Chapter 6

A/N: I'm pleased so many of you are enjoying the story! A huge thanks to Muggle Jane and Krissy for being my awesome betas! And thank you for all the sweet reviews! Cyber kisses to you all!

Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling, Scholastic and WB. I also don't own Beauty and the Beast, which serves as the inspiration for this story. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.

Chapter 6

Hermione felt as if her heart had jumped into her throat. She couldn't breathe or think. She couldn't do anything but stare.

And he stared back, his eyes narrowed and breathing labored.

She couldn't figure out why he looked so angry.

And then he growled.

It hit her like a herd of stampeding Hippogriffs. She was so stupid. She had looked outside, looked at the moon, but didn't even think to connect it to him.

She backed up slowly until she came into contact with the wall. She stopped breathing, afraid to move.

Remus stepped towards her, growling. He sniffed the air around her, and then took another step.

Her heart pounded against her rib cage so hard, she feared it might break the bones. This was Remus, but it wasn't. It was Remus, in his human form, but it was obvious that Moony had already taken over.

The last time Hermione had seen him like this was in her third year, and she was just as frightened now as she was then. She knew Remus would never hurt her no matter how angry he was with her, but with Moony, she couldn't be sure.

She cursed herself for not having any magic. She should have listened to Pipsy and gone back to her room. The elf had warned her that the halls weren't safe, but she didn't listen.

Slowly, she tried inching her way down the hall. But once Remus realized what she was doing, he took another few steps towards her.

Hermione gasped, and he stopped. Hermione eyed him warily, unsure of why he stopped, and then she knew.

Remus let out a fierce howl, his head thrown backwards. He clawed at his skin, tearing some of his clothes.

He's changing. Hermione knew she stood no chance with a werewolf. Turning, she started running down the hallway, realizing it was the opposite direction of her room. But there was no way she was turning back.

She heard a howl and started running faster. She could hear the steps and heavy breathing behind her. He was catching up.

She looked left and right and then quickly tried opening one of the doors. To her surprise, it opened, and she tumbled in. She slammed the door shut behind her and quickly locked it.

She took a few steps back and held her breath. Remus was outside the door, sniffing around. There was a bang against the door, then silence.

Hermione let out her breath when she heard his footsteps take off in the other direction. She was safe for now. Realizing she had no idea where she was, she looked around. It was a bedroom, which distinctly smelled like Remus.

"Good job, Hermione, you've locked yourself in Remus's bedroom. He'll be really happy with you now," she chided herself.

But it was better than risking her safety, her conscience reminded her.

Since she was trapped in the room, she decided to take a few looks around. There were a few pictures here and there, mostly of the Marauders, but a few really stuck out to her. Lily. There were pictures of Lily buried underneath the ones of his friends.

Hermione scrunched her eyes up in confusion. Why would Remus have pictures of Lily in his room?

She walked a bit towards the balcony where something caught her eye. There was a flower inside of a glass case. She placed her hands on the glass and could feel the magic surrounding the flower. A surge of jealously flared up within her; this flower had magical abilities, yet she did not.

She bit back tears, knowing that she couldn't help it. Crying wouldn't bring her magic back, and she would be foolish to think that. She stared at the flower for a bit longer when she realized something. It was a lily.

Lily. First, there were the pictures and now this flower. It couldn't just be a coincidence, could it? She figured it could be, but she highly doubted it.

There was something going on here concerning Lily, but she wasn't sure what. And a small part of her was afraid to ask.

She stepped away from the flower, as if she was suddenly afraid of it.

Looking around, she noticed there was a painting on the wall, a very old one. Walking over, she looked at it. There were two adults and two children. One of the children was obviously Remus. His eyes were as vibrant as ever. She smiled a bit, knowing that Remus was adorable as a child.

Standing next to Remus, there was a little girl who was tightly holding his hand. She had big blue eyes and blonde hair. Hermione bit her lip. I didn't know Remus had a sister. He never mentioned her.

And then these must be Remus's parents, she mused. They looked strict, the father's eyes cold and hard. Were they cruel to Remus? Did he have a bad childhood growing up? She had never asked him, but that's not something you really ask someone during a normal conversation.

Stifling a yawn, she walked over to his bed and crawled in. She inhaled deeply, burying her face into his pillow. It smelled just like him. She pulled the covers up over her head, as if she was hiding from the world.

Hermione had never really given any thought to his family life. Were his parents still alive? Was his sister? Where were they now, if they were? Why hadn't he mentioned them before? Did he grow up here, in this very castle?

All these questions and more swam around her head. She groaned, tossing and turning. Finally, she fell asleep, with images of a small, copper-haired boy running through these halls.