𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑 ❧ sirius black

XV - Him and His Eight Girls

Despite the build-up of tiredness and the massive eye-bags plaguing her face, Hermione had a strangely difficult time falling asleep after that peculiar Astronomy class. Tossing and turning more than Marlene's mangy cat, she was unable to fully digest the situation and confused herself with her own words.

"Wouldn't you know, though? You and your eight girls?"

That very sentence kept repeating in her mind, more annoying to her than Horace Slughorn on Hermione's first day. She could've sworn that they came out like word vomit, they did. Was it embarrassment she felt? That gross feeling in the pit of her stomach when she spoke her thoughts without truly thinking them? Or was it—No, not that. Definitely not that.

How was it that this scenario was the one thing keeping her up at night? Not the fact that she has a stop a student spy working for the most blood-thirsty man in the world, let alone Europe? It was all very mind-boggling to her.

It was no shocker that Hermione got no sleep that night. Thankfully, it made her realize her initial priorities and why she was truly here: not to overthink about silly social situations, but to save James and Lily. To destroy Peter, that's was she was here for. And Hermione thought that this holiday posed the perfect opportunity to truly dive deep into what Peter could be hiding.

Unbeknownst to Hermione before her trip to 1977, a Halloween dance was hosted for the seventh-years, and for the seventh-years alone; it must've been kept a secret.

Being only one day before the spooky holiday itself, the girls figured it would be no better time than to spend their Hogsmeade Saturday at Gladrags' Wizardwear in search of the perfect costume. With her roommates, Hermione entered the clothing store and a plethora of costumes were brought to her eyes. Everything from fake blood-covered spooky garments to dazzlingly fancy costume dresses that would turn heads of anyone happened to see. Masks of a range of different animals hung from the wall and not a single accessory went unnoticed. And despite being still physically—and emotionally—drained from the night before, nearly everything in Gladrags' caught Hermione's eye.

Alice already had planned a matching costume with Frank—as the infamous Romeo and Juliet—so she was just tagging along to help the others. It seemed like she was more into the shopping than Marlene was, grabbing everything in Marlene's size and launching it into her arms without warning.

Lily, on the other hand, picked out a stunning costume with the help of the kindhearted cashier, something that Hermione knew James would absolutely drool over. One thing Hermione was particularly excited about being back in this time was to watch her best friend's parents fall in love. Helping James win Lily over was something Hermione couldn't help but be a part of, she just hoped that Lily would finally notice.

Meanwhile, the costume that Hermione pulled from the rack was particularly eye-catching; it was something her normal self would never consider, but, then again, she was Harper now. It was no better time to try something new. In the wise words of Alice Fortescue, the costume she picked out was "absolutely beautiful" and "would look amazing on you." Thankfully, after a trip to the dressing room, it did.

Shopping bags in hand, each of the girls headed to the Three Broomsticks for lunch, meeting James, Sirius, Frank, Remus, and Peter, who had snagged a table for the nine of them. It didn't take very long after the girls sat down for a waiter to come to their service.

"Could we get nine butterbeers?" Sirius asked the waitress politely before Hermione chimed in.

"I'll have ginger in mine, please," she added on, before she caught sight of James, peeking into the shopping bag of the red-head adjacent to him.

"Is that a black dress I see?" he asked in a cheeky tone, his face gaining a rosier color than usual while eyeing Lily.

Lily laughed. "Oh, shut up James," she playfully said. A slight shock made its way around the table; James wasn't the only one who realized that Lily hadn't called him a bloody toerag.