'Hermione, wait up!'

The seventeen-year-old girl stopped, turning as her friends caught up with her.

'What's the big rush, Herm?' Ron demanded, wrapping a possessive arm about her shoulders and scowling at the other boys in their year, who were making eyes at his friend. Hermione rolled her eyes, and exchanged a weary sigh with Harry.

'Nothing special, Ron, just wanted to get good seats for the Sorting,' she said, disentangling herself from his lanky limb.

'Do anything over the holidays, Harry?'

The Boy Who Lived shrugged deprecatingly, and grinned.

'You know, the usual. Ate Dudley's diet, wrote to Sirius, blew up another set of obscure relatives, nothing to write home about.'

Their laughter rang clearly through the Great Hall as they wandered in, others of their House demanding to know the joke.

Scanning the faculty table with rich cinnamon eyes, Hermione noted that Professor Snape appeared to have acquired a large black dog over the summer. She nudged Harry.

'Is that who I think it is?'

He glanced over, and choked back a laugh. Sirius had laid his head in Snape's lap, and was refusing to move, despite the Potions Master's attempts to the contrary. As they watched, Sirius lifted both front paws onto Snape's knee, and gave him a good long sloppy lick on his pale cheek. At this, Snape pushed the huge dog away from him, and appeared to warn him rather severely, an action that involved gesticulating violently with his wand in Sirius' general direction. The three of them howled with laughter, drawing curious looks from their companions.

Suddenly Hermione stopped laughing, her face taking on a troubled look.

'Did you guys hear that?'

Harry winced and touched his scar, running a worried finger over its familiar contours. Ron glanced between them.

'Hear what, Herm?'

She glanced around them.

'Sounded like someone calling my name,' she mused.

Harry groaned, and pressed the heel of his hand against the mark on his forehead.

'There it is again,' Hermione said, turning to see if Harry was all right.

Ron looked flummoxed.

'I can't say I do, Herm,' he said, hoping she would drop it. 'Here, Harry, what's wrong with you?'

'Headache,' Harry muttered meaningfully, ignoring the startled glance the redhead gave him.

'You should tell Dumbledore,' Hermione told him, exchanging a concerned look with Ron.

Harry gave her a look.

'Don't start that again, Herm. It's just a little ache, that's all.'

Hermione didn't look convinced.

'Hey!' Ron pointed to the Great Doors. 'They're coming!'

All noises and aches were forgotten in the rush of excitement they felt every year when new students were sorted into their respective Houses. Then the feast began, and they found themselves caught up in the news of the year, unable to discuss the strange happenings that had occurred.



*~*~*



Hermione sat by the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, enjoying the silence that gave her a chance to ponder the voice that kept calling out to her. The others had gone to bed, no doubt to talk for hours before sleeping, but Hermione preferred to gaze into the crackling flames and think.

'Hermione . . .'

She groaned, and tried to shut out the pervasive tones. Whoever it was had been calling her for months now, whispering her name at the most awkward moments. She had tried to find a spell that would block it out, but to no avail. The wizard on the other end was a lot stronger than she was.

'Hermione . . .'

What? she thought, irritably. What do you want?

There was a soft sound from the portrait hole, and looking up, Hermione saw Snape's new dog pad through, obviously looking for Harry. He spotted her, and came over, laying his head in her lap. With a quiet laugh, she shooed him away, scratching the big head as it turned to look at her.

With a sound that can only be described as 'whoomph', Hermione was suddenly no longer stroking a dog, but rubbing her fingers through Sirius Black's mane of dark hair. He grinned as she pulled her hands hurriedly away.

'Mind if I join you?' he asked, sitting beside her on the thick rug.

'Not at all,' Hermione smiled. 'Harry and Ron have gone to bed, if you wanted to speak to them.'

'Actually,' Sirius said, adjusting his position on the floor, 'it was you I came to speak to.'

'Me?'

He nodded.

'Harry's scar hurt him at the feast, didn't it?'

Hermione grimaced.

'Yes. I've tried to get him to tell Dumbledore, but he just won't listen. He says there's no need to worry him.'

Sirius looked concerned for a moment, before a hint of pride in his godson crept into his open face.

'That sounds like Harry,' he said, smiling fondly. 'Any ideas what might have caused it?'

He looked at her hopefully. Hermione started to shake her head, stopping as a thought occurred to her.

'Well, it happened at the same time as something else.'

Sirius leant forward, all traces of humour gone.

'What happened?'

Hermione tried not to squirm under his close scrutiny.

'I thought I heard someone say my name. Twice, but no one else heard it. I thought it was my imagination.'

'But?'

She smiled self-consciously.

'But I've been hearing voices for a few months now, and it's beginning to scare me.'

Sirius frowned, obviously concerned for her.

'What do these voices say?'

Hiding her surprise at the intense way he looked at her, Hermione said,

'Just my name, as if someone is calling to me from another room. It's not hostile or anything.'

The man nodded, urging her to go on.

'If anything, I'd say, whoever it is, they're lost, and need me to find their way home. They say my name the way my parents would.'

At this, Sirius stiffened, his head slowly turning to look deep into her eyes.

'Have you had any strange dreams, linked to these voices?'

She shook her head.

'No, just the voices. What's going on, Sirius?'

Sirius took her hands in his, forcing her to look into his eyes.

'I'm not sure, Hermione. I need you to do something for me, though.'

'What?'

'I need you to promise me that if you have any dreams that you think could have something to do with your frequent visitor, you will tell me. This is important, Hermione. Promise me.'

Hermione, startled by his odd request, nodded dumbly.

'Am I in some sort of danger?' she asked.

Sirius shrugged.

'I don't know. Not yet, I don't think. Anyway, don't worry. You've got Ron and Harry to protect you, not to mention Dumbledore and all the staff.'

Hermione looked down at her small hands, intertwined with his.

'And you,' she added shyly.

He grinned, tilting her head back to look into his eyes.

'And me,' he agreed. 'Now go to bed. You look like you need it.'

He walked her up to her dorm, leaving her at the door and morphing back into the dog to return to Snape's quarters in the dungeons.

Hermione slipped beneath the cool sheets, feeling sleep envelop her. And quietly, just on the edge of hearing, a soft voice called out to her.

'Hermione . . .'



*~*~*



Sirius padded through the door, waiting until Snape had locked it before changing back into human form. The Potions Master looked disdainfully at him and sneered, turning back to his room.

'He's started calling to her, Severus.'

Snape froze, and spun slowly on his heel to face his companion.

'You're sure?'

'Certain as I can be without getting inside her head. You were right. I apologise.'

Sirius nodded wearily at Snape as he sat heavily in one of two large leather armchairs by the fireside. The Professor pursed his lips and sat opposite him, dark eyes glittering in the orange light.

'What do you propose we do?' he asked, more out of courtesy than of any real desire to know Sirius' thoughts.

'I've told her to tell me if she has any dreams connected with the voices -'

'Great stars, man! You didn't tell her the truth, did you?'

Sirius' face stiffened. He glared at Snape, forcing the man to back down.

'For your information, Snape, I'm not as thick as you think I am,' Sirius snarled. 'Of course I didn't tell her. What do you take me for, a fool?'

Their eyes locked across the tiny space, Sirius daring Snape to agree. Neither gave way, Snape eventually breaking the tense silence to inquire,

'Does she suspect?'

'I hope not. Finding this out could destroy her. Not even you would want that.'

'No,' Snape agreed. 'She must not know.'