CHAPTER 1

Hermione lay down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling. Ginny had gone with Ron and the twins to spy on another Order meeting, but for some reason, she felt her curiosity her relinquished. It didn't seem to matter that much anymore. She was far more preoccupied by other matters.

Harry was coming tomorrow.

Mrs. Weasley had just come to tell them that a squadron would be sent to Privet Drive to pick him up. Ron had pumped the air with his fist and forgotten about it. She had begged to be allowed to go with him, but Mrs. Weasley had refused.

'No, my dear,' she said, firmly. 'We talked over it, with the rest of the Order, and they feel its best if highly trained professionals go. You're still a child, you're not yet of age.'

'But Mrs. Weasley,' she had protested. 'Harry's going to be furious with us. He'd feel much better if Ron and I went, he doesn't know Tonks and all the rest-.'

'Professor Lupin will be there,' Mrs. Weasley said, in a pacifying voice, which had a note of finality. 'You can wait for him over here.'

Hermione frowned, and she stared up at the ceiling. She still didn't like it at all. And she thought Ron should be a bit more considerate about the whole situation. She had better talk to him when he got back.

She stretched her legs and wiggled her toes a bit, wondering if she should get up and change out of her pajamas. After all, it was past eleven in the morning. But a mixture of worry and apathy had made her sluggish and she still hadn't had a shower.

She jerked around, as the door open and Sirius stepped in.

'Sirius!' she sat bolt upright in bed, staring at him. 'Is the meeting over?'

He laughed bitterly. 'No.' he said. 'I decided to sit this one out.'

Hermione frowned thoughtfully at him. 'How come?'

He shrugged, and sat down on Ginny's bed, next to hers. He was dressed in a white shirt, which was unbuttoned at the collar, and loose jeans. 'They're discussing how best to get Harry back. Since I-.' he pointed at his own chest with a grimace. 'Am forbidden from leaving the house, I thought it would be better to skip it than listen to Snape go on about how dangerous it would be.'

Hermione smiled timidly at him. 'You shouldn't let Snape get to you,' she said, 'He's just spiteful.'

Sirius looked at her in surprise. 'Haven't I heard you tell Ron numerous times not to take off on him?' he asked, amusement lurking in his voice.

Hermione shrugged. 'It's become a habit to scold Ron. Honestly, I hate him. I haven't forgotten all the abuses he hurled at me in class during the last five years.'

Sirius faced darkened. 'What did he say?' he growled.

Hermione saw the look, and hurriedly changed the subject. Sirius was so frustrated nowadays that even something this stupid could get to him.

'Nothing,' she said, quickly. 'So do you know what the plan is, to bring Harry back?'

'Brooms,' Sirius said, shortly. 'Harry has his Firebolt. They think that Floo and Portkeys would be too dangerous, you know, because of the Ministry.'

'What about Apparition?' Hermione asked, anxiously. 'Someone could do a Side-Along with him.'

Sirius shook his head. 'The Ministry could trace that.' he said. 'Everyone's worried that they'll find out where Harry's being shifted.'

Hermione frowned a little.

'That's not the only thing that they should be worried about.' She mumbled. She drew a hand across her brow.

'What was that?'

Apparently, Sirius had heard her. She looked up and flushed.

'Nothing,' she said.

'Tell me what you said, Hermione.'

She glanced up at him again. Truth be told, she and Sirius had never really had a talk like this, and it was making her nervous. He was frowning down at her, concern etched into his dark face.

'What other things should we be worried about?' he asked, again.

Hermione sighed.

'It just that- Harry's going to be so angry, you know,' she said, in a small voice. 'He's been stuck at the Dursley's for a month; he's going to be absolutely furious! And our letters- Dumbledore made us promise that we wouldn't write anything important to him. He must be so mad!'

Sirius got up, and sat down beside her, on her own bed. He gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

'Don't worry, love,' he said, soothingly. 'Harry's going to understand, when you explain things to him. Sure he's angry now, but when you have a chance to tell him-.'

'He'll still be mad,' Hermione said, trying to disguise a sniffle. Apparently she didn't do a very good job, because Sirius handed her a white handkerchief.

'It's clean,' he said, 'Go ahead.'

Hermione blew her nose, and then mumbled, embarrassed, 'Thanks.'

'No problem,' he said, calmly, as though girls blew their noses in front of him everyday. 'Now don't be so upset. I promise you, everything will be all right.'

'If you say so,' Hermione said, doubtfully.

Sirius chuckled. 'Hey,' he said, 'I have something to make you feel a little better. Check this out-.'

He dug into his pocket, and pulled out a ring. It was made of silver, with a diamond cut into the shape of a star on it.

'What's this?' she asked, puzzled. 'Is it from the house?'

'Yes, but Moody checked, it has no curses on it. You can hold it.'

Hermione took hold of the ring and turned it around in her fingers. 'Goblin made,' she said, 'and that's a beautiful diamond.'

'Well, then that's one of us who likes it,' Sirius said, darkly. Hermione looked up and saw a frown on his face. 'That belonged to my cousin, Bellatrix. She must have left it behind when she got married.'

'Does it do anything special?' Hermione asked.

Sirius shrugged. 'I think an uncle of mine found it at Borgin and Burke's and gave it to her. As far as I know, it's just a pretty ornament.'

'That it is,' Hermione said, turning it over in her hand again.

'Keep it,' Sirius told her, closing her hand around it.

Hermione looked up at him in horror. 'Oh, no!' she said, quickly. 'I couldn't, Sirius, honestly-.'

'I told you, I don't like it,' Sirius said, shortly. 'There's nothing in this house I really want to keep.'

'I'm not keeping this-.'

'SIRIUS BLACK!' The yell came from downstairs. 'COME DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW, AND-.'

With a little whoosh, the curtains in front of Mrs. Black's portrait swung open, and her yells mingled with Mrs. Weasley.

'MUDBLOODS IN THE HOUSE! WEREWOLVES AND FILTHY VERMON, SCUM OF THE-.'

'Argh!' Sirius yelled, and jumping up from the bed, he bounded out of the room, leaving Hermione with the ring in her fingers, and a puzzled look on her face.

oOo

Hermione woke up with a gasp, in her apartment, and sat up in bed.

She had had the dream again- that dream, the one with Sirius in it. She didn't know why she kept having it, again and again.

It had been four years since Sirius died, and she had been plagued with these dreams ever since the War was over. The apartment she was staying in now had been rented with the stipend she received from her job as a Librarian, while she took her Wizengamot Course. She got out of bed, and went to the large window, and looked down to the street, twenty floors below.

It was raining lightly. The streets shone darkly, and the lamplight cast orange circles on the road tar.

With a sigh, she stepped away from the window, and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She had this reaction every time she dreamt of that day in the fifth year, when Sirius had given her the ring. Her heart thumped irrationally against her chest, and her breath came out uneven.

She had never given back the ring. Truth be told, she had forgotten all about it. When she had gone home that summer, after he died, she had thrown it into a small bag in which she kept her make up, pushing it to the furthest corner of her vanity table. She hadn't touched it after that.

She went into the kitchen, and began to make tea. The whole process soothed her. She poured the comfort elixir into a mug, and carried back to her bedroom, where she sat down on bed and began drinking.

She wasn't at all sleepy. Again, she began wondering, about the dream.

Why did she keep having it?

Suddenly making up her mind, she put down the mug on her dresser table, and opened one of its drawers. Right at the back was the gold velvet make up bag.

She felt a little nervous as she took it out and pulled the draw string. She hadn't even thought of the ring in a while- at least till she started having the dream again. But for some reason she had continued to avoid it over the past year, convincing herself that the dreams would stop.

She wasn't too sure anymore.

She dug around inside, and past the tubes of lipstick and eyeliners, she felt something cold and metallic.

She took it out, and stared at it. It really was beautiful. The silver gleamed, the diamond sparkled. It was really ingenious how it had been cut in that star shaped.

As she stared it, she suddenly felt tears prickle behind her eyes. Memories of Sirius and the comfort he had given her that day rushed in, and she wiped up a hand to brush her eyes. She brought the ring to her lips, and gently kissed it.

'I'm sorry, Sirius,' she said, softly.

A moment later, she yelped, as a dark shape appeared right on top of her, and arms began flailing everywhere- something had fallen down on her, and by the feel of it, that something was human.

'Did someone say my name?' a voice mumbled.