I am so so sorry it's been forever. My laptop decided to shit itself pretty bad so I had to get a new one, thankfully someone from work managed to back up all my files so I didn't lose anything but ti did mean I went a couple of months without everything! But here you go, a new chapter - I hope you enjoy it! Please leave a review 3
- HermionesPolyjuice xo
Chapter 8
The human of Remus Lupin let out a deep sigh once he transformed into his wolf form and he sensed Hermione and knew that she was fine, and all was good, at least for now. He hadn't heard anything from her in two months and had been beginning to worry but he didn't want to go and surprise her again. She had made it very clear to stay away and although it broke his heart to know she was all alone and going through hell each month, he listened to her wishes and didn't attempt to make contact.
The grey wolf took off into the woods, ready to tire himself out for the next few hours before curling up in the bushes and waiting until dawn. He really wasn't as active as he had been when he was younger and couldn't spend too long gallivanting around as a wolf.
But some new scent hit him as he found himself on top of a nearby hill and it confused him. It was both nearby and yet hundreds of miles away. It was both familiar and completely unfamiliar. It was both safe and dangerous. He stood still and sniffed at the air, trying to decipher what the new smell could be. It then came to him that it was a new werewolf but one that he had met many years ago and they were in danger. Remus the werewolf ducked his head and started running as fast as he could towards the smell. It got stronger and stronger as he reached the south-west of England until he knew he was within a mile of it. It was only then that he slowed to a walk.
The wolf jumped over a fallen branch and saw what had been calling to him. A light brown coloured werewolf had got itself caught in a human snare. Remus the human let out a groan, that came out as a growl and started towards the younger werewolf. He started to whimper as Remus approached, but Remus knew he wasn't dangerous; he could smell the use of Wolfsbane potion from a mile off.
He approached the werewolf and saw that it was an easy fix. He effortlessly ripped the netting with his teeth and the werewolf stood up, freed from the trap. The two werewolves shared a look, the dark brown eyes looking oddly familiar to Remus, before they turned their backs on each other and ran off in different directions, Remus back towards the Welsh border and the brown coloured werewolf further south towards Devon.
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The wolf Hermione had had a successful night. She had managed to catch and feast on a number of rabbits and even caught sight of another werewolf in the far distance, which would explain the new scent she had been picking up recently. She reached the clearing just moments before she transformed back into a human; she didn't fancy repeating the first full moon and walking around the woods naked again. That was another advantage of her wolfishness, the ability to tell the time by just one look at either the sun or the moon and being able to tell the part of the lunar cycle they were in immediately.
Once the painful transformation had finished, Hermione fiddled around in her beaded bag and pulled out an identical pair of leggings and t-shirt she had been wearing a few hours previously. After slipping her shoes on she began the slow walk back to the cabin where she really hoped Draco was still sleeping.
Much to her delight, there were no lights on in the hut when she arrived, and she was able to silently unlock the door and sidle inside. She cast a look over at Draco's sleeping form and was glad that he was indeed still asleep. She quickly made herself a mug of mint tea before climbing into bed, her whole body tired and aching. She cocooned herself inside her blankets and fell into a deep sleep the instant her head hit the pillow.
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"Morning, Charlie. How did you sleep?" Mrs. Weasley said excitedly as her second eldest son appeared in the kitchen not long after 11. He had taken the week off from Romania to come and spend time with his family and help find Hermione but was due back later that evening.
"Not well," he groaned sitting down and helping himself to a strong coffee and some bacon that had been placed under a warming charm.
"You don't look too great, Charlie. Do you need to go back to bed for a bit before lunch?" his mother asked looking at him a concerned look etched on her face. He shook his head.
"No, I'll be fine. I said I'd play quidditch with everyone this morning. I'm sure the wind will wake me up," he said trying to sound as convincing as possible. Mrs. Weasley raised her eyebrows but didn't bother pushing the conversation. She knew she had no chance in winning, especially when quidditch was involved.
"Charlie! You're up. I didn't think you'd ever actually make it out of your room," an excited voice came from behind him.
"I wouldn't miss a game of quidditch for anything, not even sleep," he added as he yawned loudly, earning himself an almost glare from his mother.
"Good, because we're about to start. You're seeker on the gold team with George and Bill," Ginny told him matter-of-factly, pouring herself a quick glass of water and chugging it down.
"OK, I'll just go get changed and I'll be out in a few," Charlie said and heaved his aching body from the table and up the stairs, earning another inquisitive look from his mother. There was something off about Charlie, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. He hadn't been his usual, excitable, joking self. He hadn't even argued about her cutting his hair, nor had he complained about the lack of apple pie that week. All Mrs. Weasley did know was that she wasn't comfortable him going back to Romania quite so soon and she would try her utmost over the next few hours to get him to stay.
Needless to say, her plan didn't work, and much to her, and the rest of her family's, disappointment Charlie flooed back to Romania at 8:30 that evening.
"Promise you'll write, Charlie bear," Mrs. Weasley said, giving his son yet another hug. "And are you sure you don't want to stay just a few more days?"
"Mum, I'm fine, I promise. If I don't get better, I'll go see the reserve's healer." Mrs. Weasley sniffled but let go of him nonetheless.
"See you in three weeks," he said with a smile and a wave before stepping into the fireplace. The instant he arrived in Romania, he kicked off his shoes and trudged through to his room. Without even undressing he climbed into bed, exhausted and needing to sleep at least 18 hours after the adventures of the previous night. He didn't even get to turn off the lights before he was snoring quietly.
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"Hermioneee," a sing-song voice came into being. She groaned and rolled onto her front, pulling her pillow over her head.
"No need for that attitude, Granger. I just wanted to tell you I made you a mug of your favourite tea, but I'll leave it next to your bed," Draco's muffled voice came from above. Hermione couldn't move. Her muscles were tight and achy. She was exhausted, physically and mentally. And she was so very comfortable that she didn't even want to move. And so she didn't, and slowly fell back asleep, but this time it was much more uneasy and broken.
Draco was sat outside, flicking through a muggle magazine on cars he had picked up the previous day from the town trying to enjoy the sun before he started on lunch, when he heard a thrashing. The thrashing was then followed by a loud scream, and then another before he heard the heart-wrenching sobs. The sobs that made all his hairs stand up on edge and his heart skip a beat. The sobs that almost broke his heart just hearing them. He jumped from his seat and hurried inside; there was only one place they were coming from.
He darted over to Hermione's bed and sat down next to her. She was thrashing about in the blanket, crying and shouting in one. Draco reached out and pulled the blankets off of her before she managed to strangle herself.
"No, no. Please, no. Leave me alone. I need to go. Please, just leave," Hermione begged in her sleep.
"Hermione. Hermione! Shhhh, it's just a dream. Hermione, wake up," Draco said trying to wake her. Just as he thought it hadn't worked, Hermione's eyes flew open and all he saw was pure terror in the chocolate brown eyes. It sent a shiver down his spine, he had never seen someone so scared. And then she started to cry, her whole body shaking with each sob. Draco sat there momentarily unsure as to what he could do. He shuffled himself so he was sat against the wall and pulled Hermione's trembling body towards him, wrapping both arms around her and rubbing soothing circles down her back.
"Shhh…it's OK. Everything's fine, Hermione. You're safe, no one's going to hurt you," Draco soothed as Hermione cried into his chest, wetting the front of his favourite shirt, but for once he didn't care. All he cared about was making sure Hermione was OK. It took a long while for Hermione to stop crying, and a while longer until she pulled away from his chest. But she didn't move far. Draco still had an arm wrapped around her shoulders and as she looked up at him, he reached forward and brushed away the hair from her face.
"You OK?" he asked, concern filling his eyes. She nodded and didn't say anything but rather rested her head on his shoulder. They sat like that for a while, Hermione sniffling every now and again, Draco rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.
"I've never seen it that bad. Do you want to talk about it?" he finally asked once he was certain Hermione had got over her nightmare. He felt her shake her head again, so he just squeezed her shoulder. Nightmares were a regular occurrence, at least every other night sometimes even more often but he had never seen her quite so distressed. Normally a comforting hug and a quick tea and she would be able to go back to sleep, but this time had been a lot worse.
"When was the last time you had one like that?" he asked tentatively.
"About two days before you arrived," she said quietly. She pulled away from him and hugged her knees up to her chest, avoiding making eye contact. Draco nodded in understanding, he had nightmares every night and didn't wish them on anyone. They really shook you to the core and made everything that had happened so real.
"You've slept all morning, so I'm going to make us some lunch. How does a cheese and ham toastie sound?" he asked as he pushed himself off the bed and started towards the kitchen. Hermione's mouth twitched at the corners and Draco smiled back at her. He had quickly found out that she had weakness of cheese toasties, especially when there was ham, so he set about making one as Hermione just sat on her bed, staring into space.
Ten minutes later, Draco put the two plates and two glasses of pineapple juice, one of his favourite muggle drinks, on the table and beckoned for Hermione to join him. She was hesitant at first, but then she gingerly stood up and hobbled over to the table.
"You feeling OK? You still look very pale," he asked as she sat down opposite him. She nodded and took a small bite off the corner of her sandwich. She was feeling a lot better after sleeping all morning but knew she had a few more days until she bounced back to 100%.
"Thanks, Draco. I needed that," Hermione said as she swallowed her last piece of sandwich.
"You're welcome. Are you feeling better? I have to say, you've got a bit more colour now," he said, looking at her inquisitively. Something that made Hermione let out a laugh.
"Sorry, it's just I never thought I'd see you look so concerned," she laughed, making Draco turn a light shade of pink. "But thank you." Draco nodded curtly in response. Hermione stood up and picked the plates, heading over to the sink and started washing up.
"Thanks for lunch, Draco," Hermione said as she dried her hands on a tea towel. "I'm going to read outside, I think." Hermione saw the typical rolling of the eyes but decided to ignore them as she headed over to her bed and pulled out a book from underneath it. She smiled as she took in the cover: Men who like dragons too much. It was one Charlie had given her last year and she had read it multiple times. But when did reading a book more the once ever stop Hermione from reading it again? She tucked the book under her arm, pushed open the front door and sat down in one of the outdoor chairs, ready to dive into the world of Hungarian Horntails and Chinese Fireballs.
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It wasn't until it got dark that Hermione noticed she had subconsciously lit a blue fire and was now reading The most unusual dragons and their stories, another book Charlie had given her, by wand light. Her eyes had gotten dry and she was beginning to feel tired.
"Hermione, I've got some food for dinner if you want," Draco's voice came from behind her startling her out of her reverie.
"Right. Yes, OK," she stuttered marking her spot in her book and standing up. She stretched her aching muscles from being cramped the entire afternoon. She extinguished the fire and followed Draco inside, locking the door with many spells.
"You do know there's no one around for miles, they're not going to find us," Draco said with a laugh, watching her ward the door.
"You did," she responded pointedly.
"True, but I had a lead," he said.
"What lead?" Hermione asked sitting down at the table and helping herself to a bowl of chicken and pea soup.
"Oh, Zabini may have mentioned a while ago about there being a hut in the woods in Germany being a good place to hide," Draco said sheepishly, now piling the soup into his bowl and dunking in a piece of baguette. Hermione nodded. Truth be told, she didn't really mind that Draco was here, he had been reasonably good company and made the last few weeks a lot more bearable.
"Do people know you're here?" she finally asked.
"By people, do you mean my parents? Because no, they're both in Azkaban, although mother should be let out in a few months. She's been let off because of her saving Potter and other stuff," he added, upon catching sight of Hermione's confused look.
"I see. And your friends, they don't know?" Hermione pushed. Draco shook his head.
"They're all either in Azkaban or on the run, it's not like they really care about me after I switched sides," he said gloomily.
"Well, when you go back to England, I'm sure you'll make new friends," Hermione said meekly with a smile.
"When we're going back to England, Hermione. I'm not going to let you wallow in self-pity for the rest of your life." Hermione gulped at the comment. She was sure he hadn't mean for it to come out so harsh, but it definitely stung.
"I'm not wallowing in self-pity. I'm just taking some time," Hermione responded tartly.
"Oh, yeah? So, you're brewing the Wolfsbane potions just for the sake of it then?" Hermione stared at him in surprise. How on earth had he known she had been trying to brew that potion when he first arrived? It's not like she had attempted it since.
"No, it's for Remus, it's the least I could do to help him," she responded, sounding almost cruel, not entirely what she had intended. Draco cocked an eyebrow but didn't push it anymore, much to Hermione's delight. She finished the last of her soup, sent the bowl to the sink and announced that she was going to bed.
Once in bed, she curled up into a foetus position and faced the wall, tears streaming down her face. She was confused, why had Draco known about the Wolfsbane? Why was she feeling like this? It was almost as if she wanted to tell him about it all, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. He would be disgusted in her and leave the instant she mentioned it, and then she would be left all alone once again. She was in a vicious circle, a circle she had been in for many weeks now. She didn't hear Draco go to bed but knew it was hours later before an uneasy sleep finally overtook her.
(A/N: How was that? Hope you enjoyed it, not my favourite chapter. Please leave a review! Also this is that last chapter I have fully written so updates from now on will depend on when I write new chapters, hopefully it won't be too irregular!)
