Disclaimer: I don't own or have any rights to Harry Potter.


Chapter 5: Save a Prayer


Hermione lay curled in a tight ball under the protectiveness of her duvet trying to find the elusive comfort of deep sleep. The pain wouldn't leave her as she stared numbly at the opposite wall.

'I can't do this,' she thought. 'I can't go on without them.'

The haunting images of her best friends faces appeared before her eyes, Ron grinning stupidly, like there was no tomorrow, and Harry laughing at something in a moment of normalcy for the boy-who-lived.

'Harry,' she thought. 'I've still got Harry, I just need to find a way home.'

'Well you're not going to find it here are you?' A voice in her head replied.

"Hogwarts," Hermione whispered and smiled a little, if anything was going to help her it would be the beloved books in Hogwarts library.

"I'll find a way home Harry," she vowed. "I will see you again." And a peaceful sleep overtook her for the first time in weeks.

She woke to the sound of an owl tapping on the window. She cracked an eye open and saw Lily, fully dressed, open the window to retrieve the mail.

"What time is it?" Hermione asked.

"Almost midday," Lily said turning with a smile as she gave the owl a treat. "I hadn't seen you sleep so well before, so I didn't want to wake you."

Hermione smiled. "Thanks."

Lily turned her attention back to the letters in her hands as Hermione sat up.

"It's our Hogwarts letters," she said grinning handing Hermione an envelope. "Didn't you think you'd get one?" she asked seeing the shocked look on Hermione face.

"I was a little worried," she confessed, opening her letter.

Dear Miss Thomas,

You have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for your seventh year of magical education.

The term begins September the 1st where you will be sorted into a house.

Enclosed is a list of books and equipment you will need.

Deputy Headmistress,
Professor M. McGonagall

Hermione re-read the letter just to be sure. Professor McGonagall she thought, as much as she enjoyed Sirius teaching transfiguration she had always had a special place in her heart for her first teacher.

A cry of glee brought Hermione's gaze up to the girl sitting on the window seat. She met Lily's eyes and cocked an eyebrow in question.

"I've been made head girl," Lily exclaimed breathlessly holding up the golden pin. The same golden pin Hermione's friends were adamant would be hers.

"Congratulations," she said, smiling sadly as Lily returned to reading her letter.

Moments later her attention was once again brought across the room as a load groan escaped Lily's lips.

"Oh Merlin please no, you must be joking," Lily said to the letter. When she didn't get a response from the parchment she elaborated for Hermione. "James," she said. Her mouth slowly working over the name. "I mean James POTTER, how on earth did James make head boy? What about Remus? Remus? James? I mean its James…James who turned the Slytherin's hair bright pink. James who wouldn't know how to get to the library. James…what are you smiling at?"

Hermione felt her smile widen. "I didn't think it was possible to say someone's name so often, so quickly."

"Oh, shut up," Lily said and half heartedly threw her pillow at Hermione, scoring a direct hit.

"Oh I'm so sorry," she said immediately regretting the action - but moments later she saw a flash in Hermione's eyes that she'd never seen anywhere but in the eyes of four certain boys. Before she could react Hermione had grabbed her own pillow and proceeded to whack the redhead over the head with it.

Shrieking, Lily regained possession of her pillow and in no time the room was filled with feathers, laughter and two witches trying to catch their breath.


Potter residence

Remus was rudely awoken from his slumber with his pillow taken out from under his head and used to hit him in the face as his head hit the bed.

"Ugh," he grunted and glared at his attacker who wore a wide grin. "Padfoot, what the hell was that for?"

Sirius shrugged and discarded the pillow. "Mrs P has made a big breakfast and the mail's here."

Remus raised one eyebrow at this. "So why pray tell did you have to hit me over the head with my own pillow?"

Sirius shrugged again and ruffled Remus' hair as his grin widened. "That Moony, my friend, was just for the fun of it."

Remus felt a growl grow in his throat and Sirius scooted from the room. "Hurry up, fleabag, there'll be none left."

"Who are you calling fleabag?" Remus grumbled to himself as he got up and started to dress. He tidied his bed and moved down the hall towards the warm sounds in the kitchen. "You're the one always scratching between your ears. Mutt."

"What was that?" Sirius asked as the werewolf entered the room. "You know it's a bad sign when you start talking to yourself.

Remus helped himself to a seat across from Peter, ignoring Sirius and thanking Mrs Potter for the meal. He reached over and picked up his letter - Sirius' and Peter's already discarded in the pursuit of food.

The message was now so familiar all the Marauders could recite the whole thing, all except James whose seemed to contain a little bit more information as he started to splutter from one end to the table.

"I…..I…Head…Merlin…Lily…impossible…"

"Prongs, spit it out before you hurt yourself," said Sirius, eyebrows raised, toast half way to his mouth.

"I…I…" James looked at his friends with wide eyes.

"Oh for the love of Merlin." Sirius said as he reached over to grab James' letter and start to read aloud. "Hogwarts school…blah blah blah…" he read, scanning the page, his eyes widening as he found what he was looking for. "We give great pleasure at informing you that you will be head boy for your final year at Hogwarts."

"Wow mate, congratulations," offered Remus, raising his juice to his friend.

"Yeah," said Peter. "Head boy...The things we'll get away with!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Sure buddy, because that's the whole point."

James' mother leaned over her son for a hug "Well done, dear - your father and I always knew there was potential hidden away."

Sirius and Remus eyes met and they grinned at each other - James, while a perfectly capable Wizard, wasn't know for his attention span at school.

James just nodded numbly and gestured to Sirius to continue.

"But Moony, Wormtail...Mrs P…there's moooore," Sirius said as he continued to read, wiggling his eyebrows. "Please meet on the Hogwarts Express for a meeting with the prefects and head girl..." Sirius decided to drag it out and torture his friends.

"Padfoot spit it out, I'm already cranky with you this morning, don't give me an excuse to do something to your hair."

Sirius slanted his eyes suspiciously at Remus, but acquiesced. "A meeting with the prefects and head girl, Lily Evans."

"Well, that's no surprise." Said Remus. "There's not many who are at Lily's level"

The boys turned to a shocked James still muttering to himself on his chair.

Failing to grab his attention with their staring, Sirius decided to take action.

"Well then I think I'll just owl Dumbledore and tell him that James has lost all coherent thought and to give the role to Moony," he said his hand going for a quill and a piece of parchment. This seemed to snap James out of his trance like state.

"Padfoot, you go near that quill, so help me Merlin I'll…"

"You'll what?"

"Wanna find out?"

"You're bluffing."

"There's only so much I can say." James looked pointedly at his mother. "But, have you ever heard the term vet?"

"Vet? Sure that's...you wouldn't"

"Wouldn't I?"

Sirius glared at his friend, but James noted he was no longer reaching for the parchment.

"Well" said Remus, standing to help with this dishes. "This is definitely going to be one interesting year."


One week later, Hogwarts Express

One week later the Marauders met up with Lily and Hermione on the Hogwarts express.

"She looks a lot better," Remus said as the girls made their way through the throngs of students on the platform.

"It's not in her eyes though," Sirius said, surprising his friends with the observation.

"Well then," said James. "How 'bout we try to fix that?" As he waved them over.

Lily caught the movement and tried to ignore it, but Hermione had also spotted the boys and urged Lily to follow.

"Ladies." James greeted, smiling and messing up his hair.

Lily, rolled her eyes and nodded in greeting. "Boys."

The three other boys smirked at their friend and the group began to organise itself to board.

SIrius slipped in front of the girls as they approached the train, gracefully boarding and turning to lend a hand.

"Thank you." Hermione said, handing her small bag and boarding.

Lily did the same and offered a rare smile to the dark haired wizard.

Sirius turned to find James glaring up at him.

"And that, is how it's done." He grinned, turning to follow the witches.

Remus rolled his eyes as James and Peter shook their heads and boarded.

As the group made their way down the narrow corridor, in hunt for at least one free compartment, Sirius managed to find himself behind Hermione.

"How's things been going?" Sirius asked quietly.

"Uh better, thank you. I just need some time," she replied.

Sirius nodded as they found a compartment, Hermione and Lily entering with Sirius following.

"Of course. But..." he started, curiosity getting the better of him

"So," Hermione asked, her voice raised slightly as she sat down beside the window and tried to steer the conversation in another direction as the others entered. "Did you all stay with your families over the summer?"

James and Peter nodded in affirmation - taking the seats beside Hermione as Lily took the other window seat.

Sirius shook his head, as he sat next to Lily, Remus settling beside him.

"I stay at the Potters, they took me in after some, ahh problems with my own family." He answered, uncharacteristically stumbling over his words - wondering when the conversation had taken such a sudden turn away from Hermione and onto him. Smart witch, he thought.

Hermione gave him a small smile, knowing this was the case, but was shocked with what Remus had to say.

"I stay with my Aunty and Uncle," he said, "My parents were killed a few years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Hermione, realising that there were still aspects of the lives of those in front of her she wasn't aware of, no matter how close they had all become in the future.

"It's ok," he said with a smile. "You didn't know."

"My…My parents are muggles," she said, feeling the need to reciprocate. "Dentists."

Lily saw a flicker of loss in Hermione's eyes and interrupted.

"It's ok, Hermione, if you don't want to talk about it you don't have to."

Hermione nodded and smiled at her friend.

"I don't remember much anyway," she said.

"What are dentists?" Sirius asked Remus quietly.

"I'll tell you later."

"What about Harry?" Peter asked, which earned him a quick kick from Remus.

"I…how do you?" She asked, wondering where they'd heard that name.

"You called for him when you...arrived." Sirius offered.

"Oh." Hermione replied, glancing down at her hands. "He's my best friend."

"Where is he?" Lily asked quietly.

Hermione looked out the window. "I don't know. I really don't know."

Peter was rubbing his shin and felt the uncomfortable feeling that settled in the compartment.

"Uhh James," he said as he realised his mistake and attempted to change the subject. "Don't you and Lily have a meeting?"

"Shit," said James, earning him a stern look from Lily. "Lets go they'll be waiting for us," he said leading urging Lily up and out of the door. "We'll be back before we get to Hogwarts," he said over his shoulder as he left.

"So," Remus said turning to Hermione and attempting to remedy atmosphere. "Any subject preferences?"

Hermione took a deep breath and turned back to the room, sending a small smile to Remus. "I like them all, apart from divination," she answered. "But I think Defense against the Dark Arts offers the most for what we may need after Hogwarts."

"That's Moony's best subject," said Sirius.

This didn't surprise Hermione she knew he was good at it, he was a brilliant teacher.

"I myself seem to have a natural ability for transfiguration" Sirius continued. "There's nothing quite like taking one object, messing with it's basic nature and turning it into something completely different."

Hermione smiled at this, as passionate as he may be, she doubted Sirius saw himself teaching in the future.

The remainder of the train ride to Hogwarts was spent talking about Hogwarts - it's professors, quirks and houses. Hermione made Remus promise to show her the library and Sirius to show her the kitchens.

As the train began to reach it's destination James and Lily returned and Hermione slipped out with the other witch to find a place to get changed into their robes.

Lily finished by pinning on her badge opposite the Gryffindor crest. "Ready?" she asked, looking up at Hermione.

Hermione nodded and looked down at her own robes, currently devoid of any crest. And devoid of any pin.

The two made their way back to the compartment when a blonde boy stepped out of another and blocked their way.

"Well, well," he sneered. "The little mudblood made head girl. And what's this?" his gaze shifting towards Hermione who had paled at the sound of his voice.

The same voice that had sent the killing curse towards Neville which had ultimately killed Dean. The boy whose name Hermione was honouring. She shook away the memory as she took hold of her Gryffindor courage and held out a hand.

"Hermione Thomas."

The blondes sneer just deepened. "Ahh sounds like another mudblood. I might have known, look at you, no self respecting pureblood would look so…well…dirty."

"Shove off, Malfoy," Lily snapped.

"Well, well, been spending too much time with Potter, mudblood? You've picked up his foul mouth, although you were dirty to begin with so it is rather fitting."

Movement caught Hermione's eye as the Marauders came up behind Malfoy, wands in hand.

"I suggest you leave Miss Evans and Miss Thomas alone, Malfoy," said James, his voice low and dangerous.

Malfoy sent Hermione one last glance before stalking off.

"He," said James to Hermione, "is in Slytherin, if the sorting hat suggests Slytherin as a house for you I suggest groveling and bribery to avoid it." He turned to Lily. "Alright?" he asked.

"Fine." She replied, shortly. "You know we're more than capable of looking after ourselves." she pointed out.

James' mouth dropped, sure he'd done well - wanting to save face he tried to recover. "Well, sure you are - but is Hermione?"

Lily opened her mouth to argue, but stopped and looked at the witch beside her. While they were all getting to know her, they didn't know how skilled she was.

Hermione shrugged, understanding. "Thank you, James. Thank you." she repeated to the others, outwardly calm.

Her wand was in her hand, hidden in the folders of her robes. Her mind had quickly sharpened and focused when confronted by the Death Eater - her battle hardened wit had taken over, and she was grateful the boys had interrupted before she'd done something she would regret.

She was more than capable of looking after herself. But as they all made their way off the train she thought it best to keep that to herself, at least for the time being.


Hogwarts great hall was full of laughter, reunion and nervous apprehension. Hermione had been allowed to stay with her new friends while the first years were sorted. Once that was done the school waited in anticipation for the tables to fill with a feast.

Dumbledore stood and waited until he had the attention of every student.

"I understand this is...unconventional, but we have one more sorting to take place." He paused and glanced at Hermione. "May I introduce Miss Hermione Thomas, who will be joining us at Hogwarts for her seventh year of schooling."

Hermione stood and made her way to the front of the hall. Curious chatter filled the room beneath the loud cheers of the four boys she'd befriended over the summer. Holding back a blush at the attention she straightened her shoulders and stepped up to Professor McGonagall, who motioned her forward to sit on the stool.

After a moment she felt a familiar weight settle on her curls.

"Ahh," said the voice in her head. "Miss Granger, I must say I'm surprised to see you here."

"I'm not here by choice."

"No, I do not believe you are. Now where to put you now, do we stick to what you know, or do we try something new? I sense a level of sociability perhaps Hufflepuff...no too much cunning and quick thinking in this brain - you sure have grown Miss Granger, what a sharp mind you've developed - I always knew you'd be a great witch. Slytherin would be good for you, a humbling experience would be good for anyone, but alas I do not think a muggleborn would last too long in that house."

Hermione audibly sighed with relief.

"Now a high amount of intellect as well as bravery, yes Gryffindor would be good for you but you would be good for Ravenclaw with this head of yours. Your peers are in Ravenclaw - it's a quietly proud house. A house of strong leaders."

"No please, Gryffindor is my home - I'm lost, I need something that belongs to me." she pleaded, not sure if it would help.

To the Marauders and Lily an age seemed to pass before the sorting hat made its decision for the school to hear.