The weeks leading up to the wedding were uneventful to say the least. With quidditch season over and no more Hogsmeade trips, there was nothing to do but study. N.E.W.T.s were only one month away so the pressure was on for the seventh years. Thankfully the wedding would be the much needed break they were waiting for.
A half hour before the wedding, Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny were standing in the middle of Dumbledore's office waiting to leave.
"I've decided we should take a portkey to the Burrow," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. "Professors Snape and McGonagall will be apparating so there will be no need to wait for them. There is only one more of us . . . and here he is!"
The door opened and Lupin walked in wearing a brand-new suit.
"Professor, you look . . . gorgeous!" Ginny said without a trace of embarrassment.
"Thank you, Ginny," he said with a smile. "So do you, all of you. You're turning into quite the beautiful young ladies." Ginny and Hermione both blushed and Ron and Harry laughed. "And you two, don't you look like nice young men."
"Yeah, too bad we're not," said Ron. Everyone laughed.
"I think we should be on our way," Dumbledore said after the laughter had died down. He pulled out a small box from his pocket. Harry laughed at the sight of it and everyone quickly joined in when they recognized the box as Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.
"Portus." The box glowed brightly for a minute before returning to its original color. "Come closer everyone." They moved closer until they were situated in a small circle, Dumbledore holding out the Bertie Bott's box between them. "All I need is a finger."
They all placed a finger onto the small box waiting for the portkey to activate. Hermione looked up to find Lupin staring at her just as she felt the familiar jerk behind her navel and suddenly everything was a swirling mass of color, Ginny and Ron's shoulders banging almost painfully against her own. A minute later everyone except for Dumbledore and Lupin were sprawled on the green grass of the backyard of the Burrow. Hermione looked up to see the whole Weasley clan descending upon them, Mrs. Weasley in the lead.
"Oh look at you four, don't you look so grown up," Molly Weasley fawned, straightening out the wrinkles on Ron's shirt.
"Mum, stop it!" He pushed at the offending hand and Mrs. Weasley moved onto Harry, who said nothing about her grooming except to thank her afterwards.
"Hello everyone. Harry, how are you?" Mr. Weasley clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Hermione watched as Lupin slipped away from the redheaded crowd to join Tonks and Moody. She watched them closely for a while then shrugged it off and went and took her seat between Ron and Harry.
They chatted amicably for a while until the muggle wedding march filled the garden. Everyone stood up and Fred took his place at the head of the aisle, beaming. Angelina apparated at the head of the long white carpet, a matching smile on her face and began her walk down the aisle.
She looked absolutely beautiful. Gone were the tomboy clothes and braided hair. Her white dress was sleek and form-hugging and her usually braided hair was now straight and pulled back at her nape. Hermione wondered if she would look that beautiful when she got married and instinctively her eyes found Lupin's, but he looked away and smiled at Tonks, who she now noticed had her hand clasped in his. She turned away, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in her chest.
Remus watched Angelina walking down the aisle and had to blink to hold back the tears. The last time he was at a wedding, it was Lily and James'. Oh, how happy they had looked then! Lily was beautiful, her red hair shining in the afternoon sun. He still remembered the dazed look on James' face when he saw her. It was a look of awe and wonder and just plain happiness.
He felt a hand slip into his and turned to see Tonks smiling at him. "It's okay," she said, her voice soft, and squeezed his hand. He said nothing, instead turned back to watch the ceremony.
The ceremony was short but touching. Fred and Angelina had written their own vows and for once, Fred was speechless at Angelina's words and had to take a few calming breaths before speaking.
The guests broke into groups afterwards, chatting with friends and congratulating the happy couple. Remus excused himself and stopped Molly on his way into the house.
"Molly, mind if I use the loo?"
"It's on the second floor, third door down. Hermione just went up there a minute ago. You can wait down here if you want."
Remus waited until she was out of sight before heading up the stairs. He heard a door creak and stepped into the shadows of one of the Weasleys' bedrooms. Hermione walked past him and just as she was about to slip down the stairs, he grabbed her arm. Hermione spun around so fast, Remus didn't even have time to process what was happening until he was pressed up against the wall, wand at his throat.
"Professor?" she gasped when she recognized her attacker.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," he said as he grabbed a hold of her wrist and pulled it away from him. She wrenched her hand out of his grasp and turned to leave.
"Hermione, wait." Remus grabbed a hold of her arm once again.
"Professor, please unhand me."
"No."
"No?" She turned to face him, eyes blazing with fury.
"And it's Remus."
"Professor," she emphasized. "This is very inappropriate. If you do not unhand me-"
"You'll do what?"
He was challenging her but she gritted her teeth and said nothing.
"Well, what do you want, Remus?" She said the name as if it were poison.
"I want to know what this" -he pointed at the two of them- "is. What's happening between us? As much as you hate me right now, you can't just walk away and leave this unsettled. We need to fix this, Hermione. And neither you nor I am going anywhere until it is."
They glared at each other and when Remus realized Hermione wasn't going to say anything, he began to talk.
"Why do you insist on being mad at me? I told you I was sorry. If anyone should be angry, it should be me. You said some really nasty things that night."
Hermione averted her eyes from his face and swiped imaginary dust from her dress. He was right. She had said some nasty things and she felt horrible about the whole thing. "I'm sorry," she said softly.
"I know." He placed a hand under her chin and lifted it so that she had to look at him. "Let's not fight anymore. I hate it. You've always been one of my favorite students and being on bad terms with you is not something I enjoy." She broke out in a smile. "So are we okay? I know there's a lot of things we need to talk about, but we're . . . friends, right? At least for now. And then we'll see where it goes from there."
She nodded, relief rushing through her.
"Good, now if you'll excuse me, I've got a date with the loo." The two of them laughed. "We'll talk later. Promise," Remus said before disappearing into the bathroom.
*****
"Is this always what you wanted to do?"
They were both sitting on Lupin's desk. It was two weeks after Fred and Angelina's wedding and they had resumed Hermione's defense lessons.
"Not at first," Lupin began, a small smile on his face. "I actually wanted to be an auror. Maybe that's why I'm so close to Tonks and Moody. It reminds me of what could have been."
"I never would have thought that," Hermione said. "Why didn't you become an auror then? Your grades were certainly good enough. At least that's what I've heard."
"And where did you hear that?"
"Sirius," she said quietly.
"Yes, he would have said that." A faraway look crossed his face. "He barely bothered with his schoolwork. Sirius and James were always teasing me about it. 'Don't you ever put that book down?' 'Do you live in the library, Remus? You're there practically every day.' Of course it was all in good spirits. I did have my Marauder moments. Plenty in fact." He smiled at the memories. "But why didn't I become an auror if in fact I had the grades? I am a werewolf. It is as simple as that. You know how prejudiced the Ministry can be. They don't take quite nicely to us half-breeds. We're considered highly dangerous and a threat to wizards and muggles alike. It doesn't matter that I'm still a wizard. It doesn't matter that there is the wolfsbane potion. All that matters is that I'm not like you."
There was an awkward silence after Lupin stopped talking and Hermione felt a tinge of sadness for the man.
"But it doesn't matter," he said. "I enjoy teaching more than anything. Hogwarts is my home."
Hermione brought up a question that had been plaguing her since the wedding.
"Are you and Tonks . . ."
"What?"
"Are you two . . . together?"
Lupin began laughing, a loud booming laugh that Hermione had never heard before. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. She didn't think the question was funny and was a bit annoyed that he found it so.
"What? Why are you laughing? What's so funny?"
He took one look at the girl's defensive stance and continued to laugh. Frustrated, Hermione snatched up her bag and headed to the door, but Lupin cut her off, trying to stifle his laughter.
"Wait. I'm not laughing at you, Hermione."
She raised an eyebrow as if to say "Sure you're not."
"It's just the thought of me and Tonks is a little weird. She's too wild for me. I love her like a sister. Nothing more."
Hermione looked as if she didn't believe him. "A sister?"
"Yes, a sister. She's a little too young for me, anyway."
Wrong thing to say, Remus. He swore inwardly at the hurt look on Hermione's face.
"What I meant was . . . It's just that . . . Not a sister . . . "
"No, I understand. She's young enough to be your sister and I'm young enough to be your daughter and the thought sickens you."
"No, Hermione . . . "
"You're right. You could be my father, Remus. And that thought alone is disgusting. I don't know what I was thinking."
"Hermione." He held both her hands in his. "Trust me. The way I think about you is not the way a father thinks about his daughter. Any father who does should be sent to Azkaban."
Remus smiled at her and felt the tension leave her body. She smiled back at him.
He reached over and brushed the bangs off her forehead before leaning over and kissing the delicate skin. She closed her eyes and sighed, so he continued on, placing light, feathery kisses across her eyelids, on each cheek, the bridge of her nose and finally settling on her lips. It was almost like the first time, soft and barely there, but this time neither one pulled away. They deepened the kiss on simultaneous moans and he could feel Hermione's arms wrap around his neck and one petite hand playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.
Bliss was the one word his mind could form. But he instantly gave up thinking and began to concentrate on the lovely little noises coming from Hermione, the way her body was pressed up against his as if she couldn't bear an ounce of air between them, the way his hands fit so perfectly around her tiny waist. Oh, Merlin! It was so wrong and so incredibly right he didn't know what to think anymore. His heart had banished his mind. He, Remus Lupin, was kissing Hermione Granger and the world was perfectly all right.
*****
An incredible gasp escaped the figure hidden in the shadows just beyond the doorway. He kept his eyes focused on the two figures visible through the large opening. Lupin and Granger? Who would've thought? Sure, he had suspected there was something happening between them that night in the Great Hall, but he didn't think it had progressed so far. And now with the proof right before his eyes . . . he would finally get the revenge he deserved. Grinning, he headed off down the corridor.
*****
"Professor Lupin and Miss Granger, you say?"
"Yes, Headmaster. I saw it with my own eyes."
Dumbledore surveyed the visitor. Remus? It seemed so out of character for both him and Hermione.
"And they were not aware of your presence, correct?"
"No, they were not."
"Well." He turned toward the visitor. "I can tell you the necessary steps will be taken."
"Thank you, Headmaster."
Dumbledore waited until his visitor left before letting out a huge sigh.
"Oh, Remus, what have you gotten yourself into."
*****
Remus sat in the plush armchair in front of Dumbledore's desk feeling like a schoolboy who was about to be reprimanded for some misdeed. Luckily, McGonagall had interrupted (something about fourth years and the Forbidden Forest) so he was given the chance to ponder what it was he did that Dumbledore would call him here in the first place. He knew it was something serious, for Dumbledore had not greeted him with his usual smile but with a look that could only be construed as disappointment. He tried to wrack his brain for what he could have done to cause such disappointment, but didn't get that far. Dumbledore had returned only a few moments later and Remus felt a distinct uneasiness settle itself in his stomach.
"Remus, how are lessons with Miss Granger going?"
He couldn't know, could he?
"Wonderful, Headmaster. She has been greatly improving. I was a little worried at the beginning of term, but she's brought her grades up, so I have no doubt she will receive high marks on her N.E.W.T."
"Good, good. That is good to hear." He was staring out the window, back to Lupin. "And how is Miss Granger, otherwise?"
"Well, I guess. I really wouldn't know." He felt his voice wavering.
He knew! By Merlin! Dumbledore knew!
"I think you know a great deal, Remus." Dumbledore let this statement sink in before continuing. "I received some information concerning you and Miss Granger and your . . . affairs." He let out a deep sigh and turned to face Lupin.
"Remus, what were you thinking? This is a very precarious situation you've put yourself in." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before looking wearily back at Lupin. "While I can understand your attraction to Miss Granger, after all two intelligent people are bound to be drawn together, I cannot condone it at this time. You are her teacher, Remus, and it is most inappropriate. If any of the parents find out about this, I would be bombarded with owls from concerned parents petitioning for your removal from Hogwarts. I do not want to be put in that position as I'm sure you do not."
Remus was taken aback by Dumbledore's bluntness.
"No, headmaster, I do not."
The two sat quietly for a few moments before the normal twinkle returned to the Headmaster's eyes.
"The end of term is less than a fortnight away, Remus. Many of my favorite students will be gone at the end of this term and heading out in the world. They will be adults soon. They will be free to do as they wish, love as they wish. It is quite exciting, is it not?"
"Very." Remus smiled to himself. He understood completely what Dumbledore was saying.
"Now, I think I shall retire." The two men got up from their chairs.
"Goodnight, headmaster."
"Goodnight, Remus."
Remus waited until he had reached the bottom of the stairs before allowing himself to slouch against the wall. His mind was running on over drive. Someone had caught the two of them and went straight to the Headmaster hoping they would get in trouble. Dumbledore, instead, gave them a warning.
A couple weeks wasn't that bad. He would tell Hermione and the two of them would just have to restrain themselves until the end of term. It gave him a chance to think about what he was doing, whether this was just some infatuation or . . . or what? Love? He didn't know. But if he still had these feelings for her at the end of term, he would know that it really was something and pursue it from there. It was the only option he had.