"Oh, come on!"
Ginny was tugging Hermione's left arm hard, trying to get her out of bed.
"Ginny, knock it off!" cried Hermione.
"We're going to the party, so get ready once and for all."
The redhead released her arm, which bounced on her bed with no energy.
"But I don't wanna.." she exhaled.
There was a silence, a few seconds of peace for the curly-haired girl, that decided that she was only allowed to lie on her side in a fetal position and close her eyes.
"Hermione!"
Ginny pulled the duvet off in one smooth motion. The winter cold hit her suddenly.
"I'm going to the party, and so are you!"
Hermione sat up quickly on the bed, wrapping her arms around her knees. And as she watched goosebumps on her arms, she noticed her friend fumbling with her wardrobe doors. She saw her thrashing into it and flinging clothes left and right.
"This is perfect, oh! And this one too!"
Ginny turned to her, smiling as she watched the chosen dress swing before her eyes. Hermione was about to speak, but Ginny shut her up.
"You're coming to the party because it is Boxing Day, you worked all day yesterday, and most of all, I know Ron is going to have a date tonight."
"What?!" Hermione howled in dismay.
"Who?!"
Ginny grinned.
"Luna!"
Hermione quickly crawled to the edge of the bed towards her friend, her eyes bulging in amazement.
"Luna Lovegood? The Luna we know? That Luna!? " She asked quickly, as if her life depended on her friend's response.
"Yes!"
"Oh Godric, thank you!"
Hermione yelled as she raised her arms to the ceiling and dropped onto the bed.
Ginny was doubled over with laughter at her friend's reaction.
"They met at the last reunion we did in Hogsmeade!"
"But I thought Luna was with Neville!"
Ginny shook her head.
"What? But those two haven't been together for ages, Hermione! Neville has been with Hannah Abbott for years now."
Hermione was bursting with joy.
"So, are you coming?"
Ginny asked her.
"Give me another reason, and I could say yes!" Hermione said, challenging her.
"Look, I'll give you three. First, you're 26, and you need to go out. Second, I know perfectly well that you won't have to work for the next two days. And third, I'd like to spend the evening with you."
Hermione slipped out of bed and went to hug her friend. She pulled away from her and looked at her.
"I know you said all these cute things to me just to get me out of bed."
Ginny looked at her innocently.
"I would never do that," she said with her hand on her chest, pretending to be offended.
"Liar."
The famous party was to be held at Grimmauld Place.
Sirius had decided that to enjoy the Christmas holidays, even more, he would throw a nice little party at his house. From what Ginny had told her as she got ready, all the members of the Order and Dumbledore's Army would be at the party.
Arthur and Molly would have been the only members to miss the party. After all, they had taken advantage of the holidays to celebrate their 35 years of marriage with a trip.
The black dress that Ginny had imposed on her hugged her body tightly, and the bateau neckline highlighted her slim neck.
"Doesn't that seem a bit exaggerated to you?"
She asked, looking at her from the mirror.
"Sirius demanded elegance from us." She shrugged.
"He told me he wanted to see us all dressed up at least once. And, he pointed out, that he doesn't want to wait for Harry and me to get married to see him in a suit."
Ginny blushed violently as she remembered the exchange.
Hermione smiled softly at her, placing the mascara on the desk.
"Well, in theory, he won't have to wait that long."
Her friend's face was painted crimson.
"Oh, stop it..."
Sitting on the sofa beside the fireplace, Hermione talked to Neville and Hannah.
Neville, who had embarked on a career as a researcher in the world of botany, was telling Hermione about the latest discoveries he had made while traveling around Britain.
"Hannah has been patient with me, and most of all, she will let me drag her with me for my next adventure in South America!"
"Oh, that's wonderful!" and smiled, genuinely happy for the couple. Neville and Hannah were distracted by the arrival of Dean and Seamus, who greeted them warmly and launched themselves into a quick recap of their lives up to that point. Hermione took advantage of their distraction to make her gaze wander around the room. The guests were all scattered around the hall, all with a glass in hand, talking to each other. She looked for Ginny and saw her by the Christmas tree, conversing with Sirius and McGonagall, with Harry by her side. Angelina sat with Fleur while George and Fred talked to Luna and Ron. Ron looked comfortable with the blonde at his side. He softly held his hand on her back as the girl laughed at the twins' jokes.
It hadn't worked between the two of them. Her joy a few hours earlier in the learning of his relationship with Luna was sincere. Since they broke up years before, their friendship hadn't been able to return to the way it once was. They loved each other and were so used to being together that it often happened, even if she was against it, that Ron made proposals to try the relationship again. The blatant crush her ex-boyfriend was showing that night for Luna was confirmation that their friendship had a chance to return to the way it was before. Ron turned to her. Hermione could not help but smile at him, happy to see him calm and in his element, a smile that Ron returned, embarrassed.
Not wanting to make Ron uncomfortable, she scanned the room. In the corner of the living room, where a long table stood, Bill, Kingsley, and Remus were talking. The latter, elegant as she had never seen him before, put his glass on the table and gestured animatedly, pointing to Harry. Bill laughed along with Kingsley, digging his nose into the glass. Remus, as well as Ron, must have felt the back of his neck pinch as he swept his gaze around the room and met Hermione's eyes. He smiled softly at her, and saw him let his eyes wander over her bare shoulders. Hermione, trying to divert the man's gaze from the redness of her face, raised her glass to greet him.
She thought she saw a grin on the man's face, but it was such a quick expression that Hermione thought she had imagined it.
The evening continued with toasts, wishes, and last-minute gifts.
At the end of the evening, there were few left, almost all the guests had decided to go home before midnight, but she, thanks to a veiled threat from Ginny, had decided to stay. Hermione, Ginny, Harry, Ron, Luna, Neville, Hannah, and the twins had moved into the kitchen to drink and talk at the table. Remus and Sirius had just finished greeting and thanking Bill and Fleur, who had decided to go home and had joined them.
"Don't you remember Snape dressed as Neville's grandmother?"
Harry was crying with laughter, hunched over the wooden table. Laughter echoed in the kitchen.
"Well, the credit goes to Remus!"
Neville said, wiping away his tears. Remus laughed opposite Hermione, also in tears thanks to the boys' tales.
"Speaking of Snape, do you remember when Hermione set his cloak on fire?" Another wave of laughter filled the room. "Wait, what?!" Sirius and Remus yelled.
"In our first year, she thought he was cursing Harry!"
Ron answered, his hands over his face trying to calm down.
Sirius got up and walked over to Hermione, leaned over, and placed a drunken kiss on her cheek as she laughed.
"Wonderful, amazing witch, even at eleven!"
The stories continued to flow into the group, with the laughter becoming more hysterical and drunk.
"Since we're having fun digging up the past and little secrets, how about giving us a hand? "
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked doubtfully.
"Fred and I designed a version of "Never Have I Ever" but with a Weasley twist," George said mischievously.
"That is?" Ginny asked curiously.
"It's the same old game everyone knows, but instead of just drinking alcohol, there is a veil of Veritaserum in the shot glasses we supply in the box."
Hermione widened her eyes and opened her mouth in indignation. Fred threw up his hands into the air.
"Nothing illegal, Hermione. It is less than a little drop of veritaserum; you are more inclined to tell the truth, but with commitment, you can hold back!"
George stepped in to support his brother.
"You just start drinking, but the further you go through the game, the more the veritaserum could take effect, and the harder it becomes to lie."
"But that's brilliant!" Sirius spat out, clapping his hands.
"Do you want to try?" the twins asked in chorus.
"Absolutely!" all guests answered except Hermione, a little worried by the presence of the veritaserum in the glasses. But at the end of the day, she had nothing so secret that she had to hide at all costs.
"Then come on, let's get started!" Ginny said anxiously.
Fred and George passed the shot glasses around the table with their purple logo glinting in the light.
"Who wants to start?" George asked with a grin.
"Never have I ever had a crush on Rosmerta!" Harry said, staring at Ron mischievously.
Ron, Sirius, Fred, and George drank from their glasses.
"I was expecting that from Sirius, but what about you two?" Hermione said, laughing.
A hint of red, perhaps more due to alcohol than embarrassment, colored the faces of the 3 Weasleys.
"Never have I ever gotten drunk in the Gryffindor common room."
Everyone drank except Luna, Hannah, and Neville.
Remus' inquiring eyes sparkled with amusement as they settled on Hermione. She laughed, noticing that he wasn't the only one to look back at her.
"My eighth year at Hogwarts. Harry and Ron had convinced me to take a day to celebrate the end of exams, and I slightly exaggerated."
The more time passed, the more absurd or extremely specific the questions became.
"Never have I ever had an erotic dream about McGonagall," Neville said, now also drunk, as Hannah slapped his arm laughing. Sirius took the glass and poured the contents quickly into his mouth.
"The fact that it was an erotic dream didn't exclude the fact that it was also a nightmare!"
Sirius said, justifying himself, making the whole table double with laughter. Hermione was heading towards what seemed like the hangover of the century.
Fred, through tears, filled Sirius's glass.
"Never have I ever had a crush on a professor!"
Sirius said, nodding in thanks to Fred. Hermione blushed violently and felt the veritaserum doing its duty as she raised the glass to her mouth to drink.
"I don't believe it. Who?!" said Sirius, who had leaned towards her curiously. Hermione looked at Ginny, who had widened her eyes in amusement. Hermione's eyes never landed on Remus as she tried to resist the veritaserum. "Please tell me it wasn't Snivellus!" Sirius said, laughing.
"Lockheart!" she said, shrugging - "I was small and naive."
After saying Lockheart's name, Hermione looked at Ginny, who returned her gaze with a grin. She knew she hadn't told the whole truth. Trying to appear as neutral as possible, she looked at Remus, who looked red. The alcohol was affecting him too.
"Okay, okay, I have one! I've never had a crush on anyone at this table!"
"Shit, shit, shit, shit!"
Even being drunk, she knew it wasn't the best of ideas to reveal her crush. Ginny laughed, looking at her because she could perfectly understand what she was thinking. As she brought the glass to her mouth, she noticed that everyone except Fred, Sirius, and George, were drinking.
"Yes, but now I want to know!"
Fred said, amused. Remus ran a hand over his beard thoughtfully. Ginny stared at Hermione glaringly. While everyone was distracted by Fred, Hermione saw her friend's lips moving without a sound.
"I'll help you."
In reality, it was nothing so scandalous, but she would have preferred to laugh at it, revealing it only to the person concerned.
"Let me guess!
Fred said. "Okay, I'll rely on the couples present today to be a gentleman and not dig up the past." Everyone laughed. "So Ron and Luna, Neville and Hannah, Ginny and Harry!" Fred said, satisfied.
"I had a crush on someone else too, huh!" Ginny said when she noticed the twin's gaze wandering towards Hermione and Remus.
"And for whom?" Sirius asked, beaming. "But for you, of course!" the girl said shamelessly, laughing. Sirius's mouth opened indecently, as did that of others at the table.
"Harry ..?" Sirius's head slowly turned to the boy, who was laughing heartily.
"I've known for years!" and kissed the girl's temple.
"It must say that you have exquisite taste, Ginny!" Sirius said, playing along. Ginny filled the glasses with a flick of her wand and prepared for her turn.
Hermione made a mental note to thank and hug Ginny in the coming days. Her old crush on Sirius had completely distracted the table from her and Remus. Hermione realized only at that moment that Remus had also been drinking from his glass. Her eyes darted again at the man, who seemed relieved that everyone's attention was on Ginny and Harry. She watched him curiously and almost jumped when his intense gaze met hers. Remus's lips curled, and his gaze fell, as it had before that night, to Hermione's bare shoulders. The woman saw the man's eyes follow the contours of her shoulders, pause briefly on the neckline, and then go back to her lips. Sirius' laughter seemed to bring them back to planet earth, both wandering their eyes to other destinations.
The evening continued until two o'clock when Neville and Hanna stood up and announced that they would pass out drunk on the table if they didn't move right away. "Yes, maybe it's time to move," Fred said, mumbling the words and leaning on his brother's shoulder to get up.
"Me too. I need to go home and sleep," Luna said, yawning. "I'll take you," Ron told her in a low voice near her ear, making her smile. As Ron, Luna, and the twins followed Neville and Hannah, Ginny, who had her head resting on Harry's shoulder, caught Hermione's attention.
"Harry and I are going to sleep here. We made a deal with Sirius." Hermione nodded wearily; she understood perfectly.
"You should take advantage of it too, Hermione." Remus said with his eyes closed, his hands supporting his chin.
"I don't want to disturb more than I should..."
"Nonsense! It's more comfortable, and we'll worry less." Sirius answered.
"Then I gladly accept, thank you.." She said, yawning.
All five headed upstairs to work off the hangover with a good night's sleep.
Hermione wished Remus good night as she walked into the room. Fortunately, peering confusedly into the dresser, he had found a men's shirt long enough to use as pajamas. She took off her evening dress and calmly put on the shirt. Making an unprecedented effort, she brushed her teeth, eyes closed, with one hand resting on the edge of the sink to support it. She couldn't remember ever being this drunk in her life. Extremely slowly, she bent down to rinse her face and mouth, and the exchange of glances between her and Remus a few hours earlier made her blush.
A light knock cleared Remus from her mind. She slowly turned off the tap and staggered slightly to the door. She opened a crack and was surprised to find Remus in front of her.
"Remus?" Her heart had picked up the pace, and the thought she had had a few seconds ago came back overbearing.
"Can I come in for a second?" He asked in a low voice, smiling. Hermione nodded, opened the door for him to enter, and then closed it behind her.
"I'm sorry, I'm not very elegant right now." she whispered, laughing softly.
"Well, neither do I." he answered, pointing to his pajamas.
"Did you need something?" she said after a few seconds of silence. Seconds were enough for Remus to run his eyes up and down her bare legs.
In the dim light provided by the lamp on her bedside table, Hermione saw Remus looking at her with the same intensity with which he had girded her earlier that evening.
"Do you have the desire and the strength to do the last round of "Never have I ever"?" he asked, smiling. Hermione looked at him in surprise at the request.
"Is that a way of telling me you're not feeling drunk enough for tonight?" she said slowly, laughing.
"We don't have to drink this time." And he walked over to her. Hermione had to lift her head to look Remus straight in the eyes. She swallowed forcibly.
"Do you... do you want to start?" She told him, trying to contain the embarrassment that caused her to be so close to his body.
"Never have I ever lied while we were playing tonight."
He knew.
He lowered himself on her, gently moving her hair with his fingers, touching her ear with his lips.
"Now, you would have been drinking, right?" He asked in a hoarse voice. She just nodded, motionless under his spell.
"It's your turn." he said as he slowly moved away from her face.
Hermione got lost in Remus' movement. Maybe because of the alcohol in her body or because the man's proximity had driven her out of her mind, she threw her arms around Remus' neck and eliminated the distance between their lips. She had always imagined a possible kiss between them as sweet, chaste, and pure in her daydreams.
It couldn't be further from reality.
The kiss was fiery, passionate, and filled with so many repressed feelings that they both found themselves panting between kisses. Remus took her by the thighs and lifted her, allowing her pelvis to meet his. He pushed her hard against the room's closed door, which collided with the girl's back.
"Fuck, finally..." he exhaled in a hoarse voice as his lips went to taste the woman's neck. Hermione laughed, panting, her hands exploring the man's hair and coming down to scratch his back.
"What the hell is going on?" Sirius opened the door to his room in his underwear, wand in hand, ready to battle. He could hear the noises coming from Hermione's room and walked towards it at a marching pace.
"Stay where you are." He turned in surprise. Ginny was leaning against the door jamb grinning.
"But.. can you hear this mess?" Sirius asked with his eyes bulging.
"I thought that at this rate, it would never happen but, instead..." With her hand, she indicated the closed door.
Sirius froze and listened carefully to the noises coming from the room as his gaze wandered down the dim corridor and stopped at Remus's room, which had the door to the room open. Ginny saw Sirius put two and two together and smiled in amusement.
"Is Remus in there?" he asked in shock, trying not to yell. Ginny nodded, covering her mouth to keep from laughing.
"They finally made it!" Sirius exhaled, throwing his head back and throwing his arms up.
"Wait, did you know? How long?"
Ginny grinned and nodded.
"I've known about Hermione's crush since her third year, but the knots have come to a head in recent years."
Sirius laughed softly, shaking his head. "You are awful." Ginny bowed, letting her hair touch the parquet.
"Merlin, it looks like they're fighting in there... Does Harry know?"
He asked, amused.
"No, and I don't think either of them wants to share it," she answered, amused.
Sirius nodded sympathetically.
"Then it will be better to avoid intrusions .." he grabbed his wand and pointed it towards the bedroom door.
"Muffliato."