'Curiousity leads us to many things, Miss Granger. Danger, death, misfortune. But it can also lead us to the truth, and I believe Professor Dumbledore would have my thumbs pinned to his desk if I led you to anything but that.'



Hermione Granger sneezed. Loudly.

Didn't anyone clean this place?

It was the fourth week of futile searching on the behalf of one Harry Evans, her best friend and constant companion. Their other best friend, Ron Weasley, had just recently returned from his home, the Burrow, where he had been plaguing his parents about Lily Evans, and what they knew about her. From what his letters produced, however, it wasn't much. Either that, or- as Ron thought- they weren't willing to tell him. She sighed.

Hermione sat down for a moment, letting her sore feet rest. She felt so bad that she couldn't seem to dig up the slightest bit of information on Lily Evans, other than what was common knowledge.

Lily had been a Gryffindor at school, although not well-known for anything beyond her academic achievements. Whispers filtered through the school that she had kept company with less-than-desirable people, but Hermione's instincts told her that undesirable meant 'unpopular', in this case. Lily Evans had been a beautiful girl, and then woman, and other than the whispers, very little could be said against her. She was a war-hero, famous for the fact of her open defiance of You-Know-Who, but right now, Hermione needed information on Lily Evans, mother of Harry Evans. Unfortunately, it seemed that her exploits between graduation and her death overshadowed anything during her school years.

Poor Harry had decided that, after nearly dying in the Chamber of Secrets last year, he needed to find out more about his mother, and hopefully through that, his father. No-one had a clue, it seemed, as to who Harry's father might have been. His aunt had been no help; Harry had figured out that, through his aunt's blusterings, that even she hadn't known who Harry's father was. He had precious few clues as to who his mother had been; other Professors at school had told him, but he wanted to know more than his mother was beautiful, intelligent, and bold. Harry wanted to know things like what her favourite colour was, what she liked to eat, and most importantly- why didn't anyone know who his father was?

There were very few clues, to be sure. Hagrid had recovered a small box from Godric's Hollow on one cold October night, and had kept it for Harry. He, like many other adults, either feigned ignorance or changed the subject when Harry had brought up the question of his parentage. Hermione really had to wonder why everyone seemed so keen on not talking about it. But in any case, the box hadn't helped much at all. There were a few pieces of jewelry, some cuff-links, a note or two in now-illegible handwriting... but it had meant so much to Harry, who had sat in his dorm room for hours on end, rolling a ring between his fingers or trying to decipher the note. In the end, he had given Ron the cuff-links and Hermione a little bracelet. Both had tried to refuse it, until Harry had threatened to hex them. 'I think my mum would be pleased if I gave it to you,' he had said. 'You're my best friends, and you're helping me with this.'

So Hermione had a bracelet on her wrist, and Ron had charmed the cuff-links to stick onto his schoolbag, and Harry wore a heavy ring on his left hand, a man's ring, the only possible link to his father.

'Have you found anything yet?' came a quiet voice. Harry wandered into the room, followed by a tall and lanky Ron. Both flopped onto the floor, sitting at Hermione's feet.

'Not yet,' she said. 'But I will.'

'I know you will, Hermione,' Harry said, smiling. 'You always do.' Hermione blushed slightly, pleased at the compliment.

'Adults are good for fuck-all sometimes,' Ron commented.

'RON!' said Hermione, sounding scandalised. 'I swear, one day a Professor is going to overhear you cursing and wash your mouth out with dragon's blood.'

'That might be a good thing,' Harry said. Hermione arched an eyebrow. 'We just had to eat lunch at Hagrid's,' he explained.

'I'm sorry,' Hermione said, giggling.

'Not as sorry as I am,' Ron said. He groaned. 'Or my stomach, for that matter.'

'My tongue isn't particularly happy at the moment either,' Harry chuckled. He patted it stomach. 'All this food might make me fall off my broom tomorrow.'

'Maybe you'll fall on Diggory,' Ron said. 'Won't Wood be happy about that?' The threesome enjoyed a hearty laugh, bad food and sore feet forgotten as the image of Harry bearing down on the Hufflepuff Seeker and knocking him out flew through their minds.

'It's just as well that we don't have a game tomorrow,' Harry said. 'It's a Hogsmeade trip. It should be fun, after practise.'

'I'm surprised you got your jerk of an uncle to sign the paper,' Ron said.

'Please don't remind me of the Dursleys,' Harry moaned. 'I'm thinking happy things right now. Like chocolate frogs. Or snowball fights.' A dreamy look covered Harry's face. 'Or frozen chocolate frog snowballs pelting Malfoy in the face.'

'What? And waste a perfectly good Chocolate frog? Have you lost it?' Ron exclaimed in mock horror. 'Crabbe and Goyle would probably just lick it off his face!' Harry and Hermione let out a loud resounding ew.

'It's almost time for our last class,' Hermione said. Her stomach grumbled, and she groaned. 'I should have stopped by the Great Hall before I came here.' Harry and Ron dug in their pockets and produced a few pieces of left-over candy.

'This should hold you over,' Ron said, handing her a few chocolate frogs.

'Thanks,' she said gratefully. She picked up a small, rough sack and put in her schoolbag. 'I'll look at these after dinner tonight; I don't think I'll be able to think straight until I get some real food in me.'

'Maybe we'll actually be able to answer questions in class,' Harry joked, earning him a jab in the ribs. He put his arm around Hermione's shoulder, quickly followed by Ron's.

'Oh, no,' Hermione moaned. They were in front of a mirror. 'Look, I'm covered in dust,'

'We all look rather villainous,' Ron said, smirking and pointing at the mirror. 'Oh, smile, Hermione. It's Friday and tomorrow's a Hogsmeade trip. Smile!'

Hermione chuckled and slipped her arm around the waists of her best friends. They looked at their reflections in the mirror, smiling.

'Heroes of Hogwarts most in need of a bath is more like it,' Harry said. 'Come on, off to class before Hermione loses her head.'

Laughing loudly, the trio swept down the hallway, talking and giggling and generally enjoying themselves. The three had learnt to appreciate the smaller moments in their school existence when the most troublesome thing was staying awake in class.

---

Hermione sat in the Common Room, alone. Harry and Ron had gone to bed, and luckily, everyone had retreated to their dorm rooms. It wasn't unusual for Hermione to stay in the Common Room, as her dorm-mates were notorious for late night giggle fests. As soon as she judged it safe, she opened her bad and dug in the contents of the burlap sack.

It was a bag that had once belonged to Caradoc Dearborn, Colin Creevey's photographic ancestor and Order member. Hermione guessed that, since Caradoc had attending Hogwarts for a few of the same years as Lily, he might have taken some pictures of her. If nothing else, Harry would appreciate them.

Most of them were rather uninteresting. She found a few humourous ones of Ron's parents, but most were of students she didn't know or care about. She was about to give up and head to bed when she found a picture, upside down, near the bottom of the stack.

It was Lily Evans. And two boys.

Photo-Lily was smiling broadly, in the way where you know the person is two seconds away from bursting into loud laughter. She was flanked by two boys, one who had his arm around her waist, and the other with an arm wound loosely across his shoulder. They were all smiling, and photo-Lily and the boy on her left occasionally snuck a look at one another.

It wasn't the picture itself that caused her jaw to drop, although it was most obviously a large find. It was the boys flanking Lily.

One was their current Defence Professor, Remus Lupin. Photo-Lupin had slightly longer hair, with no grey in it, but there was no mistaking that smile that Hermione had seen pop out in class from time to time.

The other was more surprising.

It was their silent-except-for-snark Potions Master, Severus Snape.

And he was the one sneaking looks at Lily.

'Hermione?'

She whipped her head around to see a sandy-eyed Harry shuffle down the stairs, followed by Ron, safely cocooned in a swath of heavy quilts.

'Harry, I've found something,' she said, a bit breathlessly. She motioned for them to come over, then clapped a hand over Harry's mouth. 'Trust me,' she said, and then showed him a picture. A sort of loud, strangled gasp erupted from Harry's face, safely muffled by Hermione's hand, as he took the photograph from her fingers.

'I think we're on to something,' Ron said in awe. 'Hermione, you're bloody amazing, d'you know that?'

'Yes, you are,' Harry said hoarsely. He held the photograph and watched his mother giggle slightly at him, while Professor Lupin and Professor Snape smiled and smirked, Remus even making a slightly rude hand gesture. The three stared in silence for a while, before Harry put the photograph down.

'Thank you,' he said quietly. Hermione put her head on his shoulder and Ron patted his arm.

'I think I'm skipping Quidditch practise tomorrow,' Harry said. 'There's no way I'll be able to concentrate. Hermione, where'd you find this?'

'I heard that someone named Caradoc Dearborn took a lot of pictures at school,' Hermione said. 'And he was listed in some paper about people killed in the war against Voldemort. I dug a little more, and it said that he attended school around the same time as your mum, and he was a photographer. I've been narrowing down people who attended Hogwarts at least one year with your mum and who were known to fight against You-Know-Who. I was almost at the end of the list when I found his name. There was a stack of pictures that he'd taken...'

Harry flipped it around, to see if there was anything in the back.

Remus John Lupin, Lily Marie Evans, Severus Hadrian Snape, 77. A.D.

'Marie,' Harry said. 'That was my great-grandmother's name.' He squinted. 'But I'm pretty sure that doesn't say Caradoc Dearborn.'

'Not the same handwriting as the person who wrote the notes in your mother's box, either,' Hermione commented.

'A... A and then a D, I think,' Ron said. He whistled. 'More questions.'

'Lots of questions,' Hermione said. She twiddled her thumbs. 'I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep tonight.'

'Me neither,' chorused Harry and Ron.

'Hey, maybe there's more in here,' Ron said. 'Come on, let's look.'

And so for the remainder of the cold night, the trio searched through pictures, laughing at some, showing one another what they'd found, occasionally coming across other pictures of Lily Evans, Severus Snape, and Remus Lupin. They decided that they would go to Hogsmeade and corner their cheerful Defence Professor. All three admitted to being slightly more apprehensive about cornering Snape.

They quietly hid the pictures in Hermione's bag and fled to their appropriate washrooms to freshen up, and descended down with their Housemates for breakfast and beyond.

---

The threesome marched through the snow, Harry and Ron occasionally having to pull Hermione up and out of a particularly deep snowdrift. They stopped to pick up some sweets, new quills for Hermione, and Harry purchased a battered manuscript chronicling the height of the war against Voldemort, always on the look-out for anything that might contain information on his mother. With pockets full of candy and minds filled with questions, they plowed their way towards the Three Broomstick, spotting a certain new Professor sitting alone at the other end. Harry squared his shoulders and walked over to him, Hermione and Ron flanking him.

'Why, hello Harry! Ron, Hermione, how are you three doing today?' Remus greeted them cheerfully, raising his mug of butterbeer towards them. His smile faltered slightly when they looked at him dolefully. 'Is there something I can help you with?'

Harry leant over and started digging in Hermione's bag as she leveled a blank stare at him, trying to remain her composure.

'I wanted to ask you about this,' Harry said, Holding out the picture. Remus frowned, but took it. His face tightened as he saw what it was.

'I think,' he said quietly, 'that you had better sit down and have a talk with me, Harry.'

'Hermione and Ron too,' he said stubbornly. 'They've been helping me dig stuff up on my mum.' He crossed his arms defiantly.

Remus seemed to age decades in the space between seeing the picture and Harry's deciding that Ron and Hermione would stay.

'All right,' he said softly. 'But this will take a while. But, Harry, you must promise me one thing.'

'What?' Harry asked.

'That you will not reveal this information to anyone else,' Remus said. 'At least not yet,' he amended. 'Believe me when I say I have my reasons, and they will make sense to you before the end.'

'But-' Harry said furiously.

'Harry,' Hermione said softly, putting a hand on her arm. 'Come on. It'll be okay. At least Ron and I will know, right?'

'Right,' said Harry shortly. He patted her hand with his own and then sat down, Hermione and Ron sitting on either side of him.

Remus seemed absorbed by the delicate filigree of his mug, staring at the shiny metal. 'My story,' he said slowly, 'our story, actually begins much the same as yours, Harry.'

'What do you mean?' Ron asked.

Remus smiled. 'I mean, Ron,' he said softly, 'is that the first time I boarded the train to go to Hogwarts, I couldn't find a seat, and the only compartment I could find had a friendly red-headed person in it....'

'Curiousity leads us to many things, Miss Granger. Danger, death, misfortune. But it can also lead us to the truth, and I believe Professor Dumbledore would have my thumbs pinned to his desk if I led you to anything but that.'







End of chapter one:



Remus smiled. 'I mean, Ron,' he said softly, 'is that the first time I boarded the train to go to Hogwarts, I couldn't find a seat, and the only compartment I could find had a friendly red-headed person in it....'



Remus Lupin shrugged his skinny shoulders a bit to keep his bag from falling off. He walked around with his trunk, peering into compartments.



It was a bit depressing; it seemed that most of the students knew one another, and all of the Muggleborns seemed to have banded together in compartments. Many were full, he was far too timid to ask the older students for help, and as he wandered further and further down the train, Remus was beginning to think he was doomed to sit in the passageway of the train for the entire journey.



He decided to check one last time, and to his delight, he found a compartment with a lone occupant; a slim, short, fire-haired girl was sitting in her seat, looking very friendly, but very alone.



'Um, hullo,' said Remus shyly, looking at his feet.



'Hello,' the girl said in a friendly voice. 'Can I help you?'



'Um,' Remus mumbled. 'Actually, I was kind of wondering if... uh.. I could maybe sit here with you?'



'Oh, yes!' the girl said, a wide smile splitting her face. Remus decided that she was rather pretty. 'Yes, I'm all alone, and... I'm a bit lonely. So yes, please do.'



Remus breathed a sigh of relief and dragged his trunk in, settling it in a corner. He plopped down in the seat opposite of the girl and smiled shyly, looking more at her feet than at her face.



'I'm Lily,' she said, without preamble. She held her hand out for him to shake. 'It's my first year; what about you?' Remus took her hand.



'I'm Remus,' he said. 'It's my first year too.' They shook hands and then settled into their seats.



'Are your parents magical?' Lily asked him, after a few moments spent looking out the window.



'Yeah,' Remus said. 'Dad's a Muggleborn, mum's mixed blood. What about you?'



'I'm Muggleborn,' Lily said, grinning. 'My parents went so wild when they found out I was a witch. Said it explained all the exploding rose bushes around our house.' Remus laughed at that, and so did Lily.



'My parents were, too,' Remus said. 'I didn't have any big, magical things like that. Usually stuff like getting cabinets open when they were supposed to be locked.'



'Hmmm,' said Lily. 'That would have been dead useful.'



A soft hiccup drew both of their attentions toward the door. A lanky, waxy-skinned boy with shoulder-length hair stood in their doorway, fidgeting slightly.



'Do you need a place to sit, too?' Lily asked eagerly. When the boy nodded slightly, she motioned for him to come, patting the space next to her. 'Need some help with your things?'



'No, I'm quite fine,' the boy said quietly. He sat down quickly and didn't look at either Remus or Lily for a long time, and they sat in an uneasy quiet as the train began to move.



'So,' said Lily suddenly. She turned to face the newcomer, who stared quite determinedly at the floor. 'I'm Lily, and this is Remus. What's your name?'



'Setehtiwass,' he said quickly.



'Satine?' Lily asked, looking confused. The black-haired boy cleared his throat.



'Severus,' he said, a bit more slowly. 'Severus Snape.'



'Severus,' Lily said. 'Severus. I like that name, it's quite nice.' Severus looked up in surprise; he had quite a sallow complexion, with a hooked nose and long, thin lips.



'Is this your first year too?' Remus asked.



'Yeah,' Severus said. 'My mum came here when she was a kid, too.'



'Well,' Lily said briskly, 'I bet you know loads about Hogwarts then. What's it like? Have you ever been before? Is it nice? Is it true that there's a place in the library where the books scream? Or that there's ghosts and staircases that move?'



Severus looked slightly alarmed at all the questions Lily asked, but he began to answer her questions, one by one. Remus noticed that as Lily took in all his information and asked him for more, Severus seemed to relax a bit more, some of his rigid stance melting as Remus began to chime in and they started to get better acquainted.



'I wonder what houses we'll get sorted into,' Lily said after their conversation died away. She leant back into her seat, letting herself slowly merge with the comfortable cushions. 'What house do you think you'll be in, Severus?'



'Slytherin, I expect,' he said carefully, eyeing them both. 'My mother was there, and I'm a lot more like her than my father.' He seemed mildly surprised that there was no reaction from either of them.



'Slytherin,' Lily said. 'That's the house for the ambitious, right? That sounds good; what do you want to be?'



'Well, I like potions,' Severus said, a look of relief on his face. 'So I guess maybe something to do with that.'



'Potions sounds exciting,' Lily said, her eyes sparkling. 'It sounds like chemistry in Muggle school. What about you, Remus?'



'Well,' Remus said, thinking. 'My dad's from Hufflepuff, and I think my mum was from Ravenclaw. So I don't know, really. Maybe one of those, maybe Gryffindor.'



'Why not Slytherin?' Lily asked. Severus seemed to grimace slightly.



'Oh, Slytherin... um... usually doesn't except anyone but purebloods,' Remus said quietly. 'There have been some that weren't purebloods that got in, but it's not very often that happens.'



'Well, that doesn't sound fair,' Lily said. 'But I'll guess we'll see. I have no idea where I'll go.' She suddenly looked very alarmed. 'What happens if I don't belong anywhere? What if they send me home?' She looked a bit frightened.



'I'm sure you'll get into the proper house,' Severus put in quietly. 'Come on, I'll teach you a bit of magic before we get to Hogwarts.'



'Will you?' Lily asked. 'Brilliant.' She pulled out her wand from her pocket. 'Let's have at it.'



'Okay,' said Severus. He looked eager as he pulled out his own. 'Okay, hold out your wand like this. No, like this,' he said sternly, correcting Lily's pose with his hands. 'Remus, would you put one of your books on your seat and move here? Alright, now. Wingardium Leviosa. Swish and flick and- no! Lily! You're going to levitate Remus! Le-vi-OH-sa.'

---

Harry looked like a boy at Christmas morning.



'So that's how you met?' asked Hermione.



'Yes,' said Remus, smiling. 'Lily managed to bounce me off the ceiling a few times before she got it, but she caught on rather quickly. And once she had something, she had it down well. Your mother was a very talented witch, Harry.'



Harry had a pleased look on his face. 'She sounds very nice,' he said.



'She was one of the friendliest people I've ever had the fortune to come across,' Remus said. 'She was beautiful, but also very kind. Lily had a big heart and a soft-spot for the underdog.' Remus chuckled. 'And believe me when I say, Professor and I both qualified as underdogs at Hogwarts when we started.'



'Why?' Ron asked, curious. 'I mean, you're both really good with magic, and Professor Snape must have been good to begin with, if he could teach you and Lily magic on the train.'



'Well,' Remus said, 'I was rather dowdy looking. My family's not the wealthiest one around, and I tended to run through clothing rather quickly, so my family couldn't always afford new clothing.' Ron nodded sympathetically.



'As for Professor Snape, well... let's just say he hasn't changed much since the first time I met him to now. He always seemed a bit greasy looking, and let's face it- neither of us are up for Gilderoy Lockhart good-looks award.'



'And thank the powers that be for that,' Harry muttered. Remus laughed.



'But yes, Professor Snape and I weren't the most popular of people, although for different reasons. He has never been a people person-'



'As we have come to recognise,' Hermione said fairly. Ron and Harry both snorted.



'-and aside from myself and Lily, there were very few people he could tolerate. And the other students didn't always appreciate Professor Snape's genius for potions. It's always been connected to the Dark Arts, and he always seemed to have a better grip and knowledge on the Dark Arts then most of the seventh years.' Remus sighed. 'There were many juvenile duels in the hallways when Severus was here, I can assure you.' He looked down at his watch.



'Blast, look at the time,' he said. 'I have to meet someone. Harry, I will see you tomorrow in my office?'



Harry nodded. Once rumour of Peter Pettigrew's reappearance had reared its head, the Minister- much to Dumbledore's displeasure- had leased a few Dementors to Hogwarts. Harry had begun taking lessons to learn how to cast a Patronus from Professor Lupin in order to protect himself from them.



'Good then;' Remus said. 'I'll see all three of you on Monday. Behave yourselves and remember- don't talk about this to anyone but one another. I'm holding you to your word.'



'Professor,' Hermione said suddenly. 'Can you tell us who took this picture? I found it with some of Caradoc Dearborn's things, but we're pretty sure it's not his signature on the back.'



Remus picked up the picture and squinted at the signature. 'Ah yes,' he said. 'It's Diggory. The A stands for Amos. Well, I must be off, I will see you three later. And not a word to anyone.'



The three students watched as Remus trundled off through the crowd and out the door, braving the cold snow to meet whomever it was.



'I don't know if I'll ever be able to see Professor Snape quite the same way,' Hermione said thoughtfully. Harry was rather quiet.



'If he liked my mum so much, I wonder why he doesn't like me,' he said.



'Dunno, mate,' Ron said. 'Maybe it's 'cos you look like her, or maybe you don't act like her. Who knows? Adults are insane sometimes.'



'Amen to that,' Harry said. Hermione looked slightly put off, but remained silent.



'So, what should we do next?' Ron asked. He and Harry both turned to look at Hermione, who arched an eyebrow as high as it would go.



'Oh, it's always me, isn't it?' she asked in exasperation. She rolled her eyes at Harry and Ron's twin grins, but couldn't keep a smile off her face. 'It's clear, you two,' she said.



'Is it?' Ron asked, looking perplexed. He glanced out the window. 'It looks a bit foggy to me.' He ducked as Hermione attempted to swat him with the picture.



'Diggory,' she said. 'Cedric Diggory might know him.'



'We should ask him,' Harry said. 'We won't tell him what Lupin told us, Hermione,' he said placatingly, as a look of alarm came across her face. 'I wasn't thinking it, I swear. We'll just tell him that we found a picture of my mum with his dad's name on the back.'





'But he might try to force Harry to lose a Quidditch match or something!' Ron said indignantly. 'You're supposed to be the smart one here, Hermione! Use your head!' He sunk into his seat when she leveled a glare at him.



'I realise,' she said a bit bitingly, 'that Quidditch makes the world go 'round, but contrary to popular belief, not every member of an opposing team is a big, smarmy nasty git who's out to sacrifice Harry to the Snidget Gods.'



'Clearly,' said Ron, 'you know little of Quidditch.'



'Ron,' she said warningly.



'Shutting up now,' he said promptly, as Harry gave him a warning shot to the ribs.



'Anyways,' Harry broke in, 'Hermione's right. Oh, Ron, I'm not going to lose a game to get information from Diggory, but it can't hurt to ask, right?'



'I suppose,' Ron said, with a sigh of defeat.



'Then it's settled,' Hermione said, with no little hint of satisfaction in her voice. 'We'll corner Diggory later.'



'Say, Hermione,' Harry said. 'Were there names on the other pictures you found with my mum? On the back of the photos, I mean.'



'Let me see,' she said. 'There were a few where she was one of a lot of people, so I didn't check too deeply.' She opened her bag and started rifling through the photos, pulling a few out. 'I was so caught up with the one of Lily and Professors Snape and Lupin that I wasn't paying much attention, honestly. Let's see... well, here's one with Lily and some woman, and one with Lily, Professor Lupin, and another couple, and one with Lily and some other man.' She looked at the back of the photos. 'The one with Lily and the woman says Lily and Eirian, the one with Lily and Lupin says Eleanor Cavizel and Martin Lovegood, and the last one says... F Greengrass.' She looked at the other photos. 'The handwriting's really faint on the others; I'll have to try to clean them up.'



'Lovegood sounds familiar,' Ron said. 'I'm sure I've heard it before.'



'And I know a Greengrass; she's in my Arithmancy and Ancient Runes class,' Hermione added. She turned to Harry. 'Shall we ask, then?'



'Yeah,' Harry said. 'Tomorrow?'



'We can ask on Monday,' Hermione said. 'I won't see Greengrass until then, anyways, and Ron's still not sure who Lovegood is.'



'Oh, but I know the perfect person to ask,' Ron said.



'And who's that?' Harry asked.



'Ginny,' Ron said firmly. 'Bit of a motormouth and sticks her nose everywhere. If there's a person in the school who will know, it's her.'



'Well then,' Hermione. She lifted her mug of butterbeer, newly delivered by the waitress. 'To learning about Harry's mum!'



'I'll drink to that,' Ron said heartily.



'You'll drink to anything,' Hermione shot back. Ron looked to Harry for defence; he merely shrugged.



'Can't argue with the smartest witch of our year,' Harry said. Hermione grinned as Ron sulked, but they toasted anyways and enjoyed a nice round of plotting, and as the cold winter snows swirled, the beginnings of a plan began to form in their collective minds.

Sunday got off on a rather sour note.

Harry and Ron had rolled out of bed in great spirits, dressing in comfortable silence as they pulled on trousers and shirts. Hermione, as usual, waited for them in the Common Room, but she had a rather irritated look on her face.

'What's up, Hermione?' Ron asked, looking down at his best friend's disdainful face.

'Twittering idiots in the tower,' she breathed heatedly. A loud squawk drowned out her next words. Harry and Ron turned around to see a squadron of Gryffindor girls following them.

'Harry this and Harry that,' Hermione grumped. 'All last night, stupid Quidditch game! Sorry, Ron,' she added hastily, seeing the look of disbelief on his face. 'I don't hate Quidditch... but I don't need to be treated to speculation on the musculature of every male Quidditch player at Hogwarts.' She crinkled her nose.

'On their what? Blimey, you girls talk about some dirty things,' Ron said. He took a step back at Hermione's raised eyebrow, and the Trio plodded down towards the Great Hall, both boys trying to lift Hermione out of her irritation by entertaining her with stories of Seamus' sheninagans in the boy's room. Slightly mollified and vastly amused, the threesome sat down at the table and prepared to eat.

A loud screech on the other end of the Great Hall interrupted the look of happiness on Ron's face, fork halfway to his mouth.

'Oh, Draco!' the voice screeched, and Harry's shoulders slumped. As Pansy shrilled and squeaked about the power and the glory that was Draco Malfoy, Harry watched the look of annoyance of Hermione's face and the outright disgust that bloomed on Ron's.


And the day had started off so well.

---

After a short and unsatisfactory breakfast, Hermione bade goodbye to Harry and Ron and rushed off to the library, bound and determined to find more information about Hogwarts during the years Lily, Professor Snape, and Professor Lupin had attended Hogwarts. 'They were all here at the same time,' she had said before she left, shaking her head.

'Weird, when you think about it,' Ron said. 'I mean, Professor Lupin.... he looks loads older. Bit rough around the edges, actually. And who can tell with Snape? He could be five hundred; I think he's a vampire.'

'Ron!' Hermione said. 'Professor Snape is not a vampire. He's just a bit pale.'

'He's really pale,' Ron countered. 'His skin is whiter than Fred's ar-'

'Well,' Hermione huffed, crossing her arms and cutting Ron off, 'so is Harry's. They're nearly the same colour, look.' She picked up Harry's arm. 'Harry's is just healthier looking.'

'Which just proves it,' Ron said triumphantly. 'Snape just can't bear to be in sunlight, and that means-'

'RON!'

'Okay! Sheesh!'

And so Hermione bounced off, and Harry and Ron wandered the hallways for a while, talking in whispers as they passed by other students. They theorised on Snape's alleged paleness, although Harry was far too kind to point out that Snape came out to Quidditch games in sunlight, and the sorting of Lily and her two friends, and what their life had been like at Hogwarts. Soon talk moved to Harry's lessons later that day with Professor Lupin, and somehow ended up with talk of the Chamber of Secrets.

'Why's he even after you?' Ron asked after a while.

'Dunno, really.' Harry shrugged.

'I guess power-hungry, scaly-skinned psychopaths really don't need reasons,' Ron said decisively. 'Maybe, I dunno, he had a thing for your mum?' Ron let out a yelp as Harry slugged him jokingly in the arm.

'That,' Harry declared, 'is quite possibly the most repulsive thing I have ever heard coming out of your mouth, Ron. My mother and that- that-' He shuddered. 'I should wash your mouth out with soap.'

'You can scrub my brains while you're at it,' Ron groaned. 'I just had a mental image that has destroyed my will to live.'

'And you deserved it,' Harry laughed. 'Git.' Ron elbowed him, and they turned their conversation to lighter things.

---

Several hours later, Harry and Ron were comfortably ensconced in the Common Room, slowly sinking into one of the cushy chairs as they ate the last of Ron's chocolate frogs. The sun was slowly dropping below the mountains when Hermione breezed in, looking refreshed.

'I didn't find much,' she announced without preamble. She stood in front of Ron and Harry, who looked up with slight interest, chocolate smeared around their lips, one streak reaching up to Ron's nose. Her lips quirked, but she said nothing, merely folding her arms and striking a triumphant pose. The boys continued to look up at her.

'Boys,', she muttered in a rather unkind tone. Sighing, she produced a small, much battered and water-stained book out of her bag.

'Oh look, a book!' Ron said brightly. 'Who'd have thought, finding one of those in a libr-OOF!' He gasped as Hermione plopped her rather heavy bag into his lap, sitting next to Harry.

'It's a book about the last five years of You-know-who's reign,' she whispered. 'Specifically, about the people who fought him! Harry, your mother has a whole chapter devoted to her! And Professor Lupin as well!'

Harry, who had been attempting to dislodge Hermione's bag from Ron's legs, whirled his head around so fast that there was a snapping noise. He looked intently at the book in her hands, holding his own trembling ones tightly together.

'Great work, Hermione,' Ron groaned, finally setting her bag down. He leaned over Harry and looked at the book.

'Harry?' she said softly. He looked up at her. 'Harry, would you like me to read part of the chapter out loud?'

He swallowed. 'Yes,' he said shakingly. 'But not here. Too many people.'

Harry stopped for a moment and looked around. Surrounding him were his fellow Gryffindors, Neville and Ginny working on Herbology, Dean sketching next to a window, Colin prancing around with first years, telling them stories... all friends, all trusted, but not with this.

'Steps to Hogwarts,' Ron said, nodding. They got up and left the room with as little fanfare as possible, Harry skulking behind Ron in order to escape Colin. They walked down the hallways, not really speaking, but in perfect step.

When they'd reached the stairs, they sat together. There was still enough light in the sky to read, but Hermione waved her wand and muttered an incantation, and the book floated in the air. With a quiet Lumos!, she leaned her head and her wand forward and began to read. Harry and Ron sat in silence.

'Lily Evans was a Muggleborn who began her years at Hogwarts in 1969 and was sorted into Gryffindor; she is best known for being the mother of Harry Evans, saviour of the Wizarding World, and for her personal fight against Voldemort, leading her to become one of four who defied Voldemort three times and survived.

'During her years at Hogwarts, Lily was marked as a rather exceptional student, excelling especially in Potions and Charms. Although she was not known to have a natural aptitude for Defence against the Dark Arts, her proficiency in Charms and her desire to fight Voldemort led her to become on the top students in that class as well, beginning her third year. She also had an interest in spell theory, which many believe was vital to her skills.

'During her years at Hogwarts, Lily did not participate in any clubs, although she was close to one Roberta Flannigan and occasionally stepped into Charms Club to tutor other students at Roberta's request. Other than that, little is known of Lily Evans outside of her academic career. She was, by all accounts, not particularly social, although she is universally praised as being kind-hearted and always open to helping out.'

Hermione stopped for a while, the light of her wand casting shadows across her face. Ron had his eyes closed, not asleep, but letting everything sink in. And Harry stared out into nothing, wondering about his mother, and wondering on how everyone in their world seemed to know of her, but no-one knew a damned thing about her.

'Who were you?' he whispered. A faint shadow in one of the towers, looking down, shook it's head as it watched the Trio sit, and wonder.

It supposed that they would know soon enough.

---

Harry scooted along the hallways. Although the book that Hermione had found had little substantial information about his mother, it was better than nothing. He privately reminded himself to thank Hermione again later.

He was so intent on rethinking what he had learnt that he was surprised to look up and see that he was at the door to the Defence classroom. On the other side sat Professor Remus John Lupin, close friend and constant companion to Lily Marie Evans. It was strange. He knew that most of the professors at his school were familiar with his mother, but this was different. This was a friend. This would be the difference, he mused, between Professor Trelwany, who had merely taught Harry, and Ron, who knew Harry inside and out, a hundred years from now.

'Professor?' he called out, after he had knocked on the door. 'Professor, it's me, Harry.'

'Oh? Do come in, Harry, the door's open,' Lupin's voice called out. Harry nudged the door open to see Professor Lupin relaxing in a chair, a huge slab of chocolate on the table next to him.

'My apologies,' he said kindly. 'I was dozing off a bit when you knocked.' Harry nodded a bit shortly, then sat down on a nearby stool.

'So, are you ready?' Remus asked.

'Yeah,' Harry said. He pulled out his wand, then cleared his throat.

'Okay,' Remus said. He got up, adjusted his robes a bit, then strode to the cabinet where the boggart was kept. It was rocking wildly.

'Alright, Harry, here we go!'

The door of the cabinet swung open, and cold descended into the very marrow of Harry's bones. Rotting, scabbed hands reached for him. As the things mouth- a hole where lips should be- began to come closer, the sound of Lily Evans began to resound in Harry's head, and for a moment, ridiculous as it was, it seemed to Harry Evans that his mother's soul was caught within the Dementor.

'Expecto...' he panted, holding up his wand. 'Ex... ex....'

All he heard was screaming as the wand fell from his fingertips, and a blessed blackness drove itself into his mind.

---

When he came to, he found Lupin in the awkward position of trying to straddle him while shoving unwieldy chunks of chocolate into his mouth.

'Ah, Harry,' he said, stepping up. 'Gave me a bit of heart failure there for a minute.'

'Sorry,' Harry mumbled. 'I just heard my mum again in my head.'

There was a short silence while Lupin considered him closely.

'You hear Lily,' he said softly.

'Well, yeah,' Harry said a bit snappishly. 'Dementors... bad thoughts... you know...'

Lupin said nothing, but sat back down. He waved his wand in the air, and two cups of steaming cocoa zoomed towards them. 'There's only so much of a chocolate bar one can take,' he explained as he waved a mug towards Harry. 'You'll feel better.'

Harry took the cup and drank dutifully, but he felt rather guilty; it was almost like he needed to have the Dementor need him, to hear his mother's voice, even if it was in panic, in fear. To know, to understand that someone, anyone had ever loved him so much...

'I miss her a lot.'

There was a bluntness and a rawness to Lupin's words that brought Harry zooming back to reality. He looked up to see Lupin looking aged and rather sad.

'Lily and I got on like no-one else did, except maybe Lily and Severus. Professor Snape,' he amended. 'But we were like three peas in a pod. Always the three of us, always on an adventure.' A wan smile crossed Lupin's face. 'We were a bit like you three,' he went on, 'though much lower profile. Everyone adored Lily, of course- except some of the prejudiced members of the school- but she always had this thing. It was... I believed she used the term 'Three Musketeers' once.' Lupin laughed a bit. 'She wasn't interested in the gossip that flew 'round school all the time. Every day, rain or shine, after food was eaten and schoolwork was done, we were searching some other part of the school. She wanted to see everything, know everything.'

'Sounds a bit like Hermione,' Harry said, a fond smile of his own crossing his face, 'with the wanting to know everything. And kind of like Ron too, always up for something new.'

'And a bit like you as well, Harry,' Lupin said. 'Not quite reckless- well, not most of the time, but remind me later to tell you about two Slytherins, a Hufflepuff and some Chinese Chomping Cabbage. Anyways,' he hurried on, trying to stave off the obvious look of amusement on Harry's face, 'I see a good deal of her in you. Your eyes, of course, but also... a sense of justice, and that things need to be right.' The look of amusement and fondness faded from Lupin's face. 'The determination... your mother always said it was her family's trait. And that, I think, I see in all three of you.' Lupin looked directly into Harry's eyes.

'Your mother,' he said softly, 'would definitely have approved of your friendship with Ron and Hermione.'

---

Harry started making his way back towards Gryffindor Tower, feeling as if he had drank 100 bottles of butterbeer. The fact that he had heard his mother's screaming was totally drowned out by Lupin's words- she would have definitely approved. He felt that, in some small way, that he was doing right by her, making her proud. It was with a smile on his face and a bounce in his step that he bounded into the Gryffindor common room.

'Harry!'

Ron waved him over, and he made his way towards his two best friends. Plopping down on a cushion, he cheerfully skirted over the issue of his failure to create a decent Patronus and went straight to Lupin's discussion of Lily. By the time the last word had fallen from his lips, Ron and Hermione were looking immensely pleased.

'But of course she would!' Ron said, puffing out his chest. 'Between Hermione's brains and my... my...'

'Ron's tactical skill and loyalty,' Hermione chimed in, throwing Ron a wry look, 'I think we've been fairly decent friends up to this point.'

'More than decent,' Harry sighed happily. 'The best.'

The smiles on the trio's faces felt as if they'd been permanently ironed on. Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance; after everything that had been happening lately, it was refreshing to see Harry so happy, even if just for a moment.

'So,' Hermione said briskly. 'Tomorrow.'

'Yes,' Harry said. 'That's generally what comes after today. What about it?' Hermione rolled her eyes, but grinned nonetheless.

'Are you two going to corner Cedric Diggory tomorrow? And Ron, you said you'd ask Ginny about Lovegood?'

'Oh yeah!' Ron said. 'I'd completely forgotten!'

'I'm shocked,' Hermione deadpanned. She and Harry looked at each other briefly before turning away, both trying not to laugh too hard.

'Ha ha ha, so witty, Hermione, you should have been a Ravenclaw,' Ron grumped good-naturedly.

'But then, where would you be?' she asked sweetly. 'Besides failing every course known to witches and wizards?' Ron blew a raspberry.

'Yes,' Harry said, before Ron managed to either annoy Hermione or draw her into a weird noise contest, 'we'll corner Diggory tomorrow. You're getting Greengrass?'

'Of course,' Hermione said, nodding. 'She seems... reasonable enough.'

'Reasonable reasonable, or Slytherin reasonable?' Ron asked.

'It's the same thing,' Hermione said in a clipped tone. She stood up. 'I'm going to try to get some studying in before I get some sleep,' she said, 'so I'm off to my dorm. Pray that Parvati and Lavender decide to talk about something other than Quidditch abs, or I may have to hex someone in the morning.'

'We've got Potions tomorrow,' Ron supplied helpfully. 'You could always do in Snape. The world would owe a great debt to you.' Hermione shot him a warning look, but he gave her such a cheeky grin that was unable to suppress a smile of her own.

'Good night,' she said, attempting to be stern. She headed off into the girl's dorm, and Harry and Ron both silently said a little prayer that Parvati and Lavender would see the light and keep their mouths closed.

'Reckon we should make up more stuff for Divination?' Ron said after a while.

'Probably for the best,' Harry said, shrugging. With a rather mournful sigh, Ron got up, dragged both his and Harry's bags over, and together, they sat and fudged their way through their Divination homework, the possibilities of tomorrow fading for a little while.

And for the evening, at least, they were not Harry Evans, war orphan, saviour and Boy-Who-Lived, and Ronald Weasley, youngest son of a youngest son and a poor boy; tonight, they were just two boys desperately trying to finish their homework.

Monday morning started much as it has every other Monday morning since the trio's first year; alarms went off, students buried their heads in their pillows and asked for five more minutes, please, and Hermione Granger stood in the common room, waiting patiently for her friends.

'So how goes the anatomical discussion of my fellow Quidditch players?' Harry yawned as he came plodding down the stairs. Hermione's face turned cross, and Ron herded both of them out of the portrait door before Hermione could explode.

'So, today's the day, eh?' Ron asked as Hermione steered the boys, both yawning, towards the Great Hall.

'That it is,' she said brightly, annoyance vanishing like mist. She rubbed her hands together briskly. 'I hope everything goes well with Greengrass,' she added a bit anxiously. 'She seems nice enough, I've seen her paired with Gryffindors and Muggleborns and she's no more rude to them then she is with anyone else. I've even seen her tell off Pansy Parkinson.'

'She told off Parkinson?' Harry asked increduosly.

'Parkinson's smart enough to be in Arithmancy?' Ron asked in disbelief.

'No, she's not,' Hermione said with a bit of a grin. 'Hence Greengrass telling her off.' She chuckled as they swept into the Great Hall. Plopping themselves down at the end of a table, Ron and Harry both began to shovel their food in as Hermione tsked and began to eat her eggs.

Ginny wandered over after a bit and asked, a tad meekly, 'Can I sit here?', pointing at the space next to Harry.

' 'course you can,' Harry said around a forkful of bacon. Ginny took her seat and smiled brightly.

'Oi, Gin, got a question for you,' Ron asked, wiping his mouth. 'You know any Lovegoods?'

'Oh, yeah!' she said. She pointed towards the Ravenclaw table; Harry looked and saw a long cascade of silvery-blonde hair reaching to the waist of a short girl.

'Luna Lovegood,' Ginny said, nodding. 'She's in my year, but a Ravenclaw obviously. She's a bit...' Ginny hesitated, 'unusual. But she's loads of fun to talk to, and she's really, really nice! We sit together sometimes on the train. She didn't even care what people said after- after-'

'As well they shouldn't,' Hermione said kindly. 'It wasn't your fault.'

'And I'll hex anyone who says it is,' Ron added darkly. Hermione's mouth twitched.

'So long as it doesn't involve slugs, Ron.'

'Huh?'

Ginny interrupted. 'Why do you ask about Luna, Ron? They live near us, remember?'

'Oh,' he said airily. 'This and that, that and this.' Ginny opened her mouth to say more, but Colin Creevey appeared and sat next to her, and they began chatting about that day's Herbology lesson.

'Okay,' Hermione said quietly, leaning over, 'finish up, so we can go talk outside.' Ron looked rather sadly at the heap of sausages that appeared to be calling his name, but all three quickly finished their food, said their goodbyes, and vanished out into the hallway.

'So we know who Lovegood is now,' Ron said. He looked around. 'Harry and I are going to ask Diggory, you're going to ask Greengrass, but how should we approach Lovegood?'

'I suppose I could,' Hermione said, though a bit doubtfully; she had noticed Luna reading a newspaper upside down on their way out. 'I know a fair amount of Ravenclaws from some of my classes, so I suppose it'd look less fishy.'

'Wonderful,' Ron said. An ever-growing tide of students began to emerge from the Great Hall, sweeping the threesome away. Soon, they began to descend the long flight of stairs that would take them towards Potions, and the professor who taught it.


---

Harry, Hermione and Ron were all busy stirring their cauldrons halfway through Potions. Harry had only half-heard Snape talking the entire class, his concentration flitting between the fact that the man who seemed to have it out for him was, in fact, his mother's best friend, and his upcoming discussion with Diggory. He didn't know which one set his stomach up in more knots.

'Counter-clockwise, Harry,' Hermione whispered under her breath. 'Twice clockwise, thrice counter, remember?'

'Oh yeah,' he said dully. 'Thanks, Hermione.' She looked up nervously at Snape, but he was busy yelling at Seamus for letting his potion slop over the sides of his cauldron to notice. She quickly went back to her potion, which was shimmering nicely and turning a pleasant green colour. Ron looked over a bit enviously before returning to his own concoction, which smelled like a skunk that had been run over on the road and left in the sun.

'Mister Evans.'

Harry looked up, a bit blankly, at Snape, who was looming over him, arms crossed.

It was so difficult to believe that his mother had ever been close to this creature.

'I see,' Snape said softly, 'that you believe that you are above the rules of this classroom, which includes- but not limited to- creating your potion in the manner that I have instructed.'

Harry made a quiet, slightly strangled noise as he looked down. His potion had gone rather pink, with specks of orange and yellow. It hissed and popped, and Harry and Ron both let out a little yell as it began to eat through the bottom of the cauldron. It left a smell worse than Ron's dead skunk potion; Harry could hear retching in the background.

'Detention, Evans,' Snape said, still as softly and oilly as ever. 'Tonight, at seven pm. You too, Weasley.'

'It wasn't his fault!' Harry shouted at the same time as Ron, who said 'What did I do?' Snape merely raised his eyebrow before raising his wand. For a moment, Harry thought he was going to curse Harry, but instead, he merely Vanished Harry's potion. He looked over at Ron's, and then Vanished his too, for good measure.

Harry and Ron spent the rest of the class in a deep funk, refusing to look at anyone but one another and occasionally Hermione, who looked sympathetic as she brewed her potion to perfection. The only time they looked up was when Neville and Parvati managed to blow their cauldrons through the roof of the roof; Snape awarded them detention as well, but for the following evening.

It was a sweet mercy when the class was over. Ron and Harry picked up their bags and hauled out of the classrooms, leaving Hermione to give her potion to Snape for grading. They sulked by the door, nodding as Dean and Seamus gave their sympathies and Neville and Parvati commiserated in their joint pain.

'What's taking Hermione so long?' Ron grumbled.

'Dunno,' Harry replied, shrugging. He chanced a peek into the classroom, and his jaw gaped a bit.

Hermione's potion was on Snape's desk, sparkling merrily, but Hermione was talking face to face with Snape. She didn't look angry, so Harry very much doubted that Hermione had suddenly found the urge to tell off Snape (as if she'd have done so even if it had occurred to her). In fact, it appeared that Snape was telling Hermione something, and by the looks of things, she considered it very important. After a minute, she slung her bag over her shoulder and trotted out, looking mildly confused. She patted her chest a bit, as if her heart was racing.

'What was that all about?' Harry asked in a low voice.

'Huh?' she said. 'Oh... it's.... oh, I have to use the restroom!' she said suddenly. 'I'll tell you both in a bit, I'll meet you in Herbology, yeah?' Without another word, she took off towards the bathrooms.

'What's going on?' Ron asked, looking at Harry, and then Hermione's retreating back. Harry filled him in as they started making their way towards the greenhouses. Ron was just as confused once Harry was finished.

'Girls,' he said, shaking his head, 'are absolutely mental. Don't understand them.'

They trudged the rest of the way in companionable silence, taking their usual places between Neville and Susan Bones. Hermione zoomed in at the last minute, looking a bit pale and tired. 'Later,' she hissed, when Harry opened his mouth. Harry pursed his lips in annoyance, but nodded his head. The trio barely spoke for the remainder of the class, simply potting different plants and listening to Professor Sprout's brisk but cheerful lecture.

---

Lunch was soon upon the Trio again, and Ron refused to even contemplate talking to Diggory or anyone else unless he got to eat. As much as both Harry and Hermione wanted to drag him away, both felt the insistent nagging of their stomachs, and agreed to eat.

'I talked to Daphne,' Hermione said unceremoniously as they sat down.

'When?' Harry asked.

'Oh,' Hermione said. 'I- I ran into her on the way to the bathroom. She asked me about the latest assignment, and we chatted for a bit in the loo. I brought up the picture, but didn't mention your mum, Harry,' she added as an aside. 'Turns out the the F Greengrass is her father, Ferran, and that Eirian is her mother, before she got married, obviously.'

'Excellent,' Harry said, grinning.

'I also talked to Luna-'

'When did you get a chance to talk to her?' Ron asked, confused.

'Oh, er,' Hermione said, blushing. 'I, um, ran into her in the bathroom too.'

'Must be your lucky day,' Ron said, grinning. Hermione flashed a quick smile, then carried on. 'Martin Lovegood is her uncle, but he's dead now. Her dad's name is Xenophilius-'

'Zenu-what?' Ron asked, a bemused look on his face. 'That sounds like some sort of horrible sympton of dragon pox.' Harry snorted into his mash.

'-and Eleanor Cavizel is Luna's mother, also dead,' Hermione finished. 'Martin died during one of You-Know-Who's attacks, I read it in that book I found. I don't know what happened to Luna's mother, I didn't want to press her.' Hermione looked down at her plate. 'Luna didn't know a thing about Lily or that either of her parents knew her. I'm guessing that Martin and Eleanor knew Lily, but Xenophilius didn't.'

'What about Greengrass?' Ron asked, prodding her a bit.

'Oh? Oh! Daphne knew quite a bit,' Hermione said, nodding. 'She says both of her parents still talk about Lily from time to time, and occasionally about Professor Snape and Professor Lupin. You remember that girl mentioned in the books, Roberta Flannigan?' Harry and Ron both nodded. 'Well, it seems that Daphne's father dated Roberta before he met some woman named Caroline Abbott, who was in the Charms Club, and through Caroline, he met Daphne's mother. Eleanor met Lily through Cordelia Diggory, who had a class with Sirius Black and Lily.'

Hermione smiled slightly at the bewilderment on Harry and Ron's faces, but pressed on.

'She said she'd like to meet up with you, Harry. Well, with all three of us,' she said, a bit hesitantly, 'so you can talk about it more.'

'Why didn't she say anything before?' Harry asked, feeling a bit irritated that Greengrass herself had never come forward with this information.

'I think...' Hermione trailed off and fell silent for a bit, leaning her chin into her hand. 'I think she didn't want to come off like Malfoy did on our first train ride here, Harry. All brash and looking to join up with someone famous. I don't know, but I don't think Daphne wants to be perceived as a hanger-on, someone who clutches to other people for respectability.'

'That,' Ron said, 'made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Plenty of people talk to Harry, and they're not automatically inducted into the 'We Kiss Harry Evans's Toes' club, either.'

Hermione gave him a look, then shook her head in exasperation. 'It's just a thing, Ron. Don't worry about it.'

'Don't worry,' Ron said, 'I won't.' Hermione shot him another look, much darker this time, before going back to her food.

'So,' Harry said, a bit awkwardly, 'what was it that Snape wanted to talk to you about?' Hermione chewed on her sandwich for a bit before deciding to answer.

'Professor Snape,' she said, a bit coolly, 'informed me that I'm to go with you to detention tonight. And no, I'm not in any trouble,' she added, when Ron opened his mouth to say something, 'he just said I should be there. And to not tell anyone else, so don't either of you go opening your mouths!' She said the last bit quite fiercely, and Ron and Harry both nodded their heads fervently.

'We promise,' Ron said solemnly, making an x over his heart. 'Wizard's honour.' Hermione sniffed a bit, but seemed satisfied. 'She wants to meet later; I said around nine o'clock, in the library,' Hermione continued. 'We probably won't be in the dungeons for more than an hour and half, so we'll have time to spare. Library closes at ten, but it's usually fairly empty by nine-'

'I wonder why?' Ron asked no-one in particular.

'-so we should have enough privacy,' Hermione finished. She didn't bother glaring or huffing, just set her napkin neatly on the table and got up.

'You two,' she said briskly, 'have a meeting with a Hufflepuff. I have a Runes quiz I need to study for.' And without another word, she got up and walked away, her bag bouncing off her hips as she set off.

Ron and Harry looked at one another.

'I wonder what's gotten into her?' Ron asked, chewing on his sandwich.

'No idea,' Harry replied. 'She seems a bit..'

'Testy?'

'I was going to say tired, but that too.' Harry shrugged. 'She's right, though. We should go outside and wait for Diggory.'

Ron looked like he was going to curse his inability to sit down for an entirety of the meal, but started gathering his things together. 'Might as well get this over with,' he said. Harry nodded, and they stood up to go. Waving goodbyes to their friends, they sauntered out of the Great Hall, finding a small stone bench right outside the doors. Twiddling their thumbs and smoothing out their robes, they waited in silence until a tall boy with fair hair and an easy grin strode out of the Great Hall.

'Guess it's time,' Ron said under his breath. Nudging Harry, they stood up, gathered their things, and strode over towards the tall Hufflepuff.