A/N: Mwahahahaha!
All I Remember
By Kittenshift17
CHAPTER FIVE
Sunday, 11th November, 1979
The Leaky Cauldron, London
"What do you mean you don't see the bloody point?" Remus drunkenly demanded six hours and several pints later. "Krosnakovich argues that any magical creature incapable of rational, sentient thought processes must be classed as a Beast. You can't argue that that Giant Squid is sentient! It's listed a class XXXXX leviathan, right up there with dragons."
"I'm telling you that the Giant Squid at Hogwarts is sentient. It might not be able to speak a language that we, as humans, understand and interpret, but it is capable of more than mindless violence or prey instinct. The number of first years who fall in that lake every year on the crossing from the platform that are rescued by the Giant Squid is astronomical. Would it really propel people back into the boats if it was nothing more than a mindless beast?" Hermione argued hotly, similarly intoxicated and ignoring Tom's approach to kick them all out so he could close down for the night.
"I've never heard of it saving anyone," Remus frowned. "That bloke a few years behind us went swimming in the lake on a dare and the squid flung him back to shore! Maybe it's just territorial and it flings people out of the lake because that's its domain."
Hermione shook her head.
"If that kid had gone out too far and encountered grindylows, the squid might've saved him. It's not safe to swim in the lake, but that Giant Squid it the most playful, sweet creature in there. It's the other creatures you've got to watch out for. The Merepeople and the grindylows are far more dangerous. Now, Grindylows, they class as a beast because they have an unrelenting instinct to kill any who enter their domain. The Merefolk are considered sentient, of course, but they're just as likely to drag unsuspecting swimmers to the depths and force reproduction upon them until they drown, and sometimes even after they drown. They've been known to eat human flesh too, following their watery seduction."
"Proving Harloquill's theory that not all creatures classed as sentient should be automatically deemed trustworthy. Centaurs are listed as sentient, but also as Beasts for that reason," said Remus.
"Oi, you two!" Sirius nudged them. "Let's move this debate. Bloody hell, Prongs, keep your feet, mate. Wormy, give us a hand, yeah? James is plastered."
"I do need you all to leave so I can close," Tom said.
"Can we get something for the road?" Wormtail slurred.
"You already bought a bottle of firehwhiskey to take with you," Tom pointed out, nodding at the bottle of Firewhiskey clutched in James's hand.
"We need to find Lily," James declared. "Here, lads. We'll apparate. My witch will love me again, you'll see."
Hermione flicked her wand to cast anti Apparation wards to prevent James from splinching himself. He turned on the spot and nothing happened.
"Bloody git," Sirius accused him, hauling James's arm around his shoulders. "You're too bloody drunk to apparate. Me too, probably."
"How are we going to get home?" Peter asked.
"Oi, Granger, didn't you say you got a flat on the Alley? We could use your Floo."
"Oh… um, sure. But be warned, I still don't have my furniture set up," Hermione said.
"Ah, bollocks!" Remus exclaimed beside her, offering her a gentlemanly hand to help her out of her seat. "I forgot we railroaded you on your way home."
"It's fine, Remus," Hermione patted his hand reassuringly. "I've got the essentials in my bag, I'll just set them up when we get there."
"Oi! I'm hungry," James announced at that moment.
"Well, you're out of luck on having me feed you, Potter. I don't even have plates yet."
"Bugger!" James groaned. "Lily always feeds me. I want my bloody witch!"
"Quit moaning, you bloody tosser. Let's get some food and head to Granger's place," Peter grumbled. Hermione slanted a glance in his direction in annoyance at the idea that he would be in her flat too before it occurred to her that she would have to tolerate him. He was a Marauder and if she wanted to be with Remus, she'd have to get along with Peter. At least until she could expose him for a traitor.
"There's a pizza place down the street in muggle London," she said. "Tom, would you mind terribly if we ran out for pizza and then came back through? My flat is in the Alley."
"Fine, fine. But if this lot cause a ruckus, you're all barred for a month," Tom threatened.
"Come on," Hermione pulled on Remus's hand, still holding it out of habit. If he minded, he didn't let on, though he was grinning a little.
"James can't walk that far," Sirius protested. "You two go. Here, take some money and get a few boxes, yeah? I'm bloody starving."
"Sirius, they don't take wizarding currency," Hermione laughed.
"Ah, shit," he said. "So much for that idea. James, you got muggle money on you?"
James grunted and patted his pockets. Sirius fished the man's wallet from his pocket but only came up with galleons and sickles.
"I'll get them," Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Oi, no. You were homeless this morning. Can't have you paying to feed us. At least take this in recompense."
He handed her a few galleons.
"You have a soft heart under that flirtatious exterior, Sirius Black," Hermione told him. "Get James out into the Alley and toward the bookshop. We'll meet you there. Come on, Remus."
Hermione tugged his hand, pulling him out of the pub and into muggle London.
"Where is this pizza place?" Remus asked, looking up and down the street.
"We have to apparate," Hermione told him.
She felt him tense beside her, suddenly not so trusting despite drinking with her all night.
"You planning to lure me off to be jumped by Death Eaters, Granger?" he asked in a low voice. He pulled his hand out of hers, suddenly seeming far soberer than he'd done moments ago. Hermione frowned at him, realising she was actually rather tipsy.
"Remus Lupin, I take offense to that," Hermione said. "I'd sooner cut off my own head than let you anywhere near a Death Eater."
He frowned in return.
"Why? You hardly know me. How do you know I'm not going to lure you off somewhere?" he asked.
Hermione actually laughed.
"I suspect you could lure me anywhere you liked. I'd go willingly…wait… oh, bollocks. What have you done to me that I can't control my tongue?" Hermione blushed while Remus suddenly eyed her curiously, heat creeping into his gaze. "Honestly, I'm not usually this much of an idiot or so prone to blurting things out."
"Do I make you nervous?" he asked, tipping his head to one side. Gold threaded through the green of his eyes as he looked at her.
"You make my tummy flutter," Hermione admitted without thinking. She reached for his hand, holding her own out and waiting for him to take it, intent on apparating them to get pizza.
He took hold of her carefully, still watching her closely. Hermione disapparated them both with a crack, landing in a side-street by a pizza place she'd seen when she'd been shopping for furniture. Remus didn't let go of her hand when she started walking toward the shop and Hermione wore a small smile. She knew she was tipsy, and in danger of saying something that would land her in trouble tomorrow, but it felt so good to be in his presence once more. Even when he'd been married to Tonks, he'd let her lean on him sometimes when they'd both sit up late reading in the library, waiting for Tonks to come home from work when she was on duty.
She'd grown used to pressing into his side with his arm thrown over her shoulders and curled around her middle while they each read different books. She'd missed debating magical theory with him when she'd been on the run with Harry. To have him now, all to herself, made her smile. On one level she felt bad at the idea that her intervention – originally intended to make sure he lived a long and happy life – might prevent him from ever meeting Tonks, let alone marrying her.
It felt like a betrayal to her friendship with Tonks, but there was no going back, and Hermione had always secretly thought Remus simply settled for Tonks, believing no other woman would ever want him thanks to his condition. She intended to make sure that he knew there was one other witch who wanted him like she wanted her next breath.
"I'm still not sure I agree with Drozdov's classification of all super-human species as belonging under the banner of magical creature," Hermione said conversationally when Remus continued to watch her with a little smile pulling at the corners of his mouth as though she'd pleased him.
"Why is that?" he asked as they waited for their pizza.
"Well, the classification alienates Veela, Werewolves, and Vampires for what I believe are little more than certain health conditions that need to be catered to through the public health system rather than feared," Hermione said, wanting her stance on his furry little problem out in the open right from the off.
"Health conditions?" he scoffed. "You call a man turning into a rabid monster every full moon nothing more than a health condition? A werewolf on a full moon would rip your throat out without a second thought."
"He'd regret it in the morning," Hermione argued, narrowing her eyes on him slightly. "I don't hold with prejudice, Lupin. Yes, there are certain risks associated with the full moon, but there are potions and other means of containing lycanthropy. A misfortune of birth or an accident should not condemn a man to a life of hatred, prejudice, unemployment or exile. Lycanthropy and Vampirism are conditions and should be catered to the same as any other disability is. You wouldn't fire a man for having one leg, or having a form of social anxiety or something, would you? So why should werewolves be fired for needing to miss a few days of work a month? The rest of the month it's perfectly safe."
Remus was staring at her now.
"The rest of the month isn't safe. The wolf is still there, inside them. It can rush to the surface and take over at any time. The bodily form might not change, but the personality does."
"Split personality disorder isn't something to fire someone over, and if it were to be considered that way in instances where one or both personalities are violent, the government would pay a disability pension to the afflicted person," Hermione argued. "They wouldn't just be shoved into unemployment, homelessness and exile."
"People with split personality disorder are still people," Remus argued vehemently. "Werewolves are mindless monsters as likely to kill and eat their best friend as to say hello to them."
Hermione smacked him. Her open hand connected, quite hard, with his chest and he blinked at her, shocked.
"Don't ever say that in my hearing again, Remus Lupin," Hermione growled, stepping into his personal space and glaring into his gold-threaded eyes. Remus and Moony both watched her in surprise over her reaction.
"It's the truth," he said quietly.
Hermione smacked him again. "If you truly believe that, you need to be re-educated."
She stomped away from him after that, collecting the pizzas they'd ordered and leaving the shop. Remus trailed along in her wake, shaking his head slightly at her vehemence.
"You truly are a peculiar witch, Hermione Granger," he told her softly.
"I've been called worse. I need to grab a few things in here before we go back." She nodded her head toward the Mom & Pop store on the corner. "I literally don't have anything in my flat right now but a cold-cupboard."
"I'm sorry we waylaid you when you were meant to be getting settling into your new place," he said sincerely.
"I can't say I mind," Hermione smiled at him, handing him the boxes of pizza to carry and grabbing a basket for herself. "The flat might've been set up, but the company would've been lousy."
"What company?" he asked. Hermione grinned over her shoulder at him as she fished a bottle of milk from the fridge.
"Exactly."
"You don't regret spending your evening with four rowdy pisspots?" Remus asked. "Even though we're planning to invade your flat and use your Floo after gorging on pizza. The lads are probably gulping down more of that fire-whiskey, too. They'll be even drunker when we get back."
"Pizza will help soak it all up," Hermione smiled, strolling the aisles for tealeaves, some cups and a teapot. She grabbed a bottle of orange juice and a loaf of bread, margarine and her favourite spreads and sandwich fillers, too.
"I don't envy James come tomorrow," Remus chuckled.
"Oh?" Hermione asked.
"He plays for the Arrows, see? He's got training in the morning and he's going to feel like shite."
Hermione laughed as she paid for her items and led the way back out of the shop. She took Remus's arm and disapparated them back to the Leaky Cauldron.
"What about you? Are you excited for you job tomorrow?" she asked him.
"It's hardly an exciting position, selling cauldrons. Mostly I'll be cataloguing stock, I imagine. In other words, it'll be dead boring, but it'll pay the bills," he shrugged his shoulders as they hurried through the pub, thanking Tom for waiting for them before going through and into the Alley.
"Ah, bloody hell," Remus laughed when he spotted Sirius and Peter supporting James, who looked to be passed out or asleep.
"What took so bloody long?" Sirius demanded when he spotted them. His free hand held the open bottle of fire-whiskey they'd obviously been drinking from.
"It was a bit of a walk. Are you two going to be able to get him up the stairs to the top?" Hermione asked, hurrying up the stairs to her flat on the top.
"Levitation charm will do the trick," Peter said, flicking his wand. James floated up the steps like a helium balloon with Sirius holding one of his arms.
Hermione hurried to unlock the door at the top and to let them into the room. She set her groceries down on the kitchen bench before digging into her beaded bag for the furniture she'd purchased.
"You weren't kidding about it being bare in here," Sirius commented, flicking his wand to light the hearth and the lamps.
"Yes, well, that's what happens when you lot get me drunk instead of letting me be responsible. Put James over there on the window seat for now unless you can wake him up and get some of this pizza into him," Hermione commented.
"Do you need help with the furniture?" Remus offered.
"I… I've just got to grab it and re-size it," she muttered, digging into her bag. Remus's eyes widened slowly when she sank her entire arm into it, all the way to the shoulder. "Gotcha!"
She withdrew a small couch set from inside triumphantly and arranged it all around the fireplace before un-shrinking it. Hermione cringed when the couches and armchairs proved a bit much for the small space.
"Well, they look comfy, anyway," Sirius said before flopping down on one of the squashy blue velvet couches. He groaned at the way he sunk into it, the thing soft enough that it almost ate him. "Bloody hell, witch! Where did you get this thing? I need one."
Hermione smiled as she set up the small dining table and enlarged it. "I'll show you sometime. I don't have plates yet, so dig into the pizza by hand. Try not to drop any on my couches."
She smiled gratefully when Remus cast Impervius charms on all the furniture to prevent stains or damage. The four Marauders grabbed slices of pizzas, Peter sitting at the table to eat while Sirius summoned a pizza box all to himself where he reclined on the couch. James was kicked awake by Remus and handed a piece of pizza, which he tore into hungrily, looking a little more alive the longer he ate.
While they were at it, Hermione trailed into her bedroom and began setting up the bed, her desk and a bedside table.
"Let me help?" Remus asked.
Hermione jumped at the sound of his voice and looked over to find he'd followed her down the small hall and was leaning casually in the doorway as she dug out the closet she'd bought and resized it.
"Are you any good at domestic charms?" Hermione asked, fishing sheets and blankets from her bag and resizing those too.
"I can make it by hand if I fail the charm," he grinned. "If you don't mind letting me into your bedroom, that is."
"You're welcome in my bedroom anytime, Remus," Hermione blurted without thinking, her mind on the task of fishing out clothes from her bag.
Remus chuckled when she suddenly stopped, her eyes going wide and her head snapping up to stare at him when she realised what she'd said.
"That came out…" Hermione began, flushing. "I… bloody hell!"
"You're cute when you do that, Granger," he told her, pushing away from the doorway and strolling into the bedroom with her. "But you really should be careful what you say. I might just hold you to the notion of my welcome here."
Hermione gulped audibly when he walked right up to her, still grinning. Like a deer in the headlights, Hermione felt caught by his gaze, unable to look away.
"I…" Hermione began, her eyes wide as she stared at him. He was less than a foot from her.
"I wanted to wallop Padfoot this morning when he interrupted us, you know?" Remus murmured to her, his hand lifting carefully and reaching for her. Hermione held perfectly still, watching as he moved even closer. "If I do now what I was about to do before he showed up, will you mind?"
Hermione gulped when he cupped her cheek gently, the pad of his thumb tracing along her lower lip. His eyes were still threaded with gold and he looked hungry for her. She nipped his thumb without thinking and Hermione's heart skipped several beats when he chuckled huskily, lust permeating his gaze as he leaned toward her.
Hyper aware of every breath, Hermione realised he was about to kiss her and her whole body kicked into overdrive. She had been in love with Remus Lupin since her third year and he was finally going to kiss her, even though he believed he'd only just met her that morning.
The thought gave her pause but before she could focus on it, his lips brushed sensually over hers. Hermione melted. His lips were soft, and warm, and gentle upon hers, pressing lightly and making her tummy flip with excitement. Subconsciously she reached for him, not wanting him to pull away before she was done kissing him. Gripping his hips through his shirt, Hermione pressed herself against his chest, pulling herself closer to him and kissing him harder.
She would swear she could feel his lips quirk up into a smile as she threw herself into the kiss and when his tongue darted out to trace the seam of her lips, Hermione opened to him eagerly. Her heart was hammering out a wild and uneven beat inside her chest, which Hermione was sure Remus could hear, but if he minded, he didn't let it show.
He smiled against her lips even as he kept kissing her, walking her backward slowly until her back hit her bedroom wall. Hermione wanted to cry with joy when he leaned into her, moulding his strong body against her soft one and pinning her to the wall in the most delicious way.
She almost swallowed her tongue in shock a few minutes later when he pulled back from her lips, his wand trained on her and his hand gripping her left arm tightly.
"What are you doing?" she asked, pulling on the arm when he used a Slicing hex on her sleeve. She tried to clap her hand over the scars upon that arm, even though they were hidden by a glamour.
"What are you hiding, Granger?" Remus asked, all business with a coldness to his voice that gave her chills. "Finite Incantatum!"
Hermione cried out in protest as he cancelled her glamour, realising dimly that he thought she was a Death Eater spy. Hermione clamped her hand over the scars on her flesh, trying to hide them, not wanting Remus to see them.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, fighting with him when he poked his wand up under her chin threateningly, his free hand trying to peel her fingers from her forearm.
"You've been lying to us," he replied. "You didn't go to Hogwarts with us. I'd have noticed. You lied about Hogwarts, and for all I know you're lying about your motives, your job, even your name. Is this even your flat, or is it some spot to lure the lot of us before handing us over to Voldemort?"
Hermione sighed, realising from the feral glint in his eyes and the angry growl in his voice that he didn't trust her one iota. She wondered, idly, if he'd already been spending time with the werewolf Packs of Britain on Dumbledore's orders. He seemed too wild, too violent, to be the kind and calm werewolf Hermione had come to know in the time she'd left behind.
Uncurling her fingers and letting all the fight drain out of herself, Hermione offered her left forearm to him, knowing he was looking for a Dark Mark branded into her skin. His brow furrowed when instead of a skull and snake tattoo, he caught sight of the jagged, raised red scar, the word 'Mudblood' carved in all capitals, the width of her forearm beginning at the join of her elbow and scarring the flesh all the way down to her wrist. A hack job that looked almost like some of the worst cutting scars Hermione remembered being warned about in her muggle primary school.
"Finite."
Hermione almost snorted at the way he frowned and cast the spell, obviously thinking it was another glamour.
"It's not a spell, Remus," Hermione sighed. "That's my skin. Courtesy of a Death Eater who took issue with my blood status."
His eyes lifted to her own.
"Who?" he asked. "Who did this to you?"
His stance changed immediately, when he realised that she wasn't likely to sell them out to Voldemort. Hermione bit her lip on the urge to tell him that he should be looking for the traitor a little closer to home.
"That's not really your business, is it, Lupin?" she asked, lifting one eyebrow at him. "You've had your fun. So, seeing as you only snogged me with the intent of manipulating me to ensure I'm not a Death Eater, I think I'd like you to get out of my bedroom now."
The betrayal stung a little, not because she was put out that he'd wanted to make sure she wasn't a threat - that made sense to her and she was pleased he was on his guard. No, the betrayal bothering her was the fact that she was clearly too transparent. She suspected it was usually Sirius who seduced girls into such a position to get them out of their clothing enough to ensure they didn't have a Dark Mark, but she was too obvious in her crush on Remus, so they'd sent him instead. And she'd fallen for it. She was more than a little hurt that he'd only snogged her as a distraction and not because he was attracted to her. She was also furious with herself for falling for it so easily. Where was her constant vigilance now? Moody would be furious with her if he could see her. Well, if he could see her and know her in this time, since he wouldn't, yet.
"Don't be put out with me," Remus said quietly, tipping his head to one side as he regarded her carefully. "I didn't want to lead you on, but we had to know. Your story doesn't add up. If you'd been living in Gryffindor Tower with the lot of us for six years, I'd have noticed."
"Well, you didn't," Hermione replied coldly, jerking her wand from her pocket and repairing the damage he'd done to her sleeve before re-applying the glamour spell to hide her scars. She was surprised that Remus had actually tried to explain himself. Ordinarily, the Remus she'd known would have just raised his eyebrows, sighed in resignation, and walked away. No, this younger version of her favourite werewolf was a lot more confident, maybe a bit more hot-headed and more prone to acting without thinking, or so it seemed. He wasn't the same as the man she'd grown so fond of - the one she'd deserted her own time to save. Hermione wasn't sure how she felt about that, if she was being honest. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to him, but neither could she say he was who she'd sacrificed her entire life for.
"Didn't notice?" he clarified. "Don't give me that look, Granger. I'm not trying to call you a wallflower beneath notice. I'm saying that you're not those things, hence why I don't believe your story about being at Hogwarts with us."
"Because you were so focused on every witch sharing the school with you?" she asked challengingly, and she caught the way Remus's eyes widened slightly.
If there was one thing she could proudly claim, Hermione was level-headed and chillingly detached when the need arose. She might've misplaced her equilibrium with this handsome young version of Remus, letting her tongue wag before her brain approved the words dripping off it, but she was thinking that was about to change. The Remus she'd known would never have been as rough with a witch as to shove her into something unless he had probable cause to believe she was a threat. Clearly this version of Remus was shocked by the change in her demeanour from playful, knowledgeable and a little star-struck to the cool, collected, frosty witch she could be.
"I meant I'd have noticed because you're beautiful and you're smart. I spent more time in the library than most and I don't remember ever seeing you there."
"If I wasn't at Hogwarts with you, how would I have known all of your names?" she challenged. "How would I know that Sirius's favourite pick-up line involves an offer to ride the smoothest broomstick in Britain?"
Remus's eyes widened at the mention of the man's favourite line to pull women.
"But... I'd have noticed you..." he murmured, his eyes searching her face.
"You didn't," she shrugged. "I didn't want to be noticed, Remus. I liked being invisible. I got my homework done in a timely fashion, I kept on top of my studies, and I avoided my roommates because we had nothing in common when all they wanted to do was talk fashion and giggle over boys and pant after the likes of Sirius Black. More often than not, I used Concealment charms in the Common Room to keep from being seen. I was practically a hermit. Unless you'd walked right into me or sat on me, I guarantee you'd not have noticed me."
"You said Sirius hit on you once," he argued.
"Sirius fell into my lap, drunk, one night after losing a Quidditch match. He tripped and landed on my lap where I was sitting, squashed into the corner of the common room because one of my roommates was shagging someone without bothering with Silencing charms in my dormitory and I'd been kicked out of the library at curfew," Hermione said, pulling ideas out of her arse to get away with this charade.
Remus eyed her in silence for another long moment.
"Moony? You good in there?" James called before sauntering into the room.
Hermione looked past where Remus had her, still pinned to the wall, to spot James leaning in the doorway. He had a slice of pizza in one hand and his wand in the other. He also looked significantly less inebriated than he'd been when they'd levitated him into the apartment. Hermione narrowed her eyes on him, wondering how much of his intoxication had been an act.
"Everything's fine, Prongs," Remus told him. "She's not a spy. She hasn't got a Dark Mark."
Hermione opened her mouth without thinking and blurted out more words that would unsettle them, rather than comfort them.
"You do realise that not every Voldemort supporter has a Dark Mark, don't you?" she asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'd take that bastard down myself if I could, but he doesn't brand every single one of his supporters. It would make them too easy to identify if they were questioned. Only the most loyal and ruthless Death Eaters of the inner circle are given the mark. Which, I believe, they have to earn by murdering someone."
"And just how do you know that?" Sirius asked, walking up behind James.
"Let's just say I've been around the block a few times," Hermione replied darkly, her fingers scratching at her scar.
"They tell you that when they cut you up, Treasure?" Sirius asked, raising one eyebrow.
"Cut you up?" James asked, his bloodshot eyes widening.
"Must we discuss that?" Hermione sighed. "I'd really rather it wasn't common knowledge."
"I still think you should let me press charges. I'm an Auror, Treasure. That's my job."
"Your job is to protect those who can't protect themselves and to take down bad guys. I assure you, Black, I protected myself just fine. I wouldn't be standing here if I hadn't."
"Yeah?" he asked, a smirk pulling at his lips. "That got anything to do with the training room and practice dummies in the spare room?"
Hermione narrowed hr eyes to know he'd been snooping while Remus kept her occupied.
"Where is Pettigrew?" she asked, changing the subject.
Sirius and James both looked toward the living room.
"He passed out on the couch," Sirius shrugged.
Hermione narrowed her eyes. A likely story. That filthy rat had been known to fake his own death and feign sleep when it might be to his advantage. She'd bet he was foxing and that he was listening to their every word.
"If you're all finished with accusing me of Death Eater ties, could we all vacate my bedroom? I'm hungry and I'm not in the mood for more of your bollocks."
James raised one eyebrow at her change of mood but nodded, sauntering away, his steps clumsy with his intoxication. Sirius eyed her for another minute before following James. Remus didn't move.
"You're angry with me," he surmised.
"You think?" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Couldn't be because you lot just gave me the third degree all because I was too far beneath your notice at school to register on your radar. And it certainly couldn't have anything to do with being snogged under false pretences. You let me think you were interested in me just to get me alone and drill me, Lupin. You're lucky I'm not throwing you out of my flat in a hysterical tantrum."
"I might've had ulterior motives for cornering you, Granger," he replied. "But don't make the mistake of thinking I didn't want to snog you just because I used it to figure out what you were hiding under that glamour."
Hermione was shocked at his bold words, and even more shocked when he trailed his thumb across her cheek, tunnelling his hand into her hair and tipping her head up before snogging her again. She almost fell for it. His lips were so warm, and he tasted so good, and she fancied him so bloody much that Hermione almost fell for the kiss in lieu of an apology for his actions. Pressing both hands against his chest, Hermione felt the muscles bunch under her palms before she shoved him away.
"I don't want your pity, Remus," she said coldly, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and stomping for the door.
"My pity?" he repeated, sounding confused as she passed him. "Pity's got precious little to do with it, Hermione."
"Oh?" she challenged, glaring at him from the doorway. "So, you're not planning to seduce me now just to make me feel better because you didn't register my existence in your living space for six years? You're not trying to correct your blunder of using my interest in you for your own gain? You're not a hit-it-and-quit-it sort of guy who'll shag me stupid and be gone before the sun comes up, because - here's the kicker - you can't do commitment? Just save it, Remus. Maybe you lot didn't notice me at school, but I noticed you. I know Potter's mad for Evans. I know Sirius will shag anything with a pulse. And I know you're a love 'em and leave 'em sort of bloke who'll rock a girl's world and ditch them as soon as that itch is scratched because you're too scared to let anyone get close in case they figure out the real you."
Remus's eyes went wide at the insinuation of his lycanthropy and he looked shocked by the venom in her gaze. Hermione was a little shocked herself. She'd never been so blunt with him, not even when she'd heard tales from Sirius about the type of bloke Remus had been in his youth, before his friends were killed and Sirius was sent to prison. Too scared to let anyone get close in case they realised he was a werewolf, Remus Lupin was the type to talk a girl out of her knickers with all his animal magnetism and then disappear before they realised they'd been hard-fucked by someone strong enough to break them in half with one hand if he really wanted to.
She left him standing in her bedroom and stomped into the living room, snatching up a slice of pizza and chewing it hungrily before returning to the task of furnishing her flat.
