Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Muggle Propositions

The next morning found Remus and Hermione riding in the trailer towards the first tour stop. Geography had never been Remus's strong point and he hardly cared where they were headed, as long as it wasn't the Ministry or any area with wizards around. He had to be sure that he zapped himself with his wand every so often to keep his Disfigurement charm working. He didn't like to consider the disaster that would ensue if it faded. Rumors would fly and the Ministry would pounce on him immediately, he was sure.

Within a few hours they were traveling along the shore. Remus pulled out a map and studied it. Evidently, the Atlantic Ocean was on their left. He'd never seen the ocean before. "How about we make a trip to the beach later, if we get a chance?" Remus suggested, eyeing Hermione.

Hermione twitched her mouth, smiling, and winked her right eye. It would be pleasant to be out in the open air, she had not spent this much time outside in so long. She felt better being outdoors. It was so exciting to be traveling the country, and undercover at that. Her Gryffindor spirit quite enjoyed this.

The trailer slowed to a stop, and Linda pounded on the door. Remus hurried over and opened it, allowing Linda inside. "We've arrived," Linda announced cheerfully. "Time to get into gear and set things up." She clapped her hands together. "Are you bringing Hermione along? She can watch. We can set up a chair for her."

"That sounds wonderful! Let's go, Hermione," Remus said, scooping Hermione into his arms.

Linda puzzled for a moment, wondering why Hermione did not talk. She had said a few words yesterday. Suddenly, she had a brilliant idea! She would have to talk it over with Pat first, however. She was sure he would agree that it was brilliant, though. Great minds always think alike. "Here, let me introduce you to Pat. Follow me," she directed.

They followed her into a big arena, where a big man was playing with a black quarter horse stallion. "Pat! Do you have a moment?" She turned back to them. "That's Casper, by the way. He's the most difficult horse Pat's ever worked with, because he doesn't bond easily and bucks like a madman."

Pat jogged over, his stallion trotting at his heels. "Hello, I'm Pat Paeton," he introduced himself, reaching for Remus's hand, then Hermione's.

"I'm Remus," he said, returning the handshake, "and this is Hermione. I'm her guardian. She's partially paralyzed. That's why she isn't shaking your hand, sir."

Pat's eyes widened slightly and he nodded in understanding. He picked up Hermione's hand and gave it a gentle shake. "Nice to meet you," he said kindly.

Hermione, as she looked into his piercing eyes, could tell he had seen all the world could dish up. She wondered if he had ever got wind of the Wizarding World. Probably not, if the Ministry had been doing its job properly. She thought of Remus. Then again, anything was possible.

"Pat, I'm going to set Remus to work. And, I have an idea to discuss with you. I think I've come up with a new program for the tour. I'll see you in the arena after I give Remus some directions." Linda beckoned Remus to follow her.

Linda strolled around and pointed out everything that needed to be cleaned or set up. Then she left them, heading back to the arena, evidently to talk with Pat. Remus scraped his way through the day, magicking his way through his job when people were not looking, and pretending to work the rest of the time. This proved harder and harder to do as the day progressed, for more people began arriving. Remus managed to finish before he was forced to put his wand away entirely.

It was late afternoon when he and Hermione returned to the trailer. When he set her down on the couch, he sat down beside her. "How about we portkey to the beach soon? We're only going to be here for a few days, and I'm not sure we'll get another chance."

Hermione winked her right eye and gave him her best smile. She felt excited to see the ocean; her family did not often vacation at the shore. Remus took a few minutes to pack a bag of things they might need, and then picked up a handkerchief to use as a portkey. Within seconds, the pair was sitting on the beach. A bunch of girls sat on a beach towel in front of them. It was not long before he picked up on some of their conversation, and realized they were discussing what they thought of the men parked a bit further down the beach.

Remus put a coat on Hermione, and then pulled one on him. It was rather cold. Remus turned towards Hermione as he held her up in a sitting position. They reclined there for several minutes in silence, enjoying the fleeting serenity.

Then Remus spoke.

"You know, Hermione, I know we just arrived here, but I think we need to think about our — I mean your — future. I like it well enough, passing for a Muggle, but you have a life to lead back at Hogwarts with your friends, and at home with your family. I was thinking about secretly dropping you off at a Ministry post. They would send you back to your parents. Or you could stick it out with me for a while longer, if you wanted. I think it would take a long time to find me, especially if Dumbledore helped. But don't think that I'm trying to get rid of you!" he smiled.

Remus stared out over the waves, trying to avoid looking at her in case she wanted to communicate with him in regards of what he had just said. If Hermione left, he would be all by himself again. He would not even have Wizarding friends anymore. Muggles were nice enough, but certainly his life would never be the same. He felt the ache of loss of the companion that had yet to even leave. 'At least I'm still free. This is better than Azkaban,' he consoled himself.

After a few more minutes, the pair discreetly left the beach by portkey. Remus unpacked the Pensieve and, reminding Hermione of his words on the beach, extracted a memory from her head. It was the memory of the night of Hermione's first blood transfusion. It ended with her line, "'And besides, I can't abandon Remus.'"

Remus grinned as he lifted his head from the Pensieve. Hermione wanted to stay! "All right, Hermione, you can stick it out for a few more weeks, and then we'll see how things are going. I must admit I'm quite glad you decided to stay. I like having you around." He squeezed her hand.

They both jumped at the sound of pounding on the door. Remus strolled over and opened it. Pat and Linda came in and sat down. "We'd like to discuss something with you," Pat announced.

Remus took his place by Hermione and beckoned them to continue.

"We like to think of different creative ways that we can promote natural horsemanship, especially to show that anyone can do it, regardless of age, race, gender, or mental or physical abilities," started Linda. "And I know Hermione would really benefit from hippotherapy. Pat's son, you see, suffered from a stroke when he was ten, and suffered paralysis. He wasn't supposed to walk again. Through hippotherapy and our support, he walks and runs now with only a slight limp."

"We thought that maybe we could do demonstrations on our tour with Hermione. We would document her progress for our students and prospective students to see," added Pat.

"It would be free for both of you. Here's your pay, by the way. You wanted currency, correct?" asked Linda.

"Yes, thank you," said Remus, smiling. He did not know how much it was compared to Wizarding money, but he had a feeling it was more cash than he had on hand for a long time.

"If it's okay with you, we could start tomorrow. Or if you need to think about it, that's fine too," Pat said.

"What do you think, Hermione?" Remus asked her. 'I wish I could use the Pensieve right now.'

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment. Since she suffered from a magical malady, she didn't believe any Muggle therapy would help her much. But it certainly couldn't hurt to try. Perhaps she should humor them and accept. This would put her in the public eye, though. 'But they're looking for a dead body, so when they see me, alive, they'll assume we're just distant cousins or something,' she decided. She winked her right eye in affirmation.

"Wonderful. You see, winking her right eye means yes, and the opposite for the left," Remus explained. "We accept, then. So we'll begin tomorrow, as you said?"

"Yes, tomorrow. I'll find a suitable horse for her by then, I'm sure. Have you ever ridden?" Linda asked, addressing Hermione.

Hermione indicated yes. Her father took her for a couple rides when she was younger before he had found out about her magical capabilities. She had not ridden since then. It had been quite fun.

"Great! So you have an idea of what to expect. I'll ride double with you. Don't worry — you will be quite safe. We're rather big on safety."

"I think we had better get going," Pat urged. "I need to make more arrangements with other people."

"Right," agreed Linda. "We're so glad you accepted! It'll be lots of fun. See you tomorrow!"

Remus said goodbye and watched them leave. Tomorrow would prove to be quite an interesting day.

As Neville ate his breakfast, he noticed Harry, Ron, and Ginny huddled over the Daily Prophet, worried looks on their faces. His curiousity piqued, he walked over to them and peeked over their shoulders. The headline read: "DEATH EATER WEREWOLF CONTINUES TO RAMPAGE!" The story detailed how bravely the Ministry had fought against the Death Eater, but how he had slipped away with Hermione's body before he could be stopped. Neville frowned a bit. Remus was likely not to be in fighting condition, since the full moon has just occurred. Surely, ten Ministry officials would be able to overpower him? Quite odd, that. He returned to his seat, clutching his Remembrall. It was turning colors. 'Now, if I can just remember what I've forgotten,' groaned Neville.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny huddled together in whispered discussion of the article. They had found out about Remus and Hermione's disappearance earlier this morning. Number 12, Grimmauld Place was in shambles. They had no clue where Remus and Hermione had gone. No owls had come yet either.

"What are we going to do?" wondered Ginny.

"We should keep a close eye on the Ministry, and try to keep one step ahead of them," said Harry. "Maybe we could ask Dumbledore to let your dad into the secret, and he could get all the inside information for us."

"Let's do that right now," Ginny suggested. The trio marched over to Dumbledore's office and knocked on his door. When they gained admittance, Harry explained their idea to Dumbledore.

"I've already spoken with him," said Dumbledore. "He says the Minister has been acting awfully strange lately. He seems to have an inordinate amount of interest in capturing Remus. They currently have no leads to his whereabouts. I, myself, have tried in various ways to find him, and failed, I'm afraid. I'm sure he'll turn up soon. I would advise you to return to your classes now, or you'll be late."

Harry, Ron, and Ginny exited Dumbledore's office and begrudgingly hurried their separate ways.

Replies to Reviewers:

LupinLover99: Hey, I didn't know David was in Black Beauty, who does he play? Yeah, I decided on horses because I wanted Hermione to get some sort of therapy, and hippotherapy was the only kind I even know remotely about. So glad you liked it, thanks for reviewing!

Morena-Forever: Always nice to hear from a fellow fanfic addict. :) Thanks for your review!

MoonyNZ: Yeah, the explanation for that is coming in chapter 18, I believe. I got the idea from OOTP, actually. Glad you liked that line! We'll see if it changes. ;) Thank you for reviewing!

JTBJAB: Yes, you'll find out how the Ministry found out by chapter 19. I really like Sirius too. :) Great to hear from you, thanks!

SpikesDreamer: Yeah, it is quite a twist! I was stuck in chapter 12 for the longest time, because I was afraid I was taking it too far out of the HP world. Originally I had them go to America, but then I changed it. Very glad you like Linda! Her personality is based on a real person (although it's not an exact copy, that would be against fanfiction rules, unfortunately) who I really like, almost idolize. Thanks so much!

Radingsouls4u: (feels really sheepish) I didn't know blood cells hung around that long! I nearly flunked Biology, that's probably why. But, for this story, maybe his blood does stay around that long, just the magic wears off after a bit. Thanks for reviewing!

Rane2920072: LOL! Remy-poo...I cracked up when I read that! The guardian thing was just a spoof he gave Linda to try to explain how he ended up with Hermione...half true because he is guarding her, just not in the legal sense. :) They aren't going to stick around the muggles for long, they'll be gone in chapter 16. Pancakes are good, I like the kind with chocolate chips and strawberries and whipped cream. Thanks, cheers to you as well!

Amber Hermione: Yeah, to me, characterization is number one (did I say that before?). You'll find out who was responsible soon. :) You know, beta-ing for a story would be fun, but I've just got a job that's nearly 30 hours a week, so my time is very limited on top of all my other activities (like my horse). I can't do it, sorry.

Scubakat29: You know, I'd forgotten about bones producing blood, but now that you mention it, I remember learning about that in Biology class (which I almost flunked, it was my worst class, I hated it, too many names!). I'll have to think on this one, thanks for bringing it up!

Oddballout: Hi, I'm really glad you gave it a chance! I promise I won't stop. :) I'm writing chapter 20 right now, and that's almost the end. Thanks for your enthusiasm, it's really encouraging!

Remusgrl01: Wow, addicting? It's a bit addicting to me too. :) I really appreciate your comments!

Preview of next chapter: "I — well —" began Remus nervously. He could tell, by her expression, that cutting boards weren't normally used to make pancakes. Perhaps they had to heat it manually or something. Remus had just used a heating spell. "It's a new invention. I agreed to — try it out. You know, it was part of my old job. When I worked for the government. Yes, that's it," he stuttered.