Author's Note: I sat on this chapter for a while guys and I am sorry for that because I know how eager everyone has been to see how this unfolds. No excuses but the same old same old of living a super hectic life. Thanks for understanding! I appreciate your support!
"Do you think he will join us?" Blaise Zabini asked, his tone was casual but Theodore's could tell the fellow pureblood wizard was uneasy with how the meeting had gone with Malfoy. Blaise had known Draco Malfoy for as long as Theodore but it was Blaise that had always been a closer companion to Draco in their school years. Which was why he had offered to speak with the reclusive aristocrat and was still unsure why Theodore thought it had been better for him to initiate the conversation.
While there were a great deal of things Blaise did not understand about Theodore Nott there was one important truth: Theodore was powerful. Not just in his command of magic, but his political prowess and strategy made him a valuable ally. Blaise had not hesitated in joining the Knights of Walpurgis for exactly that reason.
"It will take some time," Theodore drawled as he tipped back his glass of scotch, letting the liquid scorch the back of his throat as he considered his words. "I believe he will come around. Draco has always been a pragmatic fellow, he just needs a little more persuasion."
Theodore stared thoughtfully out the window. "However he seemed different, more aloof than I recall him being back in our Hogwarts days."
Blaise shrugged, "He's become that way over the years but your guess is as good as mine as to why. I'm not entirely convinced he's gone a bit mental to be honest. One would have to be to break off an engagement with Astoria Greengrass."
Theodore quirked an eyebrow, glancing at the seated wizard with sudden interest. "What happened?"
"No one knows really," Blaise replied. "One day they are planning an extravagant affair and the next he's calling it off. I think it humiliated poor Astoria a bit but she hasn't said much to anyone either. Last I heard she wasn't considering any new suitors."
He took a drag from his cigar before adding, "It's a pity too. A pureblood witch that beautiful deserves better."
"My, my Blaise old man do you fancy Miss Greengrass?" Theodore asked with a wry grin.
"Any wizard with eyes would be a fool not too," Blaise replied coolly.
"Hmm," Theodore paused, considering an idea. "Let's send along an invitation to the fundraiser gala to the Greengrass family as well."
Before he could elaborate further there was a soft pop as a House Elf appeared. "Master Nott has a visitor from the Ministry, an Auror he said he was."
"Did he say who he was?" Theodore asked in boredom.
"His name is Harry Potter, master," the House Elf replied and instinctively flinched at uttering the name. Theodore made no movement of aggression on the creature. The name didn't conjure quite the same sentiments in him as it had in his father. "Should I tell him you are not available?"
"Of course not," Theodore said and waved a hand dismissively at the small creature. "Let's not keep our guest waiting, take me to him."
Obediently the House Elf scurried out of the room with Theodore walking leisurely behind him. Blaise thought for a moment whether he should stay behind but curiosity spurred him to follow suite, pouring himself a discrete glass of firewhiskey at the bar stand on his way out of the lounge.
"Potter! So good of you to stop by!" Theodore greeted from atop the marble stairs of the mansion's main entrance. Behind him Blaise rolled his eyes at the other wizard's bravado, not entertained by the Nott heir's flair for exuberance. By the front door Harry stood stoically, clearly unamused with the greeting as well.
"I am here on official Auror business." Harry revealed his badge from his inner robe pocket, levelling a serious gaze at the taller wizard, "and I have a few questions to ask."
"Yes, whatever I can do to help," Theodore answered, now standing in front of Harry.
"May we speak privately?" Harry asked, his eyes moving to Blaise still standing at the top of the stairs like a cheshire cat.
Theodore nodded, leading Harry through a nearby atrium of the mansion that lead into a formal sitting room. "What brings you out this way?"
"There have been several disturbances in the nearby areas and your property is in the middle," Harry said.
"Disturbances?" Theodore said with a thoughtful frown. "I haven't witnessed anything around here. What sort of disturbances?"
"Werewolf attacks," Harry said and watched for the other man's reaction. He withheld that several werewolves had gone missing in the area as well. He knew there was a strong chance the missing werewolves might have been responsible for the attacks but Harry couldn't ignore the nagging sensation to investigate Nott. His proximity to the attacks was too suspicious after all his family's dealings with Voldemort and the Dark Arts.
"Oh no," Theodore said with an expression of mild alarm. "That sounds awful."
"And I take it you don't know anything about these attacks?" Harry asked pointedly.
"No, not the slightest," he said and appeared aghast at the suggestion. "Potter, I do not know what sort of wizard you take me for but I am most certainly a law-abiding citizen."
"You will have to excuse my suspicions based on your family's history," Harry said.
"I am not my father," he said with indignation. "Listen, I know we didn't get on well enough in school but I have worked hard to make a better name for myself than the legacy my father left behind."
Harry said nothing; he knew he had no evidence to base his suspicions. A hunch was not enough to act on even though Harry wanted nothing more than to drag the wizard in for further questioning. Theodore knew this as well.
"I have nothing to hide," Theodore said and with an agreeable disposition added. "And I know you are just doing your job. I promise you that I haven't heard or seen anything but I will make sure to keep an eye out for anything."
"We will be in touch," he said.
"Certainly, let me know whatever I can do to assist," following Harry back to the main entrance way. "For what it's worth I truly hope you catch whomever is responsible for the attacks."
Harry gave a curt nod, his eyes briefly narrowing at Blaise who was slowly moving down the stairs with a frustrating smugness, before departing from the Nott residence.
After a few long minutes Theodore turned around to see Blaise smirk. "That was a wonderful performance, Nott."
"Convincing was it?" Theodore said with a laugh.
Artemis Home
Hermione surveyed the woman in the mirror, still trying to figure out whether she liked what she saw. The blouse and jeans were a gift from Ginny, part of a rather large box of clothes the redheaded witch had collected for Hermione when she came to live at the Artemis Home.
I guessed your size, Ginny had said. And I remember violet was your favorite color.
She touched the silk sleeves and a foggy memory from her past ushered to the surface of her mind. She was wearing a violet gown of the same texture, twirling under the glimmering lights of a thousand floating candles. The memory was somehow painful. Hermione remembered the forced smiles and trying to keep from crying. Hermione pressed further, trying to decipher the scene but the memory was like the others. Fleeting and all too fragile.
Sometimes Hermione wanted to know the meaning of these glimpses into who she used to be but lately the werewolf found herself okay with the unknown. She wasn't sure she wanted old Hermione's life or it's memories. The space between the present and the past was still a void. What is it they say? Ignorance is bliss. Deep down she was starting to realize she might not like what she uncovered and yet this stirred a conflict within her another part of Hermione kept longing for something. At first she thought it was her old life she was so desperate to have back. To be the friend Harry thought she was.
But there was something else. Someone else, a voice in the back of her mind amended.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Hermione beckoned the guest to come in. Aisling greeted her with a smile, "The boys are downstairs, ready to go?"
They had been planning the trip to Diagon Alley for weeks, saving their galleons for the night on the town. Lupin had been only mildly reluctant to let Hermione join them, cautious as to whether she was truly ready for being out in the town alone. However the other three werewolves insisted she would be chaperoned the entire time to which Lupin acquiesced. It was admittedly a strange dynamic: he was their caretaker but they were also adults, including Hermione.
"We'll be fine," Tobey said with a broad smile as he stepped into the floo, saying the name of his destination and disappearing in the green flames.
"Look after one another and do not start any fights," Lupin reminded them.
Killian nodded dutifully and dipped into the fire, disappearing just as easily as Tobey.
"And be back by curfew otherwise you will be locked out for the night," Lupin said to Aisling.
"We know, sir," Aisling said as she too faded into the floo.
Lastly Hermione stepped up to the fireplace. She had rehearsed the steps countless times but still felt a twinge of nervousness as she drew closer to the unnaturally colored flames. Lupin stopped her.
"Be careful, Miss Granger."
Hermione nodded, saying nothing else as she stepped into the flames. There was a brief flash as she spoke the destination, her whole body lurching forward with the magic's momentum. Within seconds she found herself stumbling out of the fireplace of an unfamiliar fireplace. Aisling, Killian and Tobey were already waiting for her. Tobey offered a hand to help her out of the enchanted fireplace while Aisling dusted off a layer of soot from her shoulders.
"Oh good we didn't lose you," Tobey said.
"He's only half-joking," Killian added. "I wasn't going to say so in front of Lupin but I almost thought we were going to need to go to floo to floo to find you."
Hermione rolled her eyes as they left the shop, "where are we going now?"
"Where all the young ladies and gentlemen go on a Saturday evening: to the pub!" Tobey declared, pointing dramatically to some general direction down the street and causing several old ladies to scowl at him.
With Tobey leading the way, the four of them set off to the pub. Aisling, Tobey and Killian spoke with one another with the eagerness of three children heading off to Hogsmeade while Hermione quietly followed along.
Hogsmeade.
A memory of a town she vaguely remembered drifted into her thoughts. She remembered the feel of her red and gold scarf around her neck, the taste of butterbeer on her lips. Harry and Ron were telling her a story as they walked through the cobblestone streets and she was laughing. Hermione couldn't remember the details but the memory felt good and she found herself smiling inward.
"Something funny, Hermione?" Killian asked.
"Nothing really," she said but before she could say anything further a voice broke through the crowd.
"'mione!" Hermione turned and saw a red-haired man bounding towards her. Freckled and tall, he had deep scars where his left ear would have been.
Even before her mind could process fully where she knew him, his name came tumbling off her lips: "George."
To the surprise of her companions the wizard immediately pulled her into a tight embrace. "Oi! I didn't know you were out in about! You look great! I'd have come visit you sooner but Ginny said you were..."
George had the sense to catch himself, realizing she was in the company of three people he did not know and he did not want to divulge her ongoing condition. Hermione appreciated his discretion even if it wasn't warranted.
"These are my friends: Aisling, Tobey and Killian. They are like me," she said and the three others gave a friendly nod in greeting. "I would like you to visit."
The human part of her, the one that was relearning appropriate social behaviors, told her she should ask about Ron. The wolf part, however, could not care less. Hermione chose to side with the latter half of her identity in this regard.
As if on cue, George said. "Fantastic. And I'll tell Ron to owl you. Sorry he's been a bit of a git."
It was a strange apology but a familiar one. Ginny had said nearly the same thing only a week ago and although Hermione had only vague pieces of her past, she had the sense that the Weasley siblings had apologized for Ron more than once.
"It's nothing," Hermione said with a smile and truly she meant it. She had smelled the fear and tinge of disgust on Ron in that hospital room during their last encounter and it clouded her perception of him. Whatever thread existed to their shared past neither person seemed keen to keep it intact. Hermione did not have the memories to bare any remorse about the loss.
George grinned and gave her one last hug, "I better be getting back to the shop but it's good to see you. I'll be sure to stop by."
The redhead nodded to the other three as he bid his adieus and left them to their excursion."
"Seems like a nice bloke," Tobey said but his eyes were already drifting down the street to the distant sign of their destination.
"He is," Hermione said and regardless of how little she could recall of her past her intuition told her that much was true.
When they arrived at the pub, Hermione was relieved to find it quiet and dimly lit. It smelled of tobacco and stale beer but the lanterns on each table made it feel warm and inviting. Hermione took a seat while the others ventured to get their drinks and it afforded her an opportunity to observe the other patrons. There was a couple old wizards sitting on barstools in the middle of a heated drunken debate. She watched for a moment until the bartender intervened and like a seasoned mediator he convinced the two men that what they needed was another beer. Moments later the were clinking steins and laughing once more.
In another corner a woman with blonde hair was flirting with a man about ten years her junior. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear which set off a chain reaction as he eagerly tossed down the galleons to pay his tab and disappear with her. Hermione was fascinated by the volley of human interactions, eager to observe even though she was still discovering her place in this world. She wondered if she would ever feel like one of them or would each conversation feel rehearsed and somewhat exhausting? Would she ever be happier among people than running through the forest?
Some are not meant to be tamed, the words sprang to her mind and she knew she had heard them before. Hermione wanted to follow the train of thought and perhaps who had once said it but was cut short by the thud of a beer glass in front of her.
"I know you said you weren't going to drink but where's the fun in that?" Tobey said.
"Don't worry if you don't want it I will take it off your hands," Killian interjected.
"Isn't he noble?" Aisling said and Hermione cracked a smile.
They carried on in pleasant company with Hermione taking ginger sips and mostly listening to the other three talk. She liked that the trio never forced her into conversation like others did. Even those she liked, Harry and Ginny, tried too hard to draw her out of her inner world and she found it exhausting.
From time to time Hermione's gaze would dart to a nearby table full of young wizards. They had been rowdy but tolerable when they first entered the bar. But as the evening wore on and they became more drunk their antics started to rev up, Hermione's agitation grew. They were loud. Abrasive. The wolf in her was growing restless. Aisling tapped her elbow and drew Hermione's attention back to her friends.
"Should we leave?" Tobey asked with mild concern. Aisling and Killian were both watching her closely, attune to their fellow werewolf's moods.
Hermione nodded, taking several calming breathes like Lupin had taught her to do when the outside stimuli became too much.
They were quickly making their exit when one of the drunk young wizards stumbled backwards into Killian, setting off a domino effect to their evening's events.
"Hey! Do you have a problem mate?" The drunk wizard barked at Killian. The dark-haired werewolf, still possessing the clarity of a mostly-sober mind, tried to de-escalate the situation with a friendly smile.
"Eh, no trouble here just trying to leave," he replied.
But clearly that wasn't going to be enough. The drunk wizard had a glazed look in his eyes and an itch to fight. He moved his frame to block Killian from getting any further towards the entrance and jabbed a finger at the werewolf's chest.
"I don' think I like ya attitude," he said.
Killian had a momentary confused expression, "Attitude? Mate I am seriously just trying to get out of here."
"I thin-k-k ya looking for a fight," the wizard slurred.
And before Killian could get another word in the drunk wizard took a swing at him to the sound of his equally drunk friends' cheers.
Only the punch didn't connect.
Hermione had seized the drunk wizard's fist midswing and in a fluid movement twisted it behind his back with blinding speed. She effectively spun him so that he faced his friends wide-eyed with surprise. Hermione drew her forearm across his throat from behind and despite her shorter stature, dragged him down to her level with a tight choke.
There was a slow snarl from her lips, her eyes flashing an animalistic gold in the dim light. Everyone watched in paralyzed horror. With the exception of Killian who stood behind her looking more sheepish than anything else.
"Bloody hell Hermione I could've taken him," he muttered.
"She's a werewolf!" one of the drunk wizard's friends sputtered as the realization occurred to not just the wizards before them but now the entire pub.
"DON'T LET HER BITE ME!" The drunk wizard still in her grasp yelled, suddenly losing all the bravado acquired from one too many shots of firewhiskey. He fought against her grip feebly until Aisling said her name in a cautious tone.
"Hermione…"
And at that Hermione released the wizard, tossing him like a rag doll towards his friends. The unhuman glow of her eyes didn't subside as it bore down on the group. With her prenatural hearing she could perceive the whispered words of the other patrons as some began to recognize the curly-haired war heroine:
Hermione?
The Hermione Granger?
She's a werewolf?
The whispering continued until it felt like a dull roar in her didn't wait for the other three as she left the pub but could feel them fall into step beside her. No one spoke for at least fifteen minutes as they put the pub quickly behind them.
Eventually Tobey was the one to break the silence: "So is anyone going to ask the question? When did Hermione learn to brawl like a sailor?"
Aisling, Tobey and Killian looked at Hermione expectantly. She simply shrugged.
In truth, she was equally as curious to understand this newfound detail about herself but put the question in the same box as all of the other mysteries about her life. Only time would tell if they were ever to be answered.