A/N: I did a bit of research (okay, scratch that, A LOT OF RESEARCH) to prepare for the up-coming plot twists, just as promised, and I realized I made a pretty big mistake: Hogwarts' school term starts at SEPTEMBER 1ST. That's why I've changed the dates. Sorry about that.
Chapter 5
Eglantine Rose
~.o.~
"In the night, I hear 'em talk
the coldest story ever told
somewhere far along this road
he lost his soul
to a woman so heartless."
- Heartless by Kanye West
~.o.~
September 18, 1978
"Some prefect you turned out to be," chuckled Sirius, as he looked down at Remus' sleeping face.
The scene before him was quite romantic, actually. A scene that could have come straight out of some sappy romance novel. A man and a woman, innocently asleep, side-by-side on the grass, fingers barely touching, under the moonlit night and falling flowers.
"Funny, I never recalled there being flowers of any kind around here," thought Sirius aloud, as he gazed up at the falling pear blossoms.
He directed his gaze down at the two again. At Remus and Hermione. Sleeping peacefully. He squatted down by them, arms folded across his knees, with his chin rested on it.
"Hermione Granger," he said, observing her sleeping form. "I must say, I admire your spunk. There has yet been a person who has managed to insult me and wound my pride at the same time, and managing to make me feel guilt in the process. Well, James can do that, but no girl has ever stood up to me before."
As if in acknowledgment, Hermione stirred a bit in her sleep.
"I think I'll make you think twice about rejecting me," he grinned smugly.
"You, on the other hand," he said, addressing sleeping Remus, "have to quit taking everything so seriously. Take everything Sirius-ly, not seriously. Haha, get it?" he chuckled, as if Remus was awake to laugh along with him.
"You know I just like picking on you," he continued, as the wind blew and messed up Remus already-messed-up look. "It's only because you're so easily ruffled. Though something seems off about you recently. I know you get all jittery and anxious and overly-emotionally-sensitive when the full moon is nearing, but recently it's much worse."
As if expecting an answer, he waited for a few seconds, lingering on Remus' face. He knew that there were scars there. Scars of battle. Proofs of Remus' suffering. What it must be like for a person to hurt himself unconsciously...
As the night wind continued to blow, and the stars above twinkled brightly, Sirius
"The truth is," said Sirius softly, "I'm not the nice person you think I am."
As the morning rays of light pierced through the Gryffindor red curtains of the room, Hermione stirred awake. She felt one side of her bed dip, and her sheets being pulled. She pried an eye open, only to jerk awake at the sight of Lily and Alice in their flanel pajamas, a knowing grin plastered smugly on their faces as they sat at each side of her bed.
"So, Hermione," said Alice as she winked at her knowingly, her short hair sticking up in all directions, "One day at Hogwarts and already you've snagged yourself a boyfriend."
"A Marauder, even. A very applaudable feat, I must say," added Lily.
"Very applaudable, indeed," nodded Alice jokingly.
"She simply must tell us how she'd done it, right, Alice?"
"Oh, she simply must."
For a few seconds there, as Hermione slowly shifted from the world of dreams into reality, she thought she saw Fred and George in front of her. A little rubbing of her eyes sleepily and blinking away the grogginess reminded her that Fred was, in fact, dead, and that she was in the past right now, where Fred and George weren't even born yet.
Well, with the way Lily and Alice joked around and finished each other's sentences, they could have been twins.
"Hermione? Are you finished dreaming about your boyfriend, or do we have to oblige ourselves in dousing you with cold water just to wake you up?" laughed Lily.
"You do realize we won't let you out of this bed until you tell us everything?" grinned Alice.
"It's the least you could do after we offered you a place in our room," joked Lily.
"What are you two talking about, I-" started Hermione.
"Don't you even try to deny it," grinned Lily.
"We happened to be awake last night, or rather, this morning, when you came in," continued Alice.
"We shan't forget to mention that it was one in the morning," said Lily, waggling her eyebrows.
"And rather than you coming in, a certain Marauder carried you in," squealed Alice.
The pair teetered at the edge of Hermione's bed, almost bouncing up and down with excitement. Hermione could have laughed at the sight if she wasn't so confused with what the two were going on about.
"I honestly don't know what you two are talking about, last night I...I..." Hermione trailed off.
Oh Merlin, what did I do last night? Wait, I was talking to Remus by the lake...then...I must have fallen asleep! So Remus must have carried me back here!
"Look," Hermione began, running a hand through her bed hair. "Nothing's going on with Remus and I-"
"Remus? You're with Remus?" Alice squealed in delight, giving Hermione a look of 'hot new scandal off the press!' "You mean Remus and Sirius are fighting over you?"
"How does Sirius fit into all of this?" Hermione asked, confused.
"He only carried you up here last night," Lily said sarcastically, laughing.
"How he manages to get up the magical stairs, no one knows. No wonder he gets to sleep with-" Alice broke off, seeing Hermione's confused look. "Hold on – you really have no idea about what happened last night?"
Hermione shook her head. "I swear, I was just talking with Remus by the lake, and I must have fallen asleep. Then suddenly, I'm awake here."
Lily and Alice studied her for any signs of a lie. They must have determined that she wasn't lying, so they both sat cross-legged on her bed and started to explain to her.
"Alice and I were waiting for you last night," started Lily.
"Although it was quite late, we assumed you were...to put it nicely, having fun," laughed Alice.
Hermione turned pink and shook her head, denying anything of the sort.
"We were about to turn in, as we were too sleepy to wait any longer, when Sirius came strutting in with you fast asleep in his arms," explained Lily.
"Imagine what was going through our minds," laughed Alice.
"Alice, who never was one to keep her thought to herself, voiced them out to Sirius, actually," chuckled Lily.
"I asked him, 'Had fun with the new student?' Then he winked at me, and replied, 'Enormous fun. I actually plan to keep this one.'!" squealed Alice.
I swear, I'm going to murder that-
Shaking her head, Hermione said, "Nothing happened. None. I think I vaguely recall being carried up here, now, but I thought it was Remus. Remus probably fell asleep, too, and Sirius went looking for us since it was getting late."
She stood up from her bed, trying to straighten her curls with her fingers, as she headed to the bathroom.
"So you're not going out with Sirius?" asked Alice.
"I hate to disappoint you, but no," laughed Hermione.
"Remus, then?" asked Lily.
"What do you take me for, exactly? It's only my second day here!" joked Hermione.
Alice and Lily laughed along with her.
"Do you fancy Remus, though?" asked Lily.
"He seems like a nice person, but I don't fancy him in that way," said Hermione over the running sink water as she splashed water on her face.
Lily sat by the edge of her bed, dangling her legs by the edge. "Well, that's good to know. I hate to be the one breaking it to you if you fancied him."
"Break what to me?" said Hermione, as she stood by the bathroom's door, drying her face with a towel.
"That he's...well, swinging the other way?" said Alice nervously.
"I guess I'm not the only one who noticed that," replied Hermione sadly.
Severus was having a fairly good day so far, if he could say so himself. He woke up without anybody waking him up, for the first time in a very long time. He was usually awoken by his two pompous room mates, Avery and Mulciber. It was either their monstrous steps across the room, or their clumsy banging all over the place that woke Severus and put him in a bad mood every day.
Miraculously, today, Severus woke up first, without any racket to put him in a sour mood. Since he woke up a bit earlier than he usually did, everyone else was still preparing for the day when he was headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. That's why nobody bothered him, or called him "Snivellus," or laughed at him, or intentionally shoved him until he fell and scattered his books.
Of course, he could easily fight him off with his newly created spells, but that would just get him put into Albus Dumbledore's office. And quite frankly, Severus didn't want to spend another day in the presence of that man, especially after their last meeting.
So Severus put up with the bullying.
Let them think they're more superior; they'll be begging for forgiveness when the time comes, he constantly reminded himself.
He was only one of the few that were already in the Great Hall. He took his usual seat, at the far end of the Slytherin table, and propped his book open on the table. He poured himself some tea, and was drinking and reading in peace. Even as the students started piling in, he was still in his own little world, content.
Until the Gryffindor posse started roaring in, that is. It didn't help that the Slytherin table was right next to the Gryffindor's. So when the infamous Marauders (Severus didn't understand why they were even so popular, when they were such pompous potheads) strolled in noisily, laughing and chatting, Severus raised his gaze from his book to glare at the criminals who disturbed his peace.
Sirius was roaring loudly. When he saw Severus glaring at him, he grinned smugly and was swaggering to him when suddenly a blonde girl stepped in his way...
and slapped him. Hard.
The Great Hall was silent, and the sound of the slap rang across the room.
"What the bloody hell-" started Sirius, glaring at his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend.
"I could say the same to you. You could at least have the decency to break up with me first before deciding you want a new girlfriend, and sleeping with her," glared Astra Greenwood.
"Woah there, Astra. Sirius doesn't have a new girlfriend-" started James, only to be cut off.
"Oh, really? So what was Hermione Granger, then? A one-night stand?"
That was when the Great Hall started buzzing.
Severus couldn't help raising his brows, too. Did he hear that correctly? Hermione Granger? The new student? He didn't think she'd be that type of girl. But then again, he just met her yesterday. It was a mistake on judgement in his part.
"Excuse me?" Hermione retorted loudly. She had just entered the Great Hall, just in time to hear Astra's comment.
The Great Hall silenced once again.
"You are new, but you should know your place," hissed Astra.
"And you should know not to believe in rumors," snapped Hermione.
Sirius, ever the peace-maker (not), draped an arm over Hermione's shoulder.
"Ladies, calm down. We can-"
"Levicorpus!"
As if somebody grabbed his ankled, Sirius was suddenly pulled upside down, and left hanging in mid-air, revealing his underwear.
"Bloody hell, let me down! I-"
"I will not, until you tell everybody in this room, that I am not your girlfriend, and that we did not sleep with each other, and that nothing happened last night," Hermione seethed.
"Alright, alright! Hermione Granger is not my girlfriend, and we did not sleep with each other! Nothing happened last night!"
Sirius was let down, Astra helped him up, and Hermione glared at him one last time, before she took her seat, Alice and Lily at each side of her.
The Great Hall started buzzing again, and throughout the whole episode of Hermione performing the Levicorpus, Severus eyes were wide with surprise.
He did take great pleasure in seeing Sirius Black humiliated the way he himself was two years ago, but there was something nagging him in the back of his mind:
How in the name of Salazar Slytherin did she know that spell, when I am its creator, and she only arrived in Hogwarts yesterday?
Classes were a drag, as usual. Severus just arrived in his secret room, skipping lunch, mulling over the mystery that was Hermione Granger. He couldn't stop thinking about it ever since breakfast. Her using his spell, not her.
How did she know his spell? She only came here yesterday...unless...unless she managed to read his Potions book, where he jotted everything down. But that was impossible, because his Potions book was-
A mixed stream of swearwords came pouring out of Severus' mouth as he groped the contents of his bag frantically, looking for his Potions book. He was so concentrated on this, that he didn't notice someone entering his secret room. It was only when the secret bookshelf slid back into place did he look up, only to see Hermione Granger herself, carrying a plate of food and a goblet of pumpkin juice.
"What are you doing here? How did you know about this room?" Severus asked suspiciously, standing up and narrowing his eyes at her.
"I brought you lunch. I noticed you never eat, you just drink and read your book. No wonder you're so skinny; it's not good to skip out on meals. And I followed you," she said simply, walking towards him and setting the food and goblet down on the floor. "Don't you have a table in here? I guess we'll have to transfigure one." With a flick of her wand, a galleon from her pocket was transfigured into an equally shiny square table in the center of the room, complete with two matching chairs.
Severus was impressed. A bit. Whether he wanted to admit it or not. Hermione Granger was magically talented. Severus was never good with Transfiguration.
But then he remembered that his privacy was being invaded, by a stranger, no less, and a possible thief.
As Hermione transferred the food and goblet from the floor to the table and started looking around the place, Severus observed her warily from his spot, refusing to budge an inch towards her.
"You seem to have the misconception that you're allowed in here," he drawled.
"And you seem to have the misconception that this room is yours," she replied nonchalantly.
Hermione noticed that a lot about the room was different. The green and red arm chairs were nowhere to be seen, the fireplace was boarded up when in the present 1997 it wasn't, there was only one bookshelf where in 1997 there were about 10, the beautiful vase of never dying assortments of different flowers that were supposedly on the table weren't-
Wait. The table. It wasn't here awhile ago! But in 1997 it is! Does that...does that mean I was the one who put this table here? Even if I did it unconsciously...I must have been the one who set this table here in the first place! That's why in 1997, the table existed!
Severus was still observing Hermione warily, and he was a bit taken aback when she suddenly started staring at her newly conjured table as if it wasn't supposed to be there, then changing expressions to a look that he found on his own face whenever he created a new spell.
Speaking of spells...
"How do you know Levicorpus?" He asked her warily.
Oh Merlin, I forgot! He was the one who invented that spell! And I supposedly only arrived here yesterday!
"Oh, I-"
"You pocketed my Potions book, I assume? And found the spell there?" he said accusingly.
"I did not steal anything-"
"Ah, I think I remember now. I left it in the Potions classroom this morning, in a hurry to get to my next class. You must have opened it and browsed through it then, have you not?"
Thank Merlin that he likes to over-think, she sighed mentally.
"Yes, yes, you caught me. Now go and eat before the food turns cold," she said, waving a hand as if to brush the topic away.
Severus didn't budge from his spot.
Is this woman daft? Why the bloody hell...
"Perhaps in your previous school, you walk around as if you merely own the place. But here, I ask that you go about bringing you and your meddling somewhere else," he drawled.
"Look, you're stick thin and pale enough as it is. Skipping out on meals doesn't do you any good. You might end up getting sick, so go and eat something," sighed Hermione.
She uses some interesting words..
"Are you deaf? Because I believe I just told you not to meddle," he said.
"Are you deaf? Because I believe I just told you to eat," Hermione countered, crossing her arms caross her chest.
Severus fought the chuckle that was threatening the break out. He had no idea why he suddenly felt like laughing, or grinning, when he knew he was supposed to be feeling annoyed with the way she kept throwing back everything that he said at him.
"I've had enough of this," Severus sighed. "Out," he said, resuming to glaring at her.
"If you refuse to cooperate with me, why should I copperate with you?" Hermione said, shrugging.
Two can play at that game, she smirked internally. She got up from her chair, and walked to the bookself. She eyed the glowing blue vials, not wanting to touch them lest she break them, and studied the books instead.
Severus sighed. The last time he had dealt with such a hard headed woman was...Lily.
"You seem to think you have a choice," he said, hardening his tone.
Hermione ignored him. Her attention was on a familiar looking spine of a book...
"Don't touch my belongings."
Hermione pulled the book our from the shelf. Her eyes widened.
No. There must be tons of books like this all over the place. But...but it feels the same.
"The Language of Flowers," said Hermione, reading the title of the book out loud.
"And what of it?" said Severus defensively, suddenly compelled to defend himself regarding his particular fondness of flowers.
Hermione, realizing she read the title out loud, said hastily, "N-nothing. I-I've read this book."
"And? Do you think me as a 'sissy' for reading such a book?" Severus accussed more than asked.
Hermione shook her head. "No, I think there's something beautiful in the way flowers have meaning, and the way flowers can represent people and their feelings. For example, I think you're very similar to the Rose."
To say Severus was surprised was an understatment. He was downright flabbergasted.
"You don't even know me. If you did, the rose is the last flower you would ever think of that would describe someone like me," he found himself saying softly, almost sadly.
It was the sad truth. This girl didn't know him. Didn't know how he was, the things he has done. How could someone like him be compared to something as elegant, as lovely, as a Rose? It was silly. Hermione Granger was silly. Just when he was starting to think that she was intelligent, too.
"An Eglantine Rose, to be exact," she said, ignoring him, opening to the page of the specific flower in the book she was holding.
"I think you're mistaken, an Eglantine Rose means-"
"I know what it means," she said, looking at him.
"And I know that you're just broken."
A/N: PHEW. Wasn't that long?
Now come on, guys. If you skipped the A/N up there, go back to it, it's pretty important, just so you won't get confused. :)
And just a bit of F.Y.I: The flowers really do mean what they do in the fic. This fic really requires me a big amount of time researching. :))
Also, I know this is beginning to sound like a Remus/Hermione fic, but bear with me. You know how I adore love triangles. ;)
Like or dislike? Let me know! Drop a review! :D