Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" etc, etc ... you know the drill here.

Summary: After every dusk comes a dawn. How do they live a normal life after all they've endured? Hermione, Sirius, and all the others try. A sequel to "Road to Redemption".

Dusk to Dawn

Chapter Two: Hope for Future

A month had gone by since her graduation day. Hermione filled out the last of her applications and began putting them into envelopes. She addressed one to the Department of Mysteries and another to the Department for the Protection of Muggle Rights, both at the Ministry of Magic; another to Dumbledore at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; and the last to St Mungo's. She piled up the envelopes, got up from the desk and stretched. She knew that she was supposed to be on holiday now and didn't need to worry about starting work for another year, but she didn't want to find herself stranded with nowhere to go.

She heard voices out in the corridor – her mother's. "Go right in, Harry dear," she was saying, "She's in there."

There was a knock on the door. Hermione turned around and called, "Come in". The door opened and Harry walked in. She smiled at him, and said nothing about her applications – Harry and the others would laugh at her. Nobody knew just how worried and afraid she was of the future.

Especially now.

"Harry!" she said happily, "You're early!"

"I thought I'd turn up a little early and spend some time with you before we leave," he replied, sitting down in her revolving desk chair and grinning at her, "I can't believe I haven't seen you this entire month, Hermione! If you're going to go into hiding like this, we'll never see each other!"

"I'm sorry," she said, meaning it, "I've just been really busy."

Harry shook his head. "Even Sirius says he hasn't seen you more than twice. What in hell have you been doing?"

"Just – helping my parents a bit," said Hermione quickly, moving a large book across her desk as subtly as possible, to cover up the envelopes. Harry was looking at her, and didn't notice.

"You didn't come with us to Edinburgh."

Hermione smiled slightly at the accusing note in Harry's voice. "Don't tell me you missed me!" she teased. "Really, Harry, that was more of a boys' thing. You, Ron, Sirius and Remus needed your time off. It would have been ridiculous for me to intrude on your bachelor parties."

Harry burst out laughing. "None of us are getting married! And do you honestly think Sirius was hanging around strippers?"

"Well, was he?"

"No, actually – he was dying to get home the whole time."

Hermione laughed, and went to her closet. "Harry," she said, as she looked through her clothes for something nice to wear. She wanted to look good tonight, for reasons best kept to herself for now.

"Yeah?"

"Are you serious about the moving in thing?"

"Of course I am," he sounded surprised, and frowned at her as she turned around with a pile of possible options in her arms, "The House is incredible – it's large and airy, with plenty of room and privacy and fireplaces! Sirius, Ron, Remus and I have all already moved into different parts of it – it's even bigger than Grimmauld Place, and Sirius's Uncle Alphard left it to him perfectly equipped. I don't see why you shouldn't move in with us."

Hermione scowled. "How would that work, Harry? My parents will have heart attacks if I tell them I'm moving in with four men, and into the bedroom of one."

"You've just got to tell them about you and Sirius, haven't you? You're overage now!"

"Sirius hasn't even asked me to move in yet, all right?" Hermione shook her head.

Harry blinked, clearly surprised. "He hasn't?"

"Harry, you know Sirius has a fear of committing himself to anything. He may be able to sustain a long-term relationship and to stick to the people he cares about infinitely, but he flees from permanent attachments."

"Maybe... but not with you," said Harry with conviction.

"Me included," she said gently. "Trust me."

"But – "

"Which one?" Hermione changed the subject, holding up a long white dress and a short but elegant black dress, both of which revealed quite a bit of skin.

Harry eyed her with misgiving. "Hermione, I'm not a girl and I'm not gay. I'm no judge of clothes!"

"You're male, aren't you?" she countered, laughing, "So tell me which one would set a red-blooded male's heart pounding harder?"

Her best friend shook his head and said, "The black. But I don't really get why – "

"Just close your eyes."

He started laughing. Hermione reached for her wand, and Harry hastily shut his eyes, muttering "Sirius would kill me anyway" distinctly under his breath, a grin playing around his mouth. Rolling her eyes (quite accustomed to the ceaseless teasing by now), she quickly changed. It took only about another ten minutes to get fully ready, and she talked to Harry while putting her earrings and shoes on. She brushed out her loose curls until they shone and put on the slightest bit of cherry lip colour. Her confidence went up one notch when Harry said she looked great. Not, she thought with a smile, that Harry was a spectacular judge or anything...

They were all going to dinner at the House (as they called it). It was something of a 'reunion', because they hadn't all met up since graduation. Hermione wasn't sure who would be there, but she assumed Harry, Ron and Remus and Tonks (who were still very much together, after getting together in a rather unorthodox way during the final battle) were definite. Hermione had asked Harry, a proud owner of a new Ford Anglia (he had considered it a good investment for the future and spent some of his fortune in buying in), to pick her up so that they could go together. Of course, they could Apparate, but both Harry and Hermione liked being normal Muggles sometimes. It was tough work always being a witch or wizard hero, particularly for Harry.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked her, as they were driving. It was about a twenty-minute drive, she knew, having been to both Sirius's and Harry and Ron's apartments before. "You look a little pale."

Hermione shook her head. "Oh... just nerves."

"Nerves? What on earth for?"

"Just – generally."

Harry turned his head right around to look at her. "Listen, Miss Granger," he said dryly, "You can't fool me. I've known you far too long and I'm no longer selfishly absorbed in my own feelings. I know something's up with you."

"Do you?" she sighed.

"Yes... I saw you empty the caramel milkshake your mother gave us before we left into the sink. You love caramel!"

"I've gone rather off it," said Hermione vaguely. "Harry, please don't ask me what's the matter. There really is nothing wrong, you know. I don't want you to worry for no reason. Yes, I'll admit something is up. But I can't tell you about it just yet. You'll know by the end of the night."

Harry looked at her for a moment, and she had an uneasy feeling that he wasn't as ignorant as she thought (and knew he wasn't as thick-headed as Ron). Then he nodded and said, "All right... I'll be patient."

"And you won't worry," she added.

He grinned. "And I won't worry. By the way, Ron and I both have dates for the night. They insisted on coming on their own, which is why mine isn't here."

Hermione laughed. "Heck, Harry, I'm going to have to strain my brains to guess who these mysterious dates could be! Seeing as you gave Parvati a rose on graduation, and Ron and Luna have had a thing for nearly eight months now... this should be fun tonight."

"Yeah... it will be," said Harry, smiling.

When they arrived at the main living-room and den of the House, they found Ron chuckling on the couch, Luna looking dreamy, and Remus waving his wand at a smashed china bowl with an expression of wry affection on his face. As Tonks was standing sheepishly a safe distance away, and Sirius's laughter echoed from the kitchen, it didn't take much to put two and two together. Hermione laughed as Tonks gave her a big hug and whispered, "Please protect me from Sirius! He'll kill me!"

"I heard that," said the escaped convict, strolling out of the kitchen at that moment and bending over a chest of drawers to look for something, "And I'll have you know that I utterly despise that bowl. Only don't tell Molly; she gave it to me as a housewarming present. Hey, Harry, I heard Dumbledore's got you signed up for Auror training already."

"Yeah, it starts in two months' time," said Harry, shrugging, "And here I was looking forward to nice, long break."

"Maybe he believes you need to keep your mind on something," Hermione said shrewdly.

"He knows me well," said Harry quietly.

Sirius had started at the sound of Hermione's voice and now turned sharply around. "Where the hell – ?" His voice broke off as he looked at her for the first time since she'd come in, and he just stood there. Hermione felt a flush heat up her skin as she recognized the look in his eyes. Harry had been right – guaranteed heart-pounding. She swallowed, and Sirius did the same. Neither of them heard the snickers from other occupants of the room.

"Well – you look – " he croaked, clearly at a loss for words.

"Different?" she suggested, smiling. Even though he was in normal black trousers and a frayed black shirt over a white T-shirt, she thought he looked heart-stoppingly good as well. He hadn't shaved in a day, and there was a shadow along his jaw.

"Different," he agreed, seizing gratefully on the word, although it was plain to everyone that he considered it a complete understatement.

Ron rolled his eyes. "If you two could stop staring at each other, you'd notice that there are other people in the room."

"Would you object to my kissing her, Ron?" asked Sirius, without taking his eyes off Hermione.

"Hell, yeah! Please save it for later!"

Hermione laughed and swatted him on the head. He grinned up at her and said, "Nice to see you again, Hermione."

"You too, Ron. Hi, Luna."

"Oh... hello," said Luna, smiling dreamily at her. "Ronald, has dinner started?"

Hermione caught Sirius's eye, and grinned. Parvati arrived a few minutes later, looking stunning in a very simple dress. She apologized for being late and Tonks tripped over the carpet in her attempt to introduce herself to Parvati. The last arrivals to dinner were unsurprisingly Fred and George Weasley, who came Apparating in with classic intent to cause havoc. After spending a few minutes in quelling their firecrackers and Sirius thanking his stars devoutly that he'd had the forethought to enchant his apartment with a sound-proofing spell before, they finally sat down to dinner.

"Firewhiskeys," said George mischievously, handing them around, "There's nobody underage here any longer after all, Remus, so don't look at me like that!"

Remus laughed. "All right, George, I beg pardon. Don't look so happy, Sirius – honestly, you never did grow up."

Hermione smiled to herself. She knew why Sirius was sometimes the same age as Harry and Ron, and otherwise a very shrewd and cynical adult... his years had Azkaban had stripped his youth from him, and most of him would always be scarred by it. But there was time now for him to relax and let the young marauder resurface to have some fun. He missed his youth, she knew, and mourned its early loss. She understood better than he would ever know, having lost her own at the age of eleven when she had helped Harry get the Philosopher's Stone to safety.

"So, Sirius, you still hunting for remaining Death Eaters?" asked Tonks.

"Almost done," he replied, "Just a couple more to find, and it doesn't matter if we don't – we don't think Moon and Goyle pose any real threat anymore."

"What're you planning to do after you're done with this?"

Sirius looked at his cousin for a minute, and Remus swiftly drew Tonks' attention away to spare him the pain of finding an answer to that frightening, unanswerable question: what now?

"What're you thinking about?" Sirius asked Hermione, who was sitting next to him.

She smiled at him. "That's for me to know and for you to find out at some point of time," she said mischievously.

He laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. Dinner was great fun, Hermione reflected, when it was over and they were all drinking Firewhiskeys in the cozy den. Fred and George made frequent comments about how they felt disgusted to be a part of a group that was solely comprised of couples. They seriously considered dating each other, but decided they couldn't cope with homosexuality and incest at the same time. It was too much, Fred said seriously, for even men of their calibre to handle.

Ron snorted into his chocolate cake. "Men of your what was that?" he demanded. "I don't think I heard right."

Fred threw a cushion at him, but it hit Luna.

"Typical chaos in our world," sighed Remus, "How did I ever get trapped into this?"

"By the way," Harry said, grinning, "Guess who got an offer from Puddlemere United, as Chaser?"

Hermione squealed. "Ron, why didn't you tell me?"

Ron's face was flaming red as everybody yelled and expressed their excitement in different ways. He admitted that he was going to play Quidditch, but he still didn't know what he really wanted to do with his life. He looked thoroughly embarrassed and mock-glared at Harry, who laughed. Hermione smiled at both of them – it was nice to see Ron being in the limelight for a change, and she knew Harry thought so as well.

Ron cleared his throat a moment later, and everybody went silent. "I – ah – I have something more to tell you guys. Er – it may come as a shock, but – ah – I'm getting married."

Everybody stared at him, stunned.

"Sorry?" Sirius choked.

"To who?" demanded Harry tactlessly. Parvati hit him on the arm.

Luna frowned. "Excuse me!"

Parvati intervened: "I think that's great for you guys. I mean – you're a little young to be getting married and all, but it happens all the time anyway. I'm happy for you."

"We all are," Hermione said, "It's just – a shock."

Ron grinned. "You didn't think I'd be the first to get married, did you?"

"To be honest, no," said Sirius bluntly, "Not in a million years." He grinned, and clapped Ron on the back so hard that he choked on his cake. "Good for you, Ron. You've got a great guy, Luna, take care of him."

Ron turned even pinker.

"I think this calls for a toast," said Harry. He raised his glass. "To Ron and Luna!"

"To Ron and Luna!" everyone echoed. Ron was purple by now.

Hermione laughed and lifted her glass to her mouth. Before it touched her lips, however, the smell of the Firewhiskey hit her nose. She was stunned by the overpowering nausea that struck her almost instantly. Her stomach churned ominously, and she blinked, hastily putting the glass down. The smell of Firewhiskey had never bothered her before... she closed her eyes and realized swiftly what it was. It had happened before after all, with caramel.

And she was going to throw up on the carpet if she didn't get to the kitchen in five second flat.

She leaped up, and caught a glimpse of Harry's concerned eyes as she bolted out of the room. She raced into the kitchen and went to the sink. She stood over it with her hands against the cool metal, breathing hard. The nausea hovered ominously over her stomach and throat, and then passed. She began to feel better, normal again... and hopefully, if she stayed away from the Firewhiskey, she would be spared any further trouble. For a moment, she just closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. How was she supposed to do this? How could she tell him? How would he react? She knew Sirius very well – he was terribly commitment-phobic, and would shudder at the thought of any tangible tie to another person, like marriage... or this.

Hermione bit her lip hard to quell the droplet of sadness inside her. She was supposed to be happy – and she was actually happy about it. But how was she supposed to tell him about this? Did he really need to know? Hermione nearly laughed out loud at herself. Short of leaving the vicinity entirely and going on a long holiday, exercising like a devil and then returning, there was no way he could not find out. And it would be infinitely better if she told him than if he found out with his own eyes. And what about Ron, going to be married, and Harry, and her parents, and her surrogate parents Dumbledore and McGonagall, and Ginny and Tonks? They had every right to know about it from her – and Remus, and Harry too, had every possible reason to know from both sides. She was an idiot to even consider hiding it from any of them. If she tried to bolt and hide herself, one of them would be bound to find her and find out. And she didn't want to hurt them by not telling them... but telling them meant that she had to tell Sirius. He had more right than anybody else to know about this.

But it was Sirius Black they were talking about... Sirius, whose marauder instincts shied away from anything permanent, whose painful past made him shut off as much emotion as he possibly could and hide from attachments... it was asking a lot to hear the words "I love you" from him – she hadn't heard him say it since the day he had come back from the dead, although she could understand why he backed away from it – and this could just be too much...

Why, why, why did she always have so much to worry about? Voldemort was gone! Yet now she was faced with a dawn after the dusk of war... a dawn she was afraid of because she was left feeling utterly obsolete. And to cap it all off, she had to worry about this as well... all she really wanted was a spark of hope for a future, a future she could love – and this was a spark of hope to her, but it wouldn't be so if Sirius didn't think so. Without him, nothing could make up. Not even her best friends. She needed him, and she was afraid that this would change everything. Well – she laughed at herself – of course this changed everything, but she didn't want it to change so drastically that nothing was like it was now. She knew Harry, Ron and the others would be happy... shocked, but happy. But Sirius – damn him, it all came back to him – and it was his fault too. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter. She was going to drive herself mad at this rate.

"Hermione?"

She opened her eyes. So much for avoiding it...

Sirius was standing right behind her. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with her inner fear.

"I'm fine," she said automatically.

He frowned at her. "No, you're not. I saw the look on your face when you tried to drink the Firewhiskey. It's never bothered you before. Hermione," he reached out and brushed his fingers across her cheek, pulling her closer to him. As inarguably insensitive as he was, he did care. "What's the matter?"

Tears stung her eyes. She didn't know why she felt like crying; her moods appeared to be greatly exaggerated these days. She looked up at Sirius, into his deep and dark eyes, and she was very afraid of this.

"You're not going to like it," she warned him softly, "Although I do – I like it very much, even though it turns everything upside down."

He looked alarmed. "What – ? Tell me, Hermione."

For a moment, she said nothing. He slid his arms down to her waist, his hands warm and drawing her closer to him. One of her hands was on his chest, feeling his heart beat harder as she was close to him and she played with the collar of his shirt with the other hand. She buttoned and unbuttoned one of his buttons on the black shirt, and watched the play of muscles under the thin white fabric. A pulse throbbed in his throat and he bent his head to kiss her neck and bite gently at it, stroking his tongue over each bite to send fire through her veins. A soft groan escaped his throat; his hand moved and he muttered in frustration, "The only problem with this dress is that I can't get under it now."

She smiled and brushed her lips against his. Then she stuck her tongue out at him and he swore under his breath; she knew he loved and hated it when she stuck her tongue out because it always made him want to kiss her and claim the tongue as his own.

"You can't get away with not answering," he whispered against the skin of her throat.

Hermione decided that the only way to do it was to simply say it straight out. She gently detached herself from him, took a deep breath and steeled herself for it, and her voice shook only a little as she said: "I'm going to have a baby, Sirius."

He stared at her. "What?"

"It's true."

"But – r-really?"

"Yes," she nodded, unable to say anything more.

"Merlin's beard," he muttered, "What an idiot I am."

That wasn't the reaction she had been expecting. "It's not really your fault – I mean, not completely. And like I said, I'm – I'm actually quite happy about it. I've always wanted to be a mother some day, and I do love kids." She hesitated, looking down at the floor, and added, "I'm not asking you to do anything. I just thought I'd tell you."

"Not do anything? Are you crazy? You're not going anywhere," Sirius shook his head, and tilting her chin up, he kissed her softly and then harder, more hungrily. She responded instantly, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He lifted his head after a long moment and grinned crookedly. "A marauder can handle anything, Hermione. You do realize we have to tell the rest of them. Some night for announcements."

Hermione nodded. She was filled with a flood of relief to hear him say she wasn't to go anywhere, but she was aware of a faint sense that something was missing. The tears in her throat still hadn't faded.

She was being selfish. What more did she want from him?!

But she knew. She wanted him to be as happy about this as she was. She wanted him to want this, to want her. She wanted him to love her. The painful truth was that she wasn't so sure he actually did, or still did. Coming back from the dead could have instilled in him a delighted exhilaration at life and love, a euphoria that would have faded over this past year. She just didn't know.

Hermione shut off the thoughts. 'You can't have everything in life, Hermione'... it was something her mother had said to her right from birth, and she trusted in her mum's wisdom. It was true. You had to make do with what you got. She loved him. This was better than she had hoped; it gave her a bit of that spark again, and this was better than nothing.

"You have to move in with us, with me," he added, smiling slightly.

Hermione swallowed and laughed up at him. "You'll have to break it to my parents."

Sirius groaned. "Why do I get myself into these situations?"

Laughing, Hermione followed him back into the living-room to tell the others. She refused to dwell on the sadder thoughts in her mind, or about the dark worries about that terrible question, 'what now'... she was just going to take what she got. You couldn't have everything in life. It was one of those lessons she had learned even on her own. And she had survived a war, still in one piece. She could live through anything now.

TBC.

A/N: This chapter was surprisingly difficult to write. Please review and let me know how it's going! Should I go on, or should I cut my losses and remove this story entirely? I really need feedback from my faithful readers, and I'd like to thank you all! Enjoy the story.