•Chapter One•

Chasing After The Moon

It was raining again.

It had been two months after her encounter with Remus in his room in the cellar of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. She had managed to escape the room before Remus had woken up, as she did not want him to have even the slightest idea of what had happened. She was aware that there was blood on the sheets but she had seen Remus doing laundry after full moons before and there was always blood on the sheets. Surely he would think nothing of it this time.

She was amazed she had made it off the bed without waking him. Just sitting up had been exhausting to her as her limbs screamed in pain. Her heart stopped when she heard him groan and roll over as her hand hit the doorknob. He seemed to be fast asleep, though, and did not wake. She let out a quiet sigh of relief and then left the room completely. She had retreated to her own room where she had treated her achy joints and bruises with some magical cream, a bit relieved that there were no cuts or bites, and then lay in bed for an hour, just thinking, before finally falling into a sleep in which she did not wake until 1 PM the next day, worrying Remus slightly.

She kept a tight lip about the events of that night to herself and kept a good distance away from the cellar the next two full moons. She was sure that she seemed to be acting odd, always occupying her time with reading and making excuses for not being alone with Remus. She felt terrible, as she knew he was horribly lonely without Tonks but it hurt her so much just to look at him.

When three weeks had passed by and Hermione still hadn't had her monthly visitor, she became worried and left the house for a short period of time to make a trip to a Muggle convenience store and buy an old fashion pregnancy test. She wasted no time and, in the bathroom of that same convenience store, took the test…

Positive.

She stored the rest of the pregnancy tests in her purse and, a week later, tried again.

Positive.

And again a week later.

Positive.

Positive, positive, positive. Hermione was beginning to lose her mind with the thought of mothering a baby conceived when the father wasn't even in his right mind…or rather, his human mind. After a few more weeks of waiting, Hermione could bear it no more and scheduled an appointment with a Muggle doctor, knowing that if she did it in the Wizarding world, it would be all over the tabloids. Nothing stayed secret anymore and this was the most secretive way of going about it.

So there she was, one rainy day, sitting alone in a waiting room. Her foot tapped impatiently against the floor as she kept glancing at the clock. She wondered how she would explain it to Remus if it turned out that she was pregnant…and worse, how they would explain it to everyone else.

"'Oh, right, everyone. I'm about to have a baby. Not just any baby. A werewolf baby. Remus's baby to be exact. Oh, Ron, why do you look so surprised? Locked in a house with only one man for comfort can really mess with a woman's hormones…' Oh bloody hell, what have I gotten myself into?" she muttered to herself, burying her face in her hands.

"Hermione Granger!" called the nurse from a doorway, leading back into the doctors' offices. Hermione hastily got to her feet, smoothing her skirt slightly and then following the nurse to the back of the building. The nurse was quiet until they got to the room, which was their destination. She instructed Hermione to sit on the table while she went to fetch some paperwork. When she returned, Hermione was practically quaking in her seat.

"Relax, Miss Granger," soothed the nurse, patting Hermione's knee gently. "So, you're here for an ultrasound. We'll be bringing you to the room with the machine in a moment but we have to ask you a few questions first."

"A-alright," managed Hermione, her voice cracking slightly as she shook with nervousness.

"Have you been pregnant before?" asked the nurse.

"N-n-no…"

"Is this your first ultrasound?"

"Y-yes…"

"Have you had any previous complications with x-rays?"

"N…no."

"Righto. That's pretty much it. If you will follow me to the ultrasound room we'll begin right away." The nurse stood up from her chair and Hermione hopped down from the table and followed the woman out of the room.

They entered another. In this room there was a comfortable looking bed, a television set, and what looked to be a camera on a bar attached to a wall, though Hermione recognized it to be an ultrasound machine.

"Please lay down on the bed, Miss Granger," instructed the nurse. "Remove all clothing from your lower abdomen area so that no metal or other substances interfere with the ultrasound. The doctor will be in shortly to begin." Hermione nodded and the nurse left.

The brunette climbed up on the bed and shuffled her skirt down to her knees and pulled her shirt up so that it was just below her breasts. She made sure no other clothing was in the way and pulled the blanket up to cover her exposed thighs and any little scar that was in that area. The doctor came in and Hermione was quite relieved that it was a woman and that she seemed the kindly type.

"Good afternoon, Miss Granger," she greeted with a warm smile. "I hear we might be expecting." That one phrase was enough to wipe away whatever reciprocated smile was forming on her lips completely away and fill her with dread once again. The doctor, Dr. Thornbee, noticed the sudden change in attitude. "Not eager to be a mother?"

"Not really…"

"Please, forgive me for asking, do you know who the father is?" Thornbee asked.

"Yes. It's just, we aren't married and…well, it's just complicated. Please don't ask me to explain…" Hermione pleaded.

"Of course, dear," whispered the doctor, pulling something out of a drawer. She unscrewed the top of a container and began to smooth some kind of jelly on Hermione's stomach. "This is just in case there is something growing in there. We don't want to hurt it with the x-rays." Hermione nodded.

Once the ultrasound was underway, the doctor adjusted the television so that Hermione could see and Hermione watched as a very small black thing amongst all of the gray moved about. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes…

Positive…

Once the ultrasound was finished, the doctor escorted a very disheveled Hermione to the waiting room. The brunette witch cried the whole way, having to stop several times to gather her wits only to breakdown again a few more steps along. She paused just outside the waiting room to fix her hair and wipe her eyes. She shook hands with the doctor and thanked her, following her out into the waiting room.

"Hermione!" called someone from a chair in the waiting room. She looked up quickly and was met by the amber gaze of the one and only Remus Lupin.

"R-Remus! What…?"

"Is this the father?" asked the doctor, looking at Remus appraisingly.

"Father…?" questioned Remus, a bit shocked by the accusation. He seemed baffled and looked from the doctor to Hermione and then back. "I…Hermione, you…you're…?" He couldn't seem to get the words out and she didn't help him along. Without a word, Hermione turned and left the building completely, starting down the sidewalk to the spot she had apparated to so she could disapparate back to Number 12.

She was halfway down the sidewalk, the rain drenching her clothes and soaking her hair, when Remus caught up with her. She didn't bother to cast an rain-repellant charm as she had on the way to the doctor's office. She barely took notice when an umbrella was placed over her head and another warm body joined her. She glanced up after a moment and noticed that Remus seemed to want to say something but was keeping silence out of respect.

"Remus, I'm pregnant," she said finally, getting that out of the way. "If you want to say something, just say it. There is no reason to spare me."

"I…I'm just in shock…" he replied. "Can I ask who the father is?"

"…No."

"Alright," he murmured. "Can I ask how far along you are?"

"About three months…"

Silence.

"What were you doing at the doctor's office? How did you know I was there?" asked Hermione, her feet shuffling against the cement of the sidewalk.

"Someone tried to call Number 12 to confirm an appointment for today," he replied. "I was worried about you going alone but when I went to find you, you'd already gone so I decided to meet you there. You were already with the Muggle doctor when I arrived so I waited for you in the waiting room. I hope you aren't mad at me…"

"I'm not mad at you…confused…frustrated…mad at myself…but I am not mad at you. I'm glad you came. I couldn't trust myself to be alone right now." She bowed her head and crossed her arms over her body.

Remus stopped walking and Hermione stepped out from under the umbrella and into the rain again. Noticing his pause, she turned and looked at him as he turned his eyes on her. She always felt so restless under his amber gaze and the look on his face made it seem like he was searching her for answers but having little luck. Hermione took a few small steps forward so that she was shielded from the rain under the comfort of the umbrella once more. She turned her eyes away from his, afraid he'd realize too much just by looking at her. She flinched when she felt his hand on her shoulder, and raised her eyes a little to look at his comforting face.

"Hermione, you know if you ever need someone to talk to, I am here," he murmured, rubbing her shoulder a little and causing Hermione to shiver in the remembrance of how the wolf had done the same thing.

"I know…" Hermione replied, letting out a long sigh. "I just…don't want to talk about it to anyone. Would it be too much to ask that no one else finds out about…well…my predicament?"

"Of course I won't tell anyone," Remus replied, placing his hand on her back and moving along the sidewalk once more. "It's no one else's business but yours."

"Right…" Hermione whispered as they continued to the apparation spot.

Once they reached Number 12 again, Hermione walked into the lobby, sending a weary eye to the covered up portrait of Mrs. Black. Remus shook out the umbrella just outside the door and entered into the house quietly, as well. Silence dominated and Hermione could feel his eyes on her back. She didn't really know how she wanted to proceed. She didn't want to return to her room, as she had already spent a good amount of three months locked up in there, and the study just didn't seem as comforting as it always did. She looked down for a moment and then turned back to Remus.

"Tea?" she asked in a barely audible whisper.