Enormous thank yous all around to: pauwayland, Raven that flies at night, eyleenm4, windyshoes, and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx. You all helped me get over the 100 review hump, woohoo! I am completely indebted to you all.
AND... without further ado, I give you... the Hogsmeade Chapter!
Sirius led the way up to Gryffindor tower and into the seventh year boy's dorm. Remus was sitting up in bed pushing around some fried eggs on the plate that the house elves had delivered. Remus looked paper white and exhausted. He winced slightly as the door swung shut; all of Remus' senses were running in overdrive and causing him great pain.
Hermione sat down gingerly on the edge of Remus' bed and squeezed his forearm comfortingly. Remus returned her small smile and asked Sirius to make sure all the curtains were completely closed; he mentioned that it was becoming painful to keep his eyes open due to light coming from somewhere.
"So, where were you two last night?" Remus leaned back into his pillow and smirked as both his friends froze. Hermione handed Remus the Wolfsbane potion in an attempt to distract the young werewolf, but Remus was too intelligent for such a diversion. "I'm assuming that you've told him where you're from at least, since you two seem to be talking again and not screaming yourselves horse." Remus looked almost elated as he spoke; he was enjoying the uncomfortable awkwardness a bit too much.
Hermione glowered at Remus before answering, "Yes. I've told him about where I'm from and we've made peace with a few facts. Thank you for your concern Lupin," she hoped that would show just how much she appreciated the uncomfortable questioning.
Surprisingly, this only made Remus smile wider; the conversation seemed to help raise his spirits. Sirius leaned against on of the posts of Remus' bed as he rejoined the conversation. "Be nice Moony. She's still trying sort through all of this out," Sirius laughed along with Remus as Hermione's ears became a blazing crimson.
"And when did I begin to need the two of you to speak for me and look after me?" Hermione was fuming.
Sirius put a hand on her shoulder and kissed the top of her head, "As soon as you got hit by lightning, Blondie."
"Bunch of wankers…" Hermione huffed as she pulled the flask back from Remus' hands and placed it on his bedside table. "Alright Remus, you can't take the potion with food in your system, so wait about four hours before you drink the Wolfsbane. I'll ask the elves to bring you some dinner before you have to go see Madame Pomfrey."
"Thank you Mia, but I still want to know where you two went last night. Sirius said that it's quite interesting." Hermione turned around and shot Sirius a death stare. He threw his hands up innocently, but wore his lopsided grin again.
"Well, I was going to wait until I had assembled the timeline…" Hermione signed dramatically and began describing the room that the Room of Requirement had provided for her. Remus was fascinated by the idea of a room that could alter itself into anything if a person was in true necessity of it. Remus made Hermione promise to show him the room after his transformations were finished, and she reluctantly agreed. Hermione hoped that the next three days would give her enough time to put the top timeline in order.
Sirius and Hermione left Remus to rest. They chatted as they followed the path to Hogsmeade. Sirius had planned a few non-traditional shop visits for his date with Hermione. He had worked out that she would not be impressed by Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop; and he was happy to avoid the overly frilly place. Sirius instead had decided to make this Hogsmeade outing fairly simple. He had set aside time to get some food at the Three Broomsticks and then had dedicated the rest of the day to Tomes and Scrolls. Sirius had also hoped to find Hermione an appropriate gift for her birthday there.
They wandered around the village a bit before arriving at the Three Broomsticks for lunch. Hermione found a secluded table in the back of the pub while Sirius ordered some food and drinks. Hermione made a point to not meet anyone's eyes, especially Madame Rosmerta, in hopes of avoiding any strange recognition for her younger self in the future.
Sirius leaned his back to the bar while he waited for the fish and chips he had ordered for lunch. He scanned the pub for Hermione and chuckled to himself when he found her at a back table with an open book obscuring her face from view; Sirius was now even more excited to take her to the specialty book store, even if she might have already been there before.
"Another young witch keeping you distracted, Sirius?" Madame Rosmerta poked Sirius' arm as she wiped down the bar. "She looks too smart to fall for your silly Casanova lines," Rosmerta lightly laughed as she observed the pretty blonde with the book.
Sirius turned and leaned his elbows on the counter as he bantered with the barmaid, "She is too smart for me. But that's what makes it a challenge."
"But you my boy, grow weary of challenges too quickly," Madame Rosmerta placed a hand on Sirius' arm. "When you get tired of this one, let her down gently. She doesn't seem the type to cope with heartache well."
Sirius laughed at Rosmerta's insinuation that Hermione would let heartache overtake her, "I think I might be more afraid of her coming after me, than crumbling into a sobbing mess, if I sod this up." He turned back to look at Hermione, "I don't think I'll get tired of this one though, Rosmerta. She's far too complicated and interesting. She's different from the others." Sirius trailed off as his own words whirled around inside his head.
Madame Rosmerta let out a long, low whistle, "Well, well, Mr. Black. It appears that you might have fallen for this one. I can't recall hearing you talk about any of the other girls that way." Sirius turned around as she pulled a tray out and placed the two meals and two butterbeers on top of it, along with silverware and napkins. "And though I will miss our flirting, I'm happy you might have found a girl to tame your nomadic ways." The barmaid grinned happily at the dark haired boy in front of her and she pinched his cheek playfully before sauntering off to serve another patron.
Hermione had noticed the flirtatious teasing between Sirius and Madame Rosmerta, but she thought nothing of it since she had witnessed Rosmerta's innocent flirting many times. She stuck a bookmark in her copy of 'Emma' and tucked the book back into her bag as Sirius sat down at the table.
"What are you hiding, Blondie?" Sirius questioned gesturing to the book as it disappeared into the ever expanding purple bag.
"Oh, it's just a book Lily bought me. My mother and I used to own a first edition of 'Emma', and Lily bought me a copy as a gift when we were at Cecil Court," Hermione took a swig of butterbeer before she began on her chips.
"Is it any good?" Sirius was curious about muggle books ever since they had visited the bookstore outside of Diagon Ally.
"Well, I enjoy it. It might be too girly for you though. It's a romantic comedy." Hermione smiled a bit shyly as she admitted the romance aspect of the book she loved so much.
Sirius smirked, "So, you don't see me as the romantic type?"
Hermione shook her head as she attempted to keep her laughter at bay.
"Well, maybe you can just tell me about it then?" Sirius leaned back in his seat a bit and turned so he was directly facing Hermione.
"Oh no. I'm terrible at telling stories. Maybe we can just watch…" Hermione stopped herself and smiled sheepishly. The film she was going to recommend wouldn't be released for nineteen years. "Well, maybe I'll make you watch a movie version of the book, if and when I get back…home."
"Well, you might have to explain what a movie is before I agree to that," Sirius raised an eyebrow at her curiously and continued eating.
Hermione went on to explain the mechanics and purpose of a movie as they finished with the fish and chips. Sirius had to order a second round of butterbeer so they could keep talking without being interrupted for the table. Hermione was flattered by Sirius' interest in the muggle world; she had never known about his curiosity before. Well, other than his flying motorbike.
"Can I ask you something I'm not supposed to know about?" Hermione whispered behind the neck of her butterbeer, she grinned a bit from the slight warmth the drink was causing.
Sirius put his own butterbeer down and maneuvered their chairs together until they were side by side. He threw this arm along the back of the makeshift bench and leaned toward Hermione slightly so that they could speak without anyone eavesdropping. Hermione giggled the entire time he was arranging the chairs; she was certain she looked like one of those ridiculous blonde stereotypes, but she didn't seem to care about that around Sirius.
"Alright, ask away Blondie."
Hermione tucked her legs under her body and leaned into Sirius' shoulder as she spoke, "Have you gotten your motorbike yet?"
The Marauder found that this didn't take him by surprise. Sirius was becoming very comfortable with the fact that Hermione was from the future and he found that he liked the idea of her already knowing some of his secrets. "And what if I did have said motorbike?"
"Well…" Hermione wasn't sure if she should ask the next question. She found herself disappointed by the possibility of Sirius not coming up with the flying augmentation for the bike himself, "What…modifications have you made?"
Sirius flashed one of his signature blinding smiles and cheerily said, "Why, I have no idea to what you speak of. It is highly illegal to modify muggle things; I would never do something like that." He took the last swig of his drink and leaned over to kiss the side of Hermione face, "I'll show you the flying motorbike during Christmas break. I promise."
Sirius put down his empty bottle, stood up and offered his arm to Hermione, "Ready for the next part of our adventure, Blondie?"
Sirius led Hermione to a corner of the Hogsmeade village that she hadn't seen in years. The little stone shop with rounded green windows had been a favorite of Hemrione's when she had first been allowed to explore the village back in third year, but T & S had been overlooked as her years at Hogwarts became more difficult and times had grown dark. She took a moment to gaze at the window displays of carefully balanced books and moving picture frames.
Hermione turned to Sirius with childlike joy in her eyes, "You're sure you want to take me into this place? I could get lost in there for hours without even trying."
"Of course," Sirius was elated that his simple date had made Hermione so happy. "I haven't even planed anything else for today so that you could explore the books to your hearts content until dinner." Sirius was glad that he had been observant of Hermione and Lily at the bookstore in London. It seemed that books of any kind could entertain the young witch.
As soon as they stepped through the wood panel door, Hermione breathed in the slightly musty, parchment air and experienced a bout of déjà vu. It was an extremely strange sensation as she stepped around the tall piles of books next to the overflowing bookshelves. Hermione blinked away flashes of her younger self walking around identical stakes of books. But as she walked by a glass enclosed bookcase, Hermione thought she saw an older reflection of herself peering back.
Hermione began to feel lightheaded and sick.
Hermione immediately closed her eyes, clamped a hand over her mouth and froze where she stood; Sirius, having been following close behind her, bumped into Hermione's back as she stopped. He craned his neck around to find Hermione's eyes squeezed shut and she was taking short, labored breathes.
Sirius quickly stepped around Hermione and wrapped her in his arms. Hermione's hands slid down and clung to the sides of Sirius' shirt. She buried her face into his chest and took a breath of his familiar sent. "What happened, Her…Blondie? What can I do?" Sirius whispered into her ear.
"Hermione was still an unmovable statue as she answered, "Just…just stand here…for a minute. Please?"
"Yes, of course," Sirius brought a hand up to softly cradle Hermione's head.
The shopkeeper came by to check on the new customers and found the two teenagers in a tight embrace. Sirius grinned at the hunched old woman, "Sorry, she's just overwhelmed by all the wonderful books you have. Just give us a minute; I'm sure she'll come round." The older witch turned and walked away; shaking her head and mumbling under her breath.
A few minutes passed before Hermione's mind ceased whirling and her nausea finally dissipated. "Sorry Sirius," was all Hermione could say as she pulled away from his steady embrace.
"Will you tell me what happened?" Sirius softly asked as he took her hand and ventured further into the tall bookshelf maze of a store.
Hermione glanced at some of the book spines as they tiptoed around the messy labyrinth, "It was just a headache from déjà vu. Nothing serious."
Sirius did not look convinced, "That's what made you immovable for five minutes?"
Hermione smiled at his concern, "I'm fine. I swear. Just traveler issues I think. It passed."
"Alright," Sirius nodded sharply to show his understanding. "Let's just try to enjoy the rest of the afternoon then." Maybe I can get more information out of you later.
Hermione quickly turned a corner of the store into a little nest for herself. She sat on the floor with several stacks of thick tomes encompassing her. For a few hours, Hermione picked through each stack and sorted them into 'already own', 'already read', 'need', and 'desperately need'.
Sirius kept watch over the witch from a small seat nearby; he was skimming through a charms book, trying to decide what other useful things he could add to his motorbike. He found himself looking over at Hermione every few turned pages. She was adorable sitting there arranging the books. Hermione reminded Sirius very much of himself when he had first stepped into Zonko's Joke Shop.
The shuffling of books stopped short as Hermione's eyes fell on a beautiful, leather bound book. It was a bit frayed at the edges of its dark blue and green cover, but it was still in very good condition otherwise. Hermione slowly flipped through the ununiformed, hand cut pages; she was almost certain that it was one of the first copies. "The History of Magic" was a common book, it was required for all Hogwarts students, but this copy was not from any group of mass printings. Hermione inspected the seam of the cover and the spine; it looked as though it had been hand stitched together.
"This is amazing…" Hermione mused to herself.
But before Hermione could perform any more examinations, Sirius plucked the book out of her hands and strode toward the old witch at the front of the store. The owner of the little shop stood behind a counter covered in stacks of books that still needed to be sorted. Sirius handed the old woman the book and asked her to wrap it for purchase.
"Sirius, you can't buy that for me. It costs a fortune." Hermione tried to get the owners attention as Sirius blocked her view of the old witch.
"Listen Blondie; I might have run away and my mother might have disowned me, but my father still holds hope I'll return to the family if he bribes me. He gave me almost half my inheritance just to tempt me to apologize to my mother and beg her to accept me back into the family. So, I have a bit of money that I'm happy to be rid of." Sirius handed the witch almost the entire condense of his wallet and turned to Hermione with his cheshire smile firmly in place.
Hermione gazed apprehensively at the wrapped book. Sirius tucked the book under his arm and guided her out of the store. Hermione checked her watch and noticed that it was about a half hour before dinner, which gave them enough time to stop by the kitchen and ask for some food to be delivered to Remus. She looped her arm through Sirius' offered elbow and headed back up the path to the castle.
"We're going to discuss a payment plan for that book later, you know," Hermione may have been a little nervous but her voice was unwavering.
Sirius just continued to smile as they walked back to Hogwarts, "Or I could use it as leverage to snog you." Before Hermione could object, Sirius swept her into a passionate, searing kiss right in the middle of the grounds. To Hermione's relief, there were very few classmates heading back to the castle so early. But she still slapped Sirius' arm for catching her so off guard in public.
Hermione ran forward ahead of Sirius so that she could fume and chuckle alone for a few seconds before he fell into step beside her again. She reached out and took Sirius' hand and entwined their fingers as they continued to walk.
When they reached the front steps of the castle, Sirius pulled Hermione into a small deserted alcove. He stopped and pulled them into a shadowed corner as his arms encircled her waist.
Sirius held up the book and willingly surrendered it over to Hermione. "Happy Birthday," Sirius leaned in to kiss a small spot right next to her ear, "Happy Birthday, Hermione." He said her name so softly it was almost inaudible.
Hermione stood on her toes, looped her arms around his neck, and kissed Sirius square on the mouth.
I hope you all adored that chapter as much as I did. Honeymoon periods in relationships are so much fun. =)
Please do your best to follow, favorite and REVIEW! Any and all reviews are always greatly appreciated.
Happy end of June! I will be taking a few days to spend time with family and catch up on my writing (I like staying 4-5 chapters ahead, and I've fallen a bit behind in that). So I will see you all next week probably.
Love always,
Misha