Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Disclaimer, the same, yada yada yada.

A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting. Between working 3rd shift, raising a six year old and then getting stuck, my car straddling a train track, I've been busy. Luckily, when the train came, it was on the OTHER track and not the one my car was over. So, I still have my car. Anyway, on with the story. I apologize in advance if it kind of sucks. I'm still a nervous wreck about my car.


Like Hogwarts, there were spells and enchantments so no one could just pop up at any given time, so he apperated them to just outside the front gates of his little house. He held onto her a bit longer than was necessary, but not overly so, before releasing her and opening the gate. They walked up the gravel drive in silence, Hermione taking in the scene of where she was supposed to spend the next week.

It looked peaceful. There was what looked like acres of rolling hills neatly cut and a vibrant green. Oaks surrounded the estate, shading the yard from the rays of the hot sun. Over to the side, there a small pond with ducks swimming around and dipping their heads in the water, either to cool themselves off, or they were looking for a fish that had gotten to close to the surface.

Upon seeing the house, Hermione wouldn't exactly have called it little. It was by no means a huge mansion, but it was still quite large to her. From the outside she could tell that it had a full basement and was three stories high. The house was made of large stones, and even from fifty feet away, she could feel the magic that was protecting it. Some one had been re-doing the spells to make them stronger each year or the magic had been cast into the stones when it was being built or maybe even both.

There was a flower garden to the right of the walkway leading up to the front door. Looking closely, Hermione could tell that a lot of the flowers in there were used in certain potions for strength and healing.


"Here we are," Lupin said, upon reaching the door. He took out his key and unlocked it. Opening the door, he stepped aside, allowing her to go in first. Stepping in after her, he closed to door and reset the wards. She'd been too busy looking around to even notice that he had let them down in order to reach the house.


"It's beautiful." She said in awe as she looked around. From the inside, it reminded her of a little of Hogwarts.

He gave her a small smile and went to show her where she could put her things. Her bedroom would be up on second door, right down the hall from his. After putting her stuff up, he took her on a tour of the house, excluding the basement. There was enough time to get to that.


"Well, we still got a bit before lunch, so why don't you make yourself comfortable. We won't get into anything today. Today is just getting used to being here and what not."

She said her thanks and went back to her room to get a head start on her studies. When lunch was ready, he called her down and they ate peacefully. Afterwards, she went back to her room. He was slightly worried about her, but knew that she had always keen on getting done what she could when it came to her school work. Not to mention reading ahead so she knew everything.

That was one of the things he liked most about her. She was not only the most alluring thing he had ever laid eyes on, but she had a brain as well. And used it to boot.


Hermione stayed in her room all day, except to use the rest room or to get something to snack on. A few hours before lunch, she sighed, closed her book and lay down on the bed. She couldn't get any work done. Her mind kept straying to the man downstairs. She had so many questions about all this, but it would have to wait until tomorrow. He'd said there would be none of that tonight. She gradually fell asleep and didn't wake up till she heard Remus calling her name, telling her it was time for dinner.

They had a lovely dinner and talked about stuff going on at school. Harry, Ron, her family, other stuff going on with the order. When she was finally full, she couldn't believe she had eaten so much, she said her good nights and went upstairs.

After clearing up the plates and washing the rest of the dishes, Remus decided it would be best for him to try and sleep as well. He was going to need it. He knew that tomorrow he would be bombarded with questions. And he would need all his strength to answer a few of them.

Not paying attention to things around him, he didn't notice the person in his thoughts come out of the bathroom in just a towel until she bumped into him. He grabbed her around the waist, stopping her fall, but ended up bringing her flush up against him. He had to stifle a groan when he realized what she was wearing. He didn't know which was worse, her being right up against him or the thought that it would have been better on him, physically and mentally, to have let her fall.

"Sorry," she squeaked," I didn't see you."

"That's quite all right." Was there huskiness to his voice? "I wasn't paying attention either." He released his hold on her and opened her door. She bade him good night, said she was sorry once more and went into her room, red as a tomato. Her one time Professor had just seen her in a towel. How embarrassing.

Remus closed her door and laid his forehead against it for a moment listening to her getting dressed and slipping into bed. He had to stifle another groan from the images that provoked. Shaking his head, he headed to his own room, grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom. A cold shower was definitely in order.


A/N: Well, that's the end of this chapter. I hope it didn't suck to badly. I kind of got a writers block with everything that's been going on. The next chapter will be better, I'm sure. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate it. Hopefully I'll have more soon.