Disclaimer: it's still not mine! ::cries::
Blood and Sweat
Remus sat in the living room, one leg bouncing madly. Had he really just walked in on her? Embarrassment ran through him, but he couldn't help thinking about what he saw. The towel was had slipped slightly revealing the top portion of her breast along with all of her upper chest and shoulders; the skin was so smooth and perfect looking. He longed to run his hands over the silky skin, to kiss the bare area of her neck and shoulders. The thought ran through his mind refusing to be pushed aside.
He had also seen a good portion of her long thin legs which were as perfect as the rest of her. He hadn't seen what was under the towel, but there was no doubt in his mind that what was hidden under there was simply more perfection.
Oh god! Why would the image not leave his mind? He couldn't keep it there; it wasn't safe. There was too much at risk. They could never be together, he could never have her. That was a promise he made to himself when he was small: he would never be with anyone, it was too dangerous. There was no guarantee that he wouldn't hurt them.
It was so hard. All these long years, he had faced the world alone, and now, the perfect woman was in his bedroom wearing nothing but a towel. If it was going to be hard to refuse her before, it would be even harder now. His body ached for her in the most desperate way imaginable. Breathe Remus! Get your mind off her.
He began to slowly clear her from his thoughts reminding himself of the way it had to be. Then he told himself, that she would never go for someone so old, least of all a werewolf. Yes, she thought of him as a friend she could trust, not someone she could love, not ever. It was simply against everything. He had finally gotten his mind off of her, when she came out of the room. Remain calm.
"Hi," she said smiling.
"Uh, hi. Look about before,"
"Don't worry about it. It wasn't you fault, it was an accident." The incident was embarrassing, but she wondered if it would make Remus realize that she wasn't a child anymore. She usually remained conservative yet stylish. Dressing in nice clothes that were approved by society, while never exposing any thing too much. She thought that running around with you boobs hanging out all the time was a juvenile call for attention, and such things were beneath her.
At the moment she was wearing a pair of jeans that fit like a glove, but did not look like they were painted on, and a light blue blouse with three quarters length sleeves. Remus was glad that she had been covered up now; but even fully clothed, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
"Do you have an owl I could borrow to send a letter?"
"Yes, of course, she's out back. Come with me."
Hermione sent her letter and thanked Remus. By the time they got back inside, they had forgotten any awkward feeling between them, and had gotten back to talking as old friends, sitting on the living room couch.
"I can't believe I'm going to be a teacher!"
"I could have told you that when you were thirteen."
"Oh really?" She had the best inquisitive expression, and he loved it. It was a good thing that she was so curious; or maybe it was a curse.
"Of course! Such a thirst for knowledge and a passion for learning; its what makes a good teacher. Never losing the want to learn more. That's how they inspire their class to learn."
"And yourself?"
"What?"
"Would you ever have thought of yourself as a teacher?"
"Back then? No never. But in retrospect, there was not another career that would have fit me better."
"Well then, you must have been like me when you were younger."
"Hermione, when I was a student, I was exactly like you. Well maybe not such a know-it-all…"
Hermione gave a sort of indignant squeak and picked up a pillow off of the couch and hit Remus with it.
"Ouch! Hey!" She simply laughed while he eyed her coolly. "Well, of course you know, this means war!" And he grabbed his own pillow and launched a counter attack.
By the end of their fight, both adults were laying on the floor laughing like children.
I haven't laughed like this since I was a child, Remus thought.
Curiously enough, Hermione voiced the words in his head saying, "I haven't had this much fun since I left Hogwarts!" Both adults simply laughed.
And that was how life was in Remus's small house. They spent the days eating and talking, and even acting like children. At night, both made a habit out of sitting in front of the fire and reading. This part was blissful, both loved to read, yet had never met anyone who shared the passion before.
It was a comfortable life, and a happy one. Hermione had even gone about adding a "woman's touch" as she had called it to the small house. In no time, the house was practically unrecognizable. It was bright and cheerful; reflecting the moods of both adults now, as opposed to the loneliness and anguish that it reflected before.
Even though both would have loved for something more in their relationship, they both found that this arrangement put them in better spirits then either had ever been in throughout their entire existence.
But during the week before they were supposed to leave, something happened that put Remus out of his good mood. Professor Snape did not make him the Wolfsbane potion when he was not in Hogwarts. That night, he was going to turn into a monster. It brought a crushing reality down upon him.
For the past few weeks, in her presence, he had forgotten, or at least didn't acknowledge the fact that he was a werewolf. But tonight, he would turn once again into the hideous beast that lived inside him. It was getting close to sun down, and he and Hermione had just finished dinner.
"Hermione, I, I have somewhere I have to go tonight."
"Do you want me to come with you?" she offered friendlily.
"NO!" it came out faster and louder than he meant it to. Softening his voice he said, "No, I have to go alone." HE looked down at his hands.
Hermione understood. "Oh, of course Remus." She put her small hand on his forearm, the one that would no longer look like his in a few hours. It was comforting, probably more so than she meant it to be.
"I'll be back tomorrow."
She nodded.
"I have to go now."
He wasn't expecting the next gesture: she hugged him! It was the first time they had really separated since she came to his house, and it was how she always left her friends. He hugger her back taking in the warmth of her body and sweet sent that engulfed her. Would that it could be any other way.
Remus pulled back, "good bye," he whispered.
"Good bye."
Then he left. He walked out the back door and into the forest. Deep in the forest, he had a cage; he had ordered it especially for these occasions. It was extraordinarily strong and could only be opened and closed by magic. Since he could not do magic in his wolf form, he was safe in the cage.
He walked into his prison and muttered the words, "Claudo Cavea." And the cage shut and sealed itself. Then he removed his robes and set them just outside his cage placing his wand on top. There was nothing left to do but wait for it.
He didn't have to wait long; in a few moments, the familiar tingle began to shoot through his bones. And then the pain started.
Hermione sat alone in the house; she had never been alone here before. It was simply dreadful. The house had almost immediately sunk back into its former air. Yes, the house was quite dismal without Remus.
The only thing she could think to do was lose herself in a book. She fell asleep in her chair still holding the book.
Remus however, did not sleep. Incapable of his normal thoughts, he could do nothing except rage about being trapped. He longed to run free, to hunt, to bite. But here he was again stuck in this dreaded cage! It wasn't fair! He should be free!
He ran from one side of the cage to the other, pounding into the bars. When he could not break through, he howled his fury into the night. In frustration he bit: he needed to feel his teeth rip flesh, and the only flesh available was his own. In a mixture of blood and sweat, he continued scrambling around trying to free himself.
But no matter what he did, he could not get out. Yet he did not stop his attacks on the cage or himself. Each time, he collided with the hard metal, each time her bit into his own flesh, he howled in pain, in agony. What a tortuous existence he had. He had to live in a cage, never allowed to roam free like the others. No matter what he did, he was trapped. Trapped. TRAPPED!!!!
Blood, yes, he could smell blood. Was it his? Like he had to ask. He opened his eyes to survey the damage. Cuts, bites, bruises the usual. Everything hurt. It was a wonder that nothing was broken. As he lay naked on the floor of the cage, covered in his own blood and sweat, he tried to remember last night. He couldn't, when he tried to, he saw one thing, red. It was the only way he could describe it.
Slowly and shaking, he sat up. His hand reached through the bars and enclosed around his wand. "Purgo" he muttered pointing the wand at himself, making the blood and sweat disappear. He carefully got dressed, and opened the cage. The predominant thought in his mind: his bed.
When he staggered in through the back door, he found Hermione sitting on the couch. He knew he must look awful; it was evidence of the beast he was.
Hermione was shocked to see him covered in bruises. She had never expected this. "Remus!" she called in a whisper as she ran to him.
He was looking at the floor, still slightly shaking. Hermione grabbed his hands and lead him over to the couch. Leaning back, she guided him on top of her, positioning him so that his head lay on her breast. She stroked his hair and held him tight. Listening to the beat of her heart, and feeling the warmth of her body, he closed his eyed. Hermione held him until he was asleep and had stopped trembling.
She looked at the man that lay sleeping on her, he was alone and miserable. He was very different even than the Remus she had spent the days with before. Her stay had obviously ended the loneliness that he lived in, but she could not ease the pain of his transformation. And even when they got back to Hogwarts and had the Wolfsbane, he would still transform; against his will and against his wished. But worst, he had to do it alone. She thought about him for a long time, and in her thinking she had an idea.
There were things she could do right away, she had seen a book in Remus's collection, and anything else she needed help with would be easily found in Hogwarts. Yes this was going to be good. But first, she had to do something about all these bruises.
@@@@@
Alright so its short, but I wanted to get it done so I could post. My lil cousin is spending the weekend at my house, so I don't know how much writing I'll be able to get done. But its late (i.e. 2:21 am) now, so I'm going to do this quick as possible.
Thank you, to all of my wonderful reviewers:
Roxy Surfer: I am so glad that I could make you like this ship! Getting people to like it is what I wanted to do! N I did it yay!! Thank you for your many wonderful reviews!!
Kate Connor: thanks! Glad you liked it! Remus and Herm are my favorite! I heart those two! Hope you liked this.
MovieStarMissy: thank you for reviewing!! yea, in my mind, Hermione had brought the towel with her or conjured it up some how. I dunno, all I know was that it was fluffy n pink, she didn't tell me where she got it. Hope you enjoyed this ch.
EJW-4ever: thank you! yea that is classic isn't it. I heart this pairing! I hope you liked this ch! Next one is coming soon.
Tara6: thank you! yea the walk in! it was fun! Tee hee! Ne ways, hope you enjoyed!
Emily: thank you! glad to see you liked it!
truluv438: thank you! I'm glad that you thought I did a nice job with the feelings! I hope u enjoyed this one!
Draco'sWinterLily: thank you! glad you liked it! Hope you enjoyed this one as well! Ive got big plans for this fic, oh yes big plans.
Susan: glad that you agree ab HG/RL and HG/SS. Remus is so much cuter than snape!! Neways, thanks for ur review, glad u liked it!
Miyazawa: I love HG/RL too! They r so perfect. Glad u liked my portrayal of Remus! And don't worry, I will always finish my fics!
Natsume2: glad you liked it! Thanks for your review!! there's more coming up soon!
Texas Peach: thank you for the review! I am so glad you liked my story!
Stefanie: there are so not enough HG/RL fics!! I heart those two!! Thank you for reviewing! glad you liked it!
Bell: definitely need more Remus stories!! glad you like my writing!! Thank you for the review!!
And I love all of you for reading and reviewing my fic!! I will start on the next ch soon, which I feel will be long and get complicated! I heart Remus and Hermione! But I g2g now, b/c it is 2:47 n I need sleep!
~Atiannala