Ch 10
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The smell of water and smoke filled Lupin's nose. Blinking several times in the dim morning light, he saw a huge fireplace, the wood burned to nothing more then coals. Moving his head, he realized he was in the shrieking shack. Sitting up abruptly he looked around. "Hermione? Hermione!!!!!!?" She didn't answer. He was in the room they had shared, not the one he had locked himself in. Panic spread through him. Standing quickly, Lupin quickly fell back into a squat, his head pounding. Stifling a groan, he shook his head and moved to the door. All manner of furniture had been thrown in front of it. 'To keep me from getting in..Then how?' A cold breeze touched Lupin's bare skin and he whirled. Glass littered the floor beneathed the shattered window. Horror passed through him and turned his stomach. Stepping forwardly, not minding his bare feet, Lupin kneeled down to examine the mess. Several red specks had covered a piece of glas. Picking it up, he sniffed it. Blood. Hermione's blood. The wave of dizzyness made Lupin fall back. He threw out a hand to catch himself and growled when he felt a piece of glass dig in to his hand. Regaining his balance, he furiously ripped the shard from his hand. The white snow glared harshly and he had to squint to see the footprints. But they were there, leading in to the forest. Like lightening, Lupin snapped into motion. He grabbed a pair of thin pants from his bag and a took one of the blankets from the floor. Without a second thought, he jumped out the window, into the snow, barefoot and bare chested.
Inhaling deeply he caught her scent. 'The wolf was good for something' he thought bitterly. 'The wolf is the reason she ran. You could have killed her Remus. What was that blood from? You could have..bitten her' Lupin shook his demons from his head and set off at a jog, parrallel to the set of footprints. His own crossed them several times but he had eventually headed away, losing interest. Hermione's however, went straight in to the dark forest. Without a hesitation, Lupin ran in.
"HERMIONE!" He yelled, straining his ears for her voice. There was only dead silence. "HERMIONE!! WHERE ARE YOU!!!! HERMIONE!!!" Her footsteps veered to the left, underneath a heavy log that had fallen. There was a small passage underneath but Lupin hurteled over it effortlessly. His usual wearyness had been replaced by the desperate need to find Hermione. Adrenaline was surging through his veins, keeping the wolf's mind close to the surface. Inhaling once again, Lupin caught the whisp of something on the cold wind. It was her. There was no mistaking it.
As he drew closer, the scent grew stronger. In the distance, he saw a faint orange light. 'Hermione..' When he found her, he bit his lip to hold back to groan and the tears. She was curled up into a ball, shivering and unconcious. Her wand lay next to her, still emitting light. Lupin fell to his knees beside her and turned her gently. The smell of blood didn't escape his notice. He frantically looked over her wet clothes for any sign of injury. When he reached her face he let loose a sob of relief. There was a small cut on her cheek and another small cut on the top of her head. 'The glass' he realized. The other must have been from hitting her head. Lupin pulled her up in to his arms quickly. Holding her to him tightly he breathed heavily. The sobs that wracked his body were painful. After a moment he squeezed his eyes closed tightly and took a deep breath. Hermione shivered violently in his arms. Pulling the blanket up off the ground, he wrapped it around the two of them. Bending to pick up her wand, it finally extinguished the light, Lupin wrapped his arms around her tightly and set off.
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Later
Hermione was warm. All around her, her entire body was wrapped in a warm cucoon. Opening her eyes, she gasped when she saw a blury face in front of hers. Blinking several times to clear the fog from her eyes and mind. Hermione lowered her eyes and saw that she was wrapped in several blankets, without anything but undergarments, with a man who was in much the same state. As Lupin's tired face came in to focus finally, so did her memories from the night before. Immediatly Hermione was concerned, afraid she had hurt Lupin while trying to run. Pulling back slightly, she ran her hands across the skin she could reach, checking for any injuries. Sighing with relief, she settled back down and looked over Lupin's face. He looked exhausted and the worry lines on his face had not completely disappeared. As gently as she could she put her hand in his and sqeezed. Lupin groaned softly. Curious, Hermione opened his hand and saw a large gash in it. Sighing and shaking her head, she removed herself from the warmth radiating from his body.
"Herm..ione...." came Lupin's protest. Checking to make sure he was still asleep, Hermione smiled and turned to look for a bandage and cleaning salve. Once she had found it, she knelt and took Lupin's hand in her own. As gently as she could, she cleansed the wound and then wrapped it. Placing her things back in her bag, she slid down into the blankets again. This time, Lupin's arm came up and pulled her against his body. Hermione released a shaky chuckle and leaned against his skin gently. He was warm. Last night she had been freezing. Thinking over the events, a shudder made it's way through her body. 'I should have known. I even read about the counteracting years ago. I shouldn't have been so stupid. Remus is going to blame himself.' She realized. Saddened by this she traced her fingertips over his skin again. Moving over scars and old injuries, memorizing each one. Finally her fingers had wound their way to his face. Two faint scars were present. The first ran diagonalley down from his forhead to cheek. The other, in the same diretion, ended at his top lip. That's where her fingers ended up, tracing his lips lightly. Making sure that he was still asleep, Hermione gave in and leaned foreward. She placed a faint kiss on Remus's lips.
The next kiss was far less faint. Lupin's eyes had opened as soon as her lips had touched his. As Hermione pulled away, she saw he was awake. Before she knew it, his hand was behind her neck and he had pulled her down for another kiss. His lips massaged hers softly, maddeningly. A soft moan escaped and was swallowed between them. Lupin broke his lips away and moved them to her face. Hermione's hand had come up and was burried in the hair on his neck. The feeling of his lips on her caused a blush to spread across her face. Suddenly, his lips crossed the cut on her face. He reeled back and sat up quickly.
"Remus, what...?" She asked but was cut off when he stood up and stepped away from her. He was clad only in his underclothes and he moved quickly to wrap a blanket around his waist. He sat heavily in the large armchair and put his head in his hands. Hermione heard the first harsh intake of his breath and moved quickly to his side. When she put her hand on his shoulder he flinched. "What did I do? Remus?" He let out a bitter laugh.
"What did you do?! You?! I ALMOST KILLED YOU AND YOU ASK WHAT YOU DID?!" He shouted. He stood again and moved away from her again. "I told you I was a huge risk. That I was dangerous. And I know you could care less. But Hermione I woke up and I thught I had killed you. When I realized where I was and that you weren't here..I went crazy. I.."
"Remus listen to me. The Sterlingus Potion I gave to you to counter act the silver made the Wolfsbane Potion useless. It wasn't you!. I didn't realize it until last night. I had even read it a few years ago. I made you lose control because I was stupid. I..." She stopped because Lupin had sat down again, a defeated look in his eyes. When he burried his head in his hands again Hermione moved to his side once more. This time he didn't reel when she touched him. He pulled her down, to settle in his lap and he wrapped the blanket around them. They sat there in silence. Lupin started to absently run his fingers through the ends of Hermione's hair. Sighing, she relaxed fully on to his bare chest. He rested his forehead against the side of her face and closed his eyes. Both of them released a sigh. When he whispered something, Hermione turned her head, their faces barely apart. His grey eyes were burning in to hers.
"I love you too Remus."
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The smell of water and smoke filled Lupin's nose. Blinking several times in the dim morning light, he saw a huge fireplace, the wood burned to nothing more then coals. Moving his head, he realized he was in the shrieking shack. Sitting up abruptly he looked around. "Hermione? Hermione!!!!!!?" She didn't answer. He was in the room they had shared, not the one he had locked himself in. Panic spread through him. Standing quickly, Lupin quickly fell back into a squat, his head pounding. Stifling a groan, he shook his head and moved to the door. All manner of furniture had been thrown in front of it. 'To keep me from getting in..Then how?' A cold breeze touched Lupin's bare skin and he whirled. Glass littered the floor beneathed the shattered window. Horror passed through him and turned his stomach. Stepping forwardly, not minding his bare feet, Lupin kneeled down to examine the mess. Several red specks had covered a piece of glas. Picking it up, he sniffed it. Blood. Hermione's blood. The wave of dizzyness made Lupin fall back. He threw out a hand to catch himself and growled when he felt a piece of glass dig in to his hand. Regaining his balance, he furiously ripped the shard from his hand. The white snow glared harshly and he had to squint to see the footprints. But they were there, leading in to the forest. Like lightening, Lupin snapped into motion. He grabbed a pair of thin pants from his bag and a took one of the blankets from the floor. Without a second thought, he jumped out the window, into the snow, barefoot and bare chested.
Inhaling deeply he caught her scent. 'The wolf was good for something' he thought bitterly. 'The wolf is the reason she ran. You could have killed her Remus. What was that blood from? You could have..bitten her' Lupin shook his demons from his head and set off at a jog, parrallel to the set of footprints. His own crossed them several times but he had eventually headed away, losing interest. Hermione's however, went straight in to the dark forest. Without a hesitation, Lupin ran in.
"HERMIONE!" He yelled, straining his ears for her voice. There was only dead silence. "HERMIONE!! WHERE ARE YOU!!!! HERMIONE!!!" Her footsteps veered to the left, underneath a heavy log that had fallen. There was a small passage underneath but Lupin hurteled over it effortlessly. His usual wearyness had been replaced by the desperate need to find Hermione. Adrenaline was surging through his veins, keeping the wolf's mind close to the surface. Inhaling once again, Lupin caught the whisp of something on the cold wind. It was her. There was no mistaking it.
As he drew closer, the scent grew stronger. In the distance, he saw a faint orange light. 'Hermione..' When he found her, he bit his lip to hold back to groan and the tears. She was curled up into a ball, shivering and unconcious. Her wand lay next to her, still emitting light. Lupin fell to his knees beside her and turned her gently. The smell of blood didn't escape his notice. He frantically looked over her wet clothes for any sign of injury. When he reached her face he let loose a sob of relief. There was a small cut on her cheek and another small cut on the top of her head. 'The glass' he realized. The other must have been from hitting her head. Lupin pulled her up in to his arms quickly. Holding her to him tightly he breathed heavily. The sobs that wracked his body were painful. After a moment he squeezed his eyes closed tightly and took a deep breath. Hermione shivered violently in his arms. Pulling the blanket up off the ground, he wrapped it around the two of them. Bending to pick up her wand, it finally extinguished the light, Lupin wrapped his arms around her tightly and set off.
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Later
Hermione was warm. All around her, her entire body was wrapped in a warm cucoon. Opening her eyes, she gasped when she saw a blury face in front of hers. Blinking several times to clear the fog from her eyes and mind. Hermione lowered her eyes and saw that she was wrapped in several blankets, without anything but undergarments, with a man who was in much the same state. As Lupin's tired face came in to focus finally, so did her memories from the night before. Immediatly Hermione was concerned, afraid she had hurt Lupin while trying to run. Pulling back slightly, she ran her hands across the skin she could reach, checking for any injuries. Sighing with relief, she settled back down and looked over Lupin's face. He looked exhausted and the worry lines on his face had not completely disappeared. As gently as she could she put her hand in his and sqeezed. Lupin groaned softly. Curious, Hermione opened his hand and saw a large gash in it. Sighing and shaking her head, she removed herself from the warmth radiating from his body.
"Herm..ione...." came Lupin's protest. Checking to make sure he was still asleep, Hermione smiled and turned to look for a bandage and cleaning salve. Once she had found it, she knelt and took Lupin's hand in her own. As gently as she could, she cleansed the wound and then wrapped it. Placing her things back in her bag, she slid down into the blankets again. This time, Lupin's arm came up and pulled her against his body. Hermione released a shaky chuckle and leaned against his skin gently. He was warm. Last night she had been freezing. Thinking over the events, a shudder made it's way through her body. 'I should have known. I even read about the counteracting years ago. I shouldn't have been so stupid. Remus is going to blame himself.' She realized. Saddened by this she traced her fingertips over his skin again. Moving over scars and old injuries, memorizing each one. Finally her fingers had wound their way to his face. Two faint scars were present. The first ran diagonalley down from his forhead to cheek. The other, in the same diretion, ended at his top lip. That's where her fingers ended up, tracing his lips lightly. Making sure that he was still asleep, Hermione gave in and leaned foreward. She placed a faint kiss on Remus's lips.
The next kiss was far less faint. Lupin's eyes had opened as soon as her lips had touched his. As Hermione pulled away, she saw he was awake. Before she knew it, his hand was behind her neck and he had pulled her down for another kiss. His lips massaged hers softly, maddeningly. A soft moan escaped and was swallowed between them. Lupin broke his lips away and moved them to her face. Hermione's hand had come up and was burried in the hair on his neck. The feeling of his lips on her caused a blush to spread across her face. Suddenly, his lips crossed the cut on her face. He reeled back and sat up quickly.
"Remus, what...?" She asked but was cut off when he stood up and stepped away from her. He was clad only in his underclothes and he moved quickly to wrap a blanket around his waist. He sat heavily in the large armchair and put his head in his hands. Hermione heard the first harsh intake of his breath and moved quickly to his side. When she put her hand on his shoulder he flinched. "What did I do? Remus?" He let out a bitter laugh.
"What did you do?! You?! I ALMOST KILLED YOU AND YOU ASK WHAT YOU DID?!" He shouted. He stood again and moved away from her again. "I told you I was a huge risk. That I was dangerous. And I know you could care less. But Hermione I woke up and I thught I had killed you. When I realized where I was and that you weren't here..I went crazy. I.."
"Remus listen to me. The Sterlingus Potion I gave to you to counter act the silver made the Wolfsbane Potion useless. It wasn't you!. I didn't realize it until last night. I had even read it a few years ago. I made you lose control because I was stupid. I..." She stopped because Lupin had sat down again, a defeated look in his eyes. When he burried his head in his hands again Hermione moved to his side once more. This time he didn't reel when she touched him. He pulled her down, to settle in his lap and he wrapped the blanket around them. They sat there in silence. Lupin started to absently run his fingers through the ends of Hermione's hair. Sighing, she relaxed fully on to his bare chest. He rested his forehead against the side of her face and closed his eyes. Both of them released a sigh. When he whispered something, Hermione turned her head, their faces barely apart. His grey eyes were burning in to hers.
"I love you too Remus."
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