The Web of Deceit

Hermione's day began with her eleven a.m. appointment with Sebastian, a seventy-three-year-old wizard who had been experiencing impotence for the last year or so. This was his first session with Hermione, and while she was feeling quite competent and relaxed, she was also a bit disgusted imagining this frail man in the throes of passion. He was definitely not a looker, but upon meeting his witch at the end of the session, whom Hermione surmised to be approximately forty years his junior, she realized that assisting Sebastian was going to be easy. He surely must be feeling pressure to perform with such a young lover. She was confident that within four to six sessions, Sebastian would feel comfortable enough with himself and his lover to properly make love to her again and be on the road to having a happy and fulfilling love life.

Making love, that is what Remus was talking about last night. He loves me and wants me... well, sort of. Severus doesn't love me and wants me... sort of. Such noble men; what is the world coming to?

And what the heck does a girl have to do for a shag around here?

Hermione heard a knock on her office door, and after she flicked the door open with her wand, Wilma, Hermione's assistant, gingerly entered her office and said, "Excuse me, Dr. Granger?"

"Yes, Wilma?"

"Your twelve-thirty has cancelled and asked to be rescheduled for tomorrow, which I did. You'll be happy to know that your schedule is getting quite full!" she said, smiling. "While that leaves you free for the remainder of the day, you also have a visitor waiting for you."

"Oh, who is it?"

"Dr. Granger," she said with a wide grin on her face, "it's Mr. Harry Potter, doctor!"

"Oh, Wilma, please calm yourself. He's just a man after all; it's not like he's a god or something." Hermione smiled at the woman she'd recently hired. She didn't really know her well yet, but what she did know, she liked. She was intelligent, efficient, and personable. Now, if only she were a man, then Hermione would be in a better mood....

"Please let him in, Wilma, and stop drooling--it's so unbecoming!"

The women smiled at each other just as Wilma left to retrieve Hermione's guest.

"Oh, hi, Harry, you're just in time."

"This was supposed to be a surprise. What am I just in time for?"

"I was just thinking, what does a woman have to do to get a shag around here?" Hermione beamed at her longtime friend from behind her desk.

"Well, before I fill your order, my dear, I think eating a delicious meal prepared by yours truly is called for. Then," Harry said while looking around her comfortable office, "with my more than decent Transfiguration N.E.W.T. score, I can easily transfigure that comfy couch into a more comfy bed. What do you think?"

"I think," Hermione said as she removed herself from behind her desk and sauntered to where Harry stood, "that I would love nothing more than to sate all of my appetites in one afternoon."

"All of your appetites?" Harry teased. "What of your appetite for power and fame?"

"I've never wanted fame, Harry. But as for power... when I literally have the Boy Who Lived in the palms of my hands, well, that's enough power to sate even this witch."

Hermione reached out for him, held him tight against her, and kissed him deeply, then stood away, looked into his green eyes, and said, "Harry, you cooked?

~*~

"Have you engaged in sexual acrobatics lately?" Harry asked while running his hands up and down Hermione's naked body as they lay facing each other in Harry's transfigured bed.

"Harry, my brain's usually a bit muddled post coitus, so if you don't mind, explain what you mean."

"It looks as if you've been held with a Binding Charm. Look, you have the marks on your wrists and ankles. Having enjoyed doing that to a number of witches in my day, I know the signs when I see them." Harry smiled as he questioned his close friend.

"Harry, the last time I had sex was with you," Hermione answered her friend while examining the marks he had referred to. "I don't know how I got these marks." She looked again at Harry. "I don't know how... I don't remember...."

~*~

Thankful that she had no other appointments for the day, she decided that she had to speak with Remus. She didn't know how she had received those marks, but he seemed like the best person to review this with. Harry was right; they sure looked like marks created by a Binding Charm. While not completely adverse to such creative sex games, she would have liked to remember playing.

Hermione considered sending Remus an owl requesting to see him tonight after his classes. She knew that was the best and most courteous action, but she couldn't wait. She felt nervous and anxious, mostly about the unknown. She could not remember any events from the previous several evenings to warrant such marks. Her only recent sexual encounters were with Harry, and he usually was very tender with her.

~*~

"Hi, Remus," Hermione said as she entered his DADA classroom after waiting for all of his students to file out.

"Hermione, what a pleasant surprise!" Remus walked swiftly toward Hermione and embraced her.

"I'm sorry, Remus, for coming over unannounced, but I just needed to speak with you."

"You don't need an appointment to see me, Hermione. I love it that you're here. Please, let's move to my office."

"Don't you have another class yet?"

"No, that was the last one of the day for me. Just one more period left in the day, and thankfully I have that period free on Wednesdays."

As they made small talk, Hermione followed Remus into his office just above his DADA classroom, and they sat together on the chairs in front of his desk. Remus removed himself from the chair and approached the Floo, spoke to a house-elf, and was immediately provided with tea and biscuits for two. Returning to his seat near Hermione and offering her tea, he asked, "So, Hermione, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this afternoon?"

"Remus, I came because I needed to talk with someone, and I couldn't think of anyone else I would like to help me with my investigation."

"Investigation?" Remus asked. "What are you investigating?"

Hermione held out her arms to Remus, pulling up her sleeves and exposing her wrists. "I have bruises on my wrists and my ankles. They look rather fresh, but I don't recall being in a situation that would've left these marks."

Remus gently held her by the wrists and turned them over as he tenderly examined her. He then reached down and pulled her feet onto his lap to examine her ankles. Pulling off her heels, he held onto her feet and examined the skin, noticing the slight swelling and bruising--same as on her wrists.

Breathing deeply, he responded, "Hermione, you say that you do not recall a situation in which you would have received these bruises?"

"Correct," Hermione replied, and seeing the distant look on his face, she asked, "Remus, please, what are you thinking?"

"Hermione, these bruises are light. It seems that they were recently made, maybe this morning or last night. Any earlier and there would be signs of healing, not to mention that you didn't notice them earlier, and neither had I." Remus allowed Hermione to remove her feet from his lap, and he continued, "I must be honest with you, Hermione, these look like bruises caused by a Binding Charm. Considering the placement of these injuries, I can only assume that your hands and feet were bound, individually and apart, as if you were tied to a bed. Do you understand what I'm trying to say, Hermione?"

"Yes, sex games."

"Well, yes." Remus stood up and looked down at Hermione, confusion and resolve written on his face. "Hermione, last night I left you at your flat in London. I did not touch you. You do remember that, don't you?"

"Oh, Remus!" Hermione bolted from her chair into Remus' arms. "I know that it wasn't you! You would never hurt me! Please, I didn't come here to accuse you of anything. I came to you for help."

"How about when we were in my bed chambers? I am rather strong, especially so close to the full moon. While I don't recall doing anything that would cause those injuries, I was rather intoxicated..."

"Remus, please," Hermione said and reached up to his face and kissed his lips tenderly. "You could never hurt me, Remus."

"Well, no, Hermione, I would never intentionally hurt you. But assuming that it was not me, as neither you nor I recall anything that would've caused those bruises, let's continue. How do you think you received these injuries?"

"Well, Harry was the one who noticed them this afternoon. As you see, they are rather light, but now that I know they are there, I see them clearly. This morning, I was very sleepy and dressed quickly for my first appointment at the office, so I really didn't notice anything out of the ordinary." Hermione stopped rambling for a moment and searched Remus' stormy gray eyes. "Remus, I have not engaged in that sort of sexual play, and as a matter of fact, I have never done that. Not that I'm adverse to trying, mind you, but the opportunity just never seemed to present itself."

"Hermione, how do you think you received these injuries?" Remus reiterated his question.

"Oh, yes, well, you see, I don't know. That's why I'm here."

"Fair enough. Then let's review what you've done recently."

"Starting from when?"

"I think we should begin with yesterday morning. As I indicated, it does not look as if these bruises are older than that, or we would have noticed healing."

Hermione and Remus reviewed the events of the last thirty hours, beginning with Hermione waking up Tuesday morning, sending Remus the invitation to dinner as they had planned, her full day at the office, dinner with Remus, her evening with Remus and Severus, her morning, and finally a cursory discussion of Harry noticing her bruises. Other than her evening with Remus and Severus, her life was laid bare before her and was revealed as nothing special and rather boring.

"Well, it seems that we should examine your evening with Severus and me."

"It was pretty straight forward; well, at least in terms of anything of a physical nature. You both were very gentle the entire evening during the little physical contact that we had."

"When you and Severus left my chambers... how about then?"

"Well, we had some light snogging." Hermione looked into Remus' eyes, unsure as to what she would find with her confession. "Sorry, Remus."

"Hermione, I sent you away with him. I knew that it could and probably would happen."

"He left me on the couch to make tea, and when he returned, I was asleep.... I was rather drunk," Hermione said in excuse of her behavior.

"How long were you out?"

"I have no idea. How long was it until Severus contacted you?"

"I never really gave it much thought, but I would imagine about fifteen minutes or so from the time you both left my chambers. I had enough time to clear up the mess we left in the lounge, contact a house-elf to remove the trays, prepare for bed, and begin reading a book before I heard Severus call me."

"Your chambers are not too far from his. Only about a three minute walk, if that far. Once we arrived at his chambers, it could not have been more than a few minutes before he left me in his lounge to prepare the tea."

"So we are talking about you not having any recollection of about ten minutes."

"Yes, that sounds about right."

"So our mystery might be solved if we found out what happened in those ten minutes."

Hermione stood up and began pacing the office. She walked from the window to the hearth on the opposite side of the office in deep thought.

"Hermione, do you think Severus took advantage of you?"

"I did wonder that, but why don't I remember?"

"A Memory Charm, perhaps?"

"Oh, please, Remus, why in the world would he do that? If we had sex, why wouldn't he want me to remember?"

"Unless it was a failed attempt of his that he does not want you to recall. Remember, Hermione, the lengths to which he is going to protect himself from you knowing his condition."

"Yes, I know, but it is too difficult to believe, even for him. And we did not have sex, Remus. A girl would know, even with a Memory Charm."

"Even after a well-placed Cleansing Charm?"

"Remus, you're scaring me. What are you saying?"

"Hermione, I am saying that perhaps your falling asleep was not from exhaustion, but from a charm to erase your memories; memories that Severus did not want you to have. I agree with you, though; had he taken advantage of you, I would hope that you would know your body well enough to know it had been abused. But as it stands, other than your sleeping alone last night in your flat, those ten minutes seem to be the only time you cannot recall."

"All of this talk about Memory Charms is just too far fetched for me to believe. I can't believe that Severus would do something like that to me. I mean, I know that he isn't an affectionate man, but to erase my memory? What motive would drive him to do that? I don't even know why we're even discussing this; there is no proof...."

"Hermione," Remus cut her off, "what if we found the proof that a Memory Charm had been placed on you?

"Proof? How?"

"Mind you, if evidence of this were found, it would not find Severus guilty, nor can the memories be recovered without doing much damage, which I'm not willing to do."

"How?"

"Legilimency."

"Besides Severus, I don't know anyone who knows Legilimency."

"I know someone," Remus responded.

"Who?"

"Me."

~*~

"Hermione, it's dinnertime," Remus said as they departed from his office. "Would you like to join me in the Great Hall, or should we retire to my chambers and have dinner there?"

"Honestly, I don't know if I can eat, but even if I could, I do not feel ready to face Severus without knowing if I am missing memories."

Remus held her close by his side as he led her from his office to his chambers. "Come, let's go to my chambers, I will order dinner, and we will find out if you have had any Memory Charms cast on you."

Hermione and Remus walked to his chambers and were only noticed by a few of the students who were on their way to the Great Hall for dinner. Once there, Remus ordered dinner, and as predicted, Hermione could not eat. Deciding that answering their unanswered question was more important for Hermione's peace of mind, Remus asked Hermione into his bedroom and told her to make herself comfortable. Hermione lay out on the mattress and, following Remus' instructions, attempted to relax while keeping her eyes closed.

"Hermione," Remus spoke in a soothing and measured voice as he sat down next to her on the bed, "exploration of the mind via Legilimency for the purpose of finding evidence of a Memory Charm is not easy and is not information that can be forcibly obtained. A Memory Charm, contrary to popular belief, does not remove memories; it covers them, leaving a delicate web in its place. It is evidence of this web that I will be searching for. Only through Dark Magic can those memories be retrieved, but it leaves in its place a befuddled mind that no brand of magic, Light or Dark, can repair."

Remus stared at Hermione with a conviction and a determination that warranted no rebuttal. "We will not be delving into any Dark Magic today, Hermione. Do you understand?"

Hermione was nervous and was barely able to mumble a 'yes,' so she nodded her head in agreement.

"I need you as relaxed as possible, Hermione, and I will need you to please drink a Calming Draught that I asked the elves to bring." Remus handed her the vial, and she drank it completely.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then open your eyes."

Remus sat over Hermione's laid out form with his arms on either side of her head, holding himself up and off of her body. As soon as she opened her eyes, she noticed Remus looking lovingly into them, but before she could enjoy his gaze, she felt him transport into her mind and begin examining her memories. She felt him working to make some semblance of time and place amongst all that her mind presented him with. Hermione was not in control as to what images she would show him; they presented themselves to him, and he freely scrutinized them, searching for evidence of tampering. He was presented with images of her and Severus at their session and the fear and excitement that that unconventional session brought; he witnessed and felt Hermione's friendship and occasional passion with Harry; he witnessed Hermione's affection for him during dinner and during her time in his chambers with him and Severus.

Hermione was embarrassed at being so exposed. She was lying bare for Remus to see, truly see who she was, her memories and the emotions behind them. This was an exposure of such an intimate nature that nudity seemed insignificant when compared to this experience. Hermione continued to feel Remus in her mind. She felt his gentleness and caring. She felt his tenderness as he examined her memories, gently casting aside those he was not there to see or that would cause her shame or embarrassment.

Hermione didn't know if Remus was too caught up in examining her memories, or if he could both review them while also feeling her current emotional state. She lay underneath him, and as he examined her mind, she was in awe at the tender care he took with her. He was a gentle soul. Amazing, really, considering his lycanthropy and the beast that lay within. But this man in her mind possessed most of the qualities she searched for in a man. It was with this realization that Hermione began to contemplate a future with him.

She cared for him, really cared for and desired this man deeply. He was gentle and kind, tender and humble. He was also strong and protective. He was everything Hermione knew she wanted in a man. But she remained a conflicted woman with deep-set desires that she needed answers to before being able to move on with her life. She only hoped that her future would wait around for her.

Remus searched for those brief moments in Severus' chambers, and when he found the delicate silver web masking the memories, Hermione could sense his deep sadness. She could sense his exploration of that brief moment in her life, and eventually she felt the loneliness his departure created as he removed himself from her mind.

"Hermione, my dear." Remus lovingly coaxed her out of her light slumber.

Hermione awoke to find Remus softly claiming her lips, and when he slowly pulled away, he said, "I will wait for you, Hermione."

Hermione sat up in Remus' bed and held onto him as he brought his lips to hers once more and they kissed properly. When it ended, Hermione asked, "Remus, I care for you deeply; you do know that? And yet I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm not ready. Would you really wait?"

"I said I would, Hermione," Remus said with conviction. "You must understand that I feel privileged that you have allowed me access to your memories, and while I took care to search only those memories of which we spoke, I was also exposed to many others, all of which allowed me to know you deeper. I loved you before you allowed me into your mind, and now I'm certain that I love you... all of you." Despite his professions of love, Remus was saddened. He sighed, sat back, and helped Hermione to stand.

Hermione could hear the sadness in his voice and was reminded of the sadness she'd felt when he was in her mind. "Remus, tell me what you saw. Did you find evidence of a Memory Charm?"

Remus looked at her, and without uttering a word, his eyes spoke for him.

"Remus, tell me when."

"When you were with Severus, just after he left to make tea. You were in his lounge thinking, and then there was the web."

~*~

Hermione and Remus retired to his lounge to attempt to eat their dinner. It was a beautiful and delicious spread. As usual, the house-elves seemed to continuously work on outdoing themselves.

They ate in relative silence until Hermione finally said, "Remus, I feel like a herd of hippogriffs trampled over me. Do you have a Headache Potion?"

"Sorry, Hermione, but no, I don't have anything. I only suffer with headaches after my transformation, and it gets taken care of with the muscle relaxant Poppy gives me. I'm sure I could get some from Poppy or Severus...."

"No." Hermione looked away from her half-touched food into Remus' face, and with a forced smile she said, "I shall wait until I return to my flat. Remus," Hermione continued, "what are we to do?"

"Well, before we plan anything, let us examine what we know. It is clear to me that we were correct in our assumption that you have had a Memory Charm cast on you. It is also a fact that you have bruises on your wrists and ankles and you have no recollection of how you obtained those bruises. In my brief examination of your other memories of the past thirty hours, I have not found any situation where you might have obtained them. It is also a fact that the last memory I found before I encountered the web is of you sitting on Severus' couch while awaiting tea. The next memory is of you awakening to see both Severus and I in his chambers. And as we discussed, that was approximately fifteen minutes after you and Severus departed my quarters.

"Anything else?" Remus asked to complete his investigation.

"No," Hermione stated, "I believe you have adequately covered what we know. So, Remus, what do you suggest we do now?"

"I would recommend that we go to the Headmistress and..."

"NO!" Hermione yelled as she pushed herself away from the dining table and walked toward the fireplace, leaning on its mantle, contemplating the reasons behind her proclamation. "I will not. I'm sorry, Remus, but I cannot be forced to handle my business the way someone else wants this handled. Minerva would use her position and exert her authority to get answers or to just assume the answers.... That is not what I want."

"So then what do you want, Hermione?"

"I'm not clear on that, Remus. I am rather certain that in those ten minutes I was not raped. However, I cannot explain any possible reason why Severus would cast a Binding Charm on me." Hermione looked at Remus with a fiery determination in her eyes. "No, I want my memories back, Remus, and I'm going to get them back!"

And Hermione stormed out to have her memories returned to her.

To Be Continued...

A/N:

Some might say that Severus, as a former spy, would never have forgotten to heal Hermione's binding injuries. I say "phooey." He was in a poor emotional state at the time. He'd just realized that the beast within him was no longer dormant. He almost forgot her panties, and almost forgot to heal the bruise on her face! Phooey, Phooey, Phooey!

Sorry the last two chapters weren't funny. I hope you don't mind, but it has taken a life of its own, and for now, angst rules over humor. Don't worry. We'll find our funny bone again before this is all over.

A big THANK YOU to Jackie for the beta and to the Mighty Wartcap for the re-beta and the encouragement.

Thanks to SiriusWoman for saying that this is her favorite chapter so far. Of course, she says that for every chapter!

Finally, thanks to all of you who continue to read, review, support and encourage me through the wonderful twists and turns in this little story. You are very much appreciated!

~Ruthie