Hermione didn't know what to wear to Sirius's birthday party, so she enlisted the help of the girls in her dorm. In this time, she had so few clothes in her closet that they didn't have much to work with. But, when Lily caught sight of the black leather jacket Hermione had yet to wear, she immediately pulled it out.
"You have to wear this!" she insisted.
Unknown to Hermione, the other girls were more than aware of how she and Sirius had been circling around one another. Although Hermione wasn't admitting to anything, it was clear to Lily that she was smitten with the wizard. And she knew Hermione had been pushing her and James together, something Lily was secretly grateful for. She figured that Hermione just needed a little push, too. So, she wasn't about to tell Hermione how irresistible Sirius would find her in the jacket.
"Ooh Hermione! I don't think I've seen you wear these jeans before," Marlene gushed, holding up the pair of denims. "They look very form fitting," she added with a waggle of her eyebrows.
Hermione shrugged. "I'll admit that they aren't my usual style...but, I couldn't pass them up at the store," she revealed. Typically, she wouldn't put too much thought into dressing up, but she knew that now was as good a time as ever. "Alright, hand them over."
Marlene passed the jeans over and Hermione slipped into them.
"What should I wear for a top?" she asked.
Marlene smirked at Hermione. "Well, Hermione, with those jeans and that jacket, you just need a white t-shirt. Sirius won't be able to keep his eyes off of you," she said with a smirk.
"Marlene!" Hermione scolded. "We aren't trying to keep Sirius's eyes on me in the first place!" Though, she was secretly pleased at the thought of it.
"Come on, it's his birthday," Marlene said teasingly. "Just don't worry about it and go put it on."
Hermione tried not to smile, but did as she was told. Once she was all put together, she looked in the mirror. She did look better than expected, without looking like she'd tried too hard. "Let's just go before I lose my nerve!" she said,
Sirius was bouncing around the Common Room, anxious. "What is taking them so long?" he wondered out loud.
The four marauders were waiting rather impatiently for their female company to join them for their evening at the Three Broomsticks. It hadn't taken them nearly so long to get cleaned up nicely, even after spending the afternoon flying around the grounds together.
"Patience, Padfoot," Remus said. He was always the most level headed of the four of them.
Sirius was surprised that his werewolf friend was not at all nervous about seeing Marlene. James's brain was practically mush at the thought of seeing Evans in party attire. He'd spent the afternoon speculating about what she would be wearing. Remus, when questioned about their pretty blonde housemate, had told Sirius he'd already told Marlene that they couldn't be serious because he might hurt her. Sirius encouraged him to tell the witch about his condition, but Remus just frowned and shook his head.
Just then, they heard the three girls giggling as they walked down the stairs together. Hermione was the first person he saw. He'd recognize those legs anywhere, even if they were encased in tight denim as they were now. And then, he saw the leather jacket she was wearing.
"Oh fuck me...she's trying to kill me," he whispered to himself.
Remus smiled wolfishly, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
"She looks just like one of the girls from a muggle motorcycle magazine," he added, with a whimper. How was he ever going to forget this?
James immediately sprinted over to Lily's side and was going on and on about how nice she looked, her cheeks red with embarrassment. He was really overdoing it and judging by the looks of it, he was in for an earful about what an arrogant toerag he was.
Hermione and Marlene walked over to the other three marauders. Hermione looked Sirius up and down, before eventually meeting his eyes. Her teeth caught her lower lip shyly. "Sirius, I didn't know you liked Led Zeppelin," she said, breaking the ice.
Sirius thought his eyes might pop out of his head. "You know Led Zeppelin?" he asked, incredulous. Most wizards did not keep up with muggle musicians at all, even if his roommates did. He had started to listen to muggle rock music to annoy his mother, but he found it had grown on him quickly. The thought that Hermione was also familiar with them... Circe, could she be any more perfect?
"Of course I do. My dad loves them," Hermione said with a smile, thinking about her father. Usually so proper, being a dentist and all, he was known to let his hair down when he listened to music from his University days. He'd even gone to see them once in concert, if she recalled correctly. "He has all of their records."
SIrius wrapped an arm around her, holding her tightly against his body. "I think you are going to need to tell me all the secrets you've been keeping from me, Miss Granger," he said, before leading her out of the Common Room.
The group made their way towards the secret passageway that would lead them to the basement of Honeyduke's. James begged Lily not to tell anyone about it and she begrudgingly agreed on the condition that if she found anyone using it any time after, she would give them a month's worth of detention. James looked relieved. He also had that stupid look on his face that meant he was swooning over the fact that Lily was giving up her rule following ways for one night.
They laughed all the way to the Three Broomsticks. SIrius was the first to enter, his arm leaving Hermione. She was surprised to feel a bit bereft at its absence.
"Rosie!" Sirius greeted the young barmaid with a kiss on the cheek. "A round of firewhiskey for the birthday boy!" he added, winking.
Rosemerta laughed and pulled down seven glasses and began filling them up.
"I am of age now, Rosemerta, so you don't have to keep your hands off of me any longer," he said.
Hermione was surprised to find herself feeling a bit jealous of the attention he was heaping on her. What was it about Rosemerta that made every Hogwarts boy have a massive crush on her?
She smiled at his antics. "I think I'll manage. Besires, it looks as though you've brought a lovely witch here to keep you company. I wouldn't want to have to fight her for you," she said.
Hermione smiled sheepishly. She couldn't believe she'd been so transparent. Sure, she was attracted to Sirius, but that didn't mean that she had any sort of claim over him.
"Ugh, wouldn't I like to see that," Sirius said with a dopey look on his face. He handed Hermione her firewhiskey first before passing out the rest of the glasses. "You won't tell anyone we were here, will you, Rosie?"
"You stay out of trouble and I won't make a peep," she promised.
With that, the seven Gryffindors found themselves around a big round table, secluded in the back of the pub. Hermione was sandwiched between Sirius and Remus. Everyone was talking loudly and Hermione drank in the experience with a smile. She brought the glass to her lips and took a large drink, only to start coughing with the fiery liquid hit the back of her throat.
Sirius place a hand on her lower back. The warmth of his hand seeped into her skin, even through the leather jacket. "Easy there - take smaller sips," he instructed with a knowing smile. "First firewhiskey?"
She nodded. Hermione had never taken part in the drinking games the other Gryffindors played, thinking that breaking the rules and getting in trouble wasn't worth it. "I hope you won't hold it against me," she answered with a blush.
"Of course not," he responded.
They quickly settled into the conversation again and after several rounds of firewhiskey, they were all having a good time. Hermione felt lightheaded and pleasantly warm, but she wasn't drunk. She was just a bit more giggly than usual. Marlene had managed to pull Remus up to dance and he reluctantly agreed. (Although, once he had the blonde in his arms, he certainly wasn't complaining).
James stared at the dance floor longingly, as if he wanted to ask Lily to dance, but instead they remained seated at the table, chatting with Peter. Peter was asking some rather invasive questions about growing up muggleborn and James was listening with rapt attention, hanging on to every word that Lily said. He was so love struck it was silly, Hermione thought with a smile. Every now and again, Lily would look up at James with a shy smile, tucking her long red hair behind her ear shyly.
Sirius was telling Hermione about the new motorbike that he'd gotten over the summer. "Well, my Uncle Alphard left me his estate after he died because he didn't agree with my mother blasting me off the family tree. That got him blasted off the tree, too!" he said, jokingly, but Hermione could see that his smile didn't quite reach his eyes like usual. It reminded her more of future SIrius, and the pain he held when he thought no one was looking.
Hermione remembered seeing the Black Family Tree tapestry in Grimmauld Place. It was quite a beautiful piece of magic, but she didn't know the stories behind why so many of the family members were blasted off, except for Andromeda Tonks and Sirius. "I've always found family tapestries fascinating. The Charms work that goes into weaving one...not to mention the blood magic involved. Do you think you will ever repair yours?" she asked.
"Repair it?" he asked with a snort. "I don't think I'll ever get close enough to the bloody thing to even look at it again."
"Well, someday, when you are the Head of your House again, you can repair it. What if you have a family? Don't you want them to be represented?" she asked in earnest, forgetting that he didn't know he'd ever be the Head of his House.
"No, no, Regulus - that wanked - will be the Head of my Ancient and Noble House and I doubt he'll ever let me set foot in Grimmauld again. Not that I really want to go back. It was a miserable place to grow up," he said with a frown, his thoughts suddenly growing dark. He shook the bad feelings off before telling Hermione more about his bike. "Like I said, I really want to make it fly."
"Don't forget a disillusionment charm," she added, knowing that one existed in the future. "And maybe some kind of silencing spell. That way the muggles will be clueless with you flying about."
He grinned at her, reminding her once again of the future. Merlin, he was so attractive, Hermione thought, her heart aching. She wanted him so badly and felt like she was on cloud nine, making him smile like that. "Great idea, Hermione. I will have to take you for a ride next summer...er, I wish I could take you out sometime. Sorry," he said, looking down at his glass, remembering that she would be going into hiding in just a few weeks.
James had finally gotten Lily to dance with him and the red head was laughing at how silly his dance moves were. Hermione smiled. She definitely knew where Harry got his two left feet! Marlene and Remus were very much engaged with one another, snogging in a dark corner with Marlene perched on his lap, Remus's hand resting on her arse! She couldn't believe this was the same person as her future Professor! He seemed so confident in this time. Peter, well into his cups, was snoring softly at the end of their table.
"Say, Hermione, when is your birthday?" Sirius asked her.
"September Nineteenth," she replied, absentmindedly, still smiling at their friends.
"Merlin's beard, Hermione!" he exclaimed, getting her attention. "Why didn't you tell us? We didn't celebrate with you. Fuck, I didn't get you a present!"
She laughed. "Don't worry about it, Sirius. I didn't get you a present either."
"Well, I will have to get you something," he said, looking into her toffee brown eyes.
Hermione felt herself staring back at him, her eyes dropping to his lips now and again. Oh, she wanted to feel those lips all over her body, she thought with a blush.
"Oh, fuck it," he said, before grabbing her and pulling her towards him. His kiss was so possessive and crushing, Hermione thought he would never let her go. But, he did let her go, gasping. "Hermione, I know you are going to leave in just a few weeks, but please, will you let me date you? I know it's only temporary, but I promise it will be fun. Isn't that what being in school is about?"
She wasn't sure if it was the firewhiskey making her feel like she was floating on air, but Hermione found herself agreeing with him. "Yes, yes," she agreed, breathless. "But only if you promise not to get hung up on me. I can't give you more than a few weeks."
Sirius's only reply was a whoop of joy and him pressing his lips to hers again. He pushed her back, further into the corner booth, until she was overwhelmed with his spearmint and leather scent, mercurial grey eyes and bloody perfect black hair. She vaguely thought that dating Harry's actual godfather might be a terrible idea, but right now she was just too happy to worry.
"Best present ever," he whispered into her ear, peppering kisses along her jaw until their lips connected again.