Hermione looked at herself in the mirror. Normally she would never wear an outfit like that. Thanks to the crazy atmosphere of Marea Masion, she had decided to dare with something different.

She was wearing a t-shirt of a heavy metal band of the muggle culture known as 'Black Sabbath', a baggy denim jacket almost two sizes too big and tight ripped black jeans. To top it all off, metallic cuffs and black nail polish on her normally immaculate nails.

She had to admit, Sirius had excellent taste in clothes!

Hermione wondered how her parents would react to seeing her dressed like that.

Yeah, her parents...

She felt a little sad thinking about them.

She hoped that they would understand the letter she had sent.

Her parents were not stupid and they trusted her. Hermione was optimist! She knew she could help clear Sirius and get back to them soon!

And then it was about helping her best friend Harry!

He turned to her and held out his hand.

"Hermione, without your help I would never have been able to save my only family. Come with us!"

The girl's cheeks took on a slight red color and yet shortly after, a veil of melancholy covered her.

As much as she loved Harry, there was an emptiness that he would never come out to fill...


Her friend Harry was lying on the wooden floor surrounded by open books, concentrating on reading one in particular. She had never seen him so focused on studying, so dedicated to reading…

"Merlin, he sooo cute when he reads."

"Uhmehm Hi Harry!" She said a little embarrassed.

"Oh, Hermione!" He closed the book a crack and walking away from his reading.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." "Hermione, you never disturb." He smiled awkwardly. "Is there something you wanted?"

Hermione hesitated but shook her head. She felt guilty. Harry was doing everything he could to help his godfather and he didn't need her to bother him with another useless burden.

After all, what could Harry do if she missed him?

"Nothing! I…I'm going for a walk…In case, you'll find me outside…"

She left abruptly and Harry was surprised by the sudden change inher mood.

"Maybe there's something bothering her." Harry wasn't sure, after all, women's minds weren't his specialty.

But he could ask someone for help! The young wizard threw the ancient tome he was reading next to other books like 'Spells Ahead', 'The Noble and Ancient History of Pureblood Runes' and 'The Journals of Monoceros Black'…


Harry went up to the fourth floor of the sumptuous Marea Mansion. Despite the undeniable creepy elements, Harry considered this place wonderful, especially when the sunlight illuminated the interior, giving it a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Harry clearly preferred to see a voodoo head on a bedside table or yet another disturbing tapestry rather than find himself in a damned place that Headmaster Dumbledore insisted on calling 'home'.

He knocked on the last door of the corridor. "Come in!" the older wizard invited him. Harry had already seen this room once before and yet he always felt surprised by its magnificence.

The room was filled with maps, travel notes and globes. Even the floor where he and Sirius stood was also a map, full of details and notes from the wizarding world and beyond. His godfather was there, still wearing an exaggerated multi-colored Hawaiian shirt.

"Hey, it's you…tough guy!" Sirius said, raising his arms.

Harry looked at him strangely. "Tough guy?"

"Yeah!" Sirius clapped his hands. "You know, no, I thought, well, I was just looking for some nicknames to give you so you're not just Harry. To bond better! Godson and godfather activity!" He said, waving his hands in what he thought was a playful and 'cool' way.

"Oh…" Harry didn't know how to respond to that, he wasn't used to nicknames unless they were insults: 'four-eyes', 'freak', 'scarhead', 'Salazar's dangerous heir', 'loser', and so on.

"If you don't like it, I had others in mind! Like… Pronglet!" "I'm not convinced at all," the young man replied quickly. "Pup?" "No." "Fawn!" Harry shook his head. "The Dementor Ravager! Prongs 2: The Revenge! The Mad Time Traveler! Publius Aelius Hadrianus! Little Lily! Parry Po-"

"Wait!…Little Lily, really?" Harry asked, chuckling a little.

Sirius's sunken cheeks caught fire like embers and, embarrassed and flustered, he looked away from his godson, muttering something like 'your mother adored it' under his breath.

"Just Harry will do for now." "Okay 'Just Harry'!" Sirius joked.

Harry looked around, eyeing the various places marked on maps in the past by Sirius' ancestors. "What was the purpose of this room?" "Studying the wizarding world, organising explorations of ancient temples and relics, fantastical beasts to hunt, Muggle villages and towns to devastate…The lovely activities of the Black family!" Sirius gave one of the globes next to him a resounding punch.

"I never thought in my life I'd use this place. I'd be a fool not to, especially with what I have to do."

He noticed Harry was lost in thought. Sirius walked over to his distracted godson and patted him on the shoulder in a fatherly manner. "Love problems?"

"Yes. N-no, I-I mean no!" Harry stammered. "I'm just worried about Hermione. She was a bit strange this morning and… I don't know, maybe I'm neglecting her a bit or maybe I've done something wrong." Sirius chuckled.

"My boy, have you thought about just asking what's bothering her?" "No. I… I don't know, I'm afraid I'll screw up." "Oh Harry, men always screw up when it comes to witches! Their minds are one of the greatest mysteries in the wizarding world!" He gave the young wizard another light pat of encouragement.

"What should I do, Sirius?"

"Talk to her. Comfort her. Listen to her. Now." "N-NOW?!" Harry exclaimed in fear. "Yes, now, now that you can! One day you see a friend and the next day…the next day you regret for the rest of your life that you never spoke to that friend again."

The speech hit Harry like a boulder.

Sirius smiled at him melancholically. "Go."


Harry stalled, pondering what was troubling his friend. "Maybe she misses her family. It's understandable, I forced her to follow me on this crazy adventure! Maybe she misses Ron? I miss him too, of course…"

A sneaky, petty thought planted the roots of doubt in the boy's mind. "What if she misses Ron not as a friend but as something else? Like…a boyfriend?"

Harry stopped. "This is dumb. And…and it's none of my business!"

The seed of doubt was already sprouting, bringing the flowers of fear and jealousy.

"Oh Ron, how I missed you! It hurt to be with that freak rather than with you, my beloved!" The girl said, hugging him and kissing his cheek. "Relax, my beloved, now we are together again and that idiot-"

"NO!" Harry snapped, giving himself a mental slap. "They…they don't talk like that! And even if she had feelings for Ron, it doesn't matter!"

Harry walked angrily along the beach and caught sight of a figure with thick, wavy hair sitting by the sea. That figure was Hermione and she was…sobbing?

No, worse. She was crying.

"Hermione?!" Harry approached her worriedly, making her jump.

"Harry!" The girl clumsily tried to wipe her tears with the sleeve of her denim jacket.

"I didn't expect you to—" "Hermione." Harry sat down next to her, taking both of her hands. "What's bothering you?"

Hermione, unable to hold this burden any longer, spoke up.

"I miss him!"

The image of his best friend Ron as he consoled Hermione became vivid.

"I miss his red fur, I miss him cuddling me…I miss him meowing to get my attention…"

Ron meowed.

Harry was brought back to reality.

"…meowed?" "Yes!" the girl burst into tears. "Oh, Crookshanks!" she buried her head in Harry's chest.

"Oh yes Crookshanks… I miss him er… I miss him too."

She continued to cry as Harry awkwardly tried to comfort her. "You know, Harry, sometimes I think I can still hear him meowing."

"Meow."

Hermione giggled. "Yes! He… he always did that." "Er… it wasn't me," the boy replied quickly.

"Meow."

Hermione's head shot up, looking around.

"MEOW!"

A movement in the water caught the two kids' attention.

"No way…" Harry whispered and Hermione covered her mouth in shock.

An obese ginger cat was swimming near the shore, wearing a hat, a cape, and small black boots on its two hind paws.

"MEOW!"

"CROOKSHANKS!" The young witch ran into the water, grabbing the soaking wet cat. "Oh Crookshanks! How did you cat get here?!" Hermione asked the cat, showering his cuddly face with kisses.

"No really, how the hell did he do that?" Harry asked, looking at his furry friend. "And why are you looking like this?"

"Meow."

"Oh who cares!" Hermione was holding her plump pet with one hand, and with the other she grabbed one of Harry's hands, dragging him along with them.

"Come on Harry, we need to warm Crooshanks up!" Harry just followed her, glad the pesky flowers in his head had faded.

..

.


New chapter! Harry is starting to realize that he maybe has feelings for Hermione. Very, very, very slowly. And finally, we have Crooshanks! I didn't want to write this adventure without his lovely presence! How did he get there? Maybe one day we'll find out!