Through Her Eyes

Chapter 22: A Masquerade for Two

"You'll be ok while I'm gone?"

Hermione placed a gentle hand on Lily's shoulder as she sat by James's bedside, holding his hand tightly in her own as she nodded and leaned into Hermione's comforting touch,

"Yeah, I'll be ok. Make sure Sirius stays out of trouble, yeah?"

Hermione chuckled and nodded, glancing at the boy who was waiting for her by the door, surprisingly patient,

"I'll be sure to drop by later, ok? Make sure you eat-"

"I don't think Madame Pomfrey has any intention of letting me waste away, Mione,"

Chuckling again, Hermione patted Lily's shoulder one last time, looked at James with a twinge in her heart and turned to walk towards Sirius. The ever present frown on her face alerted him immediately to what she was thinking, and he quickly took up her hand in his own,

"This isn't your fault," he insisted, giving Hermione's fingers a gentle squeeze, "we all walked into that chamber together,"

"Yeah. But it was my idea,"

"It was worth it. We killed two pieces of some wacko wizards soul! We're that much closer to beating him now!"

Sirius skipped a bit but immediately stopped when Hermione shoved an elbow under his ribs,

"No need to announce it," she snarled, glancing at the group of passing Ravenclaw's who were whispering amongst one another, "is Remus gone tonight?"

"Yep. You'll be ok here at the Castle while I go to help him, right?"

"Of course. I'm not spending 3 months with a leaf in my mouth just to become an illegal Animagi,"

"Ah, I think you should," Sirius stated as the two entered the Great Hall and sat down for lunch, glancing at the three spots now empty at their table, "Remus has probably already left,"

"I can't wait till they invent Wolfsbane to help his shift," Hermione mumbled, picking at the plate of food which appeared before her, "I do miss him terribly during the full moon. Even more so when the Summer Holidays roll around-"

"Speaking of which, Hermione, you already passed your OWL's didn't you-"

"I'm not giving you the answers," she said immediately, causing Sirius to groan loudly and throw his head back, "but why not?"

"Because you still need to study. I can help you understand but that's all,"

"You are the worst," Sirius grumbled, pulling out his potions textbook, "I just wish Slughorn didn't pick favorites,"

"Never go to one of his dinner parties," Hermione stated, popping a random olive into her mouth as she glanced around the Great Hall, only to stop at a dark haired figure sitting at the Slytherin table. It seemed like ages since Hermione sat in that very spot, uncomfortable and confused about who she was. Now, Regulus was asking her to meet him on the Astronomy Tower. If he wasn't her cousin - despite pureblood imbreeding - she would think it was some sort of romantic ploy to get her attentions.
As if he realized he was being watched, Regulus glanced up from his plate and sat up straighter, his eyes gleaming with something Hermione couldn't place.
'He's definitely up to something,' she thought, scowling at him and turning around slowly, 'I just wish I was better at Legitimacy,'