Chapter 28: Saturday, April 5, 1980

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."

-Marie Curie

"Argh!"

Hermione looked up as Lily yelled out in frustration, standing up from the bent position she had been in. Lily dropped a towel on the ground in the kitchen and smacked away James as he tried to bend to get it for her.

"Everything okay, Lily?" Hermione asked, arching an eyebrow at her from the table.

"I ripped my bloody trousers!" Lily nearly screamed in anger, turning around to show Hermione the tear up the seam on the backside, "I swear these were the last pair I owned that I could get buttoned, and now I went and ripped them! As if the morning sickness wasn't enough! The minute I finally stop vomiting, I get so fat I rip my bloody trousers!"

"You aren't fat, Lily," Hermione said.

"You're right, I'm not fat. I've surpassed fat. I'm the size of a damn beluga whale now, and none of my clothes fit me anymore! I'm going to have to start borrowing from James soon!"

"Oh no, you don't!" James said, using his wand to clean his plate before placing it back in the cupboard. "Can't have you ripping my trousers too."

Hermione stifled a laugh as Lily turned around and whacked James hard in the chest with the towel she had picked up from the floor, "You'd do well to remember that this is your bloody fault!" Lily scolded, "If you could keep it in your damn pants, I wouldn't be blowing the back end out of all my trousers!"

"Lily rip another pair of trousers?" Remus asked, taking a seat next to Hermione and taking a sandwich from the tray on the table.

Hermione and James howled with laughter as Lily sent an orange flying at Remus, hitting him square in the chest. Remus coughed, rubbing the spot as he grumbled under his breath about pregnancy hormones making Lily violent. Lily stared at Remus, scowling in disapproval of his muttered insults and pulled a pitcher of water from the refrigerator, setting it on the table before taking her seat.

"You're lucky I don't hex you for that," she said, glaring at Remus.

Remus smirked and took a bite of his sandwich.

"Where's Sirius?" Hermione asked, looking around the room.

"Working on that death trap he calls a motorbike," Lily said, taking the orange back from Remus and digging her nails into the peel. "James is going out to help him, that's why he ate before us."

James stepped behind Lily's chair, placing his hands on her shoulders as he leaned down to kiss her cheek, "That, and I don't fancy getting hit with citrus fruits."

"You're going to get hit with a lot worse if you keep that cheek up today, James Fleamont Potter." Lily said, raising her eyebrows at him in challenge.

James chuckled and kissed her again, "I love you, go buy new trousers."

Lily rolled her eyes as James took his leave. Just before the door swung shut, a brown and white barn owl found its way inside, ruffling its feathers as it landed beside Remus, holding its small leg out to him.

"A letter?" Hermione asked, curious. "Who'd you get a letter from?"

"I do talk to people besides you lot," Remus said, a shadow of a smirk betraying his feigned offense. He pulled a bit of ham from his sandwich and gave it to the owl as he unfolded the parchment. "But if you must know, it's from my mum."

Hermione's curiosity was certainly piqued. Remus didn't talk much about his parents. When he did, he spoke only with fondness, but he hadn't led her to believe they were particularly close. She certainly didn't think they wrote each other often, but then again, she hadn't bothered to ask either.

"What's it say?" Lily asked.

"She wants me to come to dinner tomorrow night," he said, his brows furrowing. He looked up from the parchment at Hermione, "We were going to have dinner tomorrow night."

"We were," Hermione said, smiling. "But lucky for you, I'm a very understanding girlfriend and I won't be upset if we postpone so you can have dinner with your parents. After all, we eat together several times a week."

Remus nodded, his eyes flitting back to the parchment in his hands. He pulled his lip between his teeth for a moment before looking back up at her, his eyes dancing with question. "You, erm… You wouldn't want to erm… come with me, would you?"

Hermione paused, her sandwich hanging in the air halfway between her mouth and the plate. "You want me to meet your parents?"

Remus closed his eyes, shaking his head as a pained expression pinched his face, "It was a stupid idea… Sorry. Shit. Sorry, it's too soon. I know that."

"Too soon for who?" Lily piped up, a look of utter amusement on her face. "You and Hermione have been attached at the hip for weeks. At this rate, you'll know each other better than James and I know one another."

"Lily," Remus said, his tone full of exasperation. "We've only been together a couple months. It's not… I mean, it's not that I don't want you to meet them. I do. I just…" he huffed out a frustrated puff of air, "I'm really fucking this up, aren't I?"

Hermione's lips were pressed together in a tight line as she tried to hold back her laughter, she nodded, "But it's really fun to witness."

"Ruthless," Remus said, waving his hand between Hermione and Lily, "The pair of you are bloody ruthless."

Lily laughed loudly as Hermione chuckled, "I would like to come to dinner and meet your parents, Remus. I would like that very much."

Remus stared at her for a few moments, before slowly nodding, a sigh of relief leaving his chest as he got up to grab a quill from the drawer. He scribbled his reply and sent the owl back before falling into his seat next to Hermione, finishing his lunch with a smile playing at his lips.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Once they had finished eating lunch, Remus cleaned up so that Hermione could help Lily find something that would fit so they could go shopping for some clothes in Muggle London. Lily settled on a dress that had previously been too big on her, and now fit a bit snug. Although, Hermione still thought the dress was flattering, despite how irritated Lily seemed to be with it.

They used the floo to get to the Leaky Cauldron, quickly stepping through to take a taxi cab to the nearest shopping centre. Once inside, they immediately set their sights on a maternity shop that boasted the largest selection of fashionable maternity wear.

"Every single one of these dresses look like something my nan would have worn!" Lily complained, picking through the rack with a look of distaste. She pulled out a particularly hideous puce dress with mauve flowers on it, "Look at this! Why would anyone in their right mind wear this?!"

Hermione chuckled, "That one is certainly the worst of them."

"Ugh!" Lily shoved her hands through her hair, moving on to another rack that held several pairs of trousers trimmed with large elastic bands, "This is hopeless! I've never been so frustrated while shopping in my life! Let's go pick you out something to wear to dinner tomorrow and come back later!"

"I didn't plan on buying…" Hermione trailed off at the look on Lily's face, "Oh all right, I guess I could use a new dress."

Lily linked her arm through Hermione's, tugging her out of the maternity shop, "That's the spirit!"

Three hours later, Hermione and Lily sat in a cafe sipping elaborate coffee based drinks and relaxing after finally finding Lily some acceptable clothing and purchasing a dress for Hermione to wear to dinner with Remus and his parents. Hermione had settled on a peachy colored, tea-length, wrap dress that had baggy sleeves that cinched at the elbow and a modest neckline. Lily had assured her that she looked gorgeous in the color, even though it was far more feminine than anything Hermione owned.

"Are you nervous?" Lily asked, as she kicked her feet up into the seat across from her.

"I've never had a meeting like this with a boyfriend's parents before," Hermione explained. "Should I be nervous?"

"You've never met a boyfriend's parents?!"

"Not in this type of setting. The only person I've dated that I met their parents, I knew their parents before we ever dated. Practically lived with his family growing up."

"It didn't work out?" Lily asked.

Hermione shook her head, sipping at her latte. "No, we just didn't quite see eye to eye. It wasn't a bad relationship, really. It just wasn't a good one."

"The sex was bad, wasn't it?"

"Lily!" Hermione admonished, her eyes growing wide.

Lily snorted, "I wouldn't blame you for breaking up with someone for that!"

"The sex was fine, thank you. That wasn't the issue at all!"

"Oh, so the sex was good, but the wizard wasn't?"

Hermione huffed, rolling her eyes. "What is with you?!"

"Call it pregnancy hormones. They've got me thinking wild things!"

"Too much information, Lils."

"So what happened then? The sex was good, the wizard was good, what went bad?"

Hermione sighed, setting her cup on the napkin. "I don't know, really. I loved him, still do. I'm just not sure I ever fell in love with him. When we started dating we were young, I was only 18. We had been friends for so long, there was attraction between us, and then… there wasn't. We went through a lot together, and that changes people, puts things in perspective."

"Yeah," Lily said, her eyes shifting down to the hand that had come to rest over her belly. "I understand that. I never thought in a million years I would end up with James. He drove me mental our first… Oh, I don't know, five years at Hogwarts. From our first year, he was always showboating, trying to get my attention. I had no interest."

"What changed?"

"I don't know, really. He grew up, I suppose. Stopped trying so hard, stopped being so arrogant about everything… When Sirius moved in with him, I think it gave him some perspective, like he understood he wasn't the center of the universe. Grew into his body some too, got rather fit before sixth year, that helped."

Hermione laughed, "I imagine it did. I can't picture you and James without one another though, you seem so perfect together."

A wistful smile took Lily's face, "Yeah, I think we are. You and Remus aren't far off, though."

"I don't think-

"Hermione, I'm going to be frank with you," Lily said, pulling her outstretched legs from the chair and sitting up a little straighter, "You're good for Remus. I don't know how much time you have here, I'd be lying if I said I even try to think about it, I don't want to think about it… But you're good for Remus. He's happier than I've ever seen him, it's like you breathe life into him. I worry about him, more than any of the others. James and Sirius can take care of themselves, but Remus? He needs the help, but he'll never ask for it, and he's hard pressed to accept it when it's offered. And then you show up and just muscle your way in…"

Hermione watched Lily as she picked at a string on the hem of her dress, her hands fidgeting against her rounded belly as she tried to convey her worries about her friend. Her heart ached for Lily. She knew what it felt like to be so worried about your friends, to fear for their safety, for their happiness. For years she had looked after Harry, trying to make sure he took care of himself and didn't close himself off from everyone out of fear of being a burden.

"I know you won't stay with us forever, I know you have a mission that brought you here, but please, I beg you, be careful with Remus' heart. He's never given it to anyone before."

Sunday, April 6, 1980

Hermione checked her reflection in the mirror again, frustrated that today, of all days, her damn hair just wouldn't stay in place! She hadn't felt nervous until her conversation with Lily at the cafe had sunk in. Remus didn't open up to people, he just didn't, and he had chosen to open this part of himself up to Hermione. She wanted to make a good impression, she had to make a good impression.

She huffed in frustration as she tried, again, to force her hair to stay in a decent state. She was certain she had gone through at least half a bottle of Sleekeazy's and a quarter tub of the coconut oil product she used daily to try and get her curls to a manageable state, but it seemed as if they had a plan of their own.

"I swear, if you don't get it together, I will chop you all off! Do you remember third year? Do you want to be that short again?!" Hermione grumbled, casting another charm on her hair in an attempt to get it to calm down.

"Are you talking to your hair?"

Hermione jumped, a small squeak coming from her throat as her hand flew to her chest, "Remus! Merlin! You startled me!"

"Shit. Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Hermione calmed her rapidly beating heart and took a deep breath, "It's okay. I just didn't hear you come in, is all."

"For what it's worth, I erm… I really like your hair. And you look really, really beautiful."

Hermione pulled her eyes from her frustrated reflection and felt her cheeks grow warm. She was sure it matched the blush that currently tinged Remus' cheeks a light shade of pink, "Thank you. You look really nice as well."

Remus wore one of his newer cardigans that Lily had purchased for him for his birthday and a pair of tan trousers that, although they looked worn, had no patches or holes in them. His hair was actually styled, something she hadn't seen on him yet, neatly scraped back in a purposefully tousled sort of way. As she looked at him, she realized that nice had been a severe understatement. Remus looked positively delectable.

"Is it okay if we use your Floo?" Remus asked, "I usually just apparate but it's a hell of a trip to take sidealong."

"Yeah, of course."

Remus offered his hand, a small smile on his face. Judging by the claminess of his palm, Hermione found a modicum of comfort in knowing that Remus was nervous as well. Although, Remus was almost always nervous. They stepped to the fireplace and he dipped his hand into the crystal bowl on the mantel, collecting a palmful of Floo Powder before tugging her into the mouth of the fireplace and throwing the powder at their feet.

"Lupin Cabin, Caerphilly." Remus called out.

In a rushing swirl of green flames, Hermione's living room disappeared from view, being replaced only seconds later by an unfamiliar room. With practiced feet, they landed and stepped from the hearth, Remus had his wand out instantly, siphoning the soot from their clothes and hair.

The sitting room was small and shabby, but incredibly tidy and organized. An old sofa with patchwork fabric sat against a large window that looked out into surrounding trees. There was a large, shaggy rug on the ground underneath a battered, ring stained coffee table and two mismatch chairs across from it. Hermione was surprised to see an old television set, an enormous piece of wooden furniture, pushed against the wall. There were both muggle and magical photos hanging on the walls, and a copy of The Daily Prophet as well as a muggle newspaper on the coffee table. From what she could see, it was quaint, but comfortable. Warm and inviting, and felt exactly like the type of place Remus would have grown up in.

"Shw mae, cariad!" A voice sang, as a small woman with grey-streaked sandy colored hair and large, round, evergreen eyes that sat deep into her face. She had small wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and smile lines in her cheeks that deepened as a large grin spread across her face.

"Hi mum," Remus said.

Hermione couldn't help but notice how his face brightened up a bit when the woman walked into the room, holding a tray with a chipped, floral teapot and four mugs that had all seen better days.

"Remus!" she said, setting the tray on the table, "And your friend! You'll have to forgive me, your name escapes me."

"Hermione," Hermione answered with a shy smile. "Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Lupin."

"Hermione! How thou lovest us! Show in our brother's welcome," Mrs. Lupin said. "Lovely name from a lovely piece of literature."

"Remus mentioned you enjoyed Shakespeare," Hermione said.

"Did he? He shares my love of written text, always has. Please, have a seat."

Remus' hand squeezed Hermione's briefly before he pulled her toward the sofa, stopping momentarily to stoop over, pressing a light kiss to his mother's cheek. Mrs. Lupin squeezed his arm briefly before settling into one of the armchairs across from them.

Hermione sank into the back of the comfortable sofa, her ankles crossing as Remus pulled her hand to rest with his upon his thigh. He was tense, even with his shoulders slumped forward. Hermione turned a bit to look at him, shooting him a concerned look that he brushed off with a tight lipped smile.

"Would you like tea?" Mrs. Lupin asked, motioning to the tray.

"That would be lovely, thank you."

"I'll fix it," Remus mumbled, leaning forward to pour them all a cup. "Where's dad?"

"He'll be in shortly, he drove into town to get a few things."

"Drove? You own a car?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I'm not magical, dear. Did Remus not…" Mrs. Lupin trailed off as she looked at Remus, worry in her wide eyes.

"Oh, yes. Of course," Hermione said. "I've just become so accustomed to no one that I know owning a car!"

"Hermione's father is a Muggle, too."

"Is that right? What does he do for a living?" Mrs. Lupin asked.

They began talking pleasantly about Hermione's father and his work. Mrs. Lupin asked a few questions to Hermione about how she became friends with Remus. Remus and Hermione had agreed the night before that it would be best to make something up, so as not to compromise Hermione's assignment. In reality, she wouldn't have been able to tell Mrs. Lupin the truth if she wanted to, the Unbreakable Vow would see to that. She had only been able to come clean to the others because her mission had been directly threatened when Sirius stole the Time Stone amulet from her night stand.

A short lull in the conversation brought Hermione's attention to Remus. He was fidgeting constantly, picking at the hem of his cardigan, adjusting the collar of his shirt underneath, tapping his foot… Hermione watched him from the corner of her eye as he swallowed nervously, his eyes darting around the room every few seconds, flashing between gold and green.

A few moments later, Hermione heard the front door open and felt the cool early spring air sweep in from outside. Mrs. Lupin stood and walked toward the door and Hermione shifted closer to Remus.

"Are you all right?" she asked, her brows pulled together in concern.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Remus whispered. "It's just been a while since I've seen my parents."

Hermione offered him a kind smile and followed suit when he stood up to greet his father as he walked into the room. She took notice of the fact that he dropped her hand and shifted slightly away from her and she couldn't help but wonder why.

Mr. Lupin stood tall, although not as tall as Remus, and had salt and pepper hair with dark eyes that sat under a strong brow. He was broad shouldered and held command of the room the moment he walked into it, a confidence that was not shared by Remus. Hermione watched as the man's eyes darted between her and Remus, his brows pulled together slightly as his jaw seemed to tighten.

"Son," Mr. Lupin said, with a nod to Remus.

"Hi, Dad."

"And who's this?"

"This is erm.. My… erm… My girlfriend, Hermione."

Mr. Lupin's eyes widened slightly and Hermione wondered what Remus had said when he sent the letter back to his parents explaining that she would be coming with him. She stepped forward, offering a hand out to Mr. Lupin, which he took after a moment's hesitation.

"Pleased to meet you sir," she said.

He grunted in lieu of an actual reply and then said, "Girlfriend? As in, a romantic partner?"

Hermione's hand fell back to her side and she tilted her head as she looked at the imposing man, "Well generally that's what's implied in that moniker. So, yes."

Mrs. Lupin chuckled and the tension in the room seemed to dissipate a little. Mr. Lupin stuck his hand out to Remus, shaking it quickly before bending down to place a kiss on his wife's cheek. As they made their way back to the sofa, a small ding came from the kitchen and Mrs. Lupin smiled.

"That'll be the roast! Finish your tea, supper will be ready in a few minutes!" she said, ushering them back into the living room before scurrying toward the kitchen.

"So, I see you've been busy since we've seen you last," Mr. Lupin said, leaning forward to pour himself some tea. "You've barely written lately, your mum's been worried sick about you."

Remus shifted in his seat, his shoulders slumping forward and his mouth twisting off to the side, "Sorry, I just… erm, with everything going on… I should have written more. I'm sorry."

Mr. Lupin's eyes roamed over Remus, flickering to Hermione before landing back on his son, his jaw pulled tight, "And your… illness… You've been able to keep it under control?"

Hermione bit into her bottom lip, tilting her head a bit as she looked at Mr. Lupin, her brows knitting together at the very subtle but very real shake to his voice as he addressed Remus' lycanthropy. Remus shifted again, pulling at a thread on his trousers, his leg bumping against Hermione's. She noticed his father's eyes flicker at the contact, watching as Remus subconsciously shifted away from her.

The tension between the two was palpable and Hermione could tell Remus was extremely uncomfortable. It was clear his father wasn't sure what to make of her relationship with Remus or how to approach the question that was clearly burning in his throat: Does she know you're a werewolf?

"Remus, allech chi fy helpu os gwelwch yn dda?" Mrs. Lupin's voice sang from the kitchen.

Hermione twisted to look at Remus, her brows still pinched in question, "She needs help," he explained. "I'll be right back."

Hermione nodded, offering him a small smile as he got up from the sofa and disappeared into the kitchen. Mr. Lupin's eyes stayed on Hermione for several minutes before he brought his mug to his lips and took a long sip.

"Sir, if I may be forward with you about something?" Hermione asked, sitting up straighter and squaring her shoulders as she leaned forward to set her mug onto the tray.

"You may."

"I know about Remus' condition, you don't have to talk in code about it."

"You... know?" He replied, drawing out the words as his brows moved higher onto his forehead.

Hermione nodded, "I figured it out and I'm doing everything I can to help, but it seems that perhaps your support would be beneficial, as well."

"My support?" he asked, "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"Well sir, I don't mean to overstep here, but it would seem that misunderstanding and perhaps a bit of fear is involved in your relationship with your son. I don't pretend to know how difficult it is to have a child that was infected with lycanthropy at such a young age, but I do know that Remus is a wonderful person and focusing on that might be far more beneficial than worrying about the one night a month he's not himself."

"You speak with confidence on a subject you have only just been introduced to. I know my son, but I also know what his affliction means."

"I don't doubt that you love him very much," Hermione explained. "But it's presumptuous to assume that I have no experience with werewolves. While my experience may be limited, I am not a witch who remains uneducated on subjects of interest."

"And my son is a subject of interest?"

"Your son is a person of interest to me, his lycanthropy is a subject. One I am trying to become fully educated on, which is difficult when the research that has been performed is either centuries old or written from a place of fear and prejudice; more often it's both."

"You believe the research on these beasts is misguided?" Mr. Lupin asked, interested.

"I believe the research on these people who have been infected against their will is severely misguided, yes."

"You understand that a life with him will be a life of hardship. There is no help for his kind, there is no one who cares to help."

"I care," Hermione said. "And I am not afraid of hardship. Werewolf is not a dirty word, it doesn't have to be, and one day people will know that."

"I'm afraid I do not think I will see that in my lifetime," Mr. Lupin said.

Remus entered the room again, a pair of oven mitts covering his hands, "Er.. Did I… Did I interrupt something?"

"No," Mr. Lupin said, giving a meaningful look to Hermione before turning his attention toward Remus. "Is your mother okay in there?"

"Yeah, just needed some help with the pie. Dinner's ready," Remus said, looking at Hermione in question as he pulled the mits from his hands and stepped toward the couch. He offered his hand to her, helping her up from the cushion. Before he could pull his hand away, Hermione locked her fingers with his and took a half step closer to him.

She didn't miss the way Mr. Lupin's eyes followed the action, or the very slight nod he gave her when his eyes met hers before turning away from them to walk toward the kitchen.

"All right?" Remus asked.

Hermione pushed up on her tiptoes, placing a kiss to his chin, "Perfectly fine. I'm hungry though, and it smells delicious, so let's have dinner."

Remus gave one last worried look to Hermione before nodding and stooping over to capture her lips in a quick kiss before ushering her into the kitchen to have dinner.

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a/n: HEY EVERYONE PLEASE READ THIS: I have no idea wtf is going on with the chapter 29 update on ffn, but i have tried to post it four separate times now and it wont upload and I have no idea why. So, until ffn gets their shit sorted, you can read chapter 29 on AO3! I'm sorry guys! I'm really trying to get it figured out but ffn is not working with me this month. for more updates and chapter links to ao3, you can always add my group! thanks guys!

Sorry this one is a few hours later than usual haha I honestly completely forgot what day of the week it was lol anyway, I hope you liked it! Please leave a review and let me know! I really appreciate them a lot!

If you guys didn't know by now, I have a FB group (Mimifreed Writing) but I also started a Remus Lupin Appreciation (thats the name) group as well! So come hang out! Post your fave remus/whoever fics and fan art and just come chat about our favorite wolfboi!

as always, all my love to my alpha Mayghaen17! The meet the parents was mostly her idea, and I ended up loving writing it haha

xo

mimi