Summary: It's time for Hermione and Sirius to start telling people about their accidental pregnancy, whether they're ready or not.

A/N: I started this intending to go one way and ended up going a different way. I hope you enjoy what happens. Prompts used listed at the bottom

Having a Baby, Not a Couple

Within weeks of getting pregnant, thanks to a drunken one-night stand with Sirius Black, Hermione had suffered with her morning sickness. Unlike the name suggested, it wasn't just the morning. Some days it was mild nausea, some days she couldn't move for it … things – vomit – happened when she did.

Exhaustion was another thing. For the first time in years Hermione was getting proper sleep at night. It also meant she was not always awake to hear Sirius when he had a bad dream. None of the other occupants of Grimmauld Place seemed to hear him either, and continued to be unaware of Sirius' predicament. The one thing Hermione always promised Sirius was that he wasn't alone, even after they'd agreed to co-parent their baby but not in a relationship – which was a whole other story…

In not being able to hear him with the deep sleep she was enjoying, Hermione was no longer getting up to comfort him after his particularly bad nightmares. It wasn't until Harry briefly mentioned at breakfast, one morning, he'd heard shouting during the night and asked if she'd been arguing with Sirius again – which happened on occasion after he'd pushed one too many of her buttons. She'd almost said no when Sirius answered for her as he entered the room.

'I took her book without asking,' Sirius said happily. He gave her a wink and a grin, which she returned with a questioning frown.

'No wonder you sounded like you were being jinxed,' Harry said with a laugh. 'What did you use? The Stinging Jinx?'

'You know me,' she said quietly. She watched Sirius move around the kitchen, picking up an apple from the fruit bowl and an empty cup to pour himself a coffee.

Hermione didn't get to say much more as she quietly slipped away from the kitchen to throw up once again. They hadn't told any of the others about the pregnancy yet, and it was getting harder to hide her morning sickness. Or her growing bump. Especially when Ginny was around. Hermione felt like she was watching her all the time; searching for an answer to a question she wouldn't ask.

That night, Hermione waited until she was sure everyone was in bed or, in Harry's case, off to their night shifts, and went Sirius' room.

As someone who found his stride at midnight, Sirius was awake when Hermione arrived with a pillow under one arm and a book in her other hand.

'You should've said something,' she told him, standing in the doorway.

He gave her a crooked grin, closing his own book. He was sat on the bed, on top of the duvet, in pyjama bottoms with the book on his lap. 'You're growing my baby. You have enough to worry about without mothering me.'

Hermione wrinkled her nose in a scowl. 'Don't be a bloody martyr.'

She closed the door before going over to the bed and throwing her pillow on the bed. She could feel him watching her as she got herself comfortable on top of the duvet – spring had brought unexpectedly warm weather, not to mention the mini-heater already keeping her warm from the inside. 'What?' she snapped when he was still watching her.

'Let me see.' Sirius put his book on his bedside table. He shuffled so he was on his side, facing Hermione, propping himself up on his elbow. 'Come on.'

'It's not bigger than yesterday,' she said. She wanted to be put out by his request, but she couldn't stop the smile that gave away the fact she wasn't. His excitement was always infectious, even if she was in a bit of a hormonal fog.

Hermione put her book down on the bed and pulled her baggy t-shirt up, tucking it under her very sore boobs.

'There she is,' Sirius whispered, staring at the noticeable bump.

Hermione gently took his hand and placed it on her abdomen, his calloused skin warm on her stomach. She was a little over three months along – past the point where it would be deemed 'safe' to tell people. Yet she hadn't yet, except for her boss, Kingsley Shacklebolt. And Remus, but that was Sirius' fault.

'I don't think you're going to be able to hide this much longer, love,' Sirius said gently. 'Look, she's already bigger than my hand.' He was right, Sirius could no longer cover the bump with one hand like he could the week before.

She sighed. Then she started crying.

Sirius snatched his hand back, sitting up. 'What did I do now?'

'Nothing,' she cried, sitting up to wipe the tears away.

'Then why are you crying?' He went to pat her shoulder, not quite making contact on the both times he attempted it.

'Sirius, I'm not upset with you,' she snapped.

'Are you sure, because it feels a little bit like you are,' he said, wearily placing his hand on her upper back.

She used the sleeve of her t-shirt to dry her face, a couple of stray sobs escaping her, actually enjoying the feel of him gently rubbing her back.

'It suddenly felt like a lot of pressure and I apparently don't handle pressure well now.' She took a deep breath; the action always seemed to calm her a little after one of her unexpected bouts of tears. 'What will people say?'

'Fuck 'em,' Sirius said loudly. 'Who gives a shit what they think.'

Hermione laughed at his choice of words. 'I'm sorry I keep crying.'

Sirius shrugged. 'It's better than you being angry with me,' he teased. He took one of her manic curls and tickled her cheek with it. 'Feeling better?'

'A little,' she admitted, flopping back on the bed.

'Ready to tell people?' He dropped back down on his side, facing her still.

She sighed. 'One more week. Let me get my head around what I'll say to my parents.'

She saw Sirius nod out of the corner of her eye as she stared at the ceiling. 'Let me know where and when.'

She nodded in return.

She put her book on the bedside table on her side of the bed. Sirius held an arm out to her and she snuggled in, drifting off quickly as he read his own book, listening to his steady heartbeat.

XXXXXX

Waking up the next morning, Hermione screamed at seeing Harry's grinning face standing over her. Sirius was on his feet, wand in hand and pointing it Harry before he'd realised who was in the room.

'Care to knock next time, Harry,' Sirius said gruffly. He dropped his wand on the bedside table and rubbed at his tired eyes roughly with his fingers.

'Oh, I did,' Harry said smugly.

Hermione started to get out of the bed, clamping her mouth shut. If he didn't move out of her way, she was at risk of vomiting over him – which would be a terrible shame after the scare he gave her, especially as he was still in his Auror's uniform from his night shift.

'I was looking for Hermione.' He took a step away from her, his hands clasped behind his back. He seemed to be wearing a smile like he'd been proven right on something. 'Now you can no longer deny this.'

'Deny what?' Hermione asked. She had to focus on his shoes, still sitting on the edge of the bed.

'This.' Harry waved at hand between Hermione and Sirius. 'You two.'

Hermione looked over her shoulder at Sirius. He let out a bark of a laugh. Hermione sighed with a shake of her head. That was a mistake. She got up and ran to the bathroom.

'Can't hide forever, Hermione,' Harry called after her, laughter in his voice.

Once that particular bout of morning sickness had reduced itself to a mere rolling of the stomach when she walked, Hermione deemed it safe to go downstairs for a cup of tea – just about the only thing she could stomach in the mornings. When she entered the room, she came to a standstill by the door. She instinctively pulled at the hem of her t-shirt, suddenly feeling like she was under-dressed, even if she did have pyjama bottoms on too.

'What's going on?' she asked the room.

Sirius was stood by the sink, having not bothered to get dressed yet either, leaning against the counter, wearing nothing but his pyjama bottoms and a smirk, with a coffee cup in hand. Harry, Ginny and Ron were sat at the table, all lined up on one side with expectant looks.

'We know what's been going on,' Ginny started with a smirk. Her eyes were shining so brightly with glee that Hermione didn't even need to be near her to see it.

'You do?' Again, Hermione looked to Sirius. He shrugged, took a sip of his coffee, and continued watching the other three.

'It's time to come clean, Hermione,' Ron said seriously.

'You as well, Sirius,' Harry said, shifting in his seat to look at his godfather.

Sirius' cup froze at his lips and he stared over the rim at Harry. 'What've I done now?' Sirius asked, lowering the cup. One day Hermione would get him a t-shirt with that question printed on it, to save him time.

'We're talking about you two being in a relationship,' Ginny practically shouted. 'We know it's been going on for weeks now. All the sneaking around, meeting in the bathroom during the night … the sleepovers.'

Sirius laughed. Loudly. Putting his coffee cup down to keep laughing. Hermione felt he was over-egging it. She watched him patiently, wondering if she had time to put this straight before racing back off to the bathroom.

When Sirius wiped away a non-existent tear, Hermione said, 'Are you quite finished?'

'Almost,' Sirius said with a happy sigh.

'So you're not a couple?' Harry asked, confused.

'No. We're not.' No, Hermione did not have time to correct this misunderstanding. She was racing back to the bathroom before she'd barely finished her small sentence.

'Stop running away, Hermione!' Ginny called.

She returned to the kitchen ten minutes later to find her friends still sat at the table and Sirius now stood by the door, holding his arm out to her. He had a smirk on his lips but concern in his eyes. 'I don't think we have another week, kitten,' he murmured, keeping his back to the other three.

'Fine,' she muttered sullenly.

'What's going on?' Harry asked.

They faced the table to find three suspicious expressions staring back. Sirius threw an arm around Hermione's shoulders and said proudly, 'I knocked up Hermione.' He even added a click of his fingers and pointed at her like they didn't know who Hermione was.

Hermione shoved an elbow sharply into his ribs. 'For god's sake, Sirius!' she snapped, feeling her cheeks heat up instantly. Just when she thought she was winning at getting him to behave, Sirius always pulled something out of the bag to make her wish the ground would swallow her up.

Sirius gave out a single bark of laughter, rubbing at his ribs as he skipped away from Hermione before she could do anything. She scowled when she spotted him grinning at the shocked faces of Harry, Ron and Ginny, picking up his coffee cup as he did.

'He's not lying, is he?' Ginny asked quietly.

Hermione dropped her gaze to the floor, shaking her head. She gripped onto the hem of her t-shirt as a roll of nausea went through her.

'But you're not a couple?' Ron asked.

Another shake of her head.

'How did this happen?' Harry asked, getting up from his seat.

'There was alcohol involved,' Sirius announced, raising his cup to Hermione. She scowled again at him, her fingers almost twitching for her wand that was in another room. She considered making the effort to find it when he winked.

'Are we happy about it?' Harry walked to her like she was an injured animal he was trying to trap.

'Yes,' she said quickly, realising they were misreading the mood. 'This is a happy accident.'

The words seemed to break the tension and her friends rallied around her, giving her tight hugs and congratulations, with a lot of questions asked and statements made in quick succession.

'Our first baby of the group!'

'So you're having a baby but there's no wedding?'

'You're really not together?'

'Is this why you've been working from home?'

'The late-night bathroom visits make sense now! I thought it was shower sex!'

'Is there a bump – can we see the bump?'

'Have you told your parents yet?'

'You know,' Sirius drawled, walking over to the small group, 'I was involved in the creation of this baby.'

Harry and Ron sniggered like the children they could still be.

Ginny rounded on him and gave him a sharp punch to his arm. 'You're the reason she's not enjoyed a proper meal! I wouldn't be so proud of your actions just yet, Sirius Black!' She punched his arm again before he could move away.

And as if to prove a point, Hermione raced off for another bathroom visit.

XXXXXX

Now that her friends had pushed the information out of her, Hermione wasted no time in going to her parents. Guilt gnawed away at her once she realised that they were the last people closest to her to find out, not that she had intended it that way. It was one more thing on the list of things she'd never gotten around to telling them, only this one couldn't be kept from them forever.

Sitting on her bed, breathing carefully having moved around her room too quickly and the morning sickness wasn't done with her just yet for the day, Hermione stared at herself in the mirror attached to the wardrobe on the other side of the room. They didn't lie when they said a pregnant woman glows, what they didn't tell you was that it was from all the running she did to the bathroom.

A tap at her door got her attention. Ginny stood there with a small smile. 'You okay?'

Hermione nodded. Then shook her head. Then nodded again. 'Overwhelmed mainly.'

Ginny joined her on the bed, nudging her gently as she did. 'He's a bit of a man-child, but I reckon he's got a love to give.'

Hermione laughed, which was immediately followed by a groan at the movement. 'I'd like to feel human again. That would be nice.'

'You know, Mum had seven of us – she might have a trick or two up her sleeve.' Ginny laughed. 'Of course, that's if she doesn't kill you both for being irresponsible with your drink.'

Hermione's cheeks felt a touch warm at the thought of talking to Mrs Weasley. 'Do you think we're wrong to keep the baby?'

'Nope,' she said simply, not even pausing.

'Not even a little bit?'

Ginny shook her head. 'You two have been … restless – is that the word I'm looking for?' Ginny looked around the room as she seemed to be thinking of the right words. Finally, she brought her gaze back to Hermione, affection clear in her eyes. 'Maybe lost is a better word. Like you're still struggling to find your place in the world. I think this baby will ground you both.'

'A baby shouldn't be a fix for our problems, though.'

'Not a fix' –Ginny put a tight arm around her shoulder– 'an answer.'

Hermione leant her head against Ginny's. 'Thanks, Gin.'

Ginny patted her shoulder before sitting up. 'Now,' she said, pulling out a lipstick of a pale cerise colour from her jacket pocket, 'let's pop a little bit of this on before you see your parents. They're going to think you're dying with how … ill you look.'

'Not glowing?' Hermione grinned.

'More like sweaty,' Ginny said with a laugh.

'Are you ready to go?' Sirius called ahead before appearing at the door. He watched Ginny finish applying a delicate layer of lipstick to Hermione, looking bemused at the moment. 'Do I not get a touch of make-up?'

'You'll get a warning to be on your best behaviour at the Grangers and like it,' Ginny said sweetly without looking at him.

'Pfft. I could charm socks onto a house-elf if I wanted,' he said. He leant against the doorframe, folding his arms.

'There are so many things wrong with what you just said,' Ginny muttered, now putting a little blush she'd dug out of Hermione's bedside table onto Hermione's cheeks. 'There. Just enough to make you look a little alive now, but not terrify them into thinking something's wrong.'

'Something is wrong,' Hermione griped, giving Sirius a hard look. 'Where's your shirt?'

Ginny finally shifted to look at Sirius. He had on a pair of black jeans, black boots with a silver buckle on the sides, and nothing but tattoos on the upper half of his body. 'You are not okay.' She shook her head, facing Hermione again. 'You should go by yourself.'

'At least my hair is tied back!' He pointed at the messy bun sitting on his crown. 'Does that not count?'

Hermione snorted, suddenly feeling a swell of affection for the father of her unborn child. 'Please can you at least put on a t-shirt. They might be relaxed, but they're not that relaxed.'

Sirius stood up, grinning at her. 'I can do that – what now?'

'Well done,' Ginny griped when she saw Hermione's watery eyes.

'Nothing, nothing,' Hermione said quickly, pulling at Ginny as she started searching for her wand. Sirius stepped back into the room after he'd swiftly moved away with his hands up. 'He made me laugh and my hormones can't tell if I should be happy or sad.'

'She cries a lot,' Sirius added. 'Think you'll be okay not doing it in front of your parents? They might think I've hurt you.'

Hermione rolled her eyes, letting Ginny dab the tears with the edge of her sleeve before she ruined what little make-up she had on. 'I'll do my best not to cry again.'

XXXXXX

'Darling! Hermione's introducing us to her boyfriend!' Mrs Granger called into the living room. She smiled brightly at her daughter and Sirius standing on the doorstep. 'We were just about to have some lunch in the garden – enjoy the lovely weather we're having.'

Hermione gave up trying to correct her mum as they followed her into the house. She shared a bemused look with Sirius, who was now wearing a proper shirt, with buttons, that was neatly tucked into his jeans. The dragon on his belt buckle might have been a bit much.

Mrs Granger continued telling her that they'd been doing up the garden, and her timing was perfect, as they could show it off to her. 'Oh,' Mrs Granger said with a wry grin. She'd looked to Sirius, taking him in for the first time, her eyes travelled slowly from his boots to his hair. 'Gone for an older type, have you?'

Sirius held her gaze, lifting a hand to show an inch of space between his forefinger and thumb. 'Just a touch.'

Hermione slapped his hand down. 'We're not together, Mum.'

Mrs Granger narrowed her eyes, watching them carefully, a grin still playing on her lips. 'I see.'

'Do you?' Hermione gave her mum a challenging look.

'I see where you get it from,' Sirius whispered into her ear.

Mrs Granger laughed. It was hearty and from the gut. 'You have no idea,' she said happily, a wicked glint in her eyes.

Sirius, who was looking at Hermione like he was winning at life by meeting Mrs Granger, pointed a finger at Hermione's face. 'Don't you dare cry,' he said gently.

'I'm not crying. I've just got something in my eye,' she said. She rubbed at them quickly.

'Sweetpea!' Mrs Granger went to Hermione. 'Why are we crying?' she asked. She pulled her into a tight hug. The kind of hug that only a parent can give to make their child feel better, no matter what age they are.

'I really missed you,' she said, her voice muffled in her mum's hair as she rested her chin on her shoulder.

'Now, Hermione,' Mrs Granger started firmly, pulling back to hold Hermione by the shoulders, 'it's not like we can visit you. You do have to make the effort once in a while. We're right here. Where you left us.'

Hermione gave her a wobbly smile. She was right. But with the unexpected pregnancy, she'd been purposely avoiding her parents for the last three months, only talking to them by letter or a quick visit to the phonebox down the road from Grimmauld Place.

'I hope you're not the reason for these tears,' Mrs Granger warned Sirius, now giving him a hard look.

'No, Mum – sorry, I've not introduced you properly. Where's Dad?' Hermione asked, moving to stand in front of Sirius.

Mrs Granger took them through the kitchen and out into the back garden. She hadn't been exaggerating about the work they'd put into the garden. It used to be a large patch of well-manicured grass. Now it had a greenhouse at the end, already filled with growing plants, herbs and fruits. There were borders travelling around the grass, all filled with wildflowers of various colours, the bright sun making them look vibrant, and bees buzzing happily while they investigated the petals. And there was a patio by the back of the house, with a wooden table and four chairs, and a barbecue that Mr Granger was stood by, grilling sausages and burgers. Even their black cat, Bernard, was sprawled in the middle of the grass, enjoying the surroundings.

'Here she is!' Mr Granger announced like he'd been expecting her. He put the tongs down on the side table of the barbecue and hugged the breath out of Hermione. 'And who do we have here?' Without missing a beat, he gave Hermione the same wry grin her mum had given her. 'Older?'

'We've already clarified that in the living room, darling,' Mrs Granger said.

Hermione let out a small sigh, realising Sirius had been quiet for the longest time since she'd known him. He was stood slightly behind her, with his hands jammed into the front pockets of his jeans, a grin on his face. This was the grin he wore when he was unsure of the situation he was in and didn't want to make it worse – forced, a little demented.

'Okay,' Hermione said, this time with a big sigh. 'Mum. Dad. I need you to maybe sit down, because I'm about to tell you a lot of information in one go, and I really don't know how you're going to take it.'

The Grangers shared a look. They were used to their daughter not revealing a lot about the world she was a part of now, so knew this was extremely important if she was being straight with them. Silently, they took a seat each at the table, reached out a hand to the other to hold, and gravely said, 'We're ready.'

'Always so dramatic,' she muttered. Sirius let out a barely audible laugh.

She reached behind her; without hesitation, Sirius took Hermione's hand, moving to stand by her side. She ignored the stare her parents were giving their hands and began.

'This is Sirius Black.'

'I know that name,' Mr Granger said. He frowned, some old memories were clearly attempting to resurface as he squinted at nothing in particular.

'This is Harry's godfather,' Hermione continued. 'I've talked about him before.'

'He was that escaped convict, darling,' Mrs Granger whispered when Mr Granger continued to not listen. 'Remember – about ten years ago now.'

Hermione felt Sirius grip her hand painfully. She gripped it back, trying to reassure him through the pressure.

'You two really need to listen to what I'm saying. You can ask your questions in a bit. Okay?'

Mrs Granger patted her husband's forearm. 'We've been reprimanded. Pay attention.'

'Sorry, sweetpea. As you were.'

Hermione took a deep breath.

'As you know, I've been living with Harry at Grimmauld Place for the last few years, with it being closer to work, and Ron and Ginny and Sirius live there with us – well, we live with Sirius as it's his house. And Sirius was accused of something he didn't do, but we cleared his name. Then Sirius and I became good friends – really good friends – and we understand each other and—'

'Breathe, kitten,' he whispered to her. He gave her hand a little shake. It didn't go unnoticed by her parents.

She nodded, doing as instructed, and continued. 'Anyway, we got a bit drunk, had a one-night stand, and now there's a baby coming.'

Hermione watched her parents, biting on her bottom lip as she waited for their reaction. They watched her in return, not even the hint of an emotion on their faces. The silence was only broken by the bees buzzing around the flowers, the meat still sizzling on the heat of the barbecue, and a child shrieking with laughter in another garden somewhere down the road.

'You're angry with me, aren't you?' she asked quietly.

'Maybe you could have broken the news a little more gently,' Sirius suggested into her ear.

'That explains the crying.' Mrs Granger started nodding like she understood something.

'There was crying?' Mr Granger asked her.

'In the living room before. She said she'd missed me, but it didn't make sense.'

'I am here,' Hermione said in exasperation.

'I'd like to add that I'm not going anywhere. We might not be together, but I'm not leaving Hermione's side,' Sirius interjected when the Grangers continued discussing Hermione crying.

Hermione started to cry.

'Just like that,' Mrs Granger said happily to her husband. 'Oh, honey!' She got up to hug her daughter. 'Hormones?' Hermione nodded. 'Feel like you have no control of yourself?'

'Yes!' Hermione exclaimed, pulling back. 'I couldn't work out what it was, but yes – I feel like I have no control of myself, which meant I started second-guessing what I was really feeling about this.'

'Which is?' Mr Granger asked. He'd joined his wife and daughter, a hand on Hermione's shoulder.

'Oh, I want the baby – we both do.' Hermione wiped her wet cheeks. 'I'm sorry for blurting it out the way I did.'

'I should give you some time,' Sirius spoke up, already edging his way to the back door.

'Poppycock!' Mrs Granger said loudly, moving to pull him back to the table. 'Why don't we all sit down and start from the beginning, yes?'

XXXXXX

'Hermione has always done everything on her own terms,' Mr Granger said.

After a couple of hours of talking, explaining … revealing a lot of the conflicts the Wizarding world had had to the Grangers, and eating lunch (while Hermione nibbled on crackers at her mum's suggestion when she balked at the burgers being offered to her), there seemed to be a sadness in her parents' eyes as they realised the weight their daughter had been carrying on her shoulders.

'Before we understood her magic – when she used to make things happen as a small child – she just seemed to take charge of it, talking like it was the most natural thing to have made a tree bring a stuck cat back down from the top of it with one of its branches,' Mrs Granger said. She kept reaching over to fiddle with Hermione's messy curls. 'And she also seemed to think she had to take on everything by herself.'

'I never wanted to worry you.' She pulled at her mum's hand, keeping hold of it.

'We worried anyway,' Mr Granger said affectionately. 'It's not a world we knew or understood, so we worried all the time.'

'I'm sure Sirius' parents worried, even knowing what the magical world is like,' Mrs Granger added.

Sirius snorted derisively. 'That's a long story for a different day,' he said firmly.

Hermione gave him a small smile – a grateful smile. He'd been uncharacteristically polite, for her parents' sake, with his reaction at the subject of his own parents being brought up. The mere mention of his mother could bring on a bout of angry ranting and purposefully hurtful remarks aimed at innocent bystanders if they did it on the wrong day.

'They weren't kind people,' she explained. Then added before Sirius could when she saw him open his mouth, 'To put it mildly.'

The group of four were silent for a little while. Sirius watched Bernard the cat chase after a bee while sipping on the coffee Mr Granger had made after they'd eaten, a foot rocking manically, making his knee become a blur with the bouncing. Mr and Mrs Granger appeared to be having some kind of conversation through various looks to each other. Hermione put a hand on Sirius' knee, to which he gave her a tight smile, but stopped the rocking.

Mrs Granger gave a nod to her husband and he nodded back. Hermione gave them a bemused smile. They always seemed to know what the other was thinking. She'd forgotten how many times she'd seen these kind of non-conversations between them.

'You know, Sirius,' Mrs Granger said with a bright smile to him, 'a baby means you're our family now.'

'We never got the chance to have more children, so we have a lot of love to give,' Mr Granger added, like it was a threat. He smirked at Hermione who was watching her parents in awe at what they were doing.

Sirius, who'd been frowning at Mrs Granger's initial comment, started moving around in his seat. He put his coffee cup on the table, crossed his legs, then uncrossed them. Then the arms were folded before being immediately unfolded. Hermione bit the insides of her cheeks so he couldn't see her amused smile.

'We're huggers, too.' Mrs Granger leant towards him, smiling sweetly at him.

'I like hugs,' Sirius said so quietly that only Hermione heard him.

'But don't mistake us, Sirius – you do right by our little girl, understand?' Mr Granger said firmly. 'She may think she doesn't need help, especially now that she's an adult, but we all need help sometimes. And magic or no magic, if she asks you for help and you're not there, we will be having an issue.'

'I'm not going anywhere,' he said gruffly. He was still fidgeting, tapping the heel of his hand on the edge of the arm of the wooden chair.

'How about we actually celebrate this news – a new life!' Mrs Granger cheered.

The Grangers got up, taking some of the dishes with them, making Hermione and Sirius stay put when they tried to help.

Hermione watched them go back into the house before asking Sirius, 'Are you okay?'

'You know me,' he said with a smile that didn't reach the eyes.

'I do. That's why I'm asking.'

'A conversation for another day, perhaps.' He held his hand out to her, which she took. 'Thank you for letting me do this with you.'

'Like you had a choice,' Hermione said with a snigger. 'We're in this thing together now. No going back.'

Prompts used for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (challenges & assignments)

Spring Funfair

- Cocktail Bar - Strawberry Daiquiri - Fruit Syrup - (character) Hermione Granger

- Dog Show - Dachshund (Hermione) - Physical Characteristics - (trope) Sharing a bed

- Leap Frog - (animal) Cat

- Milkshake Bar - Topping 4. (word) Poppycock

- Cherry Blossoms - 19. (dialogue) 'Pfft. I could charm socks onto a house-elf if I wanted.'/'There are so many things wrong with what you just said.'

- Levi-Kart (Hermione) - Howler Goblet - 1. Embarrassed

- Paint a Rainbow - Red 3. 'I'll do my best not to cry again.'

- Plant a Tree - Dogwood - 1. (trait) Mischievous

- Teddy Bears Picnic - Victoria Sponge - (weather) Sunshine

- Birdhouse Building - Step 4. (object) lipstick

- Bunny Races (Hermione) - Word Count: 5,201

Spring Seasonal

- Days of the Year and Religious Events - 30th April - Write about being honest with someone

- Aquarium Month - 8. Substrate - Write about someone wanting the ground to swallow them up.

- Crayon Day - 31. Cerise

April Writing Club

- Twisted Tropes - 7. Didn't know they weren't dating

- Written in the Stars - 14. (relationship) Mother/Daughter

- Marvel Appreciation - 20. Write about someone getting a lot of information in a short space of time.

Spring Quarterly

- 7. Tokyo - (weather) Sunshine

Yearly

- Fantastic Beasts - 197. Water Dragon - (dialogue) 'I'm not crying. I've just got something in my eye.'

- 365 - 306. (action) Crying

- Scavenger Hunt - 74. Write about your OTP having/adopting a child