Ayo! Got another chapter here. I was hoping to get more reviews now that the stories moving along because I'm getting the vibe that not that many people are feeling this since theres only about 20 reviews. C'mon guys! my other fic is racking the reviews up and this ones feeling lonley sad face I accept constructive criticism as well, so please tell me whats going on! Haha here we gooo
To Love a Marauder
To say Hermione Granger was confused is perhaps the understatement of the century.
After being given the sexiest, meaningless and simplest wink of her lifetime, Hermione found herself floored.She stood at the top of the staircase for a good five minutes before practically getting pushed down it by Fred...or was it George? The world may never know.
"Hey 'Mione, something wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," one of the Weasley twins asked her, slapping their hands on both of her shoulders from behind her.
"I was just looking at that portrait over there," Hermione lied, pointing at a random painting on the shredded wall. The twin in question stared at the painting and scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"That lady or whatever it is looks like a cross between Hagrid and a hippogriff," he determined. Hermione squinted her eyes and cocked her head to the side, now actually interested in what the painting was in front of her. From her perspective, is was a portrait of an extremely ugly woman, if it even was a woman. The figure had long matted brown hair and a faint trace of a mustache on the upper lip. To top it all off "she" wore a suit that seemed to be played off as some type of corset looking thing to minimize her burly figure.
"I don't think I want to know who that is. It appears that she's staring at us anyway, let's go," Hermione said, heading down the stairs. The red headed twin followed her closely behind still staring at the picture.
"OY, Ugly in the painting! Who are you?" Fred or George yelled loudly over Hermione's shoulder. They had just reached the bottom of the staircase as Hermione whipped around and glared at the boy behind her.
"Are you crazy?! It's going to wake up!" she hissed, grabbing his sleeve and dragging him to the kitchen. When they were almost halfway there a high pitched and shrilly voice stopped them dead in their tracks.
"WHO DARES INSULT ME? WHERE IS THIS IGORANT SCUM OF A PERSON THAT CALLS ME UGLY?!" the woman from the painting hollered. Hermione and the Weasley spun slowly on their heels, wincing at the shrieking voice.
"See what you've done?" Hermione groaned, walking back toward the painting to see if she could fix the damage Fred (she determined it him because of the large F on his sweater she had not noticed at first) had done. Approaching the painting hesitantly, Hermione tried to muster a fake smile.
"Hello Miss, I'm very sorry to have woken you," she told the woman in the most polite voice she could create. The woman in the painting was pacing back and forth furiously throwing random objects onto the floor. She stopped walking and stared at Hermione, her unibrow rising.
"YOU ARE THE ONE WHO DARED DEMORALIZE ME, THE OWNER OF THE NOBLEST HOUSE OF BLACK?" she screeched, looking Hermione up and down rapidly.
Holy dragons, this woman is Sirius' mother. Merlin, he definitely must have gotten his looks from his dad then.
"Actually, it was my idiotic friend over there that insulted you," Hermione said, sticking a thumb out over her shoulder. Mrs. Black peered over Hermione, wide eyed and furious.
"THERE IS NO ONE BEHIND YOU, YOU FILTHY LIAR!" she screamed, her face turning redder by the second. Hermione turned around quickly to find Fred, but low and behold, he had disappeared into the kitchen.
Blasted prat left me to deal with the hag by myself, wonderful.
"Well, I assure you Mrs. Black, it was someone else that said those awful things to you. I'm terribly sorry about that," Hermione apologized, attempting to look sympathetic. Mrs. Black didn't look any more pleased and she flared her nostrils, apparently sniffing Hermione.
"YOU'RE A MUDBLOOD AREN'T YOU? MUDBLOOD DIRT IN MY HOUSEHOLD, WHAT THE DARK LORD WOULD THINK!" she wailed, grabbing a vase in her painting and chucking it at Hermione. Even though there was no way she could harm her, Hermione started to get nervous.
"I-I….I think I'm going to go now. Goodnight," she said hurriedly. Hermione revolved in the spot, her eyes glued to the floor in front of her. She took a few steps down the hall until she crashed into something solid…and very warm. Whatever it was she hit touched her shoulders and pulled her backwards.
"You alright , love?" a low, buttery soft voice asked her. Seeing that what hit her had arms and a voice, Hermione looked up, not expecting to see the grey eyes of Sirius Black staring intently at her.
Oh no, not him again. Right when I'm started to forget about that bloody wink he shows up.
Hermione inhaled and shook her head at him.
"I'm fine…I just had a lovely conversation with your mother," she told him, jerking her head in the direction of the painting. Sirius, hands still firm on Hermione's shoulders, formed a frown on his face.
"I heard from the kitchen. I was coming out here to shut her up and to fetch you for dinner…..I'm really sorry about whatever she said Miss Granger. She never excised proper manners and was never too fond of Muggle Borns, as you've heard," he told Hermione, with a deep loathing for the inhabitant of the painting in his voice. He let one of his arms fall from her shoulder but kept the other one still clutching the opposite shoulder. He steered her toward the kitchen as they walked in silence.
"Was she horrid to you…you know, for being friends with Muggle Borns?" Hermione asked him right before they reached the door. Sirius stopped walking and took his hand off her shoulder and stared off into space before answering.
"She was…insufferable to say the most," he said quietly, looking at the girl in front of him with a grimace. Hermione could easily see that there was so much more he had hidden; it was all in his stormy eyes.
"I….Sometimes she…," Sirius' words jumbled together. This was his chance, his chance to tell someone about the terrible life that he lived, the pains he faced. Finally there was someone in front of him that might just care enough about him to help him face his demons. But now was not the time.
"What did she do Sirius?" Hermione asked him gently, lightly touching his hand. He looked into her eyes, feeling a soothing sensation sweep over him. He reached out and took her hand, giving it a single squeeze before letting it drop.
"One day, Miss Granger. One day I will tell you, but now I just….it's too much," he said to her, managing a small smile. Hermione nodded her head in affirmation.
"When you're ready I'll listen. That's what friends are for, right?" Hermione reassured him, patting his shoulder gently. Sirius felt a heave of disappointment suddenly flood his chest as he smiled wryly.
Why'd I have to go get my hopes up like an idiot? We're friends… just friends as she so boldly put it.
"Dinner's getting cold," Sirius commented, pointing to the door in front of them. Hermione acted impulsively to his signal and pushed it open, walking in to see the twins, Ginny, Ron, Molly, and Arthur seated at the table. Their conversations ceased at once when the pair appeared.
"I thought the painting bloody killed you or something," Fred laughed from his seat. Hermione smiled sweetly and sauntered over to her chair.
"It almost did no thanks to you," she retorted. Mrs. Weasley sprang up in a hurry and practically flew to the stove to pile two plates high with food.
"A bit of advice for all of you is to stay away from the painting and under no circumstances talk to it," Sirius advised the group with a stern expression on his face. Everyone nodded in return and continued where they left off in their conversation.
"So Dad, how come Remus and Tonks don't stop by randomly anymore? They use to drop in occasionally before," Ron asked his father, taking a break from inhaling his chicken. Arthur, looking tired and worn, sighed at his son.
"It's ridiculous what they're doing at the Ministry. They are trying to keep tabs on everyone, especially the Auror's because I think they figure some of them are forming some type of secret alliance," Arthur responded with almost a smile.
"Wonder where they came up with that theory," Sirius said with a chuckle. Arthur took another bite of his dinner while Molly brought Hermione and Sirius their plates.
"Why would they be mad about a secret alliance against You-Know-Who?" Ginny piped up from her seat.
"Because the Ministry doesn't want people to think he's back in the first place. Having an alliance against him makes it seem more real to them that he actually is back and they don't want other people to think that. It's all about their denial," Arthur told them with a grim face. Hermione, who had been listening carefully, was itching to ask a few questions of her own.
"What has the Prophet been saying about all of this business with You-Know-Who?" she questioned, looking at Arthur.
"You don't even want to know, Hermione. It's turned into a circus now that the Ministry is taking full control of it. All the Prophet has been doing is making out that Harry's a nutter and that everything he says about him coming back is a lie," Arthur said with disgust in his voice.
The reactions at the table to this information were astounding: Ron jumped out of his chair and slammed his fork onto the table shouting inconsistencies, Fred and George both pushed away their plates of food claiming they had now lost their appetites, Ginny let out a loud gasp while Sirius just looked down into his tea as if he would dive into the cup at any moment. However, Hermione didn't seem too phased at Arthur's announcement. She simply waved her hand in care free fashion.
"I'm not too surprised about what they've done," she stated, receiving angry glares from the Weasley children.
"What do you mean?! Do you not care at all that they are saying these things about Harry? They've always done this to him, always going against him and never taking his side!" Ron yelled as he turned a vibrant red color to match his hair. Hermione pointed her finger at him.
"I couldn't have said it better myself, Ron," Hermione remarked with a smirk. Now even Sirius was raising an eyebrow at her, wondering what on earth she was getting at.
"The Ministry has never been on Harry's side since we started school. They've always denied things he's said and have made him out to be a loon. But once they are faced with hard evidence about his claims, they flip their selling point to completely support him. Why would now be any different? The Prophets going to attack him until the Ministry sees You-Know-Who with their own eyes," she explained to the group. Sirius raised his cup of tea in a mock toast and inclined his head.
"Excellent observation, Hermione," he praised. She smiled timidly and thanked him while Ron was racking his brain to find a point to argue against Hermione. He seemed to have found her flaw, shouting "AHA" in defiance.
"You said that the Ministry will need rock solid evidence to back up Harry didn't you?" Ron asked her even though he already knew the answer. She nodded her head and he continued.
"That means for them to believe him bloody You-Know-Who is back he's going to have to Avada-Kedavra someone right in front of Fudge!" Ron exclaimed waving a chicken leg. Hermione's proud face disappeared into sadness.
"I know, Ron," she whispered, drawing her gaze downwards. The reality of the situation sunk in around the table as everyone realized how dangerous things had quickly become.The truth behind it all was that loads of people were going to be killed in this fight..not just one unlucky person in Voldemort's path. A sudden depression bathed the table. Everyone began to fidget uneasily to draw their minds away from the situation at hand.
Molly abruptly got up and began cleaning the table to busy herself. Meanwhile, Sirius watched the young girl in front of him creep slowly toward the verge of tears as she wandered deep in her own thoughts.
"Don't be upset, Hermione," Sirius said to her quietly, reaching his hand out to touch her own that was lying next to her abandoned fork. Her hand felt tense under his own as she looked up at him.
"A couple of people thinking Harry's crazy is the least of our problems right now," Sirius told her in what he hoped would be a lighthearted voice. She took her hand out from under his and brought it to her eyes to wipe away the few tears that had strayed.
"I'm just…scared for him…for everyone. He's back and no one is going to be prepared for when he comes after them. I feel like everyone I know and love is just going to ..die," she said, gripping the table weakly. Ginny, who was sitting beside her, wrapped her friend in a warm embrace and whispered comforting words to her.
"Don't start worrying about those fools that don't believe Harry. It's their own faults if they don't bother accepting the fact that he's back," George told her, standing up from the table. Ron and Fred followed suit and the three walked around to the other side of the table to join in on the group hug that was currently in progress. After a few seconds, the boys gave her a final pat and disappeared from the kitchen. Ginny got up as well and headed for the door, bidding everyone a good night.
"I've got to get to bed, long day at the office tomorrow," Arthur said as he too got up to leave. He leaned down to give Hermione a quick hug as she whispered thanks to him. Sirius waited patiently for Molly to finish her business cleaning so that he could have a few words with Hermione alone.
"Are you sure you don't want anything else, dear?" Molly came over to her and asked, rubbing her shoulder. Hermione declined and Molly gave her a warm hug.
"Everything will work out fine, Hermione, don't you fret. All of us are going to be prepared, I assure you that sweetheart" Mrs. Weasley muttered to her, giving the girl a final squeeze.
"Goodnight dear Sirius," Molly said to him as she left the kitchen leaving the two alone. Hermione still looked upset, making Sirius feel simply awful.
That poor girl has been through so much and she's barely even had a chance to have fun with life. I can't stand seeing her like this…it's breaking my heart. But what can I say to make her feel better?
"Hermione…." Sirius said, causing her to stare at him with bleary eyes. He got up from his chair and walked over to her side of the table, plopping into the chair next to her as she watched him curiously.
"I promise you that all of us are going to come out of this alive.We're going to be okay, and so will you. I swear to you that I will be there to protect you," he told her, grabbing her shoulders. A single tear streamed down her face as her eyes met his.
"You can't promise those things, Sirius," she said back, shaking her head. His tight grip on her increased as he forced her eyes to look deep into his.
"You're right. I can't promise you that everyone will be okay because chances are they may not, but I can promise that I will protect you no matter what, Hermione. I am giving you my word that if I am there with you and you are in danger, I will do anything in my power to keep you safe," his voice was strong and filled with emotion. Hermione felt her tears cease as she took in the appearance of the man in front of her.
His grey eyes were looking at her so intently as if she'd leave him any second. The shaggy black hair that hung above his shoulders was shining in the dim kitchen light. He was perfect in Hermione's eyes and here he was in front of her, vowing to be her guardian angel.
He cares….oh sweet Merlin, Sirius cares about me! Even if it might be in a 'protect my godson's best friend' way it doesn't matter. He cares...there is hope
"I don't know what to say…," Hermione murmured, giving Sirius the biggest smile she could manage considering the mood she was in.
"You don't have to say anything," Sirius replied, letting her shoulders go. He stood up, beckoning for her to rise as well.
"Did you still want me to read to you from the Marauder Book?" he asked her, thinking it would bring up her spirits. She felt a genuine grin on her face as she gave Sirius a quick hug. He felt her small arms wrap around his waist and her scent flooding his nostrils. His arms found their way around her as he basked in the glory of the moment that ended way too soon. She pulled away, beeming at him.
"More than anything in the world!" she laughed, feeling a weight on her lift as she followed Sirius out of the kitchen to the staircase. She suddenly thought of something as they climbed upstairs.
I want to be with him more than anything in the world!
Wait..I Do?
Where did that come from?
Oh I know...……my heart.
I PROMISE you the next chapter will be about the Marauders! Remember to R&R!