Hi everyone! So a little about this thing of mine. It is set directly after the Battle of Hogwarts in the seventh book and I have done my best to make sure that everything is accurate to the books although I have completely ignored the epilogue. I suppose this one scenario I wished happened. It is almost entirely from Hermione's perspective and spans a year. Oh, and for anyone waiting for the romance, it does get there, I swear. I ended up with a lot more during the summer than I expected.

As for the beast itself, it is long. But it is COMPLETE. I hope to update at least once a week with new chapters as I edit them a final time, but I am doing NaNoWriMo right now, so I might be a bit slow, but the entire thing is written, I'm just checking for grammar and readability and such before I post. I would be interested to hear what anyone thinks about it. I am writing another one at the moment that I, quite honestly, think is going to turn out better (if more mature), so I would be interested in feedback. I think that's all I have to say...

S. White

PS. Oh, I remembered something else. Since this thing is so darn long, I solemnly swear that I will post a new chapter at least once a week. If I don't, you have my permission to, let's say, bombard me with pms of limericks until I do. I think that would be some good incentive.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the Harry Potter characters.

Hermione Granger and the Werewolves' Moon

Chapter One – Difficult Beginnings

Hermione often felt after the battle for Hogwarts that the entire world had been fundamentally changed. She certainly no longer saw it the way she had. Things like new quills, or maybe even homework had lost their importance after so many months of just trying to stay alive. Books were still important, of course, but now she knew with absolute clarity she would take any of the people who had fought that day over her books. Everyone else had changed too; they all had different priorities than they had a year ago. Watching your friends die would do that to you.

Hermione woke up and felt someone's side against her back and an arm underneath her. Her eyes shot open as panic cut through her groggy mind. She was expecting the tent they had spent most of the last year in, but that was in a forest somewhere, or the lovely little Shell Cottage, but she was surprised to see a Hogwarts dormitory. She saw Harry and Ginny in a bed in front of her and suddenly the memory of the day before flooded back. Everything was over, Harry's fight was done, but a lot of people had died in the process.

Her eyes started to burn, and she carefully extracted herself from the bed so she wouldn't disturb Ron. Once she was out she grabbed her shoes at the footboard and hurried from the room. She almost ran down the stairs, through the Common Room, and she was halfway to the library before she slowed down or realized where she was going. She slid down the wall, dropped her shoes besides her, and cried into her hands. She cried for all the times she had berated Fred in the Common Room, all the times she had sat, rapt with attention, in Lupin's class, and all the times she had laughed with Ginny and Tonks. She managed to stop long enough to conjure a handkerchief and wipe her tears from her face. She noticed a decent amount of dirt came away too. She pulled on her shoes and picked her way through the debris in the castle, managing to only sniffle occasionally.

When she got to the library, Hermione pulled a book off the shelf at random and curled up in one of the more comfortable chairs, but she didn't open it. Madame Pince wasn't around, but thankfully it looked like the library had escaped most of the damage to the castle. A couple of windows were broken and some of the books had been knocked from their shelves. She replaced them with a flick of her wand. Other than the slight breeze and the glass from the broken windows she could almost sit here and imagine that the last year had never happened. She ran her fingers across the embossed cover absently. She kind of wished it had never happened. Then all those people who had died would still be alive, but on the other hand, so would Voldemort. But she couldn't think about what might have happened or live in a dream pretending it didn't. It would only hurt more when she was forced to deal with the loss. She was glad she had gone to the library, because her eyes were burning with tears, but she didn't dare cry with a book in her lap. She also doubted anyone other than Madame Pince would be spending much time in the library, and she wanted to be alone for a bit. She needed to get away and think, particularly from Harry and Ron.

Hermione knew why Harry had gone to face Voldemort in the woods, even before he had told them about the piece of Voldemort's soul inside him. It just wasn't possible for him to not choose to be the hero when he had even the smallest chance to save someone. Before learning about this final Horcrux, she had expected to have to physically restrain him to stop him, even though he knew how little his going would help. She also knew how guilty and responsible he must feel for everything that had happened, regardless of how many times they told him it was Voldemort who had done it, not him.

But when she had come out the front doors, and there was Hagrid crying his great tears, and Harry lying limp, mouth open and glasses askew, she had felt like she would die of the intense pain and heartbreak which constricted and tore at her. Then the cry from McGonagall that had embodied all she felt had made it worse, just when she had never thought she would hurt more in her life. She had shouted with everyone else, and then been pushed back into the castle during the resumption of hostilities. As she had tried to fight through her tears she had found herself defending against the cackling demon, Bellatrix Lestrange. This had forced her to push aside her pain, stop her tears, and ignore the immense fear to fight for her life. From then on she felt as though she had passed out of reality and into a dream. She had watched half disbelieving and half bursting with happiness when Harry had appeared, very much alive, and faced Voldemort.

Hermione sighed, tracing the words A History of Magic again while she stared, unseeing, ahead of her at a library shelf. At her sigh there was a clunk a few rows over, which she recognized as the sound of a book hitting the floor. She stood, book under one arm and her other hand in her pocket, gripping her wand. She rounded the corner in time to see the hem of a robe disappearing around the corner and a large book on transfiguration on the floor. She put down her book, pulled out her wand, and followed the person around the corner. They were headed toward the doors to the rest of the school and she turned a corner onto the centre aisle in time to see them leave. It was a young man in the black robes of a Hogwarts student, but they were dusty and torn in a few places, and he had white blonde hair.

"Malfoy?" She said in surprise before she could stop herself. He paused and his head turned slightly as if he was considering looking back or turning, and then he stalked off.

Hermione returned to her chair, picking up her book and the one Malfoy had dropped on the way. She was glad she now had something else to think about, even if it was Malfoy. Although she had never disliked him quite as much as Harry or Ron, she had certainly never liked him either. But unlike them, she tried to empathize. Had he come here for the same reason as her? To get away from his parents, questions, and just people in general? He had lost people he knew as well, including one boy who had been his friend and crony since before he came to Hogwarts, although she didn't know how much he had liked many of them, especially the Death Eaters. She still had difficulty even imaging him as a Death Eater because she knew how scared he had been in their sixth year and how he must have been forced into it, boasting to save face.

A ray of sun pierced through the clouds and broken window and shone in the shards of glass on the floor and the gold leaf on embossed covers. Hermione sighed, feeling sad and heartened at the same time by the sight, and then she stood. She didn't think Harry and Ron would panic if they found her gone, but she didn't want to worry them. She returned the books to the shelves and felt guilty about not being able to repair the windows, but some enchantment stopped her attempts. She left the library, but instead of going up to the Gryffindor Tower she headed for the Great Hall. Sure enough, Harry, Ron, and Ginny were waiting at the top of the Entrance Hall stairs.

"Hungry?" Ron said, looking a little tired but as cheerful as could be expected through his grief.

Hermione just tried to smile and the four of them went through the great, open doors to the Great Hall. The bodies of those killed had been moved and the tables were back and covered with breakfast. No one was sitting by house, and the four joined the Weasley's, Luna Lovegood, Angelina Johnson, Oliver Wood, and some other of their friends.

"Good morning," Mrs. Weasley said, with her best try at a smile. "I hope you all slept well."

"Kingsley has been named temporary Minister for Magic and he's gone to London to begin organizing ... a memorial and funerals." Mr. Weasley said, looking up from his breakfast.

"Any word on where it's going to be?" Ginny asked. Hermione saw her squeeze Harry's hand. Of course, he would be feeling guilty.

"As far as we heard it's going to be here, and fairly soon. The grounds are one of the only places already safe that's big enough." Bill said, leaning past his father. They nodded; of course a lot of people would want to come.

"People have been going crazy again, just like the last time." Mr. Weasley said with a little laugh. "The Prophet says the skill is full of owls, people have been going around in their robes in the day time again."

"They've released all the arrested muggleborns too, and most of the Aurors are busy trying to round up the escaped Death Eaters and Snatchers." Bill added.

"That's good." Hermione said. She had always tried not to think about what she would have went through, had she been caught, as she was both a muggleborn and a member of the trio with Harry.

They talked of news from the rest of the country or of other small subjects, to try and regain some resemblance of normality. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were mostly silent. Hermione kept thinking about the people who were missing from the table and increasingly of her parents.

After breakfast they joined many of the other adults and older students in going up through the castle. Most of the damage wouldn't be able to be fixed except by skilled powerful wizards, but they could remove the scorches and other detritus of battle. They had been organized into groups, and anything they could not mend, like the stones for the walls, they left in neat piles. Hermione and Ron did their best to fix the gargoyle in front of the Headmaster's Office, but in the end all they could do was try to arrange his pieces as best they could. Hermione was frustrated about her lack of ability, but even the gargoyle himself didn't know what spell might mend him.

After dinner Hermione returned alone to the library. Madame Pince was there again, directing a broom and dustpan with her wand.

"Be careful with candles, the windows won't fix." She said, but she only pretended her usual sharpness. Besides, she knew Hermione would be careful without being told.

Hermione wandered the shelves, feeling better every second. She took a deep breath of the smell of old books and smiled. She just needed to get away for a bit, and here was the perfect place. Besides, this also gave Ron some time with his family. Ginny was there too, and Harry was up in the Headmaster's Office, where Hermione knew he was telling Professor McGonagall about the events of the last year. Beyond needing time to come to terms with what happened, Hermione's thoughts also kept turning to her parents. She was getting eager to go find them, see them again after all she had been through, and apologize. She felt that she needed to go soon, but she also feared doing it, afraid of how they would react when she told them the truth. And what she had done to them. She searched the shelves and found a likely looking book on magical repairing and sat in a chair a little away from one occupied by Luna. Luna nodded at her but said nothing, understanding her need to be alone. Hermione did sometimes get frustrated by Luna's...interesting ideas about the world, but she really was a true friend.

Fortunately for Hermione, she had honed her skill at focusing on books over the years so that she could do her school work regardless of what was going on in their personal lives and in addition to their research for thwarting Voldemort. In a few minutes she was engrossed in learning about repairing enchanted objects. It seemed like only a few minutes had passed when a noise from the chair beside her made her look up. Her candle was burnt much lower than when she had got there, so what felt like minutes must have been an hour at least, and Ginny had sat between her and Luna.

"So, one of the prefect's bathrooms on the floor above here is undamaged. I figured we would feel better clean."

"Cleanliness is next to godliness." Luna said with a dreamy smile.

"Yes, I think I would." Hermione said with a small smile. She had washed the grime of the battle from her face and hands earlier, but the rest of her could use a wash. And a soak in some warm water with her friends couldn't hurt her spirits either.

They returned their books and hurried up the corridors to the undamaged bathroom. It was still empty, and Luna skipped in and began turning on various taps while Hermione locked the door behind them. Ginny had brought clean robes for all of them and a quick spell turned their clothes to swim suits as large purple bubbles floated past from the taps. They talked about books and what their classes had consisted of for the last year. Hermione was curious, if horrified by the changes made by the Death Eaters. She sat at the edge of the pool, feeling the warm water rise around her toes, until it was high enough, Luna turned off the taps, and she slipped in. The warm water was better than she had hoped. The warmth seemed to seep into her skin, lifting the sweat and dirt, and at the same time, some of the grief, fear, and sadness. For a few minutes they were silent as the three of them just floated in bliss.

"This was an excellent idea." Luna said dreamily.

"Yes, it was," Hermione agreed. Ginny grinned and began to swim laps across the large pool. Hermione pulled her hair from the plait she had kept it in for who knew how long. It fanned out mermaid-like around her in the water.

"They've cancelled the rest of the school year, obviously." Ginny said after a few laps. "In some of the classes we weren't getting a proper education anyway."

"Maybe they'll let us redo it." Luna said, "Would you come back if they did?"

"Well, we still have one more year to complete anyway." Ginny pointed out. "I'd have to give it a little thought, but my only real reason to not go is Harry, and he would hate to stand in the way of my education."

"I'd always hoped they would let me finish and do my N. E. W. T.s, especially since I never came at all, and it wasn't possible for me to go because of my parents..." Hermione trailed off, thinking of her parents still in Australia.

"When are you going to go look for them?" Ginny asked.

"As soon as I can. I thought I might be able to get some help from the Australian Ministry though, and I don't know how long that will take."

"I'm sure it won't take long for you." Luna said. "You have important friends in the Ministry here now."

"I don't need special treatment, just a letter with an explanation and port key permission maybe. Do you have to go through any sort of wizard Customs if you travel by magic?" Hermione said, picturing it with a little laugh.

"Customs?" Ginny said, and she and Luna looked at Hermione with complete incomprehension. Hermione laughed even harder at the looks on their faces, and tried to explain to them the process muggles had to go through in order to enter another country. Ginny shook her head while Luna listened with detached interest. They gave Hermione all the suggestions they could think of, magical and otherwise, that she might use to find them.

"We'd be willing to go with you, you know." Ginny said.

"I know, but I think this is something I'll have to do on my own. Beside, I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do." Hermione said, feeling like she might cry again.

"They'll understand you did it because you love them and you didn't want to let them get hurt." Luna said with her usual surety.

"Yes, I hope so."

"Well, come on. There's some stuff for your hair here." Ginny said, with a smile that looked a little forced. The water, bubbles, and whatever Luna had put in from the different taps had lifted most of the grime and Hermione felt clean again, but her hair could still use a wash. Ginny pulled herself from the pool and found the bottles she was looking for, and then dove in again over their heads.

The wizarding shampoo removed the dirt from the battle and their break into Gringotts before that. They worked it in and dove under the water to rinse it, which worked better than Hermione thought it would have in a muggle bath with muggle shampoo. Ginny gave her another bottle containing a kind of wizarding conditioner. Hermione read the label. Ginny had even found her one better suited for her wild curls than her and Luna's long, straight hair. Sometimes she felt a bit envious of how their hair always looked lovely and behaved, but her hair was a part of who she was, so she tried to like it.

Hermione got out via the steps, deciding that she didn't have the arm strength to haul herself out like Ginny did. Luna followed her out and they toweled themselves dry with the fluffy white prefect towels. Ginny and Luna changed into the clean robes, but Hermione fished some clean muggle clothes from her beaded handbag which she put on first. She hadn't been able to leave the handbag behind yet, and she didn't think she would anytime soon, it had become so important to her over the last year.

For the first time in what felt like years, Hermione didn't braid her hair, but dried it with a jet of hot air from her wand to reduce the frizz and let it go. The hair potions from the bathroom had helped a little too, but it was still almost as bushy and wild as it had been when she had first boarded the Hogwarts train, almost seven years ago.

She felt much better when she, Ginny, and Luna left the bathroom, cleaner, and smelling like flowers from the bubbles in the water. They went down to the Great Hall for a little something to eat. Hermione felt a twinge of guilt but was also impressed that the house elves were back cooking again, despite the battle the day before. For once, they had beat Harry and Ron down, although a few other of the Weasleys were there. Hermione noticed that Kingsley Shacklebolt and other Ministry officials were sitting with some of the professors at the head table. He was talking to Professor McGonagall and both were nodding periodically. Hermione guessed that the arrangements for the future were going well.

They had sat down with the Weasleys and were beginning to eat when Harry and Ron entered with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They hadn't even reached the rest of their family before McGonagall stood and waved to them, indicating Hermione should come too. The five of them made their way up to the Minister and Professor.

"I apologize for doing this all so quickly." Shacklebolt started. "We need to start rebuilding our lives and our institutions, and we are trying to gauge the amount of time we need. The rest of the wizarding world who was not involved here wants to celebrate the end of He Who Must Not Be Named's second, and final, defeat. We are organizing a memorial to take place here in five days. That will give time for funerals first." Shacklebolt glanced at McGonagall here, as Mrs. Weasley choked back a small sob. He gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder as Mr. Weasley hugged his wife.

"We are going to repair the school over the summer, and will hopefully be able to take in the students who want to repeat their last year here, although we do not think we will be able to do this with every year. We are working with the Ministry to make provision for the fifth years who should have taken their OWLs." McGonagall said, looking at Hermione, knowing her favourite student would probably like this news.

"I have some other good news I want to prepare you for, so that when I announce it, you will not be totally unprepared." Shacklebolt continued. "We are working just about every Auror we can to catch the escaped Death Eaters and Snatchers and the trials of the first captured ones will start in June. We also will be looking to hire more Aurors to deal with the amount of work, and we will be starting by asking around members of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army because of their experience fighting the Dark Arts. The Ministry might be knocking at your doors, soon."

Harry and Ron looked at each other with excited grins.

"We are also considering awards for some of the people who fought yesterday, Remus included, but don't be surprised if I announce something for you three as well." Shacklebolt finished.

"I don't want, no, I don't deserve anything special-" Harry started angrily.

"You finished this, Harry, and saved a lot of lives yesterday." McGonagall said with some of her old terseness, despite using Harry's first name.

"Yeah, I guess, but-" Harry began again.

"The wizarding world needs heroes and it needs some living ones as well as those who have passed on." Shacklebolt said, in a quiet voice that cut through Harry's.

"I still don't want it." He grumbled in final protest.

"We know you don't, that's why we're giving it to you."