AN: Hello, fanfiction and Harry Potter fans. I do not own Harry Potter, but feel free to enjoy this or hate it. If you enjoy it, please leave a lovely comment, if you hate it, then leave some constructive criticism, thanks!

Can You Take the Jump?

Chapter 44

"I'm going to kill her; I'm going to kill your mudblood girlfriend!"

"Gah!" Sirius woke up in a dimly lit room as the echoes of his mother's bloodthirsty voice disappeared with each heaving breath he took.

"Ahhh!" He screamed for a second time when he felt his legs seize with cramps.

"Shhh, it's alright. I've got you." A soft and tender voice told him. He jumped when two cold hands touched his legs.

"No, don't! Don't come near me!"

"Sirius, it's me. You're alright. You're at the Potter residence, you got out, remember? It's me."

The sun had yet to rise, and its distant rays were only just starting to lighten the sky. Memories from the previous night flooded his mind.

"Hermione?"

In the faint light, he could see her thick red hair fall into her face, covering half of her pale face, but the other green eye was piercing at him, framed by dark circles and a haunted look. Next to her was a bucket of water with a cloth dipped inside, and his previously red and swollen joints were no longer so inflamed. She must've stayed all night with him sleeping in the chair that was next to his bed.

He had cried his eyes out in front of her, but instead of telling him to stop crying, shushing him, or easing him to calm down, she simply let him cry.

He reached to touch her but froze. "So much more training is needed." Her words echoed in his mind. Her cold stare and dead eyes looked at him as if he were pathetic. "He is mine."

"Sirius?"

Her tired eyes stared at the hand that stayed frozen in the air, centimetres away from her.

"Uhm…" He brought his hand back to his chest and started rubbing it like he'd been burned.

An awkward silence stretched between them.

"I have to be at work in 30 minutes, Mr. and Mrs. Potter should—"

"You work?"

She nodded, "Ollivander's. I'm his assistant for the summer while his son is in America for an internship."

"Oh," Sirius mumbled. "I didn't know."

She nodded, "There are things you don't know about me, Sirius. There's always been."

"And they never bothered you before. Did you think you'd know everything just because I had sex with you a few times?" Those were the words he heard in between her sentences. He knew she wouldn't say that, but he couldn't stop the thoughts from entering his mind.

All he could do was nod.

"Rest some more." She got up from her seat. "I'll let the Potters know that you're up. One of their elves will bring you some food."

Sirius slid into the bed, turning away from her, pulling the blankets up to his chin. He heard her hesitate at the door, but soon the door of his bedroom closed, and she was gone.

He clutched his chest as a pang of pain radiated through him and his eyes burned with tears, but this time he didn't let them fall.

…

"Lily," James leisurely greeted at the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. It was the early morning commute, people were bustling around them, trying to get to their offices before their bosses. However, James's boss was his father.

"James," Lily's heels dug into the floor to stop her rush, leaving marks on the beautiful atrium marble.

The two met midway to the lifts, only to grimace at the long queue.

"Stairs?" James proposed. Lily looked devastated at the mere thought of climbing all those stairs but took a second glance at the queue before nodding.

"It's only 3 levels for you. I have to go all the way up to basement level 2."

"Yeah, but you're bloody fit and I'm not."

James smiled at the backhanded compliment.

"So," Lily started the ascent. "How is he?" She asked, forgoing all the small talk. "According to mum, Hermione came back home early in the morning to change before going to work. I mean, if she's already going to work, he must be okay, right?"

James schooled his face to prevent a grimace, but Lily was able to read him like a book.

"Fuck." She whispered.

Considering it was rare for Lily to curse, James understood that she knew the gravity of Sirius's injuries.

"He was starved, beaten, then tortured with the Cruciatus."

Lily's jaw dropped. She stopped climbing the stairs altogether.

"Wha—the Cruci—"

James also stopped and let out a heavy sigh. He could not explain the emotions that ran through his body when Sirius stumbled into his home in his state, hugging a bloody Obscurus. He glanced at Lily, wondering if she knew what her sister was.

Now that he knew that she was an Obscurial, James started to understand Hermione Evans's reclusive attitude, which often came off as emotionless and cold. He had often misinterpreted it as snobbery and condescension, never understanding his best friend's attraction to her.

He'd spent the night in his family's library reading up on Obscurials and Obscuri but ended up with more questions than he started with. All he got from the books were that a person had to have immense trauma at a very young age to attract the magical dark parasite. It was something that only happened to a young developing child or someone will a mental disability that limited their intelligence to that of a child because older people's mental cognitive abilities were better equipped to cope with trauma. Many Obscurials didn't live past 11 since that was the age when a person's magic started becoming more and more uncontrollable, which was why wizarding education started at that age, needing a wand and magical education to learn to control their inner magic.

To have lived this long was a testament to Hermione Evans's self-control, self-restraint, and self-sacrifice. He thought back on the many comments he'd made to her about her attitude with a grimace.

"How is your sister?"

Lily let out a breathless laugh, "I didn't even get to see her this morning. She left so early and when I dropped by Ollivander's, the front door was still locked. Considering she went to work as if nothing out of the ordinary happened, I'm guessing she's okay. I know she's my sister, but sometimes…" she trailed off, shaking her head.

"She's something." James agreed. "But this time, I'm thankful she is the way she is. I mean, she's kind of fucking incredible, if you think about it. She walked into a Death Eater meeting and escaped, not only relatively unscathed but with Sirius. If she hadn't done it, I don't know if Sirius would have survived. Gods, Lily, when I saw him, I almost didn't recognize him because of how skinny he'd turned. It looked like he'd barely been given a meal for weeks. It's easier to count the patches of his skin that weren't coloured with fresh and fading bruises, and the skin around his neck, wrists, and ankles are so fucking raw that…"

"He's safe," Lily stepped up to him and grabbed his hands with reassurance. "He's safe, he's alive, and he'll never have to go back."

James nodded.

"I guess my sister's Obscurus gave her one benefit." Lily let out a lifeless laugh.

James blinked, "So you know? Do the rest of your family know?"

Lily tilted her head to the side with confusion. "Of course, we all know. Hermione's had the parasite since she was born."

Lily continued to walk up the stairs, unaware of the flabbergasted expression on James's face.

"How? I mean, what happened?"

"James," she shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that. It's… deeply personal to Hermione. If you're really curious, you can try asking her. Also, I need you to not tell anyone else, this goes for your whole family. It's not a secret, she's in the Ministry's records, but our family tries to keep it hush-hush for obvious reasons."

Lily looked like she was preparing to fight him on the issue. As often as she liked to complain about her sister, James knew Lily was fiercely protective of Hermione and loved her deeply. "Okay." He nodded with understanding.

Lily looked surprised for a moment, but she smiled with gratitude that the issue wasn't being pressed. The two continued up the stairs until Lily broke the silence once again.

"If Sirius was in that state, what will happen to his mother? His family?"

"My dad got a warrant to arrest Walburga Black for abuse and negligence today. He's bringing her in. Dad hopes she'll say something once she's in interrogation, but he doesn't think she's the type to take Veritaserum, so Sirius is coming in to cross-check some of her stories, to see how much she's lying."

"That's—" Lily abruptly stopped when she almost ran into James. She looked around to see why he'd stopped to realize she'd arrived at her floor. "Oh." Time always moved strangely quick when she was with James.

"Sirius wants to have lunch with the four of us, your sister, you, Sirius, and I. We're thinking about 12:30, how does that sound?"

"Is he okay to do that? Won't he need more rest?"

"Our elves have some pretty amazing healer skills. Sirius is already up and walking, itching to leave the house."

"Well, if that's the case, I'd love to," Lily smiled, but the smile quickly dropped.

"What," James placed a hand on her shoulder, worried at the sudden change in her expression.

"Oh, no it's just that… I have a lunch date with Amos today."

"Oh," James's arm quickly fell to his side. Lily watched his face carefully, but to her surprise, his face turned into his casual smile once more. "You can invite him too, I'm sure everyone else won't mind."

"Yeah," Lily felt perplexed at his smile. She and James had had moments in the past where emotions were high, and they'd almost crossed the line between friends. James had also made it clear that he was not a big fan of Amos, but his invitation felt off-putting. "I'll ask and let you know."

"I hope he's willing. I don't want to third wheel Hermione and Sirius."

Lily let out a small laugh, "If Amos and I come, you do realize you'll be fifth wheeling?"

"Yeah but, you guys aren't very…" James stopped at the offended look on Lily's face.

"Aren't very what, James?" Lily demanded.

"Nothing." He tried to walk up the stairs once more.

"No no no, finish your sentence, Potter." Lily grabbed his coat and pulled him back next to her. "Aren't very what?"

James looked longingly up at the staircase but sighed as he turned to her. "You guys aren't exactly lovey-dovey. Lily, it's not a big deal. You guys have been a couple for longer, it's natural for passion to fade."

"Passion to fa—we are still passionate! How dare you assume anything about my relationship! Amos and I happen to be still very much in love, and we are very passionate!"

James's face dropped. "Right. Well, I'm going to head to the office now."

Lily watched as James left without so much as a wave of goodbye. She'd won the argument but knew she'd lost. She smacked her lips with her hand.

"We are very passionate? What in 7 hells are you saying, Lily Evans?" She muttered to herself as she smacked her lips again. "Not everything is a bloody competition."

…

James shook his leg in nervous anxiety, waiting for Sirius to enter the office.

"What if it's too soon to see his mother? What if we're rushing this? Did dad even ask Sirius? What if Sirius panics?" Questions zipped through James's mind at high speed as he jerked every time the door of the DMLE opened.

"Don't you know a watched pot never boils?" Frank Longbottom, now a seasoned auror, smirked. "Is Sirius supposed to arrive soon?" He sat down next to James and popped a crisp into his mouth.

James nodded, stealing a few crisps from Frank's bag.

"Oi! Get your own, you privileged rich boy!"

James rolled his eyes, "You say that as if you're poor. I'll get you a whole new bag later."

"Well I'm not as rich as you, and you always say you get me a new bag, but you never do!"

"It's not like I steal the whole bloody bag, it's only one or two crisps."

"Yeah, one or two crisps over the whole bloody summer! That's like 5 whole bags of crisps at this point!"

"Fine, then I'll get you 5 new bags of crisps!"

"Yeah? When, you lil prat?"

"Whenever, you stodgy old man!"

"What are you lot arguing about?"

James whipped his head around, "Sirius!"

"So," Sirius looked around the busy office. James did a double take at how good his friend looked, despite it having been only one night away from his home. He suspected a bit of glamour charm was used to make his skin look livelier and healthier. Although nothing could be done about his weight, the clothes he wore fitted him better, making him look less like a starved prisoner and more like a naturally skinny guy. "This is where you work? Weird to see you all dressed up and working at an office."

James stood and slung his arms around his friend's shoulder.

"You remember Frank Longbottom right? Frank's quite the star here. He's part of the team that made the most arrests this year. Frank, you remember Sirius."

"Hey, I've read your file. Seems like you've been through hell." Frank's voice lacked the tone of pity that Sirius had anticipated. Instead, he sounded quite impressed with Sirius's ability to come to the station to face his mother only a night after he'd escaped. Sirius took his hand, and they shook.

"You're early." He noted, "Your mother won't be in for another 10."

Sirius dropped his hand quickly, "She's no mother of mine."

Frank glanced at James with a raised brow.

"My mistake. Mrs. Black won't be arriving for another 10, escorted by one of ours to ensure she actually arrives. Until then, we'll keep you in a separate interrogation room. One of my colleagues will come in to start the questioning. You aren't being interrogated. You are just here as a witness. Nothing more. You don't need to be nervous."

"Okay. Thanks." Sirius walked off.

James and Frank exchanged worried glances before James ran after his hurried friend.

…

"Hello, Sirius. May I call you Sirius?" A woman in a leather jacket with aviator sunglasses hanging from the neck of her band T-shirt sat down. She pulled out a small box and a lighter and placed them on the table. It was the first time Sirius had seen a box of cigarettes so close. He'd always seen them in the magazines and the muggle street in front of his house, but it was the first time he'd seen them close like this.

"You smoke?" She cracked open the box and held out a fag.

"N-no."

"Good, nasty stuff, this." She shook her head. "Bloody addictive, though. Can't last a bloody day without one."

"My girlfriend would call that a toxic relationship."

She let out a laugh, "Smart one, that witch. Miss Hermione Evans, yes?" She was met with silence. "No need to tense up, it's standard procedure to do some basic background checks."

"I thought I was here as a witness."

"Witnesses still need to get their background checked to make sure they're credible." She opened up a file and placed an issue of the Daily Prophet from the Yule Ball in front of him. "That's a look of love in your eyes. How long have you and Miss Evans been dating?"

"What does this have to do with cross-checking my mother's lies?"

"Nothing," she shrugged. "Just makin conversation."

"Well, can you stop making conversation and get this over with."

"Eager to get out, I see."

"Weirdly interested in my personal and private life, I see."

She threw her head back with a laugh.

"What'd you say your name was?"

She smiled, "I didn't. My name is Esther Bagnold."

"Esther Bagnold? As in the Esther Bagnold? The squadron leader of one of the best teams in the Auror Department?" Sirius gaped. "You're a fucking legend! I read about you in the paper! You bloody saved dozens of people from a burning building! You're a fucking hero!"

"I think my reputation precedes me."

"What are you doing here?" Sirius looked around the room. "In this room. Shouldn't you be out there? Catching bad guys or something?"

Esther laughed, "Aurors don't just run around catching bad guys all day, although my colleagues and I wish that was the job. We do things like this," she gestured around them. "We do boring things like paperwork, collecting evidence, filing, making appearances in court, etc."

"Oh."

"Did I just ruin a dream job?" She snorted. "I hope not, we could use good kids like you. Smart, resilient, talented."

"You think I'm all those things?"

"Of course. That is," she stuck a fag under her lip and lit her lighter, "if you really did resist your mother's various forms of torture and survived a meeting with Voldemort."

Sirius clenched his jaw.

"I get that it's difficult to talk about. Hard to… relive those moments, but to do my job, to do the things that make me the so-called "legend" and "hero", I need your help." She took a deep toke from the cigarette and blew the smoke out to the side. "Tell me everything, kid. The more detail, the better."

…

"You think it's a good idea to send Bagnold in there?" The group watched outside. "She can be a little…"

"Intense?" Frank asked. "But she'll get him talking. She's good at that."

"The last guy she got talking got beat up black and blue."

"She's not going to beat a child."

"Are you sure?"

"Look at her, she's relating to him. Using her public image. She'll do fine. She'll get Sirius to talk about things he wasn't even able to talk to me about." Mr. Potter claimed, watching their interaction intensely.

"How's the other side going?" Frank asked one of his colleagues.

"Lady Black was screaming the last time I checked in." Kingsley Shacklebolt shrugged. "She's accusing us of unlawful arrest, even though her son arrived at Head Auror Potter's home as he did."

"Is she answering any questions at least?"

Kingsley laughed, "You think that while calling us mudbloods and blood traitors, she will stop to answer questions?"

"She's obstructing justice."

"I don't think she cares."

"Even if she answers our questions, she won't tell us the truth. She'll likely say something ridiculous like Sirius was clumsy or that he's a picky eater. We only have probable cause." Mr. Potter rolled his eyes.

"So we charge her for making false statements and obstruction of justice, on top of being an abusive hateful woman." Akif summarized for the group.

"The penalty is up to five years in Azkaban if she admits to it or if Wizengamot looks at the case favourably. The more likely situation is since we have probable cause, even if she doesn't admit to it, we might get a penalty up to 2 years or a fine." Frank shook his head.

"It'll be a hefty fine though," one of the juniors tried to justify, but the rest of the Aurors shook their head. The Blacks were one of the wealthiest families in all of the Wizarding World. Their influence went beyond England or Europe. The 'hefty' fine of 10,000 galleons was a luxury shopping trip to Paris on a random weekend.

"You knew she'd be like this, didn't you?" Frank asked Potter. Everyone glanced at their superior who wore an unusually hard face.

Fleamont Potter was a serious man at work, but he was rarely truly angry. He believed in leading with actions and kindness, not fear and intimidation. The man who usually looked youthful, looked as if he'd aged a decade overnight. The man clearly cared for the young Black a great deal for him to get so personally involved with the case.

"I knew. I hoped we'd be able to crack her, but I knew." Potter admitted. "We hit her with anything we can though, we pile on as many offences as we can."

"Yes, sir!"

The group filed out, but Frank stayed behind.

"How much of what the kid's telling Esther is new to you, sir?" Frank nodded to the duo in the interrogation who were still talking.

"It was late last night when he arrived. And we didn't get a lot of time this morning to talk. I made some educated guesses on what happened to him, but even had we gotten to talking, I'm not sure I would have been able to get as much out of him as Bagnold is. I would've been too angry, too emotional, too…involved."

Frank nodded with understanding. He's known his boss for most of his career. Frank knew the man liked to appear strong in front of his subordinates, but he was a soft-hearted man. He was the type to pick up stray kittens on his way to work and feed them cans of tuna and warm milk in his office, then tear up when he needed to drop them off at a muggle animal shelter or the Menagerie at Diagonalley. What happened to Sirius was already breaking his heart, but the fact that he hadn't been able to save him earlier was eating away at him. Now the fact that Walberga Black may be excused with a mere slap on the wrists was downright infuriating.

They turned their gaze back at Sirius and Esther in the interrogation room. Esther reached over to ruffle his head, but Sirius flinched back. Her hand froze mid-air, then quickly dropped.

"What's going to happen to him?" Frank whispered; everyone had noted the reaction.

"Sirius will stay with us until he wants."

Frank clenched his jaw, whilst releasing a heavy sigh.

"We see the worst in people. It's part of the job. But you also have to remember that the whole world isn't like that. There are good people out there. We just don't get to see them. It's our job to keep the bad ones off the streets."

Frank tried to nod, but he quickly frowned. "Unless they have so much money that it's rotting away in Gringotts."

"We'll get them," Fleamont promised. "Maybe not this time, but we'll get them. Those people will get what's coming to them."

…

Sirius left the interrogation room feeling depleted. The more he spoke to Esther about the last few weeks of his life, the more drained he felt. It had started to become clearer as he spoke that he hadn't truly come to terms with what had happened to him and who had done it to him.

"Ready for lunch? I'm bloody starved."

James had been waiting for him. He was trying to appear nonchalant, but Sirius noticed his messier-than-normal hair and the subconsciously shaking leg. Sirius wasn't sure what James was anxious for, he knew exactly how the cross-examination would pan out. He would tell his side of the story, and she would tell hers. Sirius knew it wouldn't match. Wizengamot and all of its corruption would give his mother the most lenient conviction leading to a fine, but otherwise, she'd walk.

Sirius knew all of this when Mr. Potter had asked him to come in because that was what happened when she used to beat him when he was younger. Sometimes his governesses would see his bruises and foolishly report them to the Aurors. Sirius's first experiences with authority and law enforcement showed him how fallible the whole legal system was. A little power, money, and influence made his governesses the perpetrator of his bruises and within two days, his old governess would be replaced with a new one, as if the entire ordeal never happened.

"Yeah," Sirius smiled, appreciating his best mate's effort to act like nothing was amiss. "I'm a bit peaky."

"Great. I invited Lily as well, she said she'll get back to me if she can make it, but she must've forgotten. She's just on Basement Level 5. D'you want to go first while I confirm, or do you want to come with me?"

"I'll come with you."

The two walked towards the lift, then stood in the back while several people got off and on at the various levels. When the lift rang to notify them of Basement level 5, they walked out only to run into Lily's co-workers.

"Oh, James Potter, right?" The department head, Siegfried Blane noticed James.

"Hello, sir. I'm heading to your offices to grab lunch with Lily, is she still there?"

"She was organizing her desk when I last saw her," a woman with long raven hair recalled, "she should still be there."

"Okay thanks, enjoy your lunch everyone."

James and Sirius walked away, but they could still hear the Committee behind them.

"Is that her boyfriend?"

"Hush Mallory." The woman smacked the whisperer as the doors to the lift closed.

Sirius raised his brow as he glanced at James to see the corners of his lips twitching, suppressing to smile.

"Don't get smug, you haven't gotten the girl just yet, Prongs."

The smirk quickly dropped. Sirius didn't necessarily want to splash cold water on his best mate's hopes and dreams, but he knew Lily's frequently used insult, big-headed toe rag, didn't manifest from nothing. James's head did tend to spend its time up in the clouds, rather than on his shoulders when it came to Lily Evans.

They walked up to the Committee of Experimental Charms' office but stopped when they heard the voices inside.

"I can't believe you're rescheduling on me. Again!"

"Amos, I'm not rescheduling, you're more than welcome to come as well! You were invited!"

"I didn't rearrange all of my meetings today to have lunch with all of your friends! I want to spend time with my girlfriend alone!"

"You did the same thing last week! Or did you suddenly forget that you asked me to have lunch with all your colleagues when we originally planned on having lunch alone?"

"It's different with your friends."

"How? And why do you keep saying friends like that?"

"Like how?"

"Like you don't think they're really my friends."

"Potter's not really a friend is he, if he fancies you."

The silence that followed felt everlasting.

"Is that what all this is about?" Lily let out a laugh of disbelief. "James has been in and out of his own relationships for years, he has always respected my relationship with you and supported it. We've always set boundaries as friends."

"But boundaries can't change the way someone feels," Amos argued. "And you're different too, now. You've been different for a while."

"What are you on about?"

"You used to make time for us. You used to support me and uplift me. You would surprise me at my dorm with food and you'd always smile."

"Well, I guess I just got tired of being a one-sided cheerleader." They could hear smaller, lighter footsteps walking around the office. "When have you ever done something like that for me? You never made time for me, and I'd always make excuses for you. Amos is older, Amos has O.W.L.S., Amos has N.E.W.T.S., Amos is Head Boy. So, I'd bring you food and I'd always smile for you, even though I had a tired and difficult day. Do you know that I can count on one hand, how many times you've actually listened to me after you asked, How was your day? You'd always bring the question back to you; you'd vent and let out your frustrations and anger. But again, I let you because you're you. My first boyfriend, my first everything."

"I make time for you now! I made time for you today!"

"It's too late! I'm tired of being your cheerleader, Amos, especially since you've never been mine! When I got good test scores, you always tell me that you've done better, when I went up to the semi-finals for the Dueling Championships, you weren't even there to see the match because you were too busy with homework! Homework! And when I got this bloody job… you made me feel terrible. Like I should feel guilty about my accomplishment." Lily sighed. "I can't… I just don't feel any more…passion."

James froze.

"So what then?" Amos asked, taunting her. "You're tired of being a good girlfriend, so you're just going to be a bitch?"

Sirius had to hold James to prevent him from barging into the room.

"No, I'm just going to stop being your girlfriend."

The same small and light footsteps grew closer to the door. James and Sirius scrambled to get some distance, but only managed to get two steps away before Lily opened the door.

The three of them froze at the sight of each other.

"H-Hey." James stuttered out. "We were just trying to see if you still wanted to come to lunch with us."

Lily's eyes flickered back and forth between the boys.

"Of course, why wouldn't I want to have lunch with my friends?"

…

The three Gryffindors sat awkwardly and fumbled with the menus.

"Huh, Hermione's never late. She must be caught up at Ollivander's." Lily attempted to make conversation. "It's crazy how she's seldom late, right? Like she has an internal clock." She forced out a laugh, which neither of the boys followed. They watched her with concerned eyes.

"The pesto with mozzarella and cherry tomato sandwich sounds good." Lily covered her entire face with the menu. Her voice sounded weak and breathy.

"Yeah, definitely." James nodded, his eyes flickering to Lily and back to his menu in front of him.

"I'm craving a burger with fries more," Sirius added.

"Hm." James nodded again.

Silence fell amongst the three once more in the busy Leaky Cauldron.

They heard the bell jingle and the three whipped their head at the door to see Hermione walking through. She wore brown corduroy overalls with a white blouse underneath and a cerulean blue scarf around her head. She stood out in the crowd of witches and wizards in the robes with her muggle attire, but she paid the stares no mind as she looked around for them.

Her eyes landed on the group, but they twitched when she sensed the awkward air that surrounded them. She slowly approached the group with suspicion.

"Hey Evans," James greeted in an attempt to be friendly, but Hermione didn't respond, instead, she ripped the menu away from all three of them, only to see tears in Lily's eyes.

"Lily!" Hermione rushed to her sister. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"Oh, no! I didn't mean to…today is supposed to be about Sirius, not me. It's supposed to be a celebration that he's back." Lily wiped the falling tears, only for them to be replaced with new ones.

Hermione glanced at the boys, demanding an answer.

"She broke up with Diggory, just now," Sirius explained. "It was actually quite badass."

Lily let out a wet chuckle, "I'm sorry, Sirius. I'm ruining your day."

"Nah, I'm relieved that you dumped his ass." Sirius shrugged. He placed his arm around her shoulder and ruffled her hair. "I thought you'd never be able to woman up and do it."

"You deserved better." Hermione agreed. "You've always been too good for him."

Lily gave them a watery smile of gratitude. She looked at James who'd been the only one to remain silent.

"I want to kill him for calling you that."

Hermione grew alert. "What did he call you?"

"It was nothing."

"Stop making excuses for him!" James slammed his hand on the table, bringing everyone's attention to them.

Hermione sent everyone glares until they caught on and turned back to their meals.

"He called her a bitch." Sirius explained quietly.

Hermione raised her brow. "Wow. I honestly thought he didn't have it in him."

James's eyes were nearly bulging out of his head, "Aren't you furious? He called her a bi—" he stopped himself.

"Honestly, I thought he said something more along the lines of mudblood, so bitch hit below the expectation. Underwhelming at most." Hermione shrugged. "I never expected any class from Diggory when they were dating, so it'd be a little ridiculous to expect class from him during a breakup, no?"

Hermione ignored James's fish-like gaping and turned to her sister.

"Is that why you're crying? Because he called you a bitch? If that's the case, we can all storm up to Basement level 1 and cause a shit storm for you."

"No, that's not why I'm crying, so please don't. That'd be mortifying." Lily let out a small laugh, "I was upset that he called me a bitch, but more so that it just hit me, you know? My first relationship, a two-year relationship, is over…on a bloody random Monday during my lunch break. It feels so empty. Makes me wonder why I even had a relationship if it was just going to end like this."

"Lils, I think most people break up on a random day of the week, during a random time in the day. No one knows when the end happens until it happens. I think it's better this way; clean and short, with no loose ends. Would you have rather wanted a dramatic, long, drawn-out, messy breakup that leaves your heart in more tatters than it already is in?"

"Well, if you put it that way…"

Hermione hugged her sister tightly, "You've learned from this experience. Now you know what you need out of your partner, what you want, how you want to be treated, and what you like. You're just tasting all the flavours of the ice cream until you can decide which one's your favourite."

Lily nodded, but the tears didn't stop.

"Sorry boys, I think we should reschedule lunch." Hermione pulled her sister out of her chair. "Us sisters are going home."

"Wha—Hermione, I have work!"

"You can call in sick. You've worked like a bloody dog in that office, you deserve a half-day." Lily opened her mouth in protest, but she was quickly silenced by her sister's look. "The whole project won't combust because you're not there for the afternoon."

"What will I even say?"

"That you ate something during lunch and now you have food poisoning." Hermione supplied easily. She stood from her seat and grabbed her belongings. "I will tell Mr. Ollivander the same."

"Really? A-are you sure?" Lily glanced between her sister and Sirius. "We don't have to—"

"James, could you take Lily outside for a bit?" Hermione requested. James nodded, guiding Lily out of the pub.

Once the two were out of earshot, Hermione turned to Sirius.

His pale skin was unfitting for the summer heat and sun, his clothes, while they fit him better were loose and his sunken cheekbones made him look gaunt. However, overall, he looked much better.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey."

The two of them stood awkwardly, wondering if they should lean in for a kiss or a hug, but in the end, they decided to sit across from each other. Neither of them spoke, neither knowing where to begin.

"Hey darlings, did you guys want to order?" A witch came by with a notebook in hand.

"No, thank you. Just some butterbeer maybe?" Sirius asked.

"And for you, sweetheart?" She turned to Hermione, but she shook her head.

"Alright, one butterbeer coming up." The waitress walked away.

"Was it just me or did she look annoyed?" Sirius asked.

"Well, we are taking up a whole table during the lunch hour only for you to drink some butterbeer, which you shouldn't be drinking, by the way. It's too heavy for your stomach right now."

"Right." Sirius nodded. They waited in silence once more until the waitress set Sirius's butterbeer on the table and left without a word.

"I'm—" They spoke at the same time.

"You go first." Sirius offered.

"I'm sorry if what I said this morning upset you. I didn't mean for it to come out that way." Hermione told him.

"Oh, no it's alright. I've been…away all summer. It's natural for you to be doing something I didn't know about." Sirius easily accepted her apology.

"What were you about to say?"

Sirius gulped loudly. He tapped the butterbeer glass with his finger, causing a bead of condensation to run down the glass. "I'm sorry for last night." His words were barely audible over the loud chatter of people. "From the beginning to the end. All of it."

She shook her head. "There's nothing for you to apologize for. All choices were made by me and me alone. You never asked me to do any of them for you, you never even mentioned it to me. None of what happened was your fault."

"How did you know?"

"Professor Phineas Nigellus Black's portrait told me of the Oath you made with your mother one night. I planned for your safe escape ever since. Your brother was in on it as well, but when he failed to pass on the portkey to you, I was the only option. Everything was my decision."

"Profession Phineas Nigellus Black?" Sirius counted with his fingers. "My great-great-grandfather's portrait?"

"There's a second portrait in your house. That portrait told the one at Hogwarts, who told me about your Oath. Why you did it, what you'd promised, what was at risk." At his silence, Hermione's voice turned soft. "After knowing all of that, how could I let you suffer? How could I let you become a puppet for that monster?"

"So you thought becoming a puppet in my stead was a better option?"

"He doesn't have me. He'll never have me." She promised. "And now, he'll never have you either."

His deep grey eyes glistened with tears once more, but he turned away before they could fall. Hermione knew of the guilt he felt, so she reached across the table to hold his hand. He turned back to her at her fierce grip.

"I don't regret anything." She told him. "I would do it all again. Have you forgotten the second half of our words to each other? You may be mine, but I am also yours."

His breath hitched.

Her eyes were clear and soft, her voice vulnerable. Unlike the cold, distant, and unreadable girl she'd been in Malfoy Manor, this was the girl he loved.

"You are mine, as I am yours."

"Always."

Hermione smiled and it turned Sirius's insides into honey. Yes, this was the girl he loved.

"I-I need to go. Lily's still waiting." She sounded reluctant.

"I'll come by sometime. Your boyfriend is a homeless bum, remember? I've got nothing better to do than follow my girlfriend around like a lost puppy."

They smiled at his analogy. Sirius left a galleon on the table, along with his untouched butterbeer.

"Sirius, are we…are we okay?" Hermione asked tentatively. She was searching for reassurance.

Sirius pulled her in and kissed her.

By the gods, why hadn't he done this the minute she was in his sights again? She was soft and supple in his arms, her warmth invited him so heavenly that the innocent kiss he'd intended on quickly changed into something much more passionate.

Someone started whistling and howling behind them, while someone else yelled at them to get a room.

They broke off, but instead of releasing her, Sirius started pulling her to the back of the pub where there were fewer people.

"Lily—"

"She can wait, James will keep her entertained," Sirius explained as he turned the corner to where he knew the pub kept their barrels of butterbeer stored. He pushed her into the wall and captured her lips once more. She moaned into the kiss, which made him weak in the knees. Her small hands were touching everywhere she could, like she couldn't get enough of him, but he didn't blame her, he was doing the same. Their movements were frantic and clumsy but it didn't matter.

They had to break their kiss due to oxygen deprivation, but Sirius didn't hesitate to suck on the base of her ear, a place that he knew drove her wanton with desire.

"S-Sirius," she gasped. She gripped him tightly as a string of incoherent words escaped her mouth. "W-wait."

He paused.

"Too much?" He asked, his heart blaring in his chest as he looked at his beautiful girlfriend. The scarf around her head was now on the floor, her hair in disarray. Her lips were swollen and red from their kiss as her chest heaved similar to his own.

She reached up to caress his cheek. "I missed you too."

Sirius let out a huff and rested his forehead on hers. "You have no idea how much I missed you." He kissed her over her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, her mouth, then finally on her forehead.

"But that doesn't mean I'm going to have sex with you in the middle of the day in the back of the Leaky Cauldron."

He pouted while he nodded. He helped her fix her hair and tied the scarf back around her head. They didn't do anything about their swollen lips, but after checking their appearance, they walked out of the pub hand in hand to see Lily and James still waiting outside.

"Hey, guys." Sirius greeted them, noticeably cheerier than he'd been before.

The two glanced back and forth between the couple to notice their swollen lips and the hickey starting to form on the base of Hermione's ear.

Hermione could see their minds connect the dots, so she quickly linked her arms around her sister.

"I guess we'll see you, boys, later." Hermione waved. "Bye!" She gave James a knowing look and mouthed Your turn. Don't fuck it up.

…