In Perpetuum

Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Ducantur in foedera amicitiae

“Where is my tie?”

“Why can’t I find my sock? I swear I just had it!”

Hermione rolled her eyes as she lifted masses of robes and hazardously balanced piles of textbooks in search of the elusive items. Clearly Harry’s similarity to his father did not end with the physical.

She was thankful that she had finished packing days ago. She detested the last minute rush that both Harry and Ron had subjected themselves to year after year.

“Boys, you had better be ready soon. You don’t want to miss the train, do you?”

Ma P had just entered the room and continued to speak as she begun to lay out the robes into two piles: one for James and one for Sirius.

“Sirius dear, are you sure that you don’t want to Floo home to say goodbye to your mother. It is an awfully long time until you see her again at Christmas.”

Sirius’ mouth formed a resolute thin line. It was apparent that the time between now and the end of the world would not be long enough for Sirius to not see his mother,

“No thank you Ma P.”

“Very well,” said Ma P with a slightly pitying expression, before adding, “Hermione, could you come over into the other room. I would love if you could help with something.”

Bemused, Hermione followed her mother into the hallway. Dorea stared at the girl for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

“Are you sure you are going to be alright going back to Hogwarts? If not, we could always make some other kind of arrangement. I don’t want you to feel pressured to do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing.”

Hermione looked up into Dorea’s hazel eyes. Of course Hermione had plenty of misgivings about returning to Hogwarts, however, she could not burden this woman. Mrs Potter had taken her in and given her unrivalled love and affection without having known a single thing about her. She had given Hermione her life and for that Hermione would be forever grateful.

She knew that if she would go back to Hogwarts she would have the best opportunity to change the future. So many lives could be saved, as hers was; so she swallowed her fear and spoke in a calm and reassuring voice.

“It’s for the best Ma, really it is. I love Hogwarts, it’s where I belong.”

Ma P nodded in understanding.

“Well in that case, we had better hurry up these miscreant lads.”

Hermione could barely repress her laugh as she watched Ma P shout through the door in a false accent.

“Oi, you lot – get a move on!”

HPHPHPHP

“Everywhere is full.”

“I told you to hurry up”

“Little sister you wound me.”

“Well, I wasn’t the one that spent twenty minutes in from of the mirror making sure that every strand of my hair was exactly in place.”

Sirius sniggered before quickly changing the topic of conversation to avert argument.

“Here we go, there is only one person in this one and she looks like a first year as well.”

The girls face was pushed up against the window so that Hermione could not see it, only her vivid red hair.

Without so much as a glance towards the girl, James and Sirius sat down and begun to chat in rather loud voices.

“When did Remus say he was arriving?”

“Hopefully soon...”

The carriage door had opened and a scrawny looking black-haired boy entered the carriage. There was something familiar about the situation.

The girls face turned as the boy went to sit beside the girl and with a jolt Hermione recognised the students and the situation they were in. The boy was Severus Snape and the girl with Harry’s mother, Lily. She watched as they chatted quietly for a few moments until –

“Slytherin?”

James had looked around at that word.

“Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?” James asked Sirius who was lounging on the seats opposite him. Sirius did not smile.

“My whole family have been in Slytherin,” he said.

“Blimey,” said James, “and I thought you seemed all right!”

Sirus grinned.

“Maybe I’ll break tradition. Where are you heading, if you’ve got the choice?”

James lifted an invisible sword.

“ ‘Gryffindor where dwell the brave at heart!’ Like my Dad.”

Snape made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him.

“Got a problem with that?”

“No,” said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy- ”

“Where’re you hoping to go, seeing as your neither?” interjected Sirius.

James roared with laughter. Lily sat up, rather flushed, and looked from James to Sirius in dislike.

“Come on Severus, let’s find another compartment.”

“Ooooooo...”

“See ya, Snivellus!” called James as the compartment door slammed.

Hermione sat there for a full minute completely in shock before coming to her senses and unleashing the full power of her rage in a very Molly Weasley-esque manner.

“HOW DARE YOU...NO REASON TO...GRYFFINDOR? AFTER THAT DISPLAY?”

Finally, when she had simmered down she pulled herself back onto the seat, arms crossed, her face a mask of impenetrable anger.

James and Sirius looked at one another in disbelief. Hermione had never reacted to anything with so much passion before today; however, they knew it would be wise to give her a bit of space to cool down.

When Remus came into the carriage a short while later, his facial features contorted into a look of disbelief and curiosity. Looking over at the other two, they merely shrugged before continuing their game of exploding snap. Occasionally the 3 boys peered over the tops of their cards at Hermione. By this point, her nose was inevitably buried in a book, but judging by the still furrowed brows, they knew it better to say nothing.