Author's Note: First of all, I would like you thank you guys for reading my story and (for those who have left reviews) telling me you liked it. Second of all, I'm so sorry for the time it's taken to update.
Changing the Course of Destiny
Chapter Five
"Hey, Amy!" Sirius called from across the store. It was Saturday; the Hogsmeade field trip. The Marauders and Hermione were currently scouring through the racks of muggle clothes in hopes of finding dark clothes for Hermione. The excursion was settled for tonight, for it was a full moon.
"Yeah, Sirius?" Hermione asked, peaking around a clothing rack that had been blocking her view of him.
"What do you think of this?" He grinned and held up a scrap of black cloth that had been residing on the 'dress' rack.
"… Is that supposed to be a dress?" Hermione stared at the material. Sirius nodded and she burst out laughing. "In your dreams, Padfoot! Well, okay, if I had pants that would cover up the rest of me."
"Are these good?" James inquired, holding up a pair of black pants.
"Mmm… They're good." Hermione took both articles of clothing and strode over to the dressing room. "No peeking, guys, or I'll hex you into oblivion!"
"Don't worry, Amy. We won't."
"Good." Hermione replied, sliding her shirt over her head and pulling on the short black dress. Before she changed into the dark coloured pants, she took a moment to see if the dress looked good in the mirror. It barely reached the middle of her thighs. Suddenly, Hermione appreciated the fact that she had pants to put on under the dress.
"Are you ready yet, Amy!" James called impatiently.
"Hold up, I'm almost ready." Hermione tore herself away from the mirror and her thoughts and then traded her own pants for the dark coloured ones. She was mildly surprised that they fit just as the dress did – perfectly. After she took a small breath she stepped out of the dressing room. "So, what do you think?"
"Damn, girl. That looks really great on you. Remus? James?" Sirius nodded in approval and leaned back against a wall.
"You should buy those." James said with a second nod of approval. "Remus?"
"What those two said." He replied smoothly and motioned to Sirius and James.
"Okay then. I'll god take these off and pay for them." Hermione smiled and returned to the tiny dressing room. Minutes later she reappeared with different attire and strode over to the counter and purchased the pants and dress.
"Anyone want a butterbeer?" James offered as the four walked down the packed roads of Hogsmeade.
"It's too hot out here for a butterbeer." Hermione replied, fanning herself with her hand that was not carrying the bag of her clothes.
"Let me rephrase that. Would anyone want to go to the Three Broomsticks for a cold beverage because it is so damn hot outside?"
"Sure. I'll take you up on that." Sirius grinned and opened up the door to the large pub. "Ladies first."
"Thank you, Sirius." Hermione said with a small smile of gratitude. The roar of conversation from many people washed over her the second she stepped over the threshold. Quickly scanning the room for an empty table, her eyes fell upon one in the corner. The one table that she, Harry, and Ron had so often occupied. A small pang shot through her heart, as though someone had shoved a dull knife into her. "Will that table do?" She asked Remus and pointed towards the empty table.
"Yeah, that's our usual table anyway." Remus nodded and made his way over to the table, with the other two Marauders and Hermione following. All of the foursome sat down, save for James who remained standing.
"What does everyone want?"
"Iced butterbeer." They all told James, who laughed. "Okay, four iced butterbeers. Hold up." He disappeared into the crowd of people who were up and about in the large tavern. Hermione let go of her bag holding her black outfit, letting it rest against one of the wooden bench legs.
"Thank God it's not as hot in here as it is out there." Sirius remarked, looking skywards. Or rather, he looked at the fans that were spinning rapidly above them. Hermione smiled and laughed.
"What, were you melting?" Remus asked playfully with a grin. Sirius rolled his eyes and replied with a dry 'Ha, ha'. Observing both of them and they way they interacted with one another made a small laugh escape Hermione's lips. The two Marauders looked over at her with quizzical looks upon their faces.
"What's so funny?" Remus asked her with his eyebrows raised. Hermione shook her head with a smile and her chocolate eyes twinkling with laughter. Before Remus could react to her, James ambled awkwardly over to the table with two iced butterbeers in each hand.
"One butterbeer for the lady," He said, more to himself than to anyone else, sliding a metal mug in front of Hermione. "And one for the we- I mean, one for Moony." James corrected himself hastily and glanced in Hermione's direction. Hermione pretended that she hadn't been listening and sent him a quizzical look. James shook his head with a grin, though let out a small sigh of relief after he finished distributing the iced butterbeer.
"So, Amy, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" James asked for the sake of conversation and took a swig of his butterbeer. Hermione took a sip of hers and racked her mind for something to do.
"I don't know," She replied after a moment. "I was thinking about reading and doing my homework, actually." Both Sirius and James stared at her, their jaws dropped.
"But it's the weekend." Sirius protested, still aghast at her thoughts.
"And you want to throw it away doing homework," James said the word as if it were the most despicable thing anyone could ever utter.
"She's just like Remus!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Only a girl!" James added. Both Hermione and Remus snorted at this and Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Honestly! You two really should do your homework, because if you don't your grades will suffer."
"We do our homework."
"The night before it's due." Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes again.
"You two are hopeless." She said, though only jesting.
"Nah, we just have better things to do with our time." Sirius countered with a grin and took a huge gulp of his butterbeer.
Hermione strode down the staircase leading to the Gryffindor common room while pulling on her black cloak over her black outfit she had purchased in Diagon Alley earlier. It was eleven o'clock at night and everyone was asleep; everyone except the Marauders and herself.
"Amy?" Remus asked quietly. James, Sirius, and Remus were sitting on the couch next to the dying fire.
"Yeah. It's me." She replied and stopped walking once she had reached their location on the couch. "Who else would it be?"
"You can't be too careful." Sirius retorted hastily, standing up. Both James and Remus followed suit. "Let's be on our way, shall we?"
Without waiting for a response from the other three, Sirius soundlessly moved across the common room to the portrait hole and opened it, stepping through. Remus placed a hand on Hermione's lower back, pushing her in front of him without words. She nodded and crawled through the gap between the portrait and the common room. He followed her and the Fat Lady's portrait swung shut soundlessly behind the foursome. Thankfully, the Fat Lady was not awake; rather, she was snoring loudly and the tapestries in the background swayed with her inhales and exhales.
Except for the occasional squeak of a floorboard underneath their feet, they were as quite as mice. When they reached the front doors, James placed a silencing charm on the large oak doors, and opened one just enough so that everyone could slip out. Once Remus had exited the witchcraft and wizardry school, he removed the simple charm and looked over at his friends and Hermione.
"Amy, you must promise us that you won't tell anyone about this, alright?" Sirius inquired and for once was serious.
"Of course I won't, Sirius." Hermione assured the raven-haired young man with a nod and her word.
"Good."
Sirius began to change slowly into his animagus form, leaving Hermione feigning bewilderment. Her cinnamon eyes shifted to James to see him changing also; the antler's of his stag form starting to form. The only one who was not going to change (yet) was Remus.
"They're animaguses, aren't they." Her wording sounded as if it were a question, but the way she said it was as though it were a mere statement. Remus nodded at her with a small smile.
"We will save the story for later times. James is a stag and Sirius is a black dog, so don't be frightened. You'll see what I am soon enough." His last sentence was spoken quietly, almost sadly.
"Okay, I see. So where to now?"
"Just follow us." He told her with a small grin and started running off with the stag and the black dog. Hermione followed, thankful that she was wearing pants underneath her skimpy dress.
Before long, the Whomping Willow came into sight and she mentally sighed in relief. A stitch was forming in her side and her breath came in quick, short gasps. The two humans and the animals came to a halt in front of the Whomping Willow and Sirius dodged between the vicious branches and pressed his paw to a knot on the tree. Almost immediately, the tree froze.
Prongs quickly leapt with grace between and over the maze of branches and disappeared down a hole. Remus and Hermione followed, though at a much slower pace and with more clumsiness. Looking up at the sky, Remus sighed with relief that the moon was still covered with numerous clouds. After a few more moments of disorganized weaving through the branches, both slid down the dark hole.
Once they hit the end of the small slope, they pulled out their wands and muttered 'Lumos'. The tips of their wands glowed with white light, illuminating a few feet in front of their forms. Silence still prevailed as Remus and Hermione continued down the dark passageway and came to a door.
"Open it."
Her hand closed around the doorknob and she thrust it open, stepping inside the Shrieking Shack. Remus followed her and closed the door behind them, locking it.
"You're in the Shrieking Shack." He told Hermione as she sat back in a disheveled chair missing an arm.
"That's… Interesting." She replied, trying to act mildly surprised. Remus didn't appear to notice that she was trying to act, or if he did, he didn't show it.
Sirius appeared and stuck his cold and wet nose on Hermione's palm, wagging his tail. James appeared on her other side, looking extremely regal. Absently, Hermione stroked Sirius' black fur while Remus continued speaking.
"They're going to protect you. If things get bad… Leave. Go through the door and out the way we came. The tree won't harm you if you're coming out of here." He stopped, waiting for her response and possible interrogation.
"Protect me from what?" She questioned, pretending she had not an idea in the world of what she would need to be protected from.
"Me." Remus replied softly, looking away from her. He didn't want to see her reaction to the next tidbit he was about to relay to her. "You see, I'm… I'm a werewolf."
Hermione inhaled sharply, acting as though she had never heard this before. She did her best to try and speed up her heartbeat, although she was not sure of how well she was doing. His senses would be more fine tuned than hers and she would have to work harder to fool him. So far it seemed to be working, though.
"But isn't it dangerous for me to be here?"
"You know how to get out. James and Sirius will protect you until you do. If you want to leave now… You can." He added, still not looking at her. A pool of moonlight shone through the window and his body tensed.
Hermione watched, slightly transfixed, as he changed before her from a human into a werewolf. His skull began to elongate, creating a snout. Golden flecked hair changed into silvery gray fur, which erupted all over his body. His clothing tore as he transformed; tearing apart at the seams. In the span of a few minutes, Remus had been replaced with the towering form a terrifying wolf.
He sniffed at the air and his amber eyes locked on Hermione. Human. He thought as he lunged at her.
Author's Note: Reviews and flames appreciated greatly.