This is one of the first chapters I ever drafted. I love writing confrontations so this was beyond fun. I've weaved the last 27 chapters just to post this one (which is probably not very healthy from a writing perspective) so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


The weekend came around faster than they were expecting. The breakfast they were to make the announcement at came around before they were prepared.

"Are you ready?" Sirius asked.

"No," she flapped, trying to sort the abomination of hair on her head. "How is your hair always so perfect while mine... look at it!"

He raised his wand, "renes", and her hair flattened, completely untangling. "I think you're forgetting that you can do magic. Now let's go before we're late."


Breakfast began very silently. Everyone was a little awkward about everything until Remus spoke up. "I would like to make an announcement. Most of you have probably worked it out by now, but Tonks and I got married a few weeks ago." She was beaming over her breakfast while Remus talked about the ceremony.

"And while we're on the topic of marriage," Ron jested. "I think Hermione probably wants to say something about her beloved Snape. Most people have seen the ring by now, 'Mione. You can't hide it forever."

She stood. "That is very true. I can't hide it forever. I just don't want to steal the limelight while Remus and Tonks are celebrating."

Molly's face fell. "Hermione, dear," she said. "What exactly are you trying to tell us?"

"She's shagging him," Ron butted in, causing a few giggles in the twins' corner, but silence everywhere else. "And now she's engaged to the greasy git." Remus's nostrils flared as he watched the boy embarrass himself while he tried to put down Hermione.

"That's not quite accurate, Ronald. I think you should first make sure you have all the facts before you make those sort of claims," she said.

"I was in that detention while you were touching him. You call him by his first name. Harry saw you leave his room Monday morning with a ring. I assume you spent the night," Ron spat.

"It doesn't do well to assume things, Ronald. I don't know what you thought you saw in detention, but he is just my friend and I was trying to study," Hermione sassed. "He was actually congratulating me Monday morning. He wanted to see the ring."

"Oh, really," Ron said sarcastically. "If not him, then who else would want to marry you?"

"That would be my cue, wouldn't it?" said Sirius, standing up from his seat, squeezing Hermione's hand.

"Black..." said Molly, nostrils flared and temper raging. "You and Hermione...are together?" The anger in her eyes was so apparent that no one wanted to react. "Hermione," she breathed, "you're marrying Sirius Black?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" Sirius said, speaking on behalf of his overwhelmed wife.

"A pretty large one, yeah. A 20 year age gap worth of a problem."

"Snape's just as old."

"Who said I wouldn't have had a problem with him?" she squinted with disgust.

"Hermione's old enough to make her own decisions in life," he countered. "I think she-"

"I think we should let the girl speak," Tonks softly interrupted, as everyone turned to Hermione.

"Yes, I'm with Sirius," said Hermione, squeezing his left hand, tighter still, slowly cutting the circulation. "We got engaged a week ago last Tuesday. I love him. He completes me. I don't care what anyone says, I'm happier than I have ever been. I didn't tell anyone because I know you would react badly. But I soon realised you were going to find out anyway, so here it is: I, Hermione Jean Black," she partially slid her hand out of her pocket, revealing the signet ring as she nervously bit on her lip, "have joined the Noble and Most Ancient House Of Black."

"Not quite," said Molly in a protective tone, once Hermione had finished speaking. "You are not marrying him until after you finish school. Hopefully you'll have seen sense by then and realise what a silly mistake you're making." She almost sounded like Ron. "And if either of you have any silly ideas before then, especially you, Black, I swear-"

"Well I think it's adorable," Tonks disrupted the lecture. "The Black name could do with some new blood. Especially if it's muggle-born." She winked at Hermione, calming her nerves. "Plus you're going to be my ...second cousin? No... first cousin once removed?"

"Do you want to tell them or shall I?" Sirius whispered to Hermione.

"I hate to disappoint you, Molly," she said, "but we already had one of those silly ideas..." Hermione didn't quite know how to continue, so instead pulled the rest of her hand out of her pocket. A second ring, tangled around her finger, was now visible. This one was much more delicate. It complimented the bulk and complexity of the engagement ring with its plainness. "I think that lecture is a bit too late."

Harry spat his drink. Not only out of shock of his friend's marriage to his godfather, but also her newfound lip.

"Merlin's beard, Hermione, please tell me this is some twisted joke," was all Molly could say, as the girl she was addressing sat back down next to her other half, not letting go of his hand. A tense few moments passed in silence. "The marriage means nothing," she finally said. "It's not official yet. I'm going to write to the Ministry to get it cancelled."

Sirius began smirking uncontrollably. "Soz Molly," he said, unable to hide his mischievous smile as he wet his lower lip with his tongue and bit it. "That's not going to work. It's already pretty official." Though his eyes stayed fixed on Molly Weasley, his thumb began to mindlessly rub Hermione's hand, calming her slightly.

"No, Black," she said patronisingly. "Didn't you read the Ministry letter? A marriage isn't official until it's been consummated, and I swear to Merlin if you dare to lay one finger on that girl-" Molly suddenly paused, watching as Hermione and Sirius's eyes met, exchanging a look. "BLACK!" she thundered. "SHE IS A CHILD! HOW DARE YOU?!"

Ginny spat her drink and began to violently choke. "Sweet baby Merlin..." she gasped as Harry patted her on the back. "Lord almighty," she continued coughing. "Fucking hell." Thankfully her mother was too distracted to penalise her for her language.

Molly had no need to raise her wand at Sirius to shake him, but thankfully Remus stepped in before she had the chance. "Another time, maybe?" he said, bringing Molly's attention of the rest of the Weasleys in the room.

"But it's just getting good," Fred countered.

"Yeah," said George. "This is golden."

Molly eyed everyone in the room, causing them to make a quiet departure until only Sirius, Remus, Hermione and herself were left. Hermione and Sirius still hadn't let go of each others hands, and it was the only thing stopping Hermione from legging it.

Molly turned back to Sirius. "Explain yourself," she said. "Now."

"What do you want me to say?" he asked. "Because I know nothing I will say will ever justify it in your head. Hermione is everything to me. Nothing you can say or do will ever change that."

"How dare you?" she repeated, walking around the table to face him. "What gives you the right?" He stood, confronting her. "She's 18 years old! And look at you!" He didn't respond, only making Molly more frustrated. "She has her whole life ahead of her and you go and ruin it! She could have been something great, but you're going to hold her back! She's not old enough to understand what she's doing, but you... You're more that old enough to know how selfish you are!"

He stared, unflinching. Hermione, on the other hand, winced every time Molly raised her voice.

"I'm so disappointed in the pair of you," she continued, not taking her eyes off the man who refuse to let go of his wife's hand.

"I think this is a bit much, Molly," said Remus, who suddenly regretted apposing the matriarch when she turned around to face him. If looks could kill, Remus would have been six feet under.

"You think this is ok?" she said, startled that he dared to argue.

"I don't think it is our place," he said calmly. "But I will always support my friends."

Sirius smiled gratefully at his best friend, nodding his silent thanks.

"Leave them be," he added. "Because, to be honest, I don't think you'll be very successful at separating them."


The announcement to her parent went even worse:

They walked up the Grangers' front door, Sirius's arm protectively around her. "It can't possibly go much worse than it did at the Burrow, love," he reassured Hermione, knocking on the door. Leaning into her, he whispered, "breathe, it's going to be just fine," into her ear.

"Hermione! You made it!" her dad beamed, opening the door to find a man wrapped around his daughter. "Who's your friend?"

"Sirius Black," he said, offering his hand, attempting to begin the interaction as peacefully as he could. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Simon," he accepted the hand, "though I can't say I've heard much about you."

They were ushered into the newly redecorated living room and handed hot tea by her mother. "So," Mr Granger began, "you don't usually bring your friends with you when you visit. What's the special occasion?"

"He's, um, a little more than a friend," she muttered into her cup.

"I see," her father nodded, now checking out Sirius more than ever.

"And I assume that ring on your finger is more than just a fashion statement," her mother said, giggling a little while she sipped. "Though, to be honest, I thought you were seeing Ron. I don't remember hearing much about a Black."

"I'm sure I've mentioned him in letters before," Hermione said, mindlessly fidgeting with the corner of Sirius's jacket. "I've known him a long time now."

"Nope. The only Black you've ever mention was Harry's godfather. The reckless one with great hair," her father said, still wary of Sirius.

"Well," Sirius smirked, "if any sentence were to completely encapsulate me, 'the reckless one with great hair' is probably it."

"Oh," said her father agitatedly. "And how much older are you than our daughter?"

Sirius shrugged. "A few years. Is that a problem?"

"That depends how many 'a few' is," said her mother, turning from excited to worried.

"Mum, Dad," Hermione said. "I know you're worried about me. I turn up one day with a man on my arm and no explanation. But you know as well as anyone that you can't change my mind once I've made a decision, and I don't make decisions unless I'm absolutely sure."

"Ok," Simon smiled meekly at Sirius. "As long as it's your decision, not his. So, what did you do to win her heart, Sirius?"

"You know, took her to a book shop," he chuckled along with her father, while Hermione was escorted into the kitchen by her mother.


"Hermione, are you sure about this?" Mrs Granger whispered. "You don't have to do this. I know you were with Ron not long ago. If this is some rebound thing gone wrong... you can talk to me, you know."

"Mum, I love him... more than I ever liked Ron, more than anyone. I've found someone who I want to spend my life with, and he want to spend his with me. Please don't stand in the way of that," she pleaded.

"And he treats you well?" said her mother, raising her eyebrows.

"I've never been treated better."

She let out a sigh of relief, slightly more at ease. After a moment, she finally looked her daughter in the eye. "Ok. I'm not saying I'm happy, but I will get to know him and I'm going to make my judgement. I just hope you'll listen to what I have to say before you marry him. In the mean time, I think you should go rejoin him in the living room," she smiled.


"Haha, not if I can help it," Sirius was saying.

"What are you two talking about?" Hermione joined, sitting back down in her seat.

"Talking about you, not to you, love," Sirius said cheekily, putting his arm back around her. "Is everything alright?" he whispered so only she could hear. She nodded inconspicuously.

Mrs Granger joined the group with, "What do you do for a living? I know Hermione's interested in the Magic police thingy. What's it called?"

"The Ministry?" Sirius corrected. She nodded. "Actually I'm not employed. The House of Black is pretty well off, and with the state of the Ministry I wouldn't say it's the best place to be working."

"What do you mean 'state of the Ministry'?" Simon jumped in. "If Hermione wants to work there and help those elf people, I don't think you should be stopping her."

"No, no, no," Sirius said hastily, raising his hands in surrender. "I don't mean that. She can do whatever she want with her life. Harry's probably going to end up working there too, so I have no objections. All I'm saying is that it's a little corrupt at the moment and the people in charge don't really like me."

"Ah, right."


Do they really like him? Hermione thought in disbelieve. Everything is going so well. This can't be right. Finally relaxing, she lifted her hand to move a strand of hair out of her face, and right on cue, her mother dropped her mug, leaping up in anger.

"Martha, what is it?" Mr Granger asked.

"I know the difference between an engagement ring and a wedding ring. You did a good job hiding it from me, missy, but I'm not a fool," she glared. "And you, Sirius Black, you marry our daughter without even thinking to meet us! An engagement I could just about handle," she shook her head, almost as disappointedly as Molly did not long ago, "but a marriage? I can't believe you."

Mr Granger also stood, preparing to swing at Sirius, but Hermione stepped between them.

"Dad! No! Don't do this!"

"You don't know what you're doing," he argued, trying to push her aside.

"Why does everyone tell me that?" she rolled her eyes, staying in front of Sirius, with her arms spread wide. "I know what I want more than anyone else does. I know what's best for me. There is a lot of my life I haven't told you, and this is exactly why. You freak out." She was swerving any attempts her father made to get around her as she spoke. "You try to take control of the situation. I can't even tell you about half the stuff I've been through at school. Merlin, you would have been home schooling me by my first year. Never mind Voldemort. Never mind the war. But this is my life, and I'm going to do what I want with it! If I want to go to a school that's never heard the phrase 'health and safety', I will. I'll just say it's 'unorthodox.' If I want to sleep in the boys' dorm, I will. I'll call it a 'girls sleepover.' If I wanted to run away to Hungary in an attempt to shag my teacher, I would. I just wouldn't tell you. And if I want to be married to Sirius, I bloody well will."

Sirius placed his hand on her shoulder, apparating them both out of the house.


"I'm sorry," she cried into him. "I'm so sorry."

"What for?" he whispered to the girl in his arms. "You did nothing wrong. It could have gone much worse." He pulled her in closer as he led her to the nearest piece of furniture.

"Worse? My dad was trying to punch you... does that normally happen?" Hermione was visibly shaking, so Sirius sat her on the arm of the sofa. He put his legs either side of her knees, and rested his chin on the back of her right shoulder, burrowing into her hair.

"I wouldn't know. I've never met parent before," he admitted to the back of her neck.

She parted from his arms and looked him in the eyes. "But you made it seem so casual... you were comfortable and... you were pretending, weren't you?"

He grinned. "I was bricking it on the inside." His hands held her face as he placed a chased kiss on her cheek. "Your dad scares me."

"Speaking of fears," she said, finally smiling again, "what are we going to do about Molly?"

"Well that depends on whether you meant what you told her."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, crinkling her eyebrows.

"Do I really complete you? Are you truly happier now?"

She looked up, locking her eyes on his, entranced by how he had remembered her little speech. "Damn right."

"Then, in your words, if you want to do something, you will. I'm staying right here," he said. "And she can't stop us. We'll be married, you'll be attending the least safe school in Britain, Draco will be be getting a few more visits, you'll run away with your teacher..."

"Sirius, you're ruining a really nice moment," she groaned.

"What?" he smirked. "You didn't think you could get away with saying something like that without me picking up on it, did you?"

She opened her mouth to protest how it was simply a joke, but was interrupted. "I-"

His lips collided with hers as she tried to explain herself. "I know, love. You're not shagging him," he said to her lips. "But speaking of shagging..." he giggled into her mouth.

She pulled away quickly, then eyed him up from head to toe.

Sirius's face fell. "Oh, I... I'm sorry," he stuttered. "I'm, I should have, you're right, you're vulnerable, you've got a lot to deal with right now, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." he stepped back, giving her some space.

"Sweetie, that's not the problem," Hermione stated, wrapping her hands around his waist to stop him from moving too far. She felt a shiver down her spine. She looked from side to side, then back to him. "Where are we?"

He grinned at problem that she had put in front of him. That's what she was worried about. Not Molly. Not her parents. Not the inevitability of facing a school of people on Monday with 101 questions. "Home," he replied. "The library to be exact."

"We don't have a library," she whispered into his chest. Being cold was one of the many reasons she he held him so closely, and it would probably be the one she would chose if she was questioned about it.

"Not until now, love. I made it myself," he smiled. "Well, your wand and a bit of handy work. I thought you'd like it."

Swirling around, Hermione absorbed every inch of the room. It was exactly what you would have expected the other rooms to have looked like 30 years ago. There was no dust or dirt. No sign of wear and tear. The wallpaper wasn't peeling. The furniture looked new. Hermione felt like she had been thrown into the past. "It's beautiful."

Catching her before she spun out of control, Sirius gazed into her eyes. "You actually like it?"

"I love it."

"I forgot to mention something," he smirked. "It has a secret entrance. Without specifically knowing how, it's impossible to get in. So we are very much alone. In fact, I would say-"

Before Sirius could justify his point completely, he was stopped mid sentence. This time Hermione threw her arms around him, pulling his face to her own. Her previous feeling of being cold was long gone as her clothes fell to the floor. She had more than enough heat to go round.