Chapter 19 – The Gala

Hermione stood in the bathroom finishing the last of her makeup when Sirius came in to check on her. She'd been in the bathroom for a while and the last time she had seen Sirius he only had his trousers on. Now he was completely dressed and ready for the St. Mungo's gala, and he looked sumptuous. Hermione had to stop and turn to him while she gave him a full review. He was wearing a dark three piece suit under long, custom tailored dress robes made of the finest, light silk. His suit vest was a shimmery gold and at his neck he wore a cravat of burgundy with gold flecks. They had decided to go in Gryffindor colors and Sirius accentuated the theme with a large ring on his right hand. It was gold with the head of a lion, mouth open and roaring with a ruby in its jaws. As Hermione's eyes raked over him, she leaned in and inhaled his scent as she whispered in his ear.

"You look delicious darling. I'm exercising all my self-control to not attack you right now."

Sirius kissed her before stepping back. "I could say the same love. I think I will step out and let you finish before we make ourselves unpardonably late."

Once Sirius left, Hermione turned back to finish her makeup and put in her earrings. Ten minutes later she appeared in the living room and Sirius stood up and took her hand. His approval was obvious as he stood, mouth agape and stared at her. Hermione had opted for a shimmery red floor length dress with a gold swath of beads at the waist. She accented the look with gold heels and a single drop star ruby necklace that had been a happy find in the family vault. Two more stars glittered out from her ruby stud earrings that were visible behind a few loose tendrils of hair that swept down from her loose bun. Her makeup was flawless and she had paid special attention to her eyes, which drew Sirius in as he stared at her.

"Gods above, you're gorgeous my love."

Hermione chuckled. "Turning into a poet dear?"

"With a muse like you, how could I not?"

They stood staring at each other and each saw the passion in the other's eyes. Hermione finally collected herself and took a deep breath as she spoke.

"Well, we really must be going love. Ready?"

Sirius nodded and they apparated to the check point the Ministry had set up outside the hotel where the gala was being held. The hotel was muggle, but owned by a squib and had been rented out for the evening to allow the guests the freedom to move about without worrying about secrecy statutes. From the apparition point, Sirius took Hermione's arm and led her into the ballroom. The place was already quite busy as a light waltz played and a few people danced. The majority of attendees were mingling about the room, beginning their evening of social obligations. When Hermione and Sirius entered, most heads turned and a hush briefly fell across the room, followed shortly after by a hiss of whispers. The first to come forward and greet them was Kingsley, whose sly smile betrayed his feelings.

"Good evening Hermione, Sirius. Well, I must say this is a surprise. I do believe the two of you will give the reporters fits. You're looking as beautiful as always Hermione, and you're rather dashing as well Sirius. Am I to assume by the way you're holding onto each other that Sirius is more than just a date for the night?"

"Yes Kingsley. Sirius and I have been together for a couple months now and are sharing the flat."

"Hmm, really? Decided to settle down then. Well, I'm happy for you. Sirius, take care of her. She's one of kind."

Sirius nodded and smiled at Kingsley as he planted a light kiss on Hermione's cheek before drifting back into the crowd. As he did, Sirius turned to Hermione.

"Well, that was interesting. He really cares for you."

"Yes, Kingsley is a good man and a fair boss. We are careful to keep the friendship separate from work, but I know he always looks out for me."

As they talked, a middle aged woman with dark hair and piercing blue eyes approached them. Sirius saw her coming and whispered quickly in Hermione's ear.

"Look out. Flora Greengrass incoming. We're about to be assessed."

The woman reached them and held out her hand to Sirius, who took it and planted a kiss in the air just above it.

"Sirius darling! I had heard you were back. I haven't seen you in twenty years, but you haven't lost the charm. I must say, it's good to see you paying attention to social obligations. Now, care to introduce me to your companion?"

Sirius pasted on his most ingratiating smile. "Flora, may I introduce my girlfriend, Hermione Granger. Hermione is senior assistant to the Minister in charge of magical creature relations. Hermione, this is Flora Greengrass, a longtime friend of my family."

"Mrs. Greengrass, a pleasure. I was acquainted with your daughters in school. Daphne and I were the same year."

"Yes, of course. I do believe Daph mentioned you. Muggle born and top of the class. Quite remarkable. Ah, but if you will excuse me, I see Mafalda and I need to discuss a situation with her. Very good to meet you Miss Granger. A pleasure seeing you again Sirius."

As Flora left, Hermione and Sirius turned around and she let out a long breath. Looking at her, Sirius contained a chuckle.

"You handled Flora perfectly darling. Sly way for you to point out her age. And you controlled yourself amazingly well despite her haughty comments. I know she must hate to have to accept non purebloods, especially at functions like this."

"So this gala was once pureblood only?"

"Yes, or at least mostly so. Occasionally a half blood would sneak in with a spouse, but it was discouraged. Come, let's check the auction next door."

They proceeded from the ballroom to an attached side room where a number of tables had been set up with items available on silent auction as part of the St. Mungo's fundraiser. Sirius had donated one of his garden scenes for the auction and it sat to the right side on an easel. They made their way around the room and then returned to the ballroom, where they were pleasantly surprised to see Arthur and Molly arriving. They made their way over, giving each of the Weasleys a hug. Molly stepped back and admired the two of them.

"Well, I do say the two of you make quite a striking couple. I'm sure the Prophet will be all over your story."

"Yes Molly, we figured on that and decided we're fine with it. This is sort of our coming out party."

"Well I'm glad to see you. These affairs are always stuffy and it will be good to have someone to talk to."

"Indeed Molly. I'm surprised to see the two of you. You normally skip these functions."

"Well, with Arthur being moved up from assistant to director of muggle relations we were politely informed that our attendance would be expected. And I see Clara coming this way. Looks like duty calls. See you two later."

Hermione and Sirius separated from the Weasleys and continued through the crowd, stopping frequently to talk to different people and be introduced to others. The event really was the place to be seen and make connections. Once she felt they had mingled enough, Hermione took Sirius' hand and they made their way to the dance floor. The dance was a well paced foxtrot and they performed admirably. At one point in mid twirl, Hermione spotted a photographer on the side and sighed as she realized that the press had definitely taken notice. After the first dance, she and Sirius began trading off partners. At one point Hermione found herself pleasantly paired with her former professor Horace Slughorn. When the music changed she found herself partnered with Arthur and then she danced with Miles Greeley, director of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. After several songs, she found her way back to Sirius and they stepped off the floor to take a break. After another hour of alternating between socializing and dancing, they had both had enough. As soon as a handful of couples began to leave, Hermione and Sirius took advantage of the opportunity and said their goodbyes as well. Minutes later they arrived back at the flat and collapsed on the couch.

"Thank the gods that's over with. My face hurts from trying to hold a smile."

"I know love, but we did get to see a lot of people."

"And we were seen by a lot of people as well. How much you want to bet we get a front page mention in the Prophet tomorrow?"

"That's not a bet, it's a guarantee. I saw three different photographers aiming for us at different times."

"Well, I'm done for tonight and now I'm getting out of this suit. I feel like I'm being choked."

"Hmm, need help getting out of it?"

Sirius grinned as Hermione stood and looked down on him. She reached down and helped pull him up before reaching for his coat and beginning to undo it. She spent several long minutes divesting Sirius of his many articles of clothing. As he stood in just his trousers, he spun her around and unzipped her dress, which shimmered to the floor. Turning her back around, he dipped his head to her breasts as she reached for his zipper. Left only in their underclothes, they became frantic as they ran to the bedroom and quickly removed the last few encumbrances. Seconds later Sirius had Hermione on the bed and was in her before she could catch her breath. Minutes later he had her screaming his name before he pulled one of her legs up over his shoulder and angled himself in deeper. He continued pounding into her for a few more minutes before he emptied himself at the same time Hermione peaked for a second time. As they collapsed, sweaty and panting, Sirius leaned over and kissed her.

"Best part of the night."

"Agreed."

The next morning they slept in until the sound of insistent pecking on the bedroom window woke them. Crookshanks was sitting on a night table, watching the owl who was trying to get their attention. Setting the cat on the floor, Hermione opened the window and took the paper that was being delivered. Settling back on the bed, she spread the paper out and gasped. Sirius was just starting to wake and sat up to look.

"Wow. Guess we got our mention plus some."

Hermione just nodded as she looked at the moving half page picture of she and Sirius on the dance floor under the title: Sirius Black Dazzles Gala Alongside Golden Trio Member Hermione Granger.

They had definitely arrived.

FINIS

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Well this seems to be a good place end this story. The original idea was only supposed to be a half dozen chapters, but it kept developing. I have a hard time not fleshing my characters out. Thank you to everyone for the reviews. I'm happy that so many of you enjoyed this. I'm off to work on my long story, Life's Interlude. I may at some future point write a sequel, but not sure yet.