Destined

Harry got up and walked over to his godfather in stunned silence.

“Please tell me I’m awake Hermione. Please tell me this is not a joke.” He begged.

“This is not a joke Harry, and you are definitely awake. I promise you, this is very real.”

“How?” he asked before running and embracing Sirius like his life depended upon it.

Sirius returned the embrace, fighting back his tears. He felt as if he had missed so much in his godson’s life. He looked up to see Remus staring at him as if he had to heads.

“Problem Moony? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He joked lightly.

Suddenly the room erupted in questions directed at Hermione. She had to use a Sonorus charm just to be heard over the din.

“Please, everyone. Sit down and I will explain everything.” She yelled.

The following silence was almost deafening after the previous chaos. Hermione felt a little nervous now. She wasn’t actually sure how to explain what she had done.

“I have been doing secret research for three years now on the Veil. I had to figure out if retrieving someone out of it had ever happened before, and found that it had, over a thousand years ago. Then I had to figure out how. Since Sirius was thrown in with a stun spell, he was alive when he went in, so it was possible. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you Harry, I was just afraid that you would be disappointed if it didn’t work. The spell was extremely complicated, but it worked. The only person who knew what I planned to attempt was Kingsley.”

“Why couldn’t you tell me Hermione?” asked Ginny.

“Could you have really kept it from Harry?”

“No, I couldn’t have done that.” She said finally, after a moment of thought.

“Is that why you have been so distant lately?” asked Ron.

“Yes Ron. I couldn’t let you find out either because you would have told Harry.”

“I thought you had a new boyfriend that you didn’t want us to meet.” He said sullenly. He had never really
gotten over her leaving him.

Hermione sighed in frustration. “Ron I told you I neither have the time nor the inclination for a boyfriend. And if that ever changes, my opinion would be the only one that matters now anyway. You lost the right to have a say in my life a long time ago.”

Ron opened his mouth to reply, but Ginny told him to be quiet and he stormed out of the room without so much as a goodbye to anyone.

“I'm sorry Harry for ruining this with mine and Ron’s bickering.”

“Relax Mione, I'm on your side in this. Who you date is your business and none of his anymore.” He said
darkly. “Besides, you know you are always welcome to bring anyone here with you.”

Hermione smiled at him, and Sirius caught his breath. Her smile was stunning, and almost knocked the breath out of him. He remembered the first time he met her. She was a very intelligent girl for her age. He had admired her courage as well. He never forgot her during those months on the run. At the time, he was simply glad that Harry had such a good friend that he could count on. When he saw her in her fifth year, he had had to lock himself in his rooms on more than one occasion just to keep from staring at her. He knew that because of the time turner in her third year, she was a year older in body than in actual years, but he still felt odd thinking of a girl who wasn’t even legal that way.

Ginny noticed that he was mesmerized by Hermione, and smirked a little knowingly. Thankfully for him, she was the only one who noticed. The conversation at that point moved on to other topics. Harry brought out James, who took to Sirius immediately. Sirius got a kick out of him too. The little tyke reminded him so much of his James that it nearly broke his heart. He missed James and Lily. Eventually it got late and Ginny went to put James to bed.

“Where are you planning on staying Sirius?” asked Harry. “The Death Eaters trashed Grimmauld Place five years ago, and I never could make myself go back there.”

“I never want to go back there!” he replied vehemently.

“Why don’t you stay with Hermione?” asked Ginny, who had just walked back into the room. “She has the room.”

“That’s a great idea. I have a spare bedroom I never use, and its just me there.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose on you.” He said. he couldn’t let her know that the reason he didn’t want to stay with her was because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off of her. She was definitely no schoolgirl now.

“Its no imposition. Please, just until you can get your own place.”

With no other options left to him without raising suspicions, he gave in.

“Thank you.” He said.

“Great!” she smiled again, and Sirius had to swallow hard.

“My place is called Heather Cottage. We can floo there from here.”

Hermione turned and said goodbye to everyone, hugging Harry and Ginny tightly.

“Thank you Hermione. This is the best present I have ever received. You gave me back part of my family.”

“You are welcome Harry. You deserve happiness.”

Hermione walked to the floo and threw in the powder, stepped in and called out her home. She disappeared in the flames. Sirius walked over to Harry and hugged him. “I will return tomorrow. We have a lot to catch up on.”
He gave a hug to Ginny as well. “Please take care of him. This is a lot to take in. I'm not sure I can understand it all myself.”

“I will, I promise. See you tomorrow.”

Sirius walked to the floo and was soon gone.

Ginny turned to Harry smiling.

“Why are you smiling like that?” he asked, getting a little worried.

“Did you notice the way he looked at her? He's in love with her.”

“What? Sirius is in love with Hermione?”

“Yep.”

“Wow, how could I not see it? When did that happen?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t think he knows it yet.”

“Is that why you suggested he stay with her instead of here?”

“Yes. He needs to be able to explore it and figure it out on his own. And so does she. I think he will be good
for her too. Ron hurt her a lot when he cheated on her. She needs to be shown what real love is, and I think
he's just the man to do it.”

“Just don’t push too hard. You may end up doing more damage than good.” He warned.

“I promise to be very careful.”

At Heather Cottage, Hermione was waiting for Sirius at the fireplace. He looked around when he emerged. Her house was clean and organized despite its slightly small size. Everything looked comfortable. It was a haven. The kitchen could be seen just off the living room, and looked like the table was in there as well. The living room had a couple of overstuffed chairs and bookcases covering every wall. There were several lamps by the chairs and a desk on the far wall. A bay window took up most of the wall that the desk was at. Above the fireplace were pictures of the three of them from school and after, along with ones of James.

“Welcome to my home. Would you like a tour?”

Sirius nodded, still looking around.

Obviously this is my living room, and the kitchen is just over there. Upstairs are the bedrooms and the bathroom. Follow me and I’ll show you your room.”

She led him up the stairs, which were also lined with pictures of friends and family. He noticed some of a couple that looked like Hermione that didn’t move. They must be muggle pictures, and he assumed they were of her parents. She opened a door to her right at the top of the stairs.

“This is your room. Mine is right across from you, and the bathroom is at the end of the hall. Please feel free to make yourself at home, and if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask. There is a toothbrush for you in the bathroom, and some clothes on the bed. I prepared for you just in case it worked. If you had decided to stay elsewhere I would have brought the stuff over to you.” She said, blushing slightly.

He noted that she looked very pretty blushing, and wondered what she would look like blushing from passion. He had to mentally shake that thought out of his head.

“Its late, and you are probably tired. I’ll let you get some rest. See you in the morning Sirius.” She said as she turned to go to her room.

She stopped at the door and turned to him. “I'm glad it worked, I’m glad your back. We all missed you.” With that, she entered her room and shut the door.

Sirius entered his room and looked around. It was also tidy, with a rather large bed against one wall looking out near a large window. There was a dresser with a mirror on it against another wall, and the clothes she had mentioned were lying on the bed. He walked over and grabbed a pair of pajamas and headed to the bathroom.
He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn’t hear the water running in the bathroom and just walked in. Hermione was in the shower, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She hadn’t noticed his entrance yet, so oblivious to the fact that she was being watched. When she did turn around, she nearly screamed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I'm sorry.” He said and bolted from the room, closing the door behind him.

He raced back to his room, and didn’t come out again until he was sure she was safely back in her own room. He quickly took a shower and hurried to bed. It was a long time before he slept though. Images of her naked form filled his mind and invaded his dreams when he finally succumbed to sleeps pull.





A/N: Hope you all like my second chapter. Chapter 3 might be a little bit since I am still writing it :)
I am looking for a beta, so if anyone is able to do that, please let me know in a review. Thanks for following me along on this journey and enjoy the next installment. Many thanks to everyone who is leaving reviews.