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

24 | a brute force with the sweetest disguise

xxiv.

a brute force with the sweetest disguise

(Falling in Love Pie by Sara Bareilles)

__________

November 5, 1977

A month flew by without any news from Regulus.

Sitting on the Ravenclaw table, Hermione tried to catch his attention, but Regulus was too busy conversing with Crouch and Rosier. She grimaced at how smirky the other two were, with mischievous glints in their eyes as they most likely talked about new ways to torment Muggleborns and how best to please their Dark Lord.

Hermione scowled at her fried chicken and furiously sliced through the meat, wondering if her conversation with the Black heir in the Astronomy Tower had been in vain after all. She honestly thought he'd crack by now; she'd seen his desperate eyes and the hope that had bloomed in them when she spoke of a way to bring Voldemort down. She also knew she was the one who had suggested for him to think things through, but Hermione hadn't expected it would stretch on for an entire month. A few days after their meeting would have been all right, but as October had bled into a cold November, Hermione was starting to lose hope herself.

"What did that poor chicken do to you this time?"

The Ravenclaw lifted her eyes and weakly smiled at a bemused Lily. Her eyes briefly flickered towards her and Sev's interlaced fingers before sighing. "It's been a tiring day," she easily lied, scooting over a bit to give them room. Lily took the seat beside Hermione whilst Sev took the vacant seat across from them.

"I sometimes wonder who's really taking NEWTs this year," Sev drawled with a quirked eyebrow, pointedly looking at the opened Herbology textbook beside her plate.

Hermione frowned and protectively held her book. "I like to study," she protested, perhaps for the umpteenth time. "You, on the other hand, are not studying enough."

"You mean enough to match your standards," Lily corrected with a laugh. "Hermione, honestly, we may not have gotten all 'O's in our OWLs, but we still managed to get more than others. We do set aside time to study. I promise."

"How was I to know that when you've been studying so infrequently with me," the brunette petulantly murmured.

Lily and Sev exchanged amused glances. "You've been spending an awful amount of time with the Marauders," Lily pointed out with a wide grin. "The blokes may have stopped going out of their way to torment Sev, but there's still bad blood between them."

"Yeah, well, they needed someone to mother them."

Sev snorted and threw her a wary glance. "They're not a bunch of children for you to mother, Hermione," he tutted. "Potter, most especially, shouldn't be coddled, seeing as he's a spoiled, arrogant toerag."

The corner of her lips twitched at his words. "That's not entirely false," she said, followed by a soft chuckle. "I'm sorry; I'm just really worried about their NEWTs, especially Peter's. They'd all be so devastated if they weren't accepted by the ministry."

"Sometimes, I wonder if you're in the wrong House," Lily said with a deep sigh. "Your golden heart must be envied by all the Hufflepuffs."

"They wouldn't be able to handle her big brain," Sev pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Hey, I know Hufflepuffs who are smart," Hermione protested, secretly thinking about Hannah Abbot and Ernie MacMillan. Sev merely made a face at her comment and went back to eating his lunch.