"You can't be serious!" Hermione said while gaping at the man, who was sitting next to her bed and holding her hand, after he told her about his plan. Then she looked over at her best friend, who just sat there on the bed with her, holding her other hand. He had a grin on his face and a sparkle in his green eyes that Hermione realized she hadn't seen in a long time. She found that she had to tear her eyes away from the rather beautiful sight in order to focus back on his godfather and his rather astonishing proposition.
"I'm always Sirius, love!" the man in question exclaimed with a smile at being able to sneak his favorite joke into the discussion. He was torn between excitement over their current conversation and concern about some of the other things that Harry had told him in the last few hours while the two of them had been sequestered in the Room of Requirement. However, he decided to push those negative thoughts into the back of his mind to deal with later once he returned back home…well to Grimmauld Place, anyway. Right now he wanted to focus on Hermione, whom he could see was having a hard time accepting what he had told her.
"But…" here her voice dropped to a whisper as she looked down at the purring cat in her lap for reassurance in her confusion. "You can't really want me to be your sister…I'm nothing special. If this is about…the situation…that I told you about yesterday, then…" here she paused again to glance furtively at Harry because she did not realize that he already knew. The look of sadness and guilt that suddenly infused his features, however, let her know that Sirius had already told him all about it. Before either one of them could say anything, though, the man spoke again.
"Stop right there, Hermione!" Sirius said fiercely. "You may think that the news about your predicament forced my hand, but the truth is that I have admired your brains and your spunky determination ever since I had the honor of meeting you for the first time that fateful night when you saved me from the Dementors. Then, after almost losing you in the Ministry, after you had saved my life – again, I might add – it just made me realize how much you have come to mean to me. By asking you to be my sister, I am not just helping you, you know. I am also helping myself. I would like to secure your place in my life. Neither one of us…" he started to say, but then he paused to correct himself as he reached over to clasp Harry's forearm momentarily with his free hand, as well. "I mean… none of us…need to ever be alone again." This last was said in a voice thick with emotion as he gazed affectionately at the two young people in front of him.
"Oh, Sirius," whispered Hermione with tears in her eyes. She squeezed Harry's hand affectionately before gently pulling hers away so that she could grab his godfather and pull him into her arms. "I would love to be your sister!" Harry found that he was a bit irrationally unhappy at the loss of her hand and the sight of her in Sirius's arms for just a moment - until he became distracted from these thoughts by the golden glow that appeared out of nowhere and completely encompassed his best friend and his godfather. It pulsed gently and took on the appearance of thick braided cords that swirled around them both – tying them together. Then the cords, and the light, disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared – leaving Hermione and Sirius holding hands and looking into each other's eyes with surprise.
"What was that?" Harry choked out next to them.
"It was a bond…I think …a magical bond," said Hermione slowly because she was clearly surprised by the event. The tears that she had been holding back earlier then spilled out in earnest as she looked back at his godfather. "You really meant it when you said that you wanted to be my brother, didn't you?"
"Of course, I did!" he exclaimed, pulling her close again, and murmuring into her lively hair. "I can't believe that you meant it that much, too! That was a real bond – a sibling bond. Our magic has accepted us as brother and sister. It would never have done that unless we were both absolutely certain about what we wanted. Therefore, we are now a family! It's going to be you and me…and the Pup…now – for always! No matter what!" Then he reached out with a strong arm and pulled Harry into their hug – completely unashamed of the tears of joy that were now falling down his face, as well. After a moment, Crookshanks let out a yowl of protest at being caught in the middle of all of them – especially since he was still in Hermione's lap. The three broke apart, all grinning madly at each other – and at the cat who stared indignantly back at them all!
"Sorry, Crooks!" Hermione said soothingly as she stroked him in his favorite way – down his back and then up his fluffy tail. "I just got carried away with my new brother," here she paused to look at Sirius, who was still grinning. Then she looked at Harry, who was smiling at her gently, still wrapped up in the emotions of the moment that they all had just shared. "And my…" here she faltered, not knowing how to classify him. After all, they weren't brother and sister, too, were they? Harry caught on to her uncertainty and they both looked at Sirius for guidance. The older man's grin grew even wider as he answered their unspoken question.
"Don't worry, Pup! Kitten here is my sister now. You are my godson. The relationship between you two, however, is still whatever you crazy kids decide that you want it to be!"
"I'm…glad!" answered Harry, a bit shyly, since he was still trying to process these new thoughts about the girl that he had known for the last five years, but was just starting to see in a completely new way.
"Me, too!" she said, smiling broadly at him for a moment - before the color started to rise to her cheekbones. She needed time to process…whatever this was that she was feeling…but it was going to have to wait until later…and somehow she didn't think that books were going to be of any help at all this time! Therefore, she turned back to Sirius in order to change the subject for a while. "How did you know about the sibling bond? she asked, still a bit confused by everything. "I know how I feel about you, but…I'm guessing that you weren't planning for that to happen?"
"No, I wasn't expecting that, Little Sister!" he said happily, giving her another quick hug. "At most, I was hoping for an adoption on paper – sealed with the family crest – that would hopefully convince the Goblins that I was serious," here he paused to wink at them before continuing, "about accepting you into the family. However, things will be so much easier now. We have a magical sibling bond, Hermione. That means that you are officially my sister now, whether you were born that way or not – or whether the rest of the world likes it or not! In fact, your name has probably already appeared as my next of kin in both the Ministry and Gringotts' records by now. Ancient magic has declared it, therefore nobody can dispute it! You can even legally take and use the Black name in the Wizarding world, if you want. I wouldn't recommend that, though. The name certainly doesn't mean anything to me – not right now, anyways. However, what's mine is now also yours – the name, the money, the house – everything!" Here he paused to wave away her protests before continuing, "and that is just the way I want it!" Then he stopped to think before answering the first question that she had asked. "As for the sibling bond, I recognized it for what it was because it was not the first time that I had ever seen one. You are not my first magical sibling, Kitten – even though you are my only one now." He paused as he looked up at Harry, the boy who looked so much like the man he had loved as his brother - so much so that their magic had also bonded them together.
Harry immediately understood. "It was my dad," he whispered.
"Yes!" Sirius agreed, his eyes distant – since they were focused on a memory in the past. "I was about your age and it was the night that I finally left that miserable place where I lived for good (or so I thought then). My mother had been…well…herself…and I barely made it to the floo in order to escape to the Potters'. James wasn't there, but your grandmother still fixed me up, gave me a room, and told me in no uncertain terms that I was home. Prongs came back later that night and told me the same thing and reassured me that I was his brother - no matter who had given birth to me. That was when we shared our bond, as well. It was your grandfather, Harry, who told us what it really meant the next morning. However, your dad had always been more of a brother to me than Reg ever had - so I wasn't really surprised." Then he changed the subject, and said with a twinkle in his eyes that could rival even Dumbledore's, "Now let's talk about this summer holiday! I know it's not much, Hermione, but Grimmauld Place is now your home too, as well as Harry's - if you two want it! Therefore, I am hoping that you will both help me fix it up into something that we can be proud of. At the very least, we need to make sure that the two of you will have your own private quarters this summer – even though I am sure that some of the Weasleys will be there eventually, as well!"
This was something that he was determined to do – despite their protests that they didn't need anything special. Therefore, he conjured some paper and a quill. Then together, they all made a rough map of Grimmauld Place. Harry and Hermione then decided that they could turn a set of bedrooms on the third floor into a suite for them with a shared sitting room and bathroom. It would be the perfect place for them to each have some privacy and also have a place to hang out together with their friends, as well.
Therefore, since Hermione was now out of danger and feeling better about…everything… Sirius decided to head back to Grimmauld Place after dinner in order to start the rearrangements. He was a dab hand at transfiguration, after all – even though he had previously had no desire to use this particular skill on that despised residence - until now. He had been in such a stupor over the past year that he had been content to let Molly handle the housekeeping arrangements however she liked whenever she was around. However, now he had his own family to care for and he was going to step up to the challenge! He had also decided that he was going to put his foot down with Dumbledore about Harry staying with the Dursleys – especially after what happened last summer. He understood about the blood wards, but just a quick visit should suffice to reset those! After that, he wanted to spend the entire summer with his new sister and his godson!
For dinner, they all shared a pleasant meal, full of plans and laughter, from the overloaded tray that a delighted Dobby had brought to them when they asked. Then, when Madame Pomfrey came around to check on her only patient, they shared the good news with her. The usually serious matron actually beamed happily at them and clapped her hands in delight when she heard about the sibling bond. She thought that it was a very fitting solution to most of their problems. Those three obviously needed each other!
Before leaving, Sirius made a few last minute arrangements about his little sister's care with both Madame Pomfrey and Dobby. He then reminded Harry to use the mirror when he found himself at Privet Drive in two days time. Sirius hoped by then that he would have a definite plan in place to collect his godson and bring him home to Grimmauld Place where he belonged. Speaking of home, he then turned to his little sister and informed her that he would be back to collect her by floo as soon as the term was over and the students had vacated the school – especially since Madame Pomfrey didn't think that the long train ride would be in Hermione's best interest since her wounds were still healing. Even though Hermione knew that she would miss hanging out with her friends during the trip, she breathed a sigh of relief knowing that this way she wouldn't have to worry about evading her parents if they were waiting for her at the station once the train arrived. One look at Sirius's new gentle smile made her realize that he had considered that benefit, as well. She then gave her new brother a grateful hug and a kiss on the cheek before he pulled his godson into a farewell hug, as well. Then the two of them watched as the man stepped into the green flames in the fireplace, whirled, and then disappeared.
Without him even having to ask, Madame Pomfrey offered the next bed to Harry that night so that Hermione would not have to be alone. The two young people happily stayed up late, talking and making plans about their new home and their future. They also both sneaked peeks at each other when they thought that they wouldn't be seen while they considered the new and exciting thoughts about how they each really felt about their best friend. Both of them fell asleep that night, much happier than they had been in a long time.
The next morning, they told the two youngest Weasley siblings everything when they came to visit after breakfast. Hermione appreciated Ginny's gentle concern over her problems with her parents. However, Ron kept talking about how wicked cool it would be to have Sirius for a brother instead of being stuck with a git like Percy.