December 20th, 1995Sirius was not entirely sure what had happened at St Mungo's when the Weasleys
and Harry were escorted there by Tonks to visit Arthur, but when they all returned, Harry
sequestered himself in his room and refused to come out or speak to anyone. By the mid-
afternoon, when not even Ron or Ginny could get Harry to say a word to them, Sirius was
worried.
"Where's Harry?" Remus asked as he walked into the drawing room where Sirius
was sitting in his large armchair, tapping his foot anxiously while swirling eggnog—in place
of firewhisky—in a crystal tumbler.
"Stuck up in his room." Sirius gestured to the stairs. "Won't come out. Not for
meals, not for his friends, and not for me."
"What happened?"
"Fuck if I know, Moony. Can you get up to Hogwarts?"
"Of course. What for?"
"Tell Dumbledore to send Hermione."
Remus raised a brow. "What? He's not going to just―"
"He will." Dumbledore owed him, owed the Weasleys, and certainly owed Harry.
"Harry needs her. She'll get him out of there and fix whatever's wrong with him."
"How do you know that?"
Sirius finished off his eggnog and stood up to get a refill. "Because Mia would have
done it for James."
Hermione and Remus stepped through the front door of number twelve covered
in snow. Sirius was there to greet them, belting out "God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs" as
he sauntered down the stairs and into the front hallway, grinning at the sight of the young
witch, who looked at him and smiled politely.
"Hermione! You're here, thank Merlin!" Sirius skipped toward her, stopping short
of giving her a hug. At the awkward moment, he turned and wrapped an arm around Remus
instead and leant against his best friend, who was shaking the snowflakes from his hair.