February, 1976.
Hermione had to struggle a lot. She restrained herself more than ever - Merlin knew what would happen if she didn't. Peter continued to look like he was going to fall to the floor that very moment, barely holding himself with those lanky legs.
"You gave her my fucking robes?" she bit out, taking shuddering breaths in between that still failed to calm down her Black anger as she pointed her finger at the redhead.
The Prefect looked baffled at her behaviour.
"She came looking for Prongs and said she was cold! What else was I supposed to do when she was looking exactly at that one?" He eyed her nervously, cheeks red at the confrontation. Hermione immediately felt a pang of regret in her chest, but reminded herself that this wasn't something she could easily let go.
Lily let out a loud sigh, pointing out of how annoyed she felt at the discussion.
Hermione could care less! Those robes, they—
"Are they expensive? Is that why you're bothered about me wearing them?" Lily paused and Hermione clenched her hands tight, turning her knuckles whiter and whiter as words came out of the redhead's mouth.
She needed to shut the fuck up.
"Come on, Black. I didn't think you'd be one to care about fashion, let alone a worn out cloak like this one. Even a Muggleborn like me knows that whoever gave this to you probably disliked you and could have done better—"
That's it. Blinding rage hit her like a fan and before she knew it, she had her wand straight at Lily's throat, physically holding herself back from hitting the girl right in the face instead.
Lily didn't understand it. Of course, she didn't. Those robes - they'd been a gift. They'd been given by her father on her last birthday before Hogwarts. Over the years, she'd continued to enlarge the cloak so that it could still fit, and never did she think of discarding it, no matter how rotten it looked to others.
At the time, it had been the one of the few signs of love from Orion Black and now, it was one of only possessions that could still remind her of him.
Rather than nostalgia and sadness, she always held the simple piece of clothing with a smile, content with it no matter what. And for Lily to insult it so frankly, it was even worse than Peter giving it away when he knew the reason behind it. He was aware that she never let anyone other than Sirius touch it.
"Hermione!" A tight hand clasped around her wrist and swirled her around with a harsh force. She came face to face with James and sent him a fierce glare.
"Let me go." She bristled and he instantly retreated his hand, moving past her to his girlfriend instead—probably to wrap his arms around her and comfort her.
"I'm sorry, Lils. It's okay. It's not your fault."
Hermione—, Granger began with the intent to reason her, but that was all she could hear before she moved past the boys and away from the dorm. She knew Sirius would follow her, but still didn't let him stop her. Thoughts crept through her mind at an unreadable speed.
Who was James Potter to say that it was okay?
"Hermione," Sirius called out. By this time, they were already out by the Black Lake and she let out a bitter laugh. Black, Black, Black. Orion Black. Hermione Black. Sirius Black. Regulus Black.
She was going crazy. A true Black by blood.
Sirius was in front of her in a second and before she could move past him once again, he held her shoulders with a firm grip and glared. "Stop for a fucking second, Hermione."
"Sirius, don't—"
"Listen to me, right now," he said in a firm tone and she found herself unable to do otherwise. Hermione let out a defeated sigh and nodded, allowing him to drag her to their usual spot by the large tree.
The cold breeze wrapped itself around her trembling body and Sirius didn't hesitate casting a Warming Charm over them as they sat down.
She narrowed her eyes at the surface of water in front of her and her twin took the chance to speak up when she began to sneeze. "She didn't know, Hermione," she opened her mouth to protest and he glared at her yet again before continuing. "Peter knew, I agree. You were angry at him and that made sense because it was justified. But with Evans, you just blew up and it was unfair. You weren't as mad at Peter as you were with her."
Hermione looked up at the grey sky, pressing the roof of her mouth with her tongue and waiting for him to continue already.
"I know that this whole time you've just been frustrated with her and this was out of your control, but please just apologize. If I, of all people, can say sorry to Evans, then you can too, right?"
"What's her problem with us, Sirius?" she asked, her voice hitched. "She's fine with Remus and Peter. It's us she has a problem with and I don't understand it."
He snorted and shook the top of her head with his hand, frizzing her hair up even more. She couldn't even frown at him when she saw the conflicted furrow of his brows. "I think everyone hates the Blacks, Cub. We do too, don't we?"
"Well, I don't hate Sirius and Regulus Black," she pointed out.
"And Alphard Black," Sirius added.
"And Andromeda Tonks née Black."
Her brother gave her a crooked smile. "I guess we are the only ones aware of the few gems in the family."
"You're forgetting one," she muttered, pushing his shoulder lightly.
He furrowed his brows and tilted his head. "We have already said my name."
"But not mine," she exclaimed with a pout, and he rolled his eyes.
"Who said I don't hate you?" he asked, brows risen to his forehead.
"You're an arse."
"And you're violent. Merlin, you've gotten so fast with that wand. It makes me want to stop messing with you . . . but I'll do it anyway," he shrugged, looking unapologetically cheeky. "And as for Evans, do you really care about what she thinks? I know I don't. The girl keeps yelling at me for hurting her dear friends, even though they all know what the deal is every time I see them."
Hermione cringed, pursing her lips. "If they know that you're not looking for anything serious and they themselves aren't either, Lily really shouldn't be so bothered. I bet she also wants you to stop the pranks."
Sirius scoffed and flipped his long, black hair back. "If Professor Mcgonagall couldn't do it, what makes her think she'll be able to do it? Sometimes she feels more like my mother and less like James's girlfriend."
"Stop - I just imagined Walburga as his girlfriend . . ."
"Hermione!"
.
After half an hour of Sirius and her just lazing around the Hogwarts grounds, they finally decided to make their way to the dorm and do the only right thing to do. She hesitated by the doorway, while Sirius freely entered the room with hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans as he whistled a happy tune.
Don't be a coward, Granger told her, and it was the only push she needed to step foot inside. Her eyes found Lily showing a muggle magazine to James on his bed, and she took a deep breath.
You can do this, Hermione, she repeatedly told herself. All the anger evaporated, she could no longer ignore the sets of eyes that flew towards her immediately. She could feel her face burn in crimson red but she kept on walking, until she stepped past her own bed and approached her best friend's.
Lily kept quiet and Hermione appreciated her for that, well aware that she had to get it all out without any interruptions.
"I am very sorry, Lily. I shouldn't have yelled at you, especially when you had no idea how much the robes meant to me. They were given to me by my Father, so I hope you can understand a bit as to why I was so upset. Again, it's still my fault for lashing out at you and I hope you can forgive me," she rushed without a pause, swallowing once it was over and looking at the redhead for a reaction.
Lily gave her a tight smile and nodded. "It's okay. James already told me how much it meant to you."
"Ah," she let out, her eyes now fixed on her best friend. He looked relieved that Hermione had come around and she guessed that was what mattered the most - his happiness. "That's good then."
Unable to stand there any longer, she then swirled around and walked towards Peter, whose eyes were bulging out at each step she took. Hermione raised her arms in surrender. "I'm sorry, Pete. I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you."
He shook his head violently. "I'm sorry, too! I knew everything, so I should have given her something else."
Hermione gave him a small smile and shrugged, instead pointing at the paper in front of him as a change of subject. "Are you drawing something?"
The widening of his eyes stopped, allowing his cheeks to redden instead. "Huh - yeah. It's a drawing of the Headmaster. Do you want to see?" he asked in a small voice, getting steadier at her vigorous nodding.
She found that even Professor Mcgonagall wouldn't mind looking at the caricatures of Albus Dumbledore. Peter had so much potential and despite the incessant coughing in her unconscious, she proceeded to voice it to her best friend.
The beaming smile she received was definitely worth it.
James wasn't sure of how to feel when Remus suggested him and Lily to go see what Hermione was up to.
Sure, it had been a few days after - well, the whole encounter, but James could still feel every bit of the awkwardness between his girlfriend and Hermione. Not to mention that the cold his best friend had gotten—after doing Merlin knows what—had made her oh, so irritable. It was hard to get around with her without her threatening to hex his bollocks off.
It seemed that Sniv—Snape didn't bother Hermione so much with his Potions lessons, considering the fact that she still attended them this week regularly. On the other hand, it was a miracle if James got to catch her during breakfast lately and here, the Slytherin had the privilege to spend so much time with his best friend.
It was only when he sat down at the table, that he realized this was the perfect chance to get him to get up and leave him alone with his best friends.
James dropped his bag to the floor with a loud thud and watched with an arched brow as Snape's face turned sour - like he'd rather vomit than stay there any longer.
Of course, he thought this was the perfect time to announce what a great day it had been — Quidditch practice had just made him realize how perfect his skills were. They were going to beat the Slytherins with no doubt. But just then, Lily-flower began to plead with her own best friend to stay with them and of course, the Slytherin stayed.
Just as he thought he'd feel a pang of jealousy in his chest at that, he was surprised at how unaffected he felt at the whole exchange. Maybe Lily was right — he had truly matured.
It didn't feel that different, though.
He sighed, looking over at Hermione instead. The brown haired witch was moving to break off another square from her chocolate bar, when Remus snatched it out of her hands in no speed and took a large bite out of it, not caring one bit of her hushed complaints.
It seemed that there were only so many warnings she could take from Madam Pince and rightly so. He still shuddered whenever he thought of the time the enraged woman had banned him from the library for filling the entire room with toilet paper.
At least, Padfoot had gotten away.
"Get your own, Moony," Hermione whined, trying to take back the bar.
"He's going to wolf down all of it," he cheeked, laughing quietly at his own joke. Hermione stopped to give him a warning glare as Remus shoved her away, scooting closer to James instead.
"Stop being so selfish, Hermione," he muttered, giving her an innocent widening of his eyes.
"You're telling me that?" she asked, just as baffled as James was. When it came to chocolate, no one could be as selfish as the werewolf Marauder. Hermione always talked about how friendship was temporarily put on hold whenever it came down to food with Remus.
With Remus only, it seemed . . . James didn't remember her having any kind of rules with him.
"Anyways," James cleared his throat and tried to gather their attention, "what were you guys going?" He gave Snape an impassive look - not hateful or anything - making sure to also look at Lily with an adoring smile.
"We were studying," Hermione replied, and James was well aware that Snape wasn't going to talk to him, no matter what went down. He was about to address him again, when Hermione called out his name.
"Oh - hey, James! I could tutor you some more too, if you can get that chocolate bar away from the devil's hands," she offered with an innocent smile.
He paused, looking at her carefully. If he was being truthful, he'd only asked her for help because he'd seen how much she needed a distraction and well - there wasn't much he could think of at the time other than his failing grade in Charms!
And as he narrowed his eyes at her pale skin — her cheeks used to be filled with such a lovely colour of peach rose — he could tell that she had been having way too many thoughts lately as well.
The little bookworm had a brain too big for her own good.
But she was smart, so encouraging that she actually made him want to do good in his studies - all to succeed in showing that she did well in tutoring him.
He felt someone nudge his foot and when his eyes moved to Lily, he could clearly tell it had been her. Her mesmerizing emerald eyes shone with an uncertainty, one that had him regretting even thinking of studying with someone other than her.
He had spent five years daydreaming about the day he would get to annoy his Lily-flower as she urged him to study with her in the library, so who was he to change now?
"Nope. Lily can help me," he said with a shrug and his redhead beamed. Even Snape looked satisfied with the answer, surprising James for even being acknowledged by the boy.
"Slytherins," Hermione muttered, cracking her neck. Now that he thought about it, she'd joined him in complaining about the soreness in her muscles and the crack of her bones — something he also did after every Quidditch practice.
"What?" Remus asked through a mouthful of chocolate and Hermione scrunched her nose.
"Nothing," she said, gathering the cuffs of her sleeves between her fingers and scooting closer to the boy to wipe away spots of chocolate on the corners of his mouth. "You turn into the rest of the boys when it comes to chocolate."
Remus gave her a wolfish smile, placing the last two squares of the bar in her hand. James could tell that she was barely restraining the upward lift of her lips.
"How kind of you," she drawled in a bored tone — perfectly mimicking Snape's tone. James eyed the Slytherin once she was done, much like the rest of the group, who had noticed her mimicry.
It was harmless and he noticed that even the corners of Snape's mouth had lifted a tiny fraction. Then, the Slytherin looked between Remus and her and leaned against the edge of the table.
Hermione got closer, probably thinking he was going to say how accurate it was or something, only for him to whisper something in Lily's ear instead.
James wasn't sure how to feel about that. It was glaringly obvious that they were discussing what he'd continued to wonder since the beginning of their fifth year.
Did Hermione like Remus back?
The werewolf began to complain about the upcoming Potions's test, a subject he struggled with due to his enhanced smell sense, but no other student than the Marauders knew that was the true reason.
He watched as Remus allowed her to pat the top of his head despite it being the pre-moon time - a period where he disliked anyone touching him.
"Professor Slughorn should go easy on you," she mumbled with a frown. "Come on. Put your head on my lap."
James thought he'd misheard her. He had, hadn't he? There was no way she'd just offered him a head massage. He - well, he thought that was something only James was allowed to receive. Since when had that changed?
An immense heat surged deep in his chest and he had to force himself to look away before his expression could get any louder about the . . . betrayal he felt.
Sure, he hadn't asked for one ever since he'd started dating Lily, but . . . James sighed - he was being unreasonable; he could tell. A simple head massage meant nothing and things changed constantly. Now, he'll just have to lay his head on Lily's lap instead.
So he forced his eyes to watch as Hermione rubbed Remus's scalp in a soothing motion.
"This is nice," Remus commented in a low voice, closing his eyes with a sigh. "My head was hurting too much."
She rolled her eyes. "You should've told me before. I'd have given you the chocolate myself. Let's just hope this migraine of yours stops bothering you before tomorrow."
"What's tom— Oh, no . . . I swear I remember my birthday, unlike you."
"Sure you do." Hermione laughed quietly and flicked his forehead. James couldn't help but arch her brow at her when she looked up, though she just rolled her eyes and continued with her task.
He looked behind her just in time to notice Sirius, who'd finally come back from his shower and looked exasperated.
"Will you for the sake of Merlin get off my sister? It's always my own mates!"
Remus flipped Sirius off, who then turned to James instead. "You're supposed to tell me about this stuff!" He moved his hands around wildly and waited for an answer, but James merely shrugged, unable to use his voice at the moment.
Hermione's throaty chuckle turned into a coughing fit, making her blindly push Remus away so that he wouldn't fall sick as well. Their best friend rolled down the floor with a thud, and Hermione cringed. She finally opened her eyes to find Remus glaring at her.
"He deserved that," Sirius muttered as he sat down and James chortled, unable to hold back his amusement at the whole scene.
Her eyes met James's and she narrowed them at him. "What are you laughing at?"
James tensed and he blurted out the first thing he could think of. "You, princess." He shrugged offhandedly, hoping it came as strong and arrogant as he intended.
Her mouth fell open and she helped Remus up silently, urging him to sit away from her. "Are you sick too?" she finally asked, giving James a scrutinizing look.
He looked around to find everyone staring at him as well — they were being too dramatic! — and he bit his lip, scratching the back of his neck with a sweaty hand. He wasn't sure of what just happened.
"Uh - no? You get better soon, though. Come on, Lily. Let's go somewhere else."
He was up in an instant and held out his hand to his gorgeous girlfriend, whose fingers intertwined with his own with a tight hold.
Unbreakable.
Or so he hoped, anyways.
"I just got here and he already left. I see how it is, Prongs!" James heard his best mate say and he chuckled, shaking his head as he raised his hand in a salute.
"Love ya, too!"
A/N: I had this chapter already started up when I posted the latest one, but at the time, I felt the need to edit it a bit. Anyways, I hope you like the final result! I would love to hear what you have to say about it, especially James's POV. You can see that he's starting to notice a few changes in his feelings towards his girlfriend and his best friend, and Valentine's day will prove to be even more challenging for him . . .
