There was no need to get panicky, right? After all, it was not like the Hat had sorted her into Slytherin, or even Hufflepuff. Besides, she was just as scared of being sorted into Gryffindor once again... The Hat really couldn't be blamed for its choice. Ravenclaw was a decent House and it wasn't exactly shocking that she got sorted there.

Hermione kept telling herself that, trying not to notice all the stares she was earning. It was bloody annoying, to say the least and now that her mood faltered so noticeably it got even worse. The only thing stopping her from showing her displeasure was a group of eleven year olds that got sorted into Ravenclaw. Listening to their constant babbling was quite soothing, as it reminded her of her first feast at Hogwarts. Besides, Remus was right saying that if they could do it, she would too.

Not being able to stop herself, she looked up and scanned the Gryffindor table in order to find familiar faces of the Marauders. They were laughing loudly and talking to each other, completely unaware of the fact that she was staring at them. It was quite rude of her, but she couldn't help it. How she wished she could sit with them without having to worry about fitting into a new House. She wasn't very good at making friends and the fact that she didn't know any Ravenclaws that attended Hogwarts at this time made it even worse. The young Marauders were strangers, but she knew so much about them that talking to them felt almost natural.

Just as she wanted to avert her gaze, Sirius' grey eyes found hers and a warm smile graced his face. Well, it certainly seemed that Remus was right and young Messer Black wasn't going to stay mad at her forever. She reciprocated his gesture and then looked away, deciding it would probably be best if she focused on her food and then found someone who could show her to the Ravenclaw Tower, instead of stalking the Maruaders.

Hermione finished her food, feeling as though she would puke if she ate anything else and raised her head to see if the feast was coming to an end. Some people were still eating, but most of the students kept chattering cheerfully, waiting for professor Dumbledore to call it a night and send them to their dormitories. She sighed out loud and propped her head on one elbow, staring monotonously at the table. Finally, the food has disappeared and professor Dumbledore stood up, ready to bid them farewell.

"I hope that your stomachs are fully satisfied, as it is time for you to get some sleep. The school starts tomorrow and I expect you all to do your best this year! But right now it's time for you to get to your dormitories. Prefects, please escort our new students to their beds! Good night!"

Everyone started to move around, trying to find their way to the exit and Hermione caught herself wanting to do the same. She almost cursed out loud when a first year old asked her suspiciously if she knew where she was supposed to go. Fighting of a blush, Hermione shook her head and looked around trying to find a Prefect from Ravenclaw.

Finally, a smiling girl approached them and waved her hand enthusiastically.

"Welcome, everyone! My name is Amelia Bright, but you can all call me Amy! I'm a Prefect and I'm at your disposal if you need any help at all", she stated and Hermione couldn't help but smile.

That girl was really sweet. Her blonde her reminded her of Luna's, but her green eyes glowed with excitement rather than dreaminess. She was also very short and tiny, making her cute as a button. Of course, Hermione knew better than to tell her that as it would probably be taken as an insult rather than a compliment, but nonetheless, the Prefect looked like someone who could certainly bring light into her new life.

"Follow me everyone and try not to stray away. The castle is very mischievous when it comes to new students", the girl giggled lightly and then spun around, making her way through the remaining crowd.

Hermione complied and joined the girl, who seemed surprised at her presence.

"Oh, I completely forgot that you don't know your way as well. You're Hermione, right?"

"Yes, Hermione Granger. It's nice to meet you"

The girl grinned at her widely and said:

"You have no idea how happy I am to meet you! You're sixth year, yeah? That means that you'll probably going to share you dormitory with me and my friends. Ever since Mary's parents decided to move and took her with them, it's been so weird and lonely... Although I can't say that an empty bed didn't come in handy. We're all such awful slobs that our clothes are scattered everywhere most of the time., the girl kept babbling and babbling reminding Hermione of someone else she used to know.

'Oh God, it's Lavender Brown all over again', she thought to herself with horror and then snorted quietly. 'At least that one won't steal the guy you like... Since he's dead and you're as single as ever'

"Anyways, the girls will be so happy to have someone else in our room! Can't wait till I introduce you to our traditions! I'm telling you, Friday nights are always soooo great! We're having tons of fun and all"

"Does she ever shut up?", a familiar voice whispered from behind and Hermione couldn't help but giggle, knowing that it was the same boy that questioned her earlier before the Sorting Ceremony.

"Yes, she does!", spat Amy and shot him an angry glance, before returning to her normal cheerful smile. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I'm just really excited and when I'm excited I talk a lot"

"Yeah, I've noticed. But that's okay. It makes me much less stressed, to be honest", Hermione admitted and smiled at the girl.

It really did. Even though Lavender Brown was not her favourite person, she was still familiar. And Amy didn't seem even half as bad as the girl that Hermione used to share her dormitory with. She was a Ravenclaw after all, which certainly said a lot about her intelligence.

"Being a new girl sucks, yeah? I figured... You looked absolutely mortified when you were sitting on that chair with a Sorting Hat on top of your head. Honestly, what took you so long? Did the Hat required your curriculum vitae , or something?"

"No. It was pretty weird actually, since most of the time, it has been quiet", she shrugged and Amy furrowed her brows.

"Yeah, pretty weird. Maybe that's because that Hat has no idea how to deal with someone who's not eleven years old", she offered and Hermione shrugged once again.

"It doesn't matter. It did sort me, in the end"

"I think you're going to love it here in Ravenclaw. I know that we seem like very boring people, but I don't think that's the case. We are just much more complex and complicated that most of the students. We have issues, you know", Amy whispered and Hermione raised her eyebrows with amusement.

"What issues?"

"Well... For example, most of the boys are scared of us. You know, our brains work on completely different level and it can be pretty intimidating", she laughed and Hermione rolled her eyes.

Of course, boys were an issue. Her sixth year had been a true disaster as she had to listen to Lavender and Parvati going on and on about guys, Quidditch players, eligible bachelors and all that crap. And then Lavender started to talk about Mon-Ron all the time, which made her jealous and nauseous at the same time, turning her life into a nightmare.

"No, but seriously. We're kind of that misunderstood fraction that everyone claims to know without really giving a shit about the truth... When you're a Ravenclaw you're doomed to be a big-headed nerd that doesn't do anything but reading", Amy said with a gravely expression and Hermione felt blush creeping up her face.

Maybe she really was a Ravenclaw, after all? Cause that sounded a lot like her.

"Isn't it true?", she asked and Amy furrowed her brows.

"Of course not!", the girl exclaimed with indignation. "Most of the time..."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh out loud, which made Amy giggle as well. Soon, they fell into a comfortable silence that allowed Miss Granger to look around carefully, as she was probably supposed to do, being the new girl. She soaked in the sights of familiar walls and corridors, letting herself drown in memories. Yes, this castle was definitely so much more than just pile of stones. 'Home', she thought once again and smiled nostalgically.

Her peace didn't last long though, as she felt someone wrapping his arms around her shoulders, giving her a huge scare.

"What the hell?!", she gasped and looked straight into Sirius' grey eyes.

Her heart was racing against her chest and she shot him an angry glance.

"Sirius, a little warning would be nice"

"Oh, you know each other?", Amy asked and Hermione didn't have any trouble recognizing the unhealthy excitement in her voice.

"Yes, we're on our way to becoming best friends"

Sirius' voice was filled with amusement, but Hermione couldn't help but to blush at his statement.

"We've just met", she reminded him and looked at Amy. "They've helped me with my trunk and invited me to their compartment"

"Invited? More like, kidnapped you and gave you no other choice than to sit with us", Sirius corrected her, making Amy chuckle. "Anyway, I wanted to make sure you're alright, seeing as the old Hat decided to separate you from us"

"Yeah, I almost died out of disappointment, but I think I'm okay now"

Her voice was laced with irony, but Sirius decided to completely overlook it as he smiled fondly and said:

"Oh, sweetheart, I knew you loved me already, but this is really cute"

"Shut up... And you should probably get back to your dormitory. From what I've heard today, we're not allowed to stay outside our common rooms after the curfew"

Barking laughter filled the air, as Sirius tilted his head back. Hermione knew very well that the word 'curfew' meant nothing to any of the Marauders but she had to keep the appearances, so she furrowed her brows and looked at him expectantly.

"You're so innocent, love. I totally dig that", he finally winked at her and seconds later, he was gone.

Heat rose to her cheeks, when she caught Amy's jealous stare. Judging by what she'd said earlier, the lack of attention from boys really was an issue and Hermione just got hugged by Sirius Black, who was probably one of those guys that every girl dreamt of.

"What?", she asked pretending not to know what Amy was thinking about.

"You have no idea how much I envy you. That man...", she sighed and her eyes became dreamy for a second.

"I'm going to puke", the eleven year old stated firmly and Hermione giggled once again.

Amy didn't look all that happy at his comment, but she sent Hermione a suggestive glance that seemed to say: 'We're going to talk about that later', and kept her mouth shut. After few more minutes, they have finally reached the stairs leading to the Ravenclaw Tower. Hermione was really grateful for the training she has had during the summer, otherwise she would find the climb very exhausting. No wonder she had never seen a Ravenclaw student that would be rather on the plump side...

When they've finally reached the top, most of the eleven year olds were panting loudly, while Hermione's breath was only slightly quicker. 'Thank you, Mad-Eye. You've been a huge pain in the ass, but my ass has never looked better', she thought to herself and tried not to giggle.

Amy seemed to be in quite good shape as well, as she turned around and smiled brightly, reminding Hermione of a light bulb.

"All right. I know that the journey is very tiring, but I need you to focus. The door behind me is the entrance to our Common Room. As you can see, it has a handle that's shaped like an eagle, a symbol of our House. In order to enter the room, you need to solve a puzzle that is given to you by the eagle"

"Solve a puzzle? What kind of puzzle?", one of the children asked with curiosity, while the others looked at Amy with pure terror on their faces.

"Well, as a Ravenclaw you are required to use your brain at all times. The eagle will require you to do just that and give him a correct answer to a logical puzzle", Amy explained, but the children didn't look any better.

"It can't be that hard. Considering the fact that the Sorting Hat put us all in the House known for its students intelligence, you should have no problems at all", Hermione added and smiled reassuringly.

"And how would you know? Aren't you new here?"

Oh dear, that little boy really was something. He fit into Ravenclaw perfectly, with all the questions that floated around his mind.

"I'm as new as you, I told you that. But that doesn't mean that I'm not also right, you know"

"Hermione is correct, actually. The riddles are not that hard, especially if you have to solve them few times a day. I have to warn you though, if you can't find the right answer, you'll have to wait till someone does it for you. And now...", she said and spun around, facing the eagle that looked at her instantly.

"We see it once in a year, twice in a week, but never in a day. What is it?", the eagle asked and Amy grinned confidently.

"The letter 'E', I believe"

The door immediately flew open and Amy gestured them to come inside. Hermione instantly noticed that her new common room was much bigger than the one she had previously shared with her friends. There was also no ruby red colour to be seen anywhere, as the whole room was decorated with brown and blue accessories. Nonetheless, Hermione found it quite cosy and decided that she'd rather liked it.

"Okay, everyone. Welcome to our common room! The most important thing about it is that you can spend all the time you want in here, but you cannot leave it after the curfew. Breaking this rule can be very painful not only for you, but for your House as well. As for your dormitories... The ones that belong to girls are on the right side and boys on the left side. Of course, each door is labelled with names of everyone who's staying there, so you won't have any trouble at all finding your own bed. Your trunks are already there and I suggest you to go to sleep as fast as possible. Tomorrow, the school starts and you need to get up a lot earlier if you want to make it in time to classes. Trust me, it's going to be difficult at first. Feel free to ask anyone for help. Do you have any questions?"

Hermione was really impressed with Amy's speech, as she knew more than well that it wasn't easy to stand in front of a bunch of kids that were more interested in looking around and doing... basically anything that didn't require focus and attention. The girl seemed to be very good at her job as a Prefect and it made Hermione like her even more.

"No questions? Then off you go!"

Before Hermione could say anything, Amy's hand was wrapped itself around her wrist as the girl started pulling her towards the stairs. Their dormitory was very high up and Hermione decided to stay quiet in order to breathe regularly, as Moody has taught her. Before they've reach the end of the stairs, one of the doors flung open and a tall girl showed up on the threshold.

"I'm so excited! Come on, quickly, we can't wait to meet her!", she squealed hysterically and Amy sighed with annoyance.

"Calm down. Don't you see she's right behind me?"

Hermione was really surprised seeing the other girl so excited, as apparently, she was the main reason for it. She couldn't tell if it made her feel really happy or really crept out. When the stranger moved aside to let them in, Hermione found herself in a tight embrace that made her highly uncomfortable

"Grace, for fucks sake, you're choking her with that death grip of yours", another voice reached Hermione's ears and she felt an instant spurt of sympathy towards its owner.

"Oh, sorry, sorry... I'm just so excited!", Grace apologized and grinned so widely that Miss Granger was worried that all of her teeth will simply fall out.

"Yeah, no shit", the second voice snorted once again and Hermione turned around to face the girl.

She was quite tall and her posture seemed completely laid-back. Her hair was dark and extremely short for a girl and, considering her lack of make-up, she probably liked looking like a boy. She was very pretty though, with her pink, plump lips and eyes blue as the sky.

"I'm Leslie", she introduced herself and extended her hand towards Hermione. "And that freak that nearly killed you is Grace"

"I prefer Gracie!"

Miss Granger turned to look at the smiling girl and took in her appearance. And Merlin, there really was a lot to look at. That girl could basically be a model; tall, lean, incredibly shapely and beautiful. Her face was pretty angelic, even considering her raven-black hair. She was a female version of Sirius Black and that made Hermione feel really envious.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both", she stated and smiled warmly, ignoring the nasty feeling poisoning her mind.

"You have no idea how happy we are! I mean, it was pretty great to have the dormitory to ourselves, but after our friend switched schools, it was so quiet in here..."

"Quiet? With you? You have got to be kidding me. I swear, I have no idea how that place is still standing", Leslie laughed and plopped onto her bed.

"Shush, Les! You don't want to scare Hermione, do you?", Amy told her off, making Hermione giggle.

"It's alright. I'm used to mayhem"

They had no idea how true that was... And they never would. Even though, Hermione thought that the girls were rather pleasant variation of chaos and that she would actually enjoy living with them.

"With that hair of yours, you certainly have to", murmured Leslie and grinned at her. "I had the same problem, so I've..."

"...cut them all of. And there, problem solved!", Amy chirped, earning herself a murderous stare.

"Yeah, it doesn't matter that you look like a boy", added Gracie and rolled her eyes.

"I still have boobs, you know. Guys dig that, although you wouldn't know, since you don't have any", Leslie spat back, making Amy laugh like a crazy person.

Hermione couldn't stop herself from giggling, when she has noticed Grace's outrage, that obviously wasn't all that serious. Her new roommates acted a lot like the Marauders and it made her feel pretty awesome. She didn't usually connected with girls that well, Ginny being the exception, but those seemed really nice and easy-going. Certainly, it was nothing she'd expect from a bunch of Ravenclaws.

"Sorry, Hermione. I mean, you must be tired and really stressed out. We should probably shut up and let you unpack yourself and go to bed"

Miss Granger smiled at Amy gratefully and finally managed to look around the dormitory. Her bed was situated near the window, judging by her trunk standing right next to it. She immediately walked towards it and plopped down on the floor in order to open the lock. The girls looked at her with curiosity, as she started to unpack in the traditional, Muggle way. Of course, for someone who wasn't raised in a Muggle household, it seemed only like a waste of time, but she found it very calming and soothing. It reminded her of where she came from and how valuable her heritage actually was.

Even if they found it strange, no questions have been asked. Instead of prodding her, girls started to chat about their holidays and the upcoming year.

"I think it will be bloody fabulous!", Amy stated and Gracie sighed dreamily.

"I totally agree... I mean, have you seen all these boys? They must have really worked out during the summer..."

'Merlin, here we go...', Hermione thought to herself and rolled her eyes with amusement.

"Speaking of boys, did you know that Hermione had travelled to Hogwarts with the Marauders?! I mean, Sirius Black has even flirted with her when we were on our way here!", Amy exclaimed, making Hermione blush terribly.

"It didn't mean anything. From what I've noticed, he's completely unable to stop himself from doing that", Hermione shook her head and kept unpacking her trunk.

"Are you kidding me? Yeah, he does flirt a lot, but he seemed genuinely interested in you and that doesn't happen all that often"

"James called him a man whore, so I kind of doubt it"

"Man whore he may be, but still... He likes you. Likes as in enjoys talking to you and stuff like this", Amy pinpointed and Hermione turned around just in time to see her triumphant glare.

"So what? It's not like I'm interested in him... He seems fun and I don't have anything against being friends with him, but really, I know better than to fall for his pretty eyes and lopsided grins. Besides, there's no way he's really interested", she shrugged, dismissing their ideas.

"What are you, nuts?! Have you seen this man?!", Grace squealed again and Hermione sent her an amused glance.

"Yes. And honestly, if you like him so much, why won't you talk to him?", she asked, furrowing her brows.

Leslie started to laugh maniacally and Amy seemed equally amused.

"Oh, she tried last year. It didn't go so well..."

Grace's face turned scarlet red and Hermione looked at her with curiosity.

"Yeah, I've made a complete fool out of myself. He mistook me for a second year... He said I was freakishly tall for someone so young"

"I told you, guys dig boobs...", Leslie kept laughing, making Grace even more flustered.

"What is he, blind? You're absolutely gorgeous", Hermione stated and earned herself a timid smile.

"Thank you, Hermione, but I don't think that I'm in Sirius' type. Despite what everyone is saying, he tends to be very picky with girls"

"Yeah, it almost seems as he's looking for that special one and can't find her", Leslie rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Don't try to romanticize everything and everyone. He just likes to shag"

"Les, do you have to be so blunt all the time?!", Grace yelled, waving her hands frantically.

"Yeah, someone in this madhouse has to..."

"I'm going to remind you that the next time we're having our Bookish Friday!", Grace spat at the short-haired girl, making her blush furiously.

"What's a Bookish Friday?", Hermione immediately asked, hoping that the subject would finally change.

Not that talking about Sirius was terrible, but she really didn't want to think about Harry's godfather walking around the school and picking up every girl he would see. And even more, she didn't want to think about the possibility that he's going to try that with her...

"Oh, it's a tradition! We came up with it back when we were in our second year. We used to read all those romantic novels. But now we sort of... Modified our tastes"

"Thank Merlin!", Hermione stated with a pure relief, what made everyone giggle and exchange suggestive glances, which Miss Granger didn't like at all.

"Yeah. We've switched to reading romantic novels with a lot of smut in them", Amy giggled with twinkling eyes.

"And then we've just dropped the 'romantic novel' part and decided to read outright smut", Leslie laughed and Hermione's eyes went wide.

After few moments of silence, she finally managed to choke out:

"You're kidding, right?"

The girls chuckled and shook their heads simultaneously.

"Of course not... We're bookworms, after all, aren't we?", Amy stated proudly and other girls nodded.

"I'm a bookworm too! And I definitely don't read porn!", Hermione gasped and looked at them with pure disbelief.

"You don't... But you will", Leslie assured her and smiled mischievously.

'Oh boy... This cannot be real', she thought to herself, staring at the girl with her mouth wide open. Here she was, a witch that was destined to change the future, sitting on her dormitory's floor and talking about reading smut.

Just when she thought that her life couldn't get any weirder... this must have happened.