Hey everyone! I hope you all enjoyed Deathly Hallows as much as myself, except for the stupid epilogue haha. I'm glad I'm getting positive feedback for this fic, I'm going to try updating as much as I can. This chapter was actually going to go up yesterday but I knew many people would be reading or would be too damn excited once they finished to read fan fiction. Have fun reading!
To Love a Marauder
"Wow, I can't believe this….blimey, the Order of the Phoenix here?! And half our bloody family and friends are in it and we didn't know?!" Ron Weasley mused with a hint of bewilderment in his voice. The faces around him looked just as wide eyed and shocked as himself.
"And the worse part of this is that Harry doesn't have a clue," Hermione said with concern flooding her voice. She sighed shakily and tried organizing this flock of information neatly in her head. Around her, she could tell the others were doing the same.
Almost immediately after Mrs. Weasley had kicked her, Fred & George, Ron and Ginny out of the kitchen they ran straight up to the girls' bedroom to discuss what they'd just heard. Fred and George flopped lazily onto Ginny's bed, and were currently scrunching their noses in thought. On the spare chair, Ron sat uncomfortably with a perplexed the expression spread onto his face. Hermione and Ginny sat on the edge of Hermione's bed, both looking more curious then anything else..
"Maybe Harry's better off not knowing all of this stuff right now. It's only going to make the poor bloke go completely mad when he finds out they've been keeping this from him," George reasoned while playing with a Sparking Quill he had pulled out of his pocket. Ginny shook her head furiously in response and pulled her legs up so she could bring her knees to her chest.
"He needs to know! He is only going to be angrier when we keep avoiding information about you-Know- Who in our letters," Ginny told them. Hermione silently agreed but knew better than to suggest telling him. If Dumbledore wanted to keep this from Harry, then she knew to listen to him.
"We aren't going to say a word about this to Harry, do you understand guys? As much as I love jokes and pranks, this isn't a time for one. We've got to be serious about this…the Order of the Phoenix is a dangerous and top secret force. We can't go rattling on about it in a letter," Fred said to the group, looking more like his father by the second. Hermione sighed and leaned back onto her pillows, wishing she could just close her eyes for a second to ponder over everything by herself.
'Why can't they tell us about the plans dealing with Voldemort that they know about? Surely we could handle it...it's not like we haven't fought him before. Really, sometimes I think those adults need to stop treating us like ten years olds. They know we want to fight more than anything and that we'll be by Harry's side as long as it takes until Voldemort's dead.'
"There you are, my little rebels," a voice from the door said. Hermione opened her eyes to see Sirius standing in the room, surveying the Pow-Wow in front of him. He seemed to smile a bit more once he turned his gaze toward Hermione. She felt a leap in her stomach.
"Hey Sirius," the group answered back in gloomy depressed voices.
"Whats a mater?" he asked them as he moved toward a bare piece of wall and leaned again it, folding his arms over his chest. The children's eyes all met each other in haste, silently deciding who would be the one to talk. A unanimous stare in Hermione's direction elected her as the honorary speaker.
"Well Sirius, "Hermione began in a breathy voice, trying to calm her nerves. She composed herself and raised her face to stare directly into Black's eyes. He looked at her intently, waiting for her voice to continue.
"We're kind of confused with the ...lack of knowledge you presented to us," she said, attempting to not directly say 'You No Good Information Holding Git.'
"Oh, and what is it that you'd like to hear?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow. A small smirk played on his lips as he took his back off of the wall he was leaning on and stood firmly on the ground.
"Why haven't we been told about the Order before? What's You-Know-Who planning on doing? Why can't we tell Harry? Whats Snape got to do with the Order?" Hermione babbled in one long breath. She stopped after she'd realized how many questions she asked. Her face felt a blush rise to it as she looked away from Sirius' eyes and over to Ron's, who was already staring at her with amusement.
"Asked enough questions Hermione?" Ron joked and started to smile until he stopped and looked over at Sirius who was patiently waiting for him to cease goofing off.
"You haven't been told about the Order before because we haven't met for about fifteen years, we stopped meeting once we thought Voldemort had vanished," he said plainly, not wincing as the plagued name left his lips.
"The real reason we can't tell you what Voldemort is doing is because truthfully we aren't exactly sure. We know he's planning on obtaining something he didn't have before, but that's about it. And do not look at me that way Miss Weasley, I will not be the one telling you what hes trying to get!" Sirius said quickly when he saw Ginny's face glow with excitement at the mention of some sort of secret object,
:"Why can't you tell us!" George protested, sitting straight up in the bed. Sirius shook his head and groaned.
"You kids and your blasted questions," he said in an exhausted but still lighthearted tone. He walked over to the door and closed it quietly before returning to the small circle they had gathered in. He leaned in closely, leaving his black hair to glisten in the sunlight .Hermione couldn't help but think outlandish and inappropriate thoughts as she witnessed the light cast a devastatingly handsome effect on to Sirius' face. His next words came from his mouth in a low and growling whisper.
"He's got a weapon. A secret weapon that he's trying to get to that we have to protect and hide. That's what the Order's got to do. I can't tell you what it is because I know you are an adventure seeking lot and I know you are going to go run off to try to get it first," he told them. Hermione could smell Sirius' scent from her place on the bed. It greatly resembled fresh cinnamon and spiced tea. She inhaled deeply and smiled goofily at the lightheadedness she received. Sirius looked at her curiously after he spoke, seeing her nose scrunch and then a dreamy gaze clouded her face. He stood back up, feeling the eyes of the party in front of him piercing holes in him.
"C'mon Sirius! We aren't going to go after it or anything. We just want to know what it is he's got," Ron pleaded. Sirius shook his head and began to head toward the door.
"You guys have heard way more than you should have. I think that's enough questions for today," he said to them as he gave them a glare that meant 'And I mean it too' right before he left the room. The group gave a collective sigh. Fred chucked a Nosebleed Nougat onto the floor in defeat as he frowned.
"I don't like all this secrecy business they've got going on," Fred complained.
"We're just going to have to try and find out more, little bits at a time. I'm sure if we asked subtle questions here and there we can piece together a little more information," Hermione assured them, while already forming a small plan in her head.
'I'll try to build up a trust with Sirius over summer. Maybe he'll end up trusting me eventually and will spill a little more to me about what's going on. Getting to know him would also help me possibly get over this stupid sudden attraction to him. I'll try to bond with him to get myself to see he that he's just a friend that happens to be Harry's godfather. That way he will never be anything more to me than that…not that he would want to be anyway,'
"Sounds good, Hermione. It seems like it's the only chance we've got right about now. And seeing as we've got all summer to find out more stuff it shouldn't be a problem. Alright, well now that that's settled, what do you say we get an intense Wizard's Chess game going?" Ron asked hopefully. The twins nodded eagerly and bound off the bed, leaving the girls to themselves to roll their eyes in unison.
Eventually the day that had started jam packed with excitment quickly turned into one of the most uneventful experiences of Hermione's life.After about fifteen games of Chess, a long chat about the Weasleys business, and dinner ,the girl finally decided to go to bed. She hoped the rest of the summer wouldn't be like this, even though she knew there was something important going on today to be the cause of so many meetings. Mrs. Weasley had warned the children not to go downstairs until they were all over, but apparently they didn't end until 11 o clock that evening. Hermione gave up on hoping to see Sirius one last time before she retired for the evening, and obliged to the thought on going to bed.
"I hope you'll be off to bed soon, Sirius. We've got a long day a head of us," Molly Weasley said, giving Sirius an affectionate pat on the shoulder.
"Goodnight. Molly. Thank you again for the wonderful dinner," the ever so charming Sirius Black answered with a slight bow. Molly let out an awkward girlish giggle and blushed.
"Don't be silly, it was nothing really," she told him. He gave her a small wave as she left the dark kitchen to retreat to bed. Sirius sighed and turned his attention to the whistling tea pot in front of him. He was alone at last. All day Sirius had been thrown into meeting after meeting with not one moment of peace to relish in his own thoughts, and now, in the dimly lit kitchen around midnight, he had finally found himself in solitude.
"What a day, what a day," Sirius muttered while pouring the hot, steaming water into a mug. After mixing the powdered tea in, he took a sip and instantly felt his body begin to relax.
"Mmm that's good," Sirius whispered and made his way to the table. He checked his seat before he sat down and to his amusement, he found a patented Weasley Pricking Pin. Sirius picked the small silver needle up with his hands and tossed it onto the table, finally collapsing onto the chair.
'That damn Severus Snape is going to drive me into the ground, yes he is. I swear, every time he has a summons, he calls about twenty Order meetings the next day to talk about the same information over and over again. Today I felt as if I could have recited his lecture by heart by the time the third meeting rolled around. Insufferable prat. How I wish the Marauders could have finished him off in Hogwarts. That would have made my life a bit more cheerful.'
Sirius leaned back in his chair, trying to find a more comfortable position to sit in. After many attempts, he gave up and decided these chairs weren't meant to be sat in for long spans of time and since he had sat in this chair for about 8 hours today, he had overstretched their limit. Another sip of tea and Sirius was drawn into another round of thinking, this time feeling a tad guilty about his insults toward Severus.
'Alright alright. So maybe me and James treated him like a sack of shit when we were younger, big deal. It happens to most kids anyway. I wouldn't be too surprised if that is the reason he's so nasty and crude now. Must be making up for lost time since he was the farthest thing from respected during school. The only words that would have described him then would be have been greasy and scared.
I know deep down though that he is a bloody hero even if he doesn't act like one. Even I can't look past everything he has done for the Order; putting his life on the line each time he goes to one of Voldemort's summons. He's been beaten and Crucio-d more times than any of his other followers, yet he still is modest Ugh, now I feel like a git for being a jerk today. Oh well, what did he expect? Me to throw my arms around him and say "Wonderful job chatting it up with Voldy last night, Snapey boy!" '
Chuckling at his last thought, Sirius finished his tea and sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, basking in calm and desolate atmosphere. His eyes wandered around the kitchen, lingering on the old paintings and photographs that graced the walls. Seeing them caused a sudden impulse within him. He stuck his hand into one of his jacket pockets and moved it around; hoping to locate what it is he was looking for. His hand emerged a second later, holding two pieces of parchment. Sirius unfolded them and gazed at the first causing a wide grin to creep onto his face. In his hand was a frayed and old photograph of the Marauders in their seventh year. Sirius stared at the younger version of himself who was situated in between James and Lupin. His arms were fiercely around both of their necks and were pulling them closer to him while laughing heartily at something he must have found funny. James was looking into the camera, smiling broadly, piercing the photograph with his chiseled face and unruly hair. To his left, Peter stood uneasily with a nervous smile on his face. He seemed to be trying to get out of the picture, but James' arm was tugging on his collar to draw him closer to the other boys. On Sirius' other side, Lupin stood, giving him a reprimanding stare. Apparently he did not find his joke too funny, but he eventually the turned his face to give the camera a picture perfect smile with his large wolfish teeth.
"Gods I miss you, James," Sirius said quietly into the night, staring at James' face in the picture. He felt a tightening in his chest and noticed the familiar feeling of tears rushing to his eyes. He put the picture down onto the table and buried his face in his hands, fighting back the stinging tears.
'Why'd you have to die, mate? It's entirely my fault, I made that damn rat your secret keeper. I caused you and Lily to die! What kind of friend was I? I never meant for any of that to happen, James. You were the closest thing I had to a real brother, not counting that Slytherin-boasting Regulus. You were like my other half, Prongs. Every second I spent at Hogwarts was practically with you by my side. Even after we'd graduated, I was at your house more than my own. Why'd life have to turn out like this? Why did you, such an innocent and good man have to leave us all? I haven't been the same since you've gone. I lost my other half that night you died.
I figured I'd try to repay you as best as I could by killing that damn Peter Pettigrew and by caring for your boy. The truth is I'm scared to raise your son. I don't want to mess up and raise him the wrong way, especially knowing you would have done a fantastic job. Somehow thought, he's grown to care for me. He reminds me of you so much, James.. He's doesn't just looked like you but hes got that adventurous personality as well. His trust in people is great, so much like yours. That's what bothers me though, the fact that he always thinks the best of his friends. You did that and look what happened. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to Harry. Keeping him safe is how I plan on repaying you for all the things you've done for me, and the terrible things I've done for you. I will take care of him, for you and for dear Lily.'
Sirius carefully picked his face up out of his hands, feeling the warm trickle of tears drip down onto the table. He wiped his face with his sleeve and took a long breath. He always fell apart like this when he thought of James. Trying to get his mind off of it for now, he picked up the second piece of paper that was under the first. This paper was also a photograph, but its edges were not frayed and the colors shown quite brightly. The picture he held now was fairly recent. Sirius beamed down at the faces of Harry, Ron, and Hermione that lay in his hand. The picture was taken last summer by Mrs. Weasley at the Burrow after they returned home from a great big picnic. The lopsided and askew house was plainly visible in the background. In front of it, Harry stood on the left, smiling cheekily at the camera, looking as if soon his face would fall off. Next to him, Ron stood tall and lanky, his face turned to the side and his mouth was moving, obviously trying to talk to someone outside the frame. Hermione was on his other side, poking his shoulder trying to get him to turn around and face the camera. She gave up after a few prods and turned her own face to the lens, smiling brightly.
"Way to destroy a lovely picture, Ron," Sirius laughed, staring at it again. He turned his attention back to his Godson on the left, feeling a rush of pride run through his vains. That boy had taken to be exactly like his dad, always getting into trouble, taking on dangerous adventures. Sirius couldn't help but feel overwhelming admiration for him. Harry was the closest thing to a son he had and probably would ever have and he hoped Harry looked up to him too.
Sirius smiled at the boy and then briefly looked sideways at Ron. Sirius couldn't lie about the fact that Ron usually acted dimwitted and reckless. He didn't use logic to think things through and he pretty much went along with whatever hare brained scheme Harry thought of. This wasn't exactly the greatest method of going about things. He had hoped Ron would be more responsible to make up for Harry's knack of adventure but that was obviously out of the question. Regardless, Sirius still cared about the Weasley boy. He reminded him of himself in some ways, especially his funny humor and lightheartedness. Ron was sort of like Sirius' nephew. Ron and Harry combined made Sirius feel like he had a family, a true family, not the sad excuse of Bellatrix Lestrange as a relative. The boys were good kids and great people, and Sirius was blessed to have them in his life.
"Ah, but of course, the lovely Hermione Granger," Sirius mused to himself, gazing at the last figure in the picture. He grinned when he watched her continuously try to get Ron to pay attention to the camera, but gave up in frustration, still putting on the most dazzling smile out of the three. Sirius felt a warm feeling crash over his body when he directed his thinking to her.
'Such a smart witch, that Hermione is. Never met anyone like her that cares about school and learning so much. Thank god though because without that girl, Harry would be off doing who knows what. She keeps the boys in line and saves their neck with the spells and information she has up in her head. The girl is mature, way more than the others. She carries herself differently, knowing the terrors and faults in this world, but she doesn't make herself seem vulnerable. She is strong, courageous, and beautiful. That girl…she's bloody amazing.'
Startled at his confession about the girl, Sirius dropped the photograph onto the table in a flash. His breathing was shallow as he shook his head, trying to shed himself of the image of Hermione's face that kept popping into his head.
"She's just a girl," he muttered out loud, his eyes dancing over to the picture once again. He sighed as he picked it up one last time, taking a good look at Hermione. For some reason, he couldn't place her into his makeshift family like he could Ron and Harry. He never felt like Hermione was his daughter or niece. She was wise beyond her years, and in a way, that made her different in Sirius' eyes. In the picture, she reminded Sirius of a young mother, trying to get her children to pay attention to something; especially with the way she seemed to be scolding Ron. Sirius smiled, briefly imagining her reprimanding a young little boy that looked exactly like a small version of Sirius, but with Hermione's brown, honey eyes.
"What the hell am I thinking?" Sirius gasped, putting his hands in his hair. These thoughts were by far too inappropriate and far fetched. This simply could not continue, especially with him living in the same home as her all summer. He had to find a way to stop thinking about her in his new light.
'I've got it! I'll attempt to spend a lot of time with her during the summer in order to learn more about her and her personality. Once I begin to understand her, maybe I can start to look at her as more of my niece. Probably after I spend a lot of time with her, I'll become sick of her and will no longer harbor these odd thoughts and feelings. My physically attraction to her would also die away once I regard her as one of my "family.'
Sirius nodded his head and slapped a hand on the oak table. His plan was foolproof and he knew it. All he had to do was get her alone for a couple hours a few times during every week. He was sure these feelings would disappear shortly after he got to know her true demeanor.
Grinning, obviously satisfied with his wit, he rose from the table and muttered a spell causing the lights to extinguish themselves. He grabbed the pictures off the table and carefully placed them back into his pocket, making his way up the stairs and into his bedroom.
Little did Hermione and Sirius know that in their own separate beds, they both were falling asleep thinking of their plans to befriend the other. Hermione smiled in her sleep and turned over onto her side, dreaming of Sirius divulging the Orders greatest secrets to her over tea. At the same time, Sirus' chest rose and fell with the thoughts of Hermione and himself going on small day trips with the other boys to the park as their own dysfunctional family.
But neither of the two sleeping figures could predict the events that would unfold as the summer wore on.
No one could have ever predicted something so powerful and strong as love to blossom.