"SNOOOOOOOOOOW!"

Hermione jumped out of bed, her heart racing as survival instincts kicked in, making her grab her wand lying on top of the nightstand. Her mind stopped being fuzzy in a matter of seconds and she was able to notice incredibly excited Grace jumping up and down on her bed.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!", Leslie spat, clutching her chest. "I nearly had an heart attack, you lunatic!"

"Snow is falling!", Grace answered with a squeal of pure ecstasy, making Hermione sigh with disbelief.

Leslie wasn't the only one freaked out to her very core. Waking up to someone screaming at the top of their lungs didn't qualify as a reveille of her dreams. Especially not if that someone has been screaming because of snowflakes.

"You're a blithering idiot", Amy moaned, trying to cover her head with a pillow.

"What are you, fifty years old?! Where is your sense of beauty and joy?!"

"In my dream. Which you interrupted with your stupidity!", Leslie screamed and wandered off to the bathroom, shutting the door with a loud bang.

Grace looked very offended for a minute, but then smile returned to her face, when her gaze flicked to the window. Hermione lied down on her bed, still a little shaky from being awaken in such matter. The fact that today happened to be Hogsmeade day did nothing to calm her nerves. Not if she had previously agreed to go with Sirius.

What on Merlin's pants was she thinking? Sure, she had been spending a lot of time with him lately, but still... Going to Hogsmeade together was like announcing that she was his girlfriend and that definitely wasn't the case. She was past the stage of avoiding him, but relationship...? Hermione wasn't crazy.

Sighing, she got out of bed and started to rummage through her things, looking for something to wear. A pair of jeans, t-shirt and a sweater seemed good choice, until every item had been ripped out of her hands.

"You're going to wear that?!", Grace looked at her with an horrified expression, making Hermione furrow her brows.

"Yes?"

"Over my dead body!"

Gracie decided that it would be safer to just hide Hermione's clothes in her trunk, making it impossible for her to get them back. After all, Miss Granger would never invade someone's privacy like that. Although she started to wish she'd done something like that, when Grace presented her with her choice of clothes.

"I'm not wearing that!", she exclaimed, pointing her finger to a skirt so short that it would probably show her buttocks. "You must be out of your mind!"

"You're going on a date, Herms! You have to stun him, not bore him to death with your jeans and sweaters", Amy seemed to agree with Grace, making Hermione even more outraged.

"First of all, it's not a date. I specifically told him that... Secondly, I strongly despise the idea of dressing up for a guy. It's demeaning and I refuse to do it", she stated firmly, making both girls roll their eyes.

"No girl dresses for a guy. We dress up so that other girls could stare at us with jealousy, you moron!", Grace chuckled and Amy nodded seriously.

Hermione opened her mouth and sighed.

"That doesn't make any sense, at all"

"Sure it does", Leslie joined in their conversation, walking out of the bathroom with a towel on her head and water trickling down her face. "Even I get that"

"So quit whining, Hermione!", Grace chirped joyfully and put a small pile of clothes into her hands, pushing her towards the bathroom.

"No, guys, wait..."

The door shut behind her, making her lip tremble with anger.

"Wear them or we're going to burn down your books!", Amy yelled, making everyone laugh.

Hermione's face paled considerably as she realised that those witches were fully capable of desecrating her precious possessions.

"Fine", she muttered reluctantly and started to change.

A loud whistle that escaped Sirius' mouth did nothing to lighten up her mood. She felt incredibly uncomfortable and angry, but her roommates did everything in their power to ensure she didn't have another choice.

"And here I was thinking that it wasn't a date", he said sending her an appreciative glance.

"It's not", she growled and clenched her fists, trying to calm herself down.

The fact that he was staring at her bare legs didn't help, at all.

"You're dressing like that for everyone, love?", he asked with irony lacing his voice, making her glare at him. "For all it's worth, you look great"

Hermione blushed and bit her bottom lip. Compliments always made her feel insecure, rather than happy. It probably had a lot to do with all that crap that Malfoy had been throwing at her since their first year. Nonetheless, Sirius' seemed sincere in his words, so she thanked him quietly and shook her head.

"Those hags also known as my roommates made me wear those clothes. They threatened to burn my books", she explained, making Sirius explode with laughter.

"That's pretty genius. I should've thought about it sooner, maybe you'd agreed to go out with me much earlier"

"Doubt it"

Sirius laughed again and shook his head with amusement. His arm wrapped itself around her waist as he steered her towards the exit.

"Come on! Knowing you, you probably want to be back as fast as possible, so you can study"

Hermione glared at him, not liking irony in his voice one bit.

"Don't push it, Padfoot"

He looked at her with amusement, but didn't say a word. Instead, he kept leading her onto the courtyard, where the rest of the students have been patiently waiting for Professor Slughorn to announce the beginning of the trip. Of course, as soon as Sirius has stopped, the whispers erupted.

"This was a terrible idea", she murmured, trying not to blush furiously, as everyone kept staring at her.

She wasn't even sure that they were whispering about her not-date, considering the looks her attire earned. And it made her incredibly uncomfortable.

"Quit whining, love. We're not committing a crime, you know?", Sirius said, his tone easy-breezy.

"Everyone is staring. I hate it", Hermione ignored him and shifted impatiently, but Sirius' arm stopped her from moving too much.

"They're jealous"

"We're going as friends, there's nothing to be jealous of"

Padfoot sighed and pulled her even closer, making her glare at him. What was he trying to do? Make her even more stressed out?

"Sirius...", she started, her voice annoyed, but the boy beside her used his free hand to wave dismissively at her words, grinning widely.

"I'm not interested in listening to your terrible arguments. I know them by heart and I still think they're bollocks. I agreed to go with you as a friend, because it meant that you'll still go out with me. In everyone else's eyes it looks like a date, no matter how hard you'll try to deny it"

He smiled smugly, making her grind her teeth. Why the hell had she agreed to this thing? It wasn't like she couldn't have foreseen that it was going to end like this...

"That is so unfair!"

"And you're very naïve", he chuckled and looked down at her with a lopsided grin. "But also very cute"

Oh, he was getting on her nerves so badly... Had he completely forgotten that she had also been fierce and pretty brilliant? Annoying her was a very stupid thing to do...

"Fine. It's a date. The first and the last one, because there is no way I'm going to date someone who clearly doesn't respect my wishes", she spat and crossed her arms on her chest.

Out of the corner of her eye she'd noticed Sirius' discomposure and smiled viciously. It served him right for playing her. Even if she didn't mean a word she said. Hermione would have to be blind and deaf to think that he didn't care about her...

"You're such a hellcat", Sirius had finally whispered, lowering his hand from her waist to the hip.

"Am not!"

Her response was muted by professor Slughorn, who started to check the list of students allowed to visit the village to make sure that no one would break the rules. After a minute, everyone left the courtyard, heading towards Hogsmeade.

Silence fell between Hermione and Sirius, making her really nervous. Padfoot didn't seem all that disturbed, his body relaxed and completely adamant to her feelings. Why was she so anxious, anyway? Date or not-date, they were friends, they understood each other. Better than anyone thought, actually. Everyone just assumed that their sudden proximity was a sign of change in their relationship. Hermione knew that the truth had been much different.

Something between them just clicked. When she looked at him, she didn't see Harry's godfather or the man that she used to know. He became Sirius. Just Sirius. All the expectations she previously held, were gone. What was the point of sticking to the truths she'd known, if she could just learn everything about him from scratch? He was so different now, after all. And she liked it. In fact, she liked it so much, that staying away from him became truly impossible.

Hermione had spent so much time trying to figure out a safe way to tell him everything. So that she wouldn't have to carry her burden alone. Maybe it wasn't completely out of question? He was a Pureblood, he must have known something about Occlumency. And it wasn't like she had to tell him anything regarding his own future. Maybe...

No. Telling him was dangerous and selfish. No one should be forced to carry her secrets. Especially considering the situation with Horcrux... How could she explain that to him without admitting that she'd killed someone with cold blood? Her soul was ripped apart, making her an abomination. She could live with that fact, as long as it meant changing the future for the better, but him? He should at least be able to make that choice. And forcing him to keeping her secrets, without the possibility of telling anyone about them had simply been cruel.

"You're worried", Sirius' voice snapped her out of her depressing thoughts, making her realise that she'd been biting her lip hard enough to make it bleed.

She blushed and sucked on the small wound she'd created. Her eyes looked everywhere aside from him. He was way too smart not to figure out that Hermione's thoughts have been occupied by him and their relationship.

"Sorry", she murmured eventually and sighed. "I'm spending most of my life worrying, it shouldn't surprise you anymore"

"It doesn't surprise me. I just want you to stop"

Her laugh sounded bitter, reflecting her mood perfectly. How did it happen, once again? This day was supposed to be pleasant, entertaining even. And here she was, sulking and sucking happiness out of everyone, including Sirius.

She looked up at him and did her best to smile brilliantly. Padfoot blinked with surprise, but then reciprocated her gesture, clearly appreciating her efforts.

"That's my girl", he whispered and run his hand down her back soothingly.

"Not really", she protested with a smile, making him roll his eyes.

"Fine. I'm still working on it, though", Sirius winked at her with a huge grin.

Hermione blushed and shook her head with amusement. No matter how hard she tried to avoid thinking about him, all her efforts were easily destroyed by his smiles and compliments he was constantly throwing her way.

Hogsmeade welcomed them with sounds of chatter, laughter and its usual chaos. Hermione couldn't help but smile at its familiarity, deciding that she could probably forget about all of her problems, just this once. There would be plenty of time to worry after they got back to the castle...

"Where are we going?", she asked with a sincere smile and Sirius shrugged in response.

"Wherever you'd like"

"How about a bookstore then?", she asked with irony and Sirius shot her a disgusted glance.

"Woman, don't tell me that your perfect date takes place in a library, because that would be the death of me"

Hermione laughed at his terrified expression, but her joy had been diminished very quickly.

"Well, unless you'd like to push me against the shelve and snog me senseless"

It was his turn to laugh, as she was blushing furiously at the mere suggestion of snogging him. Of course, she'd never go as far as desecrating the old tomes resting on the shelves in the Hogwarts Library... But he would. And Sirius Black could be very convincing when he wanted to be.

"Oh, you're actually thinking about it", he purred and leaned her way, his lips close to her ear. "In that case, maybe we really should visit that damned bookstore..."

Before she could have smacked him, he was gone, laughing his butt off. He stopped a couple of steps away from her, grinning wickedly.

"I swear your mind lives in the gutter!", she yelled at him, making him laugh even harder.

"Well, that makes the idea of us even more reasonable. You're a prude and I'm a whore. And I've heard that opposites attract!"

That man... He was simply impossible sometimes.

"I'm not a prude!"

"Yeah, you are, sweetheart"

"The fact that I'm not willing to spread my legs for just anyone doesn't make me a prude and nor does the fact that I find snogging in the library completely inappropriate and outright rude!"

Sirius looked at her for a moment, his lips trembling from supressed amusement. Finally, he couldn't hold it anymore and his barking laughter sounded in the air, making her bite her lip. Hermione was partially annoyed that he was laughing at her, but also a bit mesmerized by his outburst. If anyone else tried to express their joy in a similar way, they'd simply look stupid. And Sirius made it look so... sinfully enticing.

"Fine, not-prude. I'll let you win this time, since you've forced me to make a fool out of myself in the middle of Hogsmeade", he said, wiping tears away from his face.

If she wasn't so disturbed by her thoughts, she'd probably become very offended at his words. Deciding that it would be best not to let him know about her little moment of weakness, she said:

"It's not like I had to try very hard to accomplish this"

"Ouch. That really hurts my feelings, sweetheart. You have to make it up to me somehow", he informed her, sticking his hands into the pockets of the black jeans he was wearing.

"I'm going to regret it, but... How?"

Sirius chuckled and walked towards her. His arm returned to its previous position on her hip, as he steered her towards the Three Broomsticks.

"Butterbeer would be nice"