Hello again,
Oh, first year. I think this is a bit of a filler chapter, but it does give you a feel for the characters and how they work. By the way, Sirius may come off as a git, but it does serve a higher purpose. I promise.
I hope you like it!
Emmy. x
"Here you go Miss Evans," Professor Mcgonagall said, passing Hermione a piece of paper that looked strangely similar to a treasure map, "And for you Miss Evans."
"What's this?" she asked Mary, who had been sorted into Gryffindor along with the twins the night before.
"It's your class schedule, Minne," she told her. She knew Mary was ignoring the downturn of her friends lips when their new nickname was mentioned.
"I'm not a mouse," she huffed, looking over the paper that was sealed, the emblem of Hogwarts shining in blood-red ink, "Why's the paper so old, anyway?"
"Oh, that's a wizarding thing," Mary shrugged, grabbing a piece of bacon from the golden plate, "they call it parchment."
"Like in the medieval ages?" she said, looking around at the other tables in curiosity, where other students were also receiving their schedule.
"Yeah, I guess," Mary said.
"Hey, if we're in medieval times, does that make us chambermates? Or are we still dorm buddies?" Lily asked, making Mary giggle.
"I dunno," Hermione laughed, thinking of their massive four-poster beds.
"They certainly belong in medieval times."
The three had been the only girls to be sorted into Gryffindor, whereas the Gryffindor boys managed to fill two dorms. Clara had been sorted into Ravenclaw with Sarah, and she could see they were both snacking on the magnificent display of food that covered each table. Unfortunately for the Evans twins, their best friend had been sorted into Slytherin as he had hoped, and Hermione could only hope she would spend more time in lessons and outside of the classroom, knowing they would never see each other's common room and that houses separated friendships.
Gryffindor house, the twins had learnt, was just as bold as it students, always filled with raucous laughter and daring do-gooders. Her dorm was shared with her sister and friend which made the night easier, but she couldn't help but worry. Sirius and James were bullies, and they were in the same house as her. Did that make her a bully? She had dug quite hard into Sirius, but he deserved it. Her friends did not think of her a bully, nor did her sister or Severus.
"I hope I've got some classes with them…" she thought, breaking the stamp and unfolding her parchment, which had another piece of paper inside it.
Miss Evans,
Classes at Hogwarts are an hour long, and you will be expected to attend all lessons listed below at the correct times. You will be paired with another house for each class, however you will remain with your own house at all times, unless instructed to do otherwise. It is important you remember that weekends are to be used for study and socialisation, not for miscreant behaviour.
Any truancy or misconduct will result in detainment; this will be done in your own time.
Do enjoy your stay here at Hogwarts,
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Head of Gryffindor House
Monday:
9.00am - 10.00am; Potions, Professor Slughorn, Slytherin House
10.00am - 11.00am; Potions, Professor Slughorn, Slytherin House
11.00am - 12.00pm; Transfiguration, Professor Mcgonagall, Hufflepuff House
12.00pm - 2.00pm; Lunch, Great Hall, All Houses
2.00pm - 3.00pm; Charms, Professor Flitwick, Ravenclaw House
3.00pm - 4.00pm; Defence Against the Dark Arts, Professor Wood, Slytherin House
Her plan continued like that, everyday starting at nine and ending at four, with a two hour break in the middle.
"At least we're with Severus in some classes," she told Lily, who was looking longingly at the decorated table, where Severus was sitting with the Edgecombe boy in their year. He didn't look to upset, but his eyes showed the hidden sadness Lily was expressively mirroring.
"Why would anyone want to see Snivellus at all?" James laughed as he sat by Mary, making Sirius who was walking with him laugh and two boys behind them nervously titter. She knew two of the gits insulting her friend, but the others were new to her.
"Shut up, James," Lily snarled.
"Evans, you look ravishing today," James said with a smug grin, making Lily's fume at his cavalier attitude.
"I'm quite tired this morning, so I'm finding it difficult to find a more interesting way to say I don't care," she scowled, biting into her toast to keep from speaking.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said, looking over at the shaggy-haired boy and another who looked like a rat, "Do you even know you Severus is?"
"James and Sirius told us all about him last night in our dorm, and these two mental twins that hang around with his," rat boy chuckled, throwing his grime-covered hand in her face, "Peter Pettigrew."
"I'm Remus, Remus Lupin," the other boy told her, smiling over the table.
"Oh hi," she told him with a smile, "You seem really nice Peter, we should meet up later."
"Really?" he asked, ignorant to the gobsmacked looks Lily, Mary, James and Sirius were giving her.
"Sure!" she exclaimed, polishing off the last of her breakfast and standing up, pulling a very confused Lily with her, blatantly ignoring the hand of the frowning Peter, "Anyway, it was so lovely to meet you both, but if we don't go, we'll be late for class."
Quick as a flash, she grabbed her bags and stalked off, Mary and twin in tow. There was a comfortable silence as the boys filled their plates, until Remus' head shot up in realisation.
"She was one of the twins, wasn't she?" Remus groaned, looking frustratedly at the now-smirking James and Sirius.
"Yep," James said, snatching a piece of toast.
"The other ginger one was her sister," Sirius added, chuckling at Peter's horrified expression.
"Hang on, why was she going to class now?" James asked, confused.
"She probably just wanted to get away from you idiots," Remus said, rolling his eyes at their antics.
"Yeah," an older student interjected, turning from his own conversation and laughing at the boys perplexed faces, "That and first year lessons started a minute ago."
"Oh bugger!"
Hermione's first two terms had flew by in a flurry of spells, potions and friendship, though there was a lot more to magic, as she quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a quick abracadabra.
She, Lily and Severus had made quite the impression on their professors, showing both talent and determination for everything they tried. In fact, the only area where they didn't shine was flying, which all three of them had truly hated, much to the disappointment of Madame Huxley. She seemed to be constantly enthusiastic and happy, which Severus got a lot of amusement out of, who wasn't entirely bothered either way.
Along with the wonderful friends she had made on her train journey, the three were almost always seen together, and they had also made an firm friend in Hagrid, who they visited each weekend. When they had first gone to see the groundskeeper, he had almost burst into tears, interrupting the steady flow of conversation every few minutes to ask why exactly they'd come to see him, to which all three promptly responded:
"We wanted to, Hagrid."
Unfortunately, none of this had not deterred the bunch of gits from being cruel when given the opportunity. It had had the opposite effect actually, their unlikely friendship with the giant only fuelling the fire of their insults. There was no serious hatred there, and the boys barely indented the twins lives, but it irritated her to no end when they would throw their snide remarks to Severus. Remus and Peter were a bit more reserved, and she could tell that Remus was quite uncomfortable with the teasing, but he still did nothing to stop it. In all honesty, Hermione had steered clear of the mean boys and tried get Severus to do the same.
When December arrived, Lily had mailed their parents to ask about arrangements for Christmas, but the reply they got was extremely upsetting.
Coincidentally, Petunia's friend's parents were going away to see her ailing grandma, meaning that they were to be in the South and she and her brother had nowhere to go. Petunia - the kind-hearted and generous girl that she was - had quickly offered her sister's beds up, knowing that Hogwarts students were allowed to stay over the holidays.
The month before came and went, a few gifts being sent using Lily's owl. On Christmas Eve, both Hermione and Lily had burst into tears almost in sync at the thought of spending the family event without their parents for the first time. Hermione crawled into her sister's bed, the room feeling empty without Mary, who had also gone home, and they comforted each other.
On Christmas day, their spirits rose a little, though not enough to join the feast in the great hall, where the other seven children who stayed were eating.
Instead, they requested entry to the kitchens, where they baked all the famous treats their mother was known for. Severus, who had stayed with them, suggested the idea of making a different type of sweet for each different professor, which the girls adopted with gusto. Lily giggled as she decided they were going to make lemon bars for Professor Mcgonagall because she was so sour-faced, sending them fall into fits of laughter, and Severus said he had once overheard that lemon drops were Dumbledore's favourite sweet.
They spent the day meticulously measuring, reminiscing about their friendship before Hogwarts and - as was inevitable whenever Hermione baked - throwing most of the ingredients around the room. Luckily, they had learned the incantation to clean surfaces from Professor Flitwick (who was receiving a box of macaroons) in charms class.
Their teachers had appreciated the gifts, giving the three warm smiles and great compliments, most suggesting that they baked even better than the house elves, and a few sending them secret winks when classes resumed.
"Severus," Lily said, looking over to her pale friend, who was lounging on a tree in the shade, staring up at the spring blossoms.
"Yes?"
"Do you love me?" she asked, startling Hermione, who was basking in the sunlight by the lake.
"What do you mean?" he asked confusedly, looking worriedly at Hermione.
From what she had understood, the concept of love and girlfriends had become a big issue for most of the first years: boys became cute, instead of dirty and weird; kissing was considered grown-up and cool, not just another way to catch flu, and no matter how strange the subject was, bodies became the focus of everyone's attention. So when her sister brought up the subject of love with her male best friend, they were both confused.
"Do you love me?" she said, looking at him with a cocked head and a searching expression.
"Well, you're a great girl Lils," he started awkwardly, glaring over at a hysterical Hermione, who was in tearing up at the hilarious expression of alarm on Severus' face.
"No, idiot!" Lily laughed, smacking his arm, "Do you love me like I love Hermione?"
"You know you're like my sister, Lils," he told her, relieved and smiling, "You and Mione both."
"I feel the same," she said happily, reaching over to hug him.
"Where did that come from?" Hermione asked, walking over to them and plonking herself in between the two.
"It's just something Potter said," she sighed.
"What did the git say now?" Severus frowned, looking down at Hermione as she lay her head on his shoulder.
"He said you'd leave us."
"Leave?"
"Yeah, that you'd desert us."
"Now why would I want to do that?"
"Because we're in different houses," she sighed, looking over to her sister and adopted brother.
"So?"
"He said that in the end, you'd leave us, because Slytherins don't like muggle-borns," she said, biting her lip as she brought up just about their only forbidden subject.
"Being muggleborn is nothing to be ashamed of!" he said angrily, "you two are the most important people in my life!"
"Us too, Sev," Hermione whispered, looking up from his shoulder to see his face still contorted with rage, "You know Potter and Black are prats."
"You mustn't let them get to you Lils," he told her firmly, balling his fists.
"I just don't understand why they hate us," Lily huffed, "It was one time we insulted them, and now they hate us!"
"I wish they'd just stop with those stupid pranks," Hermione bit out, closing her eyes in frustration and remembering the countless times their classes had been interrupted by tricks or incidents, "I swear, they're insufferable."
"You know fully well that I cause joy and excitement wherever I go," the familiar voice of Sirius Black called. Hermione opened her eyes to see him and his posse strolling over the spring-green grass.
"Please, Black," she scoffed shifting her position on Severus' shoulder, "more like whenever you go."
"Somebody's snappy today," Peter laughed,
"Hey Pettigrew?" Severus drawled, "You know that thing you do where you open your mouth and sounds come out?"
"You mean talking?"
"Yeah, that. Stop it."
"Real clever, Snivellus," Remus frowned, looking over at the dejected Peter. Hermione frowned at the protective look in his eyes.
"Why doesn't he realise Peter was being mean too?"
"I'd say something else clever, Lupin, but you wouldn't get it," Severus said, pulling Hermione closer to him and looking over to Lily. Sirius growled defensively and James took a menacing step forward, but before they could do anything, Lily was up and stood in front of the two.
"You take one step more!" she barked, making the boys back away laughing.
"Please, as if you'd hit me, Evans," James laughed.
"Yeah," Peter piped up again as Severus and Hermione stood up, "You're a girl!"
"I bet you hit like one too," Remus said.
"Sure I do," Lily smiled cruelly, "and so could you if you hit a little harder."
"Girls belong in the kitchen," Sirius smirked, looking over to Hermione.
"What, the way you belong in an asylum?" she retorted.
"Please Evans, you and I both know you fancy me," he leered, laughing with his friends at her disgusted expression.
"You know, I'd love to agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong."
"Why are you even here?" Lily demanded, crossing her arms and frowning.
"Oh, us?" James asked innocently, "We just came to give our friend Snivellus a little present."
"What?" she asked confusedly.
"Furnunculus!" Sirius cried, his wand pointing straight at Severus, who's face had erupted in giant, throbbing, pus-filled boils. Lily shrieked indignantly as his face contorted in pain, making the foursome laugh.
"Get him to the hospital wing, Lils," Hermione gritted out, glaring over to James, who was bent double with glee.
"But Mione," she said hesitantly, looking at the furious expression on her sister's face.
"Just go," she said, "He needs Madame Pomfrey. I'll meet you there in a minute. I promise"
"Okay," she whispered, grabbing Severus's hand and walking back to the castle.
As soon as they'd moved out of sight, Hermione rounded on the boys, who had calmed down somewhat.
"You're despicable!"
"Why thank you, love!" Sirius said proudly, mock bowing. Hermione snarled, stepping closer to him.
"Why would you do that?" she challenged.
"He's in Slytherin, that's why," Sirius scoffed, as if she'd asked what one plus one equaled.
"That doesn't matter!" she roared, hitting him as hard as she could in the chest. Granted, it didn't have the effect she'd hoped for - sudden and painful death, if you were wondering - but it certainly shocked him.
"Listen here, you little chit," he said, grinding his teeth with an unrecognisable glint in his eye, "you can try to keep your precious little Snivellus, but sooner or later his Slytherin will come out and he'll ditch you. They're all the same."
"I don't care!" she cried, looking over to the amused James, nervous Peter and a very guilty Remus, "What we do is of no concern to you, Black, nor you're pals. Stay away from us!"
"You'll see!" he bellowed to her retreating form, as she stalked back to her friend.
"Miss Dwerryhouse, if you could please tell me what year the Soap Blizzard occurred?" the dull voice of Professor Binns droned, not even looking up from his textbook.
"1378, sir," Hermione answered, rolling her eyes at the stubborn ghost.
Ever since the class had started, she had realised that he was a very impatient man, and would not be taking take the liberty of learning his students' names.
Professor Binns paused as he considered the answer, pursing his lips, looking like a wrinkled old tortoise.
"Correct, ten points to Gryffindor. The 14th Century economic bubble burst following the Soap Blizzard of 1378..." he begun to recite from his notes, reading in a flat drone like an old hoover until nearly everyone in the class was in deep thought or dreaming of the summer sunshine outside, occasionally coming round long enough to copy down a name or date, then falling into a daze again.
"Mr Adlebourne, what were the ramifications of the reformation occurring in the council of Glennon in the wake of the Soap Blizzard?"
"Er..." the nervous Hufflepuff - called Simon Whitton - said, biting his lip in concentration.
"It's the one about Patrick Kellett," his friend whispered.
"Mr Chudderley, this is not a debate!" Binns exclaimed, "Five points from Hufflepuff for disrupting learning."
"Sorry sir, I was-" the boy (Thomas Froste) started, before getting cut off again.
"All of this will be on your end of year examination, Chudderley. At this rate, only Miss Dwerryhouse and Miss Stoddeley will be passing said test," he chastised, looking up from his textbook to nod at Lily and Hermione.
"Now, Patrick Kellett was a 14th Century hero..."
Hermione turned to her sister, who was giggling at Mary because she'd fallen asleep on her desk and was snoring.
"I hope we do well on our exams. I don't want to be kicked out of Hogwarts," Hermione said, looking to her notes of the class. She'd read all the textbooks for their exam before they'd got to Hogwarts, but couldn't help but worry.
"We'll do fine, Mione. You heard Binns: Dwerryhouses and Stoddeleys are hard workers," she said seriously, grinning at her sister, "No doubt our good looks and determination will pull us through!"
Staring blankly down at the Gryffindor table, Hermione wondered how she had gotten through first year exams.
She had first been called into transfiguration with her class, where Professor McGonagall commanded that they turn a mouse into a matchstick, peering silent over the top of her spectacles at them. Then, then were asked to treat a werewolf bite in defence.
By then, panic was stirring in her stomach, giving her an awful headache. She'd clung to her sanity as she tried to remember the steps for the forgetfulness potion, glancing over at a cheery professor Slughorn, who's gleeful grin was - for once - not so infectious. After, he'd sent them straight to History of Magic, where Binns had prepared an exam as tedious as the lessons he'd taught on everything they'd learned throughout the year.
Head throbbing, hand cramped and an dreadful feeling of failure on her conscience, Hermione made her way to greenhouse one, where quick-fire questions on dittany and devils snare clouded her mind. A worrisome smile on her face, Professor Sprout had directed them to the charms classroom and Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk.
Finally, after an especially long day of testing, she popped to the library to study for her Astronomy test at midnight.
Today was the day they would receive their results, and that was all she could think about. She'd blocked any conversations out, not even bothering to wave hello to Clara and Sarah as she headed to their usual place
"Here you go Miss Evans," Professor Mcgonagall said, breaking her out of her stupor as she placed a familiar piece of parchment next to her. Hermione looked worriedly at the paper so similar to a treasure map, "And for you Miss Evans."
"I don't want to open it," she whispered, glaring at the untouched plate in front of her, "I've probably failed everything."
"Don't be an idiot Minne!" Mary laughed, taring into her wax-sealed parchment and unfolding her results, "you, Lily, Severus and the girls studied so hard I bet your brains hurt."
"I got five O's!" Lily squealed, wrapping her arms around her sister in delight, "The rest are E's, which is brilliant!"
"I got two O's, three E's and two A's," Mary smiled happily, shoving some egg and beans onto her fork, "That means I passed everything."
Sighing, Hermione ripped the seal of the parchment and flattened it, to reveal a table of results much like her schedule had looked at the start of the year.
Hermione June Evans' First Year Wizarding Examinations: Results
Astronomy
Classification: Outstanding
Charms
Classification: Outstanding
Defence Against the Dark Arts
Classification: Outstanding
Herbology
Classification: Outstanding
History of Magic
Classification: Outstanding
Potions
Classification: Outstanding
Transfiguration
Classification: Outstanding
"See," Severus laughed from above her, "you had nothing to worry about!"
"Where did you come from?" she gasped, looking up at him as he read over her shoulder.
"Oh Mione!" Lily cried, grasping the paper and reading quickly, "That's so amazing!"
Hermione could see her smile waver as she looked down at her own results, but didn't dwell on it.
"Feel like an idiot yet?" Mary giggled, making funny faces at her friend, "No way you're not staying in Hogwarts, Minnie."
"Thanks, guys!" Hermione said, hugging her sister and friends, "I know I can get a bit stress-y at exam time."
"You're telling me!" Severus joked, waving goodbye to them as he made his way over to class.
"Owl me everyday!" Hermione cried as she watched her friends run over to their parents.
"I can't wait till we get home and summer starts!" Lily squealed, before spotting their mum and running over to her and throwing her arms around her.
"I can't wait till we come back," Hermione whispered, before running with Severus to her dad.