There, There

Hermione entered his office. "Sit, please!" He gestured to a cushy chair in front of his desk. He stood in the corner, making a cup of tea. The office was just as Harry had described it. Candles lit up every corner; a roaring fire cast a warm glow, heating the room to the perfect temperature. The only thing missing from Harry's description three years ago was any sort of cage or box containing the creature to be used in the next lesson. She smiled, internally remarking on her happiness.

Lupin handed her a cup of tea, and slipped into the chair behind his desk, clearing away some spare bits of parchment. "So, what seems to be ailing you, Hermione?"

Hermione racked her brain. Now that she was about to talk about her problems, she was drawing a blank. "Well, I suppose I could start by asking you...well, I can tell you and then ask you... well, the root of my problems is Harry and Ron, and I don't want your opinion of them to change based on what I have to say. I mean, you were a teenager once, you know the kind of things boys think about. And talk about. Out loud. In front of everyone, it doesn't matter who it is." Lupin nodded, understanding. "So please just look at my problems from the perspective of someone who... maybe, hasn't ever associated with either Harry or Ron?"

"Ah, yes, like a muggle psychiatrist."

"Exactly!

"Okay, well, I suppose it shouldn't even be an issue, but, there's one specific incident that occurred two weeks ago. We were all three of us sitting in the common room, and Harry and Ron were talking about who they thought were the most attractive girls in all of Hogwarts, and all his insensitivity, Ron actually asked me-"

"He asked you what you thought of a particular girl, correct?"

Hermione was amazed at Lupin's accuracy. "Yes! How did you know that?"

Lupin set down his cup. "Something that happened to me when I was about your age. Well, actually, it didn't happen to me, it happened to James."

Hermione became interested. "Really? What happened?"

"Well," he began. "In our seventh year, Lily began to have feelings for James. Now, James had liked Lily since I could remember, but they always did this weird thing where, when Lily liked James, James didn't like Lily. When James liked Lily, Lily didn't like James.

"So, in our seventh year, Lily began to hang around with us, about the time James developed feelings for this other girl, I can't even remember her name. One day, the five of us, you know who we were, were sitting under a giant tree next to the lake. James' crush was sitting with her little group of friends, and James and Sirius were watching them. Lily was trying to ignore their vulgar comments. Wormtail was trying to join in the conversation, but was not succeeding at all. I was reading a book.

"Sirius and James began to single out particular girls, saying most degrading things. At one point, Sirius elbowed Lily and asked if she thought James' crush was pretty or not, and Lily lost it. Sirius and James had handprints on their cheeks for the rest of the day.

"But by the next week, Lily and James started to date. And the rest is history." Hermione marveled at the similarities and differences of the two stories. "But, Professor, I don't like either Harry or Ron in that fashion, I just... well, I didn't slap them! And I most certainly will not go out with them, it's just that I think I'm... well, I think that... I'm..."

Lupin raised his eyebrows. "Do you think that you might be the slightest bit jealous?"

Hermione couldn't help it. She burst into tears. "Oh, professor, I think so. I really think I am. And I don't know why!" He looked at her with sorry eyes. "God, listen to me! I sound so conceited!"

Lupin shook his head. "Not in the least, Hermione. You sound as I would expect someone in your situation to sound.

"I understand that there are... certain things that might be difficult to share with any male, whether it is your best friend, or even if it is your professor. I think you are doing a wonderful job of handling it. I am proud of you." He stood up and gestured for her to come over to him.

She cried into his shoulder and he patted her back. "Thank you for understanding," she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Sometimes it's easier to cry it out," he said.

Just then the door opened, sending Hermione's heart into her throat.

"Oh, pardon me, Remus, for apparently catching you at such an intimate- Miss Granger?" Professor Snape stood in the doorway, looking quite amused.

Hermione, red in the face, began. "I had some... issues to talk about, and Professor Lupin was only comforting me." Snape silkily smiled, obviously amused and unconvinced. Lupin and Hermione then realized that they were still hugging, and broke apart.

"And I am sure that is the case. Remus," Lupin looked up, obviously embarrassed. "I came to apologize immensely for forgetting the potion last evening. I feel like such a bastard. It completely slipped my mind."

A muscle in the corner of Lupin's mouth involuntarily twitched. "It's quite alright, Severus. I managed to handle it in a way that no one was hurt."

Snape pursed his lips. "Good," he lied. His eyes fell on Hermione, making her shudder with dread. Oh, God, she thought. What now?

"I am surprisingly glad to find you here this evening, Miss Granger. I was going to wait until Monday to ask you, but since you are eh, conveniently here now...I will ask for your assistance. I have a feeling that there has been some cheating on the essays. Plagiarism, especially in the Gryffindor house."

Hermione bristled at the insult to her house.

" Since you appear to have a knack for spotting patterns, would you be willing to look over some of the essays to see if you can spot the errors on the papers?"

It looked as if she had no choice. "Now?" she asked, not wishing to leave Lupin's office yet.

"Yes. Now."

Hermione looked at Lupin, who could not do anything but glare at Snape. He then gave her a look that clearly said "I'm sorry" and she gave him one that said "That's okay."

Snape opened the door and said "After you," to Hermione. "And Remus? I'm dreadfully sorry." Lupin nodded.

Then Snape continued, "For not knocking first." Lupin was seething as Snape slammed the door in his face, leading poor Hermione down to the confines of the dungeons.