Hello hello! I am SO sorry that this has taken me so darn long to update….things have been CRAZY! But, maybe I will be able to finish this story in peace.

Thank you all for being so loyal and lovely. Kuddos all around!

I hope you enjoy, the usual disclaimers apply.

The beginning section (the italics) is not mine; it belongs to JK Rowling. This is actually the original passage that got me thinking about this pairing…and started it all!

Ron and Hermione beamed as everyone drank to them and then applauded.

"I was never a prefect myself," said Tonks brightly from behind Harry as everybody moved toward the table to help themselves to food. Her hair was tomato-red and waist length today; she looked like Ginny's older sister. "My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities."

"Like what?" said Ginny, who was choosing a baked potato.

"Like the ability to behave myself," said Tonks.

Ginny laughed; Hermione looked as though she did not know whether to smile or not and compromised by taking an extra-large gulp of butterbeer and choking on it.

Throughout dinner, Tonks had kept a warm, firm hand on Hermione's thigh, the very tip of her index finger tracing lazy patterns on the inside of her knee. By the end of it Hermione felt thoroughly raw, but more than that her impending departure to Hogwarts loomed nearer with every tick of the enormous grandfather clock in the study. She had spent the last two weeks thinking of nothing but having this wickedly flirtatious witch on top of her, kissing her within an inch of suffocating; but now, with Tonks within reach, what she really wanted was more…complicated.

Feelings, Hermione contemplated over her stein of butterbeer, were truly insufferable. Her heart wouldn't slow down, her lungs wouldn't fill, her hair was a barely-controlled hurricane, her underwear were soaked again, and under it all roared the ache in her hips; kind of like menstrual cramps, except completely turned on their head and spun around a few times. In fact it was nothing like menstrual cramps at all. Need. She had never needed anything like she suddenly needed Tonks.

The party had quickly dispersed after Harry's departure and the trouble with the Boggart, leaving Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Tonks nibbling at the last of the pastries as Arthur cleaned the kitchen. The clock clanged 10:00 inharmoniously, and Tonks stretched languidly.

"I'm knackered, gonna turn in," she yawned, rising unsteadily from the table; as she moved her hair shortened disconcertingly back to its usual inches, though the tomato-red color stayed. "Congrats again on your badges, Ron, Hermione." With a quick wink in Hermione's direction, she swept from the kitchen, cloak over her shoulder and boots in hand. Hermione looked at Ginny, who cocked an eyebrow questioningly with a barely perceptible nod towards the door. An open-mouthed Ron looked back and forth between the two, concerned confusion evident in the crease of his brow and the pallor of his cheeks.

Hermione cleared her throat loudly, "I think I'll turn in too, I have some packing to finish up," she said, rising from the table with a meaningful stare in Ginny's direction.

Ron dropped the biscuit he had been eating, "I can help you if-"

"Tell me more about your new broom, Ron!" Ginny cut in loudly, gripping Ron's upper arm to hold him in his chair. As Ron turned back towards Ginny, the light of a true enthusiast bright in his eyes, Hermione mouthed a silent "Thank you" over Ron's shoulder and slipped out the kitchen door. If the expression on Ginny's face was any indicator, Hermione owed the younger witch a free ghost-write of her first school essay, at the least. The poor girl would probably be there for hours.

When Hermione stepped into Tonks' room, the older witch wasn't in sight. The candles on the desk were lit; Tonks' broom, boots, and knapsack dropped haphazardly in the middle of the floor. Her brow furrowing, Hermione stepped back towards the door, thinking Tonks may be waiting for her in her bedroom, but the open window caught her eye.

Smiling, Hermione padded quietly over, nervously smoothing her shirt, and leaned her head out into the chill night air.

"Hey, you." Tonks' voice was low, warm, and seductive, her accent thick; a bent cigarette already glowed between her fingers. She sat on the metal grating, socked feet dangling over the edge.

Hermione climbed as gracefully as she could through the window and stood, awkwardly tucking her hair behind her ear. "Hey," the word came out breathless, almost a sigh.

Tonks smirked crookedly and patted the grating next to her; when Hermione sat, knees to her chest, Tonks put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, tucking the smaller girl close against her side. Hermione let her eyes drift closed, her head resting easily against the older witch's shoulder.

A light clicked on in the one of the apartments across the alley; inside, a sleep-disheveled woman in a bathrobe yawned lazily. She made microwave popcorn.

Tonks shifted, shaking her head almost imperceptibly, and cleared her throat. "Do you ever miss anything? From the Muggle-world I mean. When you're with all of –she gesticulated at the house behind them- this?"

Hermione, gaze lazily following the Muggle-woman as she went about finding an appropriately-sized bowl for her popcorn, started at the question. No one had ever asked her that. For that matter, no one in the wizarding world seemed to think that there might be something to miss. Except, of course, Mr. Weasley, who treated her entire Muggle-life as some weird freak-show.

That kind of miffed her, now that she thought about it.

"I miss road-trips, and the smell of clothes straight from the dryer." She felt Tonks smile and nod, her cheek pressed to the top of Hermione's head. Encouraged, she closed her eyes and let her thoughts flow. "I miss having electricity everywhere; I miss cooking, I mean –really- cooking, the process of it; I miss fast-food, and normal candy, and soda pop. I never thought I would say this, but Butterbeer gets old. I miss eating a healthy amount of green vegetables; did you notice how few vegetables they feed the students at Hogwarts? That aren't fried? It is pretty deplorable." She paused for breath and Tonks shifted, hunching down slightly so she could nuzzle her nose into Hermione's neck, chuckling lightly. Hermione hummed, enjoying the feel of the witch's nose –and lips- against her sensitive skin. "I miss pens, and pencils, and binder-paper; I miss showers, you have no idea how much I miss showers; and –sometimes- I miss Muggle-school, I miss some of the kids I grew up with." Hermione fiddled with her fingers, falling silent. Tonks' warm hand enveloped hers, squeezing, as a light kiss was pressed to her neck; a shiver rippled down Hermione's spine at the ghosting of warm breath on the awakened nerves. Subconsciously, Hermione's eyes drifted closed, her breath catching slightly in her chest.

"Do you ever see them anymore?" Tonks asked, her tone implying she had mistaken Hermione's continued silence for sorrow.

Hermione cleared her throat, glad that Tonks couldn't see her blushing. "Uh – yeah, I see them. On, holidays, and – such." Even to her ears, it sounded awkward, but Tonks' thumb had started to slide against her palm, random patterns etched in fire on her skin. Hermione's nervous system fizzed happily.

Tonks sat up slightly and met her eyes, brow furrowed in confusion over Hermione's stuttering response. Hermione watched, heart thumping, as the older witch's gaze darted around her features, taking in her pinked cheeks, darkened eyes, and slightly parted lips. Tonks bit her lip, a smirk rising on her face like a tiger rearing from the grass; Hermione's breath hitched, her eyes glued to the spot where Tonks' teeth caught at the soft skin of her lip.

The older witch shifted and gently cupped Hermione's cheek, drawing her gaze to lock with hers. Hermione swallowed hard; there was a question, clear as daylight, in Tonks' azure gaze. The edges of her vision blurred, swirling with smoke; she was zeroed-in, falling forward into Tonks' eyes, her mouth, her scent; time slowed. Finally, Hermione exhaled, and dived in.

And there you go! I promise the next chapter will be…well worth the wait ;)