A/N: Apologies for the slight delay...I've been so tired that I didn't have the energy to type this up this week. For future reference in terms of updates (I know I've been abysmal with The Wolf and Little Red)...I write everything by hand first. As in, with a pen, on lined paper, the long way. I know, I know, that's SO 20th century, but call me old-fashioned, I enjoy the physical feeling of looking at 10-20 pages of hand-written work and feeling accomplished.
ANYWHO...here's the next chapter! As always, READ and REVIEW...or the big bad fan-fic monster will come and eat your brains!
Chapter Nine: A Dinner with the Folks
Sirius stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for Hermione to get changed for dinner. He kept pacing, wondering why the meeting with her parents made him so nervous. He had never had to meet a girl's parents before, having spent most of his adult life avoiding commitments that would bring about that type of confrontation. Hermione had told him that the initial discussion hadn't gone well, as her parents had suggested everything from giving up magic to self-imposed exile in the small Australian town she had sent them to. She hadn't told them about the consummation clause or the fidelity charms, which Sirius thought was just as well. That was an aspect he'd rather her parents didn't know.
"I'm glad that, for once, you're the one doing the waiting."
Her voice brought him out of his thoughts as he looked up to see her descending the stairs. His breath caught in his throat. She truly was radiant. She wore a gray knit dress that hugged her curves in an understated, classy way. It was sleeveless, but the neck was high and it fell just below her knees. On her feet were a pair of low, pale blue kittens heels, which matched her clutch and sapphire drop earrings. Her curls were swept up in a loose bun and she wore a little make up that gave her deep, smoky eyes and full, red lips.
"Merlin," he said softly. "You look beautiful."
She smiled.
"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself."
She nodded in silent approval at his Muggle suit pants and pale green Oxford shirt, unbuttoned at the collar.
"I, uh," he said awkwardly, digging into his pocket. "I think now is as good a time as any to give you this."
He handed her a small jewelry box. Opening it, she gasped. A single princess-cut diamond sat in goblin-wrought silver, flanked by two smaller diamonds. It was subtle and elegant, just like her. He had found it earlier that week as Ginny dragged him from store to store. They had found it at a small, quiet jewelers in Godric's Hollow and both Harry and Ron had admitted how perfect it was for her.
"You didn't spend a fortune, did you?" she asked as he slid it onto her left hand.
He chuckled.
"You sure know how to kill the romance, don't you?" She shot him a look and he smiled. "Even though I have a fortune to spend on you, this was a very reasonably priced ring."
She smiled as she watched it magically re-size to her finger.
"Thank you," she said sincerely, kissing him gently on the cheek. "Well…shall we?"
Pulling on their cloaks, they walked out of the house and he held her arm as she apparated them to her parents' doorstep.
She gave his hand a supportive squeeze as she rang the doorbell.
A few seconds later, the door opened and a petite woman with wild curly hair and bright green eyes greeted them. She smiled as she hugged her daughter warmly before surveying Sirius critically. He tried not to shift uncomfortably under her cool gaze.
"You must be Sirius," she said.
He swallowed hard, clearing his throat as he nodded with a nervous smile.
"Yes ma'am," he said, his voice a few pitches higher than normal. "Lovely to meet you. Hermione speaks very highly of you."
"Thank you. Considering the circumstances, I would say it's a bit of a stretch to say I'm happy to meet you, but I suppose that can't be helped," she replied as she stood aside to allow them to enter.
"Mum," Hermione mumbled reproachfully, but said nothing else as she put her and Sirius's cloaks in the coat cupboard.
"You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Granger," Sirius said politely, though not without sincerity. The Grangers were clearly doing well.
"My name is Helen," Hermione's mother corrected. "As you are to be my son-in-law, I suppose you should call me that."
Sirius nodded, not trusting himself to give a verbal response.
"So, Hermione tells me you're from a pureblood wizard family. Tell me, how many generations of inbreeding do you come from?"
"Mother!" Hermione said sharply, and Sirius was slightly surprised to see the intimidating older woman shrink back slightly from her daughter.
Then Helen sighed.
"Your father's in the sitting room," she said before turning and walking down the foyer, leaving Sirius and Hermione to follow her.
"I'm sorry," Hermione whispered as they followed. "I should have warned you. My parents heard about all the crap Draco used to give me in school with his pureblood mania. They were anti-monarchist sympathizers to begin with, so you can imagine…"
"Kitten, I think the last thing we should be worried about is your parents political leanings," he replied, stepping aside so she could enter the room in front of him.
"Hello pumpkin," Mr. Granger said warmly to his daughter, who hugged him.
"Hi Daddy."
Stern hazel eyes met Sirius's gray-green and Sirius immediately knew where Hermione learned her soul-penetrating gaze of fire.
"And you must be the man who is marrying my daughter."
The tone was light but the meaning was dark. Sirius felt he might as well have been called the tyrant who was stealing her away into a life of complete and utter misery and servitude.
He swallowed hard again.
"Yes sir," he said, glad his tone stayed at his normal pitch. "Sirius Black. Nice to meet…"
"And how old are you?"
Sirius cringed slightly at the abrupt nature of the man's tone.
"Forty-two, sir."
"Ah. And Hermione's twenty-one, which would make you twice her age."
"Only mathematically," Sirius tried to joke, to which Hermione gave a nervous chuckle but her parents remained emotionless.
"Yes, Hermione said you had a sense of humor," Helen said tonelessly.
"So do you, on a normal occasion," Hermione said hotly, looking accusingly at her parents.
"Sweetheart, does any of this strike you as normal?" her father asked.
"Look, I told you already: this is no one's idea situation. You're acting as if Sirius concocted this idiotic law just so he could marry me. He doesn't like this any more than I do."
"That's not to say that I don't care for your daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Sirius added quickly. "I respect her immensely. I owe her my life."
"She mentioned that," Mr. Granger said. "She also said you weren't meant to be there in the first place, putting others' lives in danger in the process. Not a fan of authority, Sirius?"
"I…"
"Enough!" Hermione said. "I told you two about this because I thought you would have the decency to be understanding about it. Trust me, it is merely nothing more than a courtesy at this point. You can be a part of this if you want, but no one is forcing you. I was hoping you might come to the wedding. I was even hoping you would agree to give me away, Dad. But if you're going to spend the rest of the evening attacking the character of the one man who is willing to sacrifice his own happiness to help me, then we're going to leave and I won't darken your doorstep again. It's your choice."
Sirius looked from Hermione to her parents and had to stop himself from smiling as he recognized the stubborn glare that sat on her mother's face and the defiant look in her father's eyes. There was no doubt that hard-headedness ran rampant in the Granger family.
Then Helen sighed.
"Alright, alright. Sirius, we're sorry. Please sit."
With a look from Hermione that pleaded with him not to screw up this second chance at a first impression, he tentatively sat next to her on the love seat.
The two men then proceeded to look at each other for several minutes in silence.
"Oh for heaven's sake," Hermione finally said. "Why don't you both just whip them out and get it over with?"
Sirius coughed as he choked back his laughter as her parents gaped at her, horrified.
"Hermione Jane Granger!" Helen cried.
"Well, someone needed to say something, and Dad looked like he was sizing Sirius up."
"Erm…" Sirius interrupted, noting the look in his future father-in-law's eye warned of the possible appearance of the dreaded firearm. "May I suggest that we head to the restaurant?"
"That's an excellent idea, Sirius. Daniel?" Helen said, shooting her husband a warning glare that, once again, Sirius recognized intimately.
In silence the four donned their outerwear and walked to the driveway. Glancing warily at the house next door, Sirius thought he saw the curtain move slightly. Taking a protective step closer to Hermione, he turned his attention to the beautiful cherry red 1960 Aston Martin that sat next to the black BMW they were approaching.
"This is a beautiful car, Mr. Granger," he said, admiring the gleaming chrome and leather interior. He inwardly triumphed as Hermione gave him an approving smile.
"Thank you," the other man said, his cold tone barely concealing the pride he had for the vehicle. "Do you drive, Sirius?"
"Yes, I have a black motor…" Hermione elbowed him and he coughed to hide his grunt of pain. "I…er…used to drive. But now I just use normal…I mean…magical modes of transportation."
"Ah yes. Hermione's told us a bit about those. Apparating and portkeys and flow powder," he said solemnly, as if they were quite normal to him.
"Floo powder, Dad," Hermione corrected, the affectionate tone in her voice reminding Sirius of how she corrected Mr. Weasley when he spoke of his Muggle contraptions.
The drive was uneventful, with Helen pointing out small landmarks of the town and spouting off on Muggle history as Daniel remained stoically silent. Sirius listened attentively, nodding at appropriate moments and all the while appreciating where Hermione had inherited her enormous intellect.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Sirius tried not to be amused by the way the Muggle world operated. Waiters were running all over, the door of the kitchen swung open and closed, partially revealing several chefs working quickly to get plates out to hungry patrons. He had always admired the ingenuity of Muggles, though not with the voracity that Mr. Weasley did.
As they sat, Helen noticed the ring on her daughter's finger. Unable to contain her admiration, she grasped Hermione left hand for a closer examination.
"Oh my," she said, watching as the stones caught the light. "This is absolutely stunning, 'Mione."
"Yes, he did do well, didn't he?" Hermione said, squeezing Sirius's hand with a small smile.
Daniel glanced at it, expressionless.
"It looks expensive," he said, casually perusing his menu. "What do you do, Sirius?"
"I…er…I'm not working at the moment," Sirius said timidly, knowing unemployment was not the most impressive thing, especially to a wary father.
"Oh?" As expected, there was an edge to Daniel's voice. "And why's that?"
"Sirius comes from money, Dad," Hermione said. "And he has almost doubled his inheritance through some very wise investments."
This seemed to peak the older man's curiosity.
"Stock market, eh? What's in your portfolio, then?"
"Erm…" Sirius looked at Hermione. It was true that he had made some investments in the wizarding market since his return from the Veil, but most had been at Hermione's urging and he wasn't entirely certain he understood exactly what he had gotten into as she talked to him about it.
"He's a shareholder in a chain of stores our friends own," Hermione said, rescuing him yet again. "You remember Ron Weasley, don't you? His older twin brothers own a series of joke…er…toy stores," she said, stretching the truth just a bit about Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Sirius was fairly sure her parents wouldn't think very highly of an investment in the jokes and pranks industry, despite how much he still enjoyed them.
"A toy store?" Daniel said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he put his menu down. "Do you like toys, Sirius?"
Had Sirius not known what he did about Hermione's past, he would have thought the question somewhat odd. He knew now, however, that the question was loaded. With Hermione's history, it made sense that her father would be concerned with his young daughter marrying an older man whose interests were tied, however loosely, to children. The question wasn't merely 'Do you like toys?' It was 'How big of a pervert are you, really?'
"I was just helping out a couple of friends," Sirius said, trying his best to be both casual and careful. "I don't have a strong opinion either way about the toys themselves, though I know I would probably be the type of father who would spoil his child rotten with hundreds of toys."
"So you want children of your own?" Helen asked, and he couldn't help but hear a slight lilt of happiness at the prospect of grandchildren.
"Yes. Not a big family, but maybe one or two. Not immediately, of course. I'll leave the fates to decide when would be the best time for us…er…me. As of right now, though, I have all the family I need with Harry."
Daniel frowned slightly.
"Harry? As in…Harry Potter? You're related?"
"He's my godson…ow!"
He cringed as Hermione's shoe made contact with his shin. Looking at her in confusion, he noted her tense jaw and realized that she probably hadn't told her parents that piece of information, as it only exacerbated the age difference.
"How long have you two really known each other, 'Mione?" Daniel asked quietly.
"A few years," Hermione replied evasively, suddenly enthralled by her menu. "Sirius, you should really try the Veal Provencale. It comes with a delicious cremini mushroom risotto."
"Please answer your father, darling," Helen said.
Hermione sighed.
"I met Sirius when I was thirteen," she said. "But between the ages of thirteen and fifteen we barely saw each other and then he was…er…gone completely for two years after that. By the time we re-connected, I was of age and mature enough to know…" She trailed off, not wanting to reveal that which Sirius already knew.
She sighed.
"You both know the circumstances surrounding this marriage. You need to trust my judgment on it."
"Trust your judgment?! Hermione, you are barely an adult!" Daniel hissed.
"I'm hardly a child," Hermione replied coolly. "I've experienced my own lifetime of horrors and hardships, most of which you would not be able to fathom so let's drop it and enjoy dinner, shall we?"
She left no room for argument and thankfully, her father didn't give her one.
They ordered their food and sat for a few moments in a tense silence. Looking around desperately for a conversation starter, Sirius saw a dance floor populated with a few couples. Turning back to the quiet table, he cleared his throat and stood.
"Helen," he said nervously. "Would you honor me with a dance?"
He felt instant relief as the woman flushed slightly.
"Um…yes. Sure."
They stood and Sirius let her lead them to the dance floor.
"I…er…apologize for our behavior this evening," Helen said as he swept her gracefully around the floor. "This has been a bit of a shock for us."
"It's perfectly understandable," he said graciously, happy that at least one of her parents was being civil to him. "Hermione is an exceptional young woman. But you should know that I really do have the utmost respect for her."
"Yes," she said. "Yes, I can see that. But I'm sure you know she's our only child and…well…she was very difficult to come by."
"You have my word that she will be properly looked after and protected. No one wants to see harm befall her."
Helen smiled slightly.
"If that were true, I hardly think you would be in this situation, Sirius."
He chuckled.
"Touché. But despite her age, Hermione is the brightest witch I know. She is essential to our cause, and to Harry. Any one of us would gladly lay down our lives for her."
"I hope it would never come down to that," she said. Then she sighed. "I don't pretend to know everything that you and your kind are going through, but I know enough to worry about her. I am glad that she has such good friends, especially one like you, who is willing to marry her to save her from this. You seem to care for her a great deal."
"I do. We all do. Though, I suppose under these unfortunate circumstances, I'm getting the better end of the deal. Even a marriage based on love and devotion cannot guarantee a wizard a beautiful, brilliant witch for a spouse. All she'll have to show for it is me."
Helen laughed.
"Don't sell yourself short, Sirius. Intelligent though she may be, Hermione is still her mother's daughter. She will not underestimate having a generous, good-looking husband."
The song ended and they clapped for the band before heading back to the table. They found Hermione and Daniel embroiled in a heated argument.
"I just don't understand why you can't marry someone your own age!" Daniel was saying, not bothering to pause for the new arrivals.
"I've told you…no one my age is eligible," she replied.
"What about your friends? Harry, or Ron, or even that delightful young man we met at your graduation? Neville, I think his name was."
"Harry is a half-blood, Dad, and happily engaged to Ron's little sister Ginny. Ron is marrying Luna, and Neville just became engaged to our classmate Hannah not two weeks ago. There honestly isn't anyone else."
"And they wouldn't sacrifice their own marriages for you?"
"I wouldn't ask them to!" Hermione said angrily, her face red with frustration. "No one should have to sacrifice their happiness when there's so little of it right now."
"And why couldn't you just leave the country? You sent us to Australia that year you and Ron and Harry went gallivanting around the country. We could go back there. All of us. Your mother and I were quite happy there."
"Firstly, we were hardly gallivanting. Second, this is hardly the same situation. You were in mortal danger and there are times when I contemplate the wisdom of bringing you back because for all intents and purposes, you're still in mortal danger."
"But we could all go and we could live a normal life, just like we did before…"
"Daniel," Helen said quietly. "You need to come to terms with this. It's going to happen, whether we give our blessing or not, and I would prefer not to lose our daughter a second time because you have a few minor issues with her fiancé."
"Yes, well, you'll pardon me if I'm not as easily swayed by a handsome face and a spin around the dance floor," the frustrated man replied heatedly.
Sirius recognized the building tension in Helen's jaw, so he turned to Hermione.
"Fancy a dance, kit…Hermione?" he asked, catching himself before the less-than-appropriate nickname slipped from his lips.
"Yes," she said decidedly, and he chuckled to himself as she led them to the dance floor.
"Relax, kitten," Sirius said softly in her ear as he pulled her to him, feeling her tense muscles as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "He's just worried about you."
She sighed.
"I know. But there's a frustratingly large disconnect between his fears and the situation."
"His fears are not unfounded, 'Mione. Especially the age difference."
She looked up at him contemplatively, searching his face. He must have looked somewhat guilty because she sighed.
"Who told you?"
"Who told me what?" he asked, but she gave him a look and he sighed. "Both Remus and Ron. They thought I needed to know after your attempt at dismemberment this afternoon."
Her nostrils flared slightly.
"I see."
"I'm glad they told me," he said. "I know myself well enough to know that I probably would have done something stupid if they hadn't."
She gave him a small smile.
"I'm not entirely sure you won't still do something stupid in the course of events."
He chuckled.
"Fair point."
There was a comfortable silence between them where she seemed to relax, laying her head against his chest as they moved to the quiet jazz. Then she looked up at him curiously.
"What were you talking to my mother about?" she asked.
He grinned.
"Why? Worried?"
She laughed.
"I have no doubt that she will be armed with embarrassing childhood photos the next time she sees you, but I was hoping tonight would be devoid of mortifying anecdotes."
He chuckled again.
"We talked about you, mostly. I told her I thought you were the one getting the raw end of the deal but she assured me that you would appreciate having a kind, caring, devastatingly handsome husband."
She nodded solemnly.
"I would indeed. I'll let you know when I find one."
He laughed, tickling her gently.
"Sassy little swot."
She smiled.
"We're going to have to work on your modesty, my dear Mr. Black."
"I have no idea what you mean, my darling Miss Granger. Someone as perfect as me is the very picture of modesty."
She laughed, shaking her head before glancing at the table.
"It looks like the dust has cleared. It might be safe to rejoin them."
He looked over warily.
"Are you certain? Can't we just stay here for…say…the rest of the evening?"
She laughed.
"Well, my dad looks sulky and my mother looks impossibly smug, so I believe we'll be alright. Though, Mum can be a bit unbearable when she's smug."
Sirius smirked.
"Funny…reminds me of someone else I happen to know…"
The rest of the dinner went fairly smoothly in comparison to its relatively disastrous start. Though Daniel still regarded Sirius with ill-disguised trepidation, there were no more snarky comments and by the end of the meal – which Helen insisted upon paying for – both he and his wife were insisting that they be involved in the organization of the engagement party. As they parted outside the restaurant, Sirius felt a slight triumph well within him. He had survived meeting her parents and had done rather beautifully if he did say so himself.
After receiving a warm hug from Helen and a reluctant handshake from Daniel, Sirius – rather smugly – apparated them back to Grimmauld Place.
"How'd it go?" Lupin asked from the library where he, Harry, and Ron were sitting, the two younger men playing a game of wizard chess.
"Started out a bit rocky, but I managed to be charming enough to win over her mother," Sirius said, his smug smirk still in place as he threw himself carelessly into one of the overstuffed chairs.
Hermione rolled her eyes, though she smiled.
"The very picture of humility," she joked. Then she sighed. "Well, I'm going to turn in. Mrs. Weasley wants to meet tomorrow to discuss the engagement party and its up to me to inform her that she now has to plan it with my parents. I'll need all my energy for that."
They all chuckled and she turned to Sirius.
"I know you're already telling yourself this, but you really were amazing tonight. Thank you."
She leaned down and kissed him lightly on the lips. Pulling away, she smiled at the rest of them before walking out.
Sirius didn't understand why his lips tingled from her brief touch.
"Uh-oh," Harry said with a chuckle. "I know that look."
"What look?" Sirius asked.
"The 'Hermione Look,'" Ron said. "It's a look I knew well."
"She's getting to you, Padfoot," Lupin joked. "You are besotted."
Sirius scoffed.
"Don't be daft. I admit she's beautiful…and sexy as hell sometimes. But she's entirely too smart for someone like me."
Lupin laughed.
"Truer words were never spoken."
Sirius shot his friend a look.
"Once this stupid law is repealed, I'll go my way and she'll go back to you, Moony, however misguided I believe the decision is. In the meantime, however," he continued, standing and stretching his long limbs. "I'm going to have a drink and go to bed because Muggle alcohol is revolting."
Harry grinned.
"The dog doth protest too much, methinks," he teased.
"In time the savage bull doth bear the yoke," Lupin added.
"I' faith, sirs, I think you're blazon to be true," Ron concluded.
Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Somewhere in England, a Shakespearean scholar is crying," he said dryly before walking out of the library.
