Part XXIV

The morning of September 1st was a somber affair at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Sirius knew he was failing to hide his dread, but he was acutely aware of Harry and Hermione's anxieties, which was keeping him on edge as well. In his opinion, their summer together had been grand, circumstances accounted for of course. Sirius's only complaint was how short of a time frame he'd been given to reunite with Harry before sending him back to Hogwarts. And judging by the way Harry had started closing in on himself a few days prior, Sirius could only assume his godson felt the same.

Fortunately, and unfortunately, the melancholy morning went by quickly, preventing any of them from dwelling on the coming goodbyes for too long.

Navigating the late morning traffic at King's Cross didn't take as long as Sirius feared it might, which unfortunately meant that the train hadn't even arrived to prepare for boarding when they reached Platform 9 3/4. Crookshanks and Hedwig were, thankfully, content in their respective carriers atop Harry and Hermione's luggage trolleys, but the same could not be said for Sirius, Harry, and Hermione.

"You both have your Hogsmeade slips?" Sirius asked them. If he could just give them all something else to think about, he could stop paying attention to Harry's tense form beside him or Hermione frown as she gave the surrounding platform subtle glances. Tom had already told him that the Grangers wouldn't make it in time to see their daughter off and that they'd called Hermione to tell her so, but it seemed a last-minute bout of homesickness had struck the young witch. Sirius felt for her.

Quiet nods answered his question.

"Neither of you can think of anything you might've forgotten that I need to mail you when I get home?" he asked.

They shook their heads.

"Harry, your broom's packed away?"

"Yeah, in my trunk."

Sirius nodded, swallowing tightly at Harry's hollow tone. "And you remember what we talked about?" he asked carefully.

Harry finally met his eyes, then nodded once.

"What do I expect from you?" Sirius prodded, keeping his tone gentle.

"My best within reason," said Harry.

"And if you think your best isn't good enough…"

"I'll write you then ask 'Mione and my professors for help."

"Good boy," Sirius said. "Have you thought about how much you want to write home?"

Harry shrugged and broke eye contact. "However often isn't annoying, I guess."

Sirius gently moved Harry's chin so he was forced to look at him again. "We talked about this," Sirius said gently. "There are circumstances where I'll need you to be considerate of my time, but this isn't one of them. It's my job to make sure you have everything you need physically and emotionally. If that means I write you once a week, then I'll write you once a week. If that means I respond to each letter you send me, however many that may be, then that's what I'll do. This is about what you want and need, not me."

Harry fidgeted for a moment before mumbling, "At least twice a week?"

"Of course," said Sirius.

"And…reply to however many I write you?"

"Gladly."

Harry swallowed hard and winced. With a sigh and several choice expletives mentally sent in the Dursleys' directions, Sirius pulled Harry close and held him tightly. He gave Hermione an understanding half-smile when her own bitterness-tinged sympathy twisted her expression into a stiff frown.

Harry didn't cry, to Sirius's relief, but he didn't pull away for several long moments either.

"You write too," Sirius told Hermione with a wink, trying to lighten the mood they'd been in all morning.

She managed a small smile. "I will."

Moments after the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station, it seemed as if the rest of the wizarding world appeared in one dense wave. Sirius was glad that they had Harry and Hermione's things loaded before the swarms of other families started spilling onto the platform, and had managed to get them back to the safety of their brick column which helped keep them out of the crowd's way while time ticked down. He watched Hermione continue to scan the platform, his heart aching for the young witch when he saw the realization sink in fully.

Though Tom had already told Sirius about the Granger's situation, he'd also made a point to mention that he'd raze the Ministry to the ground if anyone tried to prevent him from seeing her off. Sirius was starting to wonder if there'd be arson all over the front page of the evening Prophet.

Harry and Hermione caught the eyes of some of their friends as students started boarding the train.

Draco came close enough to shout 'We'll save you seats' before he made his way onto the train. Hermione tried to ignore the pang of homesickness that hit her when Harry and Sirius embraced once more and started their final farewells. She'd spoken to her parents on the phone the day before. She knew their chances of arriving on time were slim and she was glad they'd been able to do something so good for the practice, but being surrounded by classmates being seen off by their families was starting to bug her.

Harry's expression was taut when he finally pulled away from Sirius and gathered what was left of his things. His cheeks were dry, thankfully, but she knew he was upset. "I'm ready if you are," he said quietly.

She nodded, accepted the hug Sirius offered her, and thanked him for having her for the summer.

"You're always welcome with us, Hermione," he said with a bittersweet smile. "Thank you for being such a good friend to Harry. It means the world to me that he has someone like you watching his back. And I can't even begin to explain how nice it's been having other people helping overwrite the memories in that house."

She returned his smile. "Thanks, Sirius."

After taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Hermione turned to Harry and offered him a halfhearted smile. "Ready."

The weaved through the crowds together with the few belongings they still had on their persons, namely Hermione's satchel with most of their necessities for the train ride and their respective pet carriers.

She was two steps behind Harry and about to board when she her neck and back started to prickle like she was being watched.

"Oh good, Draco and the others are right here," she heard Harry say.

She turned around to scan the platform while Draco helped Harry get Hedwig situated. Sirius gave her an inquiring look when she caught his eye, but she ignored it, searching. Her eyes landed on Tom when Harry turned to ask her what was wrong. He was wearing his argyle sweater again and what appeared to be muggle dress slacks. After passing Crookshanks' carrier to Harry, Hermione noted the first warning whistle as it sounded, and sprinted back onto the platform.

He wasn't wearing an outer robe today, which seemed odd somehow, but she threw her arms around his middle all the same and did her best not to cry.

"It's alright, Dove," he said quietly. He'd wrapped his arms around her firmly, for which she was grateful. It gave her an excuse to keep her face pressed against his sweater. "You have more than one home, more than one family, and it can be quite difficult to juggle the two as I understand it."

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak just yet.

"For what it's worth, when your mother called me earlier to tell me they wouldn't make it after all, she immediately asked what we could do over your holidays so you wouldn't have to choose between both halves of your life as often… Not to mention there's a certain prefect very impatiently awaiting your arrival."

Hermione snorted despite the threat of frustrated tears. "Well, can't keep him waiting, can I?" she managed to mutter.

"I'm sure you could, but he has a rather fickle temper. It might not be the wisest course of action."

She pulled back enough to give him a look that he met with a smirk. Both of their expressions faltered when another warning whistle sounded.

"Off you go, Dove," Tom said gently. "I'll see you soon. Write if you want."

"You or you?" she asked.

Tom snorted as she started to step away. "Either. Both. Whichever suits."

She threw him a small smile over her shoulder. "Bye, Tom."

He winked. "Bye, Dove."

She sprinted back up to the train and bounded up the steps before the final whistle, slipping into the compartment Draco had snagged. Draco, Theodore, Tracey, and Harry looked up when she arrived, the latter of whom moved Crookshanks' carrier from the spot beside him so Hermione could sit in her seat. Once Crookshanks was secured with Hedwig, she sat and tried to get comfortable.

"No Blaise?" she asked.

"He's off hanging out with some other friends of his," said Draco. "I endorsed his decision."

She snorted, immediately perking up at the thought of how Tom —teenage Tom— might react when she tells him about her Slytherin friends later that day. In person.

She'd missed him.

Hermione relaxed while her friends fell into a quiet discussion that she tuned out. They waved from the windows when the train started pulling away and once the compartment had settled again, Hermione pulled out a book and the diary, setting the latter on top of the former as she pretended to get lost in both. In reality she was just letting her mind drift aimlessly. She was tired, but not enough to rest, and though Tom's appearance had made her feel better for a few moments, her unwanted melancholy had returned.

Nearly-fourteen wasn't too old to be homesick, apparently. Nor was it too old to get upset over things she'd already rationalized and accepted. Nor was it too old to feel like a crybaby.

She half-dozed half faded out of awareness for most of the ride. She was so out of it that when the world outside darkened, she just assumed time had passed. She didn't really notice the rain or think much of it when she shuddered with the chill.

It wasn't until the train came to a screeching halt that Hermione was jostled out of her head and back into the compartment. And even then, she was having a hard time regaining her bearings.

"Guys?" Tracey whispered. "What are those?"

Frost crinkled as it started to cover the windows, but they could still make out the black, floating figures outside. There were shrieks from other compartments when the train car shook and shrieks from theirs when the compartment door slid open.

Hermione could see her breath and the black void under the hooded figure looming at their door. An almost silent warning bell in the back of her mind made her fingers twitch towards her wand as it slowly floated into their compartment.

Someone said her name. Then Tracey started screaming.

Hermione's stiff fingers finally curled around her wand as the darkness and cold beckoned her closer. She wanted to follow it even though her ears had started to ring — growing louder by the moment. She tried to say the spell, had no idea if she succeeded, and felt fire in her eyes that raced down her cheeks.

All she wanted to do was save her friends. Save Harry. He didn't deserve this, not when he'd just gotten Sirius back.

The cold grew colder, making the arm she could barely feel shake as she tried to keep it upright.

She felt a thud near her feet. Her books. Her journal. Tom's diary.

Tom.

Hogwarts.

Her other home, her other family, her other life, her other world. The world she was going back to, the world she had to get back to.

She couldn't feel her lips, couldn't hear her own voice, and until that moment she could only see darkness. A flash of light blinded her before the world went dark again.

She was weightless.

She was falling.

And then the ringing stopped.

Tom had been on edge since he woke up, but his impatience and mood only worsened as he prepared for the day ahead. By the time he'd finished a meager breakfast, even Tom knew he was cranky, plain and simple, and without reasonable cause.

Hermione had been mostly silent for a day due to sleeping, packing, traveling to the station, and boarding the Hogwarts Express, most of which she did while he slept, but he'd hoped that she'd write more during the ride. She'd give him something else to focus on while he ate instead of continuing to count the moments leading up to her arrival and angrily stalking up to the Room of Requirement to await her return.

It was a perfectly reasonable plan or so Tom thought. She writes him while on the train to keep herself occupied for the long journey and he replies the moment he wakes up.

But she hadn't written him at all. If she'd fallen asleep, well, he'd be annoyed but could forgive her since that meant she'd be rested enough to stay in the Room of Requirement for a while before going to bed. Otherwise…well, he was hard-pressed to think of anything inconsequential that would both grab her attention and keep her from writing back.

He told Abraxas and Avery to amuse themselves elsewhere after their meal, carrying himself up to the room pensively once they'd split ways. Thankfully Ancient Runes was canceled, so he'd be free until Divination that afternoon. He was half tempted to backtrack to the Chamber and get Cherie's opinion on how bothered he was by Hermione's silence. He didn't feel annoyed at her, per say, but he wasn't pleased either.

Perhaps 'worried' was the word he was looking for? He so rarely worried about things that it seemed foreign to admit to doing so. He disliked it.

By the time he was comfortably settled in the Room of Requirement, Tom was thoroughly unsettled and couldn't even focus on scanning his ancestors' journals.

Where are you? he penned. Did something happen? Weasley nonsense again, perhaps?

The room he typically conjured to study in had an old grandfather clock tucked away in a corner. When it went off sometime later, sounding nine chimes, his diary was still free of familiar handwriting.

Where are you, Dove? he wondered to himself.

There was so much he wanted to teach her, but now most of their time was gone and she still hadn't appeared. She'd need to sleep before classes started. But it was evening for her already. She couldn't stay in the room as long as he could.

Tom wished he could see where she was, wished he had a locator spell that could transcend time so he could at least know if she was alright.

If only because worrying was starting to make his chest uncomfortable. He didn't like the sensation.

Hi, I know, I did it again. It's been a long week...lol. Love you all.