I am so sorry it's been forever - I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for ages but when it got to actually writing it major writer's block but we finally got over it so here you go. I hope you enjoy it and as ever leave your comments in a review.

- HermionesPolyjuice xo

Chapter 25

The following week passed quickly and relatively smoothly. Charlie and Hermione had made up and spent all the meals during the day together. Hermione would alternate her evenings between Charlie and Draco in an attempt to keep them both happy. When Draco had turned up at Charlie's on Saturday afternoon and found Hermione asleep on Charlie's lap it hit him just how serious they were and he wasn't going to get a word in edgeways. He was not up for making Hermione unhappy, so he sulked for a few days but put it behind him. Hermione had been right; she was not going to be his and as much as that killed him a little bit on the inside, he knew he needed to get over her. He had been truly touched by what he had said on Saturday, so it was apparent she had no interest in leaving him. He was going to have to be the older brother and look after her and make sure Charlie wouldn't hurt her. That was going to be an interesting conversation whenever it occurred. In the mean time he would saunter out into Tibertan in attempts to chatting up some of the ladies, not that any of them appealed to him in the slightest. After same pretty mediocre shags he gave up, he would just wait until he was back in England. At least British witches knew not to actually bite his pride jewels. That had been interesting when he had hobbled into the kitchen early on Friday morning to find Hermione already up and making breakfast.

"Where have you been?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as he pulled open the freezer draw. It was still dark outside and by the grimace on his face and the way he was walking she didn't think it had anything to do with an all-nighter at work.

"A bloody witch bit me. Hermione, she actually bit my dick. Like full on bit into it, hard. Safe to say that was the only hard thing there anymore. The pain was unreal. Does she not know to keep the teeth away? Like what the hell. Who uses teeth? Merlin, women these days. Oh Merlin," he sighed in relief as he pressed a bag of iced peas to his groin. Hermione couldn't contain her laugh, earning a glare from Draco.

"Not a picture I really need in my head at 6 in the morning, Draco," she finally said, grimacing at the thought.

"I'm going to bed," he said huffily. That was the third piss-poor shag he'd had that week. Safe to say the only action he would be getting for a long while would be his hand, only once the swelling had gone down and the pain dissipated. At least he was the only one getting it bad; if Hermione and Charlie failed to put a silencing charm on her door one more time, he swore to Merlin he was going to charge in there and hurt them one embarrassing area at a time. The moans and the thumping of the bed next to his wall when he was trying to sleep were not exactly sounds he wanted whilst trying to get over the woman currently having her eyes shagged out.

All in all, however, the week had was almost up and before Hermione knew it, it was Sunday morning. She had barely slept all night from anticipation and worry about that upcoming day. Add in excitement into the mix and it was not a conducive combination to sleep. Draco wasn't surprised to see her up and making pancakes at seven o'clock.

"What are you doing up?" she asked when he walked into the kitchen yawning widely. Hermione had gotten to know Draco pretty well; sleeping in until at least midday on a Sunday was one of his favourite hobbies.

"You weren't exactly being overly quiet."

"Sorry, I can keep it down if you want to go back to bed," Hermione said apologetically.

"No, don't worry about it. I'm up now. And I can smell chocolate chip pancakes and I really don't want to miss out on them especially as it looks like Charlie is joining us for breakfast," Draco responded filling up a mug with coffee, not missing the three plates out on the counter.

"How's your…umm…your –"

"My penis? Jeez Hermione, you're having sex with a guy in the next door room. I would have thought you'd be able to the say the word penis. You know, the thing that every other person on this earth has," Draco scoffed.

"It's different when it's your best friend," Hermione countered, blushing a dark pink. Draco just laughed, he loved winding her up.

"It's getting better thank you. I inhaled an entire cauldron of anti-swelling last night which seems to have done the trick." A comfortable silence fell between the pair of them, Draco sitting there sipping at his coffee as Hermione bustled around making piles of pancakes.

"You do know they're not coming until lunch, right?" Draco asked as he watched Hermione make at least a 50th pancake.

"Yes, but this keeps me busy. Keeps my mind from getting too worried," Hermione answered, her voice a little higher.

"Hermione, relax. It's all going to be OK, I promise. It's Harry and Ginny, urgh that sounds weird not saying Scarhead and Weaslette. They're going to accept you. I guarantee it. Now, go and have a shower or a shag, please for the love of Merlin just not a shag in the shower. Get your mind off of things. I'll finish up here and when you're back, breakfast will be ready on the table." Hermione put down the spatula and left the kitchen, giving Draco a kiss on the cheek as she passed.

"You're a pretty good friend, you know that right?" she whispered.

"I know. Now shoo," Draco smirked.

5 hours later and Hermione was back to pacing through the flat. Both Charlie and Draco had tried to at least get to go for a walk, but whatever they said couldn't persuade her to leave.

"What if they turned up when I wasn't here?" she argued a number of times. In the end they gave up and started a game of normal muggle chess, trying to block out the ever going footsteps of Hermione. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. Hermione spun around to face the door so quickly she tripped over with a loud thud.

"Hello? Hermione? Is that you?" a very distinctive voice came through the door. A voice that Hermione hadn't heard in months and didn't think she would for a while longer. She jumped to her feet, ran to the door and flung it open. Without even looking at the three people stood outside she flung her arms around the two in front. She felt arms wrap around her and pull her in tight. They practically suffocated her for a good while.

"Hey, you two. She needs to breathe," someone laughed from behind the trio. Hermione stepped away and looked at her friends. Neither of them had changed.

"Hermione. Oh my god we've missed you. Where have you been? What happened? Why did you go? What's going on?" An onslaught of questions came from them.

"Um, how about you come in?" Hermione beckoned the three guests inside. It wasn't much longer until they were all sat in an uncomfortable silence on the sofa and chairs.

"Hermione? Why's Malfoy here?" Ginny asked after eyeing up the blonde wizard for a few minutes.

"And Charlie, what are you doing here too?" Harry asked casting his own eyes over the elder Weasley.

"Oh Merlin. I…I don't know where to begin," Hermione sighed into a coffee.

"How about the beginning?" Harry suggested. "Why did you leave the battle?" Hermione took a deep breath but rather than say anything she put her mug down on the table next to her and reached down to the hem of her sweatshirt and pulled it over her head. She pulled down the strap of her tank top and bra to fully expose the bite. Her friends' eyes widened in surprise, but Hermione didn't think it was because they knew what it was, more that it looked nasty.

"Was that a spell or something?" Harry asked, oblivious. Draco let out a snort of laughter.

"No, it's not. It's…um…it's a werewolf bite," Hermione murmured quietly.

"Wait, what?" Harry asked his eyes blinking in surprise.

"Greyback. He bit me. So, I fled," Hermione said simply. As she waited for a response she pulled her jumper back on, feeling rather exposed in just the top.

"So…that means you're…a werewolf?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Caught on at last," Draco said from the corner, but shut his mouth quickly after receiving a glare from Hermione.

"Yeah, I am."

"But, why did you leave though? Remus did you know about this?" Remus looked shiftily at the floor. "You did? And you kept it from us the entire time?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell. Hermione had her reasons to leave and not say anything and I had to honour them," the older man responded, avoiding Harry's eyes.

"I think you need to tell us everything, Hermione. And that includes why ferret face and Charlie are here too," Harry said sitting back against the chair and crossing his arms across his chest. Ginny mimicked the action. There was no hostility in the movements; they evidently had questions and wanted answers. Something that Hermione was expecting so after a deep breath she dove right into the story. She told them everything, from how she glamoured herself to get supplies from Diagon Alley, to Draco walking into the hut in the woods, to their unexpected friendship blooming, the move to Romania, to meeting up with Charlie and recognising them both as pack mates. Harry and Ginny were stunned into silence when Hermione had finished almost an hour later.

"So, let me get this straight. You got bitten by Greyback, which Remus saw and killed him afterwards. You left the country because you were scared of what people would think. And you basically didn't come back because of how people may treat you?" Harry finally asked after a long silence. Hermione nodded in response. "I mean, I understand where you're coming from, but I have got a question, did you really think I would treat you any differently?" Hermione gulped; she had been expecting something like that from Harry.

"I…uh…I didn't know how you'd react Harry," she responded weakly.

"Hermione, you're my best friend. I would never have treated you any differently. And I won't ever. I'm just sad you didn't think you couldn't trust me," Harry said, his green eyes swimming behind the thick glasses. Hermione felt her own eyes prickle with tears.

"And the fact that you trusted him over us," Ginny piped in, nodding her head to where Draco was sat, reclining against the back of the sofa his hands resting behind his head.

"That's different. He figured it out himself. He helped me see what wrong I had done," Hermione answered.

"But even after you knew you had been wrong, you still didn't come," Ginny said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I know. I screwed up. If I went back I would do it all differently. But it's in the past. You know now, can we not move on?" Hermione pleaded. She knew it was going to be a difficult conversation but hadn't quite anticipated their reactions to be like this.

"It's going to take a very long time to fully trust you again, Mione," Ginny muttered. "But yes, we want nothing more than for you to be a part of our lives again." The trio shared smiles.

"If I may butt in, you guys all got over me when I told you all very quickly the other week. Why not get over it with Hermione as quick?" Charlie asked from his spot on the sofa. Ginny and Harry exchanged a look.

"We…well…that was different. You didn't exactly disappear off the face of the earth for over 6 months," Ginny finally said.

"It's not the werewolf bit, it's the running away. But like you said, Mione, what's done is done and we all want to move on from it," Harry added.

"I do have one question though, why's Charlie here? How did you meet?" Ginny asked her eyes flicking between Hermione and Charlie. The expression on her face told Hermione that she already knew something.

"We, well, it turns out we're in each other's packs…and…um –" Hermione started but faded out under the inquisitorial look on Ginny's face.

"They're shagging everywhere and anywhere," Draco piped in, his face expressionless. Hermione blushed a bright red. Harry's eyes widened, and he found interest in his shoes. Ginny nodded knowingly whilst Charlie and Remus both just grinned.

"Right, now we've established that, would you care to show us where you live?" Ginny asked after a long silence. Everyone jumped to their feet and as a very unlikely group of 6 they left the flat and headed out into the cold, winter sunshine.

[-||-]

"OK, so we're going to see you for Christmas, both of you?" Ginny asked. The night had turned dark and it was time for Harry, Ginny and Remus to head back to England. They had spent the day exploring Enisala, the ruins and the dragon reserve, catching up and generally reminding Hermione how big an error she had made fleeing to mainland Europe. Hermione quickly cast her eyes at Draco, but his face was unreadable.

"I guess Malfoy could join too," Ginny added slowly, not quite certain in what she was saying. Harry and Ginny hadn't exactly welcomed Draco with open arms but they could tell he meant a lot to Hermione and agreed to try and accept him.

"The sentiment is appreciated, Weasley," Draco responded with a curt nod.

"All three of us will be there; Christmas Eve," Hermione answered very slowly after receiving a very questioning glance from the visitors. She felt Charlie reach out and grab her hand. He squeezed it reassuringly and she immediately felt calmer.

"Yeah, we'll be there," Charlie added with a grin. They exchanged goodbyes and promised to see each other in a few weeks before the visitors all disappeared with a quite pop.

"Firewhisky?" Hermione asked turning around to her companions, adding, "I bought a bottle the other day," in response to the questioning looks. They all agreed and hurried back to the flat, where they curled up on the sofa and chairs, passing around the burning drink and slowly getting drunker and drunker, all falling asleep at various times in the sitting room.

Hermione woke up the next day with a throbbing headache, her legs curled up underneath her on the sofa. Someone had thrown a blanket over her so rather than facing the pain she snuggled down further under the fluffy layer and tried to ignore the pounding. She could hear footsteps around the flat and when sleep failed to overcome her she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"And the sleeping beauty stirs," a voice came from the chair next to her. She looked over and saw Draco sat there a book open on his lap and a quill stuck behind his ear.

"There's a hangover potion just there, I'd recommend it," he added nodding to a small vial sat on the table. Hermione reached over, uncorked it and downed it in one. The headache dissipated immediately, and she felt infinitely better.

"Charlie had to go to work," Draco answered Hermione's unasked question.

"And it's 10 o'clock," he added when Hermione opened her mouth again. She nodded relieved that she had Monday's off this month and not needed in until the next day. They sat there in silence for a while, Draco reading his book and Hermione thinking about the day before when Draco suddenly spoke.

"It might come as a shock to you. But I thought you did really well yesterday…and well…I'm proud of you Hermione. It was a big step for you to take and I know you'd been dwelling on it for a while so I'm glad you managed to put it behind you and now it's only time to go forward. You did well."

"Thank you, Draco. I…I feel very relieved that it's over, like a weight's just been lifted off my shoulders. I'm glad it's now in the past," Hermione responded with a smile.

"I bet. And I know Charlie is just as proud of you. We both know it wasn't easy for you, so well done," Draco said, a small smile spreading across his pale face.

"Thanks, just everyone else to go now," Hermione said, biting her bottom lip with worry.

"That won't be as bad. They obviously mean a lot to you but nothing compared to Potter and Weaslette so it won't matter so much what happens, I don't think you'll be as concerned," Draco noted.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean they all play a massive role in my life, but yeah compared to Harry and Ginny and Ro-" Hermione stopped suddenly midway through his name.

"Hey, Weasel's a prick. Don't stress about him, he may well have come round by then and well if he hasn't he'll get a royal beating up the arse and it obviously shows he's not worthy of your friendship, it'll all turn out OK, I promise," Draco said reaching out and grabbing Hermione's hand that was hanging off the sofa.

"Yeah, I hope so." Another companionable silence fell between the two friends for a while and Draco soon turned back to his book and Hermione summoned her own from her room.

"So Christmas with all Weasels, that's going to be…an experience," Draco finally said not taking his eyes off the text in front of him. Hermione let out a snort of laughter.

"I forgot, ferrets are rather partial to weasels, how are you possibly going to contain yourself," Hermione teased, making Draco scowl in response.

"I can hardly imagine," he retorted.

"It'll be fine. They're all lovely. Mrs Weasley will spend the entire time shovelling food into your mouth. Mr Weasley will just talk muggles. Bill will be dotting over Fleur especially now she's pregnant, you know Charlie. The twins will keep practicing jokes on you so watch your back with them. Ron, well who knows, and you know Harry and Ginny. No need to stress," Hermione explained.

"No need to stress. Hermione, I don't think I've ever been in a room of that many Gryffindors without at least one other Slytherin to protect me. I am going to be ripped to shreds," Draco said, finally looking up from his book and locking eyes with his best friend.

"You won't be ripped to shreds. You're important to me and if they care about me then they'll accept you," Hermione responded sincerely.

"And if they don't care about you?" Draco asked tentatively, hoping Hermione understood the underlying hint.

"Then we leave. Simple. Draco, I don't know how many times I have to tell you but you mean to the world to me, and if people cannot accept that well, they don't deserve me…or you," Hermione said so fiercely that Draco uncharacteristically felt his eyes water but he blinked rapidly to stop any tears.

"I can't say I was expecting my life to take quite this big a turn," Draco said and Hermione responded with a watery smile.

(A/N: I hope you enjoyed it, sorry if it wasn't what you expected but it's what my brain finally managed to get onto paper! As ever reviews = love!)