Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, and I'm merely allowed to play around with them. No copyright infringement is intended.

I'm sorry this was a little late... Okay, VERY late, but this week has been hectic and... Yeah, enjoy. :)

Chapter 6

-o-O-o-

Sirius Black woke up in his bed with one, bad, head splitting, brain-trampled-by-bulls-and-then-got-shot-fifteen-times-before-being-hit-by-a-truck headache. It throbbed like there was no tomorrow.

He moaned and rolled over in his bed as he squeezed his eyes shut. "It's your own fault, you know." he heard a voice say.

He opened one of his eyes to find Remus gazing down upon him, an amused glint in his eyes. "I think I'm dead." he told him, his voice barely more than a croak.

His werewolf friend cocked his head to the side, puzzled. "Dead?" he asked.

Sirius nodded, then winced as he felt his brain give a painful throb. "Only hell can hurt so much."

Remus smiled. "Well, you're half right." he joked. "After all, Hermione the 'demon' cast the Stupefy curse on you"

Sirius was about to answer, except he realised that he didn't know what to answer. "Stupefy?" he asked.

Remus shook his head, laughing slightly. "You were drunk last night, Padfoot. No wonder you don't remember." he told his friend.

"Hmm." Sirius said, sitting up. "How drunk?"

"Very." Remus told him.

"Like, James' 15th birthday kind of drunk?" Sirius asked, stretching his arms up in the air.

Remus shook his head. "More like his 16th." he told him.

"Oh, wow." Sirius said, his eyes opening wide. "That must have been awful."

Remus cleared his throat. "Yeah, about that, Pads," he started. Sirius felt dread rise up in his throat. "You almost told Hermione about my lycanthropy yesterday night."

There was a moment of silence. "Well, fuck me sideways." Sirius said, gaping at Remus. "I… I'm so sorry Moony, I… I…"

"It's okay." he reassured his friend. "I said almost." Seeing Sirius' confused look, he added: "She Stupefied you before you could say it."

There was another silence. "Well," he said after a while. "That's a happy coincidence, isn't it?" he asked.

Remus looked thoughtful as he answered: "Yes… A coincidence." Sirius was about to ask him what he was thinking about but his head quickly snapped to his Animagus friend. "I think you should apologise to her." he said.

Sirius gulped. Apologising was never an easy or natural thing for him to do, and he didn't look forward to it. However, he knew that it had to be done, and so yielded to Remus. "Alright." he sighed. "I'll do it this morning, but only if all of you guys come with me."

Remus looking at him curiously. "Why would we need to come?" he asked.

Sirius looked slightly embarrassed as he answered. "I need moral support, Moony." he whined. "Please?"

Remus sighed. "I guess I can see what we can do."

Sirius gave him a half grin. "You're the best, Moony boy!" he thanked him.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Duh!" he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole planet. "Someone in this Marauder organisation has to be the brains or we'd always get caught!"

Sirius snorted. "What am I? Chopped liver?"

Remus looked at him pitifully and answered: "You're a good guy, Sirius. Never forget that."

Sirius glared at him. "Arsehole." he told him.

Remus grinned. "Yes, you're that too." he teased.

-o-O-o-

Hermione woke up early that morning, feeling very monotonous, almost robotic. She wondered why that was for a long time, until she realised what day it was. She was sipping her coffee quietly when she came to that realisation: it was the last day before the holidays and the others were all leaving tomorrow.

She also came to the realisation that she was going to be very lonely for the next two months. Busy and taken, but lonely. After all, she had her appointment with the goblins, her work at the Three Broomsticks and her O.W.L.'s to pass again, much to her regret.

She therefore started the day very moodily. To her cure her grumpiness, she took a trip to the library after her breakfast finished. She didn't even glare at the Slytherins as she left the Great Hall.

Once in the library, she felt much better. She breathed in the scent of books with her eyes closed and when she opened them, she was smiling. She picked a book out of a shelf randomly and opened it to the first page. Most ancient Pureblood Houses and Their History, the cover read. The first chapter was on the Black family.

She was so engrossed in the book that she didn't notice the arrival of four figures, hiding behind a bookcase. They deliberated quietly for a few minutes before one of them stepped out, irritated at having to be the spokesperson.

He ruffled his raven hair a little and advanced awkwardly towards the reading girl. "Err… 'Mione?" he asked.

She looked up from her book and the boy. "Oh, hey Sirius." she greeted him when she recognised him.

He looked very stressed, as if something was bothering him. She wondered what it was for some time, until she remembered the thing he almost let slip the day before.

He gulped down hard. "Look, I'm really sorry about yesterday." he started. "I was totally wasted and I said some stupid stuff because I was trying to prove myself, to show you I was tough and… well, I ended up being really mean to James and Peter and… Oh, god, Remus!"

He looked really ashamed of himself, and he started biting his knuckle.

"I nearly said some awful stuff about him, and, I swear, if you hadn't cursed me, it would have meant the end of him." he released a dry sob, and she couldn't help herself.

She put her book down on her chair, stood up and embraced him. Well, sort of embraced him, because she only reached about his shoulder, so her arms were wrapped around his waist.

He was surprised at first, but soon enough, he returned her hug, and they even swayed a little. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply.

"It's okay, Sirius." she told him. Her voice was slightly muffled by his shirt. "Everyone makes mistakes. I'm just really happy you accept yours."

He had calmed down and was now no longer biting his knuckles. "I'm such a monster." he said, holding her tighter.

She detached herself from him. "Don't say that, Sirius."

Her voice was soft, but she knew he wouldn't disobey her.

"You are one of the bravest men I've ever met. You can take things most people would break down if they happened to them. You're one of the most intelligent, too. You don't follow others like sheep, you think about what's asked of you. You even went against your own family to achieve that independence."

He smiled slightly.

"No matter how hard you might try to convince others and yourself, it's a really hard thing to do. Where I come from…"

He inhaled sharply, and she knew why: it was the first time she spoke of her past willingly.

"Where I come from, there was a man I knew like that. He had abandoned everything he had, conscious of the consequences, for his friends and his beliefs. After that, he lost the life he had built himself because of an unjust accusation. He spent twelve years of pure torture paying for that. Here, it's an equivalent to twelve years… In Azkaban."

Sirius gasped. "Twelve years? And he never lost it?"

She shook her head. "He came back." she continued. "He came back to put things right and punish the real culprit. He didn't manage to do it, but I had the privilege of meeting him. And despite all that Fate had thrown in his face, he could still smile." she smiled to herself. "He could still laugh, and no matter how much he enjoyed denying it… He could still love. And I have always admired him because of that."

She held her hand up next to his cheek hesitatingly, before stroking it gently.

"You remind me so much of him." she whispered.

He leaned against her hand. When she pulled it away, he grabbed it and kissed it gently, staring directly into her eyes. His own silver pools were showing so much tenderness she positively melted.

They stayed like that for a while until they heard someone clear their throat. Sirius groaned and turned around, to find the three other Marauders staring.

"Way to go, chopped liver!" Remus cheered, as James and Peter stared at him strangely.

James winked at his friend. "We knew it, Padfoot!" he said.

And, with that, the three Marauders ran off. Sirius scratched the back of his head. "Well," he said nervously. "I do not know what that was about."

Hermione laughed. "Right, Sirius." she said, rolling her eyes.

Sirius tried to look pained. "What makes you think I had anything to do with this?" he asked.

"My dear Sirius," Hermione smiled. "You are always up to something."

He took a step closer to her. "Am I?" he asked tauntingly.

"Yes." she defied him.

Sirius felt something burning up inside him at her words. He arched an eyebrow at her as he took another step towards her. "Well, then," he whispered sultrily. "What am I up to now?"

"I didn't say I ever knew what you were up to." she whispered softly, but he was so close that he could hear her perfectly.

He arched an eyebrow at her. One step closer. His mind was whirring. He didn't know what was happening, or why, or even how. He was just aware of her, so close, just a couple of centimetres. "Would you like to know what's going on in my mind, Hermione?" he asked her, his eyes burying themselves in hers.

She didn't answer, but he moved his face closer to hers. Her eyes fluttered shut and he stared at her lips. They looked so plump, so ripe, so kissable… He moved closer and closer, his body taking over his very reason. His feelings were incredible, they were pulling him towards her, closer, closer and closer…

Then, something clicked.

His feelings were driving him towards her? Since when did his feelings decide? There was never an unstoppable pull towards anyone! Since when did Sirius Black have feelings anyway? Sirius may often lose his cool, but that was only in the anger department. When it came to girls, he was the one who attracted them, not the other way around!

Meanwhile, Hermione had opened her eyes once more. "Sirius?" she asked, looking up at his angry features.

"I have to go." he said abruptly, and stormed off without an explanation, leaving Hermione stunned.

It's a plot, he thought. Someone's plotting against me, this is unnatural. This shouldn't be happening. It must be some kind of potion, or a curse…

As he mulled this over, stalking through the corridors, he noticed that he had arrived at the Fat Lady's portrait. She smiled at his handsome features and asked: "Password?"

"Flobberworm Mucus!" he snapped at her, and she stared at him, appalled. Nevertheless, with nothing but a disapproving frown, she swung forward to let him in.

Not caring whether anyone saw him in that state, he rushed towards his dormitory room and slammed the door behind himself. He then closed his eyes, grabbed his hair and pulled at it forcefully, groaning very loudly.

"I take it that she refused to kiss you." James said.

Sirius didn't answer, but he shook his head.

"No?" James asked, sounding surprised. "Then, what, did she tell you she was lesbian?"

Sirius shook his head again.

"Was it that bad a kiss?" James asked again, sounding unbelieving.

"There wasn't a kiss at all!" Sirius burst out, sounding extremely pissed off. He let go of his hair and opened his eyes, just to glare at his friend.

James looked surprised. "But you said she-" he started, but didn't get the opportunity to say it.

"She was fine with it." Sirius said, still glaring. "Being all cute and perfect, but I…" he stopped abruptly, not really knowing how to continue from there on.

James stared at him. "You," he said, pointing at Sirius. "Pushed her away?"

Sirius sighed. "Yes." he admitted.

James looked baffled.

"Don't laugh." Sirius warned.

James shook his head. "It's no laughing matter." he said. "Something is really wrong with you. Why did you do it?"

"Well…" Sirius said, sitting down on his bed. "I was getting carried away and… I don't usually… Not in that way… It's as if she was controlling me."

James sighed. "You panicked?" he asked.

Sirius scratched the back of his head foolishly. "Yeah." he admitted.

James raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Why?"

Sirius slumped back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "Remember when I met her?" he asked, instead of answering the question.

"Yes." James answered, not quite sure where this was going to get him.

"I was so sure it was the same as every other girl I had ever met." he explained. "It was the same… Fire, I guess, as Marlene or any girl, for that matter, had ever ignited. Then, it grew… I got scared, and tried to ignore it… Ignore the fear that spread when it did too…"

"Not very Gryffindor." James commented, but Sirius just sat up and glared at him.

"Then, when I was about to kiss her, the fire spread… But it spread too much, too fast…" he continued, standing up and walking across the room. "I needed to have her; I just had to kiss her…"

"Isn't that normal?" James asked.

Sirius shook his head. "No, I couldn't control anything… And then I realised what was happening. I was no longer in control of my mind, or my body…" He turned to face James, fear on his face. "We're not alone, Prongs." he told him.

James looked puzzled. "Sure we are, the room's empty." he told his friend, but Sirius shook his head.

"No, it was like… Like I wasn't the puppeteer, just the puppet, like I wasn't pulling my own strings." he said, sounding panicked. "Something's happening to me, Prongs, and I'm sure someone else had tricked me or something."

"Padfoot…" James said, standing up.

"Imagine!" Sirius exclaimed, ignoring his friend. "Someone's poisoned me, I could drop dead any time now! Or I'm under some sort of spell, the Imperius curse, or… Or maybe…" He breathed heavily as he ran out of steam.

"Pads…" James said calmly, placing his hands on Sirius' shoulders. "Stop freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out." Sirius defended himself.

"Right." James said sarcastically. "And I'm the Queen of England." He laughed, before returning to a serious face. "Point is, you, Mr. Chopped Liver, are in love."

"I'm not-" Sirius started, but James cut him.

"You are, Padfoot darling." James said, theatrically wiping a tear from his eye. "It's your first time, so you're freaking out. I suggest that you stay away from Hermione for the time being, just so that you can calm down."

He let his hands fall and went back to his bed. "But…" Sirius tried, gulping down. "But I'm not in love… After all, I would know, right?"

James sighed, exasperated. "Sirius," he said calmly, using the boy's actual name for the first time in a while. "You are in love with her, and for that I wish you good luck trying to repair what you did today."

"But… No!" Sirius feebly argued.

"Jesus, Padfoot!" James said, glaring at his stubborn friend. "If you're not in love, then what is it? Some plot from Fate to try to get you to hook up with her?"

He laughed at the absurdity of the idea and slumped down on his bed to listen to Wizard Rock. Meanwhile, Sirius whimpered pathetically.

-o-O-o-

Sirius took up James' advice and avoided Hermione for the remainder of the school days. Hermione, although she wondered what had caused his outburst, was perfectly content with the prospect of not having to talk to him ever again. After all, she had almost let him kiss her. And that was awfully embarrassing.

And so, when she accompanied the Marauders to the train station, they might have seemed to be a perfectly united group, save for the fact that Sirius and Hermione were deliberately ignoring each other. The four of them climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express and took place at the compartment which had its window facing the place where she was standing.

She waved them off, promising to write a lot, before walking to the back of the train, so as to exit the platform. On her way, she felt someone staring.

She turned to her right and was not surprised to find Regulus smirking at her from a compartment window. "What do you want, Black?" she asked, really not in the mood.

"Nothing." he answered. Somehow she doubted his sincerity; he was always after something.

"Oh really?" she asked tauntingly. "I guess I'll be off then."

She turned and started to walk away, before he called out: "Granger, wait!" Ha! she thought. I knew it!

She turned back to him and stared at him, trying to look annoyed. "What, Black? I don't have all day."

The smirk looked harder to keep up as he answered. "Have good holidays." After a while, he added. "They might just be your last."

She was surprised, to say the least. "I…" she stuttered. "I… Thank you, I guess."

The train started chugging and moving very slowly. Regulus' face showed panic, before he focused on her, looking menacing. "You'd better write, Granger." he growled. "Because otherwise, I will kill you."

She knew better than to cower in fear. "Sure Black." she said, rolling her eyes. She started to follow the train at a slow pace. "You better write too!" she added, starting to jog. "Because otherwise, I will kill you!"

She started running then, until she reached the end of he platform, and she remembered something.

"Hey Black!" she cried out at his retreating form.

"Yeah?" he yelled back.

She put her hands around her mouth to sound louder. "Don't do anything stupid!" she yelled as loud as she possibly could, before agitating her hand in the air as if she wanted to make a plane land.

She saw him shake his head and wave slightly, before he put his body back in the window and was gone. She hoped he would take her advice.

-o-O-o-

Here come my usual message: Please review! Special thanks to the people who added this story to their follow or favourite lists, as well as to those who merely read it, and very special thanks to my reviewers who stick to this story although I'm not the nicest person in the world: TheSpringLover (my old friend, good to have you back!), Love-Mione-Fanfics, AuntieL, Hermione-Fan and another guest; :D Thank you!

And, thanks to my new, unofficial beta: Love-Mione-Fanfics! The best at correcting my furious typos... :) Thank you!