The minute that they reached the hospital wing, Madame Pomphrey pried Hermione's jaws open and force-fed her as much Honeyduke's extra thick and milky as she could hold, watching her with a steely gaze and making sure she chewed and swallowed all of it.

In the back of her mind, Hermione shuddered at the thought of all the sugar no doubt coating her teeth, and what her parents would say if they saw her eating an entire piece of candy the size of her neighbours cat, but Madame Pomphrey's wrath was more terrifying in that instant than even a pair of dentists.

Besides, the chocolate actually did help much in the way that it had on the train. It chased the last residual chill from the Dementor's horrible aura out of her chest and sent a warm feeling racing through her veins the longer she sucked on it, shivering oddly here and there.

She was mostly ignored in favour of Harry. It took two Enerverate spells to revive him, and when he did finally wake, it was with a distressed shout.

"WHA-Mum-stop, p-please, don't-!" he yelled, struggling against the magical bonds holding him to the cot. His face was wet from hysteric moisture, hair matted to his face with panicked sweat.

Hermione felt as though she'd been shocked when he called out for his mother, and another torrent of tears rolled down her cheeks.

She knew all about Dementors, of course, from her pre term reading. It all made sense as she recalled the chapter in Fantastic Beasts about them. Dementors fed on joy and happiness, and forced their victim to relive painful and miserable experiences. She could only imagine what Harry had seen.

Lupin was there to restrain him, grabbing his arms firmly but gently. "Harry, you need to calm down. Whatever you're seeing, it's not happening in reality."

"D-don't hurt her! Don't hurt her!" Harry flinched away from Lupin's hands, staring widely at whatever was playing in his mind.

"Harry, please-"

"Move aside, Professor!" Madame Pomphrey rushed over once more, having returned from her office in the back with a goblet of something that smelled like warm honey. She shooed Lupin away and grabbed the back of Harry's head, guiding the mystery potion to his lips and holding his chin to make sure it all went down.

Whatever it was, it was fast acting. He literally wilted and stilled before their eyes, sinking back onto the cot bonelessly as he was swiftly carried to unconsciousness.

Lupin let out his breath in a huff, smoothing down his thin, pale hair. "Thank you, Poppy."

"You need to deal with Severus," Madame Pomphrey snapped, apparently forgetting about the non unconscious child in the room. She sat the goblet down with a hard clank, making Hermione flinch. "He was trying to give the boy Veritaserum. A bloody TRUTH potion, Lupin, after what just happened-!"

"I will speak to him, Poppy." Lupin said soothingly. "Thank you again for this."

"Of course, of course. Couldn't very well leave him like that." Shaking her head irritably, the nurse stalked into the back. Lupin sighed and turned to Hermione, who gulped.

"Miss Granger," he began seriously, "if you haven't been honest about what occured tonight, I'd suggest you start."

"Will Harry be in trouble?" Hermione squeaked, pressing her hands to her rolling guts. Lupin pulled up a chair and took a seat. "That depends, Miss Granger."

Hermione let out a shaky exhale and gazed at her knee. Continuing to lie was useless. It was obvious that Lupin was at least aware that she'd fudged the truth with Dumbledore and the others- hell, he was the one that told her to lie in the first place. Absurdly, she knew, it felt like she was betraying Harry, even though their friendship was shaky at best.

"We...H-Harry came to wake me up." she said at last. "After everyone was asleep. He had that cloak. It could make us invisible. He said..." she bit down on her lip.

"He said he wanted to find Black." Lupin guessed grimly.

"Not for the reason Sna- I mean, Professor Snape said." Hermione defended quickly. "I thought the same thing too. But Professor, it wasn't like that. He...he was trying to save the school, so no one would have to leave. The Malfoys are gone, and his relatives are awful-"

"I'm well aware of the situation, Miss Granger. I think we all are. The Daily profit made sure of that last year." Lupin cut in. Hermione paused, nodding once, and Lupin sighed again and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Deep shadows ringed his eyes, and his shoulders held a sort of permanent slump to them.

When he spoke again, it was soft, and stressed. "Hermione, I don't share the same opinion about Harry that Sev- Professor Snape does, or even that those outside this school do. I know that Harry isn't the type to chase danger for glory. What he does is much more...dangerous."

He steepled his fingers and continued. "I know you remember the Chamber of Secrets incident as you were...er, directly involved. But do you recall the Philosophers Stone?"

Hermione nodded again, and Lupin licked his lips. "They marked Harry as a thrill seeker, but I think you and I both know that's not the case. Harry is motivated by his sense of honor, and to do what's right."

"B-but he's...he's a Skytherin!" she blurted, then immediately blushed at the raised eyebrow she received. She realized how idiotic that statement was. She'd come to the same conclusion about Harry herself after he told her his plan. "I just meant...bravery and righteousness, those are typically, er...Gryffindor traits." she clarified. "But the hat put him in Slytherin."

"You'll have to ask Harry about that, Hermione." Lupin said, with a sad smile. "All I can tell you is that it's not an exact science, or a guaranteed thing." He shook his head and learned forward, all traces of a smile vanishing from his face.

"What I'm about to say to you, I need to remain between us. No one can know, especially not Harry. Sirius Black has been implicated in some very serious crimes, and there has legitimate reason to believe that he is coming to harm Harry."

"But...why?" Hermione whispered.

Lupin looked pained. "Black...has been named as a supporter to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. And Harry is, well...Harry. Beyond that, I'm really not allowed to say."

He suddenly reached forward and grabbed her hand, squeezing. His fingers were cold. "I know that you and Harry are friends, despite what you show to the school. You know about the masks he wears. He's let you in. So I'm begging you- please, don't let him dig any further into Sirius Black. Discourage him, anger him if you must, but keep him in the dark. If he learns the truth about Black, it will destroy him, and possibly get him killed. You're one of the few people he trusts. You have to promise me that you'll help keep him safe."

Hermione was stunned to see tears shining in his eyes. "Professor... I told him I'd help him."

"Hermione, please. He cannot continue in this vein. He won't protect himself, so we must do it for him."

Hermione glanced over at Harry, still and pale on his cot, and recalled the horrible convulsions he'd suffered from the Dementor. Lupin was right. That could never be allowed to happen again.

"Al...alright. I promise." she sighed, dragging her legs up to her chest and burying her face in her knees. A heavy feeling settled inside her.

"Thank you," Lupin exhaled, giving her hand one last squeeze before standing. He was straightening his robes when Madame Pomphrey walked back in, scribbling something on a chart.

"That's you done, dear." she nodded to Hermione.

"Madame Pomphrey, er...can't I stay here tonight? Please? I don't..."

The matron pursed her lips and breathed out sharply through her nose, but she must have thought Hermione looked pathetic enough. Her eyes softened.

"Fine, fine. But only for tonight." With a wave of her wand she erected the privacy screen and began to help Hermione into a pair of hospital wing pyjamas. "Will that be all, Professor?"

"Yes, yes. Thank you, Madame Pomphrey. I do hope you feel better, Miss Granger." he said formally. Behind the screen, Hermione couldn't see him as he left, but she thought she heard a slight tremor in his voice.

Madame Pomphrey guided her back down to the cot and handed her another goblet full of the same warm potion. "Come on then, dear. I'd imagine you need this."

Hermione took it gratefully and let it slip down her throat. Her muscles relaxed as soon as it hit her tongue, eyes fluttering closed to the sound of Madame Pomphrey's grumbling. All of her thoughts sank to the bottom of her mind like stones in a creek, and Hermione passed into a blissfully dreamless sleep.