Thank you for all of the amazing reviews!
Teachergirl: I was actually trying to make a Hermione story where she grew up around magic. I don't think I gave her too much of Ginny's personality. At least, I hope not. I'm not a Ginny fan. Instead of Hermione growing up isolated, she has a large loving family and her best friend. She may be a bit immature, but she's also the baby and believes everything her family says.
: thank you! Its not the same lonely girl with no friends, she has support outside if two impulsive boys. Those impulsive boys also won't go 3 months ignoring her and making rude comments. She may forgive but she won't forget.
JKArcanus: thank you! I really was trying to avoid turning Hermione into a Mary Sue but I think you may be right. I'll review the chapters I have not posted yet. It's a steep slope, and I would hate for Hermione to end up like so many others...looking like a goddess with laser eyes or something. I really do appreciate your help.
24 May 1994
Harry came back from the last Hogsmeade trip feeling guilty and angry, he abandoned Neville and Hermione to hang around Ron. Eloise was with him in the beginning but of course, Ron said something rude and she left him in a huff. It was fun for a while, he and Ron walked aimlessly through the streets, only getting interrupted a few times by students in other houses wanting to hear of Ron's death defying escape of Sirius Black. Harry stood awkwardly to the side, under his cloak, as Ron embellished to the point of out right lying about the night Sirius Black broke into the tower. Not that he could blame him, he supposed. His best mate was famous, his sister was the best in their year, and his brothers were all popular and successful in their own right. He knew Ron always felt like he was living in someone's shadow.
Harry was angry when he found out that Sirius Black was his godfather from eavesdropping the minister of magic. He already knew that Black betrayed his parents but Remus never told him that the fourth boy in his dormitory was the same boy who would grow up to be the mass murderer currently out to get him. He felt betrayed by the only person who was a direct link to his parents. Remus spent hours talking to Harry about his parents, teaching him how to conjure a patronus, and just making him feel wanted. Remus told him that his parents named him his unofficial uncle since neither of them had any family left. James's parents died a couple years before he was born to dragon pox, Lily's parents died in an attack on the platform in their 7th year, and Petunia blamed Lily for their deaths.
The common room was crowded and silent, 5th and 7th years were studying for their OWLs and NEWTs. Angelina Johnson stood beside Percy as they informed the entire house that the tower would be silent for 4 hours each day so that students could study. Harry looked up just in time to see Hermione dancing down the stairs, listening to her Walkman. She had a bright smile on her face, wearing an emerald green baby doll dress that flared out as she twirled dancing her way towards the exit. Fred and George were silently shaking with laughter as they worked on something in the corner when they noticed her making her way to the portrait hole. Neville's eyes grew wide as he looked at the little red head he was waiting for but before he could greet her, Fred and George attacked. George grabbing her upper body with a hand over her mouth, Fred grabbing her legs, they worked together to get the squirming girl up the stairs towards the boys dormitory. Most Gryffindors didn't even pause their studies to look up at the commotion.
"I made her wear that." Eloise said smugly from behind him. Harry turned slowly to look at the taller girl.
"Why?" Harry asked curiously, his voice cracking.
"It's looks great on her. Witches and wizards have no sense of style. All those bulky robes are far too hot to wear in May." Eloise shrugged as she sat beside Neville.
"Then why don't you wear those dresses?" Harry asked thoughtfully.
"It's not as fun." Eloise said slyly, she sat back comfortably, waiting for Hermione to return.
"I think your just trying to give her brothers heart attacks." Neville grinned as he stuffed his essay back into his bag.
"They deserve it, she's 14." Eloise grunted as she pulled a magazine from her bag.
"Where were you, Harry?" Neville turned to him curiously.
"I was-" Harry was saved by Hermione storming down the stairs, her brothers were bound and gagged as they fell down behind her. She ripped the large jumper off angrily and stormed towards the exit when Ron stood up to stop her.
"'Mione, you-" Ron started but Hermione shoved the jumper into his arms and pushed him back into his seat.
"If I want to dance around the halls, naked. I bloody well will, Ronnie!" Hermione snapped as she continued out of the common room. The male Gryffindors started to wolf whistle and clap in approval when the Headboy stood and fired his wand in the air with a bang.
"My sister will do no such thing!" Percy snarled and glared menacingly at the boys around the room.
"Well, my work is done." Eloise said with a satisfied smile, she stood, stuffing her magazine back in her bag.
"You did that on purpose?" Neville demanded.
"Get her to wear flattering clothes instead of those bulky jumpers and hideous robes? Yes, yes I did." Eloise said smugly as she left the stunned boys behind.
"She's out wandering the halls like that?" Neville said in a strangled voice.
"You, know I'm going to go talk to her..." Harry said absently as he dashed from the room, quickly activating the map. He found Hermione easily as she already made it out of the castle, Eloise was close to catching up but when he looked more closely, there was a name nearly over lapping hers.
Peter Pettrigew.
"Remus! I have to show you something!" Harry huffed as he banged on the defense office.
"I'm not going to ask how you got this." Remus opened the door and immediately noticed the map in his hands. He looked it over and lead him towards his desk. "But I am going to ask why you didn't turn it in with Black on the loose."
"I didn't want anyone getting in trouble but I saw Peter on the map! Wait-how did you know about the map?" Harry paused looking at the man curiously.
"I helped make it, I was Moony. God, I haven't been called Moony in so long..." Remus looked sadly at the map, lost in thought. "Peter?"
-0-
"They are ridiculous!" Hermione snapped as she sat heavily on the blanket besides the lake where Luna was waiting for them.
"I agree." Eloise sniffed as she set up Hermione's Walkman to play music.
"Eli, you've seen the way women dress in our society." Luna smiled as she swayed to the music.
"I've also seen the history books, wizarding fashion is so far behind!" Eloise lamented as she watched Luna dance around them.
"Then why don't you wear anything like that?" Luna hummed.
"No one would notice even if I did." Eloise sighed sadly.
"Please, it's just a dress." Hermione scoffed.
"Hermione!" Harry's frantic scream made the girls turn to see Harry and Professor Lupin running towards them.
"What's wrong?" Hermione immediately jumped up and rushed to Harry, Luna and Eloise following close behind.
"Peter was following you, where did he go?" Professor Lupin looked frantically at Eloise.
"Who's Peter?" Eloise asked, taking a hesitant step back from her defense professor.
"He's about 5'8, he had blonde hair and blue eyes. Has a bit of a stutter and large teeth." Lupin advanced on the girls, looking even more frantic.
"What's this about?" Hermione demanded. Hermione told Eloise all about real werewolves who worked in the wizarding world after she figured the professors illness out. While still a little nervous about being around a werewolf, she agreed it would not be a good idea to go advertising his condition.
"We saw Peter Pettrigew on the map." Harry whispered in her ear, standing close to her.
"Really? He was following Eloise?" Hermione gasped, looking between Harry and their professor on disbelief.
"Pettrigew? That guy who was standing in the middle of a bombarda maxima and only left a finger?" Eloise demanded. She read the newspaper articles and was not impressed that they couldn't find anything covering Sirius Blacks trial but plenty that talked about what kind of person Pettrigew were. There were some that held him up on a pedestal, others that talked of a cowardly boy who cowered behind his more powerful friends. After looking at a few pictures, she believed the latter and thought there was definitely something wrong with his death.
"Unless he had a son?" Luna said pleasantly.
"Peter was bent." Professor Lupin snorted before turning back Eloise, his eyes looking feral as he snarled. "Where is he?!"
"I didn't see anyone!" Eloise shrieked and jumped away from the man, pulling close to Hermione.
"I didn't see anyone either. I'm sure someone would have noticed a man who's supposed to be dead wandering the grounds." Hermione glared at the older man defiantly.
"You don't understand! He's probably scared! Something's obviously happened. Why hasn't Peter come to me?" Professor Lupin cried out hysterically as he began to pace. "Wait, he's a rat!"
"A...rat?" Hermione looked at him skeptically.
"An animagus! He could turn into a common brown rat!" Professor Lupin wailed.
"Like a 12 year old family heirloom?" Eloise whispered, horrified, after a long tense silence.
"No!" Hermione gasped.
"It makes sense.-"
"-cut off his finger-"
"-hide with a magical family.-"
"-the picture in the Prophet!" Eloise and Hermione gaped at each other, putting all the pieces together.
"I never like Scabbers." Luna said with a sad smile.
"And one more time for those who aren't geniuses." Harry grumbled, looking between the girls confused, Professor Lupin looked ill.
"Sirius?" Professor Lupin croaked, his face ashen and full of grief.
"Peter Petrrigew obviously framed Sirius his death, for whatever reason, then went into hiding at the Weasleys. Sirius's escape was obviously very stressful, he's been shedding for months, now he's escaped. Probably from-" Eloise adopted her know-it-tone but suddenly gasped and spun to race to her bag. She dumped it onto the blanket that was laid out. "He was probably hitching a ride out of the common room in my bag."
"You guys figured out all this in the span of five minutes?" Harry gaped.
"Oh no, they did all kinds of research." Luna grinned and summoned a folder from her bag. "Hermione was worried after he broke into the tower."
"We need to tell Uncle Albus!" Hermione exclaimed, snatching the file from Luna and running towards the castle.
-0-
Hermione laid out all of their research on the head masters desk, all of the news articles, the interviews, their theories. Albus reviewed everything with an amused look on his face. He just could not see how it was possible for an unregistered animagus to be wandering around the school for seven years. While some of their theories were actually quite compelling, some things just didn't add up.
"So, you believe that Peter Pettrigew survived the blast and went into hiding?" The head master looked around at the assembled students and professor with a sad smile.
"We think he caused the blast, faking his own death." Eloise said boldly, looking defiantly at the ancient headmaster.
"Why? Why would Peter do such a thing?" Albus asked pensively, steeping his fingers.
"Could he have been the one to betray my parents?" Harry asked hesitantly.
"No, Harry. He could not, I'm sorry to say I cast the fidelius charm on the cottage in Godrics Hollow." Albus said sadly. "Your parents chose Sirius because he was their best friend, your godfather, to be their secret keeper. If I had not come back to see the damage, I don't think I would have believed it."
"Fidelius?" Hermione questioned.
"An obscure charm we started to use during the last war. To hide residences, you would need a caster, a binder, and secret keeper. I was the caster, James was the binder, the secret bound to his life as a resident of the dwelling, and Sirius was the secret keeper. Only Sirius could betray the secret of where your parents were located. I believe that only 6 people knew of the location, including you, Harry." Albus said gravely.
"There's no way to change it?" Eloise questioned.
"No, it would take a very strong witch or wizard to break the charm then recast it. While your parents were very powerful...it was beyond their capability." Albus shook his head.
"There could have been something else!" Eloise defended, she still believed that their theory was correct.
"I'm sure but for now you all should head to your dormitories, I'm sure Professor Lupin and I need to talk." The head master said sternly as he turned away from the students.