Okay, very strange chapter. Not much Sirius, but a lot of character development.

Have fun!

Emmy. x


"Professor?" Lily called from her desk, her hand raised in the air.

"Yes, Miss Chudderley?" he droned, his slivery form looking up from his desk, "What is the matter?"

"Um, you seem to have place me in the wrong seat."

"What do you mean?" he inquired, peering over to her desk in mild annoyance.

"Er, well," she said, "I usually sit with Eva and Daisy, but you seem to have assigned me a seat next to Mr Cotton…"

"That was intentional, Miss Chudderley," he said, looking back at his marking, "You have made excellent progress throughout the year, however Mr Cotton & Mr Kent seemed to be struggling somewhat with their own advancement, therefore you and Miss Dwerryhouse have been split between the two."

"Oh, alright."

Hermione made her way from the door over to where Pettigrew was sitting, looking over to where her sister was fuming next to Lupin.

"Er, I," Pettigrew started, looking nervously from his desk to Hermione, then back down. She tried to ignore him, thinking hard about all the times he'd giggled when his stupid friends laughed at Sev, or thrown his own hexes, but he was quite endearing. He always had this forlorn expression whenever he saw his friends joking about, and he'd been teased mercilessly for his size and unfortunately mouse-like features. Hermione knew that he had crippling self-confidence issues, because he always stuttered around everyone but the prats, and she couldn't help but feel bad for him.

'Maybe this is a sign,' she thought, looking curiously over to the jittering boy.

"I-I-I didn't ask him to move y-you. I p-p-promise."

"I know Pettigrew," she sighed, grabbing her textbook from her bag.

"Er-"

"Just, don't do anything stupid, please. I'm sure you're a lot smarter that Potter or Black, even if you have no spine whatsoever."

"W-well they are kind, if you get to know them."

"They're great big bullies!" she huffed, "No one deserves to be pranked and humiliated like that, and you always target Severus! Why?"

"I-I don't think I could tell you…"

"Exactly, it makes no sense!" she said, any idea of paying attention to Binns' lecture out the window.

"N-n-n-"

"I knew it!"

"No," he said quite forcefully, no hint of a stutter, "I don't think I'm allowed to tell you."

"What?" she said, confused by his answer and shocked at his change in demeanour, "What do you mean, you can't tell me?"

"It's quite personal, Hermione," Peter shrugged, "But there is a good reason."

"Well," she paused, looking down in guilt, "I'm sorry, Peter, its just Severus is my friend."

"Well they're my friends," he replied, "We see them differently."

"They're still gits, though," she said with a smile, Peter laughing quietly.

"Okay," he chuckled, and she giggled with him.

'He's not as bad as Black,' she realised, 'Maybe Clara's right about Lupin.'

They both focused on Binns as he continued with his lecture, his dull, monotone voice lulling the less attentive students to sleep. Today, they were suffering through an hour and a half's droning on the subject of giant wars. As Hermione half listened, half daydreamed, she heard just enough to appreciate that, ironically, in another teacher's hands this subject might have been mildly interesting. Hermione almost drifted of for a kip of her own, but the Professor began asking questions.

"Can someone please tell me what the name of the leader of the revolution?"

She thought back to all the things he'd said, but the answer was evading her. Looking over to Peter, she noticed he'd written his own answer on a piece of parchment.

"Do you know it?" she whispered, pointing to the name he'd scrawled messily on the paper.

"Er, I-I think s-so," he said, covering his answer quickly with his pudgy hand.

"Why don't you put your hand up, then?" she asked, glancing around at the drowsy, confused students and an extremely disinterested Binns, "No one else knows it."

"Well, er," he stuttered, nervously biting his nail, "W-What if it's w-w-wrong?"

"It doesn't matter," she said, waving her hand to dismiss the notion, "As long as you've tried, that's what helps you learn."

"Well, m-maybe," he said, raising his arm just a little, "P-professor?"

"Yes, Mr Kent," the teacher sighed, "What is the matter now?"

"Er, the, er, answer to the question," he started, looking over to Hermione who inclined her head and smiled, telling him to go on, "Is, is it, er, Rukin?"

"Well, yes," Binns said, an impressed, yet confused - perhaps the most emotion he had shown since the start of Hogwarts - expression on his face, "Yes it is, Kent."

"Oh."

"Er, twenty points to Gryffindor, for being the only one to bother listening today," he said, before moving on with his lecture.

"That was wonderful, Peter!" Hermione beamed encouragingly, "You should always give an answer if you know it."

"A-alright, Hermione."


"Hey Mione," Mary smiled, sliding into the bench across from her friend, "What've you had?"

"Arithmancy then Binns," she said, rolling her eyes as Mary yawned dramatically, "What about you?"

"Double divination," she giggled, grabbing a sandwich from the golden platter on the table, "It was hilarious!"

"What happened this time, then?"

"Sarah got professor Ravensdale to believe she saw her true love in her teacup," she said, "Now she's in love with her because she's 'got the sight'."

"It's a load of rubbish," she huffed, "God knows why you decided to take it."

"Well Mione, not everyone wants to be doing work twenty four seven."

"Alright, alright," she laughed, picking up her pumpkin juice.

"Where's Lily?"

"She's in the library with Sev."

"Why?" Mary asked, looking up from her chicken sarnie, furrowing her brows.

"I'm not really sure," she frowned, "I think she mentioned something about studying."

"It's the first week back, for god's sake, what've they got to study?"

"I don't know!"

They ate in silence for a while, but Hermione could feel the niggling sense of someone watching her. She glanced around the hall, seeing the usual - Potter, Lupin and Peter messing around whilst Sirius flirted with a new slag, Hufflepuffs laughing and Ravenclaws studying - but something still felt off.

"Can you feel someone staring?" she asked cautiously.

"No..." Mary trailed off, looking around to see what Hermione meant.

"I don't know what it is," she muttered. She could see three of the four tables, but she couldn't see anyone staring at her.

"Hey Minne," Mary whispered, putting her scotch egg down and leaning over the table slightly, "That guy in Slytherin, Malfoy, he's staring at you."

"What?"

"The one in seventh year, he's looking right at you."

She peered over her shoulder, trying to be discreet, but it didn't seem to work as he winked at her, before turning to his friends and continuing his conversation.

"What was that?" she said, confused.

"I don't know," Mary shrugged, before smirking, "Maybe he's interested in you."

"No," she scoffed, "It's probably just someone in front of me."

"Yeah, yeah," Mary giggled, "You've been getting a lot of attention from seventh years lately."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's Malfoy and then that guy in McGonagall's class," she raised her eyebrows jokingly.

"I don't even know who he is!"

"But we've been getting closer," Mary insisted, "You know you want to know."

"Yeah, but I can't find him anywhere!"

"We'll keep looking, don't worry."

"Hey, have we got DADA next?" Hermione asked, smiling as the platters of lunch food disappeared, before being replaced with piles of sweet treats and sugary snacks.

"Yeah," she said, stuffing a treacle tart in her mouth and chewing, "It's nearly the end of lunch, isn't it?"

"I think so."

"Are we still on with Sarah and Clara for a mini snack-fest before curfew tonight?"

"Yeah, they're coming over to our room tonight, then next week we're going to their common room. Sarah says we can't use their room, 'cause Tansy Coombs is always in there studying."

"Sound's groovy!"

Hermione picked up a fondant fancy and started to pick off the icing, looking around the room again; it seemed Malfoy had left, probably to go to his next class. She was shocked when the bell went to tell them their third lesson had begun. Deserting her dessert, she and Mary made their way down the hall to the defence room, giggling as she told Hermione about how Archie Davis had smiled at her in care of magical creatures yesterday.

"Hey Mione," Severus grinned, "Hi Mary."

She and Mary had made their way down the hall to the defence room, giggling as she told Hermione about how Archie Davis had smiled at her in care of magical creatures yesterday.

"Hey Sev," she waved, coming to stand next to him and Lily.

"Hello," Mary said, looking to the two of them, "Where've you two been then?"

"Nowhere," Lily said quickly, making the two other girls confused, "We were just studying."

"Yes, we've got a test in Muggle studies," Severus added, smiling.

"Oh, Clara never mentioned a test," Hermione frowned, thinking back to the conversation they'd had the day before.

"Oh, that'll be 'cause she's with the Slytherins."

"Oh, okay," Hermione nodded, knowing the uncertain look in her twin's eye, but letting it go all the same.

"Class, if you would come into the classroom, please," Professor Merrythought announced, opening her door.

"Here goes nothing."

They all walked in, sitting in the middle rows of the classroom they'd claimed at the start of the week.

"Right, on wednesday you learnt a few offensive spells, so we're going to practice them today, and then next week we'll move onto something new," Professor Merrythought told them.

Black's hand went soaring into the air, making Merrythought and Hermione groan.

"What is it, Black?"

"When are we actually going to duel?" he asked, looking excitedly at his mates.

"You will be duelling as part of your christmas assessment, however the first half of this term will be focused mainly on protecting yourselves from attacks in a wizarding duel, then after the christmas holidays, we will move on to protecting yourself from dark creatures," she informed, looking over to the board, "Now, can anyone tell me the spells you have been learning this past week?"

Hermione's hand shot into the air, as did a few others, but she grinned when Peter's hand hesitantly joined them. His friends were looking at him in amazement, but he was steadfast.

"Yes, Mr Pettigrew?"

"The, er, the blasting curse a-and diffindo."

"Correct, now..."

Hermione grinned as professor Merrythought continued her teaching.

'This confidence thing really works for him,' she laughed to herself, noticingToril Harpendon - a pretty, if not slightly cruel, Slytherin - looking over from her text book to Peter.

"Hey Sev," she whispered, poking her best friend, "Will you partner with me?"

"Of course, Mione," he smiled.


"I do not know what it is about raw cake mix that tastes so delicious," she said, pointing her sticky, mixture covered spoon at Lily, "But I do know I could literally eat an entire bowl of it without getting sick."

"No you couldn't, Mione," Lily laughed, snatching the popcorn from Sarah.

Hermione licked her spoon languidly, looking up at her sister from where she was lying on the dorm floor, "I could to! Anyway, Clara."

"Yes, Minne dear?" she simpered sarcastically, batting her eyelids.

"Are you glad we introduced you to muggle sweets?" she asked, gesturing to the array of goodies the muggle twins had snuck into their trunks before they set off. There were piles of different kinds of treat, each sweet a toothache waiting to happen. Creamy chunks of nougat in pink and white; a bag or two of sweet, buttery popcorn they'd taken from the shop in the pictures; striped paper bag, brimming with all types of pick and mix; and sugar coated strawberry laces and liquorice strips that went on for miles.

"Definitely, I love these things. Though I don't understand why you only like the red and black ones, they're all yummy!" she beamed, popping a wine gum in her mouth.

"I know I am!" Mary giggled, scooping out a spoonful of Hermione's cake mix.

"Hey! That's mine!" Hermione complained as tried to bat away her friend's hand, but Mary managed to get the batter in her mouth.

"Sharing is caring," Sarah sang, grabbing a handful of jelly babies and taking out her blood-pop, the sticky crimson lolly glistening in the brightly lit dorm, to rip the head off a powdery green one.

"If caring about you involves giving away the most delicious thing I've ever tasted," she said, grabbing the bowl off the carpet next to her and placing it on her stomach and hugging it protectively like a mother would her child, "I don't want any of you in my life."

"Mione, how dare you!" Lily gasped, "Is that sickly stuff really more important to you than your own sister?"

"It's not like I'd be losing two siblings," she said coolly, looking at her bowl,trying to keep her face straight after she saw her sister's scandalised expression, "Sev hates it; so I'll still have a brother."

She glanced up to her sister's shocked face and she couldn't keep the laughter in: she burst into fits of giggles, the girls chuckling along with her as Lily hit her viciously. Her twin whacked the nearly empty bowl off her stomach, and pinned her down on the ground, grinning smugly.

"Tell me you love me," she said, "Or you stay here for the rest of the night."

"You can't keep me in here! What about when we have to take our little Ravenclaws back?" Hermione said, raising her eyebrows as if to prove her point, "Mary can't walk back all alone."

"I don't care," Lily said, "Tell me you love me."

"But-"

"Tell me you love me!" she glared, punctuating each word with a whack, "Or you don't get any more cake mix for the rest of the year!"

"Okay, okay," Hermione gasped, breathless, holding her hands out in surrender, "I love you, I love you."

"Good," Lily giggled along with the other girls in the dorm, "Now, what time is it?"

Clara cast a quick tempus, "It's just gone twenty to, Lils."

"Ah, time to get you cheeky little girls off to bed!"

"Ooh, ooh," Hermione said, sitting up and bouncing where she sat in excitement, "Can we get some more cake mix from the kitchens?"

"Yes, Minne," Mary said, laughing as her friend squealed.

"Lets go, lets go, lets go!" she urged, standing up and running to the door.

"That eager to get rid of us, ay?" Sarah huffed, a playful glint in her eyes and a twitch at the corner of her mouth. She made her way to the hallway where Hermione stood, the other girls following, and they made their way down the stairs.

"Er, where are you off to at this hour?" Marlin Corner, the seventh year Gryffindor prefect, asked from a sofa by the fire. She was a pretty nice girl, and she never really took points away unless you'd done something awful.

"We're just taking these two back to Ravenclaw, Marl," Hermione told her, "We promise we'll be back before curfew and Filch won't see a thing."

"Yeah, we don't do detentions," Lily smiled.

"Oh, speaking of detention," Marlin said, turning full to face the girls, "You remember when you barged into transfiguration on Monday?"

"Ugh, I forgot about the detention," Hermione groaned, "When is it?"

"No, it's not about that," she said, shaking her head, "There's a boy in that class, a Slytherin. He says he was sitting in your seat?"

"Oh, him," Hermione said, trying to act casual but biting her lip in nervousness, "I don't even know his name."

"Well he's been asking around all the Gryffindor seventh years for you. He's put in a lot of effort."

"Oh, do I have something of his?" she asked innocently, ignoring the amused smirk of the elder girl. Lily nudged her, and pointed to the door, telling Hermione they were going out.

"No, but I think you know what I mean..."

"Er, well, thanks for telling me?"

"Do you want me to pass on a message?"

"Yeah, tell him if he really wants to speak to me, he can come and find me himself," Hermione grinned cheekily, before running out of the common room after her friends. She finally caught up the them, and they were close to the Ravenclaw common room.

"So, we've finally found your mystery boy," Sarah said, as they made their way down the corridors.

"God, mystery boy. I forgot to get his name!"

"You idiot," Clara smiled, chewing on a fruit salad she's half inched from the girls' dorm, "What did she say when we left?"

"She asked if I'd like to send him a message, so I told her to tell him he could find me himself."

"Oh, naughty Minne!" Mary teased, giggling as they reached the door.

"That's not very romantic," Clara frowned, answering the riddle quickly and opening the door.

"Oh well," Hermione sighed, "Night!"

They all wished each other good night, then the Gryffindor girls made their way back to bed.


Meanwhile, hidden under an invisibility cloak, scowling with distaste, Sirius Black wondered who and why this 'mystery boy' was, and why he was moving in on his territory.

They may not have known, but Lily and Hermione Evans were under the protection of James Potter and Sirius Black: they had claimed them the first day of third year and whoever this idiot was, he was looking for trouble. She may hate him, but Hermione was his.