A/N: Hey guys! So, this is chapter 2, I was really happy with all the positive feedback I got for the first chapter, and I really hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

First thing, I decided to post this chapter now, because I am leaving for France, for my dad's house, tomorrow afternoon, and I may not have access to a computer for the next two and a half months of holidays. I'll be working 11 hours a day, 6 days a week, meaning that that makes it even less likely that I'll be post anything for the next loong while. So, here's chapter 2 to make it up to you, and hopefully when I get back I'll have a good few more chapters written up that I can post regularly before I catch up with myself!

Please R&R, as you can see on my profile I have a good few fanfics going and every new review, follow and favourite makes me eager to write more! :) feel free to message me for questions and anything!

Also, a little enlightenment, the four missing DA members mentioned in chapter 1, before Hermione is bitten, are Padma Patil, Harry, Ginny, and Fred. Just thought I'd make that clear. So additions to JK's deaths include Harry, Ginny, Molly, and Padma (I don't think she died in Deathly Hallows). :)

Enjoy! :)

~Tenshi

Chapter 2

"We have to find you a name," Remus was saying. "If you're going to stay here we can hardly just call you 'you' until you get your memory back."

She giggled into the shirt that he had transfigured for her. They had agreed already that, since it would be the start of the year here at Hogwarts in a month, and she didn't know whether she had anywhere else to go to, they would go to the Headmaster as soon as the others' returned, and ask whether or not she could stay in Hogwarts, and perhaps become a student - at least until she could recover her memories.

They were still in the Shrieking Shack, the place where, she had learned, Remus went for his transformations in order to keep the rest of the school from harm. He told her about the other three boys, Sirius, the dark-haired she had seen the night before, James, and Peter, aka Padfoot, Prongs and Wormtail. She laughed heartily when he told her HIS nickname, Moony, and when asked where the other three had gotten theirs from, she was met with a surprisingly soft voice, and a nostalgia and love in his eyes that made her realize just how linked the four of them were. He explained to her that they were animagii, and at the word the girl found herself reeling with memories of books she didn't know she had read. Facts and researches about animagus spells and forms whirled around her head, filling her with so much knowledge that she wished she knew where it came from. She felt in her heart that she had known someone who had been an animagus, though she couldn't put a face nor a name on the vague familiarity that caught her when she thought of it. She had pushed the thought aside for now though, and regained her hearted smile when Remus started joking about the contrast of Peter's form to the others'. And now here they were, discussing her entry into Hogwarts, and currently her name.

"What do you think of Starry? Or Sunny?" he was still saying. "Do you have any ideas?"

She gave him a bright smile, and said, "Not really. I never really thought about it to be honest. What about...Scarface?" She laughed then, unsure why exactly she found the idea funny, until she saw Remus tilt his head to the side and peer at her through his incredibly long lashes.

"Any reason why you find this funny?"

"I'm...not sure exactly..." She bit her lip, shuffling under his insistent gaze. "Why?" she managed to say.

"Nothing," he mused, a corner of his mouth lifting slightly as he spoke, still watching her, an amused glint in his eyes. Then he turned his head to stare at his feet, a nostalgic look crossing his features, his smile still there, his eyelids drooping.

"What is it?" she said, her tiny laugh answering his mirth.

Remus chuckled, and said, "Stellar..." He looked back at her, his eyes sparkling. "That would be a cool name!" He grinned widely, and she laughed. "Stellar and Moony, the two most amazing werewolves around! What do you think? Is it not the coolest thing ever?"

He kept on grinning and watching her laugh and nod frantically with her hands over her mouth, setting his head back on his knees after a few moments. He closed his eyes, and her fingertips grazed the scar that ran across his forehead and cheek. Remus sighed contentedly, enjoying the feminine touch of skin to skin that so resembled his mother's.

"Remus," the girl whispered, and he shivered to hear his name falling so naturally from her lips.

He opened his eyes. The girl in front of him was beautiful. There was no way he could have denied that, had he even tried. The scar on her cheek was still swollen and red; though he had cast a cleansing and healing spell on it, he knew the scar would remain - just like his did; because they had been made by a werewolf. Her eyes were amber gold with specks of green, so wide that anyone would have gotten lost in them. Her hair was dirty, matted with blood, bushy and unruly, as was her face, but even then it only worked to give her a fierce look, as if she had been in a hundred and one battles and come out of them raging for more. Her face was shadowed in soot, blood and filth, but her fine, thin nose and full lips were enough to make it beautiful. As he stared, Remus resolved that Stellar was indeed the perfect name for her; her eyes seemed to shine with a thousand stars as she looked down into his own.

"Yeah," he whispered back at her, his eyes never leaving hers. "It'll be fine, don't worry. The boys will love you, and trust me when I say that, no matter what happens, you'll always be able to count me as a friend."

He gave her a smile, and the hesitation in her eyes slowly receded, giving way to such a limitless trust and relief that he knew, if he ever came too close to breaking it, he would be breaking her with it. And he resolved never to do anything to betray her.

And something in her wide, doe like eyes made him feel like he'd made the right decision.

He stood to stretch then, and let loose a loud yawn that had her giggling all over again. He grinned, and she jumped up after him, grinning right back at him as if she hadn't just been made a werewolf and her possible hopes in life been ruined with it.

His heart fluttered a little, and he said, "So, Stellar it is, yeah?" He waggled his eyebrows at her comically, for now dismissing the gravity of the situation, and she laughed again. "At least until you remember your name!"

"Yes indeed!"

She beamed at him, and both of them turned to the sound of heavy boots pounding up the creaking stairs. Remus rolled his eyes at her.

"That would be Padfoot. Quite the unfit name if you want my thoughts on it!"

Her booming laugh startled said Marauder as he pushed open the creaky door, and he found the two of them standing, her wearing Muggle jeans and a white t-shirt that showed way too little of her cleavage to his liking, but was, fortunately, transparent enough that he could guess Remus hadn't told her about it. Sirius grinned and winked knowingly at his best friend, who blushed and hunched his shoulders when the girl put a hand on his arm. Sirius observed the girl as she laughed, too distracted to realize that the teenager standing in the doorway was giving her an overly appraising look that would have had her reeling had she met his eye that moment. The girl was thin, with a well marked waist and long trailing legs that had his fingers twitching. The jeans were cut low, revealing a tiny bit of skin and a piece of white fabric from her knickers over her stomach as she laughed. Sirius' breath hitched briefly as he eyed that uncovered patch of milky skin, and he quickly averted his gaze. Meeting his friend's eyes, he jerked his dark curls towards the open door behind him, giving the girl a wink as Remus took her hand and led her through the door. Inwardly, Sirius growled. Remus had a few steps in advance with the witch that he would have to catch up on. The simple way she allowed him to touch her was enough to tell him just how many steps behind him he was.

Just as the witch was passing him out, Sirius took her hand, snatching it out of Remus' grip with a wink for his best friend. The Marauder bowed in front of her, bringing his lips to touch the back of her hand, a grin making his mouth twitch.

"Miss," he greeted her mockingly. "Sirius Black, your devoted vassal! May I enquire of your name?"

She laughed, and he grinned up at her winningly. Then she shot a look at Remus, and Sirius' eyes darkened when his friend nodded to her, as if she needed his permission.

She looked back at him then, squeezing the hand that held hers lightly.

"I'm Stellar." She laughed, and shared a knowing smile with the werewolf, leaving Sirius at a loss. "Or at least that is the name Remus here gave me."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, straightening to shoot a look at his friend.

"The name he gave you?"

"I can't remember mine," she whispered, avoiding his eyes.

She sounded almost guilty, embarrassed, Sirius realized.

"Hey, hey," he whispered, catching her chin in his fingers and gently getting her to look at him in the eyes. "It's not your fault that you can't remember anything. No one's blaming you, love."

The girl looked up at him, her eyes suddenly wide. As he watched, she lifted a hand, and her fingers hovered above his face, her pupils dilated with an emotions he took to be realization and recognition. Sirius looked into her eyes, and blinked a couple of times when her hand began tracing his face, her lips parted just slightly and her free hand still in his, his stomach fluttering.

"Sirius," she whispered, and the look of complete amazement in her eyes was mesmerising. "Sirius Black, son of Wallburga Black, brother to... R. A. B. ... Regulus?"

Remus gasped and surged forward, yanking her from his friend and whirling her around to look at him.

"Are you remembering something?" he all but shouted into her flushed face.

Stellar nodded timidly. "I think so..." She closed her eyes, leaning forward until her forehead was pressed against the other werewolf's chin, and he held her up as her legs shook violently and then buckled. She grasped his forearms, gasping, eyes flashing opened as memories coursed through her. "Hermione," she said in a voice that wasn't hers.

Remus held her close to him as she struggled with the backlash of her memories. His mind was reeling. Why were her memories coming back to her so early? How had she known Sirius when he could see in his friend's eyes that he hadn't the faintest clue who she was? And why exactly had seeing him caused such a strong reaction in her? His heart caught, and Remus tried hard to ignore the pang of jealousy that gripped him. This was not the time. And the witch did not belong to her. He had no right to be jealous.

Finally her breathing became calm again. Her chest heaved against his own, her body pressed flush against his, her head in his chest, his arms around her and hers around him. Trying not to show how much her closeness affected him, he squeezed her waist one last time, reluctantly pulling back from her and lifting her head up to look at him, brushing her hair back from her now sweaty forehead.

"You okay?" he breathed.

She nodded, and opened her mouth, her lips quivering. His gaze lingered on them for a moment, and then he looked up, meeting her eyes.

"I... I remember my name," she whispered. "I think... I think I'm called Hermione. And," she continued just as he was about to speak, "I remember other things too. But it's confusing. Just - names. Impressions. Feelings." She frowned, and Remus thought that she was the cutest thing ever when she did that, her bottom lip protruding and quivering a little. "I remember..." She closed her eyes tightly. "Remus John Lupin, Sirius Orion Black, James... James Merlin Potter... and... Pettigrew..." She drew in a quick breath, her heartbeat turning frantic once again in his ears. He pressed his palm to her hot forehead, but she continued as if she hadn't noticed him. "Severus Snape, Lily Potter, Albus Dumbledore, Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Andromeda Tonks, Rubeus Hagrid, Minerva McGonagall... I..." Then her eyes rolled back into her head, and she collapsed on him.

Remus gasped as he held her up. She wasn't heavy, far from it, but she still smelled of him, he realized. Of blood, him - and sex. He closed his eyes tightly, struggling not to do something he knew he'd regret later.

"Sirius," he hissed between gritted teeth, "take her. Now."

His friend stepped forward to grab her, and Remus stumbled backwards, grabbing the door frame for balance as he took deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. Bad idea. Her scent assaulted him, again and again; his eyes zerroed in on her, and he distinctly felt his lips curling back over his teeth, a snarl escaping him as he fought for control of his wolf.

"Moony."

He looked up, meeting his friend's startling blue eyes. Then his gaze drifted back down, hovering over the girl's - Hermione's - shapes. He took in the curve of her breasts, her thin waist and- Remus closed his eyes, taking an involuntary step forward. He felt himself hardening, the strain against his zipper slowly intensifying.

"Moony," Sirius said again. "Get a grip, mate! Snap out of it!"

He blinked, slowly. The grip he still had on the door frame tightened, and with a crack he was left with a large chunk of wood in his hand. He looked down, blood oozing from the cuts that the splinters had made into his skin, dropping to the floor with sickening thuds. He stepped back, shaking his head, holding his breath, avoiding to look at the unconscious girl that his best friend now had a tight grip on from behind. He turned, and all but ran for the door.

"Get her out of here," he snarled over his shoulder. "I'll catch up with you later."

And he disappeared over the frail balustrade of the downward steps.

X

He'd nearly hurt her.

He'd been close to losing it, and he knew that. Without Sirius there, he'd have fucked the girl senseless whether she'd liked it or not. He'd have ripped her clothes off and taken her again, regardless of anything else besides the need - the lust - that was still building up in his gut and coiling in his lower stomach. He'd been that close... He closed his eyes as images of what could have happened flew through his mind, relying on his heightened senses to direct himself and avoid obstacles as he ran. Once he was far enough into the Forbidden Forest, he stopped, placed his hands against the nearest tree, which was several feet thick, and braced himself. The tree shook, and as he gritted his teeth and pushed, his muscles bulging with the strain, beads of sweat popping on his brow, it's roots ripped out of the earth. The tree groaned audibly as it fell back, and Remus himself uttered a long, winding shout as he pushed, the effort exhausting him and the wolf that was still raging for it's fill inside of him.

Then finally he fell to his knees in front of the uprooted tree, the strain proving too much for him. He stared down at his hands helplessly, his gut clenching when he thought of how much control he'd lost back there, how much control he'd allowed himself to lose. He remembered how frail she had looked in his arms, her thin structure, so light, so vulnerable, that he had almost forgotten himself. Remus drew in a shaky breath. He steadied himself with the trunk of the half collapsed tree and stood slowly, bracing himself for the onslaught of memories and emotions that he knew was coming. Her name sang in his head endlessly - Hermione, Hermione... The way his name had rolled off her tongue echoed inside him, and he found himself panting for breath as images of the girl flashed before his eyes. His fingers dug into the bark as he clenched his fists, and his already bruised and cut hands suffered a little more. The pain momentarily distracted him, and he whipped his head up to watch his fingers, buried deeply inside the trunk like it was butter.

Then he remembered the scars he'd seen on her back, her chest, all over her, gashes cut deeply into her by repeated hexes. Scars given solely to inflict pain, to torture her, to break her. And he'd seen the word carved into her arm. Mudblood, it had claimed. Mudblood, Mudblood, Mudblood. The word had rang in his head again and again. He'd clenched his fists and struggled not to break the hold he'd had on his wolf, fury mounting into him like a tidal wave threatening to flood his senses. Fury against those who had thought it funny to torture her, to hurt her. To mark her like an animal, like she was nothing more than cattle, a piece of meat led to slaughter. His gut had twisted as he watched her sleep, and he'd silently counted the scars on her body, snarls ripping through his teeth with every new one he found. Then he'd ran out the door and retched violently, sickened, disgusted and revulsed at the knowledge of what she'd had to go through. The girl he'd named Stellar might not know who she was, where she came from, but now he, Remus Lupin, by some twisted will of fate, knew more about her than anyone else - including herself. He'd glamoured the scars to hide them from their very bearer, wanting in his heart to give Hermione a new chance at life. He did not want anyone judging her for something she did not even remember. Not anymore. Something that shouldn't have mattered either way, bad that did. It wasn't fair, and he knew it. So he'd hidden all of her scars, save the more recent on on her cheek. He'd given her another chance, a second life, at least for the time being - until she recovered her memories.

Remus sighed and closed his eyes, his grip on the bark loosening. His arms fell limp by his side, and he started walking.

X

"Hey, Hermione? Um, that's your name right?"

"I think so at least."

"Well... You know, the names you said back there, in the Shack... How did - I mean - huh..."

The girl looked up at him, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Yes?"

Sirius bit his lip before saying, "Bella, and Narcissa... Their name is Black. How did you know about their engagements? They're not even married yet."

Her brow furrowed, and her look became distant.

"I don't even know who these people are, Sirius," she whispered, looking down at her feet as they walked. "I was just...saying the names that popped into my head. I don't know who they are, or even what they look like. All I know - is the names."

She looked away, wringing her hands together absently.

"And," Sirius continued, "you said Andromeda Tonks? I don't know any magical family whose name is Tonks. I haven't heard of her being engaged.

His tone wasn't accusing, but made Hermione feel guilty nonetheless. She shrugged absently, trying hard not to look at him, her head turned away and fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. Sirius stopped her then, whipping out an arm in front of her and effectively interrupting her strides. He stepped in front of her and took both her forearms in his hands, looking down at her carefully.

"Hermione, no one is blaming you."

She opened her mouth, but he placed a finger on her lips.

"Don't speak, please. Just let me finish. This isn't your fault. You appeared bruised and bloodied in the middle of the night, in a place you didn't know, with barely any memory of what could have been your past. You'd just been bitten by a werewolf, the same as Moony if I understood that correctly, and you had to go through your change almost immediately after your bite. Meaning that it was a hundred times more painful than it should have been. You don't know who you are. For some reason you know us, and other people besides. For some reason," he continued as she was about to speak again, "you know things that most of the people who aren't amnesiac don't, and you know the names of people that I'm fairly sure don't know you - for example myself. But," and he paused for a fraction of a second, emphasizing the word, "there is no way anyone is blaming you. I was stupid to ask you how you knew about my cousins' engagements, but don't you dare think that any of this is your fault, because it is most certainly not! Understood?"

The girl was looking up at him with wide eyes, arms limp by her side and no longer fidgeting. She watched him for a few more seconds before saying, "Thank you...Padfoot." And she threw her arms around his waist.

Taken aback, Sirius stood as stiff as a plank for a moment before catching himself and hugging her back. "You are welcome...Stellar." When she pulled away, he gave her a wide grin and started walking again.

"Come on now mysterious Witch!" And he playfully gave her ass a pinch, making her squeal and blush in surprise as she jumped. They both laughed, walking up the sentier from the Whomping Pillow to Hogwarts. Then Hermione halted abruptly, and, looking around, caused Sirius to stop and look at her curiously. "Did Peeves pinch you?"

She gave him an odd look. "Who's Peeves?"

"Peeves the Poltergeist. Our very own resident ghost."

Her eyes widened. "Ghost?" she squeaked weakly.

"We have loads of them," he taunted, amused at her horrified expression.

She closed her eyes forcefully, resting her head in her hands. "Fine," she said, her voice muffled by her hands. "Scare me all you want, Padfoot, after all I'm the werewolf."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked suspiciously.

She raised her head suddenly to look at him, a mischievous grin on her face that had Sirius' heart skipping a beat. She looked way too much like a Marauder at that moment for him not to care.

"Werewolves are of the few creatures that can touch ghosts, even in human form." She winked at him playfully. "I'm sure if you'd only been paying attention to Binns' History of Magic you'd know that. Or If you'd even asked Remus. Not that I'd expect you to be listening at all!" Then she stopped talking, her eyes wide like she'd just grown a second head. Sirius was staring at her like she'd just used that head to fart, his eyes bulging out. "Did I just...?"

"I think you did," he confirmed, feeling slightly dazed. "We can now confirm without a doubt that you are a student at Hogwarts. Or were, at least. Old Binns has been teaching here for eons. Was there when the Dragon was still a Snake, I reckon."

"The Dragon?"

Sirius flashed a grin. "My dear old mum, Walburga Black! Be glad you won't ever have to meet her, my dear Stellar." He winked at her. "Unless, of course, you plan on accepting my marriage proposal. I'm afraid meeting my mother will then be required by protocol. Not that I give a Thestral's bullocks about protocol!"

Hermione wrinkled her nose distastefully. "You make my head hurt."

"I'll take that as a compliment, my dearest werewolf! Now what were you going to say when you started sniffing the air like a dog?"

She glared at him. "I was not sniffing like a dog!"

"Were so!"

"Was not!"

"Were!"

"Not!"

"Were!"

"Ugh!" She threw her hands up in despair. "Never mind! I don't know why I bother! There's no point in arguing with you, is there?"

He shook his head gravely. "Nope, there isn't. Now are you going to tell me or shall I pour some Veritaserum in your pumpkin juice?"

"Does it look like I have pumpkin juice on me?"

"No, why?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Whatever. What I was going to say before you started talking about ghosts," she began, raising her eyebrows at him and daring him to interrupt her, "Remus is coming."

Sirius perked up immediately. "How do you know that?"

"I'm...not sure exactly. When I woke up, he said that...our minds were linked, that I hadn't realized it yet." She paused thoughtfully. "I think I know what he meant now. I can feel him... I know he's coming." She looked back at the black-haired boy in front of her. "Sirius, what happened exactly back there? I don't remember anything after my...outburst." She grimaced slightly at the word.

"Moony had a little...fit, let's say," he mused, winking at her. "From what I understand, your little party last night had a lingering effect on him."

The girl blushed crimson, her eyes growing wide. "You...you know about that?"

His grin widened. "Course I do! I was there love!"

"Oh no, oh no," she began stammering, her head buried in her hands. "This is a nightmare, please, let me wake up!"

Sirius laughed as she hid her face from him. He stepped up to her and took her hands from her face gently, tipping her chin back to look at him.

"Don't worry about it," he said, "you could really have fallen on a worst shag than Remus. At least he's the kind to respect you. He's a good person, Hermione. He'll take care of you." He brushed the hair from her face delicately before releasing her, and she stood there, still, as he walked on ahead of her, allowing her time to think.

What had he meant? Did he really...see her and Remus as - some kind of a couple? She didn't remember doing anything with him, for Merlin's sake! Hell, she didn't even remember who she was! All she knew was that she was here, in a world not entirely her own, where she knew things she wasn't supposed to know, and had only remembered her own name in the middle of some kind of panic attack! She thought back then to the moment she'd met his eyes. He'd been right - he was the first thing she remembered. As if she'd just woken up a few hours before and the first thing she'd seen was him. His pale blue eyes, his thin face, his scars, his sandy, fine hair falling over his ears... Remus was her first memory. Her first anchor. The first tangible thing that could hold her afloat. Whereas the rest of this place didn't seem real to her, like she didn't belong there, Remus seemed...out of time. Though she didn't know him as such - after all she'd only just met him a few hours before -, she knew he was right when he'd said that they had a link. And, right now, that link was the only thing that held her afloat. And when she'd met his eyes for the first time, or at least what seemed the first time, she'd felt like she belonged here. Like she'd known him all her life and had met him all over again a few hours ago. They had a link, there was no doubt about that. And maybe the tingle of recognition she'd felt on seeing him was only because a part of her had recognised him as one of her people - as a werewolf, even though the conscious part of her brain had known nothing about it. She could feel his presence, sense when he was near, when he was looking for her. She knew that if she'd tried to find him, to go to him, she'd have walked right to wherever he was, even blindfolded. She knew he'd been thinking about ever since she'd woken up in Sirius' arms, twenty minutes earlier. The nagging feeling at the back of her head had been enough of an indication. And now, she knew he was walking up to them. She knew he was still in the Forbidden Forest, where he'd been angry and had let his wolvish anger control him for a short length of time. During that time, his emotions had been enhanced. It was HIS anger in the back of her head that had woken her up. HIS emotions. His nearing presence even now was making her hands tingle. But Sirius' understatement...that they were a couple... Hermione shook her head, clutching her temples with her hands. No, she decided. Her and Remus were not a couple. She didn't know herself, and she certainly didn't know him enough. Not for that.

And then she felt him nearing, and she whipped her head to the side, all thoughts of what she had just been pondering forgotten, and gave him her brightest and widest smile.