Disclaimer: I'm not JK Rowling, therefore these characters are not mine. Of course, you'll see them doing things they definitely didn't do in her novels, so… well, those ideas are mine!

Chapter 4: Control


Hermione readjusted herself on the couch so that she was facing the werewolf. "Actually, Professor… Well, since you are no longer my professor, may I call you Remus?" He nodded, and Sirius chuckled.

"Yes, Hermione," said Sirius, "I would say the time for formality is long gone."

"Right," she agreed. "So as I was saying, Remus, actually I had entertained fantasies that you would come back to Hogwarts one day."

"Ooh, fantasies!" sighed Sirius, "please continue!"

"Don't interrupt, Padfoot," Remus said, quietly, looking deeply into Hermione's eyes as if trying to read where her story was headed.

"Yes, you would be back at Hogwarts, and it would be my fifth year, as it is now. And I would ask Professor Snape if I could do an extra credit potions project to help me prepare for my OWLs."

"Snape," muttered Sirius. "What's HE doing in this fantasy?"

"Shut up, Padfoot." Remus kicked Sirius in the knee, though he kept his eyes on Hermione.

"Sorry, Hermione. Please continue. You were doing some extra credit potions work?"

"Yes. I would ask if I could learn to make the wolfsbane potion for you, Remus, and that way there would be a back-up, in case illness or injury were ever to keep Professor Snape from making it. And he would agree. So at the next full moon, Professor Snape and I would work on the potion together. The dungeon would get very hot from the bubbling potions, and I would have to remove my cloak, and my jumper, and my tie, and loosen my collar, and still my blouse would stick to my skin. Professor Snape's eyes would rake over me, filled with desire, but I would ignore him."

"Smart girl," murmured Sirius.

"And we would bring you our finished product, and it would be perfect," Hermione continued, ignoring the interruption. "You would drink it gratefully, and you, too, would notice my blouse clinging to me. You would look at me hungrily, and I would smile. My plan to get closer to you was working. The next month, I would make the potion myself, with Professor Snape just observing to make sure I had the procedure down correctly. Naturally, it would be perfect."

"Naturally." Neither Remus nor Hermione seemed even to hear Sirius, this time.

"Eventually, Snape would begin to trust my skill. He would realize one month that he was only watching me work because he enjoyed the view, not because I needed supervision. And finally, he would get so frustrated at being aroused every month but never getting any encouragement from me, that he would just give me the job all to myself. So at the next full moon, I would go to the dungeon alone. I would make the potion and bring it to you. You would drink it. My face and my chest would be flushed from the heat of the cauldron's fire, and from my closeness to you. My blouse would be clinging to my breasts and my stomach, and it would have become slightly translucent from the sheen of my perspiration. Your eyes would take in the moisture that had collected in my cleavage, and you would desperately want to lick it off of me. But, sadly, you would manage to control yourself, and you would drag your eyes back up to my face. You would tell me how pleased you were to have your potion made and delivered by a beautiful young woman, rather than a greasy-haired git."

When neither man laughed at her gratuitous Snape-bashing, she knew she had them right where she wanted them. The spell she was weaving with her fantasy had them both entranced.

"I would see tension throughout your body – you would be almost panting, and your muscles would be tight. I would sit next to you, like we are tonight, and place my hand on your forearm, like this, and ask if you were okay. You would answer, 'Yes, this is normal for me on a full moon night. My body anticipates the change and I begin to feel more wolfish through the evening. Even with the potion, a part of me fears the oncoming loss of control and I get more agitated as night falls.' And I would lean close to you, like this, and ask you quietly, 'What will you be like tonight, after the change?'"

Remus answered for her, and he really was panting slightly. "I will be a wolf. I will not be dangerous – I will not have a need to bite anyone. But I will have the wolfish desires to run, to roam, and to howl at the moon."

"Do you ever give in to your desires?" Hermione asked, in a low voice.

"What?" asked Remus, startled.

"To run, to roam, and to howl," Hermione clarified.

"Oh!" Remus blushed. "No, not really. Not since the Marauders graduated. I haven't felt that it would be safe. Even though I won't bite when I've had my potion, I could certainly still frighten someone. And there is a slight possibility that a frightened person could, if they thought they were in real danger, hurt me. So I stay indoors, locked in my quarters, pacing the floor and feeling trapped."

"What if I could help you fulfill your wolfish desires in a safe way? Could I stay with you tonight, and we could go into the forest together where you could be a wolf, and I could keep you safe?"

Sirius watched, silently now, as Hermione's fantasy had turned into a conversation, something she and Remus were co-creating. The two of them were lost in each other's eyes, their four hands now clasped on Remus's knee.

"Hermione," argued Remus softly, "how can you keep me safe? As a wolf I will want to roam. If we go to the forest, I can't guarantee that I will stay near you once I transform."

"There's a muggle tool, Remus, that I think could help us… If you wouldn't find it demeaning…"

"I know you would never demean me, Hermione. Tell me what you have in mind."

"It's called a leash – you might be familiar with it. I think Hagrid has used leashes sometimes with some of the creatures in his care. We would have to conjure a collar – usually they're made of leather – and it would be loose enough to be comfortable, but tight enough so it couldn't slip off. Then the leash is a long strap that attaches to the collar here," (she released one of Remus's hands to indicate how the leash hooks to the collar) "and has a loop at the other end for me to hold. It would keep us connected."

Remus nodded slowly. "It sounds like it could work, Hermione, and I trust you to keep me safe."

"So we would agree, and I would stay," Hermione said, taking control of her story once again. "And when you transformed, I would conjure a collar and a leash. I would wait to be sure the castle was dark and quiet, and sure enough, you would be pacing the room, pawing at the door, and moaning softly. I would do my best to calm you by petting you and talking to you gently, and assuring you that you would get to go outside. When the time was right, I would attach the leash, and unlock your door. We would go quietly and quickly to the Forbidden Forest, and then we would run together through the trees. I would not be afraid of anything in the forest, because I would be with you. I would let you lead the way wherever you wanted to go, but the leash would keep you no more than a few feet from me. Eventually, we would find a clearing, and the full moon would light us up with its silvery glow. We would feel like we were the only two beings in the world. We would sit together in the clearing and howl at the moon. You would be so beautiful, Remus, doing what you were meant to do, letting your wild wolf self out to play."

As Hermione wove her fantasy, she and Remus did feel as if they were the only two beings in the world. Remus's eyes sparkled. Even without the light of the full moon shining on him, he seemed almost to be glowing.

"After a while, we would return to your quarters, and I would lock the door behind us again. I would light a fire in your fireplace, and we would curl up together on the hearth rug. I would fall asleep with a tired and happy wolf. And in the morning, I would wake to find myself curled up with a tired, happy, and gorgeous man. You would wake up, stretch, and then turn to face me. You would cup my face in your hands and you would kiss me, so tenderly…" Hermione's eyes fell to Remus's soft lips, and she became rather distracted.

"Like this?" whispered Remus, and he did just as Hermione had described. She groaned and closed her eyes, and felt as if she were floating. She got so lost in the kiss that when Remus finally pulled back, she was disoriented. As the room came back into focus, she remembered where she was and that she had been sharing her werewolf fantasy, but she found she didn't know where she was in her story anymore.

Remus came to the rescue, picking up where she left off. "And then I would tell you that not only are you the brightest witch of your age, but you are also an incredibly beautiful and compassionate woman, and that in taming me as a wolf, you had set me free as a man. That not since my 7th year at school, with Sirius and James to keep me safe, had I had any fun on a full moon. And that never before had I been able to see the beauty in my wolfish self, to truly love the wolf in my veins. And then I would pull you to me, and stroke your hair, and kiss you some more."

Hermione swallowed hard, and found her voice again, though she sounded slightly hoarse as she continued, "And you would be pressed against me, and I would feel the, erm… magnitude of your desire for me. Your sense of smell still somewhat heightened, like a wolf's, you would recognize the scent of my desire for you. You would nuzzle my neck and lick your way down my chest to my belly, following the scent of my arousal. And I would whimper in anticipation, and you would growl softly with pleasure as you reached your goal… You would be hungry for me, and I would caress your face and run my fingers through your hair. We would explore each other's bodies with our mouths and our hands, until we both knew we needed to be even more deeply connected. You would look at me, questioning with your eyes, and reading in mine what you needed to know. Our bodies would merge and we would move together as one being until we both howled again in release. And then we would lie together, panting, in each other's arms…"

They became silent, except for their breathing, which had become ragged, as if they really had been running together in the forest in the moonlight. They were both flushed, and had not broken eye contact – except during their kiss – since Hermione had begun telling her story. They were sitting close together, knees touching, and Remus again held both of Hermione's hands in his own. The fabric of his trousers was stretched tight across his erection, and though Hermione didn't see it (as she was still gazing into Remus's eyes), Sirius did.


A/N: Don't worry, Sirius gets more involved in the next chapter. I solemnly swear he will not be a bystander any longer. Thanks for the reviews – they're very gratifying. And we all need gratification sometimes…