Hello!
For all of those who have reviewed, favorite, followed, etc- first of all, THANK YOU! I apologize for my horrible ability to update, but school/work is killing me. With that said, I cannot promise regular updates, but I can say that I do have plans for this story and am not planning on abandoning this anytime soon.
I apologize for any grammar/ mistakes you see. I am the only one checking this over, and generally run on no sleep, so there will probably be numerous errors.
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and as always, reviews would be greatly appreciated.
-Kate : )
CHAPTER 3
Hermione collapsed on her bed face first. She couldn't remember the last time she was this tired. Shopping with Marlene McKinnon was more exhausting than battling five Death Eaters at once. She laughed slightly at that, rolling over to look at all the bags that now covered her floor. They had left the house this morning around 9 and had just gotten back at half past six. They were expected to meet the rest of the Order at the safe house in a half hour and Hermione was convinced she wasn't going to make it. Not only had the two witches shopped, spending too many galleons to count, but they had also gotten Hermione a haircut. Her whiskey curls still hung to almost waist length but all the dead ends were gone and she now had numerous layers, several long layers in the front framing her face. The witch at the salon had given Hermione a deep conditioning treatment which made her curls silky and shiny. Marlene insisted this was necessary, stating that Hermione had neglected her feminine side for far too long and that she needed to indulge herself now while she had the time.
"Hermione, we're leaving in twenty minutes. Be ready, and wear one of your new outfits. We need to show you off!" Marlene yelled from her room.
Hermione groaned. She wished she could avoid this whole Order meeting for at least a couple days. She was exhausted and she was nervous. She had only met a few of the several people that would be in attendance tonight, and most of those that she knew did not know her in this time. She knew that Harry's parents and the rest of the Marauders would be in attendance. She shuddered thinking about being anywhere close to Pettigrew. Dumbledore had already seen the Peter from her memories for the traitorous rat he was and it comforted her to know actions would be taken at some point.
Hermione rolled out of bed and stared at the floor of her room. Almost every inch of the dark hard wood floor was taken up by shopping bags. She had not only gotten an entirely new wardrobe, but had gotten an elaborate potions kit, several books, and supplies for Crookshanks. She had found her familiar in Magical Menagerie and was ecstatic to see the feline. Although he was a small kitten in this time, he still possessed the attitude that made him infamous within Gryffindor tower. The owner had told her that Crookshanks was recovering from a cold but he would owl her to let her know when she could come to pick him up. While the past few days had been completely overwhelming, knowing that she would now have her familiar with her comforted her and made the feelings of loneliness slightly dissipate.
Moving around the cage Hermione began to dig through her bags to find something to wear. Slipping on a pair of ripped skinny black jeans she quickly altered the waist to ride lower. While she wanted to fit in with fashion of the time, high waisted jeans is where she drew the line. The weather was quickly cooling with the approach of fall so Hermione decided on a long sleeve t-shirt with The Clash's logo on the front. The top fit almost like a crop top, stopping right under her belly button. Although Hermione was more conservative in her normal clothes, the style of the time was all about showing skin and tight fitted clothes, and Marlene had decided most of her purchases. Slipping on one of her favorite finds, a pair of to the knee Doc Martens, she looked in the mirror and found she was satisfied with the overall look.
Hermione dug through the bags to find her muggle make up. Marlene had seemed appalled that she would even think to use some of the barbaric contraptions muggle women used to primp themselves, but Hermione had seen her fair share of beauty spells and potions go awry. From her third year on, Hermione strictly stuck with muggle makeup; she still shuddered every time she thought of Lavender Brown's first attempt at a mascara charm which resulted in her eyes being glued together for three days. She carefully applied a thick line of coal eyeliner to her top lid, and added a generous amount of mascara, using an eyelash curler to finish the job. She couldn't remember the last time she had put on makeup, or actually taken the time to really put herself together. It was a welcome change. While she could never be a beauty like Marlene or Lily Evans, she thought she looked pretty, and that made her smile.
"Hermione, you ready to go?" Fabian asked knocking on her semi closed door.
"Yeah, you can come in. I'm just looking for the new purse I bought." Hermione said, her voice muffled as she searched through the multiple bags. Fabian stepped into the room and laughed. It looked like a tornado had gone off in the room, and from the very little time he spent with Hermione, he could already tell the disorganization was driving her crazy. He made his way to her bed, sitting on the very edge, as the rest of the bed was taken up by more shopping bags and clothes.
"Found it!" Hermione jumped up with a grin, spinning around to greet Fabian. She was met with a gaping mouth, which quickly turned into a smirk. Fabian had known his new roommate was attractive, but in the previous situation his twin had been in mortal danger. With his git of a brother in good condition, he could now completely appreciate the beauty in front of him. He wolf whistled and smiled even larger when he saw the deep blush spread from Hermione's cheeks down her neck.
"I knew you were a looker, but I think you're trying to break some necks tonight, love." Hermione's blush became even darker and she began to tug uncomfortably at her top.
"Do you think this is inappropriate for an Order meeting? Marlene said everyone wears street clothes but I can always change.." She said, mumbling towards the end. Her unease was apparent and Fabian stared at her curiously. Surely a girl who was not only beautiful but wickedly talented couldn't be so self-conscious, but alas, he admitted to himself, that the female brain was and always would be a complete mystery to him.
"You look beautiful love, I was just teasing you. Now let's get going before McKinnon comes up here and kicks both of our arses.'' He ushered her out of the room with a smile, not giving her time to change or second guess herself. The pair walked down the flights of stairs before meeting with Gideon and Marlene in the living room.
"You look beautiful! I knew some proper clothes and a good hair cut would do you good." Marlene squealed, hugging the smaller girl tightly. It had been a long time since Hermione had gotten so much attention for her looks, and while it obviously made her uncomfortable, she couldn't help but smile shyly and appreciate the compliments.
"Okay, moving on to business, we're all going to apparate to outside of headquarters. Once you've officially joined the Order you will be able to apparate directly inside to the outside sitting room. When you get there, one of the other members is going to ask you a security question and then you'll be asked to show your patronus. I was told that one of the higher up members will be there to supervise and I'm assuming they know your patronus and security question answer." Marlene paused; she looked over to see the smaller girl had paled significantly. "I know it seems kind of extreme, but times are getting to be more dangerous. Way more dangerous than they've ever been."
"No, it's better to be safe than sorry. I'm just a little nervous to meet everyone is all." Marlene smiled at Hermione, putting an arm around her shoulder.
"They'll love you. Look how quickly you had the twins fawning over you. I know they haven't said anything directly to you, but you saving Gideon's life has already permanently placed you in their good books. They'll watch out for you and defend you to anyone. Not that'd you need it though, you'll win over everyone who takes the time to talk to you." Marlene whispered into her ear. She gave Hermione a quick hug, and then turned her attention back to the twins.
"Are you two apparating directly inside or are you coming to the outside with us?"
"We'll come to the outside with you; it's easier if they can check us all in the same place." Gideon answered, sending a comforting smile to Hermione. She smiled back, thinking to herself how she couldn't believe how lucky she was to be placed with such a great group of people. She breathed in deeply, refocusing herself, and completely fixing her features. While on the inside she was a ball of nerves, to any outsider she looked calm and confident. She straightened her posture, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and marched over to where the rest of the group was readying for departure. Marlene looked over at the girl, and secretly smiled to herself. Hermione was tough, much tougher than she appeared, and that was something that Marlene McKinnon could appreciate.
"Alright everyone, Marlene you take Hermione. We'll individually apparate with you guys at the same time. Ready.. 3, 2, 1." Three pops and a spinning sensation later, all four young adults were standing outside of what appeared to be an abandoned shack in the woods. Before her feet were firmly on the ground, a wand was pointed into her neck. Without thinking Hermione grabbed the arm, flipping the person over on to the ground. Straddling the grown man into the mud, her knee pressing deeply into his chest and her wand pressed between his eyes, Hermione made eye contact with the man. Long black, silky hair, aristocratic features, and deep indigo eyes; it had seemed like a lifetime since Hermione had seen this face. Shocked eyes stared up at her as she finally gathered where she was. Two pairs of arms grabbed her off the man, holding her firmly in place between them.
"I'm guessing this is the new recruit we've heard so much about. She sure as hell put you on your ass, Black." One of the men chuckled, looking over at Sirius who was slowly sitting up from the ground. He quickly turned around to face her, all amusement completely absent from his features. "What was the name of Dumbledore's sister?" The man she could only assume to be Moody asked, his wand poking deeply into her throat. While he definitely appeared younger, he still greatly resembled his older self. His magical eye swiveled around manically. While he had said everything fast to rattle her, Hermione was not easily caught off guard when she was in what everyone in her time referred to as war mode.
"Her name was Ariana, although why you'd ask such a personal security question is beyond me. Kindly remove your wand, or I'll remove it for you." Her voice was strong and confident, and she did not flinch when Moody burst out into a booming laugh.
"Well lass, you have a brass set, that's for sure. Show me your patronus and I'll gladly remove my wand." Hermione smirked at the older man's humor, and gathered her thoughts. She silently flicked her wand, and an extreme white light exploded from the tip. Soon the group could see a werewolf taking form; what seemed like an average wolf from far away, once close you could see the animal was double the size and twice as aggressive. The patronus quickly took in its surrounding and stood guard it front of its owner, barring its teeth in a show of protection. Hermione made a quick and quiet whistle to her patronus, immediately placating the beast. He laid down his large body in front of her, calmed down by her admonishment and reassurance.
"Excellent, Excellent. I still can't get over your relationship with your patronus. It truly is quite fascinating." Dumbledore stated, interrupting the stunned silence of the group, as he stood in the now open door of the shack. "If everyone would like to come inside, it's getting quite chilly, and I can gather, everyone's been thoroughly checked." Dumbledore walked inside, quietly laughing with one of the other Order members. The rest of the group slowly got their bearings, and began to walk inside. Moody grabbed her arm, holding her back from entering with the rest of the group. When the rest of the group disappeared, he faced her completely and stuck his hand out.
"Alastor Moody, it's nice to meet you lass. Dumbledore debriefed me entirely on your case. It'll be nice to work with someone who has some actual experience. With that in mind, you must understand, you are an incredible asset to us but a weakness as well. You must always remember to keep constant vigilance; if the other side was to even get access to anything you know.." He trailed off, his magical eye looking around the area once more.
"It's nice to meet you as well. This isn't the first time we met, and I must be honest, it's a comfort to see you again. Constant vigilance is something that has kept me alive this far, and without your training, I don't know where I would be."
Hermione said quietly, her voice clogging up slightly from the unshed tears. She knew this man did not want to see her have an emotional breakdown, but it was such a relief to see one of her former mentors. Surprisingly the older man put a heavy hand on her shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze.
"It'll be my pleasure to get to know you. Let's head in, it's safer inside." He stated gruffly, and quickly moved ahead of her, leaving Hermione to scramble to keep up with the auror. She smiled, thinking to herself how Moody really hadn't changed much. His exterior was incredibly rough, but inside was a man who truly cared about those around him and the world he lived in.
Walking into the headquarters was something she was not prepared for, no matter how much she tried to prep herself. While the place was different, and so were many of the people, this house full of Order members felt like home. Working in a group like the Order created a bond amongst members like nothing she had known before. Each and every person was not only dedicated to the same cause, which in itself was bonding, but each person in the Order was willing to die for not only the cause, but for other members. It did not matter how long you knew someone, or how well, if they were a member, anyone in the organization would gladly sacrifice their lives for you and vice versa. In her time, it seemed that the only people she was truly close with were Order members. No one else would be able to completely understand the life she lived. She was a soldier, and her life, while not expendable, was something that she was willing to give if necessary. While that thought seemed extreme, the time she came from was different that it was now. Those in this time period were terrified of the war that seemed to be looming over their heads, but her time had already been destroyed by war with no hope for the future. Each and every Order member was dedicated to ending the chaos by whatever means necessary.
Hermione shook herself out of that train of thought, realizing she had been standing outside the main doorway of the meeting room for an undeterminable amount of time. While she deeply missed those from home, she was happy to be in this time. There was hope here, and that was something that the future had been lacking for quite some time.
"Come on in love, we don't bite." A smooth voice said from behind her. Hermione whipped around to see the same pair of violet eyes she had been staring at not even thirty minutes ago. She smiled shyly, cheeks reddening from the attention. She hadn't meant to take him down in such a way, but instinct took over the minute she believed she was under attack. She cleared her throat, getting ready to apologize when another man barreled through the door, throwing his arm roughly over Sirius' shoulder.
"I would like to inform you that you have now been picked as this month's favorite member of the Order. I would have some kind of pin, or t-shirt for you, but seeing as this position was actually just created solely for you and your performance outside, I am slightly unprepared. I give my sincerest apologizes, my lady."
Hermione stood incredibly still the entire time the boisterous man spoke. She was staring at Harry. Logically, she knew this was not her best friend, but it was so hard to stare at his carbon copy. She unfroze long enough to take a step back as Sirius tackled the Harry look alike to the floor. He laughed loudly, a deep sound filling the room, entirely different then Harry's quite chuckles. The two rolled around on the floor for several minutes, Sirius attempting to put the other man in what she assumed he meant to be a chokehold.
"James Potter, I sincerely hope that when I come into that room that I do not see you and Sirius rough housing on the ground. I mean, it's silly for me to suggest such a thing, considering I know for a fact you were raised to be a gentleman and would not act in such a way when meeting a new Order member. Especially when this new Order member is completely new to the area, and is probably completely overwhelmed at the fact that not only does she have to meet an entirely new group of people, but has to deal with the Marauders and the Prewett twins in one gathering."
James and Sirius had immediately jumped up from the floor at the beginning of the woman's tirade. The two had already started what seemed to be an elaborate excuse, but quickly mirrored the several offended noises around the room once hearing the end of her speech.
"I would just like to point out that Hermione is already part of Team Prewett. She lives with us, she saved my life, and she deals with Fabian. She's bonded to us now, so you can't have her. She's also fit, so you double can't have her."
The twins had both moved to across the room, each of them now on her sides, with their arms around her shoulders. Gideon gave her a wide smile and an extra squeeze, sensing that the girl was still uncomfortable in the large group of people.
"Double can't have her? That's not even an argument! Also, she put Sirius on the ground faster than I've ever seen him been taken down. We need her! You see how uncontrollable he is! I mean for Merlin's sake, look at that girly hair of his!" James argued, gesturing wildly with his arms.
"Prongs, I know you did not just criticize my beautiful locks when you have that god forsaken mop of hair on your head." The two boys faced each other once more, yelling insults faster than anyone else could keep up.
"Ahem." The quiet noise instantly silenced the rowdy group of boys, and Hermione looked up to see a beautiful red head carrying a large dish of some type of pastry. James quickly went to take the dish out of his wife's arm, leaving the woman free to come over to Hermione. Before she could do anything, she was enveloped in the woman's arms and Hermione had no choice but to hug the woman back. While normally hugging a stranger would be incredibly uncomfortable, it seemed to be just the thing she needed. She couldn't help but already greatly appreciate the redhead's kindness.
"It's lovely to meet you, Hermione, I'm Lily Potter. I've heard a little about you already from Dumbledore and the others, but it's nice to put an actual name to a face." She said with a wide smile, one which Hermione couldn't help but respond to in kind.
"Could one of you go fetch Remus? He was laying down upstairs and I told him I'd wake him up, but I want to show Hermione the kitchen." Lily looked at the two marauders questioningly. The Prewett twins had already moved across the room to bother Marlene after Lily had come to talk to Hermione, although both men kept checking to make sure she was okay. She shot them another smile, grateful to be on Team Prewett, as they had worded it. Lily took Hermione's hand and led her into the kitchen area, which was empty save for them. Hermione looked up curiously at the other woman, wondering why she had wanted to talk to her privately already. Lily sensing this, cut to the chase.
"Dumbledore wanted me to take you aside and let you know that I am the primary healer for the Order. If necessary, Madame Pomfrey can see you or St. Mungo's, but we generally try keep out of Pomfrey's hair because of her hectic load, and you can guess why we stay away from Mungo's. He told me you still had some injuries from your most recent mission, so if you'd like to stop by my house tomorrow I will gladly do what I can to help. Be warned though, if you come over, you have to stay for lunch and you'll most likely be subjected to more of my husband and his childlike friends."
The redhead laughed, and Hermione quickly followed suit with a quiet giggle. She didn't know if it was the beautiful woman's kindness or the fact that she knew those green eyes better than she knew her own, but she was surprised that she felt so comfortable with this woman already. Although hesitant to have one more person look at her injuries and scars, Hermione agreed to stop by Lily's house within the next day or two to get checked over once more. The two women continued to talk, both quickly realizing how much they had in common. They continued to talk until James popped back in to the room, asking if Hermione could show the rest of the Order how her patronus behaved. He and Sirius had both agreed that her patronus looked eerily similar to Remus, and that the were might get a kick of seeing himself in iridescent form.
Hermione settled herself into a corner of the large meeting room, steadied her thoughts, and silently produced her patronus. Again the beast jumped out, quickly surveying the area before standing guard in front of its owner. Hermione clicked her tongue, and motioned downwards with her hand. The beast quickly laid down, his huge body displayed at her feet. The group clapped with enthusiasm, and Hermione looked up to the impressed group, glancing around the room before locking eyes with a familiar golden pair. She smiled, happy to see another friendly face she knew, but the smile quickly fell off her face.
While she had smiled at the eye contact, the man in question went still. Every muscle in his was body frozen; the only thing moving was his eyes, frantically sweeping up and down her body. Before she could say hello, the tall werewolf jumped up from his seat, almost knocking his chair down, and sped out of the room.
Hermione frowned, wondering what she could have done to upset Remus Lupin in the few moments they had been in the same room.