DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of the Harry Potter series…I only own Sirina.

Chapter 4

"Oh Hermione," Mrs. Weasley chided as Hermione walked through the door. She immediately engulfed the young witch in a tight hug. "It is so good to have you back. We have all missed you terribly."

"Hello Mrs. Weasley," Hermione answered back, affectionately. "It's good to be back. I have missed you guys so much and just couldn't stay away any longer." She pulled back a little as she heard a door opening from behind her.

"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed as she ran through a door and towards Hermione. She engulfed her friend in a hug.

"Oh Ginny, I have missed you so." Hermione hugged her friend back, careful not to let Sirina get smushed in between them. "You have grown up so much, I hardly recognize you."

"Hmph. Just look for the bright red hair and the temper," Fred answered, "and you'll find Ginny."

"Shut up Fred," Ginny bit out. She then turned back to Hermione. "You have changed too. Look at you, all womanly."

"Hardly," Hermione scoffed.

"Anyways, what have you been doing all this time?" Ginny asked.

"Well, I'm part owner of a book store that is doing really well. It's in downtown London. It's a muggle bookstore though. We ship to all over the world," Hermione told them excitedly.

"Wow," Mrs. Weasley said, "that sounds very interesting."

"Muggle you say?" Mr. Weasley said with his eyes bright, a sure sign that he was about to ask a lot of questions dealing with muggle inventions.

Hermione was saved from his questions as the door Ginny just exited opened again and some people stepped out. Ginny turned smiling at the individuals walked into the room.

"Harry," Hermione said excitedly as Harry entered the room. Since Sirius was standing behind Harry, Hermione did not see him.

Harry ran to her and caught her up in his arms. "Oh Hermione, it is so good to see you again."

Sirina giggled from in between them. Harry pulled back and gazed down at the little girl. "And who is this?"

"This is Sirina," Hermione told him, "my daughter."

Everyone in the room gasped as they heard this. They gazed down at the baby, each, save one, with the same question running through their minds: Who's the father?

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Sirius stood back in the corner of the room, watching as Hermione interacted with Harry. He knew as soon as he entered that Hermione had not seen him and had convinced herself that today did not happen. He decided to take the chance to take a good look at her.

She had changed drastically since the last time that he saw her. It wasn't so much in her looks, it was in her spirit. She seemed to have lost the confidence she once displayed so proudly and in it's place was despair. She looked….frail.

Her body had also developed. She now looked like a mature business woman that had seen too much, experienced too many deaths of the ones that she loved. She held herself regally, afraid to show what she was feeling. She no longer wore the cute, sexy clothes she once chose, but instead wore more traditional, business wear. (A/N: Not suits but not teen clothes…kind of in between, you know?) She had on a pair of black slacks and a blue, button up shirt. She wore her hair half back instead of down like she used to, the way he loved it.

It was then, in his observation of her clothes, did he notice the child in her arms. He studied her closely and his eyes widened in realization. The baby had coal black hair and blue eyes that matched his. The girl looked about four months old and in doing the math, figured that the baby would have been conceived late May, the year she had left him. It had to be his! But she may only be babysitting, a part of him argued. But deep down he knew that she was not babysitting and in fact, that was his daughter.

He was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard Harry ask who the little girl was.

"This is Sirina," Hermione answered, "my daughter."

Then everyone gasped and Sirius closed his eyes as the truth was now evident. It seemed that Hermione had not told them of her brief time with him, probably so she would not have to face their pity. It also explained why no one looked at him, accusing him of abandoning her even though it wasn't really his choice.

Sirius decided it was time to bring attention to himself and away from Hermione. He cleared his throat, loudly of course, and immediately everyone looked at him. Blue eyes met brown as Sirius stared at the love of his life and the mother of his child.

"Sirius?"

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Hermione expected the reactions she was going to get when she told them that she had a daughter. In fact, she had been preparing herself all day for it. What she didn't expect was to see Sirius there.

After their encounter earlier, she had convinced herself that she had been seeing things. She had rationalized that some part of her wanted Sirius to be there for her and had formed a image of him. She had told herself over and over again that he was dead and never coming back. Yet, there he stood.

"Sirius?" She asked timidly, afraid that she was again seeing things. His expression did not change and his gaze remained on her, waiting for her to explain. He did not show any of his feelings in his eyes and she was afraid of what he was thinking.

When she did not say anything else, he looked down at Sirina then back at her. It was like he was silently asking her for conformation of what he already knew. For she knew that he had figured out that Sirina was in fact his daughter.

"Hermione," Harry said after a bit. He had been watching the exchange between his godfather and his best friend and suddenly the truth hit him like a lightning bolt (A/N: no pun intended). "This is your surprise."

She merely nodded her head as she continuously gazed at the man she loved. A small tear escaped from the confines of her eye and all Sirius' control disappeared as he walked over to her and took her in his arms. She sobbed desperately into his chest and wrapped the arm that was not holding Sirina around neck.

"Shh," Sirius whispered, "it's going to be okay. I'm here now."

Suddenly Hermione tore away from him. She looked defiantly into his eyes even though all she wanted to do was to run back to him and have his arms around her. "But for how long?" She asked in a deadly whisper.

Sirius stared at her without an answer. "I don't know," he said honestly. His heart broke again when another tear fell down her cheek and she walked out of the room and away from him. He was losing her all over again.

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A/N: Got it done! Whew…sorry it took so long. I've been working on it like crazy in every spare moment I have. I know it's not long but I just felt like that was the place to end it. Don't worry, Sirius and Hermione will get together and I have a reason for Hermione walking away so don't get mad. It will be explained later. I guess that's all. Thank you guys so much for reviewing…I never expected for any of my stories to get a lot of reviews… (I personally think I could do a lot better)… You guys are the best!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!

!Amaya!