Of Choices and Hell's Kitchen
Hermione Granger is not amused in the slightest. She’s standing in an American city she has never been in before, holding a tired and fussing Teddy Lupin. While Sirius Black; playboy, womanizer, all around absolute childish extraordinaire… is being a complete childish tosser. While Severus Snape coolly watches on with a sneer on his face. Which keenly reminds Hermione of her school days.
“Sirius, please we’re all tired, we’re all ready to be done travelling. It would be greatly appreciated if you would stop being a childish git and actually be helpful. Severus stop being so aloof, I can already tell that you are silently pushing Sirius to continue his behavior… so. Just. stop. Look I didn’t ask either of you two to come with me, you… both of you chose to come. If neither of you want to be helpful, then leave, please allow the door to hit your asses on the way out! Go back to Britain! There’s a large door you gits can walk through! I can handle this myself! I’m exhausted, I just want to get some bloody rest! Teddy should be asleep right now… but he’s not and neither of you are being helpful!” Sirius’s jaw shut with an audible click, Severus loses the sneer and straightens up at her fast and harsh words.
Before either of them can say anything, Teddy lets out a wailing cry that quickly turns into shrieks. Taking her attention off of the two man children Hermione has with her, she starts to quietly hush Teddy. While rocking back and forth with him in her arms. As his shrieks slowly turn into loud cries as fat tears of exhaustion go down his face. Hermione takes that time to shoot nasty glares at both of them as her hair takes on an ethereal quality and her magic lashes at and strikes them both hard.
Hermione, ignoring both of their cursing, turns her attention to Teddy and lovingly brushes the tears from his face. Deciding to quietly hum to him while pacing back and forth just to get him to rest. She carefully allows her magic to unfurl and wrap around Teddy to soothe him and warm his cold body. Eventually, the tears slow and he lets out a sleepy yawn as he stares at her with his big, watery eyes.
“Sleep, Teddy. Rest and in the morning when you wake… everything will be much better. I promise. Sleep.” As Hermione speaks quietly to him she allows her fingers to softly trace his face as Teddy’s eyes flutter shut and his lips part slightly as he slips into rest. Hermione lets out a soft sigh and glances at her two friends that had invited themselves along her journey. More like demanded that they came, so that she wouldn’t be alone in a new place and with a toddler. She can feel the fear and exhaustion bubble up inside of herself and blinks quickly to try and stop the tears from falling from her eyes.
Even though Sirius and Severus are with her… Hermione feels incredibly alone in this. “I can do this alone, I know I can and both of you dunderheads know it too! So, either both of you pull your heads out of your arses and be helpful, or leave!” There is a long pause as they all stare at each other on the silent sidewalk, a streetlamp the only light. When Hermione speaks again her voice is so incredibly quiet, that Sirius and Severus have to strain to hear what she says. “I can do this alone… but I really don’t want to. I don’t want to be left alone… I’m tired of being left alone, and I’m tired of being let down by those that should have been there for me, but weren’t.”
Hermione doesn’t even realize that she’s crying or shivering until she hears Sirius’s mutter, “Bloody hell.” Hermione doesn’t even have the energy to tell him to watch his language. Then she’s wrapped up in Sirius’s leather embrace; smelling of motorcycles, cigarette smoke, firewhisky, and leather. She allows herself to relax into his arms as he rocks all three of them. What Hermione doesn’t notice is that Sirius and Severus lock eyes and seem to have a silent conversation with each other.
She doesn’t know how much time has passed when Severus’s quiet voice breaks that dead silence of the night. “Come on Hermione, we need to get to the apartment.” Hermione hadn’t even realized that her eyes had closed or that her breathing had slowed until her eyes popped open at his voice. She slowly pulls away from Sirius’s embrace and nods her head. Hermione carefully adjusts her grip on Teddy as she takes a few steps toward Severus. Who, without hesitation puts a protective arm around her shoulder as Sirius comes up on her right side.
“You ready, kitten?” Hermione glances at Sirius in confusion and when it clicks just why he is asking; her eyes widen. “No! Teddy’s too young! That’s why we travelled the way we did.”
Sirius lets out a breath, “Love…” but before Sirius can say something that will get him hexed to kingdom come. Severus interrupts him. “Hermione, he’ll be fine. Teddy sleeping, it won’t affect him. This is a one time thing, it will have no negative effects on young… Lupin .”
Which causes Hermione to give a soft snicker and Sirius to scoff. “How am I not surprised that you can’t even last a few seconds without being an absolute wanker?” Severus just gives a haunty sniff as they all continue down the street. “You have no room to talk Black, I very distinctly remember how much of a wanker you were when we were in school.” Then they turn a corner and all that is heard is an echo of Hermione’s soft laughter and a very distinctive pop.
Leaving two men on a roof; one blind, in a devil’s suit, and chained to a pillar and the other cleaning a gun, while sitting on the edge of the roof. Both of them having long since gone quiet, silently listening and watching (for one of them) as the strange group of three and a toddler interacted. It took both of them thirty minutes to remember what was going on before and what the situation was. Let's just say when they remembered… Neither of them were all too happy.