𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑 ❧ sirius black

XIV - Come October

The events of the previous night took a heavy toll on the headspace of both Sirius and Hermione, long after the exhausting night came to an end. They were face to face with a doubt like no other; question after question about what the Veritaserum had told them was true only hours prior.

These thoughts shuffled around the heads of the new girl, and the boy who supposedly fancied her, for much longer than expected.

As far as he knew, she couldn't possibly be anything other than good. And another person who was good in his life certainly wouldn't hurt, considering all of the terrible people he was raised to look up to. She had to be good. She just had to. But it had only been two weeks. How much could he really know about her? This was the new girl, after all.

His thoughts were a battlefield: sure, he had grown fond of the girl he secretly considered beautiful, but how did he know if she was really any different the other girls at Hogwarts? Could he really have developed feelings for her so quickly?

As far as she knew, the nervousness Hermione had gotten around Remus wasn't really platonic in her mind. The thought of him with another girl, especially someone as beautiful--inside and out--as Dorcas, caused Hermione to grow anxious, even though she wouldn't have lifted a finger no more than a week ago.

Her thoughts were a battlefield: the truth-telling potion was telling her one thing when she could've sworn it was the opposite. Did she really not fancy Remus?

And according to the Veritaserum, the answer to both questions was a definitive yes.

While the night carried on and Harper's post-initiation celebration was underway, the two teenagers were drowning in their thoughts instead of the liquor. Hermione almost took zero notice to Remus when he took Dorcas by the hand and danced with her as if nothing had changed from their fourth year. Sirius, on the other hand, didn't even notice Mary MacDonald's flirting remarks in his direction. On any normal night, he'd flirt back in a heartbeat. But there was no room for Mary inside of his head; it filled with Harper quicker than anyone could ever expect.

From that night on, Hermione and Sirius began sorting out their priorities. If how Hermione reacted to the truth-telling serum told her anything, it was that she most definitely wasn't here for Remus, or anything other than saving James and Lily. Her focus should be on them, not whether Remus and Dorcas were back together, or the number of girls Sirius had snogged in his time at Hogwarts (which she couldn't see to get out of her head for some baffling reason). Sirius, on the other hand, took more time to himself than ever. He wanted to keep embracing the feeling of invisibility and with the help of James' cloak, keep wandering the night. The only thing binding each of them being their thoughts.

At this point, Hermione's first two weeks were up; she was starting to get close to the people Dumbledore advised her to, and quite frankly, she feared it would only get more difficult from here. Seeing as she couldn't truly open up to anyone, Hermione's thoughts ricocheted around her head with no one to empty them out to.

Hermione soon found a sanctuary from the massive number of things on her plate, in three classes that her past self would've hated: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Astronomy.

With a stable teacher like Professor Karasu, Defense Against the Dark Arts was fun, especially when sitting next to James. 

"So, according to Padfoot, you actually don't fancy Remus then?" asked James the Monday after Harper's initiation.

"Padfoot?" asked the new girl, pretending to be confused.

"That's Sirius."

"Oh. Why'd he tell you that?"