"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."

Martin Luther King Jr.

Remus was still staring at the place where Harry and Neville had just disappeared, in shock. He turned his head again to Hermione who looked completely lost. She didn't seem to know where she was or what had happened, but that was not surprising after spending over a year in a coma. She was weak, but she seemed to want to get out of bed, which was impossible. Remus snapped out of his torpor as he saw her collapse to the floor, her legs unable to bear such weight after months of no activity.

"Easy Mione, you can't walk after so long. I have to go get a mediwizard, I'll be right back."

"Wait. Please. What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"It's all a bit hazy. What day is it?"

"September 19th. Happy birthday to you."

"September 19th? I was in a coma that long? Six months in a coma."

Remus hadn't specified the year, and given Hermione's shock, he seemed to have done the right thing. She had only just regained consciousness, so it was best not to rush her as soon as she woke up.

"You were tortured at Malfoy Manor. A lot has happened in the meantime, but you seriously need a mediwizard and I need to find these two terrors before their parents get to me."

He told one of the wizards who looked after her often about Hermione's awakening, but didn't explain the details, he had to find Harry and Neville first, and knowing them, they could be anywhere.

He found them on the ground floor, in the cafeteria, talking to an elderly couple who seemed amused by the stories Harry was telling, only too happy to have an audience.

Remus grabbed the two boys who said goodbye to the couple, then the three of them returned to Hermione's room. A wizard was there, examining Hermione. She was lying down again and seemed to be sleeping. The doctor told him that it was perfectly normal and that he shouldn't worry.

Remus decided to take the two terrors back to HQ, Hermione wouldn't wake up for several hours. He hurried to inform Minerva, the Jewels of Time were always handy for that, asking her to warn Dumbledore at the same time. He wrote a note in the communication book to Sirius and his double, before trying to get more information about what had happened to Neville and Harry, without success. The two children were playing in the garden, and didn't seem at all willing to give him any more information than he had, which was that they had 'fixed' Hermione's heart. He had no idea what that meant, he hoped that Hermione could give him more information.

Frank was the first to return, and it was with unconcealed pleasure that Remus asked him, ordered him would be more accurate, to look after his son and Harry, he had to go to St. Mungo's to see Hermione.

Almost immediately he made his way to Hermione's room, but she was still sleeping. He took it easy and started pacing around her room.

"Shaking like that won't wake her up any faster, Mr Lucas. Here are her tests, you might need them."

Remus grabbed the file, and glanced briefly at the first page, before calling out to the departing doctor.

"Wait a minute! What do you mean she's getting out today?"

"Your niece doesn't need to be under constant supervision anymore, and we can't keep her here twenty-four hours a day for no reason."

"But she has been unconscious of the world around her for over a year! She can't walk, she can't do anything, she'll have to learn everything again!"

"She will have rehabilitation sessions three times a week."

"Three times a week? What the hell! There's a war going on outside! Even with a daily follow-up it would take weeks, even months, do you want her to be able to walk again when she's fifty?"

"I'm sorry, Mr Lucas, but it's not my responsibility."

Remus could see that the young wizard was pained, but he couldn't help it, he couldn't calm down. Hermione needed to stay here. She was unable to defend herself as it was, and at least he knew she would be safe here. He went back to his room, and saw that she was starting to stir, a sign that she would soon wake up.

"Remus."

At the faint voice that reached his ears, Remus rushed over to Hermione and helped her to sit up before she clung desperately to him, crying her heart out. Remus let her, suspecting that after all she had been through, she needed it. He didn't know what she remembered specifically, but there were certainly things she didn't know.

Hermione finally broke away from him, before abruptly wiping away her tears, and apologising, ashamed.

"Don't apologise for so little. Do you... Do you remember what happened?"

Hermione nodded, but didn't seem ready to say anything more. She knew that she would have to talk about it at some point, soon even.

"But, how did I end up here?"

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later, but at HQ. The mediwizards can't keep you here since you're awake. But before that, something happened, and I'd rather you heard it here from me than anywhere else. Do you remember what happened to Fabian?"

Hermione's whole body froze, and she didn't answer anything, avoiding Remus' gaze.

"We don't know exactly what happened, but his body was autopsied, so we have an idea. And there's something else. When... When you came here, they did a whole series of tests on you, and they told me that you were..."

"Raped," said Hermione, with a suppressed sob in her voice.

"Yes... But that's not all. How can I say that?"

"Go on Rem'."

"You got pregnant."

Hermione didn't dare move for a long moment, too shocked by what she had just learned. Never, even in her worst nightmares, had she considered this. She put her hand on her flat stomach, tears flowing again.

"It can't be. Tell me this didn't happen. It can't be true."

"Calm down, you don't have it anymore."

"Morgana, thank you! But how?"

"They made you have an abortion.

"By the founders, thank you! Did you manage to make them flinch? It couldn't have been easy, it wasn't very common at the time."

"I pestered them for three days, they finally gave in."

"You know, I... I thought about you a lot while I was there."

"I'm sure you did."

"And it's nothing against you, but I can't tell you everything now, and then have to repeat it. I know there will be other people who want to know, and I don't feel like doing it twice."

"Um... By the way, it's likely that the majority of the Order is here."

"What?"

"The wizards said you'd never wake up from your lethargy. They're all looking forward to seeing you again. There are some new ones, by the way."

"I'm not going to tell strangers what happened to me!"

"They're not just strangers. Kinglsey, Molly and Arthur, Hestia Jones... Andromeda and Ted."

"Did you have to deal with Tonks?"

"No, it was hard enough to face them, thank Merlin she wasn't there. But I doubt they'll come, they don't know you."

"Let's go then. I'm going to have to do it sometime after all. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"The marauders know your name is Hermione. Don't look at me like that, it slipped my mind. And they never call you that."

Without further discussion Remus picked up what he had brought into the room, which wasn't much, and grabbed Hermione in his arms.

"What are you doing?"

"You can't walk, and there are no wheelchairs at St. Mungo's."

They left the hospital, having made an appointment with a wizard to begin rehabilitation. Remus headed for a dark alleyway, out of sight, and moved to the edge of the protective barriers.

"Could we... Could we go and see the sea before we go back to see everyone else?"

The wizard nodded and walked slowly towards the beach. The ground was getting sandier and sandier, and his weight plus Hermione's made them sink, but eventually they made it. Remus pulled Hermione upright, so that her feet were touching the water, but she was still leaning against him so she wouldn't fall.

"It's good to be home."

"You don't say. I haven't been here much lately. I've been splitting my time between missions and being with you."

They stayed like that, admiring the sea that stretched as far as the eye could see, before walking up the driveway towards their house. Although neither of them wanted to enter this house, for more or less different reasons, but they had to.

As soon as they walked through the door, the people there looked back at her, but no one dared to move. Everyone had grown old. That was Hermione's first thought. The members of the Order all looked exhausted, and the change was obvious, it didn't feel like only six months had passed. She looked at them one by one and was surprised to find Regulus sitting in a chair in a corner of the kitchen, away from the others.

"I'm glad to see you finally changed your mind."

Her voice was a little hoarse, it had been months since she had spoken, but Regulus knew she was talking to him. It was strange to see her like this again, she seemed so vulnerable. But with what she'd been through, it wasn't that surprising.

Remus walked into the living room and laid her gently on the couch. The others seemed hesitant, but Hermione couldn't understand why.

"I'm not going to eat you, you know, you can sit down."

Most of them complied, except for Severus and Regulus, who were each in a corner of the room. Before he could say a word, the front door flew open and Moody entered.

"I heard you were awake, Grace. Glad to see you haven't gone mad."

Hermione stood stunned for a moment, then turned to Remus, then to Moody, then back to Remus.

"Are you sure it's Mad-Eye? He's never glad!"

"That's not the point, Grace" he grumbled in amusement. "I need to..."

He was interrupted by two little terrors named Harry and Neville rushing towards Hermione.

"Heleeenaaaa!"

"We missed you you know!"

"You've all grown up!"

"Yeah, you missed our birthday!"

"It's ok, we'll get more presents next year."

"Harry!"

"I'm just kidding Daddy! And anyway, being this tall", Harry held up the five fingers of his right hand, "it's more important than being this tall", he held up four fingers, "you'll be here for the next one."

Hermione stared at the little boy, realising that something was wrong.

"You are four?"

"Yes, that's what I said!"

Hermione turned her head towards Remus, dumbfounded. The wizard looked a little uncomfortable, he had hoped she would find out a little later.

"When you asked me if there was anything else you needed to know, I might have left that out. It's 1984."

Hermione stood dumbfounded, as the Order members looked on in confusion, not knowing what they were getting at.

"I was in a coma for over a year and a half? A year and a half? Six months was already too much! But what was I thinking staying unconscious all that time? What happened during all that time? Oh Morgana, what am I going to do? A year and a half! How will all the delay be made up for? A year and a half wasted. Doing nothing!"

"Technically, you weren't really in a coma."

"A year and a half. And it's September 19th. I'm old."

"Helena, this isn't really the time."

"Grace, why don't we start over? You were on a secret mission with Prewett."

At the mention, of Fabian, Hermione's eyes became clouded with sadness. She avoided looking at where Gideon was, unable to face him. She then looked around at the people present, the ones who were going to listen to what she had experienced. Remus, Minerva, Moody, Gideon, the marauders, Frank and Alice, Regulus and Severus. Dumbledore would be watching Hogwarts, and the other members would be on a mission, or at home. Either way, she wouldn't have liked being with people she barely knew.

"I don't think this is a story for children."

She didn't know how she knew, probably from the Link, but Hermione knew that she was able to put Harry and Neville to sleep, without even needing magic. She placed a hand on each of their foreheads and told them to go to sleep. To the surprise of the others, they fell asleep like two rag dolls, and Hermione settled them on either side of her.

"How did you do that?"

"The Link."

Hermione took a deep breath, her last memories flooding in by the hundred.

"We were idiots. We cast a basic spell of disillusionment on each other, thinking it would protect us. We were walking up the stairs when we got caught. Fabian had a spell on his back, and they tied me up. We were taken by beginners, I didn't even know them. But they seemed happy to have fallen on us. They took us to the dungeons, warning their master at the same time. I don't know what was going on that day, but it was hectic, there were people everywhere. Fabian died and they brought me in front of Voldy. It was really crowded. I don't even know why they were all there. And he told me he wasn't going to torture me, and Bellatrix came. She's alive, you know?" she asked Remus.

"I know she is."

"And she knows who I am. Who you are too."

"Yes, I found out."

"And she tortured me. I don't know how long, but it felt like it was going on for ages. And Voldy, he was sending me pictures. He also knows who we are. And then after an eternity, the Death Eaters who were watching left. I don't know how long they stood there, watching her torture me with sadistic expressions, but..."

"Three days. It was three days" Regulus interjected, his face grim. "For three days we had to watch you scream."

"Um, yeah, that's it. I wasn't even thinking anymore, I believe she explored every dark magic spell she knows. And then they took me to the dungeons. But not the same dungeons I was in. Different ones. Deeper underground. They tortured me for days. At first for pleasure, I don't know how long. I think they wanted to break me. And then. He remembered. He remembered what could break me. And he brought the Death Eaters he was closest to. And they raped me, one by one, for days on end, between torture sessions. And he saw that it wasn't enough. So he brought Greyback. He realised straight away that I was a werewolf. You all know Greyback's reputation... He tortured me, he raped me, nothing original, but it wasn't like with the other mangemorts, it was starting to destroy me. Then the first full moon came. They locked me in a dungeon, with muggles. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't... I couldn't save them, or even control myself. I became a bloodthirsty beast, just like him."

"You are not like him" Remus said in a cold, firm voice. "Don't you dare say that. Greyback is a monster. You know very well how and why he bit me. You are nothing like him. Nothing like him, okay?"

"Technically, we're both werewolves."

"Nothing like him, am I clear?"

"Remi is right, Helena. Greyback is a monster."

"And we are werewolves."

"We're not monsters now? That's not what you said when you bit me."

"I never said you were a monster, just that I was. And compared to lupryadalis or Greyback, no, I don't consider myself a monster anymore."

"We're getting off the subject!" said Moody in a loud voice.

"Well, there it is, the full moon has passed, and the same pattern has been repeated. Voldem- You-know-who, I got out of the habit, for the mental torture, Bellatrix for the physical torture, and Greyback the rest of the time. Then Voldy remembered that we were at war, and he started trying to get information about the Order. Of course, he got nothing. I haven't trained my mind for years to give him information as easily as that. And they tried for weeks to get every little bit of information out of me, so they failed miserably. But as the weeks went by, I became weaker and weaker. I hardly ate anything, I lost a lot of blood, I spent my days being raped, tortured, both physically and mentally, and I started to feel my barriers weaken, to feel my mind fly away sometimes. I passed out countless times, and my only fear was that they would get into my mind, so I made my decision. It was time for me to be a little brave and take responsibility for my actions. So I activated my last defence, and locked myself in my own mind. But after that, nothing. I have no idea how I got out of the dungeons.

"And how were you planning to get out of your mind?"

"It happens naturally after a while, often when you are safe."

"And what was the chance of getting out after a while?"

"Twenty percent."

"One in five? And you decide to do it, just like that, without thinking any further?"

"Don't you make things more complicated than they need to be! And I'd like to know how I got out of those damn dungeons! There's no way you could have known them, so I did go out with someone else."

"The Guardians."

"The Guardians? What the hell were they doing there?"

"You should be more grateful, they saved your life."

"The Guardians... You mean Lady Anastasia and Sir Raphaël?"

"No, of course not! Their names are Pluto and Proserpina. Why are you talking to me about people who have been gone for centuries?"

"Those were their names before."

"What? No, it can't be. Proserpina can't be Lady Anastasia. And we couldn't be that rude to the greatest wizards of all time, could we?"

"I'm afraid so."

"But why didn't they say anything? I've always wanted to ask them a thousand questions? Did you know that she's the one who managed to explain why there were squibs? And..."

"We're getting off the subject!"

"But didn't they say that She cursed them when they were still at Hogwarts?"

"I don't know, it doesn't matter. They told me a lot of things we didn't know."

"Grace, Lucas! We haven't got all day."

"Yeah, whatever. The Guardians took you back to Hogwarts, and when Mrs Pomfrey saw your condition, she decided to send you to St. Mungo's, because it was too critical. Then the Guardians disappeared and the mediwizards told us what had happened to you, and at the same time told us that you were very unlikely to ever wake up. But you weren't in a coma. You were not aware of the world around you, but your eyes were open and your body was moving. Do you remember what was going on?"

"I remember mirrors and... running. But it's all a blur."

"It's probably what your mind created to lock you in."

"And how did I get out?"

"Thanks to Neville and Harry. They could hear you sometimes with the Link. I don't know how they knew what to do, but they did."

"They'll get a great birthday present then..."

Hermione yawned until her jaw dropped and asked Remus to help her up to her room, she had nothing more to say anyway, and she knew that the two of them still had another conversation to have.

A difficult conversation, one that would make her lose the last shred of hope she had. The disasters that had happened since she'd left. Remus' scar that was becoming more and more painful, the new horcruxes to destroy, Bellatrix's resurrection, the potential time rift they had created.

And then her rehabilitation. She would have to learn to walk again, and most importantly, to fight. But Hermione had an iron will, she was a Gryffindor after all, so she would do it. She would fight, she would get better, she would not give up under any circumstances. She couldn't afford to lose hope.

Remus had been alone for over a year, fighting to survive, to protect, to win, he hadn't given up, she would do the same.