Hermione rolled over out of his shadow, looking up at him curiously. It had been half an hour since she had first met the Marauders and yet she almost felt at peace with their company. She had found both Sirius and Remus very different from their older selves, the haunted people she knew, but James was just as she thought he would have been.

He was smart, loyal, and had a very good sense of humour. Anything you told him he could twist in his own way of seeing the world, his own views and opinions. While he could be very immature at times, he had a sensible contribution to each conversation, and yet managed to uphold his bad-boy reputation Lily had told her about.

"Hey, Granger," said James, sitting down beside her. For a moment she was reminded of the day his own son had said the same as he sat down next to her, but she shook his head and told herself that this wasn't Harry and he never would be. "You look like you've seen a ghost." His voice changed from carefree, easy-going to worried, concerned.

She laughed a little, swallowing down the lump in her throat. Hermione couldn't help herself by the way she compared him to Harry, his brotherly, kind nature and yet so loyal attitude – Harry would have had that if he had anyone to be loyal to, she thought sadly as her hazel eyes met his for a moment.

"You sure know how to charm a girl, Potter," Lily piped up; looking at him scathingly over the top of her book, but the twitch of her lips told them both how she had actually felt. The school had been under the false pretence the two hated one another, when in reality the two had been friends since their sixth year, when James had finally taken responsibility and Lily had admitted her wrongs. "No doubt Hermione will instantly fall under your spell." But she, too, looked at the bookworm concernedly. "Are you alright?"

Hermione nodded, but her brow was still creased and it was clear neither were buying it. Her home had become less and less appealing to her. "Yeah," she muffled, burying her head in her arms and looking out across the lake.

The five had positioned themselves beside the lake, where the sun was brightest yet the shade provided by the beech tree kept them cool. Lily and Remus had shared a look and pulled out their books, already studying for their NEWTs – well, according to Sirius, this was the norm. A few minutes previous, Sirius had run after a group of giggling Hufflepuff's. "I'll be back in a minute!" he had called as he folded his hands with the tallest girl, who was only a few inches smaller than him. But, according to Lily and Remus, this was the norm too.

Needless to say, he hadn't returned.

She found the need to blink back tears as she peered into a pair of familiar emerald eyes and a comforting arm was wrapped around her shoulder. Lily had dropped her book and been at her side in an instant, grabbing her new friend around the shoulders and looking at her worriedly.

"Hermione, what's the matter? Did I do something wrong?" asked James, his voice a few octaves higher than it usually was. "Hermione?"

She looked up at him, her hazel eyes pooling with tears. "No – no – nothing wrong," she murmured, but the need to sob relentlessly betrayed her. Salty drops of water trickled agonisingly slowly down her cheeks.

Hermione threw herself at Remus, who was the nearest person, and began to sob. Every time she told herself to take a deep breath and calm down, Harry and the future always created more need for tears.

Remus stayed frigid against her, clearly not knowing what to do at all.

"It's alright," soothed Lily, pulling her gently away from Remus and tugging her into her embrace. "I am here, it's all alright. James and Remus are here and Sirius is going to be right back. We'll look after you, Hermione, we'll look after you."

"No – no – no – gone, gone, gone – all gone…" Hermione whimpered, shrinking into herself and pulling away from Lily, looking as if she had just woken, her face as pale as death and her eyes as cold and empty as those of a corpse. "They're gone."

Lily stroked Hermione's hair, whispering condolences to her and shooting urgent looks towards the two boys, who looked as though someone had just killed the other in front of them. "What do you mean, gone?" asked Remus slowly, looking at her as though she had just grown another head.

She looked up at him shakily, slowly running a hand through her hair and sniffling slightly. "I skipped out on my real seventh year to help in the war," said Hermione hoarsely, "and the others who did so with me were all killed."

James looked sadly, shocked, at the girl he had only just met. He knew that she wouldn't have wanted pity, and he wasn't going to give someone so broken what they needed least. He was going to give her what she needed most – comfort and friendship.

When he sat up and shuffled beside her, she looked at him slightly apprehensively, but when he pulled her gently into his arms and ran his hands through her hair, she relaxed against him. James rocked them both back and forth, ignoring the looks he was receiving from his two friends and forgetting where they were.

He was surprised when she began to calm down a moment later, but nonetheless pleased as she looked up at him with determined, strong hazel eyes that seemed to burn with their same fire once more.

Hermione relaxed in his familiar embrace, knowing this was not Harry and never would be deep inside, but feeling the need to pretend everything was alright and everything would always be. She shook herself; Voldemort and his army were still out there and would be until she gathered her act together and continued fighting.

She was no use to the magical world when she was sobbing like no tomorrow.

So she prised herself out of James' grasp and looked up at all of them, fixing each of their worried stares with a look that immediately calmed them slightly. Hermione got to her feet slowly, using the beech tree for leverage as she stumbled her way towards the castle.

In an instant, Lily was by her side and holding her hand, beaming at her. "You have us now, 'Mione, don't forget that we'll be here for you."

"As long as you need it," said Remus solemnly, smiling slightly at her as he appeared on her other side.

James stood up, pleased with himself as he stood in front of her, taking her other hand and kissing it lightly. "Maybe when you don't want us," he finished, grinning at her as she grinned at him.

"Even then," said both Lily and Remus, sharing a surprised look as Hermione dissolved into giggles and began to tug them up to the castle.

Lily collapsed in the chair by the fire, stretching her feet and swinging them over the arm of the sofa. She watched Hermione amusedly as she brunette flopped, face first, into the couch opposite, her hair sticking up at odd angles. James and Remus had fled down to the Great Hall when they walked in on Sirius and his latest catch and neither girl had heard from them since.

Hermione groaned and raked a hand through her hair, glaring at Lily as she rested her chin on the arm. "Did you have to?" she moaned. "It was just a joke, Lily, you didn't have to go overboard and make it true!"

"Well, you didn't tell me that," sniffed Lily, sticking her nose primly in the air before giggling. "And anyway, the look on MacNair's face was worth it, don't you agree?"

"Yeah," agreed Hermione dully, attempting to tame her untameable hair. Lily sighed and rolled over so she was right behind her and began to work through the knots, tugging the curls through her fingers and huffing when it did not comply with her needs. "Ugh, I hate your hair," said Lily after fifteen minutes of trying to free her hand, which had been stuck in a particularly pedantic tangle.

Hermione laughed. "Me too," she spoke softly, smiling up at Lily. "I feel as though we've known each other forever," she said after a moment of silence. Lily nodded thoughtfully, yanking her hand out of Hermione's curls and making her companion hiss. She laughed and stood up, tugging Hermione after her and asking her to take her to her room. "Err... OK, then."

A few minutes later, both girls were rounding a corner and giggling uncontrollably. The corridor they had previously been in had contained only two occupants - James and Remus. Both boys had been either hitting their head against the wall and mumbling about brain damage and mental images or rocking back and forth on the floor, hugging themselves and looking truly mad. The former was obvious, but they were both surprised when James had blushed when he spotted Hermione and Lily walking past and began to follow Remus' example.

"Oh - my - Merlin," Lily hiccoughed as they stood in front of Evanna's portrait, who waved cheerily at them before saying, "Hello, Hermione!" Lily stopped and looked up at Evanna with her jaw dropped, her eyes wide and her giggles forgotten. "You can talk?"

Evanna smiled dreamily at her and nodded. "Yes, I can. I've been sleeping for a while, though, but when I was woken I was alerted to a guest within the walls so... well, you could say I hide more than one secret. She giggled as Hermione rolled her eyes and leaned forward, mumbling the password. Evanna waved at them as her portrait swung open, calling, "See you later, Evans!"

Hermione looked at Lily awkwardly as her friend gaped at her, pulling her backwards onto the sofa. "I actually think I might move in here," proclaimed Lily a moment later, grinning at her friend who giggled back. "I'm serious! Forget about moving into Gryffindor Tower, I'm moving in here!"

"You could, Miss Evans, if you wished," said a voice from behind them, and both girls whirled around, their wands at hand as they looked apprehensive - Lily - and almost exasperated - Hermione -, but were both relieved to see Dumbledore standing behind them. "But I'm afraid I must have a word with Miss Granger if that is to happen. I must talk to Miss Granger, if you would excuse us."

Lily blushed and stood up, tucking her wand away and left.

"I would like for you to tell me everything."

Dammit.

You lucky souls! I have updated early! Well, that chapter was fun to write. Kind of.

So, in response to Lionswing, who reviewed last chapter, the war started in their sixth year and was waged further and further until Voldemort really came to power. He hadn't actually been widely known until he started murdering the most powerful witches and wizards known, which happened after their sixth year. They, sadly, weren't trained nor prepared for the outside world, so they went out into the world without knowing a thing about protecting themselves.

Go Dumbledore! Yay!

Anyway, I'm sorry this one is so short, but I had set my mind on updating tonight and I have to get ready for a party tonight that's actually going on in an hour. So, see you in a bit while I go get glammed up or get seriously drunk on Pepsi!

Is that even possible?

Love,

Marlene