Hermione missed him, she would admit that to anyone. But she wasn't going to go back into Hogsmede for a special trip on a school night to talk to him about their argument. Let him sweat it out a little bit. She had homework that she needed to work on, that was, after all, part of why she came back to Hogwarts. To learn. And sneaking off to go have sex every other night would put a severe damper on her schoolwork.

To his credit, Sirius must have been thinking about what he did, because an owl showed up the night after their argument bearing a bouquet of origami roses. These earned quite a few sighs from the girls sitting around her, including several from each of the other houses. She loved his gesture, but now she was starting to feel irritated at these girls. She could distinctly remember a few of them talking about how he should be dropped into the North Sea from as high as a broomstick would fly without a wand when he was an escaped murderer. Now she was back to having bagged another handsome bachelor. So much for being defined by her own achievements.

Ginny was wonderful, and quickly became her biggest confidant. As the two girls involved in the two biggest tabloid romances of the moment they often found themselves inundated with questions about what it was like to date the 'rich and famous'. These especially irked Hermione, since she was more famous on her own than Sirius Black, though not by much, but she was now being defined as 'Sirius' girlfriend'.

"Honestly, if I get one more idiotic question from a girl who can't ask without being overtaken by the giggles, I'm going to throw a damn fit," she hissed to Ginny in transfiguration as they were supposed to be making a dog from their desks, then turning it invisible.

"I know how you feel," Ginny responded, looking irritatedly at her dog, which had gone rainbow colored. "If Rita Skeeter writes for an interview one more time..."

"She's writing you for an interview?" Hermione looked up in surprise as her dog suddenly vanished, then knocked over her bag to prove it was still there.

"Yeah. Wants to know about me and Harry, and you and Sirius, of course."

"And she's asking you?"

"Well she can't bloody ask you, considering you promised you'd stamp her with the biggest, smelliest shoe you could find next time she tried talking to you."

Hermione smirked, turning her dog back into her desk again. "So, should I make plans to contact Ron for footwear anytime soon?"

Ginny laughed, this making her dog go see-through, but not totally invisible. "I'm not talking to the woman. She can bugger off. But speaking of Ron, he's invited Kia to the Burrow for a 'getting to know the family' party in two weeks. Mum wants you there, seeing as I might as well call you 'sis'."

"Sounds like fun," Hermione nodded, guiding her wrist in the correct wand movement.

"Bring Sirius. That will make it more fun."

"Oh, sweet Merlin," she sighed. "Did no one think of the implications of letting George and Sirius do business together?"

"Filch will. Rumor has it they're creating a line catering to ways to tick him off completely, as payback for his friendliness with Umbridge."

"As much as I say serves him right, I can't condone destruction of the halls. As a matter of principle, you know, Head Girl and all that."

"Talk to your boyfriend, not me. I have no control over either of them, you have a lot of control over Sirius."

"I do not," she muttered.

"Please. You're a woman. You can withhold sex. Sirius might be able to resist for a while, but I've seen the way you can play the game. You'll wear something tiny and revealing, bat your eyes at some other guy and Sirius will do whatever you want."

She smiled. The redhead had her number.

"So, should I tell Mum you're coming for sure?" Ginny asked as the bell rang. "We have free period now, I'll scribble her a note right here and send it. She's wanting to know how much food to make."

"Yeah, I'm coming. But she always makes too much," Hermione pointed out.

"I think she gets upset if there aren't leftovers. Like someone might have had another gobstone sized vacancy in their stomach that didn't get filled."

Hermione laughed as she packed her bag. Ginny whipped out a piece of parchment and her quill and started scribbling.

"Mum- Hermione is coming for the party. Sirius, too. Hope all is well. Love, Ginny," she dictated to herself.

"We don't know Sirius is coming," Hermione pointed out as they started towards the Owlery.

"Right. You'll be there. You'll be away from school. There's a good possibility of getting laid. He'll be there."

"I'm not sleeping with him at the Burrow!" she turned red.

"If that's where you're sleeping, that's where you'll do it. Though you'll probably spend the night at Number Twelve. It is still his house, even if he's letting Harry live there at the moment."

"You assume an awful lot about my sex life," she muttered as she held the door to the Owlery open.

"Hermione, Hermione," Ginny tut-tutted with a smirk. "What you don't realize is that you're extremely easy to read sometimes. You come back from Australia half on the way to being a complete turnaround of the Hermione we've known for so many years, next to a man standing up tall and beaming and we know you're up to something."

"Harry knew it from the shoes I was wearing," she remembered.

"See? You give away a lot with your words and body language. Though making out on Platform Nine and Three Quarters isn't exactly the actions of a chaste couple."

Hermione stayed silent as Ginny sent her owl along, and they stayed to hand out a few owl treats to some of the friendlier school birds. When the bell rang to signal it was time to get moving to Herbology, they gathered their bags and started making their way onto the grounds.

Neville was always excited about their Herbology lesson, because it was the one subject he could teacher Hermione a thing or two in. In an uncharacteristic move, Hermione had scaled back her study on the subject, opting instead to involve Neville in long talks during their time alone in the Heads dorms. Whatever new plant they were studying today, she was sure he would know what it was and what they were doing in their lesson before Professor Sprout managed to say two words. If Neville Longbottom didn't wind up to be Herbology professor one day she'd be shocked.

The lesson passed quickly, Neville chatting happily about the different types of Flesh Eating trees, while they made sketches and noted how to tell a Flesh Eating Oak from a regular, non moving one. He was still carrying on when the bell rang and they started making their way up to dinner. He stopped in mid-sentence as a group of terrified looking first years ran right into them.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, trying to corral the group before the disentangled themselves and ran off.

"There's a... a... a..." one small Ravenclaw girl stammered.

"A Grim!" a Hufflepuff boy wailed, looking for a way to get around her and continue his terrified plight.

"A Grim?" Hermione groaned, shooting a look at Ginny, who was trying not to laugh. "Where?"

"By the entrance doors. It's just sitting there with something in it's mouth," the boy whimpered.

"Thank you," Hermione said as she turned and started at a brisk walk towards the castle.

"Do you think there's really a Grim?" Neville said nervously as they approached the door.

"No," Ginny replied with a giggle as the giant black dog suddenly came into view. When it saw Hermione it stood, wagging it's tail, something white clutched in it's mouth. "Just a dog looking for a bone," she added as the dog bounded up to them.

"What did I tell you about breaking into the grounds?" Hermione crossed her arms, sounding annoyed. Several students had gathered, obviously impressed by her lack of fear in dealing with a death omen.

The dog shook it's head, clearly saying that he didn't feel like he was breaking any rules.

"What do you have, Black?"

The dog deposited it's parcel in her hands. She unfolded it and saw it was the shirt she had left at the joke shop when she made her hasty exit.

"Thank you for returning this," she said, hastily stuffing it into her bag. "Now go chase a stick or something all the way back to the village."

The dog shook it's head again and sat, staring pointedly at her.

"I told you, stay off Hogwarts grounds," she muttered, trying not to smile.

The dog looked from her, to it's own chest, then back to her as if to say 'Did you expect anything different from me?'

"I'm not letting you in the castle, especially like that. You're terrifying the first years."

The dog let out a series of barks that sounded like laughter.

"Just go," she ordered.

The dog looked for her, to the gates to the village, then back at her with it's eyebrows raised.

"If you go I promise I'll come visit this weekend," she sighed.

The dog shook it's head, then pawed the ground once.

"I'm not coming tonight. I have to finish my Defense Against the Dark Arts paper."

He stared at her, head drooped.

"Tomorrow night. I'll come for dinner. If you go now!"

The dog jumped up, placing its paws on her shoulder, and gave her several quick kisses on the face. She pushed him off, wiping her face as he barked towards her friends and trotted towards the Whomping Willow.

"Wow, Hermione," a third year Gryffindor girl muttered. "You're good with animals."

"Just big dogs. They have a thing for her," Ginny muttered, taking Hermione's arm and steering her towards the Great Hall. "I'm hungry, 'Mione. Can we get food, please?"

"I'm seeing the family resemblance right about now," she responded, allowing herself to be led through the crowd and up into the castle.

"How sweet. He brought your shirt back," the redhead smiled as they sat at the table.

"I think it was very sweet of him," Hermione said defiantly.

"While you're in Hogsmeade tomorrow..."

"No!"

"Okay, okay. So, I'm assuming the paper you need to finish is the thesis for our NEWTS?" NEWT level students had to pick one subject relating to the field they wanted to go into, and submit a lengthy paper that showed how they would use the knowledge they gained at Hogwarts and apply it in the real world. A mock report of a real job that would help them show their abilities to potential employers. Neville had decided to write about growing foreign plants in local soil, and the implications of being able to do so. Luna Lovegood was writing about the line between practicing fortune telling for Muggles and the Statute of Secrecy. Ginny, who wanted to play Quidditch, was writing about the physical and psychological state of those who had been playing the game for years so she might be able to work as a team Healer once her sports career was over.

"Yes. I've almost finished my proposal. I just want to make sure it's polished. It is the most important paper we'll write while at Hogwarts."

"And one of the reasons Harry and Ron were keen to stay away this year. What are you writing about?"

"A study on those who have spent time in Azkaban, noting trends depending on length of stay, and effects on those who have been freed in their regular lives."

Ginny looked at her in shock. "You do know that means you'll have to visit Azkaban at some point, right?"

"I didn't say it was going to be a pleasant subject," she shrugged.

"Sounds an awful lot like a study of Sirius," Neville mentioned.

"He will be a focal point, especially since he wasn't affected because of his knowledge of his innocence."

"If that's what you want to do," he shrugged, looking pleased to be able to write about plants.

"You're nuts, Hermione," Ginny said, spooning trifle onto her plate. "But, then again, who do we know who isn't a little bit?"