Chapter 6
Chapter 6 of 23
LiteraryBeautyAfter leaving Ron, Hermione escapes to Grimmauld Place where Remus and Tonks reside. She feels a pull toward Remus, who is experiencing a similar draw. Can they find happiness despite all the forces trying to keep them apart?
Hermione awoke to a loud ringing. It took her a minute to place the sound (telephone? ) and another moment to become aware of where she was (motel room? ).
With those realisations out of the way, she quickly reached for the phone.
"'Lo?" Her voice was raspy from sleep.
"Miss Granger? I have an owl missive here for you. Shall I read it?"
"Oh, yes, thank you."
The operator cleared her voice. "Hermione. I am so glad to hear you're okay. Remus Floo'd us about four times yesterday, looking for you. He seemed very upset. What is going on? Ron is not here at the Burrow, his team is on a mission in Scotland. Please come home. Ginny is beside herself, and Molly is extremely concerned as well. We are expecting you. Love, Harry." The operator's bored and monotonous voice made the message sound quite odd, but Hermione could hear the inflections of Harry in the words.
"Thank you very much," Hermione said, already out of bed and getting her things together.
"No problem. Have a safe trip." Hermione heard the dial tone and replaced the phone in the cradle. Sometimes she missed technology, but there was something to be said about the intimacy of an owled letter rather than a phone call.
She gave her key back to the man at the motel counter and quickly traversed through the Leaky Cauldron into wizarding London. She Apparated to the Burrow and took a deep breath. She held it while she knocked on the door. Harry opened it and immediately drew her into his arms. His kindness made tears prick at her eyes, and she allowed him to draw her into the house.
Ginny was in the living room, and she embraced Hermione as well.
"'Mione, what's going on? Remus said he thought you were in danger!" Harry's voice was laced with concern.
"I don't think I am anymore. Can you owl Remus and tell him I'm all right?" She was surprised to hear he was so worried, since he'd been the one to kick her out.
Ginny got up to send the owl, and Harry bade Hermione sit.
"Tell me everything."
Hermione sighed. She hardly knew where to start. "Well, you know I left Ron. I just don't love him anymore, Harry." She winced, waiting for him to jump in to tell her how he thought she was making a mistake.
"Yes, he's told us. It's your choice, Hermione. We only want you to be happy. You must know that by now." She smiled in relief and Harry returned it. She felt bad for thinking he would automatically take Ron's side. Harry had grown up a lot, enough to know there were no sides.
"Well, I went to stay with Remus. Things were going well, but Tonks kept acting like I was coming on to Remus, and she kept telling me to stay away from him!"
"Are you serious? Tonks?"
"Yes! It was mad! I didn't know how to handle it. I tried to avoid Remus, but then Ron came 'round..."
"Yeah, I heard from Tonks that Ron picked a fight with Remus at Grimmauld Place."
Hermione frowned. "Well, that's not exactly how it happened. Ron came over and started yelling at me. He grabbed me and shook me and then threw me to the ground. Remus saw that and almost strangled Ron. He told Ron never to come near me again. I've never seen Remus like that!"
Harry looked stunned. "Ron hurt you? Oh, 'Mione, I wish we'd known. That's not right!"
Hermione looked chagrined. "I didn't think you'd understand. I'm so sorry! Anyway, Remus was comforting me when Tonks came home. She saw him hugging me and freaked out again. I avoided Remus as much as possible for a week, but then he brought me some snacks in bed, and Tonks saw him leave my room. She went barmy, Harry! It was unreal. She started shrieking at him, and then she came into my room and...and punched me!" Hermione almost laughed at the memory, it was just so absurd. She lowered the glamour she'd placed over her bruised and swollen cheek.
Ginny entered the room as she did and gasped. "Hermione, what the hell happened?"
Harry blurted, "Tonks punched her!"
"What?"
"It's true. Tonks got jealous of the idea of me and Remus and punched me. Then Remus kicked me out, and I went to Muggle London for the night."
"Sweetie, you should have come right here! What were you thinking?"
Harry looked positively venomous. "Oh, I don't know," he spat at no one in particular. "Maybe that Ron would be here and assault her again?"
Ginny's mouth fell open. "What are you saying?" Harry repeated what Hermione had just told him. Everyone was silent for a moment, and Hermione didn't know what to say to break the tension.
Hermione heard Remus' voice in the other room, and her head jerked toward the sound. Harry jumped up and went to the hearth. She could hear Remus asking to come through the Floo, but Harry said it wasn't really a good time.
"Please, Harry. I need to make sure she's all right."
"She is, no thanks to your girlfriend! Seriously, what the hell? And how could you kick her out? She had nowhere to go!" Hermione cringed; she felt so pathetic.
"Nymphadora is no longer my girlfriend. She will not be able to pass the wards at Grimmauld Place. Hermione is perfectly safe to come home. I can protect her here! And I didn't kick her out; I told her to... well, go. But I only meant to a different part of the house until I could get Tonks to leave!"
Hermione heard Harry sigh. "Well, I'll let her know you said that. But I think it's best if she stays here for the time being, until she gets her bearings."
"But what about Ron! I won't have him near her!"
"Ron isn't here, and now that we know what happened, he won't be allowed back until she says so."
"Harry, Ron can Apparate directly into the living room right now if he so chose. She isn't safe there! Please, let me talk to her."
"Remus, we appreciate your concern, but it's no longer up for discussion. It's Hermione's choice, and she can make it by herself. I'll have her owl you later if she wants."
Hermione heard something suspiciously like a snarl before the Floo connection was cut.
*
Hermione stayed at the Burrow for two days before anything of note took place. But when excitement came, it saw, and it conquered.
She was in the sitting room with Ginny. Harry was fixing lunch, and the rest of the family was in the backyard. Hermione hadn't felt like joining them, and Ginny was trying to convince her.
"You know, you have to rejoin the world eventually. I know you were hurt, but that's no reason to withdraw. We all love you here."
"I know that Ginny, and it's not that I'm scared. I just feel out of sorts, and I'm finding it hard to focus. Your family moves so fast, surely you can see that?"
Ginny laughed. Of course she knew her family was a handful. But she made one last attempt at drawing Hermione away from her reading and out into the yard where everyone was having fun.
Suddenly, the front door swung open. The women turned their head toward the noise, but couldn't see who had entered. They took no more notice, as the comings and goings of the Weasleys were infamous. But Hermione felt her heart drop when Ron appeared in the doorway.
Ginny was immediately on her feet, warding him off. "Ron, you shouldn't be here right now. Isn't there somewhere you can go?"
Ron's face instantly twisted. "Why should I leave my own house?" he demanded.
"You forget, this was Hermione's house for a long time, too. And now she needs our support, more than you do. So I think you should leave."
Ron's face crumpled. He tried to walk toward Hermione, who was on the couch trying not to cringe at the sight of him. It was unnerving how quickly their love had turned into something ugly. Ginny headed him off, raising her hands in front of her. She called for Harry, who appeared immediately.
"Ron, mate, can we talk in the kitchen?"
"No, I don't want to talk to anyone but Hermione. I owe her an apology." Ron crossed his arms in front of his chest and put on his notorious stubborn face. Harry and Ginny both sighed, and Hermione hoped they wouldn't leave her with him. Luckily, they were smarter than that.
Harry simply stated, "Say it, then. We aren't going anywhere."
Ron nodded. Ginny moved out of the way, but warned him not to get any closer. Hermione didn't like being in a subordinate position on the couch, so she stood, putting them on equal footing.
"Gods, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I was just so hurt and angry... but there's no excuse. I know...I know it's over. It's really over. But I want to be friends. If we can."
Hermione looked away. He looked so earnest, and she desperately wanted to believe him. But it was all too easy to recall the way his face looked when he'd shaken her, too easy to remember the way her neck had snapped back and the thud when she'd hit the ground.
Steadying herself, Hermione spoke. "Ron, I did want to be friends. Part of me still does. I don't think the love between us will ever completely die. But you hurt me, and even if I can forgive, I won't ever forget. I hope we can move past this, but I just don't feel safe around you anymore."
Ron looked close to tears, his face suspiciously red like he was holding back. He nodded, shook his head, and then turned away. He said only, "I can respect that. I'll leave."
But now it was Hermione's turn to shake her head. "No, I think it's time I stood on my own feet. I don't want to kick you out of your own house; that's not my place. I don't know where I'll..."
But she was interrupted by the flash of green and the sound of the Floo being activated.
Hermione's bad day got worse when she saw that Tonks had come through and was aiming her wand directly at Hermione's face. Her own face was contorted in fury, her eyes flashing.
"Hermione Granger. I never thought you'd be stupid enough to return to the arms of the man who you claimed hurt you so badly, but I guess my expectations of you were too high all along."
Harry had immediately drawn his wand on Tonks upon her entry and it was trained on the raging Metamorphmagus. When he spoke, his voice was low and hard and brooked no argument. "Tonks, you need to leave right now. If you make one more move, you will be stripped of your Auror duties when this gets out. And I will not cover for you."
Tonks seemed to absorb the threat and weigh the consequences. She lowered her wand, but did not sheath it.
"You stupid bitch," she spat at Hermione, who recoiled from the viciousness of the words of a woman who was once the epitome of good humour. "He chose you, you know. Are you happy? Does it feel good? You've ruined everything! He'll tire of you. He needs a real woman, and you are so far from that, it's pathetic. No snivelling little bookworm could ever keep him happy for long. Enjoy the time you have, because one way or another, it will be short."
Harry glared at her. "Was that a death threat? You know what, I'm taking you in."
Tonks started, tearing her attention away from the shocked Hermione. "It wasn't a threat, it was advice! Merlin, Harry, we've worked together for ages! Don't you have any loyalty?"
Harry took her arm, but she did not struggle, much to the relief of everyone else in the room. Ron took her other arm, looking surprised at her outburst and more than a little jealous, probably taking Tonks' words about Remus choosing Hermione to be fact.
"Of course I have loyalty. To those who have earned it. That's why I'm taking you out of here. I won't have you hurting her every chance you get. You're out of control, Tonks. What's happened to you?"
They marched her back to the Floo, and Harry threw in the powder, announcing his destination at the Ministry of Magic. Tonks only laughed at his question, causing Hermione to tremble a little at the madness she was sure she heard in the older woman's voice.
Hermione fell back into the sofa, breathing heavily. She felt silly for freezing up when Tonks had come in; she hadn't even drawn her wand. How could a witch like her, having gone through what she had in her short life, become so stupidly helpless in the face of danger? Other people wouldn't always be there to rescue her! She needed to defend herself better.
Mentally berating herself, Hermione accepted Ginny's hug. Molly Weasley came into the living room, and Ginny launched into what had just happened, focusing on the bravery of her dear husband. Hermione took the momentary respite to think to herself about what Tonks had said. Remus had chosen her? In what capacity? Was Tonks totally full of it, or did her words hold weight?
Realising that Remus was alone and most likely devastated, Hermione knew she had to see him. The urge came over her like a flood, and she suddenly couldn't bear the thought of being away from him. She felt like... he needed her. Almost like he was asking for her.
Knowing that made absolutely no sense, Hermione ignored her brain for once and trusted her instincts.
"Ginny, I have to go. Remus is alone...he might need my help. I'll owl you later, okay?"
With her brief exclamation, Hermione threw powder into the hearth and left the two Weasley women looking astonished behind her.
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Latest 25 Reviews for Hope's Span is Long
76 Reviews | 9.61/10 Average
Yay Remus for figuring out what's what. Boo to Hermione for not realizing he was only trying to protect her.
Wow! Powerful. I can't say I've pictured Ron getting violent, but I loved the protectiveness that brought out in Remus. And his almost slip of the tongue. Poor man.
Poor, Remus. Nice to see him starting to stand up to Tonks, but I always did get the feeling he was a bit badgered by her. Another one of Jo's pairings that just didn't make sense to me.
Nice start. I like how you have set up the two troubled souls and look foward to seeing where this is going.
Uh-oh.... lol I'm loving this story by the way :)
I loved this fic! It's an adorable R/H and I really liked that it was centred in Hermione been Remus' mate. Kisses and thank you =]
Although I found the idea of her licking his wounds rather repugnant, I enjoyed this chapter. I shall continue reading tomorrow. Time for bed.
Wow.
I am enjoying this. On to Chapter 3.
Good beginning. I am going on to chapter 2.
Great ending. They should be happy for the rest of their lives.
I almost (almost) waited for this particular jpdqte as much as Father Christmas Himself. That was a fantastic story. Now I can begin the sequel of Some things change. Have a happy Chritmas!
Happy Holidays to you and yours as well.
Great chapter, I love the whole wedding idea.
That was such a lovely ceremony. At first I thought Ginny and Harry would have organized a real surprise wedding. But then they would have shocked the assistance by their immediate wedding night...
And did I saw breeding mentionned? *happy dance*
Nice bonding ceremony, but I think Hermione would like the white dress and veil and all that accompany them.
*Happy grin* I'm glad she's getting her special day. And maybe by that day she'll be carrykng the next generation...
Merry Christmas to you too.
Well, maybe they can plan a wedding sometime after the binding. Then they have the best of both worlds.
I so love these sweet moments of intimacy. I can't wait for the bonding.
Response from LiteraryBeauty (Author of Hope's Span is Long)
Thanks! I love the little moments as well.
That was dangerous! What would have happened if she were bitten?On a side note what is happening with Tonks? She was a major presence in earlier chapters and was cut off rather abruptly...
Response from LiteraryBeauty (Author of Hope's Span is Long)
Well, if she'd been bitten, she would have been a werewolf. That was a chance (foolish? Maybe) that Hermione felt okay with taking. As for Tonks, we see her again in chapter 19 (the one I'll be posting tomorrow). :D
I'm glad to see Hermione is caring for Remus, I suspect it is a change for him.
Interesting solution. I'm enjoying the back story of werewolves mating habits as well.
I'm worried about this possessiveness Remus is demonstrating.
I like Mr. Johnstone, he's very personable.
I'm glad Remus has access to the potion, I take it Severus is still dead (like canon)?
Tonk's behavior wasn't acceptable, why is Remus doing the same thing that bothered him so?