Disclaimer: (Forgot this last chapter) I own nothing. This was created for entertainment purposes only.
A/N: Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback on the previous chapter. Almost everybody who reviewed wanted me to continue this as a multi-chapter, so I'm doing it. Here's chapter 2, It's a bit of filler, but I do hope you like it and please stick around for chapter 3.
Also, I think I should remind you guys that this is a bit AU, Remus and Tonks never died. They come in at the end of this chapter, and I don't want anyone confused about that.
...
Hermione sat at her desk in silence, reading the papers in front of her. Most people assumed working as an Auror was all fieldwork; fighting intense battles and bringing down murderous criminals. But it wasn't like that...well, not all the time. There was a good amount of down time, hanging around the offices and writing up tons of paperwork for each and every case. That was part of why Hermione liked being an Auror; she got action and fighting, but also the comforting feel of parchment and plenty of time to research her cases.
Hermione's thoughts were interrupted when a paper airplane swooped down to land on her desk. She unfolded it and read the scrawled note, immediately recognizing Harry's spindly handwriting.
Hermione,
Rickson wants to you to come to his office. Bring Draco too.
-Harry
Hermione stood from her desk and quickly stepped out of her office, only having to pass two other cubicles before she arrived at Draco's. He sat within his office, examining some paperwork much like she had been doing only a moment ago.
"Malfoy," Hermione called, "Rickson wants to see us."
Draco looked up to her, then nodded and stood up, following closely behind as they moved through the corridors.
"I read Skeeter's article about you," Draco taunted playfully.
Hermione grimaced, "She's such a nuisance."
"So where's your fiancé now?"
Hermione shrugged, "I don't know, probably working, like he's supposed to be doing."
When she turned to look at Draco, he was just grinning like he knew something.
She knew the best way to get Draco off her back was to change the subject to something he was proud of. "I heard you're engaged to Astoria," Hermione muttered.
Draco nodded, smitten with his fianceé, very much unlike Hermione, even if she tried not to show it. They continued to their boss' office in silence.
"Granger, Malfoy, sit down," Rickson greeted the two, motioning to a few chairs which sat in front of his desk. Hermione noticed Harry sitting there as well, and took the spot next to him.
"First off, congratulations to all of you on your engagements." The man grinned. Rickson was a large guy, probably in his late forties, if Hermione guessed. He actually reminded her a lot of Mad-Eye Moody with his attitude sometimes. That was probably what got him to the rank of head Auror.
"Thanks," Hermione gave a forced smile. Draco Harry both nodded their thanks as well.
"Alright, down to business now," Rickson said, eyeing some papers on his desk before him, "you all know of the suspicious activity around here lately, correct?"
Hermione nodded. Once again, this Marriage Law was causing suspicion and interfering with another aspect of her life. She wondered when if would ever stop popping up all over the place. It was like the plague, spreading everywhere it had contact.
"I need you three to keep a special eye out. Especially watch the Department of Marital Affairs and that lot who work there. They're really arousing suspicion." The man said in a hushed tone.
"The whole Marriage Law is suspicious," Draco muttered in contempt. They took a moment of silence to acknowledge the overwhelming truth of that statement. With the way Draco was staring at the floor angrily, Hermione began to wonder if maybe he had been placed in a similar situation to her- was his engagement to Astoria phony like hers was?
"Ah, Black," Rickson looked up and past Hermione, "I'm glad you could make it." Hermione turned to look and saw Sirius standing in the doorway. Tons of thoughts raced through her head. Did she have to pretend around these people? Judging by the look on Harry's face, she did.
Sirius nodded and entered the office, spotting Hermione, "Sorry it took so long, there was a bit of a ruckus down in the Atrium." When he arrived behind her, he bent down to place a sweet kiss on the top of her head, "Hello, love," He greeted her.
"Hi Sirius," Hermione responded, blushing slightly. It was definitely odd pretending to be in love with him, he could made it seem so genuine sometimes.
"Have a seat," Rickson waved his wand and conjured and chair beside Hermione.
Sirius sat down gracefully and motioned for the man to continue with the meeting.
"As I was saying, I'm worried about many other departments of the Ministry. We're lucky that the Auror Department hasn't been affected by this, and it's mainly because I've made sure that nobody can steal my job out from under me. I'm asking you four to keep an eye out, and make sure you inform me of anything suspicious." Rickson gave a serious nod to each of them. "You guys are the top of the top of aurors right now, really. I trust you all, and I hope you can work together to make sure we keep our Ministry safe." He seemed to be looking at Draco near the end of his little speech. He knew that there had always been some tension between Draco and the others. To be honest, all of them had reasons not to trust Draco. Hermione, however, had been learning to trust him recently. It seemed like he had really changed his ways after the war.
"You got it, chief," Sirius said, leaning back in his chair casually. Hermione tried to resist rolling her eyes.
"Alright, I believe that's all I need," the man rubbed his temples, "Good luck to all of your with the weddings and everything."
The group thanked him and moved out into the hallway.
"It's really quite obvious," Draco drawled, turning to face Hermione and Sirius, who stood next to each other.
"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"Granger and Black." Draco looked at the two of them, "Oh come on, you can't expect me to fall for this, you two really need to work on your acting."
The boy could certainly be annoying sometimes, but deep down, Hermione knew he had good intentions. Sirius, on the other hand, still had trust issues concerning Draco.
"It's none of your business, Malfoy, just buzz off," Sirius snapped, placing a wary hand the small of Hermione's back.
Draco smirked and left, strutting down the hallway in silence.
"I need to talk to you," Sirius turned to Hermione, a slight grin now tugging at his lips.
"Um, okay," Hermione muttered, allowing Sirius to lead her away to his office. Harry chuckled from behind them and retreated back to his own office.
Hermione arrived at the small cubicle and realized that she had only been there a couple times before. It was very clearly Sirius' office. She didn't know what made it look so much like the place where he spent his time, maybe it was because it smelled like him...
"I have something for you," Sirius murmured, moving over to his desk while Hermione stood across from him. Within a couple seconds, he pulled a small bag from a drawer and moved back over to the witch.
Hermione sucked in a breath when he pulled a little black box out of the bag, and she understood exactly what was going on. "Sirius, I told you not to do this." She said sternly, her voice shaking slightly at the end.
"No, you told me not to get down on one knee and propose to you," Sirius corrected, opening the small box to reveal a ring, "Which I'm not going to do. I'm simply giving you your engagement ring, it's really quite overdue, we've been engaged for almost a week now."
Hermione shook her head, not daring an attempt at speaking again. A couple nights ago, when he had casually asked her what kind of ring she wanted, she didn't know he was serious... No pun intended.
It was gorgeous, and exactly how she had described her ideal ring to him. It was simple, not too flashy or extravagant. Just a little band with a circular opal shimmering in the middle. Sirius grabbed her left hand and slid it onto her finger, grinning when he examined her hand afterwards.
Hermione exhaled and pulled Sirius into a hug, "I'm mad at you for this," she mumbled while he momentarily lifted her up in that bear-hug way, then set her down with a chuckle.
"You can be mad at me all you want, I just want this to look as authentic as possible. What kind of fiancé would I be if I didn't even get you a ring?"
Hermione shrugged, still examining her hand in awe. "I need to get back to work," She finally said, fumbling with the hem of her robes.
"Bye, love," his voice called to her as she left his office, waving a goodbye over her shoulder.
...
Hermione quietly moved down the stairs in the Burrow, trying to not hit the steps where the floor creaked. She had almost made it to the bottom before a rather obnoxious creak sounded through the stairway. She could immediately hear Molly's footsteps coming from her little alcove in the kitchen.
"Oh, Hermione, dear, what are you up to?" Molly asked, using a cloth to wipe off her hands. She wore the usual crimson Apron of Cooking, and her hair was pushed back slightly. Hermione could smell the stew cooking for lunch in the kitchen.
"I'm going to see Sirius," Hermione winced slightly, hoping Molly's reaction wouldn't be one of anger like it had been so often over the past couple of days. The woman was just so protective of her.
"Wouldn't you like to stay and have lunch first?" she asked, motioning for Hermione to follow into the kitchen.
"No thank you. I think Sirius and I are going to eat," Hermione said calmly.
Molly's face tightened visibly while she looked for something to say. Finally, she settled on the question Hermione had been hearing far too often lately. "Are you alright?"
The witch sighed, trying to look like she was considering the question as inched closer towards the floo. "Yes, Mrs. Weasley, I promise I'll be okay. After we get through the weddings I'm sure everything will go back to normal.
Molly seemed like she was about to say something, but then thought better of it. She nodded and stepped forward to give Hermione a firm hug. "Good luck," she murmured, releasing Hermione with a smile that was a mixture of fondness and worry.
Hermione gave her best smile back, and moved toward the fireplace. She grabbed some floo powder in her hand and with an enunciated "Grimmauld Place", she was off.
Hermione stepped into the dining room and was immediately assaulted by a loud ruckus that could only come from Mrs. Black's portrait.
"SHUT THE BLOODY HELL UP, YOU FOUL WOMAN!" Sirius' bellowing scream made Hermione jump slightly at his evident anger. She could hear him stomping down the stairs while his mother's screams became more violent and hateful.
Hermione tried to ignore the portrait's screaming as she entered the front hall. Sirius was struggling to get the curtains closed, murmuring foul curses at the woman.
"Let me help," Hermione muttered, approaching Sirius and assisting in his endeavour to shut up his mum.
After they closed the curtains, he looked at her surprised for a moment, but then remembered their plans for that afternoon. They relocated to the drawing room a moment later so as not to wake up Walburga again.
"Thanks for that," Sirius said gratefully. He looked Hermione up and down with a worried expression as if she had just come out of a fierce battle and might have a bullet wound or something. Finally, he sighed and looked around the room with a sour expression, "I can't wait to get out of this damn house."
Hermione straightened her blouse and smiled, "well, you're in luck, Mr. Black, because your amazing fiancee has come to take you flat shopping." She said it in a cheery tone, trying to put the poignant encounter with Mrs. Weasley behind her.
Sirius chuckled and nodded, "You've got directions to the places we'll be looking at?"
"Yup," Hermione pulled a folded up parchment out of her beaded bag.
"You're certainly cheery today," Sirius commented dryly.
Hermione raised an eyebrow, "I'm trying to make the best of this situation. Don't ruin it, Black."
Sirius grinned cheekily, "I wouldn't dare."
"Shall we, then?" Hermione sighed, motioning toward the front door.
"Of course, Mrs. Black," Sirius gave his best regal voice, looping his arm in his.
"I told you not to call me that..." Hermione murmured under her breath, not failing to notice the way he had gracefully taken her arm.
...
a few hours later found Hermione and Sirius sitting in a quaint little cafe in the middle of London. Hermione swirled her tea around with a spoon while she picked at the sandwich in front of her. Sirius, who sat across from her, seemed to be pondering their options in housing accommodations while he ate his own lunch.
"I quite liked the second one," Hermione said, thinking back to all the flats they had just visited. The second was definitely her favorite. It was spacious and modern, with a beautiful little study that she could fit at least a hundred books into. The only downside was that there was only one bedroom. One of them would probably be forced to sleep on the couch for a while.
Sirius nodded, deep in thought, "Yes I liked that one too, but I was also considering that one with the nice fireplace." He scratched his chin in thought, "I liked that fireplace. It was a nice fireplace."
Hermione found his serious expression rather entertaining, "Sirius, do you have a thing for fireplaces or something?" she teased.
"It's more of a fetish if you ask me," Sirius' mouth twitched in amusement.
Hermione laughed while he just smirked at her. She realized that this was the first time they were really getting along since all of this marriage stuff had come up. They were being nice to each other. But how long would it last?
"I suppose we should choose one of the flats, though," Sirius murmured, taking on a more somber expression.
Hermione shrugged, chewing on her lower lip, "But are you sure we can afford it?"
"You don't need to worry about that, love," Sirius smiled sweetly, "I've got quite a bit of money in Gringotts in case you haven't heard."
"Oh... yeah," Hermione gave a little nod. It felt kind of like she was taking his money, forcing him to marry her, and stealing his freedom too.
"We've still got a week or so to decide."
Hermione nodded, counting the days until their wedding in her head.
After a moment, Sirius began making conversation, bringing Hermione out of her thoughts. "So how are things back at the Burrow?"
"Well," Hermione considered the question, "I'm glad that I'll be out of there soon. It's a bit overwhelming with everyone around, and I've had enough of Ron lately..." Images of Ron and his fiance swirled in her mind. She hadn't even met the girl he was going to marry yet. The jealously and anger toward Ron had faded away, but now it just left a pang of sadness in it's place.
Sirius must have known that Ron was a touchy subject. He kept looking at her with a somewhat concerned expression, but then he would cover it up and look back down at the table. "You'll be out of there soon," He finally said.
...
After they finished lunch, the couple decided to head back to Grimmauld. Sirius said that Hermione could just stop by for a little bit and then Floo back to the Burrow. Hermione was happy to stop by Grimmauld for at least a little bit; Anything to keep her from going back to the Weasleys so soon.
They apparated on the front step and entered the house. Hermione could immediately hear voices that seemed to be coming from the drawing room. Sirius walked down the hall ahead of her. She saw his vaguely surprised expression as he entered the room.
"Sirius!" It was Teddy's excited voice that Hermione recognized first. The bushy haired witch entered the room after Sirius, and saw Remus, Tonks, and Teddy all sitting in the drawing room.
"Teddy!" Sirius grinned and went to pick the toddler up from his spot on the floor where he had been drawing a picture. Sirius spun the boy around, causing him to break into a fit of high-pitched giggles. His hair was a bright blue color as he laughed and squealed.
Hermione stood in the doorway and watched the group greet each other for a moment before she entered the room. Teddy was the one to spot her first, he gave her a toothy grin and waved a pudgy hand in her direction. She smiled back at him warmly.
"Hermione, it's great to see you, we didn't know you'd be here." Tonks greeted her, standing up to give the girl a hug.
"I had a day off and Sirius and I figured we'd go flat shopping," She smiled quaintly.
Remus raised an eyebrow, "any luck?"
"We found a few nice places," Sirius murmured, placing teddy back on the carpet and looking at Remus and Tonks. "So what brings you guys here so early?"
"Teddy wanted to come over and see you, he threw a bit of a tantrum about how he didn't want to wait until six o'clock like we had planned." Tonks explained, giving her son a pointed, yet affectionate look. Teddy didn't seem to notice, too focused on his drawing.
Hermione realized that they must have had plans for dinner. It suddenly felt rather awkward. They were such close friends, and she was just Sirius' fiance who was several years younger than him and his best friend's former student. A girl like her didn't fit in here. She decided that now was probably a good time to head back to the Burrow.
"I should get going," Hermione said quietly.
Sirius turned back to look at her for a moment, "Hermione, you don't have to leave," He murmured quietly. It seemed like he could sense her discomfort at the whole situation.
Hermione shook her head, "No, that's alright, I'm sure Mrs. Weasley is expecting me."
Sirius nodded and looked back to Remus and Tonks, who were both watching Hermione with slightly worried expressions. She smiled and bid her farewell, before heading for the floo.
...
A/N: So there you go, chapter two! Next chapter will probably be taking on some more serious issues, and it might be rather long. For now, I hope to see some feedback, all your reviews are wonderful.