Chapter 17

The next weeks passed in a whirlwind of potion making, book selling and coffee drinking and before she knew it, the full moon was that evening.

"So, you know what you're going to do if you come across him, yeah?" Draco asked as Hermione packed her bag ready for the night.

"Yes, Draco," Hermione groaned not looking over at him. She knew he was worried about her. He always was around the full moon and it hadn't helped she had come back from work earlier in a foul mood.

"Well, I'd best be going," Hermione said, standing up and slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"See you in the morning," he whispered into her ear as he gave her a brief one-armed hug. Hermione tried to give him a small smile in return before hurrying out of the flat and towards her clearing.

It wasn't long until werewolf Hermione let out a howl into the night and stood on all fours, surveying the area. She could smell him, of course she could, and she could tell he was closer than last time. But there was a part of her not willing to go and meet him. As a human she hadn't been in the greatest moods today after an angry customer in the shop earlier and apparently that had translated into her wolfish form so no she wasn't going to go looking for him. If he so desperately wanted to see her he would have to come to her. She knew she would meet the wrath of Draco if he found out she didn't go but right then she didn't care. And so Hermione the wolf sniffed around for a little bit, went for a short run in the opposite direction before curling up in the clearing and falling asleep.

She woke up with a start, jumping straight to her feet, at the sound of a cracking twig nearby. Her better eyesight located a large four-legged figure walking around in the trees. She knew exactly who it was and a shiver went down her spine at the thought. She stood there, waiting and ready for him to appear. It didn't take long though, he must have been aware that she had now woken up.

"You didn't come to meet me." It was a statement rather than a question. Hermione let out a sigh.

"No," she responded in her head, pushing all thoughts away, knowing that he may be able to decipher them,

"Why?" It was an innocent enough question, but it made Hermione furious. They had met once, for less than 20 minutes, a month ago. Why was he making it out to be that they had to meet each other at every other full moon? What if she didn't want to see him?

"I'm not in the mood," Hermione thought simply. She could tell he was agitated and confused by her reaction.

"Oh," he replied in surprise. Hermione narrowed her eyes at the grey wolf and bared her teeth in a growl. She was angry, both from earlier that day and from the wolf's presence. She didn't know why him being there was pissing her off so bad but it was and she didn't want to see him. The wolf was obviously surprised at her reaction and took a step back.

"Woah, calm down, I'll leave," the other wolf hurriedly thought. But something clicked in Hermione's wolfish brain. Something she wasn't able to locate but it made her change her mind. So, she shook her head.

"No, you can stay. I'm sorry." Hermione crouched back down, cocking her head at the wolf. The grey wolf hesitated clearly still worried about Hermione and what she may do next. After sensing she had calmed down took a few steps towards her and sat down in front of her. They looked at each other for a while, not saying, or rather thinking, anything.

"How have you been this month?" the wolf finally asked.

"Not bad, thanks. You?"

"Yeah, OK. Work's been busy but nothing too hard." Another silence fell. It was getting a little awkward between them, but Hermione didn't know to do or say. It was then that she remembered her conversation with Draco just a few days previously. She took a deep breath, not quite sure on whether to go ahead with the plan or not. She knew she should, she couldn't keep it away for much longer, but there was such a large part of her that just wasn't ready for it.

"I know what you're thinking." The wolf's voice interrupted Hermione's thoughts. Hermione looked at him, her eyes widening in shock,

"Not literally this time. I know when you want time and space and so close the link. But I reckon I could have a pretty good stab at it." Hermione sighed in relief. She would have been distraught knowing that none of her thoughts were safe from him. At least he had the decency to respect she wanted time to go over her own thoughts without him reading them.

"I reckon you want to know who I am." Hermione hesitated but agreed. Hermione saw he was just about to open his mouth when she caught sight of the lightening sky. She interrupted him,

"Go. It's nearly day. I'll see you around," Hermione's voice was fierce and stern, and the wolf knew he didn't have a choice. He jumped to his feet, said goodbye, and ran off, not wanting a long trek home naked and cold when the sun rose. Hermione let out a sigh of relief. She wanted to know exactly who he was, she had a hunch but couldn't confirm it. Really, she did but she just wasn't ready for the questions, pity and everything else that came with it. She knew he probably knew who she was but it scared her to actually admit it. This way, it gave her at least a week or so until she saw him as a human.

Half an hour later, Hermione pushed open the door to the flat. She didn't go to the kitchen but rather collapsed onto the sofa. She was exhausted, OK maybe not quite as tired as last time, but she needed some food and her bed. Her body ached, her muscles stiff and her joints creaked with every movement. She felt as if her body had aged another 50 years over night. It wasn't long until Draco appeared, levitating a large plate of food and a glass of orange juice in front of him. Hermione adjusted her position so she was sitting and eagerly accepted the breakfast.

"Thanks, Draco," she murmured happily after a few mouthfuls. They shared a smile.

"Now, how was last night and the big reveal?" he asked as they finished and he had banished the plated to the kitchen sink. He motioned for Hermione to rest her feet on his lap and he started massaging the pressure out of them and her calves.

"It didn't happen," Hermione muttered closing her eyes at the amazing feeling of Draco's hands working magic.

"Hermione," Draco warned making her clamp her eyes shut even more not wanting to see the look she was receiving.

"I tried. It almost happened. But then it was almost light so I sent him away," Hermione groaned.

"You are a nightmare witch some time," Draco sighed.

"I know. I did try, really I did. I was truly battling all my thoughts and everything. And it was going to happen. But I knew he wasn't exactly local and I didn't want him to have to walk back naked and all in October," Hermione said truthfully, avoiding Draco's gaze.

"You know it's highly likely he's a wizard so could have just apparated," Draco pointed out.

"Draco?"

"Hmm."

"Shut up." Draco smirked as silence fell and it wasn't long until Hermione's breaths deepened with sleep as he continued to massage her feet.

[-||-]

It was a little over a week later that it happened. Hermione had just finished a morning shift at Deana's book shop and decided to head to Tibertan for lunch at her favourite café. She apparated to a narrow alley off the high street and made her way towards the café, barrelled up against the bitter wind. The actual temperature wasn't cold and the sun was beating down on them but they had been experiencing strong, chilling winds, which made the temperature drop at least 10 degrees.

Hermione had just finished her lunch, a warming pumpkin soup, and was wandering back down the high street, wanting to pop into the apothecary for a couple of ingredients when someone suddenly seized her upper arm. Before she could grab her wand she was being sucked through the tunnel of apparition, with no idea where she was headed. Her heart was thumping fast in her chest, terrified at where she was being taken, who had grabbed her and what they were going to do with her. She landed with a thump but managed to stay on her feet. She didn't even take in her surroundings before she whipped her wand out and turned on her attacker, a jinx right on the edge of her tongue.

"Charlie?"

"Sorry about that. I didn't want to have to do that, but I knew you wouldn't come with me if I asked for a chat," he responded sheepishly, his hands thrusted low into his jean pockets.

"Why would you think that?" she asked, lowering her wand but not loosening her grip. Charlie shrugged and she knew he was being pathetic.

"Well, in future how about you just ask rather than scaring the shit out of me and apparating me away," she suggested snidely, her eyes narrowing and her voice raising in anger.

"Sorry," he murmured to the ground. There was silence.

"Well what did you want to talk to me about then?" she asked. But Charlie didn't answer her question. Instead he just surveyed her.

"Coffee?" he asked, turning around and heading to a small kitchenette.

"Sure?" she answered hesitantly as she looked around. They were in a relatively small living room, with just a sofa, armchair, coffee table as the only furniture. A desk and chair had been shoved up against the window. Hermione looked out and admired the view of the mountains.

"This your humble abode?" she asked, following Charlie and leaning against the counter.

"Yeah, nothing too exciting but it does the job," he answered, pouring the boiled water into two mugs and handing one to her.

"It's nice," Hermione observed, taking the coffee and sipping at it. It sent a calming warmth through her body and she immediately felt more relaxed.

"So, you didn't answer me. What was so important you had to steal me from the middle of Tibertan?" she asked. Once again, Charlie ignored her but walked back towards the living room and sat down on the sofa. He turned around and gestured for Hermione to sit, so she did raising her eyebrows at him, waiting for an answer.

"I would have thought that were obvious," he finally said, not looking her in the eye.

"Charlie, please quit being so cryptic and just tell me," she groaned, her anger bubbling away in the pit of her stomach once more. She was not in the mood for this.

"I…ummm…well…ok…wow this is a lot harder than I had expected," he stuttered, still avoiding her piercing look.

"For Merlin's sake, Charlie. I have things I need to do and if I'm not back soon Draco is going to panic. Either tell me or I'm going to leave," Hermione exclaimed, her voice a lot louder than she had intended.

"Do you not smell it?" he finally said so quietly that Hermione had to do a double take to realise what he had said.

"Smell wha-oh." Charlie looked up at her.

"You?" she whispered, her eyes wide with shock and her mouth opened in an O. Charlie nodded.

"Since when?" she asked.

"I think you know the answer to that," he slumped against the sofa.

"But…I…how?" she finally settled on asking. Charlie let out a bark of laughter.

"Hermione, I know you've been dubbed the brightest witch of her age but right now you're not really proving that title," he laughed, making Hermione blush a little.

"I…can I see it?" Charlie cocked his head at her. That was certainly not the question he had been expecting. He put his mug down on the table and leant down. Hermione watched in curiosity as he pulled off one of his boots and rolled up the cuff of his trousers. Hermione also bent down to have a look, it took a while to find what she was looking for. Right around his ankle where a number of small dark pink indentations, each no bigger than the size of a pea. She couldn't suppress the laugh that escaped her lips, earning a frown from Charlie.

"That's it?"

"Yeah, he didn't exactly waste any time, one quick bite and he was gone," he said morosely, pushing his trousers back down.

"Wow. That's kinda…crazy," Hermione said sitting back up. Charlie frowned back at her as he too sat up after pulling his boot back on.

"Well, it's just that I find it weird how those tiny specks were enough to…to turn you," she said honestly, a flush rising up her neck. Charlie shrugged.

"I guess it doesn't matter, as soon as a tiny bit of their saliva gets into your blood you're done." Hermione nodded but didn't say anything. They sat there for a little while, drinking their coffees until she did something completely unexpected. She put down her mug and shrugged off her jacket. She then pulled off her jumper and shirt so she was sitting in just her bra. But for some reason she didn't care. She watched as Charlie spotted her own bite, still raw and tender. It spread across the whole of her right shoulder, up the side of her neck, going down pass her collarbone and onto her shoulder blade. She was missing a few layers of skin and it looked to Charlie as if the werewolf had tried to eat her rather than just take a bite. He reached out and gently touched the worse part of it, just at the crook of her neck. She flinched at his touch but then relaxed.

"He didn't want to stop," she said, surprised that a tear had trickled down her cheek.

"Was…was it Greyback?" he asked quietly, running his fingers over the edges of the scar. Hermione nodded.

"I…I should have died. I was lucky Remus appeared and killed him so he let go. But in falling he ripped at my skin, that's why the scar goes all the way down here," she said pointing at the top of her breast where Charlie saw two thick red scars finished. He looked up at Hermione, making eye contact with her. There was a deeper connection between them than they would have expected. Charlie supposed that was what happened when you were both werewolves.

"The battle?" he asked and Hermione nodded.

"And so you ran?"

"Yeah, I couldn't bare the thought of what people think of me. It scared me and I guess I wasn't thinking straight. And now I've made it so much worse and can't do anything about it. I'm already shunned enough as it is being a muggle-born and now, well, now it'll be a thousand times worse," she said sadly, dropping her head, more tears spilling onto her chest. Charlie stopped tracing her scar and reached out. He put two fingers under her chin and lifted her head up so they were looking at each other. He wiped away the tears that were trickling down her cheeks with his thumb and then wrapped his arms around her naked body pulling her into a hug.

"That's the same reason I haven't told anyone," he whispered into her ear as he gently stroked her back. He felt her nod in his embrace. They sat there for a long time, Hermione crying silently into his chest and Charlie unable to stop his own tears falling into her hair.

After a while Hermione pulled away. She flushed a deep red upon realising she was topless and hurried to pull on her shirt and jumper. Once she was clothed she let out a sigh and slumped against the sofa. Charlie reached out and took her hand in his.

"You know you can talk to me about anything," he said quietly. Hermione smiled meekly.

"I don't think I'm ready to talk yet," she said honestly. Charlie understood. "But maybe soon." Charlie looked into those deep, chocolate eyes and deep down he could see the hope she had. He smiled and nodded.

"Of course."

"Do you mind if I stay a little? You have a very different aura to Draco and I appreciate the calmness."

"Of course. I'm not on call until 8 this evening so stay as long as you want," he smiled.

"Thank you, Charlie. And thank you for scaring me shitless earlier. I'm glad I know, and I think I'm glad you know. Now there are three of you who know, and I hope it might make it easier later," she said, looking into his blue eyes.

"Well you're the first in five years, so I guess that's progress for me too," he said with a dry chuckle. Hermione smiled but it didn't quite spread to her eyes. Charlie moved his arm to around her shoulders and pulled her across the sofa, so she was sitting against him. He wrapped his arms around her, as if he was protecting her. She had a long way to go and he knew it was going to be him to guide her. He pushed away all other thoughts and just focussed on ways to make everything easier for her. And you never know but in helping her she would actually be able to help him find some closure and tell everyone about, well, everything.

Hermione rested her head against his chest, the sound of his heart comforting her greatly. Maybe this was the start of her next chapter. The chapter in which she was finally able to accept what she was, that it wasn't changing any time soon and that no one who mattered to her would have an issue with her new life.

(A/N: there you go! I hope you enjoyed it, the chapter I reckon you've all be waiting for - please leave your thoughts in a review, I'm a bit stuck for the next chapter so hopefully you'll give me some motivation to have a crack! Much love to all you loyal readers as usual!)