the_debt_of_time

know I was a wizard or how to fly on a broom. I didn't have a godfather that could turn
into a dog. I guess I'll adjust like I normally do."
Sirius laughed and stood up, pulling Harry into his arms and patting him on the
back. "Your dad would have been so proud of you."
Harry smiled awkwardly when they pulled apart from one another, running his hand
through his hair. "Is she going to be okay?"
Remus nodded. "I think seeing you made it all real. She vanished two years before
your parents died. The last time she saw them was at their wedding."
"So seeing me.. ." Harry said, looking like he understood. "She thought I was my
dad."
Sirius smiled sadly. "And then she realised you weren't."
"Wow."
"I told her as much as I could," Remus offered. "Said that nothing changed. She
cried for a while, begged me to send her back a few times."
Sirius winced at the thought.
"Should I... ?" Harry began nervously. "I mean, should I leave? Go to the Burrow
for a while until she―"
"I think you should go to her," Remus suggested.
"What?" Harry's eyebrows shot up to his hairline in surprise.
"Harry, she told me about you. Mia, I mean. She barely mentioned anyone else,
sometimes in passing. Ron once, Neville a few times, but she missed you. For years, she
really missed you."
"Won't it hurt her to look at me?"
"No more than it does the rest of us," Sirius said honestly. "I won't lie to you Harry,
you're a reminder of what we lost, but you're also a reminder of what we still have. You're
the best of both of your parents and still, somehow, you're yourself as well. Mia loved
James and Lily. But Mia is still Hermione. It's just a nickname. She's still Hermione, and
Hermione loves you."
Harry slowly nodded and, without another word, turned and left the room.
Sirius collapsed back into his chair and leant forward, resting his head in his arms
on the table. "Fuck, that was awful."