authorsnote: I'm excited for you to read this one, and am excited for your reactions...

do enjoy

songrecs: say yes to heaven - lana del ray

The rest of the weekend passed in a lazy haze.

Harry had Quidditch practice, she spent the day in the library with Lupin and Pettigrew, pouring over their textbooks, she'd been surprised Pettigrew had been so eager to join them but had chided herself; he'd been smart enough to make the Order, she wouldn't underestimate him.

It was annoying almost; how nice he was. He asked her to read over his essay but not to copy off her, offered to read hers, gave her one or two good hints, took on her suggested changes, joked with Moody and she ended up cracking a smile too.

Was this the Peter who had been before his terror of Voldemort had taken over?

Could he be saved?

She remembered the look in Harry's eye, he was so utterly incapable of holding a grudge she had no doubt he'd think so, could she? She wasn't sure as Peter talked about how he thought Divination was useless unless you had the sight (and she chimed in to agree), or how he offered both her and Lupin some of his chocolate bar (and gave Lupin the biggest third), he seemed just like a regular, nice, Gryffindor 5th year boy.

Could he be redeemed? No, he hadn't done anything wrong yet, was it wrong of her to hold him to crimes he'd yet to commit? Perhaps never would with the right nudge?

Ugh she knew Harry would joke about her love for saving people ground under the boot, perhaps tease her about S.P.E.W, but he'd agree, she knew he would.

She'd have to discuss it with him, but she knew her best friend better than anyone, and he her, she knew what he'd say, knew what they'd end up doing.

Oddly, something eased in her at the idea; they had so many chances to change things here, keeping the Marauders together was one of the nicer ones, she wasn't sure how she'd go about it, but she'd have Harry, and Peter had his friends.

Their friends now, they could do it together.

And so, she smiled as Lupin offered to trade essays and Peter delved into his Potions homework. It was nice to have people to study with, nice to settle in the library as though she were here with Harry and Ron.

Nice; something so mundane but so needed after the year she'd had.

And as Harry, James and Sirius ran in, muddy and grinning (and promptly got them kicked out by a screeching Madam Prince), she could see he felt the same.

And, as his hand slipped into hers and they made their way back to the Common Room, they were both grinning from ear to ear.

For now.

Monday came around quickly, but Hermione was still all smiles as they went for breakfast; lessons never felt like a chore to her, and she had a full day of her favourite subjects.

"Try not to look too pleased" Harry teased as they sat down together, serving themselves up cereal and pumpkin juice, apple for Harry, banana for her that they passed one another, she filled them up their juice as Harry went in search of an orange for them to split; a weird little breakfast routine and they got some looks (surely everyone thought they were the weird pureblood transfers with quirks), but it was nice, content, and though she was tired, she was smiling.

It was simple things like having an orange to split at breakfast, being in a Hogwarts escaped from the war, Harry smiling as she passed him his goblet of pumpkin juice. Just little things, but they had her beaming.

"Pleased about what?" She asked absently as the Marauders shuffled in, gave them a nod, and got to eating themselves.

"Lessons" Harry joked, "I swear you're fizzing"

"Shut up" She shot back, and he laughed, she grinned, it was Harry and Hermione, and it was perfect.

"So, you two going out?" Sirius asked, interrupting said perfection and peace.

She spluttered around her pumpkin juice, Harry coughed around his cereal, James was smiling, Pettigrew and Remus laughed, her cheeks were pink, Harry's eyebrows were in his hairline, and James had to thump him on the back as he near choked on his breakfast.

This was the third time they'd been asked this, but the first point blank.

Lily's words came back to her after they'd denied it, a simple roll of her eyes and a dismissive 'sure'.

"So that's a, yes?" Sirius said cheekily, and Hermione shot him a glare, she felt something, perhaps near her heart flutter, but her mind hadn't quite caught up yet, and instead (as her cheeks steamed pink), she just carried on her look of death towards one Sirius Black.

Gods, he had been a just as charming and without pretence as an adult, but teenage Sirius Black was much, much worse, he had all the good looks and none of the trauma to have him grinning from ear to ear as he enquired to his new friends dating lives.

"Why do you ask?" Hermione asked as Harry gulped down water, his cheeks were red too, but she put that down to his nearly choking on cereal, it had to be, right?

Right.

"Everyone is either convinced you're siblings, or a couple" James said with a nod as he reached for his own cereal, now assured Harry wasn't going to asphyxiate on his, "There's a bet running, but no one can quite work it out" He shook his head, "Apparently Lily knows but no ones braved it to ask her"

"Well, it's not anyone's business" Hermione said, really, she should have just said, 'We're neither'; simple, easy and yet something stopped her.

Something.

"Come on" Sirius said with a roll of his eyes, "I've got 5 galleons on couple" He said cheekily, "Even though Evans wouldn't rat you out"

Strange Lily hadn't said anything, was there some latent loyalty to Harry? God that was getting more complex by the day, but that was a problem for another time.

"Hermione and I are best friends" Harry interjected, but there was a flicker of something in his eye Hermione couldn't quite detect, "The best"

"Exactly" Hermione said, but felt something in her sink, not that her brain had caught up yet, it probably wouldn't for a while.

And then, even with the bet lost (Sirius) and the other gloating on his misfortune, there was a crackle in the air, something there, that no one quite knew the truth.

Not even Harry and Hermione.

Funny that.

Come Thursday Hermione was feeling more herself.

Yes, it was still strange, yes she got odd looks in the corridors as her and Harry walked along together (once when one particular girl group had been whispering she'd grabbed his hand, both to confuse the betters because screw them, but also because of the way they'd been looking at Harry), yes, she was still adjusting to the different curriculum (easier in some aspects, much harder in others), and the Marauders (very friendly, almost weird how quickly they'd all slotted together), but it was getting easier.

It was good to see Harry so happy too, he'd barely needed to adjust, so delighted to be with his family he needn't have the kind of time travel hangover she'd had, instead he was coming back from Quidditch practice grinning, doing better in lessons than she remembered and was oblivious to any of the female attention he was getting.

That was her … that was Harry.

So come Thursday morning as she filed into her first Runes class (the last with Sirius and the glaring girls had been a study session, the Professor had just returned now after some long summer research project apparently), only Pettigrew and Harry were missing from this class, so she took a seat with Remus, Sirius, and James, in the middle of the pack.

It didn't escape her that girls looked at her with envy, just as last time, but she just rolled her eyes.

She hadn't quite appreciated how popular the Marauders were, how they truly were thought of as the best in the year, how girls eyed them as though they were a prize. Even Lily sat at the front of the class glanced their way, though covered it with a huff and a glare.

It was strange to Hermione, she was still adjusting to them as being her age, not adults she needed to respect (not that she didn't show respect to the Marauders here, but it was different), it was even stranger to see other people treat them as teenagers. Perhaps she did still have some adjusting to do.

But she was happy for now settled down with them as she pulled out her textbook and the Runes professor, Professor Greyweir (different to her time) filed in, he had a sharp look of intelligence about him, and Hermione knew this class would be hard, which she both relished, and fretted over.

Last study session her and Sirius had been evenly matched, James and Lupin had paired up, so she didn't know how good they were, she felt her competitive streak straighten her back, she guessed she'd find out.

Even now, in the past she still strove to be the best. It hadn't just been the muggleborn in her desperate to prove herself.

She opened her book, and as the Professor began writing combinations on the board (and she felt just a touch intimidated that he didn't even have an OWL year spiel, just some extremely difficult combinations that reminded her more of NEWTS than OWLS), she found herself distracted.

As the door banged open and Harry stepped inside, Harry in Runes class? She turned eyebrow raised and almost stood, was he here for her? Was there a problem? She felt her adrenaline spike, what had happened?

"Yes?" The Professor said, turning, one eyebrow raised, "Can I help you young man?"

"Erm yeah I think so" Harry fumbled, and Hermione smiled, as it seemed this was not an emergency, to which he shot her a glare, "I think I got booked into the wrong class?" He asked, going to the front, holding out his timetable, and yet as he looked at the board he stumbled, near tripped and caught himself, odd, Harry was always so graceful, she fluttered, near standing to her feet, was he okay?

She was relieved it wasn't an emergency but felt some worry at Harry acting so strange, what was going on?

"Wrong class?" The Professor asked, "Are you supposed to be in the Ancient Runes OWL class, Mr…?"

"Potter Sir" He said, and he paused then, why did he pause?

"Ahh yes the new transfer student alongside Miss Blishwick" The Professor said with a nod, "Will you be joining our class?"

And then Hermione was knocked for six by Harry's answer.

"Yes Sir" He said simply, "I didn't realise, I thought this was the NEWT class, erm yeah" He fumbled, still Harry, but why was he here in Runes? And why had he stuck around? "I should be here I think"

She had rarely been more confused by his behaviour. Harry could be unpredictable at times, and horribly impulsive (to which she scolded him for and he kept doing it anyway), but she couldn't puzzle this.

"It is the OWL class Mr Potter, take a seat and as a new student I'll forgive your lateness, but only this once, understood?" The Professor said plainly.

"Yes Sir" Harry said, cheeks red, and he hurried to slide in next to Hermione as Professor Greyweir began to add more combinations to the board, Harry's eyes as he sat next to her were wide, filled with confusion, and a hint of worry.

"What are you doing here?" She near hissed as the Professor told them to pair up and fix the combinations, she noted Sirius go to Marlene this time, presuming (correctly) she'd be with Harry, she shot him an apologetic smile and he just grinned before she turned quickly back to Harry, "Harry?!"

"Professor McGonagall accidently put me on Runes" He whispered then, and his nerves showed now, "It was down on my calendar, so I came to fix it" His gaze darted around then but everyone was distracted with the difficult problem sequence on the board, Professor Greyweir was writing out the next set on a blackboard next to it, and that looked even more difficult.

"Sure" Hermione said with a nod, Harry's current state was more important than Runes, "But staying in a class you've never taken is hardly fixing it?" She asked, "Have you hit your head? Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

She could think of no other explanation for her friend's behaviour.

"Are you still Harry?" She asked suspiciously, gaze narrowing, Professor Moodys lessons had really stuck, and Harry was really acting rather strange, "Tell me what we danced to during the rainstorm when we were hiding"

"O Children" Harry said immediately, and she felt something in her ease, "What house was I originally sorted into?"

"Slytherin" She whispered before glaring at him, "I was checking your identity, not mine"

"I always check yours when we do that" He shot back, and she nodded, true, constant vigilance! after all, it was her best friend then, just perhaps with a head injury.

"Then what's wrong?" She asked, resisting the urge to physically check his head, or cast a diagnostic spell, "Why didn't you correct Professor Greyweir? Have you hit your head?" She asked again.

"No I'm fine" Harry insisted, but he didn't look it. "But I didn't correct the Professor because…" Harry said then, eyes wide, shining, confused, "I can read Runes"

Her eyes widened too, stomach dropped, what?

"What?" She asked, "What do you mean?" A creeping sensation began up her spine, a recognising of something, of a worry, she wasn't sure where from, but there it was.

"As in, can you read what's on the board?" He asked, quickly, fervently, nervously, "All of it?"

"Not yet" She admitted, and felt that chill race up the back of her neck, god what was he saying?, "I need to decipher it, it will take a little while but I can" She nodded, she could but it would take awhile to unpick.

"That's the thing" He said, and she noted his hands were shaking then, quickly took them in her own, squeezed them, he squeezed back, "I can read all of it, I can tell you what that says right now"

"No, you can't" Hermione said, not that she doubted him, but it was impossible. Only a NEWT student could do what he was suggesting, and even then, she knew they'd need ten minutes, especially on the second problem, this wasn't just fluent in Runes, what Harry was suggesting, it was native. "Few people can do that"

"I know" Harry said, his cheeks whitening now, Hermione imagined she looked like a ghost, "But I can read them, look"

He pointed at the first problem, "That says, 'Magic cures as much trouble as it causes, and yet magic itself may be both cure and cause in any instance. There can be a malady that magic itself may cause, cure and right all at once'" He stopped then, and Hermione felt her heart stop. This wasn't possible…

"Very good Mr Potter" Professor Greyweir said with a smile, having overheard Harry's explanation, "I presume you did the summer reading and encountered this problem across the final pages of Spellman's Syllabary as an advanced runic translation?" He asked, for even he couldn't conceive of anyone, lest a 5th year directly translating that fast, it just wasn't done, not often, not even rarely, but more than rarely.

I.e., almost never.

"Yes Professor" Harry said with a nod, his hands shook as Hermione clutched them under the desk.e

"Good, 20 points to Gryffindor" Professor Greyweir said with a smile before turning back to the second board.

"Oh, my goodness" Hermione whispered, as she squeezed Harry's hands hard, "I can't…" She stumbled, "This shouldn't be possible" She dropped her voice further, "You can directly read a magical language you've never studied"

"What does this mean Hermione?" Harry asked as she pretended to busy himself with the book between them, but his hands shook as he released hers, immediately reached for them again, drawing on her strength, though she felt as though she had none.

"I have no idea" She said, and for once, she truly didn't.

"First time for everything" Harry joked, and she managed a smile, but it was barely there, a ghost, and Harry continued to tremble, even as they held onto each other, and Harry flipped the page of her Runes book and read every combination back to her, every single one.

She had no idea what this meant, none.

And that terrified her, and she could see reflected in his gaze, it terrified Harry too.

"Astronomy Tower, after classes" She whispered, and he nodded, they'd need privacy, and not to get caught in Gryffindor Tower, "We'll figure this out" She said with more conviction than she possessed.

As she picked through the combination, and Harry pretended to do the same, her hands trembled too.

What did this mean?

Again, she had no idea.

But it was Harry, her Harry, they had to figure this out, had to figure out how this related to what had happened, because surely it had to relate to the time travel?

Or had it always been there in him?

That was scarier even to think, but the thought stuck with her, as she managed the second combination in half an hour, and Harry recited it back fluently to her in less than a minute.

you know the usual, relationship drama, meddling marauders and harry is fluent in ancient runes (beyond fluent) and we have no idea why ... or do we? bahahahah

there we go

do review, I'd leave to know your reactions to this, I certainly had fun writing it.

speak soon