XXX
Sirius stepped out of the fireplace, following Remus into the office. Lily sat at her desk, a dozen essays displayed in front of her. She looked up and smiled, somehow packaging the essays neatly away with little to no effort. "I've missed you two Marauders." Remus chuckled at the reminder of their much more mischievous years.
"It's a mutual feeling, I assure you, Lily," reaching forward, Remus pulled his old friend into a hug. Sirius examined the office, before his gaze rested on a photo. It was situated on Lily's desk and depicted a ten year old child, along with her godfather, uncle and mother and father. He smiled sadly at the picture. His gaze swept across the desk, and his lips pursed as they came upon Lily and Severus, a brown haired teenager that slightly resembled Severus and an older version of Amelia. He recognised that this photo was recently taken, too.
Sirius turned to his ginger friend, "It's been too long, Lily." The woman turned a warm smile upon him.
"It has been," the woman offered him a hug, which be readily accepted. While he'd never been as close with Lily as James or Remus, the woman had always been a great friend of him. "Where's Amelia?" He found himself inquiring, his gaze once more roaming the office.
"Detention," Lily explained with a shake of her head. "That girl is almost as troublesome as your boys were."
"Ah, so we have a Marauder in training, eh? What'll we call her, Prongslett?"
"She and her Defense teacher severely dislike each other, I noticed. I'm sure you remember the Riddles? Merope's boy, Tom." Sirius' nodded in realisation. He remembered babysitting for them when they sent their three children over, where Luna would play with Amelia, Tom would be going through his angst phase and Merope Jr. would converse with himself over pranks. "Well, she should be back in ten minutes, I suspect. I already told Tom to tell her to come here straight away."
Remus chuckled. "If she's anything like her father, she'll take a little detour. Twenty minutes, at the very least." The werewolf turned to Lily's rows of books. "Muggle studies?" He inquired with a laugh.
"James had gotten it for me as a joke. You remember our third year? He'd gotten me that and convinced me to read it over. It's filled with nonsense."
"And yet you haven't gotten rid of it."
Lily smiled. "No, I guess I haven't." Sirius was staring at the picture of James once more. Lily noticed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "He didn't hate you. He was simply the definition of stubborn."
Sirius shook his head. "We should've talked or... or something! We shouldn't have fought over something so stupid!" Lily sighed.
"It's in the past, now, Sirius. We can't change it. We can only move on and learn from our mistakes. James wouldn't have wanted us to be sad. He wouldn't want us to be depressed. He'd want us to move in and be happy." Sirius rounded on her.
"Yeah, you've done a great job at that, haven't you?!" Lily's eyes widened and he quickly backtracked. "No, forgive me, Lily. That was uncalled for."
"It was," she coolly agreed, turning around. Remus cleared his throat, gesturing to the recently taken photo of Severus, Lily, the brown haired teenager and Amelia. "She is Severus' daughter, isn't she?"
"Indeed," Lily smiled, pushing the past conversation out of mind. "Hermione. She's a Prefect in Ravenclaw, actually." Sirius made a sour face at Ravenclaw. "They're not all bad, Sirius. Isn't Regulus a Ravenclaw?" Sirius chuckled.
"All the more reason to hate it," while he and Regulus had a complicated relationship, they were still a family and he deeply cared for his younger brother. Picking up a yellow marble, Sirius began to roll it around as Lily and Remus began to converse over some smart people thing.
Sirius' eyes trailed back to the picture of James. He really, really missed his friend. Just because he hasn't seen him in years doesn't mean he didn't mourn any less. Sirius knew he was happy, now. There was no way he wouldn't be. James was a great person. Sirius wondered where he was, now. James hadn't been very religious, and they both ignored the crap spouted by the old Purebloods, so Sirius could only wonder and hope that he was happy.
Something occurred to him. "How did he die?" Lily hesitated to answer. But Remus's interests were peaked, despite his desire not to upset Lily.
"There was an attack..." she finally sighed. "Terrorist attack by a Muggle organization, aimed at London. My sister was coming home from America for the holidays when it happened. James managed to get her out before the building collapsed. They never... they never found a body." Sirius sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder. It was obvious Lily blamed herself for this, too. But even Sirius, with his childish and impulsive tendencies knew when to keep quiet. Sirius placed his hand on her shoulder and offered a tentative smile.
"I will personally make sure that you deal with my master pranks if you even think about blaming yourself, Lily." Despite herself, the woman giggled and swatted his arm. Sirius was just glad he'd managed to distract her. Remus also looked happy, but was slightly frowning as his mind began to work. Sirius sighed, almost seeing the gears in his brain turn. He really hated being around smart people.
A knock on the door distracted them. "Come in!" A tense teenage girl entered the room, even as she glared, which was probably directed at the man behind her moments ago. The girl's hair was mid-length and black, unlike her picture where it was very long. Her emerald eyes flashed orange for a second as her eyes narrowed at the man. Sirius vaguely recognized him. Tom Riddle had certainly changed over the years, but so had Amelia Potter. It was just a thing that happened.
As Amelia turned to them, her face suddenly became blank as she examined Remus and himself. Sirius saw her jolt slightly before she relaxed and glanced at her mother slowly. "You remember Sirius and Remus, don't you, Amelia?" She nodded slowly, turning back to them. Her reaction confused him. But as he spread his arms for a hug, she seemed to relent and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his torso.
XXX
Detention had been... tense. It hadn't even been two weeks and she already had three detentions, at the least. Neither of them had spoken, except for Riddle informing her that she'd be writing lines. She did so in silence.
When detention was over, Riddle said her mother wanted her for something and that he'd be escorting her there, because it was nearly past curfew. She fiddled with the chain of her Ouroborous necklace the entire time, without showing the actual Ouroborous.
She hated the silence. For some strange reason, she found herself missing the weird conversations and debate sessions between herself and Riddle.
Perhaps it was her pride that stopped her from apologizing. Or her severe dislike for his person. She internally snorted. Severe dislike weren't strong enough words to describe her distaste towards him.
She found herself wandering back to the book she'd found. It was... ominous, to say the least. Scarily so.
'Our life is yours, Amelia. Live it. On the night where all apparitions live, you shall know the truth of ourselves.'
At first she thought it'd read Apparation, but she soon realised that it's subject was apparition. Like a ghost or spirit. And with the mention of night, her mind began to think of Halloween, as in the magical world Samhain was the night when ghosts had a much more physical touch on the world, like a Poltergeist. But the rest of that paragraph was lost on her.
They came upon a door and Amelia realised that she had been caught up in her mind so much that she didn't realise Riddle was expectantly watching her. "Yes?" She inquired coldly, her eyes narrowed. Riddle gestured to the door. Rolling her eyes, she carefully knocked on the door, wondering what in Merlin's name was she wanted for. Had Snape told Lily about her swimming session? No; he wasn't that stupid.
When her mother called to allow entrance, Riddle made to open the door, his hand colliding with her own. She brought it back as if burned, glaring at him. Amelia twisted the knob, briskly strutting inside, still glaring as she ignored her surroundings. She stopped beside her mother, but then found herself occupied with the two other occupants of Lily's office.
Sirius and Remus. Amelia forced her Occlumency shields into place, her face going blank as her mind reeled. Sirius and Remus... she wanted to hug them and never let go. But she squished that first instinct. What if she'd never met these two in this life?
Sirius looked much better and younger; he'd obviously never been to Azkaban. Remus had less scars and his clothes were not ratty and worn. She didn't know what to do. That warm smile Sirius directed at her could've simply just been a greeting and Remus' almost fatherly look could've been simply because he'd known her as a baby or when she was in Lily's womb, still.
Lily cleared her throat. "You remember Sirius and Remus, don't you, Amelia?" She nodded slowly, turning back to the men.
But when Sirius spread her arms she stepped forward tentatively, then disregarded her hesitations and rushed forwards, her arms sneaking around his torso. She forced tears away as she hugged her godfather. "I missed you," Sirius murmured.
"Yeah," she agreed, detangling herself regretfully. "I did too, Padfoot." The name slipped out accidentally, but Sirius' goofy grin made her relax. She turned to the werewolf, wondering if he was still, in fact, a werewolf. Their interaction was more or less the same as the one she shared with Sirius, except she was now more confidant that she knew them here. "What are you doing here?" She asked after hugging them both.
"Lily invited us," Remus explained. "She wanted us to see you, after you woke up." She nodded in realisation. She waited for another topic to come up, not knowing what to and what not to say. Were they even Marauders here? Were they only friend with Lily and not James? Amelia didn't know why she was suddenly so careful. "How's school?"
Amelia found herself glancing at the doorway, but found it empty. Her defense teacher had evidently evacuated the room, fortunately. "It's good. I'm just glad I don't have to sit in a room with a bunch of third years and go back to basics."
Remus nodded, while Sirius pouted. "Play any pranks, yet?" Lily sent him a scolding glare, before turning her gaze to her daughter, as if to say, 'you better not have!'.
"No, I haven't Padfoot." Lily relaxed. "That doesn't mean I'm not planning any..." Lily's eyes flashed before she heard her daughter's delighted laugh.
"Nothing drastic," Remus advised, shaking his head as if thinking, 'oh, James.' With a laugh, Amelia sat between Remus and Sirius.
"How long will you two be staying?" Remus and Sirius shared a glance, obviously unsure of the answer themselves.
Sirius, finally, answered, "that's undecided. But... I think our travels have come to an end, Moony." Remus smiled satisfactorily as he nodded.
"It is time we stay home, Padfoot." Amelia, herself, was rather confused, though she didn't show it. She had been talking about staying at Hogwarts. They were obviously discussing staying in Wizarding Britain. Just how much was she oblivious to in this life.
Lily glanced at the clock. "I am sure you'll have plenty of time to spend with Amelia tomorrow. It's way past curfew and you should be well asleep by now. You have class in the morning." Amelia groaned, though she exaggerated it considerably. She was, in fact, tired. That might've been due to the taxing hour spent in close proximity with Riddle.
"Alright. I'll go now," with an overly dramatic sigh, she stood and swept from the room. She idly played with her chain once more as she ascended the stairs and found herself outside of the Gryffindor common room. Despite the fact that the common room was completely deserted, Amelia couldn't help the feeling that she was being watched.
Glancing around, she found herself utterly alone. But she'd long learned to trust her instincts. "Revelio." Nothing drastic changed. But in the corner of the room, something slightly shimmered for a fraction of a second before returning to normal. With a frown and her wand wielded like a sword, she advanced. "Who's there?" Amelia questioned, staring intently at where the shimmer had been. With a glare, she murmured the revealing spell once more, and she caught a slight movement. But when she extended her hand, she found nothing. Grabbing a pillow, she aimed it like an arrow notched in a bow, but the pillow went straight through.
With a tired sigh (and an internal vow to question Luna in the morning because that girl knew everything), Amelia turned around tensely and ascended the stairs to her bedroom.
As she sat down, Amelia began to consider Sirius' and Remus' presence here. She found herself curious about her past here. Because, as explained by a certain eccentric old man, half her soul had been in purgatory, the other half was here. She didn't want to know how it worked, either. She wondered how different the men would be. She knew she'd be bombarding Luna with questions tomorrow. Really, the blonde Seer might as well give her a crash course on her own past.
And what about Riddle? She didn't know, honestly.
All Amelia knew was that she was tired and her bed looked particularly comfy right now.
XXX
Lily fidgeted as she regarded Remus. Sirius was in the shower currently, so he wouldn't hear her question. "Remus, as a werewolf... if you were to focus, could you hear a person's heartbeat?"
Surprised by the question, Remus nodded. "Yes, it's really useful for sensing liars, you know."
"Could you... -hypothetically speaking, that is- hear a baby's heartbeat? ...In a womb?" His eyes widened in realisation.
"You suspect-"
"I've been sick uncontrollably and have the strangest mood swings," she explained. "But I don't want to get my hopes up." Lily sighed, flinching slightly. "You see, I was expecting when James passed away. I lost the child along with my husband, and then my daughter." Remus suddenly understood Lily's rebound onto Severus. She needed a shoulder, he offered his own.
Sighing, he began to focus. He could hear the noisy shower, Sirius' terrible singing, and heartbeats. Two were strong, Lily and himself, he presumed, one was faint, Sirius, and the other one sounded as if it were developing, slightly irregular but also strong and present. "Lily," he said. "Have you tried the pregnancy testing spell?"
The woman looked away. "No. I didn't want to be alone."
"You won't be," Remus promised, taking her hand. Lily drew in a breath and lifted her wand over her abdomen.
"Yellow and blue is positive and a boy. Yellow and pink is positive and a girl. Yellow and orange is positive and twins. Green is negative." Lily recited, as if reading a textbook. She waived her wand. Yellow and blue sparks appeared.
Lily turned a watery smile to him. "I'm having a baby boy!" He smiled, offering a hug. "I'm having a baby!"
"This time, I claim rights to be godfather," Remus said as Lily happily grinned.
"I'd have it no other way!"
He knew the woman in front of him was delighted, and he, himself, was incredibly happy. Lily was one of his oldest friends, after all.
XXX
Ginevra entered the library, hoping to find reference for her Defense project, only to find Hermione determinedly rooting through a stack of books. She furiously darted down notes, letting out an agitated huff occasionally. Picking up a book she recognized from a material recommended by Percy, she sat down in front of the elder Ravenclaw.
"You seem quite determined," Ginevra commented as Hermione lifted lidded eyes, dark circles beneath them. Ginevra strained her eyes to read the large heading on her page, only for Hermione to place her hands in front of the book. "What's wrong; trouble in Hufflepuff paradise?"
Hermione crossed her arms, moving parchment over her book. "I could say the same about you. You and Luna seem quite tense." The mention of Riddle immediately annoyed her, efficiently distracting her from her curiosity. With a slight scowl, Ginevra opened her book, beginning to brainstorm for her essay. She missed the hesitant look Hermione sent her. When the older teenager opened her mouth to speak, Ginevra raised an eyebrow in inquisition. "What do you think about... werewolves?"
She considered the question, tilting her head at the sudden question. Deciding to keep it short and simple, "I pity them. They have to deal with discrimination, even when they're dangerous for one night only. Why?" Hermione hesitated, her eyes trailing down. Ginevra frowned, looking to the girl's book. Now that she thought about it, two of the words looked like an 'M', which would coincidentally be a 'W' when turned around. "Do you... dislike werewolves?"
Hermione sighed. "Let's just say I had an experience with one. Anyways, I wanted to ask you this, because your opinion will probably be the most honest. Amelia might be against me, Luna is too dreamy and dad will be... I don't even know." Hermione turned a piece of parchment to her. "You can see the components of wolfsbane. But I want to make it last forever, and so wolves wouldn't have to pay for it each month. Make it mandatory for them to take it, and add in some vervain mixed with basil and sage to weaken the wolves. Perhaps a way so that if you're bitten by a wolf, you shan't become a wolf, also? And what if-"
"Hermione," she interrupted. "I agree that I'm interested in assisting you. But I don't know if your intentions are as honourable as they seem." As a princess of Elves, she knew when somebody lacked honour or were not doing this for the good of somebody else. And she was quite passionate about magical creatures' rights, as she knew the history with the Elves was very bloody due to the people who discriminated against them for having better hearing and a different type of magic (which you can access when you reach your magical majority). "I will not help you when you seen so obviously prejudiced against werewolves. Change your views. Or talk to whatever made you hat them so much. Come to me when you understand the danger this experimental potion entails. You know as well as I do that mixing vervain and wolfsbane will only hurt the drinker, if not kill them."
Spinning around, she marched from the library, hearing Hermione whisper, "It's not that simple." She deigned to ignore it as she sat at a separate table, taking out parchment and writing the heading as 'WEREWOLVES', now aware what subject she'd focus on for her defense essay. At least the conversation with Hermione was good for something.
XXX
Amelia may or may not have skipped Herbology to hang out with Sirius and Remus. She couldn't help it! The situation practically resented itself with the substitute teacher not knowing any of them. And roll call was something Hogwarts had never entertained.
As she and the two men lounged in a secluded section of the Hogwarts grounds, Sirius started, "I know it's a little late, Amelia," she knew something was up. "But we need to talk." Her brows knit in confusion as she tensed. What were they...? "About boys."
She snorted at the sudden topic. "What about them?" She looked to Remus, as if asking if they were crazy. "I'm not an idiot. And, besides, I'm not interested in relationships, anyways." Remus fidgeted uncomfortably, and Amelia knew she found her escape if this became too awkward. He definitely didn't like this conversation.
"That's good," Sirius said. "Because if anyone even comes within two feet of yourself, they'll be dealing with two very, very intimidating men." Amelia examined the nervous Remus and Sirius' skinny figure.
"Right," she echoed. "Intimidating." Sirius laughed, but her mind then trailed to Riddle. She knew she was destined for Riddle. That didn't mean she wanted to be with him. Besides, it was just her soul. Not her feelings. She laughed at that thought alone. Like she'd even consider Riddle in that way.
"How about we head back inside?" Remus suggested. "It'll start raining soon." Amelia glanced at the clouds gathering overhead, nodding in agreement.
Sirius jumped up, slightly grinning as if thinking of something. "Did you know that your parents first kiss was in the rain?" She raised an eyebrow, slightly smiling. "Yeah. Lily and James were fighting, and then Lily practically attacked him with her lips!" Amelia gagged.
"I didn't need that image, thanks." As they entered the manor, Amelia's phone began to buzz. "I have to take this. Excuse me."
'Where are you?!' She jumped slightly at Hermione's shrill tone.
"The entrance. Why?"
'Because dad is looking for you and he is not happy.' Amelia sighed.
"Thanks for the warning, Mione."
'Don't thank me,' the girl replied. 'Apparently two men are around the school somewhere and Lily excused you from classes to hang out with them. Dad was her errand boy. He is not pleased with you skipping Herbology.'
"Is it technically skipping if I was excused? Even if I didn't know I was excused."
'Yes, it's still skipping!' She giggled slightly. 'Who are the men?'
"One is my godfather, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin, my surrogate uncle." Amelia looked around the corner and saw Severus storming towards her. "Your dad's here. Thanks for the warning."
'You owe me one. Talk to you later. If he doesn't kill you.' Hermione stated, before hanging up. Amelia forced a smile to her mother's fiance.
"Problem, Professor?" Severus observed her coolly.
"I believe you are aware that skipping isn't exactly apart of the school's curriculum?" She put a finger to her lip thoughtfully.
"I don't know, I've kind of been gone for the past three years, you know. I can't tell if I've missed anything important." Snape narrowed his eyes at her, then saw the two men approach.
"Lupin, Black." He nodded to each men in greetings. They offered their own cool hellos. "You can have detention for skipping, Potter." She shrugged, surprised she got off so easily with him despising her very soul and all. "With Riddle. Tomorrow at eight." He got her there. With a scowl, she turned and walked away.
Remus turned to Severus. "You did that on purpose." Ravenclaw's Head of House shrugged.
"Tom has been annoying lately and they hate each other. What better way to berate her and annoy him than to give them more reasons to be within proximity."
Sirius snorted. "Why did I dislike you again?" Severus gave him a knowing look. "Why do they hate each other?"
Severus now looked perplexed. "I know that she refused to go back to the Riddle house a little while before her coma. None of us know any details, however."
"And they're not just being childish?" Inquired Remus.
"That's the most likely option. Now, I think I'd like to enjoy my day off, thank you very much."
"Off to see Lily?" Asked Remus with a smile.
"Indeed," Severus replied. When he was gone, Sirius turned an accusing look to him. "You know something."
"I do," Remus grinned. "But my lips are locked for the moment." Sirius pouted, but did not press the subject. "We better find a certain Gryffindor, I think."
"Yes. Now that she has a day off school, we can put her through pranking academy." Remus reached out and cuffed his friend around the head, grinning as he did so.
XXX
Classes went by uneventfully and Hermione found that she was still annoyed at what Ginevra had told her. Of course she disliked werewolves! After what Draco had done, that was a given. But she didn't know why Ginevra had overreacted so. It wasn't like she wanted to kill them! Sure, the potion would be purely experimental, but it wasn't like she'd advertise the potion, claiming that everything was perfectly fine and it was way passed the development stage. Sure, it was risky, but so was the original wolfsbane.
"You know as well as I do that mixing vervain and wolfsbane will only hurt the drinker, if not kill them."
She didn't consider this. It was well known that vervain was harmless to all creatures except vampires, unless it was mixed with another substance, where it would amplify the effects tenfold. Because of the potion, it could possibly kill them.
Did Hermione want Draco to die? No. At least, she didn't think so.
Crossing vervain off of her list, she sat down to consider. She could use rosemary. That was well known to make things long lasting. But it was one of the more fickle substances, if mixed with a certain component it could make a potion explode. But what about ginger and rosemary? Ginger was well known for lessening the possibility of explosions. But it was also terrible to mix it with basil, another component she'd been considering for the potion.
She could liquefy a bezoar. That usually destroyed poisons and would battle the pain. But it was also a very, very complicated potion substance.
Hermione sighed. One wrong move with the potions and she'd either be in the hospital wing or in Azkaban for attempting to make a potion without supervision or a mastery in the subject.
Turning a book's page over, she came across a beetroot and nearly slapped herself. That one was so obvious now that she thought about it.
While it was a rarity amongst potions, it was one of the few ingredients that didn't ricochet against other ingredients, and was usually used as a medium, of sorts. She could use the liquefied bezoar with the sage and basil but would have to add three times the amount she decided on when adding the beetroot.
With a grin and higher spirits, Hermione began to work on a way to weaken the wolf. At least a breakthrough, even if she didn't know if it'd work, was still a breakthrough and it was a small victory, and Merlin was Hermione determined to win the war against this potion.
Once again, she was ignorant of the curious eyes that followed her movements.
XXX
Le Fay Corp was empty as Morgana clicked her tongue in disapproval, observing the records in front of her.
How gullible her subordinates were, believing that she cared if they lived or died. They had their uses, of course. In fact, it was the squib who had suggested they start taking a more... terroristic approach. They started with a Muggle airport, which Morgana just so happened to know held a certain Potter. It was just so amusing to know she had killed Amelia's father. For the (she began to count from her fingers, silently wondering if an indirect kill was still counted) third or fourth time, at least.
But the records displayed in front of her held some rather annoying news. Her Seer informed her that Lily Evans (or was it Potter she went by?) was indeed pregnant. This was annoying as it put a dent in her plans, but she ignored this. Perhaps a sudden miscarriage or the sudden death of baby Snape would anger Potter.
What's more, in a fit of rage she'd also killed said Seer. The useless wench hadn't seen that, now had she? Well, she didn't need to see the future to know she'd destroy Potter. It was going to happen.
Pulling up records of her witch, she began to smirk. Perhaps she would let Evans give birth to her child. After all, the woman would have to go on pregnancy leave soon enough and it'd be a perfect way to implement her spy.
Calling her witch, she said, "I think it's time you received a transfiguration mastery. Don't you agree?"
"Yes, M'lady."
And from there, her plans could only evolve.
XXX
When Tom was informed that he had another detention with Potter, he was rather annoyed. He'd attempted to pass off the last one to literally any other teacher, but they were all seemingly busy. The results were the exact same this time, too.
With an aggravated sigh, he picked up a book, awaiting the inevitable arrival of the annoyance that was Amelia Potter.
He had better things to do with his time than deal with her.
When the knock at the door signalled her arrival, he wandlessly opened the door without looking up. He smirked, almost feeling the annoyance rolling off of her in waves. After finishing the page, he graced the girl with acknowledgement.
"Potter. I suggest that you take a seat and start working on your lines. I am not exactly anxious to deal with your squeaky voice, so please refrain from making attempts at conversations." He heard the girl snort at his formalities, but ignored her. She was aggravating.
From the top of the book he watched as she picked up the ink well and quill (yes, he made his least favourite student use a quill. No, he wasn't prehistoric. He just wanted to be annoying. Unfortunately, this one seemed to be used to using a feather for writing. Another one of her strange peculiarities.) and began to write out the poem he'd laid in front of her. As this particular poem had twenty versus, each verse containing sixty words, he decided writing the poem out seven times was fitting.
Engrossing himself in his book, he began to enjoy the sheer stupidity that the hero engrossed. Almost the embodiment of a Gryffindor, excluding his cowardice.
A sudden noise knocked him out of his amusement and he could only watch as Potter tipped the ink well, sending it flying to the floor. The well shattered while the ink spilled onto the floor. The black splotches slowly began to form a sloppy snake that seemed to eat it's own tail. He opened his mouth to question this, but before he could get a closer look for his investigation, Potter had her wand out and had vanished the ink as well as the broken ink container.
"What was-"
"I think I'll use my pen from now on, sir," she took out a black fountain pen and began to write the poem again. He was frowning as he watched her write. The snake seemed to eat it's own tail. He remembered Potter claiming she had seen it and liked it when she fought off her boggart. His wrist burned slightly as he considered the possibility that she was his soul- no. He refused. This girl-... this insufferable child was not his soul mate.
Tom refused to press the issue any further, forcing himself to believe the cover story Potter had given. Perhaps it was a symbol her father had shown her? Yes, that was it. Nothing more, nothing less.
Indeed. It was nothing more and nothing less. Nothing at all.
XXX
Hermione was gaping at herself, Luna and Amelia in horror. They were gathered in the great hall, and she was sitting next to Amelia, who was the only one of her companions that Ginevra didn't hate (Luna) or was slightly annoyed with (Hermione). The elder Ravenclaw seemed to be ignoring them as she continued, "you mean none of you've seen the Avengers?!"
"I heard of them," Amelia hesitantly offered. None of them suspected that Hermione would be the type to be obsessed with movies. "The comics, I mean. With metal man, lightning and stripes, right?"
Hermione scoffed. "You mean Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. Also, there's Black Widow, the Hulk and Hawkeye, too!" Ginevra frowned at them.
"What's so good about a band of people fighting things? It just seems like another action movie to me."
Hermione frantically shook her head. "Are you forgetting the fact that it's amazing? The next Avengers comes out next year and I need to get you all caught up! There's Iron Man one, two and three, Thor, Captain America and Hulk, even if it's not technically made by Marvel."
Ignoring the girl's rambling, she turned to Luna, for even if she despised socialising with the Seer, she provided the best answers. "What's so good about these Muggle movies? And why is Hermione suddenly crazy?"
The blonde Seer smiled. "From what I see, it's almost on par with Star Wars."
"What's Star Wars?"
Now, all three girls looked at her as if she were crazy. Finally, Amelia turned to Hermione. "Movie weekend?"
"Lets," agreed the girl, still staring at Ginevra in horror. Even Luna looked flabbergasted.
"What, are these movies like Twilight, or something? Because then I understand where you're coming from."
Hermione blinked. Luna coughed, "she lives a sheltered life."
"I see," said Hermione blankly.
"I assume that it's a bad movie," Amelia said slowly, though she leant away at Hermione's expression.
"That's an understatement."
Let it be said that they had their movie night.
A/N Want more Sirius and Remus scenes? What will I name the baby (take a guess)? Who is the person watching Amelia and Hermione? Who do you want to see more of? Which of the ships do you want more screen time of? Would you like to see more Morgana? It seems Tommy Boy is in denial. Opinions?