"You little brat," Sirius turned on Harry, "What was that?"

Shocked by his godfather's anger, Harry was momentarily taken aback but quickly snapped back, "You have no say in this, Sirius!"

He grabbed Harry's shirt, "I do just as everyone else in this family does. I guarantee Molly, Fred, Ginerva, and Ron would have all greeted her with open arms and not what you just did." Releasing him with a shove, he motioned to the chaos around them as Aurors rounded up the bound Deatheaters, their job already taken care of by Hermione. "These arseholes were no doubt looking for her, and we led them right to her. It can't be lost on you that they were using stunners and mild offensive spells. They wanted to take her, not kill her. And now she's run back to seclusion, injured, because you can't look past your hurt that she left all those years ago. Even though she left because she had to."

"She didn't have to! I could have protected her!"

"No, you couldn't have! She would have wound up in Azkaban and would likely be dead by now. They wouldn't have protected her in there, and if she had made it to the next moon, she likely would have been killed in her cell the moment she turned out of pure fear on the guard's part!"

Harry's eyes widened, "You know?"

"Of course we bloody know! Remus knew the moment he stepped foot in her house. But you didn't seem to care about that either. Have you thought of what it's been like for her? Navigating her lycanthropy by herself. Making her own potions, the failed potions she had to have had first. The half the month she hurts as her body prepares for the change, the change itself, and then recuperating from it. All the questions and insecurities that come with the change-"

"Mate," James came over and touched Sirius's shoulder. Sharing a look, Sirius scoffed but stopped lecturing his godson. "You were out of line, Harry, and I think you know it."

Lily, having stood back to watch Sirius's passionate lecture, approached them, "I think we should take this inside," Remus joined them, having finished talking with the Aurors. Looking at him, she gave him a sad look, "You're probably best equipped to help her if she's a werewolf like Sirius suggests. Which I want to know about, by the way," she told James, who nodded while giving her a look that said 'you know I was going to'.

Remus rubbed his neck, "I can try, but I don't know how well I'll be received."

"I'll go-"

Remus cut Sirius off. The last thing Hermione needed right now was her mate coming to her aide while she had only just discovered he was her mate and she was injured. That was a sure way to raise her tension and possibly induce a premature change."No, I'll go. You know how embarrassed I still am when I'm hurt after moons. This won't be much different."

"And who heals you despite your protests?" When Remus said nothing, Sirius gave a cocky grin. "Exactly."

"You just can't," Remus told him, "Trust me, Sirius, she can't have you there right now."

Sirius frowned, but the gravity of Remus's look made him nod. "Fine. But bring her back with you, or I will go get her, throw her over my shoulder again, and take her to the Burrow, where I know she'll be well received."

The last part he threw at Harry with another menacing look before looking around them, shaking his head at the commotion, and going inside his ancestral home. Harry followed after him with his head ducked but his back stubbornly straight.

"You know you're going to explain why he can't go there right now, right?"

Remus shook his head at James, "No I'm not." At James's shocked look, he shrugged, "Sorry, but I think I've already said too much. You have to trust me."

When James went to argue, Lily put her arm around his waist, "We do, Remus. Go help her. We'll get Harry and Sirius sorted." Looking at her husband, she kissed his cheek. "You have some explaining to do about her affliction because she looked very good. Her eyes were blue after this little fight, weren't they? Stunning! And Sirius, he's acting quite peculiar, wouldn't you say?"

James gave the affirmative and started to tell her about arriving at Hermione's house as Lily directed him to the house, but not before giving Remus a look. She had an inkling, and her emphasis on the word peculiar was her way of telling Remus she knew something. Shaking his head, Remus looked at the now quiet street but for the muggle mind wipers who had arrived and were going door to door.

Apparating landed him in her living room for the second time in one hour. He couldn't see any sign of her, but her swear from upstairs was all he needed to locate her. Toeing off his shoes, he went up the stairs to hear the sound of running water and the occasional curse. Cautiously, he entered what he assumed was her room and stopped in the doorway to the bathroom with his hand over his eyes.

"Are you decent?"

"Remus!" Hermione gasped. "You scared me. Yes, I'm decent."

Taking his hand off his eyes, he saw her standing in front of the sink, the water running hot enough that steam was billowing upwards. She had a pint of ice cream on the counter, a spoon in her mouth, and a towel pressed to her side while her sweater hung from a hook, a needle carefully mending the tear made by the hex. Seeing him eye it in the mirror, she chuckled, stabbing her ice cream with the spoon.

"I love that jumper."

"I figured. You got the blood off it and have it being mended all while you're still bleeding. That says a lot."

She snorted, "Yes, it's my favorite after moons, and I can't bear throwing it out."

Approaching her, he first moved to her medicine cupboard, "Do you have-yes you do." Grabbing the dittany, he conjured some bandages and turned to her, "Let me see."

Stubbornly, Hermione frowned at him but ultimately moved her hand and towel so her wound was visible. Getting down on one knee, Remus inspected it carefully. Running the towel under the hot water, he tried to wipe her skin clear, but her blood covered the newly cleaned skin quickly. A few well-placed drops of dittany had Hermione hissing, but she shoved a spoonful of mint chip ice cream in her mouth to smother it.

"I know, I'm sorry. Healing shouldn't take long with this, but we'll bandage it to be safe." Hermione made a sound of acknowledgment. "Sirius wanted to come," she stilled, "It's just me. I didn't think it best that he come without knowing how you'd react, but I think, sorry," he tightened the bandage, getting another grunt from her, "I've underestimated you." Looking up at her, he squinted before standing back over her, "Do you know what you are?"

Another bite of ice cream later, and she nodded, "An omega."

"Your eyes give you away."

"That's how I discovered it, too. Though, it took a bit longer. I wasn't as well versed on lycanthropy until I became one, and by then, I didn't have as much access to the literature needed to understand it."

Once more, stabbing the tub of ice cream, she sent it off presumably to the kitchen, and with the wave of her wand, the counter cleaned itself. Seeing her sweater still being stitched together, she moved into her room and closet for a replacement. Remus followed her out but chose to go downstairs and wait. When she was done she found him in the kitchen making tea.

"How are your moons?"

"Fine now. I take my potions when needed, stay in the cellar, spend the next few days recovering, and repeat."

"And in the beginning?"

"I'd expect they were much like yours before Wolfsbane was invented. As you saw," she motioned to her now-covered abdomen, "she was a bit savage changing back. Healing and tending for those wounds was a whole new challenge."

He nodded in understanding and passed her a mug when she sat at the bar across from him. At least he'd had his parents and then his friends and Madam Pomfrey.

"My temperament is different now, too. I feel much more calm no matter the situation. Even my solitude was easier than I expected."

"Yes, you were calmer than I would have expected with Harry's temper tantrum," she snorted, "even after having fought three rogue Death Eaters alone. Your eyes only shifted towards the end, and you didn't even break a sweat, but you had the forethought to ward the door. I've nearly shifted before when Tonks or they were in danger. You kept your wits about you."

Looking down at her tea Hermione whispered, "That was instinctual. Sirius was coming to help and I, she, couldn't risk him being hurt because of us."

"I suspected as much," he smirked not unkindly. Seeing how tired she looked, leaning her head in the palm of her hand on the counter, he sighed, "You should go rest."

"You think I could without Sirius storming over?"

He laughed, "And to think you're worried it may not work as mates," she rolled her eyes playfully, "No. The moment they get my patronus, they'll be here. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't rest, and having Sirius under the same roof as you will help more than you know."

Considering him for a moment Hermione ended up nodding, "Fine. The floo is open too, they can use that rather than apparate."

When she stood and moved to clear her cup, Remus took it from her with a kind smile.

"If you'll allow I'd like to explain what being an omega means. It may detour Lily for a while."

"What do you mean?" Hermione frowned.

Remus shrugged, "She's pretty brilliant herself and she very subtly hinted that she may understand why Sirius is reacting so strongly to you."

Her eyes lightened, "He's reacting to me?"

"Are you serious?"

She might as well have a third head with how he looked at her.

"No, I'm Hermione."

Remus laughed, "Merlin almighty, you and he are... never mind. Yes, he is. He may not know it, but he's reacting to you in ways Sirius just doesn't act with women. He flirts, and he is suggestive and casual, but he doesn't touch. He doesn't cradle them in his arms or bite them. He doesn't defend them to Harry even when they get paraded through the house in the morning. He doesn't get mad at Harry or anyone anymore. But for you, he did all of that and then some in a matter of a few hours. He's reacting, and that's a good thing."

Hermione accidentally whimpered. Her hand flew over her mouth in horror as Remus's eyebrows lifted.

"It's okay to want your mate, Hermione. To want them to want you in return."

"Not if he only wants me because of magic."

"Is that what you think it is?"

"Yes."

"Tonks doesn't love me because magic told her to. I don't love her because Moony said she was my mate. Magic may have given us an extra push, but the attraction was already there, and the love that stemmed from it grew. But it didn't create those feelings. Whatever you are feeling, whatever Sirius is feeling, the mate bond being acknowledged only added kindling to the fire."

"Sure, as a girl, I found him attractive, but I honestly doubt Sirius ever felt that way towards me."

"That's true," he conceded with a nod, "but you're no longer a sixteen-year-old girl Hermione. You're a woman, and I will say you are not the same. His attraction to you isn't a far cry. It is quite understandable."

"He's only just seen me."

It was weak, like it was her last argument, but still, it made Remus feel triumphant. "And it was enough. Don't think it won't keep happening. Sirius is very focused when he wants something, and once he realizes what's happening, what you are, and what you two are, there will be no stopping him."

Another involuntary whimper left her, making her cheeks flare bright red. "I'm going to go lay down. Quiet her a bit."

"We'll be here when you're ready." He called after her with humor in his tone.

Mortified, Hermione took the stairs two at a time despite her exhaustion and all but collapsed in her bed as soon as she was within reach.

Downstairs, Remus waited for her footsteps to stop before summoning his patronus, "Come over. She says her floo is open so you may want to try that. Sirius, do try to be quiet, she's resting."

No more than five minutes passed before he heard the fireplace flare to life, and James's sarcastic tone rang through the bottom floor.

"You're telling me all we've had to do this entire time was go into the floo?"

Lily was laughing when she called out softly for Remus. He met them in the living room.

"You did get the part of the message where I said she's resting right."

Looking properly scolded, James huffed and sat down in his previous stop from earlier that morning. Lily surveyed the living room before sitting beside him, cradled under his arm.

"She's made a beautiful home for herself."

"It's a bit...clean," Sirius commented, throwing himself into the winged back chair Hermione had occupied earlier.

Her scent, honey and sunshine, smacked him in the face like a bludger when he did. Gods, he could get drunk off it alone if he could bottle it. As soon as he'd seen her on the stairs, it was all he could do to navigate the foreign emotions running through him. And by the Gods, if her scent was perfection, then there was no adequate way to describe the woodland nymph he'd seen on those steps. He could still feel the warmth of her shapely hips on his palms.

"She needs a little disorder in her life."

James laughed, "We can do that."

Looking at Harry, Sirius repressed an eye roll. His godson looked wildly uncomfortable standing in front of Hermione's fireplace. On it, there were three pictures: one of her parents, one of her, Ron, and Harry at the end of their first year, and the last another of the three of them from Bill and Fleur's wedding. Molly had the same ones and ones like them littering the Burrow.

They were more proof that Hermione hadn't just up and left them.

That she'd had a reason.

A damned good one.

Considering the argument that had ensued in Grimmuald after Remus left, it was understandable that Harry was still being quiet. Being Sirius, he hadn't been able to keep from saying something when Harry started banging pots and pans around when he returned to the kitchen. It had been nearly as heated as the argument outside until Remus's patronus floated into the room. To say his message hadn't managed to calm Sirius in a mere three short sentences would be a blatant lie. By then, Harry was reluctant to even come, but all-powerful Lily had given him "the look," and he'd come obediently.

"Sit down, Harry."

The boy grew ridged, "I'm getting tired of you telling me what to do, Sirius."

"Enough!" James frowned between his son and best friend, "I don't know what is going on between you two, but enough is enough. Harry, sit down, and you heed your godfather. Sirius, stop growling."

Had he been growling? He hadn't realized.

"I can help with that," Remus started as he conjured two chairs, one for himself and one for Harry. "If you care enough to know?" He aimed the question at Harry who looked crestfallen but nodded as he sat down. "Good. Now, Sirius, do shut up during. No interrupting."

Sirius grinned, his friends knew his too well.

When he didn't say anything, Remus smirked, "Good. We all know she's a were, but do any of you know there are different types of weres?"

"Like Alpha's?" Lily asked.

Sirius hmphed, "I thought there were no interruptions?"

"From you," Remus quipped playfully, "Yes, exactly like Alpha's. They're most commonly known, followed by the Beta, the Alpha's second, and the rest of the pack. That is the general order of a pack, Alpha, Beta, third, fourth, etc. all the way down the line. However, there are those more rare wolves who exist outside the pack structure. Omega's. And no, Sirius, they are not like the ones in your smutty books."

James snorted.

"Bold of you to assume I read Moony."

Ignoring him, Remus continued, "That's why her eyes are blue. Why her seclusion was so easy on her. Most other wolves need a pack. They need the pack structure. It's something our wolves crave. I have that in you," he motioned to his best friends, "Others get it from other wolves. But Omega's don't need it. They feel no obligation to follow an Alpha, and they aren't compelled to listen to one either. Usually, the wolf within us will always acknowledge the power of an Alpha or Beta even if we aren't a part of the pack. That is how Greyback was able to have so many in his pack, he manipulated that power. That lack of compulsion within Omega's is part of what makes them so rare. They're a challenge Alpha's don't like having in their way.

"But there is more to being an Omega than just their power, and don't be mistaken, they have power, and it can rival that of an Alpha. Yet another reason they are rare. However, the other side of the galleon is why some Alpha's cherish them when they are found. Omega's feel like none other. Not only are their shifts harder on them, but the pain from them after takes about double the time to recover from, which is why she is still stiff and limping, whereas I am fine. Secondary injuries are the same. The cut she got today, even with dittany will probably take a few more doses before it stops reopening. Everyday things will affect her more strongly, too: stubbing a toe, cutting her finger, chopping vegetables, childbirth, and the common flu. That's only the physical aspect of it. Omega's have a heightened ability to sympathize. They're essentially empaths. Magical ones. They can recognize and take away someone's pain. An ability a good Alpha will recognize and hold in high regard because of their ability to calm younger or feral wolves."

He looked at Harry, "When she said couldn't bear to witness any more of your pain or Ron's, or anyone's, she meant physically. She physically shouldn't bear it. Not as an Omega. But as a new wolf on the verge of her first change who didn't know what she was, those feelings were even more heightened. She just knew her loved ones were in pain and that she had to help fix it. She had to help. It most likely fueled her need to find the spell she used, and no doubt her additional power as an Omega is why the spell worked so well."

"Y-you mean she was compelled to do it?"

"In a way, but really, it was just her nature. Omega's are born, not created. She is an Omega because of who she was before she was turned. Her wolf only pushed her to do something more about it than she would have purely as a witch."

"So I...I got mad at her for something she felt she-"

"Had to do," Sirius bit out. He was livid, sitting in her chair, willing her scent to calm him, but the more Remus explained, the more irritated he got with his godson. "You've been mad at her for years because of something she did for the better of everyone. Her wolf encouraged it, but it was still Hermione, and you still resent her for it!"

"That's not true."

"Then what is it, Harry?"

"She left me!" Harry yelle,d coming to his feet. "I lost EVERYONE, and then I lost her too! By her own doing! Do you understand what that's like? I lost mum and dad, you, Remus, the Weasleys, and then Hermione!"

Sirius stood for good measure. Something about this house, Harry wasn't going to be above him in this house. Figuratively or literally.

"You never lost the Weasley's and you didn't lose her, not like you lost us! She was always there. We just had to find her! And she is the reason you have all of us back."

"Yes, we did! She was right. Nothing was the same! Ron was like George and Molly, he was inconsolable, and Ginny wouldn't even see me! I was a pariah there, one who was responsible for all their losses!"

"That is what you let yourself believe. It wasn't the truth! You were holding the weight of the whole damn battle on your shoulders when we found you reeking of whiskey in the kitchen!"

"Stop it, both of you," Hermione said calmly from the stairs. She gripped the stairwell tightly as if she needed to use it to remain standing. "If you're just going to fight, you can leave. This isn't the place for that. This is a peaceful place." When they both remained quiet, although they were still standing with their chests heaving, she took the remaining steps down. "So much for rest," she muttered to Remus as she walked through the crowd in her living room. Weaving around Sirius, she gave him a gentle push with a hand on his flat stomach and sat in her seat when he moved. A small gasp left her when she sat had everyone reacting.

"Are you alright?"

"I'll get the dittany."

"New bandages, too."

"I told you not to start arguing again."

But Hermione only truly noticed Sirius, who had come to kneel before her, his hands moving to her side, and gently lifted her jumper to examine the bandage and wound underneath.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

His eyes looked up at her briefly before returning to her re-opened wound with a slight smirk playing at his lips, "Why are you whispering?" Despite the question, he whispered back.

"Quiet is the opposite of chaos. It's calming. We all need calming right now."

"Oh love, I'm a tornado of chaos."

She chuckled. "I can handle that."

Taking the dittany from whoever handed it to him, his eyes met hers again, "Is that so Kitten?"

"Mhmm."

Shaking his head, Sirius chuckled in return, "That's good, Kitten because I'm not going anywhere. I'm sorry, love."

"Wha-ah.."

"Yes, that, sorry," he caught the stray dittany with a bandage and held it under her wound. It was only about three inches long, but it was in the soft tissue below her ribs, so he knew it was tender. He watched the skin slowly knead back together before finally placing the bandage over it and securing it with a charm.

"No more dueling in the street, Kitten. Not alone. This could have been avoided."

"Better me than anyone else."

"That's not true." He used his thumb and forefinger to get her to look at him, letting her sweater fall back down in the process. When her eyes locked on his, he watched them bleed bright blue around her pupils, though her eyes didn't change completely. "You're not alone anymore. You need to get in the habit of asking for and accepting help."

Her answer came out like word vomit, she didn't mean for it to but with him so bloody close she didn't have the forethought to censor and stop herself, "She couldn't let you get hurt."

"We would have been fine, little wolf."

She didn't know whether he missed it intentionally or not, but the heat in her neck was already receding when he leaned back on his haunches, gave her a once over, nodded with a gorgeous smirk, and stood. He moved behind her chair before saying anything.

"Tea, anyone?"

Unable to look up, Hermione just listened to Lily offer to help, and James pitifully excused himself in order to help them "find what they needed". Eventually, she looked at Remus, who was just giving her a knowing look.

"Shut up," she huffed, letting her head fall back.

Laughing, he got up and walked into the kitchen, leaving Hermione and Harry clouded in his fading laughter.