A/N: Here's another, for you. I've got one more waiting for beta, but then I'll likely switch back to WAPS for a bit.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 3
"Miss Granger, is there something you aren't telling me?"
Hermione hesitated. If she said yes, would it be a violation of the contract? The terms had been "anything that causes the secret to be revealed", and telling Dumbledore that you weren't telling him something was as good as telling him the secret itself. But, at the same time, saying "no" would surely be just as likely to inform him that she had a secret.
"I see." Dumbledore responded. Apparently, she'd waited too long to answer. Which was just fine, because /that/, at least, had been unintentional.
Hermione had been in Dumbledore's office nearly half an hour, now, trying to get him to allow Ambell into headquarters for the summer. He had been remarkably reluctant about it, dismissing most of Hermione's "concerns" in short order. But it must have been a tip-off when Hermione refused to take the council of an authority figure, and he'd apparently caught more than Hermione had hoped. She had to be very, very careful now, or Ambell would be worse than dead before Hermione could even explain.
Hermione studied her hands, searching desperately for another argument. "Professor, I -"
"Enough, miss Granger. It is obvious there is something I do not know, and I suspect you are not at liberty to tell me." He stared straight at her, but she refused to meet his eyes and risk being legillimized. "I trust your judgment. I must make you aware, however, that I will require an explanation this evening -"
Hermione's breath caught in her throat, and she tried to give voice to a protest.
"-at Headquarters. With your friend in attendance." He finished.
Hermione let out her breath carefully, controlling her features to keep from giving anything away. She couldn't risk it now, not when she was so close to having Ambell safe for good.
"Thank you, professor. I'm sure I will enjoy my summer much more with company." Was all Hermione said.
She looked at the Headmaster, careful not to make direct eye contact. He was frowning. "Of course, Miss Granger. Miss Tonks is presently waiting outside; I must speak with her for a moment, but then I will send her with you to collect your friend, if that is amenable to you."
"Very much so, headmaster, and thank you, again."
Dumbledore studied her. "Very well. If you would wait for her at the bottom of the staircase? This should only take a minute."
Hermione nodded once to the Headmaster, and turned to leave. Hermione offered Tonks a weak smile of greeting on her way out. She descended the staircase slowly, hoping to catch some of the conversation, but couldn't hear a thing. She waited at the bottom, and was just contemplating another round of pacing when Tonks emerged.
"Hey, Hermione. Ready?"
Actually, Hermione wasn't a bit ready. She was scared spitless that they'd arrive, only to discover Ambell already soul-less from Hermione's plotting. She suppressed a shiver. "Yes, let's go."
"We're using the main floo, c'mon, it's this way." Tonks set off in the opposite direction from the great hall. It only took about a minute before they came upon a massive fireplace, set into the stone wall.
"This used to be the main method of travel to and from Hogwarts. They shut it down shortly into the first war, I've been told. Now it's only open when the Headmaster specifically approves it. We've got about two minutes to get out of here. Don't worry about your stuff; someone will bring it by later. It is all packed, right?"
"Yeah, it's on my bed in the dorm." Hermione answered, taking some floo powder from Tonks.
"We'll be flooing to a place off Eighth Street, is that close enough?" Tonks asked.
"Ambell's parent's place is on Fourteenth, but it shouldn't be too much of a walk."
"You sure /she'll/ be alright with this? And her parents?" Tonks questioned.
"We were going to be leaving for a trip in about three weeks, anyways. We'll just tell her parents we're going early. They'll be disappointed, but they'll be okay with it." Hermione said, hoping she was right. She knew Ambell would be alright with it, she just wasn't certain about her folks.
As it turned out, Hermione needn't have worried. She and Tonks were both red-faced and out of breath by the time they reached the apartment complex. Tonks, the more in-shape of the two, buzzed the apartment. Hermione was nearly bashed in the face as a tear-stained, stricken looking Ambell came flying out the front door. Worried, Hermione wrapped her friend in an embrace, murmuring shushing words, watching carefully around for any sign of The Bastard or his cronies.
Satisfied that no-one in the immediate vicinity was from the ministry (other than Tonks) Hermione questioned her friend "What is it? What's happened?" and then, in an undertone "is it /Him/?"
"No, no, Hermione. Nothing like that. It's just, it's my parents. They're… oh, Hermione, they're splitting up. The just had a humungous row. They're taking time apart, this summer, wanting a break, and are demanding I choose who to go with. And I can't. Hermione, I can't choose. I don't want to be with either, not when they're like this."
Hermione couldn't believe her luck. It was the perfect excuse. "How about this, then, Ambell. Come with me, and we'll just take our vacation a bit early."
Ambell looked past Hermione, focusing on Tonks, clearly worried that the secret had been told. Hermione caught her eye, and shook her head a tiny bit. No, she signaled, Tonks doesn't know. "Lets go tell your parents. I'm sure they'll agree. And then we can help you pack."
Ambell gave a watery smile. "I'm packed already. Mum's actually out, finding a new place. They packed all my stuff up, while I was off at school. I came home to find everything in boxes."
"It'll be alright, Ambell, I promise." Hermione said, with a meaningful look at the other girl.
Ambell shot Hermione a slightly fearful look, her eyes flicking to Tonks again.
Tonks, dismissing the odd looks between the two girls as typical teenage oddity, decided it was time she be introduced. "I'm Tonks. I'm here to escort the two of you to, er, the place you'll going." She said with a grin, holding out a hand to shake.
Ambell took it. "Ambell Marshall. I'm sorry you had to meet me like this." She said, scrubbing away tears with her free hand. "I'm not normally so emotional." Hermione gave a bit of a snort, which she attempted to cover up with a cough. Ambell glared at her, playfully.
"We should get upstairs and get my stuff. There's a lot of it, though." Ambell said, looking at the other two girls, doubtfully.
"It won't be a problem." Hermione said. "That's the other reason Tonks is here."
Ambell understood immediately, and grinned. She was dragging the other two up the stairs to her parent's place before they even noticed they'd gone through the door. "Oooh, I can't wait to see some" she dropped her voice "magic. You never get to use any on holidays, and I've always wanted to see, you know?"
Tonks regarded Hermione oddly "Just how much have you told your friend, Hermione?"
"Enough." Hermione said, flippantly, as the reached the top of the steps.
Ambell pushed open the door to a rather decent sized flat. "Mum, Dad" she yelled. "I'm –"
"You don't have to shout, Bell." Ambell's dad said, coming from the kitchen. "Hello, Hermione dear. I'm sure Bell's told you what's going on." He said, sadly.
Hermione gave him a half-smile. "Yeah, Mr. Marshall." She took a deep breath "I was, actually, wondering if you'd let her stay with me for the summer. I have to be someplace for school, for the summer, and I've been allowed to take a guest. She said she doesn't feel ready to choose, yet, and I'd love to have her with me."
Ambell's father smiled again, more warmly. "That's our Bell, never wants to hurt anyone's feelings. Yes, to both of you. Although, I assume this has something to do with the war?"
Tonks was regarding Hermione with more than a little suspicion. "Just how many people did you tell, Hermione?"
"Actually, she didn't" Mr. Marshall said. "Her parents were the ones who told us."
Tonks looked skeptical at that, but answered "Well, yes, it does have to do with the war."
"It's fine, then. But you girls stay safe. I'll assume you're safer wherever they're keeping you than you are here, but I want you to be extra careful. No risks, girls. And do call when you can."
Ambell smiled, and went to hug her father "Thanks, Da, it means a lot to me."
He smiled in return. "I know, Bell, I know."
Ten minutes, and a few waves of Tonks' wand, later, they were ready to go, all of Ambell's possessions tucked into a duffel bag, with room to spare. Ambell's eyes had sparkled at the magic, though the spell to lighten the bag had been blue, which caused her to flinch. Luckily, Tonks didn't notice. Hermione did, though, and reached out to give her friend's shoulder a comforting squeeze.
They waited a few more minutes for Ambell's mom, who, when she turned up, seemed almost relieved to discover that Ambell would be with Hermione for the summer. She'd apparently only been able to find a one-room flat, and had been worried about who Ambell would choose to live with. She hugged both the girls, shook hands with Tonks, and that was that.
Once outside again, Tonks led them into an alleyway, and checked for passers-by. Satisfied the coast was clear, she summoned the Knight Bus. Ambell gasped and giggled at the sight of the triple-decker, violently purple bus, and Hermione watched her friend in bemusement. It was good to see that Ambell's horrible experience with the werewolf bite hadn't clouded her entire perception of the wizarding world. Hermione couldn't help but be excited, herself. She was pulling it off, they were finally going to be free.
Hermione's thoughts turned to the more pressing matter of her meeting with Dumbledore. This evening, she'd be explaining everything to the Headmaster, and perhaps to some members of the Order, as well. She wasn't sure if she was happy or sad about it. It would be nice to no longer have to lie, true, but she wasn't certain how well she would take everyone's reactions. At least, this way, they were finding out honestly, and not by Remus discovering her.
Remus was another matter. She expected she would have to tell her story at least twice, as he would know the second the girls arrived in Grimauld Place. Whatever skill Hermione might have had at masking the wolf, Ambell lacked even that. Hermione couldn't think of any way to explain that her best friend was a werewolf without telling the entire story. It would be an interesting evening.
And before all that, she had to explain everything to Ambell. Hopefully, she'd get a chance to talk to the other girl, alone, before Remus confronted them. She didn't fancy the idea of having those two conversations simultaneously. 'Yes, Remus, we're werewolves, sorry I didn't say before; no Ambell, I meant to tell him, and the madman won't be here in five minutes to suck out our souls.' Hermione snorted. Tonks gave her a questioning look, but Ambell seemed to know what was on her mind, and raised an eyebrow.
Hermione was trying to decide how to respond, when she heard Stan calling the name of the street off Grimauld where they were headed. Grateful for the interruption, she stood, almost toppling forward as the bus came to an abrupt halt. Fortunately, Ambell was as graceful as Tonks was klutzy, and easily saved Hermione from landing on her rear. She smiled at Hermione, and whispered "Least I could do, if you're right. Though I can't see how - "
"Don't say it yet" Hermione cut her off, wary of breaking the contract before they reached the safety of Number Twelve. But then she grinned. "I'm right. There's a lot to tell, though."
The second their feet hit pavement, the bus was speeding off behind them. Ambell grinned at it fondly, before turning to her companions. "Right, where to now?"
Tonks led the way, down the street and around the corner, before handing Ambell a scrap of parchment. Ambell, having been told about fidelus spells by Hermione, and being academic enough in nature to retain the information, caught on after only a moment. She did manage to look thoroughly surprised as the house appeared, though.
"Man, that's cool." Ambell muttered, as Tonks burned the bit of paper. Hermione grinned at her, and led the way to the door.
It was nicer inside than the last time Hermione'd been there. Not nice, exactly, as it still looked old, and a bit worn. But it looked more lived in, and the dark feeling had faded. There were still snakes on lots of things, but they looked more like the decorations of someone obsessed with serpents than dark trophies, as they'd seemed before. Everything seemed freshly painted; the smell, while somewhat musty, was much /cleaner/ than it had been previously.
The portrait was still there, or at least the curtains were, so she motioned Ambell for silence, and crept past and up the stairs. Tonks whispered that she was going to find Remus. Hermione nodded, but tugged Ambell to follow her, quickly. She had a lot to explain before Remus got there.
She ducked into the second door on the left, her old room, and shut the door behind her. "Toss your bag on the bed. We'll worry about unpacking later, I've got a lot to tell you in very little time."
"Like how it's going to be better, perhaps? And what's the hurry?" Ambell said.
"Hush. There's too much to be said. The fellow she's going to get is a werewolf."
Bell stiffened. "He'll know –"
"Exactly. Look, we're going to break the contract."
Bell muffled a squeak "You – you can't… we'll NO, Hermione, NO –"
"Shush." Bell quieted at the direct command. "I didn't have another choice, they were bringing me here anyways; he would have known. And at least this way you're safe."
"How can I possibly be…? He'll find -"
"No, he won't. You're safe, here." Hermione began pacing, as she explained the protections on the house.
Remus could be here any second, and she doubted it would take him more than a minute to know /exactly/ what was going on. And she was still stuck on why they'd be safe. There was so much more to say, yet.
She was so lost in thought, she didn't even hear the door open.
"But what about the Moon, Hermione. I'll turn, and there will be no-one. We have to go to the ministry, you know that. You swore you wouldn't let me -"
"Didn't you hear what I was saying? There's another wolf, here. And he -"
"What is going on, here?" A deep voice interrupted her. "I'd like to think you weren't just discussing me." It was professor Lupin. He looked rather hurt. He must think I was telling Bell what he was, Hermione thought.
"Professor! I, er, that is, we…"
Lupin was looking at Ambell oddly "And what's this about /another/ wolf?"
Bell was regarding Lupin fearfully. "If you're going to break the contract, Hermione, now would prallie be a good time."
Hermione sighed. "I… Look, I don't really know how to go about saying this, professor."
"Your friend, here, is a werewolf." Lupin said, matter-of-factly. He cocked his head in dog-like fashion. "Is that why you told Dumbledore she had to come? Because you should have just told him that. He was thinking something far worse was going on." He smiled at Bell, and held out a hand. "Remus Lupin."
"Ambell Marshall." She said, weakly trying to match his smile. Hermione noticed that Bell's hands were shaking a bit, though.
Hermione's own hands were shaking, so she clasped them behind her back. "That isn't everything, professor."
Lupin turned his attention back to Hermione. Hermione took a step closer to her former Professor. Closing her eyes, she let go of the threads of magic keeping her from smelling of wolf. She heard a sharp intake of breath. Her whole body was shaking, now, teeth chattering together from nerves, and she had to open her eyes to keep herself standing. She looked at the floor, studying her shoes, watching Remus take a step nearer, and feeling herself shrink back.
A hand touched her arm, and she flinched. "Hermione. Look at me."
Hermione looked up tentatively, fearing rejection, even if she knew it wouldn't be there. "Why didn't you tell anyone, Hermione?"
"I'm afraid that not even that is everything, professor."
Lupin looked almost fearful. "What else, Hermione?"
"We're. That is, we've…" Hermione broke off, unable to say anything for a moment. She collected herself. There was no going back, not now.
"We were bitten the same night, Professor. It was almost three years ago, now." She took a deep breath to continue, but Remus interrupted.
"That's impossible, Hermione; I would have realized before now. I've been around you several times, and nearly half of last summer."
"We were bitten in June."
Remus' sharp intake of breath was her only answer.
"On the night of the solstice. We were taken, then, and put in a cell, in the ministry. We were kept unconscious for a month. When we woke up –" Hermione broke off, as Bell fled the room, slamming the door behind her.
Remus stayed silent, but she knew he was waiting for her to continue.
"When we woke up, our best friend, he was, well, he had been left. Left with us. On the moon. To die. From us. When I woke up, he –" Hermione's throat froze up. She cleared it several times, forcing herself not to cry.
"It's okay, Hermione. You don't have to talk about that, if you don't want to. I understand." Remus answered, sadly. Quietly. Hermione felt as if he were lending her strength.
A few moments later, she began again. "He, Mark, freed us from the curse for three years. The ministry official who found us, originally, held Mark's death over us. It would be a means of getting us the dementor's kiss, if we told of the Bas- of the official's plans; he could tell the ministry what we'd done, and no-one would object to such a punishment. In exchange for his silence, he wanted us to return once every three years. He sells us, the chance at being free, to the highest bidder. We get our once-per-three years victim out of it." Hermione realized she was staring at the floor, again.
She focused her gaze on her shoes as she said the last bit. "I know it's a lot to ask, but I'd like to leave Ambell in the care of the Order. I – I would like to hope that a cure, or a method of restraint, or a – a volunteer, can be found, for her. I-I'll be going back. He'll be mad enough, but perhaps he'll be alright with it, if I go back."
Remus made a soft sound, and his left hand came up to her chin, bringing her gaze to meet his, again.
"Why would you go back, Hermione? You have to know we'd offer the same protection to you."
"I know." She whispered. "But you can't find anyone I would let myself destroy again, not when I had to see their face, know who they were. You, the order, everyone; they would spend every waking minute, trying to find a cure, or a wolfsbane type solution." She paused, and added, so low that even Remus couldn't hear "And you wouldn't let me kill myself when no cure could be found." Hermione couldn't stop crying. He knew, knew everything; she was suddenly so overwhelmed by pain and horror and grief that she couldn't even see to watch his reaction.
She only knew that for one moment, she was standing there, fighting her tears, feeling utterly lost and alone. And the next, she was swept into a tight embrace.
"Oh, Hermione." Remus said, in a low murmur, "why didn't you tell anyone? It's okay," He said, pulling her close as though he were afraid someone would steal her away "it'll be okay; you're here, now, and I've got you, and no one will hurt you."
At this, Hermione began shaking harder, and then was shaking her head, back and forth, against Remus' shoulder. "But the Moon will still get me. I'm not safe. Never safe. And it hurts, it will always hurt, it will always hurt inside. Because I'm a beast, and no-one can understand, because even other wolves are human, so much more human, than I can ever be again. And it's so soon, it's going to happen so soon. You don't understand, I have to go back."
Remus pulled her tighter. "No, Hermione, it is safe. It will be okay, you don't have to go anywhere. You're safe." He was rubbing her back, soothingly "You don't have to go back."
Hermione was becoming hysterical, worried that they'd try to keep her here "But I have to; if I don't I'll kill; so, so many, and they'll kill; kill me, worse than kill, no, no, I have to go back…. No…You don't know, you don't understand. I've done, I've done horrible things. And I have to go back. And I have to do them again, or I have to, have to, have to… you just don't understand."
She started trying to fight Remus' grip on her, but the effort was entirely futile. It was like fighting steel; he wasn't even straining from the effort. "Sssshhhh, Hermione." He soothed "it's okay. Listen to me, Hermione. You don't even have to explain anything else. I know. It's been my assignment for the order, looking into the "werewolf cure" he was offering, we came across it on the underground, through Fletcher. Only I didn't know it was you, not until I walked in the door just now."
Hermione was getting hysterical "But then, but you can't know about, not about… you would hate me… You would have to. He- he was my friend, Remus. I n-never meant that. I didn't want… I hardly even had the time to, to find out what I-I was, and then I was waking up, and he was t-there, but he wasn't, and his b-body, his body, Remus. His face. I d-did, I w-was, i-it was m-me, ME, and it was so, so, s-so horrible, and he… and Mark…" Hermione dissolved into choked sobs.
Remus just held her, and let her cry. He stood there, holding her to him, letting her pour it all out. Wave after wave of tears came, as she recalled the times she'd had to lie, the nightmares. The waking nightmare of realizing the third year moon was coming. The fear of the moon, of the stars, of the night sky she'd used to love. She must have cried for hours, letting out every pain of three years of uncertainty, yet he didn't even shift.
After what could have been years as easily as anything else, her tears finally quieted. "I've made your shirt wet." She said. She couldn't think of anything better to say, and the silence had seemed to thickening into something tangible.
"It /will/ be okay, Hermione. If it comes to it, I'll" Remus paused, pushing her far enough away to look her in the eye, "I'll stay with you."