Chapter Four
The Full Moon
"Will you stop avoiding me?"
The potions room was louder than usual that morning, as Slughorn had decided in his finite wisdom to assign a particularly troublesome brew that required working in pairs. They had not missed his fleeting smile when he loudly announced who each student would be working with, nor did it go unnoticed that each Slytherin was paired with a Gryffindor.
Severus did not look at her directly, but merely inclined his head to affirm that he'd heard her as he tipped a small vial into their boiling cauldron.
"I don't know what you're talking about," was his smooth reply.
"Bollocks," Hermione murmured, adding a sliver of rat tail. "You're still being...odd."
"I can't say I understand what you mean," he replied, focusing intently on the cauldron.
Hermione cut the rest of the tail with viciously precise strokes, earning a startled look from Severus. At least he's looking at me, now, Hermione thought wryly. "Then pray tell me why the only words you've spoken to me today were 'pass me the powdered horn'? If this is about what happened in the courtyard, honestly-"
"Maybe," Severus said slowly as he stirred the cauldren, "you need to stop making everything about yourself, Miss Granger."
Hermione felt something twitch inside her. The amount of times Snape had called before…
"Then do enlighten me, Mr. Snape," Hermione replied tartly.
His stirring hand stilled over the cauldron and he let it go, turning his head to look at her. His eyes were hard and serious.
"No," he replied shortly. "I don't think I will. Because if you can't see it, if you are as much of this friend you say you are to me, then you wouldn't need to ask. Now, put in the powdered root."
Hermione sat and stared at him for a while, observing the tension in his shoulders as he resumed stirring. Now that she thought of it, he'd been very tense the past few days, even around Lily.
Her eyes widened. "This is about Lily?"
Severus jumped slightly and glared at her, hissing, "Quiet!"
She couldn't stop grinning. "What happened? Did you do something wrong? No that can't be, she would have told me if you buggered up—"
"I did not bugger up," he seethed, but still had the unsettled air of distress behind his irritation.
She furrowed her brow. "Then what's gotten you so tense, Severus?"
His eyes flashed and he looked away, taking a knife and chopping ingredients quickly yet precisely in true Snape fashion.
He looked truly incensed, and Hermione's grin faded, replaced with a worried frown. "I didn't mean to tease you," she said. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
She had returned to adding ingredients to the cauldron silently when he spoke inaudibly, "You'll…you'll find out soon enough."
Hermione wasn't sure what he meant by it, so she pressed her lips tightly and continued in silence.
xxx
"Excellent job, Abbot," Professor McGonagall said with a smile at the girl who had finally managed to transfigure a boot into an owl. A little more than a week of continued practice and nearly the entire class had finally mastered the Vivera spell.
Hermione stroked the feathers of a bald eagle that was perched up on her desk absently. She had been the first to transform her object into a permanent living, breathing animal.
The second had been Sirius.
She still remembered the triumphant grin when he transformed his basket into a puppy. He'd held it to his chest adoringly, and several students began crowding around him and cooing at the puppy. Sirius caught her gaze amid the chaos of students surrounding him and his grin slipped slowly. Hermione looked away.
If the previous indicators hadn't been enough, today definitely confirmed it. She knew she had the potential of being an Animagus. It was going to be difficult, and she would need to find a place to practice in secret, but she felt it was something necessary. It never hurt to have a little bit of extra magical prowess at her disposal.
Remus transformed his object next, nearly ten minutes after Sirius; James and Peter managed near the end of class. Gryffindor house was awarded twenty points again, and Hermione could see the proud smile playing on McGonagall's lips, a welcome change to the normal unamused disposition.
With cheery smiles and excited chatter on the successful day in Transfiguration, students began filing out of the room. Hermione was in the middle of stuffing her quill and textbook into her bag when Remus came up beside her.
"I never got to congratulate you," he smiled, lightly stroking the eagle's feathers.
"Nonsense, you were just as brilliant today," Hermione replied, though slightly distractedly. The blasted book refused to go inside her bag.
"It usually helps if the zip is open all the way," Remus said dryly, and reached over to tug on the zip.
Hermione huffed. "There's that, of course. What ever would I do without you?"
"Not much with bags, I'm sure."
Hermione laughed and Remus watched her, his lips quirking in a small smile as they left the classroom. She glanced up at him. "Want to walk with me to Defense?" Remus nodded easily and fell in step with her.
Through the corner of his eye he saw Hermione stiffen beside him. Frowning, he followed her gaze and stopped at where James and Sirius were leaning against the opposite wall, talking amiably.
"You should know," Remus said slowly as they continued past them, "they are not bad people. They just have a…different sense of humor. And not a very good one, sometimes."
"I know that," Hermione answered wearily. She looked up at him solemnly. "There's a fine line between pranking and bullying, Remus. And what Sirius and James did was sadistic and cruel."
He nodded, not knowing what else to say. What Hermione said was true...yet, if he were in that position, he wasn't sure if he would've intervened as Hermione did. The thought alone made him bow his head lower.
A sharp spark of pain in his bones made his spine snap straighter, a small hiss escaping his lips. Hermione caught the action and paused, frowning at him with concern. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.
Remus nodded as another burst of pain sidled along his frame. He knew this feeling; it came to him every month, right before the full moon when his body was preparing itself for the inevitable transformation. His senses heightened, his vision sharper, his nose picking up every scent in the vicinity. He felt nauseated, but clenched his jaw and forced out an easy smile. "It seems I'm growing older by the day," he chuckled with a casual grin, suppressing a wince as another crackle of pain shot up his spine. "Old bones."
Hermione nodded but was unconvinced. That was strange. Usually people would have brushed it off and moved along, but he was deeply unsettled at the knowing look that seemed to hover about her. In fact, she looked at him as if she…but no. He barely knew her for less than a month. She couldn't know anything.
They walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Remus still feeling uneasy with her muted stare of understanding.
No, of worry.
She couldn't possibly understand anything.
xxx
Night had fallen quickly upon Hogwarts. It was well past midnight, and the occupants of the girls' dormitory in Gryffindor tower were sleeping deeply. Hermione waited until each fervent breath abated, each body ceased to toss and turn in search for a comfortable position on the springy mattresses. It was only then that slowly, Hermione lifted the red covers from her body and planted her feet softly on the cold floor. Reaching under her bed, she retrieved her small bag and pedaled noiselessly to the door.
The common room was empty and dark, save for the dying embers in the fireplace. Hermione deftly slipped out of the portrait hole and closed the door gently, noting with satisfaction that even the Fat Lady did not cease her soft snores.
As she stole silently into the night, Hermione found herself pressed against walls and alcoves numerous times as prefects made their nightly rounds. "This would be much easier with an Invisibility Cloak," Hermione muttered dully, dodging into a crevice mere seconds before the Head Girl rounded the corner and stalked the halls. Once gone, she added, "And the blasted map."
Both of which, Hermione thought with some chagrin, were probably sitting harmlessly in James Potter's school trunk.
Hermione continued down corridor quietly, until she came upon a particular stretch of wall. "Lumos," she muttered.
Concentration etched on her face, she stared at the wall deeply. I need someplace where no one will find me.
Slowly the wall began to reshape, shuddering slightly, and a high door stood before her. With a shaky breath, she turned the knob.
The room was large with high walls and tall windows, cathedral pillars mounting the room. The dim wandlight showed stacks and piles of chairs and stools, forgotten cupboards and whirring objects glittering atop chests and emerald pillows. They were things kept hidden, some without purpose and some with far too much.
Things that Tom Riddle would want to keep secret.
As Hermione began her very rigid search, far up in the Gryffindor Tower a restless body tossed around. The boys' dormitory was silent, save for the restless form behind the red and gold curtains. Suddenly the curtains were thrown aside and a towering body slinked over to the adjacent bed.
"James," Sirius whispered. James continued to sleep, a snore escaping his throat. Sirius nudged the sleeping boy hard. "James," Sirius repeated impatiently.
"Where's muh hippogriff?" James mumbled.
"About to clog you in the nose if you don't wake up for two minutes," Sirius snapped.
James blinked sleepily, "What?"
"I'm bored," Sirius said flatly.
"Go find someone else to snog, I'm not in the mood tonight."
A swift punch to the arm made James groan. "Alright, alright, keep you knickers on…" he reached below his bed and fished out a thick parchment. Tossing it to Sirius, James collapsed back against the sheets and grumbled, "Now leave me alone."
Sirius muttered darkly under his breath, "Don't know why you keep it all the time, can barely remember where your glasses are most days…"
Sirius jumped onto his bed and closed the curtains once more. Lazily leaning against the headboard, he whipped out his wand and muttered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
He found subtle amusement watching Dumbledore pacing his study, and even more seeing McGonagall enter the kitchens in secret. Midnight treacle tart, Minerva? Sirius chuckled, shaking his head.
Perhaps he should try to roam the entire castle in ten minutes without getting caught? It seemed challenging enough, but it wouldn't be fun without competing with someone. Perhaps he could wake up Remus?
His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a name dash quickly into an alcove on the map, right when a prefect was about to pass by. It seemed that he wasn't the only student unable to sleep tonight.
Smiling, he muttered another lumos to read the name better. His eyes widened.
"Lumos maxima," he whispered and the light from the tip of his wand grew brighter.
What was Hermione Granger doing out in the dead of night?
Intrigued, he watched her still footsteps wait until the prefect was out of sight. She moved quickly from the alcove and darted down the corridor, twisting and turning, until she slowed down, standing directly in front of a wall.
She stood there for quite a long time. Sirius began getting nervous watching her motionless name. Did something happen to her? What was she doing? There were no other names wandering that hall so nobody could have cursed her in secret. She was just there, standing still.
Her name moved slowly towards the wall and, to his utmost incredulity, she disappeared.
Sirius stared at the map in disbelief. What the hell? His wand was shaking slightly in his fierce grip. Hermione's name was no longer in sight. It was as if she never existed.
Pulling on a pair of trousers, he whispered a quick knox and flung silently out of bed, down into the common room, and out the portrait hole without making a sound. Taking a breath, he stared at the map and began to walk.
After a few close calls from wandering prefects, Sirius stood in puzzlement before the wall that Hermione had disappeared through. It was an insignificant stretch of brick. The palm of his hand pressed against the cold surface of the wall, and it was solid. He thought for a moment it was enchanted like platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross, but it was not.
He paced around it, fingers trailing along the wall and then staring at the map. She was still not there, but she was nowhere else in the castle as well. Somehow Hermione was gone, and the answer to how was behind this wall.
He stopped mid-stride when he noticed a shift in the wall, and his trailing fingers were suddenly met with wood.
His eyebrows furrowed. It was a wooden door, right out of nowhere.
Well this was interesting.
"Mischief managed," he murmured and stuffed the map in his pocket. Holding his wand out in front of him, he grabbed the knob and swung it open.
"Lumos."
The door creaked slightly as it opened. Sirius stared blankly.
A broom cupboard.
He stepped inside in disbelief, but it was real. Brooms lined up inside, dust making his nostrils flare as his eyes squinted against the harsh wandlight.
"What the hell," he whispered. It was small, and there was no way Hermione had passed through here. He tested the walls with his hands, but they were solid and unmoving.
Running a frustrated hand through his shaggy hair, he stepped out of the broom cupboard and closed the door behind him. Why did a broom closet suddenly appear in the wall when it hadn't been there before? He was growing suspicious feelings for the wall, though they were starting to become more and more positive by the second.
What if…?
Sirius's racing thoughts halted when the wall began to shift again. He backed away and slid against a crevice in the wall. A high black, metal door transformed against the surface of the brick wall. He stood transfixed when the door slowly slid open and a dark figure emerged.
A small sound met his ears and light burst at the tip of a wand, dimly illuminating the corridor. His eyes wandered over brown, messy curls, and fixated on the face that distinctly belonged to Hermione.
She appeared aggravated as she checked her surroundings, making sure that no one was around. Sirius sank deeper against the wall as her eyes scanned over to where he was.
Her eyes squinted and she stood stark still, eyes fixated on where Sirius was hidden. He could feel her alertness emanating from her like sirens. She knew someone was there.
The sound of a moaning ghost snapped Hermione from her reverie, and she quickly doused the light and sprinted off into the dark soundlessly. He commended her swiftness as well as her instincts. Not many witches or wizards could know in an instant that they were being watched in secret, let alone by someone who made it his personal goal to be adept in deception and stealth.
He noted that the iron door was still there, though it was starting to shrink. He strode towards it, hoping to catch a glimpse of the room Hermione so desperately needed to go to.
It was fading fast and Sirius bounded towards it hastily. Grabbing the knob he flung open the door, but the cool brass knob had already turned wooden once he reached it.
Sirius growled in frustration when he was met by another broom cupboard.
"Dammit!" Sirius ground out and slammed the irritating door once more, striding angrily to the marble staircase and up to Gryffindor tower.
He knew this wasn't over. He would find out little innocent Hermione's secret.
And he would thoroughly enjoy himself while he was at it.
xxx
Hermione felt an unknown uneasiness befall her during breakfast the next day. As she was spreading butter on a scone, she felt like she was being watched.
Lily was animatedly discussing the Charms essay she already finished, but Hermione was only barely paying attention. Her eyes slid over to where James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius were sitting. They were laughing and talking as they normally would. Her eyes settled on Sirius, noting that he was in the middle of telling a particularly funny joke, causing the entire half of the Gryffindor table to erupt in laughter. He must have noticed her gaze, for he glanced at her pointedly. Hermione flinched and averted her eyes, feeling annoyed that she was yet again caught staring at him. Involuntarily though, her eyes drifted to glance at him again. She had expected him to resume his conversation, but found him gazing at her intently, grey eyes fixated on her.
His lips curled into a smirk, and he gave a wink.
"Are you alright?" Lily's soft inquiry halted the unpleasant thoughts clouding her mind. Nodding, Hermione took a bite of her scone and tried her best not to glance in the direction of Sirius.
On the other side of the Gryffindor table, Sirius was mildly shocked and extremely amused at the reaction he'd managed to rise from Hermione. He hadn't meant to infuriate her. The fact that he'd caught her staring at him was nothing new; several girls and boys more often than not tended to stare at him, though it hardly mattered to Sirius.
He noticed her uneasiness throughout breakfast. Paranoia from last night was most likely the root of her suspicions. He commended her keens senses once more. For in actuality, Hermione wasn't the only one on the Gryffindor table that had done their fair share of stealing glances.
Sirius was doing the same. Every once in a while his eyes would gaze at her momentarily, trying to figure her out. From the day she arrived Sirius couldn't quite place a finger on the feelings she conjured in him. He felt like he recognized her, knew her deeply. But just as quickly he was proven false; he did not know her at all.
But he wanted to. She knew secrets of the castle that no one else did, held secrets that he was certain she'd rather die than tell. He didn't know why he was fixating on it so much, why it bothered him that he both enjoyed her and disliked her, that she seemed to know things that he did not, and not in the way an older student knew things he did not; he did not understand the unbidden curiosity that piqued when her name came up, but it was there. And who was he to deny himself a good investigation?
He didn't like what he saw on the Marauders' map last night, and he felt suspicion creeping inside of him steadily. He didn't like this, he didn't trust her. Hermione Granger was not as innocent as she seemed.
Sirius glanced at her again, trying to detect if she was one to dabble in the dark arts.
With a pang in his heart he glanced over to the Slytherin table, where his younger brother Regulus was seated. It had severely disappointed him when he watched him get sorted into Slytherin, and it had confused him beyond belief. Sirius always thought of his little brother affectionately, and to some degree he still did. But after Regulus's first year, his only friends being the children of known Death Eaters, Sirius felt ill and could no longer interact with him the same. By then Regulus had grown cold towards Sirius, resembling very much like his dear mother increasingly. And all the while, as they had become distant with barely hidden contempt for each other, Sirius couldn't help but feel that he'd failed as a brother.
He sighed and looked away from the blank expression of Regulus when his eyes flickered to his, noticing Sirius's stare.
He watched Hermione take a chunk out of her buttered scone, but her flustered mind was evidently elsewhere, for the moment she bit into the scone it promptly fell from her fingers and plopped down onto the front of her blouse. Her eyes widened and she groaned as the buttered side had conveniently landed on her chest. Her bottom lip pouted indignantly and she began cleaning it off as Lily laughed uproariously.
Sirius began smiling, unknown to himself. If Hermione Granger was a Death Eater, she was a bloody funny one.
xxx
The feeling of being watched did not leave all day.
Hermione had tried to pinpoint it on someone, but there was nobody who seemed suspicious enough to be eyeing her so. It was just her own mind.
Why the sudden paranoia? She felt like she was going crazy. This had to stop.
"Hey Hermione?"
Hermione tore away from her thoughts as she looked across from her to see Lily biting her lip nervously. They were studying in the library, several large textbooks spread open all over the table. Hermione furrowed her brow at the strange expression on Lily's face.
"Yes? Are you alright, Lily?"
"Yes," Lily answered quickly, and looked away. Taking a steadying breath, green eyes pierced hers once more. "Have you, er…spoken to Severus lately?"
Hermione paused, staring intently at Lily's face. She seemed apprehensive, which was very unlike the headstrong Gryffindor. And this had to do with Severus, whom she knew was having his own inner turmoil and was avoiding Lily.
"Not very much, no. Just in potions, and he's not much of a talker lately." Hermione watched Lily frown deeply and nod. Hesitantly she asked, "Is something going on? He's been acting very strange lately, even to me."
Lily let out a breath she'd been holding and growled frustratedly, "That's the thing; I don't know. He's been so peculiar and he hasn't been really talking to me—I don't even know why, he's acting like a complete arse and a lunatic and—why are you smiling?"
Hermione hid her grin and sobered immediately, though mirth still danced in her eyes. "Seems like you're very worried about Severus, Lily."
"Well, you would too if your best friend suddenly went berserk every time he spoke to you!"
Lily and Hermione stared at each other for a moment before collapsing in laughter.
"Whatever the case," Hermione finally managed as their giggles subsided, "I'm sure it's nothing serious. He's just…well, sometimes he's in his own world, I guess. Don't get too worked up on it, give him time. Just out of curiosity," Hermione lowered her voice, "when did he start acting like this? It seems very sudden."
Lily shrugged hopelessly. "I don't really know," she admitted, furrowing a brow in thought. "I guess a week ago, after we walked back from Defense…" she stopped, and heat started rising in her cheeks as they pinkened. "…Oh."
"What?"
"Nothing," Lily said quickly, feigning ignorance. "I guess we'll find out later what Sev's up to, won't we?"
Hermione studied her new friend carefully, deciding to ignore Lily's blatant change of pace. "Yes. Eventually."
They went back to studying, though Hermione's mind was barely paying attention to the ruins etched in the textbook before her. While she did find Severus and Lily's ordeal mildly amusing and almost adorable, she remembered James. Hermione tried her best to keep away from the trio in that respect, for she would rather die than be responsible for a drastic change in the timeline. But the outcome was inevitable. Severus and Lily…though horrible as it was, they would never be.
But that did not mean that Severus would have to endure the pain of finding her lifeless body in Godric's Hollow, or that Lily would have to suffer the fate of death by Voldemort's hand. No; many things would have to change while Hermione was here. Her permanent residence was in 1975—she may as well make sure the horrors of this era did not follow through.
Thank Merlin she had a few years to change history. Hermione suppressed a shudder at the thought of turning time only to arrive in 1981, the year Voldemort did his worst damage.
As Hermione leafed through the pages of her text, a thought struck her mind.
Why hadn't Dumbledore simply sent her back to when Tom Riddle was in school? Or better yet, before he received his Hogwarts letter?
"I'm off to bed, now," Lily announced, and Hermione looked at the time.
"Good heavens, have we been at this for five hours?" Hermione said disbelievingly. It felt like merely minutes had passed.
"Well, we can't be the brightest witches in our year studying like Potter and Black, now, can we?" Lily teased, stretching in her seat and sighing. "Speaking of which…they haven't been pulling their usual stunts these past few weeks. Looks like they took your warning to heart."
Hermione nodded slowly. "Yes…very strange…"
"To think all these years of trying to get them to back off, and all I needed was you to do the talking," Lily smiled as she gathered her books and stuffed them in her bag. "Let's head out, shall we?"
Hermione nodded her head in agreement and rose from her seat, stretching until her back cracked. It was best to get some rest before she headed out again tonight, and every subsequent night for that matter. She refused to waste any time here.
The stepped inside the portrait tiredly, Hermione trailing behind Lily as they trudged inside the common room.
"I wouldn't do that," Lily said, noting that Hermione was heading to collapse in one of the armchairs. "You really should just head up to the dorm; it'll make life a lot easier."
"I'll be up in a minute," Hermione assured, rubbing her shoulder slightly. "I just need that massage therapy these wonderful chairs seem to provide." Lily laughed and Hermione grinned, "Night, Lily."
Lily smiled. "Goodnight, Hermione."
Hermione turned back to the armchairs around the fireplace and almost immediately groaned at her mistake. Among the other students in the common room, the two people she did not feel like interacting with were sitting by the only vacant armchair. Sighing in defeat, she shuffled over to the chair and sank down, and an involuntary sigh of pleasure erupted from her throat. She could feel all the knots in her back and shoulders beginning to loosen.
"Alright there, Granger?" James said, glancing at her over the newspaper in his hands. He was sitting beside her in the armchair.
"Magnificent," Hermione mumbled, her eyes closed as she tried to soak in as much comfort from the chairs before heading to her dormitory.
Hearing no response back, Hermione opened one bleary eye to study James. He was looking at her strangely.
"What?" Hermione snapped.
"Nothing," James said quickly. "Just that, you know...that's the first thing you've said to me in weeks."
"Good to know you're paying attention," was her tired response, but she felt a twinge of regret. It was true; she hadn't spoken to him for weeks. But she had good reason to, and that was justification enough, Still, she couldn't be on bitter terms with James, or even Sirius, forever. She had to remind herself that they were young and reckless teenagers, and that the boy next to her was her best friend's father. Would-be father, if he ever gathered his wits and presented himself to Lily without making out to be a complete tosser. She should have expected and remembered that Severus Snape used to be bullied fervently by the Marauders. But something inside her snapped when she saw it first-hand.
"Look," James started uneasily, "About...you know...we went too far. It was a shite thing to do."
Hermione looked at him. "It's not me you should be saying this to."
James blinked. "Apologize to Snivellous? Fat chance!"
"Then you've learned nothing!" Hermione said incredulously.
"It's not that! You don't know what he does to us either, Hermione," said James, annoyed. "He throws curses, dark curses—you've no idea what he can do."
"But I know what you can."
She turned away from the crestfallen look James gave her, sighing. "Teenagers, honestly..." she muttered. "Yes, well, I suppose acknowledgement that you did something wrong is a start."
"I do agree with you there," a deep voice cut in a few feet away. "Perhaps I should follow James's example."
Hermione looked over to the seat beside James. Sirius smiled at her. "Fancy seeing you here, Hermione. Usually you stay ten feet away from us."
"The door swings both ways," Hermione retorted, readjusting herself in the armchair so she could face them more directly, "and as far as I remember, you scuttled away from me with your tail between your legs each time we crossed paths."
James barked out a laugh, but Sirius merely smiled at her warmly. "You don't want to know what's between my legs, love."
Hermione snapped her mouth shut. James began laughing in earnest and Sirius remained his cool gaze on her.
"And with that, I'm off to bed," Hermione muttered, and with heavy feet she pushed herself up from the squishy armchair.
"Oh, don't be like that," James called. "I have something for you, anyway."
Hermione turned back slightly. "What is it?"
"A letter from Mum," James answered, holding out a sheet of folded parchment. "She wants to know if you want to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays or if you want to go home."
"Home?" Hermione repeated. Her voice sounded weak for a moment, and James scrutinized her carefully.
"Yeah," he said slowly, "you know, with us?"
She swallowed. Why did that not cross her mind? Of course she'd be staying with the Potters indefinitely, even going to stay with them over the holidays. She and James would be living together for the next few years.
Hermione's eyes slid over to Sirius, who was gazing at her intently as the flickering flames in the fireplace cast obscure shadows around his face, leaving his expression indistinguishable. Her eyes widened.
As would Sirius.
He would be living with the Potters soon, sometime when he was already sixteen, and that was not far at all.
"Yes, of course," she answered a little breathlessly, and took the offered parchment. She attempted a smile. "I'll be sure to write that I'd love to come over for the holidays."
James began to smile and nodded, though he was still watching her carefully. Sirius said nothing.
"Well then. Goodnight."
The two Marauders replied in kind, and Hermione escaped to the girls' dormitory in relief.
It was going to be a long three years at Hogwarts.
Once Sirius was sure that Hermione was indeed gone into her dorm, he turned to James earnestly. "She's a bit strange, that one."
James nodded absently, still staring at the door to the girls' dormitory. "She's been through a lot. It's understandable, I guess, forgetting that I'm her…well…surrogate family of sorts now."
Sirius contemplated this for a while, staring into the fire.
"There's something else about her, James."
James looked at him closely. "What do you mean?"
Sirius looked away from the flames and into the brown eyes of the bespectacled young man before him. "Last night, when I took the map from you, I saw her on it. She was out of bed in the middle of the night."
"So?" James shrugged. "We do that all the time. I'd be disappointed if she didn't do her own sneaking around Hogwarts; wouldn't be a true Gryffindor otherwise."
"That's not it, James," Sirius said fervently, lowering his voice. "I saw her on the map. She was on the seventh floor, dodging prefects and whatnot. Then she went to this wall, and she just stood there. For a really long time. And then, the next thing I know, she's walking towards the wall and right and up disappears!"
"What do you mean, 'disappears'? Nobody disappears on the map," James said disbelievingly, alarm touched on his handsome features. "It's bloody foolproof."
"It is," Sirius agreed, "but this is different. I…I decided to go see for myself. I stood in front of the wall, just as she did and…and then some sort of door appeared, and it was a broom cupboard, and it was really stupid, and I got frustrated and walked out, but right when I did the door began changing form into a large, iron door and Hermione stepped out of it. She's discovered something about the castle that nobody else knows. That we didn't know, and that even the map cannot detect."
James was silent for a long time, taking all the new information in. Finally he said, "Did you tell Remus and Peter? What do they think?"
Sirius shook his head. "I didn't tell anyone yet, never got the chance. This is what I was getting to before Lily and Hermione walked through the portrait." He sighed, raking a confused hand through his black locks. "There's something odd about that girl, James. I don't know whether it's good or it's bad just yet, but she's different. She's not one we should underestimate."
James mused for a while. "I reckon, Sirius," James said slowly, "that we take a little stroll out tonight under the cloak."
The two boys retired to their dorms and laid stark still in bed. It was until they were certain that everyone had gone to sleep that James sauntered over to Sirius's bed and drew the curtains around them.
"Let's see what our mysterious lady of the night will do this evening," James whispered, and pointed his wand at the map.
Hermione Granger was still in her dormitory, her name hovering innocently among several other Gryffindor girls. It was nearly an hour later when she finally stirred.
Sirius and James were prepared. They watched her name drift slowly from the dormitory to outside the portrait hole. The pair slinked out of the common room and snuck underneath the cloak, rendering them invisible instantly.
Sirius guided them to the wall he knew Hermione was headed to. They slowed their pace as they approached it, and Sirius could make out Hermione's mass of curls and lithe form in the faint light.
James watched in awe as the wall opposing her began shifting, and a door appeared before her, high and metal, just as Sirius had described. Hermione went in and the door melted back into a brick formation. A quick lumos over the map told showed him all the proof he needed. Hermione was no longer there.
"Now what?" James asked, looking at Sirius questioningly.
"Now…we figure out this bloody hunk of brick."
At first the same thing kept showing up: a broom cupboard. Sirius grew increasingly frustrated and swore loudly, much to James's disapproval.
"A black door appeared for Hermione," James mused deeply. "She clearly had something else in mind." Realization dawned over James. Rushing to the wall, he gestured for Sirius to step away a little. He complied, watching James curiously.
James touched the wall and paced along side it slowly. He halted in the center, and watched the wall expectantly.
Sirius gaped when the wall began taking form of giant double doors with brass knobs and intricate detailing. James glanced back at Sirius. "Come on, mate."
James opened the door and the two stepped inside cautiously. Sirius prepared to cast lumos but realized it was unnecessary.
The room was enormous and lit candles illuminated the room, engulfing it with bright yellow light completely. There was a gigantic bathtub in the center of the room with dozens of little knobs everywhere. To the side were rows and rows of sofas of all different sizes with two crackling fireplaces near it, and to the right were two very large, very soft-looking, king-sized beds with silk sheets.
Sirius let out an astonished laugh, clapping James on the back. "You did it, Potter! Fuck, this is amazing!"
"At least we figured out one thing, tonight," James grinned. "This room is fantastic."
"How did you do it? What is this room?"
"I realized, after your several failed attempts with the broom cupboard," James replied with a smirk, "that the wall is to our bidding. It gave Hermione that door, didn't it? And you were probably expecting something insignificant, which is why you kept getting that closet." James looked at Sirius excitedly. "It's a room that gives us what we want, Sirius," he paced around the large room in wonder. "I asked the wall if it could give me a place where I could relax and forget the world, and I had this kind of thing in mind. And the room gave it to me."
Sirius couldn't take the grin off of his face. "I cannot wait to tell Remus and Peter."
As they explored the room, they realized some restrictions. Food was a no-go. Sometimes things randomly appeared inside the room when either one of them were idly thinking about a particular object. It gave them whatever they needed freely.
"What shall we call this place, Sirius?" James asked lazily as they lounged on one of the sofas.
Sirius thought about it for a while. He wished he had a quill or parchment that he could write a list of possible names. Suddenly he felt something roll by his left foot. Leaning over the sofa, he saw a neatly rolled piece of parchment and a quill and ink bottle lay innocently by his sofa near his foot.
Slowly, a grin began to spread across his face. "We shall call it the Room of Requirement."
xxx
James and Sirius wasted no time to tell Remus and Peter about the mysterious room. In their excitement last night they did not notice Hermione slip back into the girls' dormitory, and it was only when James remembered about the map that they saw her name climb through the portrait hole.
All four Marauders began exploring the miracle of Hogwarts, and watched each night as Hermione slipped from her dormitory to the wall. No matter how hard they tried, they could not enter to where she disappeared into. After the first few attempts, they gave up altogether, deducing that it was probably one of the many secrets about the Room of Requirement.
The week progressed, and the Marauders knew that the time was coming. Remus was beginning to look more and more ill as the days passed, and his senses were sharpened to the point that he could not walk even twenty feet near a piece of bacon without gagging. "It smells of blood and death," Remus hissed in disgust at Peter's prodding.
Hermione caught on to Remus's sickness quickly, knowing full well that the full moon would be approaching. He would sit in class stiffly, breathing through his mouth so that he wouldn't have to smell the vicious scents of girls' perfumes and the other odd things brewing in the classrooms. She felt a pang of sadness for him. She thought once that she could brew a wolfsbane potion for him, but knew that in doing so she would be revealing not only something that could irreparably damage the time stream if anyone else were to discover her brew, but she would be revealing her true nature as a time traveler. She sighed heavily and watched sadly as one of her good friends in the future suffered miserably.
It must have been so lonely for him. Hermione thought of Remus standing inside the shrieking shack once a month, alone, waiting for his body to start shifting into a bloodthirsty animal. All by himself, as a young teenage boy. Heck, he had been doing this alone all his life. He must have been terrified when he first transformed.
Remus began noticing small things too. He was keeping a close eye on the new student after the discovery of her actions at midnight, and of her unwitting discovery of the Room of Requirement all on her own. And what he discovered was very strange.
Whenever she was with him he felt her give off the impression of deep friendship and understanding. This made completely no sense, for they were not fast friends yet and the only people on the planet that truly understood him were Peter, James, and Sirius.
He also noticed her reactions when Sirius was around. Mostly she was annoyed. But other times, when she thought nobody was looking, he could feel her heartbeat race just at the sight of him, and it wasn't in anger. Her eyes betrayed her emotions easily at this time, for she gazed at him deeply, with a mixture of sadness and something a little more.
The night of the full moon arrived quickly. Remus felt sick all day, and it was not because of the aches and pains in his body. It was the sick anticipation of his first transformation of the school year. The first day among many that he would be stuck inside an abandoned shack to change into a monster. He wished he could kill the bastard that did this to him, that ripped any sense of normalcy from his life. Forever he was cursed.
Night dwindled, and it was when dusk arrived that Remus trudged out into the common room. Hermione was sitting near the fireplace, head buried inside an Ancient Runes book. She glanced up and saw him approach the portrait hole.
She didn't question him, so he gave a nervous smile. "Not feeling well," he explained lamely. "Thought I'd head to the hospital wing."
"And he's got his best friends to escort him," a raucous voice said loudly, and the forms of James, Peter, and Sirius walked over to where Remus was standing. "Don't want you collapsing halfway to the hospital wing, now, do we?" James said in mock concern.
Remus smiled tightly and glanced over to Hermione, who had that expression of sympathy that she'd held for him this past week. It made him anxious.
"Well…I'm off."
He stepped out into the portrait hole and felt his trio of friends follow behind him. He heard them joking and laughing, trying to cheer Remus's spirits.
Finally it was Peter that interrupted his thoughts. "It's just another transformation, Remus," he said lightly. "It'll be over before you know it."
"He's right," James agreed, slinging an arm casually around his shoulders. "It's just once a month. Ten months this schoolyear. Ten days of this nonsense. It'll be fine, we're right here for you."
Remus nodded, but couldn't help the anxiety of what was to come. The full moon was there, rising inevitably into the night sky. He only had a matter of minutes before his bones would break into impossible pieces.
They arrived at the statue that would bring him straight into the Shrieking Shack. He turned around one last time to look at his friends. He smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow, mates."
He received several claps on the back and a few dirty jokes, and soon he found himself walking alone in the dark passageway. After a few minutes he arrived at a wooden hatch and he lifted it up, climbing up into the shack completely.
Slowly he stripped himself of his clothes, folding them neatly and tucking them into the passageway entrance, then shut the hatch and locked it. He shivered slightly against the cool night air, and looked up at the high windows, waiting for the streak of moonlight to fall inside. His naked skin felt goosebumps and he breathed in deeply, trying to calm his nerves.
His eyes wandered to the window again, and he saw, clear as day, the full circle of the moon.
His spine snapped, and Remus gritted his teeth. His shoulders popped, his legs tensed as they gave out and his knees crashed onto the hardwood floor. He could feel the warmth of his blood already sliding against the floorboards. There was always blood.
His fingers cracked, knuckles whitening, and he saw through his peripherals that his hair was sliding down his face, lengthening. He let out a moan as he doubled over, his body breaking into pieces then remolding into another body. His eyes glazed and he began seeing red, prompting him to squeeze his eyes shut. The faintest trace of tears kissed his skin.
"Fuck," he ground out, helpless against the movements and cracks his body made. His heart started beating fast, and racing thoughts about how if anyone ever found out about him, about him being a werewolf, they would never speak to him again. He saw a flash of curly brown hair and a look of horror etched upon a beautiful face, and his heart screamed in agony. "Fuck," he whispered helplessly, gritting his teeth.
A loud crash across the room forced his streaming eyes open. He crawled into a sitting position, trying to see where the noise came from. His tunnel vision caught sight of a dark form lingering a few feet ahead of him.
He was not alone.
His eyes widened. "No," he breathed, and then sharply cried out as his body began to fully transform. The figure approached him slowly, as if it were in the same agony he was in. But for some reason, Remus could tell that he enjoyed it.
"I could smell you a mile away," a voice rasped thickly. "I knew you'd come here to play. Do you want to play?"
"Get the fuck awa—" he screamed before he could finish, and his body twisted and contorted on the floor. The last thing he heard was rich laughter promptly turning into a growl.
xxx
The Marauders didn't come back to the common room for several hours. Hermione had grown tried from studying and was not up to another night hunting for Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem for another day. The bloody room was too big. It would take her ages to find Voldemort's horcrux.
She stared out the window and saw the full moon, and knew Remus Lupin had already transformed into his werewolf form. A wave of sadness hit her. He must feel so alone each time during the change. It saddened her beyond belief that Remus had such a large burden to bear for the rest of his life.
Somewhere along the line Hermione had fallen asleep curled along the sofa, and did not notice the portrait hole opening and closing. Soft voices filled her consciousness.
"What's she still doing here?"
"Must've studied her little Gryffindor rear off," a deep voice said mirthfully.
"Should we wake her?"
"I'll do it. You and Peter should go on up, I'll be there in a minute."
After a bit of shuffling, Hermione felt her arm being shaken lightly, a gentle voice saying, "Hermione?" Her arm shook again. "Hermione, come on and sleep up to your room. You'll get a massive cramp sleeping down here."
"Hmm," was all she managed, rolling onto her side and wanting to sleep. She heard a deep chuckle.
"Have it your way, then."
She felt hands loop around her back and under her knees and she felt herself being lifted up. Immediately her eyes few open and met silvery ones above her.
"Sirius Black, you put me down!" she shrieked as he held her easily in his arms.
"Sorry love, I can't trust you to do this on your own. You'll fall asleep on the stairs."
"I will not!" she said hotly, squirming in his arms. She couldn't help but notice how warm he was against her and how each time he spoke she could feel the rumble of his chest against her skin.
"Would you rather I dropped you?" He was met by silence and glare. Sirius's face transformed into a blank mask. "As you wish."
She felt his grip loosen and Hermione squeaked, immediately looping her arms around his neck tightly, bringing herself closer to him. She could faintly smell sandalwood and grass against his skin. She ignored his deep chuckling sent shivers of pleasure down her spine and straight down her abdomen.
"Gently," she reprimanded. "No need to drop me like I'm made of fire."
"I would never," Sirius grinned. He lowered her legs down onto the floor and Hermione planted her feet firmly on the ground. She didn't remove her arms around his neck.
Sirius's eyes darkened as he felt their close proximity, her body flush against his. Hermione didn't know why she couldn't let him go, or why a small, tiny part of her never wanted to either.
"This is the part," Sirius whispered quietly, "where you let go and slap me for touching you."
"Right," Hermione breathed, sliding her arms down his shoulders and ending on the muscles of his upper arms. "I'm too tired to slap you, though. Any other suggestions?"
Sirius smiled slowly, his eyes soft. "I have plenty of suggestions, Miss Granger. I just don't think you'd want to hear any of them."
"Really?" her voice came out an octave higher than normal, causing Sirius's grin to widen. "That's, er, that's very unfortunate." God, what was wrong with her? Why was babbling like a twelve-year-old? And why couldn't she step away from him?
"Indeed," Sirius replied. "You know, I honestly have no idea what we're talking about right now."
Hermione smiled wryly.
"You are full of mysteries, Hermione Granger," Sirius's words snapped her from her racing thoughts. He was gazing at her intensely, partly in intrigue and partly in frustration. "Sometimes I don't know what to think of you."
"You should probably hate me," Hermione shrugged.
"And why is that?"
Licking her dry lips, she replied, "I made you cease your most favorite sport of tormenting a Slytherin."
"I'll live," he answered tightly, barely controlling the wave of emotions that threatened to leak into his voice. "Besides, there's a hundred other Slytherins to choose from."
"You shouldn't hate them just because they're in that house," Hermione said sternly. Her eyes flickered to the movement of his head, noting it drew closer. Her grip on his biceps tightened. "Not…not everybody sorted in that house is pure evil."
"Really?" his voice was challenging. "Name me one."
Hermione furrowed her brow at his request. "Why just one?"
"You have more?"
"I can list the entire House, Sirius."
Sirius laughed. "You're barking. Do you know what kind of people are in Slytherin?"
"And do you know what kind of people are in Gryffindor? Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff? Honestly," Hermione scowled, frowning, "anybody in Slytherin is not automatically a Death Eater. You don't know every single Slytherin, you can't collectively deduce they're all pure evil."
"I most certainly can. Does it not strike you as surprising that all Death Eaters have been in Slytherin?"
"The ones you know of, maybe," Hermione said lightly. Sirius narrowed his eyes.
"Do you know any other Death Eaters that weren't Slytherin?"
"Well. No," Hermione admitted. "But I also don't the whole list of Death Eaters, either."
"There we go, then," said Sirius smugly.
"No, we don't go! That's not logical," Hermione said frustratedly.
"It is. You'll see. You've only been here a month, you don't know yet," Sirius shrugged easily. "Rotten to the core. Hurling curses, whispering amongst each other—"
"You're angry that they whisper?" Hermione laughed incredulously, and Sirius glared.
"It's the subject of their whispering!" he said heatedly. "There's no good Slytherin, Hermione. It's best if you learn that early on."
Hermione looked at him carefully. He was being extremely stubborn, more than Sirius normally would be. There was something more to this...
Hermione looked at Sirius steadfastly. "There's Severus Snape."
Sirius paused. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."
"Severus Snape is not evil, Sirius."
"And my mother is a saint," he retorted. "The bloke's got it in for him, Hermione. He's not the little angel you make him out to be. He doesn't hesitate to cast hexes at us, before any of us even do anything, yet I don't see you defending our honor."
"That's different," Hermione answered, though she understood where he was coming from. "And I'm not fool. I don't paint him as anything but himself."
"Then you see where I'm coming from?"
Hermione sighed deeply. Dropping her hands to her sides, she stepped back.
"I do. I really do." Yawning a bit, she ran a hand through her mass of flyaway curls. "It's getting late. I think I'll head in."
She didn't move though. She was transfixed by the curious expression Sirius had etched on his face. "Is something wrong?"
He stepped close to her. "You're not a Death Eater in disguise, are you?"
Hermione laughed incredulously. "Never. I don't think I exactly qualify, anyway, what with muggle parents and all."
"Good. Because I'd like to test a theory."
"What theo—"
Quick as lightning, Sirius leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.
It was over just as quickly, and Hermione wondered if it had actually happened or not. But the tingling on her lips and the flutter in her belly could not be mistaken.
"Hm," said Sirius, looking at her with an unreadable expression.
"What," Hermione said slowly, just above a whisper, "was that for." Hermione's eyes flickered over Sirius's shoulder, catching a glimpse of the window. "Remus?"
Sirius chuckled breathlessly. "It's Sirius, love. Merlin, I guess it's a tragedy when you kiss a girl and she says your best mate's name instead."
"No, no, it's Remus," Hermione said, turning fully around to look out the window. "He's outside, he's looks wounded...someone's with him!"
"What?"
Sirius moved beside her. "What the hell…?"
Hermione's eyes grew the size of saucers. Remus was crawling beside the Whomping Willow, presumably from the little entrance by the trunk. He was completely bare and had numerous scratches and bruises all down his body, blood covering every inch of his skin, and he was not alone.
The second figure was close to him, and grabbed Remus's hair derisively. Hermione shrieked when he pulled back and kicked him viciously in the ribs.
"YOU FUCKER!" Sirius roared, backing away as to run out of the portrait hole and save his friend.
"Sirius, wait!" Hermione cried. The Willow began moving, and one of the branches snagged the torso of the standing stranger and whipped him into the air, hurtling him a hundred feet away and crashing him into the lip of the Forbidden Forest. Sirius pressed against the glass as he watched the stranger weakly stand and sprint into the forest.
Both Hermione and Sirius watched tensely and without breathing as they refocused their attention to the battered form of Remus by the Whomping Willow. He began stirring slowly.
"Come on, Remus, touch the knot…" Sirius whispered desperately, his fist pounding helplessly against the glass. Remus crawled sluggishly against the grass and leaned against the trunk of the tree, weakly pushing against a knot on its surface. The violent movements of the willow ceased, and without another second's hesitation, he slid back down into the hole and disappeared.
Hermione was dumbstruck, not knowing what exactly she had just witnessed. She backed away slowly from the window and from Sirius, whose expression she could only identify as murderous. He backed away too, his hands trembling, his body stiff.
"Sirius?" she said tentatively. He did not move. Hesitantly she moved closer to him, lifting a hand to touch his arm. "Sirius?" she repeated as her fingers grazed his forearm.
Sirius snapped his eyes up at her and she couldn't breathe. She had never seen such fury in anyone's eyes, such a rampage of tumultuous emotions.
"Let's go," he said, and grabbing her arm, he pulled her to the portrait hole and led them out.
"Where are we going?" Hermione said a little breathlessly at their furious pace.
"To the willow."
"No, Sirius, we need to go to Dumbledore," Hermione replied earnestly. "He needs to know that Remus was attacked tonight."
"I can't just leave him out there," Sirius snapped angrily.
"He's in the tree. The strange man is gone. He's safe for now," Hermione answered evenly. "Two fifteen-year-olds can't catch the man who did that to him. We need Professor Dumbledore not just for Remus, but to capture the sadistic bastard that did this to him."
Sirius was still furious, and she could tell it was taking a lot of self-restraint from just ignoring her and letting his instincts guide him instead, but he nodded grudgingly. They walked to Dumbledore's office and stopped in front of it.
"Do you know the password?" Sirius asked tensely.
Hermione didn't. Taking a breath she said tentatively, "Lemon Drop?"
Nothing.
"Pumpkin Pasty?"
"Lemon Meringue?"
"Mince Pie?"
"Sugar Quill?"
The gargoyle sprung to life and Sirius glanced at her questioningly before stepping inside after Hermione. They walked to Dumbledore's study and Hermione took a breath, then knocked on the door.
Albus Dumbledore was always one to hold the wisdom of a lifetime. Everything he ever said was filled with sentimental thoughts and logic beyond comprehension. Above all, he was filled with genuine kindness that touched her deeply.
However, it was foolish to think that he gained the title of 'greatest wizard of all time' by smiling genially. When Sirius recounted the story, Dumbledore had a fierce expression that she had not seen since after the fiasco in the Ministry of Magic in her fifth year in her own time. After Sirius's death, after Voldemort's escape…
The staff brought up Remus's motionless body to the Hospital Wing where Madame Pomfrey attended to him instantly. Sirius and Hermione remained outside, waiting for the okay to go see Remus. As they waited, they knew Hagrid had been informed to search the Forbidden Forest along with a few other teachers to find the stranger who had beaten Remus during his transformation. They also concluded that the stranger had to be a werewolf himself to survive being alone with Remus during the night.
Which only increased Hermione's worries tenfold.
Hermione glanced at Sirius as he leaned against a wall with his eyes closed. He seemed so closed-off, like something had shut down inside him the moment he saw his best friend's mangled body by the willow. Knowing him for many years, Hermione knew he felt helpless and even guilty for what had happened, and how he couldn't be by his best friend's side to help him.
Hermione was about to approach him when McGonagall walked towards them, and she saw James and Peter scurrying close behind him. Evidently she'd woken them up after the attack on Remus.
James and Peter rushed to Sirius, where they began talking furiously and angrily. Not sparing her a glance, the trio marched solemnly inside the hospital wing when Madame Pomfrey gave them permission to visit Remus briefly.
Hermione shivered against the cool night air, staring at the spot where Sirius had once been standing. Taking a shuddering breath, she walked into the hospital wing.
Hermione eyes were met by the three of them standing beside Remus's bed. James touched his arm lightly and then bent his head silently. Sirius had his hands in his pockets. Peter looked devastated.
Hermione lingered behind a little, giving them their space. Remus looked well-healed, though his face still had cuts and bruises. The horrific sight of a bloodied body was no more. Now, Remus looked almost peaceful.
She was startled when she saw his eyes fly open. The Marauders gasped, and James stepped forward and murmured something gently. Remus didn't appear to hear him. Instead, he breathed in deeply and then turned his head slowly to look at where Hermione was standing.
She shifted nervously as the other three followed suit, eyeing her in confusion. Hermione's eyes were locked onto the young werewolf as he stared at her with bottomless eyes. She moved forward slowly, until she reached his bedside. Remus continued to stare at her.
"Are you okay?" she whispered. What a stupid question, she thought to herself.
Remus gazed at her anxiously, his breathing starting to increase. Hermione began to step away before Remus's hand shot up and grabbed her wrist. She was shocked to find how much strength and desperation was in his grasp.
Quietly, as if a whisper, Remus croaked, "Please don't hate me."
Hermione shook her head, swallowing thickly as she bit her lip. "I could never hate you."
Remus exhaled and his grip on her wrist slackened, until it rested against the bed once more. Hermione looked up slowly at the boys standing beside her, and they gave her an expression of disbelief and wonder.
xxx
"It will take a lot of practice," Sirius said seriously. "It's not going to be easy."
"We know," James said for the millionth time. "We know the risks, Sirius. We're willing to take it."
"And don't you dare ask us if we're sure," Peter said darkly. "We have to be there for him. This isn't even a question."
Sirius looked over at his two best friends and nodded in agreement. "Okay, then. It's settled. When do you guys want to begin?"
"Tomorrow night after dinner," James suggested. "We can use the Room of Requirement to practice in. Tonight we should think of what animal we'll be transforming into."
"Are you sure that's how it works?" Peter asked. "I thought it just…I don't know…came to you automatically. We just have to put our own magic into it. Wandlessly, of course."
"Well you get what I mean," James snapped. "Tomorrow night, our sessions begin."
"Tighten up, boys," Sirius said gravely. "Tonight, we're just wizards. Tomorrow, we'll be beginner Animagi."
xxx
Edited: 8/8/15