My loves! So I'm not sure yet when the next update will be but I'm warning you now that it will probably be a little longer than two weeks this time. I'm hoping that the worst of my writer's block has gone away and I'll be able to post on time but I'm not sure. And I'm just going to add a small note here to let you all know that if you head over to my profile there is a poll where you can vote to pick the name of Hermione's baby!

Thank you all so much for your reviews on the last chapter! I just want to remind you all that if you have any questions you can feel free to contact me via pm, or you can find me on tumblr under the same username, or if you are part of Shrieking Shack Society or Wordsmiths and Betas you're always welcome to send me a message on Facebook!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, this is JK Rowling's sandbox, I'm just building castles.

This story is rated M for the occasional sex scene and some violence. Also language, because I swear a lot.

Lots of love to my alpha reader Kreeblim Sabs, and to my beta reader Heeley. And tons of love for ShayaLonnie who's support and advice on this fic has been invaluable.

Thank you for reading and please remember to feed the magical review eating fairy!

Chapter 7

December 28, 1996

Remus was there in less than five minutes, standing in the doorway of the twins' kitchen and giving her his best disappointed stare. Hermione hated that look, she hated that she was the one to put that expression on his face. People were never disappointed in her, it just wasn't done. She was Hermione Granger and she did not disappoint people.

"Thank you, Fred, George, for letting me know she was here," he said, his eyes never leaving her face. She resisted the urge to shy away from his gaze. "I think we should go now, Hermione take my arm please, we'll be apparating."

She looked helplessly at Fred and George, a small part of her wishing they would offer to take her home instead. When they said nothing she sighed and stepped forward to take Remus' arm.

There was a familiar pull and then she was standing, not in her childhood home like she'd been expecting, but in the front entryway of Grimmauld Place. She glanced around in surprise for a moment, watching as Remus flicked a silencing charm at Walburga Black's portrait before he turned his furious eyes on her.

"Remus why are we here?" she demanded. "Honestly this is ridiculous-"

"Ridiculous?" he hissed. "What's ridiculous is you running around Diagon fucking Alley on your own! What the hell were you thinking Hermione? And don't think for a moment that I'm going to believe that you just didn't want to bother anyone, that's a bullshit excuse and you know it!" By the time he finished shouting at her he had backed her up against the nearest wall and his face, which was flushed red in anger, was inches away from her own.

"I don't know why you're so upset," Hermione confessed. "I was perfectly fine, I don't need a babysitter."

"You don't see why I'm so upset?" he asked, staring at her incredulously. "You cannot possibly be that stupid, not you. You know exactly why I'm upset, Hermione!"

"No, actually, I don't!" she yelled back. "I'm not some incapable damsel in distress Remus! I'm seventeen, not five, I can take care of myself!"

"I know that!" he yelled. "I'm not saying that you couldn't handle yourself against a Death Eater, you can, but what happens when you're up against more than one with no back up? What you did today was reckless and irresponsible!"

"I don't have to listen to this," Hermione decided, making an attempt to duck around him so that she could apparate home. He stopped her by planting his hands on the wall on either side of her head, boxing her in. The way he looked at her in that moment, his eyes flashing lupine gold and burning bright with intensity, had a tight coil of desire forming deep inside her.

"What would I do if something happened to you?" he whispered. "If someone kidnapped you or hurt you or... You could have been killed."

Hermione frowned at him in confusion. "I don't understand," she whispered. "Remus why-" She stopped talking abruptly when Remus removed one hand from the wall to cup her face.

"Because you're everything," he breathed before leaning down to kiss her.

The Weasley Wizard Wheezes bag slipped out of her hand as she raised her arms to wrap them around Remus' neck. The hand that had been cupping her face slid back to tangle in her hair while his other hand left the wall and his arm wrapped around her, pulling her firmly against him.

She groaned and opened her mouth to his probing tongue, barely managing to stop herself from rubbing her body against his like a cat in heat. Everywhere his body touched hers felt as if it had been set on fire and it was simultaneously too much and not enough.

"Remus," she moaned when he tore his lips from hers to trail a line of kisses across her jaw and down her neck.

"I shouldn't be doing this," he rasped, nipping at the junction where her neck met her shoulder. "I shouldn't be doing this Hermione, but I can't stop. Tell me to stop," he begged.

"I can't," Hermione whispered. "I don't want you to stop Remus."

"I'm too old for you," he argued. "Too old, too poor, a werewolf, you don't want this." But even as he spoke he pressed closer to her, pushing her back against the wall as he ground his hard cock against her thigh, making her whimper with need.

"I don't care. Don't try to tell me what I want. I want this, I want you," she gasped, tugging his lips back down onto hers. She poured everything she had into the kiss, every bit of frustration and longing she'd ever felt for him.

..oo0O0oo..

November 5, 1981

Remus woke up feeling rather confused. He had fallen asleep wrapped around Hermione, surrounded by her scent and the easy rhythm of her breathing. So when he woke up to find that his arms were empty he wasn't exactly happy about it.

He sat up in the bed, surprised to see that he was the only one in the room, Lily and Harry's bed was empty, the seats where James and Sirius had slept were unoccupied and Hermione was gone. Remus felt a surge of panic, his heart speeding up considerably as he ran through a mental list of all the horrible things that might have happened to his friends and his mate while he'd been asleep.

It took him a few moments to calm down, to remind himself that they were in Hogwarts and Hogwarts was safe and that if anything happened to Hermione he would know. He would know the same way that he knew what she was to him and what it meant. Moony. Moony was connected to her, she was a part of him and while he was restless that she was not where he could see her, he wasn't distraught and that meant that wherever she was she was unharmed.

Thankfully Sirius and James chose that moment to walk into the room, laughing and levitating a try laden with food from the Great Hall – why they hadn't just asked the elves to bring them something Remus didn't know.

"Are you pouting?" Sirius asked when he looked over to where Remus was still sitting up in Hermione's bed.

"I'm not pouting," Remus denied, his petulant tone violently contradicting him. He was pouting, just a little. Sirius snorted.

"Aw Prongs, Moony is pouting 'cause he woke up without his witch," Sirius teased. James rolled his eyes.

"Don't be a prat Sirius," he scolded. "You alright Remus? Hermione's gone to take a shower, Madame Pomfrey said she can go home today."

Remus felt the tension drain out of him, and he smiled softly at the idea that Hermione would be getting out of the hospital wing. Being back at Hogwarts was nice, and Remus had missed it, but he'd seen a lot of the hospital wing during his time as a student and he had hoped he'd never have to see it again.

"Did you bring me any breakfast?" Remus asked, hopefully eyeing a plate heaped full of bacon hopefully. James curled a defensive hand around the plate and narrowed his eyes.

"You were asleep, so no, we didn't get you any, get your own," he responded shortly.

"I don't know why you didn't just ask the house elves to get it for you," Remus commented.

"We tried, Hermione had a fit," James explained. "Remember what Ghost Harry said about never getting into a conversation with her about house elf rights?" he asked. Remus nodded.

"He wasn't kidding," Sirius said, knicking a piece of bacon off of James' plate. "It was easier to walk to the Great Hall and get our own food than to argue with her. I'm surprised she didn't wake you up to be honest, she gets loud when she's upset."

"She does," James agreed around a mouthful of eggs.

"Are you talking about me?"

All three of them jumped at the sound of Hermione's voice coming from the doorway. It was remarkable that she'd managed to surprise them, sneaking up on a werewolf and a canine animagus wasn't an easy thing to do.

"No!" they chorused, none of them managing to sound convincing as they turned to look at her. Remus felt his breath catch at the sight of her, something that happened every time he saw her, but that always seemed to surprise him. He would never get over how beautiful she was.

Her bandages had been removed, the cursed wounds having healed enough that they no longer bled. They suited her, in an odd sort of way, the three pale pink scars ran from hairline to chin and she wore them like a badge of honor. A testament to her strength. Her hair, which was usually a wild mass of frizzy curls, had been wrestled back into a braid, and Remus wondered if she wore it that way for practicality or because she was embarrassed by the way it practically defied gravity.

Hermione rolled her eyes at them as she walked across the room to stand at the foot of her bed. "You're just like Harry you know," she murmured giving James a casual look, "or maybe he's just like you. Either way you're both horrible liars, and you two aren't much better," she added, glancing quickly at Sirius before letting her eyes settle on Remus. She gave him a small smile, and he shyly returned it, feeling elated that she was looking at him without glaring or looking away as quickly as she could.

"I knew there was a reason they wouldn't let me in Slytherin," James joked, shoving a handful of bacon in his mouth.

"The hat very nearly put Harry in Slytherin," Hermione told them, placing one hand on her stomach as she attempted to climb onto the bed. Remus was up and at her side in an instant, while James and Sirius both choked on their mouthfuls of food. He scooped her up and set her down as gently as possible, letting his hand linger for a moment on her stomach, smiling at the nudge he received for his efforts.

"You're the only one she does that for every time," she murmured, her brow furrowed slightly.

"I'm sorry, did you just try to tell me that my son, Harry James Potter, almost got put in Slytherin?" James demanded. Hermione turned to look at him and Remus felt himself deflate at the loss of her attention.

"Yes James, that is what I said," Hermione agreed. "I'm pleased to inform you that you do not yet need a hearing aid."

"My son? Are you sure it was my son? Harry, little Harry Potter, the one who kissed your boo-boos to make them better? That Harry?" James pressed. Hermione's smile grew wider.

"Yes, that Harry," she confirmed. James and Sirius frowned at one another.

"Well that won't do at all," Sirius muttered. "We're going to have to have a talk with the little tyke."

Remus watched in fond amusement as Hermione rolled her eyes. "Get over it," she told them sternly, "he was sorted into Gryffindor in the end. There's no need to have a crisis."

"Says the magic eight ball," Sirius grumbled sullenly. Hermione glared at him, a small dimple forming between her eyes as she frowned. Remus hated himself for the way he found it so utterly adorable.

"I'm not a magic eight ball, although I'm impressed you even know what that is," she said slowly, looking him over in a way that set Moony on edge. He didn't much care for her being impressed by another male.

"So James and Sirius tell me you're being sent home today," Remus said, both trying to change the subject and shift her attention back to him. Where it belongs, Moony thought. Remus did his best to ignore him, though he couldn't help but agree.

"Uh, yeah," she said, looking over at him. "Dumbledore wants to talk to me first though." She grimaced and Remus frowned at her obvious discomfort.

"Why don't you like Dumbledore?" Sirius asked, having noticed her change of expression. Hermione looked around uneasily, her eyes lingering for a moment on the open door of Madam Pomfrey's office.

"We can't talk about this here," she told him. "You never know who might be listening."

James and Sirius exchanged a curious look. "There's no one in here but us Hermione," James assured her. She shook her head.

"Later, I'll tell you everything later, but not here," she said firmly. "There's something else far more important that we need to talk about, there's something in the castle that we need to find before we leave." She reached over and grabbed her beaded bag. "Dumbledore is out of the castle until later this afternoon, so if we hurry we'll have enough time to get the object and destroy it." As she spoke she pulled two very familiar items out of the little bag and Remus couldn't help the wide smile that spread across his face at the sight of James' invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map.

"Where did you get those?" James demanded. Hermione smiled.

"Harry was my best friend," she said, shrugging, as if that explained everything. "He got the map from the Weasley twins in our third year – of course we didn't find out until later who the Marauders actually were – and Dumbledore gave the cloak to Harry for Christmas our first year. I thought that it had been lost with Harry when he died, but Draco must have put it in my bag before he helped me escape."

"Hermione, maybe we should wait until Dumbledore gets back," Remus suggested uneasily. He didn't feel comfortable with going behind the old man's back, even if Hermione didn't like him Dumbledore had done a lot for Remus.

"You can stay here if you're scared Remus, I won't judge," she murmured absently as she unfolded the map. He wasn't quite able to silence the growl that rose up in his chest at her words. She smirked. "James, did Dumbledore give you your cloak back?" she asked. "My plan won't work without both cloaks."

"Er, yeah he gave it to me yesterday," James admitted. "How did you-"

"Honestly James, let's just assume that I know a lot of things," Hermione said, rolling her eyes in frustration. "Do you have it with you?" James shook his head."Would you mind going to get it?" she asked. James nodded, eyeing her uneasily as he stood.

"I'll be back in a bit," he said, vanishing his empty plate and dirty silverware to the kitchens. Hermione gave him a warm smile.

"Thank you James," she called as he walked out of the room. "Now, do you two want to know that plan?"

..oo0O0oo..

"Tell me again why James and I are going to steal a chicken from Hagrid?" Sirius asked incredulously from under the cloak he was sharing with James. Hermione fought the intense desire she felt to hex him stupid. It was the seventh time he'd asked in less than ten minutes.

"Because I said so, and it's a rooster Sirius," she reminded him. "If you come back with a chicken I'll send you back until you can learn to follow directions."

"Does anyone else want to know why the designated meeting place is a girl's bathroom?" James asked.

"I'm more curious about the rooster honestly," Remus interjected. Hermione groaned.

"I have an idea, how about we all play a little game called Hermione Knows Best and stop asking stupid questions," Hermione snapped irritably. "Go get the rooster and meet Remus and me in the girl's bathroom on the second floor, please."

"Fine, but you are going to tell us why we need a rooster, right?" Sirius asked hopefully. Hermione sighed.

"Yes Sirius, if you bring me the rooster I'll tell you why we need it," she agreed. "We'll see you soon, don't get caught." She reached down and took Remus by the hand, pulling him away before Sirius could think of another stupid question to ask. "Honestly, this is ridiculous, Harry and Ron never questioned me," she muttered sullenly.

"Harry and Ron knew you a lot longer than we have," Remus pointed out. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"The Room of Requirement," she replied absently, her mind still stuck on the marauders' lack of trust in her.

"The what?" Remus asked, frowning. Hermione turned to look at him, a delighted smile spreading across her face.

"You'll see," she assured him smugly, she loved that she knew something he didn't. It was an interesting power exchange, usually he was the one teaching her stuff.

They walked the rest of the way to the seventh floor in silence and Remus gave her a funny look when she started pacing back and forth. "What are you-" He stopped talking and gaped at the door that appeared out of nowhere. Hermione laughed.

"We don't have all day Remus," she reminded him gently. He shook his head and looked down at her, his eyes wide.

"How the hell did you find this place?" he demanded.

"A house elf told us about it during our fifth year," she explained, shrugging. "Come on, we have to find it and get back to James and Sirius." She walked into the room and Remus followed closely behind her.

"Of course, although it would be easier if you told me what we were looking for," Remus said, looking around in fascination at the large piles of old junk stacked around the room.

"I know where it is," Hermione explained.

"Then what was the point in bringing me?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Hermione laughed.

"You're tall, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to reach it," she admitted as she led him through the maze of objects in the room until they were standing in front of the cabinet where Harry had once hidden his old potions book. She looked around, knowing that it had to be directly in the vicinity because Harry had grabbed it and used it as a way to mark the cupboard so he could come back for that book.

"I thought you said you knew where it was," Remus teased. Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and pointed at the diadem, which she spotted in the pile just behind him.

"It's there," she said, watching in amusement as Remus spun around to see where she was pointing. His jaw dropped open and she knew that he recognized it for what it was.

"Is that... The Diadem of Ravenclaw? That's impossible, it's been lost for centuries," he spluttered. Hermione chuckled.

"It's not what it once was, I assure you," Hermione informed him. "It is an instrument of evil now, a vessel that holds a piece of Voldemort's soul." Remus reached up and grabbed the diadem and Hermione watched as his expression twisted into disgust. She grimaced, knowing exactly how it felt to touch something that evil, the way it made your skin crawl and your chest constrict painfully. "We should go, none of us should have contact with it for very long."

"Hermione, this is... this is dark magic," Remus murmured. "You shouldn't even be in the same room as it, think of the baby."

"It has to be destroyed Remus," she sighed. "I know where they all are, I know how to destroy them, there's no other way."

He looked up at her sharply. "There's more than one?" he asked incredulously. Hermione nodded.

"As of right now there are five, there were seven in my time," she explained. "They're called horcruxes, and they're horrible. You have to kill someone to create one, murder rips the soul and then there's a ritual you can do to sever half of it and conceal it in an object of your choosing. As long as your soul is safe within its vessel you cannot die, but it renders your soul unstable, and if you do it enough times you go mad."

"He did it seven times?" Remus breathed, looking down at the diadem in disgust.

"Six, technically the seventh one was an accident," she corrected him. "I'll explain everything, more in depth later, but we need to go meet Sirius and James. We have things to do today, a horcrux to destroy."

A monster to kill, she thought, though she knew better than to tell Remus exactly what it was she was planning. He'd never let her open the chamber if he knew what was waiting for them inside, and she needed to slay the Basilisk if she wanted to destroy any of the horcruxes.

A/N: I'm just going to address a few guest reviews down here guys, feel free to ignore this, or read on if you want, that's fine too.

BlueFrost: Thank you for your review! I am so glad that you are enjoying the story so far. You are right, at 18 weeks it is highly unlikely that Hermione, let alone Remus, would be able to feel the baby kicking, especially given that the baby is so small. I have a reason for writing this the way that I have and you will find out soon what it is I promise!