Hermione's mug, long empty, had been put on her coffee table, her book, long forgotten about, was lying on her chest as she had curled up on her sofa, falling asleep much more easily than she'd expected. A nap would do her some good, she'd decided. Her plans were short-lived, however, when someone knocked on her door and while she was very tempted to ignore the disturbance, whoever was at her door was persistent. With a groan, Hermione got up, dropping the book next to her mug before making her way to the front door, pulling it open and glaring at the person on the other side.
"Movie night?" Sirius asked, a grin on his face, and her expression softened immediately, a small smile tugging on her lips as she took in his dishevelled-looking form.
"If you like," Hermione said and shuffled back to her living room, Sirius following her after he'd closed the door and taken off his shoes and jacket. "Why're you looking such a mess?" she asked once they'd both flopped down on her sofa, giving him another once-over as neither of them made a move to pick out a DVD. It wasn't that he looked bad (no, Sirius Black never looked bad), but his clothes were rather rumpled and his hair looked like he'd been out in a storm.
"I went to see Harry and Ginny this afternoon. Imagine my surprise when I ran into a dragon keeper there, who just loved riling up the pups." Their eyes met and Hermione wondered idly if Sirius knew, and if he did know whether he was judging her or not. His normally so expressive face didn't betray what he was thinking for once.
Hermione furrowed her brows and, instead of taking the bait, asked, "What do you want to watch?"
Disappointment flashed in his eyes before he turned away from her and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. "Depends on what you've got," he replied, letting his head drop back against the backrest of the sofa and closing his eyes. Hermione got up and scanned her shelf of DVDs for something that fit her mood.
"The Fast and the Furious alright with you?" For some reason the title caught her eye.
Sirius chuckled and said, "Fast cars and hot birds? Who am I to say no to that?" Hermione snorted, pulling out the DVD, and after turning on her telly and DVD player, she popped the disc into it.
"Not saying no to a drink either?" she asked after a moment, turning back to look at him and he cracked open one of his eyes.
"Have you ever seen me decline a drink before, love?" Hermione summoned a bottle of Ogden's Finest from her liquor cabinet and for a second thought of foregoing the glasses, but then seemed to think better of it and grabbed two glass tumblers. Scrunching up her nose, she tried to remember a time when he had said no to alcohol.
"Well, you've only been back for a year and before then it was different. Anyone would have tried drowning their sorrows in alcohol after what you've been through," Hermione said mildly, filling their glasses and handing one to Sirius as she sat down next to him on the sofa.
"You wouldn't have. Harry wouldn't have." Sirius voice had as edge to it when he said those words and it irked Hermione because none of them would hold his behaviour while he was locked up in Grimmauld Place against him. They all understood how hard that time had been for him.
Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair and said clearly, in a voice that left no room to argue, "We wouldn't even have made it through Azkaban, never mind breaking out of there." Of course, one of the things Sirius loved doing most was to argue with her, but when he opened his mouth, Hermione held up her hand to silence him. "You know I enjoy talking to you, but can we just watch the film? I don't want to have to think about anything."
Sirius gave her an inquisitive look, but nodded and held up his arm, offering her his side to lean against. She curled up against him, allowing herself a little weakness for once. Most of the time, she ended up with Sirius' head in her lap on their movie nights. She could count the times that they'd sat like this on both hands. Usually she didn't mind, but after everything that had happened that day she was feeling a little. Ending things with Charlie was forcing her to re-evaluate what she wanted from life, but hell - she still wasn't even 30 yet. Sighing once more and taking a big sip from her firewhiskey, she focused on the film that had started playing. Nothing like - how had Sirius put it? - fast cars and hot birds to take your mind off of everything.
It was only when the movie ended that Hermione realised she'd had more to drink than she'd thought. A nice warmth was spreading through her body, making her feel pleasantly tipsy, bordering on drunk. The credits were still rolling and she didn't want to get up from her position nestled against Sirius' body. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be in a rush either, so even when the TV faded to black neither of them moved.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Sirius asked and Hermione looked up at him in surprise. "Oh, don't give me that look. Ginny told Harry and Harry told Ron, who accidentally let it slip when Charlie showed up. Remus, Tonks, and I happened to pop around Harry and Ginny's at the same time." The look of surprise changed to one of anger as she pressed her lips together and untangled herself from the Marauder.
"There's nothing to talk about. Charlie and I hooked up whenever we were both single, and in the future we won't hook up anymore," Hermione said, her voice tight as she glared at Sirius.
"Why Charlie? Isn't he too old for you?" Sirius asked before adding, "Sex outside of a relationship or dating doesn't sound very much like you."
"Really, Sirius," she said, exasperated, scooting back to the other end of the sofa. "Charlie and you are basically the same age now and your hookups have hardly been older than me. In fact, a bunch of them were younger than me if I remember correctly." She stumbled over a few of her words, but other than that she thought she was still pretty coherent. Sirius' eyebrows shot up as if he hadn't realised the age difference between the two of them was now the same as between her and Charlie. She used his momentary silence to continue, "And what's your problem with me having and enjoying sex? Charlie and I didn't hurt anyone."
"What about yourself? Was there never a point in time, when you hoped for more than just sex?" Sirius asked, blunt and to the point, but his eyes had softened as she'd answered his previous questions.
"Fine... Fine. I guess we are talking about this. I'm sad that it's over and when he left today I cried," she said, rubbing a hand over her face. "I never expected a relationship from him though. The first time we slept with each other was a matter of convenience and, on my part, rebound. I'd been staying at his place for a little while and it kind of just happened." Considering she didn't want to talk about it, the words spilled from her mouth quickly, most likely helped along by the firewhiskey, and she realised she'd tell him more than he probably wanted to know. If he asked, that was.
"After that it was so easy. We had so much fun in Romania, and originally that was going to be the end of it, you know. But then there was George's wedding and then Harry and Ginny's wedding. We couldn't stay away from each other, but I cannot see myself as his girlfriend, partner, or wife. He doesn't want to leave Romania, he's happiest when he's there, and I'm happy here. Back then I wasn't ready for something long-term, to settle down. I'm still not quite there yet." She took a deep breath and searched Sirius' face for a sign that he was judging her, but he was simply listening.
"Of course I got somewhat emotionally attached to Charlie," she said, blinking away some fresh tears, "But I always think of him as a friend. He was a bit like a safety net. A relationship with any of the guys I went out with wouldn't have worked, or wouldn't have worked long-term rather, but I also knew that the next summer or Christmas or other family get-together I'd be able to hook up with him again. He set the bar pretty high, but at the same time…"
She faltered, looking down at her drink before fixing her gaze on Sirius again, a fire burning in her eyes. "Let me put it this way, if I had well and truly fallen in love with someone along the way, I wouldn't have had any trouble ending whatever Charlie and I had right there and then." Surprisingly Hermione felt better after getting that off her chest, realising the truth behind her words. She took a few deep breaths and refilled their glasses, seeing as Sirius had finished his drink as well.
"You've slept with other people while this with Charlie was going on? What were they like?" Sirius asked, appearing genuinely curious. Hermione scrunched up her nose.
"One of them was a former classmate from Hogwarts. We had to work together on a project for Kingsley and when it was over he asked me out. We went out a few times and it was perfectly fine, but when we slept with each other, there was no spark, no passion, between us. Realised it at the same time, funnily enough." Hermione chuckled and took a sip of her drink before continuing. "Another guy was, well, a mistake for the second time. He and I broke up the year I went to Romania for Christmas, Theodore Nott. I was heartbroken and pissed off the first time around and the second time wasn't any better. I thought he'd changed, but he hadn't and it was just... messy." She frowned and wondered just what had possessed her to give Theo the time of day again. Oh right, she had actually been in love with him once.
"That's a difficult lesson to learn," Sirius commented, a wry smile on his face, making him look much more like Remus than himself, and Hermione nodded.
"The last guy I actually dated... He was a healer. He was nice at first, but after a while it seemed like he wanted to be with me because I'm 'Harry Potter's best friend and part of the Golden Trio' rather than for me." Sirius looked as though he shared her annoyance at that. Normally she made sure to not go out with anyone like that, but somehow she had misjudged that man horribly. "There were a few one-night stands here and there, but those have always made me feel kind of shit. I don't know, I think I feel better sleeping with someone I at least know a little bit about." With that she shrugged and looked at Sirius expectantly.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm the last person to judge you, but, keeping in mind that you and Charlie regularly hooked up with each other for the last six years, that's more than I expected from you. Who'd have thought you would grow up to be so... open about sex." Hermione had to laugh. Who would have thought indeed.
"A lot can happen in a decade. Besides, after the war everyone's been a little more laid back."
"It's still jarring sometimes," Sirius noted quietly. "I died when you were all teenagers. You were so," he tried to find the right word, "young back then." He had to laugh and shook his head. "And now that I'm back everyone's grown up and married with children of their own." The first few months after Sirius got back had been stressful - it was easy enough to let people know he was back from the dead, but actually meeting everyone and matching up past and present versions of people was much harder. Harry had given him the least trouble because other than being a little older, a little more scarred and a little less hot-headed, he still looked very much like himself. Most of the Weasleys hadn't changed all that much either. Tonks, Remus, Hermione - those three had been difficult, though not as difficult as the children - all fifteen of them. Still, he did a lot better with them than Hermione had at first, and she' had time to get used to them bit by bit. Then again, he had the advantage of being able to turn into his animagus form when the horde of tiny witches and wizard became too much for him - the children loved playing with Padfoot.
"I don't think we're really all that grown up. At least, I don't think I am. Most of the time I just hope for the best." Hermione stretched her legs out, putting her feet in Sirius' lap, as his genuine barking laughter filled the room.
"You should have a chat with Remus about that. He tells me he still hasn't got a clue, and he's pretty ancient now," Sirius said with a wink.
"Sirius! He's not ancient," Hermione admonished him despite the fact that she was grinning herself because Sirius was very clearly joking. Their conversation lulled while they sipped from their drinks, both apparently lost in their own thoughts.
After a couple of minutes Sirius cleared his throat and, giving her a lopsided grin, asked, "What are you going to miss the most about sex with Charlie?"
Hermione cocked an eyebrow and smirked at Sirius, asking, "Sure you can handle that information?"
"Try me. I bet I can match your stories with some of my own," Sirius said, the challenge clear in his voice and she felt the curiosity and alcohol getting the better of her.
"I'll really miss his mouth and tongue. The first time after Romania at George's wedding was just," she broke off and fanned herself with her hand. "I teased him all night - you should have seen the dress I wore! - and even though the reception was still going on, he dragged me off to an orchard at some point only to push me against a tree, hike up my dress and make me come so damn fast just by using his mouth." Sirius took a sip from his drink and licked his lips, the movement catching her eye and reminding her just how she'd gotten herself off the last time she'd stayed over at Grimmauld Place.
"I once had a partner who loved to ride my face. She'd start by licking my cock, then kissing and licking along my body, crawling up and up until I had a thigh on either side of my face. The closer she got, rubbing herself over my mouth, the harder she'd pull at my hair, so focused on getting herself off. Very hot, that." It was easy enough for Hermione to picture herself in that position, dominating Sirius like that, using him for her own pleasure, while they'd both know full-well that he was letting himself be used like that and enjoyed it.
Keeping her voice steady, Hermione quickly said, "I'll miss him fucking me. The first few times he kind of held back, but at one point he asked if I liked rougher sex or if I'd be okay with trying it, and holy shit. Don't get me wrong, the sex was great before, but once he got to let go completely it was mind-blowing. He had me bent over his kitchen counter, fucking me from behind, pulling at my hair. Left me covered in hickeys." A slight blush tinged her cheeks - whether from the continuous drinking or because her voice did crack about halfway through that story, she wasn't quite sure herself.
"Gimmauld Place, kitchen table. She got me very hot and bothered by sucking me off, but didn't let me come. Straddled me before I could think straight and got herself off with achingly slow rocking of her hips, kept me on the edge the whole time and only rode me hard after she'd come."
"You seem to like your witches to know what they want," Hermione commented. She'd been sure no woman ever left Grimmauld Place unsatisfied, but she'd always thought that stemmed more from Sirius liking a challenge than his partners being so dominant. To be told that he took home such confident women... She hadn't really expected it.
"The best sex I've had was often with women like that, but there were others as well. Fucking slowly and actually feeling like you're close to someone and falling a little bit in love - if only for a night." Hermione raised an eyebrow at that and wondered why he never let a woman stick around for longer if he clearly was capable of feeling something more.
"Any other stories? Or was that all already?" he asked her, getting back on topic when he realised he'd let something slip that he'd hardly ever shared before, except maybe with Moony.
Hermione tutted, "Six years, Sirius. Do you really think that was all?" Sirius simply laughed and raised his glass in her direction as if to tell her to continue.
"I'll miss the times when he takes longer to tease me than to fuck me," she said and sipped from her drink before continuing. "One time I asked him if he'd like to, um, tie me to my bed. He touched me and kissed me and licked me until my skin felt on fire and with every touch I thought he'd make me come. He took all the time in the world to bring me incredibly close only to pull away and snog me for while. I got so desperate I begged him to let me come at least once, but he didn't. At least not until he was rock hard from my moans and begging and writhing against him. At that point it only took him a few thrusts and he brought me over the edge at the same time."
It was one of her fondest memories of Charlie. Not just because of the amazing orgasm that had washed over her and left her feeling giddy, but because they laughed together when he untied her from the bed and then held her close. He'd told her how much he enjoyed the experience and then asked if she was fine, if he had taken it too far. She'd cuddled close to him, reassuring him that she'd been happy with it all or else she would have used their safe word. Burying his face in her hair, he'd whispered that he'd be happy for a repeat - or for her to tie him up some time. Hermione didn't share that part with Sirius.
"My, my, Miss Granger, very kinky indeed," Sirius said, shifting slightly on the sofa and adjusting his position. "There's something very fun about tying someone up like that and having your way with them. One of my partners wanted to be blindfolded at the same time as tied up - kicked the whole sensitivity thing up a notch. The smallest touches got her wet and she came so fast when I finally fucked her." Blindfolding wasn't something she'd tried before, because eye contact turned her on, but the thought of being in such a vulnerable position with someone she trusted piqued her interest as well. Maybe something to think about later.
Sirius was looking at her expectantly, and Hermione cleared her throat, picking her next story carefully. "We once had a threesome with one of his colleagues. It was fucking hot to see him suck off another bloke while I bounced up and down on his cock. Two very handsome, tattoo-covered men that really wanted to please me and each other was almost a bit much," she said with a chuckle. If she'd expected Sirius to be shocked at this particular tidbit of information she would be disappointed, because he didn't even bat an eyelash.
"Remus and I once shared a wonderful witch. It wasn't so much about us getting it on together though. We just wanted to fuck her at the same time. Kind of difficult to describe what that felt like, but it was fun. Never did get a chance to repeat that particular experience." Maybe he was trying to shock her in return, seeing as he was smirking and there was a glint to his eyes as he gauged her reaction. What he didn't know though was that this particular story had come out years ago, not long after the war actually, when they had been young enough to regularly play drinking games and got Remus to indulge them for once by playing with them. Unlike Tonks, it was always much harder to convince Remus to join them all, but it was oh so worth it the few times they did manage.
"I'll miss sucking Charlie off," Hermione continued without missing a beat, licking her lips. "Charlie was always quite... vocal whenever I wrapped my lips around his cock and this one time I had a bit of fun exploiting that. He'd gotten back to the Burrow the previous night and I popped around the next morning just as he was in the shower. When he got out of the shower, I snuck into the bathroom and surprised him. He didn't know I'd be coming over. Didn't get the chance to cast a silencing charm, so he just had to suck it up and force himself to be quiet, while I sucked him off. He got his revenge later, but it was very much worth it." Hermione grinned at the memory. They hadn't seen each other for a few months at that point and she'd thought it was a pretty good way to say 'welcome back'. Only with less words. Sirius laughed and tried to think of a similar story. For once, he was at a disadvantage because he'd never had a standing arrangement like that with anyone, seeing as most of his stories started in bars or pubs or other such establishments and ended that night or the following morning.
Unable to think of something quickly, Sirius stalled by asking, "What was his revenge?"
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing," Hermione said with a laugh, shaking her head. Even though his plan was obvious, she indulged him. "That night we went down to the pub with Ginny, Harry, Ron, a few others. Bit of a welcome back thing for Charlie, actually. The whole evening he teased me, pushed his hand right under my skirt whenever no one would notice and well, you can imagine what he did."
Sirius' laughter filled her living room. "Please tell me Moony was out with you that day!"
The blush colouring Hermione's cheeks answered that for him, but she still cleared his throat and primly told him, "He was. In fact, he informed me that he has a fairly good sense of smell - even in a dingy pub." Sirius didn't stop laughing for a long while, only when Hermione asked, "Didn't you say you could match my stories?" and reminded him of their little game.
"Very well," Sirius said, another chuckle escaping him as he glanced at Hermione. "After a very short night of sleep, one of my partners woke me by giving me one of the best blowjobs of my life. She had beautiful brown eyes and didn't break eye contact the whole time. Did some truly amazing things with her mouth." Hermione took a long drink of her firewhiskey to stop herself from saying that she could probably do better and asking if she should demonstrate. Her heart beat hard and fast in her chest as she asked herself what the fuck was wrong with her. She and Charlie had just ended things that day, and apparently firewhiskey didn't mix well with the feelings that brought up.
More than that though, hooking up with Sirius would be a stupid idea. If he even took her up on it. At best it would lead to another friends with benefits arrangement, at worst it would be nothing more than a one-night stand. She would be just another notch on his bedpost - or he on hers.
"Run out of stories?" Sirius asked, although he gave her face a searching look, trying to figure out if she was alright or not, wondering if she'd shared more with him than she would be comfortable with tomorrow morning.
"I'll miss the lazy mornings," Hermione said, her voice low as she pulled her gaze from Sirius' face, and instead looked down at her drink. "It was great whenever we were a bit rougher with each other, but I also loved the mornings after, when we fucked in the kitchen or the shower after breakfast, when we took our time with each other, because there was no need to rush." Her voice cracked on the last few words and she had to blink fresh tears away.
"Hermione," Sirius sighed, taking the glass of firewhiskey from her hand and putting it on the table, setting his own glass down right next to it. She glanced at his face and could tell that he was trying to find the right words. The expression was an odd one on Sirius Black because he often said whatever popped into his head. It took him a while to continue, "I'm sorry Ginny found out, I'm sorry you and Charlie ended things, but don't you think you deserve better, more than that?"
Hermione shook her head, running her hand through her hair and avoiding meeting Sirius' gaze. "I've told you, I don't think I was, am ready for a relationship where marriage and children and Merlin knows what else are very much things to be thought about."
Sirius watched her carefully, giving her his full attention, but the question slipped past his lips before he could think about it properly. "Are you going to be alright?" The change in Hermione's demeanour was instantaneous, the witch glaring at him before her expression closed off completely and she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"It's fine. I think I've just had a little too much to drink," she muttered, looking off to the side, her eyes landing on her fireplace. "Mind if we continue this another time?" She got up from the sofa and Sirius followed her suit.
He knew a lost cause when he saw one, so he said, "I really should get going. Mind if I pinch some of your floo powder?" She shook her head and grabbed a little pouch from her mantlepiece, holding it out for him.
"Thanks for the evening, love. I'll see you tomorrow." Sirius gave her a weak smile, and though she tried her hardest, she couldn't help but smile back until her brain registered what he'd said. Tomorrow? Fuck! The dinner at the Burrow.
"I'll see you tomorrow," she replied feebly. From the changing emotions on Hermione's face, Sirius could tell that she'd forgotten about the dinner, that he'd only just reminded her of it, but since he'd already annoyed her that night, he decided a retreat would serve him better in the long run. Maybe he could let Ginny know that Hermione was freaking out about their typical Sunday get-together the following day.
Grabbing some of the floo powder and giving Hermione another smile he wasn't sure she even noticed, Sirius flooed back to his own house, making a firecall as soon as he'd come through the emerald flames.
A/N: Hello everyone!
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I wasn't too sure if I should post this or skip to the next chapter directly, but I did think one of her friends would check up on Hermione after that day, so here it is~
Two weeks feels like forever to have between updates, buuuut it gives me time to write ahead. I have now fully planned out the story with chapters and what happens in them and everything, and I've finished writing Chapter 9 and have gotten started on Chapter 10 c: Would you guys like to know how many chapters I have planned in total or would you like that to be a surprise? Let me know what you think!