Disclaimer: I don't own HP. If I did I wouldn't do what she did at the end of OOTP and HBP. Grrrrrrrr.

Hermione Granger stared into the fireplace in her office. In a day's time she would begin teaching Transfiguration at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had been dreaming of this ever since she left Hogwarts about 4 years ago. Her goals and dreams flew out the window when she lost Ron Weasley. Three months ago she fought and killed Voldemort with Harry Potter and Ron. After that her closest friend have been worried about her. She never got over losing the only man she ever loved. At Harry's pleading, she applied for a job at Hogwarts. To her surprise, the new Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, gave Hermione her old post.

Lost in thought, Hermione didn't hear the tap on her door. A hand on her shoulder startled her out of her memories.

"Hello Hermione. Or I should call you Professor Granger now." Remus Lupin smiled fondly down at her.

"Oh! Hello Professor Lupin. You scared me. I was just-" Hermione was flustered at how handsome Lupin looked. Somehow, he seemed younger than ever.

"Remembering? I recognize that look. I miss them too. Its hard to believe it been so long since Tonks..." He broke of with a sad look on his face. Hermione put a hand on his arm and squeezed. She was not the only one who lost a love to Voldemort.

"Professor-"

"Call me Remus! We are colleagues now, why shouldn't we be on first name status?" Lupin corrected her.

"Remus, how have you been? It has been too long." Hermione motioned for him to sit.

"It has been almost four months now since we have seen each other. I am fine, under the circumstances. Relieved, that Minerva kept my post as a teacher here. Now I am told that we have you as an addition to our staff. Its wonderful! They couldn't have picked someone better." Lupin beamed at her.

To his surprise, she burst into tears. "Oh, Remus. I don't know how I can just go on after Ron's death. I feel terrible. I haven't been able to sleep. How can I just forget everything that has happened?"

"Hermione, no one is asking you to forget. Your friends just want you to be happy. Everyone knows you wanted to teach. Ron would want you to be happy and to go on with your dreams, with or without him. You will make a great teacher. All of the staff agree that you are valuable to this school. In these past few years that I have taught, there has been something missing. You." Lupin looked into her eyes and saw a flicker of light, something he was sure had been missing for some time.

"Thank you. That is what I needed to hear. I don't know what has gotten into me. I have so much to do, in preparation for tomorrow. Sorry to run you off." She quickly shooed him out and scolded herself for letting him get a glimpse of weakness. On the other side of the office door Lupin stood confused. Why didn't Hermione let him comfort her? Harry had told him the she was depressed and pushing her friends away, but it was another thing to experience it himself. He sighed and put it out of his mind. Hermione inspired feelings that confused him. He wanted to take all her pain away, but he didn't know how to. He has always thought Hermione was a special girl, but she had grown into a beautiful woman. He hoped that she would find someone to love again. If anything, she deserved that.

Hermione sat eating her lunch in the teacher's room, correcting the second year's essays. Her first week had been uneventful. She had not seen Lupin since that night when she let him glimpse into the terror that haunted her. She fully regretted her little slip that night.

Lupin stood in the doorway and watched Hermione bent over an essay. Her brow furrowed in a cute way when she was deep in thought. He admired the way she stretched her long, creamy legs out in front of her. She twisted a strand of her hair around her finger. Realizing where his thought were going, he shook his head hard and cleared his throat loudly. Hermione jumped.

"Remus! You scared me. I was just correcting some essays. Please, sit down. How was your first week?" Hermione asked.

Lupin sat down and smiled. "I just heard some fourth years in the corridor. They were talking about an amazing Transfiguration lesson they just had. The best one they ever had, they said."

Hermione turned red and said "Don't exaggerate. I just showed them how to transfigure a shoe into a banana peel. It is no big deal. Just a good laugh. How is Defense Against the Dark Arts going?"

"Great. Each week we get more details about Voldemort, so I can share the interesting things with my classes. They all love it when I recount the Last Battle. They are curious little things." Lupin smiled fondly.

"Was I really that tiny when I was in school?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. I cant believe how much you have changed since I taught you in your third year. Mind, you are still as clever." Hermione blushed, then caught herself. The last person to make her blush was Ron.

"I have to go...erm...go." She couldn't think of an excuse.

Lupin grabbed her arm when she stood up. "Hermione, why do you push away the people who care about you? All of us are sick of it. You are not the only one who lost someone special. I lost Tonks, Fleur lost Bill, Arthur lost Molly. This list goes on. If you like, I could recite it entirely, but I reckon you get the point. We all need each other if we are going to get trough this. Voldemort separated everyone enough when he was alive. Don't let him do it after death. Please sit. It is ok to laugh."

Hermione was awestruck. She didn't know what to say after that speech, so she sat. Lupin smiled and with a wave of his wand he conjured two butterbeers.

"Well Remus, with wandwork like that, you should have my job. Should I be worried?" She winked. This was her way of dealing with a difficult situation, pretending nothing was wrong.

"Hermione, against you, I would lose, so I wouldn't dream of trying to take your job. DADA has my heart. Now, tell me how you have REALLY been."

She sighed and admitted "Horrible. I am haunted by that night. When I do manage to sleep, I can see Ron's face when the curse hit him, the his limp, lifeless body. I cant get it out of my mind. I might go mad before I manage to give the students their first exam!"

"For the first month it was the same for me. But then one day, walking in the park, I realized that Tonks would have murdered me for sulking. She hated that. She would want me to live life and have fun!"

Hermione reached over and took his hand. "Remus, I am scared." Her lips trembled.

"Hermione, what is it? What's wrong? You can tell me anything."

"I am pregnant."

Please R&R. Tell me whether I should continue. or not. No flames please.