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Chapter Text

Hermione would initially like to emphasize to whomever may be listening that there really wasn’t any way in which this could have been planned. There was no way she could have prepared for this. Hermione Jean Granger would really just like to make that very clear.

The last thing she remembered is running frantically within the Department of Mysteries; heart pounding – panic racing through her veins- and a pressure on her heart that felt a lot like Sirius’s last laugh.

Closing her eyes against the heartbreaking vision of a green light and Harry’s screams, she kept running. A hand slipped into hers and she startled and whipped around, wand at the ready-

“Wait!” Parvati whispered. “It’s me.”

Hermione sighed in relief and dropped her wand. Without breaking her stride, she grabbed Parvati’s hand and continued running.

“Where are the others?” Parvati panted.

“I don’t know.” Hermione huffed in annoyance.

Suddenly, they came to a stop as the hallway they were sprinting down broke into two paths. Just as Parvati was about to dart to the left, Hermione yanked her back with the hold on her hand.

She bit her lip. Something lingered just beyond her consciousness and the air began to feel very heavy as if something of great importance was about to happen. In the faintest corner of their minds, they heard a bell chime.

“I think they’re this way” Hermione whispered. They began to creep to the left.

“It called you too?” said a tinkling voice suddenly and the girls both halted in surprise. Luna smiled back at them from her place behind Parvati, eyes dreamy and forehead streaked with blood from the battle. “It’s rather loud don’t you think?” she continued.

Hermione furrowed her brow while Parvati stayed silent and observed the left hallway in contemplation. The desire to follow it increased.

“What do you mean?” Hermione muttered. The heaviness in the air lingered. It was as if while each girl was aware that there was a devastating and significant battle happening at the moment, something even more important was focusing on them. The pressure in the air became insistent.

“Well, don’t you hear the call?” Luna said with a puzzled look. “We should probably follow.”

Hermione’s mind tried to stay on Harry and her search but her body tugged her to the left. Her wand burned. Without realizing, the three girls were making their way down the hallway until they came to a stop in front of a silver door. In the distance, a bell chimed twice.

“This is the Change Room.” said Luna rather casually in Parvati’s opinion, for she had never heard of such a thing.

In looping script on the door was the phrase;

“The Change Room: While many can walk the path; few will make the difference”

Hermione’s stomach turned and she knew immediately that they were on the precipice of something extraordinary. The door opened and each girl took a breath and entered.

The room was a ghostly white, cloudy enough that it was difficult to see. Parvati stepped closer and gasped. Each cloud of fog was made up of hundreds upon hundreds of thin threads with a consistency similar to that of an extracted memory. The room seemed to beckon them to a specific cloud of fog  with gold threads running through.

Luna reached out and grazed one with her pinky finger. Immediately, a sequence of events flashed before them; images of what looked like a young Professor Snape- striking if a bit unkempt, noted Hermione embarrassedly- along with Lily Evans, zooming through to Hogwarts, snippets of interaction shown with a young James, Sirius, Remus and a short plump boy who must be Peter.

The girls remained entranced.

The scene cut to shots of cruel bullying and pigtail pulling. It turned to darker scenes of Professor Snape shivering in shock after his initiation, Pettigrew cold with feelings of failure and loneliness at his mother’s funeral, Sirius brash in both love and choice losing it all and so forth until the final scene of Tom Riddle’s defeat by Harry.

 The thread shriveled back into its place. There was silence.

“They were just boys.” Parvati murmured. “Stupid boys with too much heart and too much pain.”

Hermione agreed and began to put things together rapidly in her mind. Clearly, the room was sentient, much like Hogwarts. It was leading them somewhere and she had a churning feeling about where.

The room suddenly spoke to them. Its tone was almost motherly and Hermione, in a rare moment of wistfulness, longed for hers.

“These boys…. are the pinnacle. Every change that may benefit this war lies with them… in this time. Are you willing to help?

 Are you willing to change?”

The phrase “in this time” echoed in Parvati’s mind and she came to the conclusion that had already formed in Hermione’s mind and shot a look at her.

Luna remained unbothered and continued to look at the thread.

“If the room is correct” Hermione began hesitantly. “We can fix things.”

Luna smiled.

Parvati dithered. She was a pragmatic girl, she won’t lie. She had certainly changed since fourth year and often cringed at what she once found important. A year can do many things in the time of war. She was much more jaded and fully able to admit that things were not looking great for their side. Muggles and Muggleborns were disappearing at an alarming rate and the Ministry continued to cower in fear. Dumbledore’s frequent absences as well had diminished what little morale was left. Time magic was dangerous and fickle but existed for a reason; usually to be used in the most dire of circumstances.

Parvati struggled to think of more dire circumstances that the current situation.

She turned to Hermione and said “I don’t know why it chose us but are we willing to do this?”

Hermione began to loudly debate the pros and cons of this radical plan that she still wasn’t quite sure was legitimate. After a moment, she began to work herself up into arguing in circles. Parvati tuned her out fondly and faced Luna. She raised her brows and Luna smiled helplessly back at her and nodded her head as if it was the obvious thing in the world. Catching their look, Hermione trailed off until she was silent.

“Well” she huffed. “It comes down to helping those who never should have suffered. I’d think that would be the right thing to do.”

Sharing a hesitant smile with the two other girls, a decision was made. The gold strings shot out in front of them as if it had been waiting and the room felt heavier than ever.

The voice murmured again: “Such courage.”  

A bell chimed three times.

Luna guided each girls’ right hand to the string. Parvati took a breath and- following Luna’s lead-they all plucked hard at it and immediately began to shimmer where they stood.

Hermione had just enough time to remember practical things like finances, shelter and clothes before they were each sucked into time and spat out in 1977.

Chapter Text

The first thing Luna registered was a pounding pain in her head. She thought rather resentfully that she was not in fact allowed to pack her trusty peppermint oil, but as she knew this was a time sensitive issue, she decided to forgive the Room.

Hermione groaned from a distance. Parvati echoed her a moment later. Luna noted that they did not sound particularly forgiving.

She opened her eyes and blurrily searched them out.

“Well!” grumbled Hermione. “That could’ve been a bit gentler.”

“Where are we anyway?” mumbled Parvati as she rubbed her forehead aggressively with her eyes closed. Luna reached out to help and rubbed it as well.

When her eyes stopped watering, Hermione looked around and saw the Great Lake.

She sucked in a breath and exhaled gustily.

“It worked” she said in a wondering tone.

The worry creases on her face relaxed slowly. Now she was overall governed by reason and sense, she’d like to think, but her brash Gryffindor nature had won out in that Room and she couldn’t help but be relieved that something hadn’t gone wrong. This did not feel like they had walked into a trap.

Overcome with the urge to make sure the girls were alright; she reached her hands out to rest on each of them. Luna looked at her knowingly while Parvati blindly gripped back with her eyes still squinted shut.

Parvati finally opened her eyes and looked at them. They all looked a bit rough. Hermione’s shirt was wrinkled and torn in one corner while Luna still maintained a dried streak of blood on her face and had one radish earring. Parvati herself had somehow lost a shoe.

Without meaning to, she burst into rich peals of laughter. Something about the rapid change in environment from the battle to the lake compelled the others to join in and they laughed until they hiccupped.

“Right” Hermione sighed finally. “I suppose we should make a real plan.”

Parvati hummed in fond agreement.

“We need to come up with clear objectives.” Hermione continued getting excited. She did love a project. “And strategies to accomplish an overall goal.”

“Which is?” Luna questioned smilingly. Hermione faltered.

Parvati gripped her hand tighter and smiled.

“To help” she said clearly.

“And just what will you be helping with?” said a stern voice suddenly. The girls looked up with a start.

“Dumbledore!” Hermione and Parvati exclaimed.

His eyes slowly twinkled. “While you seem to be familiar with me, I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure.” He rumbled good naturedly.

His eyes took in their robes knowingly. “I think you must have quite a story to tell.” He continued kindly.

“Have you heard of the Change Room?” Hermione blurted. Parvati looked at her sharply.

Dumbledore’s eyes widened slightly and he met Hermione’s eyes for a long moment. She felt a gentle itch in the back of her mind.

 “Oh dear, I believe we should head to my office for this conversation.”

Parvati finally realized that they were still on the floor and got up alongside the other girls bashfully.

Dumbledore ushered them gently in front of them, taking in the full damage of their robes somberly and began to lead them inside.

“I assume Hogwarts will be housing you for a while?” he said gently.

Just as they were about to meet the entrance, they heard a loud exclamation of annoyance followed by the appearance of two people.

“Come on Evans!” said a bright voice teasingly. “Didn’t you like it?”

A red-haired girl was angrily emptying her backpack which appeared to be stuffed to the brim with flowers. “Where are my books?” she screeched, rather unpleasantly in Luna’s opinion.

“Well I needed room for the flowers” said the bright voice rakishly.

It belonged to a stunningly handsome boy. Parvati momentarily lost her breath when he came into view. He was tall with broad shoulders and a slim waist. A quidditch player, she noted absently. His strong jaw paired pleasingly with bright hazel eyes. Finishing his appearance was a pair of circular glasses that hung carelessly from his face. He ran his hands through his wild dark hair and laughed.

“Lilies for my Lily” he teased. A rich bark of laughter came from further behind him.

Lily rolled her eyes and stomped away without noticing their audience, but not before shoving him annoyedly. A quick flash of disappointment appeared on his face before his ever-present smile returned.

“Ah Mr. Potter!” said Dumbledore, alerting him to their presence. The voices behind the boy quickly disappeared as if the owners had darted away.

The boy started and looked around wildly. When his eyes landed on them, they widened in surprise as he came forward.

“Hello Sir. May I ask who you have with you?” he said, peering at them curiously. Hermione looked at him as if she had seen a ghost.

Parvati, to her shame, fought down the impulse to fix her clothes and giggle. She smiled shyly at him. His eyes widened slightly and the grin came back full force.

“Nothing that concerns you” said Dumbledore smiling. “As yet” he finished.

“If you’d do an old man a favor and direct Professor McGonagall to my office after Transfiguration, I’d be much obliged.” He twinkled.

“Sure!” said James grinning broadly.

Professor Dumbledore nodded in thanks and began to swiftly sweep away the three girls. Parvati couldn’t help but look back. When James caught her look, he winked cheekily. Her cheeks burned as a faint blush showed through her dark skin and she faced resolutely forward.

As they continued on in front of Dumbledore and he noted their familiarity with the halls, Luna murmured, “Was that..?”

“Harry’s dad” Hermione confirmed.

Parvati froze. Potter. James Potter. Of course.

“My Goodness, I so have a type” she mumbled despairingly.

Hermione, who heard her, giggled hysterically. Luna joined in and when Parvati looked up, even Dumbledore wore a faint smile. She buried her head in her hands and quickened her pace down the hallway.

Chapter Text

The girls found themselves much more comfortable in Dumbledore’s office. After each being subjected to a much needed Scourgify by Hermione, they settled into the snug chairs. With a wave of his hand, a neat tea set appeared before them with water bubbling away merrily. With the addition of creamy biscuits, the atmosphere settled into a light pleasantness.

After Hermione had chomped down on her second biscuit, Dumbledore finally cleared his throat and smiled.

“Now, how did we find ourselves here? Much less with the aid of the Change Room?” he questioned lightly. “Something I may add, which has just begun its initial and highly confidential construction.”

Once again, Hermione felt an itch at the back of her mind. Without the discombobulation of time travel, she immediately recognized it as Legilimency. With a quickness, her textbook perfect mental walls erected and shoved him out. The surprise on his face was only outmatched by the quiet anger on hers.

Hermione Granger was certainly not a fool. The moment Harry had spoken about his lessons with Snape and introduced her to the new field of Occlumency, she immediately went into research mode. The idea of her mind being invaded kept her up at nights with horror and equal pity for Harry. It drove her to perfect something in months that he struggled with constantly. The nature of his lessons only piled upon the questions and concerns she had been having about Dumbledore’s motivations.

In her excitement to see this younger him, she had mistakenly forgotten his ruthlessness.

With a firm face, she said “I would appreciate it if you stayed out of my mind Headmaster.”

His twinkling eyes got even brighter with clear intrigue. “My apologies dear. But you can’t deny this is certainly unprecedented. I must ask again, how has this come about?”

Before Hermione could speak again, Luna cut in quietly.

“It chose us Sir. The Room.”

Dumbledore hummed in acknowledgement. “Is there anyway for me to confirm this? You must understand this is most extraordinary. I must have evidence.” He twinkled kindly but pointedly at Hermione.

Again, before Hermione could argue, Luna answered in the same tone.

“You could ask.” She said gently.

He looked taken aback for a moment. He studied her briefly with an uncharacteristic serious expression. Finally, he smiled again. This one was much smaller and a bit more comforting Parvati thought.

“Well” he said, looking directly at Luna. “May I?”

She inclined her head slightly and looked him directly in the eye. She made a conscious effort to part the hazy clouds constructed as her Occlumency. He stared back and dove carefully in. Luna, as is her nature, kept nothing shielded.

Minutes passed by with the two locked in a stare. Parvati and Hermione shared an uncomfortable look.

Finally, the Headmaster emerged looking quite tired and old. The twinkle was very much gone.

“Ah” he exhaled. “That long? I had hoped that…” he trailed off quietly.

After a moment, he took a breath and looked at the three of them. “You have chosen to do something very kind. Your courage and heart are commendable. Especially in those so young…” he trailed off again.

He looked at them sharply and said “Please know that you have both my aid and Hogwarts’ in your endeavours. Far be it from even me to meddle in the decisions of the Change Room.” He smiled.

As if to punctuate this, Fawkes suddenly swooped down with a majestic call and landed in front of them. With unbearable knowledge in his eyes, he looked at each of them and trilled approvingly. He spread his wings and bowed his head to each of them in a manner of blessing.

Of course, thought Parvati, Phoenixes symbolize transformation and renewal. It recognized them as agents of change.

It was as if Fawkes’ approval had broken some sort of tension and the room once again lightened. Dumbledore was now fully in the know thanks to Luna and they began to discuss the logistics. Since the Room hadn’t seen fit to give them any time limits or concrete suggestions as that was simply not the nature of it, it was decided that Hogwarts was definitely where they needed to be. Dumbledore offered to resort them but each girl firmly rejected the offer. Their Houses were the only sense of home at this point.

They did however each have a clear idea of who they were meant to help and what events they would attempt to curtail but by seemingly mutual decision decided not to share with Dumbledore. They would also be keeping their names, Hermione decided that her Muggleborn surname was discreet enough. Parvati decided that her family was so wide and scattered, she could easily claim another branch. Luna simply smiled and stated that her present family would not be unfamiliar with the Change Room.

With the important matters firmly discussed, Parvati began to quietly mend her robes and fix herself as she kept one ear on the ensuing conversation. Dumbledore was suggesting that they go to the Great Hall for lunch where he would announce them and their decided cover story. When she finished her robes, she began discreetly fixing Luna’s as well. She made sure the style and cut matched what she saw Lily wearing earlier. When she moved onto Hermione, she couldn’t help but also shoot a de-frizzing charm at her hair.

As the curls smoothed out, Hermione shot her a faintly annoyed look without halting her discussion with Dumbledore. Parvati smiled back apologetically and held up her wand in surrender. Luna giggled. Dumbledore observed the interaction with a fatherly smile.

Once, everything had been sorted, the girls stood up freshly cleaned and charmed. Energized by the tea, they followed Dumbledore out of the office.

As he led them to the Great Hall, the situation once again hit Hermione and she felt slightly overwhelmed. Without missing a beat, Parvati slid a hand into hers and squeezed it gently. Luna rested hers on her shoulder. She deflated.

She looked at them gratefully. The doors to the Great Hall opened and they stepped in.

As Dumbledore whisked quickly forward, every eye in the Great Hall turned to them and whispers started to buzz. They got louder and louder until he reached the front of the hall, followed by the girls and cleared his throat.

With a magically enhanced voice, his announcement echoed; “As I’m sure you’ve noticed, Hogwarts has accepted three new transfer students this year.” The buzz in the hall rose again. “Due to unforeseen circumstances, they will be continuing their sixth year with us. Please give Luna Lovegood, Parvati Patil and Hermione Granger a big Hogwarts welcome.”

Embarrassingly, a riotous cheer rose, particularly from the Gryffindors when they noticed the robes of two of the witches. Parvati and Hermione seemed quite taken aback at the enthusiasm while Luna seemed unruffled.

Unsure where to place her eyes, Parvati looked around the Hall until she met eyes with James Potter. Without meaning to, her lips quirked in a small smile which lead to another uproar in the cheering which had been dying down. James grinned broadly back. The boy next to him elbowed him excitedly and dragged his attention away. Further up the table, Lily Evans frowned.

Hermione was equally befuddled at the reaction and looked around as well until her eyes stopped suddenly on Snape. For that could only be Snape! Sitting alone at the end of the Slytherin table, dark hair draped around his face and an unwelcoming aura. The familiarity of it infused her with joy. He seemed to feel her staring and looked up sharply, eyes immediately landing on her. When she failed to look away, he quirked a brow. She couldn’t help it, she beamed at the familiar gesture. He suddenly looked quite flustered and darted his eyes down in confusion.

As Dumbledore observed the interaction, he couldn’t help but notice the obliviousness of the girls’ and how they appeared to the students. He ascertained detachedly that they would be dealing with a fair share of attention. There had been a steady and worrying decrease in witches at Hogwarts for the last few years due to Voldemort’s growing foothold. Many families had fled with their daughters to more neutral grounds. These girls would certainly raise questions.

The students looked at the three new girls and acknowledged that while they exuded power, they were in fact all quite striking as well. Parvati appeared regal with her rich clear skin and almond eyes. Her black hair was dark, heavy and fell bone straight down her back. Many who had seen her share the quick smile with Potter were dreading the competition. Hermione had a pretty oval face offset by fierce and intelligent brown eyes. Her riotous curls practically dripped with magic and seemed to move on their own.

Luna, however, had always had a dreamy sort of beauty. Her dirty blond hair fell in untamed waves down her back and had flowers woven in and out in seemingly random places. Her face was delicate and surprisingly elegant. Lovegoods had often been known for their otherworldly appearance but none more so than Luna. Her silvery gray eyes seemed to look through you in a discomfiting way.

All in all, the presence of these three new strangers was certainly intriguing and all of Hogwarts was eager to see how things would proceed.

After Dumbledore’s announcement of their houses, the girls made their way to the tables. Despite being in Ravenclaw, Luna floated alongside her friends to the Gryffindor table. Before anyone could offer, James had started flagging them down wildly with a hand in the air.

His wavy-haired friend quickly joined in with a smile and they both flailed excitedly.

“Oi! Over here girls!” he shouted. Hermione quickly made her way down to them in hopes they would stop while Parvati smothered a laugh. As they approached these familiar yet unfamiliar boys and the dozens of questioning faces, they braced themselves, for they could certainly feel that things had already started to change.

Chapter Text

There were three things Hermione was sure of.

They were in the past.

They had done so by choice.

Severus Snape had the most striking eyes she had ever seen.

She knew this intimately, as he had rarely removed them during the entire dinner. She also knew this was her fault as she couldn’t help but smile at him like a simpleton when she first saw him. She was just so happy.

She hadn’t realized just how unfair Snape’s life was until the Room.

If there was anything that burned Hermione Granger up, it was injustice. Frankly, it was why the elves disappeared when they saw her coming. But now. Now she could actually do something about it! She practically vibrated with happiness when she first saw him.

This understandably made him incredibly suspicious of her. Within minutes, she had unwittingly secured his attention.

The actual dinner seemed to last forever. Despite the fact that the girls begged off fairly quickly, unnerved by the attention and exhausted, they could not seem to escape their new celebrity. For the brief moment they were in the Great Hall, they could feel almost every pair of eyes studying them avidly.

Along with this came the almost childlike smugness of the boys who snatched them up. The Marauders, they called themselves proudly. The girls had ended up sitting snugly in between them. James and Sirius nudged Parvati and Hermione between them and Luna gracefully sat next to a wide-eyed and flushed Peter.

“Hello!” Sirius blurted before they could get settled. He wiggled excitedly, almost like a puppy, in the face of new friends.

Hermione looked at him fondly.

“Hi!” beamed Parvati. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Blimey Sirius,” James quickly cut in. “You could at least introduce yourself to the pretty girls.”

He winked exaggeratedly.

Parvati marveled at the fact that James Potter was apparently a dork.

She wondered absently if anyone had ever told Harry that.

“Well I’m Sirius Black, obviously. And this is Jamsie, Remus and Peter.” Sirius waved over each boy as if presenting a prize on a game show. Remus looked amused yet resigned.

“Pleasure to meet you!” smiled Parvati. She nudged Hermione who was staring off at the Slytherin table. “This is Hermione and that’s Luna.”

“Parvati,” James said faux-casually. “That’s a really pretty name.”

Sirius snorted.
Parvati’s lips twitched up. A charming dork.

“Thank you.”

They held eyes.

A throat clearing interrupted their stares. Lily Evans stood behind Peter, face fixed in a pleasant smile. Hermione took the opportunity to break off her own - very amusing - stare-off with the acerbic potions professor to properly observe Harry’s mother for the first time.

She was very pretty. A little heavy on the mascara for Hermione’s taste but clear skin and full red hair. And a face that said she knew it too. Hermione also noted that Snape’s stare shot straight to the girl as well. Looking to the left, James was similarly alert.

“Lily pad!” James blurted.

Lily ignored him.

Parvati glanced at him briefly then smiled up at the girl.

“Just popped over to say my name’s Lily and I’m one of your prefects. It’s really nice to meet you and if you gals have any trouble, don’t mind coming to me,” she rattled off.

“Thank you so much!” said Parvati, and Luna quietly smiled.

She strode away after a moment and the chatter rose again.

Hermione eventually shot the other girls a brief look and began to stand up.

“It was nice to meet you boys but we’re absolutely knackered…” she began as she bundled up some sandwiches from the table. Parvati and Luna quickly joined her as she rose from the table.

Sirius spluttered protests. “Leaving already??”

Parvati suddenly caught herself staring at that pout. She thought about how quietly he fell into the Veil. Her heart ached as she remembered Harry’s anguish and she could not reconcile the two images.

Without meaning to, she ruffled his hair and gave him a quick squeeze. Sirius turned bright red and floundered a bit before hugging back. The Gryffindor table gaped.

James cleared his throat emphatically.

“We’ll see you guys later Sirius,” Parvati said as she let him go. She smiled at him, almost sisterly, and he felt himself soften. She began to stride away. Hermione quickly followed but also seemed unable to stop herself from quickly patting Sirius on the head, as if to make sure he was there.

“We’re a bit of an affectionate group.” She said wryly to Remus, who was looking at them a bit oddly. She looped arms with Luna and walked away. The table was oddly silent after they left.

“Er Pads?” said James. “Are you sure you haven’t met any of them?”

Sirius shook his head. “Positive mate.”

“But I think we’ll like them.”

Chapter Text

Hermione carefully placed her potions’ equipment in front of her on the desk. She methodically counted out her ingredients and polished her stirrers while her mind raced. This was her first Potions’ class and the first class she would have with the Slytherins.

She’d been waiting two weeks. Potions had been cancelled that first week due to some emergency of Slughorn’s.

Getting adjusted to the new time had been somewhat surreal, but also shockingly easy. They had been blessed by the Change Room, no way about it. Their magic felt buoyant, and their minds were optimistic. That on its own was incredibly reassuring. Knowing that they were chosen, that Magic was taking care of them, kept them focused on the mission and kept their spirits high.

They’d stayed up late into the first night planning. They had not dared to write anything down but had loosely come to some final plans of action.

She rubbed her wrist absently.

As soon as they’d come to an agreement, the Room of Requirement had flashed gold, almost like a magical oath, and marks had appeared on their wrists. They were beautifully detailed. Her wrist now bore a small cherry blossom tree, forever blooming and dying, endlessly going through the cycle of rebirth, exquisitely beautiful, but also sad.

Luna had comforted her by telling her it was a good omen. It meant hope. She smiled at it once more and took a breath. She was slightly early for class, but she needed to prepare for this meeting. Severus Snape was hers. He was her mission. Her cause. Hers to save.

Oddly enough, the other girls had not objected to this.

She was no longer unsure about her approach, but she wasn’t 100% sure she could pull it off. After hours this morning of reviewing her memories of the Change Room and studying Snape’s actions, his behaviors and his motivations, she’d come to a conclusion.

The crux of the matter is Severus Snape was so very lonely.

Not a single person had ever showed him interest until Lily Potter. And as they got older and Severus got crueler and more acerbic, and Lily got more beautiful and popular, he clung to her even more desperately.

Severus had never ever had something that was just his. And by the time he was old enough to know how to seek these things elsewhere, he had already been hardened and burned in a way that made it hard to believe in those things again. Hermione knew that even a hint of genuine interest would go a long way with him.

As people started to enter the Potions’ room, she straightened up and smoothed her uniform out again.

She’d taken pains with her appearance this morning, out of nervousness of whether or not he would even want to engage with her. She’d rubbed her face lightly with one of Parvati’s creams until it glowed, and painted her lips a light, barely there pink. Her hair had been painstakingly brushed out by an exceedingly patient Parvati, until the curls were somewhat tamed, if still slightly frizzy, and she’d pulled back a bit from the front into a pretty seashell clip of Luna’s. Luna had then pulled some pieces out of the clip to soften the effect and drape around her face.

She took a breath as she spotted Snape walk through the door. Here we go, she thought.

As he went to sit next to a dark-haired boy, Avery maybe, she thought, she slyly turned her hand in that direction. She shot a mild hex toward the boy in front of him who stopped and toppled into the empty seat. He sat there to rub his calf in confusion, while Avery snickered at him.

Snape looked annoyed and was just about to object, when Slughorn came sweeping in.

“Everyone to their seats please!” he boomed jollily.

She watched him note out of the corner of his eye that her table had the only empty seat available. He reluctantly made his way over. She waited until he was just in her eyeline and carefully turned her face slightly towards him. In a true Parvati move, she waited until the sun from the windows hit her glossed lips at just an angle to shine, and then, feeling a bit ridiculous, she lifted her eyes slowly until they met with his. As she made direct eye contact, she quirked her lips up on one side in a sweet smile.

Well. Judging by his face, she thought it may have been a good impression. Snape had actually stuttered to a stop on his way to the seat. His face, though somewhat impassive, seemed to flicker through confusion, attraction and a hint of suspicion. As Slughorn cleared his throat again, he made his way over quickly and sat down silently. He deliberately did not look at her again.

She laughed in her mind. Was flirting always this entertaining? If so, she understood Parvati a lot more.

She followed his lead and began copying down the instructions in silence. He wordlessly pulled the berries towards him, and slid the mandrake leaves towards her. She smiled to herself and began dicing. He carefully cut the ends off either side of each berry but then, instead of dicing, he flipped the knife to the flat side and began to crush them.

Forgetting her plan, she blurted, “Why are you doing it like that?”

He jolted slightly but did not lose his grip. He looked up at her, faintly annoyed, not still did not meet her eyes. “What?” he asked.

Her voice softened with curiosity, “Why crushing instead of dicing?”

He looked at her for a moment, “You get more juice this way.”

She cleared her throat; “Well, I know that, but doesn’t that skew the proportion of the whole recipe? How do you account for that in the next steps?”

He smiled slightly at her and turned toward her a bit more, “A small pinch of oak should be able to-“

“Oh! That can stabilize it?” she cut in excitedly. She bounced slightly in her seat at the discovery.

He looked at her for a moment. “Yes,” he said quietly.

“That’s brilliant,” she said equally softly. In her excitement, she realized she had leaned slightly into him. He held himself rigidly as a result.

“I’m Hermione by the way,” she offered gently, in the face of his tenseness.

“Severus,” he stated, looking less wary.

She beamed. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Where’d you read the tip? Potions and all Mixtures?” she asked, hoping to keep the conversation going.

He looked more at ease now. “No, I experimented a bit and discovered the effect earlier this year.”

As they were speaking, they had both instinctively continued making the potion. He began explaining to her why exactly the components would react better this way. Most of it she already knew, but he was so passionate that she just smiled fondly and let him get lost in his explanation. Eventually, as they neared the end of the potion, he seemed to realize he had been lecturing.

With the air of someone who did not interact often with the other sex, he cleared his throat awkwardly, “So a transfer student, right?” he asked.

Hermione nodded and noted that the class was about to be dismissed. Not wanting to force her company on him any longer and being a fan of the whole “leave them wanting” motto, she began to clear up her stuff.

“Yes I am. Hogwarts seems lovely though.” She smiled slightly at him once more, to his apparent surprise, and leaned just close enough for him to smell the vanilla from Parvati’s lotion. She pressed one hand to his shoulder and his eyes widened, “Thank you for the class tips. You’re very talented.”

The tops of his cheeks turned a faint red and he opened his mouth slightly. She got up with her packed-up supplies and their completed potion. He made a stuttered move as if to go with her, not wanting her to leave, but sat back down near his spread-out supplies. He seemed quite unsure as to how to respond.

She flashed one more half smile at him and walked to the front of the class to drop the potion. The smile did not last in the face of Slughorn’s jolly blustering as he accepted the potion with both of their names on it, but as she moved to the door, she could not help but glance back once more at Severus putting his supplies away with a frown. She made sure to turn back around before he looked up though.

She wasn’t trying to push too much, just enough to make an impression.

As she exited Potions, she walked briskly to meet Parvati, who had elected not to do Potions, in favour of Divination. As she came around a corner, she saw Parvati leaning up against a wall, reading from a textbook, and ever so often scribbling in the margins.

“Parvati!” Hermione softly called.

Parvati looked up and smiled. “Mione, how was Potions?”

“Successful,” Hermione offered a little unsurely. “I’m not sure if he’s really interested but it went fine, I suppose.” After a short pause, she added wistfully. “He really is brilliant you know.”

Parvati smiled at her understandingly.

Hermione cleared her throat. “How was Divination?”

“Enlightening,” Parvati said simply.

Just as they were about to turn to the Great Hall together, they heard raucous laughter coming from behind them and a voice calling out.

“Hey girls,” Sirius yelled cheerfully. They both grinned at him. Much to the rest of the House’s confusion, the new girls appeared to have adopted Sirius Black right into their group. Parvati and Hermione treated him almost like a brother. They were incredibly affectionate with him and Parvati could often be seen giving him little snacks in between classes and scolding him for skipping meals. Luna had taken to playing with his hair in the Common Room and Hermione always made sure he was on time for classes.

“Siri,” Parvati smiled and ruffled his hair. He squirmed away playfully, but not far enough for her to no longer reach him. Affection had not been a common occurrence in his life before Hogwarts.

The boys started chattering with the girls as they walked down the corridor to the Great Hall. James was slightly quieter than usual and hung back slightly. Parvati noted this and slowed her stride to match his, behind the group.

“Is everything alright?” she asked softly.

He looked at her surprised and tried to play his mood off, “Everything’s all good.” He looked at her with a bit of a smile and added, “Thank you for asking though.”
She didn’t buy it and she saw his gaze flicker to where Lily stood with Gideon Prewett.

She bit her lip and pulled him to the side slightly. She wasn’t sure if this was the right course of action but Lily Evans, eventually Potter, rubbed her all the way wrong. She collected admirers like shiny rocks, like something to count and place on a shelf, but never actually address. The girl had an interesting habit of getting just close enough to people to be well-liked and then flitting off, assured of their favour. She was not cruel by any means. She was just a bit arrogant and careless, and James Potter was adorable. All of this combined just made Parvati a little heated.

“ I’m only going to say this once and then I’ll leave you alone about it James. I know you barely know me, but I just want to say… you’re nice and smart and very sweet to your friends,”

The boy had gotten increasingly redder and redder as she spoke and looked unsure of what he thought might be a love confession.

“Relax,” she chuckled. “I’m not proposing.”

He laughed and quirked a brow.

“I’m just saying that there are a lot of girls who would like you just the way you are. If for some reason, one particular one isn’t making you feel good about yourself,” she paused here meaningfully. “Then maybe you should think about whether or not you want to be with that one.”

As she’d spoken, his face had started to change and he was gaining a stubborn, offended look.

To cut it off quickly, she pressed closer, and he faltered.

She raised her hand slowly and tucked it in the gap above one of his button’s, resting between his shirt and the skin on his chest. She felt the warmth of his skin as he sucked in a surprised breath.

She stroked the skin slowly with her finger and held his eyes. “Being in love shouldn’t be work James.”

She pressed even closer, just grazing his chest. She released a breath slowly, “It should just be… intoxicating,” she shrugged.

He held her eyes seriously for a moment and finally, nodded slowly. She flashed him a brilliant smile and stepped back. She made to walk off, but paused again and looked back at where he was leaning on a wall. “I meant with anyone James, even her,” she smiled sadly. “As long as you’re happy.”

The little gold rotating sun on her wrist flashed slightly as she finished speaking, as if giving its approval.