Hermione sleepily stretched and tried to shake off the blur from last night. Her dreams were muddled with thing she never has seen before and places she had never been. It was all very unsettling because she felt like this was experiences she has had in her past. She didn't remember falling asleep and felt disoriented on where she was. Yawning she glanced around her and couldn't identify the room or even the minimal furniture.
"Mione, I will be up in a minute," Remus grumbled behind her and she turned around on the bed.
The older werewolf was laying over the blankets in his clothes from last night. He was resting on his back and shirt was loose against his chest. Hermione frowned and leaned over toward him. Remus crinkled his face and opened one eye.
"Good morning," he grumbled and she smiled.
"What am I doing in your room?" she asked and he shook his head.
"You fell asleep on the couch and when I brought you up the stairs you asked me to not leave."
She reached out and tucked some hair away from his forehead. "Thank you," she whispered and he turned fully toward her.
"So I feel today you may want to spend some time in your room." Remus uttered seriously.
Hermione could feel fear rise in her and he could see it. "Okay," she murmured and looked away from his eyes.
He brushed a thumb under her chin and encircling her cheek with his hand, making her gaze back at him. "You will be alright, I am here."
It was a simple gesture but it meant the world to her and she felt herself react before her mind could process it. Remus had closed the gap when he reached for her and Hermione had taken it farther by kissing him. She licked his lips and welcomed the kiss to evolve. Remus was not convoluted with his own desires and pulled away before it became something serious.
The woman before him was tinted and bright which he silently congratulated himself on doing. Her lips were rosy but slightly apart in a primal need to be kissed once more. Remus calmed down the side of him that would not mind to taste them again and smiled.
"Remus," she breathed and bit the inside of his cheek.
"Hermione, I am going to get up and make breakfast." He replied almost trying to will himself to get up.
He kissed her again gently and pulled away to get up out of bed. She was not used to wanting to be close to anyone, but in that small intimate moment, she didn't want to be away from him. Remus straightened his clothing and stretched before turning back to her on his bed. Hermione was leaneding on her elbow and stared at him with an unsure expression.
"Remus," she murmured gently.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead before taking a few paces to his bedroom door. Glancing back he saw her climbing out of bed to follow him. The older werewolf opened the door for her and she smiled stepping through it whispering her gratitude. She walked down the stairs and Hermione felt like kicking herself. Putting a friend in such an awkward situation was not what she wanted to do.
"Would you like some tea?" He asked her.
She nodded grabbing the newspaper from Remus' owl. "Yes, please. That would be wonderful."
Sitting down she flipped through the Daily Prophet and saw the current events for the day. It seemed that there wasn't anything too different as she read through. What indeed was bothering her is there was no real debate about the werewolf rights that were in her reality. She was reading them daily before she got to work on her research. In this reality there was no talks of any such thing.
"No secured rights for werewolves or creatures alike going on?" She asked Remus and he chuckled.
"That's right, you don't remember the debates you personally held with the Minister. After you got turned, you made it a mission to be able to work at the Ministry of Magic if it pleased you. The only thing you didn't manage to do was to create a moon cycle absence forgiveness with employers." Remus chuckled and Hermione gaped.
"I did that?" she asked not quite sure if he was serious.
Remus nodded and smiled. "You were entirely larger than life. After you were done with that you went on a mission to find the best cure for it. All your notes are in the library."
Hermione giggled and nodded. "Doesn't matter what happened to me, I will always be a perpetual student."
The older werewolf grinned and set the tea down on the table. "Our favorite time together has been spent in the library."
An owl flew in and landed on the empty chair next to Hermione. She saw the letter was addressed to her and took it from the owl before it flew off. Remus scowled at the letter and Hermione shrugged at him before opening it.
Hermione,
I was wondering if you weren't too busy if I could see you. I know yesterday was extremely stressful, but it might be nice to spend time with a friend. Let me know if you would like to.
Fred
She felt surprised that Fred seemed so urgent to spend time with her. Hermione was extremely curious as to what their dynamic was that he acted like a lost puppy almost. There was a sad urge to reconnect with him just to find out why. She just couldn't see herself hurting him farther. Remus had busied himself in the kitchen but was hoping she would bring up whatever was in the letter.
Hermione placed it on the table and turned to the werewolf cooking. "Fred wants to see me."
Remus was not very fond of the idea but did not speak ill of Fred. "Would you like to see him?"
Hermione frowned and shrugged. "He is our friend."
Before he could give his reply, Sirius Black came sleepily down the stairs and smiled as he walked in the kitchen. The animagus was in his boxers and waggled his eye brows at Hermione as he sat in front of her.
"Like what you see, Hermione?" Sirius flirted with her.
Hermione held and even tone in her voice but her pink cheeks betrayed her. "Well I suppose you aren't a goblin."
Sirius poured himself a cup of tea and swiped the paper from Hermione. He started to flip through it as Hermione directed her attention back to Remus. The werewolf was frying up some eggs and glanced over to her to see she was watching him.
"I suppose if you want to see him then you can. I am not your keeper." Remus told her.
Hermione frowned and shrugged. "Should I invite him over for dinner?"
Sirius now was paying attention to the conversation at hand. "Who are you inviting over for dinner?"
"Fred," Remus confirmed and Sirius snorted.
"That wanker?" Sirius retorted and Hermione cringed.
"I didn't realize you did not like him," she uttered and Sirius shrugged.
"I don't mind the bloke, I just am not fond of him."
There was a small silence and the clock ticked nine times and Remus smiled. "I give him a minute this time, Pads."
Sirius shook his head with a wolfish grin. "You're on, I give him ten."
"Who are we giving time to?" Hermione asked and Sirius chuckled.
"We always put a flutter on how soon after nine Teddy will come bounding down the stairs."
Hermione sat there a few moments sipping her tea before she heard the familiar thump of someone moving around up the stairs. The little foot steps moved around and the bathroom door was opened and shut. The boy soon was bounding down the stairs and Sirius grumbled before placing a few galleons on the table. Remus snatched them up with a sneer.
"Good morning," Teddy grumbled as he walked into the kitchen.
Hermione smiled and Teddy sat down next to her. "How did you sleep?" she asked the boy.
His hair turned a crimson and he shrugged. "I had a dream that I was flying on a broom next to Uncle Harry and I flew into a tree."
Hermione gasped and tried to hide a smile. "I am so sorry! Did Uncle Harry help you out of the tree?"
Teddy shook his head. "No, my dad did."
Remus appeared with plates and set them in front of Sirius, Hermione and Teddy. Fried eggs, toast and ham. Remus disappeared only to return with his plate and sat next to Sirius. Hermione glanced at the two men before she started eating. They both seemed light hearted today which made her smile.
They finished their breakfast and Hermione decided she was going to go clean herself up. While the men were taking care of Teddy and setting him up with his lessons for the day, Hermione grabbed her bag and went into the restroom. She knew her day was going to be long and possibly a hard day.
She pulled out her toiletries for the shower and fiddled with the faucet before climbing in. Hermione was in the hot water for a little span of time before something was nagging at her mind. Thinking it was just busy with all the work ahead of her today, she continued enjoying her shower. The steam rose and swirled around her and the feeling kept nagging at her that she needed to look in the cabinet in the bathroom.
Not quite knowing where it was coming from, she finished washing her hair and turned the water off. Grabbing her fluffy crimson towel, she was still distracted by this thought that there was something in the cabinet. Hermione was of sound mind and knew she has not been in Grimmauld Place since she was a teenager. There was nothing she could have placed here for herself and not known it.
Taking a chance, she tightened her towel closer to her body and bent down to open the bottom doors of the cabinet. She saw towels, wash clothes and a small key in the way back. She gingerly reached for it and an overwhelming sense of anxiety swept her to the floor.
Hermione sat there for what she felt was a long while before she glanced up and saw things in a different light. She remembered a couple memories in this bathroom she didn't even think were hers. One of these memories was her sitting on this very floor and speaking to Remus in the tub. He was grinning and trying to convince her to join him. Another memory of her injured, naked and on the floor as Sirius was trying to mend her in a panic. He was rubbing her leg and kissed the barely healed part of it.
Those memories were not hers and yet they were. Something did not seem right and she sat there dumbfounded by it. There was a knock at the door and it cleared the room of all her thoughts.
"Yes?" she asked and someone came in without answering.
Sirius was peeking around the door and entered when he saw her on the floor. "Are you alright?" he asked urgently.
She nodded and gulped some of her fear down. "Sirius, how close was I to you and Remus?"
The animagus bit the inside of his cheek and thinned his lips before he answered. "That isn't really something we can talk about on the floor of the bathroom." He deflected and ran a hand through his hair.
Hermione frowned and shook her head. "Try me, Sirius."
He sighed heavily and shrugged. "You were complicated with us. We all were friends, but we all were different."
Hermione narrowed her gaze further. "Still being a wanker about it." She stood up and went into her bag.
She was pulling out her clothes and ignoring Sirius who was just standing there. He was debating what to say but she was not giving him an inch. Not quite diplomatic like Remus, this type of confrontation was never his expertise.
The werewolf turned to him and tilted her head in anticipation. "Well?"
Sirius shuddered and bit his lip. "Hermione, you were not as you are now. There were no heavy emotions for you. You enjoyed instinctual needs and companionship, but it never ran deeper for you."
She held on to her thoughts a moment before speaking. "So I spent time in private with both of you?"
Sirius seemed so very uncomfortable with this topic. "Yes, we both bedded you." He said bluntly and Hermione's jaw dropped.
"How- h- how does that even work?" she exclaimed and Sirius winced.
"It just did. You ran it the way that worked for you and both of us never asked for it any differently. Remus suffered a loss with his wife and I never really felt attached to anyone. You gave us something to enjoy being men, even for a short period." Sirius finished and Hermione was bewildered by the whole dynamic.
"So I... I was..." she trailed off and shrinking against herself.
Sirius stepped forward and made her look at him. "Don't you even think for one second I will let you shame yourself for that. Everyone has a right to be happy and you did things that made yourself happier. You needed us as much as we needed you. No one knew because you felt it was important that our pack stayed our pack." He paused and softened his grasp on her shoulders. "Hermione, you are the woman in our lives. We only wanted to make you smile, even if just for a moment."
She closed her eyes and bit back the feeling of being overwhelmed. "I really need to get dressed." she whimpered and Sirius nodded.
"If you feel like talking, I will be here." He replied and let go of her.
"Thank you, Sirius." She uttered as he opened up the bathroom door.
"You are welcome," he replied and left her alone in the bathroom.
