On The Color Of Fur

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That was the night of Hermione's death.

It started with fangs to her throat, the fetid stench of Greyback's breath so near it pricked her nose and caused her eyes to water. Her world had turned in all of one second—a blink of inattention. Far more than recklessness or daring, distraction could prove deadly.

Amidst her soul-deep weariness, perhaps she had given up. But then again, perhaps she hadn't. Her body fought it, heart rabbiting in her chest, stuttered breaths making the sharp points of his teeth scrape her pulse point with each inhale, the sound it produced swallowing her entire being as she pushed and shoved against his shoulders. At last, someone noticed them and screamed, the sound muffled under the blanket of terror she was buried under. Someone was there, but her position made their presence irrelevant either way. She didn't need a keen mind to tell her she was prey, stalked and caught, her body knew it instinctively: it was over as soon as it began. Even if she hadn't moved, it wouldn't have deceived him.

You couldn't play dead to a werewolf.

Was it selfish to be glad of having a witness to your demise? Even knowing they would watch, helplessly, as your life was extinguished?

Perhaps it was. It meant not being so very alone, though.

A breath and his jaw clenched all the way, locking around her neck in a vice-like grip. Pointed canines speared flesh and muscle, mangling her neck further as he readjusted his bite, and Hermione's lips parted in her last-ever gasp. A scream she could no longer produce. Goodbyes she couldn't utter. Just blood, always blood in this rotten war, either prized or despised, but inevitably hers being spilt in streams as it gurgled out her throat.

Saturated with it, her clothes clung to her rapidly chilling arms. She could no longer feel the tips of her fingers. They tingled, pin-pricks of feeling like the flickering stars in her gaze. One pull of his head and she was ripped open.

Then her murderer changed. No longer a monster that required no full moon for its bestiality, but one that was no monster at all.

Brown suit. Scarred, pain-twisted face. Horrified jade green eyes.

Remus Lupin's large hand reached for her neck, the gentleness of his touch a juxtaposition to Greyback's. Tears flowed down his face at the same rate her blood was flowing over his hand and arm.

"No. No, Hermione, stay with me. Stay awake. Please."

Her eyes closed against his tenderness. She would have smiled if she could. And she wanted to say it. Wanted to tell him before the end came.

That it wasn't his fault. That he wasn't the one who had broken her.

Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at him one last time.

"It's alright, Remus," she would have said, tracing the curve of his brow. "I felt like dying long before your kindness shattered me."

The next time her eyes closed, they did so by his hand, dragging cold skin over frozen glass.

A/N:

Author: *drops a cliffhanger and tries to tiptoe her way out unnoticed*

Oh, hey! Nice to see you guys!

Lol, kidding aside, I do hope you're all doing great! (and that you enjoyed this chapter!) I have a few announcements to make: he first is I've made changes to the previous chapter. If you've read it as soon as I updated (or anytime up until this morning), and reread it, you'll notice the beginning in particular is quite different. I haven't changed anything major, but it reads (in my humble opinion) a lot better /

The second is that, as you know, December is upon us bringing with it the crazy end-of-the-year rush, so I have great news and not-so-great news regarding that to share. I'll start with the meh ones so that the others will be all the sweeter :)

1 - My update schedule is a little all over the place. That could mean both delays and something of a vacation from writing until around January 15th. I have family coming to stay for a while and that puts a wrench in my plans to write. But rest assured, I won't have this be the last On the Color of Fur chapter to be posted until I'm back (I'm not that evil, even I couldn't stand to leave things as they are now). It's already drafted and will be coming next week (and, depending on how things go, might post another the following week).

2 - As those of you who also read Falling Leaves may have noticed, I missed November's update. Chapter 17 exists, but it's still unfinished. I'll make sure it's posted before the year ends, but I won't be able to do a double update this month, so the next one is only coming around the end of January. Sorry about that! :/

Now for the great ones:

3 - The reason I'm so swamped is that the stars aligned (or something equally mysterious) and I've been both bitten by the Holiday Festivities bug and struck by a bout of inspiration, which translates to Christmas and New Year fics!

4 - As of right now, I have two finished one-shots: one Marauder's Era Christmas James/Lily (with background Remus/Hermione and Sirius/Marlene McKinnon) coming around December 16th, and one New Year's Fred/Hermione (this one will be revealed as part of the Marauders Advent fest, hosted by the FB group Marauders' Guild) sometime between December 26th and January 1st.

7 - I also have a couple of drabbles I'm working on and might write another piece for the Marauders Advent fest.

I think that's pretty much it. Would love to know your opinions on this chapter if you feel like sharing them :)