These next two chapters were so much fun to write. I really hope you all enjoy them as much as I do.
HUGE thank you to the reviewers for last chapter: Desperate4more, dixie326, Guest, Raven that flies at night, GhostWriter1864, windyshoes, themysteriousnicole. Every one of you brought a smile to my face and I can't wait to hear what you have to say about this chapter!
PS. The next chapter is even better...
Hermione stood hidden behind a pillar by the staircase as she watched the Hogwarts students file into the Great Hall. She saw James and Lily walking together; enjoying the last few moments where they didn't have to be pillars of responsibility since they were Head Boy and Girl this year. Hermione found herself searching for other familiar faces. For the first time since she arrived in 1977, she felt very alone.
"Good luck Blondie," A rugged whisper came from behind her. The light touch on her back sent an unexpected tingle up her spine. "As long as you don't end up in Slytherin, you can still hang out with us," Sirius winked as he strutted into the hall. He flexed his fingers a few times until the prickling feeling subsided.
Remus embraced her around the shoulders, "All right there Mia?"
"Yea, Remus. Just beyond nervous," Hermione attempted to laugh but it contorted into a cough.
The young werewolf smiled encouragingly, "Any predictions for your house?"
"I was a Gryffindor. Would be nice to be in the same house as you lot, and I don't really like the idea of having to learn another dormitory."
"I'll keep my fingered crossed then." He squeezed her arm once more before joining the rest of the school.
Professor McGonagall approached from the boat dock with a mob of little first years and motioned for Hermione to join them. The group of new children was deadly silent as they walked past the four lengthy house tables and halted in front of the podium. Professor Slughorn placed the traditional stool down next to McGonagall and then positioned the old, ragged sorting hat on top of it.
"When you hear your name called, step forward and place the Sorting Hat on your head. The Sorting Hat will then decide which house will become your home here at Hogwarts," Minerva's voice was stern but she smiled at the group as she finished her speech.
Hermione stood through thirteen names being called, seated and sorted. Between each table's cheering for their new found members, there were many audible whispers that she could hear through the crowd.
"Who's the totty with the firsties?"
"Merlin, she's gorgeous."
To her credit, Hermione made no motion to acknowledge the gossip. But a few of her friends at the Gryffindor table were not amused. Remus simply shook his head at the conversation. Lily and James acted in their authoritative positions and asked people to "keep it down please" and "belt it man." But Sirius was experiencing a new feeling; there was a pull at the bottom of his stomach. His eyes flashed with anger and his fists clenched as one of the Ravenclaw's behind him mumbled, "Bloody hell, where did they transfer the new talent from?"
"McGonagall, Amelia." The name alone would have drawn attention, but since this was also the name that the 'new girl' responded to, all eyes turned and followed Hermione as she moved.
"Does McGonagall have a daughter?"
"No she's too old to be McGonagall's child. What about a sister or a cousin?"
All the chaotic mumbling stopped as soon as Hermione placed the hat on her head. At first, she thought it was broken; the hat did not interact with her for several seconds. "You are not a McGonagall, my dear. But I can see that you are a brave soul. Your mind belongs to Ravenclaw and your heart to Hufflepuff, but I believe that your chivalry and courage have always directed your way. GRYFFINDOR."
The cheers from the Gryffindor table were louder than for any of the first years, but no one in the hall looked very surprised. Hermione removed the Sorting Hat and stepped toward her familiar table. She saw Lily waving her over. She sat down next to the redhead and another girl, who was introduced as Marleen; she was also a seventh year. The whole table gave Hermione a warm reception; she even noticed Minerva smile as she continued reading the first year names. To Hermione's surprise, Lily began intervening and answering questions on her behalf. Lily did not want Hermione's time to be overrun with interrogations.
Remus, Sirius and Peter sat across from Hermione and kept her entertained as they talked about classes and teachers. They also warned about a few students that she should stay clear of; Hermione shivered when she recognized a few names.
The feast came to a close too quickly and the students were ushered off to bed. Lily and James had to lead the first years, so they made a point to ask the rest of the Marauders to help Hermione find Gryffindor Tower.
Remus and Peter took the lead as they argued about the recent Puddlemere United game. Sirius fell into step beside Hermione and asked her a few forgettable but polite questions. He did not know what to say to the girl, and it baffled him. Sirius was normally quite charming and needed little time to impress a witch, but this girl was too quick for his usual chatting. Since their interaction at the record store, Sirius and caught himself thinking about her. He had no idea how he felt about her, but he knew that he greatly disliked the looks the other seventh and sixth year boys were giving her.
The next couple weeks felt like blissful routine for Hermione. She excelled in all her classes; especially with Lily's small pointers. The gossip that surrounded her finally died down, and Hermione noticed only a few people still gawked at her when she walked by in the halls.
Soon the first Quidditch game was upon Gryffindor. Lily, Remus, Peter and Hermione sat in the Great Hall hastily eating breakfast so they could all get down to the pitch for good seats. James and Sirius ran into the hall, the former looked a bit green in color.
"Shouldn't you be down at the pitch warming up already?" Lily appeared worried as she took in James' appearance.
"Yea, well McGonagall noticed that I skipped breakfast and ordered me to come eat something before we played today. She started shouting something about not wanting me to fall asleep and plummet from my broom." James grabbed a single piece of toast and a sip of orange juice.
Lily smiled sweetly at James and whispered, "I know something that will make you feel better."
"And what is that dear Evans," James still looked miserable as he glared at the toast.
"Well…would you go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" Lily smiled widely as everyone within ear shot fell silent. James, for once in his life, was speechless.
Sirius elbowed James painfully in the gut. "Ow, bloody hell Pads… I mean, yes. Yea! I'd love to go to Hogsmeade with you next week."
"Wonderful. Now go pummel Slytherin." Lily acted completely at ease and returned to her breakfast.
Peter and Remus tried to muffle their laughter with little success. Peter piped up, "Oye, Pads. Who are you taking to Hogsmeade? You might need to cancel to make sure James doesn't float off to cloud nine."
"No one actually. A certain wolf, berated me about being a tosser to girls and not being serious about becoming an Auror. So I'm going to prove him wrong of course," Sirius smirked at Remus. When Sirius noticed the time, he quickly flashed a wide smile to Hermione and lifted James off the bench by the neck of his Quidditch robes. James clumsily pecked Lily on the cheek before he was dragged off.
Hermione's cheeks were a bit rosy, but were pale in comparison to Lily's. Hermione turned to Remus to distract herself, "It would appear, Mr. Lupin, that you are making a very good impression on your friends. How did this come about?"
Remus looked eerily calm and reminded Hermione of her older professor, "I guess they finally started listening to me." Everyone in the hall began to laugh.
The match was exhilarating. Hermione and Lily stood at the front of one of the Gryffindor stands with Peter and Remus behind them cheering just as loud for crimson and gold. Lily almost screamed herself horse when James made his first goal.
Sirius was also extremely entertaining as the announcer today. "And Potter has the quaffle; oh no, he's just been glanced by the bludger hit off by the slimy McNaire. The snakes have the quaffle now, the absolutely frightening Heller shoots; but Bell stops the shot!"
"Mr. Black, please refrain from adding colorful adjectives to the opposing team. It is blatant favoritism and distracting," McGonagall could be heard in the background of the speaker.
"Right you are professor. And the ever talented Potter has the quaffle again; he passes it to the striking Saier; and back to Potter, and he scores!"
"I don't believe that you will be commentating the next few matches Mr. Black."
"That's alright Professor McGonagall, I'll just have to make this one count then," you could almost hear the smirk on Sirius' face.
The rest of the match was over in the blink of an eye. Gryffindor's seeker found the snitch fluttering teasingly over the Slytherin keeper; the seeker almost toppled the Slytherin to the ground as he raced to capture the small golden ball.
"Gryffindor WINS!"
The group from the stands made the trek back to the castle quickly; excited about the first win of the season and anticipating a house party in the common room.
"Oh, I have to get something from my aunt's room. I'll have to meet you all back at the dorms," Hermione gave a knowing look to Remus. They had been brewing the Wolfsbane potion in her room at McGonagall's quarters to keep it out of sight. Remus nodded and steered Lily and Peter back to the tower.
Hermione was lost in thoughts of what she needed to add to the potion and what temperature she needed to bring the concoction up to when she bumped into a board shoulder. "Oh, I'm so sorry."
"That's alright, love," a velvety smooth voice answered her. It belonged to a Slytherin boy; seventh year, tall and very muscular. She had heard the teachers in class address him as Rosier. Hermione knew that name belonged to a member of Snape's Slytherin friends. She also knew that he was going to become a Death Eater soon.
"I'll watch where I'm going next time. Excuse me," Hermione attempted to push past the boy, but he easily stepped across her path again.
"What's the rush? Maybe we were meant to get to know each other?" Evan Rosier looked at Hermione with a bit of hunger in his eyes.
"I'm sure you've already heard all about me. There isn't much else to tell." Hermione inconspicuously put her hand into her bag and grasped her wand.
"Well, I'm sure there are much more interesting things about you then your bad taste in friends and unfortunate muggle-loving family ties." Rosier crossed his arms behind his back and gazed down at her.
Hermione had a deep desire to punch this boy. She pushed that feeling away and placed a strained smile on her face instead, "You seem to already be well informed of me, and you seem very opinionated. What kind of person do you think I am?"
Rosier smile and began circling around Hermione, "You're a talented witch. Intelligent, very quick, loyal to a fault and you're extremely beautiful. Anyone would be lucky to count you as a friend."
"Is your attempt at flattery to convince me to go out with you or have me join your soon to be master?" Hermione saw the surprise in his eyes as Rosier took a step back. "I don't think my muggle-born mother would like the thought of me in either of those scenarios."
He quickly composed himself, but his temper was beginning to crack his serene veneer. "Either would have been acceptable. But now that I've gotten to speak with you, I don't think you're qualified for either role. I'm afraid that this conversation will have to be obliterated…"
Rosier raised his wand to strike, but Hermione was quicker, "Stupify!"
The spell whizzed past his ear as Rosier dodged to the left, "How dare you, you little half-blood bitch! SECTUMSEMPRA!"
Hermione sidestepped the spell too slowly. She felt her skin being sliced open all over her body as she fell to the ground. Her arm, which Hermione had put out in front of her to catch her fall, cracked and twisted as it impacted the floor. Hermione looked up to find the hallway now vacant.
It felt like hours before Hermione heard the echo of footsteps. It must have only been a few minutes since the match because the voices she heard approaching belonged to Minerva and Sirius.
"But you cannot use your commentator seat as a podium to humiliate the Slytherins Mr. Black."
"Yes Professor, I understand that. But you can't honestly tell me, it wasn't at least a little funny." Sirius' shadow came into view as Hermione saw them rounding the corner.
"I cannot and will not answer that Mr. Black. You will be suspended from commentary duty for two matches. But I think we can skip the detention for now." McGonagall gave Sirius as stern look, but nodded her head approvingly, "Shouldn't you be getting to the celebration?" Sirius turned back down the hall and disappeared from sight.
Professor McGonagall walked down the hall toward her private chambers. She glanced at the floor as she walked and noticed some red splatter by her feet. McGonagall looked up and saw a motionless figure in a heap on the floor. She spotted the blonde hair marred with blood and familiar purple beaded bag slung over the body.
"Amelia? AMELIA!"
EEeeekk! Cliffhanger, muahaha.
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Love, Misha