A/N: Thanks so much for reading/fav/follows, glad ur liking this story! The song for this chapter [Border Line - King Krule]

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CHAPTER 4
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It was the second day of Hermione staying at his home and Sirius was rather glad she seemed chipper and upbeat...for someone who had gotten out of a long term relationship of several years.

Though she did seem to be in an awful hurry to get away from him this morning. Did his playful flirtation make her uncomfortable? Perhaps he had better tone it down a notch. He didn't want to scare her off...though he found it rather hard to not flirt with Hermione when she around him and in his own home.

He was starting to realize...despite what Hermione said herself about being ready to date in a few weeks...Ginny certainly had to be wrong about Hermione wanting to date him, or even needing a shag.

The brunette seemed to be handling things fine on her own...without male interference. Merlin, it was male interference, or rather Ron's own stupid lack of control, that had hurt her in the first place. The stupid kid had done major damage to her self-esteem.

It would be a blunder if he asked Hermione out now. Even if Ginny asked him to do it. Even if he held, admittedly, a curiosity about the brunette's knickers...making a move now had to be the wrong move. He couldn't have a one-night stand with Hermione and then risk hurting her when she got attached or thought it meant something more. Somehow Hermione didn't seem like the type of girl who would even want or enjoy a one-night stand. Not that there was anything wrong with one-night stands, but the flings he usually had were with experienced witches who knew what they wanted sexually and weren't looking for more than a quick release or a glamorous date...some of them, he'd find out later, we're actually married or had a boyfriend. He didn't judge them. But that didn't seem up Hermione's alley.

Certainly not with him. And certainly not as a favour. Having casual sex, so soon after a breakup, would not likely do Hermione any favours. Despite what Ginny thought of pushing her friend out into the dating scene right away to get over her brother. Casual sex didn't solve any problems; it only temporarily distracted you from your problems...for a little while, as Sirius well knew. He kept running from his past—from Azkaban, from all the years he lost—through casual sex, affairs and high risk behaviour...yet he knew it was no solution.

Could he drag Hermione into the same lifestyle?

No, he could and would not.

He didn't want to add to the damage that Ron had already created.

He thought over their conversation from earlier, as they sat at the breakfast table:

"Good. I'll keep that in mind when I start dating again," Hermione had said.

"You're ready already?" Sirius had asked, not the least skeptical, because he didn't believe her for one second. He'd heard her bawling the whole night before.

Hermione had shrugged and fixed her eye on him, as if to prove she wasn't still mourning Ron.

"I didn't think I would be ready for months. But now that I think about it, I think it might be a matter of weeks. If only to help me to forget."

Helping her forget.

Except that's exactly what people did when they were mourning.

Hermione was so deep in mourning, she didn't even realize it, did she? Her head was under water. Drowning.

And her closest friend, Ginny, thought the solution was to throw random dicks at her...like they were flotation devices.

Sirius shook his head. Perhaps Hermione needed his support more than ever, but as a friend, for guidance and protection...not for bloody sex.

He coughed. No, as tempting as it was, when the pretty brunette was in his own house...and leaving her pretty knickers all over the floor...the last thing he should do is add more male interference and male depravity in the brilliant witch's life.

He needed to show Hermione a more decent side of men, one that didn't involve taking off their knickers or looking for a quick release in any pair of legs that presented themselves.

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"How is she?" Harry asked through the Fireplace network, his image popped up through the flames as he spoke.

"Fine, I think. Pretty chipper, considering the situation." Sirius rested his arms on his knees as he sat on the ledge of the sofa to see Harry better.

"Really? But Hermione always gets manic and busy when she's upset. It's just how she deals with things."

"GOOOH GAHHHH DADA," James Jr. wailed suddenly, sticking his fingers in his father's ears.

Sirius smirked as he saw his godson struggle to burp his toddler while also talking to him. "Are you sure you don't need to change James's nappies or something?"

"No, I'm fine, I can multitask. Ginny will be back soon. She said she had to take Hermione for necessary therapy."

Sirius chuckled. "Yes. Why do I have a feeling Ginny said that to leave you with a toddler all day while she had fun?"

"We believe in doing everything fifty-fifty," Harry said.

"Right." Sirius raised his eyebrows. He had his own opinion about that, but kept it to himself. Ginny would probably be mad at him if he told Harry that Ginny's idea of helping Hermione last night was getting her drunk at

Harry shrugged. "It was my turn anyways. She watched James while I went to quidditch last Saturday."

Sirius nodded and scratched at his beard as he thought over how to say this next thing to Harry. "Uhm..is there anything you think Hermione might like that would help
her take her mind off things...and enjoy her stay here? I don't want her to leave but she seemed rather antsy to go this morning."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Like...entertainment you mean?"

"Yes, entertainment, creature comforts. What do you think I meant?"

"I don't know, Sirius."

The older man rolled his eyes. "I hope Ginny didn't give you any ideas."

"No." Harry coughed and began rubbing at little James's back as he suckled his pacifier. "Although I don't think it would be entirely a bad idea."

"Oh dear Merlin, not you too!" Sirius grimaced. "Why does everyone except Hermione and I think dating each other would be a good idea? She bloody broke up with Ron not a day ago!"

Harry shrugged. "Ginny seems to think you two have chemistry. And I trust my wife's opinion."

Sirius rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe his own godson was encouraging this ridiculous pairing.

"No, you are more mature now Sirius, even if you refuse to acknowledge it. More mature than Ron, at least. I love Ron but he's still stuck in a phase and he really hurt her. I think dating an older man might actually do her good. And I trust you Sirius...even if you don't trust yourself."

"Should I just hang up now?" Sirius threatened, grabbing the bucket of fireplace ashes that would end the fire through which he chatted to his godson.

"Hold on!" Harry said. "To answer your earlier question. Well, if you want to impress Hermione and make her feel at home, she likes older films. Muggle films, I mean. And some chap called Cary Grant."

"Cary Grant?" Sirius scowled.

"Some muggle actor. Don't worry, he's long dead, you don't need to worry about Hermione choosing him over you." Harry laughed and his toddler also seemed to gush at the joke at Sirius's expense.

"Very funny." But then he asked Harry how he could play these movies or find them, and Harry told him he'd owl over his muggle movie player.

"You just wave your wand with the spell I told you to accio any movie in the world at any time. Then repeat the same spell in reverse to return the movie. It's a brilliant system and I think you'll like muggle movies. You can create a screen as big as you like on the wall."

"Okay, good, good." Sirius rubbed his hands together, looking forward to inviting Hermione to their own home movie theatre. If she truly liked films as much as Harry said she did, she'd immediately feel at home in Grimmauld Place.

Harry smirked as he lifted James into his arms to wave goodbye at the fireplace. "I better go. Warm his bottle. But," Harry paused and smirked. "Good luck."

Sirius waved a hand sheepishly. "Stop it Harry, I mean it, I respect Hermione too much."

"Which is why I know you'll do the right thing by her."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Have to go Harry, there's an owl pecking at the window." He waved goodbyes at James and then marched to the window to open it.

As he retrieved the letter from its claws, Sirius grimaced. This was the third letter to arrive from the same owl today.

Sirius glared at the letters, all had the name "Hermione" scrawled messily on the front. Presumably all from Ronald Weasley, though there was no return name on the letter, it was pretty easy to guess. The handwriting and owl certainly looked like the Weasley family's bird.

Sirius threw the letters in a bundle by the mantelpiece to give to Hermione later. Then he got out a piece of paper and quickly scribbled down a note to send to Ron in reply, it had only one line: "Bugger off." His letter also held no return address or name of the sender.

Sirius chuckled at his handiwork as he went to set up a movie screen in the spare parlour room.

The house felt empty, Sirius realized as he walked around the silent rooms, without Hermione making noises or her footsteps echoing through the house. Even though she had barely been at his house more than a day, Harry and his friends used to stay over all the time before the war ended. Then the Order of the Phoenix had kept the house filled and busy during the war...so it hadn't become empty, really, until years after the war.

Sirius whistled to himself to fill the silence.

As he thought over the dimensions of the perfect screen, he got out his wand and created a large, wall sized movie screen then set up the muggle movie player which Harry sent over.

Then because he was bored of waiting, he decided to try one of the Cary Grant movies Harry had suggested. "Charade" with some lovely muggle bird called Audrey Hepburn. Sirius soon found himself enjoying the movie, not the least because the main actor, Grant, was so suave.

So this is what Hermione likes?

Well, then perhaps, she did enjoy his harmless teasing, as long as he didn't actually act ungentlemanly.

He rather saw a lot of himself in Grant, even if he was by far, much better looking than the handsome muggle actor...if he did say so himself. Sirius opened up a bottle of firewhiskey.

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a/n: thanks for reading, please review if you liked it. thank you and will sirius and hermione ever get their ducks in one row to make this happen? or will they both keep tiptoeing around each other in denial?