Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the wonderful wizarding world and all credit must be given to Ms. JK Rowling, however, anything unrecognisable is of my own creation.

Chapter 6: Heartache and Headache

It's been 5 days since I'd returned to Hogwarts: and I'm kind of anxious, because Sirius hasn't responded to the letter I'd sent him. It isn't like him to take so long to reply, it's been almost a week. I know he's received the letter, because otherwise Mr. Elvis would've brought it back to me. I'd also sent him a patronus last night, which Sirius hadn't responded to. I'm trying not to get too anxious, but I'm sure my worried frame of mind showed throughout my advanced Charms class, even if, Professor Flitwick hadn't mentioned it. I'd chosen to eat lunch in the kitchen today, as opposed to with the teaching staff in the Great Hall. I needed to compose myself, because I have a lesson with Dumbledore this evening, and I needed full concentration to attempt Occlumency. I found myself wondering the school grounds, and ultimately I ended up at the boathouse. There's a bit of a breeze today, so I dangled my feet off the dock and stared out across the Black Lake. I became distracted as I started thinking about the mission I had ahead of me. I hadn't thought much about hunting horcruxes, because it was an inevitable eventuality. I didn't have an alternative. I needed to find and destroy all of Voldemort's horcruxes: it's my one chance at saving Lily and James. Harry deserves a loving family, which I suppose I'd now be part of, if I remained with Sirius. I hope Sirius is all right: that I'm worrying for nothing. The much-needed peace and quiet and my train-of-thought were interrupted when an owl screeched. I watched the owl swoop across the lake, and as it got closer I realised it was the Potters Family owl, with a letter from James.

Hermione. Have you heard from Sirius? He won't reply on his two-way mirror, and Ciselli keeps bringing my letters back. I'm worried about him. James.

I felt my stomach knot, as I read James's letter, and cast a patronus immediately to reply.

'He's not replied to my letter I sent almost a week ago, and he didn't respond to a patronus I sent him... he said he'd annoyed his parents in the last letter I received from him. James, I'm scared something's happened to him.' I then sent Ciselli: the Potters Family owl, on her way, before heading back to Gryffindor Tower, feeling physically sick. I didn't believe Sirius would go AWOL without a good reason.

I collapsed onto my bed once I'd reached the dormitory, and I'm not sure how long I lay there for, but eventually a quite majestic patronus appeared in the form of a phoenix. I knew this to be Dumbledore's patronus. The ghostly phoenix perched itself at the foot of my bed, before Dumbledore's voice appeared.

'Miss. Granger, if it suits you, I suggest we bring our arranged lesson forward.' I stared towards the ghostly phoenix as it informed me that my lesson with Dumbledore was now to take place in 15 minutes, and that the password to his office is sugared almonds. I entered the familiar circular office 15 minutes later: and I took a seat as Dumbledore welcomed me.

'Ah, Miss. Granger. I hope the change in arrangements wasn't too bothersome.' I smiled towards the headmaster, allowing him to continue. 'Very good, well you've been making quite a remarkable improvement in Legilimency, so this evening, I thought we should focus on Occlumency.' I agreed. I'd improved vastly with Legilimency; though, the art of Legilimency is really all down to experience and practice. Decoding and navigating an opponents mind just takes time to get used to, and as I've said before, the hardest part is learning the initial incantation. Occlumency, however, takes headache-inducing concentration. I haven't yet mastered keeping a Legilimen out of my mind completely, but I'd gotten good enough to conceal specific thoughts and memories. This meant that during this evening's lesson, it must've seemed to Dumbledore like I'd gotten worse since last time, because throughout the course of the lesson I was concealing my concerns about Sirius. I didn't want Dumbledore to see how anxious I was, because I didn't need the headmaster knowing that Sirius is becoming a weakness for me. I continued with the lesson, trying to block the sections of my mind that Dumbledore asked me to, whilst keeping my anxiety hidden. I was quickly getting a headache. After about an hour, I'd managed a weak concealment over the memories that Dumbledore wanted me to block. The block wasn't strong enough to keep him out, but he said that a less experienced Legilimen would probably be hoodwinked.

Dumbledore dismissed me after around 2 hours of intense Occlumency, and I staggered back to Gryffindor Tower, wondering if my head would explode. I stopped by the kitchen on my way, to collect some comfort food for dinner, which consisted of: a bowl of macaroni cheese, tater tots, and a piece of hazelnut cheesecake. I levitated the tray containing this food back to the common room, where I curled up on an armchair in front of the fireplace. I'd have to find some sort of headache relief potion once I'd finished eating, and perhaps a dreamless sleep potion, because I doubted that I'd get a peaceful night's sleep without one. I was feeling a little better after eating, the food as per usual was exceptional: I must remember to thank the house elves. I left the tray of dirty dishes in the common room and headed up to bed, however, as I walked into the dormitory I found a very welcoming sight.

'Elvis!' I hurried over to collect the letter from Sirius.

Dear Hermione. I've run away from home. I'm fine... and Mr. Elvis is going to stay in the Owlery at Hogwarts. Promise I'll write, once I figure things out. I love you. Sirius x.

A/N: Little cliffhanger for you all... well sorta. Hope you've all enjoyed this chapter, next part coming soon.