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.
Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.
A/N: Okay, so the grand total of the number of times I rewrote this chapter comes up to: 5. Yes, FIVE people which explains why it has taken me such a long time to update. Really sorry and I still don't like this chapter but I thought I should just post something so here ya go.
Chapter 16:
Hermione woke up to the sun streaming in through the window and realized almost immediately that something was different. Slowly, her eyes fluttered opened and blinked back against the bright light that was coming from the wrong direction and started to look around.
She stirred softly as she moved her head and found herself looking into the darkest black eyes she had ever seen. The owner of those eyes also conveniently had his arms wrapped tightly around her and was snuggling close.
She smiled softly and kissed the tip of his nose. "Good morning."
"Good morning sleepy head," Sirius grinned, kissing her lightly on the lips and pulling her closer to him on the couch. He pressed his face into her mop of curls and inhaled her sweet scent, running his fingers lightly against the visible skin of her stomach. "We should get up."
Hermione pouted as she snuggled closer to him, nuzzling her cheek against his chest. "But I don't want to, I want to stay right here."
Sirius laughed softly and leaned back to look down at the angel in his arms. "Soon the others are going to come down and…."
"And they can keep their eyes to themselves," she finished sleepily, her eyes closing slowly as she moved closer to him. "Right now, I just want to get some more sleep so shut up."
"What's this?" Sirius said disbelievingly, faking a gasp. "The early morning riser sleeping in? It's an outrage! A scandal!"
Hermione couldn't stop the smirk from forming on her lips. "Shut up and go back to sleep before I hex you."
"And then who would you use as a pillow?" he replied cheekily and cried out when she pinch him. "Ah, come on Hermione, I'm not sleepy."
Hermione glared at him. "I don't care. I'm quite comfortable at the moment and don't feel like moving so please just shut your eyes and count dungbombs or something."
Sirius raised a brow at that and considered the possibility. No, he told himself, he must remain firm and get her up. "But I'm hungry!" he whined.
Hermione slowly raised her head and kissed him hard, slipping her tongue into his parted mouth and swirling it around his. She went to pull back but he held her there tightly.
"MERLIN! Get a room!" a fourth year exclaimed as he walked in on the couple snogging about twenty minutes after Hermione initially woke up.
"Sod off!" Sirius yelled back and went right back to kissing her.
The fourth year walked past them and out of the portrait hole, trying to forget what he had just witnessed. Soon after, a small third year boy walked in on them.
"HOLY SNITCHES ALMIGHTY!"
Sirius groaned at the interruption and pulled back from his girlfriend who was doing her best to keep from laughing at him. He raised himself up off of her slightly to glare over the back of the couch at the boy. "Did you need something?" Sirius was all but growling at the young boy.
The boy turned a bright shade of red with embarrassment and immediately started stuttering, "Er…no Mr…er…Black, sir….I….er…just…."
"Then GO AWAY!" he barked at the boy.
The boy quickly scurried out of the portrait hole and away from them. Hermione had to fight to keep the laughter from bubbling out of her. "You didn't have to scare the poor child," she scolded playfully, lightly making circles on his chest.
"He was interrupting," Sirius dismissed casually, lying back down on top of her though careful to support himself up off of her so to not smash her. "Besides, he won't come back for a while now and everyone else probably heard too so they'll be to scared to come down and…."
"Do you have a point to all of this?" Hermione laughed, running one hand through his silky hair, wrapping the locks around her fingers.
"My point is that maybe we have some time alone together," he said with a smirk, his face lowering towards hers.
"Mmmm," Hermione smiled, "and what do you plan on us doing during this alone time?"
Sirius smiled seductively. "This," he purred against her lips before capturing them in a heated kiss. His tongue skilfully traced the outer edges of her lips before pressing softly between them, begging for entrance.
Hermione graciously kissed him back, letting her mouth part for him to enter. She nipped at his lower lip, drawing a moan from him and returned it when one of his hands cupped her hip and raised her up against him. She could feel his desire for her and she was amazed that she could make him like that.
However, after a little while, Hermione's stomach protested her lack of breakfast by growling loudly. Sirius leaned back and laughed, pressing a soft kiss to her abdomen. "Let's go fix that, shall we?"
Hermione rose from the couch and out of his arms, smiling up at him. "I'm going to go up and change. I'll meet you back down her in ten minutes."
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Hermione poked the burning embers in the fireplace, sending a shower of sparks into the grate. She replaced the poker and sat back on her haunches, sighing as she watched the red and yellow dancers dance their exotic dance within the grate.
"Home", the word hung in the air as Hermione whispered it softly. So much was different and yet, so much was the same. One thought kept running through her head, will I ever go home?
She didn't realize she had spoken that last bit aloud until a voice from behind startled her. "And where exactly would 'home' be?"
Hermione spun and stared at the man in front of her. "Sirius, I didn't realize you would be back so soon. I thought you went to mail some letters to James and them."
He shrugged and walked over to where she now sat, after falling when he startled her, and took a seat beside of her on the rug. "I finished with that ten minutes ago."
"Oh."
He studied her face for a minute or two while she determinedly stared into the flames of the fire. One hand reached out to cup her cheek gently and turn her towards him.
Honey and liquorice, day and night. Two opposites and yet each held the same passion for the other, the liquid colour of their eyes swirling with desire for each other.
He leant forward and pressed his mouth against hers, making no attempt to deepen the kiss. When he pulled back, he smiled at her softly before turning to stare into the flames.
"Where is everyone?" Hermione found herself asking as she distinctly noticed the disappearance of the students who were before littering the common room.
"I scared them off," Sirius stated simply.
"You big bully," she found herself teasing, drawing his eyes back to hers.
"Yep, that's me."
Sirius took her hand and rose from his place, pulling her up as well. He held her close for a moment or two, staring down at her face. Shaking his head slightly, he led her over to the couch and sat down, scooting closer to her.
Now's the time, he told himself, now is the time to ask. Though Sirius was afraid of her answer, he had to know.
Sirius turned slightly so that he faced her and looked at her intently. The serious look on his face made her nervous and Hermione knew that something was up.
"Hermione…."
"Yes?" She asked when he didn't continue but instead sat there and looked into her eyes with a sad look in his. "Sirius, what is it?"
"Hermione….we need to talk."
This is it, Hermione thought despondently, this is when he tells me that he can't be with me anymore and just wants to be friends. "Okay…."
"It's not that I don't trust you, but…."
"…but, what?" Hermione asked timidly.
"But I need some answers, Hermione."
Hermione slowly let out the breath she had been holding. He just wanted some answers. That shouldn't be to hard, should it?
"Answers? What would you like answers to, Sirius?" Hermione asked though she was pretty sure she knew what he wanted to know.
"About you," he answered, his hands giving her own a little squeeze. "I need to know Hermione. I need to know about you. You barely share anything about yourself and then that's guarded and carefully thought out. I just…."
He looked down at their joined hands and took a shaky breath. When his eyes connected back with hers, there was a little more confidence in them then there was before. "I just need to know, Hermione."
Hermione nodded and bit her lower lip as she thought about his request. She knew this was coming, she just never expected it to be so soon. But then again, it wasn't actually that soon, now was it? She had been in the past with the Marauders for almost four months now and surely she owed him of all people some answers.
"Alright…," she said slowly, looking into his eyes. She owed him this. "What would you like to know?"
"Well, for starters, how about your old school. What was it like?"
"It was a lot like Hogwarts except it's smaller….kind of,' Hermione fibbed a little. "There were a lot of secret passage ways and hidden routes throughout the school and outside. My two best friends, Harry and Ron, and I loved to explore these and used them often."
She smiled as she thought of them. Ron with his quick temper and Harry's messy hair and emerald eyes. "We were inseparable. Some people called us the Golden Trio."
"Why?" Sirius questioned.
"Actually," Hermione admitted with a small chuckle, "I'm not entirely sure. I guess because we were the best of friends. Also, Harry had this knack for finding trouble but easily escaping harm or punishment for that matter."
She looked over at her boyfriend and smiled. "You know, you and James remind me so much of Ron's brothers. They were twins and also the two biggest troublemakers ever. They hardly ever got caught either."
"I would like to meet them," Sirius said eagerly, his eyes alighting with the prospect of meeting two fellow troublemakers.
"Maybe you will someday," Hermione commented with a vague smile on her face.
Sirius looked down before asking his next question. "Any boyfriends?"
Hermione laughed. "Merlin, no."
Sirius smiled brightly like a kid on Christmas. "That's good."
"What would you have done if I had said yes?" she teased, lacing her fingers through his.
"I would have been insanely jealous and probably asked you to never speak of him again," he replied seriously and Hermione rolled her eyes.
"What else would you like to know?"
"How about…," he paused, thinking hard, "why you left."
"I told you…," Hermione said slowly.
"No, you just said that you lost everyone. You didn't really tell us anything at all."
"Well…like I said, I lost everyone."
"But," Sirius said slowly and Hermione could almost see the rusty wheels begin to turn inside his head, "you just said that I'll meet Ron's brothers one day."
"When I said that I lost everyone, I wasn't meaning that they died. I meant that I left and I won't get to see them for a good while."
"Anyone can see their families during breaks. You could too."
"No, I can't," Hermione said flatly. "I can't see them till I go back."
"Well, then go back," he said easily.
Hermione looked into his eyes, fighting the tears that were beginning to form. "Sirius, if I go back to where I came from, I can never come back to you." She saw him frown slightly and went on, "Besides, I can't go back at the moment."
"I don't understand…."
"I can't explain."
"Why not?"
Hermione gave a frustrated sigh and leaned away from him. "Because Dumbledore forbade me to. There are some things, Sirius, that are best kept a secret."
Sirius stared at her and she stared back, each refusing to look away. This was hard for both of them seeing how Sirius did not receive the answer he wished and Hermione was not able to share her secrets with him.
"I guess I can accept that…for now," he grunted grudgingly.
Hermione removed one of her hands from his and cupped his cheek tenderly. "Thank you," she whispered, leaning forward and pressing a chaste kiss on his lips.
Sirius wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him. For now, he would accept her story and just enjoy being with her. But one day, he acknowledge, he would need the answers that she could not provide.
When he heard her slow breathing, he knew she had fallen asleep. He felt bad for doubting her but really what was he supposed to do?
He hardly knew anything about her past. He also got the sneaking feeling that she was guarding every word that left her mouth as if making sure she did not let something slip.
He laid back on the couch, pulling her along with him. She instinctively snuggled closer to him and he smiled, content to have her here in his arms. It was just as he was drifting off to sleep that he realized that she was slowly tearing down the wall he had built around his heart brick by brick.
Hermione Granger was stealing the one thing he closely guarded, his heart, and he realized that he liked the feeling.
A/N: There, finished! Well, that chapter at least. I'm discovered that the United Kingdom dictionary on my computer works quite well so I've been using it. So, all you non-British speaking people out there (which includes me), the spelling is different on some words.
Anyways, this whole middle part is pure fluff because I just don't want to get into the big stuff at the moment…that comes LATER. I'm not happy with the way this chapter came out but after receiving some cough threats cough via email, I thought I should update before I was attacked. Hope you guys like it. Don't forget to review!
Much love,
Amaya