Author's Note: Alright, so I was less busy than usual this week – thus more in line with my summer schedule, I was able to put this chapter out earlier than I've been. Can't promise that things will continue this way but, after the end of the month, at least one activity that's taking up a ton of my time will be done, so keep your fingers crossed I guess.

RawenclawBabe – Aye. Honestly, I have trouble thinking much of James myself. Sirius I think somewhat slightly better of, just because there's the adult version to kind of temper things – though he seems rather … unrepentant even then for his actions in the past, so ehh… I suppose maybe if James had lived longer, he might too have been better; and I guess as a somewhat redeeming trait, he did try, maybe, to protect Lily/Harry in the end. Not very well though since he died so quickly the other two couldn't apparate away… But ehh, tangents, sorry…

Unsigned – To your points, I'm attempting to write somewhat longer; this chapter at least ended up being somewhat more so. Kind of depends on the level of activity/thought for what's happening. The next two chapters should be … intense to say the least – more so than what's been written so far, so they'll probably be my longest yet. Haven't written them down yet though, so I can't exactly say.

And as per Hermione fighting the Marauders/Slytherins. Well, something like that will come up a few times throughout the story as I have it set up yes. And… you'll probably like at least one of them.

Finally, 30k words, and 50 reviews! Thank you very, very much to my loyal subscribers for staying with me this far. Hope I'm doing a good job thus far.

September 3rd, 1976

"We're going to see Slughorn about this." Snape had said. It wasn't a statement so much as a demand.

He was still absolutely infuriated by what had just happened. Someone had played him for a fool, and when he found out who it was… Actually, he was pretty damned sure who that someone was. Well, at least, he would be if he were alone…

If it were just him marching alongside Filch now, the Marauders would be the obvious suspects. Nearly everything that went wrong at this damned school – especially for him – was always their damned fault. He could almost see the idiots sitting in their common room in rounds of jeering laughter at getting "Snivellus" another detention – or who knows what – over their stupid letter.

But… Hermione was there too. Most perplexingly. And as far as anything he'd seen, she seemed to have fallen pretty neatly into their circle of influence. Why would they target her? She was practically one of their own as far as he could tell; working for Dumbledore, the man who favored their sort, and they probably idolized in his boneheaded self-righteous crusade against the Dark Lord… Yeah, that didn't make… any sense.

It'd obviously been an enemy of his of some sort but… an enemy of hers too. They were effectively almost perfect mutual enemies, so who the hell hated both of them…? It didn't follow. But it was obviously someone; there was obviously more to the picture than met the eye. And, when he determined just who it was, they'd have hell to pay, that was for damned sure. He might even forget to hate Hermione long enough to enlist her help in dealing with them…

"And why would I take you there?" Filch shot back.

"Because he's the Head of my House, so he has the final say on what punishment I do – and don't get."

This was all absolutely unfair. An obvious setup. He felt… rather embarrassed that he hadn't seen through it before but… Gyllenkrok was new and a bit… unorthodox, and Severus had never seen the professor's handwriting before, so how could he have possibly known it wasn't real?

Slughorn would understand though. He knew Severus; knew that he was a dedicated student. One of the best he'd ever seen. Hell, he was always saying it in class; and it was objectively true… Well, he'd said about as much about Hermione the other day in class too – after she'd, somehow or other, stolen his formulas for potion-making; so he could be quite… fickle at times. But hell, Slughorn would still probably believe him, Severus was sure; and … if he really somehow liked Hermione too, having her with, corroborating his story… Well, it couldn't hurt. Even if he personally disliked her, if… her being there as well would somehow make his story more believable, so much the better.

"Oh?" Filch retorted, "She's not a Slytherin though, is she…?"

"It's fine…" Hermione responded, actually somewhat surprised by the words as they escaped her lips.

Well, it was the… logical conclusion. Since this was a matter of discipline involving a Slytherin and a Gryffindor, it'd have to be taken up by the Head of at least one of the Houses – Slughorn or McGonagall. And… of the two, somehow Hermione had the impression that Slughorn would be … rather more lenient. Sure she was rather fond of the Head of her own House, her rather sharp wit, serious yet well-meaning demeanor; all of that was well and good in Hermione's own time. Back when she'd been a diligent student for six years, earned the professor's difficulty-won respect. Then and there she might have been more likely to give Hermione some credence.

Here, she hadn't even had a single class with McGonagall yet. This McGonagall knew her name, possibly some variant of her circumstances from Dumbledore – as Hermione was in Gryffindor after all – and that was really about it. She couldn't expect any real leniency from the Head of her own House then, having… frustratingly, no reputation as a diligent student to stand in her defense here.

Slughorn, though was… not so objective. Which, admittedly could be either a good or a bad thing. Here though it was clearly a good one. In class the other day, he'd taking a liking to … both of them. Well, she supposed he'd probably liked Snape from years past. Objectively… she supposed… he was probably rather good at potions, and in Slughorn's House so… they probably were on fairly good terms. Probably exactly why Snape had been so adamant about demanding to talk to him. Well, since he seemed to like her as well, she wasn't really about to object. In a weird way, for now at least, their interests aligned.

And, admittedly, there was a self-serving aspect to it all. Hermione was, after all, a Gryffindor. As far as most at the school were concerned, this was only her third day at the school. She had no strong reputation behind her so; well, it wouldn't do to have her first real interaction with McGonagall involving her wandering the school corridors at night – with a Slytherin of all things, particularly him – with only an unprovable story for justification. Slughorn seemed to like her alright, so… that was that.

Snape shot her a rather suspicious glance. He would have expected her to protest, to demand to see McGonagall instead – hopefully the end result of that being Filch having to send them their separate ways, and hopefully staying with Hermione – so it'd just be him and Slughorn, and he'd be able to make a better case for himself. She… agreed though. He didn't really know what to make of that. Wouldn't she normally prefer one of her own House as an advocate? Maybe … she just hadn't been at Hogwarts long enough for that to make a difference or… something more was going on. It was rather odd, whatever it was.

A bit exasperated that both students agreed on which Head of House – thinking he'd surely have then in an unbeatable conundrum, Filch really had no choice but to concede. "Fine, I'll take you miserable lot down to the dungeons to see him. You know, if I ran this place, you'd be locked down there for weeks for this."

"Fine." Snape retorted bitterly. "The Slytherin dorms are rather nice after all. Wouldn't have to deal with most of the worthless degenerates who live above that way…"

Hermione shrunk back a bit at that comment. She… wanted to retort on her own, but thought better of it. They were in this together, for now, so starting a fight – particularly one in front of Filch – wouldn't be helping anyone's case. She just bit her lip. Was he really that bitter, have that strong of loathing for most everyone else? Well, the adult Snape certainly did; and he… really didn't seem that much different there. Sure, it seemed he and the Marauders were enemies; a sort of two-way resentment. If that was all it was, then it'd make sense. She wasn't much a fan of Malfoy, Crabbe, or Goyle in her own time. And… maybe didn't think the best of Slytherin accordingly. But… she didn't go out of her way to hate each and every Slytherin who ever existed. Or… did she…? It was a bit of an odd thought but, was her attitude towards the Slytherin House really better than his towards Gryffindor?

Alright, intuitively she knew that not every Slytherin was necessarily a malicious, vindictive pure-blood supremacist. And not every Gryffindor was absolutely heroic at all times – Pettigrew, and disappointingly, James and Sirius, came to mind. Fine. That logically followed. But it was incredibly easy to generalize, form heuristics in her mind where she subconsciously just assumed all Slytherins to be an identical breed, even if she didn't … necessarily… consciously think such … if she really, really thought hard about it… So, maybe it wasn't surprising that Snape did the same thing. The conclusions didn't follow, but she could … maybe understand the process. She guessed…

Fine. It would be hypocritical to hold that statement against him when she'd probably said, or at least thought the same of his House in the past. Didn't mean she liked it though. Despite no longer thinking the highest of a few select individuals, she was still proud to be a Gryffindor, to wear the red and gold.

Well, such musings would have to do for later. They'd arrived now at Slughorn's office. Filch knocked, Hermione held her breath. Snape looked simply… stoic.

"Yes?" the professor inquired, his voice calling from within, and a few seconds or so later, holding the door open.

"Sorry to trouble you sir, but it seems these two miscreants were roaming the castle at night, and tried to lie to me about it."

"Oh?" Slughorn asked, raising his brow somewhat incredulously, "Miss Granger and Mr. Snape? I … find that somewhat difficult to believe. Surely there's an explanation?"

"There is sir," Hermione began almost as Slughorn was still speaking. "We… umm, the two of us that is… We were selected by Professor Gyllenkrok as captains of our Houses' teams for Dueling Club. And… the two of us both received a letter claiming that the first meeting would be tonight, half past midnight on top of the Astronomy Tower. But…" she frowned. "Well, the letters weren't from him… Someone set us up…"

"Obvious lies…" Filch sneered.

"No they aren't…" Snape snapped back, still feeling quite odd in defending a Gryffindor's story. But hell, they were in the same mess, had the same interests, for now. "I have the damned letter right…" he frowned mid-thought, realizing he didn't have the letter. Either Gyllenkrok or Filch had it. If it were the latter, there was nothing to be done. He'd surely claim otherwise and then destroy it later on… Snape wanted to strangle him really in indignant rage. If Gyllenkrok had it… if he hadn't thrown it away himself already, thinking it worthless… maybe they had a chance, later on, to clear their names. But for now they had no proof.

"Well?" Slughorn asked.

"I… left it in Gyllenkrok's office." Snape admitted, sullenly. At least, he hoped that was the case. "Where's yours?" he demanded sharply, turning to Hermione. They were in this mess together, so she'd better pull her own damn weight and show her letter.

"Back… in my dormitory, sir…" Hermione said, looking down, deliberately speaking to Slughorn rather than Snape. The latter looked absolutely infuriated at this. Now, thanks to her… incompetence, they had no means whatsoever of getting out of this. "If you'd just let me run up to my dorm and get it, sir?"

"No, no, I'm not interested in that…" Slughorn said waving her off. "I think this matter is fairly straightforward. You're both among my brighter students. Naturally with that comes a certain curiosity, a certain… disregard for the stricter of rules at times? Harmless really I think, but for the sake of the less talented, less able students, there has to be order. Pity really."

It was all the two students could do to keep from shooting disgusted glances at one another here. Just the thought of being compared to one another like that, even in what was supposed to pass as a compliment. It was … rather nauseating to say the least.

"No House points for this incident I think…" Slughorn continued, though his words did very little to improve the spirits of either of the students. "It'd only make the competition between the Houses … less interesting. A single detention is probably in order. I'm sure McGonagall will agree in Miss Granger's case."

All three of the others shot him a look of indignant protest, Filch being the only to actually speak. "But sir, these miscreants deliberately broke school regulations and I think…"

"No, Filch, my word, and that of McGonagall, who I suspect will agree, here is final. Thank you though, Mr. Filch, for bringing this matter to my attention. I will deal with it from here. I'm sure you have more duties to attend to this evening. Don't let me keep you." With that, he ushered, nearly having to bodily push, Filch out the door to his office, closing the doors behind him.

"Now," Slughorn began, turning towards Severus and Hermione. "Apologies for that but, well, appearances must be maintained. I'm certain the two of you were up to nothing so nefarious as Filch may have been suggesting. You're new here, Hermione, so you ought to know that he has a tendency to … exaggerate the faults of students. Means well enough I suppose, but you'd be best to try and stay clear of him."

Hermione nodded simply. If only Slughorn knew how well she knew…

"Now then. As to this matter. I don't really care to question why you were about the castle at night. Your own matters, your own very interesting lives, I'm sure… Just, be more careful more time is all I would say…"

"But sir!" Hermione protested, "We really were set up…!"

"Hmm…" Slughorn frowned, "Made enemies already have we…? Well, I suppose that's the way of things. Those with talent, ability tend to have their … jealous detractors. I'd take it as a compliment, in a way. But, of course, if you can find the one responsible, I'll ensure they're held accountable as anyone else…"

"I have the letter still I think…" Hermione frowned, "It's back in my dormitory." Though… she wasn't certain how much good that would do. Unless she could find out who had written it, and match their handwriting as proof – assuming they hadn't disguised it – it certainly wouldn't be proof of much of anything. Damn, this was infuriating. There was little in the world that Hermione valued more than her reputation as a good and diligent student, and someone had deliberately set out to sabotage that; ruin her reputation before she even had a chance to establish herself. Thankfully Slughorn didn't seem to think much less of her, but… Still, they'd tried. And for what…? She didn't even have any enemies did she…? Not ones that'd hate both her and Snape, unless there was some internal fighting in Slytherin that she was unaware of. Which… she guessed could be the case. Seemed a bit of a stretch though…

"Well, feel free to bring it in tomorrow if you think it'd help." Slughorn suggested.

"Tomorrow?" Hermione questioned, "But tomorrow is Saturday…"

"Detention wasn't a lie I'm afraid…" Slughorn sighed slightly, "I'm sorry, but I had to do something to pacify Filch. If it looked like I was showing favoritism to the best… that wouldn't do, now would it…? But, don't worry. Nothing too difficult. Just you and Mr. Snape helping me clean the potions classroom for an hour or so. Right after dinner work for you?"

Perfect. Just the way she wanted to spend her Saturday night. Inside a dingy potions room, her and Snape… A rather pronounced frown formed at the thought. "Fine…"

Even more sullenly, Snape nodded, begrudgingly. Well, it could have been a lot worse he guessed. At least Slughorn … somewhat lessened the damage. Still though, when he found the responsible parties – well, detention would be the last of their worries, he was sure of that much…

"It's settled then." Slughorn nodded, almost jovially. "So, I take it you can find your way back to the Slytherin Dormitories on your own without incident, Severus? I'll escort Miss Granger up to the Gryffindor Tower since it's further so that Filch won't happen to trouble her again."

Somewhat dejectedly, Snape turned and walked off; Slughorn and Hermione off to the upper levels of the castle.

After thanking Slughorn, arriving at the Seventh Floor, Hermione made her way over towards the Fat Lady's portrait. She'd been asleep and was somewhat irate at being awakened, telling Hermione off, but nonetheless opened dutifully at the password.

Hermione headed through the Common Room, wanting nothing more than to get to her dormitory, collapse on her bed, and fall asleep of sheer exhaustion, when she noticed. The Common Room wasn't empty. There were four others there, sitting in the chairs, turned to face the entrance corridor. A certain four, male, sixth year Gryffindors. The way they grinned at her, particularly Sirius and James – it was almost as if they'd been waiting for her. But, how could that be…?

"'Ello Hermione." Sirius said with an exaggerated wave. "How was Dueling Club?"

"It was…" She began, suddenly a rather cross look coming across her face. "Wait, how would you know…?"

"It was all in the letter wasn't it?" James asked, a rather telling smirk on his face.

The letter? But they hadn't read it, hadn't seen it. She was sure of that. Unless…

"You?" she demanded incredulously, hands on her hips "You wrote that letter…?"

"Maybe, maybe not…" Sirius added in, grinning cheek to cheek.

"I can't believe you!" Hermione nearly fumed, "I'm going to McGonagall right now, telling her what you all just did…"

"Oh, scare me to death…" James mocked. "I'm ever so frightened of … detention. Anyhow, where's your proof? All we said was 'maybe'."

James was fortunate Hermione wasn't holding anything, or she'd have thrown it at him. "I'm taking the letter to her first thing in the morning. You have terrible handwriting, but she'd be sure to know it by now… I mean, impersonating a professor, setting up others for detention. That has to be breaking at least five separate school rules…"

"Oh, this?" Sirius taunted, holding up the same folded letter she'd seen earlier, then throwing it in the lit fireplace as Hermione rushed over.

"Sorry Hermione," James added. "I'd misplaced my books, asked Lily if I could borrow yours for studying while you were out. And… she was happy to oblige. Your books are safely back though, so don't worry."

"You. Four…" Hermione began through clenched teeth, punctuating each and every syllable. "Are. Vile! I can't believe you would do this to anyone, much less a fellow Gryffindor! We're supposed to be honorable, loyal… And you're acting like a bunch of …" She huffed. The word she'd almost just said was 'degenerates'… Damnit, get set up together by the same scheme, and she was almost thinking, talking like him. Get a hold of yourself, Hermione…

"Why'd you do it anyhow?" Hermione demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sirius teased, "The way you defended Snivellus the other day like that. So cute… Obvious you have a crush on him, no?" He raised his brows. "Thought the two of you would like some time alone together. A nice midnight stroll through the castle…?"

"Right, really you should be thanking us." James added, a bit of a chuckle. "Setting the two of you up like that. Maybe little Snivelly won't be alone anymore. Maybe he has a new Gryffindor girlfriend…? Are we great matchmakers or what, guys?"

Hermione was almost too livid to speak. "I don't in any way like Severus!" She scowled, emphasizing his correct name. "I just happened to think what they four of you were doing was absolutely despicable! To anyone. To think that someone could wear our House's colors and act so absolutely without any decency… I can't believe you…!"

"Aww, she's in denial, how cute…"

Hermione shot daggers at James with her eyes. Remus and Peter were already near the back of the room, obviously uncomfortable at the confrontation before them.

"I am not 'in denial'!" Hermione fumed. "I just think the four of you are entirely horrible, and I'd protect anyone from you – even a Slytherin…"

She was a bit surprised herself as the words came out herself. Not really sure if she meant it in a literal degree but… Hermione was absolutely livid. Too much so to take it back for now.

"Ooh, a firey one…" James smirked, "Snivelly always seemed to like that type. Looks like we've found a good match, boys. Job well done. Maybe we should dye her hair next to match…"

"Touch me, any of you…" Hermione's eyes dangerously wandered over the four Marauders, pulling out and pointing her wand at each and every one of them – James and Sirius still rather amused, Pettigrew looking absolute terrified, and Remus just … looking down, "and you won't be able to ride a broom straight for a month…" She huffed. "I'm going to bed. I can't deal with this any more…" And with that, Hermione Granger stormed up the stairs to the Girls' Dormitories.

As she left, she thought she might have heard a round of cheers from Sirius and James, and Remus angrily demanding that James and Sirius not speak for the four of them…

Perfect, just bloody perfect. Not even a week into class and she'd seemed to have made near enemies of the very four she thought would have been her closest friends…