Chapter 53 - Exposed


Hermione stirred out of her peaceful slumber to Fenrir's arms wrapped gently around her. She craned her neck slightly to look up at him. His yellow eyes were still full of regret and concern.

"Good morning," he said quietly.

Hermione took in a deep breath and placed a hand on the werewolf's scruffy cheek. "Harry knows. I was going to tell you last night, but I—"

"I'm sorry my temper often gets the better of me…" Fenrir trailed off and he refused to look at her for the second time in two days.

Hermione gaped at him. He was still apologizing to her; she was shocked, but pleasantly so. Tears threatened to fill her eyes; she never would have seen coming. She would never say it to him, but he was learning nearly as much as she was. Choking back quiet laughter, the witch merely replied with "It's just one more thing we have in common, mate."

She stared at him when he finally glanced her way again; he had not been quite the same since he had spoken with Rodolphus. "Fenrir, are you alright? What happened with Rodolphus?" He had apologized to her twice in as many days and while she was grateful, she was having a hard time believing he had decided to become a decent human being in such a short amount of time without any pushing. Her heart clenched suddenly when she wondered what Rodolphus had asked for in return for his help. She hoped Fenrir had not agreed to something stupid.

Fenrir took a deep breath and pulled Hermione closer to him. "I'm fine, love. I've...had a lot of time to think since we've been here. Time I've never taken before…"

Hermione nodded, though she was still not completely convinced.

The werewolf whined quietly and pulled her against his chest.

Hermione took the moment and rested in his embrace; trying to think back through the last several days. He had seemed so happy after he had returned from the Death Eaters...No, that was not quite right. He had looked exhausted that night; he hadn't even been willing to talk to her about what happened. She knew him to be a bit of a gloater, and if what he had to do had made him squeamish...She shuddered at the prospect. It was only the next day when he had perked up...He had come running in to tell her something, and then had changed his mind. He was concerned about her...but why was he so worried if it was good news? Hermione couldn't fathom. She was not going to push him about it. Whatever it was that he was keeping to himself had made him more irritable than normal when Harry and Ron had made their appearance later that day. What had changed? Was she missing something? What made everything so different? She was determined to find out...somehow; and without getting into another fight. For now, however, she was content to rest in her mate's arms.

"They're waking up." Fenrir remarked quietly after a time, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Hermione nuzzled against him, "I don't care. I don't know how to tell them, but I'm not going to pretend anymore. I don't want to hurt you anymore…"

"You're certain?" His golden eyes bored into hers with concern.

She met his eyes and nodded, determined. Her heart pounded with nerves, but she was going to follow through with this. She knew he could tell she was afraid, but all he did was nod and press his lips to her forehead.

"As long as you can live with it, mate."

"I don't want to hide anymore." She said finally, curling further into his hold.

"Whenever you're ready, love."

Hermione nodded, and the two once again enjoyed the quiet of the morning.

"Molly has breakfast ready."

Hermione groaned quietly, and reluctantly got out of bed. She was fairly certain there were several bad ways to reveal her relationship with Fenrir, and having someone walk in on them in bed was fairly high on that particular list. She still had not thought out the best way to go about it; so she headed downstairs ahead of Fenrir, hoping to arrive before too many of her friends had woken up.

The witch made her way to the kitchen to find Molly just pulling hotcakes off the stove. The matronly woman smiled at her and handed her a plate of piping hot cakes. "There you are, Hermione. Here."

Hermione took her plate into the dining room and sat at the table with the others. Ginny and Ron were eating quietly, both looking slightly perturbed. Hermione guessed it was from being up so early; none of the Weasley children seemed to enjoy the morning. They all ate quietly for several minutes, with only the sounds of chewing and Molly's cooking from the other room.

"Are you doing alright, Hermione?" Molly asked her kindly as she sat with a plate of her own food.

Slightly startled at the question, Hermione immediately responded with "Yes, why?"

"Ginny mentioned that you've been up and about at night."

Hermione swallowed, of course Ginny would notice. She was slightly surprised that she had not confronted her earlier, and had instead mentioned it to Mrs. Weasley. "I can't sleep well anymore," she started quietly, "There are a few things that help—"

"You haven't been sleeping in your bed at all, Hermione." Ginny chimed in quietly, her voice nearly impossible to read.

Hermione noticed Ron's head come up, suddenly alert as the women spoke.

"I can't sleep in it— it's too—"

"Empty?" Ginny said, Hermione finally picking up on the cold tones in her voice.

"Cold," Hermione countered harshly, frowning.

"Girls, now stop this," Molly admonished both of them.

The two young woman glared at each other before returning to their food. Hermione quickly snarfed down the rest of her food before heading out toward the entryway. She didn't really have a plan, but she thought she might go toward the library to cool off.

She cringed when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Hermione," Ron said, his mouth still full of pancakes, "You know you can talk to me, right? I never even knew you had trouble sleeping. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Hermione turned to face the redhead, who was just wiping away the remnants of the syrup on his face.

Ron took a quick glance around before staring at her intently, "It's Greyback, isn't it?" Ron moved toward her, his face full of concern.

Hermione tried her best not to sigh; she did not want to have this argument again. "I didn't want to worry you, Ron. Besides, there's nothing you can do about it anyway." The witch was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that her hair was the only thing covering the bite on her neck. He reached for her and she instinctively pulled her shoulder away from Ron. She had not wanted him to find out this way; he noticed.

"Ron. Please don't," she said as he continued toward her.

"It's there, isn't it?!" He demanded and reached for her shoulder. "He did bite you!"

Hermione heard footsteps above her; there was nothing in this house that escaped Fenrir's notice. She backed up, but it was not enough. Ron darted forward and tossed her hair back, his fingers brushing against the scar.

As soon as his fingers came into contact with her skin, she blanched. She did not like it at all; only Fenrir's hand belonged there. She felt violated. A growl she did not know she possessed escaped her. Ron backed away, fear in his eyes.

"He— You're a werewolf‽"

"No, Ron. You don't understand."

"He bit you!"

"I'm not a werewolf, Ron." Hermione insisted, but her voice shook. Her skin crawled where he had touched her.

"Then he did! I'm going to—" he reached for Hermione again, his face turning red with anger.

His sentence and his movement were both cut off by Fenrir's enraged snarl. Hermione felt the werewolf's arms around her and he pulled her into his grasp, away from Ron. Relief flooded her as the mark's maker ran his thumb back and forth across the spot soothingly. Trying to compose herself, she struggled to do anything but settle into the comfort her mate was providing. She glared at Ron, quietly matching Fenrir's ferocity. Pounding feet told her they had attracted the attention of the entire household.

"Let her go, monster! Whatever you did to her, it doesn't make her yours!"


"Didn't I tell you once, ginger, that she would beg for me?" Fenrir snarled in satisfaction, a smirk growing on his face as he held his mate in his arms. Her body still shivered from the other's touch, but she was beginning to calm with his caresses. Some part in the back of his mind told him he should have warned her about the sensitivity; but he didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to touch her.

"Fenrir," Hermione scolded, only loud enough for him to hear, "Don't be too hard on him." She shivered again.

Fenrir growled at the boy before whispering back to his mate, "I won't let this slide, love. He needs to learn that his place is not with you." He could not see everyone, but he could smell them. The household had gathered to watch the spectacle.

"You did something to her! The Hermione I know would never—"

"Oh, I bit her, I'll admit to that," Fenrir could not help but grin in smug satisfaction, "but wasn't it you who told me she wouldn't change if I did?"

The werewolf watched the redhead turn nearly the same shade as his hair as he sputtered to respond. Fenrir didn't let him speak, "You were right; she's the same as she's always been, only now she's mine."

"She doesn't belong to you! Let her go!"

"Ron, Stop." Fenrir heard Remus' voice caution from the stairwell; perhaps the whelp may actually have something interesting to say.

"Why?"

"You may not like what you find at the end of this path. "

"Shall we find out if Lupin's right, ginger?" Fenrir looked down at Hermione, "Do you want to go with the Weasley, mate?


Hermione shook her head; this was not the way she'd have had anyone find out, but she meant what she said. She was done hiding.

Fenrir grunted happily.

"No! Hermione!"

The witch's eyes flashed and she rounded on him, "No, Ron. You stop. You've been nothing but rude to him since he arrived. I spent a lot of time with Fenrir, and everyone else is giving him a chance. If you'd just talk to him, you'd see he's different."

Ron sputtered at her incredulously.

Hermione glanced up at Tonks' laughter from the stairwell.

"I'm not certain anyone will be doing the same kind of talking that you two were doing last night."

Hermione's lip twitched in slight amusement, more due to Fenrir's quiet chuckle than Tonks words. Words that had made her blush viciously; so much for not getting caught in bed. Today was just not going her way.

Ron turned from Hermione to Tonks to Fenrir and back, "What is she talking about, Hermione?"

Hermione blushed, but she was tired of all the ducking and hiding. Feeling a great surge of recklessness, she turned and pulled Fenrir into a heated kiss; a sentiment he eagerly returned. After a long moment, she reluctantly broke away, nearly prying herself from the werewolf's eager lips. She spun around, glaring at anyone who challenged her.

The household was silent as the new information sunk in. Hermione heard a sigh from Lupin's general direction.

Molly stood aghast; Hermione expected to be chewed out by her first, but instead the woman rounded on the smaller werewolf. "Remus! You knew this was going on? You let him come with her‽"

Lupin had the grace to look mildly embarrassed, "Molly, I cannot control him, and I have no wish to. It...would have hurt Hermione more to keep him away."

"What on earth do you mean‽" Molly continued to attack Remus.

Lupin approached Fenrir and Hermione cautiously, indicating to the scar on Hermione's shoulder without nearing it. "They were bound together even before he bit her…" he trailed off momentarily, only speaking once more when Molly opened her mouth to protest. "Werewolves are different than people, Molly. I cannot explain it, but I can tell you that it's true." Remus hung his head slightly, "I was never as forthcoming as I should have been."

Hermione could hear the fondness in Fenrir's voice as he spoke; "Don't blame everything on yourself, whelp. Your father drilled that nonsense into your head as soon as he could."

Lupin rolled his eyes at the larger wolf, "You hated my father."

"I would have bitten him if I thought it would have made a difference, but he would have just made himself a martyr for the cause. You were much more effective."

Hermione watched everyone's incredulous stares at the new information.

Remus rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, there you have my story in a nutshell, Molly. Greyback is the reason I've lived in hiding for so long and I've been more civil to him than any of you."

Hermione glanced up at Fenrir, who had a small grin on his face.

"It wasn't like you had a choice."

Lupin nodded, trying to explain as gently as he could. The silence in the room was deafening as he continued to speak. "Fenrir bit me as a child, I cannot disobey him if he chooses to exert that power."

Everyone seemed to get their voices back after that statement. The predominant words bearing resemblance to "That's crazy."

"Crazy it may be, Ronald, but that does not make it untrue. I'm certain Fenrir can give you a demonstration, if you require."


Fenrir noticed the change of mood immediately. He smirked at the challenging stares that met him from around the room. Remus, Tonks, and Potter were the only people in the room who were not challenging him directly, aside from his own mate, of course. The Weasley girl was the most brazen of the lot; the werewolf specifically sought out her gaze and let out a demanding roar. The humans all shrunk back slightly at the ferocity of the sound, the youngest Weasley dropped her eyes almost immediately, and the rest followed. Remus had shrunk back, his posture submissive and respectful. He glanced at his mate, who he realized had suffered the worst of them all. She had fallen to the floor and was curled up against his leg, unwilling to stare at anything but the floor.

Fenrir cringed slightly, but could not help but laugh quietly. He needed to be more careful. "I'm sorry, love," he pulled her up, tilting her chin to look into her eyes. She refused to meet them, her new instincts taking over her body. "Look at me, Hermione," he coaxed her softly.

Ever so slowly, her eyes made their way to his. He nodded at her and watched her face brighten. He had witnessed the bond in others, over and over again; but he was Alpha, it would always be different for him. His will was not to be disobeyed, even by her; as much as he did not want it to affect her, he had to be aware that it did.

"Sometimes you're still scary, Alpha," she said quietly, still obviously hesitant about looking him in the eye. She shyly took the hand he offered her.

"Sometimes I have to be," he whispered back, turning once again to the humans in the room. None would meet his gaze. He was glad they had enough instincts to at least understand that much about respect.

"Do you understand now why I could never fight him?" Remus asked the room quietly.

Fenrir chuckled, "I'd give you a fair fight. You just wouldn't win."

"I don't like it!" Molly protested, backed by several voices, most from the other Weasleys.


Hermione surveyed all of the upset faces around the room. She frowned and said, "If you don't want us here, then we'll just leave."

There were more protests, all concerning her leaving.

"You can't have me without him," Hermione declared heatedly, "If Fenrir goes, so do I." She had not entirely decided that she was going to make such an ultimatum until it was out of her mouth, but she stood by it. "As it is; I'd like to go home for a while. We'll be back once you make up your minds." Before anyone else could protest, Hermione pulled the werewolf toward the door and out onto the porch before he apparated them both home.


A/N: Thanks for sticking with me guys! I promise I haven't given up on this story. This chapter was hard to write; I wanted to get it just right.