Hermione woke slowly the next morning. She groaned happily as the light of the sun began intruding into Remus's bedroom. With her eyes still closed she reached across the bed searching for Remus. He wasn't there. She opened her eyes to see his side of the bed rumpled and empty. "Remus," she called out sleepily.
After a few seconds he emerged from the bathroom. "Morning," he smiled. His hair was still rumpled and he was only wearing a pair of sweatpants.
"Morning," she returned. She patted the space in the bed next to her and he joined her readily. He pulled back the covers and settled next to her, pulling her to him.
"I love having you in my bed in the morning."
"This has been the most amazing month," she agreed, snuggling closer. She kissed his neck running her hands over his back. "Why'd you even bother putting clothes on," she mumbled reaching the waistband of his sweats.
They made love and held each other for a long while after. They'd almost drifted back to sleep when there was a knock downstairs. Hermione groaned.
"I wonder who that is," said Remus forcing himself to release Hermione.
"Don't be mad," said Hermione rolling over in bed and searching for her knickers. "I told Lily I'd go shopping with her today, for the wedding. I told her noon, but you know how she is."
Remus flopped back in bed moaning. "I told James he should have eloped."
Hermione found her knickers and pulled them on, but was having a harder time finding her shirt. "Where's my shirt?"
"Here," said Remus tossing her one of his T-shirts. "Tell her to come back at noon."
Hermione laughed. "I'll be right back." There was another loud knock at the door. "I'm coming," she yelled. She descended the stairs slowly, pulling the shirt over her head. "Your timing couldn't be worse, Lily," she yelled at the door before swinging it open.
Unfortunately, the person who greeted her was not Lily. Standing in the doorway were two wizards, one of whom Hermione hadn't seen for years. Walden MacNair looked just as she remembered him. And when he spoke, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
"Does Remus J. Lupin live here?"
"Who's asking," she said, trying to control the tremor in her voice.
"We're from the Department for the Regulation of Dangerous Creatures," he tried to move forward and enter the house, but Hermione blocked the doorway.
"He's not here," she lied.
MacNair leered at Hermione, unashamedly running his eyes down her body. Hermione blushed and pulled the bottom of the shirt gently. It didn't even fall midway down her thighs. "And you are," asked MacNair.
Hermione felt emboldened by his obvious disrespect of her. "That's none of your business. If you'd like to leave a message for Mr. Lupin, I'll be sure that he gets it."
"Are you aware of what Mr. Lupin is, ma'am," said the wizard standing behind MacNair. Hermione's eyes flashed with anger and she was about to tell them both to go to hell, when she heard the unmistakable sound of Remus coming downstairs. Without thinking, she tried to close the door, but MacNair put his hand out and braced it open.
"Did you get rid of her yet, Hermione," said Remus jokingly as he appeared on the first floor. He came up behind Hermione and she gave a silent prayer of thanks that he had put a shirt on. When he saw the two men, his face immediately grew serious.
"Remus Lupin?" asked MacNair.
"Yes, can I help you?"
"We need you to come with us," he said stepping forward.
Hermione stayed firmly planted in front of Remus. "He's not going anywhere," she challenged. "You have no right to come into our home. Please leave."
"I'm afraid we have every right," said the second wizard. "The ministry has just passed decree 47 which requires all half-breeds to submit to registration."
"As well as a few other things," sneered MacNair.
Hermione glanced at Remus worriedly. His face was the picture of serenity, but he did seem undecided in what to do. Hermione felt certain that her presence was holding him back.
"We certainly aren't going to submit to anything like that," she said firmly.
"You don't have a choice," said MacNair, side stepping Hermione and taking hold of Remus's upper arm. Hermione silently berated herself for leaving her wand upstairs. Remus pulled away from his grasp just as Hermione pushed MacNair backwards.
He swung out at her and she fell to the floor hard. "Hermione," Remus shouted. He dropped to one knee and touched her shoulder. From behind, MacNair grabbed Remus roughly and pulled him up. Remus struggled, but the other wizard came up next to MacNair and between the two of them, they wrestled Remus out of the house.
Hermione, who had the wind knocked out of her, but other than that was perfectly fine, struggled to her feet. She threw the front door open and took a few steps outside. She turned in a circle, but they were gone. She ran back into the house and straight upstairs. She immediately pulled on the first pair of pants she found, grabbed both her and Remus's wands and ran back downstairs to the fireplace. She grabbed some floo powder and threw it into the fire. Stepping in, she yelled, "Godric's Hollow."
She arrived at James's house soon after and tumbled out of the fireplace. "James," she yelled running into the main hall. "James!"
She looked around, but the house appeared deserted. She ran upstairs to James's room, taking the steps two at a time. "James!" He wasn't in his room, so she ran back downstairs. She was about to take the floo to Sirius's apartment, when Mr. Potter appeared in the hallway. "Hermione, what on earth..."
Hermione didn't let him finish. "Where's James," she said frantically.
"He went out," said Mr. Potter, placing his hands on her shoulders and squeezing them lightly. "Hermione, what happened?"
"They took Remus," she said, breathing heavily.
Mr. Potter's grip on Hermione tightened. "Who took Remus," he said strongly.
"MacNair and some other wizard, they said they were with the ministry, something about decree 47."
Mr. Potter swore under his breath. "Come with me, Hermione," he said quickly and went into his study. Hermione waited while he wrote three short notes. One, he immediately took to the fireplace. He threw some floo powder into the fireplace and said clearly, "Professor Albus Dumbledore's office," and threw the note in. He waited a few seconds and threw another handful of floo powder into the fireplace and said, "Sirius Black's apartment," and threw the second note in.
He walked quickly from the study and Hermione ran to follow. He tacked the third note on the front of the door and turned to Hermione. "We're going to apparate to the Ministry of Magic, ok?"
She nodded and with a pop they both apparated. Immediately they were inside the Ministry. "Come along, Hermione," said Mr. Potter striding down the main hallway. She had to all but run to keep up with him.
They entered the lift at the end of the hall and waited until it reached level four. A cool female voice said, "Level four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, incorporating Beast, Being, and Spirit Divisions... They didn't wait for the announcement to finish. Mr. Potter proceeded down the hallway to a large reception desk sitting in front of a great door. "Go sit over there," he instructed Hermione, nodding to a row of chairs several feet away from the receptionist.
She hesitated only for a moment, but obeyed. Mr. Potter talked for a long while with the receptionist, but Hermione couldn't hear anything they were saying. At one point Mr. Potter's fist came down on the desk and the receptionist jumped with fright. A few seconds later she got up from her seat and went through the door behind her.
Mr. Potter came over to Hermione.
"Is he here?" she asked trying to control her emotion.
"We'll find out now. Hermione, I need to know everything that happened. Who came to the apartment?"
"Walden MacNair and another wizard, they didn't identify themselves, but I recognized MacNair."
"Why? Has he been by the apartment before?"
"No," she said shaking her head. "I've had the misfortune to run into MacNair before."
Mr. Potter didn't ask anything further.
Hermione couldn't help but be terrified. She knew MacNair was a Death Eater. He had been one of the wizards that had attacked them during their fifth year, not to mention having been Buckbeak's would-be executioner. "Why is this happening," she asked.
Mr. Potter sighed deeply. "It looks as if they've finally managed to pass decree 47."
"What is decree 47?"
"It's a travesty," he said angrily. "It's an excuse to allow the ignorant to maintain their prejudices."
"I don't care about that," said Hermione in frustration. "I want to know what it means for Remus."
Mr. Potter looked at Hermione with sympathy in his eyes, but it only made her angrier. "It gives the Ministry the authority to register the people they affectionately call "half-breeds".
"For what purpose," asked Hermione, not really sure if she wanted to hear the answer.
Mr. Potter stared at her intently. "You know for what purpose, Hermione."
Hermione balled her hands into fists and doubled over in her seat. She wanted to scream, but couldn't. She had to maintain control.
"Decree 47 has been in the works for a long time," said Mr. Potter. "I never thought I'd see the day when they passed that law."
"You knew," said Hermione accusatorily.
"Yes," he replied quietly.
"And you never told Remus?"
Mr. Potter turned away uncomfortably. Hermione understood immediately. "You did tell him," she said quietly. "He wouldn't let you tell me." She took a deep breath. "That means James and Sirius know too. Damn it," she yelled pounding the chair next to her with her fist. "I am not a child. Why does he do this?"
Just then the lift opened and both Hermione and Mr. Potter turned to see Sirius running toward them. Hermione stood and met him halfway down the hall.
"Are you ok? Where's Remus? Have you seen him yet," he asked, peppering Hermione with questions.
"How could you keep this from me," she said angrily.
"You know the answer to that," said Sirius shortly, not bothering to pretend he didn't know what she was talking about. "Besides, we thought we had more time."
"Sirius, they came and took him this morning. I don't know where he is or if he's all right," she broke down and Sirius pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Shh," he whispered. "It'll be alright."
Hermione tensed in his arms. "Sirius," she whispered frantically. "MacNair, one of the wizards who came this morning, he's a Death Eater."
Sirius's eyes grew wide. "Are you sure? What am I talking about, of course you're sure." He paused for a moment. "He wouldn't do anything to him. He's under the Minister's orders on this one, not Voldemort's."
"I'm scared," she whispered.
"It'll be ok, I promise." Sirius led Hermione back to Mr. Potter. "I came as soon as I got your note, sir. What can I do?"
"Nothing at the moment, I sent that flighty receptionist to make sure they brought him here. I'll see if I can go and be with him."
As if on cue, the receptionist emerged from the door and the three of them moved toward her. "He's being interrogated right now," she said curtly.
"Which interrogation room," asked Mr. Potter?
"Number 7, but you can't go in there," she said in a high pitched nervous voice.
"Watch me," he moved to the door and Hermione made to follow him. "No Hermione, you stay here."
"No, I want to go with you," she protested.
"Sirius," said Mr. Potter before disappearing behind the door, followed by a screaming receptionist.
Hermione went to follow him, but Sirius held her back. "Let me go," she said struggling against him.
"Hermione let Mr. Potter handle this. You'll only make things worse."
"How could things possibly get any worse?"
"If they knew the exact nature of your relationship with Remus, it might," he said.
"Well I'd bet they don't have any doubt of the exact nature of our relationship seeing as how I answered the door in nothing but his T-shirt this morning."
Sirius colored slightly and frowned.
"Why? What does our relationship have to do with anything?"
"It's decree 47. It bans half-breeds from cohabitating with and marrying pure bloods."
"Half-breeds," she laughed bitterly. "You mean Werewolves."
"Not just Werewolves. All supposed half-breeds, including Vampires, Giants, Goblins, Trolls, and Centaurs."
"But I'm not a pure blood. I'm muggle born."
"Yes, but nobody knew that, and the last thing we need is for somebody to go poking into your parentage."
"This is a nightmare," she moaned. "What else does this decree dictate?"
Sirius sighed. "Almost everything," he said. "It dictates where Remus will be able to live, what kind of jobs he can have, and..." he trailed off.
"What," urged Hermione?
"Decree 47 prohibits the half-breeds from breeding."
"What," gasped Hermione? "You can't be serious?
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
"But if the decree stands, the Giants and Centaurs will die out, not to mention the Goblins and Trolls. How could they possibly hope to enforce that law?"
"They can't," said Sirius bitterly. "But I'd love to be there when they try."
"It's just prejudice," said Hermione. "They think the half-breeds are more likely to be on Voldemort's side so they're trying to eradicate them? Don't they understand that this will only open the doorway for them to turn against us? Well they're not going to stop Remus and I from having a family if we damn well feel like it."
"Hermione how is it that this is such a surprise to you? Doesn't this law exist in the future?"
"No," she said slowly. "There are laws, but nothing as intrusive as this." She frowned, her mind working things out. "That means this is my fault. Something that I did caused this. But what, what could I have done to change things so drastically?"
"Stop it," said Sirius. "You remember what Dumbledore said. You can't blame yourself for what's going to happen. There's no way you could know how things would unfold. Don't play this game with yourself."
Hermione wiped away the tears that were spilling down her cheek and laid her head on Sirius's shoulder. He put one arm around her and held her close.
They sat for hours. Eventually James and Lily showed up and joined their silent vigil. At hour nine, just as Hermione was about to lose it, Mr. Potter and Remus emerged from the end of the hallway. Hermione got up and threw her arms around Remus. He held her for a long time and to her credit, she didn't cry.
When she pulled back she took note of his face. He looked so tired. "You must be starving," she said. "I'm taking you home and feeding you and putting you to bed."
He smiled appreciatively, but said, "We can't, Hermione."
Her heart skipped a bit and she knew he was going to end things with her in the name of chivalry or some other misguided attempt at doing the right thing. "Don't," she warned quietly. "Not here."
He closed his eyes tiredly. He knew exactly where her mind was. "We're not going home, because we have to go to Hogwarts, honey. Nothing they do could make me let you go now," he whispered.
She cried quietly in his arms, not letting anyone else see her tears. "I love you."
"I know," he said. "I love you too."
"Let's go you lot," urged Mr. Potter quietly.
"Not so fast, Potter," said a voice behind them.
They all turned and stared at MacNair. Sirius, James, and Lily got up and joined Remus, Hermione, and Mr. Potter.
"We told you we wanted a word with the girl," said MacNair.
Hermione felt Remus's arms tighten around her. "And I told you over my dead body," snarled Remus. Mr. Potter put a hand on Remus's shoulder silencing him.
"We've already been over that MacNair. You've already pushed the limit of your authority by picking up Remus. The decree allows the persecuted parties to come in on their own, not to be picked up at their private residences. Hermione is under no obligation to speak with you now."
MacNair laughed. "Listen to you, persecuted parties. You're lucky the people didn't give us permission to put down the half-breeds like the animals they are."
"Bastard," said Sirius angrily. James and Lily had to quickly grab hold of him to prevent him from attacking MacNair.
"Well hello, Black," sneered MacNair. "Didn't see you back there. Tell your mother Walden says hi."
"Whether we do it now or later," continued MacNair, "we will be speaking with the girl. If she's a mudblood, she can continue in her sordid little connection with the werewolf as long as she doesn't get herself knocked up. But if she does," MacNair smiled evilly. "We can always take care of that too."
Remus pulled away from Hermione and tried to launch himself at MacNair.
"No," she shouted, maintaining her hold on him. "Definitely not worth it," she said turning him away.
"If you come near her, I'll kill you," he said to MacNair over his shoulder before Hermione pulled him around.
"What was that, boy, a threat on a Ministry official?"
"No, not at all," said Mr. Potter, pushing his little group toward the lift. "I'm sure you must have heard wrong."
"I'm sure you're right, Potter. See you later, girl," he called at their retreating backs and Hermione had to keep a vice like grip on Remus.
Once they were in the lift Remus tucked Hermione securely into his embrace. "I won't let them come near you, honey. It won't happen."
"Don't think about that now," she said reassuringly. "They can't hurt us."
When they reached the main floor they were greeted by absolute commotion. On one side of them, there were lines of pale looking witches and wizards, many of whom had scared looking children in their arms. On the other side was a group of angry goblins being pushed along by ministry officials.
Mr. Potter surveyed that group quickly and separated himself from the rest of them. "I'll be right back, kids." He quickly moved over to the group and spoke with one of the ministry personnel. Then he separated one of the goblins from the group and spoke a quick word with him, before rejoining them.
"Let's go," he said.
"Dad, what's going on?" asked James.
"The registration process is beginning."
"You don't mean all those witches and wizards are werewolves or vampires?" asked Lily incredulously. "What about the children?"
"They are," said Mr. Potter, "or the families of them."
"This is just cruel," said Lily.
"We can't take the floo network to Hogwarts," said Mr. Potter quietly. "I don't want them knowing where we've gone. We'll apparate to Hogsmeade and then walk to Hogwarts."
Less than a half hour later they were making their way back into the castle. Hermione smiled for the first time all day when she entered the castle. Dumbledore met them in the front hall. "I've been expecting you for hours," he said and Hermione felt nervous at the look of unease in his eyes. She had never seen Dumbledore worried before.
"Unavoidable, unfortunately," said Mr. Potter. "Perhaps we should go to your office, Albus."
Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Potter spoke as they made their way to the Headmaster's office. "This is an unexpected turn of events," said Dumbledore. "But we are not unprepared. When I received your note this morning I contacted the head of Gringott's bank and sent word to Hagrid that he must return immediately."
"Did you contact Firenze?"
"The Centaurs have not been receptive to my invitation."
"I can't say that I'm surprised," sighed Mr. Potter. "They've always felt we were an arrogant lot. Passing this decree only enforces the opinion. I spoke with Grypphorn as he was being led in for questioning. He was reluctant, but has agreed to meet with us."
They reached Dumbledore's office and settled themselves in the available chairs.
"I don't mean to interrupt the two of you," said Hermione angrily. "But I want to know what's going on now. All I know is that two ministry officials came into our house this morning and took Remus. And now I find out that the Ministry has passed some law giving them the right to do God knows what and you all knew about this and didn't tell me."
"Hermione," began Sirius warningly.
"Shut up, Sirius," snapped Hermione. She turned to Remus. "If you ever keep anything like that from me again..." she trailed off not wanting to finish her threat. Then she turned to the rest of them. "I mean it, all of you."
"Hermione," began Remus quietly. "I didn't want you to worry when there was nothing you could do."
"That's a bullshit excuse and you know it," she said lowering her voice. "I'm not your child. I'm your fiancé and I don't need you to protect me."
Remus closed his eyes in defeat.
She turned back to the group, all of whom were staring at her in some shock. But she didn't care that she had just announced her engagement to Remus. She just wanted to take some action. "So how are we going to stop this?"
"We can't," said James quietly. "It's done."
"I don't accept that," said Hermione. "If I've learned anything in the last year, it's that nothing is permanent."
"What do you propose we do, Hermione? Start a war on another front?" asked Sirius angrily. "Thanks to the Ministry, we've just given the people who fall under that ban to Voldemort. His numbers will double and we're already outnumbered."
"You have a lot of confidence in us," said Remus quietly.
"I didn't mean you, mate," said Sirius immediately. "You know I didn't."
"Who did you mean then?" asked Remus.
"Come on, you two, let's not fight," begged Lily. "We have to stick together."
"Lily's right," spoke up Dumbledore. "We must come together to make this work. We're not completely unprepared," he reassured them. "Although I must admit the speed at which this is happening is surprising."
"The people are scared," said Mr. Potter. "And unfortunately, they are equating being a half-breed with being on the dark side."
"Could we stop saying that," snapped Hermione. "It's as insulting as being called a mudblood."
After a few minutes Dumbledore spoke. "There's very little we can do tonight. I've made contact with the goblins and extended an invitation to the centaurs. If he travels all night, Hagrid will return tomorrow for the meeting. Decisions on how to proceed will be made then. What I suggest now is that we all get something to eat and go to bed. Tomorrow will be a very long day."
When nobody protested, they all got up and went to leave the office. "Hermione, Remus, please stay. We'll meet the rest of you in the Great Hall. I've asked the house elves to prepare some food."
Remus and Hermione sat back down and he reached over and took her hand. "Are you ok, Remus?" asked Dumbledore.
He nodded.
"Hermione?"
"Of course I'm not all right," said Hermione. "Dumbledore this decree shouldn't exist. It doesn't in my time." She covered her eyes with one hand. "How did this happen?" she asked herself. "What triggered it?"
"I imagine it was the attack at the school at the end of last term," said Dumbledore quietly.
Hermione considered this. "The only place Voldemort never dared attack was Hogwarts," she said slowly. "It was the last safe place. Wizarding parents could still feel safe sending their children to school. They lost that after the attack."
"They need something else in place to make them feel safe," said Remus.
"Thanks to Hermione, however, at least we know the real source of this decree. I have made contact with some of my friends at the ministry and some of the main supporters of this decree are people we know to be Death Eaters."
"Who?" asked Hermione.
"The Malfoy's, Rodolphus Lestrange," he paused, "the Blacks," he finished slowly.
Hermione frowned slightly. "Does Sirius know?"
Dumbledore nodded sadly.
"One of the wizards who came this morning was a Death Eater," said Hermione.
"Which one?" asked Remus curiously.
"MacNair."
"That's not surprising," said Dumbledore.
"He was the one who was so insistent that they speak to you," said Remus to Hermione. "They kept coming back to you the entire interview," he said slowly.
Dumbledore looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"
"Hermione was with me this morning when they came. MacNair wanted to know who she was."
"What did you tell him?" asked Dumbledore.
"As little as possible," said Remus. "I told him she was a friend of mine from school that was visiting."
"What else did they want to know?" asked Dumbledore.
"They wanted to know how long we had known each other and who her parents were, but I refused to answer. Then MacNair said if I was insisting on being so uncooperative that he'd just arrange to speak with her one on one."
"You don't think they suspect anything?" Hermione asked Dumbledore.
Dumbledore sighed. "I'm beginning to think they might."
"But who," she asked, "the Ministry or Voldemort."
"Based on the attack at the school, I'd say Voldemort. There's a thirty day grace period that allows the mixed breeds to voluntarily submit to the registration. Decree 47 only gives the Ministry the authority to pick up suspects at their private residences if they are known threats."
"How is Remus a known threat?"
"He's not," said Dumbledore pointedly. "But to Voldemort you would be. He may have sent MacNair to pick up Remus using the authority given to him by decree 47. It may have been a warning. We already know that Peter informed Voldemort of your unexpected arrival at school and how things began to change once you arrived. I'm afraid you're no longer as inconspicuous as we once thought."
"So what do we do now?" asked Hermione.
"I'd like the two of you to remain here at Hogwarts."
"For how long?" asked Remus.
"Indefinitely."
"I don't know if I can do that, sir," said Remus. "I'm not going to hide out like a scared child."
"Remus," began Hermione.
"No, forget it, Hermione. We're not doing anything to be ashamed of. You taught me that. You said I had as much right to love and be loved as anyone else and I'll be damned if I let some law stop me."
"Professor Dumbledore isn't asking us to do that," she insisted. "But things aren't safe right now. What's going to stop them from taking you again if they feel like it? I can't lose you."
"Remus, the full moon's in four days. The law requires you to submit to the Ministry lock up in two days for monitoring. Do you really want to go through the transformation under those conditions?" asked Dumbledore.
"Remus, please," begged Hermione.
He looked at her and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Ok," he agreed. "We'll stay."
They joined the others for dinner, but nobody ate much. They were all too tired. Finally it was time for bed and the five friends went to Gryffindor tower and up to the boy's old dorm room.
"I can't believe we're finally allowed girls up here and I haven't got one of my own," complained Sirius as they all prepared for bed. James and Remus both laughed. Hermione and Remus got into his old bed and snuggled close together and James and Lily did the same.
They all talked for a few minutes, but Hermione just lay there quietly, her arms around Remus's waist and her head on his shoulder. Silent tears fell down her face as the weight of what had happened settled on her. She had never felt as helpless as she had today. Remus noticed she was crying immediately. He said a quick goodnight to their friends and closed the curtains around them.
He held her tightly stroking her hair and whispering words of assurance to her. "I love you, Hermione," he whispered. "As long as I have you, I don't care what the rest of the world thinks."
"I love you too," she said tilting her head up and claiming his mouth in a slow gentle kiss. "I'm sorry this happened," she whispered.
"I heard what you said up there and I know how you get. This was not your fault and I don't ever want to hear you blame yourself again. Do you hear me?"
"Remus," she began.
"No, I mean it. Hermione, don't you know that I thank God everyday for you coming back to our time. I'd put up with anything if the exchange was getting to fall asleep next to you every night."
She sighed happily. "I feel the same way."
"Do you?"
She propped herself up on one arm and looked into his eyes. "Of course I do. You should know that by now."
"I guess I still wonder if you'd go back if you could."
"Stop wondering," she said kissing him again. "We're getting married and I'm never going to leave you."
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A/N: This has to be one of my favorite chapters I've written. I hope you all like it too. By the way, if anyone wants me to send them an e-mail when I update, just leave me your request and e-mail address in the reviews.
