Sight

Chapter 14

Summer with the Grangers was not the relaxing affair Hermione had been hoping for. It had been, however, the catalyst for some important revelations, not the least of which was that in all likelihood, she would not be going back to her childhood home until Voldemort was vanquished once and for all. While her parents could not fully appreciate the evilness or power Voldemort possessed, that he posed a threat to Hermione's life was enough to make them want to pack up and move away. It was the best bet they had for staying alive- but there was no power, magical or otherwise, that could make Hermione leave Harry and the Order. The greater good was no longer an abstract concept. She would play her part, and if her life was on the line, then so be it. Jean Granger had not taken the news well. Not that it mattered at the moment- Hermione's parents were halfway across the globe, with no memory of their daughter. Hugging Crookshanks closer to her, she sniffled as the Knight Bus made its way through London. There was still a week to go until she was expected at Grimmauld, but the "renovation" should be over by now, and she had nowhere else to go. The Weasleys were on holiday, so she couldn't go to the Burrow, and Hogwarts was closed to students during the summer.

"Hermione! This is a pleasant surprise- come in, come in!"

"Thanks, Remus. Is Sirius around?"

"He's checking up on Harry as Snuffles, he should be home in a couple of hours. Do you want help with your trunk?"

"I'll manage, thanks."

Remus closed the door behind her, ushering her into the kitchen. The house didn't seem to have changed much, besides being much less gloomy than she remembered. Someone had added charmed windows.

"Sit down, I'll put the pot on... You look exhausted, Hermione, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I thought the house would be different, Dumbledore said there'd be some work done..."

"Not much has changed in terms of cosmetics, I'm afraid. But I'll show you around later, there are a couple of new floors, a makeshift greenhouse and a potions lab. And a proper meeting room. You won't be getting Extendable Ears into this one. Not that you need to, any more..."

A cup of steaming fennel tea hovered in mid-air before her.

"The extra floors I understand, there's going to be a lot more people staying here... but why a potions lab? Surely the one at Hogwarts-"

"Wolfsbane, Hermione." He smiled gently. "Professor Snape is kind enough to brew it for me. And I understand Dumbledore has requested some... other potions that it would not do to brew under the eyes of so many at Hogwarts."

"Oh. Does- does Professor Snape brew here often?"

Remus quirked an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "I don't see much of him." He paused, and Hermione fought not to squirm under his gaze. Remus Lupin was rapidly developing Dumbledore's omnipotentness. "He's in the lab all day. Just left, in fact."

Hermione took a rather too large gulp of tea, scalding her tongue. "But it's almost two in the morning!"

Remus shrugged. "Man's on a mission, what can I say? I'd offer to show you around, but I'm not sure how he'll take to me traipsing around his lab- he's got more on wards on that place than his room. I wouldn't know half of what he's got in there, anyway."

"His room? He's staying here?"

"Well, not all the time. He used to come and go every day, but Dumbledore was having none of it. Told him that he was under enough stress as it is without apparating on no sleep. So he's around here around four nights a week, I'd say. Personally, I think Dumbledore just wanted to make sure Severus was feeding himself."