*Ok guys, here's the next chapter! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but I'd love to hear y'alls input so please don't forget to review!*
The next morning, Sirius made sure he woke up before anyone else. He carried Hermione downstairs to the common room and put her on the couch. She woke just as he was about to turn to go back to his dorm. Instead, he sat down next to her and smiled.
"Morning, sunshine." He joked. She half-smiled, clearly still partially asleep.
"Goodmorning. How.. How did I get here?" She asked, only just taking in her surroundings.
"You fell asleep in the library last night and I didn't want to wake you, so I carried you back up here."
"You carried me all the way from the library?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, you're really not that heavy. And you just looked so peaceful sleeping so..." She smiled.
"Well, thank you. I think we're close to finding a way for me to get back home. I miss everyone so much.. And I'm already two days behind in my classes." Sirius laughed and messed up her hair.
"Always worried about your studies, aren't you 'Mione?"
"Oh shut up, Sirius." She replied, laughing.
"Not a chance," he said and winked.
"Oi," said James as he and Remus walked up behind them. "When you two are done flirting, maybe you can pull youselves into the real world long enough to come with us to Hogsmeade today." Hermione blushed, while Sirius just laughed.
"Oh shut up, Potter. Where's Pettigrew?"
"I dunno. He said something about not feeling too great, so he's still up in his room. So, Hogsmeade?"
"I'm fine with that.. Hermione?"
"Well..."
"Oh, c'mon 'Mione." Sirius pleaded. "Take a break for once, come with us."
"Oh alright." Sirius beamed, which made Hermione smile.
"Great! Let's go get breakfast first, I'm starving." The four quickly ate and then headed to Hogsmeade. There was over six inches of snow on the ground, so the walk to Hogsmeade almost immediately turned into a battlefield. Snowballs were flying everywhere, hitting everyone in sight. Hermione was so focused on the game that she didn't even see Sirius sneaking up behind her until he had attacked and pinned her to the ground. She laughed and struggled to get away, but Sirius was obviously a lot stronger than her. She finally escaped when Remus hit Sirius right in the face with a snowball, distracting him long enough for Hermione to get free. The snowball fight continued until they were all so out of breath that they laid on the ground in exhaustion.
After a while, they all got up and walked the rest of the way to the Three Broomsticks, where they sat with another large group of people. The whole group stayed in Hogsmeade until it was dark. Hermione had completely forgotten about her issue of getting back to her time. By the time they left that night, Hermione had made twice as many friends as she had back home. Sirius put his arm around her shoulders as the two of them followed the crowd back to the castle. Maybe I don't want to go home. She thought to herself, looking up at Sirius. Would it really be so bad if I just stayed here? She dismissed the thought as soon as she thought of Harry and Ron. Not to mention, her parents would be worried sick. Has anyone told them I'm missing? Her heart hurt just thinking about it. Sirius looked down at her, noticing her sad look.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He looked worried.
"Nothing.. I was just wondering if my parents know I'm missing yet. I miss them so much.." She bit her lip as she felt tears filling her eyes. She hadn't cried in so long, and she certainly wasn't going to now. Not in front of Sirius. He stopped walking and waited for the rest of the crowd to get a good ways in front of them. He turned her to face him and put his hands on both of her shoulders.
"Hey. Don't worry, we'll get you home soon. I promise." Hermione was skeptical, but something in his eyes told her that he meant it. She nodded and hugged him. The top of her head barely reached his chin.
"Thank you." She whispered, just loud enough for him to hear her. He smiled and they walked the rest of the way to the castle in silence, hand in hand.
They reached the castle right before cerfew. Hermione was beyond exhausted, but she was determined to finish going through one last book before she went to sleep. She sat on the couch in front of the fire and sat the Time Turner on the cushion next to her. She was about half way through skimming the book when a paragraph caught her eye.
Time Turners have been used throughout history to rewrite the past. However, occasionally, the device can be used to go to the future. This can only happen under certain circumstances, which are explained in the book, "A Guide to Time."
Hermione flew up the stairs into the boys dorm. She found Sirius fast asleep in his bed and began shaking him awake.
"Sirius," she whispered. "Wake up! C'mon I think I found something." He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Blimey Hermione, it's almost 2 AM. Couldn't this have waited until the morning?"
"It is the morning! Now come on!" He rolled his eyes, and half-grinned at her.
"Well at least give me a minute to put on some damn clothes." She realized for the first time that he didn't seem to be wearing anything under his blanket. She blushed and muttered, "Alright, just... Just come down when you're done.."
She walked down and waited for him on the couch. He came down (now clothed) and sat down next to her, still trying to wake up. He rubbed his eyes again and said, "Alright, you got me down here. Now what did you find?" She pointed out the passage in the book and waited while he read it. His eyes grew wide as he finished reading.
"Wait here." He muttered as he ran up the stairs. Hermione waited for him, confused as to why he left so suddenly. He ran down the stairs a few minutes later and put a huge book that looked like it was falling apart on the table in front of her. It looked as though it were hundreds of years old and the binding was hanging by a thread. She picked it up and tried to make out the title, but the ink on the cover was blurred beyond recognition.
"Remus checked it out a week or two ago for a paper he was writing about the history of time travel. I recognized the title when I read it in your book." He flipped it open to the title page where Hermione could actually make out the title. 'A Guide to Time' was written across the page in fading black ink. "The book was written just a few years after the first time travel devices were created." He continued. "I didn't think anything of it at first, though I probably should have." Hermione gaped at the huge book, the key to her returning home. It was twice as large as any book she'd ever read, and twice as fragile. Each page had to be turned with care, or you risked ripping one of them. There was no index or table of contents, so it would take her all day to find what she was looking for. She opened to the first page, eager to get started, but Sirius closed the book and took it from her.
"No." He said, shaking his head. "No more. Not tonight at least. I know you. Once you start you won't be able to stop. Not until you've found what you're looking for. I'll bring this back to you in the morning, after you get some sleep." She stuck her tongue out at him, but it was interrupted by her yawning. I guess he's right, she thought. I am pretty tired. He smiled, knowing he had one, and he turned to leave just as her head hit the couch and she fell asleep.
It was only five short hours later when Hermione awoke to the sound of yelling. She sat up and saw Sirius and Remus standing over her, holding pieces of something in their hands. Sirius had a very worried look on his face.
"Sirius.. What's wrong?" She asked, slightly confused. He bit his lip and looked to Remus, who held out the broken pieces to her. She took them in her hands and was even more confused by the broken bits of glass, until Sirius put the bits from his hand into hers as well. When she gasped, it was Remus, red faced and clearly upset, who rushed into an explanation. "We came down here and you were still asleep and I tried to walk around you but I guess when you fell asleep last night, it got knocked off the cushion and I stepped on it and I'm sorry I didn't mean to and.. Why did you have a Time Turner, anyways?" His face was flushed, and he obviously felt very bad, but was still curious. Hermione didn't answer. Instead, she looked down at the broken pieces of her precious Time Turner. The only way for her to get home had been smashed to pieces.