A/N: Another update! I want to thank everyone for always being so patient and for commenting or following or favouriting, it really means a lot!

I hope you'll like this chapter, enjoy ^^

Somewhere during the night Sirius was tired of lying in his bed while not being able to sleep. So doing what he always did, he made his way downstairs to the common room, taking a seat on one of the love seats near the fire place. He was still a little anxious about not knowing where Hermione was. Only logical that he didn't manage to sleep there either, just sitting there, waiting, worrying, thinking.

When Hermione woke up, she felt exhausted. She looked around and… Right, her room, the bedroom the room of requirement had set up for her. Her limbs felt heavy, her eyes were swollen and red from all the crying she had done, it felt like she had no drop of energy left, like everything had flown out of her together with her tears.

She didn't know what time it was but figured it was best to return to the common room. Judging by how dark it still was outside, it had to be either very late at night or very early in the morning.

She entered the common room, expecting it to be empty, everyone off to sleep. She didn't expect to see Sirius there.

Hearing the portrait open, Sirius turned around in the blink of an eye. There she was, standing, looking at him. She was still here. He stood up and almost ran to her. Hermione went to take a step back, thinking he wasn't yet done with yelling but before she could even think of moving a muscle he had her in his arms, embracing her. Her arms were kept by her side, confused.

He stepped back, gripping her arms so she couldn't get away. "Where were you? Huh?! We couldn't find you anywhere." He was angry and worried and relieved now that she was back.

But she was still hurt, stubborn. "Why does it matter to you? You didn't need me, right? So why bother?" She was being unreasonable and petty. She knew that but she couldn't help it.

Sirius pulled her back in a hug, tightening his grip, almost squishing her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, any of that. I'm so sorry." Slowly she brought her arms up, returning the hug. "You scared me. Please, don't just vanish again."

He had realized how he felt about her a few weeks ago but only now did he realize just how deep those feelings went. Seldom had the marauder felt so worried about somebody. Seldom had he been so anxious in thinking someone had left him.

Not only did she return the hug, she tightened her grip, letting him know that she was here. "I won't." They stood there for a few moments longer. It seemed like Sirius needed the confirmation, the assurance that she was really there, that she hadn't left him, wouldn't leave him.

They took a seat on the couch. He looked at her properly then, her eyes red and swollen. She had cried. He had made her cry. "I really am sorry, Mione. I shouldn't have said that just because I was angry."

"It's fine. Everything's okay now."

No, it was not. He had made her cry, had let his temper take over once again. But that wasn't the most important thing now. "Where did you go? we couldn't find you anywhere."

"I just needed to be alone for a bit, don't worry." He wanted to push through, wanting to know where she had been. But he didn't want to start another argument, not now. So they sat there, not saying a word. They didn't need to, it wasn't awkward. It was just them. "We should go to bed, it's late."

But he didn't let her go, didn't let her get up and leave. He held her, pulled her closer to him. "Just… a while longer. I'm not tired." He was lying. He was exhausted. The days of training, the quidditch match, the argument with the brunette, the worry and anxiousness, it all came crashing down on him. But he would be damned if he let her go already.

"Okay," she said. Eventually she fell asleep, still in Sirius' arms. And even though he was tired, he stayed awake.

"So do you know where she disappeared to?" James asked him the next day.

"No. She came back in the middle of the night but didn't tell me where she'd been. And it's frustrating, you know. The map shows everything and we didn't see her anywhere, so where did she go?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Finally, the first Hogsmeade visit came, the students glad for this small opportunity to leave the castle for a few hours. Though, Merlin knew that the marauders visited Hogsmeade more than people would think.

Hermione was walking with Lily, arms linked. "So what's the plan for today?" the redhead asked.

"I don't really know. The only thing I need to do is find a birthday present for Sirius."

"Anything in mind?"

"I do, actually. I heard him talking about motorcycles more than once so I was hoping that maybe I could find a book about it. Merlin knows he can use all the information he can get about muggle stuff as a pureblood wizard," she joked.

"Oh, I can't even think about him on a motorcycle. Can you just imagine how dangerous that would be?"

"It wouldn't be that bad, would it?" She was only met with a look that said 'really now?', before she had to admit that Sirius did have the tendency to act impulsively, which indeed could be dangerous. "Doesn't matter. If he likes it, we should let him be."

"Fair enough. As long as I don't need to clean up his mess, I'm fine."

So they went to several shops, stocking up on their favourite sweets – and a few chocolate frogs for Bill's upcoming birthday, knowing it was his favourite – and looking for Sirius' birthday present. After quite some looking, she surprisingly did find a book about motorcycles. Afterwards, the girls made their way to the Three Broomsticks, ordered a butterbeer and made their way back to the castle. Their day in Hogsmeade starting and ending like any other visit they made to the small, cosy village.

"Mione, look at all the stuff we got from Zonko's."

She looked up and saw all four marauders' arms bulging with bags. How much did they actually buy? Her eyes widened a little. "You're not planning to use all of that, right?"

"Of course we are. Why would we buy it if we aren't gonna use it?" She just groaned. The next couple of weeks would probably be filled with pranks. She just hoped she wasn't one of their victims. "Come on, Mione. No need for that reaction. It's not like we'll prank you," he said with an innocent smile.

She lifted an eyebrow. "Can you promise that?"

"Well, no. I can't," he said with a grin on his face.

"Thought so."

And just like with the birthdays of the other marauders, everyone knew it was Sirius' birthday. Remus, James and Peter had made their friend some silly crown and he wore it the entire day, not even a little embarrassed by how it looked. And of course, his birthday was another reason for a party in the Gryffindor common room, snacks and drinks overflowing the tables.

"So, Mione," he came, putting his weight on top of her as she was sitting on the armrest of one of the sofas, talking with Lily. "Where is my present?"

"Present?" she echoed.

He fake gasped. "Don't tell me you didn't get your favourite person ever a present for his birthday?"

"Of course I got a present for Bill's birthday, why wouldn't I?" The redheaded witch just burst out laughing while Sirius looked slightly offended. She couldn't help but laugh too. "Of course I got you a gift. Wait here, I'll go get it."

When she came back downstairs, the marauders were just handing Sirius his gift. They had all put money together to buy him a leather jacket, knowing he had wanted one for some time now. Fitting, she thought.

"Here you go," she said as she handed him her present. "I guess it'll go well with that leather jacket."

He opened it and saw a book about motorcycles. The smile that spread over his face was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. Just a genuine, bright happy smile. He gave her a kiss on the cheek in thanks before giving her a hug, saying, "Thanks, Mione."

"You're welcome." Her smile as fond as could be.