Disclaimer: I'm not JK Rowling, therefore these characters are not mine. Of course, you'll see them doing things they definitely didn't do in her novels, so… well, those ideas are mine!

Chapter 10: Perfect Togetherness

Almost a week had passed when they got to the part of the lesson plans that introduced coitus. Hermione was practically glowing with anticipation, as she headed to the master bedroom suite. (They had all had so much fun in the Jacuzzi the night they played with food that they decided to make it their regular meeting spot.)

She pushed open the door with a bounce in her step, but stopped bouncing when she saw the serious expression both men wore. She could almost feel the smile sliding off her face. "Oh no," she sighed. "I knew it. You're having second thoughts, because I'm a girl." She swallowed hard, and knew it was not time to be selfish, no matter how much she'd been looking forward to this. "It's okay, you guys, if you want to end it now. I really don't want to make things too weird for you."

"No, Hermione," protested Sirius. "You've got it all wrong! If we were feeling that way, do you think we'd have come this far?"

"Then what's the matter? This, as I know you both know, is the night we were finally going to go all the way, and for me, at least, that's a pretty exciting prospect. But you're both looking so – well, almost worried!"

"We're fine, Hermione," Remus assured her, "but it's a big deal losing your virginity. We want it to be perfect for you, and we can't quite figure out how to go about it. I mean, obviously, it's not something both of us can do together – it's going to have to be one of us or the other. But we both want to be involved, to be part of this special event for you, so that when you look back at this night you'll think of us both…"

Hermione felt she might faint with relief. She kissed Remus tenderly, and then did the same to Sirius. "You guys are so sweet to want to give me the perfect first time. But you can relax: I'm not a virgin, you adorable goofballs!"

Sirius looked confused. "But you said you had a lot of theoretical knowledge and no practical experience, didn't you?"

"No, I said I had very little practical experience. I lost my virginity about six months ago, over the summer, with a muggle boy from my neighborhood. We were good friends, growing up, and we've missed each other while I've been away at Hogwarts. We were catching up with each other over pizza and a movie one night, and things somehow took a romantic turn. One thing led to another, and I barely got home before my parents woke up the next morning. It was a sweet experience, but not earth-shatteringly good."

"Hermione, you should have told us you were seeing someone," Remus protested.

"I'm not 'seeing' him, Remus. We both agreed that it was probably a one-time thing, as our lives have been heading in such different directions. He's got a girl at his school that he's interested in, and I… well, my future will likely include helping in the fight against Voldemort. I couldn't bring my friend into my life with that hanging over me. Maybe once it's all over and done, if he's still single and I'm still single, we might give something a try. But for now, we're still just good friends."

"Damn, Hermione," Remus cursed again, for the second time in a week. "I hate that Voldemort is affecting you like that. You should be able to have a future, and let yourself fall in love with boys from back home if you want to."

"I know, Remus. But the coming fight does cast a shadow over everything, and things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. You guys have been through this before, with the first war. So you know how I'm feeling – I don't know if I'll even be alive a year from now. I think that's one of the reasons why I let myself lose my virginity over the summer, and why I have been so excited about our project. I want to experience everything now, just in case I don't get a chance later."

"Well, that thought is a serious buzz-kill, Hermione," Sirius complained. "We ought to make a rule that no one can mention Voldemort while we're in this room." Then he brightened. "But the good news is that if you're no longer a virgin, that takes a little bit of the pressure off of tonight, eh?"

She laughed. "It does, Sirius. Again, you guys are sweet to try to make it perfect for me, but it's really not necessary. I'm having such a great time with you both that no matter what we do tonight, I'm sure it will be perfect."

"However, it doesn't solve our logistical problem for tonight," said Remus. "The thing about 'going all the way,' as you so daintily put it, Hermione, is that the key feature of the act can really only be accomplished by two people at a time. Have you any thoughts, Hermione, about how you'd like to proceed?"

"Naturally, I have given the matter some consideration. And…I really don't want to have to choose one of you, because I don't want there to be any hurt feelings! We've still got a week and a half left, of course – plenty of time for all kinds of combinations, right?" She moved next to Remus and took his hands in hers. "Remus, darling, I hope you don't mind terribly, but I think it might be better if it's Sirius this time. You're just so… I mean, it's really…" Her eyes darted to his crotch, then back to his face. He blushed, as comprehension dawned. "Besides," she continued, "you were the one who gave me my first orgasm, so maybe it's Sirius's turn anyway…"

Remus's eyes widened in disbelief. "That was your first orgasm, ever?"

"Well, no – I guess I meant the first one that wasn't self-induced!"

"Oh, so your friend didn't…"

"No, he didn't, but really it was fine."

"His first time, too?"

"Yes, Remus, his first time, too. So, are you okay with it being Sirius this time?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Sirius, you okay?"

"I'm okay if you're okay!"

"I'm okay, didn't I just say so?" Then Remus smacked himself on the forehead. "Contraception! Sirius, we've been so busy wanting to make things perfect for Hermione's first time that we forgot to do anything about contraception. Hermione, there's a charm, but I don't know it. Sirius, you've got lots more hetero experience than I do. Do you know the contraception charm?"

Sirius scrunched up his face in concentration, digging through his mental filing cabinets, but coming up empty.

"Don't worry about it, Sirius. I'm way ahead of you, Remus. I researched the contraception charm on Christmas Day. It's all handled already."

"She's resourceful, this one," Sirius said, approvingly.

"Right then," she said, but she was still at a bit of a loss for how to proceed. She certainly didn't want to kick Remus out of the room and have sex with his lover – that just seemed wrong in so many ways. And yet, having him stay and observe seemed like it would be uncomfortable for everyone. (Would he, afterwards, hold up a scorecard, like an Olympic judge?) She looked into his amber eyes, still probing to make sure he wasn't upset. He appeared to be lost in thought, which she thought was probably not a good sign. But then he smiled, a genuine smile, at both Hermione and Sirius.

"I've got an idea," he said. "Why don't you two go take a bath together and get a bit more cozy? I want to make a few preparations out here for you."

Curious, but thankful that someone had suggested a concrete next step, Hermione nodded and took Sirius by the hand. They filled the Jacuzzi with warm water and bubbles, disrobed, and slid in on opposite sides of the tub. Hermione moved closer to Sirius, raised an eyebrow at him, and asked, "You nervous?"

"Nope," he said. "You?"

"Nope," she said, and moved even closer to him. She had backed him up against the side of the tub, but wasn't touching him.

His arms snaked around her waist and pulled her to him. "You are an excellent student, Hermione," he rumbled gruffly into her ear. "I see you're letting me come to you."

"Yes," she chuckled, "but first I made sure you had nowhere else to go."

Sirius kissed her, moving his hands over her wet and slippery back.

A minute later, or it might have been ten, there came a knock at the bathroom door. "Ready when you are," Remus called from the bedroom.

When Hermione and Sirius emerged, he with a towel wrapped around his waist, and she with a towel wrapped under her arms, they gasped at the transformation Remus had wrought in the room. The bed was now covered in silky ivory-colored sheets, and a bottle of champagne and two champagne flutes were on the bedside table. The room was lit only by candlelight – dozens of candles floated throughout the room.

"Remus, it's lovely," Hermione sighed. "It's perfect."

Sirius snickered. "Perfect if you want to pretend you're getting laid at the Hogwarts Welcoming Feast!"

"Oh Sirius, I guess it does look a bit like that! But I still think it's wonderful. Thank you so much, Remus."

"You're welcome," he said, edging slowly toward the door. "I just wanted to make it special for you."

"Remus," she said, softly. "Please don't go. How could it be perfect without you here?"

"Are you sure, Hermione?"

"I just know I don't want you to leave. Can't we make this work with all three of us, somehow? I know you said the key feature of the act can really only be accomplished by two people at a time, but there is certainly more to the act than just that key feature, wouldn't you agree?"

"I do agree." He looked relieved. "And if you both want me to stay, I'll stay. Sirius?"

"Stay, Moony. Please."

"Okay," he said, "I'll stay. But I think we're going to need one more thing."

"What's that, Remus?"

"Another champagne flute, Hermione!" And he conjured a third.

"Excellent thinking, Moony," said Sirius, pouring champagne for each of them. "I propose a toast!"

"Why does that not surprise me, Padfoot?"

"To togetherness!"

"Hear, hear," Hermione and Remus cheered.

"But Moony, darling, the third champagne glass was not the only thing that needed to be fixed," Sirius said, winking at his partner.

"What's wrong now, Padfoot?"

"You need to lose some of those clothes."

"Sirius, you are absolutely right," said Hermione. "Let me fix this grievous error for you." She unbuttoned Remus's shirt, and tossed it onto the floor with a flourish. She turned to grin at Sirius. "Better?"

"More," Sirius growled.

Remus kicked off his shoes, as Hermione unbuttoned his trousers and slid them down his legs. He stepped out of them and pulled off his socks, and they tossed all three items into a pile with his shirt. She turned to Sirius again. "Better?"

"Almost perfect," he smirked.

Moments later, Remus's boxers were added to the pile, along with two slightly damp towels.

"Better?" Remus teased, as all three climbed onto the bed.

"Perfect," Sirius sighed contentedly.

As it turns out, they were able to make things work quite well with all three of them participating. In fact, they made things work quite well again and again, over the next several nights. And although no one did mention Voldemort again in the master bedroom suite, or the potential that any of them might not see the next Christmas, they all threw themselves into the project with heightened intensity. Hermione was insatiable in her quest for experience and knowledge, and in her desire for both men. She would often wring one man dry, then move on to the other while the first one was recovering. She was on top, on the bottom, and in the middle (how she loved being a Hermione-sandwich!). The men took her (and, on frequent occasion, each other) from the front, the back, and the side, and every angle in between. The trio experimented with hard and soft, fast and slow, tender, teasing, rough, and rowdy. They tried everything on Hermione's list, everything on Remus's list, and anything else that occurred to them along the way. Their favorites, they tried twice.

Before long, all three of them were showing definite signs of wear and tear from their long nights of strenuous activity. Rather than agree to a night off (which Sirius couldn't believe he was suggesting anyway!), Hermione limped to the library for more research, and brewed up a restorative draught that would have made Severus Snape proud. (She hoped it would turn up on her Potions OWL.) They took to drinking this potion nightly, instead of firewhiskey or champagne. It looked a little like liquefied seaweed, and really, one didn't want to think about the actual ingredients that went into it, but it didn't taste bad at all, and the results were definitely worth it, as it allowed them to carry on with their carnal pursuits.

"Thank goodness you're on our side, Hermione," Sirius said after a particularly inventive, vigorous session. They were all in the tub, cleaning up and recovering.

"What do you mean by that, Sirius," she murmured, idly piling bubbles into a pyramid on Remus's belly, who was floating on his back.

"Just that if you were to employ your considerable ingenuity and tenacity for the powers of evil, rather than the powers of good, we wouldn't have a chance. As it is, with you on our side, I'm feeling pretty confident. You're like a secret weapon."

Remus barked a laugh, sank, and came up sputtering.

"Why thank you, Sirius," said Hermione. "I certainly have been feeling powerful lately. I like the idea of being a secret weapon."

"He's totally right, you know," agreed Remus, wiping the soapy water from his eyes. "You are the most single-minded, determined, tireless person I think I've ever met. You won't stop at anything to get what you want. And we already told you we think you're the brightest witch of your age. As soon as you're of age, we've got to induct you into the Order, no matter what Molly says!"

She glowed with pride. Or maybe she was glowing from all the sex. Either way, Hermione couldn't remember ever feeling better in her entire life.

"I think you two are ruining me for other men," Hermione told Remus and Sirius, one night.

Sirius seemed pleased with that assessment, but Remus looked genuinely concerned. "What makes you say so?"

"I had a very alarming dream last night after I left you. I was back at school, and Viktor had come to visit me. We were walking together on the grounds, and next thing I knew we were leaning up against that beech tree by the lake, snogging. He whispered in my ear, 'Hermy-own-ninny, I haff missed you so much. I must haff you in my bed, make luff to you. Come with me to my room in Hogsmeade.' And I looked at him stupidly and said, 'But we don't have enough people!'"

Remus and Sirius collapsed in a pile on the bed, laughing.

"It's not funny, you two!" But she started to chuckle, too, and the next thing she knew, they had each grabbed one of her hands and pulled her onto the bed.

"It IS funny!" Sirius insisted. "You WILL laugh!" And they proceeded to tickle her until she had laughed herself breathless.

When none of them could laugh any more, and they were lying in a heap together, Hermione reached out to give each of them a squeeze, on whatever part of their anatomies she could comfortably reach. She sighed. "I'm really going to miss you guys when I'm back at school."

A/N: Reviewers: If you had to choose Remus or Sirius for your first time, who would it be? Or could you have your cake, and eat it too, somehow? (Oh, and now I'm hungry for cake…)

Three technical notes:

1. I finally looked it up, and discovered that really when we are toasting we are saying Hear, Hear – I'd done it wrong ('here, here') through several chapters before catching this error. I went back and corrected it in the earlier chapters, so – my apologies to fellow nitpickers if you read my mistake and groaned. (As I do, when I read that someone's interest has been 'peaked' or 'peeked' instead of piqued.)

2. My timeline for this story has been based on the HP Lexicon's timeline, which shows the gang heading back to Hogwarts for a winter term starting on January 13. They do note that if previous years are a guide, they would point toward the term starting on January 6, but that Harry mentions at one point that it's going to be a three-week break, so they went with the 13th. I went back to OotP and reread to see where Harry says that, and I believe they have misinterpreted his remark. He's at the DA meeting, and I believe he is saying it will be three weeks until the next time the DA can get back together, not that their holiday is three weeks long (which would make it four weeks between DA meetings!). But you know what? I like the '3 weeks of holiday' plan better, as otherwise my trio would be a bit rushed in their explorations. This way they can take their time and try everything. So the 2.5 week research project will stand!

3. Even in the wizarding world, contraception is obviously a concern – since apparently even the males can get knocked up, in many fanfics! But – I've not yet seen a fanfic where the characters are terribly concerned about contracting any STDs. If it bothers you that none of my characters are insisting on condoms, even though H has recently slept with someone else, just imagine that there is an STD-prevention charm as well, and that they've been using it all along, OK?