A/N: Wow. I really am a slacker. No updates on To Be Lost Without Truth for…a really long time. I swear I'm working on Chapter 4, but it could still take a while. In the meantime, I hope some of you like Hermione/Remus. I have most of this story written, so it shouldn't take me as long as my others. Enjoy! ~Dani

Disclaimer: All recognizable aspects belong either to J.K. Rowling or another ffn author from whom I borrowed some ideas about werewolves.

Only Exception: A Remus/Hermione Story

Chapter 1

"One of my first memories is of my parents, shortly after they divorced—they were Muggles, as I'm sure you know. My father took me out to the front steps of the courthouse and started talking to me softly, saying things I didn't really understand. I found out later that he was saying good-bye to me. My mother got full custody of me, you see. I never saw him again after that day. I'm told that he died in a car accident about a year before I started at Hogwarts.

"That day was very windy, even for England, and about to rain. He stood up and started shouting words that Mother told me never to repeat. He was crying; he had a broken heart and I suppose he was trying to fix it—reassemble it. But he really broke it himself in the first place.

"My father was my mother's second husband. I don't know for sure what happened to the first one, but I do have a half-brother, Darryl Ngyuen, I think. He lives in Singapore. He's a Muggle as far as I know. But, anyhow, Mother swore that she'd never let herself forget what happened, but evidently she did. She remarried about a year later to my stepfather, David Granger. He's a good man, but I can't believe anything my mother says anymore. My real last name is Leon.

"After what happened with my parents, I promised myself that I'd never let romantic love get to me. As far as I was concerned, that variety of love didn't even exist."

Five months previous

Life was good, calm, and normal for me up until that day. The war had been over for seven years and I had settled into my work—potions research—at St. Mungo's. While I did work on small cures for this or that, my main purpose was to work on a cure for lycanthropy. After six years of research, I had come across a few important theories:

The wolf half of a werewolf is like a completely separate entity.

In certain situations, the wolf half can come out when it is not the full moon.

This is characterized by amber eyes and a deeper, growling voice in the werewolf.

After a specific amount of time—about two hours straight—around the werewolf's mate, the wolf comes out.

This only works once the mate and werewolf alike are over the age of seventeen.

Mates cannot be willfully chosen or replaced.

Mates can tame the wolf half.

This is the only cure (as complete as it gets) for lycanthropy.

It was by no means an easy cure, but I finally had a way to stop lycanthropy. The hard part would lie in finding the true mate for all the existing werewolves. I figured the best way to test this would be to help the only werewolf I knew personally—Remus Lupin.

I contacted him, vaguely stating that I believed I was getting close to a cure and I wanted to discuss some details with him. He agreed almost immediately to meet me in a private dining room at the Leaky Cauldron.

I was quite excited about meeting him again. After Harry, Ron, and I parted ways, Remus became my best friend. I helped him get a job at the Ministry as a liaison to the other werewolves. It had been nearly a year since I'd last seen him and before that we'd only ever for about an hour.

I stepped nervously into the Leaky that day. For some reason, I'd dressed up for the meeting in a simple ruffled black skirt and casual white halter-neck blouse. Tom the Bartender wasn't there, but Hannah Longbottom took me back to a reserved dining room. Remus met me at the door and, uncharacteristically, pulled me into a tight hug.

"You look well, Hermione," he said, holding me at arms' length.

I took a quick look at him and grinned. He looked a lot worse that he did when I last saw him. When we met regularly or even semi-regularly, he was actually gradually starting to look healthier. "I'm sorry to say I can't return the sentiment, Remus."

He chuckled a bit, but it felt false. He ushered me into the room and closed the door. We sat down and the pleasantries started. "How have you been, Hermione? It's been, what, a year since we last met? That's a long time, you know."

"I've been doing pretty well. I think I've almost found a sort of cure for lycanthropy. It won't eliminate it, but it will—"

"—control it," Remus finished for me.

I nodded. "Exactly. But before I finalize my conclusion, I'd like to go over some information with you. All of my research indicated that these were correct, but I'd like to double-check these with a real werewolf."

"Alright. Do you want to go over them one at a time or…" He gestured at my list. "...just show me that?"

"Well, one at a time would really be best."

"As you please, Hermione. What's your first 'fact'?"

I glanced down at my list and read off the first item. "The wolf half of a werewolf is like a completely separate entity." The room was immediately filled with such complete silence that I could hear myself breathing. I looked up nervously. Remus was staring at me with a shocked expression on his face.

When he spoke, it was unexpected. "Where on earth did you hear that?"

I frowned. Did that mean I was wrong? That my entire conclusion was wrong? "I-I found it in an ancient text on the evolution of werewolves. Is it not true?" Please, let it be true.

Remus sighed. "No, no. It's quite true. Absolutely true. Moony's always in my head. He's a huge bother and a pest. He keeps trying to tell me that you're…oh, never mind that. But, yes, the wolf is like another person in my head."

I was curious about what Moony had to say about me, but I got the feeling that Remus really didn't want to talk about it. So I moved on to the next item on my list. "In certain situations, the wolf half, in your case Moony, can come out when it is not the full moon."

I could tell that Remus was once again dumbstruck. He recovered much faster this time. "I don't know where you keep finding these things, but yes, that's true too. Moony comes out when I feel anger. He also comes out when I feel threatened, particularly when I don't have my wand. There are some other situations I've heard about, but I've never experienced them. May we move on now?"

"Of course. After this one, though, I think we should take a break to actually eat lunch. It's only going to get more awkward as we go on, so that will be the most opportune time," I explained.

Remus nodded. "I trust you completely, Hermione. You can ask me anything, alright?" As he finished saying that, I could've sworn that I saw a glint of amber in his eyes, but I think it was my imagination.

"That's good to know, Remus. Thank you." I cleared my throat and inconspicuously check the clock. We'd been in each other's company for more than 30 straight minutes. About 43, I think, was the actual amount. "Okay. So, my next detail is that the wolf's control is characterized by amber eyes and a deeper, growling voice. True or not?"

For the third time that afternoon, Remus was clearly shocked. This was beginning to get repetitive. He shook it off and responded incredulously, "Hermione, you are simply out of this world. I don't know how you find these things, but once again you're spot on. When Moony takes over, my eyes do turn amber colored and my voice does take on a deeper tone. I'm semi-conscious when he takes over, you know. I can see and feel exactly what he's doing, but I can't affect any of it. It's a strange feeling, knowing someone else has control of your body." His tone was getting darker, but then it abruptly changed. "Well, I suppose we'd better eat now, yes? I'm feeling quite hungry." He grinned.

I silently summoned Hannah without leaving the room and we ordered our lunch. Remus forced me to let him pay. Our lunch break lasted for more than an hour and the conversation was easy, laid back, and very familiar. It almost felt…domestic, intimate.

We'd been in the same room for exactly one hour and 58 minutes when I posed my next test fact. "Okay, time for another one. After a specific amount of time—about two hours straight—around the werewolf's mate, the wolf comes out."

Remus' eyes widened exponentially. "Yeah, that's true, but, wow, would you look at the time—I need to go." He stood and almost began to run when he turned abruptly, pulled me up to him, and kissed me directly on the lips!

It wasn't a life-changing kiss in the usual way—you know, fireworks, the world stops turning, etc.—but it was life-changing for me because it was my first kiss; I'd vowed to have one because kissing leads to love and love leads to pain. Yet there I was sloppily kissing…wait. I pushed him back, grabbed his chin, and tilted his head so I could see his eyes. Amber. This wasn't Remus—this was Moony. And that meant I was his mate. I ran.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed it. There are about four more chapters. The story is based off of the Paramore song "Only Exception". Later. ~Dani