There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls. -George Carlin

The rain came down and washed over her. She knew she shouldn't be here. It wasn't her place, and it wasn't right. She'd made the promises and kept them. She'd stayed away.

The Weasley family had left her after the break with Ron. It hadn't been bitter or angry. They just drifted apart. There were no questions asked, and her secrets were well kept.

She traveled and studied. Harry married Ginny. Ron eventually settled down with Lavender. She attended the family weddings. George and Angelina's had been decidedly more fun than the others, but they left her feeling lonely, stoked the misery of her solitary existence.

It was easier to lose herself in her work. There wouldn't be a happy ending in her future. Work was enough. Not that she had other options.

They became acquaintances. The Weasley clan would smile and greet her with all the platitudes of old school chums. Happy enough to see each other at functions, but the bonds of war and childhood had broken.

So, what had brought her here? She glared down at the letter in her hand. One of six she'd gotten from Harry in the last four years, it was mostly the usual tripe. The one line about Bill and Fleur calling it quits had brought her back to England. A wolf didn't do well without a mate. She looked up at the sodden sky and wished she could see the moon.

"Are you going to stand out there all night, Hermione?" Bill growled at her from the door.

"Sorry." She met his gaze and smirked. "I drop by for a visit and you growl. Lovely."

"The moon..." He glanced up at the sky.

"Won't be full for another five days." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Are you still using that excuse?"

"What else was I supposed to say?" He snarled as she shoved passed him. "My ex wife certainly wouldn't have appreciated the truth."

"I'm just surprised they still believe you're this much of a bastard." Hermione swung her long hair around and turned to face him.

"I am this much of a bastard. I've been living a lie to do the right thing by my wife and children. It doesn't make for a happy life." He closed the door and slid the bolt home. "I did that, and she was packed and out the door within the day after she met that prissy bird man. She left the kids."

"Her veela mate would kill them while in the first flush of mating. She's doing the responsible thing." Hermione shrugged off her coat and tossed it to him. He took a deep breath and hung it on the hooks next to the door.

"I stayed with her. I pushed down the wolf." He ran his hand through his tangled hair. His fingers ripped through the snarls, and he looked over at her. "I gave you up."

"She was pregnant. We made the right choice at the time." Hermione took a half step toward him. "Why didn't you write to me? Why did I find out about this in a letter from Harry?"

He started to pace. The low rumble breaking from his throat made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She fought the urge to growl at him. A fight wouldn't help.

"There's a letter I want to write. I'm a failure as a man. My wife has left me. My own mother won't let my children sleep in their own beds at night because my wolf side frightens her. Why don't you get your tail here? I'm ready to openly claim you." He pressed his forehead against the wall. "What do I have to offer you? I sent you away. How was I supposed to ask you to come back?"

"So, you're still punishing yourself." Hermione stalked toward him. He didn't retreat. "I've spent years traveling from place to place. Nothing could satisfy me. Nothing felt right. There was no peace for me. Offer me a home. Offer me a place in your life."

She stopped a stride away from him. It fell to him to make the choice. She bit her lower lip lightly. Showing up here forced the issue. She'd be damned before she'd beg him.

He looked at her full on. He'd shoved his hair back and revealed his scars. She fought the urge to trace them, fought the urge to throw herself at him. She yanked the scarf from around her neck and dropped it to the floor. The scoop neck of her tee did nothing to hide the pale marks his teeth had left in her skin. She watched his eyes drop to the place just above her collar bone where the half moon made by his upper teeth rode her skin. He reached out and traced it with his finger.

"You looked so lovely that night." His voice took on a husky timbre. "Flush with victory from your N.E.W.T. exams, celebrating your birth."

"It was a good night." Hermione blushed.

"It was a horrible night." Bill pulled his hand back. "I was drunk, but I do remember what I did."

"I was there, Bill." Hermione sighed. He wasn't ready. She'd come here with her heart in her hands, but he wasn't ready. She took a step back.

"I'd just found out about my impending fatherhood. I was celebrating. I felt lighter for the first time since the war." Bill frowned. "I'd never been drunk around you, so I'd managed to ignore it or explain it all away. You were my brother's friend. You had been tortured. Of course I was protective. It made sense."

"I don't need the excuses, Bill." Hermione shook her head and clenched her fists. She didn't want to cry in front of him, and she didn't want to hurt him.

"No, you want me. I'm supposed to believe you're here because you care." He took two steps and brought his body toe to toe with hers. His hand shot out and settled over the mark he'd ripped into her skin. "It's this that brings you here. Such a little thing. It's just a scar, but it means you're here for the same reason Fleur isn't. Instinct."

Hermione closed her eyes and shrugged off his hand. The sting of his rejection was all too real. She'd spent years imagining him. Spent years denying herself the comforts of home and hearth. She shook her head and rolled her lips in over her teeth. She took another step back and turned away from him.

"I guess I should be going." She managed the words, but hated the pain they didn't conceal. Why did her ability to hide things fail her now? She wiped at the tears streaming hotly down her face with the back of her hand and looked down into the fire. "I won't trouble you again."

She summoned her coat with the flick of her wrist, and didn't bother to put it on. The rain couldn't hurt her more than remaining here for another minute. She turned around. No sop for her dignity, she knew she looked awful. She wasn't a pretty crier.

"So, you're off? Did your duty and made the offer, did you?" He flattened his palm against the door. "You don't want this. A broken partial lycanthrope and three needy and abandoned children? Isn't that every woman's dream? You came here because you have an inflated sense of responsibility. Admit it."

"I shouldn't have come." Hermione ducked her head and looked away from him. "I thought I spent years wandering around with nothing and no one because you chose duty. I thought it was noble. I was a bloody fool. You were drunk and your wolf got the better of you. That's all it ever was. You had a wife. You had children. I had an old familiar that didn't make it a year. I had a few stolen glances at social events where I couldn't be avoided. The scales have fallen from my eyes. Don't worry. Let me out."

"There's been no one?" He grabbed her shoulder and yanked her close. There was an odd ring of amber forming around his pupil. "You were free."

"I wasn't free." She shoved him back. "I became a ghost to my friends to make this easier for you. I did all of these stupid, idiotic things to ease your burden. I was never free."

"You're still a draw for the press. I've seen the pictures. You were at a quidditch game with Krum last week." Bill sneered.

"Yes, I was. We are friends. He asked me to be godmother to his son. I said yes." Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's a happily married man."

"So was I." Bill snarled.

"I'm sorry that Fleur left you. I'm sorry that she didn't have the strength that you did. I'm sorry she wasn't your mate." Hermione snarled and flung her coat down. "I'm sorry that I'm not good enough for you. I should never have come here."

"I'm a wizard." Bill bent enough to bring them face to face. "I'm a man."

"I know that." Hermione slapped her hand against his chest. "I was there that night."

"That was the wolf." Bill took a step forward. She leaned back to avoid his touch.

"It was the wolf that pushed me up against the wall and tossed up my skirts?" Hermione laughed. "Of course it was. It was the wolf that bit into my flesh and marked me. It was the wolf that left the blood of my virginity smeared on my thighs while the man panicked. Blame the wolf. You're a man, and you are a coward."

She tried to push passed him, but his arm shot out and dragged her back. She pulled away from him and yanked her wand out of its sheath on her thigh. She dragged in a deep breath and tried to center herself.

"I'm not a coward." He didn't look at her wand.

"Your mother has your children because you aren't man enough to stand up to her. You blame the wolf for all your problems, but the wolf is part of you." She dragged her free hand across her mark. "That night was a full moon. I'm not destroyed. I like a rare steak from time to time."

"They said I couldn't pass it on." Bill shook his head.

"Yes, mediwizards that have less understanding of lycanthropy than a mermaid has of the dessert told you something, and you accepted it." Hermione took another deep breath. "I've spent these years researching. I'll send you a copy of the book when it's published. You don't want me. Fine. I'm walking out of here."

"So, you're just like her." Bill dropped to his knees. "You're just going to leave?"

Hermione lowered her wand. He looked defeated. The vital man that she remembered was shattered.

"I'm your mate." She sheathed her wand. "I came to you. I want to be with you, but I won't come back here without an invitation."

She stroked her fingers along his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. She fought the urge to comfort him. He needed to find his way to her.

"Stay." Bill's voice was nearly lost in the crackle of the fire.

"I'll be in England, but you aren't ready to be with me. I may have let Fleur take my place, but I won't take hers." Hermione pressed her lips to his forehead. "We have time to get this right."