Look at the Stars

On top of the astronomy tower at Hogwarts School, Professor Hermione Granger breathed in a healthy swallow of the early autumn night air. At 22, she was one of the youngest professors Hogwarts had ever had, and, she admitted to herself, one of the finest. She had distinguished herself in the field of arithmancy, becoming a noted expert by the age of 20. Last year, she had published her first book, Arithmancy: A Numerical Study of Numbers.

Tonight, she had come to the astronomy tower seeking solitude after an exhausting day of teaching. She had always enjoyed studying astronomy, and tonight was particularly clear and beautiful. Hermione looked through a telescope and focused it on Jupiter.

So much had changed, she thought, since her days at Hogwarts. With Lord Voldemort now a bitter memory, the wizarding world finally had peace and safety, but everyone, Hermione included, had lost loved ones.

Hermione jumped as she heard the quiet click of the tower's door. She turned around, startled. "Professor Black?" she half-whispered.

A dark, lean figure stepped out of the shadows onto the moonlit edge of the tower. Though traces of pain still lingered in the sharp lines of his face, he looked younger and more at ease than he had the first time Hermione met him, over nine years ago, when she was just a little girl.

"Call me Sirius, please. Hermione, I believe we're equals now," he said, with a significant look.

Hermione smiled just a little bit. "How are your classes, Sirius?"

"Oh, besides a few first-years who won't believe how important Defense Against the Dark Arts is. . . pretty well."

"I'm glad you're here," Hermione said. "With so many. . . gone. . . it's nice to have a familiar face around."

"You know, when my name was first cleared, I suddenly realized that I had no clue how to live openly, how to have a regular job. After all those years of Azkaban. . ." he flinched slightly, remembering the pain of the past, "and then living in hiding, I'd forgotten what it was like to have a normal life. Well, you know, normal for a wizard, of course," he added, grinning like a boy. "And then, when you wrote to me, telling me that this position was open, everything started to fall into place."

Hermione blushed as Sirius smiled at her. "You're certainly welcome, Sirius. I'm so glad to have helped a friend," she said softly, unconsciously touching his arm. A moment later, she realized what she was doing. "You're shivering," she said, "Are you cold?"

Sirius put his hand over hers and smiled. "Not anymore."

Hermione stood still for a moment, with Sirius's strong, battle-scarred hand covering her own tiny one. "Have you seen the new telescope?" she asked, breaking out of his grasp. "You can see the ring around Jupiter so clearly. . ."

Sirius stood behind her as she looked through the glass. "Tell me, Hermione," he whispered, "What do you see in the stars for me?"

Her heart pounded as she turned around slowly to face Sirius, who was standing closer than she'd expected. "I'm not sure," she said faintly. "I was never very good at predicting the future in astronomy."

Sirius remained silent as he stared at Hermione. Her face held more intelligence than beauty, but the sharp features only hinted at the genius he'd come to know lay behind them.

"What do you see for me, Sirius?"

He looked directly at her warm brown eyes with his own piercing gray ones. "I see. . . success," he smiled, "and genius. . . and love." He touched a bushy brown curl that had fallen out of Hermione's loose bun.

"You're not looking at the stars," Hermione said, trembling as Sirius's arm brushed hers.

Without taking his eyes off her face, Sirius whispered so softly that Hermione could barely hear him, despite their closeness, "Oh, but I am. . ."