Chapter 4

Visions

She had tried so desperately to sleep. She knew that rest would be important. She knew that she couldn't afford to be exhausted. But being back at Grimmauld Place made her ache. She missed Sirius. She was afraid they would be found. She missed the members of the Order. It also didn't help that there were several portraits of Narcissa in the very room where they slept. And of course, she was acutely aware the the Black family tapestry was a short stroll away, a depiction of a young Draco on the latest branch.

She touched her pendant and glanced down at Ron who had insisted she should sleep on the sofa cushions. Earlier today had been the first time she'd used his name since the day of Dumbledore's funeral. Ron kept an appropriate distance from her for the rest of the evening. She thought back to the wedding.

"You look great!" Ron had nearly shouted.

"Always a tone of surprise," she said in a manner that she had hoped sounded playful.

She hadn't felt very playful, though, especially later after the ceremony when Ron asked her to dance.

"Come and dance," Ron had demanded to try to get away from Viktor.

"No!" she had refused all too quickly. "I mean... it's been so long since I've seen Viktor. I'd love to catch up."

That had thoroughly upset Ron and he seemed wounded until he was distracted by Fred, George, and several of Fleur's cousins. Ron left the table and Hermione and Harry listened to Viktor talk about the Grindelwald and the symbol Xenophilius Lovegood was wearing. Viktor had also asked her to dance and she obliged, only to let him down gently and tell her she was involved with someone - and no, it was not Ron.

Hermione thought back to the ceremony and the tears she had not allowed to escape then were back now. And in the darkness, she had less reason to fight them.

The ceremony had been beautiful. Everyone and everything had looked spectacular. It actually would not have been alarming if Hermione had started crying during the ceremony because at a point it seemed half the crowd was swept up in the beauty of the ceremony. But Hermione refused to cry because she felt selfish. She refused to cry because, though she was incredibly happy for Bill and the entire family, when she looked up at the bride and groom, she saw a future she feared she would never have. She blinked and the guests morphed from the Weasley and Delacour families to her and Draco's. The venue shifted to her backyard. As she watched Fleur and Bill gaze lovingly at each other, she could see only herself and Draco. She blinked again and the vision shifted back to reality. The weight of her pendant hadn't felt more heavy than in that moment. All she wanted to do was reach out to him. To see him again. To get married and run until this whole thing was over. But she couldn't and wouldn't do that. Neither of them was that selfish, she knew that. No matter how much they may have both wanted to be.

As a tear slipped down her cheek, the witch decided that there was no way she would be going back to sleep. It was early morning and they would all need to be up soon anyway, so she decided to roam and take stock of the house before the bigoted portraits could wake and hurl insults at her.

As she went from room to room she noticed that each one looked messy. Like someone had gone in looking for something in each one. She walked into the room that Harry would share with Ron and looked more thoroughly, searching for any signs of magic. When she found nothing, she heaved a sigh of relief that they would each be able to sleep in a proper bed if they needed to extend their stay.

Her next step was Sirius's room. Her heart felt heavy as she pushed open the door. She let out a small laugh and realized she had been holding her breath as she laughed at his decoration. His walls were dripping with Gryffindor pride, much to the chagrin of his family, she was sure. She was drawn to a wall of photographs and smiled at the collage of love and friendship she saw. It was always baffling to see just how much a young James looked like Harry. She attempted to pull a photo off the wall, but Sirius seemed to have placed a protective charm that prevented anyone from removing his decor.

Wanting to share this with Harry, she decided it wasn't too early to wake him. As she made her way to leave, something caught her eye. She walked over near the bed and picked up what appeared to be a letter and another photograph. Reading through it, she realized it had come from Lily Potter who had written to Sirius to share Harry's first Christmas experience. At this point in time it appears they had been in hiding and were a bit stir crazy, but little Harry loved the toy broom his godfather had gifted him. The photograph was of a very young Harry flying around joyously on his gift being chased by a pair of legs that must have belonged to James Potter. The letter abruptly cut off with Lily talking about Dumbledore, but Hermione could not spot the second page of the letter. She searched the room again, but decided it must be gone. She skimmed over the letter again and could see similarities in Lily and Harry's handwriting. Though hers looked much less like chicken scratch than that of her son. Hermione traced over one of the places where Harry's name appeared. As Hermione traced, she felt a heaviness over her.

Suddenly Hermione was next to a fireplace. She heard a high pitched giggle as a tiny toddler charging toward her on a levitated broomstick. Instinctively, she reached out and took the toddler into her arms and let the toy fall to the ground. In a voice that was not her own, she whispered, "Happy Christmas, my beautiful boy."

A shiver ran down her spine as Hermione suddenly found herself back in Sirius's room. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she would not think about it for now. For now she just wanted to show this treasure to Harry so that they could all experience just a bit of happiness.

The witch left the room and was about to head back downstairs when she stopped suddenly. And she did not know why. But she did, and she followed the instincts that told her she should not leave. As she looked at the surrounding area, she caught sight of a sign which she otherwise might not have noticed. She moved closer to examine the sign:

Do Not Enter
Without the Express Permission of
Regulus Arcturus Black

She touched the sign and saw a flash of the note and locket Harry recovered from his trip with Dumbledore.

"HARRY! RON! GET UP HERE!"

"Professor?" Severus looked up as Draco approached. They had agreed to meet in the garden after Draco's lesson with Bellatrix. The older man nodded in acknowledgment. "May I?" the blonde boy inquired.

Severus nodded and Draco entered the older man's mind. They had decided that delving into each other's minds would be the most efficient and safest way to share information. Voldemort had requested a meeting with Severus earlier that evening. Severus was supposed to have gone to try to enter Grimmauld Place to see if the Death Eaters would be able to penetrate it. Severus suspected Granger, Potter, and Weasley might try to hide there. So Severus went, but made no attempt to enter. Instead, Draco used magic to gently wound the older wizard so that Severus could convince Voldemort that they would not be able to access Grimmauld Place. And the Dark Lord fell for it.

Draco nodded and sighed.

"She was gone from the wedding before we arrived. I know that's not very comforting, but she was in no danger at that point in time," Severus offered.

Draco nodded, still remaining silent.

Severus thought of something. He wasn't sure if he should share it, but there was really no harm. "I want to show you something."

The young man nodded and once again dove into the mind of his professor.

There was an immensely sad feeling as he stared down at his shoes. He looked up and across from him was a couple dancing. Flowers spiraled around them magically as a group of about seven or eight people clapped and cheered. His eyes flew back to the couple and focused on the redheaded woman. As she twirled, she looked up and met his glance. She smiled before quickly averting her eyes. He felt his heart melt.

"What-"

"I watched Lily get married," Severus explained.

"How did you know? Why were you there?" he asked still baffled.

"She got married in the spot where we met. I went there often to be alone. And this particular time I went, she was there getting married." He couldn't help the sadness that entered his voice.

"Did she do it on purpose?"

"Do I think she did it maliciously? Never. Do I think she wanted me there?" The question hung in the air for a moment. He had spent many years pondering the questions. "I think she knew there was a very good chance I'd show up. And the way she smiled at me, she wasn't against me being there. Not at that moment."

Draco was silent for a moment. "Did it hurt?"

Severus nodded slowly, "Very much so. But... I am grateful she gave me that moment. I knew she was safe and happy. I was able to witness the most beautiful vision - I got to share in that love with her though only for a moment. For the briefest moment in time I had my best friend back."

Draco thought back to when he and Hermione danced together in the Room of Requirement. This time though, she was in Lily's white gown and flowers were swirling around the two of them.

Severus spoke and pulled Draco away from his imagined vision. "I told the Dark Lord that it would probably still be a good idea to post guards at Grimmauld Place in case they showed up."

"Thank you."