Author's Note

Please forgive any spelling and/or grammar errors. I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think!

PS I'm not J. K. Rowling, so I don't own anything :(

Chapter 2: Planning

July 1997

Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes

Tonks is pregnant.

"Oh," Hermione said breathlessly, feeling like she'd just taken a punch to the solar plexus.

Remus reached out for her, and she instinctively jerked back, staring at his hand as though it were a snake about to bite her.

"Hermione," he gasped, clearly alarmed. "I thought this was what you wanted me to do. For us. And before you said –"

"I did! I do! I just…I guess it's a bit different than I imagined," she said awkwardly. The room began to spin, and she reached blindly for a chair, fumbling with it briefly before she thankfully sunk down into the seat. She wasn't sure how much longer her legs would have supported her.

Tonks is pregnant.

Of course she was. That was the reason Hermione was still in the past. Obviously. How had she not considered it sooner?

"Different…," he murmured, face unusually blank.

"Yes," Hermione confirmed, feeling small and insignificant.

How had she not seen this coming? The question repeated, thundering through her head with the force of a nuclear bomb detonating. She'd been devastated not even two hours earlier when she'd believed all hope of Teddy existing was gone. Now here Remus was telling her differently. She should be thrilled. Over the moon. Ecstatic. And part of her was, certainly. But there was another part of her pointing out that he'd slept with Tonks – while they'd been fighting.

Remus wasn't the type to cheat as a means of revenge. He just wasn't. Nor would he cheat in general. He was far too honorable. Too noble.

Logically, Hermione knew he'd done it for her. To keep her in the past. To keep her with him. It was the only way. But it still hurt in a way that she'd not anticipated when she'd set things in motion.

"What does that even mean?" he blurted, tired of waiting for her to elaborate when it became clear she didn't intend to. More, she was too stunned to form words.

"I…," Hermione said, struggling to search the veritable dictionary she possessed mentally to put her emotions into words. Finally, she settled for saying, "Jealous. I'm jealous."

It wasn't quite right, but it was the closest approximation she could come up with.

Remus frowned, moving to sit across from her. She was grateful not to have to look up at him anymore. The room was still tilting precariously, and it helped her vertigo to be on an even level.

Tentatively, Remus ventured, "You told me you didn't want to have a child."

"I don't," Hermione insisted.

That hadn't changed.

The idea of raising a child while they were fighting a war all the time was completely unappealing. Before, she'd been so focused on her career. Now, well, she was in hiding, and would be for years. Motherhood just wasn't in the cards for her. Particularly not when her partner was a werewolf opposed to taking such a risk.

"But you're jealous," he tried.

"Yes," Hermione admitted, wincing as she said the word. It felt unbelievably unfair of her to feel such a way, but she felt it all the same, and Remus deserved an honest answer from her. "I know it doesn't make any sense."

"It wasn't a romantic interlude," he announced, though he looked distinctly uncomfortable mentioning it.

Hermione's mind went immediately to the night she'd walked in on George and Tonks in the kitchen of WWW. She tried to banish it, but the image stubbornly lingered, playing on a loop where George gradually morphed into Remus.

Where had they been? Surely not either of their homes…or the bed Hermione shared with Remus. Had he enjoyed being with Tonks more than he did her? Was it all a wash for him? He'd told her about all of his meaningless one night stands and flings before her. Was sex just sex? Had he needed the potions she'd made them to even be able to do it?

Merlin, she'd made them the potions to enable the encounter. What had she been thinking?

How had Moony felt about it? Remus had told her about the wolf claiming Hermione just as much as he had. Would Moony have balked at sleeping with another witch? Or had his wolf driven him forward, eager for the resulting child? The primal urge to procreate was coded into their DNA, and an animal would have less will to resist creating a child.

Child.

Teddy.

Teddy existed.

Turquoise hair, emerald eyes, and a gap toothed smile floated behind her eyes. Joy filled Hermione, so much that it temporarily pushed out all of the doubts and insecurities she was experiencing.

Remus was watching her intently, urging her to speak her mind. "I believe you," she whispered, noticing Sirius standing, open mouthed, in the doorway behind Remus.

Hermione recognized the bittersweet expression mingling with a deep-seated concern that their friend wore. Probably, Sirius was torn between the present and the past. A time when his best mate was telling him that Lily was pregnant in the middle of a war, and now it was happening again, only this time it also involved his cousin.

"Which leaves us…where?" Remus asked, waking Sirius from his stupor. The man slowly retreated from sight, leaving Hermione and Remus in relative privacy to finish their discussion.

His question made her swallow thickly. She couldn't begin to catalog everything that was going to change for them. There was simply too much. And both Tonks and George needed to be involved in any decision making – she'd learned that much at least from the justified set down that Fred had given her the year before.

"Hermione?" Remus prompted worriedly.

"I think I should stay here for a spell," she suggested carefully.

They all needed a bit of space to sort out how they felt, and she didn't want to be in the way or make Remus feel guilty if he decided he needed to be closer to Tonks just now. The woman was carrying his child for Merlin's sake!

"Our wedding –"

"Remus, I can't. Not just now," Hermione denied, shaking her head at the very idea of them still getting married in a month. So much had changed. She couldn't just turn her feelings on and off on a knut.

She was shocked he even still wanted to given the recent fights they'd had. Even if they could sort things out, the fights themselves underlined a deeper issue in their relationship. One they were both to blame for. One that needed to be addressed and fixed before any vows were exchanged.

"Have I lost you?" Remus asked sadly. He looked wretched. Positively gutted. So much so that Hermione was tempted to backpedal at once just to spare him any pain that she had inadvertently caused.

"No, but…after this, and my parents–"

"Your parents?" he repeated, forehead crinkling at the sudden introduction of a new topic.

Oh. That's right. She still hadn't told him about that.

"They're dead," she said numbly, forcing the blackhole of despair hovering on the periphery away. "That's why Severus came to see me."

"I didn't know," he said absently, ignoring the reference to Severus in favor of focusing on her. She appreciated his restraint.

"It was very sudden," she allowed.

She'd leaned on Sirius a bit, even if he'd not understood the reason he was comforting her, but she'd probably have handled it all better if she'd let Remus be there for her instead. But if he'd been busy with her, he'd not have been in a position to create Teddy, and Hermione wouldn't even be there anymore.

Everything happened for a reason.

"Hermione…"

"I'm not ready to talk about it, and I spent days crying. Now that I've finally stopped, I'd like to keep it that way for at least a couple days."

"All right," he said, though he looked like he wished to do nothing more than wrap her in his arms and shield her from the world, and the horrors it contained.

"And there are things that will happen shortly that will make you question me again," Hermione added, thinking of Mad-Eye's death and George's disfigurement. She really needed to get on organizing that. They only had a week.

"I still think it's best if I don't know, particularly after what you said about Dumbledore, but will you explain why afterwards?" Remus asked, inching his hand forward across the table. A peace offering, and invitation.

"If you are willing to hear me out, yes," Hermione agreed, reaching out slowly to place her hand on his. It was warm. Familiar. She closed her eyes when he turned his over and interlocked her fingers together, forcing herself to think only of him and them, not the night he'd spent with Tonks. "At least as much as I can without connecting it to later events."

"Deal," he said at once. His hand briefly gripped hers tighter. Hard enough to have her eyes opening to look at him again. Then hesitantly he asked, "Would you mind terribly if I stayed here instead of you?"

"Why?"

"George lives downstairs so…"

"You'll be available for Tonks if she needs anything during her pregnancy," Hermione said, smiling tightly. She wondered if he heard the brittle quality of her voice. She should have realized Tonks would be here with George.

"This is going to take a little bit of figuring out," he said, sighing deeply. Apparently he had noticed.

"That's an understatement," she snorted at the irony, but smiled softly, willing to make the effort. Remus was too important to her not to, and the fact she still felt that way was promising.

"I guess you're right about canceling our wedding. We really don't have any business getting married right now. Not until we can get back on the same page," he said softly, sadness a heavy blanket surrounding them at the way things currently stood between them.

"Not canceling. Just delaying it a bit," she promised, squeezing his hand.

"I'll hold you to that," he said, running his thumb over the inside of her wrist. The contact made shivers run down her spine. "I should be going though. We tracked Lucius Malfoy to his house. We're hoping he comes out soon."

"Be careful. Voldemort is inside," she warned, afraid for him.

"Good to know. I will, and we'll talk again soon?"

"Yes."

Remus paused before exiting, and reluctantly admitted, "There's something else I should warn you of."

"Oh?" Hermione asked, dreading whatever words were going to come out of his mouth. Though they couldn't possibly make things worse than they currently were.

"Molly heard Kingsley and Fred asking me about the wedding," he said uncomfortably, shifting restlessly as he spoke and fidgeting with his hands.

"You told her that you and Tonks eloped," Hermione guessed, assuming this was when that announcement was spread through the Order.

"It seemed the logical explanation, especially given that she's already pregnant. And –"

"I'm not mad, Remus. I already knew everyone believed that," Hermione promised, actually rather relieved that had been all he needed to tell her. She'd imagined something much worse given other recent revelations.

"I love you," he said genuinely, the heartfelt words overflowing with emotion.

"I love you too, Remus," she vowed, meaning it.

They'd get through this latest hurdle. Eventually.

Lupin Cabin

"You're back," Severus murmured, voice coming from a nearly invisible shimmer on her porch.

"Your ability to state the obvious is remarkable," Hermione remarked dryly, making his lips twitch in response as he canceled the charm to materialize before her. "You know he would have still smelled you if I'd been Remus," she pointed out, referencing the ineffectiveness of his Disillusionment Charm.

"You just had to pick an inhuman beast for –," he muttered, but seeing her chiding expression broke off, transitioning to another topic seamlessly. "I tried stopping by with the Polyjuice Potion a couple days ago. I was under the impression that you'd soon be needing it."

"I was staying at Sirius's," Hermione explained, regretting her decision to run away like a coward just because she'd been in shock. Things might have turned out so differently – no, everything happened the way it did for a reason. She had to believe that. For her sanity's sake if nothing else.

"Of course. Another mutt," he grumbled, handing her a large bottle that he pulled from an inner pocket of his dark robes.

"Would you rather I stay with you at Malfoy Manor? We could all have tea with Voldemort," she suggested sarcastically, earning herself a raised brow and huff of surprise at the display of dark humor – even if he did also flinch at her casual use of the name Voldemort.

"I would have feared that'd you'd gone altogether, except…," he said slowly, leaving the sentence for her to fill in the missing pieces.

"Except you remembered me? Yes. Tonks is pregnant," she confirmed tightly, willing herself to feel only joy over the news. It didn't work. Perhaps one day soon it would. The joy was there, certainly, but it was currently overshadowed by everything else that the news meant.

"Another Marauder procreating, and Lupin at that…. How wonderful to see another cub born," Snape sneered, baring his jagged, yellowed teeth as he did.

"It is," she insisted, scowling at him and shoving his shoulder roughly with her free hand.

"I almost believe you," he said meaningfully, catching her fist and squeezing it. The gesture surprised her. He rarely initiated contact between them. Particularly not when it contained an emotional element behind the act.

"I don't wish to discuss it," Hermione replied stiffly, willing herself not to fall apart again. There was too much else that needed to be done.

"Then perhaps we should discuss my favorite subject instead," Severus suggested, glancing about and nodding towards the front door, a clear indication that he wished to take the conversation inside.

"Harry," Hermione confirmed, leading the way in.

The sight of the familiar living room caught her off guard. Faint echoes of quiet laughter and the scratching of a quill on parchment floated in the air. Out of the corner of her eye she expected to find Remus sitting at the desk frantically writing his latest story, but when she turned, his seat was empty and the sounds faded. It was just her there, and the decision to separate had been hers.

Part of her felt like she was unintentionally testing Remus. To see how he reacted to the attack when they moved Harry. She hated that she felt the need to do so, but she wanted to see how he reacted – if it was the same as when Albus died or if they really could communicate better moving forward. She needed him to trust her – not that she'd given him much reason to, but that was going to change from here on out.

"Yes. How will the boy be moved, and what do I need to know?"

Hermione swallowed down the lump in her throat, and compartmentalized everything she was feeling. Now wasn't the time. Severus only had so much time available, and she needed to help him while she could.

"He'll be moved next Saturday night. Someone, Yaxley, I believe, will inform Vol– sorry, You-Know-Who that he won't be moved until just before his birthday. Kingsley and Tonks will make sure that information gets spread around the Auror department," Hermione said brusquely, relaying all that she remembered that was relevant as concisely as possible.

Some of the information Harry had gained by seeing into Voldemort's mind, while the rest she'd learned during Draco and Lucius Malfoy's trials after the war. She'd reviewed the trials only a few months earlier when she'd been searching for some insight into gaining favor with the goblins.

"Have they already started?"

"No. I'm going to meet with Mad-Eye and Kingsley soon to discuss the plan," she said, realizing she still needed to owl them to set that up.

Would they agree to meet with her? Bill didn't seem to blame her, but what about the others? She wasn't as close with them in this time.

"What else?" Severus pressed, knowing this might be his last chance to gain vital information for a while.

Now that his cover was supposedly blown and his "true" loyalties were revealed, he'd have no reason to continue sneaking off or meeting with anyone outside of Voldemort's followers. They'd need to come up with a way to continue meeting in secret once he took over at Hogwarts.

"Harry will be taken to the Burrow. You have to convince them not to attack until after the Ministry has fallen," she warned, hating that the Burrow would get attacked at all, particularly during Bill and Fleur's wedding, but there was nothing for it.

"He succeeds in taking the Ministry then?" Severus asked, lips parting slightly in dismay.

"Yes. He controls the Ministry and Hogwarts," she said softly, forehead pinching as memories assailed her.

Muggle-borns being accused of stealing magic in handcuffs awaiting sham trials. Students with blackened eyes from being tortured in detention and needing the Room of Requirement to hide from the staff and Slytherins. Witches and wizards all over the country in hiding or missing, never to be seen again.

War took a heavy toll on people. Yet, despite knowing that, there were people in the world who only cared about themselves and were willing to drag innocents into one all the same.

Severus sighed wearily, rubbing his brow roughly. He probably had a headache, same as her. "How will they move Potter?"

"The sky – brooms, thestrals, flying motorcycle. I told you before that there will be decoys – to keep Harry as safe as possible. Mundungus will need to be Confunded. He needs to present the idea at the next Order meeting, but think it is his own," she said quickly, leaving out as many of the details as possible since it wasn't essential for him to know. "You-Know-Who can't know about the decoys. Only the rest."

"When is the Order meeting?"

"I'm not sure…I wasn't in the Order the first time," Hermione admitted, wondering if she'd even have the chance to speak with Mad-Eye and Kingsley before they did.

Would it be better if she didn't? Perhaps. They could believe the idea truly did come from Mundungus. It would better explain their reactions at the Burrow afterwards when things went awry. Maybe…

"You're not in it now, in case you've forgotten," he snipped, sounding grouchy and argumentative. Probably, he was looking for a fight. He was still upset over Albus, and didn't have any other outlet.

"It does create additional challenges," she agreed, not rising to his bait.

"Won't they suspect you once it becomes clear that I obviously knew and told the Dark Lord?" Severus asked, pointing out the flaw in not telling them first.

"Probably, but I'm getting used to being distrusted. Hopefully, telling Kingsley and Mad-Eye beforehand will help some," she said, making up her mind to clue them in.

She hated being so indecisive. It wasn't in her nature. Not really. Remus's announcement had thrown her, leaving her on unsteady footing and second-guessing everything.

Severus watched her astutely, likely reading her thoughts as easily as he did a book.

"Playing double agent isn't the romantic adventure the books make it out to be," he suggested sympathetically.

"You read Muggle novels?" she asked, surprised that he'd make such a reference.

"My point," he emphasized, lips thinning at her reaction, "is that it can be more taxing than imagined."

"I promised to help you. I can handle it," Hermione vowed, attempting to reassure him.

"Very well then," he said, inclining his head. "Should I be asked, where should I say I learned of this?"

A pang of guilt knifed through Hermione's heart briefly before she wearily said, "Hagrid."

It would be so very in character for him to accidentally say too much. He was the first they'd suspected at the Burrow, and there was a reason that they had.

"Because he's well known for accidentally spilling information when he over imbibes," Severus said, sneering in disgust at the truth of it as he voiced her thoughts aloud. "And in such a state he may forget that I am no longer his ally."

"Yes," she agreed regretfully.

"Clever," he praised, realizing the plan would work because it was so believable. "Anything else?"

"No. I don't think it wise to say more. Only…only to warn you that the Carrows will be joining you at Hogwarts."

"I'm to have my hand exceptionally full then?"

"I'm afraid you will," Hermione warned sadly. "Remus is staying at the joke shop to be closer to Tonks. You're welcome to come by anytime," she offered, not knowing if he'd be able to get away but wanting him to feel welcome if he did.

"I take it this year will be delightfully challenging then in other ways as well," Severus guessed, the lines on his face deepening noticeably. Already he seemed to have aged years in the days since he'd been forced to kill Albus.

"That's putting it mildly," she warned.

"How annoyingly thoughtful of everyone. Will I have to…?" he began, stopping mid sentence because he knew better than to ask about what was troubling him.

Wishing to alleviate at least one of his concerns, Hermione replied, "You won't have to kill anyone else. Harry, Ron, and my younger self won't be returning to the school."

"Miss Weasley has a target on her back, though," he said cautiously, as though testing her reaction to the news.

"Harry broke up with her…after the funeral," Hermione stated, shaking her head a little.

She'd known Ginny was one of the unofficial leaders of the resistance within the school, but that hadn't started yet. Hermione hadn't guessed that her previous relationship with Harry put her on the Death Eater's radar more than anyone else.

"Do you think the Dark Lord's followers are unaware of his noble streak?" Severus said pointedly. "Or the lengths he'd go to to protect those he loves?"

"You'll look after her?" Hermione requested, worried about her friend, despite believing she'd be fine. At least Ginny would if Hermione didn't accidentally mess up the timeline somehow. Her reasons for being overly cautious seemed all the more pressing in light of those on the line.

"As much as I possibly can," he agreed, though the need for such a precaution left her uneasy.

They were all going to be tested in the coming months. Tested to their breaking point.

Testing. The thought reminded her of Remus and the urge she'd felt earlier. It was wrong of her even to consider when she wasn't giving him a reason to trust her in the first place.

"Severus, I…," Hermione inhaled deeply, bracing herself for his inevitable reaction. "I need to tell Remus why I trust you so much."

Shock lengthened his face instantly. "Things are truly that bad between the two of you?" he questioned.

"I was staying with Sirius. Our wedding is postponed. Another woman is currently carrying his child. I believe it is safe to say that yes, they are indeed, 'that bad'," Hermione intoned with false calm, the words thin and torn as sodden tissue paper.

Tenderness replaced his shock as he took her in. Then, with a brief nod, he said, "If you must."

His acquiescence shouldn't have surprised her. There seemed very little he'd not do for her – including allowing her to share his deepest secret to one of his oldest enemies.

"Thank you," she said, meaning it.

"I should be going if I'm to locate Mundungus tonight," he said abruptly, uncomfortable with her display.

"Yes," she murmured her agreement, allowing him to leave without stopping him again.