Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine.

A/N: 'Kay, I might as well say that there's romance ahead. Hooray? I'm not too sure I like how the scene turned out, but I'll let it pass this time. I'm too tired to actually think accurately. Not much to say, except the end of the story is closing in. I'm not quite sure how many more chapters there will be, but this story's almost over. On a brighter note, I've started another story - time-travel, of course, but it's going to circle around Hermione/James relationship. I don't know if I want to continue it, as I have two other stories to finish after this one, and also, I'm not a huge fan of JP/HG stories. I guess it's mainly because I've never read many of them, but I wanted to try and give it a shot with writing. I'm trying to test out different shippings. Anywho.. Yeah, that's about all. If you want to read the first chapter of my other (new) story, it's called Hands are Meant to Hold, and you can find it on my list of stories. Anyways. Enjoy this chapter, hopefully. - Min

Thanks Caligirl-HPLVR, Parvatti, Shiroi-Tora78, The Insane Imortal Dragon, Reanne1102, CrymsonTear, Nercia Genisis, AlexandraKathleen, ilovelobsters, KeLpIeenoch, pickles are cool acorns are not, Hermione32993, Soelle, LunaLovegoss , vikkicorey, and LoveForRupertGrint for the wonderful reviews!

Seasons Change

By: xScenex

a.k.a. Min

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Oh, Hermione, what happened to you?" Remus whispered so quietly that he wasn't sure if he spoke the words aloud.

The girl's hand felt so cold against his own warm one. He held her palm against his flushed face, feeling her smooth skin against his. He prayed that she would be okay.

"Moony..?"

"Mm?" He responded, unsure if his voice would work correcting if he spoke again.

"She'll be okay, you know," Sirius told him quietly, sounding unsure of how to phrase the sentence.

Remus closed his eyes tightly, wanting nothing more than to know those words were true.

"Padfoot's right," James added after a moment. "She'll be fine. Just let her rest."

For the first time, Peter spoke up, "I agree with Prongs."

The russet-haired boy nodded slightly and shifted on his knee's so that he was more comfortable. His eyes locked onto the pale face of the girl he loved. Her eyelids were fluttering a bit in her slumber, and perspiration was beginning to form on her forehead.

He continued to watch her, minutes passing by. Her sleep seemed to get more fitful - she shifted a bit and mumbled something inaudible to any of them. Remus once more started to rub small circles on the back of her hand with his thumb, trying to sent any form of comfort to her while she slept.

"Moony, I think you need to rest," his friends told him at the same time.

"I don't want to," he replied simply. "Not until I know she's fine."

"Look at her - she's fine, Remus."

"That doesn't mean she's fine, James," the other boy replied, "She was captured by Death Eaters. Would you be fine if you had?"

Silence swept between the two dark haired boys and Peter nervously ran a hand through his thin hair. None of them said a word and instead, they situated themselves on either side of Remus. Sirius sighed and wiped his face off with one hand, trying to get sleep out of his eyes. "This'll be one long night."

"But it will be worth it, in the end," James intoned gently, resting a hand on Remus' shoulder.

He looked at his friends gratefully, feeling love and warmth fill his heart as he stared at all three of them. No one could ask for better friends.

"Thank you, guys," Remus smiled a bit before turning back to watch Hermione.

"Don't thank us," Sirius mumbled quietly, "What are friends for?"

James grinned next to him, "Prank wars?"

Sirius laughed halfheartedly, "Yeah. Prank wars."

Hermione felt herself slowly drifting into consciousness. Her body ached everywhere and her head pounded painfully. She bit back a groan. Gods, she hurt.

She was about to open her eyes when she felt someone touch her hand. It was a gentle touch, and if she didn't know any better, she would have thought someone had been holding her hand and had just shifted. She knew she was safe - she was at Hogwarts, she remembered. But who would be holding her hand?

She wished painfully that Severus was there with her, but knew that that wouldn't happen. Severus was gone - gone to a place where he would be better off. But even though she knew that, the thought of her friend being gone hurt her deeply. She whimpered softly despite trying to stay quiet and felt a hand rest gently against her face and another gently squeezing her hand.

She opened her eyes slowly, her vision a bit blurry but almost immediately, she recognized the amber eyes staring down at her - she had seen them hundreds of times in her past while in Defense Against the Dark Arts class in her third year, and at Grimmauld Place. But she had to be dreaming, right? Remus had blue eyes… come to think of it, none of it seemed to make any sense.

"Remus?" she croaked softly, hoping that it truly was him and she wasn't being delirious.

"Yes, Hermione, it's me," his voice was soft, caring and full of compassion. It confused Hermione, but it was a welcoming sound to her ears.

She smiled a bit, "Good. How are you feeling?" She wanted to make sure he was okay.

"I'm feeling fine, although I should ask you the same thing," he responded.

Hermione didn't reply. She looked away from him and stared at the wall beside her bed. She thought about Severus once more. He was dead, she knew that, but would she ever be able to accept that fact? She would have once thought that the death of him wouldn't be such a big deal - but she'd grown up since then, and had come to know the boy who would be the Potions professor in the future. She blamed herself for his death. If it hadn't been for her, he'd be there, alongside her resting in the hospital wing.

"Hermione?"

She turned back around and stared solemnly at Remus. He looked so sad, sitting on the floor next to her bed, holding her hand. His eyes shone brightly with unshed tears in the dim light from a few lit torches in the room. His hair hung messily around his face, unkempt and slightly tangled.

Behind him, on a couple of the hospital beds lay his friends, fast asleep under the blankets, unaware of the other two awake in the room.

"I'm sorry," the girl whispered quietly. "I'm just… upset."

"I understand," he replied softly, looking down. "I just wish there was something I could do to help you…"

Hermione felt herself smile at that, "You don't have to. Just being here for me when I woke up was enough."

He shook his head, "No it wasn't."

Hermione sat up slowly regardless of how her back ached. "It was. Please don't argue with me," she told him. She saw his face become slightly red and felt bad. "I've just had… had a h-hard time, and I'm still trying to handle things…"

The boy looked up, his eyes questioning but he didn't say anything. Hermione didn't want to repeat everything she'd seen while she had been captured, but she decided the least she could do was tell him about Severus.

"H-He's dead," was all she provided at the moment and looked down at the blanket covering her legs.

Remus' eyes softened considerably in understanding and he squeezed her hand again. He didn't say anything, allowing her to bring her emotions down a bit which she was grateful for. He always knew how to handle things.

After a long moment of silence, Hermione spoke again. "I killed him," she whispered, tears once again streaming down her face. "I watched him die and it was all because of me-"

She didn't get to finish the sentence. Remus cut her off with a single, almost harsh word, "Enough."

She felt her throat become tight. She didn't know how to take Remus saying words so severely. It was almost as if she'd been slapped. She sobbed quietly and pulled her hand away from his and covered her face up with both of her palms.

She sat like that for a few minutes until she heard shuffling beside her and the bed sunk a bit from the weight of someone sitting down next to her. Moments later, she felt hands rest against her wrists, gently tugging her hands away from her face.

Her hair fell in place of where her hands were and she refused to look up.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so angry - I just can't stand hearing you talk like that about yourself. I highly doubt anything was your fault." His voice was so soft and sincere.

"But it was my fault. He followed me because I was stupid enough to go out there and because of that, he died!" she whispered. "It was my fault…"

Fingers gently pulled her hair away from her face and behind her shoulders while another hand cupped under her chin and lifted her face upwards so that she found herself staring into the milky amber eyes of the boy comforting her. "Don't ever blame yourself for that. He followed you because he wanted to. I know I would have followed you if I had been in his position. He cared about you, just as I do, and would do anything to help you. He probably knew what would happen - he knew the risks. It wasn't your fault, okay? Hermione, it wasn't. Believe me."

The girl couldn't move. She wanted desperately to plea guilty, telling him it was her fault, but somehow, his words soothed her soul. His words echoed in her mind, and she found herself almost believing them. Almost.

"Do you believe me?" he asked her calmly, shifting his gaze slightly.

She hesitated for a moment. What did she believe? What was the truth and what wasn't? She didn't know. "I.. I don't know what to believe."

His eyes locked onto hers again and he said sternly, "No, there is something you believe. What is it that you believe?"

She was about to answer with 'that I killed him' but stopped suddenly. That feeling again - the one of comfort as if someone were hugging her - swept over her. It was light, but reassuring, as if telling her that she wasn't at fault. Tears prickled in her eyes and she tried to blink them away.

Seconds passed agonizingly slow for her. She wanted Remus to stop staring at her so piercingly, but knew he wouldn't look away without an answer. But also, she found herself wanting to stare into his eyes forever. It was odd - she was full of so many emotions and couldn't sort one out from the other.

She took a deep, shaky breath. She once again looked away, tearing her gaze away from Remus' and closing her eyes. She bit down on her bottom lip before answering with the answer she truly felt was right, "I believe you're right."

There was silence for a moment, and Hermione thought that she might have answered wrongin his opinion when all of a sudden, she felt something soft press against her lips. She was shocked by the sudden contact, unaware and confused.

Her eyes snapped open and she realized that Remus had definitely moved closer to her, and in fact, was kissing her.

Kissing her…

It was awkward - but only because of how the logic fit. Something inside of her kept shouting that it wasn't right, but her heart and body told her it was completely reasonable. She found herself liking the soft, gently way his lips pressed against hers.

After a moment that lasted too short for Hermione's liking, he pulled back, looking hesitant.

"I'm s-sorry," he began, but Hermione cut him off.

She wasn't sure what to do really, as she'd never kissed a guy before. Although she'd been around Victor, she'd never kissed him, except for a kiss on the cheek here or there. The same with her friends - Harry and Ron. But never had she been kissed on the lips like that. It was a whole new sensation.

Hermione looked up at him, feeling her face redden slightly, as his was beginning to flush deeply. Her own stomach was beginning to feel fluttery as butterflies began to take form.

"Don't be sorry," she whispered and forced herself to be daring. She was a Gryffindor, after all.

This time, she moved forward, slowly and nervously before pressing her lips against his own. Her eyes slowly slid shut and she snaked her arms up over his shoulders and around his neck. She felt his own hands moved to her sides, gently and just as hesitantly as she felt.

Hermione didn't know how long the kiss lasted, but in the end, they parted for breath but never lost eye contact.

"Hermione…?"

"Hm?" She answered quietly, looking curiously at him.

He was silent for another moment before he wrapped his arms around her firmly, pulling her close to his body. She liked how his body felt against hers, but she tried to push those thoughts out of her mind for the time being.

She felt warm breath on her ear and shivered slightly when he whispered, "I think I'm in love with you."

She felt butterflies form in her stomach again. No one had ever told her that they loved her they way he said it. There was another minutes silence as she let the words soak in.

He loved her.

"I think I love you too," she said, more to herself than to him, as she finally realized just how much she cared for the boy.

She smiled and knew that he was doing the same. The girl unwound her arms from around his neck and instead, maneuvered them so that they were wrapped around his waist and then rested her head against his shoulder.

Her eyes slowly began to droop and she felt the exaustion once again take over her body.

Soon, she fell asleep in Remus' arms, feeling happier than she had previously after coming back to the castle. Maybe things weren't so bad, in spite of everything.

"Aw, would you look at them?"

"Moony's finally moving forward, I reckon."

"Yeah, he's all grown up now."

"It seems just like yesterday-"

Remus was awakened by the voices that he recognized instantly as his friends. His eyes snapped open and he saw them all standing over him, grinning broadly. At first, he didn't understand why, then he realized that he was holding onto something - or, as he soon realized, someone.

Hermione lay curled up next to him, face buried against his chest. Remus flushed a bit, but felt his heart fill with love as he set eyes on the girl in his arms.

"So, when did this happen?"

Remus glanced up at James who was grinning broadly. He blushed a bit more but mumbled, "Last night."

Sirius howled jokingly, causing the others to send him odd looks concerning his sanity in which he found, for some reason,funny and was soon rolling around on the floor in hysterics. Remus figured he hadn't gotten as much beauty sleep as he usually needed.

He was distracted, however, when Hermione began to wake up. He watched as she opened her eyes, looking confused for a good half a minute before recognition flooded into her eyes. She blushed lightly and stared up at him with large eyes.

"'Morning," he told her, smiling lightly.

She smiled back shyly and greeted him. Her eyes darted around at the grinning faces of Peter and James and then she shot a wondering glance at Sirius who had somehow managed to prop himself up against the bed besides theirs, despite his constant giggling.

"I think he fell of his bed this morning," James supplied solemnly. "Probably knocked his head a little too hard."

Remus cracked a smile, as did Hermione. The boy looked at her, noting that she looked a bit better than the night before.

"So, how are you feeling?"

The girl shrugged a bit and yawned, trying to stretch out in his arms. He reluctantly let go of her and sat up, running his hands over his face in attempt to wake up a bit more.

"Well, Moony. I think we'll leave you be for a while," James winked at his friend, "We're going down to breakfast. Do you want us to bring you anything?"

He shook his head then looked over at Hermione who was still sprawled out on the bed, eyes half shut. "Do you want anything, Hermione?"

She shook her head slowly, then rolled over on her side, curling up into a ball. With another yawn, she closed her eyes fully. Remus smiled fondly at her, hardly noticing that James and Peter had grabbed Sirius and literally dragged him from the hospital wing despite his whines and protests.

After there had been a pause in the silence, Hermione spoke, "Remus? About last night… did it mean anything to you?"

He was a bit shocked to hear her say that, "Of course it meant something to me. I mean - did it mean anything to you?"

"Yes, it did. I just wanted to make sure," she mumbled.

Remus sighed in relief. "Hermione, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, you can." She opened her eyes again and locked gazes with him.

He took in a deep breath. He was using all the courage he could summon now, so that he could tell her what he wanted to. "Hermione, we've only known each other for a few months, and I know it must be awkward for you that I like you - seeing that I taught you in the future. But, I truly love you. I wasn't sure what I felt for sure until last night, but now I know. And I was, well, hoping that…."

"That what?" The girl sat up slowly, her brown curls falling around her shoulders.

"That… well, wouldyoubemygirlfriend?"

She blinked, "Sorry?"

Blushing, he repeated himself, this time speaking slower, "Would you be my girlfriend?"

He bit down on his bottom lip, hoping he wasn't wasting his time in asking her out. She hadn't said anything yet, and was just staring at him with a surprised look on her face.

Second by second continued to pass… he was about to take her silence as a no, when he found himself suddenly launched at. She jumped into his arms and just as he wrapped his arms around her, she exclaimed, "I'd love to!"

He smiled just as she kissed him.

That was the best thing he'd ever heard in his life.

A/N: Yay! Chappy done… so what'dya think? Borning? Horrible? What? I've never written a scene like that before, so I'm quite unsure about it. I didn't like it that much, but every time I tried to re-write it, it came out worse each time. Funny how that works. Anywho, yeah. I'm off to do some other things before I go to bed. Thanks for reading! - Min