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Chapter Twenty-One: Hermione


Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

-Nathaniel Hawthorne

Sirius sat, strumming his fingers idly against the tabletop. The last three days had flown by in a flurry of activity; the Order organising Harry's removal from Privet Drive and the Weasley's, along with Sirius and Anna, hurrying to make the house more habitable. Only minutes before the Advance Guard had left to pick up Harry, Remus still adamantly refusing to let Sirius accompany them.

"Eeuggh! Stop it!"

Startled out of his daydreams, Sirius looked over to where Anna and Hermione sat. Anna's hands were thrown up in the air exasperatedly and she was glaring at Sirius

"What?" he asked innocently.

"That incessant bloody tapping, is what!" she cried "Merlin! If you're so bloody bored, go and find something to occupy yourself with and stop irritating us with your bloody fiddling!"

Hermione smirked, eyeing Anna with a certain respect and approval.

"Sorry!" Sirius muttered. "I'm just feeling a little impatient at the moment."

"You don't say," she said dryly.

He cowered back from her glare. "I swear, Anna, sometimes you're so Snape-like it's terrifying."

She scoffed. "Yes, well, growing up with such a formidable character has certainly had its influences."

"You grew up with Snape?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Yes," Anna answered. "I went to live with him when I was eight. He was twenty at the time, so he sort of became a brother-like figure."

"Oh, okay. I didn't know that." Hermione smiled uncertainly. "Is he really as arduous as he tries to be?"

Anna laughed, a cool, melodic noise that reverberated around the room. "You certainly are a perceptive young woman. No, he's not at all like that. It's just a stupid mask he feels he has to put up." She smiled kindly at the younger girl. "But obviously it's not quite as thick as he would hope."

Hermione blushed prettily at the comment.

"Now, tell me about these Advance classes you're thinking of taking. Who knows, maybe I could talk Severus, that's Professor Snape of course, into taking you on for some Advance Potions..."

Sirius watched them talk amiably for a while. The pair had certainly become closer during Hermione's stay at Grimmauld Place. Anna's love for novels, particularly Muggle fictions, matched even Hermione's and hand inexplicably drawn the two together, and it was now a common occurrence to encounter them both sitting and reading cordially, or discussing their favourite classic novels. They had obviously become quite good friends, and Anna had confessed to Sirius that she had become something of a confidante to the younger girl. He felt happy, knowing that Anna had befriended his godson's best friend, thankful that there was something extra tying he and Anna together.

Anna suddenly stood up, startling Sirius out of his reverie.

"I'm going to take a shower. I'll be back down soon."

Sirius nodded, watching Anna leave the room and gazing at the door long after she had left. A soft cough brought him back to earth.

He looked over at Hermione. A devilish sparkle was glinting in her eye. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

He choked slightly. "What?"

She cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes," he murmured into the placid air. "Very much so."

She nodded. "Good."

"'Good'?" he questioned.

"Yes. Good. Because I'm quite sure she feels the same way. I know I haven't known you, or her for that matter, very long, but I can see that you've both had a lot of sadness in your lives. I think you both deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, Hermione."

She grinned mischievously. "Besides, I've seen the way she looks at you."

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh? And how would that be?"

She placed her hands on the table before her in a very businesslike manner, smirking amusedly. "Like the way I would look at a sequel to Hogwarts: A History."

A/N: Aaahhh, Harry's coming!! Hehe. Geez, it just occurred to me that this fic is going to be very long. Hmm... maybe I'll break it up? Ugh, but that means trying to think of more titles. Hhmmm... what to do? Rev