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"Watch this one!"
Hermione stopped her mixing of the batter to watch Sirius throw the pan to lift the pancake and flip it mid-air.
She clapped enthusiastically as the pancake landed neatly in the centre of the pan and Sirius gave a bow.
"Much better, it looks like you've finally got!"
"Knew I would!" he said gloatingly as he puffed out his chest. "Thirty-two has always been my lucky number."
Hermione grinned along with Sirius as they looked at the trampled sticky mess that the first and second batter had become, brushed across the floor and bench tops liberally.
"I think I'll leave that there a bit longer," he said after a moment of serious thought. "Shows my progress."
Hermione shook her head but let him leave the mess for now.
"Kingsley don't - I can do this myself -"
"Tonks I think you should wait it's not - Urgh! Black what is this?"
Sirius and Hermione's attentions were drawn as Tonks and Kingsley entered the kitchen aka Sirius' pancake swamp.
Kingsley quickly stepped out of the mess, waving his wand to rid his boots of the clinging half-cooked batter.
"Pancakes?" Sirius offered, flip held in one hand and apron tied around his waist.
"Maybe not," Kingsley grimaced.
"Kingsley?" Hermione brought the Auror's attention away from the congealed goop covered floor. "I have a - another of -"
She pulled out the scroll that Severus had left the night before and watched as the man's eyes lit up excitedly. He took the scroll from the young witch before he hurriedly made to take his leave. He hesitated only when he reached Tonks standing by the door. "Just - Just leave it till I've dealt with this okay?" Hermione could tell he was torn between the importance of the information in his hand and the topic Tonks and he had been arguing upon as they had entered.
He seemed to accept Tonks' mumbled commitment but Hermione could tell by the way the elder witch's eyes did not meet his that, whatever they had been arguing upon, Kingsley had just lost.
Tonks remained in the doorway only until they could hear the front doors shut above them before she left the kitchen, breakfast obviously forgotten.
Harry was pushed out of her way as she pulled open the door and dashed back up the stairs.
Harry just shrugged at the odd behavior of the pink-haired woman as he blearily rubbed his eyes and stepped into the kitchen.
"Pancake!" Sirius shouted as he dislodged a pancake from the pan throwing it over his shoulder and towards the morning's new addition.
Harry had to stumble forward to reach the pancake in time and only just managed to catch it in his outstretched palms.
He held it for probably close to a total of three seconds before his eyes widened seemingly only just realizing it was hot and let it drop from his hands to join it's predecessors on the floor.
Harry rubbed his abused red palms as Sirius offered an apologetic shrug.
"Whoops, guess I should have thought that one through more, eh?"
Harry scowled a little at being taken advantage of in his half-sleep morning state but the scowl disappeared as he gave a funny little jerk, his expression turning into one of confusion.
"Um Sirius?" Harry asked his godfather whom had already turned back to attend to his next weapon.
"I think I'm stuck," Harry squirmed as he tried to prize his feet from the gooey trap set to his ankles.
"Come on pancake," Sirius teased as he led Hermione up the stairs. "Let's get you cleaned up."
Hermione scowled as she pulled another lump of batter from her hair.
"This reminds me awfully of another pancake disaster..."
"Mmm..." Sirius reminisced. "Blueberry weren't they?"
"You're unbelievable." Hermione shook her head and reached out for the doorknob to enter her room.
"No my dear," Sirius corrected as he pulled her hand away from the door and led her with a hand behind her back further down the hall. "You're unbelievable. Trusting a Marauder twice with pancakes? Shame, shame." He shook his head as he looked at her with pity. "And we're using my bathroom - it's bigger!"
As he opened the door and led her inside Hermione released that he may have been joking about the pancakes but he definitely wasn't joking about the bathroom. The elegantly decorated cream décor stretched across the walls of the room, a bath as large as the one found in the Prefects bathroom was situated in the centre of the floor.
"Ohhh ... can I please take a bath Sirius?"
He chuckled behind her, "Ummmm... No. I don't think so. I was just going to let you wash your hands really -"
She slapped his arm playfully as she moved over to where the towels were stacked in a cupboard against the wall.
She picked out a large blue fluffy one before bending down to test the taps around the bath. She settled on the pink and cream colored bubbles that smelt like strawberries and stood back up to wait for it to fill.
"I'll go pick out some clean clothes for you," Sirius suggested as he turned his back to leave.
"Ok but make sure you grab the either the green or the grey jumper there the only ones that still -"
"Still fit - I know, I know." He waved at her over his shoulder before leaving her alone to her bath.
The bath was full within a minute later and so after removing the sticky clothes she sunk gratefully into its depths.
She sat for a while with the tops of the bubbles tickling her chin, just enjoying the feel of the water as she swayed her arms underneath the surface.
Deciding that she really had to wash her hair she sunk beneath the surface to immerse herself completely.
She scrubbed at her curls before washing the rest of her body likewise. The water felt wonderful to her aching breasts which had been annoying her gradually for the last month and so she stayed in the water, resting her head against the ledge.
It wasn't until the bubbles had almost gone that she really started to worry.
Where was Sirius?
She hadn't expected him to be more than five minutes. In truth, he had rarely ever left her side longer than five minutes since he had come back. But judging from the cooling water she would have to guess that it had been more than half an hour since he had left.
She lifted herself out of the tub as carefully as she could, not wanting to risk slipping around such a mass of water, with no one to help her should she fall, and picked up the blue towel that she had left near the bath's edge.
She wrapped the towel around her body but it draped obviously over the swell of her stomach and so not wanting to risk running into Harry or Ron should they be in the hallway she took the door to the right of the one that she had entered, that would take her into Sirius' room.
She barely registered the forms standing on the other side of the room as belonging to Sirius and Remus before the former had raised his fist back and slammed it squarely across the face of the other.
Remus clearly not ready or expecting the attack fell onto the floor with the force of Sirius' fist.
"What the fuck Sirius?" Remus yelled indignantly from the floor as he wiped away the small drop of blood that had escaped the corner of his mouth. Both men remained oblivious to their new audience.
"How could you? Twenty fucking years you mourned for her and I'm gone for five bloody minutes and somehow you managed to fuck it up more royally than I could have ever imagined.
"Are you happy, Remus? Do you even know what you have done?"
Sirius shook his head and cut off Remus before he could even answer.
"No! You just go and knock-up my cousin -"
"If you would just listen to what am I trying to tell you -"
Remus stopped as he registered a small gasp coming from the opposite end of the room.
Both men turned to see the young woman, water dripping from the wet hair that hung around her shoulders and hands gripping tightly at the blue towel that wrapped around her.
Remus eyes locked with hers. Slowly, ever so tortuously they traveled down. She could see them lock with the swell of her stomach hidden beneath the towel. And then they moved, with the same tortuous speed down to the tops of her legs. It took her a moment to realize but the way the towel folded around her left a gap through which her wounds were evident - judging by his fixed gaze.
He seemed emotionless, if not slightly shocked, as his eyes absorbed her but she knew this evaluation of his mood was disastrously wrong as soon as his eyes found hers again. The pain they held was unbearable to witness. It made you want to look away as if the hurt that afflicted them could somehow touch you too, if only you would let it.
"Her - Hermione!" His voice was strained and his hands that held his body off of the floor trembled beneath him.
"Tonks is pregnant?"
Sirius looked at her, his eyes apologetic as he confirmed her question without words.
She nodded her head as if the information had settled something for her; and it had.
"I'm sorry," she looked at Sirius, but really spoke to both of them.
"Look after Harry -" her voice hitched in her attempt to remain together. "I just can't stay here anymore."
"Hermione!"
The cry had come from Remus but she shook her head, brushing his words away from her, trying not to let them touch her. She was doing this for him, couldn't he see that?
Now that she had looked away from him, she couldn't seem to meet his eyes again, she couldn't risk her composure, or she'd never be able to walk away...
And thats just what she did.
She left.
The room. The house. Her friends. The man she loved...
She left them all.