Hero of the Story || James Potter x Hermione Granger Fanfiction

35 | be the light in the dark of this danger - part ii

xxxv.

be the light in the dark of this danger – part ii

(A Safe Place to Land by Sara Bareilles)

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January 3, 1979

Hermione, in her Animagus form, spotted a heavily cloaked Regulus hiding in the shadows at the most secluded booth in the whole of the Leaky Cauldron.

Her blue eyes glanced at the scuttling overgrown rat beside her and she gloomily meowed, relaying that she'd seen Regulus Black.

She wasn't sure if it was possible in Animagus form, but Hermione could actually feel Peter's deathly glare directed at her furry back.

When Peter had demanded he was coming with them, Hermione had tried every means she could think of just to stop him. The Pettigrew siblings had exchanged a few well-aimed spells, with Hermione mostly meaning to petrify or stun him, so that she could run away and meet Regulus. But to her utmost surprise, Peter dodged them all and even tried to petrify and stun her instead. Perhaps, Auror training had made Peter a better fighter. She would have been relieved at that thought, seeing that he was already being sent into different dangerous missions. But his constant dodging and attacking was frustrating, and nine pm had been steadily approaching.

In the end, Hermione called for a ceasefire and a reluctant agreement that Peter could come with her to the Leaky Cauldron.

Before they left, Hermione had scrawled a letter telling Anya she might spend the night over at Lily and Sev's. After that, she and Peter had decided to Apparate near the Leaky Cauldron instead of Flooing, just so they could arrive in their Animagi forms - nobody would remember them in the pub that night.

Hermione took the lead and slinked towards the tense Slytherin. She loudly meowed at Regulus, who flinched and warily glanced at her cat form.

"Pettigrew?" he tentatively whispered.

She meowed in confirmation. At this angle, Regulus looked positively green, deep terror in his mercurial eyes. Perhaps, he also knew that this mission was dangerous – more dangerous than their break-in at Gringotts months ago – and had been on edge ever since.

Hermione meowed once more and bounded away, hoping that Regulus got her signal to follow her. She didn't look back as she slipped past the entrance between the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley and only stopped when they were finally at the back of Flourish and Blotts.

She turned into her human form and grimly greeted Regulus Black. Almost immediately, Peter turned into his human form too, prompting Regulus to backpedal in shock, his wand now clutched tightly in his hand.

"What the hell is he doing here?" he furiously cried, jamming his wand tip in the Auror's direction. Horror and disbelief coloured his face as he glanced back at Hermione once more. "Are you... are you double crossing me?"

"No," Hermione flatly said at the same time Peter murmured, "So you're really a Death Eater, huh."

Regulus suddenly looked thunderous as he lifted his wand again, threateningly pointing it at Peter. Her brother also had his wand drawn, ready to defend himself in case the need arose.

"Please, we have other things to do," Hermione snapped, eyeing their wands warily. It was Peter who first withdrew his wand and stiffly stared at Regulus, unwilling to look away from his suspicious, grey eyes.

"Regulus..."

"What is he doing here, Pettigrew?" he spat, not breaking his glaring contest with her older brother.