the_debt_of_time

The Gryffindors celebrated well into the early morning, and Mia had fallen asleep
on the sofa, using a hard body as a pillow. For the first time in a long while, her dreams of
memories past were not nightmares.
Hermione slowly opened her eyes and found herself on a large bed that smelled like cats. She looked
around and noticed she was inside the tent they had used during the Quidditch World Cup; it was the same
tent she packed when they had decided to go on the run in search of Horcruxes. But why was she in it?
Weren't they staying at Grimmauld Place? Hermione tried to remember what happened and how she had
gotten there. She remembered going to the Ministry, finding the locket with Ron and Harry, catching sight
of Sirius as Death Eaters and Ministry officials chased them, and then... and then...
She tried to sit up, wincing when she felt a distinct, skin-pinching sensation on her back. She let
out a hiss of pain and felt something shift beside her. Turning slowly to prevent more pinching, she looked
down into the pale grey eyes of Padfoot, who whimpered next to her. Hermione frowned and tried to turn
and face Padfoot completely to assure him that she was fine, only to realise that she was not wearing a
blouse. Her eyes widened, and she turned back over and groaned.
"Sirius! Where's my top? Why are you in bed with me? What happened? Where are Harry and
Ron?" The questions tumbled from her mouth as she fought through the strange, completely unfamiliar pain
in her back: a tightness as though her skin was being stretched. Padfoot moved on the bed behind her, and
suddenly, a human hand pressed against her bare back. She flinched away from it.
"Calm down, kitten. I'm just checking the wound."
Hermione blanched. "Wound?"
"You don't remember? You got splinched trying to get away from the Ministry. Tore your back
open pretty badly. I tried to heal it as best I could, but I wasn't ever the one to take care of Remus post full
moon. All we had on us was Dittany. There's going to be a scar."
"Is it ugly?" Hermione asked with tears in her eyes, upset over how vain she felt.
"Nothing about you could.. ." Sirius began with a catch in his throat. "It looks all right. I've
seen a similar one before. It'll heal up nicely. You lost a lot of blood, though, so you need to rest as much
as possible. We ran out of Blood-Replenishing Potion."
"And umm... my shirt?" she timidly asked.
"Oh. You probably shouldn't be lifting your arms much. I can keep you covered, and... I'll leave
and sit outside if you need," he offered, sounding nervous.
The change in tone was almost amusing to Hermione. She, of all people in the world, had apparently
made Sirius Black nervous.