As Hermione, Ginny and Lily seated themselves in the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom, the first thing they noticed was that the teacher was in a very cheery mood, something that Hermione and Ginny weren't used to seeing in their teachers.
"Pleased to meet you both, I'm Professor David" She said, flashing them all a smile.
"Professor David, what are we going to be doing in classes today?" Ginny asked, looking curious.
"Oh, we're doing Boggarts today, Miss . . . ?"
"Weasley, Professor. Um, is it a practical on Boggarts or just writing stuff down?"
"We're going to be doing a practice, Miss Weasley. You seem rather a thorough person, do you need to know exactly what we're doing today?" she asked politely. Ginny blushed.
"Sorry Professor, I was just curious" Professor David smiled.
"Curiosity killed the cat, Miss Weasley"
"I know"
BANG!
Professor David jumped about a foot in the air, then peeked outside the classroom. There was smoke everywhere and the Marauders were all killing themselves laughing.
"That's it! I've had enough of you four! Miss Weasley, please sit next to Mr. Lupin! I'm sorry dear, what's your name?" she asked Hermione.
"Hermione Granger, Professor"
"Miss Granger, will you be so kind as to sit next to Mr. Black and Miss Evans, I want you to sit next to Mr. Potter. Mr. Pettigrew, up to the front of the class where I can see you" she barked at the blonde haired boy who winced and quickly did as he was told.
Hermione slid into the seat next to Sirius and made sure that she didn't look at him.
"Are you okay?" Sirius whispered in her ear. She jumped and turned to Sirius with a hand on her heart.
"Don't scare me like that!" Sirius winked at her.
"Sorry, I'll try not to scare you so much next time" Hermione rolled her eyes and looked away.
"Why are you avoiding me?"
Hermione looked up in confusion.
"What?"
"Why won't you look at me? Are you avoiding me?"
"No, I-I just want to work, that's all"
"Hermione" Sirius grabbed a hold of her wrist and leaned in close to her. Hermione felt her heart beating twice as fast and noticed that her breathing had quickened. Damn my stupid schoolgirl crush! She thought angrily.
"I really like you" he whispered into her ear. Hermione froze as she stared at him with disbelief. He winked at her, then resumed to looking innocently at the teacher when she glared at him.
She glanced at Ginny, trying desperately to make eye-contact with her, so she could tell her what Sirius had just said. He'd just told her he liked her! Oh, stop it Hermione, I bet he's said exactly the same thing to lots of other girls, Hermione thought to herself bitterly and knew that that was true. Feeling completely miserable, she put her head in her hands and dozed off.
"Miss Granger!" The voice sounded so sharp that her head snapped up.
"Yes?"
"Have you been paying any attention to what I've been saying about Boggarts for the last fifteen minutes?" Professor David asked, looking angry.
"Um, that they're shape-shifters and they transform into what scares us most?" Hermione said nervously. Professor David relaxed and nodded.
"That's correct. Miss Granger, are you feeling alright?" she asked, looking concerned. Hermione shook her head.
"No, Professor, I don't feel so good"
"Maybe someone should escort you to the Hospital Wing" Before either Ginny or Lily could say anything, Sirius immediately stood up.
"I'll do it" Professor David raised an eyebrow.
"Very well, Mr. Black, but this time, try not to seduce her along the way, like you did with that other innocent female" A few sniggers could be heard in the class as they left.
Hermione groaned, feeling weak. She wanted to be with Ginny, not Sirius!
"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Sirius asked, looking worried.
"What do you think?" she snapped.
"Sorry"
"No, don't apologize"
"Ya know, I meant what I said back in class, is that why you feel so . . . ill?" Sirius asked. Hermione glared at him.
"Don't flatter yourself" she told him coldly. Sirius stared at her.
"Hermione!"
"Just . . . leave me alone!" Hermione said, trying to storm off, but Sirius grabbed a hold of her and pulled her into the broom closet. He stood in front of the door, so that she couldn't pass.
"Look, you're unlike any other girl I've met and I really do like you!" Sirius told her, taking a step toward her. Hermione could feel herself shaking.
"Trying to charm me? It isn't working Black!"
"Hermione, I'm being serious!"
"Look, I'm betting you've used those exact words with every other girl you've met. Just leave me alone!" Hermione tried to push past him, but Sirius grabbed her again and pinned her against the wall.
"Let go of me, or I'll scream" she warned. Sirius smiled at her, then leaned in and kissed her. It was gentle and Hermione found herself liking it, but she then realized what would happen if she responded. She roughly pushed him away and ran out of the broom closet, making her way to the Gryffindor tower.
"Hermione! Come back!" Sirius yelled as he dashed after her.
Hermione ran at full speed to the Gryffindor tower, she'd never got close to any guy, except for Harry and Ron, but they were her best friends. Dean had purposely slept with her, just for the fun of it. Ever since then, she'd found herself withdrawing from the opposite sex. She couldn't let Sirius do the same thing that had Dean had done! She dashed into the common room and made for the girls' dormitories, but just as she made it halfway to her dorm room, the stairs flattened and she went sliding down to the common room and into Sirius' arms.
"Leave me alone! Can't you take a hint? I know all about your reputation and I know that you're just trying to charm me into bed, well, let me tell you something, IT ISN'T HAPPENING!" She screamed as she burst into tears. Sirius stared at her in shock as he awkwardly put his arms around her. Hermione tried to fight against it, but Sirius didn't let go and eventually, she just fell into his arms, sobbing her heart out.
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"Where have they been all lesson?" Ginny asked Lily as soon as they left the class. They both looked worried as they turned to James, Remus and Peter.
"You don't think that he, well, you know . . ." Ginny trailed off, looking worried. James shrugged, but Remus looked concerned.
"I'm sure he hasn't. Not if Hermione told him no"
"Let's go to Gryffindor tower, maybe they're in there" They all nodded as they made their way to Gryffindor tower.
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As soon as they entered Gryffindor tower, they were greeted with a most unexpected surprise. Hermione was crying into Sirius' chest, while he was whispering in her ear. Ginny took a step forward.
"Hermione?" Hermione looked up and flung herself at her best friend.
"Oh, Gin, I've been needing to talk to you" she cried. Ginny nodded and they quickly made their way up to the girls' dormitories, leaving Lily, Remus and James to glare at Sirius.
"Padfoot, what did you do?" James asked.
"Absolutely nothing. She just burst into tears and started saying stuff like "I know all about your reputation and what you're planning on doing to me. It's happened to me before" Lily looked gob-smacked.
"It's happened to her before?" she asked, looking horrified. Sirius nodded.
"I'll tell you something though, she's unlike any other girl I've ever met before and I mean that in a good way, she must be the only girl in this school that can resist me" Sirius said with a grin.
"Oh, Padfoot, please tell me you didn't" Remus said, looking worried.
"Hey, she just burst into tears on me, what would you have done?"
"I'm glad you didn't take advantage of her when she was vulnerable" Lily said with a smile.
"Hey, she's strong, even when she's vulnerable" Sirius grimaced "She kicked me right where it hurts" They all burst out laughing.
"When was this then?" James asked, looking amused.
"Oh, when she was crying on my chest, I tried to kiss her and WHAM! I tell you, it hurt!" They were all by this time, howling with laughter.
"Oh, god, I love this girl already!" Lily said through her tears of laughter "She's brilliant!"
"Yeah" Sirius said with a dreamy look on his face "She is"
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"And-and then he kissed me" she wailed. Ginny looked shocked.
"What did you do?"
"I pushed him away and ran off. I c-couldn't do it" she whimpered. Ginny nodded and hugged Hermione.
"I know and I'm proud of you. You must be the only girl who can resist his charms, you know" she beamed at her. Hermione smiled weakly.
"So, how are thing going with you and Remus?" Hermione asked with a grin appearing on her face. Ginny raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, there's nothing between us" she said airily, but Hermione wasn't convinced.
"If you don't tell me what happened in Defense, then I'm gonna go down there and start shouting that you fancy him"
"It's nothing new to them. They all know" Ginny said grumpily.
"Okay" and with that, she dashed downstairs with Ginny hot on her heels.
"I was joking!" she exclaimed as Hermione let loose with "GINNY FANCIES REMUS! GINNY FANCIES REMUS! GINNY FANCIES MMMHHHMMM!"
"She's drunk" Ginny told them brightly, blushing beetroot red. Lily giggled as Remus blushed scarlet.
"Hermione, I think you need a good nights' sleep. You can dream about Ron!" Ginny added brightly. Hermione stared at her.
"Ron?! Are you mad?!"
"He's your boyfriend. How am I mad?"
"He's your brother!"
"And your boyfriend"
"Well then, you can have sweet dreams about Harry" Ginny's jaw dropped.
"Harry?! Ew! No way!" Hermione blinked a few times.
"He's your boyfriend"
"Not really. Oh, Hermione, come on! His idea of a date is to have a few glasses of Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks!"
"But you've liked him since you were eleven!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Just goes to prove that you can get over your crushes" she said with a smirk.
"Yeah. All Ron and I ever did was argue. It was so annoying!" Ginny giggled.
"That's true"
"Wait a sec, you two have boyfriends?!" Sirius asked incredulously.
"Not really. They're not exactly romantic and Ron's a rubbish kisser" Hermione said with a grin "Unlike someone else I know" Only Sirius seemed to know who she referring to as he smiled broadly.
"Come on Hermione, let's go to dinner. I'm starving!" Ginny exclaimed as they linked arms and set off for the Great Hall. Lily made her way to the girls' dormitories to get changed out of her school uniform.
"She really is amazing" Sirius said when Lily was out of hearing range.
Remus raised an eyebrow.
"Really? You mean to tell me that the great Sirius Black has actually found a girl he likes without shagging or snogging her first?! Either Padfoot's ill or this girl is really something!"
"She's gorgeous and she's smart, she's not giggly when she's near me and she's totally different to any other girl I've ever met. I think I've found the one" he said dramatically. James stared at him as if he'd gone mad. He waved a hand in front of his face, but got no response.
"Padfoot? Come back to planet Earth" The only response he got was a blink. James let out a low whistle as he turned to Remus and Peter.
"This girl is really something if she can do this to Padfoot"
"Yeah" Remus said as his mind wandered to a certain red-head.