Tuesday, December 16th, 2003
Sleep was slow at letting go of its hold on Hermione. She was so comfortable, surrounded by the smell of parchment, chocolate and something woodsy and wild. She smiled, half awake.
Remus. She was still cuddled up with him.
She could feel his arm around her, his hand spread across her belly and his abdomen pressed against her back. She sighed peacefully and snuggled back into him.
His fingers stroked across her belly, "Love? If you're awake, you should really stop your wiggling." Remus' voice was rough and low in her ear.
She felt what he meant. She could feel the hard length of his cock pressing against her bum. Sleepiness made her bold, or she just wasn't awake enough to care because she pressed herself against him again.
Remus growled and rolled his hips against her. Hermione moaned quietly, feeling a delicious heat pool in her center. She turned over onto her back and looked up at Remus. His hand still rested on her belly, and she was struggling between wanting his hand to stay put because it was warm and comfortable or wanting his hand to move lower to where she was starting to feel achy.
He did remove his hand from her belly for a moment but only to cast a breath freshening spell, wandlessly, on both of them. Hermione felt her mouth tingle with a minty taste.
"You run the show, love. Like Draco said yesterday." Remus mumbled, his gaze searching her face.
Hermione lifted slightly and pressed her lips against the older man's.
The kiss during the ceremony was soft, chaste and didn't last nearly long enough. This kiss was deep and hungry. His lips were firm but not rough against hers. He flicked his tongue against her bottom lip, tracing the edge of the plush skin as his hand stroked across her stomach.
The soft strokes of his mouth and hand caused shivers to streak down her spine, turning to heat when his hand slid over and gripped her hip with strong fingers.
Hermione reached up, burying her hand in his hair. She wanted more but Remus was slow, and meticulous. No part of her mouth went unexplored when she finally opened her mouth to his. She whimpered and stroked her tongue against his.
"Isn't this a lovely sight?" Sirius' rough voice came from the doorway.
Remus pulled away from Hermione and they both looked to Sirius who was leaning in the doorway, smirking. She didn't know how she didn't hear the door open.
Hermione felt a little awkward, she took a deep breath, trying to calm her overheated body and heavy breathing. "Good morning."
The Black heir stepped quietly into the room and stopped a few steps from the bed. "Don't stop on my account." He eyed them both, his gray eyes smoky.
The curly haired witch blushed and sat up against the wall. "This doesn't bother you?" She asked.
"Kitten, I'm well aware how nice it is to wake up next to Remus in the morning. And how nice he is to cuddle with."
Hermione blushed and looked at Remus who had distinct pinking to his cheeks, she didn't think it was from embarrassment. His cheeks were pink, but his eyes were… heated. She wanted to ask the question so badly but didn't know how.
Sirius sat at the end of the bed facing her and the sandy haired man. "When Remus and I were younger, we experimented a little and as we grew older it just moved into being normal." He shrugged, "We never classified it. We're close friends and sometimes more."
Remus nodded his agreement. "We knew you were already concerned about coming between Draco and Theo, so we didn't want to bring up something else for you to worry about."
Nodding, Hermione smiled at the two men. "Thank you for telling me. And if you need time alone, please tell me. I don't want to come between anyone."
Sirius chuckled darkly, "What if that's exactly where we want you, kitten?"
She caught the heated look Remus shot Sirius. "That's… you want that?"
He leaned down and kissed her cheek before placing an equally sweet one on the side of Remus' head. "We absolutely do. But not today." He stood and held his hand out to her. "We have to get you fully moved in here. There's plenty of time to have fun once everyone settles."
Hermione nodded, kissed Remus' cheeks and took Sirius hand, letting him pull her from the bed. She made her way to the bathroom to get ready for the rest of the day.
—
All five of them flooed to Hermione's flat. It was neat and clean the way she left it, Crookshanks was laying on her couch.
He jumped down when they came in, winding around her ankle. "Hi Crooks, sorry for taking off on you."
To her surprise, the half-kneazle wound around all 4 men's feet before rubbing against Sirius who gave him pets. "Hey buddy." The Black heir said. The cat was purring so loud, Hermione could hear it.
"Are you the one that Crooks has been hanging out with?" Hermione asked.
Sirius nodded, "You didn't know? Crookshanks is at Grimmauld Place all the time. I thought you knew."
She shook her head, "No… but I guess that makes sense." She looked down at her familiar. "You might as well head there, Crooks. We'll be moving in there anyways." At least she knew now where that leather and dog smell came from.
Crooks meowed, rubbed up against everyone again and then took off farther into the flat. Hermione had no idea how he got around or even got out of the building, but she knew he would be at Grimmauld Place.
"Granger, what do you want to pack up?" Draco asked, looking around the living room.
Hermione shrugged, "I want my books and I need my clothes. Everything else I won't need. I guess I can ask Harry to take care of the rest of it?"
Theo waved his wand, starting to summon the books from her bookshelves. They shrunk down as they landed on the coffee table. "This won't take too long then."
It didn't take too long at all. Theo, Draco and Remus were tucking all the books and some photos in a trunk Hermione had, while she and Sirius worked on packing all of her clothes.
As they were finishing up, a tapping at the window announced the arrival of an owl. Hermione went into the living room and opened the window to let the bird in.
"Oh, the Prophet!" Hermione exclaimed, tucking a sickle into the leather bag tied to the pretty brown owl's leg. She hadn't kept an eye on the news since everything had happened. She was distinctly out of the loop.
The four men went back to their various packing while Hermione opened the news paper.
A shocked gasp slipped from her mouth and tears burned her eyes as she finished the article. Immediately she was surrounded by her husbands.
"Love, what's wrong?" Remus asked.
Draco touched her arm, trying to comfort her and took the newspaper from her shaking hands. Sirius wrapped his arms around her. She could hear Theo and Draco reading the article with Remus.
Hermione Granger: Slut or Scapegoat?
The Wizarding World has been watching and waiting anxiously for the Matching Announcements from the Ministry since the Wizarding Marriage Initiative was put into affect only a few months ago. Well dear readers, we have some juicy news for you today!
Another member of the Golden Trio has been hitched! Previously, The-Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter married his teenage amour, Ginny Weasley. But now, Golden Girl Hermione Granger tied the knot yesterday in a quiet ceremony at the Ministry. And to whom, you may ask? Not who you were expecting.
We all wanted to see the Golden Girl marry Ronald Weasley. Two-Thirds of the Golden Trio together forever in bonded bliss would be a story for the ages.
But according to the slighted Ronald Weasley. This is not what happened.
"She got hitched to four blokes." the redhead informed me as we met at the Leaky Cauldron for an afternoon nip. "Not only two decades older than her, one being a werewolf of all things, but two death eaters too. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Draco Malfoy and Theo Nott. Disgusting if you ask me. Always knew she was a slut."
When I tried to ask more questions to the devastated Ronald Weasley, he ordered another drink and asked me to leave.
An insider from the Ministry tells me that this is true, but not quite how it looks. My source tells me that Hermione got matched with four wizards due to a mix up in paperwork and rather than modify it, the ministry is sticking to their original decisions.
What do you think, my readers? Did Hermione Granger get hitched to three heirs of the Sacred 28 by accident? Or is the ambition I picked up on so long ago showing itself in a more direct way? Is the Golden Girl herself trying to collect power in the form of marriages?
I will be keeping you updated as I gather more information. Until then,
Rita Skeeter
"Mother fucker." Draco growled. Hermione felt herself passed from Sirius to Draco as Sirius went to see what was happening.
Hermione buried her face in Draco's chest. His citrus and spice scent filled her nose. She wrapped her arms around him, rubbing her cheek on the soft fabric of his button up shirt. She didn't even think she had it in her to cry.
She felt someone's hand on her back as Draco cuddled her. She wanted to stay in the warmth and ignore what was happening, but Hermione was starting to get angry. The longer those words flipped through her mind, the angrier she got.
"Sweetheart?" Draco whispered as he felt her tense. She pulled back from him.
"How fucking dare, he!" She raged, "How dare she? How dare anyone blame us for this."
Remus tucked the newspaper away and sighed, "I thought Ron was better than this."
"I didn't," She heard Draco say and he sounded exceptionally angry, "I always knew the Weasel was a piece of shit."
"We can't do anything now." Theo said reasonably. "We can't even see anyone in person right now."
"No, but we can owl Harry and Ginny. Even if we don't, I'm sure they saw the Prophet already." Sirius said, taking Hermione's hand in his.
"We should probably release a statement. I'm sure my father is already working on something; you know how he is." Draco told them.
Hermione sighed, "Let's just go back home, I don't want to deal with all of this."
Sirius shot a look at Remus, Draco and Theo. "Why don't we go home and these three can finish packing up your flat. We can owl Harry."
"I don't want you guys doing this by yourself, it's my flat, not yours."
"Go." Draco said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
She finally nodded in agreement and thanked them as she got shooed out of her apartment. Her and Sirius got back to Grimmauld a moment later.
"Kreacher." Sirius called.
The old elf popped into existence in front of them. "Yes Master Sirius."
"Kreacher, we'll need some tea in here, please."
Kreacher nodded and with a pop, disappeared. Hermione was mildly surprised how polite Sirius was to the elf, but it made her happy. The grumpy old house elf seemed happier too.
"You didn't need to do that." Hermione said. "I could make us tea."
He shook his head and led her to the couch. "You're going to sit here and drink some tea and I'm going to get Draco's owl and write to Harry.
With a swish of his wand, he summoned the same blanket Hermione had slept with on the couch the day before. "Off you go."
Hermione sighed and followed Sirius' instructions after he kissed her head and left her in the sitting room. She poured herself some tea and wrapped the blanket around herself when she sat on the couch.
As she sipped her tea, she reflected briefly on the situation. Their situation was unique. It was strange. But Hermione found herself happy. Even with the newspaper painting her as a slut, she knew it wasn't something that she chose for herself.
She had never felt as cared for as she had within the last few days. She had four men that were doing everything they could to make things more comfortable for her and all she was doing was getting newspaper articles written about her.
Unwrapping the blanket, which she had finally realized belonged to Draco, she put her teacup on the floor and pulled her wand out of her sleeve. Casting her Patronus, she whispered her message to it.
"Ginny, I need you to find Ron and make him recant his statement to the Prophet. He was clearly drunk and needs to stop this stupidity. Please, Gin."
Her otter danced off and she hoped the Patronus would fall under the same non-face-to-face communication as an owl.
At least this way she had contributed something to the damage control Sirius and Draco were going to be doing. Hermione sighed and curled up with the blanket again.
All she could do was wait.
—
A few hours later, Draco, Theo and Remus arrived back, each holding a trunk or a bag with Hermione's various shrunken possessions. Sirius had joined her on the couch not long after she sent her Patronus, and she was still waiting for a response.
"Any answer from Harry?" Remus asked.
Hermione shook her head and Sirius said "Nothing yet. Hermione sent a Patronus to Ginny too, so hopefully we'll get an answer soon."
Remus nodded and sat next to Hermione and asked her how she was doing.
"I'm just mad. I'm mad at Ron for talking to Rita Skeeter. I'm mad at Ron for specifying that you were a werewolf like it's a bad thing and mad at Rita Skeeter for still publishing garbage."
Remus stroked the back of his hand down her cheek with a self-deprecating smile. She knew he had been expecting this.
Draco laughed, "You know the whole keeping her in a jar for a few weeks wouldn't make her like you."
She didn't know how he knew that, but she still didn't regret it. "She shouldn't have been so horrible."
He shook his head at her, "I'm going to owl my father and see if there's any information, he can give us or anything he's started writing up. I'll let you know, Granger."
Him and Theo left, and she cuddled into the couch between Sirius and Remus. She tipped her head back and sighed, "It's so frustrating that I can't do anything. We can't even leave the house to do an interview or anything." She leaned against Remus, wanting a little bit of closeness. He lifted his arm to tuck her against him.
Sirius laid down on the couch and rested his head on her lap. "Nothing we can do, kitten. Draco will figure out some statement to give and we'll see what happens."
"But what if they don't even print it? We can't force them to do it."
"Nothing we can do, Hermione. We just need to wait." Remus said. "You can't exactly trap her again."
"Hey, she's an unregistered Animagus. I will do it if I need to." She laughed.
"Kitten has claws." Sirius joked, smirking up at her.
"I would remember that if I were you, Padfoot." Remus said, pressing a kiss to Hermione's cheek.
She finally gave into temptation and began running her fingers through Sirius' curly, black hair. It was as soft as she thought it would be. He seemed to enjoy it as he sighed and closed his eyes.
They sat in silence until Sirius decided to put a movie on. Draco and Theo returned downstairs after the first movie finished and smiled softly at the three of them cuddling.
"Aw, Draco. Now I'm feeling a little left out." Theo joked, elbowing Draco in the arm.
Sirius opened his arms and gestured to Theo, "Come on then."
Theo seemed to send a look to Draco and then jumped onto Sirius, causing him to grunt as the younger man cuddled into his chest.
"I warn you; Theo is a leech." Draco said, smiling at his boyfriend.
Hermione loved how comfortable they were. Sirius just smiled and wrapped his arms around Theo. There was hardly any shyness between the four men. Except for Draco. Draco just seemed really stoic to Hermione. He had sat himself next to Remus but sitting a foot away.
She decided to try something. She held her hand out to Draco. "Come here." She said.
Draco eyed her warily but stood up and took her hand. "What are you doing, Sweetheart?" He asked softly.
She tugged him towards her and took her wand out, summoning a cushion from the other side of the couch and placing it in front of her. "Sit close to me." Hermione mumbled, feeling shy. She could see Theo smiling at them out of the corner of her eye.
Draco sat stiffly on the cushion on the floor and Hermione laughed, leaning forward to pull him forward to rest against her leg. He adjusted and laid his head on her lap, his back now resting against Remus' legs.
Hermione felt… complete. She sighed happily. "Do you all feel that?" She asked.
They all nodded, and the feeling got stronger when Theo reached his arm above his head and wrapped his fingers around the top of his arm.
"I didn't realize the bond would feel this strong." Remus said. He seemed almost fascinated. "The full moon is tomorrow and it's unusually calm."
"I wonder if the wolf aspects are picking up on it and interpreting it as a pack bond?" Hermione theorized.
Remus cocked his head. "That's possible. It feels right."
They cuddled there on the couch, summoning food from the kitchen to eat together with a movie in the background. The night passed quickly, comfortably.
Harry's stag Patronus appeared after they ate, saying that they were working on the Prophet and Ginny was going to talk with Ron. He also said he would take care of Hermione's apartment so she wouldn't have to worry about it.
Draco remembered then to inform them that his father was drafting a response for the Prophet and would owl it to Harry.
She still wasn't completely at ease with everything going on, but she stopped worrying when Sirius decided he was going to bed. Cuddling with Theo had made him tired.
Hermione received a chaste kiss from each of the other three men and followed Sirius to his softly lit room. She was nervous, but slightly less than she was the night before with Remus. The casual touches throughout the day made it feel more normal. Just with four men instead of one.
She shook her head and laughed.
"What's up, kitten?" Sirius asked.
"Still wrapping my head around having four husbands. And how normal it feels."
"It does, doesn't it?" The soft smile he sent her made her heart skip a beat. "I'm happy, kitten."
"I am too." She whispered as he stepped closer to her.
Sirius pressed his lips to her forehead, "Get changed, time to sleep."
They took turns changing in the bathroom. Hermione realized, after she summoned her bag for the second night in a row, that she needed to put clothes in every man's room if she was going to be sleeping in bed with one of them every night.
Sirius' room was big enough that she was sure she could put some sort of trunk with some clothes. His room was the largest in the house and was reminiscent of Gryffindor tower. Half dorm/half common room. But for one person. The huge four poster bed was draped in dark red fabric with gold threads. A fireplace took up a large portion of one wall and had various trinkets on top. A couple comfortable looking chairs and a small couch were angled in front of it. Hermione knew that she was going to end up there reading one day in the near future.
Sirius laid down on the left side of the bed and Hermione climbed into the right side. The bed was way too tall, making it so she needed to climb up into it.
"Does your bed need to be so tall?" She asked, laughing.
"Maybe you're just too short, kitten." He opened his arms, "Come here."
It was words so reminiscent of what he said to Theo, Hermione couldn't help but throw herself onto him. She laughed when he grunted.
"Watch your word choices, Sirius." She said, cuddling into him when he wrapped his arms tightly around her.
"I guess I'll need to. That or start casting cushioning charms around myself. You may be small, but my rib cage might not be able to take it."
Hermione pecked his t-shirt clad chest in apology. "I'll be careful next time."
The older man tucked his finger under her chin and tilted her head. "As long as I'm getting cuddled, I'll deal with anything." He said, before kissing her sweetly.
It was so soft, and Hermione couldn't help the small moan that escaped her. She leaned up, pushing herself closer to Sirius. He nibbled on her bottom lip before stroking his tongue over the slight sting. It made Hermione shiver.
His hand stroked the line of her jaw and down her neck, a line of goosebumps following in the wake of his calloused hands. His hands were gentle as he pushed them into her hair, tugging lightly on the curly strands.
Hermione placed her hand on his cheek, stroking the scruff that he had let regrow over the last few days. She clenched her thighs together imagining that scratch against her thighs.
She wanted him.
This closeness with four unbelievably attractive men was going to kill her.
Sirius broke the kiss gently. Pressing a series of soft kisses to her lips and one to her forehead. His voice was rough when he finally spoke. "I'm glad you're here, kitten. With me here. I know this isn't what you wanted, but I'm glad you're here."
Hermione kissed him, "I'm happy I'm here too, Sirius."
He sighed and pulled her closer. She fell asleep tracing the tattoos that adorned the back of his hand.
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
The next day, everyone was a little more subdued. It was the first full moon they would experience together, and she wasn't too fond of Remus and Sirius' plan.
They had all sat down for lunch together, only three hours before the sun was going to set. Winters in the UK brought with it long nights and short days. The sun began to set at 4:30 in the afternoon. It was going to be one of the longest nights as well because they were just a few days away from the winter solstice.
As they ate, Remus explained to her that he and Sirius had constructed a one room shed in the back garden for him to have his transformations in. He wanted to be as far away as possible from the main house to keep everyone safe.
Hermione argued with him. She had been at Grimmauld plenty of times when Remus transformed in the basement and nothing bad had ever happened. The harder she tried to change his mind, the harder he doubled down. He continued to claim it wasn't worth the risk.
She hated how much he didn't trust himself. Remus was regularly on Wolfsbane. He had a steady supply of it now from a reputable potioneer that owled the Wolfsbane as needed. With the potion in his system, his transformed self was no more dangerous than a puppy. Remus would stay in control.
The discussion continued through the rest of the afternoon as they moved to sit in the sitting room, Hermione and Remus butting heads as the wolf tried to out stubborn the exceptionally stubborn curly haired witch. Sirius, Draco and Theo mediated, sticking close to Hermione and Remus to step in when things started to get a little too heated.
It wasn't until an hour before the moon was going to arrive that Remus pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. "This is how this is going to work, Love." He said firmly, "You're going to stay in the house with Draco and Theo. Sit in front of the fireplace, read a book, I don't care. And while you do that, Sirius and I will be in the comfortable charmed shed we made until tomorrow morning." He eyed her when she opened her mouth to argue and she stopped herself and nodded, wanting to spend the last little bit of time cuddling with the older man. "Good girl." He whispered.
To Hermione's mortification, a shiver went down her spine at Remus' praise and she blushed. She tucked her nose into his neck when he smirked at her.
Time went by way too fast and before she knew it, Remus was lifting her off his lap and standing up. He kissed her cheek and forehead. "I'll see you in the morning, love. Have a good night."
"Goodnight, Remus." She said, "You both be careful, please."
Sirius smiled roguishly, "Don't worry, kitten. We're just going to cuddle up and sleep." He kissed her and looked at Draco and Theo. "Take care of our girl, you two."
Theo wrapped an arm around her and pulled her down between him and Draco. The smell of citrus and amber surrounded her. "Of course, we will." He said, throwing an arm around her shoulder.
Sirius and Remus left, and Hermione raised an eyebrow at Theo, "You know I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, right?"
"Of course, you are but we like doing it." Theo said with a grin.
She felt Draco timidly run his knuckle along the back of her hand. "We want to do it."
Hermione turned to Draco. She still hadn't sat down to talk to him and still didn't know if it was the right time, but she needed to. She felt comfortable with him, the same as she did with the other three men, but it felt like there was something else with him. A small bump they needed to get over before she'd feel fully at ease sharing simple touches.
Even though they hadn't had that conversation, Draco's face was so soft, so honest that she couldn't help but smile and link her fingers with his. "Thank you."
They spent the night reading and talking. The reading only lasted for a little bit as Theo couldn't help but interrupt. At Hogwarts, Harry and Ron had done the same thing to her and it used to be the most annoying thing she could think of. But when Theo did it, she was more than happy to stop reading her book and talk to him.
At one point, he summoned a book from their room and asked Hermione to read it to him. She'd never read to anyone before, but it seemed to make him happy when she agreed. She took the book and leaned against Draco, reading the Wizarding fiction book that Theo had bought a few weeks before.
Theo laid down with his head on her lap and Draco put down his book to listen. Even Crooks appeared from nowhere to lay on the back of the couch. Hermione very rarely read Fiction, but she found herself invested in the story.
Hours later, she yawned and stared at the book blearily, as she had lost her spot. Draco took the book from her hand and placed a bookmark to save their spot. "I think it's time to go to bed, Hermione." Draco said, casting a tempus charm. It was almost midnight, Sirius and Remus had already been out at the shed for almost 8 hours.
Hermione's stomach seemed to twist into knots, and she was kind of confused. She didn't feel nervous going to bed with the two men. She followed them upstairs calmly, but the twisting persisted.
Draco and Theo's room had shelves and shelves of books on magic, Potions, charms, healing and history interspersed with books on Quidditch.
The room was neat with the messiest thing being an armchair with a sweater and the blanket that Hermione was cuddling laid over the back. Poor Draco looked nervous, though his face was in the perfect mask of nonchalance, his eyes betrayed him.
Theo noticed. "Why don't you go get ready for bed, beautiful." He suggested, gesturing to which of the two doors on the left side of the room was the bathroom.
Hermione nodded and left the two men alone. She took her time, giving Theo time to calm Draco down and an extra minute for herself to get the knots to untwist in her belly. It didn't work, but after changing into a shorts and tank top set and brushing through her curly hair, she couldn't procrastinate anymore. She had already showered that morning, so she couldn't even use that as an excuse.
When she walked back into the room, Draco was sitting on the side of the bed, while Theo sat up in the spot next to the wall. Their conversation ended abruptly as she appeared.
"Is everything okay?" Hermione asked, eyeing both men.
Theo grinned at her as he eyed her legs, "Just peachy now, beautiful. Join me." He said, pulling the blanket down to show the space next to him.
Hermione climbed in next to Theo and looked to Draco. She could see his throat bob as he swallowed hard. "Are you coming?" She asked the blond.
"Um…" Draco mumbled. "I thought maybe I'd sleep in one of the spare rooms."
Theo eyed him. "We talked about this Draco."
"Do you not want to spend the night with me?" Hermione asked, feeling her stomach twist almost painfully. A feeling of rejection crept up.
"I do. But I didn't know if you were ready for that." Draco explained, a light flush on his cheekbones.
She held out her hand to him and he simply stared at it for a moment, so she took his hand and tugged. When Draco was sitting closer to her, she smiled encouragingly. "You and I certainly need to sit down for a talk." She started, and Draco nodded sadly. "But I want you in this bed tonight. I want to sleep in bed with you and Theo."
The blond smiled softly and arranged himself on his side in the bed. Hermione was fitted between them and when she laid down on her back, her left arm was pressed against Theo's abdomen and her right, against Draco's.
Hermione giggled, which caused the two men to smile. "Okay, this is a little weird."
"What's wrong? Never spent the night between two men?" Theo asked.
Hermione shook her head, "Absolutely not."
Draco glanced from her to Theo, "We thought you would've already shared a bed with Sirius and Remus."
"No." She answered, they must have been thinking about when Sirius, Remus and she had come downstairs together the morning before. "Sirius only came into the room that morning. He kind of walked in on us kissing."
"Oh? And what was dear Sirius' reaction to that?" Theo asked.
Hermione shrugged. "He seemed fine with it."
"I bet he was more than fine with it." The brunette wizard said with a laugh. "I'm going to guess he wanted to join you."
Hermione blushed, "I don't know… maybe. He did say something about wanting me between them."
"Well so far I have to agree."
Draco nodded and bit his lip.
"So, there's no jealousy?" Hermione asked. "I think I would be very upset if I saw one of you kissing another woman."
"Hermione has a jealous streak, Draco." Theo said, "I think I like it."
Draco took a deep breath. "Why don't we experiment a little?" He suggested. "Kiss Theo."
"You want me to kiss your boyfriend in front of you?" She asked, with an eyebrow raised.
"I want you to kiss your husband in front of me. Not that you haven't already." Draco's voice was getting low and gruff.
Theo placed his arm across Hermione's belly. The twisting feeling intensified. "Please do." He said.
Hermione nodded and lifted her left arm to place her hand on the back of Theo's head. She pulled his face down to hers, so they didn't block Draco's view.
Theo was as enthusiastic as he was at the ceremony. He kissed her hard, almost bruising but she absolutely loved it. Draco moaned behind her and pressed closer, causing her to feel him hard against her hip. She felt Theo's hand lift off her abdomen before another took its place. He had pulled Draco's hand over to touch her.
She could feel Draco's fingers trail from under her breasts, down to her belly button and back up, taking her tank top with him. His fingertips ran across her bare skin and her belly sparked with sensation. She sucked lightly on Theo's tongue and moaned when Draco skimmed a rather sensitive spot right below her belly button. She felt her nipples harden under her tank top.
She could feel pressure and twisting in her lower belly. Theo broke the kiss and nudged her face to the side until she was looking at Draco's face. The blonde's eyes were riveted to his hand on her skin, and she had to nudge under his chin with her right hand to make him look at her.
He had been biting his lower lip and the skin was flushed. She led his face towards her, pressing her lips to his. Draco was tentative at first but when she moaned as Theo took the opportunity to kiss her neck, Draco lost hold on his restraint.
His tongue plunged between her lips, tasting her and making her shiver. He sucked her bottom lip, alternating between nipping the soft skin and sucking the sting away. His hand never stopped its motion, going slightly higher and slightly lower with each pass until Hermione moaned and arched into him.
Suddenly the twisting, pressure sensation that was dancing pleasurably around her lower stomach turned to pain. She gasped and pulled away from Draco's kiss.
"Hermione?" He questioned, his voice still rough and breathy, "Did I hurt you?"
"No." She said, but as another cramp twisted through her stomach, she wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't know what's going on."
"What hurts, Hermione?" Theo asked, concerned.
"My…" She took a deep breath. "My stomach." She groaned as the waves of pain came more consistently.
"What's happening Draco?" Theo asked.
She heard a response and then a spell being muttered before Draco said that he didn't know. As Hermione took a deep breath and tried to breathe through the pain, they heard Sirius shouting from downstairs and, a moment later, the frantic man ran into the room.
"Something's wrong with Remus!" The dark-haired man informed them, running his hands through his long hair.
Hermione turned on her side and gasped out a breath "What's wrong."
"Kitten!" Sirius exclaimed. "What's happening?"
Theo swore. "The bond." He said. "Hermione has been away from Remus for over nine hours."
Sirius walked over and touched her bare arm. Mid-cramp, Hermione felt the pain taper slightly.
"I need…" Hermione tried to speak. "Sirius, go to Remus. Touch…" She gasped. "We need touch to counteract the…" The pain cut off her speech.
Sirius nodded, pressing a kiss to Hermione's head. "You two take care of her. Skin on skin, anything that will help." He ran out of the room.
Hermione was almost in tears as the cramping continued to increase. The Ministry were a bunch of sadists and Hermione was going to be talking to them as soon as she could.
Theo pulled his shirt off and threw it at the end of the bed. "Hermione, can I take your shirt off? We need skin on skin."
It wasn't exactly how Hermione wanted them to see her naked for the first time, but she nodded. She tried to help, whimpering as movement made the cramps worse. When her shirt was removed, Draco quickly pressed her against his chest. She felt her breasts and stomach press against his warm skin and wrapped her arm around him.
Theo pressed up against her back and Hermione sighed at the sensation of being pressed against the two men. It was helping slightly. The cramping was still insistent, but it had dulled slightly, at least allowing her to not curl over on herself.
"Is that better, sweetheart?" Draco asked.
Hermione nodded against his chest. She sighed as Theo pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. "That helped too."
"Whatever you need, beautiful. Just tell us." Theo pressed kisses to her bare shoulder as Draco pressed his lips to her forehead.
"The ministry sucks." Hermione growled. "It feels like every muscle in my stomach has been strained and it's aching."
"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Draco mumbled, "Just try to relax the best you can. We have some time to go until sunup, but we'll get you to Remus as soon as we can."
"Do you think a pain potion would help?" Theo asked, rubbing her side as if he was trying to touch as much of her skin as possible.
Hermione shook her head, "I doubt it. The ministry is doing this to keep the married couple together. To force them to be together."
"So, they wouldn't want a person to be able to take pain relievers to stop them from being with their spouse." Draco sighed. "This is cruel."
Hermione ran her hands up and down his back, feeling his soft skin stretched over hard muscles. She wished she wasn't hurting so bad so she could enjoy this. "I'll be fine. As long as you two stays with me, I can wait."
"We won't go anywhere, sweetheart."
"We're here until we can get you to Remus. Try to get some sleep, beautiful. We'll make sure you're up as soon as the sun rises."
Hermione knew she wouldn't sleep, the pain still irritatingly insistent. Draco and Theo had seemed to doze on and off, but Hermione never drifted.
When the sky started lightening slightly, Draco kissed her forehead. "We need to get you downstairs. It's probably going to hurt a bit. Only one of us can carry you."
Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. Draco slowly climbed out of bed and even though Theo was still pressed up behind her, the pain increased significantly.
"I know, Hermione. It won't be long now." Theo pressed kisses to her shoulder, but they barely distracted her.
Draco reached down and pulled Hermione into his arms, having her wrap her legs around his waist so as much of her skin as possible could be pressed against his. He wrapped his arms under her bum and pressed a kiss to her shoulder.
Theo jumped up and grabbed Draco's blanket from the chair and wrapped it around her and the blond to keep her warm. She had started shivering and that hadn't helped the cramps which had become almost excruciating. Hermione tried to stifle a groan.
They quickly made their way downstairs.
As they entered the kitchen, the back door opened, and Sirius walked in supporting Remus on one side. He helped the tired man sit on the floor. Hermione looked at Remus. Sirius had clearly healed and cleaned him the best he could with magic, but some of the wounds were still raw and sore looking. His face was drawn and pale, sweat still coating his brow.
Hermione dropped her legs and reached out to Remus. In a burst of energy, she didn't think he would possess, he took her hand and pulled her into his lap.
As their skin touched, the cramps finally abated completely. They both sighed in relief.
"I'm so sorry, love."
Hermione shook her head and pressed her bare chest closer to his. "Not your fault Remus. The Ministry is evil."
She yawned loudly and cuddled into him. "Did you get any sleep?" She asked.
She felt him shake his head. "Did you?"
"No."
Hermione looked over and saw Theo hugging Sirius who looked miserable and exhausted. Draco had his hand on the older man's shoulder. "Sirius? Are you okay?"
Sirius' voice was quiet and strained. "Just tired, kitten. We should all go get some rest."
"Your bed?" Hermione asked. "It's the biggest." She wanted to be around all of her men.
Sirius nodded and Hermione kissed a spot under Remus' jaw, one of the only places with no bruises or cuts. "Let's go to bed."
Sirius and Theo helped Remus up the stairs to Sirius' room, as Draco walked with Hermione. She wrapped the blanket around herself to cover her chest, a little shyer of her nakedness now that she wasn't wracked with pain.
When they got to Sirius' room, Theo and Sirius placed Remus on the bed. The tired man held his arm up and Hermione dropped the blanket before climbing into bed, pressing herself tightly to his side, her head pillowed gently on his chest. Sirius climbed in on the other side of Remus.
It was a tight squeeze, even with the large bed… but Draco laid behind Hermione, spooning her and Theo climbed between the wall and Sirius. The blanket somehow covered them all and all five fell asleep quickly
Thursday December 18th, 2003
When Hermione woke up, the room was dim. They had slept through right to the afternoon of the next day. She was hungry, sticky with sweat and still had some residual pain in her belly.
She was plastered to Remus' side, and she could see that the wounds had finally finished healing, but the bruises would remain for a few days. She felt Draco shift behind her, and his breathing changed as he nuzzled into her hair.
"Hi." She whispered, looking over her shoulder.
He smiled sleepily, "Hi."
She turned carefully so as to not wake the sleeping wolf beside her. When she was facing Draco, she cupped his cheek in her palm. "Thank you for last night."
Draco frowned at her. "For what?"
"For staying with me. I don't know what I would've done without you and Theo."
"You don't have to thank me, sweetheart."
She sighed, "Well I know you were iffy about staying in the bed with us. But I'm glad you did."
She leaned forward and kissed Draco sweetly on the mouth, neither deepened the kiss, they just enjoyed their lips pressing together. Remus turned to spoon Hermione and she gasped when he whispered in her ear. "If I'm going to wake up like this after the full moon, I may not mind it much anymore."
Hermione broke the kiss and blushed when Remus kissed the back of her shoulder. "Good morning, Remus."
"Morning, love. How are you feeling?"
Draco stroked his fingers down Hermione's side and kissed her forehead as she spoke with Remus. "I should be asking you that. You had a full transformation plus those cramps. I just had the cramps."
"They certainly were not pleasant, and my stomach is hurting more than it usually does, I can only imagine you're feeling the same."
She nodded, pressing her forehead into Draco's chest. "Yeah, my stomach is aching. But I'm sure it'll fade."
"I'm sorry you had to experience that because of me."
Hermione lifted her head to look at the Werewolf behind her. "It was not because of you; it was because of the ministry. We'll just need to figure out something for next time, now, won't we?"
The older man sighed, "I don't want you in the room while I transform. It's too dangerous."
"Between the Wolfsbane and the protection spells, I'd be perfectly safe, and you know it." She argued.
Draco broke up their whispered conversation that was sure to turn into an argument. "Let's try talking about this later, hmm? The other two are still sleeping and I'm sure everyone is going to need food."
From the other side of the bed, Sirius picked up his groggy head, "I was sleeping and then you guys woke me with this morning sweet talk. You're all too sweet in the morning. It's disgusting."
"Aww." Theo's sleepy voice cut in. "Is old man Sirius cranky in the morning."
"I'll show you old and cranky, you little shit." Sirius grumbled and there were movements on the other side of the bed Hermione couldn't see. She struggled to try to see.
Draco laughed when Theo giggled. "Everything is good, sweetheart. Sirius just found out that Theo is ticklish."
"Well, since everyone is awake… I'm going to go shower." She sat up and made to climb over Draco but stopped midway when he growled. She was straddling his waist and she was as bare chested as the four men she was in bed with.
Theo sighed, "Can I wake up to that image every morning?" He asked, his chin resting on Sirius's chest.
"Which image?" Sirius growled. "Hermione topless or Hermione topless and straddling Draco?"
"Both, either, straddling any of us. I'm not picky." The cheeky brunette responded with a shrug of his shoulders.
Draco's hands gripped the top of her thighs with a groan when she giggled. She realized that she was sitting directly on top of a very sensitive and very awake part of his anatomy. "You guys don't play fair." She laughed, "I'm gross and I need to shower."
"I don't see anything gross, love. Just something that's going to cause us to get hard." Remus' growly voice caused her to shiver, and the movement made Draco groan.
"I'm sweaty and I'm pretty sure my hair tried to suffocate at least one of you during the night." She laughed.
Draco sat himself up and lifted her by the hips. He licked a strip up her abdomen, following the same path his hand took the night previously, except this time, ending right at the dip between her collar bones. He hummed, "Still nothing gross. Your skin is sweet."
Hermione gasped at the sensation arching her back. She could see Theo, Sirius and Remus watching them intensely.
"You have two choices right now sweetheart." Draco said, pressing a kiss to her breastbone, "You can get up and go take your shower. In which case, everyone will be absolutely okay with it. Or… you and I can give them a little show and I can finally have my fingers buried between your thighs."
She looked at all of them and saw nothing but eagerness and heat. There was no jealousy, no anger. Heat threaded through her system, and she nodded softly to Draco. "Touch me."
She heard all four men groan.
"This is just for you, sweetheart. Everyone else is just going to watch. Would you like that?"
Hermione gasped and nodded, she really would like Theo, Remus and Sirius to watch what Draco was doing to her. She was so on edge from the last three days of nothing but intense kissing and cuddling that she knew it wouldn't take her long to come. But she really really wanted to.
"Stop me whenever you want." Draco said, and she knew he was sincere. He placed his mouth back on her chest, kissing the skin between her breasts before blowing lightly on an already pebbled nipple. She could feel how slick she was between her thighs.
And Draco found out soon after when he slipped his fingers under the band of her sleep shorts and underwear and pulled them down slightly. And then, those dexterous fingers were on heated flesh, and she moaned, throwing her head back almost violently.
"Draco…" Hermione was barely coherent and all the blond had done was place two fingertips directly over her clit. He pressed ever so slightly on the bundle of nerves and slowly circled his fingers. Her hips arched towards him, searching for more pressure and he clearly chose not to tease her.
He slid those fingers down and sunk them into her. She clenched around them.
"So hot and wet. Sweetheart, you're dripping for us. Are we leaving you unsatisfied?"
Hermione heard Remus growl almost animalistically and Theo and Sirius groaned as Draco pulled his fingers out and showed them the drenched digits. He sucked his fingers into his mouth, moaning around them before thrusting them back inside her.
"And you taste so sweet. That's something we'll need to explore further later."
With that, he pumped his fingers in and out of her with gentle strokes. His thumb found her clit, drawing circles over the swollen button until her thighs shook with pleasure. She was so close to breaking, tingling started in her lower belly. She rose higher with each expert touch and with the feeling of the four men watching her, it was too much.
"Come, Hermione." It was Remus' gravelly voice that issued the command and her body listened, breaking for the men watching her.
She moaned loudly as the pleasure wracked through her body in such a contrast to the pain from the night before that it seemed to go on and on. Draco continued touching her, keeping his fingers inside of her and rubbing her clit to draw out the orgasm as long as possible. It was only when Hermione collapsed against the blond that he finally took his fingers away from her center.
Hermione watched as Remus took Draco's hand and sucked her essence from his digits causing Draco to moan. Then the wolf leaned over and grabbed Sirius by the hair, roughly bringing their mouths together in a heated kiss, sharing her taste.
Hermione couldn't believe what was happening. And as her body was calming, she again found spikes of arousal beginning again.
She lifted her head from Draco's shoulder and kissed him hard. She wanted to reciprocate but Draco slowed their kiss and wrapped his arms around her.
"You go take your shower, sweetheart. That was just to prove to you that no matter what state you're in, all four of us want you."
She blushed and kissed him again. She kissed the three other men heatedly and readjusted her clothing before making her way to the bathroom to shower.
—
When Hermione left the bathroom, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, the only man who remained was Remus. He was laying in the bed, seemingly sleeping peacefully, the comforter covering him to his chest.
She took a step towards the door, trying to stay quiet.
"Where are you going, love?"
Hermione walked over to him. "I was going to let you sleep. I was also going to go write to our favorite ministry department."
Remus laughed, "Ms. Granger is on a warpath again?"
She nodded, "I hate what they caused us. I want them to fix it. This clause was ridiculous anyways."
Remus looked at her thoughtfully. "I'm sorry."
She crawled on the bed next to him. "I told you it's not your fault. I'm going to do some research and see if there's something we can do. There must be a way to make this easier on both of us. But particularly you."
He reached up and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her nose into his chest, taking in his unique scent. She couldn't help but touch him. Between being so worried about him the night before and the growled words barely an hour before, her fingertips were itching to trace over his skin.
She ran her hand over his chest and abdomen, tracing the deep scars all over his skin. Hermione lifted her head and kissed the scars on his chest and shoulder.
"Love? What are you doing?" He groaned.
She ran her hand down his abdomen and palmed his hard cock through his boxers. "I know you hurt, and I know you're tired. But I want you. I want to make you feel good. I want to take care of you."
Remus' face softened as he inhaled sharply. He nodded and pressed his lips to her.
She reached into his boxers and stroked him gently, feeling the soft skin. She wrapped her fingers around him and even though her fingers wouldn't touch, she did her best to touch as much of him as possible.
She stroked from base to tip, running her thumb over the sensitive skin of the head. This caused Remus to gasp and break the kiss. This strong man was falling to pieces next to her and she couldn't help but smirk at the fact that she was the cause.
Hermione continued her long firm strokes and after another gasp, he pushed the blanket off him and moaned as he came. His come covered her hand and his stomach. She slowed her strokes, continuing until the last shudder left his body.
She summoned her wand into her clean hand and cleaned them both up, before resting her head back on his heaving chest. She brushed her lips over his skin soothingly.
—
Sometime later, after Remus fell asleep, Hermione snuck out of the bed. She made her way downstairs and found the three other men drinking tea and eating sandwiches in the kitchen.
"Good…" She started, before she noticed how dark it was outside. "Uhm… night?"
"It's almost seven, kitten. Were you keeping Remus company?" She blushed and nodded. Unsure why she was so shy. "I got hungry, and he fell asleep, so I decided it was time to come down. I still have a couple letters to write."
Sirius chuckled at her reddening face, but thankfully didn't say anything. Theo summoned some parchment, ink and a quill and placed it on the table across from him and Draco, while Draco put a sandwich on a plate for her and made her a cup of tea.
She raised an eyebrow at them both. "Alright. We need to talk." She said, taking her seat. "I really appreciate you getting me stuff and handing me food and drinks and blankets, but I am a perfectly capable witch that does not need to be dotted on."
Sirius laughed and crossed his arms. "I told you two it wasn't going to fly for much longer."
Draco rolled his eyes, "Granger, it literally takes no effort. Just let us."
"Exactly. We weren't lying. We like taking care of you." Theo added.
Sirius sat next to Hermione and nudged her shoulder. "You don't know much about pureblood courting customs, do you?"
Hermione shook her head and took a bite of her sandwich which weirdly seemed to make Draco relax.
"When purebloods begin courting, there are gifts that are given at specific times during the courtship. Usually extravagant, expensive gifts that hold little purpose besides proving how well the Wizard can financially care for the witch." Sirius explained. "But that wouldn't turn out well with you, would it?" He asked her.
"I don't need or want anything from you all. Nothing monetary or expensive, anyways." She replied.
Draco nodded, "Theo and I realized that as soon as you were matched with us. If we bought you something expensive, you would thank us and show appreciation but it's not what you want."
"So, we decided to take care of you in a way that we could probably get away with." Theo continued. "No one thinks less of you for accepting a drink or food from us."
The Black heir shook his head. "I honestly thought it was quite ingenious really. I didn't know how you would react to typical pureblood customs."
"You're a pureblood, why aren't you rushing to do whatever for me." Hermione knew it sounded strange to ask, but she really didn't understand all these customs and wanted to know more. Were they different in different families? Or did Sirius just see them as a gesture before the marriage bond was formed.
"I spent most of my life pushing away as many pureblood customs as I could." He explained to the curious witch. "I didn't feel the need to follow this one. Plus, my idea of taking care of you is having you so exhausted from orgasms that you can't leave the bed. Which will then require those two," He gestured to Theo and Draco whose eyes were dark in sparking arousal, "To provide you everything you needed. So really, it all plays off of each other." The smirk on his face was downright sinful at this point.
Hermione knew she didn't stand a chance. "Fine."
"What?" Draco and Theo exchanged glances. "Fine?"
"Yes. If it's a fundamental part of your belief system that you want to follow, I won't fight you."
She raised a brow as great big smiles crossed the younger two men's faces. "But I have a requirement."
They nodded, gesturing for her to continue. Sirius just laughed. "I'm able to take care of myself and I will, in fact, take care of myself. So as long as this stays sweet and doesn't affect my work, I have no problems."
"Well…" Draco said slowly, "Technically you don't need…"
"Don't." Hermione growled, cutting off the blond. "Don't say what you're about to say because I think you all are really sweet right now and I don't want to go back to wanting to throat punch you, Malfoy."
Theo nodded and elbowed Draco, whose eyes seemed to have heated even more. "Okay, Granger, a discussion for another day. Now eat your food."
Hermione rolled her eyes and took another bite.
Friday December 19th, 2003
Hermione had spent the night before with Sirius and Remus in Sirius' bed. She had curled comfortably between the two of them.
When she woke up early, even before the sun rose, she snuck out of the bed and made it to the library a floor below.
That's where Sirius found her much later, sitting on a couch with piles of books around her and at least four levitating in front of her as she compared the information from them.
"Hello kitten." He said quietly, trying not to spook her since she was so focused.
She looked up at him, eyes fuzzy. Her wand was tucked into what was supposed to be a bun, but her hair was partially down in a riot of curls around her face due to her running her fingers through the curly strands in frustration. "Hi." Her voice came out quiet.
Sirius shook his head. "I'm going to get Kreacher to bring you some tea. If Theo and Draco see you like this, you'll be done researching for the day."
She rolled her eyes but nodded her agreement. He called the old elf to request some fruit and tea and when the elf returned, he handed the tray to Hermione.
Sirius pushed a pile of books to the side and sat next to her so they could talk while she ate. "Did you find anything?"
She shrugged, swallowing her bite of food before responding. She hadn't realized how hungry she was. "I think I have a theory, but I don't know."
"Do tell."
"Let me ask you this… did Remus ever bite you?" She asked the older man, watching his expression closely. From what she read, this was an intensely invasive question to ask a wolf pack and she didn't want to offend him.
"You mean while he was changed? He has nipped at me as Padfoot a few times but no full bites."
She shook her head, "What about as a human?"
"No. What are you getting at, kitten?" Sirius tried to peak at the books that were hovering around her.
Hermione brought a piece of melon to her lips, nibbling on it as her eyes were far away in thought. "According to these books. Wolves have a strong urge to claim their pack. Usually this is done by biting each member in the days following the moon." She popped the rest of the fruit in her mouth and shrugged as she chewed and swallowed it. "It can be intense, and I think it would almost double the intensity of the Marriage Bond. But a pack bond would afford us some protection during the transformations. Moony would fully recognize us and would scent that we were a part of his pack. We could safely be in there, even as humans."
Sirius eyed her cautiously, "I don't think Remus is going to go for that, kitten. His whole issue is not wanting to hurt you. How do you think he'd take having to bite you on purpose?"
She sighed, "Probably not well. But he'd have to bite all of us." She pointed out. "I can't spend the night with you and Remus just to have the side effects from the bond due to being away from Draco and Theo."
The Black heir nodded, "I see your point."
"No matter what way we do this, someone is going to be in pain. Whether it's from a bite that will heal or every month when we must be away from each other." She finished her food and vanished the bowl before picking up her tea to sip at it. "I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to let Remus hurt himself every month for our 'safety'"
"You're going to need to present this to him gently. You know how he is. You'll need to convince him that it's the right step."
"Convince who of what?" Theo's voice came from the doorway as he and Draco made their way into the library.
"Research, Granger? Really? Isn't it our honeymoon?" Draco asked sarcastically.
Hermione huffed, "I'm doing this research for the sake of our honeymoon."
Theo's eyes lit up and he ran up to her, "What books are you reading, beautiful? You know, I have a vast imagination, you only needed to ask."
Draco laughed but stopped when he saw Sirius' face. "Okay, what's actually happening?"
Hermione explained everything to them. She needed to have them on board anyways. If any of them didn't want to be bitten, it would defeat the purpose of the conversation anyways.
But after she was done explaining, Draco and Theo looked almost eager. "If this means I won't have to watch you go through the pain from the other night. Yes, absolutely." Theo said.
Draco agreed, "I don't want to see you like that again, sweetheart."
"Except for the topless part," Sirius added with a grin, "You can be topless whenever you want."
Hermione ignored the dark-haired man's comment and pushed forward, "So what do we do?" She asked.
"You keep researching. Gather as much information as you can and then we'll go from there. Yes?" Sirius said.
She nodded, her nose going immediately back into her books. She needed good, convincing evidence or this would never work.
Hermione worked until she could no longer see the words on the page. Food had been sent up twice already with Kreacher and Hermione was sure it was Draco that was sending the poor old elf to feed her.
The blond's obsession with making sure she ate enough was sweet. It let her focus on researching without a gnawing hunger in her belly.
She made her way downstairs and into the sitting room, where all four men were sitting with a glass of Ogden's. Draco and Remus were reading, and Theo and Sirius were playing a quiet game of chess. The muggle version.
Remus dropped his book and smiled at her when she came in. "I was wondering when I was going to see you. You snuck out on me, love."
Hermione walked over to him, kissing Sirius, Theo and Draco as she passed, climbed carefully into the older man's lap and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Sorry, I got caught up in some reading."
"Are you going to share with the class?" He asked with a laugh.
Hermione shrugged, "It was nothing much, just information on bonds. I was curious since the ceremony but hadn't taken the time yet. I didn't find much."
That was a bit of a fib. Hermione had found a good chunk of information about mating bonds between werewolves and their partners and bonds between pack members. She just wasn't sure how it would work as a mating bond tended to make the wolf more possessive and while it didn't bother her for men outside their group, she didn't want Remus to fight with Theo, Draco or Sirius. She would have to think about it more.
"A letter came for you, kitten." Sirius said, levitating a rolled piece of parchment from the coffee table and sending it to land in Hermione's hand.
She had sent two letters the day before. One to the Ministry to demand someone come talk to them regarding the bond and the second to her parents to try to explain to them what happened. It looked like this one was from the Ministry.
Dear Ms. Granger,
Thank you for your letter. It has been received at the WMI office and will be processed within 4-6 weeks. Our office is currently busy with the number of joyous weddings being planned.
We will contact you when a meeting can be arranged.
May your marriage be long and fruitful,
Joanna Toadsworth,
Secretary to Lorraine Fiddleton
Wizarding Marriage Initiative Office
Hermione growled and threw the letter into the lit fireplace, enjoying watching the useless paper burn. "They'll be happy to talk to us." She grumbled, "In four to six weeks." She sighed and leaned back on Remus. "We're on our own, I guess."
Remus looked drawn, "We'll figure something out, love. Don't worry."
She was sure they would. But would the wolf be okay with it?
Sunday December 21st, 2003
Hermione woke up snuggled between Draco and Theo. She didn't know what had woken her until she heard another tap tap tap. She crawled over Theo and opened the window, letting in Draco's beautiful, if slightly stuck up, owl.
He held his leg out which contained a letter in an envelope instead of a rolled-up piece or parchment. Definitely from her parents.
She petted the owl and took the letter before leaving the room quietly and going to the library to read it.
She curled up in front of the fireplace before opening it.
Hermione,
We're trying to understand the meaning of your last letter. Is this some sort of joke? Your ministry forced you to not only marry, but marry four men against your will?
I am appalled and disgusted that they would make you do that. No, dear, I don't know if we can accept that or accept this marriage.
We need some time to think this over. You may want to take the time to consider if the Wizarding World is the right place for you anymore.
We will write to you when we are ready to talk.
Mum and Dad.
Tears poured down Hermione's face and she felt a sob escape her chest. She knew it was going to be difficult for her parents to understand, but she really really needed them on her side.
Their relationship had been strained for a couple years after the war. They didn't quite forgive her for taking their memories, feeling like it was a huge violation. After she returned them, they refused to talk to her for a while.
They also lost a whole lot of trust and faith in the Wizarding community, which Hermione could also understand but to hint at her giving this up. Hint at her to give up the men she had spent so much time with.
It hadn't even been a week since the wedding but the thought of being away from Remus, Sirius, Draco and Theo for any length of time caused pain to streak across her chest. It wasn't even the threat of the consequences of the bond. She just really didn't want to be away from them.
Crookshanks jumped onto the couch beside her, meowing and rubbing his head into her tucked knees. She pet him, taking some comfort in his soft, warm fur. He took the pets for a moment before jumping down and running out of the room. Hermione curled up on her side, laying her head on the arm of the couch. The letter was tucked in her clenched fist.
She heard a whining sound and looked up. In the doorway stood Padfoot, next to Crookshanks and she smiled at the half-kneazle. "Thank you, Crooks."
She always knew Crooks was smart and knew more than he let on but going to get Sirius was very sweet. Sirius transforming into Padfoot was even sweeter.
The orange cat jumped onto the couch before walking onto Hermione's side, snuggled in and rested his face on the side of her chest. Padfoot then jumped up at her feet, curled up in the L-shape that her legs made and rested his chin on her hip.
She giggled, brushing the tears from her face. "Thank you." She whispered. She cried a little longer until she fell asleep, exhausted.
—
Hermione didn't wake up where she went to sleep. She groggily looked around. Someone had carried her down to the sitting room. She assumed it was Sirius. His leather and smoke smell surrounded her, and she realized that it was his thigh her head was laying on. His hand was in her hair.
She turned onto her back and looked up at him. He smiled, "Hi sleepy head." He stroked her cheek.
Hermione took his hand and kissed his palm before sitting up. "Hi."
"You feeling okay?"
She shrugged, the letter from her parents hurt. But she had to deal with their distrust after the way things played out. "I should have expected it. I was just hoping to see my family sometime during the holidays."
Sirius nodded in understanding. "I know for sure we'll be going to the Burrow. Molly invited us. And I think Draco wants to go to the Manor."
"Did Molly invite you before or after the ceremony?" She asked, she wasn't sure if Molly would want her and her four husbands crashing the Weasley Christmas.
"After. She invited all of us."
Her eyes widened in shock. "I… wasn't expecting that."
"Neither was I." He said with a chuckle.
"Where are the others?" Hermione asked.
"Draco and Theo are in the library and Remus is in his room." Sirius grinned at her. "It might be a good idea for you to go talk to him right now. Might perk you up if he agrees." He waggled his eyebrows. All the details about the bonding were explicit about it having to be done during sex.
Hermione giggled, "And if he doesn't agree?" She asked quietly.
Sirius pulled her towards him and kissed her firmly, "Then come back down to me and we'll figure out how many orgasms it takes for Hermione Granger to forget her disappointment. And then we'll go convince him together."
Hermione blushed at him. Both situations were a win for her. She stood up from the couch and he playfully smacked her bottom. "Go get our wolf, Hermione." He encouraged with a wink.
She would do just that.
—
When Hermione stopped in front of Remus' door, she couldn't help the nerves that fluttered like butterflies in her belly. She was going to go in there, explain what she had researched and then she'd ask him to bite her. She never wanted to have to spend a night away from him if she didn't have to.
She would've thought that the shed would have been close enough to the house to not trigger the bond, but apparently the ministry took these things way too far.
Hermione took a deep breath, dried her palms on the side of her jeans and lifted her hand to knock. Before she could, the door opened and Remus stood there, shirtless and handsome as hell with his eyebrow raised at her.
"Are you going to stand out here all night?" Remus asked with a smile.
She shook her head. "Of course not."
He waved her into his room and shut the door behind her. She immediately went to his bed and sat down. The scent of parchment, chocolate and spice actually calmed her nerves, which seemed a bit odd considering what she was nervous about had to do with the older man making his way towards her.
"I can smell that you're nervous, Hermione." He said, and then cocked his head, "and aroused."
Hermione giggled. Damn wolf senses so close to the moon. "Well, I do have something to talk to you about."
"By all means." Remus said, sitting on the bed with her.
"I've been doing some research." She said calmly. The older man didn't say anything, just nodded for her to continue. "The books I found spoke about bonds. Bonds between a werewolf and his pack, a werewolf and his…" She took a deep breath. "His mate."
She could see Remus' eyes widen and his throat bob when he swallowed hard. "And what did you read about these bonds?"
"I read that if you… bond yourself to me, I have protection against the wolf. That I can be with you when you change, even without Wolfsbane."
"And did this book tell you how these bonds were formed, love?" He asked quietly. His voice was low and dark.
She took a deep breath again. "I know you don't want to hurt me. I know the bonding requires you to bite and mark me." She stood up at this point, knowing this was when the fight was going to start. "But I don't care if it hurts, Remus. It's a bite, a mark that will make our lives so much easier. It'll heal. It's better than spending a day away from you every month, knowing you're suffering more than you have to."
Hermione had turned away from him while she ranted and when she turned back, the wolf was grinning. "What?" She asked, staring at his handsome face.
"You. You're cute." He said with a laugh. "You come in here all riled and start making your counter-arguments before I even have time to argue."
Hermione blushed, "Because I know you. You'd suffer just to not hurt me. Even though it'd be once compared to once a month for the rest of our lives."
"And what about Draco and Theo? Being away from them will hurt you too."
"That's why I was reading up on pack bonds as well as mating bonds. The mating bond seems to only allow a man to bite a woman because of procreation. But a man can form a pack bond with other men and they're almost as strong as mating bonds."
Remus stroked his finger across his lip. "You have done your research."
Hermione cocked her head at her former professor and arched a brow.
Remus tipped his head back and laughed loudly, "Sorry, I should remember who I'm speaking to."
He reached for her hand and pulled her down next to him. "The reason I didn't bring up the mating bond is not because it'll hurt you. From what I understand it's actually quite pleasurable if done correctly." He smirked and brushed his knuckle over the flush that spread across her cheeks. "The bite for a mating bond needs to be somewhere specific. It's bright, it's obvious and it's not able to be covered by muggle makeup or charms. You will be essentially greeting every new person with a set of teeth marks on your neck that designates that you are mated to a werewolf."
Hermione gave him her best: 'Okay, and…?' look.
"Love, you don't have a problem being with me even though I'm a werewolf and that's amazing. You're amazing. But not everyone is like that." He kissed her forehead. "You think you're getting looks for being married to four men? It'll only get worse if you wear my bite."
She sighed, "Remus… I plainly just don't care. You know I don't care." She cupped his cheek, "I'm certainly not going to feel shame for being with a handsome, intelligent, sweet and caring man."
Remus leaned into her hand. "You're sure? You really want to be my mate?"
She nodded, grinning broadly.
"Then, okay."
Hermione all but tackled the werewolf, causing him to growl at her enthusiastic display. The idea of being marked by Remus and showing everyone that she was his was more of a turn on than she'd ever imagined.
Remus grabbed her by the hips, pushing her off him slightly. He kneeled up, pushed her onto her back and covered her small frame with his. Hermione whimpered at the show of dominance, arching herself into him.
"Now where to start?" He hummed to himself before her shirt vanished.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "That better be in my bag. I love that shirt." The soft black cotton was her favorite long sleeve.
Remus grinned, "It's in my hamper, relax, witch."
She was about to respond when his soft lips touched her jaw, trailing kisses to the side of her neck and across her collar bones. Hermione moaned, her hands reaching up to grip at the back of his head. They tangled in his hair when the kisses turned to him scraping his teeth along the sensitive crook of her neck. "Right here." His raspy voice sent shivers through her. "Yes, definitely here."
He ran his tongue along the spot again, below and just to the right of her pulse point and then sucked the skin between his teeth. He didn't bite yet, the mating bite needed to happen as they consummated the bond.
Remus lifted his head and ran his fingers down her body, vanishing the rest of her clothing while he went. He kissed her lips, smoothing his tongue along the bottom one in a demand for entrance. She opened her mouth to him, stroking her tongue against his and moaning into his mouth.
Hermione wrapped her legs around Remus' waist, bringing their hips together tightly. And when she twitched her hips, the Werewolf growled. She could feel the stiff length of his still clothed cock resting directly where she needed him, the head pressing into her clit with every pass.
She arched her back, trying to get closer and Remus groaned. He tore his mouth away from hers and trailed them again down her neck and to her chest.
He went slow, kissing every inch of her skin his mouth could reach. When she thought she would lose her mind, Remus wrapped his lips around one pert nipple and sucked hard. Hermione nearly screamed from the pleasure that ran through her system.
He nibbled and licked the tight bud before switching to the other. He groaned when she tightened her hands in his hair, encouraging him to continue what he was doing and not ever stop.
Remus had other ideas.
He moved on from her breasts, kissing and nipping down her belly, paying special attention to a spot below her belly button that made her hips twitch and churn. He laid down on the bed between her legs, lifting each to rest above one his shoulders.
Hermione tensed as she felt his hot breath on her core, and he grinned at her.
"I'm going to make you come." He said, wetting his bottom lip. "At least twice like this and then I'm going to fuck you and bond you to me. Sound good?"
Hermione's mouth dropped open. She didn't know the older man was so… dirty. By the way her body responded, though, she knew she liked it. She nodded at him.
"Good girl." He purred, causing her to moan and arch her hips. She hadn't thought she had a praise kink. She thought the other night was a fluke. But those words said in Remus' low, growly voice caused her clit to pulse.
Remus was focused when he lowered his head to her pussy. He swirled his tongue around her clit before dipping down and licking the arousal from her skin. He moaned as he wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked hard. Pulling her straight into her first orgasm.
She might have screamed, she didn't know. Hermione could only register the white-hot pleasure dancing through her veins.
Remus didn't stop and the witch was mildly concerned that she would get over sensitized. Somehow, she didn't. Remus gentled his tongue, stroking around the sensitive bundle of nerves before nibbling on her lips and starting over again. When Hermione thought, she was going to die from pleasure, her second orgasm hit. It was just as hot and intense as the first one.
Her thighs quivered as Remus crawled his way up her body. She wasn't sure when he removed his clothing, but she shivered in pleasure as his bare skin rubbed against her.
He smiled when his eyes met hers, his lips glossy and swollen. Hermione couldn't help but lean up to kiss him. The taste of herself on his mouth sent more waves of pleasure through her.
"Are you ready?" Remus asked.
The witch nodded, arching her hips up. "Yes. Please, yes."
Remus lined his cock up with her, rubbing against her to gather some of her arousal before pushing inside of her with one long, steady stroke.
Hermione gasped, she remembered how big he was and was surprised her body could accommodate him. It had been too long since she was with someone. But her body stretched, and the feeling was delicious. Every nerve fired with pleasure with just a small bite of pain to ground her. She would never get enough of the feeling.
Remus waited patiently, his eyes watching every tiny expression that crossed her face. When he felt her relax, he pulled out before thrusting back in.
Hermione moaned loudly, wrapping her legs around him to pull him closer and lifting her hips with every thrust. She wanted to give him as much pleasure as possible. Mark him as hers the way that, even without the bite, she knew she was his.
She craned her neck up, latching her teeth onto the part of his neck that corresponded to where he wanted to bite her. She licked, nibbled and sucked that piece of skin, focused on marking him even as her body absorbed every ounce of pleasure his powerful thrusts provided.
When she was close, when she knew a third deeper, more powerful orgasm was upon her, she let go of his neck and laid back, baring her neck to the wolf.
Remus growled and placed his mouth on that spot, holding it between his teeth. That's all she needed. Just that one scrap of his teeth and Hermione fell over the edge, her eyes rolling in pleasure and her ears ringing.
She felt Remus tense, his cock growing impossibly harder inside of her and then he bit her.
Even though he told her she would feel no pain, she had expected just a little. He was breaking her skin. But she felt nothing but pleasure.
The second his teeth pierced her skin, another bolt of pleasure shot through her, and she tightened even more around Remus' cock. She was breathing heavily, lightheaded and so overrun with pleasure that she didn't know if she'd had more than one orgasm after the bite or if it was just one long wave.
Remus pulled back slightly, licking the wound on her neck and causing small jolts to go through her. She shivered as he cleaned the blood from her skin and then collapsed next to her, pulling her into his arms.
Hermione was glad he pulled her to him. She didn't know if she could move. Her skin tingled all over, sensitive and hot. She felt the bond as it settled, linking her and Remus together.
She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head. "Did I hurt you?" He asked, rubbing his finger underneath the bite.
Her body jumped and she moaned, but not from pain. She giggled, "Remus, I don't think I could be any farther from pain if I tried."
She felt the chuckle rumble through his chest. "I feel you." He said, rubbing his free hand over his sternum. "It's like you're right here. I can sense you."
Hermione smiled lightly and kissed his skin. "Special werewolves are special. I can't feel it like that, I just feel… calmer… more complete. Like something solidified."
Remus laughed again. "You are special, Hermione. You are so special to me. I'm glad it was you that I was able to experience that with."
Hermione tilted her head up and pressed her lips softly to his. "Me too, Remus."
The two held each other as the sweat cooled on their bodies. Cuddling closer together under the blankets, they fell asleep.
