I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a long time, but I barely passed the exams I did and it wasn't a huge surprise that I failed one of them. I tried though, but now that it's done, I can come back to writing and relax again. YAY!
Day 7 continued :
Ginny woke up and looked around. Hermione's bed was empty and she could hear Sirius' loud laughter from the Common Room. She was probably with them.
She ran into the bathroom and washed up before dressing in a large, ugly sweater. She only wore it because it reminded her of the sweaters her mother would make for her and her siblings. It even had a large 'C' in the center, which Hermione had transfigured there for her. It also helped to remind her that she was Caroline in this time, not Ginevra.
It hurt every time she was reminded that she couldn't truly be herself. It especially hurt when she was reminded that if she attempted to do what Hermione was doing, Sirius couldn't love the real her. She knew Hermione would be strong enough to get through this when they went back, but with herself? No.
When she came down the steps, she saw her three friends sitting on one of the sofas, enjoying each other's company around a bunch of pastries and candy. Remus smiled at Ginny, "Care to join us?"
Ginny plopped down next to Sirius and snatched a biscuit out of his hand which was on his way to his own mouth, before popping it into her own, "Don't mind if I do."
His grey eyes narrowed playfully, "I just might."
"No one asked for your opinion," she winked.
Hermione and Remus shared a look, which didn't go unnoticed by her, and grinned. Ginny took a sip of butterbeer before speaking again, "What now? Eat and eat some more?"
"And give gifts," Remus smiled. "Sirius already got his and you are not getting one for all of the trouble you caused me ten days ago. Maddie, you know about yours."
She blushed, "Fair enough. I'm still really sorry about that."
"It's all done now, and you're forgiven. Just...don't do it again, okay?"
"Deal."
Hermione smiled, "Car, I'll give your to you later tonight. Sirius, I help you with your homework enough for a lifetime of presents. Remus, I'll just give yours to you later today, if we wander off somewhere. More convenient."
Sirius held up a hand, "Why don't you two just split? We'll see each other all at dinner anyway. I'll give Maddie hers then."
"Thanks Sirius!" Hermione shouted as Remus grabbed her hand and stood up, practically running from the eyes of the fellow Gryffindors.
Ginny shot her raven-haired crush a sidelong look, "Did you just kick them out?"
"Covertly," he laughed. "I actually have something to ask you."
"Hmm?"
He ran a hand through his unruly hair, "I've never actually done this before, but I'd like to go out with you...as a real date...not just a conquest."
"Just?" her eyebrows raised.
"That came out wrong," he said, beginning to panic and become flustered. "I meant that I don't want you to become a conquest. I want you to become my girlfriend. I truly like you and sound like James now and it's starting to weird me out, but I can understand if you don't want to given my reputation and the fact that I really don't know anything about you even though I want to and I-"
She put her finger to his lips and smiled, "You're adorable when you're nervous."
His grey eyes lit up, "So does this mean-"
"Yes, Sirius. I'll go out with you."
Hufflepuffs would later swear they could hear his shouts of joy.
Remus led Hermione to their spot in the library and put up a silencing charm, so no stray readers could hear their conversation. He sat down, holding her in his arms, "So you're really not mad at me?"
She rolled her eyes, "Are you going to ask this every time we find ourselves alone, because it's getting a little old. No, I'm not angry with you. I'm angry with myself for running out on you like that."
"Good," he kissed her forehead. He then shifted her off of him and reached in his pocket, pulling the box he had tried to give her a few days before out. "If I give this back, are you just going to leave it behind again?"
She snatched it out of his hands and opened it. Taking the bracelet out, she hooked it around her wrist and held it out to him, "Nope. See!"
He laughed, "Yes, I can see your wrist. How astounding!"
"Do you want your gift now?"
His amber eyes grew in excitement, "Yes."
She leaned in and kissed him...and kept kissing him. They stayed together for several minutes before pulling back. When they did, they were both breathless, but Hermione managed to choke out, "I love you."
He stiffened before melting into a happy little pool of bliss, "I love you too, Maddie."
And so they stayed, two people in love, until the feast was about to begin.
Sirius sat with Carrie, waiting for Maddie and Remus to arrive. There was still a large number of students left for the holidays, so students sat at their normal tables for the feast. Unfortunately, the feast couldn't start until everyone arrived. Just then, the two walked in, holding hands as was becoming the adorable norm.
"How are you two?" Maddie asked, sitting down across from Carrie and Sirius.
Sirius held up his hand which was interlaced with Carrie's, "As well as can be expected."
Both looked shocked for a moment, but Maddie's face dissolved into a grin, "I told you so!"
"Yeah, yeah. You're hardly ever wrong, right?" Carrie rolled her eyes, but her smile contradicted her words.
Just then, Dumbledore called all remaining students to attention, spoke a few words, and then dismissed them to eat as the food appeared, as if anything could have stopped them. They all attacked the food, stuffing their mouths with savory gravy and turkey, creamy potatoes, buttered peas and carrots, cranberry sauce, steamy sausages, and much, much more. All manners were lost at that small section of Gryffindor table as the four friends filled themselves with as much as possible without covering themselves in it.
"Mmm-nn ckk grrr ack?" Remus asked around a flaky roll.
"Hmm?" Sirius asked back.
Remus regrettably swallowed, "When is your date?"
Carrie swallowed as well, "We haven't set one yet, but since we'll see eachother everyday, seeing as how we have the same friends, I don't think we really need to."
"Fair enough," Remus nodded, attention turning back to his dinner.
After they had eaten nearly to the point of an explosion, Sirius grabbed a Christmas cracker off the table and raised a brow at Maddie. She rolled her eyes, but grabbed the other end obligingly. He pulled and it went off with a BANG!
After the blue smoke disappeared, they saw an annoyed Maddie with a white ferret adorning her head. They all paused for a minute before Carrie began laughing hysterically. She couldn't stop. Eventually the boys joined in, leaving Maddie all alone, trying desperately not to laugh with them, "Can someone get this thing off my head, please?"
Crackers began going off all around the Great Hall, and even up at the teacher's table. At the end of it all, the boys gave the girls all of the small gifts. They were left with a ferret that Maddie named Drake, a fez, a straw hat, a wizard version of what reminded Maddie of Clue, and a deck of cards with the faces of famous wizards on them.
Sirius walked away with Carrie, who had shoved everything except for Drake into her bag, and walked with her to the Common Room. Remus grabbed Maddie by the wrist and turned her to face him gently, "Are you alright? You seem a little upset."
"I...I just miss my mum and dad," she smiled at the ferret in her arms.
He put his arm around her and walked, "You'll see them again. Don't worry."
Hermione walked into her bedroom where Ginny was already laying on her bed, looking elated. She set Drake down on her bed and put her pajamas on. When she was done, she crawled into bed, with Drake sniffing her face, and was ready to go to sleep.
"Do you want your gift?"
Hermione shook her head, "Not tonight, Gin."
She heard a rustle and felt her best friend sit on the bed beside her, "Talk to me, 'Mione."
She didn't. Sobs overcame her as emotions and memories she had been trying to hold back came forth. Ginny just sat there, rubbing circles into her back while softly petting the small animal that was trying to find out what was wrong. When her sobs became sniffles, she sat up with red eyes and smiled at her friend, "Thanks Gin."
"No problem."
They sat there for a moment before Ginny huffed, "Talk to me."
"I...I don't know if I can," she admitted, hanging her head in shame. "It hurts too much."
"Try."
Hermione wiped her eyes, "I wasn't lying when I told Remus I miss my mum and my dad. I do. I've missed them for much longer than I've ever told anyone."
"What happened?"
Hermione laughed maliciously, "A car accident. A bloody car accident killed them, and after the war no less. I had just found them in Australia and was about to give them some of their memories back when their little rental car was smashed to bits by a truck."
"I'm so sorry, Hermione! I had no idea..."
"No one did, and I wanted it that way. No one needed to know my pain when there was already enough to go around back in England, so I just went on my way, pretending nothing was wrong. Then this ferret showed up, and it looks so much like the transfigured Draco did in my fourth year, so it brought back all kinds of memories. It just became too much," her shoulders slumped much the same way her head had earlier.
"Despite what you like to think," Ginny said, getting off her bed and walking to her bag. "You're not alone."
"We're all alone."
Ginny pulled out a large stack of parchment and thrust it into her friend's hand, "No, you're not. Just read this and see how much you aren't alone."
"What's this?"
"My finished autobiography. Obviously, being my best friend, it features a lot of you. It's much longer than it looks, charmed to look much smaller. I was hoping you would read it for me and tell me what I need to fix, " Ginny shrugged.
Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she took it and hugged her friend, "I will. Oh, and I have something for you."
Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out a stack of parchment nearly twice the size of Ginny's. She handed it to her friend. Ginny giggled, "What's this?"
"The section on my relationships with the Weasley family."
Ginny's jaw dropped, "This is just my family. This is nearly as long as my entire autobiography!"
"Does that really surprise you?"
Ginny smiled, "I guess not. I have a lot of reading ahead of me! I better get started, eh?"
"Mm-hmm," Hermione smiled back. "I'm going to sleep though. Goodnight Ginny. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Hermione."
Day 8 :
This was probably the best day of Sirius Black's life.
Not only did he wake up with the realization that for the first time in ever he had an actual girlfriend to show off, but he also had a box of pranks to use.
That's what the Gryffindor did the rest of that day. He went around, playing truly cruel pranks on the Slytherins, having fun with the Hufflepuffs, and messing with the Ravenclaws. Unless he came across a fellow lion in the corridors, he left them alone. The raven-haired boy had standards, after all.
Needless to say, he was going to be exhausted from laughing at the end of the day.
Remus, on the other hand, spent the day much like he knew Maddie and Carrie were, as he had been told at breakfast, and read and ate chocolate. The book Lily had gotten him was fantastic.
The girls spent the remainder of the day, laughing and crying over sections of each other's stories. They concluded that Hermione was by far the better writer at this point, combining facts and humor in ways Ginny couldn't have dreamed, but Ginny herself was well on her way. Where Hermione explained every small detail, Ginny summarized where she could and explained where she must. They were both beautiful.
Day 9 :
At breakfast, when the owls came pouring in, no one expected anything, so when a tawny owl dropped a letter in front of Hermione, they jumped. She finished her pumpkin juice before picking it up and opening it.
There, in Lily's distinct script, lay the reason for the sudden alert.
Dear Madelynne,
First off, I hope you had a wondrous Christmas. Tell Sirius he'd better be nice to you girls or I'll wreck him when I come back. Oh, and say hi to Caroline and Remus for me.
I'm sure you're wondering as to the reason for my letter? My sister. Petunia has never been a very agreeable woman, but she's even less so than when I left last September. I've never seen someone so angry before, except for maybe her husband. Vernon Dursley is the most...I can't even describe him correctly. The closest word I can think of is arse, but that's nowhere near it.
I would be nicer if it were possible, but I just can't be. Because of this, I have said my goodbyes to them and my parents, much to their dismay, and am headed to the Potters. I'm sure James will enjoy that small surprise. I guess you can be expecting a letter from him tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your break.
Oh, and you don't have to write back. I was just giving a small warning.
Sincerely,
Lily
Hermione began laughing and kept going for a minute, with an increasingly agitated Ginny asking every other second what was wrong.
Wiping happy tears from her eyes, she said, "I think James is going to get a nice surprise later today. Lily is having problems with her family at home and is going to the Potters for the remainder of the holiday."
Sirius chuckled, "I think it's safe to say we can either expect a rather enthusiastic letter or one telling us that the poor soul has collapsed dead from a heart attack."
Nothing else managed to take over as the subject of their conversation for the rest of the day. They humored themselves over small enactments of what was sure to happen, much to the secret amusement of the rest of the Common Room.
Day 10 :
Much as Lily and Sirius had predicted, the next morning at breakfast, a spotted owl brought a letter over to him.
Padfoot,
I must be dreaming or hallucinating or something, for Lily Evans has just shown up at my door. She is downstairs, conversing with my parents about how she needs a place to stay and I had invited my friends at the beginning of the holiday. I have no doubt that they will say yes for her to stay, but I just can't believe it. SHE'S HERE! I'm sure you'll pass this note on to Moony so HI MOONY! That's all I've got for now, but YES! I knew this was going to happen. I told you! I told you! I told you!
Prongs
The friends were in laughing hysterics by the time Sirius was done reading allowed. They could just picture their friend saying these things, much less writing them. Oh, he had never wished to be a fly on the wall so badly.
Later that night, he threw the letter into his trunk and wished for his best friend back. Yes, he was close to Remus, but just as no one could replace Remus or Peter, no one could replace James.
Day 11 :
Nothing eventful transpired other than Sirius, Remus, and Ginny planning a run for Hogsmeade the next day. It was long in coming, but they had only just run out of sweets.
Day 12 :
When making the run to Hogsmeade, they were almost caught by the owners of Honeydukes, who happened to be in the cellar at the time. They still made it, however, with armfuls of candy that they swore not to eat that day, for fear that it would be jinxed after a run like that.
Day 13 :
Hermione walked down the stairs, fingering through the gift Sirius had given to her the day before, a large muggle first-aid kit, a smiled as her bracelet began to glow. However, when she made the run to Madam Pomfrey's, all she found was a young girl who was caught with what was clearly a prophecy brought on by True Sight, something Hermione would have thought she would never see. She'd read the many divination books that were clearly hogwash to her, but this was the truth.
The girl looked at Hermione and said, "On this day, the one who was always trusted becomes the one not to trust. Friends become enemies without knowing, and trust becomes key for the two who are not meant to be."
Madam Pomfrey stood there for a moment and then looked at Hermione, "Madelynne, do you have any idea to what she was talking about."
"Not a clue," she lied.
Madam Pomfrey rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Alright then. I will alert Dumbledore. This young girl is always making weird prophecies, but they're never true. You must only swear to me that you won't tell a soul about what has transpired here, yes?"
"Alright," Hermione began to walk out, but then turned around. "Ma'am, I must ask you a question. Is this young woman named Sybil Trelawney?"
Madam Pomfrey shook her head, "No, no dear girl. Sybil is even worse. No, this is her cousin, Leena."
Suddenly her day got much worse.
Hermione not only swore that she wouldn't tell anyone, but she swore to herself that she wouldn't tell Ginny. She knew what the prophecy was talking about. It wasn't that hard to guess. When Remus, Sirius, and Ginny walked in, munching on candy and offering her some, she chewed it without tasting, and talked without conscious thought.
She couldn't think of anything other than how incredibly real this game just got.
Day 14 :
Everyone who had been gone came back, incredibly tired. James and Lily were holding hands as they brought their luggage back to Gryffindor tower. Peter was oddly distant, to which only Hermione knew the true cause of. Everyone went to bed early that night, preparing for the start of term the following day.
I hope this chapter makes up for the long delay. Tell me what you think please in a review what you think about it! Thanks!