A/N: Wow, would you look at that! I updated in less than 24 hours. I just recently found out we'll start our medical internship in August, so I understandably freaked out because I haven't started studying yet so good luck to me. Although I love this story so much right now, this hobby of mine won't pay any bills so I wanted to finish this as soon as possible to avoid any distractions.

Special thanks to my Beta, lozipozivanillabean!

Thank you for all the lovely reviews, alerts, and favourites. Enjoy!

vii.

i'll teach you everything i know

(Light by Sleeping at Last)

November 27, 1974

"Merlin, I was afraid you'd ditch me today!" was Hermione's soft greeting upon seeing Peter entering the library.

Her brother skidded to a halt when he saw her company. Unwittingly, his blue eyes narrowed at the back of Severus's head. As if sensing his hostile gaze, her Slytherin best friend turned around and sneered at him.

"What is he doing here?" he snapped, glancing over at Hermione to glare at her.

"He's my brother," she reminded, unbothered by his ire. "And I wanted to help him with his studies, so I invited him."

Severus lifted his chin and with a polished wave, all of his things were neatly placed inside his bag. He then stood up from his seat and shouldered the strap of his bag.

"Sev, come on…"

"I'd rather die than study with pompous gits like him," he harshly muttered. Hermione's eyes widened at how he swivelled around with a practiced flourish, reminiscent of her Potions master in her previous lifetime.

"Melodramatic berk," she murmured under her breath once Severus was gone. She then turned to Peter and awkwardly smiled. "Sorry about that."

Peter shrugged. "Good riddance, I guess," he said.

"Peter!"

He sheepishly smiled and slid on the chair opposite Hermione. "You and I both know we don't really like each other, Hermione," he pointed out. "Why bother acting civil?"

"Because it's what a normal, decent person does?" she offered.

Peter merely rolled his eyes and started piling his things onto the table.

"What are you going to study today?" she asked, glancing at the colour-coded schedule she had prepared for her brother.

"Herbology, I think," he said, grabbing onto said parchment and scanning it for the schedule for today. "Yes, it says second year Herbology."

Peter started to study the syllabus from their second year Herbology. Hermione lightly smiled at how he struggled with remembering basic details and how he repeated it again and again under his breath to memorise it. She remembered how her favourite professor, Professor McGonagall, once pointed out that Peter Pettigrew wasn't up to par with his friends' intelligence and skills. Peter wasn't exactly that dull. He just didn't really care too much about studying. But unlike James, who was amazingly gifted with Transfiguration and Charms, or Sirius who was especially talented in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Peter did not really have something he was good at. Well, maybe there was skateboarding, but of course, that wasn't something he could use for his future career.

It warmed her heart how he was now trying, though. Harry and Ron never listened to her when she insisted that they should start studying if they wanted to become Aurors in the future, claiming they have a bloody shining reputation that would land them into their dream jobs. Bloody naïve, those berks were – but Peter was earnestly trying his best, wanting to prove to everybody that he was as talented as his best friends.

Thus, Hermione was patient with him when her brother asked about things he couldn't understand. Thankfully, they were tackling second year Herbology, which Hermione had gone through already, so it wasn't questionable how she knew about these things.

"You know, you can discover which study habits work best for you," Hermione suggested when Peter grew frustrated once more upon failing to memorise the properties of a magical plant. "Like, for example, I jot down notes and rewrite important information to help me with memorising."

Peter sighed in exhaustion and let his forehead connect dully with the wooden table. "I'm hopeless, Hermione," he softly whined. "Why can't I be half as smart as you are? We're bloody related. Like is unfair."

"Maybe if you weren't busy wreaking havoc all over the school with your so-called friends, you'd have decent marks," she pointed out matter-of-factly.

His shoulders shook with his quiet laugh, before lifting his head and grinning at his sister. "Well, it's more fun wreaking havoc than slaving over schoolwork," he reasoned out. He then rubbed his eyes and mightily stretched until he felt a pleasant crack from his back.

"You're already tired," she stated with a frown. "Why is that? You're not sleeping well, Petey?"

The Gryffindor grew quiet, eyes conflicted and she watched as he silently debated over an unknown problem.

"Hermione," he then started, "can you keep a secret?"

She blinked and worriedly gnawed her lower lip. "Depends," she deliberately said. "What will be the consequence if I let it out?"

"Twenty years imprisonment in Azkaban?" he nonchalantly offered.

When her eyes grew in horror, Peter chuckled and leaned forward. "My friends… well, we have had a special project since second year," he started.

'Oh,' Hermione thought, now realising his exhausted state. "Yeah?" she asked. "Special project about what?"

"It's… to help a friend," he insisted, now unable to meet her questioning gaze. "But we've been trying to become Animagi for years now."

He held his breath and waited for her to blow up. But Hermione, already knowing about this special project of theirs, merely narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice. "That's bloody illegal if you don't plan on getting registered after," she whispered.

"Which is why I told you, you should keep this a secret if you don't want your brother and his friends locked away in Azkaban for twenty years," he shot back.

"Why?" she asked, knowing that if she wasn't curious enough, her brother would grow suspicious with her lack of reaction.

Peter nervously rubbed the tip of his nose and frowned. "That… well, I can't tell you the reason," he hastily stated. "But… it's not for anything heinous, Hermione. I promise you. I told you we're doing this for a good friend."

"Just don't get caught," she pointed out with a frown.

"Well, that's one of the goals," Peter said with a laugh. "Just, don't tell anybody, okay? Even Mum. I know she'd go ballistic if she discovered I'm spending my time turning into an Animagus, rather than studying diligently in school."

"Becoming an Animagus is terribly impractical," she pointed out.

Peter shook his head. "It may be because it's not really the primary method chosen if you want to escape or conceal yourself," he said. "But, with our reason— it's the best option, so we're willingly doing it."

Hermione sighed and threw him a withering glare. "Just don't get caught, for Merlin's sake," she grumbled.

He grinned and nodded his head, relieved that she was immediately accepting.

"Oh, hello."

Both Hermione and Peter looked up and saw a confused Lily Evans standing near their table.

"Hi, Lily," Peter said with a small, amiable smile, which she returned.

"I hope you don't mind if he studies with us today, Lils," Hermione said with a hesitant frown.

The redhead glanced over at the wizard and grew thoughtful for a while. Then, with a firm nod, she added, "Just as long as you don't become a toerag like Sirius and James, then it'll be fine."

Peter broke into a wide grin. "That I can do," he said.

Lily slid onto the chair beside Hermione, then paused. "Where's Sev?" she asked, looking around the library to search for their best friend.

The brunette snorted. "He said he'd rather die than study with pompous gits like him," she said, jutting her chin at a scowling Peter. "Verbatim, if you must know."

"Well, that's our sourpuss all right," Lily said with a smirk. She then started pulling out her things and when Peter saw her own copy of Hermione's colour-coded schedule, he snickered.

"She gave you one too?"

"Oh, you mean this?" Lily waved the pieces of the parchment in the air and grinned. "Your sister's bloody mental, but she means well."

"Hey, I'm right here, you know," Hermione snapped with a deep frown.

Lily laughed and merely hugged the brunette, proclaiming that she was a blessing to them all.

March 24, 1975

"Pass," Peter muttered without even looking up from the Potions book he was reading.

Sirius rounded on him, surprise written on his face. "What? Again, Peter?" he cried, stomping towards the distracted boy and grasping onto his textbook. He then proceeded to throw it over his shoulders and managed to smack James on the chest.

"HEY!" the Potter heir cried, rubbing his smarting chest. "Watch it!"

"Yes, again," Peter sighed, sidestepping the boisterous boy and grabbing onto his Potions textbook. "Sorry, mates, but I can't go again this time."

Sirius turned around and stomped towards Peter, who was once again lost in the sea of words. "You haven't been spending enough time with us, Peter," Sirius accused. "You're even turning into… turning into Remus!" He threw a finger at his other best friend to make a point. Remus was also calmly browsing through his Transfiguration textbook, completely ignoring the ranting Gryffindor.

Peter sighed and looked up from the book he was reading. "I'm sorry," he claimed. "But Hermione's been a great help for the past few months. McGonagall stopped lecturing me for not taking my studies seriously. I'm starting to get 'A's in my essays, for Merlin's sake! Whatever method Hermione uses to teach me, it's bloody effective, because I'm actually getting decent grades."

A determined look crossed his features again as he looked down at his textbook. "If this is the only way for me to secure my future as an Auror, then I can't really stop doing it now, can I?" he grumbled.

"Ugh, then I don't want to become an Auror anymore if you're being like this!" Sirius exclaimed, dramatically throwing his arms into the air. "James, talk some sense into this idiot!"

The bespectacled Gryffindor paused playing catch with his golden snitch and frowned at the boy sitting beside him. "She's friends with Snivellus, you know," he pointed out, making a face. "And they study together all the time. How have you tolerated studying with him for the past few months?"

Sirius snorted and plopped down on the couch beside Peter. "Aren't you distracted by all the grease marks he leaves on his own parchment?" he asked, earning a snort from Remus on the other couch.

"They managed to make some arrangement," Peter said with a dismissive hand. "Apparently, Hermione's a popular study partner. Can you believe she also gave her best friends these colour-coded schedules too?"

"I can believe that," James murmured with a smirk.

"So, I don't really study with Snape," he continued. "Hermione tells me if he comes over and reschedules my studying sessions with her. But Lily sometimes drops by and studies with us. She's terribly bright, too, and has also helped me with some things I didn't understand."

From beside him, James suddenly perked up, his hazel eyes wide, bright and gleaming. "What did you say?" he asked, almost breathlessly.

Peter blinked at him in confusion. "That Lily drops by and studies with us?" he repeated.

"Yeah?" he asked, a wide grin breaking on his handsome face. "How often does she drop by?"

"Well, actually, most of the time," Peter said. "Lily's very fond of my sister if you must know." A soft chuckle escaped from his mouth as he recalled the fiery Gryffindor. "Terribly protective of her, too. They almost have the same temper too, so I guess hippogriffs of the same feather…" He trailed off and gave him a meaningful glance.

"Why are you suddenly interested?" Sirius asked with narrowed eyes.

James's cheeks flooded with colour. "I'm not," he exclaimed a little too quickly as he ran a hand through his hair and looked away from Sirius's glinting grey eyes.

Blessedly, Sirius turned his eyes away from his suddenly flustered best friend. "There's really no changing your mind, Petey?" he asked, now with an innocent smile on his face.

"Sirius…"

"Marley said she and Mary MacDonald became fast friends and wondered if she could come with us to Hogsmeade next time," the Black heir added nonchalantly. James smirked when Peter suddenly stiffened. "I haven't answered her yet, because you know, we don't really want anyone coming with us during Hogsmeade, right? I can always tell her that—"

"That's not fair, Sirius," Peter hotly cried, cheeks blazing.

Sirius snickered and threw up his hands. "Fine, fine, Merlin," he said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Just let it go, mate," James said. "We still have plenty of time to pull off your elaborate pranks."

"Fine," the Black heir claimed, jumping onto his feet once again. "I'll be off looking for Marley now."

He waved his hand goodbye and left without looking back.

"I didn't know Sirius is now… err, serious with Marlene," Remus quipped once he was out of sight.

James snorted. "I'm not sure if you'd call it serious, but they've really hit it off," he said with a casual shrug. "Let Sirius have his fun. You know how he's being treated at home."

Peter wrinkled his nose. "I'm so glad I'm a half-blood," he said with a sigh. "Sirius got the shorter end of the stick, James, because your parents aren't as stuffy as his. Imagine if my mother, a bloody Selwyn, wasn't disinherited by her family."

"You'd be the heir of the Selwyn House, then," James pointed out with a laugh.

"And Hermione would have been taken care of like a proper Pureblood witch," he added with a snicker. "I don't think my sister would have liked that very much. She's like… she's like a—"

"Ferocious lioness?" the bespectacled wizard offered. When Peter and Remus simultaneously looked at him in amusement, he coloured and sheepishly smiled. "You know, with that impossibly bushy hair of hers, she could actually make a decent Gryffindor. Thank the bloody gods that didn't happen because blimey, imagine spending your chill hours with Hermione Pettigrew in the common room."

Peter looked deeply affronted. "Hermione's not all that bad," he defended.

"Peter," Remus said with a humoured smile, "your sister's terrifying." James vigorously nodded his head to show his concurrence.

"I can't believe you grew up with her for thirteen years," the Potter heir reverently murmured, almost as if he was at awe and he respected Peter for undergoing such a difficult task in his life. "She'd never really tried that Bat-Boogey hex on you before?"

The sandy-haired boy smirked and looked back down at his book. "I'm not an arse to her," he said. "Unlike someone I know…"

James leaned forward and smacked him on the underside of his head. "Wanker," he hissed, but Peter merely laughed.

March 26, 1975

"I'll be off," Peter said with a wave of his hand. "See you later."

Sirius distractedly nodded his head and instead concentrated on successfully throwing dung beetles into sixth year Frank Longbottom's robe pocket. Remus hummed his goodbye, eyes also trained at the dung beetles soaring into the air and grimacing when they missed their target.

James, however, waited until Peter was finally gone from the common room before suddenly standing up with a purpose.

"I'll be off to the library," he proclaimed.

Both Sirius and Remus whipped their heads towards James, identical confusion on their faces.

"The library?" Sirius asked. He absentmindedly flicked the crawling dung beetle on his arm and was unable to see how it soared into the air and managed to land successfully inside Frank Longbottom's robe pocket. "Why? We never go to the library."

"You never go to the library," James corrected with an eye roll. "I sometimes do if I need to finish my homework."

Sirius' eyes widened as if he was seeing his best friend for the first time. "You do?" he gasped.

"Yes," James said with a sigh. "So, yeah, anyway, I have to go to the library."

"Why?" This time, it was Remus who asked.

James stopped himself from bristling in annoyance. "I have an essay to finish," he quickly said through gritted teeth.

Remus, ever perceptive, narrowed his eyes and slowly sat back down on the couch. "Essay?" he echoed, knitting his eyebrows in deep thought. "About what?"

"About Potions," he snapped, unable to swallow down his impatience. Upon seeing how Remus quirked his eyebrow at his attitude, James sighed. "I have trouble composing a paragraph about the properties of ginger root and its importance so I need more sources to research in the library."

"I can help you with that," Remus said with a deft shrug.

"Yeah, James, Remus can help you with that," Sirius piped in with a grin. "There's no need to haul your arse all the way to the library."

But James was already shaking his head and quickly walking away from his best friends lest they persistently suggest other things to keep him from going. "Don't bother, I'll just go search for it in the library," he called out over his shoulder and didn't wait to hear their reply. He quickly pushed open the portrait and briskly walked outside.

After making sure that Remus and Sirius weren't following him, James released a humongous sigh of relief and started his journey to the library.

It wasn't really because he was embarrassed about his new crush; Lily Evans was definitely pretty and he'd heard some of the boys in their House talk about her all the time. It was because he knew Sirius would mercilessly tease him with his newfound feelings for the Gryffindor even before he tested his theory. Although it was undeniable that he found her quite breathtaking, he still wasn't sure if this was merely a sort of admiration for her pretty eyes and fiery red hair or something else entirely.

It would be particularly harder to pursue Lily if ever he did really like her because of three things: 1. She hated him and thought of him as a toerag, 2. She was best friends with his arch-nemesis Snivellus Smelly Snape, and; 3. She was best friends with Hermione Pettigrew, who could throw a mean Bat-Boogey Hex if her life depended on it.

Still, the challenge of wooing the pretty redhead gave him a newfound purpose in life. He always loved challenges. He had been preoccupied with the Animagi transformation for years now, but since it was nearing its completion – and it looked like there would be no problems this time – James knew he had to start searching for his new quest. Lily Evan's heart seemed worthy to pursue, now that he properly thought about it.

When he finally arrived at the library, it wasn't too hard searching for his new lady love. Lily's hair was flaming red and bright and James had to blink a few times to let his eyes adjust at her sheer radiance.

Unwittingly, a huge beam appeared on his face when Lily giggled over something Hermione said and was subsequently shushed by the equally amused brunette. Peter piped in another comment, which started Lily's giggles once more and James wondered if he'd ever be able to make Lily laugh like that.

Standing taller and more confident, James took a huge breath and sauntered towards their table.

It was Peter who first noticed him. The surprise in his eyes was evident, but a smile appeared on his face nonetheless. "James!" he greeted. "What are you doing here?"

Hermione's eyebrows flew up to her hairline while Lily narrowed her eyes in suspicion. James merely grinned and invited himself over, thrilled that the only empty seat on the table was across from Lily.

"I thought of finishing my homework in the library today," he casually greeted, throwing a smile he prayed was as handsome as he had pictured in his mind. Lily merely scrunched her nose and pointedly looked away from him.

"You never liked going to the library," Peter commented, surprised.

James shrugged his shoulders and started pulling out his things. "I needed to research more about my Potions essay," he flippantly reasoned out. His hazel eyes landed on the still surprised brunette and grinned. "I heard your tutoring sessions are very helpful, Hermione."

A calculating look settled on her face and truth be told, James started to grow a little uncomfortable. Although she shared the same eyes as Peter, there was always something else about Hermione Pettigrew's clear, blue eyes. It was like they held knowledge so vast, so deep, so – so mysterious, like the huge ocean that always seemed to hold darker secrets underneath. James still thought it was bewildering how such an enigmatic girl was related to someone as unpretentious as Peter. Besides her undoubted magical prowess—his nose still twitched uncomfortably every time he saw her—it felt like Hermione could pierce through his very soul and deftly browse through his thoughts like an open book, devouring all his thoughts up to her heart's content.

Realising he had been staring, James frowned and immediately looked away, secretly shaking the fog away from his mind after staring at Hermione for too long.

"Why are you really here?" she asked, suspicion thick in the tone of her voice.

"As I said," he reiterated, "I needed to research more about my Potions essay." James congratulated himself for being prepared, as he pointed at his half-finished Potions essay on the Wit-Sharpening Potion for proof. "And maybe get some little help from you, oh great Hermione Pettigrew."

She didn't appreciate his teasing, but James grinned nonetheless.

Briefly, Hermione's eyes landed on Lily, who by then had resolutely ignored James's presence and had been religiously finishing a Transfiguration essay. Then, her blue eyes landed back on him, and for a moment, James wondered if she knew about his newfound feelings for her best friend.

But Hermione did not give any indication for knowing as such. He'd been perfectly careful with his new secret crush for Lily Evans, already planning numerous outrageous ways to proclaim his undying love for her. Hermione, although bloody brilliant, couldn't possibly know.

"Which part are you having a hard time with?" she finally asked, expelling a sigh of resignation. She clearly didn't accept his excuse, but he came prepared with props for his deception, and she finally relented.

James' grin widened as he shoved the unfinished essay towards her. "I'm not really expecting you to give me an answer," he started as a disclaimer. "But maybe you know the reason why the potency of Wit-Sharpening potions solely depends on the ginger roots?"

Hermione made a face. "Weren't you listening in first year?" she asked as soon as he had finished his question.

"What?" James asked, confused. He noticed that Lily was trying to bite back a smirk but was unable to do so. Peter, however, seemed intrigued by James's question. No doubt he hadn't finished this essay either and was listening with rapt attention.

The younger witch sighed. "In first year, we were taught how more than the properties of the ingredients themselves, their way of preparation is very important as well," she elaborated. "For example, adding thin slices of ginger roots to the potion will produce a different effect from circular pieces of ginger roots. But, with some potions like the Wit-Sharpening potion, the desired effect will still be the same no matter how you prepare the ingredients. The difference would be with the level of potency."

James's eyes widened. "Oh, yes, right, of course," he floundered, cheeks reddening because he knew that. "But, okay, if you say that preparation is important as well, why don't the effects change at all, regardless of whether you add strips or cubes of ginger roots?"

Hermione grabbed a spare parchment from her bag and listed down the correct steps in making a Wit-Sharpening potion, word for word. Both James and Peter gaped at Hermione, which she didn't seem to notice as she was too engrossed with her listing.

"To answer your question, the reason why the effect doesn't change at all is that if you adhered to the instructions, technically, you'll still get the same potion," she said, pointing to each of the steps to emphasise her point. "The reason why ginger roots are the most essential ingredient in changing the potency of Wit-Sharpening Potion is that it will depend on how you prepare them."

"What?" Peter asked with a deep frown, now massaging the bridge of his nose.

"Look," Hermione said, pointing at the first ingredient – armadillo bile. "Armadillo bile is already prepared as a concoction so it says that you just have to add it until the potion turns blue." Then, she pointed at the next ingredient. "The instructions also tell you to add ground scarab beetles until the potion turns red. So, you grind the beetle, meaning you turn it into powder."

"So…?" James deliberately asked, undeniably enraptured by Hermione's explanation.

"So, here, the instruction only said to cut the ginger roots before placing it into the cauldron," she continued. "But cut how? Into slices? Into cubes? Will cutting a circular piece suffice? Do you need at least half an inch? Or three-fourths? The inventor didn't bother with placing the exact instructions on how to do that because no matter the preparation, you'd still have a fully functioning Wit-Sharpening Potion. But, like any other ingredients, its preparation matters when you want to adjust its potency. This potion is an antidote for the Confundus Charm, right? So if for example, you are in a battle, and your mate was hit by a powerful Confundus Charm that made him very impressionable to the point that he was almost like under the Imperius Curse, you would need a very potent Wit-Sharpening potion that could cancel out its effects immediately. You can't just give him a different batch of the same potion, its ginger roots prepared differently, with its effects more gradual than immediate. Do you understand?"

James and Peter stared at Hermione in stunned silence, clear disbelief on their faces.

Hermione, confused as to why they were looking at her like that, slowly frowned. "What?" she asked.

Beside her, Lily stifled a laugh behind her hand. "I think you've managed to confound them with your brilliance, Hermione," she pointed out, highly amused. "Perhaps you have a potent Wit-Sharpening potion hidden inside your bag?"

The brunette snorted. "I wish," she murmured under her breath. Her blue eyes connected with James. "Did I answer your question?"

"Bloody fucking hell," he swore. "How can you know all of this?"

"She's bloody brilliant," Lily and Peter uttered at the same time.

Hermione's cheeks reddened. "I just love to study," she reasoned out.

"No, no, I understood what you said completely," James excitedly said, immediately jotting down her points on his Potions essay. "How can you even memorise the steps of making Wit-Sharpening Potion? You still haven't learned about that in third year!"

The Ravenclaw grew uncomfortable for a moment, before she cleared her throat and swiped her curls away from her face. "Err… I like to advance read," was her mere explanation.

James made a sound at the back of his throat for his answer. "I'm going to take my chances here but maybe you know what preparation of ginger roots would provide the most potent effect?" he asked.

Hermione grew thoughtful for a while as she started drumming her fingers on the wooden table. "Well, I haven't brewed one before, so I can't be sure," she deliberately answered. "But, if I were to make an educated guess, I think I'd go with circular pieces of ginger roots. Perhaps an inch in diameter would do."

"And why do you think that?" he followed up.

"Because you want to preserve its properties as much as possible," she explained matter-of-factly. "If you tried to slice it thinly, you might risk the chance of losing its juices and you don't want that. Slicing a circular piece means you only need to swipe with your knife once, so you can avoid pressing away too much juice."

James vigorously nodded his head and wrote down her suggestion.

"I mean, that's a guess," she pointed out quickly. "I didn't say it was right."

"Well, knowing you have a big brain, I'd say you just might be," James said with a laugh. This prompted Hermione's cheeks to turn into a lovely shade of red.

Peter looked triumphant. "See, I did tell you Hermione's a brilliant tutor," he proclaimed. "My grades really got better this year because of her."

"Your determination to pass also helped, Peter," Hermione protested. "It's not all me." But Peter merely brushed her off with a wide grin on his face.

"Well, as much as it's lovely to witness you berks get singlehandedly blown away by Hermione's wonderful brain, I have to go," Lily then stated, pulling out her wand and magicking her things into her bag.

James's eyes widened, realising that he had spent his time in the library studying instead of wooing Lily Evans. "What?" he asked before he could stop himself. "Already?"

Lily looked at him in confusion. "Yes, Potter, already," she shot back. The older witch then turned to Hermione and gave her a goodbye hug before bidding the other wizards goodbye and strolling away.

The bespectacled boy mentally berated himself for getting distracted from his primary goal. Now that his lady love wasn't there, he really didn't find any reason to stay in the library anymore. "I think I have to go, too," he said, disappointment thick in the tone of his voice. He ignored how Hermione quirked an eyebrow at his voice. "Thanks, Hermione. You've been a great help."

"Don't mention it," the younger witch said with a small smile on her face.

"I'll come with you," Peter said, hastily cramming his things inside his bag. "I forgot I have to meet with Professor Flitwick today."

Peter also hugged Hermione while James gave her a warm smile. Although he wasn't able to woo Lily Evans today, there were still plenty of days. Besides, it had been a productive day and he didn't think he had wasted too much time.

Before he could completely go, he halted in his steps and turned around. When Hermione lifted her head upon hearing her name, James asked, "Say, you don't mind if I drop by once in a while to study with you guys, do you?"

Hermione looked surprised by his question and darted a glance at her brother. Peter looked delighted with his suggestion, prompting her to smile. "I don't mind," she said.

James gave her a blinding smile and bid her goodbye once more.

As he and Peter trudged back to the Gryffindor Tower, he turned towards the shorter wizard. "Your sister is bloody brilliant," he sputtered out.

Peter laughed and nodded his head. "I heard some Ravenclaws calling her one time as the 'brightest witch of her age'," he said, chest puffing out with sheer pride for his sister. "If I had only half of her brains, I think I'd still be able to pass my classes with flying colours."

James grinned widely, not doubting that either.

A/N: Drop a review!

The whole Wit Sharpening Potion thing was slightly made up. I mean the ingredients were the same but I just invented that potency shite hahaha. A little background help from pharmacology may or may not have influenced that scene. I'm sorry if that had gotten way out of hand hehe.

Well, this is the end of Hermione's third year. Next chapter's already in her fourth year (the Marauder's fifth) and boy, let me tell you that things are going to get very exciting soon.

I know I've said this already but I really appreciate all the attention this fic is getting. Most especially the reviews! I'm currently struggling to write a few chapters but your reviews had been really helpful. I don't know you all but I love you already :(

That's it for now! See you next chapter.

With love,
WickedlyAwesomeMe

P.S. Follow me on tumblr (kimmy-writes).