A/N Ahh, this is sort of embarrassing, it's been so long… But I can assure you that it wont be long now before I'm back writing regularly since I'm graduating in about two months time. This chapter is for everyone who's ever read this. I fear I might sound to sappy when I say to you all; I really love you guys! Please, enjoy :D


Given to you from Obsolete

10th Chapter "Watching Him Sleep"

Her shoes gave a subdued clank on the floors as she walked in silence down the hallways. Light filtered in from the high windows and where reflected by the dusty surface of every armoured body standing by the walls. It was still very early to be out of the dormitories, even more so being out of your comfy bed, but Hermione felt the urging to go on, felt a responsibility to go see that person who'd done the very same for her when she'd been ill.

Her fingers latched onto a corner as she stopped for a moment. She recalled what Dumbledore had told her once more; the mouse fell through the air and was caught in Dumbledore's hand, but no one would catch her if she stumbled. It was her own responsibility that weighed down on her shoulders, as to not make the mistake of heading to The Hospital Wing to see the man she knew was dead in her own time. She started walking again. Whatever the consequences might be, she still had enough self respect to repay a good deed, even though that same boy didn't deserve it. The door creaked loudly in the silence as she hesitantly stepped inside. She walked slowly, nervous of making too much sound. The curtains where drawn on most of the beds and she sensed the emptiness of the place. She was surprised by a huge snore and moved over to one of the curtains, slowly drawing it open.

The sight made her sigh as she always did. It was James, drooling in his own saliva while hugging his pillow fiercely. He only needed to put a thumb into his mouth to make it picture perfect. Hermione turned away from the odd sight, leaving the curtain where it was. Her eyes searched the rest of the room and scrutinized every white linen curtain, as if she could see him from behind it. She moved over to another curtain and let her hand rest there for a moment, hesitating for a mere second before she drew it open. If it was pure luck, she did not know, but someone was lying there and it was definitely Sirius Black. She could recognise the scent of him and moved to his bedside. The head was turned into the pillow, but she could see he was sleeping because of his very slow breathing. The fact that she could now eye him intently was a thing she took full advantage of, since he'd probably seen his share of her during all those months of recovering. It was exciting and a bit frightening, since she could clearly see the change in his form and figure from the man she knew that was somewhat older than the young boy in bed. He was… still him, except in better shape and with better hair, but even though she was looking at him like this now, noticing all these little details in his appearance, it still couldn't dawn on her that he was actually there.

Hermione's brow furrowed as she moved over to his head and let a hand trail the edge of the bed as she went. The same hand went to rest on the pillow he was sleeping on and it moved closer to his head. Those long tresses of jet-black hair looked so inviting to the touch, and she couldn't hesitate long enough before her fingers where on it, gently touching what she realised was just as soft as she'd imagined. A sudden groan surprised her as she withdrew her hand and turned around, already burning with the sensation of touching him. It showed in her face.

"Lisa… What are you doing here?" she heard him ask with a voice drunk of sleep. She took a long breath and turned around, putting on a little smile. "Well, I don't really know, because last I checked, I was the one lying in the sickbed, not you," she said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. Sirius put a hand to his face, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What time is it? Shouldn't you be at class now?" he asked, looking down the hallway. Hermione shook her head. "McGonagall let me come, seeing as you've obviously been doing the same for me. She trusts that I can only be a good influence to you," she said fingering the linen cloth of the bed, trying not to look at him.

"It's too soon for us to meet this way again."

"It's the only way we meet," Hermione answered with a little more ease. It made Sirius give a little chuckle as he sat up in the bed, looking straight ahead. "What's wrong with him?" he suddenly asked, making Hermione turn around to watch the other side of the room. The curtain hadn't been closed and the saliva dropping, pillow-sucking James Potter was in place for everyone to see. "I think Madame Pomfrey did all she could, but he'll still be feeling some of the after effects. Lily dropped you both kind'a hard…" Hermione said, suddenly remembering what her friend had told her in secret the day before. Lily might like James and all, but she sure didn't hesitate to hurt him when the time came to chose between the men in her life. The thought both frightened her and made her wonder if hurting someone, wasn't really just a way of telling them that there really was an attraction. Her eyes became distant and Sirius couldn't help but notice when he looked at her after sitting up.

"Lisa, are you okay? She didn't hit you or anything, did she?" he asked, a worried look plastered on his face. Hermione was taken out of her reverie, letting it go for the moment and concentrating on Sirius. "You knew I was there?" she asked, a little befuddled. "Well, you where the last thing I saw before I blacked out. I actually thought it was you who'd stopped us, but that would really have confused the hell out of me," he said, scratching the back of his head, giving her a charming smile.

Hermione thought it best to act unknowing for good measure. She asked Sirius why. "Well, Lily is nice and all, but she's very keen on protecting a certain little Slytherin we both know of. She has to have told you," Sirius said, continuing; "she is always hanging around him and you can't see him in Potions without her popping up beside him. It's disgusting," Sirius finished, grimacing. Hermione could only agree with his very agreeable statement, but then again; Snape hadn't done anything wrong yet. It was very easy to forget that fact, but then again, he was only a kid, but Hermione was sure that inside he was very much different. Hermione looked up at Sirius, who was currently checking the state of his hair, obviously worried that Lily might have seared some of it off when she attacked him. She thought long and hard before she asked the question, worried about the consequences.

"Do you think he likes him?" she asked, just as if she'd grabbed the question out of thin air. Sirius focused immediately. "Lily liking a Slytherin like Snivellus? That'd be the end of the world as we know it," he answered, throwing his arms in the air to accentuate his point. "Lily would never do that. He's just a partner in Potions. She couldn't possibly be thinking of it, because it is against our Code…" By now Sirius's voice suddenly ebbed out.

"What Code, the Gryffindor's Code?" Hermione asked, suddenly interested in his weird behaviour. Sirius nodded animatedly, trying to hide his mishap, but he was as terrible a liar as he was handsome. He didn't know, but she knew him to well. "Somehow I don't believe you, what Code?" she asked once more. Sirius sighed, hitting himself in the head and then he focused on her and started to talk. "There's a group called The Marauders within the walls of Gryffindor. It has very few members and I'm one of them. Lily's just been there for a couple of days actually. Somehow she lurked the secret out of Mooneyand then all hell broke lose. She wanted to join but she didn't want to tell us why, but anyway, she joined and swore to keep to the Code even though she wasn't much for it…"

Hermione waited for him to explain the rest, but he looked as if he thought himself finished. "And? What's the Code then?" she asked, a bit annoyed. "Oh, well, our Code consists of really, well just the one rule… never associate with Slytherins or anything that has to do with the Dark Arts…" he answered, a bit embarrassed.

"You really thought it through didn't you?" Hermione said, very unimpressed by his almighty Code and the man she'd come to know. Sirius stared at her for a moment, and suddenly he put his head forward and spoke with such passion, that it overwhelmed Hermione so much, she gasped. "It doesn't need to be anymore complicated than that. Everything that little Slytherin puts his hands on gets ruined. Besides, we've seen him lurking about in the forbidden corridor of the library, and you can see in his eyes that he's fascinated by the Dark Arts. I need no more reason to hate him than that," Sirius finished.

Hermione sat quietly on the side of the bed, wondering if she should even attempt asking the next question. "I'm not trying to give any offence, but why do you harbour such hate towards the Dark Arts?" she asked, anxious for the answer even though she'd read the story in the newspapers all too many times. She still wanted to hear his side of the story, especially because she was fascinated by him speaking with such passion.

"You don't…" he said, surprise showing in his face. "You've never heard of the Black family have you?" he asked, and she nodded, keeping the façade. "Well, there's not much to say, they're one of the largest families with the darkest history concerning the Dark Arts. You can hardly open a History book without hearing mention of a member from the Black family collaborating with the side of Evil…" The boy looked up at her for a moment before going on. He spoke with a dejected voice, like it was some story he'd recounted many times.

"As you've probably noticed it's my own family I'm talking about. And when it concerns them, I'm an outcast, because I broke tradition when the Sorting Hat told me that I belonged in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin where everyone expected me to go. You see, they're purebloods, and anyone who isn't, are like vermin in their eyes. The way they look at a place like Gryffindor, it's just a tower filled with worthless vermin that should be incinerated off the face of the earth. And that as soon as possible. You see, they don't get that someone who's part muggle, can even have magic running through their veins, because they're already tainted with something that's not pure in their opinion, like muggles are from another world entirely who's just festering on and mixing with purebloods to accomplish some kind of revenge. It's insane really."

By now she thought that he didn't even recognise her anymore, that she was muggleborn, that she was watching him with an open mouth. It was weird to see him talking like this, because he wasn't that much of a talker in his elder years, and the way he seemed to understand what his family was all about, was disturbing. It was as if he didn't recognise himself as a pureblood and he tried to distance himself from it all the time, but he didn't quite realize how much he talked like them, how much he really understood.

"You see, purebloods actually believe that muggles conspire to bring down the world of magic, and they will do so by mixing the races, mixing purebloods and muggles, bringing an end to magic," he finished, throwing his hands in the air, while shaking his head slowly. He met her eyes. "My last name might be Black, but it doesn't say what and who I am. I have no desire of being associated with them at all."

Hermione nodded slowly. "But you still live with them don't you?" she asked slowly. He answered with a disbelieving smile, "Of course I don't live with them. I wouldn't even if they wanted me to, and they don't, of course."

"Where do you live?"

"James' parents where gracious enough to invite me into their home. I live with them when I'm not here."

She nodded again, feeling that he was becoming distant, like she'd opened a door he'd tried to shut for a long time, and he was silent for some time. She fingered the linen, not really knowing what to say. She was just about to decide to leave because of the weird atmosphere between them when he took her completely by surprise. He put his hand over hers, resting it there for a moment, giving it light squeeze. She looked up at him and he was smiling like she'd never seen him smile before.

"Thank you for visiting me Lisa," he said with a warm voice that made Hermione melt inwardly. "It's not everyday you have a girl worry over you when you're in the Hospital Wing."

She laughed. "Well, you really did bring it on yourself y'know? You really shouldn't try to cross Lily by attacking her best friend."

"We weren't attacking him and besides, she's not going to be his best friend for that long anymore. James certainly wouldn't allow it when he get's his hands on her."

"I think he's playing with fire," Hermione said, brightening up because Sirius also thought that James and Lily should get together. "With the way he's been acting, it's no wonder he gets himself into trouble with her all the time. He should just try to…" she said, suddenly hesitating with the next words, "…Take the good with the bad…" Sirius' eyebrow creased as he looked at her intently. "You don't believe that do you?" he said, figuring out instantly that she was biased about what to do too.

She looked up at him, surprised. "You're right. I think it's wrong for them to be friends. He doesn't look like a person you could trust. But then again, James really has to put up a better act to show her that he likes her."

This apparently made Sirius laugh in joy, all signs of their previous conversation gone in a flash as he sat up even straighter, almost clapping his hands with joy, not able to hide the big grin that appeared on his face. "Wow, that sounds very much like I just gained another accomplice! This is great, now it's Remus, you and me! We'll have them hitched before the next full moon with this team!" he almost shouted. Hermione hushed him when they heard a loud grunt from the other side of the room. They sat silent until James started to snore again and Hermione quickly removed the hand she'd held against his lips, her face getting a bit flushed. When she met his face again, he was staring at her intently, his head crooked slightly to the side with a wondering brow.

It made her heart beat faster all of the sudden watching him. Without giving her mind the time to process what was currently occurring, she stood from the side of the bed, suddenly very self aware that her personal space was invaded by his hand still on hers. She hadn't even noticed it until it wasn't there anymore.

"Lisa? You okay?" he asked, still with the hint of a smile and a glint in his eyes, like he knew the effect he had on girls. It suddenly angered her that she could be like that, that he could read her so easily, and without much use of will-power she controlled her heartbeat and looked at him with a small, fake smile. "No, everything's fine. I'll see you tomorrow Sirius," and with that she turned around, not waiting for a reply, leaving the Hospital Wing behind along with a slightly confused Sirius Black.

No, she was fine right up until she came out and closed the doors to the Hospital Wing. A hand went to where her heart was, and she could feel it pounding beneath it, like she'd just run up the stairs of the entire castle. She sighed, looking into the wall, thinking to herself, 'what have I done to deserve this…'

She shook her head, trying to remember where she was supposed to be at that hour. It was, it was… almost time for Potions, and she was very far from where she was supposed to be. Forgetting everything about what had just occurred in the last hour or so, she set out into a sprint, hair and robes flailing behind her as the last thing on her mind was that of Sirius Black. She had classes to attend to, and those where far more important than wanting to experience more of that feeling she'd gotten in her gut when he'd touched her and held her hand in his, flashing her his best and most genuine smile. She shook her head again, no, he was certainly the last thing she needed to think about, or so she thought.

A/N Well, I can see why I needed to finish that other story that was a tribute to the Severus/Lily relationship, because I'm not going to be very nice to him in this one. You all know what happens, and of course I'm gonna write what's supposed to happen, no surprise there sorry. But Rowling only stated the destination, so I'm free to plan the journey there. It's going to be a crazy ride, and it's gonna get complicated (If I'm not making it that already, I guess I have a thing for IRONY).

Until next time my fellow fanfictioneers, love and kisses!

Kogoro ;D