AA/N: Okay, I'm SOOOO sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I've been busy like you wouldn't believe. School, play rehearsal, soccer…it never ends!!!
One of my friends finally smacked me across the head and told me to update. It's not going to be very long, as it's all of I have time for. I hope you haven't forgotten me!! If I make any consistency mistakes, tell me, because I don't really remember my story that much…the details at least. lol
Sorry...it's shorter than normal. :(
This isn't proofread or anything…haha!
A Howl
Hermione woke to something warm on her neck. Remus was curled around her, the naked skin of his chest feeling good against her back. His cheek on her neck. The morning bristles were tickling her, as was the breath warmly kissing her neck. She sighed in happiness and snuggled closer to him. Remus wrapped his arms closer around her. It was still dark. She turned herself over in the bed so she could gaze at him. His arms were hard to remove from her body.
His face was free of any pain or anger. It was the first time she had seen him truly vulnerable. She decided she liked it. She kissed him softly on the nose. His eyes flickered open. He smiled when he saw what had caused him to wake. He began to kiss her, and they made love again.
When Hermione woke up a second time, she definitely didn't want to get up. It was so warm and comfortable in the arms of her lover. To her, it felt as though a piece of her was returned. She felt whole for the first time in months. When Remus stirred and began to wake, she crept quietly out of bed and returned to her room.
She was completely naked, and set about putting on some sweatpants and a jumper. She proceeded to head down the stairs when a very loud meow startled her. Crookshanks was at the bottom of the stairs, glaring up at her. He then turned suddenly and stalked into the direction of the kitchen. His meaning was plain. Hermione sighed and proceeded.
After giving him his food, she began to make breakfast for Remus.
Remus had a wonderful dream.
A large gray wolf sat erect, his gaze wandering amongst his pack members. The were a lively bunch. Several adults had come to pay their respects to the wolf at his feet. The wolf was a female, with many puppies roaming at her feet and belly. His gave his mate a wolf kiss and nuzzled noses. The pack then came over to greet the new arrivals, his puppies.
He woke up to the smell of food. It was heavenly. He sat up with a start when he noticed that Hermione wasn't beside him, and when he thought of Hermione, he collapsed onto the bed again with a happy sigh. She was his. It was wonderful. He had tumbled with other girls when he was younger, yes, but they never made him feel the way Hermione had. It was so profoundly emotional; he couldn't begin to describe it. Suddenly wrenching at the loss of her nearness, he leapt out of bed and put on a pair of boxers. He then raced down the stairs. A thought occurred to him…Oh hell…what am I going to tell her father? Bah…
Hermione was frying eggs when she felt arms encompass her from behind, and felt a warm kiss on her neck.
"Mmmm. Breakfast." It growled. She laughed and pushed him away.
"Go sit and wash up. We have a long day ahead of us." She had to stifle a giggle as she felt his shoulders sag.
"What do we have to do? It's a day off…Mitsy won't be coming back for a day so I thought…" he left it hanging as he meekly sat in a chair at the table.
"Certainly not!" Hermione scolded, trying to stifle her laughter at the look on his face. "How can a person be doing that when there's so much laundry to be done, the garden needs weeding…" Remus looked like the whole world was about to collapse. She finally lost control and broke down, laughing. Remus then brightened and came over to support her.
"That was mean!" he said reproachfully. This only made her laugh harder and she had to sit down in his unoccupied chair. He took his turn minding the eggs, Hermione watching him. They ate their breakfast in mock angry silence. Eventually, they could stand it no longer and both burst out laughing at the same time.
"I hate you." Hermione said simply as she cleared the dishes. Remus grinned and came up behind her. Her tickled her gently. She shrugged him away. He did it again and Hermione let out a shriek, running away. He followed her, grinning monstrously. Hermione changed to Sage and ran around the living room to avoid him. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as they did laps around the couch. Eventually. Remus shouted something and Hermione levitated into the air. She yipped in surprise and turned to face Remus. He had his wand pointing at her, grinning. She glared a wolf glare.
He laughed and came over to her. He gathered her up in his arms and laid her down on the floor. She nipped him playfully and they roughhoused. This of course, led to a breathless kissing session on the floor, followed by one on the couch, where Remus promptly picked her up and carried her upstairs to his bedroom.
An hour later, Hermione was thoroughly exhausted. She couldn't say much for Remus because he was currently asleep, his arms wrapped around her, with his head resting on her bare chest. She stroked his unshaven cheek lovingly, and watched him sleep. He was so peaceful, and she felt something warm stir within her. She sighed happily and felt Remus tighten his grip, pulling her closer to him.
A relationship between them would be difficult, she knew, but she knew they could work it out, even with all the Ministry fuss. Thinking of the Ministry wiped the smile off of her face. There's still so much evil in the world…Oh Harry…
A loud banging interrupted the lovers. Remus bolted upright in bed, throwing the comforter off them and exposing Hermione to the room. She was about to laugh but saw the fear in Remus's eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asked apprehensively. Remus said nothing, but grabbed his wand from the bedside table and hurriedly threw on his bathrobe. Hermione, not knowing what to do, changed to Sage. Remus turned to look at Hermione.
"It's the front door, it has to be. Only a few people know where this house is. Please stay here." His eyes asked her pleadingly.
The wolf shook her head and nudged his hand. Remus sighed and ran downstairs. When he reached his front door, he slowed down and face it apprehensively. He felt a warm, comforting weight pressed against his leg and petted Sage's head. He held his wand aloft. Then, with all of his might, he threw open the door. A loud smack ensued followed by a cry of pain.
"Bloody Shit!" Sage and Remus relaxed visibly. They knew that voice. Remus, however still did not lower his wand. He pulled back the door cautiously and found a distraught Mr. Weasley standing on the doorstep, holding a bent nose that was streaming blood.
"My, Remus…what was that fo…"
"Prove to me you are who you appear to be." Said Remus coldly. Arthur stared at him incredulously.
"I am Arthur Weasley, husband to Molly Weasley. I've been a member of the Order of the Phoenix since the first war. Two of my sons fell in the final battle to Voldemort in which my adopted son was killed to save us all. Hermione Granger is dear to me and I must speak with her immediately." Remus lowered his wand.
"I believe you. I'll go get Hermione, come in." He raced up the stairs and Sage followed. He opened the door for Hermione's room and Sage bolted in, morphing immediately. If the situation hadn't been so grave, Remus would have liked to see his naked lover running frantically throughout her room trying to find attire. She threw on sweatpants and a beater and bolted down the stairs, Remus on her heels.
"Mr. Weasley!" She pulled out her wand and repaired his broken nose. "What's happening?"
Mr. Weasley caught Remus's eye and shook his head. "You both need to get out of here, now. Go someplace far away, or come to Grimmauld Place, just leave here now!"
"Why? What's going on?" Hermione was frantic.
Arthur looked at them both. "They passed the Muggle-born act. (Okay, I had this idea before I read the seventh book, so don't go all YOU'RE COPYING FROM JK!!! on me) Anyone with Muggle heritage needs to report to the Ministry. They've already gone after well-known…"violators" as they call them. It's not safe for a werewolf and a Muggleborn. Umbridge and Lucius have finally taken over. Fudge is dead. Go! Run!" Hermione and Remus exchanged glances.
"I'm not leaving, what are you talking about? We're safe here. Remus said so. And we can't fight with the order if we're gone…" She then eyed him suspiciously. "You aren't telling us everything."
Arthur looked distraught. He came up and took Hermione's hands in his own. When Hermione looked him in the eyes, she saw that they were full of tears. "Hermione…you're well known to Umbridge…because of past events…"
"What happened!?" Hermione almost shrieked. Remus winced in pain.
"Your parents…" Arthur began but he got no further. Hermione pulled away from him sharply and gazed at him with horrified eyes. Remus went up to touch her but she shook him away. She fell to her knees, eyes blank and unresponsive.
"Dobby and Mitsy…" Remus snapped his eyes onto Arthur.
"What about them?" he asked quietly.
"Apparently they heard What Umbridge was doing…they left to protect Hermione's parents…"
"Mitsy?" Remus asked, tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Remus." Hermione suddenly stood up and disapparated.
She appeared in a suburban street. The scene that lay before her, was not.
Her lawn was no longer the pretty shade of well-manicured green, nor was the tree still there. Both were brown and blackened from fire, the swing a melted puddle. The house wasn't there. It looked like an old derelict. Partially burned and still smoking, but looked as though it aged a hundred years in the space of the time she had left it. It was a ruin. A gray monster consumed her. She ran towards the house and threw open the front door, which fell off its hinges.
The inside of the house fared no better than the outside. Beams from the ceiling and bits of the walls littered the floor so that it was almost impassable. Everything looked burned. Where were her parents? A huge gray monster erupted from deep inside her and she knew her magic was uncontrolled. She began ripping through the wood, the debris, in her attempt to find her parents, or anything she could save. Her hands began to bleed from the splinters in the wood and from the nails. She encountered a ceiling beam she couldn't move, but at this stage, the beam just flew out of her way, born from uncontrolled magic. She reached her dining room after a few minutes hasty unearthing. She stumbled a cross an un-mutilated piece of paper and in her haste to open it, ripped it clean down the center. When she looked at it, her heart stopped…but no tears came…it was a grief beyond tears now.
It was a Wizarding photograph: Her, Ron, and Harry…all smiling. It had to have been at the end of third year when Harry had discovered Sirius. She noticed that she was bleeding on the picture, so she siphoned of the blood with her wand. She dug around a little more cautiously and found more pictures. She gathered them silently and stood up quickly. She walked with an almost calm resolute to the stairs, her magic moving things from her path. She walked into her parents' bedroom, but there were no signs of their bodies. Disheartened, she gripped her collection of pictures to her and walked into her room.
A ceiling beam had fallen through the center of her room. She hastily made her way to the bed and rummaged under it. She felt her hands close on wood. Thanking all the gods known and unknown, she pulled her memory box and unlocked it. Inside were all the letters she had received via owl post from Remus, Ron, Harry, and her parents. There were also some photos in there as well. She pulled one out randomly. It was a muggle photo of 3 people. It was taken right after she had received her Hogwarts letter: Her mother, father, and herself in between them.
She was on her knees staring at something when Remus found her, tears silently flowing down her cheeks. He knelt next to her and took her in his arms, brushing away the tears. He kissed the top of her head, while stared at the picture, her eyes blank.
The next few ours were a blur to Hermione. Remus took her back to his house and packed while he talked to her. Apparently, Ministry officials had cleared away the bodies of her parents and the two house elves. Remus had given Mitsy a quiet funeral while Hermione was grieving in her house. Remus knew she needed the time.
Things in hand, he wrapped his arm around Hermione and disapparated to a cave she vaguely recognized. Then it clicked. This was the cave outside of Hogsmeade that Sirius stayed at during their fourth year.
Remus checked on Hermione, who was still sitting unresponsive on the floor, clutching the photograph and the little wooden box. His heart broke for her. He had packed Arthur's tent, and went about setting it up. They were comfortable physically, if not for the agonizing silence that ensued. Crookshanks and Hedwig were unable to get a response out of Hermione. Remus knew that if he let her think for a little while on her own, she would respond in due time. It was how he coped when he found out about Sirius's "betrayal".
It took all of his self-control to not take her in his arms, to comfort her, to kiss all her fears away. Already so much had happened to her so young…it was unfair. The poor child wouldn't be able to handle it.
Remus then stopped. He used the word child. In such a physical relationship, he had come to think of her as the young woman she was. His eyes flicked back to her again. Now she just looked like a child, a child who had lost her parents.
At midnight, he went to her. Her hands still clutched the photograph. He lifted her out of the chair, and sat down with her in his lap. She clutched blindly at him. She shuddered suddenly and spoke.
"His sacrifice meant nothing. The world is still so full of evil." It was the first time she had spoken since Arthur gave her the news. Remus couldn't say anything. He just hugged her tighter. "I should have been there for him." She whispered, pain in her voice. "They would be alive if they hadn't had me for their daughter." She heaved a great sob and Remus suddenly found his lap full of wolf. Sage jumped off of him and ran out of the mouth of the cave. Remus watched her go sadly.
Remus knew the lore about Animagi. Animagi come out of being when a person looks for release. James, Sirius, and Pettigrew were Animagi so they could escape from school, escape from their minds, and escape to freedom. Hermione suffered a great loss, Harry, a third of her soul. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were meant to be together. A dent in the triangle made it nonexistent. Hermione's emotions were so overwhelming, her body couldn't cope with the pain, so it resorted to a more primitive emotional being to lessen the pain. It may take her a while to change back, if she even did at all. He believed she would, though.
Sage ran for a good ten minutes until she found herself on top of the hill. She sat back on her haunches and lifted her nose to the moon.
Remus walked slowly to the edge of the save and stared out at the waning moon. Hermione was correct. It seemed as though defeating Voldemort solved nothing. The evil power was more out in the open than ever. He felt for Hermione. The howl that rang through the night air was so full of anguish and despair, Remus felt a tear run silently down his cheek.
A/N: Poor Hermione, right? Hermione's hit a low, but unfortunately, not the lowest. Don't worry though!! It'll be alright in the end!!
Yes, she will go back in time. You'll know why it was delayed in a little bit.
Now I'm at the point were it's so hard to write bcz I'm busy, any suggestions would be welcome. My plot bunny is walking now…not hopping. :D