Once upon a time I swore I had a heart

Long before the world I know tore it all apart

Once upon a time there was a part of me I shared

Years before they took away the part of me that cared

I've been a thousand places

And shook a million hands

I don't know where I'm going

But I know where I've been

I've flown a million miles and I've rode so many more

Everyday, a castaway

A vagabond, battle born

A battle born

Once upon a time I had an open point of view

That was just so long ago before I had a clue

Was there such a time where I did not stand alone'

Was there ever a time, and how would I have known.

-Battleborn, Five Finger Death Punch

Chapter 10: I Had A Heart Before The World I Know Tore It All Apart; A Castaway, A Vagabond, Battle Born.

December 1993-Hogwarts

December had finally come; with it excitement for the upcoming trip to Hogsmeade as well as the long awaited holiday break. The weather had turned cold early on and the first snow of the year came with large drifts across much of the path around the lake. Snape had declared that morning, they would no longer be running until the holidays passed and the weather turned warmer. Hermione had to reluctantly agree, though she still had yet to find an alternate means of exercising. Many mornings after that found her wandering the halls with the Marauder's Map in hand, hopeing to find someplace where she could work out. Most of the empty rooms were full of desks and other extra furniture or were simply to small to be of any use and so she continued her search.

One Thursday morning she found herself wandering the seventh floor corridor, she was about ready to head down to breakfast when she came upon a door that had definitely not been there the last two times she had passed that particular wall. Looking down at the Map, she had been using to avoid any other early risers, she found nothing — according to the Map the door in front of her did not exist. Tapping the parchment with her wand, she tucked it away before cautiously opening the door, inside was a room very much like her basement training room back at home.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Hermione sung a line from her favorite childhood story, as she examined the strange room. It wasn't exactly like her training room; it lacked the cooling cabinet, where she kept her water bottles, and the weapons rack on one wall had been replaced with wooden training weapons. There was a mixture of Muggle and magical training items, scattered about the room like someone had just left them out ready to use.

She would have liked to have explored the room further, but she decided it could wait until the next morning when she had more time. Leaving the room she wasn't all that surprised to see the door disappear from sight as soon as her hand left the knob.

Harry and Ron seemed unsure around her for a few days after the lost Quidditch match with Slytherin. Harry had been upset by the news of the loss and by the state of his broom, which had been broken beyond repair when it had flown into the temperamental Whomping Willow. While Hermione did offer her condolences about his broom, she refused to speak of the match other than an offhanded comment over breakfast that they still had a chance at the Cup. Harry and Ron too refrained from any comments on the match while she was around, not wishing to invoke her wrath on the subject, as she had that night in the Hospital Wing.

As the years final Hogsmeade trip approached, Hermione busied herself with casting wards on all the hidden exits out of the school, she would be leaving for break and did not want to risk Peter sneaking away while she and Crookshanks were not around. The school would become his temporary prison for the time being. Unless he braved the Dementors at the gate. She had not placed the wards before incase the twins had decided to use one of the tunnels, she didn't want to risk injuring them or tipping them off that someone else knew about the secret exits, but seeing that they were not staying for break, she was comfortable with placing the wards now.

The trip to Hogsmeade was uneventful, and once again Hermione and Ron brought back treats for Harry since he was still unable to join with them. On the eve before she would be leaving on the train for London, she stopped by Lupin's office.

"Ah, Ms. Granger, what can I help you with?" He asked latching the trunk he had been packing.

"I was wondering if you had plans over the holidays? Sirius has been bugging me lately about inviting you over for the break, if you're free. I will be busy most of the time, and he could use the company," Hermione said, going straight to business.

"I hadn't had any plans," Lupin admitted, "I would enjoy spending a few days with Sirius."

That is how Lupin turned up at Hermione's home three days before Christmas.

"Finally someone other than myself he can sing that bloody song too," Hermione griped, opening the door for the werewolf; somewhere further off in the house Sirius's off-key Christmas caroling could be heard. "I was just about to Spello-tape his mouth shut."

"Aw, he can't be that bad," Lupin said, shrugging out of his coat and scarf.

"It wouldn't be so bad if he would sing more than that one song. Of the other three, he knows only half the words and the rest of it is just nonsense," she said, taking his things and hanging them up before leading him to the infirmary, where she had made up a spare bed.

"You can stay here, help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I suggest, staying away from the Christmas Cookies. Sirius made them and I'm not entirely sure they are meant for human consumption."

"I thought you were going to be away."

"No, not yet, anyway. I have a very time-sensitive matter to attend to, and I don't quite have everything ready yet. I hope to be leaving tomorrow, the next day at the latest. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, no more than a day or two I should think."

"Might I ask, what your working on?" Lupin questioned, following her out of the room, as she headed across the hall to her study.

"It's nothing, a personal matter I wanted to take care of," Hermione hedged before slipping into her study and shutting the door.

"I see," Lupin said, staring at the door for a moment before a clatter in the kitchen drew his attention back to Sirius.

For the rest of the day and much of the next Hermione did not come out of her study save the rare restroom break or to retrieve items from her warded store room downstairs. If it wasn't for the meals, the pair left at her door, it was unlikely that she would have even come out to eat during that time.

Sirius and Lupin spent their free time getting ready for the upcoming holiday, doing some decorating with the few decor items Sirius managed to get a hold of, as well as some last-minute shopping. They had just finished eating dinner on Lupin's second evening there, when there was the sound of something smashing against a wall and Hermione's voice shouting in another language, drifting up from down the hall.

The two men took one look at each other and headed for the study door. Cautiously opening the door revealed the office to be in chaos; papers were scattered everywhere, along with a number of books. To one side was a table cluttered with bits of colored wire, tape and a number of identically constructed box-shaped contraptions. Colored wires connecting different parts of each box to a blank panel on the front; some kind of muggle contraption by the looks of it. Hermione sat in her desk chair hunched over a hand-drawn map and rubbing her temples with her hands, a number of items that once occupied the desktop were scattered on the floor, obviously having been the outlet for her frustration.

"Are you alright?" Sirius asked, as he stepped into the room. Remus followed, picking his steps caughtiously so as not to accidentally step on anything important.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said tiredly, as she looked up at them.

"Hermione, why don't you tell us what you're working on, maybe we could help," Lupin suggested. Taking in the young woman's uncharacteristically haggard features, it looked as if she had not slept since he had gotten there.

"My friend is still on the Island." she said finally, when it was clear they would not leave without an answer.

"You want to go and get him?" Lupin said more than asked, he had seen how much guilt and pain she held over what had happened to her friend.

"Yes, but it isn't as simple as that. I know him, even if he had the option to get off, he won't leave until that facility is destroyed. That is if I can even get him to believe me when I say I'm not working for them," she explained, looking down at the parchment that had a number of notes written out around the only cluster of buildings on the hand drawn map. "I want to destroy the facility, but it simply is to big of a job for me to handle, even if I can get Halt to trust me and through the Muggle-repelling wards. There is just to much of a chance of the wolves getting loose or that bastard Fowl getting away, while the charges are being set. I can't mess this up again."

"What can we do to help?" Sirius asked without a second thought.

"This isn't your problem, don't bother yourselv-," Hermione started, but was cut off by Sirius sharp reply.

"Bull, you're helping me prove my innocence and catch a murderer. The least I could do is help you save your friend." The Dog wasn't backing down, and then Lupin joined in.

"If what you told me is true, that man is doing vile things to innocent people and inflicting on them something I wouldn't wish on anyone and then making it worse. I would do what I can to see him stopped."

"You don't understand what you're asking, what you are going to have to do if you come with me," Hermione said with a resigned sigh.

"We're coming with you all the same, now, what do you need us to do?" Sirius stated, plopping down in a chair and making it obvious that he didn't plan on moving.

"You'll regret this." It wasn't a threat, merely a resigned statement she made, as Lupin took the other seat. "If I can convince Halt to help us, then this is what needs to be done..."

It was early the next morning when the three arrived by the way of an illegal Portkey on a beach on the edge of a dense forest; the sky was overcast and looked like it might rain.

"Where are we?" Lupin asked, looking around the dreary beach.

"This was where I washed up," she answered, scanning the area with a trained eye.

"Charming place," Sirius quipped kicking a piece of drift wood over to reveal a scuttling family of crabs.

"If it's obvious, don't touch it." Hermione snapped pulling Sirius to face her and away from the wood. "There are traps all over this island, some not so friendly. Walk where I do and Don't. Touch. Anything." Her voice had gone dangerously neutral, before she headed toward the tree line.

Both men had dressed in dark colored clothes per Hermione's request; long-sleeved black shirts under dark green jackets and pants with sturdy hiking boots. Hermione was in the same, except her black shirt had no sleeves and a high turtle neck type collar. Sirius, since he had no wand and very little skill with wandless magic, had been given one of the few hand guns that Hermione had kept from her time. She avoided using them, as they had the tendency to malfunction in areas with a high concentration of magic, like the Ministry and Diagon Alley; but it would undoubtedly be necessary for what they were doing. She had given the wizard the basic briefing on gun safety, as it was all they had time for before allowing him to have it after he refused to stay behind because he was unarmed.

Hermione was carrying the only other hand gun she owned in a holster under her jacket along with a knife at her hip and another knife in each boot, her wand was strapped in easy reach to the inside of her forearm.

"Stay as quiet as you can. We don't want to alert anyone we're here," she said, before leading them into the forest along a path only she seemed to be able to see. Finally, the group came to a small clearing on the back side of a ridge that looked over a shallow bay. The clearing was near a small cave that led deeper into the cliff face.

"Hold your hands up and follow me, and for Merlin's sake, don't make any sudden moves," Hermione said, raising her hands above her head and walking out of the trees into the open. They had been lucky so far, as no one had sprouted any arrows yet, and she was positive their target had been following them for at least half of their journey to the clearing.

"Halt!" She called out, coming to a stop in the middle of the clearing. "I know you're out there, Halt. We're here to help. Der Feind meines Feindes ist mein Freund."

"Are you sure he is even here?" Sirius asked, looking around but seeing nothing moving but trees and leaves blowing in the wind.

"He's here, he's been following us almost since we entered the forest." This information seemed to unsettle the Dog, as he glanced at the surrounding trees, looking for their stalker.

The three stood there silently for a long minute before there was any response.

"'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'. Tell me, 'Friend', why should I trust you?" Halt questioned coolly, stepping into the clearing; an arrow knocked to his longbow in hand, but he only held it at his side; attempting to lure them into a false sense of security. She knew the man's reflexes were keen enough to draw aim and release before she could even draw any of her weapons.

"You shouldn't," she said bluntly, lowering her hands slowly to her sides, "but from what I hear, we have the same goal. It would be wise for us to work together." She stated shifting the duffle on her shoulder.

"Who says I need help?" Halt asked, head tilted to the side as he took in the group before him.

"I have friends who know things. I'm sure you realize that no matter how hard you try, you can't get into the compound. Something else just seems so important that you just have to turn back." She took Halt's silence as confirmation. "That's because the compound is warded to keep people like you from approaching on your own. My companions and I are immune, you might say, to the compulsions that the wards trigger. We can get in, get you in even."

This seemed to get the Muggle's attention, "If you can get in, then why in hell do you need me?" Behind her she could hear Sirius and Lupin shifting uncomfortably as Halt made a gesture with his bow.

"Other than myself, you are the only one here who knows how to properly rig explosives." Hermione supplied, slowly slipping the bag from her shoulder. Setting it on the ground gently, she opened the top flap so he could see the contents, the bag was filled with her premade explosives. "You want to destroy the place, I've got the means and way in."

"What's the catch?" Halt eyed her suspiciously.

"The catch is that you give me time to infiltrate the compound, so I can take care of some unfinished business, before you blow it up. Also that you accompany us when we leave. After that you may go where you want," she said, skimming the truth, they didn't have time for the 'magic is real'-speech; the Wolves could be released to come after Halt at any time, and once they were out, it would be a hard fight to take them all down. They needed to get this done while they were still caged.

"What sort of unfinished business?" Halt asked skeptically.

"I am sure you have seen some of the things that come out of that place." She got a nod in understanding from the grey haired muggle, "Y-They took a good friend of mine. I made a promise to that friend, that I would not let any of those experiments get off this place and the man responsible, that he and his work would never make it off this island. I'm not taking any chances, so I would like to take care of them beforehand, as a precaution." Halt was quiet for a long minute, before he unclipped his arrow and returned it to his quiver.

"Alright, girl. I'll help you."

Introductions were quick, as the four of them prepared to head toward the compound. Before moving out, Halt had demanded to know the plan, and Hermione obliged without argument. It was simple; Lupin and Hermione would sneak in ahead of the group and break into the compound, she would dispatch the test subjects, Fowl and pose as a distraction for the guards. Sirius would be staying with Halt as back up, since he wasn't going to be using magic to fight, he could help Halt through the wards and stand watch while the man set the charges. Hermione would signal Sirius once they were clear, and Halt would blow the compound. If all went well, they would meet back at the clearing afterward.

"Remember, don't turn into Padfoot unless you absolutely have no other choice. Last thing we need is you startling Halt in the middle of a fight and him shooting you in reflex. You would be dead before you could say 'Whoops'."

"Alright, I get it. Stick to my gun," he quipped, waving said weapon around in emphasis. Hermione grabbed it from his hand, checking the safety, she put it back in the holster.

"Try not to shoot one of us, or yourself for Merlin's sake. Anyone else is free game." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the silver ring, the one Lupin had been wearing until recently and gave it to Sirius. The pair would be able to send messages to each other; using it and her locket. "Take this, I'll be in touch."

"Okay," he said, slipping the ring on before turning to head over to Halt who was impatiently waiting to leave, as he slung the pack of explosives on his back.

"Sirius, one more thing," she said, causing him to stop and look back at her. "Show no mercy, there is no place for it here. You see someone that isn't one of us, don't hesitate, you kill them. No Stunners, no Disarming; you kill them or they will kill you. If you don't, one moment of hesitation and your dead. Call them Death Eaters if you must, but don't think for one moment, just because they are Muggles, they can't kill you faster than a Killing Curse. You both better be here when we get back." This seemed to sober him up, and the Animagus nodded before heading over to Halt. Taking a deep breath Hermione turned toward the forest and started walking, Lupin falling into step beside her.

"Problem?" she asked, as Lupin continued to follow her in silence, she could tell he had something on his mind.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice filled with consern. Ever since their arrival, he had noticed a change in Hermione's behavior. This wasn't the Hermione, the young woman; he had gotten to know during their private talks in his office. The strong, independent and charming woman; who was fiercely protective of her friends, even while dealing with the lingering wounds from a traumatic past and still managing to push through, despite it all. Nor was it the bright, polite and respectful school girl, he saw during class; who absorbed information like a sponge and mastered things beyond her years. No, this was a different side of Hermione, one he had only seen shadows of in the aftermath of her experiences with the Dementors. There was no spark of her usual fire; her hopes, her passion, even her temper, it was all gone. There was nothing left but a cold detached resolve. The eyes of a killer.

"Fine, why do you ask?" she asked without a blink.

"You seem different since we arrived here." He was cautious, he didn't know this new Hermione at all. The one that had been crafted and honed over years on this very island.

"Old habits die hard, or so they say," she remarked without humor.

"Surely you can't mean to kill everyone here?" He asked, she had never said as much but he needed her to do something, to contradict him. He knew she planned this from the beginning, that she was prepared to dispose of anyone between her and her end goal; but now she didn't even seem to care. At the house, when they were planning, she seemed to truly regret that a lot of people were going to die in the explosion. Now she didn't even seem bothered by the idea in the slightest.

"No." This gave him pause, maybe some part of her old self was still in there. "I don't plan on chasing down every last one of them; just Fowl, anyone who gets in my way and any one stupid enough not to run while they have the chance." Lupin got a chill down his spine, what ever was going to happen, he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it.

By the time they made it to the compound the rain clouds that had been gathering had finally let loose their load, and if it were not for the Repelling charm on their jackets, they would have been soaked through. Casting Disillusionment Charms on themselves the pair made their way to the compound wall, with the downpour the patrols would be the only ones out. Outside the open gate there was a guard standing watch; Lupin had thought they would simply slip by the unsuspecting man until he caught a glimpse of Hermione's disillusioned self behind the guard, a moment before the man's eyes widened in terror, as the only sound out of his mouth was muffled by a hand, right before his exposed throat was slit open by an invisible weapon, and the front of his uniform was painted red before he was dropped to the ground. Hermione didn't even pause, as she stepped over the body and headed inside the compound, following her in Lupin hoped most of the guards would stay out of their path, or he feared there would be a trail of red in their wake.

Turning, Hermione headed up a set of stone steps before unlocking the gatehouse door. No sooner had the door opened, that one of Hermione's knives had materialized in a guard's head, becoming visible as the charm wore off. The second guard fired his gun in a panic, not seeing anyone enter the room through the open door, until his head did an unnatural twist. An audible crack of his neck braking, filled the room before he was dropped to the ground with a loud thump.

"Was that really needed?" Lupin asked, as Hermione rifled through the nearest guard's pockets. Pulling out a set of keys before discarding them, she moved to the other guard and went through his pockets as well. This one seemed to have the set she was looking for, sorting out a particular key from the bunch.

"Yes," she said, slipping the key into a slot on the gate control panel and turning it, causing a number of switches to light up, flipping a few of the switches to open the other two gates into the compound. It would make Halt and Sirius's point of entrance harder to pinpoint for the guards and would spread the security out thinner. Gates open she pulled out her wand and hit the control console with a low Blasting hex, the controls were unusable now, gates locked open and making it impossible for them to be closed again, as all the controls had been run through the one console.

"The lab is this way," she said, picking up a card from one guard's belt and looking it over before leading him out of the gatehouse. Heading toward the largest of the buildings, a few guards passed by, heading to check on what was going on at the gates, but Hermione let them pass by unhindered. Approaching the side door she pulled out the key card, she had taken off the guards, trying to unlock the door magically would only lead to it locking down when the electronics in it malfunctioned. "Come on," she said, holding the door open for the werewolf before slipping in behind him.

Hermione led them through the winding halls of the science lab, most of the occupants seemed to have left, hearing the commotion at the gates. Passing through one of the larger rooms, Hermione paused and began sifting through a series of file cabnets without much explanation.

Lupin was going to question her on what she was looking for when he paused, attention caught by a number of large glass tanks on the far side of the room. Upon closer examination, revealed the contents of the large jars to be full of semi-human parts; hands with webbed fingers, feet with only half of the appendage turned into a paw, and worse of all was the two full size tanks with whole bodies inside.

One was a man; he was completely hairless and his legs had been half fused together from thigh to mid shin until splitting apart again in two serpent-like tails. His lower body was covered in a layer of scales that spread up in clumpy patches on his face and torso, he had no nose only a pair of slits where they should be, and his arms were two shriveled claw-like appendages. His back seemed broken and twisted at an awkward angle, and his lower jaw hung open as if it were broken and was filled with serrated teeth.

In the other tank was a woman; her arms covered in a wing-like membrane that attached itself to her sides and disappeared under the feathers that covered most of her body, one of her feet was in the form of a bird's talon while the other still appeared mostly human. Her long hair was a mixture of blues and greens that matched the shade of her feathers.

"This is—" Lupin breathed, not knowing even how to describe what he was seeing.

"Vile, grotesque, abominable? Fowl would call them something even more repulsive," Hermione supplied, pausing beside Lupin to look at the tanks, a thick paper filled file in hand. "He would call this 'progress'."

Lupin could only stare and shake his head in disbelief.

"We need to go." She said tucking the folder into a pocket that looked far to small for it to fit and turning toward the door. When he made no move to follow her, Hermione put a hand on his shoulder and shook him. "Come on, we have things to do. There is nothing we can do for them."

"This needs to stop."

"It will, that's why we are here," she said, releasing his shoulder, "Now come on."

They made it to the 'Animal Room', as Hermione had dubbed it, shortly after leaving the science lab and casting off their Disillusionment Charms. It looked much the same as the first time she had seen it save there were no Wolf corpses on the table. Instead they were very much alive and inside their cage; between the Hyena cage and the one that held the lone white female.

"So, these are them," Lupin asked, pulling his wand out to point it at the snarling Russet who had its nose pushed between the bars of the cage, drool dripping down from its open mouth. "They're bigger than I thought they would be. Even Sirius's Grimm isn't this big."

"You saw my Boggart."

"I thought you were exaggerating," Lupin admitted, staring at the small-bear-sized animals.

"Hello, again." Hermione said, locking eyes with the Black that was passing the length of the cage.

"You know this one?" The werewolf asked eyeing the Black Wolf as it's eyes never seemed to leave Hermione with an unnerving intensity.

"Intimately," Hermione stated, her side angled away from the cage in an extremely defensive posture. Uneasy with the amount of focus the pair was eyeing each other with, Lupin attempted to insert himself between Hermione and the cage.

The Black Wolf lunged at the bars, slapping the Russet away with one massive clawed hand. The cage rattleing as he chewed at the barrier, all the while snarling at the werewolf between him and his target.

"Mine," it growled out giving the bars another good shake before backing off. Lupin had been so caught off guard by the creatures understandable use of language, that it took him a moment to register his own reaction as lips pulled back in a feral smile.

"Remus," Hermione said softly, a hand firmly planted on his chest. She could feel the trembling growl that traveled up her arm, as Lupin's eyes glanced down at her with far more gold in them than was typical so close to the full moon. "You good?" She asked searching his face.

"Yeah," he said after clearing his throat with some struggle before turning away from the cage.

"Good," she said with a nod, "Kill them and burn the bodies, I don't want a bit of them left."

Lupin nodded and began casting a series of carefully aimed Slashing Hexes, a quick and relatively painless death for the former Muggles. Hermione drew her gun and walked over to the female Wolf, who was ripping at the cage bars with her teeth. She paused and growled when Hermione raised the gun level with her head.

"Goodbye, bitch," she said before pulling the trigger, lowering the gun she pulled out her wand before casting an Incendio on the corpse. Moving to the other cages, she began firing Blasting hexes at the enclosures, setting them loose rather than let them die in the coming explosion. The ones, she couldn't simply turn loose, she gave a quick and painless death, like the goblin shark. One of the last to be released was a Thestral, it was missing half of one of its ears and seemed reluctant to leave its cage. As it walked out it paused to look at Hermione before bobbing its head and with a snort trotted out of the room. At last there was only the three Hyenas left.

"Are you going to turn them loose?" Lupin asked, holding his sleeve over his nose, the smell of burning meat and fur was getting very strong now.

"There is to much chance of someone using them to recreate Fowl's work," she said, raising the gun, but Lupin pushed her hand toward the ground.

"Let them go." This time it wasn't a question. For a moment their eyes locked and neither seemed willing to budge before Hermione finally relinquished.

"If someone gets a hold of them—"

"Then I will take responsibility for it," Lupin finished, as he released her hand before breaking open the cage. "Their likely the last of their kind. If needed we can get them made a protected species by the local Ministry. No one will use them like this again." The three hyenas bolted for the opening as soon as it was open and were out the door before Lupin could even lower his arm.

"What is the meaning of this!" came a voice Hermione had not thought she would hear again.

"Fowl, good, you've saved me the trouble of looking for you." Hermione growled out, turning to the metal staircase that led to the door to the medical ward of the lab.

"Do I know you?" the wizard asked, coming down the stairs, wand raised, as he alternated pointing it from Hermione to Lupin. "Are you with the Ministry?"

"No," she said before sending a nonverbal Incendio right at him without warning, Fowl cast a shield just in time, but he was still sent flying back from the force of the impact.

"Hermione, are you sure we have to kill him, we could turn him over to the Ministry, with what he's done he would never get out of Azkaban." Remus interjected, maneuvering himself between her and the man who was picking himself up off the ground.

"Lupin," she snarled out grabbing a fist full of the man's jacket and pulling him close, "can you honestly tell me that if we didn't need Peter alive to prove Sirius's innocence that you wouldn't hesitate to skin the rat slowly?"

"That's… no—" his protest fell silent under the intensity of her gaze and he threw his hands up, dismissing himself from the situation. Unable to truthfully admit he hadn't entertained doing exactly that.

"The only thing I need from Fowl is him dead," She snarled, releasing his jacket and stalking forward. Holstering her gun Hermione used her wand to throw spell after spell at the wizard who blocked as much of her oncoming fire with his shields, as he wasn't much of a duelist. Eventually his shield began to falter under Hermione's barrage of fire and Blasting spells until he was sent crashing into one of the autopsy tables, his wand sent flying from his hand.

"Please, I'll do what ever you want, just don't kill me," Fowl begged, his lab coat scorched and glasses broken on the floor.

"You and your twisted experiments turned a friend of mine into a monster," Hermione said, coming to stand in front of him, "I was forced to kill him. You're even more of a monster than he was, he was just doing what you made him for, why should I treat you any different."

"Please—"

"Sectumsempra!" she snarled, slashing her wand out as a gash was ripped across the Wizard's chest as the spell hit. Lupin turned a blind eye to the pleading wizard, as Fowl screamed in pain. Hermione cast the spell again, and then again, until Lupin finally stepped in and grabbed her wrist and forced her to pause.

"Stop, Hermione, he's dead," the werewolf said firmly, pulling her close and pinning her wand arm between their bodies to keep her from breaking loose, he only hoped that she wouldn't hex him instead. "He's dead, we're done here," he said more softly, her head was down and he couldn't see her face, but something seemed to have changed. For a moment she seemed to stiffen before relaxing slightly, he said nothing when he felt something cold drip onto his hand where he held onto her wrist. They just stood there in silence before Hermione seemed to collect herself and took a deep, shuddering breath. As she stepped back Lupin released her as she attempted to discretely wipe at her cheeks.

"We should go, I'll let Sirius know we're heading out," she said, pulling the chain out of her collar, containing her Time-Turner and locket, before sending her message to Sirius. She was back to as she had been before, despite the tear stains on her cheeks her eyes and voice were cold and clipped, but Lupin could see now, past the cold act for what it was; it was her armor. What she put on to keep the Hermione he had seen joking with her friends safe from the anguish of her past, and he had just seen that armor crack.

Leaving the compound was a lot less eventful than when they had entered, and the rain seemed to have finally stopped. After sending Sirius a message that they were clear the pair headed back to the clearing in silence. Half way there they were met with a series of explosions that rocked the ground under them.

They made it to the clearing shortly after that and were soon joined by Halt and Sirius who both seemed uninjured.

"Ready?" Hermione asked, the first time she had spoken since leaving the compound.

"Yeah, so how are we getting off this god forsaken island?" Halt asked, shouldering the pack of the few belongings he planned on taking with him.

"I can take you to King's Cross station in London from there you should be able to get a train to where ever you want to go," she said, holding out her arm for him to take. "All you need to do is hold on to my arm."

"Why don't you let someone else do it," Lupin said, pushing her offered arm down, "I don't think it would be a good idea for you to Side-Along-Apparate anyone right now."

"I'll take him, just give me that Portkey from earlier. What do you say to getting a few pints at this little pub I know by the station before you leave. I'm paying," Sirius said, offering the Portkey to the gray-haired man.

"I don't see how holding hands or on to a—is that a spam can? How is a empty spam can going to get us out of here?" Halt asked skeptically.

"Trust me, and I'll explain it over drinks. When was the last time, you said you had been to a bar?" Sirius said, as Halt reached out a hand for the can, seconds after he touched it the two men disappeared.

"Come on, lets go. We've spent enough time here," Lupin said, Hermione nodded before the pair Disapparated from the clearing. If she ever saw that place again outside her dreams, it would be to soon.

Arriving in the garden behind Hermione's home, Lupin followed her into the house at a distance. Immediately heading into her study, Hermione kicked off her boots and shrugged out of her jacket and gun holster, dropping them both on her desk before pulling a bottle of Firewhiskey out of her desk drawer and a glass. Filling it she drained the cup before refilling it and sitting down in her chair to sip at her glass. Lupin came in a short while later, having changed into more comfortable slacks and a button-up shirt.

"Why don't you try getting some sleep? You haven't had a decent night's rest since I've been here, and I doubt you have since leaving school."

"I don't want to sleep. Going back there had brought up some things I would have rather left buried." she said quietly grabbing for the bottle again, "I just want to sit here and drink until I pass out."

Lupin sighed before taking the bottle from her and making it impossible to continue refilling her cup.

"Come on, off to bed with you," he ordered in his best authoritative voice, pulling her up by the arm and leading her upstairs.

"I don't want to sleep," she said again more softly, her voice had lost the cold edge it had had on the Island and she looked drained, both emotionally and physically.

"Why don't you want to go to sleep?" he asked softly, guiding her up the stairs to her room.

"I don't want to dream," she confessed, "I don't want to have to remember that place, just for a night, I want to forget it ever existed."

"Drinking yourself into a coma isn't going to help you any."

"It's worth a shot," she said, as Lupin released her arm as they approached her door. "Worth the hangover at the very least."

"Get some sleep." He said bidding her goodnight and moving to turn back downstairs.

"Remus," her voice brought him up short. Hermione had paused at her door, but didn't move to go in, for a moment they stood there watching each other before she made the first move. Turning around and walking back toward the Werewolf.

She came to a stop only a few inches away and Lupin watched her, face creased in conserned confusion until she closed the distance and kissed him. He seemed stunned by her sudden assault before he found himself returning the kiss, his hands lacing themselves in her long curls, as they spilled loose from her tie. It was only once he felt her hands against the bare skin of his stomach, as she slipped them up under his shirt, that his brain did kick back in and he realized who exactly he was kissing.

"We shouldn't be doing this," he breathed, breaking the kiss by turning his head away from her. Grabbing her hands before they could move further up his chest.

"I don't want to be alone tonight," she said, kissing along his jaw before resting her forehead against his neck. "Please, I'm asking you to stay," she said, lifting her head to look him in the eyes. He stared back at her intensely, his gold tinted eyesshining in the dim light of the hall.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice a husky growl, the full moon only a day away. Her answer came as she moved to kiss him again, and this time he didn't hesitate as he released her hands. In one swift move he picked her up so that she could wrap her legs around his waist, her arms went around his neck as he carried her into her room.

Hermione woke with a jerk, gasping in fear as her heart hammered in her chest.

"Shh, it's just a dream, your alright." Remus soothed as strong arms pulled her close, "it's all right, I've got you." He planted a kiss on the top of her head before tucking her up under his chin. Like a spring uncurled, Hermione relaxed into the embrace; drifting back off to a steady heartbeat under her ear as fingers ghosted over her skin.

"Merlin, how can you stand me touching you?" Remus whispered so softly she doubted he intended her to hear, fingers tracing over the claw marks tearing across the smooth skin of her back. His fingers continued to explore, down to where sharp teeth had left their mark on her hip.

"You didn't do this to me," she said pulling his hand away from the scars and lacing their fingers together, bringing them to rest under her cheek. "The ones responsible are not a problem anymore. Besides I didn't exactly take it laying down."

She had almost dozed off again, her cheek pillowed on their linked hands when she was woken by Remus pulling away from her, rolling over she saw the werewolf was sitting on the side of the bed, elbows propped on his knees and face in his hands.

"Remus, what's wrong?" She asked running her knuckles down his spine, he tensed under her touch and she sat up in confusion.

"You're a student, I shouldn't have done that."

"Do you regret it?" Hermione asked, moving to sit beside him, so she could get a better look at his face.

"Yes—No! I don't know," Remus admitted, dragging his hands over his face and through his hair. He looked over at her before thinking better of it and adverted his eyes to the far wall.

"Then, what's the problem?" she asked, slipping out of bed and pulling on his discarded button-up shirt, before retaking her seat beside him.

"I'm your Professor and nearly old enough to be your father," he chastised, the muscles in his jaw twitching, as she settled next to him.

"You're a kind man, who made me feel safe and gave me comfort for a night, when I needed it." She said, grabbing his face in her hands and forcing him to look at her, his eyes had a nearly dark gold sheen, as they caught the light of the nearly full moon. "What is there to regret about that?"

"I—" he started before she placed a finger on his lips, silencing him.

"And as for you being my Professor; I'm not some naïve school girl you're taking advantage of. I doubt you could take advantage of me, even if you tried." This caused Remus to chuckle, after what he had seen her do, he doubted he could make her do anything she didn't want.

"Probably not."

"So quit worrying about it, and enjoy the time while we have it," she said, releasing his face and moving to straddle his lap. "And as for you being old enough to be my father," she pulled him into a chastened kiss, "I've always been more attracted to older men."

When Hermione awoke, it was to the sun streaking in through the window and the smell of coffee. She was currently using Remus's arm as a pillow, while his other arm was draped over her hip.

"Mornin'." came a smug voice from the doorway. Glancing toward the door, Hermione groaned and pulled the blanket up over her head in hope that the figure in the doorway would take the hint and go away. Why had they not shut the door the night before? Her movement woke a groggy Remus who groaned and threw an arm over his eyes in an attempt to block out the bright sunlight.

"Seems, someone's started Christmas early," Sirius said nonchalantly, as he leaned against the doorway, sipping his coffee.

"Make him go away, he's your friend," Hermione grumbled, not uncovering her head.

"He's your house guest, that means he's your responsibility," Remus countered, pulling a pillow over his own head.

"If you two don't get up, I might resort to my old methods of Christmas morning wake-up calls." This threat caused Remus to sit straight up.

"Sirius Regulus Black, if you even try jumping on this bed like a four year old, I'm going to hex you, then return your presents and hex you again!" Remus said, tossing the pillow aside and glaring at his friend.

"You don't want to know what I'll do," Hermione commented, not coming out from her warm cocoon.

"Alright, Sirius, you've had your fun, now go away," Lupin said, crossing his arms and glaring at the Dog.

"Is there more of that coffee made?" came Hermione's voice from the lump in the blankets.

"Whole pot," Sirius said, ignoring Lupin's glare. With a resigned sigh Hermione sat up and slipped out of the bed; she still had on Remus's shirt that was nearly knee-length on her and was buttoned up at an angle, as she had missed a few buttons, when she had done it up the night before.

"Let's get this over with," Hermione said, walking out of her bedroom. She paused in the doorway to give Sirius a dirty look before stealing his coffee and draining the entire thing.

"To much sugar," she said with a grimace, handing it back to him before smacking the back of his head on the way out of the room and heading toward the bathroom.

"Why does she always hit me in the head?" Sirius asked, as Remus wandered the room getting dressed, minus his shirt

"It's only the back," Hermione called back, as she headed down to the landing.

"And that makes it better?"

"Of course. A slap in the face would be humiliating. Back of the head's just a wake-up call. Your welcome," she called, closing the bathroom door.

"So," Sirius said, raising his eyebrow suggestively, as Remus moved to leave the room. "Spill."

Lupin's reply to this was simply to ignore the Dog, as he walked out of the room and headed downstairs.

"You can't tell me nothing happened," Sirius whined, following him down the stairs.

"Nothing happened." Lupin said straight faced, as he headed into his room and shut the door on Sirius while he got properly dressed.

"The state of your back says otherwise," Sirius hollered through the door before heading back to the kitchen to get himself some more coffee.

After breakfast the three had gathered in the living room at Sirius's request where they opened presents; along with her usual Weasley sweater and the quill and book she had gotten from Ron and Harry, Hermione had also gotten a book on Animagi Transformation from Remus and a large rectangle present from Sirius that turned out to be a five pound bar of her favorite chocolate.

That evening found her lounging on her couch engrossed in the book that Lupin had given her, while the two men were out gallivanting in the nearby woods. It was the night of the full moon, and Hermione had insisted Sirius accompanied him for the night.

Next Chapter 11: The One Without A Name-The rest of Christmas break, Hermione gets her own unofficial Marauder name and Ginny finally begins to mend after her ordeal with Riddle.

Edited-2/14/18

German Translation by the wonderful and patient Alea Thoron.