Then Shall I Know

Chapter Nine: Making Friends and Influencing People

"Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it...that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear." [-Dale Carnegie]

Word must have gotten around about what she'd done to Lucius Malfoy, for when she sat down at breakfast, no one sat within two spaces of her on any side. That suited Hermione just fine, as she told herself firmly that the best way to prevent herself from changing history was not to interact with anyone. The truth was--it hurt, and her typical way of dealing with being hurt was to try her best to ignore the feeling and bury herself in studies.

This morning, it was her Arithmancy textbook, a last-minute decision based on something her mother was fond of reminding her. Dr. Granger had told her many times that students often unconsciously tell themselves 'just remember this for the test' and then they forget the material entirely afterwards. Hermione didn't think that applied much to wizard studies, considering that she had never felt inclined to practice her Muggle schoolwork outside of school, but loved to do so with witchcraft. Not as much for Arithmancy, however--it was not as easy to 'practice' as something like Potions was (granted one had all the ingredients, of course), and thus, here she was, trying to refresh her memory for class in a few hours. Her first class, however, was Charms, presumably taught by Professor Flitwick.

Hermione finished up her breakfast--this time fully enjoying a banana as she'd braided her bushy hair and it had actually stayed back, blessedly. She supposed it was a good thing she knew her way around, because no one from Slytherin House had ever bothered to tell her where anything was. She wondered what they would do when they saw she was the first to class, instead of showing up hopelessly late and flustered. The thought made her grin, clasp her things to her chest more closely, and hurry along the corridor. She was so focused on her goal of showing up her detractors that she didn't even notice when she passed Sirius Black and Remus Lupin on their way to History of Magic.

oOoOoOoOo

"All he can talk about is this year's quidditch team," groaned Lupin. "Be glad you fell asleep early." He and Sirius were heading to class and discussing James Potter's obsession with winning the Cup on their last year at Hogwarts.

"I am, but, unfortunately, while you were playing Prefect, James was begging me to take a spot on the team if he couldn't find anyone else suitable," groaned Sirius, wincing as he remembered the promise wrung from him after two hours of pleading from his black-haired friend.

"You didn't agree..." Remus said with raised eyebrows.

"I didn't have much choice."

"You might have to go about recruiting players, then," laughed Lupin. "I know you like to spend your time during the games looking at more interesting things than the Quaffle."

Sirius' grin contained a hint of a leer as they crossed the hallway, nearly running into a slight figure in Slytherin colors clutching a book bag. As she passed them, her hair fell loose from the braid and curled around her face in a way that was almost attractive. Sirius felt a strange compulsion to help her push it away from her eyes, but the girl passed them too quickly for him to do more than stand still and watch her. He was brought back to earth by a nudge from Lupin.

"I thought you said she wasn't distracting," he teased, shoving Black's dropped textbook into his friend's arms and leading him into the History of Magic classroom.

"Oh, that's the new transfer student?" Sirius said, trying to sound disinterested.

"You saw her yesterday, Sirius--don't you remember? Or were you too distracted by--"

"I wasn't distracted!" he protested hotly.

"That's why you dropped your book," Lupin nodded.

"Her hair just sort of...exploded right in front of me," Sirius explained, lamely.

"Naturally," Remus said comfortingly. "Sit down, Padfoot."

Sirius realized he was standing in the middle of the room, with his fellow classmates looking on.

He sat.

oOoOoOoOo

Charms was actually quite pleasant. Owing to the fact that they were NEWT-level courses, the classes were smaller--and, more importantly, filled with people who actually wanted to be there. Hermione counted about 11 students, the majority of those being Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. She recognized Cassia, who clearly recognized her as well, as she sat as far away from Hermione as the classroom allowed. Just before the bell rang, a tall girl in scarlet and gold school robes rushed in and sat next to her--Lily Evans.

Hermione felt at the same time elated and full of dread. She so desperately wanted to get to know the people she only knew of, but was terrified that she would be sent back to find her own future in terrible shape. She blamed the movie Back to the Future for her anxiety, and after resolutely ignoring her inner voice's concerns, she turned to face Lily.

"Just made it!" Lily said happily, adjusting her collar primly and completely disregarding the fact that her hair had mostly come loose from its bun. Hermione had a hard time thinking of her as Harry's mother. She almost replied with 'At least Professor Flitwick isn't as strict as McGonagall,' but caught herself just in time. She wasn't supposed to know anyone here, after all! Instead, she just nodded pleasantly, unable to say anything else as Professor Flitwick began the lesson.

It turned out that they were to pair off and practice some of the more important charms they'd learned in the previous years at Hogwarts. Hermione told herself that even if she hadn't have attended school the past six years, she wouldn't have neglected her education, and therefore it was only natural for her to know every one of them. The other girl seemed to have no problem pairing up with a Slytherin, making Hermione wonder if it was her own newness to the school to which she owed her good fortune, or if it was in Lily's nature to be friendly. Either way, the redhead was good at Charms. If it hadn't have been for their DA meetings, Hermione was sure she'd not have been able to dodge as many of the offensive charms they practiced.

In a way, it made her feel a lot better about the original members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Hermione and Lily finished the round of charms they were asked to practice a lot earlier than the other students. Instead of going over the same spells again, they both decided to sit and chat.

"So, where did you go to school before this?" Lily asked politely. Hermione answered with the lie that she and Dumbledore had decided on--but altered it slightly at the last minute. She didn't want to let anyone know she was Muggle-born just yet...she was getting bad enough treatment from the Slytherins as it was.

"Well, my parents didn't like the idea of sending me to a boarding school--neither of them had gone to one," which was true, but not in the way that Lily would understand it--she would probably naturally assume Hermione's parents were magical. "They were so adamant about it that Professor Dumbledore offered to have a tutor assigned to me, so I wouldn't miss anything." Lily looked surprised, but not disbelieving. One hurdle crossed, Hermione said to herself in relief. "I'm guessing you don't get transfer students very often," she laughed.

"You could tell?" Lily's answering giggle was endearing.

"So, when are you going to remind me that we're not supposed to fraternize?" Hermione teased, pointing to Lily's prominent Gryffindor scarf. To her surprise, Lily drew herself up proudly.

"I think that's nonsense," she said in a serious voice. "We all work together out in the real world, there's no reason to make us enemies in school."

Hermione could tell that this was not a new issue for Miss Evans. The other girl was almost shaking, so strongly did she believe in what she was saying.

"I agree," Hermione said, feeling incredibly guilty as she did so. How often did she distrust a fellow student just because of their House? She smiled wryly, supposing that it wasn't as bad a thing if this experience changed her, as long nothing else changed. She turned back to Lily who had sighed resignedly.

"I wish everyone I liked felt the same way," she said with a small frown. At Hermione's questioning look, she explained, "My boyfriend and his friends have so many 'reasons' that they distrust any Slytherin they come across." She shrugged; it was obviously an old battle of hers. "I'm afraid that after nearly seven years here, old habits die hard."

"Well," offered Hermione, "good intentions do more than pave the road to hell--sometimes they really do have the power to change things." Lily looked startled.

"I thought that was just a Muggle saying!"

Hermione tried not to wince--this business of secrets wasn't something she was good at. She leaned over to Lily, trying to convey that what she was about to say wasn't for everyone's ears.

"It runs in the family--but from what I've seen about my new House, I don't think I should make that public knowledge..."

Lily nodded sympathetically.

"I'm Muggle-born," she said, pleasing Hermione by not looking as though she regretted it. Lily Evans was one of the few witches that Hermione knew was Muggle-born, and all evidence showed that she was very gifted. It would have been very disappointing to Hermione if she'd turned out to be ashamed of her birth.

Their conversation was cut off by Professor Flitwick resuming control of the class. They adjourned shortly thereafter, and Lily turned to Hermione with a smile.

"Which do you have next? I have NEWT Transfiguration--"

Hermione interrupted her with a cry of pleasure. "I do, too!"

"Shall we, then?" Lily looked over at Hermione and winked, grasping her arm to walk out together. The two of them had to work hard at keeping their composure when they were passed by Cassia, the stuck-up girl who Hermione was certain had been the one to head up the movement of all of her things in the dormitory.

The patrician blonde looked like she'd just eaten a live chocolate frog.

oOoOoOoOo

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm going to fall asleep in that class and wake up a ghost," griped Sirius.

"It's not that bad, if you pay attention," objected Remus.

"I beg to differ, Moony--it IS that bad. If he would just talk faster--" Sirius threw up his hands.

"If he talked faster, you would have more material on each test," his friend pointed out. The only response was a groan. "What's next?" Lupin asked.

"Like I know?"

Remus had to laugh. Sirius was so irrepressibly irresponsible in such an endearing way that it made it almost impossible to be upset with him. He opened up a parchment from his textbook and checked.

"We both have N.E.W.T. Transfiguration next," Lupin said, tossing his hair out of his eyes and grinning. Sirius grinned back.

"D'you think McGonagall expected the four of us to get OWLs in Transfiguration?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with their secret.

"Not a chance," answered the werewolf. "You know you're going to have to pay attention in class, this time, Padfoot."

Sirius feigned a wounded expression.

"Remus, I always pay attention!"

"I meant to the coursework," Remus said, shaking his head.

"Oh..." Sirius replied, his tone of voice speaking volumes.

"Looks like it wasn't Moony or Wormtail with a thing for transfer students."

James had came up behind them to rest an arm on each of their shoulders. He nodded toward the doorway to Professor McGonagall's classroom, adding, "It was Lily we had to watch out for!"

Lily and the Slytherin transfer student were talking animatedly to each other as they waited on the threshold of the classroom. They seemed oblivious to the shocked reactions of those around them that a Gryffindor and a Slytherin were talking--much less smiling and laughing with each other.

"Do you want me to challenge her to a duel for stealing your girlfriend?" asked Sirius, reaching for his wand.

"Put that away, you dog!" Lupin swatted at his friend, not wanting to be chastised by the severe McGonagall for performing magic in the hallways.

"Ah, Moony--you're such a good prefect!" exclaimed James, stopping just short of pinching the taller boy on his cheek.

Sirius smiled at his friends' antics, grateful for Lupin's quick thinking as Minerva McGonagall rounded the corner to let them into her classroom.

Once there, he hung back for a little while, deciding where to sit. Choosing a seat here had more to do with who he wanted to be looking at for the entirety of the school year, and less to do with partnering--transfiguration was hardly the kind of discipline that a Professor wished her students to practice on one another. The class had a fair number of students for an NEWT course, but that fact had nothing to do with a limit in the degree of difficulty, that was for certain. Professor McGonagall was strict, but she had a talent for making sure one knew everything she wanted them to by the end of the year--or else.

In the end, he picked a spot that was sufficiently far from the front of the room, in close proximity to the other Marauders, and had an excellent view of the new student.

He told himself this was merely because he worried about her influence on Lily Evans.

Halfway through class he found himself looking at her, time and again. The day before, he'd claimed that she wasn't in any way distracting, but he had to admit that he'd been wrong--there was something about her. It was clear to Sirius that she loved Transfiguration--she positively glowed--and it changed the way she looked to him. Instead of a half-frightened, timid looking thing wrapped in Slytherin colors, she was now a vibrant, confident young woman...wrapped in Slytherin colors.

"Would you like to be alone with your thoughts, Padfoot?" someone asked, near his ear. It was Lupin.

"Well, at least I'm paying attention to something, right?" he shot back over his shoulder.

"Just remember what kinds of detentions McGonagall gives," was the quiet reply.

That was all Sirius needed to redirect his thoughts. The last detention he'd gotten from his Head of House was too awful to contemplate. It had taken him almost a week to get the smell of dung out of his shoes.

oOoOoOoOo

It seemed to Hermione that the rest of the day passed in almost the blink of an eye. She had one other Monday class with Lily, and she gathered from their many conversations over the course of the day that they would probably have more. Even the inevitable fact that they couldn't spend mealtimes together (even though quite a few cross-House groups spent lunchtimes and even suppertimes in each other's company, the backlash for both of them would have barely been worth it, they'd decided) hadn't spoiled the day for her.

She'd walked out of her last class and said goodbye to her new friend only to walk a few spaces and collapse onto a bench, leaning her head against the cool stone wall.

I am friends with Harry's mother, she thought, incredulously. GOOD friends!

She could barely believe it, after all that had happened since Saturday. Hermione had never really been close with other girls, and getting to talk to another friendly, school-oriented witch (Divination did not count) who was also Muggle-born was a treat. The best part was, she got to hear a little bit about the Marauders--not that Lily referred to them as that; Hermione was certain it was a private nickname. It was like the best of both worlds. It couldn't do any harm to be friends with someone who--DON'T think about it, don't think about it--she would never meet in the future. She sighed. Even the act of trying to avoid those kinds of thoughts was sobering. Lifting her heavy bag, she made her way to the dormitory, a substantial piece of bread filched from lunchtime in one of the pockets. She was much too excited to eat a full meal, anyway.

When she walked into the common room, however, something felt wrong. Eunae Zabini and Cassia Crawley--Hermione had learned the last name of all four of her fellow Seventh Year Slytherins in various classes throughout the day--were sitting by the fire, and the second she entered they straightened as though they'd been waiting for her. Hermione simply ignored them. When she walked into their dormitory, however, she knew immediately that this was what they'd been waiting for.

Her things were gone.

All of them.

"I believe you're looking for the First Year dormitories," Eunae said from the doorway, barely concealed triumph in her voice.

"We pulled a few strings," contributed Cassia with saccharine sweetness.

"I'm sure you'll feel much more comfortable there," Zabini finished.

Hermione turned to face them, her back straight, a carefully blank expression on her face. She had learned, after many years of bickering with Draco Malfoy, that someone who has done something they're proud of will falter if it is not acknowledged somehow. So, she simply stared at the two of them steadily, not changing her body position or facial expression until Cassia finally looked down and brushed an imaginary piece of lint from her robes. Eunae frowned slightly, glancing over at the blonde girl with a look that clearly said that she'd weakened their position.

"You're probably right," Hermione finally said in a hard voice. "The First Years probably haven't had six years of bad training to go on." She brushed past the two girls, inwardly trembling like a leaf from the experience. Usually she had Harry and Ron to stand with her in such a confrontation, and she was genuinely surprised to have managed to hold her ground without them.

They think they've weakened me, she realized, but I've actually realized I'm far stronger than I thought.