A/N: We've actually passed the halfway point in my outline! The timeline is going to start moving faster over the next few chapters.
Here's a fun fact about this story: I make custom playlists for every long story I write, whether it's a fanfic or my own original works. The songs all have to do with the themes of the story or are ones that I think relate to specific scenes or represent characters well. I like to listen to them when working on outlines or brainstorming and the playlist for this story currently has 251 songs on it! When I actually write I listen to ambiance sounds and music but nothing with lyrics.
Chapter 19 – Pecking Birds and Snowball Fights
The last week of January arrived with a chill that quickly spread throughout the castle. Students muttered warming charms to themselves when they walked the cold stone corridors as the snow fell heavily outside. The snow had been so bad that all Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures classes had been cancelled until further notice. Students had taken full advantage of the extra free gaps in their schedules, enjoying their time off from class by hanging out in the common room or playing out in the snow, while the fifth and seventh years were huddled in the library studying for their slowly nearing exams.
The Transfiguration classroom was no exception to the cold temperatures and Hermione pulled her arms tighter around herself. Professor McGonagall made her way around the classroom casting more warming spells, which was something she had been doing every ten minutes since the class began. The relief was almost instantaneous, and Hermione sighed as the chill abandoned her body.
A few seats away, Sirius's head was resting on his desk, the smallest bit of drool crept from the corner of his mouth as he dozed off. Hermione looked at him disapprovingly as she and Lily waited with anticipation for Professor McGonagall to notice him on her way back to her desk.
A flash went off beside Hermione.
"Miss Macdonald!" called out Professor McGonagall as she made her way back towards the front of the class. Sirius gave a snort and snapped his head up from his desk and looked around in confusion and Lily groaned from beside Hermione. "What have I told you about that blasted thing?"
Mary sheepishly lowered the polaroid camera she had gotten for Christmas into her lap and gave Professor McGonagall a weak smile. "Sorry Professor, won't happen again."
"I sure hope that is the case, Miss Macdonald," said Professor McGonagall, narrowing her eyes. She turned to address the whole room and Hermione noticed her stern gaze stopped on Sirius who was wiping away the drool from his chin. "I know the snow and canceled classes have added some excitement to the castle, but from this point on there will be no more funny business in my classroom."
Mary smirked to herself as Professor McGonagall went back to her desk. She held the dark photo of what would soon be Sirius drooling in her hand for Hermione and Lily to see.
"That was worth this," she said with a smile as she wiggled the photograph gently. "I cannot wait to get this developed for the full moving effect."
Hermione and Lily snicked silently. Professor McGonagall's eyes made their way towards them and they immediately stopped, trying hard to hide their smirks.
The class was supposed to be conjuring birds using nonverbal magic, but it was proving to be a lot more difficult than Hermione had anticipated. The spell had always been a simple one for her when done verbally, but a part of her wondered if she was just too distracted at the moment to master it without the incantation.
Her eyes kept sliding towards the other side of the room where the boys sat, and every time they did, she managed to catch Remus's eye. Each time, he would return her glance with a smile that made her feel warmer inside the cold castle. Or maybe that had just been Professor McGonagall's warming spells. But she couldn't help but feel slightly giddy knowing that the boys trusted her to know Remus's secret. With one secret out of the way, a huge weight felt like it had been lifted from her shoulders and she felt closer to them than ever. Especially Remus.
Shaking her head with a small smile, Hermione brought her attention back to her own desk. Concentrating hard, she waved her wand in front of her and thought: Avis!
Nothing happened, and Hermione grit her teeth. It was unlike her to not be able to focus all her attention on the class. This past year she had usually done very well with nonverbal spells so in that moment she felt disappointed in herself. She needed to concentrate.
"Oh this is pointless," she heard Sirius whisper in an annoyance that seemed to mimic her own.
Normally, it would have been difficult for Hermione to hear them from where they were sitting, but the classroom was silent as everyone tried their best to do the spell nonverbally. Hermione looked up to see if Professor McGonagall had noticed him speaking, but if she did, she made no acknowledgement of it as she graded essays. But she certainly would hear what was coming next.
"Avis!" said Sirius's voice and Hermione turned sharply in her chair to watch, and she was not alone as many students around her turned as well.
A large blast and a cloud of smoke came from across the room as if a gun had exploded and a small flock of birds burst from Sirius's wand. All eyes were turned to face where the boys sat and Sirius gave a cheeky grin before pointing his wand at the birds and saying "Oppugno!"
Suddenly, the birds that had been just begun flying in small circles in front of him turned their attention to Peter and charged. Hermione stared as four or five birds – it was hard to tell in the commotion – began pecking at Peter's head and messing with his hair as Peter desperately tried swiping them away. Within seconds, he was on the ground.
Sirius was beside himself and began howling with laughter as he watched Peter struggle with James laughing beside him. Remus, however, was attempting to get rid of the birds, although he too seemed slightly amused but also worried as Peter flailed desperately at the foot of desk next to him.
In a flash, Professor McGonagall was on her feet, her wand out in front of her. Behind her glasses there was a look of rage in her eyes as they zoned in on Sirius.
Seeming to not want to go down without a fight, Peter raised his own wand from the ground. Before McGonagall had even stepped towards them, he too shouted, "Oppugno!". His spell hadn't been as powerful as Sirius's had and only one of the birds that had been conjured changed its target.
The look on Sirius's face went from utter glee to terror as the bird immediately buried itself in his hair. Peter barked a short laugh as Sirius let out a startled gasp and fell backwards off his chair with a thump against the classroom floor besides Peter.
"They are actually unreal…" murmured Lily in disbelief, and Hermione nodded silently in agreement.
Students around him laughed as Sirius swatted around his head, but the bird had buried itself deeply in his long, thick, dark hair. For a wild moment Hermione wondered if it was trying to build a nest in there.
Unfortunately for Peter, he didn't even have the chance to fully enjoy Sirius's misfortune as he and Remus were still trying to stop his own attacking birds. The birds also seemed to be trying to make a nest on Peter's head, which was proving to be rather difficult for them since his hair was so short and thin.
"Get it off!" called out Sirius, as he rolled into the aisle between the desks. "James!"
But James, who was still grinning, shook his head and held his hands up in front of him as a furious Professor McGonagall approached their tables. When she stood towering over Sirius looking murderous, the classroom fell silent.
Hermione noticed movement from beside her and watched as Mary lifted her camera quickly out of her bag with a determined look on her face. Lily seemed to notice it at the same time as Hermione and before either girl could warn her not to, the camera flashed again.
Professor McGonagall had just managed to get rid of the last bird – it had been pecking rapidly at Peter's head – before turning to Mary.
"Macdonald!" yelled Professor McGonagall as she caught sight of Mary holding her camera up again. Mary had the good sense to shrink back in her seat under Professor McGonagall's gaze. The photograph lamely came out of the camera and she tried to casually slip it into the pocket of her robes; as if moving slowly wouldn't allow anyone to see her do it.
Peter was sprawled out on the classroom floor looking pink in the face. Sirius was back to grinning as he stood up, trying to flatten his now messy birds nest hair. He offered his hand to Peter, who looked disheveled but also wore a nervous grin on his face, and heaved him off of the ground.
Remus and James wore matching expressions of astonishment, amusement, and fear as they waited for Professor McGonagall's next words.
"Sorry!" squeaked Mary.
Professor McGonagall's eyes blazed as she turned back towards Sirius and Peter. "Detention! Tonight, after dinner! I have never seen such foolery from sixth years! I best see the pair of you here and ready to write lines, and do not be late!"
Peter and Sirius groaned in unison, but a snicker came from Mary and Professor McGonagall rounded.
"And you as well, Miss Macdonald," added Professor McGonagall, sternly. "I warned you earlier!"
Mary's mouth dropped open slightly. "Yes ma'am…" she muttered as she stared down at her desk as Professor McGonagall headed back to the front of the classroom.
"Was that one worth it?" asked Lily lightly with a small smile, clearly trying to make Mary smile.
Mary sighed softly and tucked her camera back into her bag along with her newest photograph that she had hidden in her pocket. "That better be the funniest photograph I've ever seen…"
The second half of the class had been more successful for Hermione. She now had a few birds flying around her head that she had managed to conjure nonverbally. Lily was laughing beside her as her own conjured bird kept hopping up and down on the desk in front of her. It seemed to really like her. Every time Lily laughed, the bird gave her a little chirp and did a small hop-like dance which only made her laugh more.
There was the occasional blast and puffs of smoke from around the room as more students were able to nonverbally conjure the birds. Even Sirius had managed to do the spell without speaking this time and, whenever Professor McGonagall wasn't looking, he'd send one flying at James, sparing Peter this time.
When the bell rang, Hermione, Lily, and Mary exited the classroom and the chill hit Hermione immediately. Now that the snow had stopped, it wasn't as cold as it had been that morning, but the corridor still sent a frosty chill down her spine, and she quickly pulled on her winter cloak.
"I'll help you with the developing solution if you'd like, Mary," said Lily, putting her own cloak on. "Professor Slughorn lets me use the potions classroom off hours whenever I want. Just let me know when you can."
"That would be great! You are the potions genius after all," beamed Mary. "Thanks, Lily."
"Sorry about your detention," said Lily ruefully.
"I haven't had a detention since fourth year after Sprout caught me putting glue in Sirius's dragon-hide gloves before Herbology," moaned Mary.
"Why did you do that?" asked Hermione, raising her eyebrow.
"Retaliation for the pixie incident," said Mary matter-of-factly, sticking her nose up. She looked rather pleased with herself and Hermione couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "It would have been hilarious if I hadn't been caught. And at least I didn't steal a poor pixie to do it."
"I thought you didn't know he was the one that did that," said Hermione.
Mary grinned and shrugged. "I hadn't confirmed it until he told me last term, but I had my suspicions. I wasn't going to let him know that though. If I had been wrong… well, a little glue wouldn't have hurt him."
"That was quite the term with the two of you," said Lily shaking her head but smiling. "I do wish we could have seen the look on his face if he did put those gloves on. Well… more so when he tried to take them off. Maybe you could get belated revenge tonight."
Mary huffed. "Doubtful with McGonagall there. Peter will be bearable, but detention with Sirius is honestly just a double punishment…"
Speaking of the devil, further down the corridor Sirius was walking with his friends and mimicking being attacked by a bird and laughing like a maniac.
With a sigh, Hermione turned to look at Mary and Lily. "I'm going to have a word with him."
"Alright," said Mary following her gaze down the hall. She adjusted the strap on her school bag and took her camera back out. "We'll see you at lunch?"
"Yeah, and I want to hear more about that glue prank," said Hermione with a grin, and Mary laughed and agreed to let her know everything.
The girls bid farewell to each other, and Hermione quickened her pace to catch up to the boys.
"That was foolish, Sirius," she said shaking her head as she fell into step alongside them. Remus grinned at the sight of her and slowed his pace to walk beside her as they headed towards the Grand Staircase.
"Hello, Hermione," smiled Remus and she grinned back at him. "You did well with your birds today."
"Oh, you saw that?" said Hermione, feeling slightly proud of the compliment. "Thanks, I wish I could say the same to someone else." She sent Sirius a pointed look.
"Oh come on! That was hilarious!" Sirius said, beaming. "The look on McGonagall's face was priceless. And if you noticed, I was able to do it without speaking eventually."
Remembering the severe look on her face, Hermione had to disagree, but it would have been a useless battle bringing that up. "Even so, now you have detention tonight."
Sirius waved his hand in dismissal. "Whatever. It makes up for the fact that Herbology was supposed to be next but it's cancelled so we have free time!" he flashed her a brilliant grin and Hermione raised her eyebrow accusingly at him. "You act as if detention is some unusual thing I have to suffer through. I always find some way to make it interesting."
"Yes, but you didn't just get detention for yourself there, mate," stated Remus and Hermione nodded.
"Well… then Peter and I will have a good time tonight," said Sirius, unbothered, as Peter hastily agreed.
"And we didn't even lose any house points," said Peter proudly. Hermione sent him a sharp look and his eyes widened at her. Immediately Hermione grimaced internally, she was supposed to try to get along better with him…
"Too right you are, Wormtail!" said Sirius with a grin, not noticing the exchange. "So we got ourselves a detention… we can handle that. No harm done! But it'll be strange not having you there, Prongs," he said nudging his elbow into James.
James grinned back. "What ever will you do without me."
"You haven't gotten detention in a while," complained Sirius. "You're losing your touch."
"Or," started Hermione. "He's maturing and realized there's better ways to spend his free time instead of doing things to end up in detention."
There was a moment of silence before Sirius and James exchanged a look and burst out laughing.
"No, I think Padfoot is right, I'm definitely losing my touch," chuckled James.
"Don't worry, it'll be just like Prongs is with us," Sirius said with a wink towards James who grinned back.
"Don't forget Mary is going to be there too…" reminded Remus with a hint of a smile as he anticipated Sirius's reaction.
That wiped the smirk right off Sirius's face and Remus's grin widened. "I'd forgotten about Macdonald. Damn…"
"The three of you will have such a great time together since you're the reason she's there too," teased Hermione. "I hope she takes a picture of your face as Professor McGonagall makes you write lines all night."
"Oi! She got herself there, I didn't force her to take out that ruddy camera and start flashing it around class…"
"I'm sure she'll be just as thrilled to spend detention with Sirius as he will to spend it with her," muttered Remus softly to Hermione and the two of them laughed together.
When they reached the third floor, the boys began to walk down the corridor rather than continue up the stairs and Hermione stopped.
"Wait, where are you going?" Hermione asked as she realized they were not headed in the direction of the common room.
"Clock Tower Courtyard," said James.
"What? Why?"
"Because there's fresh snow out there," said Sirius. "This is prime snowball fight snow!"
"Why didn't you just go to the courtyard outside of the Transfiguration room?"
"Because, Hermione," started Sirius impatiently. "Less people will have thought to go to this one so the snow will probably be untouched and there won't be as many people around."
"People were already walking through the snow there after class too," pointed out James. "The only people out of class now are us and the Care of Magical Creature folk, so no one's been near this courtyard."
Hermione pursed her lips. "Shouldn't we use this time to study? Especially if you and Peter have detention tonight?"
Sirius, James, and Peter began to laugh at her statement and Hermione felt her face flush. Was it really so ridiculous to use their time wisely? Only Remus didn't laugh, but he did smile at her with amusement in his eyes.
"Good luck getting them to do that," said Remus with a sad, almost apologetic smile. "But we do have plenty of time before Professor McGonagall's essay is due. And the only class we have after lunch is double potions, so that'll only be one more assignment from today."
"So, are you coming, Hermione?" asked Sirius with a grin as he stood in the threshold of the third-floor corridor.
Hermione hesitated. "Well, I wanted to get a start on that essay… I was actually planning on going to—"
"The library," finished James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus all at the same time and that time all four of them began to laugh.
Not being able to help the small smile that came to her face, Hermione shook her head. "Well, yes…"
"Come on, Hermione! Take the rest of the morning off and come with us," said James. "It's not every day a class is cancelled and there's fresh snow to play with."
"We can work on the essay later when these two are in detention," said Remus, jabbing his thumb towards Sirius and Peter. "We might not get many more free chances to enjoy a snowy day before the N.E.W.T. exams next year. James is right, come have a good time."
Hermione sighed and couldn't believe she agreed to go with them as she followed the four boys towards the Clock Tower Courtyard.
She had to admit, the courtyard looked gorgeous in the fresh, flawless, blankets of white snow. Not a soul had touched it yet and it looked like shimmering clouds in front of them as rays of sunlight were beginning to peak out of the overcast sky and reflecting off it, making it look as though it were sparkling.
There was something about fresh snow that always was a comfort to Hermione. As a kid she loved to sit by the window of her home whenever it snowed, which was rather rare for London. But she could remember being pressed up against the icy windows as a child, her fingers cold against the frozen glass while feeling the heat from the radiator inside on her skin and watching the small flurries at night, illuminated under the streetlights. It was one of the few things that had felt like magic before she even knew she was a witch. It felt like a winter wonderland even though the snow hardly ever stuck to the ground, and if it did it would usually be gone by morning. The snow at Hogwarts up in the Highlands of Scotland had been a welcome sight the first time there was accumulation, and to this day it was something she still loved deeply.
"Beautiful," said Remus and he smiled warmly at Hermione.
"And it's about to be ruined," sighed Hermione as she spotted Sirius pulling a scarf and gloves out of his school bag. The sight made her frown, and she instinctively pulled her cloak tighter around herself as the other three boys began to wrap themselves in scarves and put on gloves.
Apparently, they had known they were going to be out in the snow and had come prepared, unlike Hermione whose scarf, hat, and gloves were tucked away in her trunk at the foot of her bed up in Gryffindor Tower.
The beautiful snow in front of them was short lived as Sirius and James began pushing their way through the snow as Peter followed closely behind.
"You've ruined the view," murmured Remus dryly.
"Well, come on then!" called out Sirius, waving his arm above his head. "The snow isn't getting any colder!"
With a shake of his head and a grin, Remus too began to follow them in the trail they left behind in the snow.
It was a bit too cold for Hermione to want to completely join them, so she used her wand and made a small path leading to the bench closest to where they had stopped. A shiver ran down her spine as she sat down on the cold stone, but she quickly rubbed her hands together and murmured the warming charms Professor McGonagall had used earlier that morning.
For a moment, she watched as the boys threw snowballs at each other and she smiled to herself. As much as she wished they could have all been productive, it was nice to see them enjoying themselves with their snowball fight. But even as nice as that was, it wasn't going to get her to spend her time unwisely. As not to fully waste her free time, she pulled her school bag onto the bench beside her and took out her Potions textbook to read ahead for class later.
It was actually quite relaxing, studying outside. There was an occasional crisp breeze that would blow through and rustle her hair and make the corner of the pages of her book flutter slightly. Mixed with the warming charms, it felt pleasant and refreshing and she couldn't help breathing in deeply and inhaling the sweet icy air.
There was the occasionally hoot and holler as the Marauders smacked each other with snowballs, but Hermione tried to focus the best she could on the book in her lap. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, and occasionally she'd pause her reading and watch them or cast another warming charm.
She grew suspicious when it had gone silent and she looked up from her book, but it was just that the snowball fight had finished. Instead, they had broken into pairs and appeared to be making snowmen. James and Remus were working diligently on one while Sirius and Peter were throwing snow together, and at each other. Knowing now that they were still preoccupied and not plotting something sinister, Hermione returned to her studies.
"Hermione! Look!" called out James's voice excitedly as more time passed and Hermione looked up from her book once again.
They had finished their snowmen, and James was beaming proudly at her as Remus pointed to both of them with a grin of his own. Both snowmen were about four feet tall and both were made up of one large base and a smaller head. James was just finishing up wrapping his scarf around his snowman as Remus summoned long sticks to use as arms.
Hermione had to admit that Remus and James's snowman rather impressive with how nice they managed to make it look. The snow was patted down smooth, and they had hollowed out holes for the eyes, mouth, and buttons. Another smaller stick was stuck in the center of the head to be a nose. The other snowman… well… it definitely somewhat resembled a snowman, but as Sirius tied his black cloak around his snowman's neck, Hermione thought it more so resembled a giant lump of coal.
Remus tapped his wand to the snowman's head and to Hermione's amazement the snowman's stick arm lifted up and waved at her. Right as she was about to compliment the magic, Sirius saw this and tapped his own wand to his and Peter's "snowman". Similarly to Remus's snowman, this one also raised its stick arm, but instead of waving it decided to do some very rude hand gestures.
"Very mature, Sirius!" called Hermione, rolling her eyes as Sirius and Peter laughed.
A small gust of wind moved past her and she shivered as another chill ran through her body. She saw Remus looking at her with a small frown. With a tilt of his head, he gave her a look that she interpreted as "Are you alright?" and she nodded quickly and gestured to her wand as she cast another warming spell. This didn't seem to appease Remus's concern as he began to walk towards her.
"Cold?" he asked with a toothy grin when he got nearer. He stumbled slightly in the snow and Hermione breathed out a short laugh.
"I wasn't prepared as the rest of you," she laughed. "But I'm managing well enough with my warming charms."
Remus shook his head with a smile. "That certainly won't do. Here, stand up."
He stopped a short distance away waved her towards him with a grin. Sighing, Hermione shut her book and gently set it down on the stone bench beside her before walking through the snow towards him.
When she stopped in front of him, his hands went to his scarf around his neck and began to unravel it. Realizing what he was doing, Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off.
"Nope, I don't want to hear it," he said as he pulled the burgundy scarf off and held it in front of him. "I still have my gloves and hat so I'll be fine. I'm not going to let you freeze out here when we're the ones who convinced you to come."
"Remus, really… you don't have to—" she tried to object but he just shook his head at her.
"Sorry, I told I didn't want to hear it so I'm just going to pretend you haven't said anything," he said, grinning widely at her.
Hermione pursed her lips in guilt as he stepped towards her. He grew quiet in concentration as he wrapped the scarf around her neck, adjusting it slightly before throwing the longer end of it behind her back. While the warming charms had helped, Hermione had to admit that having the soft and warm scarf wrapped around her made a world of difference. It smelled slightly like him, with the faint aroma of chocolate becoming noticeable with the chilly breeze.
Gently, he reached behind her and freed her bushy hair that had been tucked into the scarf and it fell down her back. His hands lingered hesitantly on the scarf after he finally finished straightening it before he allowed them to drop to his sides.
"There," he said quickly, clearing his throat and smiling softly. "That's much better."
She was about to thank him when suddenly something else caught her attention. There was no time to warn Remus as Hermione spotting a large snowball soaring through the air straight towards the back of his head. It hit its target and the force of it caused Remus to stumble forward. Unfortunately, Hermione was standing in front of him, which meant they both ended up tumbling to the cold ground. The snow broke their fall but the weight of Remus falling on top of her knocked the wind from her body and she gasped.
Remus looked dazed for a moment. His face was only inches away from her own and his green eyes were wide as he took in his surroundings. When he seemed to realize what had happened, and that he had Hermione pinned to the ground, he immediately began to try to support himself. Both of his arms were on either side of her shoulders as he struggled to push himself off of her in the snow. A deep blush spread across his face from a mix of the cold and the effort.
"Are you alright?" he quickly asked once he had fully supported his weight. The worry in his voice was heavy, and she quickly nodded, not quite capable of speaking after the fall but not wanting him to fret.
And for the third time that morning, there was a flash of light.
Hermione shifted her head in the snow and looked upside-down behind her. Near the entrance to the castle, Mary was wiggling a new photograph in her mittened hand and grinning hugely, her camera hung around her neck. Behind her, Lily, Michelle, and Claudia stood, all bundled in winter clothes. Lily and Michelle were also grinning, but Claudia looked slightly embarrassed as she caught sight of her in the snow, almost mirroring how Hermione herself felt in the moment.
"This is definitely going to be a good one!" Mary yelled towards them with a short laugh. She was looking between Remus and Hermione with a thrilled sparkle in her eyes.
Hermione felt herself flush this time and looked back up at Remus who seemed to somehow become even redder in the face as he stared at the group of girls.
"Um, Remus?" Hermione said softly.
He dropped his gaze back at her and blinked a few times in confusion before realizing they were both still in the snow.
"Oh!" he gasped. He struggled for a moment before managing to pull himself to his feet. "I'm so sorry!"
"Not your fault," she murmured, feeling more relaxed now that she wasn't pinned to the ground.
He offered her his hand and she took hold of it, and in one strong pull, he managed to get her out of the snow and back onto her own two feet. Immediately she started to dust the snow off of her cloak with a grimace as she shivered.
Remus turned around and stared daggers at Sirius who was grinning like a maniac.
"Do I even have to ask if that was you?" glared Remus, pointing directly at Sirius. "You could have gotten Hermione seriously hurt!"
"The only thing serious around here is me!" he called back with a laugh and James and Peter groaned next to him.
"Walked right into that one, mate!" called out James, shaking his head.
Remus sighed and turned back towards Hermione, a small frown on his face.
"You're alright, right?" he asked nervously. "That couldn't have felt good…"
With a wave of her hand Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled. "I'm fine, no need to worry…"
A small, crooked smile appeared across Remus's face. "I'm glad."
He gently reached up towards her and for a wild moment Hermione thought he was going to caress her face and she held her breath at the odd gesture. Instead, he took hold of a strand of her hair and pulled out a clump of snow and dropped it back to the ground and she exhaled with a small laugh.
There was the sound of something whizzing and Hermione looked up as another snowball came rocketing towards them. She grabbed Remus by the sleeve and was about to pull him aside but then the snowball soared over their heads. Turning, Hermione watched as it searched for a different target.
A gasp came from Mary, who had been walking towards them with Lily, Michelle, and Claudia right behind her. It took her a second's notice to realize what was about to happen and she quickly covered her face with her free arm, and she tried to shield her camera from the assault with the other.
Luckily for her, the snowball hadn't been as forceful as the one that knocked over Remus. It managed to hit the arm covering her head and exploded around her, leaving clusters of snow in her dirty-blonde hair and scattered across her cloak.
"Black!" squealed Mary, trying to push the snow off herself with her free arm while the other still covered her camera. "You could have broken my camera! I only just got it a month ago!"
"Sorry!" he called with his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice. "Was aiming for Remus again!"
"Fat chance…" mumbled Mary, pursing her lips.
James was now making his way through the snow towards them, and Hermione noticed that he was focused on Lily, who was now fussing with Mary to see if she was alright. Michelle and Claudia decided to keep a safer distance and were a few paces back, and Hermione gave them credit for it; it was definitely the smart decision. She made eye contact with Michelle who grinned at her.
"Alright there, Mary?" James said as he approached, tearing his eyes away from Lily to look at Mary who was still swiping at her cloak. There was an apologetic smile on his face.
Mary sighed. "It's not your fault, James. He's an idiot, though." she jerked her head towards Sirius, who had gone back to charming the snowman to make rude hand gestures with Peter who seemed to think it was the funniest thing in the world.
"Ah, yeah well we knew that already," he said. "You'll have to get him back in detention tonight."
Mary smirked at him. "Lily said the same thing earlier."
Seeming to be pleased at the excuse to focus back on Lily, James's grin widened as he looked at her. "Really? Great minds think alike, I guess."
Lily smiled at him wearily. "At least we can both agree he can be an idiot."
James nodded with enthusiasm. "But we keep him around for the entertainment."
Lily laughed at that while Mary rolled her eyes.
Seeming to think the coast was clear, Michelle and Claudia made their way towards them, with Claudia nervously checking over her shoulder to make sure Sirius didn't throw another snowball. When they stopped beside Lily, Claudia gave the group a polite wave, but she looked slightly awkward.
"Where are you guys headed anyway?" asked Hermione as Michelle stopped beside her.
"We were just going to the Grounds to take photos with Mary's camera before lunch," said Michelle. "We wanted to take them before the snow freezes over, so the snow is still soft and fluffy and looks nice in the photos."
"We were coming over here to ask you to join us," said Mary to Hermione as she finished brushing the snow off of herself.
"You guys are welcome to come too," added Claudia, gesturing towards James and Remus. Her face was flushed from the cold giving her the appearance of looking like a winter doll with her blonde hair spilling out from under her white knit hat.
James seemed to consider the request and he turned back to look at Sirius and Peter quickly.
"And Sirius and Peter?"
Claudia's eyes quickly glanced between Remus and James and she smiled. "Of course."
As much as the Grounds would have been absolutely beautiful to see covered in thick blankets of snow, Hermione felt quite content to stay in the courtyard with her book. Part of her wished she could have had the foresight to bring her hat and gloves, and her own scarf because she would have liked to go, but the idea of roaming around outside for the next hour in just her basic cloak seemed less than pleasant.
"Maybe some other time," said Hermione ruefully. "I didn't dress for the weather and I'm doing some reading for our class this afternoon."
She pointed to her school bag and Potions textbook that lay on the bench. Michelle gave her an understanding nod. "Definitely next time then."
Hermione turned to Remus. "But if you go you can have your scarf back, I wouldn't want you to freeze."
She went to grab the scarf to take it off but Remus reached up and gently pulled her hand down.
"No, it's okay," he said with a smile. He then turned to face Claudia. "Thank you, Claudia, but I'm going to stay here as well."
His eyes lingered to Hermione and she gave him a curious look, wondering why he turned the pretty girl down. Claudia looked visibly disappointed as she looked between them. So did James. His face fell and he looked sadly at Lily with a conflicted expression. Hermione had a feeling he wanted to go, but wouldn't without all of his friends going as well.
"Yeah, some other time…" said James sadly. He bid the group goodbye as he turned and walked back towards Peter and Sirius, who were trying to tidy up their snowman which now looked less like a lump of coal and more like a deformed potato.
The door leading to the castle opened again and the group of them turned to see who else would be out of class. Dressed in black cloaks and donned with green scarves, Mulciber and Avery came into the courtyard, followed by Snape who was a few steps behind them. The three Slytherins went to the far side of the courtyard and cleared off benches to sit on. Hermione wondered if they were supposed to have been in the canceled Care of Magical Creatures class or if they were skipping. But if she had to be honest, they didn't really seem like the type to care for magical creatures.
Snape's dark eyes traced over their group and stopped momentarily on Lily, softening slightly. But when he caught sight Remus, his eyes trailed until he saw the other Marauders farther back in the snow and his face turned dark.
Lily paled at the sight of him, looking nervous and somewhat guilty like she always did when she saw him outside of class, and Hermione noticed Mary had locked her gaze on Mulciber. He returned her glance with one of his own, and though it was directed at Mary, the menacing look in the grin that spread across Mulciber's face as he looked at Mary sent a shiver down Hermione's spine.
Mary must have had the same experience because she quickly clutched Lily's forearm. Michelle looked between Lily and Mary and worry spread across her face.
"Come, let's get out of here," said Michelle, her face growing hard.
Claudia glanced over at the Slytherins and seemed to understand. "That's a good idea."
She linked her arm with Mary's and began to lead her out of the courtyard towards the Grounds with the other two girls right behind. As they walked away, Michelle turned to give Hermione a faint smile before their figures slowly began to fade from view.
When the group of girls had completely disappeared into the Grounds, Hermione saw Mulciber nudge Avery and cock his head in the direction of James, Sirius, and Peter. Avery said something to Snape who then looked over at them as well, and the three of them began to cross the courtyard.
"Come for a snowball fight?" called Sirius when he saw them nearing. A large snowball sat in his gloved hand as he eyed Mulciber, Avery, and Snape who were slowly making their way towards him, James, and Peter.
Remus and Hermione exchanged a look that she understood as this cannot be good. They stayed near the bench, but Hermione suddenly became hyper aware of where her wand was tucked into her cloak, just in case.
"Are the blood traitors enjoying their time off from class?" called out Avery with a haughty smirk.
No sooner had he spoken, the snowball that Sirius had been holding exploded at the three Slytherins' feet as they approached. It seemed to startle Avery and he did a little jump backwards, but Mulciber and Snape just stopped and stared at where the snowball had hit. It had happened so quickly that Hermione had not even noticed Sirius throw it, but he must have because he wore a smug expression on his face.
"You behave like children," spat Avery, looking slightly embarrassed as pink burned across his cheeks.
"That's because they are children," said Snape, icily. He seemed unimpressed at what was happening and as if he wanted to be anywhere else.
"And you look like prats," said Sirius, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "We're trying to have a good time here so why don't you sod off."
That didn't seem to be a comment they were very fond of.
"Having fun with your snowman, Black? If you can even call it that… Shame if something were to happen to it…" said Mulciber darkly as he eyed Sirius and Peter's snowman.
Sirius narrowed his eyes and Mulciber grinned his creepy grin and took out his wand, which Sirius watched carefully.
A firm grip took a hold of Hermione's upper arm, holding her in place. Startled, Hermione looked around at Remus's hard face and he shook his head slowly at her, glancing down. Without realizing it, she must have taken out her own wand because when she followed his gaze she saw how tightly she was clutching it in her fist. Confusion came over her and she relaxed her grip. At the same time, Remus loosened his hold on her, but still held her close.
"Bombarda!"
Sirius and Peter's snowman exploded, sending pieces flying high into the air. Clumps of snow rained down around them and they finally rested back on the ground, only a small pile remained where the snowman once stood. Sirius's cloak slowly floated down from the air and landed lamely on top.
Peter stared down at where the snowman had been, looking shocked and sad. His entire posture changed as he stepped back and hunched slightly, trying to make himself small as he cowered away from the Slytherins, stepping closer to James. Sirius was fuming as he looked down at the pile of snow that used to be his rude snowman. His dark eyes snapped back in the Slytherins' direction.
"Why the hell did you do that?" called out James, looking equally as mad.
"Going to cry, Potter?" taunted Avery. His fists went to his eyes and he mimed a crying motion.
"And we're the children?" countered James. "Just leave us alone Mulciber, there must be better things for you lot to do."
In a flash, Sirius had his wand out. The smirk on Mulciber's face dropped at the sight of it, but Sirius didn't point his wand at any of the Slytherins. Instead, he turned in the direction of James. Peter let out a whimper.
"Oppugno!" yelled Sirius, and the spell connected with the snowman Remus and James had made.
It was the oddest sight Hermione had ever seen. Without having legs, the snowman did a weird lunge mixed with a waddle as it tried to charge across the courtyard. James's scarf flew off in its dash to attack the three Slytherin boys.
"What the…" sputtered Avery, with wide eyes, as he took a step back. The snowman wasn't scary by any means, and Hermione wondered how much damage it could really do, but she had to admit she probably would have had a similar reaction at just seeing the strange sight.
From behind Mulciber and Avery, Snape stepped forward and raised his wand, looking unamused. His arm began slashing quickly but fluidly at the air in a way Hermione had never seen before. As if following the wand movements, large cuts formed across the snowman, cutting chunks and sections of it off and sending the snow tumbling to the ground. At first Hermione thought he must have used the severing charm, but no light had appeared and his wand movements were odd and unrecognizable. Whatever the spell had been, something about it sent a chill down her spine.
Mulciber gave Snape an approving pat on his back and Snape smirked wearily.
"What a waste of a pureblood legacy," said Avery, shaking his head and looking at Sirius. He sounded kind of shaky after his reaction to the snowman, the bitterness in his voice seemed forced. "Can't even charm a snowman. It's a good thing Regulus can honor the house of Black.
Bringing up Regulus caused Sirius to go silent and he just stared angrily at them.
"We'll see you in potions later," sneered Mulciber with a dark laugh, feeling as though Sirius's silence meant he had admitted defeat. The three of them turned and began walking through the snow back up to the castle.
After staring for a moment, Sirius made a sudden move and whipped his wand in front of him again, but this time not at an inanimate object. Fear took over Hermione as she saw him aim towards Snape, Mulciber, and Avery's retreating figures. She made a move to try to get to him, to stop him before he could do something stupid, and Remus must have had the exact same thought. His hold on her vanished as he too stepped towards Sirius, but James got there first.
"Get off!" said Sirius, angrily. The shout made all three Slytherins turn to look back at Sirius in curiosity.
"It's not worth it, mate," said James, clutching Sirius's shoulder. His touch seemed to somewhat calm Sirius down because he lowered his wand ever so slightly.
At the sight of James holding Sirius back, Avery laughed darkly before turning to look directly at Hermione, who hadn't made much distance from the bench but who had obviously moved.
"Let's get out of here, there's a horrible smell," said Avery as he looked at her with narrow eyes before turning back towards James, Sirius, and Peter, who was cowering behind James.
"Good, you should go shower then!" yelled Sirius, as James continued to hold his shoulder.
Avery sent him a murderous glare and he grabbed Mulciber by the sleeve of his cloak and dragged him back towards the castle. "Come, Snape," he called over his shoulder and Snape glared one last time at the Gryffindors before following the other two inside.
It took a moment after the Slytherins went back into the castle for any of the Marauders or Hermione to move or say anything. They all were either too stunned or angry to speak, but it was Hermione who ended up speaking first.
"Sirius! You can't do stuff like that! Are you trying to start trouble?" chastised Hermione when she finally felt her voice return.
His mouth fell open. "You're going to get mad at me?"
"You shouldn't provoke them—"
"You must be kidding! They're baby Death Eaters in training! You saw that curse Snivellus used!" said Sirius, looking at her aghast.
Hermione bit her lip, not knowing how to defend the very true statement. She knew they'd become Death Eaters, and she felt uneasy as she thought about how something had seemed dark about Snape's spell.
"Meaning it's probably best to leave them well-enough alone right now!"
Sirius scoffed and turned away and went back to the remains of his creation. Angrily, he grabbed his cloak that was buried in the ruins of his snowman and began to shake it with such a force that Hermione was worried he might hurt himself. James put his hand on his shoulder again and began speaking to him softly, too far out of earshot to hear, but whatever he was saying seemed to calm Sirius. With a sigh, Hermione and sat back down on the bench and frowned. After a moment of just looking at her, Remus followed.
"He's right," said Remus softly as he sat down next to her. "As much as they shouldn't jinx or antagonize them, they aren't innocent."
Hermione nodded numbly and thought back to how the group of them had tried to attack Sirius outside of Potions and the story Mary had told her about what Mulciber had done to her. It twisted her stomach knowing that they would become Death Eaters and knowing what the Death Eaters would do. What made it worse was the inability to do something to stop it. It was like a horrible curse and a selfish part of her hoped she wouldn't still be stuck in the past to witness it.
"I know," she admitted and then bit her lip. "I know… I know I should say you shouldn't stoop to their level and to be better than them… but I'm actually just scared for you all. They can just be so dangerous and with the war…" she broke off for a moment and gave a small cough to cover the lump in her throat that was forming. "I just don't want to see any of you get hurt…"
Remus gave her a weak smile and put his arm around her, and Hermione leaned into the comforting warmth. Sirius's anger must have completely dissolved because he had gone right back to hurling snowballs at Peter and James. Hermione's heart tugged in her chest as she stared at the youthful faces of James, Sirius, and even Peter as they laughed and played in the snow. There was nothing more that she wanted in that moment than for the cold winter air to freeze the scene around her with all of them there in the courtyard, young, happy, innocent, and carefree. They weren't involved in the war, there were no betrayals, or deaths… If only it were possible to freeze time and these people she cared about as they were in that very moment, to protect them from what undoubtedly was to come. She wanted to help, she wanted to make a difference, or at least make things easier somehow. There had to be something she could do while she was there.
She raised her hand up to where Remus's arms was wrapped around her shoulder and touched her cold hand to his gloved one. She gave it a small squeeze, trying to comfort herself more than anything and she rested her head onto his shoulder, thinking hard about what she could possibly do to somehow make a difference.
A/N: Part of this chapter was inspired by a lovely guest review from the last chapter so I hope you all enjoyed! When I can, I try to add what you guys would like to see if it fits in with my outline and where the story is already headed, so feel free to leave suggestions! I can't do all suggestions obviously because of where the story is going, but I really do read and appreciate all reviews and recommendations and try to include things where I can. So thank you all so much for every review left!
So let me know what you thought! Is there anything in particular that you liked? Anything you want to happen? Anything you think should be different? What do you think will happen next? Any suggestions or concerns? Let me know!
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