Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, I don't make money from this fic.
November 22, 1976 Hogwarts, Scotland - Gryffindor Girls' Dormitory
Hermione sat cross-legged on her bed, homework in her lap, quill to parchment, and an inkpot hovering beside her, just out of the way so as to not topple it. She had been working on her homework in the common room, but apparently it was some Gryffindor's birthday and the whole of the House was celebrating. As it was, that meant her dorm room was empty, and all the better.
Normally she'd be working at her desk, but she didn't really want to be working at all. In fact, she'd begun answering the same question three times, just to stop and stare into space for a bit. She was getting nowhere. What she wanted to do was head down to the library and sneak into the restricted section. She knew Dumbledore would likely give her full access to the time section, should she ask, but she simply didn't want too many questions about why she was looking into time.
Hermione heard the door creak open and jumped when Lily Evans came in, shaken from her reverie. The redhead looked Hermione over with a frown before sitting on her bed, facing Hermione.
"No luck studying?" Lily asked, looking over Hermione's scribbled over parchment. Hermione sighed, placing her quill in the inkpot while she closed her book, placing her parchment in it and setting it on her desk next to her bed. She plucked the inkpot and quill from the air, using a rag she kept beside the bed to dry the quill and capping the inkpot quickly. She added the two objects to the pile on her desk before turning to Lily.
"No. I haven't been able to focus lately." Hermione said, scrubbing a hand down her face.
"Ever think it's because of the nightmares? Or the nights you stay up studying because you don't want to sleep?" Lily asked. Hermione stared at her in wonder. The two of them weren't particularly close, but when you slept in the same room with someone for the span of a few months, you certainly got to know them and their patterns. Hermione hadn't thought Lily had particularly cared one way or the other about her.
"How do you know I have nightmares?" Hermione asked.
"You forgot your silencing charm a few weeks ago." She said, and Hermione turned pale before she added, "Don't worry, I put one up before you got overly loud. You were asleep before any of the other girls got back, anyway. But you have Dreamless Sleep Potion, Hermione, why not use it?"
"How do you know about that?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide. Lily shrugged.
"Saw you take it one night. Had to make sure that's what it really was." Lily said.
"You went snooping through my drawer?" Hermione asked.
"Didn't have to, you just confirmed it for me. You have Dreamless Sleep Potion in your drawer." Lily smiled triumphantly. Hermione couldn't help but smile at that.
"You know, for all that you say you despise James and Sirius, you're a lot like them." Hermione said.
"They're bullies." Lily said, her eyes dropping to the floor and her brows scrunching together.
"I've no doubt that they were at some point. But in the time I've known them, they've been nothing but protective of me." Hermione said.
"They do seem like they've changed. A bit." Lily admitted. "But you're changing the subject. Why don't you use the potion?"
"I don't like the way it makes me feel." Hermione admitted. She had other reasons, too. But that was the easiest to admit.
These days, she wanted to have the nightmares. They were her way of knowing what was happening in the war. She'd been tracking the deaths in the paper, lining them up with her dreams. She'd found that her visions usually came a month or so in advance, but her dreams were closer, usually just two or three days before. She'd begun a journal, tracking her dreams and visions. She hoped that would allow her to follow the pattern, and, eventually, would allow her to control her visions to the point that she could have one on command. That was a ways off, Hermione knew, as she'd first have to be able to control the timing of the visions, but those seemed sporadic at best.
Hermione looked up at Lily, who was searching the girl's face carefully.
"You're hiding something. I see the same look on your face as I saw on Sev- Severus's when he was lying to me about being in league with those Death Eaters. You're not part of that mess, are you?" Lily asked, suspicion and worry evident in her voice.
"No!" Hermione said at once, "If anything, it's the opposite. They, the Death Eaters, they killed my family. I've been running from them since but it seems as though they've located me." Hermione said, trying to be as convincing as possible. Based on Lily's face, she was believable enough to pass, but just barely.
"I'm sorry for your loss." Lily said, then cleared her throat and changed the subject. "So I heard you and Black had a date?" she asked. Hermione sighed.
"We did. And it went really well. But- well, nothing else has come of it." Hermione said.
"He walks you to class, doesn't he?" Lily pointed out.
"Yes, but he does that more for my safety than as a romantic gesture. Dumbledore wanted someone to walk me to class as a safety measure, due to Death Eaters being after me. Silly, isn't it?" Hermione smiled a bit.
"So he doesn't try to hold your hand, or any of that?" Lily asked. Hermione shook her head.
"No, he hasn't done any of that. To add to it, Gideon Prewett's back to asking me out every other day. I'm half tempted to accept, if only to keep him from hounding me."
"Prewett's alright, just has a tendency to be excitable. Not unlike James, if you ask me." Lily sighed, and Hermione giggled.
"Is he still going after you?" She asked.
"Every chance he gets. I swear, he's getting more elaborate by the day." Lily groaned.
"How long are you going to keep saying no?" Hermione asked, a knowing smile crossing her face.
"Until at least next year." Lily giggled. "If he's still asking me this time next year, I'll say yes. If only to surprise the utter shite out of him."
"I like the way you think, Lily." Hermione said. "James can be a handful, but I think once he settles down a bit, you'll be able to handle him just fine.
"Are you going to Slughorn's Christmas party? It's in about three weeks. He's talked a lot about you in the dinner parties, but he's said you wouldn't be able to make it to the parties until next term."
"I was thinking about going. Gideon asked me to go with him a few days ago. I don't have anything to wear to it though!"
"Mum sent me a few of my dresses from home, you could look through them if you want? We're about the same size." Lily said.
"You'd let me borrow a dress?" Hermione asked.
"If it means you'll go to the party, of course. You've never been to one; they're dreadful if you don't have a friend in the Slug Club. Sev and I used to go together. He and I-" Lily cut herself off.
"James told me. You two used to be best friends. I'm sorry about whatever happened to end that." Hermione said softly.
"Thanks, Hermione. I think the party this year may actually be fun if you go!"
"Who are you going with?" Hermione asked. She shrugged.
"I think I might ask Remus to go with me again. He made the Halloween party loads better. He's such a nice guy." she said. Hermione nodded.
"How did you become friends with him? Especially given your track record with James and Sirius." Hermione chuckled. Lily shrugged.
"He started studying with me in the library one day during third year. Just sat down at the table with me, suppose it was because all the other tables were full and I was the only person he kinda knew. Sirius and James don't frequent the library on a day to day basis, typically just around tests. So I got used to talking to him about homework and stuff, and I realized he's not as horrible as James and Sirius tend to be. He tries to warn me whenever James has some grand scheme to ask me out." Lily giggled.
"That's Remus, alright." Hermione shook her head. "Surprised James didn't get jealous about the Halloween party."
"Not much he could do, could he? Detention. Besides, Remus told him he doesn't have any romantic interest in me. Can't say the same for Sirius once he finds out about you going with Gideon." Lily said. Hermione groaned.
"Maybe it will make him see sense. Gideon's alright, but if I had the choice between the two, I'd pick Sirius."
"He just needs a swift kick to his arse to see some sense." Lily said with a nod. "Though I don't think there's a chance in hell of you dragging Sirius along to a Slug Club event." Lily said,
"Because Regulus?" Hermione asked, wrinkling her nose up. Lily nodded. "What's he like? I haven't met him but Sirius seems to think he's the worst thing to walk the earth."
"He is rather set in his ways, but I haven't known him to be overly cruel. At least, not alone. It's when he's with the others that he's at his worst. You'll see what I mean at the party."She said. Hermione nodded, checking the time.
"Mind if I study with you and Remus tomorrow in the library? I'm getting nowhere on this Charms essay." Hermione said, hooking a finger over her shoulder towards the homework she'd abandoned earlier. Lily smiled.
"More the merrier. You should get some sleep though. And take that blasted potion. It'll do you some good to have a decent night's sleep, you know." Lily scolded. Hermione just smiled and nodded. It felt good to have a female friend again.
December 3, 1976 Hogwarts, Scotland - Gryffindor Common Room
"You're not coming home for the Hols?" James asked, his face falling a bit.
"Sorry, James. I wrote to Aunt Effie already, she said you two are welcome to stay with me. Dumbledore thinks it's for the best if I stay here. More protection, all of that." Hermione said.
"So this has nothing to do with Slughorn's party, then?" Sirius asked.
"Well, I wouldn't say nothing." Hermione said. Slughorn's party was to be on the night the Hogwarts express left. Therefore, anyone going to the party would have to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays.
"So the rumors are true? You're going with Prewett?" Sirius asked, his voice accusingly.
"Yes, Sirius, I'm going with Gideon." Hermione said, wincing a bit at his tone and the hurt on his face.
"How could you? We- we're-" Sirius stammered.
"We aren't anything, Sirius. We went on one date two months ago and you haven't even attempted to hold my hand since. You walk me to class for my protection, you barely look at me anymore. You have no claim to me, Sirius Orion Black, so don't you dare try to guilt me out of going to the party." Hermione said. Sirius looked her over, his eyes wide and watery, before he fled the room, heading up to the dormitory.
James watched him go, then turned to Hermione.
"I'd better go check on him in a minute. But Hermione, he really likes you. He just doesn't know how to show you he likes you. You'd be his first serious girlfriend, if you two could get that far. He doesn't really know how the whole thing works yet. So go easy on him, yeah?" James said, with a small smile. Hermione deflated at that. She felt horrible. She wanted to crawl under a rock and just sleep until the end of the Christmas holidays. She sunk into a chair next to Remus, who shot her a sympathetic look.
"Don't beat yourself up over it, 'Mione. Sirius is hard to read, and if he won't talk to you, there's nothing you can do about it. Go to the party. I'll be there. We'll have fun and if Sirius and James stay for the holidays, we'll tell them all about it the next day." Remus said. Hermione smiled a little.
"Yeah. Thanks, Remus." Hermione said, smiling at her friend. "Boys are weird."