Author's Note
Please forgive any spelling and/or grammar errors. I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think!
The next chapter, the last one in this book, will alternate between Hermione and Remus's perspectives.
Any dialogue you recognize is from Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. I made one slight change, but most of the dialogue didn't change, there's just more from when Harry wasn't there or that he missed hearing because it was part of a private conversation. I hope you enjoy how well this story still fits in with canon.
PS I'm not J. K. Rowling, so I don't own anything :(
Chapter 20: Aftermath
July 1997
Hogwarts
Of course Hermione hadn't betrayed him. He just had a habit of jumping to the worst possible conclusion. And he'd gone to the darkest place possible at Ginny's words.
Besides, it was full dark outside. There was no way that Ginny could know for certain that she'd seen Dumbledore. They were at the tallest tower, and it was a long way down.
And if she had, he might not have actually been dead. He might have just been stunned, if such a thing were even possible. There were few, if any, who could best the man. And this was assuming, of course, that it was even him.
"Are you certain?" he demanded, staring hard at Ginny. "Dumbledore wasn't here tonight. That's why we were here and probably why they attacked. They must have discovered he left."
"Oh. It's dark, but…," she trailed off, wrinkling her brow as she thought it over, second guessing herself. "I don't know. I thought Harry was with him, but I saw him here."
"Dumbledore probably sent him on ahead if whatever they were doing turned out to be dangerous," Remus predicted. More to convince himself than Ginny, he added, "Dumbledore will be along shortly."
"I guess it must have been someone else," she finally concluded, though he thought she might not entirely believe what she was saying.
Deciding it was best left until someone had checked it out and verified that she'd been mistaken, Remus sighed, berating himself for immediately assuming the worst about Hermione.
Probably, Hermione hadn't warned him about this happening at Hogwarts because she hadn't known. Her presence and interference had changed things as it was bound to do. It's why she had to be so careful and never share anything with him.
The words 'closed loop' echoed in his head, but he brushed them aside, rationalizing the situation.
Carefully, he checked over Gibbon, levitating the body. The last thing they needed was to traumatise a student by leaving the body behind for someone to discover.
"We should get you to the hospital wing. Ginny, can you help Neville?" Remus requested, guiding the body before him.
"The hospital. Bill –"
"He's alive," Remus reminded her. When she glanced back up the stairs, possibly wishing to revisit the sight she'd viewed earlier to clarify her jumbled thoughts, he prodded, "But he needs professional medical attention as soon as possible."
"Are you certain? I saw the blood," Ginny asked quietly, jerking back to the present and peering cautiously over at her brother. The little spitfire he'd witnessed in battle had retreated, leaving behind a scared girl worried about her family.
"I checked before. He's hurt, and I don't know the extent or the lasting effects it will have, but he's alive," Remus promised, waving his wand until Bill was levitated as well.
Finally, Ginny helped Neville to stand and looped his arm over her shoulder with a muttered thanks so that the pair could follow behind him.
"Will he be like you…?" Ginny asked with no small amount of trepidation.
"I doubt it. The full moon isn't until late next week," Remus said carefully, not wanting to make false promises, but fairly confident that he was correct. This was the first time, as far as he knew, that Greyback had attacked someone outside of the pack when the full moon wasn't up.
"Thank Merlin," she sighed heavily, then winced as she realized how offensive her reaction might have been. Remus didn't blame her. He was used to it. No one would willingly become a werewolf. It meant the end to their future and dreams more often than not. "Er…sorry."
"I'm used to it," he said simply.
"Oh…" she mumbled uncomfortably, eyes shifting about, unable to meet his. "But it will scar," she acknowledged sadly, attention straying to her brother again.
"The damage looks worse than it is as far as I can tell," he offered, knowing what little consolation that news was.
The doors to the hospital wing came into view before Ginny had a chance to ask anything else. Remus guided Bill and Gibbon to separate beds, pausing to drape a sheet over Gibbon, while Ginny helped Neville sit on the edge of a cot across from them.
Madam Pomfrey came bustling in, nearly quivering in agitation of what awaited her and lips pursed in disapproval. "What in the name of Merlin have you been doing? This is supposed to be a school!" she chastised.
An indecisive look came over her as she debated between helping Neville, the student she was charged with healing, or Bill, the adult that was currently unconscious, so Remus recommended, "Bill is stable for now. He can wait. See to Neville first."
"See if you can get some of that blood off then. I need to see what I'm dealing with there," she ordered, conjuring some rags and a basin of stringent-smelling liquid on the table beside Bill.
Remus set to work immediately, dabbing at the slashes with the disinfectant. Fresh blood welled up, tiny rubies, while the old flaked off liked dried rust. The mauling was grisly, and not at all an unfamiliar sight for Remus – much to his misfortune. Three parallel lines bisected Bill's face, stretching from his forehead down to his chin. He was lucky he hadn't lost his left eye. A small chunk was missing from his nose too, not as bad as Mad-Eye's, but it wasn't ever likely to heal completely. And Remus strongly suspected it had been bitten off after the fact, rather than slashed like the rest of his face.
"How did this happen?" Madam Pomfrey demanded, waving her wand over Neville. Glowing numbers and letters appeared above his shoulder that must have meant something to her, because she strode over to a supply cabinet and began rummaging through it collecting phials. The chiming clicks of the small glass bottles knocking together filled the quiet room.
"Death Eaters attacked the school," Remus explained, getting a fresh cloth to use on Bill. Madam Pomfrey, a Muggle-born, had always stubbornly insisted that it was better not to use magic to clean and disinfect an open wound.
"Never, in all my years, has anything of the like occurred here. This is where we send our children!" she ranted, handing Neville one of the three phials before waving her hand to urge him to drink it faster.
"I know," Remus said wearily, the adrenaline from the fight wearing off and leaving him very aware of every stinging scrape and sore muscle. If he was this exhausted at thirty-seven, he didn't know how Dumbledore did it at one-hundred-and-fifteen.
Anxiety pricked his mind at the thought of Dumbledore. Where was he? Did he even yet know the castle had been attacked? Would he be upset that they'd not done a better job of protecting it in his stead?
"Where's Harry?" Ginny demanded, the question she'd obviously been suppressing since they arrived bursting forth, unable to be contained a moment longer. He'd seen her searching the room for any sign of him, and when there wasn't any, she'd begun staring at the doors, willing her boyfriend to step through them. Remus shook his head in answer.
"Ugh," Bill groaned, unconsciously shifting away from the pressure Remus had accidentally applied at the mention of Harry.
Sirius would murder him if Remus had left something happen to his godson.
"Three broken ribs and a fractured skull. Hold still now," Madam Pomfrey pronounced, tsking and shaking her head. With a complicated series of wand flourishes, she hmphed, declaring, "You're lucky you even managed to walk down here. Children fighting grown adults in the school. Never before," she muttered, continuing to wave her wand over Neville. "There. Now take these, and if you think you're going to be sick, do it over there."
"Thanks," he muttered, downing the liquids before stretching gingerly and hopping off the bed. At her stern look, he quickly resumed his seat, even going so far as to lie back on the cot and close his eyes.
Moving out of the matron's way, Remus disposed of the soiled cloths, and watched as she performed a similar set of tests to assess Bill's vitals the way she had with Neville.
"What did this to him? It looks like –"
"Greyback," Remus supplied crisply, hatred of the wolf in question a burning fire simmering in the pit of his belly. Just the sound of his name stoked the flames higher. A breath of air that stirred his rage at the beast who had made his life so damned challenging.
"That explains it. Let's see how deep these go," she said, prodding the wounds and examining them closely, before trying a few different charms and spells. Her actions caused Bill to groan painfully again. "Severus has more experience with Dark wounds such as these. We'll probably need some of his more specialized potions if we're to minimize the effects of the wounds."
"Effects?" Ginny repeated in a strained, high-pitched voice filled with fear.
"Nothing too extreme I'd wager," the matron promised, then ruined it by adding, "but they won't be pretty regardless."
"I need to find Harry. Do you know where he went?" Ginny asked quickly, a desperate worry taking hold of her.
"No. I don't know where he ran off to," Remus admitted, placing a calming hand on her shoulder.
Honestly, he was fairly worried himself. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out how to stop Harry from running headlong into danger. The boy was so very much like James. Never giving a thought to the consequences or who would be hurt if things didn't miraculously work out the way they had other times. Previous luck had left him feeling invincible when he was anything but. He was so used to reacting on the fly, and managing to scrape by in the end that one of these days it was going to bite him in the arse.
In short, the boy was bound to give him a heart attack before too long. Surely at least half of his grey hair was a result of the stress the boy caused him.
"You don't think he went after them, do you?" Ginny asked fearfully. She was nearly vibrating with anxious energy and a need to have answers.
"Honestly? That's exactly what I think he did," Remus said reluctantly, making Ginny sigh and roll her eyes at Harry's predictability.
"Remus is correct, Miss Weasley," a breathless McGonagall announced, striding into view at the end of the row of cots with Dora just behind her. "I was informed that Mr. Potter ran outside. Professor Flitwick sent word that he'd been knocked out, but he's fine now, so Mr. Weasley has gone to fetch him, Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood. I've already sent for your parents to meet us here, so if you could go and retrieve Mr. Potter now that the grounds are clear of Death Eaters."
"Yes, Ma'am," Ginny agreed, slipping under Remus's arm to race out, eager to be doing something productive. Particularly if it reunited her with Harry that much sooner.
"Has anyone seen Severus? I need the Heads of Houses to wrangle their students back into their dorms until we have this sorted," McGonagall said, directing her query primarily at Remus since Madam Pomfrey was still tsking over Bill while muttering disparaging remarks about Greyback under her breath.
"He was with Draco Malfoy. I think he was helping him get away from the others," Remus informed her.
"A lost cause if ever there was one," Madam Pomfrey said with a haughty sniff as she continued trying various healing magics on Bill, all to no avail. The wounds were as grotesque and vivid as ever.
"That will do, Madam Pomfrey," McGonagall scolded, though she looked on the verge of agreeing herself.
"Well if you see Severus, send him my way. I could do with his help here," she replied, dabbing a pale green potion that smelled of aloe and turmeric on the deepest part of Bill's wounds.
Professor Flitwick trotted in, rubbing the back of his head, and leading Luna, Ron and Hermione. The latter two were engaged in a private conversation full of rapid whispers, oblivious to the others gathered in the room.
Remus felt his eyes drifting over Hermione of their own volition, seeking proof that she was all right and had escaped the invasion unscathed. Once satisfied, he glanced about to ask McGonagall if she'd heard from Dumbledore yet, only to discover that she and Flitwick had departed. Probably, to see to their respective students as Minerva had mentioned previously.
"They'll be back once the students are looked after," Dora said, correctly interpreting his confusion as she stumbled over to slump in the chair beside him. "Blimey, I'm knackered after that."
"Imagine how I feel. At least you do this for a living. Not to mention I've got over a decade on you," Remus huffed.
"You're not old, Remus," Dora insisted, frowning at him and seeing far too much regarding how he felt about his life being largely wasted up to this point.
Remus opened his mouth to say… something. He wasn't sure what, but another thought had just occurred to him. He needed to speak with her about what Snape had said. Regarding Teddy and Hermione. He owed it to Dora to let her in on everything. Though perhaps not in front of potential eavesdroppers.
The scent of mint, flowers and something with a sharper, more metallic edge filled his nose, stirring abundant memories of being treated the morning after a full moon. Madam Pomfrey had begun applying a very thin layer of the bluish silver paste Remus was familiar with. It often provided a good base, but he had a feeling stronger treatments would be needed. He was right, because the next thing the matron did was open a tin of thicker paste that had the noxious odor of rotten eggs and moldy cheese.
"Bill!" Ron exclaimed, having just noticed that the person occupying the bed by Remus was his brother. Ron, Hermione, and Luna all hurried over. As one, they came to an abrupt halt as the extent of the damage to Bill's face became visible. "What – ?"
"I believe he wants to know what animal did this," Luna elaborately helpfully.
Animal. That's what his kind were. Certainly no human would do such a thing.
But before Remus or anyone else could reply, the doors to the hospital wing opened for the third time to reveal Harry and Ginny. A jolt went through Remus at the sight of Harry looking so battered and dishevelled. It was like seeing James after one of his missions for the Order. Some sort of magnetic force seemed to draw him forward, urging him to make sure that Harry was really there and that he was safe, but Hermione beat him to it, running over to throw her arms around him.
Remus hardly heard the others speaking, too concerned over the state Harry was in. His clothes were filthy, like he'd been rolling around in the mud. Not to mention the potent smell coming off him. Musty, like stagnant water, and smoke from a wood-burning fire.
The mention of werewolves drew him back to the present. The assembled group's expressions ranged from horrified to devastated. That was how it always was when someone was faced with a sentence of lycanthropy. Many, if not most, would prefer a death sentence. It seemed everyone here, even Harry, felt the same.
Their reactions to Bill's potential fate made it impossible for him not to loathe himself. He was a monster. Unfit to minge in society.
Perhaps the Ministry, and those like his father and Umbridge, were right trying to have all werewolves permanently locked up or executed. Maybe that would stop the spread and prevent anyone else from being damned to his fate.
At Harry's pleading look, Remus reassured, "No, I don't think he will be a true werewolf, but that doesn't mean that there won't be some contamination."
That's what it was. A horrible taint. A lessening of the person he'd been. A stigma no one could ever escape. Nor anyone associated with the one sentenced. And he'd been so close to having a remarkable future with Fleur.
Fleur.
Would she even still want him?
He wouldn't blame her if she didn't. That was just how it was. He'd heard the same story over and over with the packs. Not one had their families stand by them. Not one hadn't lost everything.
Even Remus's family had taken pains to hide it. They'd locked him away each month, and forbid him from making any friends before Hogwarts because they'd been worried about protecting everyone else from Remus. It hadn't seemed to matter overly much that their actions were indirectly hurting Remus. Or that he'd only been bitten because of his father's hatred of werewolves.
"Those are curse wounds. They are unlikely ever to heal fully, and – and Bill might have some wolfish characteristics from now on," Remus finished explaining, hoping they hadn't noticed his lapse.
Ron certainly didn't seem to as he blamed Dumbledore and suggested he should "fix" his brother.
"Ron – Dumbledore's dead," Ginny said, glancing at Remus regretfully as she relayed the news to him for the second time, only this time there was no second guessing the truth of it.
"No!" Remus gasped, willing it not to be true.
His legs gave out and he collapsed into the chair Dora had been using prior to Harry's arrival. He hardly heard another word as the ramifications of the news set in. They'd lost the only person that Voldemort feared, and Hermione had willingly let it happen. Why? He didn't understand.
He tuned back in just in time to hear Harry explain, "- more Death Eaters arrived – and then Snape – and Snape did it. The Avada Kedavra."
The news sent Remus reeling again. It had been Snape that actually did the deed. Snape. The man Hermione had chosen to so closely befriend. Was that why she'd lied? Was she protecting him? Covering for him? Was he really more important to her than stopping Voldemort? Had everything been a lie – all she'd revealed that happened in the future? Did Voldemort actually defeat them, and she wanted to get in with the winning side the way Peter had?
His grief and fears seemed magnified by the morose sound of the phoenix's lament. Even when it finally ended, he was lost to the doubts surrounding Hermione.
"Snape," McGonagall breathed, collapsing into a chair much as he had. When had she even returned? Not that it really mattered. "We all wondered…but he trusted…always…Snape…I can't believe it…."
Hearing her regret over being wrong about Snape enraged him. They'd all been so naive. And he was through giving people the benefit of the doubt. He was through having it come back to bite him in the arse.
"Snape was a highly accomplished Occlumens. We always knew that," he growled, bitterness making his statement dark and unyielding.
"But Dumbledore swore he was on our side! I always thought Dumbledore must know something about Snape that we didn't…." Tonks gasped, giving Remus a pointed look.
Hermione. She'd believed Dumbledore based his belief in Snape off Hermione's word. If that was true, then she'd fooled everyone – including Dumbledore.
"He always hinted that he had an ironclad reason for trusting Snape. I mean…with Snape's history…." McGonagall told the room.
Damn his history! They knew what he was. Remus could easily call up a dozen instances off the top of his head where Snape used the Dark Arts in school. He should have been expelled his seventh year when he fully immersed himself in it.
Except Snape had a free pass because Remus had almost killed him in their fifth year. Because he was a bloody werewolf. If he wasn't, Snape wouldn't have even graduated, let alone come back to teach. He'd never have been in a position to gain so much trust from Dumbledore. To worm his way into their innermost circle.
Damn Dumbledore and his insistence in seeing the best in people!
"- of course people were bound to wonder…but Dumbledore told me explicitly that Snape's repentance was absolutely genuine… Wouldn't hear a word against him!" McGonagall murmured, emotion getting the better of her as tears thickened her voice and made themselves visible in the middle of her speech.
"I'd love to know what Snape told him to convince him," Dora wondered, echoing Remus's line of thinking. He couldn't imagine what tale the man had spun to gain his second chance. It must have been something remarkable to have been able to get so close to Dumbledore afterwards.
"I know. Snape passed Voldemort the information that made Voldemort hunt down my mum and dad," Harry announced, shocking Remus. He'd never know that Snape was responsible for the death of his friend, and in a way, Sirius's incarceration. Hatred for his old childhood rival had been simmering low in his gut, but at the latest revelation it boiled over, scalding him and leaving blistering, festering wounds in its wake. "Then Snape told Dumbledore he hadn't realized what he was doing, he was really sorry he'd done it, sorry that they were dead," Harry finished explaining.
"And Dumbledore believed that? Dumbledore believed Snape was sorry James was dead? Snape hated James…," Remus reminded everyone incredulously.
How had the man in question forgotten that? The rivalry between James and Snape was burned into his mind. As constant as the sun rising in the East and setting in the west. As universal as the law of gravity – what goes up must come down. It was frankly impossible that Snape was sorry over James's death.
"And he didn't think my mother was worth a damn either, because she was Muggle-born…. 'Mudblood,' he called her…," Harry added.
It was true. Snape had called Lily a Mudblood. Remus remembered. It was part of why he'd been afraid of Hermione trying to befriend the man. He'd not trusted him. But Snape had seemed to prove him wrong over the last year, and he'd slowly stopped worrying. Was that how he'd fooled Dumbledore? Years of false remorse and camaraderie?
At least Dumbledore had an excuse. He was trying to give Snape a second chance – a trait he was famous for. What was Hermione's reasoning?
She knew. She knew what he'd do. What he was. And still she'd befriended him. When Remus was dying she'd gone to him for help. It didn't make any sense.
"This is my fault. My fault," McGonagall repeated, wringing her tear-soaked, tartan-edged handkerchief. "I sent Filius to fetch Snape tonight, I actually sent for him to come and help us! If I hadn't alerted Snape to what was going on, he might never have joined forces with the Death Eaters. I don't think he knew they were there before Filius told him, I don't think he knew they were coming."
"It isn't your fault, Minerva. We all wanted more help, we were glad to think Snape was on his way…," Remus said adamantly, provoking the rest of the group into sharing the events of the night as happened to them.
Slowly, a full picture of the night's events emerged. Draco had let the Death Eaters in, and they had met Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower while Harry had been frozen. Snape had killed Dumbledore, then the Death Eaters had feld. Remus chimed in as needed, but overall, it was a fairly straightforward series of events, despite how chaotic it had seemed at the time.
Not long after Harry concluded the tale, a whirlwind arrived in the form of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley with Fleur just behind them looking like she'd seen a bit of action herself with her sheet of silvery hair more rumpled than usual. He and Dora only barely got out of the way before Bill's parents swooped in.
Immediately, Molly began fretting over Bill and getting herself all worked up.
"This is not going to go well," Dora warned when Molly appeared to deliberately shift her larger frame to prevent Fleur from approaching her son.
"No," Remus agreed, though he was more worried about how the stunning witch would react to Bill.
When she turned her large, sapphire eyes on him, silently beseeching him for an update, he carefully said, "He will not be like me, but he will have some lingering effects." Then louder to answer the question that had been possed, he said, "There will probably be some contamination, Arthur."
"But he will live. Zat is such a relief," Fleur sighed, going up on her toes to see him over Molly's shoulder.
"You're all right with that?" he gasped, the question popping out unbidden while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were updated on the situation.
"Of course!" Fleur huffed before loftily explaining, "If Hermione still loves you despite being a full werewolf, why should I not still love Bill when he is only part?"
Deciding not to push her further, he whispered, "You look to have been in a bit of a scuffle yourself."
Lowering her voice as well, she replied, "I 'ave…with 'Ermione. She is fine. I left 'er with ze twins, but she was heading 'ome soon."
Hermione. They needed to talk. Soon as possible. Or did it still matter? He wasn't sure there was anything worth salvaging at this point. Not if she really wasn't on their side.
"What happened?" Dora asked, leaning in to hear what Fleur had to say. Probably, she was worried about George since he'd likely been involved.
"One of ze giants attacked a group of goblins. 'Ermione theenks it was ordered as a distraction to get ze Order out of 'Ogwarts. Luckily we were available. She even managed to garner enough good will zat zey agreed to 'er –"
"Of course, it doesn't matter how he looks…. It's not r-really important…but he was a very handsome little b-boy…always very handsome…and he was g-going to be married!" Molly wailed dramatically.
Hearing yet another person refer to Bill's altered state as though it was some unspeakable horror pulled the floor out from under Remus, making him sink further into the pit of depression already drowning him. He'd never thought Molly felt that way.
Instantly, he was second-guessing how everyone really saw him. Was he really less than human? A creature to be pitied? Did they all secretly despise him for what he was?
"Oh! Zat woman. I swear she will be ze death of me!" Fleur hissed, then louder, her accent deepening in proportion to her anger, she demanded, "And what do you mean by zat? What do you mean, ''e was going to be married?'"
"This is the last thing Bill needs to wake up to," Remus muttered to Dora.
"Agreed," she breathed.
"Well – only that –" Molly stuttered, looking shaken to have been called out. No one ever dared. They just let her voice her thoughts, even when she was shoving them down someone's throat hard enough to make them choke.
"You theenk Bill will not wish to marry me anymore? You theenk, because of these bites, he will not love me?" Fleur demanded, puffing out her chest and making sparks flash off the facets of her gem-like eyes.
"No, that's not what I –"
"Because 'e will! It would take more zan a werewolf to stop Bill loving me!" Remus jerked back, only barely dodging the whip of Fleur's luminous hair as she tossed it over her shoulder.
"Maybe a distraction? Before this gets worse," Dora suggested, face scrunching. Then with a half shrug she requested, "Play along, yeah?"
"What do you mean 'play along'?" Remus hissed, only half paying attention. Watching Fleur defend her relationship with Bill so passionately reminded him of Hermione like so much else had that night. What he wouldn't give to just walk out right now and find her.
"Well, yes, I'm sure, but I thought perhaps – given how – how he –"
"You thought I would not weesh to marry him? Or per'aps, you hoped? What do I care how he looks? I am good-looking enough for both of us, I theenk! All these scars show is zat my husband is brave! And I shall do zat!" Fleur declared, taking the foul-smelling medication from Mrs. Weasley so that she could be the one to take care of Bill.
"You see! She still wants to marry him, even though he's been bitten!" Tonks began, giving him a look that clearly meant 'play along or else'. "She doesn't care!"
Oh. Suddenly he understood, but wished he didn't. Because the Weasleys, and the rest of the Order – thanks to Molly's big mouth – all believed Tonks was in love with Remus, but that he was resisting it. Wonderful.
And of course she had to start with the werewolf bit when it was already weighing on his mind and making him doubt himself. Was that part of why Hermione had lied to him? Did she not trust him fully because of his condition?
It wouldn't be the first time that had happened to him. James and Sirius had lied to him about Peter being the secret keeper because they hadn't fully trusted the werewolf – despite a decade-long friendship.
"It's different," Remus tried, wishing the ground really would open up and swallow him. Given the state of his real relationship, he didn't have the energy to play at a false one too. Perhaps a reminder of Bill's good fortune would redirect the conversation. "Bill will not be a full werewolf. The cases are completely –"
Dora's brow wrinkled, and he caught a flash of sadness in her eyes as she recognized the sincerity in his argument. He shifted uncomfortably. "But I don't care either, I don't care! I've told you a million times…."
"And I've told you a million times, that I am too old for you, too poor…too dangerous…," he insisted, voicing every doubt and insecurity he'd had with Hermione, and some of the reasons he'd given for not wanting Teddy, because that was an argument they'd had several times before, so the material was an easy source to draw from for this show they were putting on.
His arguments felt all the more sincere after seeing how people that supposedly accepted him really felt about his curse.
Dora was eyeing him speculatively, as if sensing something more than Dumbledore's death and a reluctance to be used to help defuse Molly and Fleur's spat was going on. He really shouldn't be surprised that she was so adept at reading people. She was an Auror, and that was a large part of the job.
"I've said all along you're taking a ridiculous line on this, Remus," Mrs. Weasley said, weighing in on the conversation. Lovely.
At least they'd succeeded in distracting her, for the woman was now patting Fleur approvingly on the shoulder. Guess the part-veela didn't seem so bad as compared to him.
"I am not being ridiculous. Tonks deserves someone young and whole," he said, shooting Dora a look that silently added, 'like your son'. She suppressed a grin, easily catching his mental message.
He couldn't wait to hear what George thought about all this. For the life of him, Remus hadn't understood why George was so content to go on letting his parents believe there was something going on between Remus and Dora when he was the one actually involved with the witch. But after seeing how Molly treated Fleur firsthand, it made a great deal more sense.
Probably, it was what motivated Fred to keep his developing relationship with Angelina secret as well. The twins certainly knew how to handle their overbearing mother. Better than he did, at any rate.
"But she wants you. And after all, Remus, young and whole men do not necessarily remain so," Mr. Weasley put in, waving his hand over his son's unconscious form.
"This is…not the time to discuss it," he tried, knowing this conversation had already served its purpose and wishing to be done with being made a spectacle of. "Dumbledore is dead…," he reminded the room.
"Dumbledore would have been happier than anybody to think that there was a little more love in the world," McGonagall said crisply.
If only it was that straightforward and simple.
Remus was saved from replying by Hagrid's timely arrival.
After Harry and McGonagall departed, Dora and Remus joined Ron and Hermione, leaving Fleur, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to decide who got to take care of Bill.
"Do you think they're planning to send us all home early?" Hermione asked, frowning.
"They probably are discussing closing the school," Remus confirmed, guessing that was why McGonagall had needed the Heads of Houses.
"Wait, closing Hogwarts? But – but they can't just close the school. Not permanently. Can they?" Ron asked incredulously.
"It's a distinct possibility, and given what's happened, I'm sure a number of parents will be clamoring for it to happen," Remus said wearily. Fear was taking root, much as it had during the first war, except now they didn't have Dumbledore to rally around as a symbol of hope. Rather, it was now a responsibility that Harry was going to have to shoulder.
"But…." Ron stuttered, looking from one person to another as though expecting them to deny Remus's assumption.
"Hogwarts is supposed to be safe. Tonight proved that that is no longer the case. People will want to keep their children close, to know what is happening to them," he explained.
"They don't really think they can do a better job on their own, do they? Death Eaters will just go around picking families off one by one if we separate," Ron said bluntly.
"You're probably right," Remus allowed, surprised at how insightful Ron sounded just then. He had a good mind for strategy.
"The Order has plans in place to prevent that, don't they?" Hermione asked fretfully, voice trembling slightly as she failed to hide her fear.
When Remus didn't answer her, not knowing how to speak to any version of his fiancee just then, Dora regretfully explained, "There aren't enough of us, Hermione."
"Can we go? I want to meet up with Harry," Ginny said impatiently, ready to be done worrying over what they couldn't change. Probably, she wanted to know what was being discussed without them. She was such a curious thing.
"I don't see why not," he allowed, watching them hurry out.
Fleur and the Weasley parents were still distracted, and at some point Luna had laid her head in her arms on Neville's cot and was sleeping peacefully.
"Remus, earlier… what was happening that I didn't know about?"
"I'm not entirely certain. I need to get home. Fleur said Hermione was in a fight," he said dully. "But I will need to talk to you soon about a few things." The time for secrets was over.
"Yeah, all right," Dora allowed.
Remus was halfway to the door before he stopped. Not turning around, he simply said, "She knew."
"You lost me. Who knew what?" Dora asked.
"Hermione knew Snape would betray us," he glanced back over his shoulder in time to catch Dora's shocked expression before the other witch masked it. "She knew and didn't say a word. She knew he would kill Albus," Remus reiterated, as though his meaning hadn't been perfectly clear from the beginning.
"Remus, you need to give her a chance to explain," Dora insisted emphatically. "She's in a difficult position."
"That's always the excuse, isn't it?" he breathed, feeling his shoulders slump.
"As far as excuses go, her's is a fairly compelling one," she said sympathetically.
"Yet I feel betrayed all the same," he admitted quietly, and left before Dora could defend Hermione anymore. He wanted to hear the truth from the witch in question directly. He needed answers.
He'd almost made it to the double doors in the entrance hall when he heard the click of heels approaching from behind him, then, "Remus? A moment, if you please."
"Of course," he agreed, forcing himself to exhibit a small measure of patience as he waited for McGonagall to catch up to him.
"We've decided to hold Albus's funeral here on Saturday. People will be arriving from all over, and I'd like you to be here as an extra safety precaution until all of the students leave. To help look after Harry," she explained, wringing her hands. The pinched look about her face made her look far older than her years, and if he had to guess, he probably looked much the same just then. "He listens to you more than anyone else."
Remus didn't know how true that was, given the predicaments Harry still managed to find himself in, but he could at least try to help him. For Sirius's sake if nothing else.
"I will certainly do my best to try."
"It's better than nothing. Maybe he'll even tell you where they went tonight. He's too young not to have us helping," she said anxiously.
Ah. She wished for Remus to be Harry's confidant. To spy on him for her.
He didn't bother telling her it wouldn't work. The only people Harry truly trusted were Ron and Hermione.
Hermione.
"I need to run home and gather a few belongings, but I'll return shortly."
"Good. Very good," she said, waving her wand at the wall to repair the broken Gryffindor hourglass. Scattered rubies soared through the air to return to their rightful place.
"Minerva, how are you holding up?" Remus asked, noting how flustered she looked and the still wet handkerchief balled in her fist.
"I never imagined this school without him. And now…" she paused to shake head, "with everything going on. I don't know how we will manage."
"We will all be here to help you with whatever you require," Remus assured her, gently clasping her shoulder. McGonagall's hand came up to pat his briskly.
"Yes, well, you best hurry along," she said tightly, straining to hold back her renewed tears.
Lupin Cabin
Hermione was in the living room sobbing when he arrived. So she already knew what had happened. Because it happened in her time, or because someone told her?
As soon as she noticed him, she stood. There was evidence of the fight Fleur had mentioned all over her. A tear rent the sleeve of her robe in half, leaving the pieces in two dangling strips that fluttered as she moved like curtains caught in a summer breeze. Grass stains marked her knees, and her hair was a wild mess of frizzy curls with what looked like a twig sticking out the side. Her face was red and blotchy from her crying jag, but there were smudges of dirt too that resembled bruises.
Neither spoke. Yet the silence was deafening.
Angrily, he waited, mentally willing her to explain. But the longer he waited, the more guilty she looked, and the more furious he felt.
"You don't know everything," she finally said, wincing at her own words as the sound of them tore the air in two.
It hadn't been at all what he'd expected her to say. He shook his head, denying what it meant for as long as possible. It was confirmation of all of his worst fears.
"You're defending him?" he asked hoarsely, the serrated words lodging in his throat and needing to be forced out past the lump of broken glass.
"It's complicated," she said, shrugging helplessly.
She looked so small just then. Little more than the girl he'd seen in the hospital wing with her friends. Yet she was barely recognizable. The girl was fierce in her defense of her friends, and adamant about doing what was right – no matter how difficult or what opposition she faced. But the woman didn't look like she had any fight left in her. She looked – she looked like he had right after the first war.
"You understand?" she asked, brow wrinkling when he said nothing.
Understand? How could he possibly understand when she wasn't explaining anything? How could he possibly understand her friend killing Dumbledore in cold blood?
Abruptly, Remus exploded, shouting, "He's a murderer. And you let him!"
"I did," she agreed, shocking him so thoroughly that he physically retreated several steps.
"Did you even try to stop it from happening?" he asked, mentally begging her to help him understand. To find a way to justify things so that he could forgive her. Begging her to give him anything to make this whole mess better. Anything. "Was that what your friendship was about? Did you think you could change him by being nice?"
Hermione shook her head, watching him almost piteously. "Remus, he's a good –"
"Tell me you aren't that naive," he demanded, whirling about to punch the front door, desperate for a physical outlet for all the building emotions bubbling and churning within him.
With a grunt, he flexed his fingers, absently noting that he'd split three of his knuckles. And all for the sake of an instant of unbridled relief.
He let the warm blood trace a path down his fingers to drip onto the floor, ignoring the mess.
"Why should I tell you anything when it's obvious you've already made up your mind and drawn your own conclusions?" Hermione asked mutinously, disapproval over his outburst clear in every line of her body.
"What else am I supposed to do when you're standing there defending the man that killed Dumbledore? What chance do we have without him? I thought you were loyal to him. To Harry."
"Don't you dare question what I would or wouldn't do for Harry. You have no idea what I've been through for him," she said shrilly, pain and ferocity woven through the heavy statement. As mad as he was at her, at least this was a glimpse of his Hermione and not the defeated shell he'd first arrived home to. "No bloody clue at all, or you'd never suggest what you are."
"Because you've never told me!" Remus yelled, gripping his hair and tugging, needing the pain to focus his anger. Moony was throwing himself at the barrier Remus mentally erected to cage the beast, every bit as agitated as Remus. It was making it damn hard to remain rational.
"You know why I haven't. You agreed that it was too dangerous. Crikey, it was your choice!"
Silence descended again. They were both fuming. Both feeling equally justified in their reactions.
An impasse. They were at an impasse.
Eventually, weariness weighing him down, Remus muttered, "I can't wait until there are no more secrets between us."
Sensing he was trying to build a bridge to meet her where she was, Hermione asked, "What do you want me to do? How can I make this better?"
He wasn't sure it was possible. Every person in his life had betrayed him. His parents. His friends. Now Hermione. And she wasn't denying it at all.
What was wrong with him that this kept happening?
Finally, Remus suggested, "Promise me you will stay away from him. From Snape. He's dangerous. Unpredictable. And as he's clearly demonstrated tonight, untrustworthy."
Pain flashed in her eyes before she dropped her head to stare at the ground. Hurt swamped him as the meaning behind her actions registered with him.
"I can't promise you that," she said quietly, not meeting his accusing gaze. "The events of this next year… I won't stay away from him."
She was choosing Snape over him. The man that she'd allowed to kill the best hope they had over the one she'd agreed to marry. It made no sense.
If she'd just promised, maybe he could have found a way to justify her actions. To chalk them up as a mistake.
Except she wasn't. She refused.
His heart gave a wrench, an invisible hand clenched tightly about the fragile organ, abusing it to the point of breaking. How could she not see how much it meant to him for her to make this one concession after everything else? He understood that she knew more, but he was so afraid that something would happen to her.
Happen to her…
Would she even be around much longer?
"Was he telling the truth?" Remus asked suddenly. AHer head shot up, confusion written across every line that puckered her forehead. He laughed bitterly. "Why am I even asking? I'm not even sure he's capable of it. Once a spy, always a spy. They live for deceit. And apparently, so do you."
Comprehension dawned on her face, shining bright as the sun on a cloudless day, and he knew that Snape had been telling him the absolute truth – for once in his life.
"I was going to tell you," Hermione began, gesturing beseechingly for him to understand. Weakly, she explained, "There just hasn't been a good time."
"So you thought waiting until after you vanished and I forgot you existed was the solution?" Remus asked incredulously. Hadn't she or Dora once mentioned that Teddy was conceived in early July? As in next week?
"No. But I didn't expect you to react this strongly to Albus's death," Hermione said primly, pursing her lips.
"You mean his murder, which you were complicit in. How can you expect me to trust you after that?"
"We can't keep having this same argument," she insisted, rubbing her face.
"No, it's not good for either of us," he agreed.
"Either you're willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, or you aren't. Someday it'll all make sense. I promise. That needs to be enough for now."
Someday they'd stop having only half of a relationship.
That was it then. There was nothing left to say that wouldn't lead them in circles, and they'd been round and round enough for one day.
"I'm staying at Hogwarts until after the funeral. Minerva asked for my help looking after Harry. I'll be back after seeing him to his aunt's on Sunday," he said shortly, knowing they each needed a bit of space to sort out their feelings on these new developments.
Because frankly, he didn't know what he wanted to do about her requiring Teddy to end up in his life. Or if he even still wanted her to be a part of his life. Not to mention he'd have to discuss the matter with Dora since it impacted her life equally as much.
Wonderful. They'd finally put the matter to bed and were in a good place, and now he'd have to stir it all up again. If that was the right move. If…
Was it?
Could he trust Hermione, or would she turn out to be another Peter?
"Your potion will be ready next week. Should I owl it?"
"Yes, thank you." His reply had been barely audible, so thick was the swell of emotion at the news. Even now, she cared enough to make sure that he didn't have to suffer during the next full moon as he had so many times the last two years when he'd been residing with the packs. It gave him a brief glimmer of hope that they would get past what was currently happening.
As suddenly as it gleamed, Hermione blotted out the bright spot.
Carefully, knowing the information would be suspect just then, Hermione sighed and dove in anyways, saying, "There's going to be a mass breakout from Azkaban on Monday."
"Did he warn you about that?"
"Does it really matter how I know?" she asked softly, knowing he'd take the threat seriously regardless. Too much was at stake not to.
"I'll pass the information onto Mad-Eye," he agreed.
He opened his mouth to say more, but no words came, and she made no move to help him find them. A new, impenetrable barrier had formed between them, and he didn't know how to go about disassembling it or if he even should.
Remus waited, nearly hoping for a sign from her, but she said nothing to stop him when he finally gave up and left.