Chapter 4: Nightmares…

The window was open and the night was dark, Hermione entered the nursery to see Remus sat in the rocking chair with Teddy on his lap, talking to Teddy who was cooing softly.

"Sweet isn't it?" said a voice in her ear, before she could answer Fred Weasley had wrapped his arms round her waist and was resting his chin on her shoulder.

She tried to speak to him but he was gone again and now he was stood alongside Remus and Teddy. Voldemort flew in through the window and suddenly Fred was screaming on the floor in pain, under the cruciatus curse, Teddy was dead on the floor and Remus was squirming and yelling too. She couldn't stop screaming.

"Hard isn't it?" hissed Voldemort's voice in her ear "You don't know which one to help do you? Love is for fools! They will both die and it's all your fault!"

Hermione screamed again and awoke with a start, drenched in sweat with tears streaming down her face and shaking. Remus was hugging her and they rocked back and forth as she drenched his T-Shirt with tears and thanked the Gods that he and Teddy were still OK.

It was just under 9 months now since she had moved into Remus' house and that nightmare had been becoming more and more recent, never exactly the same but always absolutely terrifying. The dreams always reduced her to tears but Remus was always there to comfort her, hugging her and whispering that she was alright, that she would be fine.

At Hogwarts it was nearly the summer holidays, Hermione was employed as charms teacher though she didn't live at the castle. If she had her nightmare during the night, she had to know that both Remus and Teddy were nearby and safe. So she would get up every morning, get ready and have her breakfast and apperate to just outside the Hogwarts grounds.

She would then walk up to the school and teach before apperating home again in time for tea. All in all it wasn't half as tiring as she thought it would be.

One particular morning she awoke to hear Teddy calling her, he was nearly 18 months old now.

"Mimi! Mimi!" He still used her old nickname "I hungry!"

So much had happened in a year, Teddy had learned to walk and talk, Harry and Ginny were married, very young it had to be said, but happily so and Ron had his own apartment. Harry and Ron were both high-flying aurors and Ginny had become a healer at St. Mungo's. She and Remus had become incredibly close, Harry was always joking about how they would be married some day and though they both laughed about it and knew he was joking Hermione couldn't help but picture herself married to Remus, Teddy's step-mum and with a few other kids belong to her and Remus. That thought alone scared her more than anything.

It had been an odd year, full of blushes and mumblings and embarrassing moments when neither of them knew what to say to the other.

She finally dragged herself out of bed, grumbling and carried Teddy downstairs. She put him down on the sitting room floor where he ran over to his toy box as fast as his chubby little legs could carry him.

Hermione made her way into the kitchen and found Remus making breakfast, he smiled at her and handed her a cup of coffee and she blushed as she smiled back, mentally shaking herself and trying to ignore the little tingle that she felt go through her hand as his hand brushed hers when he handed her the mug.

When breakfast was ready Hermione went in to call Teddy but despite how he had woke her up with how hungry he was he was now too interested in his toy broomstick to take any notice. Hermione despised that toy, she was always on edge when Teddy played on it because she was sure he would either fly out the widow or fall off or both.

"Teddy" she said in as stern a voice as she could muster "Breakfast now!"

"No!" Teddy had developed a love of that word and he used it wherever possible though he knew that if he was saying it to Hermione he might as well not bother, she was much more stubborn than he was and he was just not going to win.

He sat on the floor, pouting and with his little arms folded, looking up at her.

"Fine then Teddy, you can go without breakfast" She knew she would never be able to hold to that threat but he didn't know that and it never failed.

He looked at her and then he held up his arms towards her, waiting to be picked up. Hermione almost went to pick him up but decided against it, he was perfectly capable of walking it so she held his hand instead as he toddled down the hallway.

She went to work, leaving Teddy and Remus on their own in the house. Hogwarts was much the same as usual; she enjoyed teaching but always counted down the time until the school day was over. The students were much the same as when she had been there, she had realised that history really does repeat itself.

There was a Gryffindor Trio and one in Slytherin too (The two groups were enemies and hated each other obviously), there were the giggling girls and the prankster boys. There was that one boy who, no matter how hard he tried could never quite meet the standards of his classmates and was a little accident prone. And then there were the Slytherins, who were still just as dark except, without a Voldemort to follow this time around, they settled for being as unpleasant as they could to everyone outside of teir house.

When Hermione arrived home that night, it was to find an empty house, the place was a complete mess, Teddy's toys had been thrown all over the place and the cushions were coming off of the sofa.

"Remus?" she called anxiously "Teddy? Where are you?"

But there came no answer, Hermione instantly pulled out her wand.

Her first thought was that she must have fallen asleep in her office and was yet again experiencing one of her nightmares, but if that was so why was her foot still hurting from tripping over the foot scraper when she cam through the door. So this must be real. She instantly went into full panic mode and was about to reach for the floo powder to contact Harry when she heard something.

"Remus? Teddy?" she called again.

"Hermione?" came Remus' voice, he had just come in through the back door, out of the garden, and Teddy was stood beside him, both of them completely fine.

She launched herself at Remus, hugging him so hard that he was sure she had cracked a couple of ribs and she kissed him on the cheek and hugged him again. Without breaking stride she swooped down on Teddy, picking him up and swinging him round, showering him with kisses.

"Thank goodness, you're both alright; I thought I was in one of my nightmares again! What happened here anyway? The house looks like a bombsite!" she said all of this in one breath as she went out the door and back into the garden.

"Teddy had one of his nursery friends round for lunch and I haven't got round to tidying up yet" Remus replied, smiling faintly and touching the place on his cheek where she had kissed him thoughtfully.