Hermione stared wide-eyed at Sirius. He was absolutely fuming!
"Sirius?" she asked cautiously. Sirius locked eyes with her and she could see hurt flash across his face for a split second, before turning his expression back to normal. Hermione walked up to him and took his hand.
"Please, I need to talk to you alone" she whispered. He nodded and together, they both left the Gryffindor common room. Remus gazed apprehensively at Ginny.
"Can you really trust her?" he asked. Ginny's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, her right eye twitching.
"Well, how do you know that she won't join the Death Eaters?" James questioned. Ginny shot up, looking so angry that the boys thought that she might explode.
"I can't believe that you don't trust her! It's more or less saying to you, can you really trust Remus?" Ginny asked James. James looked taken aback.
"Of course I can!" he said defiantly.
"Well, that's how it is with Hermione! She's my best friend!" Remus immediately looked guilty.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have had my doubts" Ginny sunk into the chair with her head in her hands.
"No, it's okay" James looked from Ginny to Remus and smiled. He picked the Invisibility cloak up from the ground and briskly made his exit out of Gryffindor tower. Remus stared after him with fear in his eyes. Ginny started sobbing, she didn't know why, but it felt good to let it out. Remus sat down next to her and awkwardly put his arms around her. She leaned in and literally howled into his chest.
"Hey? What are all the tears for? You said so yourself that you trusted Hermione" Remus soothed her gently.
"Y-Yeah, I know, b-but, I'm scared for her. W-What if, they try and force her into it?" Remus hugged her tighter.
"They won't, I promise you" Ginny eventually stopped sobbing as she stared into Remus' brown ones.
"Thanks" she whispered. Remus smiled.
"You're welcome" and at the same time, they both leaned in and shared a tender kiss.
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Hermione led Sirius up to the Astronomy tower and shut the door behind her. Sirius crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to talk.
"Look, I'm guessing you don't trust me anymore, right?" she asked. Sirius grinned.
"Of course I trust you! You said I was cuter than Malfoy!" he exclaimed. Hermione smiled weakly.
"Sirius, listen, I . . ." but her voice trailed off, when he put a finger on her lips. He took a step closer to her, his eyes drowning in hers. His eyes shifted to her lips as he leaned in close to her, but at the last movement, she pushed away.
"Sirius, please don't. As much as I would like to, I know what the result would be and-and I'm just not ready for it yet"
"It doesn't have to end up the way you think it will" he said huskily as he neared her once again "We can just . . . have a little fun" Hermione tried to fight, tried to resist the urge, but her hormones started to kick in.
"Sirius" she whispered as his lips came to be mere inches away from hers. Suddenly, the door burst open to reveal Lily. She blushed when she realized what she'd walked in on.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'll just . . . leave you two alone!" she said brightly as she made to leave, but Hermione quickly followed after her.
"I'll come with you, I've just realized I needed to go to the library to check something out, thanks Lils" she smiled as she exited the Astronomy Tower. Lily glanced apprehensively at Sirius.
"I'm so sorry! I really am, but someone told me that you were James and I panicked" Sirius, even though he felt annoyed, put on a small smile.
"It's alright Lils. Don't worry about it, apart from the fact that we were that close!" he said, putting his finger and thumb near each other so that they were almost touching. Lily looked apologetic.
"I said I'm sorry, what else do you want me to do?"
"No, nothing, it's alright" Sirius muttered, running a hand through his hair "I'm gonna ask her to the Christmas Ball, d'you think I'm in with a chance?" he asked. Lily nodded and smiled broadly.
"Most definitely! It's obvious that she's crazy about you, but she's nervous . . . give her time, she'll come round" Sirius couldn't help himself and hugged Lily.
"Thanks Lils!"
"No problem, so . . . when are you gonna ask her to the Ball?" Sirius frowned.
"I'm not sure. I'm worried that if I ask her now, it'll be too soon. When do you think I should ask her?"
"Ask her now, before she gets asked by Snape or Malfoy" Lily told him. Sirius nodded; his face stern.
"There is no way that Hermione's going to the Ball with a Slytherin! She's too good for them!" and with that said, he strode out of the Astronomy Tower in search of Hermione.
"Oh, he's got it bad!" Lily muttered to herself as she watched Sirius leave.
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Hermione buried her nose in "Time Travel". Whether she wanted to or not, she had to go back to the year 1997 at some point. She wondered how Sirius would feel about her then. Would he just see her as Harry's best friend or as . . . something else? She shook her head to clear herself of those thoughts. Skimming along some lines, she came across something that took her interest.
Time Travel is supposedly one of the most dangerous things that people can do. If someone was to go back in time and tell someone what their destiny was, then fate can change. Either death or life could happen, BUT whether it is for a good or bad reason, fate SHOULD NOT be changed!
Hermione carried on reading with wide eyes. She could tell Sirius what happened to him in the future! His fate didn't really affect anyone, but then her own words that she'd told Harry four years ago came back to haunt her.
You must not change time!
Hermione cursed herself for always being sensible and correct. Ever since she'd arrived in this new time, she'd changed. Whether it was for better or worse, she didn't know. A clearing of a throat caught her attention as she looked up. She smiled when she saw Sirius staring at her, looking embarrassed.
"Uh, I was kinda hoping to have a word with you?" he asked, looking hopeful. Hermione patted the seat next to her and he took it gratefully.
"So, you know this Christmas Ball that's coming up?" Sirius asked; his eyes fixed on the book in front of him, not daring to meet Hermione's eyes.
"Yes, what about it?"
"Well, uh, I was wondering if maybe-maybe you wanted to go with me?" Hermione couldn't help giggling as Sirius' cheeks turned slightly pink.
"I'd love to go with you" she whispered in his ear. Sirius jumped in surprise and turned to her with a goofy grin on his face.
"You'll go with me? Really?" Hermione nodded. Sirius pulled her into a hug in excitement.
"This is so great! I can't wait!" he said, looking like a little boy. Hermione stared at him in shock. She'd never seen Sirius Black get excited about being with a girl before!
"I'll pick you up at seven" he informed her, before exiting the library. Meanwhile, Hermione was once again, fighting her hormones.
Just run after him and kiss him, you know you want to, a taunting voice said in her head. Yet her rationalizing part of her kicked in.
No, leave that till the Ball; don't give him what he wants so early on!
"Ah, sod it" Hermione muttered to herself as she ran after Sirius.
"Sirius!" Sirius whirled around, looking surprised that Hermione had followed him.
"Hermione, what-?" Hermione grabbed a hold of him and pulled him into the broom closet. As soon as the door was shut, she pressed her lips onto his and kissed him passionately. He responded almost instantly, letting out a moan of delight. Hermione put her arms around his neck and felt Sirius deepen the kiss. As they pulled apart, they both looked flushed and Hermione immediately looked apologetic.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" she cried as she tried to leave, but Sirius pulled her back.
"Is that how you really feel?" he asked her, licking his lips. Hermione grew nervous, she wasn't ready for this.
"Y-Yes, but I'm not ready to-"
"Hey, who said that were going to be doing anything else?" Sirius asked, taking a step closer to her. She breathed in his scent, feeling light-headed. She found herself backed up against a wall, luckily. "Sirius" she whispered as he drew closer. As she put her arms around his neck and leaned in for another kiss, the door flew open, revealing Ginny, Remus, James and Lily. They were all grinning madly. Hermione felt dizzy suddenly as she leaned onto Sirius for support. Sirius caught her in his arms and hugged her tightly.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" James asked, looking gleeful. Sirius smiled weakly, while Hermione carried on breathing in his scent.
"I knew it!" Ginny said triumphantly, looking like the cat that had got the cream "I knew it!" Lily burst out laughing.
"They both look so guilty"
"We do not!" they both cried out in unison. Remus chuckled.
"Padfoot, you haven't been doing anything that I wouldn't, have you?" James asked, a strange glint in his eye. Sirius shook his head.
"Nah, Prongs, we didn't get very far, thanks to you lot" Hermione pulled away from Sirus and winked at him as she sighed.
"Man, I was hoping to have gone all the way too" Ginny's jaw dropped, while Hermione stifled a giggle.
"Hermione Granger, I'm surprised at you!"
"Please, don't say that! You sound like my mother!" They all laughed.
"Ah, well, let's go eat, I'm starving!" Sirius exclaimed as they all made their way to the Great Hall.
Meanwhile, Snape and Malfoy had been watching the little scene between Sirius and Hermione . . . and they weren't happy!