Completed: 3/30/05 10:25 PM

Posted: 3/31/05 3:26 PM

Computer Note: Oh geezus. While I was saving this my laptop had another panic attack. Almost peed my pants, but I think everything's okay now...

A/N: I know I said I was gonna try and have this done by Saturday, but I just love this story too much (and all you who read it) to just rush it. The thing is, April is my Novel-Writing Month (the official one is in November, but you know how I like to be early for things). So, basically, you write a novel which consists of 50,000 words in 30 days, not worrying about plot or w/e except the simple act of getting out a novel. That's about 1,667 words a day, plus classes and managing track. I'll do my darndest to keep TR on a timely schedule, but just so you know what's going on.

Story Note: The Halloween Ball saga begins! We all knew something big was a'comin' and it begins next chapter. HB will be spanning two chapters at least filled to the brim with the lovely escapades and wit you've come to expect, plus much more.

Next Chapter: Ooh! I've been planning this for a long time. Even if you've never read any other part of the story, read this chapter. It's gonna be good.

ETA: Well, since I'm skipping prom, but going to afterprom Saturday I'll need something to keep me awake that long...I'd like to say way late Saturday/early Sunday, but since I want this chapter to be perfect it might be later Sunday.


"HERMIONE!"

Harry pounded rather passionately on the Head Girl's door, but there was no answer.

"Great!" He exclaimed dramatically. "She's ignoring me."

"If you're looking for Hermione, she's not here." Lily was leaning over the balcony banister of the girls' staircase, the ink well in her hand giving the suggestion that she'd run out while doing her homework and just recently gone to fetch more.

"Or she's not here," Harry added nonchalantly as if that had been his second guess all along. "Where is she?"

It was Ron who answered, surveying the chessboard as his little sister struggled to comeback – tongue jutting out of the side of her mouth – not knowing she'd lost ten minutes ago. "With Remus. In the library."

"Ugh! She's always with Remus," Harry whined. "And the library's so far."

"You're a woman you know that," James called from the window seat. Apparently Harry's hissyfit had woken him from his nap. "We are not related."

"Why did you need her—" Lily stopped halfway off the bottom step, and (having finally gotten a good look at him) started to laugh. "What did you do!"

Blushing bright pink, he tugged ineffectually at the black knot cutting off the circulation in his neck. "I'd tried to figure it out on my own..."

"What – how to make your own noose?" She exclaimed with a laugh.

The pink flush deepened to a hearty red and Harry glared at her at having been so easily embarrassed. "No! I don't know how to tie a bowtie," he grumbled. "I need Hermione to teach me how before the ball because once she—" Harry jerked his head in Ginny's direction. "—gets her claws into Hermione, I won't be able to get her to help me."

Lily stepped up and, using her superior fingernails, got the black cloth unwound from his neck, and Harry took a few grateful breathes.

"You never asked me if I knew how to do it?" She said after, looking quite put-out with her fists on her hips.

"You do?" Harry asked hopefully.

"No," she laughed. "But it's polite to ask."

Still laughing she headed back her seat beneath the window where all her books were spread out and a riled Harry made several faces at her turned back before James shot him a threatening look and for his own personal safety Harry moved to put the couch and most of the common room between them.

Holding the black strip aloft, Harry cleared his throat and shouted, quite unnecessarily "DOES ANYONE HERE KNOW HOW TO TIE A BOWTIE?"

A chorus of "no"s, and the continuingly theatrical Harry looked as though he were one step away from hurling himself off the Astronomy Tower. "The Library is like...two whole floors away!" He bemoaned, throwing a hand to his forehead in a 'woe is me' manner.

"Why are we dressing like muggles for this again?" Ron asked. "Checkmate!"

Over Ginny's cry of despair at being beaten for the twenty-seventh consecutive time, a door slammed from up the boys' dormitory staircase; though, that didn't gain nearly as much attention as the loud decree that followed seconds after.

"LADIES! Avert your eyes! My stunning good looks have been exceedingly reinforced and the resulting sexiness is not for the faint of heart!"

"Padfoot, what in the blazes are you doing!" James shouted up.

Sirius had donned his ball tuxedo, for whatever reason that was unbeknownst to everyone else, and was now sitting on the railing of the stair's balcony; finely pressed pant legs dangling. He'd actually braided the back of his hair and so tightly in fact that with his messy top-hair and bangs he looked just like James from the front, and in that sense, Harry too.

"The names Black," he said suavely. "Sirius Black."

"Just what we needed," Lily sighed with a shake of her head. "Another Potter."

"Why are you wearing your suit?" James asked, giving the clearly looney teenager a bizarre look.

"Because I wanted to try it on," said Sirius in a child-like voice. He attempted to look bashful, and by his very nature failed miserably.

"Hey, Sirius!" Harry cajoled, wandering over. "You want to help me tie this, don't you?"

Waggling his eyebrows, Sirius popped off the pre-formed bow and waved it teasingly in the air. "Clip-on, mate."

Harry groaned.

"And when I do this—" he pressed some hidden device with an ease that made it embarrassingly obvious he'd been practicing and the bowtie started spinning madly around like a berserk Sneak-O-Scope. "Ta da!"

James shielded the side of his face as if he were declaring no affiliation with the escaped mental patient sitting on the banister and the only retort Lily could think of was "You're...an idiot."

Lost in Sirius'-world-of-madly-pretty-spinning-shiny-things, he sighed wistfully. "I love Muggles..."

Now purposefully trying to strangle himself, Harry dragged himself across the common room, stopping only long enough at the portrait to declare that he was "hunting Hermione down" and would "be back eventually".


Harry walked straight to the back of the Library, knowing already that the incorrigible bookworm would allow no other table to support her research than the one the three of them had first used to save Hogwarts – before it had become routine to do so, obviously. The large oval table was tremulously sustaining a mountain of books, methodically stacked and probably organized in some inane but particular fashion. Leaning against the table leg was Hermione's seam-popping satchel, its blue ribbon tied to one of the rings on the side, and beside it was Remus' equally well-worn looking carrier bag.

What he didn't see was either library-goer.

A thought struck him then, and it was so absurd at first consideration that he almost completely dismissed it. But of course he'd fought an epic battle with his tie and witnessed Sirius' obvious mental deterioration, so why couldn't something equally "absurd" include Hermione. Reeling the thought back in like a fish given too much lead, Harry realized how very possible it actually was.

Were Hermione and Remus snogging in the stacks!

Covert-mode-Harry looked hastily around then pressed his body against the nearest book shelf. He began serpentining his way through the shelves, peeking discreetly around corners and humming the muggle theme song of Mission Impossible under his breath.

When he did find them, and without their noticing, covert-mode-Harry was sorely disappointed. They were sitting side by side at one of the smaller tables positioned under the window, their backs to the beam of sunlight, logging the sun's position on their Astronomy charts. Not only were they not snogging, but they didn't seem to be doing anything at all! They weren't even sitting that close to one another.

They were just...studying.

Grumbling about "nerds" through his teeth, Harry admonished his overactive imagination and banished it to a time-out in the corner before reverting to his mild-mannered alter ego Civilian-Harry and walking up to the table.

Upon hearing his story, and chiding a snickering Remus who couldn't contain himself, Hermione sighed and agreed to a quick demonstration. Her "quick" demo as she'd termed it, had to be repeated twice more before Harry could do it all from memory. Swearing he'd name his first born after her, Hermione shooed him back to the common room threatening that if he didn't "stop interrupting her work with such trivialities" then he wouldn't "have a neck to wrap his bloody tie around."

When Harry was finally well and gone, she turned back to her work, but not before a hand sought out her own beneath the concealment of the table. Feeling utterly "Lavender-ish" in her mind but aflutter all the same, their fingers interlocked and his thumb resumed its earlier idle motion of ten minutes ago across the back of her palm. Neither said a word, fearing that to mention it would make the gesture lose its innocence or that calling such open attention to it would fill the amiable silence between them with awkwardness – who could say. As it was, Hermione resumed her schoolwork with renewed zeal and a tiny, uncontainable smile playing on her lips.


"Let's get out of here," Sirius complained, tiring of trying to balance his quill point-down on his nose. "Let's go do something."

James looked down at the Potions homework he really didn't want to be doing and then over at Lily who'd fallen asleep on the couch. Her half-open book was held open by her knee though it was precariously jutting out over the edge of the cushions. Then back to his crumpled textbook pages. Bleh.

"Alright, Pads. I'll get the cloak, you lead the way."


When she'd discovered how late it had really gotten and informed Remus that she had some extra energy she was going to expend by training, Hermione was pleased when he offered to accompany her. Repacking their things and placing books no longer needed back onto their respectful shelves, they extinguished their lanterns and left the library past the long-unmanned desk of Madame Pince.

"How late do you think it is?"

Hermione shrugged, her shadow on the dimly torch-lit walls distorting. "After ten – eleven, maybe?"

"Past your bedtime," he teased, and she snorted.

"If it's past my bedtime," she said. "Then you're a merman."

Remus pouted, his steel eyes shining in the flamelight. "I heard the sarcasm there. I'll have you know being a merman has always been my dream..."

Hermione smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"But no! Just go on and dash it! "

"I just did..."

"Crushing my childhood hopes, you know," he continued. He probably would have kept going too if Hermione hadn't punched him solidly on the arm.

"Ow!" He exclaimed. She shushed him. "That hurt!" He cried in that same loud voice that was sure to draw Peeves. Only when Hermione threatened to hit him again, did he lower his volume.

"You punched me..." Remus said with all the disbelief he could muster stuffed into that one word.

"You deserved it!" She shot back.

Remus shushed her this time, all be it a bit more dramatically, and she glared at him. "Watch yourself when we get outside," she threatened. "Or I might just hex off something important."

Crossing her arms haughtily over her chest, she picked up her pace and left Remus behind her. The hard heels of her Mary Janes had a furious melody against the stone floors as her strides became more forceful. Remus laughed, and shook his head.

He caught up with her again once they'd gotten through the large entrance door, upon which time they both gravitated towards one another at the sudden wave of freezing weather and temperamental wind. Hermione did as best as she could. Stepping slightly ahead of Remus, she lifted her fists up to shoulder-height and channeled her magic as she flung her fingers out simultaneously. The weather's harsh attack on them lessened somewhat, as if they were feeling it through a thinly woven screen door, and they both deemed it tolerable enough to continue on.

"Still mad at me?" He asked with a grin.

Hermione's only response was to turn up her nose and ignore him. She nearly never acted this way, but it felt good – teasing and joking and laughing were a rare precious occurrence in her life. A glance out of her eyes caught Remus' pout and her shoulders started to tingle.

"Smile!" He commanded. He clapped his hands together as if expecting a prompt response. Easily maintaining a stoic face, she gave her walking companion a blank look worthy of a Slytherin.

"I can tell you're smiling on the inside," he said, nodding knowingly.

Hermione laughed, but to cover up for her failure in maintaining a straight-face she nudged him with her shoulder and he slid sideways in the damp grass. He shouldered her back and the ground squelched beneath her shoes. Both of them were grinning all out now as Hermione shoved him and he tried to pick her bodily up.

He actually got halfway through the act, and probably would have managed just fine with his lycan strength if Hermione hadn't been squirming like a possessed flobberworm. "Remus John Lupin!" She shrieked, laughing. "Put me down this instant!"

He lost his grip on her and she collapsed to the grass, but Remus wasn't so lucky. Slipping backwards, he went over the edge of the hill and disappeared from her sight. Shrugging out of her knapsack, Hermione crawled over to the edge, careful not to let the slippery ground pull her down too, and watched him somersault the last few yards and slid to a stop on his back.

Her giggling died, however, when she waited but Remus never got up; he wasn't moving. "Remus? Remus!"

She started to run down the hill but only made it so far before her legs were pulled too far ahead of her and she was knocked back and slid the rest of the way down with her robe bunching up into her skirt. Her momentum dragged her farther down than he'd gone and she had to dig her palms into the muddy ground to stop herself from drifting further.

Scrambling up to his prone body – wind howling in her ears, but heart pounding in her chest – she'd almost reached him...when he sat up.

"Hermione?"

Her limbs gave out and she collapsed from all fours onto the grass, smelling musky and strong, and rolled onto her back. Her head was reeling and the taste of blood had risen up from her veins into the back of her throat. She felt him slid down next to her even before he reached out to touch her shoulder.

She smacked him. Hard. "You idiot!" She hissed furiously. "I thought you'd gone and broken your neck."

Covering her face with her hands, she realized too late that they were covered in wet grass, but ignored it anyway and tried to ignore too the uncomfortable feeling in her gut. Conversely, Remus was now sitting up beside her and seeing her perfectly in the darkness as he swallowed his shock.

"You were worried about me?" He managed to strangle out. "I didn't think you cared that much..."

He expected her to laugh or say "of course!", but neither of them were really ready for the soft "I do" that breathed past her lips in a low voice usually saved for whispered words in the common room or dark shadows of the hallways, not in some conversation laying wet and muddy at the bottom of a hill.

Not Hermione or Remus took the initiative to break the silence that followed and after a moment the young woman turned her face away and stared off into the distance. Had it been the letter and the book, his listening beneath the willow tree? Or did it go all the way back to when he'd first gotten here and Professor Knoll had let slip just how extreme their memory altercations had been? When had Hermione begun thinking of what Remus might have said to one of Harry's comments, or how he would have launched into a lecture when Sirius did something stupid? When was his face the first thing in her mind when she woke up?

It seemed all so sudden, and maybe the realization of how close Remus had come to being sent back had played a part in the whole affair, but as the cold seeped into her clothes all she could seem to recall was memories of Remus that had before slipped through her fingers.

Remus sitting beneath her window seat as she read aloud...
Remus's supposed love letter, or so Ginny said...
Remus racing her to DADA...
Remus walking her back from a Quidditch game...
Remus...had she really brought him to Azkaban with her magic...
Remus's face staring back at her from the hospital bed – the first thing she'd seen...
Remus at the prefect meetings...
Remus climbing the oak tree with her...
Remus' boxers sitting on her dresser...
Remus' wolf calling out the beast of her power...
Remus' locket...

She was going nuts, she decided. Somehow she'd accidentally taken a Polyjuice Potion and since she'd never executed properly before, she must've somehow slowly begun transforming herself in Parvati. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about boys – especially not one boy – but focusing on her studies and trying to figure out how to end the war. Not a tall order by any means.

Yes; that was it. She was just going block out all the faces and all the smiles and just...just not let it happen anymore.

"Hermione...you're going to catch your death of cold lying like that. We ought to go back inside."

Hermione turned back her face to look at him and was met with caring gunmetal eyes. Remus was considerate and kind and...there was no way Hermione could just ignore him. Softly, she said, "It's your fault I'm down here anyway...stupid Marauders," she added as an afterthought.

She sat up and Remus started to laugh. Blades of grass had dried and stuck to her cheeks and along the line of her hair. "You look ridiculous," he told her unsympathetically. Licking his thumb he tried to rub roughly at her nose like Mrs. Weasley was fond of dosing, but she swatted him off.

She couldn't, she shouldn't, but he was smiling, and then she was smiling and wondering where the hell her self-control had gone. She let him brush the grass from her face, her eyes doing a nauseating dance between his and her lap like they couldn't make up their mind between what they'd rather watch and which was safer to.

"Remus..."

Her lips brushed the underside of his wrist as he moved to dislodge a blade of grass from her hair. They both froze. The hand that was so soft holding her own was now pressed against the side of her face and a healthy blush was rising to Hermione's cheeks.

Wasn't this how kisses happened in the muggle movies? She hardly dared breathe.

If they kissed what then? Would dates and cuddling in the common room follow? She couldn't imagine herself in the place of all those actresses she'd watched in her summers. And Remus didn't exactly fit the persona of dream date. He'd go back to his own time and forget all about her and whatever they might do together, but she'd be left in the cold future; empty and alone and with all her bittersweet memories still intact. Remus would never live long enough to see his own memories restored and Hermione would be the only victim.

After all, wasn't that why she'd denied her and Sirius the chance? Or was it?

No, it had to be or else she wouldn't have this ache in her heart with Remus' face so close to her own. How could she say that now she was willing to throw the rules to the wind after she'd turned Sirius down? Their friendship would be over and irreparable damage would come down upon the Marauders as she'd known them.

But that didn't matter either, did it? Sure things would be wrecked now, but all it would take was a single spell to send them back to their time; without a single memory of the future and still the same people they were before they were brought here.

Hermione pulled her head back and Remus quickly took the hint and retracted his hand. She sighed. There was certainly one of the reasons time travel was forbidden – it was just too damn confusing to sort out. But Hermione stuck with her earlier instinct. Bad things would only happen if deeper relationships were allowed to be formed...by anyone.

"Come on," she said standing up. "I still owe you a few good hexes for sassing me..."

Remus recovered quickly. "Sass? I sassed not!"

As the two teenagers headed for the clearing, they weren't watching to see the two forms suddenly appear beside the oak tree; a shimmering bundle in one's arms catching in the half-moonlight.

"That was certainly worthy of passing on to Lily," James commented lightly, clapping Sirius on the back.

"Let's follow 'em."

James rolled his eyes. "I don't wanna follow them. It's cold."

"What if they try and do something again?" Sirius demanded, peeking through the foliage to watch them go.

"They didn't even do anything this time." James was clearly exasperated.

Sirius shot him an annoyed glare.

"Look," James reasoned. "Neither of them are very easily involved, and they know it wouldn't work out 'cuz of the time difference and stuff..."

"Didn't stop me from kissing her."

James jaw dropped and he gaped at his long-haired friend as if he were some other entity entirely. With a growl, Sirius pushed off the tree and stalked back up towards the castle. He was betrayed and hurt, but mostly disbelieving. They'd been her bloody rules.

"Let's go," he snapped. "I'm freezing my tail off."


When Hermione and Remus returned a little before midnight the group was crowded around the fireplace, their customary seats, and Lily was just signing off on a very large package that had been delivered by a team of owls.

"Those are our dresses," Hermione said matter-of-factly and alerting the group to their presence.

"Do you want to see them?" Lily exclaimed excitedly.

Hermione laughed and held her hands palm up. They were caked with mud and grass. "I should get cleaned up first?"

The redhead's nose wrinkled up and she muttered something about "unladylike", and for the sake of getting her shower sometime soon, Hermione decided not to reopen that particular argument just now. Still trying to keep her hands from touching anything she walked over to Ron and asked him to dig the necklace out of her robe pocket.

"Blech! Hermione Jane – you smell like something worse than what the kneazle dragged in," he said as he routed through her pocket.

"Thank you for the glowing compliment," she huffed. "Be careful, I took it off for a reason you know..."

Ron gave her a rather viscous pinch through the soggy cloth of her robe and she jumped. "Got it," he declared when he pulled the gold chain free. "Now both of you go shower before Harry here gets physically sick."

"It's true," Harry apologized. "I'm very sensitive you know." Hermione made sure to leave a nice brown handprint across his cheek before heading into her room.

Twenty minutes later, when she was sure she'd gotten all the "nature" off of her person, she found that she was actually feeling rather exhausted. Grinning wryly as she ran a towel through her bushy hair she thought that maybe Ron was right – all that thinking was bad for her. Digging her most comfy flannel pajamas out of her bureau she pulled them on and was surprised to find that they were close to fitting her again.

She was slowing putting Azkaban behind her.

Propping open her door so that she wouldn't have to re-enter the password, Hermione padded out into the openness of the common room. When she came to a stop in front of Ron, he automatically reached to give her back her necklace, but instead she held out her arms and pouted like a little girl. He obligingly unfolded himself from the couch and got up to give her a hug.

"I'm gonna head in for bed," she said when they pulled apart. She took her locket back and refastened it about her neck. She moved to Harry now and he got to his feet to give her a goodnight hug as well. "We've got a big day tomorrow..."

Halloween.

"Actually, Hermione," James' voice stopped her. Sirius was sitting silently beside him. "We were just divvying up dates between the group."

He gave her a winning smile. "Now...I know you had your heart set on going with me. But I'm already going with Harry..."

Hermione hid her chuckles behind the cuff of her pajama top.

"Any preference?" James was careful to not let his gaze slid to either Sirius or Remus.

"Lily of course!" Hermione laughed. "Sorry you guys, but she's prettier than all of you."

Lily laughed too.

Tossing her wet hair back over her shoulder, Hermione brought her amusement down to a smile and said. "Actually, the Heads are required to go together so I'll have to meet you guys there."

Harry's face darkened and he made a face. "I forgot," he grumbled.

"Don't worry," she said easily. "Malfoy I can handle. I'll ditch him as soon as I can and find you all. But for now...I'm going to bed as I'm sure the infamous Marauders have devised something to consume the day tomorrow."

At this, Sirius finally seemed to perk up out of whatever slump he'd fallen into and the three boys exchanged gleeful looks, while Lily adamantly claimed to taking no part in their "childish games".

Halloween would certainly be something to remember this year.


>> Aw! Come on now super sleuths. Jenn was the closest, but still not close enough. A ribbon's a shape is it not? Perhaps you might find the answer in one of the "shape"-titled chapters from earlier?