A/N - Thank you for all the love and excitement for the story so far!
Hermione's twenty-second birthday snuck up on her, taking her by surprise. Since her life had been upended by Sirius' return to the flat, she found herself trying to regain her balance and define a new normal. Over time, the pair fell into a bit of a routine, and she found that she loved having a flatmate to spend her nights and weekends with.
All the stories and photographs in the world hadn't been enough to prepare her for the intoxicating reality that was Sirius Black.
Her birthday morning had been quiet—a quick breakfast before work followed by Sirius encouraging her to skive off and spend the day with him. Though the idea had been tempting, Hermione had far too much to do in the department and couldn't afford to take the day off, lest she miss several important deadlines. She had, however, taken an extended lunch to meet up with her parents at her favourite sushi restaurant down the street from the Ministry.
When she arrived home at the end of her day, she was overwhelmed to step into a living room full of people as the room filled with cheers upon her entrance.
"Starling!" Sirius jogged over to her with a grin. "Welcome to your birthday party!"
Her friends from Hogwarts and work filled their small, two-bedroom flat, holding drinks or snacks and chatting amongst themselves. She wasn't sure how Sirius even had the resources to contact everyone unless he had help from the Potters.
"How did you do this?" she asked in wonder, scanning the room and taking it all in.
"What kind of flatmate would I be if I didn't throw you a proper party?"
The sound of ceramic breaking came from the corner of the room and Sirius' eyes widened. "I'm on it, don't move a muscle!" He moved towards the noise, pulling out his wand to repair whatever had been broken.
"Hermione!" Andrea Allan, one of her friends from work, pulled her into a hug. "Oh, happy birthday! It was so hard not to say anything to you all day since it was supposed to be a surprise."
"Thank you!" Hermione returned the hug with a smile. "Colour me surprised! How did you beat me back from the office?"
"A few of us made the sacrifice of leaving early to get here on time," Andrea raised her drink in a quick salute. She lowered her voice and leaned in closer. "Also, who is mister tall, dark, and handsome who is throwing this party for you and why have you never brought him up before?"
"Oh." Hermione's voice felt small. "He's just my flatmate."
"Just your flatmate?" Andrea asked, sipping through the straw in her cocktail with raised brows. "Is he seeing anyone?"
Hermione swallowed thickly. "I don't think he's looking for a relationship right now."
It wasn't a lie, as far as she knew.
Though Hermione had no real way of knowing, Andrea seemed like Sirius' type. She had long legs, a small waist, bright blue eyes, and shiny black hair that fell perfectly straight down her back. In their two years of working together, Hermione had never seen her disheveled, not a wrinkle in her clothing, a chip in her manicured nails, or a smudge in her makeup.
Just standing next to her made Hermione feel frumpy.
"That's alright, I only need him for a night." Andrea winked, and her eyes rested on Sirius for a beat too long before shifting back to Hermione. "And maybe the next morning, depending on how it goes."
The knot in Hermione's stomach grew. She glanced over at Sirius, who was now talking with Neville Longbottom. His eyes snapped up to hers and he ducked his chin, giving her a roguish grin.
"Sure," she mumbled, searching for a way to leave the conversation before she said something she would regret. "I'm starved, I think I'll go get some food. Enjoy the party."
Hermione entered the kitchen, trying to ignore the way that Andrea was staring at Sirius. The table had been extended and now spanned the wall, covered in an assortment of alcohol bottles and platters of food.
Snagging a plate, she began to fill it with a variety of tarts and cakes. From the range of treats available, she was surprised, and also rather impressed that Sirius had managed the spread on his own, though it did make her wonder if he had help from James and Remus.
She popped a tart in her mouth and chewed, looking at the clusters of people talking around the room.
"...in nappies!" Sirius exclaimed to Neville.
Neville laughed, "I'm certainly not in nappies any longer. How did you know my parents?"
"Oh, I have many fond memories with Frank and Alice. Did your mum ever mention the time Kettleburn caught her starkers running across the Quidditch pitch after curfew in year five?"
Neville's eyes shot open wide, his mid-swallow shock causing him to sputter and cough. "Mum did what?!"
Sirius laughed. "She lost a bet with Bertram Aubrey after the big Slytherin vs Gryffindor game, had to clean up the firecrab cage for a month in order to keep it off her record."
"Mum would never do that," Neville declared, shaking his head. "I don't believe it."
"Believe it or not, it happened and has gone down in legend. How else would I know that she has a purple birthmark on her left arse cheek in the shape of Jupiter?"
Neville's mouth dropped open.
Fighting back a laugh, Hermione selected a second raspberry tart from the spread and caught Sirius' eye. He tossed her a wink before turning his attention back to Neville.
"Mione!"
Hermione suppressed the urge to flinch; only one person called her that. In the past year, she had only seen Ron a handful of times and each encounter had been painfully awkward. Setting her half eaten plate down on the table, she braced herself for this conversation.
"Ron!" She plastered on a smile and turned to greet the lanky redhead who was making his way towards her and carrying a poorly wrapped present with a massive purple bow on it in his hands.
She hated purple.
With a lopsided grin, Ron leaned in for a hug and Hermione shifted to the right a step, giving him a side hug instead of a full embrace. He didn't seem to notice the slight. "Happy birthday, 'Mione."
"I didn't know you were in the city," Hermione began, feeling her nerves build in the pit of her stomach. She didn't need another row with him on her birthday. "I'm so glad you could make it."
"I wasn't," he replied, scratching at his neck in a nervous tic. "I still have a few months left in Belgium but I caught a Portkey back to London late last night and I'm going back in the morning. I knew I couldn't miss your birthday."
Again, she added silently, recalling how he had stormed out before her birthday last year and didn't return an owl for months.
Standing far too close to her, Ron thrust the lumpy package into her hands. "For you."
She politely smiled as she pulled at the bow and tore off the polka-dot wrapping, revealing a pair of brass lion bookends. "Thank you, Ronald, they're lovely." She brushed her thumb over the carved lion teeth, exposed mid-roar.
"They're for your books," he added with an encouraging nod.
"They'll fit well with my bookcase. Thank you for the thoughtful gift." She placed them on the end table, straightening them just so before turning back to Ron.
A pause lingered between them as they stared at each other.
Hermione folded her arms in front of her, tucking into herself as she tried desperately to think of something to say to break the silence. "How has work been going? Harry had mentioned that your—"
Just then, a figure slipped into the space next to her and offered her a glass of wine. "Sorry for the interruption," Sirius said, sounding completely unapologetic as she took the glass from him, "But the birthday girl was out of her favourite and as host of this party, I had to remedy such a ghastly oversight."
Letting out a low sigh of relief, she gave Sirius a grateful smile, lifting the glass to her lips.
"Sirius Black." Sirius thrust his hand out to Ron, who was looking rather disgruntled at his sudden appearance.
"Ron Weasley. Harry told me you came back," Ron grumbled under his breath, shaking Sirius' hand just a little too hard and a moment too long.
"Ah, Ron Wealsey, the third in the trio I've heard so much about." Sirius' eyes flicked over to Hermione who was currently taking another large gulp of the fairy wine. "Always nice to meet my flatmate's mates." Sirius' hand moved to rest on the small of her back, his fingertips brushing gently against her.
Her heart stuttered.
Ron's jaw set as he glared at Sirius, the tips of his ears growing more red by the second. "Harry hadn't mentioned you were living together," he said, his tone accusatory as his eyes scanned the flat.
"Yep." Hermione's voice felt unnaturally high as she took another sip, the wine in the glass already running dangerously low. "He moved in about a month ago."
"So nice of you to come celebrate her birthday with us." Sirius tapped his fingers lightly on his tumbler, causing a bead of condensation dripped down the glass.
"With you," Ron repeated, his eyes tightened at the words.
"Oh! Before I forget, Starling!" Sirius walked over to the kitchen table, set his drink down, and returned with a blue paper bag stuffed with decorative paper. "Your birthday gift."
She felt the pressure of their gazes on her as she placed her wine glass and the bag on the end table and began to pull out the crinkled paper to find a hard object sitting at the bottom. Retrieving it from the bag, she turned the heavy statue in her hand, reading the engraving at the bottom.
Hermione Granger, Queen of the Hippogriffs, Saviour of Hippogriff Kind
The statue was a likeness of Hermione, wearing a crown with a Time-Turner around her neck.
Without thinking, she squealed and threw her arms around Sirius. "Oh my god, you didn't!" She laughed, feeling his arms loop around her waist and squeeze, lifting her in the air and spinning around before setting her back down.
Sirius held her by the waist as he drew back, his eyes alight with amusement. "I know you're still waiting on your life-sized statue—which is absolutely still in the works—I just figured I could make this in the meantime. You never know how long the real one will take on account—"
"—of the claws," she finished, grinning wildly. "It's absolutely perfect!"
It took a beat for Hermione to remember that Ron was still standing next to them.
A burst of green flashed in her peripheral as the Floo roared to life and James and Lily stepped through, a gift in James' hands.
The moment Sirius saw James appear, he immediately released her, dropping his arms, taking a quick step back, and shoving a hand in his pocket.
Ron's entire neck and ears were now flushed red. He gritted out, "You know, Mione, it looks like you're busy with your guests. I'm coming back in a few weeks to see the family. Let's catch up then?"
Nodding numbly, she watched Ron storm into the Floo without saying goodbye to anyone else while Sirius crossed the room to greet James, leaving Hermione standing there, holding the statue and feeling more confused than ever.
A few hours into the party, after the presents had been opened, cake had been served, and half of the alcohol was gone, Hermione finally took a seat on Not-Bertha and watched the remaining guests mingle around her.
Ginny plopped down on the sofa next to her, holding a glass of white fairy wine. "You look far too tired for the hour. Are you twenty-two or a hundred and twenty-two?"
Hermione shifted, crossing her legs and sighing. "You saw your brother here tonight, didn't you?"
Eyes closing, Ginny leaned her head back for a moment with a groan. "Circe, what did he say this time?"
"He didn't say anything, but he looked upset."
"He's always upset when you're not pining after him." Ginny shook her head. "I can't believe he came tonight."
Chewing the inside of her cheek, Hermione nodded. "It's just been so odd, I'm not used to everything with him feeling so uncomfortable."
"Well, don't let it ruin your night. He'll get over it soon and everything will be back to normal."
"You said that last year."
Ginny's eyes caught on something across the room and her head tilted with a perplexed expression. "Hermione," she began with a frown, "I know I'm no expert on Muggle technology, but I'd like to think I understand it well enough to be confused right now."
"What are you on about?" Hermione turned her head in the direction of Ginny's attention.
"Why is there a toaster on your telly?"
Eyes widening, Hermione began to shake her head, lowering her voice. "I've learned it's best not to acknowledge it. It's a whole thing—just ignore him."
"Ignore who—"
"—It's the logical place for a toaster!" Sirius called from across the room, his hand cupped around his mouth. When Hermione made eye contact with him, he grinned and wiggled his brows.
She stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to Ginny with her hand flipped up, palm to the ceiling. "See what I have to deal with?"
Raising her brows, Ginny looked from Sirius to Hermione with a knowing smile. "What you have to 'deal with', sure."
Hermione's nose scrunched. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm simply agreeing with you," Ginny said with a shrug, taking an extra long sip of her wine.
"It doesn't feel like you're agreeing with me."
"Oh, I am. Poor Hermione Granger. She has to live with a fit and handsome bachelor who buys her thoughtful gifts, flirts with her, and hides her toaster just to make her smile." Ginny's voice grew lower and more dramatic as she continued, throwing her head back with her hand across her chest. "I'm on the edge of my seat. However will she survive?"
"It's not to make me smile," Hermione argued. "He's being a stubborn prick about a simple disagreement regarding toaster placement."
Ginny's lip curled up and she nodded. "Of course he is."
"And he doesn't flirt with me," she added.
Stopping with her glass partway to her lips, Ginny stared at her from over the rim of the glass. "Okay, I might've believed you before, but now you're in extreme and utter denial of logic and reason."
"Sounds familiar," Sirius quipped, slipping in the space next to Hermione. "Extreme and utter denial was the silent second half of the Black family motto. Always Pure and in Extreme and Utter Denial of Logic and Reason."
The look in Ginny's eyes as she glanced between Hermione and Sirius had Hermione feeling flustered.
Even if he was flirting—which he wasn't—Sirius flirted with everyone.
"It was lovely to see you, Sirius." Ginny smiled, standing up from the sofa. "For the sake of the party, I should probably go find my fiancé before he has any more of that rum and starts retelling the time he beat Malfoy to the Snitch in year six in the rain."
As Ginny walked away, Hermione turned to face Sirius, feeling pleasantly buzzed.
"How have you liked the party?" Hermione asked, leaning her elbow onto the couch and resting her head on the palm of her hand.
"It's been fun." Sirius adjusted to face her and she could've sworn he was closer than he had been a moment ago. "Are you having a good time?"
"I have—"
Just then, a cluster of Hogwarts friends who were leaving called for her attention, pulling her away from Sirius.
"Your admirers await." Sirius gave a wave of his hand paired with a half bow.
"I'll be back," she promised. "Just one more minute."
As the flame in the Floo from her last departing guest faded, Hermione slipped through the open window and up the fire escape to the roof where Sirius was currently sitting, holding a bottle of wine.
"Everyone's gone?" he asked, his legs dangling off the edge of the roof, swinging gently.
"Yep," she answered, holding her hands out to her sides as she found her balance. "Just you and me now."
After a few precarious steps, she sat next to him on the roof, ignoring the drop in front of her.
"I thought you were scared of heights," he mused, offering her the mostly full bottle.
She took a swig and grinned. "Would you believe me if I said you bring out the recklessness in me?" Pausing, she glanced down at the bottle. "Or you've gotten me drunk again."
"Wouldn't be a good birthday if I hadn't." He winked.
Picking at the label of the bottle with her fingernail, she smiled mischievously. "My favourite drink is single malt whisky, I was gifted seven book related objects tonight, and this was the most exciting birthday I've had in ages."
The look on his face, a mixture of pride and excitement, caused her stomach to do a funny sort of flip.
"Not even a challenge with that one. Obviously the lie is the malt whisky," he replied, throwing his arm around her waist comfortably, his hand resting just above her hip. "I know you love that unpronounceable brand of fairy wine with the little purple goblin on the label."
She would never admit it out loud, but she loved it when he touched her like that, with a sort of casual ease that made her feel—
"So are we going to talk about what happened with Ron Weasley tonight?"
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," she dismissed, placing the bottle in the space between them. Tucking her knees against her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knee. "You must've imagined it."
Sirius gave a noncommittal hum and picked up the bottle with his free hand, taking a drink. "I've seen that look before, Hermione. It was the 'step away from my witch' type of look."
"I'm not his witch," she sniffed, recalling the dozens of arguments they'd had on that very matter.
"Does he know that?"
"Yes."
"Then—"
"—It's...complicated."
Sirius' hand tightened a fraction on her hip and his shoulders tensed. "Complicated," he echoed, staring out into the empty car park below.
Her stomach dropped with guilt; she had hurt someone she cared about.
"We grew up together," she explained, her voice as soft as the breeze that blew past them. "There was always this...sort of unspoken expectation between the families that the two of us would end up together. You know, Harry and Ginny and then Ron and me."
In the distance, Hermione's owl, Hazel, began her descent to the open window, her large wings flapping through the air. Sirius remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
"We tried—I mean, I really tried to make it work but it was never right. It was like my heart and mind could never agree when it came to him. My mind wanted to make it work but…"
"It never felt right, like you didn't fit together. Maybe for the moment, but not for forever." Sirius' light eyes searched hers.
She nodded. "We tried on and off for nearly a year after Hogwarts. I don't think he believes me when I say we are done for good." She sighed, subconsciously leaning into Sirius' touch. "I think he thought that he could just go around and do whatever he wanted and that I would always be there waiting for him at the end of the day."
He clicked his tongue and tensed his jaw. "The bloke is blind. I could see from across the room how uncomfortable you were with him. He got you Gryffindor bookends, for Merlin's sake."
She laughed, "That was pretty terrible, wasn't it?"
"I've only known you a month and I know you better than that."
"Has it really only been a month?" she asked, trying to remember what it was like to live in the flat before Sirius had returned. The memories felt incomplete.
A smirk tugged at his lips. "Those were dark days, I know, but now I'm here with you and I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise?" The question slipped out before she could stop herself.
His throat dipped and his fingertips dragged along her hip as he nodded. "Promise."
"What did the Ministry say? Are they working on a way to send you back?" she asked, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.
"No." He let out a humourless chuckle, taking another long drink of wine. "They said they don't know how it'll impact the timeline, don't want to take any chances and whatnot. 'What if you disrupt the flow of time and create the next Grindelwald?'" he mocked. "I would create someone much better than Grindelwald, for the record. He was a dark wizard and didn't even have a catchphrase, it's a wonder anyone took him seriously."
"What did Remus say about the jar of dirt that caused it all? Did the Ministry interview him too?"
Sirius shrugged, his hand mindlessly brushing along the fabric of her dress. She tried not to shiver, imagining his hand slipping down a few more inches to the hemline.
"They did, but I don't think they found anything useful from it. Not sure if Moony ever mentioned it to you, but he went on a bit of a self-journey after Hogwarts to visit the ruins in Egypt. That's where he got the dirt in the first place. I thought it was a ridiculous souvenir—I would've brought back a mummified cat personally—but it seemed to mean something important to him so I didn't argue when he put it in the living room."
Frowning, she wondered why Remus had never mentioned that trip before.
"It's shitty, not that I expected the Unspeakables to provide me with a way to go back to my own time in the first place. I know better than to rely on the Ministry for anything," Sirius scoffed, as if the mere idea was ludicrous.
When she thought about him leaving, she felt an unexpected rush of panic. Her pulse raced beneath her skin and her stomach churned. Shifting her legs, she let them hang over the edge of the roof with Sirius'. "Would you go back if they let you?"
He stilled next to her, hesitating before nodding. "I would. That was my entire life. I missed out on everything. I missed Harry's first steps, Remus getting married, James' graduation from the Auror program, pissing on my mother's grave"—he paused thoughtfully, cocking his head—"I suppose I could still do that one but it's just not the same when the dirt isn't freshly-laid."
"For what it's worth, I'm glad you're here," she said softly. Reaching down, she placed her hand over his.
His eyes snapped up to hers and time seemed to slow around them.
She held her breath, waiting for something.
Sirius lifted her hand and brought it up to his line of sight, his lips quirking into a smile as he inspected her gold charm bracelet.
"Perfect," he murmured.
"What?" she asked, feeling breathless.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small box. "I found this the other day and it was too serendipitous not to purchase."
"You've already given me a gift," she argued, not pulling her hand away. "I really can't—it's too much."
He snapped open the box and retrieved an intricately carved charm, a small bird she instantly recognized as a starling. "I absolutely insist, it was made for you."
Gently turning her hand, his thumb brushed across her pulse point and she hoped he didn't notice the trail of goosebumps forming up her arm from the motion. He clipped the charm next to the small heart with HG engraved in it.
"I love it," she whispered.
"Happy birthday, Starling."
Their eyes met, his hand still holding hers. He let out a low breath, leaning forward and closing the distance between them.
Her stomach filled with the flutter of butterfly wings.
His lips pressed against the top of her head, dropping a quick kiss before he pulled away from her completely.
She tried to ignore the flood of disappointment that overtook her, compounded by her discomfort from her earlier conversation with Andrea. Insecurity ate at her, causing her to wonder why she ever thought he would notice her when witches like Andrea were vying for his attention.
"Ready for bed? I think it's far past your bedtime." As he helped her to a standing position, he smiled.
"My bedtime? I'm pretty sure most men your age have been in bed for hours," she teased, accepting his hand and smoothing down her rumpled skirt.
"My reputation precedes me," he quipped as they descended the staircase and climbed back into the flat. "I can indeed spend hours in bed, I'm a very generous lover."
Taking the bottle from his hand, she set it down on the kitchen table as he tugged off his jacket and hung it up for the night.
"See you in the morning, birthday girl." Sirius turned down the hall and disappeared into his bedroom.
Her gaze caught on a scrap of paper that sat on the floor next to his jacket; it seemed to have fallen out as he hung it up. She snagged it and her eyes narrowed at the words; it was from Andrea, her name and number written in a loopy scrawl.
Before she could regain her senses, she glanced over her shoulder and crumpled the parchment, tossing it into the fireplace and watching with a strange satisfaction as Andrea's name burned away.