Entry tags:

2009, fic

[FIC] Kindred Sprits :: Hermione/Remus | gift for midnight_birth
Title: Kindred Spirits
Author:
Recipient: midnight_birth
Pairing: Hermione/Remus
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount 3410
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: The war is over, loved ones have been lost and Remus feels like he can't go on without Tonks. How does Hermione get him out of his funk?
Author's Notes: I'd love to thank my lovely beta and thank midnight_birth for providing such a wonderfully fun prompt.



Hermione's heart called out to Remus. She had been surprised to learn that Tonks had come to the final battle rather than staying at home with Teddy, but in hindsight Hermione wasn't that surprised. She and Tonks weren't all that different – they both wanted to do something important for wizarding society. And for Tonks that had been coming to Hogwarts.

She walked over beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder as he held Tonks' hand, just letting him know that she was there.

"I didn't want her to come, but she insisted. I should have been more forceful," he said hoarsely, the pain evident in his voice.

She closed her eyes to fight back the tears and reassuringly squeezed his shoulder, trying to decide what to say. "She would have resented you had you forced her to stay home."

"But she'd be alive and Teddy would have a mother." He brushed Tonks' hair back and cleaned a smudge of dirt off her face. As he did so, a lone teardrop fell from his cheek to hers.

"None of us can tell the future. What if something had happened to you because she wasn't here?" Hermione had heard that Tonks had died protecting Remus.

"Better me than her," he said bitterly.

She had known that his affliction as a werewolf had led to a degree of self-loathing, but she had never realized it was this bad. Kneeling beside him, she took hold of his hand and looked into his eyes, noticing his tear stained cheeks. "You are a valuable and wonderful person. Teddy is lucky to have you as a father."

"Is he? An outcast, a pariah. I never should have agreed to marry her." He tried to pull away, but she held tight.

"Listen to me," she interrupted. "Don't you ever say that about yourself. This is exactly what this war was about. You are proof that being a werewolf does not mean that you have no value to society. Harry and I have a lot of fame and influence now, and I intend to make a difference."

He looked at her sadly. "That's very nice for you to say, but if Dumbledore couldn't change the minds of the wizarding world, what hope do you have?"

"I'm not just going to be the daft old headmaster of Hogwarts manipulating people to fit my vision of the future. I am going to force the wizarding world to stand up and take notice. Not just for you, but for the house-elves, the goblins, the Centaurs and the merpeople as well. You have no idea what I'm capable of," she declared forcefully.

He chuckled softly, but it was not with mirth. "You really do believe that, don't you?" He placed his hand on her cheek. "I had hoped you would have grown out of your naïveté after all your time on the run."

She pulled away and crossed her arms defensively. "I refuse to give up on my dreams and life. Now is the time to celebrate being alive. Yes, we must mourn the dead, but there is so much to live for."

"That's what they thought last time and look what happened? I was a hero of that war and it did me no good."

Obviously being compassionate was not going to work with him. "And maybe you had something to do with that," she said sternly. "You just faded into the background once James and Sirius weren't around to stick up for you anymore. I would have thought that Tonks would have made more of a mark on you. Stand up for who you are. If you won't do it for her, do it for Teddy."

"You don't understand," he mumbled before looking away from her.

Unable to control her frustration anymore, she slapped him. "I understand that you are a lot more cowardly than I used to think. You want to drown in your sorrow, fine." She stood up and stormed away, looking for others who might be more appreciative of the assistance she could provide.

---

As the months passed and the wizarding world recovered, Hermione couldn’t stop thinking about Remus. She had been very harsh to him, too harsh. He had needed comfort, even if he wouldn't admit it, and she had slapped then abandoned him. Since the memorial services, he had faded away, sequestering himself at Andromeda's house and avoiding contact with everyone.

She had stayed true to her word about working to improve the way the wizarding world treated Magical Beings. Her first focus was to revise the Werewolf Code of Conduct, especially in light of the changes Dolores Umbridge had made to it. It hadn't been easy, but after several hearings and long hours of argument, she had finally convinced the Wizengamot to approve her revised Werewolf Code of Conduct.

In that Code, it was stipulated that all registered werewolves would have access to Wolfsbane Potion, and if they maintained the Wolfsbane regimen, they would be eligible for employment. Some of the Wizengamot had not seemed pleased to be voting for the new Code, but her argument had been airtight. Anyone who had voted it against it would have looked very elitist to the rest of the wizarding world, something everyone wanted to avoid in light of the recent war.

Holding a fresh copy of the new Code in her hand, she Apparated to Andromeda's house. When Andromeda answered the door, she asked, "Is Remus here?"

Andromeda smiled sadly. "Please, come in. I'll let him know that you are here, though I will warn you that he has not been taking visitors lately."

"Tell him it's urgent," she implored as Andromeda led her to the parlor.

Andromeda gave her a soft pat on the cheek before leaving, the same sad smile on her face.

Hermione waited in the parlor, mindful of the pictures of Ted and Tonks in the room, each smiling and happy. She was looking at one of Tonks holding Teddy when Remus entered. She pushed the sorrow of Tonks' death from her mind and turned her thoughts to the happy news she had come to deliver.

Remus looked more wan and lifeless than he had at Tonks' funeral. It was clear that he was neither getting enough sleep nor enough to eat.

"I have some good news." He didn't react to her statement, so she continued. "I convinced the Wizengamot to agree to rewrite the Werewolf Code of Conduct. They will provide werewolves with Wolfsbane Potion, and as long as they are taking the potion, they will be allowed to get jobs. Isn't that wonderful?" she asked cheerfully.

"Marvelous," he replied in a lackluster voice.

This was hardly the reaction she had expected. "This means you can get a job, that you can support your family." She knew he had to feel guilty about living off Andromeda.

"Oh, yes. I'm sure people will rush right out to hire a werewolf because of a bit of legislation," he said sarcastically.

Digging in her heels, she replied, "You were a wonderful Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and since the position is open, you could always apply for that. Or there is George – I'm sure he could use help at the shop." She paused briefly. "Or what I was thinking is that you could go to work for the Ministry in the Werewolf Office. I'm sure the Kingsley could recommend you for that job. A werewolf is one thing that's been missing from that branch."

"Oh, yes, rely on the largesse of others. There's poor Lupin, let's give him a handout," he replied glibly.

She took hold of his arms and forced him to look at her. "How else do you think people get jobs? They get recommendations. Do something useful with your life! I am giving you a golden opportunity to do something worthwhile, and you are dismissing it outright. And it's not a handout if you work for it. If you want to wallow in self-pity and set a bad example for Teddy, that's your right, but if you man up, you can help people."

He looked into her eyes and saw the passion, something that had been missing from his life. He sighed and placed his hand on her cheek. "You're right, aren't you? But then again you're always right."

She blushed and looked away. "Not always. But in this case I know I'm right. This is what you have wanted your whole life. Don't let it slip through your fingers," she implored.

He smiled softly at her. "Thank you."

She was taken aback. "For what?"

"For everything. For believing in me. For not giving up. For giving me a second chance at life. I think that I will make an appointment with Kingsley about working for the Werewolf Office. You are right that one of us needs to work there."

Smiling victoriously, she said, "Good. Now that that's decided, why don't we go celebrate? You can go make yourself presentable, and I'll wait for you."

His face flushed as he realized that he really had let his appearance go. "Why don't you go get Harry and Ron and I'll meet you at Grimmauld Place."

It was her turn to look away. "Well, they've been… preoccupied with other things. I don't think that either of them is available." The truth was the boys had been reveling in the limelight. They had both wanted her to join them in being hailed as heroes, but Hermione knew that there was a lot of work to be done in healing wizarding society, and she had chosen to focus on that.

"I… see. Well then, I shall return shortly."

---

Hermione had chosen a quiet restaurant for their celebratory dinner. She wanted Remus to be at ease and he clearly was. After a glass of wine, he actually smiled.

Reaching his hand across the table to take hold of hers, he said softly, "Hermione, thank you very much for what you did. At a time when you should be celebrating and the focus of attention, you spent your time doing what will likely be thankless work."

She smiled warmly at him. "It had to be done. I have always known that I would work to improve the lives of those who had no voice. I had thought to start with the house-elves, but then you really showed me the plight of the werewolf."

Over dinner they discussed ideas for improving the lives of werewolves. Remus was coming back to life, excited about having a purpose, excited about building a solid future for Teddy. For the first time she found herself looking at him in a new light. He was warm, considerate, intelligent, everything she was looking for in a man, and everything that Ron wasn't.

Carefully, she started shifting the conversation away from job related issues to more personal ones, trying to learn a little bit more about Remus the man. She did answer the questions he had for her, but she tried to keep the conversation focused on him. It was actually quite easy to do since she had not decided on what she was going to do with her future. Right now she was focused on a few projects, but that was it.

"It's really a shame that Harry and Ron couldn't be here," Remus said wistfully over desert. "I feel I at least owe them an apology for going into hiding after the war."

"It would have been nice for Harry to be here. After all, you are like a father to him – or as close as he has."

He seemed to pick up on her omission. "And Ron?"

"I'd really rather not talk about him," she replied coolly.

Arching an eyebrow at her, he asked, "Has he done something to you?"

Her heart fluttered at the protectiveness in his voice. "Nothing directly. He's… just Ron. There are times I love him, but then I think about how different we are, how little we have in common and really wonder. It's probably best that he's caught up in all the publicity right now. It's really given me time to think about who he is."

"Keep in mind that he's still a teenager," Remus said cautiously.

"That may be, but he hasn't changed much since I met him. Can I really expect him to start now that he's an adult? I think that's wishful thinking. We want different things out of life, and it's probably for the best. I think we'll both be happier in the long run." She paused for a few moments over a sip of coffee. "What about you?" she asked cautiously.

He sighed. "I hadn't really thought about it. It would be nice for Teddy to have a mother, not that Andromeda isn't helping out, but she needs to get on with her life as well. I've just never been much for dating."

"Well, you seem to be doing alright tonight," she replied flirtatiously as she lifted her coffee to her lips, holding the cup delicately in both hands so that she looked over the rim.

"Tonight?" he sputtered. "You think this is a date?"

She had expected this sort of reaction given their age difference. "Well, why not? We are two adults with an awful lot in common. And I know what you are and don't care." She had slipped her foot out of her shoe and was running it along the inside of his leg.

Remus shifted uncomfortably. Leaning forward, he protested quietly, "Hermione…"

Also leaning forward, she took hold of his hands in hers and cut him off. "Remus, don't you want to feel alive?" she asked earnestly.

The way she was leaning, he couldn't help but notice her cleavage, a reminder that she was no longer a Hogwarts student, but a beautiful young witch. He was clearly fighting an internal conflict.

Hermione was relentless. "My flat isn't far from here." She stood up, tossed a few Galleons on the table to cover dinner and did not release the grip she had on one of his hands, letting him know that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Remus was clearly confused at how she was behaving toward him, but he still followed her.

Once they were inside her flat, she pushed him against the wall and pulled his head down for deep, passionate kiss. As she pressed against him, she could tell that he was definitely aroused.

When they finally broke the kiss, he said breathlessly, "Hermione, I don't know if we should…"

Her eyes were heavy with desire, and she was not about to be dissuaded. They both needed this. Placing her hand over his groin, she whispered huskily, "For once, let's live in the moment." When he didn't respond, she dropped her skirt and placed his hand between her legs, letting him feel her wetness through her panties.

Finally responding, he leaned down to kiss her again.

While they were undressing each other, she led him to her bedroom, leaving a trail of clothes from the front door.

After she fell to the bed on top of him, she looked into his eyes. "Do you trust me?" she asked mischievously.

"Of course I trust you," he replied quickly.

Slipping off the bed, she went to her dresser and pulled out a couple of silk scarves.

"What are those for?" he asked

She slid back onto the bed, lying back and raising her hands above her head. "To tie me up." She had always wanted to try this, but she and Ron had never gotten this far in their relationship.

"I most certainly will not," he replied adamantly.

She sat up and ran a scarf behind his neck, keeping him from leaving. "I'm yours, Remus. Don't let me get away. Command me," she said seductively. As she did this, she released the hold she had on him and caressed him, finally gently running the scarf over his erection, eliciting a soft moan. "I'm your prisoner. Give in to your animal desires."

His hands danced over her body, and he found her scent intoxicating. The next thing he knew, she was lying back on the bed with her hands outstretched, her gaze imploring him to do her bidding. "Loosely," he said as he reached up to tie her hand to the bed post.

He did tie it loosely so that she could escape if she wanted, but it was enough for her fantasy. As he leaned over her to tie her other hand, she gave his erection a seductive lick.

"Oh, gods," he moaned.

She gave him another long lick before taking him in her mouth and sucking hard.

Remus put his hands on the bed for balance, barely having finished tying her down. After a few moments, he forced himself to pull away from her. "That's very naughty of you," he said playfully.

He leaned down to nibble at her neck and slowly worked his way down her chest, reasserting control over the situation.

She strained at her bindings as he moved with agonizing slowness to her breast. He teased one nipple and then slowly made his way to the other. She seriously considered slipping her bonds to shove his head to the neglected breast. "Oh, Remus," she moaned. Between her legs she was throbbing and aching with need.

After giving a quick lick to her nipple, he looked up at her with a mischievous grin. "Do you need something?"

"Yes!" she moaned.

Slowly, he rubbed his hand down her belly and between her legs, reveling in the wetness. As he slipped his fingers inside her to massage her nub, he returned to her breast, making her squirm in arousal.

She moaned his name and panted with desire. "Not like this," she finally said as she could feel herself on the verge of orgasm.

He removed his fingers and gave them a seductive lick. "Mmmm," he moaned.

That was almost enough to send her over the edge. "Come with me," she implored, wanting to feel him inside her, to have the fullness of a man when she came.

"Not quite yet," he replied as he trailed kisses down her stomach.

She gasped as he started teasing her with his tongue. He swirled and probed as he drew her closer and closer to the edge. "Please, please, I can't stop," she pleaded, but he paid her no mind. She really was his prisoner, and he was doing with her what he wanted. Finally she gave him complete control, succumbing to her orgasm.

When her shuddering stopped, he loomed over her, capturing her mouth in his. She was momentarily taken aback by the taste in his mouth, realizing that it was herself she was tasting. "I wanted you inside me," she finally said.

"And I will be," he replied as he rubbed between her legs with his erection. "I wanted you to be at my mercy."

"I am, fully," she replied as he once again started teasing her breasts. She squirmed, trying to entice him to enter her.

She still pulled at her restraints as he teased her. She focused on feeling him inside her and could once again feel the heat pooling between her legs, the longing, the need to be fulfilled.

Finally he thrust inside her, and she cried out, startled.

He paused for a moment, looking in her eyes, and once he was sure that he had not hurt her, he continued thrusting.

His movements were urgent, and she knew that he would not be long in coming. Wanting to finish with him, she wrapped her legs around him, trying to pull him deeper within her. She strained against her restraints, longing to hold him, but at the same time taking pleasure in being tied up.

As the second orgasm started washing over her, she shouted, "Oh, yes, yes, YES!" He felt wonderful inside her, and she didn't want him to stop. When he stopped, he collapsed onto his elbows, holding himself over her. They were both covered in perspiration, but neither cared.

After a passionate, kiss, he said softly, "Thank you."

"And thank you," she replied as she slipped out of her bonds. Once her hands were free, he rolled next to her on the bed, wrapping his arm protectively around her and she cuddled up against his chest, feeling truly happy for the first time since the war ended.