Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, and I'm merely allowed to play around with them. No copyright infringement is intended.

My usual thanks to my awesome readers, reviewers and all those who keep up with my irregular updates :') I love you guys! On with the story. I've kept you waiting long enough.

Chapter 10

-o-O-o-

"Five Butterbeers it is, then." Hermione wrote on her notepad, before setting off to the bar. As she poured the honey coloured liquid inside the huge glasses, she silently cursed Dumbledore for giving her such a rotten job. She walked back to the table full of drunkards and set their Butterbeers down. "Five Butterbeers, five!" she announced, and went to stand behind the counter.

If only it had been the work that pissed her off, things could have ended up fine, although it really was a handful. Of course, if the customers had been a little more sober, she could have felt better. But the one thing she just couldn't stand in this was the uniform.

The way men leered at her backside whenever she bent down to pick something up just made her flare up. She had talked to Madam Rosemerta about it, who had simply shrugged and said: "You have to get used to it!"

The only good aspect was that now she had something to put in her Gringotts vault. She saw a man and a woman come in and thought 'Only two days left, Hermione, only two days left.' She walked over to where the pair was standing. "Hello," she said, putting up her very fake smile. "Can I help you in any way?"

The man's eyes bulged. "Hermione?" he asked, disbelieving.

At first, she was tempted to ask who he was and how he knew her name, but after a while, she recognised him too. "Remus?" she squeaked, clasping her hands to her mouth as the notebook clattered to the floor, forgotten.

He bent over and retrieved the tied pieces of parchment, before handing them back to her. He had changed a lot, Hermione reflected. He had let his sandy blond hair grow, and it was now falling down his face and tickled his eyes, making him blink more often. That new habit emphasised his blue ayes, making them sparkle in a delicious manner. He had grown over two inches in the summer, and now towered over her, even though he was still as thin as a toothpick. He had let a slight subtle grow, so the same sandy blond hair that covered his head now peppered his jaw slightly, hiding some of his facial scars.

Hermione blushed and mumbled a "Thank you." as she took her notebook back. This new Remus destabilised her. In truth, Hermione found him… well… hot. She blushed an even deeper red.

"Erm… Hermione?" Remus asked tentatively. She looked up. "I'd like you to meet my mother. Mom, this is Hermione, whom is supposed to be coming over for lunch on Sunday."

Hermione held out her hand and the older woman shook it. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Lupin." Hermione said politely. "Remus has told me a great deal about you."

The middle-aged woman was beaming. "And I about you." she declared

Remus blushed. "Mom…" he whined slightly.

Hermione giggled slightly. "Anyway, you were here for a reason, were you not?" she remembered suddenly.

"Yes." Mrs. Lupin said. "We wanted a Butterbeer, didn't we, Remus." Hermione heard him mumble something, but wasn't sure if it was an approval or not.

"Very well, let me show you to a table." She said, and walked over to the one in the far corner, where there was less noise and cigar smoke. She pulled her wand out and cleaned the table, before motioning the two to sit down. "I'll just get your Butterbeers and be back in a second." she said quietly, before heading towards the bar.

She came back a couple of minutes later, two bottles in hand, and set them down on the table. She was preparing to turn back again, when Mrs. Lupin's voice stopped her. "Hermione dear?" she asked. Hermione turned back to face her, a questioning look in her eyes. "Are you still coming Sunday?"

Hermione smiled. "Yes, I am. I'll get my pay Friday night, and then on Saturday I'll go shopping for something to wear. There's no need to worry, I'll be there." she reassured the elder of the two, although she was pretty sure she saw Remus relax marginally too at that sentence.

"Good." Mrs. Lupin nodded. "Meet us at the Leaky Cauldron at half past eleven, then?" she asked.

"Alright," she answered. "It should give me enough time to prepare." Remus' presence was unsettling, and she found herself happy that her skirt was so short; it made her feel cooler.

"Well then… See you Sunday, Hermione." Remus told her, smiling.

Her breath caught in her throat. He was really hot. "Yeah, until Sunday then." she managed to choke out. "Goodbye Mrs. Lupin." she added with an afterthought.

"Goodbye, dear." she said, still smiling. Hermione turned and walked away from them to help a very old wizard pay for his flagon of Firewhiskey. 'Two days left, Hermione, two days left.'

-o-O-o-

Sunday morning was one of the worst mornings of her entire life. "Ugh!" she cried, frustrated. "I don't know what to wear!" Her whole closet, which wasn't that much, was scattered across the whole dormitories that she occupied by herself and she just stood there, in her matching underwear and panties, waiting for a great idea to come to her.

Unfortunately for her, it didn't come. She had tried numerous ways for a flash of inspiration to visit her, including Accioing 'the perfect outfit', which had very limited success, trying everything on, with equally limited success, and just dropping everything on the floor, which had no success at all whatsoever.

After doing nothing for about ten minutes, Hermione sighed and picked her wand up from the bedside table. She muttered a few spells and, one by one, each of her articles of clothing folded itself and went to lie nicely in her trunk. She was down to the last few articles when she gasped. In front of her, falling to the floor as her spell had ended, was the perfect wear.

It was a simple sundress of a canary yellow colour which, when she tried it on, stopped just an inch above her knee. The neckline was round and showed some cleavage, as well as most of her shoulders. It was held by two thin straps and, along with black stockings and a leather jacket which Hermione deterred as soon as she found it, it was simply perfect.

She stood there, admiring herself in front of a mirror, when she glanced at the clock. 'Shit!' she thought. It was quarter past eleven. She barely had the time to tie her hair in a chignon before she set off to the Common Room. Dumbledore had allowed her to use this Floo for her personal errands, as long as she told him first.

She grabbed a pinch of Floo powder and threw it in the fire, before stepping in, calling clearly: "Leaky Cauldron!" And with a flash of green flames, she vanished from the Gryffindor Common Room.

-o-O-o-

Remus sipped his hot chocolate quietly. It was now ten past eleven, and he was starting to get nervous. His parents had advised that he bring Hermione home alone, without him, to get her more relaxed.

He smiled and shook his head slightly. There was no way she was going to be more relaxed with a werewolf like him than a fragile old lady like his mother, but he didn't argue. She probably didn't know what he was anyway.

He took another small sip, relishing the warmth that spread through his body as the thick liquid slipped down his throat, leaving a sweet trail behind. Flashes of green came occasionally, but it was never Hermione's slim figure that stepped out of the chimneys.

He finished his cup and held up his hand slightly. The barman nodded, and walked over so that Remus could pay him. He handed over five Sickles and nodded in acknowledgement, before hopping off his stool and walking around the bar.

A flash of green caught his eye on his right, and he turned his head in its direction. Unfortunately, it was nothing but an old man in a blue cloak that seemed way too big for him.

He sighed. Suddenly, two small hands placed themselves above his eyes and he heard a feminine voice say: "Guess who?"

He recognised the voice instantly. "Hermione?" he asked tentatively, before peeling off the hands and turning to face her. He almost gasped.

She wearing the cutest yellow sundress he'd ever seen, with black tights and a leather jacket. She wasn't wearing any make up, but he saw she had straightened her hair like the day of the Hogsmeade trip. She looked simply, in one word, ravishing.

"You look gorgeous." he managed to say, trying to keep his eyes from bulging out.

She smiled. "Thank you. You look pretty dashing yourself." she said, and he felt a sudden warmth in his chest.

Trying to ignore the pleasing sensations, he led her out of the bar, saying: "Shall we?"

He smile broadened. "Don't mind if we do." They walked a little through Diagon Alley until they stopped in front of Madam Malkin's. There, Remus pulled his wand out.

He smiled slightly arrogantly. "I passed my Apparition license a week ago." he told her. "That's one of the reasons my parents wanted me to fetch you alone."

She laughed. "Fetch me?" she asked. "Am I like your toy to play with?"

"Nah, you got it all wrong!" he said, although, in his head, he was thinking: 'I'd like that.'

"No need to sound so panicked." she said. "I was joking. I know you wouldn't think of me like that."

Hr didn't answer, merely thinking: 'If only you knew, Hermione, if only you knew.' "All right." he said instead. "You just have to grab hold of my arm and I'll Apparate us there. Be careful though, you might get nausea or stuff like that, it is rather uncomfortable at first."

She nodded, not looking extremely reassured. She grabbed his arm, slightly too tight in his opinion, but he wasn't going to complain. He'd always wanted her to grab him roughly as he…

'Shut up, you dirty mongrel!' he screamed at his mind furiously. The full moon was mere days away, and his frustration could now be felt very clearly. He twisted around furiously, Apparating to his parent's house.

Once all of their feet touched the soft grass, he noticed his arm was getting numb. He looked down and saw Hermione, her eyes closed, clinging on to his arm as if to dear life. He was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of tenderness, watching her looking so vulnerable in his arms.

"Hermione." he whispered softly in her ear. "Hermione, we're here." He repressed the urge to call her 'darling' or 'love'.

She slowly opened her eyes and took a deep breath. After that, she detached herself from Remus' arm, finger by finger, and slipped her own back to her sides.

She took in her surroundings and smiled. Remus understood her, his parents' place was surely beautiful. It was just a small brick house, sitting alone on a grassy hill. It was in the very south of Great Britain, so if you walked a little, you could see the sea, and past that, through a lot of fog, part of the French coast.

"It's amazing." she whispered, walking towards the edge of the hill.

She stood there alone, a small breeze blowing in her hair slightly, before he joined her, putting his head on hair shoulder and hugging her from behind. "Yes." he whispered in her ear. "I know."

The pair of them stayed like that for a few minutes before they heard a voice from behind them. "Children!" it said. "Lunch is ready!"

Remus straightened up and offered Hermione his hand as she turned to face him. "Ready?" he asked her.

She smiled. "As I'll ever be." she answered, grasping his long calloused fingers in her small warm ones as they set off towards the house.

-o-O-o-

Err… OK. So I'd like to apologise to all those who were disappointed in the late update. I've been hit by a mixture of blues and writer's block and… Well, I couldn't write. I just sat there, my ideas so jumbled up I bet if I turned my head too much they would've spilled on my desk or something. So I just stuffed my face with food for a couple of days and now I'm all better! :) Hopefully this afternoon I'll be able to write some more, like that if anything like that happens again I'll be prepared and not leave you clueless for two days…

You can always go check out my profile to see when I will update. :) It's helpful and I go there daily.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter (I bet Team Remus did.) and please leave a review. They're like vaccine against writer's block… It can't help with the blues though.

Next chapter: Hermione goes to James' place… And what follows.