A/N: Here again, after an extended absence which I am deeply sorry for. Just got my internet back and I've been trying (without much success) to finish Promises of Tomorrow under my other penname. I have no life now which means I won't be able to update that much. I don't get home now till very late so I don't get a chance to type till the weekends and sometimes not even then. Thanks for all those that are hanging in there and reading my story.

"Do you remember me telling you we are practicing nonverbal spells, Potter?"

"Yes," said Harry stiffly.

"Yes, sir."

"There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor."

--Potions Class-HBP (I was in shock when I saw this cause in another story that me and my friends are writing, we wrote almost the exact same thing…)

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Chapter 7: Truths Come Out

"So you went to Hogwarts last night?" Hermione questioned as she took a sip of the dark liquid in her hands. The warmth coursed through her body, making her smile in content.

"Yeah, I guess I just needed to see it," Sirius said through a mouthful of scones.

I can understand that," Hermione told him sincerely. She paused in thought. "I don't know what I would do if I ended up in a different time."

Sirius ran his eyes over her face, searching for something. "You'd manage," he said seriously as he met her intense gaze.

"What makes you say that?"

Sirius shrugged. "You just don't seem like the type of person who'd panic in a tight situation."

Hermione cocked an eyebrow challengingly. "How can you be sure of that?"

Sirius once again shrugged and looked away, breaking eye contact. "I can't."

Hermione nodded and looked away from him, not sure of what to say next. Finally, in a soft voice she said, "Harry and Ron used to say that I was the rational one of the group, always making a plan."

Sirius looked back at her. "Harry and Ron?" he questioned lightly. By her timid voice, he knew that this was a touchy subject for her so he didn't want to pressure her on it.

"Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, my two best friends. James was Harry's father. Ron was the son of Molly and Arthur Weasley. They were killed during the last battle."

Sirius stared at the girl with tears in her eyes standing in front of him. She was determinedly not looking at him and he could tell that she was holding back a lot.

"I'm sorry," he told her softly, his eyes softening on the broken girl.

Hermione waved off his apology and wiped fiercely at the tear that escaped the confounds of her eye. "It's not your fault so you have no reason to apologize." She turned her head and looked straight into his eyes. "You weren't there," she said simply.

Sirius nodded. He knew that she wasn't condemning him for it but it still stung. A nagging voice in the back of his head told him that he wished he had been there, for her and her only. "Want to talk about it?"

She shook her head rigorously. "No….I'm not ready…not here, not now."

Sirius placed a comforting arm around her shoulders and held back a smile when she made no move to shrug him off. "I understand, but if you ever want to talk, I'll be here."

Hermione smiled warmly up at him. "I appreciate that Sirius, I really do. Thank you."

Sirius smiled back and squeezed her shoulders. "Anytime."

They walked in silence for a while, munching on scones and sipping at their coffee. No words were needed in the comfortable silence between the two.

They were almost back at Brannon & Co. when Sirius spoke. "What now?"

Hermione glanced up curiously at him. "What do you mean?"

"What do I do now? What do we do now? Where do I go?"

"Well," Hermione drawled slowly, pausing as she took a sip of her coffee to give her more time to think of an answer, "you can stay at my place until we figure this all out."

Sirius raised an eyebrow questionably. "Will I not get in the way of you and lawyer boy?"

Hermione glared at him. "Erik," she pronounced, "his name is Erik and he's just a friend."

"Who is completely in love with you," Sirius teased.

Hermione stopped suddenly. She thought it was just a crush but….. "You're wrong."

Sirius pulled to a stop as soon as he realized that she had stopped. He turned towards her, closing the distance between them, and grinned mischievously at her. "Am I?"

"It doesn't matter," Hermione stated sternly, moving promptly past him. "I have no time for relationships or anything else for that matter anyways."

Sirius reached out and caught her elbow, pulling her to a stop and turning her to face him. He frowned as he stared into her emotionless eyes. "Why do you do that?"

It was Hermione's turn to frown. "Do what?"

"Intentionally keep people at a distance."

"I don't," Hermione protested.

"Yes, you do," Sirius insisted. "Or else you would have hordes of friends surrounding you. You are a friendly person after all even though you try not to be."

Hermione glared up at him, unaware of how close they actually were. Her mouth was drawn tight as she told him harshly, "You don't know me."

"I know enough that I know that you're afraid to let anyone in. I know that for some reason you refuse to allow anyone to know you," Sirius said angrily, keeping his voice low so that no one would know that they were arguing but his eyes held his irritation.

"I have my reasons," Hermione hissed.

"You can't keep pushing people away Hermione."

She decided to throw his own words back at him. "Watch me."

She turned suddenly towards the tall building in front of them and walked away from him and from the unmistakable truth.

She had only got a little bit away, however, when his voice hissed in her ear, "If you push everyone away, who will be there to hear you when you cry?"

Hermione froze and bit back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. "I don't need anyone," she insisted though she knew that she was lying.

Sirius slowly turned her around to face him. She was surprised to find the softness in his dark eyes as he gazed down at her. "Why are you afraid?"

Hermione continued to fight back the tears as she gazed into his warm eyes. She didn't pretend to misunderstand his question.

In a deadly whisper she said, "I don't want to lose anyone else."

She turned then, and ran inside the safety of the building before he saw the tears streaming down her face. She roughly brushed past people as she hurriedly made her way back to her desk where she could hide from the world.

"Hermione?" Erik questioned after she exited the lift on the 3rd floor. "Are you alright?"

Hermione wiped at her dampened cheeks and smiled up at him. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Erik studied her closely and frowned at what he saw. "No, you're not fine. What did that guy do to you?"

If it had been any other time, Hermione would have laughed at the thought of Erik trying to stand up to Sirius on her behalf, but now was not the time. "Sirius? He didn't do anything to me. He would never do anything to me." And she realized that this was true.

It was clear, though, that Erik did not believe her so she added. "I was just reminiscing about the past is all. Just….remembering."

Erik's expression softened as he gazed sorrowfully down at her. She never talked about the past, it was a known fact at Brannon & Co.. Everyone had just assumed that it was painful for her and left it at that for which she was thankful.

"I have some work that I really need to finish," she told him, "so I'll see you later. Bye."

Before he could say anything, Hermione took off, leaving another male staring after her. She sat down at her desk and immediately took up the files, engulfing herself once more into her work. She didn't want to think. Thinking was a dangerous thing.

She was so immensed in her work that she did not feel the presence of another person slip up behind her. The slamming of a large whit bag onto the file, though, shocked her out of her stupor and she looked up.

"Sirius?" she questioned as she saw him smiling down at her. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned. "I brought you some lunch," he said as he scooted up an extra chair beside of her and sat down in it, leaning towards her slightly.

"Thank you," Hermione replied hurriedly as she delved into the bag and drew out a burger and fries. Her stomach gave a soft growl, making her blush slightly.

Sirius just sat there while she ate, apparently content to just watch her. He could feel many curious eyes on him but he just ignored them. The girl sitting in front of him, hungrily devouring the burger and fries, was far more interesting in his opinion.

Hermione could feel his eyes on her and looked up, immediately blushing under his intense gaze. "Oh, I'm sorry," she quickly said, "did you want some?"

Sirius smiled. "No, thank you. I'm fine."

Hermione couldn't help but to return his smile. She ate the last of her burger and stuffed the few fries left in her mouth, chewing them quickly and swallowing.

She removed a napkin from the bag and wiped at her mouth. "Thank you again," she said as she threw the trash away and faced him.

"You're welcome. I felt bad for causing you to miss your lunch," he said sincerely.

Hermione frowned. "It wasn't your fault…."

Sirius stopped her with a wave of his hand. "Yes it was. I'm willing lying admitting that I was in the wrong so you better take me up on it."

Hermione laughed and Sirius thought he never heard a sweeter sound. He wanted to protect this girl in front of him. He didn't know why fate had brought them together but he was secretly thankful for whatever had brought him though time.

"Um…," Hermione said slowly, glancing around, "it would seem that you're attracting quite a lot of attention."

Sirius glanced around and smiled at her. "It would seem so but who cares. You're the one that I'm asking to dinner."

"Dinner?" Hermione questioned, stunned that he was asking her on a date.

"Yes dinner, tomorrow night, seven o' clock," Sirius confirmed. "Dumbledore is taking me to see Remus tonight so I might…"

"Might be staying there for the night," she finished for him. She smiled, "Okay, where did you have in mind for tomorrow night so I know what to wear."

Sirius looked down, suddenly nervous that she might turn him down but he was doing this for her though she might not realize it right away. "Er….I was thinking that we could go to Midnight Magic."

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A/N: All for today folks….I'll try to update next week… Till then, here's a preview…

"Hermione," he whispered hoarsely, his voice full of emotion. "Hermione, love, let me help you."

She pulled back to look at him through tear-filled eyes. "How?" she asked quietly.

He smiled down at her and wiped at her tears with his thumb before replacing it with his lips. "By letting me love you," he said gently before claiming her lips.

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