Note: Over the past year I've been completely rewriting/editing this story as I wasn't happy with it. It's the same story as before just (I hope) written a bit better! I hope you enjoy!

Grimmauld Place had undergone many transformations over the years but now it sat quiet and grief stricken, it's inhabitants all trying to overcome the horrors that they had witnessed over the past few weeks. Molly Weasley had once shouted at her children in that very house but now she whispered, keeping her voice as quiet as possible as she tried to keep busy and look after both her surviving and surrogate children. Grimmauld Place was the safest place for them all now that the war was over. There were still too many people out there wanting them dead which meant it was still too soon for them to move back to the Burrow. It was best for them all to stay together anyway, Harry needed caring for after everything he had been through, both Molly and Ginny by his side the majority of the time as he slept. They had all lost so many friends and family during the Battle of Hogwarts, too many broken hearts being left behind.

Hermione hadn't known what to do with herself at first. Her magic was weak and she would have been homeless if it wasn't for Grimmauld Place. She ended up taking it upon herself to look after Teddy, focusing all of her efforts on him and making sure he wanted for nothing. He was an innocent in all of this and he was exactly what she needed to focus on in order to hide from the horrors that still plagued her. She had been through so much, they all had.

The day that Percy came to check in on them all was the day that everything changed for Hermione though. Kreacher made mugs of tea for them all and they sat around the large table with their steaming mugs in hand whilst Ginny stayed upstairs with Harry.

"How is Harry doing?" Percy asked, seeming just as tired as the rest of them. Hermione held Teddy to her chest, swaddled in his blanket, fast asleep. Looking after him was comforting her, making all of this more bearable by knowing she was at least helping in some way. It didn't feel right to not be doing anything.

"The mediwitch said that it's going to take some time for him to come around properly," Molly answered, her voice uncharacteristically quiet, "Going up against…" She hesitated as she let out a shaky breath, "him… it just took everything out of the poor boy."

"Voldemort," Ron muttered, correcting her, "Going up against Voldemort." Molly and Percy both winced at the name but neither of them said anything.

"Wouldn't he be better off in St Mungo's so that they can keep an eye on him?"

"No dear, no they don't think that would be safe for him right now, he could still be targeted by any of you-know-who's followers that are still out there."

"Voldemort! Just say his bloody name will you," Ron snapped and a tense silence filled the room before Molly looked at her son in tired indignation.

"Don't speak to me like that Ronald." Hermione could see the fire rising in Molly and she almost wanted to beg them not to do this, she was too tired to deal with another Weasley fight - they were all too tired to deal with another Weasley fight.

"Well just say his name! Nothing is going to happen, is it? Voldemort is dead!"

"Ron stop, don't speak to mum like that," Percy frowned, putting his mug down heavily, "if she doesn't want to say his name she doesn't have to."

"Oh shut up Percy, you're not exactly one to talk after how you treated both her and dad over the past year."

"I've got a headache mate, can you not," George cut in and Hermione looked to Ron for a reaction, relieved to see him deflating. She almost groaned as she heard Teddy start to titter though, looking down at him to find his face starting to screw up, getting ready to scream the house down if she didn't soothe him soon. Standing up she gently bounced and rocked him, all eyes now on her.

"Why is Teddy here and not with Nymphadora's mum?" Percy asked, staring at Hermione and the bundle in her arms.

"She needed some time to deal with the loss of Tonks."

"Plus she's not exactly a spring chicken," George added, "Can't imagine she'd have dealt very well with him, he's still pretty much a newborn."

"He's seven weeks old," Hermione said softly, tension building in her; despite her rocking and bouncing Teddy's cheeks were turning red, his wittering turning to cries and Hermione felt a surge of emotion and she wanted to cry too. She was exhausted and she was close to breaking.

"Shall I take him for a while?" Molly asked kindly, getting up as she saw the tears in Hermione's eyes but Hermione was quick to shake her head, taking a step back.

"No, no, it's okay, I've got this," She answered quickly, shushing Teddy and bouncing him in her arms more. The least she could do to help right now was look after Teddy, Molly already had enough on her plate.

"Just give him to her Hermione, you clearly need a break," Ron said a little more bluntly than he had meant to and immediately it felt like he had punched her in the gut. She felt like she wasn't good enough in their eyes, like they were all judging her for not being able to handle a baby crying.

"I'm fine," She insisted, a stubborn bite in her voice but when Molly stood in front of her, her resolve cracked and she handed Teddy to her without another word.

"Go and have a lay down love, you've done amazing," Molly said softly before leaning forward and placing a kiss on Hermione's forehead. Hermione didn't say another word as she left the kitchen. She shut the door softly behind her before leaning back against the wall, her eyes screwed shut as she tried her hardest to swallow her tears. She wanted to scream out in frustration, wanted to just let everything out but she didn't. Instead she swallowed back her tears, about to step away from the door when she heard Percy's voice and paused.

"Is she okay?" Hermione heard Percy ask.

"She hasn't said much, has she talked to you Ron?"

"Not really."

Hermione rubbed at her eyes before heading for the stairs, listening as they creaked with every step she took. She didn't really feel like she belonged in Grimmauld Place with them all. She was the odd one out, this wasn't her family. But she couldn't go back to her own family, they didn't know who she was anymore. She was alone, just like Teddy.

She didn't want to go to hers and Ginny's room, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep even if she tried so instead she wandered aimlessly through the corridors of Grimmauld Place lost in thought.

"Can Kreacher help Miss?" Hermione turned around to find Kreacher standing there, looking eagerly at her. She offered him a small watery smile and shook her head slightly.

"No, I'm okay," She swallowed thickly, "thank you Kreacher. Would you go and check on Ginny though, make sure she's okay? She hasn't eaten all day."

"Yes Miss," he said quickly and Hermione watched as he went off down the corridor to the stairs. Kreacher had changed so much in the time that Hermione had known him that sometimes even she found it hard to believe he was the same elf. He disappeared out of sight and Hermione turned back around before stopping still. There at the end of the hallway stood a conspicuous, spiralling, wooden staircase that Hermione would have bet her life on not having been there a few moments previously.

"How the…?" She whispered beneath her breath, edging forward and withdrawing her wand. Hermione was suddenly on high alert. She looked around herself before whispering 'revelio'. When nothing appeared she continued towards the staircase, noticing how the hall itself seemed to have lengthened to allow it. It was beautiful; wooden steps spiraling upwards, an ornate wooden banister rail hiding from view what was at the top. Where had the staircase come from? Lightly she trailed her finger across the bannister rail before holding onto it. Before she realised what she was doing she was halfway up the staircase, her wand back in her pocket, her guard dropped. An ornate door stood at the top, the wood carved in such an intricate way that she could have studied it for days if there had been a thirst in her to see more. She trailed her fingers across the curves of the wood before taking a hold of the golden door knob and twisting it. The door opened with a small creek and Hermione held her breath in anticipation as she stepped inside. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as she looked at the room before her; it was as if she had somehow managed to stumble across the Black's attic but she knew that couldn't be true, she was nowhere near the top floor of the house. Besides, she had been in the attic before when looking for Horcruxes with Harry and Ron and this most definitely wasn't it. There were trunks and chests as well as an old writing desk, everything covered in a thick layer of dust. A circular window filled the room with natural light, making everything look a little less intimidating at least.

Curiousity was growing stronger in her by the second, her fingers suddenly itching to uncover the treasures and secrets of the room. Going over to the chest nearest to her she opened it up to find it full of luxurious velvet photo albums, all of them engraved with the Black name and the year that the photographs were taken. Hermione pulled one out, flicking through it to find it full of portraits of stiffly dressed individuals who refused to smile at the camera, their expression's tight, the blinking eyes the only movement. She shut the album quickly, feeling unnerved at the way the people in the portraits looked at her, placing it back into the chest and backing away.

Standing in the middle of the room she looked around before stopping, her gaze falling onto a heavy leather trunk. It was only small and it was pretty ordinary looking all things considered but the need to open it rushed through her like adrenalin, a pull in her navel making her step forward. Every inch of Hermione was telling her not to touch anything. Afterall, everything in this room had belonged to the Black family at some point or other and if she had learnt anything over the years in that house it was that the Black family really liked objects that housed dark magic. Despite that though she still found herself dropping to her knees in front of the trunk, unbuckling the thick straps, on autopilot.

Throwing it open she started to cough as the dust she had disturbed got into her throat. When the coughing finally subsided she tucked her wand up her sleeve before looking at the contents, all kinds of objects tightly squeezed into the confines of the trunk. She plucked them out one by one, turning them over in her hand before placing them beside her. A small glistening stone caught her eye in the corner of the case. Scrambling to get at it behind some of the other objects she finally plucked it out by the tips of her fingers. It was as smooth as a pebble, as bright as a diamond and as big as a marble. Dropping it down into the palm of her hand she subconsciously closed her fist around it. A second later an electric current surged through her entire body. Hermione didn't have time to react, she didn't have time to even realise what had happened. She blacked out, slumping over, the marble rolling across the floor and away from her unconscious body.

Hermione awoke confused on the floor. Her head felt incredibly heavy and fuzzy. She couldn't focus, couldn't remember what exactly had happened or how she had got up there. Her memories were a jumbled mess.

Pushing herself up she groaned as her neck seized from having been in the same awkward position for far too long. She whimpered as she massaged it before looking around herself in confusion. What was going on? She pulled herself to her feet, stumbling slightly before brushing her hands down her clothes to try and get rid of some of the dust. Hermione stilled suddenly; faintly through the quiet she could hear someone whistling. After the quiet of the past couple of weeks it was a strange and unwelcome sound and it sent a cold shiver of dread down Hermione's spine. Someone was in the house that shouldn't be. Someone that was happy and wasn't hiding it.

Drawing her wand Hermione immediately fell into defensive mode. She padded barefoot down the spiral staircase without a sound, her senses on fire as she strained to hear the tiniest of sounds to indicate where the intruder was in the house. Hermione had had enough of people destroying everything she loved, she had been pushed too far. Her body ached and protested with every move she made but still she walked on, her heart hammering in her chest. Following the sound she realised as she drew closer that the intruder was in Sirius' room. That was the final straw.

She rounded the corner into Sirius' open doorway, a spell halfway from her lips before she fell short, mouth opening aghast. Sirius yelped at the sight of her, looking just as surprised as she did. Then it hit her, it was a sick trick! It couldn't be him, Sirius died years ago when he fell through the Veil. She was angry at herself for hesitating but at least she had caught the imposter completely unaware, standing half naked, a towel wrapped around his waist with no wand in sight. Hermione had the upper hand but she couldn't help but worry what that meant for everyone else that she knew was in the house.

"Who the hell are you?" Hermione snapped, watching as the imposter frowned in confusion at her.

"What?" He asked, "What are you talking about? Hermione why aren't you at school? What are you doing here?" He clutched his towel to himself before taking a quick step back as Hermione advanced on him, her wand pointed directly at his heart.

"Who are you?" She punctuated each word with venom, "Tell me! Or I swear to God I'll kill you."

"Woah, woah, woah!" He took a step back from her, holding a hand up in defence, "It's me, Sirius, Padfoot, what's going-"

"Don't lie to me," She snapped, "you picked the wrong Order member to impersonate, asshole." She looked like a mad woman, her eyes darker than Sirius had ever seen them before, her whole body shaking with anger.

"Hermione, I swear to you, it's me. Kitten-"

"Don't you dare call me that! I'm warning you-"

"Hey, hey, okay, right, tell you what," He tightened his towel around his waist before holding both of his hands up to show her clearly that he wasn't going to do anything, she looked unhinged, "I'll tell you something about us that only I would know," He wracked his brain for any memory that he could use before clicking his fingers as it hit him, "Right, okay right so the first time you came to Grimmauld Place you apologised to me, you came and found me in the living room whilst everyone else was asleep and you told me how you were sorry for everything and when I said that you had nothing to be sorry for, you said you were sorry for everything that I had been through, and for how you hadn't believed I was innocent at first." Hermione swallowed thickly, that had happened alright, no one else had been there, no one else could have known that, she hadn't told anyone about that conversation. Her heart was hammering in her chest making her feel faint, how was this possible? At her silence he inched back again, putting some space between himself and her wand.

"Show me Padfoot," Hermione said, her voice quieter. She still held her wand up ready to attack him if he failed to do as she had asked.

"Okay," He nodded, "take a step back," She hesitated and he held both of his hands up to her, "nothing funny, I promise." It took another second as she studied him before finally stepping backwards, her wand and her eyes trained on the man before her, a jinx on the tip of her tongue if she needed it. She didn't though. Her heart sank as Sirius transformed then and there into Padfoot. How was this possible? She stared at the great black shaggy dog that stood before her. He edged forward and nudged her hand with his nose and Hermione welled up. She crouched down in front of him, staring into the dog's face, her eyes sad. She touched him, needing clarity that the great dog was actually in front of her as she ran her fingers through his fur shakily. Letting out a trembling breath she stood back up and backed away from him, this wasn't right at all, it wasn't possible. Either Sirius was somehow in her time or she was in his. Sirius transformed back into himself as she left the room quickly.

"Hermione, what is going on?" He called after her but she ran as fast as she could to the stairs, heading for the room where she knew Harry was laid bed bound. The door banged open with more force than she had meant but it didn't matter, Harry wasn't there; in fact no one was, the room was empty and looked like it hadn't been used in a while.

"No," She whispered, "No, no, no!" Panicked, she ran for the kitchen, ran for where she had left the Weasleys, where she had left Teddy in Molly's arms. Bursting through the kitchen door she stared in horror at the empty room before her.

"No, please no," She covered her mouth in horror, her eyes welling up.

"Mudblood standing in the way, always a mess, always untidy," Kreacher croaked, pushing past her legs and going into the kitchen, his words making her heart sink even further.

"Hermione!" Sirius had pulled a tshirt and sweatpants on, his hair still soaked as he came up behind her.

"I shouldn't be here, I can't be here," Hermione was muttering, her chest tight as she looked at Sirius, living and breathing in front of her, "How the hell am I here?" Her breathing was too fast and Sirius immediately realised what was happening, having had many panic attacks himself.

"Come on, you need to sit down," He gently led her away from the kitchen and into the living room. He sat her down on the sofa, kneeling on the floor in front of her. Her mouth was tingling, a weight on her chest as she shook.

"You need to breathe Hermione," Sirius said softly, taking a hold of Hermione's hands, trying to ground her. He coached her through breathing in and out whilst studying her. It hadn't taken long for Sirius to realise that this wasn't the Hermione he knew. This Hermione was older and had a haunted look in her eyes, much like the look he had often seen in Remus' eyes as well as his own.

"I think I'm going mad," She said shakily.

"You're not the Hermione I know, are you?" She shook her head slightly before looking around the room.

"What year is it?"

"1996." Hermione closed her eyes at that, squeezing them shut.

"No," She whispered, "No that can't be."

The year Sirius dies, she thought painfully.

"I'm afraid so," He said softly, "When are you from?"

"1998."

"Okay not too far ahead then," Sirius was staying so calm and it was calming her down as well, "how about I go and make us a cuppa and then we'll talk about this some more?"

"Okay."

Hermione fiddled with her hands nervously as she waited for Sirius to come back. What had happened? How had she ended up in a different time? It had to be something to do with that damn attic but how was that even possible, she had never heard of anything like this happening before. As far as Hermione knew the only way to time travel was using a time turner and all of those had been destroyed during the battle at the Ministry.

It wasn't long before Sirius joined her again on the sofa, both of them cupping their mugs of tea. Hermione had calmed down significantly but it was still such a strange thing to be sitting opposite a man she knew to be dead in her own time.

"So did you use a time turner?"

"No. I don't understand what happened."

"Talk me through it."

"I was looking around the house and this spiral staircase appeared - one second there was nothing there and then the next there it was - it just came out of nowhere."

"What was it like?" Sirius asked curiously, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Beautiful," Hermione breathed, "the railings were dark wood, intricately carved. The room itself was like an attic, there were a lot of trunks and storage up there. Have you ever seen anything like that?"

"No," He frowned, "Never. What's up there exactly?"

"Just trinkets really, oh and there were some old photo albums as well, I didn't recognise anyone in them though."

"And then you came back down and you found me?"

"No," She paused, racking her brain, "something happened."

"What was it?" Sirius asked in amusement, thinking she was being purposely coy but then Hermione frowned deeper before shaking her head, looking at Sirius concerned.

"I don't know, I really can't remember. It's just blank. Like when you're trying to remember a dream; it's on the tip of my tongue but I just can't access it." Panic started to rise in her. She couldn't work out what had happened and her memory was betraying her. What was she supposed to do now?

"Don't worry, we'll figure this out," He smiled encouragingly at her, "There aren't many things that will allow a person to time travel so it should be easy enough. We might need to enlist Remus' help though seeing as I can't leave this house." At Remus' name Hermione rubbed her eyes, swallowing back even more raw emotion. This was an absolute mess. "Tell you what, let's put together a plan of action: I'll go and see if I can find the attic myself, if I can't then I'll owl for Moony to come over and we'll talk it out with him too." He stood up as he said it but Hermione quickly grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"No, wait," she looked at him panicked, "What if you find it and you don't come back?"

"It'll be fine-"

"No please, Sirius please don't leave me on my own." She felt panic bubbling back up inside of her. She felt so uneasy, completely off kilter from being in a time that wasn't her own. When she had used a time turner before she had been in control whereas this was completely out of her control and she was floundering. Hermione teared up, trying to blink back her tears.

"Hey," He sat down beside her again and pulled her into a hug, "It's alright, I won't leave you." Sirius rested his head on top of hers as he hugged her. It felt odd at first, this was Hermione after all and not exactly someone that he was used to hugging.

"I'm sorry," She whispered.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for."

Sirius calmed her down before they both went into the kitchen. He scratched out a quick note asking Remus to come over urgently, not giving any other context in case the owl was intercepted. He didn't want anyone else to know about Hermione, not yet at least. She had two years worth of knowledge and if she really was as exhausted and broken as she looked then something big had gone down recently; he had seen what war could do to people and this was it. Hermione made them another cup of tea, her mind in overdrive as she leant against the worktop, staring off into space. She missed the way Sirius was looking at her, the way he was studying her.

"I need to ask," Sirius said softly, pulling her attention back to him and out of her head. He rubbed his shoulder with a small sigh, "When you first found me you were so convinced that it couldn't actually be me - why was that?" She stared at him for a second trying to think what she could say before finally just shaking her head slightly and looking down at her mug, focusing on the steam.

"Sirius I can't answer that," She finally said, meeting his eyes, "I don't know what I can and can't say right now."

"The only conclusion I can come to is that I'm dead so just at least tell me if I'm right or not. I don't want details or anything, I just want to know if I'm right." Hermione was silent, trying to swallow back the tears which would be a clear giveaway but she couldn't. She sniffed and wiped harshly at her eyes and Sirius sighed.

"Right okay well that answers that," Sirius laughed humourlessly before groaning, "Merlin, that's weird to know."

"I'm so sorry," She whispered and Sirius looked at her, took in her teary eyes and gave her a small smile.

"You really need to stop apologising for things that are not your fault, Hermione."

"This is such a mess," She groaned before shaking her head at the ridiculousness of the situation, "I just can't believe this has even happened." They both heard the rush of the floo, Hermione tensing, not sure if she was ready to meet another ghost.

"Sirius?" Remus called from the front room.

"In here mate," Sirius called back and Hermione's stomach tightened.

"What was so urgent?" He asked as he stepped into the kitchen before pausing. He spotted Hermione but then he caught her scent and knew immediately that something wasn't quite right.

"Sirius get away from her, that's not Hermione-" Remus said quickly, a growl low in his throat as he advanced on her.

"I know, I know, calm it wolf boy," Sirius said, quickly putting himself between them. Hermione's breathing increased as she stared at Remus over Sirius' shoulder, "She's different. Give me a second to explain would you."

"Who is she?" He growled.

"Just bloody listen to me will you," Sirius rolled his eyes, "Sit down and stop looking at her like that."

Sirius explained everything he and Hermione had already discussed whilst Hermione made Remus a cup of tea. She joined them at the table as Sirius finished telling him what they knew and still Remus looked doubtfully at her.

"Look, I'm sorry but how do we even know that you're really you and that all of this is true?"

"Well for one, only Order members know about us using Grimmauld Place," Sirius said with a roll of his eyes, "come on Moony."

"Her scents off, I can't say why exactly but it is."

"I can tell you something only you and I would know, would that help?"

"Go on," He uttered, unconvinced and Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Okay right," Hermione started racking her brain for something that only happened between the two of them, something he would have been unlikely to tell anyone else about. "During my fourth year I consistently wrote to you, I felt guilty about the fact that you had been outed to the school so I wrote to you over the school year to make sure you were okay."

"Really?" Sirius asked in surprise as he looked at Remus but Remus just stared at Hermione, his eyes narrowed still.

"In one of the letters I told you about the fight that I had with Ron about Viktor," She added and she saw Remus' eyes soften.

"Okay, I believe you," He uttered, "But that still doesn't explain why your scent is different Hermione."

"I don't know what to say, I don't know why either."

"It might be a side effect of how she came to be here?" Sirius suggested with a shrug before pushing his chair back, "Anyway we can figure that out later, now that you're here Moony I'm going to leave you two alone and try and go and find this blasted staircase. Then we're going to work out how we can get the little witch back to her own year. Hermione couldn't help but notice that Sirius was the only one that seemed happy and she couldn't help but wonder what exactly it was like for him to have been holed up in the house day after day, alone.

Sirius disappeared into the depths of the house, leaving Hermione and Remus alone. An uncomfortable silence fell between them, Hermione fighting every urge she had to tell Remus about his son, wanting to tell him to spend as much time as he could with him, to not go to the battle.

"You look tired," His voice cut through her thoughts and she breathed out a small laugh, "Sorry, that was rude, I just meant-"

"Remus," She interrupted, "It's okay, I know I look tired. It's been a rough year," she admitted. She looked down at the table, knowing that this was the year that everything started to really shift from bad to worse.

"Do we defeat him?"

"Yes," Hermione breathed, knowing that there wouldn't be any point in deflecting from the subject, he'd just be able to read her.

"For good this time?"

"Well let's just say that if he manages to come back from that I'll be amazed," She breathed, rubbing her eyes.

"Is Harry okay?"

"He will be, in time."

"Good," Remus breathed in relief, "And the others? The Weasleys?" Hermione' swallowed thickly. How was she supposed to answer that?

"They're…" She paused, struggling to find the words, "We lost a lot of people. It's been hard."

"Ron?"

"Ron's okay." She felt silly trying to keep the details of who had died away from him but she didn't know what any of this was yet and she just didn't know what she could and couldn't tell them. She silently mused whether the shock from the marble might have actually killed her and this was her strange idea of Heaven - Hermione stopped suddenly, her hand slamming onto the table in realisation, Remus nearly jumped out of his skin.

"A shock! Something shocked me," She said in surprise, her eyes widening as she looked at Remus.

"Sorry?"

"I was in the attic and I picked something up and it shocked me, and then when I woke up I was here," She smiled brightly as she remembered, the fog seeming to clear, relief flooding her. "Do you think Sirius has found it yet?"

"He'll have shouted if he had," Remus couldn't help but mirror her smile; this was the first time since he had arrived that she had responded to something in the way that the Hermione in his time would have.

It was getting late and Hermione kept catching Remus glancing at the clock. She had cooked some food for the two of them as a means to keep her mind busy. Sirius had been looking for the staircase for hours and didn't seem to be getting any closer to finding it.

"Why don't you go home Remus, it's getting late" Hermione finally said.

"No, no it's okay-"

"Seriously it's fine, thank you for staying with me," Hermione forced a small smile before rubbing her eyes tiredly, "besides, I think it would be best for Sirius to call it a day now anyway; I'm pretty sure he'll have searched every cranny of this house twice over by now."

"He probably stopped to take a nap somewhere," Remus smiled, eyeing her carefully, "You sure Hermione?"

"Yeah, of course," She gave him another smile which he saw straight through before taking their mugs and going over to the sink. He watched her as she started washing them before sighing, what an odd situation they were in.

"Okay," He stood up, hesitating before heading over to the door, "Padfoot?" He called and there was an almighty crash from one of the floors above them. Hermione laughed heartily as she turned to look at Remus who rolled his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"I've got to get going," Remus called back and there was another clatter from above them which made Remus raise his eyebrows and Hermione laugh lightly.

"Alright, give me a minute," Sirius shouted before going quiet again.

"Why did we think it was a good idea to send him off on his own?" Remus muttered and Hermione genuinely smiled as she dried the mugs. It only took a second later for Sirius to appear in the doorway, covered in dust from head to toe.

"I promise I'll carry on searching first thing in the morning, Hermione," Sirius sighed, looking crestfallen.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"Where the hell were you looking for it? Under the bed?" Remus breathed in disbelief at the state of him. "Why are you so dirty?"

Hermione couldn't help but smile.

"Everywhere, literally everywhere," Sirius breathed and Hermione's smile dropped as a hopelessness settled in her chest, "But, it's okay, i'll look again tomorrow and the next day and I'll keep on looking until we can figure out what's happened."

"Let's just keep it between the three of us for now," Remus said as he pulled his travel robe on. He hesitated briefly before going over to Hermione and wrapping her in a tight hug that was exactly what she needed. "I'll be back to tomorrow," He promised. Hermione closed her eyes and revelled in the comfort, surprising herself with just how much it helped her nerves.

Once Remus had gone Hermione insisted on heating up leftovers for Sirius, making him eat before they headed up to his bedroom. They settled on the sofa in there, Sirius at one end whilst Hermione curled up on the other end with a blanket of her legs. She tiredly told him how she had remembered that something had shocked her and he promised her they would figure this out together. Sirius talked and talked, thankful just to have company, not minding at all when the witch could barely keep her eyes open. His voice lulled her, his words calming and comforting and eventually she gave in to sleep. Sirius picked her up carefully, carrying her across to his bed before laying her down and covering her with his duvet. He looked at her for a second, her features the calmest they had been all day; she had clearly been through more than he would ever know and it broke his heart. Turning off the light he headed over to the sofa and rearranged the cushions before laying down. Through the darkness he kept a watchful eye on Hermione, determined to help her in any way that he could.