Hermione ran as fast as she could across the open grounds, her four legs speeding her across the grass. Her fur whipped in the wind, and she bounded over a rock as she made her way towards the lake. The moon glinted on the lake, and she let out a cry of pain as she fell to the floor, transforming to a human as she felt her heart rip in two.
She cried for everything that she was going to loose, for everything she had already lost.
"Harry, why me? I can't cope!" She buried her head in her arms as she wept uncontrollably at the thought of killing her best friend of seven years.
"My dear, the hardest things to do always give the most profit." She scrambled up to see the wizened old professor Dumbledore gazing down at her with pity.
"I can't do it." She choked, standing to reach his height.
"It is amazing what fear can do to a person." He mused, staring at the lake. "It blinds them from what must be done to prevent that fear from spreading, don't you think?" He looked at her. "Hermione, Harry was born to die, and you were born to kill him and his enemy. I was born to aid you, to end the final evil. Everyone was born to play a part in a tale; it is simply Fate which makes us think we are making the decisions in our lives. Do you see what I mean?"
"I think so, professor." She said softly. "So I was born to help aid the end of Voldemort?" The old man said nothing, but looked up at the moon.
"You should transform Miss Megans; it is a full moon tonight." And he turned, strolling back up the grounds to the castle.
Hermione watched the water thoughtfully, steeling her heart. If Harry was going to die, he was going to go off with a bang.
She transformed into her wolf form, and howled as a calling to the marauders. She saw a blur as shapes sped across from the other side of the lake, and with a renewed energy, she ran around to greet them.
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Hermione wrote furiously on the revision notebook, almost crying with frustration as she tried desperately to remember the basic incantations they had been taught during the first year of school.
Panicking, she realised she couldn't breathe. She tried to bring oxygen into her lungs, but her throat had tightened, making it near impossible. She coughed, wheezing, her hands flying to her neck as she attempted to widen her airway. She couldn't, and this made her panic even more, and she began to cry as she fought to breathe.
Lily heard the odd noises coming from nearer the fire, and saw Hermione turning blue.
"Uh, Remus," She tugged on his sleeve to bring his attention from Harry, Ron, Sirius and James' Quidditch talk. "Hermione…"
Remus swore, striding over to Hermione with his wand in his hand. He kneeled down in front of her, and her eyes wildly focused on him.
"Shhh, it's alright…" He quickly sat on the sofa and muttered a quick succession of charms, and Hermione gasped in air as her lungs opened, and it burned down as she breathed deeply. She was still crying as he pulled her into his lap, and Hermione buried her head in his white shirt, breathing deeply his scent, earthy, mixed with a light muggle aftershave.
"I can't remember any of my work!" She sobbed. "None of it…" Remus stroked her hair, picking up her notes on first year work.
"Calm down… I'll help you…" He waited until her tears subsided and she regained her composure, and began running over all of the first year work, practising each spell and noting its uses and effects.
They continuously worked together after that, Hermione topping up on Remus's best subjects whilst he topped up on hers, and the two were seen as the walking, talking answer booklet for many of the other 7th year students. As well as this, the marauders except Peter, (who seemed to be greatly ignored and also never seemed to be around, hermione realised this must have been the time he became a death eater)and including Lily and Ronhad been informed of Harry's plan and attended classes with Dumbledore to protect themselves and ultimately end the Dark Lord's Life. Hermione had the sneaky suspicion that Ron had already known that Harry was going to die, but he still became less sociable and often sat on his own, staring out of the window.
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Hermione fidgeted nervously the morning of her very first exam. For the first week were all the written exams, the second were practical examinations. Next to her Remus was murmuring dates and figures under his breath, checking his book to see if he was correct. Her hands shook as she took a sip of water, forcing down some toast, and Remus closed his book, shuddering.
"Good luck." He told her, kissing her long and slow on the lips.
"Don't do that again or I'll forget all of my work." She joked, as they joined the crowd of 7th years who were waiting now outside the hall for everything to be cleared away from breakfast and the hall to be set up. She scanned the seating plan, and found her spot diagonally behind Remus on the next row, seat G3, where was seat F5. The doors were opened again, and the students were each handed a quill and told to put their bags along the edge of the hall. Hermione took her seat, a plastic water bottle in her hand, which was passed to one of the examiners and checked for charms. Satisfied, the stern looking woman handed it back to Hermione and moved to the front of the hall.
"History of Magic Examination, students, Begin now." A floating clock appeared in front of the students and Hermione opened the paper to read the first question, and smiled as she began to write.
The very last written examination was defence against the dark arts, and Hermione dreaded it, fearing it her weakest subject. She opened the paper to read the first section, which was on magical creatures. She almost giggled out loud at the last question in the section, 'give a detailed description and explanation of the processes that lead to becoming an Animagus.'
Over all, she found the papers relatively simple, all except the Defence paper. Some of the questions left her totally confused and others she understood but found it hard to formulate an answer. By the Friday night she had collapsed on the sofa and refused to get up, drained from just the written papers. Hopefully, the next week would be easier as only certain subjects could have a practical examination, and hers were Potions, Defence, Charms, Transfiguration and Astronomy.
Charms were mixed for a part with defence against the dark arts, as they were expected to enter a duel with students in the exam, and those who did well, and advanced level against examiners.
Hermione stood facing Sirius, preparing herself for the duel. She followed his every move and could tell from her hunter instincts where he was going to go, giving her an advantage. They circled each other, and Hermione knew that it would be easy to take him out; his ego stopped him from seeing what she was going to do. With a sharp twisting round-kick she snapped his wand wrist and sent his wand flying. There was a smattering of applause whilst Madame Pomfrey healed his arm.
Hermione, seeing that Sirius had not performed a numbing charm like professor Dumbledore had asked them to learn and use effectively, and also seemed to have forgotten much of his training, which included small pieces of wandless magic. Hermione now faced Harry, and she knew that this was going to be a lot harder. From the word go the two fired charms and spells at each other, each deflected and rebounded using shields and counter-curses, until Harry sent her wand flying. She gritted her teeth and began using wandless magic to keep herself safe from his spells whilst she closed in on him, disarming him quickly.
The examiner looked as if he wanted to stop them, but Hermione gestured, telling him to let them keep going. He placed down his board and watched as the two began fighting, and Hermione was glad for the trousers as they fought; punches and kicks landing but not being felt. Onlookers just gaped, seeing them move like two blurs speeding across the mats, until Harry managed to lock her. She grunted as she used the momentum he had produced against him and threw herself over and out of the lock, landing on her feet. They circled, and Hermione took a run at him, but he rolled and pulled her into a sacrifice throw which launched her into the air and she landed hard on her back. She got up, opening herself up for attack. He took a run at her into a flying kick, but she deflected it, landing him on the floor, but didn't see his pull-down and she ended up pinned. The examiner shouted time, and they stood, bowing at each other.
"Nice fight, Harry. I shouldn't have relaxed." He grinned.
"Shouldn't have let you take me out of the flying roundhouse. You're bleeding really badly…" She nodded. "My nose is broken again, isn't it?" She nodded again with a grin, and with a sickening crack he moved it back into place. The nurse bustled over and checked their wounds, declaring nothing else broken and that they could keep their bruises if they wanted, but she would take the swelling down.
"You know Harry, unless I'm very much mistaken, I think we got an Outstanding in charms and Defence." He nodded with a stretch.
"We still have the proper exams in them to do though." He reminded her, and she shrugged. "But I can't see them marking us down after that." Lupin, looking bored, wandered over to them.
"You look lovely!" He said sarcastically. "Nice fight, though. The examiner was pretty much ready to announce you best in show." He wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist, and she grinned.
"Has Padfoot forgiven me for breaking his wrist?" She asked, resting against him. Harry rolled his eyes.
"Has anyone told you that you should go around wearing a sign reading 'beware of the mush'?" Harry teased. "And it was his fault for not preparing. Sorry Moony for inflicting the Sacrifice throw upon your girlfriend." Remus shrugged.
"A fights a fight. At least you used numbing spells." She nodded, cracking her fingers. "Hermione, that is really disgusting, don't do it."
"So what? She twisted her arms, cracking her back all the way down, making Remus cringe, and then her elbows and knees. "Aah, that's better."
"You … gah!" He picked her up off the floor and hung her upside down over his back. Harry just stared as Remus continued walking, and burst out laughing.
"Nice view from here, Remus." She said, eyeing his backside appreciatively.
"Thanks." He said dryly, and put her down on her feet before they went down to the lake before their last set of exams.
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Hermione, dead on her feet, collapsed in front of the fire in Gryffindor tower. Astronomy had been painful to endure from the little sleep she had already been receiving, and a few others slouched in after her, doing a very similar thing. Hermione groaned as someone stood in front of the fire.
"Move." She asked "Please."
"Come on." A pair of arms lifted her to her feet, and she stared into the eyes of Sirius. "You need to go to bed."
"Yes… you just moved me." She accused.
"Our room or the girls' dormitories?" He asked, walking her up the stairs, ignoring her last comment
"Why did you move me?"
"Considering you'll be sharing a bed with old moony, I'd say ours would be best." He continued ignoring her.
"I was warm by the fire!"
She made her way across to her own room, practically carried by Sirius. Lily took her and waited at the door, talking to Sirius exhaustedly; both in a very slow conversation, the NEWTs really were as shattering as their name depicted. Hermione, now in her usual black nightdress, was walked over to the boys' dorms.
"Moony, I brought your girlfriend." A lump in his bed stirred, and the sheets were lifted back to reveal a dead-looking Remus.
"Bed…" Hermione sighed, crawling under the covers next to him as his arms took their usual place around her body. Someone flicked out the lights and she fell asleep instantly.
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A/N awwww the fluff. Sorry, i needed to feed my mushyness... if you dont like mush the next chapter will kill you... its so unbelievably mushyfluff!