Sweet Merlin, was he amazing looking. He was lying on the bed with a blanket pulled up to his neck. Hermione stood in the doorway, watching his chest rise and fall lightly as he slept. Her eyes swept upwards. He had strands of light brown hair lightly brushed over his forehead. Streaks of premature grey were clearly visible but not enough to make him look old; there was just enough to make him look more mature and slightly weathered. Scars crisscrossed randomly across his face and neck, disappearing down behind the blanket. He always tried to hide his many scars from her. He said that they constantly reminded him of the monster that he was. She disagreed; she thought they looked somewhat alluring, the marks of a brave yet modest man, a man who could live with the pain of the scars and their origin and yet not go around showing them off as trophies.

He shifted in his sleep and the blanket fell sideways off his chest. His chest was riddled with scars, more numerous than the ones cutting across his face. He was not very muscular, but he still had a strong yet lean build about him. His pale blue eyes fluttered open suddenly and he saw Hermione in the doorway watching him. He noticed the fallen blanket and pulled it instinctively back up.

"It's not very pretty is it?" His tone was bitter. Hermione walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"They make you look more handsome," she said softly. He snorted and pulled the blanket up higher on his neck. He knew they weren't attractive looking. There were more scars on his torso than he had skin and many more transformations still awaited him. Only James, Sirius, and Peter had ever seen his scars, and Remus had acquired a great deal more since his school days. He had been afraid to show them to anyone else, primarily because he knew they would inquire where he had gotten them. He was also afraid they would ridicule him; who would have wanted to date a werewolf that looked like that?

"It's true," she said softly. She reached out a hand tentatively and started to trace the scars running across his face. He stiffened and turned his head away from her.

"Don't say that. I know I'm not."

She gently reached over and tilted his head so that he was facing her. She leaned over and gently kissed him on the lips.

"You're beautiful, Remus. I love you, scars and all." She continued tracing the scars with one light finger. He closed his eyes and hoped it wasn't a dream or a cruel joke. Her hand was slowly tracing the scars on her neck now, and the light tracing of her finger caused a small ticklish flutter on this throat and he opened his eyes.

She gently moved the blanket down to his waist. He prepared himself for the look of disgust as she saw his many scars; some had not healed up properly and were still a nasty looking brownish-red color.

She caught him watching her and her deep brown eyes met his pale blue ones. She carefully traced all the scars, her fingers dancing around the edge of the newer ones, afraid to reopen them. She understood that he was not what most considered handsome; even without the scars and the prematurely grey hair he did not have the natural graces of Sirius Black, and the easy ability to attract women. He was however, better looking than Sirius, or any other Cedric Diggory like male. Remus Lupin was brave, caring, loyal, intelligent, amusing, and multiple other traits that Hermione admired in him. His amazing looks, in her opinion, only added to her attraction to him.

Remus reached out and grabbed Hermione's hand. "Hermione, look at me and honestly tell me that you love me; that you love the old, ugly, scarred, dangerous half-breed."

Hermione looked straight at him. "I love Remus Lupin, the dashingly handsome man who also happens to be a werewolf whom I trust never to hurt me."

He felt his heart leap. She knew what he was and what she looked like and still loved him. What did he ever do to deserve and angel like her he would never know. "I still may hurt you, Hermione, but I will do everything in my power not to. You truly are an angel to love a monster like me. And I love you for it."

And he wondered over those words everyday for the rest of his life. He had thought it was a joke. The angel that he loved would never love him back. He had thought he was a dream up until they were on the altar when it hit him. She loved him with her entire heart, and he loved her back with just as much. But every night when he fell asleep next to his young bride, he still marveled that a monster like him ever ended up with an angel like her. And every time Hermione told him she loved him, every month that she held him and helped him after his transformations, he felt less like Moony and more like Remus Lupin who was happy as he was, scars and all.