I dedicate this chapter to my bestest friend in the whole wide world – Mel. She's an amazing person and I wouldn't know what I'd do without her.
Disclaimer: I own only the plot and the first Quidditch game, along with Lily's boy drama and the episode in the Astronomy Tower.
WARNING: MILD CURSING IN A SEGMENT OF THIS CHAPTER. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED AND WILL BE WARNED AGAIN WITH ()_() ONCE THE CURSING AS BEGUN. TREAD WITH CAUTION.
"Are you sleeping, are you sleeping, Re-e-mus? Re-e-mus? You're sprawled across the lawn, sprawled across the lawn, ding dang dong, ding dang dong," somebody sang, playing with his hair as they did.
"Padfoot," Remus growled, swatting away his hand.
"You sound sexy when you do that, Moony," Sirius said, evoking a choking sound, preceded by a snort, from somebody in the room, followed by coughing/laughing. Remus opened an eye and saw Sirius grinning at him, James having been the one who snorted, Hermione trying not to laugh, and Lily choking on a butterbeer.
"You sure Larkspur said you weren't gay?" Remus asked, closing the eye and stretching himself out across the green grass.
"Yeah, we're sure," he said as he walked back to the rest of the group, sitting next to Hermione and placing an arm behind her, grinning at him.
"James!" Marlene called out, waving her arm frantically over her head, "James, get over here, you barmy idiot!"
"Flattery will get you nowhere, McKinnon!" he called back, but he got up nonetheless and jogged towards her. She then began to speak hurriedly, James looking more and more panicked as she progressed. Sirius, Remus, Lily and Hermione all shared glances before they got up and walked within hearing range.
"But Mar!" James said, looking horrified, "We need you!"
"I know, James, I know," she said, looking as if she was terrified of him, "It's just that I'm failing Transfigurations and I really don't have the time for practice and I'm getting tired of going to the Hospital Wing every other game."
"But – but Agnes left a few weeks ago! And the first game of the season is next week!" he was clutching at his hair now, "Where am I going to find two exceptional Beaters on such short notice?"
"Fred and George will do it!" Hermione said happily, drawing attention to herself, "They're excellent Beaters – best in the world! I'd been trying to convince them to go for it, but they wouldn't leave the other one!"
James looked undecided, "I dunno, Hermione."
"Oh, but please, James?" she begged, "Please? At least give them a shot!"
James stood there for a few minutes, frowning at her and running his hand through his hair before stopping halfway. He gave a loud groan, "If it doesn't work, Hermione, I swear, I'm gonna…."
She beamed and hugged him around the neck, "Thank you, James! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret it, I promise!" She then ran off, probably with the intent to go and tell Fred and George.
James looked as if he was ready to cry if it wasn't such an unmanly thing to do and turned to Sirius, Remus and Lily – Marlene had backed away from the Quidditch captain the first chance she got, "Why do I feel as if I'm going to regret it?"
"Because it's the Grangers," Sirius said, walking over and patting him on the back.
Fred and George rushed into the changing room, tripping over one another as well as their own feet. James frowned at them, glancing at his watch.
"You're late."
"By five minutes," Fred huffed, "And even then, we were supposed to show up thirty minutes before the game."
"Oh Merlin – can't breathe," George panted, clutching a stitch in his side. "Hermione – Hermione didn't tell us. Thought she did, she didn't. Too much homework – something, she forgot."
James arched an eyebrow, "Hermione? Our Hermione?"
"Well," Fred straightened himself out, "She's pretty depressed, actually. Cut her some slack, yeah?"
"What's she depressed about?" James asked as Fred walked over to a locker and getting out his Quidditch gear.
"Harry, Ron, Luna, Neville, Ginny – gone," George breathed. "Halloween – all their favorite."
"Halloween's next week," James frowned, staring down at the ground before shaking his head, "Anyway, go out there and prove to me that I did not lose my mind for letting you on the team."
Fred snorted, pulling a sweater over his head as James walked out of the changing room, "Yes, Your Highness."
"Heard that!"
"Good morning, Quidditch fans!" Lily said from the commentator's box, smiling as her voice rang out through the stands, "Today we are gathered to watch the first match of the Quidditch season, being played between Gryffindor and Slytherin!" Roars went up throughout the crowd; Hermione looked up nervously at her from where she sat, just below the box. Remus rubbed comforting circles into her back, while Sirius and Peter were cheering on the Gryffindors.
Lily listed off the Slytherin players before starting on the Gryffindors, "Our Chasers are David Bell, Jack Spinnet and Quidditch captain James Potter, Keepers are Kevin O'Reilly and Darcy McNair, Seeker is Daniel McNair, and our new beaters are Fred and George Granger – twins, if you haven't noticed."
"Alright, guys!" James called to the twins before he walked out to shake hands with the Slytherin captain, "Show me what you got!"
Fred and George glanced nervously at one another and at their new teammates as James and the Slytherin captain attempted to break each other's fingers. Hooch blew the whistle and everybody pushed off into the air, the Seekers already searching for the Snitch, Chasers and Keepers and Beaters mingling.
"Alright, to start off the season, Gryffindor is in possession of the Quaffle with Bell – oh my god, Bell what are you doing? Never mind, never mind, James got it, scored…Harlington has it now, going over to the Gryffindor goal – scored, too, so we're tied – Daniels just hit the Bludger towards Potter – and James was saved by George – nope, sorry, that was Fred! George has just - …well that's a very rude gesture to do, George. Stop confusing me, saying you're Fred! Anyway, back to Quidditch – Harlington has just scored again, so Slytherin is in the lead."
The Gryffindor side complained loudly.
"Oh honestly, guys, it's just twenty points – we can make that up. Daniels has hit the Bludger towards Darcy – and Darcy is saved by Fred! Okay, no, that was George. You know, I'm going to have to dye one of your hairs – I dunno who yet, but one of you – and Spinnet has just scored! Gryffindor and Slytherin are tied again!"
"Fred and George are great, Hermione!" Sirius yelled at her over the din, but she was too busy watching and crossing her fingers to notice.
"Please, please, please, please," she whispered, barely heard.
"Slytherin Beaters are closing in on a Chaser – can you see who that is, I can't. They look like – no, no way – JAMES!" Everybody looked on in horror as James was struck by the Beaters, falling down to the ground. Hermione, Remus, Sirius and Peter all stood up, screaming, Lily clutching the desk with a death grip as she watched in horror as well.
She took a few breaths before shakily saying into the microphone, "J-James just hit the ground, Hooch slowed him – timeout, penalty to – I forget who penalties go to, but I'm sure Gryffindor is in the lead now – a-and McGonagall is coming to take over for me because I can't sit still here without knowing the prat is alright." Lily stood up, going down the rows of stairs lightening quick, Sirius, Remus, Peter and Hermione following just as fast.
"McNair has just caught the Snitch, Gryffindor wins," was all that was heard from McGonagall as the group ran from the stadium, heading up from the Hospital Wing.
"James," Sirius whispered, glaring slightly at the side of his face, "James, you prat, if you die on me because of a brain hemorrhage, I'm going to kill you." Remus snorted at that, but said nothing.
"Lily, you need to calm down," Hermione advised as Lily sat against the wall, near the door, rocking back and forth with tears silently trickling down her face.
"I – I can't," she hiccupped quietly, "He – he thinks I hate him, and I don't, and he's going to die thinking I hate him when I don't."
"Lily, nobody said anything about James dying," she said softly.
"Not today or tomorrow," she whispered back, "But he will eventually, and he's going to die thinking I hated him."
Hermione blinked, "What?"
"Face it – once we're done with Hogwarts, we're done, I'm not going to see him again. He's going to give up chasing me, he's going to move on to somebody else and prove that he never really liked me in the first place, and he's going to die thinking I hated him when I n-never really did."
She gaped at her, "Lily, do you – do you love James?"
"D-don't tell anyone, please, Hermione, please," she pleaded, looking up at her with a wet, tear streaked face.
Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped when James groaned.
"Ugh – my head."
"Prongs!" the five boys by his bed shouted, hearing him give a little scream as they no doubt tackled him. Hermione couldn't help but giggle at how girly that little scream was, while Lily sighed in relief.
"James," Darcy said, glaring at him as her brother stood behind her, frowning as well.
"Darcy," he said pleasantly, as if he didn't have his brain bleeding inside his skull.
"If you get rid of those two, I'm quitting," she said, pointing at Fred and George, "You have no idea how badly I would've been beaten."
"Yeah," Bell said, "And you would've been beaten sooner if not for one of them."
"Oh my Merlin, Potter," Lily said, appearing at the opening of the screen with Hermione, "Do you have to end up here every single game?"
"Yes," he said, giving a little shrug, "I like this bed."
She groaned, looking up at the ceiling as James grinned at her. Remus caught Hermione's eye and they both grinned at each other.
"So Lily told you that she likes James," Marlene frowned at her, a chip halfway to her mouth as she looked at Hermione across the room, each on their separate beds.
Hermione beamed, "Yeah! It's great! Now we just have to get her to admit it and everything's perfect!"
"Err…not quite," she said, finally crunching on the chip and adverting her gaze from her.
She arched an eyebrow, "Why?"
"Because I might've set Lily up with Amos Diggory last week and not told anybody," she muttered.
"Marlene!" she said, standing up on her bed and narrowly missing the top of her canopy.
"I didn't know!" she exclaimed, "I thought she actually meant it, all the times she said she hated him!"
"Does Diggory like her?"
"He practically begged for me to set him up with her."
"Oh Merlin, Marlene," she groaned, setting herself down on the bed and putting her head in her hands, "What am I going to do now?"
"Well…" she said slowly, "He said that if I could set him up with one of two girls…Lily's one of course, but if I could maybe get the other girl to go out with him…Lily's not that crazy about him, she had to keep reminding him to set his eyes back on her face."
"Great!" Hermione bounced, beaming, "Who's the other girl?"
It took a few moments of Marlene grinning nervously at her for her to finally get it.
"No," she frowned, internally becoming ill at the thought of going on a date with Cedric Diggory's dad, "No, no – hell no."
"Just – just think about it, alright?"
She huffed and glared at the carpet before getting up and walking to the door, "I'm going to the library."
"I got lost," Hermione huffed, "I've been here long enough to know not to get lost on the way from the library."
"Well, I should hope so," James grinned at her, Lily by his side as they walked up to her.
"Want us to take you back to the Common Room?" Lily offered with a smile.
"Thank you," she sighed, walking along next to Lily, making a line like the ones at the mall that people make to tick you off when they barricade the walkway.
"So – Quidditch match was fun," Hermione started.
"I wouldn't know – I forgot half of it," James laughed.
"It only lasted a few minutes, you didn't miss much," Lily grinned up at him.
"I like the part where Lily threatened to dye Fred and George's hair," Hermione grinned, "That was fun."
"I suggest hot pink," he smiled, "Matches with the robes nicely, don't you think?"
"I was thinking blonde," Lily laughed, "But pink works great too."
James stopped suddenly, tugging them over to another hallway, "Come on, there's a shortcut through here."
Hardly questioning, they followed, walking silently through the hall. Upon hearing rather – err, disturbing sounds coming from down the dark hallway, Lily and James sighed while Hermione grimaced.
"I hate this part," Lily whispered to her, "It's always so gross." James nodded, lighting his wand and walking towards the sounds. Lily followed after lighting her wand as well, making Hermione step in line too, seeing as she didn't want to get lost again.
Seeing the two figures stuck in a liplock against the wall, Lily opened her mouth to reprimand them before gasping as the light fell on them.
"Amos," she whispered, shrinking a little as her knees tried to give out.
He pulled back from the girl, who screamed a little and ran away. His eyes were big and he looked extremely guilty, his arms still out on the wall, "Err – Lily."
Tears spilled over before she ran off down the hall, light from her wand bouncing as she ran.
"Oh, you're dead," Hermione growled.
()_()
"A-and I t-thought I actually loved him, Mar," Lily sobbed into her friend's robes as Alice sat at her feet, rubbing her knee sympathetically, "B-but he – he was like sucking her face off, a-and I – I let him touch me." She sobbed harder at that as Marlene began rocking her back and forth. Lily had run to her upon seeing her in the corner of the Common Room, hardly giving them time to run up to the girls' dorm. Everybody was averting their eyes or sneaking glances at them, feeling it was only right since nearly every one of them had cried at least once in the Common Room, and it was Lily who shooed the others' eyes away.
The portrait burst open and Hermione was dropped in the doorway, quickly whirling around and glaring at James.
"Enough, Hermione!" he yelled, slamming it shut, "Enough!"
"You fucking hypocrite!" she yelled back, making everybody there blink at her, "You want to kill him just as much as I do, yet - !"
"I know, I know!" he cut her off, "But if I kill him, I'll go to Azkaban, and so will you!"
"I don't care! He's an ass!" Everybody blinked again as Marlene and Alice quietly moved the still crying Lily – who hadn't noticed anything except how much she was crying – up to the dorm. Remus and Sirius shared a glance before turning their attention back to their two friends.
"I know! But if I just let you kill him, then – "
"James, if you really loved Lily, then you wouldn't just stand by and let him hurt her!" she gasped, slapping her hands over her mouth as James' eyebrows rose up, "James, I – I didn't mean it."
"You think I don't love her?" his voice got dangerously low and Hermione resisted the urge to squeak, "You think that after seven years of rejections, I've given up?"
"I didn't say that," she admitted, "I – I said that your actions – you're not showing – she doesn't know – she thinks you think she hates you when she doesn't!" James blinked at her and she let her voice rise a little, "Lily loves you, James!"
He studied her for a moment before shaking his head, looking at her slowly, "I wish I could believe you, Hermione, but until Lily tells me herself…." He shook his head for another minute before heading over to the boys' stairs.
Hermione looked like somebody had just poked her with a pin and she was suddenly having all the air hiss out of her. She turned to a little first year, "Why is it that nobody seems to listen to me?"
"I dunno," the first year squeaked as Hermione turned and ran out the portrait, despite the fact it was past curfew.
Remus and Sirius shared another look before they both sighed and got up, Remus going over to the portrait as Sirius headed up the stairs.
Remus looked down at the map, then back up at the door, an eyebrow quirked. Why would she go there? Shrugging, he pushed open the door and saw her crossing the room in long strides, gripping at both her hair and her wand.
"Are you alright?" he asked, stepping further into the Astronomy Tower and closing the door behind him. His eyes flicked to the moon, which was nearing full, and would soon be next week. He was grateful that James had scheduled the Hogsmeade trip before he got too ill to enjoy it. But that wasn't the issue that he should've been worrying about. He was in the same room with an angry teenage witch with a wand and no other targets. He really should have been paying more attention…and have brought his wand.
"No!" she growled, "They're both complete idiots! Harry and Ginny were the same way – drove me mad – and then they got together and everybody was happy and then Voldemort stepped in and my life was hell again!"
He blinked at her, "Err – Mione? You just…okay, you know what? Never mind, continue."
"And then everybody kept egging me and Ron to get together – I mean come on, that'd be like dating Fred or George. And then there was this other guy that everybody thought I liked and who liked me but I didn't and – and I can't believe that they're making me mad when they're not here and…" she stopped near the huge open archway that led to the balcony, sliding down the wall and looking dejectedly up at him. "I miss them so much."
"Oh, Hermione," he crossed over to her, kneeling down to brush hair out of her face, "It's okay to miss them."
A few tears slipped through, "I – I'll never see them again."
"Don't cry – c'mon, don't cry, Mione," he sat down, pulling her into his lap and laying his head on hers as she buried her face into his chest, "Okay, you know what?"
"What?" she muffled as a few more tears slipped through.
"You can go ahead and cry," he told her, wrapping his arms around her tightly, "I've got all night."
She gave a watery laugh before it turned into a hiccup as he rocked them back and forth. After a few minutes, she stopped crying and pulled back to look at him, brushing away tears.
"Better?" he asked, smiling a little at her.
"Yeah," she sniffed before wrapping her arms around his neck, "Thanks, Remus."
"Any time, Hermione," he said, pulling back and placing a kiss on her cheek before going back to hugging her. They both blinked as their faces turned red, although they couldn't see each other.
Why did he do that? Why did he do that? Why did he do that? It wasn't like he even harbored those kind of feelings for her. No, it was nothing like that. No. No…no? No. Maybe? No…alright, that problem would have to be thought over when it wasn't so close to the full moon. Right now, he would sit there and hold Hermione a little longer.
Why did he do that? Why did she like it? Why was her heart pounding erratically in her chest? How could he not hear it? It was wrong. So wrong. But he was sitting there and holding her and being there and being warm and smelling great – why did he have to smell so great when it bloody distracted her? And then he kissed her. Granted, it wasn't a full kiss, it was on the cheek, like 'hey, I like you, but not enough to actually kiss you!' And she wanted to reach up and kiss him back, and definitely on the cheek. She knew it was wrong, but the problem was, she couldn't remember why.
She couldn't remember Remus Lupin as her third year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and neither could Fred or George.
Bugger.
HA! "Bugger" is different! HAHAHA! In your FACE, old last line! And I love how I had them kiss. Err, kinda, but, anyway – so…questions? I'd love questions to answer here. Ask away!
Please review, I'd love it if you reviewed. It'd make my day.