Hermione arrived at the Weasley Joke shop at 1:05, she did not wish to be late, but did not want to appear to eager either. She need not have worried though, Sirius was waiting there when she arrived.
'Hi' he came towards her with a smile that she had not seen in a long time. She returned it fully.
'So where does the beautiful Hermione wish to dine this glorious lunch time.'
She giggled to herself, he could be so dramatic at times.
'I'm not fussed, really.'
'is that a muggle establishment?'
She looked up and see the amusement twinkling in his midnight eyes.
'How about a drink in the Leaky Cauldron, I'm not really hungry yet.'
'Great!.' He replied. He pulled her hand out from her coat pocket and held her hand tightly. Her instant reaction was to pull away from him, but then she decided she quite liked closeness of his hand on hers.
They wandered through the streets discussing various light-hearted topics. Hermione laughed at his jokes and he at hers. They entered the Leaky Cauldron and chose a seat in a secluded part of the bar. Sirius made his way to the bar and returned quickly with two mugs of butterbeer.
'So,' Sirius said after taking a large gulp from his mug. 'you're feeling better now.'
'yeah, I am… Thanks for yesterday it really meant a lot to me.'
'you're welcome' he smiled at her.
'Have you heard from Harry yet?'
'No, not yet, I expect his having too good a time to think about his friends back home.'
'yeah, it would be great to get away.' She said more to herself than to him.
'where would you go?' he enquired
'somewhere hot, with a sandy beach, a nice hotel where I can feel pampered and have a nice man to share it with…' Her breath caught in her throat as she realised her blunder. Seeing the blush on her cheeks, Sirius seemed to choose to ignore it. He continued as if what she said had been completely forgotten.
'That sounds great, Hermione. Why don't you do it.'
'No, I don't think so' He smiled, silently thinking about her lying on a beach in a bikini. Her voice brought him to his senses.
'so.' she ventured, trying to change the subject. 'what are you doing with yourself now?'
'not much really.'
'I thought you would be working.'
'Nah, I just can't seem to get my head around it yet.' He took another large swig from his drink.
'McGonagal wrote me at the beginning of the summer asking if I wanted to take up the job of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, but I just don't think I could handle it, really.'
'What are you saying, Sirius you would be great at it!'
'I'm glad you think so Hermione but I beg to differ. I can't handle being around kids.'
'You handled being round me Harry and Ron OK.'
Yeah but that's different, Harry's my Godson, Ron's his best friend and your…well…you know…'
'Old beyond my years and boring' she added staring at her hands. He reached over and took her hands in his and she looked up in his eyes.
'I was going to say adorable'
She felt her heart flutter and realised suddenly she had a huge crush on Sirius Black. Her cheeks turned bright red and she quickly withdrew her hands from his. She jumped up quickly and headed for the door, saying quietly over her shoulder:
'I just remembered… I've got to be somewhere.'
By the time he had jumped up after her she had left the bar and apparated. Sirius Black stood looking at the spot she had vanished from. He did not know why but for some reason he felt rejected and it bothered him much more than he knew it should.