Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, just this plot. They belong to the wonderful Ms Rowling. Hope you enjoy this, let me know what you think!
Remus tore through the castle as quickly as he could. He knew he would be being followed by McGonagall and Sirius, he had heard Dumbledore ask them himself, thanks to his hearing. He took no notice of his route to the Gryffindor quarters, for they were imprinted on his brain and he did not need to think about it. The only noise he could hear now was the blood pumping through his veins. He was slightly surprised to see the fat lady as quickly as he did.
"Hippogriff." He did not take time to thank her and did not reply to her questioning, he just went straight through to the common room and stood in front of Ginny.
"Which is Hermione's dorm?"
"Professor Lupin!" she smiled brightly.
"Which is it?!" he repeated, this time louder. She visibly recoiled from him and pointed towards the staircase to the left, mumbling the floor.
"Remus Lupin! Stop right there and come with me!" he heard McGonagall say sternly, somewhat out of breath no doubt from trying to catch up to him. He turned and snarled at her before sprinting up the stairs at record pace. Because of his speed, he managed to outrun the steps turning into a slide and was in her dorm and searching before McGonagall had a chance to even raise her wand. A few moments later, she was in the room too.
"Remus! Stop this instance!" he ignored her, and set about looking for clues as to how she had been taken.
"Remus… Please. You're scaring the students… and staff," she remarked softly, with a hint of sadness.
"Never mind. They all know I'm a beast, shouldn't surprise them when I start acting like one!"
"Don't you say that! Do not use your affliction as an excuse!" he didn't have time to care about what she had to say. At some point in his life, he may reflect on that and agree wholeheartedly with her, but right now he couldn't give a toss. Hermione was missing.
"We will find her."
"Well isn't that reassuring! With all the leads you currently have, I have absolutely no reason to doubt you!" he shouted as he kicked open her trunk.
"We are doing our best!"
"Your best isn't anywhere near good enough!"
"Remus!"
"Minerva!" they stood for a few moments staring at each other harshly, heavily breathing and attempting to calm down.
"I would do anything. You know that, Remus," the older woman stated sadly. For the first time, she looked all of her 77 years. She looked tired, broken and yet poised.
"Then do anything," Remus stated and morphed into his wolf counterpart. He looked at his onetime head of house and before his eyes she turned into a cat with the markings around her eyes being her only giveaway. She gracefully jumped her way up to the top of the bedposts and surveyed the room, using her superior eye sight to scan the room. Meanwhile, Remus sniffed all of Hermione's belongings, inhaling deeply the smell that was already imprinted on them. If indeed Hermione had been taken here, one of them would be able to find a clue. After a few minutes, Remus nudged her pillow out of the way to find a picture beneath her pillow. It was of him and her at Christmas and they were at the Burrow laughing animatedly. He was looking at her with nothing but admiration and love and for a second he let himself believe she was doing the same to him. He morphed back into human form and sat on the floor grasping the photo, trying to stop himself from shaking. McGonagall came quickly back down from the top of the post and converted into herself and got onto her knees beside him.
"Oh Remus," was all she said. It was all that was needed to break him. The emotion he had been so fiercely guarding and pushing down from the moment he was told she was missing came to the surface. One lone sob ripped from his throat and then he was crying. Silently and forcefully, he cried for the first time since Lilly and James had died. Minerva pulled him close and held him there, allowing herself a few moments of emotion with him. She could feel the release he so needed happening. The picture he held was beautiful and he held it like a lifeline. She didn't think she had ever seen either of them as relaxed and happy as they were in the picture. They were interrupted by the door being nudged open and a big black shaggy dog entering the room. He padded over slowly to Remus and transformed back into Sirius. He bought his forehead to Remus' and held his head there.
"We will find her," he said softly before enveloping Remus in a tight hug and then letting go and pulling the man to his feet.
"Did you find anything?"
"However she was taken, it was not from this room. There isn't a single thing I can see, nor anything Remus can smell that would suggest it. Between us, we would have found something." Minerva stated, business like once more.
"Well that's something. So it was from somewhere else in the castle or grounds. And we know it was sometime in the middle of the night but she wasn't seen by anyone."
"This would be a lot fucking easier if Snape would just tell us where they are!"
"He doesn't know where they are. I'm sure he could be more helpful than he currently is being, but he doesn't know where they hide out. I think the only person apart from the pack that knows is Voldemort himself."
"You know what they're going to do to her, don't you? You know that, because of me, Greyback will mark her. I have only 3 days before the full moon. 72 hours." Remus stated. Sirius and Minerva looked worriedly at each other.
"We don't know for certain that's their intention." McGonagall said.
"Come on! He is doing it to get me! He knows it will kill me, seeing her claimed by another. On a wolf level, it will drive me insane because I will always smell his scent on MY mate. On a human level it will drive me insane knowing she will transform each month because of me." He said sadly.
"Moony… we are trying everyone we know to find the pack. Someone must know something!"
"I haven't got time. There is someone that knows, and he is in this castle."
Remus set off from the room, apologising to Ginny on his way through for his behaviour and headed for the dungeons. He pleaded with Sirius and Minerva to let him go in alone and they only agreed once he gave them his wand and agreed they could stand outside. He entered the dimly lit room to find Dumbledore still there.
"Good evening Remus." Dumbledore stated kindly.
"Lupin I am not in the mood for a round of being incoherently screamed at." Snape spat icily.
"I love her." No one in the room moved or said a word. Remus could have shot a stunner at both men and it wouldn't have had that effect. Even Albus Dumbledore himself seemed shocked. They knew of course that he loved her, but it was the way he had said it. So pure, so innocent and so simple.
"As pathetic as that is, I still do not know where they are!" Remus knew he had broken Snape's resolve just a little and pressed on.
"But you know something that can help me, don't you?"
"Don't you think they will expect this? This is what they want! IF you go, they will have you both!"
"Please Severus, she is everything."
"And you think she will want a beast like you? You don't think she can do better? A werewolf old enough to be her father, lusting after her like a pathetic little schoolboy? Even a mudblood like her could do better!" Snape laughed.
"Severus!" the tone of Albus' voice was not threatening, but deadly. Remus simply walked up to the desk slowly, giving Snape enough time to draw his wand. He placed the photograph of them on the desk and Snape's eyes flickered down just slightly and then back to Remus.
"Of course she can do better, but in status only. She would never find anyone that feels as I do. She makes me a better person. She makes me want to embrace who I am, to declare the pure beauty and bestiality of the moon to whomever will listen, run and jump into the unknown, take stupid risks for simple pleasures and pursue everything with all the passion and integrity I have, while confronting this tired world and its prejudices head on. Around her, I am me. Around her, I start living." The silence that greeted him stretched on for just short of an eternity. He had stared at her laughing picture the whole time and smiled despite the tears falling down his face.
"Albus. In the Hogs Head at 9 o'clock tomorrow, there will be a man by the name of Felan. He is a small man, eager to prove a point to his pack from what I gather. He has a part of his left ear missing." Remus understood straight away that he was telling Dumbledore because if Remus was forced to take Veritasium, he would reveal Snape as a traitor. Whereas, Snape did not tell him. Dumbledore immediately repeated the information to Remus who nodded. Now, if questioned he would say Dumbledore told him and it would come as no surprise that Dumbledore knew of this man. Dumbledore knew of everyone. Remus thanked Snape and headed for the door with Albus in tow.
"Remus. Bring her back safely. She's important… to the Order." Snape chose his words carefully. Remus knew he had admiration for the girl if nothing else and had been somewhat saddened to hear of her being missing.
"She will come back Severus, even if it isn't me that brings her." They nodded to each other and then Remus and Albus exited together to find Sirius and Minerva at the door.