Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews, views, favorites, and follows!

How's everyone? Still COVID19 negative? Good. :) Stay healthy and stay at home. :)

The Enhanced Community Quarantine in my country is extended until the 15th of May. Good thing, I have a home-based job and still earning money. Otherwise, we'd be hungry. :(

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Chapter 24:

October 5, 1975

(twenty years ago)

Hermione's brows furrowed while reading the recipe of Animagus potion in Sev's old copy of 'Advanced Potion Making'. Unlike the other potions in the book, this one did not have crossed out words and measurements.

"At least a month of preparation is required and the drinker must soak a Mandrake's leaf in his mouth for an entire month without pause."

Hmmm... this is interesting, she thought.

"What did you find out there, Hermione?" asked James (he insisted they should be on a first-name basis since last week because they were getting along pretty well in Transfiguration and would even share a table in the library when she wasn't with Sev or Alice.

"You'll be needing a Mandrake's leaf, a phial, a strand of hair, a teaspoon of dew, and one Death's-head Hawk Moth chrysalis, and wait for the lightning storm," she enumerated to him, eyes still on the book.

"Wait for the lightning storm?" parroted Sirius Black who was sitting across from her, beside James.

"Uhm," she replied.

"When do you think you can start the potion?" asked Sirius.

"It depends on you. When can you start soaking a Mandrake's leaf into your mouth?" she asked casually, finally looking up to her new friends.

Sirius looked like he was going to puke. "Is this necessary?' he asked James.

James adjusted his eyeglasses with his index finger and turned to Sirius. "We want to help Remus, remember?"

Sirius's expression softened. "Yeah, I remember."

A couple of Gryffindor girls passed by their table, Hermione saw in her peripheral vision but didn't look up to see who they were. She scanned Sev's book.

"Hey, James," whispered Sirius, just loud enough for Hermione to hear. "When did you last talk to Lily?"

"Hmm? This morning. Why?" replied James absentmindedly, scanning his Transfiguration book.

"No, you didn't. You haven't talked to her for two days now," commented Sirius.

Hermione and James turned to the wizard. "Really?" asked James, the disbelief was all over his face.

"Yep." Sirius made a popping sound. "You declare your love for her only thrice a week since last month."

James frowned and looked like he was in deep thought. "I didn't notice."

"Are you still interested in her?" asked Sirius.

"Of course," replied James. "But she keeps on rejecting me."

Sirius cocked an eyebrow. "When did that ever stop you?"

"Maybe," she began tentatively, making the two wizards turn to her, "it's a good strategy. Change your ways because clearly, it hasn't been working for four years. Make the love declarations thrice a week for a month, then the following month twice a week, until she notices and gets curious. She might end up asking you what happened."

James clearly followed and grinned. "You're a genius, Hermione."

Sirius gave her a playful smirk. "Shall I do the same to beautiful Amelia Bones?"

Hermione glared at the wizard. "Don't you dare court Amelia, bastard!" she whispered sharply.

Sirius laughed. "I wasn't aware that you're her mother."

"Sirius, I'm serious. Amelia has never dated anyone. Don't you dare give her a bad experience or else, I'll spike Hiccoughing Potion to your breakfast," she warned.

"You wouldn't," said Sirius confidently.

She smirked at the two wizards. "Oh, I already did. First year. Remember when someone Divested your clothes?"

The two wizards' eyes widened like saucers. "That was you?!" they even said together, making Madam Pince ring her bell and Hermione chuckle.

She stood up. "I'll just get something," she told the boys before they could even say something, and went to find a book on household charms. She was planning on giving Sev (and perhaps her parents and sister) a knitted jumper for Christmas, so she searched on the Knitting Charm. It took her around five minutes to find the right book. When she returned to their table, James and Sirius weren't there, but their stuff was still in the same places, so she assumed that they also went to find books.

When she looked around the library, she caught a glance of Lily, giving her an evil look and grin while a fellow Gryffindor was whispering on the redhead's ear.

"Hey, Miss Puckle."

She turned her head to the source of the voice, only to find little Regulus sitting on Sirius's abandoned seat. "Oh, Reg. I told you, call me 'Hermione'."

"No, thanks. Severus might hex me," he replied. "Do you know where he is?"

"He's... just studying somewhere," she replied, not wanting to reveal that her boyfriend was currently brewing in a shift potions lab on the third floor. "Why?"

Regulus's handsome face fell. "Oh, I need help," the second-year admitted.

"Hey, what's the matter?" she asked kindly. "Maybe I can help?"

"I've exploded my cauldron in Potions class on Thursday and I got zero."

"Were you injured?" she asked in a concerned tone and he shook his head.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"Good. What were you brewing?"

"Sleeping Draught. Professor Slughorn said I need to brew it again on Tuesday in our class. Turns out, my overbearing mother asked him to report my grades," he replied mournfully.

"Oh, that's too bad," she replied emphatically.

"Really bad," he said, meeting her eyes.

"I'm sure Sev will help you. Ask him tonight. If he's too busy, then I'll help you. We have the whole day tomorrow and Monday night to perfect your brewing."

Reg's face lit up. "Really? You'll do that for me?" he asked rather loudly but happily. The strict librarian rang her bell and glared at the two of them, causing the other students to look as well.

"Er, sorry," Reg muttered. "Thank you so much, Miss Puckle! I think I won't ask Severus anymore. Can you just teach me? Severus makes me nervous when he tutors me. He glares at me."

Hermione chuckled at the boy's request. "Does he? All right, I'll talk to him."

"Thank you!" Reg replied sincerely.

"Hey, Mione!" called James who was going back to their table with Sirius, but the two Gryffindors slowed down upon seeing Regulus. The three wizards looked surprised; Hermione cocked an eyebrow at the three of them.

"Er, I better go now. Thanks again, Miss Puckle!" said Reg, jumping off the seat.

"Let's meet tomorrow after breakfast," she told him.

"Yes, Miss Puckle. Bye!" And then he ran off.

James returned to his seat and Sirius did the same but slowly. He looked troubled.

"I didn't know you're friends with Regulus," commented James.

"Oh, Reg is adorable. He asked Sev last year to tutor him," she replied casually.

"What's this meeting with him tomorrow?" asked James.

"He needs help in Potions," she replied shortly, trying to ignore Sirius's reaction.

"I miss him," Sirius muttered.

Hermione sent James a questioning look.

James adjusted his eyeglasses nervously. "Erm... Sirius left his family home last summer and stayed with my family. He will until we graduate."

"My parents disowned me," muttered Sirius.

Hermione wanted to cry for him. "But Reg is not mad at you, isn't he?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. We haven't been talking since we saw each other on the train in September."

"Why don't you talk to him?" she asked. "Reg is a very nice and polite boy..."

Sirius shook his head once more. "I'm not sure it's a good idea. He follows everything Mother says..."

"But there's no harm in trying..." she countered. Sirius didn't reply. "Well, if you find yourself ready one day to have your brother back, I can be your owl."

Sirius looked at her sheepishly and James chuckled at that and they continued studying.

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October 18, 1975

(twenty years ago)

Hermione was blaming Desdemona Perdita Cordelia Miranda Puckle (she was exaggerating - Mona's middle name was just Perdita) for the two boxes of Japanese yogurt drink she sent her via owl post. Her sister went to the Asian country with her uni friends and discovered the 'healthy' drink. It was so good and nothing like she had ever tried before, so once she, Sev, Alice, and Frank were in their shift potions lab after breakfast, she instantly drank ten bottles (each bottle was 10mL) of it, non-stop and she ended up in the toilet, suffering from diarrhea.

"Oh, god, Mona. I hate you right now," she muttered to herself but she didn't really mean it.

She could imagine her sister laughing if she heard about this. Who told you to drink it all at once? surely she would ask. Sev sent Alice to the lavatory where she was in to tell her about Mona's letter she failed to read. 'Drink once a day only'.

Let this diarrhea end, let this end, she chanted in her head. I'm not drinking that ever again.

Hermione blamed Mona again because she didn't get the chance to try the other Japanese snacks, like curry-flavoured rice snacks, matcha cookies, and matcha-covered wafer sticks. Unlike her, Sev, Alice, and Frank started with the sweets instead of the yogurt drink. There were also big bars of Japanese dark chocolate which she reserved for Remus, much to her boyfriend's disappointment.

I hope they did leave some for me, she thought. Or else, I'd have to get some of those dark chocolates for Remus.

Hermione blamed Mona again because she wasn't able to continue reading a romance novel Amelia lent her. She was planning to read it in the shift potions lab.

I'm dying to know why Clare was dressed in white and lent Henry formal clothes... Are they going to do it already? Oh, god...*

Hermione groaned when she heard footsteps coming and unfamiliar voices.

"Why did James suddenly stop his antics?" came a female voice she couldn't name.

"Yeah, Lily. Why do you think he's not declaring his love for you anymore?" came another voice.

"You've rejected her for four years and it didn't stop him. Why stop now?"

"Unless he's falling for someone else..."

"He's planning something big, I know it." Now, that was Lily's voice. Full of confidence. Hermione imagined she was tossing her auburn hair and rolling her green eyes again.

"I think Puckle has something to do with it," said one of Lily's companions.

"Puckle? Why? She is with Snape."

"Well, I'm not saying James is in love with Puckle, but they are friends now. Did you notice in our Transfiguration? He would always sit with her, ignoring Lily and he even gave Puckle a flower on her birthday - "

"Stop that, Marlene," said Lily's other friend. "You're hurting Lily's feelings."

"I don't give a damn about James Potter," replied Lily sharply. "My life is so peaceful and quiet now, thank you very much. But I have to watch out because James Potter thinks he can get whatever he wants and - "

"And he said he's going to marry you one day."

"In his dreams," said Lily confidently. "But I know, he's planning something big, that's why he seems quiet nowadays, so you just wait."

"Maybe that flower thing with Puckle was just a prank," one of Lily's friends said.

"Maybe he's just toying with her feelings, pretending to be friends with her because she's the best in Transfiguration."

"Shut up!" snarled Lily. "Of course everyone thinks she's the best. She's a Ravenclaw. They do nothing but stress themselves with studies. But Hermione's too daft to realize that Potter and Black are just pretending to be nice to her..."

"Well, let's just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show later on. It'll be your turn to laugh at her when Potter and Black prank her. It would be so much fun if Snape didn't know anything about the flower. I told you not to tell him about Potter giving Puckle a flower!"

"Why, what happened?"

Hermione smirked. Oh, of course, she knew what happened. Severus told her.

"Snape said something like he was glad because he's not the only bloke who thinks his girlfriend is beautiful."

"Arrogant bastard," muttered Lily.

"Hey! That's not nice. He was your Potions partner," teased one of Lily's friends.

"Enough of that! Let's go back to our dormitory. I want to continue reading that fashion magazine you're talking about..."

When the three girls left, Hermione's diarrhea was gone. She washed up and went back to her boyfriend and friends in the shift potions lab.

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"Regulus, catch!" She threw a bottle of yogurt drink at him upon seeing him outside the Great Hall before dinner.

"What the bloody hell is this?"

"Yogurt drink, from Japan, with so much love," she told him.

Regulus grinned at her. "Thanks!"

"Why are you giving out the yogurt drinks?" asked Remus who was standing on her side. "I thought you like them?"

She shook her head. "I've had enough," she replied and saw that he was eating rice crackers in a green pack. She narrowed her eyes at him. "I told you that all the curry-flavored rice crackers are mine!"

"But I thought you don't want them because you only took the yogurt drinks..."

Someone laughed behind them. "To give them away. She doesn't want them anymore 'cause she drank ten bloody bottles of those and she ended up being glued to the toilet seat for an hour," Frank announced and Severus who was following them smacked him.

"That's gluttony, Hermione!" teased Remus, bumping his shoulder to hers.

"Ungrateful brats. You ate her matcha sweets and chocolates," Sev sneered at Frank and Remus but the Gryffindor boys just chuckled.

"But you ate a lot of rice crackers," accused Frank.

"At least I didn't take the curry-flavored ones," drawled Sev.

"- and Remus took all of the dark chocolates," Frank continued.

Alice shook her head. "Boys."

"Can I have sweets, too? And rice crackers? What the hell is matcha?" asked Regulus.

But no one answered him because Alice asked Hermione something and the three fifth-year wizards continued accusing each other.

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Author's Note II:

* Based on "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger.

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Chapter 25 Sneak Peak:

"Well done, Miss Puckle!" praised Professor Flitwick who stepped forward.

Hermione turned around to her professor, thinking that the duelling was over. But it was the biggest mistake she did her her life.

"Locomotor Wibbly!"

"Miss Evans, enough! The duelling is -" called Professor Shafiq, but he was cut off by Lily's voice.

"Sectumsempra!"

Suddenly, she was on the floor again and felt as though she had been slashed with an invisible sword on her chest up to her lower abdomen.