Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter in any way shape or form. Why you ask? Because my name's not J.K. Rowling! Can I legally change my name?
A/N: Hi guys. I know that you're all probably trying to find me as I type this because I've been a jerk and haven't updated in like forever, but I've been busy with school and some other stories that I'm working with, so please don't kill me! I have a new story up that you all might like. It's called Black Perspective: Astrea's Tale and it is the story of Astrea Cassiopeia Black. Do I need to say more? Sirius is of course a main character, so I hope you all will check it out and please tell me what you think of it because I'm getting near to diddly squat on feedback for the thing. So, here's the next installment of Operation: Rescue Padfoot for you all! Please read and review!!!
"Sirius? Where are you?" Hermione asked, walking down a dimly lit hallway.
"Protego!" she heard a voice, Sirius's voice, shout from a room at the end of the hallway. She quickened her pace, practically running down the hall to see what Sirius was doing. Did he need help?
"Sirius!" she shouted, turning into the room where his voice had come from. The sight that met her eyes was that of her love dueling with the Dark Lord Voldemort!
"How many times do you have to die until you stay dead?" Voldemort's cold voice asked.
"As long as you and your Death Eaters threaten the ones I care for, I'll just keep coming back you snake!" Sirius shouted, dodging the curse Voldemort had just sent his way.
"Sirius!" Hermione screamed, running towards him. She saw his eyes dart in her direction and he shouted at her, "Stay back Hermione! Get out of here!"
"I'm not leaving you to fight him alone!" she replied, drawing her wand.
"Hermione, no!" Sirius yelled. It was at this time that Voldemort went in for the kill.
"Avada Kedavra!" he shouted and Hermione watched as the jet of green light flew out of Voldemort's wand and hit Sirius. And then, she watched as his lifeless body hit the ground.
"Sirius! No!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, falling to her knees as tears spilled from her eyes.
"Hermione!"
Hermione shot up in her bed and saw everyone standing around her, looking scared. Sirius was sitting on the edge, grasping her shoulders. His face was terribly white as he released her from his grip. "It's alright," he whispered, "it was only a dream."
"Oh Sirius!" she cried and threw herself into his arms. She cried and cried and the tears wouldn't stop coming.
"What happened?" he asked, but Hermione couldn't reply.
"Sirius, you try to calm her down. Everyone else out," Remus said in a commanding voice, and everybody reluctantly left the room. Slowly, Hermione started to calm down.
"Are you ready to tell me what happened?" Sirius asked, brushing her hair away from her face.
"I…it was dark, and I was walking down a hallway. I heard your voice and…and I ran towards it. I rounded into the room and there you were…dueling with Voldemort…When I tried to help, I distracted you and…and…he killed you!" Hermione finished, bursting into tears again.
Now Sirius understood why she had been screaming and thrashing in her bed, in some sort of fit was the only way he could think to describe it. But why would she have some sort of dream like that? It didn't make any sense. Something seemed fishy to him.
"It's okay Hermione. I'm not going anywhere for a long time. And anyway, you already saved me once, you would find a way to do it again."
"It was so real," she whispered, her voice wavering. "I thought that it all was actually happening. In the instant before you woke me up, I wanted to kill Voldemort, but I also wanted him to kill me."
"Why?!" Sirius asked, holding her back slightly to look her in the eyes.
"I only wanted to be with you…that's all I ever wanted, was to be with you…" she said, staring into those deep blue pools, her tears still streaming down her face. He reached up and wiped the rivers away.
"Well, you are now, so just calm down. It's only two in the morning, you need to get back to sleep," he replied, getting up to leave, but she clung to him tightly.
"Please, stay here, at least until I fall asleep."
"Okay, I'll just sit here, and as soon as you're asleep, I'll go fill in the others. Is that alright?"
"Actually, I was hoping you would hold me."
He was shocked for a moment, but he obliged, climbing in and crawling up to the head of the bed and allowing her to rest her head on his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breathing. Oh how she loved that feel, it was like she was lost in her own personal ocean.
"Promise me you'll never leave me," Hermione said, cuddling closer to him.
"I promise Hermione…" he whispered, running his hand through her hair as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
"This isn't good," Sirius said, pacing back and forth. Hermione had gone back to sleep and after Sirius was sure that she wasn't going to wake up again anytime soon, he had gone down to tell the others what Hermione had told him. They were concerned too.
"What if this is Voldemort's doing?" Harry asked, and everyone looked at him.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"Well, it could be like when he was sending me all of those dreams in our fifth year, what if he's doing the same thing to Hermione?"
"How could he do that? He doesn't have the same link that he has with you."
"It doesn't matter, he's still the world's greatest Legilimens. He can get at anybody he wants to."
"Why Hermione though?" Remus asked.
"Bait," Sirius said. "He wants bait."
"For what?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"I don't know, maybe to get Harry to fight him alone, to get Harry to try and save Hermione on her own. Or maybe…" Sirius trailed off.
"For you?" Harry asked.
"No, that doesn't make any sense," Sirius said, shaking his head. "What would he want me for?"
"Maybe he wants both of you so he can get Harry out into the open. Voldemort knows that Harry would do anything to save his friends," Lupin replied, turning to pace around.
"Then we need to keep everyone here, especially Sirius and Hermione," Harry said.
"What, you think I'm going to run off…again?"
"To save Hermione, probably," Harry answered.
"What on earth? What do you mean Harry?" Remus asked, looking first to Harry and then to his best friend who was glaring at his godson.
"How did you find out?" Sirius asked.
"Hermione's determination to save you and her reaction when she saw that you hadn't woken up yet."
"What are the two of you talking abou…" Remus started, but then stop as apprehension dawned on his face and he stared at the other Marauder.
"Hermione…and you?" Ron asked, looking at Sirius.
"That's why you two were outside so long tonight," Moony said.
"It was her attitude that made me curious, and what she said to me…I just had to know what the heck was going on!" Padfoot replied, looking around at all of them.
"Do you feel the same way about her?" Lupin asked his old friend.
Sirius was silent for a moment in contemplation. "I don't know. I feel something for her, but I don't know what it is, or what it means."
"Her nightmare, if it keeps coming, could lead her to go after Voldemort in an effort to keep you from harm. We have to keep an eye on her, and take the necessary steps to protect her and keep her here."
"That won't be hard, seeing as Hogwarts won't be opening again this year," Harry said.
"Should we tell her parents?" Sirius asked and everyone suddenly got very quiet. "What?"
"The Death Eaters found out where she and her parents lived…Hermione was the only one who survived. It happened at the very start of the summer."
"Oh no," Sirius said, plopping down in a chair. That had pushed her over the edge, what had made her so determined to save him. "Now they're doing this to her…"
"Sirius," Harry said warningly, but Sirius didn't care.
"I'm going to kill them all!" he roared, standing up and heading for the door, but Remus blocked his way. "Get out of my way Moony!"
"I've already lost Prongs because of Voldemort and Wormtail is as good as dead, do I have to lose you again too Padfoot? Think about how this will affect everyone, not just you! If you die, then Hermione will lose all will to live and she'll probably try to kill herself! Do you want that to happen?"
Sirius looked shocked, Remus had never yelled at him like that before. He turned to face his friends and they all looked a little scared, just staring at the duo.
"I'm going to check on Hermione," he said and started up the stairs. He walked up the stairs and into her room. She was still fast asleep, but she tossed and turned.
"Sirius!" she called out, and he rushed to her side, clutching her hand.
"Shh…it's alright, I'm right here." He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead. She stopped tossing and tightened her grasp on his hand. He stared at her, hoping, praying that she could find some peace and wondering why she hadn't told him about her parents.
"She didn't tell you because she didn't want you to think she was weak," Harry said walking in as if he had read his godfather's mind.
"I wouldn't have thought that, I would have been able to understand a little better in fact."
"As soon as we heard about the Dark Mark in the sky, we rushed to her house, but it was too late. We found her unconscious in the hall closet. Her parents had shoved her in there and she had hit her head hard on the way down. They were trying to hide her. The Death Eaters didn't seem to care about her though, so they just killed Mr. and Mrs. Granger and left. When she woke up…let's just say that it was bad."
"I can't imagine what that would have been like for her."
"She shut herself in here afterwards, and then, after a few days, she came out with this crazy, well, apparently not so crazy plan to get you back."
They both fell silent for a minute, just watching her sleep, then Sirius broke the silence.
"What do you think of this, of us?"
"Well, I'm surprised to say the least, but I don't have a right to stop you guys if you really love each other. Just know that I'm happy for you."
"Thanks Harry."
"No problem. Well, I'm going to turn in…again. Night!"
"Night Harry," Sirius said and Harry left. Hermione was still fast asleep, but her eyes were rapidly jumping back and forth underneath their lids. "Shh, I didn't leave, I'm right here, I'll protect you. You don't have to worry anymore Hermione, nothing's going to happen to either of us, trust me…"
A/N: Okay guys, you know what to do! May Padfoot be with you all!
