Completed: 1/29/05 8:51 pm

Posted: 1/29/05 9:00 pm

A/N: This definitely isn't as long as I would've liked, but I was super busy today, and since I did promise to get something out today here 'tis. The next one I'm planning on being SUPER long, so don't expect it by tomorrow morning, lol. Tomorrow is going to involve massive cleaning of the house on my part (including the bathroom, ick!), plus the homework I've put off to shop, and styling to do for Monday.

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Next Chapter: (Though, I don't really like doing this because I'm afraid of not being able to fulfill it, I do have some promises): The rest of Hermione & Remus' day flirty romance, plus the septuplet's day of fun and it's not where you'd expect.

ETP: (Again, I'm loathe to estimate. This week is full of tests, so my best guess is): Saturday the 5th. pray for earlier

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"Hermione...wake up."

She groaned at the sudden infiltration of a dream that had, until that point, been quite lovely, and snuggled deeper into the warmth of her comforter in hopes that by simply ignoring it the voice would go away.

"Dreaming about me...I understand."

"Why yes, of course..." Hermione mumbled, patting blearily above her head for her pillow to bury her face under. "Always dream 'bout you."

It was then that she realized there was no pillow, this was not her bed, and she must have fallen asleep last night after her conversation with James.

"I hope you've cast me as the dashing hero – I have much too much talent to be a mere cameo..." The voice was saying quiet seriously.

"No," she grumbled, pulling her blankets around her head. "Right now you're the terribly wicked antagonist...keeping the mansion's maid from her beauty sleep."

"Maid, what maid?" The voice mocked offended. "I only see the gorgeous princess – wake up sleeping beauty, wake up!"

Hermione cracked one eye open, already starting to smile, and then the other to take in Remus Lupin's grinning face crouched before her. Still clinging to the faint hope that there was still a chance for her to sleep longer, she remained huddled in her blankets on the couch as she regarded him.

"You do a lovely Sirius," she complimented and her voice was a bit hoarse from sleep.

Remus bowed gallantly, as well one was able when balanced on the balls of their feet, and folded his arms over the edge of the couch. "Why thank you. I can do Lily too, if you'd be so kind as to find me a mop and a banana."

Hermione laughed. "Maybe another time."

She sat up, finally giving up on the possibility of actually sleeping in on a Saturday, seeing as how that was an outlandish and foreign practice here at Hogwarts, and yawned loudly and unselfconsciously as she stretched her arms over her head. "What are you doing up?" She asked, patting away her yawn.

"Ha ha! I myself have mastered the wonders of a muggle alarm clock," he boasted, though looking ridiculous with his soft brunette hair falling all over and in his eyes.

"How ingenious of you," she laughed and then promptly covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm so proud" came out in a muffle through her fingertips.

Remus quirked an eyebrow in curiosity at her odd behavior and gave her a poke in the stomach in hopes of stimulating a response or explanation.

"I have morning breath." Game the garbled reply.

Half-crawling over the arm of the couch, and with quite dexterity as she refused to take one hand off her mouth, Hermione finally grabbed her wand off the side table, and while still at an obscure angle of Remus' sight, scourgyfied her mouth.

When she slid back down into her seat she was smiling; all teeth and puckering dimples. He gave her a silly double thumbs-up, making her laugh. "I understand your wanting to boast of your newfound sleep controlling powers, but why was waking me up part of the plan?"

Remus pouted and it caused more of his hair to fall over into his eyes. "I figured you'd wanna help me wake the others..."

Mischievous thoughts entered her head, and her grin was mirrored on Remus' face. "Let's go have some fun with 'em," she decreed, wrapping her blanket around her to hold in the rapidly escaping warmth, and standing up.

Looking utterly ridiculous in her gold fluffy comforter-cape, Hermione shuffled towards the boys' dormitory steps and Remus fell into step beside her trying his hardest not to laugh. If Hermione heard the bit back snickers she either didn't care, or was pointedly ignoring him.

"Hey Remus," she said as they started up the winding stairs; her hands clutching her blanket shut and his stuffed in his trouser pockets.

"Yeah?"

"Did you know James' favorite color is green?"

Remus looked sidelong at her with a puzzled expression, but her eyes were stubbornly fixed on the stairs above them. Shaking his head a bit, he shrugged and looked upwards as well. "Yeah, I did."

When he sneaked another look at her then, he found her to be smiling softly, her cheeks flushed with rosy color and the corners of her eyes crinkling. "Me too," she said quietly and disappeared into the dorm he hadn't realized they'd reached.

Now with a slight curiosity, he pushed open the half-shut door and followed Hermione in. He was just in time to see her fling herself onto Ron's bed to be followed by groggy death threats from the redhead sprawled out beneath the covers.

"Come back for more, eh pigeon?"

Hermione rolled laughing off of the griping Ron and onto her side to face the bed beside hers. She pushed the curtains back and looked at Sirius, who was already up and about and getting dressed. He sat with his back to her as he tugged on his boots, but at the sound of the curtain rings clinking he looked back over his shoulder at her with a melting smirk.

"I tried," she insisted in a wistful voice. "Both my bed and the couch, but nothing could compare..."

Sirius snapped his fingers at Remus and the half-asleep James, then pointed to Hermione. "Are you listening to this?"

Hermione tossed her head, spilling a few curls over her eyes, and, giving him a seductive look one only saw in the movies, licked her coral lips. "I can't sleep without you, Sirius Black."

"Eloping it is then!" Sirius declared jumping to his feet. "Frankly, I'd have preferred it that way, but it was of course the lady's choice."

Hermione fought to keep laughter from wiping clear her "come hither" look as the shirtless Sirius plopped down next to her, and before she could sit up, had propped his elbow up on the curve of her side as she lay still facing his now abandoned bed.

"This only proves out timeless love."

Sirius's batting eyes and flipping of his long hair made Remus gag, and walk over to James' bed where the raven-haired boy was turned completely around under the sheets, his head hanging over the footboard and his snitch toy hugged humorously between his feet. He'd fallen back asleep.

While Sirius was attempting to sound poetic, Hermione was ever down to earth and analytical. "But honey bunch," she cooed. "What happens if the spell wears off and you get sent back. I'd be ever so devastated," she sniffed pathetically.

"Nonsense, darling." Sirius waved the doubt away. "It's one of your spells; they don't come any stronger. You're stuck with me, pigeon."

Those words struck a cord in Hermione's mind and she recalled a conversation with Remus that contained promises very close to those. Shifting under Sirius' bony elbow, she glanced back, searching to find Remus standing on top of James bed. He looked as if he'd just been in the middle of casting a most likely revenge-worthy charm upon his sleeping friend, but when she found her eyes drawn to his face she saw him already looking back.

She grinned at him, and he smiled warmly back in a way that actual made the tips of her toes curl and tingle with heat. She rolled her eyes in Sirius' direction and he laughed silently.

"What ho!"

Hermione's attention ricocheted back to Sirius in surprise at his outburst. He was looking at Remus in such a pompous fashion that the next words Hermione expected out of his mouth would be 'shall we duel?'. Instead he said "Oogling my fiancée, Remus? My own best friend."

"She was the one 'oogling'," Remus explained. "I was only 'oogling' in return so as not to be rude."

Sirius looked down at the giggling Hermione, aghast, and she tried to quickly school her features into one of innocence. "Is this true?"

"I can't help it, uh, squishy bear." Behind Sirius, Remus made a face at the nickname. "I mean, just look at him. He's so lean and handsome..." Hermione lowered her voice a bit as if divulging some hidden desire. "And I've always...sort of had a thing for brunettes."

Sirius clutched his cut as if he'd been spitted by a sword, he gasped and a pained look came to his face. "Oh," he breathed dramatically. "I see where your affections lie..."

Motion behind her caused Hermione to look back at Remus and she found the young lycan to be winking roguishly at her and making a show of flexing his arms. Then he incorrigibly mocked his friend by silently sniveling and rubbing his fists babyishly into his eyes. Hermione could not help the giggle that escaped her.

"What's this?!" Sirius exclaimed, and when he whirled around Remus was grinning cheekily at him. Hermione saw this and pulled her comforter up to cover her laughing mouth.

"Here I am, trying to work out the problems in our relationship and you're drooling over another man," Sirius ranted, though Hermione and Remus were laughing too hard for the situation to be remotely serious.

"Oi!" Came the disgruntled noise from behind them. "All of you can shut your gobs."

Pushing a clingy Sirius off her and in the process calling him a 'big oaf', Hermione sat up and though hugging the large lump that was Ron may have been awkward, it looked quite amusing.

"Aww, did we wake ickle Ronniekins up?"

"And he should be," came a voice from the doorway. Lily appeared in the archway as she pushed the door back against the wall. "The door was open."

"By all means, come in," Ron said sarcastically, head now poked out from beneath his covers. "We're having a regular old party."

Hermione frowned and swatted at him. "Someone sure is cranky in the mornings."

"Remus! Get down from there!" Lily demanded of a sheepish Remus, who obligingly hopped off the bed.

"That idiot boyfriend of mine might have deserved whatever you were about to do to him, but we have a schedule to keep remember? And hexing him will only result in him hexing you back and by the time you're all through proving you're men we'll have lost have the day!"

Hermione stared at the pretty redhead, standing with her hands on her hips as she lectured Remus, and though amused by the proceedings, her curiosity had been piqued. "Schedule?" She said with a questioning lilt. "Are we going somewhere?"

"Just go and ruin the surprise, Lily." James was now awake too. Giving a suspicious look at his hovering friend, who quickly stuffed his wand back up his sleeve, he kicked back his covers -- coincidentally covering up the stuffed snitch -- and swung his feet over the side of the bed to sit up.

Lily, looking a bit flustered, crossed her arms now over her chest, and huffed "She was bound to find out anyway. Not a single Marauder can keep a secret."

"Sounds to me like you're the one who can't keep the secrets," Remus quipped; though his mouth closed with a 'click' as the redhead turned a full-blast glare on him.

"Ponce," Sirius muttered under his breath.

"Harry?" Hermione called -- to the one boy not yet awake.

"I'm up."

The curtains behind her shifted and she saw the messy haired boy sit up, looking as bright and fresh as though he'd been awake for quite some time. She frowned a bit at the intense look he was giving her.

"We're going to have a day of fun!" Sirius cut in, slinging an arm over her shoulder. "Any suggestions?"

Hermione gingerly picked his hand off her shoulder and placed it back on the bedspread. "I'd love to, really you guys," she insisted, crawling off the bed and knotting her blanket around her waist. "But there's a Head-Prefect meeting, and it's likely to take all day."

"Oh..." Lily frowned a bit, and turned the discouraged look on another. "Remus never mentioned that..."

"I forgot," he mumbled, stuffing his hands back into his pockets to avoid Lily's evil eye.

"Tsk," James sounded. "Our scholarly friend is following into disrepute." To this, Remus sent him a solid glaring frown and contemplated hexing him after all.

Hermione however cut through it all with one look at Remus' muggle clock. "Actually, I ought to go be getting ready," she mused aloud. Kicking back the train of her dragging blanket so that she was able to walk without tripping and quite embarrassingly hurting herself, she patted Sirius' head in passing as she moved to the door.

"Hey, Remus," she said after a sudden thought stopped her halfway through the doorway. "Do you think you could stop by my room when you're done getting ready? I want to run through a bit of the itinerary and sort a right portion of the information I want to present out."

"Sure," Remus agreed; nodding his head as he did so.

"Thanks," she grinned and disappeared out the doorway.

---

When Remus arrived at Hermione's Head Girl rooms a while later, the gold be-decked room was empty, though he could warrant a guess at Hermione's location judging by the sound of steady water flow coming from her bathroom door. Setting his bag down on her still mussed bed, he discovered a folded piece of parchment with his name scrawled on the front in her distinct cursive.

He flipped it open to find it contained less than he'd anticipated.

Make yourself at home.

Stuffing the note into his pocket he looked around for a chair and found the nearest one to be placed in front of the currently unlighted vanity. He'd already gripped the back of it and had started pulling it back to Hermione's bedside, when he spied a book cracked open in front of the high mirror.

He knew he shouldn't, but in Hermione's own script he caught his name just as he began to turn. With a quick glance to ensure that Hermione wasn't about to come bounding out of the bathroom any time soon, he set the chair back down and leaned over the makeup table.

I know Harry and Ron wouldn't ever bring it up, but I feel there's still a gap between the seven of us. After the incident with Sirius, I couldn't help but want to be alone with just them and not have to work at including the four of them. I suppose I compensated for the fact by just being myself with Harry and Ron, without worrying about how they'd think. Right now, I can't seem to make myself care about their opinions of me, because they're just not important in comparison to my friends. After all, we're not really friends are we?

Oh, I don't know.

Ron and Harry both think I ought to give Remus and Sirius the chance, but there's just so many complications, and what with everything going on, I hardly know either of them. It was clear after tonight that they knew nothing of me, either. I assume they misinterpreted my relationship with Harry, judging by the way they were glaring like angry chimeras at me.

I don't think they could ever understand how much Ron and Harry mean to me--

Remus jumped as there came a crash from inside the bathroom, and he hastily stumbled back from the vanity dragging the chair. It knocked the vanity drawers and made bottles on the tabletop rattle. He could hear Hermione cursing from behind the door, but it sounded as though she'd merely gotten her brush caught in a knot.

There was an insistent desire to read back to find out what the "incident with Sirius" she'd mentioned had been about, but with his adrenaline now racing and the sound of the shower now gone, he forced himself to sit down by the bed and get busy with the papers she'd set out.

The leather bound book taunted him, sitting wide open beside the make-up containers that seemed hardly used, and he couldn't help but wonder if she'd miss it if it were to suddenly "disappear".

He was saved from temptation however, when Hermione finally emerged from the steamy bathroom, running a towel through her damp curls.