Hermione and Dumbledore trudged up the cliff’s incline towards the small shack. Hermione’s feet slipped in the wet grass, dew still clinging to its lush blades. Dumbledore rapped cheerily on the wooden front door. The door creaked open to reveal a tall man, slightly slouched over to fit in the doorway’s opening.

“Professor Lupin?” Hermione asked, shocked.

The man was sallow looking, his hair had greyed more than the last time she had seen him at Number 12 Grimmauld Place over the summer. His robes were stitched and patched together and hung off his large, gaunt frame. He quirked a small smile at her, “Good to see you, Hermione.”

“Ah, Remus! Good morning to you!” Dumbledore chimed. He hummed as he pushed past the professor and walked into the small house. Lupin stood back from the door and gestured for Hermione to come in. He was well over six feet tall and his presence seemed even larger in the tiny cottage, however he was quiet in nature. She was the first to figure out his werewolf nature in their third year so she understood why he tended to keep to himself. She rounded the corner of the small entryway and went into the kitchen to sit at a small, white table with Dumbledore who was busy pouring himself a cup of tea.

Remus slipped in behind her and leaned against the frame of the doorway into the kitchen, sipping on his own cup of tea. Dumbledore’s humming tune stopped as he brought the small cup to his lips, taking a sip before setting it down to look at her, “Do you know where you are, Miss. Granger?”

“No, sir.” Hermione said, running her finger along a deep scratch in the table’s surface. She crossed her legs and bobbed her foot up and down as she waited for the headmaster to reveal more of his plan to her. She was excited to get the opportunity to learn under Professor Lupin again. All the nerves and anxieties she had the prior night seemed far away from her now. She knew what she had to do and who she was to do it with. All she needed was to start.

“We are in a special safeguarded house that was made for Remus to use when he needs…a place to stay. You know of what I am speaking?” Hermione nodded and bit her lip. She knew Remus’ werewolf form personally and knew how dangerous it was when he turned. “This house has more safeguards against it than meets the eye, so it is important that you don’t go wondering without a guide.” Dumbledore nodded to Professor Lupin. “He is here to teach you what you need to know in order to pass your OWLs and NEWTs. Don’t fret over the loss of any extra knowledge you may miss out on by not being in class because when this is all over, you will return right back where you were, evidentially serving detention with Professor Snape.” His blue eyes twinkled in amusement and Lupin cracked a smile for a split second.

“Until you are able to pass all of your OWLs and NEWTs, you can expect to stay here and learn from Remus. However, he may not be here every day. He still has order business to attend to and you can expect him to not be himself once a month on the full moon. He knows how to contain himself, but you would do well to stay clear of him when this happens. Continue your studies while he is absent.” The wooden chair creaked as Dumbledore shifted in it and he cleared his throat, “Unfortunately, Miss. Granger, we cannot use your true name on these tests. The ministry would know something is afoot if they saw a fifth year taking her NEWTs. So, henceforth, you will be Acacia Cresswell of Ravenclaw.”

Hermione nodded. Even in hiding she couldn’t get a normal name, it seemed. “And I have three months to learn three years of school and take my tests?”

“We have the utmost faith in you, Hermione. If anyone could do this, it would be you.” Remus said with a small smile.

Hermione gave him a small smile back and then turned to Dumbledore, “So, where do I begin?”

- - -

Hermione worked tirelessly alongside Professor Lupin for the next few weeks. From the time she rose in the morning to the time her eyelids were finally too tired to stay open at night, she had a book floating inches from her face. Lupin was a firm, but kind teacher. He quietly corrected things and involved her in discussions over tea or lunch about what she had been reading. He challenged her ideas of what she thought had been black and white, wrong and right. He had an interesting way in finding the grey in subjects that made her look deeper into what her own ideological thoughts were. Often, she would get so wrapped up in the conversation, she would forget her meal entirely until it was cold and unappealing on her plate. Lupin would chew with a mischievous smirk on his face as he forked in the last bit of his warm meal.

Some days, he would take her outside of the house and they would practice spells. These were the days she dreaded the most. Learning things in books was much different from doing them in practice. She was gifted in transfiguration and charms, but defensive and offensive spells came from a more primal, intuitive place that she had yet to really master.

Hermione grimaced as yet another spell backfired in a explosive jet of red sparks from the tip of her wand. It singed her fingers and she yelped and dropped her wand. She let out a frustrated growl and picked up her wand, “What is wrong with me?”

Remus crossed the short distance between them to stand in front of her. He put both of his hands on her shoulders and gripped them in a firm embrace, “This is really advanced stuff we’re working on, Hermione. Don’t be so harsh on yourself. You’re doing superbly. Really, you should be proud of all the things you have accomplished in such a short time.” Lupin gave her shoulders a squeeze before he went rigid, his eyes dilated, and he immediately tapped her head firmly with his wand.

Hermione felt as if he had cracked an egg over her head, a slimy coldness slipped down her body making her shudder at the feeling. She looked down at herself and she was completely invisible, except for her breath in the chilly October air.

Remus held a finger to his lips and started to walk towards the house. He opened the door and walked into the entryway, Hermione closely behind him, and shut the door. He rounded the corner to the kitchen and standing in stark contrast to the French white kitchen of the cottage, was tall, black figure of Severus Snape. “Oh, Severus, its only you.”

Snape turned around with a sneer, “Had enough free time to get some reading done, have you? Albus isn’t keeping you busy enough?” He gestured to the stacks of books piled around the kitchen and throughout the house that Hermione had been studying from. Some still suspended in midair waiting for her to come back to them and begin reading where she left off.

Hermione quietly slipped past Professor Lupin to try make an exit from the kitchen as the two men talked, but accidently knocked a stack of books over with her hip. Both men stopped in mid-sentence and stared at the pile that was now strewn across the floor. Hermione’s eyes closed as Severus’ eyes searched the spot she was standing. Please, please don’t notice me. Please. Please. She pleaded with him in her mind and prayed that for once in his life he was an inept spy. Just this once. She didn’t dare breathe as he slowly walked to where she was standing. Her nose was mere inches from his chest. He breathed in deeply. She had put on perfume that morning. Her heart was racing, she could feel the thrush of blood in her ears. He started to lift his hand to reach in front of him. Hermione started to take a step back as quietly as she could without disrupting the air around her, but Lupin cut him off, “Severus! What was it you needed from me?”

Snape stared down at her. There was nothing there to him, but she could feel his intense gaze through her soul. She knew that he knew that someone was there with them, the knowledge flickered in his eyes. And then a look she didn’t quite understand crossed his features for a split second before he slowly turned back to Remus. He took a step over a smaller pile of books that had accumulated on the floor around her chair at the table and made his way back to Lupin. He handed him a phial of what Hermione knew was Wolfsbane potion.

The men started talking again about something that had made the Daily Prophet about a new potion. The men talked for a few more minutes and Hermione didn’t dare move from her spot. They started to end their conversation and Severus’ eyes roamed to the spot she stood in once again. Their eyes met for a split second and she felt something pressing in on her mind and she quickly shut her eyes. The feeling left her mind as quickly as it had slipped in and then he was gone. Apparated out of the kitchen with a flourish of black robes.

Hermione’s breath came out in a ragged huff and her body sagged in relief. Lupin looked over to the area she was standing in and pointed his wand at her and murmured something under his breath. The egg feeling came again, although this time she was able to see herself once again when it was done. “That was a close one.” Remus said with a small smile when he could see her face again.

“Extremely.” Hermione agreed.

“While we’re on the subject, tonight is a full moon, Hermione. So, I will not be with you once the sun sets. You are to stay in your room no matter what, remember that.”

“I know, Professor. Do you think we could go outside again and try that spell? I feel like I may be in a better state of mind for it now.”

- - -

Hermione tossed and turned that night; she could hear Lupin whimpering from the basement below. Since he had taken the Wolfsbane, instead of turning into his full werewolf form, he became an oversized wolf badly in need of some rest. However, it didn’t sound like he was having much luck either as he yelped and clawed trying to escape. Occasionally, he would howl and then wait for a reply from another pack-mate. Though he never got one.

She put a pillow over her ears and huffed in annoyance. The pillow could muffle the noise, but it couldn’t stop her racing thoughts about her close call with Professor Snape. She was worried that she had just blown her entire operation. The fate of countless lives depended on him, and everyone else for that matter, remaining oblivious to what she was doing. She knew he was a skilled legilimens, and she was no occlumens. She just hoped he didn’t actually see anything when he touched her mind.