DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.

"Ron, I warn you, don't drink it!" Hermione said again, alarmed, but Ron picked up the glass, drained it in one gulp and said, "Stop bossing me around, Hermione."

She looked scandalized. Bending low so that only Harry could hear her, she hissed, "You should be expelled for that. I'd never have believed it of you, Harry!"

"Hark who's talking," he whispered back. "Confunded anyone lately?"

- -HBP, morning of Quidditch match.

Chapter 9: The Beginning

The morning sun shone through Hermione's window, waking her from her peaceful sleep. She snuggled closer to Sirius, opening her eyes to watch him sleep. He looked so peaceful, she mused, and utterly sexy in his sleep.

She pressed a light kiss to his chest and smiled brightly as she remembered last night. She looked up to find him watching her intently. "Good morning," she said, stretching.

Sirius grinned. "Good morning love." He kissed her lips lightly, pausing to nibble on her lower lip and draw a contented sigh from her. "Any regrets?"

Hermione smiled as she ran a finger down his chest, watching him shiver. "None at all."

Sirius smiled and pulled her closer. "I don't know what brought us together but I am so glad it did."

The beginning. Hermione leaped out of the bed and rushed to her closet where she stored everything dealing with magic. She could feel Sirius' eyes watching her closely but she just figured it out and she had to know…needed to know….

She found what she was looking for and withdrew it. Ancient Magic. Dumbledore had gave it to her after the war when she had told him that she was leaving the magical world behind. But where to look? The beginning.

Ancient magic can often be called upon when the witch or wizard does not even know they are performing magic. It does not require the use of wand. A single drop of pure grief and loneliness can call upon ancient magic to heal all wounds. The heart's most inner wish will, at that time, be revealed.

Hermione closed the book and thought of what she just read. A single drop of pure grief and loneliness….heal all wounds…. What did it mean?

"Hermione?" Sirius questioned as he sat down on the floor beside of her. He looked at the book in her hands questionably and then back up at her.

"Dumbledore gave me this," Hermione said, staring at the book, "before I left the wizarding world after the war. He said I would need it…."

Sirius stared at her, waiting for her to explain. Instead, she handed him the book. "Start at the beginning," she said, still not looking at him.

He opened the book and read the first passage. "A tear," he muttered to himself.

Hermione looked at him, shocked out of her reverie. "What?"

"A single drop of pure grief and loneliness," he read, "a tear. Your tears. That's why I could hear you. Ancient magic allowed me to."

He looked back down at the page and then back to her, grinning smugly from ear to ear. "I'm your heart's most inner wish," he said pompously.

Hermione blushed deeply and looked down at her hands. "When you were alive, we used to argue a bit," she told him softly.

"About what?"

"I accused you of living through Harry, Ron, and I among other things," she admitted quietly. She looked up and into his eyes. "But even then, I admired you."

"Through all those years of Azkaban, you never once broke down. You remained strong and sane." She looked back down at her hands. "I admired you for that. I know that I couldn't have done it."

Sirius placed a finger under her chin and made her meet his gaze. "I haven't went through that yet, Hermione. You know me as an escaped convict, not as I am now. Don't be ruled by your past when the present offers so much more," he told her softly.

A single tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at him. "I don't know if I can do that, Sirius, I'm not strong."

"Yes, you are. I believe in you. Besides, you're not in this alone, you have me."

"Sirius…"

"No, Hermione, listen to me. From what you told me, Harry and Ron would not want you to stop living. They gave their lives so that others could live; so you could live. Don't let their deaths be in vain."

"You can't forget the past," he continued, "but neither can you hide behind it. Accept it, learn from it, and move on. Keep living life, love, because the worst thing you can do is to give up."

Hermione nodded and glanced at the clock. "I have to go to work," she muttered, wiping the tears from her reddened cheeks.

"No," Sirius said fiercely causing Hermione to look at him.

"What?"

"You don't find any enjoyment from that job. It's a place to hide, a place where you can immerse yourself into your work so you can ignore the present."

"Sirius…"

"Stop running. Stop pretending. Stop hiding."

"What do you want me to do Sirius?" Hermione returned, her temper rising.

"Quit your job," he said simply, "and return to the wizarding world with me."

"Well that sounds all fine and dandy now but what about when you leave?" she asked angrily. "What then?"

"I won't leave," he returned with an even voice.

"How can you say that? Even if this Ancient Magic stuff doesn't suck you back through time then you'll grow tired of me and….Stop smiling!"

He leaned over and kissed her with so much passion that she nearly forgot why she was on the floor in the first place. He broke the kiss and smiled sweetly at her. "I don't think I'll ever grow tired of you, love."

"And why's that?"

"Because you fascinate me. Because each day I learn something new and surprising about you. Because you know me better than most. Because you are intelligent, beautiful, funny, and sexy. Because what we have together is stronger than even the strongest of magic."

The tears were falling steadily down Hermione's cheeks as she gazed at him. "Do you honestly mean all that?" she asked in an uncertain voice.

Sirius smiled and lightly kissed her. "Every last bit of it."

Hermione threw her arms around neck, kissing him deeply, her tongue dancing a sweet dance with his. She put all of her emotions behind the kiss.

Sirius placed his arms around her waist, pulling her towards him and rolling them till they were laying on the floor with her beneath him. She moaned as he kissed his way down the column of her neck, his hands running up and down her sides.

He pulled back and stared down at her. He reached out and brushed a stray curl from her cheek. "I love you," he whispered hoarsely, his eyes never leaving hers.

She smiled and brought his head back down to hers. "I love you too," she whispered before bringing their lips together.

"Quit your job," he asked attentively as they broke apart.

She smiled. "Sirius, this job is a source of income for us."

"Return to the wizarding world with me," he said quickly. "I have plenty of money there to tide us over while I train to become an auror or get a job at the Ministry."

"But what would I do? I can't possibly spend day end and day out stuck up inside some house."

"We'll open up a bookstore so you can run it." He paused. "Of course you'll have to have help after the kids arrive," he added after a thought.

"Kids?" Hermione gulped.

"Yeah, the kids we'll have after we get married."

"Married!"

Sirius grinned and rolled away from her before rolling back. "I guess this will have to do for now," he muttered, staring at the thing in his hand.

"Sirius? What are you talking about?"

He reached out and pulled her closer to him, pressing butterfly kisses across her cheek. "Marry me, Hermione, be my wife."

He slid something onto her finger and she looked down. "Is this what I think it is?" she asked softly.

"It will have to do till I can get a real ring; it's the Black crest," Sirius said quickly. He took a deep breath. "Hermione, will you marry me?"

Hermione smiled brightly. "Yes."

A/N: ONE MORE CHAPTER!