Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters, places, etc. associated therein. Everything but the plot of this one story belongs to JK Rowling and publishers. The song 'Evening Fallen', sung by Remus, is the work of Enya.
Chapter: 4/15
The good news is I'm better
For the time we spent together
And the bad news is
You're gone
~Gone, by Diamond Rio
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 4- The Valley of the Shadow
Remus handed Albus Dumbledore a filled tea cup and then joined him at the kitchen table. Albus looked not at him, but at the youth bustling around outside in the garden. "How is she?" Dumbledore asked worriedly.
"Its hard to tell," Remus admitted. "She's only been here for a day and three-quarters, after all. Yesterday she was really withdrawn. But at dinner she received a letter from Harry and I think that did wonders for her. We talked quite a bit last night. She was crying later on, but I s...I managed to get her to sleep. Today she asked if she could have a little garden all her own. I think she is going to be fine. But its going to take a lot of time and patience."
"Naturally," nodded Albus. "She is a strong girl. She'll get through it, especially with your help. You're looking splendid, Remus. Even after such a short time, its easy to see she's working her magic on you."
Remus smiled fondly, his eyes still on Hermione. She was digging in the little plot he had given her, placing each bulb into place with love and care. She had decided on marigolds, carnations and portulacas for the flowers in the plot around the wishing well. She planned to trim back the wildflowers a bit, and put actually water into the well. In her mind's eye, she could see a regular Victorian garden in Remus' back yard.
Dumbledore was right, of course. Even after less than forty-eight hours as Daddy Remus, he could tell he was going to end up loving Hermione more than any other person in the world. Her quiet, loving nature as well as the fact that, unlike most teenagers her age, she could carry on an intelligent conversation and wasn't afraid to challenge adults when they made a mistake. "Yes," he agreed aloud. "She is special. I don't mind admitting that I am glad Molly and the others forced me into bringing her home. If she's all right with it, I might like to officially adopt her after a few months. Maybe on the Christmas hols."
"Have you told her where you'll be working?" inquired Dumbledore. "She might not like it, now that she sees you as her guardian."
"No, no, not yet," shrugged Remus. "There just hasn't been time. She's been outside for most of the morning. I love having her here, but something is still troubling me."
"The full moon," guessed Dumbledore.
Remus nodded. "I thought I would be fine with having her here, if she agreed to stay in her room," he explained. "But, I don't think she will, even if she promises. She told me last night she is determined to stay with me during the transformations. I cannot allow that. But, I don't doubt she would sneak out and come sit with me, after I've transformed. She already knows I couldn't make myself reprimand her."
"You musn't fall that quickly for her, Remus," reprimanded Dumbledore. "You're not here to be the older, spoiling brother. You're here to be a parent, and a parent guides their child. If you let her do whatever she wants, even someone like Hermione could become...unfit for the Order. And, make no mistake, I mean to have all three of those students on the Order the day they graduate."
"I'll remember, Albus," promised Remus. "Though, just like you said, she is very well behaved. There hasn't been any need to reprimand her. I doubt there ever will be. But, I still worry about the full moon. You have seen those three. They don't understand dangers and risks. In their first year, they broke through a whole maze of tests set by their most capable Professors! They're the bravest people I've ever met, but also the most foolhardy. I think they proved that they aren't afraid of Voldemort last week. They broke into the Department of the Unspeakables, knowing full well that they might come up against him. I don't want her here during the full moon."
"I'll talk to Molly and Kingsley," promised Dumbledore. "But, Remus, are you so sure you don't want her here during the full moon?"
"I'm positive," Remus confirmed. "If I ever hurt her..."
"Very well," Dumbledore soothed, draining his tea cup. "You just might want to remember something." He pointed out the kitchen window. "That girl followed her best friend into the Department of the Unspeakables where she knew she might face Voldemort. She did it so he could gain back his godfather. What would she do for her own godfather?"
Remus sat back in his chair, flabbergasted. He'd never even thought of that. Dumbledore continued. "We can send her away during the full moon, true. But, if she wants to be here...safe to say, I don't think anything will stop her from being here."
"I won't allow myself to hurt her," Remus said darkly, his eyes shifting to a drawer in the kitchen. "No matter the cost to myself."
Dumbledore studied Remus, and then lifted his eyes to glance at Hermione. "I believe you," he whispered. He stood, and raised his voice. "But, I fear I must be off. The American Minister is proving more difficult than the Canadian one."
"Do they not agree with you?" Remus asked, alarmed. The Order's lower ranks had swelled recently. The Canadian Minister, a suprisingly young witch with a flare for war, had sent half of her bodyguard to join the Order, putting them at Dumbledore's disposal. It had been more than they could ever hope for, and they had expected the American Ministry to be just as easy to convince.
"Oh, they agree," Dumbledore explained. "They agree all too well. They want to fight Voldemort immediately. Their Minister believes that by sending his entire army to me, we can defeat Voldemort within a few weeks time. Unfortunately, that will leave their own country open to attack and I can't allow that."
"Oh," sighed Remus. It was good to have the American Ministry behind them. Besides the British Ministry, they were without a doubt the strongest, most influential Ministry. "Do you have time to speak to Hermione?"
"No, I'm afraid not," sighed Dumbledore. "I have a meeting in Washington in five minutes. I'll speak with her at the funeral if I have a chance!" He Apparated to America, leaving Remus standing with mouth open.
"Remus?" called a voice behind him. Hermione had entered the kitchen just as Dumbledore left. "Was that Professor Dumbledore?"
"Yes," nodded Remus. "He wanted to talk to you, but he had to go to America. He just wanted to give me the heads up with the Canadian Minister and inform me that I that the July meeting was cancelled."
"Oh, why was it cancelled?" Hermione inquired, helping herself to a bottle of water.
"Actually, it fell on the same day as your..um...it was on the same day as the funeral," Remus fumbled, unwilling to remind her of her parent's funeral, which was scheduled for the next day.
Hermione's face paled and she took a particularly long swig of water. However, after swallowing, she managed a shaky smile. "That was very nice of Professor Dumbledore," she observed.
"Yes, it was," agreed Remus, softly. Hoping to take her mind off of the funeral, he jumped to a different topic. "Well, what are you doing inside, Hermione? I was watching you, and it looked like you were ready to remodel the entire garden by dinner time."
"I am if I have to," Hermione joked weakily. "But, I need a spade. One of the garden gnomes stole mine."
"Are the gnomes getting bold again, then?" frowned Remus. "We'll have to degnome the garden sometime this week. I'll go grab you a spade. I keep a spare in the shed, just in case." He strolled out of the kitchen, leaving Hermione to her thoughts.
To pass the time, she began opening cupboards and drawers, trying to memorize where everything was. She had done the same thing yesterday afternoon, trying to aquaint herself with the kitchen. She couldn't quite remember everything. 'I have to learn my way around my own kitchen," she mused. 'Especially if I've been promoted to chef.' A thrill ran through her at that thought. This was hers and Remus' kitchen now, it was their home. One of her recently rare smiles crept on to her lips. It faded quite quickly when she opened the uppermost drawer beside the fridge.
Her mouth fell open. A small pistol lay in the drawer. "I didn't know Remus used Muggle devices to that extent," she thought to herself. 'Though, I suppose a gun would kill a wizard as easily as a Muggle. I wonder if its loaded.' She opened the gun and three bullets tumbled out into her palm. There was something odd about them. The greyish bullets were lighter than she thought lead would be. A ray of sunlight danced on them from over her shoulder and they....
"REMUS!" she shouted. Instantly, Remus Apparated behind her, a spade in his hand
"Are you all right?" he asked frantically. "Why did you shout?" He whipped out his wand and spun around, his eyes taking in every corner of the room. "Are there Death Eaters?"
"No, I'm not under attack," snapped Hermione, clutching the silver bullets in one hand and the pistol in the other.
"You're not?" frowned Remus. "Then, why did you...?" His voice trailed off as his eyes came to land on the gun in her hand. "Where did you get that?" he snarled.
She darted back as he made a lunge for the gun. "I found it in that drawer," she explained. "But what was in the gun, was a tad more interesting than the gun itself." She held out her palm to reveal the silver bullets. "What are you doing with a gun loaded with silver bullets and why wasn't it here yesterday when I was trying to figure out what was in all of the drawers?"
Remus' chest heaved, as his eyes darted around, looking for a way out. "I...I put it there...just in case," he reasoned, desperately.
"In case what?" snarled Hermione, eyes piercing into the werewolf.
"In case in werewolf form I tried to attack you," he sighed reluctantly.
"Its a bit difficult to pull a trigger when you don't have opposable thumbs," Hermione pointed out dryly. "And its a bit difficult for me to use a gun on you, even if I could bring myself to do it, if I don't know the gun exists. I'm not buying it, Remus." She angrily cast the bullets and gun on to the ground.
He sighed once more. "Its been charmed," he explained. "If I ever try to harm you, it will float out of the drawer and shoot me three times in the head."
"With silver bullets," finished Hermione. "If you had to do this, couldn't you use normal bullets in the leg or somewhere just to harm you. Why silver, Remus?"
"If I ever try to hurt you, I don't deserve to live," Remus shrugged, eyes carefully blank.
"Don't you think I should have a say in that?" Hermione growled.
"No, not really," admitted Remus.
Hermione glared at him. "I won't let you do this, Remus," she said firmly, hands set stubbornly on her hips.
"I am not giving you a choice," Remus said simply. "I am the parent here and I have decided this is necessary, so this is what we are going to do."
Hermione opened her mouth and shut it three times. "Fine!" she huffed. She turned on her heel, then suddenly spun around, whipping out her wand. "Aberelo!" she cried. The gun exploded, as well as the silver bullets.
"Hermione!" shouted Remus. "Do you realize how rare silver bullets are?"
"Yes," nodded Hermione, eyes glinting triumphantly. She wrenched the spade from his grasp. "I'll be in the garden if you need me."
He watched her go, fuming silently. A good parent would call her back and send her to her room. A werewolf who cared about her would go and buy another gun and bullets when she was outside and hide it from her. But Remus could make himself do neither. "I am a failure as a parent," he announced to the empty kitchen. "She's been here a day and all ready we're fighting."
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Remus whiled away the hours, reading and thinking, while Hermione stayed outside, planting and pruning. At six o'clock, Hermione returned to the house and whipped up some spaghetti. They ate in silence, both sullen and angry. After dinner, Hermione quickly cleaned up the dishes and announced she was going to her room.
Remus nodded absently as he made his way to the living room. She was about three steps up, before he called after her. "'Mione!"
She turned slowly. "What is it?" she frowned.
"The funeral tomorrow is at three thirty," he reminded her. "We'll leave for the church around three. You're grandparents will probaby want you to go home and live with them. You can if you want."
Her mouth dropped open and a hurt look appeared in her eyes. Remus' heart broke at the pain he knew he had caused. She looked as though he had shot her in the back with those damned bullets. "I don't know," she said coolly. "Maybe I will. Was that all?"
He forced himself to nod, but as she turned and almost fled, he spoke again. "Oh, there was one more thing, 'Mione," he admitted.
She turned again, eyes glistening now with tears. "What?" she snapped, voice thick with the unshed tears.
"The spaghetti was delicious," he informed her.
Her face softened a bit. "Thank you," she whispered. "Goodnight."
Remus waited until she was out of sight, before he miserably buried his face in his hands.
The young girl screamed as the wolf threw himself at her bedroom door. He grinned maliciously. He was hungry and she was fresh meat. This meal would be both delicious and well-earned. "Sirius!" she screamed. "Sirius, help me!"
He threw himself at the door and it burst open. The girl, her brown hair tangled from the wild run through the house and her eyes darting around for some way of escape, was cowering in the far corner. He leapt up on to the bed, eager to sink his teeth into her soft flesh. There was a gun in her trembling hands, pointed at him. "C'mon, Hermione," she muttered to herself, voice shaking as much as her hands. "If you don't shoot him, he'll kill you."
The wolf howled happily. She didn't have the nerve to fire that metal thing. This kill was as good as his. He crouched, preparing to leap on her. "Remus!" shouted a male voice. "Remus, no!"
The girl's face swung to the door behind him and a grin lit her face. "Sirius, you came!' she weeped.
Ignoring the interruption, the wolf leapt up in the air. A gun rang out. A bullet plunged into his chest. The girl screamed and the man cursed as he landed, withering on the floor. The man dashed over to the girl. He was a handsome man, his black hair a bit damp with sweat and his blue eyes glittering with tears. "Oh, Merlin," he moaned. "I'm so sorry, Moony."
"Why isn't he dead?" screeched the girl. "He should be dead! I want that monster dead, Sirius!"
"I didn't hit to kill," Sirius explained. "He'll turn back into Remus with the rising sun."
The minutes passed slowly, but soon, the first rays of sunlight floated into the room. Remus felt awareness flood into him as the painful transformation slipped from him. "Sirius," he rasped. "Sirius, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, you have to believe that!"
"I know, Moony, I know," soothed Sirius, gathering him into his arms.
"Sirius, don't touch him!" cried the girl. "He tried to kill me! He's a monster and I want him dead!"
"No, 'Mione," argued Sirius. "He's not a monster. Don't say that. You're just scared. Remus would never intentionally hurt you." He turned to Remus with a shaky smile. "C'mon, Moony, lets get you to St. Mungo's. They'll help you, I know they will."
"No, he won't live!" squealed Hermione. She grabbed the gun from the holster at Sirius' hip. "Not this time. I won't let him hurt me or anyone else, ever again." She pulled the trigger.
"No, Hermione!" shouted Sirius, jumping up and running towards her. Something slammed into Remus' skull and he knew no more.
Hermione jolted up in bed. Someone was screaming. Remus was screaming. Not even pausing to throw on her housecoat, she jumped out of bed and tore open the door. She ran lightly down the hall, using Remus' hoarse voice to guide her way through the dark. She found him in his bedroom. The covers had been thrown from the bed and he was twisting around on the mattress, screaming out her name. "Hermione! No!" he shouted, haunted by some awful dream. "I'd never hurt you! Please, no!"
He was sweat soaked, his boxers clinging to him and his chest slicked with sweat. His mop of hair was damp and plastered to the back of his neck. Hermione hurried over to the bed and crawled in beside him. She tenderly embraced him and whispered into his ear. "Hush, Remus," she soothed. "Its okay, I'm here. No one's going to hurt you. I know you'd never hurt me." His face was twisted and as he withered in her arms, she thought her heart would break. How could she ever think she could leave him alone? "Shh, Remus, shh," she murmured, running her fingers through his sweat-soaked hair. "I'm here, I'm here. I'll never leave."
Suddenly his eyes popped open and he began to shake violently. "Remus, Remus!" she called to him. "Remus, its okay!" Tears were rolling down his face. She sat up and put herself in his line of vision.
"'Mione," he moaned, clutching her to his wet chest. "I'd never hurt you, not ever."
"Shh," she whispered. "I know, I know."
"You know?" he repeated. "Of course you do. You're wonderful. Don't leave, Mione. Please don't leave."
"Of course I'm not going to leave, you goose," laughed Hermione. "I'm here for good, Remus. You had better get used to it."
He fell back heavily on his pillow, still holding her. "You must think I am fairly pathetic," he observed, his grip still tight.
"No," disagreed Hermione. "No, not at all."
"Stay with me tonight," he whispered, sleep creeping over him "I don't want to be alone."
Hermione wriggled out of his arms, and shifted him a bit so his head was resting on a pillow. His eyes closed and his breathing slowed. He was asleep. She got out of the bed and retrieved the covers. Gently, she tucked them around him as though tucking a babe into bed. Much the same as he had treated her at the Black Manor. She turned to leave the room, but he stirred in his sleep and let out a whimper. Stay with me tonight, I don't want to be alone. His words rang in her head and she knew she couldn't leave him. Resigned, she crawled into the bed and put a few covers around herself. She twisted a lock of his hair around her fingers and smiled lightly.
"I'll take care of you, Remus Lupin," she declared softly, gathering him in her arms. "And you'll take care of me and everything will be all right. Just you wait and see."
She laid her head on to his and quickly fell asleep.
Remus' eyes slowly opened, groggy with sleep. He was being held by someone and he felt safer than he ever had in his life. He twisted a little and realized his guardian angel was Hermione. She was sound asleep, her face pale and her breathing slow and steady. He didn't remember how she had gotten there or why, but he didn't really care. Her head was resting on his and his head was on her stomach. She stirred a little and he froze, unwilling to disturb her slumber.
"You'll never hurt me, Remus," she murmured in her sleep. "I love you too much."
Awake, Remus couldn't really see the sense in that, but the words warmed his heart, even delivered in sleep. He slipped out of her grasp and snuck out of bed. He dressed quickly in case she should wake. He had fully intended to go downstairs and try his hand at making eggs and bacon, but he turned once on his way to the door to watch her sleep for a moment.
He was still standing in the doorframe with a fond smile and eyes full of love when she woke up twenty minutes later.
"Are you sure you want to do this? Remus asked anxiously as Hermione pulled her hair back into a ponytail. They were both wearing plain black robes.
"Remus, this is the third time you've asked," Hermione pointed out. "And I will answer the same way I did the previous two times. I don't really have a choice, do I? Now, can we go?"
Remus offered her an apologetic smile. "Come here," he sighed. She walked into his arms and hugged him tighter than she ever had before. He rocked her gently back and forth.
"If I cry, you won't think less of me, will you?" she asked, her voice muffled in the folds of his robes.
"Never," Remus said firmly, his grasp tighting. He knelt to stare her in the eye. "Nothing you could ever do could make me think less of you." He firmly kissed her forehead, hoping to convey all his emotions, love, hope, pain, mourning and most of all thanks for the previous night, into one touch.
"Nor you I," Hermione declared. "Not even if I find you crying from a nightmare. Which, might I remind you, was completely acceptable." After he had told her the details of his nightmare, she had asked why hadn't he been trying to gouge his eyes out, rather than settling for crying and screaming.
Remus smiled sadly. "Ready to go, now that we've got that out of the way?"
Hermione nodded firmly and buried herself into his arms again. With heavy hearts, they Apparated...
...and Disapparated outside a quaint country church, St. Peter's. Most of the parking lot was filled by cars, but only three people were waiting for them outside the church steps... Albus Dumbledore, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. As soon as they appeared, Ron and Harry ran towards them. Harry wrapped Hermione in his arms. "Hey there, 'Mione," he whispered. "How are you doing?"
"Pretty good, Harry," she replied, also in hushed tones. "How is it going?"
"Well, its going," he answered, drawing back. She studied him closely. His face was paler and deep violet shadows fiercely underlined his weary green eyes. He had lost quite a bit of weight and the scar on his forehead seemed redder today. "Dumbledore picked me up this morning, but he's taking me back tonight."
"Thats too bad," sympathized Hermione.
"No, I....I don't think I'm quite ready to come back yet," Harry admitted. He was facing the church and his eyes looked even sadder now. "A lot of the Order showed up today and Tonks..."
Hermione squeezed his hand, remembering how alike to Sirius Tonks appeared in her natural form. "Its okay, Harry," she soothed. "I understand." She turned to face Ron. "I...I'm so sorry for my behaviour, Ron," she apologized. "I was a bit emotional."
"Hey, no worries," smiled Ron. She noticed they were both in black and the reasons for her presence here came crashing down. Tears pricked at her eyes and soon came spilling down her cheeks. She suspected Harry and Ron would get awkward when they saw her crying, but instead they linked arms with her and kissed her, one on each cheek. "Don't you worry, 'Mione," soothed Ron. "We won't let them bring you down. Ready to face the masses?"
"No," she said shortly. "But what choice do I have?"
They began to walk slowly towards the church, feet heavy and unwilling. Remus fell in step beside Harry. "'Lo, Moony," he greeted hollowly.
"Hello, Harry," greeted Remus. "How are you?"
"I'm better," Harry sighed. "Not good, but better." Remus clasped his shoulder and he smiled.
Dumbledore joined them at the church. "The ceremony starts in ten minutes," he announced. "Are you ready, Miss. Granger?"
"I...I think so," frowned Hermione, steeling herself. "Yes, lets go." They walked up the stairs, the trio leading, followed by Dumbledore and Remus. As the doors swung open to admit them, Hermione screamed inside her head. 'Just don't cry, Mione!'
The moment she entered the church, they were set upon by a large crowd, both Muggle and wizard. "Are you doing okay, Hermione?" inquired Barb, her nose red from crying.
"Hermione, my dear child," wailed her grandmother, throwing her arms around her. "Do you realize how worried we've been about you? I think you'd best come home with us afterwards." Hermione started at that. There was no way she was leaving Remus, not ever.
"Thought you said you'd call, poppet," observed her grandfather. He smiled indulgently. "So long as you're here."
People were clambering to hug her or shake her hand, all worried over her health. Harry and Ron were lost in the crowd and she felt tears begin to creep into her eyes. 'No, I can't cry!' she thought desperately. 'Cry and its all over. They'll never let you go. Where did Remus, Ron and Harry go? No, 'Mione, don't cry!'
"Good day, Miss. Granger," said a cold voice she really didn't have any desire to hear at the moment. She looked up into the cold, calculating eyes of Severus Snape, to find them filled with a thing that might have been called pity. She fumed silently. She certainly did not want pity from that monster of a man!
"Hello, Hermione," Arthur Weasley greeted. The two men linked arms with her. "Hold on tightly." They quickly shouldered her out of the crowd, telling any in their way that Hermione didn't want to talk to anyone. Quite quickly she found herself plopped down in between Harry and Ron at the front of the church. Tonks, Minerva, Moody, and Molly Weasley were beside Ron, with Ginny, Vector and Arthur Weasley beside Harry.
"Thought we'd lost you," Ron grinned. Or he tried to grin. It came out looking rather sickly. Harry merely grasped her hand and squeezed. The church was quieting down and Hermione couldn't help but let her eyes land on the caskets set up at the front of the church, mere feet away from her. The lids were open, but she wouldn't let herself try and look at her parents.
"Where's Remus?" she asked, trying to concentrate on anything besides the caskets.
"He, Snape and Dumbledore all volunteered to be pall bearers," answered Harry, nodding to where Remus was standing with Snape and Dumbledore at the front of the church with her grandfather and her father's two best friends, Mark and Mitch.
"Snape?" Hermione repeated, eyes widening. "Why would he do that?"
"He...he's changed a bit in the past two days," Ron stumbled. "He's still a stupid prig, but...I think he feels really bad that he didn't know your parents were targets. He blames himself. He might actually be bearable to you in Potions this year, 'Mione."
"That would be nice," mumbled Hermione. She wondered if she should talk to her Potions professor. She certainly didn't want Snape blaming her parents' death on himself. She didn't have anymore time to ponder it, as the priest suddenly stood up and the ceremony began. First he asked them all to join him in a prayer for the souls of Marian and Charles Granger. By the end of the prayer, tears were streaming down Hermione's cheeks. Her own soul was being casually ripped to shreds. She had thought on the day of her parents' death that she had felt pain. It was nothing compared to what she felt now.
She risked a glance at her friends. Ron was staring straight ahead, his jaw tense. His hand was squeezing hers tightly. He sensed her eyes and turned to look at her with a smile. "Don't cry, Hermione," he whispered, brushing tears from her face. "I'm here, I'm here." She smiled gratefully at him, then turned to Harry.
Harry had tears streaming down his face. She stifled a gasp and wrenched her eyes away from his. The priest had concluded his prayer and called Barb, Mark and her mom's best friend, Anne, to speak about the deceased couple. After Barb was finished and Mark had begun, Hermione looked once more at Harry. He was still crying. She knew it wasn't for her parents though. Sirius had never gotten a funeral. She squeezed his hand, then looked back at the front of the room. Anne was just concluding her short speech.
"Marian and I went through so much together," she stumbled, tears streaming down her face. "I just can't believe that I still have so much left to do, while she is finished with her life. I....sometimes..." She choked off with a sob. "I'm sorry...I...I can't go on." Tears streaming down her face, Mark helped her stumble from the pedestal.
The priest returned to the pedestal and opened his Bible. Hermione's eyes locked with Remus, who had been watching her through the entire ceremony. "Don't cry, Mione," he mouthed silently. "I'm here for you."
The young priest began to speak. His words washed over Hermione, washing away all the grief and pain she had borne since that awful moment. His words, her best friends' hands and Remus' loving eyes were all there was in the world.
"The Lord is my shepard, I shall not be in want
He makes me lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul
He guides me in paths of righteousness.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
Your rod and your staff;
They comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
In the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with oil
My cup overflows
Surely goodness and love will follow me
All the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost,
Amen."
Hermione's eyes never left Remus' for the entire ceremony. 'I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death,' Hermione thought. 'And I'm going to be okay.'
~*~
The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur and Hermione barely remembered it. At the instruction of the priest, she had tossed the first loose earth into her father's grave, while her grandmother tossed the earth into her mother's. Remus helped her to stand as the funeral goers began to disperse. It was over. She had gotten through it, and now she could go home.
Remus embraced her. "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he inquired, weakly.
"You were a wonderful pall bearer," complimented Hermione, hoping he never let her go.
"Why, thank you," he smiled. He did let her go though. "Molly Weasley invited us back to the Black Manor for dinner. We can go if you want, or we can go home. Its completely up to you."
Hermione looked around the graveyard. Harry was walking beside Ron. They were following the Weasley family down the hill to a secluded grove where the wizards would be Apparating away. Dumbledore, Tonks, Vector, Alastor Moody and McGonagall were shortly behind them. "Where's Professor Snape?" Hermione inquired.
"Over there," answered Remus, pointing to a robed figure. He was walking away from the rest of the wizards.
"Isn't he coming back to 12 Grimmauld Place?" frowned Hermione.
"No," sighed Remus, pity in his eyes. "Poor bugger's got a Death Eater meeting."
"Oh," Hermione said. She thought frantically, then made a decision. "I...I want to go back to the Manor. Can you meet me in the clearing? I want to do something before I go."
"Sure thing, 'Mione," agreed Remus. He turned and walked after the others. Thanking him silently, Hermione hurried after Snape.
"Professor Snape!" she cried. "Professor Snape, wait up!"
The bitter man swirled around. "What do you want, Miss. Granger?" he sneered. He couldn't hide the pity in his eyes no matter how hard he tried. "Whatever it is, try to make it quick. I have an engagement in a matter of moments."
"I...I know," Hermione said. "Harry told us all about the...meetings."
"He did, did he?" frowned Snape. "He had no right. But, that is not the matter at hand, what do you want?"
"I wanted to thank you," Hermione explained. "For being the pall bearer, I mean. It meant a lot."
"Trust me, Miss. Granger," Snape said coolly. "You don't want to thank me."
"Trust me, Professor," Hermione contradicted. "I do want to thank you. And, I wanted to tell you something as well. I don't blame you for my parents' death, so why do you blame yourself?"
Snape started a little, before making his face completely blank. "I think that is enough of a conversation for today," he said sharply. "I have to get going. Tardiness does not abode well with Voldemort."
"Oh," Hermione said dumbly. "Of...of course not."
"Get along back to your werewolf," ordered Snape, pulling out his wand. He hesitated. "But...thank you, Miss. Granger. And, I am so sorry I didn't find out in time."
"Professor, I don-" Snape Apparated and she was left shouting at the wind. "...don't blame you."
Sighing heavily, she shouldered herself against the wind and began to make her way back to the clearing. "Hermione!" cried her grandmother's voice. "Come along!"
Grandma came running down the slope after her, quickly followed by Grandpa. "Come along?" frowned Hermione. "Why would I do that? I live with Professor Lupin now, you know that, Grandma."
"Don't be silly, girl," snapped Grandma. "That man has taken you away from your family, the people you belong with! You're coming with us whether or not you like it." She reached for Hermione's arm, but Hermione evaded her grasp. Her grandfather hung back, almost as though he was unsure of what to do.
"Grandma!" argued Hermione, darting back. "No! I want to live with Remus!"
"Listen to me, young lady!" snarled Grandma. "I just lost my daughter and I do not need a little freak telling me what to do. You're coming home with us and you're never going back to that school again!"
Hermione could barely believe her ears. This wasn't happening. Her grandparents knew about Hogwarts, of course, but she always thought they had accepted it. Obviously not. "No, Grandma!" cried Hermione, turning to run.
Her grandmother, still in very good physical shape, grabbed her ankle and she fell heavily. "And whats more, you're never going to see Professor Remus Lupin again!"
"Grandma, no!" Hermione screamed, squirming away from her grandmother.
"Milly, is this really neccessary?" frowned Grandfather. "If she wants to live with him, then she should."
"Never!" hissed Grandma. "She's our grand-daughter, and if they think they can hole up somewhere pretending their daughter and father, they've got another thing coming!"
"Stupefy!" shouted a voice. Her grandmother collapsed on her. She darted away from the stiff form of her grandmother. Grandpa hurried to his wife and picked her up.
"Milly!" he called. "Milly, whats wrong?"
"Hermione!" shouted Remus, running down the slope. "Hermione!" Hermione turned from her grandmother.
"Remus!" she smiled, standing to greet him. He grabbed her in his arms and crushed her to him.
"I thought I'd lost you," he exclaimed.
"What?" frowned Hermione. "How did you know I was here?"
"When you didn't show up, I went out to find you," he explained. "One of those men...Mitch, I think, said you'd gone home with your grandparents. He said Milly was on the warpath and he warned me not to interfere. That didn't sound right, so I came looking."
"What have you done to her?" shouted her grandfather. "You've killed her!"
"No, I haven't, Mr. Morgan," soothed Remus. "She is merely uncouncious. I can easily revive her, but first I have to ask you a few questions."
"What?" demanded Grandpa.
"Was your wife fine with Hermione living with me until recently?" he asked.
"Yes," admitted Grandpa. "She wanted her with us, but she accepted the law. I don't know what got to her. She's been muttering to herself ever since that salesman came to the door..."
"Salesman?" frowned Remus. "What salesman?"
"Oh, just some lad selling insurance," replied Grandpa. "Bit of an oddball, if you ask me."
"What did he look like?" quizzed Remus.
"Um, short, bit chubby," Grandpa described. "He stuttered a lot, and he wore robes, just like your lot. Only...he wore a large glove around his one hand and it looked a lot bigger than the other."
"Wormtail," Hermione and Remus said together.
"Well, that explains quite a bit," Remus frowned. He knelt beside Grandma and pointed his wand at her. "Finite Incanteum. Ennervate."
Grandma sat up, rubbing her eyes. "I...I had the strangest dream," she frowned, shaking her head. "But...where am I?"
"You're just outside St. Peter's," replied Remus. "I'm going to leave you with your husband now."
"But...what happened to me?" frowned Grandma. "You're not leaving until I get a straight answer, young man!"
"Very well," sighed Remus. "Essentially, you were put under an illegal curse by a Dark wizard." Grandma's eyes rolled up in the back of her head and she fainted dead away.
"What did you do?" hollered Grandpa.
"Oh, I didn't do anything," Remus assured him. "She's only fainted." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. "Here, give her this when she wakes up. We have to be going."
"Bye, Grandpa," Hermione said miserably. She waved to the uncouncious form of her grandmother. "Bye, Grandma." She turned to face Remus. "You know, I really don't feel like going to the Black Manor after all."
"Yea, I figured as much," Remus nodded. "Hold on tight." She grasped him tightly and they Apparated away.
Remus and Hermione appeared in the kitchen of their little cottage. "Do you always carry chocolate around in your pocket?" asked Hermione, feeling more than a little down.
"One can never be too careful," Remus shrugged.
"Yea, I guess so," Hermione nodded. She left the kitchen and headed up to her room. Remus sighed miserably and walked over to the fireplace. He fetched some Floo powder from the jar on the mantle and tossed it into the flames.
"12 Grimmauld Place!" he shouted. Tonks' head appeared in the fire place.
"Oh, hey, Remus," she smiled. "How...how are you?"
Remus could have hit himself. This was definitely not the time to start thinking about how much he wanted to kiss her again. "Um, I'm not too well actually," he answered. "Hermione had a bit of a run-in with her grandmother under the Imperious Curse. We're pretty sure it was Pettigrew that cast the spell."
"Oh my gosh," Tonks exclaimed. "That would definitely suck."
"Thats one way to put it," nodded Remus. "I got everything sorted out, but Hermione's a bit shook up to say the least. We're going to skip dinner tonight, if you could just tell everyone."
"Oh, sure thing," Tonks agreed. "Uh, Remus?"
"Yes?" he inquired.
"We should get together sometime," she said in a rush. "I really miss you."
"Well, we'll see," shrugged Remus. "Maybe. I...I miss you too." Tonks grinned brilliantly and re-captured Remus' heart.
"Okay, well, catch you later, Wotcher!" Her head vanished. Remus sighed heavily and threw himself down in one of the kitchen chairs.
"I have a nightmare and need the comfort of a little girl, I go to that little girl's parents' funeral, her grandmother attacks her and now I'm falling in love," Remus mused. "This has not been my day!"
With a loud pop! a box of pizza appeared on the kitchen table. Curious, he pulled it over to him. There was a note pinned to the top.
Hey Remus and Mione,
Hope you guys are hungry, cause there's plenty for everyone! Keep your chins up!
Tonks.
Remus couldn't stop the grin that was itching on his lips. He carefully unpinned the note and tucked into his inner robe pocket. He lifted the pizza and made his way up the stairs. He shifted the pizza box and rapped lightly on Hermione's door.
"Come in," she called. He kicked the door open. She was sitting on her bed, staring listlessly out the window where the twilight was darkening.
"Hey, hun," he smiled, testing out a petname for her. "You hungry?"
Hermione turned to him and smiled. "I think I could go for some pizza," she agreed.
He made his way to the bed and lay down, quickly making himself at home. She rolled over to join him and opened the box. "I thought you said you couldn't cook," she observed, picking out an especially cheesy piece.
"I can't," laughed Remus around a mouthful of pepperoni. "Its a present from Tonks."
"Oh, Tonks, huh?" Hermione raised her eyebrow. "My guardian is quite the loverbird, isn't he?"
Remus choked on his pizza. "What?" he coughed. "How did you know? It was only one kiss."
"Oh, Remus," smiled Hermione. "You are so easy to read. You've got cheese on your cheek, by the way."
"Where?" frowned Remus, wiping his cheek.
"No, the other side," directed Hermione. "No, bit lower. Oh, for heaven's sake, come here." She wiped away the cheese. "We should really bring up some plates and napkins."
"Nah," Remus laughed. "That would take away all the fun."
"Animal," teased Hermione.
"Only three nights a month," contradicted Remus. They fell silent, the reminder a mood dampener.
"Remus," Hermione said softly. "I think I might love you."
Remus glanced up at her and smiled. "I know I love you, Mione."
Author's Notes
I am really sorry if I messed up any details with the funeral scene. I am actually lucky enough to have never been to a funeral, so I have no idea what takes place therein. I hope I got some details right. Thanks again!