Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Hermione Granger IV

It was late at night and Hermione was studying for a Herbology test tomorrow when her locket suddenly warmed underneath her shirt. With eyebrows scrunched in puzzlement and curiosity, Hermione pulled out her locket and checked the message at the back.

'Look out your window - J'

Her attention snapped to the window, where all she could see was the blackness of the sky and the glittering dots littered across it. Her eyes kept on searching for a silhouette, convinced that he was there, waiting for her outside her window. Because what purpose did the message have if he wasn't? Hermione frowned. Unless, of course, he was just pranking her again.

She squeezed the locket and conveyed a response.

'Why? - HG'

'Walk towards the window - J'

Hermione immediately grew wary. As much as she adored James, there was no mistaking that he's a very mischievous man who loved messing with other people. One time, he charmed her drink into Firewhiskey without changing its taste or giving it a certain odour that would've likely transferred in her mouth. Everyone was so confused why she suddenly acted so out of character, always walking sideways and mumbling her words most of the time. She was quite thankful that only a certain few recognised that she was drunk and that's just because she was close to them compared to the majority of the school.

When she found out that James was the one who did it — simply because the idiotic man had bragged about it to his friends, not noticing that she was standing behind him — she charmed his drink and food to taste like mud all throughout the day, the only exception was chocolate because she couldn't find it within herself to do such a thing. He had nearly gotten himself sick from eating chocolates and Hermione stopped the charm before he could end up in the Hospital Wing. She was very guilty about what happened. Her intent was to pay him back, not make him ill.

Sirius had been immensely impressed. Remus was shocked. Peter looked at her in awe. And James — Hermione still blushed whenever she remembered the way he stared at her; hazel eyes darkening to a rich brown that nearly drowned her. James was very charming and carefree but that didn't make him less intense when he was serious.

'This better not be a prank. - HG'

'No, it isn't. Promise - J'

Hermione sighed and lifted herself from her chair, casting a look at Alice and her other roommates to see if they were awake. So far, they seemed to be deep in slumber. Tiptoeing to the window, she unlocked it and pushed it open. The smile that was carved on her lips was automatic as soon as she saw him. He was sitting on his broom, his thick cloak billowing behind him. His messy jet black hair swayed with the gentle breeze and his hazel eyes were brighter than the moon in the sky. She unconsciously leaned closer to the edge.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked quietly, lips pursed in suspicion. "It's past curfew, James."

He only smiled. "Hop on."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me, what?"

He gestured in front of him. "Hop on."

"You said this wasn't a prank, James." She scowled.

James shook his head. "This isn't a prank. I really want you to ride with me."

"I'm not going to get on that death trap!" Hermione sputtered.

"Shh, you might wake them up," James shushed her, chuckling when he saw her indignant expression. "Hermione, I promise that I won't let you fall. I'm a Quidditch player. I know how to handle my broomstick." He suddenly frowned. "Wait, that sounded wrong."

"Even if you're an athlete and a Quidditch player, I'm not getting on that thing," Hermione said adamantly. "Besides, you had an accident whilst riding that."

"Hermione," James peered into her eyes with an earnest expression that made her hold her breath, "I promise that I won't let anything happen to you. Trust me."

Hermione cursed herself. James knew how much she had a hard time resisting him when he was looking at her like that. There was just something about his eyes that pierced her. It was a magnetic force that pulled her towards him. It was unfair to gift a man with such an intense look.

"Why?" Hermione groaned, tugging hard on her gold chain.

James held out his hand. "I'll tell you once we get there. Come on."

Hermione really didn't want to but she also didn't have a choice. With a pained groan, she grasped his hand with her shaky ones and hauled herself to the widowsill, the free hand quickly grabbing on the other hand that James offered to her to support herself. She told herself not to look down, knowing that she would only panic if she did. Beads of sweat prickled her nape as James moved his broom closer and higher for her to climb on. His hand dropped her hand to grab her waist when she lifted her foot and swung her leg over the broom as she tried to keep her breaths steady.

Finally, what felt like a lifetime only happened in five minutes, Hermione was situated in front of James with her back pressed against his front. She could feel the pounding of his heart — strong and fast — and his breath on her cool neck — hot and smelled heavenly. She gripped the broom tightly, rigidly sitting on it for fear of falling. She heard him chuckling behind her and she jerked when she felt his large hands sliding down her arm to grasp the stick above her hands as his chin rested on her shoulder.

"Relax." Hermione nearly shivered when he whispered into her ear. "We're going to get an accident if you don't relax."

Hermione gritted her teeth. "How can I relax when I'm sitting in the air only a hundred feet above ground?"

A quick kiss on her cheek. "Don't exaggerate, Pumpkin. It's only a ninety-nine and a half feet."

"Ninety-nine and a half—?!"

Sadly, her sentence was disrupted when James chose that moment to start the broom. Hermione was pretty sure that her scream had woken half of the school. She spent the whole ride threatening her boyfriend and screaming whenever he spun the broom sharply, obviously on purpose. By the time they arrived on the Quidditch pitch, her legs were numbed and shaky and her hair was frizzier than her bed hair, almost resembling a lion's mane.

"Don't say a word," Hermione wheezed, ignoring his chuckles for now as she attempted to stand in her two own feet. It took her a moment longer than she originally thought.

"Are you done?" James was amused.

Hermione only glared.

When she regained the sensations of her legs, she looked around the Quidditch pitch. She found the whole place to be eerie, especially because the benches were vacant when she was used to it being occupied, whether it was for a Quidditch game or practice. She wondered what James brought her here for.

Hermione faced to him. "So? What are we going to do here?"

James grinned as he gently took her hands and rested them on his shoulders before putting his own hands on her waist, drawing her close to him. Hermione couldn't stifle her laugh.

"What are you doing?" She asked, smiling amusedly.

James shrugged. "You asked what we're going to do here, I figured we'd go dancing the night away."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "James, you hate dancing."

"Yes, well," James tightened his hold on her and started swaying them, "it really depends whether I feel motivated enough to dance or not. Luckily, I feel extra motivated considering you're my partner." He winked.

James started humming a song as they began dancing. As they spun around, little balls of lights lit up one by one and flew from the grass beneath them before spiralling in the air and bathing them in a golden light that enchanted the pitch. Hermione released a sigh of awe as the lights circled them then turned to James who was watching her reactions. The lights hightened his high cheekbones, his square jawline, his long nose, thin lips and hazel eyes. He was gorgeous, there was no denying it.

"You planned this, didn't you?" She accused.

James nodded. "I did. Do you like them?"

"I do. They're beautiful, James," she told him earnestly. "But what brought this on?"

"You forgot what today means?" James grinned impishly.

When she knitted her eyebrows in confusion, he chuckled and leaned his head closer to her ear.

"It's March 1, 1977," he whispered to her.

Hermione gasped as he drew back and his smile went wider at her expression.

"It's been a month since you let me into your life," he said. "A months since you said yes and told me that you were going to be mine as much as I was yours. I spent a month in bliss because of your presence in my life. I thank whatever god is out there everyday because he gave you to me. Happy First Month Anniversary, Pumpkin," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers.

Hermione brushed his hair and cupped the side of his jaw. "Happy First Month Anniversary, James."

She could not believe how much time had gone past. It honestly felt like she'd been with James for a much longer time than that. It was a bit weird that in just a month, she suddenly had a group of friends: one who was a rebel son from a pureblood family, the other was a sweet pureblood boy who seemed to need all the help that he could get, and the other was a half-blood that was apparently a werewolf. She had been insulted and tricked by their enemy, and she had almost been killed by a werewolf.

When she had agreed to become James' girlfriend, she didn't expect all of this to happen. Honestly, she had more experiences in a month with James than in her last fifteen years with her father.

"I want to show you something." He suddenly stepped out of her embrace and inched back.

"What is it?" Hermione smiled.

James returned it with his unsure one that made Hermione curious. He released out a breath and then suddenly, he shifted. Hermione watched in awe when he transformed into a majestic stag in front of her. His antlers were long and sharp and he stood in his four legs with proud grace. His eyes — that Hermione realised was still hazel — were watching her, waiting for her to react.

"You're an Animagus," Hermione breathed out, holding out a hand to rub a spot between his ears. "Oh, James, you look beautiful."

He easily transformed into his human form and swept her into his arms, hiding his face in the crook of her neck and ignoring her shriek. Hermione could feel his happy smile as he pressed kisses on her skin and his laughter as his chest vibrated.

"Beautiful, really?" His voice was muffled by her skin.

"Of course you are!" Hermione slapped his shoulder. "But I don't understand. Aunt Minerva said that we can only start practicing how to become an Animagus in our NEWTs year. How come you already have one? Unless... Wait, you're an unregistered one, aren't you?" She narrowed her eyes into slits.

He pulled back enough to see her face and when Hermione saw his sheepish smile, she knew that what she had guessed was true.

"You're unregistered!" Hermione exclaimed, punching his shoulder.

"Ow! That hurt!" James pouted.

"It'll hurt more if my aunt finds out!"

"I know, Pumpkin," he said in a soothing manner to calm her. "Frankly, Sirius, Peter, and I didn't plan on becoming Animagus until we found out that Remus was a werewolf. We wanted to help him in his transformation, be there for him so he isn't alone. We did this for him, not for ourselves. We have to be unregistered to protect Remus' furry little problem."

Hermione's heart went out for the man in front of her and she felt her anger ebbing away. Although what they did was illegal and could've taken them straight to Azkaban, she couldn't find any fault in their reason. Remus was also her friend and if she thought that there was any possibility that she could be an illegal Animagus, then she would become one to help him. However, she knew how hard it was and not everyone had the patience to go through the rituals.

"Why did you just tell me now?" Hermione questioned, relaxing in his arms.

"I didn't want to hide secrets from you anymore," he told her. "I wanted to tell you for a very long time but Remus was afraid that you'd stay away from us so we had to respect his decision. But since you already know his furry little problem of his and after discussing it for a whilst and finding the right moment, we decided to tell you."

"So, you're a stag." Hermione grinned. "What about Sirius and Peter?"

"Sirius is a dog and Peter's a rat."

Hermione suddenly understood. "So, Prongs, Padfoot, and — wait, Wormtail? Really?"

James blushed. "We had a hard time looking a name for Peter and the man himself chose Wormtail. We decided to let it be."

Hermione chuckled. "Well, thank you for trusting me with all of your secrets."

"Thank you for accepting my friend." James was referring to Remus.

"About that, James..." Hermione trailed off.

"What?" James suddenly looked scared.

Hermione could imagine him thinking that she would change her opinions about his best friend. She tried not to take it personal because she knew that wizards and witches in majority were wary of werewolves.

Hermione held his hands and peered straight into his eyes. "Want to free house elves and stop discrimination against werewolves with me?"

James stared at her for a second before throwing his head back and laughing in delight. Then, he grabbed her face and kissed her fiercely, making Hermione's toes curl as she grasped his arms that were holding her and leaned into him. She closed her eyes and accepted his kiss, trusting her instincts to go along for this phenomenal experience that she was glad she was sharing with James Potter.

"Forever," he murmured his answer into her lips.

And they kissed for a very, very long time under the night sky.

A/N: ...aaaaaand we're back with the fluff.

Just to be clear, I'm not going to make Hermione an Animagus. I'd rather have her petition in werewolf rights and anti-discrimination act. It took 3 years for the Marauders to become an Animagus and I'm not going to write Hermione here as this all-powerful witch that can be an Animagus in just a few short months. Not to say that she couldn't do it, but I just don't want her to do it here in this fic. I firmly believe that campaigning and championing for the mistreated magical creatures is one of Hermione's greatest strengths and whilst giving her an Animagus form would be awesome, I'll just give it to the Marauders.

As for Regulus, I don't know whether to give him an Animagus form or not. I'm leaning towards no but I'm also tempted to say yes. So, I don't know. Plus, I can't imagine what his Animagus form looks like. I'd probably work on that and try to fit it all in this story if I ever decide to give him an Animagus form.

Reviews are welcomed!

~ NR xx