The first week of Hermione's stay was difficult, to say the least. Sirius rarely ever saw her, probably because she never left her room, except to shower and use the bathroom. More than once Sirius wanted to walk right in and say something. Tell her to get her head out of her ass and realize she didn't deserve any of this. He'd never admit it out loud, but he missed the old Hermione – prim, proper and bossy though she may be.
Throughout the week, Harry would come at the crack of dawn and not leave until early morning. Each night he would return to the Lupins' house for barley a few hours and fit-full sleep. He would spend the day floating in and out of her room every few minutes, wanting to give her time to herself to process everything, but not afraid to leave her alone for too long.
Within a matter of days Sirius' nerves were shot. Howlers letters were being sent by the mass to them all, and while they all worked on intercepting and hiding them, Sirius was left the shoulder the worst of it. Paired with the constant threat of violence from the twin, Ron, Molly and Ginny, it was becoming more and more stressful for them all.
The only saving grace came about a week later. Despite everything, Harry and Ginny still loved each other enough to try and meet up for lunch at Hogsmaid. They both understood the other was torn between the two people they cared so much about. However, that was not enough to prevent them from breaking into a very loud argument; neither could believe the other was on the opposing side of the fight. Somewhere between the screaming and flying hexes Ginny miraculously came to realize what Harry was saying. She should have known Ron would twist everything like this and now here she was playing the bitch while her best friend was out there in pain. Hermione needed her, now more than ever.
They left immediately after that, much to the relief of the patrons and employees. They only paused long enough for Harry to pay for their meal and any damage, which he did while Ginny tapped her foot impatiently. The rest of the afternoon was spent with the couple holding the sobbing, grateful witch sandwiched between them. After an afternoon of apologies, comfort food and showering Hermione with pure affection, Ginny returned home after dinner, eager to explain set her brothers straight on how Ronikins screwed up yet again.
Sirius was able to breathe a sigh of relief after that. Not having the threat of the scorn of a self-taught Hex Master and the self-appointed Kings of All Pranks looming over his head certainly helped. Unfortunately, having them lay off only seemed to add fuel to Molly and Ron's rage. He now regularly intercepted truly nasty letters and Howlers from both, and endured many threats. Harry also had a fair share to deal with, but he was a respected figure, and the lover of one of their own, so it was much more toned down. The Lupin family was left alone – it wasn't worth the risk of pissing off a werewolf.
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