REQUEST: Shady Lady wanted a chapter where Remus and Hermione knew each other before Hogwarts

Episode 4

Reunited

Summary: In which Remus and Hermione are reunited on the Hogwarts Express

Muggle World, 1968

Remus looked around in interest. He'd never before been to the Muggle world, and everything here seemed simply amazing to his young eyes. Of course, he couldn't appear too impressed; otherwise, the Muggles might become suspicious. Even at eight years old, Remus was extremely bright, so he'd figured this out rather quickly on his own.

His parents felt the need to let him rest a bit from the struggle of living in the Wizarding world. Being a werewolf had its merits, as Remus discovered after three years, but the consequences were hardly worth the rewards. He would much rather have muted senses and friends than be the fastest, strongest child in the neighborhood and have no one come near him for fear of his...condition.

He knew moving to the wilderness hadn't been easy for his parents. They loved the high city life and being around the latest gossip, but what else could they do? Even if the whole of the Wizarding world had no idea, his small community knew all too well what happened to him. Because of him his parents had been ostracized as well, and Remus felt immensely guilty for that. At least in his new home, the few people around them didn't criticize his parents for having a werewolf for a son – even if the only reason they didn't was because they had no clue.

Alaine pulled her son's hand, distracting him from his thoughts. He was not exactly a genius, but Remus could still be considered too bright for his own good. His mind worked quickly and picked up many little facts, which wasn't always good. The fact that he blamed himself for what couldn't be helped was one of those bad qualities of his intellect.

"Look, Remy," she said, using his despised nickname. Having him glare playfully at her was better than seeing that sorrowful, regretful look in his young eyes. "A bookstore!"

Remus perked at that. He loved reading, despite what many kids his age might say about that, Remus was not afraid to admit it. He would much rather curl up with a good book than listen to the wireless or run around in the mud. Of course, he'd always been a clean child and not even being a werewolf had changed that about him.

"Can we go, Mum?"

"Of course!" Alaine smiled at her son. She allowed him to lead her across the street, making sure to look both ways so no Muggle contraptions – cars, she believed was their name – would harm them in the process. At least her husband had enough sense to mention studying up on the Muggle world before they took this trip.

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Hermione loved bookstores. The smell, the feel, and the silence made her world seem all the brighter. Perhaps it was odd for an eight-year-old girl to think such things, but nothing was ever normal about Hermione. She was constantly making strange, unexplainable things happen at the most absurd times. Perhaps that was why she'd begun to believe in magic, even though her parents very much disagreed with the theory and were sure a scientific explanation was hidden somewhere within the goings on.

Her uncle happened to run the biggest bookstore in the area, though it was small compared to some of the bigger city stores, and let her read anything she wanted. The only thing she had to do was make sure each book was kept in perfect condition and returned to its proper place afterwards, no problem for a tidy, bookworm like herself.

Brown eyes lifted from the worn tomb she was reading – a book most people twice her age wouldn't dare look at. She nearly gasped when she saw the boy around her age enter, looking just as excited as she felt whenever she entered someplace new. She'd never seen him around before, and it wasn't often children her age came into the store unless their parents wanted to look for a certain book.

"Now, Remus," the woman – his mother, if Hermione had to guess – said lightly, "no buying the whole store, alright? Your father and I are on a budget. You can have two books, but that's all!"

Remus nodded, though Hermione noted he looked a bit disappointed at hearing that. He turned and quickly began scanning the areas before his eyes landed on a section closer to the back, the history section. Another gasp was stifled when Hermione saw him run to her favorite section, the place most people – even the biggest bookworms – stayed far away from because it was considered boring.

Normally, she would let a customer go about their business. She was much too young to work here, not to mention too small to really reach anything without a latter – and her terrible fear of heights hardly allowed her to climb the horrid contraptions – so what reason would she have to actually approach someone? But there seemed to be a pull from this boy, an unseen force that pushed her to him despite her desire to stay seated and out of the way.

When she found him again, he was looking at rows of history books and ancient texts. They weren't in the best condition, but most were quite old and probably more valuable than her uncle realized. She raised a single brow, approaching the enthralled boy quietly.

"I've never known anyone else my age to like this section," she told him. He jumped at the sound so close to his ear and spun around to glare at the perpetrator. His glare disappeared almost immediately upon seeing the pretty girl standing behind him, and he blushed lightly at the intense look she gave him. "I'm Hermione."

"Remus," Remus replied, taking her outstretched hand. Chivalry told him to kiss her palm, but somehow he doubted Hermione was the type to enjoy that sort of thing. She seemed, even at eight years old, the type to fight for women's rights and equality of all people and/or creatures.

"Like the mythological tale of Remus and Romulus?"

Remus' brows raised at that. Very few ever connected the dots of his name to the old Muggle fable, and those that did were always among his parents age groups. The girl must've been well-read and intelligent to know of such a thing.

"And yours? Shakespeare?"

Hermione gave him an appraising look, pleased he'd known where her name came from. Remus returned the smile she sent his way after a few moments, and the two shook hands again. Good thing he'd become infatuated with Shakespeare's writing a while back.

"I think I like you, Remus," Hermione said. "No one's ever guessed that correctly before. At least no one in our age group."

"Same with my name," Remus admitted. "So...You wouldn't happen to know of any really, really good books here, would you?"

"I'd certainly hope I would!" Hermione exclaimed. "It's my uncle's shop after all!"

"Really?" Remus looked intrigued, envious. "Your uncle owns this bookstore? I wish my uncle owned a bookstore."

"You must be the first to say that," Hermione told him, pulling on his hand so he would follow her. "This way. The best books are all over here."

Remus' eyes widened at the selection set before him. How was he to choose only two out of these? There were so many, and they all looked equally interesting!

"I love these two," Hermione told him, picking two from the pile. She remembered what his mother had said earlier, and she understood the dilemma he must be going through at the moment. "Here."

Remus looked at them. They had to be the biggest out of all the books he'd seen thus far, at least a thousand pages each. Perfect, just the way he liked them. He smiled gratefully.

"Remy? Remy? Oh, there you are!" Alaine walked over to her son, noticing the young girl across from him almost immediately. "Who's your friend?"

"Mum, this is Hermione," Remus introduced. He blushed at the look his mother was giving him, like he'd just said the cutest thing ever. "Hermione, this is my mother, Alaine Lupin."

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Lupin." Hermione held out her hand, and Alaine chuckled at the formal attitude of the younger girl.

"And I you," she replied, shaking the proffered hand. "Remus, I'm afraid we have to go soon. Have you picked out your books yet?"

"Yeah," Remus answered, holding up the tombs. "Hermione helped me pick them out."

"Oh, I see." Alaine smiled brightly, though a hint of regret was in her eyes. She wished she could've allowed Remus more time with this young Muggle girl. She was the first child in three years not to run screaming at the mere sight of him. Though, that was probably only because she was a Muggle and had no idea he was a werewolf.

"Maybe I'll see you around, Remus," Hermione chirped brightly. Remus nodded, smiling back. He highly doubted their paths would cross again, but he sincerely hoped they did. Hermione was nice, and even if they'd only known each other a short amount of time, he felt a connection to her.

"See you, Hermione!" Remus called regardless, following his mother to the register. Hermione smiled after them, feeling oddly giddy. How strange, perhaps she'd ask her parents about it later. Surely there was some scientific explanation as to why she felt like she and Remus had a string tied around their waists, knotting them together.

She wondered if Remus felt it too.


Kings Cross Station 9¾, 1971

Hermione finally opened her eyes, apologetic gleam already in the dark brown orbs. She had run into someone. To be expected, perhaps, when a brick wall was the barrier between this world and the magical. Still, she felt embarrassed for her immediate accident, not used to having quite so many in one day. That was bound to happen, she supposed, when one discovered there was a whole other world besides her own with witches and wizards.

"Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going."

Hermione startled. That voice sounded oddly familiar. She took the proffered hand, smiling reassuringly at the boy who'd helped her up.

"No, it was my fault," she protested. "I just barraled into you."

"...I know this may sound strange, but...Have we met before?" the boy asked, running a hand through his sand-colored locks. Hermione frowned and looked him up and down. He did, indeed, look familiar.

"You do seem oddly familiar. What's your name?"

"Remus," the boy answered. "Remus Lupin."

Hermione's eyes widened. Even after three years, she hadn't forgotten the boy she met in her uncle's bookstore. She regretted that they hadn't run into each other again, but she supposed that was to be expected. The boy probably lived far away anyway. Now, here she was, meeting him again at a train station for magical folk.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Remus asked worriedly. Hermione chuckled and shook her head, reassuring him his face looked fine.

"No, no. May I guess that your name comes from the mythological tale of Remus and Romulus?"

Remus looked shocked for a moment before he studied her closer. His eyes widened as well, a smile breaking out across his face. Now he recognized her, the girl he'd met all those years ago. He was shocked to feel the same connection he had at eight. How odd.

"Hermione!"

He wondered if Hermione felt it too.

END