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Chapter 7-Human Again
Previously: "Um…hi." She tried feebly as she kept close to Lupin for protection.
Before any more could be said, Snape was lunging at Hermione and snaking his fingers around her throat as he slammed her against the wall. Hermione barely had time to be surprised before Lupin was pulling Snape away from her and telling him to calm down.
She brought a hand up to massage her neck and looked down at the carpet. She knew Snape would be angry but she didn't expect him to attack her.
"Severus, she is a girl and your student, you cannot attack her." Lupin scolded.
"We're not in school right now, it doesn't count." Snape snarled.
Luckily for Hermione, Lupin's werewolf strength ensured that he was able to keep Snape away from her.
"Hermione, get your things." Lupin instructed. "Then use the floo to get to headquarters. I'll be along in a minute."
Nodding, Hermione stepped forward and collected her wand, handbag and letter off of the coffee table. Feeling Malfoy's eyes burning into her skin she turned to look at him. She tried to convey without words that she would not reveal his secret but she wasn't sure if he understood.
Casting a brief look to where Snape was struggling in Lupin's strong arms, Hermione quickly made her way upstairs to Snape's bedroom. She looked down at her cat basket before using her wand to shrink it then placed it inside her bag. She knew it was silly but she wanted it.
Turning round she found Malfoy stood in the doorway glaring hard at her.
"Did you enjoy your stay?" He asked snidely. "I bet you can't wait to shout your mouth off to the rest of your dorky Gryffindor friends. Guess what people; Draco Malfoy is a little faggot with a crush on Harry Potter. Isn't that the funniest thing you've ever heard?"
"Malfoy." Hermione sighed gently as she stepped towards him. "I won't tell anyone. Maybe you should tell Harry though."
"Oh please." Malfoy scoffed. "He hates me. Besides, he isn't even gay."
"Well if you let him see the real you things could change." Hermione told him. "You're not the arrogant jerk you pretend to be. I'm sure Harry would really like the real you. I know I do."
"You don't like me Granger." Malfoy drawled. "Nobody likes me."
"I do." Hermione insisted.
"Promise me you won't tell Harry…or anyone." Malfoy pleaded.
"I've already told you I won't tell." Hermione replied. "And…don't tell anyone that I spent part of my summer chasing round a ball of yarn ok?"
"Deal." Malfoy agreed.
Hermione smiled before moving to embrace him but the blonde took a step back.
"I don't hug." He told her.
"Oh, right." Hermione replied. "Fair enough. Goodbye Malfoy."
"Bye Granger." Draco said as she made her way back downstairs.
"I'll just be going then." Hermione said meekly as she passed Snape. "Thank you for looking after me and…I'm…I'm sorry. Um…bye."
She waved a hand in the direction of Snape but only received a deadly glare in response. Taking a pinch of floo powder, Hermione stepped into the fireplace and called out 'number 12 Grimmauld Place.'
Everything began to spin and all her eyes could make out was a multi-coloured blur before she came to a stop and stepped out of the fireplace of number 12. The room was empty so Hermione passed through and timidly entered the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley was magically cleaning the dishes with Mr. Weasley and Bill sat at the table discussing a pile of reports and Ginny painting her nails.
"Oh Hermione, hello dear." Mrs. Weasley greeted warmly. "Hermione!" She yelled after fully realising that Hermione was stood completely unharmed in the kitchen.
"Hello Mrs. Weasley." Hermione replied politely before being swept into a suffocating hug by the now sobbing woman.
"What happened to you?" Ginny asked when her mother had finally let her friend go. "We were all so worried about you." She told her as the two girls embraced.
"Long story." Hermione answered as the sounds of footsteps thundering down the stairs could be heard before Harry, Ron and the twins burst through the door.
Upon seeing Hermione alive and well, Harry's face broke into a happy relieved grin and he scooped her into a hug and spun her around. Back on her feet, she faced Ron and they shared a short awkward one-armed hug.
"Glad you're alright Mione." Ron said.
"Thanks." She replied before Fred and George lifted her up onto their shoulders chanting her name over and over. "Ok, ok, put me down. Put me down."
"I'll go and inform Dumbledore." Mr. Weasley smiled before leaving the room.
After he left Lupin entered with a kind smile.
"Remus look, it's Hermione." Mrs. Weasley gushed as she placed her hands on the girl's shoulders.
"Yes Molly I know." Lupin laughed. "I found her."
"So what happened?" Bill asked with interest.
"She was staying with Severus." Lupin answered.
"Snape?" Ron asked in a voice of disgust and Hermione frowned at him.
"That can't be right. He never said anything." Mrs. Weasley commented.
"Well, Hermione wasn't exactly herself." Lupin explained. "She was stuck in her animagus form, as a cat."
"Cat?" Bill asked.
"Bill, I'm sorry about your leg." Hermione apologised. "I was just trying to get your attention and I hoped you might realise that it was me so I…well…"
"Dug your claws into my leg." Bill supplied.
"Sorry." Hermione apologised again blushing slightly.
"Forget it." Bill told her with a half-smile. "I'm sorry for not noticing it was you."
"My parents." Hermione spoke up. "I need to see them. They must be worrying so much."
"Of course." Lupin said. "Come, I'll take you to them now."
"You can borrow our car." Fred told him.
Lupin nodded graciously and waited for Hermione to say a few quick goodbyes to her friends before he led her out of the house.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Hermione asked as she strapped herself into the passenger seat of the twins' car. "I mean if it's Fred and George's car anything could happen."
"It's quite safe Hermione." Lupin assured her before starting the ignition.
They drove in a companionable silence and Hermione gazed out the window watching the scenery fly by and mulling over her time spent in the company of Snape and Malfoy. She hoped Snape would have calmed down by the time school started again or she'd no doubt be receiving weekly detentions all year for things as simple as breathing too loudly or too much.
"Remus?" Hermione asked suddenly turning to her former professor.
"Yes Hermione?" He asked briefly flicking his eyes to her before returning his attention to the road.
"When you left, was professor Snape still mad?" She bit her lower lip almost hesitant to receive an answer.
"I'm afraid he was." Lupin told her. "He threw the coffee table across the room and then punched the wall in fury. He fractured his knuckles in doing so but I was able to heal them before I left."
"I never intended to make him mad." Hermione said.
"I know." Lupin replied kindly. "The thing about Severus is that he's a very private man. He always likes to put on a front. He can't abide the thought of anyone seeing him vulnerable. I imagine you saw a different side to the man during your stay, a side Severus does not like to show."
Hermione nodded in understanding. With the way Snape swept the corridors at school like a formidable storm cloud, no-one would even suspect that the man suffered from nightmares or that he held a genuine care for others. She had witnessed things that others could not even begin to imagine.
"He went looking for me." Hermione felt compelled to say and the surprise was clearly evident on the werewolf's face. "He was gone all day and night. When he returned, he told me that he had been out looking for me."
Not knowing how to respond to such information Lupin settled for a kind smile and turned the car stereo on.
By the time they pulled up outside Hermione's parents' house both of them were starving.
"You should come in." Hermione told him. "My mother would be more than happy to make you something to eat."
Together they walked up the drive and Hermione knocked on the door. It was her father who opened it and she greeted him with a smile before being pulled into a tight hug. Her mother came to the door and she let out a squeal and a sob much like Mrs. Weasley had done before throwing her arms around her husband and daughter and placing kisses upon any part of Hermione's face she could reach.
"Mum, dad." She said. "This is Remus Lupin. He's an old teacher of mine. He found me."
"Oh thank you so much you wonderful man." Mrs. Granger gushed placing a kiss upon Lupin's cheek whilst Mr. Granger shook his hand enthusiastically. "You found my baby girl, I can't thank you enough."
They all moved inside the house and took seats in the living room. Crookshanks slinked down the stairs and he jumped upon Hermione's lap and purred in delight obviously pleased to have her back. Hermione's mother was running a hand through her daughter's curls and gazing at her as though she were a precious new born whilst Lupin calmly explained what happened but the Granger's were hardly listening. They were so happy they had their daughter back that they couldn't concentrate on much else.
"Are you hungry sweetheart?" Her mother asked. "I'll make you something to eat. Anything you like. What do you want?"
"Egg and chips will do me mum." Hermione told her. "I've been living on cat food for weeks."
"Would you care for some food Remus?" Mrs. Granger asked.
"Thank you but I really should be going." He replied. "The moon will be up soon. Someone will be by to collect the car tomorrow."
With that said he disapparated and Mr. and Mrs. Granger both let out a startled gasp.
After dinner, Hermione bounded upstairs to her bedroom. She resized her cat basket and set it on the floor beside Crookshanks' basket before hopping into the bathroom to take a much needed shower.
Meanwhile, Snape and Malfoy were sat on the sofa together watching the news when Hermione's face appeared on the screen and the newsreader said she had been found.
Seizing the remote control, Snape threw it at the image of Hermione creating a loud smash and making Malfoy jump.
To Be Continued
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