The Perennial State
by
Padfootz-luvr
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine.
Full Summary: For the life of her, Hermione had no idea where she had landed. Hermione, Ron, and Harry are escaping Death Eaters by broomstick, the summer before their 7th year, when Hermione is hit with an unknown curse, and falls into a mysterious wood. "This is private property." There she is found by a young man who claims to be someone she once knew...SBHG, loosely based on themes found in J. M. Barry's Peter Pan.
A/N: I had a reader message me to ask about the song lyrics at the beginning of each chapter. I basically have a few playlists in iTunes that I listen to while writing any given chapter; each playlists varies, mood-wise, and sometimes a particular song will capture the feeling I am trying to portray so I basically play it on repeat until I go utterly insane. I'll take some of the lyrics that are relevant to the chapter, or the themes, or the characters' relationships, etc. Chapter One used lyrics from "Yesterday", by The Beatles. Chapter Two featured Imogen Heap's "Speeding Cars. "I Found a Reason" was the song in Chapter Three; it is by Velvet Underground, but I listened to Cat Power's cover. This chapter has Coldplay's "Clocks". Enjoy.
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"Confusion never stops
Closing walls and ticking clocks…"
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When she opened her eyes, the room was dark, although the curtains were not drawn. There was a hunched figure in an armchair, which had been pulled right up next to the bedside. The figure was slumped onto the bed, head leaning on crossed arms. Hermione recognized the dark hair hanging over his eyes after a moment.
"Sirius?" she whispered into the dark.
The figure sat straight up, and his pale eyes found her darker ones quickly, even in the deep blue of the pre-dawn. He said nothing, just stared at her.
"Could you," Hermione started, and then cleared her throat before trying again. "Could you hand me a glass of water?"
Sirius nodded, and reached forward to hand her the cool glass. Hermione sipped at it thoughtfully, cherishing the cool liquid in her throat. Sirius watched her carefully, and when she looked like she was done, took the glass from her and set it back on the table.
Hermione didn't say anything for a while longer, but instead watched the lightening of the sky outside of the windows. As the colorless light filtered into the room, she turned back to the wizard beside her. His eyes had started to droop already, and he was leaning back in the chair.
"What are you doing in here?" she asked. She did not ask in a way that seemed rude at all, just inquisitive.
"I was seeing if you were doing any better," he answered after a long silence.
"Oh, and how well was that going when you were asleep in that chair?" she laughed mildly.
Sirius looked flustered at this, and began to rise from the chair as though to leave. Hermione sat up and placed a hand on his arm to stop him.
"I don't mind," she said, the smile falling from her face. "It was nice to wake up with someone beside me." She blushed, realizing belatedly exactly how she sounded, and was thankful for the concealing, icy color of the light.
Sirius didn't seem to notice anything; he stared at her hand on his arm and nodded, slouching back in the chair.
"Unless you want to leave," she said quickly. "I don't mean to be asking you to stay here if you'd rather be—"
"It's fine," he interrupted, staring out the window. The light blue light was warming to a buttery yellow. "Are you hungry?"
"Not in the least. Are you?"
He shook his head, still watching the lightening atmosphere. The horizon was glowing, presently, and the first edge of the sun peaked over the trees. He turned back to observe her as she, in turn, observed the sunrise meditatively. He frowned, as if just realizing something, and said, "You're wearing my shirt."
Hermione started out of her trance, and looked down at herself. "Yes." She looked up at him, amused. "Well spotted." She laughed a little at his expression. "Mrs. Potter said you offered it."
"I did."
"What, did you expect me to sleep naked rather than accept another of your shirts?" She turned back to the window, sparing him the embarrassment of being caught glancing down the length of her body, covered as it was.
"I suppose. You did faint at my mere name, if you recall."
Hermione smiled sadly. "That was because of something entirely different."
Another awkward pause settled upon the pair.
"I'm sorry."
Hermione turned to him in surprise. "What on earth for?"
He shrugged.
She shrugged back, offering a weak smile. "You know, I am getting a little hungry."
Sirius grinned; obviously he had been, as well. "Would you rather I go down and bring food up here, or…?"
"No, it's probably high time I stepped out of this bedroom," she sighed. She waited for a moment, embarrassed at having to ask, "Sirius?"
"Hmm?"
"Could you…help me out of the bed? I'm sorry for being such a pain, I just don't want to overestimate—"
Sirius did not let her finish as he stood without delay and held out an arm, allowing her to lean against him should she wish. Once she found her footing, she walked towards the washroom without difficulty. She turned back to Sirius, who was staring at her exposed legs openly. He glanced back up at her with a smirk.
"You're far too thin," he stated.
Hermione rolled her eyes in response, annoyed with him once more. "You go do whatever it is you do in the mornings—" Sirius's face flushed a dark pink. "—I'll see you down there in a while."
He nodded and left, and closing the door behind him as Hermione made her way into the bathroom. She emerged a while later, feeling considerably better, and dressed in her newly cleaned and mended jeans. Her blouse was still torn, however; seeing no other options, Hermione pulled on the band tee that Sirius had first lent her and made her way out the door. She glanced down the long hallway, and began making her way toward the staircase. She walked slowly, examining the sleeping portraits of various witches and wizards on the walls.
Just as she reached the staircase, the door to her right opened abruptly, and Sirius stepped out, shutting it behind him before she could see the inside of the room.
He smiled mischievously at her, glancing approvingly at his shirt on her slender frame, and bowed his head, his hair still damp from his shower.
"I'll show you the way," he said quietly. "James and his parents are still asleep…" They made their way down the stairs and he pointed down a hallway that extended from the first landing they came to. "James's room is down that way, on the left. Mine is across and down three doors."
Hermione stared up at him questioningly. "What were you doing in that room beside mine, then?"
"Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about," he replied evasively. He cocked his head as her words sunk in. "Is that your room then, up there? How long are you planning on staying?"
"As little time as possible," Hermione replied coolly. She was investigating the wood grain of the polished banister interestedly. She looked back up at Sirius in time to see his expressionless mask replace an expression of mild hurt. "Not because of—No, everyone has been wonderful—" With the exception of the Veritaserum incident, she thought to herself. "—I just have to get back to my own ti—family and everything as soon as I can."
Sirius nodded as though he understood, but his stoicism remained. "Come on, then," he said, prompting her to continue walking as he followed.
Hermione couldn't help but feel he was walking uncomfortably close behind her, but when she stopped hastily at the final landing and turned, he was much farther away from her than she had thought.
When they reached the kitchen, Sirius stepped around her to open one of the two cupboards in the spacious room. The door opened to reveal various fruits and vegetables. Sirius closed the cupboard door, and then opened it again, revealing flour, eggs, milk, and the like. He glanced back at, grinning sheepishly.
"Well, either we both suffer through my cooking or we just wait around until James's dad gets up and makes breakfast."
Hermione frowned for a second, remembering James's father. Although she hadn't realized t at the time, the man who had acted as her interrogator the day before could be no one but Harry's grandfather: messy, albeit thinning, hair; spectacled eyes; thin face.
She looked up suddenly, catching Sirius contemplating her curiously. He raised a brow, just as he had when he'd found her in the woods, but did not say anything.
Hermione spoke slowly, still unsure, "Let's just…wait…"
Sirius nodded and looked out one of the huge white windows at the pale pink sky. His brow furrowed as he looked into the woods at the edge of the huge lawn. Then, he turned to Hermione unexpectedly, beaming. "Do you want to go look for your wand?"
Hermione nodded; at least it was a fairly productive idea. They headed out the kitchen door, striding across the dewy grass quickly. As they entered the woods, Hermione turned over her shoulder to see the manor at opposite their position, and was immediately reminded of descriptions of Pemberly.
"Are you coming?" Sirius waited impatiently, already inside the tiny forest, until Hermione entered as well, and followed him along the makeshift path.
"What were you doing in here, when you found me?" she asked, the question popping into her mind all of a sudden.
"Walking," he replied, his expression closed.
They continued along in silence, Hermione alternating between observing their progress and examining the differences between this Sirius and the one she had known.
If she had not seen photographs of him from when he was younger, she wouldn't have guessed it was the same wizard. This Sirius's hair was shorter, he had a tan from time spent out of doors, and his eyes were bright, laughter just on the edge of everything he said. The most significant difference, however, was that this Sirius was happy. Genuinely happy. He did not know undeserved pain and misery as Harry's godfather had…but he would.
Sirius stopped, turning to lean against a tree, and Hermione realized they were at the small clearing beside the stream where he had found her. "Do you know where you might have lost it?"
She nodded, and began walking upstream, hoping she would recognize the area where she had landed. After a while of walking the sun had fully risen and the area became warmer despite the cover the trees provided.
"Sweet Merlin, no wonder you were so exhausted," Sirius muttered. He started, as though realizing what he'd said, and looked at her concernedly. "How are you doing?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and answered, "I'm fine. I'm not about to collapse on you or anything."
"Well…tell me if you need to stop or something," he replied, shrugging lamely.
They continued on. Finally, just when Hermione felt about ready to call it quits and return to the comfortable house, she spied a round, mossy area where the grass had been blown away from the center, twigs and small branches were broken and strewn about.
"What d'you reckon happened here?" Sirius had stopped as well, and stood at her side, looking at the unnatural clearing. She knew he felt it too: there seemed to be a strange, pulsing magic rippling outwards from where she had landed.
Hermione did not answer, but immediately felt both a strange, phenomenally strong pull to the area just as there arose within her a potent fear. "My wand is in there," she whispered, mostly to herself.
Sirius was looking at her oddly, but he saw that she did not want to enter the clearing and began to step toward it to find her wand. Hermione grabbed his arm to stop him, and looked at him pleadingly.
"Don't."
"You need your wand," he replied simply, shrugging her off. He stepped into the clearing, where she had landed twenty years in the past.
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"Gonna come back and take you home
I could not stop that you now know…"
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Feedback is appreciated, as always.
