Moonlight Madness
By shadowlessphantom
Warning: This is about REMUS and HERMIONE, in case you're just a stray dog who happened to 'stray' here. If you don't like what you see, what you read, or just in case you don't like it for no reason, you're free to hit that Back button and depart to other fan fics. It will clearly be my pleasure to see you leave. YOUR OWN FLAMES WILL BURN YOU IN HELL. See you there mate.
Chapter Two: Three Times A Kiss
"Good morning."
Remus smiled and greeted Hermione as she walked towards the dining room where he was already preparing breakfast, wearing a big shirt on and leggings, hair held back in a ponytail. Hermione had outgrown her bushy hair and it was now naturally wavy.
"Good morning. Wait! What are you doing? You're the guest! Leave that to me!" she said, running over to him and stopping him from making their coffee. Seeing black coffee was available, Remus presumed it was what she liked. He liked it himself.
Remus smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "No, guests aren't excused. Besides its okay." He replied and grinned at her.
She sighed and smiled. "Fine then. Meanwhile, would you like anything to eat?" she asked, opening the cupboards for a pan. "Anything you would have."
There was silence as Remus finished making coffee and Hermione started cooking bacon and toasting bread. He only asked her if she wanted sugar in her coffee, and how many teaspoons would it be.
"See that tree Remus? Isn't it beautiful?" Hermione asked as she moved the bacon to two separate plates for the two of them. Remus pulled two stools so they could eat in the kitchen counter instead, where they could look at the tree.
"It is. Is it an oak?" he asked. She nodded as both of them sat down. They absentmindedly started eating, still gazing at the tree and thinking something far from where they were, caught up in a tangle of thoughts and memories.
"I remember the Whomping Willow." Remus said quietly, sipping his coffee and glancing for a brief second at her. She smiled.
"And Hogwarts. Hagrid. The lake. The Giant squid. The greenhouse. Even Snape." She whispered. "Where innocence was lost." He replied. Hermione didn't know what Remus meant, as his phrase could mean anything so she thought it best to be quiet and enjoy the silence.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts..." Remus was singing under his breath, and Hermione surprised herself by singing with him, though in a different tune. After all, the school song was sung at any tune anyone pleased.
"I miss Harry and Ron." She muttered, sighing and realizing how things were so different now, and how nothing could ever be the same even when she tried to make it to be. "I miss James, Sirius and even Peter." He said and patted her lightly on the shoulder as if to comfort her. He was feeling the heaviness in her aura.
"I even miss Ron and our arguments, and Harry quiet and patient would stop us if it got too much. Most of the time even, they would take each other's side and always leaves me alone. I just miss the old times. Even Malfoy's sneer. And Snape's hideous essays and mood, Hagrid always having scary and dangerous creatures round Care of Magical Creatures class..." She was talking at top speed but Remus understood.
"Why don't you calm down and let's finish our coffee?" he said after she stopped to breathe. She nodded. There was no longer a trace of a smile on her face but a heaviness that weighed her down and made her look older; mature.
"That would be a good idea."
They finished breakfast, and snow started falling again, masking the naked oak tree in white. Hermione remembered Christmas was near, and she was wondering if both she and Remus would do the buying at the same time.
"Let's forget about the grocery." she said as she placed the dishes in the dishwasher and Remus started cleaning the place where he had made coffee. She somehow, decided that she would spend this day to think or read or maybe work.
"All right. But I must invite you somewhere, if that's fine?" he asked. "Where?" she asked back. "You'll know later. Let's dress up and you'll know." And he smiled lightly at her, gazing into her eyes.
It wasn't hard to get lost in them. They were just really captivating.
"Hasn't changed a bit, don't you agree?" Remus asked, as Hermione stood beside him and they looked out at Hogwarts, with many windows looming against a breezy, afternoon sky. The lake looked like a big mirror; the school reflected in its dark waters.
Trees swayed darkly at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and far away where they stood was heard laughter and voices of students of the Hogwarts now. The same but different in a manner of speaking.
"Nope, it hasn't." She replied as they turned to each other, sharing a smile. Neither knew what the other was thinking, but both of them were glad to be back where their memories remained.
"Why don't we say hello to Professor Dumbledore? It's lunch time." Hermione suggested, and Remus was happy to agree. They walked towards the school courtyard, receiving a few looks, as they were not known there, at least by face.
"I'm imagining myself bushy haired and in Hogwarts robes, walking this grounds with a pile of books, arguing with Ron and Harry for taking each other's side again." She whispered, closing her eyes for a fleeting moment as if she strayed in a memory long gone and she found herself once more, here with big front teeth and a bossy voice.
Remus spoke too. "I imagine myself sneaking with James, Sirius and Peter to go to the Forbidden Forest, with no fear of the moon. Not yet a werewolf, happy with no cares, watching as James and Sirius argue where to go tonight and Peter and I remain quiet."
Hermione's eyes snapped open and she saw him smiling with his eyes closed, both of them knowing where to go anyway, he himself lost somewhere else in his own memory. Her heart rose steadily in her chest, beating in another way it had never before.
At the sight of him like this, an indescribable emotion surged through her body, making her weak, making her feel heady, making her light headed like she had just gotten herself drunk though she never knew the feeling.
Remus opened his eyes and looked back at Hermione who had stopped dead in her tracks. Their eyes met once more, just as it did countless of times since yesterday. And like yesterday and this morning, Hermione found herself lost in his eyes over again, as if she was someplace else where nothing exists except him and her and the memories to remember and be cherished.
He looked back in equal wonder at how his former student looked now. Eyes soft, brows slightly furrowed as if thinking of something important, standing there as if mesmerized. Remus could admit—something was different between them, since last night, since their eyes met, since they saw each other again.
An all too familiar prickle ran through his neck, same thing he felt every time he thought of the moon but now it wasn't of fear but of something else he wanted so much to find out but couldn't. Something was holding him back as if saying not yet, not now.
"Remus! Hermione!" the voice of Minerva McGonagall was clear and it broke the spell between them. The moment was gone, and though Hermione looked at him again, his eyes were not the same and what she had seen in them was lost.
"Professor!" Hermione called, trying to shrug off a voice in her heart trying to tell her something. It wasn't possible, it couldn't be. Her heart was lying. Everything was called by the moment. Nothing was real. It merely existed in her very own imagination.
"Well, well, how come you came for a visit?" she asked fondly, smiling at both of them. "We were discussing about Hogwarts this morning, and Hermione here was missing old memories so I decided to ask her to go here." Remus explained, flashing a smile—it warmed her heart and melted it—in her direction.
"Well, if it isn't pure coincidence. Harry and Ron are here too." She said with a smile and led them to the Great Hall.
Once the double doors opened, there was a hush going on. Harry and Ron could be barely seen with a lot of students asking for autographs. There were flashes of cameras here and there, and girls were giggling and whispering to each other.
"Hermione!" they both bellowed at the same time, and every Hogwarts student, knowing the adventures of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger quickly turned their attention to her.
There was a pause; and then some of the students in the crowd moved towards her, asking for a picture but not an autograph, which she was thankful for as being a very good student she used her hand a lot and she still does and it was tiring.
Remus watched as Hermione smiled and took pictures with Harry, Ron and the students. It was like a fan day. One particularly pretty seventh year gave Ron a smooch for her picture, to which he blushed crimson and girls giggled everywhere.
He watched as her eyes sparkled—but no it wasn't that way a while ago. There was no sparkle in her eyes—only a gleam of memory and brows furrowed because of a heavy thought. Mixed with it was her mesmerized expression. He wondered if he'd ever see it again sometime.
Finally, the hustle died and everyone got their share of autographs and pictures was the only time Hermione, Ron and Harry were allowed to join the teachers and Remus over at the Staff table. Snape was looking pretty much his old self and acknowledged them with a nod and no more.
"Good for you to visit!" Dumbledore said, smiling at them broadly as if it was the first day of school and it was the feast. His eyes sparkled on the candle light beneath his silver beard: and he got his wand, waved it and three chairs appeared at once.
They didn't sit at once thought; they greeted their old teachers one by one, and they went to Fleur, in her last year as DADA teacher because she would be marrying Bill, and exchange mixed up and misinterpreted words with her.
After, Hermione found herself seated beside Remus, and being present at Hogwarts, was quickly reminded of how she had first seen him and when. Memories of Hinkypunks, Boggarts, and many other things flashed by her mind.
There was a lot of talk, but she rarely participated. She watched the students and was enthralled for a very long moment. Just a thought fleeted across her mind, something she never thought she would be thinking.
"I think I would want to teach."
"What?" Ron asked, only hearing Hermione speak but not understanding what she said. Her eyes lit up; she turned to her two best friends and grinned. "Gods, Harry, Ron—I think I want to teach."
The two men looked at each other and back at her. "Are you serious?" asked Harry, looking shocked at the sudden thought. Hermione nodded. "I am—I mean, I have at one point thought of it but right now, being back here, I think I want to teach."
She watched Ron and Harry exchange looks again and they beamed at her. "That's bloody brilliant!" Ron said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. She smiled and turned to Remus, who had, all this time, been looking at her and listening.
"I heard. And you do want to know, I have been invited back by Dumbledore, and I would personally want the Defense Against the Dark Arts subject." He said with slight amusement.
She shrugged. "I wouldn't mind waiting for one of the teachers to leave before I become one." She said and grinned at him. He chuckled and turned to Dumbledore, telling him of Hermione's sudden thought and decision.
"My, my, Ms. Granger. Before jumping into any chances since there would be no Muggle Studies teacher for next year, I advise you to think this over and tell Tonks, as you will be a great loss for an Auror." He said with a twinkle in his eyes.
Hermione nodded—she would think about it. Maybe it was time to take a break from Auror duties; maybe what she wanted was to teach after all. Share her knowledge; be surprised as old students come back with their own jobs and careers, asking how she'd been.
Remus watched Hermione look out at the Great Hall at the hundred of students. Her eyes were soft and had the gleam of memory and her brows slightly furrowed weighed with thought. The way it was when their eyes had locked and a spell was cast.
He wondered how much he would love to see that look in her eyes every morning and every day.
They stayed there longer than they intended, and while Harry and Ron were out at the Quidditch pitch with the Gryffindor Quidditch team, teaching them, Remus and Hermione found themselves in the library.
After a long while of reading, and for both their parts, some students had shyly asked help with their homework, the two of them got out to the school courtyard and stood by the edge of the lake, where the sun was sinking slowly and steadily, bathing the greens with tinges of orange and pink and a little yellow.
"How beautiful." Hermione gushed as they both looked out and enjoyed the view. Remus flashed her a long look. "How beautiful indeed." He whispered, but not referring to the sunset.
She was beautiful. Beautiful with her soft eyes with the gleam of memory. How could it be? Remus was confused. She was beautiful in all ways. In mind, in heart, in soul: her eyes mirrored it all.
Hermione was surprised at the sudden touch on her cheek—it was slightly dark, and the two of them were merely shadows upon the fading day—two silhouettes gray and faint and quiet. She turned to face Remus, and clear in the dimness of the night were his eyes.
The spell was cast again—his hand was still on her cheek, fingers moving, caressing as she leaned against it. "Remus..." she whispered, not knowing what to say and only knowing here and now and what was without caring what will be.
His other hand moved to her other cheek, the spell unbreakable—strong and intoxicating but wonderfully pleasing. Remus no longer knew where or who he was—he only knew Hermione and her cheeks against his hands and the sunset and the lake and his feelings.
He moved closer to her and kissed her first on the forehead, his hands moving to her hair. And then, he bent slowly down and second, kissed the tip of her nose. And lastly, overcome by desire and too much emotion, he leaned down even more to meet her lips.
The sunset sank in the horizon, but the two figures were still there, still locked in a sweet, mildly passionate kiss that seemed to defy time and space and everything else in it. All that there was—love, affection, understanding—sealed in three times a kiss.
By shadowlessphantom
Warning: This is about REMUS and HERMIONE, in case you're just a stray dog who happened to 'stray' here. If you don't like what you see, what you read, or just in case you don't like it for no reason, you're free to hit that Back button and depart to other fan fics. It will clearly be my pleasure to see you leave. YOUR OWN FLAMES WILL BURN YOU IN HELL. See you there mate.
Chapter Two: Three Times A Kiss
"Good morning."
Remus smiled and greeted Hermione as she walked towards the dining room where he was already preparing breakfast, wearing a big shirt on and leggings, hair held back in a ponytail. Hermione had outgrown her bushy hair and it was now naturally wavy.
"Good morning. Wait! What are you doing? You're the guest! Leave that to me!" she said, running over to him and stopping him from making their coffee. Seeing black coffee was available, Remus presumed it was what she liked. He liked it himself.
Remus smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "No, guests aren't excused. Besides its okay." He replied and grinned at her.
She sighed and smiled. "Fine then. Meanwhile, would you like anything to eat?" she asked, opening the cupboards for a pan. "Anything you would have."
There was silence as Remus finished making coffee and Hermione started cooking bacon and toasting bread. He only asked her if she wanted sugar in her coffee, and how many teaspoons would it be.
"See that tree Remus? Isn't it beautiful?" Hermione asked as she moved the bacon to two separate plates for the two of them. Remus pulled two stools so they could eat in the kitchen counter instead, where they could look at the tree.
"It is. Is it an oak?" he asked. She nodded as both of them sat down. They absentmindedly started eating, still gazing at the tree and thinking something far from where they were, caught up in a tangle of thoughts and memories.
"I remember the Whomping Willow." Remus said quietly, sipping his coffee and glancing for a brief second at her. She smiled.
"And Hogwarts. Hagrid. The lake. The Giant squid. The greenhouse. Even Snape." She whispered. "Where innocence was lost." He replied. Hermione didn't know what Remus meant, as his phrase could mean anything so she thought it best to be quiet and enjoy the silence.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts..." Remus was singing under his breath, and Hermione surprised herself by singing with him, though in a different tune. After all, the school song was sung at any tune anyone pleased.
"I miss Harry and Ron." She muttered, sighing and realizing how things were so different now, and how nothing could ever be the same even when she tried to make it to be. "I miss James, Sirius and even Peter." He said and patted her lightly on the shoulder as if to comfort her. He was feeling the heaviness in her aura.
"I even miss Ron and our arguments, and Harry quiet and patient would stop us if it got too much. Most of the time even, they would take each other's side and always leaves me alone. I just miss the old times. Even Malfoy's sneer. And Snape's hideous essays and mood, Hagrid always having scary and dangerous creatures round Care of Magical Creatures class..." She was talking at top speed but Remus understood.
"Why don't you calm down and let's finish our coffee?" he said after she stopped to breathe. She nodded. There was no longer a trace of a smile on her face but a heaviness that weighed her down and made her look older; mature.
"That would be a good idea."
They finished breakfast, and snow started falling again, masking the naked oak tree in white. Hermione remembered Christmas was near, and she was wondering if both she and Remus would do the buying at the same time.
"Let's forget about the grocery." she said as she placed the dishes in the dishwasher and Remus started cleaning the place where he had made coffee. She somehow, decided that she would spend this day to think or read or maybe work.
"All right. But I must invite you somewhere, if that's fine?" he asked. "Where?" she asked back. "You'll know later. Let's dress up and you'll know." And he smiled lightly at her, gazing into her eyes.
It wasn't hard to get lost in them. They were just really captivating.
"Hasn't changed a bit, don't you agree?" Remus asked, as Hermione stood beside him and they looked out at Hogwarts, with many windows looming against a breezy, afternoon sky. The lake looked like a big mirror; the school reflected in its dark waters.
Trees swayed darkly at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and far away where they stood was heard laughter and voices of students of the Hogwarts now. The same but different in a manner of speaking.
"Nope, it hasn't." She replied as they turned to each other, sharing a smile. Neither knew what the other was thinking, but both of them were glad to be back where their memories remained.
"Why don't we say hello to Professor Dumbledore? It's lunch time." Hermione suggested, and Remus was happy to agree. They walked towards the school courtyard, receiving a few looks, as they were not known there, at least by face.
"I'm imagining myself bushy haired and in Hogwarts robes, walking this grounds with a pile of books, arguing with Ron and Harry for taking each other's side again." She whispered, closing her eyes for a fleeting moment as if she strayed in a memory long gone and she found herself once more, here with big front teeth and a bossy voice.
Remus spoke too. "I imagine myself sneaking with James, Sirius and Peter to go to the Forbidden Forest, with no fear of the moon. Not yet a werewolf, happy with no cares, watching as James and Sirius argue where to go tonight and Peter and I remain quiet."
Hermione's eyes snapped open and she saw him smiling with his eyes closed, both of them knowing where to go anyway, he himself lost somewhere else in his own memory. Her heart rose steadily in her chest, beating in another way it had never before.
At the sight of him like this, an indescribable emotion surged through her body, making her weak, making her feel heady, making her light headed like she had just gotten herself drunk though she never knew the feeling.
Remus opened his eyes and looked back at Hermione who had stopped dead in her tracks. Their eyes met once more, just as it did countless of times since yesterday. And like yesterday and this morning, Hermione found herself lost in his eyes over again, as if she was someplace else where nothing exists except him and her and the memories to remember and be cherished.
He looked back in equal wonder at how his former student looked now. Eyes soft, brows slightly furrowed as if thinking of something important, standing there as if mesmerized. Remus could admit—something was different between them, since last night, since their eyes met, since they saw each other again.
An all too familiar prickle ran through his neck, same thing he felt every time he thought of the moon but now it wasn't of fear but of something else he wanted so much to find out but couldn't. Something was holding him back as if saying not yet, not now.
"Remus! Hermione!" the voice of Minerva McGonagall was clear and it broke the spell between them. The moment was gone, and though Hermione looked at him again, his eyes were not the same and what she had seen in them was lost.
"Professor!" Hermione called, trying to shrug off a voice in her heart trying to tell her something. It wasn't possible, it couldn't be. Her heart was lying. Everything was called by the moment. Nothing was real. It merely existed in her very own imagination.
"Well, well, how come you came for a visit?" she asked fondly, smiling at both of them. "We were discussing about Hogwarts this morning, and Hermione here was missing old memories so I decided to ask her to go here." Remus explained, flashing a smile—it warmed her heart and melted it—in her direction.
"Well, if it isn't pure coincidence. Harry and Ron are here too." She said with a smile and led them to the Great Hall.
Once the double doors opened, there was a hush going on. Harry and Ron could be barely seen with a lot of students asking for autographs. There were flashes of cameras here and there, and girls were giggling and whispering to each other.
"Hermione!" they both bellowed at the same time, and every Hogwarts student, knowing the adventures of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger quickly turned their attention to her.
There was a pause; and then some of the students in the crowd moved towards her, asking for a picture but not an autograph, which she was thankful for as being a very good student she used her hand a lot and she still does and it was tiring.
Remus watched as Hermione smiled and took pictures with Harry, Ron and the students. It was like a fan day. One particularly pretty seventh year gave Ron a smooch for her picture, to which he blushed crimson and girls giggled everywhere.
He watched as her eyes sparkled—but no it wasn't that way a while ago. There was no sparkle in her eyes—only a gleam of memory and brows furrowed because of a heavy thought. Mixed with it was her mesmerized expression. He wondered if he'd ever see it again sometime.
Finally, the hustle died and everyone got their share of autographs and pictures was the only time Hermione, Ron and Harry were allowed to join the teachers and Remus over at the Staff table. Snape was looking pretty much his old self and acknowledged them with a nod and no more.
"Good for you to visit!" Dumbledore said, smiling at them broadly as if it was the first day of school and it was the feast. His eyes sparkled on the candle light beneath his silver beard: and he got his wand, waved it and three chairs appeared at once.
They didn't sit at once thought; they greeted their old teachers one by one, and they went to Fleur, in her last year as DADA teacher because she would be marrying Bill, and exchange mixed up and misinterpreted words with her.
After, Hermione found herself seated beside Remus, and being present at Hogwarts, was quickly reminded of how she had first seen him and when. Memories of Hinkypunks, Boggarts, and many other things flashed by her mind.
There was a lot of talk, but she rarely participated. She watched the students and was enthralled for a very long moment. Just a thought fleeted across her mind, something she never thought she would be thinking.
"I think I would want to teach."
"What?" Ron asked, only hearing Hermione speak but not understanding what she said. Her eyes lit up; she turned to her two best friends and grinned. "Gods, Harry, Ron—I think I want to teach."
The two men looked at each other and back at her. "Are you serious?" asked Harry, looking shocked at the sudden thought. Hermione nodded. "I am—I mean, I have at one point thought of it but right now, being back here, I think I want to teach."
She watched Ron and Harry exchange looks again and they beamed at her. "That's bloody brilliant!" Ron said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. She smiled and turned to Remus, who had, all this time, been looking at her and listening.
"I heard. And you do want to know, I have been invited back by Dumbledore, and I would personally want the Defense Against the Dark Arts subject." He said with slight amusement.
She shrugged. "I wouldn't mind waiting for one of the teachers to leave before I become one." She said and grinned at him. He chuckled and turned to Dumbledore, telling him of Hermione's sudden thought and decision.
"My, my, Ms. Granger. Before jumping into any chances since there would be no Muggle Studies teacher for next year, I advise you to think this over and tell Tonks, as you will be a great loss for an Auror." He said with a twinkle in his eyes.
Hermione nodded—she would think about it. Maybe it was time to take a break from Auror duties; maybe what she wanted was to teach after all. Share her knowledge; be surprised as old students come back with their own jobs and careers, asking how she'd been.
Remus watched Hermione look out at the Great Hall at the hundred of students. Her eyes were soft and had the gleam of memory and her brows slightly furrowed weighed with thought. The way it was when their eyes had locked and a spell was cast.
He wondered how much he would love to see that look in her eyes every morning and every day.
They stayed there longer than they intended, and while Harry and Ron were out at the Quidditch pitch with the Gryffindor Quidditch team, teaching them, Remus and Hermione found themselves in the library.
After a long while of reading, and for both their parts, some students had shyly asked help with their homework, the two of them got out to the school courtyard and stood by the edge of the lake, where the sun was sinking slowly and steadily, bathing the greens with tinges of orange and pink and a little yellow.
"How beautiful." Hermione gushed as they both looked out and enjoyed the view. Remus flashed her a long look. "How beautiful indeed." He whispered, but not referring to the sunset.
She was beautiful. Beautiful with her soft eyes with the gleam of memory. How could it be? Remus was confused. She was beautiful in all ways. In mind, in heart, in soul: her eyes mirrored it all.
Hermione was surprised at the sudden touch on her cheek—it was slightly dark, and the two of them were merely shadows upon the fading day—two silhouettes gray and faint and quiet. She turned to face Remus, and clear in the dimness of the night were his eyes.
The spell was cast again—his hand was still on her cheek, fingers moving, caressing as she leaned against it. "Remus..." she whispered, not knowing what to say and only knowing here and now and what was without caring what will be.
His other hand moved to her other cheek, the spell unbreakable—strong and intoxicating but wonderfully pleasing. Remus no longer knew where or who he was—he only knew Hermione and her cheeks against his hands and the sunset and the lake and his feelings.
He moved closer to her and kissed her first on the forehead, his hands moving to her hair. And then, he bent slowly down and second, kissed the tip of her nose. And lastly, overcome by desire and too much emotion, he leaned down even more to meet her lips.
The sunset sank in the horizon, but the two figures were still there, still locked in a sweet, mildly passionate kiss that seemed to defy time and space and everything else in it. All that there was—love, affection, understanding—sealed in three times a kiss.