Chapter 10
Hermione strode down her walk in a brisk and business-like manner. It was on to her next challenge.
She got to the end of the drive before turning in place in Apparition. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a dingy little alley, dark and gloomy, a cold drizzle falling from the sky. She sensed that she was somewhere urban, and near the sea, judging from the smell of salt on the breeze.
Straightening her hat, Hermione made her way out of the alley, finding herself on a lonely street, lined on either side by mostly looking empty shops. A man in one of the only open shops perked up and eyed her hopefully through the dirty window upon noticing her, and, once Hermione had walked briskly by the shop, having neither time nor interest enough to stop by, he slumped back down boredly over his register.
Hermione wasn't exactly sure where she was, though she knew the town name well enough; only what she was searching for. She had read all about this place over the years, and time was of the essence if she was to fix this part of time too.
She hurried down the street, looking for a large, gray, abandoned factory, as she had also read about. After about twenty minutes of walking parallel to the nearby sea, she found a building that matched her description.
It looked, by all means, positively abandoned. But if Hermione's facts were right, and she put a lot of stock by her facts, then outward appearance was not to be trusted.
A large chain-link fence surrounded the property, but a simple alohomora unlocked the gate quickly enough. Hermione hurried through the gate and to the building, and, using magic again, let herself in.
The inside was dark, dank, and smelt of mold. The lack of light made Hermione's eyes squint, but she knew it would be best to not cast lumos just yet. She slowly walked the length of the building's first floor, and, when it yielded nothing, ascended the steps to the second floor.
She kept walking until she heard a queer snuffling noise. She followed it, and it led her to a small corner by a window.
The window cast a small patch of dusty light on the floor, and, in that patch of light, there was a large black dog, its' back turned to her, its' whole body shaking as it snuffled and whimpered, and Hermione realized with a shock that it was crying.
As she watched the dog, her weight shifted and the floor creaked underneath her, and in a flash, the dog was turned around, teeth bared and snarling. It focused in on her and stood up, slowly advancing, still snarling viciously.
Hermione backed away slowly, arms in the air.
She cleared her throat nervously, before calling out, "S-sirius Black! I-I know it's y-you!"
The dog paused in its' slow advance, before cocking its' head and growling quizzically.
"T-that's right…I know you're an animagus, and that this is your form. I-I'm a friend of James' and Lily's…and I'm here to help."
The dog stopped, and for a long moment just stared at her, teeth still bared, head still cocked. Hermione held her breath, hands still high in the air.
Finally, abruptly, there was a soft pop, and suddenly, Sirius Black stood before her.
He was much younger and handsomer than Hermione's memories recalled, though that made sense. Still, his eyes were red and he looked miserable and haggard, like he hadn't eaten anything the past few days.
"W-who are you," He rasped, hand on his wand, keeping his distance suspiciously.
"My name is Lucretia Evans. I'm…I'm an aunt of Lily's. And a friend to the family. Their son is in my custody now, I took him away from those awful muggles that originally had custody."
Sirius blinked bemusedly, and his grip on his wand slackened. "Y-you have Harry?"
"I do," Hermione replied, "And he's perfectly safe."
Sirius looked slightly happy for a second; at least, a bit of a gleam came back to his eyes. But then he looked suspicious again. "How did you find me? How do you know I'm an animagus? Are you with the Ministry?"
"There's no time, Sirius!" Hermione interjected. "We need to see Dumbledore now, never mind the rest of the stuff…look, I believe you. I know you didn't rat out Lily and James to Voldemort, I know it was Peter. But we need to tell Dumbledore that quickly, before Peter has a chance to frame you!
"I-I..." Sirius stumbled, looking utterly confused. Finally, after a long moment, he sighed, and loosened his grip on his wand. "I…I believe you. I know I'm a prat to, but I do. And besides," He gave a short, sarcastic bark of laughter, "…even if you're working for Voldemort and this is a trap, it's got to be better than whatever is in store for me otherwise, eh?"
He walked slowly towards Hermione, before hesitantly offering her his arm. "I assume you know where to apparate us to?"
Hermione took his arm in hers. "I certainly do."
And with a step forward and a turn, she apparated them away from the miserable, dank factory.