A/N: The semester is over, my grades are in, and I'm free for a little over a month! Woo! I can't believe this story has over 100 followers! Thank you so much, it really means a lot to me! Also, I'm going to try out something new. I want to keep this story going from mostly Hermione's perspective but I feel like something is lost when there's only one perspective. I think it'll be easier to tell the story from more than point of view. …At least I hope so... So I'm introducing new POVs. I also changed the cover image to one that seems to have more relevance to the story instead of just the first chapter. Hope you like it!
Chapter 8 - New Found Friendships
Remus had never actually wanted the responsibility of being a prefect. It was obvious that Dumbledore had appointed him the job in an attempt to have him reign some sort of control over his friends, not as if that actually happened. They treated his title more like a joke than a position of authority. Ever since that Hogwarts delivery owl had given him the shiny golden Prefect's badge last summer, James and Sirius had seen it as the perfect opportunity to break as many rules as possible, and drag Peter with them, to see if he would actually write them up.
Which he hadn't.
It wasn't until about a month into fifth year when they realized that Remus now had the prime opportunity to be the ultimate wingman for James since Lily had also been appointed Gryffindor's fifth year prefect. All Remus had to do was mention how "amazing", "kind", and "thoughtful" he thought James was while he had prefect duties with Lily. Of course, the trouble making didn't stop but, they treated his title more like a good thing instead of a burden.
He still didn't like being a prefect.
He didn't like roaming the corridors at night or writing people up. He didn't like that it could potentially damage his friendships, if for some reason they did something he couldn't overlook. It was also incredibly uncomfortable trying to fit James into conversations, and Lily wasn't a fool. It didn't take long for her to realize what he was doing. Actually, it took her about five seconds to grasp that James had put Remus up to it after the first time he mentioned James during rounds. It was awkward at first but, it soon became an inside joke between the two of them. He would mention how amazing he thought James was and she would play along and say some snarky, sarcastic, remark back but by her expression, Remus didn't think she actually meant it. Even if she wouldn't admit it, Remus would like to believe that James had been growing on Lily.
That was the only good thing that came out of being a Prefect; getting to know Lily better.
"Did you see that?" Lily asked softly from beside him, interrupting the eerie silence of the sleeping castle around them. She pointed down the dark corridor. "Over there, by that suit of armor."
The two of them had been patrolling the silent corridors and were now on the dimly lit, cold, seventh floor. Remus squinted through the dark but saw nothing other than the dusty old suit of armor.
"What am I supposed to be seeing?" he asked. Whatever Lily had seen, he must have missed it when he wasn't paying attention.
"I think someone just walked down the Gargoyle Corridor, come on," she said as she quickly walked down the corridor.
Remus groaned under his breath. This was the part he hated: catching people doing something wrong and then having to discipline them. He felt like a snitch, and not the golden ball that James never stopped playing with. Like a tattletale but, nonetheless, he followed Lily. As if there were any choice in the matter.
As they approached the corner, they heard a soft, distant voice that Remus couldn't place. He had to speed up to keep up with Lily and the two of them turned the corner and stared down the Gargoyle Corridor. The end of the hall was lit by two torches illuminating the entrance to Dumbledore's office. They stopped and stared as the gargoyle slowly moved back into place, closing off the passageway up into the Headmaster's tower.
"Well, you were right, Lily," said Remus as the gargoyle stopped closing. "There was definitely someone there."
"It doesn't matter," sighed Lily, shaking her head. "It was probably a professor anyway. Could you imagine how humiliating it would have been if we tried to catch a professor after hours? It would have been awful!"
"Depends on the professor," mused Remus.
"Slughorn would have found it funny… but could you imagine if it had been McGonagall?" said Lily, her green eyes widening in fake horror.
"It would have been worth it to see your expression when it happened," grinned Remus as Lily stuck her tongue out at him. "Let's go, we only have two more floors to check and—blimey it's already one in the morning!" said Remus, checking his watch. "We should have been done ages ago. Prefect duties have never taken us this long before!"
"Well, we've never had Peeves chuck dungbombs at us during our rounds before," said Lily sourly. "That may have something to do with it."
It was definitely the logical reason for them running so late, as well as the lingering smell. Not even fifteen minutes into their Prefect rounds did Peeves the Poltergeist appear and start taunting them. When Remus told him to get lost the poltergeist didn't take it very well. Not very well at all. Seconds after he had spoken, Remus and Lily were having dungbombs chucked at them from above by a manically laughing Peeves. They had taken cover behind a suit of armor, who graciously held up their shield to protect them.
After about fifteen minutes they realized Peeves wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon so they abandoned their hiding spot and spent a majority of the time with the shield charm up. Eventually, Peeves ran out of dungbombs but then Remus and Lily had to then go and clean up the mess that had been made or face the wrath of Filch the caretaker.
"I just want to finish this soon, I'm already exhausted and I want to talk with Hermione," said Lily as the two of them made their way back to the Grand Staircase.
Remus felt a pang of sadness when he thought of Hermione. She had been avoiding having any interactions with anyone unless she had to, and usually she would only talk to people if it was for class. At first, Remus thought that she might just be shy, but he was beginning to think that there wasn't actually a shy bone in Hermione's body. She didn't seem to have a problem taking to people, she just didn't want to. Plus, the reason she gave him earlier that day slightly haunted him.
'I'm not here to make friends' she had said.
Something about that statement was just… just so sad… It was difficult not taking it personally, how could he not? He barely knew her and she barely knew him yet she had already written him and his friends off. He wondered whether or not she would actually wait up to have that conversation with Lily tonight.
"Do you think she'll be waiting for you?" he asked Lily cautiously, airing out his thoughts. He didn't want to offend her, but he felt as though he owed it to Lily to offer up his opinion. "I mean, have you actually had a real conversation with her since the first day of class?"
Lily contemplated this for a second. "No, actually, I haven't. We talk in passing but we haven't had a real conversation."
"She's been avoiding everyone," stated Remus simply.
He opened a great wooden door that led to the next floor and held it for Lily to go through first. It was just as dark and cold as the seventh had been. The only sound, other than Remus and Lily, were the occasional snores from the sleeping portraits lining the walls.
"What makes you think she's avoiding everyone?" asked Lily, glancing over at Remus as he followed her through the door.
"She told me."
"She told you she was avoiding everyone? When did this happen?" Lily had stopped walking and was now facing Remus.
He quickly explained to Lily the encounter he had had with Hermione during and after their journey to the Hospital Wing earlier that day. He started from when Lily had left them in the Great Hall to find Severus and up to the point when Hermione said she wasn't there to make friends.
"But there was something in her eyes… it was like she didn't actually mean it. I just don't understand why she would purposely avoid everyone at her own expense like that," finished Remus.
"It's a little obvious, isn't it, Remus?" said Lily with a sad smile.
Remus frowned at her in confusion and Lily shook her head a little bit.
"For someone so smart and spends all their time reading you really can be oblivious, Remus," said Lily and she started walking again down the dark corridor.
"As much as I enjoy you wounding my ego, I'd much rather you explained what is so obvious."
"Well, for starters, she's a new student-"
"I know that Lily… she's adjusting-" said Remus, feeling as though Lily was talking at him like he was an idiot.
"Let me finish!" Lily rolled her eyes. "As I was saying, Hermione's new and yes, adjusting is probably extremely difficult for her but that's not all. Yes, she is making adjusting seem incredibly easy but I cannot even imagine what she's going through. To be in an entirely new place, no friends, not one familiar person… it must be terrifying."
He agreed that Lily had a point, but this wasn't any new information. That much he had gathered on his own. Obviously Hermione was struggling with being here and not knowing anyone but why would she keep herself from getting to know people? It just seemed like she was making things harder on herself.
"I understand that part, Lily," started Remus. "That's easy enough to pick up, but why avoid everyone? We tried to be friendly but she's always hiding in some corner of the library on her own."
"You lot did come on a little strong," said Lily with a shrug. "James and Sirius would not leave the poor girl alone. No wonder she was trying to escape. Also, didn't you tell me, a few days ago, that she said James looked like her best friend? Imagine how weird that must be for her."
It would be weird. Very weird. He began thinking of a scenario where he was forced to transfer to Beauxbatons. Then, out of the first couple people that spoke to him, one of them was Hermione's friend who happened to look like James. He shuddered slightly. It would definitely be an uncomfortable experience.
The two of them made their way to the last floor they would have to patrol before they finished rounds.
"And anyways, she clearly throws herself into her studies as an excuse to be by herself. Out of all the things she's struggling with right now, classes are definitely not on that list. It's only been a week and I can already tell that she's brilliant," said Lily.
"Still, you'd think she'd want some form of companionship. There's still two more years until we graduate. We're just trying—well, I'm trying—to be welcoming," said Remus.
"I think she might just be nervous about trying to befriend a group of people that have known each other for years. It probably isn't you guys as individuals, it's the fact that you, James, Sirius, and Peter have all been friends since first year," replied Lily. "And obviously she's noticed how close Mary and I are, being the only girls in our year in Gryffindor."
That did make sense, and it hadn't been something he even considered. Sometimes Remus forgot how smart and perceptive Lily was.
"So, I shouldn't take it personally?" asked Remus.
"Of course not, Remus!" smiled Lily. "Just tell your friends to back off a little bit. She needs space. Wait until she comes to you."
"And what if she doesn't?"
"Then I guess that would be her loss. We can't force her to socialize, Remus, no matter how much we want her too. Good lord, we sound like worried parents," Lily laughed. "I'm sure she'll come around."
"I guess we'll see…" said Remus. It made sense. He would just have to wait for her to approach them. How hard could that be? And if she never did, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
"Finally!" sighed Lily as they finished patrolling the last corridor. "Finished! Now let's get back to the Common Room."
It didn't take them long to walk back through the dark castle to the entrance to the common room. Remus was tired and just wanted to crawl into the bed and sleep but Lily seemed very alert. She was giddy with excitement and ready to talk to Hermione about the muggle world.
"I hope she likes the Beatles," said Lily as they got closer to The Fat Lady.
"Beetles? Like the bugs?" asked Remus in confusion as the Portrait swung open.
.:~*~*~*~*~:.
It was a grey and overcast Sunday afternoon, completely different from the previous day's sunshine. Hermione was sitting outside in the courtyard spending time with Mary. Lily had gone to find Snape right after the three of them had had breakfast but Hermione didn't mind, it was nice spending time with Mary. The two of them chatted casually as they sat on a stone bench while Hermione had a book in her lap and Mary was reading some sort of magazine.
There was an open book on her lap, but Hermione wasn't actually reading. While she occasionally spoke with Mary, she was too busy thinking about the previous night she had spent with her and Lily.
She had just managed to get back to the dormitory only a few minutes before Lily returned from rounds, smelling very faintly of dungbombs. They had spent a long time talking and laughing by the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room. After about an hour of the two of them chatting, Mary, who had woken up to find both Lily and Hermione missing, came into the Common Room and joined them.
Throughout her entire life, Hermione never had many friends, let alone any girlfriends. Sure, she had begun to grow close to Ginny after spending so much time with the Weasleys, but this was somehow different. Being around Lily and Mary made her realize how much she had missed out on by not getting along with the other Gryffindor girls in her year. There was something about the two girls that was both welcoming and comforting, which was exactly what Hermione needed.
The three of them talked for a few hours until Lily quite literally fell asleep, curled up into a ball in one of the armchairs by the fire. The reflection of the fire on Lily's red hair caused it to look like her entire head was engulfed in flames. Mary had taken one glance at Lily, who had started to drool a little bit, and started to shake in silent fits of laughter, causing Hermione to grin. With Lily passed out, Mary and Hermione talked quietly between themselves for a short while before they decided they should probably at least get a little bit of sleep. It took the two of them to levitate Lily back into their dormitory and into her bed.
She was immensely grateful that she had gone to have that conversation with Dumbledore. It had been the first time since she arrived in 1976 that Hermione had not felt so alone. Hopefully any day now, Dumbledore would find a way for her to return home anyway. And really, what would be the harm in being friendly with her housemates during the duration of her stay?
A group of four boys walked past them and grabbed Hermione's attention, snapping her from the memory of the night before and causing her to look up.
James was walking and talking in a very animated fashion with his three best friends strolling behind him. They were walking down from the castle and seemed to be headed towards the grounds. At first, Hermione bit her lip and hesitated but there was something she wanted to do ever since she had spoken with both Dumbledore and Lily.
"Remus!" called Hermione, standing up. She placed her book down on the bench and turned to Mary. "I'll be right back."
Mary's eyes peaked over her magazine and glanced over at the boys. She sent Hermione a questioning look but then gave her a small nod before resuming her reading.
The boys had stopped and Hermione jogged to catch up with them. Sirius flashed a brilliant grin as he watched her frizzy hair fly everywhere as she approached them. He really was devilishly handsome, which was such an odd thing to even think about.
"Alright there, Dawson?" asked Sirius, still grinning as Hermione stopped in front of them. "How's the arm?"
Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him, which seemed to be becoming a habit whenever she was around them.
"It's perfectly fine now, thank you. Madam Pomfrey healed it easily." She turned towards Remus. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Oh, uh, sure, Hermione," said Remus. He turned and shrugged at the other three boys as Hermione tugged his sleeve, pulling him a few steps away towards the far end of the courtyard.
When Hermione believed that they were out of ear reach, she stopped and turned to face Remus, who looked incredibly confused.
"I wanted to apologize for yesterday," started Hermione. "I shouldn't have been acting so strange and distant."
Remus's expression softened at her words.
"You weren't being strange—"
"I was and I'm sorry," interrupted Hermione shaking her head.
She wished he would just let her talk. She had to get this off of her chest before she changed her mind. Admitting she was wrong had never been something that came easily to her.
"And you were right, I need to give the people here a chance because they really aren't so bad."
Her eyes flickered over to Mary who was carefully watching the interaction between Hermione and Remus. When she noticed Hermione glance her way, Mary's eyes widened and her face quickly disappeared back behind her magazine. Hermione chuckled softly to herself.
"I can see that," said Remus with a smirk as he followed Hermione's line of vision over to Mary. "I'm glad you're making friends. Mary Macdonald and Lily Evans are definitely the type of people anyone would be able to get along with. And I'm not just saying that because they're both fellow Gryffindors and Lily is also a Prefect." He gave her a small wink.
"It's just strange having girlfriends. I've only ever had guys as good friends," replied Hermione.
It had always just been her, Ron, and Harry. For some reason she had always had trouble befriending other girls. Yet, Lily and Mary were kinder to Hermione in this one short week than any of the other girls in her year had ever been to her, and Hermione was very grateful for that. The kindness that Mary and Lily showed her was infectious and it was a debt Hermione would not be able to easily repay. Sure, it was strange being around Lily, with her being Harry's mother, but there were no strange feelings with Mary. When Hermione was just with Mary there were no reminders of her past life or that she was stuck in the past. Hermione thanked Merlin that she had no idea who Mary was in the future. Mary was a breath of fresh air.
"Well, who said they had to be your only friends?" laughed Remus. Suddenly, his eyes lit up like he had just thought of a brilliant idea. "Here, come with me..."
It was now his turn to take a bewildered Hermione by the sleeve of her robes and pull her across the courtyard. He stopped her in front of the other boys and Hermione raised her eyebrow at him. She had no idea what he was trying to do.
"Hermione has finally agreed to stop avoiding us," said Remus, proudly.
Hermione groaned internally in anticipation of their reactions.
"I never actually said that…" started Hermione.
"Excellent," interrupted a grinning James. "Does this mean you'll be joining us for dinner?
"She's coming to dinner?" wondered Peter.
"Don't be daft, Wormtail. Of course she is!"
"Wait a sec—" Hermione started to object. This had not been what she was expecting at all and there was a slight feeling of panic at how excited they seemed to get.
"What a brilliant idea, Prongs!" beamed Sirius.
He strode up to Hermione and rubbed the top of her head, making her frizzy hair even messier, if that were somehow possible.
"What do you think you're doing—"
"Why thank you, Padfoot," grinned James, completely ignoring distressed Hermione as she scowled at them.
"She should definitely stick around so I won't miss her fall through anymore steps," said Sirius, laughter glistening in his eyes.
Hermione pursed her lips and could feel her face begin to flush. Her hands were desperately trying to flatten her disheveled hair but the wind kept blowing stands in her face. It was hopeless.
"That's all very nice of you," she said to James, giving up trying to fix her hair, "but, I've already agreed to have dinner with Lily."
One would have thought that Christmas had come early if they had seen the thrilled expression on James's face as Hermione said this.
"Evans is more than welcome to sit with us, too!" grinned James. "In fact, the more the merrier! Right boys?"
He turned, beaming, to his friends and Hermione had to stop herself from grinning at him. He looked like an excited puppy.
"Well said, mate," said Sirius, grinning back at his friend.
"It's settled then. Dawson here and Evans will be joining us for dinner," nodded James.
"Do I not get a say in this?" demanded Hermione, crossing her arms. Even though they were being idiots she had to admit that she was slightly amused.
"No," said James, Remus, and Sirius at the same time. Peter just looked uneasy at the whole situation.
"What if Lily doesn't accept your offer?" challenged Hermione.
She almost felt bad for saying this because James's smile fell into a slight frown. He actually looked nervous for a second before putting on a brave face.
"We'll see about that," said James, forcing a grin. He turned towards Sirius. "Ready to go?"
"Yup, see you at dinner, Dawson," said Sirius, flashing another wicked grin. He playfully threw his arm around James's neck and they started on their way across the courtyard.
"We'll see you later, Hermione," said Remus, who turned to follow James and Sirius. "Are you coming, Peter?"
"Bye," mumbled Peter who hurried to catch up to Remus.
Hermione stood there for a second and watched as the four boys walked out of the courtyard and out of sight before turning towards Mary.
When she sat back down, Mary laid her magazine across her lap and turned to face Hermione on the bench.
"What was that about?" asked Mary curiously.
"James Potter just asked me to join him for dinner later. Well, forced me is more like it…" stated Hermione.
"Wait… James Potter asked you to dinner?" asked Mary, her jaw dropped in astonishment. "Not that he wouldn't have any reason not to ask you… I mean… he's just so hung up on Lily… bloody hell… that came out entirely wrong…"
Hermione laughed as Mary fumbled with her words, looking distressed.
"Don't worry, I understand what you meant. I didn't even mean it in that way. What I meant to say is that he invited me to join him, Sirius, Remus, and Peter for dinner. He also wants me to invite Lily."
"Ah, his true motives are revealed," smirked Mary. "You know she'll probably say no, right?"
Hermione sighed, "Yes, I even said that to James but he wasn't having it. I supposed I might as well try… Do you want to join us?"
"Thanks but no thanks," said Mary, picking her magazine up and flipping it open. "I'd rather not have to eat while Sirius Black cracks inappropriate jokes. I'd lose my appetite."
At that, all Hermione could do was laugh.
~o~
To Hermione's surprise, Lily agreed to dinner when Hermione asked her when she saw her later that afternoon. There wasn't even persuasion involved.
"Well, why not? Just because he can be a pompous arse around me doesn't mean he won't end up being a good friend to you. Well, at least I hope so," was Lily's only response. But something gave Hermione the impression that there was an underlying motive behind her agreeing so quickly to dinner.
As dinner time approached, Hermione grew anxious. All she wanted to do was blend into the shadows but she had promised Dumbledore that she would at least make an effort to try to fit in. If Dumbledore believed it was harmless for her to befriend people then it should be safe… right?
About ten minutes before dinnertime, Hermione found herself walking side by side with Lily on the way to the Great Hall. Lily was still fawning over the fact that Hermione was muggle-born.
Their conversation was somewhat of an extension of the one they had the previous night. It was difficult for Hermione to try to remember when certain pop culture things actually occurred in fear that she would accidentally give something away that hadn't happened yet. That's why when Lily had brought up the Beatles the previous night, Hermione instantly realized it was a topic that she could take advantage of. Thank goodness the Beatles were still popular in her time.
As they approached the Entrance Hall, their conversation came to a halt as Lily recognized a friend of hers. Following Lily's line of sight, Hermione noticed that Lily was staring at a boy walking up from the dungeons with greasy dark hair.
Snape.
"Severus!" called Lily over the crowd of people.
It was miraculous that Snape even managed to hear Lily call for him over the chatting crowd. Nonetheless, he stopped walking and his head snapped towards them; his dark eyes looked over both Hermione and Lily. When he caught sight of Lily his face broke into an odd expression that Hermione had never seen in her time.
Was Snape… happy?
Lily grinned and waved him over. He walked, or more like glided, towards the two of them. The three of them moved over to the side of the corridor to get out of the way of the bustle of students making their way to dinner.
"Hello, Sev," smiled Lily, once they were out of the crowd's way.
Sev? Was that a pet name for Snape? It was such a bizarre thing to hear.
"I'd like you to meet Hermione Dawson," beamed Lily. "I never had the chance to actually introduce you yesterday but better late than never."
Snape's eyes scanned Hermione as he took in her appearance. There was a short moment of silence and Hermione could almost see the gears in his head turn as he carefully calculated his response.
"Hello," he said smoothly. Apparently, that build up had been for nothing. Yet, he sounded slightly friendlier than she had expected. The iciness that had been in his voice the previous day had disappeared. It was probably a tone he saved especially for James and Sirius.
"And Hermione, this is my best friend, Severus Snape," said Lily, still smiling and looking at the two of them. Snape's lip twitched a little at this remark.
Best friend? Now Hermione was certain that Harry had no knowledge of the friendship between his least favorite professor – excluding Umbridge – and his mother.
"Nice to meet you," said Hermione with a small smile.
There was something not exactly innocent about young Snape, but something incredibly vulnerable. Of course, she couldn't forgive Snape for the way he treated others in the past… well... the future… but Hermione was convinced that Snape was now on their side. He was a member of the Order for goodness sake and she had spent the entirety of the previous year trying to get that through Harry and Ron's thick skulls. Anyway, young Snape hadn't done anything wrong yet. He wasn't a Death Eater, he was a sixteen-year-old boy and if Lily considered him a best friend, how bad could he be?
Lily must have noticed Hermione thinking and misinterpreted it to mean Hermione was wary of Snape.
"Don't worry, Hermione," said Lily. "You've probably heard nasty rumors about Slytherin house, but they aren't all bad. Just look at Sev and Professor Slughorn."
"Unfortunately," said Snape slowly, "I cannot speak for everyone in my house."
"Oh! I'm not worried in the slightest," said Hermione, which was only half true. It was true that she wasn't nervous about anything in the micro sense, such as Snape. It was more of a constant nervousness of the macro sense. Just the possibly of accidentally ruining timelines, no big deal.
"Good, because I have a feeling that you two will get along. Anyway, we're going to be late for dinner," said Lily, turning to face Snape with a smile. "See you later, Severus."
"Goodbye, Lily. Hermione," he said in his best controlled voice but Hermione noticed that he seemed slightly disappointed in their departure.
Dinner did not go as Hermione had expected. It was surprising to find how much she enjoyed herself. The interactions between James and Sirius were hilariously stupid. Some of the things that would come out of their mouths were worthy of eye rolls yet, they actually seemed quite friendly. Hermione was always stuck in between wondering whether or not she should laugh or be appalled. It was entertaining to say the least.
The longer she looked at him, the more comforting it felt being around James rather than strange. Maybe it had to do with him and Harry looking strikingly similar, but Hermione rather liked being around James. In a way, it made her feel safe being around someone who looked so much like one of her favorite people. Like Harry, James was fiercely protective of his friends, however his head was so inflated that Hermione wondered how it managed to stay on. Everything that came out of his mouth was meant to impress Lily, which was very un-Harry-like. It seemed as though James loved having the attention on himself while Harry always tried his best to not draw too much attention to himself. Not that that had actually worked out in Harry's favor due to him being a magnet for trouble…
The longer dinner went on, Hermione began to notice more differences between James and Harry. Not that the differences were a bad thing, they were just… well… different. Even in appearance they differed. Hermione had the seat opposite James so she was able to get a good look at him while they ate. Yes, James had hazel eyes instead of green, which were shaped differently. He also wore rectangular glasses rather than rounds ones and did not have a scar on his forehead, but that was not where the physical differences ended. James's nose was slightly longer than she remembered Harry's being and he seemed to be fitter and just looked all around healthier. The years of neglect from the Dursleys had always made Harry so thin and this was not the case for James. There was also an air of confidence around James while Harry tended to be more passive.
Having James and Sirius across from her made it seem more like she was having dinner and a show. He was loud and energetic, constantly messing around with his friends while Sirius was messing with both James and Remus, as he was sandwiched in between the two boys. Again, Hermione was glad she was sitting beside Lily with Peter on the other side so she didn't have to look at him. She didn't have a problem with younger Snape, but she wasn't able to get rid of the awful feeling that she got in the pit of her stomach when she was around Peter. Hermione was definitely not ready to forgive and forget all of the terrible things he will end up doing, and she doubted she ever could.
While the boys were talking about their collection of chocolate frog cards with Lily, Hermione stole a glance towards the Slytherin table and was not surprised to see one of its occupants staring right back. She watched curiously as Snape stared angrily at the back of James's head. His eyes quickly went back and forth between James's head and Lily. His grip on his fork was so tight that Hermione noticed his knuckles had paled from the lack of circulation. After a moment, Snape eyes caught Hermione's and he relaxed his grip on his fork, sneered, and turned away in what looked like frustration.
And that was that.
.:~*~*~*~*~:.
The following week went by much quicker than the first week of term had. It must have had something to do with her being much happier now that she was becoming closer with Lily, Mary, and the boys. Before Hermione knew it, it was already Wednesday and she and Mary were walking through the castle to Charms. When they entered the classroom they sat next to Lily, but something seemed off.
Hermione turned in her seat and looked at the row behind her where the boys usually sat and found one of them missing. She stared down at Remus's empty chair in bewilderment. Remus was the last person to ditch class. James noticed her staring at the empty chair and gave her a mischievous smile before returning to his conversation with Sirius.
"Remus's mother is very sick," whispered Mary from beside her. She had spoken so softly Hermione had to strain to listen. "He often has to leave to take care of her when she gets worse. He should be back in a few days, though. Poor boy…" She shook her head slightly with a sad look on her face.
Of course; tonight there would be a full moon. But a sick mother who falls ill once a month? That wasn't a very strong alibi. Hermione didn't understand how no one noticed Remus would disappear once a month for the past five years, coincidentally on a full moon and not figure out he was a werewolf. Surely she thought people must notice his disappearances on full moons especially in Astronomy class since they monitor the moons phases… It was so incredibly obvious! Nonetheless, Hermione was slightly sad that Remus was missing from class.
Professor Flitwick entered the classroom and Hermione turned back to face the front of the classroom towards her tiny Professor.
"Good morning, class, good morning!" he piped as he made his way to his desk where he climbed on a pile of books to see over it.
"Today we will be learning a very handy and important spell; the water-making spell. Does anyone want to venture a guess to what it does?" asked Flitwick, looking around the room hopefully.
"Makes water?" called out a Ravenclaw boy with a smirk on his face. His friends around him broke into a fit of laughter. Beside her, even Mary laughed silently to herself.
"Thank you, Mister Donner" sighed Flitwick as the laughter died down, "but I was hoping for a more in-depth answer."
Without even thinking, Hermione shot her hand into the air, which Mary had to quickly dodge to avoid being hit in the face.
"Miss Dawson?" said Flitwick in surprise.
Other faces were staring at her in curiosity when she realized she had never spoken in class since she's been there. Her face started to burn slightly, but she focused herself on looking as confident as possible.
"It produces a clear, pure jet of water from the tip of one's wand. The water is safe to drink and, depending on the intention of the caster, it can be as simple as a small stream of water to a powerful wave."
"Precisely! I don't think I could have said it any better myself," said Flitwick with a smile. "Five points to Gryffindor! Now can anyone tell me the incantation that is used for this specific spell?" Flitwick asked.
Again, Hermione felt her hand shoot straight up into the air.
"Yes, Miss Dawson?"
"The incantation is Aguamenti, sir," she said.
"Correct again! Take another five points, Miss Dawson," said Flitwick, beaming at her.
Mary gave her a huge smile and she felt someone poke her in the back.
"Nice one, Dawson," she heard Sirius's voice say. She could almost hear the smile in his voice and she grinned slightly.
"I hope you all are copying this down!" she heard Flitwick say.
He began to demonstrate the wand movement, a sort of sideways S of some sorts, but Hermione was distracted by the whispers from behind her. It was obviously the Marauders, but she wasn't able to clearly differentiate their whispers.
"I did it last time!" a voice hissed.
"No, I did, you're confused from summer holiday!"
"Well, it is definitely not my turn to take notes for Remus…"
"It's Padfoot's turn!" said a voice Hermione believed to belong to James.
"Fat chance!" whispered back Sirius.
"Someone just take the notes already!"
The bickering went on for another minute before Hermione had had enough of their distractions. She turned around in her chair and sent them each a disapproving glare as they fought over, or more like fought to get rid of, what appeared to be Remus's notebook.
"Oh for goodness sake! Give it here!" snapped Hermione quietly and she snatched the notebook from Sirius's hands. "I'll take his notes, now be quiet!"
She turned back in her chair and opened up to a blank page in Remus's notebook and started copying her own notes into Remus's notebook.
"Well look at that, boys," she heard James whisper. "Ten points to Gryffindor and we don't have to take Moony's notes! It's a good thing Dawson is here."
Hermione smiled down at her notes. Not once did she hear the words "know-it-all" or "insufferable" throughout the entire class.
~o~
That night was clear out and all the stars were shining brightly against the dark sky. The full moon was large and illuminating outside of the window and it created a stillness in the empty Gryffindor Common Room. The usual nightly entertainment from James and Sirius did not take place due to the lack of Remus, so no one was loitering around the common room after curfew, which Hermione found enjoyable. Her favorite armchair by the fireplace was free and no one was around to bother her as she read.
She had already finished the Charms essay on Aguamenti that Professor Flitwick had assigned earlier that day. Actually, she had all of her assignments for that week already finished and was using her spare time to reread books from the library on time travel to see if she had missing something. There had to be something somewhere that would help her get home…
A door above her slammed shut and she heard someone shush another person. Hermione's head jerked in the direction of the noise. She had expected to see someone walk down the stairs and into the Common Room but no one appeared. Hermione shrugged to herself, thinking that they must have gone back into their dorm.
Hermione returned to her book Time to Not Meddle with Time when she swore she heard soft footsteps. Again, she looked up and saw nothing. Right as she looked back down at her book there was a thump and Hermione's eyes shot up to see the armchair on the other side of the room move and wobble slightly.
Just as if someone invisible had walked directly into it.
.:~*~*~*~*~:.
James stood frozen in place as he stared at Hermione. There was no doubt that she had heard and seen them bump into the armchair. A string of rude four letter words played through his head as he tried to think of a way out of this situation.
It was strange, though. He would have expected Hermione to look around the room, wondering what could have bumped the chair but instead she was staring directly at them. Or directly through them since they had on the invisibility cloak. There was no way she could know they were under the cloak, could she?
Beside him, Sirius's eyes were wide as if he were thinking the same thing James was. Hermione just continued to stare at the exact spot they were standing. It was unnerving.
Well, now they were screwed. They couldn't just walk out of the Common Room without her realizing what was happening. He could turn around and go back into the boys' dormitory, but they couldn't just abandon Remus just because Hermione may or may not be suspicious of them being invisible. They needed a distraction. Sirius must have had the very same thought because they both looked down at Peter, already in rat form, perched on James's shoulder.
James considered themselves lucky that Peter's animagus was a rat. There was no way the three of them would be able to fit under the cloak without their feet showing when they went to sneak out of the castle to be with Remus when he transformed. Even just being under it with Sirius was a tad bit too snug. Sadly, it meant that he, Sirius, Peter, and Remus couldn't go on any adventures together after fourth year since there was absolutely no way the four of them would fit. Their knees would probably show if they tried.
Peter seemed to notice the mischievous look in Sirius's eyes, the same look James was probably giving him, because Peter seemed to shrink under their stares. Sirius flashed James a grin and nudged him, cocking his head in Hermione's direction, who still happened to be staring, and then down at Peter. That's when James knew what to do.
With a quick movement of his arm, James scooped up Peter and began to crouch towards the ground, pulling Sirius down with him so the cloak wouldn't fall off of them. Silently, he grabbed the end of the cloak and quickly shoved a squirming Peter out from under the cloak in Hermione's direction.
James's fist went to his mouth as he stifled a laugh as Peter, who obviously had caught on to what he had to do, charged directly at Hermione, squeaking like mad. Something between a startled gasp and squeak escaped Hermione's lips and James watched as she quickly stood up in surprise, dropped her book, and her eyes grew to the size of bludgers in shock as Peter approached.
It was now or never. James grabbed Sirius by the neck of his robes and yanked him off the ground and towards the portrait hole. While Hermione seemed preoccupied with Peter running around her, James and Sirius climbed through the portrait hole and silently opened the portrait of the Fat Lady. Peter must have realized they opened the portrait from his rat senses or something because James watched as he sprinted towards them, his little rat legs moving as quickly as they could. James threw the bottom of the cloak over Peter and Peter climbed up James's robes and onto his shoulder, his little mouse body breathing heavily.
The last thing James saw was Hermione staring furiously in their direction, looking incredibly disheveled before he closed the portrait of the Fat Lady, leaving a bewildered Hermione alone in the Common Room.
A/N: First of all, quick shout out to guest: ForensicGeek2. That was by far the longest review I have ever seen on here, let alone received! Your input was very interesting and I enjoyed reading it. Obviously, I'm not going to copy what you wrote, it also wasn't exactly where I wanted to go with the story haha, but I did use some of your suggestions to inspire the beginning of this chapter, so thank you! (:
Please Read: Soooo… what do you guys think? Do you like the multiple perspectives or should I just leave it as Hermione's? Please let me know! If you don't like it I'll just continue the story only from Hermione's perspective, if you do like it I'll continue with other characters', (with a main focus on Hermione's of course since it's her story). Feel free to leave me reviews. I love reviews and it would mean a lot if you took the time to leave one. Let me know your favorite/least favorite parts, suggestions, or anything you feel like I should know. I read them all and take them all into consideration. Thanks!
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