Anything recognizable is the property of J.K. Rowling. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

Please do not read if you are not of legal age in your country. There are adult scenes, however short and to the point.

Brackium Emendo

The brunette finally drug up enough energy to pull her robe over herself and stand, staggering to the door and opening it. She looked back at the older man leaning against the back wall. "I had to do it." She hoped he understood, but felt in her heart that she had lost him.

She spent the rest of the day alone in her room, staring that the wall trying to convince herself that what she had done was really wrong. But somehow she never really believed it. Eventually she slept. In the morning, she mechanically showered and dug through her closet for something to wear. When she came across an old muggle jumper, she chuckled dryly. She would at least have a bit of fun telling her 'fiancé' that she wasn't on the market. Hermione didn't see anyone as she left the house and apparated to the Ministry of Magic.

Flint was standing in the Bonding Office looking as smug as his ugly face could. He still looked like a troll someone tried to dress up and he sneered at her as she entered the office. Mr. Wingdinger was already present and waiting for her to arrive, papers laid out on his desk.

"Ah, Miss Granger, how delightful you could be on time." He spotted the steel wedding band Remus had given her instead of silver. "You will need to remove that piece of cheap trash and wear the ring provided by Mr. Flint."

Hermione cut him off before he started prattling on about what rules she would have to follow. "I see you misunderstand my presence here. I am not here to marry Flint."

"Then your wand will be snapped and you will be placed in Azkaban." Wingdinger sounded a bit too gleeful about that idea and the brunette suppressed a shiver.

"That will not be happening either."

The toady man behind the desk out on a falsely sweet smile. "And why is that?"

"Because I am not eligible to be married."

He sighed. "Miss Granger, we discussed this through the post. Your previous marriage has been dissolved because your spouse was not fully human. You will now be wed to Marcus Flint or go to Azkaban. End of discussion."

Hermione shook her head, moving her thick hair off her shoulders and exposed the already healed bite from the previous day. "But you see, there was an accident the night before last, and it seems I'm not fully human either." She played it off as if it was a complete accident.

"You little Mudblood whore!" Flint shouted, back handing her and knocking her to the floor.

He continued attacking the brunette, grabbing her right arm and twisting it, digging his fingers into her flesh over the scars spelling Mudblood. She could feel her jaw crack as the much bigger man hit her again. Blood filled her mouth as she bit her tongue and she could feel blood starting to soak her sleeve where he had reopened the scars on her arm. Flint released her arm and wrapped his fingers around her throat, squeezing and pounding her skull solidly into the stone floor. Eventually the wizard behind the desk came to his senses and stunned Marcus Flint.

"Get out of my office right now you filthy half breed. Dirty Mudblood."

No one stopped her as she made her way to the public floos bleeding and dizzy. Once she stepped onto the green fire and choked out "Grimmauld Place," She fell on the library floor, her right wrist giving a wet snap as she landed badly. Remus was sitting in one of the armchairs staring open mouthed at the bruised woman before him. But she had already pushed herself off the floor and hurried out of the room before he could even close the book he had been reading.

Hermione made her way shakily to the 4th floor bathroom and sat heavily on the toilet. She hadn't been expecting an attack, but she wasn't surprised really. Sighing, she was glad that she could never go to St. Mungos again, she didn't want anyone to pity her. She brought this upon herself after all. Then she realized that Remus had been in the library. He hadn't even tried to help her. The tears finally fell and she wanted it to hurt as the salty gems slid into a split on her cheek and her jaw ached. She deserved this pain, deserved the blood, and deserved the loneliness.

With her uninjured arm, she reached across her body and fumbled in her pocket for her wand. It felt strange to hold it in her left hand, but she had to. Silently, she charmed her wrist to heal and tried not to grit her teeth against the pain. Wand hand healed, she stood and looked in the mirror before tapping her jaw and thinking the same incantation. She refused to let the darkness completely envelop her and stubbornly clung to consciousness. Lastly she healed where she bit through her tongue and removed the last of the bruises.

The major injuries healed, Hermione stripped, threw out her bloody jumper and stepped into the tub, filling it with hot water. She watched as the blood from her arm swirled and mingled with the bathwater. Not only was she a Mudblood, she was a dirty werewolf. It was a long time before she got out of the bath and summoned a dressing gown. Falling into bed, she felt emotionally drained and physically exhausted. Blessedly, sleep pulled her into an uneasy slumber.

Remus still sat in the library, listening to the faint sounds on the 4th floor. Moony howled and clawed at his mental prison, shouting for his mate, not understanding why the human refused to go to her even when it was clear she had been hurt. The human still could not forgive himself for having forced his curse upon her but he was too much of a coward to go through with his oath as a teenager. He berated himself mentally and the wolf always answered.

"You didn't attack her. She came to us. She is ours. She is our mate. Go to her."

"Shut up Moony."

"Someone hurt her. They have to pay."

"It's not our responsibility. She won't want us around."

"She is our mate."

"No! She never chose this."

"She bonded to you and her wolf bonded to me. She is our mate."

"I refuse to accept that."

"Then you're stupider than I ever thought before."

The wolf was quiet for some time but the human still did not move. He was glad that Harry and Ginny had moved to their own cottage as he didn't want to explain anything to him. Moony shifted again.

"She's crying."

"I know."

"She has nightmares without you."

"We all do."

"Enjoy chasing your own phantoms then." Moony resolutely curled up and tucked his nose under his tail and pretended to sleep. But his ears twitched each time Hermione cried in her sleep.