"I don't know what you're playing at, but you should be careful"
Hermione turned around at the sound of her brother's stern voice, finding Remus leaning against the door to her room. His arms were crossed, and a frown creased his forehead. Despite the worry etched on his face, Remus looked better, though the new scars scattered across his features told a different story.
"What's troubling you, big brother?" she asked casually, not bothering to look up from her task.
"There are rumors," Remus began, his voice a mixture of concern and frustration. "Rumors that you were seen in the same week talking to Barty Crouch Jr and Evan Rosier in that library where you meet Regulus."
Hermione glanced up from her task. "I found them there. We talked about some books, nothing more," she replied nonchalantly, as if discussing the weather.
"Damn it, Hermione, I'm not stupid," Remus retorted, pushing off from the door to approach her. "I know you weren't talking about books. The three of them are heirs to very powerful pureblood families. They don't hang out with people like us."
She shrugged, maintaining her composure. "You didn't seem to have any problems with Regulus a year ago."
Remus closed her trunk forcefully, making her pay attention. "Those families could make you disappear without a trace, Hermione. Why can't you see it? Make your death look like an accident."
"Regulus is not going to kill me," she scoffed, seemingly unbothered by the thought.
"He may not, but his family will if you start getting involved in their affairs, matters that you shouldn't care about. Does Dad know about this?" Remus let out a sardonic laugh, shaking his head. "What was I thinking? Of course, he knows. After all, he was the one who taught you everything."
"I asked him to. It's my life, Remus. I know what I'm doing," she asserted, reopening the trunk to place her brother's books inside.
"I'm your older brother. My duty is to protect you," Remus declared, frustration evident in his voice. Why couldn't she see the danger?
"And I'm your little sister, and I can defend myself." she shot back, closing the trunk and starting down the stairs with Remus following closely behind.
"I'll be keeping an eye on you, Hermione, just so you know," he warned, though he realized that tracking his sister was a futile effort. If she didn't want to be found, he wouldn't find her.
"Good luck with that," Hermione shot back over her shoulder, her chocolate eyes revealing a calculating gleam.
"Ready for your first year, princess?" Lyall, their father, raised an eyebrow at his eldest son's stern expression and then turned to Hermione, who rolled her eyes dismissively and smiled, "I can't wait, Dad."
Sirius and Regulus sat silently on the cold, dark stairs of Grimmauld, their eyes focused on the closed living room door. The heated exchange between their parents echoed through the hallway, the tension palpable in the air. It was a recent occurrence since Sirius had returned from his first year at Hogwarts, and the rift in the Black family seemed to deepen with each passing the living room, Walburga's sharp screams clashed with Orion's thundering voice.
"Sirius is my son, Walburga, he is my heir. He will be the head of the family once I die, he is my legacy," Orion's voice reverberated through the walls, determined and unyielding.
"He has become a blood traitor, Orion, I don't know why you can't see it!" Walburga's shrill screams sliced through the air like sharp blades.
"No son of mine is a blood traitor!" he thundered, his voice reverberating. "He is a friend of James Potter, a pureblood! He has Black blood in his veins. A friend of Remus Lupin; his father is a globally respected pureblood, and his youngest daughter is a friend of Crouch Sr.'s son. He is also Peter Pettigrew's friend; his mother is a Shafiq, you two were friends at Hogwarts. He's intelligent; he knows what he's doing."
"How can you turn a blind eye to the fact that the Lupins and Pettigrews are half-bloods? They married into mudbloods; their lineage is stained and rotten!" Walburga's anger was palpable, her voice filled with disdain..
"It's about politics and power, Walburga. My son knows perfectly well who he is hanging out with; he is a Black. Salazar forbid that you address your son for something other than yelling at him." Orion retorted, his voice carrying authority.
Regulus and Sirius exchanged glances as they listened , neither daring to speak a word.
"Don't you dare blame me, Orion. Sirius doesn't listen to me anymore; he stopped years ago!"
"And that surprises you? If you'd stop yelling at him for everything he does, maybe he'd talk to you. You didn't even send him a letter after his sorting last year."
"Orion, don't make me laugh; our entire family has been Slytherins for generations. The fact that my son is a disgusting Gryffindor is no reason for pride or joy."
"He is a boy, Walburga, he is twelve years old, Walburga. Sirius will rectify with time, boys of that age—" Orion tried to reason, but his wife cut him off.
"You weren't like that at his age, Orion. How can you be so soft on him? If Father saw you now, he would feel disgust and disappointment to see you," Walburga's voice dripped with contempt. Sirus could imagine his mother's face: eyes narrowed and lips curled into a snarl.
"Father is dead. I am the Head of this House, and Sirius will succeed me, no matter how much you yell at him or how much he comes home and fills his room with mudblood stuff. End of story."
"You have done this. You have made him hate me. You don't know how he looks at me, with that haughtiness and arrogance. You would know if you were here, but you are never at home; instead, you spend your nights whoring around with your friends." Walburga lamented, her frustration evident.
Orion's response was unyielding, "Don't you dare disrespect me like that, Walburga. This is not my fault, and it is certainly not my son's fault. Do you even listen to yourself when you speak? Sirius is the heir to the House of Black, and we have raised him as such; haughty, arrogant, and unbent. What irks you is that everything you have taught him since he was hiding behind your skirts has now turned against you."
"I am his mother; I demand a minimum of respect."
"Respect is something that is earned; it is not something that is taken for granted. It seems inconceivable that you grew up in this family saying that."
"So you're saying I don't deserve respect, Orion. Is that what you're trying to tell me?"
"Blacks bow to no wizard, Walburga, and that includes you."
Hearing his father's heavy footsteps and his mother's clicking heels approaching, Regulus and Sirius stood up, their presence acknowledged by their father. Without saying a word, Orion offered his hand to Sirius, and with a determined look, they apparated away.
"Whatever you do, keep in mind who you are and what you represent," Left behind, Walburga extended her hand to her youngest son, and with a swift turn, they both apparated away to join Orion.
"Anything you need, tell me. Anything, Mimi," Remuss said earnestly, looking down at his younger sister as they stood on the platform.
"I'll keep that in mind, Remy. Shouldn't you be with your friends already? I see Sirius and Peter waving at you from here," Hermione replied, a playful glint in her eyes.
Remus rolled his eyes, a smile playing on his lips. "Idiot. I'm trying to be the responsible brother, and you won't let me."
"The letters that have reached Dad about your antics at Hogwarts beg to differ from what you just said," she shot back.
"I'm not the one holding hands and singing Kumbaya with purebloods," he retorted mockingly.
"You're not the one to talk, brother, or have you forgotten that you're friends with a Potter, a Black, and a Pettigrew, his mother being a Shafiq? Two purebloods and a half-blood, we're tied," Hermione crossed her arms, frowning.
Remus ruffled his sister's hair, "Just be careful and don't die," he said goodbye to his parents and went in search of her friends.
Now alone, Hermione felt a little nervous as she tried to search for an empty compartment. Unfamiliar faces greeted her eyes, and she was too uncomfortable to share a carriage ride with people she didn't know. After a bit of wandering, she finally found an empty compartment at the back of the train.
Just as she was about to put her trunk in, she came face to face with a redhead. 'You've got to be kidding me,' Hermione thought. Lily Pott—Evans stood there, smiling from ear to ear with her green eyes shining with excitement.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you," the redhead blushed, extending a hand to her. "Lily Evans."
Hermione blinked her owlish eyes and glanced at the hand in front of her without saying anything. Lily's wide smile faltered for a second, dropping her hand, but she quickly regained her composure. "I don't bite, just so you know."
She giggled at her joke, but Hermione continued to stare. Even though she hadn't met James in person yet, she knew it would be easier. He didn't have green eyes; his were hazel. But Lily... Lily had her Harry's eyes, radiated the same warmth as her best friend, and had the same humor as him, although Harry's was more self-deprecating. Hermione's heart ached just looking at the younger version of Harry's mother; until now, she hadn't realized how much she missed her old friends, and she was horrified to realize how little she had thought about them.
"Lily, I don't think she likes you," a voice drawled behind her back.
Hermione turned, and there was the unmistakable Severus Snape, her former Potions Master, his black eyes staring at her.
"It's not true. My name is Hermione Lupin," she blurted out suddenly.
"Of all the compartments that were on the train, Lily, and you go and take the one that has that Gryffindor's sister in it," Snape said, sending Lily a withering glare.
"Be careful what you say about my brother," Hermione snapped angrily. Although she practically knew these two people, they didn't know her. Both were just twelve-year-olds, and Hermione just had to compose herself and start talking coherently; else, the resentment she held towards the adult Snape for how he treated her during her school years and how he tried to reveal the lycanthropy of her now brother would stick with her until he graduated.
"I didn't know Remus had a sister," Lily quipped, trying to diffuse the tension. "But now I can see the resemblance. You have the same shade of hair and brown eyes."
Hermione had to bite her tongue to stop herself from blurting out that Lily had Harry Potter's eyes. "I'm sure my brother was too busy with his annoying friends, than to tell the school about me," the brunette answered.
Lily's eyes momentarily widened at her joke, then she burst into a loud, lovely laugh. Even Snape looked highly amused at her words. "Just so you know, your brother is the clamest of them all," she reiterated.
The Great Hall fell into a hushed silence as Regulus Black, with an air of undeniable pride, strutted confidently toward the diminutive stool. Hermione stole a quick glance at his older brother, Sirius, seated at the Gryffindor table. It was evident that Sirius was more on edge about his brother's Sorting than Regulus himself by the way he was gripping the bench.
Professor McGonagall gently placed the Sorting Hat atop Regulus' impeccably gelled curls. In a matter of mere seconds, the Sorting Hat proclaimed with a proud resonance, "SLYTHERIN!"
The thunderous applause from the Slytherin House drowned out Sirius' dramatic wailing. Regulus descended from the stool, his step infused with a newfound pride as he made his way toward his designated house. Hermione redirected her focus to the Sorting ceremony; Barty had found his place in Ravenclaw. Before she could fully absorb the moment, her name echoed through the hall.
"Lupin, Hermione!" Professor McGonagall's stern voice echoed through the hall.
Nervously, Hermione approached the stool. Before the Sorting Hat descended onto her head, she caught sight of her older brother and his friends giving her a thumbs-up for luck. Even Barty and Regulus managed to offer encouraging smiles.
"Lupin, I remember your brother," the Hat's murmured voice resonated in her mind. "Yet, you are a shrewd young lady, Miss Lupin, aren't you?"
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, her nerves evident. The Hat couldn't possibly know her identity, could it?
"I sense profound bravery and loyalty within you. Gryffindor?" it suggested. However, a sequence of tutting sounds ensued, indicating a hesitant disagreement. "No, no, Gryffindor won't bring out the best in you. Hmm... I detect a sense of ambitious pride in your heart. Perhaps Slytherin is a better fit?"
Hermione mentally sighed. "Overly apparent, not Slytherin but Gryffindor is," she pointed out.
"Why do you say that?" the Sorting Hat asked, taken aback.
"I – well – it's complicated," she attempted to explain. "I'm acquainted with several purebloods, eliminating Slytherin as an option. Gryffindor, on the other hand, is too ostentatious for my taste; I prefer to maintain a lower profile." Embarrassment washed over Hermione as she realized she had nearly poured out her inner thoughts to an enchanted Hat.
"Hmm… but then I perceive an extensive, profound knowledge, surpassing that of others your age," the Hat continued. "Maybe you are better suited for Ravenclaw after all."
A faint smile adorned Hermione's lips. "You did contemplate placing me in Ravenclaw before," she thought.
"I beg your pardon?" the Hat asked, perplexed.
"Never mind that," she quickly added.
"In that case, I think I will assign you to – RAVENCLAW!"
As Hermione gracefully descended from the stool, the dining room erupted in a cacophony of applause. Remus whistled approvingly, Sirius enthusiastically joined in, James threw her a wink, and even Peter managed a round of applause. Regulus, wearing a self-satisfied smirk, couldn't resist acknowledging her Sorting with a nod of approval.
Hermione made her way to the Ravenclaw table and took a seat next to Barty. Under the table, they shared a subtle fist bump, their excitement palpable as they continued to watch the Sorting ceremony unfold.
The Sorting Hat settled atop Evan's head, and after a brief deliberation, it announced, "SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table erupted into cheers, with Evan taking his place among the green-clad students, with Regulus wearing a satisfied grin. The Sorting ceremony concluded with Dumbledore's warm welcome speech, and then, the long-awaited feast commenced.
As the platters filled with delicious dishes appeared on the tables, Hermione couldn't help but steal a glance at the Slytherin table. Evan and Regulus, two pairs of calculating eyes, were locked onto her already. She met their stares confidently and winked at them. In response, they offered matching smirks and a raised cup."Everything is going according to plan," she thought, her own cup raised.
Barty chuckled softly, "Looks like everything is going according to plan."
Hermione smirked, her chocolate eyes falling on Dumbledore. "Oh you have no idea."