Disclaimer: As realistic as it is for Hermione to go back in time, coincidentally land in the Marauders' time and be in the same year of schooling as them, it in fact NEVER HAPPENS IN THE BOOK. Why? Because the characters belong to J.K. Rowling-sama and she is capable of creating a much better plot =]
Warnings: Hwa...death threats...name-calling...amusement at other people's expenses
Pairings: None yet ^_^
A/N: I trust everyone had a wonderful holiday? ^^ I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed:
Francesca, Indiana jones, jessiCA, nuwandaforever, AniMourner, Nemesis, dreamkatcher, Baz, Saranha de Angelo, Moony Fan!, BloodyAngel, serenity, Chrissy, and Hiasobi--
A-RI-GA-TO!
To Hiasobi-san: I'm not quite sure if the pairing'll be James/Hermione. ^^;; We'll just have to wait and see.
To Nemesis-san: Wow...you are absolutely right. After your comment about the Time-Turner, I immediately reread the ending of PoA, and she did indeed give back the Time-Turner. ~___~ Kuso...This is her fifth year, though...maybe she wants to take up an extra class again and gets it back? Maybe...maybe...x___x *dies* I can't believe I missed something so big...Sorry =X
To Moony Fan!-san: Thank you for the tidbit. I myself have never read any interviews with J.K. Rowling, so I didn't know James was a Chaser...Perhaps I'll change it. I probably won't, though, unless it's stated in any of the later books. Thank you all the same! (Ho hum...I sounded like such a bitch just then...~___~ Sorry.)
Italics represent thoughts or emphasis on words.
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I'll kill him, Hermione swore, I'll kill him once I catch him and blame it on an accident. Yes, 'I'm terribly sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. It seems as if your son tripped and killed himself. Oh, those finger marks on his neck? Must've gotten them during his Quidditch match with the Slytherins. You know, the house completely consisting of the children of evil Death Eaters. Will do just about anything to win.'
By the time she reached the table, however, James was already seated and chatting with his friends as if everything was perfectly normal.
Nails dug into Hermione's palms as she clenched her fists and stalked forward.
Stop. Calm yourself, Hermione. No need to embarrass yourself in public. Really, with the reaction you had, you would think Ron's temper actually is rubbing off on you. Besides, he's only baiting you. You won't fall for it, will you? You're too smart for that.
Taking a deep breath, she counted backwards from ten and started taking slow steps. As she neared the table, she began wondering what she would say.
'Professor Lupin! Snuffles! How are you? The two of you certainly look younger since I saw you last!'
...No. Right. They don't even know who I am.
'James is a great big prat. My name is Hermione, by the way. Pleased to make your acquaintance.'
...No, that would be slightly rude, I suppose.
'How you doin'?'
No! Goodness, where did that come from?
Hermione didn't realize she'd reached the table until she bumped the back of someone's chair.
Four pairs of eyes stared up at her. She felt her cheeks heat up.
"E-excuse me. I was wondering if you had a spare seat? I'm the new student, Hermione Granger."
A pale boy with light brown hair whose chair she walked into smiled politely up at her. "Yes, of course. If you'll just take a few steps back..."
"Oh! I'm very...very sorry." She hadn't realized she was still standing flush to the back of his chair. Hermione immediately stepped back.
The boy laughed quietly, "It's quite alright, Hermione. If you'll allow me to call you so, that is." He stood up and pulled out the chair next to him. "Please, take a seat."
Hermione blushed deeper, "Yes, Hermione is fine--Oh, no, you didn't have to...well...thank you." She sat down, quite flustered. She then felt herself being pushed closer to the edge of the table before hearing the scraping of the chair next to her as the boy seated himself once again.
"My name is Remus. It's a pleasure to meet you. Your name, Hermione...I believe I've read it somewhere before--"
James, who was sitting across from them, pretended to grimace, "Blimey, I'd say the ol' Lupin charm is cranked up to full blast right about now, eh, Padfoot?"
The person in question, a lanky black-haired boy, snickered and replied, "No, he seems more like a busboy hoping to get a tip, I'd say. Moony's low on money again, I think. Always gets like this when Christmas rolls around."
This roused a loud hoot of laughter from James, and several nods of agreement.
"Oh, you two could bare to be a little more polite! Especially to a friend!" Hermione scolded, the embarrassment of having a former professor fuss over her forgotten. To her surprise, however, a hand waved her off.
"It's alright, Herm. They're just kidding. In fact, I wasn't too serious myself. Lighten up," Remus said with a small grin.
"Lighten up?? Herm??" Hermione bristled. One moment polite and mannerly, the complete opposite the next--is everyone here like that?? Is this just one big game to them?? "I'll have you know," she glared, "My name is Hermione A. Granger! Herm is not for you to call!"
"Seems like we have another Lily here, guys," James said in an amused tone. "I'm beginning to wonder, are all muggle-born so uptight?"
She frowned, "How did you--"
"Granger is not the name of any wizarding family I've ever heard of."
Hermione would've slapped him if there hadn't been a table between them, not to mention various dishes of food that could easily be knocked over. As it was, however, she settled for words.
"Well, aren't you quite the arrogant prat. I suppose you think you pure-blood are better than us muggle-born? Should I be on my knees worshipping your superiority, Mr. Potter? Should I be intimidated? Oh, because I am. I'm shivering in my sixty-galleon boots," she hissed.
Perhaps she had gone too far. She'd been irritable ever since her awakening. Accidentally traveling back in time and getting stuck there did that to people. Besides, being a muggle-born had always a touchy subject for her. She'd been teased too many times ever since her arrival in the wizarding world about something she couldn't help. She'd always considered it something to be proud of, being blessed with magic when there was none to inherit. It truly annoyed her when some people were just too pig-headed--
"Ah," the black-haired boy next to James said with a grin. "She bites."
"Heh, now we're getting somewhere," added James.
"Too bad. Having to leave just when it starts getting good...How typical. Ah well, we've more pressing business to attend to now. See you later, baby," the former said, smirking. He got up and started to walk away before pausing. "It's Sirius, by the way. Don't wear it out," he added over his shoulder, almost as an afterthought.
Indeed, Hermione realized that dinner was nearing an end. Half the room was already empty, and though the plates of food had not disappeared yet, the only students left were still there only to chat with friends.
Looking up, she stared into amused blue eyes. "Don't put words in my mouth next time. I happen to like muggle-born. Especially cute ones with bushy hair and a short temper," James winked and left, following his lanky friend.
Laughing lightly at his friend's bad come on, Remus also stood up. He grabbed a piece of bread and he tossed it to Hermione. "You didn't eat anything, thought you might be hungry." He smiled, "It's not good to starve yourself, girly." Crossing his arms behind the back of his neck, he too walked away slowly, taking his merry time.
Hermione watched them leave with a blank look. She took a small bite of the bread. It was good, if a bit cold. She slumped in her seat once they were out of sight. She'd been called muggle-born, girly, Herm and baby all in the same day. Not to mention cute, bushy-haired and short-tempered.
...So. These were the Marauders.
A small tap on her shoulder drew her attention from her measly dinner. A small round-faced boy was looking at her. "I'd like to apologize. For my friends' behavior."
Friends?
Yes, if memory served her correctly, he'd been sitting on the other side of Remus. Odd, he'd been silently eating his food throughout the ruckus happening right next to him.
"M' name's Peter. Sirius, Remus and James, I guess they just don't know better," he frowned slightly, "It's not your fault. You couldn't have helped being born inferior." Sincere pity was thick in his voice.
Hermione's eyes narrowed and she stomped purposefully on his foot as she got up. "I'd be careful if I were you. You wouldn't want to wake up with your hair dyed fire-engine red. I hear it's dreadfully hard to get hair back to its natural color after it's been hexed that way.
She stalked off, trying to calm herself all the while. It wasn't their fault. They were the Marauders. They couldn't help but be infuriating.
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Hermione stared at the mirror. A girl with bushy hair and straight teeth stared back. Her parents had been enraged when they noticed her perfect teeth. They'd specifically told her that they wouldn't allow her to straighten them with magic, after all. It was one of the first times ever that she disobeyed them.
They forgave her, though. They always did.
Her parents...Her dad who couldn't dance and cheerfully said "Have a nice day!" after giving someone a root canal. Her mum who yelled at the TV and pulled teeth without breaking a sweat but ran at the sight of blood anywhere else.
Putting her brush down, she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them.
She wouldn't be able to spend Christmas with her parents this year. She couldn't; she wasn't supposed to be even born yet.
Hermione pulled the Time-Turner out from under her nightshirt.
She'd talked to Headmaster Dumbledore earlier, about using it during classes. He agreed with a few mild words of caution. What troubled her, though, was not his "You should be careful not to let anyone who shouldn't see you, see you. It would certainly be confusing for the poor person who sees two of you!", but instead, his "Only turn the hourglass however many hours you need...you could land just about anywhere if you're not careful!" He'd said that with a knowing gaze and a small smile. He'd added, "And you might want to read up on it a little. Accidents happen. You'll need to know how to go forward in time if they ever happen to you...Isn't that right, Ms. Granger?"
He knew. Hermione was absolutely sure after their little conversation. He knew.
She sighed and walked over to her new bed, flopping down and bouncing a little. Burying her face in the pillows, she inhaled. They were clean and completely unused, and smelled of nothing at all.
Sleep came later than usual that night. Perhaps it was because of the foreign bed. Perhaps it was because of her situation. Perhaps it was knowledge of the very Headmaster knowing of her rule-breaking.
Hermione herself did not know.
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Ho hum...another part done! ^_^ I'm sorry if the Marauders are a bit...different from how you pictured them. This is how they are to me though ^^;; After all, they couldn't have be too nice or polite if they would've found it funny to lure Harry out of the castle, like Remus said...No need to say what 'pressing business' they had XD
Anyway, no, I'm not trying to make Sirius aloof or anything...^^;; Or cool in anyway, for the matter, I think it's just my Zell obsession seeping into my writing, baby! *cough* Anyway...
I hope everyone has a happy new year and so on ^___^ 45 reviews, maybe?
