With meticulous care, Hermione took the piping bag, which was plump with whipped cream, and applied the first layer of topping on the lemon cake on the table in front of her. She was hoping to finish decorating Sirius' birthday cake before he returned home from his night out with Remus and James. Since she had worked late preparing her testimony against the petty thieves-turned-dragon-smugglers, she wanted to ensure the cake was perfect.
She had thought James was taking the mickey when he told her that Sirius' favourite cake was lemon with raspberry jam, whipped cream, and an abundance of sprinkles. It wasn't like any cake she had made before and, in the months since Sirius' arrival, she had never seen him eat anything with raspberry in it.
According to James, Sirius had eaten that cake for every birthday since they'd met on the first day of school.
Wiping a thin line of perspiration off her forehead with the back of her hand, Hermione attempted to pipe the topping into a decorative swirl like her dad taught her. With a concerned glance at the clock, she popped the lid off the container of sprinkles that she had purchased on her way home from work and unceremoniously dumped them on the top layer.
Stepping back with a relieved sigh, she inspected her creation. It wasn't the most attractive cake she had ever baked, but it looked better than expected. Her dad was the expert baker in the family and hadn't passed those genes down. Since she'd been too impatient to wait, she had tasted each element individually as she worked and felt moderately confident that she produced something edible.
When she heard the Floo activate, her heart leapt and she was grateful she hadn't been holding the cake or she might have dropped it.
"Happy birthday, Sirius!" she called, carefully lifting up the cake and displaying it for him with a grin. "I made you a present."
His lips tugged up at the corner and he quickly crossed the room to meet her in the kitchen. She set the cake stand back on the table and greeted him with a hug.
"You're officially twenty-two, how does it feel?"
"Suspiciously like twenty-one." She could hear the smile in his voice even if she couldn't see it. Before he broke the embrace, his hands gave her waist a squeeze. As he pulled back, he laughed, his fingers snagging a lock of her hair between two fingers with a gentle tug. He lifted the curl into her line of sight. "How did you manage to get flour in your hair?"
"Baking isn't as straightforward as Potions," she huffed, twisting her head away as he released the strand from his grasp. Tucking the stray curls behind her ears, she prompted, "You're welcome for the cake that I spent all night making."
As he dragged a finger through the whipped icing and popped it into his mouth, his grin widened. Her eyes never left his lips, even though the way he licked and sucked at it felt nearly pornographic, making her mind run wild. "Thank you for the cake, Starling. I can't wait to taste the rest of it."
Replying with a soft noise of acknowledgement, she turned away from him and rummaged in the nearby drawers for two forks and a serving knife. "Hope you still have your appetite. What did you three do tonight?"
"Birthday tradition," Sirius replied, wiggling his brows as he reached into the cupboard and retrieved two small plates.
"Do I even want to know?"
"It's perfectly legal," he assured her, watching as she cut into the cake, avoiding the section that had a path through the cream from his earlier tasting. "At least, it is in most countries."
Crinkling her nose, she placed a generous slice on each plate and set them on the table while he pulled a teapot and a pair of teacups from the cupboard. "I have to be honest, this is the oddest cake combination I have ever made but I followed the recipe James gave me. I thought chocolate would be your favourite flavour considering you're always stealing Remus' chocolates when you think he isn't looking."
"I'm doing the public a favour, you see. Remus has to be moderated in his chocolate consumption or he will gain his full strength back, become far too powerful, and overtake the Wizarding World. We must keep him weak."
With a laugh, she replied, "Well in that case, on behalf of the world, we thank you for your sacrifice."
"It's about time I received the recognition I deserve." He winked, tossing in a few teabags before waving his wand over the teapot, filling it with boiling water.
They each took a place at the kitchen table and she poked at the cake with the tines of her fork. "I'm not wholly convinced that this will taste good. It would've been much better with a cream cheese frosting or a raspberry compote instead of a jar of jam."
"No need to mess with perfection," he insisted, digging his fork into the slice and taking a bite.
She poured a portion of steaming tea for each of them, adding milk to hers, and watched as he smiled at the first taste before scooping up another forkful of cake and whipped topping. "How exactly did you come up with this winning recipe?"
Hesitating, he chewed slowly. "It's tradition," he replied after swallowing.
"That's two in one night. Since when do you follow traditions?" Her brows shot up as she blew gently at the hot tea to cool it down.
"I don't mind if it's my tradition. So, tell me about your day, how was work?"
Despite the growing urge to prod, she ignored his blatant change of subject and evasion of her question, setting down her cup before replying, "It was work, looks like there is going to be a trial for the offenders who had the dragon. They claim innocence, that they didn't know the dragon was in their office. As if newly-hatched dragons just wander into offices and hide in closets."
Sirius washed down his mouthful of cake with tea before shaking his head. "Terrible defence, tried it in fourth year with Binns and it earned me a week's detention."
"Just how much time did you spend in detention as a student?" she asked between bites, pleasantly surprised at the end result of her hard work. The cake didn't rival her dad's but was still delicious.
"Enough that I had my own personal third year who took that particular detention for me."
"Sirius!"
With a wave of his hand, he insisted, "The third year was well-compensated, trust me, and Binns was half blind and none the wiser. I was nearly insulted that he didn't recognise the difference between us because of a little hair colouring spell. I mean honestly—" he clicked his tongue and gestured down his body with a smirk "—look at me."
"Yes, I'm sure the third year would've had more refined taste in cake," she teased. Her slice was half-eaten and he was scraping the crumbs off the plate from his own serving. "I'm curious, though. I thought you didn't like raspberries."
His eyes flew up to her and back down to the remaining cake on the stand, and he shrugged with a strange look on his face. "I didn't realise you noticed."
After a beat of silence, she began to ramble, trying to fill the dead space as her face heated with embarrassment. "I wasn't sure what to purchase for you because you could buy out half of London if you wanted, so instead I made your gifts. Harry and Ron used to complain about it all the time so I hope you don't mind too much, though I didn't knit you anything so perhaps it's not as bad. Gift one was the cake but gift two…" She hopped up from her seat and beckoned him to follow behind her as she crossed the room.
Retrieving his beloved leather jacket from the coat rack, she flipped it to reveal embroidered stitching on the inside and handed it to him. He looked taken aback as he held the material between his hands and stared at the lettering with wide eyes.
"I hope I didn't overstep. I put it on the inside so only you would know it was there," she explained. The longer he remained quiet the more her pulse raced. "I purchased a book on motorbikes a few weeks back so I could talk more about them since it's important to you, and I found this quote in it. I know it's technically about the proper strategy to turn a corner when riding but it reminded me of you."
His shoulders were tense as he traced the looping script along each letter of the saying with his thumb, he muttered the words under his breath as he read them, "When life throws you a curve, lean into it and open the throttle."
The seconds ticked on in slow motion as her concern grew with each passing moment. She had never known Sirius to be speechless; he always seemed to have a retort for everything. Internally scolding herself, she started to panic that she shouldn't have sewn into his jacket without permission. It was his prized possession, after all.
"Before I went to Hogwarts, I used to have chocolate cakes for every birthday. I'd always felt different but the moment the Sorting Hat yelled 'Gryffindor', I knew I had never fit in with my family." His voice was barely above a whisper, his eyes fixed on the jacket in his hands. "Walburga and Orion were so upset with me for not following the family into Slytherin that two months into the school year they ignored my twelfth birthday. I thought I wouldn't care, but it hurt."
Her heart dropped, unsure of how to comfort him. He had never opened up to her like this before.
The faintest of smiles crossed his lips as he reminisced, "The family owl came just before midnight and found my room in Gryffindor Tower. I'd thought they'd changed their mind but, when I opened the box, there was a note from Regulus and this lopsided cake doused in sprinkles. Apparently, he put together whatever he could find in the family kitchen, angering the house-elves in the process, and sent me a birthday cake so I wouldn't go without."
Tears blurred her vision as he continued, her hands itching to take his, but she faltered at the last moment, keeping them at her sides and fidgeting instead.
"I don't like raspberries, and to be honest I'm only half fond of lemon, but that night in my four-poster, it was the best tasting cake I'd ever had. I shared it with my new mates that I had met at the start of the year, and I've had one every year since." He exhaled low and deep, his shoulders relaxing as if a weight had been removed with the admission. "It might sound ridiculous but it tastes like 'fuck you' to Walburga and Orion, which I feel is appropriate for the annual celebration of my birth."
"That's not ridiculous," she whispered, her voice thick with tears. "It's a lovely story."
Finally looking up from the stitching, Sirius took in the sight of her red eyes and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, placing a quick kiss to the top of her head. "I couldn't have picked a better suited gift, thank you."
After a moment of pause, he pressed his lips on her forehead, lingering a moment longer than before. The feeling of his lips burned into her skin and she closed her eyes on instinct, leaning into the touch. He pulled away, and she opened her eyes just in time to see him disappear down the hall to his room, jacket in hand.
Her hand brushed against her forehead where his lips had been, wishing she had kissed him back when she had the chance.
At half past eight, Ginny and Harry came bustling through the Floo carrying a bottle of wine.
"So sorry we are late," Ginny apologised, hugging Hermione and passing her the wine. "Mum took forever at the dress fitting, kept asking a thousand questions and taking photographs. Believe it or not, it took less time than the cake tasting last week."
Harry kissed Hermione's cheek in greeting and whispered a theatrically pitiful, 'help' in the shell of her ear.
With a laugh, she added the bottle of wine to the two already waiting on the coffee table between large bowls of popcorn.
"Cake tasting sounds like it would be the best part of wedding planning," Hermione sighed. "I'd fake an engagement just to have a day of free cake samples."
"It's not nearly as nice as you make it sound, not the way Molly Weasley does it," Harry protested, settling into the sofa with a heavy groan. "I can never look at a cake the same way again. I nearly vomited after eating the twentieth option."
"You ate the entire slice every time," Ginny tilted her head at him with a knowing look, devoid of any sympathy. "I told you only to eat a bite from each sample and what did you do?"
"Perfectly good waste of cake," he grumbled, crossing his arms in a pout. "We went with salted caramel chocolate, if you were curious, and no I don't even remember what it tastes like anymore so don't bother asking about it."
They settled around the room, Hermione, Harry, and Sirius on the sofa and Ginny lounging in the arm chair, her feet resting on the ottoman.
Not two minutes into the film, a man was surrounded by a crowd as he began to pull items out of his briefcase, beginning to barter the jewelry and various items. With a squeal of delight, Hermione sat up and took a single piece of popcorn from the bowl in Harry's lap.
Sirius turned to face Hermione and tilted his head back, opening his mouth.
"What is this?" Ginny asked, barely holding back a laugh as Sirius leaned to the right, caught the popcorn on his tongue, and clapped his hands once in triumph as he chewed it.
"Alright, Starling, let's see if you can break your losing streak," Sirius smirked, pinching a piece between his fingers and moving his hand forward and back, testing the arc of his throw. He tossed the popcorn across Harry and it bounced off Hermione's lip and onto the floor.
Harry held the bowl in his hands, looking between Hermione and Sirius and back over to Ginny. "I have absolutely no idea."
Groaning, Hermione covered her face with her hands in shame. "I still have to insist it's your throw that's off, not my catch."
"Don't be a sore loser, now." Sirius grinned, popping the cork from the bottle Ginny provided and pouring Hermione a glass.
She took a sip, glaring at him from over the rim.
"Is anyone going to explain this to us?" Harry asked, gathering a handful of popcorn and shoving it into his mouth.
"We play games during film night. The last time we watched Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, we tossed popcorn any time there was a reference to stealing, a scene where they gambled, or they're running away from the police," Hermione tapped her fingers on her wine glass with a small shrug. "It was Sirius' idea."
Sirius leaned across Harry and took Hermione's glass, taking a gulp of wine before handing it back. "And that was two! Bacon tried to sell stolen goods and the police are right about"—he snapped his fingers just as two policemen rounded the corner with angry expressions—"there."
"You drink if you miss the popcorn," Hermione explained, placing the wine glass back on the table. "Which becomes more common the more wine you drink. It goes into a downward spiral quickly."
"Or you drink if you like the wine," Sirius added. "I have impeccable catching abilities and just drink in solidarity with Hermione."
Ginny's brows shot up. "Just how many times have you two seen this film?"
"You'd be surprised," Hermione mumbled, distributing the rest of the bottle between the empty glasses. "Sirius picked this one three weekends in a row."
"It's really Hermione's fault; she's the one who introduced me to action films. The Buster has so many options!"
Harry's head cocked as he asked, "The Buster?"
Crinkling her nose, Hermione muttered, "Honestly, don't get him started if you want to enjoy tonight." She stuck out her tongue at Sirius who grinned in response.
"Swap me seats?" Harry asked Ginny in a hopeful voice before mouthing 'please.'
Hermione tossed a piece of popcorn and it ricocheted off Harry's cheek. "Drink up!"
Pointing at the telly, Harry complained, "Nothing happened to start a new round."
"Oh, no, that wasn't part of the game. You were just being a cheeky git."
Sirius covered his laugh poorly with a cough, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand as he cleared his throat.
With a scowl, Harry threw a handful of popcorn at Hermione, a single piece stuck in her wild curls. "You can't call me a cheeky git! Dad said you had to stop!"
"We were fifteen!" She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Plus if you tell him then I'll tell him what you did over Christmas holiday in sixth year when you said you were visiting the Burrow."
Gasping, Harry's voice lowered dangerously. "You wouldn't dare."
Sirius looked at Ginny with a baffled expression, his brow knotted in confusion. "Now I'm the one who is lost—what?"
Slumping down in her seat, Ginny took a long pull from her wine glass. "Oh, this? They fight like this all the time. They'll get over it, just give them a minute."
"For the last time, Harry, Crookshanks didn't eat your ice mice! He doesn't even like sweets!"
"Oh yeah?" Harry challenged, his green eyes flashing. "Then why was he squeaking, Hermione? Why was he squeaking?"
She huffed, the movement dislodging the single piece of popcorn from her hair. "He has allergies. The pollen count was quite high that year."
Harry snorted and Hermione followed soon after, covering her mouth with her hands as they laughed. She looped her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder, the two settling down as if nothing had happened.
"You have a brother. You must know how this goes," Ginny rolled her eyes. Sirius' lips curved downward, though Ginny didn't notice. "I have to say, I had really hoped they would've grown out of it by now."
"Hey!" Harry and Hermione declared, catapulting popcorn at Ginny.
By the time the credits ran up the screen, two bottles of wine had been finished and the third had been opened. They had spent more time laughing and talking than they had actually watching the telly, though Sirius had made sure to pause the conversation to quote his favourite scenes along with the actors.
"Not to mention that time you got me in trouble for using Lily's makeup!" Hermione crossed her arms with a frown. "It wasn't even my idea! You're the one who wanted to try out the eyeshadow."
"I was coerced!"
"I don't think you know what coerced means, Harry. You picked the colour yourself."
Harry turned to Sirius, his eyes half lidded from the hour and the wine. "She's just upset I looked better in the copper rose shimmer than she did. How about I tell you the story of the time I found Hermione kissing a photograph in her diary goodnight—"
A shrill battle cry erupted from Hermione's lips as she tackled Harry, throwing her hand over his mouth.
Between the garbled words muffled by her palm, there was a very distinct "—Lockhart!"
"Why is it always him?" Sirius grumbled, moving out of the way as the pair continued to fight as if they were twelve again.
"Someone jealous?" Ginny mused, draining the last bit of her wine with a smirk.
Sirius hooked an arm around Hermione's torso and lifted her up off of Harry, eliciting a squeal as she was raised in the air and placed back on the ground. "Children, that's enough. The flat isn't outfitted to start a fight club until Tuesday. You can have your match later."
"Speaking of matches, we have a home game in a couple weeks against Puddlemere United and I have a box for the family if you two would like to attend," Ginny offered, collecting the empty wine glasses from the table and balancing them in her hands as she carried them into the kitchen. "Just make sure to wear green and gold!"
"I swear to Merlin, Ron better not bring that old talon hat again. At the very least, I wish he'd take the charm off it, it started stroking his hair last time." Harry made a face, sharing a look with Ginny as she returned to the living room.
Hermione's stomach lurched at the thought of seeing Ron again, especially around Sirius.
"Thank you for a lovely evening." Ginny hugged Hermione goodbye, followed quickly by Harry. "We'll see you tomorrow at the Potters?"
"Of course." Hermione watched as they disappeared through the Floo. She fell backwards onto the sofa, her shoulders slumping as she tilted her head lazily from side to side, stifling a yawn. "Goodness, what a night."
Sirius slipped in next to her and his arm rested on the back of the sofa behind her. "Feels a bit odd...Hearing the stories and having missed it all."
Her eyes flicked up to his face; he was staring across the room at the empty fireplace.
"He and Ginny remind me a lot of James and Lily at that age."
She turned to face him, suddenly realising how close they were sitting together on the large sofa. "They weren't always like this, you know. Harry wouldn't even admit he fancied her until our last year of school—was too worried about Ron's reaction. They were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team together and it was obvious to anyone with eyes that they were mad about each other."
Sirius' chest fell, his silver eyes meeting hers. She saw a flash of sadness pass over him. "Will you tell me about it?"
As she thought about the details, she smiled. "There was one match — the start of our seventh year — and Harry was diving for the snitch when he saw a bludger headed towards Ginny. The beaters were too far away and Ginny wasn't looking, so Harry dove in front of it and took the blow. It snapped his broom clean in half. He broke a couple ribs, his left leg, and had a wicked concussion. Ginny didn't leave his side in the Hospital Wing until he woke up and she scared off anyone who tried to make her leave."
"Let me guess, when he woke up they had a big declaration of love?"
Hermione laughed, grabbing a nearby throw pillow and tucking it against her chest with her chin resting on top. "Not even close. After he woke, the first thing she did was yell at him for staring at her instead of catching the Snitch."
Sirius barked out a laugh. "I knew I liked her."
"And then he kissed her."
She could've sworn his eyes glanced at her lips.
"Harry proposed to her with that same Snitch last summer. He hid the ring inside, said it was the best catch he never made."
The next morning, Hermione was in the kitchen helping Harry and Ginny set the brunch dishes to wash. The dining room was suspiciously empty, and she left the couple to finish the rest of the cleaning while she went looking for everyone else.
After peeking into three nearby rooms with no success, she heard a clatter down the hall and followed the sound. Tonks and Lily were crouching on either side of the door frame to James' office, and the door was wide open.
"What are you—"
Lily hushed Hermione, pushing her index finger against her lips while Tonks laughed behind her hands. With a wave of her hand, Lily beckoned Hermione to hide with them.
"What's going on?" Hermione hissed, keeping her voice low as she ducked behind Tonks, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on in the room.
"See for yourself," Tonks snickered, her shoulders shook with laughter and her long straight hair transitioned from blue into a bright shade of purple.
"No, honestly, Prongs, you are not listening," Sirius sounded exasperated and she could hear him pacing the room. "Go get a door, I'll show you."
She recognised the sound of James sighing, "I'm not going to take the door off its hinges just so you can—"
"Fine! I'll get the door, then!" Sirius declared. Hermione couldn't see what was happening at this moment, but she heard a loud thud followed by heavy footsteps.
With wide eyes, she peered around the corner into the room just in time to see Sirius placing a wooden door on the ground on top of a large red and gold rug that Harry used to say belonged to Godric Gryffindor himself.
The door that led from the office to the spare loo was off its hinge.
"This is preposterous, I don't know why you're insisting—oh my god." James put his head in his hands as Sirius laid down on the door and turned on his side.
"Moony, come here. You be Rose and I'll be Jack."
Remus pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes squinting like he had a headache from the conversation. "I'm not—"
"Fine, I'll be Rose and you be Jack," Sirius amended, reaching out his hand to Remus who ignored it.
"There's no way I'm laying on this door with you. I'm too old for that and I don't even remember how we got into this argument."
With an incredulous scoff, Sirius threw his arms out to his sides. "We got into this row because you're both afraid of the truth! It was a conspiracy and you fucking know it. She wanted that necklace for herself and she just let Jack drown to get rid of any witnesses. That is why Titanic is my favourite murder mystery."
Lily's arm looped around Hermione's shoulder and she squeezed gently before dropping it, giving her a smile as she whispered, "Believe it or not, they were worse when they were younger. Our boys are quite preposterous when they start a debate but it's quite entertaining when they get into it."
Our boys.
Hermione's pulse quickened as she focused back in on the discussion in front of them.
James shook his head in disagreement, nudging Sirius with his foot, who in turn tickled his toes with an impish grin. "It's not the size that's the problem, it's the buoyancy. Even if they could both fit on top of it, it would have sunk from their combined weight."
After a beat, Sirius hopped up and disappeared into the loo, his voice bouncing off the tiled walls. "If that's what you believe, then I'll get the water."
"No!" James chased after him, disappearing into the loo. "We are not flooding my home so you can test your ridiculous film theory!"
Groaning, Remus followed, stepping around the door. "You're going to need a pool because this room is not sealed properly for the level of testing we're going to need to satisfy my curiosity."
"Remus, don't encourage him! And Sirius, you're going to put this damn door back before Lily notices!"
Tonks tugged at her hair which began to shrink into a pixie cut. "It's going to be a while. Should we break out the mimosas?"
With a grin, Hermione replied, "After dealing with them, I think we've earned it."
Pulling her back down the hall towards the empty dining room, Lily laughed, "We've absolutely earned it and I'm sure they won't mind. They'll be happy that their witches are happy. Shall we?"
Before Hermione had the chance to consider correcting Lily on her phrasing, Tonks added, "Let's get Ginny one too. She has to live with the second-generation honorary Marauder. It takes a special sort of woman to love a Marauder but Morgana knows they're worth it."
Humming softly in agreement, Hermione's chest bloomed with warmth at the thought.