Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything from his realm belongs to its creator, J.K. ROWLING. Like you didn't know that already.

A/N: I was very unsure of the last chapter but my super-beta pulled me through my doubts, so all hail Fredrika! And your reviews help a lot too, thank you readers! I'm happy some of you have been literally laughing out loud at moments and I apologize in advance for the seriousness of the next chapter, but there is a war going on, you know ;)

Chapter 6: Candidates

Remus found Hermione sobbing in one of the dark unused rooms in the upper stories of Grimmauld Place. He had never seen the young woman so distressed before, she was always so strong and optimistic. He was even more alarmed to learn from Harry that he was the cause of it, since she was probably feeling guilty about what had happened to him. He left the door ajar so the hallway lights would spill into the dark room and help him make his way to the young woman without falling over the various discarded pieces of furniture littering the dusty room.

"Hermione?" he called gently, like he would a wild animal, afraid to scare her away.

She jumped around, realizing she was no longer alone, and hastily wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Oh... Remus? What are you doing here?" She asked uncertainly.

"Looking for you actually. Mind if I sit down?" He replied, motioning to the table she was sitting on, her legs dangling in mid-air.

Hermione shook in the negative and wiggled over on the old rickety table to give him enough space. She was obviously not in the mood for a talk, looking so depressed, she was probably hoping to be left alone right now, so he wasn't surprised she remained silent. If he wanted to have a chat with her, he'd have to do the talking.

"I hope you're not upset because of me." he started after a few minutes of silence, and seeing she wasn't responding, continued. "Harry said you might. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You're always feeling responsible for everyone and everything around here. But you can't, Hermione, especially in the middle of a war, you'd go crazy before it all ends. There will be more deaths and you can't save everyone."

The witch sniffled, making him chuckle. It was never agreeable for an over-achiever to be told there were limits to what they could accomplish.

"But you saved my life. And not just once, but twice. I hope you realize that." he emphasized, trying to catch her eye but she stubbornly kept her eyes on at her hands that were nervously toying with the robe she had thrown over her nightgown, revealing too much of her naked legs for his comfort.

"But I hurt you. So much. You were..." she faltered, the words stuck in her throat.

"The ugliest thing that ever walked this earth according to Harry." he laughed mirthlessly. "Not that I remember much."

"You were in pain because of me. A lot of pain." she offered, trying despite his assurances to lay blame on herself somehow.

"I'm always in pain at that phase of the moon, it was nothing I haven't endured before." he lied smoothly. Truth was, it had been excruciating, and the little he remembered was enough to make him break a sweat. "It's nothing you have to blame yourself for. I hope you understand that."

Hermione let escape a shuddering breath, as if all the misery of the world was escaping her.

"And you can't imagine what a gift you've bestowed me. You cured me of lycanthropy, for Merlin's sake! Short of my soul, there's nothing I wouldn't have sacrificed for that."

Hermione searched his eyes, gauging his honesty, and she must have been satisfied because she slumped a little against him in relief and he found he didn't mind the proximity. He used to always be wary of any physical contact because he was a werewolf, as if he would somehow infect them with the dark creature that inhabited him with a simple contact. Knowing he was just a normal man now, he found the human touch enjoyable, or was it just Hermione's? After all, he felt so grateful and indebted to her, he was having difficulties containing his joy and the overwhelming urge to crush her in a hug. Only his reserved nature, carefully built over the years, held him back.

"So...you're not mad at me?" she wanted to make sure. "You don't hate me because of what I did to you?"

"On the contrary." he smiled.

"And you're not a werewolf any-more? Are you sure?" she quizzed eagerly, more like her old self.

"Well... We'll only be completely sure at the next full moon, of course," he answered, "but my sense of smell and hearing have severely decreased, to human levels I guess. It's a bit disorienting actually, but I'll happily get used to that."

"That's great! I'm so glad for you, it'll make your life so much easier." Hermione was finally smiling in return, guilt no longer weighing her down, until, for no apparent reason, she frowned and got him worried again.

"What's the matter?" he asked, seeing she was eyeing him critically, one hand playing absent-mindedly with a loose thread on her robe, while the other was hovering near him as if she wanted to touch him but didn't dare to, like an archaeologist finding a rare artefact that would turn to dust at the slightest contact.

"There's something else." she said in the far-away voice one used when thinking aloud, her big brown eyes examining him from head to toe. She bounced off the table to face him, their eyes so close and almost at the same level as he remained seated. His heart started racing, he didn't mind proximity but this was a bit too much to his taste: she was much too close, too engrossed examining him to realize it herself, and he just wasn't used to having a woman so near him.

"I've got it!" the witch exclaimed happily, clapping her hands excitedly. "It's your hair!"

"What's wrong with it?" he wondered, reaching out to touch it without thinking. He hadn't looked in a mirror this morning, preferring to head straight for the kitchen, so he had no idea what she was going on about.

"It was grey brown before." she clarified.

"Well, yes. Lycanthropy causes premature ageing, as I'm sure you know." he replied with a grimace. He had always thought it unfair to age faster than everyone around him, as if being a werewolf wasn't bad enough already.

"You lost the silver." Hermione said, smirking because he had not caught on yet. "Can't say for the wrinkles though." she teased.

Remus conjured a small mirror, holding it before him. The room was dark but he clearly looked much younger than he had just a week ago: shiny hair without a trace of silver, smoother skin and he didn't look sickly or haggard, like he was recovering from a long-time illness as he usually did. He barely looked his own age.

"Sweet Circe...this is strange. Not that I'm complaining mind you. It seems the wolf was more of a separate entity than we ever thought, if getting rid of it took away the added years." he thought aloud, awe evident in his voice. Just then, he heard a low grumbling and looked over to the source of the strange noise, which was Hermione's stomach.

"Come on." he told the blushing witch, extending his hand in invitation. "Let's go back down to breakfast before the boys send a search party."

The young woman bit her lip hesitantly before taking his hand, and he led her out of the room and down the stairs, still holding her hand, just because he could. She hadn't let go and he wasn't about to suggest it. It felt nice: her hand was warm, soft and small in his, and he imagined this would be what it felt like to be holding hands with a girlfriend. Not that he'd know, but that's what he had always imagined.

Hermione was so happy everything was all-right between her and Remus that she hadn't thought of letting go of his hand, not until they stepped into the kitchen, both wearing silly grins, although for different reasons. They froze in the doorway at the sight of so many people now sitting at the kitchen's table and the gloomy atmosphere that had settled upon the room. Everyone turned to greet the newcomers but eyed them suspiciously instead. Their eyes landing first on the two persons faces, then to their linked hands and back to their faces with expressions varying from shock from most of the Weasleys, to amusement from Harry, and to anger in Severus and Tonks' case. The others just looked curious, probably craving some juicy piece of fresh gossip, as subtle as vampires drooling over a maiden's bosom in her opinion. Hermione precipitately stepped away from Remus, swiftly slipping her hand out of his, knowing everybody was getting the wrong idea.

She headed as far away as possible from a fuming Tonks, not wanting to get into another shouting match with her so early in the day, thus finding herself leaning against the far wall next to Severus. She greeted him, not expecting an answer because she had noticed he was not a morning person, and was proved correct when he ignored her. She then waited for the surprise meeting of the Order of the Phoenix to begin, avoiding the curious gazes lingering on her.

"Now, since everyone is here," Dumbedore started, looking pointedly at Remus and then at Hermione, "Severus can share the news he gathered from his last meeting with Voldemort."

The spy stepped forward, wincing as he heard his old master's dreaded name, but looking as forbidding as ever as he addressed the core members of the Order of the Phoenix.

"The good news is that the Dark Lord believed Miss Granger's Patronus is an unknown and rare creature of the light, somewhat like Fawkes, so he has made no plans to target anyone in particular, although he will undoubtedly question any of you stupid enough to fall into his hands. The bad news is he has planned an attack against the muggle population. He ordered for a large number of prisoners to be captured alive to be fed to the various creatures who pledged their services to him. Not only the dementors, but werewolves and vampires too, then turning the remains that are not too damaged into inferi. He has been growing his ranks more rapidly of late, it is not a good sign, he may be planning a large-scale attack against the ministry or Hogwarts, those being the only two strongholds he wants to gain control over, although he has not shared his future plans with me or any other that I know of."

"What about the muggles?" Harry asked. "Do you know where they'll attack? Maybe we could stop them."

"If I knew, I would have said so, Potter." the dour wizard spat, glaring at the young man. Unfortunately for him, Harry was completely unfazed by his show of loathing now.

"Okay, sir. Never hurts to ask."

"I wish." Severus muttered under his breath. "I'll send a message as soon as I can, if I can, but don't expect a miracle." he said more clearly to the assembled Order.
"Thank you, Severus." Dumbledore concluded, waiting for the dark-clad man to regain his place before continuing the meeting. "As you have all seen, Remus has completely recovered thanks to Miss Granger. Her success with this new spell might give us the edge we needed in fighting the dark creatures Voldemort has been gathering at his side."

Severus glared at the headmaster as he continued to use the Dark Lord's name so casually, the Dark Mark burning on his arm every time he used it, as the old man very well knew. Hermione was glaring at Dumbledore for very different reasons: he had something up his sleeve and he was going to use her once more without even consulting her first. She just knew it, but could only stand there, waiting for the impending doom to crash on her.

"It is in our best interests that as many of us master this spell as possible. Of course, it came naturally to Miss Granger and it might be difficult or even impossible to master, but I will ask for volunteers amongst you nonetheless. That is, if Miss Granger accepts to be your teacher?"

Hermione gritted her teeth. So the old scoundrel wanted her to provide him with more weapons then? She could hardly say no, not now that he had presented it as an accomplished fact in front of all the others, and not without sounding both childish and selfish. It couldn't hurt after all, it could even save their own lives or others if they did master it. So she nodded determinedly at the headmaster.

"Brilliant!" he exclaimed, clapping his bony hands. "So, who volunteers?"

Harry, unsurprisingly, was the first to step forth.

"Me, sir! I've been wondering for some time if it could work against Voldemort, he's more of a dark creature than a human being now. You know, this may be the power the Dark Lord knows not... " he said in a mocking ominous voice, waving his fingers before him.

"Harry! That's brilliant! I wish I had thought of that!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly, although a bit miffed her friend had bested her.

"Yes, yes, my boy." Dumbledore chipped in, stroking his long beard thoughtfully. "It's always worth a try."

Hermione felt he didn't sound convinced and wondered why. Did he doubt Harry could master the spell, or did he have reasons to think the Patronus Totalus wouldn't work on the dark wizard? And if he did, why wasn't he sharing those ideas with him? Sometimes, she wished she could perform Legilimency on the frustrating man: Dumbledore no doubt had so many secrets to hide, she was bound to see a few of them leaking around his occlumency shield.

"If Harry's in, so am I." Ron declared, raising his hand.

"I'm a bit useless now, I'm afraid, so I may as well join the ranks. Especially since I know a lot about the spell already, maybe I could assist Hermione in teaching it." Remus announced, taking a step forward, and glancing at her for confirmation.

Hermione beamed at him, relieved that he was offering his help. She had never taught anyone before, let alone a group of people, but he, on the other hand, was an experienced teacher.

"I want to give it a try too." Tonks volunteered in a cheery voice and Hermione sighed inwardly.

Looking over at Remus' side, she found Tonks making moon-eyes at him and she sneered at the sight, drawing an amused smile from her snarky neighbour, the master of sneers. Kingsley Shaklebolt volunteered too, stating how useful it would be in their job as Aurors, but nobody else signed up, not that she was surprised. Wizards weren't famed for their open-mindedness and desire to try anything new or foreign.

"A small group it is then, very well." Dumbledore concluded with false joviality, the lack of twinkle in his eyes clearly showing he was disappointed by their lack of enthusiasm.

Dumbledore droned on, handing out a few more missions to other Order members but she tuned him out, trying to plan how she could teach the Patronus Totalus. Harry and Remus were very gifted in Defence Against the Dark Arts and should not have too much trouble learning such a spell; and Shaklebolt was a very talented auror from what she'd been told. However, Ron was a bit thick to be honest, he often had difficulties learning the more complex spells, and Tonks... she was hardly going to want to listen to her since they were not on the best of terms and she would probably be too focused on Remus and his younger, handsomer appearance to even try properly. In fact, Hermione wouldn't be surprised if the clumsy Auror managed to blow up part of Grimmauld Place at least once because her crush on Remus would claim all her attention

Hermione sighed in defeat: overall, she wasn't sure any of her pupils had the right state of mind to learn the spell. It required an all-encompassing love for life, benevolence for all living beings including nature and a good deal of altruism. She needed more ordinary people like herself, not over-trained fighters like the others all were: aurors and an ex-werewolf who would probably have become an auror too if he had had the possibility. Hermione quickly browsed all the people she knew, picking out a few people she thought had better chances of succeeding. Should she invite them? They were already Order members, but not as deeply involved as the others assembled here today. It would simultaneously bring them into more danger as they would then be asked to take an active part in the war, and give them more protection against the dark creatures that lurked in greater number all over wizarding Britain. Hermione knew no one was safe anywhere today, which was why she was cooped up at headquarters most of the time. Would she regret it if one of the people she wanted to invite got mortally attacked by a dementor or a werewolf, when they could have been saved by the Patronus Totalus? Yes, definitely.

Hermione waited for Dumbledore to finish handing out assignments to submit her idea. Everyone listened politely and her suggestion seemed to be well accepted, but they knew that their leader would have the final decision.

"It seems logical, Miss Granger. Who were you thinking of then?" he demanded curiously.

Hermione hesitated, which one of her candidates would be better accepted by the group?

"Neville Longbottom." she announced and heard Severus snort derisively beside her. "He has kind and caring, and has a strong attachment to nature. He has come to headquarters before too, and knows most of us, so it is not too much of a risk we're taking here."

Dumbledore nodded and motioned for her to continue. She bit her lip nervously, knowing the next one would not be so easily accepted.

"Luna Lovegood." As expected, a few protests arose.

"But she's loony."

"Completely mental."

"How can she be trusted?"

"I thought she was locked up in St Mungos?"

Until she had had enough of their nonsense.

"Luna is very brave and I'd trust her with my life. Might I remind you she was a member of the DA and fought at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries? The only reason she has not been more involved is because she's been running The Quibbler alone after her father's murder. And I think she'd be perfect for the Patronus Totalus, because unlike some people, Luna is very open-minded."

This, at least, avoided any further disparaging comments concerning her friend.

"Very well, Miss Granger, I see your point. I'll arrange for Miss Lovegood to gain access to headquarters. Anyone else?" Dumbledore wondered, seeing the younger witch shifting nervously on her feet.

"Well..." she started, looking uncomfortably in Harry's direction." I was thinking maybe Ginny..."

But she couldn't finish her sentence as both the Weasleys and Harry shot up, protesting vehemently: her family because they didn't want their only sister or daughter to be a soldier in this war, and Harry because he still refused Ginny comes too close to him as long as Voldemort was out to get him.

Dumbledore interrupted the sudden cacophony by gesturing the angry bunch of Gryffindors to sit back down.

"I'm afraid that with or without your consent, Miss Weasley has already been doing work for the Order. And before you ask, I neither asked her to, or encouraged her in any way."

"Yeah, right. As if I'd believe that manipulative old coot." Hermione thought in disbelief. Her family all seemed a bit stunned at the news, they had all tried to preserve Ginny from the dangers of the war, even now that she had graduated from Hogwarts and started her apprenticeship as a healer at St Mungos.

"What has she been doing?" Harry asked, looking a bit green now that the anger had subsided.

"Miss Weasley has been hiding and healing fugitive muggleborns within the hospital when suspicious people, probably followers of Voldemort, came to collect them. She had only been working there for a few weeks when she noticed some of the staff was selling information about the patients to Death-Eaters. Even Severus didn't know about this."

A shake from the spy confirmed Dumbledore's words.

"Miss Weasley came to me asking for help and said she would continue with or without it."

"Can't say I'm surprised." Harry sighed.

"I take it you wanted her for her healing tendencies, Miss Granger?"

"Yes. That, and she has a wicked streak for learning the most complex spells right off the bat." Hermione answered fondly, remembering her famous Bat-Bogey hex she had mastered as a mere girl.

"It would serve to protect her if need arises." Dumbledore said offhandedly to the Weasleys.

Molly was still wiping away her tears at the thought of the danger her little girl was exposing herself to and Arthur looked grave, knowing what happened to witches who opposed the dark wizard. The Weasley whispered amongst them before finally approving Ginny's involvement in Hermione's group. Harry looked torn between being relieved and anxious. He had not seen Ginny in over a year, had forbidden the Weasley to talk to her about him and sent all her owls away. But now that they would be forced together in the same room in a near future, he was probably worried with good reasons: Ginny was going to slaughter him before Voldemort ever got a chance to.

"Good, good." the old wizard said, rubbing his hands in a passable imitation of a villain. "Miss Weasley also knows of the headquarters' location. Anyone else, Miss Granger?"

"No, sir. I think we are good to start. I'll arrange for a schedule with everyone." she answered.

The headmaster dismissed the Order, but many stayed behind to talk about Severus' report and Hermione's new pupils. Thankfully, they had all forgotten about her remarkable appearance hand in hand with Remus a little earlier.

Except Severus.

He steered her out the kitchen door and towards the very small back garden. It looked as bleak as the rest of the house, with its strange black plants and dark flowers, some of them even tried to nip at them as their robes brushed against them. Hermione shivered, realising she was still wearing her pyjamas, and she did her best to hide her naked feet from the Potion's Master to avoid the vicious rebuff it would no doubt earn her. The two of them were getting closer, maybe they could even become friends someday, but the man was and would always remain a grumpy wizard with an acidic tongue.

"So... Severus. Was there something you wanted to talk about?" she asked guardedly.

"Obviously." he said with a smirk, but it soon faded as he got to the point. "What's going on between you and Remus?"

"Nothing." she answered, maybe a bit too vehemently, but it was true.

"Hermione." he said with an exasperated undertone as if he was talking to a simpleton. "I know you've been cooped up in here like some princess from a muggle fairy-tale, but surely you're not so naive as to believe a man would hold your hand without ulterior motives?"

"W-what?" she sputtered. "No! Remus was just being nice, I was upset this morning. And besides Harry and I hold hands all the time, it doesn't mean anything."

"Potter's not a man." he sneered, but she giggled at the absurdity of his reasoning and he smiled along.

"Listen, maybe it's a Slytherin thing, but I'm sure Remus was not... hitting on me, or whatever you're implying."

She blushed, feeling a bit uncomfortable now. This was the kind of conversation she had dreaded receiving from her father, but even those awkward moments had taken away from her by Voldemort.

"Just be wary, Hermione. He may no longer be a werewolf, thank Merlin, but he is still a man and I don't trust him not to take advantage of you after all you've done for him."

"And here I thought the two of you were finally getting along." she pouted dramatically.

"Flobberworms have a better chance at world domination." Severus replied mockingly.

"With Hagrid's help, I wouldn't rule that out as a possibility." she laughed right back.

The two of them continued teasing one another, Severus for her Gryffindor naivete and Hermione for his Slytherin paranoia, until she had to make an excuse to escape to her room and finally get dressed for the day, smiling at the amusing, but utterly cockeyed idea that Remus could fancy her in any way.