Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter related in this story.
Playing God
Chapter Thirteen
"How'd it go with Hermione last night?" Sirius sighed as he looked across the table at Natalia, not at all surprised that it had taken her roughly 0.3 seconds to ask him about Hermione after taking her seat opposite him.
He raised his eyebrows at her and propped his feet up on the chair between them, lounging effortlessly in his own seat and ignoring Natalia, letting his greys eyes follow the paths of the other customers.
"Hey! My eyes are in this direction!" Sirius failed to turn towards her, determined to keep quiet about what happened between him and Hermione, feeling that it should be kept private; if Hermione had already told her everything or if she wanted to, then that was her call – But Natalia wouldn't hear about Hermione's breakdown from him. "My boobs are also in this direction…" she practically purred and, against his will, his eyes were automatically pulled towards her ample chest which were currently being showcased by the grey T-Shirt that she wearing which announced to the World that she'd been to see the Weird Sisters on their first Tour. "You know that you're gonna have to work on those manly urges if you want a real chance with Hermione."
Even though the words were teasing, Sirius could hear the underlining threat and knew that Natalia would unleash her inner demon if he hurt Hermione in anyway. Was he ready for that?
"You know what, Natalia? I just don't think that I'm prepared to give up my life as a kickass bachelor yet. Maybe in a couple years, but right now? No. I think I'd just royally screw up." Sirius sighed, wondering when the hell his life turned into a drama and pinpointing it as the moment he noticed Hermione Jean.
Natalia had been scrutinising him, her eyes narrowed as she watched him talk and she couldn't help but nod in agreement at his words telling him exactly what she thought of him.
"You're not supposed to agree with me here, Natalia." He sighed as he signalled for Madame Roberta to bring over two drinks of Fire Whiskey, wondering if they had anything stronger. "You're supposed to say 'it's okay, Siri, you'll be a great BF to my BFF'" he shook his head as he stopped talking, Natalia scowling at the voice he had choosing to mimic her, raising his voice by about five octaves.
"But I do agree with you." Natalia scoffed, folding her arms across her chest, "remember Melanie?"
Sirius tilted his head to the side, looking very much like a puppy who had heard an unfamiliar noise and was trying to place it in his mind, "Melanie?" He asked in confusion, his brain working in overdrive to try and find the face that the name belonged to.
Natalia's mouth dropped in open in what could either be disgust or shock, Sirius wasn't sure which. His shoulders rose in a helpless motion, having no idea what she wanted from him at that moment. "Are you being serious?"
"Baby, I'm always Sirius." He couldn't help but snigger at the use of the old reply that he used to use during Hogwarts all the time. The smack across the face was a different reaction then he was expecting. "What on Merlin's Earth was that for!"
"For being an imbecile." Natalia replied, thanking Madame Rosmerta as she placed their drinks down before them, smiling a motherly smile at Natalia and shooting him a look of pure pity.
"Oh, dear – what has young Mister Black done this time?"
Natalia opened her mouth to reply when the tiny bell above the front entrance peeled a beautiful sonnet that Sirius thought was quite fitting for a Shakespearian play and in entered the object of their discussion.
"Hermione!" Natalia shouted loudly, smirking quickly at Sirius before standing and winding her way through the tables to reach Hermione, gently guiding her towards their table. "I'm glad that you could make it!"
"No problem, Natalia." Hermione smiled gently, lowering herself into one of the spare chairs around the table and Sirius couldn't help but watch her intently, making sure that she was okay.
She definitely seemed a lot better, he noticed, the dark rings underneath her eyes had nearly gone from a good long nights sleep that she had been lacking on the Coffee Shop over a week ago. It seemed that sleep, a good breakfast prepared by himself and a return to her normal life was working wonders for her and, even though it had only been a day, Sirius counted it as a victory.
"Speaking of Melanie –" Natalia started, leaning her arm on the table and shifting her body weight so that she was closer to Hermione, "how are things going with Cal?"
At the mention of the guy that Hermione had been on a date with, Sirius felt his heart turn to ice – it was a strange reaction, one that he was uncomfortable with but not one that was entirely foreign. He knew that he was possessive over her and he was willing to stake his claim on this girl before him if it wasn't for his bizarre fear of commitment that he couldn't seem to let go.
He had tried for her. He remembered their date in his front yard, how he had lit all the candles and did some fancy wand work (not the fun kind) to get them all to float for so long, how she had looked in the flicking orange and yellow hued light and the way her lips had felt pressed to his as the rain fell around them and soaked them to the bone. He had felt an overwhelming feeling of completeness – and that was foreign to him – but then, the next day, he had seen that blonde girl that he'd went to school with (Melanie!) and he couldn't not act on his impulses to be with her.
And it had cost him Hermione.
He should be annoyed with himself, but he can't be. It's who he was and, while he has no desire to settle down right now (he was only twenty, he didn't see the need) he still couldn't stand the thought of Hermione doing so with someone who wasn't him.
"Well…I haven't seen him. You know…Since."
"Why the Hell not?" Natalia asked angrily, her eyebrows furrowing to meet in a 'V' in the middle, "he's hot!"
"Natalia, that isn't everything." Hermione said, shaking her head slowly, "there's more to a guy whether or not he's good looking."
"Like whether or not he's faithful?" Even though she was talking to Hermione, she was looking straight at Sirius and he could feel the anger and annoyance in the words.
Before he could retaliate with the well forgotten fact that he and Hermione weren't officially dating, Hermione had already done that for him, shaking her head at her new friend, silently communicating that she stand down.
What followed next, Sirius had no idea. They seemed to communicate with eye glances and head tilts, almost as if they were having a telepathic conversation that Sirius had to admit he felt a bit like they were stepping on his and James' toes.
He imagined that they were silently conversing about him and, rather than interrupt and demand they just speak outloud to his face, he leant back in his chair and sipped his drink, creating their conversation in his head.
Natalia head tilt = you know, he really got it right. He ruined me for other men.
Hermione rapid blinking = Honestly? I can't say I'm surprised…have you seen his muscles?
Natalia eye roll = seen them? Baby, I've felt them. They are really something else.
Hermione head shake = I just don't know what to do…He's so beautiful and so…God-like.
Natalia frantic nodding = Dam right he is! He is a fine piece of ass that you have hooked, line and sinker! Finish him!
Hermione sad sigh = I might just…Do you think I'd mind if I ran my hand up his leg?
Natalia smile and nod as she leaned back in her seat = He'd love it.
However, instead of the small leg that he had expected to run up the seam of his jeans, Hermione stood up and said her goodbyes, leaving the two of them sitting there, Sirius staring after her in complete confusion and annoyance.
"What the hell just happened?" he frowned, his eyes following Hermione's path through the pub until she left, the usual sonnet of the bell ringing around the room.
"What do you mean?" Natalia asked, her smirk fixed in place which, quite honestly, made his skin crawl.
"I mean she was just about to run her hand up my leg which would lead to other, inappropriate things, but instead she just…leaves?"
Natalia dropped her smirk and frowned at him, tilting her drink towards him and leaning her weight foreword so that if he so desired he could look down the cut of her top to see some lovely cleavage.
He so desired.
"Where did you get that idea from?" She asked, sipping some more of the burning liquid that, really, should be downed but he and Natalia were good at handling the drink so that they could drink it as fast as they desired.
"That conversation you just had! That telepathic one! You were telling her how awesome and amazing I am and then –" He was cut off by Natalia bursting into laughter, cradling her forehead in one hand as her shoulders moved up and down – if someone were to look across the room at them right now, they could think that Natalia was sobbing, not laughing at him.
"Oh, you're such a dolt." She laughed, "we weren't talking about you, Sirius…We were talking about Cal."
Cal. Instead of his heart freezing, it felt like someone had thrown a bucket of freezing cold water over him. He knew that he had no right, but he couldn't help how he felt, and he felt pissed off. "Well where has she gone?"
Natalia's smirk once again made its way to her face and she raised her eyebrows purposefully at him, telling him without words exactly where Hermione had gone.
To find Cal Heartway.
Suddenly, Sirius had another name added to his most hated people list.
00000
Hermione entered the courtyard outside of her apartment just as the sun had fully set and night had taken it's place, shrouding the place in secrecy – if someone were to walk past who didn't already know that this apartment complex was here, they would just keep going and that's what Hermione loved about it.
She hadn't felt safe in a long time, but here, in this tiny place, she truly did.
The fountain in the middle of their complex was practically singing as the water spilled into it, lights underneath the liquid shining brightly all different colours and Hermione sighed happily as she sat on the lip of the stone edging, letting her fingers trail across the cool water. It was stunning.
She let her eyes travel to the white marble staircase and silently counted each step – Thirteen.
She had to climb them tonight, go to the end apartment and have a conversation with Cal Heartway. She could quite honestly say that she didn't really want to have it, for two reasons.
1 – She was about to tell him that whatever they had, they weren't going to have anymore because she was tired of playing games with Sirius and that was more than a little daunting considering that she didn't know what they had. It was either going to be embarrassing if he only genuinely wanted friendship, or awkward if he had wanted more.
2 – She wasn't good at confrontations like this – sure, give her a wand and a target and she'll blast right through, piss her off and she knows how to retaliate, she's even learning how to have a proper girl talk but this…Talking to a guy about something she wasn't sure was there? Yeah, that was terrifying. After all it had taken her seven years to tell Ron how she had felt and she hadn't even used words then, just kissed him to convey her feelings.
A part of her just wanted to ignore the whole thing and just not deal with it, but she knew that wasn't the best idea, even if it was the easiest to deal with. With another, less happy sigh, Hermione stood fully and walked to the staircase, her heels clacking on the stone floor and sounding like silenced gunshots echoing around the complex. She grasped the bannister in one hand and started the climb up to the top, stopping once to wave at Remus, who had just walked into the complex and was getting his key from his jacket pocket. He waved back absent-mindedly and Hermione couldn't help but notice that he looked a little haggard and she gave herself a mental note to find out when the next full moon was.
She got to Cal's door and inhaled deeply, taking a moment to structure what she was going to say without making herself look to foolish before she raised her hand, ready to knock on the strong oak that was his front door…
00000
Hermione's eyes peeled open slowly as the sunlight peeked at her through the slats in her blinds and she rolled over in annoyance, burying her head further into the bed sheets, trying to block out the annoying ever-present sun, which just wouldn't go away despite it being the middle of winter.
With an annoyed grunt she rolled out of bed, her bones feeling heavy and they ached, burning painfully right down to her core. She trudged to the bathroom blindly reaching for her toothbrush and going through the motions of getting ready for the day, wondering if she was going to get any interesting customers that day or if it was going to be the same as it always was.
After she'd gotten ready she left her apartment, closing her front door with a resounding click, shooting a glance at Remus' door and wondering if he would turn up at work today or if he was 'visiting his sick mother.'
"So, did you and Cal have fun?" Hermione turned to look at Natalia as she sauntered out of her own apartment, the door automatically closing and locking behind her. "I bet you did. You know, you're a sweet and innocent girl but I bet you're dirty."
"Natalia, do we really need to talk about that?" Hermione blushed, folding her arms across her chest as she began to feel uncomfortable at the change of topic.
Natalia of course didn't look at all effected by the awkwardness of the conversation and shrugged, leaning against the wall next to Hermione, propping the sole of her foot on the wall behind her, the striking difference between the red high heel and the pale beige walls was almost painful to look at.
"You know, I'd love to ride on that gia –"
"Natalia! We didn't do anything like that!" Hermione said quickly, not at all happy with where this conversation seemed to be going. "We just talked."
Natalia shot her a look that, if Hermione didn't know any better, was almost relieved. "You just…talked?"
"Yes! I got to his door and I –" Hermione cut off as he brain went into overdrive, trying to remember the talk that she had meticulously planned beforehand, but she couldn't remember it. The last thing that she had been fully aware off was getting ready to knock and the door and then a sudden warm feeling that started from her toes and then up, enveloping her body in a way that made her feel accomplished, like she'd completed what she set out to do before she returned to her apartment…
That was a protective enchantment. One that she had used regularly while she, Harry and Ron had been on the hunt for the Horcruxes and had been very effective…If she hadn't tried to explain to Natalia what had happened, then she would most likely have not even realised that she'd been tricked.
As the realisation hit her, Natalia whistled low in her throat and gestured with her head towards the staircase and she just knew that Cal was there. Unable to help the instinct, she turned to see him descending the stairs with Caitlyn who Hermione hadn't seen properly since their first introduction when she first moved into the complex almost a month ago, but Hermione didn't really pay her much attention.
Instead, her focus was on Cal and her brain was frantically thinking of why he'd have a protective enchantment and why he'd use it on her.
She tried to stomp down the inquisitive nature that she had that needed to know, but her efforts were futile when Cal flashed her a quick smile and wink as Caitlyn talked a mile a minute to her neighbour, shooting a cheery wave at both her and Natalia before she literally skipped out, dragging Cal behind her.
She needed to see him again, just to know what he was hiding.
Looked like she had a date to make. Pity that it was the wrong man.
A/N: And here's chapter thirteen and I hope that you like it.
I told you that Cal would be important…He's gonna play a much bigger role as the story progresses as will the rest of her neighbours who we haven't seen much of yet.
Kelly
xxx