(A/N): yeah! Another chapter! I'm putting the rest of this A/N at the bottom, because (1) it's too long, and (2) I'm sure you just want to read the story… so, here you go!

Disclaimer: I own nothing belonging to J.K. Rowling – I just use her characters for my own twisted purposes. ;)


Sirius was on his way back from the Head Master's office, wondering what it was that could have happened to Hermione. What had caused, not only the physical marks, but the emotional ones as well? He had not missed the way her face fell, and how her lively eyes darkened, when he had asked her about what had happened last night. Whatever it was, he hoped that she would trust him enough to tell him. Although he had met Hermione less than a day ago, he cared about her, almost as if they were old friends.

Sirius stopped his musings when he was standing outside of the infirmary doors. He opened the doors quietly, half expecting Hermione to have fallen back asleep – he was surprised, however, to find her sheets pushed back, and the bed empty.

"Hermione…?" he asked tentatively. He quickly looked around the room, trying to push away the feeling of unease that was rapidly filling him. His gaze stopped momentarily on the two doors leading to the bathrooms, one of which was slightly ajar. Hoping that she wasn't sick, Sirius walked over to the slightly opened door, and gave it a quiet knock, while calling Hermione's name again.

The nervousness he had pushed away came back again when he heard a gasp and a mumbling sound coming from the other side of the door. Sirius, abandoning all rational thought, shoved open the bathroom door with his foot, and ran into the room.

What he saw made him burst with rage. Hermione was pinned up against the bathroom wall, between two sinks, and she was kissing someone… someone who had their hands all over her chest… someone who was successfully stopping any sound coming from Hermione… someone who was ignoring the tears that were falling down her face… someone who had long blonde hair…

"MALFOY!" Sirius spat. "WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Lucius had taken a step back from the sobbing girl to look at the 'blood-traitor' who was pointing a wand at him. He then shoved his hand into his robes and pulled out his own wand and shouted the Bat-Bogey curse, only to have it deflected with a quick Protego.

He moved to curse Sirius again, but was stopped when his robes caught on fire, and he was beginning to feel burn marks on his legs. Panicking, he tried to shove his robes into the water in the sink, momentarily forgetting about Sirius.

Sirius took Malfoy's lack of concentration as a cue, and started to curse the bastard into obliviation. "STUPEFY! EXPELLIARMAS! REDUCTO! SILENCIO! TARANTALLEGRA! IMPEDIMENTA!" Sirius yelled every curse that came to him, but it still didn't feel like enough – in fact, he only stopped when Malfoy was lying on the ground, and not moving – clearly unconscious – and had a piece of one of the sinks pressing his chest down.

Remembering why he was so infuriated with the man, Sirius ran over to Hermione, who hadn't moved the entire time.

"Hermione! Oh my god – are you alright, Hermione?" Sirius was shocked to see that Hermione couldn't move – all of her body, aside from her head, had clearly been put under some sort of spell, preventing Hermione from using it. "Oh my god," he repeated, while trying to un-jinx her.

Not really sure what he had said, Sirius realized that somewhere among his counter-jinxes and his swearing, Hermione had regained control of her body, and Sirius, for the second time, caught her before she hit the ground.

Holding Hermione in his arms, Sirius maneuvered them so he was sitting with his back against the wall, and Hermione was sitting on his lap. He moved to place his arms around the still sobbing girl, and winced when she flinched away from him. His heart dropped a little more, which he didn't think was possible, but slowly came back up a little when Hermione turned her head into Sirius' chest, and grabbed part of his shirt, crying uncontrollably.

He put his arms around her, this time without her moving away, and started to whisper into her ears. "Shh… shh… it's going to be okay, Hermione… it's going to be okay… I'm sorry I left you, Hermione… I shouldn't have… I'm sorry…" As he said this, he moved one of his hands up to her head, and started to run his fingers through her hair reassuringly.

Sirius and Hermione stayed that way for about another two minutes, when a harassed-looking witch came running into the bathroom. "What in the devil happened here?" Madame Pomfrey screeched, taking in the knocked out Malfoy, the crying Hermione, and the slightly sweaty Sirius.

"Mr. Black," Madame Pomfrey rounded on the exhausted boy, "WHAT have you done this time?"

"ME?" Sirius nearly yelled, disbelievingly. "I did nothing! I was coming back from Professor Dumbledore's office, when I noticed that Hermione wasn't in bed anymore! I thought she was throwing up in the bathroom, so I came to check on her, when I saw him," Sirius spat, nodding towards the Slytherin lying on the ground, "kissing and feeling up on Hermione – WHILE she was frozen still! THE BASTARD WAS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HERMIONE!" Sirius had to stop himself from becoming any angrier, because he had noticed Hermione recoiling as his voice grew. Trying to reassure her, he tightened his grip on Hermione, and whispered a quiet apology in her ear.

Madame Pomfrey's eyes grew wide, as she took in Sirius' arms around Hermione protectively, and a few new bruises on Hermione that she hadn't remembered seeing before. She turned to look at Malfoy, to see four small bruises on his face that looked a lot like finger marks. When she looked back at Sirius, she nodded solemnly, and then reached into her pocket.

Madame Pomfrey took out her wand and flicked it at Malfoy, causing the sink piece to move off of his chest. She then pointed at a bed at the end of the infirmary, causing Malfoy to float a few feet off of the ground, and then be placed on top of the white sheets. With a last flick of her wrist, Madame Pomfrey created green curtains out of thin air, and placed them around the bed in which Lucius lay, placing a binding charm on them, ensuring that he wouldn't leave if he woke up.

She turned back to Sirius, and asked if he would be able to carry Hermione to her bed.

"Of course," Sirius replied hoarsely. He stood up, still holding Hermione protectively to his chest, and followed Madame Pomfrey out of the bathroom door. He was slightly surprised to see the medi-witch walking towards a room next to her office, and not to the bed Hermione had been sleeping in before. He was even more surprised to find out that the door led to a spacious room with a single white bed, clearly designed for long-term residents.

When Sirius gave Madame Pomfrey a questioning look, she gave him a small smile and reassured him that it was simply for "safety purposes." She then motioned for Sirius to lay Hermione down, and she whispered that she'd be right back.

When Madame Pomfrey had left the room, Sirius carefully walked over to the bed, and gently sat Hermione down, with her back propped up against the head board. Sirius looked around and saw a few chairs over in a corner, next to a table, so he brought one over, and sat down next to the bed.

Hermione's crying had stopped, but she was still shaking slightly, and she didn't look up from her hands. She was aware of Sirius sitting next to her, but she just couldn't bring herself to speak… but she felt that she had to say something.

Hermione looked up from her shaky and sweaty hands to find Sirius looking at her; his expression was anxious, and his eyes gave away how concerned he was. The moment he saw Hermione look at him, Sirius gave her a small smile, hoping for some sort of sign that proved that she was okay.

"… I'm sorry, Sirius…" Hermione whispered, when she finally opened her mouth.

"Sorry? What for, Hermione? You did nothing wrong – I hope you know that…" Sirius was blown away. What in the world does she have to apologize for? he asked himself. He gently placed his hand on top of her shaking ones, and looked her in the eye. "Hermione… I have no idea why Malfoy did that to you, but I promise you, it wasn't your fault. You have nothing that you need to be sorry for…" Sirius trialed off, and gave Hermione another reassuring smile.

Hermione gave Sirius a weak smile in return, and whispered a quiet 'thank you.'

"You have nothing to thank me for either – I'm sure you would have handled yourself just fine – I simply speeded up the process." Sirius gave Hermione another smile, and added, almost playfully, "but, if it makes you feel better, then, you're welcome."

Before Hermione could respond, the door to the room opened, and Madame Pomfrey walked in, followed by a somber-looking Professor Dumbledore. Madame Pomfrey rushed over to Hermione side, and gave her a goblet of something red, that appeared to be smoking.

"Drink it up, Hermione," the medi-witch ordered kindly, "it's to help you relax, and calm down." Madame Pomfrey refused to leave Hermione's side until she had drunk the very last drop, which, going by Hermione's face, tasted horribly.

"Now, Miss Granger, as I understand it, Professor Dumbledore, here, would like to have a chat with both you and Mr. Black," the medi-witch turned to the Head Master at this point, and gave him a slight bow. "I'll leave you to then, shall I? If you give me a call when you're done, I'll bring Miss Granger the rest of her medication." After receiving a small nod from Professor Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey quietly left the private room, closing the door with a small snap. (A/N: I wasn't sure where to end this chapter, I just happened to be on a roll with this one, but I'd thought I'd let you know that this was originally the end of this one.)

Professor Dumbledore turned back around to face Hermione and Sirius, and he gave both of them a small, sad smile, which, they both noticed, did not meet his usually sparkling eyes. He turned again, as if looking for something, and let loose a small 'ah' when he saw the chairs in the corner, and he, too, brought one over to sit down next to Hermione.

"Now, Miss Granger, I was wondering if you would be able to tell me what it is that happened here tonight." Dumbledore looked at Hermione with a look on his face that showed how terribly sorry he was to have to be asking.

"Ummm, sir?" Sirius asked. "I think it might be best if I start… you see, I'm not entirely sure what happened, myself, but I think that if I started, then Hermione could fill in the rest."

"Certainly, if it is alright with Miss Granger, of course," Dumbledore replied, glancing at Hermione, silently asking her permission. "Yes, sir… I'm okay with that," was the reply.

Another small sad smile was given to Hermione from the Head Master, before he turned and asked Sirius to continue…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Professor Dumbledore did not interrupt either Sirius or Hermione, as they talked their way through the events of the past few hours, he would only give small nod every now and then, and occasionally ask one or the other to verify a fact or two. When both Hermione and Sirius believed they had remembered everything, Dumbledore stood up slowly, and replaced the chair back with the table.

Dumbledore return to Hermione's bedside, and gave her one, last smile. "Thank you, Miss Granger, you have shown more bravery today than many people your age, and some older. I will be speaking with Mr. Malfoy, although I can tell you now what the out come shall be. For starters, I will be removing 250 house points from Slytherin house, for Mr. Malfoy's behavior. Mr. Black, although you were out of bed after hours," Dumbledore continued with a sly smile on his lips, "I will be awarding Gryffindor House 100 points for all of the help you have given."

"I will also be writing a letter home to Mr. Malfoy's parents, explaining this event, and informing them that Lucius will be receiving one month worth of detentions, to be served with Mr. Filch. All of this does, however, pose a small problem," Professor Dumbledore looked at Hermione with a twinkle in his eye. "You see, Miss Granger, when I remove the points from Slytherin, and then add 250 back for the bravery you have shown tonight, I'm afraid that not much will change… so I have come up with a solution! If it is alright with you, I'm going to add your points to those of Gryffindor!"

Hermione looked up at Dumbledore, completely confused. "But why, sir? I still care about helping my house… even if it is Slytherin…"

"Well, Hermione, I'm afraid that you are no longer in Slytherin House." (A/N: Here was another spot I thought I'd end it, but it doesn't have enough of a cliff hanger ;) )

"Not – not in Slytherin? I'm sorry, sir, but I have no idea what you are talking about…" Hermione's look of pure confusion caused the Head Master to chuckle.

"Earlier this morning, Mr. Black, here, came up to my room, and informed me that you wished to speak with me. Mr. Black's state of appearing worried, convinced me that before I came down, I should have a little chat with a few… friends. I had a meeting, and it appears that the Sorting Hat was having a little bit of… fun, when he'd placed you in Slytherin. He did, however, say that you had a certain amount ferociousness… something about a strong shoulder…" Dumbledore's eyes were positively glowing at this point, especially when he saw Hermione blush a nice shade of fuchsia. He knew about Voldemort, Hermione thought desperately, oh… I will murder that hat! A little fun, indeed!

Dumbledore seemed to know what Hermione was thinking, because he chuckled again, causing Hermione's face to become even more scarlet, and Sirius to look on in bewilderment. "The Sorting Hat and I came to an agreement, Miss Granger," Dumbledore continued when his amusement had died down a bit. "The Sorting Hat said that you would do well in either Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor, and, after hearing of last nights events, I have decided that your bravery should be accounted for. Therefore, Miss Granger, welcome to Gryffindor!"

Hermione looked at Dumbledore in shock, and it took her a few moments to remember how to use her voice. "…really?" Hermione asked hopefully. After receiving a smile and a nod from the Head Master, Hermione broke out a true grin, and squeezed Sirius' hand unconsciously, as it was still resting on hers. "Thank you, Professor!" Hermione grinned, truly happy for the first time since she had 'returned' to Hogwarts.

"Your welcome, Miss Granger, but I must ask you not to move too much, or I'm afraid that Madame Pomfrey will have my head." Dumbledore gave Hermione and Sirius one last smile before exiting the room, and returning a moment later with said medi-witch.

"I assume you are done now, Albus," inquired Madame Pomfrey, while bending over Hermione, fussing about the state of her sheets.

"Yes, Poppy, she is all yours now." Dumbledore's voice dropped some what when he asked his next question. "Is Mr. Malfoy in a state in which he will be able to talk?"

"Yes, he is sitting in bed number 12, Head Master," Madame Pomfrey replied darkly. Dumbledore gave the three people in the room a small bow, and left the room, headed for Lucius Malfoy.

"Now, Miss Granger," Madame Pomfrey said, bringing Hermione out of her happy trance, "you need to get some rest. I have three potions for you, and I want you to drink them all," she continued sternly, but with a small smile on her lips. She then handed Hermione a blue drink and informed her that it was to help with the bruising that was occurring on her body. When she saw Hermione finish the potion, she then gave her a spoonful of a bubbling and gooey green something.

"Do I really have to drink that?" Hermione asked, with a foreboding expression, which caused both Sirius and Madame Pomfrey to chuckle.

"Yes, you really have to drink this. I won't lie and tell you that it'll taste good, but it will help your body system to recover quickly." Hermione gave a reluctant sigh, and swallowed the drink, while plugging her nose. Sirius started to laugh even more when he saw Hermione's face, which looked like a cross between trying not to be sick, and trying not to laugh. He quickly stopped, however, when he made out the death look in her eyes.

"Last one, dear," Madame Pomfrey said while handing her the familiar container holding the Dreamless Sleep Draught. Hermione smiled gratefully, and downed the potion in a signal gulp.

Hermione turned to Sirius as her eyes began to close, and muttered: "… thank you…" before drifting of to sleep.


(A/N): wow – that was a long chapter! I gotta say, however, before you start bombarding me with questions asking me how I can do that to Hermione AGAIN, let me just say this: Hermione will get her revenge on Malfoy – don't worry – and the wait will be worth it! Now, onto my rant about this chapter…

I was really excited to write this one, and I think it turned out okay, but it seemed to take me forever to actually write. Normally, I start thinking about what I want to happen in a chapter, as I lay in bed, trying to go to sleep. I have found that when I think about it before falling asleep, I tend to dream about it, giving me a more detailed description about what I want to say. So, I get up the next morning and go to swim team practice, or school (depending on the day) and then I come home and write. I happen to like to write as I type, for some reason it goes faster.

It usually only takes me about 2 to 2 and a half hours to get everything done, and that includes responding to all over my reviewers (who I love, by the way). Well, yesterday I was all set to write this chapter, but I just couldn't start. For some, odd, unknown reason, I just couldn't get it to start the way I wanted it to. After an hour of being frustrated, I gave up and left my computer. I came back at about 7 o'clock last night, and was finally able to get it to flow, and as I said before, I was on a roll. My problem this time was finding a place to stop! I knew this chapter was going to be longer than the rest, but I just couldn't end it! I normally start a chapter, knowing full well what my cliff hanger is going to be – my evil mind likes to know what it is I'm going to do to make the readers suffer… but as I'm sure many of you noticed… THERE IS NO CLIFF HANGER!

Well, there you go, I'm sure none of you really wanted to know all of that, but I told you anyway.

I also have a promise for you guys – I promise to get another chapter up by the end of today (EST) and I think you'll like it. I have an interesting twist that I came up with as I was swimming a 300 free-style (yes, I think about this story almost 24/7). Well, talk to you soon!

Raspberri13 – hehehe

Juliya – don't cry! Look – I made it all better! (somewhat…)

seamermaiden – sorry about the confusion… I kinda made Sirius the way I wanted him to, or, at least, the way I always envisioned him. (I explain why he had James' cloak later…) As for the lemons, well… I do promise you some – a lot actually – just not right now… we have to get Hermione adjusted to her surroundings first – but don't worry – I have a plan! (hehehe) About it being Severus – good guess, but no – I have a thing about wanting to have as many reasons as possible for killing Lucius… (PS – no, I won't actually kill off Malfoy, but, I can pretend ;) )

Artemis Virgin Goddess – hehehe – here you go! ;)

KGdiva – aww – thank you sssooo much – you have no idea how much it means to me when I hear that someone likes my chapters! As for Hermione getting back at 'that bastard,' just be patient – it will happen soon enough! I'm sorry about the cliff hanger – but I have to admit, I'm trying REALLY hard not to shout 'I told you so' to all of the people you try to say that they don't like the suspense – but I'll give you a hug and a giant cookie for being honest ;)

elektrikstorm – sorry – no this isn't a Hermione/Snape fic – I won't deny that I don't like them sometimes, but I prefer Hermione and Sirius – I'm if I confused you somehow… As for it being Snape in the bathroom, well, as you can tell, it wasn't, but it was a really good idea – after reading what you had written, I seriously considered changing the plot around a bit!

kittysbazooka – thanks! I'm glad you like it so far!

bloomsgrl – hehehe – thanks, I'd like to live long enough to finish this story! ;)

SpikesDreamer – wow – thank you so much! I LOVE to know that people like my stories, but I hope you still think the same way now that I've changed Hermione's house – I really do appreciate it you think that it was a 'stoke of genius' but I really couldn't see anything else happening between Hermione and Sirius if she was still in Slytherin, plus I didn't want to be mean to Hermione and not let her get any sleep… oh well, I really hope that you still like it – after reading your review, I couldn't help but smile for a while – thanks again:D