Hermione stumbled down the darkened streets of Hogsmeade. She wound up in the residential section. As the houses went by she wondered again why she was here. She reached the road that led to the shrieking shack and one coherent thought entered her mind: I need to be back at Hogwarts. Hermione turned around and started to stumble back down the street. A coughing fit hit her and she leaned against a gate to guard against the weakness the fits brought on. The gate, being unlocked, swung in and deposited her smartly on the ground. It swung back closed and Hermione lay on the ground dazed. 'C'mon, Herm, get up...' she ordered herself. Another side of her asked, 'Why must we leave… It's quite comfortable here.' Finally, she gave up the battle and closed her eyes against the battle for consciousness.
The owner of the house was awakened by a thump in his front yard. He bolted up in bed and shook his head to dislodge the sleep from his thoughts. As the sleep fell from him he heard the sound of soft coughing in his yard. He jumped out of bed and pulled on shoes and a shirt. He ran downstairs and out his front door. "Lumos!" he called using his wand to light the yard. "Hermione?!" he asked incredulously. The man gathered the sleeping body of Hermione in his arms and carried her into the house. Gently he set her on a couch and went to his owl. Professor Dumbledore would need to be informed of the girl's whereabouts.
Two hours later Hermione woke up sneezing. She had a blanket wrapped around her and seemed to be on a couch of some sort. How had she gotten here? There was a box of tissues lying next to the couch and gratefully she grabbed one. "Ah... Hermione, you're awake." A voice came from the doorway along with the smell of breakfast. Her empty stomach growled as she turned around to see whose house she was in.
"Professor Lupin!" She said in the like of someone opening the door to a long lost friend. "How did you get here? How did I get here?" She paused, "Where is here?"
"You don't remember?" Lupin asked, coming to sit on the edge of a chair near the couch. "As near I can figure, your fevered mind told you to go to Madame Pomfrey, but somehow you would up in Hogsmeade. You collapsed in my yard two hours ago."
Hermione shook her head. "I don't remember any of that." She coughed, "But I do feel sick, so it must be true." She blew her nose then grabbed another tissue. "When am I to go back to Hogwarts?"
"You will be staying here until your fever goes down. It's made a considerable decline, but it's still dangerously high. Dumbledore doesn't want the others exposed to this." Lupin said.
"Why isn't there a cure for this? Shouldn't I be able to pop into the infirmary and take a potion and…oh, yeah," Hermione slapped her head, "The common cold has no cure in the wizarding and muggle worlds alike. Pity, really. No one should have to suffer like this" She sneezed again.
Lupin nodded and stood up. "Well, for now, the only solution is a nice breakfast. Care to join me?" Hermione smiled and followed him into the kitchen carrying her box of tissues. If the sneezing kept up, she was going to run out of them quickly…
A/N: once again with the shortness. I know, I know. I'm trying….really! I am! Yes, this is a Hermione/Lupin story. I've never written one before, and I figure its high time I try. To all those Princess Bride fans… Trrruuee Looovvvveeee….. :) I couldn't resist