the_debt_of_time

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny had been angry to hear of what happened to their best
friend. Mrs Weasley had been positively outraged. When Dumbledore arrived and began
scolding Mundungus over what happened, he had actually frightened many in the house.
But it was Sirius and Professor Lupin's reactions that had Hermione the most intrigued. In
the presence of everyone else, the two remained calm and quiet, as though they held no
opinion of the situation, which she found very strange indeed.
After Dumbledore left and Mrs Weasley stormed off to bed, Hermione sneaked
down into the kitchen for a cup of tea to calm her nerves when she heard crying from
another room. Unable to let her curiosity go, she followed the sounds down a hallway to a
slightly cracked door and peered into a room where she could see Professor Lupin sitting
calmly in a chair. His fingers were laced together, resting on his chest as he reclined his feet
up on a stool, one leg kicked over the other. His usually green eyes were a deep-set gold as
they stared across the room where Padfoot had Mundungus Fletcher pinned to the ground.
"Please!" Mundungus begged.
Even from where she stood in the hallway, Hermione could smell the stink of booze
on the man, not to mention other smells she would rather not identify.
"Please," he repeated. "Dumbledore already... already said―"
"As much as I respect him," Professor Lupin interrupted with an eerie calm, "Albus
Dumbledore was not present during the birth of Harry Potter. He did not hold him when
he cried, he did not help teach him how to speak or to walk. Despite the fact that Harry is
believed to be both target and weapon by many in the Wizarding world, that beast currently
digging his claws into your chest thinks of Harry as a son—a son that you put in very grave
danger."
Padfoot bared his teeth and leant forward, putting more weight on the man's chest.
Even from the awkward angle, Hermione could see the terrifying glint in the dog's
pale grey gaze as it bore its way through Mundungus.
"I'm sorry! I swear it'll never happen again! I swear it!"
Professor Lupin smiled. "Good to know. The full moon is in four days, and I've
been told that I'm a bit bigger and much less controlled than Padfoot here."
It was then that Hermione realised just how dangerous Sirius and Professor Lupin
were. Just how far they would go to protect Harry. She knew she should have disapproved
of the two of them punishing Mundungus like they had, but she also felt a strange sense of