Chapter Text
Chapter 08: Start of school party
Friday, 2 September 1977
After dinner, Hermione and the rest of the seventh year Gryffindors went to the Gryffindor tower to prepare for the upcoming party.
Not wanting to dress up, as she really didn't have anything to wear to a party, Hermione volunteered to get the common room ready with the boys. She and Peter put up the decorations and moved the furniture with their wands, while Remus went to the kitchen to get some snacks. Sirius and James were suspiciously absent, but Peter and Remus refused to tell Hermione, or anyone else for that matter, where they had gone.
“What usually happens in a start of school party?" Hermione inquired from Peter while they were conjuring red and golden balloons and hanging them to the ceiling with the help of their wands.
Peter frowned a bit before answering. "Just the usual, you know, drinking, music, dancing and whatnot."
Hermione nodded. "Well, I haven't actually been in that many parties and I just wanted to know if there would be something I should be prepared for." She said with a smile.
"Actually, now that you mentioned it… With Sirius and James, you never know. There might be something extravagant that no one can prepare for." Peter said thoughtfully.
"So you're not the one who plans the surprise numbers at the parties?" Hermione asked with a smirk.
Peter chuckled. "No, not today at least. I usually mend the bar," he said with a shrug.
Hermione nodded again and hung a couple of decorated Gryffindor banners on the walls.
A while later Sirius and James came in through the portrait hole, both carrying a box in their hands. The boys placed the boxes on a table and flicked their wands to cast an enlarging spell on each. Apparently, there were drinks in them. While Sirius and James unloaded Firewhiskey and Butterbeer bottles from the now large boxes, Remus came to the common room with the snacks. After all the food and drinks were placed on the table and in what Hermione assumed was the bar, Remus came to talk with Hermione and Peter, who were in the middle of hanging a giant disco ball to the ceiling.
"So Hermione, how was your first day at Hogwarts?" Remus asked as they watched Peter to levitate the ball up.
"Well, the day isn't over just yet, but I think it has been quite nice," Hermione smiled.
Sirius came to stand next to Hermione and put his arm over her shoulders. "Well, Dumbledore, I think we can do better than quite nice, don't you think?" He said cheerfully.
Her eyes flickered to his hand on her shoulder before she turned to look at him. "Well, I don't know, Black, I guess I have to wait and see," she said sharply and excused herself to the girls' dormitories. When she glanced back right before stepping through the door that led to the dormitories, she saw Sirius staring at her with a small smile on his lips and a daring look in his eyes.
Some time later, when Hermione came down again with her dormmates, she saw that the party had already started. The seventh year girls were all dressed up and had insisted that Hermione should at least wear some make up and do her hair. They had helped her to get ready and Hermione actually felt quite pleased when seeing her appearance in a mirror, even though she was wearing her ordinary muggle jeans and a simple long-sleeved shirt. After mingling for a while with the girls, she went to the bar where she saw Remus and Peter making drinks to younger Gryffindor girls.
"Hi there," she greeted the boys and eyed the various drinks with equal curiosity and suspicion. How the boys had managed to smuggle in a vast collection of different kinds of alcohol beverages, was beyond her depth.
"Hi Hermione! Here you go," Peter grinned and handed her a purple drink with a pink umbrella and some fruits in it. Hermione eyed it warily but took a sip eventually. It tasted rather good, and she was pleasantly surprised.
"Wow, it's actually quite good! I don't usually drink, but I like it." Hermione beamed at him.
Peter blushed slightly and nodded his thanks before returning to his bar tendering. Sirius had appeared at the bar and was talking with Remus. When Hermione turned to leave, Sirius gave her an intense stare that made her step falter slightly. She averted her eyes and made her way towards the balcony attached to the common room, deciding that a quick breath of fresh air was what she needed. Once outside, she leaned on the railing, facing the landscape. She took a deep breath and sipped her drink, feeling rather flustered. Merlin…She needed to get a grip. She just couldn't fall into his charm…
Not only was her time in this era uncertain, making it unwise to engage herself into anything, but then there was the fact that Sirius was known for being a womaniser. Not to mention he seemed like a prat. She tried to calm herself and thought that maybe she was reading too much into it. Perhaps he was just messing with her.
The noise from inside grew momentarily louder and she knew she wasn't alone anymore - someone had just entered the balcony. Sirius came to stand beside her, leaning his back against the railing and watching her closely.
She turned to look at him back and he gave her a charming smile. When she averted her gaze, Sirius let out an amused sound.
"Am I making you nervous?" He asked with a smug smirk that made her roll her eyes in annoyance.
Hermione huffed and took a sip of her drink. "No. Yes…I don't know, maybe." she said with a sigh. "It doesn't really matter. I'm just not used to… You know, that." She said and waved her hand at him.
He laughed. "And what is that exactly?" He asked, his eyes dancing with mirth.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "You know what I mean…the flirting, teasing and the eye thing." She said pointedly. For which she was actively stopping herself from falling.
Sirius barked a laugh. "You're just something else, aren't you?" He asked with a playful smile.
Hermione gave an awkward shrug. "Okay, I'll see you later." She said and turned to leave.
He took her hand. "Hey, don't go…just…stay and talk to me okay? I would like to get to know you," he said and looked into her eyes sincerely, the humour now gone and an innocent smile curving his lips.
Hermione eyed him suspiciously before she nodded and decided to stay and talk with him as he seemed genuine enough.
She knew Sirius from her future and at least the older him was "okay" to be around with, a bit carefree and snarky but still a good company. Perhaps she ought to give him the benefit of the doubt. They sat down on a bench and looked at each other.
"Tell me about Australia," he said, studying her features.
She frowned but nodded at him. She didn't exactly enjoy lying to everyone, but she knew she had no choice in the matter, at least not now, not yet. She tried to remember everything she had already told to Remus about her fake-past, in order to not diverge from her story.
"Well…I grew up with my mum in Sydney. I attended the Australian Wizarding School until this summer. The school there starts a bit earlier than it does at Hogwarts, at the age of seven. The final year starts when you have turned eighteen. So basically it starts earlier and lasts a bit longer than at Hogwarts." Hermione explained plainly. Sirius nodded attentively, keeping his eyes fixed on hers as she spoke.
"What about your parents?" Sirius asked after a short contemplation.
She tensed a bit at his question and even though he seemed to notice, he didn't say anything. "My...my dad lives in Hogsmeade, as you know already and I haven't seen him that much until now, since the summer holidays are actually in December and January in Australia…But the reason I moved here is because…I...um…we were attacked. My mum and her relatives were killed." She said without blinking, her face expressionless.
Merlin…Why was she blabbering everything to him now? They'd just met.
She had planned to tell about the attack on some point, if someone asked. It wasn't exactly a secret, as it was a part of her cover story, but she didn't really want to draw attention to herself. And now she'd succeeded doing just that. She reckoned that the alcohol in Peter's drink had to be making her talk run more smoothly than she had anticipated.
Sirius set his bottle down on the end table near the bench with a harsh thud and gaped at her in shock.
"And I really don't want to delve into that right now, not when you're looking at me like that, you know, with pity and sorry for me. So let's talk about something else," she continued, looking down when she saw his expression turning into a horrified one.
Sirius took her hand and snapped, "What? You cannot just expect me to hear that and feel nothing about it?! I'm not made of stone, Hermione."
"I don't want your pity. I don't want anyone's pity," she said angrily, giving him a dark look. She felt angry for making him care for her, to pity her, because of her lies. She was angry and sad for losing her real parents and not be able to talk about it to anyone. Hermione thought about her mother and father whom she had sent to Australia, who would never know they'd had a daughter. And she would never see them again if she wasn't going to be able to find a way back.
Sirius shoved both hands through his hair and was quiet for a moment.
"I understand you, I really do. You have no idea how much…" he said with a distant voice. There was a deep frown between his brows as his eyes searched hers. "I promise, Hermione, I won't pity you, but…if you do want to talk about it, you can come to me, yeah?" He said and stared at her with sincere, piercing grey eyes before he reached out, tucking a loose ringlet of hair back behind her ear, and stroking her cheek with his thumb.
His touch sent a warm tingling through her and she shivered at the sensation. Then his eyes roamed her face and finally dropped to her lips.
"Would that be okay?" He murmured and Hermione could vaguely remember his question had something to do with his previous sentence.
Her eyes fluttered and she froze in place when his face came closer to hers. His other hand was still stroking her cheek and his other holding hers, their fingers laced. She briefly wondered when had that happened? Her heart raced and she could feel his hot breath against her mouth.
She swallowed deeply. "Sirius, I—" she responded weakly, when his lips feathered against hers.
The door slammed open just then and they jumped away from each other.
James was at the door, evidently sloshed. "Oi! Pads! You snogging some poor young lady in here?" He called from the door, sniggering and his speech slightly slurring.
Sirius growled indignantly. "Go away, Prongs."
Hermione could hear a grin in James's voice. "Nope. So I suggest you drag your arse back to the party so we can celebrate the beginning of our last year, mate!" He said cheerfully and walked to the bench. Then he noticed it was Hermione whom he was with. "Oh. Hey, Hermione!" He said and grinned at her, "Er - Sorry about that. What I said about…Never mind. Although, you shouldn't waste your time with this annoying little mutt. He doesn't know which way is up, you know?" he continued jokingly.
Hermione smirked at James and stood up. "I gather you have a first-hand experience?" She asked with a sweet smile. Sirius snorted while James was rendered speechless.
"I should go inside. Thank you Sirius," she said and gave the boy in question a small smile, before turning on her heels and going inside.
Sirius watched her leave with his brows furrowed and let out a weary sigh when the door closed behind her. He thought about what Hermione had told him about her parents and the attack and even though he had promised he wouldn't pity her, on some level, he did. And while some of what she had told him was serious and horrible, it all made her more intriguing in his eyes. It made him want to get to know her better and to be in her presence.
"Did I ruin a moment, huh?" James asked, watching Sirius with amusement.
Sirius glared at him and grumbled, "Someday soon, I'm gonna bite you, Prongs."
James laughed good-naturedly and smirked at him before he spoke, "Is that what gets all the girls hot and bothered?" When Sirius merely scowled at James, he continued, "Oh come on mate, it’s our last year! I mean, we’ve had lesser reasons to get utterly pissed, eh?” James said, nudging his friend.
“I suppose…” Sirius grumbled under his breath.
“Okay, so let's go!" James commanded and yanked Sirius to stand up while Sirius was still looking irked.
“I need my best mate in there," James said earnestly, giving Sirius a grave look.
Sirius’s features softened after a moment and he nodded at his friend. "Let's get inside." he said, determined to start their last term with a bang.
Later that night, close to midnight, the party had quieted down a bit. Everyone else had already retreated to their dormitories, except the seventh years.
Mary and Alice were dancing on the small dancefloor in the middle of the common room with Remus and Peter, the girls giggling every now and then as they stumbled on the floor. The rest of the seventh years were hanging near the fireplace. Sirius was lounging on the floor, leaning his back against an armchair Hermione was sitting in, while James, Marlene and Lily were sitting on the sofa. Sirius and Marlene were arguing about an article of the Hobgoblins' lead singer getting into trouble with the muggle police. Their argument was interrupted when James stood up unsteadily and informed the group that they should now have some real fun and play a version of truth or dare, where instead of answering question truthfully, one had to take a shot of Firewhiskey. So…basically accomplishing tasks or getting utterly pissed.
"So the game's Firewhiskey or Dare." James explained, mostly to Hermione who hadn't played with them before, while pouring himself a shot of said liquid and then turning over to pour the others some shots. "You spin the bottle and you can issue a dare to the person whom the bottle points. That person can choose to perform the dare or drink the shot…" He explained, nodding at the shot glasses on the table.
"Oi, dancing queens, come along!" James exclaimed to Mary, Alice, Peter and Remus who were still on the dancefloor. He received some withering looks as the rest of their group joined them, but eventually they had all gathered in front of the fire.
Then Hermione spoke with a hesitant voice. "I don't think I want to play. It's getting late."
James arched an amused brow at her. "No, it's not. I think you're afraid Sirius will ask you to snog him on a dare," he said with a gleeful look.
Sirius rolled his eyes at his mate and glanced at Hermione, who had her eyes narrowed at Sirius's best friend.
"No. I'm not." She said with a cold voice, which only made James huff out a laughter. She then sighed, apparently accepting the challenge. "Fine, I'll play."
Sirius cleared his throat, feeling both awkward and amused, before he snatched an empty bottle from the floor and placed it on the table. "Okay, I can go first." He spun the bottle and it stopped in front of Marlene.
He smirked at the girl in question and said, "I dare you to take off your top, Marley."
He didn't miss the exasperated looks on most of the girls' faces. Still, it wasn't like that sort of a dare hadn't happened before.
The boys grinned and whistled when Marlene shrugged and pulled her top off, leaving her bra on. She gave Sirius a nonchalant look. "Nothing you haven't seen before," She said sweetly before spinning the bottle.
Sirius grimaced inwardly after realising what she had said and that Hermione was still there, sitting behind him, and was probably unaware of what had been going on between Sirius and Marlene. He decided to explain it to her later.
When the bottle stopped in front of Remus, Marlene gave him a sly smile and said, "I dare you to kiss Mary."
Both Sirius and James snorted as they watched their friend's unimpressed expression, both of them knowing for a fact that he was dying to snog the witch.
"You don't waste any time, do you?" Remus said dryly at Marlene, but his features softened as he went to perform his dare, leaning towards Mary and kissing her chastely on the lips. Mary blinked and looked away when Remus pulled back.
"Well, there was always a choice, you know," Marlene said knowingly and winked at him.
Remus ignored her and said, "Okay, my turn." He spun the bottle and stared at Sirius as the bottle stopped in front of him.
"I dare you to kiss Hermione," Remus said, grinning as he saw Sirius's eyes narrow at him.
Sirius stood up from the floor, turned to Hermione and smiled at her steadily. He had no problem with this dare, but the conversation he'd had with her at the balcony as well as James's earlier warnings about messing her up rang in his mind and made him hesitate. He decided to do an act of chivalry and proceeded by leaning over and kissing her gently on the cheek to accomplish his dare. He felt quite pleased with himself when he saw the small tinge of redness on tops of her cheeks and the mixed look of disappointment and gratitude in her eyes.
There were no more kissing dares as the game went on. Alice ended up shirtless as well and sometime later, Alice and Marlene were both passed out on the sofa, along with Peter.
On some point, Sirius spun the bottle and gave his friend a sly grin when the bottle stopped in front of James. "I dare you to run around the greenrooms, starkers."
James was contemplative for a moment and then shrugged. "I'm up for it, mate. Although, if you wanted to see me without a stick, all you had to do was ask," James said and waggled his brows at Sirius, while the rest of their group sniggered at them.
Sirius rolled his eyes and stood up. "Shall we?" He asked mischievously. "Girls, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Prongs here make a fool of himself," he said to Hermione, Lily and Mary, and when Lily gave him an incredulous look, he continued. "Well, it probably isn't, but I still reckon it's something to take the piss out of him afterwards," he said and winked at the girls.
James stood up and punched him on the shoulder while Remus, Mary and Lily laughed as they too got on their feet and made their way towards the portrait hole.
Hermione yawned. "I think I'll pass, as intriguing as it sounds...you guys go ahead, I'm heading up to the dormitory," she said before walking towards the door that lead to the girls' dormitory. Before she had the chance to go to the staircase, Sirius had caught up with her and stopped her by taking her hand and spinning her around gently.
"Good night, Hermione," he murmured, staring at her with an intense gaze as he brought her hand to his lips, turned it and placed a soft kiss on her wrist. It was a somewhat intimate gesture and he could clearly see that she wasn't unaffected by it. Sirius smiled at her and turned to leave with the others to watch his mate make an arse of himself.
Sirius, Remus, James, Mary and Lily all disillusioned themselves and somehow even after all the Firewhiskey, managed to get outside without anyone noticing them.
As the group was nearing their destination, the greenrooms, they heard voices coming from ahead. Lily, who was leading the group with James on her side, saw it first. There was a couple locked in a tight embrace, leaning on the greenroom three entrance. Their hands were all over each other, the boy had his shirt half off, belt undone and trousers open, and the girl had her robes pulled up around her thighs. They were snogging furiously, as though their lives depended on it. Suddenly the girl shifted and Sirius saw her face – it was Madison.
Lily turned to James hastily and grabbed him. "James, let's go back."
Sirius quickly agreed with the redhead. "Yeah, uh. Let's go find another place to fulfil the dare, mate."
James looked at both of them, puzzled, until his gaze shifted towards the couple, nearly shagging each other in the open and the next moment, James evidently realised who they were. Some guy from Hufflepuff and…his girlfriend. James froze in place and watched in horror as they continued their activities, not yet aware that they had an audience.
"What the FUCK?!" James bellowed, his eyes widening in anger.
The couple broke apart, their surprised faces turning towards the Gryffindors, who were all gaping at them. They didn't have time to do or say anything before James had already charged at a dead run, ramming into the Hufflepuff boy, and taking him down. Madison stumbled back from the impact, nearly falling while she screamed in terror. The two boys hit the ground with a loud thud, where James pinned the other boy by the throat and pummelled his ribs with a series of blows. The Hufflepuff grunted with each brutal impact and struggled to break free.
"SHIT!" Sirius cursed and leaped forward with Remus, both of them grabbing James and dragging him away from the other boy.
"What the hell are you doing?" The Hufflepuff shouted when he broke free and held his side with a hand.
Sirius briefly wondered if the bloke had broken more than one rib.
"You were fucking my girlfriend over there, you fucking wanker, what did you think it was about?!" James yelled back, breathing heavily, rage and confusion mixed on his red face. He remained in place only because Sirius and Remus were holding him back, keeping him still with a tight grip.
The other boy had the decency to look away shamefully.
"What's the matter with you James?!" Madison cried, finally finding her voice whilst still looking shocked.
"W-What…What's the matter with me? Are you fucking kidding me Maddie?! What the fuck…You fucking deserve each other. Fucking Hufflepuffs." James shouted at her, hurt and anger flashing in his eyes.
Sirius gritted his teeth together. He had a half a mind to letting go of James so that his friend could go and beat the shit out of the Hufflepuff bloke and so that Sirius himself would be free to punch the witch square on her face for being such a slag.
"James! It's not what it looks like! I can explain!" She said with a panicked voice, fumbling as she smoothed her robes and buttoned down her oxford shirt.
"I think it's pretty obvious what it is," James said with cold fury emanating from him. "I've seen enough," he continued. "How about you just keep on doing whatever you think it is. Do whoever you like. I don't care. We're done here." He grit out and yanked himself free from Sirius's and Remus's grip, turned on his heels and walked away.
Sirius turned to speak to Lily, "Go with him. Make sure he goes straight to the dorm, will you?" Lily frowned, nodded at Sirius and went after James.
Sirius glared at the Hufflepuff boy and glanced at Madison with an equally nasty look. "Madison, I suggest you go back to your dorm. We have some unfinished business with your new lover boy here."
Madison's eyes widened in fear and she gave a quick glance at her housemate. He looked at her in resign and said quietly, "Go on, Mads, I'll be right behind you."
She was uncertain for a moment but eventually left to the castle. Sirius turned to Mary and spoke softly. "You can go too, Macdonald, we'll take care of it from here."
Mary pursed her lips and sighed, evidently miffed that she would miss the punishment of the Hufflepuff. Sirius stifled a grin.
"Fine I'll go. Just please don't kill him. I don't want you two to end up in Azkaban." Mary said with a huff and she too turned on her heels, walking towards the castle.
Sirius turned his eyes at the Hufflepuff and cracked his knuckles. "So…what should we do about you…" he said coldly, as he approached the Hufflepuff with Remus right behind him, "You had to know that there would be consequences, right?"
The boy looked at them with alert, ready to take a punch when Sirius suddenly spoke with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Seeing as James already took care of the beating, we have a slightly different kind of punishment for you…"
James was on his way to the Gryffindor tower when Lily caught up with him. "James, I'm sorry—"
James stopped and scowled at her so hard that it made her flinch. "Don't bother, Evans. It's not like you and I are close or anything," he said and turned his gaze away from her, continuing towards upstairs.
They were reaching the portrait hole when Lily took his hand and they both stopped again.
"James, I…I'd like to think that we are at least friends, so yes, I am sorry for what happened to you. You didn't deserve it. You are a good guy, James Potter. And I want you to know that - " she started softly, looking into his eyes sincerely, but the words were for some reason stuck in her throat.
He watched her for a moment, searchingly. His bright, hazel eyes were gazing at her from behind his glasses, his hair was a mess, and he had a puzzled look on his face. Just then Lily wondered why it had taken her so long to see him, to really see him?
James cleared his throat, a flicker of sadness in his eyes. "What is it, Lily?"
She felt a jolt of joy when he called her by her first name, instead of calling her "Evans". Hearing him utter her name sent shivers down her spine, and she gave him a nervous smile as she took a step closer to him.
James suddenly looked nervous as well and seemed to understand her intentions. Lily was torn between speaking and taking action. Eventually she made her decision. She didn't know exactly what she wanted with James, but she knew for certain that she wanted to kiss him right then and there. She wanted him to hold her in his arms, and she wanted to hold him as well.
He was still glued to the spot, staring at her closely. Lily swallowed deeply and took another step closer to him. Their bodies were almost touching. She placed her palms flat against his chest and James let out a small puff of breath.
Her fingers trailed upwards, sliding around his neck while their eyes were locked in an intense gaze. James's lips twitched slightly before he leaned closer to her, closing the distance between their lips.
It was like meant to be. It was like his lips belonged with hers. His hands found her waist and then her back and he was pulling her closer, deepening their kiss. Lily sighed against his lips, and then she felt his tongue tracing the seam of her lips. She gave him access, tasting him as he tasted her, their lips gliding against each other slowly, wantonly.
James staggered forward and pressed Lily against the wall next to the portrait hole. She gasped as she felt his fingers skimming the skin of her stomach under her jumper, exploring her curves while he nibbled at her bottom lip. It made her feel and think all kinds of things. It made her want to feel him, to be closer to him, even though there wasn't much space left between them. Lily felt so good, so warm and light, that she didn't want the moment to end.
Unfortunately, it did.
Suddenly, James stiffened and pulled away from her, panting slightly. There was anger and hurt in his eyes as he glared at the floor between them.
"James?" Lily whispered, out of breath. She wondered what was going on in his mind at that moment. Did he regret their kiss? Did he wish to solve things with Madison?
James swallowed, his Adam's apple sliding up the length of his neck. He gave her a regretful look. "Lily I…I'm sorry, I can't."
He shook his head a couple of times and fled inside the Gryffindor Tower through the portrait hole, leaving her breathing heavily in the hallway.
Saturday, 3 September 1977
The next morning Hermione woke up with a small headache, but otherwise she felt fine. Based on the groans that she heard from some of the beds in her dorm as the sun began to shine brightly through their curtains, she reckoned the others weren't feeling that great. She stood up, showered, brushed her teeth and decided to go to the library while her roommates were nursing their hangovers in their beds.
The common room was empty, so those who had passed out had been moved to their respective beds. At least she presumed that was the case. For some reason, all the Firewhiskey bottles were gone, and instead, there were several more empty Butterbeer bottles lying around, than she remembered they had had at the party. Her fellow Gryffindors certainly knew how to cover their tracks.
When Hermione reached the library, she wasn't surprised that she saw no one else there. She walked to the restricted section, into which Dumbledore had given her permission to go. She circled the shelves for a while, found a few promising volumes that were at least scraping the subject of time magic and decided to browse through them in the secluded corner of the library. She made sure that if someone came near or walked by, they wouldn't be able to see what she was really reading about, but instead the books would look like her Arithmancy and Rune textbooks. She briefly thought that maybe she had gone a little overboard with the covering, but changed her mind when she heard a muffled noise and whispering behind a bookshelf on her left.
Two male voices were talking to each other in hushed tones. Hermione laid her book down and focused on the conversation, the voices reaching her easily in the quiet library.
"They're going to approach us soon," the first one spoke quietly, warning his companion. His voice was smooth, with a familiarity that Hermione was drawn into.
The other one snapped with an oily voice. "Yes, I am aware. We are expected to make a choice."
Curiosity got the best of her and she rose from her chair and tiptoed closer to the voices. She could see two Slytherins from a small gap between the books on a shelf. The boy who had spoken first was tall and slender with a slightly arrogant air to him. He had dark grey eyes and full lips. His nose was aristocratic and his raven black shoulder length hair was neatly trimmed. Although Hermione had never met the boy before, she knew instantly who he was. He bore such a resemblance to his brother, Sirius, that it would have been impossible not to recognise him. Sirius's hair was much shaggier and a tad longer than his, but they looked alike. It was Regulus Black. The other boy, the one who had his back to her, she had recognised in a second by his voice. Severus Snape.
Hermione cursed inwardly as she accidentally nudged a book, causing it to make a non-existent sound.
"And what might be your decision?" Regulus asked, glancing around him and turning his focus to his companion again.
"I think it would be beneficial to choose him for now," Snape said with a meaningful voice.
"For now?" Regulus questioned. "You mean in pretense," he concluded coolly. Regulus glanced around him again and Hermione quickly took a couple of steps away, so that neither of them saw her stalking them. A moment after she heard the two boys part, going different ways.
Suddenly footsteps were coming towards her corner. Hermione cursed inwardly and snatched a book from the shelf, browsing it nonchalantly as she stood facing the shelf. She held her breath and then she saw someone from the corner of her eye. Regulus Black stood very close to her, leaning against the bookshelf and facing her.
He slowly took the book from her hands and turned it the right way, placing it back to her hands. Hermione scolded herself inwardly for not being more subtle. Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment, as she turned to look at him.
Stormy grey eyes, exactly like his brother's, were examining her closely, making her more nervous as every second passed.
"You must be Miss Dumbledore." Regulus stated with an expressionless face.
Hermione swallowed deeply and shut the book in her hands. "Yes. And you must be Regulus Black, Sirius's brother," she said without expecting an answer and looked at him, trying to school her expression into an indifferent one.
His mouth curved a bit. "In a first name basis with my brother already. Not that it surprises me."
Hermione lifted her brows in puzzlement. She briefly wondered what he was on about.
He gave her a scrutinising look and a small blush tinged her cheeks. Hermione wasn't feeling exactly confident under his examination.
There was a short silence before he spoke. "What are your intentions with my brother?"
Hermione frowned. "Why do you care?"
It wasn't exactly a secret that the brothers didn't get along.
Regulus eyed her silently. "He's still my brother, even though we don't braid each other's hair at the moment," he said simply.
Hermione shrugged. "Well, we have just met each other. I'd like to think us as friends or housemates. Is that the answer you were looking for?"
Regulus scoffed. "My brother doesn't have women as friends. He screws them," he said dryly.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you telling me this? Anyway, you needn't worry. I know how he is."
He gave her a doubtful look but said nothing.
She thought it was certainly interesting that Regulus was watching his brother and his activities so closely, as if he cared for his wellbeing. She knew that in the future, he had a reason to defect, and she had suspected it had something to do with Kreacher. Or at least what Voldemort did to his house-elf had been the final straw what made Regulus turn against him. But perhaps it had something to do with Sirius as well.
The look in his eyes turned darker. "What did you hear?" He asked suspiciously.
Hermione blinked.
"You know I am referring to the conversation you just so gracefully eavesdropped," he said blankly.
Hermione bit the inside of her cheek. "Everything," she said quietly, giving him a defiant look.
His brows lifted a bit, as if he was surprised she'd confess she was listening. "It's none of your business. You would be wise not to repeat it to anyone," he said with a cold voice.
"Or what?" She asked boldly.
"You really are clueless, aren't you," he said slowly, eyeing her features.
Hermione frowned. "What does that mean? I know what you were talking about with Snape. You may think that there is no other way, but you always have a choice," she said quietly and gave him a knowing look.
Alarm flashed in his eyes before he looked away.
"If I were you, I would really think about it. What it will do to you if you follow this through. And what it will do to you brother," she said grimly. She saw him flinch when she mentioned Sirius.
She stared at him for a moment with a sad smile, thinking that there was no use to continue the conversation since he wasn't ready to have it, at least not yet. She put the book back to the shelf and walked to the table where her things were scattered. She put her books, parchments and quills to her schoolbag and left the library.