Reclaiming the Trio

AN:I'm not planning on holding this story hostage, but please keep the reviews coming, and be sure to mention things you feel I have left undone, or things you'd like to see happen. DO NOT however, use the reviews page as a place to flame me. That just isn't nice.

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Chapter 4: Grimmauld Place and Some Weird Stuff


Sirius and Remus waited rather impatiently for Hermione. Not that either one was particularly enthused about the situation as a whole, but each had a different view on the events, previous and future. Sirius saw Hermione as a link to the godson whom he'd never gotten a fair chance to raise. Remus saw Hermione as the last link to being human; only she'd seen him for whom he was, werewolf or not. Not even Tonks could do that ~-- she'd thought she could find a way to heal him, or perhaps he really was just a passing fancy for her. That thought would have been too much to bear.


But each man had a darker desire to get the girl out of the place she'd called 'home' for so long.


They wanted her.


It wasn't uncommon for the men to share; Remus was rather shy and girls were attracted to that shyness, but it was Sirius who managed to get Remus to act on the situations. Occasionally Sirius would bring a bird and her friend along for Remus. Sometimes Remus would find a girl on his own.


But they liked to share.


Neither would admit it, but they each rather liked the times they'd shared a woman, not that they'd had a chance to do it often. James was a bit homophobic, and even though they'd tried to tell him they weren't like that, that they just wanted him to come along so they could find some nice girls for some fun and he'd said they were trying to ensnare him, and he surely wasn't like them, and they were lying. They hadn't been then. But now, perhaps it would be a bit of a lie.


Remus was thinking about Hermione and those old flings hit him in the face. He was a bit more moral now than he'd been then, a werewolf who wouldn't die and could prove irresistible, both to birds and his best friend. Now he was a disgraced former teacher, an outed werewolf (the kind much more likely to die than a closeted werewolf), and, apparently, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger's lover ~-- at least in her mind.


Sirius's thoughts were not too different. His name was clear, but he felt guilty about letting his best friend down, and letting Harry die, even though he couldn't have stopped it. One was supposed to die, the other live; no-one had expected the other birth to have so fucked with the prophecy. And then there was Hermione . . . beautiful, brilliant, and altogether too good for her own good. No wonder Harry loved her so, Sirius thought. Harry had no siblings, so of course he'd gravitate to the one best suited to be a friend, confidant. . . sister. Unfortunately, Sirius, who was playing Harry, was not at all interested in the young girl as her best friend or brother. . .


"Harry, Ron, I'm ready! Where are we going again?" Hermione said, running towards them, breathless. Her face was flushed and ringlets bounced around her face; she'd taken to wearing her hair in more controlled curls as soon as she'd figured out a charm that would accomplish the feat. She was smiling and it took Remus and Sirius a moment to remember they were supposed to Ron and Harry.


Sirius smiled broadly, shoving everything else in his head to the side. He'd made a promise, and this time, he was going to keep it.


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Remus wasn't quite so easily deterred. Sirius had to be Hermione's best friend; Remus had to play best friend and lover without actually acting on anything, especially while she still saw him as Ronald. The thought of using that against her reared its ugly head, and Remus felt his lupine side, Moony, roar in his ears, the blood rushing from his head to his groin at the sight of a flushed Hermione in front of him.


It wasn't so much the flushed face that made his situation so damn near unbearable. It was the heaving bosom, the breathless voice, the clear honey-colored eyes, and the outfit. If he ever had children ~-- which was quite a long shot ~-- Remus would required any and all daughters to wear turtlenecks and tents. Hermione was standing before him and Sirius, clad in nothing but a brief tank top and denims that looked as soft as a kitten. A kitten Remus wanted very much to pet at that moment.


Without thinking, Remus reached out and put his hand very low on Hermione's hip, spanning her flank with his large hand and rubbing slightly. She blushed and automatically moved into his hand, and he could feel heat rolling off her. Sirius made a small, strangled sound and Remus felt the crush of Moony running into him, pushing him to do something, anything more than what he was doing at that instant.


"Not right now, Ron. We have to leave. And Harry, stop that. I think we all know you're no prude," Hermione said, leaning over to Sirius and giving him a tight squeeze. Remus growled at the loss of her, and she regarded him strangely. "Ron, what was that? You've never been jealous of Harry like that. With the way you're acting, I'll have to ask Remus if he nicked you last time he transformed."


Sirius and Remus shared a look. Sirius spoke first, because Remus didn't trust himself not to growl again.


"Are you ready to go? Ginny said she'd come along for a bit, but she can't stay the night this time," Sirius said. The coward. She'll stick us with Hermione, but won't come herself?


"Oh, Harry, I'm sure she'll forgive you for putting yourself in danger. She's dealing with a lot right now, and you leaving was kind of an unnatural desertion for her. Give her some time, and she'll be back to normal. But I don't think any of us would be up to anything strenuous tonight, anyways," Hermione laughed, a silvery sound that made Sirius feel a rather pleasant tingle in his nether regions. "We'll probably all be together soon, though. I'm not planning on sleeping tonight, though."


Sirius and Remus both felt the heat then, even though they knew she must mean they'd all stay up talking, or she'd stay up reading. But that wasn't what she'd said. Something was gnawing at Sirius, and he couldn't ask Hermione anything. He'd figured his godson had gone on and had at least a somewhat normal relationship with Ginny, but he wondered if he'd ever actually done anything with the girl. He shook his head and smiled at Hermione again.


"Thanks, Hermione," Sirius said, hugging Hermione in what he hoped was a very-Harry thing to do before releasing her into Remus's waiting arms. That could get a bit hairy. "I'll go get Ginny and Ron here can apparate you both to the house."


"I think I can apparate on my own, Harry," Hermione laughed and Sirius shook his head. "Fine. But if Ron manages to splinch us, I am holding you personally responsible."


Remus and Sirius both had to laugh then. True, Hermione thought they were Ron and Harry, but Remus was still a highly-skilled wizard. She looked at them strangely and sighed, moving closer to Remus. He put his arms around her and led her away from the infirmary and outside, so they could head off-grounds to apparate. As members of the Order, Remus and Sirius could both apparate between Grimmauld Place and Hogwart's at will, but Ron and Harry couldn't. Hermione would remember that, at least.


"Bye, Harry! If we see Sirius and Remus, should we tell them to join us?" Hermione said, and the men shared a look.


"Ah, no, Hermione. We told them we'd like the house to ourselves for a bit. They'll understand," Sirius said, trotting off to find Ginny before Hermione asked any more difficult questions.


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"Ginny! Get over here. We have to leave, and you have some explaining to do," Sirius bellowed. He had questions, and she'd answer. He'd make her answer, if need be.


"Sirius," Ginny hissed, coming out from behind the curtain. "There are people here who are trying to rest so they can recover from their ordeals. Can you keep it down?"


Sirius grabbed Ginny's arm and dragged her behind another curtain, casting a quick Silencio over the cubicle. Ginny glared at him and put her hands on her hips.


"You really look like Hermione and your mother when you stand like that, Ginny," Sirius said, amused. He wasn't going to let her deter him, however. "What, exactly, are you supposedly recovering from that Hermione would comfort Harry over?"


Ginny paled. Her arms dropped and she held them akimbo. "Harry would call me 'Gin'. You should try to, at least around 'Mione. You should call her ''Mione' as well. Tell Remus that for me; I don't think I'll be going with you lot."


"Yes, you will. And if it weren't for the fact that Remus would hurt me for leaving him alone too long with Hermione while she's still thinking we're Ron and Harry, I would make you tell me here and now," Sirius said, and Ginny glared at him. "Sooner or later, you have to explain yourself, Ginny. I owe that to Harry. I want to make sure you're alright."

Ginny shook her head. "Sirius, you can't help me now. Give me some time. I miss Harry, and I think I am a bit angry at Hermione because she's gone off in her own little world. What do you expect from me?"


"I expect you to grow up a bit, Ginny."


Sirius released the wards and held his hand out to Ginny. She took it and let her hold her in a rather fatherly embrace. He didn't see the tears in her eyes as she whispered, more to herself than to him.


"I am, I am, and I'm afraid."


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"Ron, I missed you so much! I can't believe that I thought you were gone," Hermione said, leaning back in Remus's arms. They were sitting on a couch in the living room of Grimmauld Place, and Remus was feeling quite uncomfortable with the arrangement. Hermione was half in his lap, half sprawled across the couch.


"And I ~-- yah, 'Mione, I missed you gobs," Remus said stupidly; he hadn't spoken that way since his first trysts as a Marauder. He hadn't spent as much time with Ron as he had with Hermione and Harry, and he hoped that he was convincing.


"Funny. You aren't acting like it," Hermione pouted, and she leaned up towards Remus, her hands on his chest. Her mouth was close to his, and he could smell sweetness on her breath, the taste of her. "Usually I can't keep you off me when I get back from the ladies' room, let alone having been out for so long."


"Hermione, I was worried about you. You've been through so much ~-- I don't want to do anything that could set you back," Remus said lamely. The girl was pure temptation, and he was having trouble resisting.


"Damn you, Ron. I don't know what happened to you two while I was out of it, but something isn't right. You're acting strangely, Ginny doesn't want to be around you, and now you won't even kiss me," Hermione was close to tears, and it was tearing at Remus's resolve. "Would you? Ron, would you kiss me, let me know we're still alive, we're not in some sham of paradise?"


Her eyes were large and luminous, and Remus could feel the moon in her, the blessing, pouring out towards him. Without thought, he leaned down and caught her mouth with his own. She tasted clean, and clear, and all those things he thought he'd never taste again, but with a hint of the most expensive vanilla in the world. Her mouth opened to him, and he groaned as she let him push his tongue into her mouth. He carefully guided her tongue away from his sharp teeth, careful to keep from nicking her tongue or lip; the blood would wash the last of him away, leaving an animal to take her ~-- he would protect her from that. She sighed into his mouth, making those little noises designed to drive him crazy.


"Ron. . .," she said into Remus's mouth. That was enough to break the spell. But it wasn't broken soon enough.


"SO nice to see that you've gotten comfortable."


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Sirius grinned at the pair on the couch, pushing his jealousy aside. Soon enough, Hermione would remember everything, and neither he nor Remus would be more than the older men who've watched over her. But he was still jealous, for the time being, and besides that, if he let Remus do anything stupid, Remus would try to destroy himself with the guilt of it.


Remus practically shoved Hermione off his face, blushing madly. Hermione grinned wolfishly at Sirius, and he heard a warning bell go off in the back of his mind.


"Finally. I thought you'd never get here. I missed you both so much, and here you are, withholding the very affection I need to heal correctly," Hermione said, getting off the couch and coming to stand before Sirius. Luckily, he'd apparated himself and Ginny to a spot just outside Grimmauld Place, and Ginny had run upstairs to use the bathroom and wait for Hermione in the older girl's room.


"Sorry, 'Mione. Took a while to get out of the school. Everyone wanted to come 'round and make sure it was me," Sirius said, wincing at the look Remus was giving him. "Ginny went upstairs. You can go talk with her if yo~-- umph!"


Hermione had taken the chance to glue her mouth to Sirius's, kissing him as deeply as she'd kissed Remus, but not as long. She nipped his tongue and teeth, pulling back and smiling.


"That's better. I'm going to go make some tea. I'll send Ginny down here and we can all have a visit before she leaves to head back to school," Hermione said, practically skipping out of the room.


"Sirius," Remus said, his voice low and dangerous. Sirius was as stunned as his friend. He was beginning to think Hermione had been more damaged than they thought in the battle.


"I have to talk to Ginny," Sirius said, and he left to find the younger girl yet again.