Ficlety: Explanations, Hermione/Remus, PG
Title: Explanations
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Hermione/Remus
Rating: PG
Summary: It's the 10th of March.
Note: Written for remus_hermione, for Remus' birthday.
It's been nearly nine months since Sirius' disappearance. There's only a few more weeks until the Easter break and she knows she'll see him then. They've got a special permission to go to Grimmauld Place for a few days.
But she can't wait.
She doesn't know how to explain why she's there. She begged Dumbledore to let her go and he finally agreed. Hermione Granger wouldn't have run away from school, so she had to do it the right way.
Of course, that meant explaining things that, even though she tried, she couldn't. But Dumbledore -despite what Harry might think some days- is a very wise man, and he seems to know the answers she can't provide.
Now there she is, thinking to herself that the Order of the Phoenix headquarters are at number 12 Grimmauld Place and the building magically appears before her eyes.
She knocks softly, hoping she'd be heard by anyone but the portrait of Mrs. Black. She waits, playing with the hem of her shirt. Her fingers are a bit sweaty and -even though it's a really hot spring day- it's the cold kind of sweat that makes her want to slap herself for feeling so nervous.
It's like sitting for the NEWTs without having revised.
Then the door opens, and it's as if he had magically appeared before her eyes.
Remus can't hide his surprise, and he can't also hide the grey hairs that have multiplied, or the dark circles under his eyes. His smile, however, remains untouched: broad and friendly, just like she always remembers it.
"Hermione!" he whispers as he indicates her to get quickly inside before they're seen. "What's wrong? What happened?" he asks with his voice full of concern once they're inside, suddenly realising that she can't be there in a social visit.
"Nothing's wrong," she assures him. "It's just..." There comes the nervousness again. She had forgotten about it the minute she had seen him smile at her, but now it's back to square one. Why is she there? He will want to know. What is she going to say? That she needed to see him, just because? That she always needs to see him? That she'd love for him to come back to Hogwarts, so she could see him every day?
"What is it?" Remus asks again as they made their way to the kitchen. The house is dark and silent. It's cool inside, despite the hot weather. The kitchen seems a bit livelier, with a faint perfume of tea.
"It's March 10," she says matter-of-factly, because it's pretty much all the eloquent Miss Granger can manage to say. But fortunately Remus Lupin is a very clever man, and he understands all she can't tell him.
"Hermione, you shouldn't have..." he whispers when she hands him the book -the present, the offer- she carried in her backpack, but he doesn't know if it's the book what he's talking about. Perhaps he's trying to tell her that she shouldn't have gone there, because he appreciates it and he appreciates it more than she can ever imagine. And that can't be a good thing. Not when he feels very much alone in the world. Not when she can be such a perfect companion for him, only not right now, but perhaps in a few years. He shakes his head, wanting to send those thoughts away; the thoughts about Hermione he shouldn't have.
But she replies: "I wanted to." And she says it with such intent that it makes him want to wait and see what a few more years could bring.
"Happy birthday, Remus," she smiles at him.
And it is.
THE END
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Hermione/Remus
Rating: PG
Summary: It's the 10th of March.
Note: Written for remus_hermione, for Remus' birthday.
It's been nearly nine months since Sirius' disappearance. There's only a few more weeks until the Easter break and she knows she'll see him then. They've got a special permission to go to Grimmauld Place for a few days.
But she can't wait.
She doesn't know how to explain why she's there. She begged Dumbledore to let her go and he finally agreed. Hermione Granger wouldn't have run away from school, so she had to do it the right way.
Of course, that meant explaining things that, even though she tried, she couldn't. But Dumbledore -despite what Harry might think some days- is a very wise man, and he seems to know the answers she can't provide.
Now there she is, thinking to herself that the Order of the Phoenix headquarters are at number 12 Grimmauld Place and the building magically appears before her eyes.
She knocks softly, hoping she'd be heard by anyone but the portrait of Mrs. Black. She waits, playing with the hem of her shirt. Her fingers are a bit sweaty and -even though it's a really hot spring day- it's the cold kind of sweat that makes her want to slap herself for feeling so nervous.
It's like sitting for the NEWTs without having revised.
Then the door opens, and it's as if he had magically appeared before her eyes.
Remus can't hide his surprise, and he can't also hide the grey hairs that have multiplied, or the dark circles under his eyes. His smile, however, remains untouched: broad and friendly, just like she always remembers it.
"Hermione!" he whispers as he indicates her to get quickly inside before they're seen. "What's wrong? What happened?" he asks with his voice full of concern once they're inside, suddenly realising that she can't be there in a social visit.
"Nothing's wrong," she assures him. "It's just..." There comes the nervousness again. She had forgotten about it the minute she had seen him smile at her, but now it's back to square one. Why is she there? He will want to know. What is she going to say? That she needed to see him, just because? That she always needs to see him? That she'd love for him to come back to Hogwarts, so she could see him every day?
"What is it?" Remus asks again as they made their way to the kitchen. The house is dark and silent. It's cool inside, despite the hot weather. The kitchen seems a bit livelier, with a faint perfume of tea.
"It's March 10," she says matter-of-factly, because it's pretty much all the eloquent Miss Granger can manage to say. But fortunately Remus Lupin is a very clever man, and he understands all she can't tell him.
"Hermione, you shouldn't have..." he whispers when she hands him the book -the present, the offer- she carried in her backpack, but he doesn't know if it's the book what he's talking about. Perhaps he's trying to tell her that she shouldn't have gone there, because he appreciates it and he appreciates it more than she can ever imagine. And that can't be a good thing. Not when he feels very much alone in the world. Not when she can be such a perfect companion for him, only not right now, but perhaps in a few years. He shakes his head, wanting to send those thoughts away; the thoughts about Hermione he shouldn't have.
But she replies: "I wanted to." And she says it with such intent that it makes him want to wait and see what a few more years could bring.
"Happy birthday, Remus," she smiles at him.
And it is.
THE END