REQUEST: WhiteRaven88 wanted me to do one when Hermione is in danger and Sirius saves her

Episode 25

Savior

Summary: In which Hermione is in danger, and Sirius plays knight in shining armor

The Slytherins were planning something. Sirius could see it in the way they would constantly smirk at the Gryffindor table, more specifically at the Marauders. He clenched his fists and resisted the urge march over there and throttle that smug look right off of Snivellus' face. Sirius didn't like the way he was looking at Hermione, didn't like it one bit.

"Padfoot! Are you even listening to me?" James shouted, waving his hand in Sirius' face. The teen shook his head to dispel the vengeful thoughts running through his mind and smiled at his best friend.

"Eh, sorry, mate," Sirius apologized sheepishly. "What was that again?"

"Oh Sirius, honestly!" Hermione shook her head, amusement clear in her dark gaze. "What are we going to do with you?"

"Well, I could think of a few things," he replied suggestively, leaning closer to his girlfriend. She laughed and hit his arm mockingly. "You wound me, love." Sirius pouted, then turned his attention back to the smirking James. "What was it you wanted, Prongsie?"

"Ah, I was just telling my ingenious prank for the Slytherins next Quidditch match!" he said, leaning forward and looking from side to side, as though spying for eavesdroppers. Sirius grinned, previous bad mood forgotten as he leaned forward to hear what James had in mind.

"Let's hear it then."

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It was almost time. Severus could hardly wait as he helped Lucius levitate the crate to a hidden section of the woods. He was going to make the Marauders pay for all the tricks they had pulled on him! He and the other Slytherins were going to play a prank of their own, a Slytherin prank.

"Are you sure Slughorn said this was okay?" Macnair asked, looking particularly uneasy.

Severus rolled his eyes and noticed Lucius do the same, albeit more discreetly since it was quite immature for a Malfoy to roll his eyes. Slytherins were known to be cowards, – when the going got tough, they got going – but Macnair was by far one of the worst. He could get annoying when he wanted too, and today, it seemed that he wanted to be a problem.

"Does it matter?" Lucius scowled, and Macnair wisely backed away from the blond. The Malfoy family was far more powerful than his own, and in higher regards in Voldemort's court. It was wiser to get in trouble and stay on his good side than to worry about getting caught by a professor.

"No, I suppose not," he replied curtly. "What exactly is in the crate anyway?"

"Ah, that would be Severus' very own concoction, right Snape?" Lucius looked at the greasy haired boy with a cruel smile. Severus returned it with one of his own.

"I call it dor grande," (1) he said smirking. Even Macnair smirked at the name. It fit, assuming his potion would actually work, which knowing Snape, it would.

The Slytherins grinned at each other as Severus pulled a single vial of clear liquid out. Too much would kill the Mudblood, and though the idea was tempting, none of the boys wanted Dumbledore breathing down their necks. For an old coot, he was pretty smart, and he was already keeping a close eye on them.

"Gentlemen," Lucius started, straightening his robes in a very businesslike manner, "the plan commences tomorrow at breakfast."

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Hermione laughed along with the rest of the Marauders as Sirius reenacted a fourth year Ravenclaw's reaction to his fantasy prank, in which a well-aimed charm would hit the person and make them live out their fantasy – aloud. Sirius' expression darkened as he continued, and Hermione felt a blush spread across her face.

"It was all fine and dandy until he started moaning Hermione's name!" Sirius growled, shooting a glare at Edward Giovanni, the Ravenclaw in question.

"Maybe it was coincidence?" she offered unconvincingly. She was pretty sure there wasn't another Hermione in Hogwarts, as it was a pretty unusual name. The only other time she'd heard it used, in fact, was from the Shakespearian character she was named after.

"Not unless there's another Granger here," Sirius drawled. He wrapped a loose arm around her waist and grinned at his girlfriend. He loved the blush on her face and desperately wanted to find a broom closet somewhere.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Over the years, she had gotten good at interpreting Sirius' expressions, and she knew this one all too well. Instead of complying to his wishes and dragging him out of the Great Hall, she took a gulp of her pumpkin juice, cleverly hiding a smirk at Sirius' disappointed pout when she didn't immediately pounce on him.

Her humor was short-lived as a great pain immediately took over her body. She felt as though all her muscles were tightening, and something ripped through her chest, like thousands of knives butchering her heart. Except, instead of dieing, she could feel every painful minute of it.

A cry escaped her throat, and Hermione fell back, convulsing on the floor. She was only vaguely aware of her friends confused, angry shouts and the questioning voices floating around her. It was as if she was in another world, a world of pain, and Hermione didn't like it one bit!

At the Slytherin table, Severus, Macnair, and Lucius smirked triumphantly.

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"Off with you now!" Madame Pomfrey ordered, shooing the Marauders out of the hospital wing. Hermione opened her eyes enough to see the boys, especially Sirius, being forcefully pushed from the room, protesting and complaining all the way about the unfairness of not being able to stay with their friend. "Out! It's almost curfew!"

"But--"

"No buts Mister Black! Out!"

Sirius didn't get another chance to speak as the door was slammed in his face. Even then, though, Hermione could vaguely hear his complaints through the wood. She smiled slightly, though it pained her to do so, and closed her eyes as sleep once again enveloped her in its warm embrace.

Hermione...Hermiiiioneeee...Hermione, come to me!

Hermione awoke when the voice began to echo in her mind. She couldn't be sure how long she'd been asleep, but it felt like only a few minutes. Even as disorientated as she was, Hermione was smart enough to realize it was a lot later than it had been the first time she woke up.

Sighing softly, she tried to go back to sleep. The voice refused to let her, and unfortunately, Hermione could only pay attention to one thing at a time right now. Her mind so focused on wondering how much sleep she'd gotten, she didn't think about how odd it was to hear such a dark yet persuasive voice echoing in her mind.

Hermiiiioneeee, I'm waiting for you. Don't keep me waiting...Please?

Well, it did say please...Hermione climbed out of bed, wincing at the cold floor her bare feet met. That discomfort was soon forgotten as she began to walk and every muscle in her body ached almost as badly as it had in the Great Hall. Her eyes unfocused as she followed the sound of the voice, its enchanting tone growing louder with each step she took.

HERMIONE!

The voice was booming now, and she smiled slightly at that. Whoever was calling her must've really wanted her fast. She had never heard someone sound so urgent before, other than Sirius when he wanted a quick snog or wanted her to listen to his newest prank while James was busy daydreaming about Lily.

"I'm coming," she said, pushing open the doors and walking outside of Hogwarts. She neared the Forbidden Forest, not even aware of where she was going. She just wanted to placate the voice before it left, before she found it.

HERMIIIIONEEEE!

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she called louder. A few snickers from the edge of the forest went unnoticed by her as she continued walking. She didn't notice anything walking into the darkened forest, least of all the three Slytherin boys that were coming up behind her.

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Sirius was unable to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Hermione writhing on the floor in pain, and him unable to do anything. He wouldn't be surprised if this was the Slytherins doing, but if it was, they better hope he never found the culprits behind this cruel prank. He'd kill them with his bare hands!

Finally, with a growl of annoyance, he pushed out of his bed and slipped out of the room. Clothes and shoes were of no importance as he'd be changing as soon as he was out of the Gryffindor common room. Thankfully, the Fat Lady was a sound sleeper and only snorted once when the portrait was pushed open.

Sirius transformed into his animagus form and took off for the hospital wing. He was a Marauder on a mission – the objective: see Hermione and make sure she was alright. He didn't care if he was caught by Madame Pomfrey, or if he got into trouble for being out after hours, he was going to see Hermione and he wasn't going to leave her side until she woke up!

Because he was in dog form, Sirius' sense of smell was a lot better than usual. On the way to the infirmary, he was distracted by a familiar scent, a scent that should've been surrounded by medical potions and antidotes and the medi-witch that had refused to let him stay earlier. Hermione smelled as she usually did, like cherries and the scent that was strictly Hermione, but the stench of a dark potion also surrounded her.

Sirius didn't have to think twice before he turned and ran after his girlfriend. His blue eyes narrowed and he growled, showing off his sharp canines. The dark potion had the unmistakeable smell of Slytherin, which only confirmed Sirius' suspicions over which house had dared to harm his beloved.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Hermione called when they were outside. Sirius wasn't sure where they were going, or who she was even talking too, but he'd bet anything it had to do with the Slytherins prank. His suspicions only increased when he heard snickering near the edge of the forest. He made sure to stick close to the shadows so he wouldn't be seen by whoever was there, but he could still follow Hermione at a close distance.

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Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, and Walden Macnair moved in toward Hermione when she finally came to a stop in the middle of a clearing near the edge of the forest. None of the Slytherins were brave enough to edge further into the forest, but they didn't want to do this where any teacher that happened to be on patrol could simply look out a window and see them. Besides, the magical signature of the forest would hide their own, making it impossible for them to be caught as the perpetrators.

Hermiiiioneeee...The voice had gotten softer again, darker in its tone, and Hermione whimpered nervously at the sound. Now that the cold air was hitting her, she could feel the wet grass under her feet and wondered if she'd been smart to follow a strange voice into the Forbidden Forest. She was still too disorientated to think about running though, and she probably wouldn't have gotten far anyway.

"Gotcha, Mudblood!" Macnair shouted, pointing his wand at the girl. "Quebre um pé!" (2)

Hermione's leg twisted painfully, and she fell to the ground. Her senses returned to full capacity at the new pain, and she looked up, frightened and shocked by the Slytherins she hadn't noticed surrounding her earlier. She refused to let them know she was scared of them and masked her terror with a cold glare.

"What do you want?" she hissed, keeping her voice decidedly calm, especially for one whose leg was just broken. All three boys simply laughed at her bravado, taking sick pleasure in the fear that they knew was there.

"What do we want?" Lucius asked, stepping forward. "Well, that's a hard question. We want many things: women, money, power, to be the Dark Lord's greatest subjects, but at the moment we just want you gone."

"You're filth!" Macnair said condescendingly. "Worthless, disgusting, Muggle filth, and you're dirtying our world by being here!"

"Oh?" Hermione looked at her nails with mock-boredom, her Marauder nature refusing to give them the satisfaction of knowing how much their words truly hurt. "Is this because I beat all of your asses in class again? Guys, guys, you really should just admit that I'm smarter than you. Honestly, this just makes you look pathetic."

That's my girl, Sirius thought, growling lowly. He was waiting for the right moment to attack the three boys and get Hermione out of there, but so far his girl seemed to be doing a good job of keeping them distracted.

"Why you-you filthy little Mudblood whore!" Lucius shouted. He whipped his wand out and pointed it at her threateningly.

Normally, Hermione would try to jump away from the blast, or rather roll away as was her only real option, but her leg twinged at the slightest movement, and she deduced that it wouldn't be a good idea to move at all. Now, her fear finally caught up to her as she realized she was trapped, and her wand was still in the hospital wing!

The Slytherins smirked, seeing the fear flash in her chocolate-colored eyes. Hermione was as good as theirs, and would pay both for the Marauders pranks and for being a disgusting Muggle-born. They sneered at her, Severus also drawing his wand along with Walden. The three boys stared at her cruelly, each contemplating which torture would be best.

"Should we use the Cruciatus Curse?" Lucius asked mock-thoughtfully. "It's the Dark Lord's favorite, and I rather fancy giving it a try myself."

"No, I told you I wanted to try my new curse out," Snape reminded him firmly, though his voice held a bit of fear in it. Obviously, Malfoy was the true leader of this little brigade. "Sectumsempra should do the job nicely."

"Hm...What do you think Macnair?" Lucius asked, turning to the third boy. He had remained silent, shaking nervously at the prospect of getting caught. A shiver ran down his spine when Lucius turned to him, and he looked up with an obviously fake smile on his sweating visage.

"I think we should try Snape's," he said surprisingly calm. "I'm sure Dumbledore has something to catch Unforgivable Curses, and we don't want to be caught using them here."

Snape smirked smugly. It would have been a smile, but Slytherins had a rule against smiling and it wasn't good to break Slytherin rules. Lucius sighed in disappointment, but he had to admit that Macnair had a point. Besides, he secretly wanted to see what Snape's personal curse could do. It hadn't been tested yet, but the greasy haired boy was smart enough to come up with something good surely.

Slowly, the three boys turned to face Hermione, Snape raising his wand threateningly. "Ready, Mudblood?" he asked darkly, a cruel tone entering his voice. Before Hermione could reply, he swung his wand down and yelled "Sectumsempra" at the top of his lungs.

A pained yell escaped Hermione's throat as various cuts appeared on her body. The Slytherins laughed maniacally at the sound of her screams, but their humor was short-lived when a giant black dog jumped out of the shrubbery and charged them.

"Ah! What the hell is that thing?" Malfoy shouted fearfully, backing away as the dog melded in with the shadows until only his glaring white fangs were visible. His blue eyes snapped onto each of the frightened boys before landing on Hermione. He would have to get her out of here and back to the hospital wing soon, which meant he couldn't tear these boys limb from limb. Damn.

Sirius growled threateningly at the Slytherins nervously backing away. Hang on, Hermione, I just need to get rid of these bloody bogies! The Gryffindor girl whimpered softly but seemed to nod, as though hearing Sirius' thoughts. He would have smiled had he not been in dog form, but his attention was quickly drawn back to the Slytherins and he rushed at them.

Forgetting all Slytherin pride, the boys screamed and ran back to the large school, the overgrown canine chasing them all the way. As soon as they were out of the forest, Sirius turned back to Hermione and quickly transformed. He frowned when he reached her, noticing she was unconscious.

"Hermione? Hermione? Love, wake up!" he pleaded, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. A pained whimper made him smile. She was still alive! That was good.

"Sirius," Hermione moaned softly, opening her brown eyes to show the tears welling in the beautiful orbs. "Hurts."

"Don't worry, love," Sirius soothed, picking her up as carefully as he could. She nearly screamed at the pain but managed to hold it in and instead let out yet another pitiful whimper. There was pain everywhere, and she just wanted it to stop. Sirius hushed her and carried her back to the school as fast as he could, not caring about any teachers that might be milling about.

There was only one thought on his mind at the moment. Get Hermione to the hospital wing! After he had done that, he would go get the rest of the Marauders and then...Then those Slytherins had better hope the professors got to them first because he would make them pay! They had hurt his Hermione, and as far as Sirius was concerned, that was punishable by death!

First though, he had to get Hermione help. He looked down at his passed-out girlfriend and felt his heart break. He should have attacked sooner! If he had, this probably could have been avoided.

Shaking those thoughts away, Sirius reminded himself that the past was the past and at least she was still alive. He lowered his head to nuzzle his cheek against her nose, smiling softly as her scent permeated his nostrils.

"Don't worry, love," he repeated, "Sirius is here. I'm not going to let anything happen to you ever again. I promise."

A/N's:

1. Dor Grande is Portugese for big pain

2. Quebre um pé is Portugese for Break a leg