"Reg?" Her voice cracked as she entered the dimly lit room. He turned around and smiled softly at her, the fire flickering beside him making his eyes shine like they had specks of glitter in them.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here, Hermione, what's up?" he stood up off the ground and walked over to her as she walked inside, closing the door. She didn't respond to him, she just sat in front of the fireplace, blinking every few seconds.

"Hermione, are you okay? Aren't you with Sirius tonight? What happened? Are you okay? Hermione, are you okay!" He sounded like a broken record, but he didn't care. "Hermione answer me! Are you okay?" She shook her head slowly and he sat in front of her. He looked deep in her eyes and held her knees loosely. She looked in her lap, then away from him, and then looked at his hands. He removed them, standing up again. "Hermione, if you're not going to give me any sodding answers, then get the hell out of my bloody house before Sirius catch-"

"He hit me." She spoke loudly, but with weakness and weariness. He stopped talking and faced her, cocking his head with disbelief. "We were fighting, and..." she swallowed her tears and cleared her throat. "And he hit me. If I hadn't started a fight, he wouldn't have gotten angry..." her voice trailed off and became an occasional whimper into paper thin air.

"Sirius...he...he /hit you/?" That /BASTARD/! Are you hurt?" He sat in front of her and looked at her limbs briefly to make sure there were no bruises.

"I'm not hurt...physically..." she wiped her cheek and looked at her thumbs, wrestling with each other, aside from her consciousness."I'll go talk to him." He muttered something else, gritted his teeth and stood up, heading for the door. Hermione shouted at him, making him stop in his tracks.

"Regulus, WAIT! You haven't heard the whole story!" Tears were streaming down both her cheeks, and she was standing up. He walked over to her, still angry.

"I don't need the whole story! My stupid brother doesn't have any reason to hit you! It doesn't matter what you said or did!"

"Just let me tell you." She took his hand and looked in his eyes. "Please." He sighed and sat on the ground in front of the fireplace, pulling her down across from him. Before she started talking, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. He would never tell anyone this, but he was quite fond of her. To be honest, he fancied her very much. Sirius got her first though, the worthless git. He knew she liked older guys; she had to, because Sirius is twenty years older than her. Luckily, he was eighteen years older than her, two years younger than his brother. It was a secret victory that he had in his head ever since they had met after the war. She opened her big brown eyes again, and bit her lip. "I...told him that I loved someone else..." she shifted uncomfortably, looking around them.

"That's the story? That's his excuse for hitting you?" her eyes filled with tears and he lowered his voice. "I'm sorry, I just don't see why-"

"I told him I loved you." they both stopped talking and Hermione shot her eyes to the ground, while Regulus kept a straight stare towards her. He inhaled deeply and cleared his throat. She spoke again, quietly. "And I do... Sirius and I, we don't connect like you and me do." he bit back a smile and leaned towards her slightly.

"Can I ask you something, Hermione?" she looked up and nodded. "Are you still with Sirius? Or did you already break up?" she looked at her hands and clasped her fingers together.

"We...we broke up..." a tear dripped onto the ground and she quickly wiped the next off her cheek."He told me to go to hell and he said to come here and tell you the same." Regulus couldn't help but chuckle.

"Life is hard. After all, it kills you. And when it does, I already know I'm going to hell, sweetheart." she smiled and looked up at him, trying not to laugh.

"Don't say that!" she frowned, and he laughed, holding out his arms, motioning for her to come closer. When she backed off, he grinned.

"C'mon, Hermione. Neither of us have relationship boundaries to abide to, you can come give me a hug." he grinned and she crawled over into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Can I ask you another question?" he rested his forehead on her shoulder and closed his eyes. She nodded and smiled a bit. "Do you really love me?" They both pulled back and he pushed his forehead onto hers, looking in her eyes. She smiled and took his hand in hers.

"Yea, I do." he grinned and interlaced their fingers together. "I have just one more question, then." she chuckled softly at him. "Will you be my girlfriend?" Hermione smiled huge and nodded.

"Yes, Regulus!" tears started streaming again, and he wiped them for her.

"I promise I will never hit you, no matter how angry I am." she bit her lip and looked down again. He cupped her face in his hands and brought her face up so she looked at him. He planted a soft kiss on her lips, then on her forehead. She smiled and hugged him again, confident in his promise.