Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Just the plot.
Chapter Nine
They entered Hogsmead together, paired off. James flirted shamelessly with Lily, who simply rolled her eyes at him. Remus tried to explain a simple spell to Peter who stared at him in astonishment. Sirius and Hermione walked in silence, Sirius occasionally shooting glances at Hermione which she pretended not to notice.
"Come on, Pete! It's not that hard." Remus moaned in frustration. Hermione smiled, softly.
"Hey, Hermione, watch!" Sirius winked at her and snuck up behind an unsuspecting second year. Smirking slightly, he pounced on the small boy, yelling loudly. The second year screamed in terror and bolted down the street. Hermione tried not to laugh, putting a hand to her mouth as she watched Sirius roll on the ground with laughter.
"That was cruel!" She scolded, half-heartedly. It seemed this Sirius had the same effect on her as the one from her time.
"Yes, but it made you smile, didn't it?" Sirius grinned at her, his previous anger with her forgotten. She rolled her eyes.
"Hurry up, you two!" Lily called from up ahead. The group had stopped in front of Honeydukes. Lily looked angry when they arrived and James sullen.
"What happened?" Hermione asked Remus as Lily stalked into Honeydukes.
"James tried to kiss her. She didn't take it so well." Remus shrugged. Hermione rolled her eyes and hurried after Lily.
"That arse. That absolute bastard. I'll kill him." Lily was muttering under her breath. Hermione smiled.
"Hey, Lil. What kind of candy do you like?" Hermione asked, softly. She didn't have money to spend on candy.
"Chocolate Frogs and Sugar Quills." Lily answered, turning towards her.
"Hm… okay." Hermione started to walk off. Suddenly Sirius jumped into her path. He held a large bag in his arms.
"Fill 'er up, Mione!" He exclaimed.
"One, huh? And two, Mione?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. For some reason, being near him didn't seem as painfully.
"I'm buying you whatever you want. And, you need a nickname. James is Prongs, Remus is Moony, Peter is Wormtail, Lily is Lil, I'm Padfoot so you have to have a nickname. Therefore I dub thee, fair lady, Mione." Sirius grinned.
"You are not buying me anything." Hermione chose to disregard the last bit of his speech.
"I most certainly am. Pick something out." Sirius ordered. Hermione opened her mouth to argue, stopped and then shrugged. She pulled several boxes of Chocolate Frogs and Sugar Quills off the shelf and dropped them into the bag.
"For Lily," Hermione explained and then grinned slyly, "From James." Sirius' eyes widened and then he grinned back.
"Sneaky, very sneaky." He congratulated.
"I learned my tricks from some of the best pranksters of all time," Hermione shrugged, "Now, what else can I get?"
"Anything you'd like. The chocolate bars are excellent. Candy floss is always good and Droobles is… interesting." Sirius motioned to different parts of the store.
"Help me pick out a chocolate bar?" Hermione asked. The pain in that had rested in her chest since the memory that morning lessened. What was wrong with her? She felt… happy for the first time in ages.
"Of course, fair Mione." Sirius offered her his arm. Hermione suppressed a giggle with difficulty and slipped her arm into his.
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"Where to next?" Remus asked as they exited Honeydukes. Hermione let go of Sirius' arm and sighed.
"The bookstore." Lily said at the same time James cried, "Zonkos!" Lily glared at him. He wavered.
"Lily and I will go to the bookstore. You boys can go to Zonkos. Where shall we meet?" Hermione mediated.
"The Three Broomsticks." Sirius answered, smiling at her. Hermione bit her lip so she wouldn't smile back and turned away.
"Come on, Lil." She started to walk away.
"Hold on." Remus said, after the boys argued amongst themselves for a moment. Sirius muttered something and then handed him something.
"Remus is going with you." Sirius shoved his friend forward. Remus turned his head to glare at him and then nodded.
"Alright, see you at the Three Broomsticks." Hermione smiled at Remus. Sirius, James and Peter hurried off, laughing excitedly.
"So, I hear Sirius has given you a nickname." Remus commented mildly.
"Yes," Hermione wrinkled her nose, "Mione." She told them grudgingly.
"That's cute!" Lily laughed. Hermione turned to glare at her as they neared the bookstore. It was a store Hermione knew well in her time.
"So, Mione, what books will you be getting today?" Remus asked, pushing the door open for her.
"I don't have any spending money. Uncle Dumbledore didn't give any." Hermione confessed.
"If you pick out some, I'm sure the owner will put them on hold for you. Go pick some out and I'll talk to the clerk." Remus turned away from them.
"Come on, Mione. The advanced magic sections are always in the back of the store." Lily led Hermione to the back corner. A few minutes later, Remus found them.
"Anything good?" He asked, peering over Lily's shoulder.
"Oh, yes! These are amazing. I think this is where Siri… Steve got me that book for my birthday." Hermione smiled.
"Steve must have known you well, then." Lily looked confused at the mention of the unfamiliar name.
"My best friend's godfather," Hermione clarified, "And he had help. My friends always complained about my reading advanced spell books." She pulled another dusty volume off the shelf.
"How many are you going to save?" Remus looked worried for a moment. Hermione sneezed and replaced one of the tomes.
"Just these three. I don't know how I'll ever afford them though." She shrugged and wandered back up to the counter. After the clerk had put her names on the books, Remus and Lily walked up to her. Remus had a book of his own.
"If you guys will wait outside, I'll just pay for this and we'll meet up with the others." Remus smiled. Lily and Hermione hurried out into the crisp autumn air.
Arguably, a leading chapter. Any takers? No? Oh well. Sirius has forgiven Hermione, if you had any doubts. Hermione is feeling more at home in this time. Forgetting about the pain of loosing one Sirius because she now has another, in case you didn't catch that. Still may have to do some damage control in earlier chapters. Please Review.
Cheers
