January, 1976.
Hermione had experience with a multitude of things happening in just one day. She clearly remembered how easily she was able to pull all-nighters before an exam, intent on writing and repeating each and every note she'd ever taken, making sure that she could list off her knowledge in a beat of a second.
So, she could easily say that she was not too exhausted when she was called to Professor Dumbledore's office, right when her and her brothers exited the Room of Requirement.
An adorably, chubby half-kneazle—if what Granger was correct—had dropped a note at her feet and happily padded away.
She was very tempted right then and there, to go to Magical Menagerie and impulsively look for Granger's Crookshanks.
This is no time to think about my Crooks, Granger interjected and she realized that the woman was right. A rough looking man, with dark grey, grizzled hair, stood in front of her, his wooden leg just adding to the character.
She could say that she did not flinch when his voice came out as a growl, but that would be a lie.
"Albus, when you mentioned a lass that wouldn't be a waste of my time, you didn't tell me that it would be lanky one," the man said, scrutinizing eyes running over her face as though to watch her reaction.
Her cheeks tinted red, she was sure that she looked like quite a scrawny kid, one that showed an immense lack of physical activity. Yet, she couldn't help but feel bewildered by how openly he had criticized her, right in front of her!
Granger snorted in her head.
Her eyes flew to the Headmaster, who was shaking his head at the man, a smile fixed on his face.
"Hermione, let me introduce you to an old friend of mine, Alastor Moody," he said as he waved a hand at the space between the two, encouraging them to shake hands.
There was an awkward silence, where she wasn't sure if she should move first, but decided to do so, anyways. This was no time to hesitate over handshakes.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Moody," she said with a small smile, hoping the frown on the man would finally vanish.
It only deepened.
"We'll see about that," he muttered, shaking her hand briefly before moving away. He turned to Professor Dumbledore, seemingly having a silent debate with him; occasional gestures towards her and all.
They both looked at her again, this time acknowledging her presence. "I have told Alastor of everything, but do not worry, Hermione. He is one of the most loyal Aurors the Ministry has."
"I'm the best one," the gruff voice interjected and her eyes darted between the two wizards nervously, making sure to take in the dynamic that seemed to be a part of their friendship - if it could even be called that.
Without wasting time, Moody turned to face her and began, "You'll be going through the much needed, intense training every weekend. I hunt wizards and witches every day, lass. It won't make me go any easier on you."
There was a question that was still left unanswered and Hermione could feel it pounding in her mind. "Where will we be training?"
Moody threw the Headmaster a look, who approached her with a stroke of his white beard. "I hear that you've found the best room in the castle, Hermione."
"Oh." She let out a nervous laugh, playing with the cuffs of her robes. "The Room of Requirement, Sir?"
Professor Dumbledore only smiled. "Or, the Come and Go Room, as the house elves call it."
It didn't take long for her to find her brothers. The moment she entered the Great Hall, a silence followed - one that could let her hear a pin drop.
Her eyes fixed towards the Gryffindor table, Hermione wasted no glance towards the other students. She walked to her usual seat, heart warming in affection at the sight that greeted her.
Sirius was setting up the plate for a mildly annoyed Regulus, who seemed to be stating that he was grown up enough to eat on his own. Her twin was obviously holding back a laugh, continuing with his act.
Her lips twitched and she made sure to sit in front of the two, so that their banter could continue before her eyes. When she heard a clank by her side, only then did she look for everyone else's reactions.
Remus had a fond, if not surprised smile on his face as he searched her face for answers. She winked at him, to which he only rolled his eyes, eating his potatoes and watching the situation in front of him unfold in amusement.
Peter seemed to be doing the same, to which she was grateful, as he didn't say anything tactless that could've made Regulus shut down his emotions. Speaking of tact, she was expecting a better reaction from James — a silent stare at her wasn't really much to go by. She couldn't tell what was going on in that lovely head of his.
Hermione arched a brow at him, an assuring smile on her face. Only then, did his hard features relax into a grin of his own and he relaxed. "I'd say congratulations are in order?" he asked, popping a carrot in his mouth.
"You sound like someone's having a baby," she said, letting out a laugh that had the ache in her muscles ease. Something had been stuck in her chest, remorseful and bitter in the wait for better times and maybe . . . maybe, they were coming.
Hermione was hopeful.
"Well, the baby of the family is back," Sirius commented, putting Reggie in a brief headlock that was luckily missed by Professor Mcgonagall.
Regulus faked a frown. She knew as a matter of fact that he was enjoying the attention from Sirius, continuing to munch on his dinner happily with a small, half-hidden smile.
She'd never really seen him look so content with the Slytherins—except for when he was with Severus—which brought back a series of reminders to the reality he was part of. Her brother would be going back to the dungeons every night, where anyone could try to hurt him.
Especially now that he was seen eating at the Gryffindor table.
No, she shook her head and smiled at her brother. She had talked about this with Professor Dumbledore and Moody, who decided that it was best to monitor every Floo Network with more caution and strengthen the wards.
He'd even asked each and every portrait to stay alert and inform him if anything was out of the ordinary.
"Where's Lily?" she asked James, whose head shot up at the mention of his girlfriend's name.
He gave her a sheepish smile and said, "She's finishing up her essay, 'cause we've got plans tonight."
"Oh," she muttered. She had planned to introduce Regulus to the boys properly, but hadn't realized that others could've had plans, too. Hermione chastised herself for thinking so selfishly. "What are you doing?"
Glancing at her briefly, he answered, "Can't tell you. Sorry—"
"Nope, it's fine."
James finally turned to look at her properly, one leg on each side of the bench as he straddled it. He arched a brow at her, and she noticed how his eyebrows had a hint of dark brown in them.
"You don't sound like it's fine," he noted, coming closer to poke her cheek. She swatted his hand away and scowled, crossing her arms.
"No need to be bothered," she said nonchalantly and gave him a tired shrug, hoping for some reason that the conversation would end right then and there.
He sighed and she almost felt bad for him - for no reason, whatsoever.
"Alright!" James said with a loud clap of his hands that had her startled. "How about I show you something?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What?"
He stood up silently, showing off his long legs as he stretched and offered her a hand. She took it gracefully and though confused, she stood as well and let him drag her away from the table.
When she craned her neck and looked over at the plate that she'd left behind, she saw Sirius grabbing it enthusiastically and waving her away with a teasing smirk.
Hermione hurried to keep up with him, gripping his hand tighter once they exited the castle and a cold breeze hit her skin harshly, surely making two patches of red appear on her cheeks.
James stopped more often than once to run his warm thumb over them, an apologetic look on his face for making her shiver in the weather. The rain had melted almost all of the snow away, but the Black Lake still seemed frozen due to the lower temperatures.
She took pity on both of them and finally put a Warming Charm over them, sighing in delight when a hot puff of air ran around her form.
James let go of her hand and she awkwardly stuffed it inside the pocket of her robes, watching with amusement as he began to pick wet strands of grass. "What are you doing?"
"Watch this," he said, his back now turned to her. His broad shoulders hid whatever was happening before his eyes, but she could still tell that he was using his wand for something.
Before he finally turned around, he said, "Close your eyes."
Her lips twitched, but she still followed the order. "Alright, but—"
Hermione could hear his breathing somewhere nearby, and she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes slowly opened and found a hazel eyed boy looking at her with crinkled eyes and a shit eating grin on his face. Just before she could ask what the hell he was doing, he brought his hand forward, a gentle grip of his fingers around a bouquet of yellow tulips.
Her lips curled into a delightful smile, eyes darting between her best friend and the simple, yet thoughtful gift he'd given her. She wasn't sure where it had come from, but she paid the wonder no mind. At the moment, nothing could make her wide smile slide off her face.
"Thank you . . .?" She tilted her head, taking the flowers in her hand and bringing them closer to her face, so that she could take in the scent of her favourite flowers. "That was a very nice surprise."
His eyes shined brightly, looking at her attentively as he smiled. "It is just the beginning, Herms."
She froze and sent him a glare that lacked any true malice. "I'll cut your bollocks off, if you call me that again, Jamsie."
He threw his head back and laughed.
"Stop following me like two ducks," Reg complained, craning his neck to look at them as they all lazily walked around the hallways.
Sirius laid an arm around her shoulders and said, "And here we thought you missed us." He pulled his lower lip into a pout, even though Regulus had already turned back around.
She snorted, pinching her twin's side and watching with amusement as he scrambled in pain. Even Reg had stopped to chuckle at the older brother.
With slow steps—purposeful, as she didn't want to leave Sirius behind—she joined Regulus's side and asked, "So . . . where are we going?"
"You'll see, I guess," he said defeatedly, looking down at her because sadly, even her younger brother was taller than her.
"So unfair," she muttered and though she wasn't sure if he somehow knew what she meant, he laughed at her with no remorse.
Boys were brats.
—
"Seriously—"
"Oh, Hermione. You have this coming—"
"—Don't say it, Sirius. As I was saying, we walked around Hogwarts for you to take us to our own dorm?"
Her legs were aching and she was sure that her lessons with Moody will only result in embarrassment, but this was no time to think about the lessons or to even start practicing. She'd only been trying to be a good sister, for Merlin's sake!
"Well, this was no fun but you do need sleep," Sirius commented, ignoring Reg's confused look as he said that. "Let me go grab James's Cloak and then I can hand Reggie over to the snakes."
"No, no. There's still something I need to show you," Regulus interjected, looking entirely too smug for a Slytherin who was entering the Gryffindors' Common Room.
"Alright," she said slowly, her eyes running around the room, with barely any students just as she'd expected. As the weekend was yet to come, most of them had retreated to their dorms rather early.
They walked up the small staircase, leading up to their dorm as usual but this time, Regulus was with them, looking at his surroundings with an impassive expression.
"So, I was thinking of writing to Uncle Alphard," she began, glancing at her brothers. She stopped when Sirius's eyes turned wide and followed his gaze back towards the doorway.
All the boys, Marlene and Lily sat on the floor like little children, a cake in the middle of the circle they'd formed.
"Happy birthday!"
Her mouth hung open, taking in all the treats placed on each plate meticulously, and the decorations that hung around the bed posts.
"Sirius!" she gasped, "Did you forget, too?"
Her brother looked put out and he huffed. "I can't believe I forgot my own birthday."
Well, they had been so busy with other matters. It made sense that only the others remembered it.
Regulus searched her face for something and she gave him a gentle smile. "Look at you, Reggie — plotting with the Marauders already."
He rolled his eyes and sat on the floor, eyes fixed on the chocolate cake. She was surprised that it was still intact, what with Moony eyeing the dessert as though it was a bag full of galleons.
"I thought I told you not to call me that," Reg muttered, scratching the back of his neck with an awkward glance around the room.
Sirius snorted, opening his arms wide open and tilting his head like a puppy. "Alright! Is no one going to give me a birthday hug?"
Everyone remained seated, giving him a deadpan look that had her sides hurting from holding back a laugh. Her feet moved on their own and she wrapped her arms around her brother's torso. "Happy birthday, Padfoot."
"Happy birthday, little sister," he said good naturedly, rubbing her back even when she made an annoyed noise. "Maybe one day, you'll start treating your older brother with respect."
"You may be two minutes older, but I am still the wisest," she mumbled, giving him a challenging look that would have had others shaking in fear.
"Sure, you are," Sirius said, sarcastically or not - she couldn't really tell.
"Hurry up, you two!" Remus exclaimed with a groan, his self-control looking closer to giving up.
She approached him with a grin and sat down, patting his cheek with a light tap. "Yes, come on. We shan't let Moony suffer any longer."
Just as she prepared to blow the candles with her twin, her eyes met soft hazel ones and her heart fluttered in a skip. What a surprise, indeed.
Her eyes moved over to the redhead that sat next to him, and Hermione gave her a smile. It was time to let some grudges go and put more effort in the people that were still by her side.
A/N: I hope you liked that! I don't know why, but I thought it'd be nice to have Moody introduced to Hermione exactly on her birthday. Sounds like a brand new beginning for her, doesn't it?