The Grey

Chapter 9: Convergence

A/N: Thank you to the lovely BirdieMing for her beta work! Sorry this is a day late, yesterday just got away from me. I have a feeling ya'll are going to like this chapter though! ;-)

And I apparently don't say this enough, but thank you so much for all your reviews! I read each and every one of them and the ones I've gotten on this story have been so freaking amazing. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

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She sees

in black and white

thinks in greys

but loves in color

-JM Storm

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June 2022

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A week later, someone knocked on the door to Hermione's cottage early, before she was due to leave for work.

"Who the bloody hell could that be?" Sirius mumbled over his coffee mug.

Hermione shrugged and went to answer the door. A very sheepish looking Harry stood there. "Can I come in?"

Hermione smiled tightly and stepped aside to allow him into the house.

"Sirius." Harry nodded to his godfather. Sirius didn't have any of it and wrapped Harry into a hug. Hermione smiled sadly at the sight. The whole situation made her depressed. She didn't want to fight with Harry about it, but she needed him to be realistic because Hermione knew that when it was time for Sirius to go back, she was going to be a mess. She assumed Harry would be too; she remembered sixth year all too well.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, looking at both Hermione and Sirius once she sat him at the table with his own mug of coffee.

"Harry, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that," Hermione said.

Harry laughed ruefully. "Probably not, but that doesn't mean I didn't deserve it. Besides, I think it's clear you have the harder job of the two of us. I—I feel like an idiot for using the Resurrection Stone on Dumbledore and Grindelwald."

"Dumbledore I understand," Sirius said, "but Grindelwald? What's the deal there?"

"You probably never read Rita Skeeter's book: The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore," Hermione chuckled. "Apparently Dumbledore and Grindelwald knew each other in their youth."

"Really? What happened? Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald. It's what made him the greatest wizard alive."

"Dumbledore's sister died. They had a falling out over the circumstances surrounding her death. I'll see if I can dig up a copy, the whole thing is a mess," Hermione told him.

"So they knew each other," Sirius mused.

"More than that," Harry said. "I think they were in a relationship with each other."

"Really?" Hermione asked. "What makes you say that?"

"Just the feeling I got when I summoned them both." Harry shrugged. "I really didn't think that using the Resurrection Stone would have such severe consequences."

Hermione's heart wrenched. She'd laid the blame for this whole situation at Harry's feet, but she knew it wasn't entirely his fault. "Harry, I think the issues with the Grey are my fault."