Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I don't make money from this fic.
May 5, 1979 Godric's Hollow - Potter House
Sirius sat at the table in James's dining room, stuffing his face, and feeling closer to normal than he had in months. It was the first weekend since Remus had been back, and in celebration, James and Lily had decided to host a dinner party for all of their friends from the Order, including Frank and Alice Longbottom, who had fought alongside them in a couple skirmishes since last summer, and who were helping Sirius with his auror training.
James had told Remus all about what had happened while he'd been gone, but Sirius himself was stuck in his head. He focused on his food and kept his eyes off his friends. He knew Hermione was worried about him, but he wasn't sure how to ease her mind. He was still mourning, after all. And with the news he'd gotten that morning, there really wasn't any helping his mood.
"Those sprouts must be pretty interesting, Pads. You haven't looked away from them all night, and you haven't eaten one." James said. Sirius lip twitched up just slightly, and he forced himself to look up at his best friend.
"Sorry, James. Just not feelin' it. Maybe I should go home, I don't want to bring you lot down." he said, pushing away from the table.
"You'll do no such thing, Sirius Orion Black." Lily said, in a voice so like Euphemia's that his heart ached a bit. He smiled at her sadly and settled himself back down at the table.
"Listen, Sirius," Remus started. "I know I wasn't here for everything that happened, but I'm here now. I've already had this talk with James, but if you need to talk about anything, anything, you know I'm here. You're not a burden, you're not weak, you're just going through some shit, and that's okay."
Sirius looked up at him, a small smile on his face. Remus usually didn't make public speeches, he was more a proponent of private talks. But he knew that Sirius hated being called out in public, and that was the only way to get him to listen to what he was saying.
"Look, I appreciate it." Sirius said, looking around at the concerned faces at the table. "I just got some pretty shitty news this morning." James frowned.
"What is it, mate?" James asked, setting his fork down.
"Regulus wrote me this morning. Dad's ill."
"Oh no." Hermione said, her hand reaching out to hold Sirius's.
"And I mean, I don't have the best relationship with my parents," Sirius continued, "But Dad...He kept Mum off me a lot when I was young. Reg doesn't think he's got very long. Mum wrote to him to tell him. They'll pull him out of school if he gets too bad."
"I'm sorry, Pads," James said, making eye contact across the table. "I know how it is." Sirius nodded. James knew exactly how it was, if not moreso. He had a good father, and lost him.
"I'll try to keep my head up," Sirius said, "But it's just been hard for me lately."
"Sirius, when's the last time we went to the pub?" Peter asked. "The last time we just let loose and had a little fun?" All the boys looked to Peter and smiled. They all knew where this was going. Hermione and Lily shared a knowing look.
"It's been- damn, it's been nearly a year." Sirius said, thinking back.
"Too damn long, I say." James said, checking his watch. "It's nearly seven. If we leave soon, we could hit a few of the Muggle pubs you like Pads. The ones with the live music on Saturdays?" Sirius smiled at his friends. They'd go to any length to cheer him up.
"Of course, you're welcome along, Frank. Ladies too." James said, looking to each of them in turn.
"Frank, you should go, but if it's all the same, Alice," Lily said, smiling between her and Hermione. "I've got a couple of bottles of red wine with our names on it, and I haven't had a girl's night in far too long." Hermione giggled and Alice smiled, nodding.
"It's decided, then." James said. "Better eat up, Pads, cause if I have my way, you may set a new record for most beers in an hour."
"If he's throwing up, you'll be sleeping with him, James Potter." Hermione said.
"Not to worry, 'Mione." Remus said quietly, with a wink. "I'll be the responsible party, as always. I'll get them home safe."
"And the two of you would do well to remember," Lily said, looking between Sirius and James. "That one of you is married, and the other is as good as."
"Believe me, Lils," Sirius said, "I couldn't forget about Hermione if I tried to." He said, looking over to her and squeezing her hand.
"Oi." James said. "Have a little faith, yeah? Have I ever done anything to suggest I have no control of myself while drunk? Actually, don't answer that. Remus will keep me in check, love. Promise." Lily smiled and Frank chuckled.
"Am I going to regret this in the morning?" He asked.
"Probably." came the reply from all four of the other boys. He laughed outright.
"Good to know. Let's do it."
June 17, 1979 London, England - Sirius and Hermione's Flat
Sirius woke up to a banging on the door. He groaned, thinking he just dreamed it, but when he rolled over, Hermione was awake, too. She looked scared, and if the noise was loud enough wake him out of a dead sleep, he understood why.
"Sirius, you heard that, right?" she asked. He nodded, and the pounding on the door came again. He pushed himself up, grabbing a his dressing robe and throwing it on over his boxers and tying it loosely, before picking up his wand from the nightstand.
"Stay here," He told her, sitting up in bed. He glanced at the clock as he passed it in the hall and saw that it was a quarter after two in the morning. The pounding came yet again as Sirius clicked on the lamp in the living room. He kept his wand at his side, but at the ready, as he peered through the peephole. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione standing at the end of the hall, her dressing gown over her pajamas, and her wand in hand, as he looked out. He immediately unlocked the door, letting in his brother, who looked worse than he'd ever seen him.
The boy was shaking, pale, and his face was red and raw, probably from crying. He closed the door behind him and nearly tackled his brother in a hug. Sirius was taken back by it, but merely hugged Regulus back, knowing there was only one reason that he would come to him in the state he was in at two in the morning.
"Dad…" Sirius asked. Regulus let out a sob that broke his heart and he held his brother tighter.
"I'll make some tea," Hermione said softly, seeing that the brothers were going to need some time.
"I can't stay long," Regulus said, "But I can stay for tea." He tried to regain a bit of control of himself and Hermione padded over to the kitchen.
"Reg, I don't know how much more I can handle." Sirius said, his voice shaking.
"I know. But you're the strongest person I know, Sirius. I had to come to you."
"You can always come to me, Reggie." Sirius said, a tear slipping down his face.
"This is going to be so hard without you. I just- I just wanted you to hear it from me, and not the newspaper."
"Thank you for that." Sirius said. His sadness over the death of his father was momentarily outweighed by the feeling of loyalty and trust that swept over him. He knew Regulus was on his side.
July 11, 1979 London, England - Sirius and Hermione's Flat
James and Sirius apparated just outside of the broom repair shop below Sirius's flat, James supporting the majority of Sirius's weight as they were fairly certain his leg was broken. James took out his wand and pointed it at Sirius's leg.
"Ferula. That should hold till we can get you upstairs." He said, before waving his wand again and placing a Feather-light Charm on Sirius. Sirius hardly noticed, in too much pain to focus on more than putting one foot in front of the other. James scooped up the stockier man as though he were picking up one of the girls and started up the stairs to his door.
Sirius only hoped Hermione was still awake. It was nearly eleven and he didn't have his keys; they'd flown out of his pocket during the duel he barely escaped. He had been out tailing Mulciber and had met up with James when Mulciber met up with Avery. Apparently the two Death Eaters had worked out they were being tailed and had decided to do something about it. They had followed them at a distance to a back alley in Muggle London, where the Dark wizards ambushed Sirius and James. James had gotten away relatively unscathed, bar some scrapes, bruising, and perhaps a cracked rib. Sirius, on the other hand, ended up being tortured and tossed about like a rag doll, suffering a broken leg, a possibly dislocated shoulder, and several large gashes.
James finally got to the top of the stairs and before he could even knock, the door swung open and Hermione ushered him in, closing and locking the door behind them.
"I'm really glad you're still up." James said, depositing Sirius on the couch as gently as he could. "He's pretty banged up."
"How could I sleep?" Hermione said, and Sirius could hear the worry in her voice. "I expected him back an hour ago. I knew something bad was going to happen today." She said, pulling out her wand and moving over to Sirius, running diagnostic spells and starting to strip him down.
"Woah there, love." Sirius murmured, a slight grin on his face as she began to take off his pants. "In front of James? I knew you were kinky, but damn."
"Oh shush, you." She said,kneeling beside the couch and removing the splint and his pants. She began to examine his wounds more thoroughly.
"You said you knew something bad was going to happen today, Hermione." James pointed out. "Did you have a vision?" She shook her head.
"More like a just a feeling, really. Episkey." She explained, setting Sirius's shoulder straight. He jumped at the sudden pain as she worked on the gashes, ensuring they were clean. "James, I have a bag of potions in the cupboard in the bathroom, could you fetch that for me?" She asked. He nodded and left the room in search of the potions she required.
"You know, 'Mione," Sirius said, grunting a little as she pushed on his swollen abdomen, checking for internal bleeding. "I'd be lost without you." She actually managed a smile at that.
"I know." She said. "Why do you think I'm going through all this Healer training? It makes me useful."
"You were useful before you started the training, love. You're so much more than a Healer." He told her. "I really don't know why you keep me around sometimes."
"Because I care about you. Here, bite down on the pillow." Hermione said, handing him a throw pillow and checking his broken leg and prodding it with her wand, setting the bone. He screamed into the pillow and Hermione looked up at him apologetically. "You've risked everything to protect me and our friends. You've shown me nothing but love and trust." She said, taking the bag from James, who had re-entered the room. James sat in the nearby chair, waiting his turn patiently,
Hermione rummaged through the bag of potions, pulling out several that she'd need, and picking up the first and handing it to him. It was a pain potion, and as soon as he'd downed it, he began to feel its effects.
"I keep thinking," Sirius said, wincing a bit as Hermione began applying essence of dittany to the gashes in his abdomen. "About how much I love you. And I keep hoping that maybe," She shoved another potion into his hand and told him to drink. It was Skele-gro, and while the taste was particularly horrible, he managed to choke it down. "Maybe one day you'll marry me." He finished, looking up at her. She smiled at him, checking him over once more.
"Does marrying you come with a life insurance policy? Because at this point, I feel like that's a requirement." She joked, standing and moving to start on James.
"That can be arranged, you know." Sirius chuckled, his adrenaline from the fight finally wearing off and sleep setting in.
"Rest, love." Hermione's voice called. "You'll be better in the morning."
"Maybe one day," Sirius muttered, half asleep. "You'll marry me."