Little Moonfoot

Hermione Lupin-Black

Remus woke up with a splitting headache. He tried to sit up but immediately regretted his decision. It felt like he had a massive hangover. He was lying down on single cot on what seemed to be— Dumbledore's office?

He slowly remembered how he got here and all the memories that had been blocked.

"I see you're up Remus" said Dumbledore quietly.

"Yes. Hermione where is she" said Remus standing up.

"You need to rest Remus"

"No I need to see her. She's my—"

"Its past midnight Remus. You were out for hours. She's in her dormitory. I'll set up a meeting first thing tomorrow morning."

"Ok"

"Now you tell me what all this is about"

"Sirius. Oh my god. Sirius he—"

"Calm down Remus take a deep breath now tell me from the beginning"

"Sirius was not the secret keeper" he blurted out

"He was not?"

"No peter was the secret keeper"

"Mr. Pettigrew?"

"Yeah. Sirius thought that he would be the perfect person for the job because everyone will assume it's him. They switched in the last moment only I knew"

"Now if I remember correctly, you said you and Mr. black had grown apart during that time the why would he confide in you"

"No we were closer than ever but—"

"Remus I told you start from the beginning. And how is Ms Granger connected to all this?"

"Ms Lupin-Black" he said subconsciously. Dumbledore gave him a pointed look.

"Hermione is not Muggle born. She is the daughter of Sirius Marlene McKinnon. Marlene died a moth after she was born so Sirius and I decided to look after her." he said, deciding not to tell him about his and Sirius's relationship.

"Why did Mr. Black come to you?"

"Because he was devastated after Marlene's death. And didn't know anything about babies and I was his friend." He said but Dumbledore was not buying it. "Also, Sirius knew how much I wanted a child and that I could never have one of my own because of my condition so we decided to be her parents. She is really my daughter though; we performed the Infanis vinculum and all."

"Ok Remus. Tell me about how your memories got blocked"

"On the first of November, Sirius left when he heard the alarm that we had set. I was with Hermione when death eaters came searching for me, we were on the run the whole day. I hid her in a Muggle church before moonrise with a note and wiped all my memories of her so that the death eaters don't find her."

"You blocked your own memories?"

"Yes I did but I suppose it did not work as it was intended to?"

"You were in a very weakened state Remus, both physically and emotionally. I think instead of erasing Hermione cleanly from your mind, there were some blurred edges; some memories surrounding her were also erased. That would explain why you thought you and Mr. black had grown apart because I suppose Hermione was always with you both."

"Yes. She was with us when he told me about the switch of secret keeper. But I should have trusted him. Poor Sirius spent thirteen years in Azkaban because I couldn't do a simple bloody spell."

"It might not be so simple Remus. I don't think a single man testifying against the crimes of Sirius black would have been enough."

"You mean the word of a werewolf" spat Remus.

"I think you need to rest now Remus. Do you want me to break the news about her parentage to Hermione?"

"No. I want to be the one to do it. And I'll tell her that she is my daughter."

"I don't think that's—"

" what else do you want me to tell her huh that her mother was murdered and her father is the most wanted criminal in the wizarding world? Also, I don't want her to get caught in all this pureblood heir nonsense. No, this is my decision. And I will tell her the truth. I just need some time."

"Alright Remus. I suppose you want to go back to your quarters now?"

"Yes"

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When Remus woke up next morning, he felt like a different person. His first thoughts were to check on Hermione, a thought he had not had in thirteen years. He had a very important day ahead of him and he didn't want to mess up his relations with his daughter even before it began. He decided not to tell her about him and Sirius yet. He did not know the code to 'come out to your thirteen year old daughter' but he knew that doing it while telling her that she is your daughter is not a very good idea. Especially, because he did not know her views on the topic, in fact, he did not know her views on anything.

Remus dressed in his best robes and slowly strode down to his office. He had decided against having breakfast as he was already feeling quite queasy. He wished Sirius was here right now, he would have known exactly what to say. Remus was never the one for social interactions. But this was not some stupid party, it was more important than that. So Remus sat down on his desk half an hour before Hermione was due and began nervously tapping his fingers on it.

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Hermione entered the defense against dark arts classroom sharp at 8:30am.

"Hello professor" she said.

"Hello Hermione"

"Are you feeling better now?" she asked with genuine concern in her voice.

"Yes I'm great how are you?"

"I'm fine" replied Hermione.

"Want some tea" he said, changing the subject.

"Err. I just had breakfast"

"Oh ok then" he said Unsure of how to breach the subject to her.

"Professor I have been terrified since yesterday. What is all this about" she asked.

"Hermione—" he said and looked down at his lap.

"Please tell me. You acting all secretive and anxious is making me feel worse"

Remus took a deep breath, "I will tell you everything in time Hermione but you need to be patient"

"Alright" she said quietly.

He decided that there was no soft way to phrase this; he has to rip the band aid off, "Firstly, have your parents ever told you that you were adopted"

Hermione's face paled and she looked down at her hands. She quietly said, "Yes".