Final House scores are in: 6 Slytherins, 3 Ravenclaws, 4 Hufflepuffs and 1 Gryffindor.

}{—}{—}{

A 1970's Hogwarts education had never really bothered Hermione, it was slightly easier than her 1990's education but Hermione had never truly realised the gap, until now.

The duelling level of her year group was nowhere near the standards of the kids who'd signed up to Dumbledore's Army.

They lacked their talent, their strength and their resilience.

Florence Mulberry conceded after a simple trip jinx had her sprawled out across the platform.

Monty Karinski was beaten by a mere stupefy.

Phillip Smith lost to an impediment curse.

And now Arlo was getting destroyed by Selina Yaxley, whilst Marlene had her hands full with Olivia Travers.

"Quicker!" James bellowed but she doubted that either of them could hear him above the noise of the other students.

The duelling class hadn't gone exactly as Arlo had hoped it would.

Instead of getting some form of misguided justice against them, Slytherin House had crushed their opponents.

They were quick and brutal, using spells and jinxes that bought dark memories to the surface.

Mulciber cut down his opponent in less than a minute.

Avery toyed with his opponent before throwing them off the platform.

Yaxley and Travers worked as a team, ripping through Marlene's defences and then hitting hard. It was only Marlene's skill with a wand that kept the two Gryffindor girls from losing.

"Tarantallegra!" Yaxley's jinx shot past Marlene and straight at Arlo, hitting her square in the chest.

Arlo's legs went wild, kicking up left and right, shuffling back and forth, her limbs out of her control.

The Slytherins burst into rambunctious laughter as groans of displeasure and defeat shot through the rest of the hall.

So far no one had defeated the Slytherins. Pennyweather seemed to intentionally pair up the strongest from the other Houses to compete against each other, whilst giving his former House the weakest to go up against.

"Dirty cheat" Peter grumbled, glaring at Pennyweather.

"Aren't they all" Sirius agreed. "Nothing but cowards, the lot of them"

"Cowards that can duel" Hermione frowned at him. The display of duelling ability had to a small degree upset her, although the Slytherins were just kids now, one day they would all be at Voldemort's side, using their talent to kill her kind.

And whilst Voldemort would have a House of talent at his disposal, the other side had very little in terms of ability.

No wonder they'd needed a baby to save them in the end.

Sirius glared at her, his grey eyes hot with fury. He'd been tense throughout the whole hour, letting his emotions get the better of him as the Slytherins won duel after duel.

"I hardly call a few spells against inferior opponents duelling" he sneered, his jaw tight.

Hermione didn't back down, glaring back at him "call it what you like" she shrugged, "they're the only House that's remained undefeated" she said.

Sirius' eyes darkened, a growl escaping his lips but before he could do anything, James' hand wrapped around his arm, jerking him backwards and away from Hermione, although he didn't look too pleased, Sirius let James drag him away until they were out of earshot.

"Stupefy!"

Hermione turned back just in time to see Arlo stiffen and fall over.

"Shit!" Peter frowned.

The Slytherins wasted no time in going after Marlene, who put up an admirable fight but in the end, fell to their wands.

"The winners" Pennyweather declared "are Yaxley and Travers" the two Slytherin girls returned triumphantly to their House, whilst Marlene and Arlo sourly trudged down to their own Housemates, rubbing at their sore muscles.

"You tried your best" Remus placatingly said.

Marlene glared at Arlo but the girl was too busy moping at the ground to notice.

"That brings us to the end of your first duelling session" Pennyweather said, staring down at them all, his gaze lingering slightly longer on Hermione.

With a wave of his wand, the rankings changed, with all 42 slots now filled.

Hermione's eyes scanned over the top ten and her heart sank at the sight.

1 - Hermione Evans

2 - Sirius Black

3 - Tony Rosier

4 - Tiberius Mulciber

5 - Jonathan Avery

6 - James Potter

7 - Selina Yaxley

8 - Lily Evans

9 - Olivia Travers

10 - Severus Snape

Six Slytherins sat amongst the top ten and then rest of their House were all within the top twenty.

"For those of you in the bottom twenty" Pennyweather barked "I suggest that you re-evaluate your lack of skills" he growled, numerous students inched away from the platform and averted his gaze.

"Dismissed!" he all but yelled and then it was a scramble to get out, everyone desperate to leave.

Hermione ignored the wary looks being sent her way as she made it out of the hall.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked, when she didn't follow the crowd towards the Entrance Hall.

"Library" Hermione yelled back, never once slowing her stride.

She needed to work on her watch, she was counting on her inventions to win an entire war, Merlin knew that magical talent alone wouldn't suffice.

Hermione found a table right at the back of the Library, by the goblin section.

She reached into her bag and took out a much smaller bag, with a tap of her wand, it regrew to its original size and with a wave, all the enchantments gave way. She doubted that even Dumbledore could open it without her permission.

Hermione carefully placed everything on the table, to most people it would just look like runes and strange words on parchment but it was the key to everything.

She grabbed her latest parchment, it was a set of intricate calculations that explained exactly how she would breach the wards, it didn't bring down the wards as that would take far too long, instead it tricked it, creating a space for her to safely slip through via Portkey, the issue was that she couldn't do it safely or without being detected.

She also couldn't anchor it, but she was pushing that problem to the side for the minute.

First, she had to work on detection, with a sigh, Hermione threw herself into it.

As she worked, Hermione gave the time little consideration, working right through dinner and into the late evening.

It was only when the chair next to her was loudly pushed back that she raised her head and frowned.

Sirius Black sat down besides her, his hair looked more put together than usual, each strand seemed to have been excessively combed but his uniform was as messy as always.

"What do you want?" she frowned.

"A date" Sirius answered, a large grin on his face.

Hermione's frown deepened, she chose to ignore him, opting to sort through her notes, with Black around, there was no chance of continuing her work in peace.

"Fine, fine" Sirius smirked, "I'll settle for your company instead"

Hermione gathered her notes in a large pile but before she could put them in her bag, a small bouquet of red roses landed atop them.

She finally looked at Sirius, he was leaning closer than she'd realised, a determined glint in his grey eyes.

With a sigh, Hermione pushed the roses off of her work and carefully placed the pile in her bag .

"Next time" she said in a clipped tone "could you refrain from desecrating my work?"

"Desecrating?" Sirius breathed, surprised. "Most girls like roses" he grumbled

"How many girls do you actually know?" Hermione questioned "we're individuals Black, with our own preferences"

"So you don't like roses in general?" Sirius asked "or you don't like roses from me?

"Both" Hermione smiled.

A slow smile graced Sirius' face and he leaned in even closer "so what sort of flowers do you like?" he asked.

Hermione frowned at him, confused, not just by the flowers but his behaviour over the last few weeks. "Why are you doing this?" she questioned.

Sirius smile wavered before broadening "because I want a date" he said confidently

"Why?" she insisted

"Because I like you" he instantly replied, like it was stupid to even ask.

"Why?"

"What?" Sirius asked, the confusion clear in his eyes.

"Is this some creepy doppelgänger thing you think you need to fulfil?" she enquired but Sirius just looked even more confused. "James chases after Lily, so you chase after the other Evans twin?"

Sirius balked at her, "Merlins beard, how sad do you think I am?" he demanded, his face growing red with anger.

Her silence was all the confirmation he needed.

"My life doesn't revolve around James" he scowled, his eyes darkening.

"Than why do you like me?" she demanded

He ran his hand through his hair and breathed out a sigh, "because I just do" he shrugged "I like how you look" he smirked as his eyes raked over her body "I like how you seem to know everything about everything, I like how you live off of sugar quills because you're always skipping dinner and how you get all snappish when you don't want to be bothered, I like how you roll your eyes, see, there, just like that, I like it when you do that" he grinned "I can write you a list if you want, It'll probably be about five feet long"

Hermione frowned at him, the idea was as odd as the first time she'd realised it.

Sirius Black liked her.

In a romantic way.

The thought was too jarring for her mind to comprehend.

"So is your continuous rejection of me a creepy twin thing?" Sirius asked, his eyes narrowed in thought.

"What?" Hermione questioned, confused.

Sirius leaned back, "Lily turns down James, so you turn me down"

Hermione snorted at him "don't be so ridiculous"

"Then why won't you go out with me?" He implored

"Maybe I'm just not attracted to you?" She smirked

Sirius snorted at that, an arrogant look on his face "everyone's attracted to me" he grinned.

Hermione rolled her eyes and Sirius' grin widened.

"Give me a real answer and I'll leave you alone" he promised.

"Forever?" She said hopefully.

"For tonight" Sirius frowned

"For the rest of the year" she demanded

"For a day" Sirius offered, his lips turning up at the corners, he was clearly amused.

"A month" she bargained

"For the rest of the week" Sirius sighed, "take it or leave it Evans" he held his hands up.

"Fine" Hermione sighed, "you've got a deal"

Sirius triumphantly grinned at her "so why won't you give me chance?"

"Because you're mean" Hermione easily said. Sirius frowned at her but she continued before he could interrupt, "you hex and jinx anyone in sight without any consideration, and yes to you it may be fun but to others, it really isn't" her mind went to Severus, who dealt with so much at home, only to be tormented at school. "You're inconsiderate, you do what you want, when you want without a care for anyone else and you're really very childish" she summarised "also your pranks aren't that funny, they're rather awful actually"

Sirius' frown had only grown as she'd spoken, an unrecognisable look in his eyes. He was silent for a moment before finally speaking up "I asked for honesty I suppose" he grimaced

They shared an awkward look and Hermione was unsure of exactly what to say next but Sirius simply pushed back his chair and rose from his seat.

"I'll talk to you on Monday Evans" he said, his eyes on her but his mind miles away.

"Yeah" Hermione lamely replied as he walked away, "sure."

}{ — }{ — }{

Sirius kept his promise, completely ignoring her for the following few days.

A fact that had Marlene soaring with happiness on a rather dull Saturday morning.

"Does this look alright?" She demanded, turning away from the mirror so that they could all get a look at her fancy hairstyle.

"It's raining" Hermione remarked, putting her red beanie on top of her head.

"It's charmed to stay dry" Marlene replied cooly, her lips pursed.

"It looks lovely" Lily said, throwing Hermione a look that said, don't do anything to antagonise the blonde.

Hermione rolled her eyes and finished getting dressed. Things hadn't improved much in their dorm but at least Marlene was now speaking to her, she'd even sat next to her at breakfast.

"Come on!" Arlo excitedly said, "I want to get a good seat for the game"

Hermione frowned, her eyes straying to the window, the sky was a dark grey and light rain gently hit the window.

"Do I have to go?" She quietly asked Lily.

She'd planned to spend the day in the library, she'd cracked her detection issue and she'd figured out a way to breach the wards, she just wasn't sure exactly how safe it was.

All that was left was anchoring it.

"Yes" Lily sighed at her "this is a great way to get things back to normal" she said "some bonding time with your dorm mates"

Hermione couldn't think of anything worse.

"Besides, you've practically lived at the library this week" Lily frowned "so yes, this Quidditch game is compulsory" she insisted, pushing Hermione towards the door.

Hermione's frown deepened the more steps she took and only lifted when she caught sight of Benjy decked out in Gryffindor red.

"Over here!" She yelled, waving her hands to get his attention.

Benjy spotted her amongst the crowd and made his way up the stands, it was only when he reached her that she realised, he wasn't alone.

"Budge up" she told Arlo, who'd all but frozen at the sight of Benjy.

She snapped out of it, her face flushing red and she quickly shuffled down the bench.

Benjy and his friend made their way over and Hermione rose out of her seat to greet them "red suits you" she grinned at her friend.

Benjy smiled back at her "yellow suits me more" he said and then moved aside so that she could get a better look at his friend, "Hermione, this is Levi" Benjy introduced.

Hermione instantly recognised him, it was Levi Dumont the wizard that had gone up against Rosier and Snape in the duelling class.

"We know each other" Levi grinned, he was tall with broad shoulders, tan skin, a head of light brown hair and eyes to match, unlike Benjy, he was dressed in Ravenclaw blue.

"We do?" Hermione frowned, unsure of when she'd spoken to the boy.

"Sort of" Levi sheepishly smiled and she noticed a set of dimples on his cheeks. "We're in the same year" he explained "and everyone knows Hermione" he told Benjy.

Benjy grinned at her, pride radiating off of him, "that's my Hermione" he said, ruffling her hair through the beanie she had on.

Hermione smacked his hand away, scowling at her friend "why don't we sit" she grumbled, Benjy moved to sit next to her, but she grabbed his arm, forcefully pushing him past her, "sit on this side" she sweetly smiled.

Benjy frowned at her but did as he was told and sat on Hermione's right, between her and Arlo, leaving Hermione to sit between Benjy and Levi.

Awkwardness hung heavy in the air but it was a small price to pay if Arlo would just buck up and speak to Benjy.

The rain had thankfully stopped and a warming charm ensured that she would stay dry and warm throughout the game.

The crowd burst into cheers as the two teams made their way out on to the pitch, Hermione couldn't see their faces from so high up but she could certainly feel their dislike towards each other.

"As a spectator, this is always my favourite game to watch" Levi suddenly spoke.

"Oh" Hermione turned away from the Quidditch field to look at him "why?" she asked

"The players completely lose their heads" he grinned "tactics fly out the window and it comes down to brute force and talent" he said

"Isn't that like every other game?" Hermione questioned, Quidditch just seemed like a bunch of players trying to hit each other off their brooms.

"Not a Quidditch fan are you?" Levi smirked

"Is it that easy to tell?" Hermione asked.

"The frown on your face kind of gave it away"

Hermione chuckled and grinned "sorry, I don't mean to be a spoilsport"

"You're not" Levi smiled "and no, that isn't every game" he answered, "We Ravenclaws stick to our tactics and we have plans for all possibilities, we don't let the pressure get to us whereas the Hufflepuffs are a defensive team, they shut their opponents out and then rely on their seeker"

"Right" Hermione said

"And you don't care at all do you" Levi laughed

"I care" Hermione lied, he gave her a look, "okay, I don't care" she admitted and he laughed at her.

"Goal, Potter!" yelled the announcer "10 points to Gryffindor!" and the stands erupted into cheers, Hermione went along with the crowd, as James potter flew over their heads.

"What do you care about?"

Hermione's attention was once again off the game and onto Levi instead "not much" Hermione shrugged, "I'm pretty boring"

"No one that can duel like you is boring" Levi said, a glint in his eyes.

"It was nothing" Hermione brushed off his praise.

"Nothing?" Levi frowned, "half the school thinks that you're Morgana reincarnated" he told her

Hermione's eyes widened, most of the school had been giving her a wide birth but that wasn't anything unusual.

"And what do the other half think?" She questioned

"That you're a great duellist" Levi grinned at her.

"Thanks" Hermione awkwardly said "you were really good as well, you may have won if it wasn't for that sneak attack

Levi frowned, scowling in the direction of the Slytherins, "yeah, maybe" he shrugged, his eyes returning to her.

Their was a sudden commotion just behind her, Hermione turned just in time to see Peter almost toppling on to her. It was only Remus grabbing him from the back that stopped the collision.

"Sorry" Peter quickly said, his face growing red as he straightened up, the Gryffindors on either side of him loudly complained but they fell silent as Sirius shoved them aside to make enough room for the three of them to sit behind her.

"What are you doing?" Hermione frowned at Peter.

Peters eyes widened in embarrassment "we wanted a better view" he blurted.

"So you just shoved everyone out of the way?" She darkly questioned, her eyes going to the embarrassed Peter and Remus before landing on an annoyed Sirius, who was glaring at the field, refusing to look at her.

"It wasn't my idea" Peter squeaked

"You still did it" Hermione huffed, turning away from him.

The game was going rather well, Gryffindor led by thirty points but in the end it would come down to whomever grabbed the snitch first.

"So" Peter loudly said, leaning his head down between her and Levi "where's Lily?"

Hermione inched away from her friend "with Severus" she answered, still annoyed at him.

Peters eyes widened in surprise "she's supporting the Slytherins!" he demanded "against her own House!" he balked, even Levi seemed taken aback.

"She doesn't care about Quidditch" Hermione firmly said, defending her sister. What Lily cared about was her friendship with Severus.

Peter shook his head in dismay, "Prongs isn't going to like this" he quietly whispered to Remus.

"The Snitch!" the announcer cried and every head turned in search of the seekers.

"Over there!" Benjy pointed towards the Slytherin stands and Hermione watched as Gryffindors seeker just about beat Slytherins, swiping the snitch out of the air and proudly holding it aloft.

The stands burst into cheers and applause, everyone jumping to their feet.

Hermione was just glad that it was over.

}{—}{—}{

The celebrations in Gryffindor tower were loud and rambunctious, the Marauders had snuck down to the kitchens and had bought back a ton of food and drinks.

"It's worth the detention!" James gleefully yelled as a crowd of Gryffindors engulfed the table of food.

Hermione's eyes strayed from James to Lily, unlike the rest of their House, her sister was sad. Lily was sat in the chair, her hand mindlessly tapping against the table, her green eyes on the night sky.

Hermione could only assume that things hadn't gone as well as Lily had hoped but as she refused to speak about it, Hermione couldn't be sure.

"This is the part that you snap prat or moron and I emphatically agree" Hermione joked

Lily startled, almost surprised to see Hermione sitting next to her.

"Sorry?" she questioned.

Hermione inclined her head towards James who was stood on one of the tables, still fully dressed in his Quidditch gear and making a fool of himself.

"Oh" Lily breathed, "Potter's the last thing on my mind" she frowned

"Want to talk about it?" Hermione asked

"I just don't get it" Lily sighed "Sev and I were like two peas in a pod and now…" she quietly trailed off.

Hermione hummed in agreement, but her mind was elsewhere, the gears furiously turning as an idea struck her.

Two peas in a pod?

Two peas?

"That's it" Hermione breathed as a solution for her anchoring problem hit her, "of course" she shook her head, excitedly rising from her chair.

Lily frowned at her, "where are you going?" she demanded.

"Cover for me" Hermione implored

"It's past curfew" Lily scolded "and I'm a Prefect!"

"I'll make it up to you" she promised and then quickly walked off, pushing her way past the Gryffindors and through the portrait hole.

She carefully made her way to the seventh floor, using every hidden corridor available to her until she made it safely to the seventh floor, where she stood in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls ballet.

Hermione paced three times and a door suddenly appeared.

As it had been doing for the past five years the room of requirement provided her with a laboratory of sorts.

Their was a cauldron station to the left, a table with chairs around it by the windows and to the right were shelves filled with her watches.

Hermione placed her bag on the table and took out the watch that she always carried with her, she hurried over to the shelves and grabbed another.

Two peas in a pod or in this case two watches.

She'd connect the watches, one acting as the anchor for the other. One watch would be strapped on someone's wrist and the other would be placed in a safe house, it was easy to move if needed and difficult to detect.

How had she not thought of it sooner? She berated herself

With an eager smile, Hermione got to work.

She ended up getting back to the dorm in the early hours of the morning, as it was Sunday the next morning she'd hoped that she could sleep in but her dorm mates had other plans.

Hermione shoved Gus off of her pillow as she tried to block out the noise in the room but her curtains were forcefully pulled aside and a far too jubilant Arlo peered down at her.

"Get up Hermione!" She smiled, tugging Hermione's pillow away, "I have so much to tell you!"

"About what?" Hermione grumbled

"About Benjy of course!" Arlo beamed, "I love you! Love, love, love!"

"If you love me, please go away" she tried but Arlo wasn't budging

"Ten minutes, if you're not up by then, I'm dragging you out" she promised

Hermione grumbled under her breath but with a heavy sigh rose up from her bed.

Lily was fully dressed, reading a book on her bed and Diana and Marlene were excitedly chatting away on Diana's bed.

"He sat next to me!" Marlene squealed "and he shared some of his Firewhisky"

"They snuck in Firewhisky?" Diana said in surprise

"Yes, but you can't tell anyone!" Marlene beamed

"What in Merlin's beard are they on about?" Hermione asked Lily.

Lily rolled her eyes at the two, "Sirius finally realised that Marlene exists"

"Oh" Hermione said in surprise "that's brilliant" she grinned a moment later.

Lily snorted at her, "go and get dressed" she demanded

"Yes, Mum" Hermione smiled, dodging out of the way of Lily's kick. With a laugh, she made her way into the bathroom.

Hermione followed behind the other girls as they made their way down into the common room.

Their dorm room breakfast instantly went out of the window as Marlene spotted Sirius and slinked away from them.

"Oh, blimey" Arlo huffed, "Diana go and drag her away" she said

Diana shook her head, "I'm not interrupting her and you shouldn't either, she'll jinx you in a heartbeat"

"Hey, Hermione"

She turned to see Peter walking off the steps that led up to the boys dorms.

"Peter" she grinned, it had been a while since she'd spent some time with Peter outside of their tutoring sessions. "Do you want to walk down to breakfast together?" she asked

"I was suppose to go down with Sirius" Peter said

"He's currently indisposed" Hermione grinned, inclining her head towards Marlene and Sirius. Marlene had a hold of his arm and he seemed to be trying to get it back.

Peter barked out a laugh "serves him right" he laughed, "he was so drunk last night, poor Remus had to hold his hair back as he threw up" Peter grimaced.

"Alcohol is prohibited at Hogwarts" Hermione sighed

"It wasn't-"

"You, I know" Hermione cut him off "but I wish you'd be more assertive with those friends of yours" she said

Peter frowned, a guilty look in his eyes.

"Nevermind" Hermione sighed, "let's go"

Their dorm room breakfast in the end turned into a fifth year breakfast, Hermione was sat between Peter and Lily, who had Arlo on the other side and then Remus, whilst across from them was Diana with a beaming Marlene, who was sat next to an irate Sirius and a sulking James Potter.

Conversation was awkward and stilted, so much so that Hermione was relieved when hundreds of Owls swooped through the open windows, breaking the tension.

Although neither Lily or Hermione owned an Owl, they regularly used the Hogwarts Owls to send and receive letters from home, Lily also subscribed to the Daily Prophet.

So it wasn't unusual when a brown Owl landed in front of Lily, a copy of the Daily Prophet tied to its legs.

What was unusual was the silence that quickly filled the Hall and Lily's gasp as she unfurled the Prophet.

Hermione wasn't sure what she was expecting to see but it certainly wasn't what was staring back at her.

The fork in her hand clattered onto her plate and her heart hammered as she snatched the newspaper from Lily, a cold spread up her spine as she got a closer look at the picture on the front cover of the Prophet.

It was of a street, the houses utterly destroyed and blazing high above everything, above all the carnage and destruction - was a skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue.

The Dark Mark.

Her chest tightened, a hard pressure making it difficult to breath but it wasn't until she started reading the article that her hands began to shake.

Aurors were alerted to an unusual occurrence last night. An attack on a quiet muggle street on the outskirts of London. The only clue left behind was a strange insignia in the sky. Although six muggles were killed in the attack, the Ministry has assured us that their is no need to panic, that the attack was from an opportunistic Witch or Wizard and that the muggles concerned had no connection to Britain's Wizarding community.

From our own research, we have come to a similar conclusion, the muggles, were of different ages and backgrounds, with no connection to one another, except that of neighbours.

Selma Carmichael, was an elderly woman who lived with her three cats.

The Thompson family, Eva, Malcolm and their son Joey owned a bakery at the edge of the road.

And the Grangers, Cecilia and Landon Granger, a newly wed couple who are what muggles refer to as dentists.

}{—-}{—-}{