Work Text:
“Hermione?” Remus’ voice cut through the air of the flat that they shared. All the windows were wide open and you could see the ice forming in the air, but that was the way that Teddy needed it. They had been desperately trying to get his temperature down for the last twelve hours when the healers had told them to take him home, that it was just a viral infection and to give him the potions they had prescribed. Hermione had wanted to take the toddler to a muggle doctor, but he wasn’t her son and so she didn’t feel like she could voice her thoughts.
She had put on an extra couple of layers in order to combat the cold but she could still feel her teeth chattering together as she sat on the floor with Teddy on her lap. She was trying not to cradle him, but he was extra clingy because of his illness and she wanted to hug him close because he acted as a miniature heater.
“Hm..?” She hummed as she looked up at him, knowing that he was worrying about his son, and worrying about her too but she wasn’t going to let him worry too much. Other than being cold, and worried, and exhausted after being up for the last twenty-four hours with a sickly child, she was fine, after all.
“Do you want to go nap?” He asked, though Hermione figured that wasn’t originally what he had wanted to say. There was just something about his expression that told her that there was so much more that he wanted to say, but she decided not to push him tonight.
“I can’t.” She said quietly before nodding towards the living room window - the sun was starting to set outside. “You’ll have to get going soon.” She pointed out, hoping that he wouldn’t then start to feel guilty that he hadn’t offered to take over so she could nap earlier, or feel guilty that he was about to be out of action for the next three days.
“Oh.” Remus whispered as he dropped to his knees next to the two of them, his knees cracking as he hit the floor but he didn’t complain or even wince. “I didn’t even...I didn’t even think..” He sighed. Hermione couldn’t blame him for that, considering everything that had happened he was bound to be a little forgetful. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“I know but we’ll be okay. You’re already feeling better, aren’t you Teddy?” She asked the little boy, hoping that he would help her to reassure his father even if he wasn’t exactly feeling any better.
Teddy made a noise which could have been taken either way but he cuddled into Hermione as if to tell his father that he was going to be happy enough to be in her arms for the evening. Remus let out a sigh before he pressed a kiss to both of their foreheads and stood up again.
“I’ll be back first thing in the morning.” He promised and Hermione could only nod as she watched the man that she loved head out to go and get ready to leave. She pulled in a breath before reaching for the thermometer to take Teddy’s temperature again. She wanted to close the windows at some point and maybe even move to his bedroom. They both needed to get some sleep at some point, even if she didn’t know when that sleep was going to happen.
She closed her eyes for a moment, knowing that even though Remus was going to be getting a break from the hell that they had been living in all this time, it wasn’t as if he was going to be able to run free; he would be in another state of hell as he shut himself up in Grimmauld Place so that he couldn’t accidentally hurt anyone. Grimmauld Place was now completely empty so it made sense to utilise it as a safe house - it would have been what Sirius wanted, had he been alive - for them to house Remus there during his transformations.
Harry had lived there for the first couple of months after the war before he had completely broken down and Mrs Weasley had insisted that he stop living with ghosts and move into the Burrow. He had been worried about living with his girlfriend, but the Weasleys had pointed out how ridiculous that was, as he was family. Hermione was family too and when she finished her eighth year, her seventh year redo at Hogwarts, she had stayed with them for a couple of months.
But Hermione had known that she wouldn’t be there long. During the summer before her eighth year, she had already started falling for Remus after staying with him for a few months to help look after Teddy - Ron had stayed too and it had brought the end of their relationship to a quicker end than anyone could have predicted. Hermione had been sad to see the end of her relationship with the boy she had grown to love, but it hadn’t been surprising to her for most part. They weren’t the children that had fallen for each other.
She hadn’t intended to fall in love with Remus, but it had happened and he had fallen in love with her. They’d bought this flat together, with money from Hermione’s parents and from the sale of the cottage that Remus had lived in with Tonks - he hadn’t managed to go back there since her death and after some soul searching he had decided that it would make the most sense to sell it. Hermione had been proud of him for coming to that decision, but her heart had broken for him all the same.
And now here they were, living together almost like a family, or maybe they were a family and Hermione had to stop telling herself that Teddy wasn’t hers to make any decisions about. She got to her feet, Teddy balanced on her hip as she made her way through to the bedroom she and Remus shared.
“Remus?” She asked softly, knowing that she was interrupting his pre-full moon routines but deciding that this was important enough as it concerned his son.
“Yes love?” He turned to face her, a soft smile on his face and she wondered what thoughts were running through his head just then, but she didn’t have the chance to ask him, not when there were more pressing issues.
“I want to take him to a muggle doctor… I think he needs antibiotics.” She tried to sound more confident than she felt that she was asking him for the right thing, but her voice still waivered in the middle regardless.
“I trust your judgement, Hermione.” Remus said gently before he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “We can take him in the morning or if he gets worse tonight, take him in, okay?”
Hermione nodded, managing to return his smile now that she’d gotten approval on her plan to make the boy feel better. She felt almost as if she could handle the night without him now, even if she wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. She opened her mouth to wish him a good night before deciding that was a bad decision and instead just pressed a kiss to his lips before she stepped backwards to allow him to pass by.
Hermione knew that she should be used to this, used to watching the love of her life go through this horrible change every month, but she also knew that she would never get used to it. It was painful for him and she hated that he had to go through that, that even though there was a cure for new werewolves, there was not a cure for him because he’d been one for so long.
“Let's see if we can sleep, hm Teddy?” She whispered to the little boy who was now clinging to her just that little bit more tightly as he knew that his father was about to disappear for the night. They’d visit him at Grimmauld Place tomorrow, though Hermione knew that he wouldn’t actually be in a fit state to go with them to see a muggle doctor, but she was also hoping that they wouldn’t need to go there in the middle of the night.