Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me in any way, shape or form. This story is just something I've done for my own entertainment.
Chapter 6
"Trying to make someone fall in love with you is about as pointless as trying to control who you fall in love with."
"Happy Birthday!" Hermione jolted up out of bed and glanced around drowsily at Lily and Alice who were standing over her bed with big smiles and presents.
"What the-"
"Imagine how upset I was," Lily got in Hermione's face. "when Sirius came to me yesterday and asked me what I was getting you for your birthday and I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about!" Lily held up a giant cake and set it in front of Hermione.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Alice sounded pretty disappointed and Hermione felt immediately guilty.
"I didn't want it to be a big deal." Hermione looked between Alice and Lily's annoyed faces and tried to smile. "Thank you for doing this though." She gazed around at the balloons crowding the dorm room and the cake Lily had set on her bed.
"It wasn't a big deal." Lily sounded infuriated but Hermione didn't miss her smile as she turned away and started getting dressed.
"Oh!" Alice gasped and ran to the door. "And a house elf brought these; he said these were for you." Hermione's annoyance that someone had used a house elf like this vanished when she saw the huge bouquet of flowers. Alice picked up the vase they were in and carried it over to Hermione who gaped at lovely flora. They were magicked to change colors and Hermione was dazzled. She watched as a lily went from pink to orange to purple in a matter of seconds and a daisy change from white to blue to red.
"Wow." It was one of the nicest presents Hermione had ever received but when she snatched up the card it didn't say who it was from, just her name.
Lily's curiosity got the better of her and she walked over. "Who is it from?"
"Doesn't say."
Lily touched one of the lily's petals and the color shimmered. "That's a very powerful charm." She trailed off and the three girls stared at the flashing bouquet for a long time. "I can only see Remus being able to pull this off." Lily continued then shook her head and walked away. But Hermione was frozen.
"Moony? Why would he give me this?" She was excited but also confused. Hermione took the vase and set it on the table next to her bed.
"Maybe he likes you?" Alice supplied but Hermione shook her head very quickly.
Lily finished getting dressed and walked to her mirror. "More likely he's being nice. Remus isn't very smooth." Hermione accepted this idea and quickly put on her robes. Lily offered to perform the anti-frizz spell for Hermione and she accepted gratefully. When she looked in the mirror Hermione touched her soft frizz-free hair and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.
"Would you like me to cut them?" Lily asked and raised her wand.
Maybe girlfriends weren't so bad. Hermione nodded joyfully and Lily got to work.
They walked down to breakfast together and Lily and Alice sat next to Hermione. They were serving pancakes and Hermione took a few. But she'd lost her appetite; she couldn't stop thinking about the flowers upstairs next to her bed.
"What do you think your parents will send you?" Alice asked absently before taking a sip of orange juice.
Hermione choked down a piece of pancake and had a minor panic attack. Her parents wouldn't be sending her anything whatsoever because they hadn't even met yet. She set down her fork and tried to act nonchalant. "Well… probably nothing." She couldn't lie about this, but the horrified looks on Alice's and Lily's faces concerned her. They couldn't suspect something was wrong.
"Why not?" Lily said, she sounded furious and Hermione's heart swelled with affection that Lily cared so much, but this feeling died.
Hermione had to make something up… "They've been struggling with money…." This was humiliating. She ducked her head and shuffled a soggy pancake around her plate. She'd definitely put too much syrup on it.
There was an uncomfortable silence which made Hermione want to excuse herself, but the Marauders arrived. Sirius sat so close to Hermione that she bumped her plate and almost knocked it into Lily but she managed to catch it. James sat across from Hermione and next to Alice so he could have an unobstructed view of Lily. Remus sat next to James and across from Sirius but regretted this when he realized that there was an open seat next to him. Seemingly out of nowhere Doriana plopped next to Remus and he gave her a feeble hello.
"Hello Remus. Happy birthday Hermione." Doriana plucked up a piece of toast from the center of the table and waved cheerfully at the rest of the table.
"Thanks." Hermione muttered as she pushed her plate away and looked at Remus out of the corner of her eye. Had he been the one to send those flowers?
"Happy birthday!" The Marauders said in unison and Hermione smirked.
"Did you rehearse that?" She joked and shifted away from Sirius, it felt like he was breathing down her neck sometimes.
Remus chuckled but James and Sirius pouted. As usual Peter looked like he didn't know what to do or say. "Don't tease your friends!" James scolded her but smiled when Hermione laughed.
"Especially friends that give you presents!" Sirius cried joyfully as the Marauders each brought out a box with a bow on it with a flourish.
Hermione groaned. "You guys! I said to not get me anything!"
"And we ignored you." Sirius said proudly.
James set his gift in front of her and Hermione opened it with a sigh. He'd given her a box of candy that he swore had firewhiskey in them. "I can't take these James!" When he admitted what was in them.
"Course you can!" Sirius said and handed her the next box from Peter.
Peter gave Hermione a box of sugar quills and she thanked him but felt uncomfortable accepting them. Then Remus handed her a box and Hermione took it in confusion. Didn't she already receive his present? When she opened it she smiled at the chocolate frogs. "Now you won't go stealing my chocolate." He joked and they laughed privately. Doriana's eyes narrowed when she was left out of the inside joke but didn't say anything. Hermione finished laughing and smiled at Remus. He nodded and returned to breakfast but couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the morning.
"Of course you'll have to wait for my present." Sirius said as he took another bite of cereal. "When we go to Hogsmeade together." He added and Hermione looked up in surprise.
"Er…right." Hermione blushed and took another bite of her pancakes. Then who had sent her those flowers? It was becoming quite a puzzle. When she'd finished chewing and looked up at her new friends, they were all smiling at her pleasantly. "Thank you guys, for everything. You really did spoil me though." She studied all the boxes around her and moved her hair out of her eyes.
"Hey! You cut your hair!" Sirius exclaimed and studied Hermione. "It looks nice."
Now the table was scrutinizing Hermione and she blushed under all the stares. "Yes well, thanks Sirius."
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Hermione studied her Potion's essay, she had a free period before her and Lily were to head to that class and they were sitting in the Gryffindor's common room getting some last minute studying done. "Thank you Lily, for fixing my hair." Hermione smiled as she thought of Sirius' compliment.
"Sure Hermione, we're friends and it's your birthday!" Lily studied Hermione when she said this though. Ever since Hermione had said that she wouldn't be receiving anything from her parents she'd been conflicted. Hermione didn't seem like the type of person who had a bad home life. She only knew what that looked like because of poor Sev. But breakfast had passed without a single owl coming for Hermione, not even a birthday card. It just didn't make sense.
Hermione seemed perfectly fine though as she answered Lily. "It's nice to do girly things sometimes. I've never actually had a girl as a friend." She confided. She rubbed her temple, another headache was plaguing her. This time it seared her temples and the bridge of her nose.
"Really?" Lily looked confused. "But what about Jane?" Lily shifted in her seat and set down her essay.
"Who?" Hermione brushed her hair behind her shoulder like she'd seen Lily do; now that her hair was softer she could actually do it without looking stupid.
"You know…the girl you said was your friend in grade school…" Lily looked at Hermione like she was insane, she could've sworn Hermione had mentioned someone named Jane several times.
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."
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Sirius studied the Marauder's map. "Should we go tease Snivellus?" He was sitting in his chair backwards, watching Hermione and Lily's dots sit in the common room.
"No I'm not in the mood." James said as he plucked fluff from his robes. He was lying on his back on his bed staring up at the ceiling. Really he was thinking of what Hermione had said though, about not teasing Sniv- …Snape anymore. The boys were sitting in their room, bored out of their minds, which wasn't a good thing with the Marauders. It usually meant they were about to get into a whole heap of mischief.
Remus stood and tried to stretch out but this only took a second before he flipped back onto the bed. He could be studying but in the state he was in now it was useless, he'd stare at the paper and will words to appear instead of doing actual work.
"I'm so bored." Peter moaned, drawing out the 'o' in bored. Remus, Sirius and James grunted in agreement.
"Come on, Snivellus is all by himself in the library. Are you sure you don't want to go rub his greasy nose into the books?" Sirius laughed and James was tempted but he wanted Lily more than he wanted to duel Snape. Sirius sighed when no one took up the offer and took out his wand. "Mischief managed. I wish." He grumbled, the words disappeared and he folded it up before chucking the map onto James' bed. It hit his side but James didn't move. He rubbed his neck and began to fret. "What do you think she thought of the flowers?"
"Who?" Remus asked as he played with the curtains around his bed. They floated across the floor and Remus whipped them harder so they spread out like a fan.
"I sent Hermione flowers for her birthday… But she didn't mention them this morning. Maybe the elf didn't deliver them yet?" Sirius was a little shocked at his own nervousness, woman were something that he had no trouble with. But the fact that Hermione seemed completely resistant to him was very attractive.
"Did you sign them?" James asked and Sirius thought about it.
"Don't remember."
James chuckled and Remus shook his head. "You're an idiot." James joked and threw a pillow. The pillow hit Sirius in the face and Sirius sent it flying back with his wand. Remus thought about Sirius sending Hermione flowers.
Did she like that? Maybe I should've done something like that…What am I saying?
Remus sat up and began to pick up his clothes strewn across the floor. He had to do something instead of think!
"What? Remus cleaning!" Peter called and the boys burst into laughter.
"This is an emergency!" James cried and there were more fits of laughter.
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In potions Hermione teamed up with Remus so he could have a break from James disastrous potion making and she could have a break from Sirius, who'd begged her to be partners with him every class period. He was a horrible potion maker and under normal circumstances she would have refused but here her grades didn't matter and she could help him. Hermione studied the potion Slughorn had put up on the board. "It says we need pixie heart." Remus muttered and Hermione nodded.
"Be right back."
Pixie heart… pixie heart…
She was concentrating so hard she hardly even noticed when James came in right behind her. Her fingers traced the labels on the shelves and she jumped a foot when James tapped her shoulder.
"God Harry!" She practically shrieked when she spun around, and mistook James, once again, for Harry. "OH! Sorry, I did it again." She gushed. Nervously she pushed her hair out of her eyes and patted his arm.
James shrugged, "Hey, I'm used to it." He glanced behind her at the shelves and picked up a small vial. " Here." It was pixie heart and he was holding it out to her. Reaching out to take it she remembered Harry's polite mannerisms.
"I need to stop worrying about him." Hermione tried to explain. "He's a big boy. He's fine by himself."
James smiled at her kindly and reached for a second vial. "I'm sure. He is my son after all." James chuckled as he left and Hermione smiled.
Forgetting him Hermione tried to get back into her classroom mode, remembering formulas and ingredients.
Harry's fine, not getting into any trouble…
She approached Remus and held up the vial. "Which way do we stir it?" She asked as she joined him at the table and set down the vial.
"The book says clockwise 7 times." Hermione nodded and reached for the stirrer but Remus reached for it at the same moment. Their hands touched and Remus jolted his hand back. "Sorry sorry!" He blushed brick red but Hermione didn't notice, she'd already put the pixie heart in and if she didn't stir it, she began to twist it, but it was too late, instead of turning a dark navy, like the book described, the potion became brown and congealed across the cauldron bottom.
"Oh no!" Hermione tried to fix it by adding a few drops of dragon's blood but it didn't work.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry, it's my fault!" Remus looked into the cauldron and winced. "We'll just have to start over."
Hermione sighed and glared at the cauldron. "Scourgify." The cauldron was now clean but the ruined potion remained.
They started over again but Remus avoided Hermione's eye. All he could think about was the shock that had gone through his hand when their hands met. The electricity that had ran up his arm and was now pounding through the blood in his head. Apparently he was the only one who felt it though.
Hermione measured out ingredients and was putting them in much more carefully than before, but she was distracted slightly. The flowers had been in her room all day long, bugging her. For about the hundredth time she wondered who could have sent them. She looked at Remus out of the corner of her eye but their eyes met and he looked away quickly. Hermione blushed… maybe he did send them.
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"So, do you like Sirius?" Doriana drawled as they waited for the Marauders to join them.
"Yeah we're friends." Hermione knew what Doriana was talking about but she honestly didn't care what she thought.
"Really?...But you're going to Hogsmeade together?" Doriana rolled an apple across the table and Hermione forced herself to ignore the irritating question until she'd finished writing out the last sentence of her essay. The apple continued to roll across the table and Hermione ground her teeth. It bumped over the uneven surface and each thump was increasing her headache.
"Yes we are. As friends." Hermione emphasized friends before dotting her "I"s and crossing her "t"s on her paper. "I'm sure we'll have lots of fun."
"I'm sure you will." Doriana brushed her hair back and Hermione rolled her eyes. She didn't like what Doriana was implying but it didn't really matter what she thought anyways.
Sirius appeared a few minutes later and greeted Hermione jovially. "Hermione!" Hermione smiled at him and scooted over for him. "Guess what Hermione."
Hermione smiled and glanced at Doriana, who was smirking at her. Hermione's smile vanished and she shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. "Um… yes, what?" She nervously brushed her hair out of her eyes but Sirius grabbed her hand and set it on her lap.
"Did you like the flowers?" Hermione's cheeks burned and her hands fluttered but she resisted the urge to touch her hair.
"Th-th-that was you?" Hermione grinned and gave Sirius a hug. "Oh Sirius! That was so sweet!" As she squeezed him, she was surprised she was a little disappointed Remus hadn't given them to her, even if it was as a friend.
Sirius was happy at her reaction and he hugged her back but froze suddenly. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her hair blew in the wind made from his breath and his eyes glazed over. She smelled like strawberries and mint toothpaste. He smiled over her shoulder and buried his nose into her hair. She tried to pull away but he held her.
"Sirius!" She protested and dug her hands into his shoulders. "What are you doing?"
He laughed as she finally pushed him away and he looked her over. "You smell nice." It was probably the most embarrassing thing anyone had ever said to her. She could feel her face growing hotter and hotter and she was frozen with disbelief, what was she supposed to say to that. She heard Doriana laughing but it was like she wasn't in the same room as Sirius and Doriana.
Finally James, Lily, Peter and Remus joined the table and Hermione was able to get her senses back.
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Remus rolled over on his bed and frowned at the maroon curtains blocking his view. He had been having trouble sleeping lately and there were dark circles under his eyes. His blew out a breath and his sheets shifted. Finally he couldn't stand it anymore and he threw the curtain open. The window was right next to his bed and the moonlight fell around his covers and face. He felt relaxed now but he still couldn't stop thinking. Hermione's smell as she'd hugged him, the way she brushed her hair out of her eyes when she was nervous, or the way his who body had zinged with electricity when she'd barely grazed his hand.
I'm sick of it! Make it stop! Get out of my head!
But she wouldn't, and couldn't.