"Remus?" Hermione whispered into the dark.

"Yes?" he asked softly, pressing his lips just below her ear.

"I- It's been five months…since I got here."

"Wow! Five? Already?" His arm tightened around her. "How long did you say you were staying?"

She sighed and kissed his palm. "Around six."

He nuzzled her neck softly. "One month left," he choked.

"I can't believe how quickly it's gone." She was close to tears. "I feel like I've barely had any time with you at all; I'm not ready to go back yet."

"I wish you could stay."

"Me too." She wiped at the tear on her cheek.

"Do you think- Never mind," he grumbled, squeezing her tightly. "I love you," he mumbled against her neck.

"I love you, too." She rolled over to face him, kissing his lips lightly.

He pushed her hair back from her face, looking very seriously into her dark eyes. "Alright, you win."

"I do?" She grinned, with no idea what he was talking about.

"Yep. Let's get naked."

Hermione laughed, grabbing his hands as he reached with exaggeration for the waistband of her shorts.

He smiled, kissing her noisily on the cheek. "No?" he asked, looking at their hands and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yes," she responded, releasing his hands and running her slowly up his chest.

"Yes?" he yelped, clasping her hands to freeze their movement.

"Only if you want to," she whispered, kissing him softly.

"…If I…" He swallowed thickly. "Do you?"

"Yes," she whispered, blushing. "Do you?"

His throat tightened, unable to speak, but he nodded his head.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

When Remus hesitated, Hermione took a deep breath and pressed her lips lightly to his jaw. Slowly, she trailed her mouth over to nibble his ear and then down his neck, loving the way he was squeezing her hips tightly, she straddled his lap.

"Remus," she whispered against his throat.

"Yes?" he gasped.

"Take my shirt off."

"Oh hell," he groaned, dragging it quickly up and over her head, then tossing it half-way across the room.

She chuckled softly when her bra followed seconds later. Hermione knew her cheeks were red, but she doubted that she was as bright as Remus when he stopped and stared owlishly at her breasts.

Quickly, before he had any time for modest second thoughts, she pulled his shirt off and dropped it over the edge of the bed. She barely had a moment to look at him, when his arms circled her, pressing their chests together.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, his face buried in her messy hair.

"I am." She kept her answer simple to demonstrate her confidence. "Are you nervous?"

"No!" He sighed. "Yes, alright, maybe."

"You don't have to be. This doesn't change how I feel about you; it doesn't change anything."

"I know. I just…I want you to enjoy it."

Hermione kissed him, tilting her head a little to deepen it. As she slid her tongue lightly across his, she tightened her grip around his shoulders and swiveled her hips. Remus moaned into her mouth, hands gliding up and down her bare back. After a minute, she pulled back, breathing hard and barely able to sit still.

"I enjoy everything you do to me," she whispered huskily.

Nodding, Remus reached over into his desk and came out with a small vial of neon orange liquid. He drank it quickly and shook his head at Hermione's questioning look. When he kissed her again, he tasted of pineapples and peppers; it was a strange combination. But, when his hand buried deep into her curls, she forgot to wonder about its purpose. Slowly, she slid her hands down his chest and into the waistband of his pajama bottoms. Remus flinched slightly, but adjusted so that she could remove them.

He lifted her chin gently when she tried to glance down, his eyes begging her not to look. Curious, but not wanting to embarrass him, she settled for another kiss while reaching lower with one hand. She ran a finger down his length, wondering at the contrasting feel of him.

Remus jumped so violently at her touch that he nearly unseated her.

"Sorry," he chuckled, pulling her back up.

Smiling, she said nothing, but was pleased at the result of such a simple touch and started thinking about what other reactions she could pull from him.

That train of thought was lost, however when he began tugging at her bottoms. She helped wiggle them off, gulping at the new sensations when she sat again on his lap. His eyes were closed, his brow furrowed in concentration or restraint, she wasn't sure.

Unable to further restrain herself, she shifted her hips, causing them both to gasp and clutch at each other as she continued to repeat the action. It didn't take long until Hermione called out, fingernails biting into her boyfriend's shoulders.

As she tried to catch her breath, she allowed Remus to lay her back on the bed. Focusing on his kind eyes, she barely registered the small snap of pain deep inside of her. As Remus moved above her, her eyes fluttered shut, her whole being concentrated on the sensations he was providing her with. Several minutes later, her body began to tremble of its own accord and a liquid explosion burst through her body, centered at her lower abdomen. She was vaguely aware of Remus gasping and mumbling above her.

She lay curled around him for some time barely conscious. Her limbs felt heavy and slow, her eyes refused to remain open. But, she struggled against sleep, she concentrated on the feel of Remus' slick skin beneath her cheek and hand, the slow rise and fall of his chest, the comforting way his hands lightly caressed her shoulder.

"Stay with me?" he begged softly.

"…I can't." Her heart broke knowing she had to return to her own time and a Remus who no longer loved her. She let the tears fall from her face to his chest, no strength left to wipe them away.

Missing Scene Chapter 24 ½ "The Orange Explanation"

"James," Remus began awkwardly, "could I have a word?"

"Sure Mooney, what's going on?"

"Er…alone?"

James looked up from his wife's lap at the seriousness on his friend's face. "My room." He led the way and closed the door tight behind them. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong exactly."

"Alright…so what's not quite right?"

"I'm fine, it's not like that."

James sighed, a little annoyed at Remus' avoidance.

"Okay Remus. How should I phrase this question so that you'll actually answer it?"

The werewolf's shoulders drooped a little further. "What's bothering me?" he suggested.

"Fine. What's bothering you?"

"It's not really that I'm bothered-"

"Spit it out!" James blurted, throwing up his hands.

"I think Hermione wants to have sex with me," he said quickly with a small grimace.

"And that's a problem?"

"No! No, I want it too. But…"

"But what?" James prompted.

"But, you know I've never… I'm not sure if I can…" He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Satisfy her?" he suggested.

"Yeah, I guess. It's just…" He shrugged, relieved he had decided to not include Padfoot, the topic was tough enough with just James.

"Hey don't worry about it. You know Lily was my first."

"And only."

"Naturally. I talked to Sirius before the wedding and he gave me this funky little orange potion. It's great stuff; it keeps you from…going too early. And it's a contraceptive too, which is handy."

"Well, do you have any?"

"It takes a week to boil."

Remus' shoulders sagged in defeat.

"Good thing we already started it for you."

"What?"

"Yep, it'll be ready tomorrow night. And it keeps for three months, so no rush to use it."

"Thanks James."

Prongs shrugged. "That's what friends are for."

They left for the sitting room.

"You know, you can't avoid Sirius about this. He'll give advice, some good, some great, and he'll want details in return.

"Then he can bugger off."

"That's my boy." James clasped him on the shoulder.

A/N: Thanks to Clover Bay for beta reading! Hope you guys like this.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to review.