A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! Huge thank you to lanamarymack for alpha/beta reading this chapter! As always, you can find me on tumblr (nauticalparamour).
Please let me know what you thought of chapter sixty-two and be on the lookout for chapter sixty-three soon! Happy New Year, everybody!
It was decided that the Black family would celebrate Sirius's birthday at home, not wanting a repeat of the unexpected confrontation with Cygnus. It made Hermione's heart ache a bit to know that he preferred it that way as it forced her to see the reality that she'd wanted to deny. Sirius preferred to be alone.
Maybe it was having his three best friends in the world leave him high and dry or maybe it was the way that everyone seemed to mistrust him simply for his family name, but somewhere along the line, Sirius had given up a lot of his friendships to insulate himself. Hermione knew that it was no way to live, especially not for Sirius.
Hermione made a promise to fix that once this war was finally over.
He seemed pleased enough to spend his birthday in with his family, playing card games well into the evening, drinking too much firewhiskey and eating the Black Forest gateau that Kreacher made. Hermione laughed at the stories Orion and Regulus shared from when Sirius was a willful child and they all laughed harder than they could remember in a long while.
Rabastan's birthday was next and Hermione was pleased to receive an invitation to dinner with her betrothed, excited at the prospect that they were going to get to spend a little time alone with one another for once — Orion approved and all.
But, seeing the pretty, dark green dress that Kreacher had selected for her had her brothers rethinking things. Regulus was the only one willing to go against their father and push the issue. He waited with her in the parlor for Rabastan to pick her up, his arms crossed over his chest.
Hermione grinned when Rabastan walked through the green flames of their Floo right on time and stood up from the settee to wrap him in her arms. "Happy birthday," she whispered.
Rabastan gave her a half-grin, such tenderness reflected in his light green eyes. He dipped his head, catching her lips in a kiss that was intended to be nothing more than a peck, but quickly devolved into something more when Hermione nipped at his lower lip, completely forgetting about their audience.
Regulus cleared his throat, concern etched on his perfect features. "Have room for one more at your table, Rab?" he asked, forcing a genial smile. "It's been ages since we celebrated your birthday."
Hermione spun on her heel and glared at her brother. "What? No," she insisted. "Father said that I did not need a chaperone. The betrothal is on, I'm an adult and Rabastan will help protect me. We do not need you to tag along."
Her brother didn't even bother to look sheepish. "I'm just not sure that it's a great idea, Hermione," he said, looking at her with concern. "I just know how one thing can lead to another, things get out of hand, and the next thing you know —"
"The next thing you know, what?" she demanded, feeling exasperated by the constant babysitting. "I lose my virginity and then I have no value anymore?"
"I didn't mean it like that," Regulus insisted.
Hermione huffed and pressed her hands to her hips. "Well, you are too late, anyway, Regulus," she announced with a sardonic grin.
It took a few moments for her meaning to sink in, but realization washed over Regulus's face slowly. Then he was transformed by anger, lunging across the parlor, until he had Rabastan by the front of his shirt. "What the hell? Did you sleep with my sister?" he demanded.
"Regulus!" Hermione shouted, grabbing onto his arm and trying to get him to let go, but he held fast. "You are being ridiculous!"
Luckily, Rabastan was no slouch either. He grabbed Regulus by his own shirt, pulling him close and facing the Black family temper head on. "Get a hold of yourself, Regulus," he insisted. "Hermione and I are going to be married. You couldn't imagine that she would remain chaste forever."
"That doesn't give you the right to sleep with her! What if things didn't work out? Hm?" Regulus continued on his tirade.
"Are you even listening to yourself?" Rabastan demanded. "I love Hermione. You know that I do — that I have for a very long time. I remained devoted to her, with no promises that I would ever even see her again. Why would you think that I would hurt her?"
The fight left Regulus and he let go of Rabastan's shirt, the words finally seeming to sink in for him. "I don't think you'd hurt her, not on purpose at least."
"I won't let anything happen to her, I promise you," Rabastan said, fiercely, letting Regulus free as well. He took a step back. "There is nothing that is going to stop me from marrying her now, not my father or brother or the Dark Lord himself. Salazar, I would duel you, Sirius and your father for her."
Hermione could feel her heart thudding away against her ribcage and she was overwhelmed by how much she loved him — both then and now. To hear the lengths that he would go to for her... to hear him stand up for their relationship, it was enough to send her need for him spiraling.
"Now can you stop being such a twat about it?" Hermione whined. "We are just going out to celebrate Rabastan's birthday and I want to spend one evening without one of my brothers hovering over me."
She could tell that Regulus was flattering, but was not yet completely convinced. "I... I would feel better if you were married," he croaked out, unable to articulate what he was thinking.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "And you are the same person who keeps wanting to push back the wedding again and again?" she questioned. "Really, you have some nerve giving orders about our relationship, when you haven't even tried to get married."
He gave her a look, before he turned and sat down heavily on the settee, his head dropping to his hand. "Not for long, if father has his way," Regulus explained. "I understand that he is working on... arranging something as we speak."
"What?" Hermione asked, truly surprised. "With who?"
"Rosalie Fawley," he said, sounding utterly miserable.
"Priscilla won't be happy to hear that," Rabastan said with a snort.
"They are related?" Hermione asked, totally curious.
"Yes, she is her younger sister," Regulus explained.
"Much younger," Rabastan quipped.
"Not that much younger. She is twenty-six, I understand. But, you are right. I've put it off far too long and now Father is forcing my hand," Regulus said with a frown. Then, he waved them off. "Alright, you've made your point. Go and enjoy your dinner together, alone, but for Salazar's sake, please be careful. And discreet. I don't want to think about... about that, please."
"I'd rather you didn't, either," Hermione said with a snort, before holding her arm out for Rabastan to take. "Shall we go, then?"
Rabastan took a breath, before rewarding her with a smile. "I would like that," he agreed, before leading her to the Floo, grabbing a handful of powder and calling their destination.
The restaurant that he took her to seemed to be as exclusive as the one she'd gone to on her birthday, but she did not let that fool her, remembering the way that Cygnus had swooped in and surprised them. She was pleased when they were led to a table away from all prying eyes, but still let her eyes sweep around the room, looking for any unwanted surprises.
There was a bottle of champagne already waiting for them, which Rabastan promptly opened and poured for them. "We do have a little more to celebrate today than just my birthday," he explained. "Father has filed the paperwork with the Wizengamot and Gringotts bank — I am now officially his heir."
Hermione smiled at him and clinked her glass against his. "I am so pleased for you, Rabastan," she said honestly. "I know how much work you've put in for your family's benefit. I am glad it is finally being recognized."
They spent the majority of their dinner, discussing a future with one another that they hoped would not be far off. Rabastan was still extremely interested in moving into their townhouse together, hoping to gain a bit of separation from his father's pressure, but they timidly broached the topic of moving back to his ancestral home once children came along. The thought of children with Rabastan made something in her stomach flutter with excitement, but she knew that it was too soon to actually have them. She was still interested in making her own way in the world.
Rabastan inquired after her Charms lessons, wondering if she had developed a topic on which to base her mastery yet. He was still a scholar at heart and had a lot of good feedback for her nascent ideas that she wasn't willing to share with her Master just yet. He didn't bat an eyelash when she revealed her desire to find some sort of work to put her mastery towards once she got it, which was a great relief. She knew that his mother would not have approved.
When their dinner was finished, Rabastan invited her back to his home for a night cap and a bit of cake. Deciding that the library was the most logical place to be, they shared a single slice of cake, feeding each other little bites off of the same fork until it was gone.
Hermione swept around the room, looking at the various books that they had. There was some overlap with the library at Grimmauld Place, but there were an abundance of books she'd never heard of before too. She was sure to tell him just how impressive he found it.
Rabastan stalked over to her, caging her in with her back pressed against a bookcase. She held her breath, thinking that he might kiss her, but instead, he was pulling a slim volume down, pressing it to her hands. "I thought that you might find this interesting," he whispered. "It's about rare magical objects."
She could feel her heart pound when she realized what he was referencing. "Is there somewhere... more private that we could discuss this?" she asked, unsure of what Rabastan would have shared with his father.
"Are you asking me to take you to my room?" he mused, his eyebrow raised.
"Yes," she answered boldly. "If your father won't mind?"
He snorted in amusement. "He'd probably lock us in there himself if he knew," he teased. But, he held out his hand offering it to her.
She took his hand and shut her eyes when she felt the pull of apparition. When it was over, she was standing in Rabastan's room and he quickly threw up some charms and wards to keep everything that happened inside of it a secret.
Hermione could not help but look around, having never seen this part of Rabastan before. His room was mostly tidy. His bed was made, dark colored bedding that looked like it would be heaven to slide into. He had a large desk near the window so he could look out at the back garden. His bedside table was covered with books, but she could still spy the picture of them after his Quidditch match, framed. It would have been the first thing that he saw when he got up and the last thing he saw before he went to sleep. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed by a vice.
Completely unaware of her inspection, Rabastan started talking about the horcruxes. "You may borrow that book if you'd like," he said. "It didn't have anything too groundbreaking about identifying or finding horcruxes, but it did have an extremely well researched section on their destruction," he explained, looking at her.
She paged through the book, but found that the words didn't hold much interest to her — not when she was alone in Rabastan's bedroom with him on his birthday.
"I thought, since you've decided to advance with Charms, that you might want to try using the fiendfyre method," he continued, his gaze heavy on her when she set the book aside on his table. "Although the others have merit... I don't think we will be convincing the Dark Lord to try the restorative option..."
He trailed off, seeing her sit on the bed, kicking her heels off.
"Did you really bring me here just to spend all night talking about horcruxes?" she asked, biting her lower lip mischievously. "Or are we going to take advantage of our first real time alone in years?"
She crossed her legs, aided by the high slit all her dresses seemed to favor. His eyes immediately dropped to the sliver of firm thigh that was revealed. He cleared his throat and snapped his mouth shut once he'd gathered his thoughts, his face transformed with a crooked grin.
"I suppose horcruxes could wait a night," he agreed, walking towards her with purpose, until he joined her on the edge of the bed. Their bodies were pressed together where they touched and she swore that she could feel the heat of his body seeping into her skin.
Rabastan leaned towards her, slanting his lips against hers in a kiss. She wasn't sure who deepened it, but soon she was lost in the sensation of his tongue gliding against her own, drawing moan after loan out of her throat. She gasped when she felt the soft press of his pillows against her back and she realized that he'd maneuvered them back, until she was splayed out like a treat for him to devour.
He broke the kiss and drank in the sight of her, breathing heavily while he tried to gain control of himself. "You have no idea how many times I've imagined having you here in my bed," he admitted, his tongue darting out to wet his lower lip.
Hermione grabbed his shirt in her hands, pulling him against her body. "I hope this is better than the fantasy," she whispered against his lips, before closing the distance once more.
His hand moved from the gentle curve of her waist, up to her breast. He plucked the hard little peak that he found through the fabric, sending her pulse racing through every part of her body. Hermione pressed her legs together tightly, hoping to find a bit of friction. Rabastan noticed immediately.
"I don't think we should get too carried away too quickly," he said, though it was through gritted teeth — like he didn't really want to say it.
She was bold as ever though. She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her center, rucking up her dress to give him access to her knickers. "Alright, we don't have to go too far, but if you do not touch me, I will do it myself," she ordered imperiously.
He hesitated for a moment, but then he was slipping her knickers to the side. He stilled when his fingertips found her folds — and how wet she was. Then, it was as if something else came over him and he was determined to prove how capable he could be.
Hermione huffed out a satisfied gasp at even the barest touch to the firm little pearl at the top of her sex. He found a rhythm quickly that had her already wanting more. She dropped her head back for a moment, basking in the glorious feeling, before she was reminded that she could touch him too. It was a bit awkward with the angle, but she opened his trousers while he was distracted, kissing her neck.
His fingers stilled for just a moment when she wrapped her hand around his hard cock, his forehead dropping to her shoulder for just a moment. But he recovered quickly enough. She gasped, feeling his finger testing her entrance. "Oh please, Rabastan," she whispered, trying to keep up the gentle glide of her fist, up and down, again and again.
He sank his finger inside of her. "You feel—" he choked out, unable to find the words. A second finger joined the first, his thumb swirling around her clit.
"Oh, yes, please," she begged, feeling how tight the heat in her belly had become. She could feel her body grip around his fingers, not wanting to give him up so soon. She was amazed at just how quickly she thought that coil inside of her might snap.
"Hermione," he groaned, his hips thrusting insistently into her hand.
She was moving almost on autopilot, too focused on finding her own pleasure to be elegant in her movements, but she could tell it was doing the trick.
"You're so —" she tried but she couldn't get the words out. She wanted to tell him how much she wanted to feel him inside her again.
The press of his fingers inside her, gentle but insistent, finally sent her over the edge. With her eyes shut tight, she was helpless to do anything but feel the waves of pleasure lapping away at her brain, pulling her out to an ocean of floaty weightlessness.
She almost didn't register the spend on her own hand, or realize that Rabastan had found his own release, until he was batting her hands away, too oversensative for touch.
He leaned back, until he was laying back next to her against the pillows, his stomach rising and falling while he tried to catch his breath. A small laugh huffed from him and he pressed his hand over his face.
"I hope I haven't left a poor impression," he said, sounding vaguely embarrassed. "I feel like a schoolboy again."
She turned to look at him, smirking at the points of pink on his cheeks. "Are you kidding? What wasn't to like?" she asked, still feeling too boneless to argue. "I'm glad that we got some time to ourselves — I fear I would have self-combusted if we hadn't."
He laughed and leaned forward to press a kiss to her lips, lingering much longer than was necessary. "I love you, Hermione," he whispered, his blue green eyes a shade darker than usual.
"I love you, too," she said. "Happy birthday, Rabastan."
Reluctantly, she stood up from the bed once she thought that her legs were solid enough to stand. "I'd love to spend the night but I think that might actually kill Regulus," she said regretfully. "Don't worry about seeing me out. I can just apparate home."
"Hmm," he said in agreement, his eyelids already growing heavy with sleep. Bending over, she pressed on last kiss to her brow, dreaming of the time when they could finally be together forever.