Live Forever

6: Talk Tonight - Part 3

Harry was nowhere to be found at supper and Hermione was there in body only. It was clear she was upset. Once again it seemed that Hermione had been attempting to do the heavy lifting that should have fallen to him...and once again he had let her.

After a few minutes of barely attempting to actually eat something, Hermione stood to leave. Ginny moved to follow but a few muttered words later the youngest Weasley retook her place at the table...looking lost and confused. He gazed around the table and saw that Ron and the twins wore similar expressions. After spending the entire summer doing their best to get a taste of the war it was clear they weren't prepared for the awful reality. None of them were.

He realized any semblance of his appetite had disappeared as well quickly left the room. Before he could talk himself out of it he found himself in front of a second-floor bedroom, the quiet sobbing of a young girl emanating from the other side of the door.

"Hermione, it's Sirius. I'm coming in," he informed before he slowly creaked open the door.

She was lying on her bed with her back turned from the door. The crying had ceased but it was clear that she was trying to gather herself before letting him see her face.

"I upset Harry," she finally managed. "He kept saying he was fine but I kept trying to talk to him. After a while he got mad and stormed out. I went to get him for supper and he refused." She wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up.

"I know what he's doing...he's trying to handle everything himself. I normally would have let him get it out of his system but I pushed him this time. I thought...because of how much closer we've become this summer...I thought it would be different."

"It'll be alright," Sirius reassured. "He's probably feeling awful that he upset you."

"I didn't get upset in front of Harry," she answered. "I don't want to make things worse for him, so I'm getting it out of my system before I try talking to him again."

Sirius felt profoundly out of his depth as he thought about what these children had to manage at their age. It wasn't fair. Hermione should be getting upset over Harry spending too much time on Quidditch or some other equally ridiculous reason...not having to constantly navigate these horrific circumstances on his behalf. On their behalf, he corrected. From the instant he'd met them in the Shrieking Shack it was abundantly clear that they were a team, whether Harry had realized it or not.

"Let me take a stab at it," Sirius answered as he stood. "In the meantime, I'll have Kreacher bring you some food. You need to eat." He wasn't sure if eating would help but it seemed like something a proper adult would say in this situation.

"That's not necessary," she replied, now much more determined and serious. This was how she handled it. She bottled up the terror and anxiety and uncertainty and forged forward...for Harry.

"It is necessary," he chided. "Have a bite, lie down, read a book...take an hour or two off and let me talk to Harry. You've managed this for four years; surely I can't muck up all your hard work over the next couple of hours, right?

Sirius could tell that Hermione was fighting her instincts to refuse once again and quickly track down Harry herself. He felt a tiny sense of accomplishment when she finally leaned back against the headboard, relaxed just a bit, and managed a smile. She nodded reluctantly in agreement.

"I can't believe that speech worked!" he joked, drawing a laugh from the girl. Another victory.

He was suddenly struck with an idea. "I'll be right back. Stay here!" he informed before quickly making his way to the Black library. After several minutes of searching, he found what he was looking for and returned.

The girl became instantly intrigued as he handed over the book. "The Art of Occlumency," she read aloud before looking back at him for clarification.

"This is something you and Harry will be learning once you're back at Hogwarts. I'll explain the why and how to you both later but I figured you could start reading up ahead of time.

Hermione's intrigue eventually turned to skepticism. "You're just trying to distract me."

"I thought that was rather obvious," he replied with a smile, "but I'm not lying. It is extremely important that Harry learns this; the sooner the better."

Apparently he'd said the magic words as Hermione eyes instantly returned to the tome and her fingers began tracing the letters on the cover. He could tell she was trying to sort out why this was a necessity for Harry. Sirius suspected she would have it figured out long before their actual discussion. As he made to leave he spotted a familiar object on her bedside table.

"Could I borrow that for a minute?"