The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling, Scholastic and WB. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.

AN: Thank you, again, for reading this story and your reviews.

One reviewer pointed out that the order of some events in chapter 1 is wrong for canon: "Dumbledore told Snape to horn in on Draco's task of killing him *before* Narcissa turned up at Snape's door. That order came immediately after Snape saved Dumbledore's life but not his hand, and during Narcissa's visit, Snape refers to Dumbledore's recent injury."(duj)

As it has been years since I've read HBP or DH, I completely forgot about the timing, so I corrected the relevant paragraph; although I should point out, that some things and characterizations referred to in this story will not be strictly canon. Also, I don't have a Beta, so any errors are mine.

To everyone that has read or reviewed: thanks! When I started to write my stories, I did so purely for my own enjoyment. Of course, it's still for my enjoyment, but it's a kick to see that people actually like them...

Chapter Three

The detainees were asked to give statements under Veritaserum, and in the cases of Severus and Lucius; memories for the Pensieve, which were poured over by Kingsley, several Aurors and members of the Wizengamut. Kingsley kept the matter of Sirius being from another reality completely secret, and only gave the portions of memories pertaining to the deaths of the Potters and Pettigrew to the Wizengamut, knowing that if he let slip anything about alternate dimensions or the veil, they would lose Sirius to the Department of Mysteries researchers and the Unspeakables. It was decided that everyone would be told Sirius had gone into hiding until the final battle.

Lucius' hearing caused quite the sensation. In the beginning, the elder Malfoy fully subscribed to the Dark Lord's beliefs and agenda, and joined the Death Eaters at the urging of his father, Abraxas. Shortly thereafter, especially when the young Slytherin was called upon to use Unforgivable curses against those Voldemort deemed "undesirables", namely Muggleborns and Muggles, Lucius' zeal vanished with every tortured scream. Unbeknownst to everyone, Lucius was then forced to comply with the Dark Lord's wishes, under Imperius curse cast upon him by his own father. Abraxas feared Lucius would be made an example of for any disobedience.

When Voldemort returned, Lucius had to play the role of devoted servant. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater, and this time he had a living heir to protect. He did engage in small acts of rebellion; the breaking of the prophecy was no mistake. He allowed the sphere to be dropped on purpose; knowing that whatever it held would be important and could not be given over to the Dark Lord. Unfortunately, the gambit backfired. He was forced to lie on the stand during his trial under threats to his family. Lucius later found out that his imprisonment had been a ploy by Voldemort to draft a young, frightened Draco into the Death Eater fold so that he could be used for whatever nefarious means the Dark Lord devised.

Upon his "escape" from Azkaban, he was a virtual prisoner in his own home. Kept wandless and in fear for his life, and the lives of his family, Lucius was forced to bow and scrape to Voldemort and the Death Eaters encamped at Malfoy Manor.

Kingsley and the Wizangamut deliberated for several days over Lucius' evidence. As his previous activities had already been judged, and new evidence brought to light about the Department of Mysteries incident; they focused on Lucius' actions since his escape from Azkaban. Finding that he engaged in no magic as he was wandless, aided in no torture or questioning of the Death Eaters' victims, saw to the care of those imprisoned at Malfoy Manor as well as he could, and did not take place in the final battle, the Minister and the Wizangamut decided to release the elder Malfoy. It was with unconstrained relief and joy that he reunited with his family.

Narcissa and Draco had already been released with no charges, and they were currently staying at Grimmauld place with a newly-pardoned Sirius Black, as Malfoy Manor was not fit to live in until the Aurors dismantled all the dark wards and removed numerous unsavory items left behind by Voldemort. Kreacher and a few of the Hogwarts elves had cleaned and refurbished the former Order headquarters in little to no time. Kreacher had embraced the Black scion with mixed feelings, but felt he owed it to Master Regulus of the Noble House of Black to be respectful of the elder brother. Sirius was bemused by the entire thing, until it was explained to him by Harry that the Sirius Black of this reality had treated the loyal house elf with scorn and cruelty. Sirius apologized to the old elf, and gave him a fine black pillowcase with an embroidered Black crest. Kreacher was struck speechless as Sirius made a show of gifting him with the new cloth, and announced that it was only proper for one such as "Kreacher of the Noble House of Black, Hero of Hogwarts." Everyone was either disgusted or concerned when the house elf began to make a hideous croaking noise. It was Hermione that figured out that Kreacher was only crying.

Severus was fully exonerated for his involvement in the death of Albus Dumbledore. Kingsley was given a full accounting of the master spy's dealings of the past seventeen years, bolstered by Pensieve memories of the late headmaster found in his chambers, and his information led to the arrest of several covert Death Eaters, including Dolores Umbridge.

For now, only the Golden Trio, Snape, Shacklebolt, McGonagall, and the Malfoys were aware of Sirius' origins. No one had any idea on how to send the Marauder back to his own reality; or what would happen if they did. Hermione spoke of "vacuums" and "transference" and "branes" and of theories that no one else could understand. As there was nothing to be done without risking Sirius' disappearance into the bowels of the Department of Mysteries, it was agreed that Sirius would remain and try to settle into this reality.

Minerva, Ron, and Kingsley, were hesitant about welcoming him with open arms. They were friendly to Sirius, and were sincerely glad to have someone returned instead of lost, especially in light of the war, but they treated him like a cross between Sirius' long-lost brother and a bomb waiting to go off. To Harry; he was Sirius…perhaps not the one he had known, but it was his godfather in the ways that counted. Harry told Hermione of what he had seen when he held the Resurrection Stone. His father, mother, and Remus were there, but for some reason, Sirius' shade was a mere outline. Harry felt that it was due to part of Sirius' soul being with them in the flesh. Hermione promised to research everything as soon as she was able to, hoping that the Black library would have books on the Veil, as the library at Hogwarts was destroyed.

Harry was ecstatic to have his godfather back, and moved in as soon as he was released from Madam Pomfrey's care. Hermione had moved in as well, due to her needing rest and looking after, and because she had nowhere else to go until she reclaimed her parents. Ron had gone with the rest of the Weasleys to the Burrow.

Some of the Order were not at all happy that the Malfoys were staying there, but as Sirius had gotten along with his cousin, Narcissa, prior to her marriage (he didn't have much contact with her after) he felt honor-bound to offer her a place to stay until the Manor had been cleansed and repaired. He consoled his godson with the knowledge that it was only for a short while, anyway, but truthfully, after losing so much (his entire reality, even), he wanted to hold onto whatever he had left. It also led to last Black heir deciding to invite his other cousin, Andromeda, to visit. She brought over Teddy, to Sirius' joy, for in his reality Remus and Tonks had never married and he wanted to meet the son of his fellow Marauder now that Remus was lost to him.

There were many tears as the Black sisters met each other for the first time in years, with Lucius looking on with a nearly-undetectable smile. Lord Malfoy realized that family was the most important thing; not blood purity.

The Malfoys had, at first, been highly disdainful of the noisy, chaotic 'free-for-all' that passed for meals at Grimmauld Place. Draco adjusted quickly, as he realized it wasn't much different from mealtimes at Hogwarts, and after imparting his observation to his parents, they straightened their patrician shoulders and joined the group. After a few days, they began to warm to the setting, as the conversation and company was never dull due to various Order members dropping by often to partake of Kreacher's culinary skill. Hermione was currently sandwiched between Harry and Narcissa Malfoy. She had been quietly nibbling on a piece of bread and decided that she wanted to see if she could stomach something heartier. As she reached across the table to grab for some stew, her hand began to shake; then tremors began to wrack her entire body.

Narcissa was the first to notice, and gracefully stood from her seat to see to the painfully thin young woman next to her.

"Miss Granger!" she exclaimed. Her movement had already caught the attention of the rest of the group, and Harry had turned to see what was wrong with his best friend. Noticing her severe trembling, he threw his arms around the quaking form next to him.

"Sirius? Could you grab her bag for us? It should be in her room…" he asked quietly.

"What is wrong with her?" asked Draco as he leaned slightly back from the table, as if he was afraid of catching something.

"She hasn't recuperated fully from everything and being Crucioed yet, but she's getting better…" Harry said softly, as he rocked the slight woman in his arms. "Pomfrey gave us some potions that help."

"Is there any Valerian potion?" Narcissa asked.

"I haven't heard of that one, but everything Pomfrey gave her should be in the bag," Harry said.

"This is not a potion she would have received from the Hogwarts mediwitch. It is something that Severus devised on his own to help with the side-effects of extensive Cruciatus exposure. He told me it counteracts the trauma in the muscles and nerves. We… we have found it very affective," the blond woman said, pursing her lips grimly. "Lucius? Could you please owl Severus and see if he could send some potion over? I will help Miss Granger into a hot bath. Soaking should help in the short-term," she said, gently lifting the shivering woman from Harry's arms.

"Oh, that's alright, Mrs. Malfoy. I can help her," Harry said, standing up.

"Well, in her condition she will need assistance, Mr. Potter. I am not privy to the nature of your relationship with Miss Granger, but I believe you aiding her may be somewhat inappropriate," Narcissa said with a stern look.

"What? Oh…. Oh!" Harry said, raising his hands and taking a quick step back, causing everyone to laugh, including Hermione, albeit weakly.

"Right, then… let us away, Miss Granger," Narcissa said softly, holding the younger witch around the waist as she helped her from the kitchen to the stairs.

As the door swung shut behind them, leaving the boys alone in the kitchen, Draco turned to Harry with a smirk and asked, "So… you and the know-it-all never….?"

"That's just sick, Malfoy. Not that there's anything wrong with 'Mione, but she's like my sister…. she's family. I know that something like that has never deterred some Purebloods, though…" he said, smirking back.

"Oi, mate! Now you're crossing a line!" Sirius said with a laugh as he returned with Hermione's beaded bag.

"Well, I know some families marry close cousins… and that's kind of gross, if you ask me. Then again, I was raised in the muggle world and that kind of intermarriage is frowned on, and for good reason! Even though he was completely insane, I think the only reason why Riddle didn't have one eye in the middle of his head and a third arm growing somewhere is because his father was a muggle. His mother's family was so inbred it was disgusting," he said with a look of supreme distaste. Shaking his head, he continued, "But anyway… no. Hermione has been and will always be my best friend and my sister. Although.. I don't think Ron sees her in just that way, anymore…"

"Will never happen, Harry. He's not her type, at all," Sirius piped in. "Of course, I do not really know her all that well since 'Mione has been gone in my reality for two years, but from what I remember of her, I think she would do much better with someone as bright as she is and has some of the same interests. Otherwise, she would get bored way too fast, and the poor bloke would get tired of looking up everything in a dictionary in order to understand a word coming out of her mouth."

"As interesting as this conversation is," Lucius said, returning from sending an owl "I should inform you, Black, that Severus will most likely be appearing shortly so that he may deliver the potion Miss Granger needs."

"Of course," Sirius said, rising. "He can stay for dinner and drinks too. I am sure you would like some non-Gryffindor company."

Lucius looked at his wife's cousin in mild surprise. "That would be acceptable," he drawled, regaining his composure.

"I have asked him to stop by several times, but he always declined," Sirius muttered, stroking his chin.

"I wonder why…" Harry snorted under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Well… it isn't any surprise that you are among Snape's least favorite people. Not a shock that he won't come over to socialize."

"Merlin," Sirius said with exasperation, "I fully admit that we were right gits to him in school, but he did give back as good as he got. Why is he still hung up on that?"

"It's a bit more than being a git to him, Sirius," Harry said darkly, surprising both his godfather and Lucius.

"What are you on about, Harry?"

"Look.. that's something that you're going to have to talk to Snape about. I don't want to get in the middle of that…"

"Alright…" Sirius drawled.

Upstairs, Narcissa was helping Hermione draw a bath. The young witch smiled timidly at the tall blond and in a soft voice said, "Thank you for helping me up the stairs, Mrs. Malfoy. I think I'll be alright now…"

"It was not a problem, Miss Granger. Now, the water should be ready. Get in," Narcissa said, rolling up her sleeves.

Hermione blushed slightly and shook her head. "I'm sure I can get in by myself…."

"Actually, Lucius and I found that massage helped the muscle aches and tremors immensely if it was coupled with the heat and steam from a bath. I apologize. I should have asked you if it was alright… I became very… accustomed to… doing this for Lucius and Draco afterwards…" the older witch stammered, her eyes becoming wet. She looked down at her arm when she noticed a small, shaking hand grip it softly.

"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy. I would be grateful for your help."

"Oh, child… it is the very least I could do. You have no idea how awful I have felt that this happened to you under the roof of our home," Narcissa said, closing her eyes. "And worse yet; there was nothing we could do to help you…"

"It is alright, Mrs. Malfoy. I understood, even then, that you couldn't do anything without risking your lives. Draco did as much as he could when he told the snatchers that he didn't recognize us, even though it was quite obvious who we were. And you more than made up for everything when you lied to Riddle about Harry in the Forbidden Forest. I still am completely amazed that you held up as well as you did; being forced to have Riddle live under your roof like that… you are, by far, one of the bravest women I've met…"

Narcissa's tearful gaze snapped up to meet the sincere amber eyes of the young witch. "Oh no… no… it was not bravery, Miss Granger," she said in a whisper, "it was fear. Pure, abject fear…

"Only the naïve and dead are without fear," Hermione said firmly. Narcissa looked at her again, and with a small nod and smile, helped Hermione into the deep tub.

"Where are the tremors affecting you the most?"

"It seems to be my shoulders and arms, mainly," she said, inhaling sharply with a pained wince as the older witch's hands began kneading her neck. "Ah… there too…"

"If you were Draco, you would be shrieking like a banshee," Narcissa said with a chuckle.

"Well, boys are sissies," Hermione said with a chuckle of her own.

"Is that not the truth. Big babies. I think Draco exaggerates a bit, as well, in order to get more attention. Merlin, is that boy spoiled." Hermione turned her head a bit and arched her brow. Upon seeing her expression, Narcissa continued, "Oh, I know my son is spoiled. Lucius and I indulged him too much when he was younger…we could not help ourselves, really. We almost lost him shortly after he was born. He was our miracle, our joy."

Hermione understood that, as a mother, Narcissa would always love her son unconditionally, but she couldn't hold her scoff in completely.

"I know how he treated you in school. I apologize for that, as well. But… you have to realize that, in addition to his upbringing, Draco was always a bit envious of you. I have heard that you have the best marks seen in Hogwarts in over fifty years. Draco has to be the best at everything he does, so when you knock him from his throne, he gets jealous. That and your friendships…"

"But, Draco has friends. We saw him always surrounded by a group of them at school.." Hermione said in some confusion.

"Except for Blaise Zambini, everyone else were the sons and daughters of Lucius' various business contacts or Death Eaters. They hung onto Draco the same as their parents do to my husband in attempts to curry favor or gain power and influence. None of those children were ever interested in a genuine friendship with my son. I could hear the words Draco was not saying when he would come home from school and rant about you and Misters Potter and Weasley. He was so envious of the genuine bond you shared… and I think he has always been jealous of all the siblings Mr. Weasley had. Draco always wanted a brother or sister; unfortunately, Lucius and I were unable to have more children…" she said, drifting off sadly.

"Well, to be frank, Mrs. Malfoy… maybe he would have more friends if he was a real friend in return."

"As I said; he never had any real friends… how would he know how to be one?"

Hermione slowly nodded her head, not knowing what to say. She closed her eyes again, tensing occasionally as Narcissa worked a knot out of her arm muscles.

"It seems to be working…your tremors are nearly gone. Miss Granger, may I ask why you are not convalescing at home? Surely you would want to be with your family."

"My parents aren't here… they're still in hiding. I just haven't had the time or the energy to get them back yet," Hermione answered sadly.

"Get them back? They must know that the war has ended and it is safe to return?"

"They don't even know that they have a daughter, Mrs. Malfoy… I… I modified their memories before I sent them away," the young witch said with a sob.

"You thought it would be safer for them, then?" At Hermione's slight nod, she continued, "Come now. Let's get you dried off."

As Narcissa helped Hermione out of the tub and into warm clothes, the floo in the study downstairs flared into life and a darkly sullen Potion Master stepped into Grimmauld place.

"Severus, how good to see you," Lucius said with a small smile on his face. "Thank Merlin you are here… I find myself surrounded by Gryffindors!"

"You say that like it is a bad thing, cousin-in-law," Sirius said with a drawl.

Both Slytherin men turned to look at the animagus and arched a brow in unison. Shaking his head with a smirk on his lips, Sirius turned to the black-clad Potion Master and inquired if he brought the tonic for Hermione.

Wordlessly, Severus passed over a few vials of yellow-hued liquid over to Sirius, nodded at Lucius, and turned back to the floo.

"Stay a while, Snape? Dinner is still hot and I have a couple of bottles of Ogden's 150 year-old," he said, and tilting his chin at the blond man in the room, "and I'm sure Lucius would not mind the company, overrun with Gryffindors as he is. Make yourself at home; I will just run these potions upstairs to Narcissa. Oh! Does she take the entire vial?" Sirius asked, turning back.

"Narcissa will know the proper dosage. And I must decline the meal and drink and be on my way," Severus muttered.

"Come now, Severus. Surely one drink will not kill you," Lucius said as he sat down in a chair, lighting a cigar. Sirius had left the room and the two men could hear his footfalls go upstairs. "Would you like one? They're Rafael Gonzales, of course…"

Severus looked over at his old schoolmate with a smirk. Noticing this, Lucius raised an inquiring brow. "The day I see you without a cigar and a glass of Ogdens in hand is the day I know the world will end,' Severus answered.

"Yes.. well," the Malfoy elder said, straightening in the chair, "being stuck here for the time-being as we are would be utterly unbearable if one did not have some small comforts."

"What do you expect, being holed up with Black," muttered Severus heatedly. "I cannot stay here another minute, Lucius. My apologies."

Just then, Sirius popped back into the room. "Leaving so soon?" he asked, puzzled.

"I refuse to stay here and accept your hospitality, Black," he spat.

"Hang on a minute, Snape," Sirius barked back. "I know we were foul arses to each other in school, but… that was school! Over the past few years of working with the Order I thought we at least quite civil to each other, if not friends!"

"Arses!" the Potion Master thundered. "Arses! You call trying to kill me merely being a 'foul arse'?"

"Trying to…? By Merlin's sodding sock, what the bloody hell are you talking about?"

Severus narrowed his eyes at his old nemesis. His words came out in a hiss. "Let me refresh your memory… fifth year.. night of a full moon….luring me down to the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack so that I would have a nice little meeting with a fully transformed Remus Lupin!"

Sirius staggered back and dropped into the couch behind him, his mouth agape. "Buggering hell! I did that? I mean… this reality's version of me did that? What kind of aresehole was he?"

Severus drew closer to the shocked man and gazed at him through flashing slits. "Do you mean to tell me that you never orchestrated such a stunt?"

"Of course not! As I said, were we right arses to you… threw insults, curses, and hexes back and forth… and yes, it was unfair that we ganged up on you at times… but never once did we cross a line like that… and you did give back just as good," Sirius said with no little heat, his mouth turning up slightly near the end as he mused. "Damn, but you got us good a few times! There were sometimes I wanted to shake your hand for some of the things you threw at us. Merlin, you did get quite creative there our sixth and seventh years!"

"Fascinating..," came a silky drawl, "I believe I will check on my lady wife now… and this alternate reality business is starting to give me a headache," Lucius muttered as he rose and left the study.

"It's giving him a headache…" Sirius muttered as he dropped his head into his hands. "So much is the same, but the differences are going to drive me to drink!"

"As if you need any help in that department…" Severus said dryly.

"Indeed! Oh look, a full glass…" After taking a prodigious swallow of the fiery brew, Sirius sighed deeply and looked at the still-glowering Snape. "Oh sit down and have a drink, Snape."

"I think these differences may drive me to drink, as well. Much of my utter hatred of you Marauders was due to that incident…an incident that you say did not occur in your reality…"

"Sorry to rain out your Quidditch match, Snape…you are just going to have to settle for garden-variety disdain and loathing now…" the animagus said with a grin.

"Aside from that incident, what other differences are there?"

"Well, Remus and Dora never married, the Diggory boy is still alive, and the main one, of course, is that Hermione died during the Ministry battle…" Sirius said, drifting off with glimmering eyes. "It is so good to see her again…"

"Are you crying, Black?" Severus asked with something approaching glee. "Shall I be calling you 'Snivellus', now?"

Sirius shot him a dark glare. "I have apologized to you for the way we taunted you back at Hogwarts, but do not make a joke of this, Snape! You have no idea what it was like.. how everyone was…when we lost her. Even you mourned her, in your own way…" At Severus' incredulous look, he said, "Oh.. yes. There were many times during Order planning meetings when you were heard to mutter 'The know-it-all would have an answer' or 'Miss Granger would have a different idea'…I tell you truly, Snape, that when she fell it was like a light went out in the world. Colors dimmed…no one cracked a smile for months… Harry was nigh inconsolable…We nearly lost him a few times because he just went berserk wanting to get vengeance. He would take off in the middle of the night, alone, trying to track down Death Eaters or Riddle by himself. You ended up knocking him out most nights with a potion so we did not have to watch him constantly. I would have to say that that first year after her death was harder to get through than all the years I spent in Azkaban."

Severus watched the Marauder as he drifted off into somber reflection. It appeared as if Sirius became haunted. Aged. Shaking himself, the animagus regained some equanimity, faced Severus once more, and raised his glass. "But, it appears we do not have to live through that hell in this reality, so cheers!"

"Yes, I dare say that we are stuck with the bushy-haired bint…" Snape drawled.

Sirius was about to retort when the two men were interrupted by Narcissa and Lucius entering the room. "Ah.. Severus. Thank you so much for delivering your potion so quickly. I believe that Miss Granger will have a much easier time now. As soon as she can begin to put some weight back on, she will be on the road to full recovery," Narcissa said with a smile.

"About that… she still does not seem to have much of an appetite.. she'll come down for every meal, but will just pick at it," Sirius said with concern on his face.

"The muscle aches and tremors may be partially to blame. When those subside, she should feel much better. The rest could be that since she did not eat much for several months whilst she was on the run with Potter and Weasley. Miss Granger definitely shows signs of mild malnutrition. She should eat small meals, more often throughout the day. You should possibly have healthy snacks readily available to her," Severus intoned.

"I shall ask Kreacher to do so. Have to make a trip to the market soon, at some point too…"

"I think that most of us will benefit a trip to Diagon Alley, cousin. I think that Miss Granger should probably get some clothing that fits until she regains her previous size. Everything she has now looks like it will fall right off of her."

"Any excuse to go shopping, my dear?" Lucius quipped.

At this point, Hermione had entered the room, after overhearing the last few remarks. "I can always just go to my parents' house. Although its been closed-up, most of my things are still there in storage. I can just grab some of my old clothes, they'd probably fit me again."

Narcissa looked aghast at this suggestion. "Old clothes? Oh no, Miss Granger, that will not do. I will gladly buy you whatever you need. It would be the very least we could do."

"Thank you, but I must decline," Hermione said, her chin gaining that stubborn set to it that those who knew her well could recognize at twenty paces. "I would only need smaller things for a very short time and new clothes would be wasted after that. My old clothes should do fine for now, and would be far more practical."

Hoping to stave off any argument, Sirius interjected with questions as to what Hermione would like to have from the grocery store. "Snape suggested that it would probably be better for you to have smaller meals with snacks throughout the day for a while."

Wrinkling her nose, she said, "I can't really think of anything. Most food seems too heavy for me to stomach… I can't seem to take more than a few bites without getting nauseous."

"Ah," came from the Potion Master in a low rumble, "that would be problematic. Well, perhaps you should stick with broths, fruit, and vegetables for now, and work your way to heartier fare slowly."

"Well, if I'm going to be stopping by my parents', I could probably find a health-food store. I remember there being one in the shopping center a few blocks away."

"Health-food store? I thought all food was supposed to be healthy…muggles have unhealthy food?" Narcissa asked in surprise.

"There is what muggles call junk-food, like crisps and sweets, and anything sugary or greasy. Regular food is healthy, but a health-food store usually sells completely organic foods, supplements, vitamins… that sort of thing. I was going to pick up some protein powder and see if I could have that without getting sick. Probably some vitamins too."

"Protein powder?" Severus asked with some curiosity.

"Its just a simple protein, usually derived from soy or whey, in powder form, obviously. I've only had vanilla flavored, but I think it comes in others, like chocolate. You usually just mix it with water, milk, or juice."

"Something like that would be perfect for your condition, if your digestive system can handle it." Severus said thoughtfully. "When you go to this health-food store, please let me know. I would like to accompany you." At her questioning look, he continued, "You said that these stores generally sell vitamins… that would be in their pure form? I believe that some would be useful for potion ingredients."

"Ah… yes. Some potions call for rose hips… that would be for the ascorbic acid, otherwise known as vitamin C, correct?"

Not wanting to listen to a potions lecture, Narcissa gently took Hermione by the arm and led her back to the kitchen. "You must still eat something, Miss Granger. I believe there were some steamed vegetables. That should be gentle enough for your system."

As the witches left the room, the men made plans for the various shopping excursions. It was decided that Severus, as having more experience in the muggle world than the other two, would escort Hermione, and probably Harry, to her parents' home and then on to the health-food store. Sirius and the Malfoys would go to Diagon Alley. Everything had been scheduled for the next day, so Severus excused himself and flooed back to Spinner's End.