December 2005, Remus

Remus resigned that day.

After he had calmed Mooney and spoke with Snape, who informed her of his mates name.. Hermione, he went straight to Albus's office and explained what had happened.

She was his. His morals wouldn't allow him to become her teacher, therefore putting his mate in a tough position.

He couldn't leave, however. He refused to. Albus allowed him to move into a cabin near the Whomping Willow, understanding the young man's need to be near his mate. After learning who she was, he appreciated having the extra set of eyes on her.

If Remus was watching her, in a way he would also be watching Harry who Albus needed safe most of all. That's exactly what Remus did. He watched her.

Once he left Albus he went straight to where Severus said she would be. Which is where he found himself, first laying eyes on her in the library. Her hair was a wild bundle of curls, the ends of her hair sparkling with uncontrolled magic. She was young, he knew as the fifth year students were only sixteen.

That meant he had three years until she recognised herself as his mate.

He wasn't sure if it would be appropriate to introduce himself right now as this feeling of needing to be close to her was so new he wasn't quite sure his wolf would not force himself from beneath his skin, running over to her and bending her over, marking her in front of the world. Merlin, that would be embarrassing for him, if not traumatic for her he was sure. No, he would wait.

He waited, and he watched, for months. He was always in the shadows, keeping a close eye on her. She loved to read and she loved to be outdoors.

He would watch the light from the sun or the moon dance over her skin when she would walk the path around the lake. He knew her magic sparked on her hair when she was reading as if all of her focus on keeping her magic calm went away when she became enthralled in a new book.

He knew she was close to her two friends, it was obvious how much she cared for them.
She was moody and swotty and quite frankly, a bit of a know it all. Her faults seemed to amuse him instead of deter him however, as she intrigued him profoundly. The days he was near her were never enough. The hours passed quickly but also wore on his patience as he needed to know her, to touch her, to hear her voice.

That thought was on his mind one day as he watched her reach for a book on the top shelf. He knew she knew the levitation spell to bring the book to her quickly, she's used it plenty of times before.

For some unknown reason today she was insistent on doing things the muggle way. A low growl came from his throat as he watched her place her foot on the bottom of the shelf, obviously intending to pull herself up to reach it.

Why she was constantly putting herself in dangerous positions, although this specific action was mild compared to the tasks she attempted, always perplexed him.

He saw her body begin to tilt and before he knew it he had moved. His right arm sat on the small of her back, firm and centering while his left hand grabbed the book she had been reaching for.

"Excuse me?" Her voice filled his senses as he began to process what had actually happened. "What are you doing?"

Her voice wasn't angry, he would even say that there was a hint of amusement to her question. The answer was obvious, "you were falling"

Her responding laugh was the loveliest sound to him. If he thought her voice was melodic her laugh was in a league of its own, he wanted more. "I'm not a piece of fruit you know, I won't bruise from a minor misstep."

"I'm surprised you have any skin left to bruise with the trouble you get into" Fuck, he shouldn't have said that. She was going to run away like a scared bunny, or worst hex his nuts off.

She simply stared at him as if a puzzle was connecting in her head, and once more her laugh bubbled from inside of her chest and spilled out of her lips. Now he was concerned, had she bumped her head and he hadn't noticed?

"I knew it!" He instantly became rigid, although he never moved his hand from the small of her back. "Excuse me?"
"You've been watching me, for at least a month if not more. Why? Are you a teacher? Are you a student? Are you a death eater? No, you wouldn't have cared if a mudblood hurt herself"

Was this girl always this blunt? Did she always talk a mile a minute? His hand smacked over her mouth, his eyes flashing gold briefly in warning.

"Do not call yourself that."

The amusement left her eyes and a mild sweetness replaced it. She was curious, that was obvious but right now she seemed to be touched by the kindness in that statement.

Her hands reached up and gently peeled his from her face, taking a step back from him as she did so.
She didn't know how to respond quite yet, so she took the opportunity to take the book from his grasp and she turned to go back to her desk. Remus stood still for a moment wondering if he should retreat back to the not very cloaking shadows or join her at the desk. 'Fuck it' he thought, walking towards the desk and sitting down with her.

"You don't look old enough to be a professor, however I've been learning that doesn't mean much. I've never seen you around but that also doesn't mean much, as there are a lot of students in this school. " She continued listing off the guesses of who he could be and reasons why they didn't make sense all the while her eyes never leaving their spot on the page.

Was she taking notes? How could she read, write and nag him for information all without missing a beat?

"Do you ever take a moment to breathe?"

she huffed, dismissing the question that obviously wasn't new to her.

"Fine, don't answer. Continue being as obvious as the bat symbol in the sky. Just so you are aware" she paused, finally moving her gaze to his "The next time you want to stalk somebody, you might want to be dependent on something other than the dark, it's about as effective as wearing a hat and thinking the world wouldn't notice."

Remus smiled, enjoying this feisty side of Hermione.

He didn't get her reference but he didn't mind, he understood her point. She might be fine with his lack of an answer now, having at some point decided he wasn't a threat but he was certain it was only a matter of time, if not hours until she would start her litany of questions once more.