Present Day

Demetri was at the door, dressed in a navy tee shirt and black pants. His dark clothes offset the lack of color in his skin—even for him. Hermione could read the tension in the way his shoulders hit slightly too high on his body, the way the vein in his forehead jutted out more than usual, and most of wall, in the shade of his eyes: almost black.

Hermione could feel the color rise in her cheeks as she took this in; he was the one that stood her up yesterday. What right did he have to look so angry?

"Come in, then, but I hope you know it's Sunday afternoon, not Saturday morning. Do I need to get you a watch?"

Demetri made a sound between a sigh and a growl and pushed past her into the apartment. Hermione closed the door, almost slamming it, and found him sitting in the very edge of a cushion on her couch, as though he were ready to run at a moment's notice.

"Are you going to say anything?" Hermione asked, remaining standing with her arms crossed.

"What do you want me to say, Hermione?" Demetri asked in a low, petulant voice.

"I don't understand you," Hermione responded, frustrated. "You said you wanted to see me. You said you missed me."

"I did," Demetri responded with some feeling in his voice. "I do."

Hermione took the small opening and sat down on the couch next to him. "I meant it when I said I missed you, too. I was looking forward to seeing you yesterday, and then you stood me up. And to make matters worse, you've come in today angry with me and I don't know why."

"I'm sorry," Demetri responded, seemingly sincere. "It's just that…"

"It's what, Demetri?" Hermione asked.

"I feel like I come so close to giving you all of me, and you reject me," he said slowly. His voice was steady and even, but she could tell that he was holding a breath in, waiting for her response.

"Demetri, I wasn't trying to reject you when I went on the trip for work," Hermione responded, gingerly reaching out and placing her hand over his. "I want you, too. You have to trust that."

Demetri moved closer to her on the couch and buried his head in her hair as he pulled her close into a tight hug. Hermione returned the gesture, holding him tight, and for once, not holding herself back. It felt like each of them was trying to force their bodies to connect at as many points as possible, as though each was starved for affection and simply taking it.

After a few minutes, he pulled back a bit and threaded his fingers through her locks of hair, holding them at the base of her head. His face was just inches from her own, a streak of sunlight hitting half of it. His eyes were the same almost-black as they were when he entered her apartment, but they no longer seemed to be dark with anger.

Hermione felt like she was waiting for him to kiss her, so instead she leaned forward slightly and softly touched her lips to his. He returned her kiss slowly, lazily, lightly biting her bottom lip before deepening the kiss. He tasted hot and sweet, and she could almost feel the jolt of electricity as he slipped his tongue in between the open space of her mouth, brief and teasing.

They kissed for ages, like Hermione hadn't since she had with Krum when she was a teenager. It made her want to giggle like one too, but she managed to keep it relatively cool with a smile glued on her face instead. Demetri was smiling too—well, it was more of a smirk.

"You know what we should do?" Hermione asked impulsively.

"Tell me," Demetri responded, still smirking as he traced her face.

"We should go on a double date with Draco and Ginny. I know you've been upset that we can't be publicly together yet," Hermione paused, feeling as though she had slapped herself in the face. Her eyes stung with tears, and Demetri squeezed her hand wordlessly. The thought of Cormac was sobering; here she was with Demetri and she hadn't even given her late co-conspirator a second thought. Hermione could feel herself withdraw slightly, even as she stopped crying and returned her gaze to the man across from her.

Demetri waited until her burst of tears had subsided before responding in a slow, gentle voice. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Hermione."

"Any other friends of yours I should get to know?" Demetri asked, stroking the inside of her palm with his slender index finger.

"Well, I think I probably would have told Harry about us tomorrow night," Hermione admitted to Demetri as well as to herself.

"Tomorrow night?" Demetri questioned, a slight edge to his voice.

"Yes," Hermione responded, intentionally refusing to let any note of apology enter her voice, "Harry and I are having dinner tomorrow night. He's worried about me with Cormac's death and everything; that's why I'll probably tell him about us. It will ease his mind."

"I didn't realize you and Harry were so close," Demetri said pensively, no longer sounding particularly jealous.

"I don't know why you would," Hermione responded, slightly teasing. "You don't know everything about me."

Demetri's left eyebrow raised momentarily, almost like a twitch. "Perhaps we should have a meal with Harry as well, then. If he's important to you, I'd like to get to know him beyond work."

Hermione considered this for a moment. "I'll have to talk to Harry about it. He can be fairly reserved, but maybe if we could make it a double date as well…" Her face scrunched up as she tried to imagine Harry and Snape together.

"Double date? Who is Harry dating?" Demetri asked with a slight edge.

"Can I trust you to keep a secret?" Hermione asked. She had no true qualms about telling Demetri; it seemed he, if anyone, could keep something private. But she thought making him feel like he was a part of her inner circle would be appreciated.

"Of course," Demetri responded solemnly. His eyes flashed with triumph, indicating to Hermione that she had been on the right track by sharing this piece of information.

"Harry's dating the potions professor at Hogwarts, Professor Snape."

Demetri looked genuinely shocked by this, backing up slightly to process the news. "Do you know Snape?" Hermione asked, surprised.

Demetri nodded slowly. "I thought we were good friends, actually."

You thought you were good friends with Snape?! was what Hermione wanted to ask. However, Demetri seemed bothered by the news and Hermione realized the question might be a bit insensitive. "Harry just told me recently. I didn't realize you and Severus"—she forced herself to say—"were friends. I feel a bit bad to be the one to tell you now."

Demetri shook his head and forced a shrug, not facing her. "If Severus was going to tell me, I'm sure he would have by now."

After a moment, Demetri turned back to Hermione, his face expressionless as he pushed a few locks of her hair behind her ear. "Thank you, darling, for being so open with me. I think both of these double dates are lovely ideas. Isn't it odd how our closest friends are dating as well?"

"It's a strange coincidence," Hermione agreed in a low voice. Part of her wondered if it was a coincidence, but Demetri hadn't even known about Harry and Snape, and Draco and Ginny were married and had been together forever. It had to be simply chance.