Revised: 28 August 2004

The Future Awaits
Chapter 23: Being Punctured

Hermione woke up to the sound of pots and pans banging somewhere outside her room. She groaned as she grabbed her head with her left hand.

Great! A terrible headache is just what I need.

She glanced at the alarm clock beside her bed which read '7.00 PM'. Pulling herself out of bed, she walked towards the dressing table to look at herself in the mirror.

"You look horrible, deary. Go and freshen up!" chirped the mirror.

"Thanks," replied Hermione, with a sneer.

She sighed at her reflection. The mirror was right. Her hair was dishevelled in her original bushy state. And her white dress… oh god! Groaning, she went into her bathroom for a bath.

Meanwhile, Sirius was busy with dinner. He really did not mind being 'the cook' of the house. Hermione's happy with my cooking, and I'm happy with that.

Since he had no wand, and Hermione's was somewhere within her keeps, Sirius had to do everything manually… in other words, the muggle way. Thinking it over, it was also a way to impress her. Magic or no magic.

The kitchen was so noisy that he did not hear the shower running or the footsteps of his beloved.

"May I help?" a voice said, making Sirius jumped.

"Hermione!" he gasped, holding his hand on his chest.

Hermione stared at him and stifled a giggle. "Is that how you look every time you make a meal?"

Sirius mumbled something while wiping his hands on his shirt, only to make him look messier than he already was.

Hermione widened her eyes as realisation hit her.

"You mean, all these while, without a wand… you've been cleaning my place with your own bare hands? Aww… I didn't realise. I'm so sorry. I've been treating you like a house elf!"

Sirius panicked as she started to sob.

"Hermione! Calm down."

"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"Hermione, it's okay. I'm the one who chose to do it, so don't blame yourself for it."

Sirius didn't really know how to deal with a crying Hermione. Tears were already trickling down her cheeks.

"Nice outfit," he commented out of the blue.

Hermione looked down at herself. She was clad in only her big, long T-shirt she loved so much, with her hair still wet. She let out a chuckle, glancing at Sirius bashfully with red eyes, who was holding both her shoulders.

"Well, at least I've got a job now, haven't I? A volunteering job," Sirius said, trying to lighten up the mood.

"I-I'm sorry, Sirius. I guess, it's just the time of the month."

Sirius let go of her shoulders, looking awkward. He wasn't sure how to act when a girl tells him she's having her… period. Let alone Hermione!

"Umm… I… I guess… that should be understandable," he muttered, avoiding her eyes with his ears turning scarlet.

Hermione was oblivious to all these, for she continued to explain, "It's just that… I'm always hyper when I'm… punctured."

Sirius choked and immediately tried to change the subject. Clearing his throat, he said, "Umm… dinner is about to finish, Mya."

"I'll help set out the table."

Ten minutes later, the two were seated at the dining table. Sirius now looked cleaned, as Hermione did a cleaning charm on him.

Placing heaps of minced fish meat onto Crookshanks' dish, Hermione said, "I'm glad you stayed, Sirius."

Sirius smiled charmingly. "Yeah. Remus didn't mind me staying. He's off to Arizona this Tuesday."

"Remus?" asked Hermione, looking askance. "Oh! He was here this morning, wasn't he?"

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows and nodded. "Then, why didn't you go back with him?"

Sirius was left speechless. He hadn't thought of an excuse.

He was lost in his thoughts that he didn't realised he was staring straight at Hermione with a somewhat longing look, making Hermione smiled. "As I said, Sirius, I'm glad you stayed." She smiled again before going back to her food.

He didn't know if it was just him, but something in her tone and look told him that she knew his reasons… his real reasons.

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Sirius was alone in the living room on the couch, watching some Muggle documentary show on the… TV. Yeah, Hermione had taught him the easier way of pronouncing it, since he had, ahem! …trouble with the 'long version'.

Crookshanks came in strolling and jumped onto the couch, curling himself closed to him. Sirius smiled at the creature which had somehow helped him seven years ago. Petting it, Sirius glanced at Hermione's door which was closed. He could hear her faint giggling and mumbling.

Curious, he stood up and walked towards her room as quietly as he could, leaving behind a dejected looking Crookshanks. As he reached, he found that the door was slightly left ajar. He dared to push it a little bit wider. Hermione was lying on the bed with a hand on her ear.

"It's 10.40 here in the night, honey," whispered Hermione. "Yeah, okay. I miss you."

Sirius figured she was talking to none other than her fiancé on her portable fone, which Harry too had.

Hermione giggled once more. "Love you. B-bye." With that she pressed something on the tiny device and placed it on her end table.

She laid back on her bed, oblivious to the fact that Sirius was watching her. With her hand, she took out the pendant resting on her chest and began scrutinizing it. Heaving a heavy sigh, she stared at the ceiling which she had bewitched to look like an aquarium.

Her fingers were still absentmindedly flipping the pendant as she muttered, "Ron… Sirius… Ron… Sirius… Ron… Sirius…"

Outside, all Sirius could do was raised his eyebrows.

Soon, Hermione stepped out of bed as Sirius quickly leaped into Harry's nearby room. Quickly pretending to be just coming out from his the room, Sirius bumped into Hermione.

"Hey, Sirius," Hermione greeted, looking flushed.

"Hey yourself! What were you doing locked up in that room?"

"Talking to Ron on the phone. And, the door wasn't locked.

"Heh!" Sirius grinned, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling stupid.

"Anyways, I wanted to tell you that you need to get yourself a wand. I need to do some shopping too, as a matter of fact."

"But Mione –"

"Sirius, our apartment is located in Muggle London. Nobody will recognize you. Didn't you realise that time, when you and Harry went down to the café?"

Sirius thought back and realised she was talking about the time he went down with Harry to plan her birthday party. Yeah, no one recognised him. But still…

"There's another place here I know which sells wands. We'll go to Muggle shops to shop, which both Harry and I do every time to avoid being stopped by strange witch or wizards."

Sirius still looked demurred.

"Sirius, I've told you many times. Your name has been cleared, and whatever happened to you was 5 years ago. And furthermore, we're going to Muggle town. They won't know you if you at least…" she trailed off.

Sirius looked around nervously as Hermione stared at him in shocked.

"What ha-happened to your beard?"

"You didn't notice since dinner?!" Immediately, Sirius gave himself a tight mental slap. Why did I just say that?! I sound like a pathetic attention seeking moron!

But Hermione just continued to stare at him. In awe or in pure shock, Sirius couldn't place.

"Well, you told me that I'd look more handsome with my beard gone, this afternoon," Sirius smirked.

"I… I did?"

"Yeah. Umm… you were drunk."

"Oh," Hermione muttered, looking crimson.

Straightening herself, she said, "Well, I expect you to accompany me to shopping tomorrow."

"In my dog form?" Sirius asked, sounding hopeful.

"No! Muggles don't allow dogs into their stores," her quick wit answered.

Sirius who wasn't familiar with anything about Muggles could only nod. In reality, she wanted to show off this handsome man to the world.

A/N: Hope that's quite satisfying for the long time I've taken to update. Hihi!

Becki: Mystery… yeah. But I'm dreading how I'm supposed resolve this mystery for her. And yah, I too like a drunk Hermione. As for Remus, I just had to bring Remus and Sirius in good terms soon. They're best friends, so, they can't stay angry so long.

Captain Oblivious: LMAO!! Anyways, glad you like the chapter.

dawn1: Yeah. I am hoping I'm taking my story to the right direction, since I have no big plan on what is going to happen. ::blushes::

fuzzfurry: I try to update as quick as I can everytime. ;)

Gothamin: Heheh! Thank you. And please, don't kill me for liking Ron so much! ;)

lanna1186: You like a drunk Hermione? Heheh! Me too!

Luna-Lovegood200: Thank you, sweetheart. :)

meenyrocks: I'll try to make something happen between SB/Hr as soon as I can, at the same time not trying to jump into it so quick, ruining the story.

Nausicaa-mione: Right on target. 'Who does she truly love?' Which is what this chapter is currently about.

Padfootz-luvr: "telli-fishyen" Yeah, I had thought of some ridiculous pronunciation for it, and that was the only one I could come out with. Glad you find it funny. As for typing my story straight onto the PC, nah! I don't want harming my back as I already have. Since I don't have a laptop, I rather write it on a jotter book, since I can lie on the bed or sit however I want while thinking of the story. ;) And I don't mind you bothering me on MSN… hihi… but you must keep in mind I'm a BORE to talk to online.

PsYcHoJo: Hermione's dream is in chapter 21. Though not much of a significant.

Rane2920072: I'll try to bring them together as soon as I can.

Roxxie-Hart: Oh! Thank you so much for the encouraging comment. I appreciate that so much.

Satin Valkyrie: Ah! You reviewed again! And yeah, me too wondering what will happen when the mystery is finally uncovered.

ShimmeringEvil: Thank you!

Spicysuga: Heheh! Yeah. I hope so too she remembers quick. Problem is how I'm supposed to do that, since I've yet to think about it. ::pouts::

Tigereyes92389: Thanks for liking it! We'll have to see how Mione will uncover the mystery of her Epoch.

ZippyRox: Yeah, if only JKR brings Sirius back. Well, we'll just have to wait for 'HP and the Half Blood Prince', don't we? And thank you for taking interest in my story.