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.

So... Today is my birthday, so I'm giving you a chapter, and a pretty long one with that. ^^ I hope you like it. :) I love you all!

Chapter 10

-o-O-o-

Her hands were sweaty and, no matter how hard she tried to cling on to the polished broom handle, she could still feel her fingers slipping from it, millimetre per millimetre. In the back of her head, she could hear people screaming, calling her name, but she didn't care. She was just desperately trying not to fall.

A gust of wind hit her and she let go of the broom stick, plummeting to the ground, her back to the solid earth. The wind was howling in her ears as she felt herself get nearer to the ground with every second that passed.

But suddenly it wasn't the wind howling in her ears anymore. Instead, as she turned her head she could see a wolf, its furry golden head thrown up in the air, its muzzle to the moon and howling to the death. No, she corrected herself, not to the death, he is calling his companions. Then the wolf looked at her. It had human eyes. Then, the wolf morphed, still staring at her. It stood up on its hind legs, its paws elongated into hands, the golden fur turned into a worn black cloak, its snout shrunk into a straight nose and the only golden part left was soft thick hair on top of the newly human head. All but those eyes changed in front of her and, soon, she was staring at Remus Lupin, she still falling backwards, and he with his wand pointed at her. Expecto Patronum! he cried out, and a silver wolf, the twin of the first one except for the colour, burst from the tip of the wooden stick. The wolf ran to her as Remus disappeared above a cloud she had just past as she was falling down. It ran towards her, galloping, its moth open and its teeth bared in an aggressive manner…

But then it morphed too, and it was no longer a wolf, but a stag running towards her, no longer aggressive but seeming to be trying to save her. Harry! She thought, and, sure enough, now that the silver Patronus got closer, she could see Harry riding it. Or was it really Harry? She wondered. The boy's eyes were green, but with the absence of light, they flickered and she sometimes wondered if they were brown. Was it actually James?

And then she wondered back to her previous vision, and realised she couldn't tell whether or not Remus had been the Remus from her timeline. She looked at her hand and realised, with surprise, that there was a Timeturner there. Suddenly, she wasn't falling off her broom in the Potters' back yard, but she was back in the Department of Mysteries, the Potter boy running towards her, jumping on the ground as his Patronus vanished.

But it was useless.

He was already getting further away as she felt herself being pulled back. She looked down at the Timeturner again and she found it spinning at an alarming speed. Her surroundings blurred and the boy cried out: "Hermione!"

But he was no longer alone. Another boy was running towards her, a panicked look in his silver eyes. "Hermione!" he shouted too, and extended a hand towards her, as if to catch her. His hair was jet black and softly undulated around his head. His chest was large and muscular, and his strong cheekbones gave him an air like that of a rugby player. But he too, like the Potter boy, flickered. Hermione recognised him.

It was Sirius.

But still, as she looked at him, his face went from full and glowing to gaunt and pale, depending on the light. A speck on insanity flickered in his grey eyes and his hand seemed to be marred with long, thin white scars. His cloak changed from black to deep burgundy and back again.

She extended her hand towards him too, as still she fell. She could feel she would hit the ground soon. Sirius lunged at her and grasped desperately to catch her hand, but it was to late. His hand only caught air as Hermione's back hit the ground…

And went right through it.

She felt herself being submerged in ice cold water, sinking as a surprised gasp left her and her lungs filled up with water. She tried to cough, but she only expelled the little air she had left to breathe. She felt the cold seep through her as one thought ran through her head.

I am about to die.

She started crying. She had had so many plans, so many regrets, so many problems to solve, books to read, goodbyes to say… It felt so terrible to be dying. She sobbed a little, and then felt something strange. Something soft, warm and reassuring.

She opened her eyes and she wasn't in a lake anymore. In fact, she didn't know where she was. She was lying in a double bed, in a room where everything seemed to be crème coloured. She was no longer cold as a thick quilt covered her from her feet to her neck. She was lying on her back, and when she turned, she was met with a pair of soft grey eyes.

They were sparkling softly and looking at her as if admiring a work of art. Sirius, for there was now no doubt these eyes were Sirius', lifted his hand and placed it on her cheek. Then, he began to stroke her cheek with his thumb, softly, amorously, and it felt so real.

Hermione, with no more reason to cry, smiled, closed her eyes and leaned into his calloused hand. He chuckled and kissed her forehead, his soft, warm lips lingering on her skin and making her feel safe and fulfilled. It almost felt…

Hermione sighed as her thoughts drifted to another soft dream. But before that, she had once last though, that would have disturbed her had she not been asleep.

It felt nice to be loved.

-o-O-o-

As the sun shone through the windows in Hermione's guest room and its rays hit her eyelids, she slowly regained consciousness. The first thing that she felt was the warmth of the sun on her face, as if enveloping her in a comforting hug. The second thing that she felt was a warm body pressed up against her, its arms around her, actually enveloping her in a comforting hug.

Shocked and surprised, Hermione's eyes snapped open and her head tilted to the right, where she was met with a head of soft and curly jet black hair. Beneath those curls, she could distinguish closed eyes framed with long and thick lashes, a long straight nose, smooth lips, pale skin and a square jaw.

It was Sirius.

And not only was Sirius in her bed, but he had his right arm slung over her middle protectively and his left hand had its fingers closely entwined with those of her right hand, as if it was a natural thing that they should sleep in the same bed.

In shock, Hermione shot up on her bed and shrieked: "What the hell?!"

Sirius woke up, evidently startled, and sat up quickly, his arm falling to his side, leaving a cold absence around her waist. He looked at her, his eyes wide open, then at their entwined hands, then back at her, a kind of understanding dawning on him that she could see in his eyes. She, horrified, wrenched her hand away from his, skidded away on the bed and grabbed a pillow, hugging it to her as if it was a shield.

He held both of his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Hermione," he stated calmly. "I can explain."

Her eyes wandered over to his form. His muscular chest was bare and all of his imposing muscles were tense, which made her nervous. Then she noticed something worse. "Sirius, are you naked?" she screamed, panic welling up in her even more so than before. "What the fuck did we do?!"

Sirius frowned. "I'm not naked." he stated. "I'm wearing pants." And as he said that, he pulled the covers away from his legs, which revealed then wrapped in comfortable pyjama pants with brooms drawn on them.

She gulped. "That still doesn't explain what you're doing in my bed." she told him. "Did you… I mean, did we…" she tried to ask, but found herself unable to do so as embarrassment seemed to tighten her throat.

He frowned at her, his light grey eyes sporting a puzzled look. "Did we what?" he asked.

"Did you and I… You know… Roll around in the hay?" she asked, a deep red blush creeping up her cheeks.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't remember what happened last night?" he asked back.

Hermione gasped. "Oh my God. I can't believe it." she said. Had she really lost her virginity Sirius Black? Tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh no. Oh God no." She sniffed and a tear streamed down her cheek. "I can't believe I had sex with you!" she cried out, before hugging her pillow nearer to her and sobbing inside it.

Soon, she felt strong warm arms wrap around her and she tensed. "Hermione," he whispered, his voice lacking the usual joking tone she associated with him. "We didn't have sex."

She stopped crying for a minute. "We didn't?" she mumbled, peering up at him timidly.

He smiled down at her, probably trying to be reassuring but there was a sad air to his expression as he assured her. "No, we didn't."

She pulled her face completely away from her pillow and he took a step back to leave her some space. She wiped a couple of tears from her eyes before she asked: "Then why are you in my bed?"

Sirius gulped down, seemingly nervous. She frowned, confused. When was Sirius Black ever nervous? "Well," he started, scratching the back of his head. "I was worried about you."

"Why would you be worried about me?" she asked.

"You sort of… fell off a broom." he explained.

She gasped as flashes of yesterday's memories came back to her. The broom, the fall, Sirius catching her, the crash, and then nothing. Black hole.

"So you fainted from emotional stress," he continued. "And Dorea brought you here to sleep. She said you only needed a little rest and then it would all be over and you would be fine. But I couldn't sleep last night because I felt like it was all my fault, with the bet and all, so I went over here to check on you, but I couldn't see if you were breathing from over there so I climbed onto your bed. Then you started crying so I tried to calm you down and when you did, I took your pulse and I guess I must've fallen asleep while doing that." he explained.

"Oh." was all she could muster as a response.

"I think my hands slipped during my sleep because I promise you I did not mean to hug you or hold your hand." he assured her.

Somehow, that made her heart sink. So, maybe he didn't feel any tender feelings for her after all. That was alright, she reasoned. Still, when she spoke back to him, her voice was cold and distant. "If you could leave, now, Sirius, I would greatly appreciate it."

Her detached tone made his head fall, like that of a child that has been scolded. "Alright." he said. "I understand. I'm sorry. For everything." He slipped off the bed, walked over to the door, opened it, but before he stepped through, he asked, not looking at her and his voice quivering. "What is the last thing you remember from yesterday?"

She thought about it before she answered: "I remember you saving me, then us crashing into the trees because your broom was too heavy… And then nothing." She sighed and paused for a bit. "I guess I must've lost consciousness around then." she told him.

He didn't answer. He just nodded stiffly, although she could've sworn she heard him sigh, as if he was relieved by what she had just said. Then he stepped through the door, closed it softly, and Hermione was left alone in her bed, with just her newfound feeling of solitude for company.

-o-O-o-

"Mrs. Potter, you're food is absolutely divine!" Hermione said as soon as she's swallowed the first mouthful of her lamb chops. After a good half an hour of convincing every one she was okay and she had slept all of her problems off, Hermione had realised how long she had actually slept when the huge oaken cloak rang twelve times. It was actually midday.

Sirius had reappeared ten minutes after her, all dressed up and smelling fresh, as if he had just taken a shower, had smiled at her and left it at that. They were now having lunch and they still hadn't spoken a word about the incident.

The elder woman smiled. "Thank you, dear. But, as I have told you, you may call me Dorea."

Hermione nodded and placed a forkful of green beans in her mouth. She risked a side glance at Sirius, who was eating perfectly normally, not watching her, as if he was pretending that she wasn't there. A slight feeling of disappointment welled up in her but she continued to eat as if nothing had happened.

But Sirius was watching. Once in a while, he would glance over to her to check that she was eating properly and that she seemed to be her usual cheerful self. He kept thinking back to what she had told him earlier.

"I can't believe I had sex with you!"

Her words has stung, so much. They had wounded his Black pride, first and foremost, as he was not used to having girls talk to him like that. But that wasn't the worst pain he had felt. When she had told him, he had felt… rejected. Alone. If she didn't want him, he felt empty, devoid of meaning, a shell…

When she was in his arms, he felt whole, warm and fulfilled. When she cried, he felt an urge to hold her, to reassure her until all her problems would leave and they would be the only thing left on Earth. He felt so drawn to her, it was as if they were…

Meant to be.

He gulped down and snuck another glance towards her. At least she didn't know how he felt. She hadn't heard his confession in the forest the afternoon before. His growing pull towards her was scaring him to no end. But he had given up on fighting it. She intrigued him and he was going to find out what there was between them.

Had someone jinxed them? Bonded them? Cursed them?

Whatever it was, Sirius vowed to find out why he felt this drawn to her and why she, somehow, didn't seem to be feeling the same way.

They finished their pork chops and beans in silence, save for Charlus' occasional joking. When the desert came, Hermione thought her eyes were going to pop out. "Good lord." she said. The desert was made up of a huge cake with chocolate icing, little pink and blue sugar flowers peppering the top, with a huge ball of vanilla ice-cream on each part.

"Ladies first." Dorea said, shooting a glance at Sirius who, she was sure, was about to claim the biggest piece. But he made no move and seemed to be deep in thought, which made her frown, before she turned back to Hermione, smiling. "There you go dear." she said, giving her said piece of cake.

They ate their cake in silence, and once James was finished, he asked to get out of table and immediately shot outside to work on his broomstick. 'Boys.' Hermione thought, rolling her eyes and placing another spoonful in her mouth. She was eating merely out of politeness, now. The cake was certainly very good, but it was also very heavy and giving her the biggest piece was not the best idea Dorea had ever had.

Sirius noticed she wasn't eating much anymore and asked cautiously: "Hermione, are you feeling alright?"

She looked up to him and saw genuine concern in his eyes. She knew he thought it was about her accident and that she might feel sick, so she tried to reassure him. "Yes, yes, I'm fine!" she said, smiling up at him. "I'm just feeling slightly full, and I'm not sure I can finish." she explained, poking at the cake left on her plate with her spoon. Then she looked back up at him. "Do you want some?" she asked, pushing her plate to him.

Still, concern flooded his eyes as he glanced at the piece of cake and then back to her. "You should really eat it." he tried to reason with her. "Is it because…" he started, but seemed afraid to finish his sentence.

She sighed. "No, it's not because of my accident." she told him gently. "I just really don't feel like eating, that's all." And, with that, she once again nudged her plate towards him.

He sighed, not seeing how he could get out of this. Then an idea dawned on him. "I'll eat a piece of you eat a piece." he tried to bargain.

She scoffed at him. "Sirius, that's ridiculous. We're not children!" she protested, crossing her arms over her chest.

"If you don't eat," he told her, a warning lacing his words. "I will deduce that you are feeling ill and I will insist that you be shipped off to Saint Mungo's immediately."

She contemplated the option for a few seconds before sighing, giving in. Smiling slightly, a satisfied look in his eyes, he took her spoon and cut a bit of the chocolate cake before handing her the silver instrument. She took her spoon, slipped it inside her mouth and closed her lips around it, moaning softly. This cake was just too good.

She slipped the spoon out of her mouth and she started chewing. She took his spoon from his empty plate and cut a piece of cake herself. She swallowed and handed him his own piece of cake. He frowned at her, and she was sure he was going to protest. So, before he could do so, she cut him off.

"Just eat it, Sirius. I know you love chocolate." she smiled and chuckled.

He looked at her, confused. "How do you know I love chocolate?" he asked. "I never told you that."

Hermione gulped down. This was something she knew about the older Sirius, the Sirius from her time period, not this Sirius. Get a grip, Granger! she told herself. She smiled again and improvised. "Who doesn't love chocolate Sirius?" she asked him.

He was still frowning but at least he took the spoon from her and ate the cake inside. When the sweet and soft pastry hit his taste buds, he too closed his eyes and moaned softly. The pair of them continued sharing their piece of cake until it was all gone. Sirius took a napkin and wiped his mouth with it, before declaring: "Well, this was probably the best meal I've ever had."

Charlus and Dorea smiled before the four of them exchanged pleasantries and bid each other good night. Hermione and Sirius started up the staircase, an uncomfortable silence lying heavily upon them. They walked down the corridor until Hermione's bedroom, where she turned to face her door to open it.

"Hermione, wait." he told her, and she spun her head around, her back to the door and the handle in her hand. He seemed to be staring intently at her face, or, more precisely, at her cheek. "You've got a bit of chocolate there." he told her.

He raised a hand hesitantly, but, as determination appeared in his eyes, he placed it on her cheek and rubbed his thumb where Hermione could feel crumbs of cake fall. When all of those crumbs were gone, however, Sirius' thumb hesitated and still stroked her cheek softly.

It felt so good, so right, so warm… But it was wrong. Sirius didn't mean anything romantic by this gesture, she was sure. He had all the girls in the world that he could do whatever he wanted with. He surely would never settle for her. He just wanted something ephemeral, which was something she certainly wasn't going to accept. And so despite the tingling sensations his touch evoked in her, she convinced herself to let go of it. "Sirius…" she whispered. Stop.

He leaned in closer to her so that she could smell his masculine cologne. Don't do this to me. "Yes?" he whispered, his face inches away from hers, his chocolate breath making her hungry for more.

No. This has to stop. She gulped down. Stay away from me. "I…" she tried. "We…" Don't come near me.

He tilted his head to the side. "We what?" he asked curiously. We're not anything.

"We're…" she tried again, but his closeness was distracting. I'll never be one of your one night stands. "We're okay." she managed.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?" he asked, seemingly puzzled.

We're okay as just friends. "I mean I forgive you for the whole… Bed incident." she clarified.

He nodded. "Thank you." he said genuinely. "I'm really sorry. I was just so worried…"

So as long as you don't do it again. "It's okay." she assured him. "So… This is goodnight then, I guess."

"Yeah." he agreed. "Goodnight Hermione." He stared at her for a bit, as if contemplating something, before a decided look appeared in his eyes and he leaned in to kiss her.

No. Hermione thought. No, no, no. Remember the last time he tried to kiss you, he pulled away at the last second. He will do it again. He's just playing with you, just like he plays with the other girls. She inhaled sharply and grasped the door handle, twisting it and pushing her back against it, slipping behind her door. "Goodnight, Sirius." she said quickly before shutting the door in his face.

Then, she slumped against it and fell to the ground, her heart racing in her chest and her breathing ragged. That was close.

On the other side of the door, Sirius was shocked. Two parts of him argued inside his head. One wanted to scream with anger and frustration and punch a wall at the thought of the famous Sirius Black being rejected, whilst the other one was like a dog howling at the death, drowning in despair.

-o-O-o-

Please leave a review! A huge thank you to last time's reviewers: Alessandra.12, Ainmose, a Guest and Mystery of the Night! Love you! :)