A/N: From the feedback I have received, I will be removing all future chapters and will add them back as I edit and update them.
I hope you enjoy this rewrite!
-oOo-
Chapter 5
Hermione made her way back to the guest room she had been provided with near the headmaster's office. She debated sending the Horcrux items and locations, not wanting to have any form of evidence that could end up in the wrong hands. However, she decided she needed to plan, she needed to write her thoughts down as well as a timeline.
Feeling a bit of herself returning to her at the thought of researching and notetaking, she grasped onto that familiar brightness inside of her and clung to it. If she didn't consider the shadows surrounding that light, she wouldn't fall into her dark thoughts again. Hermione entered her rooms through the portrait and immediately sat on the couch and called Hokey to retrieve some parchment and quills.
She started thinking about Voldemort's diary and Hufflepuff's Cup, both held by loyal followers and would likely be the most difficult to obtain. She would need someone close to both to retrieve them for her or assist her in obtaining them. Regulus and Severus would be her best choices, both having defected in their future. Regulus would be her best choice, he was cousins with Bellatrix and she assumed close to the Malfoys, both being Sacred Twenty-Eight. Snape, however, was close enough with Malfoy that he became Draco's godfather. She would save both, they deserved to live. Regulus deserved to live longer than the eighteen years he was given and Snape deserved to live a life free, not the servant of two men to repent for Lily's death.
Hermione had known not to share Regulus and Snape's future and place in her life in that meeting. She had already exposed Peter to the Marauders, how could she consider telling Sirius that his brother died in less than two years? Or that Lily's childhood best friend believed he had been the cause of her death and spied for Dumbledore for seventeen years, protecting her son until his gruesome death?
Thinking past the Horcruxes, she thought about how she could save the Order members that they lost in her time. She had read numerous articles and journals about the first war, and what the Death Eaters did to trap and kill their targets and she had come up with numerous solutions. At the next meeting, she would share them with everyone. There was no point sharing them in the previous one, between her physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion, she had just turned their world upside down, and there was no strategizing after that.
She finished writing down everything she felt she needed to at that moment and quickly cast privacy charms and wards over the parchments to ensure only she could read it. Hermione stored them away in her beaded bag and climbed into her bed to fall into a fitful sleep.
-oOo-
Meanwhile, back in Dumbledore's office, everyone had finally processed what they had just been told and were yelling at him. The headmaster sat calmly listening to them for a few minutes before raising his hands and advising everyone to calm down.
"I understand that this is a lot of information and is almost unbelievable to believe, however unbelievable it may be, it is true. Before we proceed any further though, I must insist everyone in this room make a vow not to share anything they have learned here today, with anyone," Dumbledore spoke steadily, a significant glance towards the Marauders.
James huffed a breath at Dumbledore's insinuation that any of them would tell Peter what they had heard. Why would he share anything with that rat again? The thought of even spending time with him again made him shudder.
James, Sirius, and Remus were the first to stand and sign the magical contract and swear an oath on their wands. They all felt the same anger at Dumbledore for thinking they would tell Peter anything and made a point by not even hesitating to bind themselves to the truth. Everyone else followed, Moody signing last, to observe those signing and to ensure no one stood at his back.
"Excellent!" Dumbledore announced cheerfully, clapping his hands together, "Now, Mister Potter, Black, Lupin, and Miss Evans, I understand a significant amount of your future was shared with you, particularly about your best friend. I can only assume that you are considering how to punish him and cast him from your group of friends, however, I must request that you raise no suspicions."
The teens all stared at the headmaster in shock, the boys' anger was increasing as they thought of laughing and spending time with Peter.
"Albus, you cannot be serious?" spoke Professor McGonagall, "Miss Granger just informed us that he was actively plotting in the school. If he is Marked, that is grounds for expulsion and a ticket to Azkaban."
"In any circumstance, yes, I would agree with you. However, Peter is the key and to change that now would leave us blind. Miss Granger would be just another soldier, rather than the answer. She knows what is ahead, she knows what Peter will plan up until Halloween 1981, unless drastic changes occur," Dumbledore explained.
"Well, one most certainly will! I won't be married to Lily in 1981," James spoke loudly.
"I will concede that changes will happen, however, that prophecy may still occur in 1980. It may simply be different parents, perhaps Miss Evans and Mister Lupin are the parents? Or you and another witch? Perhaps Miss Brown and Mister Longbottom have their child which was a potential option. We do not know and until incredible changes occur, such as no prophecy being spoken at all or the removal of Mister Pettigrew, we must maintain the course we were on. We must act as if Miss Granger did not provide us with two decades of information.
"While we may not change Mister Pettigrew's place with you, we can watch and listen. Use your ingenious map to watch where he goes and who he is with when he gives excuses, and use your Cloak to follow him if necessary. With Hermione joining your year as a transfer student and I can only assume will join your band of friends, Mister Pettigrew may become a bit reckless, she will be an unforeseen anomaly in his plans.
"Miss Granger's cover story will be similar to her own with some minor changes. She will say she was homeschooled before being targeted by blood purists which resulted in her going on the run with two friends. Unfortunately, they were captured and tortured where she lost both friends," Albus explained and then addressed Professor McGonagall, "Minerva, if it is okay with you, I would like to make her your charge."
Professor McGonagall smiled at the headmaster and confirmed she would be delighted to. She had liked the young woman from the little she had seen, she was strong, passionate, and good-hearted.
"Albus, where is she staying? She should not be alone after everything she has been through!" Molly fretted, her eyes darting to the door the girl walked through.
"She is invited to stay with us if she likes, during the term holidays. She seems to know us if her reaction to Molly was any indication, and with her past friendship with our future son, she has likely been to our home. It could bring her some form of comfort," Arthur Weasley spoke up for the first time.
"A wonderful idea!" Dumbledore clapped his hands together, which generally signified the end of his meetings. As everyone was getting up to leave, Dumbledore spoke once more, "Term begins in one week, Miss Granger will be on the platform to take the train. I encourage you to meet her early, I do not want any of Voldemort's spies to learn too much about her. If she even gives a glimpse of her dueling skills to them, she will attract unwanted attention even more so. I also recommend each of you take Occlumency lessons with her, the repercussions, if this information is passed into the wrong hands, would be devastating."
James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily nodded in understanding, they had already planned on meeting Hermione on the platform and protecting her from Slytherin students, specifically Death Eater children in Slytherin. All four of the teenagers left with Dorea and Charlus, taking the Floo to Potter Manor. Once they were all in the receiving room of the Manor, Dorea turned to her son and his friends with a very stern expression.
"You will look after this girl but I will not have you pity her. No anger either, your friend Peter betrayed you, not her, she was only the messenger."
"Of course not, mum! We should have known with his animagus being a rat," James responded glancing at Remus and Sirius who snorted at his words.
"Good, now perhaps you should invite her to attend Diagon Alley with us to collect your school supplies. Lily, Remus, you are of course invited as usual," Dorea smiled at the children she and her husband seemed to have adopted. Remus and Lily assured her that they would join them on whatever day they decided before Charlus Apparated Lily to her home.
James felt his heart thumping at the thought of inviting Hermione to join them in Diagon Alley, he wanted to write to her and he already couldn't wait for the reply. What would she say? What was her writing like? He guessed she would be hesitant but would likely say yes, he also assumed her writing would be a beautiful cursive script. He noticed she had small, delicate hands, they would be able to hold a quill so easily and move so freely and fluidly. He wasn't sure why he was feeling this way about the girl, he had never thought about a girl's hands unless they were wrapped around something of his. His cock twitched at the thought, making him put a stop to that thought process. Hermione was different, he could tell she was a girl he couldn't just smile at and pull into a broom cupboard to shag senseless, she deserved better than that. She deserved a meaningful relationship; she was a forever-type girl. The thought of using her, of breaking her heart, left him feeling sick. She looked so broken, the idea of breaking the last piece of her, he couldn't do that to her. No one could. He would make sure of it. He would protect her heart at all costs.
He watched his father leave with Lily and his mother walk away to do whatever it was she did in the evenings and started walking to his room, saying nothing to Sirius or Remus. He had a letter to write, and he needed to think about what he would say.
Sirius and Remus glanced at each other, they were surprised at James' silence. In the six years of knowing James, they could recall only rare occasions when James was quiet which usually meant he was angry. However, both knew that their friend was entranced by the new girl in their life.
"Come on, Moony, let's go see what Prongs is writing to our pretty new friend," Sirius winked at Remus who chuckled in response. Together they followed James up to his room and found him at his desk staring at a blank piece of parchment, "Oh Prongs, are you having trouble talking to a girl?"
James looked up and scowled at his friends, Sirius draped himself across his bed while Remus sat on the armchair near the fireplace. James' room was a miniature Gryffindor common room. When he had returned from his first year at Hogwarts, he had insisted his parents add a fireplace and a couch, and an armchair. It was where the Marauders sat every night when they talked and laughed about their pranks or did their homework, and he wanted that during the summer too. He couldn't understand how his friends were so calm after everything they had just learned.
"So, that was quite the onslaught of information, what do you think about it all?" James started, releasing a sigh as he stared at his werewolf friend, "Remus, mate, I understand if you want to punch me."
"Why would I punch you?" Remus asked, looking extremely confused.
"It seems I steal your girl in the future, I thought the least you would want to do is punch me," James replied honestly.
"Oh Prongs, you idiot," laughed Remus, "I don't want to hit you, I want to hit our dear friend Peter. More specifically, I want a go at him in werewolf form, and that is something I never thought I would ever consider. Yet here we are," Remus stared at his nails casually. He was trying to hold in the anger he felt, he wanted to rip Peter limb from limb for the future devastation he caused. He took his brothers, and his love, all for the power the Dark Lord promised him, which he highly doubted he received.
"I cannot believe that rat, our supposed brother, does so much damage. How could that squeezy little git single-handedly destroy the Light by handing us over to his master?" sneered Sirius.
"Dumbledore is asking a lot of us to pretend he is still our friend. How do we face him knowing that he wants all of us dead?" James grunted from his chair, "Merlin, who knows what he's learned because of his animagus form, he's a sneaky, small rat. He could easily say he's leaving and come back in his rat form and listen to anything."
"We'll just have to steal the Map back from Filch as soon as possible and keep it open whenever we need to discuss something," replied Remus, "If he does come and listen then we make sure he hears nothing important or we plant false information."
"As long as when this is over, we are the ones to take care of him. He betrayed us specifically, everyone else was just collateral damage to him," growled Sirius.
"We will and Hermione will probably help us, she despised him more than us. She couldn't even say his name without disgust and refused to refer to him as Peter," James replied.
"That Hermione is an interesting one," commented Sirius, "She screams warrior when you look at her but when you hear her voice or look at her face closely, there is a gentleness about her. She also seemed to know us and I had this feeling from the moment I looked at her, like I knew her, like my magic could recognize her. Do you think our magic recognizes each other over timelines?"
James felt a wave of jealousy, his magic hadn't had a sensation of familiarity. How close had she been with Sirius that he had felt that?
"I had a similar feeling. It was like Moony wanted to protect her because he already knew her. He didn't recognize the scent but my magic recognized her and Moony seemed content with that. It was a strange feeling," Remus replied, standing up and joining Sirius in stretching over the bed to stare up at the ceiling.
"I didn't feel any of that, though I was certainly drawn in by her. Her eyes, I couldn't look away from them," James said with a dreamy smile, "she gave up her best friend you know? Ron will likely still be born, I mean Molly and Arthur already have the first three and rumour has it she's pregnant again. Harry though he won't be born. Lily and I will never have him, he won't exist at any point. I'm curious if that fact has hit her yet, that Harry James Potter with green eyes will never exist. The thought of even doing anything with Lily is revolting, no offence Remus, but gross, she's my sister."
"While I believe Lily is beautiful and very much enjoy doing that with her," Remus laughed, "no offence is taken. It makes me happy hearing you think it's revolting, and I can't help but laugh now at the thought of you two together. How Peter managed to pull it off is baffling.
"Lily Potter sounds stupid, Lily Lupin has a much nicer ring to it," Sirius spoke up with a grin, causing Remus to blush.
"I was considering asking her after graduation actually," said Remus with a small smile, "I don't have much to offer her, a small ring and ceremony if I can, I hope it's enough for her."
Remus didn't have much money and knew a future career would be hard for him, but he and Lily had discussed it. She had promised to stand by him no matter what trials they endured, something he wished his future self remembered. He knew now he would never, ever, let her go, if anyone tried, he would be there.
"Moony, we are going to go to my vault and pick out a ring. You both deserve it, and I will take nothing but a yes as an answer. Consider it my engagement gift to you both," James slapped Remus on the back, his friend tearing up and whispering his thanks. Remus knew when not to argue with James, "as for work, Sirius and I will help. You are the smartest in our year, along with my Lily flower of a sister. Although both of you might have a rival in the brightest witch of her age, I digress. Anyone would be lucky to hire you, Merlin you were Hermione's professor!"
"Alright, enough of this mushy girly emotional shit. It's time for some firewhiskey and I swear if this becomes some sappy drunk night, I will bite someone," Sirius teased as he pulled a bottle of Ogden's finest from under James' bed.
"Where the fuck was that hidden?" laughed James.
"I have a bottle in all our rooms, dear Prongsie. We can't have Sirius Black not know where his whisky is, or Merlin forbid, run out!" Sirius replied as he tossed the bottle back and took a few chugs He passed it to Remus next, who barely got a few gulps before James snatched it from him and chugged his own mouthfuls.
James couldn't help but consider how fucked their day was. He had learned that his future was bleak. Their best friend betrayed them, forced him to steal his best mate's girl, have a son with her, and then die wandless at twenty-one. While he considered those facts, he couldn't help but see the silver lining to the devastating news through the entrancing, bedazzling witch he had met because of it. Her eyes were so alluring, they drew him, and her skin looked so soft, so tempting to run his fingers down her smooth skin.
He wanted to kill those responsible for tarnishing her beautiful skin, not that he was disgusted by her scars, quite the opposite. He knew the scars were part of her, much like Remus' scars, he knew they reminded her of what she had been through. He wanted to help her feel confident, not believe the disgusting word on her arm. He wanted to show her that she was more than that word, that they weren't just scars but badges of honour. Proof she survived, that she was stronger.
"Oi! James! Prongs!" Sirius waved his hand in front of James' face, "lost you for a minute, mate. What are you thinking about, a pretty girl by any chance?" teased Sirius. James ignored his lively friend, instead turning to his quieter friend.
"Moony, how did you know? I get you love Lily, you two are made for each other, but how did you know she was worth being your only girl? How did you just give up fun with any witch you want, they were throwing themselves at you, and you chose just one witch forever," James asked. He was terrified of the emotions he was feeling for Hermione. He wanted her, only her, and he needed advice.
"Honestly? It was terrifying," Remus replied, causing James to gulp, "Not because of the other witches but because of the commitment. You would think it's because of Moony, the whole werewolf self-hate thing I do, but I'm also a man. I feel horrible admitting this, that I had fears of committing to her even though I love her with everything. I see you and Sirius; I see you out with any witch you want and a part of me misses that thrill. While I love Lily, we will never have the thrill of our firsts again.
"The first kiss. The first time she made me shiver. The first time she told me she loved me. The constant need for each other, unable to take our hands off one another because we were still learning everything. In the beginning, it was all so new and amazing and I loved every second of it, however, that doesn't last. One day we had finished all of our firsts, our honeymoon phase was over and self-doubt crept back in. We grew comfortable and I doubted whether we still desired each other, but it was just my masculine fear of commitment settling in. I think back to it and hate myself for ever doubting it.
"One day we were at a muggle bar during the summer, I went up to get us drinks, and a girl pressed up against me. She apologized for bumping into me and I told her it was okay, a beautiful girl could bump into me any day and I got that thrilling feeling again, the spark of flirting with a new person and learning about them. She introduced herself to me and touched my arm, giving me another jolt, more of that thrilling feeling, however, immediately following it I began feeling nauseous. I thought of Lily and guilt crashed into me, I realized that I was flirting with someone else, while I was out with my girlfriend. I forgot about the drinks, dashed back to the booth, and snogged Lily senselessly, and I felt at home. It was at that moment I knew; I knew that the thrill was nothing, the security and love from the girl I could come home to was exponentially better than that fleeting thrill with a stranger.
"Lily told me later that night that she had seen me speaking to the witch, she knew what was happening based on the look the girl was giving me. She admitted that she was terrified and assumed the worst for that moment until I came back and kissed her. She told me that flirting with other girls was perfectly fine, as long as it was her I came home to. I promised her no one else could ever compare and then we found ways to bring the thrill back ourselves," Remus finished explaining with a chuckle.
"I'm afraid to ask how you do that," replied James cautiously.
"Sometimes when we go to the bar, we glamour our hair and act like strangers. She especially likes it when I have to pull a man away from her, she likes my possessiveness," smirked Remus.
"Damn Moony, you two really were made for each other," laughed Sirius, "I know how much she loves your werewolf tendencies."
"Oh, you don't even know half of it," Remus replied thinking of how much Lily loved when Moony made an appearance in the bedroom around the full moon. She especially liked to organize time for them the day before the full moon to sneak up to the Room of Requirement and have the randiest, dirtiest, roughest sex.
By the time Remus was finished explaining his relationship, the bottle of firewhiskey was gone and the boys were beginning to slur their words and stumble if they tried to move. Remus ended up slipping off the bed and onto the floor giggling, Sirius somehow managed to switch with James and sit on the desk chair vertically, with his legs over the arms, and James was spread across the bed.
"S-S-Sirius I had s-son, an awesome one," James slurred, turning his head to his best friend in the chair.
"Yeah, he…he killed You-You-Know, You-Know-Who," he replied.
"I never thought about a family, I want one," James thought out loud. Remus rolled onto his side to stare up at the bed and Sirius fell off the chair with a loud thunk.
"Prongsieeeeee," Sirius laughed, pulling himself up on his arms to look at James, "You have usss!"
"You want Harry?" slurred Remus.
"Not with L-Lily, that's dis-disgusting!" James spoke, a scowl on his face, "How did Petey do this?"
"When we catch him, we will find out," vowed Sirius.
It was an hour later, after more laughs and stumbling that the boys piled onto the bed and passed out until morning.
-oOo-
It was late the next morning when James opened his eyes and felt the pounding in his head. He tried to open his eyes but the light streaming in from the window only increased the pain. Groaning, he rolled over and looked around him, Remus was draped horizontally across the bottom of the bed as Sirius lay beside him with an arm over his face and a leg off the bed. He rolled off the bed and made his way toward his bathroom door to retrieve some hangover potions from his stock above the sink. Living with Sirius had led to James keeping stock for days like today.
He gulped one down, looked in the mirror, and noticed his hair was messier than usual and his glasses were askew on his face. He quickly brushed his teeth, fixed his hair as best he could and resituated his glasses after cleaning them. He picked up two additional doses of potion to give to Remus and Sirius when they finally woke up. James walked past his desk to place the potions on the bedside table, however, he froze when he noticed that the parchment was no longer on the desk.
His face paled at the implications of missing parchment, he dropped down to the bin beside his desk and pulled everything out. No parchment in there.
'No, no, no, I couldn't have', he thought to himself. He looked towards his window and noticed Ephelia, his owl was missing, 'I didn't, did I? Please, Merlin, no. I'm not that stupid, am I?'
James had written to Hermione while sloshed drunk.
He turned to the snoring boys behind them and smacked them awake. Sirius groaned telling him to fuck off, while Remus sat up and sleepily looked around, his eyes squinting at the light. James handed him the hangover potion, and Remus happily gulped it down.
"What did we do last night?" he asked, handing the empty bottle back to James.
"I thinkI sent Hermione a letter," sighed James. Remus whipped his head to look at James in shock.
"Bloody hell," he groaned, his eyes wide, "What do you mean you think you sent her a letter? We were hammered last night, what did you write?"
"My parchment and owl are missing, I have no idea what I wrote and I'm afraid to know," James replied, falling onto the bed dramatically.
This was a disaster.
-oOo-
Hermione had been sleeping restlessly for the past two hours when she heard a pecking at her window. She cast a Tempus and saw that it was just after midnight. Curious about who could be sending her a letter at such a late hour, she climbed out of bed and opened the window for the owl. A beautiful Eurasian eagle owl flew in and landed next to her, she had dark silver-grey feathers with black speckles throughout, amber-red eyes, distinctive ear tufts, and great big talons.
The tired witch called for Hokey to request some owl treats, the elf happily obliging. Hermione held her hand out for the owl who happily enjoyed some treats, a quick pet from her, and flew out the window to head to the owlery for some rest. Hokey had also brought something for Hermione to eat, as she had not eaten since her soup the previous day.
Now that she was awake, Hermione knew she would not be sleeping any time soon. She picked up her food and the letter and went into the living space, sat on the couch, and opened the letter to read while she ate. She didn't recognize the writing, but it was rather messy and sloppy looking. Had it been written in a rush?
Hermione,
I have never been one to lose my words, but you have taken them straight from my lips and rendered me speechless.
The boys and I would be honoured if you would join us on our trip to Diagon Alley.
I may have met you yesterday, but already I trust you with everything, your eyes told me to,
Yours,
James Potter
Hermione stared at the words on the parchment, James Potter had written to her. Her heart was in her throat as she contemplated his words. She had only briefly looked at this boy, she had spoken few words to him, yet his letter had stirred a foreign feeling within her. There was a safety she felt near him. Like he had been protective of her. Even in her time, no one had really felt the need to protect her completely. Her Sirius and Remus had looked out for her, but the difference was that she had helped them more.
"Yours," she whispered, her fingers lightly tracing the word.
This was dangerous for her. James was dangerous for her.
She could remember the hazel of his eyes, the intensity brewing within them. The strong jawline and broad shoulders. He was the definition of an attractive male and with the confidence that rolled off him, he knew it.
She couldn't get caught up in his games, she didn't have time for attractive men. Knowing Sirius, he would flirt with her too but she knew him. She knew how to handle Sirius, at least the older version, the younger one couldn't be much worse. Her sole mission was to ensure Voldemort fell and Pettigrew went with him.
Hermione let out a breath and laughed at herself. How could she think about boys and romance, James sent her one letter. He was being nice. He probably had every female falling at his feet along with Sirius, neither would look twice her way. She wasn't worthy of it.
Hermione Granger was broken, tarnished, and scarred.
She had one mission and that was her purpose.
Diagon Alley, though, she could do that. She could be friends with them, that wasn't so bad. She could see herself getting along with Lily and Remus, both loved books and she already knew older Remus. Sirius, if she could have a similar friendship with this Sirius, he could be her easy-going friend to make her laugh, and stop her from getting too serious at times.
James Potter, however, was an unknown variable. She knew nothing about him except for his bravery and stories she had been told, but how much was fabricated? So many of his stories involved trying to win Lily Evans' heart. Oh, and it didn't help that thinking about him made her heart do funny things and her stomach tie up in knots. Yes, she needed to be careful around the wizard.
With her decision made, she wrote a letter letting James know she would join the Marauders in Diagon Alley. In the morning she would make the trek to the owlery and send her reply. She sealed the envelope and decided to try and get some more sleep, as unlikely as she knew it would be, she had to try.
-oOo-
James and Remus managed to wake up Sirius and give him a hangover potion. It was early afternoon when all three of them sat down at the table to eat breakfast, as Charlus and Dorea enjoyed their lunch, mirth dancing in their eyes at the boys. The boys were still groggily eating when Dorea saw Ephelia tapping on their window.
"Is that Ephelia? What is she doing out this early?" she asked, standing to head toward the owl. However, James rushed past her and snatched the letter from the owl, startling the older witch.
"Oh my, James, whatever is the matter with you?" Dorea asked her son, her eyebrows pulled together. The younger wizard ignored his mother as he ripped the letter open, he needed to know he didn't completely embarrass himself with the new witch. He ran up to his room so he could avoid his parent's questions.
James,
I'm not sure if it is a compliment that I have rendered you speechless. Believe me, I did not wish to bring such bad news to you, I just want to spare all of you from such a horrific future. All of you deserve so much more.
I would certainly like to accompany you to Diagon Alley with Remus and Sirius, I have a few potion ingredients to collect, and I also need new robes as the ones I have are in tatters.
I am glad you trust me, I would be entirely lost if you didn't believe me. As to my eyes, I don't know what to say to that except, I too trust you.
Your new friend,
Hermione
"Oh, thank Merlin, I didn't say anything stupid or embarrassing," James let out a breath of relief. He had been terrified that he had said something entirely inappropriate and made it awkward for her.
"You're a lucky sod, I've seen what you've written to girls before," Remus spoke with a disgusted shake of his head, "I had to wash my eyes out with soap and nothing Lily did could get it out of my mind."
"Moony, Moony, Moony, you are the only complaint I've ever had," smirked James. He had learned a few years ago that witches loved his dirty talk. He began writing them notes and letters that would have them squirming for him, he would rile them up and make them come running to him.
Thinking about those witches made James realize this year would be difficult. He had cultivated a reputation of playing hard to get, pushing girls away, sending them notes, pushing them away, whispering in their ears as he walked past, all until they dragged him into a broom cupboard. This year he would be pushing them away for a different reason. He didn't want them, he wanted Hermione. He didn't want her to think he was a flirt either, that he would use her and move along as he had done in the past.
"Moony, try it with Lils. James and I are telling you, the witches come wet and wanting," Sirius joked. Remus arched a brow at his friend.
"She already is, Padfoot. Where do you think we go every month before the full moon?" Remus replied. He knew Lily wasn't a fan of him talking about her like this, but sometimes he enjoyed throwing it into his friends' faces that he had a partner that constantly desired him, "One day, you'll find your witch that you won't want to put your wand anywhere else. James is starting to see from my perspective."
"I know, traitor," laughed Sirius before he realized his choice of words. Tension filled the room as they thought of their other friend.
"Think he'll come with us to Diagon Alley?" asked Remus.
"If he does, we need to warn Lily and Hermione. We need to be careful what he learns about Hermione, if he shares the wrong information with You-Know-Who, she could be in danger," James said quietly. He was terrified he could destroy everything and lose Hermione due to a slip of the tongue. He had only just met her, barely knew her, and yet he was already scared to lose her.
"I'm going to go and visit Lily today. I think she needed time to process everything we learned last night, she might be ready to talk to me today without becoming overly emotional. You know how she gets when she's too upset to talk," Remus explained. After Lily and Snape's last fight, he had tried to talk to her but she had been so upset that she alternated between sobbing incomprehensible words and silent anger, "I think she might feel as guilty as you did last night and I need to reassure her that I know you two aren't getting together."
"Merlin and Morgana themselves couldn't convince me Lily was better with me than you. If we hadn't died in the future, guaranteed we would have killed each other. Our arguments have been legendary,"
"Ha! Remember when I stole the girls' knickers and flew them in the Common Room? Lily had you upside down and was throwing everything and anything in her reach at you. I didn't even know what a toe rag was before sweet Lily flower taught us," laughed Sirius.
"I still want to know how I got blamed for that! The girls refused to speak to me for a whole month," James cried as Sirius continued to laugh so hard that he had to bend over clutching his sides.
"Our last year boys, I'm going to miss our Hogwarts days," Sirius said after he calmed down, wiping tears from his eyes. The boys smiled; it was a bittersweet feeling. They were excited about the next adventure, but Hogwarts had been their home, where they met, where they could be children playing pranks. After Hogwarts they would be in the real world, they would be fighting a war.
Remus left to go and spend the day with Lily, and Sirius ran off to get his and James' brooms while James wrote a reply to Hermione. He let her know to meet them in the Leaky Cauldron at two o'clock, he also warned her there was a chance Peter would hear about it and tag along. Once he had sent the reply off, he joined Sirius in the back garden where they flew around for the afternoon.
-oOo-
Hermione opened James' reply and noticed that the writing was much tidier and not as smudged.
'Hmm, must not have been as rushed as last night,' she thought to herself.
She read over the response and huffed at the warning that Pettigrew might join them. She wasn't ready to face the rat yet, she had lost so much due to that stupid animagus. She would ensure his end came about, his execution would be at her hand if need be, not by his own silver hand. Her smile returned as she read James' sign-off, he had once again written 'Yours'. She never thought she would smile genuinely again, but here was James somehow managing it numerous times. She wasn't even near him; he had only sent her two letters.
Hermione spent the day trying to catch up on the sleep she had lost over the past year, as well as eating the food that Hokey brought her. The little elf had noticed that Hermione barely ate the large meals that she brought her, so she switched tactics. Instead, the house elf brought smaller, lighter meals more frequently. In between her meals, Hermione slept and when the nightmares woke her up, she would nibble on some food.
When she awoke the next morning, her stomach was in knots the entire time she got ready. At a quarter to two Hermione knocked on the headmaster's door and requested to use his Floo to travel to the Leaky Cauldron. Dumbledore was overly enthusiastic about Hermione travelling to Diagon Alley and spending time with the Marauders, Hermione just smiled nervously back at him. She tugged nervously at her overly long sleeves, she was wearing one of Harry's shirts, needing his comfort to take this step.
She took a deep breath and stepped into the Floo, calling out for the Leaky Cauldron. When she stumbled through, she brushed the soot off her clothes and looked around. James and Sirius were at the bar, and Remus and Lily were sitting in a booth with Dore and Charlus. Hermione slowly made her way toward the booth; she was quiet and nervous as she approached them. Dorea was the first to notice her.
"Oh, Hermione, dear! I am so glad you could join us," the older witch smiled. Hermione shyly returned the smile, although it did not reach her eyes. Hermione's first impression of Harry's grandmother was that she quite liked her, she exuded a motherly affection similar to Molly Weasley, "Have you eaten?"
Hermione nodded in reply, sitting down silently next to Remus and Lily, both beaming at her supportively.
"Wonderful, as soon as those boys return, we shall make our way. What is it that everyone needs?" Charlus asked the younger witches and wizard.
"I need quills and parchment and my entire book list," responded Lily.
"I don't need anything, I am just here to tag along," Remus answered. When Hermione did not speak up, they all glanced toward her.
"I just need some robes and potion ingredients," Hermione said so quietly they almost missed what she said.
"Hermione," a cheerful voice called, Hermione looked up to see it was James, "you made it," he stopped beside her and took a sip of the butterbeer in his hand. Sirius stood behind him holding his drink.
"Boys, I told you to pay the bill, not order another drink. We were just about to leave," scolded Dorea.
"Sorry, Mama P. We thought we had a little more time and that Hermione had to eat. You go ahead, we'll catch up," Sirius replied, taking a large gulp from his drink. James turned and glared at his friend, apparently not enthusiastic about that plan. Hermione thought maybe it was for the best, if James and Sirius were anything like Harry and Ron, they would be in the Quidditch store for longer than necessary and would rush her in the bookstore.
Dorea rolled her eyes and Charlus laughed at his sons' disregard for their mother's schedule, they certainly were testing their Gryffindor bravery.
"Fine. Lily, Remus, Hermione, we shall go now. Where would you like to go first?" Dorea asked as she shooed them towards the entrance to Diagon Alley.
"Flourish and Blotts!" all three replied at once causing Charlus to burst out laughing, and all three blushed as they looked at one another.
"You could lose yourself in a bookstore too, huh Hermione?" Remus asked her.
"Oh yes, you would always find me with a book. I was in the library for hours on end at school, if you couldn't find me there it was the Common Room reading a different book," she smiled, "Harry and Ron thought I was mental, I brought a book to a Quidditch game once and I think they both had an aneurysm," causing Lily and Remus to laugh.
"We will get along famously," smiled Lily.
Hermione felt a warm feeling of acceptance with Lily and Remus. Neither judged her for loving books and seeking knowledge, they understood. Ron had always scoffed at her love of books and laughed at her, while Harry had just not understood and chose flying as his escape. They ignored every shop around them, walking directly towards Flourish and Blotts, each going their separate ways when they stepped into the building. Lily made her way towards the Charms section, Remus was drawn to the Defensive spell's shelves, while Hermione wandered with no destination in mind. She wanted to browse for anything that could be useful for her. She found herself beginning in the magical creature's section but sometime later she ended up with the Transfiguration tomes. Her fingers danced over the spines, reveling in the feel of books at her fingertips. As she walked, she felt herself being drawn to a certain book resulting in her stopping and taking a step backward. She raised her hand and pulled out a small, green leatherbound book with gold foil writing. The front was gorgeous, the title was written in a cursive script, 'Animagus and You', and was covered in animal designs and scroll patterns.
She considered the book in her hands; it was a book she would have bought in the past just to own because of how beautiful it was. However, being an animagus could help her in this time, it could make certain missions easier if she was an appropriate animal. If she was a smaller creature she could sneak around, and be able to enter locations she couldn't as a witch. Sirius escaped Azkaban and Pettigrew stayed hidden for twelve years under the nose of Dumbledore. If she decided to go through with it, she would have the Marauders and Professor McGonagall available to speak with if she felt the process was too dangerous to do alone. Hermione knew that becoming an animagus was difficult, it involved meditating just to learn your form, but maybe that would be good for her. Meditating could help her with her nightmares, but her Occlumency certainly wasn't helping her with them.
Looking around she saw that Remus and Lily were still lost in the stacks browsing the numerous books that surrounded them. Deciding she had browsed enough, Hermione walked up to the front counter and paid for her book and sat down on a wingback chair to skim her purchase while she waited for her new friends.
Hermione had been reading for ten minutes when a voice spoke into her ear.
"Animagi?" it asked, the sudden voice caused Hermione to jump out of her chair, spin around and point her wand at the culprit. James was staring at her with wide eyes and his hands thrown up in surrender.
"Bloody hell, don't do that!" Hermione gasped, her hand over her heart as she controlled her breathing.
"Sorry, sorry! I should have known not to sneak up on you," he apologized immediately.
"It's okay, I should get used to it. Hogwarts is going to be busy and loud," she replied honestly.
"So…animagi?" He tried again.
"I'm interested, depends on the animal, I guess. If it's big I won't bother," she shrugged.
"Not afraid of being a big creature, are you?"
"I'd rather be smaller, can sneak around more. A stag comes crashing through the forest and everyone's going to see and hear it," she smirked.
"From personal experience, I can confirm that statement" he laughed, "Well if you ever decide to do it, I can help you if you like."
Hermione smiled shyly at him, looking up and directly into his eyes. She was entranced by his hazel orbs, she could see the nervousness and vulnerability in his eyes, he was reaching out to her and was worried about how she would respond.
"Thank you, I may take you up on that," she replied, his shoulder sinking slightly, in relief and a dazzling grin taking over his face. Hermione felt her heart stutter and her stomach flip.
'Damn those gorgeous eyes and that smile- Nope, this isn't good, stop it Hermione,' she scolded herself.
She quickly broke eye contact, looking for the others to break the tension that was building between her and James. Remus and Lily were thankfully at the register and Sirius was talking to a pretty blonde witch near the exit.
"You know," James whispered, bringing her attention back to him, "While you told us everything about our future, you never told us anything about you." He offered her his arm and lead her out of the store to wait for their friends who were almost finished with their book purchases.
"Um, yeah, not much to say about that," Hermione replied awkwardly, "My years as a witch were about keeping Harry safe." Speaking of Harry, she wrapped her arms around the shirt she was wearing for comfort, she could still smell him on it, if only faintly. As she said his name and breathed in the faint fragrance of his treacle tart, broomstick polish, and sandalwood mixed with James' fresh cut grass, mint, and cedarwood, something clicked in Hermione's mind.
Hermione finally processed a truth she had not yet acknowledged.
Harry would not be born. He was really, truly gone from her forever.
James and Lily would never have him. Harry Potter with a kind, brave, selfless heart, green striking eyes, messy untamable, shaggy black hair, and broken glasses would never step foot in Hogwarts again.
Her Harry was gone.
James watched as Hermione's facial expression drastically changed from a small smile to a slight frown, into devastation. Her eyes filled with tears within seconds, and James quickly steered her to the side of the shop, in a quiet alley, for some privacy. He wasn't entirely sure how to comfort her, he didn't know what she was upset about, he could only guess that she had finally processed the loss of her life, of Harry. He pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her tightly as he would do for Lily. He placed his chin on top of her head and slowly rubbed comforting circles on her back.
Hermione silently sobbed into his chest, so upset no sound was being released. She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and held on to him as if he was the only thing holding her together. As James held her, he couldn't help the wandering thoughts of how perfect she felt in his arms, she felt thin but that could be easily fixed with some nutrient potions and a healthy diet. He could smell lavender, parchment, and honey. She radiated a rich, sweet warmth and he could soak it in every day, forever. She felt perfect where she was and he relished being the one to comfort her, that she felt safe enough to let him wrap his arms around her completely. To open herself up to him and break down like this. She might think it was weakness, might be embarrassed, but he knew she needed it. She had been strong for so long.
James looked up and saw his friends walk out of the store and look toward them. He shook his head and motioned for them to continue without them. It was a few minutes later that he felt Hermione's sobs ease and her fingers lessened their tight hold on him. She let go of her grip completely and pushed back against him so she could wipe her eyes, left only with sniffles. James released his tight hold but never removed his hands from her shoulders, he leaned down so he could look directly into her eyes. Her chocolate brown irises with gold flakes throughout were mesmerizing.
"I would ask if you were okay, but that would be a stupid question. Are you feeling a little better though?" he asked, concern written all over his face. Hermione maintained eye contact and nodded. In all her years as part of the Golden Trio, neither of her boys was able to comfort her. Harry and Ron were always uncomfortable around her when she cried, Harry not having been raised around emotional people, while Ron never had to handle an upset Ginny, he left that to his older brothers. They both chose to leave her to cry on her own, she would find them when she was feeling better. The only time Harry had ever attempted to comfort her was when Ron used Lavender to try and make her jealous, and even then Harry had gotten mad at her for sending the conjured birds at Ron. He had called her petty only moments after she used his shoulder to cry on. Both had been horrible at comforting her, and they were her best friends.
"Thank you," she whispered, "It just, I hadn't realized, Harry is gone."
James nodded slowly; he had a feeling that was what it was. He felt terrible, she had lost her best friend and he was the spitting image of him. How could she see him as anything other than her best friend's dead dad? A carbon copy of someone she saw as a brother?
"I wish he wasn't taken from you, I'm sure he was an amazing friend. If you're willing, I'd love to learn about him, as well as you, if it's not too hard?"
"Oh, I didn't think you would want to know about him, since you know, you had him with Lily," she replied awkwardly.
"Well yeah, that still blows my mind honestly. She's my sister, it just sounds so wrong," he said shaking his head, "but he was important to you. Just because you came here doesn't erase everything that meant something to you."
Hermione couldn't believe this man was related to Harry, she wasn't surrounded by boys with the emotional range of a teaspoon anymore, she snorted at that. James' eyes flashed with hurt at her snort, thinking she was laughing at him. He was about to apologize for even bringing it up when she stopped him.
"No, no, I was just laughing at a memory. You, James Potter, are not what I imagined," she looked up at him and felt her face flush. He looked back at her with a puzzled expression.
"Well, what did you imagine?"
"Not this," she waved her hands at him, he frowned a little deeper, "You seem to be aware of emotions, of other people's feelings. You managed to comfort me and speak to me at a much deeper level than I am used to with teenage boys. In the seven years I had with Harry and Ron, neither of them has ever managed that. I used to tell them that they had the emotional range of a teaspoon."
A happy grin replaced James' confused frown.
"Well, I have had practice with Lily, can't have a fiery sister without learning how to read when she needs someone to talk to," he shrugged. Hermione smiled; she didn't agree but said nothing. Ron's sister was the definition of fiery, having six older brothers and surviving Voldemort's possession, yet Ron was the worst of the two.
"So, you wanted to know about Harry?" she asked as they made their way to Madam Malkin's, "Hmm, where to start? He was the kindest, bravest boy I knew. He was raised by Vernon and Petunia Dursley-"
"What?!" yelled James incredulously "no, no, they are the worst! I met that Vernon fellow last summer at their engagement party. Such a pompous twat! "
"Yes, they were. Harry's bedroom until Hogwarts was a cupboard under the stairs," James stopped walking and stared at her.
"A cupboard?"
"Yes, their dislike of magic never waned. They never told him the truth about your and Lily's death, he believed it was a car crash because his parents were drunks. He didn't feel like he had a home until he went to Hogwarts, that castle was his home. Even with his terrible upbringing, he was a very kind and loving boy. Terrible at dealing with emotions, he was an angsty teenager but who wouldn't be with Voldemort after you? He had his first kiss in our fifth year-"
"Fifth year? Bollocks, a Potter should have the ladies at his feet," Hermione glared at him.
"Harry wasn't like that, he waited until he got the girl he liked," James guessed Harry got that from Lily and flushed, not the best impression for Hermione with that one, "He was going to marry Ginny Weasley, after the war. He told me that when the war was behind us and they had buried who they needed to, he would ask her to marry him. A lot of people said they reminded people of you and Lily. James and Harry, both messy, black-haired wizards, with Lily and Ginny, both fiery red heads. His face when she died, I don't think I can ever forget it, he died moments later," she whispered.
"I'm sorry," he replied, he hadn't meant to make her sad.
"He was the bravest boy I ever met, and I will miss him. However, it is curious," she said thoughtfully.
"What's curious?" he asked.
"Dumbledore told me in my letter that the mirror he created in the portal would show me, everyone, I could save. Harry was there, he looked different, specifically his eyes, but he was there," Hermione said with a shrug. Perhaps James would have a child with another witch and he would still look like him. Harry may still be born to another mother. Hermione wouldn't admit the uncomfortable feeling she had at the thought of James having a baby with another witch. Instead, she continued walking towards Madame Malkin's, leaving a frozen James behind her.
James couldn't move. Hermione had still seen Harry. He could still potentially have his son. Who would be his mother? Could it be Hermione?
He broke out of that thought, not wanting to build his hopes up, and caught up with Hermione. He found her in the shop being fussed over.
"I just need casual robes. I do not need dress robes" he could hear her tell Madam Malkin.
"But dear, I have a red set, I know it will look phenomenal on you. It just arrived, you would think I received it for you," Hermione once again told Madam Malkin that no she didn't need dress robes. While she was changing James ran up to Madam Malkin.
"The red dress robes. I want you to buy them using my account, hold them until December and send them to Potter Manor before Yule. They will be perfect for our family Yule celebration," the woman smiled and agreed to set up the order. Thankfully it was packed away just before Hermione exited the fitting rooms.
"Can you please send them to me at Hogwarts when term starts? I would rather not repack my trunk," Malkin agreed and they walked out of the store.
"You are already packed?" James asked her, leading her to Fortescue's.
"Well-" however she was cut off by a loud voice behind them.
"Potter!" James turned around to see his least favourite blonde prat walking towards him.
"Malfoy," James drawled.
Hermione froze up beside James, she knew Lucius defected in the end for his son, but he took so much from her before then. He was in her nightmares of Malfoy Manor, he only turned when his son chose a side. Without Draco making that choice, Lucius would rape, torture, and kill to his heart's content.
"I see you have a new pet," Malfoy looked Hermione up and down before turning back to James, "another mudblood I assume."
Before Hermione could stop him, James had leapt at Malfoy, threw his fist back, and smashed Lucius Malfoy in the nose. They toppled over and James landed on top of Malfoy and continuously hit him in the face.
"James, no!" Hermione ran forward and tried to pry James from Lucius, but she was too weak, she had no muscles after a year on the run with limited food. Remus and Sirius appeared behind her, having seen everything from further up the street. With joint effort, both of them managed to pull James off the bloody heap that was Lucius Malfoy. The blond wizard sat up and spat blood as he pulled himself up. His nose was pouring blood, it was obviously broken, his left eye was swollen, his cheek was already sporting a dark bruise, and his cheekbone looked caved in as if it, too, were broken. James' knuckles were bloody and split, his fists clenched at his side, as he took deep rasping breaths. His anger was not appeased by the beating, his eyes staring the older wizard down dangerously. Sirius and Remus were holding his shoulders, stopping him from attacking again.
"Do not call her that!" James shouted at the retreating, stumbling Malfoy.
"Prongs, mate, what was that?" Remus asked, finally releasing his friend. Sirius also let go of James and looked towards Hermione, he saw she was shaking slightly, her right hand wrapped around her left forearm tightly.
"Ah shit, Moony, deal with James," Sirius whispered to his werewolf friend, "Hermione, come here," Sirius held his hand out for her when she took it h pulled her in for a hug and let his hand run over her hair. "I know you said at the meeting that that is what you are, but I need you to listen to me when I tell you it's not. That is a disgusting foul word that should never be associated with you." Sirius stepped back, placed his hands on each of her cheeks, and stared into her eyes, silver to brown, "You may have it on your arm, you may think out of everyone you have the right to say it. While that may be true, why would you want to?
"Every time I hear that word it makes me so angry that people could think that way about you, about Lily. Bella should never have touched you in such a way, I'll kill her for it if I can. I want you to omit that word from your vocabulary. I cannot listen to you degrade yourself, none of us can. If anyone, and I mean anyone, uses that word around you, they will have three very violently angry Marauders to deal with. Lucius Malfoy just learned first. Promise me, kitten?"
Hermione's gasped when he called her kitten, it was- it was the same as her Sirius, it brought back the rush of memories of her and her Sirius in Grimmauld Place. He said the same thing to her when Kreacher and his mother's portrait screamed it at her. Even when she tried to say it was just a word and she wasn't affected by it, her Sirius sat her down and reminded her that she was brilliant, she outshone every pureblood proving their theories of Muggleborns wrong, and she was so much more than what certain bigots thought of her. She wondered how her Sirius would have reacted if he was alive and saw her scar, he likely would have killed Bellatrix before the battle ended, just for her.
The tears fell at Sirius' words, she mourned the Sirius she lost, she felt the acceptance from this Sirius, acceptance of her. Sirius wrapped his arms around Hermione again and let her cry into his chest, she was honestly running out of tears. She needed to pull herself together.
"I'm sorry, I can't seem to stop- stop crying, all the time," she said between sniffles.
"Kitten, Hermione, you have lost so much, you have been through a lot, more than any eighteen-year-old should. It is only natural to cry. You have us now, we won't let anything happen to you," he promised her. Hermione noticed that Sirius smelled different as a teenager, he hadn't discovered cigarettes yet, nor was he wearing leather. Her Sirius' fragrance was cigarettes, leather, and amber, while this Sirius was amber, vanilla, and whiskey. It wasn't a bad smell, but it was wrong. She would need to rectify the most important missing piece of Sirius, a leather jacket.
Sirius felt Hermione pushing away from his chest and stepping away from him. He looked down expecting her eyes to still be swimming with tears, however, he was instead met with fierce, determined eyes and a small smile.
"Alright there, kitten?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah, just a memory, one I will make sure happens," she replied. They both turned to see how the other wizards were and saw that James had relaxed considerably.
"Are you okay, Hermione?" James apologized apprehensively, running his hands through his hair. Hermione had to smile at that, it was something consistent with the James Potter she was told about. His nervous tick, to always look like he just stepped off a broomstick. She thought it made him look quite appealing.
"It's okay, Malfoy's a prat and a coward, he deserved it after all. I did punch his son in the face in my third year," she smirked at the memory. While he may have become Draco to her in their sixth year, someone important to her, he was a right prat in their third year, even he had admitted to that.
"What? You punched a Malfoy?" gaped Sirius.
"From the whole story I told you the other night, of all things, you are amazed I punched a boy?" laughed Hermione, turning and walking backward to laugh at them.
It was easy to feel comfortable around the Marauders. She still had Sirius and Remus, both so familiar to her that she could feel her magic respond to them. Her magic felt calmer around them, it could sense the familiarity. James being a calming presence was surprising to her, especially because it always felt so intense. How she thought she could stay away from him was laughable. While her heart palpitations and stomach flips were not ideal, he made her feel protected.
The boys were pleasantly surprised at how easily Hermione seemed to fit in with them and how comfortable she already seemed to be. She was laughing and smiling, the pain was still there in her eyes, but she was laughing and that meant everything to James.
"Lily getting the ice cream?" James asked Remus.
"Yes, I've gone too long without chocolate," Remus said excitedly as he dashed off toward Fortescue's. They laughed and followed him, finding Lily in the shop waiting for them.
"I knew Remus couldn't skip his chocolate ice cream" she laughed holding a big double-scoop cone for him. He ran up to her, taking it from her hands before pressing it up to her lips and covering her chin and nose.
"Remus!" She laughed as he started kissing all the ice cream off her face. Hermione watched for a moment before turning away, feeling like she was invading their private moment together.
"See, that being split is a travesty," murmured Sirius watching his friend, "I used to hate watching it, it's nauseatingly adorable, but to think someone could take it away," he shook his head and walked over to order his cone. Hermione couldn't agree more with Sirius, Remus, and Lily being nauseatingly adorable, she wasn't one for PDA, especially after witnessing Lav-lav and Won-Won. However, Remus and Lily were cute and giggly about it, and Ron and Lavender sucked faces and slobbered. It was the nauseatingly disgusting, complete opposite of Remus and Lily.
"I can't tell if you're happy or going to be sick, Hermione" laughed James, handing her a cone of butterbeer ice cream. Hermione laughed as she licked at her cone, James' stopped breathing as he watched her tongue dance across the cold desert. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he tried to thickly swallow and think of anything other than Hermione's tongue.
"I was just remembering Ron and Lavender; they were the last couple I saw showing PDA. Harry was very private with Ginny, especially with her being Ron's sister. Ron and Lavender, though, had no concerns about an audience, and their displays were disgusting," she grimaced as she continued lapping at her cone. James was working twice as hard to concentrate on her words, thankfully her next words helped with the growing issue in his boxers, "Won-Won and Lav-Lav, would coo at each other before literally licking and sucking face. It was like they couldn't find each other's mouths."
"Ha! Oh, that's priceless, please tell me they did that in the Great Hall" he laughed. She gave him a side look to let him know yes, unfortunately so, "Oh how did Minnie take it?"
"Minnie?" She asked curiously before she understood and shock took over her expression, "Oh my Godric, do you mean Professor McGonagall? You call her Minnie!?" he burst out laughing at the disbelief on her face.
"Did you break Hermione, James?" asked Lily walking towards them. Hermione stared at James, then turned to both Remus and Sirius.
"She learned about Minnie's name" replied James.
"Oh, honestly boys, she is our Professor!" Lily cried.
"Thank you!" yelled Hermione, "What is it with boys and not using that title?!" she sighed and rolled her eyes, getting back to her cone. James, thoroughly distracted once more, did not respond. Remus and Sirius seemed to catch the look in James' eyes as he watched Hermione, they shared a glance and smirked, their Prongsie was besotted, and they would likely have to help him.
They finished their day at Diagon Alley with a trip to the potions shop and then finally to Zonko's.
"I can't wait for the twins to grow up," sighed Hermione as they made their way to the joke shop. It just wasn't the same, she missed her Weasley pranks.
"The Prewitt's? They're very much grown, Hermione," laughed Sirius.
"No, not Molly's brother. Molly, she's going to have twins soon, Fred and George, they're pranking geniuses!" she gushed. The Marauders stopped in their tracks, did she just, did she say prank geniuses about anyone but them?
"Kitten, you are mistaken, you are withthe prank geniuses," chuckled Sirius. James was starting to dislike that nickname Sirius had for Hermione, it was too cozy.
"Out of the mouth of Sirius Black himself, he passed the torch onto Fred and George Weasley. Even my Sirius admitted defeat to the genius that was the twins," she smiled.
She had worked so hard with those boys. Everyone thought she was against their jokes as a prefect, they had no idea that was honestly impressed by everything they created. They ran their failed attempts by her, she helped them and in the end, they formed a tight bond semi-secretly, no one would believe Hermione Granger enjoyedWeasley Wizarding Wheezes with Fred and George Weasley, except Sirius and Remus.
"'My Sirius', eh?" he winked at her and wriggled his eyebrows at her. She shoved him away from her, laughing, oh there's the Sirius she was expecting.
"Yes, my Sirius, my Remus, my Ron, my Harry, they are mine. Different from you. You will never be him; I won't let it happen," the laughter was gone from her throat, replaced by a hoarse sadness. Her Sirius had suffered so much and now she knew just how much her Remus had suffered. Sensing the shift in mood, Remus jumped in before it turned into another Hermione breakdown.
"So…prank geniuses? What did they do?" Hermione's eyes lit up and she started to reminisce about her Weasley twins.
"They made skiving snack boxes! I got so mad at them for testing on first years, though I was impressed with their finished product. It was sweets that got you out of anything, they came in handy for DADA with Umbridge. Bite one side and you would get sick, bite the other side and the symptoms go away immediately! They had nosebleed nougat, fainting fancies, puking pastilles, and fever fudge," the boys were impressed, "in our fifth year they caused a distraction with fireworks they invented. They escaped on their brooms and made this amazing exit, it was known as 'doing a Weasley', Umbridge was tough to deal with and the twins made so many products to fuck with her. The fireworks were amazing, if you tried to vanish them, they would double." She smirked at the memory of Umbridge running around covered in soot, bow askew, and completely disheveled self. "Anyways, they ran off and opened their joke shop, it was amazing!"
"Okay, now I can't wait for these kids to grow up, especially if we guide them," laughed James.
"They idolized your group; they found your map and nicked it from Filch. Even figured out how to use it," the boys all looked at her in amazement, their map, their legacy did move on, and the twins somehow figured out their map without them.
They stepped into Zonko's, and the boys ran off to buy all their dungbombs, frog spawn soap, and whatever else they needed for a term of pranking.
"You would think as Head Boy and Prefect that those two would be a bit more serious for their last year, Sirius I don't even try anymore," Lily said, laughing at her boys. It was their last year, she was going to miss the easy times with her Marauders, but Lily knew even now, this year wouldn't be like her last six. Hermione was here, a real dose of reality, and she had to somehow ask Hermione about her old friend, what became of her friend Severus Snape?
"You know Sirius, the serious in him, it's in his name," she smirked.
"Ohhhhh! Prongs! Moony! Did you hear that? She made a Sirius pun!" Sirius yelled from across the shop.
"Damn canine hearing" she grumbled. Lily giggled.
"You really did know them, didn't you?" she asked sadly. Lily missed a future, dying to protect her son. She would do it in a heartbeat for her baby, she just hoped that wasn't her future, Hermione did mention some people couldn't be saved, maybe she would have that prophecy child with Remus, and it would still happen? Dumbledore had promised to end this before the prophecy, however, there was no guarantee. She would try not to worry about it; she knew she would sacrifice herself for who she loved. Hermione just brought a future that proved she would, that gave Lily conviction and confidence in her choices, she was true to herself in the end.
"Yeah, we were close. Harry loved them both so much, but he had a lot of emotional problems. I was the bridge between them when they couldn't quite figure it out. Sirius was a great help to me in his house, it was a house that did not care for my blood," Hermione frowned, remembering the wards that had to be taken down, wards that would have ripped her skin off just for being Muggleborn, "Sirius had a lot of demons, Azkaban was not kind to him, and then his house, being trapped, alone, in a place he only escaped recently to you? He was angry a lot, but he always made sure he wasn't near me when he was like that. We clashed over house Elf treatment, but other than that he always tried to be calm with me, so I tried to spend time with him so he would be calm. Remus was the same, and with his intelligent conversations, it was such a stark difference to everyone else, we both debated our treatment in the Wizarding World.
"I think that's what it boiled down to, Sirius wasn't accepted as he was a Black in Gryffindor, Remus was a werewolf and I was a Mud-Muggleborn," she coughed to cover her slip up, she didn't want to use it after Sirius talking to her, especially not in front of Lily.
"I'm glad you have them now, I think we'll make a great tight-knit group this year, and after graduation," Lily smiled at Hermione and placed a hand over her arm in support, "and James already seems to be quite smitten with you."
Hermione blushed before laughing and playfully nudging Lily away from her. The boys joined them shortly after and they made their way to the Leaky. Sirius, Remus, and Lily said their farewells to Hermione making her promise to find them on Platform 9 3/4 in a few days. They all left through the Floo, leaving James to say his farewell last. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck while looking at his shoes.
"So, um, I'm really glad you came out today," he finally said with a shy smile, glancing up at her, which Hermione happily returned. His heart fluttered every time she smiled at him, he wanted it to always show on her face, that single dimple on her left cheek was the most adorable thing he had ever seen.
"I'm glad you invited me," she replied quietly. Her fingers started playing with the ends of one of her flyaway curls as she looked up into James' eyes, the hazel once again causing her breath to hitch.
"I would like to keep writing to you, until term," he wanted to reach out and tug on one of her curls, so he kept his hands in his pockets to hold back the urge.
"I'd like that."
"Hermione? I'm really happy you're here, I'm happy I met you," he took a step forward, he was so close he could feel her breath on his neck as she looked up at him. Her mouth went dry staring up at the taller boy, his warm, fresh fragrance surrounding her, it was intoxicating.
"I'm happy I came back to meet you," she managed to reply. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but it looked like he was about to reach up and touch her cheek before they were interrupted by a seemingly drunk man tumbling into James, breaking the connection.
"Oi, watch where you're going mate," the drunk stammered. James gave him a look of disgust before putting his arm around Hermione's shoulders to protect her from the man's leering glance.
James led her to the fireplace so she could Floo back to Hogwarts, he wanted to be sure she had gone safely before he Floo'd to Potter Manor.
After both James and Hermione had left through the fireplace, gone in a flash of green, a man in a black robe stepped out of the shadows, sneered at the fireplace, and Apparated away.
-oOo-
A/N: Please favourite, follow, and review! I am hoping I can punch out these edited chapters quickly so we can get back to new chapters for this story AND Rebirth.