YOUR'E A BIG GIRL NOW

Disclaimer : None of the characters are mine. If they were I would have treated Sirius a damn sight better – he would have chocolate and cuddles and lots and lots of sex.!

A/N : Totally AU. Everyone JKR killed off is still alive. It's after the war, Ginny is 20 and Hermione is 21 (ish) – over the age of consent anyway.

A/N 2 : This is a sort of a songfic only it's not really – you'll see what I mean. Anyway, the song in question is Bob Dylan's "You're a Big Girl Now". I've taken some considerable liberties with the lyrics but – what the hell – I'll be taking lots more liberties with JKR's characters! LOL

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Chapter 1

"Oh, come on 'Mione," wheedled Ginny, "It'll be a laugh. We could be out and back before anyone knows we've left. It's been ages since we've had a night out"

"I don't want to. I've got a really good book to read and it's freezing out tonight."

"How many chances do you get in life to laugh at your older brother? Come on. I don't want to go on my own."

"Oh go on then, but I'm only coming for an hour."

Half an hour later the two young women were wrapped up against the winter cold and stepping out through the front door. Ginny was still talking excitedly about Bill's new venture . . .

"Fleur says he's been disappearing for a while now. He always takes his guitar so he must be in a band or something. He used to be quite good but he hasn't played for ages, not since, you know, the werewolf thing. She said he's told her he'll be out late tonight and not to wait up. It's too good an opportunity to miss. He'll be mortified when he sees us and will pay a fortune to keep us quiet. I'll have a hold over him forever."

"So how do we know where to go?" asked Hermione.

"Because I've set a tracer spell on his guitar." Ginny answered off handedly. Hermione gasped. "That's illegal isn't it?"

"Don't be such a stick in the mud," Ginny giggled, "it's only illegal if you put a tracer on a person, not a thing. Anyway, laws like that don't count when it's your brother. If he wasn't being so sneaky I wouldn't have had to do it."

Not having any siblings herself, Hermione was unsure about the actual legality of Ginny's argument but thought it best to go along with her for now, if only to keep her out of trouble.

The girls stood under the glow of the street lights while Ginny muttered the incantation to activate her tracer. The silence grew and the night got steadily colder until Hermione couldn't stand it any more.

"Gods, Ginny, it's nobbling out here", she complained. "Do you have any idea where we're going yet?"

"Just a sec," Ginny replied, "the trace is moving." She paused while Hermione shivered miserably in her woefully inadequate cloak. "Right," she finally said, "he's arrived. Gods, they're in Cardiff!"

"Cardiff? What in the name of Merlin's bright blue knickers is he doing in Cardiff?"

"Don't know," came the mischievous reply. "Let's go and find out shall we?"

Linking arms, they spun and with a loud crack the street was empty.

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The pub was dark but not at all smoky.

Ginny dragged Hermione over to a table at the back of the room and then bounced back to the bar to buy drinks. Looking around her, Hermione was taken aback at the dingy surroundings and settled lower in her seat, hoping to avoid any attention.

The pub was quite full, most of the clientele were Muggles but she spotted one or two patrons who were clearly Wizarding folk. Hermione noticed one or two wands sticking out of back pockets and smiled to herself, thinking of Alastor Moody's oft repeated warning "Better wizards than you have lost buttocks."

Hurrying back to their table, Ginny threw down two pints of cider – "they didn't have any Butterbeer – looked at me stupid" – and whispered "He's definitely here, I saw him standing by the gents but he didn't see me. This is going to be sooooo much fun. Yummy, this stuff's nice." She concluded, taking a large gulp of her pint.

"Hmmmph" was Hermione's only reply as she thought longingly of her new book, the warm fire and the comfy sofa she'd left behind at Grimmauld Place.

Ginny, never having been in a Muggle bar before, was looking around her with interest, smiling and giving little waves to anyone who happened to look their way. She drank her cider quickly – a little too quickly Hermione thought – and dashed off for some more.

The girls spent the next hour drinking and chatting, fending off the Muggle men trying to chat them up and taking turns in going to the bar to keep themselves well refreshed.

Before Ginny could get back to the table with the latest round, the house lights suddenly went out. Hermione squeaked in surprise. She squeaked again when Ginny appeared out the darkness and slid into her seat, slopping cold cider all down the front of Hermione's shirt.

" 'Sgone dark innit? I can't see Bill anywhere." Ginny said. "He must be here but the bugger seems to have vanished. Oh well," she raised her glass, "up yer bottom." She said cheerfully.

Hermione , who was just taking a mouthful of cider when Ginny spoke, snorted a laugh and then choked and sneezed at the same time which resulted in cider dribbling out of her nose, down her face and onto her already soaked blouse.

"For Gods' sake Gin, the phrase is 'Bottoms Up'." Ginny looked at her in astonishment. "What did I say?"

"Up yer bottom."

"Oh."

"Yes."

"OH!!!"

Ginny snickered and Hermione joined her. The snickering turned into full blown fits of the giggles as the alcohol they'd drunk began to filter into their brains. After a minute or so they began shushing each other – mainly because other people had started to shush them as well. Hermione hung her head down and tried to clamp her lips over the giggles that kept bubbling up and out of her.

Just then the pub quietened and a spotlight came on, directed at the small stage in the corner of the room.

Ginny's giggles stopped abruptly as she took in the figure bathed in the dusty glow of the light. His soft brown hair going slightly grey was curling around his ears and his long, lithe body was folded onto a wooden stool. Foot beating out the time to the rhythm of his acoustic guitar and a shy smile for the crowd on his lips, Remus Lupin began to play.

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(A/N : Damn this do-good government's smoking ban – how can it be a den of iniquity if it's not dark and smoky? LOL)