Chapter 7: Miracles do Happen

"You can sound the alarm, you can call out your guard. You can fence in your yard, you can hold all the cards. But I won't back down, no, I won't back down."
-Eminem ft. P!nk; Won't Back Down

"Hermione!" Sirius screamed at the tops of his lungs. That woman he loved, that he revered more than anything. Dead on the floor.

"You might as well save your breath, your blood traitor bitch is dead. The Dark Lord delivered her end himself," His traitorous brother laughed from his place above him.

"No, she can't be dead. She just can't," Sirius all but sobbed.

"Well, she is, just shut up," Regulus crutioed him.

"Reg, she was-" Sirius hiccuped a sob. "She was carrying our baby. My heir, he's gone."

No sooner had Sirius said that, everything went black, and when he next gained consciousness he was in St. Mungo's with an Auror posted at his doorway.

Regulus had grabbed a thoroughly tortured Sirius and apparated them, Regulus in full death-eater regalia, and Sirius bloodstained and bleeding into the front room of St. Mungo's where Regulus had waited patiently to be taken into custody, and Sirius was rushed to the spell-damage wing.

Sirius sat in his hospital bed, shaking, as his body twitching with aftershocks caused by the crutiartis curse, and openly sobbing like a baby.

Lily and James came to comfort him for a few days, but eventually even they stopped coming. His condition didn't change until the fifth day after Hermione's death. All patients in St. Mungo's, were they able to read it, were delivered a copy of the Daily Prophet. And today that rag had a ridiculous headline plastered across it

"BLACK HEIRESS DEFIES DEATH: KILLING CURSE INEFFECTIVE!"

The article, written by an up-and-coming journalist Rita Skeeter, depicted the "triumph of one Hermione Black over a killing curse cast by He-who-must-not-be-named. The Black who lived, as she is now termed, is alive and well, living in her estate procured by her legendary 'to the death' duel with her cousin Bellatrix Lestrange née Black. See page 2B for details on that duel, 3A on thwarting the plans of he-who-must-not-be-named, or all of 4 for information on the Black-Who-Lived."

It took Sirius all of five seconds after having read that article to leap from his bed, grab his wand, and apparate to Lestrange Manor. Consequences be damned.

"Hermione!" The broken man bellowed (think like post-askaban Sirius, though younger. He hasn't slept or eaten in nearly a week, and he's desperate.) "Where are you?"

Silence was all Sirius was met with. He trailed through the manor he knew so very well. It wasn't until he ventured to the room that held the bed in which they'd produced his heir that he heard a sound. It was a small sound, but primal. It was the sound of an anguished sob.

Sirius pushed back the half opened door, and was greeted by a sight he thought he'd never see again. It was his fiance, alive and well. "Hermione," Sirius said softly.

"Go!" She sobbed, not coming out of the shadows. "I don't want you to see me like this, I'm ugly."
"You could never be ugly to me, Hermione," Sirius said in a soft voice.

"Are you so sure?" Hermione snarled haughtily. she stepped out into the light, her once shiny, voluptuous hair how laid in stringy, limp strands, but the most striking difference was the color, once Black as night, as much Black as she was, it was white. White as the pure, undriven snow.

Another remarkable difference was the scar, angrily red, cutting from the top of her forehead to the bottom of her chin, it gapped her left eyebrow and pulled down the left side of her lips into a permanent grimace.

"I'm ugly, just leave. I- I can't do this. I lost the baby. I had one fucking job. One job, and I couldn't even do that," She cut off. "Look at you, you can't even stand up! I'm a failure, feel free to cut off the contract. No one wants an ugly wife whose lost their heir. Here's your damn ring," She yelled flinging the beautiful ring at him.

"Hermione, I-" Sirius started to say.

"Just leave Sirius, please don't lie to me. I'm damaged. I can't do this, just leave me to wallow in my own damn misery,"

"Hermione, what kind of Fiancé would I be if I just let you wallow 'in your own damn misery every time something bad happens. You're the fucking Phoenix for Merlin's sake!" He yelled. "Are you going to take this sitting down. Let Tom know you mean business!"

"Sirius!" He heard the voice of Hermione calling him, he shook, as the colorful images behind his eyelids dispersed. He looked up, and there they were, in the same room, but he and Hermione were in the bed. Hermione was unchanged, no scar, and still curly black hair. "Sirius, were you having a bad dream?" Hermione asked him.

"Yeah, Love. The worst," He said, then he told her of his dream.

"That's intense," Hermione said, expelling a breath of air, "I'm glad none of that really happened."

"Me too," Sirius admitted. That was scary. He couldn't believe that none of that had actually happened. They were still blissfully uninvolved in the war, and Hermione thankfully alive, and well.

They sat in silence a while, absorbing their thoughts, before finally Sirius asked "So, what did you think of the meeting?"

"It was good. I mean, I tried to make pairs that were unevenly matched on purpose. I hope it worked enough to shop them what they'd be up against," Hermione said, doubting for a moment her ability to teach her peers.

"We tried, that's what counts. They're all more prepared to face an attack today than they were yesterday, so we've accomplished something," Sirius said in his happy-go-lucky way that always made Hermione feel better.

They sat in silence a while longer, it was a Saturday morning, and because of Sirius' nightmare they were up much earlier than usual. "So, Hermione, uh, I know we haven't had much time to discuss it, but erm, We're gonna get married; how do you feel about that?" Sirius asked, a little uncomfortable. The question itself had been burning in the back of his mind for quite some time, but he hadn't had the opportunity nor the inclination to voice it until now.

"That's a difficult question, Sirius," Hermione responded.

"How so?" He asked, not missing a beat.

"To be honest," Hermione sighed once, "If it were my choice, it wouldn't be happening, I'd probably find a nice boy in France, who didn't speak a lick of english, if it were my choice," She cut off as Sirius interrupted her.

"Mon cherie!" Sirius said as he clutched his hands to his chest dramatically.

"Stop it, this is serious!" Hermione said, grinning widely as she smacked him on the side of the head softly.

"But, I AM Sirius!" Sirius said, his eyes getting comically wide, and eyebrows wagging theatrically.

"Oh Merlin, I give up," Hermione said, shaking her head as she chuckled.

"Don't give up, just give in. You looooooove me," He wagged his eyebrows again. "You just want my bodyyyy Hermioneeee," He said, stretching his arms out to run up and down his torso.

"Sure, Sirius, I only want you for your body," Hermione said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"See! You admit it!" The smirking jokester said, jabbing his finger in her direction.

"Siriusly, Sirius? You're being a child," Hermione admonished.

"I know, but I've got the body of a God!" Sirius said, still teasingly.

"Sure," She responded.

"But look, I've already got you in bed with me, that's got to count for something..." He trailed off, looking at her for some type of gratification.

"Only because you were the most available bachelor at the time," Hermione snorted.

"Mione, You've gotta admit it, I'm the sexiest thing to ever grace your bed," Sirius said, not so jokingly anymore.

"I've had cats sexier than you," Hermione chuckled a little at her joke.

"Oh, so we're going to play hardball. I see," He said, rising from his position next to her. "I declare a tickle war!"

Sirius rolled over onto her and began to tickle her side. "Can't- Breath- Sirius- Please-" Hermione said between laughs.

"Look at you, begging already," He said, his grin wide once again.

"Sirius, this is serious!" Hermione said again while laughing.

"I know my name Hermione, you don't have to remind me," He said, gathering both her hands in one of his and pulling them above her head.

All at once, Hermione realized the position they were in, as it was quite intimate. She blushed crimson.
"Oh, love, there's nothing to be embarrassed about," Sirius said, now running his nose up and down her jawline leaving phantom kisses along it.

"Siri," Hermione said, biting her lip. "please," Hermione said, suddenly breathing hard, her cheeks tinged a dark red still.

"Admit that I'm the sexiest thing to ever grace your bed," Sirius barked, his face still comical, but she could tell by the hardness against her that he was as turned on as she.
"Well, I had Regulus in my bed just yesterday, so I can't really admit that," Hermione said flippantly.

"You did what?" Sirius growled, attacking he neck with open mouthed kisses. "My little brother will never be a better lover than I am, he doesn't know you like I do," He said brazenly, as he licked that little special spot behind her ear, which elicited a guttural sound from Hermione that she had no name for.

"Siri, we need to stop," Hermione said breathlessly.

"Oh, fine," He pouted, his lower lip jutting out. "You don't let me have any fun."

"I know, it's just," Hermione paused, as if she was choosing her words very carefully. "Do we really know each other, Sirius? I mean really know each other, not just like every other pureblooded marriage, I want you to be my best friend, I want to be happy. I was talking to Lily about muggle relationships. Typically muggles date for a while, and go out to dinner, and do 'couple things', long before they even decide to get married. And they marry for love, I couldn't believe that. I mean wizards take mistresses for 'love' all the time, but I didn't think it was really possible..." She trailed off.

"What, you don't believe in love?" He asked.

"Not really. I mean, my parents didn't love each other. I felt strongly for my mother, but I didn't really know her or see too much of her. I don't really know what it is," Hermione admitted.

"Do you want to find out what love is?" Sirius asked quietly.

"How?"

Sirius paused for a few minutes, "I realize I'm doing this backwards, putting a ring on your finger, before I asked you on a date, but uh, Hermione, what do you say about going out to lunch in Hogsmede next weekend?" He asked as though he was afraid she'd turn him down.
"Why not?" she said with a small smile on her face.

So? Thoughts? I read through what I'd written and realized that they'd been going waaaaaay too fast, so I slowed things down considerably. Sorry I haven't updated. This snow storm that just hit the midwest hit my town especially hard, and I haven't had any computer access for the last week or more.