Ron woke up to a ripping sound and saw a scraggly looking man over him with a huge knife. Ron screamed as loud as his lungs would allow him too. He saw the man look around in horror and then he just ran...Ron kept screaming though.

Erin sat strait up in bed. "What the-Hermione?" She realized it was Ron screaming and jumped out of bed running from the dormitory. She was the first one in the room and came face to face with a man holding a knife. "Dad..." She whispered shocked.

The bedraggled-looking man stopped just as shocked by the girl as the girl was with him. "Erin..." It had been so long since he'd... but he could not linger here. The boy's screaming would wake the whole House. Hermione came to a startled halt behind Erin, seeing the tall dark man with the knife. Harry by now was already waking thanks to Ron's screams.

"Sirius Black!" Ron screamed. "Sirius Black!"

Erin looked at the man and then at Hermione. She didn't know what to do. "Go..." She whispered knowing Hermione couldn't hear her. "Just go, please." She paused. "I love you."

The man's blood-shot, half-crazed eyes softened just a bit, but it was like a fleeting piece of clarity in a murky pond. It soon passed and without another moment to spare Sirius Black made his escape as quickly and quietly as possibly despite already having been seen. By the time more students were fully awake he was already gone. Hermione looked affright, she ran to Ron first. Concerned to see if he was okay. "Ron! Did he hurt you?" She asked worriedly.

Ron gaped. "He was there...over me...with the knife...and he was going to kill me...he was going to kill me..."

Percy was looking surprised. Erin groaned. "Percy, go get McGonagall, now!" She said issuing the order. Percy didn't have time to think he just did as she said. "Fred, George get everyone in the common room!"

Fred and George also rushed to do what she said. Erin on the other hand was a mess inside. Only Hermione knew that they had seen her dad. She didn't know what to do about it now so she just took her mind off of it.

Hermione tried to comfort Ron until the others began to gather in the common room. But by then he was such a basket case there wasn't much she could do but stay by him. Crookshanks wound around her leg, sensing her discomfort and she leaned down, picking him up in her arms, stroking his matted orange coat comfortingly. The cat purred, his big green eyes slowly drifting around the room.

Harry, little known to the other Gryffindors, was sitting in a large chair beside the fireplace alone, lost in thought as McGonagall entered the room.

McGonagall looked around. "Ron, Percy said that you were screaming and saying Sirius Black was in the tower! Now, tell the truth what happened?"

"Sirius Black was standing over me with a knife, Professor! I swear it!"

"That is preposterous, Weasley. I mean how could Sirius Black possibly get through the portrait hole?"

"I don't know how he got in!" Ron said. "I was a bit busy dodging his knife!"

"Percy," McGonagall turned to him. "Have you seen, Sir Cadogan?"

Percy looked around. "I-I-Oh, he's there, Professor."

"Sir Cadogan! Sir Cadogan!" McGonagall called.

Sir Cadogan was romancing a girl in a portrait, but stopped with a cough when he realized everyone was watching him and gave the girl some flowers. "How may I serve you, Ma'am?"

"Excuse me, is it possible that you let a mysterious man into Gryffindor Tower tonight?"

Sir Cadogan was moving through the portraits and knocked someone out of a window in one of them. "Certainly, good lady. He had the password. He had the whole weeks, in fact, on a little piece of paper." No one spoke.

McGonagall shut her eyes for a moment. "Which person, which abysmally foolish person wrote down the passwords and then proceeded to lose them?" She turned and looked strait at Neville. He didn't have to say a word. "Is it always going to be you, Longbottom?"

"I'm afraid so, Ma'am." Neville said looking down ashamed.

"Well, Sirius Black is gone tonight. But I think you can all safely assume that he will, at some future time attempt to return. Now I speak for the entire staff when I say while we take every precaution to ensure your safety it is incumbent upon yourselves to act responsibly. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor." Everyone said.

"Very well, then, off you go. And remember act responsibly." She paused. "Erin, I need to speak with you for a moment."

Erin nodded and went over to the portrait hole with her. "Yes, Professor?"

McGonagall looked at her sternly. "Erin, I do not believe you are helping Black into the castle, but I have to ask you anyway. Are you helping him?"

Erin shook her head. "No, Professor." She said honestly. "I am not helping him into the castle."

"Good." She left.

"And this bloody cat ate my rat!" Erin turned at Ron's outburst.

"That's a lie." Hermione protested, holding her cat protectively.

"It is not and you bloody well know it." Ron countered back.

"Hey!" Erin said cutting through their argument. "Both of you need to calm down."

Hermione looked hurt, glancing back at Ron, but she said nothing else. Just went over to one of the sofas, nearby Harry and sat down, stroking Crookshanks fur. "This is terrible." She nearly whimpered before looking over at him.

Harry did not look up; he was too busy staring into the fire, a grim look on his face. Muttering to himself, almost too low for Hermione to understand, but it didn't take much to know what he was thinking. Sirius Black had been right there... mere centimeters away. He hadn't known.

Erin watched as Ron went back into his dormitory and everyone else was gone. She leaned against the wall just watching them. She had no idea what to do, no idea what to say. She was still so confused about what going on. She had told her father to leave and that she loved him. She felt so torn between the two of them. She hated it. "Harry? Are you ok?" She finally asked.

Harry could barely bring himself to acknowledge her. He heard her, but only distantly, though more so than he had noticed Hermione. He couldn't think of anything he could possibly say that wouldn't disturb her. He'd been so close tonight. He could've killed Harry if he wanted... he almost had gotten Ron... What could Harry possibly say? His eyes remained fixed on the flames that danced in the fireplace. He chose not to answer at all. Hermione hugged Crookshanks, she wondered if she ought to leave them alone. Would Harry talk to anyone? She glanced at Erin concerned for both her and Harry.

Erin sighed and swallowed closing her eyes for a minute. She went over and kneeled in front of him. "Harry, please just talk to me. I don't care what you say just so long as you say it. You mean so much to me and whatever you say, just so long as you say it, I want to hear it."

"He could've killed Ron..." Harry said softly, darkly. "He had a knife..."

"But he didn't." Erin said. "Ron's fine and so are you. Everyone is all right."

"He didn't because he didn't have time." Harry said flatly, finally looking at her as he stood up. "He got caught. If no one had caught him who knows what might have happened... " Harry was walking back towards the boy's dormitory. Not wanting to continue the conversation. It was only going to upset her.

Erin got up and sat in the seat that he vacated watching him go and looked at Hermione. Erin bit her lip taking a deep breath. "It's no use wondering what might have been, Harry. I know, because I do enough of that as it is."

The door to the dormitory opened and shut behind him without another word. Hermione looked anxiously at Erin. She let go of Crookshanks. The cat curled up next to her as the girl reached out for Erin's hand. "What are you going to do?" She couldn't help but ask as the silence fell around them.

Erin couldn't help it as she started to cry. "I don't know...sometimes everything is so perfect between us and then...well this happens. I don't know what to do, Hermione. I don't know if I can keep doing this. I love him..."

"But you know he's not upset at you. He's afraid someone will get hurt, that's all. We all are, but that's not your fault." Hermione said, trying to be a comfort.

"Well he sure as a great way of showing he's not upset at me!" Erin said angrily. "Why does he push me away? Why does he not want me around him?"

"Maybe..." Hermione began thoughtfully and neither of them noticed the soft noise coming from the direction of the boys' dorm. "Maybe he's afraid to." She didn't know for sure why. Harry had been so hot and cold ever since this whole Sirius Black problem arose and it had only gotten worse.

"Hermione, how do you deal with it? With Ron I mean? One minute you two are ready to start being a couple and the next you are at each other's throats. I mean basically we have the same problem just differently."

"I dunno." Hermione said, frowning a little. "Everything has been so... strange. I just... I guess I don't know anymore then you do."

Erin laughed then. "Hermione remember when we all became friends? With the troll?" She couldn't help laugh. "And we've been just inseparable ever since."

Hermione's frown lightened into a small smile. "Yeah... How could I forget?" She said, smiling at Erin.

"Harry was so oblivious! I mean I faced down a 12 foot mountain troll for him!" Erin laughed. "Man, did everyone know but him?"

"Well... we were only 11 at the time." Hermione said sheepishly. "But you know Harry, he's always stuck inside his own head so much it seems... It's like he just doesn't see."

Erin smiled. "I had to face a boggart for him to see..." She mused thinking about it. "Well, I am glad I finally got to try the real thing." Erin looked at Hermione expectantly; she had assumed Hermione would have asked way before this.

"How was it?" She asked curiously.

Erin raised her eyebrows. "Hermione...I am not sure you can accurately describe a kiss until you have experienced it for yourself. But man, Harry can kiss."

Just then they heard someone burst out laughing.

Hermione looked around startled. Wondering who was eavesdropping on the conversation.

Ron popped out from behind a chair. "Oh my goodness...you two are so funny!"

Erin stood. "Hermione, do you have your wand?"

"When don't I?" Hermione asked with a roll of her eyes meant for Ron as she produced it most threateningly, pointing it at the Weasley boy.

Ron looked at them standing up with his hands in front of him. "Ok, you two, you love me! Remember that! You love me!" He backed up toward the dormitory.

Erin had her own wand out. "Funny thing about wands, Ron. You know sometimes they go off by themselves."

"And you're a lot more loveable when you're not laughing at us or snapping at us over stupid things." Hermione added moving towards him. Here she had been so worried about him and now she was ready to turn him into a toad or something, the nerve of that boy.

"Ok, ok, Harry sent me out here to see how you were doing and well, I didn't want to interrupt. But you two talk about the darndest things! Come on, you know Harry is oblivious to all of this. That doesn't mean I am. Umm...gotta go." He sprinted for the dormitory.

Erin looked at Hermione and to the redhead disappearing through the door. "Those two are so confusing!"

"They are." Hermione sighed, lowering her wand at her side. "But, oh see, he does care. Harry. You heard Ron." She said more happily.

"Yes." Erin said. "I also heard Ron say he wasn't oblivious. And you know what that means." Erin grinned at her best friend.

Hermione grinned a little back. Almost near a giggle.

"We should go to bed. You know, Hermione, I was thinking about Ron's reaction to your 'kiss'. Just imagine what he would have done if you had really kissed him." Erin's eyebrows went up as she grinned.

Hermione did giggle then. "Believe me, I've thought about it." She said heading to their dorm. "Come on, Crookshanks, back to bed." The cat padded across the floor to catch up with the two girls as they went back in for bed.