Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Author's note: Thank you iggymiggy and Reggie for being my first reviewers along with Penaaz! I do want to write Romione but I am afraid I will make a mockery out of it! No one can write Romione like JKR! And Reggie here comes Remus!

Constructive criticism appreciated! Please do review!

Chapter 3

Remus was waiting at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to deposit some of his papers. The Ministry was in the process of changing the archaic law of listing werewolves as creatures rather than giving them the status of wizards and witches. It was one of the few good results that came out of the war. He grimly wondered about how long it would take for the prejudice to reduce once the laws changed. Werewolves were feared and shunned from society for centuries and a change at the Ministry would hardly guarantee social acceptance. None of it mattered to him anyways. It was too little too late. Dora and his unborn child were gone. Cruelly ripped apart from him. Dora.

His Dora.

She was always so full of hope and joy. She didn't need to change the colour of her hair in order to brighten up the room. Her smile was enough for that. She was a young, brave and selfless woman who had done no wrong in her short life. Except for maybe fall in love with him. Had they not been married and had he not gotten her pregnant, she would not have been so vulnerable at the Battle. Hell, she came to the Battle because she thought he would need her there. But then again this was his Dora they were talking about. She would never miss out on any chance to fight the bad guys. Her simple view of the world never really simplified their lives. They constantly fought over various things like his lycanthropy, her recklessness and their unborn child. But then again no marriage was complete without its share of trials.

His Dora.

He missed her. He missed her more than he missed the feeling of being treated as a normal wizard. How he would go back to being discriminated against by the law just so he could hold her again and tell her how sorry he was for failing to protect her and their child. It was his fault. He was never good enough for her and he was never going to be good enough for his child. He should have been the one to go. Not his Dora. Not the innocent foetus.

"Thanks for dropping these off , you should get your certificates and monthly supply of Wolfsbane in a week's time." Smiled the sweet clerk at the desk. He muttered a quick and curt thanks and turned to leave. On his way out he bumped into a familiar and once bushy haired woman. He sighed. There was no way he could avoid this conversation. He had no idea what to say. Was he to say that he felt sorry for her loss? Honestly he didn't really care what happened to the rest of the world. Dealing with his pain had left him exhausted enough emotionally. He didn't have the strength or capacity to feel for others. But he wouldn't tell her that. He was raised better than that and he knew that it wouldn't have been easy for his former student to deal with her loss and the intrusion of media and society in her life at this particular time. The incident had been covered by every paper out there and was talked about by everyone. One of the Golden Trio and Harry Potter's best friend was now in a vegetative state. Every story made it seem like such an unfair story. Such a tragic incident. It wouldn't help that everyone pitied her now.

"Hi Hermione. How have you been ? Its been a while." He said more out of necessity rather than curiosity.

"I've been good. How about you?" she replied in what could have possibly been the most dead panned voice. This caught his attention and he looked into her eyes only to see brown. There was nothing else in there. Just pools of brown. He saw no misery, he saw no anger and no hurt. For the first time in what felt like a really long time, he was scared. Scared for his comrade and old friend. After Dora's death he had shut everyone out. Refusing to meet anyone or divulge his state of affairs to anyone. Not even Harry was privy to his thoughts and feelings which were mostly guilt ridden.

But the fear for his friend didn't last long. His sense of self preservation took over. He had learned by now that every time he got close to someone, the person either got hurt or it was him who got hurt. Knowing he didn't have the courage to face any kind of turmoil now, he wisely decided to cut short the conversation. "Same old, same old."

Hermione had long given up on Remus after Tonk's death. So she decided to just be friendly and passed on Molly's invitation to the lunch on Sunday, 'You must come this Sunday. We haven't seen you in weeks and your visit would certainly distract Molly for a bit.'

'So you want to use me as a distraction?' he spat out venomously.

'It's the least you could do for the woman who took you under her wing and attended your wedding. It's the least you can do for the family that supported you irrespective of what you were listed as at the Ministry. It's the least you could do for me and Harry, Remus. I know its been hard for you. But they would really like to see you.' Hermione had no idea why she was even trying. She knew he would turn her down or just not show up. But it was worth a try for Molly. That woman had done so much for her. She would be forever indebted to her and she also understood what Remus was dealing with.

Remus just turned and left abruptly.

Hermione knew there was no hope left for them.

Remus did not know why he was crying. He just had to get out of there.