Chapter One – Realisation

The muscles in her shoulders were pulled so tight, screaming to stretch, to grow, to change. Her hands and feet were numb, tingling with sensation as if there were more bones and tendons than her skin could hold. She ached everywhere and no matter which pain suppressing potions, spells or muggle medicines she used, the gnawing in her joints grew more intense throughout the day. Every simple task she tried doing sent involuntary spasms through her body as her joints complained at the pressure.

The pain in her shoulder had washed over her so intensely when she moved to tie her hair out of the way that she'd run to the bathroom, anticipating her breakfast to make a return trip into the toilet bowl. After lunch, she had spilt boiling water over the counters trying to pour tea for everyone in the Burrow, her elbow and wrist unable to support the weight of the pot. Ron had laughed at her for not using her magic in the first place and Harry joined in, bringing up the time with devil's snare in first year when she'd panicked about the lack of wood to create a fire. She probably would have just brushed off their teasing had it been any other day.

It was late afternoon now and the three of them, plus Ginny, were sat at the kitchen table. Hermione had since apologised to the boys for biting their heads off, metaphorically of course (although the way she felt it could easily have been literally) and now she was trying her best to follow their conversation about Quidditch, which had just been announced as resuming sometime in the next month. Her focus was struggling though as the uncomfortable pain was becoming much worse the later it got in the day.

"Hey," said Ron, motioning to the calendar on the front of the fridge he'd just got a butterbeer from. "First full moon since the war tonight."

Harry made a derisive noise. "Maybe they'll finally be able to track Greyback down. Hopefully he'll make a mistake".

There had been lots of casualties during the Battle of Hogwarts from apparent werewolf attacks. They couldn't be sure it was all Greyback of course, but they looked like the attacks that they knew were definitely him. And not many Weres caused that much damage outside of a full moon. He was quite high on Harry's list, no matter how much Hermione tried to get him to let the proper authorities handle it now that their part in the war was over. The last they'd seen him, he was bent over Lavender's prone body, her blood pooling around her from the bites and scratches he'd made on her body. Before that, it had been at Malfoy Manor when he'd brought them with the snatchers to Bellatrix.

Hermione, shook at the thought, rubbing instinctively at her left forearm, trying not to feel Bellatrix's knife, Bellatrix's tongue, Bellatrix's teeth. Or at least she'd always assumed they were Bellatrix's.

Her eyes widened. She had been so out of it when the cruciatus started, surrounded by her own screams and pain. She knew Bellatrix was there, looming over her, but who else? He had still been in the Manor while she was being tortured. What if it wasn't just Bellatrix's teeth and tongue on her?

Startling her friends as she jumped quickly to her feet, a terrifying foreboding rushing over her, Hermione moved to look at the calendar herself and started calculating. If it had been, if the moon had been in a particular phase, would his saliva in his human form be enough. She knew Bill hadn't fully turned from an attack by Greyback in his human form, but what had the stage of the moon been then.

Bill. Her mind latched on to that single thought.

Suddenly she knew where she had to go. Muttering a hasty "got to go", she turned on the spot and disapparated, landing on the beach in front of Shell Cottage.

After doubling over briefly from the sensation of her hasty apparition, Hermione set off towards the gate in the property's fence line, only to come up short when Bill's wards rippled dangerously in front of her.

She took a short step back and looked towards the kitchen window where she could see Fleur moving around until the curtain was suddenly drawn across, barring her view. Scowling, Hermione waited for Bill to come let her through the wards, focusing on the front door. He had to have felt her interference of his wards, and she could see the cottage, so she was still keyed into the fidelius charm. So what was the problem?

On a gust of wind, she heard Bill's utterance of "wolf" to his wife and Hermione could hear the animosity in his voice. She growled low, which was new, so stopped herself and started to pace in front of the gate instead. After only five passes of the gate, Bill opened the door, wand pointed directly at her but obviously surprised at who he saw there.

"Bill," she greeted him. "I have to talk to you."

"I'll say, Hermione. You're cutting it a bit fine don't you think?"

Her throat let out a soft growl again. "I've only just figured it out, okay. Only confirmed it when your wards stopped me."

Bill was walking down the path towards her now, wand still held ready by his side.

"When?" he asked, like it was something so simple.

"Malfoy Manor, I think. It's the only time he could ever have got that close to me." She could see Bill frown slightly so she clarified, "Greyback."

Bill nodded thoughtfully.

"You'd better come in then," he decided.