Disclaimer: All the characters belong to J.K Rowling, the plot is my own creation.

Chapter Three: With Dripping Wings

There was one problem with Remus' plan of saving Hermione.

He had no idea where she was.

And this was a fairly huge city.

Now, here he stood in the middle of the pouring rain, completely drenched and not to mention frozen to the marrow of his delicate bones. Well, maybe they weren't quite that delicate, sustaining all they had encountered over the many long and tumultuous years. Then again, they had become delicate from just that, worn down to their very fraying ends, barely managing the task of keeping his steady on his feet where he currently stood. His nerves weren't functioning well either; they shook visibly, fiercely, from the chilling sting of the rain and the anxiety stretching them far too thin than what he knew they could normally bear. He wavered, but caught a hold of the brick wall that was luckily right beside him. Remus rested, or – more properly – fell, against it.

He was exhausted, and for a good reason, too.

Remus had searched high and low throughout the city for her. Most the places were obviously not places where Hermione would even be caught dead in – Remus winced. Bad, bad choice of words. It seemed a little thick for him to even suspect of finding her in a library or a bookshop, but Remus admitted to himself that he was desperate and would look anywhere if it meant he might possibly find her there. After all, his hunch could be wrong. She could be perfectly safe. But Remus was not taking any chances. He was going to look everywhere to find her, but looking everywhere meant wasting time, and Remus could not waste anymore time. He had to find her. He had to.

Gathering up whatever was left of his strength and resolve, Remus pushed himself away from the wall. He suddenly knew what he had to do. He had to use magic. Remus glanced around warily; there were Muggles everywhere. He needed to find a place where he could use magic. He needed magic for this. There was no way Remus was going to find Hermione anywhere if he didn't.

A pang of fear instantaneously shot through him. Why couldn't he think of this earlier?

But there was little time to think about that as Remus began walking forward, perhaps a little too fast for normalcy, but he wasn't worried too much about normalcy at the moment. There was an alleyway up ahead that he could hide in. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. It would have to do.

Remus broke into a jog towards the alleyway's entrance. He sharply turned into it, catching the corner of the wall with his outstretched hand to keep himself from slipping on the wet ground. The alley was empty, thankfully, and he wasted no time grasping his wand, pulling it out, and muttering a complicated map spell he learned during seventh year. But not at Hogwarts, of course.

Over a hundred tiny beads of light shot out from the end of his wand, forming the ground of a city that looked very unfamiliar. Eventually, names of places began to form in some areas, and he noticed how this city bordered the ocean. After the entire map had finished, fine yellow lines produced the name "Blackpool" above the city.

Blackpool.

That's where Hermione and he were earlier. At Blackpool.

A single and solitary yellow bead of light, brighter than all the rest, darted out of the end of his wand and settled on the design of a pier by the beach.

A pier.

Remus said nothing, save a lone incantation, which dissipated the glowing map of Blackpool, and with a quiet pop, he Apparated.

- - - - -

It didn't seem likely or possible, but once Remus found himself standing on a damp beach shore, the rain had stopped. It took him a brief moment to realize how far Blackpool was from his residence, and the shock value wore off rather quickly. A cold breeze, filled with sea salt, assailed him in this damp state, and Remus cast a drying spell on himself. The water slowly vanished from his clothes and hair, and once he felt he was dry enough, he looked around for the pier.

It was between many others, but he saw it, standing firm and elongated, from the shore to the ocean's waters.

From where he stood, he could see nothing else.

Knowing the beach was probably closed by this time of day and that most Muggles didn't even go to beaches during this kind of weather, Remus kept his wand out as he ran across the firm, damp sand of the shore, footprints trailing in his wake.

He didn't stop to look to try to see anything, he just ran. Once Remus reached the pier, he raced up the steps, heart pounding, head whirling. She was here. She was here. She was here.

Remus stumbled on the last step up.

His hand caught the balustrade, refraining his fall.

The hand that held his wand shook severely. He drew it against his chest and tried to catch his breath.

Looking up, though, his wand clattered softly to the planks of the pier below.

A/N: I would just like to thank all my reviewers, and as long as I keep getting reviews, I'll keep updating:)