A/N: All of the worshippers of fluff, unite! A new chapter is here and it is really sweet and light. But before we get to that gigantic portion of sugar, I have to thank you all, because I really didn't expect such a wonderful support! You guys gave me motivation to write that chapter ASAP, and I know it's not very meaningful, but it's a huge step for me. And it's fluffy, so who cares? :D
Now, to answer your lovely reviews...
ReaderRabid2: I'm glad that you didn't see any plot holes. And I'll definitely continue the story, as you can see :) Thank you for reading!
leonix2009: Thank you so much for staying with my story for such a long time!
Tidbit: Thanks, that's very sweet :)
HarkaLlama: Oh, wow! That's a really huge compliment and I cannot thank you enough! I can only say that I'll do everything in my power to make this work even better! And here's more fluff for you! :D
Black Banshee: Love seeing you here again! And thank you for such kind words! I appreciate them so, so much.
LunaLovegoss: When I saw your review, I couldn't believe my own eyes. First of all -thank you for taking the time to write it, because it means the world to me. And also thank you for such kind words. Despite all of those mistakes I've mentioned, I still poured all of my heart into this story, and there are very great portions of it that I absolutely love. I just happen to be a perfectionist, so some of the issues bug me, a lot. But I'm still going to finish this story, if only for readers such as yourself, because you make all of it worth it! And yes, I'm planning on writing a love scene, which is why I still keep the "M" rating of this story :) And sorry for giving you such a short break from reading haha! I'd also love to check out your story :)
Okay. Now, please, enjoy the chapter and I look forward to hear from you! xoxo
Hermione almost couldn't believe that the summer was over. She couldn't help, but to hop up and down with excitement, after she had apparated onto the King's Cross station in London to board the train for the very last time. Of course, as exciting as it was, riding the train wasn't the reason for her agitation. Seeing Sirius, on the other hand…
Shivers ran up her spine, when a memory of her boyfriend's face popped into her head. It felt almost surreal that just one year ago, she stood on the same platform, yearning to finally meet the Marauders and save them from their horrible fate. And now she was dating one of them – Harry's godfather, to make things even weirder. Her smile faltered at the thought of her friend, but it was gone for just a second. As soon as the Marauders walked through the wall, she couldn't help, but to let out a shaky breath and subconsciously smooth her dress. Yes, she was wearing a freaking dress, just to please him.
Just as she'd done a year ago, Hermione took in the silhouettes of three boys – James, Remus and Sirius. Her heart wanted to sing at the sight of her best friends, but it was too busy fawning over the last of the trio. Sirius wore his usual leather jacket, but it suddenly became quite… fitted. Okay, he was always impressive, considering the amount of strength needed to hit a Bludger. Even still, Hermione found herself ogling him like she had never seen a perfectly shaped male, and she had dated Victor Krum, for Merlin's sake.
Suddenly, she was not only emotionally overwhelmed by the prospect of their reunion, but also physically. The girl blushed and plastered a smile onto her face, when their gazes met, and Sirius had left his friends, running in her direction instead.
Before she knew what exactly happened, his lips were on hers and the whole world stopped for a moment. Hermione thought that she could faint just from all the emotions, but that kiss… That kiss made her want to moan, both in pleasure and in frustration, because it was so damn good and at the same time, she couldn't exactly let it progress. They were in the middle of a freaking platform, and people were probably starting to pay attention to their little display of feelings.
"Merlin, I've missed you so much," Sirius moaned into her ear, when she forced herself to break the kiss. "You have no idea…"
"I'm pretty sure I do," she answered, inhaling his scent and letting it overwhelm her. Her daze lasted only for a moment, because he kissed her again.
This time, his lips moved slowly and delicately, as he tried to pour all of his feelings into that kiss. Hermione couldn't stop herself from simply doing the same, even though James and Remus had finally caught up to them and started to whine.
"Oi, stop that!" Potter yelled, but Hermione could hear the laughter in her voice. "Herms, you don't know what Sirius has licked over the summer. That's highly irresponsible."
"James, let them have their moment. They're in love," Remus scolded him right away, but Sirius broke the kiss and sighed.
"I hate you both sometimes," he muttered, looking at Hermione with awe. "Fuck, you're wearing a dress!"
She rolled her eyes, but seeing his reaction made her want to clench her fists in victory. Maybe she wasn't so bad at this whole fashion thingy. And maybe she didn't completely suck at relationships too.
"You're bloody gorgeous," Sirius added and leaned forward to steal another kiss, but James shoved him away, taking Hermione into his arms instead.
"She's our friend too, you know?!" Potter said and spun the girl around, like she weighed nothing. "But he's right, you look absolutely terrific, and… Merlin, that's Lily!" He immediately let Hermione go and took a step back, looking at the redhead who had just entered the platform. "Isn't she beautiful? The loveliest out of all the fair maidens of the entire world…"
"If I ever talk like that, feel free to rip my balls off. I probably wouldn't even feel it, because they'd shrunken down by that time…" Sirius laughed and flung his arm over Hermione's shoulder. "Come on, love, let's find a nice compartment, where we could… talk in peace." He said, while the Ravenclaw tried not to blush, which proved very difficult. "And you, Remy, my friend, can take our luggage!"
Before she could protest, Sirius steered her away from the Marauders. She could still hear James' whines about Padfoot being full of shite, but they faded down pretty quickly.
"This was probably the worst summer ever, and I had quite a few of shitty holidays," Sirius said and gestured her to board the train first. Hermione was pretty sure that he'd done that only to stare at her ass, but his words were so sweet that she couldn't even scold him. She decided to wear a dress, after all. "I was worried sick, I hope you know that."
Hermione immediately scowled, as she turned around to face him. An apologetic smile that appeared on her face couldn't have done much to soothe his irritation, but at this moment, it was all she could offer.
"Of course I do, Sirius. If there was another way to go about it, I…"
"I know, love. You had to save the world, while your boyfriend was learning how to cook." He flashed her a grin, and Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"You were what?"
"Let's find that compartment and I will tell you all about it," Sirius suggested, forcing Hermione to roll her eyes.
"You do realise that it's a bit hard to make out and talk at the same time?"
"Kitten, I actually want to talk to you. But I guess that you'd rather do something else. Can't say I'm mad at the idea."
Hermione blushed and became aware of the fact that every student in the corridor was now busy with watching their interaction. She turned on the spot and stormed away, beginning to look for that bloodz compartment and wishing that she would finally learn not to fall into every single one of Sirius' traps. He probably planned everything all along.
"Come on, love, we can make a deal. We'll snog for a bit, and then we can chit-chat. I think we're both going to be pretty satisfied with such a contract."
"Shut up!" she laughed and shook her head, while Sirius trailed after her.
Merlin, how she missed that voice and sense of humour. He could be irritating and almost nauseatingly witty, but he could also make her smile, even if she was at her darkest hour. And she had a lot of those during the summer.
They'd found an empty compartment at the end of the train and before she could sit down, Sirius pulled her into his lap and kissed her again. One of his hands grabbed her by the neck, bringing her even closer, while the other settled on her bare thigh, gently caressing the skin. As much as she wanted him to continue, Hermione's mind wouldn't shut up, reminding her that, technically, they were still on the train, among children.
"Sirius, we can't…" she started, but when his lips travelled down to her neck, she had to inhale sharply and postpone finishing the sentence.
"We can't what?" he asked, moving his mouth against her skin and sending a pleasurable shiver down her spine. For a moment, his question seemed quite reasonable, because that feeling, that overwhelming need felt just right. But then he stopped and repeated his question. She could sense the smile, hiding behind his words, and she knew that he had no intentions of letting things progress.
Of course, he didn't want to do anything in a bloody train, she thought to herself and shook her head. It was so easy for him to dull Hermione's senses and her usually impeccable mind… She was still amazed by that special ability of his, even after spending so much time with him.
"You know what," Hermione muttered and averted her gaze, to his amusement.
"Are you sure you're not a virgin?" he laughed in response, but he quickly stopped, when she smacked his arm.
"You need to stop making fun of me, you git! I haven't seen you for two months, and now you're touching me, and…"
"And I can't exactly help it," Sirius said and smiled gently. "Touching you makes everything real. I've dreamt of seeing you for such a long time that it's kind of hard to believe it finally happened."
Just like that, she was reminded about the other things she loved about him. Not his kisses, not his low, husky voice… Nothing could make her heart melt like his words could. Sirius Black wore his heart on the sleeve, and he never held back anything, even if sometimes he really should. But when it came to his feelings… Hermione wanted nothing else, but his full honesty and she always got just that.
"I'm here. But most importantly, you're here too." She smiled and caressed his cheek, savouring the feeling of his clean shaven skin against her own palm.
Hermione doubted she could ever get bored of looking at his perfect features. She used to think that perfection was quite dull in a way, and that it quickly became ordinary, once someone had gotten used to it. But looking at his carved cheekbones and beautiful, silvery eyes, she had no doubts that it was, in fact, exciting. And she knew the reason for that. Sirius Black belonged to her.
The door to the compartment opened, breaking their moment and forcing Hermione to blush furiously, once she'd realised that she was still straddling the boy. Quickly, she freed herself from Sirius' embrace and turned around to face the newcomer.
"Lily!" she exclaimed happily and the redhead squealed, hugging Hermione tightly.
"Herms!" Evans greeted her and stepped back, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "I'm going to pretend that I haven't just caught you in a very compromising, inappropriate position, because I'm so happy to see you!"
"Thanks, Evans, that's so nice of you!" Sirius chirped and earned himself a glare from the girl.
"I wasn't talking to you, Black."
"But you are happy to see me, aren't you?"
Lily rolled her eyes, but she smiled nonetheless.
"A bit."
"Ha! I knew it!" Sirius laughed and winked at Lily, who shrugged and plopped down onto the seat across the boy.
"After spending summer with my family, seeing anyone would be a pleasant change. Even Potter."
She'd chosen a perfect moment to say such a thing, because James walked into the compartment and smiled so brilliantly, that Hermione wanted to blink, in order not to get blinded. The Ravenclaw did nothing of the sort, though, since watching Lily blush a furious red was much more amusing.
"Lily, love, did I hear you say my name?" he asked and sat down next to her, causing the girl to flinch.
Hermione guessed that the redhead tried very hard to look offended, but she still didn't move away, which was a significant change in comparison to behaviour from the last year. A smile appeared on Granger's face, as she watched the soon-to-be couple, but she decided to stay out of their little quarrel.
"Forgot to wash your ears again, Potter?" Lily snorted and crossed her arms on the chest, while James grinned.
"Nope. I bathed my entire body, just because I knew I would see you, love."
Sirius' barking laughter sounded in the compartment, as he simply couldn't stop himself from making fun of his friend.
"Oh, that's very true. He'd even stolen his father's cologne, because he's run out of his own," Black announced and Hermione smacked his thigh lightly. He really wasn't helping his friend win Lily over… "But it's a nice cologne, I guess," Sirius added, trying to fix things.
"Yeah, for a sixty year old, maybe," Lily scrunched up her nose and glanced at Potter. "I prefer your usual one."
The girl realised what she'd said, and her blush grew deeper, while James started to look positively flustered. Actually, Hermione thought he found himself at the verge of losing consciousness. It was incredibly sweet in a way, so she pinched Sirius, in order to prevent him from saying anything quite hurtful and mean.
"Oh, get a room," her boyfriend laughed and James broke out his daze immediately.
"Said the bloke, who shoved his tongue down a girl's throat not so long ago," Potter said and it was now Hermione's time to blush.
"She's my girlfriend, whom I haven't seen for two months. What's your excuse for spreading sexual tension everywhere?"
"Well, you're probably spreading fleas and you don't see me whining," James spat back, but Lily had had enough of their conversation, judging by the anger boiling in her eyes.
"Stop! Potter and I are not spreading anything. And why on Earth would Black spread fleas?"
Silence enveloped the compartment, as everyone tried to find a reasonable explanation for that peculiar feature. Lily narrowed her eyes, evidently finding their behaviour suspicious.
"That's because Sirius couldn't stop himself from petting a little dog we've found in the village," James finally said and sent Sirius a meaningful glance.
"It wasn't little. I don't do little dogs," Hermione's boyfriend protested right away, while Lily snorted.
"Okay, that sound's horribly wrong, but I get the idea. What happened to the dog?"
"It stayed with us for a night, and then we've found its owner." James explained and Sirius nodded.
"End of story."
Lily eyed them suspiciously for a moment and then she sighed, deciding to let that matter slide.
"For such pranksters, you're terrible liars, but I don't really want to know what you've been up to. My brain would probably fry."
"Agreed," the boys said in unison and Hermione grinned, unable to stop herself.
She really missed them. Every second of that familiar banter made her body yearn for even more interaction, and a part of her wanted that moment to last forever. But it took only one look at Sirius to know that there were also other things she looked forward to. Suddenly, all of her hard work from the summer started to seem less pointless and tiring. In the end it was all worth it.
The door to the compartment opened once more and Remus stepped inside. His face was almost as red as Lily's had been just a moment ago, and everyone immediately looked at him with interest.
"Loony, you seem… feverish," Sirius noticed, while the Prefect plopped down on one of the seats.
"I accidentally, somehow, managed to bump into a girl and…"
"And?" Everyone said in unison, while Remus covered his face with his palms.
"I might have… I mean, I did…"
"What?!"
"Touch her… You know," he muttered and looked down, clearly ashamed. "Her… breasts."
Both James and Sirius started to laugh so loud, that Hermione flinched visibly. She felt awful for Remus, because she could easily imagine the girl's reaction upon being touched against her will. Still, she had to admit that the situation was kind of funny, and judging by Lily's reaction, the girl shared the same thought.
"I hope she didn't hurt you too bad," Evans said and Remus scratched his head.
"Um… She kind of… Asked me out?"
"NO FREAKING WAY!" James yelled, as his laughter died immediately. Sirius' body kept shaking, on the other hand, while tears of joy rolled down his face. "I've spent six years trying to ask Lily out, and you just touch some girl's boobs and she's fallen head over heels for you?! Maybe I should just…"
"NO!" Lily smacked his head, while everyone joined Sirius in his explosion of joy.
I missed them so much, Hermione thought, looking at Lily and James, who started to fight, as they usually did. So freaking much…