A/N - Hi everyone! So glad you all liked the kiss last chapter! A bit of their reactions here, but of course, their timing is not the best. The Will situation needs dealing with. Thank you all for continuing to read and review! I love hearing your thoughts!

Chapter 44

Investigation

7 February 2000

Remus followed Hermione up the stairs and into the sitting room. The boy that he'd seen in the doorway was now on the couch and Hermione was speaking softly to him. When Remus stepped into the room, the boy tensed and pushed himself as far into the corner of the couch as he could with his injured leg. Remus held out his hands to show he wasn't a threat.

Before he could take another step into the room, Remus' eyes widened and his nostrils flared. Only years of experience, the fact that it was still almost two weeks until the full moon, and that the werewolf on the couch was hardly more than a pup, kept Remus from grabbing Hermione and pulling her away. But it was still a near thing.

"Hermione," Remus said, trying to keep his voice even. "Please explain."

"This is Will," Hermione said. She turned back to the boy. "Will, this is my friend Remus." Will looked between Hermione and Remus fearfully.

"He's, he's," Will whispered, but Hermione only smiled.

"He's a werewolf, yes," Hermione said. Will curled himself further into a ball. "He won't hurt you."

Remus studied the boy and something about him seemed familiar, but Remus couldn't figure out what. He was too young to have been one of Remus' students and besides, Remus knew he hadn't taught any other werewolves. Will was still looking at him fearfully. It could be because Remus was a werewolf without a pack bond. Although Remus' wolf considered his family and friends his pack, Hermione included, it wasn't a true bond as none of them were werewolves. Will, separated from his own pack, likely saw Remus as a lone wolf and therefore, a threat. Not to mention Remus' reaction when Hermione had sat down next to the boy. Remus knew Hermione didn't notice, but Will would have been able to sense it.

Still, Remus got the impression that it was more than that. He needed to find out where this boy had come from and what he was doing here.

"Hermione, may I speak to you?" Remus asked. Hermione glanced at Will again and then nodded to Remus.

"We'll just be a minute," Hermione said to the boy. "Is your ankle still hurting?"

"It's feeling a little better." Will didn't take his eyes off Remus as he spoke.

"All right, we'll just be over here." Will simply nodded. Hermione and Remus moved into the furthest corner of the room and Remus threw up a Muffliato around them.

"Please tell me what that boy is doing here," Remus said, trying to remain calm. Hermione sighed and proceeded to explain what had happened when she went out with the Werewolf Capture Unit.

"I didn't know what else to do," Hermione said. "I couldn't let Barbary take him and question him." Remus had to agree. Although less familiar with Barbary, as he had only been working with the unit since the end of the war, from what Hermione said about the man, she was right to take Will. Barbary sounded little better than Warrington, whom Remus was quite familiar with.

"What do you plan to do with him?" Remus asked, glancing back at the boy. He was watching them, still looking frightened.

"I don't know," Hermione admitted with a sigh. "But I can't hide him here forever."

"No," Remus agreed. The two of them looked at one another and Hermione's cheeks tinged pink. Remus cleared his throat and tried not to think about the kiss in the corridor.

"Perhaps you should contact Harry or Ron," he said. Hermione began to shake her head, but Remus held up a hand.

"If Will surrenders to an Auror, they can control the interrogation," Remus said. "If you bring him back to the Ministry yourself, Barbary and Warrington take over."

"But he isn't really under arrest." That much was true. The Werewolf Capture Unit worked differently than the DMLE. It was why they could get away with much of what they did. Werewolves were just beasts, after all.

"While that is true, the fact that he fled instead of going with them willingly, makes him a fugitive. It's a gray area, but Kingsley would come down on the side of the Aurors should Barbary protest." Hermione seemed to think about this for a few moments before she nodded.

"I need to explain to Will," Hermione said. "I know he's frightened." Her brow furrowed in thought. "Why is he so scared of you?" Remus hesitated. He wasn't about to tell Hermione that his wolf considered her pack and didn't like it that she was close to another werewolf.

"He's part of an established pack," Remus finally said. "I am a lone wolf, so to speak. He sees me as a threat."

"Oh," Hermione said, but she still looked thoughtful. "That makes sense, but it almost seems like it's more than that." Remus tensed, wondering if she'd figured it out. "I've introduced you and you obviously haven't made any kind of move to do anything to him. But he hasn't calmed down." Remus relaxed slightly.

"There is something familiar about him," Remus said. "But I can't put my finger on what." Hermione bit her lip and Remus had to force himself not to lift his hand and remove it from her teeth. She looked at him nervously. Remus swallowed. Maybe she had figured it out.

"What is it, Hermione?" he asked quietly.

"Is it possible that, that he knows you? From…somewhere else?"

"Where?" Remus asked, relieved that this wasn't about her being part of his pack. "He's much too young to have been my student."

"No, I mean…from your work with, with the Order." Remus immediately tensed. Hermione glanced up at him, looking worried for bringing it up. But once she had, something fired in Remus' brain. He remembered a boy of seven or eight, cowering behind a woman as Remus and another werewolf circled each other surrounded by at least a dozen others, egging them on.

"The packs," he whispered.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I know that you don't like to talk about it."

"No, it's all right," Remus assured her.

"Do you remember him?"

"I think so," Remus said. "And if he's who I suspect he is, it explains a lot." Hermione looked at him in confusion, but he dropped the Muffliato and stepped back towards Will.

"You remember me, don't you?" Remus asked gently. Will looked towards Hermione, who gave him an encouraging nod.

"Y-yes," Will said.

"What happened to Ophelia?" Remus asked. Will's eyes filled with tears.

"She didn't come back."

"After Fenrir gathered the packs?" Remus asked. Will nodded. Remus sighed and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. Hermione sat down beside Will and put an arm around him. The boy swiped at the tears on his cheeks, clearly embarrassed.

"And Michael?" Remus asked. Will shook his head. "Who took over?"

"Felix. He made us move all the time. Simon thought we should register, but Felix wouldn't let him. He said the Ministry was against us and they were just trying to lure us there and then they would kill us. Simon argued, but Felix wouldn't listen. Simon and Lydia left the next day and they didn't come back. Felix got more paranoid after that." Remus sighed.

"Will, how did you get separated from them?" Hermione asked. Will looked down at his lap. It was clear that he was crying but didn't want them to know.

"I was in the woods, looking for food," he said. "Felix said we all had to pull our own weight. He told me that I ate too much and did too little. I went farther than usual and when I got back, they were, they were gone. All of them." His shoulders began to shake and Hermione wrapped her other arm around him, pulling him closer to her. She looked up at Remus, her own eyes bright with tears.

"Remus," she said helplessly.

"It will be all right," Remus assured her, hoping that he wasn't lying. When Will had calmed, Remus looked back to Hermione.

"We need to tell him." Hermione nodded, although she looked as if it were the last thing she wanted to do.

As Hermione explained to Will about contacting the Aurors, the boy began to shake his head violently. He tried to get up from the couch and run but cried out when his ankle buckled under him. Remus jumped up to help Hermione get him back to the couch.

"Please," Will begged. "Please let me go. I don't know where they are." Remus could see the emotion on Hermione's face and he resisted the urge to pull her into his arms.

"Do you know who Harry Potter is?" Remus asked. Will's eyes widened as he nodded.

"Harry is my best friend," Hermione said. "This is his house. He's an Auror and he would never let you be sent to prison if you're innocent. Unfortunately, those men and women that I was with this afternoon will not stop looking until they find you. Letting Harry take you in is the best plan." Will whimpered.

"I promise, the Ministry isn't killing werewolves that come in to register," Hermione said. "I work in the Beast Division and I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Finally, Will nodded. Hermione smiled and stood.

"I'll be right back," she said. As she walked towards the door, she gestured for Remus to follow her.

"You were with his pack then?" Hermione said once they'd reached the first-floor landing. Remus nodded.

"For a short time," he said. "Michael, his original Alpha, was not friendly towards strangers."

"Who's Ophelia?"

"She was Michael's mate," Remus said. "She was a mother figure to Will."

"How did he end up with them?"

"I don't know," Remus said. "But it's likely he was taken when he was younger." Hermione shook her head and Remus couldn't stop himself from taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. She smiled up at him.

"I had better send Harry a Patronus," she said, staring at Remus.

"I need to Floo Andromeda and explain," Remus said.

"You're coming with us?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"I think it would be easier for Will if I could tell some of the story," Remus said. Hermione smiled and before he realized she was moving, had wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you," she said. Remus finally allowed his arms to come around her. He hugged her for a few seconds before stepping back. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He hurried down the stairs to the kitchen, not trusting himself not to repeat their earlier encounter in the corridor.

Pulling in a deep breath, Hermione waited until Remus had disappeared into the kitchen. She knew the memory she was going to use to cast the spell would likely have her cheeks bright red and didn't want Remus to notice.

Gods, the kiss had been amazing. For a moment, she hadn't thought that Remus was going to respond and was already cringing at the look likely to be on his face when she began to pull away from him. She had been quite shocked when he had pulled her closer to him instead. Running two fingers over her lips, Hermione smiled again. She drew her wand, thought of the kiss, and cast the spell.

Her otter swam around her affectionately and Hermione gave it her message.

"Harry, please come home immediately." As her Patronus disappeared, Hermione felt guilty at how worried Harry was going to be, but it was the only way she knew to get him to drop everything and come as soon as she asked.

She returned to the sitting room and walked across the room to sit next to Will. She busied herself checking his ankle again, trying not to worry about what Remus was thinking. He had participated most enthusiastically in the kiss once he had given in, but he hadn't initiated any other contact since, except to take her hand when she was upset. He had done the same thing numerous times in their friendship, so she was trying not to read too much into it. Yes, he had hugged her, but only after she had hugged him first.

Hermione sighed. This definitely wasn't the best time to try and figure out what was going on between them. They needed to wait for Harry and get things with Will sorted first.

Remus made his way down the kitchen stairs and walked towards the Floo. He was still thinking about the kiss, as much as he was trying not to. He should have stopped it before it began. But, gods, it had been amazing. Even more so than the kiss at Christmas.

Biting back a sigh, Remus reached for the pot of Floo powder on the mantel. He had no idea what he was going to do. It was clear that Hermione felt the same way for him that he did for her, but that didn't change any of the reasons why he wasn't good for her.

Throwing the powder into the grate, he stuck his head into the flames and called out for home.

"Remus!" Andromeda said seconds later. "I have been worried."

"I'm sorry," Remus said. "I should have called sooner, but everything happened so quickly." He was glad that the Floo would hide his blush.

"What has happened?" Andromeda asked. Remus explained about finding Hermione and Will at Grimmauld Place and what had brought them here to begin with.

"I'm familiar with the pack Will belongs to and it might help for me to explain things to Harry," Remus said.

"Of course," Andromeda agreed. "Take all the time you need. We will be fine."

"Thank you, Andromeda," Remus said. "I'll be home as soon as I can." He pulled his head from the fire and had just reached the top of the kitchen stairs when he heard the front door fly open.

"Hermione! Hermione, where are you?" Harry called. Remus walked towards the entry as Hermione answered.

"Up here, Harry," Hermione called.

"Remus?" Harry said in surprise as Remus came into view just before Harry started up the stairs. "What's wrong? Is it Teddy? Andromeda?"

"No, Harry, everyone is fine," Remus assured him. "Hermione is in the sitting room. We'll explain there." Hermione was standing in the doorway when they reached the first floor.

"What's going on?" Harry said, looking terrified.

"It's all right, Harry," Hermione said. "Calm down."

"Hermione, you send me a Patronus with that kind of message and don't expect me to be worried?" Harry retorted.

"I know, I'm sorry I scared you," Hermione said, looking horribly guilty. "I just needed you to get here quickly without asking questions." She led him into the sitting room and Remus followed. Harry startled when he saw Will.

"Who is this?" Harry asked, drawing his wand.

"This is Will," Hermione said, putting a hand on Harry's wand and pushing it down towards the floor. "Sit down and I'll explain everything."

"Hermione," Harry began, but Hermione interrupted.

"Sit down, Harry," she demanded. Harry huffed and Remus chuckled, reminded of Lily for a moment. Hermione glared at Harry who finally sat down in an armchair across from the couch. Remus sat down in the chair next to him. Hermione threw up a Muffliato around the three of them and quickly explained to Harry what had happened that afternoon.

"Shite, Hermione, why did you run?"

"Would you have let Barbary take him in? He's just a boy, Harry!" Hermione put her hands on her hips.

"No, no, you're right," Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "All right so, he'll have to-"

"Surrender to you, yes, Remus and I have already discussed it," Hermione said. Remus couldn't help the quirk of his lips at Harry's look of surprise at Hermione. Remus suspected Harry looked at her that way quite often.

Harry turned to Remus with his brow furrowed. Now that Harry had calmed, and things had been explained to him, he was obviously confused as to why Remus was present. Before Harry could ask, Remus pulled Teddy's dragon from his pocket. Harry smiled.

"Pure coincidence that I arrived when Hermione was here," Remus said, praying that his face didn't color. Hermione's cheeks had gone pink, but Harry didn't seem to notice.

"All right," Harry said with a sigh. "Drop the spell, Hermione." Hermione did so and Harry turned to Will. The boy still looked terrified.

"Hi, Will, I'm Harry Potter."

"I-I, know who you are," Will said in a whisper. Harry smiled.

"I want you to know, that I don't think that you've done anything wrong," Harry said. Will relaxed slightly. "But I think it would be best if you came with me to the Ministry and we got this all sorted. All right?" Will glanced at Hermione.

"Can Hermione come too?"

"Yes, Hermione is definitely coming too," Harry said. He glanced Hermione's way, still looking a bit upset with her that she had run. Remus couldn't blame Harry. Hermione was going to be lucky not to be arrested herself.

"I'll come with you as well, Harry, if you don't mind," Remus said.

"Yeah, that would probably help," Harry said. He turned to Will. "Can you walk on that ankle, do you think?"

"A little," Will replied.

"All right, we'll go through the Floo." Harry held an arm out to Will, who gingerly got to his feet. Harry put an arm around the boy's back and began to help him from the room.

"You two coming? Harry asked when Hermione and Remus didn't follow.

"Yes, we'll be there in just a minute, Harry," Hermione said as Remus stood.

"Remus," she said, but Remus shook his head.

"We should go, Hermione," he said. "We'll talk about it later." She bit her lip and looked up at him. Remus forced himself not to pull her into his arms and kiss her again.

"You're right," she finally agreed. She stared at him for a moment longer, then turned to leave the room. Remus pulled in a silent breath before he followed. One thing was certain. He was never going to be able to forget about that kiss.

Hermione and Remus followed Harry and Will through the Floo. The Auror department had their own Floo connection, to transport suspects without having to walk them through the entire Ministry. The room they arrived in was tiny, containing nothing save the Floo and a lone chair. Harry led them from the Floo to an interrogation room. Once Will was settled, Harry sent off a memo and the three adults stepped into the corridor to wait for the mediwitch to arrive.

"What's going to happen to him, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I'll talk to him and see what he knows," Harry said.

"I doubt he knows where the rest of the pack went," Remus said. "Felix never was one to confide in anyone."

"Felix?" Harry questioned. Remus nodded.

"Will's pack's Alpha was once a man named Michael. It appears that he and his mate, Ophelia died or were imprisoned after the Final Battle. They never returned to the pack, at any rate. Felix apparently took over, but he was never much of a leader, in my opinion. From the little that Will told us, their pack has lost a few members since and Felix has grown increasingly paranoid. Michael, while not what I would call kind, at least made sure that his pack members were well-fed and cared for. Ophelia was a mother figure to Will and I'm sure he was devastated when she didn't return. Felix, on the other hand, could never trust anyone. He was the one I had the most problems with when I tried to infiltrate their pack. I was only with them a week because of it. He was constantly challenging me to fight."

"Was Will born into the pack?" Harry asked.

"I don't know for sure, but I doubt it," Remus said. "It's more likely that he was bitten when he was young. Michael was one of Greyback's."

"Greyback's what?" Hermione asked.

"Greyback was his sire," Remus explained. "As he turned more and more people, and they turned more as well, Greyback began to splinter off his larger pack into smaller ones, with those select few that he trusted in charge of the smaller packs. It allowed Greyback more freedom to work for Voldemort instead of constantly worrying about his pack. It's why we had so much trouble getting any of the werewolves to turn to the Light side during the war. Almost all of them were either loyal to Greyback or terrified of him." The three of them looked through the one-way glass at the boy who was nervously looking around the room.

"What are you going to do if Will doesn't know anything, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"We'll have to try and find his family," Harry said. He turned to face her. "To be honest, Hermione, I'm a bit more worried about what is going to happen to you."

"Me? Why?"

"Hermione, you fled with a suspect," Harry said. Hermione scoffed.

"He's a twelve-year-old boy, Harry. He's hardly a hardened criminal."

"That doesn't matter. Barbary had reason to bring him in for questioning and you took him and left."

"I told you why I did that," Hermione protested.

"Hermione, I'm not disagreeing with you," Harry said. "That doesn't change what you did." Hermione began to worry her lip between her teeth.

"Are you going to arrest me?"

"No," Harry said. "But if Barbary or Satterfield demand it, someone will." Hermione snorted. She was positive Barbary would demand it and Satterfield would go right along with him. To be perfectly honest, Hermione didn't really care. She would have done the same thing again, regardless.

"I guess I'll just have to deal with that if it happens," she said with a shrug.

"Auror Potter," a voice said and they turned to see the mediwitch walking towards them.

"Just through here," Harry said. "We think it's a sprained ankle." The mediwitch nodded and walked into the room with Will. The three of them watched through the window as the woman ran a diagnostic spell and then pulled a few potions from her bag. When her exam was complete, she left the room and addressed Harry again.

"It's a sprain," she agreed. "The potions I've given him will help with the pain and heal it up in a few hours. He should stay off it until then."

"Thank you," Harry said and the mediwitch nodded before she left. Harry turned back to Hermione and Remus. "You can stay here and watch, but I can't let you come inside while I question him."

"We understand," Hermione said. Remus nodded in agreement.

"And for Merlin's sake, Hermione, don't go anywhere." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Auror Potter." Harry scowled at her and she laughed. Shaking his head in exasperation, he went back into the room with Will.

Remus stood in the corridor with Hermione and watched as Harry spoke with Will. Though they couldn't hear what was being said, Remus could read lips and body language well enough to figure out what had happened.

"Do you think they even bothered to look for him before they abandoned him?" Hermione asked bitterly.

"I'm sure some of them did," Remus said. They fell silent again. Remus tried not to fidget. He had shoved his hands into his trouser pockets so as not to brush against Hermione as they stood side by side. Hermione, on the other hand, was doing nothing but fidgeting. She crossed her arms over her chest, then dropped them to her sides, then clasped her hands in front of her. Remus could tell she was glancing at him from the corner of her eye every few minutes. He kept staring straight ahead.

Will started to cry and Harry put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze before passing him a conjured handkerchief. Remus heard a sniffle from beside him and turned to see Hermione wipe away a few tears on her cheeks. Without thinking about it, Remus put an arm around her. Hermione leaned into him and Remus closed his eyes for a moment. He wanted to kiss the top of her head and tell her everything was going to be all right. He wanted to pull her into his arms again and press her up against the wall. He wanted…Remus shook his head and let go of Hermione, instead conjuring a handkerchief as Harry had.

"Thank you," she said with a watery smile. Remus simply nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

Harry spoke with Will for a few more minutes and then joined them in the corridor once more.

"He really doesn't know anything," Harry said.

"We already suspected as much," Hermione said.

"I did ask him about places they'd stayed before," Harry continued. "He wasn't too sure, but there were a couple that were near villages that he remembered. Do you think they'd go back there?"

"If Michael were still in charge, maybe," Remus replied. "But with as paranoid as I know Felix to be, no."

"I didn't think so," Harry said.

"What are you going to do with him, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"He wouldn't tell me much about how he came to be with the pack," Harry said. "I don't know if he doesn't remember or he just doesn't want to say. He said he was seven when it happened, but he doesn't know exactly how old he is now. He did remember his last name though." Remus was relieved. They might be able to find his family.

"How did it happen?" Hermione questioned.

"He said he really didn't remember, but from what I could get out of him, I suspect Death Eaters came knocking, his parents refused allegiance, and they took Will as punishment. Whether he was bitten in front of them, I have no idea."

"That's doubtful," Remus said. "Even Death Eaters would have trouble controlling a transformed werewolf and Greyback would have never gotten into a cage willingly. It's more likely Will was given to him or one of the others as some kind of reward and he was bitten at the next full moon." Hermione shuddered and Remus barely stopped himself from putting an arm around her again.

"I think you should talk to him, Hermione," Harry said. "He kept asking about you while I was in there. He wanted to make sure you were still here."

"He was very close with Ophelia when I was with their pack," Remus said. "There weren't many other women in the pack and those that were, weren't interested in being mothers. You're likely the first person to show him any kind of compassion in a long while, Hermione."

"He might remember more about his family or what happened to him," Harry explained.

"Of course, I'll talk to him."

"I don't think that's a good idea." They all turned around to see Ron striding up the corridor.

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"Because Jensen Barbary is here ranting about how Hermione helped a suspect escape," Ron said. "He's insisting Hermione be arrested. What the bloody hell is going on?" Hermione sighed. Remus was sure that she was tired of telling the same story over and over. Remus and Harry gave Ron a quick recap instead.

"Does Robards know?" Harry asked.

"Not yet. He's still out working on that other," Ron paused and glanced at Remus and Hermione. "That other thing."

"Right," Harry said. He raked a hand through his hair, making it stand up comically on his head. Hermione reached out to flatten it down and Harry scowled at her. Remus smiled; Harry looked so much like James in that moment.

"Who is Barbary talking to?" Harry asked.

"Williamson," Ron said his lip curling in disgust.

"Fuck," Harry swore.

"Harry!" Hermione snapped.

"Now is not the time to be worried about my language, Hermione," Harry said. He sighed and appeared to be deep in thought. "We're going to have to go to Kingsley."

"Harry, I don't think we need to bother him with this," Hermione said.

"Hermione, do you want to be arrested?" Harry demanded.

"Well, no, but," Harry held up a hand to interrupt her.

"Listen, Williamson is-"

"A huge prick," Ron finished. Hermione glared at Ron, but he didn't look sorry in the least.

"Right," Harry replied. "He's resentful that Ron, Neville and I didn't have to take our N.E.W.T.S. to start training and that the training was as condensed as it was."

"He had to take his Potions N.E.W.T. three times before he passed it," Ron said with a grin. Remus held back a chuckle. He didn't think Hermione would appreciate it.

"He has a huge chip on his shoulder and he would love to be able to arrest you, since you're our best friend," Harry explained.

"Williamson is the only one around right now besides Harry and me and Neville," Ron said. "And he'd keep the three of us out of it, claim we're too close to you."

"He wouldn't be wrong," Hermione said.

"No, but that's why we need Kingsley here," Harry said. "I won't let Williamson railroad you."

"You're forgetting that I'm actually guilty, Harry."

"There were extenuating circumstances, Hermione." Hermione sighed. "Besides, Kingsley will want to know about this. Now that all the obvious supporters of Voldemort are gone, he's focusing on the other corruption that's been going on since Fudge was in charge."

"I though Barbary was relatively new," Hermione said.

"He is," Remus said. "But that doesn't mean he can't be bending the rules or flat-out breaking them." Hermione chewed on her lip and Remus was again tempted to pull it from her teeth. He pulled in a breath through his nose, trying to keep his composure.

"Look, you go in and talk to Will," Harry said. "Ron will make sure no one comes back here. I'll go and get Kingsley."

"What if he's not here, Harry?" Hermione said. Remus could tell she was starting to worry. Truthfully, he was as well. Remus had gotten a glimpse of Williamson's feelings about the trio when the Aurors had come to Hermione's house to fetch Annie. Remus did not want Williamson in charge of Hermione's arrest.

"We'll hide you at Grimmauld until we find him," Harry said. "Don't worry, Hermione. I'm not going to let you be arrested." Harry kissed her cheek and squeezed her hand.

"Might want to take the back way," Ron said and Harry nodded, hurrying the opposite direction from which Ron had come.

"That's him?" Ron asked once Harry was gone. Ron was pointing at Will through the window.

"Yes," Hermione said. "I should go in and talk to him."

"I'll be right out here," Ron said.

"Thanks, Ron." Remus tried not to bristle at the fond smile she gave Ron. Hermione walked into the room and sat down next to Will. Remus and Ron watched through the window. Will visibly relaxed once Hermione was in the room. Remus watched her as she interacted with the boy, a small smile on his face.

"It's going to be all right," Hermione said. After telling her a bit about his family, Will had gotten upset again, wondering about them. Hermione hoped that they hadn't been killed after Will had been taken.

"What's going to happen to me?" Will asked, sniffling a bit, but clearly trying not to cry again.

"I don't know, we'll have to wait for Harry to get back, but I know he'll try to find your family."

"They're probably dead," Will said. "Or if they're not, they won't want me."

"Why would you say that?" Will shrugged.

"Felix told me."

"Well, I wouldn't listen to a word Felix had to say," Hermione said firmly. "It sounds like he wasn't the best leader."

"Michael was better," Will said quietly. "He wasn't nice, but he always made sure we had food and shelter. And he never hurt me just for the fun of it, only when I did something wrong." Hermione scowled at this. Werewolf or not, he was a child. No one should have been hurting him at all.

"And Michael let Ophelia take care of me." Hermione saw his eyes tear up again.

"You miss her a lot, don't you?" Will nodded. "Were there any other children in your pack?"

"Just one, but she died after her first full moon," Will said. "Michael said she was probably a Squib. They usually don't have enough magic to make it through the transformation." Hermione nodded, having read the same during her research all those years ago when she had done her werewolf essay for Professor Snape.

Hermione brushed a lock of hair out of Will's eyes and wondered about his family. If they were still alive, they likely thought he was dead. If Harry could find them, would they still want Will? What Felix said wasn't entirely untrue. Many families did abandon children that had been bitten, too frightened or embarrassed to deal with having a werewolf in the family. Remus really had been quite lucky in that regard.

Hermione glanced up toward the one-way glass, even though she couldn't see Remus on her side. Every time she thought about him, she felt herself blush slightly. She rubbed a finger across her lips, remembering the feel of his lips on hers. He'd been a bit standoffish since, except for when he had comforted her earlier. She supposed it wasn't really fair to say that. They were in the Ministry after all and there were too many other people around. Still, she just really wanted to talk to him to see where they went from here.

A noise at the door had both she and Will looking up. She was surprised when Harry walked in, followed by Kingsley. Harry hadn't even been gone more than ten minutes. Will's eyes widened and he moved closer to Hermione. Hermione couldn't blame him. Kingsley did look a bit imposing, even if you didn't know he was the Minister of Magic.

"Well, Miss Granger, it seems you have really gotten yourself into it this time," he said in his deep baritone, amusement in his eyes. Hermione couldn't help but grin.

"Yes, Minister, I suppose I have." Will's eyes got even wider when Hermione called Kingsley by his title.

"You must be Will," Kingsley said, holding out a hand to the boy. Will stared at it until Hermione gave him a little nudge. He finally stuck out his own and shook Kingsley's hand.

"H-h-hello," Will stuttered out. Kingsley smiled and Will relaxed slightly. Kingsley had a way of putting people at ease once he'd met them.

"I've heard a bit about what happened today, but I'd like to hear it from each of you as well," Kingsley said. "However, I think we should do this somewhere else. The longer we are here, the more likely it is that Will and Hermione are discovered." He waved his wand and a door appeared in the back of the interrogation room. Hermione knew it would lead to his office.

Kingsley rose and opened the door to the corridor. He ushered Ron and Remus into the room. Hermione looked up and locked eyes with Remus. She tried to read his face or his eyes, but he was keeping a neutral expression on his face.

"Auror Weasley, I would appreciate it if you stayed here and monitored the actions of your fellow Aurors. Let me know immediately if there is any change," Kingsley said formally. Ron nodded.

"Of course, Minister," he replied, immediately going into work mode.

"I should be going," Remus said.

"No, stay," Hermione immediately said, then colored as she saw Harry and Ron looking at her strangely. "I just mean, what if Remus has information about, about the pack that Will might not know." Remus looked down at his feet and Hermione thought that she saw a pinkening of his cheeks for a brief moment. When he looked up, he was back to his previous countenance and Hermione decided she must have imagined it.

"I mean, unless you need to get home," she added lamely. Kingsley turned to Remus.

"Any information you might have would be useful."

"I've actually told Harry everything I remember," Remus said. "But if I think of anything else, I will be sure to let you know."

"Very well," Kingsley said. "Come through to my office and you may use the Floo there to leave. No need to arouse any kind of suspicion."

"Of course," Remus said and Hermione wondered if they might get a moment alone before Remus left. Everyone, save Ron, followed Kingsley through the door to his office. When they arrived, Kingsley waved his wand at the fireplace, releasing the wards so Remus could leave. Hermione bit back a sigh. They obviously wouldn't be talking today.

Remus said his good-byes and turned to the fireplace, picking up a bit of Floo powder and throwing it in the grate. Just before he stepped inside to call out his destination, his eyes met Hermione's again. Giving her an almost imperceptible nod, Remus disappeared. Hermione felt a bit bereft.

While Kingsley was informing his secretary that they weren't to be disturbed, Hermione turned to Harry.

"How did you get back so fast?" Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"I met the Kingsley in the corridor, he said he had already heard." Hermione groaned. If Kingsley knew, then it was likely all over the Ministry by now. Keeping it from Mr. Satterfield, at least temporarily, seemed to be a lost cause.

The Minister came back into the room and smiled at the three of them.

"All right, let's get this done, shall we?"

Will, told his story first, Hermione sitting under an isolation charm so as not to overhear and have her own account tainted. When Will finished, Hermione was released from the enchantment and she explained what had happened since Barbary had summoned her from her desk.

"Barbary's on the war path," Harry said. "Insisting that Williamson find Hermione immediately and arrest her." Kingsley looked thoughtful for a moment before he turned to Will.

"Are you hungry?"

"A little," Will admitted.

"Let's get you something to eat then," Kingsley said. He gestured to Will, who looked uncertainly at Hermione. She gave him an encouraging smile and Kingsley led the boy to his outer office.

"Miss Stebbins, please see that my young friend here gets something to eat. You may put him in the conference room."

"Yes, sir." Once Kingsley returned, he warded his door with several privacy charms and then turned seriously to Harry and Hermione.

"I am going to explain why I was on my way to the Auror department when I ran into you, Harry. What I am going to tell you does not leave this room. I must have your word." Hermione looked at Harry who was just as confused as she was, but the two of them agreed.

"Jensen Barbary is a mole."