A/N: I'm so sorry I haven't had time to write! My tennis has literally been taking up every spare second of my time, but I'm going to try to get on more now. So, without further delay, here's the next chapter!
Chapter Four: The Wonders of Hogsmead
Hermione woke up with a jolt. At first, she couldn't remember where she was. Cautiously, she poked her head out of her bed curtains. A petit, fiery red haired girl was moving around the bed next to Hermione, carefully straightening the sheets. Oh my god, that's . . .
"Oh, you must be Hermione!" The girl said cheerfully as she caught sight of the now ebony haired bookworm.
"Uh ... right," Hermione responded foolishly, then mentally smacked herself. "I mean, yes I am. And you must be Lily Evans, correct?" Lily gave a bright smile in return.
"Yup, that's right. Dumbledore sent me an owl this morning. I'm accompanying you to Hogsmead?" A bright, joyful spark lit up the girl's eyes.
"Yeah, if you want to, that is," Hermione replied with a laugh.
"Want to? I'd love to!" With that, Lily lent Hermione some clothes and forced her to rush through her morning routine.
Wow, Hermione thought as Lily was pulling her down the stairs. I never expected Harry's mother to act like this!
Lily had stopped dead in her tracks upon reaching the end of the stairs. Hermione carefully braced herself on the wall to keep from crashing into her new friend. Curiously, she poked her head out around Lily to see what caused the girl to stop.
The Marauders were waiting for them, eagerly looking towards the stairs. "You have got to be kidding me!" Lily whined loudly, before huffing off and collapsing onto a spare seat. "What's Potter doing here?"
Hermione snickered lightly. "Well, Lily, considering he is my brother, Dumbledore felt that it would be appropriate for him to accompany us. Along with the rest of the Marauders, and my two friends there." Lily gaped at her.
"You're Potter's sister? My god! How are you still alive?" Lily's face held true confusion, worry, and even pity. Hermione laughed at her.
"He's not that bad, Lils. I mean, sure, he's a pain in the butt, but he isn't as horrible as you've mad him out to be," Hermione replied with a small, knowing smile. Lily gaped at her. Wow, Hermione thought, Lily does already like James. It's pretty obvious. She's just ... really stubborn.
"Well, are we going to waste time on my family history, or are we gonna go to Hogsmead already?" Hermione asked, placing her hands on her hips and giving her friends a sly smirk.
"Right," James said, hopping up of the couch. "But first,..."
"It's BREAKFAST TIME!" Sirius yelled, finishing James's sentence. The boys all shared a look and rushed out of the portrait.
"Jeez, you would figure that they'd learn that the food will still be there by now," Lily said with a chuckle.
Hermione walked into the Great Hall and smiled. It's not that much different, really, she noted. The students were different, of course, but they all resembled the ones she was used to. Which would make sense, since most of them were the parents of the students she grew up with. "It's so good to be back," Hermione said. Lily shot her a look.
"Oh, you've been to Hogwarts before this year?"
"Yeah. Dumbledore's my grandfather, Lily. I spent a few years growing up here, exploring the castle and all that jazz," Hermione said with a grin. Right on cue, Dumbledore winked at her. With a slight wave, she sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Remus. He, unlike the other boys, was actually chewing with his mouth closed, employing the use of a napkin, and once and a while placing his fork down to hold a conversation.
Harry, Ron, James, Sirius, and even Peter, on the other hand, were basically shoving food into their mouths, which appeared to be bottomless pits.
"Wow, nice to see that someone has some manners," Hermione said with a sneer, shooting an appreciative smile in Remus's direction. "But the rest of you need to go to charm school."
Sirius looked indignant at the suggestion. "My, Hermione! You insult me! Charm school, as I'm sure such a charming young lady as yourself should know, is for girls."
Hermione fluttered her eyelashes, an innocent look on her face. "Oh, yes, Mr. Black. I am so, so sorry for bruising your precious ego." James and Harry - after thankfully swallowing their food - started laughing. Sirius pouted and gave Hermione his patented puppy-eyes.
"Oh, no you don't, Padfoot. I'll have you know that I don't get charmed very easily," Hermione commented, delicately cutting off a bit of pancake and placing it gently in her mouth. Harry chuckled at his aunt.
"Now, really, Hermione. I seem to remember a certain famous Quidditch player that had you pretty firmly wrapped around his finger," Harry commented. All eyes went to Hermione, who was blushing a very brilliant shade of pink.
"Erm, well, I ... um ...," Hermione mumbled desperately, shielding her bright face in her curtain of ebony hair.
"It's okay, Mya!" Remus said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I mean, not even brilliant, charming Hermione Potter can be immune to every guy," He teased, shooting her a flirtatious grin. Hermione blushed even deeper, now resembling a very red tomato.
"Okay well, um ... How about we head to Hogsmead now?" Hermione asked desperately before jumping up from the table and walking quickly towards the door. Behind her, her friends laughed happily.
"Alright," James announced as the group entered Hogsmead. "We've got a lot of ground to cover, eh?"
"That would be right, mate," Ron agreed. "Harry and I need clothes. And school supplies."
"Don't forget me, Ronald," Hermione added. "I need clothes and school supplies, too."
"Well then, how about we all split up," Lily suggested. "We can meet for lunch at that new restaurant next to the Three Broomsticks at noon."
"Good idea," Sirius admitted. "What's the restaurant called?"
"The Looking Glass," Lily said, grabbing onto Hermione and Remus and leading them away from the group.
"Hey!" Remus protested.
"Oh, sush. We're going to a bookstore," Lily said as she rolled her eyes. Remus's face brightened.
"Seeya later guys!" He said, waving over his shoulder, his friends already forgotten.
James looked from Sirius to Harry. "Well then. How about we hit the Quidditch supply store first?"
"Wait a minute," Remus protested. "I thought you said we were going to a book store!"
"We're going to the book store after Hermione buys some clothes, Remus!" Lily said in an annoyed voice as she yanked the poor boy into Madame Leslie's Clothes for Young Women. Hermione giggled at the sight. "What do you think you're doing, Hermione?" Lily chastised, realizing that Hermione was hanging behind.
"Erm, well I'm not actually all that into clothes," Hermione answered sheepishly.
"No wonder Dumbledore asked me to tag along," Lily said with a sigh as she began to pull Hermione into the store.
"Hullo, dearies," a tall, fair skinned blonde woman greeted them. "I am Madame Leslie. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Lily shoved Remus and Hermione into two squishy chairs by the dressing room. "Yes there is, Madame. I need help picking out an entire wardrobe for my friend over there."
Madame Leslie's face lit up. "Oh, how exciting!" She exclaimed. Hermione and Remus watched in awe as Lily and Madame Leslie made their way around the store, plucking various items of clothing from the walls and racks and levitating them into the fitting room. Hermione looked towards Remus. 'Help me!' she mouthed. Remus just stared with his eyes wide as Lily and Madame Leslie made their way over, both with an armful of clothes.
"Okay Hermione, in you go!" Lily said.
"Do I really have to try all of this on?" Hermione asked, eyeing the huge pile.
"Yup!" Lily said, pushing her friend into the dressing room and handing her a pair of short, black dress shorts and a peach three quarter sleeved shirt with a pair of black converse. A moment later, Hermione stepped out.
"Gorgeous!" Madame Leslie said.
You can say that again, Remus thought, his eyes bulging. Hermione blushed.
"You sure they're not too short?" She asked, tugging at the shorts a little bit.
"Not at all. And since everything else is your size ... I guess you don't have to try anything else on. Just that dress I put in there, okay?" Lily requested.
Hermione went back into the dressing room and returned a moment later wearing an emerald green dress that fell just past her knees, and was supported with black netting.
"Perfect," Remus whispered. Lily heard and shot him a sly look.
"That dress is perfect for the Halloween ball, Hermione. We just need to get you a mask, and you're set!" Lily said happily.
"Great," Hermione said. "Now can I please get out of this store?"
"Look, mate. It's not that difficult. You see, just remember the color wheel," Sirius said to Ron, who was currently trying to pair a hunter green pair of slacks with a bright yellow top. "Some colors look way better together than others. You just don't seem to understand that." Harry and James snickered as Ron's ears turned a fetching shade of red.
"Oh, bugger off Sirius," he mumbled.
After pulling Hermione and Remus from the bookstore, Lily found herself waiting in front of the Looking Glass, obviously annoyed. Remus and Hermione were sitting down on a cast-iron bench out side of the café, reading their respective books. "Ugh! Sometimes I just wanna kill that James Potter!" Lily shrieked.
Hermione shot her a particularly scathing look. "Well, Lily, I hope that you remember that he is my dear brother when you're plotting his murder."
"Sorry about that, Mya," Lily said sheepishly. Hermione nodded with a small 'humph' and turned back to her book.
"Lily Flower!" James yelled.
"Potter. You're late," Lily said as she rolled her eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry my sweet. I'm sure you waited desperately for me."
"In your dreams, Potter."
"How about you two shut up for once?" Harry asked, clearly peeved. Hermione shot Harry a grateful look and packed up her belongings.
"Okay then, lets go get something to eat," she suggested.
"Actually," Ron said, "Harry and I are going to head back to Hogwarts early. And we have no clue where Peter went."
Hermione fretted over the new information. "You mean he just ... left?"
"Yeah, that's about right," Sirius said with a shrug.
Hermione bit her lip lightly, contemplating what this could mean. Only Remus seemed to notice her worry. "Okay then. We'll see you at the castle later. Bye Harry, Ron!" The boys waved and walked away, just as a bubbly blonde walked up to Sirius.
"Hi Siri!" She practically squealed, latching herself onto his arm.
"Oh, um, hi Lindsey," Sirius blushed. "Guys, Hermione, Lily? This is my ... Lindsey."
Hermione giggled to herself, but reached out a gentle hand anyway. "Nice to meet you. I'm Hermione Potter." Lindsey smiled and lightly shook Hermione's hand.
"So, what do you say we go get some lunch finally?" Lily asked. The group headed inside the quaint café where they were greeted by a tall, red headed waitress.
"Hi, my name is Mandy. Is this your first time at the Looking Glass?"
"Yup," Hermione replied with a smile.
"Okay then," Mandy started. "The Looking Glass is a special café that helps to build relationships, both intimate and friendly. Almost ninety percent of the couples paired up here end up together at one point," she winked at Lily and James, the former of which blushed soundly. "All you have to do is look into the mirror on the wall," she gestured to a seemingly glowing mirror that hung on the wall directly across from the group of friends, "and you will be transported into your own specific cubicle, which will be designed to fit your taste. If you would please step up one at a time, we can start your experience."
The friends looked apprehensively at one another. No one seemed to want to make the first move. "Oh, hell," Hermione said, breaking the awkward silence. "I'll go first."
Slowly, she walked towards the mirror. On closer inspection, she realized that it was just a normal mirror. How does this thing choose? Hermione found herself wondering. It knows nothing about us. It's an inanimate object. It can't possibly know what is right for us, can it? The mirror let of a glint, as if it were blinking. The Goblet of Fire was like this, I suppose. I mean, it couldn't have known anything about the competitors... Her thought process was stilled as the mirror shot out a bright light, surrounding her. She felt the familiar pull at her navel and was transported to a tropical beach scene. "Well, that was odd," Hermione said, plopping down on the sand to wait for her 'date.'
The remaining members of the group looked at one another, worry radiating off of each glance. "Well," James started as he walked towards the mirror, "here goes nothing." This mirror is odd, he thought. It doesn't even have a magical aura on it. How can it possibly work? The mirror glinted at him, then quickly surrounded him in the same white light that consumed Hermione. James was plopped down into what appeared to be a balcony in Paris, with a brilliant view of the Eiffel Tower. "Damn, who knew I was a romantic," James said, eyes wide.
"Heyyyy can I go next? Can I? Siriiii I wanna go next," Lindsey squealed.
"FINE. Just go!" Lily snapped, clearly irritated by the bubbly blonde.
"Like, YAY!" Lindsey cheered, skipping over to the mirror. Lily shot Sirius a look that clearly said 'what the hell are you thinking?', which Lindsey was completely oblivious to. Woooow, she thought. It' s soooo SHINY! The mirror blinked quickly, as if embarrassed to have the girl in front of him. She found herself in a fifties styled muggle café, with bright pastel artwork. "Aweee how cute!"
"Ladies first, Remus, Siri," Lily giggled, walking towards the mirror. I wonder who I'll get placed with, she thought as she bit her lip. I hope it won't be Potter. But ... Hermione says he's not that bad ... The light surrounded her, filling her with nervousness. She found herself standing in front of a candle lit table, placed on a high balcony. The Eiffel Tower was clearly visible from her view. "Wow," she said breathlessly, "it's gorgeous."
"And so are you," a voice said.
Lily spun quickly around. "James?"
"Bye, Mandy. Call me!" Sirius said, as he walked towards the mirror. Mandy, for her part, merely shook her head. Hell this is one GREAT mirror, Sirius thought. Really shows off the muscles. And the hair looks just PERFECT. Quickly, the mirror glinted, transporting Sirius into a pastel diner.
"SIRIIIIIIII!"
"Well, I guess I'm the only one left," Remus announced. Confidently, he walked towards the mirror. It smells funny, he thought as he wrinkled his nose. Too metallic and almost of rust. Could that be the scent of it's magic? Although most werewolves couldn't 'smell' magic, Remus could. Usually, it was just a very distinctive scent. For example, a muggle and a witch could both smell of lilacs. But the witch's scent would be more intense than the muggle's, and would have an almost wild taint to it. The mirror blinked at Remus, transporting him to a sandy, fruity scented beach. Gorgeous, he thought, taking a deep breath full of salty sea air. I wonder who I'm here with ...
The scent of strawberries and cream hit Remus like a ton of bricks. He spun around, shocked, but secretly pleased, by the familiar scent. "Hello, Remus," Hermione said with a pretty pink blush.
A/N: Yet again, sorry I took so long. And I just wanted to mention that I have nothing against blondes, since I technically am one. I just don't like the ones that act like Lindsey. And I thought that would be the perfect personality to give one of Sirius's girls. Anyway, tata for now.