A/N: It's been a long time! I actually had to read some of the chapters to make sure I wasn't going to repeat things. I also noticed a really, really silly sentence. It's so silly I spent a couple of minutes trying to recover from my fit of giggles (in chapter 20 I wrote: "With a nod, Geheim nodded at them". How silly is that! I've changed it already, of course. Please forgive my brain. Please. And next time, hit me. Hard).

& Believe it or not, this is almost done. A couple of more chapters and that's it. Actually it took me so much time since I replied to the last review because I wrote almost three chapters. Hopefully until the end of September I'll publish them.

Thank you for all your comments. :)

Chapter 21

September, 2000

Hermione would have hexed anyone who would have dared to approach her after she and Sirius arrived at Grimmauld Palce. Before she had the chance to express her outrage at Geheim's way of assuring Sirius' protection, he marched upstairs, clearly not in the mood to hear anything about the subject.

She was going to add that to the list of reasons she had all the right to curse her life – after all, it had been her fault; what a fool she had been to think that he wouldn't be recognised in Diagon Alley! – when she heard an owl trying to get her attention by hitting the window lightly. After she gave it a cookie and thanked her – the last thing she needed was being bitten by an owl – she focused on the letter. She had already recognised Harry's handwriting in the envelope and she almost tore the letter up trying to get rid of the envelope.

"Harry better have a valid excuse for his silent treatment," she mumbled, unfolding it. "And it better not be one of his crisis."

Dear Hermione,

I'm sorry. I've been a prat. The truth is that Sirius' return brought too many memories I wish I had the courage to erase – but keeping them is what's brave, right?

Would you mind explaining my annoying silence to Sirius? I know what he must think. And I know what you have been thinking too. But you're better than me at dealing with traumatic experiences. You are always the one who is able to remain sensible during crisis… I know I have been asking a lot from you – I always did, didn't I –, but please, pelase, help on this.

Ron and I wi'll return to England in a couple of days. Mrs. Weasley has written me and told me she really wants to throw a mini party for Ron and I. She also thought we could celebrate your birthday at the same time, but she's afraid you won't even go to the dinner. I think it's because of what happened last year.

Since we still don't know exactly when we'll return – but I can assure you I'll be there in a couple of days -, she hasn't set a date yet.

Again, I am sorry.

Yours,

Harry

Hermione could only stare at the letter. I am sorry. How dared he? When he returned to Grimmauld Place he would have a lot to hear from her, and not all of it would be pleasant. Most of it, actually.

"You're still here?"

She looked up from the letter to Sirius. She was happy to see he wasn't going to lock himself in his bedroom again.

"Yes. I got a letter from Harry."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise and waited for her to decide if she was going to say something else or not.

She was trying to think of the best way to say what Harry had asked of her, but after a couple of seconds she gave up with a deep sigh.

"Here," she handed him the letter. "Just read it."

He frowned, hesitating, before reaching out to grab the parchment.

She bit her lip, undecided if she should stay or leave him alone. Her stomach made a funny noise and she realised she hadn't eaten since breakfast. It was the perfect excuse to leave the hall. She awkwardly said she was going to get something from the kitchen. She didn't wait for him to say anything and left.

A couple of minutes later Sirius found her eating a toast and checking the jobs section of several magical newspapers. She glanced at him and frowned at his expression. She still hadn't gotten used to seeing him like that: constantly hesitating before saying something, dark circles under his eyes (even if not as dark as in the beginning), and with that constant expression of someone who had lost something very important but didn't know where to start looking for. She turned her eyes back to the newspaper. She always felt a bit insecure around him when he hesitated. She never knew how to behave. She averted her attention to a particular ad, but didn't interest her further. There weren't much job offers, and there were even less for someone who didn't want to work for the Ministry.

"I never thought I'd see you trying to find a job," he said, sitting in the chair in front of her, and added, smiling a bit bitterly: "I always imagined you'd lose track of all the offers you'd receive."

She let out a chuckle, and said, without looking up: "Actually, I never really knew what to do with my life," she frowned in thought. "Except when I was fifteen and was absolutely certain I would free all elves."

He chuckled. "I remember. It wasn't that long ago for me."

"No... not even for me…" she gave him a small smile. "I guess I always wanted to help, but…" she shook her head awkwardly.

"Not anymore?"

She stick her tongue at him and chuckled along with him at her childish behaviour.

"It seemed I'm not particularly good at it. It didn't work that well for you, did it?" she commented, lightly, but she regretted saying it when he frowned.

"I'm sorry for that," he murmured. "And it worked just fine for me when I was about to get the Dementor's Kiss and you and Harry saved me."

She sighed. "Actually, I'm only sorry for this mess…"

"I also apologise for that," he said in a gloomier tone.

"Don't be silly," she said, before both of them depressed themselves to death. "It's not your fault."

He raised an eyebrow. "That is arguable."

She hated when he blamed himself for something that clearly wasn't his fault, but before she could tell him it wasn't his fault, she saw him looking to something behind her.

"Another letter arrived," he said, breaking the silence.

Hermione opened the window, the owl, black, with big yellow eyes, that Hermione immediately recognised, flied directly to the table, where it started eating Hermione's toast. Hermione sighed heavily, leaning down to get the letter the owl had discarded when it entered through the window. Clearly, the owl had the same boldness as its owner. She was going to open Geheim's letter when she noticed it wasn't for her. She blushed at her own action and looked at Sirius, who was observing her, waiting for her to read and tell him.

"It's for you," she admitted, handing him the letter.

He looked surprised, but it only lasted a couple of seconds; he took the letter from her hands and started reading. She could see his eyes moving as he read each word. There was nothing in his expression that hinted what the letter was specifically about – since the general topic was pretty obvious. When he finished it, he folded it and put it in his pocket. He smiled when he noticed Hermione's expectant look.

"I have a meeting with Geheim in five days," he explained. "I hope Harry arrives until then… he's supposed to go with me."

"If he doesn't, I will go with you," she offered quickly.

Sirius smiled again. "Geheim specifically wrote that it must be the main 'guardian' – his words, not mine. I wouldn't mind if you went."

She frowned, but didn't take it personally. It would have been extremely unprofessional of Geheim to decide no second 'guardian' could go because of her past actions.

"Okay, then. I don't think there's anything to worry about. Harry will be here in one, two… three days, tops."

And he was. Two days later Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place. The first thing Hermione did was tell him that Sirius needed to speak with him. He had frowned, but didn't say a word. Half a hour later, he was back and asked her if she wanted to go with him to The Burrow. She declined, raising the book from her lap, showing him she was busy. She was still a bit mad for the way he had tried to make her speak to Sirius instead of himself. She knew he was still getting used to all this, but so was she, and Sirius, and everyone, really. Not like Harry, she knew, but it was still hard for everyone.

"You should go, you know," he said, sounding slightly irritated, or maybe it was just tired. "To set a good example to Sirius Otherwise he'll never leave Grimmauld Place."

Hermione could have laughed. If that had been said in another context, she would have laughed.

"Sirius isn't a child. He doesn't need me to set him an example."

Harry didn't answer and left from the fireplace in the library, leaving dust everywhere. Hermione glared at the place he had just been and decided to ask Sirius to see if they could lock that entrance. She had had a lot of work in getting rid of centuries of dust in some of the books. She wasn't going to let that sort of thing happen again – even if she did have the time to clean them, since she was currently jobless, and even if the library didn't have half the books, thanks to Sirius.

It didn't take him a hour to return, which surprised Hermione. She kept on reading, ignoring the fact that he had spread dust everywhere again, and ignoring the fact that the only thing he did was stand there between the fireplace and her. After a couple of minutes, she couldn't stand it anymore. She sighed.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?"

She looked up to see his worried expression. She almost regretted her relatively brusque tone. Almost.

"You took him outside?" he asked, shocked.

"What?"

She was taken aback when he seemed to explode.

"You took Sirius to Diagon Alley? What were you thinking? Mr. Weasley told me he was recognised and had to be taken to the Ministry otherwise his safety was ensured!"

"You make it sound a lot worse than what really was…"

"Something could have happened!"

"But it didn't! It wasn't even the first time we went out. And if it hadn't happened then, it would have ended up happening later."

"Not necessarily," he retorted.

She took a deep breath, but couldn't help looking incredulously at him. "You're right," she said, her voice lower than before, but dripping with sarcasm. "If he stays here forever, nothing will happen." She glared at him. "Oh, wait, he will just be depressed and miserable and imprisoned. It sounds a little too much like what he described of Azkaban, doesn't it? And wouldn't that be nice!"

"There's no need to use that tone. I was just worried."

"Were you, Harry? Really? Either you're lying or the letters you sent him while you were in France were intercepted."

"What letters?" he asked confused.

"Exactly!"

Both of them were silent for a couple of seconds.

"Look, I don't want to fight…" he was interrupted by her snort. "Mrs. Weasley is planning a dinner for Ron and I, as I have told you. It's tomorrow. Now I'm going to speak to Sirius. See you tomorrow."

He started walking to the door when she said: "Just make sure that, if he goes, he is seated in one of the corners of the table"

He didn't answer. She sat there listening to his steps until the sound faded. Only then she went to bed.