A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters

This is a gift fic for Liza (NeonDomino )

I hope you enjoy this western/bard AU! Inspired by Lindsey Sterling's Roundtable Rivalry.

Word count: 1041

Remus walked into town as the sun was starting to set. His leather duster brushing against his trousers. The spurs on his boots jangled. A leather canteen swung from his belt. Everything was covered in dust as he looked around the town of Hogwarts. He adjusted the hat on his head, revealing the jagged scars running across his face. He didn't think about them much anymore. They were part of a past that was best left in the past.

The town seemed deserted. Despite the fact there was no one on the street or seemingly in the shops, Remus felt like he was being watched. He turned, tilting his head to the left slightly. He could hear the vibrations of the wind, of the energy that flowed through the town. Yes, someone was watching him, someone powerful. He smiled. He recognized that energy. A slight smile spread across his face. She was the reason he was here, the reason he'd traveled so far out of his way.

"You might as well come out," he called, drawing the violin from his back. He slipped it out of its case. He wasn't sure if he'd need it, but honestly hoped he wouldn't. Maybe he could just talk to her, make her see reason? She had been reasonable once, maybe she was still was?

"Really? You followed me all the way here?" a female voice asked. Remus watched her step out of the shadows, a silvery flute in her hand. He could see the magic, the energy surrounding her. She was powerful, more powerful than him if he ever wanted to admit it. He didn't. Just because her magic was stronger didn't give her the right to do what she'd been doing.

"No, I followed the sound of your influence all the way here, Hermione. You know what you're doing is wrong. It's not what you were raised to be. You're supposed to use your gift for good, not this," he gestured to the silent town. This was the third town he'd found like this, with its people entranced. Hermione laughed.

"Really, Remus? You followed me to tell me I'm using my gifts wrong?" she asked, leaning against the support beam of the saloon's awning covered porch. Remus couldn't help but admire her pose, her ease with everything.

"You're a bard, Hermione, you help people. You bring peace to people," Remus argued. Hermione raised the flute to her lips, puckering them slightly. Remus' eyes widened as he drew his bow, sliding it across the strings.

"I can do so much more than that, Remus. You may have been the first to see my powers for what they were, the first to realize I needed to be taught to use them, doesn't mean you can tell me what to do."

"You're hurting people, Hermione," he stated, watching her.

"Name one?" she challenged.

"Where is everyone then?"

"Around," Hermione shrugged, playing a single note. Remus could hear people moving around inside the houses, people talking, eating. He knew none of them had actually been harmed. He was relived about that at least. That meant there might still be something to reason with, a part of Hermione that hadn't been lost forever.

"See, they're all fine," she stated. "All I did was bring families together, something I could never have. They're eating dinner together, living in harmony."

"You're controlling them?"

"Wouldn't that be something, no, I've just infused the air with a sense of togetherness, something you couldn't teach me, Remus, something you were afraid to teach me. You knew I was more powerful than you from the beginning," Hermione commented, looking at her former mentor, at the man who had changed her whole world when he'd saved her. She'd lost control of her powers as a child, deemed dangerous, she was left to die in the desert. Remus had found her, following the melodic sounds of her crying.

"Hermione, I know you were ripped away from your family. I know what it's like to be different, to have no one on your side. I can understand why you did it, why you've influenced so many people. You need to stop though. It's not natural."

"Nothing we do is natural, Remus, the way we control music, the way we can hear every little sound," she stated, trying to keep the emotion from her voice.

"Hermione," Remus whispered, taking a few steps over to her. He could see the pain on her face.

"Remus, I just wanted... I wanted them to be happy, to have something I never did, something you never did," she cried, tears starting to stream down her face. Remus put an arm around her, sliding her flute from her deft fingers.

"I know, Hermione, my sweet Hermione. We were never meant to have that kind of life, being who we are, what we are," he said. Hermione laid her head against him.

"Maybe, maybe we can," she whispered, looking up at him, her brown eyes meeting his amber ones. She reached up and traced her fingers over his scars.

"Hermione?"

"You and me, Remus. We both know the risks, we both know what we can do, how this job keeps us on the move constantly from town to town. What if we... what if we gave us a try, Remus?" she asked, sliding from his arms and looking at him, hope and desperation in her eyes. Remus could see the loneliness there, the longing.

"Hermione, I don't -"

Hermione didn't wait for him to finish that sentence, she pressed her lips firmly against his. His violin and her flute falling slowly the ground as Remus brought his arms around her. Finally, they separated, each staring at the other.

"You were about to say, Remus?" she asked, grabbing their instruments from the ground and dusting them off.

"Maybe you're right, Hermione. We have been alone too long. I've got a job in a town about a fortnight from here, would you care to join me?"

"If you'd have me," she answered, tucking her flute back away and slipping her hand in Remus'.

"I'd love nothing better, my Hermione," he stated, holding her close as they headed towards the outskirts of town to set up camp.