To the Future

A HariPo fanfic

by mew-tsubaki

Note: Nothing much to say except for the usual "these characters belong to JK Rowling."

P.S. REVIEW! & don't kill me for the pairing. :)

**P.P.S.** Tellings came first, love blossomed, and then things wilted. But fear not! After all, wilting flowers can be rejuvenated with a little bit of water and care…which brings us to the final arc in the story: SPROUTS. Even after wilting, a sprig of hope comes back, giving us a sprout for a new beginning. The end still isn't quite in sight yet, but I still thank all you readers who have read this far, considering this is my longest story yet. So let's read—and REVIEW!

- ^-^3

The Tenth Sprout (& the Thirty-Seventh Telling)

Sirius' suggestion was that Ginny let Harry and Hermione blow off some steam. If they knew those two, then Harry and Hermione would calm down and probably realize that merely harsh words had been said. Sirius was sure that the wedding would be back on in no time.

Sirius was also very, very wrong.

According to what Ginny kept owling him every hour or so, Harry and Hermione were putting their all into doing one thing together: cancelling the wedding. Hermione divided up the work, Harry looked over his bit, and then the two set about their business.

To the Animagus, it was as if Harry had disappeared from his life all over again. And that was not a thought Sirius liked to entertain.

At Ginny's urging, Sirius invited Harry over to Grimmauld Place for supper. That wasn't much fun at all. Harry was quite the downer and didn't even stay for a drink.

Then it was Ginny's turn to heckle Harry.

- ^-^3

Fwump.

"Get up, you boneless sack of laziness."

Harry stared up at Ginny. He was on the couch in the living room, in her spot. As she couldn't watch the telly, she took one of the nearby cushions and hit him over the head with it. Harry just looked at her.

Ginny frowned. "Harry, get a hold of yourself. You look pathetic."

"And why shouldn't I be? I'm the one sleeping on the couch," he groused as his attention returned to the television. "But it won't be for much longer. Hermione said she'd move out soon."

"And neither of you cares to tell me why that is?"

"I…" Harry closed his mouth, fumbling for the right words. "It's too much. She kinda played me from the beginning."

Sensing someone was finally going to open up, the witch gently sat on the couch's arm. "What happened?"

"Hermione…wasn't seeing just me," he revealed. He removed his glasses and wiped them. "I actually thought she was seeing that guy from her favorite book shop on Diagon Alley."

Ginny vaguely remembered him. He was blonde with glasses and he was always half-hidden by the bookshelves. Hermione had only dragged her in there once; Ginny had never been back. But if memory served her correctly, Ginny knew that guy was only a few years older than Harry and Hermione. "If it wasn't him, then…?"

Harry shook his head. "Trust me, you do not want to know."

"Considering certain things, like Luna being with Remus—yes, she is—I'm pretty sure I can handle what you throw at me."

"It's a rather vile idea, Gin," he stated with a sour look on his face.

"Entertain me. But I'm not playing twenty questions with you, Harry!"

He paused once more, listening to Hedwig's coos on the floor above. Hermione wasn't home, so it wasn't as if Harry would be offending her if he opened his mouth. With a final sigh and the realization that he couldn't avoid it any longer, he started.

- ^-^3

"Good ol' Tom! One firewhiskey, please!" Sirius said as he playfully smacked the countertop. Tom the bartender nodded with a grin and produced the drink. Sirius raised his glass. "Thanks, mate. I've been needing one of these since the end of the school year."

"I never thought I'd live to see the day of Sirius Black as a teacher," Tom commented. "Then again, look at how much has changed all these years."

Sirius smiled, thinking about everything that had led up to him sitting there, a free man. "No. Think how far we've come."

Tom nodded again before disappearing into the back, leaving Sirius alone to nurse his only firewhiskey of the night.

It really was a sign of how far things had come. He remembered all too well his years in Azkaban. Then escaping, hiding, being in the Order, those lifeless years in the veil, and now this… And to think, Lily and James had given their lives for their son and Harry was alive—but he was setting himself up for failure by breaking apart his almost-marriage. It vaguely occurred to Sirius that maybe he and Ginny would be the only ones with the happy ending this time around…if Molly and Arthur could ever come around.

The barstool beside him creaked and Sirius glanced at the witch. He had to do a double-take, though, realizing it was Hermione. She had her hair swept up in a plait and she wore an ugly black jacket over a T-shirt. She looked like shit.

"Hello, Hermione," he said cautiously.

She blinked, apparently just recognizing him, too. "Oh, Sirius! Uh, I'm sorry… It must be strange seeing me after…you know…" She bit her lip. "Are you going to call me an idiot?" she asked with a hollow laugh.

"No, you don't need that." He cupped his cheek in his palm and leaned on the countertop. "But I am wondering what's running through that head of yours."

Hermione smiled a little. "Doesn't everyone? …even I do, sometimes…" She ordered a firewhiskey, too, but she didn't touch it. "I can't believe I ever considered…"

Sirius frowned. "Hermione…"

She ducked her eyes and closed them. "Sirius, I had to leave Harry. I'm in love with Sev."

The statement took Sirius a while to process. One didn't often hear "Sev." The last time Sirius had heard that nickname, he'd been attending Hogwarts and James still didn't have Lily and Lily was still best mates with… "Snivellus."

The witch glared at him. "Don't call him that! He's a person just like you!"

Sirius grimaced, certainly thinking otherwise. He didn't know how to react. He was shocked, though he could remember their interaction at the Christmas party and other cases in which Snape appeared to respond a little much over something in regard to Hermione or Harry and Hermione. However, a slow simmer won over the surprise. Not only did Sirius recall all the years Snape had with Lily that could've belonged to James, but Sirius remembered every bad instance he'd ever had with the bat. This past school year, Sirius (with much cajoling from Remus) had done his best to let bygones be bygones with Snape. But this was the breaking point. If Snape couldn't have Lily, then he could at least ruin James' son's life, it seemed. "He has to have an ulterior motive," Sirius thought aloud.

Hermione huffed. "No, he does not! Honestly, Sirius. Let go of the past."

"Like you can't forget how he made your and Ron's and Harry's lives hell in school? What, you just suddenly woke up one morning and decided that he's not such a bad guy after all? Because guess what? That doesn't happen. Certainly not with him!" He smacked the countertop again, but this wasn't in a cheery way. This time Sirius was angry.

"No, of course not," she replied, calming down. "But it's not like I always thought of him as a horrible person. Sure, I was scared when he purportedly killed Dumbledore, but everyone in the Order knows that story and Snape was a good guy in the end, convincing us all that he was probably our greatest asset in the war."

"And now he's your greatest asset?"

"Urgh, don't start." The brunette flared her nostrils. "Or would you like me to start in on your whirlwind romance with a girl I still consider my little sister?"

Sirius grumbled, but didn't answer. He put his palms together and leaned his forehead against his hands, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath. "Please… Please tell me that you've actually thought things through, Hermione. You're a smart girl—we all know it—but this choice of yours…"

She rubbed the rim of her mug with her finger and glanced at him. "I…haven't told anyone about all that happened," she stated. "For your information, things were kinda accidental and not."

He watched her as she stared behind the counter at nothing particular. "What…?"

Hermione sighed. "It wasn't 'toying,' per say…but there was always some kind of tension between us. It really felt strong in sixth and seventh year. I mean, in sixth year at Slughorn's Christmas party, he stepped between that vampire and me. The thing had started to entrance me…but Sev got him to back off and then Sev was hesitant to leave my side that night. And seventh year…"

"'Seventh year'…?"

She smiled, remembering something she didn't want to share entirely aloud. "Well, let's just say that he almost confirmed then that there was something between us."

"What about Ron? You were with Ron right until…until I came back," Sirius mumbled. He felt her tense and he did, too. For her, losing Ron would always be a sore spot. For him, it would always be a "what if." For him, without Ron's sacrifice, he never would have had the chance he had with Ginny. He wouldn't have a second chance at life.

"I always knew…" Hermione paused to wet her lips. It was hard, what she had to say next. "I always knew that Ron…wouldn't quite keep me on my toes as I would've liked. That was partly remedied by being with Harry."

"Then why? Why Snape? If you felt that way with—"

"That's not the point!" she snapped. "Why are you with Ginny and not another witch? It's because you click! You don't feel like she has to keep up with you—she just does! You don't feel like you're taking care of a child! You don't—" Hermione took a deep breath. "You don't feel like you're the last thought in her mind."

"But…" Sirius' words died on his lips. Even he knew Harry to be a focused young man…and it didn't come as an entire surprise that Hermione said that. Harry often had the whole of his loved ones on his mind—but he hadn't developed a filter to dedicate even an ounce more to one person over another. Sirius saw it as a consequence of having lost too much in his lifetime. And while he could sympathize, Sirius, too, understood Hermione's feelings. The war was over and had been for several years. If Harry couldn't get over protecting the whole nest, then he probably would never see the enjoyment of coddling the one chick…so to speak.

"Before the school year began," Hermione continued, as if there hadn't been any interruption, "I chanced upon Severus. Thanks to a wild goose chase involving Crookshanks, I discovered that Harry and I don't live far from Spinner's End. And…I discovered that Severus is about happy as company at home as he is at school."

Sirius quirked an eyebrow, but didn't interject several jabs at Snape's risk.

"After a few interludes at his home—please, don't ask—I sort of became his acquaintance, like a friend… But there was still the tension there, you know? So we would meet on weekends and such… Merlin, there were so many factors, including other faces besides Harry's… Harry didn't know until recently, actually, though I think he might've had his suspicions. But I was so on edge back at the Christmas party."

"You two were like oil and gillywater—completely repellant."

"Well, that's just the thing. The party was awkward enough. If you remember, Harry had already popped the question a while before that. But the holidays weren't good to us. Harry was definitely suspicious then and we had a bad, bad argument…and I ran to Spinner's End." She stopped, pursing her lips. "I'm not proud of myself for it. I still loved Harry then and I was truly confused."

Sirius was confused, too. "I know I didn't stay at the school for the break, but…"

"No, he came home," Hermione answered in anticipation of his question. "He came home for a different reason, unrelated to me. But he didn't like that Harry had treated me rashly." She chuckled. "I scraped my knuckle when throwing the ring at Harry, you see, and Sev thought Harry had done that. But… But we talked and things turned back to Sev and me and then he and I argued and…" She blushed furiously, but didn't elaborate, which Sirius appreciated. "I knew then that I really loved Sev."

The Animagus shook his head. "Sorry for still not seeing how anyone can love that bastard."

"Sirius, you don't know what he's been through, what he's felt. Sev is—"

"—a no-good wizard, Hermione."

"And after all I've told you, you still say that to me?"

"Yes!"

"That's—"

"Hermione, look where you are now. Your life's in ruins. You're cancelling your wedding."

She shut her mouth, knowing he was right. She puffed out her cheeks. "It's not like I…"

"Wait—Harry was your back-up plan?"

"It sounds cruel when you put it that way…" She tugged on a stray curl of hair. "I mean, I suppose yes, but I honestly loved both Harry and Sev for most of these past months. My—My love for Harry's just been waning. Though it doesn't help how awkward it's been between Sev and me. He's been grumpier than usual."

"Care to ponder that maybe he's not your best choice?" Sirius growled. He took a long gulp of his firewhiskey.

Hermione scowled at him. "Don't talk about things you know nothing of, Sirius. Sev…still has some moving on to do." Her anger faded and she frowned. "I just don't know if I can move on. If this really doesn't work out between us…I don't know…"

Several quiet minutes passed between them. Tom was still in the back and there were few other patrons in the Leaky Cauldron. For that, Sirius was grateful. He only wanted to hear such things in a certain amount of privacy. However…

With all Hermione had told him, it was hard to be sympathetic toward her cause. They were still talking about his childhood nemesis, after all. Still…

"You honestly think it's love?"

Hermione frowned. "Yes, I do."

"And you'd leave my godson for him?"

"Don't start. But…yes."

Sirius still wouldn't accept it. But he also knew by now (especially from being with Ginny) that most of the people in his life were set in their ways. And the best he could do…was be there for them when the situation called for it.

As he had yet to remark further, Hermione looked at him. "Sirius…?" she asked as he stood and left enough money for both of their drinks.

He heaved a sigh. "All I have to say, Hermione, is that he better be worth it." Though it wasn't a clear-cut approval, Hermione's mood improved exponentially, though she knew when to let Sirius walk away from the touchy subject.

"Thank you, Sirius."

And he knew she meant that.

At home in Grimmauld Place, Sirius looked over the furnishings and such, wondering how he could've ever called the place "home" when there weren't really any in it who'd welcomed him. He had a funny feeling that Hermione hadn't felt "home" with Harry for a long time, either.

But Sirius had briefly felt complete when Ginny had stayed with him here over the Christmas break. And he knew that was a sure sign of what should be.

That, and Ginny had sent him a Howler, screaming bloody murder over Hermione admitting partially to being involved with Snape.

Oh, love, Sirius thought, great minds think alike.

- ^-^3

Okay, I have to ask: who's shocked and who's not? If you've read FroPa (From the Past), you knew the gist of what would be said, though this story is waaay further along than that one (FroPa is still stuck on that Christmas break, as of this posting). Anywho, I think I was able to vaguely describe things to keep enough of you satisfied, but everyone curious enough to glimpse at FroPa. So you really should. In the meantime, drop a review here and vote in the Hermione poll on my profile.

Thanks and I hope to have 38 up soon! And it really is looking like there will be only 40-ish chappies…but fear not! The ToFu universe lives on and I'll have special things to announce in the last chapter~!

So please stick with me! And REVIEW!

-mew! X3

P.S.—Adrianna and Julie: You guys should feel honored! XD I'm just happy you two love the story so much that you to try review every chapter (I'm now over 60 reviews—hooray!). So, you guys have this chappy, as well. Hope you enjoyed the secret!