DISCLAIMER: Check the previous two chapters. Inspired by hermione snape's All For You and J.K Rowling owns the characters. Short and sweet.

Haha, this is the next chapter with some Hermione and Lupin stuff. We're getting to the point in the story where I really start going off on my own and I only look at the book for references rather than for actual goings-on. There will still be some unoriginal parts, but mostly it will all be original.

And I am SUPER happy with the response this story is getting - the first day, I was completely flooded with e-mails of favorites and alerts and reviews! It was completely insane, and so amazing I almost cried. So I have to thank everyone who either reviewed or put this on their favorites or alerts list. Man, you guys have really inspired me to really keep this thing going. So, of course, I owe you all the next chapter of Daughter of the Moon. Here you are!

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Chapter III

It was Friday now, and the approaching weekend had several students excited. Even Hermione was keyed up, though taking classes was usually her favorite thing to do in the world. However, with all of the extra ones she was taking, Hermione was already beginning to feel weary and tired, as if energy was being sucked out of her by these courses. However, she hadn't looked out the window last night, and therefore she hadn't noticed that the full moon was swiftly approaching.

After lunch and another use of the mysterious Time Turner, Hermione followed a very eager Harry and Ron to Defense Against the Dark Arts class. To say that she was nervous was an understatement. Which, for the people that knew her, was entirely out of character.

Hermione was always excited to meet a new teacher. But now, she wasn't sure if she was excited or frightened. To her relief, Lupin hadn't arrived when she and her friends did, so she had a little bit of time to relax.

The third year wanted to slap herself for her foolishness. Why was she so worried? This was simply another class with another new professor. There was no need to panic. There was no need for anxiety.

So why was she so scared?

"Blimey, Hermione, you look like you've just seen a ghost," commented Ron, who instantly backtracked and corrected himself, "Or, at least, you've seen a scary-looking ghost… for the first time."

"I'm perfectly fine," Hermione informed him stiffly. Why was he so concerned about her business? The door opened and her eyes flew to it only to find Parvati Patil, a fellow Gryffindor girl, coming in with some of her giggling friends. Her shoulders sagged and Hermione groaned. What on earth was wrong with her?

"No, Hermione, you don't look too good," Harry was saying somewhere to her right. "Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?"

"I'm fine, Harry, honestly." Hermione glared at the two boys. The fatigue finally washed over her and suddenly she didn't feel like dealing with either of them for the time being. "You two worry about me like I'm some sort of china doll. I can take care of myself. Stop treating me otherwise." She snatched her books and stormed off to sit at another desk.

In her anger she didn't hear Ron murmur, "Do you think it's a female thing?"

She also didn't hear Harry's reply. "I don't know. I just hope she feels better soon, whatever it is. I don't like seeing her like this."

And neither did Remus Lupin.

The fatigued professor had heard the two boys talking to his daughter, and had heard her rather feverish snap in response to their concerns. He managed to hold back a sigh. He had done plenty of research in his day on werewolves, not only to find out more about himself but also to find out what life would be like for Hermione, his one and only child.

So he knew that, around full moons, that while he was becoming restless and energetic, she would begin to lose her energy, and in turn her temper. And as much as he hated to admit it, and as much as he hated himself for it, it was being caused by him. By him being near her. He was drawing on her pure, human energy to keep the great wolf beast within him at bay. He could only imagine what her night would be like on the full moon, which was rapidly approaching. He could only pray that Dumbledore had some sort of plan for all this.

As he made his way to the front of the classroom and set his belongings down, everything quieted. He smiled at the class and said, "Good afternoon. Will you put your books back in your bags, please? Today is going to be a practical lesson - you'll only be needing your wands."

He watched as all the students exchanged looks of confusion and surprise at his request. Had they never had a practical lesson before? He had a lot to teach them, especially if his old friend was on the loose. And if Lupin knew Sirius Black, if Sirius had improved any over the years, then he knew that just about everyone in this room was in danger should Sirius ever find them.

Lupin had a nagging feeling in the back of his head at the thought of his old friend. He knew what it was. Some part of him still believed that Sirius was innocent, that he would never betray the Potters in the first place, or kill Pettigrew. However, Lupin wasn't so sure himself.

Soon, after a moment, everyone had pulled their wands out and had stowed their books away in their bags. "Right, then," he volunteered. "Leave your bags here, you won't be needing them. If you'd follow me."

Lupin walked back to the door of the classroom and opened it. After letting all the students pass through, and catching that strong scent of his daughter once more, Lupin came out and flicked his wand. The door shut and locked behind him.

He led them to an empty classroom, one that hadn't been used in quite a while, where a single rattling wardrobe stood in the middle of it. The class filed in, and Lupin followed after them. He left the door open and strode to the front of the group of babbling students. The wardrobe suddenly rattled quite violently, and several students jumped back. Lupin was pleased to see that his daughter wasn't one of them.

"Nothing to worry about," he assured them. "There's a boggart in there. Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces. Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards underneath sinks… I've even met one that had lodged itself into a grandfather clock." He shuddered to remember that it had taken the form of his daughter's bleeding, mangled body. "This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I personally asked the headmaster if I could use it to practice with you all today. So, the first question is… what is a boggart?"

He almost smiled to himself when Hermione instantly raised her hand, looking eager to answer the question. Dumbledore had told him that she was one of the brightest witches he had ever met, and he was proud to see it was showing.

"It's a shape-shifter," she answered, and Lupin felt a rush of pride as she got the answer right. "It can and will take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us the most."

"Couldn't have put it better myself," Lupin answered tenderly, smiling lightly to himself as her expression broke out into one of pride, and she smiled. He felt a pang in his heart as he realized her smile was exactly like Vivian's… He cleared his throat and continued. "So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He doesn't know yet what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he's alone, as whenever someone is near he'll turn into what that person fears the most. And so, what sort of advantage will all of us have over it, Harry?"

Lupin purposefully turned his head away from his daughter (who already had her hand high in the air and waving it frantically) to look at Harry Potter. He couldn't make it seem as though he showed any favor to her. Harry seemed to shift his weight uncomfortably, not liking being put in the academic spotlight.

"Er - because there are so many of us, it wouldn't know what shape to take?"

Lupin nodded. "Precisely." He did his best to not look at his daughter, who seemed disappointed that she hadn't gotten to answer the question. "It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a boggart make that very mistake - tried to frighten two people at once and turned into half a slug. Not even remotely frightening."

A few people snickered in the back.

"The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to take on a shape that you find truly amusing. We'll practice without wands first, if you don't mind. After me. Ridikulus!"

The class echoed him. "Ridikulus!"

He smiled and nodded. "Good. Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see the word alone is not enough." His eyes instantly went to Hermione, but as he realized what he was about to do, he averted his eyes to the next person standing beside her. "Neville, will you come join me, please?"

The rotund boy blinked in surprise at being called forward, and carefully same to stand by Professor Lupin as if he were coming to his death. He looked up at Lupin with wide, frightened eyes.

"Right, Neville," said the Professor. "First things first. What would you say is the thing that frightens you most of all?"

He couldn't hear what the boy said in response, so he requested, "Didn't catch that, Neville. Sorry."

Neville gulped and looked around as if someone would rush forward and help him before answering in a more clear voice, "Professor Snape."

Everyone in the class laughed, even Hermione. Lupin couldn't help but smile at the sight of it. She was so beautiful - just like her mother. Every time he saw her, Vivian came to mind… and all of the love and happiness he had felt with her came back to haunt him. And yet… at the same time… he could see just how different Hermione was from her mother. Oh, how he wished he could tell her…

Neville misunderstood his smile. "Or perhaps it's just his class…"

Lupin snapped himself out of his thoughts and looked reassuringly down at Neville. "I'm sorry, Neville, I didn't mean to make you feel as though your fear was misplaced. Professor Snape can be very frightening." He winked, and Neville smiled. "Now, I believe you live with your grandmother, yes?"

"Er - yes," the young boy responded. "But I don't want that boggart to turn into her either."

"No, no, you misunderstand me. I wonder - can you remember what your grandmother usually wears?"

Neville seemed to consider this. "Well, always the same hat… with a stuffed…"

The Professor cut him off. "No need to say it out loud. Just picture them very clearly in your mind. Can you do that?"

Neville nodded.

"When the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will take on the form of Professor Snape. And you will raise your wand, like this," (he took a pause to show Neville how to hold his wand), "and cry, 'Ridikulus' and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If it all goes well, then your boggart Professor Snape will be forced to wear your grandmother's clothes and will be rendered helpless."

He turned to the class now, trying not to look at his daughter as he instructed them. "If Neville is successful, the boggart is likely to shift his attention to whichever one of us is closest. I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might make it into something funny."

Everything went quiet about the room. Professor Lupin wondered if Hermione would take her turn with the boggart. At the same time, he was both eager and nervous to see what would happen. Eager, because he could have an insight into his daughter's life that he'd never had before. Nervous, because he didn't want his daughter faced with the thing she found most frightening. The protective instincts in him arose, as suddenly the wolfish side of him felt the urge to leap in front of Hermione and make sure the boggart didn't come anywhere near her…

"Everyone ready?" he asked to bring his irrational thoughts to an instant close. He had to stop thinking like this, for the sake of his daughter.

When nobody protested, he nodded to Neville. "We're going to back away, Neville," he said. "We'll let you have a clear field, alright? The next person can step forward after everyone's had a good laugh - but not more than one at a time so we don't confuse the boggart into submission too early. I want as many of you to have a chance with it as you can. Everyone back now, so Neville can have a clear shot…"

Everybody backed away from the wardrobe at Lupin's direction, and all of them left a considerable space between Neville and the wardrobe, and a fairly wide distance around. The other students pressed against the walls, and Lupin could hear the increased heartbeat of everyone in the room, including his daughter's. Hating himself for it, Lupin took a peek at her to see that she was standing tall beside Harry Potter (he still wondered how she had ever come to be in consorts with his old friends' son, and the Boy Who Lived, but that was a question for another day), raising her chin as she looked at the mirror.

Now, had he known Hermione well, he would have known that she was actually quite frightened of the creature in the wardrobe. Of course she had read numerous articles and even a book on boggarts, but that didn't prevent her from feeling a little scared at facing her worst fear.

She watched as Lupin raised his wand, and the lock on the door twisted and the door swung open.

Professor Snape (though Hermione knew that this was indeed the boggart) stumbled out from the wardrobe and began to walk purposefully towards Neville, flashing his eyes and glaring down at the boy over a long, hooked nose.

"R-R-Ridikulus!" squeaked Neville as he finally managed to raise his wand.

It sounded as though something had cracked, and Hermione laughed along with her classmates as the Professor Snape was suddenly wearing a long-trimmed emerald green dress with a bright red handbag and a stuff vulture atop his head. Her laughter died off into interest as she looked at the boggart as it suddenly looked confused, and rounded on Parvati Patil, who had bravely stepped forward from the throng of her friends on the other side of the room.

With just one look, the boggart paused and suddenly another crack sounded, and in the comical Professor Snape's place was a mummy soaked in what appeared to be blood. Even Hermione shrank back from it, until Parvati shouted,

"Ridikulus!"

The mummy's wrappings unraveled until finally its head fell off, and Hermione giggled quietly as Seamus took a bold leap forward to face the boggart now.

Another crack sounded and the tangled mummy was suddenly a skeletal woman with floor-length black hair with green skin. Hermione instantly recognized it as a banshee as it opened its mouth and released a guttural scream that hurt everyone's ears.

Seamus paused for a moment, shaking and holding his head before flicking out his wand and growling, "Ridikulus!"

The banshee was clutching at her throat, and suddenly her voice was gone. And her skin, rather than being green, was a ridiculous color of pink. It looked confused before turning into a rattlesnake, which withered, and then into an eyeball, which shrank.

"It's confused!" Hermione was surprised to hear the Professor's voice. "We're getting there! Someone else, now!"

A Ravenclaw girl hurried forward, and the eyeball became a bloody-looking ghost, and reached out for the Ravenclaw when she yelled, "Ridikulus!"

The ghoul began dancing involuntarily, and everyone in the class laughed at it.

Ron took a step forward, then, and Hermione wasn't surprised at all to find that the boggart came onto him as a giant spider. Everyone was suddenly disconcerted by the arachnid, trying to skitter away from it. Ron looked frozen for a few seconds as the spider clicked forward, before he raised his wand and declared, "Ridikulus!" And suddenly the spider was skating.

"Just a few more blows, now!"

Well, if Ron could do it, then Hermione could. She gently made her way to the front to face the boggart with a look of pure concentration, even though she felt like shuddering to pieces and the skating spider looked at her and suddenly changed into what she feared most.

It was suddenly a great serpent, deep green in color, looking at her with glowing golden eyes - the very eyes she remembered seeing on the basilisk in second year before she'd been Petrified. But this one was no basilisk. It flicked out a great red tongue at her, teasing her robes, and Hermione gulped and raised a shaking wand before she said as clearly as she could manage, "Ridikulus!"

The serpent turned into a slinky, but nobody laughed at the sudden change except for Harry and a few other students. It was obvious that most of them, not being raised in the Muggle world as she was, had never seen or heard of a slinky before. Hermione wasn't sure if that made her feel special or just uncomfortable, and her knees were wobbling just a tad at seeing the huge snake.

She looked to Lupin for approval and praise. But all she saw there was a curious and concerned expression that made her think she hadn't done it right. Feeling completely out of place, she went back and she almost didn't notice Harry make his way forward.

Just as the boggart was about to turn its gaze at Harry, Lupin crossed the room with a purpose and jumped in front of him. The boggart took one look at Lupin before turning into what was either a moon or a crystal ball - Hermione couldn't tell which. When Lupin bellowed, "Ridikulus!", the frightening Dark creature exploded into a million wispy pieces.

All of the students applauded enthusiastically.

"Excellent! Well, done everyone. Let me see… five points to everyone who faced the boggart, and an extra five to Harry and Hermione each as well," Lupin praised them all.

"But I didn't do anything," Hermione heard Harry say in confusion.

The Professor looked at Harry and Hermione noticed how Lupin was very careful to look at him and not her. "You and Hermione answered my questions correctly at the start of class, Harry." Then he looked around at all of the students. "Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. For homework, I'd like you all to read the chapter on boggarts in your books and summarize it in five sentences for me - due on Monday. That will be all."

Hermione turned to go just as Lupin said, "Now, Hermione, I was hoping to speak with you after everyone else has collected their bags? I'll be waiting in my office."

"Of course, Professor," she murmured before following the rest of her classmates back to their original classroom.

And Lupin did not miss how Harry Potter had waited for her.

He was also thinking. What on earth was he doing, inviting his daughter to speak with him? Of course, he knew she, nor the other students, would find anything suspicious about that. But it had been an act of impulse rather than an act of teacher-student concern. Absentmindedly, Lupin walked back to his classroom and panicked as he paused outside the door as students were streaming out of it with bags in hand. What exactly was he supposed to say to her? What could he use as an excuse for inviting her to stay after class?

When the last student (Harry Potter, he was almost begrudging to notice) had exited, Lupin entered. He was still considering what to say when Hermione was suddenly there before him, looking up at him with her chocolate brown eyes. He nearly felt tears come to his eyes as she once again startlingly reminded him of his late wife Vivian.

"You wanted to see me, Professor? Did I do something wrong with the boggart?"

She sounded so worried. Lupin leaned against the doorframe, trying to look at her without letting too much emotion get into his eyes.

"I was just a little worried about your reaction to the boggart, Miss Granger," he told her, even though he wanted to call her by her true last name. "You seemed a little more shaky than the rest."

His daughter paused. "I'm just a little tired, I suppose," she said.

Lupin considered this. He remembered what McGonagall had told him, about how she was using a Time Turner in order to take all her classes. He also remembered how snappish she had acted to her friends, and remembered how close the full moon was. And how she would be affected by this.

Ever so gently, he put a hand on her shoulder. It was all he could do not to take her into his arms and beg forgiveness for not only leaving her with the Grangers that night, but for all the restlessness she was enduring now on his behalf. He smiled down at her, and was surprised to see that she smiled back at him.

"If you need anything, you know you can come talk to me, McGonagall, or Dumbledore. If this new schedule is too much for you…"

"Sorry, Professor, but I don't think it's that, exactly. And… why could I come to you instead of Dumbledore?"

He scrambled for an excuse, and suddenly remembered Harry. "You're a friend of Harry's, Hermione." Her name rolled off his tongue naturally. "And Harry is the son of two of my dearest friends. Any friend of Harry's is not only a friend, but also like a family member of mine." If only you knew just how much of a family we were.

Hermione smiled wider, and he felt yet another pang in his heart. "Thank you, Professor."

"Any time, dear."

He withdrew his hand reluctantly, and she began walking to the door. Just before she exited, she paused. "Professor?"

"Yes, Hermione?"

"I was just wondering… er… if you live anywhere near Amerford, just outside London? I know how strange this sounds, but I think I've seen you somewhere before, haven't I?"

Lupin froze, all of his muscles tensing. And also like Vivian, she was abnormally perceptive, which he silently cursed. He remembered how nosy Vivian had been when he had been in school - in fact, he'd found it exceedingly annoying. But now, he only remembered it as endearing. Though, in this case, he wished young Hermione hadn't inherited such a trait.

"I'm sorry to say I've never been to Amerford," Lupin lied smoothly, forcing his muscles to relax. "And I'm also sorry if I disappoint you when I say I don't believe we've officially met until today."

He watched as first frustration, then confusion, and then frustration again crossed her features. She faked a smile at him, but Lupin could see behind it.

"Sorry to bother you, then, Professor," she said before walking out into the corridor.

When he was sure she was gone, Lupin sank into one of the chairs in the classroom. "There's so much I want to tell my sweetling," he whispered to nobody. "Whatever higher power there may be in this world, please grant me the courage to do so. I don't know how much longer I can go on like this."

If he was being honest with himself, he didn't know if he could even hold on past the full moon.

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"I don't understand it," Hermione was raving that night in the Gryffindor Common Room. Everyone else had gone to bed, as had Ron, and for once Harry was doing his homework early rather than the night before it was due.

"Understand what?" Harry asked absentmindedly as he dipped his quill into his ink.

Hermione sighed impatiently, pacing in front of the fire with determination in her eyes. "It's just… he was so tense the entire time we were talking! Like he was afraid to be in the same room as me! And asking me if I was alright - I'm sure Neville had plenty more trouble than I did, and he's asking me if I'm alright! It's driving me completely insane, Harry, and I don't know why. Why does it feel like he knows so much more about me than he lets on?"

"No offense, Hermione, but there isn't all that much to know about you," Harry told her from the corner. "I mean, there isn't some deeper meaning behind all of your actions, is there?"

"What's what suppose to mean? Are you calling me shallow?" demanded Hermione.

Harry instantly backtracked. "No, of course not! You're one of the kindest, deepest girls I know. You're brilliant and good-hearted through and through. I wasn't saying you were shallow. I'm just saying that there isn't something underneath the surface that other people can't see."

"Hm…" Hermione thought about this. "But there must be something that has Professor Lupin acting like this. A secret or some kind of suspicion. And what bothers me the most is that it's obviously about me! Something that has to do with me! Or he wouldn't be so tense around me all the time. You don't think I'm being possessed by You-Know-Who or anything like that, do you?"

Harry looked at her, surprised, and put down his quill. "Hermione… I couldn't imagine Voldemort" (she flinched at the Dark Lord's name) "working through you. That's just… that's just stupid, alright? You're being paranoid. You're too… you're too pure and, and good for him to be working through you, and… and all because he possessed Ginny last year doesn't mean he can just do it again at will, Hermione. He might still be out there, but he definitely doesn't have the power he used to. He couldn't… I mean, he just… No. No, Hermione, I'm pretty sure Voldemort isn't working through you."

Hermione sank down onto the couch, holding her head in her hands. "Thanks, Harry. It's just… this stuff is happening to me, and I don't know why. Lately I've been getting grouchier and grouchier, and I just don't understand it. And I hate that. And it's making me scared. I'm scared there might be something wrong with me."

"There isn't anything wrong with you, Hermione." She felt the weight of the couch dip beside her and realized he'd sat down next to her. "It can't be. You're just tired and overwhelmed with everything, that's all." She felt an arm gingerly wrap around her shoulders, and suddenly Hermione felt so much better.

"Sorry," she sniffled, rubbing her face and finding herself wanting to lean into her best friend. But she restrained herself and remained in the exact same position. "I suppose you have much more to worry about, with Sirius Black on the loose and all. I don't need to be burdening you with my silly little problems. It's ridiculous of me."

"No problem of yours is ever not mine, Hermione. You're one of the closest friends I have. If something's bothering you, you need to tell me. Sirius Black isn't here inside of Hogwarts' walls, but you are. And any problems you may have are my first priority. Okay?"

She nodded.

"Good." Harry withdrew his arm and suddenly Hermione felt very alone on the couch as he stood and went back to his homework. "Now can you help me with this Potions essay?"

As Hermione went to help him, she didn't look out the window. The full moon itself was only two days away.


EOC: I hope you all liked that chapter - both Hermione and Lupin interaction and some more setting up of Harry/Hermione. I'm a Harmonian through and through. And I definitely adlibbed with Hermione's worst fear. I figured that the whole being Petrified thing would still be fresh in her mind, since it only happened just last year to her, and it never really discusses what her worst fear actually might be. So I improvised, and I hope it was convincing. I really am super happy with the reviews this story is getting, since I never really expected it to attract so much attention. I have you all to thank for it, again, and any new readers who are considering putting this story on their alerts or favorites. I beg you to review, as I love reading them, and please click that inviting green button! I have some things to do this weekend, so don't be surprised if the review reply comes a day or two late. Thank you all so much again, and I hope to see you all (virtually) again! - Viv