A/N: So I still need to edit the dialogue more but you guys were all so nice with the reviews you left that I had to update it again! Special thanks to Jily, Guests, and morgenstern!

Chapter 9: Punks and Conservatives

The next day found Hermione in the library furiously scribbling on a desk littered with paper and quill. She had wrote and aced many tests, but somehow trying to write a letter to Perseus Ryder that put them on friendly, but not too friendly, terms was one of the most difficult things she had attempted. She didn't want to sound like a floozy. When he got a letter addressed to him from her, he'd probably think she was madly in love with him and stalking him. But then she couldn't be too aloof either, otherwise she might not get the visit she was after.

She pulled a fresh piece of paper and tried writing anew:

Dear Perseus,

I was thinking of the wedding the other day when you're name came to my mind. I feel as if

I knew you, though we only just met...

No, no, no and no. It sounded as if she were insanely obsessing about him. She crumpled up the letter.

Dear Perseus,

I had a lot of fun talking to you, there is so much I want to ask you,

do you think we could meet again?

Too desperate. She crumpled it up.

Why couldn't she just write what she meant? As an exercise, she tried just that.

Dear Perseus,

The reason I singled you out and talked to you at the wedding was NOT because I was madly attracted to you, but because you happen to look exactly like Sirius Black... who is Harry's godfather and the man we are all currently living with for the summer!

He's innocent, if you would believe. And given that he is your uncle, and has regrets of how he left things with your father, he wants to meet you and your mother for a heart to heart. He has some questions about Regulus death, for we have reason to believe it may uncover some secrets to unraveling Voldemorts's defenses.

Yours,

Hermione

She had to admit Sirius was right: being straightforward and honest made things a lot easier.

People had a way of sensing when someone had an ulterior motive. But as much as she wanted to, she couldn't send this letter. Though the thought of bringing Perseus's ego down a notch pleased her. She and Sirius had agreed to be completely honest with Selena, but not with her son who was a bit of a blabbermouth. After all, it had taken Perseus only a few minutes of speaking to Hermione, a pretty girl, to divulge his own family secret to her.

She needed to talk it over with Sirius. Eventually he would want his only nephew to know him but given the circumstances it was debatable whether they could trust Perseus right now. Hermione left the library and went up to the attic where she had left Sirius to find sort through some things.

"Sirius? Where are you?"

"Here!" His voice called out from a distance.

The attic was large enough to get lost in but she soon found him in one of the side rooms near the end. It was one of the few rooms in the attic that had a window and it was relief to see some natural light pouring in. The window was circular with lead ribbing that gave it the appearance of a human iris. With the stormy grey sky currently outside, it almost looked like one of Sirius' grey eyes.

"So how's the search going-" she stopped as she took a double take of Sirius. His back was turned but he was decked out in the sort of clothing she might expect out of someone in a 1970s punk motorcycle gang, not Sirius Black, the godfather of her best friend.

"Sirius, what on earth are you wearing?"

He chuckled, "Sorry I got a bit carried away when I found some of my old clothes. What do you reckon, do they still fit me?"

Hermione surveyed the tight black jeans and the black leather jacket he wore. She could not deny they made him attractive in a striking way, though the thought unnerved her.

"Hmm." She looked back up at his face, uncertain of who exactly was standing before her anymore.

"What?" He felt as if he had something on his face, "Do you not approve of the punk look, Hermione?"

"Please, as if I were so matronly."

"I don't know you come across as conservative at times."

He felt abit annoyed at Hermione. It meant a lot to him to find his leather jacket and old clothing. He felt like a stuffy pureblood whenever he wore his wizard robes or anything else with a cape that billowed behind him when he walked...like that prat Snape. Yet, if her reaction was anything to go by, Hermione did not approve of his new look. Why did she look at him so oddly?

"What...? Do I look ridiculous?"

She waved her arms. "Nevermind, you just look very different, okay?!"

"Fine."

Why is he being so touchy about it? she thought. I am the one that should be disturbed, those pants are disturbingly tight. She saw more of Harry's godfather than she should've. She needed some eye bleach to get it out of her mind.

"Are those clothes all you found today, or did you actually find something about Regulus?" she sounded as matronly as possible, an art she had perfected since before she was even born.

Sirius sighed and swiped a hand through his shaggy hair.

"As it happens, I've found nil! Not that I covered the whole attic yet, just these two rooms.." he felt his fingers over the worn leather of his jacket "I just don't know what I'm looking for. Regulus didn't have a lot of stuff, but the crap he left behind is quite random."

"I have to admit, you're right. We don't even know what we're looking for at this point. Until we talk with Selena, it may be an exercise in futility."

Sirius nodded to himself. Futile, and old, was exactly how he felt at this moment. When he wore this jacket in his youth, people, especially girls, looked at him as if he were a Gryffindor god. Not like he was having a midlife crisis. "What is her problem anyways?' he thought indignantly, "It's not as if I gained weight. I'm the exact same size, I should still look amazing."

Sirius suddenly looked angrily over at Hermione. She acted so matronly and bossy sometimes, as if she ran the place. But this was his house, his brother and his investigation.

It was time she answered a few questions of his.

"So did you send that letter to Perseus?"

Hermione felt an embarrassed blush but did not answer.

"Why are you blushing? Did you send the letter or not? It's a very simple question."

"No..I..I had a bit of trouble putting down the right words..." Hermione said.

"It's a bloody letter, not a love sonnet, Merlin's sake," he chuckled "you do go overboard with your perfectionism sometimes."

"I wasn't trying to get it perfect! I was just trying not to sound like a stalker!"

"As if that would scare him off! Actually it would probably speed things up. He's a teenage boy, isn't he? Do you really think he's going to reject you at point blank?" Though it was immature, he couldn't help laughing condescendingly at Hermione's face. She was so naive in some aspects, despite her vast intelligence.

"Well, if you're such an expert, you can bloody-well write the letter yourself!"

"Good. I warn you though, I'm very good at writing innuendo." He chuckled, feeling like a Maurauder up to one of his pranks.

"If you write anything to embarrass me, you will be the one polyjuiced as myself and playing the tart, because I'm not!"

"Ugh! He's my nephew Hermione!"

He scrunched up his face in disgust, he was going to need some mental bleach to get that image out of his mind.

"Exactly, Sirius, so keep it within the lines," she warned.

She's most definitely conservative, Sirius thought. Oh well...

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Author's note: I wrote this awhile ago so I felt rereading it that their behaviour in this chapter was a bit OOC but maybe I'm wrong, I would appreciate your input and any harsh criticsim :)

Thanks! I'm honestly surprised at how many people seem to like this story!