September 7th, 1997"We need to leave soon, Harry."
"I know. You think she's well enough to Apparate, though?"
Sirius could hear the boys whispering outside of the tent where they were supposed
to be standing guard. Only one needed to keep watch at a time, but it was obvious to
everyone that Ron wanted away from the tension inside.
"How the bloody hell should I know? Can't get anywhere near enough to see. Not
when he's wearing that thing."
The tent door flapped in the breeze, and Sirius caught a glimpse of the boys standing
there, huddled together as though perfectly unaware that he could hear every word.
"You go in and see if you can figure it out," Ron suggested. "Get some sleep after."
Harry must have agreed because he was inside a moment later. Sirius watched as he
flicked his wand, igniting a few lamps in the corner of the room to light up the dark space.
Attention turned to a large bed in one of the corners, Harry slowly approached,
hands up to show that he was not a threat. Padfoot eyed him balefully as he stepped closer,
watching as Harry's eyes darted to the locket hanging around his furry neck.
"Sirius?" Harry asked quietly. "It'd be really nice if I could talk to you. I need to
know how Hermione is." He gestured to the body of the girl sleeping behind him.
Her small frame was tucked carefully beneath the blankets, but the bandage over
her back was still visible when Padfoot craned his neck to glance at her. Sirius knew that
Harry blamed himself, of course, though each of the wizards took their turn carrying the
weight of the guilt.
Padfoot lowered his head, allowing Harry to remove the Horcrux. The moment it
was gone, he let out a quick breath and shifted back into human form, rubbing the sore
muscle in his neck. "Is it me, or is that thing getting heavier?"
"You all right?" Harry quietly asked.
Sirius glanced at Hermione's sleeping form and sighed. "Better today."
"You going to tell me what's going on yet?"
Sirius shook his head, knowing exactly what Harry was referring to. After such an
incident, it was more likely for Sirius to have been worried about his godson, even if