the_debt_of_time

done the same for me." He took a moment, his smile softening. "But if we want to get
technical, my first words to you were, 'Merlin, look at this head of hair.'"
Harry lowered his wand. "Sirius?"
"It's really me, son."
Sirius pulled Harry into a tight hug the moment the boy rushed into his arms, patting
his back and affectionately ruffling his messy black hair. He listened as Hermione sniffled
but left her to be tended to by Remus.
"You did well."
"Go wait for Tonks. I'll stay with them," Hermione said kindly.
"I don't understand," Harry said as he finally broke away from Sirius, though not
letting go of the grip he had on his robes, clearly worried that if he let go, Sirius would
disappear. "How is this possible?"
Sirius grinned and gestured over Harry's shoulder to where Hermione stood, quietly
taking in the scene in front of her. "You've got a very clever witch on your side, son."
"Hermione?" Harry spun around and looked at her. "You... You brought him
back? How? You said that―"
"I couldn't bring back Dumbledore, but I kept researching, and I found a spell."
She smiled, leaving out every single detail of exactly how she had gone about pulling Sirius
from the veil.
Without words, Harry reluctantly let go of Sirius and moved to Hermione, pulling
her into a warm hug and burying his face in her shoulder.
She closed her eyes and clung to her friend, hushing his incoherent mumbles of
gratitude. "You've done too much already, Harry. Had too much taken away. I saw a
chance, and I had to take it. To give something back to you. Especially with what we need
to do next."
"I'm sorry, what do we need to do next?" Sirius questioned, interrupting them.
Harry drew away from Hermione, swiping at his eyes before turning his attention
back to Sirius with a resolute smile. "We win this war."