Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" and all other aspects of this fic that you recognize (unless they're from any of my other fics) all belong to J.K. Rowling, and not to me!

Summary: A dark force haunts the trio. When the dead come back to life, can you deal with what they might have to tell you? This is a story about loss, damnation, and a dead man's second chance at redemption ...

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Road to Redemption

Chapter Five: Voice of Madness

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"This is ridiculous," Harry spat angrily, pacing Professor Dumbledore's office up and down and glowering at just about everything in the room (which was a great deal), "Everything is just going crazy. First you tell me that Voldemort – " (a number of people in the room winced) "– is after Hermione. Then Professor Dumbledore assigns Tonks, Dung and Emmeline Vance to be Hermione's guard. Then, out of the blue, we discover that all those three have been ambushed by Voldemort's Deaths Eaters – and that two of them have been captured and one of them have been killed!" His eyes darkened, and he said sadly: "I just don't get it. I'm at a complete loss."

"Yeah," said Ron, nodding emphatically and looking bewildered, "I mean – what in Merlin's name does You-Know-Who see in Hermione?"

"Thank you, Ron," said Hermione acidly.

There were a surprisingly large number of people in Dumbledore's office. These included Dumbledore himself, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Remus Lupin, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fawkes, and – unseen by all except for Hermione – Sirius.

"You all do see the difficulties here," Professor Dumbledore said in his quiet, compelling voice, "The Order of the Phoenix members are all extremely busy. Nymphadora, Emmeline and Mundungus were the only reliable – " (Snape snorted at the idea of Mundungus being reliable) "– the only reliable members I could spare to act as Hermione's guard. By some curious coincidence, those three were attacked. This means Hermione has no guard."

"She's got me, doesn't she?" Sirius said indignantly.

Hermione smiled to herself. She thought Sirius must be enjoying himself, being able to say just what he liked and to whom, without having to fear the consequences. Wait till he meets Mrs. Weasley, she thought.

"I think the bigger problem," she spoke up quietly, making everyone look at her, "Is not that I have no guard. I'm sure I'm perfectly safe at Hogwarts with Harry and Ron and all the Professors, so I hardly think anyone needs to worry about me. I think our real problem is finding out how on earth V- Voldemort managed to discover the identities of three important Order of the Phoenix members, and how he knew that they were forming my guard. You can't deny that it isn't coincidence that those three were attacked, and poor Mrs. Vance killed! Somehow, V-Voldemort knew who my guard was and got them out of the way."

"Of course, that is very disturbing, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling slightly at her, and he smiled, "I must compliment you on your fortitude. Indeed, I am going to look into the circumstances resulting in Voldemort's acquisition of this important information. In the mean time, I agree that you will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts. As long as you're careful, Hermione – and I know you always are – there should be nothing to worry about."

"But – "

"As for you, Harry," Dumbledore said, turning to him, "I want you to follow Hermione's example. I don't want you leaving the castle without good reason and without permission. In fact, I don't want you out of the castle at all – Hogsmeade weekends are, of course, excluded in that. Do not forget that you're in a great deal of danger as well."

Harry frowned, and his jaw tightened. Hermione looked at him. She knew Harry hadn't fully forgiven Dumbledore for being a small part of the reason Sirius was dead.

"People don't like being locked up," his voice was barely audible.

Dumbledore's expression flickered. Hermione reached out and squeezed Harry's hand. "Don't," she said softly. "You know you can't. Besides, you and I can keep each other company in the castle." He smiled faintly at her.

"Potter," said Snape in a cold, sneering voice, "I think people have been lenient with you for long enough. Although personally I disagree, people have obviously felt you deserve some grieving allowance after – what happened last year – but I think unwarranted rudeness is pushing the limit a little too far."

"Stay out of it, Severus," Lupin said in a pleasant voice.

"That's asking too much, Remus, you know he can't restrain himself," Sirius growled, glaring savagely at Snape, and with distinct pleasure.

Ron was looking around the room, his eyes rather wide. He looked at Hermione, and she smiled slightly in reassurance. She closed her eyes for a moment, barely listening as Dumbledore went on to discuss some new updates in Order work, and made plans for certain things. Although there had been plenty of trouble before Sirius's death, it had been far worse since he had died. It was as if a great rift had been wedged between everyone, and particularly between Harry and everyone else. Blame rested upon many shoulders in the view of many eyes. The ideals and loyalties of the Order had been put to sleep when Sirius had died. There was suspicion, hostility, pain, lack of forgiveness ...

She had heard the note of faint regret in Snape's tone. Although he might have hated Sirius (and probably still did), there was no denying that he regretted those bitter words he had uttered in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Sometimes, she blamed him a little, too. If he hadn't ...

If Harry hadn't ...

If Dumbledore hadn't ...

If Hermione hadn't ...

Yes, she was to blame as well and she knew it. A man was dead, partly because she had been the fool to take Harry out into the Forbidden Forest. If she'd stayed in the castle, or if she'd exerted more control over Harry's impulsive decision, she would have either run into Snape who would have told them Sirius was fine, or they would have stalled for enough time before Snape arrived at the Forest and told them that Sirius was fine.

The thing was, she had been just as worried and frightened as Harry had been. A part of her had wanted to go looking for Sirius, whom they believed was hurt, possibly dying ...

She looked up at Sirius at that moment, and saw that he was looking right back at her.

"What's the matter?" he asked her, frowning.

Hermione just shook her head, unable to speak. Even if she could have spoken, it would have been stupid to do so with Harry right next to her and a room full of people around her. Only Lupin would understand, and he could hardly defend her sanity.

But Sirius didn't look convinced.

"And that," Dumbledore said calmly, "Rounds up our meeting, I think. Rest assured that I will find out the truth behind the attack on the three members of my Order. But for now, I suggest all of you – especially you three – " he said to Harry, Ron and Hermione, smiling slightly, "– I suggest you enjoy your school days for the rest of this month, until Halloween."

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That weekend was – and there was no other word for it – fun. Seemingly ashamed for his brief outburst in Dumbledore's office, Harry made more of an effort to be tolerant, and Hermione saw that he was genuinely having a good time (as good a time as was possible under the circumstances). On Saturday evening, long after everyone else had gone to bed, Hermione sat in the common-room with Harry and Ron. Sirius was leaning against the table beside their squashy seats, and watching them with a grin.

They started out just talking: reminiscing over times they had had over the past six years, laughing at such incidents like the Halloween troll; the forming of the DA; seeing the look on Percy's face when he found Ron in a girl's bathroom (Percy, Ron told them with relish, had come grovelling to Mr and Mrs. Weasley after the discovery of Harry and Dumbledore's honesty had been proven); Hermione sprouting cat's hair all over her face when her Polyjuice Potion went wrong; meeting Gilderoy Lockhart in St. Mungo's Hospital; remembering all the stunts that the students of Hogwarts pulled to torment and get rid of Umbridge ... after all this time, Harry was even able to laugh at the terrible detention she had given him, and they happily tried to picture a scene in which they would pay a friendly visit on Dolores Umbridge and take her to see a stud farm.

"Where the sounds of horses' hooves will be rampant," chuckled Hermione, her eyes twinkling.

"I've never been to a stud farm," Ron sighed wistfully.

"Neither have I," said Sirius.

Hermione smiled. "I'll take you both someday; my uncle owns one." Fortunately, they assumed she was referring to Harry and Ron, else the sentence would have sounded distinctly odd.

"Listen, guys," Harry said suddenly, straightening up in his armchair, "Want to call ghosts?"

Hermione stopped, and stared at him.

"Ghosts?" said Ron, wrinkling his brow. "I don't see why you want to. If you yell loud enough, Nick or Peeves might hear you, but I fail to see what reason there could possibly be for calling them at such a time. I mean – "

"This is a Muggle game, Ron," Harry laughed, but his green eyes had a strangely hopeful look in them, and Hermione's sharp eyes didn't miss this. "You use a thing call an Ouija board, and you attempt to call upon ghosts from the spirit realm and you try to see if they're willing to communicate with you. Often they give you interesting messages. Of course, people don't believe it really works ..." He proceeded to explain how the game worked.

Ron appeared excited. "Cool! Let's try it."

"I'll get the board," Harry said.

Hermione cleared her throat. Harry added: "Actually, Ron, my leg doesn't feel so good after I fell off my broomstick today. Do you think you could go and get it for me? It's in the smaller section of my trunk. You shouldn't have a problem finding it."

Ron went off obligingly, and Harry turned to Hermione.

"You bought a board?" she asked quietly.

Sirius was staring at them.

"Well – yeah," Harry admitted a little awkwardly. There was a flash of sadness in his eyes. "I was trying to see if I could – you know – reach – reach them. That is," he added, clearing his throat, "My mum, dad and Sirius, too. But I don't think it worked. Of course, that may be because I was alone when I tried it out. It was in the beginning of the holidays, when I was stuck in Privet Drive again. If we do it together – all three of us, it might just – I mean, I know you don't really choose your spirits, but if we open up those channel things, then surely Mum or Dad or Sirius will finish the connection?"

"Why are you doing this to yourself, Harry?" she asked gently. "They – they're dead."

"We're having a good time here. I just thought it would be good to have Sirius here as well ... to complete the circle, you know. Like we used to. Back when we rescued him from Dementors and in our fourth year here."

Hermione turned her head slightly. Sirius had come closer, and he was looking at Harry with a pained expression on his face. This was not good – for any of them.

But she didn't have the heart to tell Harry so ...

Ron reappeared at that moment with the Ouija board tucked under his arm. He was looking extremely eager to play this Muggle game, and Hermione knew she couldn't ruin their enjoyment with caution and warnings. She sighed and prepared to play, as they put a small table in the middle of their three armchairs, and placed the board on it. Sirius eyed the board with interest, and commented that it looked like something his cousin Andromeda used to play with. They took out the pointer and placed it on the board, and positioned all three of their fingers as well. The letters of the board seemed to glow in the eerie firelight of the common-room. Hermione felt a sudden shiver pass down her spine. Would this actually work, she wondered. What if it did? She stifled a shudder and looked across at Harry, who pointed his wand at the fireplace and put it out. Then he lit a candle.

"Why the candle?" asked Ron.

"Shhh!" said Hermione.

"If a spirit is present," said Harry, "The candle will go out."

"So what happens now?" asked Sirius curiously.

"Hush!" Hermione said.

"But I didn't say anything," protested Ron.

She bit her lip. "You were breathing too loudly," she said coolly, "Silence is rather important with these sorts of things. Right, Harry?"

"Uh – yeah."

"Hate to say it," commented Sirius, amused, "But you're making the most noise here."

Hermione forced herself not to reply. At last, the silence required for such a game fell over them. Hermione peeped through one open eye and saw Harry's face turned towards the board, eyes closed, an intent expression of hope on his face. Ron looked both excited and dubious. Sirius was eyeing the board and the three of them. He caught her look, and winked. She smiled, and closed her open eye again. Then they waited.

They waited.

They waited ...

They waited ...

And then the candle went out.

Their eyes flew open, immediately sensing the darkness around them. Only starlight from the crack between the curtains at the window illuminated the room. Nobody reached for their wands. Their fingers were frozen in place and their eyes fixed on the dark candle. A sudden frisson of tension shot through them.

"There – there was no wind," Ron stammered.

Harry looked like death itself, he was so pale. "Someone's here ..."

The words jolted Hermione back to a sense of herself. She raised her eyes and looked accusingly at the shadow of Sirius standing beside her chair, and raised her eyebrows. He shrugged, and she wondered if he had put out the candle or not. Then, to her horror, he reached forward towards the pointer.

"No, Sirius!" she hissed softly.

"What?" Harry asked, turning his head, puzzled.

"Not serious," Hermione fibbed, "This cannot be serious, cannot really be happening! This game isn't supposed to work, for pity's sake!"

And then the pointer moved.

Ron lunged for the parchment he had been told to bring and took out his quill. The pointer darted from letter to letter, while Harry stared at the board, transfixed, and Hermione crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance. How dare he! Then the pointer paused, and Sirius looked inquiringly at Ron, who was staring at the parchment in his hand as if he couldn't believe what he had just written.

"What was it?" Harry demanded.

Ron croaked out: "HARRY – THIS IS SIRIUS."

"Oh my God," Harry whispered, his eyes lighting up.

"Oh my God," wailed Ron, clearly petrified.

"Oh my God," groaned Hermione, exasperated and despairing.

The pointer started moving again, and Ron started reading out the messages each time it paused. Hermione could see the intent, determined look on Sirius's face as he moved the pointer.

Clearly, this was his only way of communication and he was going to be damned if he didn't use it: I CAN'T STAY LONG. WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU. YOUR PARENTS LOVE YOU. WE WAITING FOR YOU BUT YOUR TIME NOT COMING FOR A LONG TIME YET. WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY. YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU NOT ALONE. RON AND HERMIONE. WE WILL ALWAYS BE HERE WHEN YOU NEED US. YOU NEED TO LIVE. NOT LIVE IN THE PAST. LIVE FOR TODAY.

Ron's voice was nearly hysterical by the time he reached the end of this lengthy message. "Spirits!" he wailed, "Ghosts! Sirius! This is just not normal."

"Sirius!" Harry called desperately, looking wildly around the room. Hermione sensed his desperate need and elation, and wanted to kill Sirius. What on earth was going to happen when the 'connection' was broken and Sirius was gone? "Sirius, are you there? Please ... talk to me. I need to talk to you! You know that mirror you gave me? I didn't use it, but I have it! Can't you talk to me through the mirror?"

"Harry," Sirius said, his voice choked, "I can't talk to you, but you have to remember that I'll always be there to watch over you. I'm always here."

Hermione said softly: "He says he can't talk to you – he's dead and doesn't have the power – but he wants you to remember that he and your parents will always be watching over you and that he's always here, right beside you."

Harry stared at her. "How – how do you know?"

"I suppose I've got more talent at Divination than I ever knew," she replied.

Sirius smirked.

"Don't you dare laugh," she said, her temper reaching breaking point. She couldn't yell at Harry, because he didn't deserve it, but Sirius was a lunatic – a selfish lunatic, and he deserved to be boiled in frog liver. "You have absolutely no right to laugh. I thought I told you what it would do to him to hope again, and then to lose all over again! But of course, you were only thinking of yourself and what you wanted. How dare you just do that?"

"Now you listen to me – " he began angrily.

"I WON'T LISTEN TO YOU!" she screamed, and stood up. She caught the looks of utter shock and concern on Harry and Ron's faces and knew they thought she was mad. But she didn't care. "I'm sorry, Harry," she said, "But this was a bad idea."

She picked up her wand and ran towards the stairs leading up the girls' dormitories. Sirius furiously came after her, yelling at the top of his voice as he did so. Hermione was so angry and so eager to get away from everything that she tripped over the top step. She slipped and fell down the stairs. Sirius's angry expression changed in a flash to fear, and he bolted upwards to try and catch her before she broke her neck. As he did so, her wand flew into the air and sliced through the air with an eerie orange light as it did so. The orange streak gaped into a large, swirling hole. Hermione, falling down the stairs, fell right into it – and Sirius, flying towards her, checked his pace too late and stumbled right into it from the opposite side. The wand fell in last.

Then the light faded, and was gone.

And so were they.

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TBC.

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A/N: Aha, a cliff-hanger! Can anyone guess where this is leading? You'll find out soon, but I want a few opinions and guesses first, so please review! Chapter Six will be coming soon ...