Valentine

Prequel to Thump

Note: Per the request of SarcasmAtItsFinest, I have written a one-shot of Sirius and Hermione's Valentine's Day, after a rather extended period of time. Also, I've realized that this little trilogy is more of a Sirius-Hermione-Crookshanks kind of relationship. After all, pets see everything- and luckily they can't talk, or else they'd be spilling the cat food everywhere. Anyway, enjoy!

She was glowing.

Sirius sighed in content as he watched Hermione from across the room. She sat at the desk by the window, the sun showering early morning light on her figure. She was being a little stubborn at the moment, using a needle and thread instead of magic to fix her favorite, ragged sweater. She was absolutely adorable. He chuckled as Hermione swore and brought her finger to her mouth, having just pricked it with the needle for the hundredth time. She shot him a dark look.

"Don't laugh at me. I'm trying to make a point," she said, glaring at Sirius' smiling face.

"I know, dear, I know…but are you really proving anything?"

"It's Fred's fault! He said-"

"Dear, I know. I was there," Sirius replied calmly. He rose from the bed, crossing the room to wrap his arms around her slumped and defeated shoulders. Sirius smiled to himself as he watched Hermione pout, her lower lip jutting out and looking especially appealing.

"And why are you so agreeable today?" she grumbled, casting a forlorn look upon the lump of grey sweater on the desk.

"Well…" Sirius started. She looked up at his face expectantly. He leaned down and whispered into her ear, "It's Valentine's Day." Sirius felt Hermione freeze in his embrace. His lips pressed into the skin at the back of her jawbone and he felt a shiver go down her spine.

"Oh," Hermione squeaked. She was aware of Sirius pressing his lips harder against her neck, making sure she felt him smile, his tongue starting to trace out an intricate but repetitive design. Hermione gasped, not only at the heat of his mouth, but also at the realization of his actions. She smacked the side of his head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Sirius asked too innocently, releasing Hermione from his arms and rubbing his head.

"You're trying to give me a hickey!" she hissed, blushing a furious red.

"I'm just kissing you," Sirius responded, drawing her to his body, "Can you blame me? I like the way you taste." He stopped her imminent protests by kissing her full on the mouth, her face in his hands. Neither of them noticed the ball of ginger fur that had curled itself on the windowsill. When Sirius finally released Hermione's lips, he couldn't help but proudly smile at the stunned face in his hands.

"Hermione, dear," Sirius cooed, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"Hm?" she replied, her gaze unfocused.

Sirius leaned down to look into her eyes, saying quietly, "Do you remember our deal?"

"What?" Hermione answered, dazed.

"Our deal," he whispered, kissing the sensitive spot below her ear, "It's been a month."

"Sirius!" she nearly shrieked, ripping herself from his grasp.

"I take it you do remember," he said almost smugly, trying to hide a smirk. It became more difficult to not be satisfied as he watched her stumble over her words and try to collect herself.

"I-I- You need to stop distracting me!" Hermione said, looking anywhere but at Sirius' face, "I am trying to get something done here!" Her hands, like her heart, were in a flurry as she tried to take her sewing back up. Sirius chuckled as she paid unnecessarily rapt attention to rethreading the needle.

"A deal's a deal, Hermione, you know that; you even pinky-promised."

"I did no such thing!"

"As I recall, you did—after my incessant begging, of course."

"Well then it doesn't count; you were being irritating."

"Irritating or not, a promise is a promise."

"I remember now! You turned into a dog and made those mooning eyes at me!"

Sirius wasn't the bashful type; he grinned at the thought. "That is the simple art of persuasion, dearest. You have your tactics," he said, once again pulling Hermione to his body, "and I have mine." He took to kissing her jaw and neck, finding the nervous humming of her body particularly enticing.

"I-I," Hermione tried, attempting to regain her sense. However, her body was betraying her mind and it let out a sigh as Sirius kissed a rather sensitive area around the back of her neck.

"Hmm," he murmured at the sigh, "Interesting."

"Sirius," Hermione said in a low voice. It was an intriguing combination of both warning and want, Sirius noted to himself as he tugged the neck of her shirt down her arm. His lips molded around her shoulder, the skin warm after having just been exposed. He could feel her start to relax in his arms; all it took was one light, tender, knee-buckling kiss and Sirius had the answer he wanted.

"Oh, alright," Hermione said with a sigh, "Happy Valentine's Day."

Sirius looked up, casting his large, puppy-dog eyes upon Hermione. Boy, I love her, he thought to himself. Hermione looked down at him as she continued to scavenge through his tangled, matted fur. As she saw the dog's mooning eyes gazing up at her, she rolled her own. If Sirius could give a non-creepy smile while in dog form, he produced one just at that moment.

"Alright, there's no need to keep looking at me like that," Hermione said, untangling and searching through a rather thick patch of Snuffles' fur. She couldn't believe that she had actually agreed to do this on Valentine's Day. Somewhere in Sirius' mind, though, Hermione knew he saw this as an act of complete, unconditional love. And he probably thinks it's romantic, the fool, she thought to herself with a disbelieving shake of her head. Although I suppose for a dog, getting rid of fleas is one of the best and most intimate things an owner can do. Hermione smiled to herself. Of course she was Sirius' owner. If not her, then who else would it be?

Snuffles then made a low, grumbling noise that emanated from his chest, his tail wagging side to side even faster than it had already been. His satisfaction was unmistakable as Hermione pointed her wand at yet another flea, eliminating it for good.

"You'd think they'd have come up with a charm to repel fleas by now," Hermione mused aloud. Dog-Sirius' tongue flopped out in agreement, his panting becoming louder. She absentmindedly scratched the back of his ear and picked her way through a tough spot of fur on the back of his large, canine neck. This is good too, Snuffles thought, if there isn't a charm to repel fleas, this is the next best thing. Ah… He wanted to roll on to his back in joy, but the love of his life was working through the hair there, so he fought the urge and waited patiently like a good boy, only his ferociously wagging tail giving him away.

Suddenly there was a quiet mewl, so quiet only Snuffles had picked it up. His ears stood at attention as he scanned the room. It was Crookshanks, curled up comfortably on the window sill, bathing in the sunlight that turned his fur from the color of tiger-lily orange to that of golden, fireplace flames. Snuffles relaxed again, his head resting on his crossed front paws. The ball of ginger fur stretched, blunt claw nails peaking out of paws extended to the sky.

Snuffles and Crookshanks had actually come to be very good friends over the years, not that Sirius' relationship with Hermione really helped with that. The cat had always been possessive of his human; she was a bright little thing, respectful and endearing, a very good human for him indeed. Sirius, while a bit reckless and definitely not Crookshanks' first choice for his human's mate, was at least better than Ronald Weasley, the idiot whose family housed Peter Pettigrew for thirteen years. It also helped that Sirius' IQ dropped quite a bit when he became Snuffles. Crookshanks had always wanted a slightly stupid but very useful older brother, and Snuffles provided that, albeit in a canine form.

I can't believe you're actually making my human get rid of your fleas, much less on Valentine's Day, Crookshanks said to Snuffles, shooting him a sharp glare.

Snuffles' head lifted off of his paws. Why? What's wrong with that?

You really have to ask? Crookshanks gave a little cough of disbelief. He took to staring out the window, stretching and reveling in the heat of the sunrays. He briefly glanced back at Snuffles, whose nose was slightly wrinkled. Snuffles was confused.

Stop thinking like a dog.

Huh? This was getting ridiculous.

Think like a human- a human male. She wants what you want, dummy. It's Valentine's Day.

But...I just want her to get rid of my fleas, Snuffles replied innocently. His ears flopped forward a little, drooping- sad.

Okay, okay. Crookshanks hated a sad Snuffles. It was a horrible thing to watch. But why does she have to remove your fleas today, of all days? Did the fleas just suddenly become unbearable?

Snuffles didn't respond for awhile and Crookshanks was becoming impatient. He was about to say something when the dog finally said slowly, Doing this…getting rid of my fleas shows me how much she loves me.

This was not something the cat had been expecting. Seriously?

Yeah. Snuffles' eyes looked up hopefully at his friend lying on the window sill. He hoped for understanding and acceptance and direction- was he doing something wrong by having Hermione help with his fleas? Crookshanks sighed. Sometimes, having a human whose IQ drops a little whenever he turns into an animal is helpful and enjoyable on Crookshanks' part, as he then can lord himself over the dog and feel slightly superior. This wasn't one of those times. Sirius needed help.

Okay, well, that's fine. I'm sure my human can understand that.

Snuffles' ears perked up.

But you must have something else in mind for Valentine's Day, don't you?

Um…not really. What do you suggest, Crooks?

I told you not to call me that.

I can't help it. Would you prefer Shanks? Crookshanks is a mouthful in Dog.

Never mind, Crookshanks said, getting more irritated, You need to figure out a way to save this precious human holiday of love. He wanted to gag. Perhaps a hairball was long overdue.

Snuffles' nose wrinkled again. Merlin, it's going to take a lot of effort to get it through this dog's dense head, Crookshanks thought to himself.

I really don't know what I'm supposed to do, Crooks.

This was going to become seriously awkward in a few seconds.

I suggest twelve dozen roses, at least two boxes of chocolate- because we both know how much my human loves them, especially the dark chocolate raspberry-filled ones- clean linens, and a box of condoms. Crookshanks' speech got progressively faster, speedily adding in the last two items. If Snuffles didn't understand now, Crookshanks vowed to find a new animal companion. Slight stupidity was good- complete, incurable, and utter naivety was not.

All Hermione heard the whole time was a lot of barking, whining, panting, and rumbling from Sirius and an incessant meowing and coughing from Crookshanks. Whenever this happened, she assumed they were talking to each other. Sometimes, she wished that she, too, could understand their language, but then realized she probably wouldn't care to know what they were saying anyway. What would they have to talk about, now that Voldemort was dead and Pettigrew was no longer an issue? Perhaps they're badmouthing Ron, Hermione thought with a slight grin, shaking her head at her pets' ridiculousness. Honestly, though, what would they have to talk about?

"Okay, all done. I should make my own flea-repelling spell," Hermione said, chewing on her bottom lip out of habit, "Perhaps a potion would be more effective." Snuffles licked at her face and then rolled on to his back, exposing his stomach for a belly-rub.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "I just got rid of all of your fleas, and now you want me to give you a rub down? I don't think so." Dog-Sirius whined, his eyes looking up eagerly at her, still on his back. Hermione sighed, looked down at her lap in contented defeat, and reached for Snuffles' fuzzy stomach to rub. Instead, she was met with very warm, mostly smooth but lightly scarred skin. Hermione's head shot up as Sirius pulled her toward him by the arm, landing squarely on top of him. The air was knocked out of her as her chest collided with his and she had to draw in deep breaths, almost panting as Sirius chuckled away.

"Sirius!"

"Yes, darling?"

"Don't 'yes, darling' me! Oh, my chest hurts some." She rubbed her front with her forearm, pressing down to ease some of the pain.

"You'll live. Now, look-"

"That's great, Sirius, just great. I can feel the deep concern you have for my well-being."

"Hermione! Hermione, dear, please shut up and pay attention."

"What? What is it? Oh."

There were twelve dozen or so white and yellow roses strewn about the room. He had effectively shut her up. Hermione felt something heavy behind her ear and after gently removing it, Sirius showed her that it was a deep red rose, unlike any she'd ever seen.

"Charmed," he said in answer to the question in her eyes, "so it'll last forever."

Hermione tried not to cringe at the cheesiness. Sirius had been able to keep a straight face, so she would do the same. "I think you're missing another staple of Valentine's Day giftware."

"You mean these?" Sirius waved a box of chocolates in front of her eyes, which had been scanning the tables in the bedroom.

"Yes!" Hermione reached for them.

"Nope," Sirius said, a sudden mischievous glint in his eye. He held the box of cocoa goodness away from her, teasing.

"Please, just one? I've been craving a dark chocolate all day."

"Hfphine," Sirius said. A piece of dark chocolate rested between his teeth. "You can have this one." He wiggled his eyebrows, and that was the last straw. Hermione cracked up, laughing so hard she couldn't catch her breath fast enough.

"I can't believe you're laughing at me," Sirius said in a mock-hurt voice. He was suddenly above her, smiling as she continued to laugh, then kissed her, so in love with this bright, happy image of her that he couldn't restrain himself. While she kissed him back, she fell into giggling. Merlin, I'm becoming a sappy, giggling dolt, Hermione thought to herself. Sirius stopped his attack on her lips, giving up for the moment as he realized that he had done too good of a job at making this an amusing Valentine's Day. He moved to roll off of her, but she held on to his arms, keeping him there.

"No, no, I'm sorry I keep laughing," she said, "Haha, oh, okay. Calm. Calming down."

Sirius simply smiled down at her. He once again made to get off of her, but this time she surprised him by pulling his lips forcefully down onto hers. The kiss was warm and sweet and-

"A little salty," Hermione whispered, her eyes closed, "Did that dark chocolate piece you just ate contain sea salt?"

"Who cares?" Sirius muttered, shutting her up with his lips once again.

Suddenly, Hermione felt Sirius freeze in her grip. "Sirius, what's wrong?"

"The cat."

"What?" She unraveled herself from him a bit and turned to look at what was in Sirius' line of view. It was Crookshanks, licking his paws and seemingly ignoring them. "What's wrong? Crookshanks? I don't mind, just ignore him."

"I mind," Sirius said, his gaze narrowed in and steadied on their feline friend. Crookshanks immediately turned his head and his gaze leveled with the human-Snuffles'. Hermione watched as they stared at each other for a good, long minute, unsure of what was going on and what to do about it. She hadn't been able to identify the look on her cat's face, unlike Sirius, who wanted to swipe the smirk right off his semi-friend's squashed mug. Sirius' hand twitched. Half a beat later, Crookshanks leapt down from the window sill and sauntered off, leaving the room with an imperious swish of his tail.

"Bloody cat," Sirius said under his breath, his eyes still on the door, as if expecting Crookshanks to reappear.

"Don't say that," Hermione scolded, a slight frown on her face. Sirius disentangled himself from Hermione, his feet hitting the floor with a soft thump as he moved off the bed to shut the door.

"I'll say what I want. He may be your pet, but he's my friend. I have license to say what I want about the bloody cat," Sirius said with a satisfied smirk after locking the door and hearing its accompanying click.

"Sirius," Hermione said exasperatedly. Sirius turned around to face her, a stupid, cliché, attractive glint in his eye.

"Now, where were we?"

Crookshanks curled himself into a shaded nook by the door and waited patiently for his human to finish, taking to lazily cleaning his paws. It was particularly warm in this little corner he found, stuck between two different rooms. It's probably warmer in the bedroom, Crookshanks thought with a devious smirk. Oh, if only the humans could understand him. It's too bad, really, he thought, I would have loads to tell them.

Reviews are greatly appreciated, no matter what you have to say (unless, of course, you're going to swear at me or tell me that unicorns don't exist, which is really not appreciated).