Tonks leaned against the shelf and watched closely as her husband spoke in hushed tones with Hermione. They had been doing that a lot lately and it was really starting to unnerve her. She trusted Remus, as much as a wife could trust a husband, but she could tell their relationship was different than it used to be. Auror duties had kept her away from home more than usual, but that didn't mean she wasn't paying attention to the goings on around the house. Harry seemed utterly happy and his training was soaring because of it. Sirius was distant with everyone, so when he snapped at her repeatedly, she didn't take it personally. Hermione had always gotten on her nerves, but now she was very curious to know what the young know-it-all had been researching with her husband and why no one was talking about it.
That should be her first step, she mused. She'd find out what they were doing and then she'd find out exactly how close the young chit was trying to get with her husband. She saw the way Hermione leaned over him and always touched him in some way. Her only comfort was noticing the times when Remus pulled away from her, an angry look crossing his scarred face. And those scars…she used to find them appealing, dangerous even, but now they were just there. Remus would be such a handsome man if it wasn't for the scars that littered his body. Of course, the monster that brought the scars also brings her three nights of glorious sex each month. Her husband was rough, taking her with a reckless abandon that left her sore the next day and craving more. The rest of the month, she thought as she rolled her eyes, he was sweet and gentle, kind and caring, and it made her sick.
Her eyes stayed on the two as she quietly sipped her tea. Only minutes before, she had been sitting on the sofa with her husband, listening to him talk of something to do with werewolf rights and such that really didn't matter to her in the least. Instead of listening, she was subtly trying to overhear what Harry was saying to Sirius about the Kenmare Kestrels. Remus was a special case when it came to werewolves. He was hired to head a research department and given rights that most were not, so why was it supposed to matter to her what happened to wolves she didn't even know? Eventually, when she had listened enough to be considered polite, she excused herself for tea. That had been happening frequently the last few days, Remus for whatever reason, had decided to stay close to her and it was beginning to grate on her nerves. She wanted a child, period. Since she was married, one would think her husband would have been able to supply her with said offspring by now. That alone made her see him in a different light than she had a year ago. When one coupled that with his recent mood swings, he was becoming unbearable to live with. Not to mention his feeble attempts of explaining himself. He had sworn he couldn't remember certain events and she found the whole conversation ludicrous. When he mentioned something about the wolf, she laughed right in his face and walked away.
Hermione leaned close to Remus, her hand coming to rest on his arm as they shared something exciting on a piece of parchment held between them. Tonks noticed the empty goblet on the table and decided that she would have her husband tonight, before he went to the cellar for his transformation. How dare he deny her the last two nights? And whatever was growing between he and Hermione, she would see to it that it stopped, immediately. He may not be much, but he was hers, and she didn't share…period.
Hermione was walking past the room Remus shared with Tonks. She had spent a very nervous day thinking about his transformation to come that night. Luckily, Remus hadn't noticed the small amount of sugar she had been adding to his Wolfsbane Potion, but Moony had, and he had shown his appreciation on numerous delicious occasions. Her hand raised to the door when she heard his angry voice, hoping she hadn't put Tonks in danger with her reluctance to hurt Moony. Not able to help herself though, she listened closely instead of interrupting.
"What's the matter, Dora? You can't handle it? You only want me three days a month so why should we even bother at all? In fact, I believe we have more problems then either one of us thought."
"Remus, don't walk away from me. You like to screw me this time of the month, you've said so yourself, but now you're unwilling to even touch me? Where are you going? Get your arse back here!" Tonks hissed.
"I am going to lock myself in a cage like a good little puppy. I'm a monster, remember?"
Hermione backed away suddenly when the door swung open and Remus walked through. He slammed it shut behind him and then grinned. "I smell you," he said huskily, making her smile despite herself.
He turned toward her and gently ran his finger along her cheek, his amber eyes raking her face in fascination. "Hello, mate," he rasped and both were so absorbed in the other that neither noticed the shadow that stopped down the hall.
"Wh…what was that all about?" she asked, slightly angry and jealous now that she realized Moony had been with Tonks and that Tonks had wanted him.
"The human's wife thinks it's fun to play with a wolf when the full moon draws near," he said vaguely.
"You mean you and she…?"
"Of course not," he growled angrily, before taking a deep breath and calming down. "Do you think I would allow him to touch her after what you and I have shared the last few days? Did you not believe me when I said we belong only to each other?"
A small grin touched her lips and he slowly bent his head and kissed her. "You better go now, someone's coming."
She looked around the hallway confused. All the doors remained closed and the occupants of the house appeared to be nestled somewhere else. Even the portraits themselves were quiet. "No one is coming."
He pushed her away gently before turning to walk quickly in the other direction. From the shadows, she saw Sirius approaching and smiled at her lover's abilities.
"Hello, Sirius," she said sweetly.
"Care to tell me what that was about?" he asked, the anger in his voice evident as he cut straight to the heart of the matter.
"What do you mean?" She could smell the fire whiskey on his breath and realized that today, he was a very unhappy drunk.
"Just now, with you and Remus. Don't play dumb, Hermione, it doesn't suit you."
"And here I thought you could tell the difference," she spat, suddenly angry at both Sirius for his intrusion and herself for her stolen 'public' moment.
He gripped her arm roughly and asked, "What are you talking about?"
She smiled at him, a smile that never reached her eyes, but contorted her face in a way he'd never seen before. "That wasn't Remus, it was Moony." Jerking her arm from his grip, she quickly turned and walked away. She could only hope he had the sense not to tell anyone what he had seen.
"Hermione," he sighed, shaking his head in sadness when she disappeared down the hallway, "what have you gotten yourself into?"
Several hours later, Hermione lay awake in her bed, wondering exactly what had happened to her in the last few days? Since she was young, she had loved Remus as one would a kindred spirit, but now that had all changed and she could sense the effect it was having on their friendship. Moony wanted her to seduce Remus, but she kept thinking about Tonks and how wrong the entire affair had become. Sure, Remus and Moony were two separate entities, but they were both inside of Remus' body, which meant she had already experienced things with that body that she had never thought she would have the pleasure of doing, things she should never have experienced in the first place.
Taking a deep breath, she let it out sadly, refusing to cry because of what she was becoming---a mistress. There was no other way to put it, she had had sex with a married man. She had traced the scars that covered his body, took him in the most intimate way, and treasured every blessed moment of it. A certain allowance of the circumstances was made while they were together, but when she was left alone, the guilt crept inside of her.
The day after Moony had told her the Wolfsbane Potion actually hurt him, she had sabotaged it without question. Now, she lay in bed worrying about the possible ramifications. The wolf had told her that the transformation could be less painful and she certainly hoped he kept his promise. Rolling over, she punched her pillow again and tried to get comfortable. It never failed, life would be almost normal for her and then something would happen to change the mundaneness that she strived so hard to achieve. Something would take away the simplicity she had worked for and leave her emotions reeling from one minute to the next.
While turning over for what seemed like the hundredth time that night, she heard a loud crash from downstairs and sprang from the bed. Grabbing her wand and ignoring the fact that she was dressed in only a tank top and plaid bottoms, she ran out of her room and right into Harry. A shared look showed that they were both thinking the same thing, and when another loud bang came from below, they ran down the stairs and skidded to a stop at the bottom landing.
Sirius' booming voice could be heard echoing throughout the house. "Remus, I swear to Merlin I will hex you within an inch of your life if you don't calm down this instant!"
"Remus?" Harry asked Tonks, who looked both irritated and worried.
"He got loose a few minutes ago. Sirius has no idea how it happened, but he's warded the kitchen door and he won't let me come down. I thought I could calm it," she added bitterly, calling her husband a thing rather than a man, "being its' wife and all, but I only made it worse."
A loud bang reverberated up the stairs from the kitchen and Hermione cringed, guilt raging through her as she realized Moony had lied. The monster was loose after all.
A strange feeling swept across her and she found herself walking towards the steps that led to the kitchen. It was much like third year, when she had approached him the night they found Sirius, only this time, she realized her mistake; he was Moony, plain and simple; there was no 'Professor Lupin' and no 'Remus' either. Feeling the pull become stronger the closer she walked, a knowing smile crossed her face and she relaxed.
"Hermione, what are you doing?!" Harry shouted at her, grabbing her arm and pulling her roughly away from the steps.
Moony suddenly rammed the door again, howling for his mate to join him. Sirius trudged up the stairs, worry crossing his features as he glared down the steps and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"I don't know how long the door will hold, but it won't be long. I think you should all go outside and try warding us inside the house."
"Us?" Harry asked incredulously, only releasing his hold on Hermione when they stepped around the scattered pictures that littered the floor and away from the stairs.
"Yes, Harry. I'll turn into Padfoot and see if I can control him, otherwise he'll tear the house down. Hermione, where the hell do you think you're going?" he asked angrily.
She turned away from the steps and looked back at him, her tender smile still in place.
"You messed with him, didn't you?" Tonks accused. "You make his potion every month and you messed with him! I know you want him, but I never thought you'd go this far, you stupid little girl!"
Hermione's smile faded and she realized that Tonks knew. She might not know everything, but the woman was smart enough to suspect something wasn't right and Hermione knew another moment of shame. Looking at the floor with guilt shining in her eyes, she softly replied, "I'm sorry, Tonks, so very sorry." A bang echoed up the stairway again, making them all jump in surprise and knocking another portrait to the floor, it's occupant squealing in outrage. Backing the last few steps to the stairs that led to her future, Hermione lifted her eyes to meet Tonks' and said without apology, "You may have the man, Tonks, but I have the wolf, and right now he needs me."
Without further explanation, she raced down the stairs and stopped at the warded door. The noises, the furniture being thrown around, and the force of body meeting door all ceased when she put her hand on the door and silently encouraged him into a state of calmness. Her forehead leaned against it and she heard him sniffing at the small opening at the bottom.
"Hello, Moony," she murmured softly, jumping in surprise when Sirius touched her shoulder and spun her around.
"I don't have a clue what is going on here," he said slowly, looking between her and the door, "and you will tell me before this is over, but for now, that's the calmest he's been all night."
"He needs me, Sirius. I don't expect you to understand, or even to accept it, but he needs me."
"You?" he asked, eyes wide with shocked understanding. "You're his mate? That's why he was with you earlier, why you two have been screwing around behind Tonks' back."
"How did you know?" she asked in surprise.
"We were supposed to meet in the kitchen that night, remember? I heard you two, but Remus sounded different. Now I know why. This is too dangerous for you and I don't like it."
She slowly closed her eyes and nodded her head before turning back to the door. "I'm going to take down your wards, Sirius, and then take him to my room where he'll be calm. When we get settled, put the strongest wards you can on the door and let no one enter until morning. Is that understood?"
He looked at her for a very long moment, appraising her words and her confidence. "I hope you know what you're doing, Hermione."
A small, triumphant smile touched her face before she pointed her wand at the door and took down all of Sirius' wards. "So do I. Tell them all to stay back," she said quietly. "He won't hurt them unless they approach one of us." She looked at him seriously and added, "especially Tonks. He's, um, not fond of her."
With a small nod of his head, he transformed into Padfoot and nudged her to the door. Understanding his actions to mean, 'It's your call, but I'm here just in case,' she breathed deeply and loved him for the comfort and support instead of the judgment she had expected. Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned the knob.
"I'm coming in, Moony. I want you back away from the door and don't move."
She pushed the door open and walked in, her eyes locking with the amber eyes of a fully transformed werewolf. The door shut behind her and she walked closer to him. "Are you going to hurt me?" she asked softly, smiling when he shook his head in answer. "Good. I'm going to take you to my room for the night, but you have to promise you won't hurt anyone on the way there. Do you promise me?"
He nodded his head and with slow steps walked up to her. Her body trembled with unrepressed fear, but when he gently stroked her cheek with his hairy paw and the same eyes stared into hers, calmness washed over her and she relaxed.
"Tonks is upstairs and she's very unhappy. You can't touch her, understand?" With only a small snarl, he nodded and they both walked to the door. A very furry paw grabbed her hand, holding it as if the wolf himself were as nervous as she. Gripping tightly, she opened the door and walked out.
Padfoot looked up at her, then at Moony, before slowly dropping to the floor and rolling over on his back, exposing his bare abdomen in a show of submission before the werewolf. Moony made a sound in the back of his throat and Padfoot came back up on all fours, tail wagging as he led them up the stairs.
"Slow, Moony," Hermione cautioned. "Sirius has to tell them to stay away from you. Remember, you promised to behave yourself."
If it were possible, she would swear he actually rolled his eyes at her. Hands still held together, they rounded the corner in time to see Sirius transform back into Padfoot and stand between the wolf and the others. Tonks' face was furious and her hair was flashing color after color at a blindingly alarming rate.
Hermione breathed a slow sigh of relief, noticing that no matter what they were thinking, all occupants of the house were standing against the wall and not moving.
"Good, Moony," she whispered quietly, "let's go up the stairs now and then to my room."
He tightened his grip on her hand and followed her without question. Then, suddenly he stopped. She quickly looked at him, then followed his gaze to the bottom stair directly in their path. A blood curdling scream tore through their eardrums followed quickly by Harry's shout of "Daphne!" only seconds before he ran to stand between his love and a fully grown werewolf. Fear crossed his features when Moony looked at him for the first time. Not a soul breathed until the wolf whimpered and looked at the dog standing in front of Harry.
Sirius slowly transformed, holding up both hands and saying quietly, "It's not him, Moony, it's not Prongs."
The wolf shook his head for a moment, seemingly trying to clear his head. And then it happened; his amber eyes connected with Harry's green, green eyes that brought back the hatred of the woman to which they belonged, and he growled deep and menacingly. Dropping Hermione's hand, he rushed forward, grabbing Harry by the neck and pinning him against the nearby wall.
"STOP!" Sirius shouted, forgetting to transform as overwhelming fear for his godson took hold of him and he tried to pry the wolf off by brute physical force.
"You can't do this," Hermione said sternly. "You promised you wouldn't touch anyone!"
Trying to be helpful, or insert herself where she clearly wasn't desired, Tonks strode forward, putting her hands on her hips and saying, "Remus Lupin, you stop that this instant." Her hand came up fast, slapping his arm and trying to get his attention. "As your wife, I demand you stop acting like a monster!"
Sirius and Hermione looked at each other, then back at Moony. His eyes met Hermione's as if to say 'deal with her or I will' and Hermione tried to pull her back.
"Tonks, he's not Remus, you don't understand," she said calmly.
"Don't understand?! I understand you think you can take my husband! If you can handle this wolf," she said haughtily, "then so can I."
She jerked her arm away from Hermione, only to turn quickly with her hand and slap Hermione hard across the face. Her head whipped back sharply and she barely registered Moony releasing Harry with a loud roar and lunging towards Tonks. Straightening quickly, she put herself between Tonks and the furious wolf, taking the full blow of his body as it smashed into hers. He rolled off of her immediately and was sent flying across the floor by a vicious snarling dog. The wolf was too much for Sirius, however, and within seconds, he easily pushed the dog back across the floor. Whimpering, he walked back to Hermione.
Everyone froze in place when he knelt down beside her and gently stroked her cheek. Then, he pulled her up to him and held her close, his eye daring anyone to come close to his mate.
"Upstairs, Moony," she said breathlessly.
With a nod of his head, they slowly walked towards the stairs, only this time, he stopped beside Daphne, who stood completely still, frozen by fear as Harry slowly reached out and took her hand. Moony's eyes darted to their joined hands, then up to Harry. He sniffed the air around Daphne and slowly nodded his head, heeling to the light pressure Hermione was putting on his arm to move up the stairs and away from the others.
"Hermione," Harry said calmly, "if he hurts you, I will kill him."
Taking a deep breath, she ushered him up to her room, ready to spend the night with the beast.
Sirius followed at a close distance and when they were locked inside the room, he warded the door with the same wards he had placed on the kitchen. They weren't needed, he knew, but decided it was better to be safe than sorry. Resuming his dog-like form, he turned a few circles in front of her door before settling in for the night.
Hermione let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding when the door clicked shut behind them. "That went as well as could be expected," she sighed.
It hit her, somewhere between the understanding she shared with a werewolf and the realization that said werewolf was standing before her, that she was actually going to spend the night with a 'dangerous creature'--in her own bedroom no less. A bit of fear was solidified within her when he suddenly pulled her to him and held her tightly against his chest, his nose nuzzling her scar and his teeth lightly scraping against it.
"Well," she asked shakily, "do you sleep on the floor or would you prefer the bed?"
Taking her hand, he led her to the bed and gently pushed her onto it. When she complied, he moved her over and lay down beside her, surrounding her in his hairy arms and holding her tightly to him again. A sliver of apprehension went through her, slight worry that he might want something in his wolf form that she found herself unable to even consider, but instead, he only held her.
When she shivered slightly, he drew up the covers around her and then resumed his position, encircling her in the safety of his arms once more. Grinning, she turned in his arms to lay her head on his hairy chest. Her fingers ran through the hair as his heart thudded in her ear, the combination lulling her into a surprisingly peaceful slumber in the arms of the beast she was quickly growing to love beyond reason.
Remus awoke groggily the next morning, sun shining brightly into his overly sensitive eyes. His wife lay curled in his arms for the first time that he could ever remember and he cherished the long awaited moment. He ran his hands gently through her soft, curly hair and committed the feel to memory. It wasn't often, if at all, that his wife allowed him to touch her for no reason other than to sate his gentle desires and the alien feeling was amazing.
Curly hair?!
He woke to full consciousness quickly and looked down to the brunette curls covering his chest, the hand splayed possessively across his bare breastbone, and the leg pinning his own against the bed. He felt every inch of her body that touched his and with a panicked start, realized he was completely naked.
The full moon? Was that it? He thought back to the night before and tried to piece together some semblance of meaning within the memories. He remembered locking himself in the cellar, but not actually going in there. He also remembered transforming as though it were nothing at all…no pain was felt last night or this morning when his bones broke and reformed, when the hair sprouted from his body, or when he retook his human form not long ago. So, how the bloody hell did he get here, in Hermione's room with her, sleeping in her bed?
"Hermione," he hissed angrily, shoving her off him as he quickly covered himself with the sheet and watched as she woke up.
She grumbled for a moment, wiping her eyes with her fists in a childlike way he would have considered cute if not for his incensed mood. "Remus!" she squeaked.
"Are you going to tell me why the fuck I'm in here? What happened last night? Why am I not in the cellar? Tell me, Hermione!" he snarled.
Standing up to look down at him, she tilted her head defiantly. "You were trying to tear the house down last night and wanted to come up here. Don't make this out to be my fault!"
"I wanted?!" he screamed. "Don't be ignorant! I was a bloody werewolf last night!"
"You're a werewolf every night, and every day for that matter, it's only once a month that you actually transform," she hissed back, infuriated that he was denying Moony's existence.
"I don't need you to tell me what I am, I think I know that by now! And I don't need you doing whatever it is that you've been doing lately," he spat, surprising her with his words. "Whatever it is you think I need from you, you're wrong. Get those immature ideas out of your head where I'm concerned and leave me, and my wife, alone."
He stood quickly, dragging the sheet with him as he towered over her, his gaze livid in a way she'd never seen before.
The door behind him opened and Sirius walked in, carrying Remus' pants and scowling at the two. "Hermione, turn around. Remus, get dressed," he ordered, not taking his eyes off his old friend. "Before you start jumping to conclusions on what you think you know, Remus, I suggest you find out the facts first."
Remus threw the sheet on the bed and put his pants on, completely unembarrassed to be naked in front of Sirius. "I know that I did not wake up where I was supposed to and, as usual, I know that she has something to do with this!"
Hermione spun around quickly. "As usual?! What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means," he snarled, "that you have a way of sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. When we finish our research," he said, his voice dropping to a deadly quiet tone, one that dripped with finality, "Dora and I are moving out. I'm tired of this," he added, motioning between the two of them, "whatever this is and I refuse to hurt my wife."
Lowering her head and all but admitting guilt, Hermione waited quietly until the two men left. She heard them walk to the door, only to have Sirius walk back towards her. "He has no idea, does he?"
"None," she said softly, silent tears streaming down her face. "But we can't let him leave, Sirius, he…he'll die."
"Die?" Sirius asked shocked, then sadly shook his head, "You don't do things the easy way, do you?"
She gave him a sad smile in return, but they were interrupted by someone shouting from downstairs. "HERMIONE, COMPANY!"
Running her fingers through her sleep tousled hair, she brushed passed Sirius and down to the front door. Harry was talking to someone she couldn't see, but Daphne was held closely to him.
"Hello, tesoro," he said and she ran into his outstretched arms.
"Blaise, where have you been?" she playfully scolded him after he set her down.
"I'm sorry I've been away so long. Actually I'm only here today to talk to Potter for a few minutes, then I have to leave again."
They continued their conversation in hushed undertones, completely unaware that Remus was angrily watching them. He wasn't sure why, but the sight of Hermione excitedly throwing herself into another man's arms was more than a little disconcerting. Truth be told, he was jealous and that angered him more than anything else.
"Hermione," he said sternly, "there was an owl for you earlier. It looked important."
"Good morning, Lupin," Blaise said respectfully.
"Zabini," he answered coldly, walking away before he made a total fool of himself.
"Well, he's a right ray of sunshine, isn't he?"
"Yea, rough night," she said distractedly before turning her full attention back to him. "I'm glad you came by, I'll leave you to Harry now. Owl me soon?"
"Of course, Tesoro," he said gently, taking her hand and brushing his lips against it politely, but with familiarity.
She smiled up at him, then turned and walked to the library where she assumed her post had been left. The Ministry's wax seal adorned the crisp parchment and with nervous hands, she picked it up and took a deep breath. This was it, the moment they had been working for. She'd owled all the information directly to Kingsley earlier and this would be his answer. Silently thanking Remus for his last minute breakthrough, she released the breath she held and opened it. Skimming the quick note, she squealed in delight and ran to find Remus. At the entrance to the hallway, she collided with his hard body with a loud "Ooomph."
"Sorry," she apologized before her excitement returned in full force. "I got it Remus! We're approved! We go at noon tomorrow to present our information to Kingsley."
He stared at her for a few moments, allowing her words to sink in. Without thinking, he picked her up and spun her around, kissing her forehead as he beamed happily. "You're a genius!" he exclaimed.
The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted them and they both spun around guiltily.
"If you're quite finished with that little display," Tonks sneered, "I'd like to borrow my husband for breakfast."
She turned around and stormed down the hallway, leaving them both still smiling like idiots. "She's rather angry with me for some reason," he said, his smile still in place.
Hers, however, slipped from her face quickly. "You honestly don't remember last night?"
As though someone had doused him with cold water, he stepped away from her, angrily turning on his heel and heading in the same direction as Tonks. His animosity towards her had just returned full force and it didn't help that it felt forced, but he had to keep his distance from her at all costs…there was just no telling what he would do otherwise.
Hermione sighed heavily, then went upstairs to avoid seeing Remus with Tonks. She felt frustrated at the recent turn of events, but she also felt as though her heart were breaking and there was little she could do about it. Shrugging her shoulders, she decided that Moony was right, no matter how hard he pushed her away, she was just going to stay close to him and hope for the best. Besides, they had souls to save the next day!