Disclaimer: I don't make any money from this. I wish I did- that would be awesome. However, I just mess around with these characters in my free time.

Chapter 9

Feeling dejected, Hermione picked up her stuff and headed made to leave the room. She got down to the end of the hall when she had an idea, maybe tonight won't be a complete waste of time. She walked back down to the empty wall and walked back and forth three times, and a familiar door was there. She opened it and was relieved to see it just the way she remembered it.

There were broken joke toys, old broomsticks, rusted caldrons, paintings, trash, furniture, and anything else you could possibly think of, all stacked into giant piles all around the endless maze of a room. Hermione took out her wand and conjured a large ball of yarn, and tied it to the rung of a chair stationed close to the door.

The idea had come to her from the old Greek mythologies. This one was about the Labyrinth and the Minotaur. The hero Theseus had been sent into the maze, but King Minos' daughter Ariadne fell in love with him, and gave him a ball of yarn so he could find his way back to her. Theseus was able to slay the Minotaur and make his way back out of the Labyrinth.

Hermione's heart felt a little tug at his part of the story. Theseus had promised to marry Ariadne, and she had loved and trusted him. However, he felt her stranded on the island of Naxos and broke his promise. But, that was when she met the God Dionysus, and he had fallen in love with her, and they married. What was that saying, when one door closes, another one opens. Hermione was feeling a little bit of a kinship between that story and the life she was currently living.

Shaking those thoughts away, she started to unroll the string as she walked in search of Ravenclaw's lost diadem. She hadn't planned to start this part of her quest this early, but when in Rome!

At this thought, Hermione had a little chuckle to herself. Since when did she become the queen of clichés? James was the one who liked them, and was horrible with them. Maybe she could get a book for him about them for Christmas!

Hermione came to a dead end, and had to rewrap the yarn back up and try again. She ended up repeating these steps three more times before she saw a familiar scene in front of her. There was a chipped bust of an ugly warlock, so Hermione took a minute to look around this area to find what she was looking for. At last, she found it, and it looked just like she remembered it. There was a blue sapphire on it in the shape of an oval, and the quote along it said Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.

Hermione took the diadem and stared at it while she began to think. Now that she found it, should she take it with her? She didn't want to leave it in her dorm incase on of the other girls found it accidentally, or they started to react horribly to it just like Ron had when it was near him. Biting her lip, she put it back down, and covered it with a moth eaten blanket she found in a neighboring pile of stuff.

She had decided to leave it here, and her reasoning was simple. It was still here 20 years in the future, so it has to be safe. When she found another one she would bring it in here and hit it somewhere in here, too. Maybe she should make a map, she thought. It would help with remembering where everything was, and she wouldn't need to use the string anymore.

Deciding to start that another night, Hermione followed the string back to the door, rolled it up and tucked it into her pocket, and pulled out the invisibility cloak. Throwing it around her, she made her way back up to Gryffindor tower.

Hermione said the password to a very confused Fat Lady (Who's there? Is that you Peeves?) And walked up to the boy's room. She put the invisibility cloak back where she had found it, walked up to the girl's dorm to grab a book and a blanket, and then headed to the common room to wait for her boys. She snuggled up on the couch to wait, and ended up falling asleep.

Hermione was awoken a few hours later by Sirius, who was shaking her gently.

"Hey, did you sleep out here all night?" he asked.

"I guess so," Hermione said with a yawn as she sat up. She looked up to the stairs and saw James and Peter walking slowly up them.

"Well, go on up to your room, you have a couple of hours before breakfast starts," he said. And even as he said this, he sank onto the couch beside her.

"Okay, thanks. Wait, did you guys just get in," she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, we had some mischief we needed to get caught up on and then we went to visit with Remus," he answered.

"How is he," Hermione said.

"Better, he should be back tomorrow night," Sirius explained.

"Oh, good- I thought about going to visit him," she said with a questioning tone to her voice.

Sirius paused for a moment before saying, "He doesn't really like people seeing him when he's sick. Plus, Pomfrey is keeping him asleep most of the time."

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll just see him when he gets back," Hermione said tentatively.

They sat in silence for a little while, before Hermione stood up and walked to the stairs. She turned around before she made it up there and saw that Sirius was staring at her.

"Well, I'm glad that you guys seemed to have a good night and you were…safe, if all of your mischief making," she said awkwardly. Her cheeks flushed a little bit to know that he was watching her walk away.

"We were," he said. "Good night."

"Good night," she said and she turned around and walked up the stairs. Feeling bold, she added a little bit more flourish with her hips when she walked up the stairs. Turning around again, she saw Sirius almost obnoxiously staring at her bum. He flushed a little at being caught, but didn't look away. Hermione turned back and continued her trek up to her dormitory.

The next few weeks flew by and before she knew it- it was the day before her birthday! She didn't want to tell anyone about it, she was having a lot of different feelings about it. It was going to be the first birthday in a long time that she wouldn't be spending it with her friends- specifically Harry and Ron. Her last birthday had been kind of passed over because they were scouting out the Ministry of Magic and trying to make up a plan to break in and steal the Horcrux locket from Umbridge.

She woke up like any other Saturday morning and had prepared to spend the day working on homework in the library. It's not that she didn't want to celebrate it- she was actually turning 18 tomorrow, the day when she would legally become an adult in the muggle world. It was exciting and she should have been looking forward to it. However, her parents are not around in this time and she's not even born, so her connection to the muggle world felt thinner than it ever had, and it pained Hermione when she thought of it.

"Good morning," she said when she came out of the shower and saw that Lily was also awake. Hermione had dressed casually today, wearing a pair of jeans, a tank top, and a hoodie. It wasn't exactly the style of the era she was in, but Hermione didn't care. It was a connection to her muggle heritage from where she had come from, and it was comforting to her today.

"Morning," Lily said sleepily.

"I'm going down to breakfast and then the library, do you want me to wait for you?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, actually- I'll hurry," Lily answered and hopped out of bed, grabbed some clothes and headed towards the bathroom. The other girls in the dorm were still asleep, and Hermione didn't want to wake them. It was Saturday, they could sleep in as late as they wanted. Plus, it was nice to have some alone time.

Hermione wandered over to her bed and opened the drawer to her side table. She carefully took out her beaded bag and opened it. She didn't know why, but she started digging around in there. She pulled ended up pulling out a book, and smiled when she saw the title. It was a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them that had belonged to Harry. She opened the cover and smiled. Well, according to the first page, it also belonged to Ron Weasley because his copy had fallen apart and instead of getting a new one, he decided to stock up on dungbombs.

Hermione flicked through the pages to see different things that Harry and Ron had added to the text. She smiled when she read a part of the text that stated a colony of Acromantula in Scotland was unconfirmed- but Ron crossied it out and wrote that it had indeed been confirmed by himself and Harry. Or the section heading on the Norwegian Ridgeback being scratched out and 'Baby Norbert' being added in. And all the funny notes about how Hagrid probably hasn't read this book and if it says that the creature is dangerous, Hagrid would think it was as cute as a pigmy puff.

Hearing Lily finishing up in the bathroom, Hermione shoved the book back into her beaded bag and stuck it in the drawer of her night table again.

Hermione actually felt better after finding that book. She didn't remember packing it, but she was glad she did. While she might not be with Harry and Ron right now, and while she might not know what was going to happen in the future- because she was absolutely going to change it- she knew that she would always carry a piece of her friends with her, wherever she went.

Lily exited the bathroom looking ready for the day. She was also dressed in muggle clothing, but hers were correct for the time. She had on a light green button down shirt, and it was tucked into a pair of dark blue bell bottoms.

"I'm ready," she said.

The girls walked downstairs and met up with the Marauders, like always.

"How are you guys always ready this early?" Hermione asked as they walked out of the portrait.

"It's James, he's a bloody early riser and we've learned to accept that. Also, he sings in the shower and no one could sleep through that," Remus explained with a yawn.

The girls giggled at this, and James turned pink.

"Really, you sing in the shower James? What kind of songs do you sing?" Hermione asked.

"Well this morning it was Love Will Keep Us Together," Sirius answered for James.

"Muggle music? I never would have thought you would be a fan," Lily questioned.

"I really like it. Sirius started listening to it when he was young, but when he started taking Muggle Studies he listened to it a lot more. Now that he lives with me, we had it playing almost all summer," James told her.

"And what do your parents think about that?" Lily asked.

"Oh, his dad loves it! Spent all summer with Kung Fu Fighting stuck in his head!" Sirius laughed. "Oh, and remember when we snuck up on him in his workroom. He was trying to dilute the potency of Doxy venom for the potion he was working on, and we caught him in a rendition of Play That Funky Music White Boy."

This earned a laugh from everyone else, too.

"Wait, your dad makes potions? I didn't know that," Lily asked.

James immediately looked uncomfortable. "Erm… yeah," he answered.

"You mean you don't know?" Sirius said incredulously.

"Know what?" Lily said, very confused at this point. They had reached the Great Hall and sat down at the table.

"His dad is the inventor of the Sleekeasy's hair potion," Peter piped up.

"What!" Lily yelled.

Hermione had a moment of… well she couldn't exactly put her finger on how she was feeling. She had used that potion on her hair for the Yule Ball in fourth year, and she never knew that Harry grandfather had invented it.

"Yeah, he's a brilliant potioneer- he's Fleamont Potter," Remus told them.

"The Fleamont Potter- I had thought that you might be related to him somehow, but I never thought he would be your father. He's completely brilliant and the way he uses the…" but Hermione stopped paying attention to Lily at these words and was looking closely at James.

He looked uncomfortable- like he would rather be talking about any other subject in the world right now, even the style of undergarments that Dumbledore prefers.

"- wait. If he's your father, why aren't you better at potions," Lily asked.

Sirius snorted at this question, and if it was possible, James's face flushed even more than he already was.

"His mum asks him that all the time. 'Jamie, you know if you need some help you can ask your father, I'm sure he would be willing to give you some pointers. He might even agree to be a guest speaker! Oh, could you imagine it. Both of my boys working together…' She gets on him about it all the time," Sirius explained.

Before anyone could say anything else about James or his famous father, the mail arrived. Hundreds of owls swooping here and there dropping letters and packages to students and teachers- and this morning Hermione saw two owls dropping off a package each in front of her.

"What's all this?" Sirius asked.

Looking confused, Hermione shrugged her shoulders and opened the letter that was attached to the largest package.

Dear Hermione,

Happy Birthday dear niece. Well, tomorrow will be your birthday- but I think tonight is an excellent day for a celebration! Don't be alarmed, Professor Dumbledore let it slip when he was here on Thursday that your birthday was tomorrow and I wanted to make sure that you got something, but I also wanted to make sure it was recognized.

You are 17 tomorrow, and it's an important time in your life. The time when it's most important to have a mother figure to guide you as you venture into adulthood. I know if your mother could be with you tomorrow, she would. However, I feel very privileged to be in a position where I get to help you celebrate this day.

I hope you make the most of it,

Love

Aunt Rosmerta

Hermione read the letter twice before putting it down. She had been feeling unsure about the day so far, but after receiving the letter from her surrogate aunt, it made the day feel real and gave Hermione a flutter of excitement in her chest- whereas before she received the letter it felt hollow. Slowly she reached for the package and opened it. Inside was a small box with another piece of parchment on it. The note read:

Hermione, I don't know if you are aware but there is a tradition in the wizarding world where when a wizard become of age, they receive a watch from their family. Now, I know I'm not your mother, and I know that you are not a wizard, but I think both you and I know how to break the rules in the best of ways. Enjoy this gift, for it belonged to someone special once, and passed on to me. It's now my turn to pass it on to you.

Also, the larger package should be opened in a private space. I know it's a day early for the celebration, but when you see what's inside- you'll understand. I'm also breaking another rule, because it's a rule that I don't serve to anyone attending Hogwarts, I'm making an acceptation for you. Please don't tell Sirius Black, though. I'll never hear the end of it.

Hermione put down the note and picked up the box. When she lifted the lid, she found that there was a beautiful silver pocket watch nestled inside. However, there was something different about it. She picked up the watch and noticed that there was a thin silver chair attached to it. That's when Hermione realized what Rosmerta had done. It had originally been a pocket watch, no doubt it belonged to a wizard of some kind. However, her aunt had attached a different kind of chain to it and turned it into a beautiful necklace.

"Hermione, are you okay," Remus asked, putting a hand on her back.

"Yeah, it's from my aunt," Hermione explained.

"It's beautiful," Lily told her.

"It's a birthday gift," Hermione said.

"Today's your birthday?" Sirius and James said together.

"Tomorrow."

"Why didn't you tell us, we didn't plan anything," Lily said.

"It's okay, I didn't want to make a big deal. Actually, I was feeling a bit down about it earlier. It's going to be the first birthday that I won't be able to celebrate with my parents or my friends from my other school, so I kept it to myself," Hermione told them, still admiring the necklace.

"But you're not now?" Peter asked.

Hermione shook her head. "My aunt made me feel better. You know, she also took care to plan a little something, too."

"Really, what did she plan," Remus asked.

"It's inside this box, and if it's what I think it is- well, we can't open it here." Hermione said with a smirk.

"What is it?" Sirius asked- reaching for the large package.

"Nope, you'll have to wait," Hermione teased.

For the rest of the meal, the boys kept asking her what was in the box- making guesses, trying to take a peek at the note her aunt had sent her, and Sirius had even tried to open up the box itself. By the time they had finished breakfast and walked back up to the tower, Sirius was dying with anticipation. Apparently, he doesn't handle surprises too well.

"Let's take it up to the dorm," Lily said.

"Wait, I want to see what's in it too!" Sirius whined.

"Well we can't open it here," Lily argued.

"So let's go up to the boy's dorm. No one's up there," Peter suggested.

Lily looked uncomfortable with this suggestion and James's cheeks had that familiar tint of pink in them again. Sirius picked up the box from Hermione's hands and headed up to the boys dormitory.

They walked in and Sirius dropped in onto his bed. He hurriedly motioned for Hermione to follow him, and she made her way over.

"Open it- Open it!" He chanted, with a little bounce.

"Okay, I'm opening," Hermione said with a smile. Using her wand, Hermione broke the seal on the package and opened the top for everyone to see inside. Her guess was correct, and in side were a couple bottles of firewhiskey and a couple bottles of muggle alcohol.

When the boys and Lily saw the rest of her gift, they all had different reactions. Sirius and James began to whoop and holler in excitement, Remus just stood there grinning excitedly. Peter looked confused at what was in the bottles, and Lily looked very unsure about it.

"Party tonight! Hermione, your aunt is amazing! Okay boys, we've got to start planning. Ladies, I'm going to have to kindly ask for you to leave and let us work our magic. We'll hold on to this," he picked up the box and put it down on the floor beside the bed," and let you know what the details are later," Sirius told them.

"Wait a second, why do you guys get to do all the planning?" Lily asked them.

"You want to help?" James asked nervously.

"Well, yeah. She's my friend too." She said.

"Okay, then Lily-flower, you may stay and help with the party planning. Miss. Granger, I'm going to have to ask you to step out of our offices. We'll send you an invitation later. However, we will be needing and RSVP as soon as possible," Sirius said teasingly.

"Okay, I'll leave. Nothing too much, okay? Just a get together with you guys and the rest of the girls," Hermione tried to tell them, but Remus had opened the door at this point and James had practically picked her up and placed her outside.

Hermione shook her head- what had her aunt gotten her into?

The day passed by pleasantly. After she had left the boys dorm she went up to get her bag, told Mary, Dorcas, and Marlene what had occurred at breakfast and they were both excited for the evening's festivities. She spent the rest of the day in the library working on her homework.

At around noon, Hermione indeed received an owl telling her to be on the 7th floor at 7 p.m. that evening. She smiled at the invitation and check off that she was attending. She attached it back to the owl and watched it fly off.

Hermione finished her homework and went upstairs a couple of hours before the party. She wanted to shower and get dressed before going up. She ended up dressing light denim bell bottoms and a long sleeved floral maroon top. She used the spell to curl her hair the way she liked it, and because it was a special evening, she coated her eyelashes with black mascara.

When she was ready she walked down to the common room to find Remus and Peter waiting already down there.

"We are here to escort the birthday girl," Remus said with a smile.

"Well what's the point in sending an invitation telling me where we're going and then sending someone to escort me?" Hermione asked impatiently.

"I honestly don't know. It's Sirius; do I need to explain any further?" Remus said exasperatedly.

"On second thought, this makes complete sense," she laughed. "Alright, let's go."

"Actually, you can't go like that," Remus said hurriedly.

"Why, what's wrong with this outfit," Hermione said self-consciously.

"Oh no, not that. You look beautiful. No, I meant that you can't go without this," He said horrified at his unintended slight, his face flushing as he held out his hands to show her the blindfold,

"Oh, thanks," She said with a little tinge of pink appearing on her cheeks. She turned around and felt the cloth slip over her eyes. When it was in place, Remus took one of her hands and Peter took the other. They started to guide her along to the portrait hole when her foot caught on the side of a coffee table.

"Oof," she said as she stumbled. When she regained her balance she said, "Is this really necessary. I know where I'm going- it said in the invitation."

"Yeah, but this is what Sirius and James want. They said it was more of a surprise this way," Peter explained.

"It's more of a pain in my arse," Hermione mumbled as she tried to exit the portrait hole.

The journey up to the 7th floor took a bit longer than they were anticipating and they ended up being a few minutes late.

"There, now just stand here for a minute," Peter said. She could hear footstep moving away from here, and then coming back to her, and then moving away again. She guessed he was pacing in front of the empty wall space that leads to the Room of Requirement.

"Okay, we can go in," Remus said. She followed her guides as they lead her through a door way. Suddenly, the blindfold was ripped off of her face.

It took her a minute to for her eyes to get adjusted to the light again, but when she did she saw that she was in a room very similar to the Gryffindor common room. There were streamers draped around the ceiling and balloons floating around. There was a table on one side of the room that had the selection of alcoholic beverages, as well as some non-alcoholic. There was also a table that had a selection of sweets from Honeydukes on it.

Standing in front of her were her friends who were watching her closely. She beamed at them.

"You guys didn't have to do all of this," Hermione began to say.

"You have to celebrate a birthday. And it's your 17th tomorrow, right?" James asked. When Hermione nodded her head he continued. "Then yes, we did have to do this."

Hermione walked up to everyone and gave them each a hug.

"Alright, let's party!" Sirius yelled. Somewhere in the room music started to play- muggle music.

"How are you playing this?" Hermione asked him.

"We charmed a radio to play in here," he answered simply.

"Where did you guys get all this food?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, we have our ways. The girls did the decorating and the boys went in search of sweets!" He told her.

"So you know how to get in and out of the castle without being caught?" she baited him.

"It's one of the mysteries of the Marauders," he said while walking over to the table and pouring himself a glass of firewhiskey.

"You know, there were a couple of boys from my old school who knew who to sneak out and would bring back goodies for a party whenever there was a Quidditch victory," Hermione told him.

"Oh really? And were they devilishly handsome as well," he said with a raised eyebrow.

"They were troublemakers just like you guys," she said. "Actually, come to think of it, they were also beaters on the Quidditch team," she remembered.

"They sound like amazing blokes, if I do say so myself. I hear that the beaters are always the sexiest players on the team," he said with a wink while pouring her a glass of firewhiskey next and handed it to her.

Hermione looked unsure about it, but took a sip anyway. It burned just like she remembered, and coughed a little at the sensation.

"Your first one?" he asked.

"No, I've tried it before- I just never liked it," She answered truthfully. She thought about the first time her had ever tried the drink- it was the night that they had rescued Harry from the Dursley's for the last time, and during the chaos with the Death Eaters, Mad-Eye Moody was struck down. They all had a toast to his memory that night.

Sirius and Hermione walked over to the couches where everyone else was talking and laughing together. Hermione looked surprised when she saw that James and Lily were deep in conversation.

"So Hermione, how does this compare to your last birthday?" Remus asked her.

"Well, last year I went… camping. I was with some friends, but it didn't turn out great. I'd say this one is off to a much better start," Hermione said.

"Tell us about your friends. Were they boys?" Marlene asked with a purr.

"Yeah, my two best friends were both boys," Hermione said with a sigh.

"Oooh, were they cute," Mary now asked.

"Yes, they were both good looking," Hermione said- taking a sit of the firewhiskey to help with where the conversation might end up.

"Did you ever date either of them," Marlene asked.

"No, well not really. Harry was my best friend- more like a brother. Ron… it was complicated with him. I might have dated him if I hadn't had to leave." She said.

"Why didn't you try long-distance dating," Dorcas asked.

"Well, like I said- it was complicated. It might have worked out if I had stayed, but things change. I don't regret it either way," Hermione said quietly. She looked around the room and made eye contact with Remus, her eyes pleading for him to change the subject.

"Hey, Lily! Didn't you bring some muggle games for us to play," Remus hollered over to her.

"Oh yeah- Hermione, you'll never guess what I brought! Twister!" Lily said excitedly.

"Really? It's been ages since I played that," Hermione gushed.

"What's twister?" James asked.

"It's a game. Someone will call out different colors for us to put our hands and feet on, and we have to do it. If you fall you lose," Hermione explained.

"Well that sounds easy," Sirius said with a shrug.

"It's harder than you think, because with a bunch of people all doing it at the same time your bodies get all twisted up. Ergo- Twister," Lily told them.

They laid the mat out and it was decided that Hermione, Mary, Sirius and Remus would be in the first group to play, and then James, Lily, Dorcas and Marlene would be in the second group. Peter decided he would be the official spinner and call out the instructions. The first few spins had the game going by slowly, but soon everyone was getting tangled up. Hermione was squatting down on the floor behind Remus, who had his bum in the air as he made a bridge over Mary. Sirius was on the other end of the mat, with his arms underneath him and his legs draped underneath Mary's body.

"Remus, right foot on blue," Peter called. Remus moved his foot away from Hermione and closer to Mary.

"Mary, left foot on green," Peter said. However, when Mary moved her foot she knocked Remus's foot out of balance and caused him to topple over to the left.

"Lupin, you're out!" James yelled from the side lines.

"Yeah, I noticed," Remus retorted as he picked himself up off the floor.

"Alright, Sirius it's left hand on red," Peter said. Sirius stretched his arm over towards Hermione.

"Hermione, right hand on yellow," Peter said, and then made a little laugh at the position that put the two teens in. Hermione was forced to stretch her body so she was hovering over Sirius's hips in order to reach the appropriate color.

"Fancy meeting you here," she said to him. He grinned up at her.

"Mary, left hand blue," Peter instructed. Mary moved her hand to the correct color, so her hand was underneath Sirius's bum.

"Hey guy, look! My first threesome," he shouted with a cocky grin. All the girls rolled their eyes while all the guys grinned.

"You worded that as if there would be more than one," Hermione teased.

"Ouch,- you wound me," he replied.

"Sirius, right foot red," Peter called. Sirius moved his foot to the appropriate color, but ended up hitting Mary's recently placed hand in the process. She fell to the ground, but she knocked Hermione's hand out from underneath her and sent her falling onto Sirius, flattening him to the ground.

"Ouch, Sirius get off my hand," Mary yelled.

"Well get your hand off my arse," he said back. Mary pulled her hand out from underneath him as Hermione struggled to sit up.

"I knew you'd end up falling for me," he said to her with a cheeky grin. Hermione rolled her eyes and got up off the floor. She extended her hand out to Sirius and pulled him up too.

"Alright, group two you're up!" Peter announced. He was taking his job very seriously.