Completed: 2/6/05 11:59 PM

Posted: 2/7/05 12:05 PM


Hermione had thoughtfully remembered to bring her clothes into the loo beforehand, and thus save the both of them from quite an embarrassing scene, and became increasingly proud of her foresight upon exiting the steamy room and finding a surprisingly devoted Remus already digging through the parchments for the up and coming meeting.

It being Saturday, the school uniform had been requisitioned by the doting house elves and Hermione was in charge of dressing herself. Ginny would probably have had a fit, but Hermione didn't think she'd done too terribly bad this time.

Her jumper was a rather flattering rust-color even if its thickness made it a bit bulky, and her white corduroys fit so absolutely perfect that she thought she ought to petition for them to become part of the standard uniform.

Her hair, however, was another matter, and she cursed it even while binding it to a pile atop her head. "I'm gonna cut it off, I swear," she muttered, sinking down onto the bed.

"Excuse me?" Remus asked in surprise.

"My hair," she groused, trying to insist through her voice that it wasn't that big a deal. "So, I see you found the papers."

"What's wrong with your hair?" He was clearly not to be deterred. And he did seem generally interested, going so far as to lay the stack of papers back on the bed and prop his chin up on his hand.

"It's always in my face...can't see anything properly." She huffed her bangs up exasperatedly in demonstration.

Remus laughed at her pout as the damp locks fell back over her eyes. "I thought you didn't like people being able to see your face," he commented contemplatively. Remus shrugged. "At least that was the truth when you said it at the Three Broomsticks."

Bringing her legs up underneath her, Hermione stuffed her fists into her leg-folded lap and quirked her head at him. "Can you really tell if someone's lying or not?" she asked, curiously.

"Uhp, uhp, uhp!" Remus reproached, waggling a finger at her. "Stop trying to change the subject."

"Fine," she griped. "Me first, then you."

"Fine," he repeated, echoing her tone. "If you're a good little Gryffindor, I'll tell you all the best tales of my great and wondrous power."

"Fine," she grumbled one last time while shifting to readjust herself and pull free the parchment scrap she'd inadvertently sat upon. Leaning back on one hand, she tapped her finger to her chin. "Why do I want to cut my hair off..."

"Yes, that was the question," Remus quipped cheekily.

"Well, you see...I was thinking of donating it to newborn babies – they're quite bald you know. All they get are those little hats..."

"Hermione..." Remus warned her to stay on track, but a smile was working its way onto his face.

"Freezing babies, Remus!" she shot back.

He had to fight not to laugh. "Hermione!" he tried on insisting.

"You know, people would kill to have my hair!" One long finger jabbed him pointedly in the chest.

"Yeah?" he laughed. "Who?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with my hair?"

"It's too long, apparently." The prefect shielded his face from the Head Girl's stony glare.

"Oh, yes!" she said, instantly brightening. "I'd forgotten. So! What is your power like?"

She was forcing the topic change and Remus knew it. He was also fairly certain she knew it as well. He was about to tell her off for trying to distract him again, but there was something in the way she was looking at him...beneath her wide smile and cheery façade was a raw need and desperation for him to...to just let it go.

And he did.

"Well, not to shortchange yours or anything," he drawled. "But it is pretty fantastic."

She giggled, but rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Let's hear it then."

"I can tell when you're being truthful and when you're being false."

"So you know when I've been 'bad or good'?" She repeated for clarification.

Remus nodded, trying to look wise before he went and ruined it by cracking a wry grin. "I can also see you when you're sleeping," he boasted.

"Funny." She smacked him on the arm. "You're saying you can..."sense" what I say?"

Remus looked a bit apprehensive and the reason was revealed as he went on. "And what you do and think."

Hermione was silent, fiddling with her hands in her lap as the moisture from her hair rand down her neck and soaked into the thick woolen weave of her jumper's collar.

"So...you can read my mind?" She ventured slowly.

"No, no!" he professed quickly, waving his hands in front of his face as if the knock her misconception out of the air. "Nothing like that! I can't see what you're thinking, only find whether that thought is false of not."

She eyed him a moment, and then, in a startlingly loud voice, answered. "Riiight." Settling back, she wiggled a bit and rolled her head around on her neck. "What am I thinking right now?"

Recovering from her reaction of unexpected comedy, Remus frowned a bit at her request, but as he so often found himself doing in the strange girl's presence, a smile was tugging at his mouth as Hermione let out a great large breath and placed her hands on her knees as if meditating.

"I'm ready," she said in a deep bass, and laughed herself at the sound of it.

"What are you thinking..."

"Yes, that's the question," she mocked, peeking one eye open impishly. "But now, now. Don't cheat dear Remus. Stop asking for clues."

She had closed her eyes again, straightening her back in preparation of whatever it was she thought was coming, but her lips pursed and twitched upwards in a wry grin as she waited.

"You're thinking...about abandoning this whole Head business and...taking a walk with me down by the lake."

Hermione's eyes opened and the look in those honey orbs was soft as they focused on him. "And is this...thought of mine true or false?" She asked with a smile.

Remus leaned against the side of her bed, folding his arms over the replaced comforter; coming just short of touching Hermione's bare feet. "I've done my share," he said. "I think I'll let you take this one."

Hermione let her hands slip into her lap as she regarded his patiently awaiting face. Those insufferable bangs had fallen back into his face again, but Hermione found they made his face all the more endearing for it. But that thought, that made her fingers itch, also made her stomach knot and reminded her of the consequences she'd forgotten with Sirius.

It seemed she had forgotten them again, because it was not for fear of the rest of the world that stopped her, but the doubt inside her mind. In matters of the heart, her strength was dismal at best.

When the Marauders left; and they would...

Hermione cleared her throat and the smile she gave him was wane at best. "We should get to work."

Remus pulled back his arms and moved off the edge of his seat. "Yeah," he pulled a sheaf of parchments into his lap and began sorting through them.

"Yeah..."


A half hour later, when the slightly more subdued pair made their way through Hermione's adjoining door, down the spiral staircase, and into the Heads' common room, they met with an all too familiar sight.

The three years of prefects for Hufflepuff, Fravenclaw, and Gryffindor were sitting on the floor. Taking up the scattered armchairs and davenports were the Slytherin prefects, leaving no room in their lounged states for the others. Stretched out in the center couch was the ringleader, Draco Malfoy himself, who had (regrettably) been instated that year as Head Boy.

"Stop being a prick, Malfoy," Hermione said as she crossed the room and set her load of papers onto the coffee table.

Malfoy didn't say anything; he never did. He merely lifted his head a bit and gave her a look she'd figured he'd created just for her; a threatening look that made her instinctively watch the shadows as she walked through the corridors.

However, as he was already on probation from Dumbledore for "accidentally" leaving a crate of red caps destined for Hagrid's in the hallway, he straightened up and moved to one side of the lounged couch so she could sit. It wouldn't have been so bad for Malfoy if the crate's lock hadn't been undone somehow – they'd broken loose and stormed a first years' Charms class.

Hermione sat down primly, crossing her legs, and looked pointedly at the Slytherin prefects. Pansy hissed at her. Malfoy did, however, snap his fingers at his two fifth years and they obediently slinked off their respective chairs.

Unlike Malfoy, Hermione held no preference of who should get the chairs and they were quickly filled by Colin Creevey and Parvati Patil; everyone else conjured themselves floor pillows and got comfortable.

"Let's begin with the House totals," Hermione dictated in a loud voice. "Hufflepuff."

The fifth years were the ones in charge of the most dimple and menial tasks, so the two rather shy Hufflepuffs looked between them before the boy, Luke Princeton, answered.

"Eighty-nine house points."

"Do you have the recordings?" Draco's icy voice made the scrawny boy blanche.

"I do." The Hufflepuff female, Ashley McCoughlin, handed over the rolled parchment to Hermione, who gave it a quick cursory scan before laying it on the table.

"Slytherin."

A girl with a pixieish face said "a hundred'n twenty" proudly, with a coquettish look to Draco who gave a minor smirk. Her partner handed over the recording parchment that showed what had been done to gain or lose points.

Hermione scanned this one a great deal longer, looking for discrepancies. When she found none, she calmly set it down beside the first.

"Ravenclaw."

Evan Carter, the Ravenclaw fifth, glumly announced the secondary score of "a hundred'n one", and Hermione accepted his parchment with a sympathetic smile. His partner, Ivy Hart, patted him comfortingly on the back.

"Gryffindor."

Gwen Harken, a young spitfire that Hermione was quite proud of, tossed her dark brown hair over her shoulders and handed Hermione the parchment without a word.

"Hundred eleventy," she murmured, looking apologetic. At Hermione's sudden expression of surprise, the girl shrugged and sat back down beside Ares VanMar.

Malfoy was beside himself, a smirk so wide upon his face he looked nearly demented. The prefects were whispering mockingly between one another. Hermione gathered up the recording rolls and placed them in her bag, taking enough time to set her off of killing Malfoy.

Well...Slytherin wouldn't be in the lead much longer.

"Right," she cleared her throat. "The next order of business is the up-and-coming Halloween Ball. Suggestions?"

"A costume ball!" Ashley suggest brightly.

"Masquerades are so trite," Jezabelle Meyer, the Slytherin sixth argued, drumming long black nails on the arm of her overstuffed chair.

"But romantic," Ginny countered.

"I agree with Jezabelle," Hermione said, causing the younger redhead to pout. "The tradition of masquerade balls is outdated and overused, and we won't be using it again."

"But-" Ginny protested.

"Think of something else, Weasley!" Draco snapped irritably.

"Thank you, Draco," Hermione said dryly. "Are there any other suggestions?"

"If it's a theme we're going for," Justin Finch-Fletchley spoke up. "Then we should decide on that first before doing anything else."

Draco nodded brusquely and beat Hermione to the punch in levitating a clean piece of parchment and bewitching it to transcribe. He may have a soul blacker than soot, but he took his position seriously.

Prefects began shouting out ideas.

"Venice," was the first, from the flirty Slytherin fifth, Preston Linae.

"Great idea, Prissy," Pansy complimented before delivering one of her own. "Palace."

Not wanting the Slytherins to dominate the list of a ball they'd all be forced to attend the other houses joined in.

"A forest," was Livia Callistan's input; the Ravenclaw sixth.

From her partner, Antony Minas: "Tropical island."

"Nice, Italy."

"Spain."

"Ooh! Ancient Rome!" Squealed Hannah Abbot.

"Yes, but you'll be putting up all those pillars personally," Hermione muttered under her breath, clearly not favoring the idea.

"France, maybe Paris?"

"I heard from my cousin that New York was really cool," Colin animatedly suggested, fishing out a wizarding picture of "the big city" to show Remus sitting next to him.

"Haunted house!"

Theodore Nott growled at the young Weasley with disgust. "Do you even know what the word 'trite' means? You Weasleys are as lacking in brains as you are in money."

Hermione ground her teeth and her nails dug into the trousered calf that was folded up beside her. "Let it go, Ginny." Her voice, hard with authority stopped the rising girl and her solid stare lowered the seething redhead back onto her floor cushion.

Fingers crushed her hand back, as Draco berated his subordinate. "Keep your mouth shut, Nott. If you keep me here any longer than necessary I'll break your legs."

Hermione frowned at Malfoy. "Thanks for your positive encouragement."

He shot another of "the looks" at her, using it to bite back his retort. Instead, he said. "Let's get on with the vote then." She nodded, holding up her hand to gather their silence. A sharp look from Draco quieted the Slytherins as well. They each played a part.

Hermione read through the list, pausing at each idea to count the number of hands in the air. When she reached the end the themes had been narrowed down to two: New York and the enchanted forest.

"Draco and I will discuss it and make the final decision. We'll have another meeting Monday after classes to announce the theme and decide on the details." Hermione announced.

"Right now, to make the best of our time we're going to move on," Draco explained. The prefects nodded their understanding. "Now," he went on. "Who the fuck has been skipping patrol?"


"Meeting adjourned."

As the prefects filtered out of the Heads' common room and out into the hallway, Hermione motioned for Remus to stay behind and turned back to Draco to finish things up. Deciding to make himself useful, Remus began gathering together all the papers and banishing the rumpled cushions off the floor, all the while keeping half an ear open to the conversation going on behind him.

"What's your pick?" Hermione was asking.

"They both suck."

Hands massaged throbbing temples. "Well, which one 'sucks' less?"

"No need to be tart, Granger," he admonished. "They're both terrible suggestions, but I vote New York for the sake of forgoing furry woodland creatures."

"I agree," Hermione concurred. "It also gives us more options to work with."

"Whatever. You can deal with the plans." Draco toed the stack of scrolls by his feet over to her side.

"We still need to present the revisions on the Hogsmeade policy and the budget analysis," Hermione reminded him. She gave Remus an aside "thank you" as he shrunk the growing mound of paper work and deposited it into her satchel.

"I can take the Hogsmeade bit," Draco said, finding more interest in scrutinizing his nails. "But Dumbledore will want us both there for the budget meeting."

"Alright." And Hermione slung her bag onto her shoulder signifying the end of the meeting. "If you need something for the presentation leave me a note on the board."

The board was the standing tack board positioned upright in the corner of the vast common room, where the prefects left notices and questions for the Heads and was used to avoid any direct contact between Hermione and Draco. Their entire business was conducted through notes and owls, save when they were required to preside over the prefect meetings. It had worked well so far.

Hermione walked to where Remus waited, head bent as she searched through her pockets for the note Ginny had handed her before she'd left. She scanned it quickly, and then stuffed it back into her pocket.

We need to talk about the Marauders. Ron.

"I see you haven't gotten over your infatuation with the mudblood, Lupin," Malfoy's casual tone carried silkily across the common room.

There was no room for embarrassment beside the pulsing anger that hit the Gryffindor prefect. Malfoy was the sole focus of his attention, and not even Hermione's restraining hand on his shoulder kept his fists from clenching. "Take that back, Malfoy," Remus hissed through clenched teeth.

Hermione whispered for him to let it go, but Draco's voice was louder. "Please – you think I'm afraid of you. Personally, I'd be worried about standing so close to that demon of yours."

Hermione's hand slipped so suddenly from his shoulder it caused Remus to turn to her in concern. "What did you call me?" She whispered in disbelief.

Draco stood up, hands slipping into his pockets as he adopted more of a pose than a standing position. "Nothing you haven't already heard in the halls I'm sure."

When Hermione's incredulous appearance didn't change, Draco barked a cruel, cold laugh. "It seems our fellow students have done a better job of hiding it than usual." He sneered at her, "You didn't really think they'd just welcome you back with open arms, did you? If you did, then I've sorely overestimated your intelligence, Granger."

"And I've underestimated your callousness," Hermione replied; bravely in Remus' opinion. "You'd say anything to spite others."

His half-lidded eyes gave him an almost lazy and relaxed look, but the sky blue hue in his eyes was lined with ice; a hidden danger. He licked his lips to wet them before curving them into the elongated 's' of a smirk, and replied with a morbid sense of amusement. "And isn't it always the truth that causes the most pain...?"

Remus tensed beside her, but before she grabbed his hand her last words were directed to the smooth-faced Malfoy. "Fancy being a ferret again?" She hissed, making for the door with Remus' hand in hers.

One eyebrow rose tauntingly, when in contrast the ice over the blue eyes beneath thickened warningly. "Is that a threat?" The tone in which the question was delivered sounded light, but the implications beneath it were clear to the retreating Hermione. She wisely reigned in her temper and delivered the two Gryffindors to the safety of her bedroom, leaving a smirking Malfoy behind with a slam of the door.

For once, the soothing golden hues of her room did nothing to comfort her; instead, mercilessly leaving her with her troublesome thoughts. Remus was far better at concealing his emotions at the moment than her, and he took up his stance in the space between her bed and dresser, looking infinitely less burdened than she as she paced across the room. Unable to dispel the feelings that plagued her through sheer walking, Hermione settled back upon the bed, using the ornately carved post as support for her head.

"The truth" she murmured, almost to her herself it seemed. "I can't believe Malfoy was telling the truth."

Not knowing if he should comfort her or give her space, Remus hesitated in his movement towards her and chose words over contact. "You don't know that for certain. Besides, there aren't any whispers that get by me."

Hermione sighed. In her despondence, she laced and twined her fingers in odd patterns then requiring her to stuff her palms between her knees to stop her own fidgeting. "Please don't lie, Remus. It's unbecoming."

Hermione was back on her feet again, but they would not carry her farther than Remus. "I saw your reaction when Malfoy said it. You were 'reading' his words, I know it."

"I truly haven't heard those things, Hermione. I swear it" he insisted.

Hermione nodded into her chest. "I believe you" she said, looking up.

Now he did reach to comfort her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It's probably just the Slytherins anyhow. You know they weren't going to make this any easier for you."

"Yeah, I know..." Not wanting to step out of the Remus' reach, Hermione had to worm her arm up between their bodies at an odd angle, due to their close proximity, to rake back the wisps of damp hair that had fallen out of the knot on top of her head. "I'd feel better if I had any more idea of what was going on, but the way things are now...maybe they're right"

Looking down into her wide brown eyes, set in a face that was so much more innocent now than he'd ever seen it, Remus lost himself. Here, in her bedroom, her sanctuary, far away from the prying eyes of her peers and her own friends, and the troubles of the real world, her entire soul was laid bare and vulnerable for little more than a stranger. In that moment, Remus felt so angry; so so angry. Angry at the world that had corrupted this childlike innocence, rotting it away until it had flaked off like dead skin and left her hard and desensitized to the horror. He hated whatever is was that had made her into a girl who could switch between whatever persona best fit the situation and not care about the pieces of herself that slipped between the cracks. This Hermione was good and pure; above all the hatred that filled this time. She deserved better than what Fate had dealt her; deserved to be the innocent young girl that had walked through those huge doors six years ago.

She deserved the chance to be an eighteen year old girl.

"No, Hermione" He growled, only having to duck his head a bit to meet her eyes. "I don't want to hear you ever say that again. Do you understand me"

Hermione just gaped at him.

Thinking quickly, he looked around the room and came to a decision. "Come on" he said as he grabbed her hand. "We're taking that walk by the lake."

His tone left no room for argument and Hermione would have let him drag her across the country, but she dug her heels into the carpet yanking them both to a stop. Still, the boy pulled at her, but she clasped the wrist of the hand that held her own and begged him silently to stop.

"Please" she said. "I don't want to see them right now."

He looked back over his shoulder, hand on the doorknob, with a gentle smile that asked her to trust him. "Then get ready to run."

"REMUS" Hermione yelled as he shoved open the door and yanked her out from beneath the girls' stairwell at a dead sprint. Faces whizzed past in a blur of color and indiscernible features; though, Hermione was mostly trying to concentrate on not running into anything. It had been a fair span of time since she'd gone running, and having her guide as a werewolf didn't help things much.

Then they were out through the portrait door and down the corridor.


Back in the common room, everyone was staring at the Fat Lady as she swung back shut in mixes of disbelief and surprise. Ginny's jaw was dropped and she was still holding her hands up as if the Witch Weekly magazine she'd just been reading hadn't slipped from her fingers and spilled over the floor, putting a crease in the face of Broderick the Handsome.

"What...was that"


Their laughter bounding off the walls, Hermione and Remus finally slowed their head-first rush by the fifth floor, and strained to keep their sides from splitting. It was hard to even say what had caused the laughter, more that they were laughing for sake of it. It was started by the hilarity of their run through the common room, but once it had started, the laughter continued endlessly, almost desperately trying to brighten the spirits of the two teenagers.

"You're crazy" Hermione told him, holding her stomach with one hand as the other was currently occupied by Remus'.

"It got you laughing at least" he pointed out, leading them through a tapestry that would take them down to the main floor.

"Yeah" she dryly answered. In the dark of the secret passage she punched his leg with their joined hands. "Thanks for that. Oh, my jaw aches."

"Big baby" he teased.

"Besides" she went on. "I'm not sure I agreed to any moonlit trysts with you."

Remus rolled his eyes, though she couldn't see it, and lifted aside the painting that blocked the end of the staircase, holding it so that Hermione could follow him out. It was awkward with one hand, but he wasn't going to be the one to let go first. "It's four in the afternoon, and I hadn't planned on snogging, but if you really want..."

Hermione blushed, and had he been feeling particularly gentlemanly he might have looked away. But as it was...

"We'll save that thought for another day, eh"

The October air was cool and crisp against their cheeks and carried with it the poignant smell of the lake down the grounds from them. The damp grass soaked straight through their stocking feet, neither having taken the time or forethought to find shoes before their romp out into the corridors, and as their toes turned numb and cold they picked up their run again; holding tight to one another's hand and their arms flying behind them as they tried to maintain their balance down the steep slopes of Hogwarts' grounds.

They were laughing in mirth at the overcast sky as their ridiculous run was ended by the great trunk of an oak tree overlooking the lake. Remus attempted to slow down first, but Hermione slid straight into the tree laughing, bracing herself with the palm of her hand and nearly falling right over

"This is my favorite tree" her voice was nearly breathless. Her cheeks were rouged red from the cold wind, the run, and her giggles, and when she spoke to him through a grin he watched those pink cheeks dimple. Her gaze upon the old tree was fond and she ran a palm across the rough bark before looking back at him. "How did you know"

Remus moved up beside her and grabbed one of the low hanging branches to support his weight. "This, Hermione love, just so happens to be the official Marauders' hangout."

"Oh really" Her face scrunched up impishly and then she disappeared, leaving his hand empty and cold.

He turned around in confusion but saw nothing of the brunette. "Hermione" He called out.

"Some wolf you are" her disembodied voice giggled. "Look up."

He did so, and found her grinning face peaking out of the autumnal shaded leaves of the oak tree. "Can you make it up yourself, or does wittle Remmy need a boost" She taunted in a babyish voice.

Rising to her challenge with a smirk, Remus grabbed hold of the branch over his head and with a strong move of his arms, swung himself up into the air with acrobatic ease. His feet hit the bobbing branch in a crouch, and he prolonged his grip of the thick limb until his balance was assured.

"Impressive" Hermione commended from her perch slightly higher than his own.

"You're regretting not snogging me now, aren't you"

Her hazel eyes danced in shadows of the foliage, but she didn't answer him. "We have to go higher; can't hardly see anything from down here."

Remus let her take the lead and watched her movements from behind. She'd discarded her wet socks by the trunk and her now bare feet were as much an asset to her climbing as her hands. She started out with a jerky, mechanical sort of rhythm, but as her body remembered the old oak tree Remus watched the young woman transform into an agile cat before his eyes. Not a single unnecessary movement was made, not a single muscle straining more than required to fulfill its job. Her back arched and the muscles in her thin shoulders rippled beneath the thick wool as lean arms pulled her to the next branch and her strong legs climbed up the trunk and swung up after her upper body to give her a better balance and purchase. Once in a while, her feline grace would falter, seen in the violent whipping of a branch or the hissed intake of breath as her feet scraped painfully against the bark. But then she'd remember herself and do his own climbing skills shame by slithering straight up the tree with seemingly no effort at all, and when they both reached the top it was the wolf who was out of breath.

Hermione settled herself into a 'v'-shaped crook in the branches, and bounced the branch beneath her feet to knock loose the bushel of red leaves blocking their view. She couldn't stop the goofy smile from appearing on her face.

From her vantage point she could see nearly all of Hogwarts' grounds. The lake was a stormy gray in the absence of sunlight, and the wind made the waters choppy and wild, each break upon the shore throwing up tiny bursts of white waters. On the far side, the tall sky-scraping evergreens of the forbidden forest rose like black shadows into the wispy clouds and their tops were reflected in the agitated waters. On the eastern side, where the lake diverted into a small willow-lined inlet, Hagrid's hut could be seen; pumpkins already reaching an impossible girth and the slightly lopsided smokestack spewing a steady charcoal train into the air. Oppositely, the southern corner of the castle could be seen, from the small viewing hole, to the west of the lake, and the flag of the school flapped briskly in the wind atop the tower.

"That sure is one hell of a view."

The voice was so close it could have been whispered into her ear. Hermione turned to look and saw that Remus had settled in to the 'v' beside her, and was now adjusting himself properly so he could sit and not fall out of the tree.

"Yeah. It's gonna rain."

"Probably." He grabbed an overhead branch for balance and leaned half out of the tree to look up at the sky.

"Stop that" She admonished. "You're giving me the willies."

Laughing, Remus acquiesced with her request and settled back in beside her. "It's cute that you're worried about my safety." He grinned and threw an arm over her shoulder.

She snorted. "Hardly. I just don't wanna have to be the one to explain to James how you broke your neck."

"So cold" he sulked sullenly.

"Remus..."

When he looked at her, he was met with her profile; scraggly curls falling over flushed cheeks.

"Why am I here, Remus" She turned her gaze to him and her honey eyes were dark in the half-light.

"I want to help you, Hermione. I'm here to talk if you need me" he told her sincerely.

Hermione gave a dry, humorless laugh and, shaking her head, looked back out over the lake instead of looking into those kind blue-gray eyes. "What do we possible have to talk about"

She kicked the branch again, albeit a bit more violently than necessary, and a shower of autumn-hued leaves rained down onto the slick grass. "There isn't anything I went through that you could possibly understand. No offense" she added as an afterthought as if she'd subconsciously worried over hurting his feelings.

"I know that" Remus answered without the slightest bit of hurt or anger in his voice. "But the offer's still there."

Hermione pulled one leg up to her chest and rested her chin over her knee. "Again, I ask 'about what'"

"Anything, whatever you want" he offered. "I like talking with you very much."

Giving a sigh that sounded more frustrated than relenting, Hermione's head sagged forward and she ran her fingers wildly back and forth through her hair in an effort to work through her anxiety. The action only succeeded in breaking the band that held her hair and the wet mess fell down around her shoulders and into her down-turned face. She was just growling in annoyance at the great misfortune that seemed to have befallen her, when Remus reached out to help her comb back the thick locks. With an effortless gesture, he tucked the hair behind her ear and then withdrew his hand like he hadn't done anything more than hand her a quill.

"We could talk about the ball" She suggest finally.

Remus made a face. "Boring."

"Hey! You said 'anything'" she exclaimed, shoving at his chest.

"And by 'anything', I meant 'anything that's not boring'" he said.

"Remus." She frowned at him. " 'Whatever you want', that's what you told me. You going back on that"

He pouted a bit, and Hermione bit the inside of her cheek to maintain her straight face. "No..." he finally grumbled.

Hermione smirked. "That's better..."

Remus grinned back.

Hermione folded her arms behind her head and leaned back against the tree branches and the arm Remus had stretched around her earlier. Blocking out everything else, she concentrated hard and watched the leaves around the window she'd created twitch spasmodically and then fall off the twigs, until she was able to see everything. She was getting the hang of this power that had been granted her, though she was still wary about using it.

She looked over at Remus, and wondered if he felt the same way. Of course not, she told herself. He seemed to have no qualms about reading Malfoy earlier, and his hesitations over Truth seemed just as minimal. She smiled at him, even if she had to force it at first, and went with a topic far safer.

"I grew up in Manchester with my mum and dad; muggle dentists" she told him, splaying her hands out in front of her for inspection. "And...my favorite candy is sugar quills."

Remus laughed loudly and uninhibitedly, flashing two rows of perfect, white teeth. "You do know those are pure sugar right" he chuckled, wiping at his eyes.

The corners of her eyes crinkled and she held a conspiratorial finger to her lips. "Just don't tell my parents."

"Chocolate's better you know..."

"You wish"


It didn't rain, and as the sun peeked out of the clouds long enough to begin to set, Hermione and Remus climbed out of the oak and headed for the castle in tune to their grumbling stomachs.

Dinner had just started when they walked into the Great Hall and took their seats at the end of the Gryffindor table with their friends, still continuing their conversation on potion ingredients.

"And why can't you combine essence of mugwort and porcupine quills?" Remus demanded as he sat down between James and Sirius, reaching to take the mashed potatoes out of the latter's hands. "Technically they should double to strength of the potion..."

"No..." Hermione was saying, as she took the seat across from him, beside Lily. "Technically they should blow up – and they do. Harry pass the biscuits, would you?"

"Well why would they blow up? That doesn't make sense..."

Hermione lifted an eyebrow as her knife slathered butter across her roll. "It would make sense if you were any good at potions."

"Ouch!" Sirius patted Remus sympathetically on the back. "Harsh, mate."

"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one, Remus," she teased.

"That would be me," James suavely intervened, leaning across the table to smile charmingly at her.

Hermione was unimpressed. "You hide it well."

"Aren't you the wit master today," Ron commented, to which she stuck out her tongue.

"And your tie is dragging in the gravy," An equally apathetic Lily informed James before savagely beheading a stalk of asparagus.

While James cursed "bullocks" and implemented an emergency strategy where his plan of action was to bury his school tie in a cast of napkins, Sirius turned to interrogating the late arrivals.

"And where have the two of you been?" He asked. "Snogging in the Astronomy Tower?"

"The Library, more likely," Harry amended.

"There you go blabbing my secret fantasies again," Hermione joked. To Sirius she said: "We were just talking about some things, and the ball meeting ran kind of long – Malfoy being a prick and all."

"And that makes you a maiden in distress..." His dark blue eyes winked at her suggestively and she laughed with a flush in her cheeks.

"I'm hardly a maiden in any sense of the word and I'm fine now, though I'm sure there'll be more distress later on if you'd like a show."

"Actually," he drawled, twirling his fork in his hand and glancing casually up at the every changing ceiling. "I was thinking more along the lines of overwhelming devotion and gratitude."

Hermione smirked. "And why is that? What have you done for me lately?"

He tucked his hands behind his head and gave a smirk of his own. "Only worked out a few of the kinks in that prophecy you sent my way..."

"Really?" She looked surprised. "Forgive me if I don't shower you with gifts right away...I'd like to see what I'm getting in return first."

"I've got skills..."

Hermione nearly choked on her spaghetti she was laughing so hard. "James, tell you friend he's gonna drown in his ego pretty soon if he doesn't learn to dam it up."

"Hey! I am in the middle of a tie crisis here," he gestured to the assuredly ruined tie. "Tell him yourself."

"You're in the middle of an idiot crisis," Sirius shot back.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I don't know why Lily bothers with a complete airhead like you."

"Well at least I don't look like a woman, you nancy-boy! Hair all the way down to my toes."

"I'll have you know, chicks love my hair."

"Really? Do they have fun braiding it?"

"Does Lily still spell out words when she doesn't want you to hear what she's saying?"

"Are you calling me stupid?"

"Are you calling me a girl?"

"I think this friendship is over!"

"I concur!"

"Let us duel then!"

"Draw your weapon!"

While James and Sirius fought with their spoons over a madly grinning Remus making side-bets with Harry and Ron, and Lily started mumbling about what she ever saw James, Hermione sat back and watched it all with a smile on her face.

She was home.


A/N2:

Marquerida:

Here we go –

Mornings: Yes, the wake-upings seem to be getting a bit repetitive don't they? I don't usually plan on them all ending up in the boys dorm...they just sort of gravitate that way. What I have planned for the rest of it doesn't involve wake-ups, so if it does wander back in, feel free to beat me.

Memories: Why you intuitive little ducky you. How did you know I was bringing that up next chapter? I think you just have magical powers. The thing of it is, that with all those other things going on (ie: Azkaban) the reader's focus was on that, though all the while things were happening in the background that weren't actually brought forward and told to the readers. Bit sneaky that. We'll be finding out in the next few chapters just exactly what was going on

Wand: Oops! Even JK makes mistakes. That was just a bit of a faux pas on my part. Thanks for bringing to my attention though. (TO CLARIFY: she IS wandless)