Changes Can Be Made
Disclaimer: Hey guys! Guess what~ … I don't own Harry Potter! ;) (I'm pretty sure you all saw that coming….. damn! …. Hehehe)
A/N: *sigh* Sorry it's late everyone…. It's because I'm sick, I'm studying Tagalog and Japanese, both from scratch, had two exams to study for, an English reporting assignment to do, my dad and sis are sick and I'm researching for Social Studies… Yeah… economics is so fun… (feel the sarcasm…) anyway, I hope you guys like this! Again, sorry it's late…. MY BAD! PLEASE FORGIVE!
Chapter 20: Confrontations
"Sirius."
Sirius couldn't help the distasteful growl that he unintentionally let out.
Regulus turned to his fellow Slytherins and whispered a command, "Leave." Sirius' heightened animagus senses allowed him to hear the seriousness in the command drip from Regulus' lips. Sirius' glare intensified as the Slytherins left, leaving him and Regulus alone in the deserted corridor.
"I guess the animosity comes with the Animagus territory, doesn't it Sirius?" Regulus rhetorically asked.
Sirius watched as Regulus stepped closer and closer, all the while saying nothing to the boy.
"What is it?" Regulus spat at his brother, who stood an arm-length away.
Sirius opened his mouth to slam an insult or two back at his snobby little brat of a brother when a silhouette moved by the grand hall door. Sirius' eyes flickered onto it. His keen eyes could make out the Slytherin girl he was concerned with. The girl named Josanne. She looked like the typical stalking crush; hiding slightly behind a door, staring longingly at her target and glaring at any possible threats to her fantasies.
"Spit it out Blood traitor!" Regulus hissed irritated by Sirius' absent-mind.
Sirius smirked at his soft brother's hot temper and sighed. "All I wanted to say was," his eyes focussing on his slightly shorter brother, "keep your stalker in line… before she tries to hurt Hermione again..."
Sirius noticed the shock and alertness that flashed on his features for a mere moment before replying, "You're talking about Josanne?"
"Yes. Because if she tries something again… I'm not going to go to you…" Sirius threatened. He knew Regulus understood what he was hinting at.
"Fine…" Regulus said through clenched teeth, "What did she do to the mudblood?"
"She tried to bury her under a shelf of books in the library…" explained Sirius. Sirius stepped forward menacingly, "and don't you ever call Mione a mudblood ever again," he whispered dangerously.
Sirius noticed Regulus' slight stumble backwards, he always intimidated his brother. Ever since they were little, and even though Regulus acted like a strong, unwavering Slythrin; Sirius knew that he was still the same soft boy underneath… the boy who cares strongly for the well-being of house elves and was easily manipulated by their cruel parents, the parents who disowned Sirius because he did not agree with their ideals of pure-blooded superiority.
Sirius stepped back and sighed. He could feel tears prickling in his eyes, begging to be let loose, but he blinked them away. He would never, EVER show weakness to his enemies… to his brother.
Regulus cleared his throat, "Is that all blood traitor?"
"Yeah," Sirius waved away, "See you around…" he moved around Regulus to head for the grand hall, "brother…" he whispered.
Sirius caught the quick shiver that wracked Regulus' body. 'heh, I love how much he hates that word….. brother….' Sirius muttered internally.
He winked at the glaring Slythrin girl he passed at the door. He heard the girl, Josanne, huff out an angry cry as he made his way to his fellow pranksters.
"Ello boys," he cheered as he planted his butt on a space beside Remus.
"Well, well, well…" James smiled playfully, "how was Hermione?"
Remus' head shot up and a glare was intensely fixed on James AND Sirius.
"I didn't actually see her," Sirius admitted.
Remus sighed in relief and shut the book in his hands. "So what WERE you doing?" he asked completely intrigued by the answer.
Sirius sighed, Remus was the brains. He was cautious, particular and always knew the right questions to ask. He wasn't someone who can be fooled. "I was just chatting," he winked.
Remus rolled his eyes and nodded at the seemingly predictable answer. Sirius smiled as their faces registered his reply. He was telling the truth, but they clearly took it the wrong way… well more like, the most probable way. Knowing Sirius, they probably thought he was 'chatting' up girls instead of literally chatting to someone, his brother to be exact.
"You're at it again Padfoot…" Peter sighed.
They all laughed. "You got that right Wormtail," James gasped out.
"So what have you guys been up to?" Sirius asked as he gathered some food onto his plate.
"Well, studying," answered Remus and Peter almost simultaneously.
James said nothing, he just looked rather upset. 'That's odd…'
"Prongs?" asked Sirius.
Everyone went quiet. Something was obviously upsetting James and the other two knew exactly what it was. Remus and Peter gave each other weary glances.
"Well…" started Peter.
"I was told that I've been made captain of the Gryffindor Quiditch team…" James explained.
"Bloody hell! That's great Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed with pride.
"Yeah, but," continued James, "I wanted to start the trials on the weekend… but they said I couldn't because Slytherin has already booked the Quiditch field for Saturday and Ravenclaw has already taken Sunday… And! The Quiditch field isn't available on Friday so I have to wait until next week to start the tryouts."
"Damn," Sirius cursed the cunning Slytherins. "Don't worry Prongs. It's not that bad," he lied knowing his Quiditch crazed friend.
"What could be worse?!" howled James.
"Well, Lily Evans could start dating Snivellous," Sirius suggested.
"You're right," James spat, "that would be worse."
The dim light in the corridor shone on Regulus' figure. His body quivered slightly from the memory of Sirius' intimidating figure. Sirius was always the one who was inches taller than himself, the one who always stood up for himself and his beliefs; though he was a fool for thinking that muggle-borns and half-bloods could be equal to pure-bloods, but even so, Sirius always had a way of making Regulus' composure falter.
Regulus sighed; he adjusted his cloak and swiped a hand through his black hair. His jumbled brain moved off the subject of his brother and moved onto Miss Hermione Grace. His thoughts started to fly all over the place. 'Is Hermione alright?' he thought worriedly. He wondered if she had been injured and contemplated whether he should see if she was in the hospital wing or not. 'What are you thinking Regulus! She is no concern of yours! She's a MUDBLOOD, a disgrace to the wizarding world…' he repeated the words he'd been told all his life about muggle-borns; his parents never sugar-coated anything. He kept telling himself she's just a silly mudblood who is below him and her well-being is none of his concern, but he couldn't help but care about her. He made a 180 degree turn for the grand hall. A retreating silhouette moved in his line of sight, alerting him. He sighed and resumed his train of thought. The more he thought of Hermione being hurt, the more anger he felt towards Josanne. He growled involunteerily then chuckled, 'I guess animosity does come with the Animagus territory...'
Hermione and Lily giggled on Lily's bed in the Head Girl's room.
"You thought what?!" Hermione blasted at Lily.
"I swear Mister Regulus Black was flirting with you."
"NO WAY!" Hermione snorted, "We were just talking… you know, casual stuff…."
"Which is?" Lily pushed on.
"You know…. What I said to Lucius and…. Other stuffs…"
"Oh come on Mi!" Lily nudged Hermione with her foot, "I heard him call you pretty."
"What?! No he didn't."
"Okay, okay, he was implying it."
Hermione gave Lily a confused look. She thought back to their conversation and could not remember Regulus actually implying anything about her looks at all.
Lily sighed and relayed their conversation, "Is that why you and your buddies down there were staring at me? Asked the sweet innocent Hermione Grace," Lily dramatically said which made Hermione burst out in laughter, "One reason, the sexy young Regulus Black replied. And the other was? Asked the young muggle-born witch," she gave Hermione a quick wink before continuing, "Look in the mirror and see for yourself Angel, answered the dashing Slytherin…" Lily giggled and said, "Does any of that ring a bell?"
Hermione blushed beetroot red, "O-oh…. That…."
Lily giggled, "Yeah… that."
"He wasn't flirting, he was…"
"Was?"
"We were just talking… and he wasn't flirting… I could tell if he was," Hermione stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Of course," Lily rolled her eyes, "but still, I think he likes you."
Hermione snorted in response.
"Come on Mi, think about it," Lily pursued, "he implied you were beautiful and-" Lily was interrupted by Hermione's protests.
"No, no. He told me to 'look in the mirror' it doesn't necessarily mean I'm pretty, it could be that he's implying that they were staring because I look funny or ugly," Hermione reasoned.
"But he called you 'Angel' after. Are angels ugly?" Lily projected another point.
"N-no, but…"
"But what Mi? Just face the facts," Lily shrugged, "he fancies you."
"I don't think so," Hermione protested.
"Argh!" Lily grunted in annoyance, "What now?!"
"You think about this. Slytherins don't exactly like Gryffindors let alone muggle-borns," Hermione sain straightforwardly.
Lily sighed, "Well, maybe he's different," she suggested gently. Hermione always admired how her eyes shone kindly when she was thinking or when she was being gentle. It was the same as her son's eyes. Harry had the same glimmer in his eyes when he was thinking hard and when he was talking gently to her, Ron and others.
Hermione blinked away the tears that threatened to run down from her eyes. Hermione shook her head and smiled at Lily, "Lil, so… James and you seem cute together."
Lily blushed but tried to deny it, "N-no! He and I… A-are j-just… You know…. Friends…" she stuttered out.
"Sure…" the word practically dripping with sarcasm.
"Look, he is a bit more mature and he's… well…."
"More attractive?" Hermione suggested.
Lily's blush darkened, "Y-yeah…"
Hermione smiled, 'Everything's going well~' she sang inside.
"But… I don't know…" Lily sighed.
"Think about it Lil."
Lily smirked, "I'll think about it if you tell me what you feel for Sirius AND Regulus."
"A-ah…" Hermione hesitated, "Well…. Honestly, I don't know…" she admitted.
"Just… what do you feel Mi?" Lily asked softly.
"I… guess, I feel… strange when I'm with them, each of them."
"Um, care to explain further?"
"Well… that's the thing… I don't know how to explain the feeling… it's just…. Strange."
"um… okay?" Lily's mind could not get a hold on what she was trying to say by 'strange'. "Well, it's almost time for dinner. Want to go now?"
"Um, let me change first."
"Oh right!" Lily exclaimed in realisation, "We'd both better get changed."
Hermione giggled as she picked up her shoes from beside the door. "Meet you in the common room in 15?"
"Yes!" Lily yelled out to her as Hermione left the room. She heard the door shut behind her and sighed as she trudged down to her door. 'I haven't felt this happy in a while…' she smiled to herself.
She came to her door and closed her eyes as her hand descended upon the handle. The old, rusted metal handle felt cool against her warm palm. Her eyes snapped opened as a question popped into her head, 'What am I going to wear to dinner?'
She swiftly turned the handle and swung open the door. She ran inside, slamming the door behind her, and rummaged through her bag to find the ancient looking pouch. 'Got it!' she yelled internally.
In the pouch she threw out all the clothes, from the pouch, onto the bed. She sorted through the mess and decided on an outfit all in a total of four minutes. She quickly dressed herself in the short skirt and the short sleeved shirt with a black vest. She pulled on her cute light caramel Uggboots and raced out the door to arrive the busy common room. Students climbing into the common room just to climb out of the portrait hole to feast in the Grand Hall. Students buzzed around like bees trying to complete all their little tasks to get down to their awaiting meals.
Hermione looked around. She noticed the many girls giggling and chatting away and the numerous boys that gave her the eye. 'Argh!' she thought disgustedly. She sighed tiredly and waited for her companion.
Lily strode down the stairs displaying the authority and responsibility of the Head Girl. She wore knee high, warm boots with denim shorts and a long, black woolly sweater. Hermione smiled at how good her fiery red hair contrasted against her black sweater. Her figure was perfect. Hermione smiled as the head girl casted a 'remove-those-dirty-thoughts' glare at immature onlookers. They jolted in some sort of fear and raced out of the portrait hole.
With a sigh, Lily commented, "Some people are just so immature…"
Hermione grinned, "Well, do you want to go?"
"Sure."
The two girls complimented each other on their cute outfits as they journeyed out of the portrait hole and down the corridors, stomachs growling impatiently for what lies ahead in the grand hall.
Regulus entered the busy, talkative hall of young wizards and witches and twinged slightly at the loud sounds. 'Obviously I'm still not totally used to these heightened senses,' he muttered to himself. He walked around various Slytherins giving them all a cool, cold look. They all acknowledged his high, respectable status among the ambitious school house. He seated himself beside Severus, who – as per usual – had his nose stuck in a Dark Arts book, and nodded to him as a greeting.
"So, I've heard that you and your brother had a little… discussion," Severus looked slowly towards him.
Regulus growled angrily at the comment, "He's not my brother," he hissed through clenched teeth.
Severus nodded and turned back to his book. "And he said?"
"Nothing of your concern Snape," hissed Regulus. Severus' emotionless face said nothing but focussed on his book. "But if you must know," began Regulus, "he was saying something about that Hermione Grace girl being the victim of a jealous Slytherin woman's prank."
Severus' usual emotionless eyes snapped up to meet Regulus' in complete shock. "W-what?" stuttered Severus.
Regulus seemed curious by his reaction. This was the first time the calm, emotionless Severus Snape showed any sort of emotion. 'Is he worried about the mudblood?' Regulus asked himself. "Are you possibly, worried about the mudblood?" Regulus curiously asked, his lips held the hint of amusement.
"NO," scoffed Severus, "I was merely surprised."
Regulus nodded sarcastically, his features still graced with amusement. "Well, just for some further knowledge, the culprit TRIED to harm her."
Severus nodded, his eyes shone with relief for a split second before his features drained of all emotions to return to his usual emotionless face. Severus returned to his book and instantly got enthralled by the content. Regulus glanced around the room.
Lucius Malfoy entered the great hall and swiftly made his way to the conveniently empty seat in front of Regulus. "Good evening Severus and Regulus," he smiled.
'Something's up…' Regulus thought suspiciously as Severus nodded his dull greeting.
"You seem… happy," Regulus said cautiously.
"Yes, well, that's because of what I've just found out." Lucius smirked, "I booked the day that mister Gryffindor Quiditch captain wanted," he said as his eyes sparkled in playfulness.
"Ah… sounds very… mischievous," Regulus winked.
Severus only nodded silently in approval, "Sounds very entertaining," he said mildly interested.
Something caught Regulus' eye near the opening of the grand hall. He glimpsed in the said area and found the mudblood Hermione Grace entering with the mudblood head girl. For mudbloods they were dressed quite cutely. He watched as the two girls swiftly made their way to the group of troublesome boys called the Marauders. He noticed many pretty and nice clothed girls; however, he had to admit that Hermione was the most attractive of them all. He let his thoughts linger on the mudblood, until he remembered his obsessed admirer. He looked down the Slytherin table in search of Josanne.
He found her gazing directly at him at the very bottom of the table. 'There she is…' He immediately stood and walked calmly down the table towards the entrance; all the while, his eyes never leaving her's. He could tell by the far too obvious blush and batting eyes that she LOVED his attention. She shifted in her seat flaunting herself proudly. 'She's definitely easy on the eyes,' he thought mildly amused by her eccentrics, 'but… she's nothing compared to Miss Hermione,' he added. Shocked by his own thoughts, Regulus angrily shook his head before smiling wittily at her, gesturing to leave the dining hall.
Josanne smiled brightly and wasted no time in jumping up and racing out of the hall to meet him.
Hermione noticed her new enemy, Josanne run out of the dining hall. 'What is she up to?' she questioned. Mere seconds had passed and Hermione couldn't help but feel anxious, 'Curiosity killed the cat~' Hermione reminded herself. She forced her mind off that topic an onto the ongoing conversations around her at the Gryffindor table.
"As I said before, Mister James Potter! No!" Lily angrily burst out in James' face.
"W-why not…" James whimpered. He resembled a lonely little puppy, which only made Hermione and the others – except for Lily – chuckle.
"Because!" Lily began, "I don't want to go to Hogsmeade weekend with you!"
Hermione caught Lily's eyes flicker from James to her. Hermione gave her a knowing smile, adding, "Come on, Lil, you promised him~"
Hermione angrily glared at Hermione. "That's right!" James outcried. "Evans, you promised me you'd think about it if I studied hard," his tone hinting at the triumph he clearly felt inside.
Lily opened and closed her mouth a few times trying to form the words to deny the promise. The marauders started to grin; for the first time in all the years they had known Miss Lily Evans, she didn't know what to argue next. Well, that was until her features changed from distressed defeat to an award-winning smile. "Just wait a minute," she said calmly, "I did promise you and yes, the condition was to study hard… but… You are forgetting that Hogsmeade weekend is in a month and that was also the time-limit, remember?"
Everyone in the group fell silent. Hermione recalled the whispered explanation. "I promised him I'd THINK about going to Hogsmeade weekend with him," she remembered Lily say, "if he studies hard for a month." Hermione's smile faded, "She's got a point," she announced meekly.
"F-fine…" James grumbled. He was so clearly irritated by how close he was.
"Well," Sirius cut in, "What were you girls up to?"
Hermione smiled at Lily as Lily grinned at her, "Our lips are sealed~" Hermione sung out.
Lily giggled. "You boys should've known that we'd never answer that question," she snorted.
"They're right Padfoot," Remus said, "You shouldn't ask a girl about their… 'girl talk'."
The two girls giggled at the fact. Hermione turned to snatch a glance at her five companions. Remus was nodding at Sirius' explanation of something completely unknown to Hermione; but he was very distracted by the defence against the dark arts text book in his hands. She could see his eyes thoroughly skimming the text, 'The start to your profession as an Auror and Order member,' she sighed.
Next to him was Peter, who had a full plate of… well, everything! He was laughing joyously at Sirius' exaggeration of, what seemed like, an event he shared with James during the school break. 'Hopefully I can prevent him from joining Voldemort…' she thought as she stared hard at Peter.
Hermione moved her attention onto the future couple. Lily looked thoroughly irritated by James, but Hermione could tell by the soft, quick glances she gave James that her heart was on the right course. 'Of course it is,' Hermione rolled her eyes, 'They're a match made in heaven… I mean Harry IS their future,' she smiled. Her mind flickered back to Harry and the future she came from. Her smile faded as her expression became harder. 'And there's no way I'm going to let Voldemort make Harry parentless… James and Lily will survive… I'll make sure of it!' Hermione sighed as she withdrew her attention from the soon-to-be couple and onto the last marauder.
Sirius was extremely enthralled by his story; Hermione could see it in his eyes. He looked as though he was a child retelling an adventure he had. Like Peter, Sirius too had a plate piled with food. He ate as he explained all the details of his experience during the break with extreme exaggeration.
"This centaur was three times taller than both James and I combined!" he exclaimed, "Oho! But James and I weren't going to die at the hands of a centaur, no, we snatched up our wands at lightning speed and shot a few jinxes at him…"
Hermione shook her head and smiled, 'three times taller than them both… lightning speed… Such eccentrics.'
Hermione smiled as she watched his big hand movements as he explained it all. He looked so happy and it stirred something inside her. His charming grin and wide-eyes sparkled with mischief. She felt herself sigh in admiration at the boy. Why? She had no idea.
Regulus waited for Josanne out in the now empty corridor, outside of the grand hall. It wasn't long until the girl in question shot out of the entryway of the grand hall and skidded to a stop just steps in front of him.
'That was fast,' he noted.
"You wanted to speak with me?" she said happily as she batted her eyelashes.
Yes, she had the wrong idea. She had no clue on what he was about to say to her. He gave her a small smile before talking a deep breath. Even if he's a pure-blood, a 'noble', like any ordinary guy, he just doesn't know how to handle girls. So, his approach is to say it clearly and hope everything goes okay; but for some strange reason, he had a queasy feeling that that was not going to happen with this girl. "Yes, I did."
She perked up immediately, "And, um… what is it?" she said as she shuffled closer.
"Well, a little birdy told me of an 'accident' that occurred this afternoon that involved you."
Her smile faded and she stepped back. She realised where this was going. "And?" she asked suspiciously.
"I want you to stay away from Hermione Grace," he moved closer, "She did nothing to you and you will not put her in harm's way… ever."
Josanne stepped back.
"Do you understand?" he looked her seriously in the eyes.
"But… but… she was ruining my chances!" Josanne reasoned.
"Your chances? For what?"
"For a relationship with you!"
This made Regulus burst out in laughter, "Look, Josanne, I don't like you like that… did it ever occur to you that I just wasn't into you?"
"NO!" she yelled, "She's turned you against me!"
"What?! She's done nothing to influence me!" he yelled back. The heat of the argument was getting to them both. "And I have never fancied you over the six years you've tried to make a relationship happen!"
"So these six years you've felt nothing?!"
"Nothing!" he answered.
Josanne looked utterly broken. Tears filled her eyes and Regulus felt horrible for what he had said. 'No… I didn't mean to hurt her…' the guilt hit his heart like a hammer on a nail.
"You must have felt something!" Josanne cried out, "We were together almost every day for six years!"
"No, you followed me for six years," he said calmly. He didn't want this to escalate any further than it had already. "Please Josanne, just let me go and back off of Hermione," he plead.
"No! This is her fault!" she wailed, "She told you didn't she?! She's tearing you away from me! She's turning you against me! It's HER fault!"
"What?! No! She said nothing to me! She could never tear us apart…" he retorted.
Josanne's eyes lit up and her sniffling and tears ceased. But Regulus was fuming too much to notice. 'How could she blame Hermione?! Hermione did nothing.'
"Because we were never anything more than acquaintances!" Regulus shouted.
Josanne looked worse than broken, she was shattered. She screamed in rage. "I HATE HER! I HATE THAT FILTHY MUDBLOOD!" she screamed.
As soon as Regulus heard this something inside him boiled. He was furious! "DON'T YOU EVER CALL HER THAT!" he growled furiously. Regulus stepped forward until they were noses apart and gripped the collar of her shirt tightly. Adrenaline and anger were coursing through his veins as he growled and stared angrily into Josanne's terrified eyes. He suddenly let her go and stumbled backwards. 'w-why did I defend Hermione? Why was I so angry when she called her 'mudblood'? why am I so… different when it comes down to her?' he questioned himself.
Suddenly there were loud, clearly upset, footsteps that came down from the grand hall.
"What is all the noise?!" Lily Evans yelled. "Can't you Slytherin give it a break!"
Both Slytherin glared at the young red-headed head girl.
"Um… I came at a bad time, didn't I?" she said awkwardly as she understood the tension around the two.
"Yeah you did mudblood," hissed Josanne.
Regulus' glare returned to the blond in front of him. Oh how she got on his nerves. He wached as Josanne continued her assault on the Gryffindor head girl.
"You and your mudblood friend are pathetic losers who don't belong in this institute with us pure-blood's."
Regulus growled lowly so that Josanne would get the message. She quivered slightly in what seemed like fear, but she composed herself quickly and continued.
"So you and the mudblood should leave this school!" she yelled.
Lily looked incredibly angry. "You can insult me, but insulting Hermione is something I won't let you go so easily."
"Oh yeah! What're you going to do about it, mudblood?" Josanne spat.
"I'll show you," Lily hissed as she whipped out her wand. Josanne did the same, but none got a chance to act the sound of someone running came down the corridor.
"'one? 'ione? Mione?" a voice called to her.
She blinked in realisation. The one she was currently admiring had turned to her and was calling her name. Her cheeks were flushed. Sirius was staring right at her.
"Mione, are you okay?" he asked curiously.
"P-perfectly fine…" she stuttered.
"Well, Lily stormed out and-"
"Wha, why?!"
"It seems that James kept annoying her and she just left… angrily," Remus explained.
'Oh' Hermione mouthed. 'of course…' she sighed, 'getting them together may be harder than I thought…'
"Mione?" Sirius called again.
Hermione shook her head to get back on topic, "Yes? Sorry."
"Yeah…" he eyed her suspiciously, "well, we just wanted to know if you were going to go after her…"
"Oh! Yes!" Hermione jumped up, "well, good night everyone!" she yelled back as she left the table. She didn't know why she was so out of it. She'd only been here, in this time, for about a day; and already she was zoning out. She couldn't believe she hadn't notice Lily leave. 'What's wrong with me?' she asked herself. Though, she could not dwell on the question any further, because as soon as she left the grand hall she had obviously stepped into an awkward situation. The mostly empty corridor now had two Slytherins and two Gryffindor. Hermione swallowed hard as she recognised the three in front of her. Josanne was clearly furious as she glared dangerously at Hermione with a wand in her hand and the other Slytherin, which made things more awkward, was none other than Regulus Black. He looked thoroughly irritated. The other Gryffindor came silently up to Hermione.
"Let's go the long way," Lily whispered as she tucked away her wand.
"Don't you dare go anywhere, Hermione Grace," growled Josanne; her lips dripping with furious venom. Every ounce of hate, rage and jealousy imaginable was laced into Hermione's name as it left Josanne's lips.
'Oh Merlin…' fear clawed its way through her body as her heart pounded loudly in her ears. 'This is not good.'