Through Her Eyes

Chapter 11: First Kiss

'More muggles killed! He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named strikes again! When will the terror end!?'

Hermione tapped her fingers against the newspaper, running her fingers over the black inked headline as she stared sullenly at the picture on the front page. A single house was on fire, and the twisting serpent floated above it,
'It's so much more terrifying in person,' Hermione thought mindlessly, reminiscing on her experiences with Harry and Ron at the Quidditch World Cup. The chaos and panic made Hermione cringe slightly, blinking as someone reached over and quickly flipped the newspaper over,

"You really need to stop reading those," Lily stated, not taking her eyes off the Potions Essay she failed to complete for Slughorn's class, "it gets you all tense,"

"Aren't you worried about it?" Hermione questioned, lifting an eyebrow,
'Maybe she wouldn't be dead if she was,' Hermione thought briefly, slapping herself at such an awful idea. Hermione Black, at it again. Not seeming to notice her friends inner debate, Lily shrugged and lifted her head,

"I am worried about it, Hermione, but what can we do? Were just students,"

'Just students my arse,' Hermione thought, remembering the success of the DA in her own timeline. Glancing about the Great Hall, Hermione's eyes landed on Professor Dumbledore. He was deep in conversation with Slughorn about something, but Hermione felt her gut give a lurch. Certainly Dumbledore had the idea for the Order of the Phoenix? Sirius and Remus were part of it, as was James and Lily. Even the Longbottoms had been part of the Order...

"I bet we could do something," Hermione mumbled, turning back to the newspaper and staring at it hard. She looked up however when someone slipped into the normally empty seat across from her,

"Hello, Hermione," Remus stated with a smile, beginning to fill his plate with food. Lifting an eyebrow, Hermione glanced at Lily who was trying to hide a smile while finishing her essay,

"Hey, Remus. Are you...uh, feeling better?"

"Much, thank you. The books you brought me were a great way to burn time,"

Hermione flushed deeply as she nodded,

"O-of course, it was no problem. Remus...I hate to ask, but why are you sitting here?"

Remus looked up with a twinkle in his eye as Hermione sat back with a cocked eyebrow. She hated when people's eyes twinkled, it meant hey were up to something,
"The other Marauders didn't put you up to this, did they?"

"Of course not," Remus stated, shifting his eyes to the untouched goblet beside Hermione's plate and jerking his head a bit. Blinking in surprise, Hermione reached towards the cup and took it, running a finger long the rim before smelling,
'Sirius Black, putting a polka-dots potion in my drink! That little rat!'

Smirking slightly as she swirled the tainted Pumpkin Juice, Hermione glanced towards the middle of the table. The Marauders were trying to look inconspicuous, but she could see their eyes flicking in her general direction,
'I'll show them,' Hermione thought, 
"Remus you're right," she stated, loud enough for most of the table to hear, "I really should treat myself more. Bottoms up, mate?"

Hermione put the goblet to her lips, practicing the motion of swallowing the drink before setting it down, even if none of the juice had actually gotten past her closed lips. Smiling at Remus, who was desperately trying to keep from snorting, Sirius Black and the other Marauders were now watching intently. After a few moments, Hermione turned to Remus and picked up the goblet,
"Remus, does this taste funny to you?"

"I dunno, give it here and we'll see,"

Taking the cup, Remus was about to put it to his lips when Sirius scrambled behind him and took the cup in his own hand,