So, this is probably going to be the first A/N I've written here. I have no idea why I skipped them before, but I just wanted to let my story speak for itself. I tried to reply to all the reviews in PMs, but I really want to thank all of you, because your support had been amazing! I am truly honoured to have you as my readers!

Also, I wanted to apologize for the break in updating. My life had been crazy lately and it took me nearly two weeks to write this chapter. Lack of free time SUCKS, there's no way to put it. Still, I hope you stayed with me and that you are going to enjoy the first part of this chapter! I have mixed feeling about it, so let me know what you think!

The Gryffindor Common Room welcomed her with a lot of noise and cheerful chatter, which surprised her a little, considering the fact that no sounds were escaping to the outside of the room. Hermione couldn't help but appreciate the amount of spellwork behind it, even with her foul mood. Apparently, the Gryffindors were pretty determined to make their Prefect proud, as it had been obvious that no teacher was going to bust them that night. Of course, Hermione knew that even their unusual effort couldn't prevent Dumbledore from learning about the party, but she didn't think that the Headmaster would be bothered to stop them. He had much more important things on his mind than stopping James and Sirius from doing something, that they had probably done before.

Despite the fact that the party had only just started, she spotted some people dancing in the middle of the room, where a special dance floor had been created. It had been shining with multiple lights, giving the entire place the appearance of a real dance club. The chandeliers had been decorated with balloons and serpentines that kept changing colours all the time. Even the armchairs and sofas had been moved to provide the students with more space to dance and have fun.

Hermione kept looking around in order to find Lily, who happened to be the star of the party. She wanted to give her a gift personally, although judging by the gigantic pile of boxes lying on top of one of the tables, everyone else had a different idea. She was surprised though, by the number of presents lying on the table. Apparently, people in 1977 were much quicker to offer gifts and Hermione couldn't feel more glad that she decided not to tell anyone about her own birthday. It had felt weird to spend her birthday with people she had barely known, but that wasn't the most important part of her reasoning. Telling everyone about her birthday involved even more lies; after all, everyone believed her to be seventeen, not nineteen. I shouldn't even be born yet, she thought and sighed, getting back to reality.

Her mood had been so bad, that even staring at a pile of presents made her mind pick up on all the negative and depressing things residing deep within it. She had to get herself together, not only because she had a mission to accomplish, but also because Lily was her friend and this party was supposed to be a celebration of something incredibly important in her life. She deserved having a good time and with Hermione mimicking Severus' daily attitude, it didn't seem possible.

"I was afraid you're not going to show up", a husky whisper reached her ear, despite the loud music banging in the room.

A familiar scent enveloped her body, making her skin tingle, especially when Sirius' hands landed on her hips bringing her close to him.

"Merlin, don't you look fine tonight, love", he murmured in her ear and kissed her neck lightly, making her blush furiously.

"Thank you. Girls wouldn't let me leave the dormitory without dressing me up. Although they had mentioned that you will drop dead at my sight", she added with a slight smirk, not letting him know that even such relatively innocent gestures affected her. Not that anything was innocent with him.

"They were so wrong, kitten. I feel invigorated", he purred seductively and spun her around.

Now that she faced him, she had no troubles with smelling a trace of Firewhiskey in his breath. She looked at him with her eyebrows raised and crossed her arms on the chest.

"I know I'm late, but how did you manage to get drunk in an hour? And why am I smelling whiskey?", she asked in a stern tone, making him explode with laughter.

"Don't tell me that you believed James when he said this party was going to be alcohol-free"

Of course she didn't believe him, but still… She thought he was going to provide the students with Butterbeer, not whiskey.

"C'mon, Hermione. We're not letting any underage students drink it. We've charmed the bottles", he coaxed her into relaxing, but she seized him up with narrowed eyes.

"Sirius… You're underage"

Black shot her an angry glance and then rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you keep reminding me of that, but I'm not going to be underage for a very long time now. Cut me some slack, yeah?", he said and leaned down, stealing a kiss from her.

Hermione knew more than well that he had been using that as a distraction. It didn't take long for him to figure out that all of her anger disappeared quite quickly when he kissed her. He could be really smart if he wanted to.

"Alright, but please, go easy on the whiskey", she said and smiled sheepishly, after he straightened himself. "I need to talk to you"

Informing him of that served a greater purpose than only to prevent him from getting too drunk. She wanted to make sure she wouldn't change her mind about this whole thing and there was no better way to do this, than inform Sirius about her intentions. He would never let that matter slide, he was way to desperate for any kind of information.

"Did something happen?", he asked without a trace of smile on his face and Hermione knew that now that he stopped flirting with her, he must have noticed her uneasiness without a problem.

"Kind of", she admitted and scowled. "I'll tell you later, I promise"

"Alright", he agreed, although his stare remained serious for another moment. "Let's get your drink fixed!"

Hermione groaned, when he started to pull her towards the long table standing by the wall. She was surprised that it was able to hold the weight of all the beverages and snacks standing on it, but she couldn't help but appreciate the effort that went into making this party so great. James really outdid himself and she hoped that Lily would see it too. After their unexpected exchange of letters, things started to look much different between them, but the redheaded girl tried to deny it with all she had. In Lily's eyes, liking James Potter seemed incredibly stupid and she tried to blame it on a temporary eclipse of better judgement. Of course, everyone around them simply rolled their eyes and smiled knowingly, making Lily even madder. Hermione had a feeling, though, that this party was going to be critical in their relations.

Sirius stopped in front of the table and put his arm around her figure, his thumb caressing her hip gently. He gestured towards various drinks in front of them and smiled at her brilliantly.

"Choose your poison!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes in search of Butterbeer and when she had finally spotted it, she extended her hand in order to grab a bottle, but Sirius smacked her palm with a sigh.

"I said poison, kitten. You're an adult, yeah?"

"I don't like drinking"

"You don't like anything that sounds like fun", Sirius chuckled and moved away from her, grabbing a couple of bottles.

Hermione watched with suspicion as he poured a couple of various liquids into a tall glass and handed her something that looked more like a rainbow, than a drink. Sirius shot her another brilliant smile, encouraging her to try it. She sighed and decided that she wasn't going to die from one single drink. Besides, today seemed like a good day to break her resolve.

She took a sip of the mysterious drink and looked up in surprise, once she realised that it tasted really good. She couldn't even feel the alcohol and wondered whether it was a good thing, or quite the opposite.

"It's tasty", she admitted reluctantly, making Sirius laugh.

A moment later, something in his expression changed and Hermione shifted impatiently. She knew that look more than well. Before she could say something, he leaned down once again and kissed her, this time with greater passion. He tasted like Firewhiskey and it made her weirdly excited. If it wasn't for the drink in her hand and the crowd surrounding them, she would want nothing else than to wrap her arms around his neck and let him kiss her all night.

Finally, though, Sirius pulled away and licked his lips with his eyes still closed. Hermione couldn't help but stare at him with unhealthy fascination, knowing that if she tried to do something like that, she would look utterly ridiculous. Sirius, though, made it look almost arousing.

"You're right. It really is tasty", he whispered and cupped her face with his hands, stealing another kiss from her.

If Hermione thought that a sober Sirius had been quite dangerous, whiskey made the situation even worse. Or maybe better? She couldn't tell when his lips moved upon her own, making her feel equally inebriated.

Few seconds later, he moved away and shot her a cocky grin, fully aware of her thoughts. Hermione really wanted to wipe that smirk of his face, but didn't get the chance as someone closed her in a tight embrace from behind.

"Herms! Fancy seeing you here!", James greeted her enthusiastically, making it really hard for her to breathe.

"Potter… You're choking me", she gasped, starting to feel dizzy.

"Oh! Sorry 'bout that!", James laughed and let go of her with a huge grin. "So what are you two lovebirds up to?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows at the term he used, but shrugged it off in the end, as Sirius wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to his body.

"Actually, I was going to find Lily", she said and looked around. "Have you seen her?"

James blushed slightly and brushed his hair, making it even more dishevelled.

"Um… I may have"

Hermione exchanged glances with Sirius, while James continued to look everywhere but them.

"Prongs? Care to elaborate?", Sirius asked with genuine amusement.

"You see… I wanted to look great for the party. So I went to Prefect's bathroom to get a nice bath", James said so quietly that she could barely hear him over the noise.

As soon as she understood the meaning of his words, a frown appeared on her face.

"You're not a Prefect", she stated very sensibly, making Sirius chuckle and James look at her pleadingly.

"No, he's not, love. But the password isn't exactly a secret to any of the Marauders", Sirius explained with a grin, looking so amused that Hermione started to wonder if she had missed something in their conversation.

"Fine. How does your visit to the Prefect's bathroom connect to Lily?"

James looked at Sirius with a panicked expression, causing her boyfriend to explode with barking laughter.

"Fuck me!", he laughed and bent in half, not being able to stop his joyful outburst. "Tell me you didn't!"

"Mate, stop!", James pleaded and tried to straighten his friend, while everyone around started to look at them.

Hermione felt incredibly confused, as she watched her friends with growing scowl.

"Can someone please explain what's going on?!", she demanded in a stern tone, while Sirius tried to wipe tears from his face and James continued to look positively ashamed.

"Love… Prongs had seen Evans. In Prefect's bathroom. While she had been naked", Sirius giggled and patted James on the back. "How are you still alive?"

Hermione opened her mouth in surprise and shook her head with disbelief.

"You walked in on her?! What happened to knocking?!", she yelled and smack his arm. "And yeah… How are you still alive? I know I would have killed you if you'd done this to me!"

"I would beat you to it, kitten", Sirius stated, but Hermione shot him an angry glance, which shut him up.

James sighed deeply and lowered his gaze, looking like a lost puppy.

"I didn't mean to make her angry. As soon as I had noticed her, I turned around, but… Fuck, why do I always have to do this? Things were getting better lately and now… She's probably going to hate me even more than before", he groaned and clutched his head with despair.

Hermione couldn't help but to feel sorry for him. He could be such a moron sometimes… Still, his feelings were completely genuine. He didn't deserve to be scolded all the time, even though he acted like a dunderhead on occasions. And this? He was right when he said that Lily would probably get back to her shell now and that didn't seem right.

"James… Talk to her. Apologize. It's her party and you're the one who made it possible. Look at this place! You completely outdid yourself. She has to appreciate that", Hermione offered him a comforting smile, but it didn't cheer him up.

"I doubt it, Herms. No matter how hard I try, I always do something to fuck everything up. Maybe she's right and I don't deserve her", he said dejectedly and shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I'll be fine! Get back to… Whatever you two were doing"

With that, he was gone, leaving Hermione and Sirius with worried expressions. Well, Hermione's had been worried, while the boy standing next to her looked positively murderous.

"I like Evans, most of the time, but this… I hate seeing him like this", he murmured and clenched his fists.

Hermione bit her lip, fully understating his feelings. Knowing that in the end, Lily and James were destined to end up together did nothing to make her feel better. Watching the two of them resembled observing lost travellers who kept ignoring all of the signs pointing them in the right direction. It sucked.

"Maybe I should talk to her? I have to find her anyway", Hermione offered worriedly, but Sirius shook his head and sighed.

"Does she ever listen? Same as you had to understand that staying away from me wasn't possible, she needs to figure things out on her own", he said and looked up towards the ceiling. "I just hope that Prongs will still love her when she finally does"

"Me too", Hermione sighed and rubbed his shoulder gently, knowing very well that there was nothing that could ever change James' feelings. "Maybe you should go to him, make sure that he's not going to do anything stupid"

Sirius looked at her with an amused smile and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Well, something stupider"

"Are you going to be alright on your own?", he asked her, putting his hands on her shoulders, as she offered him a reassuring smile.

"I'm an adult, as you had pointed out earlier"

"That I had", he laughed and kissed her cheek softly. "Go, find Lily. I'll catch you later, yeah?"

Hermione smiled and watched him turn around and leave in James' direction. She really hoped that he would remember his promise of not getting too drunk, just as she hoped that her bravery would still be there in a couple of hours.

Hermione had to admit, the party turned out to be much better than she would have thought. Despite Sirius' words, she had still attempted to talk to Lily, wanting her to understand that being mad at James hadn't been the best available option. To her surprise, the redhead seemed to agree with her. Actually, that whole situation got her so flustered, that Hermione couldn't help but grin widely, realising that Lily will probably never be able to get back to hating James. At some point, convincing herself that certain feelings didn't exist, was even harder than convincing others; Hermione could attest to that.

The fact that the party turned out to be quite pleasant didn't change anything regarding her nervousness. With each passing minute, the Ravenclaw had become more stressed, realising that Sirius really delivered on his promise and didn't get too drunk, forcing her to deliver on her part as well. She was also fully aware of the fact that Sirius noticed her uneasiness and watched her like a hawk, with a worry line etched into his forehead. He did everything in his power to cheer her up and she appreciated his efforts; especially that part when he danced with James in a nearly erotic way. Everyone in the Common Room laughed their assess of, including Sirius, but Prongs seemed scared that his Lily-flower will get a bad idea, so he ran off eventually, tripping over his own legs and falling down on top of Lily's birthday cake. He tried to fix the situation by offering Lily to lick the cake off of him. To everyone's surprise Miss Prefect decided to take him up on his offer and she took some of the cake from his face with her finger and then licked it clean, causing James to nearly suffer a heart attack.

The party definitely turned out better than expected. Hermione really wanted to believe that the conversation she was about to have would go equally well. She sighed dejectedly and smiled, when Sirius pulled her closer to his body. They were sitting on the couch, snuggling and watching people who were still having fun, despite the late hour. The warmth of his body next to her own, his breath tickling her neck and his hands caressing her in such tender way made it almost impossible to move, but she knew they had to, eventually. The Common Room was not the right place for things that were about to happen.

"So… You wanted to talk", his whisper tore another sigh out of her lips, while she realised that even Sirius knew they couldn't drag it out any longer.

"Yes. Not here, though. I want us to be alone", she said and disentangled herself from his arms.

Sirius chuckled lightly and stood up, offering her his hand, which she gladly took. Their fingers entwined, making Hermione smile tenderly. This was all she ever wanted and she really hoped that she will still have it in an hour or so.

"Kitten, you don't have to come up with excuses to be alone with me. I'm all in", Sirius laughed and she rolled her eyes.

He wasn't too drunk to talk, but that didn't mean he was entirely sober. The mischievous sparkles glinting in his eyes proved themselves to be quite distracting and she couldn't have that. Not today.

"Sirius", she pleaded quietly and shot him a serious glance. "I need you to focus"

His grey eyes lit up with a sudden realisation, that whatever it was that got her so stressed, it had been of much greater importance than he had initially assumed.

"Fine. Wait here for a second, I'll get the Cloak"

She nodded, but he was already gone, leaving her with shivers running all over her body. She noticed Remus staring at her intently from across the room, where he had been engaged in a conversation with Marlene McKinnon. Hermione smiled at him weakly and was surprised to see him raise his thumb up in an attempt to reassure her. She didn't know how he had figured things out, but Remus had always been smart and more than observant. Maybe she read too much into his simple gesture, but it made her feel better nonetheless.

Sirius got back from the boys' dormitory bearing the Cloak in his left hand and a piece of parchment in the other. She almost smiled at the sight of the Marauders' greatest treasure, knowing that even if the conversation had gone wrong, at least she would have gotten to know one more of their secrets.

"What is it?", she asked, allowing curiosity to lace her voice, while Sirius shot her a proud grin.

"That, love, is one of the greatest things you will ever see!"

"I think it looks like parchment", she stated sceptically, making him laugh with excitement sparkling in his eyes.

Making him so proud with himself felt incredibly good, she had to admit. She loved seeing him smile in that mischievous, light-hearted way. Getting used to that had been so easy, that she almost couldn't believe it sometimes.

"I didn't know you were this smart", Sirius answered with irony and handed her the Cloak. "Come on, I'll show you that incredible piece of parchment on our way"

With that, he nudged her to go forward and she complied without as much as a word of protest. The Fat Lady hadn't been so happy about their departure, but Sirius managed to coax her into staying silent. Hermione could have sworn that the woman in the painting blushed and fanned herself more eagerly at Sirius' sight.

The boy took the Cloak from her hands and covered their bodies with it, making sure that both of them had been hidden by pressing himself against her quite prominently. She could have believed that it had been a measure of precaution, if it wasn't for the smirk gracing his face, that made her bite her lip as she tried not to blush. Sirius didn't give her much time to ponder on it, though, as he unfolded the parchment and took out his wand, pointing it towards the hidden Map.

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good", he whispered and Hermione had to avert her gaze from him for a moment.

She had heard that sentence multiple times, but never spoken like that. Sweet Merlin, it sounded more like a sinful promise rather than just a phrase required to reveal the Map. Even knowing what it was meant to do couldn't prevent her from hearing a second meaning in his words, especially with his intense stare and his body so close to her own.

"Look", he pointed to the Map, where the first letters started to appear.

"Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present The Marauder's Map", she read and looked up to see Sirius' brilliant smile, full of pride and excitement.

"Open it", he ordered and she complied, pretending to be extremely surprised at its content.

"Is that… Is that Hogwarts?", she asked in a voice full of wonder and Sirius nodded.

"It shows the entire castle and everyone in it", he explained and took the Map out of his hands, looking for the two spots near the Gryffindor Tower. "That's us"

She smiled seeing those two dots so close to each other, that she had a hard time making out even her own name. She took a step back and noticed that one of the marks on the Map moved as well.

"It shows everyone?"

"What do you think? How else would we manage to avoid detentions all the time?", he chuckled in response and once again, stepped closer to her body.

"That is… Simply brilliant", she admitted, making him sigh in content.

"Even if we use it to break the rules?", he purred and Hermione rolled her eyes. "I knew I could corrupt you"

"Don't flatter yourself. I appreciate the spellwork, not your constant ignorance and childishness", she stated, but her voice lacked anger or irritation. "Besides, it might come in handy tonight"

"Yes, we are breaking the curfew after all", he nodded with a fake worry and she shook her head with amusement.

"Fine. I can live with that"

"Thank Merlin!"

Hermione didn't answer, as she began to walk towards the seventh floor. Sirius followed her, occasionally making her change directions as he spotted someone on the Map. Even with those rare obstacles, they found themselves in front of the familiar wall way too soon, at least in Hermione's opinion. Her palms started to feel really clammy, as nervousness settled in the pit of her stomach once again. She tried to focus on the place she wanted to find herself in, but the door refused to show up.

"Can you do it?", she asked Sirius and he nodded at once, taking over the responsibility of producing a pair of doors leading to a safe place where they could talk.

The boy had no problems with doing just that and soon, she had found herself in a room so familiar that it made her mouth gape. The Burrow greeted her with all those little details she remembered from spending time inside its walls; details she hadn't expected to see right now.

"How did you…", she said, completely baffled, but Sirius shrugged it off with nonchalance.

"You came here when you felt bad. I figured that maybe you'd want to talk here"

She blinked a couple of times, trying to pry the tears out of her eyes. Sirius gave her a lopsided smile, clearly satisfied that he had managed to surprise her in the most pleasant way.

"Thank you", Hermione said softly and tried to pour all of her gratitude into her gaze.

"You're welcome", he answered and sat down by the kitchen table. "So… What is it that you want to talk about?"

Hermione took a deep breath, which did nothing to calm her raging feelings. She looked down to her hands, that kept shaking badly. She needed to be out with it and she needed to do it fast. Otherwise, Sirius would have to break another rule and rush to the Hospital Wing with her unconscious body in his arms.

"I had found a way to tell you everything", she stated, as her heart pounded against her chest with a force of a hammer.

Sirius opened his mouth in shock, but it took him only a second to regain his composure. He shifted in his chair, letting the excitement rush to his face.

"Everything?"

"No more secrets", she confirmed and laughed hysterically. "Just like you wanted"

Sirius frowned, clearly searching her face for something that could tell him she was joking. He found nothing and his expression softened visibly.

"Hermione… I don't want you to break your resolve, just because I want something. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in for that talk, but I don't want to put you at risk, because…"

"I had found a way, Sirius. To make things as safe as possible, not just for me, but also for you", she interrupted him and sighed, seeing his face lit up in excitement.

"Then what are you waiting for? Tell me!", he exclaimed and shifted in his chair once again.

"It's not that simple", she shook her head and forced herself to move and sit beside him. "Before we get to that, I need to know you understand what I need you to do"

"Then explain! You know I will do anything to protect you"

"I do. But the magic involved in making this possible is ancient and incredibly powerful. Not only will I require you to keep my secret a secret, but also everything around it. And that you will have to do on your own"

"On my own?", Sirius asked with a frown and Hermione sighed.

This was already proving difficult and she hadn't even gotten to the proper explaining.

"My secret will be safe. But no one can know what made it possible. You have to do everything in your power to make sure no one learns about it. Everything, including brushing up on your Occlumency skills", she pleaded and Sirius snorted.

"My Occlumency skills aren't so rusty, Hermione. Besides, I don't think anyone can help me get better"

"I can. And I will, after you agree to put some effort into it", she informed him and smiled at his dumbfounded expression. "What did you expect? It would be pointless to keep things from you, while anyone could have simply pried it out of my head, wouldn't it?"

Sirius scowled and scratched his head with uneasiness.

"Um… If you put it this way, it does sound ridiculous"

"Yes it does. So… Can I have your word?"

"You know you can, Hermione", he admitted softly and sighed. "You can have my everything"

Hermione looked up at him and smiled, seeing a completely serious expression on his handsome face. Suddenly, all of her worry seemed irrelevant and quite stupid. She had known Sirius Black, not only in those times but also later on. Not even twelve years spent in Azkaban could have turned him into an evil man. He would never turn his back on her, no matter what. If she couldn't trust herself, she could at least trust that.

"Then I guess it's time for you to have my everything as well"