"Nothing is more alive than a memory."

Federico Garcia Lorca

The marauders came out of the Shrieking Shack, a few minutes before sunrise, as they do every full moon. They didn't want to risk Madam Pomfresh discovering them, they were sure to be fired, and they didn't want to give Servilus the pleasure. They transformed back into humans and put themselves under James' invisibility cloak. As expected, the Hogwarts nurse arrived a few minutes later and waited until the sun was fully up. She led Remus back to the infirmary and the three marauders stepped out of the cloak.

"Did you spend the same night as me?"

"Yes..."

"What the hell did he take? He was CALM, Moony is NEVER calm. Do you think he's sick?"

"He's not sick, he's been sick before and it never, ever calmed the wolf down, it just made the transformation and the awakening worse but that's all."

"Maybe it has something to do with what Grace gave him last week? He was very vague when we asked about it."

James and Sirius looked at Peter as if he'd just told them he'd been Minister of Magic for ten years.

"Peter, by Merlin! How did you make the connection?"

"It just came to me. It makes sense, doesn't it?"

"We need to find Grace, if she's drugged Rem, she's more dangerous than we think."

"She's dangerous James, she hangs out with Servilus in potions, she talks to my brother, we still haven't figured out what her explosion was in November, but she's powerful. A few days ago she told me she was smoking to die! Dying, seriously?"

"What did she tell you? This is serious Sirius, she wants to die!"

"Oh, come on James, she told me she lost her happiness or something. She's just a girl who needs attention. She likes to have the attention focused on her."

James shrugged, unconvinced, but he preferred to change the subject, he didn't like arguing with Sirius and Helena Grace was far from a good enough reason to do so.

"Didn't I tell you, I had a new idea for a Slytherin prank."

Remus entered the Room on Requirement, worried. Hermione always came to see him the day after the full moon, after she had slept and recovered her strength, but this time she had not. It could happen if she was really tired and if she was hurt badly enough, but the wolfsbane potion should have made her better, not made her sleep more. It was still early in the morning, Remus had waited until the night was over, if Hermione was that exhausted she would have contacted him by now. She was a restless sleeper and never slept for more than two hours at a time, so a day and a half? It was simply impossible.

He saw her lying on the floor, naked, breathing heavily. She was pale, very white, even her black hair had lost its shine, as if the life had left her body. He dressed her with a spell and tried to wake her up, but without success. Using every spell he knew and even the Muggle way, two slaps, he took her to the infirmary, sorry it had to come to this. He didn't want Madam Pomfresh to see his scars, but he had no choice, it was either that or risk his friend's life, and the choice was quickly made.

"So what's wrong with her?"

"I don't know, Professor Lucas," she said with an apologetic look.

She performed a number of healing spells and others to establish a medical assessment. An image of her body appeared in the air and the nurse examined it carefully, occasionally uttering a small cry.

"Was she raped?" she asked suddenly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"My question is simple Mr Lucas, was your niece raped? She has many bruises around this area, and only something particularly violent and painful can create that, something that magic cannot control and cannot fix. She was also tortured. That's a fact. Most of the scars have been magically hidden, but magic has its own limits and cannot do everything. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about that, nor her rape or rapes, I don't know, nor her torture, nor the mark on her arm. It was the Death Eaters who did that to her, wasn't it?"

Remus, though against his will, gave a weak 'yes'. Madam Pomfresh approached him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, while reminding him of the medical confidentiality.

"I think your niece is suffering from a, shall we say, rather severe allergy. Has she drunk a new potion in the last few days?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you what it is or why."

"Well, but it's important to find out what the ingredient is that's making her like this, so that we can prevent her from consuming it again. I'm going to test her blood for any unusual ingredients. You should go, your class is about to start. I'll take care of her, at the moment she's the only student here, although the third years have a course in caring for magical creatures which means she won't be alone any more. I'll send you a note if she wakes up before you get back.

Hermione woke up three days later, early in the morning, to voices she knew well. James and Sirius were fighting over who she really was and it was so absurd that she had grown tired of it.

"If you could stop saying I'm a dangerous murderer or a Death Eater or a Russian spy, I'd be very happy."

"Grace! You're awake."

"Obviously Black, I see you've been exercising your critical faculties for, what day is it? And what am I doing here? What are you doing here?"

"You're in the infirmary. From what I understand, you had an allergic reaction to something."

"And what are you doing here? A social call?"

"You poisoned Remus!"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You gave him something last week and he went quiet."

The witch smiled, the wolfsbane potion had obviously worked on Remus, which was a good thing, Severus and herself still knew how to make a potion, no matter how complex it was. She knew very well what Sirius meant by that, but she wasn't supposed to know that Remus was a werewolf, so she preferred to feign ignorance.

"Lupin quiet? That's surprising. Aren't you Black, the overexcited dog? After all, I don't know you very well, Remus may be a very agitated person, even if it's not the impression he gives."

James nudged Sirius, letting him know that he was going too far. He wasn't going to reveal one of the marauders' biggest secrets, along with the animagi, the map and the invisibility cloak, to an almost stranger he didn't know much about, even if the latter did reveal some of the Potters' secrets. They decided to leave the infirmary and leave Hermione alone.

She wasn't alone for long, as Madam Pomfrey entered the room a few seconds after James and Sirius had left. She lectured her for not calling her earlier, even though Hermione kept saying that she had only woken up a few minutes before. The nurse gave her a light medical check-up, but did not share with her her questions about her injuries, her heavy scars and bruises from her rapes, which would probably never heal, nor the moral wound they had set in motion. She did tell him about her allergy, which she had not yet found, but made him drink a potion to deduce it, the next time she came into contact with the ingredient in question.

She headed towards Remus' chambers and passed him on the way, he was on his way to the infirmary to see her and he turned back to sit her down, she was still tired from the full moon, having not been able to rest properly due to her semi-coma.

"Do you think it was the wolfsbane potion that made you faint like that?"

"What else could it be? Madam Pomfrey said I had red patches over a lot of my body. Luckily I didn't get my normal self back this time, but I understand why you did. It was a bit scary."

"Mione, you know how she is, she always takes care of her patients, sometimes a little too much, I'm actually very surprised she let you go so early, but that's not the point. She gave you a full medical check-up. She saw that you had bruises, a lot of wounds, which can't heal, due to your... to your rapes."

A flash of pain passed through Hermione's eyes as she remembered that horrible day. She saw it all again, the hands of Voldemort, then the hands of the Death Eaters, each one more foul than the last, she felt the pain, deep, sharp, intolerable, it had not gone away for days, she still felt it, it was there, vivid, insidious, waiting for the slightest moment to resurface. Hermione had not been able to defend herself, she had just stood there, waiting for her fate, but Ron had just died, his body was still there, lying on the ground, like a trophy of war, but the trophy had gone to the other side. She couldn't take her eyes off the corpse of her best friend. The physical pain had become linked to the psychological pain and she had not reacted. She had struggled weakly, but what could she do? Without a wand, on the ground, in the hands of her enemies.

"Mione, Mione! Come back to me. I didn't mean to bring back those memories. I can't imagine what it must be like. Mione? Aguamenti"

Hermione took a breath and looked at Remus, looking a little lost, her eyes still unfocused.

"Sorry Rem', I think I was lost. In my memories."

"I had to tell you, but she promised not to tell anyone, medical confidentiality, you understand. She also saw your scars, the ones you can't hide, the ones no magic can. She won't say anything about your arm."

"Did she tell you about any other scars?"

Remus shook his head and the witch looked relieved, but did not dwell on the subject. Nor did she mention the discussion she'd overheard, if you will, in the infirmary between James and Sirius about her, there would be plenty of time for that later. For now, she indicated to Remus that it was time for her to go, she had transfiguration class and out of respect for Minerva, she wasn't going to miss it. She started towards the classroom when she was stopped by Remus, the youngest.

"Grace, can I talk to you?"

"Of course, I'll follow you."

"Thank you for the potion. I don't think the marauders really understood what happened, but thank you very much. That was the easiest full moon I've ever had. But how did you know? No one has ever suspected in seven years. You just show up and-"

"I'm like you Lupin, I understand what you're going through," she cut him off.

Hermione left Remus stunned, swallowing what the time traveller had just told him. He was no longer the only werewolf in the school. He couldn't believe it, how could it be? Hermione sat down in her usual place at the back of the classroom and gave Remus a nice smile, which he returned. The other marauders didn't have time to question him, as Professor McGonagall called for silence. The class was starting.

"Today we are going to start studying human transfiguration. We touched on it briefly last year, but only in theory. To cast a human shape-shifting spell, you don't just have to visualise what you want to change, you have to feel it, you have to see the changes on the person. Get into groups of two and try it out. Don't forget the spell that will cancel the transfiguration, what is it?"

"Reparifagex," Lily answered.

"Good Miss Evans, five points for Gryffindor. But this spell only cancels out small shifts so be careful, I wouldn't want half my students to end up in the infirmary with a third arm or hypogriff wings. Start by changing your classmate's hair or eye colour."

Hermione watched as her classmates got into groups, leaving her alone. However, to her astonishment, Remus walked towards her. The witch noticed that James and Sirius had paired up, as they usually did, and that Lily had paired up with Mary.

"Lupin, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you and as you don't have a partner, I'll be yours."

"If it makes you happy, you want to talk to me about the potion?"

"Not just the potion. How long have you been one?"

"Two years, give or take, you've been one much longer than me, haven't you?"

"Since I was five. How did you get bitten? I know it's personal, but I wanted to know if it's as painful for everyone. It was Greyback who bit me, I don't know if you know him, you've only been in the UK a few months. "

"Yes, I've heard of him. It was a close friend who bit me. I'm like the marauders, you know?"

He seemed to think for a few seconds before the answer appeared before his eyes.

"You're an ani-" he realized.

"Not here! But yes, I am. I was with him and I looked away for half a second and he bit me and I couldn't control myself and I turned back into a human. I've been a werewolf ever since."

"You talk about it so freely, as if you've totally accepted it," he said, surprised.

"I have accepted it Remus, I have no choice. I'm like this once a month for the rest of my life. I forgave him. He didn't do it on purpose. My transformation has nothing to do with yours, but I understand you. Greyback's a horrible man. It's only natural you'd want revenge."

"Lupin, Grace, this is not a tea shop! Human transfiguration is incredibly difficult to master! Hurry up and get on with it."

Hermione smiled and drew her wand immediately. She cast a spell at Remus, but he didn't really realise what she was changing. When she stopped, she saw Ron's carbon copy standing in front of her. The students were amazed, they had never seen such a transformation, let alone from one of their classmates. If they knew that the classmate in question and their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher were transformed through human metamorphosis, many of them would not believe it. Hermione was shaking, she walked over to Ron, who was really Remus and put her hand on his cheek. Her eyes were full of tears and Remus was looking at her, not really knowing what to do.

"Helena?"

"Miss Grace? Mr Lupin, get away from her. Miss Grace."

"Ron! Is that you? You can't leave me, not again."

With a flick of her wand, Minerva restored Remus' appearance and announced in a blank voice that the class was over. Remus remained looking worried, and the other marauders did not leave either, waiting for their friend.

"Mr. Lupin, you may go. Mr. Potter and Mr. Black too. Mr. Pettigrew is waiting for you at the door."

They walked out, not without apprehension on Remus' part. Minerva inspected Hermione and threw a stream of water in her face to snap her out of her trance.

"Who was the person you saw?" she asked in a soft voice.

"It was my best friend, Ron Weasley. He died a year after the Battle of Hogwarts, killed by Voldemort. I was still able to escape, but it was already too late for him."

Hermione shook her head and dried the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. She thanked Minerva and left, her heart heavy, her head full of memories of Ron and their trio.

Hermione had avoided all contact with her Gryffindor year for the rest of the day. It wasn't long before all the seventh years knew about it, the rumours spreading like wildfire. The witch was in the middle of the forbidden forest, fighting the dummy she had made for herself. She knew that Remus would be worried about her not attending his Defence Against the Dark Ones class, but it was beyond her strength to go. She had travelled to the forbidden forest to face the cold and the storm. She had to be prepared for any eventuality of battle, and it wouldn't necessarily be summer. She turned abruptly as she heard someone passing the security perimeter she had drawn.

"Lupin, what are you doing here?" she began in an aggressive voice.

"Calm down, Helena, I was looking for you."

"Why were you looking for me?"

"Why did you do it? You turned me into something else and you cried when you saw me transformed. I find it hard to believe that you can't control what you turn your partner into, but still. I wanted to know who this person was. Ron, right?"

"He's my best friend."

"Oh I understand, you miss him, why don't you write him a letter?"

"He's dead" the traveller replied in a hushed voice. "No, don't say anything, it's hard enough as it is."

She turned around, hiding her tears, and shrank her training dummy, then disapparate.

"It's impossible what you're saying, Remus, you can't disapparate inside Hogwarts."

"I know that, Lily, but maybe we were outside the boundaries of magical protection. I know it doesn't really make sense, as I couldn't have got in so easily afterwards, but there's no other explanation."

"Her behaviour is very strange. I mean, she turns you into her best friend, she says she wants to die."

"We know you don't like her very much Sirius but-"

"She doesn't give me a chance to like her, that girl has as many secrets as Dumbledore! It's crazy."

"I wonder something. You said her best friend was dead, Rem'."

"That's what she told me anyway."

"Do you think it's possible that the Harry she was talking about when we found her in the Astronomy Tower is dead too?"

"It's possible, but who is this Harry guy then? Another best friend? Her boyfriend? Her brother? One thing's for sure, he can't just be a friend. I've got to go, I've got a rune project due next week and Alice and I have to get started today. Send me an owl if there's any news."

Lily left, leaving the four marauders in their thoughts.

"There is something else, something even stranger. She knows I'm a werewolf and-"

"Ah! I knew there was something there, did she drug you?"

"No, Sirius, she gave me a potion, it calms the wolf."

"That's impossible Moony, we'd have heard about it if there was such a potion."

"But it worked."

"How did she know?"

"She has one too."

"Well, that explains it" exclaimed Sirius.

James elbowed him between the ribs and glared at Remus. Remus had a hurt look on his face and Sirius realised his mistake.

"No, that's not what I meant Rem" he replied quickly. "But you're different from the other wolves and-"

"You're digging yourself in deeper, Padfoot" James chuckled.

"She knows you're animagi."

The three animagi in question opened their mouths in shock. It was one thing to find out about Remus' condition, it was enough to pay attention to the moon cycle, but there was no indication that he was an animagi. Even James hadn't told Lily yet.

"What, but how..." they stammered

"I don't know, she's one too. That's how she got turned. She was doing the same as you and she got bitten. She didn't tell me how she found out, but she's obviously hiding something.

"What's it gonna be next? She's an auror and she comes to spy on us?"

"We need to find out what Helena Grace is hiding. That girl is way too shady."