A/N: Okay, so I have been absent from the published fanfiction for a while. Those of you hoping for a new HSOI, probably not going to get it, as I lost most of the work I had done on it when my old laptop screen went out. But I have tons of ideas for fanfictions, and seeing as compilations are not exactly frowned upon, I might be doing those. Maybe if one story gets popular enough I will try and flesh it out more and see what happens.

A/N2: This particular story was the intro to a story where Harry is bitten by Professor Lupin while protecting Hermione at the end of the third book. I wasn't sure how to go on with this story, originally I was going to introduce a cool concept involving werewolves and the discrepancy shown between Fenrir and Remus. My idea was that the way you perceive your wolf becomes the way your curse is inflicted. Ie, Remus views it as an infection or disease, and he looks like it. Fenrir views it as a dark way to power, and becomes a monster. My idea was that Harry got infected by protecting Hermione, and it gives him ways to do that in the future (small stuff, like more alpha, more strength, etc)

It was the moment when Hermione started making the howling noises that Harry knew they were in trouble. "What do you think you're doing?!" he hissed at her, pulling her away. "Saving our lives!" was her hurried response before howling again. Looking up the hill, Harry saw Professor Lupin, the WEREWOLF come running after them. "Good, you saved us. Now what?" Hermione blanched. "I didn't think of that." Before she finished her sentence, Harry had grabbed her arm and let Buckbeak's leash off the tree. "RUN!" He shouted, almost dragging Hermione with him as Buckbeak bolted, running off in the other direction as the wolf ran after them.

Ducking and diving through the underbrush was tough for Harry. Sure he had ran a lot when he was younger, being the victim of Harry Hunting often enough, but that had been years ago. Quidditch was a good workout for the chasers, beaters and keeper, but mostly for upper body. If this was bad for him though, it was 10 times worse for Hermione. The biggest workout she ever had was dragging her heavy textbooks up flights of stairs, which had become easier since she had learned the feather-light charm. She kept stumbling and tripping over roots, and the only reason she was keeping up was Harry's hand keeping a firm and sturdy grip on her arm.

As this passed through their minds, Harry started thinking of escape. So far, his goal had been going between tight trees and through the rough patches. It was a little slow going, but it made the wolf go around or struggle more than them. It was the same idea he had used with Dudley, a bigger aggressor has a harder time chasing you through smaller, tighter areas. However, Harry was used to a fat little boy, whose stamina was non-existent. Not a wolf, one of the worlds greatest endurance runners.

Suddenly, both stopped in their tracks when a howl echoed from less than 70 yards behind them. Harry looked at Hermione, who had gone white and started trembling. He grabbed her shoulder. "It's going to be alright Hermione." He looked around quickly, spotting the small pond that he had seen his father at earlier. Later. Whatever! "Listen." He shook her gently, seeing her shaking worse. "Look, we if we can get to that pond, we can get out into the middle. Even if the wolf follows us in, we can probably swim out before it catches up to us. Get ready to run okay?" He got a hesitant shaky nod in reply. "Okay, ready, three two one, RUN!"

Both of them took off running as fast as they could from behind the trees. The wolf spotted them and started running, gaining quickly. They were about 10 yards from the edge when Harry spotted a branch in their path. He moved a little to the left, but didn't realize with the way he and Hermione were running, it ended up right in her path, and she was too out of breath to see it. She tripped and her arm was ripped out of his hand. He skidded to a stop and stared horrified as the wolf closed the distance between it and her. Shocked into action when the wolf raised it's paw, he shouted "HERMIONE!" and dove between her and the slashing claws.

Hermione had thought that this was then end when the wolf was about to tear into her and tucked into a fetal position, covering her head with her arms and clenching her eyes shut as tight as possible. She feared the worst when she heard Harry yell, but was surprised when she didn't feel any pain. Suddenly, a cry of pain sounded from right on top of her, she risked a glance up and was shocked to see Harry on his hands and knees between her and the wolf, teeth and eyes clenched shut in pain, drops of blood dripping down his sides. He yelled again as the wolf clawed at his back and legs trying to get him to roll over and get to his organs.

Hermione started to scream for help, and Harry cried out in pain again as the wolf bit down on the corner of his left shoulder and started shaking. Feeling the pain increase to near blinding capacity, Harry grit his teeth and tried to become smaller, leaving less open space for the wolf to get at Hermione if he fell unconscious. Suddenly, he heard a loud, inhuman shriek and felt the wolf get shoved off of him and heard it yelp pathetically. Turning his head slightly, he saw that Buckbeak had returned and was patrolling between them and the wolf. The wolf tried to get closer and attack once more, but Buckbeak reared up and flared its wings, clawing at the air between them. Knowing it had lost, the wolf howled and made its way deeper into the woods.

Buckbeak snorted and made its way back to Harry, who had almost collapsed on top of Hermione at this point, who was sobbing uncontrollably. Harry looked at the hippogriff with a look of relief marred with extreme pain. He tried to move, but only succeeded in shifting most of his weight to the side and cried out in pain as he landed on his back on the dirty ground. Buckbeak moved closer and nudged him with his beak, and he chuckled and patted the side of his head gently. "Thanks Buckbeak, I thought I was a goner there for a minute."

By this point Hermione had started to control herself and uncurled from her fetal position. She turned to look at Harry to thank him and tried wrapping him in a hug, stopping at his gasp. "Thank you thank you thank you," she murmured into the remains of his shirt, tears pouring down her face again. He grimaced and tried to slowly pry her off of him, but she clung on tightly. Eventually she sobbed herself dry and pushed away, wiping her face. In doing so, she was shocked at his condition.

The area around them was covered in a thin layer of blood, and Harry seemed to be covered in a lot of it also, Just from the front, she could see the trailing end of slashes on his sides that were dripping blood and a really nasty rip and tear that matched with a … bite mark. The full shock of what had happened just hit her and she paled and shook and started tearing up again as she realized what had just happened to Harry, and what he had saved her from. But she shook herself out of it. Now was not the time for crying, Dammit, she was Hermione Granger, smartest witch at Hogwarts and she was going to help her best friend as much as she could, and right now he needed treatment for his wounds.

Harry, who had gently laid himself back down after Hermione released him, had spent the time Hermione had in reflection focusing on his physical state. After having been through beatings before, he had tried cataloging everything that was wrong with him. Obviously he had long cuts all along his back, and judging by the stinging, dirt from the ground was starting to get in there. He would need to clean them to avoid infection. He felt the bite on his shoulder next, trying to move his arm right now was impossible. His whole left torso felt like it was on fire and the feeling was spreading. It was like the opposite of when he had been infected with Basilisk poison, his body was filling with heat instead of ice.

He was about to roll over onto his side, and trying to figure out the best way to do so without aggravating his injuries when he felt Hermione's hand on his good shoulder. He started, and realized at some point he had closed his eyes to focus only on his body. He opened them and saw the unshed tears in her eyes, along with that familiar steel of determination. She grabbed his shoulder a little tighter and asked softly but firmly, "How bad is it Harry? How can I help?" He almost giggled, most likely due to blood loss and shock he imagined, but shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. She was Hermione though, and even if she had less practical experience than him when it came to physical wounds, you could safely assume she was well versed in the subject.

"Okay Harry, I can see that there are cuts on your back. I am going to need to clean and bandage those the best I can, along with that shoulder. I need you to sit up, okay? I'm going to help you up, ready? Three, two, one, there we go." She kept her voice as soft and as comforting as she could manage, and was pleased to note only a little breathlessness and wavery tone as she held tighter and pulled helping him sit up straight.

Harry gasped in pain and shock as sitting up stretched the torn skin and muscles on his back. He started breathing quicker and shallower, trying not to stretch his lungs. Hermione kept her hand on his right shoulder, and made her way around to his back, holding in her own gasp of surprise at the sight of his back. Blood coated the entire thing, and there were deep tears in the skin that were welling blood. Dirt and torn fabric were stuck randomly all over, obviously irritating the skin even more. "Okay Harry, I'm going to try to take your shirt off, alright? I need to get the cuts fully exposed to wash and bandage them."

Gently prying the bottom of the shirt he was wearing, she started slowly pulling and rolling it upwards, going very carefully over the cuts so she didn't accidentally dig the fabric deeper. It was hard, she had to ignore the blood and Harry's quivering and flinching, but she eventually got it done. Getting the shirt past his bad shoulder was another problem, but she just got his other arm and head out first before teasing the arm from the sleeve. Taking her wand, she whispered "auguamenti" and ran her wand across the top of his back, letting a smooth stream of water wash the blood and dirt off his back an shoulder.

Next, she had to create and wrap bandages over his back, which she did with the spell Professor Lupin had used to bind Ron's broken leg earlier. Harry yelled loudly when they hit and tightened, and slouched in relief when he felt the skin stop shifting. Hermione then focused on his shoulder, and used the same spell first, simply binding it in bandages. Then, she conjured the bandages by using the spell on the branch nearby and unwraping them. She used the bandages to make a sling for Harry, so he didn't jostle his shoulder too much when moving.

"Okay Harry," she started when she finished, "I have all of your back and shoulder bandaged, and your legs seem mostly okay. Can you stand?" Harry was slightly bent over, breathing shallowly, still clearly in a lot of pain, but he nodded after a moment. "Alright, I'm going to help you up, we shouldn't move your arm," she said as she reached for his good arm. She grabbed it at the upper arm, and said, "One, two, three!" and helped pull him up and steady him. As they stood, he swayed dangerously, the blood loss and lack of balance taking its toll, but Hermione steadied him, being careful not to touch his new wounds.

Once he was steady, Buckbeak came over and nudged Hermione gently. She suddenly remembered what happened at this lake last time she was here. It was only a few minutes before Harry ran off to try and rescue Sirius, and he claimed to have seen his father! And they were in direct view across the lake from where the dementors were gathering! "Harry, we've got to go! We can't see ourselves, remember?" Harry seemed to snap into focus at her words, and looked around quickly, realizing where and when they were.

"Hermione, wait!" He said as she started to leave, trying to take him with her. He pulled back with his right arm, and drew his wand. "Right here is where I saw my dad! He was right by this edge of the lake! We have to stay and see him!"

Hermione looked at him stressed out. "Harry, I've told you its impossible! Now come on!" She was getting frantic, Dementors were starting to gather around the lake, and she could see the brushes across it starting to rustle from Sirius. "Harry we have to leave now!"

"Just a few more moments Hermione! He was right there! You'll see him! I'll see him!" His voice was frantic now, with an edge of hysteria creeping in. Hermione looked at him in concern, and realized she wasn't going to get him to do anything until he saw this through.

"Oh all right, but at least hide behind Buckbeak so you don't see us!" He didn't move for a moment, staring at the spot, but allowed her to pull him back. He stood, watching, waiting for his dad to appear. He saw himself stumble through the brush, and felt the presence of the dementors starting to close in. He saw himself fall next to Sirius, and Sirius' soul start coming out of his mouth, and when he next glanced at the spot, he could have hit himself with his stupidity.

Jumping out from behind Buckbeak, he ignored Hermione's shout and cast, "Expecto Patronum!" A brilliant stag bounded out of his wand, antlers down, and charged towards the dementors surrounding himself and Sirius, shielding them from the soul sucking demons. The power of his Patronus was astounding, as it stabbed each dementor, they screeched a piercing cry and flew off as quickly as he had ever seen. When the Patronus was done with the ones near the ground, it somehow took to the air and got the ones getting to close to the group. But when they were all gone and before it faded, it came back to Harry, Hermione and nuzzled them both. Realizing who it represented, Harry whispered "Prongs", both he and the Patronus looking each other in the eye before it started fading.

Harry started tearing up with emotion, having seen his father tonight, even if it was not truly him. Tonight, all the marauders were together again, if only for a short while. He shook himself out of it as Hermione began talking again. "Harry, we have to get going! You and Sirius might be unconscious, but I'm going to come down with Snape any second now!"

Looking around Harry agreed. "You're right Hermione, we need to get going. We still have to save Sirius!" He tried walking, but the effort of casting a fully corporeal Patronus, along with his wounds and blood loss had made him exhausted. Hermione, seeing him stumble, rushed over to support his good arm. Together, they slowly made their way back to the treeline, Buckbeak following behind, somehow knowing to keep an eye out for Remus, the werewolf.

Getting just to the treeline, they sat down and relaxed, Harry sighing with relief as his muscles protested walking. The adrenaline was rapidly leaving his body, making him shaky, and Hermione wasn't that much better. They sat in silence for a few moments, before Hermione felt she had to say something.

"Harry," she began, but stopped, not knowing how to continue. He leaned forward, and cracked his eyes open, not remembering closing them. She looked dirty, disheveled, her slightly large upper teeth were worrying her lip like she had when encountered with an exceptionally difficult Transfiguration problem. But despite all the grime, twigs and leaves, and overall disarray, Harry for some reason was captivated by her. The moonlight shining on her now just reminded him of why he had done what he had. She was truly his best friend, and he had treated her like rubbish for almost half the year. He didn't think much could make up for it, but he had decided to start trying.

"Yeah Hermione?" He said when it was clear she wasn't going to continue talking. She snapped out of her thinking daze and stopped nibbling her lip. Her eyes focused on his for a moment before fixing on his shoulder wound.

"Harry," she began again, "I can't thank you enough for what you did tonight." He made a motion to try and stop her but she continued on. "I know that I would have died, if you hadn't gotten in the way. I would have been torn apart by Professor- by that werewolf. And now you... you..." She started tearing up again, and put her head in her arms, trying to hide her crying. 'Common Hermione! Pull yourself together! You're not the one who was bi-...' She didn't even want to finish the thought.

After a moment, she was started out of her crying by the feeling of a hesitant arm across her shoulders. She wiped her eyes and looked up at Harry, who looked both worried and uncomfortable at the same time.

"Hermione, I know I haven't been a very good friend to you this year." He waved off her protests like she had a minute ago. "Heck, I don't know what I did, aside from jumping on a troll to deserve a friend like you. But I have known for awhile I wanted to be a better friend, to the person who really is my best friend. And I wasn't thinking it at the time, but I suppose saving you was an okay way to start."

"But Harry!" Hermione choked out. "Don't you realized what happened?" At his blank look, she cried in exasperation. "You've been bitten! You're going to be a... a-" As realization showed itself on Harry's face, he started crying again.

"A werewolf," he whispered, face somehow becoming more pale, not that Hermione could see. Her crying had become sobs as he said the word, somehow making it all worse. He steeled himself, and tightened his grip on her shoulder. "Hermione, it doesn't matter. If it meant saving you from that thing, I'd do it again no matter what."

She looked at him, and saw the resolve on his face as he said this, knowing it was true. That's just who her friend was. She gave him a teary smile, and started wiping her face on her sleeve. They both stayed that way for awhile, just enjoying their company and the silence. Before long though, it was time to leave.

Hermione stood first, giving Harry a hand up and then finding the window they would have to get Sirius from. Finding it, she turned to tell Harry, before seeing he was still shaky and weak, almost swaying on his feet, only held up because he was leaning against Buckbeak. She quickly walked toward him and held him up as he started sliding.

"Harry, you're too weak to fly," she said, "You can't be flying Buckbeak if you're this weak! You might fall off and kill yourself." Harry tried protesting, but she had a convincing argument seeing as his legs didn't seem to be cooperating. "But Hermione, we have to save Sirius, and this was the way Dumbledore hinted to do it! I don't know how else we can!"

Hermione had her thinking face on for a moment before steeling herself. "Then I'll have to be the one to fly him." Harry just stared at her, mouth agape. Hermione, fly? The thought was outrageous. In fact...

"Hermione, have you even ridden a broom since first year?" It was an honest question, Harry knew how much Hermione hated heights, and seeing as she was not a quidditch player, she had no reason to ride a broom since her initial lessons.

"Well, how hard could it be?" Hermione said, but very softly, as if she were the one trying to convince herself, rather than Harry. "I mean, its not like I need to do anything except steer him in the right direction, right?" Starting off rhetorical, she ended up actually asking Harry the last part. After all, he had ridden Buckbeak once before, so how bad could it be?

Harry nodded, but was concerned. "Yes, you have to steer, but there is a little more to it than that." Seeing the upset look on her face he continued quickly, "But I'll be right behind you, maybe I can't do this myself, but I can guide you through it, common." And with that he patted the hippogriff's flank, making it sink to its strange knees, and climbed on, leaving space for Hermione between its neck and himself.

Hermione anxiously climbed on, trying her hardest not to slip off the slick feathery fur. "Now," Harry said, "Clench your legs together against his sides, and grip his feathers where his neck meets the back." Hermione followed his instructions, and as she did, as if sensing her fear and intent, Buckbeak slowly rose, flapping his wings every now and then for balance and to stretch.

Harry leaned forward and grabbed Hermione around her waist, making her even more tense if possible. "Now I have to hold on to you, but I'm going to help you steer like this. If grip your side harder, you need to pull his feathers lightly on that side, okay?" She nodded. She could do this. It was like riding a large, feathery, clawed, winged breathing bike. "One last thing. If I pull you back, pull him back, and if I push forward, you do the same. Forward is down, back is up." She whispered okay, and felt him lightly grip her sides.

And with that, Harry pulled back a little and they were off. It was rough going at first, Hermione getting used to the slight eddies and air currents that were shaking the hippogriff a bit, but as she started to relax and ignore the ground beneath them she found it was much easier than riding a flimsy bit of wood that some wizard she didn't know had enchanted.

Eventually they got high enough to glide down to the old Charms classroom where Sirius was being kept, and Harry blasted the window open with a well placed reducto curse. Quickly explaining the situation, Harry cast a slightly more advanced levitating charm to get Sirius onto Buckbeak.

A/N3: Well, I stopped here because after a long time this was where my muse left me and I decided to try posting a compilation story of different ideas. Hope you enjoy!