Hello everyone,
It has been quite some time I know and I am very sorry for that. However real life has got in the way of writing. Since my last update I am now working full time, have moved and also got married so yeah.
I will try my hardest to write more and with my amazing beta Thornweed -thank you so much for everything.
So here it is the next chapter I hope it is worth the wait and if you do like it let me know by leaving a review.
As always Allons-y
Running with all of her might, Hermione's heart was beating so loud she could hear it in her ears. Hooch's whistle was blaring as the game was brought to a close, but Hermione didn't care about who care who won the game. The sight of James' body falling limp towards the ground replayed in her mind. Once Sirius had seen James get hit, he abandoned the game to try and race to his friend's side. Hermione ran, taking the steps two at a time and nearly falling as Remus followed her down the stands stairs. Her mind swam with fear and worry. She would not be able to think straight until she knew he was safe. She could hear Lily shouting for her to slow down but ignored her. Nothing mattered right now except getting to James.
Bursting into the Gryffindor's changing room Hermione's breath hitched in her throat. James was laying on a stretcher unconscious. His glasses were barely staying on his face as the frames were bent and missing one of the temples. The broken glass cut his eye and nose. That however would be the least severe of his injuries. Who knew what was happening inside of his head?
"Out of the way! Now! Everybody out," Madame Pomfrey shouted at the Gryffindor team that surrounded their fallen chaser. Remus took Hermione's hand and squeezed, but she didn't dare take her eyes off Prongs. She was scared to look away. She needed to see him breathing. Madame Pomfrey shouted once more for them to leave but another voice cut through her barking orders.
"Except for you, Miss Granger." Dumbledore looked menacingly towards her. As Remus released her hand and left the room Hermione felt her heart drop once more. She knew he would be displeased with her but as far as she was concerned he could shove his displeasure where the sun doesn't shine.
"Headmaster," She began, her voice sounding foreign to her, "I had to. He was falling. I just couldn't." The voice she heard was meek, broken, and fearful. Trying her best to regain control Hermione took deep shaking breathes, never looking away from James, as Madame Pomfrey worked her healing magic.
"I know. But you have to have seen what happened before that." His voice low and forceful. Hermione knew what he was asking. She wondered just how much he'd noticed.
"His broom… someone… I think it was jinxed. I have seen something like it before. He wasn't in control."
"And the bludger?" his prying had hit a nerve with her. She just wanted to help the healer with James but the old coot was making it next to impossible for her to focus on the situation at hand. Whatever trivial questions he had for her could wait but James could not.
"Sir, do you think this is the time and place? Please. He's hurt. Let me help. Please," Hermione snapped at the headmaster. Her voice matched the annoyance in her mind now. She was no longer sounding afraid. Instead she was brave and protective. She wanted…no she needed to help James.
"No, Hermione, I will not. Now answer about the bludger" His fury matched hers with a sinister tone. Hermione answered him.
"That was not intentional. At least not for the person performing the jinx. I think it was a happy accident."
His lips curled into a smile as he once more got the answers he wanted. She wanted to curse him to remove that stupid smile from his face. Her closest friend was lying injured and he chose now to play twenty questions. This was one of the reasons she had grown to dislike her headmaster. He had to win no matter the cost.
"Why do you think they picked him?" he asked her, calmer now.
"Pardon?"
"I told you there would be implications for those you love, Miss Granger," Dumbledore continued. "Someone is sending a message to you."
"How do you know this has to do with me?" she asked, confused by the statement.
"You're being followed. He has an interest in you."
Her blood ran cold. Was this her fault? Was she being careless? Looking at James, his body was still limp and unresponsive. He was too thin and pale. Were they trying to find out information? Had she given them exactly what they needed? Her mind was swimming as the tears seared her eyes. Whomever did this would pay and that was a promise.
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Sitting beside James' bed Sirius couldn't keep the tears at bay. He'd tried to bury them deep, to be strong like James would want him to be, but seeing his brother's face covered in a yellowing bruise made the sinking feeling in his stomach intensify. It had been a week since the game and James was still motionless. When Dorea and Charlus found out about their son's condition they had him pulled from the Hospital wing and brought back to Potter Manor where their healers could work on him without any restriction. It was not an uncommon practice for older families to have healers on their staff. Dorea even had Hermione, Remus and Sirius pulled out of school upon permission from their families of course (not that the frigid bitch Black really cared). Sirius remained unmoved as the door opened not bothering to look over to whom had entered the room. An intoxicating smell of jasmine and vanilla filled the room and his heart tightened in his chest. Since the accident, so much of the anger Sirius had felt towards Hermione had dissipated. She saved him from further injury. For that he could never thank her enough.
"Sorry. I didn't realize anyone was in here. I just…I wanted to change the flowers…I'll, um, do it later." Her trepidation was not unjustified give how he had been treating her.
"Don't go, Hermione, please. New flowers would be nice." He smiled at her before returning his attention back to Prongs.
"That's the first time you have spoken to me in weeks," she smiled at him and he immediately felt another wave of guilt was over him. He'd been so selfish. And for what? To prove a point because his feelings were hurt? What kind of friend was he to have caused so much chaos? In the grander scheme of things what he'd done to those he loved so dearly was positively criminal.
"So it is," he said meekly.
"I'll leave you be," she said softly and turned to James. "I will come back and see you later, Prongs, I promise."
Hermione leant in and kissed James' cheek. She paused there for longer than she normally would. Taking her leave Hermione turned on her heel and left the room. Something bubbled inside of Sirius that had been missing for quite some time. He needed her right now. Since crashing into his life Hermione was a glimmer of unwavering light in a field of darkness that drove him mad. For the first time that day, Sirius left James' side running to the door in hopes she was still there and that she would let him talk to her. After everything he'd done he wouldn't blame her if he never spoke to him again.
'Hermione wait!" He called as he rushed to her, "I am sorry. I was a stubborn jerk who let his pettiness get in the way. Though that is me isn't it? The bad person or the jerk? Whatever happened or didn't between you and Remus that was your business and you had every right to tell me or not. Though I still think you should have told me…shit I am getting off topic what I am trying to say is…" before the words could leave his lips Hermione pulled Sirius into a tight embrace. All the pain and anger left him in that moment as he only felt comfort. The truth was he'd forgiven her a long time ago, but with his bruised ego and everything that was coming, he couldn't live with himself if something happened to her. It was easier for him to push her away than to be scared of what was coming in his future.
"I'm sorry too," she told him in a clear voice. He wanted to tell her she didn't need to feel that way but he also knew she would tell him either way. "You are many things Sirius: hot tempered, passionate, caring, and loyal to a fault. You do impulsive and sometimes jerky things but you are not bad person."
Holding her as close as he could Sirius knew whatever had happened up to this point had been forgiven on both sides. Having her so close made him fill with so much joy and light that the thought of ever letting her go again genuinely frightened him. James was right, the bloody sod. Hermione had been more to Sirius than he ever wanted her to be. He wanted to hold her as more than a friend for far too long. Taking a long slow breath in, Sirius drowned in her scent trying desperately to hold on to this moment. This is what would get him through this summer. It had to.
A small smile crept across his lips as Sirius thought to himself. If James could see them now he would be proud and then make some smart ass comment about if only he had nearly died sooner maybe all of this could've been resolved sooner. As lovely as it was to have Hermione back in his life a piece of him was still missing as James laid still unconscious.
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He had been in and out of consciousness for Godric knows how long. All he knew was…well to be honest he didn't know much except for a seemingly endless stream of pain. It ricocheted on the inside of his head. He dared not open his eyes again out of fear it would make it all the worse. He'd tried that the last time he'd awoken and that did not end well. He may not be the smartest wizard in the world but he was certainly not the dumbest. James tried to recount just how he'd gotten to this place where the pain almost consumed him. He was playing Quidditch then everything went black. Wait, there was something else his broom. Something was wrong with his broom. He tried to focus on what he could and couldn't remember. It was as if he was looking through several panes of fogged glass. He couldn't be sure if what he was remembering was accurate and what never happened at all. For the first time since he came to consciousness, James let himself take in his surroundings all without opening his eyes. The bed under him was softer than the cots in the hospital wing at Hogwarts or even in his bed in the tower. The sheets felt silky and familiar to him. The smell burned his nostrils. It smelt like a hospital, but again it was too comfortable for such a place. A comforting voice sounded muffled as though they were close but not in the room. The pain surged in his head and James could feel himself drifting. It would not be long until the darkness swallowed him again. Straining against the heaviness James heard Vix he was sure of it, he could not place the other voice but she sounded sad. He wanted to yell to her, but the darkness took him once more.
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It was Hermione's shift to sit by James' bed. She was reading an article about the latest quidditch matches from the Daily Prophet as Dorea entered the room.
"Dumbledore is insisting you return to Hogwarts by this evening's dinner Hermione and I believe he is serious this time unfortunately, my dear," she said softly to Hermione.
"I have told him time and time again I will return once James is awake and with respect, Dorea, the next time he asks me to return respectfully tell him he can shove what he wants right up his…" he words were thick with vexation as the anger boiled and festered inside of Hermione.
"Yes dear," she interrupted. "I understand what you are saying but there is so much that you're not telling me that I am left to hypothesize." With a knowing smile Dorea crossed the room to her son's bedside. Before talking to Hermione she kissed James' facing the annoyed brunette Dorea smiled slyly. Hermione hated that smile. It was a smile of a Slytherin.
"Please tell me," Hermione sighed. "What do you think is going on? Why would I not want to return to Hogwarts?"
"He's having you watched," she replied bluntly. "And in hurting James he wanted to test your power. And perhaps there is something about how Dumbledore informed you of this situation that you seem to not agree with. Am I close in any way?" Dorea's smile widened. Fucking Dumbledore.
"He told you what happened."
"Maybe...but in all honesty I wonder why you didn't. I know I could not replace the family you lost, but I also know you consider James your brother. In turn, that would make me somewhat of a mother if logic was applied."
"I didn't tell you because I am still sorting it out myself and there is a certain amount of guilt. If he'd been focused on the game and not his broom then he would have seen the bludger coming. James is your only son and he is here because of a chain reaction of things that leads back to me and the fact that I'm here. I don't know for sure whom he has watching me, but I know that James is just the beginning." Hermione hadn't been aware of the tears that were streaming down her face until she looked down at the now running ink of the Daily Prophet.
"This was not your fault, my dearest girl. Did you hex his broom? Did you swing the bat for that bludger? You are not responsible for this. Promise me that you will not let those dark thoughts into your mind anymore." Dorea knelt in front of Hermione taking her trembling hands in hers. She didn't realize that she had been shaking nor did she particularly enjoy the feeling that she was coming undone in front of the Potter matriarch.
"Why are you so kind to me, Dorea?" her voice was little more than a whisper.
"Because to me you are family. You left everything you had ever known to come back to an unknown time to help my grandchild. That is no small feat and for that I will forever be indebted to you."
"I would do it all again for him." She would do anything for Harry.
"I don't doubt that at all, Hermione. However, what I want to know is if James had spoken to you about you officially joining our family?"
"No, he hadn't. With everything that had happened, but why would you do that?"
"Like I told you the last time you were in this home, Charlus had always wanted a daughter as did I, but now more than ever you have proven yourself to be a true Potter. I will only proceed with your permission."
"James wanted this?" Hermione asked inquisitively. Why had he not told her sooner?
"We all did but James was certainly ecstatic about the possibility." a small smile crossed her lips. James wanted her to really be his sister. Moreover his parents agreed, that would make her Harry's adoptive Aunt. Well that certainly would be interesting. She chuckled to herself through her tears.
"Can I think about it for a while? Not that I don't appreciate your generosity of course."
"Take your time, Hermione. We understand no matter what you chose." Dorea squeezed her hand and Hermione's heart swelled in her chest. Was she really going to do this...Why shouldn't she...She really wished she could ask James if he'd meant it did he really want her to be a real Potter?
"I don't! Be my bloody sister already!" James' gruff voice brought their conversation to a halt as the two women jumped out of surprise. Well at least she had her answer. From the moment he muttered those words his room had become a hive of activity. Dorea immediately went to fetch her husband so he could see his son was alright and coherent, not to mention multiple healers coming and going running an obscene number of tests and administering at least half a dozen potions at a time.
It was two hours later before Hermione had the opportunity to be alone with James again. Sitting in chair beside his bed they sat in silence for a moment as he extended his hand to her. Hermione gladly and greedily took it. They didn't need words, they never had. She was just glad he was awake and seemingly getting better according to the healers anyway. She kissed his hand grateful that he was ok when James asked her a question that she already knew the answer to.
"So what do you say, Vix? Will you be my sister or what?"
Thank you for reading and once more for my amazing beta Thornweed. Until next time :)
