32 | VIPER STRIKES
~ Potter Manor
"For the hundredth time, James Potter," Lily yelled. "I don't care if it was just another basic drill! You could've been ambushed like the Prewetts for all we know!"
"Lily, I was fine!" The wizard rolled his eyes in exasperation.
They'd all come back to Potter Manor after their respective duties. Lily seemed so excited about all the work she, Mary, and Severus had accomplished until she realized her husband had yet to come home. Hermione did her best to keep Harry and Neville entertained, but even the kids seemed to sense the anxious air surrounding Lily.
James apparated back into the main sitting room only to have his arms immediately filled with his concerned wife. Remus and Sirius watched the scene with amusement.
"Prongs, do us all a favor and turn in your badge after the war," Sirius grinned. "I don't think Lily's heart could take anymore."
His eyes met Hermione, and they both shared a moment of amusement at the lovestruck pair. The calmness in her gaze reassured him. While he'd absolutely be willing to give up his career for a safer life if Hermione wanted so, Sirius really liked his job. James never really intended to become an Auror, but that was Sirius's goal from the beginning. The second he got into Gryffindor, he took it as a sign that he could undo the centuries of toxic patterns his ancestors had set. He would not be manipulative or bigoted. He would not stick to traditional pureblood ways. He would not laze about and rely on his wealth. He would make his mark on the world and change the view of the House of Black. And Hermione had the strength to stand by him as he did. She was no stranger to devoting her life to greater cause- it was something in which they'd both found a commonality.
"Oh!" Polly squeaked as she apparated into the room. "Guests! Dinner is ready and in the kitchen, as you asked, Miss Hermione!"
"Thank you, Polly," Hermione grinned.
As they walked down the halls together, Harry ran up to Hermione, jumping in front of her until she picked him up with a laugh. Neville was strolling contently while holding on to Remus's hand. Sirius waited for Hermione, watching his witch and godson with deep affection in his gaze.
"Look at him," Sirius pouted as Harry laid his head contently on Hermione's shoulder, watching his godfather with a mischievous grin. "You've only been here for a few months and you're already the favorite godparent."
Hermione laughed. Those words meant more to her than he would ever know. "Just wait until he gets older, he won't be able to get enough of you. I was rather a precocious friend. Or as my Harry would say, I had the tendency to nag."
Sirius slipped his hand around hers, entangling their fingers. "He loved you anyway, didn't he?"
Hermione looked down at their hands, eyeing their other friends purposefully.
"What?" Sirius asked.
"They'll see!"
An amused snort escaped Sirius. "Is that a problem? I was under the impression you agreed to be my girlfriend."
"I did." Hermione fumbled with her words. "I just didn't know you were ready to announce it to the world."
Sirius raised an eyebrow, bemused. Normally girls would be pestering him for a public display of his affections- some sort of confirmation of his commitment. Yet Hermione, being the paradox she was, was surprised he was finally ready to offer that. He had no way of knowing Hermione wasn't accustomed to people who were frank and up-front about their emotions. Victor Krum may have been, but Hermione was never too invested in him. The one she'd pined over for years had an unfortunate habit of offering her backhanded compliments as an afterthought. Ron was a brilliant friend, but he really did have the emotional range of a teaspoon. Hermione didn't expect compliments or public declarations. She never had.
When Hermione tried to pull her hand away, Sirius tightened his fingers. He pulled her to a stop, going unnoticed by the others who kept walking towards the kitchen. He leaned down until his lips were at the shell of her ear. "I don't know what you were expecting, love. Of course, I want everyone to know the most brilliant witch in the room is with me- especially my friends."
Hermione jerked back to look at him with widening eyes, a lovely blush blooming across her cheeks. Without giving her the chance to sputter a response, he merely pulled her along after everyone else, a small grin growing on his face.
Polly had set up a beautiful spread of dishes on the kitchen island, leaving the group to a more intimate dinner. Lily took Harry off of Hermione's hands, conjuring elevated kid's seats for him and Neville. As everyone settled onto the high stools, Hermione reached for the remaining seat next to Sirius. Her lips quirked in amusement to find a brilliant blue rose sitting on her empty plate. She glanced over to Sirius.
"A rose?" She asked with humor laced in her voice.
"Well I could hardly give you a lily," Sirius smirked.
"Oh my god," Lily groaned from across the island. "Be thankful it's one flower, Hermione! Better than what this fool did to me in our seventh year," she bumped James with her shoulder.
"Oh no," Hermione grinned. "Now you've got me curious."
"He charmed a lily for Lily so whenever she tried to throw it away or burn it, it would only multiply," Remus told her, laughing at the memory.
"Mind you," Sirius broke in. "This was before James managed to win the affection of the fair lady."
"I had five dozen bloody lilies overflowing from my bag by the end of the day!" Lily exclaimed, her indignation negated by the amusement in her voice.
"It got your attention, didn't it?" James winked at his wife.
"What do you say?" Sirius leaned over to Hermione, wiggling his eyebrows comically. "Should I do the same? Do you plan on throwing away the token of my affection?"
Hermione shoved him away lightly with a laugh. "You're ridiculous," she told amusedly.
"But you like that!" Sirius gloated in a sing-song voice.
The entire table broke into chuckles. The others couldn't be happier with the way things were going between their two friends. While they'd always witnessed this playful, carefree side of Sirius, they'd never seen him share it with anyone else but them. He was a guarded man. Even with Marlene. And Hermione, though she'd never been on the receiving end of such attention, found she rather liked it. It made her feel like she was wanted- as she belonged.
Her whole life she'd felt needed. Harry and Ron needed her for their adventures- that was partially how they even became friends in their first year. Detention in the Forbidden Forest, and going through a series of challenging gates- including a three-headed dog- had a way of bonding you regardless of your compatibility. It wasn't until years later that she actually felt they enjoyed and welcomed her company. But the marauders... they had this warmth and playful affection to them that made her feel wanted. They didn't need her. Not anymore now that the Horcruxes were gone. But they still wanted her.
As they finished their dinner, Sirius continued his small, affectionate gestures. He held her hand under the counter as they ate. When Lily got up to get them all drinks and James left his seat to let the boys down, Sirius got up and stood behind Hermione, his hands resting on her hips and his chin on the very top of her head. The casual but intimate embrace made her smile despite herself.
The others never even blinked an eye.
When the night dimmed, Remus bade everyone goodbye, heading back to his own flat. James and Lily excused themselves to settle Harry and Neville in for the night.
Left alone, Sirius turned Hermione on her stool until she faced him. His hands crept along her neck, tilting her head up towards him.
"Have you never been properly wooed, Hermione?" He asked softly, gazing into her eyes knowingly.
"Not really no," she responded quietly. "We grew up in a time where my friends and I didn't have much time to be kids or really explore our personal lives. Everything was always about protecting Harry and defeating Voldemort."
"You deserve to be wooed," he told her sternly.
Hermione chuckled, bumping her nose against his affectionately. "There's no need," she told him. "You already have me."
"Doesn't mean you don't need daily reminders that I still want you," Sirius smiled. "Which I do. More and more every day."
Her eyes fluttered close as they held each other, their foreheads touching as they simply savored the comfort of each other's embrace and warmth.
"Tomorrow's a big day," he sighed, finally drawing away from her. "I have to be up early to help finish securing the rest of the Order's safe houses, and I heard you have a training session with the Prewetts and Moody."
Hermione nodded. "And anyone else who wants to train for the final battle."
"I should go," he said regretfully.
Just as he moved to pull away from her, her hands grasped on to the soft wool of his sweater.
"Stay?"
Sirius looked down at her, his eyes softening. "Are you sure?"
"Just to sleep," she shrugged. "I sleep better with you, anyway."
"Me too," he admitted, pulling her off the stool and steadying her. "Let's get some rest."
~o~O~o~
~ Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix
Sadly the next day was even busier than she'd expected. The others all left bright and early. Sirius woke her up by accident at the brink of dawn, already dressed in his Auror's uniform. He looked absolutely breathtaking in uniform. The fitted black trousers were accompanied by an intricately designed dragonskin vest, which she had no doubt was some sort of protective layer. The entire outfit was accented by a smart black coat that flared at his hips, dropping to his knees. From the folds of the thick coat, she could see a wand holster around his thigh. He looked nothing like the rebellious teenager she'd expected of a young Sirius Black and everything like the mature, poised adult she'd known from her time.
He kissed her head, telling her to get some more sleep before he slipped out the door.
She wasn't able to stay in bed for much longer anyway as Lily needed to leave soon after to get a head start for the day's brewing. Since Hermione didn't have her training until the evening when the Aurors were free, she was left to watch after Harry and Neville once again. Not that she minded. It was actually nice to let the others handle important Order matters for a change. Thinking back to how things had been for her and her friends, she couldn't even imagine how'd they'd gotten to such a point- three kids, barely adults, on the run on their own trying to defeat one of the darkest wizards in history. This generation's Order seemed a lot more functional.
Lily got back just in time to relieve Hermione so she could go to headquarters. And she'd only missed seeing Sirius by half an hour. He went back to the Potters' place with James, but after Lily told him Hermione had already left for training, he decided to return to his own flat.
"Alright, you lot," Moody said gruffly. "Today will be more of a test period to see where everyone is with their defensive magic."
Today's group was rather small- only Hermione, Marlene, and Remus.
"Break into pairs, and begin your duels. The Prewetts will be evaluating your current skill level before we put together which weaknesses need to be addressed in future lessons."
"So how do we do this?" Hermione asked the Prewetts as Moody excused himself for a debrief with Dumbledore.
"We can rotate pairs?" Fabian suggested.
"I'm not dueling Hermione," Gideon snorted.
"Why not?" Hermione cried indignantly.
"Oh please, Moody himself talked about how advanced you'd gotten in your private training with him. I don't want to be on the receiving end of that!"
"Wimp," Fabian scoffed.
"Well good luck with her," Gideon told his twin. "If you're even alive by the end of the session."
"You won't kill me, will you?" Fabian asked Hermione in a teasing voice.
"No guarantees," Hermione told him flatly, which immediately made the grin on his face disappear.
Gideon announced he'd work with Marlene, and Fabian decided he'd work with Remus first, and then they'd see how Hermione handles a duel against both Fabian and Remus at once.
They broke off, heading to different ends of the magically lit field. Marlene assessed Gideon warily. He hadn't been happy she decided to fight, and she doubted he'd go easy on her now. They stood across from each other, bowing briefly before taking their stances.
He shot off a quick jinx, which she blocked nonverbally. She responded with a forceful stunner, which pushed him back in the grass despite his shield. Gideon's eyes narrowed on the raven-haired witch, who stood waiting for this next move in calm preparedness. He advanced forward suddenly, throwing casting two spells in rapid succession. Marlene blocked the first with ease, and fumbled to deflect the second one as quickly while she hastened backward to keep the space between them. The terse exchange of magic continued for a few minutes until it practically turned into a synchronized dance. But Gideon wasn't satisfied. Death Eaters would not have any courtesy or mercy in their engagement. They fought dirty, and they fought to win.
With a quick turn of pace, Gideon ran towards Marlene. He saw her eyes widen in surprise as she hadn't expected their duel to turn physical. She cast a quick stunner to try and force him back, but he deflected, until he tackled her to the floor. Defensive magic was hard to maneuver in such close proximity, and Marlene had never trained this way. He knew that.
"What's your next move?" He asked, his breath coming out in small pants as he held himself above her, his wand pressed to her rib. "Think fast, little one. You'd already be dead if I was a Death Eater."
Her eyes hardened and she moved quickly, the determination set in. She swung out a leg, using the momentum to push his body off. She nimbly jumped to her feet, about to reestablish the distance between them. Recovering quickly, he grabbed her hand before she could scramble away, pulling her back roughly against his chest as he stood, his wand pressing into her waist.
"Lesson two," he whispered in her ear. "Don't stop until they're down for good."
Marlene gulped, and in a quick move he hadn't anticipated, she grabbled his wand arm, twisting and pulling until she used the momentum to swing him right over her shoulder. The wind was knocked right out of him, but she didn't let up. With a quick expelliarmus, she caught his wand, keeping her own trained on him as she put a few steps between them.
"Not bad," Gideon coughed, heaving himself up. "But not good enough."
"If I'm not mistaken, you were the one on the floor a moment ago and I have your wand," Marlene pointed out.
She was breathing hard, the squirmish finally settling in now that she'd completed the exercise.
"I had you at a disadvantage at multiple points before you managed to do that," he said sternly. "If I were a real Death Eater, you'd be dead."
"Okay," Marlene admitted. "So let's go again." She threw his wand back to him.
"Marlene," Gideon sighed, his eyes pleading with her. "There's not much time before the battle, and it takes weeks if not months to develop these habits into reflexes."
She narrowed her eyes. "Then you'd best get teaching."
"There's no way to convince you otherwise?"
"You should know better," she told him. "I already said no."
He nodded reluctantly, and they continued their sparring, still not making it any easier. But to both his relief and detriment, she improved with every try. While he was glad she took up instruction well, he also knew there'd be no convincing her not to fight now.
When Moody finally returned, they were all panting from the exertion, and they'd even rotated pairs.
"How'd it go?" He asked the Prewetts.
"Good," Fabian said brightly. "They're all very skilled, I think we'll just need to run some drills to make sure their responses and reflexes are as sharp as they can be."
Marlene looked at Gideon stonily. He'd made it seem like she'd die the moment she stepped foot on a battlefield, yet his twin seemed to think she'd be alright. He raised an eyebrow unconcerned, daring her to protest.
"McKinnon, you're wanted in Dumbledore's office tomorrow morning," Moody told her. "I think they have new information. And Lupin, you finished the last of the wards with Potter and Black today, right?"
Remus nodded. "Every last one- all sixteen of them."
Hermione felt a sudden, unexplainable spike of fear- almost panic. She frowned, her hand coming up to clutch her chest discretely.
"Good, I'll have a different assignment for tomorrow. You lot might be split up for-"
They were all surprised into silence when a fast, swirling ball of light shot into the yard, slowly taking the form of a Patronus. Hermione felt her stomach sink when the Patronus took the form of a familiar large dog. She felt Remus tense beside her.
"My flat's been breached- send back-up."
Hermione could feel the fear intensify and she could no longer distinguish whether it was her own or Sirius's.
"Was that Black?" Gideon asked urgently.
Moody nodded to the Prewetts. "Let's go," he commanded.
"I'm coming too," Hermione insisted.
"NO." Moody said sternly. "Not this time. We don't know what we're up against."
Hermione bristled. "All the more reason-"
"Hermione, we'll bring him back," Fabian promised firmly. "We don't know what they're after and we can't risk you getting caught with everything you know."
"I can fight!"
"It's not about if you can fight!" Moody roared. "It's about if you get captured! You're not trained to withstand interrogation!"
Her nose flared. She'd been tortured by Bellatrix herself, and she'd managed to keep all her secrets. How dare they!
"Hermione, just let them go," Remus told her urgently. "We're wasting time."
Hermione bit her lip, fuming as the Aurors disapparated.
"I don't know if he's hurt, Remus!" Hermione cried, frustrated. "I can feel his fear, but I don't know if there's any pain! When have you known Sirius Black to be scared?"
Remus gulped. "They'll bring him back."
"You felt his fear?" A small voice interrupted them.
Remus and Hermione turned, freezing at the sight of a paled and concerned Marlene.
"It's complicated, Marlene," Remus said hesitantly.
But the damage had been done. Marlene studied Hermione sharply. She never knew the new witch was that close with Sirius- if anything Sirius never seemed to favor her when Marlene had been in the picture. But a lot of time had passed since they'd last talked, and Merlin knew it would be exactly like Sirius Black to move on so quickly. Still, it felt disappointing.
"And not the time," Hermione said tiredly.
"Oh right, none of my business," she backtracked with a shrug.
The following moments were tense and stretched to eternity, though it couldn't have been longer than fifteen minutes. Hermione was just about ready to go after them despite what they'd told her when a loud crack split through the air. The Prewetts carried a barely conscious Sirius between them, letting him down gently to the floor. There was a slowly blooming spot of thick, sticky blood near his ribs.
"What happened?" Hermione cried, immediately dropping to her knees.
"Ambush," Gideon grunted. "There were too many of them."
"Why didn't you just leave, Sirius? You should've disapparated the moment you realized!"
He winced, glancing up at Hermione through hazy vision. "I had copies of important documents in my flat- I had to make sure to destroy them first."
Hermione froze. "So your flat-"
"Incinerated," Fabian finished.
Hermione pulled up his shirt, trying to heal the cut that kept oozing blood at a dangerously quick rate. But nothing she tried would work.
"Why won't it heal?" Hermione cried in frustration.
The others watched with tense horror. Remus went to Sirius's other side, trying similar spells and still producing no results.
"We need potions. And dittany," Remus said.
"LILY!" Hermione cried. "We have to take him to Lily."
With a sharp crack, Hermione had swept Sirius away. The others all stared at the empty spot they occupied in astonishment before Remus caught hold of his senses, disapparating after them.
Moody, Marlene, and the Prewetts remained, staring at each other.
"Well?" Marlene asked. "Let's go after them!"
Fabian grimaced. "None of us know the location of the Potters' safe house. It's under the Fidelius Charm."
~o~O~o~
Whoops, sorry to end the chapter this way, but otherwise it'd get MUCH too long. Things are heating up now, though. Are you excited? I certainly am!