Hurt

Remus chuckles as Hermione hums to herself. “It’s very rare that a student is housed in a professor’s quarters,” he says when she looks up. She watches him open the wardrobe and pull out a ragged set of robes. “I need to make a quick run to London. Will you be okay?” he asks.

Silence meets his query so he smiles and pats her hand. “I’ll have Albus send someone up with your dinner if I’m not back within half an hour. Then you can get a bath after you eat. How’s that?” he suggests.

A flicker of a smile shows on her face before vanishing. He nods slightly then pulls the robes on. “I’ll be back soon, okay?” he murmurs and leaves the room.

Hermione watches the closed door then nestles into the pile of pillows behind her. An owl swoops in the open window and perches a few inches from her knee. She gently takes the letter from its beak and strokes its feathered head as she studies the name etched on the envelope.

The owl hoots softly in pleasure so she looks at him again. Her eyes start to drift shut so she shifts to lie down, causing the owl to take flight. The letter flutters to the floor and slips under the edge of the bed as she falls asleep.

Remus enters the room a few minutes later with a box. His eyes rest on Hermione’s limp form so he moves over to the desk and sets the box on it. Hermione shifts her foot under the blankets as he sits on the edge of the bed.

Sirius stops in the doorway to see Remus place a gentle kiss on Hermione’s brow as he pulls the blankets up over her shoulders.

“What the hell are you doing?” Sirius demands.

Remus’ head snaps up and he glares at the other man. “More like what the hell are you doing?” he hisses and stands. Sirius enters the room and digs his finger into Remus’ chest.

“She’s not old enough for you!” he growls.

Remus knocks his hand away and straightens his back. “I’m not pursuing her!” he snarls.

Hermione shifts and whimpers softly then opens her eyes. Sirius’ dark hair and black robes catch her gaze so she shrieks in terror.

The bickering men jerk around to look at her as she sits up and clutches the blankets to her chest. They move toward her and Sirius reaches for her. She screams louder and kicks out at him, her foot impacting with the side of his face.

Remus gathers Hermione in his arms as Sirius crumples to the floor unconscious. “Shh! Hermione, you’re fine! It’s just Sirius!” he says. Her screams dissolve into sobs so he rocks her.

The sound of running reaches Remus’ ears so he looks up as two young men and Albus enter the room. “Remus? What’s going on? We heard screaming… Sirius!” the dark haired boy gasps at the sight of the wayward man sprawled on the floor.

Hermione continues to cry into Remus’ chest so the boys frown. Remus rubs her back and holds her closer.

“Shh, you’re safe. Nothing’s going to get you,” he murmurs in her ear. She calms slightly and sniffles so Remus strokes her hair. “Harry and Ron are here,” he whispers. She lifts her head and looks at the boys.

“Hermione! Where have you been?” the red-head asks and steps toward her. Hermione shifts behind Remus and clutches his arm so the boys frown.

“What happened to her professor?” Harry asks and studies the bandages on her wrists and other visible wounds.

“Her home was attacked. Her parents are dead and she was raped. We’ve no idea why they left her alive,” Albus murmurs and guides the boys out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione trembles as Remus brushes her hair from her eyes. “Come on, let’s get you a bath,” he murmurs and stands from the bed.

She shifts to the edge and slowly reaches for him. Her soft whimper makes him look at her so he smiles and lifts her from the bed.

“Did he really scare you that badly?” he inquires when she whimpers as he steps closer to Sirius. She watches the unconscious man’s chest rise and fall steadily then looks at Remus when he settles her on the edge of the tub.

Sirius groans from the bedroom and sits up. “Remus?” he asks.

“In here,” the man in question replies.

Sirius slowly walks into the bathroom rubbing his head. “Man that hurts. What are you doing?” he asks as Remus begins filling the tub with water.

Hermione looks up at Sirius from behind blood-matted hair then winces when Remus carefully peels a bandage away from a wound on her cheek.

“She needs a bath,” Remus says. “Now, why were you standing in my bedroom doorway?” Sirius gasps as Remus removes the bandage from one of Hermione’s wrists.

“There’s a staff meeting tonight after dinner,” he says and watches as blood start oozing from the injury. She bites her lip and averts her gaze so Sirius catches her attention.

Images of Severus flash in her mind so she frowns. “S-s-us,” she stammers.

Remus and Sirius’ eyes snap from her bleeding wrist to her face. “What is it child?” Sirius asks and kneels in front of her. She looks up at Remus and grips his hand.

“S-v-us.”

“Who? Severus? He did this to you?” Sirius asks and stands. Remus gently takes her face in his hands.

“Is Severus the one that hurt you?” he inquires.

She nods slightly so he closes his eyes and sighs. “We’ve got to tell Albus,” Sirius growls. Remus looks at him and shakes his head.

“Not yet. She needs a bath,” he replies and carefully pulls the shirt over her head. Sirius’ eyes widen at the sight of the bandages covering her pale flesh.

“That bad?” he gasps.

Remus nods. “Yes. They really did a number on her.” He starts to unwrap the bandages as Sirius begins to gather towels, washcloths, and fresh bandages.

Hermione slowly lowers herself into the tub with Remus’ help.

~~~~~~~~~~

Remus nods to Sirius when the man opens a door. The other occupants of the room look up and gasp.

“Miss Granger!” a woman exclaims and stands. They stare at the bandages on her wrists and face. Hermione keeps a hold on the button down men’s shirt that she borrowed from Remus and his arm as he guides her to a chair.

Albus clears his throat to gain everyone’s attention. “Since the subjects of this meeting have arrived, let’s get started,” he murmurs.

Remus starts to move away from Hermione so she grabs his sleeve and whimpers at him. The others frown as he returns to standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

“Miss Granger has gone through a lot in the past two days. She has been deeply traumatized so Remus has kindly agreed to help her get through this. Partially because he’s that nice but mostly because he’s the only one she’ll allow to touch her. We are, as of yet, unable to identify who did this to her so we’re keeping it away from the media’s attention.”

Remus looks down at Hermione when she carefully applies pressure to a wound on her side then up when a snort sounds from near a corner.

“Lupin isn’t the sort of person I had figure you’d allow around her. Especially because of his condition,” Severus sneers.

Hermione’s eyes widen as she tenses. He looks at her and steps away from the shadows.

Remus pulls Hermione out of the chair and behind him as Sirius jumps out of his seat and moves to Remus’ side.

“Remus? Sirius?” Albus inquires when he sees Hermione bury her face in Remus’ shirt. Severus shakes his head.

“I see they’ve grown over-protective of her,” he says. Hermione whimpers so Remus turns and guides her out of the room with Sirius trailing behind.

“It’s all right. I won’t let him near you,” Remus whispers as he guides her to his chambers. Sirius watches as she settles on the couch and curls her legs under herself as Remus starts to leave the room.

“Remus? Is Hermione still here?” Harry asks. The door opens more and Remus reenters with Harry and Ron following.

---------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: It would seem the boys really HAVE grown overprotective. What could Harry and Ron want? Will Albus ever get to tell the media what happened? Stay tuned! And review.. please? It can even be an all out flame. A review is a review and criticism helps fuel me to write better! Anyhooz, on a side note... I got the new book! It cost me $29.82 but hey, I was first on the list! *cackles* .. .... ahem.. XD I can't wait to read it but I'm going to hold off until I have a full day away from work (which won't be until Wednesday *sigh*) oh well.