Fantasy House

A knock at the door woke Hermione up. She didn\'t recall falling asleep, but apparently, she had. She was angry still from the way Severus had used her. "Show off," she whispered to herself.



"Hermione?" Remus called from the other side of the door.



It was always Remus. He always came for her. She sighed and debated on whether to answer him. "Yes? You may come in," she said loud enough for him to hear.



He opened the door and entered the room. He looked tired, but not nearly as frazzled as earlier. "Dinner is ready, if you\'re hungry," he offered.



She nodded and climbed out of the massive bed. "What are we eating?" she asked.



He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Spaghetti," he answered. "Hermione, about what happened in the living room..."



"Severus is a pig," she snipped, looking away from the werewolf. She sighed and sat next to him. "I thought he was different. He seems so much different than other men, but..."



"Severus is different," Remus assured her.



She looked up into his eyes. "Then why would he do that? Why would he use me like that?" she questioned.



He shook his head. "There\'s something you should know," he told her. "Mr. Zabini has done something to this house. We saw everything that happened between you and Severus. And, everything between you and Draco."



She looked confused. "What do you mean?" she asked. Then, it dawned on her. "Wait, you saw... You watched..."



The girl blushed furiously. He blushed a bit as well, though he wasn\'t quite finished. "We also... heard..."



Hermione gasped as she pressed a hand to her mouth. "All of you know about Lily," she whispered. "You know Severus..."



"Loved her, yes," Remus finished for her, nodding his head. He took her hands into his and looked into her eyes. "Sirius wasn\'t exactly... thrilled when he learned of Severus\' love, though I tried to calm the man down. I think it became worse when Draco went into your shower and the two of you argued. Severus isn\'t really known for his goodly heart. And well... Sirius touched a nerve when he taunted Severus\' manhood and ability to woo the feminine sex."



Hermione closed her eyes and shook her head. "So, naturally, Severus would strike back in the only way he can think of," she surmised.



The werewolf sighed. "I have a feeling things are going to get worse around here. Especially with the ludicrous demands Mr. Zabini has made. Father with son, enemy with enemy..."



"There has to be a reason," she said. "I mean, other than the fact that Zabini has a really sick mind. Andromeda wouldn\'t agree to it unless there was a purpose and I know she had to have a hand in the enchantments on this place."



"Andromeda was a Slytherin in school," he pointed out.



"I know. But, that doesn\'t make her nefarious. She wouldn\'t do something out of spite or to be cruel. There has to be a reason."



(II) (II)



"This is actually pretty damn good," Draco commented as he filled his fork with more spaghetti.



Remus and Hermione entered the dining area at that moment. Hermione smiled shyly at the four men. "Sorry about the... um... you know..." she said, looking away as she sat down.



Remus brought her a plate and placed it in front of her. Then, he went to get his own.



As Hermione was putting cheese on her spaghetti, she looked at Severus. "I swear to you that Harry had told no one besides Ron and me about Lily," she confessed to him. "And, he only said it in the strictest of confidence. Had I known..."



"That we were being watched?" Severus interrupted. He shook his head. "Don\'t worry about it, Miss Granger."



"Hermione," she corrected. At his curious look, she enlightened him, "Since you\'ve given me permission to use your name, you may use my name."



He nodded. "Hermione," he said, testing the name. "I\'m sure Potter thought me dead, anyway. Many would have."



She smiled. "But, you weren\'t," she stated. "And for that, I\'m glad. If I was going to choose who I\'d end up stuck in a house for God knows how long with, I would have chosen all five of you."



Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Why?"



She shrugged. "Most of the other guys I know are more like brothers than anything else. Or, some other form of family," she responded. "Besides, have any of you looked in a mirror lately? I know Draco practically lives in front of a mirror."



"I do not," the blond Slytherin protested.



Sirius looked at her curiously. "Where is this boldness coming from?" he asked.



"I\'m a Gryffindor, remember?" she replied, with a blush. "Not to mention the fact that we need to get used to being around one another. It would help if we weren\'t fighting all the time. I must admit, I have had fantasies of each of you in the past, though never all at the same time."



Draco smirked, "Seems Granger is embracing her inner slut."



She shook her head. "Not really. Just accepting the circumstances," she told him. "After all, we all have to share that bed tonight... That should be interesting."



"As long as I don\'t have to sleep anywhere near Snivellius, I could care less," Sirius piped up between bites.



Hermione gave the animagus a hard look. "Well, it seems that some of us have forgotten the agreement not to resort to name-calling?" she growled. "He has a name, Sirius."



At least the man had the decency to look sheepish. He cast his eyes down to his plate. "It\'s a habit," he defended himself.



The girl shook her head. "And old habits die hard, I know. But, please see that it does die?" she requested.



He nodded, still unable to look her in the eyes. And the rest of the meal was spent mostly in silence. There were a few off-beat comments from Lucius, who still could not get around the idea that the sauce had come from a jar. But, for the most part, the evening was pleasant.



Hermione and Sirius did the dishes. When Draco went to help, reminding Hermione of the second rule, she pointed out that she did not mind doing some chores. "I live here, too, Draco," she had told him.

---

Author\'s Note: I know, I know. It kinds just hangs at the end. But, no worries, a really big scene is coming up next. One I think all the girls here, at least, will appreciate.



I want to thank all of you for the rating and reviews. If you haven\'t checked out my other stories, please see that you do.



And I swear I have no idea where I come up with these kooky ideas... (Talking about my stories, I mean.)