What a strange day this had been. Hermione drifted from class to class, feeling quite surreal at some moments. The only thing that had brought her back to reality for any amount of time was her meeting with Professor McGonagall...but the meeting had been a good one. Hermione wondered if anyone thought the head of their House was as wonderful as she did right now. Perhaps her roommates would. She was quite certain they'd have been celebrating her absence last night.
She made a mental note to herself to tell Ron and Harry where she'd be staying for the next couple of nights, assuming she needed to avoid her dorm further. She blushed even thinking about something Professor McGonagall had implied...then shook her head and set on her way.
Something had occurred to her this morning, even in her fog. The tiniest thought kept nagging at her...something Sirius had said last night... As soon as she could, she disappeared into her favourite room and set about finding Sirius' diary. It was right where she'd left it, alongside her own, behind the bed frame. She picked it up and sat cross-legged on the bed, holding her wand to it and speaking aloud any incantations she could think up that might explain why so many pages were blank...
"Apparecium..."
Then something happened.
On the thirteenth page, some words appeared...hazy at first, then clearer. She read them over and over again. Adonis? Fallen angels? They didn't make a lot of sense. But she knew Sirius well enough to know there had to be something to them. Then it struck her. It was a riddle! Maybe...if she could solve it...she'd be able to read the rest of the diary...
Hermione felt a nauseating wave of guilt wash over her. She shouldn't be doing this. But...he wouldn't have left it here like this if it was that big a secret, right? They'd probably have a good laugh going over the memories within it when she went to see him later...
So she sat. And thought. And puzzled. For a very long time. And when at least she spoke the right words aloud, the diary's pages began to flip in her hands. Sirius' writing appeared all over the blank pages. Hermione's breath caught. There was so much that had been hidden...!
With one last deep breath to push away the guilt, she laid down on her stomach and began to read, her eyes widening with every line.
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