<font color=BLUE title='¸Ðл JUNEYEAH Óë Ñ©°×µÄº£µÂ΢ ¶Ôħ·¨ÊÀ½çµÄÖ§³Ö !'>JUNEYEAH ÔùÓë Ñ©°×µÄº£µÂ΢ </font> <font color=red><b>30</b></font> <font color=BLUE title='¸Ðл JUNEYEAH Óë Ñ©°×µÄº£µÂ΢ ¶Ôħ·¨ÊÀ½çµÄÖ§³Ö !'>½ð¼Ó¡ÒÔʾ¹ÄÀø¡£</font>
ÔÚ[µÚ¶þÖÜÍƼö]ÖÐÈëÑ¡  ½±Àø30½ð¼Ó¡ ^_^

Thank you very much!

Chapter 6 - Dreams and Other Such Terrors
It was the Yule Ball in their 7th year. The Great Hall was decorated like a winter palace; icicles were hung from the ceiling and the floor was charmed to look like a skating rink. Harry had his arms around her waist; they were spinning through the crowd of students. Hermione noticed that he was leading her towards to door. She looked at him quizzically, but he just smiled knowingly. Reaching the door, Harry put his scarf over her eyes and took her hand in his and led her outside. They walked for a few moments in silence, until they reached wherever Harry was taking her. Pulling the scarf off Hermione's eyes, Harry spun her around so that she was facing a rose bush. It was shaped like a heart and floating over it were the words "Together Forever".
"I've been practicing," Harry said quietly, "I hope you like it."
Hermione turned to Harry and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her. He leaned in to kiss her¡­
Hermione shot awake, her eyes flying open. Her face was flushed and her forehead was damp. Shaking, she poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher on her nightstand. As she sipped the water she began to calm down. A glance at her clock told her that it was already 6 in the morning; later than her dreams usually occurred.
The dreams had started around October. Nearly every night she would be woken up, sweating and panting with the sheets tangled on her bed. They were not always bad dreams, some were flashbacks to happy moments, such as the one she had tonight. She could never go back to sleep after a dream; she would lie awake, staring at the ceiling and praying that she could get over the dreams, the constant dreams, the disturbing dreams, the perplexing dreams, yet part of her didn't want to. As long as she had no power over the dreams she couldn't blame herself for living in the past. Winter vacation would be over in two days; Hermione thought that once she immersed herself in work, they dreams would go away, but she seriously doubted it.
She knew that there would be no more sleep tonight, so she hauled herself out of the bed and slipped on her robe. Opening her old, black school trunk, she pulled out the invisibility cloak, putting it on over her winter robes as she headed out of her apartment and padded softly down the hallway.
Now that she was outside, Hermione wasn't sure where she was going to go. Hogwarts was nearly empty; most students had gone home. Even Lilith had spent the two weeks with the Weasley family in order to get some time away from school and her mother.
The hallways were deserted; those students who had not gone home were still asleep, as it was only 6 AM. Without realizing it, Hermione had headed to the main doors, the same ones she had just been dreaming about. Pulling her winter cloak tightly around her body, Hermione stepped outside onto the winter snow. It was beautiful. Everything was covered in a think blanket of white, making the tress look like twisted works of modern art.
"Why are you awake so early, Hermione?" a voice behind her asked.
Hermione spun around. "Oh, it's just you Remus," Hermione said, blowing on her hands to warm them up.
"Who did you expect? The bogeyman?" Remus asked, smiling.
"It's rather early. I didn¡¯t think anyone else would be outside."
"Come on inside, Hermione. You'll freeze out here," Remus said, taking Hermione's hand and leading her inside.
"Let's see if the houselves are awake yet, I'd like some warm cider," Hermione said as Remus leaned against the door, closing it against the brisk winter wind.
"Mmm, that would be lovely," Remus said, "So, what were you doing outside?"
"Oh, nothing, just thinking."
"About what?"
"Nothing important," Hermione said nonchalantly.
Remus realized that whatever it was Hermione had been thinking about was nothing that she wanted to share with him.
"So Remus, what were you doing outside so early?" Hermione asked, trying to change the subject.
"Last night was the full moon," Remus said, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. "I had been running though the snow in the Forbidden Forest and had just woken up."
"Right, sorry, I forgot it was that time of the month. Running in the forest, that sounds fun," Hermione remarked.
"It is. Running during the full moon is one of the perks of being a werewolf," Remus said, smiling. He opened the portrait that led to the kitchens and he and Hermione went inside.
"Hello?" Hermione called out to the empty kitchen. "Is anyone awake?"
Two elves popped their heads out of the closet by the stove.
"Yes, yes, how can we help you?" the elf said as it ran over to Remus and Hermione, its pillowcase brushing the ground.
"Umm, do you have any cider, perchance?" Hermione asked. No sooner had she finished her question than the second elf had given both her and Remus large, steaming mugs of cider.
"Thank you," Remus said as he and Hermione ducked out of the kitchen.
~*~

The cider must have been spiked. Within 10 minutes of finishing their mugs, both Remus and Hermione were quite drunk. Since both of them had had very little sleep the previous night, they passed over the tipsy part of drunkenness and fell straight asleep.
Sitting at her desk, Hermione felt her eyelids being pushed down by a force stronger than herself; Remus was already snoring. Hermione gave in, and her head drooped down onto her arms, and she too fell asleep again.

The door to Hermione's office creaked open, revealing a very pale and shaking Harry. Hermione looked up from her papers and, seeing him, rushed over to where he was standing. Hugging him tightly she could feel his trembling through his robes.
"I¡­I¡­" Harry stuttered.
"Shh," Hermione said, pressing her finger to his lips and leading him to a chair. "Sit down, calm down Harry. What happened?" It was not like Harry, the leader of their Auror team, to be like this; usually he was the calm and collected one who calmed everyone else down when they got too emotional.
Harry took a few deep breaths before he began to speak. "I..I was out in the field with Jack and Alby. We were on surveillance, just keeping on eye on a meeting. They..they snuck up on us. Ambushed us. And¡­they nearly got Alby; I just¡­just."
Hermione took his hand in hers, and he continued. "Alby was lying on the ground, bleeding. I don't know what happened, but, I killed his attacker. A human. Hermione, I killed a human."
Hermione hugged Harry tightly to her, their tears mingling.
Hermione opened her eyes to find that she was looking into someone else's eyes.
"Good, you're awake," Remus said, gently pushing her back down onto her couch as she tried to sit up. "No, lie down, you probably had an adverse reaction to the alcohol."
"What¡­what happened?" Hermione asked, rubbing her head.
"Oh, we both fell asleep because of the alcohol in the cider, and I think you had a nightmare. You were waving your hands wildly, and I put you on the couch so that you wouldn't hurt yourself by falling off your desk chair," Remus said, pushing a goblet of something pink into Hermione's hand. "Drink this; it's a Hangover Potion. It'll clear your head."
Hermione sipped the potion; it tasted faintly of peppermint. "How are you so chipper?" Hermione asked.
"I'm a werewolf. Alcohol drains out of my blood much quicker than normal humans," Remus said. "Plus I probably have a higher tolerance for alcohol than you."
"I wouldn't doubt that," Hermione said, grinning. "I tried to stay away from alcohol; it would have been too easy to use it to make myself forget."
Remus nodded. "I understand; I was nearly there myself after Lily and James."
There was a pause. Hermione tried to look busy drinking her potion.
"So, um, Remus," Hermione said, breaking the silence, "Did I, uh, say anything while I was asleep?"
"No, nothing I could hear. Why do you ask?"
"No reason, no reason at all."
"Hermione," Remus said, trying to make eye contact with Hermione but failing, as Hermione was looking intensely at the goblet she was holding. "What were you dreaming about?"
"Nothing, honestly."
"Whatever is bothering you, tell me please, last time I saw you upset you wound up hiding for eleven years. Whatever I can do to help you, I will do," Remus said sincerely.
"Thank you for the offer of help Remus, but I assure you that it was just a random dream, nothing serious. I barely even remember it," Hermione lied. "So, what time is it?"
"Nearly 4 in the afternoon," Remus said, checking his watch.
"Wow, I was passed out the entire day," Hermione said, getting up from the coach slowly, trying to recover her equilibrium. "I didn't get any work done."
Remus shook his head. "Hermione, it's winter break. You aren't allowed to do work on winter break."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I've been procrastinating for the past two weeks; school starts tomorrow, and I need to finish up some last minute preparations. You ought to go now, I need to get changed and showered so that I can get started. I'll see you down at dinner."
Remus took one last concerned look at Hermione before leaving her apartment and heading down the hall towards Sirius' room.
~*~

"I'm worried about her," Remus said, sitting on the back of Sirius' sofa as Sirius dug through his closet trying to find something.
"Where is that sock? Here we go," Sirius held up a maroon wool sock with a large hole in the toe. "What were you saying, Moony?"
Remus rolled his eyes. "I was saying that I am worried about Hermione."
"Oh, why?" Sirius asked. "She has been a little distanced lately but nothing I'd be overly worried about."
"I know. This morning when I was coming back to the castle I saw her outside in the snow. I took her back inside and we got some cider from the kitchens, but it had alcohol in it and we both fell asleep," Remus explained, "When I woke up she was having some sort of nightmare."
"Did she tell you what it was about?"
"No, she seemed really concerned that I not know what it was about."
"Hmm, I really don¡¯t know what to say," Sirius said, putting on his maroon socks.
"Do you think we should be doing something?" Remus asked.
"Just keep an eye on her, I guess," Sirius said.
"I don't know, Padfoot, I want to do something to help her."
"Moony, I'm sure Hermione's just peachy," Sirius said, "Don¡¯t go sticking your snout into her business."
Remus sighed and shook his head but dropped the topic, for the time being.
~*~
Hermione arrived a little late at dinner as she had dawdled in her bubble bath a bit too long. As she ate, she noticed that Remus and Sirius were acting a little coldly towards one another, as if they had been in a disagreement, and that Remus was keeping an eye on her constantly.
"Remus, could you please pass the treacle pudding?" Hermione asked. Remus, instead of passing it to her, levitated it to her plate and dished out a spoonful with his wand.
"Is that enough?" Remus asked.
"Um, yes, thank you," Hermione said, "You don't have to do that. I can serve myself; I am nearly 40, you know."
"Of course I know," Remus said, "Am I not allowed to keep an eye out for my friend?"
Hermione smiled and began eating.
"So, Hermione," Minerva said, "How is Lilith enjoying Hogwarts?"
"Oh, she loves it," Hermione said, "She and those Weasley girls have really hit it off together. Not to mention the classes, quite a change from the subjects she used to study."
"Actually, now that you mention it, we need a new Muggle Studies teacher," Minerva said, "We couldn't find anyone who wanted the job."
"Really?" Hermione said in disbelief, "Why couldn't you, I thought it was the Defense position that was supposed to be cursed?"
Minerva smiled slightly. "I don't know why. I ran advertisements in all of the wizarding papers. We got a few applicants, but none who were qualified."
"Hmmm, have you ever considered hiring a Muggle?" Hermione said thoughtfully, "I know a few retired people who might like the job. Most of them would probably enjoy living in the magical world. I could Apparate back to New York to ask them."
"NO, no," said Remus.
"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, looking up at Remus.
"No, you shouldn't be exerting yourself by Apparating all that distance," Remus said, "I could go speak to them, if you'll give me their names."
"Why can't I go to New York, Remus?" Hermione demanded, "since when it is your job to tell me what I can and can't do?"
"I'm just trying to help you, Hermione," Remus countered.
"Remus, calm down, Hermione is a grown woman, she can Apparate just fine," Sirius said, nudging Remus in the side. "What did I tell you about not sticking your snout in other people's business."
"Remus, listen to Sirius," Hermione said.
"Right Remus, listen to Sirius, " Sirius said.
"Sirius," Minerva said, rolling her eyes.
"Stop joking, people," Remus said, "I just thought that Hermione looked sort of under the weather lately, I'm not trying to get involved in her business. Though, I still don't think you should Apparate to New York, especially not alone."
"What is up with you tonight, Remus?" Hermione said, standing up, "I am just fine, thank you very much. And honestly, I lived in New York for eleven years, I think I can watch out for myself. Just, just stop this over-protective guardian angle act of yours. You were doing it this afternoon too; I'm just fine, Remus." Hermione left the table and walked swiftly back to her room.
"Hmm? What did I tell you Remus?" Sirius said smugly.
"Aw, shutup Padfoot," Remus said, sticking his fork moodily into his pudding.
~*~

"What's up with Remus?" Hermione thought to herself as she stood in the shower, letting the hot water beat down on her body. "He's acting like he thinks he's my guardian."
Hermione stepped out of her shower, toweling her hair dry before she used a quick Drying Charm. Wrapping her fluffy red towel around her body, she walked out to her room just as her mirror announced that Remus Lupin wanted to speak to her.
"I accept the call," Hermione said to the mirror as she buttoned up her pajamas.
"Hermione?" Remus said.
"I'm listening."
"Um, I'm sorry about dinner."
"Apology accepted, but what were you trying to do?"
"Just making sure you were okay. I thought that maybe something was going on with you, especially after you had that nightmare this afternoon¡­"
"Remus, that was purely a result of the alcohol in the cider. Those are not at all a common occurrence."
"That's good; I was worried that you might be overly stressed about something and I guess I just went a little too far."
"You can say that again."
"Well, I should let you finish your work. Just, Hermione?"
"Yes?"
"If, uh, something's up, you'll tell Sirius or I, right?"
"Of course," Hermione lied as she shut the connection.
Hermione walked over to her bed, pulling back the covers with one fast motion.
"I'm fine, really, I'm just fine," Hermione said aloud as if to convince herself as she got into her bed, snuggling up against her pillow. "Anyway, once school start tomorrow, I'll be too busy to have these dreams and the point will be moot," Hermione mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.
The team of Aurors, Harry, Cho, Gabe, and Hermione, stood around the door to the house.
"Okay, is everyone clear on the plan?" Harry asked, "There should be only 3 Death Eaters in here, we rush in, apprehend them, and Apparate them to HQ for questioning. Quick in and out, nothing too complicated."
"Yes, sir," Hermione said, mock saluting her husband. Harry rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Cough, cough," Gabe said, "sorry to interrupt, but we have a mission to do."
"Right, yes, of course," Harry said, aiming his wand at the door, "Everyone on the count of three. One, two, three." On the count of three, Harry blasted open the door in a shower of woodchips and sparks.
The team entered the building, only to find it empty, or so they thought. Suddenly, from the air, 50 Death Eaters appeared.
"Well, it appears your mission just got a bit more complicated," a Death Eater said, stepping forward and binding the Aurors' arms to their sides before they got a chance to react. The four Aurors were pushed towards the ground by Death Eaters standing behind them.
Hermione was sitting next to Harry. She was shaking; Harry was looking straight ahead, trying to keep his face straight as he fiddled with his bonds. Hermione realized what he was doing and tried to copy him, but her fingers were shaking too much.
"Now, let's see, what shall I do with you," the Death Eater twirled his wand between his fingers as he paced back and forth in front of the captives.
Gabe suddenly jumped up and attacked the pacing Death Eater, grabbing the wand from his fingers and stunning another Death Eater, but Gabe was overpowered and pinned to the ground.
The Death Eater whom Gabe had attacked picked up the wand that Gabe had grabbed from him and bound Gabe's entire body, leaving him no room to move, let alone break free again.
Cho, Harry, and Hermione sat on the floor, unable to help their comrade.
"It seems you are a regular Houdini. Well, we can't be having that, now can we?" the Death Eater said, putting his wand on Gabe's forehead. Hermione forced herself to make eye contact with Gabe, who was looking straight at the Death Eater with a look of terror, or maybe it was defiance, in his eyes.
"Avada Kedavra!" the Death Eater shouted; Gabe's body slumped to the ground, lifeless.
The remaining three Aurors were being led towards the back of the room by a few Death Eaters. They had managed to break free of their bonds while the Death Eaters were focused on Gabe, but they were keeping their hands close to their sides until the right moment.
The Death Eaters had all moved towards the back of the room, apparently preparing something, but had left the door unguarded.
"NOW!" Harry shouted, pulling out his wand and sprinting towards the door with Cho and Hermione.
They sprinted as fast as the could across the field in front of the building. The Death Eaters followed them closely but were out of casting distance, so Harry, Cho and Hermione were safe as long as they kept running.
One Death Eater was riding a broom and was catching up with them rapidly. None of them looked back, they just kept running faster.
"Avada Kedavra!" Cho crumpled to the ground as she was hit with the Killing Curse. Hermione pointed her wand behind her and muttered a curse and was rewarded by a yelp as the Death Eater who had gotten Cho fell off his broom. There were tears blurring Hermione's vision, but she wiped them out of her eyes and kept running with Harry towards the grove of trees less than one hundred meters in front of her where they had stashed their brooms.
Hermione heard Harry mutter a charm. She recognized the charm as one that the Development team had recently invented. It was designed to protect the wearer from one curse, but had the drawbacks of draining a wizard's power so severely that he or she would be able to do only very minor magic for 24 hours after using it. Hermione was not yet able to perform the charm so she kept running, praying that she would make it to the trees alive. She ran faster, feeling a bit more relieved now that she knew that Harry was protected.
"Avada Kedavra!" a voice behind Hermione said, but Hermione knew that Harry was protected so she ignored it and kept pumping her legs up and down, running for the trees that were less than five meters away.
Hermione fell onto the soft leaves, breathing hard. She doubled over in pain, clutching at the cramps in her stomach.
"Bloody hell, Harry, that was too close," Hermione said, putting out her hand to touch Harry. He wasn't there. Hermione picked up her head and looked around, but she didn't see him. Beginning to panic, she crawled out of the burrow she had fallen into and looked around wildly.
She saw him, lying on the ground less than five meters from the grove of trees. Heedless of the possibility that there would still be Death Eaters around, Hermione ran over to him. She felt his pulse. There was none.
Hermione dragged his body to the grove, using all of her effort to remain calm. Safely hidden in the leaves, Hermione rolled him over and looked at his face. It was empty; his green eyes were dull, lifeless almost.
"No, no, no, no," Hermione muttered to herself feeling the panic grow. "He can¡¯t be, he can't, he was protected, the charm¡­." Hermione's voice trailed off as realization hit her. Harry had not cast the charm on himself; he had cast it on her. Harry was dead.
"NO! NO! NO!" Hermione woke up screaming, flailing around in her bed. Her face was covered in a sticky film of sweat; her pajamas were twisted. She needed to speak to Remus.

ÎÊÒ»ÏÂÂ¥Ö÷MischÊÇË­°¡£¿£¿£¿£¿

Chapter 7 - Welcome to the Big Apple
Knock Knock
            Remus was woken up at 4 AM by a loud banging on his door. Fumbling with his blankets, he got out of bed and sleepily walked to his door, pulling it open to reveal a disheveled Hermione.
            "Help!" Hermione cried, throwing herself into Remus' arms, causing him to stumble.
            "Hermione! What's the matter?" Remus said, half-carrying Hermione to his couch.
            Hermione stumbled on the train of her robes and fell onto the couch. She curled up in a ball between the pillows and started crying again. Remus' face was a mask of concern for his friend; he was not used to dealing with hysterical women. Doing the only thing he could think of, he pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to Hermione.
            She took it and, lifting her face, dabbed at her eyes, which were red and puffy.
            "Th..th..thank you," Hermione stuttered, straining to hold in the tears.
            "What's the matter, Hermione?" Remus said, putting his arm around Hermione's shoulders.
            "The..the..dreams. They won't stop and they just keep getting worse." The tears were running down Hermione's face.
            Remus took the handkerchief in his hand and wiped the tears off her face. "What dreams?"
            "Every night I..I dream about Ha..Ha..him," Hermione said, her shoulders sagging.
            "What do you mean, every night?" Remus asked, "for how long?"
            "Almost every night since..since Halloween," Hermione said.
            "Halloween! Hermione, why didn't you say anything before?" Remus said, shocked.
            "I though I could deal with them myself," Hermione confessed, "I didn¡¯t want you to worry." And, Hermione thought to herself, it made me feel almost like Harry was still alive; I sort of enjoyed them, until tonight.
            "Didn¡¯t want us to worry! Oh, Hermione," Remus hugged his friend tightly, "Don¡¯t ever think that you're a burden on us, Hermione. It's my job as a friend to help you and to worry about you."
            "Then, could you help me? Please?" Hermione asked quietly.
            "Absolutely," Remus said, trying to think of what to do, "First, you should go back to sleep while I try to do something."
            "NO!" Hermione said, panicked. She didn¡¯t think that she could deal with another dream that night.
            "Hermione, you need some sleep. I'll be right back; I'm going to get something for you to drink that might help. If you don¡¯t want to go to sleep, stay awake and wait right here," Remus stood up and put on his dressing gown; he was damned if he was going to go ask Snape for help dressed in his pajamas.
            Remus left his apartment and walked down the hall towards Snape's room. Snape lived at the end of the hall; his room was right next to his potions lab.
            Remus knocked on the door, waited, and knocked again. The door was rudely whipped open.
            "What¡­do¡­you¡­want?" Snape nearly hissed at Remus, "It is 4 in the morning. Speak quickly werewolf."
            "Hermione's been having nightmares for 3 months and I need you to make me a Dreamless Sleep Potion so that she doesn't go insane," Remus explained, "fast enough for you?"
            Snape glared at Remus.
            "Severus," Remus said, grabbing the man by his collar and shoving him against the doorframe; werewolves are very strong. "You will make this potion or I shall see to it that you are fired tomorrow morning. I doubt Minerva will take kindly towards your refusal to help Hermione Potter." Remus virtually spat the last word in Snape's face.
            A few moments passed in silence.
            "Well," Remus said, "are you going to do anything? Or must I get Minerva?"
            "I will do what you are so rudely demanding of me at 4 in the morning," Snape said icily, "but I can only begin if you put me down."
            Remus gave Snape one last glare before dropping him the few inches to the ground.
            Adjusting his robes, Snape walked brusquely to the back of his room and opened a green door on the back wall, revealing the potions lab. He went over to a table and began rummaging through a large basket.
            "Well," Snape said, startling Remus, "Are you going to stand there or are you going to help? Start the fire under that cauldron."
            Snape walked over to the cauldron and began dropping in assorted ingredients.
            "Eye of newt¡­toe of dog¡­piece of chocolate," Snape muttered to himself.
            "Chocolate?" Remus asked.
            "Yes, chocolate," Snape said, exasperated, "It makes it taste better."
            "Oh, I see," Remus said, wondering why Snape never seemed to add chocolate to his Wolfsbane Potion.
            Snape worked in near silence for a few minutes before turning around and handing Remus a glass vial filled with a pink potion.
            "There," Snape said, "that ought to last for a week."
            Remus mumbled his faint appreciation before dashing out of the lab and heading back to Hermione.
~*~

"What the bloody hell is going on Moony?" Sirius grumbled.
"It's about Hermione," Remus replied.
"What about her, Remus? It is nearly 5 AM and the students are going to be returning in a few hours," Minerva said fiercely, well, as fiercely as one can sound while sitting at a desk wearing a polka dot dressing gown and green hair curlers.
After giving Hermione the potion, Remus had told both Sirius and Minerva to meet him in the Headmistress' apartment. Something needed to be done about Hermione, and right quickly.
"Well," Remus began, "Hermione's been having nightmares lately, since Halloween, she told me. She came to my room at about 4 this morning in a state of total hysteria; I gave her a Dreamless Sleep Potion that Snape was kind enough to make, but something more permanent needs to be done."
"Like what?" Sirius asked.
"I have no clue. That's why I need you two to help," Remus shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
"I'm beginning to think that bringing her back might have been a mistake," Minerva said carefully, "but I couldn't bear to think about her wasting her life as a Muggle."
"Aha!" Sirius said, jumping up.
"What's 'Aha!'?" Remus asked, pulling his friend back into her seat in front of Minerva's desk.
"Her life as a Muggle, that's what 'Aha!' is," Sirius replied.
"Sirius Black, explain yourself a tad bit more clearly," Minerva sighed, struggling to get the last curler out of her hair.
"You said she was fine as a Muggle. Right Minerva?" Sirius said.
"Right," Minerva said slowly, as if speaking to someone a few knuts short of a Galleon.
"Well, if she was fine as a Muggle, we could send her back to the Muggle world for a bit," Sirius finished. "It might let her get her bearings back, give her a bit of respite from all the magic. I imagine the nightmares are just a normal reaction to the shock of living in the magical world again. We could send her to interview that teacher person she mentioned. She doesn't even need to know that we know about the nightmares; Hermione is the type of person who might feel she was imposing on us if we were worrying about her."
"You know, Sirius," Minerva said, "I think that's the best idea I've ever heard from you."
"Thank you," Sirius said, bowing to the Headmistress, "hey, wait a minute!"
Remus chuckled. "I think that would be a good idea. She can spend as long as she needs to in New York; I have some friends there who wouldn't mind keeping an eye on her. Sirius and l will cover her classes until she gets back." If she gets back, Remus thought to himself.
"Fine, then that's settled," Minerva said, "She can leave as soon as she wants to; we'll tell Lilith that her mother needed to run an errand for me in New York. I don¡¯t think we should mention the nightmares to her."
"Absolutely not," Sirius said, "we wouldn¡¯t want her think that her poor mother's off her rocker, now would we?"
"Sirius," Minerva said, rolling her eyes. Some people never grew up.
~*~
"Hermione?" Remus gently tapped her shoulder. She had fallen asleep on his couch and did not appear to be having any nightmares. I never thought I'd be saying thing, Remus thought to himself, but god bless Severus Snape and his blasted potions.
"Mmm, yes Remus?" Hermione sat up and rubbed her eyes, "Is it morning already?"
"Yes it is Hermione. It's nearly breakfast time; everyone will be getting back from vacation soon," Remus handed Hermione her school robes and then turned around so that she could get dressed.
"Oh dear," Hermione said, trying to run her hands through her hair, but getting them stuck on one of the many tangles there, "What should I tell Lilith? I can't exactly hide this..this," Hermione gestured vaguely with her hands. "Besides, I've lied to her too much already."
"Don't worry, Hermione," Remus said, "Minerva wants you to go to New York to see about that possible teacher. She wants you to leave as soon as possible; she said that she wants the teacher to get started teaching Muggle Studies as soon as possible."
"Really? Does she really think that I'm in the best shape for it?" Hermione asked.
"You'll be fine. That potion Snape made seems to work; as long as you have that you shouldn't have any problems," Remus said.
"Let's hope so. In that case, I need to go pack. Did Minerva say how long I could have to speak to the teacher?" Hermione said, pulling open the door to Remus' apartment.
"As long as you need, but she wanted you to owl her occasionally about your progress, especially if your friend declines the job so we can send in a Memory Squad," Remus said, "and Hermione?"
"Yes?"
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, do you think you could owl me about your, uh, you know," Remus fumbled for the proper words.
"Nightmares? Don¡¯t worry Remus, I'll tell you if I think I am going to have a breakdown again. But don't be too concerned, Snape, for all his many issues with social tact, is remarkable with potions," Hermione said, holding up her hand which held the vial of pink potion, "and tell Lilith that I'll be owling her frequently. Tell her I might even be able to send her a letter from her friend Donna."
"Will do, Hermione. Have a good trip to Muggle New York," Remus said with a grin, "and try to blend in."
"Remus, I lived there for 11 years. I don¡¯t need you to remind me of that," Hermione's mouth was frowning, but her eyes were twinkling.
"Sorry, of course," Remus said, putting his hands up in a gesture of mock defeat, "but come on, I'll help you pack and then we can walk to outside the Apparition Wards. I'll help carry all your stuff."
"Oh, you don¡¯t need to. I don¡¯t have that much stuff to bring with me," Hermione said.
"Please? Let an old man be of some help," Remus said with a hang-dog look on his face.
"Fine, come on though; I want to get a move on," Hermione said, tapping her foot impatiently.
~*~

Hermione sat on a bench high above the Atlantic ocean greatly enjoying her latte. She was currently in BT, one of the many rest stops designed for wizards and witches Apparating across the Atlantic Ocean. BT was located in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle; it was a giant, floating disc covered by a glass dome inside of which the people could go about their business.
Hermione had left Remus outside Hogsmeade and Apparated to a wizarding town in Iceland, from which she had Apparated to BT. BT had to be one of the most interesting places in the wizarding world. It was filled was wizards and witches from literally all over the globe. In the center of the disc was a large heath; it was the largest connection between the Eurasian/African Floo Network and that of the Americas. People were constantly streaming in and out of the hearth, sending Floo Powder and sparks flying around the glass dome.
Along one side of the disc there was a desk from where people could either purchase pre-made Portkeys that would take them anywhere they want to go, or people could buy tickets on one of the large flying carpets that left every 1/2 hour, traveling alternatively between New York and Casablanca, places from where a person could easily Apparate to anywhere in the globe, and places were flying carpets were legal; they were still prohibited in the United Kingdom.
Dropping her now empty coffee cup in the trash bin, Hermione took a number and got on the Apparition line. No more than 10 people were allowed to Apparate away from BT at one time, otherwise the concentration of magic required to Apparate would cause negative side effects in the surrounding area; this was discovered a century ago when 20 wizards had Apparated at once, causing everyone who had been in BT to turn into large pink elephants. Even with the number as low as 10 there were some adverse effects; it was rumored that it created a magical field so great that Muggles had difficulty operating electronics in the area.
"Number 31, Number 31 you are cleared for Apparition," a loud voice squawked from the air in front of Hermione. Holding tightly onto her suitcase, Hermione Apparated away from the floating disc and headed towards New York.
~*~
Hermione ducked out of the restroom stall in Kramer Alley, New York's magical area. After Apparating into the Alley from BT, Hermione had grabbed a quick lunch and changed from her school robes into a pair of gray woolen slacks and a emerald blouse. She exited Kramer Alley and flagged down a taxi cab.
"Could you take me to the Bronx? Good, good," Hermione said, getting into the cab. "Riverdale please, Broadway Ave."
The cabby grunted his understanding and pulled quickly away from the curb sending Hermione flying backwards into the bench.
"Ow," Hermione said, rubbing her back. It had only been a few months since she had taken a taxi and already she was losing her touch. She hated to think what would have happened had she decided to take the subway.
Hermione sat in silence, watching the buildings fly by through the window. It was nice winter day and the sidewalks were full of families playing in the snow. Seeing all of the happy people made Hermione sad, thinking of how things could have turned out.
"Here ya go, ma'am," the cabby said, sticking his hand through the plastic barrier and jarring Hermione from her depressing reverie. "That'll be $17."
Oh damn, Hermione thought, I forgot to change my money.
"Uh, hold on a second, sir," Hermione said trying to think of what to do. Suddenly, Hermione remembered that she always left money in her pants pocket. Sticking her hand into the pocket of her slacks, she felt the rough edge of a bill. Praying that it would be over a 5, she pulled it out. It was a 20.
Hermione handed the driver the 20, sighing in relief at the closely averted disaster. The driver looked at her for a moment as if she were crazy but then handed her back the change.
Hermione got out of the cab and looked at her house. It looked exactly as it had when she had left it back in August, minus the petunias that Hermione had planted along the walkway; it was January after all. Hermione walked up the path to the door. She put her suitcase down and began searching through it for her house key, which she had brought with her to Hogwarts.