CHAPTER 5

Hermione woke up early the next morning and glanced at the schedule on her nightstand. She had Arithmancy all morning, and she suddenly remembered what Lily had said: Sirius is the only one who's taking Arithmancy, so he'll be able to show you where that class is held. She took a deep breath, a bit nervous to be escorted to a class with Harry's godfather when she had just realized that her Amortentia potion smelled very much like him.

She sat next to Lily and James in the Great Hall for breakfast, drowning her pancakes in maple syrup and picking at them nervously. James and Lily were locked in their own world: Lily was giggling shyly as James kept a hand protectively around her waist.

"Will you two get a room?" Sirius said, rolling his eyes. Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry, mate," James replied, his glasses askew.

"Arithmancy today, right Hermione?" Lily said, and she nodded. "Sirius, you've got that class this morning, too, right?"

Sirius nodded and looked at Hermione. She took a moment to really take in his appearance. She'd never really done it before: in her own time, Sirius had been nearly twenty years her senior. Though she'd always loved his cavalier attitude, she'd never really looked at him as more than an uncle figure. Now, she took the opportunity to really look at him. He had a confidence about him that only came with growing up in a wealthy aristocratic family. Yet, he wasn't snobbish. He had straight, jet black hair that fell to his chin. She imagined it would be silky smooth to the touch. He had a straight nose and strong jawline, tanned skin, and strong, muscular shoulders that were straining at the fabric of his robes.

"Would you mind showing her where it is?" Lily continued, her hand resting on James's knee.

"Not at all," Sirius said, flashing his handsome smile at her.

She smiled back at him, looking into his beautiful grey eyes. They looked so bright and vibrant compared to the dark, sunken eyes that she had seen when he escaped from Azkaban. She shook her head, breaking herself from her trance and blocking that memory from her mind; it broke her heart to think of the fate that awaited him.

After they ate, Sirius stood and offered his arm to her as though he were an usher escorting her to her seat. She giggled and threaded her hand through his arm, and they walked out of the Great Hall together. What am I doing? she admonished herself. This is Harry's godfather!

"Why did you scream when you saw me in the corridor?" asked Sirius, interrupting her worries.

"Oh!" she said, smiling, her arm still in his. "I was just . . . surprised."

"I got that much," he said with a laugh. "You scared the living daylights out of me, you know."

"I'm sorry," she replied. "I was lost and not expecting to find . . . a student."

"Yes, it is rather strange to find a student in a school," he said, eyeing her quizzically.

She laughed and shook her head.

"I suppose I was just nervous, and perhaps a bit frightened," Hermione answered. "This place is very different from where I used to be."

Sirius nodded. He released her arm and let her walk into the Arithmancy classroom first.

"I normally sit at this back table by myself," he said with a smile, "but I'll be willing to let you join me."

Hermione smiled. She was standing close enough to him to smell him, and sure enough, he smelled like sage and leather. Her knees gave way as she sunk into the chair he had pulled out for her. Her brain had gone to mush with that smile, with the way his bright eyes twinkled at her and his black hair fell over his face.

"Thanks," she replied quietly.

"No worries, love," he said, seating himself and scooting his chair forward.

For the first time in her life, Hermione could not pay attention in class. Fortunately, she had already taken most of N.E.W.T. level Arithmancy and was quite familiar with the subject, but she would normally be taking this as an opportunity to review what she had learned already. Instead, her mind kept wandering to Sirius. Not the Sirius she knew as the tired, gaunt adult who was Harry's godfather, but the Sirius she knew as a handsome young man in her year at Hogwarts. She kept finding herself smiling absently and staring into space, then jumping back to attention and trying desperately to catch up in the lecture.

(())

Sirius noticed that Hermione was having a difficult time concentrating. She kept letting her quill sink to one side until it nearly fell out of her hand before immediately straightening up and furiously transcribing notes once again. He laughed to himself as he wondered if it was him that was keeping her so distracted. As a bit of a test, he capped his ink bottle and sort of let it . . . accidentally roll across the table. He reached across Hermione to pick it back up, bringing himself within inches of her face as he took back his ink bottle, and saw her tense.

"Sorry, love," he whispered against her face in a husky voice before returning to his side of the table.

She didn't move for about ten minutes after that. Sirius grinned. He had a bit of a well-deserved reputation at Hogwarts. Compared to his friends, Sirius was a bit of a playboy. James had been pining for Lily since their first year, and he hadn't bothered to go after anyone else. Peter had dated a Hufflepuff girl a year behind them for nearly two years, but they'd broken up at the end of sixth year. Peter was heartbroken, and he'd been single since. Remus was far too noble to let a girl get too near him given his "condition," although he was good-looking enough that girls often tried and Remus occasionally dabbled in short-lived romance.

Sirius, on the other hand, had dated around. He'd been experimenting since his fourth year, but he had never really fallen for anyone. Yet, here he was, staring at the new girl next to him and hoping she was as smitten with him as she seemed. It wasn't usual for him to feel jealous, but he had found himself narrowing his eyes when she sat next to Peter in lessons. He'd felt a peculiar tightening in his chest when she had smiled warmly at Remus. And when he had seen her staring at Snape, a vicious monster had reared its head inside him, wanting to throttle Snape for even glancing in her direction. For Merlin's sake, he was even jealous of James when he sat next to her in Potions, and he knew his best mate wasn't interested in Hermione in the least. He was lost in thought during class, and only snapped back to attention when it was time to head back to the Great Hall for lunch.

"How was Arithmancy?" James asked.

"It was fine," Hermione said quickly.

"I don't know how you survive that class. It's so tedious!" said Remus.

"I've always enjoyed it," Sirius said. "It's nice to have one class a week away from you lot."

A chorus of laughter erupted from around the table.

"Speaking of us lot," James interjected, pulling something out of his back. "I've got something for you, Sirius."

Sirius raised an eyebrow as James handed over a package wrapped in brown paper. James gave him a knowing look and Sirius put it away, peeking inside the wrapper to see a motorcycle parts catalog and grinning happily.

"What are you up to now?" said Lily suspiciously.

"Nothing, dear," James replied, planting a kiss on her forehead before standing and taking both his and her bags. "Off to History of Magic, then."

Sirius stood and grabbed his things, watching Hermione do the same. He was drawn to her, and he tried to convince himself it was just because she was new and different, an unfamiliar challenge. He was watching her petite, curvy figure walk ahead of him when he heard Remus next to him clearing his throat. His friend was raising an eyebrow at him, and Sirius felt his face split into a guilty grin.

The low drone of Binns's lecture gave Sirius the perfect opportunity to simply sit and watch her. She sat across the classroom from him, and she was drinking in every word that the Professor said, an amazing feat considering the man was dead, after all. Remus was sitting next to him, taking notes here and there but mostly just doodling little dogs and wolves that moved when you touched them with your wand. Sirius chuckled as he watched the dog in the drawing tackle the wolf and growl playfully. It reminded him of those long nights of the full moon. He looked back over at Hermione, whose long, bushy hair was resting reluctantly on her back as she remained absorbed in the lecture. How she could manage to find so much of interest in a class that perpetually discussed Goblin rebellions was beyond him.

(())

The next day during Care of Magical Creatures, Hermione's gaze couldn't help but drift over to the small hut near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Professor Kettleburn was a fantastic teacher, and he had awarded twenty points to Gryffindor when she successfully identified a fire crab, which Hagrid had crossed with a Manticore in her Fourth year.

"We'll have just one of these for the year," Kettleburn said excitedly. "They tend to eat each other if you keep more than one around."

Hermione laughed and looked again toward the hut, remembering vividly the nightmare that was Hagrid's Blast Ended Skrewts. After class, she told her friends that she'd catch up with them later, covering by insisting that she wanted to talk to the Professor about what she'd missed in the previous weeks. When her friends were safely out of sight, Hermione traipsed across the grounds and knocked on the door. She immediately heard a sound she had not expected: a small yapping sort of sound. She was used to the roaring barks emanating from the hut, and she was having trouble picturing Hagrid with a tiny mutt, even twenty years earlier.

"Settle down, Fang, you blasted pup!" she heard a familiar voice say.

A smile spread across her face when the door opened and a tiny puppy was fighting to make its way out the door. Hagrid was holding it back with his foot, and he looked down and smiled at Hermione politely.

"May I help yeh, Miss?" he asked, his cheeks a rosy sort of red from being in front of the roaring fire.

"HAGRID!" she cried, and couldn't help jumping at him and hugging him.

He stumbled backward, trying to push her off, as he obviously wasn't used to strange students suddenly embracing him.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "I just-"

"Are you alright?" he asked, straightening his clothes. "Can I get yeh some tea?"

"I'd love some tea," said Hermione, sitting in an overstuffed chair and lifted the tiny puppy into her lap. "Oh, he's so small! Is this really Fang?"

"That's Fang, alright. Just got him at the start o' term. Reckon he'll be of use in the Forbidden Forest when he's a bit bigger," Hagrid said, pouring tea for them both. "Now, if yeh don't mind me askin', who are you?"

"Oh, Hagrid!" Hermione said, and she explained the entire story to him, not leaving anything out.

"And so we know each other? In the future?" Hagrid said, scratching his enormous head.

"Yes!" she cried. "It's been so difficult being here, it's so different. And I know I probably shouldn't be here, I'm sure I'm affecting the future, but I couldn't help it! You're one of our favorite Professors!"

"Professor?" Hagrid said. He was staring at her. Suddenly, he let out a huge belly laugh. "Oh, yeh really had me goin' there. I thought you were serious about this time travel mess for a bit. Professor! Ha!"

"But Hagrid-"

"Very funny indeed," he said, chuckling. He went about putting away the tea mugs, just laughing and shaking his head as Hermione tried to insist that he was a Professor in the future.

"My dear, er, what did yeh say yer name was?" he asked.

"Hermione Granger," she said.

"Hermione. You can feel free to come down here ter see me any time yeh want," Hagrid said, smiling and still chuckling.

He ushered her out the door and she reluctantly made her way back to the castle. She ate a quick lunch and went to Herbology with her friends, enjoying a very interesting lesson on wand trees. After class, she followed James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, and Peter to a large tree next to the lake.

"Hermione, meet our tree. Tree, this is Hermione," James said jokingly as he slid his back down the trunk and sat on the ground.

"Hello, tree," she said, playing along.

Lily rested next to James, his arm curled around her shoulders, and they relaxed, enjoying the crisp fall air on a Friday afternoon. Amanda Jones, the Gryffindor Seeker, wandered down to meet them, kneeling down next to Remus. She was chatting with James about their Quidditch strategy, and occasionally, she tried to make eye contact with Remus, who was steadily ignoring her in favor of a novel. Sirius was leaning back on his elbows, his shaggy black hair shining in the sun. Peter was throwing rocks into the lake, trying to rouse the giant squid. Hermione took the chance to pull out one of her textbooks.

"No, no, no," James said, sitting up. "No textbooks around the tree."

"It will hurt its feelings," added Sirius, and Peter laughed loudly.

Hermione huffed a sigh and put her textbook away, smiling.

"Did you enjoy your first week at Hogwarts, Hermione?" Lily asked, still snuggled next to James.

"Yes, it was lovely. Thank you all for helping me fit in so well," Hermione answered.

"It was nothing," James said dismissively. He had picked up a rock and was tossing it up and down absently in the air.

"Of course," Remus continued. "It's always nice to make a new friend."

Hermione smiled. While she missed Harry and Ron dearly, a small part of her almost wished that she could just stay in this time, become friends with the Marauders. She imagined making herself the Potters' Secret Keeper, just so Harry could have parents and Sirius could survive. Then, she shook her head. Awful things happen to witches who meddle with time, she reminded herself. Still, looking at James, who was nuzzling Lily flirtatiously with his nose, and Sirius, who had his eyes closed and seemed to be basking in the sun, she wished nothing more than to give them a better future than she knew they would have. Resignedly, she leaned back in the soft grass and let herself relax in the sun as well.