Chapter 18 – Meet the Parents
Friday night arrived and Hermione was home early, shortly after five, to prepare for dinner at her parents'. Sirius found himself unusually nervous, despite Hermione's reassurance. At five minutes until six, they apparated to the Grangers' backyard and knocked on the sliding door. Sirius felt a bit unsure about coming in from the back, but Hermione assured him that was the usual way she arrived. Jean was waiting and welcomed them in with hugs for both of them. Hermione led him through the kitchen and into the den, where Phil Granger was waiting. He stepped forward to hug his daughter and then took Sirius' outstretched hand as he cast an appraising eye over his daughter's boyfriend.
"Dad, this is Sirius Black. Sirius, my father, Phil Granger."
"Good evening Mr. Granger. It's good to meet the man who Hermione has spoken of so fondly."
"Please, it's Phil. Jean has said you prefer Sirius? An unusual name, although perhaps not in the magical community."
"Yes, please. I'm not a formal person. My name is not terribly unusual, many of the old magical families used astronomy when selecting names. Of course, my mates in school never gave it rest. 'Why so serious Sirius?', that sort of thing."
Phil Granger gave a big booming laugh and clapped Sirius on the back.
"Indeed! I can imagine a few of my mates would do much the same. I guess some things about boys are the same, magical or muggle."
Sirius chuckled, glad to be off to what seemed to be an auspicious start with Phil Granger. Jean came in to offer drinks and Sirius accepted the same scotch Phil was drinking. Soon the four of them settled into the comfortable den and Hermione began to detail her parents on work. Then Phil turned to Sirius to inquire about his painting.
"So Sirius, Jean tells me you're a painter. She says you appear to be quite good."
"Well, the one painting she saw was only half complete. I have sold a few of my works and just negotiated a new contract with the gallery that commissions my work. Due to my pure blood status, I received a bit of a write up in the Prophet about my paintings and it generated an increase of traffic at the gallery. The proprietor increased the prices and I negotiated a 2% commission decrease. It may not seem like much, but every bit counts."
"Hmm, interesting. I can't say that I'm that well versed on art. That's more Jean's area. Still, I'd like to see some of your work sometime. Do you think you'll be able to make a good living at it?"
Sirius saw where this line of questioning was going and felt Hermione shift in her seat next to him. It was only natural of course for a father to inquire after his daughter's boyfriend's prospects and Sirius wanted to reassure him.
"Well, being an artist doesn't bring in a regular salary, but so far in the last two weeks I've made a bit over 500 galleons. As you are aware, the exchange rate is about 5.2 pounds to the galleon, so that gives an estimate on how I'm doing so far. Of course, I'm still early in my career, so hopefully those numbers will increase. Also, I have my inheritance. I am the last heir of the ancient house of Black and our vault was established in Gringotts 417 years ago. While I don't plan on delving into it on a regular basis, it is there if I ever feel the need to splurge or if an emergency comes up."
Phil sipped his scotch and smiled at Sirius while Hermione gave his knee a gentle squeeze. Downing the last of his drink, Sirius decided to make one more point.
"Of course, that is just taking into account my own finances. Hermione was doing quite well financially with her position at the Ministry before I came along."
As Phil finished his drink, Jean announced she needed to finish a few last details for dinner and gestured for Hermione to join her. Sirius and Phil began discussing London when Sirius mentioned that he had recently been spending more time among muggles and found the city fascinating. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Jean had almost everything complete, but was glad for a few minutes with her daughter.
"Well Hermione, Sirius seems to be getting on well with your father. I must say he has been quite forthright regarding his financial status. You know that isn't the most important thing, but it does ease a father's mind. For me though I have to ask, how serious are you two? He's only the third boyfriend we've met and I know you've had quite a few."
Hermione was momentarily shocked by her mother's comment, as well as the cheeky grin her mother gave her.
"Mum! You act like I've had a boyfriend for every month."
"Well certainly not that often, but I'm not as delusional about you as your father. So, how serious are you two? Don't ignore my question."
"Fine. Sirius and I are quite attached. Honestly, I haven't been this attached since Ron, even more so than Lee. He's a lot more than appears on the surface. He invades my thoughts and distracts me at the oddest times during the day and he makes me want to call in sick in the mornings. And you know how dedicated I am to my work."
"Hmm, yes. He must be quite spectacular in the bedroom then." Jean smirked at her daughter.
"Alright, that is definitely a conversation we are not having mum. Here, the potatoes are mixed now."
Jean laughed at Hermione's attempt to change the subject, but decided to not let up quite yet.
"You don't have to be embarrassed dear. We're both grown women and after what I saw when he first came out in his trunks, I must say I understand the attraction. Are the tattoos from prison? Oh, and that smile of his. He certainly knows how to pour on the charm."
"Fine, yes, the tattoos are from prison. And the bedroom isn't the only room he's spectacular in."
Hermione smirked at her mother and grabbed a bowl of vegetables as Jean looked at her a bit shocked. Hermione took the vegetables to the dining room. When she returned to the kitchen, her mother gave her sly smile as she shook her head. A few minutes later the four of them were enjoying dinner while Phil kept up a friendly banter with Sirius and Hermione, with Jean interjecting occasional comments. The initial nervousness had passed and the evening progressed well as everyone relaxed.
After dinner, they returned to the den for after dinner drinks and the conversation turned to a subject that Hermione had been hoping to avoid. It came up after Phil turned to Sirius to refill his drink.
"So Sirius, Jean told me you spent a number of years in prison. She said you were framed and eventually cleared. So all the charges are off your record?"
"Dad, I don't think…"
"It's alright Hermione, your parents have a right to know. I would ask the same if I was in Phil's position."
Phil smiled at Sirius' comment and then Sirius began the full story of the Marauders and how four friends had become three when one betrayed them. He continued on to the story of the Shrieking Shack and how the truth had finally come to light. He gave them many more details than Hermione would have preferred. Her parents were especially shocked to learn that one of the four friends had been a werewolf and the other three had trained to be Animagi. Hermione contemplated stopping him at several points, but after she had retrieved them from Australia, she had promised her parents to never hide any of her magical world from them again. Phil downed an extra shot of scotch as Sirius finished his tale and sat back to assess the Grangers' reaction. It was Jean who found her voice first.
"Wow. That's quite a tale Sirius. Five years ago I may not have believed you, but after everything we learned when Hermione brought us home after the war, I guess nothing is out of the realm of possibility. Hermione, I see you look upset. Why?"
Hermione sighed and Sirius put his arm around her reassuringly.
"I just didn't think Sirius would tell you everything. I know it's still difficult for him. So I have mixed feelings. I worry what you and dad think. And I worry that it's painful for Sirius and I especially worry that I think he's been doing well so far this evening, but now what will you think of him?"
Tears welled in her eyes as Hermione buried her face in Sirius' chest. He held her tight and looked concerned. Finally, Phil spoke.
"Pumpkin, it's okay. I can't say that it's easy, but I appreciate Sirius being straight with us. We told you to never hide your world from us again. It's obvious how much you care for each other and that's the most important thing for a father. It may take some time to fully comprehend, but it's no worse than a third of what we learned after we came home from Australia. I do wonder if I can ask something Sirius?"
"Of course."
"When you transform, can you do it whenever? Does it hurt? How long does it take?"
"It doesn't take long and it doesn't hurt. Would you like to see?"
Hermione gasped.
"Love, would you mind? If your parents want to see, I'm willing."
Hermione and Phil both nodded and Sirius stood up and stepped to the side of the coffee table. Taking a moment to focus, Sirius began to crouch and then his body started to change. Within ten seconds a large black dog stood where the man had once been. The dog bounded across the room and put his paws on Hermione's lap before licking her face. Hermione laughed and pushed him down. The dog returned back across the room and began to stretch. Seconds later, Sirius stood in front of them again. He looked at Phil, whose mouth hung open. Jean stared at him, suddenly pale. Sirius went to sit next to Hermione and Phil found his voice.
"Well. That was certainly impressive."
Jean nodded in agreement and, after a couple minutes of silence, Hermione changed the subject back to the safe area of her mother's fundraising for the local children's hospital. When Hermione finally declared that it was time for them to leave, Jean gave them each a long hug. Then Phil came over and hugged his daughter before turning to Sirius and clapping him on the back. As he turned around, he gave his daughter a warm smile with a bit of a nod that told Hermione that he approved. She smiled back and wiped away one tear as she and Sirius exited to the backyard and apparated back to the flat.
Upon arriving home, Hermione gave Sirius a long hug. He could sense tension in her and started kissing her neck to relax her, before pulling back and looking in her eyes.
"I think it went well love. Not easy, but your parents are good people. They love you and I think they see we're in love."
"Yes, I know. I just wasn't prepared for them to see you as Padfoot. I thought mum might pass out."
"I had to be honest. It's important."
Hermione nodded and gave him a small smile before letting Sirius wrap her in his arms again.
With the Grangers' approval, the last potential hurdle to their relationship seemed to be past and Hermione couldn't believe how happy and comfortable life felt. She was happier than she had been since Ron and realized that with her and Sirius there was much more to the relationship than she had ever had before. Maybe it was just that she had grown up, but whatever it was she found herself rearranging her priorities.
As they moved into their second week living together, both Hermione and Sirius discovered small annoying habits of each other. For Sirius it was Hermione's need to always clean up and organize, even lining up his painting supplies in the corner studio he had designated in the living room. For Hermione, it was the way Sirius folded towels and the fact that he left dark hairs in the shower rather than rinsing the shower out. Each of them stayed peeved for a couple days, but Hermione insisted they talk it out. Sirius didn't have much experience talking during his relationships and tended to be moody so he grumbled and tried to ignore the issues until Hermione cornered him. Once they each realized how petty the issues were, they came to an agreement on each item. Hermione agreed that as long as Sirius kept his studio corner neat, she wouldn't touch or organize it despite her feeling that his layout was illogical. He in turn would correct his towel folding and rinse out the shower. They both relaxed once they worked the issues and promised to not let things fester in the future. Then Sirius kissed Hermione, flicked his wand to close the curtains and pushed her onto the couch for a fantastic round of make-up sex.
That Friday they were back at Grimmauld Place for dinner with Harry and Ginny. James was growing and changing daily. Sirius held him and smiled foolishly as the baby gurgled at him. When Quisi announced dinner, Ginny put the baby in a cradle in the corner. Sirius had tried to convince her that he could hold James and eat one handed, but Ginny had given him a look that said otherwise and he was smart enough to know when not to argue with a Weasley woman. They talked well past dinner, updating each other on news from the past weeks. Hermione relayed the story of her mother's impromptu arrival at the flat and seeing Sirius for the first time when he was wearing only his trunks. Sirius didn't think the story was very funny, but Ginny thought otherwise as she howled. Harry and Hermione also talked about the news from their departments. Harry had heard a lot of second hand rumors about the department restructuring and Hermione straightened out some of what he had heard.
Around eight Ginny declared it was time to bathe James and put him to bed. She insisted that Sirius and Harry stay and talk while she and Hermione went upstairs. The men talked for a while, but then it seemed to be taking a while so they went upstairs to check on Ginny and Hermione. When they arrived at the nursery, Hermione was walking with James as she tried to get him to sleep. The baby was tucked under her chin as she cooed softly to him. Sirius stood in the door watching in awe as he felt himself become aroused. Ginny had finished cleaning up in the bathroom and she came to stand next to Harry and Sirius. Seeing the look on Sirius' face, Ginny smiled and whispered.
"She's going make a great mother someday Sirius."
Sirius just nodded.
A few minutes later James was asleep and Hermione put him in his crib. The four friends returned back downstairs and Hermione and Sirius left a couple minutes later, apparating back to the flat. As soon as they arrived, Sirius was on her. Hermione didn't object as he carried her to the bedroom and took her quickly and passionately. His eyes were on fire and she wondered what had come over him. Then she came and all rational thoughts left her.
They spent the rest of weekend sightseeing around London. They decided to use a muggle tourist guide and go to all the top recommended spots. Sirius was surprised at how little he knew about the city after all and Hermione rediscovered places she hadn't seen since childhood. They were giddy and in love as they cherished each minute together. Hermione realized on Sunday evening as she prepared her clothes for the next day that she hadn't thought about work once the entire weekend.
The next week settled into the same pattern as the previous. It was wonderfully routine and Sirius found that he had reached a point in life where that was welcome. On Tuesday evening Hermione came home just after five and settled in to watch Sirius as he finished a painting. He could tell she had something on her mind and as soon as he finished, he turned and looked at her appraisingly.
"Alright love, what is it? I can tell you have something on your mind, but I can't determine if it's good or bad."
"You know we well love. I'm not sure good or bad either. Maybe a bit of both."
Sirius raised an eyebrow in question and waited for Hermione to continue.
"I received an invitation today to a function happening in five weeks. It's the annual spring gala and fundraiser for St. Mungo's charitable fund. As an assistant to the Minister and the head of a high profile department, I'm basically obligated to accept. I've been before and I can't say it's much fun, but it is the place to be seen and make connections. I know how you feel about such things and I'm afraid you'll hate it, but I also don't want to go alone. Also, if we go together, then there will be no more denying our relationship. The Prophet will have a seizure over us."
Sirius sighed. "Well, it sounds like it's important for your career. I don't see that we have much choice. It may not be my idea of fun, but I should survive one night. As for the Prophet, I don't bloody well care. We're in love and it's nobody's business but ours."
Hermione smiled and reached out as Sirius took her in his arms. She looked up and kissed him deeply.
"Have I told you how much I love you?"
"Perhaps, but it bears repeating."