Just a Wizard

Chapter One

Hermione stood outside the office door and wiped her palms down her jeans clad legs. It had been nearly four years since she had seen her friend, Remus Lupin, and she felt a little nervous. Not that she thought her visit would be unwelcome, because she knew it wasn't. Her recent owl to his wife and fellow Order member, Emmeline Vance, had confirmed that. But, even so, she couldn't help feeling a bit jittery.

The whole atmosphere of the Agency was overwhelming. Everywhere she looked there were huge men walking about in security attire and even the trainees were enormous, making her feel even tinier than her 5' 1" height. It was odd really, she thought.

Once at Remus' office door, Hermione's eyes darted up and down the corridor before she took a deep breath and knocked.

"Yeah, come in," she heard Remus call out and she opened the door and poked her head around it.

"Er...hi..." she said hesitantly, giving a small smile as he looked over his desk at her. His face lit up in surprise before he stood and held his arms out to her.

"Ninny? What the hell are you doing here? Come here and give me a hug!"

Hermione's smile broadened at the nickname she'd been given at Hogwarts and she crossed the room to give him a hug, laughing as he grabbed her arms and pushed her away from him so he could bend and stare into her face.

"To what do I owe this rare pleasure?"

"I heard your new head offices were here and so...you know..." she shrugged and grinned at him, blowing a strand of brown hair out of her sparkling chestnut eyes.

"Uh-huh. But you don't live in this town, in fact you don't live in this Country," he reminded her, giving her a suspicious look.

"Okay, okay. So I felt like visiting, alright?"

"Okay," Remus agreed easily. "Why?"

"Well, you know, since I was discharged from the Legion I've had a lot of free time," she admitted, hating the loneliness she sometimes felt. The Legion was the Wizarding World's version of the Military. Hermione had attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was in the middle of special ops training when events the previous year caused her to be honourably discharged for health reasons. Since then she'd done a number of odd jobs as well as depleted the majority of the money she'd saved over the years.

Remus hugged her again. "That's okay, you can visit me anytime you like. Does Emma know you're here?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I owled her so I'd be able to get in okay and surprise you."

"So you're still sneaky, huh?" Remus teased her, remembering what she had been like as a child, at least in the rare times she had been allowed to act like a normal child.

"I try my best!" Hermione laughed and sat in the chair he indicated.

"How long are you going to be here?"

Hermione shrugged again and felt slightly embarrassed. She had just recently lost her job in extremely uncomfortable circumstances and she was pretty much at a loose end, but she didn't want to tell him that just yet. No matter how welcoming he was being, he had always treated her like a daughter and she knew she would get a stern lecture for managing to get fired, even though it hadn't been her fault. "I'm not sure yet, I haven't decided."

"Well, where are you staying?"

"Nowhere good, I must admit," she said wryly, naming a motel on the outskirts of town that she had been able to afford. She had spent the bulk of what money she had getting a portkey here once she had found out from Emmeline where they were.

Remus stared at her as he sat in his chair and pursed his lips, his eyes narrowing on her rapidly reddening face. "Okay, tell the truth. You're in trouble aren't you?" he asked her, knowing something was wrong by her carefully guarded expression.

"Not really. No. Nothing," she mumbled. "Are you free for lunch?" she asked brightly, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, no, uh-uh, don't try and wriggle out of it. Tell me," Remus insisted, leaning back and resting his hands over his stomach.

Hermione was just wondering how to worm her way out of having to answer when there was a knock on the door and it opened before Remus said a word. She swung around to see who it was and found herself staring, wide eyed, up at her former best mate, whom she hadn't spoken a word to in four long years. He was enormous, and completely filled the doorway! She thought in amazement as she took in his appearance and then quickly averted her eyes when he looked down at her. His red hair, covered in a bandanna so she couldn't see his hairline. He wore a neatly trimmed beard and moustache, and his cobalt blue eyes still sparkled, underneath his frowning eyebrows. The sight of him after so long made the room feel instantly smaller.

Remus smiled at the newcomer. "Morning, Ron. Problem?"

Ron Weasley studied the petite woman sitting opposite his boss and then turned his attention away from her. Hermione knew he was trying to place her. The perplexed look and narrowed eyes confirmed that his mind was scrambling to figure it out. Hermione guessed that her dark tan and shorter hair must have been throwing him off. "Nothing much," he said, his voice a deep rumble in the room that seemed to make Hermione's nerve endings spark. "Carter and I wanted to know if you'd come up with any ideas about the assignment tonight?"

Remus nodded and rifled through the parchment on his desk. "Here," he said, handing some of them to the huge man. "These are your security posts, we'll be using standard operating procedures. Not too many words so even your thick skull should be able to absorb it in time!" Remus Lupin and Emmaline Vance owned and operated a rather large private security and investigation Agency. The man before him was one of their best and most recognized agents.

Ron glared at Remus in mock anger. "Ha, ha, very funny." His eyes looked at the parchment briefly before swivelling to examine the extremely quiet female again. Very nice, he thought as his eyes ran down the length of body. She had shoulder length brown hair, without a hint of curl that was haphazardly drawn away from her face, but kept escaping. Her small hands kept fluttering up to push bits of it back. She had a tanned, elfin face, dominated by large eyes that she currently kept lowered, almost as if she was nervous.

Ron frowned. He was used to making people nervous, but he didn't like it. He continued his appraisal of her, taking in her delicate frame and the curves that she seemed to be trying to conceal underneath a shapeless jumper. Her legs were encased in jeans and were slender, but far too short, he mused, wondering how tall she was when she stood up. His mind briefly flickered to a time long ago, but as much as it tried to set the idea straight, his brain refused to grasp it. It just couldn't be. His hopes of her return had long since vanished.

Hermione became aware of the silence in the office and reluctantly darted her gaze up to see what the quietness was all about. She found Ron staring at her wistfully, a small smile curving his lips as he saw her startled glance before she dropped her eyes again.

"Oh, I'm sorry, how rude of me," Remus said, making a show of getting out of his chair and re-introducing the two of them. "Ron Weasley, you remember... Hermione. Hermione, Ron is one of my finest agents." He had seen the way Ron had looked at her and he wondered what might come of it, if anything. Something had definitely been brewing between the two before Hermione had left four years previously. Despite what people thought after being deemed a vicious werewolf his entire life, Remus was a romantic at heart and loved nothing better than setting people up, these two in particular. Remus knew he would have to tread carefully with them, for various reasons.

"Hermione?" Ron was shocked and squinted his eyes trying to put the name to the face before he grinned, extending his hand and wondering if she would even dare to take it. "Merlin you look... erm... different. I wouldn't have thought it was you," Now that's a lie Weasley. He thought. You just hoped it a minute ago.

Hermione stared at the enormous ham-like hand he held out to her and fought with her nerves for a few seconds before reluctantly offering her own hand. Her fingers were immediately engulfed by his as Ron's hand closed up and over her wrist where he was so much bigger than her. "It's nice... to see you, Ronald." she said quietly, not wishing to appear rude.

Ron's eyebrows arched over his sky blue eyes at her accent. It had changed somewhat. "Is that a hint of a Maori accent? Have you been in New Zealand all this time?" Part of Ron's job was effectively recognizing foreign accents.

"I...er... was... but..." Hermione stumbled over her words and abruptly stopped talking, her nerves getting the better of her. She wished he'd let go of her hand.

Remus frowned at her reaction, knowing the reason for it. "She was stationed in Auckland branch of the Legion up until last year."

Hermione nodded dumbly, still staring at the huge hand holding hers. Ron saw the look and gently released her, moving to a chair nearby and dropping himself into it. "You were in the Legion, but you're not anymore?" he asked, shocked yet again and wanting to hear that pleasant soft tone again, despite the fact that she was starting to look terrified.

This was a new development. Ron himself had started off in The Legion, as had Harry. But the bureaucracy had been too much for either of them to make a career out of it and after their first tour of duty both wizards had resigned intent on becoming Aurors for the Ministry. Not a week later the offer to join Remus' new company had fallen in their laps. Literally. The boys were sitting at the breakfast table in their new flat when the Owl from Remus had arrived. Ron couldn't believe that all this time Hermione had also been a Legion member, albeit in a foreign country, and that she'd lasted longer than they had.

"Yes," she mumbled, relieved that he had let go of her, but still able to feel the heat burning into her fingers.

"Why did you resign?"

Hermione stared at him blankly. Why was he continuing to talk to her? More importantly why was he prying? "I didn't... I was discharged," She snapped. Her eyes blazing with anger before she averted them to the unravelling hem of her jumper.

That was a sore spot, Ron decided. Sweet Merlin she had changed. Ron had never known Hermione to be so uneasy. Temperamental... yes, but her skittish behaviour was unnerving. He wanted to know why damn it. However, intent to keep her talking he changed the subject. "So what is it you do now?" Ron smiled at her, encouraging her to speak. She was so damn nervous, but he felt an undeniable urge to draw her out, get to know her again. His smile widened as he realized how he had missed her.

"I worked in an office for an Apothecary," she said, not realizing what she was giving away by saying that.

Remus's eyes narrowed at her words. "Worked? Past tense?"

Hermione jumped when he spoke and she realized what she had said. "Well, I...I can explain," she said, staring at Remus warily.

"Mmm-hmm, this should be good. You've lost your job haven't you?"

"It wasn't my fault," she began, about to defend herself.

"Really? Were you laid off?"

"Well, no," she admitted.

"Did you quit?"

Hermione bit her thumbnail and shook her head. Remus gave her a knowing look. "Were you fired?"

"Yes, but it isn't like it sounds!" she said, her voice getting stronger as she thought of the circumstances of her dismissal.

"Hmm, well, we'll have a little chat about that later on, okay?" Remus was uneasy about this, Hermione was all about work and if she was fired there had to be a very good reason for it. A very serious reason, and Remus had a sneaking suspicion he knew what that was. "In the meantime, I have work to do. What you can do is go and get your stuff from that rat hole you're staying in and bring it back here. You can stay with Emma and me. No arguments!" he barked at her when she went to protest, waiting with eyebrows raised until she settled back in her chair and stared sulkily at him. "Merlin, you haven't changed a bit. Get that sulky look off your face, it won't work!" he said, smiling as she immediately wiped the look off her face. He tried never to be too loud with her, or too harsh when he tried to help her along in the past year, because he knew what she had been through in her young life and why she was suddenly so nervous all the time. He twisted his lips thoughtfully.

He hadn't seen her in nearly four years, not since she had left for New Zealand, although they kept in touch by owls and floo calls, and he had always felt like he should be doing more for her since her training had been top secret and Remus was the only other to know about it besides Dumbledore. She had never asked him for anything, ever, and he knew that she had been struggling to live for a while now. Losing her job could just be the boost she needed to let him help her. He started formulating a plan, continuing to talk to her and not showing what he was up to.

"How did you get here from the motel?"

"I took a muggle cab," she said, clearing her throat when she noticed her former partner in crime was carefully observing her.

"Right, well, I'll get a car to take you back and wait for you," Remus said, reaching for the phone.

Hermione's hand shot out and covered his. "No! Don't do that, I don't want to be any trouble. I'll just get a cab back, it's okay," she insisted looking worried.

Remus turned his hand over and caught her fingers lightly. "You are no trouble at all, Hermione, and you never will be. Besides, I'm not willing to let you take a cab on your own. It's too dangerous. If I'd known you were coming I'd have arranged for you to be collected, I don't want you getting into any trouble when there's no-one around to help you. Take the car, the driver won't mind, believe me!"

"I wouldn't feel right, though, turning up with a chauffeur like that," she mumbled, feeling embarrassed at the other man's intent stare. "Besides, it's not like I couldn't take care of myself in a pinch Remus."

"I could give her a lift," Ron offered, leaning casually forward to rest his arms on the desk. "I don't have anything to do until later anyway, so a drive would be pretty good right now."

Remus smiled broadly and nodded. "Great idea, Ron, it'll be nice to know she's in safe hands." He turned to Hermione, watching with amusement the look of horror she quickly concealed. "Emma's just down the corridor, why don't you go say hello?" he asked her, diverting her attention away from Ron. She nodded and left the room, aware of being stared at the whole time.

Ron waited until the door had closed and then turned to smile at Remus. "I thought her legs looked short. I don't remember her being that small,"

"She's always been a veritable house-elf. You've just become enormous. Changed a lot though hasn't she?" the older man asked, interested to know what Ron had made of her.

"That's an understatement. Painfully shy, incredibly nervous, that's not the Hermione I remember at all. She's still very pretty. Far too tiny for me, though," he said with a grin.

Remus frowned. "I wasn't offering her to you. Besides, why the hell would she want anything to do with an ugly wanker like you?" he asked, grinning at the expression on the other man's face.

"Less of the insults, old man," Ron drawled. "There is one thing I'd like to know though. Actually, two things."

"And they are?"

"Who beat on her, and is that why she was discharged?"

Remus nodded and smiled ruefully. Not much got past this man's eyes. "She was in Special Ops training eighteen months ago. First and only woman ever accepted, but the men didn't appreciate it and gave her a hard time. Pretty badly by all accounts, but she's a fighter. She stuck it out and ended up being ranked first in her class." Remus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing. "A few of the boys decided they wanted to teach her a lesson and attacked her during their final exercise. I won't go into the details, but she was seriously emotionally wounded from the ordeal."

"What happened to the men?" he growled, feeling angry himself at the thought of such a delicate creature getting beaten.

"One went AWOL, the other spent six months in the stockade before being dishonourably discharged, but they felt Hermione was too damaged to continue and discharged her too. How did you know, by the way?"

Ron raised his eyebrows. "About the beating? I've seen that look in the eyes before, seen that sort of nervousness, it didn't take a genius to work it out. They were erm... big men?"

"Big? Yes, really big. Not as big as you, but a hell of a lot bigger than her. They pounded, cursed, and hexed her for hours before she managed to get away," Remus said, anger making his face stiff as he imagined the sight of Hermione cowering in a corner while the huge men punched and kicked her as hard as they could. "I intend to help her any way I can."

"What are you gonna to do?"

"I'll offer her a job, first off. She can travel with us, so she'll start feeling safe again. I have a feeling though, that she isn't telling me everything. I'll get it out of her tonight," he said grimly.

"You're not gonna yell at her?" Ron asked feeling quite concerned.

Remus's eyebrows shot up. "What do you care?"

"She doesn't seem the type who would enjoy being yelled at, especially by an evil old man like you!" Ron shot back, grinning.

Remus chuckled at his words, enjoying the camaraderie they shared. Not that anyone would know it from the way they acted sometimes. "Yeah well, I'm not going to yell at her, don't worry." He raised an eyebrow and smirked at the other man. "You liked the look of her then huh?"

"Who wouldn't, she's a pretty little thing," Ron mused, contemplating what it would be like to hold her against him. He liked small women, probably because of how he'd always felt about Hermione, but they were invariably afraid of him. "I'll take her to the motel and wait, then bring her back safe and sound."

"Good. I don't know that I'd trust her care to anyone else," Remus told him.

Ron stood up and smiled wickedly. "Don't place too much trust in me Remus, I'm a man like any other."

"Not quite like any other, and I do vividly remember what you were like a few months ago, so I'll give you fair warning. You touch her and I'll break your neck," Remus said amiably.

"I'm just shaking in my boots," Ron told him, turning as the door opened and Hermione stepped back into the room. His eyes roamed up and down her body. "You ready?"

Hermione looked as if she were about to step into the jaws of hell, but she took a deep breath and nodded, her eyes darting to Remus.

"You'll be fine with Ron. I'll see you later okay?" he said, stepping out from behind his desk to plant a fatherly kiss on her flushed cheek.

"Okay," she said softly, resisting the urge to tug her arm away from Ron as he gently took her elbow to guide her out of the room. Remus threw his car keys at Ron before he left. "Not the bike, Weasley, got it?"

Ron nodded and grabbed the keys, urging Hermione ahead of him out of the building. He unlocked Remus' car and handed her inside like a true gentleman before moving around and sliding under the steering wheel. He didn't talk much as they drove to her motel, leaving the city behind and moving out into sprawling wilderness and sparse housing. He merely nodded at her directions until they stopped outside the seedy, rundown place. "This is where you're staying? Merlin, no wonder Remus wanted you to stay with him. This is no place for a witch like you," he said, walking with her to the door of her room.

"It was cheap," she said in defence of the place. She had hated it on sight, but she didn't have enough money to worry about such luxuries as doors that locked properly or rooms that were cleaned.

"Yeah, it sure was," Ron murmured as she opened the door and walked inside. The smell of stale beer and cigarettes assaulted her nostrils, relics from the previous tenant and she shot a look at her companion, noticing the grimace he couldn't disguise.

"Maybe you should wait in the car?" she asked him, not feeling comfortable being in such a small space with him.

Ron pinned her with a dark look and shook his head. "Nah, you'll be safer with me here whilst you pack your stuff. Don't worry, I'll be just fine," he said, seating himself gingerly on the edge of the bed.

Hermione made quick work of packing her things, using her body to block his view as she emptied the drawer holding her knickers into a bag. A few minutes later she dumped the last of her bags on the floor and did another quick check of the room, satisfied that she had everything.

"All set?" Ron asked, levering himself up and picking up all her bags before she had a chance to take them.

"Yes, I'm ready. You don't have to carry my bags..."

"What sort of a man would I be if I let a tiny thing such as you try and struggle with them?" he asked reasonably, walking out of the room and leaving her to follow him. Hermione stared at his back warily. She wasn't used to any man being nice to her, except maybe Remus, but she said nothing and moved out to the car, going to open the door as he stashed her bags in the trunk. A large hand covered hers before she could pull the door handle and she involuntarily gasped in shock. He moved quickly for such a big man.

"Easy there. I'm just gonna open the door for you, is all," he said softly, doing just that and helping her into the car again.

When he was sitting next to her once again, she swallowed and cleared her throat. "I could've opened the door myself," she said quietly.

His eyes swung briefly in her direction, glinting as he smiled. "Not while I'm with you."

He drove for a few minutes in silence. "So tell me, what rank were you?"

"Lieutenant Colonel," she admitted.

"Lieutenant Colonel?" Ron whistled through his teeth. He was shocked. She was a commissioned officer. Hermione had obviously worked very hard to attain such a high rank in such a short time.

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel. Is that a problem?"

"No. It's just that Harry and I were only Sergeants. Isn't that a bit unusual?" he probed.

"Yes, well... I started out as a commissioned officer. 2^nd Lieutenant," she mumbled.

"I see. So why did you get special treatment?"

She found herself smiling as she thought of the reason. She'd received that rank right out of basic training because she had saved her entire squad from certain death and had been decorated with the order of Merlin First Class because of it. "To make a long story short, I went above and beyond the call of duty in a crisis."

Ron glanced at her. "Well whatever you did I'm sure you deserved getting that rank," he told her, concentrating on the road.

"Lot of good that did me now though," She admitted so softly Ron almost missed it.

"Don't get yourself down Hermione." Said Ron glancing at her grave expression briefly. "The Legion can be an awful organization at times. Besides, there will be a lot of people glad to see you back."

"Really?" She thought about that for a moment. "I don't suppose Harry's still around?"

"Harry? Of course he's still around. He works for Remus too, but he's on assignment overseas at the moment." he told her, trying to smother his grin because he knew Harry was due back any time.

"And your parents? I've thought about them often,"

"They're actually in Egypt right now. Bill and his wife Anna just had a baby so Mum's out of her mind with glee."

"Well congratulations on becoming an uncle Ron," she said and he felt a small thrill run through him that she had actually congratulated him.

"Thanks."

"Boy or girl?"

"Boy of course. It's a Weasley tradition," Ron said, raising his eyebrows.

"And what's his name?" she inquired and a small laugh escaped her, surprising both of them.

Ron chuckled. "Bartholomew Wilhelm Weasley."

"Well at least it's not as bad as Bilius." she teased him, starting to feel quite comfortable with him all of a sudden.

"OI! Easy there Hermione Jane."

Hermione gasped, her eyes going wide. "Y... you remembered." she said.

Ron tutted and furrowed his brow indignantly. "Of course I remembered. I remember a lot of things Ninny," he told her, his lips curving in a secretive smile.

"I guess I expected - " she started then trailed off, looking out of the window as they neared the Agency again.

"Expected what? That I'd forget my best mate?" he asked, pulling smoothly into a parking space.

"Oh, no, I don't... I just... I didn't write," she said, shuddering at the thought of how she'd abandoned both Ron and Harry. They should both hate her.

"Hermione, you'd just lost your parents, the war had just ended. I understand. I was hurt, but I still understood why you needed some time to yourself." He assured.

"Thanks, but... it's still no excuse for not staying in touch." She sighed.

"But you're back, and that's all that matters. Even if it is for just a visit." Ron said mournfully. Then brightened as an idea came to him. "Say, would you like to come to the concert tonight. I can get Remus to put you on the list for security,"

Hermione hesitated, thinking about the offer. "Er... no thanks, I wouldn't feel comfortable being around all of those people,"

Ron saw her reaction and carefully smoothed his features to show no expression. "That's no problem, there's a TV in the security office, you can watch from there." He saw her visibly relax and got out of the car, telling her to stay put until he got around to her side and opened the door for her.

"You really don't have to..." she began, taking his hand as he pulled her gently out of the car.

He put a large finger over her lips. "Yes I do. I, Hermione, am a gentleman, despite the fact that I may not look it!"

Hermione was so shocked at the feel of his big, callused finger on her mouth that she couldn't respond, and he sent her a dazzling grin before grabbing her bags out of the trunk and leading her back into the building.

He shocked her even more a few minutes later when, having deposited her once again in Remus' office, he took her hand and raised it to plant a soft kiss on her knuckles, making her completely speechless with the olde worlde charm.