Their feet landed gently on a quaint cobblestone sidewalk as they were jolted away from the countryside and placed in a removed area of London, far enough away from the hustle and bustle to be free of the noises of traffic, but still close enough for the light pollution of the city to dim the evening sky. A faint breeze slid across Hermione and the exposed skin of her chest prickled, making her aware of how bare she felt. She suddenly felt uncomfortably displayed, and she wrapped her arms tightly against her chest. They approached a pub nestled cozily on a quiet corner, lanterns lit along the doorframe as the frosted windows allowed its patrons more privacy.
"Tired of the Leaky Cauldron already?" Hermione chided Sirius. She'd wondered if he knew of any other haunts aside from that place. Sirius chuckled.
"Tom is on me about my tab," Sirius joked. "I've run it up a few galleons since⦠well, you know." They entered the pub and were met with a very casual and inviting atmosphere, coffee tables and fluffy armchairs and couches surrounding multiple fireplaces. "This looks like a nice spot," he said as he poached a small corner at the far end of the cafe, a hearth nestled snugly in the stone walls. Hermione sank down gracefully on an ornate yet worn two-seater as a server came over to take their drink orders. Sirius spat out a name of an alcoholic beverage that sounded foreign to Hermione, as she opted for her usual dose of Butterbeer. Safe and sensible, just as she liked it. She knew to keep relatively quiet until Sirius had taken a few sips of his drink. Once they had been served, and Sirius wiped the remnants of his drink from his mustache, he propped his leg up on the coffee table between them and exhaled deeply, as if he had been holding his breath since he last took a drink. "Alright Hermione, let's have at it," he began. "Might I start, however, by saying that you look lovely this evening. I especially like the way you did your hair." Hermione blushed.
"Thank you, Sirius," she said softly as she held back the urge to turn her face away from him. "You look rather dashing as well." Sirius smiled in such a way that Hermione felt a tiny surge of electricity travel through her body, starting from her toes and ending in her earlobes. She refrained from grabbing at them as they became hot. She knew that this was a tactic for disarming her before a difficlt conversation, but then again, she appreciated the fact that he attempted to deflect some awkwardness with a compliment, because ultimately it had worked.
"Let us start by getting the worrisome bits out of the way, because I know it has been resting heavily on you." Hermione cleared her throat as her heart began to thump harder against the wall of her chest.
"Yes, I would quite say that it has. It just seemd a little suspect to me, as I am sure you can imagine, Sirius. After all, all was said and done with Malfoy before you barged in and we stole out of the Ministry like a couple of criminals!"
Sirius rubbed the back of his neck, his locks lolling to one side. "I heard Lucius Malfoy talking with Pius Thicknesse after the bidding," Sirius began. He then bowed his head and spoke in a very hushed tone. "He said some very unsavory things, Hermione. You must believe me."
"Unsavory? In what way?" Sirius sat back in his chair again and looked up to the ceiling.
"Please don't make me repeat it. It's one thing to have to recall it myself, but another to say it to you here in front of me. Just know this," he leaned forward again and cupped Hermione's fingers in his hands. She felt his warmth seeping into her through her fingertips, blazing through her body and making her ears even hotter. She begged the blush to keep away from her cheeks so he wouldn't see. "I did what I had to do to save you. You would not have survived in that house and they would have made it look like an accident."
Hermione pursed her lips as she allowed Sirius to continue holding her hands. Would she really have been killed at Malfoy Manor?
"And what did it cost?" Hermione asked as Sirius looked away from her and shook his head. "Sirius, what did saving me cost you?"
"It doesn't really matter, Hermione. Your safety and happiness are worth more than what it cost to maintain."
"Sirius, please just tell me. Otherwise, it's just going to bother me and you very well may never hear the end of it." Sirius exhaled, completely exasperated with Hermione's persistence.
"Your dowry, plus ten percent." Sirius was stone-faced.
"You paid the Malfoy's over a million galleons for me?" Hermione's eyes widened and her voice lowered to nearly a whisper. "Who could afford such a thing?" Sirius merely shrugged off her concern as he sipped on his high-ball glass, delivered to him with sweet-smelling bubbles pouring over the top. She brought her own mug of frothy butterbeer to meet her lips as she attempted to hide the pinkness rushing up her neck and into her face. She did not know what to say next, so she made the decision to simply say nothing, which was something she rarely decided to do. Never in Hermione's dizziest daydreams would she have considered herself to be worth more than a million galleons, but clearly the Ministry thought so, the Malfoy's thought so, and now, Sirius thought so as well.
They sat beside the fireplace in silence for a while, the flames crackling continuously despite the fact that the fire hadn't been tended to the entire time they sat there. Hermione observed Sirius as he reclined in the fluffy armchair and caressed his frosted glass with his mouth. He was so casual, yet completely poised at the same time. He was completely refined and equable, easy-going while remaining elegant. His facial hair was trimmed to a precise line, framing his strong jaw in a tamed shadow and his loose coffee curls swept over his eyebrows delicately. Hermione never paid much attention to the looks of Sirius Black, but now that he was a suitor, nevermind her fiance, she very much enjoyed what she saw. She ws lost in her gaze over him when his eyes darted to meet hers and he gave her a very subtle wink. The pink continued to creep and made her cheeks rosy as she choked a little bit on her butterbeer.
"Everything okay, love?" He said with a smirk as she attempted to compose herself. 'I'm fine,' she mouthed as she coughed in embarrassment. Sirius knew the effect he could have on a woman. He hadn't practiced it in a good while, but it made him feel powerful knowing he still had it. Once Hermione had managed to stop coughing, and giggling from her fit, she finally knew where to lead the conversation (not that either of them were discontented with the comfortable silence they were so cozily nuzzled in).
"Well," Hermione began, able to speak with him a little more confidently now, "I suppose the only sensible thing to do now is move forward. No sense in trying to change anything now."
"I completely agree!" Sirius said, his face much lighter now that the awkwardness had finally dissipated between them.
"So what is next then? You mentioned a garden wedding. Do you have any preferences for florals?" Hermione asked as she flagged down a server and asked for another drink. "Something a bit stronger, please," she whispered to the server as he hurried off behind the bar. Sirius chuckled.
"My dear, I'd much rather just talk to you for the sake of talking rather than plan our wedding tonight." Hermione tucked a loose lock of curls behind her ear and tucked her legs beneath her as she readjusted in the worn couch she sat on.
"Okay, well," she paused for a moment as she thought of some questions to ask to get to know Sirius. As friends go, she really did not know all that much about him. He had always made a point to keep himself very much tucked away from the rest of them, but she was finally going to pick the lock that was Sirius Black. "I would like to know your favorite flower. It's pretty important, you know."
"Oh, is it now? And why is that?" The server brought both Hermione and Sirius tankards full of a pungent mulled wine, overflowing with skewers of fruits as they smoked from the brim.
"Your favorite flower says a lot about you! They're very symbolic, much like the way you take your tea and coffee." Hermione blew the steam from the top of her mug and sipped the wine gingerly.
"Alright, I believe you. Windflower and heavy cream with sugar."
"You mean you don't take your coffee black? I am genuinely surprised!" Hermione giggled, the wine meeting her brain much quicker than she anticipated.
"I'm not always as I seem, Hermione!" He said with another wink.
"Also, the windflower. That's a bit dark."
"Is it? How so?"
"It's a symbol for forsaken love. Who has forsaken you?"
Sirius exhaled a shallow breath. "Another night, another bottle. What about you? How do you take your flowers and tea?"
Hermione bit the inside of her lip. "I am positively delighted by orchids. And I drink my tea with milk and honey."
"Ah, very elegant choices. Now tell me, why do these things matter so much?"
"Because now I can tell Mrs. Weasley which flowers to arrange and how to make the tea!" Hermione said a little louder than she might have meant, and this time it was she who gave the wink and the smirk.
After hours of imbibing and talking about seemingly nothing, yet somehow everything, the two newly-betrothed appeared out of thin air with a quick pop as Hermione landed sloppily on her feet, Sirius's arm slung underneath her elbow helping her keep herself upright. She was not drunk, but she was very close. As they approached the yard, the tall grasses waving in the faintest of breezes, there was a single light on in the Burrow, a very faint lamplight in the top bedroom, flickering against the midnight sky.
"It appears that Ginny is eagerly awaiting my return. I just know she's going to be asking all sorts of questions." Hermione imagined Ginny sitting erect on her bed, her ears pricking at every small noise, waiting to bombard Hermione once she entered the bedroom.
"That certainly sounds like Ginny," Sirius chuckled.
"Do you want to know what I'm going to tell her?" Sirius raised his eyebrows. "I'm going to tell her that you are a complete gentleman and that I'm beginning to really like you."
"I am positively flattered that you like me, dearest."
"May I tell her that you like me as well?" Hermione was much bolder with the mulled wine swimming around in her system. She decided she would like to always be this bold.
"Yes, I think it would be just fine if you told her that," Sirius said with a sweet smile as they approached the front door of the Burrow. Hermione brought Sirius into a hug, allowing his scent to fill her up and make her skin tingle. She let out an involuntary 'mmmmm.'
"May I tell her that you kissed me goodnight?" Hermione whispered, hopeful. Sirius pulled away from her slightly and placed his lips against the top of her head sweetly. Hermione wanted to melt, but instead she objected. "I meant a real one, Sirius." Sirius pulled her into him once more and she felt his beard rub gently against her forehead as he kissed her gently again. His embrace felt more and more like a place she would love to call home. She felt like lingering against him for the remainder of the night.
"You may tell her this," he whispered as he then tilted her chin upward, his breath resting on her skin as his lips remained an inch from hers, "that I left you wanting more." Hermione felt her insides surged as Sirius opened the front door and nudged her inside. "Goodnight, my love." Hermione was jolted away from the floating fantasy she didn't realize she was trapped in as Sirius blew her a kiss from the doorway. Suddenly, words were becoming like strangers to her.
"Dream of me," was all she managed to say as she wished to be plunged back into his embrace. She was uncertain if this rush she felt was solely from the wine, or something much deeper.
"I do not doubt that I will."
