Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of these lovely characters.
The kitchen table at 12 Grimmauld place was packed with a drunken, motley group. Harry and Ron were there drinking and laughing along with Neville, Dean, Seamus and Remus. Luna, Ginny and Hermione were absent, having opted for a girls' night out while the men sat playing 'truth or dare', because there honestly wasn't much else to do on this hot summer night.
"Alright, alright, shut up you lot, it's Ron's turn next!" called a drunk Harry, who just admitted to snogging Luna in the Ravenclaw common room in his fifth year.
"Was she any good?", asked a curious Dean.
Sheepishly, Harry admitted that she was indeed, quite good. "Sorry, Neville," he said.
"Ah, it's alright, Harry. We weren't together then," said Neville, agreeable as usual.
"Um, okay, Ron, truth or dare?", asked Harry.
Ron smiled, his eyes half closed, weighing his options carefully. Having just witnessed Dean being dared to Floo to Hogwarts and moon Madam Hooch, Ron thought a dare seemed unwise.
"Yeah, I don't trust you lot for a dare, I'll take truth," Ron requested.
"Hmm, alright who's your worst snog?" asked Harry.
Ron scrunched his face for a moment before answering and brought forth every kiss he ever had, for in truth there had been many.
After several beats, he finally decided and called out his answer.
"Hermione. Definitely the worst snog ever! Like kissing a dead fish," he said to uproarious laughter with Dean spitting his beer clear across the table.
Harry, Neville and Seamus all laughed heartily but the smile on Remus' face suddenly faded and he quieted, his arms crossed at his chest, his eyes flashing annoyance.
As the laughter died down, Remus said, "That's a bit harsh, Ron, don't you think?"
"Nah, mate, it's just true. She ain't been around much, doesn't know how to handle a real man like me," said a smug Ron.
"Maybe you just didn't know what the hell you were doing," countered a throughly annoyed Remus.
"Oooohhhhh," called all the boys around the table as Ron merely scowled back, sulking at the teasing tones from his friends.
Remus smirked at the sight of the pouting grown man. He hated to admit it but he actually enjoyed knocking the young, cocky auror down a peg. Ever since the war ended, Ron seemed to have developed an ego the size of England. Remus also knew that Ron and Hermione had never really gotten their relationship off of the ground but that was no need to be cruel about the girl. Some relationships failed, that was just life, as Remus himself knew all too well. The least Ron could do was be a gentleman about it.
As the boys all downed another shot of fire whiskey, the werewolf politely declined and caught an unmistakable scent in the air, like parchment, chocolate and cinnamon. It was Hermione's scent, he'd know it anywhere.
He stood from the table and as he left the kitchen, he found Hermione in the hallway, quietly crying, hugging herself as the boys countinued their laugher, unaware that she had just heard everything.
Seeing her, Remus shut the kitchen door and immediately went to her.
"Hermione, you're home, how long have you been standing here?" he carefully asked. He dearly hoped that she hadn't heard Ron's rude remarks.
"Long enough. Luna and Ginny wanted to hit up another club but I, uh, didn't feeling like staying out anymore, so I popped home early and...heard your game," she said, swallowing hard.
"Like kissing a dead fish, eh? Quite the generous description coming from him," she said, her eyes wet and face flushed with embarrassment.
She looked crushed at the harsh words and Remus felt terrible that he had participated in such a stupid game.
"Oh, love, he didn't mean it. We'd all been drinking and they've been a bit crude. Don't listen to him. They're just being stupid boys," he said, tenderly rubbing her arms to warm them and wiping her tears away.
She looked away, for she couldn't look him in his eyes and bear his pity. She straightened up and shook loose from his comforting touch.
"Really, Remus, it's fine. Ron and I...we never clicked. Something was just...missing, I'm not surprised he didn't enjoy our kiss. Frankly, I didn't either," she said with a smirk, trying to pull herself together.
Remus smiled at her, and pulled a soft, worn handerkerchief from his pocket and offered it to the beautiful young woman. She smiled up at him and his insides melted into a puddle at the sweetness she bestowed upon him.
How anyone could not be entranced by her was beyond him. She had always been cute and sweet but the last few years she had grown and now was truly breathtaking. Even standing before him, ravaged by crying, her face was still lovely, her eyes radiating kindness and intelligence. He realized he had been staring at her as his heart began beating out a fast rhythm. He blushed and looked away, shoving his hands deep in his pockets to stop himself from taking her small hand in his.
"Well, you know...not that I've had this wealth of experience to call upon, but I think when you're with the right one, everything feels right and you'll just know," he said smiling at her.
She returned his smile and said, "I don't know, Remus. Maybe I'm just...maybe something's wrong with me. Ron's right, I haven't had much experience. I don't think I'm that alluring to boys. Maybe I am just a cold fish," she said with an air of resignation as she turned to head back up the stairs to her lonely bedroom.
He caught her hand just as she was turning and pulled her to a stop as she looked up into his gorgeous, grey eyes. Her heart caught in her throat at the intensity with which he was looking at her, so raw and open, a look she had never seen before.
"Ron Weasley is the biggest prat I've ever known for spouting such utter nonsense," Remus said as he held her hand tenderly, his body tingling with the closeness they were sharing.
"Hermione, there is nothing wrong with you. Not a single thing. You think men don't look at you? Believe me, they do. You turn every head in the room. You're incredibly beautiful, passionate, smart, accomplished and sexy," he said, his voice low and seductive, his eyes momentarily dropping to her perfect, soft lips.
"Any man, would be damn lucky to have you. So don't listen to his rubbish," he finished, unsure of what bravery had caused him to divulge so much.
"You...you think I'm sexy?" she asked quietly, looking at the blush that had taken up residence on his face, wondering just how crazy this moment felt. The entire world suddenly felt different, Remus said she was beautiful and sexy. The boys were still drinking and laughing, the earth was still spinning, time was still ticking but Hermione's whole world had suddenly and inexorably changed.
He swallowed thickly and kept her gaze. Everything he felt for the lovely woman before him was bubbling up to the surface and he couldn't seem to stop himself from laying it all out.
He slowly nodded. "You are sexy," he said, his eyes boring into hers with fire behind them.
"You're the most stunning woman I've ever seen," he said, his face a mere inch from hers, her sweet breath gracing his cheek.
She smiled up at him, blushing, her voice quavering as her heart pounded out of her chest. "I think you're quite sexy, too, Remus."
He felt stunned and emboldened by her declaration and carefully leaned forward to touch her lips ever so softly with his own. Even though it was tentative and light, the pair felt passion and joy at the contact.
He pulled back, unsure of what he had just done and whether or not he had stepped across a line. He backed away, dropping his hands to his sides as shame coursed through him.
"I'm so sorry, Hermione," he said, looking anguished. "I shouldn't have done that. I...I was," but she cut off his apology as she stepped forward and pulled him in for a passionate kiss, her lips feeling like heaven as she pulled him close and reveled in his scent, his body, his lips. She moved against him like the tide washing against the shore, natural and beautiful. Her eager hands, grasping at him, her intoxicating lips like a new found drug, he let himself give over to the overwhelming sensation of passion, deep and aching, a feeling he had too often ignored. He pulled her in, his hands burying deep into her silky curls and finally, he tasted her, really felt her. She was finally his and it felt incredible. Every one of his fantasies of the young witch paled against this very moment.
The pair were too lost in each other to hear the kitchen door swing open to reveal five young, drunk men stare at them with eyes popped wide with surprise.
Harry leaned against the door frame and grinned drunkenly at the sight and said, "Well, Ron, looks like she isn't such a cold fish after all, eh, mate?"
Ron reddened and bristled at the comment and said, "Let's get outta here and leave these two."
The five boys gingerly walked by the lovebirds, being careful not to disturb them but throwing discrete glances at them as they headed for the library fireplace to Floo to the Three Broomsticks.
"They're really going at it. I had no idea Remus had it in him," said a truly shocked Dean.
"He's a goddamn werewolf, Dean! You really think he didn't have it in him?!" asked Seamus. "I bet he's a tiger in the sack," Seamus said deadpan as he stepped into the fireplace flames and disappeared.
The boys chuckled at the comment, except for Ron, who felt well and truly emasculated. The first girl he laid eyes on at the Three Broomsticks would get the snogging of a lifetime, of this Ron was sure.
As Ron, Dean and Neville departed, Harry hung back just a moment and ducked his head back into the hallway, the pair still happily lost at sea.
"Um,...were just gonna pop out for the evening. So you two got the place to yourselves then," said Harry, a bit loudly but to no avail.
The two merely continued their languid kissing, the rest of the world abandoned for their own embrace.
"Alright then," said a smirking Harry. "Have a good one," he called and off he floo'd, feeling happy that Hermione finally had the man she had been quietly longing for.
Remus finally pulled away, his lips swollen from their frenzied kissing and asked, "Did you hear something?"
"Not a damn thing," Hermione said, smiling and pulling him in once more.