Chapter 13: Some Surprising Slytherins

By the time that the boys made it down to breakfast the next day it appeared that they had made up and we're back to joking again. To Lily's horror she also thought that she had overheard the mention of some prank to commemorate the occasion, not that they needed an excuse for a prank.

Hermione went about her day like normal, stopping to smile at times when the boys would tentatively include Peter more into their conversations. She also noticed the smaller boy grinning at her more often, and confidentially making fun of his friends back to them as time went on.

As the weeks continued, Hermione took solace in the study sessions that she enjoyed with Severus. She had asked to call him by his first name when it got too confusing trying to compare the grumpy man she once knew with the studious 17 year old she now counted as her friend. Their conversation regarding James and Lily after the patronus incident was not brought up again.

Surprisingly, he didn't mention her blood status once, although it was safe to assume he had worked out that she was a muggleborn after her previous thinly veiled comments. Maybe his souring of disposition was not due to Lily leaving him, but thanks to her death in the war? Either way, in all of their conversations there seemed to be an invisible line drawn in the sand which both of them were too scared to cross for the time being.

Their meetings often took place on a table at the back of the library on most evenings where they would be out of sight. Although Hermione actually preferred this turn of events, she couldn't help but assume that he wanted to hide her and their budding friendship from the gang of Slytherins she often saw him trailing behind. When he ignored her in the hallways and didn't apologize later she was hurt, but chose not to address it in case she were to jeopardise the progress that she had made.

In the short hours they spent together in the evenings, Hermione found that sometimes they wouldn't be able to stop talking and sometimes they would barely say a word to one another. Whatever happened though, Hermione always enjoyed the time they spent together, finding it a welcome reprieve from the chaos and the noise of the rest of the Gryffindors.

Although they tried to keep away from prying eyes, it was inevitable that the Marauders would find them at some point. She had been finding their pointed glares in potions especially annoying, which had now apparently led to them checking up on her presumably using the Marauders Map to make sure she hadn't been attacked. Their protective instincts were only gaining in strength, much to her chagrin, because now three of them had a vested interest, thanks to her supporting them in various ways or another.

Sirius still posed to be a problem because he always kept himself distant from her. She had noticed it was similar in the future timeline but had assumed it was thanks to his prolonged stay in Azkaban. The fact that it was still there encouraged Hermione to think it was more due to his awful family leaving him, although she didn't want to assume or pry.

This unfortunately meant that he was often the deliverer of some particularly harsh comments towards her new friend. Where Peter or Remus would beg off at times to respect her wishes, or James would ignore the boy as an unspoken promise to Lily, Sirius would take any opportunity to ridicule Snape. When Hermione was around, this, luckily for him, remained in the field of teasing and rude comments rather than cruel hexes.

It was after one particularly harsh comment about his greasy hair that Hermione decided to step in, once they were alone again. "You know if you use a pea sized amount of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion every other day and then use a stasis charm on it while it dries, it won't be so greasy." She smiled and gestured to her own ruffled barnet, "I don't deal with this all the time without having a trick or two up my sleeve."

He smiled sardonically and quipped in return, "Well it doesn't appear to be working does it?"

She gasped at his joking rudeness and reached across the table to give him a playful smack, "Just because I often can't be bothered to go to all of the trouble doesn't mean that I don't know how to tame it. Anyway mine would take a lot more potion than that and I don't have that kind of money or patience!"

"I can see that." He continued, visibly taking in her rumpled appearance by trailing his eyes over her loosened tie, unbuttoned shirt and ink coated hands. She felt her face warming as he continued, "Anyway, I swore off that stuff once I heard that my money would be going towards Potter's inheritance." At her confused look, he clarified, "His dad invented it."

Oh. Her mind supplied, no wonder he looked familiar during the Order meetings. Hermione snorted, causing an unruly strand of hair to blow away from her face, "That's such a petty reason to not buy something, it's only a couple of galleons."

Severus gave her a look as if to say if you want to see petty, you haven't seen anything yet. She huffed and whipped out her wand to cast a charm that she had often seen Ginny perform on herself when she hadn't been able to wash her hair for a while. Hermione still remembered the disgruntled look on the woman's face when she had to admit that she couldn't use Sleekeazy's because it did weird things to red hair.

Unthinkingly, Hermione reached across the table again to run her hands through Severus's hair, feeling the thick tresses become unstuck, strong and glossy, just like her ginger friend's had. Her hands momentarily stilled when she realised what she was doing and peered down at her relatively new friend.

Puzzledly blushing was a very sweet look on her old Professor, and Hermione couldn't help but return the red look. Extricating her palm from its place she apologized, but couldn't help but realise that this was probably the one and only time that anyone had touched the mop that they had all joked about when they were younger. Changing her mind, she decided to playfully ruffle his hair as she retreated. Harry and Ron would have been glad that she took the opportunity when it was available.

During this process, Hermione got the chance to stand closer to Severus that she had ever been and surprisingly found herself enjoying what she was experiencing. He smelt really good. Sort of sweet and tangy at the same time, with a distinct masculine scent ringing throughout. This was nothing like the stench of death or dank dungeon that she expected so Hermione flinched away at the odd feeling it inspired.

Appalled by the thought that she couldn't possibly be attracted to the man who haunted her adolescent nightmares, she took in the rest of his appearance. While she had originally seen no difference between the older man; with the loss of his sneers, the smiles and smirks that replaced them were instantly endearing. Hermione couldn't help feeling that she was being given a rare gift everytime she was graced with one.

The hooked nose was softened when his pale, thin lips would laugh, and the black eyes that accompanied them, spoke of a sharp intellect and razor sharp wit. Although he was not toned, like the rest of her Quidditch friends, Severus was tall and lanky, with broad shoulders which Hermione couldn't help but imagine what they would look like with considerably fewer clothes in the way.

Ignoring that train of thought, she promptly wrote a note on a piece of paper about various charms and potions that Severus could use, thankful that he also hadn't commented on the tense atmosphere. Hermione yet again reminded herself that she was in this timeline to carry out a job and she shouldn't get sidetracked by relationships that she couldn't fully commit to. Especially when he was obsessed with someone else.

When she left the library that evening, Hermione decided to take a detour to the Room of Requirement in order to have a look at the progression of the Wolfsbane Potion. Dumbledore had managed to get a hold of the ingredients that she needed and she was currently on her first attempt at brewing it. The only problem was that she needed to collect the main ingredient of the aconite plant from the Forbidden Forest on the full moon itself, for it to work. This meant that Remus would have to struggle through at least one more transition whilst still without his mind.

Upon returning from the seventh floor, she was shaken out of her pondering by a crash and a murmur of voices from a nearby broom cupboard. Although she was no longer a prefect, Hermione couldn't help but make sure that the people who were canoodling in there would stop. This joy was fortunately taken away from her when the door banged open and a very ruffled Sirius Black fell to the floor, an equally ruffled sixth year Ravenclaw in his arms.

The girl in question immediately leapt up and off Sirius before noticing Hermione. She took in her raised eyebrow before scampering off into the night, leaving a disgruntled boy behind. "What did you do that for? I was so close and you interrupted."

"And how exactly did I interrupt? To my knowledge, that door gave way, and so I cannot be held accountable. Anyway, James and Lily are patrolling so you would have been found eventually."

He huffed before replying, "Don't lie and say you weren't about to intervene. What'll that be now? 10 trysts that you have interrupted, forced to reschedule, or just generally cockblocked?"

She grinned evilly, "11, you're forgetting about the time that Marlene joked about having another go."

"Pfff, that barely counts,"

"Well I still count it as a win!"

Suddenly realising what time it was, Sirius looked around them before smirking at her, "Well well well, what exactly are you doing out and about at this time of night anyway? Nefarious activities, or hypocritically partaking in a bit of snogging yourself?"

She rolled her eyes as he babbled on, "So who's the lucky fella then, or should I be congratulating Snivellus on finally getting a girl to stand touching him?"

Hoping that he would ignore the blush that arose at the thought, she countered, "How do you know that it was a boy? After all, you never do hear what actually happens in the girls dormitories…" At this, all she got was a groan and closed eyes in imagination, so she took the chance to sneak away.

Noticing her absence, Sirius caught up with her as they began to walk back to the common room. Although it was obvious that neither teen trusted the other, they both got on well and Hermione found that in the moments that she was laughing with Sirius or making fun of his flirting skills, that she felt very much at home. Sirius also felt a strange kinship, and couldn't help but wonder how the strange witch had weadled her way into his heart so quickly, seemingly impervious to his charms, not for want of trying.

They had almost made it back to the common room, both smiling as they joked back and forth about something or another when they heard a rustle and a moan from a nearby broom cupboard. "Aha!" Sirius gloated, causing Hermione to jump, "I'm not the only one who is a manwhore, to put it in your own words, sweetheart."

She rolled her eyes and he made to fling the door open, both of them becoming momentarily speechless when James Potter fell out, attached securely at the lips to Lily Evans. When they broke apart and simultaneously leapt to opposite sides of the corridor, beet red in the face, Hermione and Sirius couldn't help but burst into laughter.

It wasn't until they made it back to the portrait of the fat lady that they realised that they were no longer being followed. They turned around only to break out into laughter again when they noticed that James had pinned Lily to another wall and was taking the time to thoroughly let her know his feelings, after pretending for the past few weeks.

News that Lily had finally cracked and had asked James out had not taken long to filter though the Hogwarts gossip grapevine. This wasn't helped by the fact that Sirius yelled it at the top of his lungs whilst standing on the table at breakfast the next day. The pair were both sat in silence, both bright red, although their clasped hands and beaming smiles signified that they were far from unhappy.

Lily was also shocked to find out that a lot of money passed hands that day thanks to numerous bets that were set up years ago between both the teachers and the students alike. James took particular glee to accept 10 extra house points from McGonagall just for turning up to the lesson, knowing that he had just won her a considerable amount of money. It was nice to know that she believed him in that capacity.

Unfortunately for Hermione, this development meant that her new study partner's moods considerably worsened. Although James wasn't rubbing in the fact that he had finally got Lily to give him the time of day, Severus couldn't help but hear about it in every nook and cranny of the castle. Hermione even had the pleasure of watching him witness them kissing one evening when they were walking back from the library. He did not look happy.

Glorifying in the fact that he finally had a date to the first Hogsmeade weekend, James barely paid attention when the other Marauders offered to replace him with Hermione for the day. She was flattered and agreed to split her time with them and the girls, allowing them to spend time in the Quidditch shop when she wasn't interested.

On the walk down, she luckily didn't have to pretend to be awed and amazed by her surroundings thanks to the fact that she had lived there all summer. Instead she caused the Marauders jaws to drop when they walked into the Hog's Head to see it considerably cleaner and more populated than it had been before. Aberforth was glad to see her, even though she came down every Saturday evening to work there, thanks to some favouritism from her uncle.

He didn't hug her, because she knew it made him uncomfortable to show affection in front of other people, but she didn't miss the bright look on his face when she walked in before he hid it with his usual frown. Why he felt the need to always give off the grumpy old man persona, Hermione could only question. Aberforth also appeared to find the increased numbers in his pub annoying because it made him work more, but the extra money had allowed him to make it a bit more homely than how Hermione had first found it.

With a bolt of surprise, she found herself feeling very much at home as soon as she walked in, and couldn't help but question whether she still would feel the same about her old muggle home, after so long away. Another happy surprise was the person who was waiting for her behind the bar.

"Hermione! How are you?" Benjy began, leaping over the bar to give her a hug, ignoring Aberforth's grumble about not getting his shoes on the top. He knew that Aberforth was just unhappy that his surrogate daughter was in the company of so many young men. Benjy sought to exacerbate the man further by planting a loud kiss on her cheek, chuckling when he rolled his eyes and stomped away.

"How's my favourite girl then? Already breaking hearts and leaving a trail of boys yammering after you I see." He joked, gesturing to the 3 boys that still surrounded her. When she turned to them herself, she could see that her friends' flirty ways had also had the desired effects on them, as they were all frowning at him.

She chuckled, "Something like that…"

"Hi, I recognise you from somewhere…" Remus began holding out his hand for the older boy to shake.

"Benjy Finwick ringing any bells?" He replied, shaking the offered hand before moving on to the other two, "I'm a Hufflepuff that graduated last year. Our Hermione here has been keeping me company all summer." At this last comment he gave her a wink and she rolled her eyes.

Noticing that she wasn't giving his flirting any mind, Remus and Peter softened and gave him their names in a friendly manner. For some reason, Sirius was still doing his male posturing act, puffing out his chest to make himself seem larger. Hermione resolved herself to have a chat with him later about picking his battles, because this misplaced protectiveness had to stop.

They all sat down for a while and had a chat before the girls joined them, along with a smiling James and Lily. Aberforth seemed to brighten a lot more when he noticed that she had made some friends that weren't all male, and she took pleasure in noticing that Marlene's flirting reply to Benjy had momentarily stumped the man. Enjoying the strange occurrence of two worlds colliding, Hermione couldn't help but feeling incredibly happy to be surrounded by the people that had grown to accept her.

Aberforth offered to let her have the night off when he saw how much fun she was having and so she soon found herself walking back to the castle in a gaggle of hyper teenagers. It was when Lily was rolling her eyes at James pointing out the finer points of a new broom he had just bought, when Hermione noticed something in the distance.

They had been passing the Quidditch stands, and Hermione's eye was drawn to a dark figure who was performing some tricky maneuvers that she recognised to be seeker's moves. Suddenly something seemed to go wrong, and the dark blob appeared to falter and slip over the side of the broom. From their position high above the pitch, they started to plummet in a manner that would surely cause death.

"ARRESTO MOMENTUM!" Hermione shouted instinctively and grabbed James's new broom, leaping off the ground before the rest of the party could even begin to work out what was wrong. With record timing, she sped across the space, falling back on her speed training to get to the falling body on time. Although their descent was considerably slowed, it still knocked the wind out of Hermione when they collided, but she managed to safely direct them both back to the ground.

By this time, her friends had worked out what had happened and were running over shouting. Hermione took the time to right herself and to ascertain the health of the person she had just saved, "Are you alright?" She began frantically before freezing when she was met with a pair of familiar eyes. Sirius Black's eyes.

The boy in front of her looked like a cross between Sirius and Severus, with Snape's willowy body structure, but with many of Sirius's facial features. Where Sirius's hair had a slight wave that softened his features, Regulus's hair was much longer and pin straight, although it was currently secured in a man bun atop his head. His longer and thinner face was conspicuous with the lack of the smile lines that always adorned his brother's.

His response of "Of course I'm alright, you blithering idiot!" was drowned out by Sirius' shout of "Reggie?"

Hermione couldn't help but notice how the younger boy's eyes seemed to widen at this still distant shout, and for a second she thought she imagined it when his face suddenly began to close off. He grimaced and turned to his saviour, "Thanks for that, but I'm sure I would have had it under control, Severus was watching out for me in the stands." At this final part, he gestured to another shadow hunched in the darkened seating area.

She had thought that their landing had been significantly softer than she had expected, so she silently thanked Severus and waved. It was at this point when the rest of her group of friends caught up with her, crowding around the pair. "What the hell do you think you are doing Reggie?" An angry and red faced Sirius demanded, as soon as he had caught his breath, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

If she hadn't still been reeling, Hermione would have been touched at the obvious concern Sirius still held for his younger brother. Instead, Hermione could only watch in shock as the younger boy brushed off the hand that Sirius had raised to check if he was okay. "Don't pretend you care! I had it under control anyway."

Sirius gaped, "Of course I bloody well care! If that is what you call under control, maybe I should bring Hermione down to watch all of your Quidditch practices."

Regulus just rolled his eyes and shrugged off their stares, walking away to join Severus who had joined them, standing away to the side. Hermione and Regulus both saw the lost look in Snape's eyes as he gazed at Lily who was still enveloped in James's arms. Resolved to evacuate the scene as quickly as possible, Regulus tugged on his arm and they both sauntered away.

Overly conscious of the silence that had fallen as Sirius gazed longingly after the retreating form of his brother, Hermione took the chance to redirect their attention. "Here you are James, sorry that you didn't get the chance to break it in yourself." She said as she handed him his new broom back.

"Maybe you should keep it for yourself! How did you suddenly learn to fly that well?" James chuckled, amazed at her skill.

Marlene interrupted the excuse that Hermione had begun to make up, "She practices every morning before we go for a run. Maybe you should take a leaf out of her book Black."

Now that he was successfully distracted from his brother's departure, Sirius replied, "It looks like I have to, why on Earth have you not applied for the Quidditch team, you'd do great as a Seeker?" Both Marlene and James nodded in agreement.

She chuckled and told them about her fear of flying with other people and flying objects, as well as her lack of tactical knowledge and her general dislike of the sport. Unfortunately, this didn't seem like such a good excuse considering the fact that she had just collided with a falling body at record speeds not 2 minutes ago, exhibiting no fear at all.

For some reason, taking the spot that Harry played in a team captained by his own father, was too much to wrap her head around and so she decided to just leave the Quidditch to the others.

A/N: I'm enjoying coming up with the titles of the new chapters so I think I'm going to give you the names of them in advance so you can guess what will happen in between updates.

Up next is Chapter 14: The Bigot and the Beast