Sirius blinked. Without sitting up he attempted to gaze about the room to determine where he was. The last thing he remembered was Bellatrix sneering at him looking rather triumphant. Yet, even that memory was becoming hazy as he lay there. He flexed his fingers on his wand and sat up slowly. The room was boiling hot and a wave of nausea rose in him but he battled it back down by sheer will. His head was throbbing and he felt as thought he'd been run over by the Knight Bus…which then promptly backed up over his aching body again.
He allowed himself to sit quietly for a few moments, after seeing the room was empty, to gather his bearings. The room was strange to say the least. And yet somehow it was painstakingly familiar. He tried to place it. There were large metal shelves running the length of three walls, which were piled high with what he assumed to be medical supplies. There were boxes of supplies stacked in neat piles along the fourth wall, which also housed the door. The room was dim and smelled aseptic, but there was an undertone. Something familiar - almost musty. Grimmauld Place? No, it couldn't be. He thought for a moment, his fingers absently twining in the shaggy red carpet he was settled on. He looked down and sputtered. Red shag carpet? Of course, this was Grimmauld Place! And this was his old room! He'd spent many a drunken night tangled up with one naked female body or another on this carpet. He'd know it anywhere! Sirius smiled softly to himself, allowing himself to sink into a lustful memory. He didn't notice the door open right away since he was too busy replaying some sexual conquest in his head. The woman in the doorframe noticed him right away, though. She froze with her jaw hanging agape. She let out a tiny gasp. Sirius' head snapped up and he raised his wand threateningly. He took the woman in. He allowed a small smile to form on his full lips in appreciation.
The woman was tall, with legs that looked as though they went on forever. She was barefoot, wearing muggle shorts that were very short Sirius noticed at once. Her belly was flat, her chest well endowed, and they were encased in a tank top so form fitting it might as well have been painted on. She had a pretty face – full lips, a button nose, and large brown eyes. The length of her chestnut hair was piled atop her head in a messy bun. She looked almost familiar. His mind was playing tricks on him, he thought. He'd remember a knock out like that. He rose to his feet, still pointing his wand at the woman.
"I'm Sirius Black," he began in an authoritative voice.
"I know." She whispered then fainted, falling into the room roughly.
Sirius smirked, put his wand away and then went to gather the woman into his arms. "Yeah, I have that effect." He said to her silent body as he carried her out of his old room. He had carried her down the stairs intending to put her on the couch in the sitting room. Upon entering the sitting room, though, he saw that it no longer served the purpose of…well…sitting. The furniture, couch included, had been removed and replaced with several hospital beds. All occupied. There was, what Sirius assumed to be, a healer bent over one of the beds her hands on the body lying there. He cleared his throat. The healer looked up, startled, and her jaw dropped.
"Erm, hi," Sirius began. "I'm Sirius…"
"Black." The healer breathed.
"Er…yeah. I don't really know how I got here. But um, this woman, she um…" he went on raising the limp woman slightly in his arms.
He stopped when the healer fell to the ground in a dead faint.
"fainted." He finished rolling his eyes. "I'm on a roll."
Sirius laid the woman in his arms gently on the floor, checked on the healer, settling her in a more comfortable position then went to fetch some water from the kitchen.
When he reached the kitchen he immediately saw Kreacher vigorously stirring a caldron that was hanging over the fire in the hearth.
"Kreacher!" Sirius boomed happily.
Kreacher spun, then screeched. He quickly tried to make a run for it, darting past Sirius quickly. Sirius, however, was quicker and clamped a hand on Kreacher's arm.
"Alright!" he hissed at the house elf. He dropped to his knees to become level with Kreacher who was shaking violently with fear. "Now, tell me what the hell is going on. I wake up upstairs with no fucking idea how I got there. My house looks as though it has been turned into a make shift hospital, and every person I meet along the way either faints or tries to run away. I want some answers, Kreacher, and I want them now."
The house elf looked somewhat calmer and Sirius released his arm.
"M…mas…master is dead." Kreacher sputtered. "Sirius Black is dead!"
Sirius rocked back on his heels and looked at Kreacher closely. "Kreacher," he began softly. "I'm obviously not dead. We wouldn't be having this conversation if I were."
Kreacher nodded his head violently. "Yes! Sirius Black died ten years ago to the day. Evil Bellatrix killed him. She cursed him dead at the Ministry of Magic, and Sirius black floated into the Veil of the Dead. Yes, Sir, Sirius Black is as dead as a door nail."
Sirius pondered this for a moment silently. "Alright," he began rising to his feet. "I'll deal with that later. I'm here now, Kreacher, and I need some more answers. Why is my house a hospital?"
"Many perished, Sir, in the battles. The battles raged for ten years. They are just now over. Good has triumphed over evil at last. The Dark Lord is dead! Killed four nights past at the hand of Harry Potter! But the price of victory was a heavy one, Sir. We lost many allies. There are too many injured, Sir, Wizarding hospitals cannot hold them all. For those who can, they are brought to their homes to live or die."
"Harry?" Sirius asked quickly.
Kreacher hung his head. "Alive. But not for much longer, Kreacher thinks. Harry is very sick."
Sirius' head spun. "The others?"
"All of the Wesley's 'cept for the two youngest are dead. Ginny and Ron are here, but they don't open their eyes. Lupin and Tonks are dead, Sir. So is their son Teddy. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid - all dead."
Sirius turned suddenly and vomited violently in the sink.
Just then a lovely young woman with blonde hair and pale blue eyes wandered into the kitchen with a distant look in her eyes.
"Oh," she said softly with a smile. "I expect you're the reason Katie and Hermione are passed out in the ward."
Sirius looked at the woman trying to place her.
"Do I know you?" he asked.
The woman smiled lazily. "We met briefly. Right before you died. I don't expect you to remember me – dying can be a very traumatic experience. I'm Luna. Luna Lovegood."
Sirius nodded vaguely. "Hermione's alive?"
"Oh yes," Luna said nodding. "however she is passed out on the floor in the ward."
Sirius forced a smile. "I was coming for some water."
Luna nodded. "Let me take care of them. You sit down and eat something, you look like death warmed over." She said dreamily pouring water into two glasses and disappearing.
Sirius fell into a chair heavily. He cradled his head in his hands and Kreacher tentatively slid a plate of steak and kidney pie, some mash, and mixed vegetables toward him. Sirius looked up, smiled, and dug in realizing just how hungry he was.
"Ten years of not eating will make you ravenous, I presume." Came a soft voice from the doorway.
Sirius looked up to see Hermione again, leaning against the doorframe. He offered her a smile, and she returned it shakily. She stepped forward and settled down at the table across from him. Kreacher slid her a plate, and she smiled and thanked him. They ate in silence for a moment before Sirius spoke up.
"Sorry about scaring you up there,"
Hermione held up a hand. "It's alright. Bit of a startle is all." They fell into silence again
"So," Sirius said when they'd cleaned their plates. "Tell me everything."
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Hermione's eyes were emotionless when she finished retelling Sirius of the last ten years. Sirius held his face in his hands, a stunned silence racking him. He was unable to find any words that could possibly express a fraction of his emotions.
The Weasley's, minus Ron and Ginny, were all dead. Every last one of them had been slain at their home during a quiet family dinner celebrating Molly and Arthur's wedding anniversary. Ginny and Ron were spared due to their absence while they volunteered with Harry and Hermione at a medical camp in the field.
Dumbledore was dead by the hand of Snape, though at his own bidding as Snape was indeed a true member of The Order.
Bellatrix had murdered Professor McGonagall during a Death Eater raid on Hogwarts when they'd tried to reopen.
Both Lupin and Tonks, whom were apparently married and had a child which was news to Sirius, had died during a bloody battle at Hogwarts where Voldemort had escaped narrowly.
Hagrid had died at the hands of Voldemort himself after having suffered several days of torture for information on the where abouts of Harry.
Teddy, Lupin and Tonks son, had been kidnapped and killed during a storming of Tonks' parent's home. Tonks' parents had been murdered as well.
Draco Malfoy had given his life to save Hermione. It was discovered that he, and his family, had been acting under the Imperious Curse. When the curse was lifted Draco fled. His parents were abruptly murdered. Draco had gone with Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron to fight what was to be the final battle against Voldemort. He'd flung his body over Hermione's when Voldemort had aimed a killing curse at her. Because, it was later discovered through his journal, he'd loved Hermione she became immune to Voldemort as Harry had been years before.
Both Ginny and Ron took unknown curses to their chests and were laying comatose in the sitting room down the hall. Harry and Voldemort had dueled for hours. Finally their wands locked in curses, there was an explosion of blue light – Voldemort was dead and Harry barely alive. Hermione had apparated them all back here and Harry had not woken since.
There were others in the sitting room. Lavender Brown, Cho Chang, Padma and Parvati Patil, and Zachirah Smith were all victims of the yet unknown curse that left its victim comatose.
Katie Bell was the healer Sirius had shocked into a faint earlier that evening. Luna Lovegood was also working to save those in the sitting room. Neville Longbottom, Lee Jordan, and Dean Thomas were out hunting the few remaining Death Eaters.
"But, you're all just children. You shouldn't have, I mean, it isn't fair…" Sirius grasped for words.
Hermione smiled sadly. "We were children, ten years ago when you died, Sirius. I'm pushing thirty now." She patted his hand and rose to put the dishes in the sink.
Sirius sat back. "I suppose I'm fifty or so then."
Hermione smiled at him from the sink and shook her head. "No, I don't suppose you'd age after you died. I'd say you're right at the age you were ten years ago. Fortyish?"
Sirius thought a moment and nodded. "I'd reckon you're right."
He sat silently contemplating for a minute. "And the rest of the world," he began bitterly. "went on with their merry little muggle lives I suppose."
"No, Sirius." Hermione came to him and took his hand. "Come with me."
It was strange for Sirius to be holding the hand of an obvious woman, though he remembered her only as a child. And while his mind was conflicted at this thought, he couldn't help but get a twinge of excitement in the pit of his stomach at her touch. She was, after all, a woman and it had been a very long time since Sirius Black had touched a woman. He snapped back to reality when Hermione thrust open the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place.
Devastation lay beyond the doorstep. Smoldering ruins of what used to be people's homes lay like burnt bodies. Rubble littered the streets that were stained with blood. Sirius could make out bodies buried under heavy rubble. The stench of death was strong.
"All of London?" he asked quietly.
"Gone." Hermione replied simply. "The entire world looks like this, I'd imagine. Voldemort gained worldwide supporters in the last ten years." She sighed. "About six years or so ago the Wizarding World overtook the Muggle World. We've been one in the same ever since. Muggles and Wizards fought side by side – some for good some for evil." Hermione folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorframe as she and Sirius took in the damage.
"How many died?"
Hermione shrugged. "It's only been four days since Voldemort died. The world needs time to access its damages. But it's easily in the millions."
Sirius looked at her. Her eyes were blank, void of any emotion. He took a deep breath and draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his broad chest.
"Hermione," he whispered in her ear. "It's ok to FEEL. It's over now. And we'll figure this out. But you can't keep everything bottled up inside. You have a right to grieve too."
Hermione's throat constricted. She shook her head against him violently. "No," she whispered hoarsely. "I don't have time to 'grieve'. I've got my friends in there to worry about saving. I've got to keep it together."
"You're only human."
And Hermione broke. She began to cry softly at first, then harder until her entire body shook with violent, angry sobs. She held onto Sirius' shoulders as if her life depended on it, and she wept like the broken woman she was. Sirius wrapped his powerful arms around her as she sagged against him. Her sobs turned into wails of anguish, then to screams of rage. She battered him with her tiny fists, and he took it all, letting her scream at him, beat at him, but never letting her go. She exhausted herself eventually and simply lay limply against Sirius catching her breath. She lifted her head to look up into his face intending to thank him, but instead she pressed his lips against his fiercely. Startled, he stepped back but Hermione was quick and stepped with him never breaking contact. He responded to her kiss finally, by grabbing her chin, tilting her face higher, and deepening her kiss to dizzying heights. She wound her fingers into his mane of black hair and he dropped his hands to her tiny waist. He spun her suddenly, pressing her back to the wall. She groaned into him, pulled herself up, and wrapped her legs around his hips. Sirius slid his hands down over her backside and held her up against himself, kissing her passionately. He wanted her, that was obvious from the growing bulge in his pants and Hermione had no objections. She tore away from his lips and blazed a trail of hot wet kisses down his throat. He moaned and pressed his hips forward against her.
Suddenly, though, he remembered little Hermione. Bushy hair, teeth too big for her tiny face, smiling up at him, Hermione. He pulled away from the grown Hermione who was busy gobbling him up and took a shaky breath.
"Hermione, we can't, I mean, I want to, but we can't."
Hermione blew her hair off her forehead. "I know. I'm sorry. But I am not a little girl anymore. And I am by no means a virgin."
Sirius smiled. "I know you're no little girl, trust me on that. But it just…well…it's not right. I don't think," he trailed off.
Hermione offered him a smile and nodded. "It's alright. Come on," she said brushing past him. "I'll take you to see Harry."