Sirius went back to his seat and buried his face in his hands. He couldn't believe what had just happened. When he had asked Hermione for a dance, he hadn't imagined it would lead to a kiss... though she is a good kisser, Sirius admitted to himself. He knew she had gone out with Ron for two years, but where had she learned to kiss like that?

Suddenly, he shook his head hard. This whole Hermione thing was getting out of hand. He had kissed Hermione twice in two days. She was eighteen, he reminded himself. She was not his age. She was still a teenager – though she was way, way more mature than her friends... more mature than Harry... more mature than Ron... Actually, she wasn't less mature than himself!

But she was too young... too young...

And yet...

What was it that he felt towards Hermione? Friendship? Definitely. Fatherhood? It wasn't what he felt towards Harry, but maybe he did treat Hermione as a daughter, too – at least a little. But you don't kiss your daughter like that, do you? Well, he definitely had feelings towards Hermione – but what were they?

"Sirius?"

Sirius raised his eyes and saw Remus next to him.

"Way to go, man," said Remus, "you proved me wrong. I thought you were too shy. Well, you weren't, and I'm sorry. You can say HA if you want."

"I – I kind of need to be alone for a moment," Sirius stammered.

Remus gazed at him, surprised. "Hey, Padfoot, I said I was sorry. And I meant it. I shouldn't have teased you like that. I understand now you were not embarrassed at all. I admit I was wrong, why do you keep doing it to me?"

"I'm not doing anything," Sirius replied quietly. "It's not against you, Moony, I really need to be alone. I'm serious."

"I know you are Sirius."

"Moony – please!" Sirius was losing patience. "I mean it. I need to be alone right now. I have to think!"

"Is anything wrong?" Remus asked, looking worried.

"I'll tell you later, okay?" Sirius muttered.

"Maybe we can go inside the house," Remus suggested. "We can sit in there and talk."

Sirius sighed. Perhaps Remus was right. There was no point in sitting there, drowning in those endless thoughts. Besides, maybe Remus could help him.

"Okay," he said. "Let's go in the house."

"Great," Remus replied. "Go ahead. I'll just ask Ron if we could use his bedroom."

A few minutes later, Sirius and Remus were sat down in Ron's small bedroom. Sirius was sitting on the chair, staring at the window. Remus was sitting comfortably on the bed.

"What is it, Sirius? What's bothering you?" he asked, looking worried again.

Sirius swallowed hard. His shoulders sank. "It's Hermione," he said. There was no point in avoiding the issue.

"Hermione? What about Hermione?"

"I think," Sirius said softly, "that I'm starting to develop some – some kind of feelings about her." He didn't look Remus in the eye. Instead, he gazed at the Chudley Cannons posters on the wall.

"What kind of feelings?" Remus asked cautiously.

"Feelings. Feelings beyond fatherhood. Beyond – beyond friendship."

Remus said nothing for a very long time. So long, that Sirius was tempted to shift his gaze from the posters and turn to look at him. But as he did, he was taken aback, for Remus had a huge grin spread on his face.

"What?!" Sirius asked furiously.

"Nothing – I'm just – "Remus struggled to find the right words. "It's just so – so GREAT!" he finally declared.

"Great?" Sirius stared – this was the last adjective HE would have given to the feelings.

"Of course!" Remus said, almost cheering. "I knew it. I knew it all along. And Tonks said it, too. You two are simply PERFECT together."

"Huh?"

"Come on, Padfoot, I mean it. You and Hermione can be great together. You have nothing to be so tense about. I had a hunch that someday it would happen."

"What – what – "Sirius was still too shocked to speak. "But HOW could you possibly know such a thing?!" he demanded. "I didn't know, and Hermione didn't know, so how come YOU of all people knew?"

"It was just... obvious," said Remus, shrugging, but as he noticed Sirius's face, he became serious and said: "I simply had that feeling that someday, something really big would happen between you and Hermione. I don't know how I saw it. You two just seemed really good together. And apparently, I was not the only one to notice that. Tonks thought so, too. She almost went nuts over the picture of you two kissing."

Sirius thought about it for a moment. "But why haven't I ever noticed that?" he protested. "That's impossible. And I don't think Hermione noticed anything, too."

"You know what they say," Remus grinned. "If it's about you, you're always the last to know."

"Do you really think Hermione and I can be good together?" Sirius asked doubtfully.

"Oh, I have no doubt."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Several weeks later, Sirius was still unsure what to do. Whenever he saw Hermione, he felt the blood flooding his face, and knew that sooner or later, they would have to discuss what had happened between them. Normally, he would have told her there was nothing to worry about. That he understood her completely. That sometimes, when you're a teenager, your hormones go crazy and make you do stuff you normally would never do. He would have told her they could still be friends, and he would not tell anyone and never think about it again.

But it was not what he wanted to say.

What he really wanted to say was: "Hermione, I love you, please don't tell me that what you did was due to a teenage crisis." He wanted her to know the truth. He wanted her to tell him she loved him too – and that their kisses meant a lot to her.

It was only fair to hear that from her. After all, she was the one to kiss him in both times!

However, he couldn't be the grown-up this time. He couldn't tell her what he would have normally told her, because the circumstances weren't normal – and he was losing his head, too.

He needed to talk to someone. Someone who knew Hermione. Someone who could tell him their opinion about her behavior. Someone who could tell him whether what Hermione was feeling was a teenage crush – or a mature love.

But eventually, he decided he could risk telling everything to another person. He didn't want to wake up one day and find out Hermione knew all about his feelings towards her, which were meanwhile deepening from day to day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hermione was standing upstairs, in the guest room she was sharing with Ginny. She was staring out to the window, listening to quiet music from her magic radio, which played any song she wanted. And right now, she wanted to listen to a song about love... because this issue was bothering her so much lately.

------ "If I had to live my life without you near me

The days would all be empty, the nights would seem so long

With you I see forever oh so clearly

I might have been in love before, but it never felt this strong" ------

"Hermione?" she heard a soft knock on the door and turned. There was standing none other than the man who had been filling her head with so many feelings... so many feelings she had no idea how to control... His dark hair was still long enough to cover his ears, and his eyes were lit in the most beautiful way... Sirius Black was the most handsome man Hermione had ever seen. She had been denying it ever since their first kiss...

------ "Our dreams are young and we both know,

They'll take us where we want to go

Hold me now, touch me now,

I don't want to live without you" ------

"Hermione, there's something I want to do..." said Sirius softly, and with Hermione's eyes watching him in wonderment, he went on: "There's something I've wanted to do for a long time..."

And before Hermione could say a word – probably, before he lost his courage – he went over to her, cupped her face in both hands, and kissed her lips softly.

------ "Nothing's gonna change my love for you

You ought to know by now how much I love you

One thing you can be sure of, I'll never ask for more than your love

Nothing's gonna change my love for you

You ought to know by now how much I love you

The world may change my whole life through,

But nothing's gonna change my love for you" ------

As he slowly and carefully withdrew from her, his eyes were twinkling and begging her to respond somehow... Hermione knew this must be a dream – she was definitely dreaming. But if it was a dream – why not at least enjoy it as much as she could? So instead of pulling away from him, she leaned in and kissed him back.

His warm lips were sending shivers down her spine. If it really was a dream, then it was a very tangible one. She could feel his arms wrapped around her, his hand playing with her hair, and his lips moving on hers as the kiss deepened.

------ "If the road ahead is not so easy,

Our love will lead the way for us, like a guiding star

I'll be there for you if you should need me,

You don't have to change a thing, I love you just the way you are

So come with me and share the view,

I'll help you see forever too

Hold me now, touch me now,

I don't want to live without you

Nothing's gonna change my love for you

You ought to know by now how much I love you

One thing you can be sure of, I'll never ask for more than your love

Nothing's gonna change my love for you

You ought to know by now how much I love you

The world may change my whole life through,

But nothing's gonna change my love for you" ------

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: That was really, really fun to write. Thanks for the wonderful, wonderful reviews!!! You guys are terrfic! Note: I do not own the lyrics of the song "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You".

Luver-of-Tom: No problem... :-)