Disclaimer: All things belonging to the Harry Potter book belongs to J.K.R.
All things unrecognisable are mine.
Chapter 5
Entering the Great Hall Hermione quickly scanned the Gryffindor table; looking for, hoping for an excuse to sit away from Remus Lupin, away from all the Marauders. But as both Sirius and Peter spotted her they both beamed and waved her over to join them.
Remus, who was walking just ahead of her saw his friends and turned around to face Hermione, "There they are. See the boy next to Sirius?" he asked as he walked backwards, towards the table while facing the girl, "That's James, the Head Boy, come si..." before he could continue though he collided with a smaller student who also seemed to be distracted and Hermione chortled as she saw him 'over apologize' to the young boy who didn't really seem to care, as long as he could quickly get to his food.
The rather awkward adolescent grinned at Hermione before motioning her to follow him in his way towards his friends. The girl hesitated, eyes darting for another place to sit, then again she wouldn't want to seem impolite, and so with no excuses found, she took her place next to Remus and his laughing friends.
"That was smooth back there Remus, I'm James Potter by the way" his smile grew wider as he extended his hand for Hermione who timidly shook it. "I'm- ""Anne Munchkin, yeah I know, Sirius here told me, spent the better part of the morning wondering when you'd come down to the common room, he did!" James had a teasing smile as he motioned towards Sirius with his head.
Sirius at least had the good grace to look sheepish before displaying a wide grin, "And you certainly kept me waiting, slept in did you? Worth the wait though..." he told her before winking humorously at the blushing girl.
"Sirius stop, you're making her blush," though Hermione saw the small chuckle that showed Remus was also enjoying the light teasing. "Know who Arthur is dating now?"
"What Arthur Weasley is dating? I thought he was heartbroken after he and Andromeda split up... such a good bloke too..." Hermione found herself interested as Sirius mentioned the names. Arthur Weasley had gone out with Sirius' aunt? That was new.
"Kind of funny really, him being so obsessed with all things Muggle and then loosing his girlfriend for a Muggle..." Peter smiled slightly and then turned to his friend, "And how's your family dealing with the Muggle- wedding thing?"
While Sirius and James glared at Peter, Remus looked for something to say. Sirius never liked to talk about his family, especially concerning their prejudices and especially in front of anyone other than the Marauders.
"Anyway do you remember a redhead girl that left when we were in our, what first or second year?" The group's eyes returned to Lupin and Hermione was relieved that he had managed to break the tension, she noticed though that Sirius was still less than cheerful after Peter's question.
"The Molly girl, who scolded Dumbledore for lateness in the Halloween feast?" James' smile was back in his face and he went on after a slight sniggering, "Bloody funny that was, she could be pretty scary sometimes, so Arthur is with her now? Think he can handle her?" his grin continued to widen, "she pretty much bossed him around when they were Head Boy and Girl."
Hermione fought to hold back her laughter, as she thought of how Mrs. Weasley bossed Mr. Weasley and the thought that it had been going on since their school days, while the others laughed.
"Seem to happen to a lot of Head Boys and Girls, the whole getting together thing" Sirius' expression was back to teasing and he turned to James as he went on, "Maybe you've got a chance, mate!" James mock glared at his friend before turning to look at the end of the table where Hermione saw a redhead girl slowly eating while she talked to a boy beside her.
That was probably Lily Evans, James' love, her best friend's mother, Head Girl and the owner of the bed she was sleeping in. Hermione couldn't really see her face as she had her back to the group while she laughed at something the dark haired boy beside her said.
Hermione was brought out of her reverie by Remus' voice, "Is that Frank there beside her? I thought he had detention today..." The corners of his lips tugged upwards as he said, "probably forgot again, Hey Frank! Frank!" The leaned face boy gave no indication of having heard the call so Sirius decided to help, "Hey Longbottom! Shouldn't you be at detention right about now?"
Longbottom? It was hard for Hermione to believe that the tall boy who was now hurriedly, yet gracefully, making his way out of the hall could be related to the clumsy, chubby boy she knew.
That was until his graceful progress was halted by a rather inelegant fall as he tripped on, apparently, his own left foot. The group around Hermione laughed good naturedly at what seemed to happen more often than naught.
A smiling girl pushed back her chair and offered her hand to help the boy who was fiddling with his bag, while still seated on the floor, and Hermione recognized the familiar round, friendly face.
The sight brought a sad smile to her face, and almost tore her heart to see the boy's blushing cheeks and the girl's light-hearted laughter.
She was once again taken from her thoughts by James' voice, "You've been quiet, so tell me, how do you like Hogwarts so far?"
The resemblance between James and Harry really was amazing, seeing him at this age she could believe they were brothers. But besides the obvious lack of scar and brown eyes that differed them she could also notice other, more subtle differences between the father and son. James' face was slightly more angular, his nose was straighter, or maybe, she thought, I'm just use to thinking of Harry as an eleven-year-old boy. There was also a difference in the way they carried themselves. Harry had always resented being the centre of attentions at Hogwarts and that could be seen in the way he walked; slightly hunched as if almost trying to hide himself. The boy in front of her however held himself high and his confidence was obvious in his straight shoulders.
"Oh, It's amazing," Hermione tried to remember the feelings she had when she first saw the castle, "I could never have imagined something so..." She stopped as she realized she was about to say 'magical', which was what she had thought back in her first year, then again coming from the Muggle world it was understandable, but now she was supposed to be Anne Munchkin, who had studied at Silverwood, school of WITCHCRAFT, 'magical' wasn't new.
Taking her silence as speechlessness Sirius interrupted "You know if you need someone to show you around, you'll find no one that knows as much about this castle as the four of us." The group shared a look, sharing an inner joke and again Hermione had to stop herself from showing any signs of understanding.
"I've heard so much about Hogwarts, it's almost as if I know it already... I was just wondering though, I think Dumbledore forgot to give me my schedule..." Hermione frowned as she said that, she had only just thought of that and wasn't really sure why she suddenly thought of it. She heard a slap and looked up to see James, who had just slapped his own forehead before excusing himself and running towards the end of the table.
"Guess it wasn't Dumbledore who forgot it, eh?" Remus shook his head lightly as he looked at his friend's running figure stop in front of Lily Evans, who had, so far, been quietly eating.
"You know if you're really in a hurry you better ask her yourself, it'll take a few hours before James gets past his stuttering with Lily, and then you'll have to wait until after their argument..." Sirius also looked at his friend while he said this to Hermione and none of them saw the look of surprise in Hermione's face; 'James Potter didn't seem like someone who'd stutter, quite confident, he seemed, and argument? Weren't they supposed to be in love? Get married, have kids, well have Harry anyway?'
Her musings were disrupted by laughter, followed by Sirius' voice, "Unless of course she ignores him completely and decide to come here herself..." and she turned to see Lily rolling her eyes at the messy-haired smiling boy and make her towards her.
Stopping right in front of her Lily Evans' impatient expression changed into a welcoming one and Hermione found herself looking into the eyes of one of her best friends. "Anne Munchkin?" her voice was soft and clear, much like her own at times, "I'm Lily Evans, Dumbledore asked us," here she stopped to turn towards James who had just come to her side, "to give you your schedule when you awoke but I had to talk to one of the teachers so James was supposed to call me when you came down,"
The change in the girl's voice and appearance as she spoke of James was obvious, her back was straighter and she refused to meet anyone's eye, instead just looking at that general direction while her voice grew harsher. It all told Hermione something quite unexpected; she greatly disliked the boy.
Hermione took the paper from the girl's extended hand and thanked her kindly before looking down at it. No Potions with Slytherins? And she'd always thought that was tradition...
* * *
Having excused herself moments after she received her timetable Hermione now enjoyed the comfortable silence between Remus and herself. The boy had offered to walk her back to Gryffindor Tower, 'she didn't really know her way back'. It was Remus who broke the silence, thinking of the way Anne had left the table just after Lily had introduced herself he felt the need to tell her that, "Lily is really nice you know." It was a definite statement, said in a soft voice, "I know she sometimes seems a bit harsh, usually whenever James is around, but she's normally a very friendly girl..."
"Oh, I didn't think anything bad of her, I imagine it must be a little stressing, being Head Girl, especially when there's some–"she searched for the correct word, thinking of her own relationship with Draco Malfoy, a slight frown came to her face at the comparison, "-animosity between the Head Girl and Boy."
"Speaking of experience?"
"Actually yes, I was Head Girl myself in Silverwood, only for a few weeks though as I transferred to Hogwarts." Remus' head cocked to the side as he showed interest and Hermione felt comfortable to go on, "Didn't really get along with the Head Boy myself, well that's the understatement of the century, we could hardly stand in the same room together..."
Remus snorted lightly, "Just like Lily and James,"
"No!" Remus raised his eyebrows at the girl's forceful protest and she blushed lightly before continuing in a much lower voice, "Not like them at all, believe me..."
Sensing she didn't want to speak of that Remus decided to change the topic of conversation, "So, what's your favourite subject?" he cringed as he asked that, 'what's your favourite subject?' of all the mundane things to ask...
He was pleasantly surprised though, when his question was answered with as much enthusiasm as he could detect in her voice, "Arithmancy; finding logic in something, that at first seems so unsystematic, as magic is just so satisfying! And Charms, when you've past the memorizing faze and you get into understanding them and maybe even creating or perfecting a few charms it's just... Like in Potions you know? Everything makes sense, there's reason to everything and you can invent or mix different potions to get them to do so many things, from a simple 'Sleeping Draught' to something like the 'Polyjuice Potion', and to such a level of accuracy too!"
Hermione would've gone on, she still had to tell him the beauty of Transfiguration, Herbology and its medicines, so much more to tell about the wonderful order of Potions and Arithmancy, but as she noticed the corners of his lips tugging upwards she couldn't help but feel like a small child, ranting on about something or other, she calmed herself a little and smiled before adding, "And Defence Against the Dark Arts, of course!"
The light in his eyes, so bright watching her enthusiasm grew brighter still, "Now that would probably be my favourite, there's no denying that its useful, or will definitely be someday, and the number of curses and counter-curses that exist is just amazing. Think about the contradiction of the Wizarding world; so many dark arts spells created for power and dominance and yet a number, almost as large, of counter-curses to undo, or at least help undo and protect from, them!"
He stopped, almost as if to catch his breath, before going on in a contemplative manner, "See, that's a difference between the Wizarding and the Muggle worlds; the results of most arms created in the Muggle world can't really be undone, protected against or have their results changed..."
Hermione stopped to review Remus' comment before sighing, "True, but then again anywhere, there are always things that can't be changed."
* * *
A/N: Sorry, not only for the delay (I had promised myself I'd have had this finished by last weekend, the latest) but also for the fact that there were so many other things that were supposed to happen in this chapter; I just get a bit carried away with small moments and when I realise it, it's too late, other things (more relevant to the plot) will have to be put on the next chapter.
And I still have to think of a title too! Embarrassing really; someone who intents to write a long story and can't even come up with the title (sure is very encouraging...) I just hate clichéd titles so for now it'll remain untitled until I can come up with something good.
Stupid trivia- There was this brand of ice cream here in Brazil called "Sem- Nome" [Nameless] because they had been sued for having a name that was too similar to another ice-cream company, and this 'Nameless idea' was a great hit for a while... (Too bad it didn't last, it was such good ice cream too...)
dancingwithnopants- LOVE YOUR NAME! And thanks!
Lanna-I'm really glad you like it!
Chapter 5
Entering the Great Hall Hermione quickly scanned the Gryffindor table; looking for, hoping for an excuse to sit away from Remus Lupin, away from all the Marauders. But as both Sirius and Peter spotted her they both beamed and waved her over to join them.
Remus, who was walking just ahead of her saw his friends and turned around to face Hermione, "There they are. See the boy next to Sirius?" he asked as he walked backwards, towards the table while facing the girl, "That's James, the Head Boy, come si..." before he could continue though he collided with a smaller student who also seemed to be distracted and Hermione chortled as she saw him 'over apologize' to the young boy who didn't really seem to care, as long as he could quickly get to his food.
The rather awkward adolescent grinned at Hermione before motioning her to follow him in his way towards his friends. The girl hesitated, eyes darting for another place to sit, then again she wouldn't want to seem impolite, and so with no excuses found, she took her place next to Remus and his laughing friends.
"That was smooth back there Remus, I'm James Potter by the way" his smile grew wider as he extended his hand for Hermione who timidly shook it. "I'm- ""Anne Munchkin, yeah I know, Sirius here told me, spent the better part of the morning wondering when you'd come down to the common room, he did!" James had a teasing smile as he motioned towards Sirius with his head.
Sirius at least had the good grace to look sheepish before displaying a wide grin, "And you certainly kept me waiting, slept in did you? Worth the wait though..." he told her before winking humorously at the blushing girl.
"Sirius stop, you're making her blush," though Hermione saw the small chuckle that showed Remus was also enjoying the light teasing. "Know who Arthur is dating now?"
"What Arthur Weasley is dating? I thought he was heartbroken after he and Andromeda split up... such a good bloke too..." Hermione found herself interested as Sirius mentioned the names. Arthur Weasley had gone out with Sirius' aunt? That was new.
"Kind of funny really, him being so obsessed with all things Muggle and then loosing his girlfriend for a Muggle..." Peter smiled slightly and then turned to his friend, "And how's your family dealing with the Muggle- wedding thing?"
While Sirius and James glared at Peter, Remus looked for something to say. Sirius never liked to talk about his family, especially concerning their prejudices and especially in front of anyone other than the Marauders.
"Anyway do you remember a redhead girl that left when we were in our, what first or second year?" The group's eyes returned to Lupin and Hermione was relieved that he had managed to break the tension, she noticed though that Sirius was still less than cheerful after Peter's question.
"The Molly girl, who scolded Dumbledore for lateness in the Halloween feast?" James' smile was back in his face and he went on after a slight sniggering, "Bloody funny that was, she could be pretty scary sometimes, so Arthur is with her now? Think he can handle her?" his grin continued to widen, "she pretty much bossed him around when they were Head Boy and Girl."
Hermione fought to hold back her laughter, as she thought of how Mrs. Weasley bossed Mr. Weasley and the thought that it had been going on since their school days, while the others laughed.
"Seem to happen to a lot of Head Boys and Girls, the whole getting together thing" Sirius' expression was back to teasing and he turned to James as he went on, "Maybe you've got a chance, mate!" James mock glared at his friend before turning to look at the end of the table where Hermione saw a redhead girl slowly eating while she talked to a boy beside her.
That was probably Lily Evans, James' love, her best friend's mother, Head Girl and the owner of the bed she was sleeping in. Hermione couldn't really see her face as she had her back to the group while she laughed at something the dark haired boy beside her said.
Hermione was brought out of her reverie by Remus' voice, "Is that Frank there beside her? I thought he had detention today..." The corners of his lips tugged upwards as he said, "probably forgot again, Hey Frank! Frank!" The leaned face boy gave no indication of having heard the call so Sirius decided to help, "Hey Longbottom! Shouldn't you be at detention right about now?"
Longbottom? It was hard for Hermione to believe that the tall boy who was now hurriedly, yet gracefully, making his way out of the hall could be related to the clumsy, chubby boy she knew.
That was until his graceful progress was halted by a rather inelegant fall as he tripped on, apparently, his own left foot. The group around Hermione laughed good naturedly at what seemed to happen more often than naught.
A smiling girl pushed back her chair and offered her hand to help the boy who was fiddling with his bag, while still seated on the floor, and Hermione recognized the familiar round, friendly face.
The sight brought a sad smile to her face, and almost tore her heart to see the boy's blushing cheeks and the girl's light-hearted laughter.
She was once again taken from her thoughts by James' voice, "You've been quiet, so tell me, how do you like Hogwarts so far?"
The resemblance between James and Harry really was amazing, seeing him at this age she could believe they were brothers. But besides the obvious lack of scar and brown eyes that differed them she could also notice other, more subtle differences between the father and son. James' face was slightly more angular, his nose was straighter, or maybe, she thought, I'm just use to thinking of Harry as an eleven-year-old boy. There was also a difference in the way they carried themselves. Harry had always resented being the centre of attentions at Hogwarts and that could be seen in the way he walked; slightly hunched as if almost trying to hide himself. The boy in front of her however held himself high and his confidence was obvious in his straight shoulders.
"Oh, It's amazing," Hermione tried to remember the feelings she had when she first saw the castle, "I could never have imagined something so..." She stopped as she realized she was about to say 'magical', which was what she had thought back in her first year, then again coming from the Muggle world it was understandable, but now she was supposed to be Anne Munchkin, who had studied at Silverwood, school of WITCHCRAFT, 'magical' wasn't new.
Taking her silence as speechlessness Sirius interrupted "You know if you need someone to show you around, you'll find no one that knows as much about this castle as the four of us." The group shared a look, sharing an inner joke and again Hermione had to stop herself from showing any signs of understanding.
"I've heard so much about Hogwarts, it's almost as if I know it already... I was just wondering though, I think Dumbledore forgot to give me my schedule..." Hermione frowned as she said that, she had only just thought of that and wasn't really sure why she suddenly thought of it. She heard a slap and looked up to see James, who had just slapped his own forehead before excusing himself and running towards the end of the table.
"Guess it wasn't Dumbledore who forgot it, eh?" Remus shook his head lightly as he looked at his friend's running figure stop in front of Lily Evans, who had, so far, been quietly eating.
"You know if you're really in a hurry you better ask her yourself, it'll take a few hours before James gets past his stuttering with Lily, and then you'll have to wait until after their argument..." Sirius also looked at his friend while he said this to Hermione and none of them saw the look of surprise in Hermione's face; 'James Potter didn't seem like someone who'd stutter, quite confident, he seemed, and argument? Weren't they supposed to be in love? Get married, have kids, well have Harry anyway?'
Her musings were disrupted by laughter, followed by Sirius' voice, "Unless of course she ignores him completely and decide to come here herself..." and she turned to see Lily rolling her eyes at the messy-haired smiling boy and make her towards her.
Stopping right in front of her Lily Evans' impatient expression changed into a welcoming one and Hermione found herself looking into the eyes of one of her best friends. "Anne Munchkin?" her voice was soft and clear, much like her own at times, "I'm Lily Evans, Dumbledore asked us," here she stopped to turn towards James who had just come to her side, "to give you your schedule when you awoke but I had to talk to one of the teachers so James was supposed to call me when you came down,"
The change in the girl's voice and appearance as she spoke of James was obvious, her back was straighter and she refused to meet anyone's eye, instead just looking at that general direction while her voice grew harsher. It all told Hermione something quite unexpected; she greatly disliked the boy.
Hermione took the paper from the girl's extended hand and thanked her kindly before looking down at it. No Potions with Slytherins? And she'd always thought that was tradition...
* * *
Having excused herself moments after she received her timetable Hermione now enjoyed the comfortable silence between Remus and herself. The boy had offered to walk her back to Gryffindor Tower, 'she didn't really know her way back'. It was Remus who broke the silence, thinking of the way Anne had left the table just after Lily had introduced herself he felt the need to tell her that, "Lily is really nice you know." It was a definite statement, said in a soft voice, "I know she sometimes seems a bit harsh, usually whenever James is around, but she's normally a very friendly girl..."
"Oh, I didn't think anything bad of her, I imagine it must be a little stressing, being Head Girl, especially when there's some–"she searched for the correct word, thinking of her own relationship with Draco Malfoy, a slight frown came to her face at the comparison, "-animosity between the Head Girl and Boy."
"Speaking of experience?"
"Actually yes, I was Head Girl myself in Silverwood, only for a few weeks though as I transferred to Hogwarts." Remus' head cocked to the side as he showed interest and Hermione felt comfortable to go on, "Didn't really get along with the Head Boy myself, well that's the understatement of the century, we could hardly stand in the same room together..."
Remus snorted lightly, "Just like Lily and James,"
"No!" Remus raised his eyebrows at the girl's forceful protest and she blushed lightly before continuing in a much lower voice, "Not like them at all, believe me..."
Sensing she didn't want to speak of that Remus decided to change the topic of conversation, "So, what's your favourite subject?" he cringed as he asked that, 'what's your favourite subject?' of all the mundane things to ask...
He was pleasantly surprised though, when his question was answered with as much enthusiasm as he could detect in her voice, "Arithmancy; finding logic in something, that at first seems so unsystematic, as magic is just so satisfying! And Charms, when you've past the memorizing faze and you get into understanding them and maybe even creating or perfecting a few charms it's just... Like in Potions you know? Everything makes sense, there's reason to everything and you can invent or mix different potions to get them to do so many things, from a simple 'Sleeping Draught' to something like the 'Polyjuice Potion', and to such a level of accuracy too!"
Hermione would've gone on, she still had to tell him the beauty of Transfiguration, Herbology and its medicines, so much more to tell about the wonderful order of Potions and Arithmancy, but as she noticed the corners of his lips tugging upwards she couldn't help but feel like a small child, ranting on about something or other, she calmed herself a little and smiled before adding, "And Defence Against the Dark Arts, of course!"
The light in his eyes, so bright watching her enthusiasm grew brighter still, "Now that would probably be my favourite, there's no denying that its useful, or will definitely be someday, and the number of curses and counter-curses that exist is just amazing. Think about the contradiction of the Wizarding world; so many dark arts spells created for power and dominance and yet a number, almost as large, of counter-curses to undo, or at least help undo and protect from, them!"
He stopped, almost as if to catch his breath, before going on in a contemplative manner, "See, that's a difference between the Wizarding and the Muggle worlds; the results of most arms created in the Muggle world can't really be undone, protected against or have their results changed..."
Hermione stopped to review Remus' comment before sighing, "True, but then again anywhere, there are always things that can't be changed."
* * *
A/N: Sorry, not only for the delay (I had promised myself I'd have had this finished by last weekend, the latest) but also for the fact that there were so many other things that were supposed to happen in this chapter; I just get a bit carried away with small moments and when I realise it, it's too late, other things (more relevant to the plot) will have to be put on the next chapter.
And I still have to think of a title too! Embarrassing really; someone who intents to write a long story and can't even come up with the title (sure is very encouraging...) I just hate clichéd titles so for now it'll remain untitled until I can come up with something good.
Stupid trivia- There was this brand of ice cream here in Brazil called "Sem- Nome" [Nameless] because they had been sued for having a name that was too similar to another ice-cream company, and this 'Nameless idea' was a great hit for a while... (Too bad it didn't last, it was such good ice cream too...)
dancingwithnopants- LOVE YOUR NAME! And thanks!
Lanna-I'm really glad you like it!