For Harry by WolfyLunarStar

Rating: PG13
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 13/07/2011
Last Updated: 13/07/2011
Status: Completed

One-Shot! While Hermione is fretting over Harry's hearing, Sirius thanks her for always
looking out for his godson, and implies that Harry might feel more than friendship for her. What
will happen when Harry comes back from the Ministry? HPHG! Minor RLNT




1. For Harry
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**For Harry**

*By: Wolfy**LunarStar*

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**Disclaimer:** *The* *miserable conclusion and all previous* Harry Potter *works
belong to the half-malevolent J.K. Rowling. Why only half? Because she DID create the beautiful
world we have all fallen in love with and do have to thank her for that at the very least.*

**Author's Note:** *I don't think there were enough Sirius and Hermione moments in
the series. I mean, the girl DID have her part in rescuing him. So here's a little ficlet with
Sirius thanking Hermione for her help and for looking after his godson. NO, it's not a romance
between them and, yes, there is a reason why it's categorized under Harry and Hermione. *Hint,
hint* This is set while Harry's at his hearing.*

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As dreaded as Grimmauld Place was as a whole, the library was the only place in the house that
one could find completely fascinating. While most of the Black family may have been dark and
corrupt, one had to agree they had a marvelous collection of tomes. Therefore, it did not surprise
Sirius Orion Black at all to find one Hermione Granger currently residing there on this sunny
afternoon. Not that she, or a few other for that matter, could go outside, considering how
*dangerous* it would be to go out and stretch one's legs. He frowned briefly at the
thought, but quickly shook his head, focusing on his task.

Even though he wasn't necessarily allowed to step outside and, as much as he hated this
house, he really did prefer this dreary place over Azkaban any day. Not that he'd admit it to
anyone; that's just how melodramatic he was. It's one of his traits that Moony often loved
to point out had not escaped his personality throughout the years. Smiling roguishly, he made a
mental note to go talk to his last living best mate after he finished his current objective. Moony
really did have to get over the rubbish thoughts that he was no good for Nymphadora. Wincing, he
swore he could hear her berate him. 'Don't you DARE use that name again!'

Finally spotting the fifteen-year-old on the only comfortable seat in the room, he headed
towards her. (Many Cushioning Spells had been cast on that particular seat, as per request of his
godson, Harry James Potter, when his best friend had commented how lovely, but awfully rigid the
seat was.) He cleared his throat, making the girl jump, startled. "Sorry Hermione." He
grinned, showing that he was not sorry at all.

Even without that smile giving him away, she knew he wasn't sorry. She rolled her eyes
playfully, knowing he meant no harm. "Don't worry about it Sirius. So, what can I do for
you?" she asks, very business-like.

He pretended to be hurt. "What makes you think I came here to bother you? What if I just
came in to find a nice book to take for a bit of light reading?"

Not even a second later, the two burst out laughing.

Once her giggles have subsided, Hermione asked once again, "Really Sirius, is there
particular anything you wanted to talk about?"

"Actually there is, do you mind…?" He gestured at the seat in front of her.

"For Merlin's sake, it is your house."

"Not by choice," he mumbled, grudgingly.

She sighed. "We all know how you loath this place and the many bad memories it must hold
within, but you really do need to let things go. With a bit…okay, okay, don't look at me like
that! With *a lot* of cleaning and effort, this place may just end up looking decent enough to
start up new memories. I'm sure this is where you would have first brought Harry had the two of
you been given the opportunity to…" she trailed off; afraid she had crossed a boundary.

"Don't worry about it, Hermione," he said, guessing why she had hesitated.
"You're right, of course. There would have been no other place to take him, but this one.
After we graduated from Hogwarts, I moved out of James' parents' home and rented a flat and
obviously *that* place has been rented out by now, if it still exists." He paused.
"Funny you should mention Harry, as he is part of the reason I wanted to talk to
you."

"Only part?" she teased.

"Yes," he said in such a serious tone it brought Hermione back to her business-like
manner. "I never got to thank you, Hermione."

This definitely startled the girl. She blinked, looking confused. "Thank me? For
what?" she questioned.

"For helping me back in your third year. You didn't have to get involved."

She's still more than a little confused. "Of course I did, Sirius. Even if Dumbledore
hadn't directed us to do so, I would have still used my Time-Turner with Harry so we could help
you. What they were about to do was a great injustice. Although, I must say, I'm glad he gave
us a great lead, as I'm afraid I wouldn't have known how many turns to take, and the
thought of rescuing Buckbeak hadn't crossed my mind. Also, you're Harry's godfather; he
had only just found out about you. It wouldn't have been fair to either of you to be taken away
from each other so rapidly and brutally as it originally would have happened." She said all of
this in a matter-of-fact tone.

Sirius was not surprised by her response one bit. In fact, he had somewhat anticipated this
response. It didn't make him any less grateful, of course; actually, it made him even more
appreciative. "That's just it, Hermione. There was nothing for you to gain in doing so;
sure you would have felt guilty, but, as rational as you are, you would have sooner than not
realized that it wasn't your fault. Alternatively, there was much for you to lose; it was a
very dangerous expedition, brave, but risky nonetheless. Don't get me wrong," he hastily
added, seeing her look at him incredulously. "I'm glad you did it and I'm sure I'm
the last person you would expect to be pointing out the danger in something, seeing as how
that's what it looks like I'm looking for myself right now, danger. You have to understand,
though, it's not that I *want* to look for it, per say, it's just that I want to keep
Harry out of it and if it puts me in peril meanwhile, I'm not saying `all the better,' but
that it'd be worth it, for him."

Hermione smiled in understanding, taking in what the adult was saying. She had to admit to
herself, she was quite surprised at what Sirius was confessing to her. She did think he was a bit
immature and reckless, but she also knew how much he cared about his godson. "I know exactly
was you mean," she replied, sincerely. "I'm willing to acknowledge that I didn't
do it with purely unselfish reasons, though. I don't think I would have been able to bear Harry
suffering for losing you so abruptly. I really don't think he would have gotten past that.
You've been there for Harry even before he found out the truth about you. Even though you were
after Wormtail, you looked after him when he left the Dursleys, when he fell off his broom, and
sent him his Firebolt…" She sighed, remembering how she had interfered so erroneously in that
situation. She looked up, surprised as she felt a mildly rough-padded hand pat her own coarse
one.

"I know he's already forgiven you for that. After all, you only did it because you care
about him and were looking after him. It was the same as when you helped him through the tasks of
the Triwizard Tournament and, even though Ron eventually helped out too, it was you who stuck with
him through and through. If it weren't for you, he might not even have reached his fifteenth
birthday."

The brunette smiled, but it quickly turned into a frown. "He may have lived past his
fifteenth birthday, but Sirius, what if they expel him? What will happen to him? I know I assured
him that there was no way they could do so, as he was acting in self-defense, and while I'm
quite sure Professor Dumbledore wouldn't allow it, I can't help but-"

"Hermione, Hermione," Sirius admonished playfully, "You're placing far too
little confidence in your intuition. You're correct in predicting that Dumbledore won't
allow them to expel Harry. Don't worry about it; he'll be fine."

Taking in a deep breath, she nodded. Of course she knew he'd be okay. This *is* Harry
they're talking about here; the same boy who, somehow, always managed to get out of even the
most catastrophic situations.

"Besides," he continued, as if reading her mind. "There is no way it can all end
here, after everything he's been through. I'd cut a kidney out if Harry Potter's grand
adventures in Hogwarts were cut short over a idiotic situation that just so happens to be the
Ministry's fault, what with them unable to keep reign of the Dementors."

At this, Hermione gasped sharply. "Sirius, you just may have something there. What if,
it's not because of the Ministry's imbecilic control? What if there's someone within
the Ministry, and we both know this could be possible with Lucius Malfoy being one example, who
commanded the Dementors to go to Little Whinging in order to attack Harry? What if someone were
intentionally trying to expel Harry? But for what purpose…?" she mumbled the last part.

He shrugged nonchalantly, although his mind was racing. It *could* be possible. He
reassured, "It really could be that they're just getting out of control, with Voldemort
back and all. Most of them are a rather dim-witted lot; the fact that they readily dismiss
Dumbledore and Harry's warning is proof of that." Seeing that this still hasn't
stopped the girl from worrying, if the abuse she's giving her lower lip was any indication, so
he tries to distract her with a different perspective. "Come on Hermione, you didn't spend
the last four years continuing Lily's job in making sure my godson made it out alive. If
someone out in the cosmos really wants Harry dead, you've done a grand job of preventing it
from happening, so far."

"That's just it, Sirius, *so far*. Now that Voldemort has a corporeal body,
I'm afraid that there won't be much I can do to help…"

Raising an eyebrow, he gave her a skeptical glance. "Now is this the Hermione Granger my
godson has told me so much about, Miss Brilliant-but-Scary-Know-it-All?"

She looked at him, taken aback. "Harry's talked to you about me?"

"Of course; while he was staying here, I asked him to give me a recount of everything that
he'd been through in his last four years of Hogwarts, mainly the first two years, though. After
all, I was mostly involved with the third year and I was kept up-to-date as frequently as possible
with last year's events… You did a brilliant job keeping him alive his first year at Hogwarts,
from Malfoy's ploy in luring him to a duel, to getting through the obstacles of Devil's
Snare, Potions-"

"Ron helped in the Transfiguration section," she interrupted, feeling a little more
than flustered.

"Yes, of course he did. I don't think anyone would be able to beat that boy in a game
of Chess, not even Dumbledore, I dare say," he replied, chuckling in amusement. "Fine
then, what about second year? Harry told me he would have been completely out of sorts if he
hadn't had at least a meager idea of what he was up against. He was worried about you and went
to visit you every day; it disgruntled him that he didn't notice the paper you had in your hand
sooner."

The teenage girl couldn't help but gasp at the last comment. 'He went to visit me every
day?' From the way the boys had recounted their tale, it sounded as if they only saw her the
day she was petrified and moments before the news of Ginny being taken to the Chamber of Secrets
had reached them. Not that it bothered her; she understood perfectly that no good would come from
visiting her petrified body. They hadn't mentioned going daily, however… She refused to let the
only plausible conclusion surface from Sirius' words.

"Only Harry," the man clarified, noticing the internal debate.

This gave Hermione something to ponder on. She hadn't known this little tidbit, obviously,
and it made her wonder how much she didn't know. Thinking back to the night she was revived and
how she felt relief wash over her, seeing him alive, she couldn't help but wonder whether he
had felt the same relief as she had.

Grinning triumphantly, the animagus proudly proclaimed, "I see I have given the ever
pensive Hermione additional information to ponder over. Shall I leave her to her musings?"

Nodding absentmindedly, she wondered what to make of this new assertion. Snapping out of her
thoughts as she hears his footsteps disappearing, she called out before he could completely close
the door, "Oh, Sirius?"

"Yes?" He peeked his head through the remaining crack.

"Good luck with trying to convince Professor Lupin that he's not *too old, to poor,
and too dangerous* for Tonks." She smirked knowingly.

'That's our Hermione, ever observant.' Sirius shook his head in amusement.
'About some things, anyway,' he concluded, knowing that the young woman, intelligent though
she was (like a certain redhead he knew once upon a time), she was completely and utterly clueless
about the feelings his godson held for her. "Thanks, I'll need all the luck I can
get." With that, he shut the door. On his way downstairs, he heard Arthur Weasley and Harry
come in. Taking an immediate detour, he asked, "How did it go, pup?" Although, judging by
the grins both males were sporting, it was a rather rhetorical question.

"Cleared of all charges," his godson responded proudly, if not a bit relieved.

"I knew it, we all knew it; she told us, after all, and she has yet to be wrong. I told her
so, she just needs to be more confident in her judgment," he declared, mumbling the last
sentence, making him sound like a certain house-elf.

Green eyes looked at him as if he'd gone barmy. There were times he did question his
godfather's sanity, much as he had come to care for the man.

"Uh… Hey, why don't you go get Hermione, so you can tell everyone the good news? Arthur
and I will gather the rest of the family in the kitchen. She's-"

"In the library," he finished, his heart warming up slightly at the word `family.'
He had never thought that word would apply to him. Living with the Dursleys certainly hadn't
felt like family; it was more like he was their house-elf. 'Better make sure Hermione never
hears *that* analogy; I'd have my hands full, making sure she wouldn't do something
she'd regret later on, like jinxing them into oblivion. Although…it's certainly not a
*terrible* idea…' He couldn't help imagining a quick scene of Hermione bursting into
the house of 4 Privet Drive, unleashing her wrath on his so-called caretakers.

"Right; you can tell us all about it…" Sirius trailed off, seeing his godson had
stopped paying attention to him. "Harry?"

Shaking his head to figuratively rid his mind of his amusing story, he nodded, and dashed up the
stairs, careful to be as soundless as possible when he passed by Mrs. Black's portrait. Harry
practically barged into the library, disturbing the small moment of quiet that had settled within
the room after Sirius had left.

Ready to scold at whoever it was that had come in so rudely, her words died before they could
even form as she realized Harry was standing before her, a neutral look on his face. They stared at
one another for a moment, the air around them crackled slightly. "Well?" she finally
broke, with an edgy tone, unable to take the suspense. 'Could they really have…? But surely
Professor Dumbledore would have…' Then again, Dumbledore had barely been a constant in
Harry's life since the end of last term. What was up with that, anyway? Giving herself a mental
shake, she concentrated on the present priority.

"I'm to take you downstairs, where everyone is gathering, so I can tell you all at once
that…" he paused.

"*Harry*!" she complained very un-Hermione-like. "There's no way I will
wait until we get downstairs! You will tell me *now*! What's the verdict?" she
demanded, in a bossy quality that was much more Hermione-like.

The boy tried to keep his blank expression, but seeing the anxious look upon her face broke his
resolve. "I'm afraid to tell you Miss Granger…"

Her eyes widened. 'No, no, no! They didn't!' her mind fervently denied, rejecting
any thoughts that they had actually…

"…That you will have to deal with me for the remainder of our time at Hogwarts and,
probably, still then-some. Are you willing to take on that challenge?" He grinned.

Complete and utter relief coursed throughout her being. Setting her book down, she approached
him and hugged him tightly.

If anyone else had been around to witness this scene, they would have said Harry was sporting a
rather foolish grin. Be that as it may, no one was around. It suited him all the better anyway. He
hugged her back, just as relieved as she was, if not more so. They stayed like that for quite some
time.

Finally realizing that there were others awaiting Harry's good news, she broke off their
embrace, albeit rather reluctantly. "We should get going; we wouldn't want the others to
think you're carrying the weight of misfortune."

Hesitantly, Harry agreed. He could just hear the twins chanting, `Dead man walking, dead man
walking.' As they exited the room, he surprised Hermione by taking her hand in his.

In response, she smiled at him, twining their fingers together. Making their way down the long
hall (the library was all the way at the end of the house), they ran into Remus and Tonks, who were
stumbling out of a room which, if she was not mistaken, was the werewolf's. What she resolutely
noticed was that both were rather mussed.

Tonks greeted them, once she noticed them, "Wotcher, Harry, Hermione."

"Harry, how did it go?" Remus asked, once he said his hellos too.

"You'll find out as soon as we join the others," he retorted.

"No fair! I'll bet you already told Hermione," she accused. "Why don't
you tell your favorite Metamorphmagus and werewolf, hmm?" she said rather sweetly; too
sweetly, even for Tonks. She took it a step further and changed her hair into an angelic
blonde.

"Nope, you'll just have to wait," was the firm stance.

Remus looked upon his ex-pupils, noticing their interlocked hands. Finally, they were starting
to realize what he himself had observed while he was their professor. Turning back to the auror, he
couldn't help but roll his eyes affectionately, noticing the color she had changed her hair to.
As beautiful and wonderful as he thought she was, he knew she was too mischievous to be considered
angelic. Although, her determination to `hook-up,' as she had termed it, with him definitely
brought her a step further into being dubbed angelic. How else could one describe such an atypical
endeavor?

Once they made their way down to the kitchen, Ronald Weasley made his way to his two best
friends.

Mutually, the pair broke their connection. Whatever was or could be going on wasn't up for
discussion at the moment. Maybe in the near future…

The only other person in the kitchen to notice the link was Padfoot. 'I'm never wrong
about these things, am I Lily and James?' Smirking at the thought of all his correct theories,
thus far, including his two deceased friends, his cousin and his only living dear friend, and,
finally, his godson and the lovely bookworm, he lets satisfaction consume him. Who knows, maybe one
day he'll be able to put his gift to a more personal use.

*A Start to an End*

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*I'm rather proud of this one**. I hope everyone enjoyed it! Let me know your
opinions!*

*Thanks for reading!*

*~*Eli*

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