Disclaimer: is not, was not, and never will be mine! All credit to the incredible JK Rowling! I do own the plot and some characters though!

Chapter 11: Christmas Plans

Sirius stared at Marlene for a long time, unsure of what to make of what he'd just heard. He knew Hermione had been keeping secrets, but he didn't have any idea they'd be so tragic. As far as he was concerned, he thought he had one of the worst family situations out of everyone he knew; they were bigoted due to their racial prejudices, and he had been an outcast for so long. However, he now regarded Hermione on par. Her family had obviously loved her, and she them, and to lose them was a pain Sirius could only begin to imagine. He felt guilty, because though they were both avoiding each other, she had only begun to avoid him once he had made it clear he was avoiding her.

Another thing that bothered him, though he felt bad for feeling it, was the fact that she was engaged. Not only that, but it was arranged.

As though she'd read his thoughts, Marlene reached out and squeezed his hand, "Look Sirius, I know you like her and you might be thinking that because her engagement was arranged she might not want it, but it didn't seem like that. She was happy Sirius, she had a small smile on her face as she talked about them. I can't begin to imagine how hard it is for her to have them suddenly ripped out from her life. So I'm just trying to say, cut her some slack okay? She feels so bad about how she told you what happened".

Sirius nodded wordlessly at Marlene. Today had been a bad day, and he was not in a good mood. Not even James could cheer him up, or his plan for their latest prank. This was probably why he felt betrayed by Marlene, even though he knew she was right. He felt betrayed because Marlene was his friend first, but she was defending Hermione. She didn't understand that he didn't just like her, Marlene was like him; no one could hold her down. Sirius cleared his throat, "Thanks Marls" he said gruffly, before getting up and slouching out of the portrait hole.

"He still being a moody git?" James jumped down onto the sofa next to Marlene, followed by Remus, Lily and Sofia. It was the first time they'd all been together, and James felt a feeling of contentment. Of course that probably had something to do with the fact that Lily was on the chair beside him, and she had chosen to sit there.

"Give him a break Potter, he's upset and there's a lot to take in" Lily rolled her eyes, classic James.

Sirius decidedly made his way down the corridor, heading towards the library; he knew she would be there, and frankly, they had to talk. Rounding the corner of the back section of the library, he paused as he heard voices. Ones he didn't want to hear. All the group knew that Hermione would be found here if she was in the library, but he didn't know any other people came here.

"I told you we'd find you alone, mudblood" The first gruff voice said threateningly.

"Actually, Malfoy said you'd find me alone" Sirius smirked. He really did love her sharp thinking.

"Shut it you filthy little mudblood bitch! Don't act all clever with us, you sassy comments aren't gonna help you now. There are three of us and one of you, I don't fancy your odds so much. Don't make it harder for yourself" the sneering voice of McNair reached Sirius's ears and he clenched his hands in anger. He was NOT going to harm her, or lay a single finger on her.

"Actually lads, it's two against three, and we're a lot prettier than you are. Not to mention talented" Sirius strode out from behind the bookshelf and slipped an arm around Hermione's waist. When he felt her stiffen slightly, he tried not to let his hurt register on his face. She has a right to act like this, he told himself, and we'll sort it out soon.

Hermione glanced sideways at the handsome marauder and tried not to glare at him. How dare he just come to her rescue and act like nothing was wrong? Yes, she hadn't coped well with him asking her out, hut she had wanted to talk it out with him. But oh no, Sirius Black had other ideas which consisted of him ignoring her completely! He was such a prick and sometimes, okay most of the time, she really wanted to slap him.

"One day Granger, one day Black won't be here to save your pretty little arse, and then you won't know what to do." Mulciber leered at her nastily, and then beckoned Avery and McNair away. Sirius glared after them. They were becoming a very real issue right now, they seemed to crop up everywhere and were intent on doing Hermione some harm. McNair was very similar to Mulciber: ugly, stupid but strong. Except he was a seventh year and could cause much more trouble and injury. Along with Malfoy, Dolohov and Rowle, he was one of the aspiring death eaters. They caused genuine harm to students with dark magic, and he didn't want Hermione to be a target of this.

As soon as they were gone, Hermione quickly lowered her eyes and busied herself with sorting her books out. She felt blood rushing to her cheeks, and her hands shook but she ignored it. Why was she reacting like this? It was just Sirius. A very cute, protective Sirius… she felt a soft hand grip her chin and pull it up until she was looking deep into a sea of silver. She wanted nothing more than to lower her eyes, but she was stubborn for a reason. Pursing her lips, she glared right back, her gaze not wavering even though she could see regret shining back at her. And… something else? She didn't have time to puzzle it out.

"I'm sorry Mione. I was stupid and selfish and I over reacted. I really do like you but it was wrong of me to just expect you to say yes to me, and your friendship means more to me than anything… I've missed you so much" Sirius could see in her eyes that she was caving, smirking he carried on, "OH PLEASE HAVE MERCY! Forgive my incompetence, take me back, I can't live without you!" Sirius punched the air in victory when Hermione gave in and began giggling uncontrollably.

"You. Are. Such. An. IDIOT!" she emphasised each word with a hit to the chest. "And a terrible actor. Such a drama queen… No seriously, I'm sorry too. It shouldn't have happened like that, I should have kept my cool and explained properly. We're both to blame I guess. But I've missed you too. And I am sorry for turning you down, it just isn't right for me at the moment." The problem is I like you… a lot. Hermione said to herself, and felt her eyes widen. She, Hermione Jean Granger, liked Sirius Orion Black, regardless of the fact that he was her best friend's godfather and about 20 years older than her. Or she was 6 years older than him… except they were both now 16… Oh this was so confusing! But either way it was wrong. Because she was engaged to Ron, because she loved Ron.

Entering early December, the group found themselves closer than ever. It appeared that Hermione and Sirius not only kept them together, but held them apart as well. With them back to being best friends, the group was brought together. No one had thought the day would come when you would see Lily Evans and James Potter in the same friendship group and not shouting at each other, but it seemed to have arrived.

"GUYS! I HAVE NEWS. GOOD NEWS, SO VERY GOOD!" James pranced into the common room, doing his best gay walk. "Okay, I've calmed down now. Basically, we're spending Christmas together! No, not buts Mione, you are not staying here alone. My parents want the boys and Mione to stay at Potter Manor, the girls are going to the McKinnon's! Sorry Mione, didn't mean to separate you from the girls but my parents really want you to stay!" he took a deep breath and grinned at everyone. "Shopping at Hogsmead next weekend, you need formal gowns for our annual New Year's Eve Ball! And presents obviously… if you could get me some Quidditch supplies or jokey shit… yeah that'd be perfect."

Hermione looked at her chosen adopted brother with amusement. If only Harry could see him like this… He'd love him.

A/N
This chapter's basically just a bit of fluff, I needed a filler chapter.

Ann- I actually love how you review each chapter, I always look forward to hearing what you think! Yeah I had to add them to the dictionary... I think it'd actually be easier for Hermione to completely lie, because then it would be harder for the group to remind her of them. I added a bit of that conversation, hope it's okay! And NO way, Sirius is mine forever ;)

Okay, we'll be meeting some... Interesting characters in the next few chapters! :)

Love Rads x