A/N: I have been reading Harry Potter fan fiction for well over a decade. Recently, I was introduced to the Hermione x Sirius ship through the amazing "The Debt of Time" by ShayaLonnie. I was completely hooked, and read through pretty much every available story I could find. But there wasn't enough!

So, a friend of mine (Ms. K. Everdeen – thank you for the encouragement and help!) said that if I couldn't find any more stories to read, I should write my own. And that's what I did! This is a short, multi-chapter fic. It is complete, and I will be posting one chapter a week. It's AU, mostly in regard to character death, and the Epilogue is disregarded. I hope everyone enjoys, and please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I wish I could live in this world, but I unfortunately don't own any of it.

Chapter 1

Closing the front door behind her, Hermione Granger entered the foyer of 12 Grimmauld Place. It had been more than ten years since the first time she had walked through that door, and the place could not be more different. Harry had worked very hard to make the place feel like a real home, and with more than a little help from his fiancée, he had succeeded. Ginny had a knack for decorating, and she didn't employ anything too frilly or floral, much to Harry's relief.

"Anyone home?" Hermione called out as she hung up her cloak. She was over an hour early for their planned dinner, and she wasn't sure if anyone would be home to greet her.

After a few beats, she heard Ginny's voice letting her know to come to the kitchen. She picked up her bag and made her way down the stairs. She smiled as she saw the garland wrapped around the bannister. Harry always liked to decorate to the fullest extent for Christmas, a remnant of the happy times he had spent at Hogwarts.

It was December 16th. While her little group of friends tried to spend as much time together as possible, life often got in the way. It was especially difficult for Hermione, who worked as Arthimancy professor at Hogwarts, while the rest of the group lived in London. But, no matter what was going on, they always made time for monthly dinners together at Grimmauld Place.

Usually, they skipped their typical dinner in December since they all spent Christmas Day together at the Burrow, but Harry had owled yesterday to ask to make an exception. Though an odd request, Hermione didn't have any inkling as to the reason behind it, so she was not at all expecting the surprise that was waiting for her in the kitchen.

"Sorry I'm so early," she said as she breezed in the room, dropping her bag on the table. "Decorations for tomorrow's feast were starting to go up, and I thought I had better get out of there before someone roped me in to helping."

She looked up to see Harry and Ginny standing by the sink looking at her oddly. "What is it?" she asked, glancing around the room for the first time. It was then that she noticed someone standing at the other end of the dining table. She did a double take, and couldn't help it when her jaw dropped.

"Hello Hermione." Sirius Black said, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile. He stood there, looking exactly the way he had the last time Hermione had seen him, at Christmas time, eleven years ago.

"Ahh, wha... Uhh..." Hermione started incoherently, looking to Harry and Ginny for some sort of explanation. She felt like she was hallucinating, because surely Sirius could not really be standing there as if no time had passed. He looked very much alive, and that just couldn't be.

"He's real, Hermione." Harry said, a big grin forming on his face.

"But how?!" Hermione practically shouted, looking back at Sirius. His small smile had turned into a grin to match Harry's.

"I came back through the Veil," Sirius replied.

"That's a thing?! I didn't think that was possible!" Hermione could hear the hysteria in her voice and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down.

"The Unspeakables were doing some experimenting, but they didn't provide much detail. You know how they are about secrecy," Harry said. As an Auror, Harry had some contact with the Department of Mysteries, but unless you worked directly for the department, you were unlikely to get any straight answers from them.

Hermione looked back to Sirius, who shrugged. "I don't remember much myself. I woke up in a secluded ward at St. Mungo's. At first, I didn't realize what was going on. When a healer showed up and started quizzing me about my memories, I started to wonder what had happened that night in the Department of Mysteries. They held me for testing for a week, then told me more than ten years had passed and that I had been cleared of all charges."

Hermione felt tears gathering in her eyes. "Sirius... I just, I can't believe this."

Sirius started walking over to her. "When they told me I was free to go, I wasn't sure what to do. I still had no idea of what had happened in the last decade. So, I asked them to contact Harry. He definitely got a shock when he walked into my room."

Harry chuckled, "I wish someone had warned me! I thought I was there to question someone for a case. Aurors are often called in to get to the bottom of situations, especially in the case of injury from spells gone wrong. But when I opened the door, there was Sirius!"

"After the initial shock wore off, Harry brought me here. And then after Ginny worked through her shock, they've walked me through what I've missed, at least as much as possible in the past day." Sirius stopped in front of Hermione and hesitated. She didn't think twice, and threw her arms around his neck.

"Oh, I've missed you so much," she murmured into his shoulder. As Sirius' arms came around her back tightly, he pressed his face into her curls. She smiled.

As the rest of their friends arrived, there were varying degrees of surprise. Ron's loud exclamation of "Bloody hell!" was typical, and Tonks was speechless as she watched her husband greet his long-lost friend.

Out of all the reactions Sirius received, Remus' was by far the most emotional. Watching both men hug and wipe at their eyes tugged at Hermione's heart.

After everything settled and the meager explanation of Sirius' return told, the group sat down to dinner.

Hermione watched Sirius covertly as he listened to everyone tell their own stories of what had happened in their lives since he'd been gone. He seemed to be smiling and laughing at all the right places, but he was jittery. His hands kept playing with his napkin and utensils, and she could tell that he was bouncing his knee as he sat.

She couldn't help but laugh when Sirius pretended to pick a fight with Remus over marrying his baby cousin. His good-natured taunting, along with Remus' rebuttals seemed to help him calm down and relax somewhat.

When dinner was finished, Sirius excused himself while the others in the group moved into the sitting room. Hermione stayed behind to help Ginny clean up. The younger woman eyed her for a moment before speaking, "So, what's up between you and Sirius?"

"What?" Hermione exclaimed, surprised by the question.

"I was always under the impression that the two of you didn't care much for each other, but you were practically in tears and clung to him when you first saw him. Then you watched him all through dinner." Ginny said as she set the dishes to cleaning with her wand.

"I was emotional! We all thought he was dead! I'm thrilled he finally gets a chance to live the life he missed out on," Hermione said. She hoped that would appease Ginny, but of course the red head was not fooled.

"That still doesn't explain why you watched him all through dinner," she said.

"I don't know what to tell you Ginny," Hermione said. "I never disliked Sirius. We butted heads over many topics of course, but I didn't really know him that well personally."

"If you say so." Ginny replied, clearly not believing Hermione's lie. Hermione had no desire to tell her the reason why she was so emotional over Sirius' return.

As Ginny left the kitchen, Hermione was left to think about her time with him, something she hadn't let herself think about for a long time.

July 12, 1995

"Argh!" Fifteen-year-old Hermione yelled as she stomped out onto the back stoop, slamming the door. Except the ancient wooden door got stuck halfway, leaving the angry girl completely unsatisfied, so she kicked it for good measure before forcing it closed. Swinging around, she jumped and let out a startled squeak.

Sirius was sitting on the step, looking over his shoulder at her, cigarette in hand, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Sirius! You startled me!" Hermione exclaimed.

"That was quite the entrance you just made! That door really deserve such rough treatment?" Sirius asked.

Hermione's cheeks burned in embarrassment. "I-I didn't think anyone was out here. I'm sorry for bothering you."

Sirius waved her apology away. "I'm just out here for a smoke. Feel free to join me if you want."

Hermione took a seat next to him, "You know that's a nasty habit. You should really think about quitting." She couldn't seem to be able to stop herself from ribbing him when they were together.

"Why thank you for that wonderful piece of advice, Hermione," he said sarcastically. She made as if to leave, but he grabbed her arm.

"Don't leave, I'm sorry. I'm just a bit on edge. Sometimes, having a houseful of people can be bit much, especially after so many years alone. Smoking helps me deal with the stress, and it's honestly probably one of the least destructive ways to cope I could turn to."

Hermione stared at him. He had never talked to her like that before. "Do you forgive me?" He asked when she didn't say anything.

She nodded. "As long as you forgive me for lecturing you all the time."

Sirius smiled at her and nodded. After a few minutes of silence, Sirius asked, "So, what brought on your sudden bought of anger?"

Hermione scowled, "The boys have been driving me crazy!"

"Ah, no further explanations needed," Sirius said. He laughed at her expression. "Maybe being cooped up in this awful house with so many people is having a negative effect on you too?"

"Perhaps," she said, relaxing her face. "But I'm glad I'm spending the summer here. It can get lonely at home with just my parents."

They continued talking for a while, both being distracted from their worries. When Mrs. Weasley came looking for Hermione, she stood to go back inside.

Sirius cleared his throat, "I'm to be found out here quite a bit, taking a break from the chaos. If you ever need a break yourself."

Hermione smiled at him, "I may just take you up on that."

And she had. She and Sirius had spent hours out there together that summer. She had enjoyed his company, and while they had argued, it was mostly good natured.

He had told her quite a bit about himself. What it was like growing up in that house amidst all the pureblood mania, about his days at Hogwarts with James and Lily. Hermione had been most surprised when he had opened up about his time in Azkaban.

It made her feel good that he seemed to trust her enough to share so much of himself. In return, he listened to her stories about growing up in the muggle world, and her struggle to make friends. He never made her feel stupid for sharing what must have been very petty teenage concerns. She had been grateful for that. He had been the first person to make her feel grown up.

She had never told anyone about the time they had spent together, so to all outward appearance, they had been barely acquainted. She had known him well, perhaps better than even Harry had.

The memories made her smile. She decided to go looking for Sirius, and she had a feeling she knew just where he would be.

"I knew I'd find you out here," Hermione said, sitting down on the stoop next to Sirius. "Checking out the beautiful scenery?"

The back garden was dreary at this time of year. The plants were dormant and barren, though the light sprinkling of snow on the ground livened it up a bit.

"You know me, I do love horticulture," Sirius joked, bumping his shoulder against hers.

Hermione laughed, wrapping her cloak more tightly around herself, "And have you finally taken my advice and given up smoking?"

Sirius smirked, "Haven't you heard? I gave it up cold-turkey ten years ago. I guess it doesn't make much sense to start up with it again."

They sat together in comfortable silence as the minutes stretched on, shoulders touching, giving each other warmth in the chilly night air. Suddenly, Sirius' voice broke through Hermione's thoughts, "You look like you're thinking very hard over there."

Hermione shook her head, "It's just so disconcerting, sitting here again with you."

"Disconcerting!" Sirius barked suddenly, startling her. "Try waking up and finding out you've lost another decade of your life and that everyone you love has moved on with their lives without you!"

Sirius jumped up and paced away, hands clenched in his wavy, shoulder length hair. Hermione studied him in silence, allowing him time to work through his sudden outburst. After a few moments he stopped, facing Hermione, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take my anger out on you. I'm just so bloody overwhelmed! I'm not handling it very well."

"You have nothing to be sorry for Sirius," Hermione soothed. "I'm not going to judge you for being overwhelmed and lashing out. I can't even imagine how you must be feeling."

Sirius shook his head ruefully, "I don't even know how to feel! One minute I'm ecstatic about the prospect of finally being able to live my life, followed closely by fury over having missed so much. Then I feel like I want to crawl in a hole and never come out for fear of having to deal with all of this. It's that last feeling that drove me out here."

"Perhaps now is not the best time to give up smoking?" Hermione queried, making him smile. "Would you rather I leave you alone?"

"No!" Sirius practically shouted. "I-I thought I wanted to be alone, but now that you're here..." He trailed off.

"Ok." Hermione said. Silence fell again, and Sirius resumed pacing.

"I'm having a hard time deciding what's stranger, the fact that you're suddenly twenty-seven, or the fact that I'm now only ten years older than you?" he said, coming to sit down next to her again.

Hermione took a moment to study him as he looked out over the garden. He certainly hadn't aged since falling through the veil. He had been an attractive man before Azkaban; she had seen numerous pictures. And once he had settled into life in Grimmauld Place prior to disappearing, he had started to lose that emaciated, escaped convict look. He groomed his dark hair to shoulder length, and kept his beard trimmed and neat. His clothing, though eccentric, fit his slim body well, and the prison tattoos that peaked out above his shirt collar and decorated his forearms and knuckles added to the dangerous air he seemed to exude.

Hermione would be lying if she said she hadn't developed a bit of a crush on him from all those hours they had spent on this very stoop the summer before her fifth year. Though it had cooled once she had returned to school, it had made it even more difficult for her to deal with his death.

Hermione jumped when Sirius cleared his throat. "Geez Hermione, you're going to make a guy blush," he said, clearly uncomfortable with her too long scrutiny.

Blushing herself at the direction her thoughts had taken, Hermione giggled. "I think it would take a lot more than that to make you blush, Sirius Black! I've heard the stories."

"Oh really," he said, grinning. "Well, I guess since you're all grown up now, I don't have to worry about corrupting your innocent mind."

Hermione was blushing furiously now, as she teasingly punched his shoulder, "I didn't realize you had been concerned about that before!"

Sirius was suddenly looking at her intently. "Believe me, I was aware you were a teenager, and edited accordingly. Though I will admit that my censor was more than a little skewed by my time in Azkaban. I don't believe I came out of there with a fully intact mind, and I never learned how to be a real adult."

He reached out to tug on one of her wild curls and smiled. Hermione smiled back, trying to ignore the sudden fluttering in her stomach. "You're a free man now Sirius. You have all the time in the world to figure out your life. You don't have to rush into anything. Take it slow."

"Slow, hmm?" Sirius murmured, pulling his hand back. "Slow was never really my strong suit."

Hermione desperately wanted to look away, but she seemed unable to break his gaze. Suddenly, the door burst open, making them both jump.

"There you two are!" Harry said, stepping out onto the stoop. "Remus and Tonks need to get home to Teddy. Andromeda was available last minute to sit with him, but only until ten o'clock."

"We'll be right in," Sirius told him, looking back to Hermione. After Harry had left, Sirius stood up and offered Hermione his hand. Once she was standing in front of him, he tugged on one of her curls again. "I've decided you being twenty-seven is definitely stranger. Disconcerting indeed."

With that he stepped around her into the house. Hermione held her chilled hands to her burning cheeks and took a deep breath. 'How inconvenient!' She thought as she followed Sirius into the house.