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

15 | i love you means you're never, ever, ever getting rid of me

xv.

i love you means you're never, ever, ever getting rid of me

(Never Ever Getting Rid of Me by Sara Bareilles)

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September 9, 1976

Hermione's eyes widened when Lily and Severus piled heaps and heaps of parchment at her feet.

"Well, you did say you'd like to have our OWLs notes," Lily said, her green eyes glinting in amusement. "So, here they are."

"I didn't think it would be this... towering," the brunette said, shifting her legs on the green grass to make more room for her best friends' notes.

"Please, Hermione," Severus scoffed, "we took our studies seriously last year, compared to the four Gryffindor buffoons you started to babysit." His lips curled in disgust at the mere thought of the Marauders. "I still can't believe you managed to last hanging out with those imbeciles. Didn't your brain shrivel up from engaging with inane conversations with such fools?"

Hermione snorted. "Remus' humongous brain makes up for it," she joked, followed by a laugh. "And they're not imbeciles. They managed to get decent OWL grades that could still qualify them to become Aurors in the future."

"Did they get more than five 'O's?" Severus asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well, no—"

"End of discussion," the Slytherin said as he snootily lifted his pointy nose.

Hermione rolled her eyes and started to browse through their notes. She scooted over a bit to give more room for Lily, who sprawled on the grass across from Hermione and started to take out some of her school materials. "Not everybody's a genius like you, Severus Snape," Hermione snapped back. "Besides, Remus got nine 'O's! That's as many as Lily's. You got eight."

Lily snickered when Sev's eyes narrowed in retaliation.

"But they really did well on their OWLs," Hermione quickly added. "None of them got a failing grade. Even my brother!"

"And it's all thanks to you," Lily teased.

The Ravenclaw's cheeks reddened. "I just forced them to focus," she interjected. "They did most of the hard work, really."

"Humility doesn't suit you, Pettigrew," Severus said, pushing Lily further towards Hermione so that he could sit on the patch of grass beside her.

"Git," Hermione hissed, grasping a few of their parchments to swat him on the arm.

Severus darkly glared, muttering 'violence' and 'annoying witches' under his breath. In spite of his sour mood, Hermione smiled, happy that at least Severus was acting normal. She had worried greatly over the remaining days of summer about what would happen to him after his mother's death. Hermione had exchanged letters with Lily for an update on their best friend, because Sev always responded curtly to her letters. Lily assured Hermione that Severus was doing well, that he had spent the last few days of summer making his home more liveable.

"Are you making your own study schedule again this year?" Lily asked incredulously, grasping onto the abandoned parchment Hermione had been working on before they had arrived.

"It's my OWLs year," she pointed out. "I can't afford to slack off."

"Blimey, Hermione, this is more rigid than the ones you made for us last year!" Lily exclaimed. Severus quickly grasped the parchment from her hands to scan it with his own eyes.