Sirius and Harry stared at each other unblinking for a long moment; neither of them believing what they were seeing. The room was silent as they waited with baited breath to witness this monumental reunion. Hermione stood wide eyed with her fingers over her lips, clasping Ginny's hand tightly in her own free one. It was Harry who made the first move, standing up on his shaky legs abruptly. He moved as quickly as his shocked legs could carry him to stand before Sirius. Haltingly he lifted his arm and allowed his fingertips to brush across Sirius' cheek. Tears began to well up in Harry's eyes as he took in the sight of his previously departed god father standing before him. Sirius appeared to be choked up himself, as a stray tear drop coursed its way down his stubbled check. It was Sirius that finally reached out and pulled Harry gruffly into his arms. Harry's arms snapped automatically around the older man's midriff as they hugged fiercely. Sirius pulled away and grasped Harry's face in his hands, allowing the tears to roll freely down his face.

"I thought I'd never see you again." He whispered.

Hermione tugged gently on Ginny indicating that they should leave the two alone. Ginny nodded, signaled to the others, and exited the room with Hermione. Once the large group had made it quietly into a small office down the hall, Hermione exploded.

"What happened? How did he come 'round?!" she exclaimed.

"I don't know, I was just talking to him and he started shaking his head. So," Ron explained as he ran a hand through his fiery crop. "I shook him. A bit harder than I should have, maybe, but you know I was mad. And then before I knew it he opened his eyes and asked where he was and what had happened."

Hermione was grinning insanely.

Luna flopped down into a chair and smiled serenely at the group. "Isn't it nice? Everyone waking up and such, I mean. I'm just having a ball with all this."

Ginny smiled sweetly at Luna and Ron sniggered. Luna simply shrugged and her gaze shifted to unfocused as her mind departed into its reality as it usually did.

"So, you shook Harry then, Ron?" Hermione began slowly. Ron nodded. "Then," Hermione went on thoughtfully. "violence seems to be part of the answer."

Ginny shrugged. "I beat the bloody hell out of Harry yesterday and I got nothing."

The room dipped back into thoughtful silence.

"'MIONE! 'MIONE!" Harry's voice boomed through the house moments later.

With a grin Hermione stepped into the hallway. Harry came around the bend at the other end at the same moment and upon seeing her, broke into a run. Hermione matched his pace and they collided in the middle, a jumble of arms and legs and shouts of joy. When the blur cleared Hermione was wrapped tightly around Harry, her ankles locked behind his back, her arms snaked around his neck, and her face buried in his collar bone, while her body vibrated with laughter. Harry held fast around her waist with his own face buried in her honey colored ocean of hair that danced around her shoulders.

Sirius strode into the library through the back door and took a peek out into the hallway at the pair. He smiled lightly and ducked back into the library to see Ginny glowering quietly on the sofa. Before he had a chance to question the little red head, Harry strode into the library holding Hermione by the hand; whom looked ready to burst with pure joy. She grabbed Ron's hand as they passed by and the trio made their way toward the French doors that opened to the gardens. Night was just beginning to fall, twilight boldly painting the sky in bold blues, reds, purples, and oranges.

"Apparently," Ron laughed as he was dragged into the dusk. "we need a moment."

As that moment turned into a few, then into an hour, then two, Ginny dejectedly began cooking dinner for the rapidly growing household. She was quite nosily slamming around pots and pans when Sirius came in to offer his assistance.

"Mon petite pixie," he began, quickly dodging a renegade flying pot. "what ever is the matter with you?"

Ginny twisted to face him with a half smile and a shrug. She turned back to peeling potatoes and Sirius stepped forward toward her. He picked up a knife and a potato and began to peel with her silently. Before long, through the open window above the sink, Sirius heard the reason for Ginny's anger. Floating in on the warm night's breeze was the indistinguishable chatter of the golden trio supplemented by little shrieks from Hermione and deep laughter from both Harry and Ron.

"Oh," Sirius said quietly. "Is my tiny fairy green with jealously?"

Ginny looked up at him slowly. "I'm not jealous in the context you're thinking."

Sirius nodded, picking up another potato. "And pray tell what is it that I am thinking?"

"That I'm jealous of Hermione and Harry." Ginny offered as she began to chop the potatoes she had peeled.

"Hmm," Sirius said, nodding. "Maybe. But I think you're a bit more jealous of being left out of 'The Golden Trio'."

Ginny stopped chopping. She shrugged and lifted her chin proudly to gaze out the window at the night sky. "I love Hermione, Sirius. I do. But she gets everything. Harry worships the ground she walks on. Ron thinks she can do no wrong. She's smarter, funnier, and prettier than me. She went away to battle with Harry after he dumped me at Dumbledore's funeral. He didn't think I could handle fighting, but Hermione could. She just always wins."

"Ah," Sirius said, wiping his hands on the front of his pants and turning Ginny toward him gently. "Mon petite pixie, Harry and Ron love you just as much. Granted, it may not in the same way, but just as much. You are a clever, intelligent, witty, silly, sexy witch. You possess just as much strength and cunningness as Hermione if not more. You are my favorite little pixie, and I love you very much. I'm sorry that you feel like you've been trampled on, looked over, and passed by. But as long as I'm around, I promise I'll love you and I will never underestimate you."

Ginny let out a long sigh, turned her green eyes away, and smiled. After a moment she brought her eyes back to his and raised ever so slowly to her tip toes before she pressed her lips against his briefly. Sirius didn't pull away, but didn't immediately respond. She pulled back, lowered herself back down, and took a deep breath. "You see what I mean?" she laughed softly as she moved toward the door. "Hermione also has you."

Ginny disappeared out the door, and Sirius heard the front door slam before he dared to breathe again.

OoOoOoO

A few days passed uneventfully in the household after that. Sirius had no more rendezvous' with Hermione and he had successfully avoided being left alone in a room with Ginny. He was by no means unpleasant toward either witch, but he withdrew into himself a bit; spending more time either locked up in his room or with Harry.

It was a cool evening nearing the end of August and Sirius was settled next to Harry on the back porch. He swirled the ice in his glass of fire whiskey and he rocked gently in his chair. Harry sat quietly nursing a butter beer and staring off into the rapidly darkening horizon.

"So," Harry began with a quick swig off his bottle. "I've seen the looks between you and Hermione."

Sirius raised an eyebrow but remained silent as he took a long gulp of his amber liquid.

"And I've noticed you and Ginny going out of your way to avoid each other."

Sirius let out a long sigh.

"This leads me to believe things." Harry chuckled easily. "You know that Ginny and I were an item at one time, but did you know that Hermione and I had a bit of a fling?"

Sirius tilted his head toward Harry, who met his eyes and nodded. "Oh yes, Hermione and I got together shortly after Ron married Chloë. We lasted nearly a year too, but things just didn't work you know? We never told anyone."

Sirius cleared his throat softly. "Harry, why are you telling me?" he asked, dreading the answer.

But Harry only shrugged and drained his butter beer down. "I will always love both Hermione and Ginny dearly. And I am telling you this because you need to be a bit more careful."

Sirius leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his face in his hands. "Careful?" he questioned from between his finger.

"Mmm," Harry hummed quietly. "With their hearts. I'm afraid I've broken them pretty badly and I'd hate to see their mending jobs come crashing down."

Sirius smiled into his hands. "The funny thing is, I never considered Ginny. She came on to me. It shocked me, and I didn't do anything but stand there. After that, she's avoided me at all costs."

Harry grinned at the image of the suave Sirius Black rendered useless by Ginny. "Sirius Black didn't sweep his tiny pixie off her feet?" Harry laughed.

Sirius chuckled and sat back shaking his head.

Harry smiled over at Sirius. "All I'm saying is be up front with the girls. Let them know your intentions."

Sirius smiled back sadly and drained his glass. "The thing is, I don't even know my intentions." He was silent for a moment and then turned serious. "Harry, do you have feelings for Hermione?"

Harry met Sirius' gaze. "I will always love Hermione. But we were not meant to be together romantically. I have come to terms with that, as has she, and we wish each other only the greatest happiness in our future relationships."

"That sounds rehearsed, Harry."

"It wasn't a pretty parting of ways, Sirius."

Sirius nodded. "And what of Ginny?"

Harry thought for a moment. "Unless you intend to marry Ginny, keep your hands off her."

Sirius sat back stunned, but recovered quickly, and gave Harry a sincere grin. "You have my word."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement.

"Going in back after her, then?"

"I never fell out of love with her. But I wronged her deeply and it will take a lot of work to win her back."

"Best of luck on that, mate. She's a feisty stubborn little thing, that one is."

Harry laughed.

That sat quietly for a moment before they were disturbed by shouts and the sounds of running in the house. They rocketed out of the chairs with wands drawn, and stormed into the house.

"MOVE!" Hermione yelled shoving a gaping Ron out of the way. The group of survivors were gathered in the sitting room watching the disturbing scene unfold. Padma and Parvati Patil were seizing violently. Their backs arched grotesquely as saliva bubbled at the corners of their lips. The muggle monitors Hermione had insisted on hooking up to monitor the comatose were shrilly screaming in beeps and blips, forecasting impending doom. Hermione reached Padma first and plunged a dose of anti seizure medication into her vein. It seemed to have no effect as Padma continued to shudder brutally, her body slamming over and over against the mattress. Hermione, shocked, hurried to force a dose into Parvati's bloodstream. Again, there was no effect. The monitors screeched louder still. Hermione looked helplessly toward Sirius. He snapped out of his shocked state and hurried forward.

"Can you dose them again?" he yelled over the screeching.

Hermione nodded weakly and went to the shelves to pull another drug out. This time Sirius held onto the shuddering girls as best he could to allow Hermione easier access to their veins. Again the drugs had no effect. Katie and Luna were muttering spells and incantations over the flailing bodies to no effect.

"We're going to have to let them ride it out!" Katie yelled over the monitors as tears spilled down her face. Neville wrapped a protective arm around her waist and she buried her sobbing face against his shoulder. Neville watched on in horror. Ron turned away from the brutal scene and vomited in the nearest trash basket. Luna moved toward Ron and pressed a cool cloth against his forehead as she allowed silent tears to slide down her pale cheeks. Ginny turned suddenly, her face crumpled and she ran into Harry's strong arms. Hermione stood bone still next to Sirius her body shivering. She watched the monitor screens in silent terror as the heart rates continued to climb. The electronic equipment screeched viciously, reaching an almost crescendo of beeps, blips, and alarm bells.

"Turn the fucking things off!" Harry yelled over the noise. Hermione glanced back at him as he held a shuddering Ginny in his arms. She moved forward slowly toward the seizing girls. As suddenly as it all started, it ended. The bodies stopped quaking and the monitors stopped screaming in angry beeps, instead replaced with a continuous monotonous bleep that was accompanied by a straight line on the screen. Everyone in the room froze.

"Hermione, what does that mean?" Sirius asked quietly.

Hermione's hand went to her lips in horror. "It means their hearts have stopped." She whispered.

The room erupted into activity then, each person trying to whatever they could to get the Patil sister's hearts beating again. In the end, all their efforts proved useless and Padma and Parvati Patil slipped quietly into the great beyond.

The mood in Grimmauld was somber that next day as the occupants rose and prepared for the impending funeral. Hermione was up first and dressed in gray slacks and a simple white blouse in preparation to apparate to Diagon Alley to begin arrangements for the Patil sisters. She leaned against the counter in the kitchen sipping the tea that Kreacher had prepared from her slowly. Sirius stepped in the kitchen, pausing briefly upon seeing Hermione propped against the counter before offering her a small smile. She returned it half heartedly and placed her cup in the sink. Her eyes were deeply blood shot and puffy from a full night of weeping and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun; she looked tired. Hermione moved to walk past Sirius on her way out but he caught her quickly around the waist and pulled her into a tight hug. She sighed as she allowed her arms to encircle his waist and her scent to fill her nose.

"Who's going with you this morning?" he asked against her hair.

She shook her head lightly. "No one."

"Well that's just ridiculous. I'll come along, no one should have to do this alone." He said firmly pulling apart and taking her hand in his.

Hermione offered him a genuine smile of thanks for his support and allowed him to lead her out of the house to the front step. Her face remained blank as they surveyed the devastation surrounding them in the streets as he lead her carefully through the debris to the corner where he wrapped her in a tight hug again and apparated them to Diagon Alley.

You would have never known a war had taken place when you reached Diagon Alley. Nothing here was crumbled or smoldering, or the least bit charred. The streets were bustling with activity as witches and wizards hurried here and there buying supplies to replace those lost. Sirius furrowed his brown and looked down at Hermione curiously. Hermione returned his questioning gaze as they stepped into the hustle and bustle.

"The last time I was here," Hermione began looking around in shock. "there was nothing here but a few shells of bombed out buildings. The streets were nearly deserted, and there were only make shift tents set up to register the dead and injured."

Sirius nodded and squeezed her hand tightly. He led her straight to The Three Broomsticks. A pretty new bar maid was behind the counter tending to one or two afternoon stragglers. She smiled as Sirius and Hermione approached the bar.

"Hello, love." Sirius began, leaning against the counter. "I've been away…for a bit. Diagon seems to have been rebuilt rather quickly, hmm?" he turned on the charm.

The maid giggled, completely ignoring Hermione as Sirius flashed her a sexy smile.

"Well," she laughed merrily. "what did you expect? We are magical."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "Say, lovely, do you know if we're also rebuilding muggle London?"

Again the bar maid twittered. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Have you been living under a rock, handsome?"

Sirius leaned toward her, a wide smile dripping with sweetness. "Perhaps."

That twitter came again that made Hermione shudder. "We have teams formed that are sweeping through the hardest hit parts of the world first and rebuilding. They're responsible for collecting and tallying the dead, rebuilding the homes, and obliterating memories. It's going to be a looooooong process."

"How far back are they obliterating memories?" Hermione piped up.

The bar maid crinkled her nose as if Hermione were something vile for interrupting. "Pretty far," she said indifferently. "Far enough for those nasty muggles to forget that there are even witches and wizards."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Six years of every muggle's memory? That's a bloody lot! And dangerous too!"

The maid shrugged. "Ces't la vie."

Hermione sighed exasperatedly, shook her head, grabbed Sirius by the hand, and dragged him toward the door. Sirius boomed with laughter at the maid's disappointed face. "Until we meet again!" he called as the door closed behind him and Hermione.

Hermione dragged Sirius around a corner into a deserted alley. "Six years! Six god damn years, Sirius! Do you know how much damage you can cause by obliterating six bloody years of memories?" she hissed.

Sirius nodded. "I know, love, but honestly I'm sure they've sent the best of the best."

"It doesn't bloody matter, Sirius, it's still wrong." She huffed. "I want to find out more about this after we've gone to the Registrars Offices about Padma and Parvati."

"Alright, we'll do a bit of detective work afterwards, love. Now let's go and get this over with." Sirius agreed. He leaned in and kissed her lip softly before taking her hand and leading her out of the alley. Even in this grimmest of situations, Hermione couldn't help but smile at the flutter in her stomach.