Hermione opened her eyes blearily, and then wished she hadn't. The bathroom was far too white and her head was ringing… and she was sat over the toilet. She groaned, falling back carefully onto the wall, before sitting up and throwing up violently. What the hell had she done last night? She took in her surroundings… She, Lily, Remus, James and Sirius seemed to have all landed in the bathroom the house shared, lying in random places. She checked her watch, half past 11 in the morning,
"Lily…" She said hoarsely, shaking her slightly.
"We did something very, very bad, didn't we?" her friend said, before heaving into the toilet. "Oh my god…" She moaned, leaning on the sink. Her red hair was matted and her make-up smeared around her eyes. "Mione, you're a mess."
"You too." Hermione reached over and partially removed some of Lily's make-up, and Lily did the same on Hermione. Lily then proceeded to wake up James, and Hermione edged over to the bath to wake up Remus.
"Get up…" She poked him lightly, and his blue eyes opened slowly, then shut automatically.
"Ow."
"That's what I said, get up or you'll feel worse… Lily move now." Remus leaned over the toilet, as if to throw up, but just gagged. Hermione made her way to the sink and stood up, brushing her teeth to rid her mouth of the taste of acid and sick. She sat on the bath for a while as the others woke and brushed their own teeth, complaining of the light.
Hermione closed her eyes briefly, and opened the door. Luckily, the common room was empty, and she walked to the sofa and curled up on it, sighing. Another body weighted the other end, and she opened her eyes to see Lupin doing the same. Something was wrong, something had happened last night between them… but what she couldn't remember. Instead, she turned herself around, resting her head on his knees.
"I feel horrible." She said, rubbing her eyes.
"You look it." He said, partially joking. "And for the record, can I join the I-feel-like-crap club?"
"Feel free." She said. They sat in silence for a while, and heard the others talking quietly as they came to sit on other sofas around them, falling asleep quickly. "Remus, what happened last night? I can't remember anything past Sirius kissing the barmaid."
She felt him tense slightly. "I think, I'm not sure, but I think I kissed you, as a dare… and then we didn't stop."
"Oh god…" She moaned, covering her face with her hands.
"I think I shocked Padfoot into silence, if that's any consolation." Remus absentmindedly toyed with her hair that draped over his lap. "And I don't think it was all that bad a thing, you know."
Hermione blushed. "Was I any good?" She asked as he sat up, helping her to get more comfortable.
"I think you were." He helped her sit up, and their eyes met. She felt her cheeks grow warm, but didn't break the contact, loosing herself in his eyes, so like the ocean.
Remus felt his heart skip a beat, and he pushed a few curls out of the way of her face, staring into her eyes. "Hermione…" he said softly, and licked his lips nervously before drawing her face up to meet his is a slow, gentle kiss.
Hermione was terrified, and for a moment she thought about rejecting the kiss. This was her professor… but then it wasn't. He was a gorgeous 18 year old boy who was kissing her, and hell was he good at it. She laced her hand up around his neck and twisted it into his hair, pulling him closer and he slipped his tongue into her mouth. It was electrifying and incredible, and she knew that this time she would remember the kiss, and never wanted it to end. He pulled her gently into his lap like he had the previous night, but this time was gentle, keeping to her pace.
"How could I have forgotten that?" She asked as they separated for a moment, needing air. "I think you need to show me again."
They didn't leave each others arms for quite some time.
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School began a few days after the trip to Hogsmead, and now more than ever Hermione began to feel out of place amongst the Marauders. She missed Harry and Ron, criticising their work and correcting it, having to boss people around to do work. Even more she missed her parents; they were her rock and kept her sane. Without them, she wouldn't survive, she knew it.
Classes were the hardest they had ever been, drilling into the students heads dates and figures, charms, herbs, poisons and potions… Hermione felt sure her head was going to cave in from the pressure. Every spare moment the 7th year students had, it was spent in the library.
Peter had returned from the Christmas break the day before term began, and Hermione had work hard not to recoil from him, and wanted to tell Lily and James desperately that he was going to betray them, that he was going to put Sirius in Azkaban, fake death for years and return in an attempt to kill or Capture their son. The worst think was, she couldn't. Had she made a mistake in coming back in time, and now getting stuck here, through the first reign of Voldemort, and probably living well into the second? Was it the wrong decision to risk her life to come back and find out who the Marauders were, their history, and also Harry's, but then risking being unable to return, or dying in the attempt?
This only made Hermione throw herself into her work even harder, sleeping only when she was on the verge of passing out and spending only a few minutes of the day eating, just to make sure she didn't end up in the hospital wing.
At that moment, she was sat in the library, reading detailed passages on becoming an Animagus, and a thought crept into her head. Could she do it, become an Animagus illegally, watching the marauders and Remus on their escapades, have a chance to watch Remus as a werewolf?
Taking a quill, she copied down what she had to do, and began to work on the potion she needed to make. It was complex, very complex. It would take two months to make, but most of this time the potion would be simmering, only on certain days could ingredients be added.
The ingredients, for the most part, were easy enough to find, and she found it was very similar to the polyjuice potion, but was only a trigger. The hardest part was learning to keep the form and holding it for long periods of time until it became second nature. Hermione stared at the notes. She was well ahead in most of her subjects, and she would still have plenty of time to keep up with her work… And it was six months to the exams, it was still only January. Could she do it?
She was sure as hell going to try.
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Potions was easily one of Hermione's best classes, especially as Snape wasn't teaching the class. In fact, their teacher was a woman, who was more than willing to help students who needed it, and wasn't surprised when Hermione asked for certain potion ingredients.
"Well, of course you can. My store-room is always open to students, and if it's for a good cause, I cannot see the problem in helping you out." Hermione thanked her teacher profusely, and filled her paper bag with as much of the ingredients as she could get in the school. This only left her with two missing ingredients.
"The blood and hair of the animal I want to transform into." She read from the book. This was going to be tricky, and she still hadn't decided exactly what her form was to be. She had stared at books for hours, and had marked her favourites. They came down to an eagle, a panther, a Siberian tiger and a wolf. She resorted to asking Lily which she would pick if she could be an animal for a day, and what she thought would suit Hermione
"Well, I myself would be an eagle. You… A panther or a wolf, I think. Go ask the guys, they'd probably help you."
She prayed they wouldn't tag on to what she was doing, and luckily they didn't seem to think along those lines at all.
"Easy, you're a panther." Sirius legged out on the sofa. "You're a huntress but you're also a kitten." She glared, but turned to James.
"You like to be free, don't you? You'd be a wolf. Don't go for cats myself." He winked.
Peter shrugged, and simply picked his favourite, which was the wolf. "Beautiful animals." He said, and went back to his book.
Remus studied the book for a while, but was the only one to ask why. She stayed silent, and shrugged, letting him take the book, which was a plain book on wild animals.
"I don't really understand, but I'd say a wolf. They're proud creatures, you know. Willing to protect their pack and take responsibility." She gave him a quick smile, brushing a little of his hair out of his face, letting her hand rest on his cheek for a moment. They had agreed that it was better to not tell anyone about their relationship, and took every opportunity to be together when they could.
Remus picked up his diary, writing a sentence in it.
My dormitory. 10 minutes.
She nodded, smiled again and stretched, closing her book. She gathered her school things, checking her watch, half past nine.
"Guys, I'm going to get an early night. I've been sleep deprived for days." They all nodded and said goodnight to her, and she walked up the stairs to the rooms, glancing back at Remus, who was watching her intently. She blew him a sneaky kiss and rounded the corner to her room. Whilst she had time, she checked the potion which was under her bed in a small cauldron. Taking out her bag of ingredients she checked her list, and waited a few minutes before opening a small bag with a measure of grated bezoar stone, and stirred it in anti-clockwise four times, clockwise seven, anti-clockwise twice. The pushed the greenish liquid under her bed again and changed into some jeans instead of her school uniform, and a plain black vest-top.
She sneaked across to the boys' dormitory and pushed open the door, it looked empty. As she closed the door a pair of arms looped around her waist and a mouth began assaulting her neck. She twisted to look up into Remus's blue eyes for a moment before pulling his head down for a deep kiss. His hands slid under her shirt, caressing her stomach and back, and she slipped one hand under his shirt, running it over his flat stomach whilst the other took its usual place in his hair. His lips sent fire along her mouth and into her blood, and she desperately clung to him, battling his tongue for dominance. She found herself being pushed back onto his bed, and moaned slightly as his mouth travelled down her neck, and she gasped as his hands reached to caress her breast. She undid the buttons of his shirt, splaying her hands across his chest as he pushed her onto her back against his pillows. It felt so right, his weight spread across her, letting his eyes bore into her soul.
"I hate hiding." He said with slight bitterness.
"Why are we bothering to then?" She asked softly, with a gentle kiss to his neck.
"We don't need to any more, do we? After all, it was just to make sure that we weren't just together because of what happened in Hogsmead."
"And we're not, are we? You feel right, somehow." She looked at her hand as it interlaced with Remus's. "It's all right."
"It is." he relaxed and rolled to pull her next to him, her leg slipping between his. They kissed again, and laid in silence. "What time is it?"
Hermione checked her watch "five past ten."
"You should go back to your room. I'll see you in the morning." She leaned over and kissed his lips softly, but he pulled her back down, not wanting her to leave.
"Remus…" She moaned into his lips. "What happened to me leaving?" He kissed her soundly, and got up, only to pin her underneath him again. Hermione laughed, smiling as his kiss deepened into her mouth, his tongue stroking hers sensuously. He drew the curtains around his bed, pulling off his shirt entirely, and Hermione eyed him, his muscles rippling under his skin, like that of a predators, and he removed his trainers so he lay only in his jeans.
"I decided you're staying right here." He whispered in her ear, kissing just behind it. "Any arguments?"
"Not that I can think of." He grinned, and pulled her under the covers, wrapping her tightly in his arms.
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Sirius, James and Peter stared at the two who resided in Remus's bed, fast asleep. Thankfully they were both wearing some clothes, but they were in partial shock.
"Looks like you were right mate." Sirius said, eying James. "Damn shame, too."
"Leave them. I'm going to bed." James yawned and changed for bed. There was a knock on the door, and Lily stuck her head in.
"Hermione isn't in our room, have you seen her?" She asked, and James pulled her into the room.
"Can you see her?" Lily nodded, a sweet smile gracing her lips. "I guess we were right."
"I guess we were. They look sweet together." Lily leaned against James, giving him a small kiss and exited the room with a quick goodnight.
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