AN: Hello, Fanfiction and Harry Potter fans. I do not own Harry Potter, but feel free to enjoy this or hate it. If you enjoy it, please leave a lovely comment, if you hate it, then leave some constructive criticism, thanks!

Can You Take the Jump?

Chapter 45

You are cordially invited to the nuptial ceremony of—

"Hermione!" Lily called out. "Dad wants you to come downstairs!"

Hermione placed the wedding invitation back down on her vanity. "Coming!" She called out while clipping her hair up. She walked down the steps of their home, only to stop at the sight of her twin sister and father waiting for her with excited smiles.

"I'm good." She started to back up, but she was stopped by her mother giving her an encouraging smile.

"Go on. It's a good skill to have."

"Come on!" Lily grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards the door. "It'll be better this time, I promise!"

…

"That's good, Hermione." Their father smiled encouragingly. He sat in the passenger seat of their family car, while Lily sat in the back. It was the twins' turn to learn how to drive, seeing how they'd turn 17 during the school year, their father was being proactive in teaching his daughters how to drive.

Apparently having two lives did not make Hermione Evans a better driver than Hermione Granger.

"Now we're coming up to a stop sign, so you just need to gently tap on the bre—"

Lily braced her arms in front of her as the car lurched forward at her sister's aggressive stop to stop herself from faceplanting into the headrest in front of her.

"Shit!"

"Language," their father weakly reprimanded as he massaged his chest from the sudden compression of the seat belt. "I should have told you about the stop earlier."

They were less than two blocks away from their house and Lily was already fearing for her life, but also enjoying watching her sister struggle with something.

"Why do we even need to learn this!" Hermione complained, guilt and embarrassment building in her chest as she looked back and forth between her increasingly frustrated father and nervous sister. "We're witches dad, we have other modes of transportation!"

"Driving is a valuable skill, you never know if you'll need it. Besides, it'll give you a bit of freedom since you won't have to ask Petunia to drive you everywhere."

Their father had a good point about that.

"Now," their father's voice started gently again. "Gently press the gas pedal with your feet. Like you're trying to wake a baby. Gently."

The car was moving, but there was no sudden lurch anymore.

"Very good sweetheart."

At an agonizing 30 km/h, the trio crawled down another few blocks until Hermione made another lurching stop.

"Okay," Mr. Evans's attempt at being positive was sounding more and more forced by the second. "That was not too bad."

Lily snorted. "At least we found something Hermione is exceptionally bad at."

"Oh, yeah?" Hermione put the car in park. "Let's see how good you are."

Taking her up for the challenge, the sisters switched spots. With confidence, Lily sat in the driver's seat.

Vrrrrrrr!

"Lily, sweetheart, you need to shift the stick to drive."

"Oh…"

…

The three sisters sat in the car as Petunia drove them to the mall.

"Puahahahaha!" Petunia burst out laughing as the twins took turns telling her each other's failures. "I guess magic doesn't help the two of you in terms of driving."

"You've had more experience watching Dad drive, Tuny. It's not our fault that we're stuck at school for most of the year." Lily complained, laughing along despite being slightly embarrassed about her mistakes.

Petunia shook her head, "Nope, I'm just more talented than you Lily. I was born to drive, baby." She stepped on the gas pedal to prove her point; the engine revved around them.

"Tuny!" Lily voiced her alarm. "Fine! You're a natural-born driver!"

"Petunia, cops!" Hermione shouted.

"Where?!" Immediately, Petunia slammed on the breaks, dramatically decreasing their speed. All the sisters lurched forward, but poor Lily was the only one who wasn't prepared. The seatbelt dug into her chest, causing her to release a yelp.

"—Are always around this area, so be careful."

"Hermione!" Petunia fumed. "That's so dangerous! What if there was a car behind us? It's also terrible for the breaks!"

"I made sure there was no car directly behind us," Hermione waved away her sister's concerns. "We're close to the mall. There are always cops here. It would have been more terrible if you got us into an accident because you were speeding, don't you think?"

Petunia opened her mouth to complain, but sure enough, a police car sat hiding around the corner, waiting to catch speeding drivers.

"Just…just don't do that again."

The siblings pulled up to the mall. Once they were parked, Petunia quickly got out of the car and stormed into the building.

"She's upset," Lily muttered, walking side by side with her twin. "It was a bit mean, Hermione."

"She slowed down, didn't she?" Hermione sighed.

They stepped into the air-conditioned shopping centre that was bustling with people. While several people were there to shop at the various department stores, it was clear that many of them were simply there to hang out. People lounged around the sitting areas, eating the treats sold within the place, chatting with their friends, and enjoying the cool air.

"Tuny!" A group of girls greeted their older sister. The girls giggled with each other talking about each other's summer tan, their outfits, what they'd been up to for the past week, etc.

"Ugh, I can't believe mum is making us hang out with her friends again. They're terribly judge-y and they always make snide comments about us going to boarding school."

"In their eyes, it looks like we're getting preferential treatment compared to Petunia because we get to go to a posh boarding school while Tuny's in public. Really, they're just sticking up for their friend. If the Marauders and your roommates were here, they'd also take our side against them too."

"Ugh, when did you become such a pacifist?" Lily rolled her eyes as she linked her arms through hers.

Two of the girls in Petunia's group gave the twins side eye, but they pushed on, strolling through the mall, window shopping as they walked by. Hermione caught a glimpse of their reflection and smiled. Despite being twins, after a certain age, the sisters stopped dressing alike. In fact, the sisters had completely different fashion preferences. Lily preferred colours that were found in nature, various shades of yellow, green, brown, red, and occasional blues or purples were paired with braided pigtails, high ponytails, or loose free-flowing hair. She dressed sweet, and girly with sun dresses or large knit sweaters during the colder seasons. Hermione tended to gravitate towards clothes that served functional and practical purposes than any expression of self, though she supposed that in itself was self-expression. Her colours remained neutral or black and white articles of clothing that could mix and match with any other pieces, making her closet significantly smaller than her sisters'. Her hair was always in a low ponytail or on nicer occasions curled and maintained.

Hermione glanced over to her oldest sister who eyed a pink skirt. If anyone was daring with fashion it would be their oldest sister. Petunia loved reading fashion magazines. She would dogear pages with outfits she particularly liked. While the outfits didn't particularly suit Hermione's tastes, she thought Petunia had a good eye for trends.

"The film doesn't start for another 20 minutes. Do you want to grab some snacks?"

"Won't Tuny want some too?" Lily asked, watching their sister look around the shopping centre with her friends.

"Won't Vernon pay? He loves to show off his money." Hermione rolled her eyes.

Vernon Dursley, Harry's horrible uncle, was as boring and uneventful as watching a pot of water simmer slowly at a low-grade fire. The only 'colour' he had to his personality was the snide comments he liked to throw at his girlfriend's odd twin sisters or boast about the money he made at the company where he and Petunia had met.

Petunia, for the summer, had a low-level secretarial, front desk job at a drilling company on the outskirts of London, where she met Vernon Dursley.

If Hermione was completely honest, she didn't understand what Petunia saw in Vernon. Aside from the terrible abusive man she knew him to be in the future, even in his youth, Vernon did not have much going for him. He was lanky, and while he still had a head full of hair, he wasn't particularly handsome, or sweet. Sure, he had more money than most of his peers because of his job, but he was arrogant, and Hermione wasn't sure if he truly liked Petunia for who she was or simply because she was out of his league. A trophy, arm candy.

Even the air around Petunia changed when Vernon was around, she became snobby and her attitude around money and spending changed.

"Damn, I forgot he was coming today. He's worse than all her friends put together." Lily groaned. "He spent an hour trying to lecture me about inflation."

Hermione snorted, "You should tell him that the government should just print more money. You'll get to see the vein in his forehead pop out, maybe even pulse."

"Don't tempt me. Mum made me promise to be nice after the last time I saw him, and we got into the argument about feminism."

That was another issue that Hermione had with Vernon Dursley. He was pushing Petunia to quit the job that she'd earned. Although Hermione didn't know how their office was run, Petunia seemed to enjoy her job, making friends with the various other secretaries and getting a taste of what it would be like to be an independent woman. It suited her well. So for Dursley to swoop in and try to convince Petunia to quit didn't sit right with Hermione. It wasn't that she had a problem with chivalry, however, the way he pushed her was more like financial dominance coated with the guise of gentlemanly manners.

The real issue was Petunia's blindness to the nuances of Dursley's behaviour and her inability to listen to her family's reasoning behind their dislike of her new boyfriend. Petunia believed she was finally meeting a man, rather than a boy, someone who was treating her right and knew her worth. In reality, Petunia was seeing worth that wasn't there, thus making Dursley feel like he was more than he was.

"Pet!"

Speaking of the devil, the group turned to see Vernon Dursley walk towards them calling Petunia by that horrible pet name. He wore a full 3-piece suit in the sweltering summer heat.

"Why is he dressed like that if he didn't even have work today?" Lily asked Hermione in a low voice.

Hermione shrugged.

"Verny!" Petunia ran towards him and flung her arm around him.

"Merlin, they need to call each other by new names."

"Or just use their given names." Hermione agreed.

"Why, don't you and Sirius have pet names for each other?"

Hermione raised her brow, "Are you sure you want to know?"

Lily pushed her, "You think I'm soooo innocent, but I did have a boyfriend for two years, you know."

Hermione leaned in closer to her sister, "He calls me foxy or sexy, I call him 'good boy'."

It took her a few seconds to understand, but once the proverbial lightbulb lit in Lily's mind, an intense blush spread across her cheeks as she let out a squeak while slapping her sister on the arm several times, which made Hermione laugh. It was a lie, she and Sirius didn't have pet names for each other, but her sister's reaction made it worth it.

"Something funny ladies?" Dursley looked at them with contempt.

"No!" Lily denied. She ran away from her sister in embarrassment, while Hermione laughed walking after her.

The group argued for a long time about what movie they should watch. The girls wanted to watch dramatic movies while Dursley wanted to watch Midway, a movie about warring battleships during World War II. While Hermione also thought it might be a good watch, none of the other girls were as enthusiastic, so they all settled for a horror movie. Although Hermione and Lily weren't technically old enough to watch it, the kid at the ticket stand was even younger than they were. It was a psychological suspense movie about a child that was the Antichrist.

Everyone jumped now and then, but Hermione watched with amused curiosity. While the story wasn't half bad and the acting decent, the effects of the movie were nothing compared to what she remembered the future being. Granted Hermione Granger wasn't a huge horror movie person, so she had no reference for a proper comparison, but she still remembered watching Avatar by James Cameron in 2009. Compared to the technological advancements and skills of the future, this movie's special effects were child's play.

"Why are you smiling like a bloody crazy person?!" Petunia whispered furiously at her. Hermione turned her head to see Vernon watching her with a horrified expression. She raised her brow and lifted the corner of her lips. She could see the shiver travel down his spine as he turned back to the screen, preferring to watch the horrors onscreen rather than her.

"Stop that!" Petunia shouted in a whisper, but it hadn't been quiet enough, causing the people around them to shush them, almost as loudly as Petunia had whispered.

Ignoring her older sister's stinging glare, Hermione turned her eyes back to the big screen. Despite the screams and the sounds of breaking bones and blood splattering on surfaces, it was almost comical how fast sleep slithered its way into her consciousness. During Sirius's imprisonment, she had worried too much to get some proper sleep, but with Sirius safe, the desire to sleep hit her often and hard.

Crucio!

Ahhhhhhhhh!

"Hermione!"

She gasped when someone shook her awake.

"The movie's done, you need to get up." Lily grabbed her bag off the floor.

"I fell asleep?"

"Just the last 10 minutes. I can't believe you fell asleep during this movie. It's supposed to be the scariest movie of the year."

Hermione groaned as she stood from the uncomfortable chair. "I thought it was kind of lame."

"Was that why you were laughing?"

"You saw that?"

"Everyone heard Tuny say it to you."

"Oh," the two linked arms as they walked down the steps of the theatre. "I just thought it must be similar to what our parents must've gone through when we were younger. Things floating, changing, moving without anyone's touch."

"Oh my gosh, you're right. We were our parents' Damien!" Lily laughed. "At least nothing died around us."

"At least."

The twins laughed, causing everyone to stare at them. The group left the theatres, Petunia and Vernon leading the group, while Hermione and Lily straggled behind, too busy talking about the issues their parents must have suffered as muggles to raise two magical children at the same time.

"That's why mum baptized me so early!" Lily gasped with a realization. Hermione let out a chuckle and was about to respond when a murmur of whispers around them stopped her. They'd exited the mall, but everyone was stopped, staring down the pavement.

Lily noticed as well, pulling her along to look around the group of people in front of them.

"Oh, my…" Lily let out a quiet exclamation. Standing there was a very good-looking boy in a The Who band t-shirt and jeans. He had a leather jacket slung over his shoulder, but the thing that had truly caused Hermione to make a full stop was the expensive motorcycle parked right next to the pavement.

"Hey, isn't that—" Barbara, one of Petunia's oldest and actually nice friends started to speak, but was cut off by the boy's bright ears catching their voices.

"Hermione!" Previously bored, Sirius excitedly ran over to her now with the biggest smile on his face. He enveloped her with a big hug, dropping his leather jacket in the process. He didn't seem to mind as she twirled her around as though they hadn't seen each other in years when in fact they'd seen each other a mere two days ago.

"Sirius!" She scolded. She smacked his arm a little more genuine than she meant to but noticed how much sturdier he felt. Living with the Potters and especially, James, the exercise enthusiast, Sirius had recovered from his capture at a remarkable speed. While he wasn't as muscular and thick as he used to be, he felt lean and strong.

He laughed good-naturedly as he set her down to the floor and gave her a peck on the lips before rubbing his arm where she'd hit him. Immediately apologetic, she laced their fingers and gave him an apology squeeze.

"Hey Black," Lily greeted. "What are you doing here? How'd you know we were at the shopping centre?"

"I dropped by your house and your parents told me where you guys were."

"Ehem!" Someone cleared their throat loudly behind them.

Petunia's friends looked almost hungrily at Sirius. It wasn't that Hermione didn't understand, he was a type of visual that people didn't see often, especially in a small town like Cokesworth, but they were being so blatantly obvious that it irked her.

Sirius being the extroverted guy he was walked up to the girls with his arms around Hermione.

"Hi, I'm Sirius Black. I'm Hermione's boyfriend." He spoke clearly, emphasizing the last word.

"Oh," the seductive smiles on the girls' faces faltered then immediately dropped when he pulled Hermione closer to him.

"Hey, Sirius, remember me?" Barbara gave him a small wave.

Sirius paused at the familiar face, "Oh! Beach trip! B-b-something…Barbara! How are you? How did it go with that guy from the beach? The rude one."

"Which one?"

"Brian O'Connor," Petunia reminded her.

"Oh! Him! Nah, he was just a week crush. Nothing serious there. I've raised my standards."

"Good for you."

"So," Barbara waggled her brows. "Got an older brother?"

Suddenly, all the other girls who've been making an effort to look uninterested in their conversation perked up.

"Nope, just a younger one," Lily responded for him. "They look shockingly alike, but he's only 13?"

"Damn."

"I don't know, I think Reggie could learn a thing or two from an older woman, don't you think?"

Hermione nudged him in the ribs, "Don't pimp out your younger brother."

"Ow!" He clutched his side. "I was only joking! Besides, you wouldn't like him. He's too gloomy. He's a bit of a prat."

"You got a bike." Hermione continued to stare at the vehicle, uncaring of the ongoing conversation happening around her.

"Yeah! Isn't she sexy?"

"You got a bike?"

"Yeah babe, and it's vintage too! I had some help, but I fixed it up myself and finished it today! I came right to you to show you."

"You got a bike!"

"Hermione, I think it's clear that he got a bike." Lily placed both hands on her sister's shoulder to ground her.

"You don't like it?" He asked tentatively. His eyes were wide as his pink bottom lips protruded slightly.

This goddamn son of a bitch was giving her the fucking puppy eyes.

And it was working.

"It's the same bike that Hagrid used to transport me when I was orphaned by Voldemort." Harry inspected the bike with awe. "And the same bike he used when I was 11, of course. This is the bike, Hermione!"

"I-it's not that I don't…like it." Hermione paused, but at his puppy eyes, she sighed. "Is it safe?"

"Of course! I got some enhancements done on it with the help of dad."

He gave her a look that told her the 'enhancements' were magical, with the help of Mr. Potter. Hermione did not miss the fact that Sirius was now calling James's parents' mom and dad. It warmed her heart to see that he was still able to believe in family and familial love despite everything he'd been through.

"I would have never come to pick you up if I thought it was even remotely unsafe."

"I'm sorry, but pick me up?" Hermione blinked. "I'm getting on that?"

He pulled out a second helmet and placed it in her hands. When she didn't immediately put it on her head, Sirius took it upon himself to place the helmet onto her head, making sure her hair was not in her eyes during the process.

"Perfect fit." He looked proud. "Come on, I'll drive you home. Your parents invited me to dinner."

Hermione was still frozen in place.

Stifling a laugh, Lily gave her sister a nudge, knowing full well how much her sister did not wish to be on that motorcycle.

She shuffled her feet towards the bike. "Please…just don't go too fast, alright?"

"I'll try."

…

He did not try at all. He went too fast. Far too fast.

In fact, when she got off the bike, her legs were shaking so bad that she had to sit on the side of the curb in front of her home.

"I didn't even go that fast."

"I thought I was going fucking warp speed."

"What's warp speed?"

She rolled her eyes, "Never mind."

"Okay, come on." Sirius tried pulling her up, but she resisted. "Alright, then I guess I'll just have to do this." He scooped her off the ground, carrying her into her home bridal style. Her mother squealed with joy whispering adoring remarks on Sirius's gallant behaviour, while her father's eyes dripped with venom.

"Sirius, put me down!" Hermione tried to worm herself out of his grasp, only causing him to hold her tighter.

"Now what kind of boyfriend would I be if I left my motion sick girlfriend just lying on the curb?"

"Oh honey, you're sick?" Mrs. Evans pulled out a chair and motioned Sirius to set her down. "I'll make you some tea with some honey."

"Thanks, mum."

"Sirius, darling, would you like some tea?"

"Don't give it to him, he's the reason I'm motion sick in the first place."

"Does this have anything to do with the bike I see parked on my driveway?" Mr. Evans narrowed his eyes. In all honesty, Sirius looked like a father's worst nightmare for his daughter's boyfriend. He was into rock music, often spoke far too casually about money, and he was roguishly handsome. His good looks came with a sense of arrogance, high self-esteem, and a string of broken hearts in his past. Even though Hermione knew Sirius's attitude was just a front that Sirius put on to hide his inner insecurities, and the broken hearts were not inherently his fault, it didn't stop her father from liking Sirius a lot less than when he first came to visit their family's house back when they were thirteen. And now, he rode a motorcycle too, it was like the cherry on top of a sundae…

"Yeah, it's actually quite brilliant. I can pull it up into the garage so we can take a look at it together if you'd like. Dad and I added some magical enhancements to make it much safer."

Intrigued with his suggestion, her father reluctantly nodded. He opened his mouth to ask further questions when the front door opened to reveal the rest of the mall entourage.

"Mum, we're hungry!" Petunia threw her purse onto the sofa and sat down with a big sigh. Vernon sat down next to her and kept his arm possessively around her shoulder while glaring at Sirius.

"What's for dinner?"

"O-oh." Ivy Evans glanced around her home at the sudden drastic increase in the number of hungry stomachs to feed. "Well, I didn't know you guys were coming over…I can try whipping up something quickly—"

"We're too hungry to wait. Let's just order some take-out."

There was an immediate grimace that passed both of her parents. Something even Sirius seemed to notice, but Tuny remained oblivious. Ordering take-out for 10 people was much more expensive than a homecooked dinner.

"Petunia, sweetheart—"

"Please?! I haven't had pizza in forever." Petunia turned to her friends. "What about you guys? Are you down for some pizza as well?"

When the majority nodded, the adults shared a glance and gave them a practiced smile. "Sure, why not?"

"That's a great idea!" Sirius joined in. He gave Hermione a wink and walked to the sitting room where Petunia and Vernon sat. "I would love some pizza, but since we're the unannounced guests, it's only fair that I pay." He gave everyone a winning smile. The one he only makes when he wants to convince everyone that he's the best.

"No no." Vernon objected. "I insist on paying." Although previously he'd remained absolutely silent. "I am the working adult here." Vernon puffed his chest out and gave him a smirk.

"Oh brilliant, you work?" Sirius sounded intrigued.

"Yes, I work with a finance manager for the Briger—"

"Great! That settles it, then. Working man Vernon here will pay for the meal. How marvellously generous. Thanks mate!" Everyone was swept up in Sirius's boisterous gratitude that they started thanking Vernon as well. In a blink of an eye, he had tricked everyone, especially Vernon into paying for a meal he didn't even want to pay for in the beginning.

When Sirius came back to her side, she gave him an impressed look.

He smirked, "I don't even have money on me."

She gave him a small punch to the arm, but he smiled at her in a way Hermione's only seen him do when he was trying to get other Gryffindors or Pettigrew to go along with his plans. It rarely failed.

…

"I have to admit, it's a nice bike." Mr. Evans took a swig of beer while appreciating the motorcycle before him.

"Isn't she?" Sirius smiled as he swiped the speck of dust that had landed on it.

"She?"

"Hm, I'm thinking of calling her, Rosita." He smirked, rolling the r with his tongue. "Like the engine sound she makes when she runs."

Mr. Evans laughed. "I like it." He admitted. "So, it's safe?"

"Absolutely. I'm telling you; I wouldn't have put Hermione on it if I thought there was even a slight chance that she could get hurt."

He smiled with approval. "I've got to ask, how does a kid like you afford something like this?"

Sirius leaned against the bike and let out a sigh, "I'm not sure if you know this, but my family, the Blacks, I mean, are filthy rich. I don't need to be humble about it because it's the truth. We have vaults of gold, heirlooms, priceless artifacts, and galleons. Not just in England, but across Europe."

Mr. Evans raised his brow and let out a whistle. "I had a feeling, but I didn't know it was that much."

"But I'd give it all away if it meant that they could become better people." Sirius kicked the gravel on the floor. "I don't know how much Hermione's told you, but my parents locked me in the house for dating Hermione, for being a Gryffindor, for thinking of muggles as equals…for being me."

Mr. Evans had gone silent.

"I cut ties with them, completely. I bought this bike with a wristwatch my father gave me when I was first able to magically torture one of our family's House Elves. She was a young little thing. I felt vile, I wanted to vomit and cry, but my father congratulated me and rewarded me. So, I made a bargain with one of the tellers in Diagonally, changed the galleons into pounds and went straight to a bike shop."

"Won't you regret it?"

"Nah, I hated that wristwatch anyway."

"No, son. I mean cutting ties with your family. They were your family."

Sirius blinked. He thought the man would be glad he left the family who was prejudiced against his daughter. Some might even call it romantic. But Robert Evans's eyes held concern and warmth, just like Mr. Potter's.

"I regret leaving my brother there. Once I become independent I want to help him get out too, but no. I don't regret it. They were terrible. To me, to everyone, to each other, and especially to themselves."

"I'm glad you don't regret it. It's a terrible thing to have to regret your past or the decisions in your past." Mr. Evans clapped him in the back, "So the people you're with now, are they good people? You're safe?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter are… family. Mum and Dad."

"Well, then." Mr. Evans reached into his mini fridge and opened a beer and handed it to Sirius. "Cheers, to the Potters."

"To the Potters." Sirius recited.

"And if you ever need a second family, we don't have much, but the Evans's are willing to share everything they have with you too, son."

"I've been meaning to tell you, Mr. Evans." Sirius turned to him. "I turn 17 this November, on the 3rd to be exact. In the Wizarding world, that's the legal age when one becomes an adult."

"I'm aware. Wow, you guys are turning 17 already, huh. Time sure flies. I'll make sure to send a birthday card and gift through Lily's owl."

Sirius smiled, "Thank you, but the reason I'm mentioning this to you is that on that day, the inheritance that Uncle Alphard left behind for me will finally be released for my use. I want to help you pay for Hermione's treatments at St. Mungo's."

Robert Evans's jaw dropped.

"It's something I've been thinking about for a while, actually. I looked through my uncle's financial records and saw that he had been helping you pay, and I knew that I wanted to do that too."

"No, Sirius. We can't ask you to do that. It's your money, son."

"But that's just it. It's not my money." Sirius insisted. "It's Uncle Alphard's and he would have wanted me to help you guys out. He loved Hermione. And I lo—" He cleared his throat. "And I want to do this. For my second family."

Sirius thought Mr. Evans would refuse and resist further. He stood up to set his foot down on this issue when the older man wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a fearsome hug.

"Thank you." He whispered. "Thank you."

…

They swung on the back porch swing like they'd done when Sirius first came to visit her when he was thirteen. They sat more snuggly than in the past, with much less space on the swing for the two of them, but they didn't mind as they shared each other's warmth while looking out to the setting sun.

Hermione insisted that he stayed until he sobered up from the beer. Although he didn't feel even the slightest bit intoxicated, he stayed to be next to her.

"What did you and dad talk about?"

"The bike. Money. Regrets."

"Wow. Must've been one hell of a conversation."

"Your dad asked me if I might regret leaving everything, you know, the money and the familial ties."

Hermione turned around and cupped his face with her hands. "You won't."

"I won't?"

"Definitely won't."

His lips quivered, but in the end, he let out a chuckle. "You're right. I definitely won't."

"Dad probably just asked you because he's worried mum regrets it. Mum was from quite a wealthy family, you know. And even though, back then—before the Korean War—my father did really well for himself, my mother's family thought him unworthy of my mum's affections, much less marriage. Dad promised mum a comfortable life, a good one where she could live without worrying or working, so mum ran away and got married in a small church in the countryside."

"But what happened?"

"The war. My father left for the war and when he came back, his job was gone. Unlike World War II, the Korean War didn't get much press coverage. The veterans didn't get the acknowledgement they deserved from the country or the public. Most people didn't even know a country called Korea existed until the war. My father was skilled and valuable enough to get a job somewhere else, but the aftereffects of the war affected him too much. He couldn't handle the stress of the job, so my mum and dad packed everything and came here."

"So he never got to keep his promise to your mum."

"No, I suppose not." Hermione shook her head, "but what my father fails to fully understand to this day is that mum accepted his proposal because she loved him. Completely and utterly. She didn't care about having to work or having to leave her life of luxury as long as she was with him. While it's not to say they have no problems, I don't think mum regrets her decisions and dad just wants to hear it from you because he saw the commonalities between your situation and my mom's."

"Well, then I'm really glad I told him I don't regret it."

Hermione laughed.

Sirius watched her real warm laugh and tried to embed it into his brain. He still woke up in the night in a sweaty fright because of what happened at the Initiation. He could hear her cold words, that malicious laugh, and those dead eyes staring at him.

"Sirius?"

He blinked himself back to the present. "Yeah?"

If Hermione had caught his little daydream, or rather day-nightmare, she didn't elude to it. "I asked if you were busy next Friday."

"I don't think so. Why?"

She pulled a letter from her back pocket and handed it to him.

"A wedding?" Sirius looked at the date. "Wait isn't Narcissa and Malfoy's wedding—?"

"Yup. I was wondering if you'd be my plus one."

"Really?"

"Unless you think someone else would be a better fit for my plus one to a wedding than you. Perhaps I can ask if Vernon is free."

Sirius flinched back as if she'd slapped him. "Vernon?! Merlin! I was expecting someone like Remus, but Vernon?! Hell no! I'm your fucking plus one!"

"Good." Hermione kissed him on the lips. "While I love the band t-shirts, and the one that says, "fuck the government up the ass", please dress up."

"Hmmm, I think I'm going to need a bit more persuading." Sirius leaned in closer, his lips grazing hers.

She shut her eyes and closed the gap between their lips and bodies. He moaned when she scraped her fingernails lightly on his scalp and pressed her breasts into his chest. She knew he could feel her erect nipples through the thin summery material of her lacy bra and shirt. Sirius lifted her off the seat and set her down on top of him, straddling him around the waist, now her turn to feel the erect member between his legs.

She moaned into his mouth. Neither of them cared about the oxygen deprivation they were causing themselves as they kissed each other even more deeply than before, hands roaming, hips grinding, and hearts racing.

"Fuck." He growled when they finally released for air. He cupped her sensitive breasts in his hands and gave her a hard squeeze. The pleasure, verging on pain caused her to gasp and dampen her knickers. Gods it'd been too long. She wanted him there. At that moment, it didn't matter that her family was a mere wall away or that there was a real possibility that someone could hear them. She needed him.

"Sirius, I—"

"Me too."

They were grinding into each other frantically, seeking the unfulfilling pleasure it brought."

"Fucking hell," Sirius growled. Unable to handle it anymore, he slid his hand between their bodies to unbuckle his belt when the loud sliding back door thwacked open.

The two jumped apart, Sirius sitting on the porch with his legs crossed and Hermione leaning against the porch railing running her hands through her hair, nonchalantly trying to tame the mess it'd become.

Lily glanced back and forth between the couple; her eyes filled with suspicion.

"What were you guys doing?"

"Nothing!" Sirius responded quickly. Too quickly.

Lily gasped. "Oh my God! I get that you're randy, but this openly? What if it'd been mum or dad, Hermione? Jesus!"

"What do you want, Lily?"

Lily narrowed her eyes and shook her head like an 80-year-old grandmother that sat on her front porch to judge the passersby with her conservative standards.

"James sent an owl wondering when Sirius will come home tonight."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "I swear he's needier than all his ex-girlfriends. I'm starting to sympathize with them for putting up with his presence."

"I think it's sweet. You're like an old couple." Lily smirked.

"I guess I'll be on my way then." Sirius looked back longingly at Hermione. "Friday?"

"Friday."

"What's Friday? Where are you going?" Lily grabbed her sister and held her back to ask, her eyes twinkled with curiosity. "Is it a date? What are you guys going to do? What are you wearing?"

Hermione was about to tell her sister to mind her own business when they could hear their mother repeatedly thanking Sirius, and loudly too.

"Mum? What's going on?" Lily asked, walking in with Hermione to see the commotion.

"Well you see, Sirius has generously offered to—"

"Keep you company all summer. Make sure you get your fair share of the sun and fun outdoor activities. As Healers recommend. Your mum, well your whole family, knows how difficult it is for you to let loose every once in a while. I've taken on the big responsibility."

Hermione didn't believe him for a second.

"Just tell me the truth. I'll find out eventually."

"I'd rather wait for eventually." Sirius laughed. "Bye, love." He kissed her on the forehead and waved bye to the rest of the family before turning on the engine of his motorcycle and leaving, but not without shouting another round of goodbyes.

...

AN: Hey everyone, happy Thursday! I'm sorry if this chapter feels a little bit filler. In all honesty, it is, a little bit, but I did introduce Vernon for the first time. I also resolved the Evans's financial issue, and some good talks were added, so I didn't want to simply scrap the whole chapter, I simply took different bits and pieces from other chapters, while I was editing and made a whole new chapter haha.

My real reason I am putting this AN is because I just wanted to do a check-up on everyone to see what everyone thinks about the story so far. I know some of you leave me some lovely comments, but I haven't seen many leave me any suggestions or criticism! Don't worry, I'm a big girl. I can take it! Let me know what you guys think. Is it too slow? Too long? Not enough smut... too much? Which character needs more development? I'm all ears! Thanks!