Chapter 6: what a morning!

A/N: I fail at life. That is all.

Disclaimer: My car died, loans didn't come through for me to continue college, and I'm living with my grandparents. I think it can safely be assumed that I'm not under any impression that I'll be gaining anything from this besides my loyal readers happy that I'm continuing after such a ridiculously long break. And people who didn't remember that they were my loyal readers going through the story again to remember it and then saying "Hey, what the heck took this chick so long to write such a short chapter?" Life happened. I'm sorry. I try not to let it influence me that much, but it has a way of just sweeping me along for the ride without thought to what I'm supposed to be writing. Hopefully you enjoy the update though.

Dedication: I would very much like to dedicate this chapter to Selemi… the only person so far to review my newest one-shot. Getting that made me smile. =)

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After Harry pushed his way into Remus' house, he turned and looked at the man.

"What are your intentions toward my best friend?" he asked seriously, with all the authority of an older brother, best friend, and someone with the power to do damage if the answer was not satisfactory.

Slightly annoyed at the delay, Remus realized that Harry had nothing but her best interest in mind and that if he could answer well enough to satisfy the Minister of Magic, he and Hermione would have fewer issues with the general public. He also vaguely noted that if both Harry and Arthur were on his side, Molly was much more likely to be pacified at the unconventional pairing and would not make such a fuss at dinner Friday night.

"I intend to bring Hermione some books for her research at lunch today. I intend to take her out to dinner tonight. I intend to take up as much of her time as she will possibly allow, getting further acquainted with her mind and heart. I intend to help her realize how completely gorgeous she is, how utterly sexy I find her when she's curled up on my couch reading, unable to tear herself away from some thought or story. I intend to help her remember the war and prepare her speech- she's rather nervous about that, by the way. It would have been nice if you'd asked before you made your little announcement." he told the man in front of him before picking up his train of thought again. "I intend to help her become more comfortable working in a kitchen as she's not certain of her culinary skills. I want to pick her brain on anything and everything she finds interesting. I want to share my life and experiences with her and have her want to do the same with me. And I fully intend on taking her to the ministry ball in a few months."

"You're in love with her." Harry realized.

Remus made a small sound of agreement with Harry's assessment.

"She doesn't think you're all that serious. She's worried she's forcing you into something you don't really want, that you're trying not to hurt her and are just being a good friend, willing to see what might happen when a well-known witch who happens to be a friend throws herself at you."

"She said that?" Remus asked, surprised, as he had thought that he had been rather forthcoming with why he wanted to be with her.

"She didn't have to. We've been friends a long time. I can read into the subtext of what she's saying."

"Hm. I'll have to work on changing her thoughts then. I thought last night I'd made my intentions rather clear." Remus was remembering back to the previous night, their dinner, conversation, and the time they spent at his house afterward, looking through his books and talking about whatever came to mind.

Harry appeared rather hesitant to voice his next thought but awkwardly cleared his throat anyway. "Did you kiss her?"

Remus' eyes widened fractionally. "I don't see how that has any relevance-"

"Of course it does! I realize it's… odd to be talking to me about her like this, but she's my best friend. If you didn't kiss her, I'm sure she saw it as proof that you're not interested or attracted to her or something ridiculously girly like that."

"I… I was trying to show her I respected her and didn't want to force anything physical too soon." Remus said, thinking that Harry was right- it was awkward talking to his deceased friend's son about his best friend, whom Remus was seeing with a romantic interest.

"Right. Well, let her know… what she wants to know." He cleared his throat again, moving on to a new topic.

"Erm… Ginny's sort of peeved at me at the moment. I'm making her dinner tonight and Hermione said she'd get some chocolate for me- well, for her- but I was wondering… Can you teach me about chocolate? Hermione said she would but she tends to make me feel like this is something I should already know even though I never had anyone to teach me about this sort of thing before so I was thinking-" Remus cut him off before he could ramble any more.

"Of course I will, Harry. I should have thought of that before. I knew you didn't have James around to do that sort of thing with you but I guess I thought one of the Weasley's would teach you how to do that sort of thing."

"I think they might have," Harry admitted, "if not for the fact that it's been Ginny since I was sixteen. They're all rather protective of her, and I don't think they wanted to do anything that might promote undue closeness too early in our relationship." He said this with a slight grin, knowing Remus knew what he was referring to, and that he was the closest thing to a father figure Harry had when he and Ginny had first been 'unduly close' and that Remus had been his confidant.

"Ah. Yes. On that subject… when are you two going to take things to the next step? I don't think she'll be happy only being your girlfriend for the rest of her life when that's been her role for the last seven years, and I know Molly won't be happy about it."

Harry got a look on his face somewhere between a sheepish smile and a sappy grin. "Actually, we got engaged Monday night. That's kind of why she's mad at me." At Remus' raised eyebrows, he hurried to explain himself. "I was talking to Hermione and realized there really wasn't anything to wait for to ask her, so I did and she said yes and then we got talking and got into this big fight about whether we wanted a big or a small wedding and there was yelling and- ugh. It wasn't what I thought it would be like." He admitted.

"Huh. Well that's not ideal. You just need to let her know that you're open to hear what she has to say if she'll listen to your reasons too. Good relationships are full of give and take. You just need to work out what will work for you two. I'm sure you'll be able to find a happy compromise between letting Molly control things and having your friends and family there with you as you celebrate your love." He interpreted the look on Harry's face. "Don't look so surprised. Anyone who's close to you would be able to tell what your concerns would be with this. Now, if you don't mind, I do have things to do before going to see Hermione in a bit, and you should probably be getting to work soon. It's nearly nine- thirty."

"Ah, shit! Thanks for the talk Remus! I'll see you on Friday- please don't say anything to Molly or Arthur until Ginny and I resolve this." He said, rushing out the door.

"Of course." Remus agreed, before realizing he was talking to thin air as Harry had already disapparated.

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As Remus entered the annex to St. Mungo's, he felt more eyes upon him than he had when he had been there just the night before when he had come to pick Hermione up after work. Stay calm, cool, and collected. They don't actually know anything, and it's none of their business anyway. He strode up to the desk in the lobby and told the woman there that he had a lunch appointment with Hermione Granger and wondered if he could make his way up or if she was busy at the moment.

"Hold on one moment and I'll check for you." She said with an eye appraising him as she pushed a button that allowed her contact with Hermione's office.

"Miss Granger, a man is here who says he has a lunch appointment with you. Shall I send him up?" The response was evidently filtered directly into the piece in her ear because Remus couldn't hear anything, but the woman smiled at him. "She says she's more than ready for you." The woman managed to keep most of the innuendo out of her voice, but couldn't help the smirk at his facial response to her phrasing. "Head on up." She said with a smile, gesturing to the staircase to the left. "She's on the second floor and her office is third on the right."

Remus nodded his thanks and made his way up the stairs, maneuvering the box in his arms so he could keep a hand on the rail so as not to lose balance. He heard the witch at the desk laughing quietly to herself at his eagerness. Ah well. She has to get her jollies in somewhere. It might as well be at making slightly off-color remarks to eager wizards. He realized that he really did fit into the 'eager wizard' category, especially after his earlier conversation with Harry, making him want to show Hermione that he truly wanted the blooming relationship between them.

He knocked on her partially open door and opened it the rest of the way to reveal Hermione deep in discussion with none other than the Hogwarts nurse.

"Poppy! I wasn't aware you were here. How are you?" he asked, slightly perturbed that he couldn't be as affectionate with Hermione in the presence of the matron, but showing only his pleasure at seeing the woman who had cared so well for him in his younger years.

"Remus, hello. I came to talk to Hermione about a project she'd told me she was working on. We were just debating the effective use of muggle therapy on some patients." she informed him.

"She's helping me with the Cruciatus project." Hermione clarified for him, while letting the matron know that while the project itself was being well-protected, she had no qualms about letting Remus in on her work and getting his thoughts.

"Ah, I see. Are you coming up with anything that seems like a workable solution?" he asked while shifting the box he was holding as it was getting somewhat awkward.

"Not yet. I'm sure we will, though." Madam Pomfrey said, standing up. "Now, I believe I heard that you two have a lunch appointment and I would hate to ruin that." She said, eyes sparkling as she gathered her cloak and made her way to the door. "Owl me later, Hermione, when you have time to continue our discussion. Remus, it was nice to see you again."

"It certainly was," he said, bending to kiss the older woman's cheek as she made her way out, "it would be nice to catch up with you soon."

"Of course, dear." She said, walking out of the room, leaving Remus and Hermione alone, looking at each other.

Remus stepped further into the office, shutting the door behind him. Taking a few more steps, he walked up to the side of her desk and placed his box on it, thankful she was such an organized person and didn't have a messy desk.

For her part, Hermione stood and moved to hug him after he'd relieved himself of his burden. "It is so good to see you," she said, burying her head in his chest as she was enveloped in his arms. "You would not believe the morning I had." She marveled at the feeling of his chest rumbling in laughter beneath her cheek. Somehow it felt different than it had before they had agreed to begin dating for real.

"I'm sorry to hear about your rough morning. I hope it's gotten somewhat better." He said softly, looking down at the witch in his arms, unwilling to let her out of the embrace, even as it progressed past when they would separate from a normal hug.

She smiled up at him and quietly said, "It's getting there."

Powerless to stop himself, he bent his head and brushed his lips across hers before pulling back.

"Definitely better." She amended, smiling up at him. His soppy grin told her that he'd done that because he wanted to, not because he thought it was expected or thought it was what she was looking for.

Letting go of his hold on her, Remus backed up and gestured to the box he had dumped on her desk. "For you, madam." He said, willing her to open it and hoping she'd be happy at the surprises he put inside.

"Oooh!" she squealed, remembering the books he was going to bring over and eagerly opened it… only to find several smaller nondescript boxes inside. She looked curiously up at him before he nodded at her to continue opening. The first box she opened had several books inside, shrunk to fit in the small space. She enlarged them and put them aside while thanking him for bringing the books she'd asked for to her, along with a few she hadn't thought of but realized might be helpful as well. The second box she opened had a box of chocolates in it. She looked up at him, surprised at the quality.

"Harry came to see me earlier." he explained. "He said you were going to pick some up for him, but I thought that since I had some extra time, I could do it for you. I thought that while I was at it, you might appreciate some as well." He said smiling. "I dropped Ginny's off at Harry's office before I came here.

Hermione beamed in response at him and before he knew what was happening, she was wrapped in his arms once again.

"Thank you so, so much! I didn't know how I was going to find the time to do that for him without skipping out on you, which I didn't want to do but I also wanted to help he and Ginny patch things up-"She abruptly stopped talking as Remus lips descended on hers for a second time that day.

"You were rambling." he explained quietly as he pulled back shortly. "And you're welcome. It was my pleasure to be a help to a beautiful witch."

She pulled his head down to meet hers again, in awe both at his thoughtfulness and that he seemed to want to keep kissing her, even though she was just Hermione.

They pulled apart after a few moments, smiling at each other, until Remus cleared his throat. "So since you no longer have to go out running around for Harry, I thought I'd bring you something else." He said, reminding her of the third box he'd brought with him.

She turned to open it, staying as close to him as she could while doing so.

"You brought me Chinese food for lunch." She said, turning again to face him.

"Well, I kind of brought it for me, too." he reminded her with a smile. "This was a lunch meeting after all."

"You are the absolute best." She said, swiftly kissing his cheek before clearing space for the cartons of food to be spread out on her desk. She found 2 plates at the bottom of the box, along with 2 sets of chopsticks and plastic-ware, which she happily placed at the edge of the desk in front of the two chairs opposite where she sat to work.

"I wasn't sure if you were proficient with chop sticks," Remus said, "and I sometimes have problems picking rice up with them." he admitted a little sheepishly.

Hermione laughed but was quick to admit that she used to have a lot of problems with them.

"It wasn't until I started knitting that I figured out how I was supposed to be holding them." She said, remembering the problems she used to have. "Harry still can only manage to use them if he spears whatever he's eating with the end of them. And Ron completely ignores them, says they don't get enough food to his mouth at once." She said, laughing at her two best friends.

"Yeah, that sounds like them all right." Remus agreed, moving one of the chairs to the side and transfiguring the other into a comfortable bench for them to sit on next to each other. "So I guess it's a good thing I'm semi-proficient with them then, so you can enjoy your food without worrying about my table manners." Remus said, sitting down with a grin.

They served up the food and began eating in peace, each lost in their own thoughts.

"So," Remus said, breaking the silence, "we made the newspaper." He was not expecting the groan of frustration that accompanied his statement.

"Yes, and it's apparently all anyone can talk about." Hermione said, setting her chop sticks aside. "Doesn't anyone have anything better to do than talk about my love life?"

"I don't." Remus answered succinctly. "In fact, I'd rather like to know more. Tell me what you see in this guy to make him worth your time."

Putting aside her frustration with the wizarding world's need for gossip, Hermione smiled at him. "Only if you can tell me what an intelligent, considerate, affectionate man who's one hell of a kisser is doing with someone who's not much more than a walking brain."

"Hermione, you are much more than a walking brain. You're intelligent, yes, but you're beautiful and caring and a wonderful friend. There's so much more to you than what is in your massive brain under that rather sexy head of hair you have." Hermione blushed at the unexpected and rather unbelievable compliment on her mane. "Though I do have to confess," Remus admitted, "that I am rather attracted to your mind as well as simply finding you the absolute sexiest thing I've ever seen." He punctuated this statement by leaning over and kissing her thoroughly, encouraged at her enthusiastic response.

So wrapped up in the feel of each other's tongues on their own that neither noticed when the door opened, though they broke apart when it bounced against the wall. The man who had barged in was frozen in shock at the sight he had just been witness to. Remus schooled his face into passive annoyance at the intrusion as he untangled his fingers from Hermione's thoroughly mussed (and utterly sexy) hair. Hermione made no move to hide her frustration as she asked in a dangerously quiet voice what he thought he was doing interrupting her lunch break.

"Paper-you-him-" the man stammered, trying to get his wits back. "I can't believe-"

"I can't believe the gall you have!" Hermione nearly bellowed, "You have no right to barge into my office intent on asking about my personal life. You gave that up when you fucked my cousin at the party celebrating my promotion to this job!"

"But- I said I was sorry. I thought you just needed time to get over that. We're good together, Hermione." the redhead nearly begged her to deny the paper and what his own eyes had seen.

"We obviously weren't or you wouldn't have betrayed me like you did." She stated coolly, ignoring the scarlet flush that swept across his face and neck. "And while I can be your friend now, there is no way in hell I would ever consider dating you again. As I believe I've just said, you have no right to interrogate me on my love life."

"L-lo-love?" he asked, nearly choking on the word.

"Perhaps not." Hermione said, frowning before glancing back at Remus, who was looking intently at Hermione, watching her every facial movement and cataloguing her reactions. He was thoroughly ignoring the poor sap standing in front of him who was begging for hope and had absolutely no idea how close he was to being torn to shreds. "At least not yet. Would it make you feel better if I told you had no right to butt into my sex life?"

As expected, Ron's eyes widened considerably as his face lost all traces of color. "You're-? No. No way. This is just you getting back at me. I mean, he was our professor! He's too old for you. And he's a werewolf! What could you see in him? How could you-"

"Shame on you, Ronald Weasley." Hermione said, barely containing her rage. "I thought you knew better than to judge someone based on something they have no control over. I thought the last several years of being his friend would leave you less prejudiced than that. And as I recall, I knew about his condition well before you did and did not judge him for it then either. Not that you have the right to judge ANYONE on who they choose to be with- remember Hannah? Remember thrusting your dick into the tall, sexy blonde who happens to be my uncle's daughter? Remember how her legs felt, wrapped around your waist, urging you to keep going even as you could both see that you were ruining what was supposed to be a day of celebration for me? Do you remember the reason why you no longer have any say in my romantic involvement with someone, Ronald Weasley?" she shouted at him.

"I'd suggest you leave now, Ron." Remus spoke up, holding tight to Hermione's hand to keep them both from doing damage to the man still standing in the doorway to Hermione's office.

The man in question looked between the two of them, turned around and left, slamming the door after him.

After taking several shuddering, deep breaths, Hermione looked up at Remus.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let him get to me like that. I should control myself better."
Remus looked at her and wiped the tears she didn't know had escaped from her eyes during her tirade before wrapping her in a giant hug.

"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for." he told her softly, gently stroking her hair. "He's a bastard. He shouldn't have said what he did, but he had no right to say anything considering what he did to you. Which he also had no right to do, for the record."

"Thanks." She muttered, still upset at herself for her emotional display, and even more upset at Ron for once again ruining what was supposed to be a good day for her.

"Look at me, Hermione," Remus said, separating them, but still holding her arms in his hands, "anyone who would let his libido overrule him to the point of forsaking the beautiful, wonderful, brilliant, loving woman that you are for a cheap imitation of the real thing is an idiot and not deserving of your time. That you let yourself be friends with him again after that shows more strength of character than most people would be able to dream of."

"Or it shows that I'm someone who doesn't care about her own emotional well being enough to separate herself from the person who she'd spent the better part of her life with, as either a friend or boyfriend. And how can you say all that stuff about me when my own boyfriend was more concerned with screwing someone than he was about hurting me? I'm obviously not that great if that could happen." She said bitterly, crying some more.

"Oh, Hermione," he murmured, pulling her back against his chest again, as he realized what a toll the break-up nobody really knew anything about had taken on her self-esteem. He was suddenly aware why neither of them had leaked any details about what had caused the split. It would have ruined both of them; the media would have had a field day. He pulled her closer. "You have a ridiculously huge heart, that someone would take his part of it and knowingly do it damage is an unthinkable cruelty. Being able to forgive him for hurting you like that is more than he could ever hope to deserve." Remus said, hating Ron for reducing Hermione to a quivering mess nearly a year after their break-up. He spent a few more minutes soothing Hermione and silently fuming at the bastard who still seemed to think he had a claim on Hermione's life before realizing that Hermione's lunch break was nearly over.

"Come on." he said, pulling her up when he was sure she was done crying. After they were both standing, he transfigured the bench back into a chair and vanished the remains of their lunch.

"What? Remus- I still have to work this afternoon." She protested.

"How much work do you really think you'll get done?" he asked. "And weren't you complaining that people kept bothering you about the article earlier? You put in enough extra hours that you should be able to leave early today without a problem."

It was a mark of how out of sorts she still was that she acquiesced without any more protest. She simply called Jared into her office and told him she was knocking off early and he was in charge before dismissing the rather stunned man. She then looked up at Remus with a question in her eyes.

"What now?" she asked.

"Hold tight." he told her, picking up the chocolates he had brought her before tucking her under his arm and apparating them away.

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A/N: Where are they off to? What does Remus plan on doing with an emotionally distraught Hermione and really good chocolates? What will Harry and Ginny decide upon? What will Molly and Arthur say to the theatrics that are bound to make an appearance at Friday's dinner? What the hell was Ron thinking?

These answers and more in an upcoming chapter or two.

Okay, I can give an answer to that last one: he didn't want to accept that his mistake (as he thinks of it- incidentally, that's pretty much how Hermione views the entirety their relationship) had forever removed Hermione from his life. He really did think that she just needed time to cool off and that her being able to forgive him and consider him a friend again (though not a best friend anymore, certainly) meant she was getting closer to taking him back. That the paper showed something contrary to that gave him quite the shock and he was looking for reassurance. More of Ron's thinking will be brought forth in future chapters. Maybe. There will definitely be more of him though.

As always, I make no promises on when the next update will be, but I have a firmer grasp of what's going to happen now, so hopefully it won't take another year for an update. Which I'm thoroughly ashamed of, for the record.

I'm still debating: should there be a flashback to Hermione's celebration party with her family? Review and let me know what you think!