Chapter Text
The cool, still air of the forest surrounded him. His head lifted as the sun rose and his nose tipped up. There was a scent in the air he’d smelled before. It compelled him, drawing the wolf up out of his den and onto all fours. He stretched, wincing as he gingerly stepped onto his injured leg. Scars rippled across his flesh, violence was as easy as breathing in this form. It came naturally.
The pain of each step eased as he got moving, nose trailing along the ground, occasionally popping into the air to try and pinpoint the source. It didn’t smell like meat or plants. It was sweet and warm, luring him in. The wolf was unable to resist.
Tracking it through the trees, he did his best to stay off game trails, dodging through the edges of the centaur territory. The wolf didn’t like that it was drawing him into more open areas of the trees, where the fog thinned, but he was defenseless against the pull. It was familiar and comforting, driving him from the gloom to the narrowing edges of the forest where the sunlight cut through the trees. Hunger rumbled in his stomach. He’d need to hunt, this scent woke a hunger in him that was deeper than the edge of starvation he lived on. Spiders were not very nutritious, but they were plentiful in the dark of the forest, where hunger had driven him deeper.
Disturbances on the edges of the forest were more and more common, though less dangerous than they had been. The wolf shook off the stress that thought brought forward. He didn’t want that delightful smell anywhere near the risky parts of the forest. He wanted it for himself. He needed it. He knew it. It belonged to him.
Voices cut through the air. Fear lanced through him, breaking the thrall of that delicious scent. The wolf ducked back, darting for shelter in the tangled roots of a large oak tree.
~~~~~~~
Hermione was healthy, mostly whole, and relatively stable. Her wand was needed. She knew it. That didn’t mean she wanted to be traipsing around the grounds of Hogwarts with a coterie of former students, parents, and professors in an effort to clear the magical residue from the Battle off the castle. When Hermione had volunteered, she’d spent much of the summer and into early fall putting the library and other classrooms back together. But today, instead, she was walking the scorched grounds on a search line, with Luna on one side and Neville on the other by about 20 feet. Too far to talk much. Enough they could see each other if there was danger. Auror Proudfoot was down a ways on Neville’s other side. Luna was bracketed by Ernie Macmillian, who had Hestia Jones on his far side. McGonagall was nearby, as were other Aurors. The goal of this was to ensure nothing had been missed on the grounds before doing a beginning sweep of the Forbidden Forest.
There were rumors circulating that Death Eaters were hiding within the gloom of the Forest, and the howl of wolves the past few months suggested that Fenrir’s pack hadn’t left.
Fenrir Greyback himself was among the Death Eaters and other villains still missing post-Battle. He had been badly wounded certainly, but in the fray he’d slipped away. He likely feigned that he had been stunned by Ron. The Auror department had their hands full with the escapees and the Wizengamot was up to their eyeballs in the trials of members of its esteemed body or their relatives. It was a disaster without an end in sight. At least He-Who-Had-Daddy-Issues was dead.
Hermione had found herself surprisingly irreverent and bitter about the whole deal. Her hopes for the future had been crushed with each funeral they attended and each missing person tallied. The rampant ineptitude of the Ministry and the way people were eager to move on, without changing the structures and prejudices that allowed it to happen in the first place.What had truly destroyed her last hopes was holding the Littlest Teddy Lupin during his mother’s funeral. Harry had been unable to soothe him, entrusted with his Godson as Andromeda stepped forward to conduct some traditional rites. Mutterings about Remus’ lycanthropy could be heard, and commentary about Ted Tonks had leaked through to where Hermione had stood in a quiet corner.
To everyone’s apparent surprise, Hermione was good with children. Especially little ones like Teddy. She had cradled him in close, stepping to a quiet corner and watching as Tonk’s casket was set alight in a brilliant gleam of magical prowess from Andromeda. Her upbringing showed in the line of her spine and the artistry of her casting, but it was thrown off by the muggle attire she wore and tears on her face as she dedicated her daughter to the stars for which she was named. The flames danced, showcasing memories of Tonks that they each had offered at the beginning of the funeral. As the scenes brought them to laughter and tears, Kingsley had said a few words that Hermione didn’t hear, eyes locked on a scene Harry had contributed from the only holidays that everyone had been together.
Tonks was twirled around the living room by Sirius, as Remus spun Hermione. Ginny was in the grasp of Arthur, held up by a crutch. Molly had one of the twins in her arms, unclear from this angle which. Harry’s knee was in view, happily bouncing along to the music. Then they’d swapped partners. Harry cut in to take Ginny’s hand, as Molly and Arthur united. Sirius dipped her dramatically in the background, as Remus and Tonks spun in orbit with their eyes locked.
Hermione’s heart hurt for the small boy left behind. His mother and father murdered before his second month of life. And these Ministry assholes still hadn’t changed, speaking against his parents for their perceived differences.
She could feel him turning his small nose against her throat, pressing against her scars, unbothered. His presence was the only thing that prevented her from ripping them apart. His rest was more important. Her warmth soothed him, and the remainder of the funeral passed with him sleeping peacefully against her. The cremation had been a practical concern. The remains of a well-known metamorphagus would be too great a temptation for dark potioneers to be trusted to the security of the earth. And there hadn’t been enough left of Remus to warrant a burial. His wand had been saved, wrapped up with Dora’s for Teddy someday.
The joint headstone for the pair read:
Remus John Lupin and Nymphadora Calliope Tonks Lupin with their birth and death dates. For Tonks, a carved arch of letters said Auror, Wife, Mother, Daughter Most Beloved. It circled on itself in a master masonry work We Can Be All We Dream Ourselves to Be.
For Remus, it read Marauder, Teacher, Husband, Father, Son with the phrase Survival Without Kindness Means You Didn’t Live At All encircled.
That was almost 5 months ago.
Since then, Hermione had taken her N.E.W.T.s and hid from the world at Grimmauld Place. She and Harry had taken two weeks after the end of the funerals and stayed in, healing and recovering. Once that was over, she went to Australia. Upon her return, Hermione had been called as a witness for a variety of the high profile Death Eater Trials, including all three Malfoys. The testimony offered by her and Harry had kept Draco Malfoy out of Azkaban. He had been assigned community service helping to fix the castle. Hermione had seen him around while working.
Now, she was here, knee deep in grass repeatedly casting a spell to detect dark magic. The fall air was cool around them and Professor McGonagall was hoping for a start to term. A late start, but a start all the same. November 1st was the plan. Given that it was still early October and the walls of the castle were intact again, there was some hope in that. The jury was still out on whether Hermione would accept one of the apprenticeships offered by Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Vector. Similarly, several Ministry departments had courted her for positions, each one more eager than the last to have one of the so-called Golden Trio amongst their ranks.
She was ready to be done. As they neared the Forbidden Forest, Hermione was unable to summon anything deeper than mild concern. Where once the idea of entering the Forest would have caused alarm, after everything she'd been through, she couldn't find it within herself to care. A dead acromantula had been found with the spell they were all taught by someone from the Ministry. The acromantula hadn’t been what unsettled her group. They were upset by the body found beneath it. The attire suggested the remains belonged to one of the missing students who had come back to fight in the battle. Hermione had hung back, unable to summon any emotions other than apathy and resignation at the fate of this child. No protection or concern for their wellbeing, she hoped McGonagall would do better, but remained largely unmoved. She’d been struggling for anything other than apathy for months.
One of the Aurors with the group stayed back, calling for assistance from the castle and they were sent forward to continue their search. Hermione had more time than she wished practicing it while helping repair the Castle and the courtyards. The spell worked by scanning over the caster’s eyeline and visually marking anything with dark magic or any particularly strong natural magics, sometimes indistinguishable from each other, with a flash of color. The “pings” as Hermione had taken to calling them were easy to see, even if the cause of it wasn’t. The pings were more frequent as they approached the Forbidden Forest, but the pings were often naturally occurring causes like the creatures and nature of the forest itself. Doxys, nightwalker plants, and other such things.
As they breached the tree line, everyone stopped as previously planned. Hermione looked right and left to reconfirm she could still see Luna and Neville as they got closer together in the dense brush. Especially after the war, the Forbidden Forest was not to be underestimated. Neville was responsible for identifying any unknown plants, and Luna was to identify any creatures, and Auror Proudfoot, any lingering Death Eaters. There were at least five of the known inner circle members who had escaped Hogwarts and there were an unknown number of lower level marked and unmarked followers, like the Snatchers.
The wind twisted and swirled the heavy layer of fog cut through by the sunlight dripping through the trees. They walked slowly forward, occasionally getting a ping. Each ping followed the same progression, whoever detected it ascertained the source of the dark magic, be it plant, beast, or otherwise. The two nearest individuals would get closer, providing back up, then they’d move ahead. A few sprouts of Devil’s Snare and Tangling Vine were easily dismissed by Neville.
Hermione’s spell pinged, and she stepped forward with a quiet Revelio. It revealed a magical trap meant to hoist the unsuspecting student aloft and squeeze the air from them slowly if someone didn’t answer the alert it triggered and stop it. Professor Flitwick had spent many hours since the Battle of Hogwarts locating and disenchanting these from all over the castle and the grounds. Shortly after the Battle, Flitwick had unexpectedly, and unluckily for him, discovered what happens to someone who gets caught in the trap. A Muggleborn Ravenclaw, previously assumed missing, was found just far enough into the Forest to be outside the immediate protective wards, which would have alerted the Headmaster and the Heads of House that something was amiss. The poor student had likely been found by the Carrows during their reign as "professors" and left to suffer.
It was a relief to see that the trap was untriggered and Hermione started to disable it with a particularly violent Finite Incantum Maxima. As she did, Ernie cried out in shock and horror with a shout of her name.
Before she could turn, Hermione was sent flying by an explosive force slamming into her side. She landed, sprawled in the muck and leaf litter.
~~~~~
Ears ringing, the wolf panted heavily and shook off the dirt that had blown across him. He was braced over the source of the delightful bouquet he couldn’t get enough of. He breathed in heavily, fighting to find the scent over the smell of fire, ash, and scorched earth.
Instinct had tearing across the small glenn and to her side. It hadn’t been a thought or choice. He dove, shielding her body with his own. It sent them both sprawling into the dirt. As she had spoken, her voice a soothing balm to his frazzled senses, a sense of impending doom and the scent of sulfur had reached his hiding place in the root. She was the source of the smell that had drawn him from his den and through the forest. A woman, full bodied and shorter in kthe fallen leaves. The others!
Whirling around, he stayed braced over her. She was his to defend. He crouched, pinning her arms and covering as much of her as he could with his own body.
Several of the other humans had sticks in their hand, pointing them at him and her as he bared his teeth in a vicious snarl and dug his claws into the dirt on either side of her. They would not be taking her. She was still beneath him, her voice calling out to the others.
He wanted to listen to her words. To understand them. Somewhere inside, he knew he was capable if he let go of his instincts a little. That was not an easy feat, given that he needed them to survive.
The tallest one called out in response to her words, his deep voice drawing another snarl from the wolf.
There was a stand-off between them. With the positioning of him over her, with his claws on either side of her torso, he let out another rumbling growl. It wasn’t that he thought they were threats to her either, but now that he had her, they were not taking her from him. Especially after they failed to protect her. He could smell the hurt and anger on her like a perfume under her delightful aroma. There was an undercurrent of faint wolf to her as well, defining her even more as his.
The stand-off dragged on, his eyes darting between them, crouching lower over her. His muzzle was alongside her neck and shoulder, as he tried to hide her from view. Instincts everywhere, the wolf was doing his best to try to follow the movements of their sticks and their voices even without comprehension of the sounds.
Her hands were pinned to her sides, but he shifted slightly when he felt her try to move them. He didn’t want to scare her or restrain her. He wanted her safe.
That hand that was freed crept out, not towards the stick again but up into his eyeline. He did his best to focus on the threats in front of them, but was unable to hold his snarl as her hand approached his face, shaking.
“Remus?” Her voice was soft, shaking like her hand, and entirely too hesitant.
That name wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t right either. He understood her, feeling something in the back of his mind unfurl.
He huffed at her, eyes darting down to her face. Her eyes were filled with tears. He whined in sympathy before looking back up at the humans surrounding them. They seemed tenser at his whine.
“Hermione! What are you doing? Are you okay?” A different, nasally male voice asked.
A familiar, dreamy voice answered, “He’s not trying to hurt her. Let’s all calm down and see if they can communicate. He protected her after all.”
“Protected ‘er?” A stern voice asked, doubtfully. That dreamy voice responded in his defense.
Letting the wolf focus on her.
She was crying now, and he whined again as her hand touched his face, “Moony?”
Moony wuffed affirmatively, that was right. He wagged his tail twice, before looking back up at the surrounding force. The dreamy girl succeeded, the group had mostly lowered their sticks but were watching intently.
“I- I think that this is Professor Lupin! Remus Lupin,” she called to the group. As she did, there was a burst of murmurs from the group as he pressed in closer to her, bumping his nose against her cheek at the name. The stern voice barked out “a werewolf” incredulously.
The stirring in the back of his mind was stronger, but Moony wasn’t willing to give up the reins. Not when she smelled so nice and he had been so alone. The wolf felt safe in her presence, he was also realizing he was very tired. Something warm filled him as her hands moved to press up on his chest, gently guiding him to the side so she could sit up. The wolf grumbled, but allowed it. He shifted, hiding her from the view of the others, looking up at the sunlight through the trees and back at them.
Now they were no longer in contact, the need to flee back to safety of the shadows swelled through him. Outnumbered, almost fully encircled, and with her to defend, Moony needed to go. They needed to go. He stepped back towards the gloom, catching the shoulder of her jacket in gentle teeth and tugging.
There was a shout of discontent from the people, quickly followed by her waving them off.
“Moony? Remus? Do you want me to follow you?”
He tugged again, looking towards the dark shadows of the forest.
“Okay, how about you come with me instead?”
He whined at her words, taking leading steps back towards the gloom, hoping she would follow. Instead she turned her head and addressed the people surrounding them. He growled deep in his chest as she turned her attention away from him.
~~~~~
Hermione was not entirely sure she wasn’t dreaming or experiencing some sort of hallucination. A giant wolf had come flying out of the underbrush just in time to knock her out of the way of some sort of explosion layered into the trap she was disarming. Oh, and the wolf was responding to the name of Remus Lupin and his wolfy alter-ego, Moony.
The wolf didn’t look anything like the stretched out, gangly and starving nearly bald creature she’d seen in her Third Year. Instead, he looked like the Grey Wolves she’d seen at the zoo. He was dirty, but under the filth was a luxurious sandy blond coat with patterns in a darker brown. His eyes were green as they stared at her from her shoulder, where his teeth were embedded in her sweater and tearing it a little with each tug. He was trying to get her to follow him.
The growling and snarling wasn’t directed at her. Hermione could tell. For whatever reason, this feral wolf creature wasn’t afraid of her or angry with her. He’d defended her. Despite how unlikely it was, the more his behavior differentiated between her and the group, the more the creeping suspicion that this might actually be Remus took hold.
“Okay okay. Let me get up, alright Moony?” Hermione knew the wolf had responded once a long time ago like she was a werewolf. Maybe that fluke still applied now. He wasn’t acknowledging or responding to the calls from Neville or Proudfoot. She stood slowly, picking up her wand as she went, unsure if this strangely placid behavior towards her was going to change.
“Luna? Have you heard of anything like this?” She asked, not taking her eyes off the wolf who was starting to look more skittish.
The war had taken some of the whimsy from the way Luna carried herself, she didn’t look like she was moments from taking flight, but she was still at her core, Luna. She didn’t look directly at the wolf but in the space around it before meeting Hermione’s gaze, “no. This is not familiar to me, but the scarring. The one on his muzzle looks like Professor Lupin’s.”
“If this is a werewolf, we need to call in the Department of Regulation of Magical Creatures. If this is Lupin especially. He shouldn’t be able to transform without the moon. He doesn’t look right either, looks like a true wolf,” Auror Proudfoot cut in. His wand was held defensively, even as the rest had relaxed somewhat.
Hermione rebelled internally at his words, she didn’t want those fools anywhere near this wolf, “Let’s get him to the castle first, confirm that this is Remus Lupin.”
Her gaze had continued to bounce between the group and maybe-Remus. The wolf’s hackles had raised as the conversation dragged on. He looked afraid and pitiful. Different from the wolf that had scared her minutes before.
“I think we need fewer people here if I have a chance of luring him out. I’m familiar, but every time one of you steps closer or speaks, he gets more skittish. If he’s truly a werewolf of some kind, he’s resistant to stunners and other spells. Even the born wolf offspring of werewolves share that trait. We should also keep in mind, there are a few of those in the Forest. They are highly intelligent, this wolf could easily be one of the pack Hagrid knows.” Hermione spoke firmly, meeting Proudfoot’s gaze. He was technically in charge here, but she had a feeling that Luna, Neville, and Ernie would follow her lead. They had stopped long enough that a couple other people could be heard encroaching through the underbrush.
The wolf was wound-up as tight as a spring.
Proudfoot huffed, looking at the wolf and Hermione critically, “Fine. I’ll send for Hagrid, Flitwick, and the Headmistress to meet us. Macmillan, go make sure the path is clear back. Just because he hasn’t bitten Granger doesn’t mean ‘e won’t. Longbottom, signal to end the search. And Granger, you better know what you’re doin’.”
Ernie stepped back quietly, turning to head back up the game trail they had been generally following into the forest. Proudfoot threw out a patronus, the glowing horse taking off at a gallop through the trees back towards the castle.
The flurry of motion was the straw that broke the camel’s back, a snarling growl ripped through the air and Hermione didn’t get a moment to respond before teeth clamped onto the back of her coat and yanked her back into the shade of the nearest tree. The spark of a stunner hit him, but the wolf barely flinched.
A bloodcurdling growl was his answer, teeth bared, hackles raised as he pressed back until she was hidden against the arching roots of the tree, with the wolf guarding her.
“I’m okay! I’m not hurt, we startled him. Let’s have everyone back off.”
She could see that Proudfoot had his wand up, likely the source of the stunning spell. Neville had stopped in his casting of the sparks to call off the search and had his wand pointed with a spell of his own ready. This was quickly getting out of control. Not that Hermione had felt an abundance of control at any point so far. More than angry or scared, she was frustrated and a little annoyed they weren’t listening to her.
Neville was a warrior through and through. He also knew her stubbornness personally, “Mione, please be careful.”
“I will. I know you’re worried, but you need to back off. I don’t think he’ll take another stunner without retaliating.”
Her hands were pressed to the wolf’s back. The bones of his spine and ribs were easily felt through the filthy pelt, especially with the thin scars hidden in the bulk of greasy fur. The longer she spent, the more convinced she was for no discernable reason that this was Remus Lupin.
Each step they took was accompanied by a ratcheting up of the volume of the snarls. Hermione patted the wolf, muttering soothing nonsense like she would with Teddy in an attempt to calm him down as they went. Soon, only Luna was immediately visible. She didn’t stare directly, but was clearly aware of the situation. The loose grip on her wand was deceiving. Lovegood’s viper-like speed was a hidden talent in a duel, and an asset now.
“Okay, Moony, just you and me now. We know each other, which obviously you already know with the whole protecting me. I am going to continue to talk like you can understand me until we’ve proven one way or the other if you can,” Hermione explained calmly. The snarling had faded and the wolf looked at her, nearly eye level when he stood up fully from the crouch he’d been in since he tackled her a few minutes ago.
She continued talking, avoiding topics of the war or anything that might upset him. With a gentle push of his hindquarters, she started walking towards the edge of the forest and back to the Castle. It was stop-and-go for the first bit, the wolf trying to stick to shadows and tempt Hermione back into the gloom of the Forest, but ultimately, he followed her. At one point, she was nearly fifteen feet from him into the thinning trees and sun, but the wolf was clearly still shadowing her to the edge.
“Fine, Remus. Be like that. Go back into the woods all alone because I’m not coming with you.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down, drawing out a rumble she was tempted to label as affronted. Hermione knew that staring down normal wolves could be a challenge, but if that’s what it took to safely get him to the Castle that’s what she’d do. The last thing they needed was the Ministry getting more involved and a true capture team being sent. Hermione had no faith that this wolf, werewolf, animagus, or otherwise would be treated with good faith by the Ministry.
The stare seemed to do the trick, the wolf took a couple tentative steps into the sun, ears perked and head on a swivel. Hermione could see the grouping of the others that Luna had met up with.
She hadn’t noticed Luna’s distance. For the first time since Bill and Fleur’s wedding, Hermione hadn’t been hypervigilant. The witch had lost track of Luna, only focused on the wolf in front of her. She would be an idiot to ignore the blatant threat the animal posed, but she didn’t feel the need to defend herself. Hermione didn’t think he wanted to do her harm. So what else could it have been?
Regardless, they were now in the clear eyeline of the group containing the searchers, as well as Headmistress McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey. They stilled. Hermione focused back on the wolf. He’d recognized the group in the distance as well. The few pads of his paws that had led him into the long grass started to retreat.
An acidicly orange flash of magic shattered the quiet space between them, scarcely missing Hermione and wolf before careening into the forest. The wolf jumped. As soon as his feet returned to the earth, the lupine creature was sprinting across the short distance between them and beyond her, clearly aimed towards the source of the spell as she turned. The wolf was much faster than her and clearly unbothered by her attempt to stun him.
The wolf barely missed a stride as he was hit, quickly eating up the ground keeping him safe from the team and them safe from him.
The source of the spell was clear. A young-looking man, perhaps an older student, was being berated behind visible shield charms by the Headmistress. More concerning was the possible werewolf not listening to her shouts, dodging her attempt to entangle him in rope, and clearly prepared to attack to defend himself. Out of ideas with seconds left, Hermione howled.