Wow, thank you so much for all the support after the first chapter - was not expecting that! Therefore, I've decided to post this chapter a bit earlier than I was planning! Hope you enjoy it, and don't forget, please leave a review/follow/favourite!

-HermionesPolyjuice xo

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Harry Potter, everything belongs to the legend J.K. Rowling herself

Chapter 2

Hermione landed in a clearing in the middle of the forest in Chaumont, a place where she and her parents had often visited when she was young. She crumpled to the ground, the pain almost unbearable. She didn't know much about the initial stages of lycanthropy and knew that once she was feeling up for it a trip to Flourish & Blotts or equivalent was necessary. In the meantime, she needed to sort herself out.

Hermione lay there on the cool ground hoping the pain would eventually leave her, but it did nothing of the sort and 10 minutes later she found herself digging around in her small beaded bag for the Dittany. She was shoulder deep in the bag before her hand grabbed hold of the small, cold vial of the potion. She pulled it out and unstopped it. The bleeding had lessened but when she removed her left hand, warm blood continued to ooze from the gash. Hermione poured the Dittany over her shoulder and let out a sigh of relief as the searing pain reduced somewhat. Casting 'Episkey' she was able to dry up the blood and clear it away so she could examine the bite.

She let out a loud gasp as she looked at the bite. It was much larger and deeper than she initially thought due to Greyback being latched on and tearing away her skin as he fell to the ground. It was red and hot to the touch. If she squinted, she thought she was able to see some bone. She shuddered at the memory and how her life was so different now. She knew she needed to see a healer, but the last place she wanted to go was to St Mungo's and get identified by someone who would sell the story to the Daily Prophet and cause her secret to be out in the world. No, she would deal with this by herself. But, for now, she needed to sleep off the pain and the exhaustion. Hermione fished out a bandage from her bag and, wrapped it around her shoulder before pulling out a sleeping bag. She quickly set up a few wards around her, and got into the sleeping bag, downed some dreamless sleep potion and fell asleep instantly.

[-||-]

Charlie sat back onto his heels shocked at what Bill had just told him. His father had sent him a patronus the minute the battle had finished telling him of the outcome but the last thing he was expecting was for his older brother to tell him Hermione was missing. Charlie thought back to the weekend of Bill's wedding last year where he had found himself talking to Hermione many a time.

"So why dragons?" Hermione finally asked the question she had been burning to ask for years since she had first found out the second eldest Weasley child worked with dragons. As a youngster, dragons were the creatures that fascinated her the most; she knew almost everything about them from muggle books. One of the first books she took out from the Hogwarts Library was Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland, and since then she had become an expert.

"That's easy; they're the fiercest, most feared, but most magical and amazing creatures that live on this planet. Why would someone choose to work in something else when they can work with dragons?" Charlie responded with a smile, that Hermione noticed spread across his entire face and into his eyes.

"I agree. When I was younger, I owned pretty much any muggle book, both fiction and supposedly factual, on dragons. I was a complete nerd over them. They just fascinated me, even as a muggle child knowing they didn't exist. And then when I was welcomed into the wizarding world and found out dragons actually exist, well you can imagine how long I spent in the library then," Hermione finished with a chuckle, remembering the countless times she had been escorted from the library back to her common room by Professor McGonagall after curfew in the first weeks of Hogwarts.

"I never knew you had such a passion for dragons," Charlie muttered noticing the sparkle that filled Hermione's chocolate brown eyes as she mentioned the creatures.

"I haven't really told anyone, wouldn't want them to think me any more peculiar than I already am," Hermione said sorrowfully.

"And why would liking dragons make you more peculiar?" Charlie asked wanting to know her answer given his passion for them.

"I dunno, I think I was just scared of what Ron would think if he found another reason as to why I had such a non-normal childhood," Hermione shrugged, not being entirely truthful but Charlie didn't push the subject anymore. That evening had been when their friendship had began and blossomed. They had spent as much of the next 48 hours before Hermione left with Harry and Ron talking, mostly about dragons and Charlie's work but about everything and getting to know each other.

Charlie smiled as he remembered the late night conversations as he got to know his brother's best friend. Hermione had made him promise that he wouldn't tell anyone her plan to become a dragon tamer after getting her NEWTs and he had already secured a job for her in Romania for when she was ready. Charlie wouldn't say he knew Hermione that well but he knew her enough to know that disappearing was very out of the ordinary.

Charlie pulled on his boots and went on a walk around the reserve in search of Hermione. A part of him knew it was hopeless, as had she come to the reserve she would have told everyone and she would definitely have come to find him, but if there was a possibility she may be here he would search everywhere for her. Charlie wandered around the large reserve looking for traces of Hermione, but was unsuccessful, though, unsurprised. He knew that for Hermione to have disappeared like that something must be very wrong. He wanted to do something, but he didn't know what, so he told his fellow tamers that if they happen to see a bushy-haired girl wandering around or in the local towns to tell him. He then packed an overnight bag and headed to the Romanian Ministry to get a portkey back home.

[-||-]

Harry woke later that day to Ron's gentle snores. It took him a few moments to remember what had happened and he felt the tears emerge at the thought of Hermione. He had no idea where she was. He was almost certain, however, that she wasn't dead. He was beginning to think that she had just needed some time and peace and quiet to get through the traumas of the last year. Or maybe she had gone to get her parents, not wanting to wait any longer until she could be reunited. Harry sat bolt upright as the last thought wafted through his brain. He had it. He knew he was right now. It would make so much sense for her to have gone to Australia. And hopefully she would only be a day or two so didn't feel she needed to tell anyone. But why did she just disappear? Why so suddenly? Groaning at the thought of being so close to the answer but so far at the same time, he pulled on a hoody and quietly left the room and headed downstairs.

"Sleep well, Harry, dear? How about a fry up?" Mrs. Weasley asked as Harry entered the kitchen where Ginny and Fred were already eating a full English breakfast regardless of the time of day.

"That would be nice, thank you," Harry responded not fully in the present as he pulled out a chair and sat down next to Ginny.

"Someone looks a bit worse for wear," Fred pointed out from across the table.

"Have you looked in a mirror yourself?" Harry replied after taking in Fred's look, which he assumed was no different from his own. Fred's hair was a matted mess; his eyes dark and shallow and he sported a large number of cuts and bruises. Fred's lips twitched upwards at Harry's comment. Not in the mood to make conversation Harry busied himself by eating his breakfast, or lunch or afternoon tea whatever you feel like calling it. But he wasn't hungry. He didn't want to eat. The thought of eating was making him feel sick.

"I think I might send an owl. I don't know where she is but they're normally pretty good at finding people. I wish Hedwig was around, she would have found her within a day," Harry finally announced after getting fed up of just pushing his food around on the table.

"Good idea, Harry. If you want I can take it to the ministry and use one of their owls, they won't question me and it'll save you making an appearance," Mr. Weasley's voice came from the doorway.

"That would be great, thanks Arthur," Harry replied. He stood up and trudged upstairs to Ron's room to write a note to Hermione. Unsure on what exactly to say, Harry sat at Ron's desk rewriting the letter six times until he was satisfied. It wasn't the best, but it would do. He should at least get a response. A response saying that she was OK. Harry tried to ignore the bad feeling of something bad happening to Hermione and her not being OK in the middle of nowhere, but it just seemed to get stronger each time it returned. Hoping the letter would do the trick, he gave it to Mr. Weasley who flooed off to the ministry to send it and be updated with any necessary news.

The next hours went by slowly, no one truly knowing what to think. From the mood you would have thought they had lost the battle but with a missing friend there was no reason to celebrate. The Daily Prophet arrived glorifying the result and praising the Golden Trio, which subsequently resulted in a major influx of owls bringing letters from random witches and wizards thanking Harry, Ron and Hermione for everything they did but Harry couldn't bring himself to read any of them. Each time he saw an owl he was reminded of everything that Hermione had done, and now he was just sitting at the Burrow with no clue on where she was or even if she was alive or not.

Charlie landed with thump in the living room of the Burrow and was immediately engulfed in a hug. The length of the flaming red hair told him it was Ginny. All the Weasley children loved Ginny to pieces but it was Charlie who she got along with her the best and it was him who she was most glad to see appear from nowhere. Charlie wrapped his arms around his sister and squeezed her tight. Being in Romania meant he hadn't done much to do with the actual fighting of the battle but more in ensuring Europeans didn't join Voldemort's side. That being said, he still sported a huge number of scars from his work with dragons and from the huge bags under his eyes he may as well have been in the midst of the fighting the previous night.

"Let him breathe, Gin," Fred's voice came from the sofa and reluctantly Ginny stepped away, tears brimming her eyes.

"I am alive, you know that right," Charlie said trying to make her feel better. Ginny sniffed but didn't say anything. The next person to attack Charlie with a hug was his mother, who couldn't be persuaded to step away quite as quickly as Ginny, and Charlie found himself struggling to breathe until he managed to push her off. Once everyone had greeted Charlie, they filled the sofas everyone sipping at a mug of tea.

"So the last person to see her was Ginny in the courtyard about an hour before the end," Charlie muttered after being filled in of the events from the past 24 hours.

"Yeah, and she was fine," Ginny piped up from a beanbag on the floor, where she was absentmindedly stroking Crookshanks, who had been looked after by Mrs. Weasley since Bill's wedding.

"And she definitely wasn't still on the grounds or at St Mungo's? And there was nothing in the paper about her?" Charlie questioned.

"Nothing other than telling everyone what she had done this past year," Harry said.

"And you've heard nothing from her? No owls or anything?"

"Absolutely nothing. It's as if she's disappeared off the face of the earth," Fred said sadly.

"Well, she won't have disappeared. She'll be somewhere," Charlie muttered slumping back against the sofa. "She may well have just needed some time to herself. Give her a few days, I reckon, and if she's not back by the end of the week then we start searching." There was a general murmur of agreement. As much as if killed Harry not to start looking now, there was a part of him that told him Charlie was right. She most likely needed to get away and didn't want to be with anyone. If she still wasn't back in a few days then they'll begin to worry but as of now they just needed to wait and see.

[-||-]

When Hermione woke up, it was dark but through the trees she could see the sun beginning to rise. She checked her watch and was surprised to see she had slept for nearly 24 hours. The pain was still evident in her shoulder and had now spread down her arm, but it was bearable and less aggravating than the previous morning. She carefully pulled off the bandage around her shoulder and was met with a nasty looking gash that was oozing both blood and some repulsive smelling green pus. Hermione knew she needed to see a healer, and see one fast, but she wasn't prepared to face the world and everyone knowing her new secret. The healer would have to wait, for now it was a bookstore and some research into werewolf bites and the recipe for some Wolfsbane.

Hermione's heart sank as she realised what she needed, and it was then that it really hit home she had been bitten by Fenrir Greyback and would turn into a werewolf every month. The tears started to fall as she remembered what her life had been and how it was never going to be the same. She cried as she thought of Harry and the Weasleys and how she would probably never see them again. She just couldn't see how she could trust herself to be around them. What if something happened and she hurt one of them? She would never be able to live with it. No, she wouldn't be able to return. For now, she was all alone.

Hermione didn't know how long she had laid there crying over what she had now lost all because she hadn't been smart enough to get away from Greyback, but she suddenly sat up and packed everything into her beaded bag, ready to get the books and ingredients she needed. Before apparating away she wrapped up her shoulder once more, cleaned her clothes, and cast a few spells to alter her appearance so that hopefully she wouldn't be recognised.

She landed with a pop in a side street in London a little way from Diagon Alley. Making sure no one was around Hermione headed to The Leaky Cauldron. She wanted to get in and out of the wizarding street as quickly as possible so she practically found herself running towards her favourite shop, Flourish and Blotts. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the lights on in the shop and pushed open the door. Without notifying the owner, she hurried to the area of the shop she knew the books on magical creatures were kept. She searched the shelves for a few minutes until she spotted the books she needed: A Werewolf's Life and The Book of Beasts. Hermione grabbed them along with a potion book she knew had the Wolfsbane Potion recipe inside and paid quickly, ignoring the worried glance she received from the owner.

Heading into the apothecary, she knew she was looking for: powdered silver, aconite, moonseed, moondew, essence of comfrey, and Salpeter. She also purchased extra dittany for any further injuries she may experience. Just like in Flourish and Blotts, she ignored the look the employee gave her and quickly hurried out of the shop and out of Diagon Alley where she disapparated, this time appearing in a clearing in the middle of the Black Forest in Germany.

Hermione was relieved that she had completed her errands without getting noticed, and, so returned her appearance back to normal before pulling out the three books. She knew she had 17 days until the next full moon and hoped that it would be long enough to brew the Wolfsbane potions. Skimming through the recipe she knew there was no way she was completing it in time. It was even more complicated than the Polyjuice potion. In theory, it wouldn't take as long but there were definitely many more opportunities to make a mistake and it could very easily become poisonous. She pulled out the cauldron from her bag, lit a fire and started to simmer the essence of comfrey and knotgrass. Satisfied, she started to read the werewolf section of The Book of Beasts in anticipation of what her life was going to become.

(A/N: there you go! Hope you enjoyed it, it's a bit of a filler but necessary - hopefully we'll get to the juicy bits soon!)