It's been quite some time since I last updated this story and I'm terribly sorry, but life happens sometimes. But here is a new chapter and I hope you'll enjoy it. If anyone out there is willing to become a beta reader, please send me a message xx
(I noticed some errors in my previous chapters and I will edit them in the coming days, so don't be alarmed. No major changes, just a few tweaks here and there)
Hermione woke to the voice of Madam Pomfrey coaxing her out of her slumber.
"Rise and shine, Miss Potter!", the plump woman says softly.
"Good morning, Madam Pomfrey", Hermione mumbles, her eyes adjusting to the light.
"Your injuries are all fully healed. One of the house elves has brought you a change of clothes, the bathroom is through the door on the right side of the building. After you changed you should head down to breakfast. If I am not mistaken your brother and friends are waiting outside the doors for you."
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey", Hermione says, looking at her new robes at the bottom of the bed.
"I must say, Miss Potter, not many students find themselves in the predicament of having to visit the hospital wing within the first week of the new term. You should be more careful in the future, because while I am able to heal most injuries, I would very much appreciate not having to see you very often", the healer tells her and Hermione nods eagerly.
"I won't make a habit out of it, I promise!"
"Very well, off you go then", Madam Pomfrey says, giving her shoulder a light squeeze and a tight smile.
Once Madam Pomfrey disappeared into her office at the other side of the hospital wing, Hermione jumps off her bed, grabs her clothing and heads to the bathroom, that the healer had pointed out for her. Wasting no time, Hermione changes into the clothes that the house elf had picked out for her. Whichever house elf brought her the clothes, knew what they were doing, because they brought her, her favourite jumpers, boots and trousers. After six attempts in taming her curls, Hermione gives up and just puts her hair in a bun on top of her head, in hopes that it will stay out of her way.
Hermione slings her bag over her shoulder and heads for the doors, but before she even reaches the large set of double doors, she can hear the squabbling of her friends. A grind stretches across her face and she quickens her steps.
"Madam Pomfrey told us all to wait outside, James", Remus says calmly, preventing James to go through the doors.
"I know, but she is taking awfully long to come out here! What if something happened?", James yelps, clearly stressed out.
"It's alright, Jamie!", Hermione says, finally pushing the door open and falling into her brother's arms.
"Minnie!", he sighs, holding her close.
"Why are all of you out of bed so early on a Saturday?", Hermione asks with a raised eyebrow looking at her friends.
"James wouldn't let us sleep in and dragged us boys out of bed two hours ago, to pick you up", Sirius huffs annoyed, immediately followed by a yawn, making Hermione and the other girls laugh.
"And we girls wanted to get an early start. This is our first weekend at Hogwarts, and we wanted to use it to explore further. But James insisted that we join them and here we are", Alice explains with a smile.
"Well, I'm very happy to see you all here! It does lighten my mood exceptionally!"
"As much as I like this charming little reunion, could we please go to breakfast? I'm starving", Sirius says impatiently.
"Alright, alright, don't get your knickers in a twist", James laughs at his new friend and pulls his sister with him towards the Great Hall.
"Did you sleep well?", he asks her as they step inside the hall. Quite a few students were already sitting down for breakfast. Hermione looked around and her eyes landed on the Slytherin table, where Zabini was sitting not far from Malfoy, both looking at her and then bursting into laughter. Hermione merely rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to her brother.
"I hate them", he mumbles, having followed his sisters gaze when she had not replied.
"Us both", she answers, walking towards the Gryffindor table and sitting down with her new friends.
"So?", James asks, while piling food onto his plate.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Are we going to continue exploring the castle today?"
"Yes, why not. I would like to make a quick stop at the Common Room after breakfast, but after that we can continue on exploring and making the map", Hermione says with a smile.
"I think we will head off on our own. As lovely as it is exploring together, we want to get a bigger picture of the castle, the details can follow later", Alice says with an apologetic smile.
"That's alright, we could meet here for lunch", Hermione suggests, and the girls accept. They continue their breakfast almost in silence, the boys still half asleep and the girls whispering between themselves, but not loud enough for Hermione to hear. Hermione wonders if that is on purpose or just by chance. She sighs, turning her attention back to her own breakfast. She made friends relatively easy, but never had many. It was always her and James, but even James seemed to make fast friends with the boys. Hermione only hoped that none of them would forget about her.
"You alright?", James whispers in her ear suddenly.
"I'm fine", she replies, giving him a tight smile.
"I don't believe you, but I won't pressure you into telling me now. We will have a talk later", he says, giving her a sideways hug and a sloppy kiss on the side of her head.
"Alright, let's head up to the Common Room, then we can continue on with our map", Sirius announces loudly, spinning around on the bench and jumping up.
"See you later, girls", James waves them goodbye and pulls Hermione to the door, following Sirius and Remus.
"Where is Peter?", she asks, only noticing now, that he was not with them all morning.
"He wanted to sleep in, said he would catch up with us during Lunch", Remus filled her in.
"He is rather quiet and shy isn't he", Sirius chuckles.
"We don't know a lot about him, but maybe he will open up to us. Could be the way he was brought up. He does seem like a nice boy though", Hermione shrugs and pulls out her map and quill once they reached the ground floor. Hermione of course knew from her previous vision that in some way they would become friends, if nothing major would happen to alter the timeline.
"You're right. We have only been here for a couple of days. We have seven years ahead of us, I'm sure we will all get to know each other better", James says.
"I'm still not sure whether this is the ground floor or the first floor. It could be both. Maybe we should ask one of the Professor which one it is", Hermione thinks, as she draws the outlines of the other courtyard.
"I don't think we need to ask a Professor, Hermione. We will figure it out the further we get with our exploring", Sirius chuckles, amused by her eagerness to get the map right.
"You're right. There is so much left to explore. I would be surprised if we even finish the map this year – but then again, we will have seven years to get to know the castle. This is going to be the best seven years of our life", Hermione says dreamily. When she reaches for James, who was holding her ink again, her hand freezes mid-air, her vision going blank and a far away look on her face.
They were walking around the castle grounds during the night. They must be around fourteen years old now. Hermione, Remus, Sirius, James and Peter were laughing at something Sirius had just said. She could see herself holding her sides from laughing too hard, clutching a map in her other hand, that looked like the one she was holding just now.
"If you're going to choose our nicknames, I don't want one", James says, while trying to calm his breath.
"What! I think Moon-Lover is an adequate nickname!", Sirius defends himself.
"In what world would that be adequate. I don't think Remus very much loves the moon, Sirius!", Hermione chimes in, glancing at Remus to make sure he was still smiling, which he was.
"Yes, it would fit", Sirius huffs.
"What about you, Moony? What do you think?", James asks Remus, turning towards his friend.
"What did you just call him?", Hermione interrupts before Remus could even answer.
"Ehm? Moony? Because of what Sirius called him?"
"I quite like it", Hermione says with a smile towards Remus.
"I do too", he says with a big smile on his face.
"It's not that different from what I suggested", Sirius huffs, sulking as his friends laugh at him.
Hermione was pulled out of her vision before she could hear more of the conversation. But what she heard so far had her head spinning. Remus had an association with the moon. Her thoughts were running in overdrive and she didn't notice James holding her hand until he squeezed it hard, bringing her back to reality. He looked at her, concern written across his face.
"James! Hermione!", Sirius called from a room further down, sticking his head out through the door.
"Are you coming?"
"Yes, we're coming!", James shouts back, looking at his sister once more, before turning towards his two friends.
"They're happening more often", he whispers.
"I've noticed", Hermione replies.
"We need to be careful, otherwise people might notice."
"I know", she sighs, pushing her hand down her face.
"Are you alright, Hermione?", Remus asks, worry and confusion written all over his face.
"Yes, just a dizzy spell. I should probably take it easier today, since I do not wish to repeat my stay at the hospital wing so soon", Hermione chuckles and her friends laugh, though Remus still has a glint of confusion in his eyes that has Hermione worried. She made a mental note to herself to write down her latest vision and to further research what it could have meant. The only thing soothing her thoughts was the knowledge, that in a few years' time, she would still be close friends with those three and that her bond with her brother would still be tight.
They continued with their drawing of the map and the exploring of the castle until it was time for lunch. On their way back to the Great Hall they met the girls as well as Peter, who had just come down from the Gryffindor Common Room.
"I tell you – it took me fifteen minutes to get down here. Those stairs will be the death of me!", Peter exclaims, looking exhausted already, even though he only just gotten out of bed.
"I don't find them that difficult. You must be patient with them and not get stressed out", Alice says.
"It's not as if they have feelings, Alice", Peter huffs.
"In a way it is. They are magical stairs and magic can react like emotions, maybe they even have a consciousness", Hermione says, more as a joke, but secretly wondering if she were right.
"Do you really think so? Because if they are able to react, then they have it bad for me", Peter sighs, fiddling with the seam of his grey vest.
"We're just messing with you, Peter", Sirius says, ruffling Peter's hair, making the smaller boy blush.
"I'm sure it's just a coincidence. Right place, wrong time", Alice smiles at him.
"I hope it does not occur to often, otherwise I have to plan an extra ten minutes every day to get to classes", Peter laughs out and the others soon join in, still laughing when they reach the Great Hall. Before they could reach the Gryffindor table, three figures block their entrance.
"Well, well, well. Look who it is", Lucius Malfoy says, eyeing the first years before him. Behind him stood Zabini and another first year, who Hermione did not know the name of.
"Lucius must your life be so boring as to keep up with that of a few first years?", asks Sirius, grinning from next to James.
"Black, I don't recall giving you permission to address me with my first name. You would do well to respect your superiors", Malfoy bites back, the sneer seeming to be a constant presence on his face.
"Oh, but I do. The only problem here is that you are not on that list and probably never will be!"
"My, my – your poor mother. You sure are a – what did she call it again? Ah – disgrace to your noble house. I fear the future of your house does look very bleak."
"I'm sure the future of his house has never looked brighter. Now, I would suggest you move along, we would not want the whole school to know that you need two first years as your goons. We would not want them to think that you could not handle us on your own. And if I recall correctly you are a prefect, so you should be setting an example for other students and, this looks far from it. We would not want you to lose your prefect badge", Hermione smiled sweetly at him and making way to step around them, into the great hall. She could see from the corner of her eyes, that the students closest to the entrance were watching them like hawks. Before she was past him, Malfoy shot his arm out and stopped her with a deathly grip on her arm.
"Your sharp tongue might just be your downfall one day", he hissed at her, so that none of her friend could hear.
"Possibly, but I suggest letting go of me right now, because not only is my brother very protective of me, but I also don't need him to protect myself or should I remind you of our little encounter yesterday. There is so much more, where that came from", she says, yanking her arm back from his grip and stalking past him, without looking back. She heads for a spacious part of the Gryffindor table and folds the map carefully before sitting down.
"You're crazy, Hermione", Alice chuckles, sitting down opposite of her, while her brother and Sirius plop down on each side of her.
"I know, but I can't stand bullies. No matter who they think they are!"
"Yes, but he was seething back there. I would not be surprised if this feud lasted for the rest of the school year. You have been to the hospital already. He is no one to mess around with", Remus reminds her.
"I know. I don't like him", Hermione sighs, slowly filling her plate, while her brother was already gulping down his first bites.
"Neither do we", James comments.
"Please do swallow before speaking. Have you left your manners at home?", Hermione scolds him.
"Alright, mum ", he nudges her shoulder, emitting a small smile from her.
"Thank you", Sirius whispers suddenly, when her friends had emerged themselves in a conversation about their day so far.
"What for?"
"For defending me. Not something a lot of people have done so far", he replies, still whispering.
"You're our friend, Sirius. That is what friends are for", she smiles at him, before returning to her food.
Hermione had noticed so far that Sirius was not big on emotions and while she was merely eleven years old, she was sure that Sirius never really had friends before. Somehow, she mused that they all were very odd. While Hermione and James had a very typical upbringing as magical children, they never had many friends, seeing as their parents were rather old when they had them – at least compared to their other friends, whose children were drastically older as the twins. So, for Hermione and James it was mostly just the two of them. Peter and Remus also seemed like their childhood was rather lonely. Maybe, Hermione thought, it was fate that the five of them met and became friends. Smiling to herself she continued her lunch, while listening in on the conversation of her friends.
After lunch, the group went their separate ways. Hermione, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter finished off the entire first floor and ground floor. They found out, that the ground floor was not very much except for a handful of doors, so they decided to include the ground floor within the first floor, seeing as there was no overlapping – at least nothing major. Hermione made notes to herself to separate the two floors later, when redrawing the map. The whole afternoon Hermione had a smile on her face. She was laughing and joking around with the four boys as if she had known them her entire life – well of course she knew James her entire life, but the other three fit in so well, that Hermione could feel nothing else but happiness.
Before dinner, Hermione excused herself from her brother and the other three boys, who were headed for the Gryffindor Common Room, as she wanted to head to the library to check out some books. Remus, surprisingly, offered to accompany her. They made their way to the library quickly, exchanging views on their Transfiguration lessen the previous day.
"What kind of books are you looking for?", he asks her, when they step inside.
"Oh, just a few different ones. You go ahead and get what you want, we'll meet here when we're finished", she smiles at him. She could not very well have him with her, looking for books concerning moon magic. Hermione had a theory about what was going on, but she was not sure and if she was not sure then it was simply that. A theory. Therefor Hermione needed to research everything there is to her theory or other possibilities, before concluding. She asked the librarian, Madam Pince, for advice on what books to read and while the older witch raised an eyebrow at the young girl, Hermione explained that she wanted to do some research into the connection between magic and the lunar cycle, especially for potions, seeing as her father was an accomplished potioneer and Hermione wanted to follow his footsteps one day. Hearing this, Madam Pince did not hesitate any longer and gave Hermione a list of five books to start with and where she would find them.
"You got everything you needed?", Remus asks a few minutes later, when he meets Hermione back at the entrance to the library.
"Yes, and you?"
"Me too, what did you get?", he asks, looking at her selection of books, though Hermione tried to hide some of them, one title caught his eyes: "…and the Cycle of the Moon".
"Are you okay?", Hermione asks him, when he did not respond to her.
"Yes, yes. What were you saying?"
"That we should head back to the Common Room, if we want to get our books back before dinner", Hermione says and starts heading through the doors, Remus following slowly after her.
"Are you sure, you're okay? You do look a little pale. Maybe we should go see Madam Pomfrey?", Hermione asks him again, worry etched on her face.
"No, I'm okay. Feeling a little drained and a little hot", he mumbles, wiping his sweating hands on his trousers.
"If you do not feel better, it might be best to see Madam Pomfrey after dinner, she will be able to help you."
"If it doesn't get better, I promise you, I will go see her", he says, following her up the steps.
"Alright, I shall accept it", Hermione laughs, knowing that there was no point pressuring him further. Inside the Common Rooms James was sitting in front of the crackling fire all by himself.
"Where are the others?", Hermione asks, sitting down next to her brother, putting her head on his shoulder and her books in her lap.
"Sirius and Peter went up to the dorms. I think they wanted to take a nap before heading down for dinner", he explains.
"And what about you?"
"I wasn't tired enough for a nap, so I decided to come here and enjoy the warmth of the fireplace instead", James says.
"I think I will join the other two. James, could you wake us up in time for dinner?", Remus asks, from beside the sofa.
"Of course, Remus", James agrees, watching him with a worried look.
"Did I just imagine that, or did Remus not look too well?", he asks his sister after their friend had left.
"He was rather pale on our way back from the library, I told him that he should probably go and see Madam Pomfrey if he wasn't feeling better after dinner."
"Are you okay, Hermione? I noticed that you looked rather sad after breakfast and then you had another one of your moments. I'm worried about you", James whispers, taking her head off his shoulder, looking at her face.
"I was a little disappointed that the girls had decided to go off without us today, especially that they seemed to make a girl excursion out of it and never bothered to ask me", Hermione explains.
"I would imagine that they thought you were going to spend time with me and the boys anyway, since we started the map and all that, I wouldn't think too much of it, Minnie", he says gently, taking her hand in his.
"Yes, I know. But still, they could have asked, you know. I might have decided to go with them for today", Hermione huffs.
"Would you have gone with them?"
"No probably not", she admits with a roll of her eyes, making James grin.
"See, no damage done."
"It still hurts to know that they somehow made plans among them and not asked me to come along. Maybe they don't like me at all and now I have to spend the next seven years sharing a dormitory with them."
"Don't be silly. First, you know what Mothers always says: You do not have to like everyone and not everyone has to like you. So, while I do not think it is a possibility, if they were to not like you, then that is that. You still have us boys and I really think Alice likes you. I am sure even Lily does, though I'm not sure how her friendship with that Slytherin boy will stand in her way of making real friends in her own house", James says thoughtfully.
"You're right, Jamie. It was just so unexpected, you know."
"I know. But like I said, no matter what they think or do, you will always have me. The other boys also seem to be good guys, so I am pretty sure the both of us will find great friends in them", he says, putting his arm around her shoulder, like he used to do when they were at home.
"But we really have to figure out a way with your visions. It is not ideal to have one in the middle of a corridor or classes. We need to keep a close eye on it and take precautions. We should think of a story to tell people if they do notice it. Maybe you should consult with Dumbledore if there is a way to block them or maybe delay them, to a different time", he suggests eagerly.
"I don't think I can simply delay something so powerful", Hermione laughs at her brother's idea.
"Nevertheless, if things get complicated, I will go see Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall – we. You'll be there, right?", she asks him.
"Every step of the way", he smiles at her. They continue a whispered conversation in front of the warming fire, enjoying some time alone without their friends. As much as Hermione liked her new friends, it was always just James and her. Hermione always figured that being twins intensified the sibling bond between them and she was grateful, that he was always by her side.