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Sirius fell silent.
Harry had too few friends. The last thing he wanted was to drive a wedge between Harry and Hermione just by showing up.
But trusting her completely was another matter. His heart wasn't quite ready for that.
The girl's reputation had preceded her all through his time on the run. It was impossible to ignore.
"Instead of wasting time standing here with me, you'd be better off looking for that rat."
Hermione's voice cut through his thoughts.
"I still have shopping to do. I'm not interested in standing around blathering."
Sirius blinked. "You know what I'm after?"
Hermione gave a soft laugh, her cat pupils dark and unreadable.
"You want to find the one who betrayed Harry's father. Don't forget — I'm a seer."
Sirius was quiet for a moment.
"I need your help."
He had waited for her to be alone before approaching. Observation was part of it, yes, but the bigger reason was finding someone who could actually assist him.
Lupin was trustworthy, but his condition made him unreliable. There were always a few days each month when he simply wasn't available.
After turning it over and over in his mind, Sirius had landed on Hermione.
She had saved Harry multiple times over the past two years. That alone put her far ahead of useless Ron, who had been unknowingly housing a mortal enemy as a pet. And beyond that, if Hermione truly had some ulterior motive, he couldn't stop her regardless. She was simply too powerful. Better to be straightforward than waste time posturing.
Hermione tilted her head, considering.
"That's simple enough."
She extended a soft pink cat paw and gave it a leisurely lick.
"Just follow my lead."
...
Watching Sirius disappear, Cat Hermione let out a long, helpless sigh.
"What a bother."
She scrubbed a paw over her cat face.
All she had wanted was a quiet shopping trip. A rare stretch of leisure. And here she was, dragged straight back into these ancient grudges.
Outside Hogwarts, she'd already swept every last Dementor clean, not so much as a shadow remained. This school year had nothing to offer: no Philosopher's Stone, no prize worth hunting. No Tom Riddle lurking around like a rare Pokémon worth the trouble of catching.
Honestly? This dog-chasing-rat drama held zero interest for her.
Betrayal and revenge. Same old story.
Her real focus was the Marvel world. After all the time she'd spent cultivating magical creatures, running soul experiments, and crafting alchemical artifacts, she was nearly ready, ready to unveil the magical community she'd spent so long quietly building behind the scenes, and show it to the world in full.
She just needed the right moment.
By comparison, Hogwarts this year was starting to feel like a retirement home.
Still, she had agreed to Sirius's request.
Not out of any particular warmth. Not out of deep loyalty to Harry.
Pure pragmatism. Stability management.
She had no interest in coming back to put out fires while she was busy with Marvel business. If these old men got themselves into some mess, if a freshly reunited godfather accidentally ended up dead, she'd be the one cleaning it up. Too much trouble.
This year, she needed Hogwarts quiet, stable, and under control.
At least until she finished what she was building in the Marvel world, nothing could blow up here.
Satisfied that no one was watching, Black Cat Hermione took a slow breath. She crouched low, stretched out in a full cat sprawl, held the pose,
And let out a low, dramatic growl:
"Shunkō: Thunder God Battle Form!"
Silence.
A few crows drifted across the sky overhead.
Shihouin Hermione was overcome with shame. She turned and fled, covering her face.
...
Hermione made her way back to Hogsmeade and stopped short.
Harry and Malfoy were sitting side by side.
She stared.
These two? Together?
Had the sun risen in the west today?
She slowed her pace and crept closer, straining to hear.
"Malfoy." Harry's voice, carrying that particular weight of genuine sincerity. "Thanks for flying over to pull me out during the match."
"Hmph. Don't read into it, Potter." Malfoy's tone had that signature stiffness, the kind that came from someone who would rather swallow glass than admit to a kind gesture. "I was returning a favor. You testified for me. We're even."
A pause.
"That said." His voice sharpened. "Don't think I'll look the other way about you sneaking into Hogsmeade without a guardian's signature. I'm still reporting you to Professor Snape when we get back."
He was on his feet before he finished the sentence, striding away at a pace that could only be described as a dignified sprint.
Harry stared after him, scratched his head, and looked completely lost.
Hermione watched the whole thing with a faint, bewildered blink.
Well. Britain was a strange place. She'd just never expected that her presence in this world would somehow result in these two becoming... whatever this was.
...
Harry's eyes snapped open.
He rubbed them, pushed himself upright, and looked around.
Ron was right beside him, still dead asleep.
Harry froze.
He was in a forest. Pitch black, trees pressing in on every side.
A dream?
He shook his head. He remembered falling asleep in the dormitory. He was certain of it. So how was he in the Forbidden Forest?
He squeezed his eyes shut. Opened them again.
The terror that hit him was immediate and cold.
Not a dream. This is real.
Where the hell am I? Is this still Hogwarts?
He grabbed Ron and shook him hard. Ron surfaced with a groggy grunt, took one look at their surroundings, and went rigid.
Then a figure emerged from the dark. Slow, shuffling, ragged.
Harry's pupils shrank.
He knew that face. He'd seen it on every wanted poster at every wizarding shop he'd ever passed.
Sirius Black.
Harry's mind snapped fully alert, thoughts crashing into each other before settling on one conclusion: he and Ron had been kidnapped. He remembered the conversation he'd overheard in Hogsmeade. He knew what Sirius had done — the betrayal, his parents, all of it, and fury rose hot and sudden in his chest.
"Why did you betray my parents?" His voice shook despite himself. "You were friends."
Sirius looked at him. His expression was impossible to read, heavy with something that might have been grief, or regret, or a thousand things he didn't know how to say.
"Child, I didn't—"
"Don't." Harry's voice cracked. "Don't bother denying it. Everyone says you're the traitor. You gave our address to Voldemort."
"It wasn't me, Harry." Sirius's voice was urgent, raw. "It was Peter Pettigrew."
Harry went still. "Peter? He's dead."
Sirius's gaze dropped to Ron's arms. To the fat, grey rat tucked against his chest.
His eyes went hard.
"Peter." His voice dropped into something low and dangerous. "Show yourself."
He wrenched a wand from inside his robes and leveled it at the rat.
"Don't touch Scabbers!" Ron scrambled back, clutching his pet against his chest.
"Ron. Listen to me." Sirius's voice was steady, insistent. "That is not a rat. It's a man."
"That's insane!" Ron's voice pitched upward. "Scabbers has been my pet for years. He's a rat!"
He raised his wand.
"Expelliarmus!"
The red flash hit Sirius square before he could react. His wand flew wide.
Harry reached for his own, and found nothing.
He checked again, heart lurching.
Ron was holding Ron's wand. Harry's wand was simply gone.
➤ Next: Public Execution
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