Differences
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter- it is the respective property of J.K. Rowling and WB. The only thing I own is the plot. Thank you.
Dumbledore watched in horror as Hermione suddenly pitched forward over Remus' body, convulsing as they were both enveloped in a blue light and their energies intertwined. When the convulsions had passed, Hermione merely lie there, motionless. He watched as Remus sat up and shook his head, like a dog after being doused with water, and looked up at him, grinning like a child. Until, that is, he noticed the dead weight in his lap. He looked down at Hermione's rag-doll form and sighed.
"If she did what I think she has done…" he said, looking up at Dumbledore, "Tell me she hasn't."
"I'm afraid there was no stopping her," Dumbledore said with a small smile.
"If she lives through this, I swear I'll kill her," Remus growled, picking her up as though she weighed little more than the doll she so resembled at that moment, "Let's get her back to the house, shall we?"
It was nearly a week later when Hermione finally woke. She shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight filtering in through the open window and inhaled the scent of fresh flowers. She sat up and found that she was back at Remus' house, in her designated bedroom. She smiled, thinking about how mad Remus must've been when he found out what she did.
She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and tested them on the floor. Finding them steady enough, she stood and walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. She found that Remus was not home, and thought it very odd. Although, she really didn't know what day it was. She had been unconscious. She rummaged through the refrigerator and found some fresh fruit stuffed into one of the drawers and pulled out a pear.
She walked back up to her room to change and it was then that she realized something. Her clothes had been changed. She blushed bright red at the thought of Remus undressing her, but she consoled herself with the hope that Remus had called on a woman to complete that task. She changed into a simple pair of shorts and a light blue t-shirt and resolved to go on a walk.
She walked outside after finishing off the pear, and basked in the sunlight for a moment. It seemed like years since she had last seen the sun or breathed the fresh air. She sighed, reveling in the beauty of the secluded area before taking off. She was gone for nearly an hour before her hunger got the best of her and she headed back.
As she neared the house, she noticed that there was somebody yelling something. More specifically, there was somebody yelling her name. She gasped realizing that Remus had probably gotten home and found her gone. He was most likely in a right state of panic. She ran for the house and burst through the front door.
"I'm sorry, I can explain-!" she was cut off quite suddenly when Remus pulled her into his arms.
"Don't you ever do that again," he said into her hair, "You should leave a note at least."
"Were you worried?" she asked teasingly.
"Of course I was worried! I came home and you were just gone!" he sighed, "Damn it, Hermione, I don't remember the last time I was that scared- actually I do. It was the night that Sirius fell behind the veil."
"I'm sorry… I really am," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist. She couldn't really understand how it felt to lose all of your best friends, but whenever she thought of losing Harry or Ron, she automatically started crying- which of course she did now. She sobbed silently into his chest, gripping his shirt in her hands.
"Hermione, don't cry," he said, stroking her hair soothingly.
"I'm sorry… I didn't want to lose you," she whispered, looking up at him with a teary smile, "Are you terribly angry?"
"I guess not," he conceded, "More relieved than anything."
"Relieved about what?" she asked.
"The fact that you're safe," he replied, gently wiping her tears away with his thumb.
"Oh…" she said as her eyes fell closed and she leaned into his touch, "So… does this mean that you're going to stop denying my feelings?"
He froze and looked down at her, meditating on the thought, and then smiled softly. "I guess… we can try a relationship," he said, "But we'll have to keep it secret for a while- just until we know where it will go."
"That's fine with me," she said, "So… how do you feel?"
"I feel fine. Maybe even a bit relieved," he replied, releasing her from his grasp, "Now I won't have to take a stupid aging potion."
"And I won't have to brew the wolfsbane… bloody hell!" she exclaimed.
"What?" he asked.
"Now I won't have any excuse to come and see you," she explained, walking to the couch and sitting down.
"Sure you will," he said, following suit, "I'm going to help you with research, remember?"
"What?"
"Arthur has asked you to do some extra work for the ministry… you must not have seen the note. He wants you to research possible cures for other magical ailments. He wants me to assist you. We're to start on memory modification and work our way up to reversing the effects of prolonged exposure to the Cruciatus Curse," he said.
"You're joking," she said, watching him sit with wide eyes.
"No, I'm not. He's even offered to pay us quite handsomely. He's already transferred an enormous amount of money into your account for the Lycanthropy cure. It's been copyrighted and all of the information is being transferred to textbooks and magical institutes like St. Mungo's as we speak. It's all being accredited to your name, of course."
"Bloody hell…" she whispered, "This is- absolutely incredible! Are you sure you're not joking?"
"Of course," he replied.
"I can't believe it… do you know how many people will be helped with that potion? I hadn't even thought of the fact that it would be… mass produced!" she said, standing suddenly, "Think of all the people that will be helped with what we can accomplish! Neville could have his parents back… we could even… this is too much!"
"And, of course, there's the money," he said, grinning.
"Who cares about the money?" she asked, turning on him with a fire in her eyes like he'd never seen before, "We can make a difference! We can help! I can help!"
"You're a very passionate woman, Hermione," he said.
"I know… it's just- all my life, I've had this enormous brain and everybody told me I would do great things. But- even though I did help in the final battle, it all came down to Harry. I'm not bitter; it's just that at that moment I realized that it was Harry who was destined to be great. It was always Harry. Even Ron fought. I was always just the brains behind the brawn. Now, though- now I can do something! It's amazing!"
Remus merely smiled. That was how he had felt back in his Hogwarts days. James and Sirius had been the strong ones, Peter was just the annoying tag along, and he had always been the brains. However, that was how he had liked it, and he was content. Hermione, apparently, wanted more.
"Then we should get started as soon as possible, right?" he said, and her face lit up.
"Definitely," she said, "I'll go get the books."
In the next week, Remus came to wonder if there was any relationship at all. Hermione spent little time with him, and when they were together, it was only to exchange notes and theories. He thought that she was, perhaps, more in love with her work, than him. He sat down at the kitchen table and looked at the mountain of books Hermione had left- all on memory charms, spells, and curses- and sighed.
"Damn," he said to the table.
"Talking to yourself, now?" Hermione said, walking into the room.
"Hello," he groaned, "Please tell me that you don't have any more books."
"I don't have any more books," she replied, rolling her eyes at his childish behavior, "What I do have is a reservation at Chez Moi for two."
"Great, I'm starving! Is that in London somewhere?" Remus asked, jumping to his feet.
She chuckled. "Chez moi is French for my house…" she said, "I'm cooking you dinner. How long has it been since you've had a home-cooked meal?"
"Hmm… since the last time I was with Molly," he answered, "Which was about- oh, I'd say a week after the war ended. I mostly eat out."
"Holy Hell! That's it. You're eating at my house at least three times a week," she said, "Get your coat, and no arguments."
"So… do you live alone?" he asked.
"No," she said, smiling as they left the house, "I live with at least a dozen handsome bachelors."
He growled at her playfully.
"Oh come on! You're not a dog- anymore," she teased, prodding him in the side with her elbow.
"Yeah, thanks to that one girl… what's- her- name," he countered, making Hermione laugh, "Seriously, do you live alone?"
"Pretty much," she replied, "I was living with Ginny, but she spends most of her time with Harry."
"Ah…" he said, raising his eyebrows. They were going to be in her house and alone? That sounded like a trap.
"Let's apparate to the Leaky Cauldron and then floo from there," she said and he nodded.
When they were safely at the pub, Hermione grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. She stepped into the fireplace and threw it down, stating, quite clearly, "Sanctuary."
Remus followed suit, wondering at the odd name for her place of residence. He stumbled out of the fireplace, casting a quick cleaning spell on his clothing and person in general, and looked around. He was standing in a large living room with a comfortable looking white, plush sofa and two matching arm chairs. There was a glass coffee table in front of the sofa and large book cases on either side of the room. The walls themselves were painted a very pale blue with feathery touches of pink here and there. The carpet was also light blue.
He could hear clanking coming through the doorway parallel to where he was standing and walked into what was obviously the dining room. The floors were hard wood and there was an elegant crystalline chandelier above the dinner table. The table before him was magnificent in itself, decorated with a dark blue lace cover and matching dark blue candles. It was relatively long with room for eight- one at each head and three on either side. There was a tall china cabinet filled with beautiful china ware. The walls were a deep ocean blue, and actually did resemble the ocean.
He followed the noise further and walked through a swinging door into the kitchen, which had marble counter tops and two, silver, double sinks. The refrigerator was white and the oven and such were just standard. The cabinets were cherry wood and there was an island going down the middle. There were children's drawings all over the fridge and Remus approached them, confused.
"I volunteer at St. Mungo's in the children's ward three times a week," Hermione said, "Those poor kids. A lot of them were orphaned during the war… some of them were children of Death Eaters and- have had their memories modified."
"That's terrible!" he exclaimed.
"I know," she said, returning to dinner, "Molly said that meat loaf was one of your favorite meals, so I'm making that."
"Thank you," he replied, "Nice house, by the way."
"Yeah… Ginny doesn't know, but I've spent the last two days redecorating and rearranging. It helps me think," she stated, stirring a pot of gravy as she talked, "After I got all that money from that potion- I had to repaint."
"You seem a bit… you like blue, don't you?" he asked.
"Yes, I love the cool colors," she answered, grinning, "You can go upstairs and have a look around if you want."
"Thanks," he said.
The first thing he noticed was the pictures in the hallway. They were mostly of family, it seemed- Ginny's family. Red hair and freckles dominated the majority of the wall space. Except for one picture. It was a picture of Hermione and her parents and a little boy, who looked to be one year old. The parents both had dark brown hair, unlike Hermione's subtle honey, and the boy had bright blue eyes, while both parents were a duller, more subdued blue and Hermione's were deep chocolate. If it weren't for the similarities in their faces, you never would have them to be a family.
He saw that there were two doors on either side of him and one directly down the hallway. He tried the two on the left first. The first room was the den, which was done in deep mahogany and red, and the second was Ginny's room, which was done in pale, sunny yellows and white.
He turned to the doors on the right and found the first to be a- well, it was a nursery. It was a very large room decorated in pinks and blues and teddy bears. Hermione, apparently, wanted children in her future. He found the next door to be Hermione's room. He knew this by the piles of books on the desk in the corner and on the bed. From what he could see of the bed in was a pale purple. The carpet was also purple and the walls were done in a lavender sponge pattern. He grinned.
The last door led to more stairs. He climbed them and found a sort of greenhouse. The ceiling was slanted, with glass on one side and regular ceiling on the other. There were plants and flowers and potted trees everywhere. The walls were done in a pale green and the floor was hardwood. There were a few sitting rocks here and there and one, green sofa in a particularly sunny corner.
He walked back downstairs to find Hermione setting the table.
"Here, let me do that," he said, taking over, "It's the least I can do."
"Thank you," she replied, smiling, "Did you see my green room?"
"Yes, it was beautiful. The whole house is beautiful. You really do have a lot of skill with interior design," he stated, "But- who was the little boy?"
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"In the picture… the one of you and your family," he answered, "Who is the little boy?"
"That's Thomas- my little brother," she said softly.
"What happened to him?"
"He was the only one to survive the Dementor attack," she whispered, "But- he's… they put him under the Cruciatus Curse. He was only two years old… he couldn't handle it- even if it was only a few moments. He's in St. Mungo's Children Ward."
"I see…" he said, "So… once we've figured this memory thing out, we'll go straight to reversing the Cruciatus."
"What? Isn't that a little fast?" she asked.
"No- not when that much is on the line," he replied, "So he's four now?"
"Yeah… he's four," she said.
Remus searched for some way to change the subject. "Um… what's burning?"
"What?" she exclaimed, "Shit!"
She ran into the kitchen and then came back out moments later.
"Nothing was burning… everything is already done," she said, then saw him smile, "Oh. Thanks."
"No problem… so are we going to eat? I'm starving," he said.
"Pig…" she mumbled.
They ate with pleasant conversation and then went up the stairs to the green room. They sat on the sofa and Remus wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap. She leaned into his chest, closing her eyes and sighing.
"Dinner was great," he said, "Don't tell Molly, but I think your meatloaf surpasses hers."
"It was my great-grandmother's recipe," she replied.
"This really is a peaceful room," he whispered, looking up at the stars.
"It's because of all the green," she said, "In most muggle theatres, they have green rooms where the actors sit before the show and between their cues. Green is a naturally calming color, so it reduces nerves and stage fright."
He chuckled, the sound rumbling deep in his chest. "You know everything, don't you?"
"Not everything…" she said, sadly.
"Don't worry, we'll figure it out," he told her, stroking her hair fondly, "I'll help you get him back. I promise."
She nodded, already beginning to doze.
"Maybe I should let you get to bed," he stated, grinning when she yawned and shook her head.
"Not unless you stay with me," she said.
"Not tonight…" he said, "I would if I could- trust me- but I have a previous engagement with Arthur."
"Then I'll stay awake, and you can come back afterward," she said, sitting up.
He sighed, realizing that it was hopeless to argue with her. "Fine… I'll come back."
"Good," she said, standing up and walking with him to the door. As he was opening it, she said, "I just thought of something."
"What?" he asked, turning to her.
"Once we've saved Tom, we can find a way to bring Sirius back from behind the veil," she said warmly.
"Sure… we could do that," he replied.
She smiled. "See you later."
He just nodded and walked out of the house. Hermione walked into the living room and pulled a book out. She settled onto the sofa and began reading. It was a clear, calm, lazy April morning…
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