ICYMI: I posted a chapter on Wednesday, so if you haven't read that, you might want to!

Guys. Last chapter I received the most comments than I ever have on any of my stories! If you guys keep it up, I might post three times a week (every two days)!

Thank you guys so much for the love you've shown me and my story. It makes my heart burst. I love you all.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.


Chapter 8: Hello, I Love You

"She's walking down the street, blind to every eye she meets.

Do you think I'll be the guy to make the queen of angels sigh?"

Hello, I Love You – The Doors

2 January 1977 – King's Cross Station

The rest of the winter hols passed somewhat quickly for Hermione. She hadn't received a single owl from Fabian and it hurt her. Sirius had taken to staying at the Lupin Cottage to look after her; Hermione hadn't been taking care of herself.

The petite witch had practically barricaded herself in her room and didn't even come out for meals. She had managed to lose the muscle and weight she had put on to make the Quidditch team and dark circles hung under her eyes. Her nightmares had returned, stronger than ever, and she had to put up a silencing spell on her room every night.

The protective spells didn't last long; Sirius proved that he could take them down – he had come of age in November – and didn't once question how she was able to do magic without alerting the Ministry. He would smooth the damp hair from her face and try to comfort her as much as he could. His heart ached knowing that she was reliving something that she would never talk about when she was awake.

"Mia? Little one, come on, wake up," he urged, climbing into her bed and pulling her back against his chest.

She thrashed on the bed before her eyes popped open, wide and crazed. She looked up and him and sobbed, "Sirius."

He held her tighter when she spun in his arms and clutched onto him. Her little body was wracked with shaking and all he wanted was to take her pain away.

Sirius held her until her breathing evened out once more and she was asleep, but he didn't dare leave her. She was craving human touch and he could deny her nothing.

When the time came to board the Hogwarts Express, Hermione did so in a daze. She had hugged Hope goodbye and found an empty compartment, sealing herself inside. She twisted her hair up with her wand, hoping that would conceal how tangled it really was, and drew her knees up to her chest as she watched the students say goodbye to their parents on the platform.

She didn't even look up when the door to the compartment opened and Sirius slid inside, closing it behind him.

He sat next to her and urged her to lean against him. "Remus and James are keeping Peter company in another compartment. I told them you still needed your space."

Hermione nodded against his chest, breathing in the minty scent that mixed with the leather. She would never be able to express how grateful she was to him for everything he had done to help her while she sorted out her mind in the midst of her breakup.

Sirius wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head, "Get some sleep, Snow. I'll wake you before we arrive."

She yawned delicately and snuggled further into his embrace, allowing everything else to drift away as she closed her eyes.


5 January 1977 – Hogsmeade Village – The Shrieking Shack

Hermione hadn't wanted to join the Marauders for the full moon, but Sirius wasn't having any of it. He had cornered her when she was coming back from the library and begged her to come out with them.

"It'll be fun, I promise," Sirius said, taking her hand and tugging her out of the castle.

Lately, it felt like a chore for her to put one foot in front of the other. She'd much rather bury herself in her studies and Quidditch practice, but Sirius had seemed hell bent on getting her back to her former self.

When they scampered under the Whomping Willow as Padfoot and Snow, she felt her anxiety bleed away and be replaced by excitement. She hadn't let herself play as an animagus since the last full moon and she forgot how therapeutic it could be. She nipped playfully at Padfoot before she ran up the stairs, leaving him to trail behind her.

She had so much energy to burn off that she didn't waste any time engaging Prongs in a game of tag as Wormtail and Padfoot kept Moony busy. Prongs nicked her with his antlers a couple times, but she shook it off, focusing on the thrill she was feeling instead.

When the moon moved past its apex, she lopped over to Padfoot, licking his muzzle affectionately before turning in a circle and curling her back against his chest. Padfoot could smell the scent of blood and he whined as he nudged her onto her back. Red stood out against the pale white and he growled menacingly before turning to Prongs.

Snow knew it was futile to try and diffuse the fight that would end up brewing between the two males and she simply watched as Padfoot chased Prongs around the room and up the stairs, nipping at his back legs in warning.

When the morning came, Hermione awoke to Sirius washing the blood from her stomach with a warm flannel. She didn't stop to think how he'd gotten it. He had already healed the wound and was intent on returning her pale skin to what he was used to.

"Be more careful, please," Sirius rasped, the worry palpable in his voice.

She reached out and cupped his cheek delicately, whispering, "I promise."


11 January 1977 – Hogwarts – Library

Hermione was nervous. Before winter hols, she had agreed to help Regulus with studying and now was the time to make good on her deal. She had spread out her transfiguration notes out on the table as well as a few books she thought would help.

When a boy with black hair and grey eyes walked in, her eyes snapped to his and she gave him a tentative smile. He walked up to her table and held out his hand as he formally said, "Regulus Black."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she took his hand and shook it, "Mia Lupin. Severus said you needed some help with transfiguration-"

"I assure you that I'm absolutely brilliant at all the subjects I'm currently taking," he paused, her expression shocked, "I'm here because I'm on the Slytherin Quidditch team and I heard some…interesting things. You see, you may be a half-blood, but I don't agree with what one of my teammates has been saying."

Hermione paled, "You mean Dolohov?"

He nodded, "I don't gossip, but it would be remiss if I didn't tell you what I heard. You see, Antonin has some sort of obsession with you, for lack of a better word. The last game against Ravenclaw, he had made it his mission to knock you off your broom; he's a Beater, he could do it without justification. However, it would be wrong if he had an unfair advantage without you protecting yourself."

Her head swam. She knew that Dolohov had 'fancied' her as Fabian had said, but it felt like it was deeper than that. She hadn't done anything to him, in this time anyway.

"The other Beater is looking out for him seeing as he's become quite violent. I wouldn't recommend saying anything to the Headmaster, but don't allow yourself to be alone for too long," Regulus hesitated before adding, "I see how my brother looks at you. He'd go rabid if anything happened to you. He's a Black after all; we're not known to be the most stable bunch."


14 January 1977 – Hogwarts – Quidditch Pitch

It was a big game. Not just big, huge. Gryffindor finally got to go up against Ravenclaw and the Marauders were buzzing with excitement. Remus had bet that Ravenclaw would win even though Gryffindor would catch the Snitch.

"Vance is too good not to catch the Snitch," Sirius had said when they all made their wagers.

Apparently, James thought that Gryffindor would win no matter what and bet almost twenty Galleons.

They all were hovering around Madam Hooch, waiting for the final whistle.

"I want a nice, clean game from all of you," she called, looking at each player before releasing the balls and blowing her whistle.

Hermione kicked herself into action, racing after the Quaffle with single-minded determination. Lewis flanked her as James came up on her right, pushing against her in attempt to knock her loose. Swooping down, she went after Tennant whom had the Quaffle. When he saw her, he passed it her way and she raced to the Gryffindor hoops, throwing it through the left one before Fabian could block it.

"RAVENCLAW LEADS WITH TEN POINTS BY LUPIN!"

Fabian grabbed the Quaffle and tossed it to James and she was on the latter's tail before the announcer could finish yelling. She wanted to win.

She spent almost the entire game chasing James' broom, but scoring twice as many points. Whenever she made a goal, she and Fabian would lock eyes, only for him to turn away when she tried to speak. She had wanted to talk to him after the game, but if he was acting like that, she couldn't be bothered.

"AND ANOTHER TEN POINTS TO RAVENCLAW! RAVENCLAW LEADS WITH ONE-HUNDRED AND SIXTY POINTS, LEAVING GRYFFINDOR WITH FORTY. PREWETT, YOU ALL RIGHT OUT THERE?"

She giggled; the similarity to Lee Jordan was truly getting out of hand.

"YEAH? THEN CATCH THE BLOODY QUAFFLE, YOU OAF! WHAT ARE YOU DOING – sorry Professor McGonagall – WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! PREWETT, MOVE YOUR ARSE!"

Hermione slung the Quaffle through the middle hoop once more just as Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

"AND CROUCH HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH; RAVENCLAW WINS!"

She whooped in happiness, flying around the pitch with Lewis in tow in a victory lap. Ravenclaw had finally beat Gryffindor; it just took a while.


25 January 1977 – Hogwarts – Library

Books. Books were her friends when she had none. Sure, she still had the Marauders and Severus and Lily, but her life felt different without having Fabian in it. She groaned and leafed through the herbology book on the table in front of her; she was so over herbology this year. The sixth years were required to grow all the ingredients that they could for their potions class and it was grating on her nerves.

Professor Sprout had been lenient with a few students, but she pushed harder on Hermione because she was a Lupin and Remus excelled at it. He tried to help her out as much as he could, but she was hopeless with a few of the plants – Sirius ended up just giving her his because he was ridiculously adept at herbology.

She jotted down a few pointers that she thought would help her with growing her latest plant and snapped the book shut. Waving her hand, she wandlessly sent the book soaring to its spot as she packed up her bag, careful to secure her inkpot.

"Mia?"

Hermione looked up at the voice, hoping her ears were deceiving her. Across the table sat Fabian, a worried look on his face as he twiddled his thumbs. Taking a deep breath and steeling her voice, she asked, "What do you want, Prewett?"

He flinched at the use of his surname, "Okay, I deserved that-"

"What do you want?" She repeated, annoyance bleeding into her voice, "I don't have all night. Is there something you needed?"

"I…I wanted to see you."

Hermione snorted, "What, didn't see me enough during the game? If I recall, I spent more time by your hoops than I did anywhere else."

His mouth snapped shut as he struggled with himself. He tried again, "You don't look so good. Have you been sleeping? Eating?"

"It's really none of your concern," she said stiffly, standing and slinging her bag over her shoulder, "You lost the ability to care about my wellbeing when you didn't bother talking to me for a month. A month, Fabian." It had been hard to put herself back together; she didn't know how she would've done it without Sirius. She sighed and shook her head, "We're done, okay? I can't give you what you want; there's no point in kidding ourselves. Find yourself a nice pureblood witch and settle down."

Fabian's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist as she pulled away. He caught sight of the glimmer on her forearm again and whispered, "Finite Incantatem!" His eyes widened as he saw the angry word on her skin, so stark against her porcelain skin.

Mudblood.

She jerked backwards, her other hand reaching to cover the mark. He looked up and saw sprinkles of other scars across her face and neck, the deepest running the length across her throat.

"Mia?" He asked timidly, his eyes devouring every bit of her skin he could see as his brows creased in confusion. What on earth had happened to her? It looked as if she had been through a war or worse.

She pulled her arm out of his grasp and glared at him, "Leave me alone, Fabian."

He watched as she scuttled away, holding her arm to her chest as if she was still hurting.


12 February 1977 – Hogsmeade Village

"You seem to be doing better," Remus observed, tucking a pound of chocolate into Hermione's basket at Honeydukes.

She rolled her eyes, "I couldn't mope forever. Besides, Sirius has been helping me and I think being out for the full moon helped me a bit."

The conversation lulled at the mention of the Marauder. Remus still wasn't completely comfortable to how Sirius and Hermione's 'relationship' was progressing, but he had to admit that he had seen a change in the other man during the school year.

"I think James actually has a chance with Lily," she whispered after they'd paid for their candy. She smiled at his look of surprise, "She's been asking about him a lot more; I think it helps that he doesn't bother Severus anymore, either."

He nodded in agreement, "James is growing up. I think Sirius finally talked him out of sending her jewelry every other week."

"I'm sure Euphemia loved when her jewelry went missing," Hermione snickered, popping a sugar quill into her mouth, "So…what do you want to do for your birthday?"

"Mia, that's almost a month away-"

"I need time to plan!" She huffed before getting sidetracked by a familiar cluster of redheads. She groaned, "Oh, no."

Remus followed her line of sight and noticed the group as well. He pursed his lips, blandly saying, "At least Gideon and Fabian aren't with them."

"I'm more worried about-"

"AUNT MIMI!"

"-that."

Hermione didn't have a chance to turn away before Bill and Charlie had wrapped themselves around her legs, both sets of blue eyes looking up at her with wide smiles on their faces. She looked up and noticed Mrs. Weasley staring at her unsure of what to make of her children clinging to her brother's ex.

Shaking her head, she smiled down at the boys, "Have you two been good?"

"Of course, My!" Bill said indignantly, "We even take turns on the broom you got us! Mum wouldn't let us use it when Unca Fabey was around, but we use it all the time now! Charlie rides with me, though; he's too little still."

She laughed, "I'm glad you both like it. Now, it looks like your mum needs to do something. So, how about I give you each a sweet and you be good for her for the rest of the day, yeah?"

Charlie smiled and nodded, "Pease, Mimi."

Reaching into the Honeydukes bag, she pulled out two sugar quills and sent them on their way – after a loud, sloppy kiss from Charlie – and she watched them sadly.

Remus watched her with concern; her entire body had seemed to droop after they left. "You miss them, don't you?"

"So much," she whispered, wiping away the tear that had managed to fall against her cheek.


10 March 1977 – Hogwarts – Room of Requirement

"Who's bright idea was it to give the werewolf Firewhisky?" Hermione asked, looking around the little circle they had created in the Room of Requirement, sweets, alcohol, and presents in the middle.

James held up his hands in mock defense, "Don't look at me. I'm not even of age yet."

Her brown eyes rounded on Sirius and he shrugged, "A man should always have a drink for his birthday and I'm the only one able to get alcohol, aren't I?" He chuckled, slinging his arm around his witch and kissing her temple, "Besides, we're all staying here tonight anyway; no risk of running into Filch out there."

"Are we really skiving off classes tomorrow?" Peter asked, blinking his blue eyes between everyone. He hadn't wanted to come to the Room to begin with – not that Hermione would've cared – and he hadn't even brought a present for the man of honour.

"Mia went through a lot to plan this," James said, a crease appearing between his brows, "If you didn't want to come, you should've stayed in the common room, Pete."

The blond stuttered, "N-no. It's Remus' birthday."

"Glad you figured that out," she muttered under her breath, watching Remus closely as he laughed at his own hands. Shaking her head, she turned to Sirius, "We're not getting James drunk in a few weeks, okay? We can have his party at the Three Broomsticks since it falls on a weekend."

As the night wore on, the Room provided soft pillows and blankets. The first to succumb to sleep – or rather, pass out – was Remus. Peter and James followed soon after and Sirius and Hermione were curled up in front of the fire, his hand running along her ribs.

They were lying on their sides, watching the flickering flames. She felt safe in his arms and it had been so long since she'd felt safe. She wiggled onto her back and stared up at his face, her hand reaching out to cup his cheek.

"You are so handsome," she murmured, the fire hiding the blush on her cheeks.

Sirius chuckled, tugging a curl, "I'm glad you think so, Snow."

"I like that," she admitted, a small smile tugging at her lips, "I like feeling like I belong. I like feeling like I belong with…you."

"You'll always have a place with me, little one, no matter what," he vowed, cupping her small cheek in his hand while staring into her whiskey eyes, "I won't leave you, I won't abandon you. It'll just be us for as long as you'll have me."

Hermione swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She had convinced herself when she arrived on the Hogwarts Express that she'd never – under any circumstance – allow herself to fall for Sirius Black, yet that's exactly what she did.

She had fallen in love with how he took care of her and how he protected her. She had fallen in love with the mischievous man that made her heart race and in that moment, she realized that she had never been in love with Fabian; she had merely loved him.

"Sirius?" She asked softly, meeting his grey eyes unflinchingly, "Don't ever leave me."

He pulled her closer, burying his face in the crook of her neck as he whispered, "Never."


27 March 1977 – Hogsmeade Village – The Three Broomsticks

Sirius looked Hermione up and down, admiring how her bellbottom jeans practically cupped her arse and her jumper hugged her curves. He whistled low, "Damn, am I a lucky bastard or what?"

Hermione and Lily were walking ahead of the boys, giggling about how Severus seemed to be mooning over another Slytherin girl while the Marauders trailed behind and talked about what they would do for the summer break.

"Oi! You lot coming or you just going to stare at your girlfriend's arse all day, Sirius?" Lily called over her shoulder as she and Hermione disappeared into the Three Broomsticks.

Sirius shrugged, looking at Remus unapologetically, "She does have a nice arse."

Remus rolled his eyes and pushed James into the bar first, as the rest trailed behind. The girls had secured a corner booth and were ordering a round of Butterbeers for the table.

"Happy birthday, Prongsie!" Sirius bellowed, sloshing his drink forward in a toast, "I, for one, am surprised you made it this far! After blowing up a toilet-"

"You blew up a toilet?"

"-in third year, I assumed that we would've perished from another prank by now. Or that McGonagall would've expelled our sorry arses." He sighed thoughtfully, "Happy birthday, mate. And here's to many more!"

Hermione struggled to raise her glass, knowing that two people at their very table would never make it to see their twenty-fifth birthdays, but she smiled anyway and drank, hoping that she would end up forgetting.

Her eyes watched as Lily moved to sit next to the birthday boy, her pale face blushing as she spoke low. James gave a great whoop before taking her in his arms and kissing her mouth as if he was running out of air.

She smiled and turned to Sirius, leaning forward and pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth, "Everything's going to be all right."

"With you, Snow, it already is."


Be sure to leave a review!

15 reviews earns an early on Wednesday!

And follow me on tumblr is you're so inclined for previews - missgraceomalley . tumblr. com

~Grace