloped her in an embrace and kissed her deeply, "I love when you have time to see us during the day," he whispered against her cheek and she giggled.

Remus waited patiently and handed the small egg to George when she pulled from Sirius, "What gives us the pleasure of your company today?" the werewolf inquired, and Hermione beamed.

The female animagus kissed him and sighed, "Other than missing you beyond the norm? I had some free time to have lunch if you both wanted."

Sirius did not give her or Remus time to answer, "We are taking lunch, Georgie!" he shouted and tugged them both out of the shop in a haphazard fashion. "Come on! We need to relish these moments."

The werewolf rolled his eyes, but he radiated relief and happiness as she walked in between both of them, tucked against them closely. They had their fair share of looks from others in Diagon Alley when they traveled all together, so it made the Marauders a bit nervous, but Hermione could care less. She was used to being looked at and admired after the war ended, but this was a different type this time.

"Enjoying your weekly war against the unjust?" Remus asked, and Hermione groaned.

"I have been fighting the good fight as ever. Kingsley told me it will take a bit more support to pass my next bill and amendment, but he is working tirelessly on it as well."

Sirius tugged a loose strand of hair from her cheek and smirked, "We never expect less from you. Always so incredibly dedicated."

"It's disgusting, she even expects to marry both…" an older witch hissed loudly to the wizard next to her as they passed them, and Remus instantly grew deflated.

Hermione glanced back at the elderly couple and cocked her head in puzzlement, "Is it just my paranoia, or are people acutely aware of our engagement?"

Sirius scanned the nearby crowd and found indeed that they were being gawked at more than usual. "Did someone announce us in the paper?"

When they walked inside the Leaky Cauldron, Hannah smiled and waved, "Hermione! It is so nice to see you and your fiancés."

The young witch blushed and thinned her lips before answering, "When did you find out?"

Hannah walked them over to a table and seemed very confused by her question, "Well, didn't you tell Rita Skeeter about your engagement? She wrote a piece about you today. I would think twice than to speaking to her again, she made you sound… greedy."

There were a couple of patrons that took glances at them at the table and Hermione folded her arms, "I never spoke to that woman. Can I get the paper to see this article?"

Hannah blushed but went to retrieve a copy of the Daily Prophet from Tom near the entrance. When she placed the paper down on the appropriate page, Sirius cleared his throat and spoke, "Well, can we get a spot of tea while Hermione contemplates how to skin a reporter?"

The other witch nodded and left them alone to read the column. It was the highs and lows of Hermione's dating life since arriving on the scene of the wizarding world. Her heartbreak about Harry's rejection and taking matters into her own hands by dating his best friend. A woman of such scorn as to deny rejection outright and bring two young men back from the past so she could seek the Black fortune and marry into the pureblood house.

Not being outdone, Hermione was also being accused of pinning the wizards against each other, so they would both agree to marry her to spite the social ramifications of using an ancient law to protect her from justice. Rita Skeeter blathered on to speak about the distaste of the young witch and her more than distrusting personality that created this mess…

Hermione was seething! "How dare her! Is she lacking in that much material that she needs to write about me again?"

Sirius was sneering at the pages, "You mean to tell me she has done this before to you? All of these things are purely false."

Remus shoved the paper aside and leaned over to look at them both, "It doesn't matter. It is obvious that she is reaching for a juicy story that does not exist so don't worry. We have done nothing wrong."

Hermione groaned and shook her head, "It is disgusting that she thinks she can still get away with this type of gossip writing and pass it off for news."

The male animagus rubbed her back and kissed her cheek, "Moony is right, we just ignore this ridiculous piece and go about our business. No need to explain ourselves to anyone."

The witch pondered a moment and scrunched her face in thought, "I am curious to find out how she came to such conclusions about you both. The ministry kept your reoccurrence a pretty tight-lipped affair. I am not quite sure how she could have come up with me retrieving you from the past."

Sirius tapped the table and shrugged his shoulders as Hannah set down their tea, "That is an easy question to answer. Rita was just in here the other day speaking to Ron Weasley over drinks. He was quite sloshed, and she did not help his case by buying him more as they spoke."

Hermione let out a large sigh, "Ron… I wish your habits did not always seem to cause me more discomfort…"

"We will have the specials, Miss Abbott," Remus told her, and she excused herself quickly.

"Well… I was contemplating what to give him for his birthday. I suppose a bloody fist to the jaw would work well," Sirius growled, and Hermione patted his arm.

"Don't blame the twit for getting pissed and talking. I just wish he knew that Rita was looking for a juicy story to tell."

"Never a sharp one, that Weasley boy," Remus grumbled and dressed his tea.

Hermione exhaled and rolled her neck, "Well, we will just have to avoid the crowds for a bit."

"I don't mind placing a bit of overtime in the bedroom," Sirius snickered with a grin.

Hermione giggled softly and shook her head, "Always the bad boy, Pads."

"Like you expected any different, Trills." Remus retorted with a smirk and she kissed each of their cheeks.

"I am thankful for you, my marauders," Hermione whispered and they smiled brightly.

"We are more than just thankful... we are absolutely elated that you chose us." Sirius declared with a nod and Remus chuckled.

"Well, elated is a decent word, but does not quite sum up our love for you, Hermione."

She kissed both their hands and felt anger completely diminished, "I couldn't agree more."

"Does that mean we can play hooky from work?" Sirius inquired with a wolfish grin.

Remus rolled his eyes and groaned, "Not at this rate, Padfoot."

Hermione laughed and shook her head,"At least not today, Sirius. Let's have a bite and we can meet at home tonight to see just how much we can continue this love fest." She replied, and they enjoyed the rest of their lunch together.