She had tried very hard to be respectful of his family life, and she had to bite her lips when she saw the surprise, and the gratitude in young Sirius' face. One could only assume that young Regulus would be similar in this respect. She remembered Regulus Black's story, and she had always considered him a tragic hero. He fidgeted in his seat for moment or two.
"I have to be Slytherin, I don't have a choice," he confessed at last, his grey eyes wide and slightly fearful. He felt weak for talking about such things in front of her, she could see it in his gray eyes. Sirius' eyes. She shook her head at him.
"You always have a choice, Regulus. Even not choosing is a choice in the end. The important thing you must remember is that one may make new choices everyday," she told him firmly, her hazel eyes pinning him to his seat. He nodded and looked out the window. Then Severus and Lily came and joined them, and Regulus didn't speak again for the rest of the trip.
HP/HG/HP
During her second year of Hogwarts Round Two, Hermione noticed Peter Pettigrew trailing after her boys. She pulled James to the side, scowling fiercely.
"I don't trust him, Jamie," she said darkly. James laughed at her. "Crookshanks doesn't like him either."
"Oh, Hermione, he's a little awkward, but he's a nice enough boy, you need to give him a chance," James told her sternly. In that moment, Harry and James overlapped a little. When Harry gave his friendship, it was unswerving. Apparently, James was the same way. Hermione pursed her lips in annoyance.
"Fine," she muttered and stomped off to join Lily.
"What was that all about?" Sirius asked curiously. James shrugged.
"Women," James said succinctly with a roll of his hazel eyes. Sirius frowned. Hermione was a solid sort of girl, and normally James listened to her more than anyone else. Sirius tended to listen to her, as well.
"I can't believe he won't listen to me," Hermione was muttering fiercely, stabbing her parchment with her quill as she wrote in her irritation. Lily watched her with a slight smile.
"Yeah, well, he's a toe-rag, what can I say?" Lily said with a glare in James' direction. Hermione snickered.
"That's a ridiculous insult, you know that, right?" Hermione asked. Lily shrugged.
"Well, it's what he is," Lily insisted. "He's mean to Severus, you know. He and his…his…hooligan friends tease him all the time."
"No, I didn't know," Hermione said darkly with a vicious glare for her brother. He must have sensed her staring at him because he turned and she saw the confusion on his face. Hermione never looked at him like that. She always looked at him with love and adoration.
"My Own?" He said in surprise. Sirius glanced at James shocked that he would use his sister's special name in public. The twins were very close, but usually very private with their affection. He took a hesitant step toward her, and she jumped up, grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the tower.
"Jamie, how could you?" Hermione whispered to him furiously as she pulled him along the corridor.
"My Own, what are you talking about?" He asked in genuine confusion. Hermione turned to him and frowned.
"How could you be so cruel to poor Severus?" Hermione demanded. "Why would you tease him?"
"Poor Severus," James sneered, "hangs out with those pompous asses in Slytherin, and they insulted you and your friend Lily. He didn't stand up for you at all. I don't know why you'd waste your time with a git like him."
"What? That happened last year, and those boys were much older and more popular. They're purebloods, and they have more status in Slytherin," Hermione defended Severus' actions. She knew that a lot of Severus' later behavior was a direct result of the way James and his friends had treated him. "Jamie, have some compassion."
"I will show Severus as much compassion as you show Peter," James said with a frown. Hermione's eyes widened, and her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Very well, Jamie," Hermione sulked.