Harry proceeded to consume his food at an alarming rate, completely ignoring his guests, and otherwise generally acting in a rather un-Harry-like fashion. Something was definitely wrong, Hermione decided. She just wasn't sure what.
It seemed Sirius had decided the same, because he had abandoned his steak to stare at his godson. "Slow down there, pup. I promise to feed you more at home if you can just find it in yourself to calm down. No one here is going to take your food away." he joked, despite his eyes being hard with concern.
Harry looked up bashfully from his plate, fork halfway to his mouth and cheeks slightly bulging. Hermione made a face and pushed her plate away, quite put off her lunch. It seemed she'd have to take it to go and eat in her cubicle. There was no coming back after seeing that particular spectacle.
Harry gulped down his food and took a generous swig of his chilled Butterbeer, before he asked. "Am I really that obvious?"
Hermione and Sirius briefly glanced at each other before turning their incredulous gazes on the bespectacled young man. "Harry, you're acting as twitchy as a bowtruckle in a dragon's den. What's going on?" Hermione chided, while Sirius asked, "Why are Hermione and I here, pup?"
Hermione couldn't help the thrill that raced down her spine at the way her name seemed to issue out of his mouth like a caress. But she could think about that later; right now her best friend needed her full attention.
"I'm... planningtoproposetoGinny." Harry nervously bit out.
A shaky -and dare she say, almost teary- smile spread over Sirius' face as Hermione herself let out a rather un-Hermione squeal of joy.
"Oh my God, Harry, are you really?!" she asked, practically bouncing up and down in her seat.
Harry nervously scratched at the back of his head. "Yeah, I am. I know we're young and all, but I have a house, and a solid job. Plus, you know, my parents were married and already had me at this age..." here he trailed off, suddenly somber. "But I think they'd approve if they were here; not only of her, but the timing."
Sirius swallowed loudly and cleared his throat a bit. "I know they would." he insisted softly. Hermione couldn't help but get a bit choked up herself, especially when his words combined with the utterly endearing expression on his face as he regarded his best friend's son. Harry was like a son to him, and Hermione couldn't imagine how he was feeling at being included in this momentous moment as one of the first to know. Speaking of...
"Harry, I think we all know why you had Sirius here -as he's your family, and you're obviously looking for his blessing- but why am I here? Why not Ron, or Mr. Weasley? Surely they'd come before me?"
Harry stared at her, openly confused and a little sad. "'Mione, you're family. Of course I'm going to ask for your blessing on this, of all things. Your opinion means the world to me, and I undoubtedly wouldn't be here without your sound judgment."
Hermione began tearing up in earnest, and flung herself out of her chair and onto her friend in a desperate, weepy hug which he returned heartily.
"Of course you have my blessing, you idiot!" she cried, wiping at her eyes with the knuckles of her right hand.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make sure my mascara isn't an utter mess." She disengaged from his arms and straightened her top as she stood straight and walked her way towards the loo. Harry watched her go momentarily, full of love for his friend. He turned back around to talk with Sirius and noticed the man was still watching Hermione's retreating form -or more accurately, her arse.
"Sirius," Harry began disbelievingly, "Why are you staring at Hermione?"
Sirius didn't blush or give any other indication that he'd heard his godson. In fact, he didn't even acknowledge him at all, but his lips quirked up into a smirk as his eyes raked over the younger woman. He finally tore his gaze from Hermione as the loo door closed behind her.
"What was that Harry?" he asked distractedly, finally turning to face his godson, a smirking grin stretched from ear to ear.
Harry stared at him, his mouth open, completely gobsmacked. "You were staring at her arse!" he stated, finger stabbing towards the man in incredulous condemnation.
Sirius' smirk fell from his face, his eyes now wary and guarded. "No, I wasn't, Harry." he said, coming across as persuasive and firm. Harry refused to be swayed.
"Yes, you were. Sirius, I saw it with my own eyes. What the hell is going on?! And what was with all those innuendos earlier? Were those supposed to actually mean something?!" he demanded.
At that moment, Hermione reemerged from the restroom and began her way back to the table. Sirius' eyes took on a pleading look. "It was nothing, Harry. I swear. Please drop it."
Harry was shocked, watching his godfather pleading with him. Whatever was going on was big -massive. Harry was going to get to the bottom of it, but now didn't seem to be the time, so he quickly agreed. "Fine, but you're telling me later or else..."
Hermione reached the table as Sirius cast a panicked glance at his godson before he nodded quickly, and she stopped, unsure, before her chair. "Am I interrupting something? Because I can go walk around for a minute if you need." She offered, looking between the two men.
Sirius recovered first. "Oh, it was nothing. Harry and I were just having a bit of a chat about his and Ginny's... Intimacy issues." He finished, shooting Harry an apologetic glance. Sorry, pup...
Harry turned beet red and glared over at Sirius, and Hermione looked slightly embarrassed for him. "Well, not that I want to know what's going on -at all, because I don't- but if you ever need female advice, don't be afraid to ask. I've heard enough from Ginny to know you... aren't lacking. But apparently you could use a little fine tuning, especially concerning the... cunnilingus department." she coughed out, making Harry turn redder than he was, and even stunning Sirius into silence.
"I'm gonna kill Ginny, and then I'm going to propose to her corpse." Harry murmured, his face buried in his hands.
Sirius, however, had gotten past his shock, and was now laughing quietly and horribly curious. "What exactly has she said, Hermione dearest?" His feral, predatory grin sent a shiver of animalistic thrill down her spine and caused her body to react in a rush of arousal.
"I don't think that's my place to share," she breathed out, thoroughly captured within his gaze.
"Damn right it isn't!" Harry shot out, startling the two from their private moment. "No more talking to Ginny! At least, not about that."
Hermione let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "You're right. I'm sorry, Harry. You know how Ginny is, though: If she's determined to say something, she'll hold you down and make you listen. I'm afraid I don't have much choice in the matter, but I'll try harder in future."
Harry blushed but seemed appeased.
Suddenly, a patronus permeated the suddenly gloomy-feeling restaurant and a lynx took shape. Kingsley Shacklebolt's deep baritone rang forth from its small form: "Harry, I need you back at the ministry. Something has come up regarding you know what."
Harry sat forward excitedly and cast his own patronus, "Tell Kingsley 'I'm on my way.'" he told it, and it was gone.
Hermione's brow furrowed with worry. "What's going on, Harry?" she asked quietly, aware that some of the other patrons were still watching them after the unusual form of communication.
"We've been tracking the last few Death Eaters, and it would seem that one or more have been captured." he said, carefully laying out his portion of the bill on the table. Sirius made to protest, but Harry shut him down. Then he leaned forward and gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek. "See you later." he told them both before he walked outside and disapperated.
Hermione became very aware of how alone she suddenly was with Sirius, her Harry-shaped buffer now missing. It seemed Sirius realized this as well, as that damningly wicked grin had reappeared.
"Alone at last. Now, can we discuss last night?" Sirius asked, staring her down and turning her core to molten heat with the force of his gaze.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Hermione refused to acknowledge the night before -not to herself and certainly not to him. In a bid to escape, she quickly called their server over, asking for the bill, a stasis box for her food -Sirius asked for one as well, and a to-go cup of tea. Sirius stared openly at her, refusing to let on how irked he was by her unwillingness to talk with him.
As soon as the server returned and transferred their food to the stasis boxes, Hermione checked the bill and added her gold to Harry's, making sure she covered the tip for the two of them as well. Sirius quickly threw down a handful gold as well -more than enough for his meal and a generous tip- and stalked after her, not wanting to give her the chance to disappear again.
The two left the restaurant and headed away from the curb and Sirius' motorbike, towards the alley where the apparation point was set up. Sirius cornered her before she could turn on the spot, literally pinning her back against a broken-down street cart and the alley wall, and holding onto her wrist so she couldn't leave without taking him with her.
"Sirius, let me go." She said evenly, swallowing hard to try to keep her frantic heart from leaping out of her mouth.
"No." He growled out simply. "Not until you talk to me. You can't avoid me forever, Hermione."
She groaned in frustration -she wasn't sure if it was sexual or otherwise. "Sirius, I'm going to be late to work. My lunch break is nearly over, and I need to clock back in. This isn't the time."
"When will be the time?" he asked, his eyes pleading with hers, so she closed her lids.
"Later." she said vaguely.
"Ok. Later." He answered, letting her go. As soon as Hermione was free, she apparated away, leaving behind a very frustrated but determined Sirius.
Hermione floo'd home, stasis box of uneaten salad in hand, completely knackered. As soon as she'd gotten to work, she'd been summoned by Harry to help the Aurors with their latest catch: none other than Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf. He'd been on the run, wandless and rabid, ever since the battle two years previous. Somehow, a small team of Aurors had finally been able to apprehend him after he slipped up in a small village outside of Nottingham, and he'd been immediately placed in a solitary holding cell, awaiting his trial. His sentence had been decided in the minds of most of the populace after the war, but it was the Ministry's moral and legal obligation to give him a fair trial. And that's how Hermione had found herself -well, more accurately, her department- pulled into the trial of a notoriously vicious werewolf whom no one really wanted to defend.
The Ministry was still trying to regain its standing among its people after Fudge's abysmal handling of the war and various mistrials of witches and wizards on both sides of the line. Too much paperwork had gone missing due to a corrupt establishment, and few continued tin heir blind trust of the system. Questions were asked. Answers were demanded. People were fired. It was a tough time to be an active member of the governing body, but also a good and necessary one. Like cleansing rain after a forest fire.
Speaking of cleansing rain... A shower sounded amazing. And maybe a cup of tea, but that could wait. Hermione banished her leftovers to the kitchen and began shimmying out of her clothes right there in her foyer. The sooner she could get in the shower, the better. Her neck was kinked up something awful and the idea of standing under steaming hot water as it pounded into her back sounded heavenly.
She'd stripped down to her blush colored cami and striped boyshorts, kicking off her heels as she undid her bra and pulled it straight up and out of the neck of her top. So much better, she thought, scratching at her back where the band had dug in a bit. Then she bent to snatch up her dirty navy blazer, sheer floral shirt, and pencil skirt, intending to drop them off at her laundry room on her way towards the shower.
All that was forgotten as soon as she reached the juncture where the foyer met the other areas of the house. There, on her couch, looking very much the picture of ease, was Sirius in a pair of ratty jeans, and a grey shirt, his leather jacket thrown over the arm nearest the door. Despite his lax posture and casual dress, he still somehow exuded good-breeding and refinement. Other than his eyes, that was, which were locked on her body with a hungry glint. He reminded her of a cobra before it strikes, almost hypnotizing to its prey with how focused it is.
"This is not what I had in mind when I said we'd talk later." he said in a growl that was either angry or aroused, looking her up and down again with guarded eyes before focusing on her face. Hermione felt her heart fully stop for a moment before it jumped up and began running beneath her ribs.
"Well, this isn't exactly what I had in mind when you said later." She said cooly, tamping down on her distress and continuing on her way towards her bedroom, pretending his eyes weren't following her the whole way. I guess the shower will have to wait... she thought glumly.
She dumped her dirty clothes in her hamper and continued into her room, fetching a pair of lounge pants and slipping them on before turning to head back to the living room to face her unexpected guest. Only he wasn't in the living room anymore. Oh no. He'd followed her towards her bedroom and now stood, leaning against the doorjamb, oozing sex appeal. Fuck. She swallowed hard before making her way past him on her way to the kitchen.
"If you really insist on talking now, I need a strong cuppa tea first. Today was complete and utter insanity."
He followed behind her quietly, and stood watching as she went about preparing tea. She reached into a cabinet and grabbed two mugs after shooting him a look to see if he wanted tea as well, at which he gave her a small nod. Then she danced around him to grab up her basket of assorted teas and the sugar bowl.
As soon as the kettle was boiling, she placed everything on a tray and floated it in front of her and onto the coffee table in the living room before perching herself on the edge of her favorite wingback armchair. She stared Sirius down as she made up her cup of tea with crisp, sure movements.
"You wanna talk, Sirius? Let's talk."
Author's Note:
Woo! 32 follows! 11 reviews (which I'm having a hard time viewing for some reason, except via e-mail)! 9 favorites!
Hopefully this answers some of your questions, despite the fact that it's mostly a necessary transitional/plot bunny/filler chapter. The good, fluffy stuff is coming just around the corner!
Also, I know next to nothing about the geography of England, so I'm sorry if there aren't any small villages near Nottingham. I used my Googlefu and hoped for the best.
Miette in the Rain: Now you know why Harry was acting so odd. Was this anywhere near where your mind wandered?
GillianLSteele: I know! Sirius saying practically anything is sexy, but make that "anything" innuendo and I'm a goner. Don't worry, there will be many more instances, I'm sure. ;)
I'll be forever grateful if you leave a review! :D