Chapter Fourteen
"Fine! Come up to my dormitory after a few minutes… I'll tell you then. Use the Cloak." With that, she got up, and left to her Dormitory.
Harry threw the cloak over his head, and Ron climbed under it to join him. The clock beside Harry's bed read 10:30pm… The common room would still have the upper-classmen up, so they had to be kind of careful. The two slipped out of the bedroom, clutching the cloak over themselves.
They slipped into Hermione's room, finding the Head Girl lying on her bed, her legs crossed Indian-style beneath her. When the door clicked behind them, her eyes opened up, and Harry discarded the cloak. Ron sat down in the chair beside the desk, and Harry sat on the bed next to Hermione.
"Well?" Harry asked, lying back.
"Alright," Hermione said, sitting upward and looking down at Harry. "You have to promise me that you won't get mad."
"Why would I get mad? It's not like you're dating Malfoy or something."
Hermione did a nervous chuckle. "No, I'm not dating Malfoy… I am, however, dating Sirius…" Her voice trailed off when she said 'Sirius.' She awaited Harry's reaction.
Harry just grinned and closed his eyes. "I figured something like that was happening." He opened his eyes again, sat up, and looked at Hermione. "You haven't done anything with him, have you?"
She sucked on her tongue. "No, Harry! What kind of girl do you think I am?" Hermione's eyes fixed onto Harry's emerald green eyes. "You really think that I'd do something like that?"
"No!" Harry chimed quickly. "It's just that… You two were lying awfully close to each other on the train…"
"That doesn't mean a thing, Harry!"
"Yeah, I know," Harry added. He turned to Ron. "Go figure, eh?"
"I don't know why I was so panicked to tell you, Harry… Ron… I just didn't want you two to get mad at me, and to think less of me."
"How could we think less of you?" asked Ron. He cocked up an eyebrow.
"I don't know, Ron."
"Well, if that's all that you've got to tell us… we might as well go back and try to get some rest. Ron and I are running to Hogsmeade tomorrow to grab a few sweets and a bag of tricks from Zonkos. Fred and George asked us to send him some. They're not allowed in Zonkos anymore; they're competition," Harry said.
"Oiy! How did you know that?" Ron asked.
"You told me this morning."
"Oh yeah… That's right!" Ron's ears tinted red. "Night, 'Mione."
"Goodnight, boys."
"G'night, Hermione," said Harry.
Hermione woke to the sound of a booming bark. She stirred in her bed, turning to see a pair of bright eyes flashing at her. She jumped upward, slamming her back against the wall, hyperventilating.
The dog jumped onto her bed next to her, lying his head on her lap. The dog's short body twisted, growing and growing until it formed into that of a man. Sirius looked up into Hermione's face, grinning triumphantly.
"Are you okay?"
Hermione squeaked. "I'm fine. Why are you back here? I thought you were going to Remus's?"
"I was, and I did. It turns out that he's off to America for a week… something about testing a new version of the Wolfsbane Potion. He'll be back next Saturday."
"So I take it that you're staying here for the week?"
"Dumbledore said that I could," he said, stretching his arms out above his head.
"I've told Ron and Harry," Hermione added quickly.
"Told them what?" Sirius asked.
"About us. I hope that you don't mind. Ron was worried about me… said that I had been acting a bit odd… and then he went and snuck into my dorm, wearing the invisibility cloak… and he… kind of saw us. And he got mad at me… at me! So, I decided to tell them."
Sirius chuckled. "They took it well?"
"Better than what I had expected. Honestly! Boys are… so complicated."
"Am I complicated?"
"I figured that you were a man, not a boy."
Sirius chuckled once again, lifting his head off of Hermione's lap. He leaned against the wall and wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder. With a soft tug, he pulled her into his lap, and pressed her back against his chest. "You're right."
Hermione snuggled closer to Sirius, breathing in the scent of warmth, cologne, and muskiness radiating from him. "I know that I am." She turned her head, her cheek pressed against his pectorals. "Hmm…"
"Hmm, what?" Sirius ran his fingers through her hair.
"Hmm, nothing…" Hermione chuckled, snuggling closer to his chest. "Are you staying in here tonight?" she asked.
"Should I? Or should I go and slip into the boys' dorm?"
She cocked up her eyebrows. "Well! That's a hard decision… I think I need some time to think about it."
"Take all of the time that you need," he added, stroking tendrils of her bushy hair.
Hermione yawned, her body slowly growing limp in his hold. "Stay tonight. I'm so tired, I don't think I can move anymore." Sirius tightened his grasp on the young girl's body and gently eased so that they were lying down in her large bed. He pulled the covers up around their bodies, pressing his forehead against the top of Hermione's head.
His grasp around her body loosened. He laid Hermione down upon the pillow; her eyes fluttered shut, her arms crossed across her chest. Sirius stifled a chuckle and bent down. His lips gently brushed upon hers, and he pressed against them, kissing a small line across them. He laid back down, snuggled close to her body, and wrapped his arm around her waist.
They fell asleep like that; Sirius's arm wrapped around Hermione's waist, bodies pressed against each other.
"HERMIONE! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR CLASS! HURRY UP!" Ginny screeched from the outside of Hermione's room, banging on the door in a mad frenzy. "YOU ONLY HAVE TEN MINUTES TO GET BREAKFAST AND GET TO CLASS!"
Hermione stirred in her bed. It was so warm, so comfortable… she really didn't want to know what time it was, or where she was… just that she was comfortable, and that she felt arms wrapped around her. The pounding on the door grew louder in her mind; she cracked open her eyes, fighting the orange hue flowing through her window, flooding the room with light.
She gave a sudden yelp, well aware of what time it was, and where she was. Ten minutes until her first class? Hermione groaned, pried herself from Sirius' iron grip, and scurried to her dresser. Ten Minutes!
Hurriedly, she donned her muggle clothing, wearing a fluffy pink cotton shirt and a pair of khaki capri's. She threw on her school dress shoes, her robes, and put her hat on her head, ignoring the fact that the tip fell limp over her face, and ran to the door of her room. Deciding against going without a goodbye, Hermione ran back to her bedside, nipped a quick kiss on Sirius' cheek.
Ginny was waiting on the outside of Hermione's room. She shrieked and whined until Hermione stepped out of her room, carrying her satchel in her left hand, her bag propped over her shoulder, held on with her right. "I'm late? Why didn't anybody tell me earlier?" Hermione whimpered.
"Hermione! Ron and Harry tried to earlier, but… you were stone asleep. They figured that you were in the shower… or something…" She forcefully grabbed Hermione's shoulder. "Come on! You don't have time to eat, now, so I brought you up some bacon." Ginny shoved the bacon into Hermione's satchel, and pushed her down the length of the stairs.
History of Magic. Great… If she were still tired, she could have used this time to get some extra rest, like the remainder of the class, but she felt that it was her obligation to take the notes offered, and be prepared for her future N.E.W.T exams. Fuck if she'd let anyone borrow her notes. It's their obligation, as students, to pay attention in class, and do all that they can to further their educations. Where would they go in the future, if they didn't have the knowledge that Hogwarts offered? That any magical school offered?
Harry dozed off in the back corner, and Ron was playing a game of 'I spy' with Pavarti Patil. She tutted softly, scrawling down all of the information she could make out from Professor Binns' droning.
"The House-Elf community has always enjoyed their role as 'house keeper' for magical Schools, Wizarding Family Homes… if it consisted of magical properties, there were usually house-elfs behind the jest of the work. To set a House-Elf free, their master would have to present them with… new clothing… but as it turns out, many House-Elfs would rather deny existence then cease their campaign for their masters. Every once in a while, though, there comes an odd-ball of the group that likes getting clothing… and money for work.
"Now and then, through the millennia, and so on, there have been Liberation Fronts attempting to free the House-Elf community, and set the standards right." Professor Binns' dry, reedy voice whipped through Hermione's ears. Hmph. "They did not, however, succeed in doing anything more but upsetting the large communities of House-Elfs, and in return, not gathering the support and thus, having the refusal to be waited on, or worked for."
During his speech, Ron continuously glanced over at Hermione, flashing her 'know-it-all' grins with a wicked dilation of his eyes. Did he honestly have to rub everything in?
Class ended, and the Gryffindors filed out of the musty classroom. Ron, arm hooked around Hermione's, and Hermione's other arm hooked around Harry's, led the chain down the hall, squealing random atrocities at the walls, shooting multi-coloured sparks from the tip of his wand. Occasionally, a spell would hit a student, and their teeth would change to an odd, exotic colour… One Ravenclaw's teeth were a bright, neon green.
"Ron!" shrieked Hermione. "You shouldn't do that in the hallways. What if somebody got hurt, huh?"
"Nobody'll get hurt. I'm not like Fred and George, if you can't tell… I am Ron Weasley, master at all that is Transfiguration."
"You are not a master at Transfiguration, Ron," said Harry. "You're a master at being a dumbass. Other than that, I'm not quite sure."
"That's like Snape saying that you're best in Potions, Ron," Hermione added.
"Hey! You don't have to rag on me, just because I still sleep with my damned teddy bear-"
"HAHA! I KNEW IT!" Harry shouted, doubling up with laughter. "I KNEW IT! You said that you didn't sleep with that raggedy old thing… But you do, don't you, eh? You just admitted it."
Ron slapped his forehead with a vengeance. Fuck. He'd just admitted something to Harry and Hermione that they'd never let him live down. He still sleeps with a Teddy Bear.
Hermione gave a shrug. "It's only natural, Ron. I still sleep with a security blanket when I'm away from home, sometimes. Blankie-boo is under my bed, as we speak."
"Blankie-Boo?" came a drawling voice from behind them. The trio turned around, staring into the hard, cold face of Draco Malfoy. "What's the matter, Granger? Can't sleep without something else keeping you safe? Scared of what goes bump in the night?"
She narrowed her eyes at him, straightening up her facial expressions. "Not exactly, Mr. Malfoy. I am, however, afraid of what would happen, if anyone ever let you on the loose."
"Why, Granger? Afraid that I'll slip into your bed? Afraid that I'll kill your little Mudblood family, and your Potty and the Weasle friends?" Draco shrugged. "I have much better things to do with my time, thanks."
Ron growled and Harry grabbed the back of his robes, just in case. Hermione smirked shortly, eyeing the blonde haired boy with a mixture of rebuke and question. "Not quite… but I'm sure that you will be able to learn, in a matter of time. Come on, Harry, Ron… Seven Minutes until Care of Magical Creatures."
Hagrid was as happy as ever to see his class. Tethered in front of his cabin was a large beast; Harry gawked, and Ron laughed. The ugly thing had two-jointed wings on either side, a bird-like face, with bone-like claws hanging from the tips of its wings.
"Thrustevias," Hagrid said, simply. "Like 'ter swoop down an' bop folk on the 'eads. Wa'ch out, now…"
Hermione arched an eyebrow. That thing… was beyond ugly. "Don' go getting' too close, now…" he said, warding back Pansy Parkinson. "Don' want 'ter be sendin' another student to Madame Pomfrey so early 'n the year."
"Don't worry," Draco said, looking menacingly at the bird-like creature. "I wouldn't go near it with a ten-foot broomstick."
"Tha's too bad, tho'. Yeh'll be feedin' 'em terday. Just throwin' 'em stuff, mind… got ter make sure he's healthy."
A few girls gave squeals of disgust; Harry, Ron and Hermione looked up at Hagrid with question written on their faces. Didn't he learn anything from the incident with the Flobberworms? Hermione chuckled softly, picking up her DragonHide gloves. There was no way that she was going to stick her hands into that barrel of Pickled spleens, flesh uncovered.
Grimacing, Harry reached into the barrel, pulling out a handful of the spleens. The Thrustavias squealed, squaked… whatever it was that it did, until Harry threw the organs at the creature.
Hermione pulled her arm back, ready to launch the spleen into the air toward the bird-thing… but something stopped her arm from going. She turned around, wide eyed.
Draco Malfoy's mouth was occupied by Hermione's DragonHide gloved hand, spleen and all jammed into his mouth.
A/N: Hehe! Thank you for all of the reviews… I feel so warm and cuddly! ~Wraps her arms around herself~ You know what? My little sister's teacher next year is Mrs. Wetherbee… LMFAO! I picked her out for her, too! ~cackles insanely~ "Yes, Weatherbe, thank you." XD!!! Isn't that HILLARIOUS?
Notes to reviewers:
Niamh McNamara: Sorry about the lack of Sirius in the last chapter… I just had to get a few things out of the way before I could put Sirius fluff in the chapter and such. Mwha!
Lucky Jessica: Yes, they are fun to write! ~Dangles evil cliff-hanger over the heads of many~ SEE! LoL!
Nats: Oiy, I know what you mean. The whole… Caffeine Withdrawl is kicking in. But I've done good! A whole week without any pop!! And considering that pop is the ONLY substance in our house to drink, other than tap-water, it's pretty tempting to just grab a 20oz and chug it. I hear you, about having to put your dog on a diet… we've put my grandpa's dog on a diet, too… she's getting pissy from it. LoL!
Arabwel: Ohhhhh yeah! ~cackle~ I bet that'll go down in history, won't it? Snape… throwing a biscuit at Dumbledore. Lmfao!
Anakah: XD! Isn't it great?
Frozen Cats: Nice penname. Frozen Cats? LoL! I can just imagine a cat, frozen in a block of ice… ~wipes tear from eye~ So hilarious! Well, thank you for the 'nicely written.' It makes me feel speshul. You know, I've never had an apricot before o_o
Pttlvr: Hehe ^_^; Yes, Sirius/Hermione is very good… but Remus/Sirius and Remus/Hermione are also very good. I loveeeeeeee it! ~cackle, cackle~ This story has quite a way to go… I think I've figured out how I want it to end, but I'm not saying anything.
Moony's Nymph: You know where I got that? From myself! LoL! I don't weigh 175, but when I got on a scale one time, I hit a pose, and said that. ~cackle~
MountianDewChika: You're silly ^_^;
Weretosia-87: HOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLAAAAA! O_o; Hehe! How's your stories comin' along, eh? 'A Sirius Return' is getting preeeeeeetty spiffy >_>!
Scorpio: LOL! I loved writing Ron's POV… it was different, but it was funny as hell. Ron's Teddy! I need to give him a name, but I couldn't figure one out, because I have all of these names swarming around in my little brain…
Maddy: AHHHHHHHH! ^_^; S/Hr is fuuuuuunnnnnn! ~Dances in circles~ Gotta love it!