I dedicate this chapter to my friend since kindergarten, Alec – despite the fact that he's been a jerk recently, I still have to like the dork.

Disclaimer: I own only the plot and Flower-Child Hermione, along with the boggart essay and the number 'W.'

George sighed, looking over at the brunette, who was chewing on a quill. She caught his eye and nodded her agreement, going back to chewing on the feather. How she could do that without coughing or choking or something, he'd never know.

"Honestly, when will you just grow up?" Lily asked James, his wand to his lips as an imaginary trumpet.

"Oh but Lily dear – why grow up when it's more fun to act like you haven't gotten past your ninth birthday?" James asked her, dropping his wand and leaning towards her, a smile on his face.

"You could grow up because the world outside of Hogwarts is dark – bleak, gloomy and gray – and people don't need boys stuck in a man's body, they need men who would do anything to protect people they love," she concluded, frowning at him.

He dropped the smile, regaining the attention of George and Hermione, "So you're saying I wouldn't fight then?"

Lily sighed, "No, James, I'm not saying that – I'm just saying that you need to stop acting like a – a – that prat!" She stopped, suddenly searching through her bag, nearly to the point of dumping the contents on the floor, "Where is it?"

"Where's what?" James asked her.

"Ooh – if it's my brain, I need that back, 'kay?" George said, "Can't go 'round using Freddie's now, can I?"

"I thought you split that in half," Hermione turned to him, looking at him curiously, feather still to her lips.

"Nah – we started a timeshare program," he waved it away.

"No, my essay! Black was bugging me all morning for it and I kept telling him no! He must've nicked it during lunch!" Lily growled and dropped the flap to her bag, "I spent hours on that!"

"Ooh!" Hermione beamed, standing up on her toes and raising her hand, "Brilliance!"

"The floor recognizes Miss Granger," James said, now using his wand as a microphone.

Hermione cleared her throat, pulled out her wand and gave it a wave, "Accio Lily's essay!"

There was a startled yelp as a paper flew into Hermione's hand, an arm connected to it.

Lily glared down at Sirius as she snatched her paper back, "Black…."

"Hi Lilsabee!" he grinned, "Lovely day, yeah?"

"Leave my homework alone!" she told him, "Do your own work for once, will you?"

"Awww, but Lily," Sirius whined, pouting, "You have such pretty handwriting."

"So what – my handwriting's not good enough for you anymore?" Remus asked as he walked up, arms crossed and eyebrow arched.

"Oh no, Remy – your handwriting's lovely, it's just that Lily's is so loopy and twirly. You understand, don't you?"

"No, Padfoot, I don't," he looked at him as if he'd just broken his heart, "Why couldn't you just tell me my handwriting wasn't up to your standards instead of telling me like this?"

"Aww, now Moony," Sirius made to reach forward, but Remus turned his back to him, pouting.

"Alright – I get it. I need to spend more time with you lot," James said, rolling his eyes, "I get it, honestly, I do, just no more drama."

"Actually, I just got back from Potions," Remus said, turning back to him, "I think I'm a little high from it."

"Ooh – excellent idea, a potion that can make you fly!" George grinned, his eyes lighting up.

"Err, actually George, that's not what he meant, he – ahh, never mind," Lily sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Any idea what Fred wanted us here for?" Remus asked, turning to the two siblings. The group was standing right next to the tree next to the lake, a breeze kicking the leaves out of their comfy perches to flutter amongst the students – or what was left of them, seeing as the cold had come along for the ride with the breeze.

"None," they answered as Hermione slid down the tree's trunk, pulling her bag off to set it next to her. She took out a rubber band from one of the pockets, reaching up to tie her hair. Lily sat down next to her, taking the ponytail from her to braid.

The tall redhead then strode into view, a smile on his face as he stood next to the group. His hair was a mess, his clothes even more so, and his jeans which had been previously perfect were now ripped and muddy and had various tears crawling up the legs.

"Freddie! What happened to you?" George yelped upon seeing his twin, his heart pumping into overdrive as the memory of the battle played in his head again. He'd been much more protective of his brother since their arrival – Fred had told him to quit it numerous times, but all George had done was look at him pointedly and then point at his ear. Fred would then sigh and try to ignore him.

"Oh, y'know, same ol'," he grinned at the group before clapping his hands, "Alright! Let's go!" He then turned around and walked off in the direction he'd come from, many curious stares following him before the others did.

"Fred, where are we going?" Hermione asked as she strode next to him, George on his other side.

"You'll see!" he said gleefully before breaking out into a run. Sirius let out a whoop and followed after him, James following soon enough. George, having lost sight of his twin, yelped and took off, leaving Hermione, Lily and Remus to stare at the lot.

"Honestly, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be here," Lily said, turning to Hermione and pretending to frown.

"Aw, come on now Lily – you know you love those boys," Hermione said with a grin before skipping off after them.

"Yeah, Lily – you know you love us," Remus grinned at her. She glared at him and he held up his hands, pointing at his head, "Hey, back off – I'm high, remember? I cannot be held accountable for what I say or do." And then took off, leaving Lily to decide whether she wanted to follow or not. After a few minutes, she sighed and took off after them. Well, you never knew, it could be fun.

"Fred, you barmy idiot, where are we going?" Sirius snapped, frowning at the leading redhead.

"You'll see!" he said once again, a smile on his face as he led his companions through the woods. Lily had adamantly protested about going into the Forbidden Forest. She had protested even more about being picked up by James and slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Can you put me down now? All the blood's rushed to my head and I'm going to have terrible back pains in the morning," Lily said, putting her hands against James' back to arch back up, her face losing its red color.

"No – you'll just run off," James told her, readjusting her a little as he did so.

"Honestly, I can't even feel my feet! How would I be able to run off?"

"Well, that'd be all the more reason for me to carry you, yeah? Chivalry and all that."

Lily groaned and looked pleadingly at Hermione. She shrugged and went back to talking with George, Sirius and Remus having their own whispered discussion, Peter walking next to them and trying not to trip along the rocks.

"Honestly, just go for it," Hermione told George.

"No, Hermione, just back off," he said, pushing away a limb irritably.

"No, I won't, George. You love doing this!"

"I can't leave Fred!" he hissed.

"What about me?" Fred asked, looking over at them with an eyebrow arched.

"Nothing, keep walking," George ordered.

"Aye-aye, Cap'n!"

"Hermione, I refuse to do that," he frowned at her once Fred had continued on his way.

"But George – you love it, you can't just give up on it."

"There's only one for it! And I can't leave him!"

"George, I'm here – I can watch after him. And besides, he doesn't even need to be watched! He's just as old as you are, and you'd kill anybody if they tried to babysit you."

"I've thought about it," Fred interrupted, "But Mum would frown upon that, wouldn't she?"

"Yes, she would," Hermione chuckled at the thought of their make-believe mother, reprimanding Fred for killing his twin. Or maybe Molly or her own mother instead. Either of their glares could easily scare the unruly twins.

"We're HERE!" Fred suddenly cried out, a huge grin lighting up his face as he spread his arms. Everybody ducked down to see underneath his 'wings,' nearly gasping in unison.

Fred had managed to find the most beautiful spot in the whole Forbidden Forest. There was a clearing, vibrant flowers filling up the hill next to it, leaving the bright green grass in the clearing to look much more colorful. Trees surrounded the area, songbirds darting in and out among them.

"How did you find it?" Hermione asked him, a grin on her own features.

"Find what? What is it?" Lily asked, seeing as she was still perched on James' shoulder. "Let me see!" He blinked and put her down, twirling her around to see the sight. She gasped as well before turning to Fred too, "This is brilliant!"

"I was following some thestrals - they had my jeans, by the way, that's why they look so mangled up now – and I came upon this place! So I shimmied on my trousers and sent a Patronus to you lot."

"Your…pants?" Hermione repeated as George, James, Sirius and Peter tried to contain their laughter. "But why would a thestral want your pants?"

"To get in them, maybe?" George snorted. Fred shot him a glare.

"You can see a thestral?" Remus asked, derailing the conversation from Fred's moment of streaking. "But…are you sure it was a thestral and not a lot of pixies or something?"

"Skeletal horses…aren't pixies, right?" Fred said, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Well, no, but…can you all see them?"

"Yeah, gruesome, aren't they?" George continued as Hermione bent her head, breaking off any possible eye contact with her hair, blowing lazily around her face.

"You do know the only way to see a thestral is to…witness somebody die, right?" James interrupted. Fred and George were then silenced.

Ever since they had arrived there in the seventies, the Grangers had been able to keep the topic off of them and their 'past.' If the subject ever came up, they would cut it off and bring up something else instead, something that the Marauders had done earlier in the week that they knew they would be embarrassed for and would try to defend themselves.

"We had friends…" Hermione spoke up, "Friends who aren't with us anymore." Well, she thought as the rest of the group was silenced, it's not a complete lie. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Lee – they're not with us anymore, are they?

"Right," Sirius said, flicking his hair before clapping his hands, "So, who's up for a picnic slash study session?"

"You want help on the Charms essay, don't you?" Remus asked, crossing his arms and frowning at his friend.

"Yes." Was all he said before the group set off into the patch of color, grinning as they did so.

"But I'll look like a flower child!" Hermione protested as Lily intertwined flowers in her hair.

"Hush – I'm not listening anyway," Lily said happily, looking over to pick up a blue flower. Instead, she saw one being handed to her, making her gasp and blink at it. She followed the arm up to the face of James Potter, who was grinning.

"A lily for Lily?" he said, offering it to her once more. To his delight, she took it, twirling it around.

"Where'd you get this?" she asked after a moment, hardly noticing that Hermione was scooting slowly away from her, "This is a water lily – they grow in the water."

"I dunno, I found it lying over there," he said. 'Lying' indeed, he thought. He'd actually picked it out of the Potter Garden before he had to go to the station. He'd just never found the right time to give it to her.

"It's pretty," she smiled at it before smiling up at him, nearly making him step back in shock. Lily Evans has never smiled at me before. "Thank you, James." Lily Evans has never thanked me before.

"You're welcome, Lily," he smiled brightly back before turning around and heading over towards Sirius and George, who were talking about Professor Binns. He stopped when he saw Hermione, grinning knowingly at him as she picked flowers out of her hair.

"Why hello there, James," she smiled before patting the ground next to her, "Care to chat?"

"What's with that smile?" he asked instead.

"It's just a smile, James," she said, still giving him that same smile.

"Yeah, but Fred and George use that smile. That smile freaks me out now. What is with it, Hermione?"

"Sit with me and I'll tell you."

He warily did so, leaving enough space between the two to fit another person. She turned to him and smiled that smile again before saying:

"It'll work out."

He paused, "Err, what will?"

"You and Lily. You'll work out."

He snorted, rolling his eyes, "Yeah, right. And I'll become king of the ziffle-back humdingers."

She arched an eyebrow at him, "You will?"

"No. Hermione, ziffle-back humdingers don't exist. How would I become the king of them if they don't exist?"

"You could discover them or something."

He sighed, "Hermione, even I know that Lily and I won't work out."

"Then what was that? What was with everything I've been seeing for the past month?"

He shrugged, "One last 'hurrah', I guess. I should at least try, right?"

"Do more than try, James. Lily likes you; I can see it in her eyes. She may not know it yet, but if you keep on keeping on, then she will."

"You think so?"

She smiled at him, the normal warm smile they'd come to know as hers, "I know so."

He smiled back, standing up, "Thanks, Hermione."

"No problem, James." He walked off, giving her a wave. Once she was sure he couldn't hear her, she sighed. "Just make sure my best friend will be okay, yeah James? He needs parents this time."

Remus could see the hand waving in front of his face, making different shapes, despite the fact that his eyes were closed. He peeked an eye open and frowned at Sirius before both eyes sprang open, a grin on his face now.

"Your hair…" he started as he chuckled, closing his eyes, "Remind me to thank Lily later."

"Actually, the Grangers did it for me," he said, fluffing up his flowered braids, "You like?"

"Love it. I'll have to ask them to do mine."

"Okay!" Hermione said happily before she bent her head over his, her fingers working fast as she wove the flowers into his hair. He yelped and sat up, whacking her in the head as he did.

"OWW!" they screamed, making Sirius wince at them.

"Hermione!" the twins sighed at her as she rubbed her head, tears springing to her eyes, "What did you do?"

"Shuddup," she mumbled to them, "Sorry, Remus."

"Oww," he hissed, "No, I'm sorry."

"You have bruises," Sirius commented, bending lower to look between their foreheads, "You're like…Bruise Buddies."

"Hey – at least come up with a cool name for them, huh Padfoot?" James said as he walked over to them to bend down as well, "Yeow – those'll be green for days!"

"We always get hurt around each other, y'know?" Remus grinned at her, making her smile as they remembered the Stairs Epidemic. James and Lily shared glances as well before frowning down at the bruises.

"They kind of look like those puff things," Peter told them, examining the mark on Remus' forehead.

"Pygmy Puffs?" Fred said offhandedly, poking Hermione's bruise and making her wince.

"Err…no. What's a Pygmy Puff?"

George looked frantically at his twin, the expression of horror matched on his face. Hermione caught her breath, staring up at her adoptive brothers before releasing it.

"Alright, Fred, George, its high time we tell them the truth," she said, standing up and dusting off the bottom of her skirt.

"What?" everybody asked, the Marauders and Lily's faces showing confusion, but Fred and George's showing incredulity.

"Yes," she said, looking at them pointedly, "It's time we tell them about your shop."

"Our shop?" Fred and George echoed as everybody looked expectantly at them. They blinked whenever Hermione blanched and frowned at them, shaking her head.

"Oh, alright," George sighed, drooping his shoulders, "Don't think us fools but – we're secretly working on opening our own joke shop."

"Very 'hush-hush' though," Fred whispered, crouching down to those on the ground, having those who were standing crouch down as well, "Mum doesn't like the idea – entirely against it."

"But why?" Sirius crowed, "Joke shops are amazing! They make the best money! The fun kind!"

"But that still doesn't answer my question on what a Pygmy Puff is," Peter frowned.

"We're making up our own products, a Pygmy Puff is just one of them," George answered.

"What're you going to call it?" Lily asked suddenly. Then, seeing their confused faces, elaborated, "Your joke shop. What are you going to call it?"

"Ohh – Granger Gobbing Gags, perhaps?" Fred said, turning to his twin.

"Gobbing? What does 'gobbing' mean?" George frowned.

"Giggly then?"

"That sounds so fruity, Fred."

"Well why don't you try one then?"

"Alright…Granger Gentle Gags…?" he said uncertainly.

Sirius' face broke out into a grin, "I wouldn't, if I were you. I can very easily sneak over and change it into to something else."

The group was silent for a moment as they processed what he had said before James snorted and shoved his head away from him, having everybody else shake their heads or snort as well.

"Loony, that's what you are," James said before getting closer to his ear and screaming, "GET HELP!"

"What?" Sirius asked, cupping his ear and leaning closer to him, "Say that again, I don't think I HEARD IT!"

"Gargoyle?" George interrupted, turning to his twin once more.

"What, are we trying to attract vampires? Gorgeous?"

"Oh sure – let's attract birds," he frowned. They stared at each other in silence, wide grins breaking through a moment later.

"Gorgeous it is then!" they said happily together.

"Granger Gorgeous Gags," Hermione wrinkled her nose, not like the way her name was being used, "No."

"Gruesome?" Lily suggested.

"Jokes are not gruesome, Lily," James chided.

"The ones you pull are," she said, frowning down at him, although it twitched a little when he smiled back up at her.

"What about…" Remus trailed off, "You picking some other letter to use as an alliteration?"

"Like…'W'!" Sirius grinned, "W is a great number!"

"You mean letter?" Hermione asked him, arching an eyebrow. As Fred and George paled at each other, her trying very hard not to do the same.

"Yeah, that thing."

"Wizard Whams?" James said, standing up and dusting off his pants, "Granger Wizards Whams if you like."

They stared silently at him, then at each other, then at Hermione, who nodded back.

They grinned at the group, "Granger Wizard Whams it is!"

Remus sighed as he watched everybody get up from the table and up to their Common Room, aside from James, Sirius, Peter and Hermione, who were all arguing. He watched dully, hardly wanting to but hardly wanting to do anything else either.

"I am telling you, Hermione," Sirius frowned, "You are so far off."

"I am not!" she huffed, "You're the one who's off!"

"Nuh-uh!" James exclaimed, "That is just so – you're wrong. So wrong."

"I am not," she continued, "It would totally work!"

"I doubt it," Peter admitted, pushing around a piece of meat on his plate.

"What are you talking about?" Remus finally asked, setting his chin in his hand.

"She thinks a spoon can kill someone. Tell her Remus – tell her she's wrong," Sirius said, smirking at Hermione confidently.

"Actually," he said after a moment, "If you put enough force behind it…."

"HA!" Hermione said happily as she sprang up from the table, "I told you!" She leaned over and hugged Remus for a second, making him smile back at her before she walked off – although it was more like a skip.

"Mate," James frowned at him, "That so goes against the code."

"Agreed," Sirius said, crossing his arms and glaring at him, "You sided with the girl!"

"James has sided with Lily so many times its not even funny, you've sided with Marlene just to attempt to get in her pants, and yet you yell at me for agreeing with Hermione?" he arched an eyebrow.

"I sense a pattern here," Peter grinned, "James likes Lily, Sirius wants to do it with McKinnon, and you…."

Remus stared at him, mouth agape, as Sirius and James chuckled.

"That is so off!" he yelped, "I don't like her! I mean, I like her, but not like that!"

"Wasn't that the beginning of the conversation we had with James before he admitted to liking Lily?" Sirius asked, arching an eyebrow at his friend.

"I don't like her!" Remus continued.

"Alright, Moony, calm down," James soothed, clapping a hand on his shoulder, "We get it – we're just messing with you."

"Yeah, Mister Smile-When-Hugged-By-The-Girl-I-Like," Sirius smirked.

James shook his head as Remus glared at him, "Sirius, we're Remus' friends; we have to be supportive of him." Once Remus seemed pleased enough, he leaned across his back and mouthed, "He totally likes her." Sirius grinned back before turning to the man in the middle.

"You ready for tonight?" he asked.

Remus sighed, setting his chin on the table, "No."

"Never gets any easier, does it?" James asked, stretching out his shoulders and then his neck.

"No," he sighed again before glancing up at the ceiling, watching as it mirrored the sky outside, watching as the full moon came up.

Hermione frowned at the text, twirling the quill around absentmindedly in her hand. She was supposed to be writing an essay about boggarts, but the information just would not stay put long enough for her to get a sentence out. She sighed, dropping the quill and playing with her hair now, staring down at the pages. She finally let out a groan and put her palms over her eyes, letting a few tears spill out. Everything was so hard now. She had no idea how to fix everything for Harry. She felt alone without him or Ron, or Ginny or Luna or Neville. She missed her parents more and more everyday, as they lied to the Marauders. She missed the way her dad smiled at her when she said something funny, she missed the way her mum felt when she hugged her.

She stared teary eyed at the ceiling, trying to get a grip on herself. No more crying. No more feeling miserable, she told herself. Fix everything so you won't feel this way again when you get back. With a few deep breaths, she managed to gain control, only to have it slip again.

Screw it, she thought bitterly, I can cry if I want to.

She totally missed the portrait hole swing open, only with nobody standing there. Visibly, anyway, seeing as Sirius, James and Peter were all huddled underneath James' Cloak. Remus was walking with Madame Pomfrey, who had no idea about the three boys.

"What's wrong with Hermione?" Peter whispered to his two companions as they waited for Remus.

"I dunno, but if we don't get her out of here soon then she'll see Moony," James hissed back.

"But we can't just appear out of thin air – she'll freak out," Sirius whispered back, "Let's just have Moony deal with it."

"What?" the other two asked, looking at him incredulously.

"Well, if Remus is going to like her – and let's face it, he does – he's eventually going to have to be truthful with her. Birds tend to not like it when you're not truthful with them."

Before another word could be said, Remus walked through the portrait, thanking Madame Pomfrey as he did. Hermione cursed under her breath and wiped at the tears, praying he didn't see her. However, she wasn't that lucky, seeing as he stopped and blinked at her.

"Hi," she said, only her voice was ragged and she immediately cursed herself for that.

"Hey," he said as he walked towards her, moving the books away so he could sit next to her, "You alright?"

She took a deep breath and sighed, "If I said 'yes,' would you know it was a lie?"

"Yes," he replied, perching his arm on the back of the couch so he could rest his head on his fist. "What's wrong?"

She curled up, bringing her legs up against her chest and staring at her knees, "So much."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really," she said, burying her face in her arms.

"You know," he started, leaning towards her a little to get a glimpse of the side of her face through her hair, "It's bad to bottle things up."

Sirius could've snorted aloud at that, if not for the fact that they were supposed to be very silent. James was quietly begging him to move his feet and get up to the dorm, that they shouldn't be watching this, but he wanted to.

"I know," she mumbled to him, "But there's so much, and you don't want to hear it."

"Who said that?"

"Me. Nobody wants to listen – why should you be any different?"

"Thanks for making me feel special," he grinned, "And you just opened up a little, you know."

"Drat," she smiled, picking her head up to look at him, "That's evil."

"I know," he grinned wider, leaning back into the couch now and folding his arms, "It's what I do."

"I highly doubt you're evil all the time, if at all," she told him.

"Only to Slytherins," he smiled, making her give a laugh. "So, d'you need help with the essay?"

"Oh no," she sighed, flicking the paper, "I've got it, it just won't come out on the paper."

"I hate when that happens, don't you?"

She hummed an agreement, finally scratching out a few words onto the paper before stopping and staring at it.

"Hey, Hermione – that essay's not due for another week," he said after a moment, "Why don't you go up to bed?"

"I could ask you the same question," she told him, glancing at him briefly, "You look a little worse for the wear."

He gaped at her, "I – I was – "

"Oh save it – I get it. You were doing official 'Marauder business' or whatever," she smiled as she packed up her papers and books, "And besides – it's not as if I haven't skipped curfew before."

"You are aware that I'm a prefect, right?" he smirked up at her as she hooked her bag onto her shoulder.

"If you mean a prefect who just came back at two o'clock in the morning whenever he didn't have rounds in the first place, then yes," she smiled back, "I am very aware of that."

He chuckled at her, "Hey – you can't expect me to be perfect."

She only rolled her eyes before leaning down and hugging him again, "Thanks, Remus."

He smiled again, into her hair, "Any time you need it, Hermione."

She straightened up and walked towards her staircase, calling out 'goodnight' as she did.

Remus sighed and slunk lower in his seat, glaring at the fire, "In five – four – three – two – one – "

The couch dipped as a grinning Sirius appeared next to him, "You little liar."

"How was I lying?" Remus asked as James appeared on the other side of him, where Hermione had been sitting.

"'It's wrong to keep things bottled up,'" Sirius imitated, smirking at him, "When you, my friend, are bottling things right now."

"She just got here! What am I supposed to do – hit on her?" he glared at his friend now.

"Sirius has hit on her a total of thirteen times," James offered as Peter leaned over the back of the couch.

"Would've been fourteen if Evans and McKinnon weren't there," Sirius sighed ruefully.

"Why was she crying though?" Peter asked, "She never did tell you."

"She probably misses her friends," James said as he stretched his legs across Remus', "Or her family. Or both."

"It doesn't matter to any of you because you – will – not – tell anybody," Remus said as he swatted James' legs away, giving him access to stand up.

"Oh come on, Moony – would we do that?" James asked as he stood as well, following him to the staircase.

"To anybody that wasn't a Slytherin, prat, or brat?" Sirius continued. "Of which Hermione is none of."

Remus just sighed, pushing open the door to find that Fred and George were trying to put the room back together with the aid of Frank and Lily.

"What happened?" Peter asked.

Fred and George sighed, "Puffs."

"The twins were trying to make something for their store, and it did not turn out well," Lily sighed as well, flicking her wand to put James' bed back together, "We've been at this all night."

"You mean it was worse?" Sirius exclaimed, looking around the room. The pictures and posters were askew or ripped, the beds were jumbled together, and the trunks had flown to the other side of the room.

"Check the ceiling for evidence," Frank said, waving a hand upward, making the Marauders crane their necks to see a black charred ceiling.

"Wow," they said together.

"And we've still got classes in the morning," George sighed, leaning against a broom that was supposed to be sweeping up debris, but had been stopped since he was using it.

"We'll never get this done," Fred sighed as well, leaning against his bedpost.

"Never fear – the Marauders are here," James grinned stepping forward and waving his wand, returning the beds to their orderly places.

"I want to know when we became the Hogwarts Helpers," Sirius said as he stepped forward as well, cleaning off the ceiling.

"At least you're not pirates anymore," George grinned before he was met with curious stares, "Hermione told me."

"Ahh, yes – our little Hermione," Fred sighed, "We promised her we'd only be a few minutes, and then it's been about five hours. We were going to show her something – "

"And then Fred had to add the toothpaste – "

"Hey! Toothpaste comes before nutmeg, remember?"

"Boys, boys, boys," Lily chided, "I have a solution."

"Yeah?" they all asked.

"We get this place to where it's livable, and then go to bed. Wake up earlier in the morning and fix it then, alright?"

Frank gave a cry and stumbled towards her, putting his hand on her shoulder and pretending to weep, "Bless you, Lily – bless you."

She laughed and waved at them before stumbling out the room, yawning before she shut the door.

"Mate – you're staring," Sirius told James, bumping him with his elbow.

"What?" James blinked at him, "Oh, sorry."

Fred and George shared a glance before snorting and going to their respective beds.

"What?" James questioned them.

"Nothing," they said together.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

"What is it?"

"James!" Remus hissed before pointing at the teen's bed, "Go to sleep. Now."

"Yes, Mum," James sighed before flopping on his bed, not even bothering to take off his glasses. Sirius, Remus, Peter, Frank, Fred and George shared glances before they had to suppress their groans or sighs.

Seventh year, as said before, would be very, very long.

School is draining me. It's not my fault. I swear.

Review, please, so that I'll have something to look forward to on a Monday.