Author's note: I own nothing. Sue me. You'll get
eighty-seven cents in pennies.
Sorry this was so late,
everyone…I'm a bit lazy at times. Oh,
and don't forget the writer's block the size of a glacier. And thank you very, very, very much to the
wonderful Tessie (her stories are here)
for a wonderful beta-read. Mercy
buckets, Tessie!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday morning, Hermione
woke up with a terrible migraine. Her
head was pounding, ready to implode, and her vision was blurred. She rose, groaning, and slowly made her way
down to the common room, where she found Harry and Ron sitting together on the
couch, deep in conversation. She made
her way over to them and collapsed next to Ron, who turned and glared, his
expression softening greatly upon recognition.
"Good morning, Hermione, how
are you?" he asked cheerfully, not noticing her grimacing.
"I feel like shit, and you?"
"Absolutely wonderful." It suddenly dawned on Harry that Hermione
hadn't responded with her normal, "Fine, off to the Library" response, and
looked over at her, concerned.
"Hermione, are you all
right?"
"Just peachy, Harry, if you
don't include the frigging jackhammer attached to my forehead," she snapped,
rolling onto her side. Harry and Ron
exchanged a look and rose.
"C'mon, Hermione, let's go
to the Hospital wing, get you some meds. We can visit Professor Lupin while we're there," Harry said with
moderate enthusiasm. Each gripping one
arm, he and Ron were able to get Hermione to her feet. She followed them to the infirmary, dragging
her feet while her two friends practically skipped along ahead of her.
Once there, Madame Pomfrey
set Hermione up in a bed and gave her a dark brown draught.
"Now, Miss Granger, drink it
all. It'll take that headache away in
no time."
Hermione tried to smile at
the nurse, but all that came out was a half-smirk. One bed over, Harry and Ron were conversing with Professor Lupin.
She sipped at the potion,
which tasted roughly of rotten potatoes. Over the goblet she watched as Harry and Ron left the hospital wing,
their heads close together, smiling. Deciding it would be best to just get the job done, she tipped her head
back and tossed the draught down her throat. It burned at first but turned icy in moments.
Shivering, she pulled her
blanket tight up to her chest. Looking
around, she noticed a few other occupants of the infirmary. Professor Lupin was eyeing her oddly.
"Good morning,
Hermione. Let me guess…Headache
Elixir?" He grinned at her in that oh-so-marauder-ish way and she laughed.
"Yeah. So, how are you?"
"Oh, I'm much better. I wanted to leave yesterday, but Poppy
wouldn't allow it. Oh well, I'm
released today."
"So what are we doing in
class?"
"I'm thinking of devoting a
class just to famous Dark wizards. I
might even talk about Sirius, being as the vast majority of the community is
convinced he's evil."
Hermione smiled at her
teacher just as Madame Pomfrey bustled over.
"All right. Miss Granger, you may leave as soon as those
shivers have subsided. Remus, you're
free to go whenever you please."
Hopping out of his bed,
Lupin said, "You coming, Hermione?" She
got up and joined him, walking with him to his office.
"So, Professor, have you
seen Sirius since Saturday?" Hermione asked, since he had disappeared shortly
after their conversation.
"He came with the Headmaster
yesterday to visit," he replied, adding, "and I hear he's been living in my
office."
It wasn't a long walk to the
Defense against the Dark Arts classroom, so the pair was there shortly. Lupin opened the door with his wand and
ushered Hermione inside, following close behind. Sure enough, curled on the sofa was a large shaggy black
dog. He looked up slowly, with half-lidded
eyes that drifted first from Lupin to Hermione. Upon seeing them, he rose stiffly and transformed, leaving him
sitting on the couch, naked but for his green silk boxers.
Hermione stifled a giggle,
and Lupin turned red. Sirius looked
down at himself and started laughing, pulling Hermione to him.
"Good morning, love. Good morning to you, too, Remus," he said,
kissing Hermione on the cheek. Remus
sat down at his desk, shaking his head.
"Get dressed, Sirius, I
thought we could go for a walk before classes start, we've got an hour." He grinned at her, a replica of the one
Lupin had delivered just minutes before. He jumped up and searched for his robes. After ten minutes, he still hadn't been successful, and Hermione
finally retrieved them from between the couch cushions. Sirius' eyes twinkled at her as he pulled
them on, watching her analyzing everything she could see, obviously admiring
his smooth stomach and muscular chest.
She crossed over to him and
Sirius paused, his robes draped over one shoulder. She put her hands on his chest, leaning her head up against
him. He wrapped his arms around her and
started gently massaging her back. Bending his head down, Sirius kissed Hermione gently on the forehead,
which she returned full-swing. One hand
went up and around his neck, pulling him down to her, where she claimed his
lips. Her tongue darted into his mouth,
sliding up, tickling his hard palate, returning to twist with his own. His hands roamed down her back until he was
firmly clutching her rear, and he slowly began to lead her back to the couch.
"Oh please, you two, get a
room!" Lupin finally cried from the other side of the room. Sirius and Hermione separated, he with a
defiant look plastered on his face, she flushing crimson. Sirius finished pulling his robes on and
transformed once more, nudging Hermione with his snout. Still red, Hermione stumbled out of the room
following him.
Once outside, they headed
for the forest, where Sirius led her to a valley with a small concrete bench in
the center. Wildflowers blossomed all
around them, despite the chill in the air, and it seemed relatively free of
wildlife. Sirius transformed back, and
sat on the bench.
Situating herself beside
him, Hermione commented on the beauty of this hidden place. Sirius grinned, saying, "James and Lily came
here all the time…Remus, Peter and I would always follow them, hoping to
witness something to use as blackmail later. He proposed to her here, right before our graduation."
Hermione was
speechless. Did Harry know about this
spot? How relevant it was to his
history? She'd ask Sirius someday, but
not now. This was their time.
"Sirius, what made you think
of this site?" She finally asked him, after sitting holding him for what seemed
like ages.
"I just remembered how young
and innocent Lily was when James first showed her this spot. We had stumbled across it on one of our many
adventures, and he took her here for their first date. I remember it clearly, I was sitting on that
branch right over there, wearing his invisibility cloak. He made such a fool of himself for her."
He laughed, obviously
remembering some instances.
"In our sixth year, both of
them were prefects. Well, one night
they were both on duty, and James dragged her off to the Astronomy tower to
have a little fun. Well, while they
were up there, Remus and I snuck out and mentioned something to
McGonagall. She searched them out and
found them, quite caught up in whatever it was that they were doing. So James weaves this story about the two of
them investigating some noises they heard, Lily getting knocked out and needing
mouth-to-mouth…Surprisingly, McGonagall bought it."
Hermione laughed and grasped
Sirius' hand tighter.
"So, love," he started. "What to do about this Death Eater thing?"
"Well…I really have no
idea. Maybe one of us should go with
them to a class, you know, just to make sure that this is the real thing, and
not just some huge coincidence."
He grinned at her and she
continued.
"Or maybe we both can…you
can see if you recognize them, and I'll just be a visitor to the class, try and
figure out if they're teaching dark spells or something…"
"Or we can both be
invisible, take notes for half the class and make out for the rest," Sirius
added with a cheeky smile. She hit him on
the arm with a loud *Thwap!* but agreed to be invisible alongside him.
The pair bent their heads
together, deep in conversation. A lone
squirrel sat behind them, watching curiously, but aside him, the two were
alone.
~~*~~*~~
Hermione and Sirius spent
much of the next week in similar fashion, meeting either at the marble bench in
the woods or in the Shrieking Shack. By
Saturday, Hermione was as prepared as she would be. She had whipped together a simple invisibility potion, it didn't
last as long as she'd like, but that didn't matter. She'd "borrowed" both Harry and Ron's cauldrons as well, so she
had enough so both she and Sirius could be invisible for days if
needed.
After dinner on the
following Tuesday, Hermione brought out a book and curled up on one of the
overstuffed couches in the Gryffindor common room. Anyone passing by her would think nothing of it, but she had one
eye trained on the portrait hole. At quarter
to eight, she spotted Harry and Ron sneak out. She waited fifteen minutes, and followed them out of the room. From there, she went to Professor Lupin's
office and met up with Sirius. They
each took a vial of the potion (Hermione had brought ten with her, good for a
total of three hours per person), and
slipped through the castle unnoticed.
Once outdoors, Sirius
transformed, Hermione only barely able to see his outline. His nose never left the ground, following
Harry and Ron's footsteps the whole way. Apparently, the boys had taken a shortcut. Padfoot led Hermione through a beautiful grotto, with sparkling
koi that changed colors as they swam through a spring that was so clear and
obviously magical that the water itself was glowing a soft purple and Hermione
could count the stones at the bottom, had she wanted to. All around her were massive cliffs of
granite and sandstone (left by what, she was unsure). Her breath caught in her throat, causing Sirius to transform back
and walk to her side. Both were
becoming visible rapidly, starting with their mouths and quickly darkening
their hair, arms, legs, and finally the tips of their fingers.
"Oh, Sirius…can't we stay
here a little while?" She was crouching down near the spring, stroking what
appeared to be a shiny blue and orange frog.
"Love, it is beautiful…but
as much as I'd love to stay here with you, your friends need you too. Let's go to them, learn as much as we can,
then return here. We can stay as long
as you'd like," he said to her, kneeling behind her and grasping her arms
gently. She rose with him and stuck her
hand in her pocket, retrieving two more vials of potion. Each taking one, they resumed invisibility
and were soon on their way.
Before long, they had
reached their destination. Settling
down at the base of a large, leafy tree, the pair watched the lesson. This week's was about the Unforgivable
curses, and upon learning that, Hermione audibly heard Sirius say,
"Self-defense lessons, 'eh? Hah!"
"All right, everyone shut
up. Today, you're going to learn a few
curses. If someone is trying to hurt you,
throw one of these at them and they'll be no problem," said a tall girl with
long, almost-black hair.
"Ok, the first, and easiest
of the three I'm gonna toss at Natalie," said a short man with dark skin. "Imperio!"
Her eyes went blank, and she
did just as her partner, who must have been Blake, commanded her.
The class stood by and
watched, oohing and ahhing, even laughing.
"Finite Incantatum.
Ok, how you do this one is, obviously, say the word, Imperio, and if you're
strong enough, you'll feel a connection. Kinda like a warm rope comin' outta your forehead. You try, same partners."
Harry and Ron turned to each
other, wands out.
"Harry, no fair if you fight
it, let me practice, okay?" Ron was definitely feeling unsure of his
abilities. He received a sweet smile
and an affirming nod from Harry, and proceeded. His first attempt fizzled, but soon Ron had his best friend
turning cartwheels in his underwear. Laughing, he took off the spell and grinned at Harry, who was quickly
noticing his near-nakedness and grabbing his clothes.
"You're gonna pay, Weasley,"
he fake-snarled, and in turn, put the curse on Ron. Even though her two best friends were doing illegal magic in the
company of Death Eaters, Hermione still had to stifle a laugh. Ron was running in circles, flapping his
arms and crying, "I'm a pretty owl Look
at me fly!"
Harry removed the spell and
grinned at his friend, and they both turned to their mentors.
"Sirius…" Hermione
whispered. "Are they under a spell? Harry normally wouldn't do that without question."
"Hermione, you're definitely
right. Hand me your wand, I'll take the
spell off of them."
She removed her wand from
her pocket and slipped it to him, along with another vial of potion. "So you aren't seen," she warned him.
He aimed the wand at the
pair of boys and muttered something under his breath. An almost indistinguishable shock wave followed the spell, and
both boys blinked a few times in rapid succession, but they kept their sights
trained on the teachers.
"Good. Next on the agenda is the Cruciatus
curse. Watch as I demonstrate on this
common garden gnome."
"WHAT THE HELL?" Harry
roared, running at the tall woman that was speaking.
"MICHAEL! I thought you had all of them!" she screamed,
swiftly following by putting Harry under the aforementioned curse. He screamed in agony, and Sirius rushed
forward, fully visible again. He took
the curse off, using Hermione's wand, and with Ron's help, carried him to the
side.
Hermione was watching the
whole scene unfold around her. As she
watched the three men she was closest to struggling on the sidelines, she was
aware of all the goings-on at the class site.
"Stupefy massio!" she heard
Blake scream, and watched as all of the other students dropped to the ground,
one by one falling victim to the stun spell. Simultaneously, Blake and Hutch turned to the group of three, hailing
curses down upon them. Sirius gave
Harry the bottle of invisibility potion he had and left him with Ron, turning
and blocking the curses headed for them. He sent some of his own, but they weren't nearly as powerful.
Calling for Hermione over
his shoulder, Sirius grabbed Ron's arm, which was clinging firmly to
Harry. Hermione ran up and grasped his
other arm, and the four started to run. They were closely followed by the death eaters, who were very
imaginative with their curses. Suddenly, the group stumbled.
"Who's hurt?" Sirius
demanded.
"Me…" they heard Harry say
in a weak voice, "but I can handle it, got my shin. Help me walk, Ron…"
Hermione hurried over to
Harry's side, revealing her presence to them for the first time.
"I'm here, Harry, I've got
you," she reassured him.
Needless to say, the group
was slowed down immensely by this injury, and Hutch and Blake were soon
catching up. Sirius turned
periodically, and before long, could actually see the whites of their eyes.
"Quick, Mione…the potion!"
he said in a slightly hushed voice. She
quickly doled out bottles to everyone. Ron and Sirius disappeared, and the other two, who were just beginning
to show again, faded.
They ducked into various
hiding spots nearby, and in no time, Hutch and Blake were hovering in close
proximity.
"Cover your ground, Michael,
we need to find them," Hutch snarled out, and they both started firing curses
and charms in rapid succession in hopes of finding them. Luck hit the Death Eaters, a cry rang out.
"Ron!" Harry screamed,
revealing his position as well, and that of Hermione, since they had hid
together. Blake bent over them, and
laughed slowly.
"Well…look what the spider's
caught in her web. Imperio!"
Instantly, Harry's eyes
glazed over and he began to strangle Hermione. Sirius, hearing this and seeing Blake, rushed over as a dog and attacked
the dark-skinned man, breaking his chain of concentration, and thus the curse
as well.
"RUN!" Sirius screamed, and
they didn't need to be told twice. Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and bolted toward the school, listening for
a pattering of paws behind her.
After what seemed like ages,
the group came to the edge of the Forbidden forest. By then, all four were visible again, and Sirius being the only
one not hurt seriously, went for help. He returned in no time with Dumbledore and Lupin, who brought the
students to the hospital wing.
Once there, Hermione curled
up on her bed. She had only endured the
strangling for a few seconds before Sirius intervened, and it had healed in
nearly the same time. A few cuts and
bruises were treated as well, and she was just sitting and listening, hoping to
hear about her friends.
"Remus, could you come
here? You know your remedies, help me
out with these two. You take young
Weasley, and I've got Potter," she overheard Madame Pomfrey saying.
Pointless to say, Hermione
was worried about her friends. She was
surprised upon seeing Harry's injury that he could even stand, much less
run. His leg was mangled from the knee
down, chunks of muscle missing completely and bits of white bone showing from
all angles. Ron was nearly as bad. He had been struck in the chest, and now had
a very deep cut, along with some broken ribs and some light internal
bleeding. It would be awhile before
those two healed.
Author's Note: Thank you
everybody who reviewed…I really should get into the habit of writing down your
names, and thanking you personally. I'll do that next chapter, how's that? But don't forget…
READ & REVIEW!!!!