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Ch. 3. Tell Me Everything

Sirius won't stop glancing at me, his hand squeezing mine every few seconds as if he's afraid I'll disappear. Or he will disappear. He'd lead me over to the table, a hand low on my back as he watched me fight to stay on my feet, his own hands trembling. We hadn't moved since then, both of us watching as Severus lead everyone back into the kitchen. Harry now sat to his godfather's right, watching the man through curious green eyes. Tonks won't stop asking questions, interrupting Hermione every few seconds.

Finally, the curly haired witch turns towards my best friend with a glint in her eye, "Tonks, I swear to Circe if you don't stop interrupting me I will hex you and you will still be throwing up slugs by the time we go to the Burrow tomorrow." Draco's shoulders shake silently as he stands behind his wife.

Teddy giggles as Remus tries to hide his own laughter, Tonks glaring at both of them as her son tries to stand like his father against the wall. The young boy is having a rough go at it.

Sirius barks a laugh, not quite the same as he used to, but close enough that the rest of us burst into laughter as Tonks turns even more red. The sound of his laughter brightens something in my chest as I stare at him, a smile on my lips. He glances at me and winks, his hand squeezing mine.

"Anyways," Hermione drawls, not unlike Draco, "as I was saying. The team had two hours to bring as many people out of the Veil as they could. Ron and Harry couldn't stand to watch, but Draco and I stayed the whole time, waiting for Sirius. It was down to the last few minutes and I thought we had failed. Harry had come back to stand with me as Ron was helping some of the others and I just kept thinking 'any minute now' but the clock kept ticking. Just as we were about to cut it off, the smoke billowed and revealed two people." She smiles brilliantly, turning towards Harry.

"Always the dramatic, I suppose, he waited till the last minute," Harry claps a hand on his godfather's shoulder. I catch the slight wince that Sirius lets slip as he squeezes my hand tighter, but he just smiles at his godson.

"I still had to keep you on your toes, couldn't have the lot of you faffing on the job, could I?"

Ron laughs, "Bloody hell, the veil came down right after you got out. It's a miracle you got out when you did." Hermione nods, her eyes darkening for a second before she looks up again.

"Like I said, keep you on your toes," he winks. Sirius studies Hermione for a moment before leaning forward and releasing my hand. I notice his shoulders stiffen, the fatigue weighing heavy on him. "Not all of your team made it out." It wasn't a question.

Hermione reaches up to grasp her husbands hand on her shoulder, shaking her head, "We lost four."

The room quiets, even the twins' faces change to darker expressions. Snape crosses his arms as he leans against the counter, his eyes lowering to look at the ground. He looks sad for the girl, which doesn't surprise me considering how close he is to her

Sirius stands, quickly crossing the few steps to Hermione before kneeling next to her. He embraces her, pulling her into him, much like a father might hug his daughter, his hand cupping the back of her head. None of us can hear what he's saying to her, but we watch as she nods into his shoulder. In my peripheral, I see Harry lean over to kiss Ginny on the temple, his hand gently caressing her baby bump.

Teddy decides that's the perfect moment to squeal and run over to the twins, who quickly rush the child out of the room to play. The commotion causes everyone to stop staring at Hermione and Sirius who are still conversing quietly, as if no one else is here. I stand, stepping over to the counter next to Severus who I raise an eyebrow at, nodding towards the door. He nods, following me out of the room and into the foyer. Other voices can be heard in the living room moments later and giggling echoes from upstairs as the twins continue chasing the boy. An explosion rattles the picture frames.