Although she knew that she should, Hermione simply could not feel bad about agreeing to date Sirius. She could just imagine the looks on Harry, Ron and Ginny's faces if she told them that she had been Sirius Black's girlfriend. They would probably try to have her admitted to St. Mungo's! But Sirius looked at her with that devious, sinful smirk of his and then all thoughts of her friends poured out of her head.
And that was how she found herself sitting with him, James and Remus in the library, with Sirius's hand sliding up and down the skin of her thigh underneath the table. He never dared to venture higher than the hem of her skirt. It was both arousing and frustrating. Hermione couldn't decide if she should scold him or ask him to keep going. In the end, she settled for meekly trying to read from her Arithmancy book, although she had been on the same page for the last ten minutes.
If any of the boys noticed, they blessedly didn't say anything.
Finally, when she thought she might go mad with desire, she stood up and made a lame excuse about needing a different book. She pressed a quick kiss to Sirius's temple before leaving the table with wobbly legs.
"Merlin, Padfoot, could you give it a rest? I have a very sensitive nose, remember?" Remus groused at his friend as soon as she was gone. It was nearly the Full Moon and that always made him a bit more restless than usual.
James, who had only come to the library in hopes of accidentally running into Lily, was rapidly growing annoyed with his best friend's good fortune. "I can't believe you...really? You completely dismissed Hermione and now you are all over her. It's sickening. What do you even see in her anyway? She's not your type."
"Temper, Prongsie," Sirius said with a smirk, knowing that his friend was dying for a snog, especially since Remus and him were getting them regularly. "Well, I love that she's smart and quick witted. She's also a swotty goody-two-shoe-rule-follower, but...she breaks the rules for me." His face was transformed by a far away smirk, thinking of the time he'd convinced her to skip Charms and spend the hour snogging in a broom closet instead.
"Oh, Godric, you are dating the female version of Remus," James said, with a look of dread on his face.
"What? No!" Sirius was quick to respond, in horror.
"Well, you said intelligent, witty, breaks the rules for you. I'd say that triad describes Remus to a T," James countered with a smirk.
Remus looked positively green at the thought. "Absolutely not! She is pretty and, and...feminine and...talking to Regulus," Sirius said, pushing his chair away from the table so that he could stalk across the library to where Hermione was cornered by his annoyed looking brother.
"I don't know what Sirius finds so special about you, you filthy half-blood muggle lover, but just remember that he always gets tired of his little toys," Regulus said with venom in his voice.
Hermione was a little bit frightened by the sixth year. It was ridiculous. He looked a lot like Sirius, but more like...a terrifying Stepford Wives version of him. His hair was shorter and perfectly coiffed. His dark eyes were steely and not passionate, and his mouth was curled up into a pureblooded sneer that she'd seen perfected by Draco Malfoy.
"Oi, Regulus, why don't you find yourself your own bird to talk to?" Sirius asked, placing a protective arm around her shoulders. Normally, Hermione would have taken offense to being called a bird, but she knew that this was very delicate territory. Sirius in her time was heartbroken over his brother's death, but it was a complicated mourning. She knew that he had loved his brother when they were both children, but after being sorted into Gryffindor, any brotherly affection had been quashed by Walburga.
"I can't believe that you continue to shame our Noble house Sirius with blood traitors. And with one of Dumbledore's kin no less," Regulus said, looking her up and down. "I wonder if the Headmaster knows that you're spreading his niece's legs during class."
Hermione gasped in offense, grabbing her wand tightly in her hand, knuckles going white around the vinewood. How dare he talk about her that way!
"Careful, Regulus. My witch is quick with a hex...maybe you better slither back to the dungeons before something happens to you," Sirius said, his voice icy calm, reminding Hermione of future, older Sirius.
"I will be telling mother about this," Regulus sneered, before turning to walk away.
Once he was safely out of the library, Sirius turned to face her. "I am sorry about him. He can be so crude sometimes," he said, placing a kiss to the tip of her freckle-dusted nose.
"I can't believe he turned his back when I had my wand pointed at him," Hermione said. It was true that Regulus's words had bothered her. It just reminded her that her relationship with Sirius was very, very temporary. She looked up into the passionate grey eyes of her boyfriend. His shaggy black hair had fallen into his face, giving Hermione cause to smile up at him. "Have I ever told you, how much I like your hair that way?"
Sirius smiled broadly, leading her back to the table, his large arm wrapped around her waist. "No, I don't believe that you have. Tell me, what else about my physique do you like?" he teased.
"Well," Hermione said with a quick smirk. "You have such a large...ego."
Sirius let out a loud, barking laugh, which had Madam Pince shushing them.
Later that week, Sirius invited her for a walk around the grounds after dinner. As it had gotten to be mid-October, it had grown to be quite chilly, especially at night, so Hermione didn't mind snuggling up next to her tall boyfriend. She knew that he felt bad about leaving her alone the night before, due to obligations to his friends. They had been spending every spare moment together because they both knew that their time together would be short.
He had told her that the four marauders were going to help Peter with his Divination homework (a class that Hermione wasn't taking). She knew that they were really just going to be spending the Full Moon with Remus, so she didn't mind the lie. She could tell that Sirius wanted to tell her the truth, but he wouldn't betray his friend's trust - one of Sirius's better qualities.
"The moon still looks so full tonight," she murmured, staring up at the sky. "I love the night sky. You can see all the stars up here. It's breathtaking." The sky was a wide expanse of inky blackness, illuminated by millions of tiny flecks of silver.
Sirius conjured them a large blanket on the grass near the Black Lake. He took her small hand in his larger, calloused one. It made her feel warm and safe. He gently pulled her down so that they were laying side by side on the warm blanket, heated by a thoughtfully cast warming charm. He kept her hand in his. The whole time, she'd been thinking of Sirius as a boy, but it was obvious to her now, next to his strong body, that he'd left childhood behind and was more man than boy.
With his free hand, he pointed up at the sky. "Look, that one's Perseus - the hero. He beheaded Medusa and saved Princess Andromeda from a terrible sea creature," he said, eagerly. Hermione hummed in agreement when she found them. "And those ones, there, there and there - that makes up Andromeda. My favorite cousin is called Andromeda. She's a great witch - I think you'd like her a lot, actually."
He frowned, thinking of both the disappointment of his cousin being blasted off the family tapestry and the fact that Hermione wouldn't be around long enough to meet her. Maybe when she came back out of hiding they could meet. Shaking the sad thoughts from his head, he refocused on the constellations. "If you look really far over there, you can see Orion. My father's namesake," he said, pointing towards the edge of the visible sky.
Hermione wasn't looking at the stars anymore. Instead, she was captivated by the relaxed, calm look on Sirius's face. He looked so happy, talking about the stars. She hadn't realized it, but it seemed that he was already carrying around a burden that she had falsely believed to be from his friends' deaths and time spent in Azkaban. But right now, lying next to her on this blanket, he was free.
"And that one's my star - Sirius, brightest star in the night sky."
Hermione made a noise of agreement, unable to tear her eyes from the aristocratic slant of his nose or the relief of his soft lips.
"Miss Granger, I think I might have to take house points away from you...caught daydreaming while Professor Black is giving you a lesson," he said, turning to face her with a cheeky grin. "But, if you give me a kiss, I think I could be swayed."
Hermione giggled despite herself, before leaning over to press her lips against his in a chaste kiss. He wasn't content with something so brief and ran his long fingers through her wavy hair, pulling her close to him. His lips fit hers perfectly and before long his tongue was running along the seam of her lips. Hermione sighed, allowing him to deepen the kiss, their tongues meeting in a passionate battle, meeting and parting again and again. With ease, he lifted her, until her body was perched on top of his, legs straddling his hips.
Even though they'd been dating for two weeks, they hadn't gone further than some really intense snogging. Nothing like what she'd experienced in the seventh floor hallway that first week of classes. Merlin, that seemed like ages ago. But now, Hermione wanted nothing more than to push their bodies as close together as possible.
He nudged his warm hand up underneath her jumper and blouse, gently sliding along the warm skin of her stomach, leaving gooseflesh in his wake. His hand found the edge of the soft lace of her bra and he palmed the swell of her breast. Hermione moaned into his mouth at the pleasant sensation. Her nippled hardened under his palm and she could feel Sirius grinning against her mouth.
Feeling like he was teasing her, Hermione rolled her hips against his, only making them both utterly aware of how they were separated by only a few measly pieces of fabric. Through the cotton of her knickers, Hermione could feel the hardness of his cock, held by the stiff fabric of his trousers. Nimue, she couldn't believe that she was having this effect on him - that Sirius Black wanted her, little bookworm Hermione Granger. Unsatisfied, she moved again. They groaned in unison at the sensation. Adjusting her stance so that she was even closer to him, she rolled her hips again and again, craving the friction.
Sirius brought his other hand down to rest on her hip. He pulled her harder against his body, further increasing the contact. He helped to steady her movements, until she had built up to a consistent rhythm. Godric, it felt so good, grinding herself against him, trying to get herself off. Her cheeks burned hot almost as hot as the spot between her legs.
Soon, they were moaning together, moving together, closer and closer to that unnamed peak. Hermione tore her mouth away from his, burying her face in his neck. Her breathy moans in his ear were egging him on, closer to the tipping point with each movement. "Please, please Sirius," she begged.
A second hand joined the first, until both were on her hips, pulling her even closer, not letting up on the pace.
"Oh, oh, oh..." she moaned, orgasm sneaking up on her. She shut her eyes tight, coming, her little body jerking against his to ride out of the waves of pleasure washing over her. It was not half a minute later before he was joining her.
Their movements slowed and ebbed, and, after a moment of recovery, Hermione was propping herself up on her elbows to look into his grey eyes. She kissed him on his well-kissed lips. "Thank you, that was lovely," she whispered with a sigh.
He ran his hand over his face. "I haven't had that happen to me in years," he admitted, embarrassed to have come in his pants, but Hermione didn't seem to mind.
"Nothing a little spell can't fix," she said with a smile, grabbing her wand. He could feel the gentle pulse of cleansing magic over his skin. "Now, let's get back to the castle before curfew. You might have to help me walk, though. My legs feel like jelly."
Sirius smirked, banishing the blanket, his ego once again back in place with her less than innocent words. He knew that she didn't mean it to give him a boost, but it certainly made him feel better.