A/N: This story was written as part of #HHBingo23. It fulfilled the square B4: Neck Kissing.
It was also written to fulfill my prompt from Hermione's Haven's Roll A Drabble from June 2021. I was assigned Remus Lupin and the trope Only One Bed.
Just as a side note, everyone is of the age of consent in this story and everything is completely consensual in the context of this story.
I'd like to xxDustNight88 for prereading this piece in the mess that it was before I got it to Grammarly.
I do hope you enjoy!
Love always,
~starr
"Professor," Hermione announced, knocking on the door to Professor Lupin's office. A smile was beaming brightly on her face when she saw him sitting at his desk. "Do you have a minute?"
Remus glanced up from the papers he was grading and smiled. "Ms. Granger," he said, waving her inside. "Please come in. How can I help you this evening?"
"Thank you," Hermione said cheerfully, walking into his office and sitting across the desk from him. She set her bag beside her and pulled out a notepad and quill. "I am working on a research project for Professor Snape, and I was hoping you could give me some insight."
Remus chuckled when he noticed the notepad in her hands. Hermione was always prepared, making her an enjoyable student and conversationalist. "What are you working on?"
"Wolfsbane," Hermione said. The word escaped her lips before she could finish processing her own thoughts. "I wanted to know how you dealt with your…."
Her voice trailed off as she carded a nervous hand through her hair.
"Lycanthropy symptoms," Remus said, nodding his head slowly.
"Yes," Hermione replied, placing the end of her quill in her mouth and chewing on it nervously. "I'm sorry, sir. If you don't want to talk to a student about this, I completely understand."
"Ms. Granger, you're an eighth year," Remus laughed, moving the papers in front of him off to the side of his desk. "You are far from just a student at this point. But I must warn you; it is not a happy story."
"Of course, Professor," Hermione said, nodding quickly. She skimmed over her list of questions and shook her head, scratching a line through each of them as she made her way through the list. "None of these are good enough. How did you deal with your symptoms when they would come on?"
"Before I tell you my story, Ms. Granger," Remus said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk. "Please, call me Remus. After everything you've been through here, you've earned the right to call me by my first name."
"Only if you agree to call me Hermione," she replied, smiling at him.
"Deal," he laughed. Professor Remus then began explaining to Hermione the routine he would embark on with each full moon as a student at Hogwarts. He recounted the countless hours he spent trapped in the Shrieking Shack, alone and fighting to control his urges. He explained how many of his scars were self-inflicted and that with each moon change, he was given a burning reminder by the scars on his shoulder from his initial attack.
Hermione listened attentively, jotting notes as she listened to him speak. Her heart broke as her mind was filled with images of Professor - Remus - alone in the Shrieking Shack, harming himself to keep from harming others. The pieces of her heart were slowly mended back together as she heard how James, Sirius, and Peter joined forces to help him, but it still wasn't enough. Too many painful memories of that place were taking root in his mind and forming in her own. She needed to do something.
When Remus told her about his experiences, she thanked him and packed her notepad into her bag. She stood quickly from her chair and extended a hand to him, which he took cautiously.
"Thank you for everything, Profes- er, I mean, Remus," Hermione said, offering a smile.
"You are very welcome, Hermione. Thank you for taking the time to listen," Remus replied, shaking her hand firmly and returning her smile. "Please don't hesitate if you have any other questions.
Hermione bid him farewell, quickly exiting from his office and out of the castle towards the Shrieking Shack. Once inside the abandoned building, Hermione pulled the golden chain out from beneath her sweater and spun the dial three times.
. . . . . . . . . .
"Who are you?"
The sound of his voice jolted her awake. Hermione groaned, pushing herself up to sit on her haunches, and rubbed her eyes with her hand. When she pulled her hands away from her face, she realized she was face to face with a much younger version of Professor Lupin.
"Uhm," Hermione stuttered, rubbing her hands against her thighs. She knew that anything she did had the potential to alter the future, but she was here for a reason. "I'm Hermione. Who are you?"
He looked at her for a moment with a puzzled look on his face before leaning down to offer her a hand and pulling her to her feet. He caught sight of the time turner around her neck, and a smile pulled at the corners of his lips."My name is Remus Lupin. You're not from this time, are you?"
Hermione smiled, reaching up and wrapping her hand around the time turner. She laughed as she shook her head. "No, I'm not."
"And you're risking a lot to be here, especially if you know the power of that time-turner," Remus replied. "How did you even know about this place? It's haunted, or so they say; people normally stay as far away from here as they can get."
"A wise man told me about this place," Hermione said, a soft smile pulling at her lips as she thought about the man that Remus would eventually grow up to be, assuming this visit doesn't change the future. "I wanted to see for myself the pain that this place can bring.
Remus noticed the change in her demeanor and cocked his head to the side as he studied her. "You should have stayed away from here."
"Why?" Hermione asked, moving a step toward him only to watch him back away from her. She shook her head and let out a sigh. "Remus."
"Don't do it," Remus muttered, shaking his head as he walked away from her. "Don't love me."
Hermione furrowed her brow as her eyes followed his movements around the room. She crossed her arms over her chest and let out a sigh."What do you mean? I do-"
"I can see it in your eyes," Remus said, cutting her off before she could finish her thought. He turned on his heel to face her, keeping the distance between them. Their quarters for the evening were already cramped. " You should just stay away from me."
"Why would I do that?" Hermione asked, cocking her head to the side as she studied him. The man standing in front of her resembled the professor, but he didn't look exactly as she knew him.
"Because I'm damaged goods," Remus replied, carding a hand through his hair before dropping his hand to his shoulder. He could feel the raised bumps of the scars from Greyback's bite through the thin fabric of his shirt. A shiver ran down his spine as the reminder of what those scars meant flashed through his mind. "I'm better off alone."
Hermione's heart broke at his words, and before she realized what she was doing, she closed the space between him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her. He tried to recoil away from her, but she squeezed him tighter. She nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck, and after a few moments, she felt his arms around her waist.
"You are far from damaged, Remus Lupin," Hermione whispered, kissing his neck softly. When he didn't pull away, she began trailing kisses along his neck and down his shoulder. She only broke the hug momentarily and reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and over his head.
"Hermione," Remus said, pulling the hem of his shirt back down. "Don't."
"Let me see," Hermione said, tugging his shirt back out of his hand and quickly pulling it over his head. She moved to stand behind him and paused for a moment, allowing her eyes to scan over each scar on his back. There were more scars than she was anticipating, but she had heard the stories.
Taking a breath to steady herself, Hermione leaned forward and pressed her lips to the scars on his shoulder, leaving a trail of gentle kisses from one shoulder to the other, kissing each scar and brushing her fingertips over each of them. She slowly walked back around to stand in front of him and reached up to cup his cheek, forcing him to lower his gaze to meet hers.
"We shouldn't be doing this," he said, turning his cheek to press a kiss to the palm of her hand. "I'm twice your age."
A smile pulled at Hermione's lips. "No," she hummed, shaking her head. "We're the same age at this moment in time."
"But not forever," Remus said, examining her. "Besides, you know you have to be careful. Everything you do now will change the future."
He reached out, wrapping his slender fingers around the time-turner dangling from her neck. A smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he brushed his fingers over the object.
"Is changing the future really such a bad thing?" Hermione asked, brushing her thumb against his cheek. "I want you to have a happy memory of this room rather than the real reason you spend so much time here."
Remus trailed his eyes over her face, reaching a hand up to cup her cheek gently. He softly brushed his thumb against her cheek as a smile pulled at his face. "You don't have to do this," he whispered, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers.
"I know," Hermione replied, pressing up on her toes and wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled him down and kissed him tentatively at first but deepened it as his hands found purchase against the small of her back.
He moved them back a few steps until Hermione felt the mattress of the sole bed in the room against the back of her knees. She broke away from the kiss momentarily, pulled her sweater over her head, and tossed it to the side. Remus' eyes trailed over the rest of her body before leaning down to trail kisses along her neck and shoulder, giving in to the feelings bubbling up inside him.
. . . . . . . . . . .
The sun glistening in the window drew Hermione out of her slumber. She stretched her arms over her head with a yawn and wiped the sleep away from her eyes with the back of her hand. Pushing herself up on her elbows, she looked around the room and jumped when she noticed someone sitting on a chair at the far side of the room.
"Good morning, sleepy head," Remus laughed, closing his book on his finger and leaning forward in his chair. "How'd you sleep?"
"How long have you been here?" Hermione asked, furrowing her brow.
"Not long," Remus replied. "When I woke up this morning, I felt drawn to come here. To relive some old memories."
A smile pulled at Hermione's lips as she adjusted the blanket covering her. "What memories?"
"Of a single night with a young woman who changed my life," Remus replied, smiling at her as he pushed himself up out of the chair. He turned for the door and paused, resting a hand on the doorframe and glancing back at her over his shoulder. "Thank you for reminding me that I'm not as damaged as I once thought, Hermione."
"You're welcome, Remus," Hermione replied, settling back against the pillows.