Alrighty people, I'm going on a short vacation so it will be about a week before ch. 10 is posted. Please enjoy and REVIEW! Shutout to Raven that flies at night, GhostWriter1864, and wingsrookie. You all are AMAZING and very sweet.
I know the Sirius/Hermione relationship is dragging it's feet, but I wanted them to be a little more realistic. Please bear with me!
Hermione and Remus spoke for several hours that night. Remus spoke about the Marauders and some of their more recent pranks. Hermione spoke about her trio of friends as well and how they always seemed to find trouble. She was careful to leave out certain details and names. Hermione found herself feeling extremely comfortable around Remus and she had the feeling that he was becoming very accepting of her as well.
Remus still had a sense that this girl was keeping some secrets; but with what she had already disclosed, he did not feel like reliving painful memories was good for her recovery. When it was getting too late for the weak werewolf, Hermione helped him walk back to his own bed. She even jokingly tucked him in before she retreated back to her isolation.
The next morning, Hermione woke to the sound of Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey whispering at the foot of her bed. They quickly halted their conversation as they took notice of Hermione shifting under the sheets.
"Well hello there dearie," Madame Pomfrey greeted excitedly. She began waving her wand over Hermione's body. "How are you feeling? How is the pain today?"
Hermione sat up in the cot as McGonagall sat down beside her and grasped her hand. "My body is a bit tired, but I'm feeling much better. The pain is still there, but tolerable." She turned to her professor as she gently squeezed her hand, "Aunt Minerva, it's good to see you."
"I'll leave you two to catch up," Madame Pomfrey left the little room.
Professor McGonagall waved her wand around the bed and produced a silencing bubble. She eagerly turned to Hermione, "are you sure you're feeling alright dear? You gave us a terrible fright yesterday."
"Yes, thank you Minerva. I promise, I'm much better today." Hermione removed her hand from the Professor's and wrung her hands before she continued, "I guess I should tell you what I know and explain why I'm here."
McGonagall nodded her head, "Only if you feel it necessary."
Hermione signed deeply. She needed to explain everything that she knew. Hermione refused to utilize this relationship with McGonagall unless the professor knew all the information before agreeing to the difficult charade. Minerva listened intently as the whole story came to light. She was a little disheartened that this young woman wasn't actually related, but she understood why certain things had been said; especially when Hermione explained McGonagall's own reaction in the future. Hermione described her confusion about the bracelet and asked if Minerva knew why her future self had spelled it to her wrist.
"Oh, I attached it to your arm?" McGonagall reached for Hermione's wrist and examined the heirloom closely. "Well there was a silly spell I had used a few times so that my brother could not hide it from me when we were younger."
Minerva tapped the bracelet twice and muttered a few inaudible words. The bracelet fell off in her outstretched hand. She laughed happily as she met Hermione's questioning eyes. "My brother snatched this bracelet off my wrist once at school and hid it from me for a week. I was so angry that I used a personal charm on it so that I would be the only one who could remove it after he gave it back. I never mentioned the spell to anyone," Minerva explained. Her mind filling with memories of her brother and they're silly fights but happy life.
"I would very much like to help you dear. My future self obviously trusted you," she held up the bracelet and placed it back on Hermione's wrist. "And it would be nice to have some family here."
Hermione felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She lunged forward and hugged her professor very tightly; and McGonagall returned the hug just as intensely. "I would be honored to be considered your family Minerva."
The older woman dismissively waved at the incomplete name, giving Hermione a sense of deja vu. "Aunt Minerva, dear. And you are my niece, Amelia."
"Of course, how silly of me, Aunt Minerva."
McGonagall removed the silencing bubble as Madame Pomfrey was returning to see the patient. Hermione asked Poppy if there was anything that could be done about her scars, but was regretfully told that all they could do was heal them enough for the red to diminish. The scars would forever be part of her skin. Hermione asked to be left alone so she could see the extent of the marks.
Hermione stood in front of the small mirror again and signed deeply before she began removing her hospital gown. She stared at her naked body and could not believe what she saw. There was a red scorch mark two inches below her sternum. From that impact point, multiple angry red lines reached down to her left pelvis bone and up to the right side of her neck and shoulder. The scarlet lines fanned out to form fractured patterns all over her skin. She could still feel heat radiated off of the scars as she traces the streaks with the pads of her fingers. Hermione had received a few scars in her life, but nothing could compare to these horrendous marks. It made her feel hideous and overly self-conscious; things she never would have wasted valuable time thinking about before. Hermione hoped that these feelings would pass when the pain and shock had worn off. She may be a witch, but she was still human and it had only been two days since she was struck by the lightning curse.
Hermione made a mental note to thank Minerva for the 'normal' clothes that she found next to her bed. She had enough with hospital gowns and appreciated the soft flannel pants and black t-shirt. The dark shirt thankfully did not allow even a shadow of her scars to show through.
When she exited from around the partitions, she noticed Remus was awake and eating breakfast. "Good morning Amelia. Are you hungry? The house elves just dropped these off for us." He gestured to the bed next to his own, where a plate of eggs, sausage and toast awaited her.
"Are you feeling better today?" Hermione asked. She internally tinkered with ways of getting Remus to tell her about his werewolf, but she wasn't sure how he would feel about sharing that secret with anyone outside of his Maraurder circle.
"Much. I'm still a bit shaky on my feet, but I'm planning an escape this morning just to walk around in the fresh air a bit. Would you like to come?"
"Yea, alright. I'm not very strong though, I don't know for how long I can be your crutch." Hermione laughed as she remembered how unsteady Remus had been the previous night.
"Don't worry about me. Prongs and Padfoot will carry me on their backs if I ask nicely enough."
Hermione almost choked on her toast.
Remus pushed a glass of pumpkin juice into her hands. In a few seconds, Hermione was outwardly calm again but inside her head was spinning. James Potter and Sirius Black are here.
Of course, in her time, both these men were already dead. It was strange to think that Hermione may get to know these two men now, when all she really knew of them before was what other's had told her. Even the few times she had interacted with Sirius first hand, he had yielded very little personal information.
Well this is going to be interesting…
James and Sirius arrived just as Remus and Hermione were finishing their food.
"James, Sirius, this is Amelia McGonagall."
There were polite pleasantries exchanged before they discussed Remus' plan of escape. It was quite simple really; the group waited for Madame Pomfrey to check on her two patients and then leave for her morning walk. Sirius "accio"-ed a pair of crutches for Remus and James collected the invisibility cloak that he had left under the bed in case they needed to hide the hospital fugitives.
It was glorious outside. The foursome walked out to the Clock tower courtyard and Remus reacted like he had been underground for years. He smiled happily into the sunshine and sat down on one of the stone benches soaking in the warmth of the rays.
There was a slight breeze though, and it chilled Hermione's skin; her body had still not completely adjusted to the new, yet familiar environment. "I think I'll go back and get my jacket. Will you all wait a moment?" The boys nodded in agreement and James settled down next to Remus. The werewolf noticed Sirius look after the girl with a longing stare.
As soon as Hermione had disappeared, Remus' rage descended onto Sirius. "What is wrong with you Padfoot?! You don't even know the girl and you look like you want to consume her whole."
Sirius stared at Remus, completely baffled by his attitude. Remus had never cared much for how Sirius treated the girls he dated, but he had never felt inclined to berate Sirius before. A thought of understanding came to the boy, "Oh, do you fancy her Moony?"
This only seemed to anger Remus further. He almost growled as he spoke, "No, I actually don't. But we got to talking last night and the girl's been through hell and back. She doesn't need you playing with her heart or her head anymore then she needs a take a swim with the squid in the Black Lake."
Remus' voice had become lower and harsher as he continued speaking; He didn't want the young woman hearing anything he said. "I want to invoke a pact; no one is allowed to toy with her," he stared pointedly at Sirius now, "unless you plan on marrying her."
"What?! Who made you guardian of her virtue?" Sirius barked back.
James spotted Hermione emerging from the clock tower and elbowed Remus' side.
"I did, when she told me how she had a seat, front and center, to the murder of her own parents," Remus spat under his breath.
Sirius and James stared blankly at Remus as he hobbled back up onto his crutches. A smile already planted on his face as Hermione strolled toward the group, "So would you like a tour of the grounds Amelia?"
"Yes, that would be lovely. I've been here several times during summer breaks to visit Aunt Minerva actually. But I have a feeling you three know more about Hogwarts then I do."
Remus brushed past his still shocked friends and lead Hermione to the tall covered bridge that overlooked the grounds.
"She doesn't look like she just saw her parents killed…" Sirius mumbled to James.
"You're just angry because Moony put you in your place." James put a comforting arm around Sirius' shoulders, "Looks like you'll have to rethink your tactics or actually fall in love with the girl."
Sirius rolled his eyes in response and pushed James back a few paces before they ran to catch up.
Yay! Hope you enjoyed that one. I really wanted to stress Remus and Hermione's relationship. Hopefully it wasn't like I hit you over the head with it though.
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