A/N: You guys make my day so bright by reading and your amazing reviews! Best ever! Enjoy.
"I am preparing you right now Hermione, what is about to unfold is not going to be pleasant for either of us," Remus groaned as he extracted himself out of the messy bed. Hermione watched him walk over to his briefs on the floor and bend over to pick them up, slipping them on quickly. She more than enjoyed the view of his muscular back and the two pink scratches that were fresh—from her just a moment ago.
"Do we have to get up? Can't we just barricade ourselves in here all day?" she joked but the look he gave her told her everything she feared, that Sirius would simply not give up. She rolled out of the bed too, slipping on her tight sweatpants and tank from last night and trying her best to fix her messy sex hair in the mirror by the door.
They both walked hesitantly out to the living room and found Sirius sitting on a barstool with his head in his hands and leaning on the kitchen island.
"Can you make me some breakfast 'Mione," he groaned in near agony, his head hurt so badly.
"I will certainly not make you breakfast after you just barged in on us!" she said shrilly and the noise made him wince.
"Oh, come off it, I waited until you two were finished didn't I?" he looked up at her with his puppy dog eyes and she almost melted. Almost.
"You were listening?" her voice was in disbelief at the flippant comment. He smirked.
"Of course I was, rather nice performance Moony, I'm proud of ya mate," he finished with a heart-stopping smile. Hermione felt like she was going to be sick.
"Sirius Black..you…you perv!" she said in shock, but she was rather overcompensating with emotion. The thought actually made her tingle that he had listened.
"Don't be such a prude Hermione, if you are going to go around calling people perverts, then start with Remus. He listened to us the other night…"
Hermione whipped around on Remus who stood there with a slight blush to his face and gave her a slight shrug.
"You've got to be kidding me…" she said in disbelief.
"Although, kitten, I think if you think hard about it; you'll find that our little romp was more satisfying," Sirius turned the banter back to embarrassing her.
"Pads, I think she was quite satisfied this morning," Remus remarked and Hermione was so frustrated that she just yelled, "Enough you two why don't you just whip them out and be done with it!"
Sirius stood up and stepped out from behind the island, unzipping his fly.
"Dear Merlin, I didn't actually mean…" Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Love, if a woman tells me to 'just whip it out', I don't usually keep her waiting," he winked at her and she groaned in frustration. Remus started laughing and her face fell.
"Oh, I get it, this is just wonderful," she crossed her arms, "This is all just a big joke. Embarrass Hermione. Just sleep with her because she is so pathetic and heartbroken. Make a game out of it…we'll look, you guys won. I'll be taking my things and going," she finished, her face red and starting to become slightly blotched as she held back tears the best she could. Of course she wouldn't be good enough for these two ridiculously gorgeous men, of course.
She hadn't even been good enough for Ron Weasley, she thought bitterly, but as she made to leave the room Remus caught her and kept her in his arms tight around her.
"That is not what this is like Hermione," he said very seriously as she tried not to lose all of herself control and start crying on him.
"Why in the world do you think I am sitting in this kitchen with a bloody hangover and not in my bedroom with some random bird?" Sirius asked, "Because last night I only thought of one girl…"
"We are both only thinking about one girl," Remus finished. Hermione sniffled, getting control of her emotions. She left Remus' comforting embrace and stood in between both men, looking back and forth between them. She still didn't understand.
"Brightest witch of our age, huh?" Sirius smirked. Sometimes she just wished she could throw something at him. But that was what she loved about him, he brought out playfulness in her, she loved fighting with him.
"We've rendered her at a loss for words for the first time in her life," Remus smiled. It was a sweet smile as she turned to look at him. He was strong and steady, and so sexy. Could it be that she was falling for two men, two best friends no less, at the same exact time?
Yes, it appeared so.
"Hermione this is new to us, too, believe me. Sirius and I never go for the same girl at the same time, but when a girl like you comes along and actually wants us, well…it's a game changer," Remus told her gently. There was so much sincerity to his words.
"We don't want to push you too much, but we have loved having you here for the short time you've stayed and we want to get to know you better. Both of us. We know it hasn't been easy with Weasley and everything, but we want you to be able to see what you like in a man," Sirius continued. Hermione was sure her jaw had to be on the floor by now.
"So will you let us try?" Remus asked hopefully for the both of them. He knew that it wasn't going to be easy. But she needed to grow, and she needed to realize that Ron Weasley wasn't the end-all be-all of sex or a relationship or a man. And although he was already jealous of Padfoot, he would rather her choose his best mate if she had to over some other bloke.
But he really hoped she would choose him, in the end, of course. Both of them hoped.
"Let you try…" she repeated, in shock. It must have looked a real sight, she thought, her standing there with sex hair and Remus shirtless and Sirius nearly doubled over with a hangover both trying to convince her that they wanted her equally.
She inconspicuously pinched her thigh to make sure it wasn't a dream.
They nodded.
"Okay, I'm just going to go back to bed and when I wake up both of you will be normal again, alright," she mumbled, walking out of the room. Remus started after her but Sirius called him back.
"Let her go Moony, she'll come around," he laughed when they both heard the door to her bedroom close.
Lupin walked over to Sirius and bent down towards a cupboard under the sink, pulling out a small little vial after a few moments of fumbling and handing it to Sirius who downed it thankfully and his headache was instantly gone.
"Good man," the animagus smiled at his friend, who was looking despairingly around the otherwise empty kitchen.
"I need to go shopping," he sighed.
"So do I, I can't have Hermione walking around my house in those god-awful sweatpants," Sirius said and Remus shot him an amused look.
"You don't like them?"
"Of course I like them but if she is going to wear sweatpants they are going to be fifteen galleon yoga pants that I pick out!" he sighed, annoyed. Remus chuckled.
"This is going to be one hell of a ride isn't it Padfoot?" Remus asked, turning to his friend, who shook his hand slightly sarcastically.
"If we don't kill each other in the meantime, yes it will be," Sirius grinned and went off to take a shower.
00000
Sirius walked slowly down Diagon Alley. The flirtatious looks he was getting from mothers hurrying in and out of shops buying their kids' things for Hogwarts were completely lost on him. He was here for one reason and one reason only – the precocious little swot that was the centerpiece of every single one of his fantasies.
He passed Gringotts and turned left, up towards the ritzy part of the street, he no longer wanted to be in the hustle and bustle of the school supply rush and he made a quick turn into a classy clothing store. He bought a lot of his things here, but today he ventured towards the women's section. He had an eye for what looked good on a woman, and he knew Hermione would look good in anything. If he had it his way, he would have her wearing nothing at all hours of the day.
He picked out a few smart dresses with short hemlines, a pencil skirt that he could imagine her wearing and looking positively stunning in, and a few low cut blouses. He meandered over to the lingerie. The witches who worked there were practically tittering over his visit, but they all knew better than to help him. He was surprised they hadn't called Rita Skeeter yet to catch him buying women's lingerie. But he didn't care if he ended up on the front page of a magazine; he wanted to get Hermione something special.
And something that he would gladly rip off of her. He found exactly what he imagined and made his way to the counter to pay, placing the clothes and the lingerie there and pulling out his money.
"Mr. Black, do you have a witch in your life?" the young blonde asked in a reverent whisper. He wondered absently if he had shagged her, or if it was the other young blonde that worked there.
"It's none of your business, my dear," he said charmingly, indicated that yes, he did have a beautiful witch and it wasn't her. She blushed and started to put the clothes in bags for him.
"Well, she's a lucky girl," the blonde said coolly, a hint of jealousy in her voice – and Sirius knew it must have indeed been her he had shagged.
"No, I think I'm a lucky man," he smirked, paying and taking the bags.
00000
Lupin had gone out to the store and picked up some food and some necessities, before returning to the penthouse and checking on Hermione. He found her asleep in her bed, curled up and dreaming. He knew better than to wake her, the girl had been through so much and he hoped a little of her exhaustion had something to do with their lovemaking earlier. Remus couldn't believe how fulfilled he had felt, and he knew he was already in too deep with this girl. It was only going to get worse. He decided that he needed to be a gentleman and ask for permission to pursue her. But he couldn't exactly go to her father, who was in Australia. After the war ended and Hermione brought them up to speed, they had decided that they rather liked Australia and stayed. So he had to choose the second best alternative—her best friend.
With a quick 'pop' he was outside Harry and Ginny Potter's house, knocking nervously. Ginny answered and gave her former professor a big hug, bringing him inside.
"Harry's at the ministry, is there something wrong?" Ginny asked and he sat down in their comfortable living room. He noticed how marriage suited the red-head; she was beaming from ear to ear.
"I hoped I could talk to him about something, it would just be a minute," Remus said quietly, now wondering if this idea was a good one.
"Let me pop him an owl," Ginny said enthusiastically. She scrawled out a note and sent the little brown pygmy owl perched on the open windowsill away, sitting down to join Lupin.
"It's nice to have company, with everything being so…domestic now," she grinned. Now her socialization was dinner parties held by her and Harry's married friends. They rarely ever had a random day-time visit anymore.
"Can I ask you something, while we wait?" Lupin bit his lip and Ginny nodded, "Do you know the girl who Ron…."
Ginny blanched, "Oh professor, please don't make me tell you…." She begged. He was instantly suspicious.
"Hermione said that you didn't know who it was…."
"Well, Harry and I just found out last night…we went out and saw them…together…" she was still pale as a ghost. Lupin had a terrible foreboding feeling in his stomach.
"I won't tell her. I just need to know," he pushed her and the little red-head cracked, looking up at him with big sorry eyes.
"Oh professor, I'm so sorry…it's Tonks…"
A/N: You know what to do! That little box is all empty and waiting for your awesome review!