Hello hello lovelies!
Surprise update! I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to update again before the end of May (I'm still slightly miffed, I wanted to be up to chapter 116 by the end of the month, but RL had different plans), but here we are!
I really hope you guys like this chapter, it's just a bit of happiness in March. The next few chapters are going to be a bit of a rollercoaster lol. It's also so weird how quickly their sixth year is going by compared to their fifth.
Please leave a review and let me know what you think ;)
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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.
For weestarmeggie, as she is a lovely, dear friend and constantly listens to me ramble on incessantly xxx
Friday, March 4th, 1977
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
"Please tell me you did not skiv off today so that you could go and buy that," Remus gaped at a giddy Sirius Black, seated comfortably on his new purchase.
"Where did you even get the money for it?" Hermione blinked blankly, unsure as to how she felt about the whole thing. She'd known for a long time that Sirius was going to buy a motorcycle, she just hadn't known when.
She had to admit it was a beautiful piece of machinery. A beautiful piece of machinery that she had no intention of ever getting on, ever.
James and Sirius were already excitedly discussing how they could magically enhance it, how they could make the bike even better. James had been in awe from the moment he saw it, and the first words out of his mouth were, "blimey, it's beautiful." The next were to ask if they could take it for a spin.
"I had some money Uncle Alphard gave me after I got officially disowned, the rest of it I'm saving or whatever," Sirius said absently, tucking some hair that had escaped from his bun behind his ear.
"It only makes sense that you would have a blatant disregard for how to properly manage your money," Remus groaned, rubbing at his temples. Remus had been staring at Sirius in stunned silence since he'd laid eyes on the motorcycle.
The Marauders were just outside of Hogsmeade, and miraculously the motorcycle's engine hadn't shut off yet—despite its magical environs—so there was a rumbling sound in the air as the engine purred. (Magic and technology working together was never an exact science after all.)
Twenty minutes ago, they had all been languidly relaxing in the Viaduct Courtyard after classes, when Rosmerta had appeared—drawing attention to herself from the Marauder's fellow students, as it was rare to see the Barmaid leave the village. She informed them in a hushed whisper that their friend was waiting for them in Hogsmeade.
Which is how they found Sirius Black: sitting on his black Triumph Bonneville T120, with a smile so bright, you would think he was a young child who had been told that they could have everything they wanted in a candy store.
"I think it's brilliant," Draco drawled, on Hermione's other side, fingers laced behind his head, an amused smirk on his face. Hermione shot him a pointed look, and Draco merely sent her a daring smile and an even bolder wink. "Where's your sense of adventure, Hermione? I'm sure Sirius will take you for a ride if you ask nicely."
Sirius barked out a raucous laugh, "Hermione may be a plucky lass, but I can guarantee that she will never agree to get on this bike."
Peter—who had been on the outskirts of the ground, hoping and praying that no one asked him if he wished to go for a ride, because he would really rather not—let out a soft chuckle, but his lips clamped shut when Hermione sent a withering stare his way. He edged closer to James and Sirius, as if ready to cling to them like a young boy would his Mother's skirts when frightened.
"I know you're baiting me, Sirius Black, and I'm not going to bite," Hermione rolled her eyes, reaching up to take her hair tie out of her hair—she had to do some negotiating and slowly work her curls free as the hair tie refused to relinquish its hold without putting up a fight. She flipped her raven hair over her shoulder, slipped the hair tie onto her wrist, and then squared her stance as she stared down her pack member.
"For once," Sirius said with an audacious wink, and Hermione's jaw fell open. Laughter erupted from Draco's mouth beside her, and he placed one hand on Remus's shoulder for balance as he held his middle with the other. Remus tried to hide his smile behind his hand whilst resolutely staring forward at Sirius. James scowled and flicked Sirius on the back of the head.
Hermione closed her mouth, and narrowed her eyes to slits, "where exactly do you plan on keeping it? Minnie is definitely not letting that on school grounds."
Sirius's smile faltered, clearly he had not thought about where he was going to house his spontaneous acquisition. His mouth opened and closed several times like an orange goldfish with golden scales and white patches that reminded one of a beautifully violent sunset. After several moments of silence as Sirius brainstormed as to where he could take his bike, he eventually and begrudgingly admitted that he had no clue where he was going to put it.
Hermione's shoulders rose and fell dramatically as she inhaled and exhaled with obvious effort. This had not been a part of her evening's plans. She had it all figured out. She was going to go to the Great Hall to grab supper with the rest of her friends. Then she, Lily, and Marlene were going to pop into the library for a bit to work on their latest Potions assignment. Finally, before she retired for the night she and Draco had a rendezvous planned in the Astronomy Tower to look at the stars.
This was not a part of the plan. This threw a massive wrench in the works; the likelihood of anything she wished to do that evening happening was slim to none. It was a good thing she loved Sirius.
With a burdened sigh, Hermione turned her head in Remus and Draco's direction and said, "tell Lily and Marlene that something came up so I can't meet them later."
Draco own smile faded, and his features twisted up in thought as he realised that that implied their date was off the table as well. "I'll tell them," Draco said, his tone as sour as a lemon and smothered in disappointment. With a pout, he kicked a pebble, which skittered across the dirt path until it settled several feet away.
He is such a sulker when he doesn't get his way, Hermione groaned internally. The witch closed her eyes and pressed the heels of her palms against her eyelids as she said, "I'll go with you to the Manor and we can talk to Mum and Dad about finding somewhere to put it."
Hermione removed her hands, pried open her eyes, and was greeted with Sirius's blinding smile.
James stepped forward, raising a finger in protest. "The Manor?" James asked, shocked, "I know we generally don't care about the rules, but we aren't even supposed to be here. I don't think anyone will take kindly to the two of you just leaving Hogwarts and its environs."
"It's too late for that," Hermione grumbled to herself, eyeing the motorcycle as if it was at fault for being so tempting; she'd known from the moment Sirius saw that motorcycle on Halloween night over a year ago that it was only a matter of time before he got one for himself.
Not to mention Hermione had seen the one from the future that was magically enhanced; the one that Hagrid could sit on comfortably. Though, she wasn't sure if that adjustment was before or after Sirius went to Azkaban. She didn't like to ponder on events that far in the future.
"James does have a point. We're skating on thin ice with McGonagall already for our prank not even a week ago, plus we still have detention," Remus pointed out, roughly running a hand through his sandy blond tresses.
"You mean you still have detention. Draco and I got off for good behaviour, remember?" Hermione reminded Remus with a smug grin.
"I still call soggy bollocks on that," Remus scowled as he was reminded of the prior night's injustice. "A centaur is more likely to shite silver coins than you two getting off for good behaviour."
"Profane language like that is why you're mucking out the Thestrals stalls tonight, and I'm not," Hermione stuck out her tongue. Petulant, but she couldn't resist.
"Fine. Sirius didn't get out of it though. McGonagall added on an extra day for him since he whinged this morning in class about the tragic imbalance of refreshments available in her class," Remus reminded Hermione, tucking his hands into his trouser pockets.
"Okay, then slight adjustment to the plan. Draco and I can take the motorcycle to Potter Manor, and the rest of you can head back to the Castle, so that none of you miss your detention and hopefully we don't draw attention to ourselves," Hermione suggested, purposefully ignoring the sharp look James hurled her way.
"But...I don't think—" Sirius started, stroking the side of the purring motorcycle, eyes shining with concern. A lock of hair fell in his eyes, but he didn't seem to notice nor did he seem to care.
"I promise we'll take care of it," Hermione said, her tone soft, and soothing like a gentle stream that coursed through Sirius's veins and whispered, "it will be okay."
Hermione understood his hesitation to part from his new possession so quickly, it had just been bestowed upon him, and now it was being forcefully ripped from his grasp with little to no time allowed for adjustment of any kind. At least that's how she envisioned how he saw all of this, through a daring kaleidoscope lens. Even if in a couple weeks when Easter break came around, he would be reunited with the motorbike.
"I wanted to show Riley," Sirius admitted, the prior sheen and vibrance to his voice had drained away, and he absently began to play with the collar of his sleeveless Black Sabbath t-shirt. He certainly did look the part with his black leather jacket, tight, black leather trousers, black combat boots, and numerous silver rings on his fingers. All he was missing was the countless tattoos older Sirius Black had covering his body.
"I'm sure you can show her during Easter break sometime," Draco offered, turning to murmur something to Remus before he crossed over to Sirius. The setting sun gleamed across the top of his raven black hair.
With March came tufts of warmer air, but the chilled fingers of winter still dug their way into the earth, and thus the nights were often grim and rainy. The sunsets helped make up for it with their bold orange and gold statements that were accentuated with traces of midnight blue as the night approached.
Thankfully it didn't take too long to pry Sirius from his new 'lady' as he now affectionately referred to the motorcycle; he switched off the engine, handed Hermione the keys, and then whispered his tender farewells.
As the other Marauders made the trek back to the Castle—their long shadows stretched out in front of them, and faint laughter trotting after them—Hermione and Draco hung back with the motorcycle.
"You want to take it or shall I?" Hermione asked, itching the side of her nose as she examined the motorcycle that Draco was currently holding up.
"I'll take it," Draco drawled, "meet you there?"
"Meet you there," Hermione affirmed.
Then with one violent crack after the next, Hermione, Draco and the Triumph Bonneville were gone.
Dorea's first reaction upon seeing her children was spirited delight, but a frown puckered her brow and she was just about to scold them for leaving Hogwarts, when she spotted the motorcycle. "Please tell me that—that contraption does not belong to either of you."
"It's Sirius's," Draco drawled, slowly walking the motorcycle around the back towards the broom shed.
"Of course it is," Dorea shook her head in amazement, staring after her son whilst holding her arms open for a hug from Hermione. Hermione bounded up the front porch steps and flew into her Mother's embrace. She happily got lost in Dorea's scent; Merlin, she'd missed her Mum.
When Draco returned, Dorea suggested they at least stay for dinner so they could catch up a little before Hermione and Draco went back to school. The meal was a roast and Dorea even allowed them both to have one glass of Elf wine.
"Only because you don't have classes tomorrow," Dorea winked, but the wry smile she shot them made it abundantly clear that she knew they drank at school, even on the occasional weeknight. (Though, in Hermione's defense as she worked it out in her head, they only even drank during the week if it was a special occasion.)
Charlus was still at the Ministry, more specifically in the Department of Mysteries. Dorea calmly informed them that he and the other Unspeakables had been working overtime for the past couple weeks.
Dorea and Mipsy insisted that they stay for dessert, but Hermione reluctantly refused—she didn't wish to risk getting in even more trouble with Minnie this close to Remus's birthday.
Dorea sternly wagged her finger at them, and made them promise to write more often. This was met by a chorused, "we will, we promise!" Dorea snorted in response.
When Hermione and Draco walked out of the Manor—fingers entwined and small smiles on their faces—they were greeted by an inky sky littered with dazzling stars.
"I guess we got our star gazing date after all," Hermione murmured, and let out a noise in surprise when Draco suddenly kissed her, but quickly melted into it.
When Draco broke the kiss, his eyes were glittering with midnight blue and silver and he whispered, "I guess we did."
Thursday, March 10th, 1977
Remus Lupin's Seventeenth Birthday
"Oi! Dray! Catch!" Sirius bellowed as he hurled a tennis ball at Draco, who almost dropped the massive, light blue, plaid picnic blanket under his left arm as he whirled around and deftly caught the ball.
"Idiots," Hermione snorted, shaking her head with tender affection. The witch's arm was looped through Remus's, and on her other was a dark brown, woven basket full to the brim with bottles of butterbeer.
"Are you sure we should be doing this? We have classes to go to after lunch," Remus asked with a crooked grin, his canines exposed.
"Don't worry, Moony. It's your big day. You're officially a grown up according to the Ministry, which means you don't have to worry about being underage outside of Hogwarts anymore," Hermione said cavalierly. The spring sunshine was battling the light grey rainclouds, so the light that did manage to pierce the thick clouds gleamed across Hermione's raven curls that were messily piled on top of her head.
The Marauders and Lily had surprised Remus, telling him at the beginning of lunch that they were going to eat somewhere different today. As if to emphasise their proclamation, James excitedly held up a picnic basket with a goofy grin plastered on his face.
Remus had scowled at first—though it was evident that he wasn't really upset—and with a tiny smirk told them that they just wanted an excuse to have a picnic.
"Well, Moony. You aren't entirely wrong," Sirius had replied, and Hermione hadn't hesitated before swatting him across the back of the head.
This morning the Marauders had all woken Remus up with a birthday song and dance, breakfast in bed, and then a dog pile. The lot of them had been so busy laughing and goofing off that they were all late for their first class.
Presently, Lily and James were playfully exchanging banter back and forth (Peter was walking in step with them on Lily's other side), animatedly discussing how James's prank on Lysander Smith a couple days ago was ridiculous. "You're defending, Smith right now? He's a git!" (It had been a harmless prank that turned his hands blue whenever he had unsavoury thoughts, James had been quite proud of himself and his charmwork. A sentiment Lily clearly did not share.)
It was fascinating. It was almost as if Lily and James were back to being on somewhat amicable terms. At least that's what Hermione thought until a sharp yelp flew out of James's mouth—Lily had thrown a stinging hex at his rump—and now she was storming ahead with a cross expression on her face.
Almost, Hermione thought with a groan. The two of them were practically flirting now, but they were both overly oblivious that that's what they were doing.
In spite of Lily not speaking to James, the lunch actually went smashingly. James and Draco got up and began to toss about the tennis ball Sirius had brought—both trying to outdo each other with their elaborate throws, and Sirius quickly joined in.
Lily ended up asking Peter about NEWT Herbology and how it was going, and the mousey haired boy's face lit up. Over the years, his fear of the magical plants had dissipated, and it turned out he was a natural when it came to dealing with them. It was why besides Riley, Peter was one of Professor Sprout's favourite students (even if she adamantly denied having any favourites).
Hermione and Remus were on the other side of the picnic blanket, idly chatting as they ate their lunch. Just when Hermione bit into a cheese paste sandwich, Remus said, "you seem a lot happier lately."
Hermione didn't chew, she just swallowed—for a moment the bite almost seemed too big, and like it was lodged in her throat, but she hastily picked up her butterbeer, took a swig and washed it down. "What?" Hermione croaked out, clearing her throat as her eyes watered. She hadn't been expecting the conversation to take that turn.
"You okay?" Remus asked worriedly, rubbing her back in soothing circles.
"Grand. What gives you that impression?" Hermione asked lowly, ensuring that her gaze was fixed on Remus's face, as opposed to seeking out Draco's lithe form. It didn't help that his hearty laughter was coming from a few feet away.
"Hermione...we've known each other for almost six years, I think I can tell when you're happy. The past few months you've been…really happy," Remus said, as if for some reason lost for better words, and he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"Moony, I'm as happy as I've ever been. I have all of you in my life—" Hermione's voice dropped an octave as she shared a secret smile with Remus, "—plus James and Lily are kind of getting along again." Her eyes flicked over to Lily and Peter, and she was pleased to see that neither were paying them any mind.
"That is a good point," Remus relented, but he stroked her cheek and asked, "you would tell me if anyone was going on, right?"
Hermione heard Draco's laughter peter off, and she knew he was listening intently to her answer, "of course, Moony." It rolled off her tongue far too smoothly, like fine silk. It was a little white lie, but in the end, it was no worse than anything she'd had to keep from him in the past. Namely, her true identity and the year she was really born.
"Everything is just dandy, Remus. I have great parents and you lot for friends. Schoolwork is surprisingly not as hard as I thought it would be this year, and…I don't know, I'm just happy," Hermione shrugged, and it was true. She was happy. She was in love, and everything had been going her way as of late. She felt on top of the world.
It's too bad that the universe finds perverse delight in balancing things out; tipping the scales in the other direction for example, especially when you least expect it.