Preparation

"I was wrong though, wasn't I?" He asked quietly. He knew that Hermione just wasn't capable of doing any of the things that had historically been grounds for repudiation. He could feel her nod, her sobs broken, heartrending.

"You had two children, twins like Jamie and me, and you didn't even know their names," she whispered into his chest. Sirius swallowed hard and blinked rapidly.

"What had you named them?" He asked in a suspiciously husky voice.

"Cassiopeia Dorea and Cepheus Alphard," she whispered. His arms tightened around her and she could feel his hot tears falling on her shoulder. She looked up at him in surprise.

"I repudiated you and you still named them using the Black family customs?" Sirius said softly in an awe-tinged voice.

"I love you, Sirius Orion Black," she said simply.

He kissed her passionately, his hands stroking down her back. She kissed him back, putting her whole heart and soul into it. He tried to concentrate this time, he could feel his magic, and he tried to wrap Hermione in it to protect and cushion her. She sighed into his mouth and her hands slid into his hair holding him tightly to her. Their magic flared and meshed together, the way it usually did, and the soft feather light touch of Sirius' magic brushed against her skin.

"Are you purring?" Sirius asked curiously. Hermione pulled black from him, but his arms wouldn't allow her to move too far away from him.

"No," she denied quickly. He chuckled, and she could feel it reverberate in his chest. She shivered slightly.

"You were," he teased her, nuzzling her neck and nipping the tender skin there.

"No marks," Hermione reminded him. "We have a betrothal party in just a few hours and I do not want to listen to anyone's auntie acting scandalized because you bit me."

"Hmph."

"Sirius! That was not a challenge! Bloody hell, I'm going to have to glamour that," Hermione complained. Sirius licked the offended area and then pressed light kisses to it. Hermione melted against him and began purring again. He hid a smirk against the curve of her neck.

HP/HG/HP

"Congratulations, Hermione!" sang a chorus of feminine voices. Hermione turned slightly and spotted a group of pureblood young women that were veterans of the tea parties that she'd attended since she was eleven, all dressed in beautifully flowing dress robes. She smiled at all of them and nodded graciously.

"Thank you," she said smoothly.

"So, when's the wedding?" Medea Scamander asked curiously. They all knew that Mr. Potter and Mr. Black had pushed heavily to get the betrothal contracts approved as quickly as possible. Hermione smiled slightly.

"The end of the summer, August 30th," she said calmly. "It's to be a double wedding."

"Who else is getting married?" Portia Greengrass asked in surprise.

"Jamie and Lily Evans," Hermione continued in that calm voice. The girls around her were so shocked that they were struck mute, unable to say anything. "Turns out that she wasn't exactly a muggleborn after all, and her family's including property in Godric's Hollow as part of her dowry."

All right, so the property in Godric's Hollow was the total sum of Lily's dowry, but these girls didn't need to know that. No, Hermione was counting rather heavily on their excellent gossiping skills. Let the pureblood purists put that in their pipes and smoke it. Godric's Hollow was a very old and venerated magical community. Everyone wanted to live there and everyone wanted to be buried in the same cemetery that contained so many ancient and noble houses. It was almost impossible to find anyone that lived in Godric's Hollow willing to sell, and it was considered prime real estate. Hermione could practically see the jealous wheels spinning in their little heads. She smiled smugly, but on the inside where they couldn't see. On the outside she kept up the serene façade that served one so well in society situations.

I wondered where you'd wandered off to, kitten," Sirius murmured into her ear as one well-muscled arm slid around her waist and pulled her against him. The looks on the faces surrounding her were satisfying. So many of them had been…er…'fans' of Sirius, and moments like this amused that little part of her that was perhaps more Slytherin than it ought to be. "Your father wanted to talk to us."

"Oh! Well, let's go then," Hermione smiled brightly at the women. "So sorry, thank you for your best wishes."

"You looked irritated," Sirius murmured quietly as he led her toward her father. "You okay?"

"Fine, love," she murmured back. His arm tightened slightly around her waist. "Be careful, Sirius, it's bad form to ravish your betrothed on the sideboard."

"Sounds like fun though," he growled at her, his eyes darkening. "I could cover you in chocolate mousse and then lick, er, hello, sir."

"Sirius," Alphard Black nodded to his nephew and tried not to laugh. The boy was looking at his betrothed as though she were some sort of tasty dessert, completely oblivious to the witches in the room—both married and unmarried-who'd been trying to catch his eye. Hermione had received more than one dark look, and he suspected more than one or two social hexes had been sent her way, but she seemed completely unperturbed. She appeared calm and collected, but she also appeared to be a trifle pale. "Hermione, my dear, are you feeling well?"

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle Alphard," she blushed prettily when she used the familiar family form for the first time, and he smiled encouragingly at her. "I have…been overworking myself a bit with social commitments, but now that we've had our betrothal party, I think I can relax enough to take a quick break."

"It's that damn Ladies' Aide Society," Sirius groused at his uncle. "They've got her supervising so many committees even she forgets which ones she's on. I know that helping sick people is important, kitten, believe me I get it, but I don't see why you have to spend every waking hour with those women."

"It's not every waking hour," she pointed out mildly, giving him a look. He shrugged.

"Feels like it most days," he muttered under his breath, earning him another pointed look from his betrothed.

"Regardless," Alphard said with a slight smile, "I do hope that you'll take care of your health."

"Of course, Uncle Alphard," Hermione said with another pretty blush. He took her hand and brushed his lips against the back of it.

"You're going to make a very lovely addition to the family, my dear," he said sincerely with a slightly wicked smile that only increased his likeness to Sirius.

"She's not got much competition," Sirius pointed out dryly, taking his betrothed's hand back with a pointed look at his uncle. "I'd pick her over Lucy or Rudy any day of the week."

"Lucy and Rudy?" Hermione said faintly, blinking at Sirius. "I hope for your sake that neither one of them ever hears you say that."

"Are you acquainted with Narcissa and Bellatrix's husbands?" Alphard asked with amusement. Sirius glowered at him, and he bit the inside of his cheek to avoid grinning back at his nephew. He'd been forced to listen, at length, to the many failings of Lucius Malfoy while the young lady currently held tightly against his nephew had dated him.

"I know Lucius," she acknowledged quietly, "but I am unacquainted with Mr. LeStrange save through his reputation."

"His reputation most likely does him more honor than he deserves," Alphard observed coolly. Hermione smiled slightly.

"That would be difficult to believe as his reputation is less than savory," Hermione pointed out. Alphared gave her a tight smile.

"That's exactly what I meant. I can't figure out why on earth Cygnus agreed to that match," he said the last part to Sirius who shrugged and shook his head.

"I'm just grateful that mother never got it into her head to make a betrothal contract for me when I was in nappies," Sirius replied with a convulsive shudder. Alphard snorted.

"Your father held the family with much tighter reins when you were a child. Something happened right before you went to Hogwarts…he was never quite the same afterwards, which was why I wondered if maybe he was imperiused. Your father would never have stood for your disownment, it's just so odd," Alphard said slowly, frowning.

"You knew Orion well then?" Hermione asked curiously. Alphard nodded, that slight frown still playing about his lips.

"Yes, I did. Don't get me wrong, Orion could be a right bastard, and he was definitely the quintessential Black: proud, arrogant, cunning and intelligent with a healthy affection for the Dark Arts, but he believed that family was family. If my sister had her way, there wouldn't be any family left but her…and that's no way to bring in the next generation," Alphard explained carefully, his face pensive. Sirius nodded. He remembered the way his father had been when he was young, and he missed the strong, vital man that he recalled.

"That is odd," Hermione said thoughtfully, nibbling at her lower lip. Sirius' arm tightened around her waist and he pulled her against him tightly. She glanced up at him in surprise and realized that he was looking longingly at her mouth. Alphard coughed to cover what sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"Well, erm, oh look, it's uh…Mrs. Grapknobble! Yes, I haven't seen her in forever and I simply must pay my respects," Alphard managed to get out without snickering at them, and he left them alone. Sirius dragged her to a small empty parlor, and after making sure that it was empty, locked and warded the doors.

"Sirius?" Hermione blinked at him in surprise.

He pulled her roughly into his arms and kissed her putting all of his frustration and longing into it. The fire, the heat and intensity that came through just his lips made Hermione melt against him with a happy sigh. She wound her arms around his neck and let him ravish her just a little. Their magic flared and meshed and she shivered in his arms when her skin tingled. His lips were making their way steadily down the rather deep décolletage of her dress robes and all she did was press tighter against him. He was pressing eager kisses to the swell of her breasts when the door flew open and the two of them sprang apart. Charlus Potter stood in the doorway looking less than amused.

"She's your betrothed, so I really can't beat you with a stick," he bit out coolly, looking at Sirius with a steely gaze. "However, your mother is looking for you, princess, and I suggest you go to her now."

"But Daddy," Hermione said faintly. Charlus shook his head, his eyes never leaving Sirius' face.

"Not now, princess. Run along. Daddy's just going to have a quick chat with Sirius," Charlus said firmly. Hermione paled slightly and her lips tightened.

"Don't you dare hurt him, Daddy," she said coldly, and she fixed her father with an icy stare as she swept out of the room.

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HP/HG/HP

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August 1978

"Mr. and Mrs. Evans, thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice," Hermione said politely.

"It was our pleasure, dear," Mrs. Evans assured the beautiful young woman to whom her daughter would very shortly be related.

The Evans' and their guests were seated in the Evans' living room. Hermione Potter was perched delicately in a chair, her ankles crossed neatly, wearing what Mrs. Evans suspected was another Chanel suit, with more jewelry that was probably real. This time, she had arrived with three guards, or Mrs. Evans assumed they were some sort of guard detail. All three men were wearing black tailored suits, and they all seemed to have chosen strategic positions surrounding the young woman seated across from them. She noticed her husband giving them an appraising eye and hid a small smile.

"I understand that you know almost nothing of your family's heritage," Hermione began carefully, "and much of what I'm about to say will most likely strike you as odd or peculiar."

"My grandmother used to tell me stories," Mrs. Evans said uncertainly, glancing at the three guards nervously.

"Do not worry about my milites," Hermione assured her. "They are completely trustworthy."

"Domina," one of them said warningly, his dark eyes flashing a warning to the young lady who ignored it gracefully.

"Although, it might be prudent if you neglected to mention them to my parents," Hermione said after a thoughtful pause and some sort of unspoken communication between the four of them. Mrs. Evans, student of medieval studies, understood quite a bit in those few moments and frowned slightly.

"I thought you said there was no nobility in the wizarding world," she said slowly, "but these…gentlemen…call you domina."

"They mean it in the original sense of the word," Hermione said smoothly, with a slight smile for Mrs. Evans' quick mind. "They have sworn binding oaths of fealty to me and I am their liege lady."

"I…see," Mrs. Evans muttered to herself. Mr. Evans frowned slightly.

"Is that normal? In your world, I mean?" He asked carefully. The tall blond man snorted.

"Indeed not," he said coolly.

"Lucius!" Hermione snapped, frowning at him in disapproval. "Don't be rude."

"I apologize, domina," he said politely, bowing his head slightly. He did not apologize to the Evans family, and after a moment Hermione nodded slightly and turned back to Mr. and Mrs. Evans, ignoring him. He had been a little touchy since her formal betrothal to Sirius, which she supposed she should have expected.

"Now, I'm here without my family's knowledge. My milites have uncovered intelligence that you both are at risk because of your recent alliance with my family. We do not intend to leave you helpless or defenseless, and instead we should like to offer you asylum," Hermione said calmly.

"Your family is offering us protection?" Mrs. Evans asked cautiously. "We won't have to swear fealty to you though, will we?"

"Of course not," Hermione said smoothly. "You are part of our family; it is our duty to ensure your safety.

"What does that entail, exactly," Mr. Evans asked with a slight frown. Hermione gave them a slightly nervous smile.

"We're going to move you to a secure location," Hermione explained gently. "Your house will be kept in stasis for your return, and it will be as protected as possible. We will accept responsibility for anything that happens to your property while you are under our protection."

"A secure location?" Mr. Evans said doubtfully. "What exactly does that mean?"

"I have purchased a small property for your use in Wales," Hermione said smoothly. "It may be a little cramped and inelegant, but I hope you realize that your safety was paramount in the choices that we made."

"When you say cramped and inelegant," Mrs. Evans began, worry clearly evident on her face, one of the dark haired men cleared his throat.

"You may not remember me, Mrs. Evans," he began in his deep, silky voice, but she interrupted him.

"Of course I recognize you, Severus," Mrs. Evans said with a shake of her head. "You've grown, obviously, but…I remember you."

"Then please trust me, ma'am, when I tell you that if Hermione considers it cramped or inelegant, it's probably smaller than Buckingham Palace," he said dryly with a slight smile for his blood-sister. She stuck out her tongue at him when Mr. and Mrs. Evans weren't looking at her.