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- HermionesPolyjuice xo
Chapter 4
The day of the full moon dawned, and Hermione rolled over to star up at the wooden ceiling of the small hut. For some reason she didn't feel nervous, just apprehensive of what was to entail. Hermione went about her day as she seemed to go about most days, started off with breakfast before trying to rescue the potion from yet another disaster. She would often spend the time before lunch reading in front of the fire to make sure the potion didn't completely fail. A quick lunch and then a long walk through the woods before returning to her book and the fire for the evening. But today was different. Today she would have to leave the hut for the night and turn into what so many people feared. Today was the day when everything became a reality.
Hermione spent as much of the day as possible busying herself and trying to keep her mind occupied, but her to avail as by two in the afternoon she had succumbed to sitting in an overly large armchair waiting for the night to come. There was just one advantage it being this time of year and that being because the nights were considerably shorter than during the winter months
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Over 500 miles he sat in his study off the main landing staring out of the window into the pouring rain that was hammering on the roof. He was thinking about her and how he had failed to keep her protected. He had let her run away and now he knew she was facing what would be the hardest night of her life all alone. A lone tear trickled down Remus' old, scarred face as he thought of the witch he had dubbed the brightest witch of her age. He shouldn't have given in so easily. He should have made her stay and helped her get through it. She shouldn't be by herself.
Remus let out a sigh as he looked down at the crumpled-up pieces of paper that littered his desk. He had tried searching for her for the past two weeks; it had been something to take his mind off the death of his wife and the mother of his son. But he hadn't succeeded. He'd tried everything. He searched the entire UK form John O'Groats to Lands End and back again but never picked up her scent other than at Hogwarts mere days after the battle. He'd contacted other werewolves in Europe but heard nothing that helped. He was losing hope and there was a small part of his brain that kept on nagging him.
"She's not dead," he said aloud shoving those thoughts to the back of his mind for at least the 10th time just that morning.
"Who's not dead?" a quiet voice came from the door to his study. Remus spun around but managed a weak smile when she saw Harry in the doorway holding a wriggling Teddy with bright pink hair. His hair had changed to pink the day after the battle and hadn't changed since. Even in his 2-month-old brain he must have known he would be growing up without a mother.
"Hermione," Remus admitted looking down at the floor to hide his tears.
"No, she's definitely not dead," Harry said fiercely walking over to his father and godfather's best friend; the last of the Marauders. Remus looked up and smiled before accepting the wriggling child.
"I just wish I knew where she was," Harry said his voice braking as he slumped into the well-worn armchair next to Remus' desk. Harry's mood always broke Remus' heart. He wanted to tell him, truly he did but he had to honour Hermione's wishes. She didn't want them to know and it wasn't his right to go and tell them all. But maybe just Harry? He deserves to know. No, you can't tell him. He wouldn't be able to cope not telling the Weasleys and then there would be a mass hunt for her. She needed time. She would be back. At some point. He needed to respect her wishes. Remus had this argument with himself on a daily basis. He desperately wanted to tell everyone, but it was Hermione's secret and it was her secret to tell.
"Me too," Remus said quietly, his eyes stinging with tears. Hermione had felt like a daughter he never had. She'd come to him many a time in her third year when she'd had an argument with Harry and Ron. They would talk and Remus would teach her spells he thought she should know. He became her confidant and he was slowly beginning to realise she was a member of his pack. That's what hurt him the most since the battle, that he hadn't been able to protect his pack mate. Not that he had ever told her she was in his pack. She had been the one to convince him to marry Tonks and she'd been the one to talk him out of leaving her at the altar. She had always been there for him. And he wasn't there for her.
"I went to see Kingsley this morning," Harry finally blurted out. He felt the need to tell someone at least.
"Oh. What did he say?" Remus asked, turning in his chair to face his best friend's son.
"He was going to speak to some of the best Aurors and get their help. He promised it would be kept a secret form everyone and there'd be no way the Prophet would find out. I just hope he's right. Can you imagine what would happen if this got to the news? I mean, I'm beginning to get the feeling she just wants to be alone," Harry sighed.
"Hmm…let's hope they get a lead," was all Remus was able to say. He felt that if he said anything more, it would all just slip out and he would start betraying Hermione.
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Back in the small hut in the middle of the Black Forest Hermione was trying to prepare herself for that night. She knew it was going to be painful and miserable but other than that she didn't really know what to expect. She made sure that she would be wearing clothes that she didn't care about, a grey t-shirt and black leggings. She tried to force some food down her gut but struggled to eat more than a few bites of toast before she felt violently ill, whether from the wolf inside of her or the nerves for that night she was unsure.
The time seemed to stand still as the day ticked by. One minute found Hermione cleaning the already spotless kitchen, the next it was attempting to read, then she tried writing a shopping list for the next few days before restarting the potion. Whatever she did she was only able to do almost half-heartedly. Her mind just wasn't fully in it; the ever-looming night seemed to fully consume her.
As the evening got chillier and darker, Hermione found herself beginning to panic. The pain was already starting to flow through her veins, a kind of throbbing that told her it was beginning. She decided to leave her wand hidden under a bush outside the hut knowing that she wouldn't have control over her mind and wouldn't want to set off some unwanted magic or accidently break her wand whilst in her wolf's mind. She strengthened the wards around the hut before heading off, deep into the woods attempting to prepare herself for the worse. She was shaking, but it wasn't from the cold. It was from pure fear. Right now, she was still very much Hermione Granger the muggle-born witch, and not Hermione Granger the werewolf and she was terrified of what was going to happen that night. She had read numerous books the past few weeks since the battle, but she didn't feel that any book could prepare her for what was to happen, oh how she wished Remus Lupin was nearby.
Hermione trudged through the forest, not entirely aware of where her feet were taking her. As she got deeper, it got colder and darker; the pain beginning to spread even more. She tried to keep her mind off of everything and focus on placing one foot in front of the next. After walking for at least half an hour she came across a clearing and decided to stay here until…well, until it happened. She sat down on a tree stump in one corner and quite literally started twiddling her thumbs, wishing she had at least brought a book to keep her busy.
And then it all started to happen. A fine ray of moonlight lit up the ground in front of her and almost immediately her heart began to thump hard and fast inside her chest. Her breathing turned more into a rasping and she felt sick with pain. Her back began to hunch over and she fell onto all fours, panting quickly. She felt her legs get longer and heard the leggings rip. And then her arms began to lengthen and thin out, stretching out in front of her. Her chest grew and her back hunched even more. She heard the t-shirt rip and fall to the ground. The pain that was radiating through all of her limbs was agonising. She almost found herself wishing for her death. She hadn't experienced this much pain. In front of her eyes, her hands turned into paws and long claws sprouted forwards. She felt the same happen to her feet. And then the pain spread to her face, which began to lengthen, a snout forming. Her skin began to prickle and the last thing Hermione Granger the witch was aware of was the dark brown hair appearing all over her body.
Hermione Granger the wolf found herself standing on her back legs in the middle of a clearing in a forest. She let out a howl of freedom, she had finally been let loose and by Merlin was she going to make the most of it. She let out another howl and was met with a gust of wind that rippled through her hairs. Without warning the wolf then took off into the words, running through the unknown chasing down scents she had never experienced, mostly of various prey that she feasted on over the course of the night. She felt free and more alive than she had ever and it excited her as her paws thundered through the forest, not caring about the scratches from the bushes on her body.
The werewolf didn't come across anything bigger than a badger, that unfortunately met its fate earlier than expected as it crossed the path of a hungry wolf. Hermione the wolf was relieved as although she felt like a werewolf and was excited by the freedom the thought of coming across anything much bigger or stronger than a badger didn't fill her with excitement. She was aware, however, that that would change in the future as she got stronger and began to feel more confident. But for tonight, Hermione Granger the wolf was happy to just run through the woods, twisting and turning among the trees.
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Over 1000 miles away, another werewolf was running through the night. This one, however, was tinged with copper around the muzzle and was running through fields and alongside a river rather than in a forest. This werewolf had managed to take some Wolfsbane potion, albeit not quite the recommended dosage and still had wolf thoughts and feelings. However, he was mostly fully aware of what he was doing and running along the riverbank was something that always made him feel the freest and what he enjoyed doing the most on the full moon nights. The thought of simply curling up in his bedroom and sleeping for the night bored him. If you're going to turn into a creature like a werewolf every month you might as well make the most of it, well, at least that was his thinking and he had stuck by it for the past 5 years since he had been bitten.
The wolf suddenly stopped running and stood there, sniffing at the air. He could smell something; something he had never sensed before, something that intrigued him. But he just couldn't pinpoint what it was, or even where it was coming from. He tried following the scent, stopping every now and again to make sure he didn't lose it. He felt like he was going in circles, noticing the exact same Fir trees in the same place every so often. This smell fascinated him, it smelt almost like human, but it also didn't smell like human at all. If he was in his human form, he would probably have been able to identify the smell what with his heightened knowledge despite his sense of smell being so much stronger as a wolf.
The lone wolf didn't realise how long he had been trying to trace the smell until he noticed the sky begin to turn a little lighter. He didn't want to give up but if he carried on he would have one hell of a long walk back home in a human form and that was not something that he fancied. So reluctantly, the wolf turned around and ran back along the river until he reached the woods nearby his house where he stayed until he turned painfully back into his human form. He found the pile of clothes he had hidden, he had figured that out the hard way his first night of transformation when he turned back into a human and had no clothes to put back on for his 1km walk back home. He had a number of interesting looks and had had to come up with a story that would be believable, something about a drunken escapade including skinny-dipping with the girl running off with all his clothes.
Once the human got back home, he was relieved to see it was only 6:30 in morning, the benefits of the early sunrises in summer, and he had just over two hours until he needed to be at work, so he decided to take a nap. But his brain wouldn't let him sleep; he was still trying to figure out that new smell. It was definitely some kind of creature but one that was miles and miles away. Just as his alarm went off to make sure he'd get up and get to work on time he figured it out. It was another werewolf, a new one and it was their first full moon. But they were an incredibly long way away and he just couldn't work out how he was able to smell them, he had never been able to smell something so far away before and it intrigued him; a reason to hit up the library that weekend.
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500 miles east of Hermione, Remus Lupin was stood in the clearing out the back of his house. He had given Teddy to Harry for the night. Yes, he may have taken the Wolfsbane potion, but werewolves are unpredictable and at times are still able to be prevalent at the forefront of the mind rather than the human. The last thing Remus wanted was to hurt, bite or even kill his only son, so each full moon Teddy Lupin would be spending the night at his godfather's, at least for the foreseeable future.
Remus had been through 442 transformations in his lifetime, but it still didn't make it any easier. Yes, the Wolfsbane lessened the pain but it was still excruciating and it he was never able to feel prepared. This time was particularly bad as the transformation can be affected by emotions felt by the human, particularly grief. It had been less than a month since he had lost his wife and Remus was riddled with grief. He let out a frustrated howl once a werewolf and was grateful the wards around his property were strong enough to ensure it wasn't heard by anyone nearby. He took off west into the large forest his house was strategically built nearby. He spent the entire night running rampage around the forest, feasting on suitable prey but constantly thinking about his pack mate. He could sense her. It was an odd smell he had caught, distinctively Hermione but also not at all. He figured it was because he had never smelt Hermione the wolf and her new scent took him off guard. He was relieved to know that she was fine, however, and from what his wolfish senses told him, she was almost enjoying herself. Remus the wolf let out a small smile, which would have looked very odd to anyone seeing a wolf smile. But Remus was just relieved that everything was OK, and she was fine, at least for now. Knowing that Hermione was safe, Remus took off into the forest for a quick run before coming back and curling up for a few hours of sleep.
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Her wolfish senses made sure that Hermione found the tree stump she had transformed by that evening as the night sky began to lighten. As the first ray of sun broke through the dense canopy above, Hermione began to feel her appendages shrink, her face get smaller and the hair disappear. A few moments later, Hermione the witch collapsed to the floor with exhaustion, somewhat surprised at how much the transformations took out of her. It felt as if her brain was not functioning, so it took a while to for her realise that she was lying on her back in the middle of a forest clearing, panting as if she had just run a marathon, completely naked.
"Shit," she swore as she sat up and tried to cover up what she was able to with her arms. She groaned as she thought of the long walk back to the hut in the woods. As she stood up, another realisation hit here: she wasn't entirely sure where the hut was. And she didn't have her wand to either help her find the hut or transfigure some leaves into clothing.
"Well, I've really messed this one up," she said out loud letting out a yawn. Ensuring her arms covered as much of her body as they could she started trudging in the direction she had believed the hut to be, praying to Merlin that it wasn't too far, and she wouldn't come across any other human on her way.
Fortunately, the only living beings she came across were a couple of rabbits and a deer, but she held her head up high and continued walking, in which direction she had no idea. It felt like she had been walking for hours, making no progress and beginning to feel completely shattered. Her body ached, her mind was shutting down, and she couldn't really feel her legs moving one in front of the other. She just needed to find the bloody hut and get into bed. The longer it took, the more frustrated Hermione was getting. The sun was high in the sky now, beating down through the canopy and increasing the pounding headache Hermione was experiencing.
After a good while walking, in what she was hoping was vaguely the right direction, she decided to take a quick rest. She slid down the trunk of a large oak tree, scraping her back, but she no longer cared. As she pressed the back of her head against the tree, she closed her eyes and let her mind wonder back to the night just gone. She wasn't entirely sure what to think of it, it had surprised her at how amazing it had felt; the feeling of freedom as she ran through the forest, hunting the pests and just feeling completely limitless. No worries about horcruxes, the impending war and trying to keep Harry alive. She just got to be herself, in wolf form, and she felt bad to say just how amazing it had felt.
Her eyes snapped open as her something wafted past her nose. She cast a quick look around as she jumped to her feet. She couldn't pinpoint the smell, neither what it was nor from which direction it was coming from. But there was a part of her that felt comforted by it – it didn't seem dangerous and the most she got used to it the more familiar it seemed. Not entirely sure of where she was headed, she began to follow the smell, it getting stronger the further she walked.
As she trekked through the forest, bits and pieces began to seem more familiar such as the two fallen branches, the patch of buttercups in a perfect circle, how the trees got thinner but closer together. Her heart began to race as more and more was recognisable. After about 15 minutes, Hermione walked through a dense area of trees and found herself facing the place she had wanted to be ever since her transformation back into a human. She hurried around to the other side of the hut, dug around under the bush and pulled out her wand. She quickly unlocked the door and pushed it open. It was clear that after one experience as a werewolf, all her senses were heightened as she was experiencing smells she hadn't smelt prior to last night, but they were just smells of herself, burnt cauldrons and dampness. She knew she needed sustenance, having run out of food the previous day but all she wanted right now was her bed. She made her way over to her makeshift wardrobe, pulled out a pair of shorts and a jumper and jumped into bed. Her head barely touched the pillow before she was unconscious, ready to sleep for the next 18 hours.
