Disclaimer: None of it belongs to me. Sigh. I wish it did.

A/N: This story has been written for the Bite Me Challenge.

Love Bite

The mystical, pregnant moon shone its entrancing rays through the tattered curtains of the bedroom. Nothing but the moonlight had penetrated the icy barriers around him and it dimly, but majestically illuminated the sagging walls surrounding his broken form. His eye sight pierced the orb painfully as his groan of anger transformed into a pleading howl. He lifted his head high once more to face the object he feared more than death itself, hanging proudly in the starry velvet sky.

As if to hide away from his sharp sight, it shied away behind dull gray mists of floating clouds. He shut his eyes, now bloodshot, as he twisted and turned trying vainly to overcome the torturous transformation from man to beast. Aching with agony, his bones began to stretch and bend, straining his muscles, putting them on the verge of ripping so harshly, that it could never be healed.

His eyes shot open suddenly and a lone droplet of tear graced his cheek as the pigment of his pupils changed from a vibrant turquoise to a shady tone of silver-grey. Panting, his knees gave away and hit the aging, hardwood floor cruelly, making him release yet another howl to his persecutor.

His teeth grew and slit parts of his lips deeply, and his ears transformed to that of a wolfs, catching every noise in his surroundings, may it be the pitter patter of insects on the floor or the shuffle of footsteps underneath him. He could smell the stench of perspiration roll off of his furry body as his transformation almost came to an end. A wave of dark chocolate and honey overcame his sense of smell as his ears perked up at the noise of footsteps edging towards his door.

The human trapped inside of him whimpered as it was all he could do. The beast fell to the ground as the final stages of the transformation took place. His chest arched upwards and his blood rushed to his head as his limbs expanded brutally. The door swung open just as Moony let out his final howl of pain, stinging her ears and making her back away.

"Remus."

Her voice escaped in barely a whisper but the panting werewolf caught it and lifted his new form up, facing her. She stepped back. She had done this a million times, come to him during his transformation and give him the chocolate he adored so very much. But never did her fear rise the way it did today. Something different about his howl had made her afraid all of a sudden.

He walked towards her slowly, moving expertly on all four limbs. A certain spark in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by Hermione. She moved back until she couldn't go any further, the wall behind her forbidding her to move anymore. Her eyes portrayed obvious fear as he came up to her and stood on his feet in front of her. When human, Remus was easily at least an inch taller than Hermione and because of his transformed body, he towered even higher above her.

She stared into his eyes and realization hit her like a bag of knifes stabbed into her stomach.

This was Moony.

"R-Remus."

Her voice broke as she tried to reach the human that was trapped deep inside the beast, pleading him to overcome his werewolf form. When he gave no recognition of overpowering Moony, she did something that she knew she wasn't supposed to. She had read about werewolves in many books, telling the reader what to do and what not to do if this particular situation arose. But instinct had a way of outweighing logic and so as soon as she had regained her senses, she had bolted across the corridor and down the stairs, trying, with difficulty, to hide from what could be her demise.

But Moony was quick and agile, and even when she hid in the most discreet of places, he had found her. Finally, she had come to remember that werewolves had extraordinarily heightened senses. It was literally impossible to hide from one. This had been confirmed when she stood, shivering, backed in a corner by the former.

He took no time in pacing towards her and blocking her path completely, should she try to escape once more. He lowered his snout close to her neck as she whimpered under his hot breath. His tongue shot out and slid across the crook of her neck.

Tears slid down her pale cheeks as she shuddered fearfully.

And then it came.

What she had feared of from the beginning of the night, when she had seen him collapse on the floor of his room. His razor-sharp teeth sunk into the sensitive flesh of her neck like daggers and his prickling saliva was injected into her blood, along with the curse of lycanthropy.

"No… please-"

She couldn't speak any further as a scream escaped from her dry lips and she sobbed uncontrollably. She wouldn't transform this month, but she would feel a hint of the pain as she was infected by the illness. A hint of the pain. Her imagination was limited, not letting her understand how painful the actual transformation was going to be if what she felt now was only a hint of what it felt like.

After what seemed like an eternity, his fangs finally left her flesh. Her wound bled tersely before he slid his tongue across it once more, leaving nothing but a red mark on her skin as evidence of the night's events. The room became darker and darker as he suddenly fell to the ground and let out a loud shout of unearthly pain. She slid down the wall and crouched in the haunted corner that symbolized her downfall, veiled in a blanket of darkness that was spread across the old unsteady walls, watching the human inside of him being released back into her world.

She dug her face into the palms of her hands and she sobbed, unable to face Remus. Why did she refuse to go out with all her friends tonight? If she hadn't been so strongly against letting herself come home in the early hours of the morning, drunk and uncoordinated, she would have gone with them, and this whole situation could have been avoided. But that was not the case. She had decided to stay. Unfortunately.

She didn't look. Didn't see as his naked form lay on the floor, panting, trying to catch his breath. Didn't see him turn towards her and stare, not understanding why she was crying. She didn't see him turn to cover himself and then come back to her with questions roaming around his mind.

He slowly placed a hand on her shoulder and she pulled away, as if she were frightened by him.

"Hermione."

She looked up towards his face and stared at him straight into his now crystal blue eyes. She turned her face to her right, shielding her eyes from him. But she made the mistake of exposing her bare neck to him completely. He gasped as he gazed at her face unbelievably, searching for a sign; anything that could tell him that what he was thinking was wrong.

She turned her head back towards him, her eyes accusing him of the crime he had committed in his former self. His head hung low in shame as he felt lost and useless for being the one to cause her harm and then for being unable to help her in any way.

"Hermione; I'm sorry. I just didn't know what I was doing."

"But why didn't you take the damn potion this time Remus?! Why?"

"I dozed off. When I woke up, it was almost time, and it had begun before I could reach the potion. I- I don't know what I can do now to help you. I just wasn't myself."

She took it a lot better than he had when he found out that he was infected. She understood. But the circumstances in which he had been infected were different to hers. Remus could feel so much guilt, and his senses could feel the fear that she felt. But it could also feel the courage, and the understanding.

Hermione had no idea how she was going to deal with such a situation. She was only experienced to the extent of what she had read in books and what she had been told by Remus. Over the years that she had started to live at Grimmauld, she had become great friends with Remus and they spent a lot of time together reading, talking or working on Order business. She would come to him on the night of his transformations with hot chocolate and his dark chocolate bar and would sit with him, but leave before dawn to give him privacy.

They had grown close to each other and to a certain extent, she had felt her childhood crush rise again but she would dismiss it to the back of her mind. She wanted to do nothing that could ruin what they had. Right now, all she needed was some comfort. And who better than him to do just that? She wrapped her hands around his waist and cried into his chest.

Surprised for a moment, he composed himself and put his arms around her, thinking that the least he could do was offer her comfort. Soon she would have to face her friends and family about this and he was sure as hell going to be there with her at every step. As if she had somehow read his thoughts, she looked up at him.

"I'm going to have to tell them all. What am I going to do?"

"Don't worry Hermione, they are your friends. They will accept you no matter what."

She dug her face back into his chest.

"I hope."

A mob of drunken clumsy people, stumbled through the door just as Hermione had settled down and let Remus leave and dress himself properly. She didn't know how she was going to face them all but at least she could buy time by waiting until they were all sober. She sat down on the couch and began reading a muggle non-fiction book called Princess when Remus had finally come into the library and sat next to her.

"Ah, Princess. An interesting choice. It is very… enlightening in my opinion."

"You've read it?" Hermione looked at him, surprised by his comment on a muggle book.

"Yes of course. Muggles do think of some interesting things to write about. I really did enjoy Duma Key. The author's style of writing is intriguing and his plot lines leave me thinking long after I've finished reading the book."

It was almost as if they were back to normal for the next few hours, chatting about muggle books and authors and discussing the plots of their stories. His intelligence never ceased to impress her just as hers never ceased to impress him. They talked for long, both teaching each other new things and Hermione had all but forgotten about her problems until a knock on the door alerted them of the presence of another in the library.

"Lost in books again? The two of you will never change now will you?" Harry Potter chuckled as he entered the library, sitting down across the two at his desk. He had never thought about this and this sudden realization had all but startled him completely. Remus and Hermione would be a great couple. They were unimaginably compatible to each other, sharing interests in all the same things. Their personalities would differ only in some aspects but other than that they were like twins.

He looked at her closely and then his eyes widened.

"Hey Hermione! Is that a love bite?!"

Hermione's head snapped towards Harry, her hand subconsciously rubbing her neck, as she stared at him.

"Um… n-no. I just got hurt." What a lame excuse.

"You got hurt." Hermione nodded. "Okay. Whatever you say." He turned back to his work, not believing her excuse but thinking that it was none of his business until he decided to tell her.

"Hey Harry. Hermione; Remus." Ginny strode into the room over to her boyfriend's desk and sat down on the table, talking to him animatedly about something and then exiting the room once more. Remus and Hermione had continued to discuss books until she stuck her head in once more and called them all down to lunch.

Sitting on the edge of the table next to Remus, Hermione felt queasy. She couldn't handle all of this but she knew that she had to come clean at one point or another. Now or never, she thought, standing up and clearing her throat loud enough to make everyone turn towards her. Remus squeezed her hand gave her an encouraging look. She looked at everyone in front of her: Ron, Harry, Ginny, the Weasley brothers, Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Sirius and Dumbledore. Wow, that was big crowd.

She took a deep breath and began explaining to everyone about the events that had taken place the night before. She had made sure to clearly explain to everyone that Remus was in no way guilty of harming her and that it was all just a mistake, which she had begun to understand well. She explained to everyone how Remus had come to mark her and why he wasn't himself. The expression on everyone's faces hadn't gone unnoticed by Hermione as she spoke. Dumbledore, Sirius and Harry, just as she had expected, had nodded in consideration and smiled at her, silently accepting her no matter what she was and forgiving Remus for a crime he did not commit. Harry's eyes widened for a moment when she pointed towards the bite mark on her neck and then continued. He let out a small chuckle. Love bite. The Weasley brothers were also quite understanding, though it had taking some explaining to get them all to comprehend that Remus was not to blame.

Finally, after she was done talking, everyone was fine with the situation and continued with their meal. Everyone except for Ronald. She knew it was too good to be true when everyone had simply accepted her predicament and let it go. Ron was redder than ever and he was boiling with rage. He was unable to understand that Remus was not guilty.

"How could you, you sick bastard?! She isn't some piece of meat that you can pick up and bite anytime you want!"

He stood up, knocking over his chair while Remus remained seated, uninterested in his useless ramble.

"And you!" He turned to Hermione, "I always knew you had a thing for him. But to go as far as get yourself turned into some monster! How could you Hermione? I thought you loved me like I did you but it figures to get this sort of behavior from a Mudblood."

Slap.

Ron scrambled off of the ground where he had fallen and got up, his hand placed on his red cheek. Remus stood in front of him, raging with anger at the way he had treated Hermione. He didn't understand how someone who had been her best friend for more than eight years could suddenly shun her this way. Hermione stood behind Remus, desperately trying to get him to sit back down.

"Remus I don't care what he says. Will you just please leave him be?"

"No Hermione!" Remus began to address Ron, "Ron you have been her friend for so many years now. How could you treat her this way?"

"Because she betrayed me. I know why she got herself into a mess like this. Stupid who-"

Dumbledore got up from his seat before Ron could say anything more to infuriate him for even worse, the werewolf in front, who was already very furious with the youngest Weasley boy.

"Enough Mr. Weasley. I will assure you that in no way has Miss. Granger intentionally wished this upon herself. Now I believe all the members of the household would appreciate it if you had either sat down quietly or left immediately!" Dumbledore's voice boomed loudly, making Ron's face pale. He silently walked out of the room ignoring the nasty looks that everyone shot at him.

"I am truly sorry for you Miss. Granger. Though there is little anyone can do in this situation. I believe it is best if I assign Remus to keep watch over how you do. At least until you get through your first few transformations. That is, if he does not mind." He turned to Remus with a questionable look.

"Of course not." Remus smiled at Hermione and took his seat once more at the dinner table, famished.

Hermione paced through the room over and over again; from left to right and Remus sat on the couch, watching her, amused.

"Hermione. You're doing this for the fourth time now. Would you please calm down?"

"How can you expect me to-"

The loud voice of Sirius Black echoed through the house and reached the person, or rather people, it was meant to be heard by.

"Moony! 'Mione! That's it! Stop chewing on my damn furniture!"

Remus looked at Hermione in disbelief.

"What? Don't look at me like that. I only bite the couch to stop myself from screaming bloody murder!"

Remus' eyes watered slightly and soon, as he was unable to hold it in any longer, he burst out laughing. Merlin she was one crazy witch. She slapped his arm playfully and straddled his lap.

"Oh don't make me tell him of the time you crashed his bike Mr. Lupin. Or when you broke his favorite mug beyond repair. Or when you stood in front of the mirror in his old clothes, trying to charm an imaginary woman just like he does. Or the time you g-"

Remus sealed her lips with a chaste kiss as he finally got her to shut up. True, she had a lot of things against him. But knew one thing about her that gave him the greater advantage. She was a sucker for his kisses. He smiled against her lips as he thought about how their relationship had developed over the past four months. They had spent almost every waking hour together, doing one thing or the other, or just sitting quietly in each other's company. He had been hesitant to let her in and to start something with her. He knew that she was like him now but he still felt that she was a lot more human than him. He had faced so many challenges in life that he only found joy when he would drown himself in masses of books. But now he had found another source of happiness. And this happiness made him feel complete. He was just afraid that like many other things, this happiness would eventually be taken away from him.

But she was so intelligent, witty and Merlin she was so beautiful that he had a hard time resisting her until one day he had finally broke and given in to her advances. Soon he had grown to love the young witch but had not yet declared it, lest he scare her away or that she may not return his feelings. But he had a feeling that he would have to tell her soon.

They broke the kiss, panting, trying to catch their breath. She absolutely loved the way he would kiss her; always starting slowly and then building it up to become all-encompassing. And when they broke away, he would leave small kisses on her lips, as if to get just a little more. Just this little act would make her head spin and her blood rise, making her want to kiss him passionately all over again.

"I love you."

The words had all but slipped out of her mouth absent-mindedly leaving her just as surprised as he was. Her surprise quickly turned to nervousness as she waited for him to say something; anything at all. But instead of saying anything, he pulled her into another searing kiss, a kiss that spoke a thousand words and yet was silent like the night, and they broke away just as the first effects of the night's transformation began to take place.

A/N: I hope you liked it. I hope to post another story soon. My thanks to anyone who thought to review my story, and I am in no way against criticism. Please feel free to say anything that might help me improve my story if you find anything that you think should be changed.