Hermione stops in her tracks at the landing of the stairs as an unexpected voice comes to her ears.
It is Remus Lupin, her former professor at Hogwarts, who, despite being on a mission underground, has probably come to visit the Burrow during winter holiday.
But he is not alone.
"Please wait, please just listen to me -". His voice carries along with two pairs of footsteps coming from inside the house and moving closer and closer to the doorway, and Hermione retreats backwards to avoid being seen and, judging from his tone, to not intrude on what appears to be a tense and personal conversation.
"Dora, please, I just want to talk to you," Remus says, and for a moment, Hermione is confused as to who he is speaking to, before she hears Tonks refuse him and remembers that her friend's first name isn't Tonks.
Hermione recalls the two of them being quite close friends, or as close as any two people in the Order could be, but why would Remus be calling her by a nickname?
And what could have gone wrong between the two of them?
"Dora please. Dora!"
"No, Remus," Tonks' voice says sharply.
They are by the front door now, and Hermione holds her breath as she leans against the wall of the corridor, hidden from sight by the shadows.
"Dora, wait, would you just stop and listen -"
"No Remus, you stop. Stop treating me like I'm your whore -"
"I don't tre-"
"- and stop expecting me to open my legs for you every time you come crawling back-"
"I'm not trying to-"
"- because frankly, Remus, I can't take it anymore."
"Please just hear me out-"
"No, you listen - You think you can just leave me right after every time and have me feeling so vulnerable and so exposed and so used and that I'll just forget about it and let you do it all over again-"
"I never wanted you to fee-"
"- but I just can't take it anymore Remus! My heart can't take it anymore! I just can't keep up with your constant coming and going and getting my hopes up but just being crushed again and again every time."
"I just don't want to hurt you - Dora, I never wanted to hurt you."
"Well, you're hurting me now, Remus! Do you think this doesn't hurt? Do you think I want my heart torn apart every time you leave?"
"I don't know what to do! I'm not good enough for you-"
"Just quit playing with my emotions, Remus. And stop coming to me every time you need a lonely fuck."
The front door opens, and Hermione hears a gush of cold January wind blow through the threshold before it slams shut.
She chances a peek, craning her head around the corridor and peers down the stairs.
Remus Lupin stands alone, facing the doorway, his hair tousled slightly by the recent draft.
Hermione holds her breath as she awaits his next movement, and watches as he sighs frustratedly and runs a hand over his forehead and down his face.
Remus makes a half turn and Hermione moves to recoil back into the shadows, thinking he will make his way upstairs, but then he reaches for the doorknob and follows in Tonks' wake.
The draft has left a slight amount of snow inside, which has since melted to a puddle by the door, but Hermione jumps to avoid it when she reaches the bottom of the stairs and peers out the small glass square window.
She can't help but feel a little guilty at having overheard their conversation, almost as though she is stealing a peek into their private lives and knowing things she shouldn't be privy to.
She is surprised to learn about their relationship, and in this way, no doubt. Despite what she's just heard though, Hermione knows she is just an outsider, and that she may never know all the details of the ups and downs of their journey, but when she finds her vision blurring slightly with tears as she watches the two of them holding one another tightly in each others' arms in the midst of light snowing, she also knows that whatever obstacles may come their way, she hopes for the best for them both.
Hermione sees Remus murmur something indecipherably into Tonks' ear, and then watches as Tonks leans upward and presses her mouth to his.