Let it be known that I had this chapter done at 11 o'clock two nights ago, but then my internet went out and then I couldn't log in to the frackin' site, and then I could log in but couldn't update. Soo...things beyond my control. (though still very aggravating)

Sirius: 16

Remus: 14

Threesome: 4

Wow...and we're back to Sirius in the lead, which is perfect timing for this chapter. I mean...not that there's anything going on between them in this DON'T SKIP AHEAD!

Oh...and brownie points to ChibiKai02.

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Harry woke with a start, sitting straight up in bed. Grabbing his glasses off his bedside table he looked about for the cause of his sudden awakening. Ron was mumbling about spiders in his sleep beside him, and either James or Remus was snoring. Sirius was hanging half out of his bed and when he breathed, the curtain twisted around him would slide back and forth across the bed frame.

The rest of the dorm was empty.

Scrambling out of bed, he looked to the clock hanging obscurely on the wall. 7:58. And Hermione hadn't come to wake them.

"EVERYBODY UP!" He bellowed and there were several thumps! as bodies hit the floor.

But Harry was already running down the stairs, his pajamas half-transfigured into his uniform. He got about halfway up to the girls' dorms when the stairs flattened into a slide and sent him rocketing back down into an unceremonious heap in the common room floor.

"LILY!" He yelled, hoping the redhead could hear him.

There was a small sound behind him – a sleepy mewling. He caught sight of bushy brown hair and all his fears evaporated. Quietly he moved over to the couch and knelt down beside her face. As if sensing his presence, her body rolled over to face him. She was still wearing her school uniform. He watched her face snuggling into the cushions of the armrest and noted the sticky sheen that caught in the faint sunlight.

She murmured something in her dreams and Harry thought he misheard, but then she whispered it again.

"Harry."

Fondly, he brushed the curls from her face and tucked them behind her ear. "I'm here, Hermione," he whispered.

Her brow furrowed in sleep and there was a sound of cloth stretching as her fingers curled into the fabric of the couch. "Need..." her plea was strained. "I need..."

Harry slid his hand under hers, breaking her hold on the cushion, and interlaced their fingers. He continued to stroke her face hoping it would soothe her troubled dreams. He worried what had happened lasts night that would make her so distressed – something rare for the collected Head Girl.

"What is it?" He whispered to her. "What do you need?"

Her face turned into the armrest in hiding. Her hair fell back across her face like a curtain of toffee. "Happy," her words came mumbled through the thick cushion fabric. "Need...happiness..."

Harry listened in pained confusion and watched her body twist in increased discomfort from her thoughts. Her mouth opened and shut several times without a word being uttered and the breaths from between her lips were shallow and shuddering. "Harry..." She moaned his name, her face taking on a pained expression.

"Hermione?" His volume picked up as his concern for her mounted. "Hermione?!"

"THEY'RE COMING!" Hermione sat bolt upright as she screamed the words.

The Marauders froze at the bottom of their staircase, and Lily at hers, all watching Hermione panting for breath. Then the stalemate broke and they all went running for the couch. Lily helped Harry up off the floor where he'd been knocked down and the boys piled around the couch.

"Hermione – are you alright?" Remus asked. His gray-blue eyes were full of concern.

Still short of breath, she flung herself into his arms. She pulled Sirius down beside her and hugged him as well. Grabbing sleeves and shirts she got everyone onto the couch and did her best to hug them all.

"I had an awful nightmare," she conceded when her breath returned.

"Oy, Hermione..." Ron teased quietly. "You're crushing me." Somehow Ron had ended up with Hermione sitting on his waist. She laughed in mirth, glad she could always count on her best friend to lift her spirits.

"Let's skip classes."

"Now I think you really have gone mad." James comment earned him a playful smack.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Harry demanded, from his squished position between Lily and the armrest, Ron's bony legs under him.

"How did I end up on the bottom!?" Ron demanded, and everyone burst out laughing causing some of them to nearly fall right off the piled couch.

"Come on you guys," Remus managed through his chuckles. "Knoll won't mind if we're late – we should go."

Hermione actually pouted. "Oh, alright."

She crawled out from underneath Sirius and James and transfigured her rumbled clothes into a set of new ones. Somehow, everyone got off the couch with a minimal amount of bruises and a healthy amount of laughter.

"I think all these boys are having a bad influence on you," Lily decided as she straightened out her skirt.

"Afraid you'll be the only bookworm left, Lils?" James teased, throwing his arm around her as the group headed out into the hall.

She sighed dramatically drawing a grin from her boyfriend. "I've still got Remus."

James grin grew wider as he looked down the hall and he nudged her affectionately. "I wouldn't be so sure."

She followed his gaze as he nodded his head up a ways. Groaning in frustration, she walked with James to where Hermione and Remus were crouched down side by side in a ridiculous resemblance of Muggle runners.

"What are you doing?" She asked in a way that clearly said she didn't want to know.

"Remus said he could beat me to DADA," Hermione scoffed, flipping her hair back of her shoulders with a toss of her head.

"My money's on Hermione," Harry said, clearly the officiator of the race.

"Mine too," Ron agreed.

Sirius cleared his throat loudly enough to warrant their attention. "I could beat her," he boasted confidently. He ran a hand through his long hair as he leaned against the wall.

"Care to put your galleons where your mouth is, pretty boy?" Hermione challenged, a wry grin on her face. "One box of chocolate frogs says I win."

Sirius smirked and pushed away from the wall, "You're on."

"I'm the only sane one left," Lily bemoaned, placing a hand to her forehead.

"First one to the Defense doorway," Hermione decreed, and the other two boys nodded their acknowledgement.

Back to the wall, Harry stood beside the three of them and lifted his wand in the air. "On your marks...get set...GO!"

Green sparks exploded from his wand and the three racers took off. Sirius was in the lead when they turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Ron guided the others through a tapestry that led to their classroom; a magical shortcut that put them at the finish line to watch the final leg of the race.

Hermione kept a steady third place patiently waiting for the boys to tire from vying against one another. Sirius had his Quidditch training to his advantage, but Remus was a full-fledged werewolf.

Unfortunately for the both of them, Hermione had spent her entire summer in twelve times earth's gravity. She was stronger, faster, and more agile – and they were going to lose.

They hit the last corner and Hermione slipped to the inside of the turn, jetting ahead of them both from her position advantage. Pushing off the wall, she darted in front of Remus, cutting him off. Neck and neck with Sirius she saw her friends waiting for them at the end of the hallway and waving.

She surged forward.

Legs moving faster than anyone could see, she sprinted down the cobblestones leaving the boys far behind her. Just before she ran smack into her spectators she vaulted over them out of a front handspring and landed primly in front of the DADA door.

"I win!" She declared, triumphantly, before Sirius and Remus came bowling right into her.

The door slammed open under the force and the seven of them tumbled into the classroom, laughing hysterically. The entire class was staring at them.

Knoll's pointing stick smacked the chalkboard and made the room jump. "While you're over there do something useful and hand out those crates," she barked, the large peacock feather of her hat bobbing in front of her face.

Remus muttered an 'i-told-you-so' and Hermione and Lily stifled back their giggles to help the boys pass out the crates as they were instructed. The rest of the Gryffindors were laughing into their books as the seven slid into their seats while the Ravenclaws gave them disapproving looks.

While Knoll lectured about "constant vigilance" in a very Moody-esque manner, Hermione leaned into Sirius' side and turned her head to whisper in his ear.

"I'm sorry about last night," she breathed against his neck, stirring the cinnamon scent of his cologne around her face.

"Forget it," he murmured back, quill doodling nonsensical scribbles across his notebook to appear like he was taking notes.

Hermione placed a hand on his arm. "I haven't been very nice since you got here, and I want to make it up to you." She looked out of the dark strands of his hair that had fallen over her cheek to make sure Knoll was still ranting.

"What did you have in mind, pigeon?" He inquired suggestively.

She pinched his arm to let him know the nickname wasn't appreciated, and leaned a little closer. "Meet me down by the lake after afternoon classes," she breathed, blowing his hair along his jaw.

Then she pulled away and bent over her notebook, borrowing Remus' to catch up on the notes she had missed. Sirius caught Lily giving a thumbs up and rolled his eyes, glancing up at the clock at the front of the room, its pendulum moving back and forth across the chalkboard.

8:10.

He started counting down the hours.

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"Have you guys seen Sirius?" Lily asked, throwing her bag on the Gryffindor bench.

James shook his head, knocking crumbs all over the table cloth. "He ran off after Astronomy; looked like he was in a hurry."

Lily clapped her hands excitedly, but wouldn't explain it to the boys. As the rest of the school poured in for dinner, she waved Ginny over – having taken an immediate liking to the vivacious, if a bit spacey, younger girl. Plus, redheads had to stick together, right?

The youngest and only Weasley girl plopped down next to her and immediately began babbling about some Herbology project. She stopped instantly when Lily, doing her best through her excited giggles, began whispering to her.

The boys stared at the pink-faced girls in consternation and shook their heads before indulging in a little Quidditch talk.

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"Hermione?" Sirius called as he wandered down the stone path to the lake. "Hermione..."

He was a little unsure if she was going to ditch him again, but he broke into a grin when he saw her pop out from behind one of the lakeside trees.

"Sirius!" She called, waving broadly. "Down here! I hope you're hungry."

Sirius chucked his robes down at the base of the tree and sat down on the warm stretch of grass beside Hermione. She was in the middle of unpacking a small feast between them; a dozen pumpkin pasties, Shepard's pie, strawberry tarts, a container of baked chicken, and a flagon of dandelion cordial.

"I figured I'd bring something to eat since I asked you to miss dinner. Sometimes I forget I'm the only one who doesn't eat on a regular basis," she laughed lightly, brushing wisps of hair from her face. The rest of her curls were up in a bouncy ponytail on top of her head.

"Don't mind if I do," he said, swiping a piece of chicken out from under her and popping it in his mouth.

Hermione leaned back against the tree's trunk and simply watched him eat. After a few minutes he sat back with the flagon of cordial and brushed back his long hair to smirk at her.

"Enchanted by my devilishly good looks?"

"No," Hermione said simply. She played with a small twig, drawing patterns in the dirt and grass. "Just trying to figure you out."

"If it helps, I can't figure you out either," he said, gesturing with the flagon.

Hermione chuckled, twirling the twig in her fingers. "Well, that's why we're here." Folding her hands into her lap, she gave him a cheeky grin. "So, tell me about yourself Mister Black."

She'd forgotten glasses, so Sirius took a long drink straight from the flagon. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he set the cordial down, and, following her example, leaned back against the tree with his arms folded behind his head.

"Well, you just happen to be sitting in the presence of the greatest prankster of all time..."

Hermione listened to him recount his tales of marauding with rapt attention, laughing as he described how he doused the entire great hall with red and gold paint during the winter dance, and giving him a frowning look of disapproval when he talked about tormenting a young version of her Potion's professor.

"What about you?" He asked, when he could think of no more stories to tell. The sky was turning dark as he passed the half-empty flagon of cordial to her.

Hermione took it from him and gulped some of it down while she decided where to begin. Her recent past contained too much information that she wasn't sure she should divulge just yet. Smiling softly at him she began to tell him about her childhood.

"I grew up in Sussex, England. My parents are two Muggle dentists, so I grew up going to a school nearby. I didn't have any idea that magic was real until I got my Hogwarts letter," she explained.

"Lily was the same way," Sirius said. "She told me once that Petunia was furious she never got a letter."

Hermione shrugged. "Well, I'm an only child."

Sirius made a face. "You're lucky. My younger brother Regulus is a real pain. My parents worship him 'cause he became a Death Eater last spring."

He winced at his mistake. "My last spring at least." Hermione smiled apologetically.

"You don't want to be a Death Eater then?" She asked casually, not meeting his eyes as she began repacking the food.

"Never!" He exclaimed immediately. "Nobody tells Sirius Black what to do."

He watched her lips curve into a slow smile as she refilled the picnic basket she'd carried the food down in. "I can see that..." she murmured. Taking another swig of cordial she passed the drink on to Sirius.

He paused before drinking, and smirked at her. "So tell me, Miss Granger. What's something about you that no one else knows?"

"Ah," she laughed. "You want to know a secret..."

"I want to know about you," he corrected, drinking a bit.

'Hmm'ing to herself, Hermione put a hand on her chin and rooted through the many things she could tell him. Finally, she settled on one that would satisfy him without making him ask any questions about his future she wouldn't be able to answer.

"I like to take moonlight swims down in the lake," she told him, latching the picnic basket shut.

"In the nude?" he hinted suggestively.

Hermione just laughed. "You wish."

"Dinner's done, the moon is out," he nodded up to the starry sky.

Narrowing in on his profile in the dark, she gave him a pointed look; though, in all fairness it was one he probably couldn't see. "What are you suggesting, Mister Black?" she laughed.

"Perhaps I should accompany you on your little swim," he said, getting to his feet.

"Are you crazy?" She exclaimed as he shrugged out of his shirt and kicked off his shoes and socks.

"No, I'm serious," he caught her while she was laughing and pulled off her Mary Janes.

"What are you doing?!" Hermione shouted trying to grab for her shoes. He threw them off by his.

"Don't make me sit on you," he warned with a grin. Hermione scrambled away on all fours, but he caught her around the waist and wrestled her to the ground. He actually did sit on her and slid his hands down her legs pulling off each knee-high sock.

"You had better not—" She insisted in hiccups as she tried to swallow her laughter.

She squealed as he scooped her up into his arms and dashed down to the lake. She clutched to his neck as if he might drop her and kicked her legs. "SIRIUS!"

"Come on...it'll be fun!" He laughed.

"I don't even have a swimsuit!"

"Me neither – we'll match."

The dark water was getting closer and Sirius didn't show any sign of slowing down.

"Put me down this instant!" She demanded.

"Deep breath!" He shouted. He leapt off the edge of the bank, Hermione screaming his name at the top of her lungs.

"SIRIUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS!"

The icy cold water rolled over her head as she went under and felt Sirius' arms leave her. Her feet touched the bottom of the shallows and she pushed off hard shooting back up and breaking through the surface. Sirius' dark head popped up beside her and she splashed him.

"Y-you're g-gonna be in B-BIG t-trouble, mister," she chattered, the shock in the change of temperature freezing her inside and out. "B-BIG TROUBLE!"

She'd lost her hair tie in the impact and her bushy hair was plastered to her face and throat. She pushed it out of her eyes and saw Sirius doing the same. "If I freeze to death," she grumbled. "It'll be entirely your fault."

"Why don't I just warm you up?" he smirked, paddling over to her and wrapping his arms around her. "I think you've got more clothes on than I do."

"T-True, but I'm in a skirt," she reminded him. "It's not exactly staying flat against my legs."

He glanced down as if he could see through the black waters and she smacked him, laughing. "Don't you even try anything."

"Wouldn't dream of it." He pushed off the ground a bit and they floated back into slightly deeper water his hands still on her waist. They had to tread water to stay afloat, but neither of them seemed to mind the exercise. She'd also hate to admit it, but she was a lot warmer now, and taking a swim with him didn't seem so bad.

"Are things okay between us, Sirius?" she asked, bracing her hands on his shoulders.

"We've always been okay, pigeon," he smiled, spinning them around and making the water ripple widely around them. "You worry too much."

"You're a good friend," she murmured. "James is lucky to have you. Remus and Lily too," she added quickly.

"Nah," he spun them slowly again. "I think you've got me beat in the best friend's category."

"I keep them from flunking out of school," she snorted. "Hardly noble prize worthy."

"Yeah right," He pressed his forehead against hers. "Don't think I don't notice everything you do around here. You're like Hogwarts' Wonder Woman."

Hermione gave him a quizzical look. "I didn't think you knew Muggle culture."

"Lily and Remus make a point of keeping James and I up on it."

"Good for them," she giggled at his annoyed look.

"Whatever you say, pigeon," he drawled as they found their way back to the shallows. She swayed back and forth with the waves until Sirius lifted her off the ground and began to dance with her in circles. Substantially shorter than he was, Hermione stepped onto Sirius' feet and let him guide her.

Laughing, she hid her face in the crook of his neck and he dipped her down low, her hair disappearing under the dark water. "You're ridiculous," she chided, pushing her sopping wet hair out of her eyes.

"What? You never do this sort of thing with Harry?"

Hermione grinned, fondly remembering the memories his words had evoked. "Once Seamus flooded the common room with bath foam," she laughed softly. "Ron challenged Harry and me to a 'dance off'..."

Sirius chuckled at the image of a group of soaked Gryffindors dancing around in three feet of bubble foam. It sounded so amusing, he logged it away to use if he ever got back to his time.

"It's just...I never thought I'd be dancing with you," her breath hot against his neck as he spoke. She'd laid her head back down.

"In the lake?" He grinned.

She laughed. "In the lake."

"Well, it's always been one of my deepest fantasy," he insisted dramatically, whirling her about. "I lure you into the waters late at night and ravish you senseless."

They were both laughing full-blown now and Hermione smacked his shoulder. "You're terrible," she yelled, knocking her knees with his and making them both stumble back and slosh the lake water.

"I'm seducing you already," he teased, squeezing her waist.

"Tell me a secret, Sirius," she asked, a faint smile lining her lips. They were so close that they blocked out the moonlight and each of their faces were doused in shadow.

"Hmm," he pursed his lips. "What do you want to know, pigeon?"

"Why do you call me that?" she asked. Her fingers caught in his hair as the water swelled and she shook the strands off, waiting patiently for him to answer.

"You see yourself as ordinary," he said finally. "And you let everyone thing your just some plain Jane; nothing of consequence."

"Just a rat with wings," she tried to laugh it off.

Sirius grabbed her chin with his fingertips and raised it up into the light. Soft, pale moonlight exploded across her features and her honey eyes glowed brilliant gold while Sirius brushed the slick curls back from her cheeks. "But inside you're a phoenix – more beautiful than words."

Hermione's brow furrowed and she leaned back out of his fingertips. "Sirius?" she whispered in disbelief.

He placed a hand over her arm, keeping her hand on his shoulder and her fingers tangled in his hair, and lifted the other to her cheek. Too startled to move, Hermione's eyes closed as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.