"Who the fuck's been messing with my files?" came a barking voice from down the hall.
Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, as she entered the study, books in hand. Behind his desk, Sirius was rifling through stacks of files on his desk. From his grumbling it seemed that he was missing some important document that needed to be sent to the Minister's office for clearance within the hour. And knowing Sirius, it was probably right under his nose.
"Language, Black." She scolded. "And don't you dare let your child hear that. She thought she was doing you a favor. Spent the entire morning trying to put it all in order. And considering the way your desk normally looks, I think it's a major improvement."
Sirius stopped his search momentarily to look up at Hermione. "Izzy did this?"
The scowl that had marred his handsome features softened into something else. After a moment his fathomless grey eyes seemed become unfocused. Then a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he eyed the witch in front of him. Hermione was standing in front of the large leather couch, books balanced on her hip, watching him with an expression of mild amusement.
"She woke up early, before I took her to Harry and Ginny's, because she said she noticed you could never find anything on your desk when you needed it and she wanted to help."
"Indeed," he muttered contemplatively.
"Yes, 'indeed'," she said bossily. "So you can thank her tonight when she gets back," She said in a tone that left absolutely no room for argument.
She set her books on the coffee table between the sofas in the middle of the room, and walked over to the great oak desk behind which Sirius' minor meltdown had dissipated. He'd plopped down into his chair, and was staring absently off into space with the same smirk on his face. One hand drummed its fingers absently on the wooden armrest of his chair, while the other was left to the stroking of a very attractive jaw, as was fairly customary when Sirius was deep in thought.
This sudden change of mood was highly entertaining for Hermione to witness. She came around the desk to sit on its edge in front of Sirius. Automatically, his hand reached out to rest on her thigh, warming her skin through her thin lounge pants. She smiled, covering his large hand in her smaller more dainty one as she reached out to tuck a strand of jet black hair, fallen from his ponytail, back behind his ear.
Sirius Black was at a loss for words. Now this was news.
"What's going on in that head of yours, Black?" she asked curiously. His bottomless grey eyes lifted to meet her gaze, and she found his expression still pensive. For a long moment he didn't respond at all. When he did, his question confused her.
"How did I get so lucky, love?"
She frowned, and opened her mouth to question him, but he shook his head and continued.
"I haven't done anything to deserve this life. You and Izzy, you're too good for me. Most men my age are having mid-life crises, visiting grandkids, and going bald."
He listed these situations as if they were absolutely devastating to think about. Hermione fought a giggle.
"You could've had someone else – someone younger – someone better. I'll be an old man by the time Izzy comes of age. Neither of you ought to have that…" He trailed off ruefully, removing his hand from her leg and looking down at both of his calloused hands in his lap.
Hermione blinked at the top of her husband's dark head. All of these feelings most certainly hadn't been brought on by the news that their eight-year-old had arranged his desk for him. Calmly, she slid off the desk and moved his hands aside so that she could place herself in his lap. Sitting sideways, she put one arm around his broad shoulders, while taking one of his hands in her free one.
"Where's all this coming from, Sirius? You sound a bit like you're giving us up." She ventured cautiously. His eyes found hers again, now much closer, and he shook his head minutely.
"I've just been thinking a lot lately." He began, squinting down at their clasped hands. "After all the shite I've seen and done I'm surprised I've not lost my mind. Actually, I'm not surprised," he amended. "You two have kept me sane." He lifted their joined hands to press his warm lips softly to the back of hers. "And I'll say it again: I don't deserve you." His unoccupied arm wrapped itself snugly about her waist, pulling her as close as possible.
All this reflection and sentimentality from him all at once was a bit overwhelming. Did he doubt everything they'd done? Did he think she regretted her decision to be with him, marry him, bear his child?
She placed a kiss on his temple. "Sirius, look at me."
She continued with purposeful resolution only when her eyes locked onto his.
"I love you. I-Love-You. No one else. I chose you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and you alone. Your daughter loves you. She admires you and adores everything you do. In her eyes you could do no wrong. Neither of us would be who we are if it weren't for you." She smirked mischievously. "I'll admit you are a bit insufferable and smug at times. You can be as stubborn as about a thousand mules. And Merlin only knows what kind of mischief our child – our wonderful, too-intelligent-for-her-own-good beautiful girl will get into. Especially if she ever finds out any of the things her parents, god-parents and uncles did in their school days." There was a slight upward tug at the corners of his mouth. I'll have to tell Ginny to keep Harry quiet about that for a few years yet…she thought with a rueful smirk.
"But, I wouldn't have it any other way," she assured him, with a playful shake of his shoulders. "Someone else wouldn't be you, love. And that's what I signed up for. I couldn't ask for a better husband, a better lover, or friend. And you are by far the best father Izzy could ever have."
Sirius Black looked up at his wife gratefully, trying to let her words sink in. He still puzzled during the night, sleeping or awake, over how he had ended up in this wonderful situation.
From the moment his brain realized what his heart had already decided about Hermione, to the moment she accepted his well prepared but horribly performed proposal, and beyond to the day she'd told him they were having a child, he still couldn't fathom how he had been the one to receive all of this. Of course there were rough patches and dark times but Hermione, little Isabella, and the rest of their motley extended family outshined all of that.
His second chance had yielded so many wonderful things and he couldn't seem to help but question them. But he remembered telling Remus when he'd realized there was something budding between his best friend and his cousin (contrary to what some may have believed, Sirius black was a very intelligent and observant individual. The qualities were what usually got him into – and out of – trouble.).
"Sometimes you just gotta go with it, Moony, no questions."
He sighed and smiled at Hermione, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. It was high time he started following his own advice again.
He said "Thanks, love." And left a lingering kiss on her lips. Smiling, Hermione nodded and rose from his lap. She started to walk back to the coffee table before stopping. "Sirius, was it the Norrington file you were looking for?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and leaned across her husband to his satchel sitting open on the corner of the desk. The file in question was sticking out of the other papers and files Sirius had packed up last night. She could remember him putting the Norrington file in his bag after he'd finished with it solely for the purpose of not losing it…Right under his nose.
"Here you go dear. Exactly where it should be," she said placing it in front of him. "Do I have to start sowing our address into your underwear as well?" she asked playfully turning to face him. Sirius' jaw was slack with disbelief. All that searching and…Of all the ironic, metaphorical bullshit…
Oh well. He laughed half acknowledging Hermione's comment. She was shaking her head as she put a hand under his chin, tipping his face up to kiss him tenderly. Then she was walking back to the table.
"And now you have exactly thirty minutes to get that file in Kingsley's hands," she reminded him as she sat down on the sofa.
With that Sirius was up, file and bag in hand, planting a kiss atop Hermione's head as he dashed out of the study to the sitting room fireplace.
"Love you, baby," he shouted as he ran down the stairs.
She heard him bark out "Ministry of Magic" before she responded and she could only laugh, turning away from the door to begin her own work.
"Don't I know it."