Disclaimer: Own nothing. Please don't sue.
July
27th, 1996.
Continuation
Previously: Dear Ms. Granger,
…… , we ask you to please arrive at the Ministry of Magic on the
3rd
of August at 9:00 a.m. so that we may place you in a foster home… …
Sirius and Remus sat in stunned silence as the words on the crisp parchment rang in their minds. Hermione sat curled up to the soothing touches of her pseudo-brother, numb tears making their way down her flushed face.
"What am I going to do? I can't go to a foster home, I'm needed here. I still have so much I need to do. The war is so close and…-"
"I love you too much." Harry whispered, tears welling up in his desperate jade eyes,
"There has to be someway we can get around this."
Remus shook his head, "With the Ministry the way it is, practically being run by Death Eaters, you would probably be placed in danger for the sake of getting to Harry." He bit his lip, and, brows furrowed, continued, "There has to be something. Less honourable people have found plenty of loopholes to laws for less dignified causes."
Hermione's breath hitched as she got her tears under control, "My parents didn't have a will specifically saying to put me under a certain guardianship; under the law custody is automatically passed on to the Ministry until they can place me in an orphanage or a foster family." She recited monotonously before her face crumbled in despair. She whimpered before throwing herself into Remus' arms, "I don't want to go." She whispered simply.
Sirius rubbed ran his hand through her hair and Harry came to hug her from behind, laying his head on her shoulder.
Sirius clenched his jaw determinately, "You won't." He said irrevocability.
July
28th, 1996
Hermione took another gulp from her mug of coffee as she stood to
pull out yet another thick book from the never-ending shelves of
Grimmauld Place library. Brushing off the layer of grime from the
coarse cover she mouthed the title to herself and, leaning the book
on her leg and opened the script to its index.
'Wizarding Laws and Its Exceptions'
She skimmed over the various chapter titles all the while wondering what kind of person had the time or patience to sit there and think of loopholes to every law in the Wizarding Community and why. She decided to let the subject go as her finger came to a stop on the words that made her heart race with hope.
'Chapter 12: Laws Regarding Wizarding Children'
Quickly, she made her way back to a part of the floor that was not occupied by the previous books she had already opened and bookmarked. Setting her mug aside she placed the book on the wood floor and momentarily sat back on her haunches. Glancing out the mucky window she sighed as she saw the sky brightening with the first rays of dawn. Rubbing her hands over her face she firmly blinked her eyes against the urge to curl up in a ball and hide in a dark corner.
She had to find a way out of this. Her heart clenched as she remembered why she was in this position but brutally pushed away the feeling for another time. Now was not the time for mourning her lost parents; now was the time to unearth something that could help her stay with the family she had left. She would find a solution. She always did. She was Hermione Jane-
The thought made her stop.
Who was she? Not Granger, not anymore- the Ministry had made sure of that.
Tensing her jaw, she aggressively redid the ponytail she pulled her hair into hours before. Enough of this.
She leaned over the book again and, scanning the page, turned and grabbed her wand. She tapped it twice on the words 'Muggle-born laws' watching as the words on the page rearranged themselves.
As she came to a paragraph that caught her attention she quickly grabbed the muggle pen she had brought with her. Knowing Sirius could care less and beyond the point of caring herself she started underlining everything she could use.
Seating herself in the lotus position on the hard flooring, she once again grasped the blue mug and circled all the references the book offered as aid with the blue ink. She tipped the rest of her caffeine infused drink into her mouth then pulled herself to her knees. She paused as she felt someone standing behind her.
"I'm not stopping, Harry. Not until I find something, so you might as well go back to bed." She said matter-of-factly. She stretched her arms above her head and sighed as her spine cracked, releasing some of the tension in her back. Coming out of the stretch, she almost fell over as she heard a voice she wasn't expecting.
"I gave Harry a Dreamless Sleep potion a fair few hours ago and I thought I did the same to you. The fact that you are awake, however, contradicts that."
She stood and faced the figure standing in the doorway. She swallowed, knowing she was caught but raised her head defiantly, "I spit it out when you weren't looking. Why are you awake?"
Sirius smirked faintly, "If I wasn't so worried about you, I might have been proud of your slyness, Mia." He said, purposefully using the nickname Harry gave her to show he wasn't angry- merely concerned. "I am awake because I went to check that the potion was still working on you and Harry or if I needed to give you another small dose to get you to sleep for a few more hours. Imagine my surprise when I opened the door to your room and only found Ginny."
Hermione sighed, "I'm sorry for worrying you."
"You're forgiven," Sirius smiled, "However, it is now 5:30 in the morning and you, young lady, are going to bed."
Hermione took a step back and shook her head, "No. I'm not. I have to find something."
Sirius frowned somewhat, "Yes. You are. You have been awake the whole night and after a shock like that- Mia, you have to give your body and your mind time to adjust."
"I don't have time!" Hermione screamed uncharacteristically, "Don't you understand?! I now have a week- 7 days! - to find a loophole that will allow me to stay with the only family I have left!"
By this time, Hermione's hysterics had woken up most of the house's residents and they gathered to see who was shouting so early in the morning. Hermione barely noticed her audience as Sirius stepped towards her,
"I know that." Sirius said softly, gently grabbing her shoulders to keep her from stepping back once more, "But you have to sleep. You'll make more progress if you're rested-"
Hermione cut him off sharply, "No! I don't have time for sleep! I need to keep looking! Don't you want me to stay?! There has to be something, somewhere-"
"Of course
I want you to stay!" Sirius insistently, framing her reddish pink
face in his hands, he forced her to look in his eyes, "You have
become like a daughter to me, Mia,
don't you ever
doubt that. But you wearing yourself out like this will do no good to
anybody!"
Suddenly Hermione's fight left her as emotions won over, "But I have to." She mouthed wetly, "I'm losing everything." She whispered desperately, tears making her eyes sting, "My mom, my dad, and even my name. I have to find something to keep me from losing everything else I hold dear. Can't you see that?" She asked him, gripping to his t-shirt as if it was her life-line.
"Yes, sweetheart, I can." Sirius answered sincerely, pulling her to him, "You are exhausted. Go get some sleep, and when you wake we'll come back here and I'll help, How much of that," He gestured to the plethora of books on the floor, "have you actually retained? Look at me, Mia,"
Hermione tore her gaze from the books and raised sleep-heavy brown eyes to anxious blue, "It's okay to let yourself grieve. It's not healthy to keep such strong emotion like that bottled up inside- you only end up yelling at me." Hermione's lips twitched faintly as tears once again made their way down her face, "Let it out, baby girl, I'm right here to keep you safe." Sirius whispered in her ear.
Hermione made a last useless attempt at swallowing her tears before finally collapsing against him, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders and let out anguished-filled sobs. Sirius merely rocked her softly, not shushing her or telling her it was okay, just holding her close and providing a place to hide as she properly started to grieve her lost parents.
Sirius tightened his hold on her when her knees gave out and swiftly picked her up as if she were a toddler. He turned and walked out of the library with the bawling girl in his arms, ignoring the questioning looks and shaking his head when Ginny made to step forward and touch her friend. Turning his gaze away from Mrs. Weasley's disapproving stare, he merely made his way to Hermione's bedroom as it was the only room he was now sure was unoccupied. Glancing down at the nearly hyperventilating teenager in his arms, he knew it would be a while before she would be able to see anyone. Determined to stay beside her as an anchor, he shut the bedroom door and effectively shut the world out for a few hours.