Chapter 10

Hermione stared at the store front, completely paralyzed. The trio had spent time together on Saturday mornings for the last few weeks in Diagon Alley. So far, she had successfully avoided this store. But apparently not anymore. They had met at Sirius' flat, and then he had brought her here! Here of all places!

The giant Ws in the sign made her cringe. She didn't want to see Ron!

"I can't go in there Sirius! I can't see that man!" She hissed at him so Elaine couldn't hear.

Sirius scowled, "As if I'd bring you to see that piece of sh-"

"Sirius!" She exclaimed, gesturing to Elaine, who was looking up at them curiously.

Sirius smirked at her rebuke, "I wouldn't bring you here to see him. He doesn't work here anymore. Fred and George fired him years ago."

"They fired him?" Hermione asked, surprised. "Why?"

"They found out he was a bast-" she smacked his arm. "Wasn't a good guy," he finished.

Hermione couldn't help but feel happy about the news. She hadn't worried herself over her ex-fiancé's fate, but it was gratifying to hear that not all the Weasleys had bought into his lies.

"Can we go in, Mummy? This place looks fun," Elaine asked.

Hermione sighed, looking back at Sirius. He shrugged, "You wanted to get back into the wizarding world. Fred and George are good men who won't pressure you or ask you too many questions. And I don't think they'll tell Ron or Harry."

Hermione tried to push aside her fear, then nodded. Sirius held the door open for her and Elaine. They walked in and Hermione looked around. This place was insane. She had spent time here in the past of course, but she hadn't thought about it for so long. There were a number of customers milling about and a few workers standing behind various display counters.

"Is that our favorite Marauder?" Called a voice from behind the checkout counter. Hermione looked over to see George smiling at Sirius, "It's been too long!"

"And he's brought a lady friend," said Fred coming out from the back room, "Miracles do happen!"

"Haha, guys, very funny," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Why don't you take another look." He motioned toward Hermione.

Each of the twins, looking remarkably similar to the way they had when she last saw them, looked at her closely. Suddenly, and at the exact same time, their eyes widened, and they yelled "Hermione!"

"Hello, boys," she said, smiling slightly, feeling very uncomfortable. "This is my daughter, Elaine." She tugged the girl forward. "This is Fred and George, old friends of mine."

As usual, Elaine's natural social ways prevailed, and she immediately began talking to the twins about their store and different products. They were happy to humor her, showing her different items and what they did. Elaine was delighted.

Hermione walked over to Sirius, who was leaning against one of the display counters. "Elaine is certainly entertained by this place," she commented.

"Most kids are," he replied. "I know the Hogwart's crowd are their biggest customers. Teddy Lupin loves everything from here. It's always a good bet for buying him a present."

Hermione smiled, thinking about the boy, "I haven't seen Teddy since he was younger than Elaine. How is he?"

"Great. He's a third year Hufflepuff. He made Chaser on the Quidditch team this year."

"So Hermione," Fred said, coming up to the pair, as George showed Elaine something. "Long time. How have you been?"

Hermione smiled at him, "I've been good. Busy with Elaine."

"She seems like quite the social butterfly," Fred said, looking over at the girl.

Hermione laughed, "She certainly isn't shy!"

Fred met her eyes, expression serious, something that looked entirely foreign on his face, "About Ron..."

"Please Fred, I don't want to talk about Ron. What happened in the past is over, and I'd rather not rehash it."

He studied her for a moment, then nodded, "Whatever you say." Just then, Elaine came running over to show Hermione and Sirius what she wanted to buy.

Fred and George chatted with them for awhile as they paid for the goods, and then they invited Hermione and Elaine to come back anytime.

As they made their way to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour for a treat, Hermione's heart felt lighter somehow. She had been worried every time she came to the Alley that she would run into someone else from her past. But seeing Fred and George that way had made her feel more at ease. She had Sirius to thank for that.

After they settled in at a table with their ice cream, Hermione decided to let him know how grateful she was, "Thank you, Sirius, for taking me there this morning. And, well... for everything really." She smiled at him.

He looked surprised by her thanks, "I haven't really done anything," he said, avoiding her eyes, clearly uncomfortable with her gratitude.

"Well, I would probably still be hiding in the muggle world if it weren't for you. In fact, I know I would be. So, there's that."

Sirius shrugged, "If you say so. I'm glad I'm useful to someone."

"Of course you are, why would you say that?"

Sirius looked down at his ice cream, not meeting her eyes, "Nevermind, ignore me. How's your ice cream Elaine?"

Hermione wondered at his comment. Why would he think he wasn't useful? He had spent hours with her and Elaine, keeping them company and helping Hermione feel more comfortable with this world again. She knew it probably wasn't at the top of his list of things to do. He still got on her nerves sometimes, but overall, he'd been friendly, though not effusive, and Elaine adored him.

That worried her. It wasn't surprising that Elaine had become so attached. She had never had a male influence in her life, and Hermione could see Elaine looking to him as almost a father figure, even though it had only been just over a month since they had started spending time with him. But he had no real tie to them. He could leave at any time and leave her daughter broken hearted.

Maybe she should talk to him about it? But when? She only ever saw him with Elaine in tow. She would just have to figure it out. Figure him out. This man insisted on confusing her.

She had invited him to dinner at their flat. He hadn't been expecting that. She had told him that she wanted him to accompany her into her transition back to the wizarding world. But dinner at her entirely muggle flat didn't really fit that description.

He felt nervous, which annoyed him. He had no reason to be nervous! They were just acquaintances. He had spent time with them, yes, but it wasn't like they were close. Not really.

Except that they were close. Friends even, though they had never really named it. And he had grown to really care about Elaine.

He could feel himself shaking off his reclusive ways for them. He hadn't voluntarily spent so much time out in public, that wasn't work related, in years. It actually felt good, being somewhat social again. He didn't feel so alone.

But what if Hermione decided she didn't need him anymore? That she could do it on her own. He didn't want to lose them.

Maybe he should talk to her? Let her know how he felt? No, that sounded like a stupid idea.

He found himself standing outside the door to their flat, holding a bottle of wine that Hermione had mentioned she favored and a bottle of pumpkin juice that Elaine loved, feeling incredibly foolish.

When he handed Hermione the wine, she had beamed at him and praised him for remembering, which had swept his awkward feelings away. Elaine has hugged him and thanked him for the pumpkin juice, which warmed him up inside. No, he definitely didn't want to lose these feelings they invoked in him.

Hermione had cooked a simple but tasty meal that he had enjoyed, especially when compared to Tonks' attempts. When he told her so, she had laughed and said that she remembered having a few of Tonks' meals in the past and could commiserate.

Elaine wanted to show Sirius her bedroom after dinner, so he spent some time oohing and aahing over her various toys and books. She seemed pleased by his response.

She then asked to play a game, and they spent the next couple hours attempting to teach him several muggle games that he did not seem able to learn. But Elaine's giggles and Hermione's gentle encouragement made his incompetence less painful to bear.

When Elaine started yawning, he tried to make an exit, but Hermione insisted he stay seated on the sofa as she helped Elaine get ready for bed. He then received a kiss on the cheek in good night from the pajama clad girl, and when Hermione returned from tucking her in, she offered him a drink, which he declined, and she sat down on the sofa next to him.

"I, umm, I wanted to talk to you about something, without Elaine here," she said after a long silence. His stomach dropped, dreading whatever topic she felt was serious enough to have without Elaine's ears nearby to overhear.

He nodded for her to continue, and she fidgeted with the bottom of her cardigan as she seemed to consider her words, "We've been spending a lot of time together over the last couple months, and I just hope... I hope I didn't force you into anything. I'm sure Elaine and my company isn't exactly ideal, but I'd hate to think that I cornered you or something."

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't enjoy your company. Both of you." He said quietly, watching her face for a reaction. Her face seemed to brighten slightly, then dimmed again.

"It's just that you have no real tie to us. And I've allowed you to get close. Far closer than I originally planned. And I'm worried about Elaine. She would be devastated if you decided that spending time with us wasn't a priority for you. And I just can't let that happen to her."

Sirius studied her face, realizing her fears reflected his own fears of losing them. When had this gotten so complicated?

"I'm not going anywhere, Hermione. I care about Elaine. She's a great kid, and I wouldn't willing choose spending time doing anything else than hanging out with her. With you." He felt his checks warm at the completely foreign heartfelt words.

Hermione considered his words, then asked, "Are you sure? Because if you aren't, I think it would be better if we parted ways now."

"I'm sure!" He said, too loudly. He lowered his voice, "I'm not going to change my mind."

"Ok," she said slowly, then smiled, "Although I can't imagine such a good-looking guy like you will want a single mom and her young daughter cramping your style forever.

His eyebrows shot up, eyes wide. Her face froze, her cheeks flaring red. She closed her eyes, seemingly in embarrassment. Did she just try to flirt with him? A smirk formed on his lips, and he very nearly laughed at the expression on her face.

"I guess it's good to know what you really think about me. It's always nice to be appreciated," he said, then he did laugh at her rude gesture.

He decided he didn't have anything to worry about. He wasn't going to lose them any time soon.