a dance with destiny

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Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing except the order these words are in, everything else belongs to JKR.

September 29, 1977

That Evening, Heading Towards the Headmaster's Office

3rd Person POV:

*Use of Profanity*

Huffing, Hermione stopped towards the Headmaster's office – it would be an understatement to say that she was mad. No. She was upset. Furious. Completely and utterly enraged. Why? Because Sirius and James had just bullied Severus to nearly the point of tears – but of course, his Slytherin pride wouldn't let him actually cry. But no, although that was bothering her, it wasn't what was bothering her the most at the moment. What was bothering her was the fact that Severus had commented on Remus's furry little problem, which she had pretended to not hear, because she wasn't supposed to know anything about it. She was furious at herself for forgetting that she could make the Wolfsbane potion for Remus, and that was how she found herself heading towards her uncle's office – to ask him if he could help get the ingredients (after all, some of them were very hard to get by, and even illegal).

Not that doing illegal things bothered her anymore, but she didn't want to accidentally attract unwanted attention from anyone yet. Which was difficult, since the first people she became friends with were the Marauders. Finally reaching the gargoyles, she muttered the password, "Pepper imps," and absentmindedly made her way up the staircase.

She knocked on the door, opening it when she heard him call out, "Come in."

"Hi, um, Uncle Albus, I, well, I was wondering if I could talk to you for just a moment?"

Seeing who it was, he smiled, "Of course, dear, what's the matter?"

"Well," she paused, trying to figure out how to word her request, "you see, I know about Remus's problem." She paused again, watching as he took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, but since he made no implication that he wanted her to stop, she plowed on, "Um, yes, so where – or when, really – I come from, there's this potion to help werewolves, and although it doesn't cure them, it helps them keep their head when they transform. You see, they still transform, but they are in control of what they do, how they think, and...well...you get the idea."

"I see. Well, that is wonderful, now, what is it, exactly, that you would like to do?"

"I want to brew it for Remus. He really doesn't deserve the pain that he has to go through every month, a-and we don't have to tell him that it was me, since, you know, the potion hasn't really been invented yet, but we could just give it to him and ask him to not tell anyone. It'll work! I know it will! Please?"

Albus sighed, clearly trying to figure out whether or not to agree to her request. After a moment, he said, "Okay. Brew the potion, and it will be given to him – but as you said, he is not to know that it is you. Attention is not something that someone in your predicament will find beneficial."

Hermione grinned at him, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She stopped suddenly, her smile falling off, and at Albus's inquiring look, she grimaced, "I forgot one more thing."

"And that is?"

"Well, some of the ingredients are very hard to come by, and I had been hoping that if you agreed to let me brew the Wolfsbane – that's what it's called – you might be able to help me get some of them?" She trailed off awkwardly.

"Alright, let's have a look at them, then." His eyes twinkled, and she grinned at him, pulling the list of ingredients out of her bag. Reading over them quickly, he looked back up at her, "Hermione, some of these are illegal."