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Pedro Sandoval stepped out of the small, abused pickup truck and picked his way up the path to the Arroyo’s home. The sky was still dark, the dawn only beginning to break in the East. He knocked on the back door and was invited in by a smiling Juana. "¡Buenos días, Pedro!"
Pedro smiled warmly at her greeting. "¡Buenos días!"
Juana gestured to Pedro that he should come in. “Perro! Pedro is here!” She called gaily to Sirius while setting a cup of coffee in front of Pedro.
Sirius walked in looking tired and a little haggard. Although their hosts didn’t know what was going on between Sirius and Hermione they did notice the change in his behavior. He treated her with respect as always but he wasn’t as warm with her, he was more business like in his interaction. It was with pride that Juana noted Hermione wasn’t letting it get to her. Hermione had been working on something all week and it seemed to consume her.
Hermione walked in a few minutes later positively quivering with excitement. Pedro was taking them to the town of Tapachula which borders on Mexico and Guatemala. She was going to call her parents while in town and take a look around. Sirius wanted to exchange some currency at an obscure bank that catered to wizards as well as muggles. He hadn’t been to the town on his last trip and couldn’t apparate them in. Hermione took a seat next to Sirius and sipped her coffee, smiling at what a wonderful day it was going to be.
Pedro and Sirius chatted while Juana told her some of the places she needed to see while in Tapachula. There was a cathedral and a temple in addition to the market square. Tapachula was important to agriculture as well as home to many skilled artisans, the city boasted a thriving market. She was ready to drink it all in, after two weeks stuck in the little village she was terribly bored.
Pedro and the Blacks drank their coffee and ate breakfast quickly. Pedro had managed to get a ride into the city. Their ride was waiting patiently out front. They bid their farewell to Juana and walked the short distance to the truck. Sirius greeted and thanked the driver, the man was someone Sirius had never met but was a good friend of Pedro’s. Sirius and Hermione climbed into the bed of the truck and they were off on the bouncy, bumpy ride to Tapachula.
They had about thirty miles to travel which passed in a blur of deep green vegetation. The long coastline was to their back, the jungle in front seemed unending. For what seemed like the fifteenth time Hermione was bounced up and into Sirius’ lap. This wouldn’t have been a problem normally except that he was being a bit prickly with her. She had a million questions to ask but felt stifled by his demeanor. He had been distant and withdrawn since she had asked him what she meant to him. When she wasn’t obsessing on a way to communicate with Dumbledore she was consumed with figuring out the mystery that was Sirius Black.
The sound from the truck prohibited any sort of conversation that didn’t involve screaming at the top of their lungs so they sat with a gulf of unspoken emotion between them. Hermione was so relieved when the jungle began to give way to a smattering of small houses. They were traveling at a lower rate of speed as they neared the city. She was charmed by little snapshots of life in Southern Mexico.
They pulled into Tapachula and found a place to park. With the truck finally at a stop Hermione and Sirius scrambled out and thanked the driver. They agreed on a time to return and headed off. Hermione couldn’t tell which vendor she wanted to visit first. She had to curb the impulse to leave her dark cloud to his own devices and simply explore on her own. Sirius grabbed her by the hand and made a beeline for the bank. He wanted to get this little excursion over as quickly as possible despite her protestations.
They entered the bank and were dismayed at the long lines. They had to wait for what seemed like an eternity. It seemed that each customer couldn’t simply transact their business and be on their way. Whether it was a middle aged woman who was friends with the teller or an older gentleman who seemed very upset about something each transaction dragged on endlessly. The minutes ticked away at an agonizing pace. Hermione looked longingly out the bank window at the life that was teeming mere feet away. There was so much to see and do and she was stuck in a line with a grumpy Sirius.
Once they had finally concluded their business they left the bank, Hermione tried to take closer look at one of the vendors. Sirius had other ideas, the next item on his agenda was for Hermione to call home. Hermione let out a frustrated groan when she saw that the telephone booth had a line of its own. She glanced up occasionally to note the suns position in the sky. They had been in the line for an hour and there were still three people ahead of them, not counting the young mother currently in the booth.
Two women and one man later they finally got into the booth. Hermione placed the collect call to England and waited. She was worried she had caught them at a bad time but after the fourth ring her father picked up the phone. She could hear the worry and strain in his voice as he accepted the charges.
“Hermione!” She could hear the relief in his voice. “We’ve been beside ourselves with worry.” She could tell by his voice that her father was close to tears.
“I’m safe Daddy,” she soothed over the crackling line. “Sirius is keeping me safe.”
“Darling, we can’t speak long. Your Headmaster said if you were to call to keep it brief.” Her father spoke hurriedly.
“What else did he say, Daddy?” Her voice carried a note of anxiety that was picked up by Sirius. He was watching her intently.
“He said you were to stay put and that he would contact you when it was safe to return. He also said you were in the safest hands possible. You will thank Sirius for us won’t you?” Her father’s voice cracked at the last sentence.
She flicked her eyes up at Sirius and smiled at him. He raised an eyebrow in question and looked like he wanted ask a question. “I’ll tell him Daddy. Do you have any news from Hogwarts?”
“Honey, you have to get off the line. Know that we love you.” The line went dead. Hermione slowly hung the phone up.
Sirius pulled her off to the side. “Well? What were you supposed to tell me?”
“My parents said to tell you thank you for keeping me safe.” Sirius grinned with a rather pleased smile, his introduction to her parents had weighed heavily on his mind. “Dumbledore told them I was in safe hands with you.” She paused before telling him what worried her the most. “My dad said we couldn’t stay on the line for very long.”
“Well, of course not. The ministry has the ability to monitor phones.” He waved his hand impatiently as if that was obvious.
“Do you think that was long enough for them to find out where we are?” She looked at Sirius with wide, worried eyes.
Sirius shook his head and smiled reassuringly. “Did Dumbledore say anything else?” Sirius was cautiously hopeful. He was bored as well. He’d had the freedom to roam where he pleased on his last stay. Being stuck in one location without much to do was starting to wear on him.
Hermione sighed before speaking, he wasn’t going to be pleased with the information. She wasn’t thrilled with it herself. “Yes. He said to stay put and that he would get in touch with us.”
Sirius groaned loudly, even more frustrated than before. Without thinking about it he draped an arm around Hermione possessively, taking some solace in the fact they were in it together. “Figures,” he muttered darkly.
She could feel his mood darken, she tried to brighten him up by getting him to show her around the town. He was very lack luster about the whole affair. He walked her past the San Agustin Cathedral and the Buena Esperanza Temple muttering a few words about each. Then they took a turn around the market, he seemed to be placating her making her feel uncomfortable about really exploring all the market had to offer.
When they reached the part of the market they had arrived at Hermione looked up to see Pedro and his friend waiting by the truck. Pedro waved when he saw them, Hermione smiled her return. Sirius nodded to Pedro and steered them towards the truck.
“Sorry we couldn’t stay longer,” he said without conviction.
“It’s alright. At least we managed some sort of communication with the Order.” Hermione was resolved to begin testing out some of her theories.
They climbed into the back into the truck, Sirius pulled her against him. The truck ride back was just as bumpy but with Sirius’ arms holding her steady so she didn’t go flying about. The truck was still loud, the ride was still long but it was better because some of the ice Sirius had erected between them was melting.
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Hermione sat at the kitchen table in the Arroyo’s home drinking a cup of coffee. Sirius had wandered off and the Arroyo’s were at work. She set out to focus on the spell but her thoughts drifted back to Sirius. Her week had been consumed with thoughts of him. He wanted her to think about what she wanted. So she weighed the options, all two of them. It was a simple either or question but that was where the simplicity ended. There was a something worrisome at the edge of her subconscious. Not so much a thought as it was a feeling. Every time she thought she was closing in it slipped away.
Hermione groaned in frustration. She was staring blankly at the reams of notes, things she pulled out of her memory from past research. Even as she read over her work her traitorous mind returned to Sirius. She wanted the notes organized to show what her thought process had been. Later on he would look over the notes and then they would talk about what they were trying to accomplish.
She took a deep breath and emptied her mind of Sirius and began sorting through her notes. Hermione stumbled across something about golems. Golems were animated creatures made from inanimate materials. Dark Magic used the concept of golems to create inferi but that was not where the idea originated. She mused to herself that inferi were probably the reason that golems had gone out of vogue. It was an obscure branch of transfiguration that was practically unheard of anymore.
She ran across the information researching for Professor McGonagall’s class. She was interested in finding a way to use a golem to send a message. If they could get a golem to Dumbledore it would deliver their message and could bring one back in return. Golems had real possibility she decided. She wondered what Sirius would think. She loved presenting him with ideas and then debating with him. She was surprised at how agile his mind was, true brilliance lay dormant until he got off on a tangent.
She was worried about him, he reminded her of the man who had to hide in his childhood home. She felt like he had been building to his current state of depression. No words were exchanged about what had transpired on the back porch the week before. When he returned he had needed her urgently, he was rough and demanding with her body. He held her tightly afterwards and wouldn’t let her say a word. He just held her, in the dark, in silence. Something was different with him and she couldn’t figure what it was.
Hermione had trouble sorting out what had changed. Everything they did was laced with sex and flirtation making it difficult for her to sift through. She tried to focus only on those moments that were super charged. Her analytical and logical mind picked through the evidence in an attempt to piece it together into something coherent. She let her mind drift back over the last several weeks until she saw something that stood out. Her mind played over her stay at Grimmauld. They were in the sitting room talking about their day around London. There had been a moment, a brief one to be sure. There was something about the way he looked at her, something new and unfamiliar. It was intense, she’d felt captured by his pale grey eyes.
The conversation that started with that day around London had turned to their relationship. They discussed the changes between them. He admitted that things had not started off easy for him but that he thought it was good now, the way they were with each other. He hadn’t defined it beyond saying that it was good. That was the day she first asked about what they would do when the marriage law was repealed. For some reason he hadn’t wanted to talk about it even though it would have been logical to do so. Why on earth didn’t he want to speak about it?
Her mind drifted further along the following weeks. He had been very displeased with her for not sharing with him about Malfoy’s abuse of her. That was to be expected though, she had known that if he found out she would have to face his anger. She went carefully over everything he said to her until she got to the moment on the couch in her dormitory. There was that look in his eyes again. It was consuming, passionate and something more. Possessive? That’s what she’d thought at the time.
The day after that their world had gone to hell. It was a blur of panic and fear. Everything had happened at an alarming pace from reviving at the Burrow to landing in Germany and then traveling to Mexico. She pictured the faces of all the new people until she landed on one, Jorge Arroyo. Sirius had not been pleased about something. At the time she wondered if he was feeling jealous. Jealousy?
She saw the look once again during their first duel, very briefly but by now unmistakable. “I think you’ll find me a match for him.” That’s what she had said. She played it over again and then murmured thoughtfully those words he said right after that. “Indeed I do.” Indeed I do what? Indeed I do think you will be a good dueling partner? That’s what she thought he meant but those words didn’t match the electric feeling he was sending her way. Indeed I do think you’ll be a good match for me? “A good match…a good match.” She said the words slowly and carefully, hoping for a spark of insight at hearing the words said out loud.
Then there was that moment on the beach. How could she have forgotten that? “Oh,” she gasped remembering the intensity of it. A cold tickle shot down her spine followed by a rush of warmth in her lower torso. She had felt overpowered by the moment, helplessly swept away in his emotion. “Ohhh,” she said again, this time with understanding, it was all coming together.
All this led up to their confrontation on the back porch last week. She pondered over all the events of the last few weeks, it was a confusing puzzle but she felt she was closer to figuring it out. She had been honest and told him she was thinking of them and what it meant, where it was leading. “Evasive.” She muttered thinking about how he tried to push the decision back on her. Did he want her to make a decision?
He’d said they weren’t meant to be and said something about Ron and herself. “Well, sod that!” Who cares about what might have been? Her feelings for Ron were a distant memory now. What did he want? “What does he want?” She said out loud, like hearing the words would bring her the answer. He said he’d never found that special someone. Then she had asked if she was special to him after which he abruptly walked away.
“Well either he doesn’t want to keep the marriage together and doesn’t know how to tell me or…” Hermione felt dizzy, it all made sense. “It’s either that or he’s in love with me.” Sirius Black in love with her? Was that really possible?
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Jorge and Sirius were standing outside by a smoking grill, sharing a beer and laughing. His mood appeared to have improved and it pleased Hermione. She and Juana were inside cutting vegetables and making dinner preparations. Juana peeked out the kitchen window and then banged on it. Jorge looked over his shoulder and waved her off like he was shooing a fly.
“He’s going to burn it again! Ever since he bought that grill all I ever eat is burnt meat!” Hermione assumed that Juana was joking because she was laughing even as she spoke.
“Maybe Sirius could help,” offered Hermione, trying to be helpful. With a flick of her wand a knife went to work on carrots and another on tomatoes.
“Oh, he wouldn’t do that to Jorge!” Juana scolded lightly, looking over her shoulder and flashing a small grin. She turned back to her work, stirring a pot full of rice and adding some vegetables.
Hermione looked puzzled. “Do what to Jorge?”
Juana smiled, “It’s a man thing.”
“Oh,” said Hermione, still puzzled.
Juana didn’t offer anymore on the subject, she whisked about the kitchen gathering up plates, forks and knives to take outside. She set everything out at a little picnic table and then returned inside to continue cooking. Hermione waved her wand a few times, setting the kitchen into motion.
Once Hermione was satisfied that Juana had everything under control she directed her focus back to the spell. She was irritated that she had once again allowed thoughts of Sirius to dominate her mind. There was so much to consider, she was contemplating something new for her without the safety net of school and one of the most complete libraries in the wizarding world. It was exciting to her. She and Sirius had figured out how to work together, although it had taken a fight to get where they were.
His mind worked very differently from hers. He wasn’t structured or methodical like her. She found his intellect stimulating, she had never seen a wizard work the way he did. Rather than organizing his thoughts he let them flow, he followed his instincts and tried out his ideas as they came. When dealing with magic the results could be disastrous but he was rather clever and most often right.
Juana interrupted Hermione to tell her that dinner was on. Juana and Jorge kept themselves so busy with work that they hadn’t had a lot of time to visit with their guests. As it happened they both had the afternoon off and had decided to grill outdoors.
Their hosts detected the subtle tension between the two of them. Sirius felt rather badly for the way he had treated Hermione. He wanted to tell her just how special she was in every detail but he wouldn’t. His internal battle meant that when he was around her he didn’t have a lot to say.
She was incredibly self conscious. The further away she got from her little revelation, the more she doubted it. His current behavior was a big reason why. Over the last week he barely looked in her direction until they went to bed. There under the cover of darkness, where she couldn’t see his eyes he pleasured her in every way he knew until she was crying out his name, threatening the Silencing Charm.
Juana and Jorge exchanged a look across the table, glancing at the two extremely polite people who had joined them in a meal. Jorge grinned at his wife who inclined her head just slightly.
“So, Mimi, have you been enjoying your stay in my country?” Jorge’s voice was low and intentionally seductive, he knew from his own experience that there was nothing quite like jealousy to wake a man up. He had said nothing inappropriate, he wasn’t touching her at all but he presented himself like a man infatuated.
Sirius raised his eyes to glare at Jorge who seemed to not even know Sirius was there. He appeared captivated and enraptured with Hermione, who was giggling in a rather girlish fashion. Sirius looked to Juana for support who smiled sweetly and engaged him in polite conversation.
“So, Perro, have you heard anything from home?” He only appeared to be listening as he gave her a grunt as an answer, flicking his eyes up often and listening intently to the conversation between Jorge and Hermione.
“It’s so beautiful here, I had a wonderful time in Tapachula. The market square was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.” She’d had so little in the way of conversation lately that she just ate up the attention.
“I would have loved to show the city to you. Pity I had to work.” His voice was rich and hypnotic, he had charm to rival Sirius.
“Well, Sirius showed me around.” Her words were half hearted, there was so much more she wanted to explore but Sirius had been all business. They had taken a turn around the square, stopping only occasionally with very little color commentary.
“Did Perro take you into the Cathedral? It is very old and beautiful.” Hermione’s face fell at his words. Sirius had only mumbled a few words about it and then ushered her along.
Hermione flicked her eyes up at Sirius to see him glowering at his friend. Jorge was wholly unaffected by his friend’s poor mood. Hermione shifted in her seat slightly, putting a little more space between herself and Jorge and engaged Juana in conversation.
“Do you feel like going for a swim later on?” Hermione asked Juana hoping to disengage Jorge.
“Oh, yes! That’s a wonderful idea.” Juana agreed with Hermione enthusiastically.
"Tú no eres el unico que nota lo bella que es. Deberías tener más cuidado, amigo." Jorge told Sirius just how easily he could lose his young wife if he didn’t pull himself together.
"No me dices nada que ya no sepa." Sirius told Jorge he was only too aware of that fact. Sirius was mentally preparing himself for the loss of her even as his jealousy got the best of him.
Hermione had learned a little Spanish but not enough to piece together the conversation between the two men. Nothing Sirius did or said anymore was making sense to her. She got up and helped Juana clear the table. She and Juana cleaned up from dinner and changed into their bikinis. Swimming daily in the warm pacific ocean ensured that Hermione was no longer shy about her attire. She wore her wrap on her way to the beach but she didn’t try to hide the fact that she was going for a swim.
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“Ok, so the idea is to create a golem, give it a message to deliver and then send it.” Hermione spoke with a slightly superior tone, she had this all worked out. He had been reading her notes all week after which they discussed her ideas at length. He used his time playing with the children or catching up with old friends to mentally prepare himself for this side of her.
“Uh, huh.” Sirius looked a little amused, his mouth crooked up one side. Sirius was impressed by her ideas, they were well beyond the NEWT level. Very few witches or wizards even knew what a golem was much less hatched a scheme as involved as hers. He personally only knew of two wizards that had made use of them in recent history. She had reams of notes on how to create a golem and their variety of uses. Golems were more popular in ages past, it wasn’t a dark art, just a lost art. The real problem was how to get it from here to Dumbledore.
Sirius waved his wand, muttering under his breath. The earth pushed up and began to build on itself, it rose to a pillar that was as tall as Sirius. He continued to mutter spells, the pillar slowly began to take form. Hermione sat on the bench attached to the table they had eaten dinner at, her mouth open and her eyes wide. “You know how to make a golem?”
Sirius waited to answer her question, he continued to form the golem until standing before them was a likeness of his younger self from his Hogwarts days. He observed his golem self quietly, she worried he was overcome with his melancholy once again. He flicked his wand and the golem disintegrated to a pile of dirt on the ground. He flashed her a mischievous grin. “You don’t actually think James and I went to detention, do you?”
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Pedro Sandoval stepped out of the small, abused pickup truck and picked his way up the path to the Arroyo’s home. The sky was still dark, the dawn only beginning to break in the East. He knocked on the back door and was invited in by a smiling Juana. "¡Buenos días, Pedro!"
Pedro smiled warmly at her greeting. "¡Buenos días!"
Juana gestured to Pedro that he should come in. “Perro! Pedro is here!” She called gaily to Sirius while setting a cup of coffee in front of Pedro.
Sirius walked in looking tired and a little haggard. Although their hosts didn’t know what was going on between Sirius and Hermione they did notice the change in his behavior. He treated her with respect as always but he wasn’t as warm with her, he was more business like in his interaction. It was with pride that Juana noted Hermione wasn’t letting it get to her. Hermione had been working on something all week and it seemed to consume her.
Hermione walked in a few minutes later positively quivering with excitement. Pedro was taking them to the town of Tapachula which borders on Mexico and Guatemala. She was going to call her parents while in town and take a look around. Sirius wanted to exchange some currency at an obscure bank that catered to wizards as well as muggles. He hadn’t been to the town on his last trip and couldn’t apparate them in. Hermione took a seat next to Sirius and sipped her coffee, smiling at what a wonderful day it was going to be.
Pedro and Sirius chatted while Juana told her some of the places she needed to see while in Tapachula. There was a cathedral and a temple in addition to the market square. Tapachula was important to agriculture as well as home to many skilled artisans, the city boasted a thriving market. She was ready to drink it all in, after two weeks stuck in the little village she was terribly bored.
Pedro and the Blacks drank their coffee and ate breakfast quickly. Pedro had managed to get a ride into the city. Their ride was waiting patiently out front. They bid their farewell to Juana and walked the short distance to the truck. Sirius greeted and thanked the driver, the man was someone Sirius had never met but was a good friend of Pedro’s. Sirius and Hermione climbed into the bed of the truck and they were off on the bouncy, bumpy ride to Tapachula.
They had about thirty miles to travel which passed in a blur of deep green vegetation. The long coastline was to their back, the jungle in front seemed unending. For what seemed like the fifteenth time Hermione was bounced up and into Sirius’ lap. This wouldn’t have been a problem normally except that he was being a bit prickly with her. She had a million questions to ask but felt stifled by his demeanor. He had been distant and withdrawn since she had asked him what she meant to him. When she wasn’t obsessing on a way to communicate with Dumbledore she was consumed with figuring out the mystery that was Sirius Black.
The sound from the truck prohibited any sort of conversation that didn’t involve screaming at the top of their lungs so they sat with a gulf of unspoken emotion between them. Hermione was so relieved when the jungle began to give way to a smattering of small houses. They were traveling at a lower rate of speed as they neared the city. She was charmed by little snapshots of life in Southern Mexico.
They pulled into Tapachula and found a place to park. With the truck finally at a stop Hermione and Sirius scrambled out and thanked the driver. They agreed on a time to return and headed off. Hermione couldn’t tell which vendor she wanted to visit first. She had to curb the impulse to leave her dark cloud to his own devices and simply explore on her own. Sirius grabbed her by the hand and made a beeline for the bank. He wanted to get this little excursion over as quickly as possible despite her protestations.
They entered the bank and were dismayed at the long lines. They had to wait for what seemed like an eternity. It seemed that each customer couldn’t simply transact their business and be on their way. Whether it was a middle aged woman who was friends with the teller or an older gentleman who seemed very upset about something each transaction dragged on endlessly. The minutes ticked away at an agonizing pace. Hermione looked longingly out the bank window at the life that was teeming mere feet away. There was so much to see and do and she was stuck in a line with a grumpy Sirius.
Once they had finally concluded their business they left the bank, Hermione tried to take closer look at one of the vendors. Sirius had other ideas, the next item on his agenda was for Hermione to call home. Hermione let out a frustrated groan when she saw that the telephone booth had a line of its own. She glanced up occasionally to note the suns position in the sky. They had been in the line for an hour and there were still three people ahead of them, not counting the young mother currently in the booth.
Two women and one man later they finally got into the booth. Hermione placed the collect call to England and waited. She was worried she had caught them at a bad time but after the fourth ring her father picked up the phone. She could hear the worry and strain in his voice as he accepted the charges.
“Hermione!” She could hear the relief in his voice. “We’ve been beside ourselves with worry.” She could tell by his voice that her father was close to tears.
“I’m safe Daddy,” she soothed over the crackling line. “Sirius is keeping me safe.”
“Darling, we can’t speak long. Your Headmaster said if you were to call to keep it brief.” Her father spoke hurriedly.
“What else did he say, Daddy?” Her voice carried a note of anxiety that was picked up by Sirius. He was watching her intently.
“He said you were to stay put and that he would contact you when it was safe to return. He also said you were in the safest hands possible. You will thank Sirius for us won’t you?” Her father’s voice cracked at the last sentence.
She flicked her eyes up at Sirius and smiled at him. He raised an eyebrow in question and looked like he wanted ask a question. “I’ll tell him Daddy. Do you have any news from Hogwarts?”
“Honey, you have to get off the line. Know that we love you.” The line went dead. Hermione slowly hung the phone up.
Sirius pulled her off to the side. “Well? What were you supposed to tell me?”
“My parents said to tell you thank you for keeping me safe.” Sirius grinned with a rather pleased smile, his introduction to her parents had weighed heavily on his mind. “Dumbledore told them I was in safe hands with you.” She paused before telling him what worried her the most. “My dad said we couldn’t stay on the line for very long.”
“Well, of course not. The ministry has the ability to monitor phones.” He waved his hand impatiently as if that was obvious.
“Do you think that was long enough for them to find out where we are?” She looked at Sirius with wide, worried eyes.
Sirius shook his head and smiled reassuringly. “Did Dumbledore say anything else?” Sirius was cautiously hopeful. He was bored as well. He’d had the freedom to roam where he pleased on his last stay. Being stuck in one location without much to do was starting to wear on him.
Hermione sighed before speaking, he wasn’t going to be pleased with the information. She wasn’t thrilled with it herself. “Yes. He said to stay put and that he would get in touch with us.”
Sirius groaned loudly, even more frustrated than before. Without thinking about it he draped an arm around Hermione possessively, taking some solace in the fact they were in it together. “Figures,” he muttered darkly.
She could feel his mood darken, she tried to brighten him up by getting him to show her around the town. He was very lack luster about the whole affair. He walked her past the San Agustin Cathedral and the Buena Esperanza Temple muttering a few words about each. Then they took a turn around the market, he seemed to be placating her making her feel uncomfortable about really exploring all the market had to offer.
When they reached the part of the market they had arrived at Hermione looked up to see Pedro and his friend waiting by the truck. Pedro waved when he saw them, Hermione smiled her return. Sirius nodded to Pedro and steered them towards the truck.
“Sorry we couldn’t stay longer,” he said without conviction.
“It’s alright. At least we managed some sort of communication with the Order.” Hermione was resolved to begin testing out some of her theories.
They climbed into the back into the truck, Sirius pulled her against him. The truck ride back was just as bumpy but with Sirius’ arms holding her steady so she didn’t go flying about. The truck was still loud, the ride was still long but it was better because some of the ice Sirius had erected between them was melting.
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Hermione sat at the kitchen table in the Arroyo’s home drinking a cup of coffee. Sirius had wandered off and the Arroyo’s were at work. She set out to focus on the spell but her thoughts drifted back to Sirius. Her week had been consumed with thoughts of him. He wanted her to think about what she wanted. So she weighed the options, all two of them. It was a simple either or question but that was where the simplicity ended. There was a something worrisome at the edge of her subconscious. Not so much a thought as it was a feeling. Every time she thought she was closing in it slipped away.
Hermione groaned in frustration. She was staring blankly at the reams of notes, things she pulled out of her memory from past research. Even as she read over her work her traitorous mind returned to Sirius. She wanted the notes organized to show what her thought process had been. Later on he would look over the notes and then they would talk about what they were trying to accomplish.
She took a deep breath and emptied her mind of Sirius and began sorting through her notes. Hermione stumbled across something about golems. Golems were animated creatures made from inanimate materials. Dark Magic used the concept of golems to create inferi but that was not where the idea originated. She mused to herself that inferi were probably the reason that golems had gone out of vogue. It was an obscure branch of transfiguration that was practically unheard of anymore.
She ran across the information researching for Professor McGonagall’s class. She was interested in finding a way to use a golem to send a message. If they could get a golem to Dumbledore it would deliver their message and could bring one back in return. Golems had real possibility she decided. She wondered what Sirius would think. She loved presenting him with ideas and then debating with him. She was surprised at how agile his mind was, true brilliance lay dormant until he got off on a tangent.
She was worried about him, he reminded her of the man who had to hide in his childhood home. She felt like he had been building to his current state of depression. No words were exchanged about what had transpired on the back porch the week before. When he returned he had needed her urgently, he was rough and demanding with her body. He held her tightly afterwards and wouldn’t let her say a word. He just held her, in the dark, in silence. Something was different with him and she couldn’t figure what it was.
Hermione had trouble sorting out what had changed. Everything they did was laced with sex and flirtation making it difficult for her to sift through. She tried to focus only on those moments that were super charged. Her analytical and logical mind picked through the evidence in an attempt to piece it together into something coherent. She let her mind drift back over the last several weeks until she saw something that stood out. Her mind played over her stay at Grimmauld. They were in the sitting room talking about their day around London. There had been a moment, a brief one to be sure. There was something about the way he looked at her, something new and unfamiliar. It was intense, she’d felt captured by his pale grey eyes.
The conversation that started with that day around London had turned to their relationship. They discussed the changes between them. He admitted that things had not started off easy for him but that he thought it was good now, the way they were with each other. He hadn’t defined it beyond saying that it was good. That was the day she first asked about what they would do when the marriage law was repealed. For some reason he hadn’t wanted to talk about it even though it would have been logical to do so. Why on earth didn’t he want to speak about it?
Her mind drifted further along the following weeks. He had been very displeased with her for not sharing with him about Malfoy’s abuse of her. That was to be expected though, she had known that if he found out she would have to face his anger. She went carefully over everything he said to her until she got to the moment on the couch in her dormitory. There was that look in his eyes again. It was consuming, passionate and something more. Possessive? That’s what she’d thought at the time.
The day after that their world had gone to hell. It was a blur of panic and fear. Everything had happened at an alarming pace from reviving at the Burrow to landing in Germany and then traveling to Mexico. She pictured the faces of all the new people until she landed on one, Jorge Arroyo. Sirius had not been pleased about something. At the time she wondered if he was feeling jealous. Jealousy?
She saw the look once again during their first duel, very briefly but by now unmistakable. “I think you’ll find me a match for him.” That’s what she had said. She played it over again and then murmured thoughtfully those words he said right after that. “Indeed I do.” Indeed I do what? Indeed I do think you will be a good dueling partner? That’s what she thought he meant but those words didn’t match the electric feeling he was sending her way. Indeed I do think you’ll be a good match for me? “A good match…a good match.” She said the words slowly and carefully, hoping for a spark of insight at hearing the words said out loud.
Then there was that moment on the beach. How could she have forgotten that? “Oh,” she gasped remembering the intensity of it. A cold tickle shot down her spine followed by a rush of warmth in her lower torso. She had felt overpowered by the moment, helplessly swept away in his emotion. “Ohhh,” she said again, this time with understanding, it was all coming together.
All this led up to their confrontation on the back porch last week. She pondered over all the events of the last few weeks, it was a confusing puzzle but she felt she was closer to figuring it out. She had been honest and told him she was thinking of them and what it meant, where it was leading. “Evasive.” She muttered thinking about how he tried to push the decision back on her. Did he want her to make a decision?
He’d said they weren’t meant to be and said something about Ron and herself. “Well, sod that!” Who cares about what might have been? Her feelings for Ron were a distant memory now. What did he want? “What does he want?” She said out loud, like hearing the words would bring her the answer. He said he’d never found that special someone. Then she had asked if she was special to him after which he abruptly walked away.
“Well either he doesn’t want to keep the marriage together and doesn’t know how to tell me or…” Hermione felt dizzy, it all made sense. “It’s either that or he’s in love with me.” Sirius Black in love with her? Was that really possible?
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Jorge and Sirius were standing outside by a smoking grill, sharing a beer and laughing. His mood appeared to have improved and it pleased Hermione. She and Juana were inside cutting vegetables and making dinner preparations. Juana peeked out the kitchen window and then banged on it. Jorge looked over his shoulder and waved her off like he was shooing a fly.
“He’s going to burn it again! Ever since he bought that grill all I ever eat is burnt meat!” Hermione assumed that Juana was joking because she was laughing even as she spoke.
“Maybe Sirius could help,” offered Hermione, trying to be helpful. With a flick of her wand a knife went to work on carrots and another on tomatoes.
“Oh, he wouldn’t do that to Jorge!” Juana scolded lightly, looking over her shoulder and flashing a small grin. She turned back to her work, stirring a pot full of rice and adding some vegetables.
Hermione looked puzzled. “Do what to Jorge?”
Juana smiled, “It’s a man thing.”
“Oh,” said Hermione, still puzzled.
Juana didn’t offer anymore on the subject, she whisked about the kitchen gathering up plates, forks and knives to take outside. She set everything out at a little picnic table and then returned inside to continue cooking. Hermione waved her wand a few times, setting the kitchen into motion.
Once Hermione was satisfied that Juana had everything under control she directed her focus back to the spell. She was irritated that she had once again allowed thoughts of Sirius to dominate her mind. There was so much to consider, she was contemplating something new for her without the safety net of school and one of the most complete libraries in the wizarding world. It was exciting to her. She and Sirius had figured out how to work together, although it had taken a fight to get where they were.
His mind worked very differently from hers. He wasn’t structured or methodical like her. She found his intellect stimulating, she had never seen a wizard work the way he did. Rather than organizing his thoughts he let them flow, he followed his instincts and tried out his ideas as they came. When dealing with magic the results could be disastrous but he was rather clever and most often right.
Juana interrupted Hermione to tell her that dinner was on. Juana and Jorge kept themselves so busy with work that they hadn’t had a lot of time to visit with their guests. As it happened they both had the afternoon off and had decided to grill outdoors.
Their hosts detected the subtle tension between the two of them. Sirius felt rather badly for the way he had treated Hermione. He wanted to tell her just how special she was in every detail but he wouldn’t. His internal battle meant that when he was around her he didn’t have a lot to say.
She was incredibly self conscious. The further away she got from her little revelation, the more she doubted it. His current behavior was a big reason why. Over the last week he barely looked in her direction until they went to bed. There under the cover of darkness, where she couldn’t see his eyes he pleasured her in every way he knew until she was crying out his name, threatening the Silencing Charm.
Juana and Jorge exchanged a look across the table, glancing at the two extremely polite people who had joined them in a meal. Jorge grinned at his wife who inclined her head just slightly.
“So, Mimi, have you been enjoying your stay in my country?” Jorge’s voice was low and intentionally seductive, he knew from his own experience that there was nothing quite like jealousy to wake a man up. He had said nothing inappropriate, he wasn’t touching her at all but he presented himself like a man infatuated.
Sirius raised his eyes to glare at Jorge who seemed to not even know Sirius was there. He appeared captivated and enraptured with Hermione, who was giggling in a rather girlish fashion. Sirius looked to Juana for support who smiled sweetly and engaged him in polite conversation.
“So, Perro, have you heard anything from home?” He only appeared to be listening as he gave her a grunt as an answer, flicking his eyes up often and listening intently to the conversation between Jorge and Hermione.
“It’s so beautiful here, I had a wonderful time in Tapachula. The market square was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.” She’d had so little in the way of conversation lately that she just ate up the attention.
“I would have loved to show the city to you. Pity I had to work.” His voice was rich and hypnotic, he had charm to rival Sirius.
“Well, Sirius showed me around.” Her words were half hearted, there was so much more she wanted to explore but Sirius had been all business. They had taken a turn around the square, stopping only occasionally with very little color commentary.
“Did Perro take you into the Cathedral? It is very old and beautiful.” Hermione’s face fell at his words. Sirius had only mumbled a few words about it and then ushered her along.
Hermione flicked her eyes up at Sirius to see him glowering at his friend. Jorge was wholly unaffected by his friend’s poor mood. Hermione shifted in her seat slightly, putting a little more space between herself and Jorge and engaged Juana in conversation.
“Do you feel like going for a swim later on?” Hermione asked Juana hoping to disengage Jorge.
“Oh, yes! That’s a wonderful idea.” Juana agreed with Hermione enthusiastically.
"Tú no eres el unico que nota lo bella que es. Deberías tener más cuidado, amigo." Jorge told Sirius just how easily he could lose his young wife if he didn’t pull himself together.
"No me dices nada que ya no sepa." Sirius told Jorge he was only too aware of that fact. Sirius was mentally preparing himself for the loss of her even as his jealousy got the best of him.
Hermione had learned a little Spanish but not enough to piece together the conversation between the two men. Nothing Sirius did or said anymore was making sense to her. She got up and helped Juana clear the table. She and Juana cleaned up from dinner and changed into their bikinis. Swimming daily in the warm pacific ocean ensured that Hermione was no longer shy about her attire. She wore her wrap on her way to the beach but she didn’t try to hide the fact that she was going for a swim.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
“Ok, so the idea is to create a golem, give it a message to deliver and then send it.” Hermione spoke with a slightly superior tone, she had this all worked out. He had been reading her notes all week after which they discussed her ideas at length. He used his time playing with the children or catching up with old friends to mentally prepare himself for this side of her.
“Uh, huh.” Sirius looked a little amused, his mouth crooked up one side. Sirius was impressed by her ideas, they were well beyond the NEWT level. Very few witches or wizards even knew what a golem was much less hatched a scheme as involved as hers. He personally only knew of two wizards that had made use of them in recent history. She had reams of notes on how to create a golem and their variety of uses. Golems were more popular in ages past, it wasn’t a dark art, just a lost art. The real problem was how to get it from here to Dumbledore.
Sirius waved his wand, muttering under his breath. The earth pushed up and began to build on itself, it rose to a pillar that was as tall as Sirius. He continued to mutter spells, the pillar slowly began to take form. Hermione sat on the bench attached to the table they had eaten dinner at, her mouth open and her eyes wide. “You know how to make a golem?”
Sirius waited to answer her question, he continued to form the golem until standing before them was a likeness of his younger self from his Hogwarts days. He observed his golem self quietly, she worried he was overcome with his melancholy once again. He flicked his wand and the golem disintegrated to a pile of dirt on the ground. He flashed her a mischievous grin. “You don’t actually think James and I went to detention, do you?”
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