Hermione's hand on the mirror was shaky. She was still reeling from the effort of deflecting Voldemort's spirit, and she was in dire need of sleep. Something told her she wouldn't be getting it, not for a long time. Sirius spoke quickly. "Hermione, it's been hours! I've been trying to contact you since this morning – No, everything's not okay! I don't know how to help my own godson cause he's having dreams about fucking Voldemort."
"What do you mean, Sirius? What happened?" Hermione asked quickly. If Harry was dreaming about Voldemort, and nothing had changed, then he would have just killed the Riddle's gardener, and her chances of avoiding Nagini were nil. She wished Dobby had been able to find them, but unfortunately Voldemort recognized the power of house elves all too well. He'd probably warded against them.
Sirius continued, panicked. "He dreamt of the ruddy Dark Lord! In the flesh! Well, not in the flesh, but alive enough to murder some innocent muggle."
Hermione winced. There went her chances of avoiding Nagini. If he was already at Riddle Manor, she was as good as a horcrux.
"So he's not dead." She said, rather than asked. She knew the answer.
Sirius raked a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to think. Harry said his scar hurt, and he was screaming bloody murder until I could get him to wake up. Then all he said was 'he's getting stronger, Sirius, I saw him' – Harry was distraught. He said he heard Voldemort talking about how he was growing in strength. But it's gotta be just a nightmare, right? Voldemort's dead."
"He's not dead, Sirius. I wish he was, but he's not." She said definitively. "Harry met him, our first year. He was possessing the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Sirius's eyes widened in shock. "This kid clearly hasn't been telling me how wild his school life is. But how is that monster still alive? All the papers talk about how Harry vanquished him."
"Vanquished, not defeated, unfortunately." Hermione grimaced. She picked her words carefully. She wanted Sirius to understand the truth, but he couldn't know her certainty. "Some people thought he was dead, really most people did, but they're wrong. He found some sort of way to hold onto life. Voldemort's soul was separated from his body when he tried to kill Harry, then he became a spirit, capable of possessing people. With what you've told me, he might have gained enough strength to be a threat again."
Actually, this was a lot more worrying to Hermione for other reasons, so she didn't have to fake her horror. Through the mirror, she saw a matching expression on Sirius's face. She hadn't been the one to tell him about Voldemort last time, so she couldn't guess at his reaction. It couldn't be enjoyable to find out that the man who killed your best friends, divided your family, and caused your twelve-year imprisonment was back in action, or nearly so.
"Bloody hell." Sirius said under his breath. "What are we going to do?"
Hermione pursed her lips. "We need to make sure we're ready for him, if he comes back. And we need to keep an eye out for anyone who wants to harm Harry. I can't imagine Voldemort has much else on his mind besides revenge right now." Something caused her to continue talking, either in a fit of madness or genius, she wasn't yet sure.
"Sirius, do you know anything about souls? How someone could keep themselves alive even after being killed?"
"There's a few things I've heard of, growing up. It's dark stuff though Hermione. A lot of them are the blackest sorts of magic you can think of."
"I know," Hermione said. "I've read about them. I think Voldemort's done something terribly dark, Sirius, and that's how he's been able to survive. How much do you know about Horcruxes?"
She realized that it was probably a stretch for a thirty-two-year-old man to believe a (seemingly) fifteen-year-old about soul magic performed by the biggest dark lord of the century, but he seemed to accept this possibility easily. "I wouldn't put it past him. I wish I could, but it sounds like something the evil bugger would do."
Hermione frowned. "I'm gonna do some more research. That's all we can do right now."
"That sounds like the Hermione that Harry's told me about. I bet you and Remus get along famously." He grinned, lightening the atmosphere considerably. "Er, Professor Lupin, you know."
She smiled. "I think a lot of professors appreciate my diligence, and I'm equally aware that a lot of students consider it swottishness. I think the first thing Professor Snape ever said to me was 'you insufferable know-it-all,' so I'm quite used to it. Anyway, Sirius, I've had a long day. It looks like you have too. Stay safe, alright? And enjoy the time you have with Harry. We'll be going to the Cup soon."
Sirius frowned. "I wish I could go to that. D'you think there's any way we can sneak me in?"
Hermione snorted. "Unless you have a bucket load of Polyjuice on hand, I doubt it. Sorry Sirius. If you like, I can send you a pensive memory of it. At least that way my ticket will pay for someone enjoying the match."
"Better than nothing. Even my mates here are talking about going, and Harry's getting really excited. Did you know your tickets are for the top box, with the Weasleys?"
"That must've costed a fortune!" Hermione exclaimed, feigning disbelief. "Well I am sorry that you won't get much more time with Harry. Have you had fun?"
"Oh yeah. It's been great to be free. I hardly have to watch my back here, and Harry's happy that no one seems to recognize him." He smiled a real, eye-crinkling grin. "Thank you for doing this. I don't think Harry realizes how much you've looked out for us this summer, but he's lucky to have a friend like you."
"Goodnight, Sirius." Hermione said, returning his smile. There was nothing else to say.
Unfortunately, all the good she had done for Harry and Sirius didn't lighten the rest of the load. She didn't want to leave Harry alone at the Quiddich World Cup, but she also had two more horcruxes to find. Perhaps she could utilize Sirius for one of them, but she couldn't yet clear his name.
No, Pettigrew had to stay with Voldemort until he regained a body. It was a sore point in her and Draco's discussions, that they had to keep the timeline similar enough to be reasonably certain there would be no surprises. That left Sirius a fugitive, and Pettigrew free to help Voldemort. It was simply too good an advantage to lose, knowing how the future would unfold. Hermione briefly remembered a conversation with Draco, where they consoled themselves by the fact that they'd be together. They wouldn't have the entire weight of the world on their shoulders alone.
Hermione frowned. She was far more alone than she had hoped. Getting help from Dobby, and now potentially Sirius, was good, but it was no comparison to someone who really knew what she had gone through. Her eyes filled with tears at the reminder of his loss. She kept seeing the image of his body in the veil. What a stupid mistake, what an idiotic way to die! To think, they'd gone through three years of almost constant gurella warfare just to die after tripping.
Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes angrily. Crying wouldn't help anybody, and she still had work to do. Her family was going back from vacation, and she had mere days before her freedom was restricted by the Weasleys.
Her first order of business was to call Dobby off – if she had already failed to stop Voldemort from creating Nagini as his seventh horcrux, there were better things for him to do than trapiese all over Europe, searching for a man who couldn't be found.
"Dobby!" She said, and mere seconds later he popped in front of her. "It's good to see you, Dobby. I just wanted to let you know we don't need to look for Bertha Jorkins or Peter Pettigrew anymore."
Dobby nodded. "It is good to see you too, Miss Hermione. Dobby can stop looking for Jorkey. You is looking tired today, Hermione. Have you slept since I saw you?"
Hermione shook her head. For a moment, Dobby looked much like an over-protective mother, and she felt a little guilty. "No, I didn't have time. I had to… get something over with."
"You used the evil fire." He said, eyes wide.
She looked up, surprised. "Yes, I used fiendfyre. How did you know?"
"Dobby can feel it, Miss Hermione. Dobby feels all the magic you is doing. I only know the evil fire from former master Malfoy." Hermione was stunned. House elves never ceased to amaze her.
She felt the need to explain herself, to differentiate herself from Lucius Malfoy. "Fiendfyre is one of the only ways to destroy a horcrux, Dobby. One of the evil objects that Voldemort created. It's not a very nice spell, but horcruxes aren't very nice either."
"Dobby does not judge, Miss Hermione. Dobby knows you are a good and brave witch, and that you is helping Mister Harry Potter sir. But Dobby also knows that you needs to sleep," he reprimanded her. "Dobby will stop bringing you to Shell Cottage if you doesn't take care of yourself."
Hermione smiled despite herself. "I'll make sure to sleep, Dobby. This was an exception."
He nodded, seemingly satisfied. But she kept inexplicably yawning, and the glint in Dobby's eyes was suspicious.
Dobby said quietly, "It is for your own good, Miss Hermione, that I is putting you to sleep." He snapped his fingers, and Hermione knew no more.
AN: As always, thanks for reading and reviewing! Next chapter is the Quiddich World Cup, and then we'll be going back to Hogwarts for fourth year. I hope you're as excited to read it as I am to write it!