Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Hermione/Remus/Sirius
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 425

Notes:

30 Day OT3 Competition/Challenge: Day 15 - Dinner

Ultimate Hermione Competition 2: Round 9 - Hermione can speak any one magical language

Pokemon Trading Card Collection Challenge: Carvanha - Silver - Write about someone who always feels threatened or targeted.


Hermione ignored the hands massaging her as someone else put a plate in front of her. She didn't have much of an appetite for dinner; she was too busy staring at the phoenix.

She listened to Fawkes. When Fawkes made noise, most people just heard a phoenix song that didn't have any words of English, but she didn't.

Like what happened with Harry and snakes, her mind translated the phoenix song into actual English, and she could speak it back. Only a handful of people knew of her gift. Being able to talk to phoenixes might not be seen as dark like being as Parselmouth was, but it was still an oddity, and Hermione feared she would be put under a microscope, so-to-speak, and examined.

She wanted to live at peace, and it seemed easier to do that if no one knew her secret.

The handful of people that did know understood where she was coming from, especially Harry. And she had their utmost support in her decision.

"Love?"

Hermione shook her head and stared at Sirius. "He's sad."

"Fawkes?" Remus asked.

She turned her head and stared at her other lover. His hands had stopped massaging her, and instead, they rested lightly on her shoulders with very little pressure. She could easily move away from him if she chose to.

Hermione nodded. "I haven't spent much time with Fawkes after Dumbledore's death. He seemed to attach himself to Harry, which I understand because they always seemed to share some sort of bond, ever since our second year. This is the first time I've been near him for any amount of time, and I think Fawkes wanted me to know how he felt."

"Why is he sad?" Sirius asked, carefully brushing away the tears that she hadn't even realized she shed at the sound of Fawkes's heartbreaking words.

Hermione listened.

'Without Albus, I constantly feel like I'm in danger. He protected me, sheltered me. I might be immortal, but burning days hurts, especially when you're alone. I miss Albus. I miss security. I just wish everything was the way it used to be.'

"He misses Dumbledore, and the feeling of safety he got from the Headmaster. He's also lonely. And burning days hurt when he's forced to go through them alone."

Remus and Sirius both kissed her on the neck.

"Maybe there's something we can do to help him," Remus murmured against her skin.

"Maybe..." Hermione trailed off, her mind already working through the dilemma.