A Paws in Time
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, as revolutionary an idea like that may seem to you. JKR owns the Potterverse.
Summary: During the "final battle" Hermione is hit with a curse and falls through the veil. Time Travel HGSB
Epilogue
Travelling through time, by whatever means, takes a lot out of a person. Without the proper attention to themselves, one can quickly become exhausted. Because of its unique properties, travelling via the Veil guarded in the Ministry of Magic is even more energy draining. Even one passing through the fluttering material can cause enough exhaustion to knock a person to unconsciousness. It was for this reason that, even though an hour had passed, Sirius and Hermione were still out cold, lying next to each other on the stone floor in the lowest level of the Ministry.
Slowly, each began to stir. Eyelids fluttered open and quickly closed again as one realised how much even the dim light hurt their head. Sirius groaned and did not move. Hermione sat up slowly and surveyed her surroundings.
There were scars on the face of the walls, signs of a battle that had not been there the last time that she had. She glanced at the Veil, standing majestically behind her, rather ominous in its usual stance compared to the adventure it had thrown her through.
"Did it work?" Sirius asked, one hand on his head, the other resting lightly on Hermione's waist.
"Well, we're after when I was – there are signs of curses being thrown – but other than that, I don't know.
"Any way that you can think of to see if we're in the right time?" Sirius asked, slowly sitting up beside the young woman.
Hermione thought about it briefly. "Grimmauld Place," she concluded quickly. "Even if we're wrong, we won't run into people who won't believe what we say, because we couldn't be there unless Dumbledore trusts us enough to tell us of its location."
"Whatever you say. I'll apparate us." Sirius said, standing steadily.
Hermione paused. "Are you sure? I mean, side-along apparation is difficult enough without being injured while…"
"I'll be fine."
"…trying it. We could always take the elevator up and use the floo to … oh. Ok then." Hermione stopped and got up next to Sirius, who placed his hand around her waist, kissed her briefly and apparated the both of them away.
The hallway of 12 Grimmauld Place was eerie enough when you weren't sneaking around. Sirius and Hermione were outside the ajar door to the kitchen when they heard recognisable voices.
"Where the hell is she? She can't have vanished into thin air! And why would she not check in after the battle?" Harry was yelling, pacing in and out of view of the time-travellers.
"Harry, calm down. I'm sure that Hermione's fine."
"How can you say that, Remus?" Sirius tensed at the sound of his friend's name. " We have no evidence of anything that might or might not have happened."
"I can say that, with absolute certainty, Hermione is fine." Remus said calmly to Ron.
"But how…?"
"Because she is standing right outside this door."
Sirius barely had time to move out of sight before Harry pulled the door open and hugged Hermione hard enough that she struggled to breathe.
"Harry…Can you…?"
"Nope!" The duo almost fell to the ground as Ron ran over and joined the hug.
"Where have you been?" Ron asked, as the hug disbanded.
"It's a long and complicated story. First of all, there's someone I'd like you to meet. An old friend."
"Old? 'Mione I'm hurt!"
"Well, you are compared to us, Sirius." Hermione said, grinning at the look on Harry and Ron's faces.
Remus took one look at Sirius and asked "Polaris?"
"Yeah," Sirius responded.
"Explain," was all Harry could manage, still trying to overcome the shock at seeing someone he had thought to be dead.
So Hermione told the story, with a little input from Sirius.
"There's just one more thing, guys," she said, moving towards Sirius and taking his hand in hers. "We're together."
Fin
A/N complete! At last!! A huge thank you to anyone who read and reviewed (and just a big thank you to anyone who read this). Thanks to my beta and to my friends who are all awesome (even if I forget it sometimes). Just one thing left to say: Merry Christmas!!!