A/N: I'm really sorry for the delay. This is only part of the chapter I was going to post, but I know it's been a long time since the last time I updated. I wanted to get something up, since my updates have been less and less frequent lately.

Enjoy and please review!

She tried to make their entrance as inconspicuous as possible, but she should have known that nothing was ever easy with Sirius. Though, to his credit, Sirius didn't seem to want to draw attention to himself. He just happened to manage it when her aunt's little dog came running up to him, growling, and without thinking Sirius returned a low growl back.

"He's really harmless," Diane chuckled.

"The little ones aren't quite my thing," Sirius replied, flashing a smile. He was quickly introduced to everyone in the room, then sat on an over sized armchair. He beckoned Hermione to him, and she quickly crossed the room to sit half on his lap, half on the arm of the chair.

"How's school going, 'Mione?" Olivia asked, eyeing Sirius.

"Pretty well. I've started studying for my final exams..." Hermione replied.

"How so very like you."

She rolled her eyes. "And I've started looking into possible careers for when I'm done with school."

"What were you thinking about doing?"

"Well, obviously I'm going to go to university..."

Sirius' mouth down turned almost imperceptibly. They hadn't discussed what she was going to do after her NEWTs, but she knew that his idea did not involve spending time far away from him.

"Possibly to study law," she finished, pointedly looking away from Sirius.

"And what about you, Mr. Black? What do you do?"

"Call me Sirius, dear," he smiled again. "I'm currently working as the manager of a branch of a small business."

"Currently?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow. "Thinking of changing careers?"

"Running the shop is fun, but I have been talking to someone about changing professions."

It was Hermione's turn to look at him quizzically.

"Professor Francesca is on loan from an Italian school and is wanting to go back closer to his family. McGonagall is looking for a more permanent replacement, and has been leaning on me for a while now. She offered me the position before the start of the school year, but I refused because I didn't want to have a conflict of interest," he rubbed her arm.

"Really?" she was beaming widely.

"I haven't said yes quite yet. I was going to discuss things with you closer to the end of the year."

"What would you be teaching?" William asked as Jean circled the room refilling drinks and handing a couple glasses of wine to Hermione and Sirius.

"Introduction to law," he answered quickly, and Hermione breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"William teaches as well," she said quickly to deflect any questions about Sirius' answer.

"Really? What?"

"Nothing too exciting," William shrugged. "Just primary school, seven year olds."

"It's a fun age," Diane added. "William is always coming home with stories. There was this one time..." she launched into a long narrative about several horror-stories regarding William's students and the toll it took on him when he came home at night. It was easy for Sirius to gauge each family member's place- Diane was the one who liked the focus to be on her and her family, William was polite but took a back seat to his wife, Olivia was the shy type, and her fiancé Blake more the laid-back type. He knew his strongest ally would be Blake, and he would have to be most careful about Diane. When Jean asked Hermione for help setting the table he immediately got up to do it, earning him points with her family.

"Overwhelmed yet?" Jean asked as she handed him a stack of plates.

"Nah, I'm used to a bit of chaos," he responded, checking to make sure the coast was clear before carefully waving his wand. The dishes immediately flew into the dining room and set themselves into place. As a final touch the candles on the table lit and the bottles of wine, which had been opened, chilled themselves.

"Had to do that," he smiled as Jean shook her head and motioned for him to put the wand away. "I'll never be able to last days without doing it, and I'm not one for physical labor if I can get around it."

She chuckled. "They seem to be taking a liking to you."

"Well, I figured it would probably be easier on Hermione if I wasn't my normal, cantankerous old self."

"Sirius, Sirius," she clucked with a smile, reminding him of Molly Weasley. "You couldn't get a group of people to hate you if you tried."

"I beg to differ," he smiled, refilling her glass of wine. "One day let me introduce you to my dear old Mum and any of the rest of the Black family that's left. Save for Andromeda I am not a favorite."

"Yes, Hermione told us you were a bit of a black sheep, pardon the expression."

"My family were bigoted idiots. I'm not sad to see them gone."

"Sirius..."

"I know. To forgive is divine. I might just have to wait a few more years to be able to do that. It was my loving cousin who sent me through that Veil."

"Just try. For Hermione's sake. The brooding, moody Sirius isn't her favorite."

"Don't worry about me. I much prefer the Hermione who is happy with me and not looking like she's about to hex me into next week," he said, popping an errant prawn into his mouth.

Jean laughed and started handing him plates of food to lay out, which he did by hand when Blake came in to help.

"You set the standard pretty high, Black," he muttered, grabbing a bowl of mashed potatoes and following Sirius into the dining room. "If I didn't offer to help I would have looked like the jerk."

"I'm not meaning to make trouble. I'm just meaning to keep in the family's good graces. And keep Hermione happy."

Blake shot him a curious look.

"First rule in life, mate. If the woman isn't happy, you're not going to be happy."

"I heard that," Hermione warned, walking into the room and taking a seat.

"Would you care to debate the idea?" he asked, sliding into the seat next to her and grabbing hold of her hand.

"Oh, I know it to be completely true. I also know you shouldn't say it in front of said woman or you run the risk of making her unhappy," she replied, causing him to let out a signature barking laugh.

Dinner was a prolonged affair, and Hermione excused herself and Sirius as it became evident he was having difficulties keeping his eyes open. She gathered their luggage, and led him up the stairs to their room.

"You did a great job charming your way into my family's good graces," she said, closing the door and using magic to send things flying into the closet and drawers around the room.

"Did what I had to, love," he said, collapsing on the bed. Chuckling she climbed on top him and started kissing him.

"You are going to kill me," he muttered, running his fingers through her hair.

"I just wanted to reward you for being as great as you were. You look like you're about to pass out."

"I feel like I'm about to pass out," he said, kicking his shoes off.

"Get some rest," she murmured against his lips. "We have a long day of skiing and fun in the snow tomorrow."

He groaned. "Can't I spend the day in bed? It's my vacation, too."

"And miss out on the chance to see me in my oh-so-sexy ski equipment?"

"I'm not a fan of snow gear. Too many layers..." he said, his voice fading, before his eyes closed and his breathing became rhythmic almost instantaneously. She smiled, used her wand to change his clothes into pajamas, gently pulled him up so his head was lying on a pillow, changed and cuddled herself up to him, falling asleep quickly himself.

She woke the next morning to the feeling of an empty bed. She sat up and stretched, glancing quickly out the window. Sirius was out on the terrace, already dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweater, leaning against the rail and looking out over the view of the mountains surrounding them.

She slid on her robe and went to join him. He looked over his shoulder as she opened the door, and motioned for her to come stand next to him. His arm snaked around her as his gaze returned to the mountains.

"What happened to staying in bed all day?" she asked.

"It's nearly noon, love," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Really? Damn. Have they all gone already?"

"No. Everyone decided a lie-in was in order today. They're making plans to leave after lunch. Which should be ready any minute. I was sent up here to wake you, but you looked so peaceful I had to let you sleep a little longer."

"Thank you. I guess I needed the rest," she said, pressing herself to him as the wind started getting to her.

"Something Harry and Ron have no doubt been telling you since your first year," he smirked.

"Maybe not so politely, but yes, they did. Are you still planning on skipping out on today's snowy fun?"

"If I am I spent a hell of a lot of money on ski equipment I'm not going to use."

"You? Bought ski equipment?"

"Don't sound so shocked, love. It is a ski holiday," he replied.

"Where is it? I didn't see it?"

"Downstairs with everyone else's. Though I have to say I am slightly disappointed. The ones the shop recommended for me are green and silver. Disgusting." He pulled a face.

She smiled and gave him a kiss. "I guess I'm going to go get ready."

"Meet you downstairs," he said, kissing her again. He went downstairs and she got ready. When she got downstairs he had a plate of food waiting for her. The family was already finishing lunch and discussing their upcoming day on the slopes. She ate quickly, then headed downstairs to gather her ski things.

"I think I'm going to sit this one out," David announced as they were pulling on their things. "My knee is bothering me again."

"Are you sure, Dear?" Jean asked.

"Yeah," he said, looking a little disappointed. "I don't want to aggravate it or hurt it again."

"I'll stick around here with him," Sirius said, standing up and abandoning the new pair of ski pants he had been holding.

"Oh, no, Sirius," David protested. "I'm perfectly fine here..."

"I insist. It's not right for you to be here lonely while everyone else is having fun. Besides, I'm sure everyone would like a day where they aren't teaching me to fall spectacularly on my arse. I'd rather stay here and keep David company."

"Any excuse to stay off skis?" Hermione asked.

"Just being nice, love," he replied with a smile. "Go out and have fun."

She kissed him goodbye and followed her family out the door.

"That's an interesting little development," Olivia said, spinning in her seat in their rented van as William drove.

"What's an interesting little development?" Hermione asked, looking confused.

"Sirius seemed very eager to stay at home with your dad. Perhaps to talk about something..." she said with a pointed glance at Hermione's left hand.

"No!" Hermione protested, heart jumping. "He's just never skied. He doesn't like looking like he doesn't know what he's doing, it would detract from his image."

"His image that would involve a young, pretty girl on his arm?"

"You are way off base," she said with finality, but she smiled to herself. Hermione Black. It was starting to sound more comfortable by the day.