Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. All characters, places, descriptions, etc (unless original and created by me) belong to her.
Summary: It was a small pack, of course, just the five of them, but together they were something wild. Hermione finds herself in the Marauders' Era with four new best friends.
A/N: And introducing the Marauder Rules!
Chapter 11: Lex Rex*
1 September 1977
Gryffindor Common Room
"Alright, listen up, fellow Gryffindors!" James' voice called Hermione away from her introspection. "As your head boy, I am pleased to introduce Miss Hermione Granger, the newest recruit to Group Gryffindor."
James made a sweeping motion with his arms and fell to a knee, pointing to Hermione. A mad blush rose to her cheeks as Hermione attempted a smile. While the common room wasn't full, there were still plenty of students there to witness Hermione's mortification. She looked to Remus for help, but the werewolf just shrugged and attempted to hide his smile behind a hand.
Sirius laughed a bit, but mainly at his friend still kneeling on the ground. He walked by James, giving him a gentle shove, before continuing on to sit in an armchair by the fire. A short, blonde boy came to his side and the two began talking in somewhat hushed voices. Sirius kept glancing at Hermione out of the corner of his eyes. Meanwhile, Hermione was currently the center of attention for everyone else in the room.
"Okay, okay, everyone back to whatever you were doing," Remus finally spoke up to save Hermione. "You can all meet Hermione tomorrow." All the Gryffindors seemed content with this, some rolling their eyes, and in seconds, the common room was bustling with activity again.
James stood, ran a hand through his hair, and fixed his glasses. He made his way over to Hermione with a big grin on his face.
"So, Hermione, what do you think?" He gestured around the room. Hermione smiled at James despite herself and let her eyes follow his hand around the room.
"I think it's absolutely fantastic."
"Good! Now, it may seem strange at first, but don't worry. If you stick with the Marauders, you'll feel at home in no time." James slung an arm around Hermione's shoulder.
"Marauders?" Feigning ignorance, Hermione looked up at James, who was actually quite a bit taller than Harry. "What is that?" Remus rolled his eyes.
"Who are the Marauders, she says." James shook his head and shot Remus a look of mocking disbelief before turning back to Hermione." "Oh my dear, only the four most handsome, intelligent, brave, handsome, loyal, awe-inspiring–"
"–Humble–"
"–Ah, yes, thank you, my dear Moony–and humble men to have ever graced the halls of Hogwarts. Did I mention we're handsome?" He winked at Hermione.
"There's Sirius, the dark knight." James held a hand over his heart and thrust his wand out like a sword.
"Remus, the ferocious one." James extend a hand to paw at Hermione while rolling his tongue into a playful growl.
"And Peter, the compassionate one." With a heavy sigh, James pretended to swoon before regaining his footing to smile and nod at Hermione.
"Ah, and which one are you?"
"I'm glad you asked, my dear Hermione." James waved his wand and transfigured a nearby quill into a red rose. He handed it to Hermione and winked. "Of course, I, Mr. James Potter, am the teenage heartthrob."
Hermione chuckled, and Remus burst out laughing. Hermione looked at James, expecting him to be a bit ruffled by their laughter, but he was unperturbed.
"Ah, but alas, it seems this fair maiden is immune to my many charms." James struck his chest and turned his face away from Hermione. "I must go out in search of another… Oh, Lily!" James looked toward the stairs to the girls' dormitories.
"Sod off, James!" A voice called down to him. James looked back at Hermione.
"Ah, my sweet flower. She knows just what to say to get my heart pounding." He looked back at Hermione. "Well, I shall be off, but don't worry, I shall speak of your greatness, my dear Hermione." And with that, James took off toward the stairs to draw Lily down.
As he left, Hermione looked at Remus.
"Is he always like that?"
"Believe it or not, yes. I've always told him that if being a wizard doesn't work out, he can always become an actor." Hermione's laughter was joined by the growling of her stomach. She blushed.
"Oh Merlin, I didn't even think—Oh, but I've missed dinner, haven't I?"
"I'm afraid so, but don't worry. We'll find you something to eat." Remus smiled down at Hermione before directing her toward the door. He motioned her through before jumping back to the room. Hermione turned and saw him motioning something to Sirius. She exited the common room and waited for Remus.
Remus joined her outside, smiling brightly down at her. He'd clearly already had a growth spurt, but he wasn't quite as tall as she was used to, just an inch or two shorter now. Hermione was suddenly hit with intense homesickness. All she wanted to do was wrap herself in Remus' arms and hide from this crazy situation. She wanted Remus to tell her that everything was going to be okay and that she didn't have to worry about anything.
But of course, this Remus wasn't her Remus. Well that Remus wasn't her Remus either, but still. She didn't know this Remus, and he didn't know her.
Hermione looked into Remus' eyes and tried to match his smile, although hers turned out to be a little more scared than happy. She was so focused on mimicking Remus' smile that she hadn't noticed he had started talking.
"In any other situation, I would never be allowed to show you this, but there's a Marauder rule in place for exceptions. So, I'm using my free pass on you."
"Sorry, what?"
"Oh, it's—well, huh, I guess the best explanation would be to show you. So you'll just have to wait and see. But I promise it's worth it!"
Remus walked beside Hermione with the Marauders Map in his left hand. Although he kept it out of her sight, Hermione knew exactly what he was doing. His quick glances to the parchment were anything but stealthy. Out of politeness, Hermione pretended as if she was completely oblivious to the whole thing, instead focusing on pretending to not know her way around.
One more turn and they arrived in front of the entrance to the kitchens. Remus stopped her just in front of the painting.
"And here we are!"
"Oh, well, I guess this is quite a nice painting of fruit, but I was hoping for something a bit more substantial," Hermione teased Remus.
"Oh just wait, Hermione." Remus reached out his hand, though not before stashing the map in his robes, and tickled the pear. Hermione was surprised to find she was giggling at Remus without having to try to be oblivious of how to enter the kitchens.
Remus held out his arm to let Hermione enter before him, and the pair stepped into the frame.
Inside, the kitchens were quiet. Four long tables were set up, mimicking the Great Hall. The sides of the room were full of shelves with plates, glasses and silverware, or different ingredients. A huge fire was casting shadows from the end of the room. The house elves were nowhere to be seen.
Hermione found herself smiling again and looked at Remus, who was watching her reaction with a twinkle in his eye.
"Did you just bring me to the kitchens of Hogwarts?"
"Yes, I did." Remus could barely contain his excitement. He took Hermione by the shoulders and walked her over to one of the tables. Once she was seated, he walked to a little door hidden in the corner of the room. He knocked twice and waited.
Suddenly, a little house elf emerged from behind the doorway and looked up at Remus with big, blinking eyes.
"Master Remus, such a surprise. Such a surprise. What may Lido prepare for the young master?"
"My friend missed dinner, so if you have any leftovers, she would greatly appreciate it." Remus gestured to Hermione.
Hermione waved at the little house elf as her blue eyes grew to the size of saucers. She looked at Hermione and then back at Remus and then back at Hermione. Finally, she turned to Remus with a huge grin on her face.
"No, no, Master Remus. No leftovers. Lido will prepare something special for young master's special friend."
As Lido got to work preparing a meal, Remus walked to join Hermione at the table, both wearing amusing shades of blush. Hermione tried to recover the moment.
"So, does everyone know how to get in here?"
"Oh, well, that's what I was trying to explain on the walk over here.
"See, only us Marauders know how to get in the kitchens. We plan on passing the secret down, but for now, it's just for us. Anyway, we have this rule that each Marauder can show the kitchens to one, and only one non-Marauder. James is waiting to show Lily—you'll figure out that whole situation soon. Peter hasn't showed it to anyone yet, but he almost has a couple times. Sirius doesn't really believe in "sharing the secret," so I doubt he'll show anyone before we leave."
Hermione was a bit stunned. She knew from stories Remus and Sirius had shared that the Marauder Rules were always followed, no matter what. It warmed her heart to think Remus had used his one pass to show her the kitchens.
"Oh, Remus, I'm honored. But you didn't have to give up your pass for me. I'm sure there's tons of other people you know much better than me who would love to see the kitchens."
Remus blushed again.
"Well, I dunno. I just feel like it's going to be different with you. I mean you understand."
Hermione nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Lido carrying an overflowing tray of food. The house elf quickly got to work setting the table around Remus and Hermione. The two teenagers tried to help Lido, but she kept swatting at their hands until they finally gave up.
When Lido finished, Hermione was amazed. She had prepared a miniature welcome feast with more than enough food for the pair. Much to Remus' embarrassment, Lido had also brought over some candles and a deep red tablecloth, setting quite the romantic setting. Hermione looked at Remus and the two burst out laughing.
"Thank you, Lido. This is brilliant." The little house elf sent a sly smile to Hermione, waggled her eyebrows, and scurried away.
Throwing courtesies to the wind, Hermione dug into the meal. She filled her plate and smiled when she noticed Remus doing the same.
"You said before that it's going to be different with me. What did you mean?"
"Well, I mean, the whole werewolf thing. And please forgive me, I don't mean to suggest that's your standout characteristic. It's more of a reflection on me, really. I've just—I've never really met another werewolf before."
"Never? Really? I would have thought… Well, you must know I'm not at all knowledgeable. I mean, I've read thousands of pages about werewolves, but there's hardly any truth in those."
"There's only a few books in the Hogwarts library that even mention werewolves. Where did you find all that information?"
"Oh, um, where I lived before. There was a rather large library filled with the most unusual books. I mean, I remember finding one devoted to the uses of Veela blood of all things. It did have a good number of books on werewolves, but even still, most of it was egregiously false."
Remus nodded enthusiastically, and the two ate for several minutes in a comfortable silence they were both growing accustomed to. Suddenly, Remus dropped his fork.
"I'm sorry, I just can't believe you're a werewolf, too." Hermione laughed.
"And why is that?"
"You're beautiful!"
For a moment, Hermione and Remus just stared at each other in surprise. Both of them, eyes wide, had certainly not expected that from Remus' mouth.
"I mean, it's just that—not that you're not—but, um, you-you don't have any scars."
Hermione absentmindedly rubbed her shoulder. She hadn't noticed that the bite no longer hurt. Was she that distracted? Or was it just healing?
"You keep forgetting I haven't even transformed yet. I'm a novice at this."
"You're right. Compared to me, you're a beginner. I'm obviously an expert."
Hermione smiled, but then let her face fall. She studied the few scars on Remus' face.
"Do you-do you mind if I asked about your first time, your first transformation?"
Remus looked down at his plate and pushed the remaining food around with his fork. Hermione suddenly felt very nervous.
"Remus?" He looked up into her eyes. "You don't have to tell me now. You don't have to tell me ever, really. I just… Well, just know I'm thankful that I have you here to help me."
The pair looked into each other's eyes for a while. The comfortable silence that was becoming very much a part of their blooming friendship again filled the room. Hermione, who was surprised her emotions hadn't taken ahold of her lately, felt like a wall had been dropped on her chest. She was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of serenity and peace and warmth and security and a tingling sense of home. Remus on the other hand seemed to be dealing with his own emotions.
Finally, Hermione tore her eyes away from Remus, and the overwhelming sense of safety faded a bit.
"Well," Hermione cleared her throat. "We should be heading back, shouldn't we?" Remus nodded and the two left the kitchens, but not without another "secretive" glance at the Marauders Map.
"I'm telling you guys, she's special. I mean every time I'm around her, it's like everything is calm. Moony is calm. In fact, I think Moony wants to protect her."
"Aw, does Moony have a little crush?"
"Shut up, James. Like you're one to talk."
"Wait this is the new girl, right?"
"Yes, Peter, and our dear friend Moony's in love with her."
A pillow hit James square in the face with a surprising amount of force. Sirius barked out a laugh and soon the rest of the Marauders joined in.
"I just can't believe you used your kitchen trip on her. I mean you've known her what, an hour?"
Remus glanced at Sirius. He was a bit confused by his friend's behavior. Out of the other three, Remus expected Sirius to be the happiest for him, to tell him to go for the girl. Then Remus remembered Sirius' conversation with Hermione.
"This is because she's met Regulus, isn't it? Don't lie, Padfoot."
"Okay, fine! But you have to admit it's suspicious. The dark side is growing. She arrives out of nowhere, and Regulus, I mean Regulus, is the first person she meets. Come on guys, there's got to be something up with the bird."
"Really? Really, Padfoot?"
Remus and Sirius just glared at each other.
"Come on, Remus, what do you even know about her?"
"She's smart and interesting. She loves books, for Merlin's sake. She was talking about her library and mentioned a book about the uses of Veela blood, and–"
"What?" Sirius' eyes were widened now. He pulled himself from his bed where he was sitting and stood.
"What?"
"She read a book on the uses of Veela blood?" The level of disgust in Sirius' voice rose as he spoke. Remus suddenly felt very defensive.
"Well, I don't think she read it. She just said she found it in her library at home."
Sirius sat back down with a devil's smile.
"Well, that solves it. She's bad news."
"Padfoot, you can't be serious."
"Oh, but I am, Prongs. See back at the cave my dear mother Walburga calls a home, she too has a book on the uses of Veela blood. I've seen it. It's dark stuff, really dark. So that means, this new girl is too."
The three other Marauders just gaped at Sirius, who was looking quite pleased with himself. Remus looked over to Peter and James, making sure they were reacting the same way to Sirius. Seeing that they were, he turned back to Sirius.
"You've lost it, mate." Remus shook his head and started to close his bed curtains. "You think I don't know her. You don't know her. I really didn't think you'd be so quick to judge."
And with that, Remus shut his curtains, locking himself away from the outside world. But sleep evaded him long into the night; instead, thoughts of a bushy haired werewolf filled his mind.
Hermione somehow managed to get to the seventh year girls' room without running into anyone. Remus had shielded her from the many faces in the Common Room upon their return. She found her bed quickly enough as it was the only one not surrounded by personal effects. Before anyone could interrupt her solitude, she stole into the bathroom.
Closing the door behind her, Hermione sighed. Tears stung her eyes, but she shamed them back to their source. Moving almost as if she was unsure of her movements, she stripped off her clothes layer-by-layer and grimaced at the sight of the bruises that still flowered her shoulder.
The water pressure was surprisingly strong. Hermione stepped into the shower and let the water beat against her skin. She barely adjusted the temperature and watched as steam crept up around her. The water cleaned her skin like fiery tongues of holy water. She scrubbed and scrubbed her skin until it flashed red.
The reality of the situation she was in was starting to get to her. She was completely alone. Yes, Remus was here, and Sirius was here, and Dumbledore was here. Hell, even Professor Snape was here. But they didn't know her, and she didn't really know them as they were at this age. She had no one to turn to for advice on how to proceed.
And of course there was the bit about being a werewolf. She knew the Marauders were protective over Remus and hardly missed a full moon, but what was going to happen when suddenly a new wolf joins the mix?
As the water grew cold, Hermione made some final decisions. Talk to Remus. Befriend James and Lily for Harry. Get on Sirius' good side. Be nice to Regulus.
The list made sense in her head: She needed to talk to Remus about the whole lycanthropy ordeal. She owed it to Harry to learn as much as she could about his parents to relay to him if and when she ever returned. She needed to be on Sirius' good side despite whatever had happened between them earlier. Hermione didn't think she could face this without both Sirius and Remus.
And finally, she felt almost as if she owed it to Sirius to be kind to Regulus. Hermione thought back to how broken Sirius had looked, fallen on Regulus' bed crying. And with that she also remembered Sirius' words…
"Well, it explains why a certain friend of ours was so kind to him when we were at Hogwarts… I never really understood what she saw in him."
Could it be that Sirius was talking about her? If he was, did that mean he remembered her from the past? Did Remus? And if they did, why had they never said anything? Why hadn't they warned her?
And why, why did they make her go alone?
A/N: *The Law is King