Hey all! Sorry about the late update today, didn't feel so great this morning...
Anyway, thank you to everyone who followed and favorite-ed this past week; you all make this so much fun! And to my wonderful reviewers: brownie-123, Jeb59, GhostWriter1864, Leaf of Love, SereniteRose, Raven that flies at night, pianomouse, Jily71102, Calimocho, chapou69, StormWitch19851, Bookworm-2406, Guest, DanceAnna, and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx; thank you so much for the reviews and birthday love!
We're getting close to graduation... Eek!
The end of the school year was quickly approaching and that meant N.E.W.T.'s. Hermione was utterly beside herself with stress from studying, how her influence would impact the future, and she was still figuring out when and where to tell certain people about what might happen to them in her time.
Thankfully Hermione had only had one "episode" since Lily had confronted her about the future she was from; and it had happened while in the company of Remus, so no further explanation had been required. Remus was concerned though, and had resolved to ask for Lily's help in formulating some kind of potion that could help control the epileptic type incidents so that Hermione would be able to more easily manage them.
Remus, Hermione, Peter and Lily were gathered around one of the tables in the Gryffindor Common room. They were reviewing Charms spells and helping each other correct and perfect wand movements for some of the more complicated incantations.
Lily was standing beside Peter, having him follow the flick of her wand slowly as they worked on a water charm.
"Ready with the freezing charm Remus?" Lily asked as she had Peter face their werewolf friend.
Remus nodded his head, "Ready when you are Wormtial."
"Aqua Eructo!" Peter clearly stated. He had appeared nervous when they started reviewing, but had slowly grown more comfortable with the spells since his friends had been helping him correct his flourishes. And to Peter's great joy, a jet of crystal clear water erupted from the tip of his wand and immediately angled it's way over Remus's head.
The sandy haired Marauder smiled broadly at his friend, "Immobulus! Nicely done Wormy; that was textbook work."
Hermione, who was smiling just as brightly at Peter, offered him a thumbs up from where she sat on the floor observing. She quietly muttered "Tergeo."
The enormous icicle disappeared without a trace. Lily moved on to the next spell on the review sheet to go over with Peter, but Remus was staring at Hermione with an extremely shocked yet excited face.
"What?" Hermione was a bit confused by his expression until she noticed that her wand was still on the floor in front of her, untouched.
"Mia… did you just… that was quiet… was that a nonverbal spell?" Remus whispered to his friend as he sat down next Hermione on the floor.
Hermione smiled a bit embarrassed with herself, "Um… yes. I've been practicing more of the easier spells nonverbally when I get a spare moment. Don't say anything though; I really don't want to overshadow Peter's progress tonight. He's been doing so well these past few days. I think he's going to do fairly well on the testing as long as he keeps his confidence up." Hermione had debated fervently with herself over whether to inform Peter about his future; but so far she had decided against it, afraid that if she planted that seed of self-doubt that it would be the actual reason that Peter turned to the Dark Lord.
Remus agreed wholeheartedly about Peter's performance during the review, "But I'm not too sure about your and Lily's boyfriends. I think this is the third night they've skipped out early on our study sessions and disappeared."
Hermione chuckled, "What was their excuse this time?"
"I believe James mumbled something about 'future planning' and practically ran off," Remus waved his wand in front of them and practiced a basic levitating charm on Hermione wand.
"And Sirius couldn't contain his laughter as he chased after James and didn't even offer an explanation further then, 'helping'," Hermione grabbed her wand out of the air before it levitated out of reach. "Do you think we should be concerned and find out what those two are up to?"
Remus shrugged, "I wouldn't be too worried. They know enough to not set off some elaborate prank right before N.E.W.T.'s; I'm sure they fear your and Lily's wrath enough to not interfere with studying. But it is possible they might be planning something for graduation."
"Oh Merlin… I hope they don't get too out of hand. They do need to begin reviewing again if they plan on at least passing," Hermione thought it was getting a bit ridiculous how James and Sirius were avoiding studying like the plague. Especially with their ambition of becoming Aurors and her knowledge of them joining the Order of the Phoenix shortly after graduation.
"Well, Peter and I haven't gotten any information out of them as of yet. So I really have no idea what they're up to," Remus admitted.
"I haven't been privy to any information either," Hermione had tried several times to pry at least a clue out of her boyfriend, but she had nothing to show for her efforts. She had tried again the night before but he had simply smirked and insisted it wasn't his place to share. Sirius might have then tried to distract her by kissing along her jaw, but she wasn't going to tell Remus about that…
The quartet moved on to reviewing for Transfiguration next. Peter didn't need very much assistance with this subject and he actually helped Remus with a mispronunciation that he had with one of the spells.
After the practical reviews, Lily insisted that they go over notes to make sure that the written part of the exams would be manageable as well. Hermione had made a composite of all their notes to assure that all the information possible was covered in their review. She had made two extra copies of the notes for James and Sirius, but Hermione was rethinking handing them over to the two missing Marauders.
"Well speak of the devil…" Hermione mumbled to herself as Sirius came rushing into the common room and stopped dead in front of his friends. He smiled broadly and tried to look at ease. Sirius let out a strange muffled grunt and took a step forward as if he had suddenly lost his balance even though he had been standing perfectly fine.
Sirius glanced angrily over his shoulder but then the toothy grin reappeared on his face, "Hello, all. What are we studying tonight?" He rubbed his hands together eagerly and tried to look excited about the prospect of studying… Hermione knew he was trying to cover up something far too enthusiastically.
Hermione eyed him suspiciously before mirroring her boyfriend's smile to try to coax some information from him, "And where were you today my dear Sirius?" She made her voice sickly sweet; Remus and Peter looked at her with concern but Lily simply snorted.
Lily shook her head as Sirius ignored the warning glances from the other Marauders and answered his witch, "Nowhere of consequence I'm afraid; dreadfully boring in fact. But if you let me run up and gather my books, you can show me what you've been reviewing."
The deceptive smile on Hermione's face faltered as she tried to figure out what Sirius was hiding from the group, "Alright, but don't take too long. We're almost finished reviewing for Transfiguration. Defense is next up I believe."
Sirius nodded graciously and jogged up the stairs of the boys' dormitory.
As soon as Sirius's back disappeared, Hermione stood up and moved to follow the boy.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Remus chocked his head toward the staircase.
"No, but I think I'm too curious now…" Hermione flashed the small group a smirk and began to creep up the stairs.
Hermione passed a few lower classmen, but they didn't even bother asking what she was doing carefully ascending their stairs. When she finally reach the seventh year dorms, she tiptoed to the edge of the door frame and laid an ear close to the small gap that the open door made.
"…you sure you're ready for this mate? Big step forward; huge momentous leap forward actually," Sirius's voice sounded joking despite the serious connotation. Hermione knew that Sirius was talking to James even though she hadn't seen the other black haired boy for a few hours now and she hadn't seen him return. She wondered how much use the invisibility cloak had been getting these past three days.
James sounded like he was pacing a bit; Hermione could hear his shoes click against the floor of their room. He also sounded a bit nervous as he spoke, "Well, I'm sure Padfoot… She's the one I'm afraid isn't sure…"
Sirius's barking laughter filled the room, "You're being ridiculous Prongs. I wouldn't have helped you sneak out of the castle so many times if I wasn't certain about this." Hermione heard a hand clasp over a shoulder, "She's going to say yes mate, you have to relax."
Hermione couldn't help but gasp as the puzzle pieces fell into place. She panicked and almost fell backward as the door was pulled open exposing her eavesdropping.
But instead of looking upset or disappointed that she had interrupted such a private moment, Sirius looked positively thrilled at the sight of her. "Perfect; just who you needed to see, James."
Hermione gave him a confused look as Sirius pulled her into the room and fully closed the door behind them.
"Um… hello," Hermione gave a small awkward wave to James as Sirius held her shoulders and forced her to face the messy haired boy.
James offered her a wave just as uncomfortable and anxious in return, "Mia…"
Sirius dipped down and kissed the side of Hermione head, "Why don't you tell us how much you heard, snooper."
"I didn't… I was… I'm so sorry, James." Hermione shifted away from her boyfriend and took a step toward the nervous Potter, "I was actually hoping to find something to use as leverage against Sirius, not you."
A small smile graced James's face as he met Hermione eyes, "Sorry about occupying so much of Padfoot's time recently. I needed his help… honestly I needed his stubbornness to help me get a few things done."
Hermione smiled happily as she thought about what tasks Sirius had probably helped with the past three days, "So I've gathered. Um, sorry about eavesdropping."
James shook his head, "It's alright. We haven't really been good about offering decent excuses for our absence."
There was an extended, somewhat uncomfortable pause.
Sirius chuckled again and rolled his eyes, "Well do you want a female's opinion on the thing or not Prongs?"
"Oh, right," James rumbled with jacket and withdrew a small square jewelry box. He opened it and handed it over to Hermione without a word.
Hermione felt a huge smile spread across her face.
The ring was gorgeous. It was simple yet elegant; much like Lily herself. And Hermione marveled at the sparkle that the facets threw in the light. The center stone was a rectangular diamond which was flanked by two smaller rectangles of emeralds. Hermione couldn't see a single imperfection on any of the stones and she knew that meant they were of very good quality. But the fact that James hadn't picked out something flashy and overly gaudy is what made Hermione surprisingly proud of the young man in front of her.
"It's perfect, James; absolutely perfect."
Some of James's nerves seemed to melt away as he took in Hermione's words, "You're sure? You think she'll like it?"
Hermione nodded her head, "Of course she will."
James finally began to smile, "Ok, good… so now I just have to figure out how to ask her." And the nerves came crashing back; James began to pace the room again.
"So close…" Sirius sighed heavily and plastered a board smile on his face again. "Come on mate… calm down, I'm sure you can figure something out if you actually put your head back on straight." He chuckled and shook his head lightly. "You were supposed to put him at ease," Sirius enveloped Hermione with his arms and pulled her securely to his chest.
"Right… put him at ease," Hermione was at a loss to what would make James not be so panicked, but she knew that she needed to try if there was going to be any chance of them studying after this. "Did you have any thoughts on how you're going to ask?"
"I wanted to ask her at graduation, but I decided against that; maybe after graduation? I don't want to make it into a spectacle or have her feel pressured into saying yes. I want her to say 'yes' because she wants to," James suddenly stopped and rounded on Hermione with wide eyes, "She's going to say 'yes', right?"
Hermione found James's antics quite endearing, "Yes. I'm almost positive of it."
"Well, how and where would you want to be asked?" James began pacing again, not realizing the slight discomfort his question might cause for the couple in front of him.
Hermione noticed that she had shifted a fraction away from her boyfriend, but he chuckled and pulled her to him again. They shared a sincere yet awkward smile before Hermione addressed James's question, "Well, I would want something intimate and personal. Maybe a place that holds significant meaning for both of you?"
James nodded his head eagerly, "Right… right, makes sense… could work…"
"He's been working with partial sentences for the last few days. It's gotten quite interesting trying to communicate with him when he retreats into his own head," Sirius whispered to Hermione.
She smiled in response, glad that their slight awkwardness had passed so quickly.
As Hermione witnessed James finally sit down on his trunk, she decided to help the poor Marauder before he began to wear a hole in the floor again. She sat down next to James and took one of his clenched hands in her own, "Alright, where is the first place you every saw Lily?"
"The Hogwarts express. She yelled at us for trying to jinx another student," James smiled at the memory but then immediately frowned.
"Yea, probably not the right kind of memory you want to bring up." Hermione continued, "First time you knew you fancied her?"
James furrowed his eyebrows as he thought back to pinpoint the exact memory, "In the common room after the first week of fifth year, she actually laughed at a prank I pulled on Padfoot. I've always loved her laugh."
"Well if you're planning on doing this after graduation, the common room might not be the best place. It will probably be overrun with people packing and family members helping to clear out the dorms." Hermione sighed and huffed out a great puff of air, "What about the first place you kissed?"
A goofy grin found its way onto James's face, "The clock tower courtyard." He didn't elaborate; just sat there and smirked a bit as he thought about the memory.
Sirius snorted and Hermione couldn't help but laugh behind her hand, "Well, that could work perfectly. Most of the graduates and families will be on the grounds around the entrance courtyard or the great hall. Sneak Lily away to the clock tower and just tell her how you feel."
"… And then ask her to marry me?" James's legs began to bounce anxiously.
"Yes, and then ask her to marry you," Hermione made her smile as encouraging as possible and placed a hand on one of James's knees to try to still the nervous movement.
James took a deep breath and finally appeared to calm down, "Yea… alright…" He looked between Sirius and Hermione's face and wore a sheepish grin, "Thanks for talking me through this."
"No worries, Prongs. Just try to remember to breathe." Sirius offered a smile and clasped his almost brother on the shoulder.
"And try to push this to the back of your mind for now, so you can focus on studying and passing your N.E.W.T.s," Hermione stressed the last three words with hopes of the two Marauders realizing how much they needed to review still.
"Yes ma'am," James chuckled at the witch in front of him. He stood and gathered his bag from the base of his bed and made for the door. James turned before exiting, "Thank you… both of you."
"So…" Sirius chuckled a bit after he and Hermione were alone in the dorm, "Now you know why I couldn't tell you anything."
Hermione nodded and closed the gap between herself and her Marauder boyfriend and laced her fingers behind his neck, "Quite a secret to keep."
Sirius smirked, "But it is exciting. I'm really happy for them both." He pulled his witch a little closer and gazed down at her, "Well… should I be taking notes or something?"
Hermione's jaw gaped slightly, "I… I don't…" Hermione hated that her thoughts were floundering, and she felt a little ashamed as she admitted, "I never thought you were the marrying type, Sirius."
He nodded his understanding, "I didn't think I was either. But those ideas don't seem as ridiculous when I think about them now."
"Oh really?" Hermione found that the conversation didn't feel that strange to her either, but it did raise some concerns.
"Yes. I rather like the idea of having you around for an extended period of time," the smile that Sirius's lips formed was breathtaking.
"I think I might like that as well…" Hermione's voice became small and her smile faltered. "But…"
"But there are complications beyond our control at the moment." Sirius voiced her apprehensions perfectly, but his smile was still so hopeful, "That doesn't change how I feel."
Hermione felt the edges of her lips lift up, "I love you too, Sirius."
Sirius leaned his forehead against hers, "Good. Because someday I will ask you that very important questions… and I do hope you'll say 'yes'."
Before Hermione could voice any complicated issues, he captured her lips in a searing kiss and wrapped his arms tighter around her body.
Fluffy, fluff, fluff... sorry, I was feeling like we needed some fluff before graduation. =)
Hope you all liked; please tell me what you think!
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Always,
Misha
Ps. Check out the other stories by me: 'Begin Again,' 'Life as Demigods' and 'Penelope Jackson: The Lightning Thief.'