A/N: It's been such an overwhelming response to the first chapter! Thanks everybody for taking the time to read and review, you've helped push this story forward and inspired me to observe people enough to gain some insight on what makes people go the way they do.
When you combine two such volatile personalities into the same household, you're bound to get some kind of sparkage. I've learnt that best from the summer I've just had. I'm so excited to start developing this story from what happened over the summer, so you kitties will just have to stick around to see what happens! The best plotlines sometimes come from real life and you have to admit, you couldn't even make some of these things up.
Allez, allez!
Chapter Two
Sunlight streamed in from between the heavy velvet curtains on Hermione's four-poster bed. The gap between also revealed a pair of slightly hairy ears just visible over the mountain of pillows Hermione had kicked to the foot of the bed.
"Miss? Is Miss awake?" a creaky voice like a rusty hinged asked.
"Just barely Kreacher. Good morning," the brunette mumbled, extricating herself from beneath the sheets. The silk felt warm against her skin, and her hair made the pillows crackle with static electricity.
"Master Sirius would like you to join him for breakfast," Kreacher said, parting the curtains and rustling through Hermione's closet.
She let out a yawn and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. The thick carpet felt delicious against her soles and she wanted to sink right in, but breakfast called and so did her rumbling stomach. She was distracted however, by the house elf making free with her wardrobe, laying clothes out on a chair.
"Kreacher, it's alright. I can dress myself for breakfast," she said, putting a hand on Kreacher's shoulder to stop him. His ears twitched up at her. "As you wish miss. But Master Black requests that you honour your agreement and dress appropriately for breakfast," Kreacher said before bowing out of the room.
Sirius and his blasted rule. It's been a good day, a whole 24 hours since he had agreed to let her stay at 12 Grimmauld Place and he was already making sure his one and only house rule was being followed. Still, it was more than fair for letting her live there practically rent-free, with just a few Galleons every week for shared necessities.
She made her way to the open wardrobe, where her things had been neatly put away and picked out a clean pair of jeans and a shirt. Never mind shoes, those would have to wait for later.
Sirius was already on his second piece of toast when Hermione came down the stairs. She was in jeans and a shirt, bare feet and rumpled hair. To most, she would have been the perfect image of a freshly-woken female, still mussed from last night and none too fresh. She was probably grumpy too. So if she was this unpleasant, why on earth did she appear to be so damned tasty?
Who was he kidding, even fully clothed she was a dream to look at. He'd always known she was attractive, but that was much after he had discovered what fun she was to be around and talk to. It was a dangerous combination, at least to Sirius. He preferred his women vapid and shallow, but those were exactly the things she was not.
She was the best of both worlds, he had long come to conclude.
It was just damned lucky he was bored and had come out to Shell Cottage for a visit to the seaside and that she just happened to need a new place to stay. Bill and Fleur were happy to see him, as was the baby but when they mentioned that Hermione was upstairs packing up her room he was up like a shot. At first he was reluctant to enter, especially after her shoe nearly clipped him in the face. But when he poked his head in to have a look, the sight floored him. Brown hair turned light from the sun, a healthy glowing tan and a figure that gave away daily swims and a healthy appetite – everything combined was a sight to behold.
He'd made up that stupid underwear rule mainly to stop himself from even thinking of going there. She was much younger than himself for starters, and wouldn't that just be the hiding of a lifetime if Ron, Harry or Mrs Weasley found out? No, he needed to keep the boundaries firmly in place, but he still wanted her close enough to enjoy her company.
But he was Sirius Black – perhaps if he applied himself he could coax her over that line he'd so firmly planted between them. Then if she did come to him, it would be fair, fair game.
"Morning Granger. Breakfast?" Sirius asked, pulling a chair out for her. She sat, and pulled her plate closer. Breakfast was a delicious spread of muesli, fruit and crumpets. Pots of coffee and tea sat steaming on the end, both with the matching Black crest.
"And good bloody morning to you too Sirius," she said, taking crumpets and the little pot of jam. He chuckled. Oh how he loved cranky women in the morning. They were just far too much fun to tease and prick sometimes.
"What have you got planned for today?" Sirius asked. Hermione spread some jam on a piece of toast and bit into it, all the while looking over at Sirius. "I'm technically still on sabbatical at the moment, so I suppose nothing really. I don't have to be back at work for at least a week yet," she said.
"Great!" he said, tilting his chair back and slapping the table. "As soon as you're fed and caffeinated you and I are going to sort this house out. I don't trust Kreacher not to hurt himself helping, so!" he began. He tossed a mandarin into the air and caught it. "You and I are going to put a skylight in the foyer and a proper chandelier in the dining hall. It's been ages since my mother passed on to the hereafter, so why should we live in doom and gloom?" he said.
"Sirius, I don't know the first thing about building anything!" Hermione exclaimed.
"That's where you come in. You read the instruction manuals, I'll handle the tools. Hurry up, we need to pick stuff out," Sirius said, tapping the back of her chair as he passed behind her to get cleaned up. Hermione just leaned back and held her coffee cup closer, trying to inhale the fumes. Sirius must be out of his mind, what the hell does he know about building anything, she thought to herself.
"Sirius, I really don't think this is a good idea. Why can't you just hire a builder to do it for you? What if you break something? Saint Mungo's can only take so much crazy in a day!" she called out, to nothing in particular.
"I have to get my hands dirty doing something!" was the only answer she got, yelled from upstairs. A jolt went straight through her when she put that sentence together. The builder fantasy was not lost on her, especially when she pictured Sirius emerging from some scaffolding wiping sweat off his forehead whilst in suspenders and trousers…
Oh dear god, when had she started turning into her mother? The most that she could hope to happen was that he would accidentally catch his thumb instead of a nail head. But being Sirius, he would probably accidentally saw through an appendage and then Saint Mungo's really would have a field day with them.
She took one more long sip of her coffee and sighed, putting her mug down. Obviously her summer was far away from over, and she knew that things could only get interesting from here.
A/N: Chapter two! I know this is starting to seem a little bit random but I'm just making this is up as I go. And we've been through this before, things always seem to write themselves right. Hope you enjoy!
