It seemed like every day there was another surprise at Hogwarts since the sudden appearance of the mysterious transfer students. They had taken the school by storm; claiming the title of most talked about students in the Hogwarts gossip mill. Theories abounded as to the truth of their origins and each story became more and more ridiculous as the school became further acquainted with their newest sixth year students. Further incredulity followed the three girls' notable absence during the first Hogsmeade trip, their strange yet synchronized behavioral patterns, and Luna Summerbee's now legendary penchant for odd jewelry.
One of the many outrageous rumors was that Hermione Durant was secretly the daughter of a muggle Mafia king and that Peasegood and Summerbee had been purchased through the black market as magical companions for Durant once the Family found out she was a witch. Now they were using Hogsmeade weekends to check back with their mob.
Apparently, when confronted as to whether or not this rumor was true, Hermione had burst into laughter and refused to comment. There was one certainty that was universally agreed upon as the students took more and more classes with the witches: the Transfer Trio were powerful, intelligent, and just plain weird.
In the weeks following the first day of the school year, 6th year classes shared by the Griffindors and Slytherins in particular had become very interesting indeed. Lily had found herself quite taken with Luna and was happy to finally have a girlfriend to hang out with now that Alice was spending most of her time in Frank Longbottom's room and Marlene had started to devote all her free time to Quidditch.
She'd always gotten on well with both girls and considered them good friends but the three had always been very independent of each other and tended to pursue their own interests separately.
For some reason though, she felt a strange connection to Luna and found her to be interesting, understanding, and oddly wise. She also found the girl's presence very soothing and didn't feel obligated to the usual social pressures she kept up around her peers. She had spent less time with Luna's Slytherin counterparts but still found their company to be quite enjoyable, even if she did often find herself stumbling over some of their stranger conversing habits.
The Marauders, to Lily's ire, had taken to sitting with them in all of their classes as well due not only to James's famous infatuation with Lily but also because the group genuinely found Luna to be quite entertaining, if a bit baffling. She had a habit of saying the oddest things at the most random of times, a habit that tended to be both humorous and endearing. However, being in Luna's presence did often mean being exposed to a different kind of company.
Thus, the once exclusively Griffindor group were joined in their Griffindor/Slytherin classes by Luna's three Slytherin friends, much to the chagrin of Sirius Black and James Potter whom for the most part endeavored to ignore their unwelcome presence except for their continued "covert" observation on the new students' behavioral patterns.
Remus as usual endeavored to remain neutral to the ongoing tension that seemed to only be on his two best friends' side of things and opted to observe discretely.
Peter was mostly just unsure as to how he was suppose to act around the new Slytherins that his good friends were wary of. He quite liked Luna and wasn't too keen on insulting her friends and losing the friendship of someone who actually bothered to listen to what he had to say for once. He felt like Luna might see him as an actual person and not just James and Sirius's tagalong. She had even given him advice to start engaging in conversations with other people, so as to "broaden his perspectives and bring him out of his shell." He had always lacked the self-confidence to step out of his friends' shadow and bring attention to himself but he took Luna's words to heart because she seemed like the type of person who knew what it was like to not be taken seriously.
It was during a Defense Against the Dark Arts class that Remus Lupin began to suspect that his new tentative friends might be even more advanced than any of them had originally suspected. And he had already suspected that they were well beyond the rest of the students in their year.
Professor Mallory, a new professor who seemed to reek of pretentious self-importance, had suddenly announced that they would now be learning the ancient and noble art of wizard dueling. Most of the sixth year students were terribly excited about this development with the notable exception of the Transfer Trio.
Remus, who had taken an avid interest in observing the three since their arrival (and not just because it had already been the Marauders plan to do so), was bemused to hear a soft scoff come from Hermione, which then drew a glance from Pansy who rolled her eyes knowingly. Luna just seemed almost amused. Remus couldn't quite comprehend any of these reactions to Mallory's sudden declaration and his confusion would only increase as the class wore on.
"Alright then," Professor Mallory began haughtily, "who would like to volunteer to help me demonstrate the proper procedure for a wizard duel?"
Several hands shot into the air but Professor Mallory's gaze seemed to zero in on the three transfer students, specifically Hermione, who was gazing at the ceiling with a rather put-upon expression. His eyes narrowed at the perceived impertinence and he ignored the other students.
"Miss Durant," he all but barked. Hermione slowly and deliberately lowered her head at the sound and leveled her gaze upon the professor coolly. Her amber-eyed scrutiny was rather unnerving and Mallory cleared his throat awkwardly before rallying. He'd be damned if he let a student intimidate him.
"Would you be so kind as to come forward and demonstrate for your classmates?" He asked condescendingly.
Hermione sat unblinking, leaning back with her arms casually crossed in front of her. To the collective astonishment of the class, she did not obediently rise from her seat to heed the professor's request.
"Why?" She asked seriously, the word surprisingly lacking impertinence but shocking all the same.
"Excuse me?" Mallory exclaimed in an affronted manner.
"I'm asking why I should comply to demonstrating a practice that goes against my beliefs," Hermione responded without mirth or any readable facial expression.
"What could you possibly mean by that?! Wizard dueling is a time-honored tradition that is not only a part of our culture, but has practical applications in the form of defense. Surely you cannot disagree that such knowledge is paramount in times such as these," Professor Mallory finished grandly to the general agreeing sounds of the students. The class turned expectantly to Hermione, half anticipating her to quail and half expecting her to bristle. She did neither but remained eerily calm.
"I beg your pardon for respectfully disagreeing with you sir. The rigid and outdated practice of wizard dueling is impractical and inefficient in real combat situations and can only be deemed as a vulgar sport that encourages violence between wizards under the guise of meaningless terms such as 'noble,' 'traditional,' and 'honoring'. I whole-heartedly support teaching students how to defend themselves but the format you suggest utilizing will only serve to impede the original effort," Hermione finished bluntly.
Stunned silence. It seemed most of the classroom was in a state of shock and had no idea how to react to the little speech Hermione had given. It only took a few moments, however, for the heavy silence to erupt into quickened conversations all at once, each person trying to be heard over the other.
The pureblood Slytherins were naturally crying out in outrage that a filthy mudbl—muggleborn would dare to insult one the oldest and most sacred of wizarding traditions. The Griffindor wizard-borns were confused as to whose side they should be taking. Agreeing with the muggleborn meant agreeing with a Slytherin and admitting that a practice they themselves valued was inadequate, but disagreeing with her would mean siding with the Sytherin pureblooded bigots that they all abhorred. It was a conundrum to say the least.
James and Sirius seemed to be glaring back and forth at Hermione and the rest of Slytherin despite not knowing which to be angry at. Peter was gaping at Hermione with something close to awe for daring to incur the wrath of almost the entirety of the room. Remus sat quietly, studying the scene around him and contemplating Hermione's words with more rationality than the others seemed capable of at the moment.
The way she had spoken, it was as if she had first hand experience in both wizard dueling as well as some sort of real world combat that required skill beyond the traditional technique. He could tell that she was completely serious in her declarations and was impressed that she barely even acknowledged the chaos erupting around her. She kept her eyes planted firmly on Professor Mallory, waiting for his answer.
Although Professor Mallory was stewing over that fact that a mere student had the audacity to try to undermine him and create chaos in his own classroom in the form of denouncing wizard dueling, he managed to quiet the class down after creating a distracting boom with his wand that reverberated around the room and startled the rowdy teenagers into stillness. Mallory decided he would have to take action in order to reestablish his authority.
"Miss Durant," He began through gritted teeth, "It seems to me that you are simply making up an excuse because you don't possess the skill or grace to compete in a formal wizard duel yourself and therefor condemn it in order to not be held accountable for your inadequacies. Therefor, I hereby challenge you to a duel to disarm; for the purpose of not only setting an example for the class as you were originally asked but to begin to rid you of this silly notion."
The class was still silent as everyone turned to view Hermione's reaction to the surprising declaration. Even the rest of the Slytherins were shocked that a professor would actually challenge a student to an official duel. Such challenges were taken very seriously in the wizarding world.
The class watched in confusion as Hermione merely raised one eyebrow before heaving a rather large sigh and rolling her eyes. She then rose slowly from her seat and turned around to face Luna and Pansy. The two aforementioned girls glanced at each other immediately and Pansy gave Luna a small nod of ascension. Luna smiled in her dreamy way and then also rose to her feet.
Hermione turned around to face Professor Mallory and stated in a bored sort of voice, "Luna will be my second."
This surprised most in the room for two reasons: the first being that Hermione seemed not only comfortable and knowledgeable about the situation but unnervingly bored with it. The second reason being that a Griffindor had been chosen as her second.
Everyone knew the girls had all come to the school together, but since the other transfer student was also a Sytherin most assumed that Hermione's second would be her housemate, as was the natural order of things.
The reactions were as followed: A raised eyebrow of interest from Severus Snape, widened eyes and mounting suspicion in the faces of Sirius Black and James Potter, confusion and apprehension from Peter Pettigrew, an inquisitive tilt of the head from Remus Lupin, two raised eyebrows from Lily Evens, and indignant huffs from all other Slytherins.
The girls made their way calmly to the front of the class where Professor Mallory still stood, slightly unsettled by the unanticipated reaction he had just witnessed. However, he once again rallied quickly and scanned the class.
"Who will volunteer as the other second?" He asked expectantly, knowing that the act was just a formality but respecting the tradition of it all the same.
"I will, sir," a voice from the Slytherin side of the room called out. Avery stood and confidently strode toward the front before any further argument could be made. He threw a threatening smirk towards Hermione; ever since that first day when he found out she was a mudblood, he began to resent her more and more as she quickly rose to the top of the academic rankings.
Mudbloods were not meant to be so talented and any deviation from this rule offended him on principal. Not only that, but she seemed to constantly seek Snape out for some reason, preventing Mulciber and Avery from putting their usual pressure on him and deterring their penchant for dragging him into their plots. His extensive knowledge of the dark arts had come in handy a time or two and Avery was loath to surrender the seemingly apathetic but useful boy to an overbearing mudblood who couldn't take a hint. This was his chance to see her taken down a notch without actually having to chance confronting her himself.
Hermione ignored him entirely. She and Luna had already assumed their positions for a formal duel with cool indifference. Hermione's wand seemed to have appeared in her hand without anyone noticing from where she had even pulled it.
Hermione turned her head slightly to address the professor.
"Is it safe to assume that because you have challenged me to a duel in order to prove the competency of the traditional wizarding duel, I will be granted the courtesy of proving the counter argument?"
Professor Mallory was thrown momentarily by this confident inquiry before readjusting his facial features into a condescending smirk.
"You are granted the courtesy of trying," He sneered mockingly.
Hermione merely inclined her head and assumed her position in front of the professor to go through the ritual movements preceding a traditional dual.
After bowing to one another, pacing away, and turning about face, the two duelists assumed the traditional stance of wizard dueling wherein the dueler faces his body to one side with his wand arm extended toward his target.
Professor Mallory, in an attempt to catch Hermione off guard and end this a soon as possible, immediately sent off two spells in rapid succession.
"Expellarmus! Stupefy!"
Before most in the room could even blink, Hermione had cast up a silent shield, sent a blasting hex just close enough to Mallory's nose to cause him to stumble backward awkwardly and then sent a lazy Expellarmus toward the space he was forced to fall into, which took away any chance of him dodging.
Upon deftly catching his wand in her unoccupied hand, Hermione turned completely away from the professor and addressed the bewildered class.
"Counterpoint number one," she stated in her lecture voice, "the stance used in traditional style dueling, while aesthetically pleasing, leaves the wizard in a vulnerable position to unbalancing attacks and impedes the use of a vital and often overlooked skill: dodging."
Hermione abruptly turned back to Mallory who was only just then shaking off the shock of the previous events.
"As I'm sure I merely caught you by surprise Professor, perhaps you wish to give it another go?" She asked innocently.
The professor narrowed his eyes at the young witch before him, clearly irked that she had got the best of him. But being a rather arrogant and prideful man, Mallory felt he had no choice but to duel her again and prove that she really had only caught him by surprise the first time.
"Quite right, let us begin for real this time," the professor stated with unfounded arrogance.
Hermione once again inclined her head politely but just as her face was turned away from Mallory's line of sight, Remus's sharp eyes caught the barest hint of a smirk. She's toying with him. He suddenly realized. She has no doubts as to what direction this duel will go.
Remus had been appropriately flabbergasted by Hermione's first performance, even more so than the other students owing to his ability to properly follow her movements with his enhanced vision. Every motion was completely precise and deliberate. Like a well-practiced and graceful dance that was so fleeting and subtle that only I could see it.
Now seeing this display of calm self-assurance, he had a sneaking suspicion that Hermione Durant was about to put on a grand performance and he found himself excited to see what amazing thing she might do next.
They once again went through the ritualistic motions before jumping headfirst into a fast paced duel that had onlookers holding their breath with each flurry of spells. While the duel was lasting longer than the first one, there could be no confusion as to who was in control of the battle.
Hermione moved and shot spells with such a lazy ease that it looked as if she was barely trying. Mallory on the other hand seemed to be getting more frustrated with each failed attack. Remus had the distinct impression that Hermione was intentionally drawing this dual out for her own purposes. The implications of such skill were both terrifying and fascinating.
The proof of this hypothesis came moments later when Hermione turned most of her attention to the class while simultaneously continuing to counter the professor's attacks.
"Counterpoint number two," Hermione stated conversationally while mouths began to literally drop open around the room, "once a witch has memorized the various traditional techniques and strategies that most average wizards draw upon, the opponent's moves become predictable and easy to counter." She recited all of this while easily deflecting and redirecting each of the professor's attacks all without even a glance in his direction.
She then casually turned back toward Professor Mallory, who was beginning to get quite red in the face, and finished the duel in a rapid series of dynamic wand movements that cast various distractions before once again simply disarming her opponent. As with before, most of the class could only make out the blurred movements of her body while Remus was keenly aware of each precise and deliberate movement.
He turned with the rest of the class to see the professor's expression and was startled along with his classmates to find Luna Summerbee standing directly behind the man with her wand pressed firmly into his neck, expression unchanged from her usually dotty smile. Nobody remembered seeing the blonde-haired girl move from her position behind Hermione.
Hermione turned back to her class while flicking her wrist to retract her wand into the holster under her shirtsleeve that had previously gone unnoticed.
"Counterpoint number three: while wizard duels have rules and regulations, real life doesn't conform to such constraints. To assume you only have one opponent to focus on in a battle can be a fatal mistake, not to mention the inadvisable action of underestimating your opponent. Carelessness and arrogance almost always leads to defeat. Constant vigilance," Hermione smirked at this last statement as if making an inside joke. The class just continued to gape at her.
"Well, I believe that's all we have time for today. Was there any kind of homework assignment you wished to give us Sir?" she asked politely while staring at Mallory as if she hadn't just completely undermined his whole worldview and quite soundly kicked his arse in front of a class of sixth years.
The man had been standing stock still with a rather stupid look on his face that betrayed his shock, bafflement, and slight uneasiness. It would seem his anger had dissipated into a wariness that only continued to grow more unsettled.
"Class is dismissed," He announce abruptly before stalking off into his office.
Hermione watched him go before turning innocently back to Luna who was staring at some spot over the top of Peter Pettigrew's head, "Was I too hard on him?"
Luna replied without even moving in her airy voice, "I'm sure he'll be fine Hermione. In time. Not to worry."
The rest of the class had yet to move despite their dismissal, each in their own thoughts over what they had witnessed. Only a few of the Slytherins began to trickle out the door as they realized they had no desire to confront their housemate after witnessing the extent of her ability.
The first to speak of those remaining was James Potter, shouting the one question many in the room were silently thinking in their shock, "What in Merlin's name was that?!"
While most everyone's eyes turned to regard the Griffindor, it was Pansy that replied in her usual snarky manner, "I believe that's what they call a wizard's dual Potter. I would think you of all people would be familiar with the concept."
James predictably glared at Pansy for this statement and Sirius let out a growl that, while angry, had a strange undertone to it. Just when it looked like James was about to make an irate retort, an unexpected voice broke the tense silence.
"That was so amazing," breathed Peter Pettigrew in an apparently involuntary announcement. He wore a look of complete awe that was not dissimilar to the expression he often wore when in the presence of James and Sirius, only this time it was turned full blast on Hermione with an air of reverence. "How did you learn to do that?" He asked in a daze.
James and Sirius gaped toward the boy while Remus tried to stifle a grin at this turn of events while secretly in full agreement with his friend's words.
Hermione regarded the short blonde boy with a tilted head and an unreadable expression on her face. It had been hard the first day of school to see the younger version of the traitor that played a large part in the misery her best friend suffered during his life. It was only after a long talk with Luna that Hermione had conceded that this Peter Pettigrew was still a child and had not even begun to travel down the dark road that would lead him to Voldemort. Luna firmly believed that they would be able to change the course of his future as well if the proper countermeasures were taken.
It was thus that Hermione had made the difficult decision to make an effort with Peter while still being cautious as to the amount of information he was privy to.
She started by giving him a warm smile that surprised many of the Griffindors still observing the scene, as this was her first time even acknowledging Peter's existence.
"Thank you Peter. Those skills were acquired through a lot study, intense training, and practice." Hermione's expression darkened somewhat as she mumbled, "Not to mention necessity."
She hadn't really intended for anyone to hear her murmur but as it happened the people within the area of their little remaining group caught her words and absorbed their meaning. Remus was frozen in thinly veiled horror, thinking that perhaps his suspicions about the transfers might be legitimate.
But how does a sixteen year-old girl end up learning to duel like that out of necessity? Remus wanted desperately to just come out and ask the mysterious girl about her past, but he hadn't quite gotten up the courage to speak freely with her after he first introduced himself and the Marauders.
He had only spoken to her casually in passing and even in those times he felt like her eyes seemed to soften as she spoke to him, leaving him with the unnerving feeling that he should know her. Like there was a connection between them that he had yet to figure out. Needless to say, he usually ended up blushing and spluttering only a few unintelligible words in return to her casual greeting, which is not exactly conducive to having an actual conversation with the girl.
While these thoughts flashed across his mind he idly noticed that James had a frown on his face while Sirius was raising one eyebrow. He assumed they found her statement to be somewhat baffling (or, knowing them, suspicious).
Lily, for her part, had opened her mouth in a somewhat horrified manner while the unobtrusive Severus Snape appeared to have widened his eyes in surprise. Peter, as usual, seemed oblivious to the implications given and continued on naively.
"I've never been that good at this sort of thing… James and Sirius though!" he exclaimed with a thumb pointed over his shoulder, "They're right brilliant in a scrap and Remus has always been top of the class in Defense; mind, we don't get to see his skills that often on account of him not being keen on dueling outside of class," Peter finished in an enthused rant.
James's and Sirius's expressions had morphed into cocky smirks at Peter's usual praise but Hermione's gaze had shifted to Remus upon hearing the last of his statement. She smiled fondly at him, remembering how he had always been her favorite DADA professor.
Meanwhile, Remus blushed slightly under the praise of his fellow Marauder and after meeting Hermione's gaze turned an even deeper shade of red at being gazed upon in such an intimate way by the intense girl that had occupied his thoughts as of late. What is wrong with me? He thought distantly. Why do I keep reacting this way to her?
Hermione took in the curious sight of her young former professor blushing brightly as his stormy, dark eyes met hers and she suddenly felt a peculiar tingling sensation go down her spine. She almost felt like giggling, something she hadn't done in years and rarely even then at that.
To distract herself from her bizarre reaction to his blushing face, she turned back to Peter with a smile that she hoped appeared friendly. She had never had the best social skills to begin with and years of leading a war resistance had taken a toll on her patience with idle conversation, but she liked to think that she was a good judge on what behaviors and words were needed in whatever situation she came across. She had certainly learned a lot from Luna on how to empathize with people.
"I'd be glad to tutor you sometime if you'd like," she responded looking the blonde boy in the eye, "I have a bit experience in this sort of thing." A bit being ten years training what were essentially children to hold their own against swarms of Deatheaters. Hermione didn't let any of that dark sarcasm flow into her words, though, as she was endeavoring to be encouraging.
The majority of the group gaped at the sight of a Slytherin offering to tutor a Griffindor for no apparent reason. Peter's eyes bulged and his expression morphed into one of surprised delight. James and Sirius had never helped him with any of his subjects before and Remus was usually too busy or too tired and when he wasn't one of those the group spent their time pranking and such.
While Peter knew he had never been the best at school, part of his problem lay in simply not understanding what was being taught and he had ended up just following his friends around rather than try as hard as he could only to end up lost in their shadow once again.
Peter had been very intimidated by Hermione Durant since the first time he laid eyes on her but today his admiration had outweighed his fears and he discovered that she might be nicer then she let on. He was able to see why Luna valued her friendship. And maybe even he could improve with a tutor like Hermione helping him!
Now Remus was the type of person that never took the good things in his life for granted because, in his mind, he did not deserve happiness. He felt that he was a monster and therefore couldn't bring himself to hope for anything else, let alone feel deserving or envious of anything that might be lacking in his life.
This was why he was quite startled to feel an emotion run through him that he hadn't allowed himself to feel since he was a child. It was a slight irritation of sorts combined with a strange longing. Jealousy? Was he seriously feeling jealous of Peter? The feeling unsettled him and it was perhaps this breech in his carefully constructed mental and emotional walls that prompted him to impulsively speak out.
"Is that an open invitation?" He drawled with one eyebrow raised, much to his own surprise as well as those who knew him. It was unlike Remus to bring such attention to himself and even more rare to hear him speak in such a challenging, if not suggestive tone.
Hermione was actually uncharacteristically caught off guard for a moment. She had grown accustomed to Remus's silent observation and muttered responses and had resigned herself to waiting for him to decide which direction he would take in the precarious group dynamic they had unofficially established.
While she had really wanted to talk to him, she was worried that directly approaching him would come off as strange. She knew that Remus posed the most threat in figuring out their secret prematurely despite how unobtrusive he made himself. She was surprised that he had suddenly broke habit and spoken to her so directly and confidently. After shaking off her surprise though, Hermione felt a small surge of happiness at his words and the opening he seemed to have finally made for her.
"I was under the impression that you were the resident Defense expert, Remus," Remus felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as she said his name for the first time, "surely you don't need any extra tutoring."
Her smile was teasing but at the same time held a warmth that made Remus want to blush again but he was still running off his previous boldness and managed to reply smoothly, "There is always room for improvement and from what I've observed I have little doubt there are certainly things that I could learn from you if you'll have me."
He continued to stare intently into Hermione's bright eyes as the remaining group around him continued to be somewhat bemused by this sudden turn of events. After briefly meeting Remus's sideways glance they almost collectively turned to gauge Hermione's reaction and were even more surprised by the embarrassed blush that just barely tinted her cheeks. It was the first time they had seen her cool and confident mask slip in the slightest and even the most stubborn of the Marauders found her reaction intriguing.
Hermione would have been mortified if she had realized anybody had taken note of her automatic reaction to Remus's words. As it was, she was too busy being embarrassed and terribly flattered at having her former Professor praise her in such a way.
Well, her reaction was at least partly due to that. It might also have had something to do with the damn teenage hormones invading her system and twisting Remus's words into an entirely different meaning that she wasn't even aware she was capable of imagining.
Sexual desire was not something she had experienced in a very long time and she couldn't help but blame her new teenage body for smashing through the blockade created to hold back such desires due to the trauma of her past encounters with certain Deatheaters. She certainly hadn't factored in the possibility of letting herself find any man attractive in that way ever again, let alone Remus Lupin aka her former professor, once fellow Order member, and presently her teenage classmate.
She scrambled to squash all such thoughts back into the box that they no longer fit in, trying to focus on the real reason she was here. She had a mission and that mission came before everything else. Such thoughts were highly inappropriate at this juncture. Not to mention potentially disastrous for her psyche.
Remus's response had felt like the most natural thing in the world until he glanced around at the baffled looks his friends sent him before they collectively turned in Hermione's direction, whereupon their expressions shifted to surprise. Remus turned his gaze to see as well and froze at registering the look that occupied the curly-haired witch's face.
This was the most open he had ever seen her expression and she looked as if she was shifting from mild embarrassment to a slightly flustered state that for some reason sent an instinctive shiver though the werewolf. He felt oddly excited and nervous for reasons quite unknown to him.
A loud whistling was heard and the attention shifted to Sirius who had a slightly lecherous grin on his face. "Since when have you been such a smooth talker Moony? And propositioning a Slytherin no less!"
He laughed at his own words as Remus suddenly turned bright red at the thought that his words might have been interpreted in such an ungentlemanly way, even if the darker part of him relished the idea of her flustered state being caused because of such a misinterpretation, and turned back nervously to see what Hermione's reaction would be.
Surprisingly, this comment seemed to melt Hermione's previous expression away and transform back to her neutral one before pointedly ignoring Sirius's statement and saying, "I am quite flattered that you think so Remus, and I would be happy to include you in the invitation as well. In fact, we could all have group sessions together to practice with each other if anyone else is so inclined." She addressed this to the rest of the group as well. Remus wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed.
It was Lily, head tilted slightly as if in contemplation that spoke up, "You know, that could be kind of fun. We don't get much practical application in class and our
Defense education up until now has been highly irregular due to having a different teacher every year. I'm in."
She smiled brightly and Hermione couldn't help but smile genuinely back. Although people had always said that Harry was a replica of James except for Lily's eyes, Hermione had discovered that her Harry could be found in Lily's expressions and mannerisms. She saw him in his mother's smile, in her frown, and in her caring but temperamental personality. These were among the many things that caused Hermione to often ironically see Harry more in his red headed mother rather than his physically similar father.
While, it saddened her to be reminded of her lost best friend it also brought her comfort to still see traces of him in this world. Perhaps she would be able to meet him again one day; in a world safe from the hell he'd once known.
James's head had immediately jerked in his love's direction upon hearing Lily's declaration as if he were a guard dog suddenly alerted to attention. "I'm in, too!" he suddenly called out without a second thought and jumped to his feet as if to emphasize his statement, earning a startled glare from his best friend and slightly bemused look from the object of his affections. Hermione covered her mouth to hide a smile once more; obviously, Harry's rash impulsiveness was from his paternal side of the family.
"Prongs! She's a Slytherin! This might just be a nasty trap she's been plotting," Sirius exclaimed incredulously. He heard Peasegood give a low growl at his words and that made him both frown and become distracted from staring at his best friend. Hermione merely rolled her eyes.
"We'll talk about this later," she said suddenly in a world weary voice, "we'll be late to our next class at this rate and I'm in no mood to listen to your hypocritical denunciations anyway. I've got way too many other obligations."
With that, Hermione made to sweep out of the room, Luna and Pansy somehow managing to fall effortlessly into step beside her without further discussion. The room was left staring after them before Severus silently rose and followed after the classmates who were more welcoming to, if not insistent upon, his presence.