A Night of Exceptions

Title: A Night of Exceptions

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK. Rowling, I am merely borrowing them for non-profit amusment.

Rating: NC-17

Words: 1889

Ships: Harry/Hermione/Ron Harry/Ron Hermione/Sirius

Warnings: Sexual situations, adult themes, mild language, consumption of whisky.









~*~ A Night of Exceptions- PART SIX ~*~







~



Hermione couldn\'t sleep, as she tossed restlessly in her bed. There had been tension in the air all evening, and she just couldn\'t figure out what was wrong. It had almost seemed as if Harry and Ron hadn\'t wanted her there, that she was severely unwelcome. She knew it wasn\'t anything like that, but had no idea of what it was. She sniffed unhappily wondering if it had anything to do with that night...



No, she told herself, there was no way that it was that. But it could be... after all, what else could have caused the tension? She grumbled, feeling depressed, as she had been frequently, and decided that a cup of tea might help her get back to sleep. It was late, all the torches extinguished, but she knew her way around to move about carefully in the dark.



Once in the kitchen she made her tea then retreated into the drawing room, entering its darkness and sitting down on the couch not bothering to procure any light. She sighed deeply, sipping her tea, and felt another almost nauseating wave of depression surge through her. Ever since that stupid night she knew that something had changed between her, Harry and Ron, but just couldn\'t figure out what. She knew that if she had never agreed to kiss either of them that it would never have happened, and blamed herself completely.



She felt her lower lip trembling, as it had done so many times in the past month, and couldn\'t fight back the tears that began to sting her eyes. She sobbed silently, every now and then able to sip her rapidly cooling tea and wipe the moisture from her eyes. It was hopeless she knew, and had absolutely no idea how to approach the subject with the boys. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she never heard the footsteps entering the drawing room, and gasped and spilt her tea when she felt that someone was standing right in front of her.



"Shit!" Hermione yelped as the tepid liquid soaked into her pajamas. She looked up to see Sirius silhouetted in the dark a moment before he lit the tip of his wand.



"Hermione!" He said, looking at her with wide innocent eyes. "I didn\'t realise you were in here, I didn\'t mean to startle you." He said, his eyes straying on her tear-stained cheeks and then her wet clothes that were clinging lightly to her breasts. He blinked away from there to look her in the eye.



"Oh that\'s okay; I was too busy thinking so it was probably my fault." She said absently, drawing her wand and cleaning her clothes. Sirius was silent.



"Are you alright?" Sirius asked softly, wondering what had made her cry.



Hermione\'s hand went up to her eyes where she rubbed them with the palms of her hands. "Yes, I\'m fine thank you."



"Do you mind if I join you?" He asked politely, and sat down next to her when she nodded. "I\'m assuming you weren\'t able to sleep either?"



Hermione sighed. "No, I couldn\'t. Are you usually up at this hour?"



Sirius shrugged. "Sometimes." He said, sitting back against the couch.



There was silence, and it wasn\'t long before Hermione was over come with another pang depression, unable to stop herself from crying. Sirius looked over at Hermione in the dim light and saw the tears running down her face, and immediately felt his heart clench. He conjured up a tissue and gave it to her.



"If you need to talk, I\'m willing to listen." He said softly, touching her arm slightly. "Is it something to do with Harry and Ron?" Sirius regretted saying that as she began to cry harder, and didn\'t know what else to do other than to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight.



Hermione cried, eventually moving so that her face was buried in Sirius\'s chest. At the moment she didn\'t care, because all she felt was the anguish that had been plaguing her since that terrible night. She felt herself calming though after only Merlin knew how long, taking an unsteady breath when she felt the hand gently stroking her back. She sat up carefully, a shudder running through her when Sirius\'s hand moved slightly down her back.



"I\'m sorry," She muttered, now feeling embarrassed.



Sirius smiled gently at her. "Don\'t be sorry, you haven\'t done anything wrong." He soothed.



"Oh but I have Sirius, I\'ve done something very wrong." She moved away from him, feeling his eyes following her. She looked at him, expecting to find him looking at her with pity, but he wasn\'t. "I don\'t know why I did it either. Have you ever done something completely out of character for almost no reason at all?"



Sirius nodded. "Of course I have," He smiled lightly. "Do you want to tell me what happened, it might help? I promise you that whatever you say will stay with me and never will I repeat it."



Hermione smiled with appreciation, seriously contemplating his offer. "I don\'t know Sirius, it\'s... pretty embarrassing." She blushed slightly.



"It\'s obviously troubling you too. As I said, it might help if you got it off your chest." He said, hardly realising that he\'d somehow wrapped an arm around her and she was resting her head on his shoulder. He certainly didn\'t mind.



Sighing, Hermione agreed. "Well it happened on the night of the Quidditch final. There was a celebration in the common room, and someone had smuggled in whisky." She swallowed deeply, expecting Sirius to interrupt but he didn\'t. "Anyway Harry, Ron and myself ended up in my room where we just talked as we drank. Mind you, I\'ve never been a drinker and have hardly touched the stuff, so it didn\'t take much for me to become rather... well, you know."



"I know." Sirius said, already wonder where her story was going.



"And then Harry said something and before I knew it I was... was..." She sniffed, feeling Sirius\'s grip tighten comfortingly around her. "I was kissing him Sirius, and I\'m not even attracted to him that way."



Sirius released a pent up breath, expecting something a lot worse. "Well that\'s not so bad is it? It was only a kiss right?"



Hermione shook her head. "No, it wasn\'t. Ron was there and I kissed him too." She saw Sirius\'s eyebrows rise. "But if you think that\'s bad... then I made Harry and Ron kiss!"



"And they agreed?" Sirius asked, surprise clearly evident.



Hermione nodded. "Yeah, they did. And I forced them to do something they obviously didn\'t want to do, and I feel so terrible. Nothing has been the same since that night, and tonight I felt like an alien when I was sitting with them, like they didn\'t want me there at all. It was terrible." She said, tears pouring down her face again.



Sirius was tempted to pull her into his lap and cradle her like a young child, but resisted because he knew how that would appear. He stroked her hair and felt her calm, before asking a question he knew had to ask. "Hermione, you didn\'t..." He began, but the intelligent witch knew what he was asking.



"No, we didn\'t do that, but came pretty close to it. Do you think I\'m terrible?" She asked, looking directly into his sky-blue eyes with her own brown ones.



"I don\'t think you\'re terrible at all, and I\'m sure if there was any tension in the air that it would probably not be because of what happened that night. But trust me; I\'m sure there are many people out there who have done much worse than what you did." He said with a small grin, trying to cheer her up.



Hermione smiled wryly. "Yeah? Like who?"



Sirius\'s grin broadened. "Like me."



Hermione raised a brow. "Are you going to tell me what you did?"



"Okay, I don\'t see why not. If it helps cheer you up then that\'s brilliant, but if not... then I tried. Well I was probably about your age at the time, in the Gryffindor common room. I don\'t know why, but just about everyone in seventh year were arguing with each other and it was finally decided by James, I think, that we play a game to get our minds off of whatever it was we were bickering about. Someone had, as you said earlier, smuggled up alcohol and pretty soon we were all pretty blotto and giggling and what not. To cut a long story shot, but the end of the hour I\'d kissed everyone in my dorm- boys and girls, aside from Peter and this girl whose name I can\'t even remember because she was too appalled to stick around long enough. But it didn\'t stop there."



"That sounds almost like what I did, only I was with just Harry and Ron." She said, smiling lightly. "But you didn\'t... you know, with all of them did you?"



Sirius sighed. "This is really hard to say, but... there was a group of us who... well... went further than what you did with Harry and Ron."



Hermione gasped, a grin on her face, and pinched him on the arm. "Sirius! That\'s terrible!"



Sirius chuckled. "I know, but I must say its one of the most memorable moments of my life, even though I was completely drunk."



"But..." He swore he could see her blush even in the dark, "How many... you know, how many people were there?"



Sirius smirked. "Three girls, James and me. Until we convinced Remus to join in."



"Remus! I can\'t say I could ever imagine him doing something like that." She said, still with heated cheeks at the thought of what they must have done.



"Neither did anyone else, but I must say it\'s a wonder he\'s single these days. He was definitely a crowd pleaser, with both James and I and the girls." He snorted lightly.



Hermione frowned. "You mean to say that Remus is... he likes both sides?"



Sirius nodded. "Yeah, he\'s happy with men and women. But enough of Remus, how are you feeling?"



Hermione smiled, not feeling so bad anymore. "A lot better thanks. I don\'t feel as though I was acting like a... you know what." She wrapped her arms around his neck, and hugged him tightly. "Sirius, are you saying that you were with James and Remus that night too?"



Sirius nodded. "Yes, but don\'t get me wrong- I\'m not that way inclined."



"Oh no, I\'ve never thought that. But did it change anything between the three of you?" She asked curiously.



Sirius shook his head. "No, not really. Except that we discovered Remus\' hidden talents and desires. But of course James and I didn\'t care if he wanted to have relationships with boys- that was nothing to do with us. He was our friend and that\'s all that mattered. Please don\'t mention to him that you know though, he still finds it terribly embarrassing, although I\'m sure he\'d be okay with it if he knew why I told you."



"I promise." Hermione said, feeling her eye\'s becoming heavy. She was comfortable with her arms around Sirius\'s neck and secure with his strong arms around her waist. "Has Remus ever... you know, had someone?"



Sirius shifted. "Not really, no. As I said he finds it terribly embarrassing, although I don\'t know why, but I get a feeling it\'s something to do with being a werewolf too. I mean he\'s had partners, but... nothing serious."



"That\'s a shame; he\'s such a beautiful person. And these days it’s hardly different being a werewolf, with the potions that are available. But I guess I don\'t really know what its like." She said, sighing as she absorbed the warmth form Sirius\'s body. "There\'s only so much one can read in a book."



"That\'s true." Sirius said lightly, his chin resting carefully on the top of Hermione\'s head. When he breathed he could smell her fresh, clean scent, an attribute he had gained from his animagus dog form. He sighed lightly, then lent down and kissed her on the cheek. "You should get back to bed."



Hermione smiled at Sirius, blushing lightly at the kiss. She inwardly scolded herself for acting like a silly little schoolgirl, but ceased those thoughts when she realised that\'s exactly what she was- no wait, now she wasn\'t. "I know. Thank you Sirius, I feel a lot better now. I might be able to get some sleep. You should try too you know."



They released each other and stood up.



"Good night then." Hermione said softly, then mimicked Sirius\'s actions and lent up and kissed him on the cheek. She pulled away to find him grinning at her. "What?"



Sirius shrugged. "Nothing, good night."



~



Harry awoke with a groan, unconsciously pressing his extremely hard cock into Ron\'s available thigh. He felt the arms around him tighten, and bucked his hips when Ron\'s began moving against his. Although both boys were still partially asleep, it didn\'t cease their moans, bucking hips, grasping hands.



"Merlin!" Harry ground out, burying his face in the crook of Ron\'s neck, breathing heavily.



Ron chuckled. "It\'s \'cause you didn\'t come last night..." He said, his voice husky from sleep and arousal.



"Hmmm... maybe..." Harry said absentmindedly, rolling Ron over and positioning himself atop him, grinding their hips together. "Oh god, what was I thinking? This is almost painful..."



Ron chuckled. "Not for long though..." He muttered, and then was mildly shocked when Harry came abruptly. "Already Harry?" He asked with a smirk.



Harry just cursed. "Damn it Ron..." He said through gritted teeth, mildly embarrassed. "I\'ll make it up to you." He said, swooping down to take Ron\'s cock in his mouth. He sucked with fierce determination, trying to draw Ron\'s orgasm out of him as soon as possible, just so he didn\'t feel too bad about climaxing so quickly. Thankfully for Harry it worked and he swallowed all Ron had to give, and even some of his own that he had coated Ron with.



For a few moments neither of them could move, too busy catching their lost breath and basking in the aftermath of their pleasure in each other\'s embrace. Strong hands stroked Harry\'s sides softly, and after a moment warm lips kissed him with such need, deepening without hesitation.



"Hmm... it\'s probably best that we brush our teeth first you know..." Ron muttered, placing kisses on Harry\'s neck.



"Not if it\'s my neck you\'re attending too." Harry moaned out loud, holding Ron tighter to his body. The red head abruptly stopped.



"I should leave now anyway, in case anyone sees..." He said, casting a nervous glance around the room in case the walls had eyes, which they probably did.



"I know, but I don\'t want you to." Harry kissed him again, before letting him out of his embrace. It took Ron only a moment to dress, kiss Harry, and retreat back to his room, thankfully not running into anyone. Harry sighed at the feeling of being in bed alone, and decided to get up and shower, regardless of the early hour.



By the time Harry made it down for breakfast, Sirius was already there.



"Good morning, my Sunshine." Sirius grinned at him, apparently in a good mood.



Harry grumbled. "Sunshine? Geeze Siri, is there something you need to tell me?"



Sirius laughed. "No Harry, I\'m afraid not. I love you, but not like that. Have a seat, I\'m cooking today." He said, hid grin never wavering, getting out bacon, eggs, sausages, tomato and bread for an obvious fry-up.



"Ok, that\'s fine by me. My love." He snickered, just as Hermione padded into the room, still pajama clad.



"What\'s going on in here?" She asked, eyeing the two warily, although obviously amused.



"Sirius was just professing his unrequited love for me." Harry said with a smirk, winking at Hermione, causing her eyes to widen slightly, before she sat down. It was then that Harry realised he\'d brought up a topic that she obviously still felt uncomfortable with- the fact that she\'d made him and Ron, two boys, kiss.



"Ahh Harry, you need to stop denying it! I know you love me." He said, swooping down and giving his godson a kiss on the cheek.



"Irk. Please, never do that again." Harry said, wiping the kiss away, but glowing on the inside at the thought of Sirius loving him. Not loving him as a lover, but as a father figure of sorts. Like family. It felt nice. He looked to Hermione, and found her beaming at him. "What?"



Hermione almost shrugged. "I\'m just glad to see that you\'re happy Harry, after... after what happened." She finished softly.



Harry\'s smile dimmed somewhat, but it didn\'t look upset. "Thanks \'Mione."



It was that moment that Ron stumbled into the kitchen, still appearing disheveled from sleep, causing Harry\'s heart to beat a little faster at how attractive he looked. Especially when he flashed Harry his best smile, and Harry\'s heart skipped a beat entirely.



"Oh, I knew I smelt something good." He said, referring to breakfast, but looking at Harry out of the corner of his eye. "Awesome Sirius, lets hope you don\'t burn it."



"You know Ron; you could be a little more helpful! Think how that comment must be affecting my confidence." Sirius said, rolling his eyes dramatically.



Ron snorted. "I doubt anything could affect your confidence, you big headed prat."



"Ron!" Hermione scolded, looking at him indignantly.



"Oh ho!" Sirius cried, pretended to be offended. "Now you\'ve seriously wounded me, how will I ever live knowing you think I\'m a big headed prat... please, kill me now world, because Ron thinks I\'m a big headed..." Harry cut him off.



"Drama queen." He injected, grinning at Ron, ignoring Hermione\'s appalled expression. He looked up when Sirius dramatically fainted, sprawling himself unceremoniously on the kitchen floor. This caused Harry and Ron to erupt with laughter, while Hermione merely smiled.



"My, what on earth have you done to Padfoot you three?" They all startled upon hearing a new voice, and turned to see Remus standing in the doorway, a pale eyebrow raised at their antics.



"It was Ron." Harry said immediately, earning himself a shove in the arm. But Harry so desperately wanted Ron\'s touch that he almost lent back into it, thankfully stopping himself before he did.



"Moony!" Sirius cried, getting up off the floor and enveloping his life-long friend in a warm hug. "I didn\'t think you were coming until next week, but I\'m not complaining."



"I know, I\'m sorry. I did think I\'d be too tired after the moon, but I\'m feeling really good and so decided to come a little early. I know you don\'t mind." He smiled almost prettily, and for anyone looking close enough it was plain to see how much he loved his friend, in a way that would never be returned.



"Of course I don\'t. Pull up a chair, I\'m about to start breakfast." Sirius released his friend, and returned his attentions back to the kitchen and their food.



Remus took a seat opposite Harry, next to Hermione. Harry and Ron were sitting in their usual spot, which was thankfully next to each other. If they were discreet, they could stroke each other\'s thighs teasingly and shoot each other furtive glances.



Hermione smiled at Remus, again feeling sad about his bachelor status. "How are you Remus? You\'re looking very good." She asked, and then blushed when Harry and Ron laughed at her words.



"Ohh Hermione, have you got a crush on Professor Lupin?" Ron asked, emphasising his ex-title.



"Shut up Ron." She shot back, rolling her eyes. But Remus merely chuckled in a good-humoured manner.



"Thank you Hermione, I\'m feeling very good. Severus has improved the potion again, giving me a speedier recovery. I\'m fully functioning by the second day now! It\'s a small miracle." He informed her, knowing of her interest in the area.



"I\'m pleased to hear." She said earnestly.



It didn\'t take too long for Sirius to cook them their breakfast, and soon it was served upon the table- and it wasn’t even burnt. But as they got up to clean the dishes, a noise alerted them- an owl had approached, and was obviously trying to enter. Remus volunteered to retrieve the mail, leaving the others to their jobs.



Remus returned a moment later, "Harry, it\'s for you." He said, looking mildly grim, holding out the official looking envelope.



"Thanks," Harry said, taking it off him and staring at it. After a moment he broke the ministries wax seal, and opened up the yellowing parchment. It was the date, time and place of his upcoming trial. Set for July 21st, twelve in the afternoon in Courtroom ten. Harry knew courtroom ten, it was the one where he\'d had his previous trial for underage magic, the one on the same level as the department of Mysteries. He shuddered involuntarily.



"That\'s only two weeks away." Hermione said, standing up and offering Harry a comforting arm around his shoulders, and resting her cheek against his arm.



"Don\'t worry about it Harry, just think- that Malfoy sod will be getting what he deserves, and at least that will keep him from harming others with his masters’ orders." Sirius sneered, baring his teeth as if he were presently Padfoot.



Harry nodded absentmindedly. He hoped that Malfoy would rot in Azkaban, he really did, but with the Ministries track record, anything was possible.



~~



Hermione couldn\'t sleep again. Her dreams were plagued with images of Harry being raped by Malfoy, of the pain on his face, the way his body was stiff under the controlling spell, how Malfoy\'s expression was one of gloating pleasure... she shivered, got out of bed, and decided a cup of tea might calm her nerves a little. It was late, very late, probably around three in the morning, so she never expected to encounter anyone else in the house, which was good, because she hated being caught with her eyes puffy from crying.



She entered the kitchen, not bothering to light her wand. She knew the place well enough by now to move around in shadows only, and quickly retrieved a cup and conjured some boiling water, a tea bag, sugar and milk. She made her tea weak, since tea did contain a small amount of sleep hindering caffeine, and then made her way almost blindly to the drawing room.



She entered the darkened room and paused; there was a shape on the couch. A moment later, the shape lit his wand tip and grinned at her.



"Can\'t sleep again Hermione? Please, come and join me." Sirius said, a mug of steaming something in his non-wand hand.



Hermione relaxed, and gently sat herself next to the older wizard, who had cast them into darkness again. "Thank you Sirius, and yes, I can\'t sleep. I\'ve just too much on my mind."



Sirius put a warm hand on her shoulder. "I know Hermione, tell me about it. Although, I must admit I don\'t mind the company..."



"I keep dreaming about... about Harry and Malfoy. You know, I... Ron and I saw it, Sirius. It was, oh, it was horrible." Hermione wanted to hex herself for her sniffle, but lent in gratefully to Sirius\'s calming touches.



"I knew that you and Ron had intervened, but no one was aware of what you had actually seen. God, if the two of you hadn\'t of shown up, who knows what state Harry\'d be in." He said softly, his arm now around Hermione\'s shoulders, caressing her shoulder softly with his fingertips. "So thank you very much for being such a damn good friend to my godson. And if there is anything I can do, name it and I\'d only be so glad to oblige."



Hermione smiled weakly. "You know that\'s not necessary Sirius, we\'d do anything for Harry. But I appreciate your words nonetheless." She sipped her milky tea, feeling slightly calmer, even if a fresh trail of tears were drying slowly upon her cheek. She wiped at them but Sirius, who produced a tissue out of thin air, stopped her. "Thank you," she muttered embarrassedly as he wiped the wetness away.



"No problem." He said, pulling her closer to him, feeling her warmth seep into his body. Sirius sighed contentedly when Hermione rested her head on his shoulder.



They soon finished their drinks, and banished their cups magically back to the kitchen. But neither moved, too caught up in their thoughts and the feel of a warm, comforting body pressed against them. Hermione\'s hand found Sirius\'s thigh, just above his knee, and it was soon covered with Sirius\'s other hand, their fingers intertwining upon the careful touch.



"Sirius..." Hermione breathed, blinking at the dark room, suddenly confused by her feelings and emotions.



But Sirius only sat up straighter, and turned to the witch in his arms. "Hermione..." He said back, just as softly, his midnight blue eyes glimmering in the darkness despite the lack of light.



"What..." She asked, frowning slightly, but Sirius unlinked their hands and placed a gentle fingertip upon her pink lips.



"It\'s ok Hermione..." He removed the finger, and smiled lightly. Leaning forwards he pressed his lips to hers, and delighted when he felt a small pressure back. But wanting to keep it chaste, he moved away, glad to see her eyes shimmering in the dark- and this time not with unshed tears. "Go back to bed and see if you can get some rest, ok?" He asked softly.



Mutely and mildly shocked at what had just happened, Hermione nodded as Sirius gave her hand a squeeze. Without looking back, knowing that if she did she\'d probably surrender to his strong embrace, Hermione walked almost comatose back to her room. As soon as her head hit the pillows she was asleep, her dreams plagued not by the vicious images of Harry\'s near rape, but of sights and sensations she hoped to one-day associate with Sirius Black.



~~