She wasn't sure how she ended up back at Grimmauld Place. Dessert was uncomfortably silent. Molly didn't question it - possibly due to every time someone said Hermione's name, George shot off a spell or gave the person giggle fits with a hex. It was clear, no one was going to ask about the CPR and kiss.

Hermione paced her old room and rubbed her unruly stomach. She was stuck in a house, with the animagus who fathered her child and the werewolf that caused it. Not only that, Remus's sense of smell was acute. Ballocks, how was she going to fix this spell and avoid talking about it?

The small bump under her shirt. It was this beautifully terrible thing. All the things she wanted to hide, she wouldn't be able to do. Her union of an unconventional sort. Her desire to continue such unusual situations. Even the prospect of it being common knowledge after she announced her new gift. It was a scary sort of new — no control over any of the future controversy.

The marauders. How was she going to admit it to them? Confess that she wasn't as brilliant or as prepared as Remus was assured she was. Maybe there was a piece of her that was reckless? She was so concerned about running away. Now she had to stare it in the face and see it for what it was - she loved them both. What a gritty web she wove herself and now her new legacy.

There was a knock at her door and a voice bound into the silence. "Hermione, darling, come have some tea? I'm feeling a bit under the weather," Remus murmured.

Hermione rushed to the door and scowled as she saw the werewolf with a shawl around his shoulders. He was bent and sniffling as he held a tray. "Remus, are you alright?"

He nodded and snorted, but the miserable sound that followed made him grimace. "I must have caught something."

The witch reached over and touched his forehead. He was warmer than usual. "Oh, Remus, you're ill. Let's get you into bed."

Lucky her. That gave her a relief to her anxiety as she took the tray. "It's alright, I'll manage," he huffed and pulled out a handkerchief.

"Come along. Let's get you up the stairs. I don't like your color."

"I don't want to burden you," he groaned.

"You silly man, it's never a burden."

Hermione strolled up the staircase with the tea tray, and the werewolf followed.

"You're so wonderful to Sirius and me. I don't know how we would ever repay you."

She laughed while shaking her head. "There's no payment needed. I care for you both."

They reached his room, and Remus sneezed. "My apologies," he grunted.

Both were silent as she set down the tray and assisted getting the werewolf in bed. Hermione retrieved a cold cloth and blotted his face. It was a wordless duty as he watched her and closed his eyes while she doted on him.

Sirius entered the bedroom and seemed just as worse for wear. Soon the witch was taking care of both the marauders. A troubling thought occurred to her - if they were ill from the spell, what did she do wrong?

"You know, love," Sirius grumbled as he took her free hand. "We love you."

"You're only saying that because your sick as a dog, Sirius," she teased and caressed his cheek.

"He's right," Remus sniffled. "We love you."

"How about I go make you some soup?" She asked while stroking Sirius's hair.

Sirius huffed and pulled her gingerly to the bed. "Just come lay with us?"

Hermione exhaled and rested on the large mattress between them. She wasn't expecting them both to snuggle close to her under the blankets. "I can't lay here all night, I'm not going to sleep in jeans," she said.

The animagus chuckled and helped her unbutton her trousers. Soon they were yanked from her legs and tossed out of bed. "There, you don't have them any longer," Sirius murmured.

"Someone must take care of you both. I need to make you some," Hermione couldn't finish.

Sirius pressed his fingers to her mouth as he sat up. "You need to stop worrying about what we need and just be here with us."

She couldn't argue. He tugged her t-shirt from her, leaving her in her knickers. Now, she wasn't positive he was aware of her small change, but Sirius caressed her stomach as he kissed her cheek. That thought was put on hold as Remus sneezed, cleaned his nose, and moved closer to her. Both marauders had a hand over her stomach now, and she gulped but closed her eyes.

"You had quite a bit of that cake, love," Sirius snickered as his thumb ran just under her navel.

"You're going to get me sick, Pads," Hermione laughed.

Remus rested his bearded chin on her shoulder and chuckled. "No, never. He's a good dog."

"Can I ask you both a question?" Hermione inquired.

"Of course, love. You can sleep with us every night," Sirius murmured.

"No, not that one," Hermione sighed.

Remus hummed and drew circles on her stomach. "You can decorate the bedroom."

Hermione exhaled and pinched her brows. "Not that one either."

"Then what is it? Come the fuck on," Sirius snickered.

"Pads, language," Remus laughed.

Hermione gazed up at the ceiling and breathed. "Why are you both being like this? I'm nothing more than the catalyst to a bad piece of magic."

"I don't know how many times we have to tell you before you hear it. We love you and want you to stay. Like this, with us, for however long you give us," Remus said.

She jerked and sat up, causing both the marauders to follow suit. "This isn't normal," she spat.

"It's our normal. Why does it have to fit in a box?" Sirius questioned.

"When? How? Why?" Her stream of questions was more frantic.

"Why is it so bloody hard for her to understand we love her?" Sirius asked as he glanced over at Remus.

The werewolf shrugged and yawned. "She's always been stubborn. A trait we so happen to share."

"But it's not. I can't just be your third wheel for the rest of my life," Hermione murmured.

"You haven't. You're the spokes, love. We don't work without you. We can still roll, but we've been damaged and misshapen along the way without you," Sirius explained and took her hand.

Hermione glared at them both, shifting her view to each of the marauders. "You're not sick anymore."

"No, we're not. Must be your warmth," Sirius teased as he tugged the witch back to the mattress.

"I just don't understand. How did that happen?" Hermione huffed as they returned to her body.

Remus took her hand and traced her fingers with his own. "Well, it's simple, really. You're this masterful witch who loves far deeper than we both experienced. You trust us, care for us, and love us. It's quite simple when you break it down."

"No, qualms?" Hermione asked.

"We had our own issues about it. However, we have sifted through many of them while you were gone. It comes down to how much we need you and how much you need us," Sirius declared as he cuddled closer to her. "No shagging, just the basics, love."

"But," Hermione was halted.

Remus kissed her and groaned into her mouth. It was fire. She felt like a river was forming already, and all he did was kiss her. The werewolf touched her chest through her bra, which caused her to shudder and pull from his attack. "Don't, they're tender," she murmured.

Remus didn't ask, he just nodded and kissed her with a gentler texture. A hand touched her through her knickers, and she exploded. There was an urgent whimpering that left Hermione's throat, and Sirius didn't have to touch her long before she quivered and cried. It was so shocking at the sudden peak that she squeaked and arched.

"Well, that's new," Sirius snickered as the werewolf pulled from her.

Hermione panted and squirmed. "I, that, well it never happened to me before," she sighed.

"How about instead of analyzing it, we get some sleep? Did you need us to find you something more comfortable to wear?" Remus asked as he stroked her hair.

Hermione nodded. She didn't trust her voice after the surprising flux of her emotions. The werewolf stood up and went to the wardrobe. Sirius cautiously helped the witch from her knickers and sat her up. He unhooked her bra as Remus brought over a t-shirt, a lovely green one.

"There, darling. They won't hurt as much with a softer fabric. We'll make breakfast in the morning," Remus explained.

Hermione shifted into the shirt and exhaled. "You weren't sick, were you?"

"No, we just needed a buffer for you to come to sleep with us," Sirius said.

"Damn George and his chocolates," Hermione said with a laugh.

Remus unbuttoned his shirt and gazed down at the witch. "I know you don't like being fooled, we're sorry."

Hermione exhaled and slumped back into bed. "Well, I'll excuse this, but only because I'm so tired."

"Just get some sleep. You're hard at work, love. A worn body is a disaster," Sirius whispered as he tucked in next to her.

Hermione yawned loudly as the werewolf climbed back into bed. "And earlier?"

"My idea. I thought the only way we could get you home is if you thought we were going to die without you. Which is true, but I think you needed a little coaxing," Sirius confessed.

Hermione snorted and smacked his face lightly. "Don't do it again."

"Never, wouldn't dream of killing Moony again. He's too handsome," Sirius groaned.

She tugged the werewolf closer and sighed. "You're right. But you're in so much trouble when I'm not tired," she mumbled as exhaustion grew heavily upon her.

"We'll take it if you promise to stay," Remus whispered.

"Okay," Hermione sighed, and sleep took her.


Hermione rose from sleep with a massive groan. She did not have it this morning. The word bloated and miserable came to mind as she shifted in bed, realizing her companions weren't there. Opening her eyes, she saw that the room was empty, but a pair of her pajamas rested at the foot of the bed.

The witch crawled over and retrieved the clothing before climbing out of the blankets. There was a knock just as she pulled on her pants and huffed. "Come in."

"Good morning, we have a full day planned so here's some tea," Remus announced as he marched in with a teacup.

Hermione grabbed at it with greed only to scowl at the contents. This wasn't usual tea. "What is it?"

"It's for your stomach. Sirius said it was uneven yesterday. I drink this after the full moon. Ginger," he remarked with a smile and touched her cheek.

Hermione sipped it with a grimace but soon the wave of nausea simmered. "Thank you, Remus."

"Harry and Ginny just got here. They're talking to Sirius now," Remus declared.

The scowl on Hermione's face only grew. "Why did they come here? I was supposed to meet them at their house for breakfast."

The werewolf exhaled and shook his head. "Hermione, we don't hide secrets well, you and I. Let's at least attempt to be honest."

"Remus, what are you talking about?"

"Hermione, you can't hide it forever. Now, let's let your friends help with the hard bit," Remus murmured and parted from her space.

"But, Remus," she tried again as she reached for his hand.

"Not talking about it won't make it any easier when you can't hide it anymore. I'm sorry we weren't safer about it," Remus mumbled as the color rose to his cheeks.

Hermione nearly dropped the half-full teacup. She was ignorant of how much the werewolf knew. "How did you know?"

"Well, hiding with an infant to cloud a very maternal scent would about do it," Remus said as he took the cup from her. "But it doesn't disguise it fully. I knew yesterday. Now, we're going to go down the staircase, tell the Potters what happened and give you a chance to have support. No more crying in bathrooms and certainly no more debating on doing this alone. If you still want us at a distance, you'll have to make a stunning proposition for Sirius to help you with the baby."

She wabbled on her feet, and the werewolf assisted her to the bed. "Remus, this is so wrong," Hermione whimpered.

He ducked down to her eye-level and pursed his lips. "I'm sorry we weren't careful with your body. I promise that we won't disrespect it again. If you are going to be angry with anyone, please, be angry with me. Sirius has a tender heart, and he's new to all of this."

She took his empty hand in hers as a tear skated down her cheek. "I'm not angry. I feel I disappointed you both. I shouldn't want this baby."

"Why not? You want to be a mother," Remus said.

"But I feel I took advantage," she sighed.

The werewolf set the cup down and laughed. "You took advantage? Hermione, we are batty about you. Sonnet writing, love potion making, absolutely gone for you. If you want this, we want to help you. If you don't, we want you happy. This isn't a game or a trick from a spell. It just opened our eyes to how insane we'd have to be not to love you. You gave us every piece of you that you possibly could in order to save us. If we didn't adore you before, we sure as hell do now."

"And you want this too? A baby changes things, Remus," Hermione said while wiping tears from her cheeks.

He touched her cheek and ran his thumb over her cheekbone. "If you want it, it shall be our journey together — all of us. If you think I'm leaving Sirius to raise a child alone, you're raving mad," Remus teased.

Hermione laughed and exhaled. "Yes, that would be quite counter-intuitive."

"Will you come live with us? Let us take care of you and the baby? Rub your feet when they get sore because they will. Wash your hair when you feel grimy and tired. Will you let us love you, Hermione?"

Hermione rocked her head as her lips curled. "If you wish."

Remus groaned. "More than anything." He didn't wait for more words. He kissed her while cupping her cheeks.

It was gorgeous and relieving. That was it - the truth was out, and he still wanted her to stay. As far as luck, she had her fair share. The next trial would be to get the rest of her world on board… including her best friend and his wife.