I own nothing.
CHAPTER 6.
They arrived in the court yard of Grimauld place, and silently made their way into the house, It wasn't until they where all safely inside that the exclamations began.
"That was bloody brilliant." Tonks shouted. "I never knew you could fight Mione!"
"Are you all right my dear, disgraceful to treat a girl that way...", Mrs Weasley fussed, looking over the ruined fabric, and the skin it exposed, worridly.
Ginny and Fleur were torn between worry and glee, but sided with glee, both asking her to teach them to punch like that. Hermione just grinned.
"I doubt im the best person to teach you, I think I broke my hand." She said, examining her now swelling right hand. "His face was a lot harder than Draco Malfoy's." She added attempting to lighten the mood, it didn't work.
"WHEN DID YOU PUNCH MALFOY?"
Was Ginny's impassioned question, so loud that it brought the other visitors to the house into the kitchen where he women now stood, to see what was happening.
"Third year." was her short reply, "He was being rude about Hagrid." she explained.
"Stupid ferret," was Ginny's response, "And don't worry about your hand, Charlie can fix it, he's fixed enough of my bones from falling of brooms to be a healer by now." she joked.
Hermione gave an enquiring look to who Ginny explained, "Mum wouldn't let him play with the dragons until he could fix what he broke." Hermione chuckled throatily.
By this point everyone was in the kitchen, Ron once again being conspicuous only by his absence. Hermione got the feeling he was avoiding her after the kitchen ordeal on her first night, even though she had told him she didn't blame him for his reaction.
"What happened?" asked a worried Mr Weasley, as he and the others gazed in alarm at the torn and mussed Hermione, who was cradeling her injured hand. She crossed the kitched, fetching a tea towell, and some ice, which she gingerly applied to her aching knuckles.
They re told their story, in which Ginny made Hermione sound like some sort of assassin with hidden ninja powers, it was received with mixed reactions, from Fred and George' incredulous, "You punched him?" to Sirius' proud, "That's my Girl." With a kiss on her forhead, causing her to blush. And Lupin's worried, "We shouldn't have let you go alone." glancing worriedly at tonks when he thought nobody was looking.
While Bill moved to make sure Fleur was all right, Charlie pulled Hermione to the center of the room where he sat in an old kitchen chair. He pulled her to stand between his thighs, making her flush pink, her hand now closer to his eyelevel, gently grasping her injured hand between his two larger calloused ones. After a few seconds of gentle prodding, he exhaled a low whistle.
"Blimey Mya, how hard did you hit him? You've shattered your wrist, as well as having broken your hand. I wouldn't be surprised if you've also cracked a few knuckles." He finished, to the stunned silence of the rest of the room, who were all looking at the small chit of a girl, with hither to unsuspected respect, and maybe eve a little fear from the twins.
"That would explain why it hurts so much," Hermione said dryly, wincing as Charlie straightened her fingers, before standing in order to cast the healing charm.
Bill snorted, "Hurts so much? You really are something else Mi." He said, shaking his head in amused wonderment.
"Fire cracker." Came from, surprisingly, a proud looking Mr Weasley, "Atta girl." he said, making Hermione blush crimson, and causing Charlie to chuckle deeply, his breath fanning gently across her exposed skin from their close proximity, this just made Hermione blush even more, something that didn't go unnoticed by Ginny, who one again wore that same smug expression on her face.
"Episkey." Charlie muttered, and Hermione felt a sharp stab of pain in her wrist as the bones righted themselves, causing her to gasp, and draw tears to her eyes. As soon as the pain receded, it was replaced by vicious pins and needles, that made her dance on the spot in discomfort.
"Ahhhhh, Pins and needles, pins and needles." She sang, making the others laugh.
When they too passed, she flexed her fingers experimentally, and grinned. No pain.
"Thanks Char." She said, grinning up at him, wondering when exactly she'd given him a nickname, she decided not to think about that one too closely.
"No problem princess," he chuckled, "Can't do anything for the bruising i'm afraid, you just have to let it run it's course, and the swelling should go down over night. Maybe with some ice." he grinned down at her.
Then, again she did something that surprised them both, it seemed to be that sort of day, she thought wryly, as she threw her arms around Charlie's neck in a hug. He was taken aback, and froze for a second before hugging her back, she could feel his deep chuckles reverberating through his chest.
She parted come what awkwardly from him, blushing from embarrassment, luckily however, the others had moved on to talk of the success of the days shopping trip so she was off the hook. Un benownst to Hermione however, Ginny was looking from her, to Charlie, and back again, wearing a smile reminisant of the cat who got the cream.
The 'girls' had started a game of 'what was the favourite thing you chose' amongst themselves, which lasted until Hermione was about ready to Avada herself.
Bill turned jokingly to her, putting on a mock serious face.
"And what was the favourite thing you chose Mya?" he asked, making the men chuckle, and the women turn to her expectantly.
Hermione grinned roagishly, "Newest edition of Hogwarts a History." She said happily, sighing in over exagarated contentment. Then men about her chuckled affectionatley.
"She's a lost cause." Ginny said dramatically, making Hermione clutch her heart in mock anguish, and the others chuckle again.
"Zat man in ze book shop, ee would av given you ze 'ole shop if you ad asked 'im." Fleur said teasingly, making Hermione blush, and grumble under her breath;
"Only because he was undressing me with his eyes." This got some angry growls from those around her.
"He would have given her more than the bookshop." Tonks said crassly, wiggling her eyebrows, making hermione squirm uncomfortably.
"He didn't do anything, i would have hit him with my new books if he'd tried." Hermione said brightly, trying to eleviate the grim atmosphere that had settled over the men about her.
"Shame, he was very handsome!" Tonks said, shooting a subtle look at Charlie from the corner of her eye.
"Was he?" Hermione asked, sounding genuinley curious. She was shocked to discover that she couldn't remeber what the man looked like at all.
"I honestly didn't notice!" Hermione admitted sheepishly.
The men all laughed, grinning happily, Bill actually kissed the top of her head affectionatley, the 'girls' all shook their heads sadly.
Hermione dedicated the rest of that day to helping the twins get things ready for their joke shop. There was loads of paper work that needed to be done, and both of the boys used their most precious puppy faces to inlist her help.
She even, much to some people's shock, helped iron out promblems they were having with murchandice. However, after an accident with a punching telescope, that narrowly avoided her face once, and managed to get her full in the stomach a second time, she decided to call it a day.
She went to the room she shaired with Ginny, intent on having a bath, that gun powder got everywhere. She showered quickly, using her new vanilla scented things, and magically dried her hair and body.
She pulled on her underware, wrapped herself in a towel, and went back to the room to find some clean clothes, only to find Ginny lying on her bed, crying quietly. Hermione ran to her side, sitting on the edge of the bed and touching her shoulder gently.
"What's happened Gin?" She asked urgently. She knew it couldn't be anything overly serious, or the order would be aware, and the house would be in turmoil by now.
"I...I just go-got a letter fr-from Dean." She half sobbed, hiccoughing into her pillow.
Ahh, Hermione thought.
"Did you break up?" She asked sympathetically. She would be having words with her year mate, that was a very cowardly way to end a relationship. Most un-griffyndor.
Ginny sighed, and sat up in bed. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy, and her lips were swollen from crying.
"No. he didn't break up with me. He was saying how much he missed me."
Ohhhh. Now Hermione understood. This was a Harry thing.
"And you feel guilty that you don't miss him back." Hermione supplied sadly, as Ginny nodded, and started to cry again, loudly.
"Why can't he like me back Mi?" The usually vivacious girl whispered, she looked so sad, and Hermione understood they were no longer talking about Dean Thomas.
She moved more squarly onto the bed, wrapping her arm around the younger girl, letting her cry into her shoulder.
"With Harry, you have to give him time. He watched you grow up, he will realise that you're not a little girl aymore. Untill then just be youself, he'll come around." She murmered soothingly, Ginny siffled and hugged Hermione closer, letting her tears fall.
They stayed this way for some time, the only sounds being Hermione's soothing humming, and Ginny's soft sobbs.
"Will you end things with Dean?" Hermione asked quietly, pushing some hair from the crying girl's puffy face.
Ginny nodded, "I'll wait until I see him, you shouldn't do something like that in a letter." She mumbled, her crying finally starting to slow.
Hermione nodded proudly at her younger sister, giving her a reasuring hug.
Thats when they were interrpted by a knocking, and the door opening, It was Bill.
"Hey girls, mum says dinner is..." He trailed off, looking at his baby sister, who had obviously been crying for some time. His jaw twitched, and he stiffened.
"What's the matter sweetie?" He asked softly. Bill only ever called Ginny or Hermione sweetie when something was wrong, or if he was slightly tipsy.
The girls looked a eachother, before Ginny mumbled something unintellegable, the words 'letter' and 'Dean' stuck out though.
"Dean? Thomas? That idiot in Ron's year, what did he do to you? I'll kill him." Bill growled, cracking his knuckles threatningly.
"Who are we killing?" Asked Charlie from the doorway, he had come to see what had taken his older brother so long, on seeing his crying baby sister in the arms of his Mya clad only in a towel however, he froze.
Hermione blushed with the new arrival, suddenly very aware of her state of undress.
"Who are we killing?" He asked again, his voice much darker this time.
Hermione sensing thing getting out of hand decided to intervene, "No no, it's nothing like that. Right Gin?" She appealed to the young girl.
"No. Dean didn't do anything, well, except miss me." After finishing this scentance, Ginny burst into tears again, causing Hermione to pull her back into her lap, and the two eldest Weasley boys to shuffle uncomfortably, neither of them liked crying women, even if it was their little sister.
They both looked at Hermione, their eyes spoke of desparate confusion. Hermione shook her head at them reasuringly, mouthing to them that everything would be fine.
"C'mon hun," Hermione whispered to Ginny, helping her up, and going into the bathroom to help wash the tear tracks from her cheeks, "Let's go have some food. You're mum has some chocolate cake down stairs, that always makes things better." Hermione teased.
She leaned in to whisper, "Plus, I'm only wearing a towel, and I think it's making your brothers uncomfortable." she said making Ginny give a watery chuckle, her eyes flicking to her brothers, who were staring determinatley at the floor.
She grabbed a handfull of clothes, and took them with her into the bathroom, changing as quickly as possible into some jeans and a jumper.
Both weasly men looked at hermione in gratitude as they walked downstairs, but weather it was for helping their little sister, or saving them from having to do it, she wasn't sure.
After the incident in Diagon Alley, Hermione had, with Sirius' permission, transfigured the empty bedroom next to her's into a sort of gym. She had conjured some large punching baggs, and gloves for her to work with.
The room became a way for her to relieve stress more than anything else. Fleur had also suggested some more excersize to help with the pent up veela energy, she and her sister Gabrielle both did gymnastics, but seeing as that was slightly outside of Hermione's range of ability, she had opted for this instead.
She had sound proofed the door, and walls, not to mention getting rid of the heavy curtains, so that the room was now bathed in sunlight. She had also replaced the moth eaten carpet with simple wooden flooring, and had placed a mat under the punching bags, for safety.
She had also fiddled with her muggle ipod, so that it now ran off magic. Therefor, often when she was practicing boxing, or kick boxing she was in a world of her own, with her headphones in, and music blaring at unreasonably loud levels.
This was how she almost killed Bill and Charlie one afternoon. They had come looking for her, and had found her little den, where she was doing some pretty vicious kick boxing, getting rid of her pent up energy, and also venting her frustrations, Ron was still beig a prat. She had her head phones in, music blaring, and was completley in the zone.
The two eldest weasley boys, having no idea what an Ipod was couldn't fathom why she wasn't answering them when they called her several times.
In the end, Bill had placed his hand on her shoulder, scaring the living daylights out of her.
She swung around, catching him behind the knees, knocking his leggs out from under him. She realised who he was just as he landed in a pile on the floor at her bare feet, much to Charlie's raucus amusement.
"Oh my goodness, Bill, I'm so sorry." hermione gushed, pulling her headphnes out, and going to kneel by a dazed looking Bill.
"Are you ok?" She asked, offering him her hand. He just looked at her stupidly, mouth gaping.
"I think I broke him." She said to a laughing Charlie, looking away from Bill for a moment, her hand still out stretched towards him.
"Nahhhh you didn't." charlie reasured, just as Bill grabbed hermion's hand, and pulled hard, sending her careering towards him. She landed on his chest, hard, with a loud 'ooof' as the air left her lungs.
Bill was smirking up at her, mirth dancing in her eyes.
"Hey, not fair, you took me by surprise...both times, i didn't hear you." She explained, holing up the Ipod for their inspection.
Bill and Charlie just stared at it non plused. She got to her feet, using Bill's shoulder as leverage. Pulling Charlie over to stand next to his brother, she put a white ear bud in one each of their ears, and pressed play.
The both yelled, and jumped about a foot in the air, identical looks of shock on their faces as they stared at the tiny contraption. Bill took it in his large hads, and started pressing buttons.
"Hey you changed it!" Charlie cried in amazement, Bill just stared perplexed.
It was all to much for Hermione, who was crying with laughter, using the punching bag to hold her up because her leggs had gone weak, she tried to compose herself, only to fall apart again as soon as she looked at the two brothers.
Both men looked at her, pulling the ear buds from their ears, and staring at her, identical evil smirks on their faces.
Before she had realised what was happening, her bare feet had left the floor, and Bill and Charlie had her suspended between them. Bill holding her ankles, and Charlie with his hands under her arms.
"Hey, boy's come on, put me down." She complained, squirming as they carried her from the room, towards supper, which had been the reason they were looking for her incidentally.
"If you don't stop squirming we'll drop you." Bill warned as they caused quite a stir, by entering the kitchen, The two eldest Weasley boys, with a messy looking hermione between them.
"Or you could just put me down." She grouched, the brothers laughed, and proceeded to throw her back and forth between them, like the most absurd game of catch ever. By this point, the whole kitchen was watching them in confusion.
"Ok, ok." Hermione aquiesed through giggles, just as she'd been cought by Bill, who hung her upside down, keeping a firm grip on her waist.
"You're sorry for laughing at us." Bill teased, throwing her back to Charlie, who cought her, and looked at her expectantly.
"Bill," hermione began, "I am very, very sorry I beat you up." she finished, giggling like a maniack as Charlie threw her over his shoulder, and proceeded to laugh himself silly at the look on his older brothers face.
"Oi Bill, she beat you up?" George asked deightedly.
"She, little bookworm, tiney-mione, beat up you, Bill, oldest Weasly man, big bad curse breaker?" Fred intoned, not sounding in the least surprised, but extreemly gleefull.
Everyone looked at hermione in amazement, and Charlie set her onto a chair, Sirius ruffling her hair fondly as he passed. Charlie handed her the Ipod back before sitting down on her one side, Bill on her other, still pouting good naturedly.
Hermione huffed, as she blew the lose strands of hair, that had escaped her pony tail, from her face. She wrapped the cord of her head phones about her Ipod, which she was still holding, then looked about the room, to see everyone staring at her.
"What?" She asked, looking at the dumbfounded expressions about her.
Everyone mearly shook their heads in disbelief, going back to their food.
Hermione dedicated the next morning to beginning her summer homework. She was lying on her stomach on her bed, surrounded by her arithmancy equasions, vaious parchments and quills. She kept unconsioulsy folding and unfolding her ankles in the air behind her, while she chewed over one particulaly difficuly problem.
Once again she had her magicly fixed ipod and headphones on, she flicked her wand at it every so often, to change the song. She was dressed in a soft t-shirt dress and leggins, that were comfy enough for her to sprawl across her bed in.
She had been working for quite some time before a distraction came, in the shape Charlie. She didn't notice him inicially, her nose being hidden in a book. Charlie leaned his shoulder against the door frame, crossing his arms over his boad chest as he watched her work.
She had the cutest scrunch in her nose when she concentrated, and Charlie followed the trail of a lose curl where it ran down the thin column of her neck, twisting mesmarysingly over one delicate coller bone, and dissapearing into her cleavage. He tore his eyes away the black curl quickly, feeling his ears burn. Watching enraptured as she brought the quill to her full lips, trailing the feather across the curve, and then along her jaw. He had to fight back groan.
Deciding it would probably be best to make himself known, before she did anything else in her innocence that pushed him over the edge. He knocked the door again, louder this time, but still nothing. He tried waving, walking into her room, and towards her on the bed. In the end, he lay a hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly, but smiled when she looked up at him, pulling out a headphone as she did so.
"Hello, sorry Charlie, I was miles away." She grinned ruefully, moving to sit up. Once she was upright she stretched, removing the kincks her muscules had created from remaining still for too long. Charlie's mouth went dry, drinking in her curves as she arched her back, completley unaware of what she was doing to him.
Once again dragging his eyes up to her face, he forced a smile. "I was just wondering where you had locked yourself away all morning." Charlie moved across the room, lying back on Ginny's bed, staring at the ceeling. He had chosen to help his self restraint, by putting some space between himself, and the little witch who had him so captervated.
"Arithmancy." Hermione grinned, shuffling the parchment in front of her, "I've just finnished though." Pulling out her wand, she sent all of her work and equipment back to her trunk, then mimicked Charlie's possision, lying back on her own bed, looking at the dusty ceeling.
They lay in silence for a while, before Hermione turned onto her side, watching his profile. She wanted to talk to him. The silence was by no means uncomfortale, but she wanted to engage with him, have his attention. She felt shallow for admitting it to herself, she had never wanted attention from a boy before, not like this anyway.
'But perhaps' said a small voice in her head, 'that was the problem, they were boys, Charlie is definatley a man'. She blushed to herself, her eyes running along his tall frame, up jean clad musculed thighs, along the solid abdomen and broad shoulders. The way he lay, with his arms folded behind his head, made his t-shirt ride up a few inches from the waist band of his jeans, her eyes followed the 'v' of muscules leading down... There was no denying that he was a man, she thought sadly.
What must he think of her, a little girl chasing after him. What must he see when he looked at her, a fake? Just her hiding behind veela charms. Had she been an annoyance to him for two years? He had kept writing back though, hadn't he? And that couldn't just be out of politness, or could it?
Her eyes had glazed over as she thought this, her face descending into a mask of sadness. Charlie tilted his head to look at her, noticing her expression, he frowned.
"What's the matter, princess?" His deep voice was quiet, but it pulled her from her thoughts, her eyes re-focusing on him. She visibly shook herslef, contorting her features into a grim approximation of a smile.
"Nothing." She said, a little too brightly. Charlie wasn't conviced.
"You know you could never lie to me, sweetness, even by letter..." He said pointedly, his eyes stubbornly refusing to leave her face. It made her want to hide away, pull the bed clothes over her head and scrunch her eyes shut.
She sighed, "I know." was her reply, it was honest at least, but she couldn't quite bring herself to elaborte.
"Princess!" Charlie reprimanded gently, getting up from Ginny's bed, and coming over to her. She watched him, struck dumb by his sudden movement. As he came towards her, she could feel her mouth drying up, and her palms slick with sweat.
He lay out next to her, wrapping an arm under her shoulders, and sliding her to rest against his chest. Hermione had stopped breathing, frozen in shock. She could feel every one of his sculped muscules through his t-shirt. His body heat burned through her clothes, and into her skin, and sweet mother of Merlin did her smell delicious.
She inhailed subcontiously, her body slowly starting to relax against him, resting her cheek against his warm chest, one of her hands lying over his heart. He had brought one hand to play with her curls, and her eyes closed in bliss, almost purring with contentment.
She could feel Charlie's deep chuckle through his chest as she sighed in happyness. "That's better," he smirked down at her, "Now princess, tell me what's wrong." He whispered softly, his other hand coming up to lay over her own, where his had clenched into a fist on his chest. He prised her fingers open, and held her hand.
She looked up at him, knowing he wouldn't like what she was thinking, bu also knowing that he wouldn't give up until she told him. She sighed in defeat.
"You're not sick of me, are you Char?" She asked quickly, exhaling in a large gust. Her voice was small, dejected, and she refused to look up at him, closing her eyes tight, and keeping her cheek on his chest.
"What?" He demanded, putting a hand under her chin, and pulling her up to look at him. He looked angry, and she cringed slightly, regretting her decision to tell him. When she flinched, the anger seemed to drain from his face, and he pulled her into a bone crushing hug, his face pressed into the curls on her neck.
She paused for a momnt, shocked, before hugging him back, relieved that he didn't seem to be sick of her. He was quite content to hold her after all, wasn't he?
"Why would you think that?" He urged her, not moving from the hug. She could feel his breath tickle her throat, and shivered.
Hermione just shrugged half heartedly from her place in the hug, but he felt it, and grimaced. Pulling back from her, but keeping his arms around her, he deliberatley looked into her eyes.
"I could never get sick of you, Princess. Don't ever think that." He beseeched her, sincerity pouring from his every word. She looked into his eyes for a moment longer, before smiling at him sadly. She still couldn't bring herself to belive him, and she wasn't sure who that was hurting more, herself or Charlie.
Seeing that he was about to reasure her more, she moved back down to his chest. This time, she wrapped an arm tightly around his waist, hugging him to her. It effectivley killed the words in his throat.
He stared down at the girl holding him, her eyes had shut again, and her eyebrows were creased. He brushed a few lose curls from her face, startling her into opening her eyes, and looking up at him. As their eyes met, her's widened, and her lips parted slightly in shock. A beautiful rose blush spread across her cheeks, and his heart felt like it would stop in his chest. It was dificult to breath, his throat closing, and his lungs refusing to cooperate.
She blinked, breaking the spell, averting her eyes, hugging herself to him anew. He just held her to him, his arms snaking about her small form, closing his eyes.
When Ginny walked into her room just before dinner, she was shocked to see it occupide at first. but after taking a closer look at her brother and best friend, she smiled knowingly to herslef, and backed sliently from the room.
Hermione was re-visteted by her old nightmres again that night. She and Ginny had gone to bed along with the others, at around half past ten, or so. She had showered, and dressed in white silk shorts and camisole, returning to find ginny already asleep. Hermione had followed soon after.
She was running behind Harry, down a dimly lit corridoor, towards a circular room. There was a lot of fashing, and the rom span around her, making her dizy, and hiding the exit from them.
They walked through a silent room filled with large tanks, swiming in them, where what looked like octopie, large and flesh coloured, with long tentacles.
"Brains." Luna said dreamily, and hermione watched in horror, as the tanks shattered loudly, and Ron was submurged in slow motion. The brains ensnaring him, constricting about his form and burning his exposed flesh, and Hermione was helpless to stop his agonised screams.
"Wingardiem Leviosa." She removed the brains, and dream Ron stopped screaming, then vanished.
The brain room morphed into a long room, filled with tall, stacked shelves, and Hermione was running for her life once again, shouts all around her.
She watched as a tall death eater grabbed Ginny about the waist, lifting her from the floor. Ginny screamed, terrified, and hermione hexed the death eater away, but there was nothing she could do to break Ginny's fall.
Ginny was curled into a ball on the floor, whimpering, her face contorted into a mask of pain. Hermione dashed over to move her from the line of fire, into safety.
Dream Ginny morphed into dream Luna, who was lying motionless, deathly pale, with a trickle of blood running from one corner of her mouth. Hermione ran towards her, doging and weaving beneath hexes and jinxes as she went, stunning s may as she could.
Once she was sattisfied that Luna was well, the dream morphed once again.
She stood in the centre of the vail room, atop a stone daias, locked in vicious combat with Dolahov. The order members had arrived, and there were battles raging all around her.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Bellatrix creeping towards Sirius, raising her wand. Hermione swiftly silenced Dolahov, and sent a stunner at Bellatrix, which was deflected, but allerted sirius to her presance. Effectivley saving his life.
Turning back to Dolahov, she was just fast enough to catch his wand slashing silently through the air towards her, and feel a vicious stabbing agony rip through her chest, before she fell to blackness.
She sat bolt upright in bed, sweat pouring off her, shaking and wide eyed. Hermione stayed frozen, sitting upright in her tangled sheets, eyes squeased shut, waiting for her breathing to return to normal.
Sighing, she got from her bed, waving her wand and silently changing the sweat soaked sheets for fresh ones, before leaving her room, Ginny still sound asleep, and heading to the kitchen.
Silently, she contemplated her nightmares, as she mad herself a large mug of tea. They had been a common occurance since the beginning of the summer, and it was now rare for Hermione to get a full night's sleep.
She had just filled her mug with boiling water, when her veela hearing picked up a movement behind her. Twirling in a flash, she had her wand pressed against the sneaks throat, fatser than he could blink.
It took her a few seconds to calm, and recognise Sirius, who had raised his palms in surrender. "Sorry, Sirius." Hermione mumbled sheepishly, lowering her wand, and shooting him an apologetic look.
Sirius shook his head, "I shouldn't have frightened you. Excellent refelxes by the way, you'd make a fair seeker, you know!" He grinned down at her, she just smiled tiredly back, and returned to her tea.
Sirius meanwhile had conjured a bottle of fire wiskey and a glass, and was setting up camp at the kitchen table. Once Hermione's tea was done, she went over to join him.
"Couldn't sleep?" He asked her gently, pouring a decent measure of ogdens into her tea, making her chuckle quietly.
"Nightmares." She said, subconsiously rubbing the place on her chest where Dolehov's curse had hit her.
Sirius' eyes folowed the progression of her hand, and he frowned.
"I never did thank you for saving my life, you took a nasty curse for me that night, choosing to save me instead. I don't know if it was very brave of you, or very stupid." He confided in Hermione, survaying her over the top of his chrystal glass, eyes narrowed in thought.
Hermione just shrugged, "You would have done the same." She said, sipping at her tea, and rolling her eyes when she tasted enough wiskey to burn her throat.
"Hmmmmm, doesn't change anything Kitten, thank you." He raised his glass to her, a gesture she smilingly returned with her mug, making the animagusgive a deep, rough chuckle.
"So, couldn't sleep?" Hermione re-iterated, a cheeky smile on her face. Sirius flashed his marrauder's grin at her, a smile that had no doubt melted the heart of many a woman, it just made Hermione snicker.
"Hmmmmm." He said, not answering the question. hermion didn't need and answer, she knew Sirius suffered with nightmares, much as she did, only his where much worse. Plagued by his days in azkaban, and the constant lonliness, cooped in this awfull house, she could perfectly understand his nightmares.
Instead of saying anything, she merely reached for the bottle of fire wiskey, and added more to both of their glasses, toasting him before she drank.
Sirius' deep chuckle reverbrated about the deserted kitchen, and it was the ony sound either of them made for the rest of the night.