A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows, especially after the long wait! I won't bore you with all the details of my brief hiatus, but I did have my baby daughter :) We are working on getting a new routine while I am still on maternity leave for a few weeks, but hopefully we can get a few updates in here. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-eight and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-nine soon!

April 1969

Hermione's fingers grabbed at the gold earring she was wearing, turning the post in her earlobe again and again, her mind occupied. For the past seven weeks she had been looking forward to this day, ever since she had sent Rodolphus her remaining Hogsmeade weekends. Unfortunately, he had not been able to come down to the village in March because Pucey was getting married and had organized a stag week in Greece that Rodolphus was obliged to attend, which left only the April weekend for him to visit.

After that, she would be up to her eyebrows in NEWT preparation, and even if there was a weekend in May, she doubted that even the temptation of seeing Rodolphus could pull her away from her studies. Even though she hadn't given up hope of returning to her own time, Hermione wasn't going to let her job prospects suffer on the chance that she would remain here for longer.

Not to mention after speaking with Headmaster Dumbledore and telling him everything she knew about Voldemort, she had no idea what kind of future she would even be returning to. Who knew what kind of witch Hermione Granger would be if Harry Potter was no longer the boy who lived. The thoughts of the ripple effects made her brain itch.

The Headmaster's sudden interest in Voldemort - and presumably, his desire to actually do something about it before Harry's parents, and all his other victims had to die - created a tantalizing prospect for her that she tried not to get too caught up thinking about. Perhaps Dumbledore's interference would build an environment where Rodolphus Lestrange did not become a Death Eater...a world where they could be together.

Her friends suddenly standing up from the Gryffindor table brought Hermione back down from her thoughts. Looking at her plate, she realized that she had barely eaten breakfast, too excited at the idea of sneaking away into one of the rented rooms above the Three Broomsticks, spending the afternoon with Rodolphus.

"Are you going to come back to the Common Room with us, Hermione?" Fawn asked gently, even though she knew that Hermione had woken up early to prepare.

Hermione blushed, shaking her head, knowing that she would need to leave for the village shortly if she wanted her activities to go unnoticed. "Um, no," she said, hoping that Lottie and Elna wouldn't press her for an explanation. "I'll see you guys at dinner," she offered instead, standing up and throwing her bag over her shoulder, before she turned and made her way from the Great Hall as quickly as possible.

It was so early that the carriages that normally would take you down to Hogsmeade weren't out yet, but Hermione was perfectly happy to walk, despite the spitting rain that threatened to chill her to the bone. Nothing that an impervious spell couldn't help with though. She enjoyed the sound of the gravel under her feet, each step bringing her closer to Rodolphus.

There was no one inside the Three Broomsticks when she entered, save for the pretty barmaid. Madame Rosmerta was decidedly not surprised to see Hermione walk in the door, immediately reaching under the counter to grab her a key. Handing it over, she gave the younger witch a smirk. "He's been waiting for you since last night," she teased.

Bounding up the stairs two at a time, Hermione found the rented room easily enough. Opening the door, she was surprised when Rodolphus was not on her in an instant. Instead, he was lying in rumpled sheets on the bed, eyes bleary with sleep. "Hermione?" he asked, pulling himself to sit up. "What time is it?"

"Just after nine," she answered, hoping that he wasn't too annoyed that she'd interrupted his lie in. "I wanted to spend as much time as possible with you."

He grinned, peeling the covers back and scooting over to give her a spot next to him. Kicking off her shoes, Hermione climbed in, eager to warm up a bit after the cold walk over. Rodolphus pulled her back to his bare chest, tucking her head under his chin and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Just a few more minutes," he begged, his voice rough with sleep.

She did not need convincing, feeling the heat of his body lulling her to sleep.

It was sometime later when she woke up, Rodolphus's hands having slipped under her jumper sliding over her skin in a gentle massage, slowly working their way up to cup her breasts. She grinned, before rolling over to look at him.

"What time is it now?" she asked with a small yawn.

"Just after ten," Rodolphus answered her, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I hope you don't mind that we napped. I don't want you to feel like I've wasted time with you, but it's so much easier to sleep when you're with me."

Flattered, Hermione leaned up to press a kiss against the tip of his nose. "I don't mind at all. I just wanted to be with you," she answered, before biting her lip before she said something stupid about wishing that they lived together after she was done with school. Who knew what would happen and she didn't want to jinx it by saying something out loud. With luck, Rodolphus would offer them to move in together once she got her NEWT results, and she'd happily agree. However, she knew that it was likely that something would happen with his betrothal or her going back to her proper time.

Pushing the dark thoughts from her mind, Hermione initiated a kiss with Rodolphus, her fingers finding the hair at the nape of his neck. She could hear him make a rumble of pleasure at the turn of events, and deepened the kiss until she could think of nothing but the way it felt to be pressed up against Rodolphus, and how long it had last been since she was under him.

It was not long before the dam broke, four months being too long for Rodolphus as well. Before she knew it, he was pushing her jumper up over her head, finding the zip on the back of her skirt, and striping her down until she had nothing but her knickers on. She had significantly less work to do, seeing as he'd been dressed for sleep, and eagerly pushing his pajama pants down his legs, before perching herself on top of him.

Hermione felt powerful on top of him and pressed her hands against his wrists, holding him down, though it would be easy for him to escape if he'd wanted to. Leaning her head down, she kissed down his jaw to his neck, sucking against his salty skin, needing to leave a mark of her own on his body. She delighted in the way his hips bucked into her body, unbidden, as though he truly could not help himself around her. In turn, she rocked back and forth against him, moaning at the slickness between her legs against the fabric of her knickers. Oh Godric, how she wished that there was nothing between them in that moment and she might rise up, only to take him inside of her body.

She wouldn't be surprised if Rodolphus was a legilimens, because in the next moment, he was breaking free of her loose hold, pressing his hands against her hips, and working to liberate her from the last bit of clothing between them. Hermione moaned, pressing her face into the crook of his neck, when she felt the two of them joined together, pressing down until they were completely one. Rodolphus must have enjoyed the position as well, because he made no move to flip them, content to let her set the pace.

His hands remained in their place at her hips, assisting her in finding a rhythm, and then squeezing her gently when she moved in a way that he particularly liked. Pulling herself up, Hermione found his lips again easily enough, enjoying the way that his tongue pressed against hers, not in a battle for dominance, but in a slow dance.

Before long, Hermione was pulling back to gain more control over her movements, finding that she was so close to finding that spectacular peak. Looking down at her lover with half lidded eyes, Hermione felt sexy and pleased with herself when she saw Rodolphus staring up at her naked body, blue eyes filled with awe and reverence and love. It did not take long before she was coming, head thrown back in relief, sighing his name in delight. Rodolphus was not far behind her, his hands holding her hips in place while his movements grew uncoordinated, until he was finished.

She collapsed against his body, uncaring that they were both hot, delighting in the way that his arms came to wrap around her. They stayed that way, in silence, until Rodolphus's rapidly beating heart returned to its normal rhythm.

"Mm, I could lie here like this all day," she said to him, knowing that it was the truth, even though she could already feel her hips beginning to ache from the awkward position she was now in.

"I'd like that as well." Hermione could feel his voice more than hear it. "But, I'm afraid I might starve to death if I don't eat something now."

Hermione's stomach growled in response to his suggestion of food. "Let's order down from the kitchen," she suggested. "I found that I didn't have much of an appetite this morning, myself, and missed breakfast."

Rodolphus chuckled, before helping her sit up. "I wonder why that was," he teased.

Hermione stood up from the bed, finding her knickers before slipping them up her legs, finding them just a bit wobbly. Her jumper was next, and she pulled it over her head, glad for the bit of warmth and coverage.

"Don't get completely dressed," Rodolphus begged. "I'm certainly not done with you, and I'd like to save as much time undressing you as possible." He replaced his own pajama pants, barely giving her a chance to appreciate his strong legs and backside. "If you are up for it, I was thinking that I might like to have you in the bath next, once I regain my strength that is."

She flushed, looking into the open bathroom where an impressive looking tub stood. "I could be convinced," she agreed, thinking that a soak in the warm water might be nice, especially if Rodolphus was there as well. Would the two of them be able to fit, though?

Rodolphus called for a house elf and made an order to have their lunch set up, before he relit the fire in the hearth, helping to give the room a bit of warmth. He sat down heavily into the threadbare looking couch next to the fireplace, before patting the spot next to him.

Hermione snuggled up beside him, before conjuring a blanket to cover them both up. His fingers ran through her wild hair and for a moment they sat together in silence, listening to the light rain on the roof of the pub.

"Tell me how your studies are going," he encouraged, knowing that she was nearing the biggest exam of her life. "You are making sure not to spend all of your time in the library, right?"

"Not all my time, no, but probably more than I should," she answered with a sigh, before telling him about all the NEWTs that she was planning on taking, and elaborating on her hopes and fears, and the persistent dream that she'd had since she was a first year that she would fail all of her exams. It felt good to talk about something so familiar with him.

In turn, Rodolphus told her about his time at the Ministry, filled with all the research that he insisted was boring, even though it was clear that he was beginning to find it more enjoyable, not that he knew a bit more about how everything worked.

They whiled away the rest of their time before lunch was delivered catching up, both obviously genuinely interested in what the other was doing, wanting to make up for lost time. Hermione tried not to get too far ahead of herself, thinking how nice it would be to do the same thing every night when they returned from their respective jobs to their flat, before slipping off into bed together.

It was a possibility too sweet to get her hopes up about.