Disclaimer: see chp 1

Last on One Thing:

"Tonks, I need a favor, please. Take me Hermione's place. I need to talk to her."

He didn't have the energy to try the puppy dog eyes he knew worked so well with her. But he looked pathetic enough so that Tonks agreed to take him.

"Oh what the heck, I'm already in a whole lot of trouble for bringing you here in the first place, let's go kiddo."

Chapter 3

It was too late to go directly to Hermione's, so Tonks convinced Harry to stay with her at her flat, since he refused to stay at Grimmauld Place. She lived near the Leaky Cauldron in a very modest flat. Luckily her roommate was out of town; Tonks was already in enough trouble as it was and it wouldn't do to have her roommate, who incidentally happened to be a reporter, know about the escape of Harry Potter and this entire mess. Tonks didn't even know what was going on herself and the only reason she was helping Harry was because if she didn't, he would be running around town on his own. He had that determined, 'Potter-to-the-rescue' look on his face, so Tonks knew he wasn't about to give in, and this way, at least he was with a trained Auror.

Morning came and Harry wouldn't even stop to let Tonks make breakfast. It was eight a.m. when they stepped out of her flat heading off to the Grangers' house.

It was a short trip to Hermione's place. It was also a silent one; Tonks was itching to ask what was going on, but the pensive look Harry sported stopped the words from coming out. Something was wrong, but the clumsy Auror knew her role: protect Harry at all costs and try not to meddle in what little personal life he had.

They found themselves standing in front of a normal looking, if a bit large, two story house. It had a picture window and small lamps at each side of the door. It looked exactly as Harry expected it to look.

He knocked on the door and waited for a couple of minutes, until a woman who he assumed was Mrs. Granger opened the door. The petite forty something woman was obviously surprised to find a teenager and a young woman with weird looking green hair standing at her door.

"Mrs. Granger?" At her nod he added, "Good evening, my name is Harry Potter and I'm looking for your daughter Hermione

. I'm a friend from school."

"Oh, Harry, come in dear, I thought I recognized you from somewhere. And you are?"

"Excuse my rudeness, this is Nymphadora Tonks, an Auror. She escorted me here."

Tonks walked forward and extended her hand as they entered the house.

"Hello, Mrs. Granger. I came here last summer to pick up your daughter."

"Yes, yes I remember; your hair was a little different, though."

"Yes, it was."

She ushered them in and went looking for her daughter. Seconds later they could hear Hermione running down the steps towards the living room.

"Harry!"

She launched herself at him, giving him a much needed hug. She took a look at his face and immediately went into concerned best friend mode.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you at the Dursleys'? What happened? Is it Ron?"

"Hermione, calm down, is there somewhere we can speak privately? I need your advice."

"Let's go up to my room."

They left Tonks with Mrs. Granger and headed towards the second floor. Hermione led Harry towards the first door to the right. It was definitively a girl's room, with flowers and frills, decorated in creams and different shades of pinks. It had a queen sized bed, a desk, a medium sized library full of books, and in the corner, facing the window, a small couch.

They sat there, Hermione worriedly waiting for Harry to find the right words to tell her what the situation was. He figured that showing her the letters first would make her understand the situation fastest and then he could tell her everything else. Besides, she would probably see things in the letters he could have missed or have a different insight about them.

"Last night I received a couple of interesting letters." He took them out of his pocket and gave them to her, since one opened the letters could be read by anyone.

She took her time reading first the one from Gringott's and then the one from Lily Potter.

"You've got to help me, Hermione; I don't know what to do!"

"Oh dear, Harry, how come these things only happen to you? Don't worry, we'll figure it out. First let's make a list of the pros and cons of each decision. No, wait, first let's see what your options are and then we'll make a list of consequences for each one, ok?"

He raised his hands up in smiling defeat, glad that his friend had such an organized mind, and was ready to help him no matter what.

"Go ahead, Hermione."

"Ok, first, you can say no to Remus. Here are the consequences: first, he dies; and second, you live your life as you want and try to find someone to love you, like the rest of the world."

Despair filled the green eyes before her.

"I can't let him die, I just can't. He's the only connection to my parents and Sirius, that I have left. I can't lose him, too, not if there's a way to save him."

Now that was the young man Hermione had grown up with: brave, caring, and unwilling to let others suffer because of him.

"Well then, here's option number two: you 'mate' with him: first, he lives; and second, you spend the rest of your life attached to someone you're not even attracted to and live a life of frustration, resentment, and reproach."

"Well, when you put it like that…"

"I'm serious, Harry."

"Me, too, Hermione. Let's face it: the way things are going, I might not live to see my seventeenth birthday. I'm not like normal people; I can't make plans and dreams of a happy life! I have a madman after my head and in the end it's either he kills me or I kill him and even if I do kill him, I still might not survive."

"Excuse me, back up a bit. 'Either he kills you or you kill him?' Who told you that?"

He gave her an apologetic look. He hadn't discussed the contents of the prophecy with either Hermione or Ron and now he had just blurted it out. Before he could do anything about it, though, she got that 'I know what's going on' look on her face.

"It's the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, right? That's what it said?"

He didn't feel like hiding it from her anymore, so he gave her an honest answer.

"Yes, that's basically it."

She threw her arms around his neck and a muffled "Oh, Harry" could be heard. It wasn't pity. He couldn't stand pity. It was more like sadness for all the things that happened to her friend.

She regained her composure and got them back on track.

"Ok, one problem at a time. Let's deal with the whole mate thing first. I have a very important question Harry. Are you attracted to men?"

"What? No, Hermione I'm not!"

"Don't anger yourself, Harry. It's a perfectly normal question; after the whole Cho mess you haven't shown interest in any other girl."

"Well, that doesn't mean I'm gay."

"No, it does not."

A long uncomfortable pause later, Hermione tried again.

"It would help if you found Remus at least a bit attractive."

Harry thought back on the kiss and a blush crept onto his cheeks.

"Harry, I think a test is in order."

"What kind of a test?"

"I think I should kiss you and you should compare my kiss to the one Remus gave you."

"But Hermione, you're like a sister to me, I can't kiss you."

"Oh, stop with the horrified act, Harry. I am a girl, you are a boy and we are not family. I know I'm not as pretty as Cho Chang but I am not entirely unattractive."

"No, no Hermione, I didn't mean that! You're very pretty, I swear."

She crossed her arms, but let him get away with it. They shared another awkward pause and then, when he least expected it, Hermione practically threw herself at him.

It was a nice kiss. Harry was glad for the lack of tears. He opened his mouth to take a breath and Hermione took the opportunity to explore his mouth. After a few seconds of shock, Harry followed suit and kissed her back.

Hermione backed away slowly, trying not to startle her friend. She waited patiently until the curiosity overtook her.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Honestly, Harry! I just kissed you and all you can say is 'so what?' "

"What do you want me to say, 'Mione? It was nice, not wet at all."

Hermione ran her hands through her hair in frustration.

"Harry, the point is to compare and contrast. Was it any better than Remus' kiss, or what?"

He thought for a second. Hermione's kiss was all right but it lacked something. It lacked that feeling of losing yourself in the other person that Remus' kiss had given him. He wasn't really swept off his feet by it. It didn't leave him incoherent and giddy. He felt nothing at all.

He told all this to Hermione, trying very hard not to hurt her feelings.

"I'm sorry, 'Mione, it didn't feel the same. It was nice, but it didn't feel right."

"That's all right, Harry. I kind of expected it."

Her words calmed him but the look on her face didn't exactly reassure him.

"Are you sure?"

"This was a test for me, too, Harry. I've been thinking about you for a while, you and Ron, and pursuing a relationship with one of you. Now I'm sure I like Ron better and I can get you out of my system."

She turned to look him directly in the eyes.

"Now don't you dare get awkward with me, mister. You are still my best friend and I still love you no matter what. Let's focus on the mate situation now. I think it's safe to say that you definitely liked Remus' kiss and can be attracted to him, right?"

"Yes."

"So, let's just answer another question. Are you willing to give your life to him? Let's suppose you live, and everything goes as planned. There is no more Voldemort or war. What do you want, Harry?"

It was in fact the only question that mattered. What did he want? He thought about it for a while, resting his head on Hermione's lap while she played with his hair. She tried to simplify things for him.

"I know you think you have no choice, Harry, but you do. We always do. You can either do as you are told or rebel against it; you can choose to 'mate' with Remus or turn your back on him. You have a choice to build a family or not. In a range of very limited options you do have choices, you just have to choose the one with the consequences you will be able to live with for the rest of your life."

But could Harry live attached to Remus for the rest of his life? Could he give up the search for love and make himself mate to a werewolf? He realized the answer was not in his mind. The answer was in his heart. In the end, the real question was if he could let Remus die. He had been at least partly responsible of the death of so many people in his life: his parents, Cedric, Sirius. But at the same time those deaths had been under circumstances he couldn't possibly have controlled. This time he had absolute control. He had Remus' life in his hands. Was Harry willing to kill him or to save him?

He raised his head from Hermione's lap and took his friend's hands in his.

"I don't want him to die. I can learn to love him. I can't let him die."

She gave him a reassuring hug.

"I know you can't, Harry. You wouldn't be you if you could. Now, let's get you and your werewolf together."

He groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"What?"

"'My' werewolf is an uptight idiot who would rather let himself die than allow me to become his mate. He thinks he's so honorable and stuff and he won't let me save him, I know he won't. I know he must be kicking himself for kissing me."

"Well, we'll just have to make a plan, won't we?"

There was a gleam in her eyes that he knew from the previous six years of planning adventures and battles. He had been right to come to her. She always knew what to do.

They sat there until Hermione's mother decided they needed to eat lunch, since from what Tonks had said, neither had had breakfast.

The Auror was relieved to see them come down the stairs. Harry looked less troubled, maybe even calm. She was glad to have brought him here. She did not want to think about how much trouble she would be in once they went back to Headquarters, but something told her it would be worth it if it served to help Harry in any way. She had grown attached to him in the short time she had known him and had also known of all the sadness and grief that troubled his young heart. She didn't know what was going on this time but she would help him, even if it cost her job. Harry was a nice kid with way too many expectations on his shoulders.

The four of them sat at the Grangers' dining room table. Mr. Granger was at a conference for the week so he was not present. They ate cold ham sandwiches on mayo, and chips. All of this in silence. Mrs. Granger had very good instincts, instincts that her daughter had inherited. Hermione's mother knew something was the matter, but she also knew that she did not need to meddle in it, as her daughter already had. She had talked about ordinary things with the young Auror, but then left the table to do the usual chores that any house demanded. She was glad her practice was in one of the wings on the first floor of the house and that she didn't have many patients that day. The Grangers never did when their daughter was home. They liked to spend as much time as possible with her.

After lunch the two teenagers went to the backyard and sat under the shade of the only tree the Grangers had, back there trying to come up with a foolproof plan.

"What if I just go up to him, tell him we're going to be mates, and that he has no say in the matter?"

"Uh-huh, and what exactly would you do if he came up to you and said the exact same thing? Regardless of what he feels for you, Harry, the wolf is the dominant and he will not be ordered around. Not even by his mate."

"You might be right, Hermione, but I just don't know a way around it. What do you want me to do? Seduce him?"

Hermione's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Exactly, Harry! You have a few weeks before you have to do anything. What you can do before then is get to know him better and spend time with him while at the same time use little tricks to seduce him."

"Little tricks how? You do realize who you're talking to here, don't you, Hermione? I'm not exactly the king of subtlety."

"Yes, I know but I'll teach you. It's nothing big, just little things like brushing your hand with his every once in a while, looking him in the eyes when you're talking, stuff like that. Tricks of seduction every girl knows and that will be passed on to you by me."

Harry didn't know if he should be afraid or honored by this.

"When are we going to do this? I'm sure the Order must be having kittens now, thinking that I've been kidnapped or something."

"Don't worry. I'm sure Tonks let them know where you are."

"Oh shit, Tonks! She's going to be in so much trouble because of me."

"Don't worry about it, Harry, I 'm sure the Headmaster will understand and won't punish her."

"I hope so… you haven't told me yet, what are we going to do?"

"We are going to have a one day cramming session with the help of Tonks and my mother; maybe we should ask Ginny to come along, she's really good at the whole seduction thing."

"Whoa! Slow down, Hermione. I'm not sure I want to talk about seduction with your mom, much less Ginny."

"Don't be a prude, Harry; you need all the help you can get!"

And that is how Harry Potter found himself sitting in a living room full of women trying to teach him the art of seduction. All the while, he was thinking 'how do I get myself into these situations?'

Hermione, Hermione's mother, Tonks, and Ginny all sat around him. Ginny had been surprised to find him there, since she had been told she was just going to visit Hermione for the day. Harry had refused to let Ron come. It was bad enough as it was, he didn't need to have Ron reminding him of a discussion on seduction for the rest of his life. Besides, Ron would have seriously hurt himself from laughing so hard.

Once the other three women were updated on the situation and the plan Hermione had come up with, they had been all over Harry trying to teach him. Everything was covered. From coy looks, seductive pouts and enticing poses to innocent brushes, to when everything else failed: cornering and snogging.

His head was swimming with information. He really didn't want to be a part of this, but it wasn't as if he had much choice.

By seven that night they were done. The doorbell rang, and there was none other than Headmaster Dumbledore himself.

For the fourth time in two days Harry had to explain his story of being Remus' mate and his reactions about the news. He omitted the plan Hermione had cooked up, but did say he was going to do all he could to get Remus to accept him.

Dumbledore had that annoying twinkle in his eyes by the end of the conversation. It was the first time in a while something had happened to Harry that he was not responsible for, and Dumbledore was glad. Besides, helping Harry catch Remus would give him an excuse to get closer to the young wizard and regain some of the trust he had lost in the past year.

They left for Grimmauld Place that very night. Harry hugged Hermione, her mother, and Ginny. He thanked them profusely but inwardly hoped this situation never come up again in his life. He had never been more embarrassed, but he hoped their tips would help. He was warming up to the idea of having someone who cared for him, someone he was completely compatible with and who was the best match for him. Who knew, maybe Harry could even learn to love Remus.

Once they arrived at Headquarters, Harry was sent upstairs. He didn't even get a chance to look for Remus, but it didn't really matter since Dumbledore had said Harry would be staying in Number Twelve for the rest of the summer. He had plenty of time to 'get his wolf,' as Ginny put it. Harry and Remus would be mostly by themselves, since the Weasleys were staying at the Burrow and the other Order members would come and go at their own pace.

Harry unpacked at his leisure and suddenly felt very tired. The whirlwind of emotions he had been put through for the last couple of days were catching up with him and all he could think about was his bed.

He was walking towards the bathroom to get ready for bed when he bumped into someone.

The person holding him tensed when Harry looked up. It was Remus. He gave him a smile and for a moment Remus returned it, only to frown as he got near enough to Harry to be able to smell his face and his hair. Remus let him go abruptly and Harry stumbled for a moment before re-gaining his balance.

"Remus, what…?"

"I see you have made your choice."

What is he talking about? How can he possibly know?

"Yes, I have."

"Very well, Harry, I wish you and Hermione all the luck in the world."

Hermione!

"Hermione?"

"Yes, if you'll excuse me, I have Order business."

A very confused Harry let him pass. What the hell is going on? Where did he get the idea that I want anything to do with Hermione?

These questions ran through Harry's head for the better part of the night. Exhaustion forgotten, he couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned all night thinking of Remus' words. That is, until he remembered something he had read in his third year for the essay they had had to do for Professor Snape in DADA. Werewolves had a superb sense of smell; Harry had kissed Hermione, and Remus must have smelled Hermione's scent all over Harry, considering that he had laid his head on her lap and she had petted his hair… and the kiss, oh dear the kiss! Of course Remus would think the worst. Harry had to do something to fix it. He made to stand up, but realized it was three in the morning and he didn't think that being impetuous would be of any help in this situation.

Tomorrow … Tomorrow he would wake early and search for Remus, tell him his decision and everything would be all right.

A/N: so, hope you all like it, thanks to my beta Eireverde who gave me subtle hints to get off my but and finish this story. There's just one more chapter to go before the end so enjoy this one. Thanks to all who reviewed: Joulez, SiLvErFaTeD, E-Vector, Hake Balms, Sweet Mercy, Random Hyper Kid the Second ( a little bit disturbing but I appreciate the rating), Jemma Blackwell, Jen, Poicale, Dracula5555, FantasyChick, Anarane Anwamane, and others.

I know, I know, cheap way out but someone pointed out that I had said that the letters were charmed so that no one else could read them before Harry. My point was that only Harry could read them up to then but that from then on anyone he showed them to could read them. Plus I lost chp 1 so the change had to be done here.