Chapter Eleven
Professor Prewett made good on his threat to Sebastian Mulciber.
The Headmaster, Head of Slytherin House, and Gideon himself all stood near the entrance inside the Slytherin common room Tuesday evening – the day after the first sixth year Defence lesson – watching the students, while three Aurors searched the seventh year boys' dormitory for dark artefacts.
Mulciber had already been escorted to the Ministry by two other Aurors for further questioning, and to have his wand checked over for Unforgivable Curses.
The tension in the common room was thick. The fear from the first and second years was subtle but still noticeable. The resentfulness coming from the older students, on the other hand, was readily apparent to anyone paying even the slightest attention.
Hermione was sitting stiffly in between Tófa and Cera, trying desperately to ignore Dolohov's piercing gaze from the far side of the common room where he stood next to Thorfinn. He had been staring at her since the Aurors had begun their search of his, Sebastian and Thorfinn's dormitory.
The two seventh year men stood some distance away from the other students and were undoubtedly using their age – and size in Thorfinn's case – to intimidate any witch or wizard who dared to speak to the authorities.
The sound of the dormitory door opening, followed by the clambering of footsteps down the stairs, broke the silence.
Gideon cleared his throat. "Anything?" he asked once the three Aurors reached the main room.
A redheaded Auror, who Hermione surmised must be Fabian Prewett, shook his head and smirked as he held up a magazine to show his twin brother. "Just this May 1974, edition of PlayWizard–"
"Oi! That's mine you great prude!" Thorfinn complained loudly to the Aurors. "Give it back!"
"I hardly think that such a publication is appropriate at a school for children," Dumbledore spoke softly, but his voice carried easily throughout the room.
"With all due respect, Headmaster," Macnair sneered at him, "Rowle is of age. He's entitled to read whatever he so wishes."
Wilkes chuckled quietly. "'Read' my arse."
"Regardless." Macnair held up a hand, silencing his friend. "If you, sir, are going to confiscate that magazine from Thorfinn, you're going to have to inspect the trunks of every student at this school." He made a point of peering around the room. "In all houses, including Gryffindor." He smiled coolly at Dumbledore. "Rowle is not the only student to bring a naughty magazine to Hogwarts. In fact, I seem to remember Sirius Black reading a similar Muggle magazine of scantily clad women in the library last year." He paused. "While Madam Pince was angry and threatened to permanently kick him out of the library, she never actually followed through on her threat. He even got to keep the magazine."
Hermione watched as Gideon pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
"Mister Macnair's correct," Gideon argued quietly. "And we don't have the authority to do such a thing in the first place." He didn't wait for the Headmaster's response before gesturing to Fabian to return the magazine to Thorfinn.
"Thanks," Thorfinn sneered as he snatched his copy of PlayWizard back from the Auror.
Slughorn cleared his throat and gave the students a tight smile before turning to face both the Headmaster and Gideon. "If that's everything, might I suggest we convene in my office? I received a bottle of Bungbarrel Spiced Mead this morning from Lord and Lady Black. I would hate to have to drink it alone."
"It's Tuesday evening," Gideon remarked dryly.
Slughorn raised a brow at him. "All the more reason to enjoy a drink, I daresay."
Hermione watched Dumbledore frown as he clasped his hands together.
"Yes, indeed," the Headmaster agreed quietly as he focused on the students staring up at him. "My sincerest apologies for the disruption to your studies. However, I must say that if any student here has any suspicion of any wrongdoing, please do not hesitate to come forward at your earliest convenience." He paused as a couple Slytherins snorted in disbelief. "Your safety is my highest priority." He peered thoughtfully at the students before turning his back and leaving the common room with the other wizards.
The door to the common room snapped shut after them.
"Rowle… you owe me a chance to look at those witches you've got there," Macnair gestured to the PlayWizard magazine clasped tightly in the seventh year's hands as Thorfinn and Dolohov wove through the slowly dispersing crowd.
"Another time, Waldon," Thorfinn responded just as he and Dolohov came to a stop directly in front of Hermione and the other sixth year witches.
Hermione peered curiously at the cover of the magazine in Thorfinn's hand, noting a fully-clothed voluptuous witch blowing a kiss and giving a flirty wave.
"Miss Granger," Dolohov greeted with a cool smile as he sat down on the coffee table in front of her. "If you could enlighten my friend and I with what you spoke to Dumbledore and Slughorn about during your meeting, it would be greatly appreciated."
"I didn't tell them anything, I swear," Hermione insisted quietly.
"From the beginning, if you would." Dolohov ignored her insistence.
Hermione sighed, not wanting to argue with the dark wizard. "I entered Slughorn's office and found Dumbledore sitting behind the desk, which wasn't a surprise thanks to Alecto's warning. The Headmaster insisted that I have a lemon drop." She cleared her throat. "He must've placed a Compulsion Charm on the bloody dish because I found myself reaching for a sweet."
"I felt the same compulsion," Tófa insisted as she reached for Hermione's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I hate lemons, Finn. You know this."
"It's true," Thorfinn muttered to Dolohov.
"After you had the sweet… what did you speak about?" Dolohov was leaning forward slightly and had his elbows pressed into his knees. He rubbed his face with a hand and gave Hermione an expectant look.
To any passerby it looked like a casual conversation between acquaintances. However, Hermione knew that this particular conversation was far from friendly. It was an interrogation.
"Because of Alecto, the Headmaster knew that I was out of bed in the early morning. He asked me where I'd been." Hermione shrugged. "I informed him that I had been reading my Ancient Runes textbook in the common room. He asked if I had noticed anyone entering when I was out here, and I told him that I was so engrossed in my textbook that I hadn't noticed a thing."
Dolohov hummed knowingly but otherwise remained mute as he waited for her to fill the silence.
Hermione shook her head. "I believe that I rambled on about my love for Ancient Runes and wanting to work in the Department of Mysteries." She paused. "I also called him out on the use of Veritaserum in his sweets and the likely Compulsion Charm that he had placed on the dish. But, I didn't say a bloody thing about Mulciber. I swear it on my magic."
It was the truth. She had instead told Dumbledore about the man sitting before her. The Headmaster just happened to be clever enough to put two-and-two together.
Hermione searched Dolohov's eyes for any indication that he didn't believe her tale. "I'm not the one that you should be speaking with, Antonin."
"Oh?" Dolohov's smile grew on his face. "And just who should I be speaking to, Miss Granger?"
Hermione hesitated, wondering if she would burn the metaphorical bridge that she still needed to build with Snape if she gave up one of his friends. She opened her mouth, about to reply, when she was interrupted.
"Me."
Hermione's eyes darted over to the group of sixth year boys who had all gathered around to listen in on the interrogation.
Avery took a step closer to Dolohov and frowned as he rubbed a hand over his face before clearing his throat. "I fucked up, Antonin. Professor Prewett caught my slip of the tongue during our Defence lesson yesterday morning. I thought – we all thought – that he was bluffing when he said that he'd inform the Auror Department." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Granger has nothing to do with Sebastian being brought to the Ministry for further questioning."
"Of course, Mulciber's obsession with Mary MacDonald is well-known throughout Hogwarts," Snape lazily drawled. "He's a complete imbecile if he assumed no one would think to question him about the slaughtering of her family."
"Alleged," Dolohov muttered darkly. "They've no actual proof that he did it." His dark eyes bore into Hermione's own. "And they won't find it either."
Dolohov slowly stood up from his seat on the coffee table and turned to face Avery and the other sixth year boys. "Augustus, if you would follow me to my dorm, we have topics that must be discussed in private."
He didn't wait for Avery's reply before strolling towards the boys' dormitories.
Thorfinn cleared his throat, drawing Hermione's attention.
The tall blond peered down at her for a moment before focusing on his younger sister who was still tightly clutching Hermione's hand. "I'm going to suggest that you ladies have an early night tonight." He turned to leave and paused. "Don't leave your dormitory until it's time for breakfast. I don't know when Sebastian will be returning, but I can guarantee that he'll be more than a little miffed when he does."
"Thank you, Finn," Tófa murmured to her brother.
Thorfinn sighed tiredly and waved off her thanks. "Don't mention it."
The girls quietly made their way into their dormitory.
Alecto pulled open her trunk and began to tug her sleepwear out. "I'm going to take a shower." She grabbed her toiletry bag and pyjamas and headed into the bathroom.
Hermione cautiously sat down on her bed and shared a look with the other girls. "Why did you thank your brother?" she asked Tófa once she heard the shower turn on.
Tófa snorted as she plopped down on Hermione's bed. "I love lemons. It's a running joke between us how much I love them." She furrowed her brow. "I used to eat them like one would an orange when I was a little girl. It used to drive Finn and the house-elves completely barmy."
"But–"
"There was no Compulsion Charm on the sweets dish, Hermione," Cera murmured softly as she and Ella joined them on her bed. "At least there wasn't when I met with Slughorn and Dumbledore."
Ella hummed in disagreement. "It was definitely there when I had my meeting." She shrugged. "But, there's no way Dolohov would've listened to me given my blood status. It's also why I never said anything when I returned from my meeting with Slughorn."
"Dumbledore most likely removed the charm after you called him out on it," Tófa informed her. "Which would make sense given the illegal nature of such a spell."
"I highly recommend that you refrain from confronting the Headmaster about his questionable ways the next time it happens," Cera suggested. "And it will happen again, make no mistake about it. However, it will get suspicious if only us witches are the ones defending you, Hermione."
Hermione blinked in shock, she hadn't thought of that specific consequence when she had challenged Dumbledore the week before. "I never realised…" She furrowed her brow and peered thoughtfully at Tófa. "Thank you for supporting me during Dolohov's questioning."
A warm grin spread on the witch's face. "That's what friends are for."
...
...
Hermione awoke with a start, gasping for a quiet breath as she tried to get her heart rate under control. She had, once again, dreamt of the night Harry had killed Dumbledore on top of the Astronomy Tower.
Ever since Dolohov had questioned her a few weeks earlier, her nightmares had begun happening more and more often, Occlumency exercises be damned. Only adding to her worry was the fact that Sebastian Mulciber had returned to Hogwarts after a few days of questioning by the Aurors regarding his rumoured involvement in the MacDonald family slaughtering.
The authorities apparently hadn't found anything to suggest that Mulciber was the one who carried out such a horrific crime, just like Dolohov had warned would happen.
Sighing as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, Hermione knew that she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. Perhaps she'd go back to what Remus – her Remus – had suggested all those months ago and jot down whatever was on her mind. She unclipped her wand from the holster on her forearm and cast a nonverbal Tempus Charm to see the time.
Hermione scowled at the early hour.
While it was the weekend and she truly had no plans other than to work on her assignments, she was displeased to see that she'd only been able to catch a few hours of sleep.
Throwing the covers off in a huff, Hermione slipped through the closed curtains surrounding her bed and quietly made her way towards her trunk. She only needed a couple of minutes to dress into something other than her pyjamas, and before she could question herself she stepped out of the dormitory, looping the strap of her rucksack over her shoulder.
She left the Slytherin common room and began making her way towards the kitchen. At least this time around, the house-elves would have no reason to distrust her due to her multiple failed attempts at freeing them during the earlier part of her Hogwarts education.
Pausing at the bowl of fruit, Hermione reached up and tickled the pear. She smiled tiredly as it giggled before allowing her entry into the kitchen.
Hermione stepped into the lowly lit room, careful to keep as quiet as possible, and found a spot at one of the long tables near the large hob. She was just pulling her notebook and quill set from her rucksack when a sleepy elf shuffled into the main part of the kitchen.
"What can Nippy get for Missy Hermione?" the little elf asked as she narrowed her large eyes at Hermione.
Hermione smiled down at the elf. "I apologise for waking you up, Nippy, but I was wondering if I could get a mug of hot chocolate. I'm having a difficult time staying asleep and I find hot chocolate soothes me."
Nippy's large ears flapped as she eagerly nodded her head. "Nippy is doing that for Missy Hermione!" She snapped her fingers, instantly lighting the room a bit further, and hurried over to the hob to get to work.
Turning her attention to her notebook and quill, Hermione began to scribble down what was keeping her awake.
She was vaguely aware of her drink being set down on the table beside her, and still she continued to write.
It was almost as if she was possessed, or more likely just incredibly focused. Nothing could distract her from writing out her thoughts and memories of a time that seemed to be slipping further away. Nothing, except the distinctive sound of the door leading into the kitchen creaking open.
Hermione dropped her quill onto the table, snatched her wand from the holster on her forearm and pointed her weapon at the door in one fluid motion.
Over the years, she had developed specific survival instincts. And right now – with the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck fully erect – that instinct told her that she was being watched. "Show yourself or I will disembowel you before you can say 'quidditch'."
She wasn't here to play.
The disembodied head of her betrothed appeared a few feet from the doorway as he tugged the invisibility cloak down over his shoulders.
"Sirius!" Hermione hissed. "Don't sneak up on me. Not when I'm like this, and not in the middle of the bloody night!"
"Sorry," Sirius said, grimacing as he made his way closer. "I couldn't sleep and saw on the map that you'd come in here ."
Hermione huffed, shaking her head. "Stupid map."
"Brilliant map," Sirius corrected as he sat down next to her. He gestured to the open notebook. "Another nightmare?"
Humming, Hermione shook her head. "Same nightmare, just a different night." She reached for her mug of hot chocolate and had a sip, savouring the warmth that it brought her. "The Occlumency exercises that I've been doing every night don't seem to be working, unfortunately."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Hermione shrugged before leaning against Sirius' bicep. She snuggled in tighter as he threw his arm over her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Sometimes I just want to forget it all, and then other times I fight to remember how it was, so that I don't lose focus on why I came to this time."
Sirius hummed thoughtfully. "You're still in school, little lion. I think that it's important that you also live while you're here. I've a feeling that you never got to do that during your time."
"Are you still upset that I didn't want to have a party for my birthday?" Hermione asked with a soft chuckle. It had been strange to see Sirius so confused as to why she hadn't wanted to do anything for her eighteenth birthday on Sunday.
"Turning seventeen is a big deal in the Wizarding world and considering everyone here, except for a select few, think that you're sixteen going on seventeen..." Sirius shrugged as he drifted off. "But, it is understandable why you don't want to celebrate your birthday given that you've officially recently lost your parents."
"But?"
"I have a feeling that you never got to celebrate your real seventeenth birthday in your time either." Sirius sighed. "And as ridiculous as I know this sounds, that is what upsets me. Were you never told about its importance?"
Hermione made to pull away from Sirius, but his firm hold on her shoulders prevented her from getting very far. Instead, she fidgeted for a bit as she tried to think of how she would answer his question.
Settling on telling the truth, Hermione sighed before beginning to explain. "I never had a lot of friends growing up in the Muggle world. I was the bookish swot who did strange things when I got upset or excited about something. Because of that, I never had birthday parties when I was a child. At least, not really. My mother and father would sometimes book the day off of work and we'd have a nice dinner of my choosing and I'd get a gift from them afterwards." She paused. "When I first learned of magic and the Wizarding world, I had thought that I'd finally found some place I belonged. But," she swallowed, her throat was tight with emotion. "But, I'm Muggle-born. I didn't belong in this world either."
"That's not true! You belong here just like anyone else who can do magic," Sirius began to argue.
Hermione placed her hand on his thigh, instantly halting his indignation. "I know. I'm not agreeing with the Pure-blood supremacists, Sirius. I'm just trying to explain." She smirked. "Besides, I'm more clever than most of them anyway, so…" she shrugged. "It's really their loss that they wanted nothing to do with me."
She cleared her throat. "But, because of their beliefs, I only had a couple of close friends: Harry Potter, who was raised by abusive Muggle relatives and had a very limited knowledge of the Wizarding world thanks to Dumbledore. And, Ron Weasley, who was the sixth of seven children of Molly and Arthur Weasley. They couldn't afford to throw over a half dozen exuberant birthday parties for all of their children every year. They couldn't even afford to send them to Hogwarts with anything new. It was all second-hand, even their wands a lot of the time."
"Ron never told you though?" Sirius questioned. "He would've still known of its significance."
Hermione shook her head. "Ron wasn't around when I turned seventeen." She attempted to pull away from Sirius once again and this time he let her. "Me, Ron, Harry and a handful of others went to the Department of Mysteries to save you at the end of my fifth year. We were ambushed by a full team of Death Eaters. Dolohov, Bellatrix, Malfoy, the Lestrange brothers, and Nott were all there waiting for us."
Sirius paled considerably. "What did they do to your friend Ron?"
"Nothing directly," Hermione reassured him. "But, the Department of Mysteries has rooms full of very odd, very strange things. He got attacked by these brains. They just sort of latched onto his head and face." She shuddered. "Ron became a completely different person afterwards. He never came back to Hogwarts for his sixth year. He just… disappeared." She sniffed and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. "No one knew where he went, but Remus and I believed that he may have joined Harry. However, I never got any sort of confirmation before I came here." She shrugged, and took a bit of time to gather her emotions. "I had spent the entirety of my Hogwarts education with those two, and when they were no longer there with me, I had no one left."
"Except for that Longbottom boy, right? You mentioned him weeks ago." Sirius' concern was evident in his tone of voice.
Hermione smiled. "Neville's such a sweetheart, and I do consider him a friend. But, he had a lot going on. I'm not even certain he knew when my birthday was." She looped her arms around Sirius' midriff and rested her head on his shoulder. "Will you enlighten me with your superior Pure-blood knowledge and tell me what's so special about turning seventeen in the Wizarding world?"
"Not here," Sirius muttered quietly and stood up from the table. He tossed Hermione's notebook and quill into her rucksack before slinging it over his shoulder. "You need your sleep. Please let me take you somewhere so that you can get more than a few hours of rest."
He held out a hand, helping Hermione to her feet, and then threw the Potter invisibility cloak around the both of them before guiding Hermione out of the kitchen.
"Where are we going?" Hermione whispered once they'd reached the grand staircase of the eerily silent school. "I'm not allowed in Gryffindor Tower, you know. I'd hate for you to get in trouble because of me."
She felt Sirius kiss the back of her head as they slowly made their way higher and higher in the castle. "Somewhere more private than the Gryffindor common room," he muttered in her ear. "Just the two of us."
When they had finally reached the seventh floor corridor with the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, Hermione allowed herself a small smile. Sirius was taking her to the Room of Requirement.
Coming to a stop in front of the blank wall, Hermione waited in silence as Sirius tugged the invisibility cloak off of the two of them and slung it over her school bag that he was carrying. She watched as he peered with concern at her for a moment before walking back and forth in front of the brick wall while deep in thought.
A look of relief flashed across Sirius' face as a large, wooden door appeared. He stepped forward, twisting the door handle in his right hand and gave her a cheeky smirk as he pushed the door open. "Come on in," he beckoned her quietly before stepping inside the newly formed room.
Hermione followed closely behind him and gasped at what she saw.
The Room of Requirement was now a luxurious-looking bedroom with dark woods and rich fabrics. Near the centre of the bedroom was a massive four-poster bed that faced a large fireplace which currently had yellow flames flickering high and warming the room. There was a narrow door on the far side of the bedroom that Hermione supposed must lead to an attached bathroom, while two lattice-styled windows were on either side of the bed and showing the night sky. They reminded Hermione of the windows that she had seen deep in the Ministry of Magic.
Hermione focused her attention back on Sirius and raised a questioning brow. "Where are we?" She spotted a flash of amusement on his face before he quickly tucked it away. "This isn't your bedroom at Grimmauld Place."
Sirius placed Hermione's rucksack on a tufted, leather chair along with the invisibility cloak and ran his hand through his hair, effortlessly messing it up. "This is a replica of one of the bedrooms at James' place. His parents let me stay with them over the Christmas holidays last year." He shrugged sheepishly. "It's always felt like home to me. More than Grimmauld does, at least."
Hermione nodded in understanding. "I assume this is the Potter home in Godric's Hollow?" She had never been there before, but knew from all of the books she had read about the Boy-Who-Lived prior to Hogwarts that that was the location where James and Lily had resided before they were killed by Voldemort.
"Godric's Hollow? Their cottage?" Sirius questioned, shaking his head. "No. This is from Potter Manor, which is located in Wiltshire."
Hermione failed to hide her surprise at that information. "I see," she blurted. She couldn't understand for the life of her why the Potters had been living at the cottage in Godric's Hollow if they had a Manor to call home. It didn't make any sense to her.
Sirius stepped closer to Hermione and pulled her close to his chest. "Tonight we are going to forget about the Potters and all of the other people that we apparently have to save from Voldemort, and you're going to let me distract you with my ridiculous Pure-blood knowledge about birthdays and their meaning in Wizarding culture. Deal?"
Hermione peered up at Sirius and quirked her head. "And then I'm going to sleep?"
Sirius kissed the top of her head, causing her to shiver with anticipation. "And then you and I are going to sleep, for as long as we need to, together," he pointed to the bed behind her, "in that bed. Is that alright?"
Hermione felt a blush settle deeply on her cheeks. "Sleep?" she questioned wryly. "What exactly are your plans for me, Sirius Black?"
She fought her own grin as Sirius chuckled with amusement. He had the barest hint of pink in his cheeks from Hermione's question.
"While I wouldn't say 'no' to a lovely shag with you, I was honestly just talking about the two of us catching up on some much-needed rest. You're not the only one who's been having trouble sleeping." Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Although, we could still have some fun if you'd like." He searched her eyes for obvious reluctance. Finding none, he continued, "Perhaps a little strip tease here, a little fondling there, before slipping under the blankets together." He tucked a stray curl behind her ear and licked his bottom lip with the tip of his tongue. "What do you say, Hermione? Is that something that you're interested in trying?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes and ignored her racing heart as she teasingly stepped out of Sirius' warm embrace. "I will admit that that does sound like fun."
Sirius failed to hide his surprise. "Yeah?"
Hermione smirked. "Yeah."
She thought of Sirius' earlier words, about her not getting a chance to actually live, and knew that he was correct with his assumption. During her own time at Hogwarts, the only thing that she could do was try her hardest to survive the yearly threats from a strengthening Lord Voldemort.
She was tired of merely surviving. Now was her time to experience life.
Quirking her head slightly, Hermione closely watched Sirius' reaction as she brought her hands up to the collar of her blouse just underneath her chin and slowly slipped the button through the buttonhole.
Her lips twitched as she fought a smile from erupting on her face while watching Sirius struggle to keep his breathing steady. His normally grey eyes were now exceptionally dark with arousal.
Hermione brought her hands down to the next button on her blouse and carefully unfastened it with nimble fingers. "I've never done a strip tease, or even really undressed in front of a man before. Especially not in this context," she admitted softly. "Am I doing everything right?" Her ridiculous need to know how to do absolutely everything reared its ugly head, even now.
Clearing his throat, Sirius blinked a few times before taking a step closer. He smiled down at her and cupped her hands in his own, halting her progress. "You're doing everything perfectly. But, may I help undress you? I don't think I can keep my hands off of you for much longer."
Butterflies fluttered low in Hermione's belly at Sirius' unabashed desire for her, causing her to clench her thighs tightly together in a desperate attempt to find even the tiniest bit of relief. Her heart was beating rapidly, yet she felt like a big puddle of goo already. And, it was all because of the wizard standing directly in front of her. It was really, truly unfair how a few simple words had this effect on her.
Hermione swallowed before taking a shaky breath in and whispered her answer to Sirius' question, "Please."
She had no time to react before Sirius brought his lips crashing into hers for a searing kiss.
Turning her head slightly into Sirius' hand that was now cradling her cheek, Hermione let out a quiet groan and a soft whimper just as Sirius tentatively slipped his tongue into her mouth.
She met his hunger equally as eagerly and found her fingers tangled in his long, dark hair tugging gently.
Hermione whined lowly in her throat as Sirius began to pull away, causing him to chuckle at her reaction.
"I just need to see what I'm doing, little lion," Sirius rasped before clearing his throat. He brushed his lips against her forehead while his fingers began to unbutton her blouse.
As he worked his way down, the back of his hands brushed over Hermione's breasts causing her entire body to sing from the tip of her hair all the way down to her toes. She mewled once he'd finished unbuttoning her blouse and focused his attention on her breasts, gently squeezing and kneading them through her camisole.
"Does this feel good for you?" Sirius questioned quietly.
Hermione felt her lips twitch into a smile and blinked her eyes open to peer at Sirius. "I like it," she breathlessly replied. "It feels really good."
Clearing her throat, Hermione tentatively reached out her hands and touched Sirius' chest, still kept undercover by his shirt. "May I undress you?"
She waited until he gave her a subtle nod of his head before she began unbuttoning his shirt, taking her time to brush her hands over his chest and down the faint outline of his abs. Leaning forward to give Sirius a chaste kiss, Hermione reached down and began unbuckling his belt.
Hesitating for only a second, Hermione smirked at Sirius and kept eye contact with him as she brushed her right hand over the growing bulge in his trousers.
"Fucking hell, Hermione," Sirius hissed, clamping his eyes tightly shut as if to regain a bit of control over himself. "You absolute tease."
As Sirius fondled her breasts, Hermione continued to curiously touch him through his trousers, letting her fingers explore the firmness of his shaft. She bit her bottom lip as her thumb brushed over the tip and felt his cock twitch from her gentle ministrations.
Heat pooled low in her belly, causing Hermione to inhale deeply in a desperate bid to prevent herself from turning into a complete mess.
She was vaguely aware of Sirius murmuring sweet nothings in her ear as he slowly slipped her blouse off of her shoulders and down her arms before dropping the garment unceremoniously onto the floor.
Hermione returned her hands to Sirius' shoulders and helped him remove his own shirt completely.
She gasped as Sirius' mouth seemed to latch onto the ticklish place on her neck where it met her shoulder and mewled when his hands firmly travelled down her back before squeezing her backside.
"Trousers?" Sirius' voice sounded strained, like he was forcing himself to speak.
"Yes," Hermione hissed. And she began to tug his zipper down as he did the same for her.
They both had to pause their devouring of one another to kick off their shoes, socks, and trousers onto the floor.
Standing in only her camisole and knickers, Hermione barely had time to catch her breath before Sirius, clad in just his underpants, began leading her towards the four-poster bed.
The look he gave her when the backs of her legs hit the side of the mattress was intense. He seemed to take a second or two to force himself to slow down.
Sirius leaned back slightly with his hands clasping Hermione's hips, his bulge pressing deeper into her belly. He took a shaky breath in before he began to speak. "Do you feel what you do to me?" He ground gently against her stomach. "I can't stop thinking about you, little lion. You've been making it so fucking difficult for me to sleep through the night."
Hermione found herself speechless with only one thought on her mind: she wanted him all for herself, betrothal arrangement or no.
She peered into Sirius' eyes with that realisation and saw the same expression mirrored on his own face. He really, truly wanted her too.
"Let's wait," Sirius whispered, sounding like it was painful for him to say aloud. "I don't want to rush this with you, Hermione. I want to do this right for once." He swallowed and cleared his throat. "I don't want to ruin what we already have." He smiled warmly at her, effortlessly reassuring her that he wasn't rejecting her, before reaching a hand out to pull the blankets down. "You need your rest, remember?"
Hermione softly sighed and nodded with acceptance as she tried to get her thoughts back under control. "You do as well."
Sirius smiled as he helped her into the bed. "Yes I do."
Hermione nestled underneath the blankets and waited impatiently for Sirius to join her. She allowed him to get comfortable before she snuggled next to him, the two of them sharing a pillow and facing one another with their hands clasped together.
Brushing her lips over a faint scar on his chest, Hermione hummed softly, "I think you were supposed to tell me why seventeenth birthdays are important in the Wizarding world."
Sirius barked with laughter as he reached a hand underneath the blankets to seemingly make a few adjustments to himself. He cleared his throat and gave Hermione a smirk that had her feeling all sorts of ways. "Seventeen years of age is when our magic fully matures," he murmured as he kissed her gently and brushed his nose against hers. "In ancient times, it was rare for wizards and witches to reach magical maturity because of diseases that we had yet to cure and Muggles that hunted us for sport, according to the extremely biassed tutoring that I'd received as a young boy." He paused to rest his forehead against hers. "I think that back then it was just another excuse for us Pure-bloods to show off our wealth and health. Wizarding families can only throw exuberant parties for themselves if they've got enough galleons in the bank to frivolously spend on unimportant things to impress their peers."
Hermione hummed at Sirius' explanation before brushing her lips over his for a chaste kiss. "Is it still alright that I don't have a birthday party on Sunday? It won't look bad on my part, right?"
"Of course it's alright, sweetheart." Sirius ran his fingers through her hair. "I've assured you of this already." He paused. "But, I will make sure to have one for my seventeenth to officially keep up appearances as the heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."
"And unofficially?" Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat as she watched Sirius smile at her question.
"I'm having a birthday party for fun," he informed her after he kissed her forehead. "I'm going to show you how to live rather than just survive, little lion."