Disclaimer: I don't own anything….

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Chapter 53: To the fire

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The weeks of May passed slowly at Hogwarts. Dumbledore received numerous owls from angry parents about the Potions situation and Hermione received her own share of howlers. The students saw a flicker of what Sirius was like when Hermione was missing, the cold, angry man they'd feared just as much as Snape. Hermione however was able to weave her magic and keep the furious canine calm, preventing his attempts to floo straight to the senders of the howlers and give them a piece of the Sirius Black everyone once feared.

Dumbledore had given Tonks her own chambers for the remainder of her stay, the Auror and Werewolf were still however not speaking to each other. They sat on either side of Sirius and Hermione during meals, the conversation strained through the group as Sirius and Hermione attempted to patch things up between the two.

Harry seemed carefree, well as carefree as one can be when you have your NEWTs approaching and the imminent threat of a Dark Lord fogging your future. He took it in his stride though as he always did, and took life one day at a time.

Hu, although the prophecy had partly been fulfilled, had announced he was staying to help the Order. No one complained, he was an asset and Sirius seemed to like having him around.

The first week of June, Hermione sat down and took her potions classes through their exam reviews. Making sure they knew what was essential to pass that particular year to continue. Her NEWT and OWL classes received a double helping of this.

"There will be no excuses for not sitting the exam," Hermione told her NEWT class. "Madame Pomfrey can fix almost anything temporarily so you should have no trouble sitting both your written or practical exam, unless you come to an unfortunate death." Hermione glanced around the room. "Do not try the Breathless Sleep potion we brewed last week, it is traceable and you will be penalized. Any questions?"

Seamus raised his hand grinning. "Can you give us the answers?"

Hermione grinned. "Sorry no can do."

Nott raised his hand arrogantly "Professor" he asked with his usual sneer.

Hermione sighed. "Yes, Mister Nott?"

"What if I'm suffering from total sexual exhaustion? I don't think I'll be able to cope, even with a pepper up potion."

Hermione didn't even bat an eye. "Well Mister Nott. I guess you'll just have to write with your other hand."

The rest of the class didn't even bother to hide their laughter, even the Slytherins chuckled behind their hands. Hermione smiled at Draco glad to see him laugh with the others, even if it was only to Malfoy standards of a small chuckle.

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"Sirius?"

"Hmmm?"

Hermione and Sirius were sleeping in on the warm spring morning, NEWTs and OWLs began the following day, the examiners had arrived and there was nothing else Hermione and Sirius could do to assist their students; they were on their own now.

"What are we going to do about Remus and Tonks?" she asked quietly.

Sirius kissed her temple as they were bathed in sunlight. "I don't know, short of shutting them in a closet together maybe I should have another word with Remus."

Hermione smiled and sat up resting her head on her hand as she gazed down at Sirius. "So you do think they should get together?"

Sirius grinned. "That much is obvious, even to me now. I'm just sitting on the hope that nothing happens before graduation."

Hermione's eyes grew wide. "That is so mean," she exlaimed, giving him a small shove. "You need to talk to Remus; he's really broken up about this."

Sirius sighed. "I know," he paused for a moment. "I just really don't want to jump off a bridge."

Hermione laughed. "Well if you don't talk to him I will."

Sirius pulled Hermione down on top of him. "I'll talk to him. Just not right now," Sirius frowned. "You still didn't tell me what Dumbledore spoke to you about last month."

"You are so nosy."

Sirius grinned. "You're still not going to tell me, are you?"

Hermione moved in so she was millimeters from his lips. "Nope," she whispered before pressing herself to him and adequately distracting him from his question, his hands moving to her waist as he pulled her further into him.

The pair was then rudely interrupted by a knock at the door.

"GO AWAY!" Sirius shouted. "It's Sunday for the love of Merlin."

"Who is it?" Hermione asked, before frowning when she received no reply.

Sirius shrugged and pulled Hermione back down to him when there was another knock.

Without breaking contact with Hermione's lips Sirius reached for the closest thing, which happened to be a book of Hermione's, and threw it at the door.

Satisfied that whoever was at the door got the idea not to disturb the couple Sirius rolled Hermione over so she was on her back, his mouth leaving a trail of kisses along her jaw and down her throat…….

There was another knock

…….This time both Sirius and Hermione got out of bed and walked up to the door. Sirius swung it open quickly to be confronted with an empty corridor. Growling Sirius like his other half, stepped out into the corridor. If memory served him right this was about the time of year he and his fellow Marauders used to prank the Professors. Cautiously he looked around, noting that Hermione, now wrapped in his bathrobe, had stepped out behind him, having the sense at least to grab her wand. Something Sirius had failed to do.

"Sirius?" Hermione asked.

"Just a prank" He said turning around slowly. "Let's go back inside."

Before either of them could move they were covered in head to toe with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Hermione stood in shock as she heard familiar laughter and footsteps fleeing the scene.

Sirius wiped the cream from around his eyes and met Hermione's gaze.

"Harry," the said together before walking back into their chambers.

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There was nothing else to do really, they had no choice. Covered from head to toe in dessert toppings Sirius and Hermione made the most of their Sunday morning.

They took a shower.

However before Hermione had the chance to rid herself of the sticky substances, Sirius let it known he had other plans. Grabbing her hand and preventing her from stepping into the shower Sirius claimed her sweet cream and chocolate covered lips with his own. Moaning at the sensation of all three tastes at once. Hermione, catching on to Sirius' wishes had her hands resting on his chest as he moved from her lips to the weak point Hermione had on her collarbone.

Knees growing weak, Hermione gripped Sirius' shoulders as his tongue moved up her neck before his lips again found hers with a bruising passion. Nudging Hermione closer to the shower, satisfied with effectively immobilising his fiancee, Sirius turned the taps so a steady stream of hot water flowed from the faucett.

Insisting that they both use Hermione's shampoo and conditioner, Sirius ran hands through her curls as he lathered up the suds, massaging her scalp and earning himself a moan of appreciationSirius gently nudged Hermione under the stream of water to rinse out the bubbles but not before grabbing a small handful and depositing in on Hermione's nose.

Sirius grinned down at her, "Missed a spot."

Hermione smiled back, caught up in the moment. She swept her hands through her still bubbly hair and smothered the non sting bubbles into Sirius smug face.

"Sorry, missed a spot."

Sirius growled playfully and pushed them both under the water, rinsing the vanilla scented bubbles down their bodies and into the drains of Hogwarts. Sirius leant down to claim Hermione's lips in an intense kiss under the gentle stream of hot water, the atmosphere of the room heightening both their senses.

Sirius moved his hands up and down Hermione's wet skin lifting her up off the floor so she wrapped her legs around his waist. When he was sure he had a firm grip on the wet floor he stepped closer to the side of the shower, pressing Hermione against the wall, not removing his lips from hers for an instant.

Sirius moved his mistreations to her neck and licked clean a delectable smudge of chocolate sauce he'd missed earlier. Hermione had her hands tangled in Sirius' vanilla scented hair moaning as he ravished her neck.

With her taste in his mouth and the sounds he was causing to come from Hermione, Sirius was almost pushed over the edge. Still under the hot water Sirius lifted Hermione slightly before gently easing her down his now hard shaft. Hermione gasped into his kiss and the couple began to move together like a couple who'd been married for years, they knew each other inside out, they knew what the other liked, what the other wanted, what the other needed.

Sirius was the first to climax. This didn't happen often. Normally it was Hermione who pushed him over at that last moment. This time it was Sirius who pushed Hermione over. And that pleased Sirius to no end, it wasn't often Hermione held out till after Sirius, or maybe it was that Sirius was just a little more aware of his senses here making him react sooner….he really didn't know which…his mind was rather fogged at the present time….

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Sirius and Hermione grinned that evening at Harry who was shooting them guilty looks from his place down at the Gryffindor table.

"Hey Harry," Sirius called loudly, trying to catch more than just Harry's attention. "Thanks for the little prank this morning, dessert toppings are a good excuse for a shower," he said, placing his arm around Hermione's waist and pulling her a little closer.

Harry's face turned bright crimson as everyone eyes turned on him, Hermione felt her own face flush at Sirius words and was glad most of the attention was on the greed eyed, red faced boy in the center of the room and not on her.

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Later that evening Sirius and Hermione caught up with Remus down one of the corridors.

"Remus," Sirius called. The sandy haired wizard stopped and waited for the couple to catch up. "How are you doing?" Sirius asked when he fell into step alongside his friend.

"Fine."

"Remus, you are not 'fine', I've known you long enough to know when you are fine and when you are not fine."

Remus stopped and faced Sirius. "Why would I not be fine?"

"You know why."

"Look, Tonks is old enough to look after herself; she doesn't need friends like me waiting on her hand and foot."

"But it's more than friendship Moony," Sirius sad softly. "Isn't it?"

Remus closed his eyes. "I don't know," he admitted softly. "I don't know…."

"You're heart flutters when you see her right? It falls when she leaves the room? But most of all it shatters when she isn't there?" Sirius asked, glancing at Hermione out of the corner of his eye. She'd just been given a slight hint to what Sirius went through when she disappeared.

Remus opened his eyes and looked between Sirius and Hermione before nodding.

Sirius grinned. "That's great; you've admitted it to us, now you just have to tell Tonks."

"Yeah…Wait…what?" Remus asked surprised. "I can't tell Tonks, she'll never speak to me again."

"She's not speaking to you now," Sirius pointed out "You have to tell her Moony, you'll regret it if you don't."

Remus nodded, deep in thought before moving down the corridor. Sirius turned to meet a grinning Hermione. Puzzled Sirius pondered what my be going through her head before his eyes widened.

"Shit," he said racing after his friend. "Moony, ol' buddy, ol' pal…. Wait!"

Sirius really did not want to jump off a bridge…..

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The following couple of weeks went by uneventful for Sirius and Hermione. Harry and Ginny had exams, Remus hadn't found the courage to talk to Tonks causing Sirius on numerous occasions to almost confront his cousin before deciding he'd done enough, and besides, the longer they took to realise they were madly in love with each other the less likely he was to lose the bet….which was looking good considering today was graduation.

"SIRIUS!" Harry's call disturbing the Animagus from his thoughts. Sirius turned to see a messy haired Harry decked out in his graduation robes his tie and glasses askew. "You have to help me. This tie is killing me, literally."

Sirius grinned and walked over to help Harry tie his tie that had managed to tangle itself around his neck threatening his air supply. He led his Godson over to the mirror and stood behind him.

"Now Harry, I'm only going to show you this once," he said putting on his best serious expression. "I expect you to remember it. I'm telling you now, every member of the female population knows the difference between a TIE and a clip on."

Harry nodded as Sirius instructed him on how to tie his tie.

"You haven't seen Hermione have you?" Sirius asked. "I haven't seen her since breakfast."

"Err. No."

Sirius chuckled. "You're a terrible liar Harry."

"She made me promise not to tell."

"Right," Sirius stated. "You and everyone else. What are you all keeping from me? Or do you plan to elope with Hermione after you graduate?"

Harry laughed. "I like being alive, thank you very much. I don't think I'd like a Black and a Weasley, a female Weasley at that, on my tail for the rest of my life."

"You forgot about Voldemort."

"Oh God no, if I ran off with Hermione I'd rather face Voldemort any day than you and Ginny."

Sirius laughed. "I guess I have nothing to worry about there then….so are you going to tell me?"

Harry grinned before walking out of the room.

"Nope."

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Graduation was being held indoors this year, not only for the fact that Dumbledore felt it safer but also because the torrents of rain would be rather uncomfortable to sit in. There was also the fact, that Sirius pointed out, if they did it outside everyone would get wet socks.

Sirius took his position at the front of the Great Hall where the teachers sat, looking around for Hermione. The ceremony started in a few minutes and he hadn't seen his fiancée since the morning, eight hours later and he was beginning to worry.

"Hey Pads," Remus greeted sitting next to him.

"Have you seen Hermione?" Sirius asked not returning the greeting. Remus noticed the worried look in his friends eyes and smiled.

"She'll be here, I was just talking to her; you don't need to worry," he said with a grin.

Sirius groaned. "You know too? I can't believe this, why won't anyone tell me?"

"Because Hermione threatened us with a variety of embarrassing hexes if we did, and I in particular don't want to walk around with bright pink hair."

"Speaking of pink hair," Sirius started. "Have you spoken to Tonks yet?"

Remus shook his head. "I've been meaning to but it's never the right moment."

Sirius grinned. "Doesn't bother me mate, I just don't want to jump off a bridge."

Dumbledore stood and greeted the students gathered, the graduates and their families. Sirius wasn't really listening though, he glanced at the empty seat next to him and frowned, 'where in Merlins name was Hermione?' He thought loosing track of which students names had been called.

"Goyle, Gregory"

Sirius watched the large oaf receive his graduating certificate and return to his seat. Lost in his thoughts he didn't even pick up on the next name.

"Granger, Hermione"

Sirius was startled when Remus nudged him and indicated with a tilt of his head to the stage at the front of the room. Sirius eyes widened in realisation as he watched Hermione, dressed in her best robes, her hair in a long elegant plait, pulled back from her face, beam at Dumbledore while receiving her graduation certificate. She walked slowly off the stage to her seat next to Sirius who was still starting at her in shock.

Grinning she sat down. "Surprise."

Sirius was speechless and gave her a quick kiss. "Congratulations," he murmured when he found his voice. "I still don't know why you couldn't tell me"

"Shush," Hermione admonished grinning. "Harry's up soon."

Once the Patil sisters took their seats Dumbledore grinned.

"Potter, Harry. Who is also accepting Ronald Weasley's graduating certificate."

Harry stood and walked confidently up to the front of the hall, when he accepted the certificates he spoke quietly to the Headmaster who nodded and stepped back so Harry could take his place at the podium. Hermione, Sirius and Remus all looked at each other, none of them expecting this.

"Hi," Harry started uncertainly, giving the crowd a small wave. "I just wanted to say a few words. Firstly, I…we made it…whew…wasn't to sure a few times but I'm here at the end of the best seven years of my life with a heavy burden on my shoulders. Most of you may not believe this, you may believe the stuff you read in the paper, but you should listen to me today. Voldemort is back," Harry paused here for the nervous chatter to die down. "Voldemort will not stop until he gets what he wants, which at the moment is me. You should all be aware, students, parents, graduates, what is out there, the killings will not stop. I am not going to go looking for Voldemort, if you put a stick in a hole you better be ready for a snake to crawl out, so until he picks a time to come after me, or really piss me off, you, everyone in this room needs to be on their guard. He wont go away if you ignore the problem, the threat will not disappear overnight," Harry nodded to the shocked crowd his green eyes filled with passion. "Thank you."

Hermione, Sirius and Remus grinned at Harry as he took his seat; that took guts what he just did, there was the Gryffindor courage shining through once again.

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The chairs had all been cleared away and the Great Hall was a buzz with activity as the graduates mingled with their families and friends. Hermione and Sirius stood off to the side watching Remus approach Tonks near one of the tall windows.

"Err Hermione?" Sirius started.

"Yes?"

"What happens if…"

Sirius couldn't finish his sentence as he watched Remus tackle Tonks to the ground to avoid a bright bolt of red light come shattering through the window. Sheltering the Auror with his own body Remus crouched to protect her from the shards of glass still falling through the air.

"What the…" Sirius started looking out the window, his eyes widening at the site.

Harry came running over with Ginny in tow.

"Sirius. What is it?"

Sirius turned to Harry with a grim look. "I think we're about to find out if the Zhou Prophecy is true."