Harry hung up the phone and turned to Sirius fully prepared now to answer the questioning gaze of his Godfather.
"Old friends of Hermione's." He started and quickly cut Sirius off before he could ask his question aloud. " They were the ones that helped shortly after her parents were killed."
Harry held his hand up to silence Sirius once more. "All you need to know right now is that she will be in good hands Sirius. Right now though, we need to worry about Remus. If you didn't notice, it is almost dawn and we need to get him to Hogwarts before he turns. He has a few bullets in him that will surely kill him in human form."
Sirius watched as his Godson took control and finally decided to concede, allowing him to take the lead. "Ok, but don't think that because you have called in a favour to someone, that I'm going to stop looking for her." He growled.
"Do you really think that I could abandon her like that?" Harry inquired with an angry look on his face.
Sirius sighed. "I'm sorry Harry. I haven't even asked you if you are ok with her and I, and here I am getting all upset because you are using your head." Sirius let his voice trail off, worried about what Harry would say next.
"Sirius, if you are looking for permission to be with Hermione, then you already have it. If she wants to be with you, then she will be with you. Yes I am her best friend and yes I want her to be happy, but I know that it is her choice where to find that happiness. If I didn't approve, it wouldn't matter because if she is happen then so am I. But…if you hurt her, I will hurt you, Godfather or not. She is my other half…it would be good that you understand that now." Harry stated in a serious tone.
Sirius turned to look at Remus after hearing the werewolf whimper softly. He pondered what Harry had said before speaking again. "I think I realize now what you two have. It was like James and I. We were able to complete each other's thoughts, yet we were obviously not lovers. It was just this connection…a kinship, almost as if he was my soul's twin."
"Yes I suppose it could be like that. We did try to be together once. Kinda like when Hermione and Ron tried to make a go of it. It just didn't work. We just knew we were always meant to be friends and nothing more. I have seen the men come and go from her life though and I know it is because they are not willing to share her. So be warned now, she will never be yours alone." Harry's eyes latched onto Sirius's.
Sirius stood there listening to his Godson and somehow he understood what was being said to him. He digested it all for a while before speaking up. "I understand. Her love for both you and Ron runs deep, and I realize that when Hermione gives her friendship to someone a part of her heart is always included in that friendship. I just have to believe that the part of her heart designated for me is for much more than that..and I plan to keep her for a long time inside my heart. I would really like to know though if you truly approve of her and I, because surely you have an opinion."
Harry couldn't help but grin at his Godfather. "I've been wondering what took you both so long."
Sirius chuckled and hit Harry in the arm. "Come on, it looks like dawn will approach any moment. If you trust these people you called to help her, then I'll trust them as well."
So it was that the two men agreed and levitated the trussed werewolf behind them while talking casually to one another. As they approached the base, they could hear the clipped commands from Ron Weasley and they immediately knew something had gone wrong.
They broke through the trees to see the chaos surrounding the entrance of the base. Harry recognized the dead Auror on the ground, recalling that his name was Theron.
"What happened? Did a muggle get out of control?" Harry inquired.
Ron stepped towards his best friend with a grim look on his face. "The girl…she panicked and accidentally shot Theron. It managed to kill him before we could even get out of the building." Ron's eyes scanned around and noted that his other best friend was still missing and cursed silently from the frustration of knowing how she had slipped through their fingers yet again.
Harry's mouth turned down even more while he surveyed the scene. Hailey was sobbing against Ginny, while the red headed witch hugged and comforted her. Draco frowned at him while he rubbed Hailey's back and spoke in soothing tones. Remus lay whimpering on the ground while Sirius checked up on his trussed friend. He let a quiet sigh of frustration escape and before he could say a thing, Severus's robes cracked loudly as he rushed out of the building with a scowl upon his face.
"Potter…" he paused long enough to notice that Hermione was nowhere to be seen. "Hermione?" He asked as he cocked his head in a questioning glare.
Suddenly Sirius leapt up and stalked towards the potions professor. Harry let his gaze assess the newest drama unfolding before him. Severus was glaring angrily at Sirius and Sirius looked like an angry dog with his teeth bared.
"Since when the hell do you call her Hermione?" Sirius inquired angrily.
If Harry hadn't been watching so closely he would have missed the slight widening of Severus's eyes revealing his surprise of Sirius's actions. The look was merely a flutter though before it was replaced by a more sinister smirk. "Since more intimate issues came forth between us." Severus purred.
Sirius snarled and lunged towards Severus, causing the man to gasp for breath while fingers wrapped tightly around his throat. Severus's hands reached up to try and pull away the fingers tightening around him, turning his knuckles white while his face was starting to turn a redish purple.
"Sirius!" Harry bellowed and his arm wrapped around his Godfather's shoulders, pulling back to try and separate the two men. Draco ran towards them, leaving behind two stunned looking witches.
"Let go of him Sirius!" Harry yelled into Sirius's ear while he continued to tug. Draco's fingers tried to pry Sirius's away from his mentor's neck.
Harry finally let go of his Godfather and decided to take a trick from Hermione's book. Many a time she would catch Ron and him in a scuffle and many a time he would feel the sting of her punishment. Now it was finally his turn to dole it out.
So it was that Harry stepped back and boxed his Godfather's ears. Sirius recoiled and stumbled backwards as he placed his hands over his ears. The sound of his voice echoed through the woods has he cursed loudly about the pain Harry's hands caused him. Harry slipped between Sirius and Severus and placed his hand on his Godfather's chest so he could push him back and talk the man down quietly. Meanwhile Draco pulled Severus backwards and spoke quietly to his mentor.
"I know you didn't sleep with her Severus…what are you on about?" Draco was rather upset that Hermione's name was being tossed about, but was rather curious what the true relationship was between the teacher and his old student.
"There was nothing sexual between us if that is what you are asking." Severus ground out between clenched teeth. To say he was unhappy about having to explain himself was an understatement, but he felt he owed it to Draco whom he knew was once involved with the witch.
"Shortly before her parents were killed, she came to me for help. Occlumency to be exact." Severus started to explain.
"So that explains all those detentions she got." Draco stated.
"Yes that was why. Well she took the opportunity to inquire about the Deatheater revels….and all that they entailed." Severus said.
Draco gave him a horrifed look. "You didn't tell her everything surely?"
Severus pursed his lips. "Yes I told her everything…Showed her things with a pensieve. After having done so, it seemed silly for me to continue looking at her like a child. It was shortly after that that I allowed her to call me Severus during our lessons and of course she insisted that I call her Hermione."
Draco sighed softly, knowing just how persistent Hermione could be. Then he let his mind drift back to how Sirius tried to make him jealous with Ginny. Finally in a true Slytherin manner he informed his mentor about the location of an intimately hidden mole for revenge.
Severus was all too pleased to learn the information. To think, he thought to himself, the heart throb of Hogwarts is jealous of me. Severus nearly cackled gleefully, but instead opted for a smug smirk.
As the group converged, Sirius gave Severus a resigned look and apologized for trying to strangle him. Severus gave his old enemy a snarky grin while he responded.
"Quite all right old man. Who wouldn't get worried about her. I mean she has that kissable little mole, right above the curve of her delectable buttock." He purred.
Sirius growled. "You bastard…" in response, but Harry was fast enough to prevent his Godfather from attacking once again.
Severus couldn't quite call it quits at that moment though and continued to speak. "I've shown her things that you couldn't even begin to describe." Nevermind that they were the horrors of a deatheater revel, the potions professor thought to himself.
Harry couldn't contain Sirius anymore and fell over while his Godfather lunged once more at Severus. Draco couldn't help but smirk gleefully at the situation until he glanced over at Hailey and Ginny and saw the two witches frowning. With a sigh and the thought of what one does for love, he stepped into the fray and tried to pry the two men from each other once more.
When Harry was finally able to control Sirius and Draco Severus, the two men looked beaten and ragged. Severus growled. "Finally decided to act like a good dog did you?" Harry had finally had it. "ENOUGH! That is enough, the both of you. My best friend is missing and another could potentially die because the sun is about to come up any minute and you two are acting worse then a bunch of first years.!"
Sirius and Severus finally started to look ashamed of themselves and stopped trying to kill one another.
"It is time that we all clean up and clear out. We have been here too long and soon the next shift will be arriving. Ron, I need you to do a final scan inside. Fred and George, I need you to get Remus to Hogwarts. As for you two…" Harry sighed and tried to relax a little. "You two are to behave first off. Severus, take Hailey to Grimmauld and Sirius I want you to come with me. We will search for Hermione ourselves while waiting for word from my contact." Harry ordered.
Sirius seemed pleased that he was asked to find Hermione, and not Severus. When Harry was done issuing orders everyone leapt into action.