A/N: Not beta'd, so pardon any lingering mistakes. Inspired by the Shakespeare quote in summary. xoxo
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Do You Have It In You?
Hermione let out a sigh. Sirius had been acting really strange lately. Almost as if he had been avoiding her. And honestly, it was starting to get on her nerves.
Hermione closed her book. There was no way she was going to be able to focus on her work with all this on her mind.
"Maybe I'll feel better if I go visit him." Hermione stood, putting her things away. She grabbed her cloak and made her way towards the door. Locking up her flat up, she turned on the spot and Apparated to the Ministry.
Shortly after the War, Luna had managed to reverse the effects of the Veil, therefore saving Sirius. He was cleared of all charges and offered a job on the Auror's team. Everyone was glad to have him back, Hermione included.
She had always had a crush on the older wizard, but she dismissed it. There was a war to focus on! However, about two years after Voldemort's defeat, Hermione had found herself attracted to the mischievous wizard once more. She tried to ignore it but failed miserably. She was infatuated.
One night, Hermione had ended up drinking at Grimmauld with Sirius and a few others. She had woken up the next morning in Sirius' bed, naked. Needless to say, they've been together since.
That was two years ago, and things had been going perfectly. So why was he pulling away? she thought to herself worriedly.
She made her way through the Ministry towards Sirius' office. Once there, she knocked on the door. No answer. Pursing her lips, Hermione knocked again, this time a little harder.
"Hermione," a voice said.
Turning, she saw Padma Patil, the Auror secretary, poking her head outside the doorway.
"Oh, Padma, do you know where Sirius is?" she asked, moving towards her old classmate.
Padma shook her head, frowning. "He has today off."
Hermione felt anger and sadness bubble up within her all at once. If he wasn't at work, then where was he? Closing her eyes, she nodded. "Thanks, Padma." She stormed off, quickly going back to her flat.
Where the hell was Sirius? Hermione's hands formed fists. He had told her this morning he had work, which was why he had to leave so suddenly.
But he lied? Hermione felt defeated. Sirius had never lied to her, not once their entire relationship. Why start now? What had changed?
The answer was right in front of her face and she felt stupid for not realizing it sooner.
He was cheating.
He had to be! There was no other reason. Why else would he lie to her and put distance between them? Now that she thought about it, when they did talk, he appeared nervous and uninterested.
"What the hell!" she cried out, throwing a book across the room in anger. Her chest heaved as she breathed deeply, in and out.
She needed to talk to Ginny, now. Stumbling over to her fireplace, she flooed over, not bothering to let Ginny know she was stopping by. Stepping into the kitchen, she brushed the soot off her skirt.
"Hermione?" Ginny asked, surprise etched all over her face as she moved into the kitchen to see who was there. She took in Hermione's dishevelled appearance and her splotchy face. "What's wrong? Have you been crying?"
Hermione nodded, a sob escaping her lips. Moving towards Ginny, she threw herself into her best friend's arms. Her body shook as she cried.
Ginny was alarmed. She had never seen Hermione like this. "Mione?" she asked softly, rubbing her friend's back.
"It's awful, Gin! I can't believe I didn't see it sooner!" Hermione sobbed.
Ginny let her towards the table, having Hermione sit down. She flicked her wand, causing some water to start boiling for tea. "See what? Hermione, what are you talking about?"
Hermione wiped away some of the tears. "I'm such a fool, Ginny, I really am." She let out a small sniffle as she tried to get ahold of her emotions.
"You're not making any sense, Mione," Ginny said gently, moving to get the tea.
"It's Sirius!" Hermione bit her lip, willing herself not to cry.
Ginny turned and shot Hermione a confused look. "What about Sirius?" she asked warily. Last she knew, Hermione and Sirius were doing fine.
"He's been pulling away, Ginny, not paying me any attention." Hermione sniffled. "And he lied to me! He lied to me, Ginny!" she cried out.
Ginny quickly placed two cups of tea on the counter. Hermione quickly took a sip, hoping that it would calm her down.
"Hermione," Ginny said gently, "maybe Sirius just has a lot on his mind. I'm sure things will be back to normal before you know it."
Hermione shook her head. "I think he's cheating on me." A sob escaped her lips.
"You think I'm cheating on you?" a voice asked from the doorway.
Turning her head, Hermione saw Sirius standing there, along with Ron and Harry. She quickly moved her hand to wipe away some of her tears.
Ginny stood, quickly shooing Ron and Harry away. "They need some privacy," she muttered, closing the door behind her.
"Is that what you think?" he asked, crossing the room towards her. His expression was one of hurt.
Hermione nodded.
"Why would you think that? Hermione," he took her hands into his. "I love you."
Hermione simply sniffled. "Why are you acting so distant then? Why did you lie to me about having work today?" She was hurt and wanted to know the truth.
Hermione cupped her face. "Hermione, I love you, and I would never ever cheat on you."
"Then explain yourself!" she demanded, anger seeping into her words.
Sirius took a deep breath. "I've been distancing myself because I've had a lot of my mind."
"Like what?"
He smiled sheepishly. "I've been nervous about something and wasn't sure if it was the right thing or not. But after this morning, I knew it was, so I left with Harry to do something."
Hermione had stopped crying and was now paying attention to what he was saying. "So you're not cheating on me?" she asked quietly.
He shook his head. "I would never," he cupped her cheeks, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"But I still don't understand. Why did you pull away like that? You made me so nervous..." she looked at her hands, slightly ashamed she had jumped to conclusions.
Sirius chuckled. "Because Hermione, I was scared, but I'm not anymore." Getting down on one knee, he pulled something from his pocket. Holding it up, Hermione saw it was a tiny black box. Her heart began to race.
"I love you, Hermione, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I supposed I pulled away because I was so frightened you'd find out, or be mad… I know it was stupid of me, and I hope you can forgive me." He looked to Hermione, a small smile on his face.
Hermione nodded, her eyes welling up with tears once more.
"So, Hermione Granger, will you marry me?" he asked, looking towards her pleadingly.
Hermione nodded, throwing herself into his arms. "Yes!" she cried, planting kisses all over his face. "Yes, yes, yes," she repeated again and again.
Sirius chuckled, holding the smaller witch to his frame. "I love you," he said, hugging her tightly.
She pulled back, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Oh, Sirius, I love you too!"
He smiled, before taking the ring and sliding it onto her finger.
Hermione glanced at it. It was a simple diamond, not too flashy, not too simple. "It's perfect," she whispered. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him down for a kiss. "Thank you, Sirius."
He kissed her tenderly. Pulling back, he let out a small laugh. "I'm glad you think so highly of me," he said, a teasing glint in his eyes.
Hermione's cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Sirius, I was just upset, and it just seemed to make sense, although now that I'm thinking about it the whole idea seems absurd." She shook her head. "I let my temper get the best of me."
Sirius chuckled, wrapping his arms around her. "It's kinda funny, you know?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Only you would think that was funny."
He shrugged. "I'm a funny sort of guy." He gave her a quick kiss. "I am sorry about acting so strange, though. I didn't mean to worry you."
She smiled. "It's all right. I'm fine now that I know what was going on, but don't do it again."
"Yes ma'am," he mumbled against her lips. Closing his eyes, he kissed her passionately.
"Oi! Enough of that!" Harry shouted from the doorway.
The couple broke apart, turning to face others. Ginny squealed when she saw the ring. "Oh, congratulations!" she cried, tackling Hermione into a hug.
Harry clapped Sirius on the back, grinning. "Congrats!"
Hermione smiled at Sirius. She couldn't believe how this day turned out. It was certainly unexpected, but she was so happy.
"I love you," she whispered to Sirius.
He smiled. "I love you, too, Hermione." Leaning over, he kissed her.