Title: Melody

Pairing: Hermione/Sirius

Rating: T (for mature themes)

Prompt: #089 -- Ivory (using LamentingQuill's prompt table)

Summary: A late night snack at Grimmauld Place turns out to be alot more enjoyable than Hermione thought.

Warnings: A bit of a difference in the ages. (And the whole, he's my best friend's godfather thing.) But I'm sure Sirius thought about it. I mean, all those nights alone...

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to J. K. Rowling and Co.

She lay awake in her bed, staring up at the bare ceiling above her.

The moonlight casting itself through the window created eerie shadows behind the cracks in the dried plaster, looming over the length of the room, engulfing her.

She twisted onto her side to glance at her watch on the bedside table.

Two thirty-four.

Much too early to get up.

The increasingly loud grumblings in her stomach were telling her differently.

'Why didn't I eat more at dinner?' she thought to herself, grabbing ahold of her stomach, trying to keep it quiet, before it woke up Ginny, who was sleeping in a bed at the other side of the room.

'Surely she couldn't hear my stomach from all the way over there?'

Sighing, Hermione untangled her legs from the sheets and hopped silently out of bed.

After pulling on a pair of woolen socks, she hurriedly tiptoed out of the bedroom and into the hall, careful to ease the door closed behind her.

She snuck down the hall, her socks shuffling on the threadbare carpet underneath her.

Shadows began dancing in the corners of her eyes upon the walls beside her as she walked, causing her to stop suddenly in her tracks.

No, there was nothing there.

Hermione shivered and hurried along.

After weeks of living in this decrepit old house, she still hadn't gotten used to the tricks it would play on your eyes in the darkness.

She reached the landing of the staircase when she heard it.

A soft tinkling sound.

It filled the air for a brief moment before being swallowed up again by silence.

Hermione squinted around in the darkness, trying to find the source of the sound.

Just when she was assured she had been imagining it, she heard it again.

It seemed like chimes ringing in the murkiness around her, but she couldn't find the source.

Unclasping her hand from the bannister, she searched down the opposite hallway, leading her to the opposite end of the house.

'This better be worth an empty stomach.' she thought to herself, making herself laugh aloud to hide the nervousness which was building slowly inside of her.

The sound had soon led her up to a series of staircases she had never encountered before, but with each step she took, she was more assured that she could hear the harmony a bit louder.

It wasn't long before she found herself facing a battered-looking door, the harmony emanating from just behind it. Her mind was racing, trying to decide what to do next.

'Should I open the door? Will I be terribly sorry afterwards?'

Calming down a bit, she shook off these silly questions and placed her hand on the handle.

But as soon as her fingers clasped around the knob, the music stopped.

The breath caught in Hermione's throat, making her eyes water.

She pushed open the door and glanced into the room.

Empty.

It was just an empty attic room, filled from top to bottom with jammed boxes, broken children's toys and dusty books.

And a piano.

She walked over to the instrument, pushing past piles of magazines and nearly tripping on a broken broomstick.

She brushed her fingers lightly over the keys, emitting a small tinkling sound.

They shone in the moonlight, sparkling beneath Hermione's fingers.

Her eyes closed as they danced across the ivory board, the notes chirping delicately at her as if she held tiny birds in her hands.

"Can you play?" a voice cooed from the shadows.

She kept her eyes closed but her fingers came to a rest on the keys.

"Not very well, no."

She suddenly felt his arms on top of hers, grabbing ahold of her hands.

His whole body formed against her own, as if being hugged by the darkness itself.

His dark hair tickled her face, but she still didn't open her eyes, afraid she might wake from her dream.

"Then let me show you."

With her hands in his own, he glided them across the keys, creating a soft melody, making Hermione's head swim.

She rested her head against his shoulder as he continued playing, breathing in the scent of him.

When he finished the piece, they stood in silence against each other, as if afraid to move.

"That was beautiful." she purred into his ear, her fingers tightening around his.

At this, he spun her around in his arms, finally giving a face to the man from the shadows.

"Hermione..." he whispered, his lips brushing across her skin.

"I heard you calling me and I came to you."

Her lips curled into a smile untwining her fingers from his to his head, pulling at his hair enough so that his lips met hers.

The kiss was slow and unhurried, tongues make broad sweeps and her soft sighs filled the dark room.

He broke the kiss and stared longingly into her eyes, his lips curled downwards into a sad frown.

"What is it, Sirius?" she whispered, leaning her head against his chest.

"Sooner or later we won't be able to hide this anymore." he murmured, his voice cracking in his throat.

"I'm afraid we'll get torn apart by the war ahead."

Hermione bit her lower lip and clasped his face with her hand.

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it."

His usually-twinkling eyes looked frozen behind his lashes, and yet warmed Hermione all the same.

His lips came to rest once again over hers, but it was a different kiss than usual.

Hard and sorrowful, bringing tears to Hermione's eyes, crushing their lips together, like they'd been gone a lifetime.

He pulled back and stroked his thumb along her cheekbone as he held her head up,

tears now freely streaming down her face.

"But I want you to know, I will fight for you. No matter what it takes."