--I am sooooo sorry for the long wait! I'm scraping through--I will finish this a chapter at a time. Forgive me, really. I'm just in a bad case of writer' block, I don't know why. And I'm becoming a Star Wars gal again now that Episode Three is due this May. I'm just that excited! Anyway, as for the story, more mystery, little clue what's happening. Expect that in almost all the chapters. And for the last set of reviewers, rock on! Thanks a lot. Lovelots, shadowlessphantom
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Chapter Ten: More Secrets
As the holidays passed by and as winter left to give way to spring, Hermione and Remus grew closer. Though on Hermione's part, there was still something she didn't know.
She didn't ponder much about it, but every time she went to bed to sleep, she would stay awake and think of what Remus had been holding back.
"Morning." Remus greeted Hermione with a light kiss as she went out of the bathroom. She smiled and dried her hair with her wand. He had apparently waited for her while she took a bath.
"Morning to you too. What brings you here so early?" she asked. Remus rolled his eyes, though he was smiling, and hugged her around the waist from behind, pulling her away from the mirror. "As if I haven't been doing that in a couple of days now?" he asked and kissed her on the cheek.
She smiled and turned around, meeting his kiss halfway. But she, being reminded of something, ended it as quickly as it had come.
Remus, sensing the mood change, laid his hand on her shoulder. "What is it?" he asked quickly. She sighed and sat down the edge of her bed, with him following closely. "It's just in three days I'll be going to work again. And you'll be staying here in Hogwarts. We won't see each other in a matter of time."
He smiled and kissed her on the forehead lightly. "Why so impatient? Isn't it enough we were given time at all?" he pointed out, a tinge of worry flexing in his heart.
For a while's time, he had forgotten about the thing he dreaded most. But then, it would always haunt him. The fact would never really go away.
"I know but..." he silenced her, placing a finger upon her lips gently. "Then don't protest. Something is better than nothing at all."
For a long while, they sat silent, hugging each other, each thinking of a recurring worry in their hearts. Hermione wondered when he would tell her. Remus wondered how he would tell her.
But they could only wonder.
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At last, Hermione's dreaded day came. Though since she and Remus had discussed it, she had not shown that it troubled her much. He was right. Something was better than nothing at all. She was blessed enough they were given time to spend.
"I leave tomorrow, and head back to work." Hermione said as she and Remus sat on the newly grown grass under the beech tree, just across the lake. The Giant Squid, who had been dormant for a while, swam at the surface freely again.
"I know." He replied quietly, and though he didn't want to admit it, he wouldn't have wanted her to leave. But she had to, and there was nothing to be done.
The silence was long but comforting, and being beside Remus made Hermione think that maybe being away from Remus a while wouldn't be so bad at all. It would make her miss him and love him all the more.
"Oh, would you be going to the Cannons' game? Next week?" asked Remus, lightly moving a strand of hair from her neck and resting his chin on her shoulder. She nodded.
"Yes, of course. I'm an Auror, if you have forgotten. Since Voldemort's return, the Ministry has been guarding events that usually contain many people. Job and fun for us." She replied. "Sadly, I won't go."
She turned around, hurting his chin in the process. "What? Why not?" she asked, the disappointment evident in her voice. "Errands for the Order. Dumbledore asked me if I planned to go, and of course I said yes. He asked me if I could do something for him and I agreed, so I won't be going."
Hermione hated the secrecy. He didn't even name the errand. It sounded too suspicious, but she was just too upset to bother. A tense silence filled the air.
"I'm sorry." He said, knowing full well that Hermione was expecting to see him there. She sighed and turned to him with a half smile. "No, Remus, it's okay. We'll spend some time together again, I suppose." She replied, though she herself wasn't convinced.
"So you're not mad?" he asked with a grin. Hermione found herself grinning as well. "No, I wasn't mad even a while ago." He suddenly stood up and pulled Hermione with him. "Then come on."
She narrowed her eyes as she stood and laughed. "What? Where are we going?" she asked. He grinned at her and started running ahead like a kid. "Let's go!"
So, running to catch up, she followed him to wherever he was planning to take her.
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"Oh my gosh."
Luna, Colin and Ginny looked at each other, as they sat on the foot of Ginny's bed in her room at Hogwarts. Colin's camera was on a nearby table, a pile of pictures beside it. "How is this possible? I saw it with my two eyes!" Luna said, looking dumbfounded.
She turned to Colin who looked as clueless as she was. "Unless..." Ginny's throat tightened at the idea. It wasn't possible. It wasn't just possible.
"Hey guys!" Ron and Harry barged into the room with gleeful smiles, but upon seeing the looks on their faces, they lost it. "What?" asked Harry, turning to Ginny for some sort of explanation.
Ginny handed over to Harry a picture, and his face fell. He gave it to Ron who paled. "Shit." Cursed Ron outwardly, turning to Harry. They stared at each other as if having a mental conversation when finally, Colin spoke up.
"I think we deserve an explanation, as we think we have something figured out." Ron and Harry turned towards them and looked hesitant. "Luna, Colin, you're new members of the Order so we trust you. Gin, there's no doubt we trust you as well." Ron started.
"Then how is this possible? Is he-" Ginny grabbed the picture and pushed it towards both their faces. Harry cut him off. "Gin, please. This is not the right place to talk about this. Follow me to the Room of Requirements."
The three followed Harry and Ron wordlessly, with Ginny clutching the impossible picture. This was a Wizarding photo, and it was just damn impossible this could happen.
"You can't say anything to anyone else. For the sake of Hermione and Remus."
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"No way! You won't convince me!" Hermione looked warily over to where Remus was standing, and shook her head. "Remus!" she whined.
He looked back at her with a rare twinkle in his eyes. "Come on! This is just a one-time thing! I know you hate flying! Why not rid off that hate and enjoy?" he asked. He was standing beside two broomsticks-one for him and the other for Hermione.
She shook her head. "Please, not fly of all. You can make me do anything, not just that." She said, stepping back in case he pulled her towards him and forced her onto the broomstick.
"Please? For me?" he pleaded, taking her hand and kissing the back of her palm. Hermione narrowed her eyes and sighed. "You should thank God I love you or I might not be agreeing to do this!" she demanded.
She walked over to the other broomstick and Remus gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before taking off. She followed, wavering for a while until she got the hang of it. "See, its not so bad isn't it?" he asked.
Hermione looked down but closed her eyes and looked towards Remus. "Oh sure. We're a hundred feet from the ground. Nice." She replied sarcastically. He chuckled and took her hand, his broom hovering beside hers so closely. So reassuringly.
"I'm here, and I won't let you fall." He whispered sweetly. Hermione smiled and ran her hand on his hair, moving it away from his face as she divided her attention between steadying her broom and Lupin. "I know."
For the rest of that afternoon, they simply spent the time together, dreading the next day to come. But there were other reasons to dread tomorrow besides from the fact that they had to leave.
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Dinner should have been a merry affair. But the usual noisy lot, besides Fred and George, which were Ginny, Luna and Colin, seemed awfully quiet tonight. Harry and Ron meanwhile, didn't want to show much that they were thinking about something too. "Is anything wrong Gin? You look disturbed." Hermione asked her friend, as they were seated beside each other. She had wanted to let her be quiet for the first part of dinner, hoping she would loosen up by desert, but she didn't.
"Nah, just... not feeling well that's all." She replied quietly. Hermione decided to leave it at that, as there was no way pressing matters that Ginny didn't want to talk about. And if there were actually a serious matter, she could always ask her after dinner where no one else would be.
So after dinner, after spending some short time with Remus before he went off to bed, Hermione went to Ginny's room to talk. She knocked and entered, as Ginny beckoned her in with a half smile.
"So, what's the matter?" she asked, sitting beside her on the bed and watching the stars outside her window. She shrugged. "Nothing." She replied quietly, avoiding her gaze. So now Hermione was pretty sure there was really something wrong.
"Yeah right. You're not too good in acting suddenly Gin. And that's because you're not acting." She said, elbowing him lightly, willing her to speak up. She sighed heavily and glanced at the door, then towards Hermione. She knew she promised she wouldn't tell. But she had to.
"Fine, I'll tell you." IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII