Promise to the Past | 🐾 ᴍᴀʀᴀᴜᴅᴇʀs ✓

06 | Assimilating

"Hermione! Come join us!" Lily called out to her. 

Lily, James, and Sirius were gathered at the dining table with Harry juggled in James' lap. 

"How are you feeling?" James asked politely. 

"Better, definitely much better." 

Sirius kept his eyes casually averted, almost leaving Hermione to wonder whether she'd imagined Padfoot in her room earlier. 

"Dumbledore is coming by later today, so you can get started figuring out the location of the Horcruxes," Lily said, plating herself some eggs. 

Hermione nodded as she snacked on some grapes. Sirius lit a cigarette, taking a quick puff. Lily's face scrunched up in disgust as she opened her mouth to reprimand him. But before she could, Hermione reached over, snatching the cigarette out of his mouth. 

"That's a disgusting habit, and one you definitely should not be doing in a house with a baby." 

James let out a bark of laughter while Lily grinned at Hermione. "I knew there was a reason I liked you." 

"She reminds me of you, Lil," James said fondly. 

Sirius looked at her with an unreadable expression before taking the cigarette out of her hand and putting it out, vanishing it with his wand.

"Well can you blame me?" Hermione said to the Potters. "Growing up with Harry, someone had to think through their decisions." 

Sirius and James' eyes twinkled. "Did he live up to our legacy?" James asked with glee. 

"Not quite," Hermione smiled, thinking back to her childhood memories. "The honor of pranksters actually fell to the Weasley twins. Harry just had a tendency to stumble into trouble wherever he went."     

"How?" Sirius asked disbelievingly. "Did Remus and I teach the boy nothing? Well to be fair Remus would've probably had a more calming effect on the boy," Sirius smirked at James. "He always did manage to keep us in check." 

"Oh, I guess Remus's lessons really stuck," Hermione said lightly. "He was actually the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor our third year, best Professor we ever had." 

"Aw did someone have a little crush on Professor Lupin?" James asked teasingly. 

Hermione immediately blushed before quickly denying it. "No, of course not." 

"Oh, I believe she's blushing Pads," James laughed. "I can't wait to tell Moony about this." 

Sirius merely assessed her with narrowed eyes, not nearly as gleeful as James. 

"Oh hush, you will not." Lily reprimanded, knocking him lightly in the head. "Anyone could be infatuated with Remus, he's quite the gentleman. In fact, I remember being quite taken with him myself." 

James' jaw dropped open in shock as he turned to look at Lily in indignation, while Sirius finally let out a bark of laughter. 

"You did not have a thing for my best friend! Take that back," he demanded petulantly. 

Lily merely rolled her eyes. "I never wanted to be with Remus per say, but any girl that age would be swept away by Remus's gentle ways. I merely admired his qualities," she said smugly. 

Hermione shot Lily a grateful look, smiling at their antics. Maybe being stuck in this time wouldn't be so bad. Even though no one from her generation truly knew the Potters or Sirius and Remus when they were carefree people, the resemblance between their dynamic and the time she'd spent with Harry and the Weasleys was uncanny.