A/N: Here's chapter 11, hope you like it. You know the drill: if there are any mistakes (grammar/spelling), let me know. Please read and review.
Thanks to Angel From Above Is Here for proofreading.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Slowly, the students settled back into the rhythm of school. Going to classes, doing homework, and in the case of the marauders, playing pranks on almost everyone they laid eyes on. As was known, they would target the slytherins more than others, and the last couple of days it seemed like they were focusing almost all of their attention on Snape.
It didn't surprise Hermione in the least that they would target him but it looked like they were playing more pranks on him than usual. She had thought about it for a minute but she couldn't think of anything that might have happened in the past few days that could explain why they had increased their attacks on him.
Hermione, the girls and the marauders, just like almost all the other students were sitting in the Great Hall having lunch when there was a loud noise echoing through the hall. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around to see what was happening.
They didn't have to search long until they saw what was happening. Looking at the slytherin table everyone saw Snape with a vicious glare on his face. While Snape's hair was usually greasy and hanging lifeless around his face, now his hair had the shape of a huge poofy afro.
The entire hall started laughing, following the marauders' lead as they had burst out laughing upon seeing the result of their prank. Hermione, too, couldn't help but laugh, though she felt slightly bad about what Snape had to endure.
However, the laughter quickly came to a stop as Snape snapped and slammed his hands down on the table. He stood up and left the hall, everyone looking at him, shocked. Until now, he had taken the pranks without so much as giving the marauders a glance, not giving them the satisfaction of reacting to them. However, it seemed like he had reached his limit.
Everyone went back to what they had been doing, and apart from a few people – mainly the marauders – the laughter stopped.
It was when the sixth year gryffindors were making their way to their first class of that afternoon that Snape walked up to them and confronted them, afro still in place. Some of the students just kept on walking to their classroom and some stayed. Hermione and the girls decided to stay and see what would happen.
Hermione had heard enough things, both in her own timeline and in this one, to know that it could turn very ugly very fast if Snape and the marauders confronted each other straight on.
Instead of his usual passive expression, Snape's face was set in anger as he walked up to them. The marauders just watched him as he made his way towards them, smirks plastered on their faces.
"Do you think this is funny?" he spat at them.
James pretended to take a good look at him before saying, "Yeah, I personally think it's hilarious."
"Yeah, Snivellus, it suits you," Sirius said before barking out a laugh.
"Would it still be hilarious if I did this to you?" he asked angrily.
"Oh please, have you seen my hair? Nothing you would do could make it look less good," Sirius replied cockily. Then he went on, "And Prongs' bedhead is already bad enough, nothing could make it look worse than it already does."
"Padfoot, mate," James said as he looked at Sirius with a slightly incredulous look on his face.
"Sorry, Prongs, just stating the facts." His smirk widened and the glint in his eyes became stronger as he teased his best friend.
"Narcissistic, vain bastards," Snape hissed.
"Now, Snivellus, that's not a very nice thing to say," James said.
"Oh, as if you are such model students."
To Hermione it seemed like he was getting his emotions back under control because, slowly, his passive expression was returning and his voice also became more like how he usual spoke, sounding bored and indifferent.
"You have a point there, Snivellus," Sirius said. "Maybe we're not the perfect model students but at least we can learn a few things from people who are." As he said it he gave a look in the direction Lily and Hermione were standing and then he also looked at Remus standing beside him. "Who can teach you how to behave properly?" he taunted.
"I can behave exceptionally well, thanks for the concern." Then he looked at Lily and Hermione with a look of disdain on his face. He looked back at the marauders and sneered as he said, "Unlike you childish and brainless idiots, I don't need anybody's help when it comes to behaviour. And certainly not the help of a few mudbloods."
The marauders turned red in anger and James and Sirius became livid, yelling for the entire corridor to hear.
"What did you say?!" Both James and Sirius pulled out their wands and aimed them at Snape.
"I dare you to say it again!" Sirius said, looking enraged. He always was the most impulsive of the group and the easiest to get angry. He would never admit it, even deny it at times when people would tell him, but he was also the one who let his emotions get the better of him.
"Are we deaf now, Black?" Snape taunted them. "I said that I don't need help from a couple of mudbloods."
The marauders were glaring at Snape so hard, if looks could kill, Snape would have been buried six feet under, ten times over.
Sirius was about to say a spell – which one, Hermione didn't know – but before he could say anything, she stepped in.
She stepped in front of Sirius and while looking him in the eyes, she said, "Don't. It's fine."
His eyes flashed dangerously and he was breathing hard. "How could it be fine?!" he yelled. "He called Lily… He called you a…" He couldn't even bring himself to say the word.
She remained calm as she spoke. "I know. He called us mudbloods –" The maraudes cringed as they heard her say that word, "– and it's fine. He's right."
She remained calm, her voice, her face, nothing gave away how she felt about the word. The first time Malfoy had called her that in her own timeline she had been so upset. She had cried. Fortunately, she had had Harry and Ron with her to defend her and, of course, she had had Hagrid who had comforted her. The years after that Malfoy had called her by that name so often that she had started to become immune for it. She had learnt to not let it get to her anymore. Not much anyway.
"He's not right! Why would you say that?!" He was getting angrier and angrier, the longer they were talking about it. "Get out of my way so I can teach him a lesson."
She kept standing in front of him and put a hand on his outstretched arm as she said, "Don't. That's exactly what he wants."
They kept looking at each other and slowly, ever so slowly, Sirius lowered his arm.
Lily was staring at how the situation was unfolding in front of her. Hermione wasn't affected by the offensive word. Hermione had talked Sirius out of harming Snape. Sirius had listened to her and had lowered his wand. Now she could say that she had almost seen it all. However, she thought that might change back when Snape decided to open his mouth again to make another comment.
"Look at that, it seems you were right. You can indeed learn a few things from these mudbloods."
Sirius wanted to aim his wand at Snape again but he was stopped by Hermione. She had her hand on his arm and shook her head slightly as she gave him a look.
Then she turned to look at Snape and said, "I may be a mudblood –" Once again, the marauders and the girls flinched at the term, "– and maybe they can learn a few more things from me. But you could also learn a few more things about behaviour and if not from us mudbloods, then I suggest you look for someone else to teach you."
He looked at her like she was the most ugly thing he had ever laid eyes on, anger and disdain clearly visible on his face, his passive mask having slipped of his face.
Then she went to where the girls were standing and gave a jerk with her head. Just before the girls started to walk away from the scene, she said, "We'll be late for class if we stay here much longer." When the girls were walking away she turned her head towards the marauders and asked, "Boys, are you coming?"
Still angry, the boys stomped passed Snape and followed the girls to class.
During the afternoon classes it was obvious for everyone who had some working braincells, teachers and students alike, that the marauders were bothered by something. They weren't as loud as they usually were, didn't pull pranks, didn't make any comments. They were quiet, silent, most of the time having a glare on their face.
For those who weren't there when Snape had confronted the marauders it was difficult to figure out why they were behaving like this. Even Professor McGonagall was stumped for a moment, though she didn't let it show.
For those who had been there it was all too easy to know why they were behaving like they were.
Most of the time when it came to a confrontation between Gryffindor and Slytherin – mostly a confrontation between the marauders and Snape – it was obvious that the four boys would get angry at the comments and insults Snape threw at anyone who was standing near them. However, they would sent a few hexes towards him, make him the target of some pranks and insults himself and they would feel better, having worked off their frustration by doing so.
Now, they had been stopped by Hermione, and Sirius especially was still feeling livid. He felt like his blood was boiling, like he would snap at the very next person that dared to talk to him. He felt angry, frustrated and irritated and not having had the chance to get rid of it by throwing a few hexes in Snape's direction, he felt like exploding.
He was angry with Snape for the insult he had thrown at Lily and Hermione. He was angry with himself because he let Hermione convince him to lower his wand, to step down. And he was angry with Hermione.
How could she say Snape was right by calling her a… calling her by that term? How could she be so calm about it? Why wasn't she angry? Why didn't she want to hurt him for calling her something like that?
He couldn't understand it and the more he thought about it, the more angry and frustrated he became.
During dinner they were the same as in class, silent, moody, angry. It wasn't exactly fun or enjoyable to eat like this but everyone let them be, knowing they would come around sooner or later. And for the students and teachers it also meant a quiet and peaceful meal for a change.
It was when they were gathered in the common room that Sirius finally decided to voice his thoughts.
He looked angry and his eyes had a dangerous glint in them as he stared straight ahead of him but when he asked it, his voice was even and maybe even on the cold side. "Why did you say that?"
Everyone turned to look at him, the marauders, Lily, Marlene, Alice and Hermione. All of them a questioning look on their face.
Then he lifted his head, looked straight at Hermione and asked it again. "Why did you say that?"
"Why did I say what?" she asked him, though she had a suspicion what it was about. It was probably about the same thing that had the marauders feeling so unlike themselves all day.
"You said he was right. Why did you say that?"
It was the second time since she had been in this timeline that she had seen his face so serious, having such a determined look. The only other time was during the DADA class during Halloween.
She looked at him with a calm, even face when she replied. "Because he was."
"Dammit!" he yelled as he jumped to his feet from where he had been sitting on the couch near the fireplace. Marlene and Alice jumped up at his outburst, Alice looking very worried and startled. Lily looked down, not knowing what to do in this situation. She could understand why he was angry and just like him, she had it a little difficult to understand why Hermione was so calm about all of this. However, she had seldom seen him so angry and she didn't know how to handle it. Hermione, too, had jumped a little at his outburst but apart from that nothing showed that she had been surprised.
"Padfoot," Remus said, trying to calm his friend down.
"No, Moony! Aren't you angry about all of this?"
"Of course I am!" he said as his voice rose. Then he let out a breath and his voice became that usual soothing tone as he said, "But there's not much we can do about it."
"We could've hexed him until he had to go to the infirmary!" he growled out.
"That's exactly what he wanted and then you would've been in serious trouble," Hermione told them.
He looked back at her and said, "I wouldn't have cared! He would've deserved it! And even if I got punished it would've have been worth it!" Once again, his emotions were getting the better of him. "And why are you even so calm about it all, like it doesn't affect you?! Why didn't you teach him a lesson?!"
"That's not how I fix problems. I think about things logically to solve problems. And besides, I'm used to being called a mudblood." She said it like it was nothing important, like they were talking about something trivial like the weather.
Hearing that statement, hearing that offensive word, the girls cringed and the boys' anger flared.
Sirius was breathing long and hard through his nose, he fists clenching at his sides as he gritted out, "What do you mean 'you're used to it'?"
"Just like I said, I'm used to it. It's not important."
"Like hell it isn't! It's an insult, it's the lowest of the low to call someone by that name, so how can you say that it's not important!" He was fuming now.
James cut between the two and asked, "Hermione, who called you that?"
"Just Malf –" She cut herself off before she could give anything away and instead said, "Just some people back at Beauxbatons."
Sirius let out a vicious growl and everyone went silent. The silence stretched for a few moments before Hermione decided to break it.
"Look, I know you're angry but you need to let it go." He looked at her like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He opened his mouth to retaliate but before he could Hermione cut him off. "I was hurt the first time I was being called that but over the years I learnt to ignore it, to not let it get to me. If I accepted that I was a mudblood then it couldn't hurt me anymore when they would call me by that name. It's not that it doesn't affect me, I just learnt to live with it. I know that I'm more than what they make me out to be and if I know that then that's enough. So please, let it go." Her voice had something soft in it at the end of her statement and she looked more vulnerable than all of them had ever seen her since she had arrived there.
Hearing this, learning something more about her – even if it was so little – and hearing the softness that came into her voice at the end of her explanation, seeing the look on her face, Sirius felt a part of his anger dissipate. Not all of it, certainly not all of it, he felt like he would be angry for a few more days with how his blood had been boiling for the entire day. But a part of that anger had definitely left him at that moment.
He let out a deep breath and went back to his seat on the couch, a little of the tension leaving the room.
She felt drained. The situation with Snape, the marauders' mood throughout the day and now this discussion, it had worn her out.
"I'm going to bed," she said as she stood up from where she was sitting on one of the loveseat. She walked towards the stairs and just before ascending them she turned to look at the four boys. "Thank you, for defending us, even though I kind of stopped you guys from doing anything. It means a lot to me, so thank you." As she said the last sentence she looked straight into Sirius' eyes. Then she said goodnight and made her way towards her room. The rest staying in the common room, looking after her as she left.
It was silent for a moment, the girls processing all what had just happened and the boys mostly just staring at the stairs a little shocked. They all had gotten to know something new about Hermione. It was something small and it wasn't a good or positive thing but they had learnt something more about her and that wasn't nothing.
In all the months she had been here she had befriended them but apart from the general things they knew about her like her birthday, what she liked and disliked, the fact that she was muggleborn, they didn't know much. For Hermione to tell them something like this probably meant that she was slowly starting to open more, that she was starting to accept them as her friends.
After some more talking, though it was just small talk, the others also decided to go to bed.
And it was when everyone was lying in their beds that one of the marauders was thinking about one small thing that had happened during the discussion.
While the girls just fell asleep, the boys – or at least two of them – had their minds elsewhere. Sirius was thinking about Hermione. About what she had told them and how she had thanked them. He didn't know what it was but he felt something in his chest. It was something small. It was so small it was hardly noticeable. Yet he felt it. It made his heart beat just a tad bit faster. It reminded him a little of how he had felt just before playing his first quidditch match yet it was slightly different.
And while Sirius was thinking about this strange feeling, Remus was thinking about the small slip up Hermione made while she was arguing with Sirius. He thought about how she had cut herself of in the midst of her sentence. 'Just Malf', what was she about to say? A name? If so, why would she stop midway? Didn't she want them to know who it was? Was it someone they knew? Whose name started with 'Malf'?
It was the second time in a few weeks that he had all these thoughts running through his head. It was the second time she had said something, or more like hadn't said in this case, that made him wonder if she was hiding something from them. And just like last time he was wondering why he thought about these things. She was friendly, kind, hadn't done anything to be considered 'suspicious', yet he couldn't help it.
He thought about it for a few moments longer, trying to think of a name that started with 'Malf'. When he couldn't think of anything right away, however, he decided to let it be for the moment, just like last time. He tried to not think about it anymore and turned on his side, falling asleep only minutes later.