Hero of the Story || James Potter x Hermione Granger Fanfiction

11 | forgiveness is a lesson he cursed you to learn

xi.

forgiveness is a lesson he cursed you to learn

(Uneven Odds by Sleeping at Last)

__________

June 12, 1976

Hermione stared at the canopy of her bed and waited for midnight.

She had gone through the day in a daze, mechanically finishing her Herbology essay, which she knew she hadn't written properly. Hermione had religiously stayed beside Severus in case he showed any signs of breaching his promise and going to the Shrieking Shack later that night, but Sev had been normal all throughout the day. He still shot longing looks at the back of Lily's fiery red head, the Gryffindor now opting to sit at the Gryffindor table with Marlene McKinnon and Mary MacDonald. Lily still warmly greeted Hermione, gave her hugs and talked to her when they crossed paths, but she had been steering clear of her too, because the Ravenclaw made it a point to keep an eye on Severus. Although she missed Lily terribly, she reckoned that Severus needed her more than Lily did.

Mercifully, the day came into an end. Severus quietly ate with her at the Ravenclaw table. With Lily not accompanying them, conversations between them were curt and only necessary. Lily was the chatterbox after all, and she never ran out of words. Severus was still lost in his sea of despondence to converse with her. Hermione was busy trying to come up with any exit plans if Severus really did choose to go after the Marauders.

Suffice to say, the two had so many other things on their minds that they didn't really notice the quiet between them.

The brunette then slowly sat up once she saw that her wristwatch had now struck midnight. She hadn't bothered to remove her school uniform from the day, too tired to change into her pyjamas when she knew she'd be gone at night anyway. Hermione grabbed one of her thick, blue woollen sweaters and donned it over her head. She then pointed her wand at her black shoes to silence her footsteps.

Slowly drawing away her bed curtains, Hermione furtively glanced around her dormitory. Alex, Michelle and Dorothy were blessedly fast asleep as Hermione stood up from her bed. She darted a quick, amused glance at the towering books on Dorothy's bedside table – the girl was definitely a more ferocious bookworm than Hermione could ever dream of.

She then quietly meandered through the stream of strewn clothes on the floor courtesy of Alex, and had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from chuckling when Michelle released loud, adorable snores. Once she had stumbled out of their dormitory without rousing any of her roommates, Hermione expelled an inaudible sigh.

She then peeked at their airy common room and was relieved that no one was awake at this time of night. Normally, the Ravenclaw common room was still brimming with students despite this late hour, as most were slaving over an essay or diligently reading in advance for their future lessons. But seeing that it was nearing summer vacation, almost all of the Claws had started to relax.

Hermione daintily stepped down the stairs and briefly admired the empty common room. While the Gryffindor Common Room screamed cosiness and warmth, the Ravenclaw Common Room boasted airiness and space. Hermione had admittedly stared when she had first walked into her new common room, marvelling at the rich, midnight blue carpet decorated with stars, which was reflected wonderfully by the glass, domed ceiling. Since this was the house that appreciated studying the most, there were numerous individual desks surrounding the periphery of the circular common room. They were positioned in the perfect places, because you could admire the beauty of Hogwarts when you peered through the huge, arched windows. In the middle were royal blue couches and some elegant chairs, a place for relaxing for tired students. The fire in the fireplace by then was crackling low since no one was around to reignite it.