The next day, Harry and Hermione arrived at The Three Broomsticks at 1:05

The next day, Harry and Hermione arrived at The Three Broomsticks at 1:05. Hermione quickly scanned the bar, and then smiled to herself.

"Come on, Harry," she said, tugging at his sleeve. "We already have a table."

He followed her line of vision, and then looked down at her incredulously.

"Hermione! I can't believe you invited them!"

"Why not? Come on Harry, relax. It'll be fun. We haven't seen them in ages. Let's just enjoy their company okay? No pressure."
He shook his head, and then followed her as she lead the way to where Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were sitting. It wasn't hard to find them: they were easily the best looking blokes in the bar, and the pair of them made for a lot of gossip. In fact, ever since Sirius's name had been cleared, he and Remus had been getting a lot of offers from both men and women, but they both turned them down. Remus, because he was in love with someone, but secretly, and Sirius…well, Hermione hoped it was because he secretly fancied Harry.

"Harry! Hermione! It's wonderful to see you both. It's been too long," said Remus, standing to give Hermione a hug and to shake Harry's hand. And it had been almost six months since they had last seen Remus. They had order work and the full moon to thank for that.

"Good to see you too Remus. We've missed you," said Harry, grinning at the former proffessor. There was a way about Remus that just put everyone around him at ease, and Harry respected the man greatly for it.

"And we have missed you," Remus replied, gesturing at Sirius to include him too. Sirius smiled at Harry, but Harry did not turn to meet his eyes. He took his place besides Hermione and said nothing. Sirius did not notice, or he pretended not to at least. Instead, he cheerfully ordered a couple of butterbeers to go around.

"So," said Hermione, to break the silence that followed. "How's the Order?"

"Fairly decent," replied Sirius. "Remus here has been quite successful in his missions at least. It's quite an impressive record he's got."
"Oh shut it, Sirius. You know all the credit doesn't belong to me."

"You guys are going on missions together!?" Hermione exclaimed. "That must be brilliant. I bet Ron and Harry would love to do that. Wouldn't you Harry?"

He shrugged. "I suppose so," he mumbled, still not looking at Sirius.

Inside her head, Hermione rolled her eyes. Boys. He can face Lord Voldomort when he's eleven years old, but he can't deal with his own feelings.

"It is great," Sirius agreed after a moment. "Just like old times. At least I'm finally out of the house anyway. And Remus is normally good company. When he's not acting like the old school prefect." Sirius rolled his eyes dramatically, winking at Hermione.

"Hey now! Someone's got to be responsible! Anyway, everyone knows," he whispered loudly to Hermione, "that he can't do anything without me. I just don't like to embaress him."

"Oh you dog!" Sirius exclaimed, pretending to be hurt.

"Wolf, actually." Remus stated matter-of-factly.

Hermione laughed, and even Harry grinned slightly at Remus, who winked at them both.

"So tell me," Hermione began. "Any new leads in the Order? Theories?"

Remus hesitated. "No, not really. Nothing really substantial…"
"Nothing on Draco Malfoy?" Harry interrupted, and Remus turned to him slowly.

"Harry, Professor Dumbledore has told me to advise you to let him alone. This is a delicate thing he's playing with, Harry. He's afraid that anything will tip Draco either way."

"What do you mean?" Hermione and Harry asked at the same time. They looked at each other and grinned. The exchange was not lost on Sirius.

"Draco is going through...a hard time right now," Remus explained. "Dumbledore is hoping to sway him to the light."
"Impossible," Harry muttered darkly. "He's too much of a coward to consider straying from his father's protection."
"Ah, but you see Harry, it's not an easy thing, to go against everything that you are brought up to believe. To go against your family, your friends, Voldomort…it will be extremely difficult for Draco, and even for Dumbledore to try and protect him. It's not an easy thing at all."

"But, Dumbledore can do anything," Harry argued. "Dumbledore will be able to offer him any kind of protection. He won't have to worry about a thing. It'll be easier for him to come to our side."

"It's not that simple, Harry," Remus said firmly.

Harry opened his mouth to argue some more, but Sirius spoke up.

"He's right Harry, trust me. I've been there."

Remus turned to Sirius and gave him a small smile, and Hermione smiled apologetically.
"That's right," she said. "I'm sorry, I forgot. You were in the same place as Draco."

"No, not the same place. A better place. For Draco, he would be going against EVERYONE. His friends, his family. Everyone. For me, I had James and Remus. They were holding me here. To the Order, to the light. So at least I had a place to turn to, people to go to. Draco has…no one. He'd be alone on this side, because all of us don't trust him, won't be friendly with him. It's hard to betray the most important people in your life, when you know that's what's waiting for you. And then, you have to worry about the people you DO care about. Like your mother and father. Or even worse, your best mates. What if the Dark Lord punishes them for your betrayal? What if he hurts them because of what you did? Voldomort does not take betrayal lightly. It's a tricky thing, if you're concerned about your safety. It's even worse if you're concerned about the safety of your loved ones."

Sirius looked away, remembering, and Remus shook his head. Hermione looked at Remus, silently asking for an explanation.

"He tried to push us away," Remus explained. "Said he was doing it for our own protection. James and I flipped out of course, and stubbornly refused. You know us. Nothing was too big for the Marauders. And anyway, we HAD to worry about Sirius. HE wasn't worried about himself at all. He was reckless, stupidly so. Too concerned about our safety to worry about his own."

Sirius gave Remus a small smile. Remus shook his head again.

"Those were some tough times for the Marauders."
"And I have apologized more than a million times!" protested Sirius.

"I'm not saying it's your fault Padfoot and you know it. I'm just telling them the truth. You know you didn't have to block us out like that. It would have made things so much simpler. You could have just let us help you."

"And let you lose your lives to protect me?" said Sirius angrily. "Over my dead body."

Remus winced, and Sirius suddenly remembered himself.

"Moony, I'm sorry," he said softly, touching his shoulder lightly, and then he turned to Hermione and Harry, as if suddenly realizing they were there. "I didn't mean to go off like that."

Remus nodded, shaking himself lightly.
"Come on, let's talk about happier things."

Hermione and Harry looked at them. They had been watching the exchange between the two old friends silently, but now they had so many questions.

Sirius didn't give them a chance though.

"So! When are you two going to make it official?" he asked, grinning at them both.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, and Harry spoke, never looking away from her.

"We're just friends."
"Come on now," Sirius insisted. "You two would be perfect for each other, and after all love is only one step after friendship."

Harry continued to look at Hermione, and Remus watched the exchange confusedly. He couldn't decipher either of their expressions.

"Sirius, we're just friends. Nothing more." Harry said firmly.

"Don't be silly Harry. You two are old enough now," Sirius said earnestly. "Anyway, you'd have my blessing."
Finally Hermione broke the eye contact, looking down, and Harry stood up abruptly.

"I'm going out for some air," he said quietly, and left the restaurant, without looking back.

Too late, Sirius realized his mistake.

"Was it something I said?" Sirius asked. Hermione sighed.

"I just, can't seem to get through to him nowadays!" Sirius exclaimed, frustratedly. "It's like he hates me! Notice that he didn't look at me once today! I would apologize, but I don't know what I did!"

"It's not you," Hermione said soothingly. "He's just having a rough time of it all."

"No! It IS me! He was fine with you and Moony!"
"Come now, Sirius," said Moony. "You're acting like a little girl. I'm sure it's nothing. Remember how he was after you died? He was inconsolable. And then when you came back to us, for awhile, he couldn't stop smiling. He loves you a whole lot Padfoot. And besides, if I can recall correctly, you went through a similar phase once."

"Yes, but that was when I thought I was in love with you," Sirius stated a bit impatiently. Hermione looked up at this, and Remus turned to her suddenly, realization in his eyes. Hermione nodded imperceptibly. Sirius missed the exchange.

"Please tell me if he says anything to you?" he asked Hermione pleadingly. "He's my godson. I want to be there for him."

Hermione nodded. "Of course, Sirius." She smiled at the two of them.

"It's been wondeful seeing you two. I have to go get some things from Hogsmeade, but make sure you keep in touch. We'll have to do this again sometime."
Sirius smiled warmly at her though there was still worry in his eyes. "Come on Remus, let's get home."
"No, actually, I think I'm going to stay. You could really use my advice with this," he said meaningfully to Hermione, and she recognized the double meaning.

"Alright," said Sirius. "I'll see you at home."

Hermione and Remus walked in silence for a bit, before Remus turned to her.

"How long?"

"He just told me yesterday, but I've known for a long time."

"Hermione…there are things about us that you don't know. Things that you might not want to know about us. It could complicate things. A whole lot."

"You and Sirius had a thing," she said, looking at him.

"Yes. As did James and I, and Sirius and James."

Hermione stopped and stared at him, amazed.

"You can see where the complications lie then," he gave a rueful smile.

"Go on."

"It began with Sirius's feelings for me. He started avoiding me. It became pretty drastic. Whenever I walked into a room, he walked out. He'd sit at the opposite end of the classroom. He wouldn't look me in the eye. Apparently it was because he couldn't accept that he was gay. Anyway, finally James confronted him about it, and when James found out, he started to play matchmaker. We were together for about a year. Maybe a bit more."

"A YEAR?!" Hermione interrupted.

Remus chuckled. "Yes. So many people were surprised that he could remain faithful for that long. But he did. He's a very good man. One of the best."

"Who ended it?" Hermione asked curiously.

Remus sighed. "It was me who finally broke it off. Sirius was pretty torn up about it. He still accuses me of being afraid of my feelings. You see, most of the relationship was wonderful, but it was complicated as well. I am a werewolf. He is a Black. Things were hard. Finally, James helped us to fix things between the two of us, after all, we couldn't just stop being friends. And in the end, we both moved on to better things. In Sirius's case it was James, and for me, it was a pretty fourth year—

"Girl?" Hermione interrupted yet again.

Remus looked at her. "Yes." He said after a moment. "Cynthia. Anyway, me and James had an off and on thing for a month, and then he moved on to Lily."

Hermione was still looking at him, shocked.

"We had rules of course," he continued. "After Sirius and I, we were more careful. We tried to end things mutually, and we ALWAYS ended up closer than before. And we're close to this day. Even James is here with us."

Hermione studied him.

"Harry deserves to be happy," she said finally.

"I agree completely. And there is already chemistry between the two of them. I don't doubt for a second that they couldn't be happy together."

"They just need a push in the right direction." Hermione finished.

Remus studied her this time.

"You have a plan."

Hermione smiled. "I do. I have two houses. One's by the shore, and my parents aren't using it right now. Let's go away to it. The Weasley's, Harry and I. We can go during spring break for vacation. And you and Sirius can chaperone! It would work out perfectly. They'd really get to spend some time together."

"You're crazy! Molly would never agree to that! She'd be concerned for your safety!"
"She would if you suggested it! Please Remus? You know we deserve a vacation." Hermione looked at him with pleading eyes. It took about ten seconds to wear him down.

"Oh, alright. I'll bring it up with Molly. But I'm not promising you anything," he warned.

"Yay! Oh Remus, thank you!" She flung her arms around him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. A couple of girls nearby giggled, and Remus looked at them, amused.

"You know. You hanging out with an ugly, old man like me is really ruining your rep," he said, smiling at her.

"First of all," Hermione said indignantly, "Do not insult my taste. You are not old, and you are most certainly not ugly. Did you even notice how all the girls were staring at you in the bar?"

Remus flushed slightly.

"And second of all. Who cares about my reputation?! Everyone knows that I'm hopelessly and stupidly in love with Ron, and that YOU are in love with Tonks."

Remus turned red.

"WHAT?!"

"Or at least…I know that you're in love with her." She said amusedly.

"How did you…?" Remus sputtered.

"I have a gift for these things," she replied.

"What don't you have a gift for?" he muttered amusedly. Hermione ignored him.

"We'll have to invite her too." She said thoughtfully.

Remus looked at her suspiciously.

"You have something up your sleeve," he declared. "This isn't going to be some innocent trip to a beach house is it?"

Hermione grinned at him.

"Alright, I best be going," he said. "You take care of yourself. And your rep. No matter how trivial it may seem." He bent down and kissed her on the cheek again, and then apparated on the spot.

Hermione strolled off to where she knew Harry would be, lost in thought.

"Once Mrs.Weasley approves, we'll have the perfect opportunity to set them up. I'll need a little bit of help, but I'll worry about that later. For now, at least I know that Harry and Sirius have a chance. Wow, I can't believe the three marauders all dated each other. Now that is something I didn't even consider! But I'm going to have to trust Sirius to love Harry for Harry, not because he's like James. I'm sure that'll be fine. Sirius is an honorable man afterall. And then there's that small matter of my rep. I know I'm more open now, more physical, but that's just because of the war right? War changes people. And I kind of like the person I've become. More confident. More strong. I've become a better person because of it. Right..?"

Hermione finally reached the shrieking shack, and looked around for Harry. She finally found him sitting on a huge rock, admiring the horrible sight of the shack. She approached him slowly, unsure of what to say. But he spoke up first.

"Took you long enough." His voice was light, and there was no bitterness.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't sure you'd want to see me."
"And why is that?"

"Well…I don't know. I don't mean to act like you're my boyfriend. I'm sorry that Sirius got the wrong idea. Most of this is my fault."

Harry looked up at her, amused. Suddenly, he got up and closed the distance between them.
"Hermione, none of this is your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I couldn't handle Sirius playing matchmaker and father at the same time. Especially when that's definitely not what I want from him. And besides. It's not our fault no one can see I love you like a sister. You said it yourself. Nothing is as important as the relationship between you and me. Nothing and no one can come between us. Not even Sirius."

"I love you too, Harry." Hermione grinned at him, and then gave him a hug. Then she led him towards the rock and pulled him down to sit next to her.

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

"About why you're avoiding Sirius."

"I am not!" Harry protested. Hermione gave him a pointed look.

"Okay fine, so maybe I am. But I can't let him know of my feelings! It'll become so awkward! I can't have that happen! He's too important to me!"
"It's already awkward Harry! You couldn't even LOOK at him today and he KNOWS that. It's really bothering him! He thinks you hate him."

"But I don't! Of course I don't! You know that!"

"Yes, but he doesn't! You can't be afraid of your feelings Harry. You and him will never have a chance if you are!"

"I can't help it!"
"I don't believe that. I think you're taking the easy way out!"
"And so what if I am?! My other option is REALLY hard, Hermione! I'm in love with my DAD'S BEST MATE! Do you know how…WRONG that is?"

"Love is never wrong Harry! I know it's hard! But you can't just give up. You can't keep treating him like this."

Harry sighed and looked away.

"Harry, I know. I know this is really really hard for you, and I'm trying to understand as much as I can. But you have to promise me that you'll at least TALK to him like you used to. He misses you a lot, and he wants you to let him love you. Alright? So just promise me that you'll be more relaxed around him?"

Harry hesitated, and then nodded his head. Hermione smiled reassuringly at him and then they slowly began to make their way back to the castle.