wl_mods (wl_mods) wrote in wizard_love, @ 2010-02-16 01:02:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | *fic, 2010, hermione, percy, sirius |
Special delivery for midnight_birth, part 2
Title: A Long And Winding Road
Author/Artist:
Recipient's LJ name: midnight_birth
Pairing(s): Percy/Hermione, Charlie/Hermione (sort of), Sirius/Hermione, Snape/Lupin (side pairing), Harry/Ginny (side pairing), Percy/Tonks (hinted only)
Rating: NC17
Summary Too unsure to follow her heart, Hermione surprised everyone by making the wrong choice for all the right reasons. Someone's been waiting a long time for her to realize they were falling in love.
Word Count: 12,533
Warnings/Content: Oral Sex, Finger Insertion, Slash Side Pairing
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine unfortunately, they all belong to JKR.
Author's/Artist's notes: I had a lot of fun with your prompts, there was just so much to work with. I tried to include as much as I could get away with and still have a story that made sense. I will admit to a fair bit of stalking on your lj for hints and clues. I really hope you enjoy this, I had a blast writing it. Many thanks to my beta, you know who you are. In one of her edits she mentioned that not everyone would know that arils are pomegranate seeds. So now you do, if you didn’t already.
Two days later..
Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place
After she and Percy talked, Hermione wanted more than anything to visit with Harry. She couldn't talk to Ron about his brother, she just couldn't. He still loved to tease her about opposites not always attracting. His familiar taunt was more than she could take at the moment. Harry, however, would listen, and understand, and let her cry on his shoulder.
Hermione Flooed to Harry's home, and called out a few times but it was apparent there was no one home. To pass the time she took the stairs down to the kitchen and made a cup of tea. Though Remus had recently moved out, and Sirius had long since left his childhood home, this house was still the hub of their closest friends and relations. She wouldn't have to wait long for someone to pass through the kitchen door, and even if it wasn't Harry, she could be equally certain it wouldn't be Percy.
In the quiet of the old house, now restored to its former glory and redecorated to suit the tastes of the owner and his wife, Hermione pondered over her recent experiences. She fervently hoped that Percy would find that someone special to complete him. They would remain friends, which she was glad for, but the truth was that she was relieved, if a bit sad. Percy worked well as an ally, as someone to back her up because she was just as driven and committed as he. She wasn't sure what she wanted, and for now was content to simply reflect.
A siren wailing in the distance interrupted her thoughts and musings as someone came through the front door. The sound drifted down, clear for a moment and then was muffled once again. The whole house shook as the door was slammed forcefully.
"HARRY! HARRY, WHERE ARE YOU!" boomed a loud, deep voice, followed by stomping footfalls.
Great, thought Hermione sourly. Probably the least sympathetic person she knew had just come through the door in her hour of need.
"Down here!" she called out. "In the kitchen."
More heavy footfalls, and then Sirius flew through the kitchen doorway, his eyes wild and troubled. Hanging loose around his face, glossy black hair framed a square jaw that was darkened with a day's worth of stubble. He looked around the small underground room swiftly and then frowned at her.
"Where's Harry? I need to see him right away!" barked Sirius, as though it were her fault Harry wasn't in the kitchen.
"I don't know, he's not here,” she replied. Annoyance with his demeanor was her first reaction, but was quickly crowded out by worry. “What’s wrong? Has something happened?"
"Something awful." Sirius' upper lip curled a little, and he looked like he had just tasted something foul. "I caught Remus kissing Snivellus!"
Hermione blinked. "I'm sorry... what?" This was hardly news to be in a state over. Unexpected perhaps, but to each his own in her opinion.
"That's right," he answered, mistaking the reason for her confusion. "Most revolting thing I have ever seen!"
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. Of all the childish, idiotic, homophobic...
"What? You don't find something inherently wrong with that?" Sirius backed up to the counter and folded his arms across his chest.
"You are such a child!" she said, her voice shrill with irritation. "There is nothing at all wrong with two men having... relations."
Sirius sneered at her. "Relations," he mimicked, saying it delicately and in deliberate mockery. "You think I'm this upset because of that? I've never cared that Moony was bent!"
"Jealous, then?" She dropped her eyes back to her tea to keeping from laughing at her own jibe.
"Right little comedian, aren't you?" She glanced up in time to catch his dramatic eye roll.
"Honest question is all," she replied. Her amusement was short-lived. Their familiar banter made her chest ache just a little, even with the immaturity he was displaying.
"It's Snape, Hermione, greasy, dirty, evil Snape." he clarified.
"He's not evil, Sirius," she said, moving away from sparring for its own sake. That felt too normal, too right, and as a result hurt too much for her to continue. "He made some very wrong choices, but he was young. I know you know what that's like."
For a moment, she thought she was successful in getting through to him. He was quiet, though not still. His jeans and the robes he wore over them rustled as he paced restlessly.
"How could Remus do that? I feel like I don't know him at all," he said finally, sounding forlorn and disillusioned.
"Oh, honestly!" After the day she'd had, she had absolutely no patience for this. "Why can't you be happy for him? He obviously wants this; so what if you don't like Severus? You don't have to, he does." She almost added a word about Percy and herself but bit it back. That was over now and there was no sense stirring him up over it.
Sirius shot her a filthy look, his eyes raking over her. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be at work with Percy? Or getting ready for a night out with boring Ministry higher-ups?"
Hermione looked away from him, and down to her tea. His disdain fairly rang through his tone and it stung quite a bit. She remembered discovering another side to him, witty and interesting with a sharp mind that she hadn't known in the time before the war. She was more used to the black looks he threw at her now, but that only made it a little less painful.
"Am I not allowed to visit my friend, Sirius?" she asked coolly, still not looking up, not caring to see his sneer.
"Of course you are." He took a step away from the counter, and toward her. "It's just not like you to leave the office so early in the day."
"How do you even know what I'm like?" Hermione finally turned back to him, eyes hard. "It's not as though the trifles of my 'boring life' are of any interest to you anymore."
"I know a hell of a lot more than you think I do," he said, a note of bitterness there that she couldn't quite understand.
"Well, then, let’s hear it, shall we?" she said. This was more conversation than they had shared in months, and a big change from their usually stiff and polite dialogue. She was in no mood to fight with him, but this fight was a long time in coming.
"Never mind," he said softly. “I should probably keep my opinions to myself."
Hermione was surprised to see him back down, but then realized she should be used to him surprising her by now. Nevertheless, she couldn't resist one last dig at him. "That's what I thought."
"You don't want to hear my opinion," he retorted darkly.
"Oh, I think I know enough," she said. She'd had it; if he wanted a fight, she'd give it to him. "You dislike Percy because of what he did to his family, and you dislike me because in your opinion I made a bad choice."
"You don't know anything," he said dangerously.
"I just hope you don't do to Remus what you did to me," she said, ignoring the ice in his tone. "You've been friends too long to let his choice of partner get between you."
And then he surprised her again as he started to laugh. "You know, I've lost so much in my life, it really shouldn't have come as a surprise to lose one more thing."
"You'd let go of your friendship with Remus over who he is sleeping with?"
"Kissing," he said quickly. "Please don't give me mental images I can't handle, that was bad enough, and no, I wouldn't."
"I don't understand. I thought you just said that-"
"Like I said," he interrupted. "You don't know anything."
Hermione could feel the sting of tears, and wished she were alone. It hurt more than it should that she wasn't important enough to him to keep around when she made a decision he didn't like, but it did. It hurt like hell. She willed herself not to cry and resolved that this was just a bad day to come seeking solace with Harry.
"What are you doing here in the middle of the afternoon?" he asked. "You never said."
Hermione stood up with teacup and saucer in hand and walked over to the sink. Her lower lip trembled, but she did not cry. He'd gotten good at that when they were friends, picking up on the gist of her unspoken thoughts. It didn't surprise her that he could still manage it. She stood there at the sink, slowly washing her two dishes for something to do without offering him any sort of response.
Still behind her, leaning up against a counter, she heard Sirius sigh.
"You really want to hear my opinion?" he asked, his voice low and a little rough. "Then fine, Hermione, here it is. I understand why Percy made sense to you. You saw everything in him that you see in yourself, all that order and control and ambition. I'm sure he made perfect sense to you. I guess it seemed to me like you sold out your heart in favor of getting ahead.
"I remember," he continued, a surprising amount of iron in his delivery. "It was so sudden, one day you're around all the time, teasing, joking and-" Sirius paused. "Percy was just there, and achingly obvious. Your interest surprised the hell out of him, out of everyone."
"After Ron-"
"I know," he snapped. "Like I said, I remember. I always thought you just needed a little more time. You and Ron were the big expected thing, like Harry and Ginny. I was so proud of you both for realizing that a childhood friendship and crush doesn't necessarily mean you were destined to have a life together."
"We would have killed each other inside of a year," she said. She didn't need to turn around to know that he was grinning that mischievous smirk of his.
Sirius chuckled. "No, you would have killed him in his sleep and transfigured the body into something easy to lose."
Hermione gave a watery laugh, still so close to tears. Here was her friend, frank and honest, never pulling his punches until the day he removed himself from her life. She had missed him so much.
"Ron wasn't the only thing I was-" Hermione stopped to take a deep breath. "He wasn't the only thing I was running away from. I mean that was hard enough, you know? We'd been friends too long to let that go because it didn't work out. For a long time I thought Percy was my rebound man from Ron, but there was someone else, someone who didn't return my feelings. I think I needed Percy to help me get over that more than anything else."
"How do you know he didn't return your feelings? Did you ever let him know?"
"I couldn't," she replied. "He didn't see me that way. I'm sure of it."
"You never know," he said softly. "He might have surprised you."
"He usually does," she said. "But not about this." She cleared her throat. "That still doesn't answer why you abandoned our friendship when Percy and I got together. You said you wouldn't do that to Remus, so why was it easy to do it to me?"
"If you know all this, why are you still with Percy?" he asked, evading her question with a question of his own.
"That's why I'm here, actually," she replied. "I broke it off with him today and was hoping for a shoulder to cry on. Instead I get you breaking me down to my atoms. Thanks for that, by the way," she added sarcastically. "I feel loads better."
"When?" His black boots scuffed against the stone floor as he pushed off the counter.
"Today, earlier, I went to see him because... well, because a friend showed me it was the right thing to do." Composed, she finally turned to face him. "You know, if you were a real friend, you might have said something to me gently. We used to get along, Sirius; being ugly to me because you don't approve of my choice in men is hardly productive."
"I couldn't," he replied, stepping back. His eyes focused intently on the floor.
"Why not?" she pressed, walking back to the table. "You don't think I want to be happy? That I want what everyone wants? I just thought... I just thought that..."
"You thought what?" he asked softly, ignoring her question of 'why not.' He hopped up onto the counter in one fluid move.
"It did make sense on paper," she admitted with a look down at the floor. "I thought that because Percy and I were so similar, maybe it would work out."
"You just never took chemistry into account." Sirius shook his head.
Hermione folded her arms across her chest. "You certainly are observant of me, aren't you? Why is that? Neither Harry nor Ron has given the situation this much thought." Hermione looked at him, really looked at him, trying to see what she could observe, see if there were chinks in his armor. Their eyes met, and in his was something resigned and a little bit sad.
"Ron, no, but..." He scratched his chin self-consciously. "Harry and I have discussed it a time or two."
"Really? Great, glad I've provided the entertainment," she muttered. Her cheeks warmed with the flush of embarrassment.
"No, no, not like that. That isn't what I mean." He fidgeted a little, and then asked, "What friend?"
"What?"
"You said a friend helped you to see that you and Percy weren't right for each other. What friend?"
"I went to see Charlie," she replied, and then paused as things slowly started to add up. "You know he was quite keen to discuss you, though he never would say why."
Sirius ignored her last, only addressing the bit about going to see Charlie. "That business with Umbridge, yeah? Did he agree?"
"Yes," she replied, but that wasn't what her mind was focused on. The clarity her revelation brought, fitting Charlie's vague hints into her previous friendship with Sirius; it all made so much sense. How had she missed this? Had she purposefully not wanted to see? It was a bit startling, shocking even. "We were falling in love, weren't we, you and I? Just slowly, in our own way."
Sirius didn't say anything for a full minute. "I had thought so, yes, but then..."
"I thought it was all on my end," she said honestly.
"No," he replied. "It wasn't. You were a little hard to read, or so I thought. With everything going on in your life, I just thought it was better not to press you. I was willing to wait until you were ready. I was in love with you, I would have given you all the time you needed for it to be right."
"The pomegranate," she said with sudden realization. "What Charlie said, and... and your arm, your arm around my waist."
"And then Percy walked in," he replied. "Next thing I knew, you were dating him."
"Sirius, if I had known... I loved you then," she said. "I love you still."
Sirius breathed one short, little laugh, and then closed the distance between them, pushing her up against the table, his thighs, chest, the whole length of him pressing against her. "I missed you so," he murmured. "I know I was an arse, but I just couldn't stand to see you with him, couldn't understand why it wasn't me."
"I missed you, too," she said, surprising herself with what a relief it was to tell him.
Lips, rough and chapped, claimed hers, the short, stiff stubble of a day's growth scraping deliciously against her skin. With one arm around her waist he pulled her up tight and close, his other hand sinking into her hair, controlling her neck to suit his pleasure. She opened to him, his tongue invading her mouth greedily. Little whimpers of pleasure escaped her throat, as her own hands slid up his firm chest, fingers twining through his hair.
"Hermione," he rasped, drawing away. His eyes were troubled as they searched hers for a moment. "I wanted you for so long, but if you're not sure about what you want..."
"I'm sure," she whispered back. "I just never knew."
He kissed her again, hungry and sure, pulling her even closer and brazenly grinding his pelvis against hers. His need, hard and hot, ground deliciously against her as he rutted openly and unashamedly.
"I want you," he said, somewhat unnecessarily. He had already made that clear.
"Where?" she asked breathlessly.
"Now," he growled, tugging her robes up in attempt to get them off of her. "Right here."
"But, we can't, what if-"
"No one's here, Hermione," he persisted, grinning victoriously as he managed to get the robes over her head. "Oh, thank Merlin for small mercies. You're wearing a skirt."
"What?" she asked, but understood as he dropped to his knees in front of her.
"I need to taste you, been fantasizing too long. I want to know." His fingers ghosted along her thighs and up under her skirt. He pulled at her knickers, drawing them down, patiently at first. When she closed her legs in modesty, he snarled and simply ripped her knickers off, leaving a painful red mark on her skin. "No one is going to see you but me," he said impatiently, like it should be obvious.
"Sirius, this is-"
"What? Risky?" he asked, his mouth crooked up in smug grin, even as his hands slid between her knees to push her legs open.
"Yes," she whimpered half-heartedly. She could feel his warm breath puffing close to her sex. It was almost too much, standing here in Harry's kitchen with Sirius kneeling in front of her. His expression was unyielding, and she wanted so much to just let herself get swept away.
He nuzzled at her thigh, leaving wet, open kisses that burned against her flesh. "You don't want to tell me no, Hermione, so don't. Let me do this, let me taste you."
With her last defenses easily stripped away by his wicked mouth, and by his voice and words that beckoned her to just get on his ride and enjoy herself, she swallowed and nodded. "Okay," she breathed.
He spared her one last smirk before pressing his face between her legs. Her fingers curled around the edge of the table, gripping hard to hold her steady. Sirius pushed at her knees with insistent hands until her legs were spread enough that he could fully access her. A shuddering breath slipped from her lips at the first feel of warm, wet tongue and lips exploring her most private of places. There was nothing tentative about the gesture as he greedily took what he so clearly wanted.
Moving closer, he pulled her hips forward as he worked his way back. His tongue slid all along her slick heat, and then lapped at her entrance before simply plunging in. It was nothing she had ever felt before, the searing warmth of a tongue just inside her entrance, and the brush of coarse facial hair against her inner thighs. Her breath came in short gasps and quiet moans, leaving her feeling wanton and exposed.
Sirius himself was by no means quiet, his deeper groans vibrated along her tender flesh, and up through her body. She could feel his breath, gasped out harshly as he exhaled when he could, so intent upon his task his own respiration became a secondary concern. He moved again, this time coming forward a little, replacing his tongue with a finger that slid in all the way up to the knuckle. Another finger joined the second as his tongue found her tight sensitive bundle and lapped repetitively, sending small tremors of pleasure along every nerve. When a third finger joined the others, he was suckling her gently, the small, stiff nub held firmly between his lips. Her gasps and moans turned into a soft chant, his name lifted up like a benediction as her climax approached.
The only thing holding her steady were the elbows she had locked in place and the hands that held tight to the table. Sirius did not relent, but his free arm wrapped around her leg to provide her with some support should she fall. He pumped his other arm steadily, the fingers inside rubbing the same spot over and over, while his tongue flicked at her as he suckled.
"I'm-" she squeaked out. "Oh, god! Sirius!"
The pressure low in her body, tight and hot, released in long, intense waves of pleasure, a flash of light bursting behind closed eyes. She could feel her body tighten and squeeze around the fingers inside of her as she trembled. Sirius slowed his ministrations, helping her to ride out every last surge. He drew away finally, bringing a hand up to her hip, grabbing hold and keeping her upright. She opened her eyes to find him gazing at her with warm and steady regard, and looking just a little bit pleased with himself.
"That was-"
Hermione was interrupted with the sound of the front door opening and the voices of several people engaged in an animated, if somewhat heated, discussion. Sirius threw Hermione's robes to her and swiftly pocketed her ruined knickers. He gave her a somewhat sheepish smile.
"Sorry about that; got impatient."
Hermione just nodded; there wasn't really time to talk about what just happened. She hurried to put on and straighten her robes as the voices got nearer. Sirius had gotten to his feet, and was washing his hands at the sink, splashing a little cold water on his face.
Snape spilled into the kitchen looking livid, with Remus following close behind. His expression was that of patience turning quickly into exasperation. Just behind him were Harry and Ginny, and they were all trying to talk over each other.
Hermione gave Sirius a very pointed look. He had left out that he'd done anything about what he'd witnessed. His returning grin was thoroughly unrepentant.
"I thought I'd find you here," snarled Snape. "Come to whine to your godson about things that aren't any of your business?"
"Severus," said Remus quietly. Sirius pulled a face at the tenderness implicit in his tone.
Harry watched Sirius nervously, and looked ready to throw himself between the two men should he need to. Ginny on the other hand couldn't take her eyes off Hermione.
"How was Romania?" she asked, and threw a very significant look at Sirius. Hermione frowned; those Weasleys really were a gossipy bunch.
"Enlightening," said Hermione. There wasn't much point in denying what would soon be obvious. Demonstrative to the very end, there was little chance Sirius was going to let this moment pass without staking his claim.
"Remus," said Sirius expansively, "if men who never bathe or wash their hair is what does it for you, who I am to judge?" He took a step toward Hermione, wearing a filthy grin, while the rest of the kitchen braced for the explosion.
"Oh, so very clever," snapped Snape, his sallow skin whitening with rage. "Get some new material."
"If you bathed I might," returned Sirius, and then added pompously, "Hygiene, you see, dear Snivelly, is important in preventing the spread of social diseases. I'm just doing the public a service."
Remus groaned, while Harry insinuated himself between Sirius and Snape. The latter had taken a step forward and was reaching for his wand. Sirius held his ground, and started to reach for his own wand as well.
"Sirius," said Hermione gently, "it is Remus' choice; we just talked about this. You don't have to like Severus, only Remus does. Can't you be a little happy that your friend found someone?" The whole kitchen watched in shocked and comedic fascination as she stepped in front of Sirius and lay her hand on his that was reaching for his wand.
Sirius' fierce expression gentled at her touch, his eyes softening into something tender and warm as she filled his range of vision, reaching up on her toes to place a kiss on his mouth.
"This has got to be the strangest day ever," said Harry. "What the hell is going on here? Hermione, what's this all about?" She turned to face him, but his eyes were glued on Sirius and there was an almost hopeful expression on his face.
"I'm sure that's pretty obvious," she answered lightly. "Percy and I broke it off today; it hadn't been working out for some time, actually. I'd had feelings for Sirius, but no idea he returned them. It's not that complicated when you get right down to it." Harry's gaze was turned on her now in utter disbelief. "Close your mouth, Harry. That's not attractive on anyone," she added smartly.
"Now," said Hermione turning back to Sirius. "Do you think you can be civil long enough for us to get out of here unharmed? I think we have some things to talk about."
"Yeah," he replied, his voice breaking a little over the word, his pupils bleeding into the grey of his irises. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I can manage that."
Hermione took a deep breath and turned back to their audience. "Ginny, we'll talk soon. Harry, it's all going to be fine." She lifted her eyes to Remus' which were sparkling with amusement behind Snape's back, and was giving Sirius a very knowing look. She had long believed those two could practically communicate by telepathy, and if she wasn't mistaken, Remus had just called Sirius 'whipped'. At least by the look of it, anyway.
"Remus, Severus, congratulations, I for one am glad you found each other." Remus smiled his thanks, but Snape looked even more confused than Harry had been.
"Am I to understand, Miss Granger, that you have taken full leave of your senses and are taking up with this buffoon?"
"You don't have to like him, Severus," said Remus quietly in Snape's ear, echoing Hermione's earlier words, "only Hermione does."
"She was one of your students as well, Remus," said Snape. "Aren't you the smallest bit concerned that she is being preyed upon by a man twice her age?"
Behind her Sirius snarled, and drew a breath to speak. Hermione gave his hand a squeeze, but feared it would make little difference.
"Hermione hasn't been a student for some time now, Severus. I don't think that is the situation at all, and neither do you." What Remus didn't say, but was clear in his tone was, 'and please don't forget that Sirius is my friend as well.'
But the quiet admonishment seemed to work. Severus lifted his chin as he dropped his wand hand to his side. Proud, but apparently obedient as well. Hermione squeezed Sirius' hand again, and felt his breath on her neck as he sighed. A little stunned with their success, Hermione looked at Remus. He in turn gave her a little wink.
"Didn't I hear you say you had things to talk about?" asked Remus lightly. "You'd best be on your way, then."
Hermione smiled, and then tugged at Sirius' arm. "Let's go," she whispered.
Epilogue
The Wizangamot
Kingsley banged his gavel against the podium.
"Madam Umbridge, you are out of order!" His deep bass boomed with authority in the circular chamber.
Umbridge schooled her expression of loathing into one that was more appropriate for addressing the Minister of Magic. She straightened her fluffy pink cardigan a little as she turned.
"My apologies, Minister," she simpered.
"Take your seat, Madam. The requirements have been fulfilled and found satisfactory by the court. As such, the vote will commence as ordered and agreed upon."
Something dangerous flickered in her eyes, but it was gone a second later. She gave Kingsley a polite nod and returned to her seat.
Hermione let out the breath she'd been holding. That woman was positively unstable. At the conclusion of the separate discussions the court held with Charlie, Firenze, Remus, and Hagrid, Hermione had petitioned the court to move to the vote. Before the last word had cleared Hermione's lips, Umbridge was out of her seat and waddling over to her. The look in her eye was murderous, and she had clearly taken temporary leave of good sense.
Though it was difficult to focus on little else than the pink nightmare headed her way, out of the corner of her eye she had seen Sirius stand and draw his wand. They were really going to have to have a talk about this knight in shining armor thing.
Hermione turned to smile at him, to reassure him and was surprised to find that Sirius wasn't the only male in her life currently stowing their wands. Remus and Charlie were sitting with him and all three of them on their feet. By the door, Hagrid was fussing with his umbrella.
Oh, for heaven's sake!
Hermione swiveled to look at Harry and Ron. They too were reclaiming their seats. Didn't anyone think she was capable of handling herself? Still standing in the center round, Firenze gazed curiously around the room, apparently untroubled.
Fantastic, she thought sourly. The centaur believed in her.
"Ms. Granger, you may take your seat now," said Kingsley.
"Thank you, Minister."
Hermione calmly walked back to the row where Sirius and his apparent band of Merry Men were sitting.
"I am not Maid Marian in need of rescue," she whispered to him.
Sirius gave her a cool up and down glance, and then smirked.
"And you, you're not Robin Hood," she insisted. "Are we clear?"
"I don't really think your analogy there works, kitten," he said smoothly.
Hermione growled softly; he could be so infuriating at times. He got her point and was nitpicking to get under her skin; he had a fascination for that.
"I thought Disney could bring it down to your level."
Beside her Remus jiggled with laughter and none of them noticed that the vote was in progress.
"In fact," said Sirius, confident and at ease, his usual modus operandi when arguing with her because it had the potential to make her apoplectic, "depending on the version, Marian gives as good as she gets with old Robin. In the ballad Robin Hood and Maid Marian she faces off with her beloved in a bit of sword play."
"What I wouldn't give for a sword," muttered Hermione.
Dropping his voice to a husky whisper Sirius said, "I'll give you a sword when we get home."
Remus coughed. "Lame, Padfoot; very, very lame."
"Shut it, you," hissed Sirius, while making a bad attempt at suppressing laughter.
Hermione opened her mouth to retort, but before she could speak, Kingsley banged his gavel again. "The ayes have it; motion passed!"
"You did it, love," whispered Sirius, and then kissed her cheek.
Hermione blinked rapidly and then pushed Sirius' shoulder. "You made me miss it!"
"I gave you something to focus on other than the votes," he disagreed.
"You're still in trouble for the white knight nonsense," she muttered disagreeably.
Sirius put his large hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. "I waited a long time for you, sweeting, and I wasn't about to let some fuzzy pink toad lay a finger on your beautiful head. Now come on, we've a bit of celebrating to do."
With an arm protectively around her waist once they were standing in aisle, Hermione took her congratulations from the members of the court as they filed out. The "fuzzy pink toad" took her leave through a back exit. Hermione had never felt more powerful in her life.
Once they were in the hall, Hermione got her first glimpse of Percy since the break-up. He was standing in a crowd with the Minister, Nymphadora Tonks and a few other Aurors. Tonks whispered something in his ear that made Percy turn bright red.
"See there?"
Hermione jumped, surprised to hear Charlie's voice in her ear. Sirius was still connected to her with his arm around her waist, but he had relaxed a little and was currently teasing Remus about his choice of bedfellows.
"Percy and Tonks?"
Charlie shrugged. "Maybe; she'll keep things interesting for him at any rate."
"Charlie boy," interrupted Sirius, "you coming to the pub with us?"
Charlie winked at Hermione. "I wouldn't miss it."