It was the day of the Welcoming Feast.
Hermione had begged her aunt to be sorted in the privacy of her office or the Headmaster's. After a thirty-minute debate involving the Headmaster and his four Heads of House, she had been granted that privilege.
She had been convinced her aunt would help her in this, but Minerva was the only one who put up a fight. She was overruled in the end, but felt compensated when Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor, after almost five minutes.
"Another hatstall in the McGonagall family. Your niece through and through, Minerva," Professor Dumbledore had said while applauding.
"Pull back on the twinkle, Albus. You'll need it for the feast in an hour," her aunt responded dryly but smiled at her niece.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Granger. We were very impressed with your achievements at Beauxbatons. Hogwarts is looking forward to you continuing this level of work."
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. I will do my best," Hermione responded politely.
She already felt weird being a transfer student and the Deputy Headmistress's niece. It was something she needed to get used to.
All she wanted to do was go to school, spend time with her friend and her aunt and hopefully find her soulmate, but she did not want to stand out.
"The students should be arriving soon," Professor Flitwick remarked.
Professor Dumbledore nodded and motioned for them to precede him toward the door.
At the bottom of the round staircase, Minerva pulled her niece back and they followed the others with a bit of space.
"Congratulations on making Gryffindor, lass. I'm happy to have you in my house and I'm sure Lori will be thrilled as well." She smiled at Hermione.
"Thanks, auntie. I can't wait to see her face," Hermione laughed.
Minerva nodded, "I know Albus told you to concentrate on your studies, but I know you'll do that anyway. I want you to enjoy your final year. Get to know Hogwarts, explore the castle, make new friends, spend time with Lori, just have fun."
Hermione immediately felt calmer.
"I will."
The Professors in front stepped through the giant doors where Hermione could already hear murmuring. Students were trailing in, some of them talking animatedly others looking at her curiously.
"Go on in, Hermione. I need to meet the first years now. Gryffindor table is the one on the far right. The older years usually sit in the middle or towards the end, but I'm sure Lori will find you."
With a wink, Minerva straightened her back and turned around to walk through the increasing stream of students wanting to get into the Great Hall.
Hermione sighed and made her way inside as well. She sucked in a breath when she saw the Hall for the first time. She had never been to visit Hogwarts, had never seen the Great Hall, but Lori and her aunt had told her about it. Seeing it herself was an entirely different impression. It was a thing of beauty.
"Keep moving, you're blocking the entrance," a sneering voice said from right behind her.
She hadn't noticed that she was obstructing the doors, which she honestly wasn't, they were too big. But some black-haired guy a head taller was looking at her with scorn. He was wearing Slytherin robes.
"Stop being rude, Sev! There's plenty of room." A redheaded girl said from beside him and elbowed him in the ribs, "Don't mind him, he's grumpy. Some third-year Ravenclaws kept bullying the firsties on the train and Sev and I had to step in. That never bodes well for his mood. Hi, I'm Lily by the way. I don't think we've met."
Hermione took Lily's outstretched hand and shook it.
"Uh, hi Lily. I…uh, no we wouldn't have. I just transferred here from Beauxbatons. Hermione Granger."
"Oooh, a French girl. How come you don't have an accent?"
Hermione saw the boy Lily had called Sev roll his eyes. Her answer was stopped when she heard a squeal and a whirlwind with blonde hair came flying at her, hugging her close.
"Hermione! You're here! Oh my god, you're really here! And you're in Gryffindor! How perfect is that? Oh, I've missed you. I know I saw you last night, but still. It feels like a lifetime. I'm going to show you everything! Come on, let me introduce you to my people."
"Lori! I missed you, too," Hermione laughed, "Hey, what's that on your robes? You didn't tell me they made you Prefect!" She pointed to the little red badge and Lori's grin stretched even wider.
Before her friend could answer, Lily made a strange sound in her throat.
"Russell," she said in a reserved tone, so very different from the happy one she had greeted Hermione with.
"Evans," Lori replied just as aloof.
Hermione's eyebrows rose almost to her hairline. She hadn't known about this feud. Lori had told her about her friends over the years, just as she had told her about annoying or rude people. She hadn't mentioned anything about a Lily Evans and it seemed even more curious, because they were both in the same house, maybe even the same year.
Lily turned to Hermione and gave her a smile, although it looked strained, "See you around, Hermione."
She took Sev by his hand and they marched over to the Slytherin table.
"Wha-?"
"I'll tell you later," Lori responded before Hermione could even utter the question, "Let's go sit down, so I can supply you with a special commentary to the feast tonight."
The sorting of the first years was interesting and Lori made a game of it. They tried to guess the houses and Hermione found that she was quite good at it.
The food spread after that was impressive and very tasty. Hermione felt so full that she had trouble paying attention to the short speech Professor Dumbledore gave before he sent them to bed. She was glad that he hadn't made a special announcement about her transfer.
"Come on, I have to guide the first years to our common room. Since this is technically your first year as well, follow me, m'lady," Lori bowed mockingly before her and Hermione snorted.
She also caught the glare Lily sent them from further down the table.
It was a long way up to the seventh floor and her legs hurt, when they arrived in front of the portrait of a…well, a fat lady.
Before she knew it, she was sitting on a four-poster bed with red curtains taking in her dormitory.
It was cosy. A heater in the middle and the beds arranged around it. There were desks around the room for every girl and a doorway to the shower.
After unpacking most of her trunk and putting on her pyjamas, she sat on her bed waiting for Lori.
She did notice that Lily was indeed in their year and had the bed right across from her.
Lori jumped up next to her on the bed and Hermione had the image of an excited little dog seared into her brain. They drew the curtains shut and put up a silencing charm.
"So spill. What's up with you and Lily?"
Lori rolled her eyes.
"She's just petty. We used to get along quite well. I didn't have that much in common with her, so we weren't close, but she was nice. She usually hangs around the Marauders."
"Okay…?" Hermione had no idea what a marauder was.
"I was made Prefect, because the girl that held the position before me got pulled from school by her parents for whatever reason. Lily thought she would get the position but didn't. That's all."
"That's it?"
"Yup."
"That is petty."
"I know, but I also get it a little," Lori looked in the direction of Lily's bed, "We're both Muggleborn. Two rare witches, who are good in school and liked by a lot of people, without being braggy. I honestly don't know why I got it instead of her, but I'm proud of it. Maybe because she hangs around the Marauders all the time? But then again, Remus is a Prefect, too…Oh well, I understand, narrowly missing out hurts."
"I guess," Hermione mumbled.
"Don't worry about it. Let's go to sleep, the food here always makes me tired and tomorrow the real fun starts…after class."
"Should I be scared?" Hermione yawned as if on cue.
"With me? Always," Lori winked, hugged Hermione and got out of their little bubble into her own bed.
Life at Hogwarts was different than at Beauxbatons. The courses were a little less intense, but the Professors somehow more skilled. Excepting the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who was a fraud, overtaxed, or simply boring most every year - according to Lori - all the teachers made the lessons interesting and even fun.
She hadn't continued History of Magic at Beauxbatons, so she only heard tales of Professor Binns, but was glad she didn't have to endure him.
Lori took it upon herself to give her the full Hogwarts experience, as she called it. It apparently entailed, sneaking around the Forbidden Forest, visiting Hagrid's creatures - they were creatures, no one could convince her otherwise - or exploring the castle at every opportunity to find hidden pathways, which was kind of cheating, because Lori knew a lot of them already. Another thing Lori loved to do was trick Filch. It seemed to be some kind of sport, one that all the houses got in on.
It didn't take more than three days for Hermione to know what a Marauder was. Lori pointed them out during breakfast on her second day. On the third day, she knew their nicknames, their tendency to prank Slytherins and lower years - with the occasional same year mixed in - and that she wanted nothing to do with them.
Hermione was used to a quiet school life. Hogwarts was the complete opposite even without the Marauders. Throw them in the mix and it reached a level that she wasn't comfortable with anymore. Lori kept telling her that it was just a shock in the beginning and that she would get used to it and enjoy their shenanigans. She wasn't sure about that.
She had taken to avoiding them all, even Lupin. Although he was the most relaxed of them all according to Lori, Hermione had the sneaking suspicion that he was behind the actual planning of all the pranks, because neither Potter nor Black seemed very versed in technicalities. Pettigrew was quiet but no less mischievous. He was the least annoying, but also the scariest sometimes. He had a dark side to him, that was balanced out by the Marauders and his soulmate, who had something about her that just made you like her.
The only thing that wasn't different at all at this school was all the soulmate pairs around her. There were a lot of inter-house relationships. Even some of the Professors were matched up.
Black and Lupin. Pettigrew and Marlene. Sprout and Hooch. Black's little brother and some girl from Hufflepuff she couldn't recall. As it turned out Lily and Sev, who was actually called Severus, were also a soulmate pair. They had started a relationship about two years ago, but had grown up together and been friends before that.
Hermione wanted that too. Her and Lori both felt a little left out, because every girl in their year and below - at least in Gryffindor - had already found their soulmate. It was frustrating sometimes.
On the bright side, they had a lot of people to ask about details and how things worked. Lori and Hermione had already come with a lot of information from their parents, but it was always exciting and interesting to hear other people's journeys.
All in all, it had been an intriguing first two months at Hogwarts for Hermione. She hadn't made any more friends, but she was friendly with all her dorm mates and well-liked by others as far as she could tell. Lily had processed her loss of the Prefect badge and was almost friendly to Lori…almost.
She was on very good terms with Hermione however, so she was sure Lily would come around in the end. Her and Severus kept her company in the library at times, especially when Lori had Prefect duties or choir practice. Their relationship was fun to watch. Severus was sarcastic and gloomy, which made for very funny comments if she were honest; Lily was bright and happy and balanced him out.
That seemed to be the key to soulmates. They balanced each other out. She was getting more and more curious about her own soulmate, but knew that he or she was probably not at Hogwarts, otherwise she would have already met them.
On the last day of October Hermione made her way from the library back to her common room. She had spent the afternoon with Lily and Severus and had managed a fair amount of homework and studying, in between chuckles and snorts thanks to Severus's caustic commentary of their surroundings.
She had also managed to avoid the Marauders the entire week, which was a feat in itself.
When she entered the common room there was still no sign of the four marauders and she was quite happy about that. There was always something happening when all four of them were in the same place.
So far she had managed to avoid interacting with them at all. She didn't draw attention to herself at all and usually avoided the common room in the evenings because it was just so loud.
She spent her free time in the library, either visiting Minerva or spending time with Lori. Occasionally she'd go outside to the grounds.
"Hey, Hermione!"
Hermione turned her head towards the corner where Lori was sitting waving her over.
"How did your study session go? I saw you earlier in the library, but couldn't join in because I had choir practice."
"It was rather productive. But I was slightly distracted by Severus's comments. He can be really funny," Hermione dropped down next to Lori on the sofa. "How was practice?"
Lori waved off her question, "It was fine. Just did the final rehearsal for the song we perform tonight. Are you excited about Halloween?"
"Yeah, I guess…," Hermione trailed off looking down.
Lori's smile faltered, "Hm…This is about the missing colours, isn't it?"
Hermione's head snapped up again. She didn't think she had been that obvious about it, but she'd forgotten how well Lori knew her.
"Don't look so surprised. I know you. Just because we've been to different schools all these years does not mean I didn't pay attention during breaks when I did see you. Plus, you have your old colouring book in your nightstand and I catch you looking at it more often than you think. I see your face whenever there's a soulmate pair in proximity and you have your sketchbook out almost every night."
"Well, that's just embarrassing," Hermione said half-joking and hid her face behind her hands. "Did you open it?"
"Of course not! That'd be the same as reading your diary - if you had one. I know how personal your drawings can be which is why I'm always so happy when you show them to me."
"Thank you…and you're right, Lori. I miss colours, so much. I want to see them again and I'm quite certain I never will." She held Lori's gaze and cautiously asked her next question, "Is it the same for you?"
Lori frowned and thought for a moment.
"Yes and no. I don't miss colours, like you do because I've never really desired them as much as you have. I know that someday I will see them. It's more the fact that I really want someone to love me for me, you know? So, yes I know what you mean, but no it's not the same for me."
"You know what I keep wondering about?" Hermione asked after they had been silent for a couple of minutes, just chasing their own thoughts.
Lori turned to her and made a quiet noise in her throat for Hermione to go on.
"How it's going to happen. I know everyone says it does, but how does it start?"
"Hm…well, I guess you see a colour?" Lori shrugged, "You could ask one of the already matched soulmate pairs."
"I could, but it's also exhausting because they're so happy and chipper. I get it but it's also frustrating. Maybe I'll ask them…I don't know."
"Okay, enough with the gloom. Let's go explore the castle some more before we have to go down to the Great Hall." Lori rose up and pulled Hermione with her.
"Fine, but this time don't give me any hints. Promise me!" Hermione held up a finger warning her friend.
"I swear it!"
They both giggled and left the common room with linked arms.
The Great Hall looked impressive. Lots of floating pumpkins, candles and ghosts popping up all over the place to scare people.
The choir had performed and dinner was in full swing when an ear-splitting explosion came from the Hufflepuff table, which was right next to Gryffindor.
Lots of sparks and smoke were filling the air and it became hard to see between the two tables. There was a lot of coughing, yelps and screams from the Hufflepuff table and it was beginning to get worrying.
Hermione heard a distinct thump and a yelp, followed by a passionate "Fuck me!" from somewhere close to her at the Gryffindor table. Lori was squinting through the smoke that was now starting to envelop the entirety of the Gryffindor table as well.
"I can guess who's responsible for that. They are going to have the entirety of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff to placate and probably some of the Slytherins. This was just plain stupid of them," Lori said although her voice sounded scratchy.
"What…the hell is this stuff? It's getting…hard to talk…let alone breathe," Hermione coughed.
"Blame the…Marauders. Can you see anything?"
"I saw…auntie get up right…after the explosion. I hope…she…can get rid…of this."
As if on cue the smoke cleared and Professor Dumbledore, Professor Sprout and aunt Minerva were standing between the tables not far away from where Lori and Hermione were sitting.
Dumbledore and Sprout were checking the students who seemed to recover very quickly with the smoke gone. Hermione could see that her aunt, on the other hand, was fuming.
"Whoever was responsible for this better step forward right now," she uttered in a biting tone, already looking up and down her own table.
"Oh, she knows," Lori whispered.
Hermione just frowned, most of the students were already standing, so there wasn't any immediate movement. Then a boy further up the table stepped away and walked to the Professors. Hermione met his eyes briefly and he raised his head high. There was a slight blush to his cheeks.
Her aunt sighed," Why is it always one of you. Come with me, Potter."
Hermione couldn't help but feel disappointed. Not only was it nasty to pull a prank on the - from what she had gathered in the short amount of time she'd been at Hogwarts - nicest house in the school, but to do it during a Feast, that was very beloved was just disrespectful.
She also had to acknowledge, however, that the Sorting Hat had placed him correctly. It took some guts to step up and own up to one's mistakes. She had to respect that, at least.
"One of the Marauders?" Hermione murmured to Lori.
"Of course." Lori rolled her eyes. "Told you this was going to bite him in the butt. Look at the other houses, look at our house."
True enough, there was no-one laughing or even smiling. They were all shooting daggers at Potter's retreating back, most of them were whispering and gesturing.
Professor Dumbledore had returned to the front of the hall and clapped his hands together. The buzzing of voices lowered to a minimum.
"Don't let this unfortunate incident ruin the night. Enjoy your food and get excited for the little show the ghosts have planned for after dessert."
He returned to his seat at the staff table, as did Professor Sprout, after her house was okay again.
Hermione and Lori spent the rest of the feast watching the other tables trying to predict who would retaliate.
It was only much later, when Hermione was cuddled under her blanket almost asleep that she remembered Potter and the fact that she had been able to see the colour of his cheeks.
When she woke up the next morning she decided to put it out of her mind, because it was probably only a trick of the light. It had been a split second, nothing more.
The incident at the Halloween Feast stayed on top of the gossip list for almost two weeks. Then it got pushed off by a scandalous tryst break-up in the middle of the night by none other than Professor Dumbledore himself.
Potter had been given half a year of detention with Filch and had already been the victim of several revenge pranks from Gryffindor and Slytherin.
His marauding friends did their best to protect him from them, but they couldn't be everywhere all the time.
Hermione had put even more effort into avoiding them, because right now it was even more dangerous to be around those four. Although in truth, the revenge pranks had gotten less and less.
About three weeks after the Halloween Feast Lori came running up to her in the hallway on her way to dinner.
"Hey, wow. Slow down. What's happened?"
"The first Hogsmeade weekend was finally announced! I was so looking forward to taking you into town and showing you everything. You've never been, have you?" Lori chattered excitedly, again reminding Hermione of an enthusiastic little dog.
"I have, but it's been years," Hermione laughed. "When is it?"
"This weekend!"
"That means tomorrow. Do they always announce it this late?" Hermione wondered.
"No, they usually put it up about a week or two in advance, but there was trouble with chaperones and a lot of organizational stuff. Now they got it figured out. We're going together, right?"
Hermione laughed again, "You're such a puppy sometimes. Of course, we'll go together."
"Perfect!" Lori called, causing heads to turn to them.
Hermione just shook her head.
"So, I have a confession to make," Lori started when they were halfway down to the village.
"Oh oh…what did you do?"
"Nothing bad, I think. James Potter asked me about you."
Hermione stopped walking almost toppling Lori over, who had her arm linked with Hermione's.
Hermione threw her an apologetic look," Sorry. When?"
Lori eyed her strangely, then pulled her forward again.
"About a week after the Halloween Feast."
Hermione stopped again, this time pulling Lori into her on accident, making them both almost tumble to the floor.
"Dude, seriously stop that!" Lori complained, righting her scarf.
"Sorry," Hermione repeated," What did he want to know?"
Lori pulled her forward again, throwing her a meaningful look.
"He asked me why he never saw you. He felt like you were avoiding him."
"Well, I am, but it's weird that he noticed," Hermione responded. "What do you think? What did you tell him?"
"I think that there's something I don't know, something you haven't told me perhaps? But to answer your question, I told him the truth. That he wasn't the type of person you usually hung around with."
"True enough."
They walked silently beside each other for a while, until Hogsmeade came into view.
"I have a confession to make, as well," Hermione said finally.
"Thank god, I feared I had to force it out of you." Lori teased her. "Okay, I'm ready."
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"I think I…During the feast when Potter was walking up to auntie…our eyes met and I'm not sure and it's probably nothing but…I think I saw him blush."
"So?" Lori asked blandly, then blinked several times in succession. "Wait…does that mean…? Are you telling me you saw the actual colour of his blush?"
Hermione cleared her throat unnecessarily, "Maybe…? Ugh, fuck! LORI!"
This time Lori had stopped walking abruptly. So abruptly, that Hermione had been pulled back forcibly and they had finally tumbled to the ground in a heap of limbs.
Lori didn't seem to notice their current predicament and just stared at her.
"Are you telling me James Marauder Potter is your soulmate?" Lori was whispering the last word, but it held so much meaning it sounded like a shout.
"No, of course not. It was just a trick of the light. Could you…like…move?"
Lori stared at her for another moment before looking down, "Oh…yeah, right. Hold on."
With a little wiggle here and a hard yank there, they were standing upright again.
"So you're saying, you maybe saw a colour, but it's not possible that he's your soulmate? Why not test it? You've been sitting on this information for three weeks."
"Honestly, it was nothing! Which is why I put it out of my mind. Don't you think I would want to find out if there was a possibility? Let's face it, it's James Potter. No way is he my soulmate."
"Right…," Lori said disbelievingly.
"Stop it. Come on, let's go. You wanted to show me around the village."
Lori just nodded. Hermione knew there was more her friend wanted to say, but she didn't. Not now, at least.
As it turned out they wanted to visit different stores once they had made their first round through Hogsmeade. They decided to meet up after Hermione was done at the book shop and Lori had replenished her sweets, so they could spend the rest of their time in the Three Broomsticks and lounging around the village.
The moment Hermione stepped out of the book shop she saw Lori running up to her. Hermione decided then and there that she would get Lori a dog collar for Christmas. She even had her tongue out.
"Hermione! I met him!"
"Who?" Hermione held out her hands to stop Lori from ploughing her over.
"You know…him." Lori's eyes sparkled.
"Him…? Lori, you need to be more spe-," Hermione stopped talking and her own eyes widened, "You mean…him him?"
"Yeah!" Lori nodded with a face-splitting grin.
"Which colour?"
"Blue…but a bright blue…like…like-"
"The sky?" Hermione supplied with a huge smile.
"Yes! Exactly! And that was just the first one! I can see violet and orange already! Oh, Hermione, I can't breathe, it's so beautiful!"
"I want to hear all about colours but we can talk about that later when I have my sketchbook. Where is he? Did you tell him? Does he know? Who is he? What does he look like? How old is he? What does he do? When-"
"Slow down! I'm the one who's supposed to freak out. He's…He's tall, dark and handsome," Lori laughed, "He's an Auror trainee and he was meeting up with a friend in the Three Broomsticks who cancelled on him last minute, so he was strolling through the village and I ran smack into him, because I wasn't looking. When I apologized and looked at him his eyes widened suddenly and I could see the sky! We kind of stuttered our way through it after that, so yes we know that we're soulmates."
"Is he still here? Can I meet him?" Hermione felt almost as giddy as Lori looked.
"I don't see him right-…Oh, there he is. He's coming over."
Hermione turned around and true to Lori's words, he was tall, dark and handsome.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt, a pleasure to meet you." He said when he had reached them and stretched out his hand to greet her which she took.
Hermione's eyebrows rose when she recognized the name.
"Shacklebolt? I think my uncle mentioned you before. He's really impressed with your progress in the trainee program."
"And your uncle is…?" Kingsley prompted politely releasing her hand.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm Hermione Granger. I'm Elphinstone Urquardt's niece."
Kingsley's eyes widened a little.
"You're my boss's niece…and he said that?"
"Yes and yes. It's nice to meet you, Mr Shacklebolt."
"Please, call me Kingsley."
"Of course, and it's Hermione," she turned around again and took Lori's hand in hers, "I can't tell you how happy I am that you found each other."
Lori blushed next to her and Kingsley's breath hitched a little.
"It's like colourful fireworks," Hermione heard him whisper in awe.
If Lori had been made of ice she would have melted.
Hermione subtly stepped back and gave her friend this precious moment with her soulmate. She felt like her heart was going to explode in her chest with the joy she felt for her best friend.
She took a few more steps back and slowly made her way to the Three Broomsticks. Lori would join her when she was ready.
She had just found a place at the counter when the door opened and her eyes were drawn to it.
Three of the four Marauders sauntered in.
"Please save me, someone." She pleaded.
"Hermione Granger! There you are. It's almost impossible to catch you, seems like you're trying to avoid us. Who are you talking to?"
"You have got to be kidding me," she groaned looking up at the ceiling.
"I think she's talking to the ceiling, James. Maybe she stuck a book up there to read it out loud."
"Wow Padfoot, that was a lousy joke."
"Give me a minute, Prongs. I'm still hungover."
"I have to agree with James, Sirius. That was shameful for a Marauder."
"You wound me, Moony," Black groaned theatrically and said down next to Hermione, letting his head thump on the counter, "Rosmerta, save me from them. They don't appreciate me anymore. One lapse in humour and they abandon me both."
Madam Rosmerta rolled her eyes and hit him with her dishcloth.
"Don't slump on my counter."
"Ow!"
She came around carrying four jugs filled with mead, "Besides, they're right. That was just half-baked."
"Rosmerta! Even you?" Black cried indignantly.
The barmaid laughed and swayed her hips on her way to a table in the corner.
"That woman," Black moaned and bit his knuckles.
"Keep on dreaming, Padfoot," Lupin said playfully and put his hand on Black's back before sitting down on his other side.
"I'm so very sorry for my friends, Miss Granger. Please, accept our humble apologies." Potter bowed low beside her.
"Save it, Potter. You and your friends can leave me alone again, I'm meeting Lori."
"Ah, dear lady, Miss Russell is in excellent company but unfortunately being held up by Professor Flitwick and has sent me to keep you entertained in her absence."
"Of course she has," Hermione groaned quietly, louder she asked, "Aren't you missing someone, as well? Where's Pettigrew? He's the only one who doesn't annoy me, that much."
She finally looked at James meeting his eyes. For a second she thought she saw a hint of a colour there but it was gone the next.
But what she did see took her breath away. His skin had colour. She could actually see the colour of his skin.
Without consciously thinking about it she stretched out her hand and cupped his cheek. Examining the little shadows and shades all over his face. She ran her finger over his cheekbones and underneath his eyes.
She didn't realize how close they were, not until she could feel his breath on her face and his own hand covered hers. His eyes dropped to her lips and something sparked through her lower abdomen.
She pulled back hastily, almost falling off her chair. They stared at each other both wide-eyed.
"You're blushing." James murmured.
Hermione's hands flew up to her face to cover her cheeks. Great, in addition to feeling aroused she also felt embarrassed now.
"Your scarf," James continued in a slightly awed voice, "It's purple."
He could see more colours?
But so could she. She had to agree with Kingsley. It was indeed just like fireworks.
It wasn't his colourless sweater anymore. No, it was actually a blue one, dark blue. There were also golden buttons and his slightly parted rosy pink lips. What was he feeling? Did that mean-?
"Peter has taken out Marlene today. He'll join us later," Lupin answered her earlier question, breaking the spell she and James had been under.
"You know what I always wondered?" Black asked.
Neither Lupin nor Black had noticed the intense exchange right next to them.
"Enlighten us, Padfoot," James didn't miss a beat, although his eyes stayed firmly on Hermione's.
"Why your dad took your mom's name," Black asked pulling on Hermione's sleeve, "He's a McGonagall…why did he give up the name?"
Hermione turned to him…reluctantly.
"Sirius, that's a little disrespectful to ask, don't you think?" Lupin kicked him in the shin.
"Ow!"
"It's fine, Lupin," Hermione waved him off and focused on Black, "Both my dad's siblings kept their last name, so he was free to choose if he wanted to as well. My dad had always wanted to take the name of his soulmate, so he did. That's it."
"Oh, I was expecting something juicier," Black grumbled disappointedly.
Hermione looked like she was about to reply but then closed her mouth again and got off her stool.
"I'm going to go find Lori and get back to the castle. Bye Lupin, James," she ignored Black, waved at the other two and with a lingering look to James made her way to the door. Crap, when had she started calling him James?
"Ow! What now?!" Sirius cursed and rubbed the back of his head where James had smacked him.
"Idiot! That's my soulmate! Why are you so bloody rude? You need to take a hangover potion, right now. Your filter is stuck up your ass," James continued.
"Loosen up, she's fine. If she had felt insulted, I'd be hurting right no-"
Sirius vanished from beside James. The chair he had been sitting on had disappeared and he'd landed on his butt hard.
"Fuck! OW!" He yelled.
James and Remus looked at each other and then down at Sirius.
"Guess you did insult her," Remus added dryly.
"I'm going to marry her," James said with a goofy smile on his face staring after the witch in question through the window.
Remus just clapped his shoulder after walking around Sirius still on the floor.
"Good luck with that," then the hand still on James's shoulder turned into a death grip and the animagus winced slightly, "Did you just say soulmate?"
James beamed.
"Why didn't you say anything, before?!" Sirius yelled from the floor.
"Sirius, would you just…get off the floor?" Remus sighed.
"I wasn't sure, before. After the chaos at the Halloween Feast, I didn't really know who had triggered the colours and I barely see Hermione outside of class. She avoids us."
"Yeah, I noticed that too," Remus agreed. "Do you know why?"
"I asked Russell about it, but she was a little short on the details. I think we're too…boisterous? Something like that. Beauxbatons was a little more mellow, I guess." James shrugged. "No matter, I will get to know her."
"I'm going to abduct her and lock her in a room with you, guaranteed Prongs," Sirius chimed in from the floor.
"Dude! Get off the fucking floor," James retorted impatiently.
Sirius just grinned.
Apparently, Sirius had been…well serious when he suggested abduction. It didn't take more than a week before James found himself locked in a room with none other than Hermione Granger…and boy was she pissed.
"What the hell is wrong with you people? This is actually illegal! You know that?" Hermione tore into him.
"Well, technically I'm just as much a victim as you are. This was Sirius's idea." James said and held up his hands defensively.
"Oh, come on! We both know everything you guys pull is a team effort. Don't try to play me, Potter!"
"We're back to Potter, now?" James groaned.
"You piss me off, you get the last name," she deadpanned.
James grinned, "You know you're really kind of hot…all angry and wound up like this."
"Ugh! I hate you, James Potter!"
"No you don't, otherwise I would see a new colour."
She halted.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
He stepped closer, invading her personal space. She refused to step back and show weakness. He slowly raised his hand to her face and she eyed it warily. Not seeing her try to stop him he gently took a curl between his fingers and stared deep into her eyes.
"Every emotion you express means I get to see a new colour. Like the pretty blush on your cheeks, right now. It's a lovely shade of pink. Also, the colour of your skin, and the colour of the stone you wear around your neck. It reminds me of the forest."
She gripped the stone in her hand out of habit. It was the same colour as the woods behind her home.
He noticed the movement and pried her hand open again, interlocking their fingers.
He leaned even closer, their faces only inches apart. Hermione didn't dare to move, afraid she would break this precious moment.
Because he was right. She didn't hate him. In fact, she was pretty sure she liked him more than she should.
His hand felt so comforting and right in hers. The way their fingers were intertwined was intimate, making her lower abdomen clench deliciously.
He was handsome, so very handsome that it seemed unfair to all the other men. He was also tall, a thing she had always found attractive. It meant she could let herself fall, because he was looking out for her.
He had that little tilt of his lips when he tried to remember something and whenever he gritted his teeth the movement of muscles in his jaw did something funny to her.
She also realized that she had paid much closer attention to him than she'd thought. How often had she stared at his mouth that seemed to always smirk a little?
Crap! Why was he so hot?
His eyes closed and somehow hers did, too. She could feel him…
"Hermione!"
A loud yell and an even louder crash at the door made them jump apart.
Lori was standing there, breathing heavily. Hermione could see Black and Pettigrew lying on the floor outside groaning. Lupin was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the door biting his lip.
"I told you this was a bad idea from the start," he commented dryly.
"Shut up, Moony," Black whined from his position on the floor. It did not look comfortable.
"Hermione," Lori said again, still panting, "Are you okay?"
"I…uh, yeah. I'm fine," she avoided looking at James. She knew her face was crimson right now, at least if someone was able to see that colour. She felt really guilty for some inexplicable reason. "Let's go."
Hermione grabbed Lori by the arm, sidestepped the two casualties, threw a dark look at Lupin and walked away as fast as she could.
"We'll try again in a few days," Sirius announced weakly.
"No, you won't," James said intensely. "Right now she's beyond embarrassed, her face was crimson. She's not some conquest. She's my soulmate. I don't want to use tricks to make her fall in love with me. She's special and so very important to me and I will treat her like that. All of you will treat her like that."
"What the hell was that?" Lori asked her when they were safely inside her silenced bed curtains.
"Black's grand plan apparently," Hermione said suddenly feeling drained.
"To do what? Upset you? He succeeded spectacularly," Lori declared angrily.
"Yeah…"
"What's wrong? Are you sure you're okay?" Lori took her hand and examined her face.
"Yes, I'm okay. Just…confused, I guess."
"Why?"
"It's just confusing. I don't know how else to explain it." She shrugged.
"Hm…well, are you hungry? Dinner should have started by now."
"No, I'm just going to lie down. But you should go eat." Hermione said almost annoyed with herself for that sad tone she had going on.
"Are you joking? I'm staying right here. You don't have to talk, but I will keep you company, like when we were little."
That brought a smile to Hermione's lips. They rearranged themselves side by side, both staring at the ceiling.
"Thanks, Lori."
"Anytime."