author's notes: this is the first chapter of an abandoned multichap from my old account, "galaxies in her eyes." i have edited the 22 chapters and will be posting them on this account, and continuing from there.

disclaimer: harry potter is not my brain child.

September 13th, 1995

Hermione sat on her rickety bed in her small bedroom at 12 Grimmauld Place. She didn't want to go downstairs, for fear of embarrassing herself by blushing every time she caught her crush's eye.

Sirius Orion Black.

His initials were SOB, but he wasn't. He was a prankster, a Marauder, and Hermione's crush of two years. He was also the only adult who treated her as an equal; everyone else refused to let her into the Order meetings, which annoyed her to no end. She was the most mature teenager they'd ever met, and they'd admitted it time and time again — so why wouldn't they let her listen in?

Hermione knew it would never work; he was in his thirties, and she turned sixteen in less than a week. She wasn't even a legal adult yet.

Harry poked his head into her room. "Hermione, come down. You've been holed up in here for days. It's almost your sweet sixteen; come partying with us!"

Ron's head appeared too. "Yeah, 'Mione, come on. You haven't been out of the house for a week!"

Hermione shook her head glumly. "You guys go ahead," she said, flopping backwards onto the bed, throwing her arm across her eyes. "I don't feel like it."

She knew she was being cowardly, but what was she supposed to do? She had a crush on her best friend's godfather, for crying out loud! It was no wonder she didn't want to face anyone.

Suddenly, the entire house was at her door.

"Aww, come on, 'Mione!" Fred and George Weasley said in perfect unison.

"Wotcher, Hermione." Tonks. "You look terrible. You know what'll fix that? A day out."

"Hermione Jean Granger, you get down here right this instant!" Molly's voice echoed around the house, and everyone jumped.

Hermione sighed. "I really don't feel like it," she protested weakly.

Then the man of her dreams appeared in her doorway, dressed in tight pants, a ripped black t-shirt, and a black leather jacket with numerous zippers.

Really, Hermione? Man of your dreams?

"Please?" Sirius gave her his best puppy eyes. He had picked up on her feelings, and thought her quite a nice girl, with a good figure and a brain that actually worked. In fact, had she been legal, he would have swooped in and risked his hide, as Molly Weasley would probably have given him the tanning of his life. He'd be in the doghouse for years if he dared lay hands on the Golden Girl.

Hermione really couldn't say no to that adorable face, so she sighed and shooed everyone out of her room.

"Wear something fancy!" Ginny said, slipping in. She and Hermione had always been friends, but over the past year, they had become even closer. Hermione had confessed her crush on Sirius, and Ginny admitted that she'd been in love with Harry ever since she first saw him.

"I don't do fancy," Hermione sniffed, snootily looking down her nose at the redhead. The girls both laughed, and Ginny pulled something out from behind her back and tossed it at Hermione.

"Try it on!" Ginny exclaimed. Hermione dragged her shirt over her head and stepped out of her jeans. She didn't usually care what she wore, because to everyone else she was just nerdy Hermione Granger, know-it-all.

She wanted to make Sirius see that she could clean up nicely. She stepped into the pool of cloth on the floor and pulled it up. "Gin, can you zip me up?" she asked, turning around.

Ginny tugged the zipper up, and Hermione looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was red and knee-length, and it hugged the curves she had gained over the summer, which she typically hid underneath baggy shirts and loose pants. The color complemented her tanned skin, and her hair fell to the middle of her back in only-slightly-frizzy ringlets.

She turned and saw Ginny, who was dressed in a black pencil skirt that fell mid-thigh, and a flowing, white crop-top with long sleeves. She wore high heels that matched the color of her hair perfectly.

"Wow, Ginny, Harry's going to freak when he sees you!"

Hermione slipped on a pair of black flats — she didn't trust herself to manage heels for the entire evening — and they headed down the stairs together. They earned cat-calls from Harry, Remus, Tonks, and Sirius.

"Looking good, girls!" Harry whistled appreciatively, although he only had eyes for Ginny.

Sirius gave Hermione a once-over. She had a great body, he had to admit that, but she was less than half his age. He was middle-aged, scruffy, and a player. What would a young, pretty girl like Hermione be doing with a dog like him?

"Um, yes, indeed," he mumbled. Hermione's face fell, but she quickly replaced it with a grin. Ginny could tell it was fake, so she stepped away from Harry and whispered in Hermione's ear.

"Let's go have fun, and you can flirt with some guys. Make him jealous."

Hermione brightened, and her grin became real and mischievous. She looked around. Everyone who was going had dressed up: Tonks wore a simple white dress, the first Hermione had ever seen her in, and the guys all wore jeans and tight shirts. Ron had really grown up over the summer; he had filled out, a lot of his freckles had disappeared, and his face had lost most of the boyish chub.

She sidled over to him and looked up through her lashes. "Would you care to escort me, kind sir?" Hermione asked, holding her arm out. He took it like a gentleman, and Molly watched the perfect duo with satisfaction.

"Aren't they wonderful together?" she asked proudly out of the corner of her mouth to the adults around her.

Sirius clenched his fists, but held his tongue. It wouldn't do to get jealous. Calm down, he told himself. But he couldn't. She was just too perfect, and she liked him.

Remus observed Sirius; his fists were tightly and he looked like he was chewing the inside of his cheek. He knew that Sirius liked Hermione, and he knew that seeing her with the youngest Weasley boy was difficult. After all, Ron was her age, while Sirius was nearly twenty years her senior.

He liked Hermione too, but he could hide his feelings until Myna came back.

And suddenly he remembered exactly what Myna had said.