It was six am before Hermione finally got to sleep but it was half eight when she woke. She didn't feel like she could sleep anymore. Hermione walked downstairs and found Sirius sitting in the kitchen, staring absentmindedly at the wall. He realised Hermione had entered the kitchen and stood up. Sirius could see the pain in Hermiones eyes and he felt a surge of pain as well.

"How did you sleep?" he asked softly.

"I had a few hours." Hermione croaked.

Sirius gave her a sympathetic look.

"Come on, come sit down. I'll get you some breakfast."

Hermione walked over and sat down.

"I'm not hungry, thanks Sirius." Hermione was looking down at the table, in her own little world. Sirius hated this; he wished he could do something. Sirius bent down next to her chair but she didn't look at him. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Hermione, is there anything I can do?"

Hermione shook her head and more tears slid down her cheeks. Sirius stood and put a hand on her shoulder once gain, stroking her with his thumb. Hermione rested her head against his arm and looked up at him her eyes filled with tears. Before he could say anything Hermione stood slowly and wrapped her arms around him. Sirius hugged her back, he hugged her tight and he would hold her till she wanted to let go.

Months passed after the death of Hermiones parents, and Hermione was still as depressed as ever. She sat around the house, only talking to Sirius when she thanked him for dinner, or when he asked her if she needed anything. Hermione didn't cry as much as she did before, but in the night when Sirius went to bed after her, he would often hear her sobbing. Hermione sat in the small cottage sitting room, staring out the window from her armchair and all Sirius could do was watch and wait for her to talk. Not that she ever did.

One night Hermione was sitting upstairs in her room when she heard Sirius call from downstairs.

"Hermione…Hermione I've made dinner."

Hermione didn't answer but Sirius was used to that by now. She heard him walk back to the kitchen and she rose from sitting at her bed and went to join him. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, walking into the dim light of the hallway she saw the kitchen had transformed. There was no light in the room except for the two candles at the table and another collection of candles that were dispersed around the kitchen. Along with the candles on the table there were two plates of delicious looking meals, two small glasses and a bottle of firewhiskey. A muggle CD player was also stationed in the corner of the kitchen and a slow, sweet song was playing quietly. Hermione was standing in the doorway of the kitchen when Sirius looked up. He saw her surprised expression and smiled.

"I thought you could use some cheering up, so I changed the atmosphere a bit and found us some firewhiskey."

Hermione smiled the best she could manage, she was grateful and she had been such bad company for Sirius these past months.

"Thank you Sirius, this was a really nice thing for you to do but – " Sirius was shaking his head with a sad smile on his face.

"Hermione you need to do something other than sit around the house, you don't talk, and you don't eat." Sirius was shaking his head and he really did look quite worried.

"I'm sorry I've been such bad company Sirius I – "

"Hermione it's not that I care about! I just worry every time I go to bed that, I'm going to wake up in the morning and your going to be – " Sirius' voice was loud, he was bent over, resting his hand on the kitchen counter, looking down to the floor, and he was breathing heavily.

Hermiones eyes were glazed over with tears.

"Sirius" she whispered.

"Hermione lets just eat." He walked over to the table and sat in his usual seat. Hermione followed and looked into her plate.

"It looks good." Hermione looked up and smiled enthusiastically at Sirius.

"Its stew, I hope you like it." Sirius looked up and barely smiled.

Hermione looked at the bottle of firewhiskey and over to Sirius. She picked it up and poured Sirius a glassful, and then one for herself. As she was pouring Sirius looked up at her, a little surprised. Hermione stared back at him and then gave him an almost cheeky smile.

"I could use a cheering up."

Sirius grinned at her.

"Eat up Hermione."

Hermione smiled at him again and began eating.

Hermione and Sirius talked over dinner. When they were both finished Sirius poured himself another glass of firewhiskey and offered it to Hermione. This was Hermione and Sirius' third glass of firewhiskey. Hermione could feel herself getting tipsy. She took another drink from her glass and felt the light burning sensation in her throat. Sirius got up off his seat and walked over to the CD player, he turned up the volume and walked over to Hermiones seat.

"May I ask for a dance?" Sirius bowed and held out his hand for Hermione to take.

Taking his hand they moved to the centre of the room.

Placing one hand on her waist he swayed with her gently. Hermione felt a lump in her throat and when he looked into her eyes, she felt her face blush a light pink. Hermione looked away and Sirius grinned. The music's beat began to get faster and in turn so did Sirius' dancing, pulling Hermione along with him. They danced around the kitchen and every now and then Sirius would swirl Hermione around. Hermione and Sirius danced and laughed for what seemed like ages. Eventually Hermione moved over to the table and got both their glasses. They drank down their firewhiskey and poured another glass each. They started to dance again and this time Sirius' arm was right around Hermione's waist so her body was pressed against his. Her hand was resting heavily on his chest. Hermione guessed it was the firewhiskey but she didn't feel tense or uncomfortable at all. She felt happy.

The song ended and Hermione looked into Sirius' eyes, and he looked into hers.

Sirius' lips pressed against Hermione's, they had a short soft kiss for a moment before pulling back and looking at each other again. Hermione was panting slightly from their small kiss. Her insides had leapt at his kiss. She wanted to kiss him again, and without another thought she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately on the lips. Sirius wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her slightly off the ground. As they kissed they tumbled through the hallway and again he lifted her but this time her legs wrapped around his waist. Sirius kissed Hermione all the way upstairs.