Smiling at the closest person to a friend Hermione had in 1975 she re-entered the party where she and her girls celebrated until the parties end.
Hello again everybody I know I am updating a lot with this story and I hope you are enjoying it. I am so enjoying writing this story and if you have a favorite, line or comment please let me know. I personally really enjoyed Marlene's insults from the previous chapter.
This chapter was edit by my amazing beta Thornweed. Please go and read her story Home it is really good.
Again, I do not own any of the characters associated with HP. Don't forget to review because that is how I know it you are enjoying it.
Thanks a heap and Allons-y
It was Monday morning and Hermione's first official day as a new student. Sitting in the great hall with the girls Hermione allowed herself to feel the full weight of the situation for the first time. It was all just so surreal. She was in the past. Hogwarts was all so familiar, but so foreign in the same breath. Her friends had not even been born yet. Hell, she had not been born yet. Thinking about Harry and Ron made her chest ache. So many of her most precious memories involved those boys. To be experiencing Hogwarts without them seemed so wrong. Hermione knew that in the end she was here for her boys, but it hardly made it easier. 72 hours ago she was fighting in a war. Now she was eating breakfast in 1975. It was not until Alice says her name that Hermione was brought back into the present.
"You seem to be away with the Cornish pixies a lot, Hermione. Is everything ok?" Alice asked kindly.
Hermione could easily see where Neville got his kindness. Smiling back at her newest friend Hermione nodded, and Alice continued with what she was saying.
"So I don't know if you have noticed but Sirius Black is staring at you."
Hermione looked and sure enough the raven-haired boy was staring. Hermione felt somewhat uncomfortable and looked away quickly.
"It probably has something to do with me accidently straddling him on Saturday," Hermione said softly and Marlene nearly choked on her pumpkin juice.
Looking at her friends, each girl's face was different, but they all shared the same confusion. Marlene looked as though she was a cat who had swallowed a canary. Alice, with her slightly shy nature, blushed profusely. Lily's face was by far the most interesting. Hermione swore that every emotion pass Lily's delicate features. Marlene was the first to speak
"She's here less than twenty-four hours and she straddled the star of the Gryffindor team? Come on, spill the beans you dirty little minx."
Each of the girls looked at Marlene and laughed before Hermione clarified everything.
"You did hear it was an accident right?" Hermione began. "He was coming into the common room when I was leaving and we fell. That's it. No snogging or funny business. Just an accident. As for him staring at me, well, that is just creepy really."
"If I was straddling Sirius Black there better be a whole lot of funny business," Marlene joked and Lily scolded her as the girls laughed even harder.
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The rest of the day was not as Hermione had hoped, not that her hopes were even that high. Her timetable was filled with the basic fourth year classes as she had divination and potions with the Slytherin house in the morning which brought her first introduction to Severus Snape.
He was still a miserable person, but he was not as burdened by the tests of his time. He was also overly protective of Lily. If Hermione was not rooting for James and Lily to get together, she could almost accept that Severus would be good with Lily.
By the time fourth period had come around it was obvious to some that Hermione was intelligent. Slughorn, being impressed by Hermione's antidote, invited her to the next and final Slug Club meeting of the year. Lily was especially surprised.
The last class of the day was double Herbology. It had never been one of Hermione's favorites unlike Ancient runes. Now that was a fascinating subject. Herbology was with Hufflepuffs and although they were supposed to be characteristically kind, Hermione could feel their stares and hear the whispers. Part of her thought that they still must be wounded about losing the quidditch cup. Trying her best to ignore them she let her mind wander. Her mind was elsewhere when she heard a low husky whisper in her ear.
"So you wanna buy me that drink sometime, love?"
Shocked, Hermione dropped her book and gloves. The cackling that followed from James and Peter left Hermione feeling uneasy. As If today had not been hard enough on Hermione now Sirius was being a dick.
"What a joy it is to be me right now," Hermione said to herself as she bent to pick up her book and gloves The thought of her own private pity party was not appealing to Hermione. In fact, she was getting more and more frustrated. She could not find her other glove. When a voice cleared from behind her she was about to snap at whoever it was. Looking up she saw a familiar face holding her glove.
Hermione recognized Remus easily enough, although the scars on his face were not quite as prominent and his light brown hair was missing the flecks of grey. The thing that had not changed was his green eyes. They held the same warmth and kindness of his adult self.
"I am sorry about him," Remus said. "He is still pumped up about the quidditch victory. You would think he won the entire match single handedly."
It was easy to see that the young man standing in front of her was often left to clean up and apologize for his carefree friends and Hermione laughed, accepting the missing glove from the marauder.
"Out of curiosity, do you think his head will fit through the greenhouse doors?" Hermione smiled. "By the way, I'm Hermione." Extending her hand to him, he took it and shook before introducing himself.
Seeing the exchange, the other marauder boys began cat calling and wolf whistling, teasing their friend. If Hermione had not been looking she would have missed the blush that rolled across Remus's cheeks.
Taking his leave Remus walked over to his laughing friends and punched them each in the arm. Hermione rolled her eyes at the buffoons as Lily, Alice and Marlene arrived to witness the end of the exchange. Naturally, Marlene could not help herself.
"You minx! What is your secret? Not only do you have Sirius black mesmerized, but now you have Remus Lupin's attention as well? You better watch out Lily or she might just steal James away from you," she laughed.
Lily gave Marlene a small smack with her book as Alice just laughed at her friends, and Marlene continued adding her opinion on the fineness of one Sirius Black.
"I swear on merlin's beard that he is carved like Michelangelo's David. It is almost unfair. He is so good looking and James is a close second. Sorry, Lil," Marlene smiled. Giving up at that point, Lily just rolled her eyes.
"It is such a pity that he knows it, really."
The girls looked at Hermione then over at Sirius who was flirting with a Hufflepuff girl by flexing. The four girls could not help but laugh at that moment.
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Hermione was ready for her first day to be done. Her Hufflepuff herbology partner was about as useful as a paper umbrella in a thunderstorm. Honestly, who gets their head stuck in a Chinese chomping cabbage? Hermione just could not understand it considering they were supposed to be collecting bubotuber pus. Then there was the constant stream of attention that Hermione had received for the entirety of the day. Sitting with the girl calmed the whispers Hermione had heard for the majority of the day, however, the stares possibly got even worse. Especially with the escalating interest from certain marauders.
Hermione just wished that she could make it through one meal without being pestered or stared at by Sirius and willed dinner to pass quickly. When Remus came and sat next to her though, Hermione knew that she was not going to get what she wanted tonight. The Marauders were like annoying musketeers, all for one and one for all, and Hermione did not have the energy to deal with them today. Therefore, when Remus came and slid into the empty seat next to Hermione she knew that trouble was sure to follow.
"So, Hermione, how was your first day?" he asked casually. Hermione could swear Remus seemed almost apologetic when he sat next her. It was there in his green eyes. Remus and Professor Lupin seemed like two very different people in Hermione's mind. Remus, was in a word, lighter than her beloved professor was. The weight of his losses did not yet cross his face and his scarring was minimal to say the least. Hermione wondered if the boys had managed to shift into their animagus forms yet.
"It was fine I guess. Some of the classes are amazing. Herbology was a nightmare but you were there so you know." she smiled at him, appreciating that he was just there to be kind to the newest member of his house. It was unfortunate that the other marauders had to ruin it. Sirius slipped into the seat next to Alice, not taking his eyes off Hermione for a moment.
"It might have been a nightmare, Mione, but I bet I can make your all your dreams come true," Sirius said.
Hermione was prepared for his particular approach. She was not going to let the events before herbology ever happen again.
'"Wait, Hermione!" Lily called as Hermione started to get up from the table. "Why are you leaving?"
Both Alice and Marlene were watching the exchange with such intrigue, that Hermione wondered if they were even blinking. James sat next to Sirius. Peter, bringing up the rear of their group, sat next to Remus. James tried to defuse some of the tension the only way he knew how. Sarcasm.
"Now, now children. Play nicely," he said then turning to Lily and winking. "Hi, Evans. You look ravishing today."
Marlene and Alice's attention drifted to Lily like they were following the tennis ball in a cartoon match.
"Bite me, Potter," she said with extra venom in her voice not missing a beat.
"Only if you ask me nicely," was James's comeback. He was clearly well versed in this cat and mouse game.
Remus cleared his throat before speaking again. He was obviously here to be the MC of this rendezvous. Hermione wondered for a moment what it would be like if Remus just let the boys do as they wish without being the voice of reason that they obviously lack.
"Ok," he began. "We are really off topic here. We just wanted to properly introduce ourselves-"
Before Remus could continue Sirius cut him off. He must have been thinking of what to say for a while now because it sounded a little too well prepared for it to be off the cuff.
"The strapping young man to your right is Remus," Sirius said cutting off Remus. "He is the brains of the operation. The blonde bombshell next to him is Peter. We keep him around for his looks."
Hermione noted the sarcasm in Sirius' voice. Maybe Peter was already on the outs?
"Here is James," Sirius continued. "Do not let the glasses fool you. His head is filled with rocks. Ouch! Prongs, that hurt!"
Hermione couldn't help but giggle a little at James' embarrassment, especially hearing Lily whisper under her breath that Sirius was right about the rocks.
"And I am sure you remember me, kitten. I am Sirius Orion Black and I am sure the pleasure is mutual."
"So how about you tell us something about you?" asked Peter.
Hermione's skin felt like thousands of bugs were crawling under it when Peter addressed her. She was fighting the urge to hex the foul, loathsome, evil little rat.
"There is nothing to tell, really," Hermione answered. "I am just a new student. Honestly I don't know why all of you are so interested."
Sirius' next statement quickly filled Hermione's quota of tolerance for the day.
"Hogwarts has never had a transfer before so that make you weird," he said and Remus and Lily looked at Sirius with such intensity that Hermione thought they must want to slap him. Marlene and Alice let out a small gasp. James face palmed and Peter just looked stupidly lost. However, she could hardly focus on that right now because Hermione felt the anger boiling in her chest.
"The only weird thing here Sirius Orion Black is your face, and so you know, I am here because my parents were murdered. So I had nowhere to go, you twat. Are you happy now that you know?" Turning her attention to the rest of the group she said, "I am going back to our room. Good night James, Remus and Peter. I will see you later, girls."
Hermione stood up and left the great hall, the feeling of hurt resonated deep in her chest. She wished she could talk to Harry and Ron right now. Before she could stop it a single tear rolled down her cheek.
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Still sitting the great hall Sirius felt like he had blinked and the entire conversation went to hell in a handbasket. Alice and Marlene went after Hermione the moment she left, but Lily stayed just long enough to cuss each of the Marauders out in spectacular style. Remus was obviously mad at Sirius and his big mouth. Sirius thought that Peter did not understand what really happened and looking to his best friend it was evident that James was uncomfortable by the entire exchange.
Sirius just sighed as he knew that he had indeed fucked it up. James patting him on the back did not make the situation any better
"You know, I think you need some ice because she burned you pretty bad."
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