Hermione tried to spend most of her day in the library at the Ministry the next day. Something about the old books helped calm her anxiety, and no one would look for her here. If anyone did and happened to ask why she was here, it would be easy to explain.
She'd charmed a large mug of tea to stay warm, and she was reading over books she'd already set aside for her research. Hermione just wanted to spend a few more weeks, acting gradually more frustrated with her lack of progress. She hoped she could then maybe start another line of research and maybe fly under the radar of the Aurors investigating in the department.
The library was quiet, and rereading old books made it meditative. It was the right dose of calm to help ease the stress on her shoulders. Without anyone around, it was easy to pretend that nothing had happened, that the world was familiar, and she had no reason to worry about what Magical Law Enforcement was investigating.
The bubble only lasted so long; she'd decided to stop by her apartment to grab a few things for Sirius. They'd both been crashing at Severus' since she'd brought him back, but she'd been loath to let him settle in too much. At any moment, they could be out on the street once more, and they didn't need to have a ton of stuff to move. But she couldn't deny Sirius the simple comfort of a change of clothes and a few books to read.
When she unlocked the door to her apartment, she was stunned by what she saw. Hermione's apartment had been almost destroyed. Her books were strewn across the floor, papers scattered everywhere. Her drawers were emptied and overturned, there was stuffing protruding from her couch, and Crookshanks was angrily hidden under the bed.
All of the air in her lungs was gone; it felt like she'd been sucker-punched. And it got even worse when she noticed the Ministry blue envelope sitting pristinely on her coffee table; it was virtually the only thing left untouched by the chaos that had spun through earlier.
With shaking fingers, she cracked the wax seal and pulled out the letter within.
To Whom It May Concern,
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement, a department of the British Ministry for Magic, was in your home earlier this evening. According to their objective to ensure the safety of Wizarding England, under the Investigative Act of 2000 (Section A.4 Sub-Section 110.7), the Aurors involved completed their search and requisition of evidence in a legal and just manner.
To the Witch/Wizard HERMIONE JEAN GRANGER, you will be approached by Aurors at a later date to discuss the investigation and charges against you. Until that time, you have been put on non-paid administrative leave from your position as an UNSPEAKABLE with the department of MYSTERIES. Pending the conclusion of the investigation, your employment will be reviewed by a panel of Ministry officials.
In the future, you may be required to submit further personal property as evidence and give information on past spells cast and use of the floo system. All of these requisitions will be done per the laws of Wizarding England. If you have any questions, you may go to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the Ministry of Magic to engage with your case officer.
Sincerely,
Ministry Clerk Girard Dalmer
The string of expletives that echoed in her mind as she read the letter would've made the shrunken heads outside the Three Broomsticks blush. Everything she had feared was happening. Hermione felt so fooling to have actually thought that she would fly under the Aurors radar; it was too good to be true.
She didn't have time to sift through everything and find what was missing. But she wasn't too worried; she'd stashed the documents which revealed her actual attempts at Severus' house. Anything the Aurors could've gotten ahold of here in her apartment would've only been theoretical. While not perfect, as it would only serve to make them look at her harder, it was better than them finding the smoking gun while she was twiddling her thumbs in the library.
She quickly righted the destruction with a wave of her wand, but she didn't feel any better as she watched the papers fly back to their homes and pillows mend themselves. She summoned a few things, knowing she wouldn't want to come back here for a while.
Hermione wanted too floo right back to Cokeworth, but she couldn't be reckless and leave too much of a trail behind, though. They all but admitted they would track her floo usage, so she couldn't just run right there. She needed to apparate, and now she would make a few extra stops to make sure no one was following her. If she obscured her trail enough, that coupled with the fact that Severus house is under the Fidelis Charm would ensure the Ministry would have no idea where to find her.
Though she'd never recommended apparating 3 times in under ten minutes, it did serve the purpose she needed. So, she pushed down nausea rising in her throat and entered Severus' house once more. Hermione wasn't looking forward to telling Severus and Sirius about the raid on her house; both of them would be furious.
"Hermione?" It was Sirius who called her name, she could hear him at the top of the stairs.
She cast a lingering glance down the hallway towards the kitchen but headed up the stairs towards Sirius instead. The stairs were creaky and narrow, and it made her feel claustrophobic as she ascended. Sirius was waiting for her on the small landing, which led to the bedrooms; he leaned against the wall looking much like his old self again.
"Hey." Her voice was quiet; she wasn't quite sure how to act around him.
He made her feel like she was 16 again, and he's the mysterious older man who throws her off her game. Sirius used to wink at her to make her giggle, and she and Ginny would stay up late at night for house whispering about how he looked and the things he said each day. They were obsessed with him, and when he died, those hours turned to ones of hugging and crying and trying to remember the good times. Sometimes the thought of how he looked back then, with his waistcoats and tattoos peeking out from his unbuttoned shirt, still made her heart flutter.
But the way his eyes would get vacant and glaze over scared her still; she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right with him since he got back. It was confusing, and it all felt heightened when they were so close together and in a confined space like this.
"Where'd you go?"
"I had to go to work," She stared at her feet, "to make sure that everything seemed normal."
"Ah."
It was so awkward in the hallway. Hermione thought she might melt into a puddle to get away from it all.
"I brought you some things!" She sounded far too eager, but it was nice to fill the awkward silence with something else.
"What- You didn't need to."
"Yes, I did." Hermione handed him a tiny backpack, and with a flourish of her new wand, returned it to its normal size.
"It's just some clothes and books for you," She was suddenly self-conscious about the fact that she'd put so much effort into his bag, "So you don't get too bored or uncomfortable."
"There's always Snivellus' library downstairs-"
"Sirius, please don't."
"What?" He was defensive now, and Hermione didn't like it. Suddenly, the small space's air turned from awkward to tense, and she felt like she was on high alert.
"He's giving us a place to stay," Her fingers were twitching to grab her wand to make her feel safer, but she didn't want to spook him, "He's giving you a place to stay after everything you did to him."
"I didn't do any-"
"Cut the shit, Sirius. I know about the Shrieking Shack and luring Severus on a full moon; you could've killed him." She was fuming now; Severus had let her see the memories he'd given to Harry and then some. Hermione knew more about what had happened at Hogwarts than Sirius could imagine, and it made her blood boil. Severus wasn't perfect by any means, but what Sirius and James had done was wrong too.
"Hermione-"
"Don't." She was seeing red and feeling vicious now, "Or I'll throw you back into that veil myself."
"Your gonna threaten me now, Kitten?" His eyes were dark and empty; exactly how they'd looked on the night that he came back.
Kitten. He used to call her that during that summer at Grimmauld Place. Sirius would always say it with a wink and a mischievous glint in his eyes, usually earning a swat on the head from Molly Weasley. Hermione always suspected that he did it because it made her blush and giggle, but she was never certain. The term of endearment, which once made her feel special and bashful, now made her blood run cold.
"Do not underestimate me."
"Oh, does the kitten have claws now?" He was taunting her now, walking closer to force her to back away. Sirius was making her feel like prey.
"I survived a war while you were dead." Hermione stuck her chin out at him, "You don't scare me."
He only barked a laugh, but it didn't reach his eyes. Those were still void and dark.
"I'm not sure what happened while you were in that veil, but I can tell that you're different." The look on his face faltered a bit, "I will talk to you, fill you in on what you've missed. But if you don't get it the fuck together and stop looking at me like you want to murder me, I will put you somewhere no one will ever be able to pull you out of."
Hermione wasn't lying; it would be infinitely easier for her if Sirius Black disappeared. A less moral witch, a more self-serving one, would have killed him the minute things went sideways at the Ministry. But she cared about him and was willing to do the extra work to ensure that they both escaped from this unscathed. But if he were going to go dark-magic psychotic on her, she would not hesitate to let her survival instincts from the war to kick in. She had to make sure this all turned out okay, regardless of what happened. She felt so Slytherin, so cold and calculating, it was foreign to her. But she quickly realized it was her only option.
"Hermione-"She couldn't handle his voice anymore, or his cold eyes, or the small space. Hermione raised her hand to stop him from speaking anymore.
"I need to talk to both you and Severus downstairs." Sirius only gave her a jerky nod in response.
They found Severus reading the Daily Prophet in his chair by the fire, and despite everything that had just been said upstairs, Sirius just wasn't able to bite his tongue.
"You actually read that drivel, Snivell-"
"Petrificus Totalus," Hermione didn't even say the words, but Sirius wasn't able to finish his sentence, help up only by her levitating charm, which lowered him onto the couch.
"Hermione?"
"I need to speak with both of you," She short Sirius a dark look, "And someone was uncooperative."
Severus only ushered her on with a wave of his hand, putting aside his paper to give her his full attention. She was now the center of attention.
"I stopped by my apartment today after I left the Ministry to pick up a few things for Sirius."
Severus only continued to watch her, and the silence pushed her to speak even faster.
"It had been raided; everything had been pulled apart. And I'd been left a letter from the Ministry."
"Damn it!" Severus didn't yell, but his voice filled the room, as did his frustration.
"But I have all the damning evidence here," She was trying to convince herself more than him not to panic," So they don't have any concrete evidence on me bringing Sirius back."
"They may have enough."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, Hermione, that you are in danger right now."
Her mind was racing, and she had no idea what to do. How could she get out of this? When was it going to get worse? Because she had no doubt, this whole thing would get worse before it got better.
"Wake him up."
She did as she was told, though she wondered why he would want to talk to Sirius right now.
"Fucking Christ, Hermione!" The anger began radiating off of Sirius the moment he was no longer bound.
"You can sling you little barbs later, Black." Snape was sneering at him from a crossed the room. "We need to discuss things now."
"Like little Miss Know-It-All bringing me back from the dead. Or the fact that she fucked up so badly we're all gonna get thrown in Azkaban for it?" Hermione's heart shrank at the words; he really wasn't like the Sirius she remembered. He was so much meaner and colder now; he had a much sharper edge to him.
"We both owe her a debt, Black." She hated the way that sounded, "And now it's time we pay up."
"I don't owe her shit."
"Then why don't we take you to the Ministry tonight and throw you back through that cursed archway!" Sirius paled a little at the thought of that, "Then we can all be done with this mess."
"Why do you want to help her, Snivellus? Found a new Gryffindor mudblood to fawn over?"
Hermione could only gasp from across the room. It wasn't that she'd never heard the word before, though it had happened far less often in recent years. It was that she never expected the word to come from the lips of Sirius Black. He had always seemed so against blood purity and the like, but maybe the values one is raised with truly die hard. The murderous look in Severus' eye indicated to Hermione that the situation was spiraling out of control.
"Severus-"She tried to keep her voice calm like she was approaching a wild animal.
"Would you like to tell him, Hermione?"
"Severus, please-"
"No, go ahead."
"He- he was attacked in the boathouse during the final battle," Hermione's voice was shaking as she remembered that day. "I came in and saved him."
"No, Hermione," Severus chided mockingly though his eyes never left Sirius, "You're forgetting all of the best parts. How the Dark Lord ordered me killed, how his snake ripped over my throat like I was made of paper."
"Severus-"
Hermione couldn't take it anymore; the way they were staring at each other with such hatred made her stomach turn. The air in the room was so dark and heavy; it was suffocating her.
"I'll help you, Hermione." It was all Sirius said before he stalked up the stairs to his small room. His steps thundered through the small house, and it only made Hermione's heart beat faster.
Severus wouldn't look at her now, his eyes locked on the flames in front of him. She just needed to be alone, so she quickly left the room, taking the same route Sirius had. She stopped in the small upstairs hallways and began to gasp for breath.
The whole day, it had been so much weight on her chest. And now it felt like her body had finally run out of oxygen. The stress of it all made her feel like she was being buried alive. She'd messed up so badly that the guilt was beginning to eat her apart, and she couldn't hide it anymore. Hermione needed help, and she only had one option, she needs to make sure that Sirius and Severus survived each other long enough to ensure none of them go tor Azkaban.
Just the thought of the Dementors, the utter desolation they made you feel, made Hermione fearful. But then she remembered that if she did go to Azkaban, then Harry and the Weasley's would find out what she'd done, and that was somehow even worse. It brought tears to her eyes to think about the disappointed look on Molly Weasley's face as she's sentenced to Azkaban for being a dark witch. Her life couldn't end up like that.
"Come here, kitten." Sirius' voice made her jump out of her skin.
She didn't say anything, but she eyed him suspiciously. After everything that had happened this evening, he thought she was going to run to him when she was at her lowest? He had to be truly damaged from that arch.
"I'm not gonna hurt you. I understand why you're scared of me, but I didn't mean to scare you." He looks conflicted for a moment, like he was unsure about what he said next, "I'm still me, I think. I get so overwhelmed sometimes that I shut down and go blank."
"What about you being an asshole?"
"Well," He laughed at that, and she struggled not to smile a little bit, "I've always been that way, but I shouldn't have said a lot of what I said tonight."
"That's not an apology."
"I'm sorry, Kitten." He looked sincere, but Hermione was still hesitant, "I was wrong."
She walked over to him and cried into his jacket now, though she wasn't quite sure about him. It felt good not to be alone for the first time in a while. She and Ron had broken up almost 3 years ago now, and she hadn't really had the time for anyone else since then. So, she hadn't been hugged in quite a long time. She had forgotten how nice it felt.