BITTERSWEET
Chapter 5: In the Past
September 1976
"Hermione?" Sirius said softly, trying to wake her gently. "We're almost at Hogwarts." Hermione blearily opened her eyes. It took a moment for her to focus and realize where, and when she was. She lifted her head to find Sirius removing his arm from her shoulder, a faint tinge of red on his cheek. James and Remus were trying to hide their grins.
"Anyway," Sirius said forcefully, trying to cover his embarrassment. "We need to take you do Dumbledore. He'll know what to do about your whole... situation."
"I hope so," Hermione said. "He's knows so much, but somehow I wonder if anything like this has ever happened before."
"Of course he'll know how to help," James broke in sarcastically. "Why ever wouldn't he know how to deal with a student appearing from thin air and saying she comes from the future? I'm sure he spends his time working on problems like this everyday."
He was about to continue, but stopped when his little speech earn him a death glare from Sirius. Remus was the only one who gave James the proper reaction: he was snickering quietly, trying not to earn the wrath of Sirius. Hermione just rolled her eyes. She was finding it harder and harder to remember the adult versions of the immature teenage boys in front of her, and wondered when they had ever actually grown up, since they certainly weren't at that point yet at the mere age of sixteen.
The boys seemed to sense her displeasure at their actions and immediately quieted down. They looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.
James cleared his throat nervously.
It was Sirius who broke the ice by leaping out of his seat to hold the door open for Hermione in a gallantly sweeping bow. "M'lady?" he offered his arm.
She burst out laughing. It was too much for her to see Sirius acting like this. She placed her hand on his arm and the two of them walked out of the train.
Remus looked at James with raised eyebrows. James whistled.
Hermione's spirits rose as they exited from the train. She had been earning curious stares from students who didn't know who she was, and envious stares from the girls who had a crush on Sirius. Most of the female population was taken with his handsome looks and charming demeanor, but none of them had ever seen him so engrossed with a single girl before. Usually, he flirted with all the girls who flocked around him, but now he only had eyes for Hermione.
She didn't realize this, of course, having only known this version of him for a few hours, but she was still flattered by the attention he was paying her. When she didn't think about the fact that this wasn't her time or the Sirius she knew, she was enjoying herself.
Unfortunately, her good mood only lasted as long as the walk outside took. As soon as she and Sirius had stepped off the train and begun to walk towards the carriages, a blond boy that reminded her suspiciously of Draco and an all-too familiar boy with long, greasy black hair and pale skin came over to them.
Sirius glared at them. "Malfoy. Snivellus," he spat, dropping Hermione's arm as he moved towards the two approaching boys.
They ignored him. "Lucius Malfoy," the blond boy said smoothly, extending his hand out to Hermione. "I don't believe we've met."
"And she won't be meeting you," Sirius growled, pushing Lucius' hand away from Hermione.
Lucuis looked mildly affronted. "Temper, temper," he said. "I wasn't speaking to you, Black. I was talking to the gorgeous female with you." He winked at Hermione.
Hermione's mind was in turmoil. Already she could tell whom Draco got his manners from. She didn't want anything to do with his father, and especially didn't want Lucuis hitting on her! However, there was a little problem in that she wasn't supposed to know anything about the people from this time.
She turned her attention back to Lucius. He was looking at her expectantly, as if waiting for something. He cleared his throat. "May I ask your name, and why you are here at Hogwarts?"
Hermione's brain frantically whirled, trying to think of a plausible lie. That was one thing she had totally forgotten about. While she was thinking, she heard the words flowing freely out of her mouth. "My name is Hermione Mandelin. I went to Beauxbatons, but my parents transferred me here for my sixth year."
Sirius looked at her, impressed. She shot him a look to tell him to keep his mouth shut so he wouldn't blow her story.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Hermione," Lucius said, winking at her. "You'll find that some houses are better than others, and the house you will be sorted into will determine your future. To ensure that you're placed in a proper house, you don't want to go around making friends with the wrong sort." He threw a meaningful glance at Sirius. "You will not do well if you begin by befriending blood-traitors, mudbloods, and the like. I can help you there, and introduce you to some of the most prestigious students here. You're a beautiful girl, Hermione. Don't go down the wrong path." He re-extended his hand to her.
She looked at him, then raised an eyebrow. "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks." She refused Lucius' hand and instead moved closer to Sirius. "And by the way, if I were you, I wouldn't be using insulting words like that. You'll find that although I am muggle-born, I am an extremely powerful witch. I was top of the class at my old school--with higher marks than all of the arrogant purebloods like yourself." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned away.
Lucius looked stunned, and his cheeks flushed. Never before had he been rejected like this. He spun on his heel and stalked away. The black-haired boy next to him began to follow him, but stopped. "Stupid mudblood," he hissed. "You should have accepted Lucius' offer. He'll make your life a living hell." He walked off.
Sirius looked at Hermione. "Wow," he said. "That was, you were, well, I've never seen anyone stand up to Malfoy like that before." He looked impressed. "You definitely belong in Gryffindor."
She flashed him a grin. "His son is in my year at school. I've always wanted to do something like that." She paused. "But who was that other one next to him?"
"You mean Snivellus?" Sirius asked. "Oh, well, that's Severus Snape. An annoying, greasy git who thinks he owns the world just because he's friends with Malfoy and excels at potions." Hermione inwardly reeled as a wave of enlightenment hit her. Oh, wow, she thought. I'll say he's good at potions. I guess I know now why he's always seemed to dislike me. He must have figured out who I was when I was in his class, and probably hates me in this time.
Sirius looked at her, concerned. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes. Why?" Hermione replied.
Sirius paused. "You had a funny expression on your face. I can't really name it..." his voice trailed off. Hermione tried to shrug it off.
"I can't really tell you," she explained.
"Something from the future?" Sirius wondered. Hermione nodded. "Okay, then," Sirius said. "I almost forgot--we're going to Dumbledore. We need to get a carriage." Hermione let Sirius lead her to the carriages. By that time, James and Remus had caught up to them. Hermione found herself thinking more and more of them as James and Remus, instead of Harry's dad or Professor Lupin. It was a weird feeling.
James yanked the door open, and the three boys leapt into the carriage, all fighting for seats like they did each year. Hermione was just standing outside, watching them with an amused expression on her face. She couldn't believe the similarities of the boys to Fred and George. She inwardly smiled. I guess that's why they made the Marauder's Map. I wonder if I should tell them I know about that, or if I should just wait for them to explain it to me when they're ready? She decided to wait, figuring that it was probably enough of a shock for her to appear from the future, and that she shouldn't push her luck at how understanding they'd be.
The three boys struggled for another minute, then finally settled down in their chosen seats. Hermione waited until the carriage was peaceful before calmly stepping in and sitting in the available spot without any fuss. James, Remus, and Sirius just stared at her, amazed that it could be that easy to sit down. It showed that they had not been under any female influence up until now.
By this time most of the other students had found a carriage and settled in it, so when theirs began to move it was near the end of the row. Hermione sat primly on the end while the other three slouched and spread out, but she found it hard to stay sitting up with the carriage bumping and jostling the whole way up. There was one point during the ride she found herself flung halfway over Sirius, before getting off immediately. Because of this, she and Sirius were both blushing furiously when the carriage pulled up to Hogwarts.
Eager to get to Dumbledore, Hermione leaped out of the carriage and tried to drag the boys with her. Although only having only met her recently, James, Remus, and Sirius already felt extremely comfortable with Hermione, like they'd known her for a lifetime. They figured it must have something to do with the familiar way she treated them, and consented to be yanked out.
"C'mon!" Hermione said. "We need to go talk to Dumbledore."
"Wait," Remus cautioned. "People are going to wonder if you act like you know what you're doing. She looked back at him, then nodded.
"Yea, you're right. You guys lead me to Dumbledore then." She "followed" the three marauders into the boat, trying to ignore the stares she was getting. James and Sirius commanded attention, and it wasn't long before the majority of the students had realized that the girl with them hadn't gone to Hogwarts before.
The rest of the boat ride passed in silence, with the each of the four lost in his or her own thoughts.
As the boat reached the other side of the lake, James and Sirius leaped out. Remus and Hermione stepped out more slowly, sharing a glance that clearly conveyed their amusement at the other two's maturity level. The four were nearing the entrance of Hogwarts when a slightly chubby, shorter boy scampered up to them.
"Hey, guys," he said, stammering nervously. "How are you?" His eyes flickered to Hermione. "Um..."
"Chill, Wormtail," Sirius said. "This chick here transferred from Beauxbatons and we're talking her to see Dumbledore." James and Remus nodded vigorously. Hermione didn't know whether to be offended by Sirius' choice of words, disgusted by the rat that stood before her, or pleased that Sirius remembered her cover story, so she settled for a half shrug.
"Why don't you run along and save us some seats at our table?" The way James said it, it was more of an order than a request, but Peter just grinned uncertainly and hurried off.
"Nice boy, really, but he adores us too much," Sirius commented. Hermione had to bite her tongue to keep from spilling Peter's nasty secret to the rest of them. She reminded herself repeatedly that the future had to stay the way it was, or the consequences would be devastating.
"Are you coming?" Sirius asked. Hermione looked up to see Remus and James already in Hogwarts and heading towards the Great Hall. She blushed at having been temporarily distracted, and hurried to catch up. Sirius fell into step beside her, casually slipping his arm around her waist.
She looked up at him, startled.
"You don't mind, do you?" he asked.
"No, I don't," she said slowly, realizing to her surprise that his arm actually felt... nice. Like it belonged around her.
