Chapter Four:
Hermione Missed the Hogwarts Express
Last Time: This really is not my day, Hermione thought. Her first night back for her last year at Hogwarts and she was spending it on a cot in the Hospital Wing, alone. I overslept, didn't pack, missed the Hogwarts Express for the first time in my life, and was attacked by Death Eaters… all I need is for Ron to cheat on me and I will Avada Kedavra myself. Madam Pomfrey appeared at her side and administered the necessary potions. After swallowing the last dose, Hermione thanked the mediwitch and settled back into the pillow. A moment later, she was asleep.
The noise in the Great Hall was silenced as Professor McGonagall entered, leading a long line of first year students up to the front of the Hall for their Sorting. Occasional cheers pierced the air as the Sorting Hat called out one of the four Houses. Once the last student, Wendy Ziegler, was Sorted into Hufflepuff, Headmaster Dumbledore proceeded with the start of term announcements.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have just a few announcements before we eat. I would like to remind you that no student is permitted to enter the Forbidden Forest, no matter what the reason." Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes rested briefly on one section of the Gryffindor table. "Also, I would like to present to you our newest member of the staff, Professor Black, who will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."
At the mention of his name, Sirius Black entered the Hall from the staff entrance and took a seat at the Heat Table next to the Deputy Headmistress. Many loud whistles and cheers were heard as he sat down.
Once the Hall was quiet again, Headmaster Dumbledore announced the feast and platters of delicious food appeared on each table.
Sirius let his gaze wander over the sea of students seated at the four long House tables as he nibbled on his dinner. He was slightly nervous, more than he thought he would be, now that his position was official. It was an odd feeling for him, nervousness. He never really felt it before and he hoped that it did not show in his behaviour. The last thing he needed was to give Severus Snape more reason to stalk him.
As Sirius' grey eyes swept over the Gryffindor table, he caught sight of his beloved godson and his friends. It was not until after he waved to Harry, Ron, and Ginny that he noticed the absence of one particular young witch. Where is Hermione? She can not possibly be at the library already!
He gave his godson a questioning look, hoping the boy would be perceptive enough to figure out what he was silently asking. Sure enough, Harry glanced around the Gryffindor table before meeting Sirius' eyes again and shrugging. So, Harry doesn't know where she is either. That cannot be good.
Sirius turned to the witch next to him and quietly asked if she knew where Hermione Granger was and why she was not at the feast.
Minerva McGonagall flashed him a sad look before answering his query. "Miss Granger missed the Hogwarts Express this morning and decided to apparate directly to Hogsmeade," she informed him. Sirius detected a slight tremor in her voice as the older witch continued. "She was attacked by two Death Eaters on her journey from town. Thankfully, Hagrid arrived in time before too much harm was inflicted upon the poor child."
Sirius' eyes went wide at Minerva's explanation before his surprise turned to concern and anger. What was she thinking, travelling alone like that?
"And what of the two Death Eaters?" he inquired, barely containing the rage he felt at the nerve they had to harm Hermione.
"Unfortunately, they disapparated before Hagrid could reach them," Minerva answered, her thin lips forming a firm line of disapproval.
"Where is she now, Minerva? Do the children know?"
"Miss Granger is in the Hospital Ward. Poppy is keeping her overnight to ensure that she heals and rests properly," Minerva said as she watched Sirius rise from his seat. "I do not believe the children have been informed yet. Albus mentioned meeting with them after the feast."
Sirius barely heard her as he turned to leave the staff table; he was too concerned with seeing Hermione for himself. As he made his way towards the exit, his eyes landed on his godson and his friends again.
They did not noticed him leaving, for which he was thankful. He did not want to explain anything to them at the moment, for fear of saying the wrong thing and inciting a three-person riot. He would leave that delightful task to the Headmaster. It was only as he walked further down the line of the table that Sirius noticed Ron was not sitting with Harry like before. Instead, he was sitting near the opposite end of the table, nearly sharing hips with a female student who was most decidedly not Hermione.
What is Ron doing? Last I heard, he and Hermione were an item. Maybe he has something to talk to that witch about that he did not want anyone else to hear?
Sirius continued to watch ROn out of the corner of his eye as he made his way closer to the exit. He noticed Ron put his arm around the girl, and then watched in horror as Ron leaned in and shared a rather heated snog with witch.
WHat the hell does he think he is doing? This is the bloody Great Hall for Circe's sake! Even if he and Hermione are no longer together, the Great Hall is not the place for such displays!
Sirius realized his thoughts sounded much like Minerva as his anger flared up. Glancing back at his godson, Sirius watched Harry peek down the table toward Ron and expected the boy to fly from his seat in rage. Instead, all Harry did was shake his head before sharing a look with Ginny that indicated they both knew what Ron was doing.
Sirius rushed out of the Great Hall before he did anything to jeopardize his newly acquired teaching post. He decided that he would check with Hermione to see if she and Rone were still a couple before he did anything rash.
Hermione was startled awake by Madam Pomfrey a few hours after falling asleep. THe mediwitch wanted to give her young patient another dose of healing potion and make sure she ate some dinner before venturing down to the Great Hall for a meal herself.
THe sky beyond the windows was dark and Hermione knew that the students must be at the Welcoming Feast. She wondered if Harry and Ron even noticed her missing yet. They are probably too caught up in the excitement to realize I'm not there.
Once she finished her meal, Hermione leant back against the headboard and stared out the window across from her cot, thinking about the events of the past day. Suddenly, she had the feeling that she was being watched and turned her gaze from the window to the doorway.
She tried not to react when she saw the shadow of a person leaning against the door frame. Silently telling herself not to worry as the shadow moved to step closer, she bit her lip to keep the mounting scream from bursting through.
The shadow moved so slowly that the wait was agonizing. Hermione cursed Madam Pomfrey for leaving the rest of the wing, minus Hermione's bed, in total darkness. Finally, the shadow moved into the light surrounding Hermione's area and relief washed over Hermione so swiftly she thought she might faint.
It was only Sirius Black.
A breath of air hissed from her lungs as she sighed. As the handsome man smiled broadly, the pieces clicked in her mind and she let out the blood curdling scream she fought to contain only moments ago.
"Hermione!" Sirius yelped, panicking. "Shhh, 'Mione. Stop screaming, it's just me!" Reaching for her shoulder with the intent of calming her, Sirius leapt back as Hermione thrashed about trying to get away from him. At a loss on what to do next, Sirius sank down into the chair placed next to her cot and stared balefully at the over-dramatic witch.
"Sirius?" Hermione whispered in disbelief after a few moments of staring wide-eyed at him.
"Yes?" He was bewildered by her behaviour. Perhaps she was hurt worse than he was told.
"But you're supposed to be dead," she replied, her voice barely a whisper. "Beyond the veil, lost forever."
Sirius felt like an arse as she reached out a small, long-fingered hand and said, "Are you a ghost?"
"What? No love. I'm here, I'm real. I thought you knew, love." His grey eyes bored into her chocolate brown ones, begging her to believe him. He loathed the sadness in her eyes and the last thing he wanted was for her to scream like a banshee again. "Remus and Albus found a way to bring me back a short time ago. I thought you knew!"
"No! No one told me!" Hermione flung herself at Sirius, landing as a pile of limbs in his lap. "I am so happy you are back! Harry must have been ecstatic to see you! We all missed you so much!" She started crying, tears of happiness running down her face at the safe return of a much loved wizard.
"do not cry, love," Sirius said, using his thumb to wipe away the tears. Hermione gazed up at him, doe-eyed, before reality kicked in and she scrambled off of his lap.
Giggling at herself, Hermione climbed back onto her cot. Curious, she launched into a series of questions to find out how, exactly, Remus and the Headmaster were able to bring him back. Sirius graciously answered her questions for a while since there was not too much to tell. He still did not have all of the answers himself and he told Hermione as much.
Changing tact, Sirius asked, "How come you didn't know I returned? It seems like something Harry would have blabbed to the whole world, especially one of his best friends."
"I'm sure he meant to tell me on the train, but I missed it and wound up here instead. I was traveling with my family for the past several weeks, so I haven't seen the boys or heard much from they either."
"Ah, I guess that explains it. Well, I apologize for giving you a fright," Sirius replied. "I only meant to check on you, not give you a heart attack. Good thing Poppy wasn't around or I would be in the next cot after one of her beatings." Sirius grinned as Hermione chuckled at his joke.
"How did you know that I was here?" she asked, gesturing at the bed.
"I noticed that you were not at the feast. I asked Professor McGonagall where you might be and she briefly told me about what happened today," Sirius explained.
"Oh," Hermione replied, looking down at her clasped hands. "Today was a bit of a mess, nothing seemed to go right."
"I'd say. Why didn't you contact someone when you missed the train, 'Mione?" Sirius reached forward to grasp one of her delicate hands that were kneading the bed covers.
Hermione glanced down at her left hand as Sirius held it in his larger one and a blast of warmth ran through her. Fighting off a blush, she focused her eyes on the window. "I do not know. I didn't occur to me at the time to contact anyone. I just wanted to get to Hogwarts as quickly as possible."
Sirius squeezed her hand gently as he stood. "Thankfully, you're alright. I hate to think of what might have happened to you," he admitted sadly. He hated seeing her like that, beaten down and defeated, and he did not want to imagine what more could have happened.
Hermione nodded before tilting her head to the side as she eyed Sirius curiously. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"I told you – I came to check on you," Sirius answered, confused.
"No, I mean, what are you doing at Hogwarts in general?"
Sirius' face broke out in a large grin. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Sirius!" Hermione narrowed her eyes at the playful wizard, daring him to not answer her question.
"Demanding little sprite, aren't you?" Sirius said with a bark-like laugh. "Well, I am at Hogwarts because I am the new DADA professor. What do you think of that?"
Hermione's eyes lit up in excitement. "Are you really? Congratulations, Sirius!" Hermione pulled him down into a hug. "I cannot wait for DADA class now."
Sirius held onto her and whispered his thanks into her hair. He did not want to let her go for some reason and that kind of scared him. He wanted to protect her from everything – Death Eaters, Ron, everything. Reluctantly, Sirius settled the young witch back against the headboard as he stood and stepped back.
Clearing his throat, Sirius wished Hermione a good night with the promise to check on her the next day before breakfast. Pausing before he turned to leave, he asked her the one question that had been on his mind since he left the Great Hall.
"'Mione, are you and Ron still a couple?" he asked. He wanted her to say no, to save her and hurt and heartache.
"Yes, we are. Why do you ask?" Hermione replied, bewildered.
Sirius felt his heart drop at her confirmation. He could not tell her what he witnessed, not now. It would break her after the day she had.
"No reason, I just wondered, knowing how much you two bicker, I was just curious." He winced at how lame he sounded trying to cover his tracks. He eyed her warily, hoping she would accept his answer as just another one of his quirks. She did.
With a heavy heart, Sirius leant down and kissed her forehead before finally turning to leave. Madam Pomfrey entered the infirmary to check on Hermione just as he left. Nodding absently to the mediwitch, Sirius lost himself in his thoughts.
He wondered what he ought to do about Ron. Maybe I should follow Harry's lead, and just stay out of it? I do not want 'Mione to get hurt. The little voice in the back of his mind told him that she would get hurt either way. He arrived at his quarters no closer to a decision. Perhaps he would sleep on it and hope that a decision would come to him in the morning.
"Ron, have you seen Hermione?" Ginny asked as she, Harry, and Ron made their way back to the Gryffindor common room after the welcoming feast.
"No, have you?'
"No, maybe we should ask the Headmaster or Professor McGonagall," Ginny replied.
Before the three of them could even turn around, Headmaster Dumbledore crossed their path. "Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley, and Mr. Weasley, may I have a word, please?"
"Of course, sir," Harry answered as they followed the Headmaster up to his office.
Once they were all settled in the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore explained Hermione's situation to them. After a fit of rage from Harry and Ron, followed by a promise from Ginny to keep the boys under control, the Headmaster instructed them to go directly to their common room for the night. They accepted the Headmaster's orders with reluctance as long as they were permitted to see their friend in the morning.
The walk back to the common room was a quiet, contemplative one. Each of them wondered why Hermione missed the train to begin with; she was never late for anything. By the time they finally reached the Fat Lady, the three of them decided that they would go see Hermione first thing in the morning in order to escort her to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Ginny bid the boys good night before she climbed the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Harry turned to head up the stairs to the boys' dormitory, but by the third step he noticed that Ron was not behind him. Searching the room for his friend, Harry spotted him heading toward the blonde bimbo sitting in the far corner of the room.
"Oi, Ron! Are you coming?" Harry shouted, annoyed with his friend's behaviour. Ron waved him off as he sidled up to Lavender Brown.
Ron was his best friend, but he could be a royal prat sometimes. The bloke just found out that his girlfriend had a rather traumatic day and was laid up in the hospital wing because of it, and there Ron was, hiding out in a dark corner of the common room snogging some other witch. He is a bloody prat. He doesn't deserve Hermione the way he's acting. If he keeps it up, I'm going to say something about it that he will not be able to blow off.