"How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found" By Meg
A/N: I don't own Harry Potter…I simply enjoy using the characters conjured up J.K. Rowling for my own sweet pleasure. Also, this AU.
Pairing: Hermione Granger/Remus Lupin.
When she arrived on the long stone walk way leading to Remus's cottage, Hermione already missed the lulling noise of the Hogwarts Express crossing the tracks. She missed the sound of first years giggling in the adjacent cars, the quiet conversations Harry and Ron had had, thinking she was asleep. Hermione had spent the hours-long journey reclined against the cushioned seat on her own side of the train car, sat sideways with her knees pulled up to her chest. It was all she could do to keep herself calm. She'd held her eyes closed the whole time, though it wasn't much of a struggle considering her lack of sleep since the news.
She felt a cold numbness envelope her when she'd kissed Ron and Harry goodbye. They had promised to write daily, but it wouldn't be enough to distract her from her grief. Harry had hugged her one last time and she could barely let go. Her fingers clung to the fabric of his shirt, pleading with her to hold on for one more moment. She only wished she'd had one more moment with her parents. But they'd had to leave, just as she had. She had a portkey to catch waiting for her in Diagon Alley.
The feeling of her stomach turning inside out had subsided after a few moments and Hermione had been slow to collect her bags off the lawn where she had landed, none too gently. The first thing she noticed was the smell, the rush of saltiness that hit her nose like the waves not too far off. It was a pleasant change from the musty dankness that hung around in the castle. It was getting dark and a bitter cold was creeping in from the coast; Hermione wrapped her sweater around her tightly. Doesn't this place ever get warm? It's the summer, she thought to herself.
A short ways from where she stood was a tiny cottage that looked like it was on its last legs. The walls were encrusted with a light film of sea salt, probably as old as the house was, and the very boards that made up the house looked as though they were pulling away from each other. Lights were on in the windows, throwing a soft halo of brightness over the grass and cobblestone walk. Hermione could see the figures of two people faintly as she approached; one of them must be Remus, she supposed, but who was the other?
As she neared, walking silently, she could see them more clearly through a gap in the threadbare curtains. One of the figures was indeed Remus, the other however, was a woman who looked no older than thirty. She could make out that they were talking, but couldn't hear them through the thick-paned glass of the window. Hermione paused at the door, half not wanting to disturb them and half not wanting to see anyone just yet. There was a faded blue porch swing that hung from chains screwed into the roof, Hermione laid her two bags on floorboards next to the front door and sat down on the swing.
She laid her head against the chain and let the bench rock with the wind for a moment while she watched them.
Remus and the woman were talking with their hands, and he was gesturing in such a way that Hermione could only read as exasperation. She was glad she'd decided to wait before going in, it seemed clear to her that they were having a row. Remus approached the dark haired woman, who was looking away from him, and grasped up her arm. Hermione was momentarily afraid that Remus was going to hit the woman when he pulled her to him and kissed her. Hermione felt like a voyeur as she watched them kiss passionately, his hand digging into her long straight hair, begging her to continue to kiss him. It was only a few seconds before she broke the kiss and forced her palms against his chest, pushing him away.
Hermione stood up quickly as she saw the woman grasp up her sweater from the chair next to the window and jerk the front door open.
"No, Remus. I won't be any part of this." She forced the words out from behind gritted teeth. "Call me when you're done being an immature little prat."
The woman stared at Hermione as she plucked her bicycle from the side of the house, mounted and rode off without so much as another word to Remus. The front door stood wide open, the bright halo of light obscured by the shadow Remus cast.
"I was hoping you would have come in and saved me from all that..." He said, as if talking to no one.
"I, uh....how did you know I was here?" Hermione finally spoke after a moment.
His footsteps on the hollow wood floor came closer until he rounded the corner, leaning against the door jam, hands in his trouser pockets. He smiled at her softly, eyes piercingly grey in the light from the rooms within.
"I'm a werewolf, Hermione." A charming smirk appeared on his full lips. "I heard you when you first got here, quiet as you were. The real giveaway was your smell...I think I could smell you even before you got here."
"Oh, I see." She nodded, feeling slightly uneasy and self conscious. "I'm sorry, really, I didn't want to...disturb....interrupt?"
"No worries. The fight was over as soon as you arrived." He explained further when he saw her puzzled look. "She's a muggle. From the village down the road....I obviously can't tell her about my monthly changes, so she assumes I'm with another woman."
"I can see how she would think that."
"Yes, and well, when I told her about you coming to live here... she assumed you were the other woman." He looked away, somewhat sheepishly.
It was then that Hermione noticed how much he had aged in the three years it had been since she'd seen him. His hair had grown, it was shorter in the back, but slightly longer than ear length on top. It had been an ashy mix of grey and light brown the last she'd seen it, but now it was mostly grey. He'd also grown a beard, one that looked as though it needed a bit of cleaning up around the edges. Hermione was suddenly struck by an odd feeling of attraction to him. It must be the grief....this is Professor Lupin you silly girl! She reminded herself, blushing furiously and fiddling with the hem of her shirt.
"Would you like to come in?"
Please R & R!
Meg