Chapter 5: The Beast Cups the Red-Haired Princess

The first thing Hermione noticed when she landed in Remus's memory was the younger version of the man himself.

There was the chiseled jawline she had so often kissed since he had first seduced her, the melancholy eyes. This time, however, there were no lines in the youthful face, apart from a pretty pronounced scar running from left cheek and snaking up to his temple, thankfully missing blazing a path through his eye. A souvenir almost certainly from when Greyback had bitten him as a boy. On the edge of his face as it was, the scar did nothing to diminish Remus's handsome face – even added to its beauty, in a bittersweet and strange way. He couldn't be any older than her son here, Hermione noted – 15, maybe 16.

But it was the girl whom he was talking to that really caught Hermione's attention. The two young people were in a rather drab and war-torn room that Hermione realized was likely the Shrieking Shack. The girl had a smooth and unblemished face, her hair red like tongues of flame and framing an entrancing pair of bright, green eyes.

Hermione knew those eyes. She had seen those eyes laugh on the day that their owner danced with her at her wedding. She had seen those eyes smile on the days her and Ron's children were born. She had seen those eyes take on a heavy, haunted quality when lost in the past. Harry's eyes…

Harry's mother… Lily…

What really took Hermione aback was how, not only did the first Lily Potter have an eerily striking resemblance to her future granddaughter and namesake, but also how much of a resemblance there was with her, Hermione's, own daughter. Rose… Rose was a great-niece of Lily the First through marriage, of course, and certainly there was the redhead genes of the Weasley mixed in, but even so… It was actually quite uncanny, the similarities between Rose and her great-aunt. Hermione and Ron had always made sure to talk with their children about the Potters, allowing Harry to chime in about his parents. It had been important to Hermione that her babies know who their ancestors were, whether those relations be from blood or marriage. And she knew that Harry had found her desire for that sweet, especially where his Mum and Dad were concerned.

Hermione watched the memory now, studied Remus's anxious face as he searched Lily's eyes for a response of some sort.

"Well, say something!" he choked out at last.

Across from him, Lily appeared shocked, though she did an admirable job of not giving away reactions too easily on her face. Harry's mother smiled at last, shaking her head.

"I don't care, Remus, about any of that. I care for you anyway. Good mates don't judge each other. And while they also don't keep secrets… I'm still glad you think enough of me to have told me."

Hermione squirmed a little at the word 'mates,' the word meaning something so much more different now ever since she and Remus had fucked so ferociously on his couch that first night they were together. Though dropped into the scene en media res as she had been, she had a feeling that this was the moment Remus had first confessed to Lily that he was a werewolf.

For his part, Remus looked shocked, elated and deeply touched. "You really aren't afraid… of me?"

Lily shrugged, a luminous smile making her truly a vision of beauty. "Why would I be? Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

Remus took this in with wide, profound eyes, and Hermione bit back a smile, appropriating the quote in her head. "Who said that?"

Lily laughed gaily. "Dr. Seuss. Haven't you ever read any of his…? No, of course you haven't. He's a Muggle author."

"Is he a philosopher, then?"

"He writes children's books."

The scene shifted, but only for the briefest of instants. When it cleared again, it couldn't have been more than a few minutes forward in time, maybe a few hours at the most. Hermione was quite stunned to find Lily straddling Remus's lap, their lips fused together in between breathy pants as they snogged.

"Hmmm… Wait… Mmm… Wait," Lily murmured, drawing a hair's-breadth away from Remus's mouth, wriggling a little as she undulated slightly on his lap.

"You OK?"

"Yeah, just… go slow." Kissing again, Lily slowly began to bounce up and down on Remus's lap. The noises she made were yelps and squeaks with every bizarre, clearly inexperienced and erratic thrust Remus made with his hips. Craning her neck a bit, Hermione could see his fly was open; Lily's Hogwarts skirt was pushed up past her hips. The pretty witch's mouth fell open as Lily threw back her head and cried out. Remus was shagging Lily's mother! That begged one question: did Harry know about this? Had Remus ever told him?

Hermione's musings (and Remus and Lily having sex) was interrupted when the door of the Shrieking Shack banged open to reveal the younger selves of Sirius Black and James Potter. Lily and Remus stopped kissing, though the young werewolf stayed buried inside her.

Walking in on the sight clearly bothered James, though he did his best to disguise it, at least at first. Sirius was more sympathetic, even jovial and teasing about it.

Finally, however, James had seemed to have enough of masking whatever clear jealousy there was simmering. "What the hell, mate? First Snivellus and now you?"

Hermione frowned hard, wondering what Snape had to with this. She knew the basics of the story from what Harry had told her, but perhaps there was more to it that she wouldn't get without context.

"Prongs, just…. leave them be, yeah?" Sirius tried to make the best peace.

"Are you two going to leave?" Lily finally snapped, impatiently, her green eyes flashing and fixed on James as she continued, "Cause we were just getting started and I'd really like to get back to it."

James glowered, not moving. Finally, with a huff, Lily smoothed down her Hogwarts skirt with dignity and languidly rose off of Remus's lap, taking him by the hand. "Come on. Let's go!"

And she dragged Remus out of the Shrieking Shack past a gawping James Potter and a sympathetic but torn Sirius Black.

The scene shifted once more. This time, Hermione found herself back in the Entrance Hall of the castle, clearly at night. Torchlights illuminated Remus and Lily as they were huddled underneath one. Both appeared slightly older, maybe by a year or two. Harry's mother appeared as though she had been crying.

"I'm sorry, Remus, but…"

"You don't have to apologize, Lily. Not to me. James has always fancied you, and well… no doubt he's thrilled you finally noticed him."

Lily let out a snort. "He's only been wearing me down for Merlin knows how long…" She lifted her eyes shyly, biting her lip. "I just didn't want to break your heart…"

"I'll be fine, Lil. You've been my friend. And you were my first. That's more than I ever thought I deserved for me." Remus smiled sadly, softly touching, caressing her face. "James is a good lad – he just needed to pull his head out of his arse a little first. And I'd want nothing but the best for you."

Lily smiled at him wetly. "So do you, Remus. And you will find someone amazing one day." Standing up on her tiptoes, she softly brushed her lips along his cheek, then turned away, trudging a little down the hallway. She didn't see how Remus's brave face faltered into a truly crushed, crestfallen look.

Hermione's heart broke right along with his as she felt herself being lifted out of the memory.

Sitting on the floor of Harry's office, it was so easy to see now why he'd been so ready to break it off with her at the first sign of trouble. Growing up under the stigma of being a werewolf as he had, Remus had for a long time conditioned himself into believing that he didn't deserve to be loved. Then, only to have his hopes up and then dashed… Having his heart broken by Lily must have been part of what had left him wary about falling for and then marrying Tonks during the war. Then, when his wife had died…

The poor man… no wonder… In her own case, it might be admirable of him to want to make such a hard choice in order to protect his son's feelings, but even so…

The big question left was what was she going to do about it. First things first, though, what of this memory? Would Remus want Harry to see it? Would Harry be open to learning more about his mother's past? How would he react? She wasn't sure, so she retrieved the memory from the Pensieve, just in case.

Hermione staggered from her former brother-in-law's office, only to nearly run right into him. Harry looked white as a ghost, his Muggle mobile up to his ear.

"She's here, Ted…. 'Mione, Teddy says his dad is gone. He can't find him anywhere! He left a note!"

Eyes going wide with fright, Hermione's brain had enough wits about it to discern where Remus might have fled without even having to read the missive. "I know where he's gone…" And fleeing from Godric's Hollow, she Disapparated, bound for the Hogwarts grounds.

For the Shrieking Shack.

The full moon was high when Hermione appeared in the Forbidden Forest – the closest place to the Hogwarts grounds that you could Apparate into safely. She made a mad dash for the Whomping Willow, freezing to get into the tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack.

Once inside the shack, she found the handsome werewolf that was her Remus fully transformed. He didn't lash out at her, which told her his human mind was at least still with him and therefore he had to have taken his Wolfsbane Draught. He was even still clad in his human clothes, though they did hang tight on his body, and had even torn in some places.

His eyes locked onto her balefully, and staggering forward, he collapsed. Hermione wasn't sure if someone could die of a broken heart, but she wasn't about to let it happen to him. Not to this sweet man who had only ever wanted to be loved but shied away because he was too scared. Well, maybe she had been scared too. Scared of moving on, risking her heart on possibly loving a new partner. No matter the age. No matter the confines of family obligations. She wouldn't be a Lily Potter. Or a Tonks. She wouldn't leave him, not by force or by choice. That was what allowed her to catch Remus now.

Cradling the large werewolf in her arms, Hermione tenderly eased him back onto the wooden floorboards of the Shack.

The beautiful witch only allowed herself a brief thought over Teddy, over Ron. Over what her own children might say. It was too late now, to care about any of it.

And it might be too late for Remus too. He was breathing hard, lifting up a shaking paw to caress her face, brush her long, brown hair out of her face. Leaning into his warm fur, Hermione pressed Remus' paw to her cheek for a moment, until she felt it slacken and fall limp to the stone. With a heavy sigh, Remus crumbled back too and lay still.

Both of Hermione's hands went to her mouth, as she shook her head in disbelief, her eyes filling with tears. "No! No, please! Please! Please don't leave me!" Throwing herself over his body as she wept, Hermione let out in a whisper that only the rain could hear three little words – words she wished she had told Remus soon, but hadn't known how to say until now. In a tear-choked whisper, she finally let her heart confess:

"I love you."