A/N: It's really touch and go here in the polls. Sirius has fallen behind with 11 votes, and Remus now leads with 12. 3 of you vote threesome (perhaps .). Keep 'em coming.

A/N2: Oh my god, this story has a plot? (It's like the tin man getting a heart!) You all had a lot of very good questions, and rest assured that they will all be answered in time because...I'm cool like that.

A/N3: If you didn't see, is going to be down from Sunday to Tuesday, so I'm going to try and get at least one more long post in tomorrow to hopefully tide you all over. Much love to all those who read, and those who read & review.

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Training Day

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"Are you quite finished yet, Granger?!"

Hermione sighed. "Almost, Professor. This last essay was without a name."

"That's no excuse," and Snape came striding into the room, his robes as always finding some way to billow ominously behind him. "I specifically demanded these be completed by a quarter past five."

Hermione nodded patiently, and kept her divided attention focused more on checking the Potion's assignment in front of her then listen to the ramblings of a teacher who despised her. "Yes, Professor. I shall finish the final parchment within the last five allotted minutes of my time."

Snape placed his palms atop the table and leaned threateningly over it and into her face. "I would not take such a tone if I were you," he hissed, beady black eyes narrowing.

Hermione nodded, eyes moving across the wide loopy writing of the parchment beneath her hands. "Yes, Professor."

"I took you on as a favor to the headmaster—"

"Yes, Professor."

"—But don't think I won't hesitate to dismiss you, simply because you're Dumbledore's pet student."

"Yes, Professor."

He scowled at her, trying to determine if she was being sarcastic or not, but Hermione remained diligently focused on correcting the half-rolled parchment. And he couldn't take points from her for doing what he'd asked.

"Get to work," he growled and stormed back out of the Potion's classroom, only faltering in his step as she called "yes, Professor" after him. He frowned back at her, but unable to find anything at fault to deem a deduction of house points, he stalked out into the hallway – frustration clear as the door slammed violently behind him.

Hermione made the final scribbled note at the bottom of the essay on Sleeping Draughts and rolled it back up, placing it beside the other second year rolls piled on Snape's desk. Quill, once finally cleaned, was tucked back into her satchel along with her inkwell, and she was in the process of clasping the bag shut when the door opened again.

Her inquiry of "yes, Professor?" died before it was given breath when she saw who was standing in the doorway.

"Harry!" She exclaimed, beaming brightly. Remembering suddenly where she was, she frowned. "You shouldn't be here," she whispered.

"I've come to steal you away," He said gallantly, but he too was talking in a whisper. No point in waking the beast. "It's dinner time."

Hermione sighed gratefully. Pulling her robe off the back of the chair, she then draped it over her satchel as she lifted it onto her shoulder. Indicating that Harry should wait for her, she hurried over to the door of Snape's office and knocked briskly.

"What?!" Snapped an irate voice from inside.

"I'm leaving for dinner now, Professor," Hermione replied, as politely as she could. "The checked essays are on your desk, and I also set out the materials for your next class."

"Then why are you still here?!" He demanded. "Get out."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at the door, then hoped her professor hadn't set up any security wards that might have caught her rude gesture on film. "Come on, Harry," she whispered and the two of them quickly hurried out into the dungeon hall.

"How was Quidditch practice?" Hermione asked conversationally, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm so sorry I couldn't make it, but Snape scheduled me to check papers."

Harry shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

"So...how's the team looking this year?" Hermione asked slowly, not really wanting to get dragged into a conversation over Quidditch of all things. Harry tended to get a bit overzealous.

"Sirius is a Beater and my dad's a Chaser."

"Ya learn something new every day," she commented wryly, bumping shoulders with him good-naturedly.

Harry chuckled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "The rest of the team was wondering why they were sitting in the bleachers watching."

Hermione winced, "In a few weeks, once we've figured out all the changes, these sorts of things won't happen," she said reassuringly. Harry nodded. "What did you tell them?"

Harry waved one of his hands. "Something about the flu or a broken wrist or whatever. They'll be suiting up tomorrow."

"How exciting," she replied without enthusiasm.

"They couldn't stop talking about training," he informed her.

"Really..."

"They sounded really excited..." His sing-song tone made Hermione smile.

"Just wait 'til I get through with them," was her confidant reply.

Harry's laughter echoed loudly down the empty hall. "So you're not going to tell them anything?"

"No. I won't give them any more of an advantage than we had when we first started."

Harry groaned and Hermione assumed he was remembering, none too fondly, his first training experience. "You couldn't eat for two days," she giggled thinking of how humorous the situation seemed now. Harry looked sick. "I think that's something our dear friends should experience for themselves, don't you?"

Harry added his malicious grin to Hermione's sweet smile. "It would be a shame to deprive theme of such a memorable moment," he said with a falsely logical tone.

Hermione pushed the Great Hall doors open for the both of them and they entered, laughing quietly at the joke between them. As they neared the benches where their friends were dining, a sly grin found its way onto Harry's face.

"Wanna make a bet?"

Hermione shrugged, "What kind of bet?"

He nodded his head in the direction of Gryffindor table. "Five galleons says Sirius loses his dinner before training is over tonight."

Hermione's eyes traveled down the line of heads 'til she found Lily's bright burst of red hair and beside her, the long hair of Sirius Black. His plate was piled high with food and it looked as if it had already held one such pile. He was gesturing wildly with his goblet – most likely reenacting something that had happened at Quidditch practice – to James, who looked equally gluttonous, grabbing for the dessert plate while dodging the spray of Sirius' pumpkin juice.

She made a face at the display, but knew that someone as egotistical as Sirius Black would never allow anything that would cause him to lose faith.

"I'll take that bet," she said confidently and they shook on it before taking the open seats left around their friends.

"This should be fun."

Hermione flipped her hair over her shoulder and settled in next to Lily. "Oh, don't think you and Ron are getting off easy tonight just because I've got to whip the newbies into shape."

James and Sirius both made noises of indignation, though their exact words were indecipherable through the vast amounts of food.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Harry grinned.

"How was Potions?" Remus asked solicitously, cutting his steak into nice, even pieces. It was a nice contrast to the voracious eating habits of his friends.

"Awful! I don't think he has a nice bone in his body," she gripped, fiddling with the roll on her plate.

"He's not that bad," Lily tried.

"He's a serpent," Sirius interjected.

"A greasy git," said Ron.

"There's a reason we called him Snivellus." That was James.

"He favors Slytherins," said Harry. This made Hermione glance quickly to the Slytherin table, where she caught sight of the familiar (unfortunately) faces of Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and a few others.

Remus sounded almost apologetic when he said "He's just not nice, Hermione."

"Did you ever think it's because you tormented him so?!" Lily insisted, throwing her napkin down onto the table.

Hermione looked at her in surprise, Harry and Ron turned to the Marauders, and they looked to one another before answering with a simultaneous "nah!".

Lily spent the last of dinner stabbing despondently at her salad, and though James tried several times to engage her in conversation, he eventually gave up. Hermione, however, never took her eyes off the other girl. Brushing the crumbs of the dinner roll she'd successfully gutted off on her napkin, she cleared her throat slightly and scooted closer to Lily on the bench so she could talk out of range of the boys.

"Do you think he's worth the effort?" She whispered lowly.

Lily's eerily bright green eyes widened, and she lowered her fork. "Excuse me?"

"Snape," Hermione repeated. "Do you think he's worth the effort?"

Silently, almost imperceptibly, Lily nodded – still wide-eyed.

Hermione smiled faintly. "Okay."

"Okay?" Lily whispered.

Hermione's grin widened and she patted Lily on the shoulder. "Okay," she said again, and stood, leaving Lily wondering what had just happened.

Harry took his cue and stood up as well, "Let's go."

"It's time?" Remus asked.

Hermione nodded, "Let's go – I want to get the air routines in before it gets dark."

"Air routines?" James pipped up. He looked like a kid on Christmas. "Like with brooms?"

"No, vacuum cleaners," Sirius joked, thumping his friend on the back as he stood. "You're an idiot, Prongs."

"Well, let's go!" James exclaimed and took off down the Great Hall, Sirius chuckling and strolling after.

Hermione and Remus followed next with Harry and Ron bringing up the rear. Lily was the last, her gaze caught on the Gryffindor table. Three plates were sparklingly clean. Harry, Ron, and Hermione hadn't eaten.

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"Everybody up," Hermione commanded, and six brooms rose into the air.

The training grounds had been scouted out by Ron on the first day of term, and the flat stretch of grass, nearly the size of a Quidditch pitch, was ringed on three sides by the Forbidden Forest and the other was bordered by the lake; it was completely out of sight.

"Aren't you coming up?" Sirius called down, doing a few showy flips in the air.

"I don't fly," she told him curtly.

"Impossible – all pigeons can fly," he laughed at his own joke and whizzed around Lily, who was content to sit quite peacefully on her own broom.

Harry and Ron made a few loops to get comfortable, but where they stopped James and Remus began chasing each other around, while Sirius tried to provoke Lily to chase him.

Hermione pushed back her sleeves and stepped up, wand in hand. "Harry, Ron – show them Alpha."

Harry nodded and took off first, swerving side to side then executing a simple double loop, then Ron joined him and they weaved in and out of one another repeating the maneuver twice more before hovering to a stop beside the others, who promptly flew off to try it themselves.

"We'll start at level five," she instructed, and blue light began to emit from the end of her wand. Tracing a square in the air, her wand left a shimmering trail behind it. With her other hand she pushed the blue square of magic towards them and it stretched to accommodate a wide area of the grounds, blue lights sinking into the grass.

"Pentagravitus!"

The grass bled blue and Lily screamed.

Sirius grunted and tried to move forward, but it was all he could do to sit upright under the intense force pressing down on him. Remus was shaking, struggling to pull himself up off his broom handle, and Lily was pressed flat against her broom, crying out in pain as the wooden shaft dug painfully into her cheek. She tried to pull away and ease the pain, but she wasn't strong enough to fight the power pulling her down. James, had been unlucky enough to be mid-loop when the spell had hit and his back bowed threatening to yank him off his broomstick. He'd gotten his ankles crossed and his hands locked around the handle, but he was barely managing to keep from falling much less swing himself back up.

Hermione stepped up to the edge of the glowing square, and her face was completely blank. It was terrifyingly emotionless.

"What you are feeling," she said in monotone. "Is five times Earth's natural gravity."

To the Marauder's disbelief, Harry and Ron came whizzing by, serpentining in the distinct Alpha pattern. The spell looked as though it had no effect on them.

"Now fly."

James lost a hand and he hung precariously thirty feet above the ground, with five times stronger gravity pulling him down. Lily cried out in concern, but she could only blink her eyes in response. Harry swooped down beside her, worry masking his features. He looked to Hermione but she only looked blankly back. Swallowing his indecision, Harry nodded shortly and flew back off again without helping her.

"Brooms are magical objects, and as such they are above worldly forces. They will move if you are strong enough to guide them." Hermione's instructions were delivered in short, even tones without inflection. "So fly."

Remus' stomach churned as the pressure wore down on him and he was only seconds away from finding out Lily's pain. He heard Sirius groan above him, and rolled his eyes upwards to see his friend sagging gradually forward. Unlike Remus, the pressure on Sirius' stomach proved to be too much for him, and with a strangled gag he vomited over the side of his broom. That would teach them to eat before training.

She owed Harry five galleons.

"Her...mi...ne..." Remus couldn't breathe.

Hermione stood stationary on the ground. She watched them struggle to hold on, struggle just to keep their bodies upright. She watched her hope slip away.

This is never going to work...

Calling her broom into her hand, she swung her leg over and kicked off, shooting up and into the magic grid. Her body slowed as it pushed into the square, like something was holding it back and then she was rushing up into the clump of groaning Marauders.

"You...said 't...fly," Sirius grunted.

Hermione regarded him coldly. "That was your first mistake – Harry, what were the others."

Harry stopped his drills and promptly answered with militant efficiency. "You didn't check your brooms for charms or hexes, you got in the air without checking the area, you never asked what training implied, you ignored an armed witch with her wand drawn, you allowed her spell to catch you unawares—"

"That's enough," Hermione interrupted, holding up a hand. Harry instantly fell silent. "You and Ron will go through our usual order on your own, level nine," she instructed. "I'll take them through on level two."

"Not...a...mistake," Sirius panted. "We...trusted...you."

She turned empty eyes to him.

"What have I ever done to make you trust me?"

She waited for Harry and Ron to leave for their own, new, gravity-grid and then pulled her wand from her sleeve. "Duogravitas!"

The force instantly lessened and the Marauders heaved in great gasping breaths of air, arms shaking as they pushed themselves back up. James swung himself back into a sitting position on his broom and Lily forced hers slowly up to meet him, struggling against the double gravity every inch of the way.

"Look," Hermione pointed to Ron and Harry who were speeding through a blue grid at nine times the usual force of gravity. "They are on level nine. You," she paused for emphasis. "have trouble moving on level two."

"I'm sorry we've never been in extreme gravity before," James retorted angrily. Lily was fussing over his arms.

Hermione's head whipped around so fast it gave him whiplash. "They are also silent." She pocketed her wand once more and guided her broom up above. "Time is racing towards us, and soon the war will have begun. Listen to my every order...and you might survive."

They all wore such similar looks of disbelief that Hermione flew her broom back down among them, if only so that she didn't have to see them anymore. "Welcome to training," she said flatly. "You will show up every day and do what is ordered of you – or I send you back."

She finished her loop, ending back in front of them. "Alpha...now."

For the moment, the Marauders seemed too shocked to argue and they moved to spread out, beginning the routine from the start. Hermione demonstrated each of the maneuvers in turn, but it wouldn't be for two more hours that she was satisfied enough to let them finish.

She closed their gravity-grid and four bone-weary Marauders landed on the ground, sweat-soaked socks squelching in their shoes as they stepped back onto the grass. It was fully dark out, but the phosphorescent blue of the grass gave enough glow for them to see by. Harry and Ron were still going.

"Decemgravitas!" The light flickered a moment and Harry and Ron froze as if stuck in flypaper before moving off, albeit a bit slower than before.

"Theta!"

The Marauders watched in amaze as the complicated pattern they'd hardly gotten through was performed with flawless ease by the two boys. They zig-zagged, swooped, dived, looped, twisted, and lunged with seamless transitions and a grace that had been far absent from the Marauder's gravity-grid.

"Undecimgravitas!" Hermione raised the level to eleven.

Their movements were greatly slower this time and Hermione's eyes could pick up the shuddering of the broom's tail as Ron completed a twist, and the flexing of Harry's arm muscles as he fought to steer his broomstick out of the dive.

"Duodecimgravitas!"

The field had been raised to twelve times earth's normal gravity and the two wizards were still pushing through it trying to complete Theta one last time. Ron managed to get his down in two tries, but Harry couldn't seem to finish his. Every time he came out of the double-loop half twist his broom would lurch to a stop and his face would turn red with the effort to get it moving again.

Ron, forced to wait inside the grid until they both finished, hovered high in the air, silently cheering his best friend on. Harry failed another run.

He was sweating profusely and his glasses were all but useless. Knuckles white with the effort of controlling the broomstick, his fingers were near bruising under the force with which he gripped the shaft.

He failed again and again, but Hermione said nothing and the grid remained up. And each time, Harry's strength waned.

Finally, Sirius spoke up. "He was working all practice – let him rest!"

Hermione's eyes were following Harry. "No."

"Hermione!" Sirius was near shouting. "He can't do it!"

She looked at him sharply and the sheer blankness of her expression made him take an unconscious step back. "I am in charge here, not you. And the next time you feel like challenging my orders you had better be prepared to take his place."

Lily rushed forward and grabbed Sirius arms. She vainly tried to pull him back, but he was rooted to the spot and gaping at Hermione like she'd grown a second head. "Sirius, don't! That's twelve times the Earth's gravity – you'll be crushed," she pleaded.

"Harry can do this—"Hermione said resolutely, turning back to the grid. "And he'll keep going until he does."

"This is crazy!" James shouted, and Lily was struggling to hold them both back. "You're taking this too far, Hermione!"

Hermione lifted her wand close to her face and fingered it fondly. No one had seen her draw it. "Just say the word and you're gone, James," she murmured without looking at him.

"Everyone, please!" Lily was beside herself, but they were all beyond listening.

"I never asked you to come. You volunteered," Hermione reminded him. James might have said something then that he regretted if not for Lily's desperate hushing.

Remus shook his head. "He's your best friend..." He wasn't judging – he just didn't understand.

She watched Harry like a hawk, honey eyes following every motion. When he lay panting against his broom after another disastrous attempt he caught Hermione's gaze, and looked beyond to the angry Marauders behind her. Determination swelled inside him and he set his jaw, turning his broom back around.

He raced forward as fast as he was able and just before he hit the far side he swooped upwards into the Theta routine, riding the velocity of his dash all the way through the double-loop half twist and into the final zig-zag, ending in a downward spiral.

"Singravitas!" The blue light faded and both Harry and Ron gratefully lowered to the ground.

Without the light from the spell the seven students were plunged into darkness, only the faintest outlines visible by the light of the moon. Hermione stared at Harry's rough shape in the shadows and let out a long, soft breath.

"We're done for tonight. The gravity-grid took longer than I thought and there's not enough light left to scout the woods."

Harry and Ron both made noises of their understanding and agreement, before Hermione turned and walked back to the castle – a faint, torch lit glow in the distance – leaving the rest in darkness.

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The minute Hermione stepped into the common room, a laden tray of food appeared on the fireside coffee table and she eagerly sat down and began to eat. Ron and Harry soon joined her and they ate ravenously, exhaustion and lack of dinner feeding their hunger.

Either the sight of food made the Marauders sick, or they didn't want to be with Hermione, because they disappeared immediately into their respective dormitories. Hermione's shoulders sagged to watch them go.

"You did what you needed to do, Hermione," Harry told her through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, concern leaking into her voice. Very slowly, the mask she'd built around herself was crumbling away.

He grinned cockily and grabbed the casserole from Ron. "Hungry."

Hermione smiled back, relieved, and hugged him.

"Don't worry about what they think, 'Mione," Ron told her over a basket of baguettes.

She frowned at him, pulling away from Harry and going back to her late dinner. "I don't," she insisted, biting into a red delicious apple.

"Not even Sirius and Remus?"

She didn't answer, concentrating instead on quenching her appetite.

Harry held off his shoveling of food and it was his turn to look at Hermione with concern. "Are you gonna be okay?"

She nodded, fork stabbing into her salad. "Just give me a night, as always, and I'll be fine."

Harry nodded, and the trio finished their binge in silence before retiring to their beds with sleepy yawns and content, well-fed stomachs.

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The Next Morning

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"Rise and shine, Lily. You told Seamus you'd meet him this morning to check his Charms homework."

Lily sat bolt upright in bed and watched with open mouth as Hermione bustled lively about the room, pulling the front part of her hair back in a barrette and flinging open the shutters to let the sunshine in.

Before the groggy redhead could register what was going on, Hermione had breezed right out the door.

--

Remus opened the door, and blinked his eyes against the sudden onset of light. When his vision cleared he was dumbstruck to see a smiling Hermione standing on the landing.

"Good morning, Remus," she said brightly. The corners of her eyes crinkling in that way she had of smiling just so. "I hope you slept well."

"I-I..."

His mouth opened and shut like a fish as she stepped inside and went to wake up Harry, who it turns out was already awake. He leapt out of bed at her, earning a surprised scream, as they both tumbled to the floor, laughing hysterically.

He grabbed her around the waist as she tried to run and swung her around and back into his arms. Ron was up by this point and shaking his head at their childish display, looking very much like his mother. Hermione ducked out of Harry's arms and clambering over James' bed – a loud groan signifying that she'd woken him – was chased by Harry over to Sirius' bed where she hid behind one of the twisted bedposts.

"What the—"

Hermione looked back over her shoulder, brown hair tumbling down her back, and smiled at the shocked Sirius. "Good morning, Sirius," she greeted sweetly, making his eyes go wider if possible.

Playfully swatting Harry away, she pushed them all to get dressed. "Time for class," she cajoled, and was banished by Ron to his bed, where she sat down Indian-style and waited for them to finish getting ready before remembering she'd forgotten her quill in the common room and rushed off to get it.

"Now, don't go back to bed—"she warned, with a wide smile that made a rather empty threat. "And hurry or you'll miss breakfast."

Sirius, James, and Remus all exchanged looks and stared after the brunette, as she took the dorm stairs down two at a time, in complete confusion and unable to speak.