Sirius: 22
Remus: 33
Threesome: 4
I'm not going to say anything
New chapter hopefully up by tomorrow
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One week later...
"GO AWAY!"
The common room all turned to look at the portrait as it slammed open. Ron came stomping in and banged it angrily shut, much to the indignation of the Fat Lady. "That bloody giraffe keeps following me through the blooming paintings!"
"Still?" Hermione laughed. Ron had acquired himself quite the stubborn admirer the past week.
"Maybe if you're lucky it'll refer you to the rhino on the sixth floor," Harry chuckled.
"Hardy har," Ron spat, flopping down on the couch beside Hermione with such force that she bobbed on her cushion.
"Honestly, Ronald," she began, looking down her nose at him in a very McGonagall-esque way. "It's not like it can do anything to you."
"Hey! You're wearing glasses," he interjected.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "When I read for a while my eyes start to get tired," she explained softly, pushing the thin wire frames higher up on the bridge of her nose as she peered over the book in front of her.
"Forget Ron," Harry advised. "She's been at it all morning."
"You mean all week," the redhead griped. "You are coming to the game, aren't you?"
She tucked a brown lock behind her ear, and repressed her sigh to a long exhalation of breath. "I suppose..."
"WHO'S READY TO KICK SOME SLYTHERIN ARSE!?" Sirius bellowed, sliding off the banister with a dramatic flourish. The common room exploded with thunderous applause and loud shouts of 'hell yeah!'.
Hermione didn't even look up, finding her exasperation best showed by a sorry shaking of her bushy head. Her hopes of going unnoticed, however, were dashed when another body jumped onto the couch beside her and threw their arm around her shoulders.
"Hullo, pigeon," Sirius husked, stretching out.
"Hello," she murmured back, still pouring over her Potions textbook when it was snatched out of her hands.
Her cry of indignation was cut short when she looked up to see Remus sitting on the arm of the couch beside her, holding her book just out of reach.
"Remus," she exclaimed. "Please, give me my book back."
"Chapter fourteen?" His eyebrows lifted in surprise. "We're only on five."
"I was cross-referencing something," she rushed out. "For my essay..."
Remus frowned slightly and was about to say something when Sirius cut in. "Enough work!" He exclaimed. "It's QUIDDITCH DAY!" He shouted the last, punching the air with his fist, and the common room cheered once more.
Hermione glared at him.
"Some of us actually care about our grades," she said haughtily. Sirius feigned hurt.
"Maybe I should call you raptor from now on," he told her. "You're tearing me to pieces here."
"Maybe you should call me by my real name," she shot back, turning now to her Charms book, seeing as how her Potions work would have to be put on hold for a while.
"Remus," Sirius commanded, and the smaller boy banished her book with a tap of his wand. Sweeping the rest of her work pile out of her reaching arms, he banished that as well.
"Traitor," she hissed, narrowing her eyes behind her glasses. Remus just smiled.
"See?" Sirius gestured at his friend. "Not even Moony studies on QUIDDITCH DAY!" More cheers.
She groaned and pulled off her glasses. "Stop that."
Sirius grinned at Remus over her head. "She thinks I'm adorable."
Remus looked at him unimpressed. "I'm sure."
"I think she's secretly in love with James," Ron suggested.
Harry made a face at him. "Lily's gonna be pissed."
Hermione dropped her head onto the table. "Kill me now..." she grumbled.
"TIME FOR QUIDDITCH!" James had made his entrance, ensuing an entirely new wave of cheers.
Hermione started banging her head on the table.
"Hermione? Are you alright?" Lily asked, coming around to the couch. Hermione let her head fall to the side so she could look at Lily. Well, as best she could through the mound of her wild curls.
"I'm surrounded by idiots."
"Don't I know it," Lily whispered back, crouching down beside Hermione who was now stuck in that position by Sirius's elbow on her lower back as he propped his chin in his hand. "This is what you do."
Hermione perked up.
"James," Lily called sweetly, and her boyfriend looked up from simulating a new Quidditch move to Harry.
"Sirius here was just telling Hermione how he could beat you in Charms any day, and then Remus said you were getting soft..."
James scowled at them both, despite their looks of disbelief. "Oh really?"
Lily nodded emphatically batting her lashes over her beautiful jade eyes. "Harry and Ron both bet against you..." she bit her lip, coyly appearing as if she'd just let some secret slip.
"I challenge you to a duel!" James declared, drawing his wand. "All of you – come on!"
Sirius actually looked nervous, drawing back on the couch. Hermione was snatched by Lily and promptly dragged to safety. "Honest, mate, I didn't say—"
With a swish of his wand, James had turned Sirius' long raven locks vibrant pink. He screamed like a girl. "My hair!"
And that's how the couch got blown up, Ron's skin got turned plaid, and the common room ceiling started dripping strawberry jam.
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"GO! GO! GRYFFINDOR! GO! GO! GRYFFINDOR!"
Hermione stomped her feet on the stand floor and clapped her hands furiously as the entire Gryffindor section created a thundering uproar. Gryffindor was winning 90-20.
Lily was screaming James' name as he and the other two Chasers whizzed back from a fresh goal. He zoomed overhead, winked, and rushed back into the game. Hermione glanced at the other girl and found a pink in her cheeks that wasn't from the wind.
Remus was standing in between them, his Gryffindor flag dangling over the edge of the rail while he cheered and taunted his friends whenever they flew by. The three spectators, while much too concerned with their studies to participate in such a frivolous and/or barbaric sport, were not above screaming their heads off with mounting excitement as their friends trounced Slytherin.
Ron knocked down a goal attempt and the ball was caught by Ginny. She dodged a Slytherin Chaser, but was forced to toss the quaffle to James as a bludger came straight for her. She downward spiraled and it went screaming off in another direction.
James shot to the center hoop, but was slammed into by one of the beaters who was trying to use his club to knock the Gryffindor right off his broom.
Lily screamed, the Gryffindors booed, and Madame Hooch blew her whistle. A penalty shot was to be awarded to Gryffindor.
The stomping cheer exploded again as the Gryffindor team flew back in formation, leading Slytherin by another ten points.
Hermione, though enjoying the game, had a near heart attack every time her friends did something dangerous. It had been bad enough with just Ginny, Harry, and Ron, but now having to watch five people all at once – she'd have gray hairs by the time she was twenty five.
Sirius came somersaulting over on his broom after a sturdy hit from another beater, and everyone grabbed for their hats and scarves as the wind of his momentum filled the Gryffindor stands. He straightened out just in time to slam a bludger back at his attacker.
"Sirius be careful!" Hermione shouted into the wind.
Grinning from the rush of the game he whipped around above the threesome's heads, making Lily and Hermione hold tight to their robes and Remus take a swing at him.
"Watch this!" He yelled, and shot off into the air.
"Don't do anything stupid!" Lily yelled, but the wind and cheers took her warning away.
They watched him chase down the Slytherin Chasers and swoop around behind the hoops as they passed the quaffle around the third Gryffindor Chaser. Seamus aimed a bludger at them, but the opposing beater knocked it back away. Ron rolled to the left to block the shot and it rebounded back into the Chaser's hands who lobbed it up at the opposite hoop.
There was a rush of red through the wide metal ring and with a resounding SMACK! Sirius had batted the quaffle halfway down the pitch. James came whizzing into sight from around one of the towers and caught the ball one-handed. Remus was cheering the Chasers on for another goal, Lily was screaming how much of an idiot Sirius was, and Hermione had turned her gaze to the speck circling high above the pitch.
"GO HARRY!" She shouted as the maroon dot shot downwards with a green smear right on his trail.
He was only inches from the ground when he pulled up and leveled off. Hermione remembered it was called the 'Wonky Faint' or something to that effect. Malfoy wasn't so fortunate; he crashed into the ground with a painful sound and struggled to pull himself off the turf. Hermione couldn't help but cheer all the louder as the Slytherin stand across the way booed maliciously.
Harry was still shooting around the pitch at the speed of light, and Hermione feared suddenly that his broom had been jinxed. Too many awful things had happened to him playing Quidditch that she couldn't stop herself from thinking the worse. She grabbed Lily's hand in front of Remus and felt the redhead squeeze it reassuringly back.
Murmuring curses into her hand, Hermione watched anxiously as her best friend weaved in and out of other racing players, no one seeming to sense any danger in this at all. She must have been breaking Lily's hand by now, but the redhead wasn't making any sign of her discomfort, and Hermione's attention was too riveted on Harry to care.
Just as she was about to grab her wand she caught the tiniest golden flicker. The snitch! "GO HARRY!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as Harry flew straight behind one of the tower tapestries.
She watched, without breathing, the bulge of fabric that was her best friend tumble down to the tower's base. He reappeared out the bottom and fell the last three feet onto the sand pit that ringed the grass. The entire stadium had noticed him by now and everyone waited with hushed whispers as he got to his feet, using the wooden tower for support. He lifted his fist into the air and the stands were cheering before the announcement had even been made.
"HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS! THAT'LL TEACH THOSE GREASY SLYTH—" The microphone being wrestled away by Professor McGonagall was drowned out by the mass of students rushing out onto the field.
Hermione ran straight to the Gryffindor team, bypassing a grinning Sirius, Ginny and Seamus who were reenacting Malfoy's untimely fall, and leapt right into Harry's arms.
"You did it Harry!" She cried, clasping tight to his neck as he spun her around. "You were brilliant!"
"Thanks, Hermione." He set her back on the ground. "I'm glad you came."
She grinned. "You know I'd never miss seeing you play," she insisted.
Making a dramatic showing of reaching behind her ear, his hand reappeared with the snitch fluttering between his fingers. "A snitch!" He said dramatically.
"It's magic!" Hermione said with a taunting awe-filled voice.
Giggling softly as he waved the tiny ball around complete with ridiculous airplane noises, she hit him on the arm when Hooch came around to retrieve the game piece. Harry obligingly placed the snitch back in the box and Hermione was scooped up into a big bear hug by Ron.
"Did you see Malfoy's face?" He exploded, putting her back on the grass. "It was bloody brilliant; looked like he ate slugs!"
"You'd know all about that wouldn't you Ron," she teased wryly, tweaking his chin.
He laughed. "I did that in your defense if you recall—"
"I remember," she smirked. "Some white knight you are."
"Did you see his face?" He repeated gleefully.
Hermione shook her head chuckling. "'Bloody brilliant'," she replied.
"WHAT A GREAT QUIDDITCH DAY!"
The crowd around them cheered, whooped, and hollered. Hermione turned around to see Sirius in the midst of all of them, waving his club above his head.
"I told you to stop that!" She yelled over the crowd with a grin on her face.
Sirius just winked at her and cheered all the louder. Hermione had to duck as James took off with Lily on the back of his broom, and she waved in amusement at the redhead clasping nervously to her boyfriend.
"Your turn, Hermione," Harry grinned mischievously mounting his broom beside her.
"No, thank you!" She swore vehemently, darting behind Remus.
"No fun," he complained, circling around her.
"You guys have fun, I'm gonna head back to the common room. There are a few things I want to finish before dinner."
"Alright," Harry relented, and darted off to do a victory lap with the rest of the team, plus Lily.
Remus offered to walk back with her and the two left the stadium together, nodding politely at the two ministry officials standing at the entrance, and taking their time enjoying the scenery as they completed the long trek up to the castle.
--
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"What took you two so long?" James teased as Hermione and Remus slid into their seats at the table, not seeing Sirius' dark look.
"Hermione wouldn't stop working on her Potion's essay," Remus explained, while Hermione's head lifted into the air haughtily.
"I wanted to finish it," she said.
"Did you see the mess those white-jackets, made?" Lily complained, referring the ministry officials.
They'd taken up inhabitance at the school and it wasn't rare for students to come back to their common rooms and find them searched through. It was more annoying than anything else.
Remus was talking with Lily. "—took me an hour to reorganize my books."
"They went through my make-up of all things—"
Hermione just shook her head and began filling her plate. For once, she hadn't already eaten. She hadn't had the time to, what with the Quidditch game and all the work she'd been doing.
"Feeding India, pigeon?"
She ignored Sirius. "I'm absolutely ravenous," she exclaimed, tucking in to her potatoes and gravy.
Everyone else was equally hungry. Nothing like a good ol' Quidditch game to raise your appetite. Some sixth years down at the other end of the table were doing a shouted rendition of 'Weasley is our King', and more than one student throughout the hall was reenacting several key scenes from the game (mostly Malfoy eating grass).
It was almost too perfect to be interrupted.
Her friends were talking about the next Hogsmeade trip and laughing over something at the Ravenclaw table, but Hermione's eyes were fixed on the ministry officials just entering the Great Hall. There were five.
She turned back to her plate, heart thundering in her chest. The napkin slipped out of her hand and landed atop her food, but no one seemed to notice. The hall was filled with laughter and high spirits. Even the teachers' table was emitting a cheery buzz of conversation. No one was watching her at all.
"Harry..." she whispered, eyes locked on her goblet of untouched pumpkin juice. "Harry!" she said louder this time.
Still laughing at some joke, his eyes weren't looking at her when he said, "Yeah, Hermione?"
Her fingers curled into the cloth of her skirt. "Harry I need you to listen to me."
He looked at her in surprise. "Under my bed there's a trapdoor. Open it and you'll find a small white box – it contains everything I've been working on for the Order."
They were all looking at her now. "Hermione, wha-"
"You can't let them find it," she hissed urgently.
"Who's 'they'?" Harry leaned towards her, his face line with concern. "Hermione, what are you talking about?"
She watched the moving pictures in the metallic reflection of her glass and shook her head. There wasn't time. Finally meeting his eyes she stared at him hard. "Whatever happens," she whispered quickly. "Don't do anything stupid."
"Wha-?"
The disarming spell hit her so hard she went rocketing into Remus, upsetting everything on the table. Harry was on his feet shouting, but Hermione's head was reeling too much to make out the words. Rough hands grabbed her under the arms and yanked her off the bench. She hit the cold floor hard and was yanked back up onto her feet.
The entire hall was in an uproar, the teachers were running down the stairs and Dumbledore was on his feet.
A man in white was rummaging through her pockets, pulling out all the loose baubles and throwing them carelessly to the floor. He found what he was looking for, her wand, and pocketed it.
She managed a look over her shoulder before she was cuffed roughly over the head by one of her restrainers. Snape had been holding Ron and Harry back; they were shouting her name and trying to get past their Professor, but to no avail.
Two of the five ministry workers had formed a barricade between the teachers and Hermione, and she was surprised to hear her Headmaster's voice raised in anger.
"—have no right to treat my student—"
Everything was happening too fast. While their colleagues staved off her professors and any chance of help, the two men that held her dragged her towards the door, while the man who had confiscated her wand lead the way. She didn't struggle.
"Hermione Granger, by order of the Minister of Magic, you are under arrest."
