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Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter or any of the characters, I just like to play with them
A special thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
duck_or_rabbit for helping me work out the details.
It was pointed out to me byskeller1980 that chapter 20 was missing. I forgot to move it over from ff.net. Ooops!
Holiday
Sirius was enjoying his second visit to Hermione’s parents home a good deal more than he had the first time around. He was there by choice, by warm and friendly invitation, this time he wasn’t the intruder who was about to rape their daughter. While that was far from the truth it was close to how he had felt that night.
Hermione and her mother were chatting happily in the kitchen while Sirius was getting to know her father better. Sirius took a sly glance over his shoulder, satisfied that she was suitably occupied he turned back to Dr. Granger.
“I know you’re tired of hearing this from me but we are so grateful to you for keeping our daughter safe.” They still didn’t have a lot of common ground so Dr. Granger filled the empty spaces in conversation with thanks and praise.
“The situation has changed between your daughter and me.” Sirius wanted to do this properly even if it was a bit out of order.
“Oh? How so?” Dr. Granger leaned forward as Sirius had dropped his voice a little to avoid being overheard.
Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green box. He handed it over to Dr. Granger, when he opened the box his expression softened. “Oh, I see.”
“This is going to sound like a ridiculous question since I already have what I’m about to ask for…” Sirius ran a nervous hand though his long dark locks. “I’m in love with your daughter, I’d like to have the ceremony we skipped the first time around.”
“Not ridiculous at all, I think it’s a wonderful idea, Sirius. I know her mother will enjoy planning a wedding.” He handed the box back. “I must say that is a rather impressive ring.”
“It’s been in the family for several generations.” Sirius slipped the box back into his coat pocket. “The last Mrs. Black to wear that ring was my great grandmother on my mother’s side.”
“So, when do you plan on presenting her with the ring?” Dr. Granger eased back into his seat and smiled warmly at Sirius.
“I was thinking about Christmas, it’s only a week away.” Sirius had a pleased, slightly excited look on his face. He loved Christmas and couldn’t think of a happier time of year to propose.
“I’m glad things worked out so well between the two of you. I had my misgivings, mind you, but I’m confident that my daughter is in good hands.”
“I think it caught us both by surprise.” Sirius thought about Mexico and smiled, maybe they would honeymoon there, in style this time.
“So,” began Dr. Ganger in a very business like tone, “have you given any thought to a career. A man needs work, Sirius.”
Sirius suppressed a groan, he didn’t want to have this conversation. He knew that the Grangers believed in the virtue of hard work. He wasn’t quite ready to give up all the trappings of his playboy existence. He did realize he would have to give Dr. Granger some sort of answer that didn’t ruin the good will that was built between them. “I have given some thought to it, Hermione has that influence on a person.”
Apparently he had said the exact right thing, Dr. Granger looked over at his daughter and smiled proudly. “That’s wonderful, Sirius! Well, I’ll be looking forward to hearing updates from Hermione on how that goes.”
Hermione peeked into the sitting room of her parents home to see her father smiling proudly at Sirius while Sirius wore a weak smile. Hermione giggled under her breath, she had been expecting her father to discuss Sirius’ future with him. Never mind that Sirius was only five years younger than her father or that he had more money than he could spend. She was pleased to see that Sirius was wearing it well and wondered if her father was making any headway. She would never pester Sirius about it but she secretly believed he needed something to do. Sirius had little fulfillment in his life and the accomplishment of work would help.
“Hermione, dear…give me a hand with the roast.” Hermione turned back into the kitchen, she flicked her wand and levitated the pan and roast onto the counter for her mother.
Hermione noticed her mother doing that thing with her mouth, it always meant there was something she had to say and was working out how to say it. “Oh, just say it mum.”
“Say what?” Asked her mother in surprise.
“Ask the question that you are worried about how to phrase, just ask.” Hermione paused to smile at her mother, by the look on her face she guessed it was serious.
“Well, its just now that things are going so well between you two…I mean to say, is it too much to ask for a tiny little ceremony. Something that makes it a bit more…normal. You deserve to wear a beautiful dress and your father deserves to give his daughter away.” Hermione thought her mother’s words sounded a bit rehearsed, she must have been thinking about this a lot.
“Well…” said Hermione thoughtfully, “Let’s get through Christmas. I’ll bring it up once we’re past the holidays. Fair?”
“More than fair.” Her mother looked well pleased.
Hermione was greatly relieved that this second meeting was going so much better than the first. Her parents gratitude was going a long way toward accepting Sirius as their son-in-law. They only knew some of the dangers that existed for Hermione as a muggleborn in wizard society. She had explained to her parents the prejudices that existed in the wizarding world. The reality of that danger hit too close to home when she and Sirius went on the run. Dumbledore had come to her parents home personally and explained the seriousness of the situation. He assured them that Sirius was a very cunning wizard and that Hermione was safely tucked away with him.
Hermione wanted to spend a few days catching up with her mom, maybe do some Christmas shopping together. Hermione had been receiving an allowance from her parents since she started Hogwarts, she never spent much of it and had a nice little savings built up. She wanted to buy Sirius something special for Christmas. She couldn’t very well do that if he was hovering the whole time.
Sirius didn’t mind the time away either, a little separation was good for them. He had plans for his time apart from her. There were a few things he wanted to take care of that he couldn’t do if she were around.
Sirius bade her parents a fond farewell, she walked him outside to the back yard. Once they were out of her parents eye line he swept her up in his arms, kissing her passionately, whispering how much he would miss her. They broke apart and moved away from each other, still touching hands and then fingertips. When she was too far away to reach him she crossed her arms over herself and smiled.
“I’ll see you in a couple of days.” He smiled one last time and then disappeared with a soft ‘pop’.
She turned away, into her parents house and closed the door behind her.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
“Do we really have to do this tonight?” There was a whine in Ron Weasley’s voice.
“He only has a couple of days away from her, Ron. If he’s going to have it ready by Christmas he is going to have to start right away.” Harry was excited to see the home Sirius had bought for himself so many years ago. Unlike Grimmauld Place, his parents had actually been to this house. He wondered if there might be some special memento of his parents here.
“Looks the same from out here.” Remus wondered if it would be like stepping into a time capsule and what sort of effect that might have on Sirius. He hadn’t seen his friend this happy since before Lily and James died, he hoped this wouldn’t dampen Sirius’ spirits.
Sirius was exuberant, he seemed to hum with excess energy. He was a little apprehensive about seeing his old home, it held a lot of happy memories, memories he still had trouble accessing. The dementors had taken so much from him and much of it he would never get back. He was determined to make new happy memories here with Hermione, his Hermione.
The four men walked up to the nice sized two story house, it wasn’t extravagant but it spoke of a man who had his eye on the future. Sirius hadn’t met anyone special when he bought this house but it was always his intention to eventually settle down and raise a family with a nice girl. He was still rough and rowdy back then but he saw what James and Lily had and it looked inviting. He’d always thought there would be plenty of time.
Sirius flicked his wand at the door and it opened, he stepped carefully inside and peered around in the darkness, the only illumination coming from the tip of his wand. The place was dusty and he could hear things scurrying around in the dark, wizard homes were things that shouldn’t sit empty and neglected for long periods of time.
Sirius flicked his wand about a few times and gas lamps sputtered to life, casting a warm friendly glow. There was at least an inch of dust on everything, he looked around and began to remember this place. He remembered James and Lily coming to visit him once with Harry in tow.
“You’ve been here before, you know.” Sirius said to Harry, with a smile. “They made the trip with you here once, before they had to go into hiding.”
Harry walked around with renewed interest, he wondered what that visit had been like. He wished he wasn’t too young to remember.
“I remember that,” said Remus. “We all came to visit…” Lupin trailed off, he’d suddenly remembered that ‘we all’ included Peter. He eyed Sirius warily to see if he had noticed but he didn’t seem to be bothered, that is until he saw Sirius’ fist clenching and unclenching. Lupin recognized that Sirius was trying to get his emotions under control so he said nothing and distracted the boys.
Sirius took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, he didn’t think about Peter if he could help it. Peter was out there somewhere in the world with no big friends to rely on anymore. It was rumored that he had been seen the night of the battle with Voldemort but not by Sirius. Sirius was rather glad of that because he would have been too distracted with Peter to be there to save Hermione’s life, his light.
He remembered why they were here, they were here to put back together the home where he and Hermione would raise their family. He had lost every happy memory in Azkaban and he’d had quite a few to lose. He wasn’t left with much when it was all over. She was helping him rebuild what was lost, replacing the happiness that had been ripped from his mind. They would build happiness here, happiness and love.
“Well, boys…let’s get this place cleaned up.” Exclaimed Sirius, he resolutely put the past behind him and looked to the future.
The four men began to do their best at household charms although none of them were very good at it. Not long after starting they were all coughing from the dust that was flying everywhere. The only one who was making any sort of dent was Remus who was sucking the flying particles into his outstretched wand. The other three mimicked him and soon they had the dust under control.
It was clear that Sirius had kept the place clean, with the dust out of the way the character of the house began to stand out. It was a lot like Sirius, friendly, inviting and rather masculine. It was fairly clear this had not been a woman’s home. It was absent of anything frilly or feminine. The furniture had clean lines and was comfortable, functional, even stylish but subtle.
His fascination with muggle culture was evidenced by the enormous stereo system, the speakers were almost as tall as Harry. Sirius had amassed quite a collection of muggle music, Remus was sliding his finger along a case holding hundreds of cassettes. Occasionally he would call out the name of a band to Sirius who would throw him a grin.
Harry looked around and realized that as un-girly as Hermione was, this would never work. It was too masculine, it screamed bachelor pad. Sirius was going to need outside help.
“You are going to need to get someone to help you decorate this place, this is not very woman friendly.” Harry didn’t mind it himself but he couldn’t see Hermione surrounding herself with this.
“Well, actually it was very woman friendly.” Sirius was wearing a very cheeky grin. “And I am getting someone to decorate it for me.”
“Oh, who?” Harry wondered if Sirius had spoken to Molly Weasley or maybe Ginny.
Sirius looked at him strangely. “Who do you think?”
“Mrs. Weasley?”
Sirius snorted, Remus looked over at Harry, sniggering.
Sirius shook his head and tousled Harry’s hair. “We’re just tidying up a bit, Harry. I’m letting Hermione go nuts on the place, anything she wants.” Sirius paused, “Although now that you mention it, after we give it a once over I may ask Molly to come round.”
They continued their scourge of Sirius’ home, it was as different from number twelve, Grimmauld Place as night was from day. This house wasn’t rotting in decay nor was it infested with magical pests. They had to get rid of a couple of things, it needed a good once over and a little love. Number twelve, Grimmauld Place was steeped in hate, here there was just a little neglect.
The downstairs had a large living area, in his head Sirius was calling it the family room. There was a nice sized dining room and a generous kitchen with a bar. The house was full of windows, the light could come pouring in. The master bed and bath were on the first floor, upstairs there were three bedrooms and an open area. The house boasted a large backyard, the only thing it didn’t have was a library. That was something Sirius had given no consideration to when he bought the place.
Sirius walked down the stairs into the basement and looked around, this could be transformed into a library, he thought to himself. He heard someone descending the stairs and looked over his shoulder in time to see Remus entering the room.
“Library?” Asked Sirius.
“Yeah, it could be.” Remus thought his heart would burst at seeing his childhood friend, his best friend so happy. “This is going to be really good, Pads. For both of you.”
“I think it is too. It feels like I’m finally getting a fair shake. She’s more than I deserve, I feel lucky, blessed.” Sirius gave the room a last look before climbing the stairs, he had big plans for this basement.
After a couple of hours of hard work Sirius decided to call it a night. He asked if they would come back with him tomorrow to which they all agreed. Sirius was hoping he could get Molly to come with.
Sirius locked and warded the house and they all left together, back to number twelve, Grimmauld Place.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
“Sirius’ birthday is just four days before Christmas, so I want to get him two presents.” Hermione and her mother were walking past the shops in Diagon Alley.
“What an awful time of year for a birthday.” Her mother peered into a shop, magic would never cease to be a bit of an oddity to her. It was well suited to her daughter, who apparently was quite brilliant. She was proud of Hermione even if she didn’t understand what a lot of it meant.
“It’s a big one this year, too.” Hermione looked at her mother ominously and mouthed the words ‘forty’.
“How’s he taking it, well I hope. Forty really isn’t so old.” She herself was forty four and truly believed that age was a state of mind.
“I’m not sure, he hasn’t said anything. I had to learn from his cousin when it was.” Tonks had casually mentioned that his birthday was coming up, she and Harry had gone into action. There was a celebration planned at the Burrow in two days time.
“Well, I think he should get something from us, don’t you think.” Hermione grinned at her mother, pleased she thought well of Sirius.
Hermione passed by a wizards clothing boutique, a rather more upscale than Madam Maulkin’s shop. In the window was a most stunning set of everyday robes. Everyday robes for the wizard who was interested in dressing well. Hermione and her mother stepped in and into the shop to admire it, Hermione couldn’t help thinking it was something that Sirius would love.
He loved attention and admiration, he was a good looking man who knew it to be true. It could be a little annoying at times, he projected quite a bit of conceit although she suspected it was a cover or maybe habit. Her own experiences with him suggested he might not really like himself as well as he’d like you to think he did.
The robe was made of dragon hide that had been worked to flow almost like soft, heavy fabric. It was heaven to touch. The black robes would look so good on him. Hermione peeked at the price tag almost afraid to find out, what she saw shocked her. Well, she thought, that settles that. She turned to leave when her mother placed a hand on her arm.
“You’d like to get that for him wouldn’t you?”
“Well, I can’t afford it so it really doesn’t matter. I’ll find something else for him.” Hermione smiled at her mother, it really was an extravagance. It was something he could easily afford for himself but she just didn’t have that kind of money.
“Why don’t you let me help you get it.”
“No, besides then I still wouldn’t be able to him two presents. I really want to get him something for his birthday.”
“Do you know what size he wears.” Hermione grinned a sly little smile, she had measured him in his sleep. She had been hoping to find something nice for him to wear and while this was perfect, it just wasn’t doable.
“Yes.” She left out the details of measure a naked, sleeping Sirius.
“I’ll help you get both, did you have something in mind for his other present?”
She actually did and it was the other present she really wanted to get for him. She planned to go to a muggle jewelry store and men’s gold bracelet with his name on it. The gold would look good against his tanned skin.
“Yes and it’s the other present that is really important to me.”
“I think you should get both and I want to help.”
“I still have everyone else to buy for as well, mum.”
Her mother sighed, it was obvious that her daughter wasn’t going to give in. They continued their shopping trip, picking up something for every one. Hermione and her mother left Diagon Alley with several gifts in hand. She had convinced her mother, after much coaxing and cajoling, to buy Sirius a miniature flying replica of his motorcycle. Word had gotten out about his secret. He was popular as an infamous, dangerous and sexy wizard and the little motorcycle was popular with girls. Everyone wanted a little Sirius, it would seem.
Hermione smirked, grinning inwardly that she was the only witch who held his attention anymore.
Hermione found his bracelet, it was simple and elegant. She waited while his name was engraved on the front, she had a special little message on the back. She had spied a tattoo shop and giggled, there was something she could get for him. He would love it if his name was tattooed on her ass. She would never, ever get a tattoo but it made her giggle to think about doing it.
Hermione’s mother noticed that she didn’t have that second gift. She could see her daughter worrying her teeth on her lower lip, a sure sign that something was bothering her.
“We could swing back by Diagon Alley, there is still time you know.”
Hermione smiled mischievously and allowed her self to be dragged back to Diagon Alley. She couldn’t believe that she was allowing this to happen, she really loved those robes and knew that he would too.
She and her mother returned home to wrap gifts and enjoy one more day together.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Hermione owled Sirius and asked him to meet her at the burrow, he hadn’t seen anyone at number twelve Grimmauld Place since the night before and he was suspicious. He loved gatherings and reasons to come together and celebrate but for reasons he couldn’t explain he had never made a big deal about his birthday. It wasn’t that he didn’t love the celebration of him, on the contrary, he loved it. He’d gotten his feelings hurt on more than one occasion because his birthday was forgotten by Harry. He glossed over the fact that Harry didn’t know when it was.
The entire Weasley clan, Harry, Remus and a few other Order members had all gathered. There were a couple of tables set out in the yard in addition to a table full of presents. Mrs. Weasley had baked an enormous cake in the shape of a big black dog and there was plenty of food and drink.
“I can’t believe I never thought to ask him when his birthday was. He is one of the most important people in my life and I don’t bother to find that out.” Harry was really getting down on himself, he hoped that Sirius hadn’t gotten his feelings hurt. It could be difficult to predict what Sirius was going to be sensitive about. He was very good about remembering birthdays, there was reason to believe he might like to have his own honored as well.
Hermione glanced at her watch, Sirius was late to his own party. Of course she hadn’t been able to insist on punctuality, that would have been to suspicious. Just as she was considering sending him a patronus she heard a soft ‘pop’ behind and then warm arms wrapping themselves around her.
“I thought you might be up to something like this.” Sirius couldn’t suppress the grin that was reaching from ear to ear.
Hermione turned in his arms to face him. “Happy Birthday, my love.” They exchanged a deep, passionate kiss that promised of more to come later. They broke apart when the twins began whistling and make wolf calls.
“Here,” said Hermione reaching into her pocket and pulling out a box. “I wanted to give you mine first.”
Sirius smiled and thought about another little box as he opened his present from her. “Oh, Hermione. Its wonderful.”
“Read the back,” she said eagerly.
Sirius turned it over in his hands and read the inscription.
My heart is yours, Hermione.
Sirius pulled her into another kiss. “I’m so glad that you’re mine,” he whispered to her, his voice was husky with emotion.
“Come on you two,” called Mrs. Weasley.
Sirius walked over to the table and chuckled at the cake. “Thank you, Molly.”
The older woman beamed her pleasure.
Sirius happily basked in the glow of all the love and good will that was being sent his way. He was being celebrated by friends, family and the love of his life. It was one of the happier moments in his life. He ate up the good natured ribbing about turning forty and laughed out loud when Bill Weasley joked about him being a cradle robber. There was a tense moment right afterward while everyone tried to suppress the laughter, it didn’t last long and soon everyone was roaring.
They were joined late in the afternoon by Kingsley Shacklebolt who pulled Hermione and Sirius. He had something very important to tell them.
“The marriage law,” began Kingsley. “Its been overturned. You will have to go through normal divorce proceedings…” He was immediately cut off by Sirius.
“No, never.”
Hermione shook her head and wrapped her arms around Sirius. “Not a chance, he’s mine and he’s staying that way.”
A special thanks to
duck_or_rabbit for helping me work out the details. It was pointed out to me by
skeller1980 that chapter 20 was missing. I forgot to move it over from ff.net. Ooops!Holiday
Sirius was enjoying his second visit to Hermione’s parents home a good deal more than he had the first time around. He was there by choice, by warm and friendly invitation, this time he wasn’t the intruder who was about to rape their daughter. While that was far from the truth it was close to how he had felt that night.
Hermione and her mother were chatting happily in the kitchen while Sirius was getting to know her father better. Sirius took a sly glance over his shoulder, satisfied that she was suitably occupied he turned back to Dr. Granger.
“I know you’re tired of hearing this from me but we are so grateful to you for keeping our daughter safe.” They still didn’t have a lot of common ground so Dr. Granger filled the empty spaces in conversation with thanks and praise.
“The situation has changed between your daughter and me.” Sirius wanted to do this properly even if it was a bit out of order.
“Oh? How so?” Dr. Granger leaned forward as Sirius had dropped his voice a little to avoid being overheard.
Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green box. He handed it over to Dr. Granger, when he opened the box his expression softened. “Oh, I see.”
“This is going to sound like a ridiculous question since I already have what I’m about to ask for…” Sirius ran a nervous hand though his long dark locks. “I’m in love with your daughter, I’d like to have the ceremony we skipped the first time around.”
“Not ridiculous at all, I think it’s a wonderful idea, Sirius. I know her mother will enjoy planning a wedding.” He handed the box back. “I must say that is a rather impressive ring.”
“It’s been in the family for several generations.” Sirius slipped the box back into his coat pocket. “The last Mrs. Black to wear that ring was my great grandmother on my mother’s side.”
“So, when do you plan on presenting her with the ring?” Dr. Granger eased back into his seat and smiled warmly at Sirius.
“I was thinking about Christmas, it’s only a week away.” Sirius had a pleased, slightly excited look on his face. He loved Christmas and couldn’t think of a happier time of year to propose.
“I’m glad things worked out so well between the two of you. I had my misgivings, mind you, but I’m confident that my daughter is in good hands.”
“I think it caught us both by surprise.” Sirius thought about Mexico and smiled, maybe they would honeymoon there, in style this time.
“So,” began Dr. Ganger in a very business like tone, “have you given any thought to a career. A man needs work, Sirius.”
Sirius suppressed a groan, he didn’t want to have this conversation. He knew that the Grangers believed in the virtue of hard work. He wasn’t quite ready to give up all the trappings of his playboy existence. He did realize he would have to give Dr. Granger some sort of answer that didn’t ruin the good will that was built between them. “I have given some thought to it, Hermione has that influence on a person.”
Apparently he had said the exact right thing, Dr. Granger looked over at his daughter and smiled proudly. “That’s wonderful, Sirius! Well, I’ll be looking forward to hearing updates from Hermione on how that goes.”
Hermione peeked into the sitting room of her parents home to see her father smiling proudly at Sirius while Sirius wore a weak smile. Hermione giggled under her breath, she had been expecting her father to discuss Sirius’ future with him. Never mind that Sirius was only five years younger than her father or that he had more money than he could spend. She was pleased to see that Sirius was wearing it well and wondered if her father was making any headway. She would never pester Sirius about it but she secretly believed he needed something to do. Sirius had little fulfillment in his life and the accomplishment of work would help.
“Hermione, dear…give me a hand with the roast.” Hermione turned back into the kitchen, she flicked her wand and levitated the pan and roast onto the counter for her mother.
Hermione noticed her mother doing that thing with her mouth, it always meant there was something she had to say and was working out how to say it. “Oh, just say it mum.”
“Say what?” Asked her mother in surprise.
“Ask the question that you are worried about how to phrase, just ask.” Hermione paused to smile at her mother, by the look on her face she guessed it was serious.
“Well, its just now that things are going so well between you two…I mean to say, is it too much to ask for a tiny little ceremony. Something that makes it a bit more…normal. You deserve to wear a beautiful dress and your father deserves to give his daughter away.” Hermione thought her mother’s words sounded a bit rehearsed, she must have been thinking about this a lot.
“Well…” said Hermione thoughtfully, “Let’s get through Christmas. I’ll bring it up once we’re past the holidays. Fair?”
“More than fair.” Her mother looked well pleased.
Hermione was greatly relieved that this second meeting was going so much better than the first. Her parents gratitude was going a long way toward accepting Sirius as their son-in-law. They only knew some of the dangers that existed for Hermione as a muggleborn in wizard society. She had explained to her parents the prejudices that existed in the wizarding world. The reality of that danger hit too close to home when she and Sirius went on the run. Dumbledore had come to her parents home personally and explained the seriousness of the situation. He assured them that Sirius was a very cunning wizard and that Hermione was safely tucked away with him.
Hermione wanted to spend a few days catching up with her mom, maybe do some Christmas shopping together. Hermione had been receiving an allowance from her parents since she started Hogwarts, she never spent much of it and had a nice little savings built up. She wanted to buy Sirius something special for Christmas. She couldn’t very well do that if he was hovering the whole time.
Sirius didn’t mind the time away either, a little separation was good for them. He had plans for his time apart from her. There were a few things he wanted to take care of that he couldn’t do if she were around.
Sirius bade her parents a fond farewell, she walked him outside to the back yard. Once they were out of her parents eye line he swept her up in his arms, kissing her passionately, whispering how much he would miss her. They broke apart and moved away from each other, still touching hands and then fingertips. When she was too far away to reach him she crossed her arms over herself and smiled.
“I’ll see you in a couple of days.” He smiled one last time and then disappeared with a soft ‘pop’.
She turned away, into her parents house and closed the door behind her.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
“Do we really have to do this tonight?” There was a whine in Ron Weasley’s voice.
“He only has a couple of days away from her, Ron. If he’s going to have it ready by Christmas he is going to have to start right away.” Harry was excited to see the home Sirius had bought for himself so many years ago. Unlike Grimmauld Place, his parents had actually been to this house. He wondered if there might be some special memento of his parents here.
“Looks the same from out here.” Remus wondered if it would be like stepping into a time capsule and what sort of effect that might have on Sirius. He hadn’t seen his friend this happy since before Lily and James died, he hoped this wouldn’t dampen Sirius’ spirits.
Sirius was exuberant, he seemed to hum with excess energy. He was a little apprehensive about seeing his old home, it held a lot of happy memories, memories he still had trouble accessing. The dementors had taken so much from him and much of it he would never get back. He was determined to make new happy memories here with Hermione, his Hermione.
The four men walked up to the nice sized two story house, it wasn’t extravagant but it spoke of a man who had his eye on the future. Sirius hadn’t met anyone special when he bought this house but it was always his intention to eventually settle down and raise a family with a nice girl. He was still rough and rowdy back then but he saw what James and Lily had and it looked inviting. He’d always thought there would be plenty of time.
Sirius flicked his wand at the door and it opened, he stepped carefully inside and peered around in the darkness, the only illumination coming from the tip of his wand. The place was dusty and he could hear things scurrying around in the dark, wizard homes were things that shouldn’t sit empty and neglected for long periods of time.
Sirius flicked his wand about a few times and gas lamps sputtered to life, casting a warm friendly glow. There was at least an inch of dust on everything, he looked around and began to remember this place. He remembered James and Lily coming to visit him once with Harry in tow.
“You’ve been here before, you know.” Sirius said to Harry, with a smile. “They made the trip with you here once, before they had to go into hiding.”
Harry walked around with renewed interest, he wondered what that visit had been like. He wished he wasn’t too young to remember.
“I remember that,” said Remus. “We all came to visit…” Lupin trailed off, he’d suddenly remembered that ‘we all’ included Peter. He eyed Sirius warily to see if he had noticed but he didn’t seem to be bothered, that is until he saw Sirius’ fist clenching and unclenching. Lupin recognized that Sirius was trying to get his emotions under control so he said nothing and distracted the boys.
Sirius took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, he didn’t think about Peter if he could help it. Peter was out there somewhere in the world with no big friends to rely on anymore. It was rumored that he had been seen the night of the battle with Voldemort but not by Sirius. Sirius was rather glad of that because he would have been too distracted with Peter to be there to save Hermione’s life, his light.
He remembered why they were here, they were here to put back together the home where he and Hermione would raise their family. He had lost every happy memory in Azkaban and he’d had quite a few to lose. He wasn’t left with much when it was all over. She was helping him rebuild what was lost, replacing the happiness that had been ripped from his mind. They would build happiness here, happiness and love.
“Well, boys…let’s get this place cleaned up.” Exclaimed Sirius, he resolutely put the past behind him and looked to the future.
The four men began to do their best at household charms although none of them were very good at it. Not long after starting they were all coughing from the dust that was flying everywhere. The only one who was making any sort of dent was Remus who was sucking the flying particles into his outstretched wand. The other three mimicked him and soon they had the dust under control.
It was clear that Sirius had kept the place clean, with the dust out of the way the character of the house began to stand out. It was a lot like Sirius, friendly, inviting and rather masculine. It was fairly clear this had not been a woman’s home. It was absent of anything frilly or feminine. The furniture had clean lines and was comfortable, functional, even stylish but subtle.
His fascination with muggle culture was evidenced by the enormous stereo system, the speakers were almost as tall as Harry. Sirius had amassed quite a collection of muggle music, Remus was sliding his finger along a case holding hundreds of cassettes. Occasionally he would call out the name of a band to Sirius who would throw him a grin.
Harry looked around and realized that as un-girly as Hermione was, this would never work. It was too masculine, it screamed bachelor pad. Sirius was going to need outside help.
“You are going to need to get someone to help you decorate this place, this is not very woman friendly.” Harry didn’t mind it himself but he couldn’t see Hermione surrounding herself with this.
“Well, actually it was very woman friendly.” Sirius was wearing a very cheeky grin. “And I am getting someone to decorate it for me.”
“Oh, who?” Harry wondered if Sirius had spoken to Molly Weasley or maybe Ginny.
Sirius looked at him strangely. “Who do you think?”
“Mrs. Weasley?”
Sirius snorted, Remus looked over at Harry, sniggering.
Sirius shook his head and tousled Harry’s hair. “We’re just tidying up a bit, Harry. I’m letting Hermione go nuts on the place, anything she wants.” Sirius paused, “Although now that you mention it, after we give it a once over I may ask Molly to come round.”
They continued their scourge of Sirius’ home, it was as different from number twelve, Grimmauld Place as night was from day. This house wasn’t rotting in decay nor was it infested with magical pests. They had to get rid of a couple of things, it needed a good once over and a little love. Number twelve, Grimmauld Place was steeped in hate, here there was just a little neglect.
The downstairs had a large living area, in his head Sirius was calling it the family room. There was a nice sized dining room and a generous kitchen with a bar. The house was full of windows, the light could come pouring in. The master bed and bath were on the first floor, upstairs there were three bedrooms and an open area. The house boasted a large backyard, the only thing it didn’t have was a library. That was something Sirius had given no consideration to when he bought the place.
Sirius walked down the stairs into the basement and looked around, this could be transformed into a library, he thought to himself. He heard someone descending the stairs and looked over his shoulder in time to see Remus entering the room.
“Library?” Asked Sirius.
“Yeah, it could be.” Remus thought his heart would burst at seeing his childhood friend, his best friend so happy. “This is going to be really good, Pads. For both of you.”
“I think it is too. It feels like I’m finally getting a fair shake. She’s more than I deserve, I feel lucky, blessed.” Sirius gave the room a last look before climbing the stairs, he had big plans for this basement.
After a couple of hours of hard work Sirius decided to call it a night. He asked if they would come back with him tomorrow to which they all agreed. Sirius was hoping he could get Molly to come with.
Sirius locked and warded the house and they all left together, back to number twelve, Grimmauld Place.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
“Sirius’ birthday is just four days before Christmas, so I want to get him two presents.” Hermione and her mother were walking past the shops in Diagon Alley.
“What an awful time of year for a birthday.” Her mother peered into a shop, magic would never cease to be a bit of an oddity to her. It was well suited to her daughter, who apparently was quite brilliant. She was proud of Hermione even if she didn’t understand what a lot of it meant.
“It’s a big one this year, too.” Hermione looked at her mother ominously and mouthed the words ‘forty’.
“How’s he taking it, well I hope. Forty really isn’t so old.” She herself was forty four and truly believed that age was a state of mind.
“I’m not sure, he hasn’t said anything. I had to learn from his cousin when it was.” Tonks had casually mentioned that his birthday was coming up, she and Harry had gone into action. There was a celebration planned at the Burrow in two days time.
“Well, I think he should get something from us, don’t you think.” Hermione grinned at her mother, pleased she thought well of Sirius.
Hermione passed by a wizards clothing boutique, a rather more upscale than Madam Maulkin’s shop. In the window was a most stunning set of everyday robes. Everyday robes for the wizard who was interested in dressing well. Hermione and her mother stepped in and into the shop to admire it, Hermione couldn’t help thinking it was something that Sirius would love.
He loved attention and admiration, he was a good looking man who knew it to be true. It could be a little annoying at times, he projected quite a bit of conceit although she suspected it was a cover or maybe habit. Her own experiences with him suggested he might not really like himself as well as he’d like you to think he did.
The robe was made of dragon hide that had been worked to flow almost like soft, heavy fabric. It was heaven to touch. The black robes would look so good on him. Hermione peeked at the price tag almost afraid to find out, what she saw shocked her. Well, she thought, that settles that. She turned to leave when her mother placed a hand on her arm.
“You’d like to get that for him wouldn’t you?”
“Well, I can’t afford it so it really doesn’t matter. I’ll find something else for him.” Hermione smiled at her mother, it really was an extravagance. It was something he could easily afford for himself but she just didn’t have that kind of money.
“Why don’t you let me help you get it.”
“No, besides then I still wouldn’t be able to him two presents. I really want to get him something for his birthday.”
“Do you know what size he wears.” Hermione grinned a sly little smile, she had measured him in his sleep. She had been hoping to find something nice for him to wear and while this was perfect, it just wasn’t doable.
“Yes.” She left out the details of measure a naked, sleeping Sirius.
“I’ll help you get both, did you have something in mind for his other present?”
She actually did and it was the other present she really wanted to get for him. She planned to go to a muggle jewelry store and men’s gold bracelet with his name on it. The gold would look good against his tanned skin.
“Yes and it’s the other present that is really important to me.”
“I think you should get both and I want to help.”
“I still have everyone else to buy for as well, mum.”
Her mother sighed, it was obvious that her daughter wasn’t going to give in. They continued their shopping trip, picking up something for every one. Hermione and her mother left Diagon Alley with several gifts in hand. She had convinced her mother, after much coaxing and cajoling, to buy Sirius a miniature flying replica of his motorcycle. Word had gotten out about his secret. He was popular as an infamous, dangerous and sexy wizard and the little motorcycle was popular with girls. Everyone wanted a little Sirius, it would seem.
Hermione smirked, grinning inwardly that she was the only witch who held his attention anymore.
Hermione found his bracelet, it was simple and elegant. She waited while his name was engraved on the front, she had a special little message on the back. She had spied a tattoo shop and giggled, there was something she could get for him. He would love it if his name was tattooed on her ass. She would never, ever get a tattoo but it made her giggle to think about doing it.
Hermione’s mother noticed that she didn’t have that second gift. She could see her daughter worrying her teeth on her lower lip, a sure sign that something was bothering her.
“We could swing back by Diagon Alley, there is still time you know.”
Hermione smiled mischievously and allowed her self to be dragged back to Diagon Alley. She couldn’t believe that she was allowing this to happen, she really loved those robes and knew that he would too.
She and her mother returned home to wrap gifts and enjoy one more day together.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Hermione owled Sirius and asked him to meet her at the burrow, he hadn’t seen anyone at number twelve Grimmauld Place since the night before and he was suspicious. He loved gatherings and reasons to come together and celebrate but for reasons he couldn’t explain he had never made a big deal about his birthday. It wasn’t that he didn’t love the celebration of him, on the contrary, he loved it. He’d gotten his feelings hurt on more than one occasion because his birthday was forgotten by Harry. He glossed over the fact that Harry didn’t know when it was.
The entire Weasley clan, Harry, Remus and a few other Order members had all gathered. There were a couple of tables set out in the yard in addition to a table full of presents. Mrs. Weasley had baked an enormous cake in the shape of a big black dog and there was plenty of food and drink.
“I can’t believe I never thought to ask him when his birthday was. He is one of the most important people in my life and I don’t bother to find that out.” Harry was really getting down on himself, he hoped that Sirius hadn’t gotten his feelings hurt. It could be difficult to predict what Sirius was going to be sensitive about. He was very good about remembering birthdays, there was reason to believe he might like to have his own honored as well.
Hermione glanced at her watch, Sirius was late to his own party. Of course she hadn’t been able to insist on punctuality, that would have been to suspicious. Just as she was considering sending him a patronus she heard a soft ‘pop’ behind and then warm arms wrapping themselves around her.
“I thought you might be up to something like this.” Sirius couldn’t suppress the grin that was reaching from ear to ear.
Hermione turned in his arms to face him. “Happy Birthday, my love.” They exchanged a deep, passionate kiss that promised of more to come later. They broke apart when the twins began whistling and make wolf calls.
“Here,” said Hermione reaching into her pocket and pulling out a box. “I wanted to give you mine first.”
Sirius smiled and thought about another little box as he opened his present from her. “Oh, Hermione. Its wonderful.”
“Read the back,” she said eagerly.
Sirius turned it over in his hands and read the inscription.
My heart is yours, Hermione.
Sirius pulled her into another kiss. “I’m so glad that you’re mine,” he whispered to her, his voice was husky with emotion.
“Come on you two,” called Mrs. Weasley.
Sirius walked over to the table and chuckled at the cake. “Thank you, Molly.”
The older woman beamed her pleasure.
Sirius happily basked in the glow of all the love and good will that was being sent his way. He was being celebrated by friends, family and the love of his life. It was one of the happier moments in his life. He ate up the good natured ribbing about turning forty and laughed out loud when Bill Weasley joked about him being a cradle robber. There was a tense moment right afterward while everyone tried to suppress the laughter, it didn’t last long and soon everyone was roaring.
They were joined late in the afternoon by Kingsley Shacklebolt who pulled Hermione and Sirius. He had something very important to tell them.
“The marriage law,” began Kingsley. “Its been overturned. You will have to go through normal divorce proceedings…” He was immediately cut off by Sirius.
“No, never.”
Hermione shook her head and wrapped her arms around Sirius. “Not a chance, he’s mine and he’s staying that way.”
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