Whispered Confessions

A/N:  I'm so, SO sorry this took so long – my computer crashed and I lost the chapter that I had.  This is very short, (I apologize once again) but I thought I should go ahead and post what I had.  If I did not e-mail you with the update, and you would like to keep notified of this story, please leave your e-mail address along with any constructive criticism you have.  (Flames will be used to heat the fire of Remus' Wolfsbane Potion.) 

There was a long moment of silence.  Hermione broke his gaze and became suddenly interested in Professor Lupin's shoes. 

            Black shoes, she thought.  Black shoes with black trousers and a brown shirt.  Interesting…  I'd have thought he'd wear brown with that. 

            As she studied his feet, she found they were a nice size.  About a nine and a half, she figured.*  Not big and bulky , but not small either…and you know what they say about the size of a man's feet.  She suddenly blinked and boarded herself off of this train of thought.

            She forced herself to look up and she found with some surprise that he had been watching her as if his gaze had never left her.

            Their eyes met and Remus placed his hands in his pockets.  "Are you alright, Hermione?" he asked softly.

            She stared into his clear, greying amber eyes for a long while.  Pretty eyes…he has pretty eyes, she observed sadly even as her own welled up with tears.  "Why did you leave?" she whispered. 

            Remus opened his mouth and began answering automatically when she cut him off, her voice drowning his out.  "Why did you leave and didn't even let me…or Harry, or Ron…know where you went or what had happened to you?"  She vaguely realized that she was sounding hysterical, but it didn't seem to matter at the moment.   Nor did it seem to matter that she had stood up while asking him the question and that her fingers were twitching as if ready to shake the answer out of him if need be.      

            He blinked.  "Hermione," he began.  "You were a thirteen year old…my student."  His voice broke and he shook his head.  "I didn't need to be bothering you with the problems of a middle-aged werewolf," he muttered.

            Her hands trembled down at her sides.  "You were more than that to me," her voice sounding as the wind often does when it blows though the leaves of trees.

            Pale amber eyes stared at her.  "Eh…excuse me, I don't think I caught that," he managed to stammer out.

            Kiss him…  rang an annoying little voice in her head. Kiss him and show him…her instincts told her once again.

            I can't!!  She thought angrily.

            Professor Lupin was still looking down expectantly at her.

            "I," she started. 

            He waited patiently for her to finish her sentence, fixing her with his bright and intense gaze.

            She took a deep breath and straightened her posture.  "…I…"

            He started taking a step toward her, a genuine look of concern on his face.

            She shut her eyes.  "I have to go now," she whispered and fled from the common room. 

            Upon reaching the girls' dormitories, she shut the door behind her and leaned back heavily against it.

            She closed her eyes.  "I love you…"

*  A nine and a half shoe size in Britian is equal to a ten in the U.S.  Er…I'm not sure if Canadians use the same shoe size we do or not.