DISCLAIMER: Deep in the jungle there lies a mountainous tree with millions upon millions of leaves. Every year, one leaf falls off. By the time the last leaf falls, I will still not own Harry Potter.
Summary: Through the barrier and into…a different time? Hermione finds herself in the Marauder's time. In a story of hate, lies, and hurt, Hermione finds something else….love.
Chapter 4:
"Hello there," Sirius greeted cheerfully to the girl he had seen on the platform who now sat there, staring at them. She stared at him in bewilderment as he entered the compartment and started storing his trunk away. James and Remus followed him in and put away their trunks.
"Hello," Hermione mumbled. She couldn't quite believe that Harry's father, godfather, and guardian were standing in front of her now as teenagers.
"Are you okay?" James asked bluntly earning himself an elbow to the side from Sirius.
"Um…I don't know," Hermione admitted quietly, flushing a little and looking down at her hand.
"Okay….," Sirius said slowly, "let's try this again. I'm Sirius Black. This ugly bloke over here with the messy hair is James Potter. The bookworm over there is Remus Lupin, but don't judge him too much on his love for books."
"Actually," Hermione spoke up in defense of her future Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, "we have that in common. I happen to enjoy reading."
Remus smiled warmly at her while Sirius and James shared a look that clearly stated that they would be having nothing to do with the library.
"Anyways," Sirius continued, "you are?"
"Um….," Hermione didn't know what to tell them. Should she give them her real name or a fake own for the future's sake? But remembering the Marauder's Map, she decided upon the truth. "I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger."
James and Sirius smiled warmly at her. "Hello Hermione," James mocked a formal bow, "and welcome to the Marauder's compartment."
Hermione chuckled softly and decided to play dumb. "The Marauder's compartment?"
"Yeah," Remus said, stepping forward to take a seat opposite of her, "us three and on other boy. His name is Peter Pettigrew, a 7th year Gryffindor like us."
Sirius looked around. "Where is Peter by the way?"
"I don't know," James said, taking a seat beside of Remus leaving Sirius to sit beside of Hermione. "I haven't seen him around at all today."
"Me neither," Remus said thoughtfully, stroking a scar that ran across his chin absentmindedly, "and I've been around here for a while."
"Never mind," James dismissed, "he'll show up later."
Sirius laughed. "Yeah, he's probably out scurrying around looking for a new girl to chase around like a love sick puppy all year again."
James laughed. "Probably, you know Peter."
Remus narrowed his eyes on his friend. "You know he learns from watching, don't you."
James stopped in his laughter. "Just what are you implying there Moony?"
"I think he's implying mate," Sirius said with a bark, "that you follow Evans around like a love sick puppy and Peter learned it from you."
"That's unfair," James pouted, his bottom lip stuck out as he leaned back against the bench and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Sirius leaned forward and ruffled his friend's hair playfully. "Oh, come on Prongs, you know you do. She might come around this year."
"Really?" James asked hopefully, his face bright with anticipation.
Remus shot a look at Sirius while Sirius merely smiled and said, "Of course."
James leaned forward excitably, eager for a new year. Everyone laughed.
"Anyways," Sirius drawled, moving closer to Hermione who blushed slightly at the intrusion of her personal space, "where's your stuff? Beside the book, I mean."
"Honestly," Hermione admitted with a small, bitter laugh, "I don't know."
"Lose it?" James asked seriously.
"Yes." It was the truth, Hermione told herself. She had lost it; it was lost in the future but she had lost it just the same so therefore she was not lying.
"Are you a transfer student?" Remus spoke up while he moved to shift through his trunk. He found the book that he was looking for and moved the trunk back.
"I….uh….," Hermione stammered, not sure of how to answer. Would Dumbledore even let her stay? "I don't know yet actually."
At seeing their confused looks, she went on. "There wasn't really time before I had to come here to contact Dumbledore about transferring to Hogwarts. I was advised to just hop on the train and see him straight away when we arrived at the school."
"Oh, okay," James and Sirius said at once, believing her lie. Remus, however, studied her over his opened book. She knew that he wasn't reading, she could feel his eyes.
James glanced over at his best friend and almost laughed. Sirius was doing some serious looking. Maybe this girl could get the 'girl magnet' to finally settle down a little.
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The lights had long since went out and the students had climbed into their beds, eager to sleep. But one lone figure sat up by a window on a 7th floor tower overlooking the grounds. Harry Potter could not sleep.
Too much was on his mind. Too much was happening. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
The boy-who-lived had always taken Hermione's presence for granted; she was his constant. Ron's temper often made him impossible to predict, but Hermione…. Hermione was Hermione, Gryffindor know-it-all and his greatest help.
Harry sat by the window and stared up at the stars. He thought back to what Dumbledore had told him. Could Hermione really be with his parents right now?
His eyes locked onto the dog star, Sirius. It shined brightly against the dark velvet cloak of the sky, twinkling enchantingly at him, reassuring him.
"Watch over her, Sirius," Harry whispered pleadingly to the star. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost her… Please, keep her safe for us….for me."
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Sirius could not believe his luck at finding this girl sitting in their compartment when they boarded the train. Luck was on his side for once.
She was even more beautiful up close than at a distance, Sirius mused as he got his first true glance at her. He decided to take this fine opportunity that presented itself so openly to him to get a good look at her while her attentions were attracted elsewhere.
She had on a white tube top that flowed down and struck her mid thigh, loose fitting on her body. Her jeans were dark blue denim hip huggers that clung to every curve of her perfectly, flaring out slightly at the bottom. A pair of black, strappy heels completed the outfit.
Her espresso brown hair hung in loose curls to her waist, the bushiness of it completely gone. Her face was void of any makeup but she had a natural beauty about her that did not require the use of cosmetics. Her honey colored eyes hid her emotions well but shone with passion, a passion that he found himself wanting to unleash.
He couldn't wait to get to know her better.
The compartment door slid open again and all eyes turned to see who the visitor was. A red haired girl with bright green eyes walked in, carrying three heavy books in the crook of her arm, adjusting them slightly to make them seem lighter.
As soon as she caught site of James, though, a disgusted look formed on her face and she took a step back. By the look on her face, she was calculating how to leave without being obviously rude to them all.
"Hey Evans," James said sweetly, laying on all the Potter charm he could muster. He absentmindedly ran a hand through his already messy hair.
Lily watched the path of his hand through narrowed eyes. "Why do you do that?" she demanded irritably, her eyes locking on his.
"What?"
"Run your hand through your hair like you want it to look like you just hopped off a broom," Lily said, aggravation evident in her voice. "You just look stupid."
James looked genuinely hurt. Hermione instantly felt sorry for him and felt the need to defend her best friend's future father in front of her best friend's future mother. "I don't think he looks stupid. It's probably just a nervous habit for him."
Lily looked at her, seemingly taken a back that any knowledgeable girl would willingly sit with the notorious trouble makers. "Who are you?"
"Hermione Granger."
"She might be transferring to Hogwarts this year," James informed Lily, smug that he knew something that she didn't.
"Oh," Lily said. Something flashed in her eyes as she looked between James and Hermione, but she quickly covered it up. "A little piece of advice, these guys will only get you into trouble so it's best to just stay away from them all together."
"I take offense to that," Sirius protested at once, a frown upon face. "We rarely get caught so therefore rarely get into any serious trouble. Besides, Remus here isn't as bad as me and Prongsie here….."
"Prongs, Sirius," James reminded tightly, "not Prongsie."
"Whatever," Sirius said quickly, waving him off. "My point is, Remus here is a bookworm."
Remus glared at his friend for that but did not say anything, though he did roll his eyes deliberately when Hermione caught his eye. Lily didn't say anything either because she knew that Sirius was right about that, Remus was the good one of the group.
"Whatever," she said finally, "I didn't mean to come in here…."
"Might as well stay," James said quickly, patting the seat beside of him in an offering.
Lily looked at him, her face blank as she said, "No."
"Well then," James said, his eyes showing the dejection he was feeling but hiding so cleverly hiding, "I guess we'll be seeing you then."
"You bet we will Potter, especially since we were selected as Head Boy and Head Girl," Lily said coolly. "Which reminds me, McGonagall wanted to arrange a meeting to discuss some things so let's try to choose a date soon."
With that, she turned and left the compartment.
Hermione could only stare after her. How could James and Lily get together when she obviously detested the very ground he walked on…or sat on, which ever be the case.
Or maybe she didn't, Hermione thought with a start. Maybe it was all just an act. They had to get together this year; this was their 7th year after all.
Hermione glanced over at James. He looked defeated the poor boy.
Hermione reached over and patted him reassuringly on the knee, knowing that often she would do the very same thing to Harry to cheer him up.
James offered her a weak smile. She smiled brightly at him in reassurance, "I, personally, think the whole hand through the hair thing is sexy."
James couldn't help but laugh at that. "Thanks Hermione, but you see, that's the problem."
"What?"
"Well," Sirius joked lightly, "every other girl in Hogwarts think it's sexy except the feisty red-head Head Girl whom it's meant to impress."
"That could present a problem," Hermione said thoughtfully. "But we'll get her to like you before Christmas. I promise."
James turned to her, his eyes hopeful and pleading. "Do you mean it? You'll help?"
"Of course," Hermione said, "but first, tell me how you developed these feelings about Lily."
James was more than happy to oblige.
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A/N: Okay, there you go. It's late, I know, but I've had a lot to do and I hurried to get this done. I'm worn out and tired at the moment but I was determined to get this posted for you guys. In case you guys haven't noticed, I posted a new Sirius/Hermione fic (a One-Shot) called Rain. Please check it out and tell me what you guys think of it. Then, hop on over to MssrBlaze's story Blackened Secret and read it….I highly recommend it. I promise, if she doesn't update, I'll beat her since I see her every day.
ATTENTION: ACT's are this Saturday so don't expect an update till next week sometime. I'll most likely be extremely busy and won't have time to do it and I apologize. I just want a good score...
Okay…..Now that that's done:
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THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO READ THIS, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!
!AMAYA!