Authors Note- Oh my god, I feel absolutely horrible. I swear on the Seventh Book that I have not lost interest in this story, I've just been exceptionally busy, and had writers block. I hope this chapter was all right. I'm still looking for a new beta if anyone's interested. I dedicate this chapter to my beautiful Katie darling, who makes me remember why I love Harry Potter, and tells me nearly daily that I do not suck at writing fanfic. I need that guys, so PLEASE review! PLEASE! Besides, the more happy little review emails I get, the worse I feel about not updating.

Disclaimer- Unfortunately, Harry Potter and his Godfather are not mine.


They say she's on the run
It's over, it's over, it's over, it's over
And thought then can turn action
And I dig and I dig and I dig and I dig
'Til my head is so sick and so clear
I'm leaving here
Getting out of this place
Leaving here
Getting out of this place
Only certain kinds of people
Can take these things

How Will I ever Find My Way Home? - British Sea Power


"NO!" Hermione yelled in agony as she was hit by the Cruciatus cruse. A sharp pain ran across her stomach. She was trying to get to Harry; she had to help him somehow. He was dueling furiously with Lord Voldemort, the two completely silent in stark contrast to the cacophony around them. She looked around trying to see who had hit her, her addled brain only wishing to fight back. Her brown eyes locked with the deep black of Bellatrix Lestrage's.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen! I seem to have gotten little Potters girlfriend! Don't worry though little mudblood, you'll be with him soon enough"

This was the woman who had killed Sirius, who had made Harry's life a living hell for the last 5 years. Hermione shook her head, trying to clear it, and then stood, her wand pointed directly at Bellatrix's neck. Blind fury coursed through her veins.

"The little mudblood wants to duel?"

"Shut up, you bitch" Said Hermione, circling around her slowly.

"Sectumsempra!" Shouted Bellatrix

"Protego" Hermione nearly whispered. She was calm, almost indifferent, But her fury created such a powerful shield charm that Bellatrix was knocked back. She cursed loudly and fell down several cold stone steps of the Death Chamber.

Hermione walked coldly to Bellatrix, showing no emotion whatsoever. She pointed her wand down at her and stared callously.

"What you going to do little girl? Kill me? Just try it. My cousin Sirius couldn't do it, you're little boyfriend couldn't. But they're both dead by now."

Hermione looked at Bellatrix, smiling slightly.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"


"STOP IT!"

Sirius was roused from his sleep by screaming. He jumped out of his bed, mind racing.

"No… Please… I'm sorry!… I shouldn't have… No…" the voice was sobbing now.

Hermione? Is that really Hermione? Hell.

"'Mione, com'on, wake up" Sirius sat on her bed and put both hands on her shoulders.

"Not again… Oh god… Should've died…" Hermione was mutter incoheratly. She was tossing and turning, twisting the bed sheets into a tangled mess.

Sirius was confused and scared. What is wrong with 'Mione? She looks so weak and small. Oh god. What in the name of Merlin do I do? I'm no good with crying girls!

"Hermione, wake up. Please 'Mione!" It truly hurt him to see her like this. Before he had fallen into the veil, she was the strong one. Hermione was always so logical, it sometimes made him angry. If Harry was the heart, and Ron the muscle, Hermione was the brain of the trio. She was too smart at times, but that was just who she was. But she's older now. And she's been through more than anyone should have to.

Shaking her slightly she finally opened her eyes and stopped moving entirely. But even being awake did not stop her tears. Hermione was just crying, looking straight at Sirius with a terrified expression.

"Sirius?" she said in a small, almost meek whisper.

Sirius smiled sheepishly at her. He began to stroke her hair slowly, wondering what kind of dream could put her into such a panic.

"Hermione, what were you dreaming about?" Sirius said bluntly. He never had been good with histrionic girls.

She sat up slowly, letting Sirius' arms drop to her shoulders.

"I… Oh, Sirius!" She began sobbing hysterically again. Completely baffled, Sirius wrapped his arms around her.

"Um… It's all okay now 'Mione. It-It was just a dream… I'll take care of you." He was murmering in her ear. Though he stumbled around it, Hermione realized that he truly meant what he was saying.

Slowly she stopped crying and pulled away.

"Thank you Sirius. I'm sorry I woke you." She said slowly, looking right into his eyes.

"Eh, we should be getting up anyway! We finally get to get out of this place! You may have been unconscious, but I've been up and bored. I hate hospitals!" He was bounding around the room now, looking like an excited puppy.

He opened the curtains letting the sun stream onto Hermione's bed. Her cheeks were still damp with tears and Sirius had a nearly irresistible urge to hold her longer.

Hermione herself was still quite disconcerted from her nightmare. Thinking for a long moment, she finally spoke. But she said something that Sirius was not expecting.

"Sirius, where are you going to live? I mean, Grimauld Place was destroyed in the war." Said Hermione, looking intently at Sirius for a reaction to that.

"Really now? Good riddance. I hated that place, always did."

"And well, see Harry got your fortune when you well… died… And when Harry…" Her voice cracked at his name. "When Harry… Well, I got it."

"So basically you have all my money? That's rich. A muggle-born with the Black family fortune. I wonder what my mum would say to that!" Seeing her face look blank he continued.

"Its fine though I'll just bunk with Remus and Tonks until I find a place to stay."

"And so will you Hermione." Remus' voice rang from the door, standing next to Tonks.

"You really have a knack for sneaking up on other peoples conversations, don't you Moony?" Said Sirius sarcastically.

"Wotcher Hermione, Sirius" said Tonks, giving a little nod to both of them. Even with the curtains open, the hospital room was still bleak. It left no one in a particularly good feeling.

"So what are you saying about me staying with you lot, do I not have any say in this?" Hermione was quite apparently angry. She was growing increasingly worried about facing her flat. She had never envisioned ever seeing that flat, or anything else for that matter, ever again.

Tonks spoke first, smiling as best she could.

"Well, we're all sorta worried about you Hermione. You disappeared for a year, only to come back and jump in the veil. Now most wizards don't take much stock in mental health, I mean to them its 'what can't a good cheering charm fix?' but my dads a muggle and I've learned a thing from him. You're not going to just recover from this Hermione. Remus and I had each other, but you, you just left… You were all alone."

Way to rub it in little cousin. Never was much on tact were you then? Sirius thought angrily. But then, neither am I. Maybe it's a Black thing. Pure blood, bad social skills.

"What my lovely Nymphadora is trying to say is that we don't want you to be alone anymore." Remus said, before Tonks could make things any worse.

"Listen, I appreciate what you're doing, but I completely refuse. I'm going to stay in my flat and work things out on my own. I'm an adult and I can make my own choices for Merlin's sake!" The last thing Hermione wanted was for Remus and Tonks watching her every move making sure she wasn't going to avada kedavra herself or jump off St. Mungos.

With these words Hermione reached to her night table, grabbed her wand and apparated away.


Tonks, Remus and Sirius all looked extremely stunned, and stood blank for several seconds.

"I though St. Mungos had anti-apparation wards…" said Sirius slowly, breaking the silence.

"It does. How the hell did she do that?" replied Remus, still standing in the same place.

"She was the brightest witch of her generation. She was a member of the trio. She was the greatest wizard of our times girlfriend. I suppose she picked up some tricks." Tonks said, finally recovering.

"Great Tonks, just wonderful. Why did you have to scare her like that! My god!" Sirius was angry, and both Remus and Tonks looked slightly afraid. He was after all an experience auror in the body of a 22 year-old. A very tall and muscular 22 year old wizard.

"Sirius calm down, its all going to be okay." Said Remus slowly.

"Okay! Where do you think she went! I have to go after her Remus, I have to help her." Sirius' anger was slowly being replaced with panic. Has she disappeared again? How could I have let her go so easily?

"We'll find her Padfoot. But you, only possessing ordinary wizarding skills, have to get checked out of this place before we can go after her. So come on, lets get you out of here." Remus gestured to the door.

Rising quickly, Sirius grabbed his wand and flicked it, causing his pajamas to transfigure themselves into a set of blue jeans and a black t-shirt. Running his hands through his mussed hair, he left the room quickly, with Remus and Tonks stumbling in his wake.

"Where do you suppose she went?" Asked Tonks as the trio walked to the safe apparition point slightly out of St. Mungos.

Finnally thinking clearly now Sirius was relatively sure that he knew. he wasn't about to tell Tonks and Remus that though. He knew that they only they only had Hermione's best interests at heart, but they didn't know how to handle someone like that. It wasn't there fault; they just didn't know how isolation could compound grief. They had had each other, while Hermione had been alone. Sirius had known only to well what it could feel like. When the Potters had died, Sirius had thought he had lost everything. But when Peter faked his own death and blamed the deaths of muggles on Sirius, that was when he knew what rock bottom felt like. The stories were true, he had laughed like a madman, not out of insanity or cruelness, but out of desperation. He hadn't even tried to escape, a mans psyche can only take so much. So Sirius knew that Hermione would not be thinking logically right now. She would not have fled to the Leaky Cauldron or wherever she had been living, she would go to the only place she could find comfort. The only place where her own mind could run wild in delusions that those she loved were alive. For Sirius, that place had been a cell in Azkaban. For Hermione, it would be Harry's flat.

"Listen, I'm going to go look for her. She's not going to be at Harry's flat, that's too obvious. So how about you two go check Hogsmeade and I'll go to Diagon Alley and look for her there?" Sirius tried to sound casual, but his thoughts were still racing. He had to go find her, alone.

"You sure you want to go alone mate? It's been a long time since you've been out and about, things have changed."

"Stop worrying about me Moony. Its Hermione you should be concerned about. Now go and find her. We'll meet back at your flat around noon" Sirius was actually beginning to twitch with impatience. It was his canine instincts coming out, anticipating the 'chase'.

Before Remus could stop him, Sirius apparated away.


In truth, Sirius had absolutely no idea where he was going. He had apparated himself to Grimauld Place just because it was a street he could walk on to get his bearings. Sirius had never been one to think plans out before acting them, and this was, unfortunately, not an exception.

So where would Hermione and Harry have lived? Somewhere in London. A flat! I think Remus mentioned a flat. So now all I have to do is search every flat in muggle London. Damn. Okay, so who would know where they lived? Remus and Tonks. Damn. Um… Ginny? But she would tell Remus, and that would ruin all of it. If I'm right, and Hermione is there, and runs again, we may never find her.

Sirius eventually came to the conclusion that a simple locator spell with a couple modifications would help find her. I mean, Sirius had created the Marauders map, hadn't he? This would be simple. Right?


Twenty very frustrated minutes later; Sirius could still not find Hermione. In fact, he had not even begun looking. Sirius had found himself in a very heated battle with an older muggle woman as to weather his galleons were real gold or not. Having no muggle money, and not the patience to argue with her any longer, Sirius performed a quick freezing spell, swiped the map, and promptly walked away.

Why are muggles so difficult? Of course a galleon is real gold! Better than any of the rubbish gold they've got. I mean, they carry around little pieces of paper like it was worth something! Muggles! What will they think of next?

First he pulled a long brown hair off the front of his robes. This has to be hers… I mean, who else's hair is this long and this curly? Placing it carefully on the map, he thought hard to remember the map making spells he had found so useful both in his days at Hogwarts and at the ministry.

"Cartohmora Specialus" he muttered, his first guess. Amazingly enough, it was the correct spell, and immediately Hermione's name appeared in Sirius' own untidy scrawl (Moony had written the names for the Marauders Map, he had such girly hand writing) in an building just outside the heart of London.

Without thinking, he apparated directly to the room he saw Hermione's name in.

He was thrown back in mid-apparation, landing with a dull thud in a carpeted hall. Lucky I kept all my bloody limbs! Could have splinched myself Sirius thought angrily. He may be 22 again, but it didn't mean his back didn't bloody well hurt after a tumble like that.

Realizing Hermione had placed wards around her flat, he walked quietly to her door, thinking. How did she get so powerful? I mean, she was always bloody brilliant, but that doesn't equal this kind of power. You don't learn in a book how to get through St. Mungos wards. I thought only Dumbledore could do things like this, and he… well… But Remus said that Harry had become as powerful as Albus. He is a Potter! Was…But how would Hermione get to be like this though?

He knocked gently on the door. Waiting a tense moment, he knocked again. Hearing nothing, he looked down at his map.

She's right on the otherside of the door! Sirius was not surprised that she was not answering, just concerned.

He thought a long moment, trying to think of the right thing. He didn't want to be blunt like Tonks, he didn't want to scare her away.

"'Mione, please let me in. It's just me. I promise I won't try to take you away, or make you do anything you don't want to. Just please let me in."

Sirius waited another long moment, silently wondering what he would do if she didn't let him in. After what felt like an eternity, he heard a clicking and the door creped open slowly.

"Sirius?"


A/N- Wow, my longest chapter yet. Still not very long though, huh? I'm horrible, I know. There are several elements of foreshadowing in this chapter. Anyone see any hints? I really like constructive comments guys! You know, I appreciate ANYTHING though. Oh, and I'm sorry about how stupid the spell I made up is. It's just the word for map, combined with the unlocking and reveling spells. Well, this definitely proves I'm not Jo in disguise, huh? This is also completely unbetad. I don't have one, and didn't have time to make one of my friends do it, because I felt so dreadful about not updating!