.vi.

Hermione had never had a boyfriend before. She'd never really had friends before, so a boyfriend seemed completely out of the question. It didn't bother her one way or the other. She had her family and she got most of what she needed emotionally from them. They loved her and cared for her, listened to her ideas and supported her.

Hermione wished she could find friends to do the same, but it was hard to keep up with peers who constantly demanded her attention. Her family knew her well enough to leave her alone when she was reading, studying, or experimenting with magic. Friends often got annoyed that she didn't want to go skip rocks by the pond or watch the tele aimlessly.

It was needless to say, that this lack of need eventually extended to boyfriends. It was hard to feel left out about something she didn't have. She didn't miss it because she'd never experienced it. Hermione figured she'd probably make a terrible girlfriend anyway, so she was probably just saving some poor bloke from having to date her.

Pretend dating was a whole other world. She went from barely knowing how to interact with a schoolmate to dating Sirius Black. Hermione was in over her head from the very start. It was a hard thing to do, to just let go and follow his lead. She had to mentally prepare herself the night before every Hogsmeade trip. The last thing she wanted was to actually fall for Sirius. That would be a nightmare.

But the other week, she hadn't been prepared. She'd received the letter in the morning and by the time she'd been ready and heading down to meet with Sirius and his friends, there had been no time to prep. Sirius' hands and lips on her had left her breathless and giggling. She'd probably made an utter fool of herself in front of Sirius' friends.

Hermione dropped her head into her hands as her potion bubbled beside her. She groaned at the memory of her licking and nibbling on Sirius' bottom lip. It wasn't fair. Why did he have to smell so good? Why did he have to feel so nice with his arms wrapped around her body?

Hermione shook her head, trying to shake the thoughts from her head. It was an act. It was all an act. An act she was sure James would tease her for the next time they saw each other. She looked heavenward and tried not to groan again. He probably thought it was a right joke. Lily probably asked him if Hermione was deranged after she'd left.

"Stop it," Hermione growled to herself. She had to get it out of her head. She'd obsessed for a week. That was it. No more. Hermione closed her eyes and pushed all her swirling thoughts into a little box at the back of her head. It was a trick she's learned when she'd briefly attempted to study occlumency. She hadn't gotten very far, realizing it wasn't something she had a knack for. She had, however, learned how to better compartmentalize.

Hermione used this skill to push her swirling thoughts away and tuck them deep out of sight. She would not obsess any longer. There was no need, anyway. They'd gotten the inevitable meeting with Sirius' friends out of the way. Regulus knew about them and Sirius was estranged from his parents. It was the only hurdle they would have to go through and it was over with. It was a terrible mess, but it was done. Besides, Hermione reasoned with herself, she had more important things to worry about - like the bubbling cauldron before her.

Hermione had made considerable progress on her pet project to bottle spells. Or more accurately, she was creating potions that had the same effect as spells. It was complex and interesting and demanded entirely different types of magical learning. Creating any new potion was difficult, but the effects she was striving to create were unheard of. Even James, the son of one of the most famous Potion Masters in the world and a considerable potioneer in his own right had been thunderstruck by her idea.

The curly haired witch smiled to herself, thinking of her brewed and ready reducto potion she already carried on her at all times. The moment she had thrown it and seen it work had been the proudest moment in her whole life. She was working on a shield potion next, like a protego maxima. It was infinitely harder and Hermione was having problems creating the physical aspect of the shield appear.

The door to the classroom she was using opened. Hermione looked up and was mildly surprised to see Regulus enter the room. He nodded at her in greeting before pulling a chair over to sit across from her and her potion.

"Hermione," he greeted.

"Regulus?" She looked down at her potion and stirred it once. "Can I help you?" She had given Regulus his brother's letter. "Did you not meet with your uncle?"

Regulus nodded, unsurprised that she knew what Sirius had promised. "I did, thank you again for that."

"So, everything will be alright?" Regulus raised his eyebrows. "I mean, you aren't going to join him?"

Regulus slowly shook his head. "No, I will be moving in with my uncle after graduation."

"That's wonderful, Regulus. I'm happy to hear it." And the way she smiled at him when she said it, Regulus honestly believed her.

"My uncle and I saw you with Sirius in Hogsmeade." Hermione dropped her stirring wand. It clanged against the inside of her copper cauldron. "He talked with Sirius and he wants to meet you."

"Please tell me you're joking."

Regulus smirked. "Afraid not." Hermione groaned and dropped her head into her hands. Regulus chuckled at her own expense. "Not a fan of meeting the parents?"

"Parents?" Hermione scoffed. "Merlin forbid. I've heard stories about your mother." Regulus didn't argue against that. She sighed and rested her chin in her hand. "I guess there's probably no way out of it?"

"Not if you don't want to offend the only family Sirius has left."

"He's got you," she protested immediately.

"I've been invited as well."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Will you be offended if I don't show up?"

Regulus raised a hand to his chest. "Terribly offended, possibly even distraught. Definitely emotionally scarred."

Hermione leaned forward over the cauldron as she glared. "You're horrible," she announced.

He didn't look the least bit offended and claimed, "You're dating my brother. Your perception of horrible is skewed, at best."

Hermione laughed despite herself.

I know, I know, I know. Short chapter. The next chapter is the final chapter to part one, and it's a bit longer. It just all doesn't fit well together, so you get this part first. But now we've got some introspective on Hermione as well, which is nice.

Thanks for reading! xx