Just a massive thank you to my beta Nightgigjo for her hard work with this chapter, all mistakes are my own. A thank you, also to Fairfortune and Juphulk over on Tumblr and of course, to you wonderful readers, every review I've received has either just been full of praise or has very gently critiqued my writing.
El.
}{—-}{ —-}{
The train home was as pleasant as it could be. Benjy slept through most of it, while Severus and Lily played wizard's chess and Hermione read a book. "Magical Logistics and Tactful Tracking?" Lily read the title with a curious frown. "Why are you reading that?" she asked.
"Seemed interesting," Hermione shrugged, closing the book as the Hogwarts Express pulled up to King's Cross.
Benjy was sprawled over the seat, his feet resting on Hermione's lap. With a smirk, Hermione knocked his feet to the ground. The momentum rolled Benjy right off the seat and, with a yelp, he tumbled to the ground. Lily laughed out loud at the sight and even Severus smirked at the sixth-year boy.
"We're here," Hermione grinned.
Benjy sent her a glare and rose with a huff, making a big show of dusting himself off. "Most girls would kill to have me so close," he grumbled.
"Gross," Lily shuddered.
Severus nodded in agreement and Lily smiled at him, causing his chest to puff out.
Benjy shook his head at the two and grabbed his trunk from the overhead storage. He placed it by the door and then grabbed Hermione's trunk and Gus' cage. He grinned at Lily's expectant face and, instead of getting her trunk down as well, he simply moved out of the way.
Lily rolled her eyes at him but before she could step forward to grab her own trunk, Severus rose from his seat and did it for her. "Thank you Sev," Lily grinned. "At least some men," she threw a dark look at Benjy, "are still gentlemen." Severus beamed at her praise.
"I don't like you, so I won't help you," Benjy shrugged, then grinned.
Severus glared at the boy, his mood quickly shifting, but Hermione stepped between them before anything could kick off. "Let's go," she demanded, shoving Benjy out of the compartment.
"Prat," she heard Lily grumble.
The corridor was packed with students, but it was nothing compared to the platform, which was absolutely heaving with people. There were so many, Hermione could barely make out faces.
"Benjy!"
The small group turned their heads at the noise. A woman with sun kissed blond hair, a large smile and expensive green robes was frantically waving at Benjy. Benjy beamed at the sight, enthusiastically waving back.
Hermione had seen plenty of parents over the years; Molly Weasley, Xenophilius Lovegood, Apolline Delacour, Violet Evans and they'd each come with their own style; firm, creative, expectant and supportive, but she'd only ever describe one parenting style as fun.
Cecilia Fenwick seemed to live as incautiously as possible. One morning she'd be in Vietnam learning the intricacies of Veela mating rituals, and the next she'd be in Romania trying to tame dragons.
"Mum!" Benjy grinned as Cecilia threw her arms around him. He hugged her back, not a jot of embarrassment in his actions.
"Benjy, my boy," his mum said, leaning back to get a good look at him. "As handsome as ever," she declared.
Hermione snorted, grabbing her attention.
"Hermione," Benjy's mum smiled, hugging the witch.
"Ms. Fenwick," Hermione smiled, returning the hug.
"Oh, please, how many times do I have to tell you?" she said with a pout. "None of that Ms. nonsense, it makes me feel far too old."
"You are old," Benjy grinned, earning a look and a swat on the arm from his mother.
"Lily!"
Everyone turned to see James with his three friends standing next to two adults, who, going by their hair, could only be James Potter's parents.
"Oh no," Lily frowned, "we have to go. Ms. Fenwick..uhh..Cecilia," she quickly corrected, "it was lovely to see you again but we really must be off." She grabbed Hermione by the elbow and hastily began dragging her as far away as possible. Severus had no need to be dragged, happily following after the two.
"Hey, Evans!" James cried even louder, "don't pretend that you can't hear me!" he bellowed, "I just want to introduce you to my parents!"
Hermione bit her lip to keep from laughing, but she wasn't doing a very good job. Lily shot her a glare.
"Quickly," Lily demanded when they made it to the barrier.
With a smirk, Hermione ran through it and made it to the other side without so much as a glance from the Muggles walking around. Severus followed up behind her and then Lily made it through.
"Don't laugh," Lily demanded, and Hermione did her best to keep in her mirth.
"You should report him," Severus scowled. "His harassment has reached intolerable levels."
"He's a prat," Lily said, irked, "but he's harmless."
Severus' eyes grew dark at that, and Lily seemed to realise that she'd said the wrong thing. Whilst James Potter was certainly harmless to her, he was Severus Snape's tormentor.
"Severus, I didn't mean-" Lily began, but he cut her off.
"My mum's here."
The Evans sisters turned to see Eileen Prince standing by the stairs. She was as different from Cecelia Fenwick as it was possible to be. She wore a simple black dress, with her dark hair pinned up and a permanent scowl on her face.
"I'll see you later," Severus grumbled.
"Severus," Lily tried but he walked off before she could say anything. Lily sighed in frustration, her shoulders dropping in defeat. "I didn't mean-"
"I know you didn't," Hermione interrupted with a small smile. "Come on, I'll get you a donut," she offered.
"Do you have any Muggle money?" Lily enquired.
Hermione paused. "Alright, you'll get the two of us a donut," she smiled.
Lily shook her head. "Come along then little sister," she sighed.
"Little?" Hermione questioned, but Lily was already walking away.
Unlike most of their peers, Hermione and Lily were taking the Muggle train home to Cokeworth, where they would be met at the station by their parents. The sisters sat at a cafe whilst they waited for their train, where Hermione did her best to cheer up Lily. Unfortunately, cheering someone up was not Hermione's specialty.
"I just don't understand why they hate him so much," Lily frowned, barely touching her chocolate milkshake.
"They get everyone," Hermione shrugged.
"Not like they get Severus," Lily shook her head. "They target him," she scowled, "and the more they do it the more he runs to-" Lily sighed in frustration, unable to finish her sentence.
"His Slytherin friends," Hermione concluded for her.
"I'm not making excuses for him," Lily explained, "but Sev has no one. His home life is…it's pretty bad," she exhaled. "Hogwarts was a safe place, but now with all these attacks and the Slytherins practically cheering them on, it's become divided. It's Slytherin House vs the world," she frowned.
"Which makes it you against Severus," Hermione summarised, thinking then of the professor she'd hated as a child, the man who had caused her to cry at twelve years old, who had sacrificed himself for a boy he hated in memory of the woman he loved.
If Peter and Benjy and Lily could be saved, why couldn't Severus Snape?
"It doesn't have to be," Hermione told her.
Lily looked up at her, green eyes filled with surprise.
"I'm not saying that you'll get through Hogwarts as the best of friends," Hermione breathed, "but you can get through it together. If your friendship with Severus really matters to you and he feels the same then…you can make it work."
"I thought you didn't-"
"I don't like Severus. He's a little shit," Hermione smiled with a shrug, "but so am I."
Lily frowned, the sadness in her eyes only growing.
"I'll help you," Hermione promised. "If he really means that much to you, I'll help."
Lily's frown slowly turned upwards and her eyes shimmered in the evening light. "Thanks, Hermione," she said with a soft smile.
}{—-}{—-}{
By the time they made it to Cokeworth Station, the sun had long set, and Viola and Henry Evans were waiting on the platform.
"Dad!" Hermione plastered on a smile, giving Henry Evans a hug, ignoring the small ache in her heart.
"Look at you," Henry grinned, pulling back and holding her at arm's length, "prettier every time I see you."
Hermione rolled her eyes and moved on to hug her Mum.
"How was the trip?" Viola asked as she hugged her youngest daughter tight.
"It was fine," Hermione replied."Where's Petunia?" she asked, confused.
Her parents shared a look, "I'm afraid Petunia had plans for this evening," Viola said, grabbing Hermione's trunk. "You'll see her at dinner," she added as the twins were led out of the station and into their family car.
The drive home didn't take long and soon Hermione found herself walking through her front door.
"I've got it," Henry said, grabbing Hermione's trunk.
"Dad, I can do it," Hermione protested.
"Oh, please, it's as light as a feather" Henry grinned, simultaneously holding Lily and Hermione's trunks. "Magic?" he questioned.
"Magic," Hermione concurred.
"Got to love it," he beamed, walking up the stairs.
Hermione grinned and followed him. She had the same room she'd had as a little girl. It really hadn't changed much decorations-wise: The walls were stark white and her desk was still situated right below the window but it had a few more picture frames than when she was little.
Hermione softly smiled as her eyes scanned the pictures. The first was of her and her family at the beach. She couldn't have been older than ten, and originally she hadn't wanted to go, but in the end, it had been rather fun.
The older ones had one similarity - Benjy Fenwick.
There was a picture of her and Benjy with Peter from back in first year and another of just the two of them at the lake in Cokeworth from this summer.
"Where'd you want it?"
Hermione turned to see her father holding her trunk.
"By the bed is fine," she said.
Henry placed it where she asked and came over to the desk. "Those are lovely," he grinned, picking up a frame of her and Benjy from her third year. Hermione was sitting by the lake reading a book and Benjy then shoved her in. "I'll never get used to the pictures moving," Henry shook his head.
"It's pretty weird," Hermione smiled.
"I'm sure that's not the weirdest thing you've seen in the magical world," he said, placing the picture frame down. "Wash up, dinner will be ready in ten."
"Will do," Hermione said and with a smile, Henry left her room.
Hermione changed into more comfortable clothing and then made her way to the dining room, where her family including Petunia were all situated.
"Petunia," she smiled at her sister as she took the empty seat across from her and next to Lily. Petunia looked exactly like the last time she had laid eyes on her, her blonde hair went just past her shoulders, her neck was a little too long and she was dressed in her usual drab colours. "How's school?" Hermione asked, genuinely curious. Whilst she didn't have the closest of relationships with her eldest sister, they were still amicable. She couldn't say the same about Petunia and Lily. For reasons she couldn't understand, Petunia loathed Lily.
"It's pretty boring," Petunia sighed, picking at the roast on her plate.
"No, it's not," Viola argued. "You had that art exhibit just last week."
Petunia raised a brow. "I don't like art," she scowled.
"You don't like anything," Henry joked with a smile, but Petunia wasn't amused.
"How's Nicholas?" Lily asked.
Viola winced as Petunia flinched and glared at Lily.
Petunia all but slammed her fork on the table and rose out of her seat. "I'm not hungry," she announced, fuming, as she left the room.
Lily stared after her with wide eyes and even Hermione was taken aback.
"It's not your fault, sweetheart," Viola said.
"She's still struggling with Nicholas being sent away," Henry added with a frown.
"I didn't think they were that serious," Hermione said.
"They weren't," Henry sighed. "She was barely with him for two weeks. It's just puppy love."
"Nicholas hasn't written back in weeks," her Mum added. "He's the first boy who's ever shown a real interest in her and she's just finding it difficult to move on."
"I didn't realise," Lily frowned. "I should go and apologise."
"After dinner" Henry insisted "right now, I want to hear all about Hogwarts and this Sirius I keep hearing about"
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, as Henry pointedly looked at her.
"There's nothing to hear," she stated, eating a spoonful of potatoes.
"Lily said he asked you on a date?" Viola questioned.
Hermione slowly looked at Lily who was guiltily shovelling food down her throat. "If that counts as news in this house than we really should have started talking about James Potter years ago"
Lily spluttered, choking on the large mouthful she still had.
Henry and Viola looked at Lily, eyes wide. "Who's James Potter?" they simultaneously asked.
Lily swallowed her mouthful and shot Hermione a glare.
"I think that's my cue to leave" Hermione said, quickly standing up. "Thank you for dinner, it was delicious," she added hastily, and with an awkward grin, she ran out of there.
}{—-}{—}{
The first few days home for Christmas weren't as pleasant as previous ones. Petunia was determined to stay locked up in her room and her parents were determined to get them all out and about. So instead of getting some research done for her watch, Hermione had been forced to endure family time. They went shopping together, they went bowling together, they decorated the tree together...the whole thing was just getting too much.
So when the sixteenth rolled around, Hermione was delighted.
She hopped down to breakfast fully dressed with an exuberant air around her. The same could not be said for her family who were all sat at the kitchen table, holding what could only be described as a stilted conversation.
"You look nice," Henry frowned.
"Do I?" Hermione asked, looking down at her clothes. She wore her black jeans with her large grey jumper, perfectly average attire in her opinion.
"Where are you off to?" Viola asked, curious.
"Christmas shopping with Peter," she smiled. Although the chances of Peter actually being there were rather slim, but her parents didn't need to know that.
"The short boy?" Her father questioned "with the blonde hair?"
"Yes, Dad," Hermione replied, buttering her toast.
"If Hermione gets to skip out on family time, then so do I!" Petunia proclaimed.
"Me too!" Lily jumped in.
Her parents shared a frustrated look. "Girls," Viola began, "we're only trying to build some memories together," she sighed. "It's supposed to be fun."
"It's torture," Hermione plainly stated.
"Awful," Petunia agreed.
"Yeah," Lily regretfully sighed.
Viola huffed in defeat. "Fine. Family time is officially over," she proclaimed.
Hermione grinned at her parents, thankful that her time would once again be hers.
"So now that you're free," Henry said, "what are your plans for today?"
"I'm going to spend it with Severus," Lily answered. "Mum, can he stay for dinner?"
"Of course," Viola answered, "Severus is a delight."
"And you Petunia?" Henry asked. "Why don't you invite a friend over as well?"
Petunia rolled her eyes at him. "The last thing my friends want to do is sit around the dinner table," she stated. "Don't count me in for dinner."
Viola and Henry frowned, but chose to stay quiet.
After that, breakfast was an awkward affair. The Evans family had very little to converse about, Petunia snapped whenever anyone addressed her, Hermione didn't offer much in terms of conversation and Lily had run out of things to talk about.
Sirius Black and James Potter were completely off-limit topics in the Evans household.
}{—-}{—-}{
Hermione exited the Knight Bus right on time, walking through a busy throng to reach her meeting point. Although Trafalgar Square was heaving with people, it didn't take long for Hermione to spot him.
Sirius Black was stood leaning against Nelson's column, smoking a cigarette. He was wrapped warmly against the December cold with dark jeans, large boots and a leather jacket atop a black t-shit. It didn't take long for his grey eyes to spot her. He pushed away from the statue, throwing the cigarette to the ground and treading on it to put it out.
"Hey," he grinned when she was close enough.
"Hi," Hermione replied, folding her hands across her chest. "Where's Peter?" she asked with a raised brow.
Sirius' eyes widened. "Oh, right," he chuckled awkwardly, "the thing is-"
"You lied to me," Hermione stated.
Sirius stared at her and then heaved a sigh. "Yeah, I did," he admitted, "but only because I knew you wouldn't give me a chance."
Hermione shook her head at him. "Come on then," she said.
Sirius startled back in surprise. "That's it?" he asked.
"What did you expect?" she replied.
"A bigger fight than that, if I'm being honest," he admitted with a grin.
"It's not like it's a date," Hermione stated, "and I'm sure that I can put up with you for a few hours."
Sirius's grin fell.
"Let's go, Black," Hermione said, walking on ahead.
It took a moment but Sirius soon followed after, walking by her side.
"Where are we going?" he asked
"Hilly Mikilson's," Hermione informed him.
Sirius whistled in appreciation. "That place is fancy."
"Tell me about it," Hermione sighed. "It's going to eat up half of my budget and I still have to get Lily and Arlo a gift."
Sirius frowned at her, confusion in his eyes. "We're not going to Hilly's for Lily?" he questioned.
"No," Hermione answered with a shake of her head. "It's for Benjy."
Sirius's frown grew, a dark spark in his eyes. "Fenwick?" he grimaced. "Why are you spending so much on Fenwick?"
"Because he's Benjy," Hermione stated matter-of-factly.
Sirius's mood soured but she paid him no mind as she walked in to Hilly's boutique. Although it looked tiny on the outside, crammed between two other stores and charmed to repel Muggles, the inside told a completely different story. The boutique was three floors high, crammed to the rafters with witches and wizards doing their Christmas shopping. Hermione walked further in, bypassing the older selection.
"You know you can just get him last season's robes," Sirius advised.
"He wants this season's," Hermione informed him.
"He told you want he wanted?" Sirius asked perplexed. "Who does that?" Hermione stopped in front of the right section, scanning the walls for the robe Benjy wanted. "Benjy and I have a special relationship."
Sirius grumbled something under his breath.
Hermione spotted the yellow robe with the trimmings and instinctively grabbed her wand, before realising that she wasn't in school anymore and the last thing she wanted to receive was a letter from the Ministry. Instead, she looked around for an assistant, but they were all preoccupied. With a sigh, she stood up on her tiptoes, trying to reach the top of the robe.
A warm body pressed against her back, as a hand moved into her line of sight and grabbed the robe. Hermione turned to Sirius staring down at her, standing very close. She stumbled back in surprise. Sirius just smirked at her, holding out the robe for her to take.
"Thanks," she breathed, taking the robe.
They joined the checkout queue and Hermione almost winced when the guy behind the counter gave her a price. With a reluctant frown she handed over slightly more than half of her budget.
With a wave of his wand the man put a feather light charm on her bag. "Hope to see you soon," he smiled, handing the bag over. Before Hermione could take it, Sirius grabbed it.
"You don't have to carry it," she told him.
"I want to," he shrugged. "It's not like it's heavy," he explained with a smirk.
"No, you don't understand," Hermione said, indicating her small shoulder bag. "This has an extension charm."
Sirius's face flushed with embarrassment. "Oh," he breathed. He held up the bag for her and Hermione, grinning at Sirius's embarrassment, quickly put away Benjy's gift. With a shake of his head, Sirius headed for the exit.
Hermione followed him out of the store and a few feet down the road before asking, "Where do you want to go to next?"
Sirius huffed in frustration. "I want you to consider this a real date," he declared, exasperatedly running a hand through his hair.
Hermione stopped in surprise. "Real dates usually start off with a real question," she said.
"Go out with me?" Sirius asked.
Hermione shook her head. "No."
Sirius breathed out in frustration. "There's got to be something you want in exchange for a date..."
Hermione had 'no' on the tip of her tongue when, like a bolt of lighting, she realised that there was something she wanted from Sirius Black.
"Maybe," she hesitantly replied.
Sirius's eyes widened and a slow grin appeared on his face. "I'll do anything," he declared.
Hermione bit her lip in thought. A single date wouldn't kill her and it was for Lily, after all.
"Leave Severus Snape alone."
Sirius balked, his jaw tightening and his eyes flashing. "Snivellus?" he grimaced, his face flushing in anger.
"Stop torturing him," Hermione nodded, "and I'll consider this a real date."
"Torture!" Sirius said through gritted teeth. "That bastard deserves every last thing he gets!"
"I guess you don't want a date after all," Hermione shrugged, turning on her heel and walking away.
She made it halfway down the road before Sirius came running down, stopping in front of her and blocking her path. "How long?" he demanded.
"What?" Hermione said in surprise.
Sirius glared at her, deeply unhappy. "How long do I keep my wand off of Snivellus?" he demanded.
"Forever," Hermione instantly replied.
Sirius snorted. "That's not happening. Aim for something a little more realistic," he said mockingly.
Hermione frowned at him. She was tempted to just walk away, but this could make all the difference for Severus. "For the rest of the school year," she decided.
Sirius frowned, thinking it through."It'll have to be for more than one date."
"How many?" Hermione grimaced.
"This one and our next two Hogsmeade trips," Sirius asserted, "and I get to defend myself if that asshole attacks me."
Hermione glowered at him, but conceded. "Fine, three dates and only if he attacks you first. Drawing his wand doesn't count."
"Real dates," Sirius said, a spark in his eyes. "That means actually taking it seriously and trying."
Hermione hesitated for a minute before agreeing. "Alright," she said.
Sirius grinned at her and held out his hand. Hermione fought the grimace off her face and clasped hands with him.
"Where are we going?" she asked as Sirius led her down the street.
"A late lunch," he answered.
}{—-}{—-}{
They settled in at a Muggle diner, grabbing a booth. Instead of sitting across from her, Sirius sat next to her.
"What can I get you?" a waitress, who seemed to be around their age, asked, except she wasn't asking Hermione. Her eyes seemed to be glued on Sirius.
Hermione frowned at her. "I'll have a cheeseburger and Coke," she said.
"And you?" the woman asked Sirius, smiling far too wide.
"I'll have the same," Sirius smirked.
The girl wrote it all down on a pad but kept standing there.
"You can go now" Hermione informed her.
The waitress's eyes slid over to Hermione and she frowned, a questioning look in her eyes as she looked at the two of them. Hermione sent her a glare and with a roll of her eyes, the waitress walked away.
"I prefer brunettes," Sirius smirked.
"I didn't ask yo-" Hermione stopped speaking, biting back her scathing remark.
Sirius' smirk turned into a full blown grin.
Hermione sighed in defeat and leaned back against the booth. This was going to be harder than she thought.
"Let's play a game," Sirius suggested
"A game?" Hermione frowned.
"It's called twenty questions," he said. "We take turns asking each other questions, except on this occasion, we get to go past twenty."
"How do you know I'll answer truthfully?" Hermione wondered.
"That's part of the fun," Sirius smirked. "Is Lily your only sibling?" he began.
Hermione rolled her eyes but answered anyway. "No," she shook her head, "we have an older sister, Petunia," she answered, and racked her brain for a question to ask. "What's your favourite colour?" she lamely replied.
"Red," Sirius answered with a grin. "Why is Snivellus so important to you?"
"He's not," she admitted. "He's important to Lily."
Sirius frowned at her.
"Why do you hate him so much?" she asked.
"That's hard to explain," Sirius breathed. "He just pushes all my buttons, he's such a fucking moron." He shook his head. "What do you want to do career-wise after Hogwarts?"
"I don't know," Hermione shrugged.
Sirius' eyes widened "Why do you study so much if you're not chasing some crazy-ass dream?"
"I like to study, and that's two questions" Hermione said.
The waitress returned, interrupting their game. She placed their meals in front of them and, with a salacious smile at Sirius, walked away.
"Doesn't that get old?" Hermione asked him.
"Girls thinking I'm hot?" Sirius asked and she nodded. "No!" he said, as if she was crazy for even suggesting it.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him and took a sip of her Coke. "Favourite book?" she asked, hoping to change the topic.
"The Fracture of Four."
Hermione spluttered in surprise.
"What?" Sirius questioned , eyes narrowed. "Have you read it?"
"Yeah," Hermione breathed, truly flummoxed, "it's one of my favourites."
"See, we do have things in common!" Sirius said proudly.
"What do you like about it?" Hermione asked, genuinely curious.
"The conflict between the founders," Sirius replied. "Godric Gryffindor having to pick between his dream and his best friend. It's kind of fucked up, but then that's reality. Life isn't all rainbows and glitter; it's fucking fragile and messy."
Hermione wasn't sure why, but there, for a heart stopping moment was a strange flutter in her stomach. "Do you really think it happened like that?" she asked, excited. "The book is only a re-imagining of the history of the four founders. I very much doubt that Hufflepuff and Slytherin were lovers but a lot of the other stuff seems possible to me."
"We'll never really know," Sirius shrugged, "but I can imagine Hufflepuff and Slytherin knocking boots," he smirked.
Hermione grimaced at him, and the strange moment was over.
"What do you like to do for fun?" Sirius asked.
"Read," Hermione answered.
"Apart from reading?" Sirius rolled his eyes.
Hermione shrugged, at a loss at what to say. "I don't really have fun", she admitted. All her free time went into trying to save the world.
Sirius rose from his seat and Hermione looked up at him confused. "Come on," he urged, holding out his hand, as he dumped a load of Muggle money on the table.
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked, taking his hand.
Sirius smiled at her, his hair blowing in the wind, his face flush with excitement and his grey eyes sparkling at her. Against her will, her heart skipped a beat.
"To have some fun," he answered.
}{—-}{—-}{
Sirius' idea of fun was being hit by a ball zooming through the air too quickly for her liking.
"Rounders?" she frowned
"Baseball, actually," Sirius smirked.
Hermione stood surrounded by cages as Muggles cheered and screamed as they tried to hit a ball with a bat, with only a helmet to protect them. "This doesn't seem fun," Hermione grimaced, taking a wary step back.
Sirius rolled his eyes at her, taking a step forward and invading her personal space. He smelled nice, like cherry and smoke. "Stop thinking," he advised with a grin. "It's not as hard as it looks." With a smirk he stepped back and grabbed a bat and a helmet.
"Can't we just go back to shopping?" Hermione frowned.
The corners of Sirius' lips twitched as he fought to keep down his smile and, with a rueful shake of his head, he entered an empty cage. Hermione moved closer to get a better look as he moved into position, her eyes scanning over him, his jeans hung low, his t-shirt clinging to his skin.
A ball flew out of the machine at the other of the end of the cage and with a large crack, it connected with the bat, the motion sending it flying to the back of the cage.
"Woah," Hermione breathed, a flutter of excitement crawling up her spine.
Sirius whirled around, a cocky, smug grin on his face. He winked and she rolled her eyes, but the large grin on her face showed that she wasn't as annoyed as she tried to pretend to be. Sirius took a few more swings, each time connecting with the ball and sending it careening away. He walked out of the cage, all smug and prideful.
"Not bad," Hermione remarked.
"Not bad?" Sirius grinned, "Merlin, himself couldn't do any better."
"If your head gets any bigger, I doubt you'll be able to walk through those cage doors," she advised. Sirius grinned at her, delighted, and she shook her head at him. At some point, back when he'd been a defenceless infant, someone must have dropped him on his head.
Sirius held out the bat and she faltered. "I don't want to do it," Hermione said, shaking her head and taking a step back, "I'll just watch"
"Come on, Evans," Sirius urged. "It's really not as hard as it looks."
"I don't know how to do it," she argued.
"I'll show you," Sirius said and before she could refuse, he grabbed her arm and dragged her into the cage, shoving the bat into her hands and the helmet on her head.
"Don't you need one?" she frowned, as he stood behind her without a helmet.
"I'll be fine" Sirius grinned, running a hand through his hair. "Now, arms up...yeah, just like that," he said. He positioned his hands to cover her own, his front firmly against her back and his arms enveloping her. "Okay, lower your left arm a bit," he advised. His head was mere inches from her own and his warm breath falling on her neck made it hard to focus.
"You don't have to tense so hard," he advised, "just a little pressure on the bat. Now, when the ball comes at you, count to two in your head and then just swing as hard as you can," he said, stepping away from her.
Scepticism washed over her, but she did as she was told and when the ball flew out of the machine, she mentally counted to two and then swung as hard as she could. Surprise and exhilaration quickly flooded her system as the bat connected with the ball, sending it soaring over the machine.
"Woah!" Sirius cheered, a large grin on his face. "That was better than me on my first try!"
Hermione smiled at the praise and then remembered exactly who was praising her and tried to wipe all emotions off her face. Sirius smirked at her, stepping back into her personal space.
"I think I can do it on my own now," she told him.
"Better to be safe than sorry," Sirius told her, the corners of his lips rising upwards. "You don't want the ball to hit you," he said. Hermione frowned but let him help her again.
They spent longer than she'd realised at the batting cages and Hermione had to drag a reluctant Sirius back out onto the streets to shop again. They stopped off at numerous stores, picking up last minute gifts.
"You know, away from school, you're not a complete prat," Hermione offered. The sun had long set, their shopping spree had led them to the heart of London and they were currently walking besides the river Thames.
Sirius snorted, amusement in his eyes. "Is that suppose to be a compliment?"
"Yes," Hermione nodded, shivering as a cold wind blew. Being at Hogwarts meant that she never had to worry about being cold, a quick warming charm had always done the trick and now she was sorely regretting not bringing her coat.
Sirius suddenly stopped, stripping his leather jacket off. Hermione realised what he was doing and instantly protested, "you don't have to-"
He draped his jacket over her before she could even finish. Hermione frowned guiltily, her eyes roaming over his thin black t-shirt.
"It's nothing, Evans" he said, a soft smile on his face.
With a reluctant sigh, Hermione put her arms through. The leather jacket was massive on her but it kept the cold wind at bay. "Thank you," she said.
He shrugged and started walking. With a smile he couldn't see, Hermione fell into step beside him.
}{—-}{—}{
"So, how'd you and Fenwick become friends?" Sirius suddenly asked. They were sat on the Knight Bus, as it zoomed and zagged through the countryside.
"What?" Hermione frowned, at the odd question.
"You're a Muggleborn, so you couldn't have been friends before Hogwarts, but you sat with him on the train back in first year."
"You remember that?" Hermione said eyes wide.
"You were sat with Sniv…Snape," he quickly corrected.
Hermione ignored the slip of tongue and answered. "I met him in Gringotts on my first trip to Diagon Alley. He was trying to scare me about the Goblins," she grinned at the memory, "and then again on the train, and we've been friends ever since."
Sirius nodded, a frown on his face.
"What about you and Peter?" she asked, curious. Hermione had shared a dorm with plenty of girls over her lifetime, she knew better than anyone that sharing didn't mean you automatically became friends.
"I didn't actually like Peter at first," Sirius admitted, his grey eyes scanning her face for her reaction. "But Remus did and he kept forcing him on us and then Peter became James' personal cheerleader, so then James was hooked on him and so I just put up with him."
"So you're not friends?" she asked, confused.
"No, we are," Sirius said. "I like him now, but it took us a very long time to get to this stage."
"When did things change?" she asked curiously.
"Second year," he said, suddenly looking around at the other passengers on the bus. When he was satisfied that there was no one listening he added, "When we found out about Moony's little problem."
Hermione raised a brow in surprise as what she recognised as shame appeared on Sirius' face.
"When we first realised what he was, I was…surprised," he said, a frown marring his face. "In my head, I was completely freaking out," he admitted. "James didn't care, and I couldn't understand how he couldn't, but then Peter didn't care either," he shook his head. "Stupid tiny Wormtail wasn't afraid, so how in Merlin's beard could I be?"
Hermione nodded in understanding.
"It just showed me a different side to him," Sirius shrugged, "and then he stole your electives sheet at the end of the year and that cemented our friendship," he grinned.
"What!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise.
Sirius grinned, mischief dancing in his eyes. "I didn't tell him to do it," he quickly said.
"Then why did he?" Hermione asked, remembering how she had to go and ask McGonagall for a new sheet.
"I think he just got sick of me asking about your electives all the time," Sirius shrugged.
"Why would you have cared about my electives back in second year?" Hermione frowned.
Sirius hesitated before answering. "I was curious about you," he said slowly. "Did you honestly think it was a coincidence that we had every class together?"
"Yes," Hermione breathed.
"I hate Ancient Runes," Sirius laughed. "I'd much rather be in Divinations with the others."
Hermione opened her mouth to reply but the conductor suddenly bellowed out, "Cokeworth!"
She quickly grabbed onto the handrail as the Knight Bus came to an abrupt halt. A few of the passengers weren't quick enough and they painfully toppled over or slammed against the walls. Hermione looked out of the window in surprise: the bus had stopped right in front of her house and on the porch steps, she could make out two figures.
"Come on," she told Sirius.
Sirius frowned at her, confusion in his eyes. "It's a bit too early to meet the parents," he said, a hint of fear in his voice.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "You're not meeting my parents, you're keeping up your end of the bargain," she told him, indicating the window.
Puzzled, Sirius rose up from his seat and looked out the window. He groaned aloud at the sight of Lily and Severus.
"Come on!" Hermione demanded, stepping out of the bus. With a reluctant sigh, Sirius followed after her.
"Best behaviour," she warned as they walked up her driveway, "or our deal is off." Sirius frowned but kept quiet.
Lily and Severus were oblivious to their presence, laughing at something Hermione had missed, each with a Butterbeer in their hand. Severus noticed them first, his smile transforming into a sneer as he laid eyes on Sirius. Lily's eyes widened as she took in who Hermione was with, her eyes lingering on the jacket Hermione still wore.
"Hey," Hermione grinned, coming to stop in front of the two.
"Where's Peter?" Lily frowned, her eyes narrowed at Sirius. No matter how many times Hermione had tried to explain, Lily just wouldn't move on from her belief that Sirius had tried to blow her up.
"He couldn't make it," Hermione answered, grabbing a seat on the porch next to Lily.
Sirius remained standing, glaring at Severus.
"Sirius," Hermione warned. His grey eyes slowly landed on her and with a huff, he sat down beside her, and as far away from Severus as he could. "What have you guys been up to?" Hermione asked.
Lily sent her a disbelieving look but answered anyway. "We did our Transfiguration homework and then Sev came over for dinner."
Sirius snorted and Hermione elbowed him as hard as she could.
"What have you two been up to?" Lily replied with a frown.
"Shopping," Hermione said.
"On a date," Sirius said at the same time.
Lily's disbelieving look only grew and there was a storm of anger brewing in her green eyes.
"I thought you had better taste," Severus darkly drawled, and Hermione elbowed Sirius before he was stupid enough to reply. He winced in pain but remained quiet.
"It's a long story," Hermione sighed.
In the end, Sirius sat in silence, ignoring everyone whilst Severus threw a handful of jibes and remarks his way before Lily stepped in and told him to be quiet.
She'd never admit it, but when it was all over, Hermione felt rather bad about putting Sirius in the situation.
}{—-}{—}{