Title: Patience
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Remus/Hermione
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 624
Summary: Hermione didn't know how much longer she could be patient.
Notes:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Major & Minor Arcana - Write about a character needing to be patient.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Ignatia Wildsmith – Silver – Use the Floo Network in your story

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: November Event - Easy - 10. Remus Lupin

The Ultimate Hermione Competition Write a fic featuring your Hermione/OTP pairing. (Don't have an OTP, so I used one of my many favorites)

Hermione stepped out of the fireplace and brushes off the remnants of Floo powder from her dress. Smiling, she greeted a young Teddy who was on the floor. "Where's your daddy?" she cooed.

Remus walked out of the little kitchen. "Getting lunch ready. How was your morning?"

She shrugged. "Okay. Ron invited me to lunch with Lavender." She grimaced at the mere thought.

"He's still trying to get you jealous?"

Hermione nodded and rolled her eyes. "He just doesn't understand why I broke up with him. He doesn't seem to understand that I find him too childish when it comes to being in a relationship. And the way he's trying to use Lavender simply proves my point. I wonder if she even realizes what's going on."

"I remember Lavender when I taught Defense. She might act like it, but I don't think she's stupid. I'm sure she knows where she stands with Ron."

"I don't want to talk about him anymore."

"Then grab Teddy. Lunch is ready."

Hermione lifted Teddy off the floor and laughed when he gave her a loud, wet kiss on her cheek. She handed him over to Remus, and they sat down to a simple meal of meat stew.

Hermione laughed at all of Remus's jokes, even the unfunny ones. She helped Teddy with his food and blushed when Remus passed a glass to her and their fingers brushed.

All in all, it was a nice lunch. When Remus left with Teddy to put him down for a nap, she cleaned up the table and kitchen. She knew she could use magic, but she still enjoyed doing things the Muggle way. It gave her time to think.

These lunches had been going on for almost six months. They came together for a midday meal two or three times a week and Hermione could honestly say it was the best part of her day.

She knew she had feelings for him. How could she not? Remus was kind and gentle. He was intelligent and brave. He valued her input and respected her in a way no other boy ever had in the past. When she was with him, she felt as if everything was okay. And she loved spending time with him and Teddy.

Hermione knew she wanted to be with him, but she was patiently waiting for Remus to make the first move. She thought he was interested in her, but she wasn't positive about it. She felt as if she was giving all of the right signals, but still, nothing was happening between them.

She was also worried that maybe Remus wasn't ready to move on from Tonks and didn't want to overstep her bounds. If she was honest about her feelings, and he either wasn't interested or wasn't ready, then she feared she'd lose one of her best friends. She wasn't sure if it was worth taking the risk.

Remus walked into the kitchen just as Hermione finished at the sink. He placed a hand on top of her arm, and she spun looked into his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Hermione smiled as her heart raced. "Just thinking."

"About?"

She gulped, deciding to try and hope that he understood. "About how long I should be patient."

He chuckled, causing her to shiver. "You have marvelous patience. Most girls would have given up by now."

"I'm not most girls," she whispered. She had a hard time breathing as he moved even closer to her.

"I know. If you were, I wouldn't like you so much."

She blushed. "You like me?"

"Of course."

And as he leaned down and kissed her, a gentle caress and nothing more, Hermione thanked Merlin she was so patient. It was definitely worth the wait.