Note: Bit of a technical difficulty last night. This is February 11th's entry, and the second half (today's) will be up later this evening.


Remus stifled a groan of pain and tried to shift over, but Hermione's body was dead weight in his arms. Both men had jumped from their seats to catch her, but even as Sirius' chair was clattering to the floor, Remus had thrown himself across the kitchen and cushioned her fall.

It was no small feat to lift her small frame and when he finally got his feet back under him, he stood and shifted her inert body so that his arms cradled her beneath her shoulders and knees. At a bit of a loss, he gently shook her. Her head rolled back, mouth open as though asleep.

Remus shot Sirius an exasperated look.

"Oh well done."

"Shut it."


"I was not held hostage."

Hermione had recovered quickly once moved into the den, mostly due to being unceremoniously dropped onto the couch when Sirius, following close on Remus' heels, accidentally tripped his lover. The resulting quibble was hardly quiet (on Sirius' end) and after only being unconscious for a few minutes, Hermione awoke and promptly demanded to see the Ministry letter.

"The very idea," she fumed. "It's ridiculous!"

Remus stepped closer to speak and she automatically curled her legs under – clearing a space for him – so he took the unconscious offering and sat beside her. "Then tell us what really happened," he urged, half-tense in a way that Sirius knew to mean the lycan half expected her to bolt. Hermione, for her part had finished reading the letter and thrown it aside in disgust.

Hermione sat silent for a moment, most likely arranging her argument. When she chose, Hermione could speak with a silver tongue – her way with words as slippery and manipulative as any Slytherin could boast. Though he never did appreciate that particular skill turned against him, it caused Sirius no end of vindictive glee to hear her talk circles around Snape. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, Sirius leaned back against the arm of an adjacent armchair, legs crossed at the ankle, and waited for her to speak.

Taking a deep breath, she began.

"I was not held hostage," she repeated. "I was detained."

"When Balfour was expedited without my knowledge, I worked as fast as I could to arrive before the Czech Ministry could act against him. They don't have the same laws regarding non-humans as we do – ironically enough, the British Ministry is regarded as rather liberal in these regards."

"That's a lark," Sirius muttered darkly, and Hermione knew he was thinking of Remus and the anti-werewolf laws.

"It took me a few days to get Balfour out of their holding cells, but I still needed to establish his alibi – that's when things went pear-shaped."

"Alibi?" Remus repeated, looking confused. "You're not an attorney, Hermione."

"I'm all they've got."