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"Pinch me I'm in Heaven."

Lily holding onto Sirius' other arm giggled.

"Ouch."

"So ungrateful," Hermione smirked.

Her triumph was dashed however when Sirius pulled a large piece of blueberry pancake from her hair, plopping it into his mouth.

Disgusted equally by Sirius' action and the thought of residue from this morning's food fight still residing in her hair, she pulled away from their friendly embrace shaking her head upside down and running her fingers through her hair.

Alerted by the hair-induced-drama of their friend and equally or more so distressed as Hermione, Lily and Emily ran to the side of their friend to assist in the search of pancake fragments.

James, who had been the main food fight bandit that morning, sniggered loudly and pulled the other boys ahead of the other girls, leaving them to sort out their girly hair problems.

They were halfway to Hogsmeade and it was cold, the snow already giving a fair coat to the ground, an early winter pending.

Lily looking up at the scampering Marauders, scoffed at James' gloating grin.

"Fine, but don't expect me to charm the back of your hair clean when you discover that big pumpkin juice splatter at the back of your head," she called out.

Horrified James brought his hand up to run through his clean hair.

Remus' laughs drowned out the girls giggles.

Holding his sides and eyes closed Remus didn't expect the sludgy snowball being thrown at him from an annoyed James.

Hair-crisis cleared and avoided the girls ran past the now quickly dampening boys and rushed to beat them to the magical wizarding town and the warmth of a Butterbeer.

When the boys finally reached The Three Broomsticks the girls had already been through two rounds of Butterbeers and were completely absorbed in vain discussions of hair and the latest Muggle fashion trends while flipping through some of Lily's Muggle 'Cosmopolitan' magazines. Emily, who was a pureblood, thought it quite disbelieving that Muggles actually wore tights, as well as things she discovered to be called 'leg warmers', in public.

Hermione was just attempting to discourage Lily and Emily who currently had their hands deep within her hair examining and discussing over the top of her head what charms they could use to 'fix' her when Remus slid into the bench next to Emily.

"Oh my gosh!" she squealed. "You're all wet!"

Remus chuckled in a very Sirius-like-way as Emily clambered over Hermione to get away from the wet Marauder.

Lily, pushing Emily's flailing arms out of the way as the girl settled in between them, calmly waved her wand in the direction of the dripping boys drying their squelching clothes.

"Thanks Hun," James winked at her as he pulled up a seat at their corner booth.

The girls only stayed at the pub to finish their drinks before they left the boys and headed out to look around the small town. The boys wanted to go and see the "haunted" Shrieking Shack but Emily simply refused to walk that far and be disappointed 'again' when she was sure that there was nothing interesting to see there. Hermione found it difficult to hide her smirk as she heard Sirius whisper to James "well not for a couple of days anyway". Her urge to smirk disappeared however when she saw the pale and sickly looking Remus sitting quietly as they talked around him. She remembered that the Wolfsbane potion had yet to be discovered in this time and she felt immensely guilty for having knowledge of such a helpful substance and not being able to share it to ease his pain.

She didn't have much time to dwell on those thoughts however as Lily and Emily proceeded to drag her around Hogsmeade from one end to another and back again too many times for her to count; meanwhile incredulous at Emily who had been so adamant against the walk to the Shrieking Shack but had seen no problem in clocking up miles flittering from shop to shop, returning multiple times when she "just couldn't decide".

Dumbledore had given Hermione an "allowance" for her to spend on herself for personal items and special occasions such as Hogsmeade weekends and had told her to enjoy herself with it but Hermione still remained wary about spending the money and didn't want to take advantage of his generosity.

Hence she had only allowed herself to buy one new top which Emily and Lily had insisted she looked fantastic in and had informed her in no uncertain terms that, if she didn't buy it for herself, they would buy it for her. Hermione herself thought it a bit low cut and too nice to wear for anything she would do at Hogwarts, but she didn't dare argue with her determined friends.

Two hours, and what seemed like three hundred shops (even though Hogsmeade was only home to around 20), later the small group of girls, all finally showing their exhaustion, walked back into the Three Broomsticks, a Butterbeer on their mind before the lengthy walk back up to Hogwarts.

Emily immediately perked up as she saw their male Gryffindor counterparts already seated at the back and with room to spare at their table and she eagerly pulled her two exhausted friends along to the back of the pub.

Hermione blindly let her tired body limply fall into a spare chair and her head fall onto her folded arms resting on the small table.

"Tired?" she heard Sirius ask amusedly.

A muffled groan was his only response.

Fifteen minutes or so later Hermione was sitting up but only half listening to the conversation, more absorbed in her own longing for the warm bed that she knew awaited her in the Gryffindor dormitories.

She was snapped back to attention as Remus stood excusing himself from the group saying that he felt sick and was going to head back to the castle.

"Wait!" Hermione shouted, although he was barely a step away from his chair. "I mean, I'll come back with you," she blushed as the few occupied tables around them turned to look at her.

He waited patiently as she grabbed her few things and then opened the door for her as they stepped back into the chilly afternoon air.

Hermione walking beside him through the main street chanced a glance at his sickly face when she thought he wasn't looking.

He really did look very pale and she tried desperately to think of something that she could do to help him. Even if she could remember the ingredients and instructions to make the Wolfsbane potion she doubted her own competence at preparing it. It really was a job for a Potions Master.

Even so, she thought, it would only mildly reduce his sickness pre-transformation.

He was looking at something on the other side of the street, so she quickly dared another glance at his face, hoping to spark an idea.

However this time, just as she turned to look, his head snapped to meet her glance, a mischievous smile upon his face, as if he had known her sneaky glances and had purposely set to trap her.

She blushed, looking down at her feet and then back in front of her, turning her head back and forth across the street as if she was looking at the shops (as if she hadn't seen enough already today).

Remus had opened his mouth to speak, a word half formed on his tongue as her hand shot up to tightly grip his upper arm.

"Wait!" she called, her eyes glued to the shop in front of them. "Just wait one second. You won't regret it. Promise," she smiled and fled into the shop.

Remus waited barely two minutes before she re-emerged, a small package in hanging from her hand.

She walked back to his side and signalled for him to continue.

It wasn't until the edge of town before Remus finally gave into her silence.

"Well?" he asked, a smile gracing his face. "Are you going to tell me what that was about then?"

Hermione turned to him smiling, not slowing her step, she replied "Well I thought you hadn't cared, but I guess since you asked…"

She pulled a small bar from the package still hanging from her arm and handed to him.

Remus' brow wrinkled in confusion.

"I noticed you're not really feeling your best," she started cautiously.

Remus tensed slightly, focusing on the object in his hand.

"…and well… just try it for me – it helps." She smiled genuinely at him and he relented to open the package revealing its dark chocolate contents.

Cautiously he took a bite.

And then another.

He didn't ask her anymore. He tended to discourage people asking him about his "illness".

He doubted she was suspicious… yet. This would only be his first transformation this term anyway – how could she be suspicious?

Hermione took the lead of the conversation on the way back to the castle, talking about school work which although, as a topic, Sirius and James would have classed as mundane he enjoyed having someone to talk to about.

Their trip was immensely too short and they soon found themselves back at the Gryffindor common room.

"So did it help any?" she asked as they ended their conversation to head in the opposite direction to their dorm rooms.

She was hopeful it had, but couldn't tell if his pinked cheeks were only from the cold, whipping wind on the way back.

"Help what?" he asked confused.

"Oh!" he exclaimed after a minute, comprehension dawning at the rumpled chocolate wrapper still in his hand. "Well it must of," he laughed gently; "I'd even forgot I was feeling sick."

She smiled, pleased.

"Thanks." He added shyly.

"Well that's good then. I wouldn't know what to do with all this otherwise," she said pushing the large Honeydukes package towards him.

"What?" he exclaimed. "You didn't buy all this for me? Did you?"

She nodded, pushing the parcel at him as he refused to grasp it.

He held it this time, somewhat reluctantly. "You don't want any of it? At least take some. Please" he implored.

"No," she replied shaking her head. "I don't like dark anyway."

"Goodnight Remus," she said reaching up on the tips of her toes to give him a peck on the cheek.

"I'm glad you're feeling better."

And with that she had gone.

Flittered up the girl's dormitories, leaving Remus bewildered, one hand reaching up to touch the place on his cheek where her soft lips had been only minutes before and at the same time wondering – how did she know I like dark chocolate?