A soft wind caressed Hermione's face as she turned the page of the thick tome in her hands. She paused to gaze up towards the sky and let out a deep breath, taking in both the quiet rush of the river that ran along the edge of the Weasley's property and the warmth of the sunshine that beamed down from above. Sixth year started in just a few weeks, and she was more than ready to get back to the halls that she had called home for what seemed like a lifetime now. She turned her attention back to her book, begging it to distract her, and quickly got lost in the swirl of words, not noticing the figure creeping up behind her.
She let out a shriek as she was hoisted into the air by a strong pair of arms and carried off toward the rushing water. Just as they reached the riverbank, she screeched out again.
"SIRIUS ORION BLACK IF YOU GET MY BOOK WET IT WILL BE THE LAST THING YOU EVER DO!"
Barking out a laugh he plucked the book from her hands, ignoring her huff of protest as he tossed it over his shoulder onto the riverbank. Hermione screeched again as the book sank out of view into the mud and twisted herself over his shoulder. Sirius adjusted his grip on the girl and plunged into the water without a second thought. Shivering at the slight chill, Hermione laughed as she fought against her clothes that had begun to weigh her down. She stretched out her arms to try to swim back to the edge and her precious reading material, but Sirius wasn't having it. He quickly gathered her up again, muttered a wandless spell that transfigured her clothing into a modest one-piece swimsuit, and then tossed her in again with another laugh.
Hermione laughed and started pushing back the mop of head on her head, before making another attempt to make a break for the shore. The girl took never took her eyes off the man, only to be met with red and black topped blobs charging in and pushing her back under the water. The ever-present pile of Weasley children were quick to follow, laughing and screaming all the way down the bank as Mrs. Weasley yelled out the back door at them to not drag their dripping clothes through the house when they were quite finished being delinquents.
Hermione eventually was allowed to make her way out of the water, laughing along with Ginny and cheering on both Ron and Harry while they sat on top of Fred and George's shoulders attempting to knock each other over while Sirius dived down every now and then to pull at one of the twins' legs. Ignoring Fred and George's logic that she could only cheer on one of their teams, Hermione giggled.
"Well then, I choose the river," she yelled back. The girls found a spot in the shallow edge of the river and watched the boys roughhouse.
"Quite the adolescent, isn't he," laughed out Remus as he joined the girls in the shallows. "We actually were going to take you lot up to Diagon Alley to get some of your school things today, but Sirius decided once we arrived that he couldn't pass up a day in the river. I didn't know that he was going to take you diving with him, Hermione."
"I'm almost glad he did. That book wasn't terribly interesting anyways," she laughed as she turned to Ginny. "Please don't make me read anything about how to charm wizards again, I couldn't focus on it for more than five minutes. I'm also not removing it from the mud, because as much as I hate to disrespect the written word, that's where it lives now."
Remus choked out a laugh that caught the attention of the circus in the water, who had forgotten all about the group gathered nearest the bank.
The boys dragged themselves from the water as Mrs. Weasley called out that supper was ready. The group dashed up the hill to the house to find an outdoor dinner spread that Mrs. Weasley had set up, while she playfully praised Merlin about her house not getting soaked through the infectious smile on her face. Conversation flowed easily over shared roast chicken and a multitude of vegetables out for the taking.
Dinner turned to desert as Mr. Weasley set up a campfire and Mrs. Weasley cleaned up, with Hermione's insistence to help of course. At a compromise, Hermione took the dishes inside to the sink to be washed where Mrs. Weasley would spell them to clean themselves. On her way out the back door to join her friends around the fire, she caught the end of a whispered argument coming from the dining area through the kitchen door.
"…but she's not her. It's almost time Padfoot, you can wait just a while longer. There's no point in telling her beforehand and changing what was meant to happen, why don't you see that?"
"Did you even listen to her? It's a loop! What I do or say now won't make any difference. I thought she was dead, Moony! Then out of nowhere…"
"Well, she wasn't!" Remus interrupted.
Hermione heard footsteps on the other side of the door and dashed as quickly as she could through the pantry door next to her, grabbing the bag of marshmallows on the shelf in front of her.
"Miss Granger, can I help you find anything," she heard Remus inquire from behind her.
"Yes, have you seen where Mrs. Weasley keeps the chocolate and graham crackers," she asked over her shoulder.
"The crackers are right in front of you," he smiled, then turned to the cabinet over the stove and handed her the chocolate as she grabbed the required ingredient. Then the pair walked together to the group huddled in the back yard, looking for sticks along the path as Hermione's mind whirled a mile a minute. She couldn't think of anyone around that hadn't been until recently. Furthermore, why would Remus lie to Sirius about someone dying? And why did they have to wait to tell this person what Sirius wanted to. She smiled as Ron came running up to her.
"Marshmallows, brilliant!"
She laughed with Harry as the redhead stuffed a handful in his mouth, then the muggle-raised pair proceeded to teach the wizarding children what exactly a s'more was. Hermione immersed herself in the task of explaining to Ron exactly why the perfect marshmallow to chocolate ratio was two pieces of chocolate to one marshmallow. Honestly, that boy didn't understand portions at all.
