DISCLAIMER: As I stand humbly in front of you good people today, I'm afraid that since my last chapter I have discovered some unpleasant news. My psychiatrist tells me that it is only the medication they are shoving down my throat every day in this asylum that makes me believe that I am J.K. Rowling. However, until someone proves me wrong, I will not stop believing….
Chapter 36: Lessons Learned
July 16, 1978
The figures just didn't add up. Nothing on the papers spread out in front of her made any sense whatsoever. There was no way it could work…
The equations she was provided with were incorrect. Of course, it was a very slight error and therefore most likely would not be noticed if the person studying it didn't perform a lot of tests which would have, most likely, taken a lot of time. However, she had been studying it for quite some time now, weeks to be exact, and she had finally discovered the error.
But what did it mean? Was that slight hiccup in the experiment that important? What would it do exactly to the final product?
Never mind that, she told herself as she picked up her quill and began to write, right now she had to find out what exactly had went wrong. Caradoc Dearborn's life depended upon it.
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The sun's light began to slither in through the small crack between the dark blue curtains. It crept its way up and onto the bed, disturbing the sleep of only one of the occupants. Slowly, a hand inched its way up and along the edge of the bed until it found what it was looking for- a wand.
Swishing the wand, the curtains sealed themselves shut. Happy with themselves, the hand allowed the wand to clatter to the floor, adding in a contented grin. The alarm, however, brought a frown.
"Turn it off," muttered the other occupant of the bed from the other side. "Turn it off, turn it off, turn it off."
The hand couldn't find the wand since it was now on the ground. "Oh bugger," they growled sleepily. "Get it yourself."
The owner of the hand smiled as she heard her bed mate fall off the bed in a horrible attempt to turn off the alarm. Oh, sweet victory.
"Stop smiling and help me up," he muttered from the floor on the other side of the bed.
She rolled over and smiled down at him. "Why? You look so lovely down there."
He smirked mischievously and slowly reached up. "Fine then, if you think that then why don't you just join me, eh?" he said even as he tugged her down on top of him.
"Not fair!" she shrieked. She nipped his chin, trying to lift herself up but he refused to let go of her. "Come on, Sirius, let me up."
He kissed her right behind the ear while whispering, "I don't think so. If I have to be down here then so do you."
"But Sirius, the alarm is still going off," she informed him, trying to shove herself off of him again without much luck.
He quickly snatched up his own wand and turned the alarm off with one flick before rolling and pinning her beneath him. He then grinned down at her roguishly.
"Can't have any objections now, can you? How about we," he whispered the rest of the suggestion in her ear, only pulling back enough to wink at her.
She slapped his shoulder with a shout of indignation. "Sirius, may I remind you that we do have to work today."
"Maybe," he drawled, pressing soft kisses down her jaw line, "or maybe we could call in sick just this one day. You know, play hooky."
"That only works if it's just one person, Sirius," she informed him in a prim manner. "In case you haven't noticed, we both work for the Ministry. I think they would get a little suspicious if we both call in sick on the same day."
"Who cares," he said, waving a hand in the air dramatically. He smiled at her, a sweet charming smile that made her stomach flutter. "Aren't you the one who claims they are just a bunch of imbeciles anyways? Shouldn't you be happy to be getting a reprieve from them for a day?"
"You would think so, wouldn't you? However, I have some very important matters that I need to take care of."
"Couldn't you do that from here?" Sirius whined, his hands now roaming leisurely over her body. "Mainly from the bed."
"That would be a negative," she told him, trying desperately to stop his hands as they roamed lower and lower. "Sirius, stop. I mean it, we need to get up and get ready for work."
"We have fifteen minutes still before we really need to start getting ready for work," he pointed out. "Twenty-five if we grab breakfast on the go and thirty if we shower together."
She met his gaze head on. "Sirius, if we shower together than you might as well cut that time down to none."
He smirked. "Would that be such a bad thing?"
"A terribly bad thing," she informed him with a sigh, "and if your hands move any lower, I swear I'll cut them off. Please, let me up."
"Only if I get a treat first," he said, his mouthing finding hers. He nipped at her lower lip, making her open her mouth so that he could deepen the kiss. His hands caught her hips, joining their bodies tightly together.
Hermione pulled away slightly with a large smile as he continued kissing and sucking at her neck. "Alright, maybe I could spare a little time this morning…"
"I think you can," was all he said as he pulled her tank top up and over top of her head, his mouth immediately attack her breasts. "I really think you can."
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Hermione never made it to the Ministry.
In fact, neither her or Sirius made it out of the bedroom. She found he could be very persuasive, especially when he put his hands and tongue into play.
Around five that evening, Hermione rolled over onto her back, a thin film of sweat lining her body. Sirius grinned at her and placed his head on her stomach. "Some fifteen minutes, eh?"
She slapped his arm, though a smile still lingered on her face. "You fiend," she accused. "You are very devious, Sirius Black. We should have went to work."
"No, no we shouldn't have," he argued. "Staying home was the best thing. We both needed a break from those 'mumbling imbeciles who can't even hold a wand properly', your words, darling, not mine."
"I had to do work today, though. Doesn't that count for anything?"
"Of course it does," he replied soothingly. "But you work too much, Hermione. I know Dumbledore has you working on a lot of extra stuff, but even you need a break sometimes."
"That's where you're wrong," she pronounced. "I do quite fine working. In fact, before I came here, I used to work a whole lot more than I do now and I did quite fine. I've really slowed down since then."
He rolled his eyes dramatically. "Sure, you have." He pressed a kiss right below her belly button while she ran her hand through his hair. "What are you even working on? I could help you with it, you know."
She sighed. "I know, but this is something I have to do myself. Dumbledore asked me to do this myself and I need to do it alone."
"Alright, alright, I understand," he said, throwing his hands in defeat. "No need to get your knickers in a twist," he added teasingly. "Anyways, we should do this more often. You know, take a break from everything and just kick back, relax, shag."
She laughed. "Very nice, Sirius, but how about we schedule these little 'shag days' on the weekends from now on, eh? That way we can do work during the weeks."
"But James will," Sirius started and Hermione instantly shot up, making him stop and lift his head up.
"James," she moaned, slapping a hand to her forehead.
He narrowed his eyes on her as he propped himself up on his elbow. "We spent the whole day making love and you moan James' name? Am I missing something here, darling?"
"Er…yeah," she replied slowly. "You do realize that we left James alone with those imbeciles we were avoiding all day?"
Sirius stared at her for a minute before rolling over to the edge of the bed and grabbing his wristwatch from the bed stand. He looked at it and muttered, "3, 2, 1..."
BANG!
"Sirius Black, get your arse down here right now!" came the angry voice of James Potter. "Never mind, I'm coming up to kick your ass!"
They heard the front door open and Hermione looked over at her boyfriend. "Do you think he'll come up here?" she asked to which he replied, "Oh I have no doubt of it."
She gave a little squeak and reached for something to cover up with right as the door swung open. "Sirius, where the bloody hell were you today? I was left alone with…oh… you're naked." Then he looked at Hermione and turned a Weasley red. "Oh Merlin, I'm sorry Hermione. So very, very sorry."
He continued to stand there and Hermione looked at him. "Er…James, still naked. Do you mind?"
"Oh right, I'll just wait downstairs." With that, he bolted out of the room and down the stairs. Hermione slapped Sirius up side the head when he started to laugh hysterically.
"Wonder how long it'll take him to realize what just happened," he commented.
"Not long enough," she said dryly as she gathered up some clean clothes, heading towards the bathroom. The bathroom door shut with a definite 'snap.'
Hermione walked down the stairs thirty minutes later and into the sitting room where James and Sirius were sitting in two chairs, laughing raucously about something. She studied both of them for a moment, shaking her head as she walked on past and into the kitchen.
She poured herself a cup of tea and pulled some scones from the cupboard. She popped one into her mouth even as she heard the fireplace come to life. She picked up her cup of tea and walked into the sitting where Lily was jumping up and down excitably with a piece of parchment clutched in her hand.
"Hermione! I'm in! I'm in!" the redhead screeched as soon as she spotted Hermione enter.
The bushy haired witch merely stared at her friend with a look of deep confusion on her face. "What are you talking about, Lily?"
"The charm research program, I was accepted!" she practically screamed. "Can you believe it, I'm in!"
Hermione laughed and hugged her. "Ah Lily, I knew you would. Now come on, this calls for a celebration!"
Later that night at James' house, Lily sprawled out on the floor beside of James. She handed him a flute of champagne and kissed him. "I love you."
He smiled up at her. "I love you too." He pressed the flute to her lips. He waited until she had taken a sip before setting it down on the floor.
He studied her closely, a smile playing at his lips. He reached out attentively and brushed a stray piece of hair from her face. She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes and savouring the feeling of his skin against hers.
"You are so beautiful," he whispered while cupping the back of her head and bringing it closer to his. He allowed his lips to graze slowly over hers, catching her lower lip between his. "So very, very beautiful."
She smiled against his lips. "You're not too shabby yourself."
He didn't smile or laugh like she thought he would. Instead, he wore an expression of deep concentration as his hazel eyes bore into her own emerald ones.
"James?"
"Lily," his voice broke slightly, "I don't think I could live without you in my life."
Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him, dumbfounded by the words spilling from his mouth. "James, we're not going to be separated. I love you and you love me."
"There are some things that one cannot stand to lose," he replied. "You are my weakness, Lily. You are the one thing that keeps me going during the day and the one thing that can bring me to my knees. I don't want to lose you."
"You're not going to lose me, James. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
His thumb pad made lazy circles on her cheek. His gaze drifted down to her lips then back up to her eyes. "Marry me, Lily," he whispered, his eyes pleading.
She couldn't believe her ears. It had seemed as if she had waited forever to hear those words and now that she had, she couldn't believe that he had really said them.
"What?"
"I want you to marry me, Lily Evans." His confidence seemed to have return for he slowly smiled at her. "I want you to be my wife, forever, to have and to hold from this day forth. I want you to be the only one that I wake up to and the only one who I go to sleep with at night. I want to have children with you and grow old with you until we can't hear or see a thing. But more importantly, I just want to be with you."
Her eyes glistened with tears as she hugged him tightly, her body shaking from her quiet sobs. "Oh James, yes. YES! I want to marry you. Yes."
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July 23, 1978
Hermione sat with the parchment in front of her. Today was the day. She would prove that Voldemort wasn't completely invincible by undermining his plans.
She quickly penned a letter to Dumbledore, informing him of her findings and the plan she had concocted. They would need to act fast, though, for the Death Eaters would be attacking soon.
They needed to get ready as soon as possible or a lot of lives would be lost in Edinburgh before the night was through…
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Twenty-three Order members were gathered along the outskirts of Edinburgh, their wands drawn and their eyes searching the horizon.
Alastor Moody moved to stand beside of Hermione, his wand drawn. "Where are they, girl? I thought you said that they'd be attacking tonight."
Hermione smiled. "Hasn't anyone ever taught you that sometimes you must be patient?"
"No," he replied simply in a gruff voice.
"Don't worry, they'll attack," she assured him. "Just trust me this once, they'll attack."
His eyes moved to her. "What exactly makes you think they'll attack this village on this night, girl?"
"Instinct," was all she said in answer.
He remained silent for a moment before grunting, "Must be one hell of an instinct."
Kingsley Shaklebolt, who was standing near enough to him to hear his comment, asked, "Why's that?"
Moody lifted one hand up towards the horizon. "They're here."
The Order instantly hunkered down behind the bushes. They remained quiet, watching intently as the masked men filed through the village. Moody gave the signal and the Order members began to break off, making their way around the outer edge.
Just as the Death Eaters raised their wands to attack, Moody gave the signal and the Order jumped from their hiding places, wands drawn.
Hermione ran quickly down the path, shooting off spells as quickly as she could. She took out two Death Eaters before even reaching the village itself. She brandished her wand like a sword at her foes all the while keeping a lookout for Sirius and James who were fighting some ways away.
"Stupefy!" she cried, the red beam of light striking a robed man on the chest as he fell over. She was avoiding any real damaging spell; this was, after all, just a lesson being taught.
"Silly girl," someone growled from behind her.
She spun around, pointing her wand at the robed figure. She smirked, recognizing her foe as one of the ones who had attacked her in Hogsmeade. "We meet again."
"And still you are too stupid to stay out of where you are not wanted," he spat. "Tell me, girl, do you enjoy getting yourself into these little spots of trouble or are you just unlucky?"
She shrugged. "Without trouble there is never adventure. However, the trouble you minions bring I could do well without."
He took a step closer to her. "The Dark Lord still wishes to speak to you. He is very interested in your future."
"Are you referring to my future in bringing upon his ultimate demise?" Okay, so maybe she was pushing it with that little statement but she couldn't stop it from coming out.
"You are a very stupid girl indeed. The Dark Lord wishes for you to join our ranks." He sneered. "You would be wise to accept his offer."
"You have already classified me as a stupid girl so why should I go against your opinions now?"
The man laughed and slowly raised his wand at her. "Last chance girl- join us or pay."
"Hmm, you guys have taken out the 'or die' part from that little speech, I see," she taunted. "However, I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline your offer. I'm quite happy on the side that I am, thank you."
"Bad choice girl, a very bad choice indeed."
He opened his mouth to shoot off a spell at her but she beat him to the draw. The beam of purple light hit him hard and true. As he went flying through the air, Hermione smiled to herself. There would be more than one lesson taught tonight.
"Oh Hermione, you always were best at interfering."
Hermione slowly turned to face the Death Eater standing behind her. The icy grey eyes behind the silver mask were all to obvious as to who it was. "Hello Lucius," she said, her brown eyes speculative. "How nice to see you again."
He laughed cruelly. "Same old Hermione, always denying the truth that's right there before your very face."
"I see more of the truth than you, Lucius. One day, you'll see the error of your ways."
"This is the right way," he spat hatefully. "This is who I am! This is my future!"
"What kind of future is it if you're always on your knees serving someone more powerful than you!" she demanded, clenching her fists.
He laughed at her, his eyes cold. "You are living in a fantasy land where good always rules. You will soon learn that this is real life and things aren't always black and white."
"No, Lucius, I see things very plainly," she stated with a harshness in her voice that he had never heard before. It was obvious that it shocked him. "I also see that you aren't as evil as you try to make out to be. You're hurt and therefore you made a rash decision that one day, I assure you, you'll regret."
"Don't count on it," he growled, drawing his wand out quickly. "I do wish that you'd join us, Hermione. Leave Black and Potter and join the Dark Lord. He wishes very much for you to join us."
"No."
"Very well then, I will convey your answer to him though I suspect he'll be most displeased."
"Oh, I don't doubt that one bit, Lucius," she said sweetly.
"Last chance, Hermione," he tried, his voice reverting back to his old smooth and charming tone he used to use, the way she remembered it.
"Again, no."
"Very well then, we duel."
"Don't make me hurt you, Lucius," she warned. "Be smart and walk away now while you still can."
"And miss all the fun? I don't think so."
"Very well," she said before placing a full body bind on him before he even had the chance to lift his wand. She glanced around to make sure that no one was looking before levitating him behind some bushes some ways away.
She bent down close to him and whispered, "Tell Voldemort that I will not join him and that tonight was just a taste of what is about to come. No longer are we going to sit back and allow him to kill. We're fighting back now."
As she walked away, she made sure that Lucius would not be found. She still held out hope for him. It wasn't too late for him to change.
This war was beginning to get ugly. There would be a lot more deaths, she knew, before things would turn around.
Only three more years to go…
A/N: Two things to discuss…
First off, sorry it took me so long to update. I got sick and had to leave college early and just got back. Yes, I was going to update on Friday but…well, that didn't work. I am better now (thanks to drugs) and will update next Sunday (going home for the weekend).
Second, you all know that I go through my little phases, right? Well, remember back when I wanted a twin and adopted my little twinsie-winsy, moonyNZ, as my twin? Well, I have now started another phase, one you guys can't help me with… I am suffering from testosterone withdrawal. Let me explain: I go to an all women's college (STUPID ME) and I am surrounded by WOMEN… all day…every day. I need a boyfriend…lol. Sad, but true. Actually, I don't 'need' one, I just 'want' one. I'm a weird cookie… Alrighty-o, done with the dramatics… ignore me… it's the drugs.
MiZZ AmAyA