Hermione hasn’t heard from Harry or Ron since they parted ways on the platform two weeks ago, she doesn’t know why she expected something different. Fred, George and Angelina have been in contact with her just to check up on her well being. She knows that the trio have picked on some things she rather wished that they didn’t, Dumbledore didn’t seem to care after she spoke to him about it last year and she didn’t know who else to go to.
Dinner with her parents held an awkward and heavy tone as she sat there silently, politely eating her food and not making any sound as to not draw her mothers words and her fathers anger.
“Hermione,” her mother spoke sternly, causing her to stop eating immediately and look to her parents, “how soon can you leave to go to that school? Your father and I have a conference coming up that we can’t bring you to.”
“I can go as early as you would like.” She started to panic about where she would stay but she would find somewhere.
“We leave in a few days, Friday the 14th.” Her mother went back to eating, neither of her parents wanting a response from her.
Hermione’s stomach sank as bile came up her throat, she looked to her father. “May I be excused to pack, I can leave tomorrow morning.”
“Wash your dishes up and then go upstairs, we’ll be gone before you tomorrow morning. We’ll see you next summer with the grades we agreed to. The work we send you also needs to be sent back every week”
“I’ll make sure to have all the grades required.”
“Good.” That was as good as a dismissal she could have hoped for and immediately walked to the kitchen to clean up.
She walks into her room and quickly grabs her towels and a backpack, then makes her way to the bathroom, showering and washing her hair as quickly as possible, stuffing her few products in the backpack and running back to her bedroom.
Now safe in her bedroom she takes the time to prep her hair so that her curls are no longer the frizzy mess that she always gets picked on for. Her Grandma had taken her out last week on a day that she was feeling good and had taken her to a hair salon and brought her a whole hair care kit, enough to last her the entire year while she was away at school. The woman doing her hair had taught her how to do everything she needed to make her curls healthy and defined. Her grandma had also taken her shopping for skin care and makeup to last her the year as well. It was one of the best days that she had had since she got her first Hogwarts letter. It takes a while but when she finishes her hair nightly skincare she dresses in comfortable clothes and pulls out her notebook.
She pulls out the two trunks that each have an extension charm and feather light charm built in that she had upgraded last Christmas in Hogsmeade and looks around her bedroom in a slight panic at everything that she has got to do before she can leave in the morning, preparing herself to never step foot in this house again if possible. Tying her hair up and sitting at her desk and beginning to write, two lists start to form.
To-Do List for tomorrow
Muggle Side
Go to the bank, empty and close my account
Go Shopping for: Shirt; Skirts;Trousers; Socks; Shoes; Notebooks; Pens; Post it notes; Books; Jewelry; Clothes
Go back to the house and pack the things I’ve bought into the trunks
Get bus to Charing Cross with both trunks & Crookshanks
Phone Grandma and explain I’m going to school early and will send her a letter and return address when I’m settled.
Wizarding Side
Get a room at the Leaky Cauldron (Hopefully)
Go to Gringotts to put all my money into my account and to take my parents off of the account
Ask goblins about emancipation from my parents and legally becoming alone
Go Shopping for: School Jumpers; Robes; Tie; Parchment; Quills; School books; Books
Write to Fred & George, Lee, Angelina and Alicia and explain what’s happening and not to send anything to my parents house for me
Write to Sirius and ask for help
Packing List
Clothes:
Black tapered jeans; Brown straight jeans; Dark flared green jeans; Wide leg black trousers; Cigarette black trousers; Pleated brown trousers; Straight brown corduroy trousers; Black long skirt; Brown long skirt; Deep red long skirt; Long black spaghetti strap dress; Short long sleeve black dress; Short dark green dress; Short dark purple dress; 2 Black long sleeve; 2 Cream long sleeve; 2 Brown long sleeve ; Red long sleeve; Green long sleeve; Purple long sleeve; 3 Cream blouses (different patterns or collar); 2 black blouses (different patterns or collar); Neutral blouse; 2 Black cropped cardigan (different patterns or collar); 2 Cream cropped cardigan(different patterns or collar styles); Oversized black cardigan ; Oversized black knit sweater; Oversized cream cardigan; Oversized cream knit sweater ; Deep red blazer; Black blazer; Brown blazer; Black capelet; Neutral trench coat; 5 pairs of Pajammas; Dressing gown; 5 pairs of leggings; Underwear; Socks and leg warmers; Bras and sports bras; 2 oversized workout sweaters; 5 oversized band t-shirts for working out.
Shoes and Accessories:
Slippers; Black heeled mary janes; Red heeled mary janes; Black heeled boots; Brown heeled boots; Running trainers; Black leather satchel; Black cross body; Brown cross body; Red cross body; All my jewelry ; 5 silk scarfs (different patterns or styles); 3 berets (Black, Red, Cream); 3 baker boy caps (Black, Red, Cream)
Self Care:
Sleep mask; Towel; Microfibre towel & silk pillow case; Face clothes
Hair brush & comb; Wash net; Shampoo & Conditioner; Body soap & body wash; Body scrub & Exfoliant; Leave in conditioner; Styling gel & cream; Hair oil & serum; Moisturiser & body oil; Face masks & Eye masks; Oil cleanser & Face wash; Toner & Serum & Eyelash serum; Spot treatment & Eye cream; Moisturiser & Suncream
Perfumes; Lip balm & Lip scrub; Makeup remover
Primer & Setting spray; Foundation & Concealer; Contour & Bronzer; Blush & Highlighter; Powder; Eyebrow pencil & Eyebrow gel; Eye shadow; Eye liner pencil & Gel eye liner; Mascara; Lip liner & Lipstick & Lip gloss
School:
Notebooks & Stationary; Books; Pictures; Keep sake boxes; Teddy bears; Everything Grandma has given me; Paperwork
Wand; All potions equipment; All potions ingredients; Telescope; Every Textbook I own; All school notebooks; All old school robes and Hats; Stationary and Parchment; School bag
Feeling a lot better after completing her list of everything that she needs to pack and her to-do list for tomorrow, Hermione pulls out and puts both trunks on her bed. Collecting all her backpacks to separate some of her things, putting them on the bed as well she starts on her wardrobe pulling out everything on her list to keep and putting the rest in a few bags to drop off at a charity shop in the morning on her way into town for the bank.
All clothes separated she folds all the ones coming with her and places them in one of the trunks. She then picks up one of the backpacks to pack her shoes in, placing that in the trunk along with all of her bags and accessories. All of her self-care and extras that her Grandma had bought her to last the year get packed in multiple backpacks and placed in the empty trunk along with her school supplies which are all wrapped so nothing breaks.
Leaving out her wand; makeup and perfume for tomorrow; a notebook; a few pens; her wallet and identification paperwork for the bank; everything else gets packed.
Once closing both of her trunks she stands them against the wall by her door ready to go when she gets back tomorrow morning for the bus to Charing Cross. Looking at the clock she realises that it took her a lot longer than she anticipated as it was now four in the morning, knowing that she wasn’t going to be able to sleep now she looks around her room and decides to pack the few things that were left into a couple of suitcases and take them all to the charity shop as well with the clothes.
Once they are all packed away, she stands those on the other side of her trunks. Emotion overcomes her when she looks around her room and the only things left are the furniture, she has even stripped the bed ready to wash, the duvet and pillows folded and placed on the top shelf of the wardrobe, only a few hours before she leaves everything except her Grandma behind.
“This is the last time I’ll ever be in this room.” She promises herself out loud, with nothing else to do she starts getting ready for the day, knowing that her parents will be up and leaving within the next couple of hours she spends time getting ready for the day in the only outfit that she left out and puts the clothes she was wearing into a backpack to wash whenever she gets settled wherever she ends up going. Hermione knew that her style had changed a lot over the last two weeks, her Grandma had taken her on a few shopping trips which resulted in a dramatic change. Her and her Grandma had had a lot of fun in the changing rooms of different shops until Hermione had mentioned that she wanted to try a darker look which her Grandma jumped at the chance to find clothes for.
Once she has finished getting dressed and styling her hair she quickly applies a touch of makeup to help her confidence for the day. Half way through applying her makeup she hears her parents leave the house and as soon as she hears the door close all the tension in her body seems to leave, deciding to quickly go and put the bedsheets in to wash so they can be done before she leaves for the bank and then continues with her makeup. She decides to ring her Grandma now and explain that she is going to school early so she wouldn’t hear from her for a few weeks while she was getting settled, her Grandma ended the call by sending her love and demanding a return address on the first letter she was going to send once she was settled down in her routine.
Making sure everything she needs in her paperwork folder and wallet are there, she places them in her handbag with her notebook, pens, perfume and wand. Grabbing her coat, boots and handbag she wheels the suitcases for the charity shop downstairs, leaving them all by the door, doing a quick walk through of the house and placing the washing into the tumble dryer she decides to get started with her day.
The ten minute walk into town goes relatively quickly and she manages to get to the charity shop to drop the things off by 9:30 and then continues onto the bank. Due to everything she needs to do she doesn’t manage to walk out of the bank until nearly eleven o’clock in the morning but she feels all the better for having done what she has. When she gets back to her parents house she decides to make herself a small bowl of yoghurt, granola and fruit, sitting down she pulls out her notebooks with her checklist and plans what to do next. By the time she has finished breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen back to being spotless she decides to go to the Leaky Cauldron first and see if there is a room free, getting her trunks down the stairs and putting Crookshanks in his carrier is easier than she thought it would be, locking the front door and posting her key back through the letter box causes that last little bit of fear to disappear and a weight is lifted off of her chest and take in the feeling of freedom.
The bus journey passes quickly, soon finding herself walking into the wizarding pub which is unusually quiet, only a few older wizards and witches dotted around the tables. As she is walking up to the bar to speak to the barkeeper, her anxiety begins to bubble up within her wondering what she will do if this doesn't work.
The older wizard behind the bar takes notice of her making her way to him and steps out in front of it to meet her, “Good Morning my dear, what can I do for you?”
Placing both her trunks on their ends and making sure Crookshanks is okay in his carrier on top of one of them she turns to face the wizards, “Good Morning Sir, I was wondering if you have a room available for hopefully just a few days?”
“What year are you going in my dear?”
“I’ll be going into my fifth year, Sir, my name’s Hermione Granger.”
“Call me Tom Miss Hermione,” Tom holds his hand out for a handshake, “Can I ask what a fifteen year old is doing by herself. Where is your family dear?”
“I’m nearly seventeen Sir and the family needed me out of the house for the summer as they’re going away to a convention for work.”
“Nearly seventeen?” Tom looks to be weighing up options in his head and then takes one of her trunks, “Follow me upstairs and I’ll show you to your room. Any idea how long you’ll need it for this summer?”
“I’ve got some people I can contact and hopefully I can stay with them until school starts, so I’ll just pay you until tomorrow night and I should be out of your hair Sir.”
Tom opens the door to a simple bedroom with an ensuite and places the trunk he was carrying by the small desk along one side of the room, “Stay as long as you need Miss Hermione and no need to worry about paying, I keep a few room free every summer for students in similar circumstances. Hogwarts doesn’t need to know about that though, otherwise they’ll try to stop it, the people who need the help usually end up here at some point.”
Hermione places her other trunk down and unties Crookshanks’ carrier from the handle and lets him out knowing that the longer he’s in there the more annoyed he would become. “Thank you Sir, is it okay to just leave him in the room whilst I go and take care of a few things for the rest of the afternoon?”
Tom laughs, “Of course it is, I’ll come check on him if you’re not back by dinner if you would like.”
“That would be very kind of you, thank you for the help Tom.”
“No worries Miss, now I’ve got to get back but just holla if you need help with anything.”
Tom leaves Hermione by herself, deciding to take the time now to write the letters to Fred & George, Lee, Angelina and Alica now so she can just send them straight off later when she goes to the owlery in Diagon. The letter she writes to all of them is exactly the same.
____________________________________________________________________________
Dear X,
I’m not staying with my parents for the rest of the summer so don’t send anything else to the house. Don’t worry I’m okay, healthy and safe but I won’t be able to send anything else for a few days until I’m settled where I’m staying.
Love you,
Hermione xx
____________________________________________________________________________
The next letter was slightly harder, the one to Sirius, she knew that he was somewhere safe as they had been communicating sporadically since the start of fourth year but she knew that he was going to need more explanation about what had happened. He knew that something wasn’t right with her and her parents, she knew he knew because of the few questions her asked or the little bits of information he told her about himself when he was her age but to actually explain it all to him, she knew she would be walking away from that conversation with a few tears.
____________________________________________________________________________
Dear Padfoot,
You told me to contact you if I ever need help and this is me asking if you are in a place to fulfill it. If it is not a good time please just let me know I’m staying at the Leaky so I’ve got a room and food in my stomach for the foreseeable future but it would be nice to talk about why I’m here and what my plan for the future is. (I’m not staying in that house ever again.)
My parents and my Grandma think I’ve gone to school early so they have no idea where I am. I feel a bit guilty about that when it comes to my Grandma but it needs to be done. I hope I hear from you soon even if it’s just to tell me that I need to stay where I am until school, which would be fine by the way so you don’t need to panic.
Hopefully I’ll hear from you soon,
Kitten. X
____________________________________________________________________________
Pulling out her purse and the envelope of money from the bank, pouring it all onto the desk to begin counting. From last summers envelope from her Grandma there is still £2000; from last summers job envelope there is £1500; from this summers envelope from her Grandma she had given Hermione more than double last year with £5500 and from her savings of doing other people’s homework last year she still has just over 50 Galleons. Pulling out the notebooks from her bag she starts converting the money. As she starts pacing the room to organise her thoughts, “Okay, I’ll go into muggle London first to get everything I need and then I’ll go to Gringotts.” Putting £150 into the wallet and putting the rest of the money into an envelope both of them going into her handbag. “I’ll be back later Crooks and I’ll bring you some treats.”
Hermoine says her goodbyes to Tom and then makes her way into London for the school shopping, she pulls out her list to make a plan of where to go first.
Shopping List for London
Wants:
Jewelry; Books; Clothes; Notebooks; Pens; Post it notes
Needs:
4 Shirts; 2 Skirts; 2 Trousers; Socks; Shoes
To-Do:
Vintage shops; Charity shops; School clothes from - Victoria 2 Schoolwear
Shopping List for School
Wants:
Sugar quills; Coloured ink; Cat treats; Potions ingredients
Needs:
School books; Parchment; Quills; Black ink
To-Do:
Gringotts; Magical Menagerie; Flourish and Blotts; Apothecary ; Sugarplum’s sweets shop; Eeylops Owl Emporium
Hermione had forgotten how stressful it was shopping in London but eventually she had everything that she needed and started making her way back to the Leaky with her earphones connected to her walkman in her handbag. Pushing open the old door, a few of the nearby patrons looked up from what they were doing as she rushed past them.
“Hi Tom!” She calls on her way up to her room. Putting all the things she had bought and her walkman on the bed she moves over to the desk to pick up the letter she had written earlier, stroking Crookshanks on her way back out.
“See you later Hermione!” Tom calls out as she makes her way through the slightly busy pub, she waves as she makes her way through the back door and out into Diagon Alley.
“First stop, the Owl Emporium and then I’ll go to Gringotts.” she mutters to herself as she slightly rushes through the street.
Quickly sending all the letters off with a couple of sickles for each she knows that the next stop is the last thing to do before her life completely changes for good.
“Good afternoon Sir,” Hermione bows slightly to the Goblin at the door.
“Good afternoon, what can I do for you?”
“I am in need of some help,” Hermione notices that the Goblin turns to her completely now that she has his attention, “I was told that if I ever needed to, to ask if anyone could please contact William Weasley for me in an emergency.”
“Come with me.” The Goblin led her over to a small waiting room off the side of the main floor, “Sit here and I’ll come and collect you if he is free for a meeting.”
“Thank you for your help.”
Hermione felt like she was let in the room for hours as her anxiety started to pick up again and she started picking at the skin around her fingers while her leg started bouncing in place.
The doors crash open just as she feels like she isn’t going to be able to speak to her friend's older brother.
“Hermione, what can I do for you?” Bill confused her when they first met a few months ago but he always tried to include her in conversations when she started drifting to the edge.
Hermione stood and raised her chin trying to control her voice from wobbling at the sight of a friendly face, “I need help and I was told to ask for you if I ever needed it.” A few tears seem to make their way down her cheeks much to her annoyance, “I don’t really know how my account works but I need to cut some people off from having access and put some money into it.”
Bill didn’t even seem to need much before he pulled her into his side like Hermione had seen him do to Ginny just before summer and it settled something in her. “Come with me Hermione and we’ll talk about what’s going on.”
It felt good to talk about what her plan was but she didn’t delve too much into why she was no longer at home other than it was no longer an option to go back to her parents, walking out of the bank two hours later she felt much more confident in how to navigate her own finances in the wizarding world. Bill had helped her set up security so only she could authorise a payment from the vault that her parents set up for her before she started her first year. He had also helped her become emancipated and in no need of a magical guardian due to her being the first Granger, making her the head of her house. Bill was amazing at helping make it so that because she had taken on the responsibilities of being a head of a house, she was legally an adult in the wizarding world for all intents and purposes.
Feeling a lot more relaxed she continued her shopping for school and even treated herself to more potions ingredients to play around with and a small amount of ink in every colour available at Flourish and Blotts. By the time she got back to the Leaky Cauldron it was busier than ever and Tom was alone in working behind the bar.
“Do you want some help Tom,” She calls over the bar, “I can take orders and payments whilst you make drinks if you would like.”
“You’re a lifesaver Hermione Granger, my daughter and granddaughter are both ill so I’m by myself tonight.”
Tom and Hermione worked in tandem for the next hour until the rush died down, it seemed that as soon as he had a moment to think Tom remembered something as he rushed to the post shelf for her room. He passed her the letter quietly as he started cleaning up behind the bar.
Hermione opened the letter and immediately recognised the handwriting.
____________________________________________________________________________
Dear Kitten,
I meant it when I told you to contact me as soon as you needed help and it’s perfect timing in fact, I’ve got a few options for you but for now there is a room all ready for you at where I am.
I know you said that you’re safe but I worry about you being by yourself, I’m so happy for you about leaving for yourself.
If anything about what you’ve told me before about your Grandma is even half true then she would want you safe, happy and healthy even if you have to leave to be able to achieve that. She always reminds me of my Uncle when you talk about her and let me tell you that is an amazing compliment from me, he was amazing and did anything he could to help us disowned and black sheep.
I was with a few family members and Moony when your letter came and I managed to hold them off for a few hours but Moony and Pink hair are going to be coming to the Leaky to get you at about nine tonight and bring you to mine.
You know Moony, he’s a protector and you’ve always been included in that protection, even before the two of us met.See you soon Kitten and don’t forget to bring my favourite ginger with you, I’ve missed him curling up with me.
Love,
Padfoot. X
____________________________________________________________________________
Sirius' letter caused her to laugh at his description of both Remus and Crookshanks and an extra wave of peace to come over her, she quickly puts the letter back in the envelope and places it in her handbag. Looking at her watch she realises that it is eight-fourty-five.
“It turns out I won’t even need the room for tonight Tom but thank you so much for today, you were a godsend.”
“I didn’t think you would when that letter turned up not even an hour after you left for Diagon, it’s nice to see that students like you have people behind them to catch you if you need it.” Tom hands her a butterbeer with a small grin, “Sit down and wait for whoever is about to walk through that door to catch you Hermione.”
At exactly nine o’clock the front door bashed open and a frantic Remus Lupin ran though followed by a woman with short pink hair who was wearing a look of amusement on her face as he began to search the room. The breath he took when his eyes caught a look at Hermoine was enough to cause both women to laugh at him.
Remus walks straight over to her at the bar and pulls her into a tight hug, she buries herself in his chest and he in response curls himself around her like a shield. After a few minutes the woman who walked in with Remus let out a small chuckle causing Hermione to turn her head to look at her and smile.
“Hi, I’m Hermione.” She held out one hand whilst still practically as attached to Remus as he was to her. It didn’t seem to bother the pink-haired woman who just shook her hand and introduced herself as Tonks, causing Remus to let out a small amused huff.
“Don’t you dare Remus Lupin.” Tonks demanded her hair start to turn a shade of electric blue, “I hate my name so just please for the love of Merlin don’t bring it up just because you’re feeling extra Moony today.”
Hermione tensed and turned to pull Remus slightly behind her as if to protect him, shocking Tonks slightly at the look in the younger woman's eye. “If you’ve got a problem you can leave, Remus can take me where I need to go.” However much Tonks seemed great when she introduced herself, the comment about Moony set Hermiione on edge.
Tonks held her hands up, “No issues here Hermione. Padfoot warned me about the two of you but I thought he was just being dramatic as usual, turns out he was understating it for once.” Tonks looks between the two of us with a hint of intrigue and then turns to ask Tom where Hermione’s room was.
As Tonks made her way up the stairs Hermione and Remus still stood pretty much wrapped up together at the bar. Once Tonks was out of earshot Hermione turns and tilts her head up to look at Remus as he looks down at her, his eyes flash even more golden causing a smile to brighten her face.
Moving her hand up to rest against Remus’ jaw, she swipes her thumb along his cheek, “Hey Moony, how are you feeling this close to the full moon.”
“It’s loud.” Hermione laughs quietly at Moony’s response, he was always so to the point compared to Remus. He takes her hand and leads her up the same stairs Tonks had just walked up, not even needing her to tell him where all of her belongings where he pulls her straight into the right room.
Tonks was sitting on the bed with Crookshanks curled up next to her and that image put Hermione at ease knowing that if Crooks was happy with the woman that she was safe to trust.
“Wotcha Hermione, sorry if I upset you downstairs.” Tonks smiled at the duo who were still attached and didn’t even seem to notice that they were as Remus sat on the desk chair and Hermione’s immediate response was to gently card her fingers through his hair whilst simultaneously massaging his temples to help the headache.
Hermione just hums as she pretty much is bearing all her weight into Remus' side as the day as the no sleep seems to be catching up to her.
“Busy day Mi,” Moony still in more control than Remus if the nickname is anything to go by, “Your heart rate is worryingly slow.” Moony pulls her slightly and she drops onto his lap with one hand still carding through his curls.
“Didn’t sleep last night,” she yawned, leaning her head on his shoulder, “had too much to pack and plan.”
Tonks picks Crookshanks up and places him in his carrier, “Don’t worry you two, I’ll shrink all of this and then we can go.”
Tonks watches the two of them relax further into each other with a little bit of shock, she had only known Remus for a few months but from what her mum and cousin say he’s never usually this calm and peaceful the night before a full moon. She needs to talk to Sirius and her mum because she is not going to mention the connection the two of them seem to share with anyone until she sees if anyone else in the family notices. Once Tonks shrinks both trunks and the shopping bags down to put into her hip bag she picks up Crookshanks.
“Ready you two?” Remus looks up at her but Hermione is still buried into his neck, “Is she asleep?”
Remus hums and puts one hand under the younger woman's legs and the other around her back and stands cradling her close to his chest as both of her arms tighten around his neck. The gold in his eyes more prominent than Tonks had ever seen, she didn’t think any green would be noticed however much she looked at the man.
“Interesting.” Tonks mutters to herself following Remus out of the room and down the stairs to say goodbye to Tom as he finishes up his last few customers of the night. “We’re off. Thank you for taking care of her today Tom, we owe you one.”
Tom just smiles at the duo still wrapped around each other even when one of them is asleep and then to Tonks, “Nobody needs to look after her anymore. She told me that she took on the title of head of her family just so she doesn’t have to ever go back. She’s got this but it is nice to know that she’s got a good family to help her if she falls.”
“Good family,” Tonks laughs, “I suppose us Tonks’ are alright.”
Tom pats the Auror’s hand, “I’m not talking about the Tonks’, however much I enjoy when I see them. I’m talking about the Black’s and what's left of the Marauders." Tom looks to Remus and smiles at the man he remembers as a boy, “make sure you and that dog of yours watch out for her, I keep hearing about a rat that turns up when he’s least wanted.”
A look passes between the two men and Tonks realises that Tom knows more than most about Remus and his old friends from school than almost anyone else alive.
“You never have to worry Tom, the two of us and our dog are on the same page about protecting her.”
“Hope tomorrow isn’t too hard on Remus. Perhaps he would want a job again soon, you both know I always need some extra hands around here.”
Remus nods in response with a sincere smile and turns to walk out of the pub with Tonks following slightly confused about what just happened between the two men.
“He knows about you and my cousin.”
“Tom has known about me and Sirius since we were boys, he looks after the lost students who need a safe place to go. He gave me my first job but I felt guilty about taking advantage and left, occasionally I’ll work for him again for a few months at a time.” Green was beginning to swirl in with the gold causing Tonks to relax slightly more, it wasn’t that the fact that Remus being a werewolf scared her it was more that she didn’t know Moony, she had never seen him come fully in control like he had been since they left Grimmauld Place.
“Are you okay to apperate whilst she’s asleep or do you need help waking her up?” Tonks notices with a glance that Remus seems to reposition his arms slightly to hold the girl closer and more comfortably.
“I’m good, I’ll meet you at Grimmauld in a minute.”
Tonks give the duo one more look over and then dissaperates with Crookshanks in his carrier and Hermione’s belongings in her hip bag leaving Remus to look after the girl his protection seems to hover over.
“Mi,” Moony tries to wake her slowly so as to not startle her too much, he walks over to the bench and sits with her in his lap as she slowly starts to wake up and nuzzles into his neck. As a reflex Moony bares his neck to her further and she rests her forehead there in response, “You awake now?”
“Barely,” her voice is quiet and muffled slightly by his jumper, “Where’s Tonks?”
“She just apparated to Padfoot but I didn’t want to scare you by apparating while you were asleep. Reckon you can stay awake long enough to side along with me?”
“Yeah,” Hermione lets out a breathy laugh, causing Moony to hold her a bit tighter than before, “Just give me second, you’re warm.”
Remus tickles her sides slightly causing her to lean away from him in a giggle, “Come on. As soon as we get to Padfoot’s we’re going to be bombarded with questions from Andy and Ted, I’m sure we’ll get them from Pads and Tonks as well. When we get there you don’t have to leave my side and I’ll stay warm enough for you to resume this on a comfortable sofa instead of a metal bench digging in my back.”
Hermione let out an exaggerated moan and huff as she stood up and took her handbag from Moony as he held it out to her. As he stood up she took notice of where he tried to hide the pain off of his face, a little bit of weight off of his left leg, “when was the last time you used your walking stick Mr?”
“It’s been a while, you know I hate using it.”
Hermione wraps her arms around him and then leans back and pulls a folded up stick from her handbag, “I carry one on me just in case I need it for mine but you should be able to extend it so that you can use it.”
Remus pulls out his wand discreetly and within a few seconds he’s leaning against it and the relief is immediate on his face. He wraps his arm around her shoulder and hers automatically comes around his waist, within a few seconds they are standing in front of a row of houses.
“Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix is at Twelve Grimmauld Place.” Remus whispers in her ear and then they both watch as the houses start to part and another appears in the gap.
Making their way up the stairs to Sirius’ family house seems to pull on Hermione’s heartstrings and make her nervous at the same time.
“Families don’t tend to like Remus, I don’t know if I can handle Sirius’ hating me.”
Just hearing that from her breaks his heart slightly, “Andy will love you and Sirius is extremely excited to see you.” Remus opens the front door and tugs her through with him, “Come on.” The two of them carry on walking through the house still with an arm wrapped around the other as talking seems to fill the air and Sirius’ bark of laughter echoes through the hallway from where they are heading.