August 31st, 1979 - Godric's Hollow - 15:00
"Since they're not here to stop us," Sirius murmured against the skin on Hermione's neck, his mouth dragging up to her delicate jawline as he pressed open-mouthed kisses against her skin. "We could go test out the mattress in the guest room again."
The pair were standing in the living room in the Potter home. Hermione had been standing at table that sat behind the couch, flipping idly through a photo album containing pictures from the Marauders' time at Hogwarts when he made his plan of attack. They had been waiting for Lily and James for nearly an hour, and Remus had finally succumbed to his grumbling tummy and moved into the kitchen to begin dinner.
Hermione smiled, tilting her head to the side to allow him more access to her skin, and when his fingers curled around the strap of her tank top and pulled it off her shoulder so he could kiss more skin, she shivered. "Sirius," his name tumbled off her lips in a soft moan. When his teeth scraped against the star-shaped scar, she shivered. "We can't…. They're supposed to be here soon, remember."
Sirius grumbled in response, knowing she was right but damnit if it did not make it any easier. His hands slid down her body, traveling from shoulders, over the sides of her breasts and carefully down to her waist when he eased her back against him more so his obvious arousal for her could press against her lower back. "I'll be quick," he promised in a heavy breath before nipping at the shell of her ear.
She knew that her resolve was wavering; the knowledge of what that wizard could do, even in a short amount of time, pooled heat between her thighs faster than he could unlock the bedroom door. But she also knew that if James and Lily did happen to show up mid-shag, then James would likely never let her hear the end of it. At least not while she was still in 1979. No, she needed to stay clothed and sober. Especially if they were going to ask for his help on procuring the Diary from his cousin's home. James, although hot-headed himself, did have a way of keeping Sirius from becoming too foolish when he came to dealings with his family members.
Her tongue darting out to moisten her dry lips before she reached down to pry his hands from her waist so she could slip free from his hold. Carefully unwinding his arms from her, she pulled away from Sirius. "We aren't going to shag in your friends' house, Sirius." Regaining her composure as she backed away from the now pouting wizard, she carefully smoothed out her clothing, and tempered her curls best she could.
"Now, Hermione." Turning around so he leaned against the table, his arms crossed over his chest as he eyed his witch. "Let us be reasonable about this. Moony is busy making dinner, Lily and Prongs are out on a mission that ran a wee bit long. They could be gone for several more hours. We really would just be utilizing our time properly," he explained.
Hermione snorted. Did he just try to logic his way into her knickers? "Do you really want me to list the reasons why we aren't going to have a go at it in the guest room or will you just accept that I'm not changing my mind?"
"There is clearly no reason we shouldn't."
"One, it's not your flat and might be a tad rude. I know we shagged here before but circumstances were a bit different. Two, Remus is in the kitchen; Werewolf hearing. He'd know exactly what we were doing," Hermione began, using her fingers to count as she went.
"He'd know even if he wasn't a werewolf," Sirius smirked, wagging his brows.
She rolled her eyes in response. What was it with men and boasting their sexual prowess? Was it biologically built in or did they grow this arrogance over time? "Third, you might be better off if you had no luck instead of bad luck, because our track record of being walked in on by James is rather high, don't you think?"
"You're worried about Prongs? Naw. He enjoys it. Says I got a great arse."
"Sirius," she said sternly, her hands going to her hips as she gave him a look reminiscent of the one she had seen McGonagall give the Weasley twins when they were being particularly difficult, and when he responded by tipping his head back with a particularly dramatic eye roll, she spun on her heels, beginning to walk towards the kitchen. She could hear him follow her, his heavy boots thumping along the wood flooring as she entered the kitchen to be greeted to the sight of Remus standing in front of the stovetop. A large pan sizzled with a mixture of onions, garlic and butter as he used a wooden spatula to push the beginnings of his dish around the pan.
Remus glanced over his shoulder towards the pair with an amused expression tugging at the corners of his lips. "She's right you know," he teased before looking back to the pan in front of him, and with a small wave of his wand,picked up off the counter next to him, a bowl of mushrooms floated across the room towards him.
"Of course she is, but that does not mean I can't try," Sirius grumbled before plopping himself down at the small table opposite of where Remus was cooking. He leaned back on the chair, kicking his boots on up on table as he reclined back. "Where did Prongs say they were going tonight anyways?"
"Stake-out in West End." Remus poured the mushroom into the sizzling pan before adding two jars of tomato sauce. Reaching into his back pocket he pulled out his wand and set a charm to make the wooden spatula stir the mixture slowly around the pan.
"West End?" Sirius questioned, brows furrowing as he looked up from his fixation on twirling his wand between his fingers like a baton.
"Muggle London," Hermione explained as she poured herself a glass of Elven wine from a bottle Remus was using to cook with. Filling the stemware three fingers full she turned around to lean against the counter before taking a small sip of the enchanted wine. Almost immediately her cheeks flushed pink and her skin began to tingle from the ripple of magic. Lifting the glass up, she carefully eyed the blush colored wine through the glass, watching it shimmer.
"Should we owl Mad-Eye? See if something came up? They should be home by now," Sirius suggested, withdrawing his feet from the table and he lowered all four legs of the chair onto the floor with a small clatter.
"They're only an hour or so late, so probably not yet. Frank mentioned that the Owl's are being monitored since the infiltration at the Ministry. Let's give it a bit. Maybe turn on the radio to see if any news is reported," Remus suggested, gesturing to the large transistor radio that sat on the end of the counter closest to the back door.
Sirius moved across the kitchen, quickly switching on the device before turning the dial until the soft hum of a contemporary wizarding rock ballad could be heard through the scratchy speaker. Hermione was only familiar with the tune from its being broadcast during the Witching Hour's monthly classics special. Her finger tapped against her wine glass with the soft melody at memories of sitting in The Burrow while Molly sang along with the lyrics. Ron and Ginny were both endlessly embarrassed by their mother's antics as she cooked their family meals, but George and Fred would often join in with her, dancing their mother around the kitchen in an exuberant fashion.
By the time the hook began to play, Hermione was pulled from her memories when Sirius held out his hand in front of her with an all-too-charming smile on his lips. "Care to dance?"
Dance? Surely he valued his toes more than he let on. Hermione laughed, her head shaking no before she took another sip of the magic wine. "I'm more of a spectator." Sure, she was halfway decent, but she had not danced in years. Not since Bill and Fleur's wedding and even then the celebration was brief.
"Pretty please?" he pressed, batting his eyelashes at his girlfriend, but when she shook her head no with wide eyes to reiterate her point he lifted his hands in defeat. "Fine. Moony, get your tight arse over here," he called out to his friend, winking at Hermione before spinning towards Remus who was begrudgingly walking towards Sirius.
Remus knew far too well this type of deflection Sirius was using. When something bothered him, or something was wrong the wizard simply could not sit still. Perhaps that's why he did well in the Order, because he was acting on correcting bad things, which meant he did not have to sit by and let them happen. Sliding his hand into his friend's, he allowed the raven haired wizard to pull him into a loose embrace as he swayed them to the music.
"At least someone is willing to have a bit of fun with me," Sirius teased Hermione from the middle of the room, one of his hands resting lightly on Remus' waist while the other held his friend's lifted hand.
"I wouldn't call this fun," Remus grumbled, but despite the put-upon sour remark he could not hide the corners of his lips from tugging up in the smallest of smiles. When Sirius made to 'dip' him, jade green eyes flashed over to Hermione who was laughing behind her wine glass as she watched the friends float around the kitchen. "You owe me," he shot across the kitchen.
"Whatever you want, Remus," she returned, chocolate brown eyes twinkling with laughter as the tempo picked up and Sirius attempted to get Remus to sway his hips faster to the beat. The pair moved around the kitchen, occasionally fumbling with their footwork as each wizard tried to take the lead which resulted in a few bonked heads and squished toes, but all in all they seemed to work out a rhythm. Hermione was perfectly fine staying put, enjoying the show they put on for her, laughing loudly at the pleading looks Remus gave her during the course of the show.
It was not until the oven beeped to signal the cook time was finished on the dinner rolls that Remus finally insisted on pulling away from Sirius. As the werewolf darted across the kitchen, Sirius made his way over to his girlfriend. Reaching out he took her half finished wine glass and set it on the countertop behind her before tugging her forward by her belt loops. "Your turn, Miss Granger," he purred.
Just as he began to tug her to the middle of the kitchen, with Remus encouraging his antics from across the room, the sound of the Potter's front door bursting open pulled the trio out of their temporary reprieve from the real reason they were here tonight.
Sirius instinctively spun on his heel, his wand withdrawn from his pants pocket and extended towards the entryway to the kitchen as his other arm held Hermione back, shielding her from whomever had just burst into the Potters' home.
Despite Sirius's chivalry, which was sweet albeit not needed, Hermione had her own wand withdrawn, her Auror training kicking in almost immediately and the adrenaline completely masking the effects of the Elven wine she had felt moments ago.
Remus nearly dropped the pan of dinner rolls on the floor, only catching himself moments before letting go of the pan. As the sound of heavy footsteps and furniture being bumped into echoed into the kitchen, Remus carefully lowered the pan onto the stovetop without making any sound as to not give away their location.
Hermione took point, side-stepping around Sirius and she moved towards the commotion, her footsteps light as a feather. She moved cautiously from the kitchen into the dining area, brown eyes fixated on the opening that lead to the living room, where the frantic sounds of what she assumed was a looter could be heard. Although she could not see them, it sounded as if they were looking for something in a hurry, based off the rushed sounds of heavy breathing and the way they were haphazardly overturning furniture. She pressed her spine against the wall just next to the opening, glancing to Sirius and Remus who were just behind her. She motioned for them to get against the wall and once they fell into place she closed her eyes for a moment, composing herself for battle.
She really did not want to make a mess of James and Lily's home, for she knew the witch was as neurotic about the cleanliness of her home as she was about how one should take notes, but surely she would be forgiven, right? With a deep breath, she moved into the opening, her wand steady in her hand as she prepared for the worst.
What she was not prepared for was the intruder to be James and Lily disrobing like it was an Olympic Sport in their living room. Their lips locked in a kiss so passionate they were stumbling into their furniture in an attempt to make their way to their bedroom.
Lily was already without her shirt and her jeans were opened, barely on her narrow hips, and James was down to his boxers. From the look of it they both had seen battle tonight. Their faces were grimy with soot, and their rumpled trail of clothing was absolutely filthy with ash and dirt.
"Fucking Hell, Prongs!" Sirius shouted, his wand hand dropped as he lifted his other hand to shield the nearly naked couple from his view. The wizard had only been a step behind Hermione, prepared to help apprehend whatever intruder was in his friends' home. "Couldn't make it to the bedroom?"
Hermione's eyes immediately dropped to the floor, her cheeks burning a deep crimson as she slipped her wand back into her pocket. "It's their home, Sirius," she muttered to her boyfriend.
Lily and James darted apart immediately, Lily gasping as she pulled James in front of her like a meat shield to cover up her nakedness as they looked at the duo on the opposite side of their living room. "W-What are you doing here?" James stammered as his mind reeled to catch up to the present.
"Lily invited us for dinner," Remus called out from behind the wall through laughter. He had, thankfully, not moved into the living room with Hermione and Sirius, instead he had opted to stay a few paces behind them. Moving the two steps to the left, he popped his head around the wall, sandy blond hair falling askew. He gave a small wave to the blushing couple before he noticed the sizable tent in James' boxers and he snorted. "Put that thing away, Prongs. Company's present," he teased.
James let out an involuntary squeak and his hands snapped to shield his erection from view as he darted to shimmy on his jeans.
"Oh...right...dinner," the red-headed witch confirmed, wincing as the memory of the invite flooded back. "Christ, I forgot."
"Clearly!" Sirius exclaimed as he gestured to Lily and James as they both struggled to dress quickly.
"This is our home, Padfoot," James reminded his friend, stumbling over his feet as he moved to grab their discarded clothing from the various spots it had landed in their shuffle across the living room. "How long have you been here?" he questioned as he pulled his shirt from a lampshade and pulled it on quickly, not noticing it was inside out.
"I already told him that," Hermione piped up, carefully parting her fingers that covered her line of vision to make sure the coast was clear and they were dressed before she dropped her hands. "About an hour or so."
"Is that…" James narrowed his vision as he adjusted his frames up his nose to get a better view through the darkened room. "Hermione, you're back!" A small smile spread across his lips as the witch came into view. He reached up to smooth his unruly black hair as he crossed the room. Once reaching Sirius and Hermione, he pulled the witch into a hug, careful not to put his hips anywhere near her.
"Hermione!" Lily echoed, not far behind her boyfriend and when James released her from the quick embrace she wrapped her thin arms around her. It felt like ages since she had seen her! She knew that the MACUSA kept her busy, but she would have to talk with the witch about juggling her priorities. Sirius had been in quite a state during this last leave. "When did you get back in?"
"Yesterday." Hermione withdrew from the hug, her hands resting on Lily's shoulders for a moment as she smiled up to her friend. "Merlin, what happened? You two look like-" It was when Lily's hand lifted to brush some of the dirt from her cheeks that she noticed the glinting of a beautiful ruby ring and her eyes went wide. "You're engaged!"
"You haven't told her?" James questioned, lifting a brow at Sirius and Remus.
"Told me what?" Hermione looked up from her examination of the ring and over her shoulder to the men who were congregating just behind them.
"There wasn't a lot of time," Sirius explained as his hand rose to scratch at the back of his neck. While not untrue, the fact that Prongs and Lily had finally wed truly had slipped his mind in the elation of Hermione's return.
"What did he not tell me?" Hermione looked back to Lily, her brow knitting in confusion as she let go of her friend's hand.
"James and I got married already. Figured there's no point in waiting...not since what's been going..." the redhead witch explained. The truth was morbid, but the facts remained the same. They were both Order members, which meant they had targets on their backs and neither was wanting to spend another moment not married to one another. Not when so much was at stake.
"Oh," Hermione could read between the lines. She lived through her own turmoil and knew just how war affected people, especially couples. Look at Fleur and Bill; they could have waited until Voldemort was defeated, but the uncertainty of if, or when, Harry killed him was too much of a risk to wait. "That's wonderful, Lily. Truly." She offered a happy grin to the redhead before turning to James, who was still whisper-arguing with Sirius over why Sirius would not have shared the joyous news.
"You could have slipped it in at some point," James pressed, blue eyes widening to emphasize his point.
"He was too busy slipping it in her to think about anything else," Remus added as he jutted his thumb towards Hermione. When Sirius reached over to smack his gut in response to his remark, he winced, his arms reflexively going to cover up his middle. "What? You think I didn't notice? The shed reeked of sex."
"Ew… not okay, Remus." Hermione pointed a finger at the werewolf who feigned innocence with a shrug before she pulled James in for another hug. "Congratulations, James. I'm sorry I missed it."
James turned the hug, arms wrapping around Hermione's middle as he gave her a soft squeeze. "It's quite alright. We didn't exactly give notice."
Married. James and Lily had finally wed. She couldn't believe it. Well she could because they were married previously, but these two people we not just Harry's dead parents anymore, they were her friends! Her friends whose lives were in danger should she not stop a psychotic wizard. Despite her happy demeanor, her eyes sparkled with tears. She wasn't unhappy for them, quite the opposite! If they were wed that meant that the likelihood of Harry being there when she returned was great, but it also meant that the couple's impending danger was growing every day.
Reaching up her knuckles brushed the corner of her eyes as she pulled back from James. "Alright, enough about weddings, and Sirius being a shit communicator." Dampening her emotions as best she could, she forced herself back to the moment. James let out a throaty laugh at her insult while Sirius reached over to pull his weepy girlfriend into his arms, her back pressing against his chest. When his lips pressed against the crown of her head, she smiled, easing back into his embrace. "What happened to you two? You both look like hell."
"Lily looks beautiful, I don't know what you're talking about, Hermione." James defended his bride honorably. Hazel eyes looked to the redhead across the group from her. "Sure, she might have smudges on her nose and a bit of straw in her hair, but she's as marvelous as the day I met her."
"James!" Lily reached up, her hands patting down her messy hair until she found said debris in her hair, and she pulled it lose before tossing it at James as Remus and Sirius both fell into a fit of giggles as James tried to move closer to Lily with an apology.
"Hands off, Potter." Lily smacked his reaching hands away before attempting to wipe the soot from her cheeks. Merlin, she was married to him! The least he could do was make sure she didn't look like a buffoon in front of their friends. "We were in West End with Frank and Gideon. Our position was compromised, at least that's what Gideon said right before the first Bombarda hit."
"Bombarda? In Muggle London?" Remus' brows rose to his hairline in shock.
"A Bombarda was rather tame compared to the rest of the things sent our way," James began, his hands sliding into the back pockets of his jeans as he glanced around the circle of friends.
"Did anyone get hurt?" Hermione pressed.
"No one that matters. A couple pricks in masks were on the wrong end of my wand, but we all made it out in one piece," James smirked. "The best part is that we got him. Gideon Confringo'd a post box and it knocked that smarmy bastard out cold."
"W-Who?" Hermione's heart picked up its pace beneath her ribs, beating an unsteady rhythm of thinly subdued panic.
"Voldemort," Lily answered, and the uptick in her voice did little to hide the blistering excitement she felt about their group besting the Dark Lord earlier that evening. "He was out there with his followers."
"How do you know it was him?" Hermione pressed. Hoping-No praying that it was not true, because if they had faced Voldemort already and walked away the victors of their battle, that meant the prophecy was true. That meant that despite the changes that had occured since her being here, the dark reality of it all still lingered under the surface, waiting to rear its ugly head.
"He doesn't wear a mask like the rest and he was ordering them about," James explained, pulling Hermione's attention away from Lily. "And it wasn't our first time meeting him. Lily and I have had the pleasure of making his acquaintance more than once."
"You've fought him before?" Sirius frowned, his brow knitting as he looked at his best friend imploringly. He had been on several mission for the Order now, but coming across their ringleader was not something he had done yet. At least not knowingly.
"Yeah. It wasn't like we took him on personally in a duel. He's...just had a knack for showing up on the missions we've been assigned." James glanced between Remus, Sirius and Hermione who were looking at him with wide eyes. "What? Have you guys not been formally introduce to Lord Dark-and-Broody yet?"
"No… I've met him alright," Remus mumbled, glancing down to his toes.
Had she met Voldemort? Well one could say that. Although she would not call their introduction formal by any means. "I've had the pleasure of making his acquaintance, but I doubt he remembers me. Doesn't really try to keep tabs on us Muggleborns." It was the best explanation she could come up with, considering. Her hand instinctively went to her forearm, fingertips pressing into the faded scar that Bellatrix had carved at his behest. Do whatever necessary to find Potter, the Undesirable Number One, even if whatever necessary meant torture children. Although Bellatrix or any of the Death Eaters were not above torture, were they? Her stomach churned at the thought and just as her nails pressed into her scarred skin she felt Sirius' hand cover her own, pulling her from her thoughts as their fingers laced.
"Well I'm certain he'll remember me," Lily mused confidently, and when she felt four sets of eyes on her, a small sheepish grin tugged at the corners of her lips. "I might have used a Melofors Jinx on a few of the Death Eaters as they were Apparating away," she explained with just a hint of smugness in her tone.
Just as James was seconds away from gloating about his wife's skill, his nose twitched as a burning smell began to fill the room. "Do you smell that?" he questioned, glancing over his shoulder to look around the room to find the source.
Remus frowned as he looked up from the floor, his own nose picking up the pungent smell of burning food and jade green eyes widened. "Shit!" The werewolf spun on his heel and ran to the kitchen quickly, his wand at the ready to vanish whatever the source of the smell was.
One by one the group followed, Lily assisting with magically removing the aroma from the air as Remus pulled open her cupboards to find an alternative to burnt noodles. It did not take long, thanks to Lily's help, for dinner to be salvaged and served for the five friends who spent the rest of the evening huddled around the Potters' mismatched dining room set enjoying a plate of spaghetti sauce over brown rice and dinner rolls. Although the makeshift meal was obviously an odd pairing, it clearly did the trick as each of the Marauders present had quickly finished off two servings of their meal.
Lily and Hermione had spent much of their dinner discussing the missed wedding and the comings and goings of the Order members, while the men bantered over upcoming Quidditch matches. It was as if for a moment, the world was entirely normal. Like James and Lily had not just fought a group of Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. It was as if they were just a group of friends coming together to enjoy a meal, pausing from their busy post-Hogwarts lives to enjoy each others' company.
"So, Hermione," James questioned across the table, his fork pushing a few stray pieces of rice around his plate before Lily reached down to snatch up the dishware to take into the kitchen. "How long will you be back for?"
Sirius' head snapped over to Hermione at the question and the smile he had been wearing due to his laughter froze on his face. This was the question, wasn't it? He had asked more than once since her return and had yet to get a solid answer beyond 'long enough'. His fingers tightened their hold on his bottle of Goblin Mead as he awaited her reply.
Hermione looked away from Lily, her index finger tapping against the side of her wineglass nervously before she lifted it up to drain her glass before she set the empty glass on the table top, pushing it away from her to indicate she was finished indulging for the evening. She knew this was a bridge she would have to cross at one point, and thus far had been able to avoid a direct answer. Taking a deep breath, her vision locked on to Sirius for a moment before shifting over to James. "I'm on leave for about a year."
The sounds of Remus' shock (and somewhat disbelief) was masked by the sound of Sirius dropping his bottle of mead on the table, which sent the liquid pouring across the wooden surface. "Oh bugger!" Sirius muttered, reaching out to right the overturned beverage before he grabbed his wand from the table top to vanish the liquid.
James eyed his friend with an amused expression before reaching over to take the bottle from Sirius' trembling hands. "You've had enough I think, Pads. Getting sloppy in your old age," he teased before looking back to Hermione. "MACUSA let you take an entire year off? Blimey, I wish the Ministry let us take a years worth of leave." Lifting the mead to his lips, he took a large gulp of the remaining liquid.
Hermione kept her eyes on James, knowing that if she looked at Sirius or Remus she might not be able to mask her mistruths as well. "My boss did not have much of a choice. I kind of just… left." Technically, not a lie. Just stretching the truth a tad. Besides, it wasn't like James would ever find out. At least not until she was gone and Voldemort was buried (or burned, whatever the Ministry did with Dark Wizards in this era) ten feet underground.
"So you're with us for a whole year?" Lily's elation over the fact the witch would be around for longer than a couple of weeks dripped from her words as she reached across the table to snag Hermione's hand and draw the woman's attention back to her.
"What the bloody fuck are you going to do for a whole year?" Remus questioned frankly, jade green eyes flashing between Sirius, who was smiling like a madman, and Hermione, who appeared equally as happy about the (in his humble opinion) rather unsatisfying news. A whole fucking year of Sirius acting completely gaga for Time Lord was going to get old, VERY fast. Ground rules clearly needed to be set; like, for example, no shagging in shared spaces and certainly no using floral conditioner, or whatever the fuck it was called.
Hermione returned the small hand-squeeze of Lily's, chocolate brown eyes leaving the familiar emerald ones of her friend to look at Remus across the table, who looked decidedly apathetic to the revelation. Like he was trying his best to contain the mixed emotions regarding the situation. "Save Wizarding Britain from a madman, I suppose," she replied casually with a small shrug of her shoulders.
Author's Note:
This took me way longer than it should of, so I apologize. However, I should be getting back to a normal 1x per week post. :) The story's action should pick up here very soon and will probably stay open throttle for a while with a few reprieve moments to celebrate things like holidays, birthdays, etc. I can't thank you guys enough to sticking around this far. As always, much love to Islandgurl777. She is quiet simply the worlds best BETA. Thank you all for your kind reviews, they are what encourage me to write more! Drop me a line to let me know if you're still reading & enjoying this story! ~ mm