A/N: Hermione lives with Remus in this story.

Hermione smiled to herself as she walked into the woods and saw the sun just above the horizon. The seven-year-old looked around her to see the trees being lit up by the rays of the sun. She then looked at the large book in her hand and grinned before she sat down on a rock. She smelled the book with a look of pleasure on her face. She closed her eyes and giggled softly. Then, after a moment, Hermione opened her eyes and cracked open the book. Dust flew in her face, but Hermione didn't care. She laughed when she read a humorous line in the book and enjoyed the bright summer air.

A few minutes later, Hermione was seven pages into her book when she heard some girls nearby laughing derisively. Hermione didn't care. She wondered why other girls were playing outside this early in the morning. She looked back to look at the home that she shared with her adoptive father, Remus Lupin. He'd taken her in after she ran away from home in fear. Someone she didn't know had come into her home and she'd heard banging and yelling. Remus told her that a werewolf came in and attacked her house. She didn't understand it at first but once she learned that he was a werewolf himself, she understood

Hermione sighed as she turned the page. She giggled, though, when she read the next funny line in the book. The giggling girls had come closer to her. Hermione's house was in the woods near a small town, but she usually never saw other kids around. She mostly read or talked to Remus and his best friend Sirius Black. Hermione turned the page again when she heard the girls walking up to her.

"Look, it's the weird kid from the woods," a snotty voice said ahead of her. Hermione heard the girls a few nights ago when she was reading outside while waiting on dinner.

Hermione rolled her eyes. She continued to read, ignoring them.

"Yeah, the weird kid that lives in the woods with that deadbeat." The girls taunted her.

Hermione looked up sharply. "What did you say?" Hermione said shrilly as she closed the book.

She saw that there were four girls standing in front of her. One laughed and ripped the book out of Hermione's hands.

"Give that back!" Hermione yelled, her eyes on the book as she avoided looking at the girl who laughed at her. Hermione reached vainly for the book... "Give it back or—"

"Or what?" the girl holding the book said, cutting Hermione off. She then threw the book onto the ground. Hermione growled in frustration and picked it up.

"Leave me alone!" she said, annoyed, turning to make her way back home. In her haste, she wasn't looking where she was going and ran into the taller of the girls. She fell backward onto her bottom still holding onto her book tightly.

"Where are you going? Play with us. Or are you going to cry to your daddy?" the tall girl said with a cruel laugh. Hermione looked up at her. The girl had red hair and brown eyes. She was older than Hermione. She laughed meanly again and looked at the book like she wanted to snatch it again.

"I'm going home because it's breakfast time," Hermione said, annoyed, and got up slowly. She tried to get past the girl, but she grabbed Hermione's arm. She then pulled Hermione away from the house.

"Let me go!" Hermione cried out, dropping the book again.

The girl's laughter filled her ears as she was shoved and pulled father into the woods. The sun rays reached the trees now. Hermione hoped that Remus would come looking for her

Hermione struggled to break free from the bullies as they reached a large treehouse.

"I don't want to play with you!" she yelled, looking around her and trying to figure out where her home was. All she saw were trees.

"Don't want to play? But we are your friends. Now get up there before the sun rises fully," one of them growled, dragging Hermione up the ladder. Once they were up there, Hermione saw the girls pulling sheets over the windows.

Hermione's large brown eyes widened in understanding. "You're—you're vampires!" Hermione cried inching her way towards the ladder. The three girls laughed threateningly, their fangs extending.

"And you live with a werewolf. We're much better monsters than he is. Now, play with us!" they said in unison, lunging for her throat. Hermione screamed and scurried the ladder without breaking eye contact with the three girls. They hissed and tried to follow but the sun was coming up and their skin started to smoke.

"Help! Remus!" Hermione cried as she ran through the woods.

Everywhere she looked were trees, with no path in sight. She didn't know how to get home. The sun was almost at its peak, and she knew the vampires couldn't get her with the sun up. Hermione, however, kept running. Sticks cracked under her shoes as she ran. She could feel the hot sun warming her face.

"Remus!" she called again with tears in her eyes. "Remus! Help!" She was rapidly running out of breath. She finally collapsed against a rock and took deep breaths when she couldn't go any further. She sat down on it with tears in her eyes. Hermione wished she knew why there were vampires in these woods and wondered if Remus knew about it. Why did they want to play with her? Maybe they hated Remus because he was a werewolf?

Hermione took a shuddering breath, wiping the tears from her eyes. She was too tired to yell out for Remus again, so she just sat there on the rock. The sun was high overhead and Hermione just wanted to go home.

"Hermione!? Cub, where are you?" Hermione's head picked up when she heard Remus' voice calling out to her.

"Remus!? I'm over here!" Hermione yelled, trying to stand up, but her legs burned from the running. "I'm over here," she called again with tears in her eyes. A large smile grew on her face when she saw Remus Lupin run up to her. He had her book in one hand and held his cane in the other.

"My cub!" Remus said, limping over to her and handing her the book. Hermione noticed that he still looked tired from the full moon that had passed only two nights ago. "What are you doing out here?" Remus asked as Hermione took the book and held it tightly.

"I—I wanted to read before breakfast and this new book called out to me," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. Remus smiled sadly and then he shook his head.

"Okay, but next time leave a note or—"

"There were these vampire girls that came and laughed at me! They were being mean to me and then they tried to force me to 'play' with them. It was horrible and scary and I don't even want to know what they meant at this point!" she interrupted.

Remus sighed with exasperation and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"I believe you. The woods can be dangerous. That's why I wanted you to tell me if you are going out, alright?" Remus said, taking Hermione's hand.

Hermione nodded and they soon returned to the house. From that moment onward, Hermione didn't go into the woods unless Remus knew about it. Luckily, she never saw the vampires again.

A/N: Hermione goes into the woods to read but things are not what they seem.

House: Hufflepuff

Class: Charms

Standard

Prompts: [Time of Day] Sunrise and [Location] Woods (Small forest)

Word count: 1258