The second lesson/part for this multi-chap was for my pairing to experience a misunderstanding. I managed to fit in two in one small chapter so I win!

Prompts: Astronomy Tower (location) - He smirked (ending narration)

Word Count: 892

"Hermione? Are you okay?" Sirius asked, sitting beside her as they looked over the grounds of Hogwarts from their vantage point on the Astronomy Tower. "You've been awfully quiet since dinner and then you disappeared up here."

Hermione's hair framed her head like a curtain and when he parted it, to peek at her face, he noticed the red streaks and puffy eyes that indicated a long period of crying.

"What happened?" She pulled away, letting her hair drop back around her face.

"Why do you care Black?" He frowned at her icy tone and pushed her hair back behind her ear. "We're not even in the same year. The only similarities we have are our House and -"

"Regulus Black," he finished for her and she turned her head to look at him with wide eyes. "He's my brother, I'm pretty sure that I'm able to tell when he's head over heels in love with someone." These words served to make her cry. "Crap, sorry!" What did I say wrong?

"He doesn't love me," she sniffled, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. "He called me a… he called me names today."

"What kind of names?" Sirius asked though he had a rough idea of what word had slipped.

"Don't act stupid Sirius. You're his brother, I think you can guess." Sirius didn't say anything more but merely wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a cuddle which she accepted immediately. He cooed, softly murmuring 'shh' over and over as he stroked her hair and back whilst rocking her back and forth.

She'd probably have fallen asleep in his arms like that if they hadn't been interrupted by an angry growl. Both Gryffindors whipped their head round to face the noise and Sirius internally groaned when he noticed his brother standing behind them. Sirius noticed that Hermione paled and her bottom lip started to quiver.

"What are you doing here Reg?" Sirius asked, standing up and slightly in front of Hermione, an action that didn't go unnoticed by his younger sibling.

"What are you doing with Hermione?" He countered, ignoring the question that was asked first. "Hermione, what is he doing here?" She doesn't answer or look at him, instead choosing to pull her robe tighter around her to fight off the coldness from the Tower. Regulus, like the jealous wizard he was, took this to mean that she was indecent beneath her clothing and reached for his wand.

He was disarmed before he could even raise it.

"Don't be stupid now little brother," Sirius mocked, wagging a finger at him. "Now let us discuss what you've been doing today; specifically to dear old Hermione." Regulus frowned with confusion and looked between the two Gryffindors for a clue. "Maybe any confrontations that you had…"

Sirius knew the moment the Sickle dropped; Regulus' eyes widened and his face paled, his hands clenching and unclenching dramatically. "I didn't mean it. Merlin I could never mean… that!"

"But you still said it," Hermione spoke, her voice barely louder than a whisper but still loud enough to appear to echo around them. Regulus flinched at the emotionless tone of her voice. "You still called me a Mudblood in front of all of our friends, you still insulted me and made me feel worthless; you made me doubt our relationship, our friendship. Why?" He didn't answer, his eyes shining from unshed tears as he focused on the small witch. "WHY?"

"To protect you!" He shouted, thankful that Sirius produced a Silencing Charm around them after Hermione shouted at him.

"What?" Hermione asked, blinking in shock. Sirius shuffled away from the couple as Hermione had now stood up. He was still close enough to listen and interfere if needs be but he was still far enough away for their conversation to seem private.

"Voldemort's staking claims on Slytherins and Purebloods. He already has our parents eating out of his hands and there has been talk of me joining his ranks once I've graduated. Because of this, the older years are now looking at me and noticing my fondness for you. I had to throw them off our trail."

"So, today when you…"

"When I called you that loathsome word, I was protecting you from becoming a bigger target or being used to punish me. I'd never be able to live with myself if you got hurt because of me."

"So you didn't mean it?" She double checked and he flinched.

"You think I could ever mean something so foul to something so wonderful? Even when I love you?" He walked closer to her, slowly and tentatively as if approaching a wild animal, and slowly brought his hands up to her shoulders so he could tug her closer. "I. Love. You." He punctuated each sentence with a kiss to her forehead.

Sirius walked away unnoticed by the couple and thought about all that he'd learnt tonight. Hermione and Regulus were in a relationship; a pretty serious relationship. Voldemort was a jerk who wanted soldiers. His parents were bigger jerks for selling their kid. Slytherins were going to be experiencing mega pranks for the rest of their days. Great! He smirked.

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