A note from Serade Black: Well, another chapter, just 1 day later? I've decided not to endorse any kind of schedule and the chapters will come out as they do. I know, for some that are waiting for each chapter, I might have disappointed and gone weeks/months without an update. As that happens, I might be lucky to throw out one more chapter before Mar (I'm getting married - there will be loads going on at the time), so for now, enjoy.

I got a lot of msgs regarding what Sirius did. I'm very much AGAINST all that is Mary-Sue and I believe that sometimes these characters need strength, depth and no matter how fanfictiony they are, they still go through random acts of stupidity - it's what makes them real. So, for some, this might not be your kind of story, because there might not be bows tied all over it, but for those that are digging it, I thank you. You truly are my canvas to my imagination and where I take these characters.

Note, none of them are mine, only the devious dirty acts I make them do. Then, those are mine ;) Enjoy.

SB

Chapter 14 - Can a Wrong, Make a Right?

The rain pecked away on the window outside, creating an eerie feel about the house. The portraits in the living room were turning in for the night, polishing up various parts of their frame before going to sleep.

Hermione had just noticed a copy of the Daily Prophet sitting on the coffee table and she picked it up to take it upstairs with her. Changing into her pajamas, consisting of a long-sleeved Weird Sisters t-shirt and flannel pants, she braided her hair and settled on top of her comforter to read the headlined story.

Returning from Darkness: Sirius Black

By: Rita Skeeter

He sits there with his arms folded gracefully in his lap like a tragic portrait of woe. He has kept his boyish good looks and a slim physique that would display his immense bravery as his eyes twinkle with dark shadows of his past.

R: Mr. Black, may I inquire where it is you've been all this time?

S: Well, it's kinda hard to say, actually. You see, I'm still under confidential contract with the Ministry, so I can't very well explain.

R: I see, and would you believe that the rest of the world will soon find out?

S: Again, I repeat myself. I'm sure, in time, the Ministry will release more information as results do surface.

The story continued on further, discussing his adaptation to the surrounding world in which he returned to. His relationship with Harry Potter was also discussed, she pushing the prodding rod and dissecting past events up until the Potter's death that fateful night. Sirius was quick to cover, should he display any emotional weaknesses, having known that Rita's skill was to prey on such weaknesses.

Hermione skimmed her eyes over a few questions, finding them to be nothing but pure fluff feeding into his ego as she blatantly flirted with him through her writing. A few keywords caught her eye and she found a hitch in her breath as she dared read on.

R: And now, the million galleon question, Sirius. What of your personal life?

S: I'm only going to tell you so much, Rita, so be weary.

R: Sirius, your humor would drive any woman mad with lust, should you keep flaunting that tongue like you do.

Hermione found herself rolling her eyes as she followed the story. She could hardly believe that this woman put her gushing in print.

R: So, I'm sure my female readers are wondering what future lies ahead with the notorious Sirius Black, or shall I inquire of your current status? (Sirius takes the time to think of a worthy answer so as not to contradict himself. He looks poised, proud and deliciously handsome as he ponders.)

S: Yes, there is someone. Someone I'd met long ago, and it was nice to meet up with her, again. We've created a kind of relationship that is still in the beginning stages, so who's to say.

R: So, there is a woman in your favor?

S: Yes, there is one. She's a very beautiful, stubborn young lady that I feel doesn't always know what she wants.

R: So, you find her to be a challenge?

S: Well, she is challenging, yes. Eventually, I'll break her down.

R: How romantic, Sirius. Does this girl understand that you're starving for her affections?

S: She can be blind, sometimes.

It wasn't going to bother her, Hermione thought. Fate had made its choice and even though the two of them were going to live under one roof, it was going to have to be discussed. The foundation would need to be set, rules made, and a consistent story should Harry discover she and Sirius's past interludes.

She crumpled the paper up, tossing it away in the waste paper basket and left her room to go downstairs to start a cup of tea before bed. Her mind was running a mile a minute and the faster she could sort this out with Sirius and end it, the better.

How inconsiderate could he be to flaunt his most recent escapade in the Daily Prophet? For a second, she considered the trampy witch lucky to have him, but pitied her instantly with how much baggage she was going to have to carry.

The dark kitchen was quickly illuminated with a flick of her wand that was kept in her pocket. Every other torch was lit with a short flame, giving off enough light to find her favorite nighttime tea bag and prepare her sleeping cup. She tapped her wand on the kettle, starting it as she took down a mug.

Her silence was broken as she heard the front door slam shut, hearing the familiar sound to be Remus. His footsteps carried him into the kitchen, where the door swung open to join her.

"I can make you a cup as well, if you want one," she offered, already taking down a second cup for her friend.

"I'd love it," he answered, identifying himself as Sirius, not Remus.

Like a deer in the headlights, she turned around to see him standing by the table and removing his coat. Her breath had escaped her momentarily, having not been prepared to speak to him so soon. She didn't know what to say, or how to act, so she spun back around to the kettle.

"I didn't expect it to be you," she answered, huffily.

"So, are you taking back the tea?" He asked smug. He knew he'd caught her off guard, but he still couldn't quite read her.

Refraining from being rude, she sternly answered, "No, I'll make you tea."

Sirius smirked, hearing her disappointment.

Slowly, he took a few steps closer to her, wanting so much to just back up to the time right at the end of the quidditch match. She'd looked at him with hungry eyes that told him she knew what she wanted. Maybe it was the heat of the moment; maybe it was the rush of the adrenaline, either way he wanted to see that again. She was absolutely breathtaking when she wanted him.

Sirius swallowed his pride the closer he got behind her and dared a couple of fingers to nearly touch her arm, "Did you read the story in the Daily Prophet?"

He made contact with her arm and she wiggled away, "Yes, Sirius don't touch me."

A look of dismay fell over his face when she walked away from him and back over to their pantry. He was utterly confused. With her, he found himself confused often.

"You read the story?" he questioned, unsure.

She nodded as she enchanted the kettle to pour hot water in the two cups, without having to step closer to Sirius who stood there like a waiting bear.

"And? Nothing?"

"Good story? I don't know, what is it you want me say?" She asked, glancing up at the way he held his arms open and waiting. "A bit shallow, a bit insulting and inconsiderate as hell?"

"How was it inconsiderate?"

"You really are thick, Sirius Black. If you hadn't kissed me, then we wouldn't be having this conversation," she confessed as she stirred the two tea cups.

"But, I did and we are. I saw the way you looked at me, Hermione. There was no doubt what was going through your mind-"

"Fine, but then you go and flaunt your relationship with another witch in the story? How do you honestly believe that that's okay? What part of that doesn't make you an absolute prick?" she asked and turned to face him.

Sirius looked away for a moment and then explained plainly, "Because, it was about you."

Hermione froze as the confession wasn't what she expected. Like a melting stick of butter, her muscles started to relax after being so tense and wound up. She was speechless, nearly numb and all the strength she could muster up was enough to pick up her tea cup and leave the kitchen, without another word.

His eyes turned away from her, letting guilt sink into him, having been completely aware of the damage he'd done after the quidditch match. He thought it to be a long shot, but he felt that through the story, she'd see the romantic gesture that he failed shamelessly at. It was hard for a leopard to change his spots, having been known to be irrational at times and as he wondered how much she knew about his weekend with Greta and prayed she'd never find out. For her to know this, would be a terrible blow and he couldn't begin to think of how he was going to pull himself out of that one.

He took his tea and sat at the table alone; wondering if anything between he and Hermione was going to be salvaged.

0o0o0o0o0o

"I really hate being in the middle of this, Hermione," Remus confessed in a quiet voice. He found it harder and harder to deal with, while two important people in his life were at their wits.

Hermione nodded as her curls fell into her sightlines as she peered down passed her breakfast to the morning Daily Prophet, "I know, Remus. I'm sorry that I've put you in an awkward position. We were silly to even have crossed the line and now, I sincerely believe that things won't be the same," she somberly sighed.

"Perhaps, over time..." Remus began, but the look on her face stopped him from continuing.

"I don't know, I don't think so. It's just, like I said before, I don't want to be one of them. He's just too…free. He's nothing like Severus-"

Remus couldn't help but stifle a chuckle with the comparison, but bit his lip as her eyes flicked up to his. He was purely interrupting her serious train of thought and he wasn't helping.

"It's just that I don't know if I will understand what he did or how he thinks, sometimes. I mean, he kissed me at the match Remus, you saw. And…I thought, I was convinced it meant something and not just a fleeting moment, but for him to just…" she was caught up in her thoughts as she remembered where he went that weekend, "to just go off and meet another witch?"

Remus watched how his friend was sorely hurt, learning she'd heard of his whereabouts. He couldn't make excuses for his friend, but he might be able to explain a little for his poor judgment.

"Well, I can tell you why he thought it to be okay," Remus offered, sipping his tea carefully to see how willing she would be to hear the explanation.

Hermione lifted her eyes to his, her face soft and curious, as if it was offered like a gentle present, "Go on."

"Don't ask me to explain his reasoning, but I do know that he believed you were sneaking behind Harry's back with him," Remus spoke.

Hermione furrowed her brow, "What do you mean? I don't want Harry to find any of this out, not now, at least."

"No, he thought you were with Harry."

"He thought I was with him? That's ridiculous; surely you told him that we weren't together, right? I mean, we've never…I've never…it's Harry!" she stuttered with urgency.

"He's believed that the entire weekend, up until yesterday, in fact. After it was cleared up, he wanted to go and wake you to apologize, but I advised him not to," Remus assured like an old wise man between legends.

"And the witch? What is she to him?" She tested, afraid of the truth.

Remus shook his head, "Nothing. I hate to say it this way, but it's how he dealt with his guilt and anger all at once." His thoughts brought a swift smile to his lips, "that and probably years of pent up energy."

Hermione glanced over at her friend, "That wasn't necessary, Remus," she smiled.

Remus just shrugged, admitting that it was a little too much colorful information for that hour of the day. Surely, Sirius wouldn't approve of his personal life being discussed over morning toast.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The front door to number twelve Grimmauld Place was constantly rotating for at least twenty minutes with Order members. Several were coming in, hanging their coats, greeting friends and bustling into the kitchen where Molly Weasley was preparing the dinner for those that were staying after. Maps were scattered over the table in the center, small conversations were going on all around the kitchen and the meeting was just about to begin.

Getting everyone's attention, Molly took the long wooden spoon and banged it a few times on the table, forcing all sets of eyes to set on her as she looked menacing in her cooking attire. Once attention was given, she turned the meeting over to her husband, Arthur and returned to the boiling cauldron over the fire in the hearth.

"Thank you, my dear. Good evening," he addressed, clearing his throat. "To run right into new updates, it appears that last weeks raids uncovered two more Death Eaters employed by the Ministry. It saddens me to learn that one was a trusted friend and I'm sorry to say that he'll be spending the remainder of his days locked up – without a soul."

There was an uneasy settling in the room and it wasn't because the latest arrival was Snape, coming in silently through the doors like a vampire. He practically floated into the room and found a seat in a vacant chair next to his former. With a friendly smile, Hermione gave him a quiet welcome and turned her body more towards him, whispering updates for him on what he missed.

Sirius was sitting on the counter, letting his legs swing over the edge so that they'd lightly tap the cupboards, for lack of something more interesting to do. With the air of a pessimist, Sirius couldn't help but smirk when he watched Snape glide in with all his mortician sexiness and take the empty seat next to Hermione – the one he was eyeballing to nonchalantly sneak over and occupy.

The arrogant potions master took the seat and rested his chin on his wrist as he leaned towards Hermione, allowing her to whisper things to him. Sirius couldn't help but grimace at the way she appeared to be cordial with him and nearly thought them to be friends. By the way she leaned over the arm of her own chair, Sirius was able to read her lips enough to see that she was just catching him up to speed due to his extravagant tardiness with his billowing robes.

The meeting wasn't as productive as some had hoped, but they did get a better rundown on how the stake-outs were going, and it deemed a better report than what Hermione got first hand at the Ministry. Without a certain code of ethics bearing over his shiny bald head, Kingsley was able to be raw and humorous with his actual play of events.

"How much of a conflict of interest would it be, if we were able to talk to the Auror Department head about getting Sirius into training?" Kingsley suggested as he posed his query.

Sirius was just taking a sip of his butterbeer when he nearly missed his lips at the sound of his name and anything associated with the Ministry.

"How do you mean, Kingsley?" Arthur pressed.

"Well, knowing that Sirius has pertinent information on his own kin, wouldn't he be a valuable resource with the fellow Aurors that aren't Order members? Or would it be too much of a conflict of interest for him to cross bloodlines with his own?" Shacklebot explained as he tapped a pencil over his fingers.

"Conflict of interest? Hell, if it wasn't an Unforgivable Curse, I'd zap my cousins myself," Sirius bellowed, drawing all the attention to the teenage-like man.

"Not even the Returned can be exempt from the curses, Black," Snape drawled from under his hand.

"No one was directing any of this to you, crooked nose," Sirius purred back with a wink, tipping his beer.

"Gentlemen, let Kingsley continue," Hermione interjected as she sensed the tension building in only a few seconds.

"We could induct Sirius into the department, he could start the beginning of training, like Hermione and Ron, but we could assign him the top projects, since he's got an in," Tonks suggested as she leaned in further to the conversation.

"I'll be working for the Ministry? How ironic is that?" Sirius mused allowed.

"You're not in yet, Black," Snape snipped.

"But, he could be. I don't think it would take too much convincing with the way Robards just worships the ground he walks on, he'd love to have a celebrity like him on the team," Kingsley added, smirking to Sirius.

Hermione nodded in agreement, trying to be as diplomatic as possible, but the idea of her working so close to him, hadn't hit her yet. She was too blinded by the way it would benefit the department, by not inducting some not-so trustworthy members in the Order. She'd probably be the one to help him along, seeing as they were friends and would be able to take their work home with them, to study together.

No, it still hadn't hit her. She was too occupied to even consider her feelings, especially when Snape was whispering his objections to her about how much of a bad idea putting Sirius Black into the Ministry was.

The meeting concluded and a few stayed for dinner. Like a family reunion of his childhood with his pureblood cousins at a time when they were friends, the kitchen was loud and rowdy. Wine and butterbeers were sitting on the table set for ten, the candles levitated over the table to free up more space for dishes and food, Molly ran around the kitchen to get the steaming stuff on the table and Hermione and Ginny ran around her like two den mothers in training.

Tucked back in a shadowed corner, Sirius stood with Kingsley and Moody as they started to brief him on the procedures of getting him applied to the Auror department. From the corner of his eye, Sirius gave fleeting glances to Hermione, admiring the way she took the initiative over dinner. She hadn't spoken as much at the meeting, unlike the one prior, as she seemed to be concentrating on the new developments. Aside from her obligated Order duties, she still posed to be one hell of a young hostess, complete with filling empty glasses of charmed cherry wine. Her smile was genuine as well as pretty, her slender physique was just enough for him to life her up in his arms and her buoyant curls bounced around her shoulders like an angel. She was, to put it lightly, a dream.

Snap-Snap, went Moody's fingers, "Stay alert boy! You can't be easily distracted by anything in this job. Perhaps this isn't a good idea, Shacklebot."

Sirius jolted himself out of his observation and immediately interjected, "No, no, I'm fine. I'm good, I'm here. Tomorrow, I'll go in."

"All right, then you'll go through the weekend with the assessment test study, and you'll come back on Monday to show yourself up," Kingsley explained.

Sirius pretended to listen intently, but the picture of Hermione bustling around in his mother's old kitchen was just too much to take his eyes away. She just proved to be such a pleasant spirit in house once full of so many dark things. With the only exception of Snape grimacing in the corner, it was the perfect atmosphere.

After the last person left, Hermione was just tidying up in the kitchen. Flicking her wand to do more than one thing at once for some dishes and utensils unused, she nearly took off Sirius's head as a plate flew through the air to take its position on the hutch.

Upon nearly witnessing a beheading, Hermione dropped her wand and clasped her hands to her face, to cover her shock, "I'm so sorry, Sirius!"

Sirius managed to duck out of the way in time, but smiled with how quick and efficient she was, "Wow, I never thought I'd see my life pass before my eyes over my mother's old cookware."

She smiled wholly for him, bowing her head in slight embarrassment. She just let her cleaning get out of hand.

"Although, I can't tell you how many times that I actually broke that very plate, but my mother managed to always find a way to fix it," Sirius mused, straightening his shoulders out from his swift move.

Hermione felt herself looking into his eyes the way she did that revealed her weakness and it wasn't a place she wanted to enter. Immediately, she toughened up and turned her back on him to return to her kitchen cleaning. She cleared her throat to clear her mind and tried to drop any hindering of a spark she might have revealed to him.

He noticed how quickly she dropped her act and immediately went into a defense mode. She was thinking, or rather she was trying to fight herself. He'd managed to tear down whatever they'd been able to build up together, and it felt like they didn't even have a solid foundation to start over with and something needed to be said.

"Hermione, I really like what we have," he began, putting his heart on his sleeve. He hadn't planned to get sentimental there in the kitchen, but he really wanted to try and salvage whatever it was they had left after his major screw up.

"We're friends, Sirius, that's fine," she re-enforced platonically.

Sirius bowed his head, taking it as a low blow, "Yes, we are, but-"

"No, but, Sirius," she swung around to face him, stern face and holding a wooden spoon in her hand, "we're just friends. No more."

"Hermione," he halted, trying to let him speak out, "we're not just friends, that's obvious. From the second I saw you when I woke up, you appeared to me like an angel. You were the first one I saw when I came back, the first one that showed kindness and gave me relief that I was home," he began.

"I nursed you back, along with Remus, are you more with him, too?"

"Merlin's Beard, I hope not," he joked, trying to offer her a small grin, but she wasn't taking any humor at this point. "You asked me to kiss you-"

"-that was a mistake-"

"-I wanted to-"

"-it's wrong, Sirius-"

"-I know it is, but Harry will have to understand-"

"-it's more than just-"

"-we can't control any of this-"

"-you slept with another witch, how am I supposed to take that?-"

"-I made a mistake-"

"I'm not like that; I can't play games, Sirius!" She spat on the brink of tears. He'd worked her up so hard; she was laying it on him as thick as she could, while still trying to hold it together.

"I don't want to play games with you, love," he tried, coming close enough to yank the spoon out of her hand, for fear of her hitting him with it.

She'd finally stopped arguing, closing her eyes tight and just letting him hold her wrists down to her sides as he stepped closer. She'd just been so worked up and so exhausted over this mind game he was playing, that she was just defending herself from what she was starting to enjoy. The idea of him, the vision of him, the legend of him, it all tied into what she wanted to experience. Life was full of lessons and he was one she wanted so badly to try and remember, no matter what the cost was, selfishly speaking.

Sirius filled her senses, against her control. His husky cologne with the mix of detergent on his clothes, to the way his breath sounded when he was passionate about his words spoken to her, just made her weak and submit to him.

He could feel her relax, the closer he got to her. Her head was turned away, but his eyes were on her intently, looking for any change. With a free hand, he risked releasing her and lifted her chin with his finger to get her to look at him.

Through her worried eyes, afraid for herself, she told him how much she didn't want to be hurt, especially by the likes of him.

"I won't play games with you," he whispered.