A/N: Ok, I know that I've said about a million times by now praise to
Monkeystarz and all that, but scratch that for this chapter. She had
nothing to do with it. It wasn't in the RPG. All from my mind. I was in D.C
all week, away from my computer, and had no way of writing. Well, I just
now was able to get onto my Aunt's computer, and here is the chapter that I
spent almost all my waking hours ((that I wasn't using to LITERALLY walk
all over D.C)) writing on crummy notebook paper. But, now that I got into
it, I would like to say that I walked all day Monday, from 9 to 5, going
into millions of museums and such. And then, on Tuesday, we did it again,
with all the museums and everything. We finished looking at all the museums
on Tuesday. Then yesterday, we went to two HUGE art museums, and then up to
Mt. Vernon (George Washington's house) Which is HUGE!! And then today, we
got an exclusive tour to the White House, even though it is closed for
tours because of all the tourism attacks, and that took a while, but it
wasn't very interesting. But it was fun getting picked up for it, because
my uncle, who is in the Secret Service, picked us up. We rode in the Secret
Service car to the White House, and got dropped off at the side door. ((it
was the only place people were allowed to enter from)) At first they
wouldn't let us in and they got all freaked out, asking how we got there,
because my uncle had already gone back to his car. We told them, and the
security chief dude at the door went and yelled at him! I felt sorta bad,
but he was pretty high up and has been working with them for like, 32 years
now, so they couldn't get him in really bad trouble. But it was really fun
watching him stand in attention like that. . Anyway, enough about my
boring life, Here's the fic!!!!
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Hermione sat on the lush black covers, staring into the darkness. None of this was happening...it wasn't real. She closed her eyes, scrunching them together until her head pounded with the intensity. After a few minutes she opened them, expecting to be greeted by the pristine white of the hospital wind. But no...dark black ceiling...
"Mione..." She chided herself, "You've gotta stop doing this...you just....just get your hopes up that this will all just go away..."
She sniffled, pulling back the dark green curtains from her bed and lowering her feet to the floor, flinching as they got used to the cold stone.
The common room was dark, not even the light of the moon could reach it's gentle fingers through the windows, as there were none. She figured even if there were windows, all one would see out of it would be dirt and rocks. Shivering in the cold, she ran back to her room, grabbing her plain, black cloak from the trunk that had been put there for her use and then bounded down the stairs once again. Pulling the cloak tightly around her, she made her way quietly out of the common room, closing the portrait gently so as not to wake him. The grumpy old man stirred slightly, and then went back to its gently snoring. Hermione let out the breath she had been holding, as a silently as she could, walked down the hall, feet pattering lightly on the floor.
She was walking around aimlessly, dragging her hands along the stone walls as she walked. She smiled sweetly at the portraits that were awake, and talked with them for a little while if she figured them good company. It was during one of these conversations that she noticed that many of the pictures had changed since her time, this one particular fellow- a very thin, wiry, man with the features of a skeleton- she had never seen before. She bid him goodbye, and continued down the corridor.
It had been about an our now that she had been walking, and just as she was turning a corner into a new corridor, her foot snagged on something, and she tumbled forward. She could feel a light cloth cover her, and a gasp followed by a string of curses fell on her ears. She spun around, hand clutching the cloak that her mind numbly supplied to her as an invisibility cloak.
She was looking at Harry.
She blinked several times, staring at him. Then her gaze fell on the person next to him, the one who had been cursing. She was expecting a shock of red hair and bright green eyes, but instead she was looking at a boy with black, shoulder length hair and the darkest blue eyes she had ever seen. Except for on one person. Tears started flowing from her eyes, and she gripped the cloak tightly in her numb hands.
"S-Sirius..."
She had spoken in a soft whisper, but the pain, the disbelief in that one word, sent every thing into silence. He looked at her, taking in the tears, the hurt and pain in her eyes.
"Yeah...what do you want?"
Harry stayed silent. No, not Harry, it couldn't be...it had to be James. A quick glance at his light brown eyes and glasses-less face confirmed this. But when she looked back at Sirius, she couldn't help it anymore. They, her, Harry, and Ron, had always been so close to Sirius. But then...after her fifth year...he was gone...And, seeing him there, standing so casually, seeing him once again living and breathing...Seeing him standing there, right there, right in front of her eyes...
Her tears were no longer tears, but sobs, ones that shook her whole body and sent her curled up to the floor, holding her hands in front of her face and rocking back and forth in a rhythm, as if it soothed her to do so. Her throat started to hurt, and she clenched her arms around her legs, bringing them close to her.
"H-hey! You ok? What happened? Are you hurt?" James was kneeling next to her, fruitlessly trying to calm her down. Sirius just stood there, bewildered as to why she had broken out like that after saying his name. Had he done something? Hermione shook her head vigorously at James' questioning, finally calming herself, hiccupping and wiping her face with her sleeve.
"I-I'm....I'm so sorry!" She broke out, standing and running as fast as she could the other way, the shimmery invisibility cloak falling as if in slow motion from her hands.
"Hey! Wait!"
She ignored the voice and kept running, not even knowing where she was going. She heard footsteps behind her and she tried to speed up, her cloak slowing her down as it trailed behind her, making her steps slow. She kept running, wanting with all her heart to get away from those two, those two that just by seeing them made her heart want to break inside. She almost screamed when a large, warm, hand enveloped her wrist and spun her around, the momentum from her run smashing her into the person's chest. He was breathing hard, and she could hear his heartbeat as they stood there, both gasping until they recovered their breath.
"W-what...was that about?" The person asked, pausing in parts of the sentence as his labored breathing took over his ability to speak. Hermione pushed away from him, trying once again to run, but his grip tightened around her wrist.
"Why do you keep trying to run!?" He all but yelled out, exasperated at how she was acting. She looked up at him, her eyes red from crying, he checks stained from tears.
"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU, SIRIUS, OK?!?!" She yelled, wrenching her wrist free and biting down a yelp as she felt pain surge through her arm. She stood there for a few seconds, looking at him, then turned, once again fleeing down the hall, leaving a bewildered Sirius standing dumbly in the hall, his right arm stretched out where he had been holding her.
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Hermione ran up the long, winding steps to the Astronomy tower. She collapsed once she reached the top, clutching her aching hand and letting the cool, October air caress her burning skin, which was heated from the run. She was crying. She would be amazed if she ever stopped doing that these days. She usually didn't cry, after all she had been through with Ron and Harry...Things like this usually didn't make her cry anymore. But maybe that was it. She didn't have them here with her, she didn't have anybody to hold her up, she was all alone. Was she really that weak? That she couldn't be brave unless there was somebody else there to be brave with her? She guessed so. This proved it.
"Granger?"
She looked up at the soft voice, her eyes falling on Severus Snape, who, by the looks of it, had been there for quite a while. He had books and parchments spread around him, and a thin, black blanket covered his legs from his sitting position leaning against the tower wall. Great. Another PERFECT thing for her already PERFECT day. Could things get ANY better?
Wanting only to be alone, she tried to stand, only for her wobbly legs to fail her, and she thunked back on the ground. She whimpered as this action jolted a shock of pain through her arm.
"Are you alright?"
Hermione closed her eyes, not answering as he set down the some book he was holding and walked over to her.
"Granger?"
He reached out a tentative hand to her when a soft growl came from behind them, and he snatched his hand back in surprise as a large, black, dog came into view.
"Where did you come from, you stupid mutt?!"
Looking up, Hermione knew immediately who the dog was. She had seen him enough like that to know. She reached a hand out and patted his fur, eyes shining with tears.
"S-Snuffles..."
The dog padded up to her, confusion in its big, black, eyes. It nudged her hurt hand gently, licking it in apology. She bit back a sob, then threw out her hands, enveloping the dog in a hug. "I-It's Ok...it was...my fault...I..."
She buried her head in his fur, and he tried his best to comfort her, even though he didn't exactly know who she was. After a few moments, she pulled back, wiping her eyes.
"I'm sorry...please...just go..."
The dog growled, shaking its head and looking pointedly at Snape. This made him step back a little bit, wondering what the dog was growling at him for.
"He's fine...just go..."
The dog growled again, then, after a few minutes of hesitation, padded lightly down the steps. Snape stood silent through the entire exchange, and when the dog went away, he kneeled down next to Hermione.
"What was that, your pet?"
She shook her head. "No...just...an old friend..."
He nodded as he helped her up. "I'm going to take you back to the dorms, ok?
"Yeah..."
Picking up his books, they both made their way back to the dungeons, the stars shining mischievously against the stone castle behind them.
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After changing back to his human form, Sirius made his way back to where James was, wondering over and over again about what had just happened. Why had she reacted like that? How did she know him? He had never seen her in Hogwarts before, and that was unusual. Usually all the students had at least SEEN all the students in Hogwarts, I mean, they had been there for a great deal of their lives. And she was definitely no first year. And what was it that she had called him when he was a dog? She difinately knew it was him...
"Where is she?"
He looked up, seeing James standing against the wall with the invisibility cloak draped over his arm, resulting in it not being there. He hadn't even noticed he was this close. If he hadn't had said anything, he would have kept on walking. He hook his head, not answering James. Shrugging, James started down the hallway, Sirius trailing silently behind.
"James?"
"Yeah, Padfoot?"
"I know...what I want you to call me....when I'm a dog..."
"Hm?"
"Snuffles."
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A/N: Woohoo! I'm done! I'm happy I got to sorta make up a way that Sirius got his doggy name! Well, read and review please! I love reviews! Their my friend! Along with my minions of darkness and the invisible purple monkeys. review review review! Or I'll have to eat you! And then...the pigs would....eat...you...But then they would have to eat me...nah, nevermind. I'll just make the pigs eat you. I'd rather not go into cannibalism.
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Hermione sat on the lush black covers, staring into the darkness. None of this was happening...it wasn't real. She closed her eyes, scrunching them together until her head pounded with the intensity. After a few minutes she opened them, expecting to be greeted by the pristine white of the hospital wind. But no...dark black ceiling...
"Mione..." She chided herself, "You've gotta stop doing this...you just....just get your hopes up that this will all just go away..."
She sniffled, pulling back the dark green curtains from her bed and lowering her feet to the floor, flinching as they got used to the cold stone.
The common room was dark, not even the light of the moon could reach it's gentle fingers through the windows, as there were none. She figured even if there were windows, all one would see out of it would be dirt and rocks. Shivering in the cold, she ran back to her room, grabbing her plain, black cloak from the trunk that had been put there for her use and then bounded down the stairs once again. Pulling the cloak tightly around her, she made her way quietly out of the common room, closing the portrait gently so as not to wake him. The grumpy old man stirred slightly, and then went back to its gently snoring. Hermione let out the breath she had been holding, as a silently as she could, walked down the hall, feet pattering lightly on the floor.
She was walking around aimlessly, dragging her hands along the stone walls as she walked. She smiled sweetly at the portraits that were awake, and talked with them for a little while if she figured them good company. It was during one of these conversations that she noticed that many of the pictures had changed since her time, this one particular fellow- a very thin, wiry, man with the features of a skeleton- she had never seen before. She bid him goodbye, and continued down the corridor.
It had been about an our now that she had been walking, and just as she was turning a corner into a new corridor, her foot snagged on something, and she tumbled forward. She could feel a light cloth cover her, and a gasp followed by a string of curses fell on her ears. She spun around, hand clutching the cloak that her mind numbly supplied to her as an invisibility cloak.
She was looking at Harry.
She blinked several times, staring at him. Then her gaze fell on the person next to him, the one who had been cursing. She was expecting a shock of red hair and bright green eyes, but instead she was looking at a boy with black, shoulder length hair and the darkest blue eyes she had ever seen. Except for on one person. Tears started flowing from her eyes, and she gripped the cloak tightly in her numb hands.
"S-Sirius..."
She had spoken in a soft whisper, but the pain, the disbelief in that one word, sent every thing into silence. He looked at her, taking in the tears, the hurt and pain in her eyes.
"Yeah...what do you want?"
Harry stayed silent. No, not Harry, it couldn't be...it had to be James. A quick glance at his light brown eyes and glasses-less face confirmed this. But when she looked back at Sirius, she couldn't help it anymore. They, her, Harry, and Ron, had always been so close to Sirius. But then...after her fifth year...he was gone...And, seeing him there, standing so casually, seeing him once again living and breathing...Seeing him standing there, right there, right in front of her eyes...
Her tears were no longer tears, but sobs, ones that shook her whole body and sent her curled up to the floor, holding her hands in front of her face and rocking back and forth in a rhythm, as if it soothed her to do so. Her throat started to hurt, and she clenched her arms around her legs, bringing them close to her.
"H-hey! You ok? What happened? Are you hurt?" James was kneeling next to her, fruitlessly trying to calm her down. Sirius just stood there, bewildered as to why she had broken out like that after saying his name. Had he done something? Hermione shook her head vigorously at James' questioning, finally calming herself, hiccupping and wiping her face with her sleeve.
"I-I'm....I'm so sorry!" She broke out, standing and running as fast as she could the other way, the shimmery invisibility cloak falling as if in slow motion from her hands.
"Hey! Wait!"
She ignored the voice and kept running, not even knowing where she was going. She heard footsteps behind her and she tried to speed up, her cloak slowing her down as it trailed behind her, making her steps slow. She kept running, wanting with all her heart to get away from those two, those two that just by seeing them made her heart want to break inside. She almost screamed when a large, warm, hand enveloped her wrist and spun her around, the momentum from her run smashing her into the person's chest. He was breathing hard, and she could hear his heartbeat as they stood there, both gasping until they recovered their breath.
"W-what...was that about?" The person asked, pausing in parts of the sentence as his labored breathing took over his ability to speak. Hermione pushed away from him, trying once again to run, but his grip tightened around her wrist.
"Why do you keep trying to run!?" He all but yelled out, exasperated at how she was acting. She looked up at him, her eyes red from crying, he checks stained from tears.
"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU, SIRIUS, OK?!?!" She yelled, wrenching her wrist free and biting down a yelp as she felt pain surge through her arm. She stood there for a few seconds, looking at him, then turned, once again fleeing down the hall, leaving a bewildered Sirius standing dumbly in the hall, his right arm stretched out where he had been holding her.
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Hermione ran up the long, winding steps to the Astronomy tower. She collapsed once she reached the top, clutching her aching hand and letting the cool, October air caress her burning skin, which was heated from the run. She was crying. She would be amazed if she ever stopped doing that these days. She usually didn't cry, after all she had been through with Ron and Harry...Things like this usually didn't make her cry anymore. But maybe that was it. She didn't have them here with her, she didn't have anybody to hold her up, she was all alone. Was she really that weak? That she couldn't be brave unless there was somebody else there to be brave with her? She guessed so. This proved it.
"Granger?"
She looked up at the soft voice, her eyes falling on Severus Snape, who, by the looks of it, had been there for quite a while. He had books and parchments spread around him, and a thin, black blanket covered his legs from his sitting position leaning against the tower wall. Great. Another PERFECT thing for her already PERFECT day. Could things get ANY better?
Wanting only to be alone, she tried to stand, only for her wobbly legs to fail her, and she thunked back on the ground. She whimpered as this action jolted a shock of pain through her arm.
"Are you alright?"
Hermione closed her eyes, not answering as he set down the some book he was holding and walked over to her.
"Granger?"
He reached out a tentative hand to her when a soft growl came from behind them, and he snatched his hand back in surprise as a large, black, dog came into view.
"Where did you come from, you stupid mutt?!"
Looking up, Hermione knew immediately who the dog was. She had seen him enough like that to know. She reached a hand out and patted his fur, eyes shining with tears.
"S-Snuffles..."
The dog padded up to her, confusion in its big, black, eyes. It nudged her hurt hand gently, licking it in apology. She bit back a sob, then threw out her hands, enveloping the dog in a hug. "I-It's Ok...it was...my fault...I..."
She buried her head in his fur, and he tried his best to comfort her, even though he didn't exactly know who she was. After a few moments, she pulled back, wiping her eyes.
"I'm sorry...please...just go..."
The dog growled, shaking its head and looking pointedly at Snape. This made him step back a little bit, wondering what the dog was growling at him for.
"He's fine...just go..."
The dog growled again, then, after a few minutes of hesitation, padded lightly down the steps. Snape stood silent through the entire exchange, and when the dog went away, he kneeled down next to Hermione.
"What was that, your pet?"
She shook her head. "No...just...an old friend..."
He nodded as he helped her up. "I'm going to take you back to the dorms, ok?
"Yeah..."
Picking up his books, they both made their way back to the dungeons, the stars shining mischievously against the stone castle behind them.
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After changing back to his human form, Sirius made his way back to where James was, wondering over and over again about what had just happened. Why had she reacted like that? How did she know him? He had never seen her in Hogwarts before, and that was unusual. Usually all the students had at least SEEN all the students in Hogwarts, I mean, they had been there for a great deal of their lives. And she was definitely no first year. And what was it that she had called him when he was a dog? She difinately knew it was him...
"Where is she?"
He looked up, seeing James standing against the wall with the invisibility cloak draped over his arm, resulting in it not being there. He hadn't even noticed he was this close. If he hadn't had said anything, he would have kept on walking. He hook his head, not answering James. Shrugging, James started down the hallway, Sirius trailing silently behind.
"James?"
"Yeah, Padfoot?"
"I know...what I want you to call me....when I'm a dog..."
"Hm?"
"Snuffles."
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A/N: Woohoo! I'm done! I'm happy I got to sorta make up a way that Sirius got his doggy name! Well, read and review please! I love reviews! Their my friend! Along with my minions of darkness and the invisible purple monkeys. review review review! Or I'll have to eat you! And then...the pigs would....eat...you...But then they would have to eat me...nah, nevermind. I'll just make the pigs eat you. I'd rather not go into cannibalism.