Chapter 10
September 7th
Harry
"She always like this?" My father leans over to whisper—his eyes on Hermione—and I chuckle. "That's our Mione, he always like this?" I ask nodding my head towards Remus, who sits right beside Hermione his nose in a book. My father echoes my laugh. "That's our Moony."
We're all currently sitting on the couches in gryffendor common room watching as Mione and uncle Remus engross themselves in studying—engross being a word I learned in the last twenty minutes as they went over vocabulary most suitable for essays.
The moment Remus and Mione heard that classes would be starting up they went into automatic study mode, I don't even know how Sirius got her to come keep score for us at the Quidditch—then again she complained the whole time and then as soon as we were done she rushed to the common room to study with Remus.
She's flipping furiously at the pages of the seventh year DADA book her eyes skimming the pages at an alarming rate. I shake my head with a smile and for a second, I'm transported back to first year watching Hermione study months ahead for the N.E.W.T.S. And for a second, the woman in front of me isn't a woman at all, but a genius girl with bushy hair trying to prove she belonged in a world so determined to keep her out.
"I think she's going to give herself an aneurism." Sirius comments bringing me back to where I currently sit, older braver and surrounded by the people I thought I'd lost. My father sits beside me, Sirius beside him. My mother sits with Mary McDonald, and they chatt quietly as my mother does Mary's nails. Marlene....Marlene and petigrew are missing, down at the quidditch pitch.
I shake pettigrews name from my mind as I can't control the untamed rage that comes with it and instead focus my thoughts on the name of Weasley. The only Weasley in the room is George as Ron hasn't come out of his room after we went to the quidditch pitch and Dean almost called George Fred, and no one knows where Ginny is.
Hermione finished the DADA book in record time and puts the book out to Remus who just turned the last page of the potions book. "Switch me?" Remus nods quickly grabbing the book from her hands and passing his own. Hermione doesn't waste any time cracking open the book and getting to work. I can't help the laugh that escapes. "Hermione why are you even doing this?" I ask.
She replies without even looking up from her book. "Classes start tomorrow." Sirius snorts and I find myself looking at my best friend with a giant grin. "Well yes, but you already know everything." I point out but she still doesn't remove her nose from her book. "There's always more to learn." I scrunch my eyebrows. Not when you bloody know everything.
"Mione you finished seventh year curriculum in fifth year." At that my mother looks up from where she was doing Mary's nails. "You what?" She says looking gobsmacked—not to mention dad and Sirius. Mione ignores my mothers words. "I forgot it." I scoff. "You have a perfect memory, you don't forget anything." She huffs shutting her book with a thud and looking up to meet my eyes. "Maybe I just want to." She exclaims glaring at me. My smile is gone.
"Mione I'm just saying that instead of wasting your time, you could—" she cuts me off growling angrily. "I could what Harry? Sit here and think about everything that went wrong? About everything we had and everything we lost? Think about—about Fred?" Her voice cracks and it's now that I see tears forming in her eyes. George is up in a flash, coming to aid her. She waves him off wiping her eyes.
All the joy that was there has vanished. "I'm fine—I'm fine." At George's questioning stare she nods with a teary smile. "I'm—this is something to do ok? It's all I can do right now not to think about—to think about Fred." She gives that smile and all it does is make my frown deepen. I'd rather have her cry in my arms than smile through the pain.
She takes a breath. "This is something to do and I need to do something." I nod in understanding as George pulls her in his arms kissing the top of her head. Sirius pipes up from beside my father. "So, she has a good reason, what's your excuse swot?" He asks turning to Remus who turns bright red.
Hermione laughs, a loud laugh that reminds me of when we were kids and would run through Hogsmead throwing snowballs until our arms were sore. "Alright enough of the tears ok?" Mom says pulling Mione's face into her hands and wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Yeah, Tomorrow is the first day of classes, we need you two on the top of your game. That won't happen if your all depressed and shit." Dad jokes from beside me and I shake my head.
Mione rolls her eyes. "Oh I'm sorry James, I'll dwell on the problems of the world after I give you my potions answers." She jokes and George smiles throwing an arm over her shoulder. "That's the spirit love!"
I think it's the first time I've seen him smile.
September 8th
"Harry!" I jolt awake and see a blurry figure standing in front of me. I reach my hand over to my bedside table and search for a minute before I find my glasses. I pick up the frames and put them on, blinking a couple of times adjust. Once my vision has cleared I see Hermione standing in front of me, arms crossed in her uniform.
She pulls on my arm. "Come on, we're going to be late to breakfast!" She exclaims as I rub my face. "What? Why what time is it?" She points to her watch and I make out the time and it—8:10 shit!
I scramble to get out of bed, my legs tripping over the covers and falling on the ground. "Hurry, hurry, we don't have time for this!" Mione exclaims, picking me us off the floor and practically shoving me into the bathroom placing my robes in my hands.
I stumble into the bathroom tugging my shirt off my head. "why didn't anyone wake me?" I ask as I fumble with the laces of my pants before pulling them down, leaving me in just my boxers. "Because James and Sirius thought it'd funny to rile me up like the bloody twats they are!" Mione yells from behind the door sounding utterly exasperated. I hear her huff,
"Men!"
Sirius
"Oh man, I thought she was going to blow her lid she was so mad!" I tell Frank and Frank and longbottom Jr laughs shaking his head. "You think it's funny now, but be careful, if there's one thing Hermione takes seriously, it's school. You keep at it she'll chop off your balls and send em to your mother as a greeting gift." Well that's oddly specific.
Frank must be thinking the same because he snorts. "Funny that's exactly what she said to lestrange yesterday when he was acting like an ass." All the junior kiddies tense at that. "What the hell did that ass say to her?" I'm surprised when I see that it's Longbottom Jr who spits it with venom. Wow, didn't think the lad had it in him. "Calm down Nev, they don't know yet." I hear the red headed girl whisper from beside him and he nods a bit unclenching his fists. I'll figure that out later.
I turn back to frank. "What? What'd he say?" I ask, not recalling the Slytherin ass doing much when I arrived other than violently the poor girls personal space. Frank scratches his neck nervously. "Oh—Uhm, well...you know just the regular derogatory comments—you know lestrange...." He laughs Nervously. Lils crosses her arms, Mary and Marlene right behind her. The Valkyrie's to the rescue.
"Frank." Lily says in that no nonsense tone of hers that could scare godric himself. "What did he say to her?" Marlene asks this time, and I can't tell whose more frightening—because on one hand, lils has that angry momma bear thing going for her, but on the other I've seen Marlene take on the entire Slytherin quidditch team and win. Longbottom stutters. "O-oh well I distinctly remember a comment about—uhm well, t-taking her a-ass for a spin...."
The poor guy flinches as the girls glares get even stronger. "Oh, that asshole!" Marlene yells, attracting attention from some of the other tables. "Oh some guys just have no respect—" well, lestrange is dead. "I'm gonna go over there and give him a piece of my fucking mind!" Lily says and Marlene nods enthusiastically. "Guys—" Mary tries to to calm them but before she can get another word out, Lily and Marls are stoking over to the Slytherin table. She quickly scurries behind them.
Well, this'll be interesting.
Regulus
I head Marlene yell—quite loudly—"what an asshole!" Before proceeding to yell a bunch of shit at who knows who, Evans right along with her. It takes to seconds before Marl and Evans are stocking across the hall, looking angrily at our group. Well shit, what'd i do? I notice Marlene's eyes aren't on me at all but focused on something to my left.
I look to my right and—fucking hell, Rody's in for it now. Marlene and Evans stop right in front of us, McDonald pulling on their arms trying to get the to turn around. "Guys—" they both turn to her. "Not now Mary!" They say in unison. They turn back to us giving Rodolphus a death glare from hell. Lucius looks up at the trio. "To what do we owe the pleasure—"
"So tell me Lestrange, what's it like being a pigheaded idiot?" Marlene asks, cutting Lucius off, much to his displeasure. Rody looks up mid bite of toast, clear and unmasked confusion prominent in his eyes. "What—" he too is cut off, this time by Evans. "Does it take work being this much of a degrading asshole?" She asks with so much venom it could poison even the most lethal snake. "Uh, Guys—" McDonald tries and fails once again to stop her friends.
"I mean honestly, do you have any respect for women at all—" Marlene starts again only to be cut off by Evans. "—I mean honestly comments like that are not only rude—" back to Marlene. "But derogatory, and pigheaded, and—" McDonald finally loses her shit. "Guys!" She yells. "What!" They both yell once again in unison looking back at her. "I think we have bigger problems then Lestrange being an asshole." She points out.
Marlene, feminist that she is, scoffs at her friend. "What could be more important then—" McDonald points behind her over to the Gryffindor table. "Well, I don't know? The fact that it looks like that Granger girl is going to rip Sirius and James both a new one." That catches my attention. Sure enough one glance over to the Gryffindor table shows the Granger girl holding both Sirius and Potter by their neck ties, seething and yelling some intelligible words making them both go pale as their friends watch with identical grins.
"Oh shit!"
Hermione
Once I'm done with Sirius and James I sit down next to Harry, crossing my arms. Lily and the girls had showed up at the first sign of violence, and left from where they were standing by the Slytherin table, who knows why. "Hurry up and eat your breakfast before we're late to class." I tell him as he puts a plate for himself, piling on. Most everyone at the table has finished breakfast and is just waiting for him.
"Your not going to eat?" Remus asks and I shake my head. "Not hungry." I say and though he gives me a skeptical look, doesn't say anything. Harry leans over, whispering in my ear. "You sure Mione? You didn't eat much at dinner last night." I nod and give him a smile. "I've eaten less." I tell him, and it's true.
When we were on the run, much like I'd told the Slytherins, we often went without food, and even before then I was never a big eater, so now the thought of eating this much is odd, and hard to get used to after going hungry for so long. Harry nods in understanding as he too hasn't been eating as much either.
"So, what's our first class?" Ginny asks and i automatically smile. I haven't heard her voice since we got the news. I open my mouth to answer but Remus beats me to it. "Potions first, then charms, then defense, then lunch, after that we have electives, care of magical creatures, magic of the arts, runes, Arithmacy, and Divination." I can't help but sneer at the mention of Divination.
"So you guys doing Quidditch tryouts?" James asks and She jumps up excitedly. "You guys should totally give it a go, me, james and Sirius are the chasers, and James is captain so we'll easily be able to get you on the team!" She says it excitedly, her brown eyes honing a little sparkle. I see Harry look over to me for a moment but I don't meet his gaze as I know what I'll find in it. Something along the lines of, 'you could be smiling like that if you'd just be honest.'
He scratches the back of his neck. "Well Mione and Nev don't play, but me Ron, Ginny, and George have been on the team for years, I'm a seeker, Ginny and Ron are chasers and George us a beater." Harry says automatically going into quidditch mode and telling them the position I never quite understood. They get into quidditch talk and I tune them out as I have no interest in the topic and instead move my focus to the opposite end of the hall where I feel a piecing gaze originating.
That's when I lock eyes with him. His grey eyes pierce into mine and I freeze momentarily. It's then that I feel the feeling of my mind being probed and slam down my walls with force. The magic moves against my sheild looking for cracks, for mistakes, it doesn't find any. I move my eyes to my lap, to my hands that now fiddle with the gold ring that sits on my index finger.
"You alright Mione?" I look back up to meet Harry's eyes and smile. I nod. "Yeah of course, I just remembered I have to go get something from the library quickly, I'll meet you in potions, yeah?" I don't wait for a reply, just scoop up my bag and hurry out the hall, all the while feeling eyes trail me.
Occlude, occlude, occlude.
2559 words
Alright, this chapter is kind of boring but I will be following with a more interesting one very soon so just keep updated and once again my TikTok is hermionemalfoy_marauders for update and sneek peeks. And sorry for taking so long I had to pick up double shifts at work this week.