A/N: I'm back, missed me? Ok, this chapter is a little longer than the previous ones. I can't promise that all of them are going to be this long but I'll do my best! Love you! And I'll love you even more if you review! ;o)

Disclaimer: Own nothing, just my computer and my will to write

Puppy Love

Chapter IV: Breaking the Ice

It was very early on Monday morning, and Hermione was tossing and turning in bed unable to sleep. She was as nervous as she had been on her first day at Hogwarts. From what Lily had told her, they were studying more or less the same topics she had been seeing at her own time, so she didn't think she was going to have much trouble in that area. The problem was that she was going to face a lot of new people: both classmates and teacher. She was glad she had already talked to Lily and her friends, at least there was going to be a friendly face among the crowd. But there were going to be other not-so-kind faces, like Lucius Malfoy and Snape. They of course didn't know who she was. Still, she didn't think it would take them long to hate her for being muggle born and probably for being friends with the marauders. Or just for being in Gryffindor. In any case, Hermione wasn't looking forward to facing them.

Around six she gave up any hope of getting some sleep and decided to go downstairs. It was too early to go to have breakfast, but at least she was going to be able to read something to pass the time. However, she arrived at the common room only to realize that she didn't have any books. She hadn't been able to take one from the library when she had been there with Sirius and McGonagall hadn't given anything to her yet. She sat at one of the tables that was full of pieces of parchment and a couple of broken quills. Hermione fixed one of them at started to doodle on a piece of paper, not really thinking about what she was writing. She was exhausted, and she didn't want to think or analyze anything about her situation, her life or her future. She just wanted to… she didn't really know what she wanted. She missed her friends terribly, she was confused and a little scared, but at the same time, she was starting to feel comfortable around the people she was with now. The previous day, Sunday, she had spent a lot of time with Lily and the rest of the girls. They had showed her the school, told her everything she needed to know about the teachers and pointed out the boys she couldn't go out with either because they were ex-boyfriends or because one of them liked them (Beth had been in charge of this part of the conversation).

"And what about James, Sirius and Remus? You didn't say anything about them," Hermione had asked Beth after she had finished inventorying all the boys at Hogwarts.

"Interested in one of them?" Olivia asked her in an incisive tone. "I saw you talking to Black yesterday."

"No, I was just asking because you told me everyone fancy them and Beth didn't say anything about them," Hermione answered in the same cold voice.

"Don't mind Olivia, she's having a bad day. There isn't much to say about the Marauders. They are a special group. They date a lot of girls, but I would advice you not to take any of them seriously, they are not "boyfriend material". Not because they are bad or anything, it's just that they have, let's say, issues. James is crazy about Lily, everybody knows that. He occasionally goes on dates with girls, but just to have fun. He never kisses them, so all the girls want to be the lucky one who can compete with Lily Evans and win over James' heart," Beth said, over-dramatically. Hermione laughed. Beth was a very nice person, really sweet, but she was too girlish for her own good.

"If it is up to me, they can have him. I don't want to have anything to do with him!" Lily said.

"Yeah, but it's not up to you. Anyway, we all know you two are going to end up together, and no, we are not going to have this conversation again, so let's move forward to the next one. Remus, he's a sweet-heart but for some reason he refuses to get attached to any girl. I think he's sick or something because every now and then he looks ill, I suppose he has some sort of decease and that is why he doesn't want to have a serious relationship. It's a pity really; he would make a great partner. He's the nicest one of them, were thoughtful and trustworthy."

"Beth fancies him," Olivia said. She had changed her tone, Hermione could tell she was trying to be friendly, but there was still something about her that made her feel unnerved. Hermione thought Beth was going to deny it, as Lily had done, but she was surprised to see her blush.

"Yeah, I do. But I've given up hopes with him. You could say we are friends now, he is the one I talk to the most, anyway. But there is still one more –we all know Peter doesn't count- Sirius. He is the most complicated case. He is funny, extremely good-looking, smart and thus an inexorable Casanova. He's never cheated on a girlfriend, cause he's never been involved with someone long enough to call it a relationship. Still, we believe he is the type of guy who never settles down but one day find a woman who turns them head over heels and they never even looked at another one. And of course, almost every girl at school wishes to be that woman."

Hermione was thinking about this conversation again, because it had brought something home. During the holidays before her fifth year she had spent a lot of time with Sirius. She liked chatting with him, not only because he was intelligent but also because, due to everything that had happened to him, he had very interesting opinions and points of view about a lot of topics. She remembered that one afternoon, after she had had one of her usual fights with Ron, she was having a cup of tea in the kitchen when Sirius entered. One look at her face told him what was going on, or perhaps he had heard the shouts. In any case, he sat in front of her and told her how much they reminded him about Lily and James.

"Harry's parents? What do Ron and I have in common with them? They were a couple, they were in love. Ron and I are just friends, and some times not even that!" Hermione had protested.

"You have no idea how much Lily and James used to fight before they started dating, or rather, how much Lily fought with him while he was trying to get her to like him. And besides, you might be able to hide it from Harry and Ron, but we both know you like him as more than a friend. And he does too, only he hasn't seen it yet." Hermione had blushed at this remark. Of course it was true, she had had feelings for Ron for over a year, but the only person that knew about them was Ginny.

"Am I that obvious?" she asked worriedly.

"For the trained eye, yes. I've had my share of women and I've learned to recognize gazes and looks. And I've seen the way you look at Ron; it is the same way Lily used to look at James when they started dating," there was something sad about his tone. Hermione remembered noticing it, but at the time she thought that he missed his friends. But with the information Beth had given her she thought that perhaps he hadn't had the time to find that woman who was to be the person that changed his attitude.

She was thinking about this when she heard a noise behind her. Someone had entered the common room. Hermione turn around wondering who else was an early bird and was only half surprised to see Remus. She smiled at him, and he smiled back and went to sit with her.

"Morning!" he said brightly. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to come here to read, but then I realized that I don't have any books because my parents haven't sent them yet."

"You must be really bored! Why don't we go to have breakfast? It's great at this time of the morning. There's hardly anyone down there, so it's very peaceful."

"Sure. Do you always get up so early?" she asked him as they made their way to the Great Hall.

"I never sleep until mid-day like the boys do, but I don't wake up at six thirty everyday. It's just that sometimes I feel like enjoying the entire day," he answered. He didn't need to say anything else. Hermione knew he was referring to the days prior to the full moon. He probably had to spend some time in the Hospital Wing after his transformations. She knew that the wolfsbane potion hadn't been invented yet and in spite of his friends being animagus, it must still be really hard for him to change into a wolf once a month.

"What about you? Do you usually wake up so early?"

"In my other school I tried to get an early breakfast so I could read the paper before my friends joined me."

"That's something we have in common then," he said smiling at her. Little did he know that they had a lot in common, that Hermione actually admired him a lot. "So, how do you like the school so far?"

"I like it. It's very similar to my old one, so I feel comfortable. And everybody has been very nice to me. Still, I'm a little nervous about the classes, and stuff."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll do fine. Sirius told me you know a couple of very advanced spells. And if there is something you need help with, you can always ask us. Lily is one of the best students, and I'm sure she'll be more than glad to help you, and so are we."

"Thanks! But it's not the lessons I'm worried about, it's the teachers and the students." Hermione had always felt comfortable confiding on Remus, even when he was her teacher. It wasn't weird for her to be telling him about her fears, and he didn't seem to mind at all.

"Don't worry, you'll do great. I can tell you are the kind of students teachers like: responsible, respectful and studious." Hermione was glad to hear that. Remus had always been one of her favorite teachers and he was very dear to her.

They started talking about subjects when they heard a commotion outside the great hall. Hermione looked up immediately and was half out of her bench when Remus started laughing.

"What's going on?" she asked confused.

"Don't worry, it happens almost daily, you'll get used to it. Don't you recognize the voices? It's James and Sirius, the third one is Severus Snape. I'd advice you to stay away from him by the away. Anyway, he is probably retaliating for the prank James and Sirius played on him the other day. I heard he was too ashamed to leave his room during the weekend, but he has to attend classes, so he doesn't have any choice. He probably waited in the entrance hall until he saw them and attacked, or tried to by the sound of Sirius' and James' laughter. That's another good reason to come to breakfast early, to avoid getting in the middle of it."

If it had been any other person, Hermione would have protested against the situation. She probably would have gone outside and lectured the boys for their behavior, but after what had happened the previous year, she hated Snape so much she wanted to see him suffer. Deep down she knew it was wrong, but she wasn't going to do anything to stop it. In fact, she was going to help them, if she could.

A couple of seconds later, Sirius and James entered the Great Hall cackling madly. They had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard and they could barely walk. In fact, James had to grab the table to prevent himself from rolling in the floor. When the fit had passed, they made their way towards Hermione and Remus, still chortling.

"You missed a great show Moony!" James said.

"What happened this time?" he asked amused

"The idiot tried to curse us with a new spell, you know, one of those inventions of his, but it backfired and he ended up with bright-blue, feathery wings coming from his chest. We didn't even have to raise our wands, he did the entire job for us. And as an added bonus, McGonagall saw the whole him and gave him a week's worth of detentions with her!"

Remus and Hermione laughed loudly, but Sirius had stopped smiling and was looking from one to the other.

"Did you come together for breakfast?" he asked in what he clearly thought was a matter-of-factly tone, but that sounded forced and awkward.

"Yeah, we meat in the common room," Hermione said.

Before Sirius could say anything else Remus added "Hermione couldn't sleep so she went down early. And I saw her there and suggested she should have something to eat to be prepared for her first day." Hermione looked at him surprised. Why was he lying at Sirius? There was nothing wrong with them having breakfast together, why did he need to give any kind of explanation?

"Oh," said Sirius, a little more relaxed, and he helped himself to a piece of toast and buttered it.

"What was that about?" Hermione mouthed to Remus while Sirius wasn't looking.

"I'll explain later," he mouthed back and then turned to James and asked him something about their transfiguration assignment.

Hermione was left to wonder what was going on. But she didn't have much time to think because only a moment later the girls arrived and sat next to her. The Great Hall was practically full by now, and the level of noise was considerably higher.

"Morning Hermione," Beth said cheerfully. "How are you? Nervous?"

"Yeah, a bit."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine!" Lily said. "McGonagall came to hour room today and she left there a trunk with all your things. I brought you the schedule and the books you need for the first subjects, plus a couple of quills and some parchment. I hope you don't mind I took it without your permission."

"No, it's ok. Thanks a lot!" said Hermione, taking the bag Lily was handing her. She took a look at her schedule. She had a double-potions period, with the Slytherins. Sirius looked over at the piece of paper she was holding.

"We have almost the same schedule. Only I don't take Ancient Runes and you don't take Care of Magical Creatures," he said, considerably happier than when he first arrived.

"Yes, the girls told me."

"You asked about my schedule?" he said half surprised, half pleased with himself.

"Sorry to disappoint you Black," said Lily, always ready to burst his bubble. "She didn't ask about you. We were discussing classes and who was in them she might know. That's all."

Hermione was really amused by the situation. Lily worked so hard to be mean to the Marauders and she has no idea she was going to end up married to one of them and being best friends with the rest. Sirius in the mean time had chosen to avoid Lily's remark and continue to look pleased.

"Anyway, we should be going. I don't want to be late or we'll miss the best cauldrons," said Olivia, bored with the situation.

"You are right, coming guys?" asked Beth to the rest of them, and much to Lily's displeasure they all stood up and walked together towards the dungeon. Hermione knew it was going to be weird attending potions and having Snape as a classmate instead of a teacher. Something of her concern must have shown in her face because Remus asked.

"You ok, 'Mione?" at the sound of the nickname, Sirius looked up.

Hermione re arranged her features and smiled, "yes, just nervous." Sirius put one arm around Hermione's shoulder and said, "You've got nothing to worry about, you have next to you the best potion maker Hogwarts has ever seen."

A cold laughter sounded behind them. The six of them turn round to find a tall, blond boy Hermione immediately recognized as Lucius Malfoy and a shorter, greasy haired one standing right behind them.

"I suppose you are not talking about yourself Black, you are so obtuse can't even make a simple sleeping solution. The only thing you can do is beat bludgers, and I think you might have missed a couple of times and hit your own head, because you have become more stupid with the years," said Snape walking pass them, still laughing.

Sirius was about to say something, but Hermione bit him to eat "Oh, why don't you fly off Snape." Everybody in the hall, except Malfoy burst out laughing. Snape turned a pallid shade of pink and looked at Hermione furious.

"I didn't know you needed a defense attorney to speak for you Black. And who are you?" Lucius Malfoy asked Hermione in a scornful tone. But before Hermione could answer, the door to the potions classroom opened and professor Slughorn made them go inside it. Hermione was surprised to see him. She had temporarily forgotten he used to teach potions. He looked just as Harry had described him from Dumbledore's pensive

"Ok, settle down guys. I need you to pay attention. Today we are going to prepare a very difficult potion, so we'll be working in pairs that I have already arranged." There was a general groan around the classroom.

Hermione, much to her displeasure, was paired with Snape. In fact, it was difficult to tell who was angrier of the two. They were supposed to be making some Polyjuice potion.

"You are not supposed to slice the horn of bicorn, you are supposed to crush it!" Hermione told Snape exasperatedly

"What do you know? The book says slice them!"

"Yeah, but if you added them sliced you'll have to wait for them to dissolve before moving to the next step. If you crush them instead, they dissolve faster and you avoid contaminating it with the particles of metals from the knife," she explained in her worst know-it-all tone, just to annoy him.

"You should listen to this young lady, Severus. She's absolutely right," boomed Slughorn behind them, making them jump. "You must be Mrs. Granger, the new student" Hermione nodded. "Very well Mrs. Granger, take 10 points for Gryffindor for you very useful tip." And he moved to see what the couple next to them was doing, leaving Snape fuming.

Not long after that the class ended and the Hermione had a free period before going to Arithmancy, so she headed back to the common room with James, Remus, Sirius and Lily, Beth and Olivia had muggle studies.

"That was brilliant!" Said James when Hermione caught up with them.

"I had never seen Snape so humiliated in a class, and Potions is supposed to be his best subject. 'Mione, you are fantastic!" said Remus grinning broadly at her,

"Yeah, you are the best Mione," said Sirius hugging her from behind. Hermione's heart began to beat faster. The only person who had ever hugged her like that was Ron, and it was usually just because she had agreed to help him with a piece of homework. Still, his hugs always made her nervous and exited, but she had never felt the tingling sensations she had all over her.

"I don't like him," said Hermione, ignoring her feelings

"Join the club," said James. "Actually no, it's not that we don't like him, we hate him." Hermione smiled. James felt for Snape what Harry felt for Draco Malfoy.

"What?" James asked her.

"Nothing, it's just, you remind me terribly of a friend of mine, you know…" she left the sentence unfinished, and only he and Sirius fully understood what she was talking about.

"Anyway, I think this calls for a celebration. How about a round of butter beer?" Sirius offered cheerfully. They all agreed, why not? They didn't have anything to do for over an hour. James was delighted that Lily was coming too. Of course, she had only acceded because of Hermione, so that she wouldn't have to be the only girl, but still, it was an opportunity to show her that he wasn't as bad as she thought.

Once they were in the common room, which was practically empty as most of the students were in class, they sat at one of the largest tables and waited for Sirius to bring the drinks while they discussed, or rather abused Snape and Malfoy. They told Hermione everything about those to, as if she didn't have enough reasons to hate them already. Even Lily participated in the conversation enthusiastically. A couple of years ago, she had been against the Marauders being cruel to Snape, but y now she had a pretty good idea of his true colors, so she didn't mind any more.

Sirius returned carrying a box full of bottles. Hermione suspected he had made it so fast to Hogsmeade disguised as Snuffles. Although she wasn't sure if he had already adopted that name for his dog self. On the other hand, Lily knew nothing about them being animagi or about the secret passages to Hogsmeade.

"Do you have a secret stash of butter beer hidden somewhere in the castle?" she asked Sirius as she took the bottle he was handing her.

"Something like that," he answered, winking at Hermione. "So, I propose a toast. To the new member of the I swear I'm going to make everything in my power to make Snape's life unbearable club. Lily, you are welcome to join too," he added. James looked hopefully at her. Even if it was just a joke, he liked the idea of being in some way connected with her.

"Can't I be something like an associate instead of a member?"

"Sure, you can be whatever you like! As long as you take the vow. Come on you two, repeat after me: I solemnly swear that my one and only purpose in life is reducing Severous Snape to tears in every and all opportunities that shall appear before me, for it is the most honorable thing I can do."

The girls looked at each other and then burst out laughing. Sirius looked at them pretended to be offended.

"If you are not going to take the club seriously, this is not going to work!" he said.

"Come on Padfoot," said Remus consolingly, "you have to admit that was the worst oath you have come up with!" Sirius shrugged hi shoulder while the rest of them laughed.

They had a wonderful time planning what evil things they would like to do to Snape, knowing perfectly well they weren't going to carry them out. But it was something entertaining to talk about, and by the time they had to go back to classes, none of them really felt like going, including Lily. Something had changed in the atmosphere, although they didn't know it yet. This was going to be the beginning of something very special.