Author Notes: Goodness! I know it's been a couple of days, and I apologize. I got busy with my personal life and couldn't click away at my keys. I hope this makes up for the wait!
When Hermione got back to 12 Grimmauld Place, it was exceptionally quiet. That surprised her as she wandered through the house. Where were they? It felt almost too empty after being around so many people for days.
Hermione traveled up the staircase and heard a low hum of voices. She scowled and approached the door with the loudest muffled voice. Whoever was talking, they didn't want their conversation walked in on without notification first. Odd.
Her hand reached for the knob when a firm hand gripped her hip. "Not so fast, love," Sirius purred in her ear.
"Sirius," Hermione murmured as her cheeks bloomed with color.
His face found her neck, and his lips grazed her skin. "I was planning on continuing where we left off last night."
Hermione turned in his grip and frowned. "I'm not sure where we left off. My mind is a bit fuzzy."
Sirius grinned and pushed her against the wall with a thud. Hermione gasped as his mouth went to hers. Fuck, did this man know how to kiss? He encouraged to jump into his arms, which she gladly obliged with a deep moan. Her legs were coiled around his hips as her arms gained her leverage on his shoulders. It was this heady mess that sent unclear imagery of last night.
They parted, and Hermione huffed as Sirius pressed his forehead to hers. "You're bloody tops, Hermione," he whispered.
"Sirius, you take my breath away," she replied.
His nose traced her face as he breathed. "Would you let me do this with you? I don't even mind if I have to share you."
Hermione laughed. "You're barmy."
"No, I'm Sirius, Sirius Black. Don't think I don't know how much you adore Remus. I don't care, Hermione. I'm not a jealous man if I know the rules of engagement."
She unwrapped her legs, and he set her down as her brow tightened. "What are you saying, Sirius?"
"I'm saying I'm all in, Hermione. I know Moony in his timid way must have said similar. I don't think you realize just how monumental you are. This amazing witch walked into that dark room and quite literally gave us a light to follow."
Hermione took a deep breath and fought the immediate reaction of wanting to run. She patted his chest and nodded. "Okay, Sirius, but I don't work instantaneously. I need to make sure we are all comfortable. Remus has the full moon coming, and Teddy will be here in a short handful of days."
"Fair," he smirked.
She couldn't help the smile that breached her lips. "I had fun last night."
Sirius snorted and bobbed his head. "Me too."
"I had fun with you, Sirius. I don't remember much, but I know what I felt before the night ran away with me."
His fingers traced her cheek. "You're a masterpiece, Hermione. I spent the first half of the night trying not to watch you, and the last half worshiping you."
Hermione laughed as she leaned on the wall. "Well, you had every little muggle in there either wishing you'd talk to them or wishing they were you."
"You can't imagine what they thought of you," he winked.
The door creaked open. "When you both are done sucking face, can you get your asses in here?" Fred asked with a grin.
Hermione stifled her smile as she nodded and moved from Sirius. "I didn't know you were waiting for us."
"We're having a debate over what you should do for the full moon," Fred grumbled and opened the door.
That still didn't explain the muffle charm… Hermione twitched her nose as she noted everyone sitting in respective places. Something was amiss. Her thoughts were interrupted as Fred yanked her down next to Severus on the loveseat. He sat on the arm with his legs stretched out in front of Hermione. "Good, the clan is all here," Fred snickered.
Sirius flopped down next to Remus and scowled at him. "Is it alright?"
Remus waved him off. "It's fine."
"What's going on?" Hermione questioned.
"I'm," Remus paused and scrubbed his face. "I'm just a bit irritable."
"Want me to help," she stopped when he waved his hand.
"No, the last thing I need at the moment is your help, Hermione," Remus's voice was tense as he grimaced.
Sirius looked over at the witch and sighed. "He's having problems living around you."
"Wait, I'm confused. I've never heard of him having difficulties before. I mean, he was married before," Hermione murmured as she tilted her head.
"Unfortunately, Hermione, we haven't the grounds to say what will provoke his more instinctual set of emotions," Severus grumbled.
Remus ran fingers through his hair and nodded. "It's apparent that my memories weren't the only thing lost in the reappearance. I'm feeling quite a bit more agitated as we come close to the full moon. It's hard to nail down and explain."
"How have you cured it before?" Hermione asked.
Sirius arched an eyebrow before patting Remus's shoulder. "We found ways. Moony loves pretty things that read, don't you?"
The werewolf elbowed him and rolled his neck. "This is different, Sirius."
Hermione's cheeks were nearly inflamed. "I'd rather not go into the details of how to cure said tension."
"Why not, Hermione? I know you," Fred couldn't finish because Hermione kicked his shin. "Ballocks!"
"What we were discussing was where the bulk of us should go during the phase," Severus announced. "It's clear that we can't expect it to be easy this month."
Hermione bobbed her head and breathed. "Well, we could go to Andromeda's."
Sirius shook his head. "That's too much exposure for you."
"Well, that narrows down where we can go substantially," Hermione sighed.
"Yes, it does. Which is why we've come up with a solution to the problem," Severus said.
Hermione folded her legs. "Okay."
Remus thinned his lips. "I don't like this, Snape."
"Me either, but it's the safest bet for you, Lupin. What if being away caused problems for you?"
Hermione waved a hand in front of her. "Wait, am I understanding the subtleties here? Are you suggesting that you're worried about the effects of me being away during his transformation?"
"Precisely," Severus declared. "Meaning, that if you were to find a comfortable hole to hide in, Lupin might just get a bit too crazy."
Hermione twitched her nose and scowled. "Then, we must stay in the house?"
"Not me," Fred shook his head.
"I will stay with you below while Black and Lupin are in the attic," Severus grumbled.
Remus huffed and waved a hand. "This is ridiculous," he spat.
"Unfortunately, Moony, it's not," Sirius voiced.
"What brought you to this conclusion?" Hermione asked as she turned to Snape.
"We don't understand the limitations of the potion that brought us back, Hermione," Remus sighed.
"Have you been having odd symptoms?" Hermione inquired.
Remus met her gaze and cleared her throat. "There's been a few oddities."
"Such as what? Please elaborate," she mumbled.
"Aches and pains," Remus voiced. "I also haven't been sleeping much."
"More than average? Anything else?"
Sirius elbowed Remus and groaned. "Love, he's been abnormally anxious when you've left the last two days."
Hermione moved from her seat and walked over to Remus. He winced and tore his eyes from her gaze. The witch narrowed her gaze and bent in front of him, forcing his eyes to make contact with her. "What did we say from the beginning, Remus?"
"Trust," Remus sighed.
"Please tell me what's going on?" Hermione whispered.
Remus shifted under her stare and huffed. "It's not as bad as they make it seem."
"Bad enough to keep from me."
"I'm having anxiety about you being away. The," he stopped when Sirius nudged him again.
"His furry problem is being a bit more loud about it," Sirius added.
"I'm worried about you," Remus confessed.
Hermione sat down on the coffee table and nodded. "I understand, Remus. I'm not going anywhere. If you need me to, I will remain however you need me." The memory of The Moon's description echoed in her mind.
Remus exhaled and glanced behind her. "Then, you shall spend the night in the kitchen, Severus?"
"Yes, Lupin. We shall seal it off. I already asked Andromeda to borrow the house elf for the night," Snape voiced with a nod.
Hermione reached out and touched Remus's hand. "Will you let me help you?"
"You don't understand, Hermione, I can't allow that."
"Well, tough, we're in this together. You have no choice," Hermione voiced before standing up. "Now, I'm going to clean up and get rid of the lingering drag of last night's festivities. Shall we shoot for a decent evening? I'll cook tonight."
Remus moved to touch her, but Sirius pushed his hand down. Luckily, Hermione wasn't looking at them as she shifted away from the table. Fred covered his mouth to hid his grin as he glanced at Severus. The Potion Master pressed his lips together with a small curl.
"Hermione, could I suggest the lavender oil in the restroom on our floor? It has a recovery draught mixed into the formula," Severus suggested.
Hermione glanced over at him and smirked. "Thank you, Severus."
"Can I get you anything, love?" Sirius asked as he jumped up.
"Oh, I don't think so," Hermione giggled. "If you want to pull out the corned beef, I'll prep it when I come down."
"Enjoy your refresher," Fred snickered.
Hermione skipped from the room, and Severus hummed as he leaned back in the loveseat. "Quite interesting," he mused.
"Are we really going to do this?" Remus huffed.
"Do what, pray, tell?" Snape questioned with a smirk.
Fred slid down next to the Potion Master. "Oh, play poker. Hermione is quite the master at it."
"It doesn't have to be a fight," Sirius declared as he sat down next to Remus again.
Severus pushed the Weasley away and twitched his nose. "Well, it's something."
"You know, Sevie, they aren't going to cut you out of her life," Fred sighed with a head shake.
"Don't call me that, boy," Snape growled.
"He's right. Why are you such a pox?" Remus asked.
"Because neither of you deserves her," Severus snarled.
Sirius rolled his eyes and waved his hand. "Are we really going to play over this classic Snivellus reaction? Lily was years ago!"
"And she's dead!" Snape shouted.
"That wasn't because of us," Remus said in a calm tone.
Sirius jumped up and clapped his hand. "Absolutely classic. Did you ever stop to ask yourself why she died? Hermione told us, so you can't lie about that, Snape. You confessed the prophecy to Voldemort and begged for her life. Peter would have never pressed to become Secret Keeper if you didn't open your fucking mouth!"
"Sit down, Sirius," Remus raised his voice. "This isn't going to be solved by arguing. That's why you left the room earlier, Padfoot."
Sirius flopped down and huffed. "This is ridiculous."
"Listen, this isn't going anywhere fast," Fred noted.
"But that's the problem with her choosing this fate. She's stuck with them for life," Severus snapped.
"She's stuck with us for life regardless," Remus sighed.
"I'm out of the running due to principle," Fred said.
"Sirius and I already agreed," Remus replied with a nod.
Severus grimaced and tossed his hand. "And I still think that's ridiculous."
"We have three months," Sirius whined.
"Three months is a long time to tell her," Remus reassured.
"No, it really isn't. I know her. This should have been told to her yesterday," Fred grumbled as he tossed a hand.
The Potion Master climbed from his seat with a pinched expression. "It should be pragmatic. Someone that she knows she can trust."
"Uh, yeah, hence me and Moony," Sirius huffed.
"No, that isn't good enough," Snape grumbled.
Fred scrubbed his face and breathed. "What did Harry say?"
"Harry told us that it's her choice," Sirius voiced.
Remus wagged his index finger and groaned. "Then, we will. We will talk to her about it after my son goes back to Hogwarts."
"This is barmy," Sirius moaned. "Why can't we just do it how I planned? She doesn't have to make a life-changing decision, and we can keep her alive."
"Because she's an intelligent woman and deserves respect," Severus hissed.
Fred pointed to Snape. "He makes a valid point."
"Fine, Merlin," Sirius breathed.
Severus straightened his sweater. "Now, I'm going to prep dinner for Hermione. Why don't you three decide when we shall break the news to her."
Remus pinched his fingers over his forehead. "Alright, Severus."
The Potion Master skirted from the room and shut the door with a quick snap. Fred smirked over at the marauders and shrugged. "He isn't going to go down quietly."
"Just what we fucking need," Sirius complained.
"I need some time alone. It's going to be a problem that can be shelved until after the full moon," Remus sighed as he stood up.
Sirius waved him off and collapsed on the sofa. "This shouldn't be dealt with that fuck. He always thinks he's so right."
"He makes a solid point, Sirius. I need some rest," Remus said as he walked to the exit. "Please behave."
Sirius grunted and watched the werewolf leave. "Well, what's your plan?" Fred asked.
The animagus glanced over and smirked. "Why, you wanna help?"
"No, I'm curious how difficult you're going to make your life. You realize she needs to know eventually, right?" Fred questioned.
Sirius arched an eyebrow. "Not if I can save her from that decision."
"You can try, but I have a feeling you won't have a choice," Fred mused.
"Why do you say that?"
Fred shrugged and tossed his legs over the arm over the loveseat. "Because Hermione deserves the truth, Sirius. Just something to think about."
Sirius rolled from the sofa and stood up. "I'm going to see if our little witch needs anything."
"Listen to Remus, Sirius. She's easily provoked," Fred murmured as he rubbed his face.
The animagus tossed his hand and marched to the door. "Don't you worry about me. I have this, Freddy."
