Disclaimer; same as previous
Chapter 7
Hermione woke feeling better than she had in such a long time. Light filtered into the unfamiliar room and for a moment she panicked before she caught sight of Harry and Ron asleep at her bedside. Relief flooded through her and she burst into tears. She was saved! Her sobs woke the sleeping boys and they rushed to her with exclamations of "Hermione! You're awake!" she embraced them both and laughed through her tears. "Where are we?" she asked once she was able to speak. "Lupin's place" Ron told her. "We thought you were a goner when you showed up." harry shoved him. "Shut up. Are you alright Hermione? What did that bastard do to you?" then she remembered. "Fluffy! Where is he?" they looked at each other in confusion. "Who or what is this fluffy. You were rambling on about it yesterday" Ron received another shove.
"My dog…Merlin! Sirius Black. Where is he?" they shared a look before harry spoke. "Don't worry Hermione, they got him. He won't be able to hurt you again" it was Hermione's turn to be confused. "Hurt me? He saved my life. I need to find him." she threw back the covers and jumped out of the bed before immediately falling onto the ground. The boys rushed to pick her up. "I need to find him. Where is he?"
Sirius.He had been living in her house, sleeping on her bed, listening to her stories…without her ever suspecting. She looked over at her friends. The warm cosy feeling she had had was now almost gone. She noticed now the shadows under their eyes, the tension in their shoulders. Could she forgive them for not noticing she needed help? She knew she would eventually. She had never been one to hold a grudge for too long. She would just need time for that wound to heal.
Her thoughts were led back to Sirius. He had been there at her time of need. He had listened to her stories, her hopes and fears, sure perhaps it was all a trick to get her to open up and confess some secret of the order or something…but why then would he have saved her. Why did he bring her here? It was all so confusing. She really didn't know what to think about it all. There had been moments when she was talking to fluffy/Black when she had thought he understood her. She had been right about that. When she had cried in front of him he had always seemed to try to cheer her up or comfort her by nudging her knee or huddling closer to her. She had never felt lonely or scared in his presence. She had felt protected. Even loved…
They helped her out the door and through to the kitchen, where molly tried to waylay her, telling her she ought to be resting. Hermione pushed past the motherly woman and out into the sunshine. A wave of guilt hit her as she thought of her own mother for the first time since she had woken up. She pushed it down for the moment, needing to find Sirius before they hurt him or worse.
The boys showed her to the tent where Sirius was being kept. His eyes lit up when she walked in and she momentarily felt awkward and embarrassed in his presence. He had seen things in the house, had witnessed what Yaxley did to her. "Hermione you shouldn't be in here." Came Remus Lupin's voice from the other side of the tent. She raised a hand to shush him, her eyes on the man wrapped in tight ropes as he sat propped up in a chair. "You're fluffy" she said. He nodded. "Why did you save me?" Remus interrupted before Sirius could utter a word. Dumbledore is on his way to question him Hermione. He said he will only answer to him. "Shut up Mooney." Sirius said. "Hermione I should have gotten there before he hurt you. I'm so sorry" he was cut off again by Lupin. "Don't you address her! Don't you dare talk to her, haven't you done enough?"
"Remus" Hermione said as authoratively as she could. He turned to her, surprised. "I want to talk to him" Lupin sat back down on his chair. "Thank you"
"Flu…Mr. Black. Why were you at my house, and then at Liam's, I mean Yaxleys place." He looked up at her again and she noticed how his eyes hadn't changed. "When I broke out of Azkaban I first went to check on harry" Remus snorted and sudden realisation dawned on Harry. "I saw you!"He exclaimed. "I thought I was going mad" Sirius continued with his story. "Then I went to the Weasley's in search of Wormtail but it appears that I was too late, he's already joined Voldemort."
"He helped him return" Ron interrupted. Sirius nodded. "Then I went to your house. I met your familiar."
"Crookshanks!" Hermione exclaimed. "Is he ok? He disappeared." Sirius shook his head. "Yaxley killed him. When I met him he told me that a dark wizard had infiltrated your family." Hermione nodded. Remus interrupted once more. "By which time you should have contacted the order" Sirius nodded looking ashamed. "I should have, I should have killed the bastard then and there but I didn't. I thought it might have been Wormtail and I needed proof. I was consumed with thoughts of revenge upon that bastard."
"Why" harry asked. Sirius chuckled darkly. "Does it matter now? You won't believe me. Dumbledore's my only hope on that score."
"You think that clearing your name for peters murder will save you? We know he lives but what you did to the potters still stands, peter or no peter." Remus said bitterly.
"Anyway" Sirius continued. "I followed you to Yaxleys where I waited for a chance to get in. I didn't know you then, my only thoughts were of Wormtail. Your mother let me in and you know the rest."
"We don't" said harry and Ron simultaneously. "Well you will once Dumbledore arrives."
"That hour is nigh" came the old wizards voice as he entered the tent. He ordered everyone to leave. Hermione rose from her seat but he held up a hand. "If you would be so good as to stay miss granger I would be very grateful. He conjured a blanket for her and she wrapped it around her shoulders gratefully. The pyjamas belonging to Ginny weren't very warm and she was glad of the heat.
Everyone else left the tent. Dumbledore regarded Sirius for a while before telling him to say what he had to say. Sirius told him everything without hesitation and he grew more and more in Hermione's esteem as the interrogation wore on. He had to stop when he spoke about the night before and cleared his throat before going on. When he finished his tale Dumbledore released him from his bonds. He turned to Hermione and his twinkling blue eyes were full of admiration. "To come through what you have Miss Granger takes a lot. You are a true Gryffindor and I thank you on behalf of the wizarding and indeed the muggle world for your strength and bravery. Hermione couldn't help but shed a tear at his speech. "But I couldn't…I wasn't strong enough to stop him…to save myself." she began to cry in earnest and the elderly wizard grasped both her shoulders gently. But you survived. You didn't give up hope and you showed more courage than many a person with twice your physical strength. You thought not of your own life, but of your loved ones and that's why you are here today. Love is the greatest kind of magic."
Dumbledore bid Sirius to follow him out to the house but before he left Hermione stopped him. She grasped his hand, which still sported her blood. "Thank you Sirius. You saved my life" he looked down at her a little awkwardly. "I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner." He said and he left. She wrapped the blanket more tightly around herself and followed them out. Dumbledore explained to the order that Sirius was innocent. There was a moment of silence after he had finished explaining what had happened before Remus, shame faced, approached him and they shared a very brief, very awkward hug that was more backslapping than anything. Hermione chose that moment to slip away to her room unnoticed. She needed time to think and rest.
Before she could climb the stairs she was called back by a kindly voice. It was Lupin; she looked out into the garden to find that Sirius was deep in discussion with Harry. "Yes?" she asked her old teacher. He sat down at the kitchen table and gestured for her to do the same. "Id like to talk about your parents." He said. Hermione felt guilty again for not asking about her mother. "Are they ok?" he nodded but she could tell there was more. "As you know your mother was under the imperius curse, had been for months."
"Was the curse lifted?" she asked. "Yes" he replied. "But the thing is that…well she became very overwhelmed. She told Tonks and Moody about everything that had happened. She remembered everything and it was all a bit much for her. the guilt of hearing and seeing what Yaxley was up to and being unable to help you, being trapped in her own mind, well they thought it was for the best that they should modify her mind. They took her to your father and then Alastor modified his mind too. They have no memory of their lives here in England" Hermione gasped in shock. "We feel that as well as saving your mother from a nervous breakdown, they're safer this way. Harder to find. Perhaps when this is all over, if Voldemort is defeated, well there's always hope." She didn't know what to say. If she were truly honest with herself, she felt relieved. They were safe; the wizarding world would no longer infringe upon and endanger their lives. She was snapped out of her reverie when Remus put his hand over hers. She jumped back, startled. He stood, his face a mask of pity. "Oh Hermione I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything. The order, harry, Ron, we should have known. I'm so very sorry."
She laid her hand on top of his on the table and a tear fell from her cheek, landing on his knuckle. "I know." She said. "Are you in any pain? Can I get you a healing potion?" she shook her head. I'm not in physical pain." He nodded, realising what she meant. "Emotional scars are so much worse. How about something to help you sleep?" she nodded and he fetched a vial from a cupboard above the sink. "And if you ever need to speak to anyone Hermione, don't hesitate. maybe I may not be the best choice for a listening ear, but there's Molly and Ginny, Dumbledore…" he reeled off a list of people she wasn't going to confide in. she might talk to molly or Ginny at some point but right then there was only one person she wanted to speak to and she didn't see how that could happen.
