This chapter is dedicated to my dad – who is home for a week and surprised me on Saturday by showing up a day earlier than he said he would. Love you, Dad! :)
Disclaimer: "I must not tell others that I own the Harry Potter series. J. K. Rowling does and I am but a lowly Muggle, left to write in the wake of her excellence." Pffft, screw you, Umbridge. I own only the plot and Dumbledore's frisky gargoyle.
Practically picking her up and nearly tossing her off the train was an understatement.
They did pick her up and they did toss her off the train, barely giving her enough time to get her footing.
"Where are your bags?" Lily asked Hermione as she followed the brunette off the train, taking her eyes off the castle long enough to finally notice that the girl was still wearing weird jeans and an overly large sweater.
"Oh – we actually have to talk to Dumbledore about that," she answered, twirling the hem of her sweater in her hand, "Any idea where his office is?"
"Oh, yeah!" Lily beamed before deflating, "Err, but I can't show you yet. The Heads have to help the first years and all that. But Remus can show you!"
"What?" the teenager in question asked upon hearing his name.
"Remus, can you show Hermione, Fred and George where Dumbledore's office is?"
"Oh, sure thing, Lily," he smiled at the two girls, his gaze lingering on Hermione, "Where are your brothers anyway?"
Slightly panicking, she looked around and yelped when she saw that they were conversing with Sirius, Peter and James.
"Fred! George!" she yelled, making them turn around and grin at her, "No pranks this year, remember?"
They whined in harmony, "But Hermione - !"
"No buts! Now c'mon – we've got to go talk to Dumbledore," she frowned at them before turning back to Remus, "Brothers…."
He chuckled, "Although they're not biological, I completely understand." He looked over at James and Sirius, who were now in a loud discussion about Quidditch as the twins headed over towards them.
"Where are we off to again, Mione?" Fred asked, slinging an arm around her shoulders.
"Dumbledore, didn't you hear her before?" George asked him, slinging an arm around his brother's shoulders.
"Yes, and if you start skipping and singing 'we're off to see the wizard,' I will kill you," she vowed with a glare.
"That was only – "
" – One time, Hermione. But what's – "
" – Up your trousers this evening?" they finished together.
"You threw me out of the bloody train!" she huffed as she straightened up, "I could've gotten trampled!"
"Yes – that's a very distinct possibility here," Remus chuckled as he stepped away from two squabbling siblings, "But if you want to catch Dumbledore before the feast, we better head off now."
"Alright," the three chorused before waving to the remaining Marauders and Lily.
"So your parents wanted you back?" Remus asked as they strolled through the corridors, the three boys chatting idly as Hermione lagged behind, deep in thought.
"Yeah," Fred gave a one shouldered shrug, "Mums."
"What can you do?" George sighed wistfully.
"Oh hush up, the both of you," Hermione frowned up ahead, "You know you two wanted to come back."
"Shush, baby sister," they said together, whirling around to frown at her. She put her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out in retaliation, making them try not to smile at her.
"Alright, here we are, before you three decide to get into a full fledged sibling war," Remus smiled, stopping in front of a stone gargoyle, "Licorice wands." The gargoyle jumped back, revealing a staircase that wound up to a wooden door.
"See you later," he stated before walking off, hands in his pockets.
"Thanks, Remus!" Hermione called after him before following Fred and George up the staircase. She missed the fact that he had turned around to smile back at her, only instead he smiled at the gargoyle, which was giving him a very odd wink. Remus shuddered and hurried his pace down the corridor, suddenly deciding to never go back there alone.
"Come in," Dumbledore said as he heard the knock at his door, absentmindedly stroking Fawkes' head. The door opened and he looked up, blinking at two redheaded men and a petite brunette female. The three were looking uncomfortable before the young woman stepped up in front of the two, taking a deep breath and getting ready to jump into a very long explanation.
"I know you," he said before she could release the breath, startling the three.
"Y – you do?" Hermione questioned.
"Yes," he said, putting down his quill and standing up, "I met you all…in a dream."
"You did?" they asked, Fred sounding a little happier than his two companions.
"Yes," he strode over to them, reaching his hand out as if to touch Fred's shoulder, "You said you were from a wayward future, here to a time that was never yours to repair what was broken. Is this true?"
"Yes, sir," Fred answered for his open-mouthed twin and new little sister, "I'm Fred Weasley, and this is my twin George."
"Weasley?" Dumbledore repeated, "Would you, by any chance, be related to an Arthur Weasley?"
"He's our dad, sir," George started before wincing, "Err – will be our dad, in a few years, give or take."
"Molly Prewitt will be your mother, correct?"
"Yes, sir," the twins answered.
"And you are?" he turned to Hermione, making her blink at the sudden attention from her old headmaster.
"Hermione Jean Granger, sir," she answered.
"We're using her last name to save anyone from confusion," Fred told him.
"An excellent and wise decision," he nodded before sighing, "Well, I am afraid that I can be of no use to you three as for your quest. But as for a place for a proper education, I can manage that much."
"Thank you, Professor," Hermione smiled up at him.
He smiled back, "I take it that you were sent without any forewarning?"
"Did your dream tell you that, sir?" George asked.
"No, you're all dressed in sweaters when it's actually a very warm beginning to fall. I merely assumed. No matter – I shall dig something up and have them sent to your dorms this evening. All seventh years, I presume?"
"Yes, sir," they all answered together.
"Excellent. You shall be Sorted this evening, with the first years. This is not very normal behavior, but I have been told before that I am not very normal myself. In the meantime, shall I lead you down to the Great Hall to await your doom."
"Doom?" the three chorused, nervous expressions adorning their faces.
"Honestly, I thought you'd all have a sense of humor," he smiled before he led the way down the stairs.
"Moony!" Sirius cheered as the sandy haired teenager dropped into the seat next to him, "I thought I'd lost you!"
"Yeah," James grinned across the table, "Now what took you so long getting back here, hmm?"
Remus muttered something inaudible about a frisky gargoyle, making Sirius, James and Peter arch their eyebrows at each other before exploding into laughter. The other Gryffindors glanced down at them before sighing and turning back to what they were doing previously, seeing as they were all used to the Marauder's outbursts.
"Alright, what'd we miss?" Marlene asked as she slid in next to Peter, Lily having the misfortune to sit next to Sirius.
"Some weird new fetish Moony's got," James chuckled as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve, taking off his glasses to do so.
"No!" Remus frowned, "I walked the Grangers to Dumbledore's office and I was smiling at Hermione only Hermione wasn't there so instead I smiled at the gargoyle and it bloody winked at me!"
There was a silence before they started laughing again, Marlene and Lily joining in soon enough. Remus blushed and laid his head down on the table, refusing to look at anybody now.
"Aww, come on now, Moony," Sirius said as he patted his back, "At least you know that if it doesn't work out with Hermy, you've got a – " he let a laugh escape " – frisky gargoyle to keep you company."
"Stuff it, Padfoot," Remus growled, clutching his fork as he lifted his head to glare at the raven haired wonder.
"Who's Hermy?" Marlene questioned, "James' new owl?"
"No!" he snapped as they erupted into laughter once more, "There is no 'Hermy!'"
"My owl's name is Hercules, Mar, but close enough," James chuckled as he leaned back in his seat, arms behind his head as he let his foot keep his balance against the table.
"Oh, you mean Hermione, don't you?" Lily asked, green eyes lighting up as she figured out the answer, "That family sure is something, aren't they?"
"I'll say," Sirius said, "They dress rather weird, don't they?"
"Must be a Durmstrang thing," Peter shrugged.
"I dunno, I liked Hermione's jeans," Marlene commented, "She might even start a new trend."
"Doubt it," James snorted as Dumbledore stood up, quieting the students.
"Welcome back students, and I hope that you will welcome these new students as well," he smiled out at the crowd as McGonagall sat the stool down and unrolled a long list of parchment that nearly touched the floor. She cleared her throat and began the Sorting, shuffling in first year after first year. But after Adrian Zabini, she cleared her throat once more and read from the list -
"Granger, Fred."
In strolled long and lanky Fred, who sat down at the stool and snorted as his knees were practically to his ears. He stayed silent though as the murmurs swam through the crowd and the Hat was placed on his head.
"Well, you've got quite a story to tell, don't you?" the Sorting Hat whispered in his ear, "Been through a war, hid from darkness, and even then lost your life. Yet here you are, sitting where first years sit, completely unscathed."
"Well, I wouldn't say 'completely,'" he chuckled softly.
"Yes, I believe that wouldn't be a sufficient term. Well, there's really no doubt about it – GRYFFINDOR!"
The Great Hall was full of applause as Fred took off the Hat and handed it to a dazed McGonagall, who was trying to remember something. She gave her head a small shake and read from the list again –
"Granger, George."
George walked in, sitting down in the stool that had previously been occupied by his twin. The Hat was placed on his head and he was startled to find it whispering in his ear – only it was the ear that had been previously missing.
"Well, you too have an interesting story. Did you really lose your ear? But it seems perfectly fine!"
"S'long story," he murmured.
"Ah, yes, I see. Well, of course you belong in – GRYFFINDOR!"
Fred whooped as George jogged over to sit next to him, grins on their faces as McGonagall readjusted her glasses.
"Granger, Hermione."
Hermione strode confidently over to the stool, scoffing at the fact that she wasn't that much of a height difference from when she was eleven. The Sorting Hat blinded her view, leaving her to stare at the inside fabric.
"Well, I must say, you have the most interesting tale of all, Miss Granger. Had I never seen that certain spark in you, I would've put you into Ravenclaw. But I see great potential in you, great potential indeed. GRYFFINDOR!"
Hermione smiled at the two cheering redheads as she made her way over to them. Only she was detoured when two pairs of hands tugged her arms back and she was seated down next to Sirius and Remus, both of whom were grinning at her.
"Hullo, Hermione!" the Marauders chorused, making her smile at them.
"Hello," she said as Dumbledore stood up again.
"I welcome all of you to Hogwarts. Before we tuck in, I would like to go over a couple of rules. The Forbidden Forest is, as its name states, forbidden, and new and returning students alike would take care to remember that." He glanced over at the Marauders, who grinned back at him, then over at Fred and George, who feigned innocence. "If any of you are interested in playing Quidditch for your House, please see Madame Hooch and your Quidditch Captain. And, seeing as I can find no more to delay you from filling your bellies, I must say – tuck in!"
Food appeared on the table, many of the students rushing for their preferences. Hermione waited though, for fear of losing a limb. Fred and George caught her eye and the three began to have a quiet argument about who should move – them or her. Instead of the twins vouching for her to move over there and vice versa, Hermione actually wanted to move over there, while they wanted to move to where she was.
"No," she mouthed, "No, no, no, a hundred times no!"
"Hermione!" they mouthed back.
"No!"
"Pardon, but what was that disagreeing tone about?" Sirius asked as he looked at her sideways, an eyebrow arched.
Hermione blushed, seeing as she had just realized that she'd spoken aloud, "Oh, nothing, just arguing."
"Ahh, sibling arguing," Lily sighed happily, "Always get a kick out of it."
"I agree, fair Lily," Sirius smiled at the redhead before glowering over at the Slytherin table and muttering "Git."
"Anyway – tell us a bit about yourself, Hermione," James prompted.
"Err…like what?" she asked as she finally reached forward and grabbed a roll out of a nearly empty basket.
"Like…what do you like to do in your spare time? What type of people do you like to hang out with? Things like that?" Remus asked.
"Oh! Well, I love pole-dancing on the weekends, and my friends are usually crackheads – " she started before Sirius snorted pumpkin juice out of his nose. Lily coughed back a laugh as Remus chuckled into his meal.
"Oh, Hermione," Sirius sighed as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "I think we'll get along just fine."
"What's a pole-dancer?" James, Marlene, Peter and the oncoming twins asked.
"It's somebody who – ahh," Remus winced as Lily began to whistle, looking away and pretending to be uninterested in this conversation. Hermione was sinking lower in her seat, trying to find an escape. Sirius, however, grinned and stepped up to the task.
"It's a bird who removes herself of clothing and dances around on a pole," he smiled, setting his chin in his hand as James, Peter and Marlene all stared in shock at them, George and Fred snorting and setting to the task of finding somewhere to sit.
"Do you? I mean – do you really? Pole-dance?" James asked as he tugged a little at his collar.
"No!" she rolled her eyes with a smile. "I read, and my friends are usually very crazy, to be honest."
"In which case, I disown you," Sirius removed his arm from her shoulders, muttering something about how reading was for pansies.
"In which case, you and I will get along much better than you would have with Padfoot," Remus grinned at her, "Whose your favorite author?"
"Oh, umm…" she hummed as she reached forward and grabbed a piece of chicken with her fork, "Well…Shakespeare, I guess."
"Oh, really?" he smiled at her as Lily turned back to the conversation, "Favorite Shakespearean tale then?"
She pointed at herself and shrugged, "Duh." She then went back to her dinner, looking around for something else she could put on her plate.
"Ahh – The Winter's Tale," Lily smiled fondly at her, "Since what am I to say must be but that which contradicts my accusation, and the testimony on my part no other but what comes from myself, it shall scarce boot me, to say 'not guilty.'"
"As I weigh grief, which I would spare. For honor, 'tis a derivative from me to mine, and only that I stand for. I appeal to your own conscience, sir, before Polixenes came to your court, how I was in your grace, how merited to be so; since he came, with what encounter so uncurrent I have strained t' appear thus; if one jot beyond the bound of honor, or in act or will that way inclining, hardened be the hearts of all that hear me, and my near'st of kin cry fie upon my grave!" Hermione answered.
Shrugging, Remus put in his two Shakespearean cents, "Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."
"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool," Sirius interjected solemnly. There were many stares sent in his direction, to which he replied with an indignant "What?"
"You know Shakespeare, Padfoot?" Peter asked.
"Shakespeare?" Sirius blinked, "That's what my barmy cousin has been spouting for years? I thought she just kept making that stuff up!"
There were a few laughs as James shook his head and sighed, "Ohh Paddy – I doubt anybody will be able to understand you as well as you understand yourself."
"Too true, Prongs," he grinned back.
"Ahh!" Dumbledore practically screamed, making the students straighten and clutch at their wands, "I nearly forgot! The school song!" He waved his wand, a ribbon filled with words soaring out above them.
Hermione looked up and smiled as she sang along with the rest of the school, singing it to the tune of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,' Remus singing it to the tune of the alphabet – which was really the same tune as Hermione's – Sirius and James were going rapid-fire, and Peter just mouthed the words. Everybody was nearly done, except for Fred and George, who were going along at a slow funeral march. Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed her bread before chunking it at them, startling them and making them blink over at her.
"Hermione!" they gasped.
"What? Your song was rather crumby," she grinned up at them as she grabbed another roll.
"Yeah, and that bread was rather cheesy," George frowned down at her as Fred rolled his eyes.
"Something's a little bland here."
"Well, it certainly isn't sweet."
"Okay, enough with the food puns – I'm getting hungry again," James frowned at them. They laughed with him as Fred and George took their new seats, now passing Hermione's discarded roll between them like a misshapen hackie sack.
Alright, so, if you thought that chapter wasn't up to its full potential, blame the strep throat that has decided to plague me this week. William Shakespeare also owns his quotes, by the way.
I'd love reviews and favorites. I'd also love to have Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, but let's just stick with the more manageable of the two choices, hmm?