A Paws in Time

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, as revolutionary an idea like that may seem to you. JKR owns the Potterverse.

Summary: During the "final battle" Hermione is hit with a curse and falls through the veil. Time Travel HGSB


Chapter 8: Frustration

"Hermione? Are you ok?" Sirius asked. Hermione couldn't believe it. Since when had her luck been as bad as this? Hermione didn't know – it was normally quite good, she could have a stack of books and pick the correct one first. But this was unbelievable. All she did know was that she wanted to get as far away from James as possible. Harry had been told so often that he was like his father, but Hermione could no longer believe that. Harry would never resort to violence unless absolutely necessary. Using it to assault a woman was beyond his nature. If she could just stay away from James she'd be fine. Sirius, although not a bad guy, was not who she wanted to see right now. "Hermione?" Sirius asked again.

"Um, I'm ok," she answered, avoiding Sirius's questioning gaze. She couldn't tell him, he wouldn't believe her, he'd side with his best friend, right?

"Oh so you were running for no apparent reason?" Sirius asked, sarcastically. Something was wrong with the usually calm and sensible woman.

"I was actually." Hermione responded, walking past Sirius and pretending to be casual, but it wasn't fooling him.

"Hermione? Really, what is it?" Sirius asked, his voice full of concern for the young woman whom he had grown to care for deeply during their time together in the past.

"It's…it was James. He attacked me. He asked me on a date, I turned him down. He thinks that you're you, I mean that Polaris is Sirius Black. I called him crazy, started to walk away and then he grabbed my arm."

"I'm going to kill him!" Sirius growled. He moved in the direction that Hermione had approached him from but the touch of Hermione's hand against his arm stopped him in his tracks. Hermione was shocked that Sirius believed her so quickly, although if he really did like her as he said he did it shouldn't be that much of a surprise to her. She couldn't let him hurt James though, no matter what he had done to her.

"Don't." She said simply.

"But, Hermione, he…"

"Don't. There's no point. He won't try to hurt me when you're here with me" Hermione whispered, so quiet that Sirius could barely hear her. The implications of this sentence hit Sirius like the Knight Bus. Hermione felt safe around him, she needed him to protect her. These thoughts made Sirius feel loved and wanted for the first time in years. Sirius wrapped his arms around the young woman in front of him, holding her close. He was about to lean in and kiss her when he remembered why she had run away from him earlier. He stiffened and pulled himself a step away from the young woman. He couldn't do this, not if she didn't want him to. It'd be no different than what James had done to upset her.

"I'll…I'll see you in class tomorrow, Hermione," Sirius said as he turned and walked away. It broke his heart, but he had to, for both their sakes.

Hermione was shocked. What was going on with him? "Sirius!" she called after his retreating back. The lack of reply hurt Hermione more than his stopping himself from kissing her. Why did he stop himself? Was he just screwing with her mind? "Sirius!"

"'Sirius'? Hermione, what are you talking about?" Hermione spun around. Remus Lupin was standing there, a few metres away looking quizzically at the woman ahead.

Hermione sighed. Why couldn't things be easy? No people to explain to, no secrets to keep – things would be so much better for her if she could just tell someone. "Remus, I can't tell you. It's complicated enough without other people finding out about it."

"What's complicated enough?" Remus persisted. He wanted to hear her say it.

"Honestly, I wish I could tell you but I can't." Hermione insisted, turning to follow Sirius. If she left now, she could catch up before she had no idea where he was.

"Because of your time-travelling?" Remus asked nonchalantly.

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. "How do you know about the time-tra…?"

"Aha! I was right! You're from the future, right? Otherwise Dumbledore wouldn't let you walk around and find out about now. Wait a second, Dumbledore does know, doesn't he?" Remus asked.

"Yes Dumbledore knows. Is it possible to keep a secret from him?" Hermione asked with a grin. It had been a topic of conversation between her and her friends on many occasions.

"You'd be surprised," Remus muttered under his breath. When Hermione looked like she was going to ask him about it, he cut her off. "So Polaris is actually Sirius Black from the future?"

"Yes." Hermione replied, figuring there was no point in hiding anything from the teen. In for a penny, in for a pound.

"Do you like him?" Remus asked, his eyebrows raised. Hermione said nothing, wishing that the werewolf had not asked this question. It was the one thing she didn't want to tell him. "Hermione? Do you like Sirius slash Polaris?"

Hermione hesitated a second longer before nodding her head. "Yes, I do."


AN what do you think? You've read it, now review it! Make me smile just that little bit more. As always, thanks to my brilliant beta, Coolkitten12. Lul, J xxx