Disclaimer: Well, my loves, we meet again. I still haven't collected all of the ingredients needed for polyjuice potion, and I am pretty sure that even if I took some and became JK Rowling, I still wouldn't actually own any of her characters.
Authors Note: Chapter two is U-P up! Yes, that's right ladies and gents…enjoy!
Hermione wasn't particularly hungry, so she decided to forgo breakfast and take a long, hot shower. Afterwards, she tied her hair into a loose knot on the top of her head, and even put on a little bit of makeup. Surprisingly, she felt a little bit better with her hair done and some makeup on. She rarely did much with her hair, aside from brushing it, and wore only minimal amounts of makeup depending on her mood, but she figured since Harry and Ron weren't there, there really wasn't anyone to take the mickey out of her for wanting to look nice.
Upon returning to the dormitory, she found a fifth year timetable waiting for her on her bed. Although she had already finished her sixth year, Hermione didn't mind, and looked upon it as an opportunity to review and brush up on her skills. Since her first period was free, she headed down to the common room to see what was happening with her fellow Gryffindors.
She headed down to the common room to claim her usual armchair by the fire, and was greeted by five very familiar faces.
Much younger versions of Remus, James, Sirius, Peter, and Lily were stumbling through the portrait hole. "That's the new girl, the one I was talking about," Hermione heard Lily mutter to the rest of the Marauders.
They were all in when finally one of the guys noticed her. "Hey, I'm Remus. You must be new here."
"Yes, I am. Hermione Granger. And they are…" she replied, motioning to the group in which she already knew the names of everyone.
"Ah, that's Sirius," Sirius waved at her "that's James over there. I think you've met Lily, and as I said, I'm Remus. Oh and that's Peter. "He said, finishing off.
Sirius looked the same as ever, his black hair worn long and casually messy. His mischievous smile showed off pearly white teeth, and his black eyes seemed to be laughing at the world. James was the image of Harry, complete with messy black hair and a slim build. The only difference between father and son were the eyes and lack of scar. Whereas James had hazel eyes, Harry's were a jazzy emerald, exactly like the Lily that was standing before Hermione. Peter looked…well, like a rat. His small, beady eyes darted around the room, and large front teeth marred his smile, which was framed by a rather fat face. Hermione glanced around and got a proper look at Remus. She had to stop her jaw from dropping.
Short raven hair lightly speckled with grey framed a soft oval face. Bright silver eyes held a strange softness, and pale skin only added to his good looks. A slim but muscular build was visible beneath a dark grayish-blue shirt worn under his very dilapidated Gryffindor robes. After taking this all in, Hermione concluded that this younger version of Remus Lupin was one of the most handsome specimen of the male species she had ever seen.
Remus eventually began to notice her stare. Blushing furiously, he took in the appearance of the intelligent witch standing in front of him. Although she was wearing the standard baggy robes, he could still tell that she had a beautiful figure, albeit a slight one. Underneath her robes, she wore a gorgeous burgundy sweater that clung loosely to her petite frame. A gentle face was complimented by two soft curls that had managed to escape from the loose knot on top of her head. She wore little makeup; her face was beautiful enough not to need any at all. Striking was the best word Remus could think of to describe her.
They both eventually began to notice that each was staring longingly at the other, and both began to blush profusely.
Hermione attempted to break the almost (but not quite) awkward silence. "How long have you all been at Hogwarts?" she said.
"This is our fifth year. What year are you in?" Remus asked politely. The others were distracted by Sirius, who was playfully picking up Lily and running around with her, much to James' dismay.
"I'm a fifth year," Hermione said. "What class do you have after this free period?" she asked nonchalantly, both of them venturing towards the seat by the fire.
"Potions. After that I have transfiguration, and then it's lunch for me. You?" "Exactly the same!" After comparing schedules for quite some time, they realized that their schedules were identical down to the last minute.
James, Sirius, Lily, and Peter sat down in the chairs around them. They all chatted happily for several minutes, when Sirius cracked under the pressure. "Can we go to the kitchens? I'm hungry," he whined.
"Sirius! It's been about half an hour since breakfast and you're already hungry?" Lily asked, surprised. Apparently, even after knowing him for several years, she was still blissfully unaware of his dinosaur-like eating habits.
"Well, I was thinking more of Hermione, since she didn't seem to be at the breakfast table this morning…" Sirius said, with a pout on his handsome face.
"Oh bull," Remus said, laughing, "You're just making excuses because you want to go to the kitchen!" After some more casual banter, the group trooped to the kitchens.
After Sirius had emptied the kitchens of all food and many kitchen utensils (he wasn't really all that picky about what went into his mouth) the bell rang for them to go to class. The motley group headed to the dungeons for potions, where Professor Slughorn proceeded to teach them about the joys of the Strengthening Solution. "Divide up into pairs, and begin to make the potion using the instructions I have given you on the board. Off you go now!"
James and Lily were, unsurprisingly, together. As the lovebirds sat and giggled rather than making the potion, Sirius and Peter paired off and lit a roaring fire under their cauldrons. Meanwhile, thoughts were flying wildly through Remus' head. Why does she have to be so damn pretty? It's bloody intimidating! Ok, just say, 'Hermione, would you like to be my partner?' No, no, that's too forward! 'Hermione, would you like to work with me?' Yeah, that fits. Alrighty, here goes…
Before he could even get the words out Hermione said, "Hey, Remus, want to work with me?" Great minds think alike Remus mused silently as he replied "That would be…an honor". Realizing what he'd just said, he blushed slightly. Hermione smiled secretly to herself as she poked the wood under their cauldron and murmured, "Incendio," as flames immediately sprung forth from her wand. She and Remus worked well together. Hermione was the more apt one, of course, since she had already taken the class. Remus was just rather good at potions. At the end of the class, they flasked their potion and took it up to be graded. "My my, m'dears, that is wonderful. I haven't seen a potion this great since…I don't even know when. Twenty points to each of you for Gryffindor!" Slughorn said as they placed it on his desk and waited for a grade to be slapped on. They were each given a sheet which read, "Outstanding! Brilliant work," and the potion was vanished. They both left the classroom rather pleased.
The large, somewhat mismatched group head happily to transfiguration, another class which they all shared. Hermione seems to be settling in Remus thought happily to himself. He enjoyed her company immensely.
Professor McGonagall was looking the same as always, Hermione noticed. I bet she hasn't changed at all since she's taught at this school. I bet she hasn't changed at all since she was born. I think she came out with a bun on top of her head and a stern look on her face. She probably looked around the hospital and snapped, "Well, get back to work!" when she was born…good old McGonagall…she is really a constant in life, Hermione pondered to herself. Today they were learning about how to transfigure snakes into ribbons. Again, they were told to join up into pairs. What is it about these Hogwarts professors and pairs? Not that I mind, Remus considered, noticing that people were quickly dividing off into pairs. "Want to work with me?" Remus asked Hermione, praying for another chance to be close to her. She smirked a little and replied "It would be…an honor." Remus blushed a bit at her teasing, but he knew she was joking. They grabbed what appeared to be a large, electric blue python.
"You go ahead first, Remus." Hermione insisted. Remus raised his wand, and, with a slight flick of his wand, nonchalantly recited, "Moltsmole." A loud bang followed by profuse smoke issued as their snake exploded. Hermione jumped and landed in Remus' arms, much like people do to each other in comic books and cartoons when something frightening happens. They stayed there, Hermione being held by Remus, looking into each others eyes, drawing closer and closer to each other, for just a little too long. People began to wolf whistle, so Remus finally set her gently down on the desk, looked timidly up at professor McGonagall, who was staring at them with those hawk-like eyes, and said "Erm…could we have another snake?"