Disclaimer: I don't own it.

A/N: Don't hate me, but I am encountering a bit of Writer's Block. So I have figured out a way around it. I'm going to make this chapter jump in the future a few months. It's now nearing Christmas Break.

Hermione laid her head down on the desk in her Head Girl dormitory. She was thankful for the dorm to herself, for the peace and quiet surrounding her. There were no students whispering and pointing at her, no friends ignoring her, and no full moon tonight to make her feel restless. For the first time since she started school back, she was somewhat at ease. She knew it wouldn't last. She had been invited back to The Burrow for the holiday vacation starting tomorrow, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to go. Harry and Ron were still avoiding her and she felt more and more horrible about herself every time they did.

Things wouldn't be so bad if it was only Harry and Ron, but the entire school was always talking about her, whispering about her new scars. It was rather amusing to hear some of the stories they concocted about how she got them. Her personal favorite was one she had heard a few days ago. It seemed she was too smart for her own good and went out to capture a cornish pixie and it clawed her and ran away. She almost laughed outloud when she heard the second years spreading that story when she was in the library. Instead of confronting them about it, she told them they should keep it down in the library.

Getting up from her seat she walked over to her halfway packed trunk. Her indecisiveness was to the point she would pack two things and then unpack one. The thought of Remus made her want to go, but the thought of spending the holidays inside a house with Harry and Ron made her want to stay.

She'd thought about it all week, and the only reason she had for going was Remus. He'd been her anchor the entire school year. Everyday she got to see him, got to hear his voice. That was enough. And for three nights a month, he was all hers and she cherished every moment. It was hard to not reach out and touch him when he was close, but she controlled herself, sometimes barely in time. It had been a shock when she was introduced to her final Defense Agains the Dark Arts teacher, Remus. She hadn't expected McGonagall to bring him in for the job, but he was the most qualified. At first she had been angry with him for not telling her, but after the first full moon cycle she was highly grateful he was now going to be around for her.

Eventually the urge to leave the school and it's soon to be empty corridors won out, accompanied with the need to spend more time with Remus and the people that still cared about her. She only wished that list included the two boys who used to be her best friends. Maybe she could corner them and apologize over and over again and they would forgive her. At least she could try to salvage what they had, even if it was never the same again.

Hermione smiled from ear to ear as she was squished in a hug from Mrs. Weasley. She knew this woman didn't care that she was a werewolf, didn't care she had kept it a secret. And it brought tears to her eyes. As Mrs. Weasley finally let go she felt herself being pulled into another hug by two people.

"So how's our favorite bad girl?" Fred asked as him and George squeezed her. She hadn't expected them to do that.

"Think you could stop by the shop sometime so we can test something?" George whispered in her ear.

Ah ha! There was the catch! There was always a catch. They didn't want to draw the attention of their mother when asking her. She just smiled and nodded to them, watching them give each other a high five before winking at her.

Neither Harry or Ron even looked her way during the short trip to the cozy house. She kept looking over at them, hoping one of them would even glance her way, but neither did. In fact, they looked uncomfortable in her presence. She let out a sigh and walked into the house, glad to be in the familiar setting. She took her bags upstairs to Ginny's room, taking her time before she had to come down again.

To her absolute delight, Remus was already there when she reached the living room. She resisted the sudden urge to plop down in his lap and instead took a seat beside him, startling him from the book he was reading. Hermione grinned as he looked up at her and smiled. This was why she had come back.

Hermione hadn't remembered having so much fun in a long time. She had been spending an increasing amount of time with Ginny over the vacation. And Ginny didn't care about Hermione's new condition. They had been shopping together, played Quidditch together...ok well, Hermione watched Ginny practice Quidditch from the side lines. She was sad that she hadn't had much time with Remus yet, but Ginny was a pleasant distraction.

She had even gone to the twin's joke shop to see what they wanted from her, even though she knew it was up to no good as usual. She found out they only wanted a hair from her. They were currently perfecting a candy that would make the victi-err, customer grow a werewolf tail for a few hours after eating it. It was rather amusing when both boys had grown tails suddenly. She only hoped there were no other werewolf side effects. Although George had pretended he was craving a raw steak after eating the candy, Hermione knew he was only faking it.

It wasn't until Christmas Eve when Hermione got a chance to get Remus to herself. Everyone was already asleep and she was suffering a bout of insomnia, not related to the moon for once. She snuck downstairs to get something to drink and saw the light from the fireplace flickering on the walls. All thougts of a drink faded away when she saw Remus sitting on the couch, his head leaning back and his eyes closed. A sly grin creeped onto her face as she snuck in as quietly as she could.

From the way he was breathing she could tell he was asleep. That would mean he didn't sense her coming. As carefully as possibly she straddled his legs and sat down on his lap. She rested her palm on his chest, thankful he hadn't woken up yet. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his neck, then one above it and another. Around the time of the third kiss he woke up. His eyes shot open and his head whipped down to see what the hell was going on.

Hermione was pleased to see him smile as he saw her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him before placing a hungry kiss on her lips. Oh god how she had missed this, missed him. She kissed him back with the energy of a hundred missed kisses they never had the opportunity to sneak in the hallways of the school. Her hands found the hair on his neck, tangling in it as his hands gripped her waist tight. She insisted on deepening the kiss, needing him no matter who could walk in on them. She was pleased to feel him responding to her, his hands kneading her thighs now. She moaned into his mouth and almost ripped his shirt off.

That seemed to snap Remus out of his haze and he grabbed her wrists, still out of breath. "We can't do this in here," he said to a very disappointed Hermione.

Picking her up by her waist, he set her on the floor before standing up in front of her. She pouted up at him, a very effective weapon.

"Not here," he said sternly.

Hermione folded her arms across her chest and gave him a look with her eyebrow raised. It was a 'you better find a way' look and she knew she pulled it off well because about 30 seconds later they were stepping out of the fireplace at his house. Well, more like he stepped out carrying a Hermione that was now securely wrapped around him, her legs locked around his waist.

Hermione didn't care if he had problems getting over to the couch, or of settling down without peeling her off of him. The fact was she was attached and she refused to come off, her lips trailing up and down his neck until she could take full advantage of his lips again. It wasn't long before she felt herself being lowered onto the couch, Remus settling on top of her and claiming her lips again.

This is what she had needed, what she had craved.

Hermione scratched the tangled mop on her head and groaned as Ginny tried to wake her up. Her and Remus had floo'd back early that morning just before sunrise and Hermione hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. It wasn't that she minded that as much as the red head practically beating her over the head with a pillow.

"I'm up, I'm up," she grumbled to get the girl to stop.

"Happy Christmas!" Ginny said as she pointed to the gifts near Hermione's feet.

Hermione cracked her eyes open and examined the packages with interest. She sat up, stretching slowly and lazily, trying to wake the rest of her body up. After an impatient look from Ginny, Hermione crawled to the gifts and examined them.

With a shrug she grabbed the closest one and opened it. It was a fresh set of parchment and quills from Harry. She smiled, tears pooling in her eyes. The next package, a bag of sugar quills, was from Ron. This time the tears spilled down her cheeks. It seemed they did still care about her. Now she didn't feel so stupid for buying them gifts.

The next package was small, and it didn't have a name on it. She slipped it under her covers when Ginny looked away for a moment, hoping it was from who she thought and not wanting to open it in company. Hermione set about opening the rest of her presents, including more candy than she could possibly eat, a skiving snack box from the twins, and a few new sweaters, one compliments of Mrs. Weasley.

After all her gifts were open, save the one she hid, Ginny grabbed Hermione by the arm and practically drug her out the door. Hermione dug her heels into the ground, and held onto the door frame with the other.

"Can I at least put on clothes before I go downstairs?" Hermione asked, trying to go back into the room alone. After all, she was only wearing an oversized shirt and a pair of short shorts.

Ginny let go of her and agreed before heading down the stairs. Hermione turned and went back into the room, closing the door behind her. She ran over to where she hid the gift and pulled it out. Unwrapping it faster than any of the other gifts, she was met with a blue velvet box. She opened it slowly, her heart pounding in her chest. She was met with a silver necklace in the shape of a wolf howling, a ruby encrusted as its eye. It dangled from a thin silver chain and she examined it closer. Underneath the necklace was a note.

"It's platinum, not silver."

That was all it said. With a grin from ear to ear she slipped it on before grabbing something to wear. She ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. She walked into the kitchen, still smiling. She was met with the entire Weasley clan, less Percy, along with Harry and Remus. The looks on all their faces were of pure shock, except for Remus. He knew why she was so happy as his eyes landed on the thin chain around her neck, the pendant tucked under her shirt.

She sat down next to Remus, the only spot left at the table. She reached under the table and squeezed his leg, a gesture that showed she liked her gift. She received a squeeze on her hand from his, a sign that he liked his. She had gotten him a new briefcase with his initials engraved on it and a werewolf silhouette underneath.

"Thank you," Hermione heard Ron mumble as he turned away from her as she looked over towards him. She just smiled, the tears threatening to flood her eyes again.

"Yes, thank you," Harry said.

"You're welcome, and thank you both," Hermione whispered before sniffling slightly. She wiped her eyes quickly with one hand before starting in on her breakfast, delivered by a beaming Mrs. Weasley.

It looked like things were going to get better, or at least she hoped.

Author Babble:

Yay! I liked this chapter a lot. I don't know about you guys.

My deadline for this to be finished is tomorrow! EEP!