the_debt_of_time

Before Hermione had a chance to take a breath at the sight of Sirius standing in the
entrance, Ginny rushed toward Harry, wrapping her arms tightly around him and squeezing
as though he would disappear if she let him go.
Sirius caught Hermione's gaze and they shared a sad little smile at the sight. He
noted her stance, nervous, clenching her hands together at the sight of him. Without
further hesitation, he walked to her, enveloping her in his arms and breathing out a deep
sigh of relief.
"What happened?"
"Snape's dead," he replied, trying not to let his emotional turmoil show.
He still did not quite understand how he felt about the demise of his long-time
nemesis. It was not more than a day ago that he had wanted to end the man's life personally,
but watching as Voldemort cornered the bloke and very nearly fed him to his giant snake
was nothing short of horrifying. Sirius could not help but think of Lily and wonder what
she would have thought about her childhood friend's ultimate demise.
"How?" Hermione wondered aloud.
"Nagini," Sirius said. "We went in after Voldemort left. Nothing could be done.
Snape said that Harry has to go view the memories he gave him. No clue what's been sitting
in that git's head all these years." He scowled, sighing as Hermione frowned at him.
Ignoring her reproachful stare, he tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "Yeah, yeah, don't
talk ill about the dead. Are you all right here?"
She looked down at her hands and leant into his touch. "We've just been treating
the wounded. Percy and Neville are outside fetching the... the bodies."
Sirius only nodded. "I'm going up with Harry into the Pensieve."
"I'll come too." Hermione made to move, but Sirius stopped her.
"No, you stay here. You're useful here. Remus and Tonks both told me that you're
brilliant with Healing Spells." He smiled proudly. "As if you'd be anything else." His smile
widened when he watched Hermione blush at his praise. "We shouldn't be long. Nothing
dangerous up there except the past, right?"
"Keep an eye on him," Hermione cautioned Sirius. She glanced at Harry, who had
already made a beeline for the headmaster's office, turning back to wait for Sirius. "He has
a bad habit of trying to save everyone at risk to himself."
"I will, love." Sirius kissed her forehead quickly before following after his godson.