Hogsmeade Weekend Year 5, part 3 of 4

Leaves were turning colors, and the air was crisp and cool; in short, a perfect fall day. Hermione had her hand hooked through the crook of Amos Diggory's arm and her face was turned up toward his. Her eyes sparkled. She smiled, she laughed. She made sure that her lips looked lush, soft, and inviting. She did every single thing she had seen other, lesser girls do to Sirius Black. Amos Diggory, idiot that he was, ate it up. How can you possibly be related to Cedric? He must get his intelligence from his mother. Hermione let none of this show on her face however because Regulus needed to believe the lie. He was a sweet boy, and, she hoped, a friend. What she did not need or want was infatuated puppy love from Sirius' little brother. She shook her head in a way that made her curls toss enticingly and tried to pay attention to Amos Diggory.

"Oooh, Amos, you are taking me to Madame Pudifoot's aren't you?" she cooed in a sickeningly sweet way. Amos patted her hand and smiled at her fatuously.

"Of course," he said to her. Hermione made herself squeal in girlish delight. "I'd planned on it."

Ugh. Do we really have to do this? Thank the gods that Harry and Ron can't see this, they would die laughing.

Shut up, nobody asked you, did they? Sev says that yes, we do have to do it this way, so that Regulus can see that I like him as a friend, but not as a more than friend.

Personally, if this is the alternative, I don't see why you can't just date Regulus. He's cute. He's like Sirius Lite.

That's exactly why I can't date him. Anyone who dates Regulus should be dating him because they want him, not his brother.

So you do like Sirius?

Shut up. Just shut up.

"Hermione?" Amos said sternly. Hermione blinked up at him.

"Yes, Amos?"

"We're there." He motioned to Madame Pudifoot's café. Ah. Yes. The café. She squared her shoulders like a good little soldier and marched inside.

Sirius was strolling along with a very pretty girl, a Ravenclaw, erm, Electra, or Clytemnestra, or something. (Her name was Solaria Doge.) She clung to his arm proudly and preened in front of everyone. It was a salve to his ego, that these girls found him so desirable when his own family did not. He didn't really care for any of them, but they made him feel better about himself, at least for a little while. That is to say, he liked all of them well enough. Watching them turn pink and get flustered, that gave him a certain sense of power. Watching them come undone underneath him, that gave him a certain sense of power, as well. They certainly weren't complaining, so he didn't sit down and think about it for extended periods. The only girl who didn't was the only girl who was completely, utterly, totally off limits. Hermione Potter. His best friend and blood-brother's sister. Did that make her his sister, as well? He didn't think so…he hoped not anyway because a lot of his thoughts about her were definitely not brotherly. He thought about her far too often, but he never meant to. It was as though she intruded on his thoughts…she wiggled in and stayed, refusing to leave. He found himself thinking about her eyes, her lips, that magnificent hair of hers at all hours of the day and night.

Passing by Madame Puddifoot's, and seeing Hermione's wild curls at a table with some guy, made Sirius stop in the street and stare slack-jawed. All of the Marauders, as a group, had basically threatened to castrate the idiot, and there he sat practically fondling Hermione in public. He felt a strong urge to charge into the ridiculous café and grab that idiot Diggory and shake him.

"Sirius?" Whatever-her-name was cooed at him. He shuddered slightly. Whenever they did that, the sweet-girly voice thing, it made his skin crawl. He wasn't sure why. Lily never talked like that, and neither did Hermione. No, Lily was always very proper with her diction. Then there was Hermione, with her aristocratic accent. It wasn't the arrogant drawl of the Malfoys or the Blacks, which ended up sounding contrived. Instead, it sounded utterly natural, as though Hermione knew no other way to speak.

"Hmm?" He made interested noises.

"Sirius Black, are you paying any attention to me?" What's-her-name demanded, her hands on her hips. He frowned at her.

"Hang on, I have to find James," he muttered at her, and took off for the Three Broomsticks. He vaguely heard a feminine shriek, but he ignored it. He raced quickly to the Marauders favorite hangout and hurried inside.

"Er, Sirius, aren't you missing someone?" James asked curiously. Sirius frowned at him.

"What?" He asked.

"Solaria," Remus supplied calmly from over the edge of the book he was reading. "Pretty girl, clinging to your arm like a limpet just earlier today, in fact."

"Oh, very funny, Remus," Sirius groused, running a hand through his hair. Remus stopped reading and watched his friend carefully. Sirius never touched his hair. Toss his hair? Yes, to the admiration of the female students of Hogwarts. Touch his hair? Never! It might become mussed, or something.

"Sirius, did something happen?" Remus asked with some concern.

"She's in Madame Puddifoot's café, even after the talk," Sirius growled in frustration. James scowled.

"She had better not be my sister," he said darkly. Remus rolled his eyes behind his book.

"Of course she is your sister or Sirius there wouldn't give a damn," Remus snorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius growled at his friend. Remus put down his book and just looked at Sirius who ended up flushing. James was frowning slightly and looking back and forth between his friends.

"Am I missing something?" He demanded finally.

"Yes." Remus said mildly and began reading again.

"NO!" Sirius screeched. He glared at Remus. "I hate you."

"Nope, you love me. It's disgusting, really, but I try to carry on," Remus said with a dramatic sigh that made James chuckle.

"Sometimes, I wonder if you two don't belong in St. Mungo's," he said with a shake of his head. Sirius grinned.

"Oh, I know I belong there. They wouldn't have Remus—he's too normal," Sirius taunted his friend who, with all the maturity of a fifteen year-old, made an exceedingly rude gesture that caused two elderly witches at the next table to gasp in shock. Remus blushed in embarrassment and muttered an apology to the two witches who glared at him.

"So, who's at Madame Puddifoot's?" Peter asked curiously.

"Hermione," Remus said shortly.

"Well, I suggest that we continue our chat with Amos," James said darkly. Remus closed his book and looked at his friend.

"What do you suppose Hermione will do to you, if you do that in the middle of a public venue?" Remus asked pointedly. James paled.

"Right, she wouldn't like that, would she," he muttered to himself. Sirius glared at Remus.

"So you're saying that we just sit here and let him paw her in the middle of Hogsmeade?" Sirius asked indignantly. Remus rubbed his temples.

"Are you willing to swear that there was actual pawing, fondling and/or groping taking place?" Remus asked logically. Sirius frowned.

"Well, he was about to!" He insisted. Just then the door to the Three Broomsticks slammed open and an angry Solaria Doge advanced on her date.

"Sirius Black! How dare you leave me alone in the middle of town!" CRACK! Her palm left a vibrant red handprint on Sirius' cheek. He frowned at her. "I never want to speak to you again!"

"Well, fine," Sirius said with a shrug. Solaria shrieked with rage, whirled and stalked out of the pub, slamming the door behind her. James sighed heavily.

"Sirius, my friend, we have got to work on your way with women," he said with a shake of his head.