Bookworm and the Azkaban Escapee

Chapter 1: Summer at Grimmauld Place

After the attack at the Department of Mysteries, from which they had been lucky to get out alive, it was decided that is was no longer safe for Harry to return to the Dursleys for the summer or for Hermione to return to her muggle parents. So Harry, Hermione-and Ron, intermittently- came to stay with Sirius at Grimmauld Place. The impenetrable wards and frequent visits of the Order of the Phoenix made the ancestral home of the Blacks the ideal safe location for the Golden Trio.

Of course, Harry could not have been happier to spend his summer with Sirius for a change. Harry often swore that he could be the happiest-boy-who-lived if he never saw the Dursleys again. Hermione felt pleased as well that she could spend the whole summer with her best friends, for she had always felt a bit cut off whenever she returned to the sedate, muggle world of her dentist parents. Ron didn't really need to stay but flooed back and forth between the Burrow and Grimmauld Place. Hermione joked that Ron was just a big momma's boy and couldn't stand to be away too long from Molly. Sirius knew better however and suspected the now chubby redhead was capitalizing on having two homes to eat double the meals.

"I'm just a hungry, growing boy," Ron would whine whenever he asked for a bigger serving.

"More like a bottomless pit!" Hermione would retort.

Since her arrival and the deliverance of her SPEW speech, Hermione had taken over the duty of preparing their meals. No one could really complain given that Kreacher had a way of making everyone's skin crawl... And well, you just couldn't trust the food of a house-elf that spent half his time cursing and insulting them under his breath. Sirius hated Kreacher and the house even more because they reminded him of his dreadful family. But lately he found his current situation somewhat tolerable in light of Harry, Hermione and Ron also having limits on their freedom. Harry always had an Order of the Phoenix member tailing him wherever he went. And when he was not in school, Harry was expected to stay in a limited number of safe locations, as he was so constantly reminded by Dumbledore and Molly Weasley.

"So how does it feel Harry, now that Dumbledore doesn't want you to go anywhere?" Sirius sniggered whenever he wanted to provoke his godson's temper.

After spending two weeks so far housebound with three teenagers, Sirius no longer felt remotely obliged to be a parental figure anymore.

"Rub it in his face, why don't you," Hermione grumbled.

"Pardon, Hermione? I didn't catch that."

"Can you shut up Sirius?!" Harry shouted, "I know you like the company but at least I can still be seen in public, which is a lot more than can be said for you!"

"I can too be seen in public!" Sirius cried indignantly.

"Going around as a mangy dog does not count," Ron said.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Weasley!" Sirius frowned.

"It's not an opinion," Hermione said quietly, "It's a fact, you're still a fugitive Sirius. And please don't call Ron 'Weasley', it makes you sound like a Malfoy."

Sirius' eyes were held by Hermione's for a moment before she looked away disapprovingly. Damn her and her facts.

Sirius got up from his chair to leave. "I can see there's a conspiracy against me. You three have formed an alliance and clearly I am not included in it."

"What are you talking about!" Ron yelled, "Hermione ALWAYS takes your side. It's always you, Harry and Hermione against ME."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Harry protested, because in his mind, he was the lone-wolf. Not only because he began life as an orphan among muggles who hated him but because everyone in the magical world was trying to kill him, "Everyone's always trying to get at me!"

Ron, Hermione and Sirius rolled their eyes in unison as Harry began his "I'm Harry Potter, my life is hard, it's me versus the world" rant.

Hermione gave Ron a "Look what you started" glare as Harry began to blabber about his tough childhood and then even tougher persecution by Voldemort and everyone else who tried to kill him on a bi-yearly basis.

Even Sirius, who was no stranger to self-pity and pity parties, groaned loudly. He'd only spent thirteen years in prison for crying out loud, wrongfully convicted, but apparently Harry thought his life was even harder than Sirius'.

Two minutes of ranting later...

"...So you see, it's both you and Ron who side against me! As well as Sirius and the Order, and Dumbledore and Snape and the Ministry and everyone on the Dark side that gangs up against me! I'm Harry Potter for Merlin's sake! Everyone is either trying to kill or control me!...If Dumbledore had his way, he'd put me in a box for safe keeping!" Harry concluded melodramatically.

Sirius got up and clapped his hands,

"That's right, Harry, let it all out! Don't hold anything back! It's not good to keep anger bottled up," Sirius bristled.

Following his example, Ron and Hermione got up from their chairs and also started clapping. Sirius whistled for added effect.

"Well spoken Harry!"

"Yeah, get it off your shoulders, mate!"

Harry surveyed the three people that were supposed to be closest to him and his greatest allies. They were utterly exasperating.

"Oh, put a sock in it!" Harry said gruffly, trying to hide the fact that he felt like laughing too.

In truth, being housebound by curfews and other safety measures did not sit well with any of them.

The occasional arguments they had with each other served like exhaust vents for their frustrations. Harry was frustrated that Dumbledore, the namesake of his army, was not allowing Harry to continue training students for Dumbledore's Army or take a more proactive role in defeating Voldemort. Hermione was frustrated that she no longer had any classes to study for, so was restless with what to do with her ponderous brainpower. Ron was frustrated that he was still seen as the dorky sidekick of Harry Potter and the only benefit of his role was that he now was on Voldemort's shitlist.

And Sirius? He had much to be frustrated about generally, (what with Azkaban, keeping company with dementors for thirteen years, almost having his soul sucked out, seeing everyone he loved die or disown him, and then become a much-hunted fugitive who's face was plastered everywhere) but lately he was just frustrated that being housebound prevented him getting out there and doing what he did best. Being Sirius with the ladies. And going on pub crawls. Oh how long ago his glory days now seemed...

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Author's note: This is actually the first! fanfiction I ever wrote -ever, even though I didn't publish until now (it's been the vault for a long while)-so its a bit immature and fluffy but I will be updating it daily for the next week and so on... Because I'm kinda stuck with my other novel which is more dramatic and heavier. Anyways this is a rom-com Sirius, with some mystery plot thrown in ;) and lemons