A/N: Yay for another post. Glad you're all liking it :)
By the way, who do you guys think I should match George up with? I'd rather not create an OC for him, but if I don't get any suggestions, I'll have to...
The night of the full moon Hermione could hardly focus on anything. All throughout dinner Molly had to keep reminding her to eat because she kept staring off into space. After she ate enough to get Molly's okay, she fled to the living room and pulled a chair next to the window. With a book she had no intention of reading she sat down and stared out at the silvery orb in the sky. She knew George had also joined her at some point, but she ignored him for the most part.
Suddenly she heard a soft explosion from George's side of the room. Her head quickly swiveled toward him just in time to see a miniature firework fire from his index finger. She watched again as he held all five fingers out to shoot one from each fingertip. Hermione quickly discarded the book and scurried over to sit in front of his chair. "How are you doing that?!" she asked excitedly.
George jumped startled from the interruption, before smiling slightly. "You can do it too."
"I can? Show me," she held out her hand with a big smile on her face.
George smiled back, finding hers infectious. He took her hand in his, and let some of his magic flow through her fingers. Hermione's head fell back as she watched the fireworks explode above them. She laughed and looked back at George.
He froze seeing the merriment in her eyes. For a moment he felt the ache and pain he had had in his chest ever since the death of his brother ease.
"What else can you do like that?" Hermione asked.
George remembered what Molly had said about her fear of wands, but he knew plenty of things to do without a wand. He pulled his hand back and flicked his thumb up. Fire shot out of the tip almost like some sort of flame torch.
For the rest of the night George showed Hermione several different wandless magic, even teaching her a few. He also brought her up to his attic room (which he had taken back from Ron when he moved back home) to show her some of the WWW products he had created with Fred. Sometime after five in the morning Hermione fell asleep on his bed. George covered her with a spare blanket and eased out of the room.
Just as he reached the ground level he ran into his mum. "Oh, George. You're up early. Have you seen Hermione? I thought perhaps she had fallen asleep reading, but she's not down here."
"She's in my room," George said.
Molly bristled, "George, what did—"
"Mum! It's nothing like that. Besides, aren't you trying to get her and Remus together?"
Molly blushed in embarrassment of being caught. "How did you know that?"
"Really Mum, you're about as subtle as Hagrid. I was showing her some of Fred and my old products. She's interested in wandless magical stuff. You should tell Sirius and Remus; I know they want to work on her magic. What's for breakfast?" he asked making his way into the kitchen.
Molly stared after her son, shocked. Since the death of his twin, George had barely uttered a sentence, unless it was to yell at one of his siblings. Yet he just engaged in a conversation with her. And he also took the time to involve himself in Hermione's magical problem, even spending all night with her. Molly smiled and reached into her apron for a tissue.
Perhaps Hermione and George weren't meant to be together romantically, but they were definitely meant to be together as friends. They needed each other to help the other in hard times.
A few minutes later Arthur came down the steps to find his wife crying softly into a tissue. "Molly, Dearest; what's wrong?"
"Oh, Arthur! I think George is finally getting better!"
=-=-=-=
It was well into the afternoon when Sirius showed up at the burrow to bring Hermione home. He had to admit, he was selfish and enjoyed having the house to himself (excluding the passed out Remus) without having to worry about Hermione, Tarak, or any surprise guests. The first thing he saw when he stepped out was Molly cooking something smelling delicious. "Mm, what are you making?" Sirius asked. He stepped up to where she was working and swiped a bit of frosting from the bowl.
"Off with you! You know there is no tasting before dinner!" Molly swatted at him. "Hermione and George are in the living room. Good luck pulling her away."
"What does that mean?" he asked.
"She's been glued to his side since last night," she said. "From what I hear they stayed up all night playing magic tricks."
"All night?" Sirius asked slowly, halting in a possible second frosting swipe. "With George?"
"George said she fell asleep in his room from pure exhaustion."
Sirius abandoned his quest for sweets and stalked towards the hallway. "This isn't good," he muttered. The sight was more innocent than what he was expecting, but the laughing and closeness did nothing for him, especially since what Moony told him last night.
"Sirius!" Hermione said between laughs. She jumped up from her seat next to George and stepped in front of him. "Look what George taught me!" She held up her hand and shot a firework from her fingertip. "He taught me a whole bunch of stuff!"
Sirius glanced at George over her shoulder. George was still smiling softly at Hermione's exuberance, but Sirius didn't see anything in his gaze like he saw in Remus' towards Hermione. He breathed a sigh of relief. That's the last thing we need: a jealous werewolf. "That's great 'Mione. Ready to go home?"
Hermione's face sobered. "Where's Remus? Is he okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she darted around Sirius. A few seconds later they could hear the floo activate.
George stood from the floor. "She was worried about Remus last night, I thought some magic tricks would keep her mind off of it," he said softly. "You might want to start off with wandless magic to get her used to it again."
Sirius smiled softly. "Thank you, George. You're the first one to reach her in this aspect." Sirius glanced behind him and said, "I better make sure she isn't strangling Remus. Don't be a stranger? We'll enjoy having you over." Didn't you just say you didn't like surprise guests? he asked himself.
"Right. I might."
=-=-=-=
"Remus!" Hermione shrieked as she jumped on the bed. Remus groaned, but didn't complain when he felt her cool hands on his face. "Are you alright? I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."
Remus settled back against the pillows. "It's alright. I've been asleep most of the day anyway."
"Well are you alright?" she asked again. "Are there any injuries you need help with? Molly said you usually go to her to fix them, but I can help!"
"Actually, you can help. I have some scratches on my back—" Before he could even finish, Hermione had tugged his shirt over his head roughly. "Ouch, Hermione!"
"Sit up," she ordered as she slid off his lap.
Remus did as instructed and felt her move behind him. He was about to ask her how she was planning on healing them when he felt something warm and wet slide across his back. "Hermione! What are you doing?!" he asked as he jerked away.
Hermione pulled him back and slid her tongue across his back again. "I'm cleaning your cuts. Tarak always did this to clean any we had."
Remus gasped and grabbed a pillow, holding it tightly to his lap. Hoping she wouldn't notice, Remus pulled her in front of him with his free hand. "We humans clean injuries different. Go ask Sirius for some healing supplies." Hermione quickly left to do as told. Remus sighed in relief. He had gotten her away, but the damage had already been done. He pushed the pillow into his lap harder with a small moan when Hermione suddenly reentered.
"Are you in pain?" Hermione asked with worry.
"Yes, it's horrible," Remus fibbed. For the next half hour, Remus had to endure Hermione's delicate hands cleaning out his cuts, but at least she didn't lick him again. After the soiled water was disposed of, Hermione helped Remus get comfortable in bed and lay down next to him.
"George taught me a bunch of magic tricks today," Hermione said as Remus put his arm around her.
"Did he?" Remus asked. His mind was more on his hand skimming across her back.
To prove her point, she lifted one hand and shot another firework off.
Remus' hand froze as he stared at it. "Did you just use wandless magic?"
Hermione looked at him confused. "Wandless magic?"
"Never mind. What you just did was magic," Remus said.
"I can do magic? So those books in your library are all real?" Hermione gasped, "That means I'm a witch!"
Remus smiled. "Yes, and Sirius and I are wizards. The Weasleys are all witches and wizards; Harry is a wizard."
"I just thought they were all fairytale books." She glanced at Remus to gage his mood. "Remus, do you think we could buy more books now? I want to know more about this magic stuff."
Remus sighed. "Why are you so insistent on getting books?"
"Because there's nothing else to do around here!" Hermione half yelled. "Can I get a job or something? Just for part of the day?"
Remus' hand at her back held her tightly on instinct. He had no problem with Hermione having a job, but he didn't like the idea of her being out of the house alone for even a few hours.
"Remus?"
"Can I think about it? Give me time to look around and even see if I can find you something," Remus said.
Hermione sighed and leaned against him. "Alright." She stayed there a few moments before lifting herself and kissing him on the lips. She smiled, "I'm really starting to like doing that."
Remus smiled back. "I like it when you do, too."
=-=-=-=
Remus was lying in bed a few days later when Sirius said he was going out for a while. Hermione had just left to visit George at the Burrow, so Remus was looking forward to a blissful afternoon to himself. He felt like he had just fallen asleep when he heard the floo activate. "Hello?" he called.
"It's just me," Hermione called. He heard her make her way directly to his bedroom.
"Hey," he said softly when she came in. "I thought you went to the burrow?"
"I did, but they were just leaving for Diagon Alley," she said quickly.
"You alright?" he asked when she sat down next to him.
Hermione stiffened. "Yeah, why?"
"You seem different," Remus said.
"I guess I'm just nervous," she admitted.
"Nervous? About what?" Remus asked.
"There's something I want to do," she admitted. When Remus only looked at her confused, she crawled onto the bed so she was hovering over him.
"Hermione?"
Not saying anything, Hermione lowered herself against him, much like when she got ready for sleep. This time, however, he saw an odd spark in her eyes.
Suddenly Remus sprang up, pushing Hermione away. "I know what you want to do, Hermione, and the answer is no."
"But I love you!" Hermione cried.
"I said no. You've only just returned and we hardly know each other," Remus said.
Hermione's expression hardened. "You always got to be the goody-goody, don't you? What are you going to say next? You're too old? Too poor? Too Dangerous?"
"I never said any of those things to you," Remus said.
"You said them to Tonks, though. What's to stop you from saying them to me?!" she screamed.
"Hermione," Remus said softly, "What's gotten into you?"
"I hate you!" she yelled.
Remus stiffened. He had no idea what had set her off so badly. Usually when Hermione didn't get her way she sulked and pouted until whoever went against her changed their mind. This Hermione, though...
Remus breathed deeply, taking in Hermione's scent. He noticed she smelled slightly different. He instantly leapt on her, pinning her to the bed. He buried his nose against her neck and sniffed. It was definitely different. Moony, he called.
'Here, Pup.'
This isn't Hermione, is it?
'No. It is that Furless girl who follows you around. The pink one.'
Remus growled. "Morph back, Nymphadora, now!"
The Hermione below him slowly morphed back into the bubble-gum pink witch Remus was now really beginning to loathe. "How did you find out?" she asked innocently.
Remus snarled, his eyes already pure amber. "What do you think you were doing? Have we not told you enough times? Hasn't my furless side dissuaded your advances enough for you to take the hint? We're not interested, so leave us be."
Tonks glared at the man pinning her down. "You're Moony! What are you doing controlling Remus!? It isn't even the full moon."
Moony smirked. "He called on me."
Tonks gave a noise of frustration. "This is all because of that girl! If it wasn't for Hermione we'd be together. It's her fault!"
Moony snarled again and brought his face closer to Tonks. "Leave us alone. Don't go near either of us. And if I ever catch your scent near our mate, I'll tear you limb to limb." Not waiting for an answer, Moony stood off of her and left the house completely. He had a mate to find.
=-=-=-=
"So Remus might let you get a job somewhere?" George asked. They were both in his room again. George finally starting to go through the pile of boxes he and Fred had left behind all those years ago and Hermione was curled up on his bed. George didn't think he'd have the strength to go through the old memories alone and was grateful Hermione was there.
"He said he had to think about it. Sirius said Remus doesn't want me to be outside alone. They don't think I can protect myself," she said rolling her eyes.
"They just don't want to see anything bad happen to you," George said. He smirked, "So do you want to tell me why exactly you need Remus' permission to get a job? Last I checked you were of age."
Hermione blushed. "Well, he's letting me live there without rent—"
"That might have to do with him letting you sleep in his bed."
"George!" she threw a pillow at him laughing.
"So there is something happening between you? Come on, tell Old Forge the details," he said girlish. Since he and Hermione had forged their close friendship he had told her every detail and secret about Fred.
"Yes, I guess you can say that. We aren't anything too serious, or at least I think. I don't know much about that sort of stuff."
"I think I might have something that can help you," George said. He rummaged around the boxes for a moment before retrieving two books. He handed them to her silently.
"A Werewolf's Mate and Romance for the Average Witch?" she giggled at the titles.
"What? I picked up the werewolf's one specifically for you," he lied. "And that second one has helped many a times to pick up witches. Though I haven't used it in years," he said.
Hermione set the book aside. "Why's that? Isn't there someone out there that you like?"
George shook his head, "Naw. They're all married by now. The whole Moldymort stuff put everyone in a scare and they all married the first willing witch or wizard. Even after he was dead everyone married because they were grateful to be alive."
"I'm sure there's someone out there for you," Hermione said.
George suddenly laughed, "Look at me, all mushy and gossipy like some kind of sixth year witch."
"Hmm, we should do it more often," Hermione laughed.
"Shush you," George suddenly attacked her with the pillow she had thrown at him earlier.
With both of them laughing and struggling against each other, they didn't hear loud footsteps come up the stairs. It wasn't until George was suddenly hauled off of Hermione they noticed Remus had come into the room.
George landed against the boxes roughly. "Merlin, Remus. You don't have to be so rough—"
Remus cut him off with a loud snarl. "Stay there," Remus spat his eyes ablaze a bright amber color. He turned to Hermione who had stayed unmoving on the bed. He pulled her up roughly and kissed her possessively, nothing like the few short pecks they had shared. He pulled away and gripped her arms tighter.
"Ouch, Remus that hurts—"
"Quiet," he hissed softly. "You're never to be in another man's room alone and never in his bed. Got it? You're mine," he growled. "Go back to the house, now," he ordered.
Hermione was about to retort when George said, "Just go Hermione. It's alright."
She looked between them and huffed as she left.
Remus' amber eyes remained locked on George. "I don't think I've ever met you, Ginger."
George got to his feet slowly and approached his bed. "Ah, so you're Moony? Sirius told me about you. And the name's George. There are too many Gingers around; you won't be able to think of names for all of us."
"Smart little lad, aren't you?" Moony grinned. "A lose mouth like that could get someone hurt."
"Listen, Alpha-or-whatever," George gave a pathetic bow, "I know you think I'm after Hermione, but I'm not. She's like a sister."
Moony stepped closer and sniffed George (quite the experience George would rather forget). "You're telling the truth," he said simply. "I can trust you. Convince my furless half to let Hermione work with you."
"Will do. Oh, can you bring these back with you? Hermione forgot them," George said, handing the two books to Moony.
Reading the titles, Moony laughed. "You catch on quick. You'd be a valuable addition to my pack."
George backed away, "Without being rude, no thanks. My brother is the wolfish one in this family."
"Have fun explaining this to the furless," Moony said with a wicked gleam in his eyes. His amber eyes suddenly darkened into Remus' normal shade of brown. He looked around confused. "How'd I get into your bedroom, George? Last I remember I was in mine."
"Uh, you came to pick up some books for Hermione," George thought fast. "You also wanted to let me know Hermione could start working at my shop next week."
"I did?" Remus asked.
"Yep. Well, it was nice seeing you," George all but pushed Remus from the room.
Still dazed, Remus went back home. Only when he was sitting with Sirius in the kitchen with a cup of hot chocolate did he look down at the book titles. He started coughing and spitting hot chocolate when he saw both of them.
"What's wrong?" Sirius asked.
"George sent these with me for Hermione," Remus wheezed as he continued coughing. "Does Hermione think she's my mate?"
"Uh," Sirius said profoundly.
"Sirius?"
"Well, you see," Sirius looked down in thought.
"You know something. Tell me," Remus demanded.
"Alright," Sirius said. "During the full moon Moony did some talking. Apparently Hermione is your mate."
Remus sat back hard in his chair. "Hermione's my—" He shook his head, "No, that can't be true. I would have noticed something."
"You mean you usually go snogging girls half your age?" Sirius drawled. "Moony said you wouldn't be able to resist the pull towards her." Sirius told Remus everything else Moony had said.
"Hermione is my mate," Remus repeated. For the first time in Remus' life he didn't fight against the nature of his lycanthropy. He smiled.
A/N: Remember to give me a suggestion for George! :)
Hope all is well! :)