Chapter 5

Hermione woke Harry to ask if he would stay with his godfather for the day, and she was told he'd already owled his boss asking for a week off. She nodded and told him she'd be going to work. She asked him to Floo her if anything, anything at all, happened, and he replied that he would.

She moved to the bed. She took Sirius' hand in hers and squeezed it gently. He did not wake up or squeeze back, so she left with regrets.

She was in the copy room at work, making a seemingly infinite number of copies with her wand, when one of her colleagues ran through the door, panting.

"Harry Potter is looking for you!" he cried, his eyes alight at apparently having met the Saviour of the Wizarding World.

"At the Floo?" she queried.

"Yes! He needs you to come...he told me to find you!" The sound of pride was unmistakable in his voice, as though he'd been trusted with the Holy Grail and not a mere errand.

Hermione followed him quickly to Harry's face in the fireplace. "What happened?" she immediately demanded.

"I don't know!" His voice was harried. "He only just woke up, and when he saw me, it was like he knew me! But then he started screaming like he was in pain, and nothing I did seemed to help, and he couldn't tell me what he needed!"

Hermione could hear Sirius' tortured shouts in the background, and her heart nearly stopped. "Harry, I'll be right there. Floo Professor Snape. I'm sure he can help!"

She ran out of the building to a public Apparation point and was almost immediately outside her front door. She let herself in and saw Harry talking to Snape through the Floo. She didn't stay to listen, but ran immediately to her room, her heart wrenching at the screams.

She flung open the door and ran to the bed. Sitting beside Sirius, she tried to assess any damage. He seemed exactly the same as the night before, but his eyes were screwed shut, and he was thrashing on the bed, moaning and shouting.

She couldn't stifle her sob at seeing him like this, wishing she knew what to do. She touched his forehead to check for fever, and like magic, Sirius' body fell still. A sense of calm stole over Hermione as his body settled and all noises stopped. Not really aware of her actions, Hermione lifted back the covers and lined her body up with his, her front pressed to his side. The feeling of calm increased, and for some inexplicable reason, Hermione felt she could fall asleep at that moment, despite the panic.

Harry ran in, saying, "Professor Snape is coming after his last class." He looked shocked at seeing her body next to his godfather's, but was relieved that the ungodly noises had ceased. "What are you doing?"

"I don't really know. It worked, though," she informed him honestly. Harry only nodded, wishing Sirius could tell them what was wrong.

Harry felt strangely uncomfortable, so left to make them all lunch. He would make some for Sirius, even if he didn't eat it, just like when for a year after Sirius' trip through the Veil, he had had his room cleaned like clockwork, awaiting his return. Now, he berated himself for giving up, giving in, when Hermione had not. I owe her so much, he thought.

Hermione munched on the sandwiches Harry had put together, never leaving Sirius' side. It made her feel better to be touching him, probably because she could ascertain his realness that way. She could also feel his breathing and it calmed her.

When she got up to go to the bathroom, she could hear Sirius moaning as she was washing her hands. She re-entered the room just as he was gaining volume. When she touched him, he fell back into silence.

Okay, Hermione thought considering. Obviously this is more than just a coincidence. He needs to be in my presence to be calm. Hermione thought of the possibilities. It seemed likely that she had created a connection between them through the magic she'd done to bring him back. Or, it could be that he had imprinted on her in a way, being the first person he saw after his absence. There was no way to know for certain, but she had a feeling Snape would enlighten them in the snidest way possible.

Harry looked troubled at the new development, but couldn't bring himself to be jealous or sad, since he had Sirius back. That was all that mattered.

"Do you think we should be telling people?" he wondered aloud. "About his return, I mean."

"It's up to you, Harry, but it's my opinion that we should wait until he returns to normal." She paused, thinking about her words. "Or at least until he is aware of his surroundings. Just in case new people frighten him or stress him out." She couldn't explain the insane feeling that made her want to keep it between them, keep Sirius to herself.

So she said nothing.

"You're right; I don't want to slow his healing or anything." Harry sighed. He just wanted Sirius to wake up, take him into his arms, and tell him everything would be all right. Harry had never had anyone do that for him, and he needed it.

Hermione fell asleep in the bed against Sirius with Harry keeping a watchful eye over them both. She woke up when she heard Snape's voice in the other room along with a woman's that was vaguely familiar. Harry told them about Sirius coming back, and she heard surprised exclamations from the woman. Harry was obviously excited as he told the story, sounding a little sad when he spoke of Sirius' apparent hysteria. She then heard Harry explain how Hermione had calmed Sirius, and Snape's responding words were too low to catch.

She looked at her bedfellow, whose eyes were still closed. She placed her hand over his heart and immediately felt a strange sensation in her own chest. It was a few moments before she realized their hearts were beating in tandem, at exactly the same time. She took her hand away, and her heart skipped a beat and began pumping at her regular, slightly faster rate. How very unusual, she thought, trying to ignore the feeling of wholeness she'd had when their heartbeats had matched.

"Well, isn't this a pretty picture," came the slow drawl of Severus Snape. He didn't seem too surprised to see Sirius, but he hid his emotions very well. Hermione only rolled her eyes. She knew he'd been concerned when they'd found her at the Veil, and it was hard to be rude to someone who cared if you lived or died, whether they denied it or not.

But she tried anyway.

"Not anymore," she snarked, trying out her best glare on him. He only snorted and attended the bed. Madam Pomfrey, owner of the familiar voice, also entered the room, trailed by Harry. She seemed slightly in shock, but ran her wand professionally over Sirius a few times, then performed a few spells, some Hermione recognized as diagnostic, another as a hydrating spell, and some she did not know.

"Well," Madam Pomfrey began, "he seems to be the very picture of health. He was a tad dehydrated, but otherwise perfectly intact. If you use the hydrating and nutrient spells, he will not create any waste until he eats real food." Hermione had wondered how they would handle that.

"Other than that, I say let him rest as much as possible and try to move his limbs to keep him limber. There is no atrophy, so wherever he was seems to have basically put him on pause. I believe he should be fine in a few days. If not, we will take him to St. Mungo's." Her tone brooked no denial, and the young friends nodded gravely.

After promising to keep what she'd seen a secret for now, she nodded once to them, then to Snape, and walked briskly from the room.

Snape himself gazed at Sirius inscrutably. "It has never, ever been done," he murmured, tearing his eyes from his old enemy to look at Hermione. "Never."

"I know," she answered, a little unnerved by the intense stare of which she was on the receiving end. "But it has been done now, and we need to help him."

"He has been a victim of untold horrors, for who knows how long. Obviously time does not work the same way past the Veil; it could be that while only moments passed for his body, an eternity elapsed for his mind. He could be quite mad when he awakens. Or, he may never awaken at all."

Harry glared at him, wondering why Hermione thought he would help. "He will awaken, Snape, and he will not be mad. Everything will be fine. You can see yourself out."

Hermione sighed, knowing she needed to speak to Snape in person. "Harry, I need to talk to the professor, and since I can't leave Sirius..." She left her sentence unfinished, knowing Harry would understand. He looked uncertain, but then Snape interrupted.

"Actually, it may help to see exactly what happens when you do leave his side, Miss Granger."

Harry protested, "You just want to see him in pain!"

Snape turned his calculating gaze to Harry, "Potter, you may not want my help, but you need it. I must determine if it is just any comfort he needs, how fast acting the calming effect is, how long she can stay away and a number of other factors. I can either hear it second-hand and make an uneducated guess, or Miss Granger can demonstrate, and we can go about helping Black. My interest in this case is purely educational, not vindictive."

Harry looked chagrined, and he left the room saying he didn't want to hear the screams. Hermione only nodded, preparing herself to endure them.

Snape nodded at her, and she left the bed to stand by his side.

Nothing happened. They waited a few minutes, but the only sign of distress was a slight toss of his head and a clenching of his fingers. Snape told her to leave the room, and she walked out to the sitting room. Within moments she heard frantic, incoherent shouting. Snape called for her to return. When she stepped into the room, Sirius calmed down, his head tossing and body shaking, but he made no noise. Even with his eyes closed, he seemed aware of her presence.

Snape bade her approach the bed. The closer she got, the less his body moved. When she touched him, he stilled completely.

"Interesting. Get Harry back here."

She did, and they repeated the process, getting Harry to go to Sirius instead of Hermione while she waited in the hall. It didn't work, even when Snape instructed him to lie directly beside Sirius on the bed, like Hermione had before. Harry did, but Sirius tossed and screamed.

She came back in the room and the effect was immediate. He still jerked, his hands stretching out beside him, until she took one in hers.

"Well, it appears that the spell has bound Miss Granger to Black. It is most likely irreversible, but the bond seems to be weakening quickly, given that you said he didn't calm until you got into bed with him before. You can only hope it dissipates to the point that you can have a normal life, Miss Granger. As for when he will wake up, it is anyone's guess. Continue to talk to him, keep him hydrated as Pomfrey instructed, and try not to distress him."

"But why did he begin to... need me only today? Why not last night?"

"I can only hypothesize that immediately after exiting the Veil, he was in a protected state of some kind, or maybe so entrenched in his own mind that he was overpowering the need."

Hermione nodded, thinking that was possible. Harry only looked scared for the only family he had left.

Snape left after asking to be kept updated, and Harry began a rant on how Snape saw this as a science project and not someone's life.

"I know he's difficult Harry, but he is brilliant. Sirius has you and me for bedside manner; we only need Snape's expertise."

Harry muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Yeah, fat lot of good that did," but Hermione hoped he was too mature for such statements, and her look told him so. He smiled sheepishly and Hermione grinned. Harry walked to Hermione and hugged her tightly. He just held her for a few moments, and Hermione knew what he meant by it.

"Everything's going to be okay, Harry. Why don't you go home and get some sleep? I know you barely slept last night."

"But you'll call as soon as...?"

"As soon as anything happens, Harry, I will call you," she promised. He let himself out, and Hermione sat on his cot by the bed. An owl tapped at her window, and she was irritated to see her work had been sent to her from the Ministry. She was apparently not permitted personal time. She shrugged and got to work, not leaving the bed for hours, until finally she had to get something to eat, and she wanted to grab a book. She looked sceptically at the door, wondering how fast she could make dinner. She cast the hydrating and nourishing spells over Sirius, thinking she would do it whenever she ate, to make sure she did it enough.

"I'll be right back, okay, Sirius? I'm only going to make dinner. Promise."

For some reason, she expected an answer, but got none. She ran from the room to the kitchen and threw together a sandwich, wishing she'd thought to ask Harry to make some for her before he'd left. She didn't hear the moaning begin until she was already running back, plate and water in hand. She grinned.

"I made it!" she announced.

She ate silently, running out once more when she was finished to fetch a book. No moaning this time, but a strange tugging sensation in her chest. She scratched absently at the scar over her heart and settled down in the cot to read. She promptly fell asleep, waking once in the night to a low groan that was unlike his other more panicked noises. She got up to check on him, but he appeared to still be asleep.

She was just falling asleep again in the stiff cot when she heard the noise for the second time. She put her hand on his forehead but got no response. Too tired to think, she crawled into bed with him, covering them both to the chest. She didn't wake up again for the rest of the night.