Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 3
When they reached the entrance to Gryffindor tower, Lily spoke the password.
"Red Rose."
The fat lady gave Hermione a calculating look before swinging open, revealing the portrait hole. The two girls climbed through as the portrait swung shut behind them.
Lily stopped walking just inside the portrait hole. She scanned the room quickly before continuing across the room. Hermione followed her across the room and up the stairs to the 7th year girls' dorm room. When they got to the landing, they were outside what Hermione recognized as her new/old dorm. Lily turned to look at her.
"I just wanted to let you know, there's a good chance the Marauders are on the other side of the door. For some reason they think that because their girlfriends sleep in here, then it's fine for them to spend all their time in here. Nobody has ever figured out how they manage to get past the anti-boys charm … nobody else has ever managed it! But that's the Marauders for you."
Hermione just stood nodding her head in understanding until Lily said, "Also, if any of them offer you anything--ANYTHING at all--even if it's yours, say NO."
Hearing that piece of advice, Hermione became confused. She knew the Marauders were famous for their pranks, but did they really warrant that big of a warning? Lily noticed the look of confusion on Hermione's face, but didn't say anything.
She waited a few seconds before asking, "Do you have any questions for me? If you do, I'd ask now, because you'll never get another chance to ask in a calm environment."
Hermione gave her an understanding smile before saying, "They can't be that bad, can they?" She said the last part with a bit of a pleading look, hoping that the Marauders were better behaved than the Weasley twins.
"Last year during Christmas, James was going through my trunk trying to find my diary, which he still hasn't been able to find, but that's beside the point. What he did find was a photo my parents had sent to me for Christmas. I still can't figure out what charm he used, but whenever anyone looks at it, it yells insults at them."
While Lily was talking, Hermione was trying to keep from laughing, but by the time she was finished, Hermione couldn't hold it in any longer and she burst out laughing. Lily had a hurt look on her face that Hermione wasn't more sympathetic that James had ruined her picture, but before she could say anything, the large oak door leading to the seventh year girls' dorm was thrown open, revealing two of the four Marauders and what Hermione could only assume was the rest of the Gryffindor seventh year girls.
"Do you mind? We're kind of busy in here," said James.
Lily gave him a look that told him just how little she cared about what he had been doing.
"If it's that important, then do it in your dorm, James. Unlike you, I can actually follow simple instructions… like show the new student around."
James gave her a confused look, before turning his gaze to Hermione. "Don't mind her; she has this rule about making sure no one has fun"
"That's not true. You can have fun; there's just a time and a place for it. For example: not when you're supposed to be helping me show a new student around the school."
"Come on, Lily! It's not like you really wanted me around. All you ever do is complain that you have to work with me. Then, when I leave you alone, you complain that you have to do everything yourself. Is there no pleasing you?"
Lily stood still through his entire speech, but as soon as he was finished, she pushed past muttering about how if he wasn't so annoying all the time…
Once she was out of hearing range James turned to Hermione, giving her a big smile, before saying, "I think she's starting to wear down. Give it another week or two and she'll be begging to go out with me."
Hermione gave a little chuckle before walking past James into her dorm room.
When Hermione was finally able to get a good look at the whole dorm, she couldn't believe how, over the course of eighteen years, the only thing that had changed in the girls' dorm was the names and faces of the girls. There was the smart girl who got good grades, there was the girl who just wanted to sit around and talk about boys all day, and there was the girl who, every time you saw her, was with another guy.
Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts when Lily called her name. She turned to look in Lily's direction, noticing that Lily was pointing at a bed beside her own. Hermione assumed that she was telling her that bed was hers, as it was a little hard to hear her due to the noise in the room, and the fact that as she was talking, she kept darting under her bed looking for something.
Hermione walked over to her bed and sat down. She looked around her and smiled as she realized that her bed was beside the bathroom. In her fifth year, Lavender had forced her to switch beds, after she'd stayed up till 2:30 in the morning reading a book on wizarding customs. It wasn't that she had stayed up that had gotten Lavender so mad; it was that she had tripped over Lavender's trunk on her way to the bathroom; the noise she had made had not only woken all the girls in her dorm room, but the sixth year girls across the hall as well.
By the time James reentered the room, the excitement of having a new student had died down and everyone was going about their usual business. Lily had found whatever it was she had been looking for and was now sitting on her bed reading a book. Sirius and a girl, whom Hermione assumed was one of her new room mates, were on the bed closest to the door kissing as if it was their last day on Earth. The last two people in the room were sitting by the window that over looked the Quidditch pitch.
Hermione looked around the room trying to figure our where James had disappeared to. Just as she was getting up to ask Lily if she could borrow one of her textbooks to read, she heard a loud scream followed by absolute silence. She spun around just in time to see James dive under the bed. He emerged a few moments later, with a small red haired kitten in his arms.
He turned towards Sirius with a large grin on his face. "I told you I could scare her so bad she'd transform."
Sirius smiled back at him, before his face fell and he suddenly said, "James, do you remember that spell McGonagall used to transform that Ravenclaw after he got stuck in his animagus?"
James gave him a confused look, before shaking his head no.
"Then I wouldn't want to be you, when you have to explain why someone who never breaks rules is now stuck as a kitten."
James looked around the room stopping at each person, giving them the saddest look he could. When his gaze landed on Hermione his face suddenly lit up.
"Could you take her to McGonagall? She won't punish you. I mean, you just got here. Please take her?"
She knew she shouldn't, but she also knew, if she looked him in the eyes, there was no way she would be able to say no, just like she could never say no to Harry when he gave her that same "sad puppy" look. She tried to look anywhere but in his eyes. It didn't work and when she looked up, her eyes met with his and she caved. Before Hermione knew what was happening, she was on her way to Professor McGonagall's office with a small fluffy red kitten cuddled in her arms.
