CHAPTER 17

"Come on, love," Sirius said. "Let's go out for a drink with the rest of them."

The next day had been filled with a parade of visitors coming by to see Sirius Black, in the flesh, returned from the Veil. Tonks had burst into ugly sobs upon seeing her cousin, and Hermione had held her mouth to stifle giggles as Sirius comforted her while her hair cycled through a dozen colors right in his face. Kingsley Shacklebolt had stopped by early in the day with forms in hand to begin the process of clearing Sirius's name. With multiple witnesses to Pettigrew's survival, it was just a matter of filing all the right paperwork. The paperwork had cleared that afternoon, and Sirius was, at long last, a free man.

Harry and Hermione had gone for a long walk through the streets of London so she could tell him everything about her trip to the 1970s, everything about his parents. She'd told him how his mum was the only one in the group to make it to N.E.W.T. level Charms, but that she didn't have the marks for N.E.W.T. Transfiguration. She told him about their Christmas, when Harry's grandparents had everyone over and had given Sirius the motorcycle that he had later enchanted to fly. Harry had forgiven her for not telling him, and they embraced warmly before heading back into Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

Mrs. Weasley had hardly been able to look at the two of them, but she'd thankfully kept quiet. The only other person who didn't seem thrilled with Sirius's return was Ron. Hermione knew that Ron always hoped to end up with her. She thought she had made it perfectly clear that she wasn't interested, would never be interested, but he was taking it rather hard that she was now sleeping in Harry's godfather's bed.

Now, Hermione was sitting Sirius's bed. She had a novel in her lap, but she was distracted because she couldn't stop staring at Sirius. It was like she was afraid if she looked away for too long, he'd disappear.

"It'll be fun," said Sirius, waggling his eyebrows at her.

She hopped out of bed, tugging on her jeans and running her fingers through her hair. She and Sirius joined a handful of Order members who were pulling on their cloaks and hats at the door. Sirius helped Hermione into her coat, and they all stepped outside into the blustery winds and apparated to Diagon Alley. Harry led them into a pub on the corner, and their group took up a large, long table near the back. Hermione slid in across from Harry and Ron, and Sirius sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. A blonde-haired witch with green eyes and a slender figure sidled up to the table to take their order.

"Are you Sirius Black?" she said, her flirty tone making Hermione glare at her reprovingly.

"The one and only," he replied, winking at the waitress, but taking Hermione's hand under the table. "How about a round on the house for a once convicted murderer?"

The pretty witch giggled shyly as Sirius gave her his famous charismatic smile.

"Oh, alright, but the pub owner would kill me if he knew," she said, disappearing with a blush creeping up her face.

Hermione glared at Sirius, who merely looked at her with a wink and raised eyebrows, clearly quite proud of himself. The waitress brought over a round of Firewhiskies, which Hermione eyed nervously. She hadn't had any of that since her night of partying with the Marauders. Sirius looked at her with gentle grey eyes, searching her face to make sure she was alright. Hermione lifted her glass, smiling reassuringly at him, and clinked it against everyone else's before taking a hearty swig. It burned. Everyone at the table was coughing and sputtering, pounding their chests and laughing.

Hermione switched to beer after that, and Sirius did the same, keeping a casual arm behind her. It was a little awkward, and Ron was staring rather darkly at Sirius's hand. When Sirius's fingers dipped down to caress her collar bone, Ron spoke in a harsh voice.

"Getting a little handsy there, eh, mate?" snarled Ron.

"Hm?" Sirius said, bewildered.

"Just saying you could keep your hands to yourself a bit," said Ron.

Sirius removed his arm from around her back and leaned forward, clasping his hands together on the table.

"Better?" asked Sirius coolly.

"Much," said Ron. "Ever since you've been back you've been treating her like she's just a shag to you."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" said Sirius, and Hermione tried to put a calming hand on his arm.

"It means you're treating her like she's just a place to get your dick wet!" he said, and Hermione said, "RON!"

Sirius and Ron had both jumped out of their seats, Ron's chair falling to the floor behind him, and they both drew their wands, staring daggers at one another. Harry had stood too, at Ron's side, and so had Remus, at Sirius's. Hermione's jaw was hanging open.

"Sirius," said Remus warningly, at the same time that Harry said, "Ron."

But Ron was undeterred. His wand was still brandished at Sirius's face.

"I've been taking care of her since she was eleven years old," said Ron. "And where have you been? And now, you were back for what… an hour? Before you were shagging her?"

"Ron, that's not fair," said Hermione pleadingly.

"She was DESTROYED. I KNEW something happened our seventh year. She was NEVER herself again," said Ron, and Sirius's face dropped, aghast. "And you jumped right back into bed with her, like that's all that fucking matters to you!"

"Ron!" said Hermione, but Ron was barreling on.

"We dated, you know," said Ron, gesturing between himself and Hermione.

Hermione flinched, and Sirius looked grim.

"We dated. Well, we tried. If I'd known the reason we didn't work out was because of YOU…because she was sad and crying over YOU," and here, Ron's voice began to waver. "And she didn't even TELL ME."

Ron turned to look at her. His eyes were brimming with tears. His wand fell to his side.

"Hermione, why didn't you tell me? I would have understood. I'm your best friend," he said sadly. "I could have been there for you. You didn't have to deal with it all alone."

"Oh, Ron," said Hermione, her voice quavering.

"I don't care that you're sleeping with him," and at this last word, he gestured vaguely in Sirius's direction with his wand. "I just hate that you've been struggling for three years and you never even told me about it."

Ron's eyes were red, and he was wiping at them furiously. Hermione's eyes were now brimming with tears as well as his words slammed into her.

"Ron, I... I'm so sorry," she said, and they both promptly burst into tears.

Hermione clambered around the table to embrace him. She felt Harry's hands around her back, and Sirius's arms wrapping around them all. He was murmuring his apologies to all three of them. Hermione felt the dam of tension between the four of them break, and now, her tears were leaking out of her eyes onto Ron's robes. Ron's shoulders were shaking as he muttered apologies into her ear. She, Harry, and Ron been through so much with Sirius, from bringing him food in his cave near Hogsmeade to staying at his house for Christmas. The four of them had a wonderful, unbreakable history.

Hermione could feel friendly pats and comforting hands from the rest of the group. She broke out of the hug with Ron to be greeted by Remus's warm, friendly gaze and Mrs. Weasley's smile that said she finally understood. Sirius and Ron were laughing and rough-housing good naturedly.

"Bring over another beer for this one!" called Sirius to the waitress, and Ron turned a bit pink.

Ron took Hermione by the hand.

"I'm sorry for what I said when I saw you in bed with him. And for what I said tonight," said Ron, scratching the back of his head. "I reckon I should work on watching what I say, eh?"

Hermione laughed brightly, feeling the last of her fear, guilt, and anxiety leave her body as she hugged Ron again. Once the waitress had brought over a cold, foaming beer for Ron, they all took their seats, and Sirius wrapped his hand around her again. Tonks, her hair a vivid orange, explained a game to all of them, in which everyone on one side of the table pretended to hold a Galleon in their closed fists, though only one actually held one. Then, at the same time, all of them slammed their palms onto the table. It was uproarious fun trying to guess who had the Galleon and in which hand. The beer flowed and so did the laughter.

Soon, they were rising from the table. Ron and Sirius approached each other and clasped hands, Ron squeezing Sirius's shoulder.

"You take care of her, you hear me?" he said firmly.

Sirius smiled and nodded. Hermione wrapped herself around him, feeling pleasantly buzzed from the beer. They walked out the door, saying their goodbyes to the group.

"Come by for one more?" Sirius said to Remus and Tonks, who nodded.

They Apparated back to Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Laughing, they opened the front door together and made their way to the kitchen, where Sirius pulled out a quartet of cold beers. Remus and Tonks sat down on the sofa cozily.

"You know, I haven't properly given you any shit for dating my baby cousin, Remus," observed Sirius as he took a swig of beer. "You're a little old for her, eh?"

"You're one to talk," said Remus with a laugh.

Sirius looked over to see Hermione grinning bashfully.

"Though I must admit, I'm not sure I like being five years older than you are," added Remus.

Sirius shook his long black hair, now back to being silky smooth, out of his eyes.

"He take care of you all right?" Sirius asked Tonks, one eyebrow raised.

"Oh, yes," said Tonks. "A little feral once a month, though."

They all four laughed. Sirius looked around at his friend, at his cousin, at Hermione. Life had not always been kind to Sirius Black. His parents had abused him and neglected him to the point that he'd had to move in with James at sixteen years old. Then, when he was seventeen, he'd met the love of his life, only to have her cruelly and mystifyingly taken away from him. He'd spent months grieving. He remembered feeling hopeless and empty as he watched James and Lily get married, thinking that he'd never have something like that again. Then, just a year later, he'd been wrongfully accused of murdering them, thrown into Azkaban for twelve years for a crime he didn't commit. And, in a twist of fate, he'd been reunited with the love of his life only to find himself somehow twenty years her senior, unable to even talk to her about it.

Now, he couldn't believe his luck. He felt he was in his prime, his body thirty-six years old and gaining strength back by the hour. He had his friend back, the werewolf he'd known since he was eleven years old. He had his godson, who'd grown into a fiercely loyal and wonderful man. And of course, he had Hermione. Her head was resting against his shoulder as she sipped the beer in front of her, all four of them laughing, reminiscing, and sharing their stories and plans.

Remus and Tonks left late that night, Flooing back to her flat, and Hermione led Sirius to the bedroom. He wrapped his hands around her, feeling every inch of her body pressed against his. She lifted her head to kiss him, her hands in his long black hair. Sirius tugged her shirt over her head and began pulling off his belt, letting it crack against itself. She gave him a devious grin. He stepped out of his jeans as she pulled hers off, and soon, they were in bed together, nearly naked.

"Did you really date Ron?" asked Sirius.

"Ugh, why are you bringing up Ron now?" she said, but she was smiling. "Yes, we dated."

"And?"

"The first time, I cried and had a panic attack because he put his fingers in my panties," said Hermione matter-of-factly.

Sirius blanched.

"Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry-"

"Don't be," she said, and she pulled her panties down from her hips. He could read in her expression that she was thankful he remembered not to do it himself. "The second time-"

"There was a second time?" asked Sirius with an eyebrow raised.

"And a third!"

"You're right, why did I bring him up?" joked Sirius.

"I would always end up thinking about you, Sirius. Wishing he were you. Thinking about the ways that you could set my entire body on fire with a touch," said Hermione, a very naughty grin on her face. "So, I'd end up crying about halfway through-"

"Oh, Merlin, poor Ron," said Sirius in mock horror.

Hermione laughed. She took Sirius's hand and guided his fingers down between her legs, bringing her lips to his and kissing him deeply. His fingers slipped between her soft lips, already wet with desire. He ghosted over her clitoris, and she arched her back and moaned into his mouth. Gently, he began circling the sensitive bud with his fingertip. He could feel her grip on his shoulders tighten like a vise. He broke their kiss apart.

"Anyone else I should know about?" he asked.

"Oh, just the entire Chudley Cannons 1999 world championship team," she said, pressing kisses to his jawline.

He pulled away and stared at her. She was biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"You're wicked," he said, grinning as he kissed her again. "Keep this up and I'll stop what I'm doing with my fingers."

She whined as he removed his fingers from her center.

"Please, Sirius. I want you inside me," she whispered.

As if he could deny her.

They made love for hours that night, Sirius panting into her ear and Hermione crying out his name, then Hermione straddling him and throwing her head back in pleasure, then Sirius slamming into her from behind as she gripped the headboard for leverage. Then, exhausted, they lay naked together under the black satin sheets of his bed. He noticed that she had her nose buried in his hair and was inhaling deeply.

"Are you smelling me?" he asked.

"Oh! Did I never tell you?" said Hermione, looking into his eyes. "My Amortentia potion smells just like you."

"Does it?" he said in surprise.

"Mm-hmm," she murmured.

Her eyes were closing. Her breathing was slowing, and she was relaxing into his embrace. Sirius closed his eyes. He had his whole world back. He would always desperately miss his best friend, James. He would always regret the twelve years he spent in Azkaban, framed for a crime he didn't commit. But now he had a chance to start over. A chance for true happiness with the woman he loved.

Life finally, at long last, had been kind to Sirius Black.