Chapter Twelve: Forged Affection
"Wow," said Sirius, finally pulling back. "That was incredible." Hermione forced herself to return his smile. He pulled her close to him again. "I mean, wow! Quite a change of heart, eh, Hera?" he said teasingly. She gave a fake little laugh, burrowing her head into his shoulder to hide her tears.
They walked back to the common room together that day, and from then on everyone could tell that things had changed. Hermione and Sirius started to do everything together. If Sirius ever had any wonders about her sudden transformation of feelings, he never mentioned it. All he cared about was that he finally had the relationship with "Hera" that he had wanted ever since he saw her crawling on the floor that day two months ago.
The relationship exceeded everyone's expectations. Given Sirius's track record, people had always assumed that they would break up in less than a week- either Hermione would get sick of him and his chauvinistic ways, or Sirius would find some fresh piece of meat and leave her in a heartbeat. Neither turned out to be true. In fact, a month had passed since Hermione had finally gave in, and their relationship had no end in sight.
*****
It was a typical early-December day. The Great Hall was filled with the usual noise as students filed in for lunch. Bellatrix Black and Severus Snape scoffed over at the Gryffindor table when they saw Sirius and Hermione arrive. Sirius had one arm wrapped tightly around her waist and they were walking hip to hip, as they had become accustomed to in the past weeks. Actually, the couple was hardly ever seen apart.
"Look at them," jeered Snape. "When will they get a room?"
Bellatrix agreed. "It's one thing that the relationship is plain sick and wrong, but another that they have to flaunt it in front of everyone." She shamefully covered her face with her slender hands... "I can't believe I'm related to him."
As Snape observed the pair, a thought came into his head. "Hey, do you still have that stupid necklace he gave her?"
Bellatrix smiled. She had forgotten all about it. "Yeah, I do," she replied.
Snape returned the vindictive grin. "Perhaps it will come in handy yet."
From the other side of the hall, Hermione saw the Slytherins' deriding sneers and returned them with one of her own. Sirius, already sitting down, pulled her into a chair next to him. "Good morning!" he greeted the rest of their friends. Everyone smiled at them. Hermione quickly caught a glimpse of James. He was looking down at his plate. She felt bad for him. He had been receptive enough of her relationship with Sirius, but she could tell that it still hurt him every time he saw them together.
(A/N: once again, when other characters are mentally reflecting on Hermione, I'm going to refer to her as "Hera" because that's how they think of her!)
Sirius grinned at his girlfriend as he stuffed food into his mouth. He couldn't be happier! Hera was everything he had ever wanted in a woman and more. Although she submitted to his advances most of the time, she still had a rebellious streak in her, and every once in awhile she'd lash out as she had in the old days. It couldn't get any better than this! He never knew he could feel this way about anyone. No, it wasn't love, he thought. But it was darn close.
James's eyes followed Hera's every movement as she ate. What was she doing? He knew that she could have no real feelings for Sirius. Anger directed at his friend boiled inside him. It wasn't just jealousy, even though James was most certainly jealous. But he hated the way that Sirius dragged Hera around, apathetic to her feelings. She obviously didn't feel as strongly about him as he felt about her, that much was apparent. Every time James saw them together it looked like she was trying to find a way to escape. Yet she stayed with him. This didn't make any sense. He forced himself to tear his eyes off of her and directed them at his plate. "Get a grip", he told himself. "She's not yours, and she never will be." He couldn't help the feeling of defeat that swept over him. Life wasn't fair.
Lily, as confused as ever, looked at her friend. For a whole month now she had kept her mouth shut about the ordeal, and she was fed up. This wasn't the Hera she knew! The Hera she knew would have slapped Sirius about fifty million times at this meal alone for all the advancements and comments he was making. But this girl just smiled meekly. In every other area, Hera was the same person she had been. But around Sirius, that all changed. Lily had tried to talk to her about the relationship many times, only to be ignored or have the subject changed. What frustrated Lily more than anything was that not a thing she did could possibly better the situation.
Peter wasn't looking at Hera, but rather at Lily. Something seemed to be troubling her, he thought as he took in her beautiful red hair, fair skin, and green eyes. His love for Lily was an obsessive one. Every time he saw another man so much as touch her, he was filled with so much anger that he thought he would crack. Luckily she seemed more preoccupied in Hera's love life than her own. All the better, he thought. If she ever gets a boyfriend, I think I just might kill him.
Remus knew something was going on, beyond a shadow of a doubt. He watched Lily contemplate Hera in frustration. He knew, however, that Hera was only half of the problem. His gaze shifted over to James, who was playing with his food. Something had certainly happened between the two of them. And Remus was bound and determined to find out just what.
Before leaving the table, Sirius wrapped his arms around Hermione and gave her a sloppy kiss- right in front of everyone. She didn't resist, nor did she feel the same anguish she did when he had first kissed her. In fact, Hermione had stopped feeling anything awhile ago. Now her soul was empty, and she was a vacant shell of the girl she had once been. Allowing Sirius to drag her out of her chair, she followed him out of the Great Hall without so much of a glance at James's pained face.
They walked through the hallway, neither saying a word. Actually, the couple never really engaged in deep conversation. Hermione was glad; she could only fake so much. Plus, Sirius was really getting on her nerves lately. She pried herself from his grip and stepped away. "I have to go to the library," she said quickly.
"You're always doing homework," he Sirius complained. "You need to lighten up." Hermione rolled her eyes, and started to walk way. "Oh yeah, I need to talk to you about something." Hermione stopped but didn't turn around. "Just go to the library now, but remind me later. You'll be so excited!" Upon hearing him walk in the opposite direction, Hermione continued to the library. She grabbed a random book and buried her face in it.
"Wow," said Sirius, finally pulling back. "That was incredible." Hermione forced herself to return his smile. He pulled her close to him again. "I mean, wow! Quite a change of heart, eh, Hera?" he said teasingly. She gave a fake little laugh, burrowing her head into his shoulder to hide her tears.
They walked back to the common room together that day, and from then on everyone could tell that things had changed. Hermione and Sirius started to do everything together. If Sirius ever had any wonders about her sudden transformation of feelings, he never mentioned it. All he cared about was that he finally had the relationship with "Hera" that he had wanted ever since he saw her crawling on the floor that day two months ago.
The relationship exceeded everyone's expectations. Given Sirius's track record, people had always assumed that they would break up in less than a week- either Hermione would get sick of him and his chauvinistic ways, or Sirius would find some fresh piece of meat and leave her in a heartbeat. Neither turned out to be true. In fact, a month had passed since Hermione had finally gave in, and their relationship had no end in sight.
*****
It was a typical early-December day. The Great Hall was filled with the usual noise as students filed in for lunch. Bellatrix Black and Severus Snape scoffed over at the Gryffindor table when they saw Sirius and Hermione arrive. Sirius had one arm wrapped tightly around her waist and they were walking hip to hip, as they had become accustomed to in the past weeks. Actually, the couple was hardly ever seen apart.
"Look at them," jeered Snape. "When will they get a room?"
Bellatrix agreed. "It's one thing that the relationship is plain sick and wrong, but another that they have to flaunt it in front of everyone." She shamefully covered her face with her slender hands... "I can't believe I'm related to him."
As Snape observed the pair, a thought came into his head. "Hey, do you still have that stupid necklace he gave her?"
Bellatrix smiled. She had forgotten all about it. "Yeah, I do," she replied.
Snape returned the vindictive grin. "Perhaps it will come in handy yet."
From the other side of the hall, Hermione saw the Slytherins' deriding sneers and returned them with one of her own. Sirius, already sitting down, pulled her into a chair next to him. "Good morning!" he greeted the rest of their friends. Everyone smiled at them. Hermione quickly caught a glimpse of James. He was looking down at his plate. She felt bad for him. He had been receptive enough of her relationship with Sirius, but she could tell that it still hurt him every time he saw them together.
(A/N: once again, when other characters are mentally reflecting on Hermione, I'm going to refer to her as "Hera" because that's how they think of her!)
Sirius grinned at his girlfriend as he stuffed food into his mouth. He couldn't be happier! Hera was everything he had ever wanted in a woman and more. Although she submitted to his advances most of the time, she still had a rebellious streak in her, and every once in awhile she'd lash out as she had in the old days. It couldn't get any better than this! He never knew he could feel this way about anyone. No, it wasn't love, he thought. But it was darn close.
James's eyes followed Hera's every movement as she ate. What was she doing? He knew that she could have no real feelings for Sirius. Anger directed at his friend boiled inside him. It wasn't just jealousy, even though James was most certainly jealous. But he hated the way that Sirius dragged Hera around, apathetic to her feelings. She obviously didn't feel as strongly about him as he felt about her, that much was apparent. Every time James saw them together it looked like she was trying to find a way to escape. Yet she stayed with him. This didn't make any sense. He forced himself to tear his eyes off of her and directed them at his plate. "Get a grip", he told himself. "She's not yours, and she never will be." He couldn't help the feeling of defeat that swept over him. Life wasn't fair.
Lily, as confused as ever, looked at her friend. For a whole month now she had kept her mouth shut about the ordeal, and she was fed up. This wasn't the Hera she knew! The Hera she knew would have slapped Sirius about fifty million times at this meal alone for all the advancements and comments he was making. But this girl just smiled meekly. In every other area, Hera was the same person she had been. But around Sirius, that all changed. Lily had tried to talk to her about the relationship many times, only to be ignored or have the subject changed. What frustrated Lily more than anything was that not a thing she did could possibly better the situation.
Peter wasn't looking at Hera, but rather at Lily. Something seemed to be troubling her, he thought as he took in her beautiful red hair, fair skin, and green eyes. His love for Lily was an obsessive one. Every time he saw another man so much as touch her, he was filled with so much anger that he thought he would crack. Luckily she seemed more preoccupied in Hera's love life than her own. All the better, he thought. If she ever gets a boyfriend, I think I just might kill him.
Remus knew something was going on, beyond a shadow of a doubt. He watched Lily contemplate Hera in frustration. He knew, however, that Hera was only half of the problem. His gaze shifted over to James, who was playing with his food. Something had certainly happened between the two of them. And Remus was bound and determined to find out just what.
Before leaving the table, Sirius wrapped his arms around Hermione and gave her a sloppy kiss- right in front of everyone. She didn't resist, nor did she feel the same anguish she did when he had first kissed her. In fact, Hermione had stopped feeling anything awhile ago. Now her soul was empty, and she was a vacant shell of the girl she had once been. Allowing Sirius to drag her out of her chair, she followed him out of the Great Hall without so much of a glance at James's pained face.
They walked through the hallway, neither saying a word. Actually, the couple never really engaged in deep conversation. Hermione was glad; she could only fake so much. Plus, Sirius was really getting on her nerves lately. She pried herself from his grip and stepped away. "I have to go to the library," she said quickly.
"You're always doing homework," he Sirius complained. "You need to lighten up." Hermione rolled her eyes, and started to walk way. "Oh yeah, I need to talk to you about something." Hermione stopped but didn't turn around. "Just go to the library now, but remind me later. You'll be so excited!" Upon hearing him walk in the opposite direction, Hermione continued to the library. She grabbed a random book and buried her face in it.