Becoming Beta

Chapter 23

A/N: I make a manip for each chapter, so find me on tumblr at crochetawayhpff

The lovely brownlark42 was my beta and idea-bouncer for this chapter. She's like putting on clean sweatpants straight from dryer. Enjoy!

Hermione looked over her shoulder to ensure the hallway was clear before she paced in front of the Room of Requirement. When it opened, it was the same room her and Draco always shared, and he was lounging on the couch in front of a roaring fire. The full moon had been yesterday and instead of recovering in the infirmary, Draco chose to recover here. It was away from his dorm mates and it allowed Hermione to tend to him.

"Draco, I have the assignments you missed yesterday and today," Hermione said as she moved his legs from the end of the couch and sat down. He promptly placed his feet on her lap and she rolled her eyes when he gave her his puppy dog look, clearly asking for her to rub them.

"Did I miss anything important?" Draco asked as Hermione began a light massage.

"Everything is important, Draco. Professor Slughorn gave us a quiz yesterday, but he probably won't let you make it up. Maybe you could ask for some extra credit? I heard he is giving it to sixth and seventh years to brew potions for the infirmary," Hermione told him as she switched her massage to his other foot.

Draco nodded absently. Hermione wished he would share what was on his mind with her.

"Why won't you tell me what's bothering you?" Hermione asked. "You've been in a funk since you came in this morning."

Draco gave a heavy sigh and pulled Hermione into his arms, cuddling her to him. Hermione snuggled into him, putting her face into his chest so she could breathe in his scent. This was home. Draco felt like home to her and she couldn't imagine being anywhere else in the world than here.

"Our plan didn't work. Fenrir didn't bite Lupin and make him pack. He's directed Lupin to make his own pack," Draco said quietly.

"Merlin's pants!" Hermione swore as she lifted her head and set her chin on his chest to look into Draco's grey eyes. All of her careful planning hinged on Remus becoming pack so they could overthrow Fenrir.

"What are we going to do?" Draco asked. He rubbed his hands down her back, and one slipped under her jumper to rest on bare skin. Hermione shivered at the touch.

"Well, Greyback has given you a list of every wolf he bit, right? Maybe Remus can make them part of his pack," Hermione said and bit her lip in thought. Draco had her lying atop him and she crossed her arms over his chest and rested her chin on them.

"That's basically what Fenrir told Lupin," Draco said as he traced patterns with his fingers on the small of Hermione's back.

"That's good. This may not be such a bad thing. What if Remus uses his pack to undermine Greyback's? He recruits to his pack wolves who are patently against Greyback," Hermione mused. She drummed her fingers on Draco's chest as she mulled over the snag in their plan.

"It could work, but without Lupin's support in my pack, I have no hope of overthrowing Greyback," Draco reminded her.

"I know, you might have to live with him for a bit. We may have to put that portion of the plan on hold until you can spend more time in the pack and get more allies," Hermione admitted. She felt bad for Draco, she could tell he was chafing being under Greyback, his father's murderer.

Draco groaned and closed his eyes, "But I don't want to be under Greyback's thumb," he sighed.

"I know. And I don't want you to be either, but what would happen if you tried to take over as Alpha and failed?" Hermione asked. She hated that their careful plans had gone off the rails so soon.