A Lion in a Cage
By Sashi Mizumoto
A/N: Since Halloween is coming up, I decided to upload the Halloween chapter! Naturally, some of the facts are changed from the book series because I feel like it. Plus, it will make sense in the end. I think. I don't really know, I didn't really have a plan when I started this. I write as I go.
Dedication: To Laura, whom I have gotten addicted to a few animes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, I'd be rolling in money and giggling.
CHAPTER 4
Halloween had finally rolled by, despite the awkward moments Hermione was going through. She had been avoiding Lily and James since the bedroom incident. Lily and James in turn were not talking to Hermione. They were trying to think of ways to talk to her, but to no avail. Nothing seemed to come to their mind. No way of taking the complicated feelings away.
Hermione was also furious with Sirius. She was disgusted that he had taken advantage of her like that. Sirius, in turn, was very moody and reclusive. He picked at food grumpily, he glared at people more, and he was actually doing his own homework instead of copying off of Remus or James. He even acted childishly enough as to slam doors.
Right now, the only people Hermione could talk to were Remus and Peter. However, Peter seemed intimidated by Hermione and would just run by and blush. Therefore, Hermione had Remus as her one confidant. The one person she could tell anything. Well, mostly anything.
When Halloween came though, Remus looked sickly and pale. Hermione knew why, but it wasn't as if she could come out and say it. She wanted to tell him of the potion that Snape would make for him in the future, but she couldn't. It would be interfering with time. She could only pat him on the back soothingly and hope that the pain would pass quickly.
"I'm sorry you feel so sick Remus. Is there anything I can do?" Remus rubbed his head and smiled. "No, but thank you for asking Hermione." Hermione groaned and rolled her eyes. "You know, I think you can call me 'Mione by now. I'd prefer that actually. It'd make me feel more at home." And this was true. It would remind her of Harry and Ron. And of the things and places she may never see again.
"But Hermione, I can't do that! I don't know you well enough yet!" Hermione sighed and closed the textbook she had been reading. She wanted to stay at the same pace as everyone else so she wouldn't be behind when she could finally join classes with them. "Remus, for goodness sake. Can you just do it? Please?" Hermione looked at him and Remus sighed. "All right, all right. If it really means that much to you." He paused for a moment and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "'Mione." Hermione grinned and stood. "Good!" She stood up and looked outside. The sun was setting and creating a beautiful orange color in the sky, perfect for Halloween.
"Come on, let's go down to the Great Hall. I want to see what a Hogwarts Halloween really looks like!" Hermione raced to the door, but stopped when Remus didn't follow. She didn't think his transformation was tonight, but apparently, she was wrong. "I'm sorry Hermi- 'Mione, but I don't think I'm up for it. I feel terribly nauseous. I hope you understand." Hermione nodded and could only give him a sympathetic smile. "I hope you feel better Remus." She turned and left, feeling sad that her only friend at the moment couldn't even spend such a nice holiday with her.
Remus watched Hermione leave before falling onto a chair. He clutched his sweaty forehead and took deep breaths. At least this wouldn't be a repeat of last year's Halloween. He pushed himself into a sitting position and wiped his forehead. He felt clammy, and decided that a shower would probably be the best choice at this moment.
Lily walked up the stairs, feeling tears brim in her eyes. She passed Hermione on the way, stopping and turning. But nothing could come out of her mouth. She didn't know how to explain the overly sexual display that she and James had carried on. And right in front of her friend too. She walked into the Common Room and relaxed in a nice chair. She closed her eyes for a second before going upstairs. She decided to wait in James' Head Boy room for awhile.
Remus chose this moment to come in, wearing nothing but a towel. His hair dripped, and beads of water slid down his body. Lily blushed and hid her head behind a pillow, which she roughly picked up. "I-I'm sorry Remus! I didn't know you where in here! I'll leave!" She rushed to leave, holding up the pillow. However, Remus grabbed her wrist and stopped her. Lily looked up at him from behind the pillow and blushed. Remus was a completely different person. His eyes had a cool look and he seemed much older, and much more mature. He embraced Lily roughly and buried her in a kiss. She moaned and tried to push him away, but she eventually gave in to the torrent of Remus' passion. He pushed her to the bed and enveloped her in kisses.
Meanwhile, James and Sirius were playing wizard chess in the Great Hall when Hermione came in. James went to get up, but Sirius motioned for him to sit down. He noticed that Hermione seemed distraught about something. Though she wasn't about to admit that sort of thing. Sirius kindly patted the seat next to him and Hermione sat down. James looked up at Hermione sheepishly and smiled.
"Hermione… I don't really know how to say this, but I'm dreadfully sorry. You weren't meant to see such a scene, and I know it inconvenienced you." Hermione waved her hand and smiled. "It's quite all right James. I know you didn't mean for me to be in there. Though I do wonder why you were in there with Lily after dark in the first place." She smiled and James blushed. Sirius snickered and James playfully punched him in the arm. Sirius laughed, rubbing his arm, and looked over at Hermione. "'Mione, I'm really sorry too. How about this? If I promise never to kiss you again without your permission, we stay best friends forever." Hermione thought this sounded like a promise a five year old would make, but she gave in to his puppy dog face and persistency anyway. "All right, all right. You promise me you'll never kiss me without my permission, and I will stay your best friend forever." She held out her hand and Sirius grabbed it eagerly. James smiled and decided this was probably the best time to leave these two alone. After all, Sirius had a crush on Hermione.
"I'm going to apologize to Lily. And see how Remus is feeling." He stood and left the table. Before leaving the Great Hall, he motioned for Sirius to stay seated. Sirius nodded slightly and smiled in relief. Remus' transformation was tonight and he wanted to support his friend, but if James wanted him to stay here with Hermione, he'd listen. Everyone knew that James was the ringleader of the group. He was the clever one. Yes, Remus was smart, but there is a difference between clever and smart. So, Sirius listened to everything James said. Sirius was not a servile sort of person, but he respected James' decisions. He knew that if James thought it to be best that Sirius stay here with Hermione, then it was probably true. The fact that he liked her company had nothing to do with it. Nope. Nothing at all.
Hermione turned to Sirius. "Why does James have to apologize to Lily? What did he do now?" Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. I think Lily must have her period or something. Although she might still be embarrassed about the, um, situation from before." Hermione blushed and looked at her hands awkwardly.
A few minutes passed, and James suddenly burst back into the Great Hall and took Sirius' hand. Sirius was dragged out of the Great Hall, with Hermione running after them gawkily. James stopped right outside of the Great Hall and dropped Sirius' hand. Sirius looked at James, angry that he had interrupted his conversation with Hermione, but was shocked to see tears running down James' face.
"James? Mate? Are you all right?" Sirius put his arm around James' shoulder and leaned over, looking at James' face through his dark and messy hair. Tears fell to the ground and made wet imprints on the rock floor. Hermione felt out of place and didn't know whether she should stay or go. However, when James embraced her, Hermione felt saddened and reminded of Harry. She hugged him tightly and cried into his hair, knowing that she needed to release her tears eventually. Sirius didn't want to feel left out, so he embraced them both. Immediately, they both attached themselves to Sirius, both James and Hermione crying fiercely.
After a few moments, James let go first. Hermione still clung to Sirius and Sirius hugged her, rubbing her back gently and breathing calmly into her bushy hair. James wiped away the tears, leaving wet streak marks on his face. He glared at nothing in particular, and curled his hands into fists. "Lily cheated on me." Sirius stopped rubbing Hermione's back and Hermione's tears ceased instantly. She turned her head away from Sirius' chest and looked at James with disbelief.
"I never would've suspected Lily capable of this sort of thing. I thought she would be the one I would end up marrying. But, no! I end up catching her in bed with Remus!" Hermione felt her breath stop. Remus didn't seem like the type of person who would do something like this! It didn't feel right…
"I don't know if I can be with Lily anymore. I mean, I go to my room to change into a fresh set of clothes, and I find Remus and Lily having sex in my bed! All I could do was stare before running out of there! God, I feel like such an idiot!" He dropped his head into his hands, shaking his head. "I don't know what to do." Sirius released Hermione and whispered something into James' ear.
"You know James, Remus' transformation is tonight. Do you think his animal instincts took over his soul? It might not be Lily's fault!" James perked up and gave Sirius a lopsided grin. "That must be it! Maybe Lily couldn't fight him off! Remus gets really strong before, um, it!" James glanced at Hermione and grinned. "It's got to be some sort of misunderstanding!" He ran towards the Gryffindor Tower, with Sirius and Hermione following him.
After several minutes, they reached the seventh floor. James rushed through into the Common Room, Sirius and Hermione following a few steps behind him. Sirius pulled back Hermione when she attempted to go with James upstairs. "Hermione, this is the sort of thing that we should probably stay out of." Hermione nodded and stepped back, looking at the pattern on the carpet. Within a few minutes, James had brought down Remus and Lily, who were now fully clothed. Lily was crying into her hand, embarrassed, and Remus was glaring at nothing in particular. Sirius looked out the window and noticed that the moon was rising quickly. He motioned to James and he nodded.
"Hermione, please stay with Lily for a moment." Hermione nodded and looked worriedly at Remus, who was getting hairier arms by the second. Lily collapsed onto a seat and Hermione sat on the arm of the chair and watched her quietly. James and Sirius pushed Remus out the door, and down the stairs. Hermione turned back to Lily and looked at her seriously.
"Lily, why on earth would you do this? James loves you." This only seemed to make Lily cry harder. Hermione though, was getting sick of this behavior. She stood abruptly and glared at Lily. "Lily, you could have resisted Remus! No one ever made you sleep with him! And if you can't realize how great James is, then that's your own problem! I'm not going to pity you any longer!" Lily's tears increased and she ran up to her bedroom. Hermione sat on the couch in front of the fireplace and glared at the fire for a few seconds before bursting into tears herself. Sirius and James walked in a few minutes later. Seeing that Lily and Hermione's conversation hadn't gone well, Sirius and James felt dreadful. James, not really wanting to see Lily at the moment, decided to comfort Hermione. Sirius, who didn't really want to see Lily either, was hesitant to go. He'd rather be with Hermione. However, he realized it wasn't right to make his friend go see the girl who broke his heart, so he went to go talk to Lily instead.
"Hermione, I'm sorry that I've put you through such an appalling situation. Naturally, I didn't mean for any of this to happen. And I don't know what to do, or what we're going to do. I don't know anymore!" He hugged Hermione tightly and started to silently cry again. Hermione, who still had tears running down her face, returned the hug. For minutes, the two just sat there and cried into each other's arms. Soon, their tears slowed, and then, they stopped crying. James pulled away and looked at Hermione. The flickering of the fireplace made her face glow shades of dark red, orange, and yellow. James wiped a tear away from Hermione's face, and leaned in. Hermione could only stare at James' eyes before he kissed her. Swiftly, she slapped him away. He winced and held his cheek tenderly, which was beginning to turn a light pink.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? James, you love Lily! Don't make the same mistake Lily made! You know you don't want to do this! If you want to kiss someone, kiss Lily! You know you love her! Don't confuse me with Lily! Don't use me just because I happen to be convienient at the time! Go talk to her, and see if you can work this out! You know Remus isn't himself during his transformations!" Hermione gasped and stopped. She clapped her hand over her mouth rapidly. James looked up from the ground and stared at Hermione in disbelief. "How do YOU know about that?" Hermione turned away from him and stared at the floor. She had been there for more than a month, and she knew it was wrong to keep a secret from them. Forget the rule of messing with time. Besides, there was little chance she would be able to get home anyway. Might as well try to help the people she loved.
"James, I have something to tell you."
Peter Pettigrew was pouring over a book on vampires and their behaviors for Defense Against the Dark Arts when Lucius Malfoy walked in. His air of grace and superiority could be felt by everyone, and even the librarian Madam Pince couldn't help but look at the handsome lad. He noticed little Peter devotedly working and smirked. Perhaps now was the time to ask him a few questions.
"Well, hello Peter Pettigrew! How are you?" Peter jumped in shock and looked up at Lucius with the same look as a deer caught in the headlights of a car. He felt extremely anxious whenever he was away from any of his friends. But Lucius Malfoy had always brought the stench of death and fear whenever he entered any room.
"Um, hello Lucius." Peter didn't understand this at all. Lucius was an extremely popular and good-looking Slytherin; why would he talk to Peter, the homely looking, little, unpopular Gryffindor? No one understood how he had even become friends with Sirius and James, the most popular Gryffindors in the school. So why would Lucius talk to him now? Peter remained suspicious, but tried to talk casually. Although it was always difficult for him to talk casually with his closest friends, let alone someone he didn't know.
"Why Peter, don't be shy! I just wanted to say hello!" Lucius smiled and patted Peter's head somewhat hesitantly, as if Peter was a piece of garbage. And in Lucius' view, Peter was a piece of garbage. If he could have avoided it, Lucius wouldn't even be caught dead near this…thing. However, he was needed if Lucius and the other Slytherins were going to kill James Potter and Sirius Black. As well as anyone who stood in their way.
"Peter, perhaps you and I could be friends. You always seemed like a kind little fellow." Peter felt his right hand shaking in fear, but he tried his best to hide it. Maybe this was Peter's chance into becoming more popular. Maybe he could have more friends, and not be as lonely! Yes, James, Sirius and Remus were good friends, but they were only three. But if he went into the company of Lucius, he could have fifty, maybe one hundred friends! Peter decided he'd give a friendship with Lucius a try.
"Yes Lucius, that sounds nice. Let's be friends." Peter held out his grubby hand and Lucius shook it with his thin, pale hands. He wrapped his thin fingers tightly around Peter's hand and smiled. "I'm glad we've reached an agreement."
Hermione finished explaining to James her circumstance, and James stared blankly at the fireplace. He wasn't exactly sure what to say. He knew though, that he wouldn't give up their friendship because of this. Yes, she had lied, but it was for a good reason. Before this, he had thought that there was never a good reason to lie. Nevertheless, Hermione had proved him wrong.
"'Mione, I'm not going to destroy our friendship over this. And I won't tell anyone else about this. But I do think you should tell the others. It'd be wrong not to. But, it's such an amazing story! That's how you knew what I looked like. Have you even seen Dumbledore yet?" Hermione shook her head sheepishly. "Nearly Headless Nick told me that Dumbledore was away on a trip." James smiled. "So that was how you knew ol' Nick! You were a Gryffindor!" Hermione smiled as well. "But that's not all." Hermione ran over to her cloak, which she had thrown haphazardly onto a nearby chair, and took her Head Girl badge out of her pocket. She brought it over and handed it to James. James ran his hand through his hair and leaned back, letting out a breath of air. "Wow 'Mione. You were Head Girl too."
Lily and Sirius walked down the stairs, fresh tear marks on Lily's face. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Sirius had his arm wrapped around her shoulders as he brought her downstairs. Lily looked at James, and Hermione watched Lily's hands twitch. Lily cleared her throat, licked her lips, and released her thoughts. "James, if I could, I would run to you and wrap my arms around you. I'd tell you everything was all right, that I love you, and that we'd never be apart from each other. But judging from your expression, it's probably better that I didn't. I should have tried to resist more fiercely than I did. I can't say I'm sorry because that won't change anything."
James stood and walked over to Lily slowly. She closed her eyes, fresh tears making their way down her face. He held out his hand and brushed her cheek gently. She opened her eyes gently and gasped as James gently kissed her on the lips. She let out a laugh and hugged him. Sirius and Hermione smiled and watched the couple rejoice.
"Hermione, maybe we should go check out the Halloween decorations." Hermione nodded, noticing the looks in James and Lily's faces. Sirius and Hermione quickly departed, running down the stairs in excitement. "Do you think those two will be okay?" Sirius stopped and grinned his normal boyish grin. "Of course. Those two always fix every problem they have. Besides, James cheated on Lily once." Hermione stared. Sirius chuckled. "It wasn't really anything serious though. Now that I think about it, I guess they weren't really dating at the time anyway, so it couldn't really be cheating. He dated a different girl in third year, and Lily got so jealous she hexed the poor girl." Hermione laughed, though she was secretly a little afraid. 'Maybe I should tell Sirius first about my situation.' Hermione stopped and gently grabbed Sirius' shirtsleeve. Sirius stopped.
"Sirius, I've been hiding something from you. I already told James, but I wanted to tell you now. Sirius, I…" Hermione was interrupted by bloodcurdling screams coming from the Great Hall. They exchanged looks before racing towards the door and pulling it open brusquely. They were met head on by stampeding students and teachers trying to tell everyone to calm down. Sirius pulled Hermione out of the way of the students, who were now pushing and screaming. Soon, the Great Hall was empty with a few exceptions. Hermione and Sirius cautiously entered the room, and were shocked at what greeted them.
A werewolf snarled at the teachers who had remained there, flecks of saliva flying across the room. Hermione and Sirius stopped in their tracks, Sirius tightly gripping Hermione's small shoulders. Hermione instantly had the uneasy feeling that she perhaps knew this werewolf. Teachers backed away in horror. They kept throwing stunning spells at it, but it only slowed down. It wouldn't stop. The werewolf flipped a table over, and as it shattered to pieces, the werewolf came bounding towards the door. Hermione had frozen to the spot, and Sirius attempted to move her away. She started crying when suddenly a large black dog appeared and pushed the werewolf away, biting into his flesh and tearing bits of brown fur away. Hermione came out of her stupor and realized that Sirius was no longer beside her. She could only watch as the werewolf, which she knew must be Remus, and Sirius fought.
Peter, Severus, and Lucius hid on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Peter wrapped himself tightly in his black cloak. He wasn't exactly sure as to why he was here, but Lucius had told him to come, so he came. However, the moment he saw Severus, he held up his nose in disgust. "What's Snivellus doing here?" Severus glared at Peter and whipped out his wand, but Lucius held him back. "Now really, calm down Severus. And Peter, I suggest that you apologize to him. He's the one who's going to lead us." Peter looked at Lucius with confusion written over his face. "Lead us? Lead us with what?" Lucius smiled. "With our plan. Oh, didn't I tell you? We're going to murder James Potter and Sirius Black. We would murder Remus Lupin, but he's such a helpful asset." Peter shook in fear. "Why are you going to kill them? And how is Remus helpful to you?" Severus grinned, running a hand through his oily hair. Peter knew that all of the Slytherins hated James and Sirius with a passion, but he didn't think that they would actually murder them. And the way Lucius said it so casually chilled Peter to the bone.
"Well, why should we tell you? You haven't done anything to help us as of yet. Maybe we should give you something to do." Lucius handed a scroll to Peter. Peter took it hesitantly and looked at it as if it were a bomb. "W-What is this?" Lucius grinned, his canine teeth flashing in the moonlight. "This is our plan. Make sure you don't lose it." Peter nodded and tucked the scroll down his shirt.
Hermione fell to the floor in a pile, Sirius lying away in a bloody heap. Remus walked towards her, Sirius' blood dripping from his claws. Hermione tried to remember all she had learned about werewolves in the past, but she could only draw a blank. Though she knew that when in a werewolf state, the person forgot the identities of everyone they loved. 'So Remus won't remember who Sirius is. Or who I am.' Even though this thought frightened her, she knew she had to at least try to save Remus. Shakily, she stood, and stared at Remus.
"Remus, please! Stop your bloody rampage!" She charged at him, her wand gripped tightly in her hand. He let out a low roar and hurtled himself at her. She threw her arms around his torso, saliva dripping onto her hair. She could feel his hot, musty breath on her neck. She thrust her wand in front of his torso and screamed, "STUPEFY!" He flew backwards, destroying yet another table in the process. She fell back to the floor and dropped her wand. Tears fell and Hermione's sobs reverberated against the Great Hall walls. The teachers, who had huddled together, stood, and rushed to Hermione. Sirius turned back into a human and crawled over to her, a large gash on his arm. He winced but his grin never left his face. "Hermione, you did really well. I'm so proud of you." Lily and James entered, Lily's face flushed and James with a proud grin. When they saw the path of destruction in the Great Hall though, their smiles faded and their concern grew. Lily ran to Hermione, and James attempted to run to Remus. However, the teachers intervened and James could only curse as he walked back to the others.
Quickly, the school nurse was brought and she took Sirius to the infirmary. He winked at Hermione and she blushed and turned away. James and Lily hugged Hermione tightly. McGonagall looked at Hermione though and frowned. "Weren't you supposed to be back home by now?" Hermione's lips quivered and McGonagall sighed. "How about this? Tomorrow, you come to my office and tell me the truth, all right?" Hermione nodded and silent tears fell again. McGonagall nodded at James and Lily and they helped Hermione stand, taking her to the dorms.
When they finally reached their destination, Hermione had stopped crying and she was just rubbing at her puffy eyes. Lily led her up to her room and Hermione lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. She waited for everyone to sleep before sneaking into James' room and taking the invisibility cloak. She quickly ran to the infirmary, ignoring the ghosts and Mrs. Norris' sharp yellow eyes. She stopped in front of the infirmary door and sighed.
'Should I really go in? Would Sirius want to see me? After all, it's my fault he even was injured. Maybe he really doesn't want me to come visit him.' She shook her head and smiled. 'No, Sirius isn't like that! He's so much nicer than that.' She gripped the cool metal doorknob and turned it. For some reason, simple noises like a turning doorknob always sounded louder when you weren't supposed to make them. She winced and slowly opened the door, which made loud creaking noises. She closed it sharply and leaned against it, wiping her clammy forehead.
She walked over to the only occupied bed and sat down, moonlight flooding from the window onto Sirius' face. She removed the cloak and threw it over the back of her chair. She held out her hand hesitantly before brushing away a few stray locks of his long raven hair. She jumped slightly when he opened his eyes and smiled sleepily at her. He grasped her hand lightly and she blushed. He motioned for her to lean in and she complied.
"I'm glad you're here 'Mione. Thanks." He kissed her gently on the cheek and Hermione hugged him tightly. He recoiled in pain and she apologized rapidly. He waved it away. "'Mione, this is the best pain I could ask for." He brushed his calloused hand against her cheek and kissed her softly. She kissed him back, one of her hands running through his hair. He pulled her closer, a hand running down her back. His arm was in pain, but by this point, he couldn't care less. Sadly, he pulled away and watched Hermione catch her breath. Her mind felt fuzzy, and she wasn't sure as to watch she should do. She had loved Ron, in the past, but she wasn't even sure if she would ever see him again. Moreover, here was a boy who obviously liked her, and she didn't really mind his company either.
"So Hermione? Will you go out with me?" Hermione bit her bottom lip and nodded, a light blush covering her face. He hugged her gently and she smiled, burying her face into his shoulder. For a few moments they stayed like this, until Hermione broke the silence.
"You said you'd ask for my permission before you kissed me again. Now we can't be best friends." Sirius looked up at her with distraught on his face. Hermione grinned slyly. "No, we can be the best couple though." He wrapped his hand in some of her hair and smiled before closing his eyes and drifting into a deep sleep. Hermione soon followed, her head slowly falling to Sirius' chest.
The sun had barely risen when Hermione awakened. She was met with the dull light of the sun. Hermione rubbed her eyes and sat up. The first thing she noticed was that she was here, and had slept on Sirius' chest. Memories of last night flooded into her head and she blushed a bright red, hiding her face in her hands. She realized that she would be found here if she didn't leave soon, so she went to reach for the cloak and wrap it around herself. However, just as she touched the smooth fabric, Nearly Headless Nick popped up from the floor. Hermione resisted the urge to scream and fell backward onto Sirius' body. He jolted awake and glared at Hermione before noticing Nick.
"Well here you are Hermione! I've been looking for you all night! I didn't think I'd find you here though. And what's this? What a fine young man!" Sirius scowled and Nick let out a hearty laugh. "My, don't make such a sour face at me! I have some news for Hermione!" Hermione felt as though her breath had stopped. She stood and walked over to Nick. "Please Nick, what's happening over there?" Nick's face darkened. "I'll tell you Hermione. But not all of it is good."
END OF CHAPTER 4
A/N: WOW. A lot of this was spur of the moment writing, so don't blame me if you don't like it. Nevertheless, I have to say, it's getting very interesting couple wise! Well, we'll have to see who ends up together. (Although you already know, Remus and Hermione will). And what's going on in Hermione's time? SO! I will respond to a review! Oh, and if I don't respond to you review, it's probably because you haven't given me anything intellectual to work with, you just compliment the story (which I do like) or you just don't review.