Platform nine and three-quarters was packed with people. The hoots of disgruntled owls and cats' meows could be heard sporadically over the excited chatter of reunited friends, the admonishments of parents to their misbehaving children, and the tearful goodbyes between families separating for the upcoming school year. As usual, the scene was noisy and chaotic.

But when Harry Potter appeared on the platform, a reverent hush fell over the busy crowd. Everybody went still, staring at the young man who had brought about the downfall of the most dangerous wizard of all time, as he walked by with the Grangers and Weasleys.

"I should have worn the Invisibility Cloak," Harry muttered to Hermione.

"You can't hide under there for the rest of your life," she replied, though she understood the appeal in situations such as these. "Just don't mind them."

Easier said than done. Hermione didn't like all the attention she was receiving either. She and Ron had also gained some fame, being Harry's best friends and part of the "Golden Trio" that had taken down Voldemort. The Daily Prophet had depicted her as a heroine, describing her as the "clever and compassionate Muggle-born girl, whose quick-witted courage proved invaluable to Harry Potter in his journey, full of trials and tribulations, to defeat Lord Voldemort."

Fortunately, those on the platform at least pretended to go about their business and not watch Harry and the others say their goodbyes beside the Hogwarts Express.

"This year is going to be so strange without you two," Hermione told Harry and Ron as she gave them each an extra-long hug. "I'm going to miss you guys so much."

"Don't get all sappy on us, Hermione," Ron said, patting her awkwardly on the back. "We'll see you soon."

"Not until Christmas, and that's nearly four months away."

"We'll visit before then," Harry promised. "Even if we have to sneak our way into the castle to see you. Speaking of sneaking," he added in a lower voice so that her parents wouldn't overhear, "I think you should have this."

He pulled the Marauder's Map out of his pocket.

"Oh, Harry, I don't intend on doing any sneaking around. And you shouldn't either, by the way."

"Please, Hermione," he said, holding the map out to her. "Just in case you might need it."

"Fine," she acquiesced, taking the map after a slight hesitation. "Just in case."

Harry smiled. Hermione, however, was doing her best not to get tearful as she took a good long look at her two best friends, her brothers.

"Good luck with Auror training," she told them, "and take care of yourselves, all right?"

"Back at you."

"See you soon, then?"

"We'll miss you too, Hermione," Ron replied.

She gave them each another hug before turning to her parents.

"Is he here?" Mrs. Granger asked her, glancing around the platform. "I'd like to meet him."

"Is who here?" Mr. Granger wanted to know.

"Just a friend of Hermione's, dear."

"No, Mum, he's not here."

Her mother gave her a sympathetic look.

"Perhaps he's already on the train?" she suggested.

"Perhaps," Hermione said, though she knew he wouldn't be. She would only find out if he was returning to teach this year once she got to Hogwarts.

"Well, I hope he is and everything goes well between you two," Mrs. Granger said, hugging her daughter tightly. "Write to me, okay? Often."

"I will."

"Take care of yourself, Hermione," Mr. Granger said as he hugged her next. "And don't let any friends distract you from your studies."

"I'll try not to, Dad," she said with a smile.

She hadn't realized until very recently, when she'd recounted to her parents a modified version of her journey with Harry and Ron to find and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes, just how overprotective her father could be. Although Mr. Granger had been distressed to hear her describe some of the perilous situations she'd survived, he had still managed to also feel scandalized over the impropriety of his daughter living alone with two boys in a tent, however platonic her relationships with them were. He was probably glad she was returning to Hogwarts without them this year.

After saying their final goodbyes to their families, Hermione and Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express. They waved a last farewell through the window as the scarlet steam engine began to move, and then they were whisked away, the platform and their loved ones falling out of sight.

Ginny turned from the window with a gloomy expression on her face.

"This summer was too short," she grumbled. "How am I supposed to go this entire year without Harry at Hogwarts?"

"I don't know, Ginny," Hermione said, thinking of Remus. Summer had been too long for her, and even now that school was starting up there was no guarantee she would see him anytime soon. "But you'll be together during the holidays, and he'll come visit if he can. It won't be so bad."

Ginny looked unconvinced. Hermione gave her friend's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before leaving her to perform her first task as Head Girl.

"Hermione!" a voice called out from behind her just as she reached the prefects carriage. She turned around to see a fellow Gryffindor and friend making his way up the corridor towards her.

"Neville! I wasn't sure you'd be returning this year. So good to see you!"

"And you. I see you're Head Girl," he said, nodding at the badge on her chest. He grinned. "No shock there. Congratulations, Hermione."

"Thanks, I—" She broke off when she spotted his own badge. "Oh, but you're Head Boy!"

"Surprising, isn't it?"

"No, not at all. Congratulations, Neville! I'm glad it's you."

Hermione truly was glad. She couldn't imagine sharing the responsibility of her new role with anybody else but Neville. Together they proceeded into the prefects' carriage to instruct the new prefects on the duties they were expected to perform, and a short while after that they went off in search of Ginny. They found her chatting with Luna Lovegood in the last compartment at the back of the train.

The two younger witches congratulated Hermione and Neville on their Head Boy and Girl status, and after they had all settled down in their seats, Ginny told them, "Luna and I were just talking about how different it's going to be this year after everything that's happened. How do you think Hogwarts is going to look? The last time I was there it still looked pretty rough."

"It's in better condition than ever," Neville said. "Gran and I were just there a few weeks ago to help with the rebuilding efforts, but the castle didn't need much help from us or anybody else anymore."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. She had been with Ginny when the Weasleys had volunteered with the rebuilding efforts in July, and looking at all the damage done during the Battle of Hogwarts, she'd questioned whether the castle would be ready in time for the start of term.

"You didn't read about it in the Daily Prophet?" When the girls shook their heads, Neville told them, "Hogwarts has been repairing itself these past few weeks. The castle completely took over the rebuilding efforts and has been mending itself with its own magic. Amazing, isn't it? And the Prophet says all the destruction from the battle only served to fortify the castle in the end because it's become even stronger than before."

"Like us," Luna said serenely.

The Ravenclaw had been through so much last year, being held for weeks as a prisoner in the cellar of Malfoy Manor, and despite the suffering she must have gone through, she'd endured. Luna looked the same to Hermione as she always did: wavy blonde hair, protuberant blue eyes, and she was even wearing her strange, signature pair of radish earrings. The dreamy quality in her expression had not been vanquished.

"Like us," Neville agreed. Hermione noted that he indeed looked stronger and more confident than ever. He bore little resemblance to the clumsy, frightened, round-faced boy he was at the age of eleven.

As the train traveled on through the countryside, the four friends shared with each other what they had done over the summer and what they were most looking forward to at Hogwarts. At one point, their conversation turned to speculation over who would be filling the open teaching positions that year. Hermione took the opportunity to voice the question that had preoccupied her so much the last few weeks.

"Do you think Lupin will come back?"

"I hope so. He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had," Neville proclaimed.

"Hagrid said McGonagall really wanted him for the job and insisted he take it," Ginny told the others. "I'm sure he'll be back."

Neville thought the same and Hermione felt hopeful — until Luna spoke.

"I'm not so sure," the Ravenclaw said dreamily. "He's still got a dubite. I could tell at Harry's birthday party over the summer."

Hermione, Ginny, and Neville all exchanged bemused looks.

"Um, what exactly is a dubite, Luna?" Ginny asked, looking like she was trying to hold back a smile. She probably expected an amusing answer from the girl many referred to as "Loony" because of her sometimes peculiar behavior and beliefs.

"It's a small, claw-shaped creature that latches itself onto a person's chest, right over his heart, and denies him from finding peace and happiness," Luna explained. "They're unpleasant little things, not very nice at all, but very powerful once they've gotten a hold on you."

"And you saw this creature on Lupin?" Neville asked with mingled humor and curiosity.

"No, they can't be seen while they're alive," Luna informed him, her eyes widening slightly as she shook her head. "But I sensed Lupin had one back in second year. I suppose he attracted it because he's a werewolf. Dubites like werewolves."

"Why do they like werewolves?" Hermione asked interestedly.

"Werewolves have dual natures, and dubites feed on conflicted souls like theirs."

"And this dubite Lupin has — you think it will keep him from teaching this year?"

"It might," Luna said, appearing faintly surprised by the lack of usual skepticism in Hermione's tone. "Lupin obviously enjoys teaching, so the dubite will do whatever it can to prevent him from doing that and keep him in a conflicted state."

"Is there a way to get rid of this creature?"

"Oh, yes, there's a special potion that weakens the dubite's hold on you and poisons it. Then, when the dubite detaches from your chest and falls to the floor, black like tar, you have to stomp on it to make sure it's dead for good."

Ginny and Neville laughed as Luna demonstrated the proper manner in which to stomp on a dubite, but Hermione frowned as she watched her. She thought the Ravenclaw's description of the creature (imaginary creature, of course) rather ominous. Although she had often disregarded Luna's unfounded and fantastical beliefs in the past, she now had more respect for the insight sometimes underlying her seemingly irrational ideas.

Hermione had caught glimpses of Remus's conflicted nature in the past, had perceived something like self-loathing in his eyes and in his voice when he'd spoken of his lycanthropy, and she knew he had strong doubts and reservations about taking the post at Hogwarts because of his affliction. He'd expressed them to her during their conversation at the Burrow on Harry's birthday, telling her he was the same werewolf who had put her and her friends in danger in her third year.

Would his fears regarding his lycanthropy really keep him from teaching? Would his doubts and conflicted nature really keep him from doing what made him happy?

A few hours later, the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogsmeade Station and the students aboard shuffled their way off the train and onto the platform.

"All righ', Hermione?" Hagrid greeted cheerfully as she directed the first years toward him. She smiled and waved at him in response, happy to see the half-giant's friendly face again.

After making sure every student was safely off the train and in a thestral drawn carriage, Hermione and Neville climbed in one themselves. Moments later, all the carriages began to move in convoy up the road to Hogwarts. Hermione felt a flutter of nervous anticipation when they reached the gates to the school grounds and passed between the tall stone pillars topped with winged boars. In only a few minutes she'd be seeing Remus — if he'd decided to take up the D.A.D.A. post, that is.

Her excitement over seeing Remus again grew as the thestrals pulled them ever closer to Hogwarts and was only momentarily forgotten when the silhouette of the castle came into clearer view: a magnificent mass of turrets, deeper black than the night sky but with some patches of friendly, fiery light from its many windows.

"Wow, you were right, Neville," she said, gazing in awe at the impressive condition of the castle that had been so battle worn the last time she'd seen it. The structure was whole again now as far as she could tell, and as striking a sight as it had always been. "Hogwarts looks better than ever."

The thestrals landed by the stone steps leading to the doors of the castle and Hermione's nerves over seeing Remus again resurged. She hopped out of the carriage after Neville but quickly lost him among the throng of students hurrying up the steps and into the castle, eager to indulge in the scrumptious start-of-term feast. It wasn't until she noticed a few students lagging behind in the entrance hall instead of proceeding into the Great Hall that she remembered she was supposed to be supervising everyone.

She separated from the pack and headed toward the dawdling students. They were Gryffindors like her but younger, mischievous, and too smart-alecky for their own good. In no mood for their attitude, she sternly shepherded them into the Great Hall and followed behind them to the Gryffindor table. She cast quick glances toward the staff table as she went but, unfortunately, was unable to get a good look at all the teachers seated there.

When she'd seen to it that the mischievous Gryffindors had settled themselves down in their place, Hermione spotted Ginny further along on the bench and joined her. There at last she was able to properly examine the staff table before her. Her eyes skimmed over the faces of her familiar professors — McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout — and a few new ones, searching impatiently for the one she desperately longed to see.

But it wasn't there.

Her heart pounding anxiously, she scanned the table again, and then a third time, but still she couldn't find him. Her heart plummeted horribly — Remus wasn't there.

Hermione slumped in her seat, feeling strangely numb. If she'd had to bet on it before, she would've said that Remus would accept the Defense Against the Dark Arts post simply because she couldn't imagine what else he would want to do besides teach now that the Order was finished. But she would've been wrong. He wasn't here. She couldn't believe it.

The first years were filing into the Great Hall, about to be sorted, but Hermione couldn't care less. She was blind to them and deaf to the Sorting Hat's new song. She stared unseeingly at a yellowish glow of candles in the distance, trying to comprehend this. Luna had been right. The blasted dubite had prevailed. What was she going to do now? He wasn't here.

She should have sought him out before school had started, made up whatever excuse to meet him, to see if there was even the faintest glimmer of hope that what had developed between them in the past could be rekindled now. But she hadn't had the courage, and now it would be months before she'd have the chance to see him again, months of uncertainty and separation. If the last few weeks had felt terribly long without him, how would she get through the rest of the year?

Hermione felt a nudge on her arm, disrupting her from her gloomy thoughts and regrets.

"Look," Ginny whispered, her eyes alight with amusement. "That kid looks like he's going to hurl!"

Hermione turned her gaze to where the Weasley had pointed. A small, blond boy indeed looked like he was about to be sick as he stood there waiting to be sorted in front of the crowd presently applauding the Sorting Hat's new song. She watched blankly as the girl next to him whispered something in his ear that made the blond boy turn even greener.

"When I call your name—"

Hermione suddenly jolted to attention, her eyes snapping to the new speaker with the wonderfully familiar voice. There, standing with the first years before the staff table and holding a long roll of parchment, was a handsome man with graying hair, shabby robes, and gentle sage-green eyes. She had to stifle a gasp of surprise and emotion — he was here!

"—you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," Remus said, his gaze sweeping over the line of first years and pausing on the nervous, blond boy. "Don't worry, if you're standing here tonight, it's because you belong at this school — the hat won't really suck out your brains if it realizes you're not magical enough."

Amidst the chuckles from the staff and older students, Remus gave his anxious, new pupil a reassuring smile. The blond boy merely grimaced in return. Hermione, meanwhile, was smiling, broadly, her spirits soaring higher than the night sky reflected above her in the enchanted ceiling. She thanked her lucky stars that Remus had returned and her heart feasted on the sight of him, overjoyed that he was here before her once again.

Remus Lupin greatly enjoyed watching the first years getting sorted. Some of them appeared downright terrified before trying on the old hat, which had miraculously survived the Battle of Hogwarts, and utterly relieved when they made their way to their new housemates and friends.

He fondly remembered when he had been in their position so many years ago. He'd been nervous too, of course, but also extremely excited to be there and to be starting school like the rest of the children his age. The next seven years had been the best of his life. He'd loved Hogwarts for its magic, for the incredible friends it gave him — friends he had hitherto lacked due to his condition — and also for the relative normalcy of which he had been previously deprived. He was eternally grateful to Dumbledore for giving him the privilege of that sorely yearned for experience. Certainly, no other Headmaster would have been so kind and generous as to allow a werewolf like him to enroll at his school.

Remus still loved Hogwarts very much and was delighted to return to its familiar halls once more as a teacher. He had never desired to be anything else, and his yearlong stint of teaching a while back had only served as a terrible tease, a promising taste of the opportunity for a more productive and fulfilling life that had only been taken away by his cursed circumstance. But he was here again now and he didn't plan on leaving a second time.

"And it is with great pleasure," said McGonagall, "that I welcome back Professor Lupin, who has returned to the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and who will also be the new Head of House for Gryffindor."

Remus was humbled by the enthusiastic applause at his introduction, the most boisterous of cheers coming from the students at the Gryffindor table, one of whom was a clever young witch with a distinctive mane of brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. His gaze met with Hermione Granger's and she beamed at him as she applauded. Remus returned the smile.

Yes, he was glad to be back.