Saturday, 22nd October 1977
Hermione rose earlier than usual that Saturday, hoping to catch Lily before she left for Hogsmeade. The redhead was going on her first date with James Potter - the date that Hermione's arrival had delayed - and Hermione wanted to wish her luck and tell her about her upcoming date before she left. And she desperately needed some fashion advice from the Head Girl.
She took a little extra time getting ready, knowing she'd see Peter and the rest of the boys at some point. She wanted to look... nice. Pretty, even. It was still mind-boggling to her that she was even thinking of Peter, let alone actually going out with the bloke! She had been so sure when she had arrived that Peter had already been a Death Eater, and to know now that she could keep him off that path was such a relief! The fact that he was actually kind and smart and gorgeous was just a bonus, albeit an unexpected one.
"And it's not like he's actually going to do any of those horrible things in this time anyway," she muttered to herself as she spelled her hair into loose waves and pinned the sides back. "It wouldn't be fair to judge him for things he did in a future that doesn't even exist anymore."
So she let herself be excited for her date next weekend. And that meant dress shopping.
Hermione found Lily as she was waiting for one of the staircases to change.
"Lily, hey," she said, both surprised and relieved that she was alone. "I thought you'd be with James already?"
"Morning, H!" Lily had picked up the nickname too, much to Hermione's chagrin. "We'll be heading to Hogsmeade after breakfast, but James isn't even awake yet so I thought I'd get a head start. And I know some of the younger students will be up already too. It can't hurt to keep an eye on them until the Prefects arrive." Hermione nodded in understanding and linked her arm with Lily's as they walked.
If Lily was surprised at the gesture she didn't show it, but she did give Hermione's arm a slight squeeze of affection. It wasn't as though the girls weren't friends - of course they were - but Hermione suffered pretty bad PTSD from the war in her time, and sometimes physical touch triggered flashbacks or panic attacks for her. About a week into classes, Sirius had snuck up behind her in the Transfiguration hallway and covered her eyes playfully with his hands. In three seconds flat, he was on the ground holding his groin while his foot throbbed and boils began to pop up on his exposed skin. As soon as Hermione had realised it was him, she'd begun to apologise, only to turn from upset to angry in the blink of an eye, not bothering to help him up or reverse the hex as she lectured him on his stupidity ('Honestly Sirius Black, sneaking up on me of all people? How thick can you get!?'). He'd not played any tricks on her since, though she was sure he'd try again at some point.
Lily was excited as Hermione told her about her date with Peter to the Halloween Ball the next weekend, and almost promised to go dress shopping with her until Hermione reminded her of her own date with James.
"Well, that's okay, I'll just have to help you now!"
"Now?"
"Yes, now. Hmmm," she started looking up and down the hallway before dragging Hermione into an unused classroom, close to the Entrance Hall. "This will do perfectly. Okay, do a little spin for me?"
Hermione spun, self-consciously.
"H," Lily snorted, "slowly please."
Hermione rolled her eyes, but smiled slightly as she turned slowly on the spot.
"Okay - go for a dark colour, it will complement your hair and skin the best - not red or green though. I'm thinking maybe a dark navy or midnight blue? Or a dark purple might work too," Lily said, using the tips of her fingers to turn Hermione's shoulders from side to side.
"And the cut?"
"Definitely go for a high neck. Not that you haven't got any, but you should show off clavicle, not cleavage, and opt for something tight. You've put some weight back on," she met Hermione's eyes warmly, "so you might as well show off your figure too."
Hermione shifted uncomfortably, tugging the hem of her tartan mini skirt. "Okay, got it. Dark colour, high neck, tight. Anything else?"
Lily, who had noticed Hermione's movement, grinned mischievously as she edged towards the door. "Yeah, get the highest thigh-split you can find. Trust me."
And with that, she ducked out with a laugh, leaving Hermione red-faced and groaning in embarrassment.
By the time Hermione had reigned in her blush, breakfast was well underway. She managed to enter the hall without attracting much attention, but as she approached the Gryffindor table she saw Sirius elbow Peter in the ribs, nodding in her direction. 'And there goes that damn blush again', thought Hermione, as Peter looked up at her, eyes widening.
She stopped opposite him, and Sirius cleared his throat at Remus - who had his back to her and still hadn't noticed her arrival - gesturing for him to make room for Hermione to sit down. Quickly realising he was being unintentionally rude, Remus turned slightly, mouth still full of bacon, to greet her with a smile - only to choke at the sight of her. Frowning, Hermione pulled her wand out from her sleeve and magicked his airways clear.
"Do I look that bad?" she asked quietly, looking down at herself. "I mean, I know I haven't mastered 70's fashion yet but I thought this was pretty good?" She waved her free hand around, gesturing to the long-sleeved black top that was tucked into the waist of her short tartan skirt, complete with high black socks and Mary Jane's.
Still coughing slightly, Remus answered for the other boys, who still looked too shocked to speak, although Sirius was smirking now, and Peter had a slight flush to his cheeks. "N-not at all Hermione, you look - well, I mean, you look -"
"Smoking hot!"
"Sirius!"
"Sirius!"
"Padfoot!"
"What? It's true, H. Nice legs," he winked, barking out a laugh as she hurried to sit down and hide said legs under the table.
"Oh Merlin, I knew I shouldn't have worn this," she muttered under her breath, wandlessly summoning the coffee pot into one hand as she grabbed some toast with the other.
"Just ignore him, H," said Peter quietly. "You look beautiful."
"Thanks, Peter," she said back, smiling prettily as her face flushed, again.
"Yeah, yeah, okay you two, break it up," laughed Sirius. "Prongs and Lily are bad enough," he jerked his head down the table, and the other three turned to look, all pulling some kind of face at the way the two were looking at each other.
"I think it's sweet," said Hermione, ignoring the snorts of laughter from her comrades.
"Yeah," said Sirius sarcastically, dodging a flying piece of toast from Hermione as he finished, "so sweet."
Amidst their laughter, Hermione shared her plans to go clothes shopping in the village, and the boys offered to escort her there - they were heading to Scrivenshaft's (Remus) and Zonko's (Sirius) - with the group agreeing to meet up for lunch in the Hog's Head before heading back to the school.
Once they were finished with their breakfast, the four friends bid James and Lily a good date ('Have a lovely time, dear Prongsie.' - 'Shut up, Sirius!' - 'Have fun guys!' - 'Come on you lot, let's just go') and started the trek towards the small wizarding village, thankful that it wasn't that cold yet, although Hermione did pull out a jacket from her beaded bag when they arrived.
"Okay, so I'll meet you guys at the Hog's Head at about half eleven then, yeah?" she asked, pulling on a leather jacket that she had transfigured that morning, oblivious to the boys reactions to that.
"Ye-ah, that sounds good," said Sirius, almost speechless.
"Alright, have fun then, see you later!"
"Bye!"
"See ya!"
And then there were three.
Sirius turned to look at his mates, both still staring after their newest friend, wide eyed and almost drooling.
"I didn't realise she was so hot, Pete," he said, looking back to Hermione and the way that damn leather jacket paired with those socks and heels made her look like some kind of tiny, sexy, bad-ass warrior. "Nice one!"
Peter shook himself back to reality, smacking Remus on the back of his head to get his attention. "Well I did," he said smugly, grinning at his mates. "You snooze, you lose, Padfoot. And you too, Moony."
"Hmm, I dunno Wormtail," laughed Remus, glancing back in the direction of the dressmaker as he joked, "I reckon I've still got a shot!"
Sirius barked a laugh as Remus dodged another backhand from his friend, "And me too! She's not yours yet, mate!"
"Oi!" laughed Peter, knowing his mates were just teasing, trying to rile him up. "I asked her first boys - paws off!"
The boys continued to play fight over Hermione as they made their way to the joke shop, but neither Sirius or Peter noticed the disappointed gleam in Remus' eye. He felt guilty for even thinking it, but if he'd known Peter was interested in her too, he might've plucked up the courage to ask Hermione out first.
But now he'd missed his chance.
By the time Hermione sat down at one of the round tables in the back of the Hog's Head Inn, she was exhausted. She must have tried on a hundred dresses! Well, not really - she didn't think the store had even had a hundred dresses - but she sure felt like it.
Ordering a butterbeer with an extra dash of ginger, she waited for the boys to arrive (even though she was already a few minutes late herself), checking her bags to make sure she had everything she needed for the next weekend.
She'd managed to find the perfect dress - and she was sure Lily would agree - along with shoes and a small purse. She hadn't bothered with any kind of shawl or throw over, not wanting to hide her beautiful dress, but she had picked up some beauty products to help with the overall look, as well as some small faux diamond earrings. Satisfied that she hadn't forgotten anything, Hermione shrunk the bags down and stowed them safely inside of her magically extended handbag, relaxing as she sipped at her butterbeer.
After the boys had finally arrived (almost a half hour late, to Hermione's annoyance) and Sirius had insisted on buying her another drink (to apologise), the four friends ordered some lunch, chatting and having a generally good time together. A few hours and too many drinks later, they began their trip back to the school, each making guesses as to how James and Lily's first date had gone, each guess more outlandish than the last.
By the time they made it back to the castle they were all a little tipsy from the beer, Hermione's cheeks were pink again - this time with laughter, and her smile was wider than it had been in many months. With Hermione's arm linked through Sirius', and Remus and Peter bringing up the rear - also staring at her rear, if she could guess - the four teenagers made their way towards the Head's rooms, eager to hear about James and Lily's date (even if the boys insisted that they didn't want to know).
What none of them expected, was to open the portrait hole to the sight of James and Lily tangled together on the couch, snogging as though their lives depended on it. The pair immediately jumped apart, looking towards the doorway as the boys began to cheer on their mate, while Hermione desperately tried to pull all three of them back into the corridor and close the portrait simultaneously.
With nothing to do but laugh, Lily waved them in, grinning from ear to ear as the boys tackled James onto the lounge and Hermione rushed to give her a hug.
As night fell, the six students enjoyed each others company, sharing food and drinks smuggled from the kitchens as they told their tales from the day, finally falling asleep amongst the transfigured cushions and couches, too happy and content to move.
Author's note:
This chapter is a little shorter than I'd like - sorry about that.
It just seemed right to stop it here.
I hope you liked it!
Love, A
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