DISCLAIMER:

I do not own these characters. They are all owned by J. K. Rowling, the only creative control I have is the plot.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter contains mild adult content, pertaining sexual content. Please read with caution. Again, it is mild, but the warning is still needed.

Under the Moonlight

Two-Shot

Remus's POV

"Hey, hey Remus!" comes Harry's voice as he jogs up to me, placing his hand along my shoulder as I reach the threshold to outside. "Do you have a minute?"

"Harry," I smile as I turn to face him. "Of course, I am so happy for you and Ginny. Congratulations. I am terribly sorry for causing a scene like that, I just couldn't bear to see Hermione hurt any longer."

"Oh, no worries," he tells me as he pulls his hand away, a smile on his face. "I actually wanted to thank you. For as long as that has been going on, it serves the two of them right to be outted like that publicly. I don't care for the fact Ginny and I are married to be Ron's brother; Hermione is my sister, she always has been and always will be. I love her, and it hurt me to stand by and watch Ron treat her like that. And besides, as weird as it sounds, I always could see the two of you making it better than Ron and her ever could. Don't get me wrong, I didn't imagine the two of you together when you were teaching at Hogwarts, we were just kids then, but now, well we're all adults. It's just the two of you actually have quite a lot in common, but not too much to ever make it a problem.

"I've seen the way you look at her, in fact, I do believe Hermione is the only one who hasn't noticed it. We all have, and we've all been wondering when Hermione was going to put her foot down and leave Ron and go to you… But, I know Hermione, she seems self-assured and confident, when, really that's just a front for how little self-esteem she really has. I think you just going up to her and telling her how you feel would make her feel incredible. Plus, she always has had a crush on you."

I look out the open doors, and find her leaning against an oak tree, her hair gently swaying in the breeze. "Really?" I ask, looking back at him. "She has?"

"Yeah, well, not that she's ever said it in so many words. But, in school, even after you were gone, she'd always talk about how much she missed you teaching there, how you were the only one she could ever talk to, about anything. How you'd always be patient and explain things, how you'd treat her like an equal. Plus, she did mention on many occasions how handsome you were; how you really weren't that much older than us. How unfair it was you had to leave just because of being a werewolf. I mean, you're the only teacher she's ever invested enough time in to find more about. I know, it was sort of weird back then, but really, she cares very deeply for you, Remus. She always has," he explains, taking a sip of his red wine. "And I know you'll be good for her."

You'll be good for her. Not 'you'd' be good for her… You'll.

"Harry," I breathe, chuckling. "I care very deeply for her. You can't know how much all of what you said means to me," I can't stop smiling.

"You love her," he said matter-of-factly. "She is pretty amazing. And any man would be lucky to have her. Ron is my best friend, well, kind of, not so sure after what he's done… But, he never deserved her. He was never good to her. Always using her and acting like her superior. Honestly, I have no idea why she ever liked him as more than a friend, but, we can't change the past, so… to a new start and beautiful future," he says, holding up his glass before taking another drink. "I have already talked your ear off and you're probably about ready to rip my head off, which would probably displease the Mrs.," he chuckles.

"No," I smile, shaking my head. "Not at all, Harry. I needed to hear all of that. But, if you will excuse me, I need to go and-"

"Get the woman you love," he finishes for me. "I will send your congratulations to Ginny," he tells me with a smile before backing away.

I want to tell him thank you, to pull him in for a hug, but as I turn my gaze back out the doors, to Hermione, I know the only place I want to be right now is in her arms. I smile a silent thank you, and a nod, and he raises his glass once more and takes a drink.

A warm breeze surrounds me as I make my way across the grass towards her.

I take a moment to just appreciate her beauty, standing still with my hands hung at my sides, before walking up to her. Her back facing me, skin is luminescent in the moon light, glowing silver blue, almost sparkling. She runs her hand slowly along her upper arm and tilts her head to rest against the side of the tree. Her shoulders rise slowly as she takes a deep breath, and pulls her head away from the tree, looking up at the half moon hanging high in the clear sky.

Such beauty, I think, such magnificence. How deeply I love her…

Running my tongue across my lips, I take in a deep breath and stride over to her. "Hermione," I say softly, looking down at her. She turns as the sound of my voice, and looks up at me, keeping her hand on the side of the tree.

She smiles as she lets her hand fall from the tree. "I don't know what to say," she says. "For what you did for me in there, to Ron and Lavender," her voice is weak as she pulls at a loose strand of hair that has fallen to her shoulder. "I can't thank you," she says, "enough. I was so stupid to ever think he would come back to me."

"No, Hermione, you had hope," I tell her as I take a step closer towards her, placing the back of my fingers softly against her cheek. "You have hope, no matter how dire a situation is. It is only one of many reasons about you that made me fall so madly in love with you," I tell her, brushing my fingers over her skin.

"You," she breathes. "You love me?"

"With my whole heart," I tell her. "I tried to fight it, but every time I thought I was close to loosing my feelings for you, there you were again," I smile, opening my palm against her face and running my thumb across her mascara-stained cheek. "To remind me of all the reasons I could never stop loving; of all the reasons I did love you."

"How," she asks, closing her eyes, and opening them back up to look at me. "How long?"

"Since the moment I saw you at Harry's Uncle's house, the night all of you had to take Polyjuice potion to become Harry. I had seen you a hundred times before then, but when I saw you that night… it was like I was seeing you for the first time. And I loved you," a slow song sounded from in the building, drifting out the doors. Hermione looks past me into the building, a gentle smile on her lips as I pull my hand from her face.

"I love this song," she says, looking up at me again.

"Hermione?" I ask, looking down into her beautiful eyes.

"Yes," she asks. "Remus…"

"Will you dance with me?" she smiles brightly, gentle pink lighting her cheeks. She nods her head as I take her hand into mine, and our fingers curl together. Moving to the other side of the oak, blocking our view from the inside, I pull her against me, wrapping my hands around her waist as she runs her hands up and folds her arms around my neck. She looks up at me, the moonlight casting a silver halo around her head. "You look absolutely beautiful tonight," I tell her. "I simply can not put into words how gorgeous. When I saw you tonight… I couldn't breathe," we are swaying back and forth, our eyes locked on each other.

She leans her head and rests it with her ear pressed against me on my chest, and I pull her closer. "Remus," she says softly, running the tips of her fingers into my hair.

"Yes, Hermione?" I ask as she pulls her head from my chest, and looks into my eyes. She breathes heavily, her shoulders rising and falling with each breath. She pulls her eyes from my mine and looks to my lips, and back to my eyes.

"I love you," she tells me. "I… I have since that night at Harry's, too. I just… everyone has always expected Ron and I to end up together, I felt like… I felt like not matter what happened, no matter what I felt for anyone else, it was always my duty, my responsibility, to love Ron. Because if I didn't… Because if I didn't people would be disappointed in me, that they would be mad at me, and I didn't want that. I didn't want to upset anybody. I wanted everyone to be happy, no matter what it would cost me."

"Hermione," I whisper, looking down at her. I pull my right hand from her waist and bring it up and rest it at the crook of her neck. "You deserve happiness, Hermione," I tell her. She bites her bottom lip, a single tear falling from her eye, painting a new black stain across her skin. "Ron never deserved you, never. You are too good for him, too amazing and incredible. You are wonderful, and he will never be more than a child, a immature, selfish, heartless child," she closes her eyes, a new batch of silent tears falling as her eyelids meet.

"I wanted you," she tells me, keeping her eyes closed. "I wanted to be with you, but I… I knew you'd never see me as more than a child, no better than Ron or Harry or anybody else you taught while at Hogwarts. I knew there was no way I could ever possibly have you, so I went with the person everybody would want me to," she confesses, opening her eyes to look up at me. My eyebrows are pulled together as I look down at her, watching her as she begins to shake in my arms. "And then Ron started fooling around with Lavender, he brushed me aside as if I were nothing, but I stayed… I stayed because I knew… Because I knew nobody would ever want me, even if he didn't anymore. I stayed because… I stayed because I thought that, I hoped, he would come back to me… Instead, he pretended that nothing was wrong, while staying with me and keeping her at the same time."

We are no longer dancing, but standing still in each other's arms. "Hermione," I tell her, brushing my hand over her hair. "I would have been with you in a heartbeat. I would have taken you into my arms, kissed you, and never let you go," I say, cupping the back of her head in my hand and leaning my lips down to hers. I kiss her softly, brushing my lips against hers. She inhales a sharp breath of air, gripping onto my shirt collar with her hand and pulling at my hair with the other. I lean down and kiss her again, walking he until her back is pressed up against the base of the tree. "I would have told you I loved you," I tell her, kissing her again. She moans softly as I run my tongue along her bottom lip, and she bites softly on mine. She opens her mouth for me, and our tongues meet as they dance into each other's mouth. She moans again, running her hand up so they are both tangled in my hair. "I love you," I tell her, my fingers becoming lost in her hair as our kiss deepens once more, with my other wrapped securely around her waist. "God," I tell her, pulling my lips from hers to kiss along her neck. "How deeply I love you, Hermione," I whisper before bringing my lips back to hers.

I am lost in her, my body a livewire, shooting with electricity. I feel all of me, every inch that is pressed against her or touching her. Colors and stars fly beneath my eyelids; I can't feel the ground; I can't feel anything but her. No wind, no sound, no smell… nothing but her. Nothing but her and her lips against mine, her body in my arms and her hands in my hair, her breath as it mixes with mine. I have never felt so alive, so warm and so airless as I do now. The sound of her moans and breaths enfolds me in a gentle blanket as our kiss deepens further.

"Remus," she breathes as our lips break for a brief moment. "I love you, oh, oh I love you Remus, you," she tells me as we kiss again, "Always you, Remus… no one else," our lips meet again, our mouths opening in synch and our tongues dancing together rhythmically. My hand pulls away from her hair and moves to her other side, where I run my hands up and down the length of her.

Completely lost in her, I push the front of her dress up and free myself from my slacks. She wraps her legs around my hips and hugs her arms around my shoulders as I slide into her, a gasp leaving her as we become one. She moans as I slowly move myself against her.

We climax together, pressing our foreheads together and holding onto each other desperately. I lean my lips forward and kiss her, a happy smile on her lips as her eyes meet mine, completely full of love and adoration.

Straightening out our clothes, I take her hand into mine as sit at the base of the oak with my back pressed against the trunk. I open my legs and she sits between them with her back snuggled against my stomach. I wrap my arms around her and hold her against me; her hands hugging mine with her head tucked between my head and shoulder.

She falls asleep there. And with the love of my life in my arms - my one true love and the woman who I will spend the rest of my life with, I watch the sun rise.

The end

Author's Note: Special thanks to the song 'Turning Page' by Sleeping At Last for the second half of this chapter. Couldn't have done it without the inspiration it granted me. Thank you, Sleeping At Last.