I just joined a RP'ing forum set in the Marauder Era. It is open if anybody wants to join, I have two original characters in the forum, and of course I couldn't resist the temptation of RP'ing Evan and Benjy. Both of which are slightly different than in this fic. [Remove spaces] www . fanfiction . forum / Of - Mischief - and - Marauding - Marauders - Era - RPG - AU / 186243 / or find it linked in my profile along with a link to my Twitter.

Thanks to all my lovely followers, and everyone that has favorited this fic.

A special thanks to my reviewers; AliceEnchanted, purple breeze, angelofdestiny16, ljoan and hollowg1rl! (and a guest reviewer)

Seems like all of you hate Lorry, to my immense amusement. Your reviews feed my muse, resulting in this being my second longest chapter to date! (The longest being Samhain)

Xx

Ravenclaw Tendencies

How was she supposed to finish this essay?

All the books were just confusing, some told the same story her father had told. They were found in the 'Restricted Section' of course, but did that mean there was no truth to it?

When she read books from the regular part of the library, they seemed to collaborate the same things, but they glossed over the details. So how was she supposed to know what Grindelwald was about? It seemed like statements told in different voice. And every voice had an agenda.

What did Grindelwald want truly? Did he really do it all for the greater good?

That was what her father had said, and it was what the books said Grindelwald believed. But the truth seemed too complex to be that straightforward. Was there not more to the story than a crazy man hell bent on ridding the world of evil?

How did it all tie into the muggle war? The one they so brazenly called "The Second World War."

The one thing she so desperately wanted to find out about was the truth. Was there anything that could tell you muggleborns were lesser than other wizards? She had been brought up hearing stories about it.

Her father had a silver tongue, and listening to his tales for so many years had taught her that his truth was what everyone entering their house would collaborate.

But then he had told her a lot of things about House-Elves that Noddy proved wrong every single day. It was Noddy that had unknowingly taught Hermione that her father could be wrong. A discovery that had shocked her, his words had been the entire basis of her world. Everyone supported what he said.

Books might not have, but he easily glossed over that. Somehow he managed to do it convincingly enough, but without her able to remember his exact words.

She wanted to set all the books in front of her one fire. They said the same as her dad, "Kill the Mudbloods." Between the lines she could see the true meaning behind the author's words. Remember, the rest of the world believes Grindelwald was wrong, so you have to say that too.

He was wrong, wasn't he? Why did he hate Mudbloods and Muggles?

She remembered Lily Evans, the Muggleborn she had been so briefly friends with. She had been smart, good at spells and a very nice person.

If her father was supposed to be the representation of all Purebloods, and they were supposed to be the light in wizarding society. Why did he torture, kill and manipulate so many?

She felt suffocated, by the books she had loved for so long, her solace, her safe Haven. They were towering over her, trying to tear her apart, betraying her.

In a move unlike her, she pushed the books over, some falling open, others falling to the floor. All of them making a mess and a ruckus.

She didn't care, she needed to get out.

She saw the librarian coming towards her, easily avoided as she ducked out of the library. Leaving her guard dog, she couldn't remember which one it was at the moment, to make excuses and clean up her mess.

Was she becoming her father?

The thought upset her even more, and she started running in earnest now, through the hallways, past other students that were surprised by her behaviour.

She ran and ran and ran, until her lungs burned, her muscles ached and her feet couldn't keep going.

She collapsed, crying and clutching the ground. Looking around she realized she had made it outside, the sun was low in the sky, the lake glittering as it caught the last of the sun's light. A breeze blew against her cheek, and she felt her tear streaked cheeks freeze.

How had she lost control so suddenly? How long had she been out there? Her breathing calmed a little, but she was not ready to go back in and try to figure a way out of this mess. What was she to do, there was no one to turn to that would understand. No one who could explain to her how crazy the wizarding world was.

She felt alone, and for once she truly was.

Collecting herself a little, she walked over to the nearest tree, and slumped down. Her back was resting on it's trunk, and she wished life could be this simple. That she could sit and only care about the sun going down.

Pretending that was her entire world, she bent her legs and pulled them up to her chest. She leaned her head on her knees and just sat there, observing the sun as it disappeared behind the trees and the Scottish mountains, as the lake glittered and the sky turned red.

It was quiet as darkness started to descend.

"Didn't figure you for a romantic" His voice surrounded her, and she started, surprised by the sudden sound.

She looked around and found Benjy, broom slung over his shoulder, hair windswept but still incredibly handsome. His green eyes showed humor as he regarded her from afar.

"I'm not." She said softly, unsure if she was really seeing him. The only friend she had ever made, someone she had been so rude to earlier. Why was he talking to her now? What had changed?

"So what brings Hermione Riddle out on the grounds alone, looking at the sunset?" He smiled at her, so open and comforting. He started walking closer to her, and sat down next to her. She tried to casually brush away the tears still running down her face.

"Stuff." She eloquently said, looking away from him, trying to hide the traces of how upset she had been. How upset she still was, even if his presence did lighten the burden a little.

But he caught it, and he touched her jaw lightly, turning her towards him. Her brown teary eyes met his green concerned ones. "What happened?"

She felt overwhelmed by the emotions in his eyes, she had never had anyone but Noddy act concerned towards her. Part of her was afraid it was all an act, that he would remember what she had said weeks ago, and walk away again. "Why do you care?" she sniffed.

He sighed and removed his hand when she didn't try to look away from him again. "I told you, we're friends."

"I thought you didn't want me as a friend after-" he cut her off.

"We had a fight, nothing that can't be fixed."

She looked at him wide eyed, trying to see through his act. But the more she looked, the more she started to believe it wasn't an act, this was just the way Benjy was. Could this wonderful handsome man actually care about her?

He smiled at her slightly, and she felt her heart skip a beat. His expressions were always so honest, his heart on his sleeve.

"Really?"

"Miss the opportunity to be friends with the daughter of the Dark Lord? Who would pass up the opportunity?" he grinned at her, but she started crying in earnest now. His words echoed through her mind painfully, like he had actually confirmed her suspicion all along.

"Hey I was joking." he put his hand on her shoulder and leaned towards her, trying to catch her yes again. "You know I don't care who your father is. Right?" She looked up at him, and there was that honesty again. That painful honesty that she found so hard to believe.

"You don't?" she started wiping her tears again.

"Of course not."

She threw herself in his arms, surprising both of them. Hermione was not one to initiate physical contact, and Benjy had not anticipated her hug. Nonetheless, he brought his hands around her, and hugged her closer, trying to bring her comfort. He felt very awkward with the whole thing, he wasn't used to dealing with crying girls.

"Thank you." she said after a while.

"For not caring about your father?" she blushed, hiding it in his robes. Then she drew herself away from him.

"For everything." she answered simply.

He grinned at her again, pleased that it had all worked out well enough. "No to ruin your good mood, but why were you sad?"

She sighed, looking away from him again. "It's silly."

He nudged her lightly "Try me."

"I can't figure out how to write a History of Magic Essay about Grindelwald."

"That is silly."

"Benjy!" she exclaimed, kind of hurt that he didn't care enough to lie and tell her it wasn't silly.

"Very Ravenclaw of you." that comment made her smile though.

"Really?" she replied happily.

He rolled his eyes at that. "yeah." Then he straightened up slightly. "I know I'm no Ravenclaw, but do you want my help?"

"That would be perfect, thank you."

Then he stood up "Let's get going, no use freezing to death out here."

She mock sighed "I suppose not." she started raising herself up, not really managing to gather her legs underneath her properly. Then suddenly, she saw Benjy's outstretched hand, silently offering her help to get up.

She looked from the hand up to his face, once more questioning his motives. Again she found nothing but honesty in his look, and she slowly took his hand. He helped her up, and they moved to the castle in peaceful quiet, Hermione fiddling with her robes, Benjy with his broom over his shoulder.

When they were in the entrance hall he turned to her "It's getting late, do you want to do this tonight? Or should we wait until tomorrow?" The next day was a saturday, and Hermione felt her heart jump slightly at the thought of spending the entire day with him.

"Tomorrow." she murmured, blushing.

They continued walking up to their separate dorms, only parting ways at the changing stairwells.

"Goodnight Hermione."

"Night Benjy." He left her then, and for a moment she just stood there, looking after him. She couldn't help how happy she felt knowing that stupid essay had brought Benjy back to her.

The next day she started the day with a smile. Then she remembered her guards, she would have to figure out a way for them to be ok with her spending time with Benjy.

At Breakfast she looked over to the Gryffindor table. Benjy hadn't come down yet. Looking over at the Slytherin table she noticed that none of her protectors had either.

It wasn't until she was halfway through Breakfast that Benjy showed up.

Instead of taking his usual spot at the Gryffindor table, he sat down next to her, grabbing a muffin. Repeating his actions of that morning so long ago. She smiled shyly at him. "Morning."

He smiled back "Morning."

When they both had finished breakfast, only Regulus had showed up at the Slytherin table. He looked extremely nervous when he saw Hermione talking to Benjy so casually. When Hermione and Benjy pushed their plates away and started to leave the Great Hall she motioned for him to follow them.

Hermione figured that of all of them, Regulus was the least likely to say anything offensive, or try and separate them. The boy wasn't going to be asked twice and quickly grabbed his sandwich before he followed them.

The day was nice, easy, quiet. At times Hermione sat just enjoying Benjy's company, and at others she was waiting for disaster to strike. When he went down to the kitchens to grab them some Lunch, Regulus sat down next to her.

"What are you doing Hermione?" he whispered harshly.

"Homework, thought that was obvious."

"But with him?" Regulus raised an eyebrow at her.

Hermione decided she needed to blackmail the kid, with Slytherin's that was always the best solution. "be quiet about this and I'll continue being as pleasant as I have been since Halloween."

He seemed to contemplate that, the boys had all agreed that they should do whatever it took to continue having Hermione this nice. Hogwarts had almost been pleasant in the last few weeks. On the other hand, Voldemort would be furious if he found out Hermione had been hanging out with Blood traitors.

"And if I don't?"

Hermione gave him a bone chilling smile, one she had probably inherited from her dad. "Or I'll stop being pleasant, tell the boys it was your fault, and tell my dad you let me be with Benjy." she raised an eyebrow, waiting for his counter. Regulus was very trapped, he knew that rumors that he might have let Benjy and Hermione hang out was way better than Hermione telling Voldemort directly that Regulus had allowed such a thing.

"Fine." he spat, and Hermione smiled.

Regulus retreated to the shadows, and continued to watch over the pair as they did their homework. He could at least be thankful that it was nothing more than that. Through their interactions he gathered that Hermione must like the boy, but he regarded her as a friend, a very platonic friend.

By the end of the day, Hermione had managed to get a decent perspective on the sick mind of Grindelwald. And by extension, her father. She hadn't realized how backwards and severely fucked up the wizarding world was.

Benjy had been great in explaining everything to her, he already knew about how crooked her world view was, and that she genuinely wanted to change it for the better. That it was her father's fault, and the environment she grew up in, and that she knew it was all wrong.

People can't change all on their own, and Benjy was just the person to help her become a better person. She admired him for it.

For the next few weeks they developed a way of being able to be friends. She would subtly let him know when it was *safe* to be around her, when it was Regulus who was supposed to watch her. They would then spend time talking by the lake, doing homework if she knew Emily was busy, or she would come down to the Quidditch field to watch him fly his broom.

He continued to be a good friend for her, even if they got very little time together. He had many friends, and was usually surrounded by them. For some reason he made time for her, and she was happy. He continued to tease her about being such a Ravenclaw, and trying to convince her to try flying. She would ask about his life and learn more about the world than the narrow view she got from her Manor, and push him to do more homework.

She noticed that Evan had taken to sitting next to her when he was supposed to watch her, and she did her homework. He was a silent companion, and for some reason she preferred having him next to her than watching from afar.

After a while, Lorry approached her. She was surprised, but her regained friendship with Benjy had her more trusting than ever. Even though she knew Lorry must have her own reasons for joining them, she didn't care. It wasn't until she noticed Evan freeze up when Lorry joined their little table in the corner that she figured out what that agenda was.

Honestly, she was surprised the girl was still on that.

Evan's discomfort eased a little over the weeks up to the Christmas Holiday, when he realized Lorry would not do anything worse than stare at him over the table. If Hermione moved through the stacks to find books however, Evan was at her mercy.

He had become Hermione's shadow more than ever now. She sent him annoyed looks, but he looked pleadingly back at her, and motioned towards Lorry.

Hermione eventually figured she could use it to get the boys off her case with Benjy once and for all. They were standing in the stacks towards the back of the library, next to the restricted section. Once again Evan begged her to do something about Lorry.

"Fine I'll protect you from her."

"You will?" she could hear the disbelief in his voice, and she didn't blame him. She did have an agenda after all.

"Yes." he breathed out in relief when she said that. "But only if you make sure the boys back off when it comes to Benjy."

"Who's Benjy?" he scrunched his face up, Hermione pretended not to notice as she browsed the shelves for the book she wanted on Herbology.

"Benjamin Fenwick." she casually said, opening up a book of interest, pretending to be very interested in it, while at the same time trying to be nonchalant about the name.

"The bloodtraitor?!" Evan shouted, and was immediately shushed by the nearest narrow eyed Ravenclaw, while Hermione was still holding the book up, pretending to read.

"That's the one." She closed the book, figuring it wasn't relevant for the essay she was writing, and moved down to open another one, Evan close by.

"No deal." he hissed in her ear, and she snapped the new book shut and glared at him.

"Fine." For a moment they stood like that, staring each other down. Then she put the book back on the shelf, Evan curiously looking at it's title Magical Roses by the River, before he followed her.

She had disappeared, her stuff gone from the table, leaving only Lorry. Emily had disappeared too, and now it was only him and his stalker.

The second last week of Hogwarts before the holiday, Hermione kept leaving him with her. He knew Lorry would return to her parents, while he was stuck at Hogwarts with Hermione. But with only one week to go, he gave up after Hermione had left him with Lorry, again. And Lorry had managed to corner him and assault him in the middle of the library.

He confronted her that night, following her up to her dormitory, he caught up with her in an empty corridor not far from her common room.

"That was cruel." he called out after her.

Hermione turned around and looked at Evan, seeing his frown she felt slightly guilty about her actions. "Worse than when I hex you?"

"Way worse."

It was her turn to frown "Guess I'm losing my touch if Lorry has me beat."

"Guess so." Evan wasn't sure where she was going with that.

Hermione mock sighed "I'll just have to start practicing again." she pulled her wand, and pointed it between his brows.

He gulped, and backed up slightly. "Let's not be hasty."

She raised an eyebrow at him, and he continued "can you just please stop leaving me with Lorry."

"Will you agree to my terms?"

"What terms?"

She scoffed and looked annoyed at him "Benjy?"

"You're still on that?"

"Yes!"

He grumbled, if he agreed to that, he would most likely end up in trouble with her father. "You know Voldemort is not the one with a wand pointed at your face right now." Hermione said, reading his thoughts correctly.

"He could kill me."

"Maybe." Hermione agreed "But not if you're smart about it."

He started thinking about ways of taking her down and reversing the situation. Remembering their past he didn't like his odds however.

Hermione flicked her wand, and his wand flew out between his fingers where his hand had started moving to grab it. Evan gave her a look relaying how much he wanted to kill her in that moment. "I could always just say you're already doing it."

She put his wand in her pocket, and pulled out a letter from the same pocket.

"Dear dad, I have been spending a lot of time with Benjamin Fenwick lately. I wasn't sure it was alright, but Evan Rosier assured me it's fine." Hermione said mockingly, and Evan's eyes widened.

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"You'd sign my death warrant?" he asked, and Hermione had to fight with herself to stop from showing him she could never do that. Recently she had developed some respect for him, and no matter what her father tried to make her do, she could never willingly permanently hurt someone.

Instead of answering, knowing she wouldn't be able to voice that she would indeed do something like that, she just raised an eyebrow at him.

Their discussions always ended up like this, eyes locked on each other, battling internally for dominance.

"Fine." Evan finally said, and Hermione smirked at him.

"We have a deal." She lowered her wand, and started to move away from him. He caught her arm, stopping her from running away. She looked down to his arm on her, and then up to his sharp blue eyes.

"Not so quick, you have to agree to my terms as well."

"What?"

"Make Lorry back off-"

"Fine." She cut him off, but he didn't let go. He smirked at her and pulled her closer, making her uncomfortable.

"I'm not done." She pulled her arm away from his, and he smirked even more, knowing he could affect her as well. "You have to get her to back off for good."

She gaped at him "That's impossible!"

He shrugged "Then I won't get to boys off your back when it comes to Benjy." he moved closer to her again, and she backed up until she had the wall against her back. "In fact, I'll make sure Regulus won't let you hang out any more either." she scowled at him "oh yes, I know about that too."

She pushed him away from him and moved away. "Fine!" she spat over her shoulder.

"Hermione."

"Yes!" she snapped and stopped, but she didn't turn.

"My wand."

She pulled it out of her pocket and threw it on the floor, leaving a very pleased looking Evan Rosier in the dark corridor.