DISCLAIMER: I obviously do not own Harry Potter since I am not J.K. Rowling...

AUTHOR APOLOGY: Okay, so I know I dropped off the face of the earth for a while and I am SOOOOO sorry for that. I have had so much going on in my life that has prevented me from doing anything outside of work basically. I am moving back to Virginia, though, so the updates will be coming regularly again once I do move... Sorry again.

Tekau ma rua

Sunsets and sunrises are spectacular things for people who actually take the time to stop and gaze at them in appreciation. The colours cast upon the sky from the receding light amazes and often leaves a person breathless. Everything comes back to the person, though, and whether they will take the time to stop and appreciate the beauty.

Sirius Black was not one to usually stop and enjoy the scene. Actually, he used to but then when he had lost Hermione for the first time, he had stop appreciating the small beauties that life provided.

But now, as he stood in front of the window at St. Mungo's, watching the sunset, he relaxed and watched the different colours form on the sky's horizon. He remembered the times in the past when he had sat with Hermione watching the sun sink or rise above the horizon. They hadn't talked in those moments; they had simply enjoyed each others' company.

He drew in a deep breath and let closed his eyes, letting it out slowly. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against the glass, the coldness sinking into his hot skin.

"Sirius?"

Grey eyes flickered opened, the colours burning into his mind. He knew by the slight difference of smells in the air that both James and Remus was standing behind him, though James was the one to speak.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing out here?" James moved forward to stand beside him at the window, his hazel eye turned out towards the sunset as well.

"Thinking," he answered gruffly.

Remus stepped up on his other side, hands in his pocket and rocking back and forth on his heels. "Why aren't you in there with Hermione?"

"They gave her some potions to sleep a while ago. She made me promise that I wouldn't stay in the room very long after they gave them to her." He leaned his head back slightly. "She's just a little freaked out at the moment I think."

"I'd say," James commented. "She's just woken up and everything's changed, plus she almost died on top of that. Come to think of it, she almost dies quite a lot."

Sirius rolled his head over to the side and narrowed his eyes on his best friend. "Thanks, James. Way to be a great friend."

"What?" James asked innocently.

Remus chuckled softly from the other side of Sirius. "James, you can be rather dense sometimes."

"I am not dense, thank you very much," James replied hotly. "I like to think I am rather smart."

"Yes, James, you like to think," Sirius said with a small laugh, playfully punching his friend in the arm lightly. "Doesn't mean that we think so."

"And to think that I call you guys my friends," he said with a shake of his head though there was a small smile on his face. "If I recall correctly, I was the Head Boy."

"And we're still wondering how you managed that one," Sirius teased, pushing James lightly. "Remus, here, was the school nut. Lily I could understand, you not so much."

"That little detail just proves how much Lily and I were made for each other," James explained with a huff. "Even Dumbledore understood how much we were meant to be together."

"Sure," both Sirius and Remus said, smiling at each other.

James just rolled his eyes and then straightened his robes. "Anyway, we were just coming to check on you since we hadn't seen you in a while."

"I'm fine," Sirius responded. "I just had an urge to watch the sunset like the old times."

"With Hermione," Remus added softly.

"Yes," he responded, nodding. He turned his gaze back to the sky which was now a deep purplish colour as the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon. "I haven't watched the sunset since the night before she died twenty some years ago. She's going to be alright so I guess I can relax now…"

Neither Remus or James said anything but that didn't really matter to Sirius. He knew that he had Hermione back now and for that he was glad.

"Excuse me, Auror Black, Auror Potter," a younger woman said as she walked up to them with Ministry robes on. Sirius knew that she worked for the new Minister, though he could really care less about her specific title.

"What?" he asked rather rudely.

"You each have new assignments. Auror Potter, you will be stationed at Hogwarts as one of the guards while the school is fixed up for the next school year."

"That doesn't sound so bad," James said, "a bit boring, mind you, but not that bad."

"And me?"

"Auror Black, your orders are to go with a special team to round up rogue Death Eaters." Sirius started to protest but she cut him off. "You will serve for a duration of one year and then you may return for someone else will take your place."

"I have family to think about," Sirius argued. "My…my…." To be quite honest, he wasn't really sure what to call Hermione. She wasn't technically his fiancée still, nor was she his girlfriend.

"The Ministry is quite aware of Miss Granger and the situation, and that will be dealt with accordingly when she recovers."

All three men tensed up while Sirius took a threatening step towards her. "What do you mean 'that will be dealt with accordingly'? There's nothing to deal with."

The woman bristled and straightened up to her full height. "The Ministry does not agree, Auror Black. Miss Granger knowingly altered time and thus will have to be punished."

Sirius would have grabbed her if James and Remus hadn't grabbed his arms, pinning them down to his side. "You will not touch her, understand?"

An evil looking smile appeared on the woman's face as she turned away, calling over her shoulder, "I think that is for the Ministry to decide, don't you? Good day."

Sirius growled low in his throat as both James and Remus restrained him from chasing after her. He jerked his arms free and spun around angrily, kicking out at the wall.

"Damn them!" he practically yelled.

"Pads, we'll do something, we promise," James tried to reassure him. "Lily and Lauri will protect her, you know that. Plus now we have Dumbledore to fight on our side."

Sirius shook his head sadly. "That may not be enough this time." He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I'm going to go wait for Hermione to wake up."

AmAyAtHeGrEaTdOeSnTlIkeLiFeAtThEmOmEnT

Harry went home around midnight at the persistent urging of both his mum and dad and went straight to bed. The Gryffindor sword was now sitting on his dresser, stained red on some parts of the silver blade. It was actually the sword that woke him up when the light struck it at a certain angle and thus sent the light propelling into his eyes.

Harry groaned loudly and rolled over, blinding reaching for his glasses that he was sure he had put on his bedside table. The muggle clock read eight forty-nine which, to Harry, was a good time to get up. Not too early and not too late.

He stretched, some of his limbs still sore but for the most part he was better. The Healer had provided him with some potions to help with the soreness. He downed one vial of a blue coloured potion and half of another. He took out some of the balm and rubbed it on his shoulders, enjoying the cooling sensation running down his arms.

His door slowly creaked open and he looked up, smiling at Rachel as she peeked in. "It's alright, you can come in if you want."

She needed no more prodding as she swung the door open all the way and propelled herself at her older brother, hugging him tightly. He bit his lip to keep from groaning at the impact and hugged her back. "Hey squirt," he smiled into her hair.

She turned her face up to him and he had to admit that she could pull off the puppy eyes quite well. Damn Sirius for teaching her. "You're going to be alright, right? You're not going to be in the hospital like Hermione, are you?"

"I'm fine," he stressed, "and Hermione's fine. She woke up last night and she's just now regaining her strength and then she can come home."

Rachel eyes filled with hope. "Is she going to stay with us since she doesn't have a home anymore?"

Harry hesitated. Would she stay with them or would she go with Sirius? He had a strong suspicion that it would be the latter but he didn't want to say so and then be wrong. "I honestly don' know, squirt. We'll just have to wait and see. Don't badger her about it though."

"So you're saying that I get to go see her?"

"I'm just saying that when you see her, don't badger her about it and let her decide on her own," Harry clarified. "Is Mrs. Weasley still downstairs?"

"She's cooking," Rachel answered with a worried frown. "The whole kitchen is filled with food by now; there's no room to move around anymore but she just keeps cooking."

"That's her way with dealing." Harry stood and stretched his arms above his head, enjoying the fact that his shoulder muscleswere no longer sore. "Come on, let's go down."

He attempted to flatten his hair while they walked down the stairs but it still stuck up in its usual stubborn fashion and he gave up with a heavy sigh. Rachel grinned at him then, rolling her eyes at his messy hair. She was the lucky one that ended up on the good side of the gene pool when it came to hair.

The kitchen door swung open easily when he pushed it but stopped halfway when it struck something. "What the…?" He peered around and saw a chair shoved up against the door with two large pans of muffins stacked on it.

His eyes slowly roamed the room, taking in the scene. Muffins, biscuits, and scones galore filled the room, only leaving enough room for Mrs. Weasley to move around to prepare more. She was muttering to herself as she moved about, measuring out ingredients and mixing them together. She had some flour on her cheeks and her hair was a bit wild. Harry briefly wondered where Mr. Weasley was.

"Mrs. Weasley?" he questioned, stepping into the room after motioning for Rachel to give him a few minutes alone with her.

"Molly, dear," she said, not even turning to him. "Can't have the world's saviour calling me 'Mrs. Weasley' like some child, now can I? You're practically an adult now so no worries."

"Alright, Molly." He stepped up behind her, blocking her in so she would have to face him sooner or later. "Are you doing alright?"

"Of course I'm doing alright," she answered briskly with a small laugh that sounded fanatical. "Why ever would I not be, Harry?"

"It's alright to cry, Molly."

"Crying takes time; grieving takes time." Harry could see that she almost broke down at that but she brought herself back just before that happened, wiping at her cheeks and spreading more flour onto them. "I don't have time…have to cook…so much cooking left to do…so many people."

She sounded hysterical. She was rambling, her hands shaking as she reached out for the measuring cups. Harry reached out and grabbed hold of her hands, turning her towards him and wrapping his arms around her. "Grieving needs to happen," he whispered into her ear as he held her tightly despite her struggling, "even if it takes time."

"I need to cook for them," she whispered, her voice breaking as tears choked her. "Ron would have wanted food, you know. He would be down here right now pillaging through everything for something to eat. I need to get him something to eat…"

She broke down then, the tears spilling from her eyes as she clutched on to him. Her body shook with the loud sobs, her head buried in his chest.

Harry rubbed her back soothingly. "It's alright to cry for them, Molly, and it's certainly alright to take time to grieve for that starts the healing process."

"They're my children," she cried, squeezing him tighter.

"I know, Molly, I know," he whispered as he just let her cry.

The door opened and Rachel walked back in with Lily just behind her. His mum looked at the situation he was in and merely nodded in approval, a smile on her face. At that moment, even though they had lost some important people, he knew it was going to be alright. (Blaze is crying right now as she reads this….sniff)

AmAyAtHeGrEaThAsAsOrEtHrOaTtHaNkStObRaNdY

Sirius shuffled his legs as he readjusted himself in the stiff hospital chair beside Hermione's bed for what must have been the sixth time in that hour alone. The potions they had given her were still in affect for she was still out, the colour slowly returning to her face.

His eyes landed on the new scar on her cheek, the same one she had had when he had first met her directly before his seventh year. She had insisted that they not remove the scar when she had been awake, wanting to keep the reminder like she had all those years ago. He hadn't had the chance to ask her who gave it to her.

His gaze shifted down her body as he checked her for further wounds, satisfied when he saw none, or rather no really serious ones. She had some bruises but those would easily heal themselves over time. There was also a rare cut here and there that wasn't major enough for them to heal at first. Those would be treated later when the major things had been taken care of.

He leaned forward a bit and touched her hand, moving his along hers so that his palm fit against hers. He marvelled at the colour contrast and the different textures. Where his were rough and tanned, hers were smooth and a whitish colour. It was almost like he was seventeen again and taking her hand in his for the first time.

He slowly smiled, locking his fingers in hers while he stared at them. He lifted her hand up slightly from the bed and moved it, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. He then moved his face down and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand, letting his lips linger there for a moment or two.

"Love you," he whispered onto her hand, closing his eyes as he inhaled her scent.

He felt her fingers flex against his. His eyes snapped open to watch her face as her eyes fluttered slightly, once, twice, and then again before opening, the brown orbs looking around slowly in a sleepy state before resting on him.

A groggy smile appeared on her face as her eyes lighted up, still glazed over from the potions. "Hey you, I thought I told you to stay out."

He grinned at her, giving her hand another squeeze. "I haven't been in here for too long. Besides, did you really think that I was going to stay out for long?"

"No, you never stay out," she replied, bringing her hand up to rub at her eyes. "Every time I've been in the hospital, you've always been right there, or threatening the doctors if they didn't let you in."

"I did that earlier," he said with a smile, "and I always win."

"You're here," she said slowly, another slow, lazy grin appearing on her face. "You're always here and I love you for being here."

He chuckled softly and turned, picking up a vial of potion the doctors had left for her to take upon waking that would 'sober her up' so to speak. "Here, love, I need you to drink this."

She obediently held out her hand for it and gulped it down in one swing. Then, she grimaced as the taste hit her and made a face at him. "That was awful."

"Most useful potions usually are," he told her, tapping her nose teasingly with one finger. "But I bet you that was better than remaining in the state you were in a moment before."

Her eyes were now crystal clear as she looked at him, a spark in her eye. "Yes, I suppose it was. However, that still doesn't make the taste any better."

"Ah, but you are a good girl and you take your medicines," he chuckled as he dropped a kiss where he had just tapped her nose.

She stared at him for a moment, a calculating look in her eyes. "Something is wrong, isn't it?" When he didn't answer, she pulled her hand from his. "Sirius, tell me now what's wrong. Don't lie to me either."

He opened his mouth slightly, drawing in a deep breath as if stalling. "Hermione, the Ministry knows everything. I don't think they everything clicked before but they've finally connected the dots and figured it out."

"Oh," she said, releasing her breath. Then, "Bugger."

He smiled despite himself. "Yeah, bugger."

She reached up and rubbed her hair, trying to flatten it out a bit. "So, um, what is going to happen?" she asked softly, looked at him through her lashes.

He leaned over and picked back up her hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I don't know exactly yet," he answered honestly. He didn't lift his gaze so she would know he wasn't lying to her.

Her brown eyes lifted to his. "What do you mean?" She shifted on the bed, still gazing at him. He knew that the wheels in her head was working, trying to analyze the situation. "You saw one of them today, didn't you and they said something."

"They did and yet didn't," he said honestly. "Look, she came by to give me a message and you got drug into it and all they said was that there would be a punishment."

She let out a shaky breath and clutched his hand tightly. "We can get through this. They can't prove anything, right?" Then, the light in her eyes shifted. "What message did they want to give you?"

Sirius hesitated yet again and Hermione knew it wasn't going to be good. "I have a mission. They want me to go out for a year and track down rogue Death Eaters."

"Oh." It came out in a soft voice, her eyes sad.

"Hermione," he rushed to say, grabbing her other hand in his, "we're going to get through this. I promise, everything is going to be alright."

She looked down at her hands in his, almost smiling at the feeling of his skin against hers. "Sirius, there's something I need to tell you," she whispered.

"Yes?"

"When Dumbledore came in, he told me about something, something to do with the Verus Fatum I used to end up in the past."

His brows furrowed in a confused manner. "What about it?"

Her eyes lifted to his and she frowned. "I now have a choice," she stated. "I can either stay here and let everything ride out or…" She paused. "I can go back and put everything the way it was before."

Sirius jerked back slightly, eyes wide. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet."