Chapter 14 – Turning Away the Past

Hermione woke up early the next morning and smiled at the gorgeous, well tousled man next to her. She really could get used to waking up like this. With a small sigh, she disengaged herself and climbed out of bed. As she swung her legs over the edge, she winced a bit. Maybe their first time last night had been a bit too rough. She was definitely in need of a hot shower. A half hour later she was busy drying her hair when a warm pair of arms circled her. Smiling, she turned and kissed Sirius awake. He was still naked and starting to rise and Hermione was having second thoughts about work when he pulled away from her.

"I love you Hermione, but if you are going to get to work, I'll need to get out of the way. What do you like to eat before work?"

"Oh, I suppose you're right Sirius. I really do need to get ready. I usually just have a roll or porridge and some tea."

Sirius yawned and nodded while he stepped around her to the toilet. Once he finished, he made his way to the kitchen, stopping on the way to pull on his trunks. He had her tea and porridge ready when she came out of the bedroom looking beautiful in a navy blue pantsuit accented with a gold blouse and earrings. They sat down together while she ate quickly and they talked about their plans for the day. Sirius found himself happy and relaxed, thinking this was something he could get used to. 'When did you become so damn domesticated Black?' he wondered. Then Hermione smiled and kissed him goodbye and Sirius had his answer. He cleaned up the kitchen, filled Crookshanks' water bowl and went to find his clothes. A few minutes later he tiptoed into Grimmauld and was on the way to his room when he heard Ginny's voice as she stepped into the hall.

"Oh stop being ridiculous Sirius. You're not sneaking in. So you spent the night at Hermione's flat. It's not like you're the first. Maybe the infamous Sirius Black will be able to keep up with her appetite. And I don't mean food."

"Really Ginny? I don't want to have this conversation."

Ginny laughed. "I can't believe it. I made Sirius Black blush!"

Sirius groaned and waved her off as he continued up the stairs to shower and find clean clothes.

Sirius spent most of the morning painting. He finished his ship painting and decided to get out for a bit. As his stomach rumbled, he decided on the Leaky and apparated to the pub. Tom waved at him as he came in and Sirius ordered the daily special, a large Cornish pasty with a pint. He settled at the bar and began to chat up the old man. The Leaky felt like home and Tom had known Sirius since before he had even been legal. As they talked, a pair of hands came around to cover Sirius' eyes and a high, lilting voice demanded him to guess who it was. Sirius had no idea and was mildly annoyed that he could no longer see the food he was trying to eat. He removed the hands and turned around to see another old acquaintance from before Azkaban.

"Shelly. Hello. It's been a long time. How are you doing?"

"Oh Sirius! How come you didn't guess?"

"Shelly, it's been twenty years. I don't remember voices after that long."

"Hmm, well maybe we need to get reacquainted Sirius. Eddie Long is throwing a party tonight. You remember Eddie. He was a bit of a nutter, but Jenna wrapped him up about eight years ago and she settled him down a bit. Has a job in maintenance at the Ministry now. Well Jenna's shipping the kids to her parents tonight, they've got three now if you believe it, and is throwing a bash for all the old crowd. I'm sure everyone would love to see you. We could make a fun night of it. The Corgan twins will be there too. I'm sure you remember them."

Sirius suppressed a groan. He did remember Jenna and her crowd. It sounded like they had settled down some, but not much. He'd been to quite a few of her parties. Now though he found himself with no desire to go back to that. He looked at Shelly and gave her his non-committal half smile.

"Thanks Shelly, but I've got plans tonight. Still trying to get sorted after my return. Tell everyone I said hello. It was nice to see you."

Shelly pouted and moved in closer to start rubbing up against Sirius and he gently pushed her back.

"Sorry Shelly. Not anymore. Have a good time tonight."

Shelly mumbled something unflattering, turned and headed straight out the door. Sirius sighed and returned to his lunch. Then he looked up and saw Tom was looking at him strange.

"Problem Tom?"

"No, guess not. Still, you sure you're Sirius? From what I remember of you, that little bird and you would've been finding a room upstairs by now."

"I've changed Tom. Survive two wars and come back from the dead and it changes you."

"Really? Or is it some pretty birdie you already got wrapped up?"

"She's not a pretty birdie Tom. She's a brilliant witch and that's all you need to know."

Tom let out a low whistle and stepped back with a shake of his head. Sirius quickly finished his lunch and exited the Leaky with his mind reviewing the afternoon. He should have realized that even after being in prison and then dead for close to seven years that there would still be plenty of people who remembered him from his youthful days. He'd need to talk to Hermione and warn her. Even if he had finally grown up, his past still had a way of coming back around.

Sirius returned to Grimmauld and started working on a new painting. His visit to the National Gallery had given him a lot of inspiration and before he realized, his light was fading. Harry arrived home and he and Sirius sat down to talk before dinner. Sirius was glad that he and Ginny had settled down more and seemed to accept the situation. Then, in the middle of dinner Harry dropped his own bombshell.

"Sirius, I need to talk to you about the inheritance you gave me. I know you said you don't care, but I do. You've given us the house, which is wonderful and we appreciate it, but there is still the matter of the Black family vault. Because it's one of the oldest vaults, the name never changed, just the ownership. When I took possession of it, I spent a good bit of time with a couple other Aurors cleaning it out. You need to know that we cleaned out a lot of dark items. They were probably worth a lot to certain people, but I let the Ministry take them. Even after the cleaning, there is still a lot in there. There were a couple pieces of jewelry that were completely clean that Ginny has, but other than that I haven't touched it. I still have my parents' vault, which is plenty for when we want to splurge. Usually our monthly expenses are more than met with my salary since we're not extravagant people. So, I arranged to sign the vault back over to you. The change goes into effect at midnight."

"Alright Harry, I guess what's done is done. I'm glad you cleaned it out, I can only imagine the shit that was in there. And I'm happy Ginny has some pieces she likes. You know if you ever need anything, you only have to ask. Honestly, when I said I didn't care before that was before I fell in love with Hermione. Or at least when I was in denial that I was falling in love with her. Now that we're involved, it's good to know that I can splurge on her if I wish."

Harry seemed happy with that response and the rest of dinner proceeded normally. That evening Sirius found it difficult to sleep in his distressingly empty bed. 'She really has done you in old boy' Sirius thought to himself. Eventually though sleep claimed him. The next morning Sirius woke once again to an owl tapping on his window. The note the owl brought was brief: Dinner tonight, Chinese takeout, my flat, 6? Love you. – H. Sirius' response that he sent back was equally brief: Wonderful. Love Chinese, but can't wait for dessert. –S. Sirius smirked as he sent the note back. 'That should keep her distracted today' he thought.

Sirius dressed and went down to breakfast. He ate quick and then went to grab his supplies. He'd been thinking the night before that he needed another change of scenery and had an idea. With his easel and bag packed, Sirius left Grimmauld and headed to the Tube stop. He rode a fair distance before disembarking and making his way to street level. The stop that he had picked was near the river and within sight of several historical stops. Sirius found a good viewpoint and setup his easel. He spent the next couple hours working on the basic details until he reached the point where he couldn't go further while standing on a muggle street, so he packed up and returned home. Once he was back in his garden studio, Sirius began mixing his paints and potions and started working on the details that would bring the painting to life. Shortly after five he stopped and cleaned up before going back upstairs to change. As he made his way downstairs, Ginny was writing in the library and saw him walk by.

"Good night Sirius. I guess we'll be seeing you at lunch tomorrow. Make sure you set a timer or mum will send someone to collect you."

Sirius groaned and exited the house. Instead of apparating straight to the flat, he walked a few blocks over and found a bakery he remembered from his wanderings. He picked up a small cheesecake and then found a safe point to apparate to Hermione's flat. He had barely knocked when Hermione opened the door and beamed at him. He took a step in and took her in his arms in one swift movement. As she kissed him hungrily, he began to tighten his arms around her. Then he remembered the cheesecake he was carrying that was now tilting at an odd angle.

"Oops, one second. I'm about to drop the cheesecake."

Hermione pulled away with a gleam in her eye. "Cheescake?"

Sirius handed the box to her and Hermione opened it to sniff.

"Ooh Sirius, how did you know? Cheesecake is my second weakness only behind chocolate."

"I didn't know, but duly noted now."

Sirius followed her into the flat and saw that she already had Chinese boxes spread on the dining table. The smell wafted to him and his stomach rumbled. Hermione had put the cheesecake in the kitchen and returned with drinks. Sirius pulled her in for a brief kiss before turning back to dinner. They spent the first couple minutes reviewing the dishes and Sirius took some of everything. He hadn't had Chinese since before Azkaban and everything looked delicious. As they started to eat, he inquired about how her week had gone.

"Well, the reorganization of the department is about done. The two new managers that are reporting to me are going to be busy for a few weeks getting everything shuffled. I'll be available to help smooth over any bumps, especially in dealing with other departments. I'll have plenty to do, but it won't be near as overwhelming as the work has been for me lately. We've already had one positive report as a result of the new department split. The Welsh dragon reserve has been trying to setup a meeting with me for weeks about dragon breeding regulations and I haven't been able to move them up the schedule. Well, they got their meeting this week and are quite happy. It helps that our department has increased 30% in two weeks."

"Well, that should be a good start to justify the expenditure. Where did you get the new staff?"

"Mainly transfers from other departments. Our department is one of the more highly placed so it's a good place to move for those looking for upward momentum in their careers. Everyone in the department works hard, but it's never boring and there's a lot of opportunities to learn. The departments we stole them from now have to find replacements, but that's where the external HR department comes in."

"It really is amazing the complexity of the Ministry and how all the departments relate. I probably never would be able to tolerate it."

"No, you're an artist Sirius, a free spirit. You're not someone who can sit in an office underground all day. We're definitely opposites that way. So, I've had enough work for the week, what have you been doing?"

"Painting a lot more. Now that I know my paintings have an audience, it motivates me. Also, our trip to the National Gallery was inspiring. It's given me a lot of ideas. I'm still helping George on Wednesdays. It's only one day a week, but I like the change and it's good to get out and see friends. Which reminds me, I need to talk to you about something."

Hermione cocked an eyebrow and waited while she slurped lo mein noodles. Sirius was trying to gather his thoughts but watching her lips pull in the noodles was extremely distracting. He refocused on his kung pao and decided he should just go for it.

"So, I was in the Leaky yesterday for lunch. I needed to get out for a bit and the Leaky is like home. Tom's known me practically since before I could see over the bar. Anyway, an old acquaintance found me while I was there and invited me to a party with a crowd that I used to hang with before Azkaban. I declined, but this acquaintance was rather insistent, annoyingly so. I had to be quite firm and Tom was shocked that I didn't jump at the opportunity. I also saw another old friend a couple weeks ago in Diagon Alley, someone else who remembered me from a different lifetime. I'm telling you this so that you know that I've changed now, but not everyone knows. There will probably be more old friends who try to hook me up. I'll put them off, but it's still going to happen and I want you to be prepared."

"I understand Sirius. I'm assuming both these old friends are witches?"

Sirius nodded and looked at Hermione concerned. She leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth.

"Sirius, we both have history and past lovers. Your list is of course quite a bit longer, but I'm not going into this blind. I know who you are now. You are not a passing fancy. I am yours and yours alone as we discussed. Of course, if one of these old friends comes around when I'm with you, then I may have to play the clingy, possessive girlfriend. I hope you're alright with that?"

"More than alright. When Shelly tried to force herself on me I was repulsed. After having you I can't go back to that."

Sirius leaned over and gave her one more long kiss before they finished the last of the Chinese. Then Hermione waved her wand and cleaned up the trash before standing up and taking Sirius by the hand to the living room. Hermione made her way to a record player and put on some slow rock music. Reaching for Sirius' hand she pulled him to the middle of the room as they began to dance. Sirius reveled in the feel of her softness pressed up against him as they moved to the music. Being at her side was like finally coming home and never wanting to leave. They danced through several songs without saying a word, just enjoying being together. As the fourth song started, Sirius bent his head and began to nuzzle her neck gently. Hermione turned her head to the side and Sirius began to trace small kisses along her neck as Hermione softly moaned. Then she looked up and kissed him while her hands began unbuttoning his shirt. As her delicate fingers traced across his chest, Sirius reached and gently pulled her sweater over her head. Underneath he found a light blue silk bra, which he quickly removed so that he could began lavishing her chest with kisses while Hermione ran her fingers through his hair. When he worked his way back up to her mouth, Hermione reached for his belt and zipper. She carefully undid his pants while their tongues entwined and his hands pleasured her breasts. Then he reached down and unzipped her skirt, which fell to her ankles, leaving her clad in only light blue knickers. As she finally dropped his jeans, Sirius pulled Hermione tightly to himself and began grinding his erection against her as she moaned.

"Gah, Sirius, please. I need you."

"I'm yours love, all yours. Tell me what you want."

"I…I want you to take me over the couch right now. Pleeese."

Sirius smiled and quickly yanked her knickers off. He slid two fingers through her folds, causing her to shake, clutching at his chest. Then he let go long enough to drop his trunks and free his straining erection. As he continued kissing her, he moved toward the couch and then turned Hermione around so that she was bent over the arm. He massaged her ass as he leaned over and began kissing her shoulder and on down her back. As he kissed, he began to press into her. When he had fully sheathed himself in her hot core, Sirius let out a long breath before he began to slowly build a rhythm. Each downward stroke caused Hermione to give a small yelp as he hit her most sensitive areas inside. Then he would draw back and she would groan in frustration.

"Sirius love, please harder. I need to cum so bad."

Sirius smiled and began to increase his rhythm until he was pounding her so hard that she had to dig her fingers into the couch to keep herself in position. He worried that it was too much, but then Hermione began to scream as her climax built and demanded him to keep going. Sirius panted and kept his rhythm as he felt his own release fast approaching. Then Hermione threw her head up and arched her back as her scream drowned out his grunting. He bent over and kissed her open mouth while maintaining his thrusts and continuing her climax for several minutes. Finally Sirius felt the wave hit him and he released himself into Hermione as he panted her name and called to whatever deities could hear him. They quaked together for several more minutes before his sight returned and he could breathe again. As her muscles finally relaxed, he slipped out of her and a flood of fluids flowed down her thighs. Using the last of his strength, Sirius picked her up and carried her to the bedroom where they collapsed and dozed.

An hour or so later Sirius gradually came to and found Hermione staring at him. He pulled himself to her and kissed her soundly.

"Hermione love, I think you're going to be my undoing. I'm completely spent, but I still want to do nothing but stay here all night and make love to you in every way we can imagine."

"Sirius darling, I'm all yours. Anything you want to do to me I can't deny."

Sirius pulled her closer and began to trace kisses around her ear as he felt himself start to rise again. Then he remembered something and pulled back to look in her eyes.

"Hermione, I'm feeling hungry again, be right back."

Sirius rolled off the bed as Hermione groaned. He wasn't gone long when he returned with the box of cheesecake and the bottle of wine. Hermione was parched and grabbed the wine immediately. She downed a gulp and smiled at her lover. Sirius opened the box and dug a fork into the cheesecake, which he then turned and fed to Hermione. While she settled back to finish her bite, her eyes closed in appreciation and Sirius took a bite of his own. Then a screech and a thud interrupted them as Crookshanks landed on the bed and began to nose the box. Sirius looked at the cat and shook his head. Setting the box down, he got off the bed, picked up the cat and deposited him outside as he closed the door.

"Sorry Crookshanks. Afraid you're not welcome mate."

Hermione laughed as she took another bite of cheesecake and Sirius went to join her. They sat and fed each other for a few minutes before Hermione set the box aside and pounced on Sirius. As she kissed her way down his body, she ended at his throbbing cock and smiled as she looked up at him wickedly. Then she stuck out her tongue and delicately licked around the head. Sirius almost came right then, until he saw Hermione doing something else. She reached over and took a bite of the cheesecake in her hand, which she then brought to his cock. Looking up at Sirius, she wrapped her hand around his shaft and began coating him in their dessert. Sirius groaned at the sight. In all his experiences, no one had ever done anything like this. Once she was done, Hermione carefully began licking her fingers. Unable to take anymore, Sirius grabbed her hand and sucked a finger into his mouth. He carefully cleaned all the cheesecake off before moving to the next finger and sucking that one until it was clean. As he finished with all her fingers, Hermione gave him a gentle push and Sirius settled back on the bed as she returned her attention to his now quite painful erection. She dipped her head down and began to lick the cheesecake off of him. The feeling was exquisite pain as he begged her for release. Seeing his need, Hermione started taking him deep into her mouth. She was only able to get about two thirds in and then she started moving up and down. After several passes, she pulled back and gently swirled the head before then blowing on him and taking him all again. When she reached down and began to squeeze his balls, Sirius finally lost it and filled Hermione's throat with his essence. She slurped and took it all down as Sirius grunted and quaked under her. Once he finished, she crawled up and settled herself on his chest.

"Mmmm. I think cheesecake may be my new favorite now."

Sirius groaned and couldn't believe his cock was twitching again as he pulled her to him.