A/N - Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Enjoy!

Chapter 54

Confrontations

30 March 2000

"Ugh, that. Come inside," Hermione said, opening the door and stepping into the house. Not only was she still annoyed with the man from the pub, Hermione was hungry and just really wanted to talk to Remus about what Gwendolyn had told her. She had been intending to Floo him as soon as she'd eaten something and had been quite happy to see him in her back garden when she arrived.

As Hermione stepped towards the coat rack, she realized Remus wasn't behind her. Brow furrowing, she turned around and saw him still standing outside looking, well, she wasn't sure what to call the expression in his face.

"Remus?" she questioned. He finally followed her into the house and Hermione shut the door behind him.

"Have you had dinner?" she asked as she took off her coat and hung it up. "I didn't eat anything at the pub. I thought I'd just cook up some pasta and make a salad."

"Hermione," he said, and Hermione looked up at him. Her eyes widened at the expression on his face. He looked almost, angry, but she wasn't sure why. "What happened?"

"I met Gwendolyn at a pub after work to talk about Satterfield," Hermione said. "A Muggle pub. I bumped into someone as I was walking towards Gwendolyn's table." Hermione turned and walked toward the couch. When she faced Remus again, he looked slightly less tense. "The man I bumped into, he asked if Gwendolyn and I would like to join him and his friend. I said no, and he walked away."

"I thought that was the end of it," Hermione said as she sighed and crossed her arms in front of her.

"But it wasn't?" Remus asked. She shook her head.

"When he saw us leave the pub, he followed. Gwendolyn had already walked off and I was turning to go back to the Ministry to Apparate when he grabbed my arm. I stumbled and lost my balance and fell into him. That's probably why you could smell him." Hermione's irritation was growing again.

"And then he wouldn't take no for an answer," she said, throwing her hands up in the air. "He kept asking me if I would join him for a drink and for my number, even after I said no multiple times. He put his hand on my arm and kept giving me this stupid grin." Hermione continued her rant about idiotic men who thought every woman should fall at their feet with just a wink and a smile until she heard Remus growl. She looked up sharply and saw that he looked furious. His hands were fisted at his sides and his jaw was clenched. His eyes were swirling amber and Hermione was quite sure it wasn't from desire as it had been the last time.

Her eyes narrowed. Why was he so upset? Surely, he didn't think that she had done something to lead this man on. Surely, he wasn't thinking it was her fault.

Remus could feel the muscle working in his jaw. He tried to say something, but he couldn't. His hands were fisted so tightly, he could feel his nails cutting into his palms. Hermione continued her rant, clearly just as upset about the situation as he was, but all Remus could think was finding the wanker and beating him to a bloody pulp.

Ever since he had smelled the scent of the other man on her, Remus had been trying not to jump to conclusions. This was Hermione, he trusted her. When she had explained that she bumped into someone in the pub, Remus had relaxed slightly. The scent had been weaker once she removed her coat. He had forced the flair of jealousy down at first. It wasn't Hermione's fault she had been hit on in the pub.

But when she told him what happened when she tried to leave, he hadn't been able to help his anger. He couldn't get the image of someone touching her after she'd said no out of his head. The wolf was both possessive and protective, but this far removed from one moon and more than two weeks until the next allowed Remus a bit more control than he might have had if the timing had been different. Otherwise, he likely would have gone to try and hunt the man down, as futile as that might have been. Still, he growled before he could stop it. Hermione's eyes snapped up to his and they immediately narrowed. Remus tried to get himself under control as she stared at him.

"You don't think," she began, then stopped and shook her head. She looked at him again and he tried to say something, but he was having trouble forming words. His nostrils flared again, and her eyes narrowed further before she glared at him.

"Are you, you're not thinking this is my fault?" she said angrily. When he didn't immediately respond, she looked incensed for a moment, the expression changing to disappointment seconds later. "I can't believe you would, would think that." She turned slightly away from him, shaking her head.

"No!" Remus finally shouted. Hermione jumped and stared at him in shock. He drew in a breath through his nose, his hands still fisted.

"No," he said again, quieter this time. "I don't think that."

"Then why are you so angry?" she demanded, hands on her hips. "Is this some stupid, unwarranted jealousy thing because I've had to deal with that before and-"

"He touched you," Remus interrupted with a growl. "Even after you said no more than once, he still touched you." Hermione's expression softened.

"Remus, he just put his hand on my arm," she said. "He didn't hurt me."

"You said no." Hermione took a step forward. He watched her until she stood right in front of him. He had calmed somewhat and when she reached for his hand, he let her take it. She ran a thumb back and forth over his knuckles which calmed him further. Sighing, she leaned into him and after a few seconds, he wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her tightly to him.

Hermione sighed in relief when Remus wrapped his arm around her and hugged her. She hadn't even noticed how angry Remus was getting at first. The fact that he had really been angry with the man from the pub had made sense once she'd realized. But she never expected that he would get this upset about it. She could take care of herself, after all. Maybe the way she'd thrown herself into Remus' arms when she'd seen him had led him to believe that she had been more frightened than she let on.

Truthfully, she hadn't been scared at all. As a witch, she was more than capable of protecting herself from a Muggle, as long as she had her wand. She had simply been happy to see Remus after her long day of speculation as to what was going to happen after the article came out. The two glasses of wine she'd had at the pub had been a part of it too, she supposed.

She finally felt the rigidity leave Remus' body and she pulled back to look at him. There was still a bit of amber in his eyes, but it had lessened significantly. She kissed him gently on the lips, then smiled as she pulled back. He stared at her for a moment before he reached up with one hand and cupped her face, then kissed her. His other hand went to the small of her back and he pulled her tightly against him. Hermione wound her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. Before she could register what had happened, he had her up against the wall, his body pressing into hers, as he nearly snogged the life out of her.

When Hermione finally pulled away, panting for breath, his mouth went to her neck, nipping and sucking his way to her collarbone. She buried her hands in his hair and pulled his mouth back up to hers. Remus growled again, a sound Hermione decided she was starting to like, at least in this context. She suspected that his actions now were related to what had happened earlier and while it maybe wasn't the best idea, Hermione found that she didn't especially care.

She wasn't sure how long they snogged against the wall, but one of his legs had moved between hers and his hand was under her top when she broke the kiss again to breathe. Remus immediately moved back to her neck and Hermione was unbuttoning his shirt when the ringing of the telephone pierced the room. They both stopped and stared at each other, before Remus moved back to kiss her again.

"Ignore it," he whispered against her lips. She nodded and stuck a hand inside his half-opened shirt. Remus hissed and nipped at her neck as Hermione's head fell back against the wall. The telephone stopped ringing but started again just a few moments later. Still ignoring it, Remus claimed her mouth again, pulling a leg up around his hip. Hermione moved against him and the ringing stopped. She had just decided that they should perhaps try to get upstairs when the telephone rang for the third time. Her muddled brain finally processed the fact that no one actually called her except her parents and if they had rung three times in a row, she should probably answer.

"Remus," she said as he licked at a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. She mewled and he did it again.

"Remus," she said again, this time more successful in pushing him away slightly. "Remus, I have to get that."

"You don't," he said, trying to capture her lips again. She shook her head.

"I do," she said. "It's probably my parents." It was like someone had doused him with a bucket of cold water. He immediately stepped back from her, his hands falling to his sides as his face turned red. Hermione nearly broke down into hysterical giggles. She hurried toward the kitchen and picked up the phone.

"Hello," Hermione greeted, a little breathlessly. "Oh, hi, Mum. Sorry, I just…walked in." She turned away from Remus as her face flushed.

Remus stood trying to collect himself. He raked a hand through his hair before looking down and quickly rebuttoning his shirt. He closed his eyes and blew out a breath as Hermione spoke quietly to her mother.

Scrubbing a hand down his face, he sat down on the couch and propped his elbows on his knees. Despite fighting against it, his mind went immediately to what he and Hermione might be doing at this very second if the phone hadn't rung. Of course, as soon as he thought about the fact that it was her parents on the other end of the line, those thoughts flew instantly from his head. He was quite sure Hermione's parents wouldn't want him thinking about defiling their daughter in their own living room.

He shook his head, knowing he had gotten carried away. He had been upset about what had happened at the pub because of the man's inability to listen when he was told no, true. But Remus had been jealous and stupidly decided he needed to 'mark his territory'. It was utterly ridiculous given that the chances of Hermione running into the man again were extremely remote. But instinct had taken over and Remus had let it.

There was a noise and Remus looked up. Hermione walked back into the living room and sat down next to him on the couch. She leaned against his shoulder.

"What did your parents have to say?" Remus managed to ask, his face coloring again.

"They're coming for a visit."

"Oh? When?"

"Tomorrow." Remus turned and looked at her incredulously.

"Tomorrow?" he repeated. Hermione nodded.

"They've been trying to reach me all week. My mum said it was a last-minute decision, they got a great deal on the airfare or something. They're also insisting that I get voicemail because they were just about to call one of the neighbors to check on me." Remus wasn't sure what voicemail was, but he guessed it was some kind of answering system.

"How long are they staying?" he asked, imagining them being interrupted by one of the older neighbors that seemed to populate Hermione's neighborhood and felt his face heat.

"A week," Hermione said. He nodded. She sighed. "I'm sorry for the interruption."

"You don't have to apologize," he said. They sat in silence for a few moments.

"Remus," she finally said.

"Yes?"

"Is everything, that is, are you still upset about…what happened?" Remus moved to wrap an arm around her. She rested her head against his shoulder again and he kissed her temple.

"I was never upset with you. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. I just," he shook his head and sighed. "Sometimes my…instincts take over and that's why I was so…livid that anyone would treat you like that. Not that I wouldn't have been upset anyway."

"You know that I can take care of myself, right?" she said.

"Yes, but because of my…nature, I'm protective of those that I, er, care about." He stopped and looked down at the floor. He had seen Ron's jealousy and given what Hermione had said earlier, Remus was positive that Hermione hadn't appreciated it. He didn't want to admit to her that he'd been jealous, but he knew he couldn't lie about it either.

"What you said earlier," Remus began. "About…jealousy. I, well, I suppose that was part of it too. I'm sorry." She took his free hand, holding it between both of hers. "I trust you, Hermione. It's not about that."

"I know," she said. He pulled back from her slightly, so he could look her in the eye.

"I can't deny that I'm a little bit possessive," he said. "Again, it's…instinct. I try very much to keep it under control and I'm usually successful. I just, I don't want you hurt."

"Remus, like I said, I can take care of myself."

"I know that you can," he said with a smile. "I've seen it more than once. But I'm still going to want to protect you."

"What does that mean exactly? That you're going to growl at anyone who looks at me?" she said in exasperation, letting go of his hand and sitting up straighter on the couch. "Because I can promise you, Remus Lupin, that I'm not going to put up with that." Remus held back a laugh. He'd had a very similar conversation with Dora, although that conversation had been punctuated with a bit more swearing on Dora's part.

"Did I growl at the waiter the last time we went out for dinner?" Hermione frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

"You didn't notice the way he was looking at you?" Remus asked.

"He wasn't looking at me like that."

"I promise you, he was," Remus said. "It happens more often than you think." Hermione looked at him disbelievingly. He reached out and tucked a curl behind her ear. "Sometimes it makes me wonder why you bother with me when there are so many other men that would be so much better for you."

"Please don't start that," Hermione said, grabbing his hand. "I don't want anyone else." Remus smiled at her.

"Lucky for me," he said, raising their joined hands and kissing the back of hers. She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. Remus returned the kiss for a moment before images of her parents walking through the door flooded his mind. Even though he knew they weren't arriving until tomorrow, he couldn't help but glance towards the front door.

"Remus?" she said in confusion as he broke the kiss.

"Didn't you say something about being hungry?" he asked.

"I've forgotten all about that," she said, moving towards him again. Remus kissed her chastely before pulling back. She opened her mouth to protest when her stomach growled. Remus chuckled as Hermione huffed in exasperation. He stood from the couch and held out a hand to her, pulling her to her feet.

"Pasta, I think you said?" He led her into the kitchen and pulled out a chair at the table for her.

"Why am I sitting down if I need to make dinner?"

"I'll cook," Remus said. Hermione eyed him speculatively.

"Do you know how to use Muggle appliances?"

"My mother was a Muggle, if you remember," Remus said.

"Oh, right."

"And," he said, bending down to the cupboard where she kept the pots and pans, "she taught me how to cook a few things." He filled the pot with water from the sink and set in on the cooker, before turning to Hermione. "I did live on my own for many years you know." Hermione blushed.

"You don't have to cook for me," she said.

"I want to," he replied with a smile. He turned back to the cupboards to pull out the pasta and sauce. It would give him something to think about other than Hermione's lips. Or her neck. Or her breasts.

Stop it, he admonished himself, glad he had his back to her. There was no way he was going to get himself worked up again, only to have visions of her parents pop into his head and kill the mood. He would end up making Hermione think it was something about her. It was stupid, he knew, they had the entire night alone, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. Remus only hoped that he wouldn't have the same problem once the Grangers returned to Australia.

"Remus?" Hermione questioned.

"Yes," Remus replied, turning to face her when she didn't respond for a few seconds. She was looking at the tabletop and biting her lip. "Hermione?"

"I'd like to, to tell my parents about us when they're here," she said.

"That's, that's entirely up to you," he managed, hoping he didn't look as petrified as he felt. She looked up at him through her lashes.

"I want them to meet you."

"Oh, I, uh, of course," he said.

"You don't want to meet them?" Hermione asked, looking worried.

"No, it's not that I don't want to, it's just," he trailed off, unsure how to articulate his ridiculous insecurities to her. Hermione rose from her chair and walked over to him.

"They're going to like you," she said. "I know they will." Remus nodded and pulled her to him. She stepped happily into his embrace and he closed his eyes, wondering if this would be one of the last times he would get to hold her like this. Because despite what she had said weeks ago, Remus knew that her parents' approval was extremely important to her. And if her parents didn't approve of Remus, well, he didn't like to think about what might happen.

2 April 2000

Hermione and her mother walked into the small café for lunch. Hermione's dad had gone to play golf with a few of his old friends and Hermione and her mum had decided to do a bit of shopping and have lunch together. Her parents had arrived on Friday, but Hermione had changed her appointment with Minerva to Friday after meeting Gwendolyn on Thursday. As such, Hermione had left for Hogwarts right after work and so she hadn't had a chance to speak to Gwendolyn that day. As far as the rumor mill at the Ministry, Hermione had heard that the Minister had personally gone to Satterfield's office late that morning. When Kingsley left, Satterfield had not been with him, nor had the man come out of his office the rest of the day. Hermione had spoken to Gwendolyn yesterday, but her friend hadn't been sure about what the outcome of the meeting with the Minister had been either. Of course, it didn't stop anyone from speculating and opinions ranged from Satterfield being let off once again, to being sacked, to being sent to Azkaban. The last was highly unlikely, of course, but Hermione couldn't deny that she would like to see her former boss there.

She and her mother were seated and given menus to peruse. Hermione was grateful for the time alone, as she had decided to tell her mum about Remus before she told her father. While her dad was the more laid-back one in general, when it came to Hermione and dating, well, there was no one good enough for his Princess.

"Are you finally going to tell me?" her mother asked once they had ordered their lunch. Hermione looked at her mum in surprise.

"Tell you what?"

"Whatever it is that's been eating away at you since your dad and I got here." Hermione laughed under her breath.

"It's, well, it's someone, actually," Hermione said.

"New beau?" her mum asked with a smirk. Hermione nodded, blushing. "How long have you been dating?"

"Officially? Not long, only about three weeks. But we've had feelings for one another for a while."

"When do we get to meet him?"

"I want to introduce you while you're here, but," Hermione paused and bit her lip.

"But?" her mum prompted.

"There are a few things you should know first." Jean's brow furrowed.

"What kind of things?" she asked, clearly concerned.

"He's…older than me," Hermione said. She saw her mother visibly relax.

"Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing," her mum said. "You've always been more mature than most people your age. It's one of the reasons you and Ron didn't work out, isn't it?" Hermione nodded.

"From what you've told me about," her mum lowered her voice to a whisper, "how much longer witches and wizards live, what's five or ten years?" Hermione bit her lip again.

"He's older than that?" Hermione nodded again. As Hermione had once told Remus, her parents were older than him, they were older than even Molly and Arthur. Their dental practice had been well-established before they decided to have children and then her mum had had a hard time falling pregnant. Hermione wasn't worried that Remus was close to her parents' age, technically, they were old enough to be his parents. But still, twenty years was quite a long time for Muggles.

"How much older?" her mum asked.

"Twenty years," Hermione mumbled, looking down at her lap.

"I'm sorry, did you say twenty?"

"Well, technically, nineteen and a half," Hermione said, risking a glance at her mother. She looked a bit shocked. Before she could say anything, the waitress returned with their lunches. Hermione poured dressing onto her salad and looked at her mother again. Jean sat motionless in front of her, staring at her plate in silence.

"Mum?" Hermione said tentatively. Her mother startled a bit and looked at her.

"Hermione, I," she sighed and shook her head. "You know that your father and I just want you to be happy, but twenty years?"

"I know," Hermione said. "But, Mum, I am happy." She glanced around the café to be sure no one was listening to their conversation. "And like you said earlier, we live longer, so twenty years to us is more like five or ten to you."

"Hermione, I, this is going to take a bit of getting used to," her mum said.

"I know," Hermione replied. She debated internally for a moment before she looked at her mother again. "There's more." Her mother looked at her warily.

"He has a son." Her mother stared at her.

"How old?"

"He'll be two in a few days," Hermione said. "And he is the sweetest little boy, Mum."

"Hermione, you know that I love you, but sweetheart, you should be out going to clubs and parties and having fun. Not being pushed into the role of mum at twenty."

"It's not like that," Hermione said. "Remus lives with his mother-in-law and she is helping to raise Teddy. Remus doesn't expect me to be Teddy's mum. And besides, when have I ever given you the indication that I'm the kind of person that wants to go clubbing?" Her mother smiled at that, but then her brow furrowed.

"Remus?" she said. "Why does that name sound familiar?" Hermione swore in her head. She hadn't intended to say his name just yet. Her mother was deep in thought and Hermione knew it was only a matter of time before the woman remembered that Remus had been Hermione's professor.

"Mum, he was my-" Hermione began, but her mother's head whipped up at the same time.

"Hermione Jean," she hissed. "He was your professor!"

"Mum, he hasn't been my professor for years. Calm down," Hermione said, glancing around to be sure that they weren't attracting attention.

"I will not calm down!" her mother said, louder than Hermione would have liked. "Just how long has this man had feelings for you?"

"God, Mum!" Hermione returned, disgusted by what her mother was insinuating. "Did you miss the part where I said he had a son and that he lived with his mother-in-law? Meaning that he was married at one point?"

"Answer my question," her mother demanded.

"Since sometime last fall," Hermione said. She wasn't sure exactly when Remus' feelings had started, but she knew it had been before the kiss under the mistletoe. Her mother sat back in her chair, seeming to accept Hermione's answer.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," her mother said with a sigh. "This is just all a bit overwhelming."

"I know, but, Mum, I really am happy." Hermione looked earnestly at her mother.

"I just don't understand how this all came about," her mother said.

"We've been friends for a while," Hermione said. "Remus' wife died in the war and Harry is Teddy's godfather. You know what Molly Weasley is like. Remus and Teddy and Andromeda got adopted into the Weasley family, so we saw each other often. Things just sort of developed from there." She looked up at her mother.

"I want you to know that I was the one that pursued him," Hermione said. "He gave me all kinds of reasons and excuses as to why we shouldn't be together, but I wouldn't let it go."

"What were his reasons?" her mum asked curiously.

"Pretty much everything you've mentioned," Hermione said with a shrug. "He was too old, he had a son, he was once my teacher." She didn't continue, not intending to make things worse by telling her mother Remus was a werewolf. Hermione thought she might have mentioned it after third year, but she couldn't be certain. She was already starting to censor what she told her parents about Hogwarts by then.

"What made him change his mind?"

"Ginny, actually. She told him to stop being stupid," Hermione said with a small smile. Her mum chuckled. She had only met the redhead a handful of times, but Ginny was not one to hide her personality. Hermione's mother studied her.

"You're truly happy?"

"I am," Hermione said with a smile. "Happier than I've been in a long time."

"I'm not saying I'm completely on board with this yet, but I do want you to be happy, Hermione." Hermione smiled and rose from the table, moving to give her mother a hug. Her mum kissed her cheek and Hermione returned to her seat, but not before casting an inconspicuous warming charm on her mother's soup.

"So, what does he do for a living?" her mother asked as they both finally tucked into their lunches. Hermione swore in her head again.

"He's doing some tutoring right now," Hermione said. "In the fall, he is probably going to go back to teaching part-time."

"Only part-time?" her mother asked. Hermione shrugged.

"He wants to be with Teddy while he's still small."

"But I thought you said that Remus' mother-in-law was helping to raise Teddy."

"I did," Hermione replied. "But that doesn't mean that Remus doesn't want to be there."

"What about his father-in-law?"

"Killed in the war," Hermione said. "He was a Muggle-born too." Her mother shook her head sadly.

"So much hatred," she said. Hermione nodded in agreement. They ate in silence for a few minutes.

"You know your father is going to have a hard time with this," her mum said.

"I know," Hermione sighed. "That's why I told you first." Her mum snorted in amusement.

"Hoping I'll soften the blow, are you?"

"Maybe," Hermione said, looking at her mother hopefully.

"You have to be the one to tell him," her mum said pointing her spoon in Hermione's direction. "But invite Remus to dinner on Tuesday. Your father will behave." Hermione grinned.

"Thanks, Mum."

"How did it go?" Remus asked as he and Hermione sat in his living room. She had arrived just after Teddy's bath and after a few minutes of excitement from his son, Hermione had read Teddy a story and then put him to bed. Remus and Hermione were now curled up on the couch together. Andromeda had retired to her room.

"It was all right," she said, a bit evasively in Remus' opinion.

"Hermione," he prodded. She sighed.

"My mum was a bit taken aback by the age difference," she said. "But she told me she just wants me to be happy and I am." Somehow, Remus suspected that her mother had been more than a 'bit' surprised, but he didn't press the issue.

"And your father?"

"He had a harder time with it," Hermione admitted. "But that's really nothing to do with you. He had that reaction when he found out about Ron and Anthony too."

"I suspect that his reaction to me was different than it was to either Ron or Anthony," Remus said. Hermione looked up at him from where she was snuggled into his side.

"It doesn't matter, Remus," she said. "It's my life and I can date who I like."

"I know that your parents' approval is important to you, Hermione. You don't have to pretend that it isn't."

"I'm not," she insisted. "But if they're judging you just because of your age and not who you are, then they don't get a say." He looked at her skeptically. She sat up straighter and took his hands in hers.

"Do I want my parents to accept you? Of course, I do. Just as Andromeda has accepted me. But if they don't for reasons that simply don't matter, then no, I don't care what they say." Then she leaned forward and kissed him. Remus let himself get lost in her for a few moments, before he pulled back.

"They want you to come to dinner on Tuesday," Hermione said. "And I know after they meet you, they won't have any concerns."

"Do they know everything?" Remus asked, keeping hold of one of her hands and rubbing a thumb across her knuckles.

"They know about Teddy and that you were my professor."

"You didn't tell them I was a werewolf?" Hermione bit her lip.

"Not yet."

"Hermione," he said with a sigh, shaking his head.

"I want them to base their opinion of you on you, Remus."

"And what shall I tell them when they ask about my scars? Because you know they're going to ask."

"You could have gotten them in the war," she said, almost defiantly, dropping his hand.

"I thought you weren't ashamed of what I am," he said.

"I'm not!" she insisted.

"They why won't you tell your parents?"

"It's not that I won't tell them, I just haven't told them yet!"

"Didn't want to overwhelm them with all of my faults?" Remus asked. Hermione looked up at him and while he wasn't surprised to see the shock on her face, he didn't expect the anger.

"Are you saying Teddy is a fault?"

"Of course not," Remus said immediately.

"That's not what it sounded like."

"You know I didn't mean my son!"

"No, just everything else about you, right?" Remus sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face.

"Hermione," he said tiredly.

"No," she said. "You told me that you weren't going to do this anymore."

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I knew that this would happen."

"Knew what would happen?"

"I knew that your parents wouldn't be able to accept certain things about me and you haven't even told them everything!"

"You don't know what my parents have or haven't accepted!" Hermione retorted. "You've never even spoken to them!"

"The two of you are going to wake up Teddy," a voice said from the doorway. Hermione and Remus spun to see Andromeda standing there, arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm sorry, Andromeda," Remus said immediately. Hermione apologized as well.

"A privacy charm wouldn't go amiss," Andromeda said, not commenting further on their argument. Remus nodded and his mother-in-law turned to go back upstairs. When he looked to Hermione, she had her back to him.

"Hermione," he began, putting a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged him off. Remus sighed.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did." She turned towards him and he cursed himself when he saw she was crying. He reached out a tentative hand to her and she let herself be pulled into his arms.

"I'm sorry," he said again and then relaxed when he felt her arms go around him.

"I'll tell my parents that you're a werewolf if you want me to," she said quietly.

"Why don't we wait and see if they ask about my scars," he said. "And then we can tell them together." She looked up at him and nodded. He brushed the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs.

"All right." She rested her head back against his chest and he pulled her closer to him, kissing the top of her head.

"Remus?" she said a few minutes later.

"Yes?"

"I'm not ashamed of you."

"I know." She looked up at him again and he leaned down and kissed her. When they pulled apart, Hermione smiled at him tentatively. He returned it and she hugged him again.

"I should go," she said. Remus nodded, even though he didn't want to let go of her quite yet. But with her parents at her house and Andromeda and Teddy here, there really wasn't anywhere for them to go for privacy. He would just have to be patient. He kissed her one more time, assured her he would be at the dinner Tuesday and then watched her go through the Floo.

When she had gone, Remus sighed and sat down on the couch, elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. He was exhausted and he hadn't even met her parents yet.

"Everything all right?" Andromeda asked. "I heard the Floo."

"It's fine," Remus said. "I am sorry that we were so loud." She came the rest of the way into the room and sat down in the armchair opposite him.

"How do you feel about this dinner?" she asked. When Remus looked at her in surprise she chuckled. "I was not trying to eavesdrop, but it was not all that difficult to hear what the two of you were arguing about."

"I, I'm just afraid that Hermione isn't going to get the outcome that she wants."

"You do not give yourself enough credit," Andromeda said.

"Honestly, Andromeda, with all the baggage I carry, what parent would be glad their child was dating me?"

"I was." He looked at her and she smiled at him.

"Now maybe, but you can't tell me that you were happy when you first found out about me."

"I won't deny that I had a few reservations, but none of them were related to your age or your lycanthropy." Remus' brow furrowed in confusion. "There was a war on and you were both part of the Order. Nymphadora was an Auror. You were both in danger and it wasn't the time to be getting married or having a child, in my opinion. And when you left after you found out she was pregnant, well." Remus looked down at his lap, still ashamed of his actions.

"But you came back, and my daughter was happy. Happier than I had ever seen her before. And when that little boy was born," Andromeda paused, and Remus could tell that she was getting hold of her emotions. "I have told you this before, but you are a good man, Remus. Hermione's parents will see that, regardless of any 'baggage' that you carry."

"I hope you're right, for Hermione's sake."

"Hermione is a kind, caring woman with a good head on her shoulders." Andromeda rose from her chair and patted Remus on the arm. "That had to come from somewhere."

3 April 2000

Hermione sighed as she set down her quill. She hadn't been able to concentrate all morning, her mind still on her argument with Remus. While she felt like they had resolved things before she left, she still couldn't help but worry about Remus' state of mind.

It wasn't that she didn't understand why he was nervous. Their world had looked down on him and put restrictions on his basic rights his entire life. Hermione knew that he had been rejected by others more times than she could even imagine. It was only natural that he would be wary about what her parents might think.

But he had gone back to his old excuses as to why he wasn't good enough for her and that was what bothered her most of all. While she knew that he was concerned there would be fall-out from revealing their relationship to others, so far no one had had a problem with it. Granted, they'd only told three people, but still. Hermione was afraid that if her parents were anything less than accepting, Remus would fall back into his old patterns. She didn't think she could go through everything Tonks had gone through before Remus finally gave in.

Sighing again, Hermione picked up her quill. She would just have to talk to her mum again and make sure that her dad didn't put on the protective act when Remus came to dinner.

"Hermione?" Hermione looked up and saw Gwendolyn standing in her doorway. "Have you heard?"

"Heard what?" Hermione asked. Gwendolyn walked into her office and closed the door behind her.

"Mr. Satterfield was just escorted from his office by Magical Law Enforcement." Hermione's eyes widened as Gwendolyn grinned.

"Do you know where they took him?" Hermione asked. Gwendolyn shook her head. Hermione chewed her lip for a moment before she jumped up from her desk.

"Wait here," Hermione said to the other woman.

"Where are you going?" Gwendolyn asked.

"I'll be right back." Hermione hurried from her office and down the corridor to the Auror office. She waved at the department secretary and headed towards Harry's cubicle. Thankfully, he was at his desk.

"Harry," she said. "What's going on?" Harry glanced up at her and then looked around, casting a Muffliato before he spoke.

"Kingsley's finally gathered all his evidence and brought Satterfield in," Harry said.

"Who's questioning him?"

"No one," Harry said. At Hermione's quizzical look, Harry grinned. "Kingsley is going to let him stew for a while." Hermione couldn't help the laugh that escaped her.

"Kingsley is going to interrogate him personally," Harry said. "He's gathering all the Pensieve memories right now."

"Do you really think this is it?" Hermione asked.

"With all the evidence that Kingsley has against him? I think Satterfield's going to get more than just fired."

"What do you mean?" Harry glanced around despite the privacy charm he'd cast.

"I can't say anything else, Hermione, not yet." Hermione was about to protest, but at the look on Harry's face, she stopped. Obviously, Satterfield had bigger issues than just being an arse and drinking too much. And if Harry couldn't tell her, that meant it was part of the official investigation.

"I'll keep you in the loop as much as I can," Harry said.

"I understand," Hermione said. She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Harry." Harry dropped the Muffliato and Hermione left the office and hurried back to Gwendolyn. Something big was happening; she just hoped that Satterfield got his in the end.