13. November
„Do you have everything Mione?", he asked.
„Yes"
„Alright then I'll go threw first and you just follow my lead"
Hermione nodded reassuringly. „You know I used flowpowder before, right Remus? You don't have to worry I am going to be right behind you", she told him with a sligth smirk.
„Right, of course. I didn't think about that, sorry. Well then…"he took a handful of flowpowder into his left and entered the chimney ´, knocking his head against the stones above him in the process, „…Lupin residence", he said loudly and clearly and disappeared in the green flames, surrounding him.
Remus stepped out of his own chimney coughing from the dusty ashes. He looked around his flat, hoping it was presentable. He saw an old t-shirt lying on the couch and quickly hid it under one of his dark green sofa pillows. Just in time, because as he put the pillow over it his chimney lit up with green flames and Hermione stepped out of it. Remus could see how she was looking around his flat curiously, although she tried to hide. Remus smiled seeing her trying and failing to not look like she would like to investigate every inch of his home.
"Ehhm, I'll show you your room then" he said and snapped her out of her occupied mind.
She smiled shyly, knowing he had caught her of guard.
Remus led her to a dark wooden door, which he opened and gestured her to go in. The room they found themselves in was small, it had a simple bed, a cupboard with almost the exact shade of wood as the door and a small desk under the window. The walls were painted in beige and on the desk was a lamp, some pens and paper. All in all the room looked just like any other guest room, comfortable, but a guest room none the less.
"I know it's not much but at least it's better than a bed in the hospital wing", Remus said awaiting her reaction to her new stay.
"It is and it is way more than I could have hoped for, thank you Remus. I know I'm being an inconvenience, but please know that I am truly grateful for your help. If I can help you with anything in return, please just ask", she told him.
"I probably will", he told her slightly smiling, "but first you should get settle in. Professor McGonagall said she put some clothes for you in the cupboard, so you don't have to wear your old ones. You can change know if you want to, the bathroom is the door to your left. My room is just opposite yours, so if you need anything just knock, no matter what time. You already saw the living room slash kitchen and that's it actually"
"A shower would be great, actually", she still was nervous concerning her whole situation but she felt safe with Remus and in his home. She had already relaxed more than all the days in the hospital wing. She thought it was because she already had been friends with him and fought side by side, but it was also because he knew about her secret.
"Sure I'll be in the kitchen" he told her and left her to be able to adjust. He had seen the look on her face she often seemed to have, when she got lost in her thoughts. He knew that her current situation was nothing but ordinary, but he could not even imagine what this must be like for her. Remus saw that she was always tense and cautious. He knew it was partly due to her being in this time and not in her normal environment, but he had the feeling that that wasn't everything. He recognized her behavior from aurors, his friends and himself, it was the kind of behavior you get when you are fighting in a war or are in fear of being attacked any second. He frowned. Why did she have this behavior? What ha happened to her? And why was she like that, did they loose the war in this time and she and her time had to suffer because of their failure? All of these questions and more were spinning around in his mind. He knew that he couldn't get an answer to most of them, due to the fact that knowing to much might change time and even tough now, in his time, it didn't seem as could get worse, he agreed that risking it wasn't worth it. But still, the idea that she might know what would happen, when and how to stop it was tempting. He shook his head trying to think of something else and entered his kitchen/living room.
Down the corridor Hermione sat on the bed, her head in her hands. What was she going to do? What could she do? She knew she had to go back to her time, but how? Hermione was sure she knew more about time traveling than Ron or Harry, she smiled thinking of her two best friends back home, which she missed dearly. But then she remembered what had happened and her hands began shaking. She closed her eyes taking in a few shaky breaths in order to try and calm down. Three tears rolled down her cheek. How could it have come this far? She stood up, she wouldn't allow herself to wallow in self pity. She went to the cupboard and took out a brown pair of trousers and a dark green long-sleeved shirt together with a random pair of socks and underwear. She was relieved to see that they had thought about underwear too, otherwise it would have been a very awkward situation, her asking Remus for panties and a bra. She also took a large and a small towel and headed to the bathroom. The shower worked wonders on her muscles and tense body, which relaxed a bit more with every drop of hot water touching her skin. When she was finished she felt good, for the first time in a while. She looked at herself in the mirror realising that she hasn't down that in a long time too. She almost didn't recognize herlsef. Sure she remembered that the last she had seen her reflection she had look worse, but that didn't mean she looked healthy know. Her skin was far too pale and her cheek bones stood out. Her eyes were missing their typical sparkle and her lips were almost white. She wasn't as thin as she used to be, while being on the run with Harry and ron but she could still see her rips. She put on her new clothes and collected her old ones. Looking at them she decided to throw them away, repair wouldn't do much. She looked at her reflection again and realized something. Her hair was longer.
Remus was watching the bacon and eggs cooking, deep in his thoughts, when he heard the wooden floor panels squeaking. He raised his head and saw Hermione. Her normally brown curly hair was still wet from the shower and had lost its volume and wildness due to the water.
"Is there anywhere I can throw these into?", she asked him raising her hands, showing him her old clothes.
"There is a box in the bathroom for dirty things. Or you can put them in the washing machine now if you would like to", Remus answered.
"That's not what I meant", she told him.
He looked at her confused.
"I do not want to keep them and besides they are still covered in dirt and blood. I doubt it will ever fully go out. So, you see I was looking for a dumpster", she explained avoiding his gaze.
"Oh well … then the dumpster is over there", he said pointing at it. She nodded and threw them in without hesitation.
"Are you hungry? I was just making eggs and bacon and I also got some toast over there somewhere. Before you say anything, yes I do know that this is typically served as breakfast and it is almost 7 pm now, but in my opinion that is just rubbish", he told her very quick with one breath.
"I would like some bacon and eggs, thank you", she said a little shyly.
He put two plates on the table and gestured her to take a seat. She sat down opposite him. They began eating when 'Mione suddenly asked:" Why?"
"Why what?", Remus asked clueless what she was referring to.
"Why do you think it's rubbish that breakfast meals are only served on breakfast?", she asked curiously.
"Em, because those are mostly the best meals there are, so I don't understand why it is only acceptable to eat them at breakfast. Take bacon and eggs for example you could eat at any time of the day, there is no need to limit it to breakfast."
She smiled at his response seeing how it was actually a matter of some importance for him.
"I think there is never the wrong time to eat bacon and eggs, frankly. And these are really good by the way", she said pointing at her almost empty plate.
"Glad you like my cooking, because there isn't much, I can cook besides this to be honest. And you to bare it for some time" he responded.
She immediately tensed up at this and he cursed himself for it. They were just starting to have a conversation and building up trust and he ruined it with one sentence.