Just then Sirius slid back in through the curtains with a tray. "How about some food? Harry's little elf friend, Dobby, just brought this up for us. I bet you don't even remember the last time that you ate." Hermione realized with some surprise that it was true and eagerly agreed to share with him. She found that she wasn't able to eat much, but she did happily nibble on a few of her favorite tidbits. As they ate, Sirius looked her over carefully. "You gave me a helluva scare, Kitten, but I am so glad to see that you are looking better. I know I promised the Pup that I wouldn't leave you alone, but I don't know if I will be able to stay much longer. We have been lucky so far. Ron, Neville, and the Lovegood girl were here last night for a short time – just to get patched up and checked out, but the infirmary has been empty since. It's only a matter of time, though, before someone gets cursed green with yellow polka dots and/or splashed with a potion that turns them into a newt or something and they end up in here. I shouldn't be here if that happens. I'm still a wanted man, remember? The Pup gave me his invisibility cloak for emergencies, while I am in here with you, but I'd rather not have to use it." Here his tone turned wistful and sad, and Hermione looked up sharply as she realized that he was remembering the times that he spent with Harry's dad underneath it.
Hermione had an idea. "I'll understand if you have to leave, Sirius. I will be okay on my own, though, since Madame Pomfrey said that I am healing well. However, even if you can't keep me company, I wouldn't mind if Snuffles came to visit. He is used to sneaking around Hogwarts, after all! We can even ask Harry for the Map in order to give us enough warning if someone is coming."
Sirius looked up with a gorgeous grin on his face at that and Hermione smiled a little herself as she caught a glimpse of the younger, more carefree man that he probably used to be before his time in Azkaban. She realized then that she had actually become quite fond of the man for his own sake - and not just because he was Harry's godfather! She knew then that she had definitely done the right thing in the DoM, and that her present discomfort was really just a small price to pay for giving him another chance at life!
After smiling fondly at the little witch for a moment, Sirius said, "That's a brilliant idea, Miss Granger! I can easily see why Moony calls you the brightest witch of your age! Your parents must be so proud!" He then watched with concern as the smile quickly slid from her face and her eyes filled with tears. He quickly reached out to grab her hands. "What's the matter, Little One?" he asked gently. "Did something happen with your parents?"
Hermione closed her eyes tightly and tried to compose herself, but the tears started to leak out, anyway. Therefore, she spoke softly and carefully as she tried to control them. "I haven't told anyone this yet, Sirius - not even Harry, since he has had his own troubles to deal with all year. However…my parents…just don't understand…about my life here. At first they were supportive, but the fact that I can't share this huge part of my life with them has really worn down our relationship over the years. At first, I wrote home and told them about everything that went on here. However, after the mess with Quirrell and the Sorcerer's Stone first year, then being petrified by the Basilisk second year, attacked by dementors and a werewolf third year….well, you can see where this is going. The more they learned, the worse it got and they started talking about pulling me out of Hogwarts and putting me back into Muggle school. Therefore, I decided just to keep them in the dark about most of what happened here last year. Even though I told them about my…friendship…with Viktor, I didn't mention much about the tournament itself. However, when they found out about Cedric's death accidently from Mr. Weasley, they decided to pull me out of Hogwarts…permanently. We had a huge fight and they refused to pay for my tuition this year. No matter how much I explained, they just didn't understand that magic is in the very core of my being and that I just can't give it up and go back to how I used to be. I honestly think that it would kill me. Plus, there is no way that I could leave Harry to face everything alone. Therefore, I…left." Here she paused as a sob tried to escape. Sirius held her hands tightly – afraid that he knew where this story was headed.
In a moment, he found out that he was right. After Hermione had fought back the sob, she carefully schooled her expression, squared her shoulders, and continued her story. "I caught the Knight bus and went to Diagon Alley. I went to Gringotts first where I found out that, fortunately, I had just enough savings in my personal vault to take care of my tuition and supplies for this year. Then I met up with the Weasleys and went to Grimmauld Place with them. Thank you so much again for letting me spend most of the summer and Christmas with all of you there, by the way. I'm not sure where I would have gone otherwise - especially since I don't have any money left. I definitely have to have a better plan in place for this summer, though, and I need to do it soon since we only have a few days left. I was planning to ask some of the professors for advice, but I couldn't because of that…woman's…decrees." Here she paused to sigh heavily again. "Anyway, despite what happened between us, I didn't want my parents to worry about me. Therefore, I sent them a few letters at the beginning of the year, before the mail started to be intercepted, just to let them know that I was alright. I only had very angry responses in return, though, where they demanded that I return home immediately - so I just stopped writing to them. I believe that the only reason they haven't forced me to come back, yet, is that they just can't find me in the magical world on their own. Therefore, I think that I'm safe for a few more days - until the end of term – where I bet that they will try to catch me at King's Cross. I will avoid them, of course. I am a good enough witch to do that. I'm just not sure what I will do then." She paused to blink back a few tears, "I have thought about it a lot and I guess that I will go to Diagon Alley as soon as I get off of the train, and try to find a job there somewhere. I think that I will be alright if I can make enough galleons to at least pay for tuition next year. Then, I was going to ask if the twins would lend me one set of their books from this year, since I am sure that the other set will go to Ron. If not, then I am sure the boys will share with me – especially since I help them with their homework so much anyways. Also, I think that I can get by for another year with my old robes. After all, I was able to charm them enough this year so that nobody noticed. At any rate, I do come of age in September and at least my parents won't have any power over me after that. I guess that I will just have to stay out of their way for the next few months and hope that I can come up with a better plan during the next school year."
With these words, her carefully constructed control vanished and she started crying in earnest. Sirius immediately gathered her up in his arms and just held her. After all, he certainly knew all about parental problems and he couldn't even guess what would have happened to him if the Potters hadn't taken him in as one of their own once he left home for good. Therefore, he just cast a silencing charm around her bed and held her as she cried. She had obviously been holding this in and trying to deal with everything on her own for way too long. However, she wasn't alone any longer. She had Sirius Black on her side now and he would be damned if he let this brilliant little witch, who had saved his life twice, be taken away from the magical world or left to fend for herself in it! Therefore, he sat with her and silently comforted her - until she fell asleep in his arms.
As he looked down at the physically and emotionally exhausted girl, he felt a surge of affection and protectiveness that surprised him with its ferocity. It wasn't romantic or sexual in nature, though – not at all. That certainly wouldn't have been appropriate with his godson's best friend. However, at that moment, he thought of Lily again – and how he felt about her - his best friend's wife and the sister of his own heart. Sister, he thought, looking down at Hermione again with some amazement about how right the word felt for her, too - Little Sister. A more definite plan started to form in his head then as he made her comfortable first and then shifted into his dog form to lay across the foot of her bed. Unfortunately, he was a bit too big for it and parts of him hung off of the edge. However, despite his discomfort and his concerns about being discovered, he was determined not to leave Hermione by herself tonight – especially since she was already feeling so very alone and vulnerable.
He shifted around uncomfortably until he suddenly realized that he was laying full length next to the girl. She sighed, slid over sleepily to make more room for him, and then buried her hands into his thick fur and held on to him tightly. His canine presence seemed to bring her some comfort, since she immediately fell into a deeper sleep. Therefore, he hoped that Madame Pomfrey would be less concerned about a dog in the girl's bed than about a grown man being there – even though she knew the true identity of the big black dog. After all, she had been one of the few staff members at Hogwarts who knew that Moony had company during his monthly transformations back when he was a student. This was especially true since one or more of the Marauders also usually had to be treated the next morning when they brought their werewolf friend back to the hospital wing from the Shrieking Shack. The healer had never said a word, though. She just continued to treat them all the same way that she always had - with an equal mixture of affection and exasperation!
Sirius had been so wrapped up in Hermione's story, however, that his normally keen canine senses weren't aware that the matron in question had been right outside the curtain all along. He didn't know that she had heard the entire conversation that he and Hermione had shared - or that she was already on her way to share the news of the poor girl's predicament with McGonagall. At any rate, he laid there thinking about how grateful he was that, as an animagus, he retained his human consciousness while in animal form. That way he could continue to make plans in his head about how to deal with this unexpected...but not entirely unwelcome (for him, at least)…situation. In fact, for the first time in a long while, he was feeling hopeful about his future again. He didn't need to be alone ever again and neither did this amazing little witch!