A/N- Hello! So, this chapter has been a monster and I didn't want you to think I had forgotten about you, so here is an update on our girls. Consider these as outtakes from random days between the actual chapter (so between last chapter and the one after this). I continue to plug away at the full chapter.
ALSO, 100th review gets a scene request/outtake. I'll explain at the bottom.
Chapter 12.5
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1999
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In a flash of very brief rage, Ginerva Weasley debated marching up to Hermione; demanding answers for her absence, for her new friends, and for the way Ron seemed to light up around her when Hermione had spent the greater part of the last year warding him off. The anger came and went, of course. Hermione was a grown woman and it was certainly her prerogative to keep new company—even spineless, selfish, bigoted company-, so, after making sure her Bat-bogey Hex was still up to par, Ginny pressed her lips together and went about her own business, of which there seemed to be no shortage. Somehow it was Ginny who had been assigned Honorary Head Girl (Headmistress McGonagall had thought it unfair to award the honor this year, since there were seventh, eighth, and technically even ninth years about), and she had been tasked with organizing most of the details for the ball. Thus, she was rather surprised when Harry snatched up her schedule after breakfast.
"Hermione wants to see you," he announced, helping himself to her eggs. "I'm sure I can handle giving a bit of a dance lesson," he said, looking at the itinerary. McGonagall was, in her own words, far too old for such formalities, so it was once again Ginny who was forced to pick up the slack.
"I'd have more confidence in you if you hadn't almost broken Fleur's foot last summer."
"You know, I vanquish a Dark Lord, but it's just not enough," Harry said, shaking his head. "It's never enough for her," he complained to a passing third year with an infuriating twinkle in his eye. "Seriously though," he amended, "I got it. Go say hello. I know you miss her."
"I don't miss her," Ginny insisted, and Harry raised an eyebrow. "Fine, I'll go. Love you," she added, almost begrudgingly, pushing his face away when he came in for a kiss. "You haven't shaved, you're prickly."
"Now I have to shave!" Harry lamented loudly, turning to the Head Table. "The list, it just goes on and on!"
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In a way, Lily admired Hermione Granger. She was a pretty little thing, intelligent too, and had made countless sacrifices for the war efforts in this time. If the situation hadn't played out such that Hermione was her dire enemy, Lily suspected they would be friends. Not that that would stop Hermione, it appeared. The girl claimed to have loved Remus and even Sirius in a way, mourned over their losses in writing, but had no reservations over expecting Lily to as good as murder them. She was certain, that friends or not, Hermione wouldn't hesitate to axe her too. She may have been a cold hearted, narrow minded swot with a superiority complex, but she was brutal. She was powerful.
Thus, it was out of respect that Lily decided that if she were going to be here for a bit, which it appeared that she would, she would try to play nice. Hermione thought (thought, of course, because Lily had an enormous amount of trouble determining what could be wrong with ending a war before it begun) she was fighting for her own friends the way Lily was fighting for hers, she wouldn't begrudge her that. She'd never follow through with ruining her relationship with her supposed-son (ew), and Lily rather liked the rest of Hermione's (very accomplished, very connected) friends, so she'd do what she could to stay in their good graces. Today, that meant sitting with Ginny as she finished a complicated beauty potion.
"Uh, 'Mione," Ginny said hesitantly. "It's starting to smoke."
"Perfect," Lily replied, unaffected. "Do you mind stirring clockwise twice, then back around for another go?" Ginny did as she was told, looking slightly ill as Lily picked the incandescent wings off a brightly colored beetle and crushed them with her pestle. "This part is the fun part," she said, schooling what had previously looked like a boiling pot of goo into a light lavender. Severus had concocted the thing their Fifth Year, back when Lily's skin had decided to break out the night before the first ball they were allowed into, and she was pleased that the recipe was being passed on.
"It may sting a little, but don't mind. Just let it sit for ten or so. You'll look the best you've been. Can't use it too often, but it's perfect for a ball."
"Will it dry you out?" Ginny asked, holding the vial up to the light to watch it shimmer.
"It'll poison you," she replied, trying not to laugh when Ginny almost dropped the bottle. "It's the snake venom."
"Is that why you keep her?" Ginny asked, gesturing towards the snake that was wrapped comfortably around a coat hanger. Lily and Padma had snuck the thing into the castle, along with Hagrid's help, the night before.
"What do you think I do, milk the poor thing for cosmetic reasons?" Lily asked, tossing the beetle carcasses. "She's my friend." As if to corroborate, the snake raised its head and flicked its tongue "Although Draco won't be able to stand her. How do you feel about babysitting?"
"Not me," Ginny said, looking considerably paler. "But ask Harry, perhaps he'd like a new friend." She took one last weary look at the snake and sat on the workbench, clearing her throat when Lily didn't look up from bottling the potion to give away.
"So, erm, it's Draco now, is it?"
"Well, he's certainly not anyone else," Lily replied with a private little laugh, one she quelled when she sensed the tension rippling off Ginny's body. It was hard for Lily to properly gauge how close the girls were, Ginny wasn't a part of their little Hero Trio, but she did seem to be the closest female to her. Perhaps she was like a Remus, somewhere between what Alice and Mary were to her, and what she thought of Sirius. She certainly couldn't tell her to shove off like she would the lycanthrope, so she opted for something a little more civil.
"You don't like him," Lily said, leaning against the bench. "Have at it, Ginerva."
"It's not that I don't like him, and I mean, I don't, well, Hermione you know what I think of him!" Ginny exclaimed. Lily did not know what Ginny thought of him, so she would have to tread lightly. She decided to bank on Ginerva's good will for her friend.
"And what about what I think of him? What does that mean?" Lily asked softly, tipping her head. Ginny deliberated for a moment.
"Everything, I suppose," she groaned. When Lily broke out into a wide smile, Ginny held her hand out to stop her. "But that doesn't mean I like it. Or understand it, for that matter. And the second I see him up to something I'm going to report him and he's getting shipped off to Azkaban faster than he could call up Daddy Dearest."
It wasn't as amicable as Lily would have liked, but it was more than enough. "His Mum, actually. He'd call up his Mum." When Ginny raised an eyebrow, Lily gave her a sly smile. "Let me tell you about it."
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1977
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Hermione wasn't angry at Lily per se, she was just the easiest target in what had quickly become the biggest mess of her life. Even more so, she had concluded, after what felt like hours of mulling over the situation, than Voldemort. At least with that thing, there had been a clear cut answer. Save Harry, kill him. It had occurred to her briefly that Lily was probably using the same kind of logic against herself, save her friends, kill Harry, which, she realized, essentially made her Lily's Voldemort. Of course, that didn't make too much sense, she wasn't trying to kill anybody, so the dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. Still, it was unsettling. Lily and her friends, they were so bright, brimming with ideas on what seemed like everything, from infrastructure to the judicial system. If it could be improved, they were looking into it. Hermione still wasn't privy to everything, but Sirius' introduction into their motley crew served as an introduction to Lily's life for the both of them. It made sense, of course, that these children, well educated, well off, looked to politics, but Minister Mudblood… There was something angry, something vindictive about the well-mannered group that she couldn't quite place her finger on, the disquieting sense of danger reflected in Lily's dress.
"This dress is terrifying," she said flatly, fingers running over the dark material of the gown, and Alice answered with a wide grin. Hermione tried not to shiver.
"Isn't it? You said that costumes were a no go, and since Frank and I are never giving up the good Lord and Lady, we figured regal would be the next best go. And I mean, it's not scary scary-"
"It's scarab-y," Sirius chimed in with what must have been the seventh pun of the hour, earning him a groan from both women.
"If you weren't wearing that very expensive Longbottom heirloom," Alice said, gesturing towards the circlet meant for Lily he had put on his head, "I'd have boxed you."
"Are you telling me that the absolute treasure that is my head on its own isn't enough to ward off your wrath?" Mary poked her head into Lily's room and shot Sirius a dark glare, her mouth a tight line around the pins she had been using to make last minute alterations to one of the SPEW gowns. At this, Sirius sobered, and Hermione had to stifle a grin. Although Sirius still wasn't entirely sold on Lily, she could tell, he clearly wanted to be kept in the girls' good graces.
"Alice, can I have your help out here with this? Let them dress before Frank comes and rips her a new one," Mary called.
"Longbottom? Rip one into Evans?" Sirius looked at Alice unbelievingly.
"Oh he's all fun and games until he's handling your affairs. Then he's his mother. That's why Lala here is the sacrificial lamb, not me." Alice replied, bouncing to her feet. "It's tough love, Lils, don't forget it," she said as she left the room, leaving Sirius and Hermione to stare at the array of accessories she had been left.
"It seems a bit like overkill, don't you think?" Hermione asked, looking at something that looked far too much like a corset for her liking.
"Don't ask me, I'm just the arm candy," Sirius replied, and Hermione snatched the circlet from his head.
"You're not arm candy, Black," she replied impatiently. "Get up, will you?"
Sirius groaned but got to his feet. "You drive a tight ship, Evans."
"By expecting you to have opinions and not to waste away on the floor all day? Besides, if anyone should be on the floor, it's me. Frank's had me in dance classes all week. Dance classes! It's absolutely ridiculous for a school dance," Hermione lamented, and Sirius shrugged.
"It's a little much for school, I'll admit, but just about on par with what you'd be doing in our world. You know what balls are like, don't you go to the Longbottom's Yuletide?"
Hermione sighed, not knowing the answer. "Is it worse for the Black family affairs?"
"Of course it was," Sirius scoffed. "They had us in dress robes before we were out of our nappies." When Hermione only slumped her shoulders, Sirius nudged her, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Come on Evans, cheer up. It'll be good, I promise. I'm loads of fun. Ask Mary." He said, cringing when Hermione shot him a look. She suspected that Sirius didn't have a lot of experience comforting girls in distress, and he certainly didn't have a lot of experience with Lily Evans. Still, he was fresh-faced and juvenile and more optimistic than she had ever seen him.
"Go get dressed, will you? Frank wants to see how we'll look as a pair, or something," she said in a low voice, looking down.
"Please, I could wear a sack and I'd still look fantastic." When Hermione did not laugh, Sirius frowned.
"You alright, Evans? If it's the dress, I'm sure you can just tell them you don't like it. The whole Board of Governors thing might not even pan out."
Confronted once again by allusions she did not understand, she shot him a strained smile. "I'm fine, Black," she assured him, although something about her expression must have told him otherwise, because he yanked the chain he kept under his shirt from off his neck and raised an eyebrow.
Hermione did not even wait for him to tell her it was a portkey to take the other end.
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A/N- You guys are the actual best. I can't tell you how much your reviews mean to me. I wish I could write this faster for you all but alas, life gets in the way. If you like this idea (snippets when I can't do a full chapter), let me know. If you'd rather wait for the whole thing, tell me that too.
ONE SHOT ALERT: If you are my 100th review, you get to request a scene that I didn't write but you would like to see. For example, you could say you wanted to see Lily and Ron's flying lessons, or Padma and Draco trying to buy a dress. I'd love it if you were logged in so I could PM you, but if you don't have an account and you know you're the 100th reviewer, request what you'd like in your review. Otherwise, I'll just message the next logged in person, or take the next not logged in request (whatever comes first).
Again, honestly, thank y'all so much for sticking with me. It means the world.
[Dri: You're amazing. Hope you enjoyed this!] [Noodlia: thank you habibae xoxoxo] [Ai Yaah: Harry is around! Will be more so next chapter]