TITLE: Your Really Here
AUTHOR: Teigra
E-MAIL: teigra_kefira@yahoo.com
PAIRING: Remus/Hermione
SERIES: Yes
ARCHIVE: Ask first.
CLASSIFICATION: PG for now
SUMMARY: Remus finds an old friend whom he hasn't seen in years.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them... She does *points to JKR* and I am making no money from this, I'm just enjoying sharing some of my own crazy ideas.
AUTHORS NOTE: Remus would *NOT* leave me alone until I wrote this. This is only the first part... but this is just to please him, so I can get back to writing my other fics. I now have a lovely beta reader... Markus... who has kindly gone over this (and many of my older fics) and betaed them for me.

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He had no idea why he was standing out side the door of room 15 at the Leaky Cauldron. It was just a spur of the moment decision. He had seen a woman going up the stairs, the scarf that had been wrapped around her head falling to her shoulders, and it was as if he knew her. Tom had said her name was Bethany, but he was sure he knew her. He hadn't seen her in almost 8 years, not since her last day at school, but he'd remember that head of hair anywhere. That bushy brown elegant hair that always seemed to be a halo around her beautiful face.

He wished he had seen her face before going up there, now poised to knock on her door. He felt sort of silly now standing there, coming up on a whim, sure that it was the woman he remembered. Berating himself, he knew that it wasn't too late to turn around and go back downstairs. The others were waiting for him at their table. However, he just couldn't walk away. Something within him would not allow him to leave until he knew the truth.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited.

A bit muffled though the door he heard, "Who is it?"

Shit, what was he going to say, that he just wanted to say hello? That he thought he knew her? The voice sounded familiar, but that could have just been his imagination. He had wanted to hear her voice for so long now that he sometimes heard it when no one was around.

"Um, I saw you coming up the stairs, and I thought..." clearing his throat, "that I knew you from some place. Names Remus."

He took a slight step back as the doorknob turned, and the door opened a crack. Not enough for him to see more than an eye peeking out, and a few small delicate fingers curled around the frame.

"Re.. Remus?" Her voice was small, tentative, and almost sounded broken.

"Hermione? Is it you?" He took a step forward and placed a hand on the door, trying to open it a bit more.

"Oh Remus..." She sounded like she was choking back a sob, and started to try and push the door shut. "You can't... go... please."

"Mione? No... don't shut me out again. Please, let me in?" He pleaded. How long had he wanted to hear her say his name again? How long had he needed to see her?

He was shocked it was all it took, but the pressure she was exerting on the door stopped, and she backed away, her small fingers leaving the frame. The little pressure he was putting on the door opened it about half way. He almost missed her face as she turned away, covering it with her hands.

"You... you can't see me like this. Please."

"Mione, what happened?" He stepped towards her, noting little things. She seemed much skinnier than she had been when he last seen her. Her hair that had gleamed in the sun by the lake seemed limp and dull. Her robes were hanging off of her and seemed quite old.

Her voice was barely a whisper, but he heard her any way. "I left him."

"Who?" His voice a low growl. Then checked his anger as he saw her shrink away.

"Mione..." He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?" He tried to make his voice as soft as possible.

"Remus..." She turned to him and buried her head into his chest, starting to cry as if her world was falling apart around her. He wrapped his arms around her.

Stroking her back, he whispered, "It's alright Mione. I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you." Carefully he led her over to the bed and sat down, bringing her with him. She had lost weight since he had last seen her. He could feel her ribs though the robes and he could also feel something else, she was freezing cold.

"Mione, can you look up at me?"

She shook her head into his chest, still sobbing. He could feel his robes getting soaked though.

Cradling her in his arms, he just let her sit there and cry herself out. He would get his answers when she finished. What could have happened to her? This was his Mione. Who was this person she left? How could he have let her get into this condition?

His thoughts were going through the many ways that he would make this man, who ever he was, pay for letting her get this bad; when he realized that she had fallen asleep, still crying periodically in her sleep.

Not moving, he whispered softly to her, "Mione, I will get to the bottom of this."

"Hey Moony!" He heard from the hallway, and he saw Harry and Severus walking up the hall calling him. He hadn't closed the door when he came in.

"You two..." He called out. "quiet, I'm in here."

He saw the two of them stop in mid-step and turn to look in the room.

"What are you doing in here Moony, and who's that?" Severus asked, his left eyebrow quirked up.

Putting a finger to his mouth, to try and quiet the two. "An old friend." With his other hand he was slowly stroking her hair.

"Who?" Harry asked, not getting the hint to shut up.

"Tomorrow. You two continue to party. It's your anniversary, don't worry about me. You've got Ron and Neville down there waiting for you." He threw them a smile. "I'm going to stay here."

"Alright Moony." Harry threw him a look of disbelief, one of his best friends missing out on the party of the century. "But I want to know why in the morning." Steering Severus out the door, and shutting it behind them.

Looking down at the top of the sleeping woman's head, he whispered. "I've missed you Mione."