Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter related stuff, characters or anything else.

Hermione's Troubles:

Chapter Two:

Hermione awoke to a bright, sunny Saturday morning. However, she felt anything but sunny.

"The exact opposite of my mood." She muttered dispiritly. "Eh." She sat up and looked around, remembering the night before, when she'd gone wandering about the Grounds under the full moon. "I hope you're okay Remy." She whispered. "And I wish I could be there to comfort you." A single tear ran down her cheek. She rubbed it away quickly.

"Hermione?" A piercing voice rang out from across the room. "Are you alright? What were you muttering? You look terrible." Parvati walked across the dormitory to sit on the end of Hermione's bed. "Are you okay?" The Gryffindor looked quite concerned.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Hermione answered briskly. "Just a bit tired. I was up all night reading." She lied glibly. Parvati nodded in understanding. "It wasn't completely a lie" Hermione thought. "I was reading for quite a while last night."And that was actually the truth.

She got out of bed and went to the bathroom. Looking in a mirror she saw why Parvati had looked so shocked. Her hair was a wispy, bushy mess, her face had streaks down in from crying herself to sleep, and her eyes had dark circles under them from lack of sleep.

Once Hermione had composed herself and gotten ready for her day, she walked down the staircase to the Gryffindor Common Room. She was met by Harry and Ron lounging around.

"Good-morning sleepyhead!" Ron greeted her happily.

"Hi Hermione." Harry said cheerfully.

"What are you two so happy about?" Hermione asked.

"You woke up in time for breakfast?" Ron suggested.

"We got 'Outstanding' on our recent Potions work?" Harry quipped laughingly. "And you woke up in time for breakfast?" Hermione just shook her head, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Well, off to the Great Hall then." She announced, and the three left the Common Room.

Partway through breakfast, Harry leant over to talk to Hermione quietly.

"Hermione, where were you last night?" He asked. She noticed Ron was looking at her intently.

"I was just, ah, reading. I went outside, to read." She lied.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Ron narrowed his eyes. Hermione, lying to Harry's face?

"Yeah. Yeah, I had a really interesting book to read, and it was too hot in my dormitory."

"Hermione, we know-" Ron was cut off by Harry stomping on his foot. "Ow!"

"I have to go to the library." Hermione said suddenly, to cover up her fear.

"The library?" Ron said quizzically. "But we don't have any homework."

"I know, there's just something I wanted to get more information on." She said hurriedly.

"We'll help!" Harry suggested.

"NO! I mean, no thank you." Hermione protested. "Honestly, it would drive you two insane with boredom, and I wouldn't put it past you to set things on fire or something. Gotta go!" With that she scurried off in the direction of the Library.

Behind her, Harry and Ron exchanged glances.

"That didn't go well Harry." Ron commented. "Aren't you supposed to be the subtle one?"

"Yeah, well, she was unusually evasive." Harry objected. "Maybe we should just bring it out into the open, like you said we should in the first place." He pondered. "She looked really unhappy."

"Yeah. I noticed that last night as well. What do you think? We go up to the Library and sort this all out?" He questioned.

"I suppose so. C'mon, let's go. She was probably just using the Library as an excuse anyway."

Up in the Library, Hermione actually was doing research, in-between wiping her eyes. She'd started on an idea and was researching it as much as possible. A treatment for werewolves. Not like the Wolfsbane Potion, permanent. A cure. She'd stumbled on a book called 'A Detailed Study of Werewolves and Lycanthropy, by Mari Loup,' which had just enhanced her theory. It was almost finished. A few minor details and kinks had to be worked out, but apart from that, her Potion was nearly completed. She'd been working on it for almost 5 years. It had taken SUCH a long time, but she didn't want to say anything until she was sure she'd completely worked out the formula for her Potion.

"I really hope this works." She whispered to herself, wiping a tear that was running down her cheek. "And I hope it will help Remy." She continued. "And I wish he liked me." She put her long scroll of parchment into her bag, and checked out the book on Werewolves. The Librarian gave her a weird look. "She must think I'm insane." Hermione muttered. "Up here all the time researching werewolves, and now I look terrible because I was thinking about Remus again." She'd just finished this sentence and was about to leave when two people grabbed her arms from behind and pulled her into a secluded corner, with bookshelves all around.

"Hermione, we need to talk." She heard Harry's voice in her ear. "Now." Harry and Ron let her go and sat beside her on a window seat.

"Hermione, we know you like Professor Lupin." Ron stated. Hermione just looked at him blankly.

"I'm really sorry, but I saw you leaving the Common Room last night, and you looked upset, so I followed you." Hermione's heart sank.

"How much did you hear?" She asked sadly, not even bothering to deny anything.

"Basically everything." Ron replied nodding.

"Hermione, why didn't you just tell us?" Harry inquired gently.

"I, I guess I just, just didn't feel like telling you both. I was afraid, afraid that you'd hate me, or think I was insane or something." She muttered. Harry and Ron had to lean in closely to hear.

"Hermione, why would we hate you?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"I, I don't know!" She exclaimed. "Why did you have to follow me?" She asked angrily. "Things were best left as they were! You had no business to spy on me!" She got up.

"Hermione..." Harry began, "Hermione, we -"

"Just leave me alone!" She yelled, and ran off.

But Hermione wasn't really angry. Just upset. She ran off to the far side of the library, which was massive, and went to go to her favourite hiding spot. It was a little alcove that you couldn't get into unless you knew it was there, and it was completely isolated from view. She tore round a corner, muttered "Moony," and slid into the tiny gap through the bookshelves, blinded by tears, and not slowing down.

She'd almost reached the window seat which was her favourite spot, when she felt herself collide with someone. She looked up to see Professor Lupin looking down at her kindly. She blushed wildly realizing she'd crashed into him, and went run off, but she was stopped by Professor Lupin putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" He asked softly. She just looked up at him, eyes filled with sorrow. She couldn't exactly say that he was the cause. "Here, sit down." He gently steered her to the window seat and sat down beside her.

"Hermione, what's the matter?" He asked. Hermione just shrugged.

"I'm fine, really Professor." She said brokenly.

"No, no you're not." He replied. "Tell me, Hermione, please." He cupped her chin in his hands, making her look up at him. The feeling of them staring into each others eyes ripped at her heart.

"Really, I'll be fine. It, it's not something I can say." She said quietly. "How did you know this place was here, anyway?" She said, abruptly changing the topic and indicating the hidden enclosed area around them.

"Oh, I found this place when I was here in my student days. Then I magically enhanced it." He replied. "It's magically hidden. I was so surprised when you burst in here."

"Oh, I found the magical protections by accident ages ago." She sniffed. "When I realized it needed a password, I just – er – guessed – that the password would be the Marauder name of one of you." She blushed again, pink tingeing her cheeks. Actually, she'd been wandering around sadly, and whispered something about 'Moony', then had nearly died of shock when the gap opened to let her in the room. "I tried yours first since you were the book-loving one." Lupin smiled.

"And I still am." A smile brushed across Hermione's lips.

"Yes." She replied.

"When I found this place, I didn't even tell Peter, Sirius, and James. It was my hidden place. It's completely safe. Password, charms against eavesdroppers, and so on. I put it on the Marauders Map secretly one night though. Are you sure you can't tell me what's bothering you?" Hermione shook her head, bursting into tears again.

"No, I can't. Please don't ask me, I can't tell you – wait!" She exclaimed. "Did you say this place was on the Marauders Map!" She gasped.

"Yes, why?" Remus asked carefully.

"Oh, ah, no reason." Hermione lied. "I really like it in here." She commented to distract him, thinking wildly, "I really hope Harry doesn't look for me on the Map!"

Over in the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry was looking for Hermione on the Map, along with Ron. When Hermione had run away from them, they tried to follow her, but she'd just seemed to vanish. They looked all around the Library, and eventually gave up and went to look for her on the Marauders Map, after Harry had suggested it.

"Hey, there she is!" Ron exclaimed suddenly, poring over the Map. "I told you she never left the Library!"

"Where?" Harry replied. Ron pointed. "Uh, Ron, did you happen to notice there's someone with her?" He said carefully.

"No, I didn't, who?" Ron asked, interested.

"Er, Professor Lupin." Harry replied, sounding astounded.

"WHAT!"

"Yeah. It's right here, and you know the Marauders Map never lies." Harry responded. He and Ron just looked at each other. "They seem to be in that alcove." Ron giggled.

"I wonder - "

"RON! NO!" Harry denied emphatically.

"Okay, alright. Can we go ther-?"

"No!"

"Fine." Ron muttered. "I wonder though-"

"RON!"

Back in the Library, in the hidden little space, Hermione and Professor Lupin were still talking.

"This was one of my favourite places as a student. I used to come here when we had assignments to do, and I needed some privacy." He smiled wryly. "It is – was- kind of hard to concentrate when James and Sirius were talking about different ways to get at Snape." Hermione laughed.

"I found this place near the end of my third year." Hermione replied. "I come here all the time, mainly when Harry and Ron are discussing Quidditch tactics. Did anyone else know about this place?"

"No, I don't think so. I made this place, it used to just be a secluded alcove, and I only ever brought one person here. So there should just be us three. Hang on, I'll check." He raised his wand. "Revelasio Personas!" He exclaimed. Two pictures floated in the air in-front of him. One was him as a boy, Hermione nearly giggled seeing his younger self, and one was a current picture of Hermione. "That's strange." Remus said, puzzled.

"What?"

"Well, I brought a girl here once. She should register as have been in this place, but she isn't. Desvanecerse!" The pictures faded.

"Who was she?" Hermione asked, curiosity burning through her veins.

"Her name was – that's funny – Hermione, um Hermione… actually, I don't think she ever told me her last name." A look of sadness passed through his eyes. "I brought her here once or twice. She was amazingly like you Hermione, even in looks, smart, intelligent, fun, book-loving, and she even had a slight distaste for Quidditch…" His voice wandered off. "She was amazing…" Hermione blushed at the indirect compliments he'd just paid her, and mind whirling she thought, "He was in love! I'm hearing one of his innermost secrets!" Remus seemed to realize that too. He blushed a delightful colour of crimson.

"Er, um, anyway, are you feeling slightly more happy now Hermione?"

"Yeah. But why doesn't she show up on the Ward memory?"

"Absolutely no-idea. She should, even with you being a lot similar in many ways, unless you were the same person… but that's impossible." He concluded. "And I'm glad you're feeling better, and glad I helped." He smiled at Hermione, and she smiled back.

"Thank you Re – Professor, I feel much happier now." On impulse she leant over hugged him tightly. For a second he seemed to be in shock, then just hugged her back. Hermione's mind nearly exploded. "He's hugging me! Still, it's almost definitely a teacher-cheering-up-student comforting thing… but who cares! He's hugging me!" They broke apart, Hermione smiling wildly.

"Well Hermione, I'm glad you feel better." Lupin said, standing up. "I'd better go, I'm late for a class of Slytherin and Gryffindor 3rd years, and who knows what they could get up to without a teacher?" He smiled and gave Hermione a hand in clambering to her feet. She smiled.

"Okay, bye Professor Lupin, and just once more, thanks for cheering me up!" Hermione said, waving.

"That's alright." He smiled and waved, then strode towards the place where the gap in the shelves should be. "Moony." He said clearly. The space opened for him to leave the little room. "Bye Hermione." He said, and then walked out of the gap, the bookshelves closing impenetrably behind him.

Hermione sat back down, smiling happily to herself. She quickly got out a quill to write down the two spells Remus had used on the Wards around the room, then just as quickly put them away. Then Hermione just sat there, smiling happily and dreamily staring out the window and into the distance.

(A/N: Just want to tell you now, this chapter starts the morning after Ron sees her leave the Common Room. So Hermione leaves, wanders around, goes back to bed, then this chapter starts when she wakes up. The next chapter will begin (not upload) a few minutes after the end of this one.

The two spells used, 'Revelasio Personas' and 'Desvanecerse,' are in Spanish found by my word translator. 'Revalasio' is some terrible garbled Latin for 'reveal', 'Persona' in Spanish means 'person' so I added an 's,' and 'Desvanecerse' means 'fading of memories,' so it's telling the pictures in the memory to fade so they can't be seen, not meaning deleted.

If you like this chapter, review! If you don't like this chapter, feel free to give me a friendly review on what I could improve. smiles> Happy New Year to all! )