A/N: Thank you to lozipozivanillabean! Enjoy!

xxxi.

outside the world seems a violent place

(Various Storms and Saints by Florence + The Machine)

September 1, 1978

As Peter carried Hermione's school trunk down the staircase with her closely trailing behind, their doorbell rang throughout the house.

"Are we expecting someone?" she asked with a deep frown.

Peter looked equally confused himself, before his jaw dropped and his eyes widened in surprise. "Those wankers!" he exclaimed. "I thought they were kidding!"

He then proceeded to run off towards their front door, leaving Hermione to struggle with her trunk.

As she landed on the last step, she heard a familiar barking laugh and shouts of exclamation. Shuffling footsteps pattered across their floor, and then there was James, smiling brightly at her. Hermione paused, her eyes widening, as she was too surprised to see that he was here, in her own home.

"Hi," he cheekily greeted.

"What are you doing here?" she breathed out.

Before he could answer her question, more sets of footsteps padded on their floor and three more boys joined James. A laugh bubbled out of her lips upon seeing Sirius and Remus smiling widely at her. "Whiskers! Did you miss us?" Sirius greeted, shooting forward to pull Hermione into a huge, bear hug.

"What are you all doing here?" she asked in between laughs.

"We wanted to send you off on your last school-year at Hogwarts," Remus explained, prying Hermione off Sirius to also give her a hug. "Head Girl! I knew it'd be you the moment you sent that Bat-Bogey Hex on James."

Hermione smiled warmly at the other two, realising it had been a while since she had last seen them. Like Peter, James and Sirius were wearing the standard uniform of an Auror-in-training – a three-piece suit, with a black tie hanging around their neck, black trousers, combative dragonhide boots, leather fingerless gloves, and a midnight black robe bearing the Auror seal on the breast pocket. Hermione stared a little too long when her eyes landed on James, mouth growing dry at how ridiculously attractive he was in his attire. They all looked like proper ministry officials and Hermione felt a little naïve in their presence, still readying herself to attend a new school-year at Hogwarts.

"How do I look?" James smugly asked, his pompous smirk growing as he knew full well that she had been admiring his appearance.

She flushed red and glowered at James, who merely laughed and pulled her away from Remus to give her a hug. Hermione instantly melted against James's warm embrace, smiling against his shoulder when she felt him drop a kiss on the side of her temple.

"Oh! You're all here!"

They all turned to look at Anya Pettigrew standing in the doorframe near the kitchen, a huge, surprised smile on her face.

"Sorry to intrude, Anya," James said with a lopsided smile as he stepped away from Hermione's embrace. "The blokes just wanted to send Hermione off for her last school-year at Hogwarts."

Anya's eyes were glittering at the guests. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?" she asked. "I can prepare a meal—"

"Mum, Hermione's going to be late," Peter cut her off with a laugh.

Their mother deflated in disappointment but her smile was still on her face. "You should drop by again," she said, her eyes directed at both Sirius and Remus.

"That would be lovely, thank you," the werewolf said with a kind smile.

"If the lady wishes it," Sirius said with a flourished bow and hurtling a wink. Peter grimaced and swatted his arm, prompting Anya to laugh and wave her hand in goodbye.

"You really should invite us over," Sirius complained. "I don't know why you don't want us to visit your house!"

"Because you'd all be rowdy and pull pranks on our poor mother," Hermione pointed out. She warily eyed the other boys and frowned. "You're really coming with us to King's Cross? What about work?"

"We're just dropping you off, Hermione," James assured, snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to his side. "Moody'll expect us in an hour or so, which is enough time to see you off on the Hogwarts Express."

Peter grabbed onto her trunk again and pulled it outside their front door. Sirius and Remus went to walk to the opposite side of the road, meaning to reach the Apparation point, but Peter stopped them. "Where are you going?" he asked, his blue eyes twinkling.

"We're not Apparating?" Remus asked, furrowing his brows in confusion. "I know Hermione doesn't have a license yet, but James can bring her Side-Along."

Hermione laughed as Peter giddily shook his head and pulled her trunk away. "And miss an opportunity to drive his car?" she asked. "I think not."

Sirius's eyes had comically widened. "We're going to get there by car?" he asked, almost breathlessly.

"King's Cross isn't too far from here," Hermione said, pulling James with her as she trailed behind Peter. "It's only going to take twenty minutes or so."

Peter had already opened the back trunk of a red 1976 Chevy Impala to place Hermione's school trunk inside.

James whistled under his breath and brushed his fingers against the car. "Wicked," he said, grinning widely as he threw a look at Sirius. "This is even better than your motorbike, mate!"

"Oi!" Sirius cried with a frown. "Not my baby."

Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled the car door open. "Come on, Sirius. Hop in," she ushered.

"I want to sit in the front," he protested.

"You're going to get us all killed if you distract Peter with your tinkering," she stated matter-of-factly. She grinned when Sirius glowered but followed her nonetheless and climbed into the backseat. "You take the passenger seat, Remus."

The werewolf eyed the car warily. "Is it going to be safe?" he asked.

"Live a little, Moony-pie!" Sirius exclaimed, poking his head out of the window.

Remus tiredly sighed and finally relented.

Hermione also climbed onto the backseat and was soon sandwiched between her boyfriend and the overly excited Sirius.

Peter looked very proud of himself when he sat in the driver's seat and ignited the car. It sputtered into life with the low rumble Peter always loved to hear, and Hermione snorted at how excited her brother was. Sirius and James were already tinkering with all the buttons in the back relating to the air flow control.

"If you break something back there, I'm going to kill you both," Peter lowly warned, giving both of his best friends a piercing glare.

"Blimey, you're worse than Sirius with his motorbike," James pointed out with a laugh. "Hermione can always Reparo if things get broken."

As if on cue, Sirius broke the car window crank with his aggressive rolling. Peter's eyes widened in horror whilst the shaggy-haired wizard sheepishly smiled. "Oops," he said with a nervous chuckle.

Hermione sighed. "I can't use magic outside our house," she grumbled. "Mum's wards do not extend up here."

Peter blew his top off while Sirius incessantly apologised. James was boisterously laughing while Remus tiredly sighed once more and pulled out his wand to deftly fix the window crank.

Satisfied that Sirius would not touch anything else, Peter swerved the car out of the parking space and drove onto the road. Hermione watched in amusement as Remus paled at all of the road bumps and swerves Peter made until they had emerged onto the busy road of bustling London. Although a Half-blood, Remus had still grown up in a Wizard household and his parents had never seen the need to own a car.

James and Sirius, on the other hand, were bristling in excitement as they gazed at the other cars and huge buses passing by.

"Whoa, that's monstrous!" James pointed out as a six-wheeler truck zoomed past the car. "You should seriously ditch your motorbike and get a car instead, Sirius."

"No, never my baby," he interjected.

Much to Hermione's amusement, both James and Sirius froze when a police car passed by. "What?" she asked, holding onto James's hand. "Why'd you suddenly look like you'd seen Dementors?"

Peter was cackling behind the wheel. "Oh, haven't we told you yet about the great police chase that happened in the summer of 1977?" he asked, glancing at Hermione through the rear-view mirror.

Identical goofy smiles appeared on James and Sirius. "It was wicked," James said.

"Best summer of my whole life," Sirius barked, relaxing once more now that the police car had driven by. "Jamesy and I got into a little bit of a skirmish with the police last summer," he explained, grinning widely at Hermione's confused look. "It stemmed from a drunken dare. Don't worry your bushy little head about it now, Hermione."

"You're both idiots," she sighed, lightly glaring at James who was silently laughing besides her.

Peter took another swerve and Hermione realised they were nearing King's Cross. She looked at Remus, who by now had marginally calmed down, since Peter had proven to be a decent driver. The curious wizard was glancing at the various knobs and buttons in the car.

"What does this button do?" Remus curiously asked, pointing at one, shiny silver button.

"I bet that button's going to eject you out of this car, Moony," Sirius teased, a challenging glint in his eyes.

The scarred wizard deeply frowned. "No, it won't," he said, his finger still a hairsbreadth away from the button. He glanced at Peter. "It won't, right?"

Peter smirked and quirked an eyebrow. "I neither confirm nor deny," he said.

"Go on, then," James urged, hazel eyes gleaming with mischief. "I dare you to press it, Moony."

Remus scowled. "Hermione?" he asked, piercing her with his golden eyes.

Hermione innocently smiled. "Where's your Gryffindor courage, Remus?" she asked with a wide grin.

James and Sirius broke into boisterous laughter. Peter sniggered and briefly glanced at Remus, who was steadily growing annoyed.

"Traitor," Remus hissed. Then, after taking a deep, resolute breath, Remus tightly clenched his jaw and jabbed a finger at the silver button. He comically shielded himself from whatever he was imagining, but instead of getting ejected from the car, loud music blared inside.

Remus scowled at Sirius, who was cackling the loudest, and turned around to punch him on his shoulder.

"Hey!" James exclaimed, eyes lit up in recognition. "I know this song!"

"Isn't this the one you sang for Evans?" Peter asked.

James grinned and started belting out 'I Want to Hold Your Hand'. Hermione yelled for him to shut up and placed her hands against her ears, but James kept on going. Sirius, not wanting to miss out, started screaming random words that clashed terribly with James's equally terrible voice. The music was drowned out by their ridiculous singing. Peter was the only one who was singing the right words in a decent voice.

Remus met Hermione's eyes and through the ruckus, she managed to hear him say, "I'm best friends with idiots!"

The brunette laughed in spite of the chaos, secretly wondering how she'd survive her last year at Hogwarts without them by her side.

Once the song was done, James snaked an arm around her waist and gave her a small smirk. "So," he started, "I heard that girls tend to snog a boy after crooning 'I Want to Hold Your Hand'. What say you, Hermione?"

Her cheeks turned a brilliant shade of red while Peter loudly gagged behind the wheel.

"Absolutely not, Potter."

-ooo-

Hermione rolled her eyes when the Aurors-in-training were practically preening at the stares they were getting.

"I knew there was a motive behind why you all wanted to drop me off at the train station," she grumbled under her breath. James casually dropped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her close.

"There's no motive, kitten," Sirius said as he sent a wink at a gaggle of giggling girls. "We're just going to miss you so much now that there's no one to mother us around."

"It's just going to be a year," she said, brushing her curls away and smiling briefly at Dorothy Boot who passed by the group. Her Ravenclaw roommate unabashedly stared at the Marauders, prompting Hermione to roll her eyes again when Dorothy turned a deep maroon when Sirius winked at her. "Honestly."

James was silently laughing, his arm now slipping down to grasp onto her hand. "Don't study too much this year, Whiskers," he said.

"That's not possible," Peter sighed as he tugged Hermione's trunk through the growing crowd. "It's NEWTs year. I bet she's already made a colour-coded schedule that'll be impossible to adhere to unless you're as barmy as her."

Hermione swatted his chest, earning a glare from Peter.

"It's going to be a tough year," she said. "Besides NEWTs, I have Head Girl duties too."

And a horcrux hunt with Regulus Black, but they didn't really need to know that.

"Dumbledore will surely regret appointing you soon enough," Sirius teased. "What with your knack for ruling with an iron fist and all. At least Evans was mighty lenient and she'd merely deduct points for my shenanigans. If it were you, deducting points and hexing me until the next millennium wouldn't suffice."

"Good to know you know me very well, Black," she replied in return. Sirius snorted and fondly ruffled her bushy hair.

"I'm really going to miss you, blimey," Sirius declared.

"Don't do anything reckless and stupid once you're sent into field missions," she warned with a hard glint in her blue eyes.

"Ah, well, Hermione," James said with a mischievous smile, "you know that's not possible."

Hermione sighed through her nose and glanced at Remus. "Take care of these dolts," she pleaded.

Remus smiled apologetically. "Much as I agree with your sentiments, Hermione, I'm afraid I can't watch out for these berks for a few months." His cheeks flushed red with excitement and his golden eyes shone bright. Hermione unwittingly smiled; she'd never seen Remus looking so alive and human before. "Damocles Belby owled me a week ago to invite me over to his laboratory. Said it was time to start testing his potions."

"That's brilliant!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I might be gone for a month or so," he said, this time addressing his mates. "You'll keep me updated on things and – you know – the Order."

"Of course, Moony-pie," Sirius said, throwing an arm over the werewolf's broad shoulders. "I'm going to send you detailed letters every day, telling you how my day went."

Remus made a face. "Just the important stuff, Pads, Merlin," he snapped.

Hermione's eyes landed on Peter. "Then, maybe you can keep them away from trouble," she said, jutting a thumb towards the other two.

"Sorry, Hermione," her brother said with an apologetic smile. "You know I'm powerless against the Potter-Black combo. We should just hope for the best."

The brunette sighed in resignation. "I figured as much," she said, petulantly glaring at James.

"We're going to be in our best behaviour, Whiskers," he assured, although the look in his eyes still spelt trouble. "You just focus on your studies and on being a terrifying Head Girl. Before you know it, you'll be graduating the top of your class and will spend all your time with me."

Hermione sighed once more, although she was unable to suppress a smile. She briefly glanced at her watch and noted that she had a few more minutes to spare before the Hogwarts train left. "I should get going," she said, eyes turning forlorn at the four boys who'd been a huge part of her life. "Hogwarts will not be the same without you."

Peter pulled her away from James and gave her a big hug. "Take care of yourself, yeah?" he said, patting her back to relay as much comfort as he could. "Owl us if something comes up."

"We have something to give you before you leave," James declared.

The witch pulled away and glanced at her boyfriend, who then rummaged inside his robe pocket to pull out the familiar Marauder's Map she'd returned during their last few months before graduation. "We've all decided that you should take it for your last year in Hogwarts," he said, extending the map towards her. "We know you'll put it to good use."

"I thought you said you wanted to give this to pranksters," she said, smiling widely as she grasped the parchment in her hands. "It'd be a terrible waste to give this to me instead."

"It won't," James said with twinkling eyes. "I'm sure of it."

"Use it well, kitten," Sirius said with a reverent nod.

Hermione laughed and slipped the map inside her pocket. "I'll try my best," she said.

"I want you to have this too," James said, glancing at Remus. The scarred wizard firmly nodded his head and opened his satchel, pulling out the familiar rich material of James's Invisibility Cloak. He passed it to James, who then extended it to Hermione once more. "Take it."

The Marauder's Map she could accept, but not this valuable piece of cloth. "I think it'd be more useful for you and your missions, James," she said, lightly pushing it away. "Especially on missions of the Order." She gave him a piercing glance. "It's going to save your life a lot of times. I'm sure of it."

Because it had done numerous times for Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. The Invisibility Cloak had proven to be very reliable for the duo when they had found themselves stuck in very dangerous situations. With the height of the First Wizarding War steadily approaching, Hermione would rather the Marauders have it instead of her, who'd most likely be safe inside the walls of Hogwarts.

"Take it," James insisted, grasping onto her hand and depositing his cloak in her palm. "I'll rest easy knowing my girlfriend can get away from any shenanigans that she has planned this school-year."

She smiled sadly at the sudden worry in his hazel eyes. "I'll be safe in Hogwarts," she reassured.

"We know that," Peter said, grasping onto her elbow to give it a comforting squeeze. "But – well – without us beside you, it's a bit worrisome."

Hermione sighed and gave them another smile. "Worry for your lives more than mine," she seriously said.

"That's not going to happen," James heavily said, voice thick with a promise that almost knocked the breath out of her.

Knowing they'd be persistent, Hermione hugged the cloak against her chest and beamed. "I'm going to use this well too," she promised, mind already lost in her horcrux hunt with Regulus Black.

"HERMIONE!"

She flinched and wildly looked around, blue eyes instantly latching onto a furiously waving redhead. Beside her stood a mildly amused Severus Snape, who smiled at Hermione when he caught her eyes.

"Why are you both here?" she exclaimed, breaking into a run to envelope both of her friends in a hug.

"Merlin and Morgana, we thought we wouldn't make it on time!" Lily cried, wounding her arms around Hermione to pull her closer. "Sev was an idiot for forgetting to set his alarm." She ignored Sev's glare and pulled Hermione away to look at her with sad, emerald eyes. "Oh Merlin, I'm going to miss you so much, Hermione! Please take care of yourself."

"Don't study too much," Sev said with a serious frown. "We'd rather you were still alive once you get out of Hogwarts and attend our wedding."

Hermione laughed and pulled them into a hug once more. "I'm going to miss you both," she said.

The whistle blew from the train and Hermione reluctantly pulled away from her friends. "Please be safe," she firmly pleaded.

Lily held Hermione's hand and gave it a squeeze. "You too," she said.

Hermione broke away from her best friends and sauntered back towards the Marauders. "Goodbye," she whispered, hugging each and every one of them. Peter hugged her the longest, the tightest, and by the time she had pulled away, Hermione felt a little silly for having tears in her eyes.

"Take care of yourself," James said as he pulled Hermione to him again to place a kiss on the side of her temple.

The brunette nodded and pulled away. "See you soon," she said.

Hermione quickly clambered onto the train, with Peter helping her haul her trunk inside. She pushed a window open and ducked outside, furiously waving her hand at her friends until they were all but a dot at a distance.

-ooo-

Hermione was the first one to arrive at the Head's Compartment.

It was relatively larger than any compartments on the train, enough to accommodate at least ten people or so inside.

She quickly pulled her trunk inside and placed it overhead with a flick of her wand. With a few minutes to spare, Hermione pulled out the list of Prefects Professor McGonagall had sent to her with her badge, just to see if she'd recognise any familiar names.

She spied Michelle Corner as one of the seventh year Prefects and a few students with familiar last names. Her nose scrunched up in disdain when she noticed that one Henrik McLaggen was appointed as a sixth year Gryffindor Prefect. She'd bet he'd be as incorrigible as Cormac McLaggen.

The compartment door soon opened and in came Harold MacMillan, a Hufflepuff and the appointed Head Boy this year. He looked just like Ernie MacMillan, with blond hair parted neatly on top of his head and dark blue eyes.

"Hermione Pettigrew," he greeted with a polite tilt of his head. "As soon as I got my badge, I knew Headmaster Dumbledore would appoint you as Head Girl."

Well, Hermione hadn't guessed it would have been him, but he didn't really need to know that. She knew a handful of more capable wizards, who surely were more intelligent and diligent than this boy now sitting across from her. Admittedly, she did wish Regulus would be appointed as her counterpart just so she could work with him more for their horcrux hunt. She did send him a letter a few days before, wondering why he wasn't Head Boy.

"Me? Head Boy?" he wrote for his reply. Hilariously, she could imagine the sneer on his face. "I have far greater things to attend to. You know that."

Harold had his own merits though and Hermione believed his highly opinionated self would greatly benefit their partnership. She needed someone who'd loudly agree – or oppose – her if the need arose. Although it was a terrible exaggeration, because surely, she wasn't that strict. Hermione feared there would come a time the students would hiss behind her back that she was ruling with an iron fist.

Merlin, that would be so horrible.

"Ah, forgive me, maybe you do not know my name," the Hufflepuff said as he offered his hand. "Harold MacMillan, Hufflepuff."

Hermione glanced at him in amusement as she grasped his hand. "Of course I know who you are," she said, giving his hand a slight shake before retrieving her hands. "We're in the same year after all."

He looked genuinely surprised at her claim. "Ah – well – you've been spending a lot of time with the older Gryffindors so I wasn't quite sure," he said, followed by an embarrassed chuckle.

The brunette lightly blushed, silently berating herself for not spending much time with students in her year. Her Ravenclaw roommates and Regulus were an exception, of course, but Hermione admittedly only spent time with them when the Gryffindors were unavailable.

"I promise to live up to James Potter's legacy," he then continued with ridiculous seriousness on his face.

Hermione snorted at his claim. "James is not great and glorious like you lot think he is," she said, fondly thinking of all the stupid pranks he pulled whilst still getting away from all of it, unscathed.

"Oh, but he is," Harold insisted. "He developed this new Patrol schedule that's more efficient for the Prefects. Didn't you know?"

The brunette frowned. "No," she replied with an embarrassed blush. She was too busy last year worrying about her horcrux hunt with Regulus, her growing feelings for James, and the budding relationship between her best friends, so she never really knew about anything relating to James's Head duties.

"Never mind that," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You weren't a Prefect last year, so of course you wouldn't know that."

Her lips thinned into a line at the tone of his voice. So, he was like Ernie MacMillan. Hermione assured herself his heart would be in the right place, and he'd be diligent enough to do his duties. Never mind whether she thought he was annoying most of the time.

The compartment door soon opened and in came the Prefects. Hermione smiled at Michelle, who settled beside Hermione.

Once they were complete, the brunette cleared her throat.

"Hello," she greeted. "My name is Hermione Pettigrew and I'll be your Head Girl this year."

-ooo-

Hermione had been in the Head's dormitory once before when Lily had invited her over last year, but she still couldn't help but stare at how lavish her shared dormitory with Harold was. Their Common Room wasn't as big as the Gryffindor's or even the Ravenclaw's, but it was spacious enough to hold one, long white couch and two grey armchairs near a small fireplace.

She glanced at the whole place, amused at how it was devoid of any colours. Most of the furniture was coloured in different shades of black and grey. Since Dumbledore was fond of symbolism, Hermione didn't doubt that this was his way of telling the Heads that, as the highest leaders of the student body, they shouldn't identify themselves as students from different Houses.

"We can finalise the Patrol schedules tomorrow, if you like," Harold offered as he paused in front of his bedroom and glanced over his shoulder.

Hermione smiled. "That sounds good," she replied. "It's best if we rest for now."

"Good night then," he said with a tilt of his head, before disappearing into his room.

The brunette pulled her trunk and climbed up the small staircase leading to her new bedroom.

The colour scheme wasn't much different to their Common Room, with a handsome grey bed placed in the centre of her room. There was a dark, mahogany desk pushed against a large arched window. A wardrobe stood at the middle of two, empty bookshelves - large enough to house Hermione's books. She guessed the door on the east side led to her shared bathroom with Harold. Beside it was a small dresser, complete with a mirror and some drawers.

As Hermione unpacked her things and placed them in their proper places, she was once again reminded that all of her closest friends had already graduated. Hermione paused in her packing and frowned, wondering if she should start hanging out with her Ravenclaw roommates once more. They did get closer during her OWLs year, but she'd been busy with her new relationship with James and helping Regulus with the horcrux hunt in her sixth year to properly hang out with them again.

'You should have made more friends in your year,' a voice inside her head admonished, one that eerily sounded like Sev.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione went back to her chore of unpacking her things, firmly promising herself that she'd spend more time with her Ravenclaw roommates. It was NEWTs year after all, and they'd been decent student partners. Hermione just hoped they'd still like to hang out with her.

As she closed her trunk, she heard a soft tapping from her bedroom window.

Mercury hooted grumpily outside and surprised, Hermione immediately walked towards the window and let the owl in.

"Well, this is a surprise," she told the greater sooty owl, which landed on her mahogany desk and stuck out his leg. Hermione untied the parchment and unrolled it, taking in Regulus's familiar handwriting.

I've done some thinking over the summer and I reckon it's best if we strengthen our duelling skills. What we've been doing so far has been dangerous and if ever we come across a potential enemy, it is best if we are well-equipped.

R.A.B.

P.S. I hope you don't mind, but can I have one of your colour-coded schedules? It's NEWTs year after all.

Hermione snorted at the postscript. Truthfully, she had already made a colour-coded schedule for Regulus, and even for her Ravenclaw friends, during the summer.

Her eyes then strayed towards his letter and she was surprised he'd suggested such a thing. But then again, she thought it was a good idea. Hermione was thankful they still hadn't come across any Death Eaters during their horcrux hunt, but with the ongoing war outside Hogwarts, it would be best if they'd practiced. Hermione hadn't practiced her duelling skills for years, after all. Hermione Pettigrew never found the need to do so in the past. But now that she had promised herself she'd participate in the First Wizarding War, with every intention of bringing Voldemort down, it was a good idea to start brushing up on her duelling skills.

Grabbing onto some spare parchment and her quill, Hermione jotted down her reply.

I think that's a brilliant idea! We'll work out the schedule as soon as possible. The duelling space won't be a problem. We can always practice in the Room of Requirement.

H.P.

P.S. Yes, I've made you a colour-coded schedule, you dolt. Meet me at Greenhouse 3 tomorrow. I'll give it to you. I'm sure you don't want your Slytherin acquaintances to see you fraternising with a Blood-Traitor, right?

Hermione rolled the parchment and tied it to Mercury's leg, bidding him goodbye as he hooted and flew out of her bedroom window.

September 2, 1978

When Hermione came down for breakfast that day, there were still only a few students scattered around.

She absentmindedly strode towards the spot she usually sat at during her meals, but paused when she saw Dorothy blearily mixing a cup of coffee as a wide yawn tore out from her lips.

Remembering her promise to herself last night, Hermione changed direction and sat on the bench opposite the sleepy raven-haired girl.

"Good morning," she cheerily greeted as she started to pile pancakes and bacon onto her plate.

"Hermione?" Dorothy asked, blinking rapidly to dispel her sleepiness away. "Why are you here?"

Hermione paused and awkwardly scratched her chin. "Well, this is the Ravenclaw table," she said.

Dorothy snorted and stifled another yawn. "No," she said, "I meant why are you sitting here? You never sat here."

The brunette lightly blushed. "Oh, you want me to leave?" she tentatively asked.

Dorothy softly laughed and shook her head. "No, dummy, you can stay here, of course," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I'm just surprised you're here. You never hang out with us during meal times."

Her cheeks reddened more in embarrassment as she guiltily stared at her plate. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"No, blimey, I didn't even mean it that way!" Dorothy cried, shooting forward to grasp onto Hermione's hand. "We know that Lily Evans and Severus Snape are your best friends. And, you're dating James Potter so you're close friends with the Marauders by default. It's understandable why you always hung out with them more than us."

Hermione glumly chuckled and brushed an errant curl away. "Yes, well, they're graduates now so I don't really have anyone to hang out with anymore," she claimed.

Dorothy patted her hand for comfort. "You know we'll always be here," she said. "The girls and I are really fond of you. We all agree you are the best study partner we've ever had." She laughed when Hermione's eyes widened. "It's NEWTs year now so we were hoping you'd give us your colour-coded schedules again?"

"I already made your colour-coded schedules," Hermione revealed with a sheepish smile.

"Of course you did," Dorothy said with a fond smile.

"We can study together this year," the brunette said with hope shining in her eyes. "If you'll have me."

"Blimey, Hermione, I got seven 'O's in my OWLs with your help," the raven-haired girl cried. "Of course we'll let you study with us again."

Hermione grinned in gratitude, once again promising herself she'd hang out more with them. They'd been good company after all.

As they continued their meals and more students arrived inside the Great Hall, the owl post came and started depositing letters and packages for the students. Hermione caught the Daily Prophet from one of the tawny owls and paid for her subscription. Before she could start reading the morning newspaper however, Hermione saw Thunderbolt zooming inside.

"Well, hello," she greeted, showing her upturned hand as James's owl deposited a small box on her palm. Thunderbolt nipped her finger affectionately before taking flight once more.

Inside the box were several pieces of toffees and a small rolled up parchment. Grinning like an idiot, Hermione unrolled the parchment and read James's letter.

Whiskers,

Knowing you, you'll skip your meals to study like a loon. As such, I've provided enough sugar for your brain to continue functioning. But seriously, please don't skip your meals. As someone who has already taken the NEWTs, eating on time helps with studying. And sleeping too!

By the way, Moony already left to meet with Belby. Bloody git was so excited, he almost left before the break of dawn. Thankfully, Pads was able to stop him and forced him to have breakfast first.

Auror training's still rigorous but I think Moody's already warming up to us, even to Peter. Moody offhandedly complimented Peter's skill with Concealment and Disguise. I think he's going to pass that with flying colours. Wormy's been over the moon ever since.

I really miss you. Do you reckon I could sneak into the Shrieking Shack tomorrow just to see you and get a proper snog? I can already imagine your eye roll by now so I take that as a no.

But really, I do miss you. Things have been tense here at the ministry. Have you seen the morning news? I can't believe the ministry's still covering up the attacks. People are starting to notice. Word has spread they want to impeach the current minister and appoint Bagnold instead.

Be careful always. Please.

Love,

James

Hermione fondly brushed over his name before absentmindedly grabbing onto the Daily Prophet. James asked her about the morning news which had piqued her interest.

Her eyes quickly scanned the front page, noting another massacre of different families, this time from various cities in England. At first, there seemed to be no connection whatsoever. Hermione was sure that if these massacres had reached the Muggle news, police would be puzzling over the randomness of it all.

But the Daily Prophet mentioned all the families who had been killed. "… Muggle families of newly graduated Muggleborn children were mercilessly killed by rogue unidentified wizards or witches."

Bile rose in Hermione's throat as the snake from the menacing Dark Mark flickered through the sky, before the photograph would start on its loop once more.

"It's getting bad, isn't it?"

Hermione tore her gaze away from the newspaper and glanced up at a grim Alex.

"The attacks," she continued, tensely glancing at her cup of tea.

"The ministry said—"

"The ministry lies," Dorothy hissed, cutting Michelle off. Her eyes grew dark. "I heard my parents once, speaking about the War and… and Vol – Voldemort."

Both Alex and Michelle winced while Hermione grimaced.

"He's steadily gaining power," Dorothy continued, ignoring how her friend started to pale at her words. "The increasing attacks just mean he's growing persistent."

Silence met her small claim. Hermione warily eyed her half-finished meal, knowing that if she forced herself to finish it, she'd start vomiting in the nearest loo.

She thickly swallowed and unwittingly glanced at the Slytherin table. To her surprise, Regulus's eyes were already latched onto her. His jaw was tense and there was a grim look on his face. No doubt he'd read the morning news too.

Hermione clenched her jaw and glanced back at the newspaper, glaring darkly at the menacing Dark Mark. There was a newfound vigour surging through her veins and she silently promised to herself that she'd work extra hard this year, just to plan on procuring the remaining three horcruxes.

A/N: I tried to research if Aurors have uniforms but based from the movies, we know that they actually don't. But I really want to give them uniforms - I mean, imagine James Potter in a handsome uniform I'm—

So yes, the Auror-in-training uniform thing is purely made up hahaha.

Also, I really needed a transition chapter from the previous action-packed horcrux hunt to the next chapter, which is asdfhjldfhlasdf! I can't wait for you to read the next chapter. No, scratch that – the next chapters. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to hype y'all up, but I'm really so, so excited huhu.

Anyway, that is all! Terribly sorry for not making Regulus a Head Boy. I have different plans for him this year, though, so there's that.

See you tomorrow!

Love,
WickedlyAwesomeMe

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