Remus came back to his body, slowly. It was like surfacing in a pool, only fully regaining consciousness when his head broke the water.

He blinked.

The stone floors and white curtains of the Hospital Wing were the same as always. He was sitting on the end of a bed, facing the privacy curtains Madam Pomfrey sometimes erected. He got to his feet and pushed them aside and stepping through.

The sight made him lose his breath.

Her hair was fanned out around her head, brown curls tangled and matted. Her eyes were ominously closed, skin so pale it looked like marble. The sheet rose gently and slowly as the respiratory spell did its work, filling her lungs with air, casting it's signature gold glow around her. If not for that spell, he would have thought her dead. A sliver of white peeked out from under the blankets and he pushed them down slightly.

Her entire chest was wrapped in bandages, from her breasts to her hips. Whatever injury she had, it had stained the linen. They were bloody in places, forming a hard matted maroon layer across her stomach. She was still bleeding.

Remus sank into the chair.

She did it for us.

What?

Moony voice was hollow-sounding inside his head. Never had the wolf sounded so dejected.

She took the curse for us. The witch healer said that the curse was headed straight for our heart. We wouldn't have survived.

Remus shuddered slightly. Rarely had mortality seemed so frail.

But we're okay now.

We are yes.

His eyes were once again drawn to the unconscious witch on the bed.

And her?

There was a snarl of frustration and fury.

She took the curse. It hit her flank. They don't know whether she'll survive. She was protecting us.

But why? We hated her. She lied to us.

Remus couldn't even wrap his mind around why the witch he'd hurt so badly would take a curse for him.

Because that's what mates do. She loved us. I loved her. IT WAS YOUR FAULT!

But...she lied to us. She's from the future. "SHE BETRAYED HER MATE!" Remus was shouting now but he didn't care.

The wolf made a sound which was a cross between a laugh and a sob.

She would never. She was loyal. YOU weren't!

"Tell me!" Remus begged.

And Moony did.

Alastor Moody sat at the table of the Order's safe house. His hip flask sat in front of his and he would sip at it occasionally, both eyes focused on the scarred wood. The electric blue eye whizzed around in it's socket as the door opened.

"Albus."

Dumbledore sat down heavily at the table.

"You had to know this was coming, Albus. We weren't going to be lucky for long. Casualties happen."

Dumbledore nodded silently. He looked ancient, the toll of two wars weighing heavily on him.

"Can I ask you something Alastor?"

Moody grunted.

"Can I trust Miss Granger? You saw how she was fighting. She was by-the-book until she went berserk." Dumbledore tugged on his beard. "How can I trust someone who fights so viciously? She was merciless."

"I don't believe that was in her control. I've seen that happen before. Seasoned Aurors who've been through a lot. Something sets the memory off and they just lose it. Something happened in that fight which triggered her fight or flight response."

"I suppose I can ask her about it when she recovers. Minerva's right, I should be grateful to her."

"For once I don't think you will get the chance to fix this."

Those broken blue eyes stared at the grizzly Auror.

"What do you mean?"

"I think you need to talk to Poppy."

The Hospital Wing was deserted by the time Lily and the others had walked up from the village. They crowded around the bed, staring in shock and pain. The blanket had been tugged up across her body, so only her shoulders and arms were visible. If not for her pale skin and the lines of pain around her mouth, she could have been sleeping.

"What happened with Remus? I've never seen him like that." James asked, avoiding the inevitable question.

"That wasn't Remus. That was Moony, the wolf." Lily stroked the hair back from Hermione's cheek, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Think of them as two separate entities. Hermione's wolf is called Luna. Moony takes over when things concern his mate. I'm surprised he's not here now."

Lily slumped slightly and fell silent.

"I never thought she could get hurt," Marlene murmured. The statement jerked Lily out from her shock and she began flicking diagnostic spells over the sleeping figure. She hadn't been in Healer training very long, but she knew the basics. Her frown grew more pronounced and with a final sweep her wand came to rest by her side.

"How is she?" Sirius whispered, his hand almost crushing Marlene's. To her credit she just smiled wanly and squeezed back.

Lily sighed and leant back against her fiancé.

"The curse hit several major organs, although Pomfrey has managed to stop its course. Her stomach has been badly burned. Respiratory system survived mostly unscathed although there is some damage which is affecting her breathing. Heart and brain are fine. All these wounds are still open under the bandages."

"So, she'll be okay?" Sirius asked his voice hopeful.

"Let her finish, Black." Severus replied, gesturing for Lily to continue.

"However, there are several pressing issues. The curse seems to have reactivated an old injury from another curse. The wound was completely inactive, but is now bleeding internally across her chest. One kidney has failed completely; there is significant damage to her small intestine and to her liver. She has lost a lot of blood and Pomfrey has her on Blood Replenishing potions, which will help slightly. There is significant damage done to her uterus and she may never have children, due to the scaring." Lily rubbed her forehead and scrubbed at her eyes, which were watering. "She is alive and reasonably stable for two reasons. Firstly, she's a were-wolf and her recovery time is significantly faster than ours. However, secondly, her body is draining her magical core in search of energy. Wizards fuel their bodies mostly on food. However when a wizard has exhausted their supply of energy their body begins to drain their core. Hermione is extremely powerful but she will not be able to support herself indefinitely. Unless she gets significantly better very quickly, she will drain herself and die. As it is her magic may never be the same."

"So how long has she got in this state?"

Lily stopped trying to block the tears and let them run free down her cheeks.

"If this were a normal case I'd estimate about three weeks."

There was silence, broken only by Lily's quiet sobbing.

"Normally?" Marlene asked.

Lily sucked in a breath and composed herself.

"The full moon is this weekend. The energy it'll take to transform will kill her and there is no way to stop the change. She has days at best."

They had dispersed after that. Lily and Severus had run off home to try and find a solution in Hermione's Library. If anything would have an answer that would and Lily and Severus were the best suited to research. Marlene had gone to notify the Order and find Frank and Alice. They'd want to know and Marlene was closest to Alice. James couldn't even grasp how devastated she would be. Just hours ago Hermione had been a bridesmaid at their wedding. Now she was in a hospital bed, running on magic and dying. How could one life change so much so fast?

Sirius had left to find Remus. James flinched as he remembered the argument.

"What do you mean days? Isn't there anything you can do?" he'd bellowed. Lily flinched back and James wrapped his arms around her.

"Siri, I only know the diagnostic spells. There is NOTHING I can do to fix this." James' heart had broken slightly at the despair in her voice.

"There has to be something! A spell, a potion. For Godric's sake, we're wizards. There has to be something. A book...anything."

"Back off, Padfoot," Severus murmured, not taking his eyes from the unconscious witch.

"Madam Pomfrey has done everything she can. It's a matter of time." Lily frowned slightly, pulling away from James' chest. "Did you say book?"

"What of it?"

"Hermione has a massive Library. It's huge. If there is anything which can help us it's that. Severus...?"

The dark haired wizard nodded and left the bedside to stride to the door.

"Of course, Lily."

"I just hope I'm right."

And they had left.

"I'd better go too. Someone needs to tell Alice." Marlene sighed and wiped the tears from her face. "And on her wedding day too." With a kiss on Sirius' cheek that he didn't respond to, she too was gone.

James sank into the chair by the bed, linking his hand with Hermione's.

"Where is he?" Sirius snarled.

"Remus? Merlin knows."

"He should be here. Maybe being with her mate will help her."

"Sirius…" James started

"NO!" Sirius whirled on his friend, his colour high and his hair wild. "Don't you dare tell me to give up. You and Remus are brothers to me. She is like my sister. I cannot lose her. I've lost too much already."

"Sirius, I'm sorry but..."

"NO!" He backed away from the bedside. "She is my family. You've seen that ring on her hand. You recognise your crest as well as mine. I CANNOT lose the last piece of family who will willingly claim me. I just can't, James." Sirius turned and made for the door. "I'm going to find Remus. The bastard should be here."

The black dog left the Hospital Wing to go wolf hunting.

James tightened his hold on her hand. There was no way he was leaving. Because Sirius was right. She was like a sister to them. He'd always wanted a sister to take care of. Not that she'd let him, but still. He'd try. Besides someone needed to be here when she woke up.

None of them would let her out of their sight after this. Because she would get better. That wasn't optional. She'd get better. They'd defeat Voldemort and everyone would settle down. She and Remus would get back together. He'd walk her down the aisle at her wedding and she'd be Lily's maid of honour. They'd send their kids to Hogwarts and everything would be fine.

James laughed slightly.

"Here I am, Hermione, planning out your future. I forget sometimes that you probably went to school with my children. Will you be able to meet yourself?" He snorted slightly. "Imagine if you met any boy you went out with in school. You'd be years older than them. Did you even date at school?" He laid his head down on the covers and smiled. "You're going to get better. Sirius is never wrong. Because Blacks, like Potters, are damn stubborn. And you're a bit of both. So you'll be fine."

He choked slightly on a sob.

"Please, Hermione. I'm begging you. Be all right."

A/N

Any thoughts?

Love the reviews. Keep 'em coming please.

Genius was amazed that some of you mentioned him in the reviews. I told him he was important. Did he listen to me? Nooooo.

Hood and Genius Out.

P.S Love to Meguxa, StarGirlPotter This chapter was prompted by you two