A/N: So sorry about the long wait! My work schedule has been crazy. Also, Jennyfish (you know who you are), if you ever stumble across this, yeah, it gets a bit much in this chapter, but I thought it was ok as long as I didn't get too detailed and portrayed it properly, right?

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Framed

Remus woke up drearily, his face in the dirt. Last night was full moon. Fortunately, his plan on sealing himself in the indoor arena had gone without a hitch. However, it did not make the transformation any less painful. Remus rolled over and placed the Disfigurement charm on himself, hoping that would cover up some of the bruises. He struggled to a standing position and shuffled to a nearby mirror. Yes, with the Charm, it did cover up the more noticeable injuries of the night before, but it did not take away his exhaustion. He would be lucky to make it to the trailer. 'I'll just apparate,' he decided. With a crack he found himself standing in the kitchen.

He stared around, his thoughts incoherent. He was so tired, he decided to ask Linda to make breakfast, he was sure she would. He picked up the strange Muggle object called a telly-tone and punched the number Linda had given him a while ago. Her bright voice answered, and she quickly agreed to come over. He hung up and dragged himself to the couch and laid down, promptly falling asleep.

Linda came in quietly and started making breakfast. She glanced at Remus, wondering what could be wrong with him. On the phone, he said he had the flu. 'An odd time of the year to get the flu,' she mused.

Before long, Linda heard someone pounding on the door. Linda strode over and opened it, surprised to see her husband. Was it just she, though, or was something strange about him this morning? She could sense immediately that something was off. 'I'll find out soon, I'll just see what happens,' she decided.

"Hello, dear," he said in a saccharine sweet voice.

Linda raised her eyebrows with an amused expression. "I thought you were with Casper. Usually you are with him at this time of morning."

"Decided to take a break, sweetie, and help you," he said eagerly, pushing past her to get into the trailer. Linda, puzzled by his manner, followed him through the living room, where Pat paused. He stared at Remus and began to laugh in a rather disturbing fashion.

"Are you sure you got enough sleep last night?" asked Linda. Yes, Pat was eccentric sometimes, but this was just odd. Something was very wrong.

"I feel quite chipper," he said enthusiastically. He practically skipped to the kitchen and helped her finish breakfast. He insisted on delivering the orange juice to Remus himself.

Remus opened his eyes tiredly. "Thanks," he whispered hoarsely. "Don't worry about Hermione. I'll see to her."

"You will, won't you?" Pat grinned before leaving, Linda following him a few minutes later.

Remus drank his orange juice slowly. It tasted quite odd. 'It was probably just a bad orange,' he decided. He suddenly felt a bit energetic. He jumped up and fed Hermione, feeling increasingly excited and strange.

He just finished with her breakfast when he heard the door of the trailer snap open, and shouting coming progressively closer.

"REMUS LUPIN, WE'VE GOT YOU CORNERED! SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY!"

It was the Ministry. They had found him! What was he going to do? Remus, in a panic, grabbed Hermione's wand and his own, and portkeyed to the only place he could think of, Grimmauld Place, just as a Ministry official blew down Hermione's bedroom door. Who knew if the Ministry was watching it, but they had needed to escape to somewhere quickly.

They found themselves in the bedroom that Hermione had slept in previously. Remus set Hermione down on the bed, his face white and his body shaking. "That was close," he gasped. "I wonder how they found me."

He glanced around the room, and saw a small vial on the table with a note. He scrambled over to it, and read the note out loud, setting down their wands. It was Dumbledore's handwriting. "Here's something useful – Harry's blood." It wasn't signed or addressed to anyone. "Dumbledore must have guessed that we might come back," thought Remus nervously. "I bet the Ministry thinks the same, though. Here, let's do a transfusion." Remus magicked Harry's blood into her bloodstream. Hermione, grimacing, slowly came to life and stood up.

Remus found himself staring at her, the oddest feeling coming over him. He never remembered Hermione looking so beautiful, so – desirable. 'What am I thinking?' Remus firmly reprimanded himself. 'I have no reason to be feeling like this. I should stop right there. I'm probably going to be caught any moment. I have more important things to think about than how attractive Hermione is.'

"Remus, are you all right?" Hermione asked. She had never seen him look at her quite like that before, and she found herself blushing. 'Perhaps he is shaken up from what just happened.'

Her words almost sounded like a song to him, echoing in his mind. He desperately fought the urge to get closer to her and tried to clear his mind. "We should – be thinking – of where – to go," he said, concentrating very hard to get each word out.

"Remus," she said, stepping closer. "What's come over you?" This was not at all like he had acted last time he nearly got caught. Something had to be really wrong.

Remus screwed up his face in concentration, closing his eyes. He could feel every move she made. Her presence seemed to fill the room, blinding all his senses. Every sound she made was like music. He was consumed with desire to kiss her... and even more. 'No. I must control myself. We need to get out of here.'

"Don't," he gasped determinedly. "Just leave." He put his face in his hands.

'He looks like he is in pain,' thought Hermione. 'Probably from the full moon, and he doesn't want to tell me. Well, it needs to be attended to, whether he likes it or not!'

"You were hurt badly when you transformed, weren't you? Let me have a look." She marched, a bit wobbly, over to him with a no-nonsense look on her face. On her way, she noted that his Disfigurement charm had worn off. She was glad; she liked him better with his real looks.

With every step she took closer to him, his heart seemed to thud harder in his chest, and he started breathing harder. "Hermione. I'm not hurt. I don't know what has come over me. Please leave while you have the chance," he pleaded, his voice a bit higher than usual.

"Remus, I don't know what's bothering you, but we need to go before they find us here. They're likely to be watching this place. As soon as we're out, we can sort you out. All right?" she said gently. "Now please make a portkey, I can't."

Remus barely understood the meaning of her words. He was enjoying the sound of her voice too much. He could feel himself losing his mind completely, desire overcoming him. He clenched his hands tight, attempting to keep the last of his sanity.

Hermione stared at him, utterly bewildered. He certainly seemed to be in pain. Maybe he just didn't want to admit it. She closed the remaining distance between them, and whispered kindly, "I'm going to check you over. You don't have to play tough around me, Remus." She grabbed his wrist, about to pull up his sleeves to see if his arms got hurt.

When Hermione touched him, the last of his will disappeared. His hands left his face and he looked intensely into her eyes.

Hermione could smell his breath. It smelled familiar, like certain potions ingredients she recalled using in Potions class a long time ago. After a few minutes, she realized what was wrong. 'Lust potion. Someone slipped Lust potion in his breakfast! But how? Certainly the Paetons don't know how to brew it, they probably have never even heard of it. A wizard had to have done it.' Then it dawned on her. A wizard had done it, hoping to get Remus to be improper with her, and then get caught in the act. That would explain why the Aurors had arrived when they had. Someone was trying to frame Remus, to give proof to add to the validity of his charges.

Hermione took a step back. She liked Remus, and wouldn't mind if he kissed her or something, but someone under the effects of Lust potion was not someone you wanted to joke with. He wouldn't be able to control himself once it took full effect. "Remus, it'll be okay. Someone gave you potion," she said slowly, backing away.

Remus strode towards her as she backed away, then she found herself trapped against the wall. "Remus, I'm going to leave now," she said, a hint of fear in her voice. She had never felt afraid of him in the least before. It was rather strange to feel it now, after all the times he had proven he was more than trustworthy. Remus's eyes were locked in her gaze, and she felt her face heat up.

She tried to leave, but Remus grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back against the wall. Hermione's heart beat faster and her breath came in short gasps. "Remus, what are you going to do?" She could feel the effects of Harry's blood slowly beginning to leave her. There hadn't been much there to begin with. The vial had been rather small. Before she could do anything else, though, Remus wrapped one arm around her waist, another around her neck, and kissed her.

Hermione, surprised, kissed him back, finding that she enjoyed it. At the same time, though, she wondered how long this was going to last, and if he was going to attempt to do anything more. Even at the best of times, Remus was stronger than her, and she was weakening every second. 'The poor man. When he regains his senses, he will be absolutely mortified.' She wished Dumbledore had left more blood; she could have been strong enough to pull away. It certainly did not look like Remus was going to let go anytime soon. Her wand had been left on the table, along with Remus's, quite out of reach, so magic wouldn't help her.

Remus's grip around her tightened, and he slowly began dragging her towards the bed. Hermione sagged against him, her mobility leaving. "Remus, come to your senses," she pleaded in a bare whisper, before her power of voice left her completely.

Just when he had reached the bed, the door snapped open.

"There they are! I've found them!" shouted a voice. The speaker muttered a spell that hit both Remus and herself. Hermione recognized it as a spell that would prevent them from Apparating or using a portkey, for a temporary amount of time. Hermione's heart sank, and tears blinded her eyes. Remus was caught. He was going to Azkaban, she was never going to see him again. And poor Remus would feel horribly guilty about losing control, even if it wasn't his fault, and there hadn't been anything he could have done. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her chest hitched a bit with sobs. Remus, however, continued to be oblivious to everything that was going on around him.

A bunch of Aurors trooped into the room and pulled Remus off of Hermione with a great deal of force. "Here, Finiker, and you, Johnson, take him to Azkaban," said a tall man, who appeared to be in charge. "Put him in a cell that had good strong walls. He's a werewolf and we don't want him breaking out. The Minister is going to be very pleased! If we're lucky, we might get the Order of Merlin, First Class!"

The pair nodded, grabbed Remus, and the trio portkeyed out in a rush of wind.

Hermione's eyes closed and her throat tightened so much that she couldn't breathe. Remus was gone, probably forever. She didn't even get to say a proper goodbye. She felt someone pick her up, and recognized the feeling of being portkeyed away.

Replies to Reviewers:

Sorry for no personal replies, but I decided not to because of a couple good reasons, that you might be able to figure out after future chapters. Like JKR says, I don't want to incriminate myself, LOL! Also, I'll get this posted faster that way.

Many, many thanks to: JTBJAB, Morena-Forever, Amber Hermione, MoonyNZ (LOL, not quite, but you do seem to be getting the hang of how I try to hint at things), LupinLover99 (double thanks for reviewing twice), Rane2920072, Oddballout, DogDemonLover1590.

No thanks to: j0, who doesn't know the difference between inspiration and political agendas.

Preview of next chapter: "But – she was interacting with us. She seemed to know we were here," objected Mr. Granger.

"Reflexes," said Dr. Clint in a strained voice. "Just reflexes." He scratched his forehead and seemed to be quite puzzled about something.