Saturday 19th December – Half Moon
Hermione awoke excitedly Saturday morning. The holidays had finally arrived. She felt a cocktail of nerves and excitement, and a little fear. She was yet to receive any correspondence about holiday plans and the train was due to depart for London that afternoon. What if he's forgotten? Or changed his mind?
Fortunately her doubts were erased at breakfast with the arrival of the morning post. She was sitting with Harry, Ginny, Dean and Parvati. Ron was sat a few spaces down with Neville, his sour mood palpable even from this distance. Harry followed Hermione's gaze and his eyes narrowed when he took in Ron's form. Seeming to sense their gaze Ron glanced up, before hurriedly returning his attention to the piece of sausage he was stabbing grumpily.
'You should talk to him,' said Hermione softly.
'Has he apologised to you yet?' Harry replied, his eyes not moving from the side of Ron's head.
'No…but…'
'Then the ball is in his court,' said Harry dismissively. Hermione sighed. She appreciated the support, but the rift between them was tiring.
'Fine,' she conceded. 'Ignore him all you want for the holidays, but I want things back to normal by the time I'm back, okay?'
Harry considered her proposal for a second. 'I can't believe you're so willing to let him off the hook,' he shook his head in bewilderment, 'but if it's what you want then I'm sure I can figure out forgiving him over the next three weeks.'
'Thank you,' Hermione said gratefully. The truth was, now she had a much more exciting prospect in her life, her anger at Ron seemed laughably insignificant.
'I won't forgive him,' said Ginny with a shrug.
Hermione was about to respond when a tawny owl landed before her and dutifully stuck out its leg, presenting a small rolled note. She unrolled it quickly and read:
Edge of the Forbidden Forest, 3pm.
R
She felt a pang of nerves fluttering in her stomach, but couldn't help but grin. He had remembered.
'What's that?' asked Harry.
'Nothing,' she replied quickly before crumpling the note and stuffing it in her pocket, struggling to hide her smile.
Harry regarded her with an odd expression, but clearly decided not to press the issue, and for that she was grateful.
'Are you excited to be going home, Parvati?'" she asked, deflecting the attention away from herself, but her mind was still on the little crumpled note as Parvati began explaining her Christmas plans to the group.
As 2:30 rolled around she finished packing her backpack and said her goodbyes in the common room before finally it was time to head for the train. This is where the lies began, and she had to be careful to remember her story. Fortunately, Harry and the Weasleys were remaining at Hogwarts over the Christmas break as Mr and Mrs Weasley were away visiting Charlie. She had told them she was heading home for Christmas, and so it was simple enough to say her farewells and leave the castle among the crowds of students who were following Hagrid. The tricky part would be making her departure from the group, as Neville seemed intent on chatting with her. She made idle conversation, all the while clutching the firework hidden in her robe pocket, waiting for the right moment.
The group wound its way down the hill away from the castle until they were out of sight of the castle. She took a deep breath before dropping the firework casually from her pocket, releasing her thumb from the fuse and causing it to spring to life. The firework shot out blue and gold sparks and billowed blue smoke as it twirled and danced through the air. Some people screamed, others ducked, but Hermione ran. She darted off the path and ducked behind some bushes, hoping she hadn't been seen in the confusion. She listened as Hagrid tried to extinguish the firework and regroup everyone, before eventually they set off again and the chatter of voices faded into the distance. She waited another few minutes for good measure, before glancing around and rising from her hiding spot. Hoping she hadn't been spotted she picked her way quickly across the deserted ground towards the edge of the forest.
Slightly out of breath and with her heart beating fast from a mixture of nerves and adrenaline she reached the cover of the trees and stood just a few meters inside the forest, shielding herself from view of the castle but too afraid to venture any further alone. And there she waited, scanning the grounds for any signs of someone approaching. She checked her watch. 3.15. The adrenaline and her excitement began to fade, and she shifted her weight anxiously between her feet. She turned around and peered into the darkness of the forest, straining her eyes to try to see through the gloom. It was creepy how the trees blocked all the light of otherwise bright day. Just then she noticed a blue light making its way towards her from the darkness. As it got closer she realised it was a wolf patronus. She smiled, feeling a sense of relief. The wolf stopped several meters from her and seemed to jerk its head as if wanting her to follow - and so she did.
She followed the patronus into the forest, trying not to think about what other things might be lurking nearby. They travelled a few hundred meters, and the light from the edge of the forest began to recede as a sense of unease began to prickle at the edges of her mind. The darkness seemed to press in closer and she was just reaching for her wand to cast a Lumos charm when suddenly the wolf vanished and a figure stepped out from behind a tree.
She let out a startled scream and raised her wand, before she heard a familiar laugh.
'Bloody hell!' she exclaimed. 'I nearly hexed you!'
'Sorry,' said Remus with a sheepish grin, his eyes seeming to glow in the dim light. 'I just didn't want anyone to see. Come on, we have to walk until we're outside the boundary.'
And with that he turned and continued to stroll deeper into the forest. She followed, still not quite believing he was really here. They walked in silence, Hermione having to concentrate hard on her footing to keep up with him on the uneven roots, since there was no form of path to speak of. Still, Remus pressed on confidently deeper and deeper into the forest as if he knew exactly where he was going, though where that was Hermione was unsure. For a fleeting moment an intrusive thought reminded her that she was in the middle of a forest surrounded by dangerous creatures and beside a fully grown werewolf, and no one else had any idea she was there. She shuddered. It was lucky she trusted him.
Not for the first time she wondered whether he could read minds, because at that moment he stopped and turned to face her.
'Are you alright?'
She nodded, but her heavy breathing betrayed her.
'We can stop for a bit.' He slipped his bag off his back and offered her a bottle of water from inside.
'How far are we going?' she asked, taking a grateful sip.
'To the boundary. Probably just under an hour to go. Sorry… I should have said.'
'Can I ask why?' She felt a niggling concern, realising she had no idea what his plan was and not liking not being in control. What would happen once they reached the boundary? Was the plan to camp out in the woods tonight? He might not be afraid of the forest, but she couldn't say the same was true for her. And she hadn't packed a tent.
'Can't apparate inside Hogwarts.'
'We're going to apparate?'
'If that's okay with you?'
She nodded, relieved to hear they weren't staying in the forest. 'Yes, it's just I've never done it.'
'You might feel a bit sick then,' he laughed, and resumed walking, but she noticed he had slowed his pace slightly. She fell into step beside him, still concentrating on her feet, but able to glance up at him occasionally.
'And… where are we apparating to?'
'I kinda wanted it to be a surprise. You'll like it though.'
Just then the strangled cry of an animal pierced the darkness, making Hermione jump and her heart beat fast. She looked up at him, and he shot her a reassuring look.
'Is there anything that can hurt us?' she asked hesitantly.
He shook his head, 'Not around this part, and not at this time.'
'You know the forest pretty well then?'
'You could say that,' he said with a hint of amusement. 'And I'm usually the most dangerous thing in it.'
She could have sworn she saw a flash of yellow dance mischievously across his eyes as he said it.
'Most things will leave us alone,' he said in reassurance, although she wasn't sure she liked the word 'most'.
They kept walking for another half an hour, mostly in silence save for Remus pointing out plants of interest, including some rare glowing purple toadstools that Hermione recognised as Laccaria, a key ingredient in the Mopsus potion. Remus stopped to harvest a few into a small bag which he then tucked back into his rucksack.
She was joking about how he could make a lot of money collecting rare ingredients from dangerous places when his head whipped around suddenly as if in reaction to a noise that she couldn't hear. She fell silent, and tried to follow his gaze but couldn't see anything amongst the dark trees. Remus sniffed the air, then closed his eyes and sniffed again, his head cocked to one side. He then dropped to a crouch and placed his palm on the floor.
That was when she heard it too. A low, rumbling growl that seemed to vibrate the floor beneath her.
His eyes snapped open and she saw they were bright yellow, piercing through the darkness. She felt a pang of fear shoot through her.
'Let's move,' he said quietly, his eyes fading back to a honey brown colour. Hermione didn't hesitate to follow him as he strode away from the noise, and muttered 'Imperdasis' to muffle their sounds. She was impressed by his casual wandless magic, and was once again reminded that she was standing beside a very accomplished wizard.
He seemed to relax as they put distance between themselves and the rumbling, until finally he stopped and announced,
'We're here. The edge of the Hogwarts boundary.'
Hermione didn't have the faintest idea how he knew. This area of trees looked identical to every other part of this forest, but she was relieved to hear they had arrived.
'Let's get out of here shall we?' he asked, drawing his wand and offering her the crook of his arm with a smile.
She took it and returned a small smile, suddenly feeling shy. Suddenly there was a whooshing noise and her stomach lurched and her head spun and she was thrown off balance. Then just as soon as it began the spinning stopped and she stumbled forward, her feet landing on sand. Strong arms held her up so she didn't fall.
'Nicely done. Feel okay?'
She steadied herself and nodded. 'I think so.'
'Great.'
Hermione looked around. They were standing beside the sea, the winter sun halfway below the horizon casting their shadows long across the beach. A stiff breeze was blowing the waves up into foamy peaks and she hugged her arms around herself against the cold. Remus didn't seem to notice the cold, but noticed her folded arms.
'Let's get inside,' he said and began leading the way once more.
Hermione looked up and saw a squat little cottage set back from the beach a few meters. The boundary wall had fallen down in places, matching the assortment of small tumbledown outbuildings, but the cottage itself looked in tact save for a few missing roof tiles and ivy covering the entirety of one side.
'It's my parent's old holiday cottage,' he explained. 'We used to come here all the time when I was a child.'
'Wow,' she breathed. 'It's wonderful.'
He beamed.
'It's a bit rundown now, but no one will disturb us. People in the village swear it's haunted. Apparently you can hear screaming and howling on the full moon,' he said with a shrug.
She chuckled, and he pushed through the rusty gate and across the overgrown garden.
'The village is a few miles away and we can get supplies there, but I should have enough stuff for tonight, so we can head in tomorrow. I believe there's even a Christmas market.'
Remus then opened front door and lead her inside into a small cosy kitchen. He flicked the light switch and the lights spluttered on, bathing the room in a cosy glow. He seemed pleasantly surprised that the lights worked. He set his bag down and went to check the other rooms whilst Hermione traced her finger along the kitchen counter, leaving a trail in the thin layer of dust which seemed to coat every surface. She opened the cupboard under the sink and found a dustpan and brush, and got to work cleaning the work surfaces.
She looked up when she heard the sound of his laugh, not having heard him return to the kitchen.
'What?' she asked, wondering what was so funny.
'Sorry,' he said sheepishly, 'It's just very sweet, you sweeping up.'
He waved his wand and the windows and doors swung open. A strong wind seemed to blow through the house, purging it of all the dust which was flung outside, before the doors and windows slammed shut again.
Hermione looked down at the pitiful amount of dust she had collected in her dustpan, and looked back up at him.
'Well that's just unfair,' she said, and they both laughed. She kept forgetting it was only her that wasn't allowed to use magic outside of school. And, since she usually went home to a very muggle neighbourhood in London during the holidays, she wasn't used to seeing magic outside of Hogwarts.
'Magic does make things easier,' he smiled. 'I've made up a room for you, if you want to unpack. I can make a start on some food?'
She nodded and followed his directions and found a small room, not really big enough for the double bed squished against its walls. She closed the door and plonked onto the bad, then exhaled deeply. She was here. On holiday. With him. She couldn't help but let out an incredulous laugh. It was so bizarre. And yet somehow felt so completely normal at the same time.
She began unpacking her bag into the room. She hadn't really known what to pack, having no idea what they were doing or how long they were staying, but was trying hard to just go with the flow and not overthink everything. She had owled her parents to let them know she was staying at Hogwarts to do extra study for a week and then would see them for Christmas, so she didn't know what she would do if Remus had only planned to spend a couple of days with her.
The smell of dinner wafted through the small house and she made her way back to the kitchen.
'Smells great,' she smiled.
'Well I hope it tastes great too,' he said, dishing up two plates. They sat across from each other at the small dining table and fell quiet, each focusing on their dinner. Eventually the silence was too much.
'Okay, this is weird,' Hermione announced.
Remus raised his head, 'Yeah…'
'I'm sorry, maybe this was a stupid idea…' she felt embarrassment rising in her cheeks.
'Hey,' he said softly and smiled. 'It's okay, it's not stupid. This is just… new territory.' His eyes searched her uncertain expression. 'What's wrong? I can take you home if you've changed your mind.'
She shook her head, 'No, no. It just feels… awkward. It used to be so easy to talk to you, but now it's like there's all this other… unspoken stuff… like an expectation of something.'
'I don't have any expectations. Just two friends hanging out, yeah? No pressure, remember?' He offered her a reassuring smile and she felt her worries diminish somewhat.
'Right. No pressure,' she replied with a nod. 'So, is there anything in particular you do want to do?'
'There is no plan. We can do whatever we want. Go to the beach, go to the Christmas market. There's a good number of books here that need reading too.'
After dinner Remus showed her the living room with its floor to ceiling bookcase and soft lumpy sofas. A chess table sat on the coffee table.
'Do you play?' she asked.
'Yes. Do you?'
She shook her head.
'Ron has tried to teach me before, but I don't really have the time for it.'
'Well, now we have all the time in the world.' He sat down at one side and indicated the seat opposite. She giggled and sat down.
'I don't even know what the pieces do!'
And so Remus began patiently and enthusiastically explaining all the pieces movements, and Hermione felt herself beginning to relax. Perhaps everything was going to be fine after all.