One Last Try [HP Jamione fanfic]

18. I Forgot That You Existed

A/N: Thank you for all the lovely comments on the last chapter! We've got a big reveal in this one, and I really enjoy some of the scenes, so hope you guys all like it!

17th February 1975

The Marauders were lying about by the black lake during lunch. Their morning classes had been desperately boring, so Sirius had suggested planning a prank. They'd all been up for it, which is what led them to where they were now. Remus had cast warming charms over the area, and transfigured a leaf into a blanket for them to sit on, and James had pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill to begin their planning.

They were deep into it when a Ravenclaw that none of them except Remus recognised stumbled near them. He'd been carrying a cup of some kind of drink that he dropped all over Sirius and James, and onto the now ruined parchment James had been holding.

"Aww what the fuck!" James shouted, jumping to his feet, fuming.

Sirius was likewise cursing, but he turned his ire on the apologetic Ravenclaw cruelly. "What the hell were you doing?!" Sirius shouted. Remus frowned slightly, not liking the way Sirius' anger could so easily turn into bullying, but also not wanting to get in the way of it at risk of their friendship. "Can't you bloody see, idiot? You've just ruined a plan for an amazing prank." Sirius snapped, pulling his wand quickly. James, goaded as always by Sirius' anger, pulled his too.

"Hey, come on, it was just a spill." The Ravenclaw protested, holding his hands up with the two wands now being pointed at him by the wet and angry pure-blood heirs. "It's not like I did it on purpose." He protested when Sirius growled at him; reminiscent of his Animagus form.

"Well you bloody well did it, didn't you?!" Sirius growled, performing a quick cleaning and drying charm on both himself and James, but scowling down at the ruined parchment. A wicked grin suddenly stole across his face, and the boy took a step back, "Think we should teach you a lesson, hey. You can be our new prankee considering you ruined our other one."

James grinned with Sirius, both of them stepping forward off the blanket and out of the warming charms menacingly.

Remus grimaced, and got to his feet, ready to intervene, "Pads, Prongs, leave it." He said as they stepped closer. They both just waved him off. Peter sat and watched like it was a tennis match, knowing he'd be no match for any of his friends if he tried to get in the way.

Sirius twirled his wand in his hand for a moment, and together he and James levelled their wands at the boy with matching mischievous grins.

xxx

"Prewett."

Hermione glanced up quickly from her homework, surprised to see Regulus standing in front of her table. They were friends, but they weren't overly close, and the Slytherin only rarely joined her in the library. "Regulus. Are you going to join me?"

The Slytherin nodded curtly, and slid into a seat a couple round from her at the table, getting out his books, parchment, and quill. Neither of them said anything further for a while, working away quietly next to each other.

Hermione finished the paragraph she was writing, and put her quill down. She rotated her wrist back and forth a bit to loosen it up from the position it had been in for the last who knows how long. She then sat up straight and stretched out her back with a quiet groan. Regulus' eyes flicked up to her, and he raised a silent judging eyebrow.

"Oh, shut up." She muttered.

"I didn't say a word, Prewett." Regulus responded, also putting his quill down with a quiet sigh.