Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I write for entertainment purposes only.

Author's Note: Well, I'm more on time this week with my update, so yay me! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

The Second Sixth Year of Sirius Black

By: Rae

-A "Harry Potter" Fic-

The next morning Hermione decided to send the letter to Fred after all.

It wasn't because she wanted to keep up the deception, though some part of her did. It wasn't because she wanted to see Ron's and Harry's faces when they saw her receive secret letters that were pretend love letters. At least, she told herself that wasn't it. It wasn't even (only) because she wanted to figure out what kind of interesting plans the twins had.

It was because the Order wasn't allowing the twins to join, and Hermione somehow figured they wouldn't allow her to join either.

But she hadn't come to that decision till after she fell asleep with Sirius.

The night before when they'd been lounging in her bed together reading, she'd leaned into him, enjoying the comfort from their bond. Eventually she snuggled into the bed a bit, tugging up a blanket to cover her exposed feet. As she got more and more comfortable, Hermione found herself yawning and nodding off mid-page until finally her hands slumped with the book coming to rest on her chest as she fell into a deep sleep.

She slept so hard she didn't notice when Sirius removed the book from her limp fingers and carefully placed her bookmark in it before setting it aside on the nightstand. Nor did she notice him look down at her for a long moment before shrugging and scooting down on the bed to lie next to her.

When she woke up, Hermione was lying on her side, her legs curled up and her arms pillowing her head. She moved her legs only to realize another body was directly behind her, warming her, and his legs prevented her from stretching her own. Then she felt the weight of an arm slung over her waist and sucked in a quiet breath in surprise. She couldn't remember the last time her dreams had been so peaceful or she'd felt so rested, and now she realized it must be a side-effect of the blood bond.

She should be embarrassed, she knew, and she tried to gently move his arm from around her waist. His hand gripped her tightly, but she pressed her fingers between his own and her stomach, hoping not to wake him.

"You know, I don't see why we weren't doing this ages ago," Sirius commented into her hair, and she jerked. He squeezed her gently and continued, saying, "Nicole told us we should be touching in order to mature the blood bond. I don't think I've slept this well since that first night in the Hospital Wing."

She sighed. It was true. She felt so well-rested and calm. Her brain began sifting through information as she lay there next to him. It was still early enough that she didn't need to get out of bed and start preparing for the day ahead, but she glanced down her body, her eyes resting briefly on his hand over her stomach, before she looked further and noticed the table at the end of the bed.

On it rested the envelope from the twins.

As they lay there together, Hermione considered. The twins had always been pranksters, and while she didn't necessarily approve, she couldn't argue they weren't brilliant in their own right, coming up with some of the most incredible products for their store. She wasn't sure if she wanted to help them create joke products, but the idea of helping innocent witches and wizards in the coming war appealed. Plus, she thought, it wouldn't just be witches and wizards who faced Voldemort. If the Daily Prophet was any indication, it would get worse for Muggle-borns and their Muggle families, and there was a very real chance without any kind of protection they would die.

She still couldn't figure out why Dumbledore wouldn't allow the twins to join the Order. They were of age and had already left Hogwarts, and they rightfully should be considered adults and able to make their own informed decisions. Perhaps Molly had a hand in it, but Hermione wondered if there wasn't some other reason they were still being stymied in their efforts.

Sirius's fingers flexed against her stomach, and Hermione wondered if he would tell her the real answer. Maybe, maybe not. He and Remus had been careful to speak about their Order business in their carefully coded language that she was unable to crack. And while Sirius was probably the most likely to empathize with the twins, given his experiences last year at Grimmauld Place, she also suspected his death and subsequent resurrection had made him a much more thoughtful man.

Her gaze landed on the letter again, and she made a decision. She would send the letter. It wasn't fair that George and Fred couldn't join the Order when she knew people like Nicole were being spied on and possibly invited to the cause. Nicole wasn't a bad sort, but it made no sense to her that the twins, with their own parents as people who could vouch for them, were not inducted. If they wanted her help arming the defenseless or those with less ability, she would help them out however she could, and she would try to keep it a secret from Sirius, Harry, and Ron.

She frowned. That would, of course, be the difficult part.

Sirius lifted his arm and shifted away from her. "Bathroom?" He asked her.

They both stood up on opposite sides of the bed and made their way to the bathroom. Hermione decided it would be best to go ahead and go to the Owlery. She quickly did her business and walked with Sirius back to their room.

"I need to go send this letter," she told him, rifling through her drawer for her letter. She quickly rolled it up and secured it before stepping to her wardrobe and pulling out clothes for the day.

They got dressed together, falling into the same routine they'd developed. Each turned away from the other to dress, and Hermione wondered how she'd become so comfortable with Sirius and so trusting. It was as simple as could be to just dress in their room and then collect their things before he settled into the wheelchair he still used.

She opened the door and rolled him out, realizing it was earlier than she'd thought, but she was determined to send her letter before breakfast, and it took some time to get from the Owlery to the Great Hall even without pushing a wheelchair. Once she arrived at the Owlery, Hermione and Sirius climbed the stairs together, he taking his time to pace himself since the wheelchair wouldn't fit on the narrow winding staircase. She quickly sought a school owl and tied her message to it, whispering Fred's name to the bird as quietly as she could.

"You're really not going to tell me who it is?" Sirius asked her curiously, his expression open and less condescending than it had been last night.

"No," she told him. She turned to walk back down the stairs with him a half-step behind her.

"You know, it's not a secret admirer if you know how to contact him," Sirius mused, his breathing a bit labored.

"Perhaps," she conceded. "Unless, of course, he gave me a location to send the owl rather than a name."

They stopped talking then and finished their descent to the door of the Owlery. Sirius sat back in his chair, and she saw the sheen of sweat on his skin that indicated he wasn't quite back to full health yet. Hermione began to push the chair, but he stopped her before she could go very far.

"Give me your bag," he commanded, swiveling to look at her with an outstretched arm.

"What?" She asked dumbly.

"Your bag," he told her. "Moony was right. It's too heavy when you're already pushing me around. Just let me hold it for you." He indicated his lap, which currently held the messenger bag with his teacher supplies.

Hermione shrugged her already sore shoulders and then pulled the bag off her back, placing it on top of his messenger bag. She walked behind the chair and pushed again, heading to the school entrance.

"Merlin, woman, what have you got in here? The whole library?" Sirius asked, lifting the bag partially off his lap. "No wonder you're always so tense. How do you manage carrying all this?"

"It's not as heavy as it was back in third year," she mused thoughtfully. "And I'm used to it."

"Obviously not if you're hurting like that," he retorted. "You surely don't need to carry all this with you, do you?"

"I always carry my books for all my classes with me in case I have time to start on some homework for a class," Hermione said primly, but she pushed him on.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, she pushed him down to the partially filled table and settled into their spot and poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice and then a cup of tea. Sirius poured himself some tea as well, and they both filled their plates with the abundant breakfast. A few minutes passed before Harry and Ron came into the hall with Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati trailing behind them.

They all sat down and greeted Hermione and Sirius before tucking into their own breakfasts. Hermione was mid-bite of toast when the owls descended. Her Daily Prophet was delivered, and she was busy taking it off the leg of the owl when a small, tawny owl landed in front of Sirius. He removed the rolled up parchment that was sealed closed, and the owl flew off.

Hermione looked at him curiously as he opened the parchment. Who would be writing to him?

"Oh," he said lowly for her ears only, "it's from Nicole."

Hermione nodded. That made sense. The portrait charmer had promised to be in touch with them to keep up with how their bond was maturing and to be available for any questions they had. She turned back to the paper, checking to see if any Death Eater attacks had been reported, and finished her breakfast.

As they walked to Charms class, Sirius had a strange look on his face. He'd put the letter from Nicole into his messenger bag and then grabbed her bag before she could protest, settling it on his lap. Hermione rolled her eyes and just began to push him through the crowds as Harry and Ron finished their last bites and trailed behind them, Lavender having stood up quickly to push past Ron.

"Oh Parvati, look how helpful Donald is," Lavender was saying loudly as they got into the hallway. "He's carrying Hermione's bag for her! What a gentleman!"

Hermione snickered softly and almost missed it when Ron said sarcastically, "Yeah, well, he ought to since she's doing all the work of pushing him."

Lavender continued walking, pretending to ignore her ex-boyfriend's comment as she said, "You know, it's just so sad there aren't more gentlemen in this school. It's so hard to find someone who really knows how to treat a girl right!"

Ron, still grumpy from having to leave his meal behind, groused, "At least he doesn't call her by some stupid nickname. Must be nice, huh, Hermione?" He elbowed her in the side and looked apologetic when she hissed out a breath.

Lavender, who had clearly been close enough to hear his comment, gripped Parvati's elbow firmly and stomped off faster down the hallway. Ron rolled his eyes in annoyance, but Hermione noted that his gaze followed her as she rounded the corner ahead of them.

The two had been making cutting comments at one another ever since the last Hogsmeade trip when Lavender officially broke up with Ron. Though to hear him tell the story now, it was mostly his decision to break it off with her. Either way, Hermione was grateful she now slept in her own quarters with Sirius and didn't have to listen to Lavender and Parvati go on about Ron. She didn't think she could stand to hear their commentary when she was still friends with him.

She had, unfortunately, listened to his complaints about his ex-girlfriend when he ranted to her, Harry, and Sirius. She'd also listened in near silence as the other two gave their own advice about the situation. Secretly she agreed that Lavender's insistence on her ridiculous pet name for Ronald was out of line, especially if he'd expressed his discomfort over it, but she suspected he'd only said something during their fight and not before. It was true, she mused, that Lavender was a bit over-the-top and dramatic in her interactions with her boyfriends and tended to heap on the sweet nothings. That said, Hermione would never have called Ron a romantic.

In fact, if pressed, she'd have to admit she thought Ron and Harry hadn't the slightest romantic bones in their bodies. She'd listened to both of them talk over the years and wasn't the least bit shocked that Lavender wanted more from the redhead.

They made their way into the Charms class and set up at their desks to await Professor Flitwick. Hermione had finished adjusting her desk to just the way she liked it when she looked over and caught Sirius staring at the parchment from Nicole again. He'd pulled it out and laid it on top of his own desk alongside his student teaching evaluation book but hadn't opened it up again.

She leaned over and whispered, "Is something wrong?"

He jerked and looked back at her, and she could almost swear he colored as he said, "No, nothing at all. Just distracted."

Hermione might have pushed further, but their diminutive professor arrived and closed the door, beginning class. As she took notes on Flitwick's lecture, she lost herself in the newest charm they were learning and forgot all about Sirius's pensiveness. By the time they left class, she had almost forgotten the letter from Nicole entirely.

She wasn't reminded of it till breakfast the next morning. They'd arrived in the Great Hall and tucked into their meals in companionable silence when Sirius cleared his throat and looked at her, a curious expression on his face.

"I need to write a letter this afternoon," he said quietly. "So if you don't mind, maybe we can go back to the room after class instead of Gryffindor common room."

They'd been spending more time in the Gryffindor common room with Harry and Ron since the boys weren't technically supposed to be coming into their private rooms often. It wasn't a hard and fast rule, but Professor McGonagall had made it clear that the private room was intended more as a professor's personal living quarters and not as a Gryffindor secret hangout space. It didn't bother Hermione, although she did find that pushing the wheelchair up all those stairs to the tower was somewhat exhausting.

"Sure, that's fine," she told him. "I've got some homework I should get started for Arithmancy anyway."

He nodded and turned back to his plate, stabbing a bite of sausage with his fork and eating it. She took a sip of her tea, thinking about the look on his face the day before when Nicole had written to him. She'd assumed the woman just wanted to check in on their bond, but now she wasn't so sure.

A flurry of wings beating the air caught her attention as owls suddenly entered through the high windows. She awaited the one that would bring her copy of the newspaper. It did so quickly and took off once she'd untied the paper from its leg, not bothering to grab a small bite of any of the food on her plate. A moment later a familiar owl alighted the table in front of her, extending its leg to her.

"Already?" She asked it in surprise.

The owl winked at her, she was certain of it this time. Hermione removed the letter, and gestured to her plate, knowing the animal would likely steal her food otherwise. The owl snatched up her sausage in its beak and then flew off.

"Strange animal, that," Sirius commented mildly. "From your admirer, I take it?"

"Wait a minute!" Ron burst out suddenly, and Hermione felt her heart rate pick up in nervousness. "Are you telling me you're actually getting letters from a secret admirer? You never told us who sent that first letter. Is this from the same bloke?"

She looked around the table and noticed Ron's loud voice had caught the attention of several of their house mates. Lavender and Parvati had turned toward her from partway down the table, Ginny and Harry had stopped their conversation to listen in, and even Neville was looking her way, though he quickly averted his gaze when her eyes fell on him.

"Yes, it's the same bloke, Ronald," she replied primly, knowing this would most certainly start the rumor mill going but not caring.

Ron's jaw dropped in surprise and he set his goblet down. "I can't believe it," he said incredulously. "Really. Who's sending you letters anyway?"

Hermione felt her hackles rising in anger as her friend spoke.

"I mean, sure you cleaned up well for the Yule Ball," Ron said, almost to himself, "but I still don't see it. I mean, all you ever do is study!"

"Ron, mate, you might want to–" Harry stated but was cut off.

"That's not very kind, Ron," Remus's voice broke in from somewhere behind her, and Hermione turned to see him approaching them with Severus at his side. He looked at Ron with disappointment in his features. "I don't think it's a good look to talk about your friend that way."

"Though Mr. Weasley has a point," Severus said with a sneer. "Unusual for him, I know. Miss Granger does study all the time, after all. It's how she maintains those perfect grades of hers."

Ron's face was a mottled shade of red, and Hermione thought hers likely was, too. She felt a bit humiliated–by both her friend and her professor–and wished she could get up and run away from the entire table.

"Now Severus," Remus said sternly, "let's not talk to the students that way. There's no call for that."

"As you say, Lupin," Severus said. "Though nothing I said was untrue, and I do believe it's important to be truthful."

Hermione felt her face flaming in shame and looked down at her plate. Then she felt Sirius's hand on her leg. He squeezed her thigh under the table, and she hated that she loved the sense of comfort she got from his touch. She wanted to brush him off and wallow in the feelings that were trying to drown her, but she couldn't find the strength to when his touch was helping her keep from crying.

"Come on, Severus," Remus said now, sounding somewhat irritated, and she looked up to see a bit of vexation cross his face. "We need to get going so we can get to class."

"Yes, of course, Lupin," Severus drawled. "Wouldn't want you to miss your potion, would we?"

The two walked off, and it dawned on Hermione that the full moon would be approaching soon. They must be going to get Remus's next batch of Wolfsbane potion. The thought made her sad as she knew her kind professor and friend would be going through the painful transformation once again. Sirius's hand squeezed her thigh again, and she knew this time it was for his own comfort.

"Well, I still say that no one's actually her secret admirer," Ron false-whispered to Harry. "She's probably just saying that to take the mickey out of us."

"Ron, you great prat," Ginny said, standing up, "why don't you grow up!"

She walked round the table and pulled Sirius's wheelchair back, just as he was setting his goblet down.

"Hey!" He called out, quickly setting the drink back on the table.

"Come on, Hermione," Ginny said, reaching over to pull her arm. "You don't have to sit and listen to this. Let's go."

Hermione smiled a bit at her feisty friend and decided breakfast was a lost cause. Placing her newspaper and unopened letter into her backpack, she grinned when Sirius automatically grabbed the bag and set it in his lap. She stood up and let Ginny push him ahead of her down the row between the tables. Behind her, she heard Ron mumble something to which Harry made an uncomfortable affirmative sound. As she passed them, Hermione was surprised when Lavender and Parvati both got up and followed them out.

"We girls should stick together," Lavender said loudly. "We can't let these boys get the best of us."

"Yeah," Parvati added as they made their way past the Ravenclaw table. Hermione glanced back to see Parvati put a hand on her twin's shoulder briefly. "And we need to look out for each other when we see someone hurting."

They walked on to the doors, Sirius along for the ride, and Hermione looked back to see Padma staring at them, her eyes bleak with some emotion she couldn't put her finger on. When they got out into the empty corridor, Ginny rolled Sirius off to the side and set the lock on the chair before turning to engulf Hermione in a huge hug.

"My brother is the king of the prats," she said simply as she stepped back.

Hermione couldn't help laughing.

Lavender came over and gave her a kind side-hug before saying, "I'm sorry Ron was such a jerk to you, Hermione."

Hermione stared at her in some surprise for a beat and then said, "I'm sorry he hurt you, too, Lavender."

"Yeah, Lavender," Ginny added, "he doesn't deserve you. And I should know. I live with him." The other girls laughed. "But I think he's just slow at figuring out what he wants and how to be with a girl. He spent all of last year with his head up his arse after being shocked by Hermione at the Yule Ball, and he was trying to recover from his crush on her."

Hermione felt her cheeks color as everyone looked at her, Sirius included, though he was staying suspiciously quiet.

Ginny shrugged at her and said, "I'm sorry. It needed to be said. Ron spent the entire year trying to figure out how he could have a crush on you when you're his best friend, and now this year it's like he's woken up and realized girls are pretty."

"How do you know all this?" Parvati asked her curiously. "Does he talk to you about the girls he likes?"

"Dear Merlin, no," Ginny said, tossing her long hair back with a big laugh. "He would never. No, he doesn't have to tell me. I listen to him when he talks to the ghoul."

"The ghoul?" Parvati asked with raised brows. Meanwhile, Hermione stifled a laugh.

Ginny smirked at the Patil twin and said, "Yeah, we have a family ghoul that lives in the attic. Harmless, really, just likes to moan a bit in bad weather. Anyway, Ron likes to hide in the attic and talk through his love life to the ghoul. Since he doesn't talk back, mostly moans in acknowledgement, it's like having his own diary, just without the writing. I've been eavesdropping on his conversations for years."

Lavender broke out into a laugh, and Hermione couldn't help laughing herself. She'd had no idea Ronald was using the family ghoul to air all his dirty laundry, and the thought was too comical. She'd seen the ghoul before with its ghastly green cast and dripping, oozing flesh. She could only wonder how her friend had ever decided the ghoul would be a good sounding board for his thoughts.

Once she calmed down, Lavender asked, "So has he ever talked about me?" Her big eyes were earnest as she looked at Ginny, and Hermione realized with a start that the other girl still had feelings for Ron.

"Once," Ginny confirmed, shooting her a genuine smile. "But it was right before the beginning of school this year, and I haven't heard anything since then."

Lavender smiled back at her. Hermione shook her head. It was no real surprise that Ron had had a bit of a crush on her, though she hadn't really noticed it all of last year since it was such a tense time dealing with Umbridge. She didn't truly believe that any crush he'd had on her was really such a big deal for him, but now that he'd been so vocal with his disbelief, she wondered if she was wrong.

"Hermione, don't look so upset," Parvati told her kindly, patting her shoulder. "It's obvious Ron's just jealous. He's probably upset that Lavender broke up with him still."

She looked around at the girls and saw encouraging expressions all around, and Hermione was touched. She'd never been especially close to Lavender and Parvati, and it was really only this past year that saw her actually starting to become friends with them. It was strange and sometimes hard to navigate, but right now she felt really warm and comforted that her previous roommates had come together to support her after that embarrassing moment at breakfast.

Hermione smiled at them. The doors to the Great Hall opened and students began streaming out to head to classes. With a promise to talk later, Ginny grinned and headed off to her Charms class. Lavender and Parvati flanked her as she unlocked the wheelchair and walked to the doors to head to Herbology.

Author's Note: Many thanks to all of you who have hung with me as I post this story! You're the real MVPs for continuing to follow Hermione's and Sirius's story with me. I appreciate you and love any comments you shoot my way. See you again soon!