Thank you so much for the reviews, everyone. They mean alot to me :)

Disclaimer - shush, I've said before - I do not own any of these characters (except the ones that aren't recognised.)

On with the story!

Previously

He held his hand out, and she took it. He pulled her to the middle of the dance floor and gently put his free hand on her waist. They danced slowly, both feeling the electricity surging through them as they looked into each other's eyes. Sirius found his hand rising up to touch her cheek, and stroked it. Hermione felt a pull from her visage to his – they were so close that they could both feel each other's breath on their faces. Before they knew it, their lips couldn't hold it any longer, and charged towards each other, almost in a brutal force. They kissed, like they'd never kissed before, and as if it was their only chance of survival.

They were kissing rather viciously, and it took a few minutes for anyone to notice, seeing as they were all so drunk.

"Ooh...look who's kissing," someone said drunkenly, "that wasn't unexpected at all," the couple heard the person say sarcastically. They broke apart upon hearing this, and realised that everyone's eyes were on them, except the people who had already passed out.

To everyone's surprise, Hermione ran off out of the room, pushing Fred out of the way as he walked towards her with a drink, almost knocking him over. She hadn't taken a second glance back, feeling too embarrassed to do so.

Sirius stood there in the middle of the floor, humiliated at his present situation. He walked confidently to the drinks stand, all the while giving off an air that he didn't want anyone to go near him. He glugged down a Firewhiskey, and went to get another when Remus walked up to him and told him to go and look for Hermione.

"I can't..." Sirius told him, looking very anxious.

"And why not? Do you have an excuse then or not?" he asked.

"I...I'm too old for the girl. Plus, what would the Order say? What would anyone say!"

"Sirius Black! Swallow your pride and speak to her! When have you ever cared about what everyone else thought?"

"I can't, Remus! I just can't! She's my Godson's best friend!" he retorted.

"Why don't you talk to Harry about it then? I'm sure he'd be more than understanding, he would know more than anyone else not to judge a person on their actions," Remus advised.

"Fine," Sirius said, and walked over to Harry, pulling on his arm and asking whether they could have a 'talk'. Remus rolled his eyes, and went to go and speak to his girlfriend, Tonks. She was drunk, out of her mind, holding onto Ginny's arm for support as she danced. (A/N: More like staggered!)

"Oh – ooh G-g-gin-nyyyy! H-here c-comes m-my wonderf-ful boyfriend," she slurred.

"Come on Darling, you can stay in my bed tonight, seeing as you can't hold yourself up," he whispered. He turned them both on the spot and apparated to his room, not wanting to carry her to his room. He lifted her onto his bed and she fell fast asleep as soon as she hit the covers.

'A job well done,' Remus thought.

[Sirius's point of view now

"Harry, I know she's your best friend, but I like her a lot. I have to talk to you about it because if I went and spoke to her about it before hearing what you think about it first, I'd feel very guilty."

"Sirius, you're my Godfather, and I trust that you wouldn't hurt her, 'cause you know what'd happen if you did!" Harry glared jokingly.

"Really? This is great news! Thank you," Sirius smiled and left.

"No problem!" Harry called after him, chortling to himself.

Sirius crossed the corridor from the drawing room and walked over to Hermione's door. He knocked, and heard a small muffled voice cry, "Come in." He walked in, and saw that she was sat on her bed, hugging her pillow.

" 'Mione? Are you okay? I was really worried when you ran away," Sirius said concerned.

"I'm okay...just feeling a bit embarrassed," she stated.

"I know what you mean," he laughed, "anyway, the reason I'm here is to tell you that well...I think you're beautiful. I like you, a lot,"

"Oh," Hermione replied.

"Is that all you're going to say?" Sirius asked nervously.

"I-I...No. I think you should leave. I think we've both had too much to drink tonight," she said wearily.

"What! Don't be so silly! I do like you!"

"No you don't. Please leave," she ordered.

Sirius had no choice but to leave, shutting the door with a loud snap behind him. He was so confused, but that had nothing on how Hermione was feeling.

'What an idiot. He's made a fool out of me. First of all, bloody kissing me in front of all of our friends! And then, having the audacity to come into my room after I'd been humiliated and joke to me, telling me that he likes me!' she thought to herself. 'Then again...I wish he did like me. It's Sirius Black after all. I mean, he's gorgeous, he could charm his way into any woman's knickers if he wanted to...' she sighed.

She put her pillow down and stood up. She'd decided to have a quick shower and cleanse herself of the night's embarrassment.

After her shower, she changed into her pyjamas and climbed into her nice, warm bed. She soon fell into a sleep plagued by dreams of her humiliationduring thatevening.

Sirius stormed into his room, slamming the door behind him.

'Stupid girl!' he thought, frustrated. 'Did she really have that much to drink that she didn't believe me!'

Just at that moment in time, Remus knocked on the door and called quietly to Sirius.

"Sirius mate? What happened with you and 'Mione? I thought you'd be with her by now," he chuckled softly. He crept into the room, and upon seeing Sirius's frustrated face, his chuckle quickly died away.

"I bloody told her I liked her, but she didn't believe me!" he growled.

"Ooh..." Remus said thoughtfully, "the most possible reason for this is denial. It's obvious that she's always liked you, and now she can't believe that you could like her too," he carried on.

"Hmm, I suppose that would be a valid explanation for all of this, I mean, she was just saying that we'd both had too much to drink, and kept telling me to leave!"

"Don't worry about it; just let her sleep on it, and to let her to think it over. She may just come to her senses," Remus advised.

"Alright then mate, thanks," Sirius smiled. Remus got to his feet, as did Sirius and he gave Remus a manly one armed hug. When they had broken apart, Remus swiftly walked from the room and gently closed the door behind him, leaving Sirius to stew in his own thoughts for a while. He thought about the nights events, about the way she smiled at him. He realised that there was something in her eyes he hadn't seen before when he asked her to dance with him. 'What was it?' he wondered.

"I guess I'll never find out..." he said to himself sadly.

He got into his bed, not bothering to change, thinking that he'd have a shower in the morning. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep, snoring gently.

Sirius awoke quite stiffly, as he'd slept in a weird angle. He jumped out of bed and stretched his arms, yawning. He went to have a shower, and came out fully clean 20 minutes later. He was topless, but that didn't bother him as he sauntered down the kitchen, seeing Hermione cooking the breakfast. This was the usual routine, Sirius gets up late, and Hermione gets up early and makes the breakfast.

"You want some help, love?"

"Nah I'm alright thanks, I'm used to this," she giggled.

'She's obviously forgotten about last night,' he thought.

'I hope he won't bring last night up again,' she worried, biting her lip subconsciously.

"Ah well. Got any plans for today?" he asked her.

"Yep! Haven't you forgotten, I'm teaching Hogwarts this year!" she reminded him.

"Oh aye! Forgot all about that! Sorry," he laughed.

Hermione beamed at him, obviously excited at the prospect of teaching at her old school.

"Right, here's your breakfast, it's all cooked, just dish it up yourself. You're not that lazy after all, but anyway, I need to go pack! Can't wait!" and she rushed out of the kitchen, leaping all the way to her room.

Once she reached her room, she skipped over to where her trunk was and then levitated it over to where her possessions were kept. She started packing, again singing whilst she was doing so.

"Why don't you come on over Valerie?" she sang.

Once she'd finished packing, she decided to go and look for some books to borrow from the library upstairs. She'd be leaving in half an hour. She traipsed up to the library, looking through the well-thumbed books for something that'd catch her interest, finally settling on a book called "Illegal Curses Made by Dark Wizards and How to Control Them".

She ran from the library, noticing that she only had a few minutes to get to McGonagall's office. She grabbed her trunk and almost stumbled down the stairs in anticipation to get to the fireplace. Sirius, who was already waiting to see her off, went to help her with her luggage. When he'd put them down, Hermione gave him a big hug and kissed him on the cheek, thanking him for everything he'd done for her.

Once their moment was over, she dragged her trunk over to the fireplace, firstly throwing in some floo powder before stepping into it. When the flames emerged, Hermione shouted "Hogwarts!" and she was gone in a whirl of green flames.

She arrived in McGonagall's office, as always, covered in soot.

"Well, Hermione, it's wonderful to see you again!" she heard a familiar voice say.

"Professor! It's great to be here again," Hermione smiled.

"I'm glad you think so dear, but please, call me Minerva. You aren't my student anymore," McGonagall told her. "Now, let me escort you to your chambers, you'll be next to the kitchens, so if there is anything you need to eat tonight, you may go there. The house elves will be delighted to give you what you require this evening. Now, follow me. Leave your trunk, it will be there when you arrive at your quarters."

They left the room, and head off towards Hermione's room. On the way, they met a few members of staff, such as Argus Filch, the caretaker, Hagrid, the keeper of keys, and Alonzo.

"Hello Alonzo," Hermione smiled. He nodded his head and smiled before walking off.

"I didn't realise you knew him," McGonagall raised her eyebrows.

"Oh yes, I met him yesterday at Diagon Alley."

"Very well," she said. They reached Hermione's quarters, and sure enough, the painting of the ticklish pear was indeed opposite her own portrait.

"I'll now leave you here to settle in; I'll see you tomorrow for the sorting ceremony. You may roam the castle if you so wish," she told her, "and also, you have access to the restricted section in the library," the headmistress smirked, knowing Hermione loved her books. She left Hermione with her portrait of Godric Griffindor.

'I wonder why his portrait isn't up by in Griffindor tower,' Hermione thought, 'and also, McGonagall didn't tell me my bloody password,' she rolled her eyes.

"What would you like your password to be, dear?" the portrait asked, quite concerned that the new occupant of the chambers had been stood in the same spot staring into space, biting her lip.

"Oh, I didn't know I could choose my password. How about..." she stood there thinking about what she could have for her password for several minutes. Godric waited patiently, smiling softly. Finally, she decided that she'd use the same password she used for her head girl quarters in seventh year. "Would a sentence be okay to use?" she asked.

"Of course!" he replied.

"Love conquers all."

"Very well," he said, and the portrait door swung open. Hermione climbed through, finding a massive room, decorated in red and gold, with a beautiful orange fire crackling merrily. She saw a door to her left and a door to her right, debating on whether to look in the left or the right one first. She opted for the left. She opened the door and gasped. The ceiling was incredibly high, with chandeliers hanging from it. This room was decorated in Hermione's favourite colour, purple. It was the room she'd be sleeping in. She had a four poster bed, bigger than the one she had in the head girl quarters, and she had a beautiful table with a mirror. Obviously this was the make-up table. She turned around and walked out of that room, and walked through the other door she'd seen earlier.

She was amazed. A bath, the size of a swimming pool, could fit at least 10 people in it all together. It had so many golden taps that she'd resolved to work them all out a bit later, once she'd had food. She left her quarters and crossed the hall to the ticklish pair portrait.

"Hello! What may we be of service?" a house elf asked, once she'd sat down in the kitchens.

"Could I just have some food, I haven't had any since this morning you see," Hermione told the house elf.

"Sure enough, and by the way, you may call me Slinky," the house elf called Slinky said, before rushing off to get Hermione some food. Slinky arrived back in a few minutes, with a large plate full of turkey, peas, carrots, Yorkshire pudding, and all the trimmings, plus dessert!

"Thank you very much!" Hermione exclaimed.

She rushed back, and ate in her quarters alone; falling asleep once she'd cleaned up and returned the plate.

She woke up at 10am the next morning, surprisingly late for her as she normally wakes up around 8.30am. Yawning, she got out of bed and went into her bathroom.

She twisted the knobs on all of the taps she could reach, filling the bath. There were different scented bubbles and different sized bubbles – some the size of hailstones and some the size of footballs!

Once she was satisfied with the water and the bubbles, she undressed and jumped in and had a long soak.

When she'd finished, she changed, and then decided to have a walk around the castle to re-familiarise herself with her old home.

It took her hours to patrol the whole castle, realising that she only had an hour or so to be ready for the sorting ceremony for when the students arrived. She strode to the staffroom and spoke briefly with the teachers she'd be working with in the upcoming year.

"Hello again," she heard a voice whisper behind her. She whipped around and saw that it was only Alonzo.

"Oh, sorry, you frightened me! Hey," she said, giving a nervous laugh.

"How has your night been here?" he asked.

"It's been quite fun, I haven't seen what Hogwarts is like without the student here before."

"Nor me," he chuckled.

"Right, now listen everyone, the students will be arriving any moment so could you allocate yourselves a seat on the staff table right about now?" McGonagall requested, calling to all of them. The staff then proceeded to the Great Hall and headed towards the top table. Alonzo sat down first, and Hermione decided to sit next to him. But then it hit her. 'Who's this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?'

Before she could ask, the older students came barging into the Great Hall, and sitting at their respective tables. Once all of the older students had arrived and settled down, Professor Sprout led the way for the new students to follow her to the Sorting Hat. The hat started to sing its song, about inter-house unity and the sorting began.

"Monaghey, Meghan!"

"Griffindor!" the Hat shouted. This went on for another half an hour until all the first years had been sorted into their houses.

Professor McGonagall stood, and silence fell upon the students.

"I'd like to welcome the new students to our school and to tell them that learning magic, isn't just educational, but fun too. You must enjoy the lesson to understand it. To our older students, welcome back! I trust you're all ready for a new year of schooling! Now, first of all, I would like to introduce Professor Hermione Granger, who will be taking over from Professor Flitwick for Charms,

and also Professor Alonzo Bones, who will be taking over from Professor Snape for Potions," she told the students.

Suddenly, the doors of the Great Hall opened and a man in a black cloak shouted, "Wait! Sorry I'm late, Headmistress McGonagall," the stranger said.

"And also, this will be our Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher," McGonagall smirked.

The stranger pulled down the hood off his head and upon seeing him, Hermione's jaw dropped.

I wonder who it is ;)

Apologies if this chapter seems to ramble. I don't particularly like this one...

R&R? Criticism welcome!

Lauren. xx