Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, I don't make money from this fic.
December 18, 1976 Hogwarts, Scotland - Room of Requirement
"Okay, so you're telling me that my brother is a good guy and Prewett is an ass?" Sirius asked. Hermione nodded. "What sort of alternate reality have I walked into here?" he groaned. Hermione chuckled.
"Sirius, Gideon caused me to sprain my ankle. Your brother caught me, proceeded to walk me to the Hospital Wing, and stayed there with me until Lily and Remus came to walk me back to the Tower. We also had a talk." Hermione told him.
"A talk, huh? About what?" He asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
"About you, Sirius." Hermione sighed. "He misses you. You need to talk to him. Please."
"I think you do, too, Pads." James said, speaking up for the first time since they'd been in the room. Sirius glanced over at his best friend. "I know you miss him. He may have been a right prick, but he's still your baby brother."
Sirius nodded slowly, his eyes softening a little.
"Would you be there, Hermione?" He asked quietly. "I don't want it to devolve into a yelling match." Hermione nodded.
"Of course, Sirius. Whatever it takes to get you and Regulus talking again. I'll set it up." She beamed at him, then glanced at her watch. "Is that the time? I've got to go, I promised Lily I'd meet her in the library to start on that Charms essay. We wanted to get it finished before Christmas. I'll see you boys later." Hermione said, gathering her bag over her shoulder and picking up the crutches Madame Pomfrey had given her. The boys eyed her wearily, and Peter, who had been quietly sitting beside Remus the entire time they'd been in the Room, spoke up.
"Do you want me to help you to the library, Hermione?" Everyone in the room turned their heads at that; Peter never offered to help without first being prompted by one of the other boys. Hermione smiled.
"Sure, Pete, I could use the help." She said, and Sirius watched his face light up as he hopped up, opening the door for Hermione and following her out, waving to the other boys as he left.
"I think Peter has a crush." James said, sitting back in his chair. Sirius grumbled at that. "When are you going to talk to her, Sirius?"
"About what? She went to the party with Prewett. She obviously doesn't care about me anymore." He said, huffing. James and Remus exchanged a look.
"In case you didn't hear what Hermione was saying in the last, oh, half hour, Sirius, she went with Prewett, who proceeded to cause her to sprain her ankle, and then didn't offer to help. I'd think it's safe to say she's finished with him." James told him.
"And it wouldn't hurt to add, I'm fairly certain she only agreed to go with him to get your attention, Pads." Remus said, leaning forward in his chair, toward his friends. Sirius sighed.
"What if she doesn't want me like that?" Sirius asked.
"Sirius, you should have heard her and Lily talking about you. Hermione was blushing bright red and Lily was trying to convince her that you really are interested in her. She even went out of her way to try and help you reconnect with your brother. How can you doubt that she cares about you after all that?" Remus told him, with a small smile. Sirius met his friend's gaze with a sad, serious look.
"Mooney, logically, I know she cares about me. It's just- well, I can't figure out why she would. Chalk it up to family issues and my dearest mother banishing me from the family, but I've had a really hard time liking myself, recently. I don't know how you two stand to be around me, sometimes, honestly." Sirius confided.
"Because we love you." James said seriously. "And don't tell me to sod off and stop being emotional, Sirius, because you obviously need this right now. We care about you for you. I think Hermione wants a chance to get to know you for you, too. But she'd obviously be seeing a slightly different side to you than we would, wouldn't she? Is that what you're afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid of it!" Sirius said, defensively, before he met James's and Remus's eyes in turn and deflated a bit. "I'm terrified; clear difference there."
"You can't be brave if you're never afraid, Pads." James said. "You've got to face your fears." Sirius nodded.
"You're right. I'll- I'll talk to her soon." Sirius said, feeling more confident. Satisfied, Remus sat back in his chair and the three boys began talking about what they'd bought their friends for Christmas.
December 21, 1976 Hogwarts, Scotland - Gryffindor Common Room
It was nearly midnight when Sirius awoke in a cold sweat. He didn't remember his dreams, but he knew they were terrifying enough to cause a physical reaction. All he remembered of the most recent dream was falling from quite some height before landing back in his bed. Sirius shook his head, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of his bed. He scrubbed a hand over his face, looking toward the window to see if he could determine the time by the sky. He internally groaned when he realized it was nearly dawn. He shrugged his dressing gown on and slipped out of the room, heading for the fire in the common room. He'd done this on a couple occasions during the school year, and he always found the empty common room to be a warm, cozy respite in which to recover from his unknowable dreams.
Tonight, however, as his foot hit the bottom step, he noticed he wasn't the only one in the room. Hermione was curled in her favorite chair by the fire, reading. He smiled at the knowledge that her favorite chair was right across from his. He was surprised that she didn't look up from her book when she heard her coming, but upon further inspection, he noticed her dozing in her chair. His grin broadened and his heart melted as he tiptoed over to her, kneeling in front of her. He lifted a hand to brush away a few loose curls from her face, softly caressing her cheek in the process. His other hand found her thigh, rubbing it gently as he spoke low so as to wake her without freaking her out.
"Hermione, love, what are you doing down here?" He said, his fond smile audible. Hermione's eyes fluttered open, but Sirius's heart melted when, in the moment before she was fully awake, she leaned her head into his hand. Hermione's eyes opened and she took in her surroundings, and Sirius in front of her. She smiled at him sheepishly.
"Hi, Sirius." She said.
"Hey there." He chuckled, moving his hand from her cheek but keeping the one on her thigh in place. "What are you doing down here, 'Mione? You know your bed is a lot more comfortable."
"Couldn't sleep, so I decided to read. Turns out, I could sleep, was just fighting it." Hermione said. "What are you doing up, anyway?" Sirius shrugged.
"I had a nightmare, don't remember what it was, but it woke me up. So I figured I'm come sit by the fire to calm down." Sirius said. Hermione looked him over, then noticed how he he was sitting.
"That can't be comfortable. Why don't you move to your chair?" she asked, but he merely shrugged.
"I like being this close to you." He grinned, squeezing her thigh gently. She blushed bright red, and he saw something click in her eyes. She marked her page in her book before closing it.
"I like being this close to you, too. But maybe we should sit on the couch and get you out of the floor?" Hermione said, with a smile. He grinned at her and hopped up, helping her up. She was still limping a bit, but she no longer needed the crutches to walk without pain. Regardless, Sirius helped her to the couch, and once there, he sank down beside her, wrapping an arm around her.
Hermione leaned her head on Sirius's chest, tucking her head beneath his chin. She pulled her legs up under her and and wrapped an arm around Sirius's stomach. They sat there like that for several minutes in silence, just enjoying being next to each other.
"I'm sorry." Sirius said suddenly. Hermione twisted her head to look at him for a second.
"For what?" she said, brows pulling together.
"For being a prat who has no idea what he's doing." He said. Hermione snorted in laughter.
"Well, at least you admit it." Hermione said, leaning her head back on his chest.
"So you're not mad?" Sirius asked. Hermione sighed.
"No, I'm not mad. I should have talked to you instead of trying to get your attention by going out with Gideon." Hermione said.
"Yeah, but I shouldn't have ignored you. I-" Sirius took a deep breath. "I was having a really hard time believing you actually like me."
"I know." Hermione said simply.
"You- what?" He asked.
"I know why you pulled away from me. You don't come from the best family background, and given what Regulus told me, it's been rough on you recently. I knew then that you probably pulled away due to a fear of rejection." Hermione said.
"Have I ever told you how scarily smart you are?" Sirius asked.
"I don't think so, but I'll take it as a compliment." Hermione chuckled. Her hand lazily drawing patterns over his stomach. She wasn't meeting his eye, but he could see a blush creeping into her cheeks. He knew there was something she wanted to say.
"Spit it out, 'Mione." He told her. She turned red and bit her bottom lip.
"So, um- what are we, Sirius? You and I?" She asked, still not meeting his eye. He couldn't help but smile. He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to his.
"What do you want to be, love? I don't want to move to fast or too slow for you. I want you to be comfortable." He told her. She bit her bottom lip again.
"What I want to say feels silly. I don't want you to laugh at me." Hermione said.
"I won't laugh, I promise." Sirius said.
"I want to be yours." Hermione blushed, looking up at him. The amount of innocence in her face and voice would have been enough to drive Sirius to his knees had he not already been sitting. He caressed her cheek, a small smile growing on his face.
"Why would I laugh at that, love? That's what I want, too." he murmured. Her eyes lit up.
"Really?" She asked, nibbling on her bottom lip again. Sirius ran his thumb along her bottom lip, freeing it from her teeth.
"If you don't stop doing that, I'm going to do it for you. I don't think you realize how attractive that is." he murmured. Sirius was thrown off guard, though, when the look in Hermione's eye changed and she opened her mouth, biting down gently on his thumb. He groaned. "I stand corrected. You know exactly how attractive that is. And you are." She giggled, releasing his thumb.
"Do I? It's a lot of guesswork, you know." Hermione said. Sirius looked into her eyes, biting his own lip this time.
"Hermione, can I- can we-?" Sirius said, stumbling over his words. He was suddenly the most nervous he'd ever been and he couldn't think straight. Thankfully, Hermione knew what he was getting at; she closed the space between them, her hand moving up to his shoulder. Suddenly her lips found his and Sirius was lost in her scent. Parchment and lavender. His hand slipped to the small of her back and pulled her closer to him.
"About bloody time." James called from behind them. They broke apart, looking back over the couch. James and Remus stood on the stairs, beaming over at them.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to eavesdrop, James?" Sirius asked.
"Sure she did, but it's never stopped me. Or you, for that matter." James grinned. Sirius allowed that.
"So are you two-?" Remus asked. Sirius looked to Hermione, who smiled. He looked back to his friends and nodded.
"She's my girlfriend." Sirius said, grinning. Remus and James shared a look, and James swore under his breath. Sirius frowned. "What did I miss?"
"You lost me three galleons, mate." James said, with a smile. "Should have waited until after Christmas."