Promise to the Past | 🐾 ᴍᴀʀᴀᴜᴅᴇʀs ✓

28 | Truth Will Out

The next few weeks passed torturously. The marauders admirably distracted her when she tried to ask about Sirius. He'd stopped by Potter's home a little about a week after the raid. He'd claimed he was completely healed and back on Order assignments as an Auror, but Hermione easily picked up the slight wince when he moved too fast, or the flask of the potion he would sip from every hour. He was putting on a rather brave face- she thought it was a miracle he was on his feet and looked relatively normal within a week. She wouldn't have even noticed the slight signs that something was wrong had she not been looking very closely. 

Despite her suspicions, she tactfully chose to stay silent. She still hadn't told anyone about being able to pick up on Sirius' emotions. Now more than ever, the marauders had all gone tight-lipped-- even Lily, her one true ally. She'd drop seemingly inconsequential comments about Sirius and they'd all hastily brush it under the rug before diverting her to another topic. For Lily and James, it usually meant plying her for stories about Harry from her time. Remus usually liked asking about his time as a professor, and she took note of the wistful longing in his eyes whenever she indulged him. These days he was doing full-time surveillance for the Order and running missions and diplomacy with anyone but the werewolves. Yet in a world after the war, Hermione knew he would love to become a Professor. She'd have to speak to Dumbledore about it.   

In her own time, she went through the entirety of the Potters' library, trying to research anything that might've caused this- their shared emotions and potentially a shared curse. From her experience, no one really used the curse she'd been hit with but Dolohov. But from everyone's accounts of that night, Dolohov had been nowhere near Sirius and James.                  

She'd gone through every plausible scenario in her mind including life debts, curses, and soul bonds. The one even remotely likely of the bunch was a soul bond, but she already knew that wasn't it. Soul bonds were incredibly rare and pure magic- she certainly would've felt one. In fact, if they were soul bonded, she and Sirius shouldn't have been able to stand to be apart for so long.

The next time she saw them all was another routine Order meeting over dinner. Sirius had apparently been on various missions on Moody's orders for the last two weeks, so she hadn't seen him at all. Remus had and would pass along messages every few days. She could tell being out of the action was making James restless, though Lily certainly kept him busy with planning for the new baby.      

She was standing with Lily and Marlene as the two talked about how Marlene's family was faring. Normally Hermione would be very interested considering she'd been staying with Gideon, who apparently had had his eye on the witch. But her gaze was following Sirius covertly all night. He seemed fully healed now, but she doubted he'd been on Order missions since the raid if he was recovering from the curse she suspected. 

Her thoughts were confirmed by a brief conversation with the Prewetts. 

"Black? No, haven't seen him with Moody lately," Fabian said carefully as he munched on some chips. "Lupin's been doing reconnaissance for us every now and then, but I think Black's been on medical leave since the raid on Nott Estate." 

"Yeah," Gideon jumped in. "He's scheduled to return in three days."

The ease with which the Prewetts offered her information also told her they didn't know anything beyond that, nor did they suspect anything astray. 

To Hermione's surprise, Sirius walked over to Snape and Mary, who were conversing quietly near one of the windows. She saw him tug out the flask she'd seen him sipping his potions from, discreetly handing it back to the wizard with a nod of acknowledgment.