A/N: I know, I'm quite nasty to Remus in this chapter, but it's necessary for what I wanted to have happen in the future. You'll see soon, it's good. :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Whomping News

The next day, DADA was the last class scheduled. Hermione strode in, giving Remus a knowing smile before sitting in her seat. She was nervous, but at least the air was clear. (If I feel like I want to blush or something, I need to start complaining,) she reviewed. Remus appeared to be rather drained as he started teaching. (Probably because full moon is due in a day or two.)

Hermione observed that he kept stealing glances her way. A bout of uncontrollable giggles threatened to overcome Hermione. She had to do something, QUICK! She raised her hand, attempting to look disgruntled.

"Yes, Hermione?" He frowned.

"I don't think you explained 'Pordio chalum' well enough," she complained. "Could you do it over again?"

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to teach this class?" he said, an angry edge to his voice.

"No," she tried her best to glare at him.

"Then stop behaving like an insufferable know-it-all," he growled.

Hermione clapped her hand over her mouth, attempting to look upset and offended. In reality, she was holding back her laughter. He sounded so much like Snape! She observed a slimmer of a smile break through before he suppressed it, and continued on with his class.

As soon as Remus dismissed his class, Harry and Ron turned towards her, glaring. "What was that all about, Hermione?" asked Harry.

"Yes, I think you should apologize to him," said Ron.

"ME? What about HIM? He called me a -" (I will NOT laugh, I WILL look displeased!) "an INSUFFERABLE know-it-all!" In the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Remus watching them, eyes twinkling.

"Hermione, when I told you to stop liking him, I didn't mean that you should hate him," hissed Harry softly, before speaking louder again. "This time, I think he's right. You complained unfairly. He'd covered 'Pordio chalum' quite thoroughly, Hermione."

"You shouldn't make excuses for him just because full moon is due, Harry," she said nastily. "He - he wasn't doing his job." (I don't really have anything to complain about him. This is getting hard)

"Are you going to file a complaint with Dumbledore then?" Harry shot back. Ron decided to keep well out of it.

"Harry, don't be silly. I don't want him SACKED. He should be the gentleman and apologize to me first. I REFUSE to until he does," she said snottily. She walked out of the room, trying to look angry.

"Wow, what's happened to Hermione?" wondered Ron loudly. "I've never seen her this unreasonable before."

"She's gotten worse and worse since Halloween," declared Harry. "Something's up. We'll have to try to prod it out of her. I hate to see her so off color, especially after all she's done for us."

"It seems to have started with James, then continued through this class," mused Ron quietly.

"James. Lupin." Harry tried to make a connection in his mind. "It doesn't fit."

Lupin, pretending to be oblivious, heard every word of the entire conversation. (I'll give them plenty to mull over when James shows up again) he thought mischievously.

Hermione, as soon as she was out of earshot, burst out laughing. Remus acting Snapish! It was SO out of character for him. She saw Harry and Ron walk by with barely a glance at her. (I'll have to make it up to them)

She started heading for the library when a hand slipped into hers. She saw it was James's. "Hello, James," she said brightly. "Want to go for a walk outside?"

"Sounds great," he agreed. They didn't go far when Harry and Ron stopped them.

"I thought you broke up with her," blurted Ron.

"Hmm, I don't seemed to recall anything of the sort, do you Hermione?" James mused.

"I'm quite sure I don't know what Ron's talking about," she said, eyes twinkling.

"But - but I haven't seen you two together since Halloween," objected Harry. (In fact, I don't believe I've seen James at all)

"For your information, I DETEST boys who trail after their girlfriends like little dogs," she said smugly. "Now if you'll excuse me, we have a date to keep."

For the next couple days, Harry and Ron were quite perplexed by her behavior. All they could come up with was that there was some odd link between Remus and James. Whatever she felt for one, she seemed to feel the opposite for the other, at different times that month. Another odd thing was that James and Lupin were never seen together. They couldn't get a thing out of Hermione, and James certainly didn't leave any clues. They only thing they'd been able to learn was that they were going to Christmas dance together.

The night after the full moon, Lupin and James were nowhere to be seen. Hermione, at first, wasn't worried. She figured he was understandably exhausted and sleeping in. When dinner rolled around, and he still hadn't showed up, Hermione borrowed Harry's Invisibility Cloak and walked up to Remus's office. When she arrived, the door was slightly ajar. (Odd, very odd) She pushed it open and searched the place for him. He was nowhere to be seen! Beginning to panic, she decided to check the hospital wing. She ran, pulling off the cloak. All sorts of horrible possibilities flitted across her mind in quick succession. Out of breath, she paused a moment before she entered the hospital wing. She needed to appear calm, and mildly curious, not like a frantic girlfriend. She approached Madam Pomfrey. "Excuse me. Is Professor Remus Lupin here?"

"Over there," she pointed. "If he's sleeping, don't wake him up. He's had quite a rough night. Several bones broken, bruises everywhere and some nasty scrapes. I was able to fix most of that rather quickly, of course, but he's definitely not in good shape."

Hermione stared at her, horrified. She tried hard not to run to Remus's side. When she arrived, she could feel tears welling in her eyes. Lupin looked like he'd been to hell and back. He was awake, though, and smiled at her. "I was wondering when you'd come," he whispered.

"I would have been here first thing this morning if I knew," she informed him. "I thought you were just sleeping in. Remus, what happened?"

"I broke loose of the Shrieking Shack, and got beaten up by the Whomping Willow," he said, smiling wanly. "Fortunately, Dumbledore was able to intervene before -"

"Don't say it, Remus," Hermione sobbed quietly.

(The boggart) Remus remembered. He wasn't sure how to comfort her, it had indeed been a close shave. "At least I'm here, Hermione. I'll be fine. Dumbledore promised to use stronger sealing spells next time."

(Stronger sealing spells are not enough) thought Hermione. (There must be something I can do) Tears rolled down her face. She was beginning to understand why no one wanted to go out with a werewolf. It could be such an upsetting experience. (It's worth it! Remus has a heart of gold!)

Remus gazed at her through bloodshot eyes. He wanted to hold her and comfort her, but any move he tried to make was quite painful. His face set, he tried to at least hold her hand. This he managed to do without grimacing too much.

"How long are you supposed to be here?" wondered Hermione.

"At least another couple of days," groaned Remus. "If it was up to me, I'd be up tomorrow. You will visit me, won't you, Hermione?"

"As much as I can without being suspicious," promised Hermione. "I really should go, Madam Pomfrey will be upset if I stay much longer." She let go of his hand and wiped her eyes on her sleeves. "Goodbye, Remus."

She searched the castle for Harry and Ron. She found them on their way from Hagrid's, puzzled frowns on their faces. They stared at Hermione in concern as she approached. She appeared to have been crying. "Harry, Ron, you should really go to the hospital wing and visit Remus. He's had a horrible night," she sniffed.

"Hermione, you look like your world is coming to an end," commented Ron.

"I thought you were mad at Lupin," said Harry, confused. "What do you mean, he's had a horrible night?"

"I can't be mad at someone in that condition," she tried to explain. "It was full moon last night, you guys, and Lupin broke out of the Shrieking Shack, got beat up by the Whomping Willow, and he would have - would have - if Dumbledore hadn't come along."

Harry and Ron dashed to the hospital wing. Hermione followed. (A second visit wouldn't hurt, I have an excuse since I'm with Harry and Ron) Hermione overtook them and led them to Lupin's bed. "Lupin, you look horrible," said Harry. "I'm so sorry this happened!"

"Yes, Professor," agreed Ron. "I hope you'll get better soon."

"Thanks for your concern," said Lupin. He gazed at Hermione with an odd sort of smile on his face. Harry and Ron noticed that Hermione was returning it. They glanced at each other.

"Would you two please tell us what's going on," demanded Harry. Hermione shot Remus a questioning look; he nodded in answer.

"Can you two keep a secret? Of course you can. Well, Remus and I have been," she lowered her voice, "going out."

The looks on their faces was priceless. Hermione giggled, and Remus painfully endured a laugh.

"But - but - we thought - James and - well -" Ron tried to say.

"Remus IS James," explained Hermione smugly.

"But that doesn't make any sense!" protested Harry.

"Shush, Harry. Someone will hear you," scolded Hermione.

"We thought you didn't like Lupin anymore," blurted Ron.

"It was only a cover up so no one would get suspicious."

"But Lupin, aren't you afraid of getting sacked?" worried Harry.

"I've talked with Dumbledore. If I use Aging potion, I won't get sacked," Remus explained.

"So therefore the need for James and all this weird behavior," Harry realized. "It's beginning to make sense now." Harry wasn't sure how he felt about Remus and Hermione hooking up. He liked the thought of Remus having a girlfriend, but he didn't think it should be Hermione. It was just wrong on so many levels. (At least she's not going out with Colin Creevy) he thought with a shudder.

"We'd better go. Madam Pomfrey is headed this way," warned Ron. Harry and Ron turned to go, and Hermione, before anyone saw, gave Remus a light peck on the cheek and squeezed his hand lightly before leaving.

Replies to Reviewers:

sporty12gd4u: Yes, I did drag it out, didn't I:) I felt like I needed to get Remus to the point where he didn't have any doubts about having a relationship. Now it's going to be Hermione's turn, as you will see in future chapters. :) Thanks so much for your review!

CharmedLeoLvr: Yes, those are a couple of my favorite parts! Glad you're still enjoying it. Thanks for reviewing again, it's always appreciated!

LupinLover99: Thank you! Yes, those music vids are my favorite thing right now! That's the best site I've been on. If you find any other good ones, let me know. :)

BrennaM: Yes, he did, didn't he? LOL Poor Remus, I put him through the works in this story. Yes, I love that part with James and Malfoy too, it's an idea I had from the beginning and I really enjoyed writing it. I hope you found their "pretended dislike" moments amusing! Thanks for reviewing so faithfully!

Thayet Conte: Thanks for telling me you like it, I really appreciate that. You know, even after all these positive reviews, every time I upload a chapter I hold my breath, wondering if everyone thinks it's as good as the others. :)

Aljinon: I don't like biology either. In my class, it meant memorizing an endless amount of names and what they refer to, something I'm not good at. Ironically, my textbook was "Biology the Easy Way." I wish I had Hermione as a study helper. :) I'm so glad you're happy! The best part for me is hearing how much other people enjoy this story.As for the fast updates, I do have the advantage of the story already being completed. :) All I have to do is re-format it, spellcheck, edit, and upload with the A/N and replies to reviewers, which doesn't take too long, maybe a half hour. Thanks a bunch for reviewing!

Preview of next chapter: She felt someone's presence behind her. She turned and saw it was Dumbledore. His eyes held a thoughtful expression. "Tell me, Hermione - I believe there's a muggle saying - How does one eat an elephant?"

"One bite at a time, Professor," she answered. (And ruin their teeth in the process) she could just hear her parents saying.

Dumbledore smiled, winked, and walked away, leaving Hermione feeling baffled.