Disclaimer: No, I am not JK Rowling, and even if I was, you wouldn't believe it if I told you.
I don't own Harry Potter, and will not be making any money whatsoever from this humble offering.
Set in the Summer Holidays after seventh-year, the war against Voldemort is still raging... the idea came to me while I was listening to a Vinyl recording of Andrew Lloyd Weber's greatest hits or something.
Musings of the Night
It was a rarely serene night in London. The glittering crescent moon in the night sky cast her smiling rays down on the world, twinkling in an all-knowing way. One of her rays spilled through the kitchen window of a certain house in Grimmauld Place, flooding the stone counter in a warm silver glow. A lone figure stood, silhouetted against the window, marveling at the way the rays of the moon seemed to penetrate her very soul, cleansing it with light. Her face and bushy hair was bathed in light, and she seemed to have an ethereal glow.
From the darkness of the kitchen doorway, a soft, melodic voice floated through her reverie.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hermione turned away from the window almost guiltily, to face the speaker, who was leaning, half in shadow, against the doorframe, a serene smile gracing his scarred face.
"Oh...P...Professor Lupin...hello. I couldn't sleep..." Lupin stopped her with a wave of his hand.
"Hermione, I am no longer your teacher. You have no need to explain yourself to me. I, myself, am somewhat of an insomniac", he said, his eyes fixed on the window, as he approached the counter to stand next to her, "and find myself coming down here to think. It…soothes me somehow." He said as his hands played with the light. Hermione watched his fingers, marveling at their grace as they danced with the moonlight.
"I've always thought", she said, "isn't it amazing how this house is so heavily protected from the outside, and yet the moonlight finds a way into it. It sounds silly, I know…" she trailed off, thinking exactly the same thing about Lupin – that a man so seemingly guarded and unfeeling to the world around him, should be so affected by such a thing as the moonlight.
"No, it's not silly at all…I have thought so many a time." Lupin replied, looking at Hermione fondly "after all, great minds think alike." He paused, watching her for a second, contemplating her. " You know, Hermione, you really are one of a kind. Sometimes I forget, in all of this, that while you are not a child, you still need protecting. You have always been mature for your age, and most of the time, more mature than some of the adults that should be protecting you. Sirius even admitted that he could take a leaf out of your book…" Lupin's eyes darkened as he thought of his old friend.
"Professor…I-"
"Don't, Hermione. I don't need…don't want your pity. Everyone claims to know how I feel. How can they? They didn't know him. He was dead b before b he fell through the veil…and they just stood and let it happen. I stood and let it happen." Lupin felt Hermione's small hand take his own.
"Remus," She said, "I was just going to say that if you ever needed to talk…that is…if you wanted to talk…well…you know where to find me. I know it sounds silly, that it's an empty promise…but…you are the one that always protects us without ever expecting anything in return. I care about you. We all care about you, Remus". She looked back at the window. A single teardrop fell onto their joined hands, and Hermione looked back up at Remus. With his free hand, Remus brushed back a stray lock of hair from Hermione's face and looked into her eyes.
"Hermione…"
"It's okay, Remus. I know."
Ze End! So...what do you think? This is sort-of RLHG because it leaves an open possibility of something happening in the future...and obviously they're "meant to be". Heh.
Much luff...
Danceswithwolves