Hermione looked at Sirius in shock. Her mind was racing. The yellow rose he had given her, and his obvious knowledge of what it stood for. She just couldn't put everything together without coming to the conclusion that he was in love with her. And that in itself was enough to keep her mind busy for months. Sirius Black, in love with her? How could it be? Hermione decided that it couldn't.

Ginny finally noticed that Hermione was getting desperate. She took the hint, much to Hermione's relief, and stood up.

"Excuse me for a moment. Hermione, come with me, will you?" Ginny smiled, and Hermione followed her to the restroom. Draco and Sirius exchanged an amused look about the habits of girls going to bathrooms in groups. Hermione leaned against the wall, almost hyperventilating.

"Oh my gosh..." Hermione kept repeating that over and over until Ginny finally got her attention.

"Hermione Granger, what on earth is going on? You're panicking over an innocent conversation!" Ginny just couldn't imagine what would be so obviously upsetting to her friend about flower meanings.

"Ginny, you don't understand. I don't understand either, actually. He gave me a yellow rose today. I thought it was innocent, you know? Just a flower that he thought I might like. But he knew! He knew what it meant! I just can't understand it." Hermione shook her head. Ginny made a noise of disgust.

"You know, Hermione, for a woman as incredibly smart as you are, you are so naïve! Is it really that hard to believe that he might be in love with you? We can all see it. He's crazy about you. I'm not surprised. Draco isn't. Remus has known it was coming. Why on earth should you be so surprised?" Ginny smiled affectionately.

"I'm not naïve!" Hermione couldn't grasp the rest of what Ginny had said, so she tried to defend herself. Ginny laughed warmly.

"If you say so. Just ask him about it some time, ok?" Before Hermione could respond, Ginny walked out the door and back to the table. Hermione resisted the temptation to start screaming at the top of her lungs. Instead, she took a deep breath, and then followed Ginny's path back to the table. Sirius had an indistinguishable look in his eyes when he looked at her. Hermione felt her heart skip a beat. God, was he handsome.

Hermione managed to get through dinner with a decent amount of conversation on her part. Only Ginny really knew what was on her mind. Sirius could guess, and he was pretty close to right, but Ginny knew for sure. Draco had no idea that she was even upset, let alone what it was about. Sirius glanced up at the clock, and he and Draco exchanged a glance.

"Ladies, we hate to rush you, but we need to get to the theatre soon." Draco smiled apologetically. Hermione and Ginny looked at each other in surprise.

"The theatre?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "The two of you are willing to go see a play?"

"Not just a play, 'Mione. A musical." Sirius smiled. Hermione's jaw dropped. Ginny looked at the guys in shock.

"Did you just say you're taking us to a musical? And actually staying?" Ginny just couldn't believe it. The guys started laughing.

"Yes, Gin. And we may even stay awake for it." Draco smiled again. Ginny laughed.

"I'm impressed." Ginny admitted. Hermione's mind, for the first time in her life, was going into overload mode. First the rose, now Sirius was taking her to a Muggle musical, something he vowed he would never do. This was just too much for her to take in at once.

"Something by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Phantom of the Opera, right, Draco?" Sirius glanced at him and Draco nodded.

"Yeah. Sounded like something we might actually be able to stand, yet that you two would love." Ginny's eyes lit up.

"You're darn right we'd love it! 'Mione has the CD, and we listen to it all the time! I've been dying to see it, though." Ginny couldn't wait. Hermione laughed.

"I love this show. My parents took me to see it when I was little, and I've never forgotten it. Thank you both." Hermione kissed Sirius lightly on the cheek. He scowled slightly, wanting more, but knowing he had to wait.

The theatre was close to the restaurant, so they decided to walk instead of Apparating. Hermione hesitated, and then reached out for Sirius's hand. He smiled at her when she took it, and she smiled back up at him. She felt her heart pounding. What was it about him tonight that was doing this to her?

When they got to her seats, the guys sat on the ends, leaving Ginny and Hermione able to talk to each other. This time, it was Sirius who reached for Hermione's hand. Hermione felt her heart flutter. He was just so irresistible.

Much as Hermione loved the show, she couldn't wait for it to end. And finally, it did. Hermione remembered very little about the return journey to Hogwarts. Ginny and Draco had gone to his flat in London. All she remembered was sitting out on the lawn with Sirius when the rain started. Started isn't the right term for it. The thunderstorm was upon them before either of them knew what was going on.

Hermione tried not to panic. She prided herself on her good sense, and she definitely did not think that her fear of thunderstorms qualified as good sense. Much as she adored Sirius, she hoped that he would never find out about this phobia. Alas, that was not to happen.

Sirius, ever the sweetheart, noticed the slight jump that Hermione gave at the first bolt of lightning. He put it down to the startled reaction that most people, including himself, would have at the start of an unexpected thunderstorm. But then he realized that she was shaking ever so slightly. It wasn't just the surprise.

Sirius tried to figure out a way to get her to admit to the fear without flat out saying something. He knew that she would be embarrassed, and maybe even ashamed, of what was, in his opinion, a perfectly reasonable fear. As they started in out of the rain, Sirius noticed a spider. He shuddered involuntarily. He hated spiders. That thought led to the next, and he had an idea.

"I hate spiders..." Sirius shook his head. Hermione looked up at him, her fears momentarily forgotten. She grinned.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of an innocent little animal. You're as bad as Ron." Hermione's voice was full of affection and teasing. Sirius laughed.

"Afraid? Me? Never. Terrified is more like it." Sirius smiled. Hermione laughed.

"I know the feeling. I mean, I'm scared of something so silly." Hermione confided. Sirius feigned innocence.

"Really? What? You know my main fear." Sirius stopped in the middle of the stairs, blocking her way.

"It's nothing, really." Hermione tried to avoid the question. Sirius shook his head.

"I'm not letting you past until you tell me." Sirius crossed his arms to emphasize his comment. Hermione groaned, and tried to walk past him, but he caught her every time. Not that she minded, of course. After all, it meant more time in his arms every time she was caught. Finally, though, she relented.

"Thunderstorms. I know there's nothing to be afraid of, but that really doesn't help any." Hermione looked away, blushing. She was worried about his reaction. To her surprise, he put his hand gently on her shoulder.

"It doesn't help me that spiders are tiny and the majority of them can't even bite, but I still hate them." Sirius's voice was soft and very comforting. Hermione found herself wishing she could spend the evening wrapped in his arms, just listening to him talk.

"True. But a lot of people are afraid of spiders." Hermione bit her lip.

"And a lot of people are afraid of thunderstorms. We're even. Now, as my right, I get to protect you tonight. No arguing, it's my right. And duty. But more my right. You know I'm a scholar of the Arthurian legends. Chivalry and all that. What kind of knight in shining armor would I be if I left my lady alone tonight?" Sirius managed to keep a straight face during this monologue, but Hermione laughed.

"Sirius, I'm fine, really." Hermione mentally cursed herself for saying that. Sirius was relentless, though.

"Fine. But I'm not. I mean, what happens if I go upstairs, and see another spider?" Sirius forced a dramatic shudder, and Hermione laughed again. She just couldn't help it when she was with him.

"Poor baby. You'd need someone to protect you." Hermione cooed. Sirius nodded.

"Exactly." Sirius was certain that this would work. To his shock, Hermione had other plans.

"Peeves!" Hermione yelled. Sirius's eyes widened in horror.

"What are you planning?!" Sirius couldn't believe that she would do what he thought she was going to. Hermione laughed.

"Would you prefer Sir Cadogan? He owes me a favor, you know." Hermione smirked. Sirius groaned.

"I'd rather deal with Peeves than with Sir Cadogan. But I'd prefer you. Come on, please? We'll go down to the kitchens and get food, take it back upstairs, since I know your dislike for giving the house elves more work. Pretty pretty please with sugar on top?" Sirius pulled off the perfect pout, puppy dog eyes and all. Hermione hesitated.

"Oh, very well..." Hermione did her best to pretend resigned to the idea, but Sirius knew otherwise. He laughed.

"You know you want to." Hermione laughed, and nodded.

"I do." Sirius suddenly got dead serious. The laughter was gone from his eyes and he had a thoughtful look in them.

"What are you thinking?" Hermione brushed a stray piece of hair out of his eyes, nervous.

"I was just thinking about how much I'd love to hear those words from you in a different scenario." Sirius bent down and barely brushed his lips over hers. Hermione was too startled to respond. By the time she got her thoughts together, Sirius took her hand.

"Come on, I'm hungry." He led her down to the kitchens, where they got snacks and went back up to his rooms. Hermione stifled a giggle, thinking about when Lockhart taught at Hogwarts, and how many times she had imagined what his room would have in it. Whatever it was like, it was certainly different from Sirius's room.

As disorganized as he was in his teaching, his rooms were meticulous. Nothing was out of place. Hermione had a feeling that it was somehow connected with his stay at Azkaban. On one wall was a bookshelf, which was covered in books. She glanced at them, but didn't recognize any of the titles right away.

Sirius put on some soft music, and took her hand. She smiled at him, and put her arms around his neck. They stayed like that, dancing slowly, for an interminable amount of time. Hermione smiled again. Sirius had an intense look in his eyes, but it wasn't one that she had ever seen before. Usually, his intense looks were for playfulness, anger, or seriousness. But this wasn't. There was something else in it.

She couldn't help wondering what it was all about. Too many coincidences were happening for her taste. For, Hermione still believed that everything happening that evening were coincidences. She laughed softly when she realized that the storm had passed.

"Thank you." Hermione kissed him softly.

"For what?" Sirius looked slightly confused.

"For everything. For dinner, for the play, for this..." Hermione's eyes watered slightly, and she told herself that she wasn't allowed to cry. Sirius smiled and kissed her gently.

"What can I say? You have no idea how amazing you are, 'Mione." Sirius hesitated, and decided that this was as good a time as any. "I'm in love with you."

Hermione looked up at him, unsure of what to say. Her defenses fell, and she did start crying. Sirius winced, not knowing that they were tears of joy. She kissed him.

"I love you too, Sirius."

A/N: Ok! I have met the demands for fluff! Back to angst... Angie