the_debt_of_time

The moment that they could both hear Molly direct Hermione and Ginny off to
bed, the tension in their shoulders eased quite a bit.
"So, do you have a girl in mind?" Sirius asked.
Harry blushed and then stared down into the bottom of his empty cup of hot
chocolate. "Sort of," he admitted quietly. "It's complicated."
"Hermione?" Sirius suggested, ignoring the incredulous look that Remus was
sending him.
It was something he had been wondering for months now, ever since Rita Skeeter
had decided to play story time with his godson and Hermione. Remus insisted it was all
lies, but Sirius wanted to hear it from the boy himself. He thought about the day when he
finally would need to tell Harry the truth about Hermione and her trip through time; he
was dreading it. If Harry was, in fact, in love with Hermione, it would only make everything
worse, and Sirius wanted to prepare himself for it.
"What?!" Harry looked up at him, a horrified grimace on his face. "Merlin, no! That's
disgusting! She's like my sister."
Sirius held back the big sigh of relief he wanted to let go of and simply nodded
thoughtfully as he said, "Good to know. Calm down, son. So why's your actual girl
complicated?"
"Well, she had a boyfriend and.. ." Harry frowned. "And he died."
Sirius and Remus shared a look and sighed before staring down at the table.
Remus was the first to speak. "That's terrible, Harry. But life has to go on. You can't
stop living because others pass away. Trust us on this. We're experts on the subject."
Sirius rolled his eyes in response, knowing that Remus was thinking of Sirius's poor
coping mechanisms after Mia had disappeared.
"Thanks," Harry whispered. "I'd better head off to bed."
"Not so fast." Sirius reached out and put a hand on Harry's shoulder to keep him
sitting. "You think I'm just going to offer you girl advice, teach you a Contraceptive Charm,
then send you on your way? What kind of godfather do you take me for?"
"An awesome one?" Harry suggested.
Sirius smirked, feeling just a bit proud at the mischievous glint in Harry's eyes. "Nice
try, pup. You keep safe this year, and I mean that," he insisted with a fatherly tone of voice.