A/N: Thank you for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter. Huge thank you to lanamarymack for alpha/beta reading this chapter. And now...I'll just get on with it!


Wasting absolutely no time, the baptism occurred first thing in the morning, with the sun barely peeking over the horizon. Hermione watched as Remus was dunked into the freezing cold water, the white shift that he wore clinging to his body with the wet. Unfortunately, her mother the Queen seemed to recognize the bold look that she was giving her Viking, ogling the firm muscle that was now highlighted by the see through fabric. Minerva shuffled her away, making some excuse about getting ready for the wedding.

Hermione spent the day being bathed and pampered by her old handmaid - the Ginny look alike - who she was happy to see again. Apparently the Harry Potter warrior who had stolen her heart had asked her to marry him, so she was thrilled to babble away about all the details of her own impending nuptials.

The brunette witch was happy that Remus had agreed to the wedding, but it was going to be a bit odd to go through with the ceremony without talking to him first, especially after it had felt like they were finally getting somewhere before Gilderoy Lockhart had barged in. While she certainly wasn't eager to jump into marriage without dating someone first, Hermione was exceptionally excited for what came after the wedding.

So excited, in fact, that when Ginny put a white dress over her head, she didn't even let it bother her that a white wedding dress wasn't historically accurate.

It seemed that all of her mother's people were quite pleased to see their Princess marry, even if it was to a viking Jarl. She was sure that it meant an end to the raiding that the vikings currently did, and it was an excuse for a lovely feast.

The first time that she actually saw Remus was when she was standing in front of the priest with him. The wedding was a Christian one, but she assumed it was a shortened length and not a full mass, due to the heckling the priest was receiving from Sirius, who wanted to get to the ale already. Finally, they were pronounced man and wife.

She looked up at Remus with a hesitant smile, waiting for him to kiss her. Her eyes fluttered shut before he placed the chastest of kisses to her lips. She was disappointed...she'd wanted something a bit more to sweep her off of her feet. The crowd erupted into cheers and the newly married couple were herded into the feasting hall and given seats of honor.

"That was odd," Hermione said, scrunching up her nose. "I would have expected that to have been a bit more drawn out."

"Perhaps the author knew that everyone would just want to get to the good part, after all they have put us through," Remus quipped, the first thing he'd said to her that day.

Hermione laughed. She supposed he was right. The whole purpose of this experience was to get to the...good part as he said. "Well, should we retire to your rooms then?" she asked with a grin, hoping he wouldn't think her too bold.

"What, now?" he asked, sounding vaguely horrified.

"Well, yes," Hermione answered. "It's not as if we can enjoy any of the food and wine anyway."

He looked down at his plate for half a heart beat, before standing up abruptly from his chair. Hermione giggled as she followed him, grasping onto his hand tightly as he led her up the stairs, to a chorus of bawdy jokes and wolf whistles.

Once they were alone in his room once again, Hermione was feeling bold. "Shall we start where we left off?" she asked, closing the gap between her and the werewolf, before pulling his shirt loose from his trousers, encouraging him to remove it.

She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, patting the open spot next to her. Once the shirtless Remus was within her grasp, she pressed a kiss against his lips before she could think about it.

He stilled, obviously not having expected that. Hermione felt her heart drop and hoped that they wouldn't need to go through that whole song and dance again about how he wasn't taking advantage of her.

In the end, he didn't need much convincing. Remus pushed his hands into her hair, pulling her towards him and into an eager kiss. Once their lips met, it was as if some primal animal overtook him. Impatiently, his tongue found the seam of her lips. He groaned when she opened her mouth to him, her own tongue sliding against his in a sensual twist.

Hermione couldn't stop from moaning in response, unable to believe that this was finally happening after so long.

Only, then he was stopping — breaking their kiss — and Hermione whined in protest, until she discovered his true purpose. He wasn't finished with her. In fact, he was continuing his crusade of kisses, down the edge of her jaw and the gentle slope of her neck, to the sensitive patch of skin right below her ear. She squirmed against him, the need for more making her restless. She wrapped an arm around his body to hold him against her, while her other hand found the back of his head, dull nails scratching at his scalp.

She could feel a rumble in his chest, almost like a purr, and she wondered if Moony was enjoying the sensation more than Remus.

Hermione could tell that he was holding back, but after months — no years! — of pent up desire for him, she didn't want him to hold back. She wanted him to lose control a bit and claim her like she longed to be claimed.

So, when she felt his hand slipping under the fabric of her dress, caressing her inner thigh, she parted her legs eager to welcome him. With no knickers to worry about, she bit her lip when she felt his fingers against her center. Merlin, if her mind was capable of any other emotion than desire, she was sure she would be terribly embarrassed at how wet she was, but Remus didn't seem to mind. His fingers trailed up and down her slit before finding that little pearl at the top of her sex.

"Oh, Remus!" she cried in delight as he settled into a pleasurable pattern of circles and flicks, nearly driving her mad with desire. She tipped back until she was pressed against the pillows, her hair splayed around her, pulling Remus with her not ready to let him stop.

Eager to share some of the euphoria that she was feeling, greedy fingers tried to push down his trousers, only to have him growl and nip at her. It didn't frighten her in the slightest, instead sending a tingle of desire racing down her spine to her aching center.

She was wound so tightly that she felt barely coherent enough to keep repeating his name over and over like a prayer, begging him not to stop. With his body pressed against hers, she could feel his hard length against her leg and wished that he would let her touch him. But, he had a singular focus - her pleasure. She let out a squeak when he used one long finger to penetrate her, all the while keeping up the rhythm against the button at the top of her sex.

Oh, Merlin, she was so close. And then, with a snap, her body was finally coming undone. She came gasping his name. He slowed but didn't stop his ministrations, until she pressed her hands against his arm, suddenly hypersensitive.

She lay back, catching her breath, before letting out an excited giggle that this had finally happened. "Please, Remus," she said. "Don't make me wait any longer."

For once, he seemed too eager at the prospect to overthink it and kicked off his trousers, leaving him completely bare to her eyes. Hermione drank in the sight of him, her mouth going dry when she settled on his cock. He looked better than anyone of her fantasies.

He must have been a bit embarrassed by the attention, though, because then he was encouraging her to spin around so that he could help her out of her dress. With her white overdress removed, his familiar fingers found the laces of her corset before freeing her from her fabric prison.

She was the one to remove her chemise, dropping it off the side of the bed and add it to the growing pile of clothes on the floor. Then she faced him, just as naked as he was. She fought the urge to cover herself.

But then, she didn't really need to. Seeing the look of reverence and awe in his green eyes, pupils gone wide with desire, made her stop short for a moment.

"Godric, Hermione," he whispered, barely loud enough to hear it. He made no secret of the way his gaze traveled up and down her body, stopping a second time at her breasts, tipped with hard points of pink. "You are so beautiful."

His words filled her with an odd sort of mixture of confidence and shyness. She could feel a blush on his cheeks and her heart pounding away against her chest, full of tenderness. Needing him close, she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him against her. With him welcomed between her thighs, their eyes locked when his cock was nestled against her heat. It felt heavenly.

Hermione kissed him once again, delighting at the feel of his tongue tangling against hers. She preened at the desperate way that he was holding her, making her think that he just might want this as much as she did after all.

The werewolf's large hand slid up her side to cup one of her breasts. She moaned when he used his thumb to tease the hard nipple, giving it a slight pinch that sent an aching desire between her thighs. Eager for more, she rocked her hips against him, looking for friction. But it wasn't enough — she needed him closer. Bending a leg, she used it to press his body even closer to her.

Remus seemed to get the hint and used his hand to position himself against her cleft. "Are you sure, Hermione?" he murmured quietly, his lips a hair's breadth away from her own.

"Yes, Remus, I want you," she told him truthfully. It was really more than she wanted him. Her feelings for the man were deep, but she wasn't going to spill her heart to him now. That would surely only complicate things even more.

Luckily, Remus took the moment to sink into her welcoming embrace. Once he was seated inside of her, he gave her a moment to adjust to his size. Well, he was certainly more proportional than she'd imagined, Hermione thought to herself cheekily, biting her lower lip to keep from blurting it out.

It felt amazing to finally be joined together, but she needed him to start moving finally. Rocking her hips against him impatiently, she was delighted at the slight push and pull. Hearing his own groan answer her had Hermione feeling as though she were floating on a cloud. It was better than anything she could have dreamed - honestly, she thought she should pinch herself, just to make sure it was real.

She was never going to let him go.

Needing a bit of leverage, Remus grabbed her leg and bent it until it was pressed against her chest, before finding a rhythm that had Hermione seeing stars. She found her body racing towards that pleasurable end once again. Her eyes were glued to his face, enjoying every microexpression she could identify. She felt pride knowing that it was her that was able to make him come undone.

The change in position had him pressing against all the right spots in her body, and it wasn't long before she found herself on the precipice of pleasure once again. With a whine, she was sent careening over the edge of orgasm once again, her center tightening around him. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and let the sensation fill her up. It wasn't long before Remus was following her, collapsing against her, spent and sated.

Once he'd caught his breath, Remus rolled off of her, taking extra care not to squish her. He was quite a bit larger than her, but she quite liked that. Not willing to let go of his warmth so soon, Hermione turned and tucked her arm under his arm, resting her cheek against his chest. She could hear the steady best of his heart. Throwing a leg over his and an arm around his waist, she hoped he didn't mind a snuggle.

He didn't moved at first, but eventually his fingers threaded through her hair gently, again and again. Hermione sighed and wondered if she should just tell him what she felt for him. If she should finally open up about the crush she'd harbored for years and how it has morphed into more — maybe even love. Surely, he would appreciate the moment and the feelings they had just shared.

The soft feel of his fingers, though, had her eyes dropping shut, suddenly tired after the day she'd had. Stifling a yawn, Hermione decided that she would just tell him in the morning, once her head was clear. Then he would see that she was telling the truth.