Disclaimer: Just three words: Joanne Kathleen Rowling

LOVE ALWAYS FINDS A WAY
Chapter 11: Caught

They had a picnic in the Head Girl's dormitory. The house-elves provided them with a basket full of the dinner they had missed, plus a multitude of other, more exotic dishes Sirius requested under Hermione's disapproving eye.

"So, Moony, how many girls does that make this term? Thirteen?" Sirius teased.

Hermione cocked an eyebrow at Remus.

"Yeah, give or take 12," Remus said dryly.

"Hey, let me know if this student-teacher thing works out," Sirius said thickly, his mouth full of cake. "You know I've had my eye on Minerva for the last three terms."

Hermione choked on her pumpkin juice, but Lily took it in stride.

"James and I meet with her every week to discuss Head duties. We could let her know your feelings."

"Don't you dare, Evans!" Sirius said, looking horrified. "The old hag—"

"She isn't an old hag, Sirius!"

"The old hag's given me 142 detentions in seven years. She's obviously the one who's got a thing for me."

As they continued to joke and tease one another, Hermione suddenly had a strong and frightening yearning to stay there. She'd never had any other friends except Harry and Ron, and it was getting harder and harder to remember that this was all just temporary. It was a relief to be in a time that was not ruled by fear. For her entire wizarding life, Voldemort had been a constant and present threat, always a danger to Harry and everyone else she knew.

"You lot should probably get back to your dormitories before you're caught out-of-bounds again," Lily finally said, when the clock struck midnight.

"Oh, Evans, don't be such a spoilsport," Sirius huffed, making no move off the rug he was sprawled across.

"We do have class tomorrow," Hermione said, though it was much more half-hearted than it normally would have been. She and Remus were sitting in front of the fire, smiling at one another occasionally while they toasted marshmallows by levitating them above the flames.

"Ugh, stop it. You're making me sick," Sirius said, when they unconsciously did it again. "Fine, I'm going. Or perhaps you two would like to go back to our dormitory?" he asked suggestively, leering at Hermione and Remus. "Peter's going to be up all night finishing that Transfiguration essay, and I'm sure I can find somewhere else to sleep. You two would have all the privacy you need."

Remus flicked his melting marshmallow at his friend, but Sirius easily dodged it.

"How 'bout you, Prongs? You going back to your dorm, or would you prefer to stay here with Lily, and Rosemary can clear out? I'm sure Remus would make sure she has a place to stay for the night."

Remus flicked Hermione's marshmallow at him, but James, who had been staring out the window, didn't seem to hear him and looked up confusedly when Sirius repeated his name.

"What? No, I'm tired. I think I'll head off to bed."

He began collecting his things, and Remus reluctantly followed suit. With a roll of his eyes, Sirius slipped out the door to allow the two couples to say their goodnights. James rather absently kissed Lily before leaving, but Remus held back a moment longer. Lily noisily shuffled some papers on her desk, trying to give them privacy.

Remus took Hermione's hand and squeezed it. "Meet me at the top of the Astronomy Tower tomorrow morning before breakfast?" he asked.

"Sure," she agreed readily. "Any particular reason why?"

"A lot happened today. I think we need to figure some things out, just the two of us."

"You're not trying to get out of taking me to dance, are you?"

"No! Not at—" He stopped when he saw she was teasing and impulsively leaned down to kiss her. It was a quick peck, but Hermione felt her cheeks turn red all the same.

"You'll be seeing each other tomorrow," broke in Sirius, bounding into the room. "No need to make it seem like you're being separated for more than eight hours."

He grabbed Remus by his collar and literally dragged him out of the door. As soon as it had shut behind them, Lily spun around and rounded on Hermione.

"I want all the details," she declared. "Remus is so shy ... and so sad sometimes. I've never seen him with a girl before, though a lot of girls moon over him. But he always keeps them at a distance. He keeps everyone a distance, really, except for Sirius and James and me, by extension. But with you, he's ... different. He's open. It's like he knows you already, and you know him." A confused, curious expression crossed Lily's face, but she quickly shook it off. "I guess that's what they mean by 'meant to be'."

Lily's words and intuition had reawakened the fears Hermione had pushed aside all day. She knew she was playing a very dangerous game and only complicating things for herself, but all that seemed trivial when Remus was looking at her or smiling at her. She needed to be alone to sort out her increasingly jumbled thoughts. Hermione looked at the neat piles of essays stacked on her desk and quickly came up with an escape plan.

"Oh, no, I left the third-year's essays in the library when I went looking for Remus!" she cried out in dismay, frantically shuffling the sheafs of parchment. "I have to go get them!"

Lily gawped at her like she had just gone crazy. "Rosemary, you can't! You'll get caught!" Lily protested. "Besides, the library's closed now."

"But I promised Professor Flitwick I'd have them graded by tomorrow. It's the first assignment he's let me grade, and he's supposed to give Professor Dumbledore a report on my progress at the end of the week!" Hermione lied wildly.

"Oh, all right," Lily said, throwing on her robes. "But we'll need to stop by James' dormitory first to get the Cloak—"

"There's no sense in both of us getting into trouble," Hermione said quickly. "If Filch catches me, he can't do anything about it. I'm a student teacher. He can't throw me in detention. You, on the other hand... I'll be careful, Lily. Don't wait up."

"Fine, just don't—"

Hermione slipped out the door before Lily could finish.

"—get caught," Lily said dully to the closed door.

A few corridors away, in the Head Boy's dormitory, James had the Marauder's Map unfolded across his desk, staring at the little dot labeled 'Hermione Granger'. He didn't want to spoil Remus' happiness, but this girl obviously was not who she said she was. He had to tell Remus before he got in too deep.

The dot suddenly moved, leaving the Head Girl's dormitory. Grabbing his wand and the map, James headed off in pursuit.