Chapter 21
The seed of doubt
"Hermione," Sirius said in the common room that night as they lay by the fire, "I'm going to take you out one of these days."
Hermione smiled. "Why? This is my favorite place, here in your arms," she told him, snuggling deeper into them.
He grinned. "Somewhere more expensive. We should go to the Three Broomsticks. I'll treat. Have all the butterbeers you want."
"Sounds good. When?"
Sirius thought for a moment. "Tomorrow night okay?"
"Oh. . .I really have to finish my Arithmancy homework in the library," Hermione said, thinking fast.
And that was how the lie began.
"It's not due till Wednesday. I'll help you with it later."
"No, Sirius, I really can't," Hermione said firmly, each word slowly killing her. "I don't want to put it off till the last minute. I'll probably be in there the entire day finishing it."
"All right," Sirius chuckled. He knew how important schoolwork was to Hermione. "I believe you. But I know you're going to do the best out of anyone. Even if you did it Wednesday morning."
His faith in her was unshakable, and that made Hermione feel worse than ever, lying to him. Especially when it concerned Severus, the person Sirius disliked the most. But she had to help Severus.
And that was how the guilt began.
***
Hermione watched as Sirius went out to the Quidditch pitch with James, Remus, and Peter. James had a Snitch and all four were carrying brooms so Hermione assumed they were going to play a game of Quidditch. Which usually lasted about an hour.
She doubled back to the library. After twenty minutes of looking for books, she selected three, tucked them safely into her bag and went to the Astronomy tower.
Severus was already there, poring over a book.
"Hi," she told him, setting her bag down.
"Thought you weren't going to come," Severus told her.
"Of course I came. What did you find?"
"I sent my mother to my uncle's house."
"Oh?" Hermione said. "Then we don't have to search for a place for her to stay, do we?"
"Yes, we do," Severus said gently. "Father always finds her. He'll find her and when he does he'll hurt her even more."
"All right. Let's start looking."
They sat in silence for a full half hour before either found anything. "I have a place here," Hermione told him, lifting the book. "St. Eustace's Battered Witches Shelter."
"What does it cost?" Severus asked in a businesslike manner.
"Nothing. It's free and they take any witch or wizard who's been beaten or abused. The only thing is that it's in Edinburgh. Do you think your mother's up to such a long trip?"
"She'll have to be," Severus said, rubbing his eyes and looking weary. "I'll leave school to take her if I have to."
"Severus!" Hermione cried. "You can't leave school grounds. You'll be expelled."
"I don't care about being expelled! I need to get my mother out of there."
"I was only thinking of you," Hermione said. "I don't want you to get in trouble."
An unexpected softness came over Severus. "I know."
They sat in silence for a few minutes. "I'll send an owl to my mother as soon as possible."
"If I have to, I'll cover for you," Hermione assured him.
He smiled. "Why are you doing this for me?"
"You're a friend," she told him.
"A friend."
"Yes," Hermione said brightly, snapping the book shut and completely missing the poignant tone in his voice.
"Let's meet again," she suggested. "To make sure we've got this plan foolproof."
He agreed, and they left the tower.
***
Sirius, sweaty from the game but anxious to see Hermione, ran into Lily at the library. "Hi," he greeted her. "Is Hermione with you?"
"No. A pity, I needed her help with Arithmancy," Lily said forlornly, looking down at her unfinished chart.
"But she said she'd be working in the library all day," Sirius replied.
"She wasn't. I was the one working in the library all day," Lily told him.
***
"I hope Sirius will believe me," Hermione confided to Severus as they turned the corner.
"He'll believe you," Severus assured her.
"How do you know?" Hermione persisted.
He answered with strange confidence, "Because he wants to."
***
"So she wasn't in the library?" Sirius repeated. "She lied to me."
"No, Sirius, of course she didn't," Lily assured him. "Maybe she meant the common room or some other place."
"No...it was the library. I'm sure of it."
Just then Hermione rounded the corner, her bag loaded with books. She greeted Lily and Sirius.
"Where were you?" Sirius asked.
"Working on Arithmancy in the common room. I finished my chart." Hermione replied without missing a beat. She had seen Sirius talking to Lily and deduced that he hadn't seen her in the library.
"I thought you said you'd be in the library," Sirius persisted.
"It got too hot. It's an Indian Summer, remember?" Hermione was good.
"Oh. I believe you. I must have heard wrong." Sirius' usual smirk crossed his face. "Want to go get that butterbeer?"
Severus was right. Sirius hadn't heard wrong, his subconscious knew it. He believed because he had wanted to. This was the catalyst. With each lie it was like Hermione was severing her tie to Sirius. She hated lying.
***
After they returned from Hogsmeade Hermione took out her books and lay them on the table. Sirius sat across from her, doodling. Homework could wait.
Hermione stood up to borrow a quill from Lily. Sirius' eyes wandered lazily over to her side of the table. They landed, disbelievingly, on her Arithmancy chart.
Unfinished.
And the first seed of doubt was planted.
Outside, the Indian summer, once so fierce, began to cool ever so slightly.
Did everyone catch the symbolism of the Indian Summer? :)
MY REVIEWERS:
imogenhm why thank you! CeLeStIaL BeInG 'what else' is right. Ugh. Don't think about it, don't think about it....*pulls herself out of reverie* Yes I get what you mean! Interesting. QOA UGH. No school talk in my stories, girl. You know that! IM me so we can talk about storylines. krazykiwikatie why thank you! i do hope i am becoming a better writer as time goes on. Moony's Angel No worries! I am all right now. I realized it stung because I knew I had not done my best. Lol, the last chapter wasn't *that* amazing. kitty katty ugh, a lot od angst if he were to leave her, huh? Black Slytherin Girl My 400th reviewer! *cheers* Jack Sparrow's Bonnie Lassie Aw, no more Sirius? I LOVED that name! Change it back, change it back! J/k s.s. harry the cave is such a good idea! I never thought of it before! Thank you! Lady January Ah, I love Tolkien's languages. Isn't he a genius? He is my favorite author. slytherinrules85 you're right about mysteries. Never what they seem. Drives me nuts trying to figure it out sometimes. Take Angels and Demons by Dan Brown for example. The 'villain' completely threw me off. Fallen Angel of Hell One of my best friends has a very sarcastic sense of humor, so I am used to it and I love it! pyroprincess4rmeverwood All right I am off to read your story, swear! Do you have the same username there? Preeto aka Raven Potter Weasley Yep, figured you were the same person :) I don't like the pairing of H/Hr....it's like you and H/G. Willow LOL! Hope you like Spain! I was worried there, I was wondering 'Where is Willow and Meeny? Willow's been with me since the beginning!' Still got the bruises, eh? Heh. Melody's SongDawson's Creek was a huge thing for me way back when. That's the last time I steal from Pacey and Joey. I've since grown out of it (Dawson was so pathetic!). Glad to make you think! yoblossom I like your name a lot. I hope I don't disappoint you by what her misson is. Puffy Marshmallow I read one of your stories! Go check for my review. Siriusly Mione There you are! Where've you been? Oh yes, CSAP. Is Janet Evanovich any good? About Sev: I think it's only natural they become friends, they have a lot of things in common. ElenwenDutari 20 chapters. Whew, even I am in awe! See you next week! SuIcIDl I am glad you got to read it too and even gladder you reviewed. katie Don't worry I am going to try to take SB/HG to a place far from Lily/James, romance-wise. Astronomy tower? Snogging? Whatever gave you *that* idea? Heh! Accio Flaming Stake Nice name! Thanks for not flaming me. The flaming stake is a little intimidating. You needn't worry about SB/HG. They were/are meant for each other. HyperonCookies I do write constantly. Thank you for reading this far! Pass me a cookie, won't you? :) auditoriumnazi I know, they're short. But I update fast, so it's all good right? leo-sol I love your theory. It would take something major for those two to become friends.