A/N: Happy belated Hanukkah and Thanksgiving to those who celebrated! I'm so very thankful for everyone who's read and supported this story so far. Honestly, it means more than you all could ever know! x

Chapter 23 – The First Move

The following night, Hermione found herself running through the castle.

After their last class of the day had ended, Hermione had immediately gone straight to the library. Ever since she and James had come up with a rough idea of how the entire animagus process was going to go, all Hermione could think of was going over the notes she had taken from that book the day before. So, she had decided to bury herself deep inside the library again where she could go over them as well as everything James had mentioned to her yesterday. She wanted to burn all the information she possibly could into her memory before they actually made a move to start the process.

It was the oddest sense of déjà vu; sneaking into the library to study things no one else could know about. Back to lying to the people around her about what she was doing and realizing her growing attachments could become distractions. Hogsmeade had been a distraction. A welcomed one, but a distraction nonetheless.

All the sneaking around and looking through books almost felt like it had when she had first arrived at that time. And while she had hit a roadblock when it came to researching ways to return home to her own time, having this new project to throw herself into was the biggest welcomed distraction of them all.

Unfortunately, it had been so distracting that she hadn't paid much attention to how quickly the time had passed when she realized she was nearly about to miss dinner. That's when she started to run.

As she hurried down the corridors with her school bag swinging at her side, her stomach growling uncomfortably, taunting her. If she didn't make it quickly, she wouldn't be able to eat until the morning. Her stomach protested again at the thought.

It had crossed her mind that she could just sneak into the kitchens later that night and get food like she had earlier in the year. Although it didn't take much to talk herself out of it and she decided to chance running to the Great Hall instead. It had already been a miracle that she had never been caught sneaking around the castle after curfew, whether it be to the kitchens, abandoned classrooms, or the Room of Requirement. She already had enough things to be careful about without adding something else to the ever-growing list of rules she had been breaking.

"Aha! Who runs there?" yelled the portrait of Sir Cadogan, pulling out his sword and swinging it around the canvas. "Stay back and fight, coward!"

Hermione watched him incredulously as he followed her through the portraits down the hall, galloping on his own two feet as he shouted at her. His behavior was so unbelievable she didn't even have the heart to tell him to sod off, even though her hungry side was itching to snap at him.

"Be careful on thy journey, young knight! Heed my warning, danger waits ahead!" he shouted, stopping in a painting full of cows on a farm. One mooed in protest as he got too close.

Hermione kept ignoring him, but little did she know, she probably should have heeded his warning.

As she continued her pace, she rounded a corner too quickly and slammed into a figure. Dazed from the impact, Hermione stumbled backwards, causing her bag to slip off of her shoulder. As her bag in the ground, her books, quills, and spare bits of parchment scattered across the stone floor and came to rest beside the old rundown work boots in front of her.

"Argh!" grunted a harsh voice, and Hermione froze as she stared into the livid face of Argus Filch.

Throughout the year, Hermione hadn't paid Filch much mind. When she did notice him, he would always be lurking about, trying to catch students who were up to no good. Well, that was when Peeves wasn't chasing him around, chucking dungbombs or water balloons at him. Hermione had to wonder if he made himself scarcer in this time because he lacked his partner in crime, Mrs. Norris. It must have been harder for him to try to catch people misbehaving if he had yet to get his tattletale cat to turn student in for him.

"I'm so sorry!" Hermione squeaked as she quickly knelt down to gather up her books. She could feel her face begin to burn with embarrassment, as well a hint of fear as Filch hunched over and sneered at her.

"You best watch where you're going!" he snarled, his eyes bulging. "Where are we running off to? You aren't the one planting exploding devices in the tapestries are you?"

Hermione stared at the older man's pouchy face. His sunken eyes had that gleam in them that he would get when he was ready to turn you in to a professor, and it made her hesitate before she answered.

"What? Of course not. I was going to the Great Hall for dinner," she managed to get out in a small voice.

"A likely story," Filch sneered. "Dinner is almost over!"

"That's why I was rushing," explained Hermione quickly. "I lost track of time in the library and I didn't want to miss dinner…"

"Don't lie to me! You're just up to no good!"

"Please, sir," she said trying to not show any fear or her growing impatience. "I really need to get to dinner before it ends. I've been studying in the library all evening."

Filch's eyes traveled to her school bag and then to the small stack of books and parchment Hermione had just picked up in her arms and he appeared to concede. It wasn't as if he had any real reason to punish her, after all. He must have realized this too and it only seemed to further annoy him.

"Then away with you! Off to dinner," Filch spat, shooing her with his arms. "But if I find out you've done anything else, I still have my chains hanging from the dungeon ceiling."

He gave her a gruesome smile, that seemed far too eager for Hermione's liking, and she quickly nodded. She didn't need to be told twice to get out of there.

"I'll be keeping an eye on you, girlie!" he shouted after her as she hurried away, clutching her bag tightly to her body.

The interaction left her feeling chilled for more than one reason. That last thing she needed was an extra pair of eyes on her as she tried to become an animagus, especially not someone like Filch. If he caught her, she was sure she'd be in a world of trouble. He'd probably try to have her expelled or strung up in dungeons by her thumbs. Not to mention, if he brought her to Dumbledore on a night where she was prepping to learn to transform, not only would Dumbledore realize what she was up to, she'd probably expose James, Sirius, and Peter for what they were too. And that was information Dumbledore could never know about, not until 1994. If he did, that would surely change the future.

If anything, she would just have to be more cautious. There were far too many things in her life that were currently out of her control, so she had to focus on things in her control, like becoming an animagus. Perhaps James was right and if the boys could do it and not have anyone find out, then she was sure they would be able to help her accomplish it as well. They just had to be smart about it. Cautious.

The Great Hall was nearly empty by the time she arrived. There were pink and red decorations sprinkled throughout the hall, but other than that there wasn't much of a festive spirit. They were nothing compared to Lockhart's decorations from her second year, but enough to still show that it was Valentine's Day. Although, they were looking a little worse for wear now at the end of the day. She guessed that students had probably been messing with them throughout dinner.

The dark night sky hung above the heads of the few scattered groups of students left behind, but unfortunately it was too overcast to see any stars. It would have been nice to see them; they probably would have calmed her a bit more given that she was still a bit shaken from her encounter with Filch. But her main thought at the moment was finding something to eat as her stomach gave another growl.

Hermione scanned the Gryffindor table, hoping Remus or the rest of the boys were still around, but she didn't see any familiar faces. Neither Lily nor Mary were at the table either and Hermione frowned, not being able to help the disappointment that flooded through her.

Maybe it was a better idea to eat alone anyway. Her mind was still filled with animagi facts and she probably wouldn't have been the most interesting company anyway.

"Hermione, hey!"

The voice hadn't been too loud, but with so few people in the Great Hall it caused Hermione to stop in her tracks. She turned towards beginning of the Hufflepuff table where Dirk was waving her over.

He was sitting with two of his fellow fifth-year Hufflepuffs. A pile of gobstones were on the table and it appeared as though the three of them had been comparing their collections.

So much for a dinner alone…

Hesitantly, Hermione walked over towards the Hufflepuff table and forced a smile on her face.

"Oh, hello, Dirk," greeted Hermione, trying to sound friendly. She wondered if he had noticed her at Hogsmeade the previous day and would be angry with her for lying to him. She hoped not.

To her surprise, Dirk seemed not to be too bothered by her presence. Instead, he smiled warmly at her, without a hint of hurt on his face. There didn't appear to be an animosity towards her for not going to Hogsmeade with him, and Hermione felt herself relax slightly. Maybe things would be fine between them. After all, she did like having Dirk as a friend from the Slug Club.

"You just missed Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James. They left a little bit ago," said Dirk. "If you need someone to sit with you can always join us." He gestured down at the table.

Impressed with his civility, Hermione almost took him up on his offer even though she still would have preferred to sit alone at the Gryffindor table. But there wasn't a chance to give him an answer before another voice called out to her.

"There you are, Hermione!"

Hermione turned and saw Lily bouncing towards her from the far end of the Hufflepuff table.

"Lily!" said Hermione, not managing to hide her the surprise in her voice. Hermione hadn't thought to check for Lily or Mary at the Hufflepuff table, which clearly had been an oversight on her part.

"I thought that was you that walked in! We've been wondering where you were," Lily said with a grin as she stopped beside her, linking her arm with Hermione's. "Hello, Dirk," she said with a smile at the Hufflepuff boy before looking back at Hermione. "Come join us, we're down at the other end."

Lily gestured down at the far end of the Hufflepuff table where she had been sitting with a group of girls.

"I'll see you around, Dirk," said Hermione, feeling slightly bad as Dirk's face fell. She would have to make time to play chess with him another day to make up for everything.

"Yeah, alright," he said as he gave her a small smile.

"Where have you been? I thought you'd miss dinner," said Lily as they turned away from Dirk and began walking down the length of the table arm in arm.

"Library."

Lily laughed and shook her head. "Of course you were. Why do I even bother asking?"

"Although, I nearly go thrown in the dungeons by Filch on my way here," said Hermione, crinkling her nose and instinctively holding her bag tighter.

"What?" said Lily with wide eyes.

Hermione quickly went over he encounter with the Hogwarts caretaker.

Lily winced. "He's so creepy. I'm sorry that happened. But at least you're here and not locked in chains on the dungeon ceiling."

She nudged Hermione playfully and Hermione couldn't help but grin at her.

When they arrived at the end of the Hufflepuff table, Hermione recognized that the girls Lily had been sitting with were Mary, Michelle, Claudia, and Doris.

"Hey Hermione!" said Mary with a smile when she spotted her with Lily.

"Would it be alright if Hermione joined us?" asked Lily, looking around at the girls at the table.

"Of course!" said Michelle with a grin.

Hermione smiled politely around at the girls as both Doris and Claudia welcomed her as well.

Hermione unlinked her arm from Lily's and wedged her way in between Mary and Michelle, who graciously moved aside to make more room for her. Luckily for Hermione, there was still food left scattered across the table, so she was able to finally start helping herself to dinner. Although after her clash with Filch, she was not nearly as hungry as she had been.

"Hermione quite literally just ran into Filch," said Lily with a shudder as she rounded the edge of the table and took her own seat between Claudia and Doris on the other side.

"How?" gasped Michelle, turning to look at Hermione with surprise.

"I was rushing here and turned a corner too quickly and he happened to be right there…"

"You actually ran into him?" asked Mary, dropping her jaw.

All Hermione could do was nod as she thought back to that moment uneasily.

"Gross," said Doris, grimacing. "He's a mean old git."

"You could say that again," said Mary, rolling her eyes. "It's a miracle you aren't scrubbing trophies right now."

"Or locked in the dungeon," added Michelle.

"I'm surprised too. But please, don't mind me. Go back to what you were talking about before I interrupted," said Hermione as she eyed the dishes in front of her greedily.

"So, what were you saying, Mary?" asked Michelle.

"Oh, don't get her started, Michelle. She was going on about Marcus," laughed Doris from across the table. "Again."

"I think he's the one…" sighed Mary, as Hermione spooned some peas onto her plate, turning her attention to the roast chicken.

"It was literally one date, Mary…" said Michelle with a laugh from beside Hermione.

"Haven't you guys ever just clicked with someone after one date so much that you know you want to spend your life with them?" asked Mary dreamily.

"No," the rest of them said in unison, breaking out into laughter.

Mary grinned widely at them all. "Well, the date was perfect. He's a complete gentleman and you're all invited to the wedding."

"I'll keep my eye out for the invitation in the post," said Lily with a grin.

"If it went so well, why are you eating with us and not over there," said Doris, pointing to where Marcus still sat at the Ravenclaw table with a few friends from his Quidditch team.

"Will you put your hand down?" hissed Mary crossing her arms. "And just because we're seeing each other now doesn't mean we're not allowed to be with our friends."

"Fair enough," smirked Doris.

While she never minded the days she'd join some of the Hufflepuffs with Lily and Mary, Hermione was having a considerably difficult time looking Doris in the eye after witnessing her and Sirius in that alley the night before. So instead, she focused on her food while letting her mind drift to going over ideas on how she would manage to acquire mandrake leaves right from under Filch's nose.

"Well, it's nice having Mary here and not over with the Ravenclaws," said Lily with a smile. "I'm just glad to spend time with her now since I have Prefect rounds later and then I need to do Slughorn's potions essay."

"Oh I never asked, but did you ever get your cauldron fixed, Lily?" Hermione asked her, distracting herself from her animagus thoughts.

Lily straightened up and beamed at her. "I did! We went to Dervish & Banges after the Three Broomsticks and they were able to fix it, so I didn't have to buy a new one."

"Good!" said Hermione, taking a bite of food.

"Well, not all of us went to Dervish & Banges," said Michelle with a laugh.

Mary looked around at everyone's smirking expressions in confusion as Doris tried her best to hide her expression. Hermione stifled a laugh as it hit her that no one had told her about Doris and Sirius yet.

"Am I missing something?" Mary asked with a frown.

"Not at all," said Michelle, taking a bite of her food to stop herself from laughing again.

Mary pursed her lips as she looked around the table, stopping her gaze on Claudia.

"You're awfully quiet tonight, Claudia," observed Mary.

"Claudia is upset because she had hoped a certain someone would invite her to Hogsmeade yesterday but didn't. Then they didn't even acknowledge that she existed today either," said Doris nonchalantly. "She had hoped for a Valentine at least."

Claudia clearly didn't like being spoken for, and especially did not seem to like being the topic of conversation. Her face went pale and she looked absolutely mortified. "Thank you, Doris…" she said uncomfortably, staring down at the table.

"Well, it's the truth!" said Doris.

"Doesn't mean you have to say it like that though," said Michelle pointedly, shaking her head and patting Claudia's hand comfortingly from across the table.

Hermione immediately felt bad for Claudia, Doris definitely could have a sharp tongue. In that manner, Doris reminded her of Sirius. Both were sometimes too bold, loud, and unfiltered for their own goods. They were either meant to be, or the two of them would one day burn the school down and laugh about it afterwards.

"Just because he didn't ask you doesn't mean he doesn't like you," said Hermione, wanting to make her feel better. "You're very pretty and some boys find that intimidating. If you like him that much you should take matters into your own hands and ask him yourself."

The rest of the girls at the table stared at her for a moment before glancing around at each other, exchanging odd looks. Hermione knew it was 1977, and maybe girls weren't as forward as they had become in the 90s, but she didn't think what she had said was that revolutionary to earn her that kind of reaction.

"Well," Claudia said hesitantly, her eyes shifting around the table nervously. "I had expected him to go with this other girl but then I just saw him with his mates at Hogsmeade… Do you really think I should?"

"Of course," said Hermione with a nod, even if the advice was slightly hypocritical. It wasn't as though she had ever made the first move with someone.

A small smile began to spread across Claudia's face. "Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Hermione."

Hermione smiled back before looking back down at her plate. She had never been particularly fond of boy talk, and if she were being honest, she had too much on her mind at the moment to want to entertain it. Of course, she had gone to Ginny for advice about Viktor Krum during her fourth year and greatly appreciated Ginny's insight, but what she had told Claudia seemed efficient enough. As rude as it sounded, she had less trivial things to think about. She let the other girls talk amongst themselves for a while and instead focused back on ways she could ditch Filch and steal mandrake leaves. Maybe James would tell her about the cloak…

"I didn't see you at Hogsmeade yesterday, Hermione," said Michelle, pulling her attention back to them after a few minutes of her not paying attention. "Did you end up going?"

"Only at the very end," Hermione answered, now wishing she really had just eaten alone at the Gryffindor table. "I spent most of the day in the castle."

"Hermione is very studious; she spent the day studying. She's also a miracle worker because she somehow got James to do essays with her as well," said Lily with a grin. Hermione was grateful Lily left out the part about avoiding Dirk, which she assumed was done deliberately because Lily quickly winked at her.

"Are you and James dating then?" Doris asked Hermione, eyeing Lily carefully from across the table. Hermione also noticed Michelle looking at her curiously, waiting for an answer.

"Absolutely not," said Hermione firmly.

No one questioned her further about it.

"Well Dirk was sad that you couldn't go," said Michelle with a weary smile, glancing down at the other end of the Hufflepuff table where Dirk sat laughing with his friends. "But he'll get over it."

"I hope he does," muttered Hermione quietly, but Michelle must have had good hearing because she gave her a sympathetic smile. It made Hermione feel better that, even though Michelle and Dirk were good friends, she seemed to hold no ill will towards her for somewhat rejecting him.

"Will you tell us more about Marcus, Mary?" asked Claudia, seeming more confident than she had the entire dinner.

Mary didn't need to be asked twice. She launched into an entire speech about everything she had learned about Marcus the day before. Hermione used this as the perfect excuse to escape to her own thoughts again, but she did hear the occasional random Marcus Donner fact, like his favorite color being blue and how he had a dog named Ollie back home.

Trivial.

"We even had breakfast together this morning," finished Mary with a dreamy sigh.

"Yes, we could see you making googly eyes at him at the Ravenclaw table," snickered Doris. "I almost walked over and told you to get a room."

Mary scowled and threw a dinner roll at her, which Doris quickly dodged with a grin.

"You're one to talk, Doris," said Lily, with a laugh. "Half of Hogwarts saw you in that alleyway with Sirius last night."

Mary, who had just taken a sip from her goblet, spit out her water and Doris nearly fell backwards off of the bench trying to avoid getting sprayed.

"Wait, I think I just hallucinated," choked out Mary, looking alarmingly between Doris and Lily as she coughed. "What is this about Sirius?"

"It sure was the sight to see," said Claudia with a small smile and Lily nodded vigorously.

"I only felt a little sick afterwards," added in Hermione, trying not to laugh at the horrified look on Mary's face as she began to comprehend what was being said. Her dreamy expression had completely evaporated and was replaced with one of utter horror.

"Oh calm down, the lot of you. It was just a bit of snogging!" said Doris, her face turning slightly pink. She crossed her arms and feigned annoyance, but she looked rather pleased with herself.

"I'm sorry, WHAT?"

.:~*~*~*~*~:.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" screeched a voice from the stairwell.

Moments later, there was the sound of frantic banging on their dormitory door. "You open this door! NOW!"

Sirius laid back on his bed and smirked to himself as James, Remus, and Peter stared at him curiously. He couldn't decide what was funnier, the sound of the screaming outside their door or the looks of bewilderment on his friends' faces.

"Er, mate? You going to get the door?" asked James, raising an eyebrow at him.

"No, I don't think I will," grinned Sirius.

"BLACK!"

Sirius snickered.

"What did you do?" demanded Remus, looking at Sirius wide-eyed.

"Who even knows with her," said Sirius with a shrug.

It wasn't the first time he was facing the wrath of Mary Macdonald.

The banging got louder, and the door began to shake under the force of Mary's fists.

"I know you're in there!"

"Blimey, Pads… Just answer the bloody door. You probably deserve what's coming anyway," hissed James.

With a sigh, Sirius pulled himself off of his bed. Picking up one of his pillows, he chucked it across the room at James. "You're no fun, Prongs."

Lazily, he crossed the room, ignoring the loud bangs as he approached the door. When he reached it, he waited a moment until the banging stopped and he pressed his ear to the door. Sirius could hear angry breaths coming from the other side and he couldn't help the barking laugh that came out of his mouth. This earned him another smack to the door that rattled his head and James cackled behind him.

"Just open it!" called out Peter.

Sirius, who was now rubbing his head slightly, grabbed the handle and swung the door open. He was immediately greeted with Mary, who was pink in the face as she stared daggers at him.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Macdonald," he said sweetly as he smiled at her annoyed face. "Come to give me a card? Maybe some chocolates?"

Mary's eyes immediately narrowed. "Oh, I've come to give you something alright…"

"As much as I usually like hearing those words from a lady, that's a bit forward now, don't you think? Especially coming from yourself?" he teased with a wicked grin. "What would poor Marcus Donner think?"

She scoffed in disgust and shoved her way past him and into the dormitory. Sirius watched as James, Peter, and Remus immediately straightened up in their beds at the sight of her entering their space.

"Hello, Mary…" said Peter, looking even more confused than ever.

"Peter. Remus. James," acknowledged Mary with a nod and a forced smile to the other three boys. Then her eyes went wide as she took in their messy room, having never been there before. Once she was done scanning her surroundings, she flipped back towards Sirius, Her brown were eyes blazing once again, and she stuck her finger out at him accusingly. "You!"

"Me!" he said back to her, mimicking Mary's own anger, which only deepened her scowl.

"What is going on?" asked James, looking between Sirius and Mary.

"Is everything alright, Mary?" asked Remus, sounding concerned, but Mary ignored them both.

"What have you done to Doris?" she demanded.

Not having any clue what Mary was getting at, Sirius put his hands in front of him in defense. He was not fond of where this conversation was going. "Whoa, what are you even talking about? I haven't done anything to Cassidy."

He looked at Peter, Remus, and James for some reinforcement, but they all shrugged and shook their heads, clearly not understanding as well.

"That's a big fat lie, Black! And after what you did, you might as well call her by her first name! Why am I hearing that you were snogging Doris in some alley last night then?" she said, jabbing her finger forward in the air.

Relief at what her accusation was actually about flooded through his body and he couldn't help his laughter. It was apparently the wrong thing to do because Mary looked even more livid.

"That's what you're talking about? Blimey, don't scare me like that! You made it sound like I did something bad to her! Why are you so concerned about who I'm snogging anyway?"

"Because she likes you, you buffoon!"

"Should we… go?" asked James awkwardly, starting to stand up from his bed.

This seemed to calm Mary down slightly because she turned to look back at the other guys' startled expressions and her own softened.

"No, that's alright, you shouldn't have to leave. This is your dormitory, and you all live here," she said politely before turning back to Sirius. "Unfortunately, so does he."

"I'm still thinking maybe we should go…" James whispered loudly across the room to Remus, who nodded back with wide eyes.

Sirius, who was now starting to feel annoyed, still had no idea what Mary was so angry about it. "So what's so bad about her liking me? I gathered that myself last night, thank you."

"Because she likes you, Sirius! And I don't want you going and breaking her heart and tossing her aside like some of the other girls you've 'dated' in the past!"

Sirius raised an eyebrow at Mary as her chest heaved in anger, but he could tell that the more she got it out, the calmer she seemed to become. He had to admit that he was a little touched by her concern for her friend, even if she was acting barmy about it.

There was a slight chance Mary had a bit of a reason to be concerned. In all honestly, he hadn't really planned on seeing Doris again in any capacity like that, but the way Mary spoke about her intrigued him. Perhaps he would have to ask her out sometime; to hangout when he wasn't full of firewhisky. If what Mary said about her liking him so much was true, it could be worth finding out more about her.

She was also a pretty good snog.

"While I appreciate your concern for Doris," he said, emphasizing her first name. "There's no need to come yelling on her behalf. She's a big girl and I'm a big boy who can do what we want. If she has some problem she knows where to find me. And it's not as though I promised to marry her last night or something. Anyway, who's to say I'm planning on tossing her aside? Maybe I want to see her again."

Mary was silent for a moment as she contemplated what she was going to say next. Then, too Sirius's surprise, she sighed and said something he never thought he'd hear come from his mouth directed to him. "You're right… I- I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come to shout at you like that…"

She looked so genuinely upset with herself in that moment that Sirius actually felt bad for her, even though she was the one yelling at him. He had gotten so used to their fights and banter; it always seemed to come so naturally to the two of them. Having her talk to him like someone she didn't loath? That was new territory.

"It's alright… you just care about Doris is all. I'm not trying to play any games," he said honestly. He reached out and tried to pat Mary on the shoulder in a comforting manner, but it just came across forced and awkward. She looked at him like he were mad and took an awkward step backwards and he let his arm drop.

An uncomfortable silence followed, and Sirius thanked Merlin when Remus gave a cough to clear his throat and broke it. "So, Mary. How was your date yesterday with Marcus?"

His comment made Mary immediately perk up and she grinned bashfully as she turned to look at Remus. Sirius swore her cheeks turned slightly pink.

"It was actually really nice! Thank you for asking! We just sat and talked in Madam Puttifoot's for so long… And we had breakfast this morning before class!"

Remus returned her smile. "I'm glad to hear it. You both make a nice couple."

Mary beamed at him. "Do you really mean that?"

Remus nodded at her. "I do."

Sirius stared at Remus in awe at his ability to calm girls down. It was like some sort of dark magic. One moment Mary was trying to bang down their door, screaming at Sirius, and with two comments from Remus she was a blushing blubbering mess.

"Well, thank you," she said, smiling and looking slightly embarrassed while also giddy at the same time. "Of course, everyone says it's still too early to tell… but I do really like him."

She looked around the room again and saw the confused expressions on Sirius, James, and Peter's faces at the complete change in pace of the conversation and she cleared her throat.

"Well… I guess that's all…" she looked at Sirius out of the corner of her eye. "Again…I shouldn't have come in yelling… sorry, Sirius. Just don't do anything stupid to Doris or I'll put glue in your herbology gloves and then curse you into next week."

Not entirely knowing how to respond to her oddly specific threat, Sirius just laughed. Mary smiled at him reluctantly before turning towards Remus.

"By the way, Lily and Hermione are down in the common room," Mary said to him. "Lily is waiting for you for Prefect rounds."

Remus brightened up at this, but Sirius thought it had more to do with hearing Hermione's names than Prefect rounds. Everyone knew Remus hated doing those or anything related to being a Prefect.

"They're waiting down there now?" Remus asked, checking his watch.

Mary nodded. "I'm headed back down there now to join them before you both go. Hermione and I are going to work on Slughorn's essay together too once Lily leaves."

"I'll walk you out," said Remus, getting to his feet a little too eagerly and Mary nodded with an amused smile. "I don't want to make Lily wait too long."

"Give her my love!" said James as Remus walked across the room.

"Not a chance!" Remus called back over his shoulder as the two left the dormitory and James snickered.

Once the door clicked shut, Peter and James both slouched back down and Sirius returned to his bed.

"Well, that happened... I can't believe Mary was just in here," said Peter, looking around at the mess around his bed horrified.

"And I can't believe Remus thinks anyone bought his 'oh no! I can't make Evans wait!' act," laughed Sirius.

"What do you mean?" asked Peter.

"Oh, come on, Pete. Look at the time," Sirius said with another laugh as he pointed to the clock on their wall. "Their rounds don't start for another half hour. He's clearly going down there this early because Macdonald mentioned Hermione was there. And I think we all know why."

"You know?" asked James, staring at Sirius curiously.

"Mate, I think the whole bloody schools knows… Was it supposed to be a secret?"

"Know what?" asked Peter, looking confused.

"That Moony is in love with Hermione," snickered Sirius.

"We think," added James quickly. "He's never actually said anything. Too proud to admit it, probably."

Sirius didn't know why Peter seemed so alarmed by this information. It was so obvious based on Remus's behavior, it confused Sirius that Peter could have had no idea. Even a blind man could see the way Remus looked at Hermione.

"Next step is figuring out how Hermione feels," said Sirius cheerfully, pulling his arms behind his head and lounging backwards in his four-poster. "I mean she's already trying to help him out around full moons."

While Peter was still looking at Sirius in confusion, James began to try to catch Sirius's eye. He was cocking his head in Peter's direction and widening his eyes at Sirius. It didn't take Sirius long to understand the look his best friend was giving him.

Ah, this was the moment then.

Sirius gave James an understanding nod and Peter looked even more confused as he turned towards James.

"What's going on?"

"That's actually something we wanted to talk to you about, Peter," said James casually. Sirius could tell he was trying not to sound too intense, but his change in tone didn't help because Peter immediately tensed up.

"What is it?" Peter blinked.

James looked at Sirius curiously, so Sirius rolled his hand at him and mouthed "go on…"

"Well, Peter… The real reason I wasn't at Hogsmeade yesterday was because Hermione asked us to teach her how to become an animagus…"

The silence that followed was deafening while Peter sat on his bed, slowly blinking as he stared at James, expressionless. As if not believing James, Peter turned to stare at Sirius instead, waiting for him to say a punchline.

"We told her yes," said Sirius casually, breaking the silence.

It seemed to take Peter another moment to gather himself before he exploded.

"You did what?" gasped Peter, jumping in his bed.

"We think we should teach Hermione how to become an animagus," said James.

"No… you're both just messing with me," he said with a shaky laugh, but the smile never reached his eyes as he searched both of their expressions.

Sirius watched as Peter seemed to go through the five stages of grief right in front of them.

"B-but… you can't do that!"

"I didn't just mean me and Sirius," explained James quickly. "When I said 'we' I meant all three of us!"

"And why would we do that?" demanded Peter, his eyes almost bulging out of his head.

"She wants to be able to join Remus on the full moons."

Peter was shaking his head rapidly.

"This is a horrible idea, horrible… horrible idea…" he was muttering quickly, almost seemingly to himself.

"Why do you think that?" asked James, keeping his voice light.

Peter looked at him with large eyes.

"Because we can't! What if we get caught? We were lucky we never got caught ourselves when we figured it out! She could get us all found out!"

"We weren't lucky, we were smart," said James. "You didn't have reservations back then, why now?"

"Because that was for us to help Remus! We're his best friends, not some random girl!"

"I'm not so sure I'd consider her random anymore…" said Sirius slowly, which earned him a glare from Peter.

"She even said she'd teach us how to do a corporeal patronus if we helped her!" said James, trying to reason with him.

Peter didn't seem to like this bargaining tactic.

"You're planning on teaching her how to do one of our biggest secrets so you can learn a spell?" Peter demanded, sounding horrified.

"Don't tell me that you aren't tempted to learn how to cast that…"

Sirius watched Peter hesitate before answering. "Well... that's besides my point!"

"Look, Peter, I know you and Hermione haven't always gotten along very well," started James, speaking slowly, deliberately taking his time thinking about what he'd say next. "But she just wants to be there for Remus like we are every month. Maybe this could be a good chance for you to get to know her better!"

"And it'll be the setup of the century!" added in Sirius excitedly. "She knows how dangerous it is and that she could get arrested for it but she still wants to do it for him! What other girl would risk life, limb, and freedom for a werewolf? And better yet, the girl he clearly fancies!"

"Just because he fancies her doesn't mean Hermione should be there!" interrupted Peter. "Do you honestly think Remus would even want that?"

"I think Remus would lose his gobstones if he knew we were going to teach her," said Sirius with a smirk. "So it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission here, yeah?"

Peter's jaw dropped open, and Sirius had to bite back a laugh at the gaping expression on Peter's face. All he could think was that it reminded him of a goldfish. "So you aren't even planning on telling Remus you're going to teach Hermione? He doesn't even know?"

"Of course not," said James. "Why do you think we just waited for him to leave before telling you? Sirius is right, he'd be way more accepting of it once he knew Hermione was already an animagus, not trying to become one."

Peter stayed silent for a moment, he seemed to be deep in thought, but he was fidgeting nervously where he sat in his bed.

"I have to tell him…" he said suddenly, starting to stand from his bed.

"No!" yelled Sirius and James at the same time, both getting to their feet we well.

Peter froze, and the three boys stared at each other for a moment, none of them moving. Slowly, Peter returned to sitting with a look of utter defeat on his already conflicted face.

"We can just think of it as another Marauders adventure, Wormtail!" said Sirius enthusiastically.

"We can go on plenty of more adventures, that doesn't mean Hermione has to be a part of it," Peter turned on Sirius, his eyes starting to glisten.

There was an edge to Peter's voice that Sirius noticed, and it immediately made him feel bad. It was like that night they played chess back in November all over again. Peter didn't want to be left out, or in this case, replaced. They should have just told him from the beginning, waiting had been a bad idea.

"Peter…"

"This is your fault!" continued Peter, staring angrily at Sirius. "You never should have told Hermione what we were, or this wouldn't be happening. Things would still be normal!"

Another wave of guilt hit Sirius like a freight train.

"I mean she probably would have figured it out…" muttered James, mostly to himself. He stared down at his nails, pretending to be distracted as he started to pick at them.

Both Peter and Sirius ignored him.

"Alright, alright…" said Sirius slowly. "If you aren't for it, then we won't do it."

James's head snapped up.

"But I've already told Herm-" James started to say, but Sirius sent him a stern look and he shut his mouth.

Peter looked at Sirius curiously, and the look of fear in his eyes made Sirius feel horrible. With a frown, Sirius stood up and crossed the dormitory to sit beside Peter on his bed.

"This is a Marauders decision, if we don't all agree – except Remus for obvious reasons – then we don't do it," said Sirius simply.

There was a moment of silence before James chimed in.

"That's right," said James slowly. "I even told Hermione that this would have to involve all of us."

Peter seemed to hesitate again as he looked between Sirius and James, probably trying to figure out the catch. But Sirius meant every word, and he was pretty sure James did too.

"Look, Peter," said Sirius, putting his hand on Peter's shoulder. "It's not like she's going to become a fifth Marauder or anything."

"Is that what this is about?" asked James softly, looking at Peter sadly.

Peter didn't meet either of their eyes.

"Peter, come on, mate, you can't possibly think that would true," said James. He too crossed the room and sat on the other side of Peter, who was still looking deeply uncomfortable. "It'll always be Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. We're the four Marauders!"

"Yeah, it's not like we're adding her name to the Map or anything," said Sirius. "Nothing is going to change the fact that it was us four that spent years creating it… or how we spent countless hours in detentions for being caught out after curfew. We're the ones that learned how to become animagi together, and nothing is going to change that."

"Hermione is our friend, – and maybe a bit more for Moony – but we're only helping her out; not initiating her into the marauders!" said James. "She may be one of us now, but she's not one of us," he emphasized the last word and gestured around their dormitory.

"And we're mostly doing it for Remus. Imagine what it'll mean to him knowing she did all that to be with him," said Sirius.

Their words seemed to have some sort of effect on Peter because his eyes softened.

"But she really doesn't like me," sulked Peter.

"Then let this be the opportunity for you to show her how great you are!" said James with a grin, and to Sirius's delight, Peter actually smiled back at him.

"Yeah, I guess so… Alright… And it would be cool to learn a patronus…"

"And she said she would teach us how after she learned how to transform so Remus can be there too," said Sirius. "No one left out. No Marauder left behind."

"No Marauder left behind," said Peter with a small smile.

James grinned and clapped Peter on the back good naturedly. "Then it's settled!

"Now we just have to steal some mandrake leaves," said Sirius grinning widely and rubbing his hands together. "Let the adventures begin!"

"Are we going to do it on a night like tonight when Remus is on rounds?" asked Peter hesitantly.

James shook his head. "I don't think we can. Not enough time. We have to make sure he won't find out we've done it."

Sirius caught James's eye and he suddenly realized what he was thinking.

"The full moon," he said, and James nodded.

"What?" gasped Peter. "You want to leave Remus alone on the full moon?"

"Of course not, Wormtail!" said James quickly. "He always goes to the Hospital Wing a few hours before he transforms. Once he's there then we go. That'll give us plenty of time to get there and back and Moony will be none the wiser."

Peter's face was flooded with worry.

"Come on, Wormy," said Sirius, nudging him playfully. "It will be fun!"

"Alright," Peter agreed with a sigh.

"Brilliant! I'll tell Hermione," said Sirius with a grin, standing up.

"You can't go down there right now, she's with Mary!" said Peter.

"Oh, good point. Prongs, pass me some parchment."

James made his way back to his bed and rummaged through his things. He tossed a roll of parchment at Sirius who caught it easily and grabbed his quill from his own bedside table. Quickly, he leaned over and scribbled out a short note that read:

First Move,

Full Moon.

When the ink had dried, he grabbed the parchment and skipped out into the stairwell. He could hear the sound of scattered conversations coming from down below in the Common Room as he began to creep down the stairs.

Once he was far enough down to look over the Common Room, he peered over the railing and spotted both Mary and Hermione sitting together at a table not too far from the fireplace. Lily and Remus weren't anywhere in sight, so they must have already left for their rounds, which made his job easier.

Gently, Sirius tapped the parchment with his wand and transfigured it into a paper aeroplane and sent it soaring down into the common room.

Sirius had to suppress his laughter as Hermione let out a surprised squeal when the parchment landed in her lap. He saw Mary's mouth move as she said something to Hermione but he couldn't hear anything from that distance. Instead, he watched in amusement as Mary frantically looked around in confusion for whoever sent it over to them. Hermione however, seemed to find him immediately.

Her eyes were wide with surprise as she met his eyes and she looked back down at the parchment in her hands. Slowly, she unfolded the aeroplane and Sirius watched the gears in her head click together as the meaning of his message dawned on her.

Looking back up at him, she gave him one quick nod, silently sealing in their plan.

A/N: 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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