All characters belong to the brilliant JKR.

Sorry it took me so long... Somehow I found it very difficult (emotionally) to put an end to this story... But oh well... here we go...

Chapter Five

Remus Lupin couldn't believe that he would spend so much time in front of the mirror. For the first time in his life, he was actually considering the mirror's advice.

"The color of the shirt doesn't quite go with the jacket, my dear. Try a lighter one." The mirror sounded quite like his mother today.

"Oh come on Lupin! You are acting like a pathetic teenager trying too hard to impress! Make a decision and get out of the house!" He hissed at his own reflection and tried to ignore the mirror's response.

"You need to look good for today, don't you? That's what you said and it's my job to make that happen!" the mirror protested.

Shaking his head in defeat, he went back to his bedroom to try on a different shirt.

He had been to the Burrow for countless times during the war, and never once had he been so nervous. But today would be different. This was the first get together hosted by the Weasleys since the end of the war. The party was only for the Weasleys' ever expanding family and a small and selected group of friends. And that small and selected group of friends, Remus smiled to himself, happened to include himself and the one and only Hermione Granger.

As he tried on a different shirt, Remus thought of the rushed exchange he shared with Hermione a little before Bill and Fleur's wedding, which turned out the be the last time he got to talk to her until now.

He clearly remembered it was just a couple days after Tonks confronted him in the Weasley's sitting room. His silent response to Tonk's question no doubt confirmed her suspicions. He knew Hermione and Tonks were friends. But how close were they? Somehow he doubted Tonks would share with Hermione what she found out about his secret desires. Or would she? He wasn't sure. Girls always seemed too complicated for him to understand.

Whatever happened between Tonks and Hermione in those two days he might never know. What he did remember, however, was the way Hermione looked at him in the kitchen that afternoon, when they had a brief few minutes alone.

She was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a simple black t-shirt. Her hair was neatly pulled up into a pony tail, probably her effort to make it easier doing all the chores that Molly had assigned her and Ginny. He thought she looked even more feminine and beautiful in that simple outfit than the other days when she wore her sundresses. It might have been because of the air of confidence she carried, or it might be because he had been thinking of her day and night for such a long time. He remembered how he tried and how his courage faltered. He just couldn't bring himself to confess to her his feelings.

It was when he looked up at her that he saw it, the emotions in her eyes, complex and unreadable emotions. He managed to smiled at her when their eyes met. She smiled back, but her eyes twinkled, as if tears were threatening to fall. He remembered asking her if she was alright. She nodded quickly and looked away for a moment. Just as he was beginning to worry that Tonks had indeed told her about his secret desires, and that she might be bothered by what she was told, Hermione turned and walked to his side.

He remembered how he suddenly found it hard to breath when she got so close to him. He could feel the warmth radiating form her. As if to make the silence a little more tolerable, she reached over and fixed his collar. Finally it was her that broke the silence, "Be careful, please... For me."

Just at that moment however, Ginny and Molly entered the kitchen, carrying a large box of ribbons and sashes to be used for decorating the wedding favors. He remembered how lovely the shade of pink Hermione's face turned when she realized they were no longer alone, and how quickly she disappeared behind the kitchen table and buried her face under a large pile of golden roses.

Remus remembered clearly how painful those very long months were immediately after the Death Eaters interrupted Bill and Fleur's wedding reception. The darkness brought on by the war was miserable for everyone. However for Remus, it was the unknown that tortured him the most. No knowing where Hermione was and whether she was safe made his days almost unbearable. His dreams were his only savior. Almost every night he would see her in his dreams. She would smile at him, wave at him, or simply let him look into her honey brown eyes.

Those beautiful eyes... He always felt that he had seen them somewhere else. But where? He could never remember.

During some of those long lonely nights when he couldn't sleep and couldn't dream of Hermione, his thoughts would drift to his other friend, the orange tabby. He was never able to find her again after she ran out through the kitchen window. He was certain that the cat was a half-Kneazle just like Crookshanks. That was the only reason Remus could think of to explain her strange abilities and behaviors. He wished he could see her again. He wished he could find peace in himself again with her help.

"Much better my boy! Very handsome!" The mirror cheerfully interrupted Remus' thoughts.

With the approval from his mirror, Remus left his cottage and set out towards the Burrow. He had to admit that he was taking his time to get there. It had been, after all, quite a long time since that lovely summer afternoon. How had she been all this time? What would she think of him now? Was she seeing anyone?

The harvest party at the Weasleys was wonderfully entertaining as expected. Remus had grown so close to the Weasleys in the past few years, he practically considered them his extended family.

It was a delight to catch up with Arthur and the boys. However, all those exciting muggle gadgets that Arthur had bewitched and the hilarious new inventions by the twins' joke shop could not stop Remus from looking around, searching for the familiar brown-hair girl.

Then he finally saw her. She was wearing in a long-sleeve lavender dress. Her hair flowing softly down her shoulders. She was chatting happily with Bill and Charlie when he spotted her. Then she turned and sent him a warm smile. Too quickly however, she went back to her conversation with the two older Weasley boys.

Remus became more and more frustrated as the day went on. He noticed she was constantly occupied by her friends. It might have been his own imagination but it seemed like all of them were extremely needy for Hermione's attention on that particular day. Soon he began to doubt his idea of officially asking her out on a date.

"Just look at her," he silently sighed to himself, "she is as perfect as she has always been. You are not good for her old man. Not good for her..."

When the evening finally came, everyone began to gather in the brightly lit yard for desserts. Remus took the opportunity and returned to the house. He found himself a muggle magazine from Arthur's book collections. He could no longer bear the presence of her without staring at her constantly. He settled down in an armchair in the sitting room, trying to distract himself with some bazaar news about things called "hybrid cars" in the magazine.

Quietly, he got the feeling that he was being watched.

When he looked up from the magazine, he found Crookshanks's squashed face in front of him. Crookshanks was sitting on the coffee table opposite Remus, his large yellow eyes narrowed upon him, watching him with intense scrutiny. It was not quite the friendly gesture that Remus received from his tabby cat friend.

Remus tried to ignore the large ginger cat and went back to his reading. But the cat did not move. A moment later Remus looked up from his magazine, and his eyes were met by the same stern gaze.

"Hm... are you hungry?" Remus asked tentatively and conjured out a dish of milk for the large cat. The cat glanced at the milk briefly, but quickly returned his attention back at Remus.

"What is the matter with you?" Remus frowned. He looked at the cat a little closer, thinking he would probably scare him away.

To his surprise, the cat stared back, and the two started an apparent staring contest.

"I see you enjoy my cat's company?"

Remus jumped upon hearing Hermione's cheerful voice. He was so preoccupied by the cat that he did not even notice her entering the room!

"Molly said he just came back to the Burrow today. Perfect timing for me to pick him up!" Hermione walked next to the coffee table and began petting Crookshanks affectionately.

"If I didn't know better," Remus gave a slightly uneasy smile, "I would have thought your cat wanted to interrogate me."

Crookshanks gave a long and whiny meow upon hearing his complaint, making both of them laugh.

"He is just being overly protective I think." Hermione picked up the big cat, "don't mind him."

Remus suddenly couldn't find the words to continue the conversation. There was so much he wanted to tell her. But where should he start? Would he scare her away if he said the wrong thing?

"Remus? What is it?" Hermione noticed his uneasiness.

"Oh... nothing... I... uh... I was just thinking about a little tabby cat that I know." Remus answered.

"What about it?"

"Well... she was a good companion." Remus confessed. "And I... Crookshanks kind of reminded me of her."

"Oh" was all Hermione got a chance to say before the cheerful crowd returned into the house.

"It's getting a bit chilly already!" Molly exclaimed, "Who wants something warm to drink? Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate?"

For the first time, the Burrow's limited space became so painfully apparent for Remus and Hermione.

When she finally got back to her flat with Crookshanks, Hermione felt restless. She was hoping she would spend some time alone with Remus, finally, after all this time. But all he wanted to do apparently, was to spend time with her cat! And all he said was he missed the tabby cat? What was that all about?

Hermione was getting a bit annoyed. Had he changed his mind about her already? Could it be that all he wanted now was to share his desires for another woman with the cat?

She spent a long time pacing in her living room. The thoughts in her head were going to kill her. She needed to know! She needed to know now! What was he thinking? Did he still feel the same way about her as he did before?

With a soft pop, she disapparated, only to reappear outside of Remus' cottage.

Remus was lying in bed half asleep when he heard the soft purrs. He was beyond happy to see a ball of orange fur ran through his bedroom door and jumped into his bed.

"Where did you come from?" He asked surprisingly. "How did you know I was thinking about you? I would have said you were a witch if I didn't know b...?"

He stopped in mid-sentence as he watched the cat trotted over to his side, walked around in a circle for a couple times, and curled into a ball right next to him. He frowned slightly to himself, but decided to hold his tongue.

"Good night." He murmured, and ran his fingers through her thick silky fur once more.

Hermione felt herself floating into a room surrounded by the warmth of the crackling fire and the familiar aroma of the tea that she had grown so fond of. She looked around and saw Remus reading in his armchair by the fireplace, just like she always found him when he was at Hogwarts. She realized she was a lot shorter in the room. When she looked down at herself, she saw only fluffy paws and furry legs. Ah, she forgot, she was a cat tonight.

She jumped onto the arm of the chair to see Remus, but he didn't seem to notice her. She purred and meowed but he ignored her. Maybe he knew what she was and was mad at her? She began to wonder.

Could that be it? She thought. Maybe he had figured it all out long ago and was upset that she would kept the secret from him for so long. That's it! She had not been honest nor fair with him. He told the cat everything but now that she thought of it, Hermione realized she had never spent much time with Remus as a person! It had been her fault. It was time to reveal her secrets to the one person that mattered the most to her in this world.

So she lost her tail and her fur and her whiskers, stood in front of him as her own self. He would for sure want to talk to her now?

But he continued to ignore her. She began to call desperately, "Remus, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner... Say something. Please!"

All of a sudden she fell, as if a hole just opened up in the floor. She startled and woke up from that very strange dream instantly. Where was she? She was not lying in her bed in her own flat!

A moment had past and she regained her memory of what just had happened: the late night visit, the tabby, Remus. She rubbed her eyes to see the surroundings better. Wait, her hand! She had her own hand rubbing her eyes! What happened to the cat?

Then she felt it, one of Remus' strong arms was wrapping around her waist, his solid chest behind her back, and his breaths gently brushing against her neck. He was holding her, in his sleep!

The drowsiness completely escaped from her. Her mind was swirling. She obviously turned back to herself in her sleep. But did he notice? Did he see what happened? If not, would it be too late to change back?

She stirred slightly, trying to concentrate on transforming back to the cat. It was then his arm tightened around her, and what she heard put all the doubt and fear and uncertainty out of her mind.

"No, don't go." He whispered in his slightly hoarse voice, "Hermione, my love, I won't let you run away from me again."

So she listened, and stayed in his embrace, slowly drifted back to the land of dreams. Only this time, it was together with him.

The following summer, Crookshanks had the great pleasure and honor of exercising the duty of a ring bearer. If you had a chance to talk to him lately, he would likely want to share with you his opinion about the good choice his human friend had made in selecting a mate. He had happily given his approval to that werewolf. Crookshanks always knew best. He was a half-Kneazle after all!

The End.

Thank you all for following the story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The idea of the story came to me from watching my husband and his loyal Siamese cat. If I ever have the courage to show him my stories, this will definitely be the first one that I will bring to him. After all, every time when I wrote about Lupin, he was the one that came to my mind.