A Dance Through Thyme (Harry Potter)

Ein Schritt nach vorn

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A Step Forward

Hermione's fingers trembled slightly as she held the thick piece of parchment in her fingers. The neat handwriting that filled the page was so familiar, and yet she still felt rather removed from it.

He had asked her to meet him the following week, near his house. He had given the address, and the date and time, but no more. When he asked her to spend more time together, she didn't think that it would be happening so soon.

Setting the page down at her desk, she pulled open the top drawer to retrieve a clean piece of parchment. Dipping her quill into a pot of black ink, she scrawled a return message. The owl he sent was becoming impatient, and she must have a reply ready soon.

Yes, will meet you there. – H.

Attaching the parchment to the owl's leg, she opened her window and allowed it to fly back to its owner, almost immediately regretting her decision.

The more she thought about it, the more preposterous it sounded. She could see that the whole issue was doomed from the start.

There would be no way that Remus would accept her back in his life until she told him the truth, and this was something that she was not yet prepared to do. It would put too many people in danger, not to mention infuriate Remus. It had gone too far for Hermione to turn around now and tell him the truth. She had let it go on for far too long, and now there was no turning back. She would never able to tell Remus where she had truly come from.

Although a part of her wondered why this was the case.

She had told Dumbledore. James knew, and so did Severus. If everything went to plan then there would be a few others that would need to find out the truth as well. It was imperative for their success. Yet when it came to telling Remus, her throat went dry, and the insides of her stomach churned. She had spent a great deal of time wondering why this was, until she realised that the answer lay in her most recent reply to Remus.

She cared too much. More specifically, she cared about him too much. She did not want to see him hurt, either physically or emotionally. This was just her way of distancing him, to keep him safe.

'Yes,' she thought to herself. 'To keep him safe...from me. From me and my horrendous lies and troubles.'

In spite of these feelings, Hermione could not help but feel a tiny flame of desire pulsing within her. She wanted to see Remus again.

In his letter he had said that he was organising a surprise for them, but not to be too worried.

Although she had no inkling as to what the surprise could be, Hermione could not help but feel giddy at the prospect. It was just like being back in Hogwarts. Hermione always felt immensely grateful to Remus that he would reserve every Friday afternoon, just so that he could spend it with her.

Every Friday always held a surprise of some sort. Sometimes it would be flowers, or chocolates or some kind of physical gift. However, the Room of Requirement was at their disposal, and more often than not, Remus would wish for the Room to transform into something spectacular. To Hermione, it was like living in a fairy tale; and she would be slightly upset when the time would come for Remus to have to leave her and head back to his dormitory.

Although there were some nights when he would stay with her, in her bed; he was careful not to do it too often, so as to not raise suspicions.

Wondering what Remus had in store for her this time, Hermione let herself escape into her imagination, just this once.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

"I'm glad to see you've dressed warmly."

Hermione would recognise that voice anywhere, and without a moment's hesitation, she turned to hug her friend.

"If you had given me any hints about where we are going, I might've had a better idea," said Hermione, mirth present in her voice as she spoke.

"You'll see soon enough," Remus grinned. "I'll show you the way."

He held out his hand for Hermione to hold onto. She instantly accepted, and hand in hand they made their way through narrow streets and abandoned alleyways, to the edge of the village.

Hermione thanked herself for having the foresight to wear solid, closed-in shoes. The pair now had to wade through several fields of tall grass.

"I'm sorry that this place is so hard to get to," Remus apologised with a shy grin. "If I knew an easier way to get there, I would take you that way."

"Not a problem," Hermione grimaced as she narrowly avoided stepping in a large volume of cow manure. "I'm sure it will be worth it when we get there."

"Oh, it will be," mumbled Remus so that Hermione could not hear him.

Finally, they came to a patch of even ground. Remus stopped so suddenly that Hermione bumped into the back of him. He turned to face her so that everything was completely obscured from her view.

"I want you to close your eyes, Hermione," he said to her. "I'll guide you. Don't open them until I say that you can."

Hermione did as she was bid, closing her eyes and putting her hands over the top for good measure. She sensed Remus moving so that he was behind her, and felt his hands rest on the tops of her hips.

Ignoring the pleasantly uncomfortable feelings that were spreading to her groin region, Hermione took a few tentative steps forward. Occasionally she would feel one of Remus' hands leave her body, but then she would hear a few twigs snap, and suspected that he was stopping the trees from scratching her as they walked through.

There came a moment where Hermione felt a gentle tug backwards, and she supposed that Remus had stopped walking. He stepped forward slightly so that her back was pressed against his muscular chest. His hands reached up to meet her own, and he pulled them down by Hermione's sides so that she could see once more.

Hermione gasped.

Remus had brought her to an overgrown garden. The grass was growing wild, but she could still see all manner of flowers poking through. Wild heather stood out in patches, along with primrose and patches of what might have held wild strawberries in the summer months. A tree had clearly fallen a long time ago because the log that remained was completely covered in vines. A rushing sound filled Hermione's ears, and she was sure that there was a creek at the bottom the hill.

"This is where we had our first date," whispered Hermione in awe. "I had no idea that it existed as a real place."

Remus chuckled, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"I've been coming here since I was a child. I thought it might be a good place for us to start over."