Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews last chapter! I'm so glad you all liked the kiss! And sorry about the little cliffie there, but you will get Hermione's reaction in this chapter.

As always, thank you for reading!

Chapter 41

Doubts

25 December 1999

Hermione settled Teddy in the cot and covered him with a blanket. She then sat down slowly on Ginny's bed and stared at the wall, heart in her throat, as thoughts swirled in her mind.

Remus had just kissed her. Well, of course he had kissed her, but he had also kissed her. Hermione closed her eyes and blew out a breath even as her heart galloped a million miles an hour. Remus had kissed her and she had kissed him back. And she had liked it. Quite a lot.

Lying back on Ginny's bed, Hermione stared up at the ceiling. She had always brushed off Ginny's comments about Remus, knowing that he couldn't possibly be interested in her. But now, she wasn't sure what to think. The mistletoe didn't require anything more than a simple kiss on the lips to disappear, but Remus had done more than that. If Teddy hadn't interrupted, Hermione wasn't sure if they would have stopped. And she didn't think she would have wanted to.

She sat up as her face heated. She put her hands on her cheeks. Her feelings about Emily, the woman Remus worked with, made much more sense now. Hermione had been jealous and she hadn't even realized it. Merlin, when had she started fancying Remus?

The question was, what was she going to do about it? She still wasn't sure that Remus felt the same way. Hermione couldn't possibly fathom how he could. Yes, they were friends and they had quite a bit in common, but he was much older than she was and he had a son to think about. The age difference didn't bother her, she'd never really cared about things like that, but she knew it would bother Remus. It was one of his excuses against dating Tonks and Tonks had been seven years older than Hermione.

Hermione's heart sank a bit as she thought about Tonks. Hermione knew how much in love with Tonks Remus had been. His grief after the Final Battle had been palpable. If it hadn't been for Teddy, Hermione thought that Remus might have gotten completely lost in his sorrow.

In fact, maybe that's what this had been about. It had been more than a year and a half since Tonks died. Hermione was sure that Remus must be lonely. A simple kiss to end an enchantment had just turned into something a bit more because of that. He likely regretted it already.

Sighing, Hermione slowly stood and checked Teddy one more time. She leaned down and kissed the little boy's forehead before leaving the room.

"Everything all right?" Harry asked as he flew over to Remus. Remus, startled out of his thoughts, looked over at Harry.

"Yes, fine, why do you ask?" he said.

"Because the Snitch has been hovering next to your left ear for about two minutes now." Remus turned quickly and saw that Harry was right. As soon as Remus looked at it, the Snitch flew off. Remus didn't even try to chase it, although he had chosen to be his team's Seeker this game. He'd done so knowing that he could fly away from everyone else and not have to constantly concentrate on the game.

"Sorry, just lost in my thoughts, I suppose." Remus gave Harry a wan smile.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Remus stared at Harry, wondering how he would react if he knew that Remus had just kissed his best friend. Not well, Remus was sure.

"No, thank you, Harry," Remus said. Harry nodded and looked at Remus one more time before he flew off in search of the Snitch once more. Remus sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face before trying to refocus on the game. His thoughts, however, continued to drift to Hermione.

He hadn't wanted to stop kissing her. If Teddy hadn't spoken up, Remus likely wouldn't have. Gods, Remus had kissed her in front of his son. Thank Merlin Teddy had been half-asleep. Remus groaned and tried to force the feel of her lips on his from his mind. He shifted on his broom and scanned the meadow for the Snitch.

He had no idea how he was going to sit through dinner with Hermione at the same table. She was likely mortified about what had happened. Even the slight move towards him when he was kissing her didn't mean anything. She had probably simply been shifting Teddy's weight.

There was a whoop and Remus looked across the meadow to see Harry with the Snitch in his hand. Remus headed for the ground and landed next to Ginny, who was watching Harry with amusement.

"Sorry about that," Remus said to Ginny who had captained his team. Ginny smiled and shrugged.

"Better luck next time," she said. Remus nodded and glanced toward the house, then back up at Harry.

"Are you all right?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Remus said. Ginny frowned as she studied him. "It's just been a long time since I've played, I suppose." A look of understanding crossed her face.

"Did you used to play a lot when you were in school?"

"Summers, mostly," Remus said with a fond smile. "James and Sirius were on the House team of course, but summers when we'd visit James, we always had a few games." Ginny smiled and looked up at Harry who was celebrating in the air with Ron and the rest of their team.

"I think I'm going to check on Teddy," Remus said. Ginny nodded. As Remus walked back to the house, he was glad that he had been able to distract Ginny from the actual problem. It was true that Remus had been a bit nostalgic about his friends when they began playing, but his friends were not what he was thinking about now.

Hermione sat near the fire talking to Harry, Ginny and Ron, trying not to glance Remus' way every few seconds. He had been sitting in one of the corner armchairs across the room talking to Arthur for the last half hour. Teddy was snuggled in his lap, having just gotten up from his nap a few minutes ago. Remus hadn't so much as acknowledged Hermione's presence. Not that she expected him to, of course, it wasn't as if the kiss had meant anything.

"Hermione?" Ginny said.

"Yes?" Hermione said, turning her attention back to Ginny.

"I asked what time your portkey leaves tomorrow."

"Oh, sorry, eight o'clock in the morning."

"Are you going straight to Melbourne this time?" Ginny asked.

"Well, I still have to go through Sydney, but I've already requested another Portkey to Melbourne, so it should be waiting for me."

"Are you looking forward to seeing your parents?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Hermione said. She found herself having to blink back tears. She really did want to see her parents. A hug from her dad sounded rather good right now.

"Hey," Harry said in concern. "You all right?"

"Yeah," Hermione said, laughing a bit and swiping at her tears. "Just missing them more than I thought, I guess." Ginny put an arm around her and Hermione leaned into her friend. So much had happened over the last couple of months, not to mention the last couple of hours, that she just really wanted to talk to her mum.

"Dinner is ready, everyone," Molly called from the kitchen doorway. Hermione stood and wiped her cheeks, forcing a smile on her face.

"I'm fine, honestly," she said to her three friends. They began to walk towards the kitchen when Remus appeared next to Hermione. He had passed Teddy off to Andromeda who took the little boy to the table. Hermione looked at Remus and gave him a tentative smile.

"Can I speak with you for a moment?" Remus asked quietly.

"Of course," Hermione said, heart beginning to pound faster. Remus waited until everyone had passed into the kitchen.

"I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier," he said, clearing his throat. "With the mistletoe."

"Oh," Hermione said, her heart sinking. "It's fine, Remus really. I know it didn't mean anything." She smiled at him, hoping he couldn't tell how forced it was.

"Well, that's…that's good then," Remus said, looking anywhere but directly at her. "I suppose we should sit down."

"Yes, right," Hermione said. She turned away from him and blinked rapidly a few times, before plastering another smile on her face and walking out into the kitchen. Ginny gave her a quizzical look, but Hermione simply shook her head and sat down between Ron and Harry. Ron smiled at her and Hermione found herself wishing that things would have just worked out between the two of them. Then she wouldn't be sitting here feeling like crying.

Remus watched Hermione walk to the table and swallowed around the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat. While he had been sure that the kiss hadn't meant anything to Hermione, he didn't realize how much it would hurt to hear her say it.

He cleared his throat and moved to the empty chair next to Andromeda. She looked at him in question when he sat down, but he smiled and shook his head, patting her hand to let her know he was all right. They had both been missing Dora and Ted today, hopefully Andromeda would attribute his melancholy to that.

Remus passed dishes around the table, taking surreptitious looks at Hermione every so often. She smiled at things Harry and Ron were saying and sometimes Ginny leaned over to ask her a question. Remus saw her push the same stubborn curl behind her ear that had bothered her in the Leaky Cauldron and his chest tightened.

Watching her with her friends, her friends that were her own age, reminded Remus once again that he would never be right for her. For him to even consider otherwise was absurd. He went back to his dinner, smiling at Teddy who was holding out a bit of potato to Andromeda. She moved forward to eat it and Teddy snatched it back, giggling. It was his newest favorite game.

Remus looked up and saw that Hermione was watching Teddy with a soft smile on her face. Remus knew how much she adored Teddy and he didn't want to take that relationship away from Teddy simply because of his feelings for Hermione. He would just have to get over her.

Hermione shifted her gaze slightly and caught his eye. He managed a half-smile. She gave him quick smile that he could tell was forced before she looked away. He sighed and looked back down at his plate. He had likely ruined everything.

26 December 1999

Hermione climbed out of the taxi in front of her parents' house and took a deep breath to keep from bursting into tears. She had barely slept the night before, thoughts of Remus and the kiss consuming her. When she finally did drift off, she dreamed about him.

After paying the driver, Hermione walked up the drive. She knocked quickly on the door before opening it and stepping inside.

"Mum? Dad?"

"Hermione!" her dad said as he came around the corner with a wide grin on his face.

"Hi, Dad," Hermione said, her voice shaky. He looked at her in concern and then pulled her into his arms. Hermione buried her face in his chest and began to cry.

"Shh, Princess, it's all right," her dad soothed as he rubbed her back. Hermione heard her mum walk into the entry.

"Sweetheart, what's the matter?" Her mum stood next to her dad and put a hand on Hermione's back. Hermione simply squeezed her dad tighter. Her dad wrapped one of his arms around her mum and the three of them stood in the entry in a tight embrace until Hermione finally calmed herself. She pulled back from them and saw the looks of distress on their faces.

"I'm all right," she said. At their looks of disbelief, she laughed a bit. "Honestly, I am. I'm just a bit emotional at the moment." Her mother took hold of her hand and led her into the living room, pulling her down onto the couch. Her dad sat down in the armchair next to them.

"Tell us what's going on," her mum said. Hermione sighed and looked at her lap, then back up at her parents. She didn't want to talk about Remus, not just yet, and she was quite sure she wanted to talk to her mum about that in private. She had told her parents a bit about her job, but not much about what had happened after her proposal was passed. Her entire job situation was part of all of this anyway, so she decided it was as good an excuse as any.

"It's just, things are going all that well with my job," Hermione said. She explained about her transfers to the Spirit Division and now the Beast Division, which she had only been working in for a little over a week now.

"I don't understand," her mum said. "How can he keep you from working on your own proposal?"

"Easy," Hermione said. "He's the head of department and gets to make all personnel decisions. He can't fire me, of course, not without cause. But it's within his right to transfer me to another division."

"This is ridiculous, Hermione," her father said, completely incensed. "He can't treat you like this just because his ego's been bruised."

"It's a little more than that, Dad," Hermione said. "I did go behind his back to get my proposal heard."

"Only because he can't see a perfectly good idea that's right in front of him." Hermione smiled. Her dad had always been her biggest champion.

"I thought you were friends with the Minister," her mother said. "Can't you go to him?"

"I can," Hermione said. "But I don't want to do that. Not yet anyway."

"Why not?" her father demanded.

"Because, Dad, I'm not going to go whining to the Minister that I didn't get the exact job I wanted."

"Hermione, you were hired under false pretenses," her father argued. "You told us that your boss admitted he hired you with no specific position in mind."

"I realize that, but he never actually told me in his initial letter that I was going to be working in the Being Division. I just assumed."

"I don't know why you're standing for this," her dad continued, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I have to see the proposal through," Hermione explained. "After that, I'm not sure what I'm going to do."

"From everything you've said, Hermione, it doesn't sound like this man should be running an entire department," her mum said.

"No, he shouldn't," Hermione agreed. "I just need to wait until the House-Elf legislation has been completely implemented." Her mum looked at her quizzically, but Hermione didn't elaborate.

"I hope you know what you're doing," her dad said. Hermione smiled and reached out for his hand.

"I do, Dad." She squeezed his hand.

"Well, we're very glad you're here," her mum said. "It sounds like you could use a few days of relaxation."

"I'm glad I'm here too," Hermione said, tearing up again. Her mum leaned forward and hugged her and Hermione forced the tears away and put a smile on her face. She wasn't going to ruin her visit with her parents by being weepy the entire time.

28 December 1999

"We're going to miss you around here," Emily said to Remus as he reshelved a few books that had been returned after the holiday. Remus smiled. He only had about ten minutes left on his last shift.

"I'll miss it as well," he said. He had enjoyed working in the bookshop. It was relaxing, actually, and the extra money was nice, of course.

"I wish we could keep you on," Emily said. "But things slow down considerably after the New Year."

"It's all right," Remus assured her. "I knew this was just a temporary job." Emily nodded and looked a bit nervous.

"Since today is your last day, I can finally ask you this." Remus looked at her quizzically. She seemed to be gathering her courage and he couldn't fathom why.

"Would you like to have dinner with me?" Remus stared at Emily in surprise. She was an attractive woman and only a couple of years younger than he was. She was divorced and had an eight-year-old daughter that she adored. Emily was kind and patient and had a wonderful sense of humor. They had quite a bit in common, if you ignored that fact that she was a Muggle. Not that that was something that bothered Remus. Emily was the kind of woman that Remus should be interested in.

"I, ah," he fumbled for a response.

"If you're not interested, I understand," Emily said, trying valiantly to keep the smile on her face.

"No, I, I was just surprised," he replied, wondering what he was doing. "Dinner would be nice." Emily smiled widely.

"Are you free Thursday?"

"Yes, I am," he said. They made plans to meet at a small bistro not far from the bookshop. As Remus stepped into the back room to collect his things before leaving, he tried to ignore the voice in his head that told him he was making a big mistake.

29 December 1999

Hermione sighed contentedly as she turned another page in her book. She and her mother had gone to the beach for the afternoon, her dad needing to go into his office for a few hours. The sound of the waves breaking on the shore and the sun shining down had relaxed Hermione quite thoroughly. She could completely understand why her parents loved it here so much.

"Are you ever planning on telling me what else is bothering you?" her mother asked.

"What do you mean?" Hermione replied.

"Hermione," her mother said. "I know that there's more to what's going on than just your troubles with your job. Your frustration has never elicited the kind of reaction you had when you got here." Hermione sighed. Yes, she was completely exasperated with her job, but frustration just made her angry, not weepy. Her mum knew her too well.

"It's a boy, isn't it?" Hermione laughed.

"No, it's a man, actually."

"Ah, yes, I keep forgetting, you are over eighteen now. Still a little girl to me though," her mum teased. Hermione forced a smile and her mother frowned.

"What's going on, sweetheart?"

"It's just, I'm not sure what even happened, if anything did and I didn't even realize that I liked him that way until recently and now, he doesn't, I don't know, if," Hermione shook her head.

"Take a breath, Hermione." She did as her mother instructed. "Now tell me what happened." Hermione explained about the mistletoe George had invented and how she had gotten trapped under it twice on Christmas.

"Charlie, that's one of Ron's older brothers, kissed me the first time," she said.

"Ah, I can see where that would be an issue," her mother said. Hermione looked at her in confusion. "He's Ron's brother."

"No, no, it's not Charlie," Hermione said. "I mean, Charlie's great and he's good-looking and all, but he's more interested in dragons than people." Her mum chuckled.

"Oh, well, who then?"

"The other person that kissed me." She glanced at her mother, but her mother didn't press for a name. "He, we're friends, and I always thought that was all we were. But then he kissed me and it was, it was more than the kind of kiss you needed to get the mistletoe to release you. And I never realized that I felt that way about him before, but after the kiss, I just," Hermione trailed off again.

"And does this person feel the same way?"

"I don't know, I don't think so, but, it's complicated," she sighed.

"Hermione, I," her mum looked uncomfortable and shifted in her chair. "Hermione, it's not Harry, is it?" Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock. "I'm only asking because I know you've told me how much he loves Ginny. And I know Ginny is your friend and I don't think you'd want to do anything to hurt her."

"No!" Hermione insisted. "No, it's not Harry. I told you, Harry is like my brother."

"Well, I know, but you said it was someone that you didn't know you liked in that way and that it was complicated."

"No, Mum, it isn't Harry, I swear." Her mother nodded, apparently satisfied.

"So, this person doesn't return your feelings?"

"I don't know," Hermione said. "I don't know how he could."

"What do you mean?" Hermione sighed again. She didn't want to tell her mother that it was Remus that had kissed her. Hermione had no idea how her mum would react and there wasn't even a hint of a relationship anyway.

"He…lost someone," she said. "Someone he loved very much and I can't help but think that it was just, sort of a reaction, to, to being…lonely or something."

"Did he lose someone recently?"

"Well, not recently, I guess. It was in the war."

"So closer to two years now," her mum said. Hermione nodded.

"Everyone grieves differently, of course, but that's quite a bit of time, Hermione." Hermione shrugged a shoulder. "Is there something else?" Hermione sighed and felt the tears prick her eyes.

"Later, he apologized to me for getting carried away."

"Ah," her mother said. "So, you assumed that meant he didn't have feelings for you."

"What else would it mean?" Hermione asked. Her mum smiled.

"Perhaps he thought that you didn't have feelings for him and he apologized so you didn't feel uncomfortable." Hermione opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. Her mum could be right, she supposed. But it wasn't very likely.

"What did you say to his apology?" her mother asked.

"I told him it was fine and that I knew it didn't mean anything," Hermione said. Her mother smiled and shook her head. Hermione's eyes widened and then she groaned. "So, even if he did feel that way about me, I've basically told him that it isn't mutual."

"Sounds about right," her mum said.

"So, now what am I going to do?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On whether you really want to pursue a relationship with this man." Hermione looked out at the ocean. Was she interested in a relationship or was this just a reaction to the kiss they'd shared? Remus was smart and kind and brave; he was fiercely protective of those he loved and a had a wonderful sense of humor. He was an amazing father and Hermione adored Teddy. Not to mention that Remus was rather good-looking, despite his scars.

She wondered what her friends would think. Ginny would be all for it, obviously. She had been pushing Hermione towards Remus for months now. While Harry would be shocked, he would likely come around. Eventually. Ron, though, Ron was another thing altogether. He and Hermione had only just started to move back towards being friends again. He'd had a hard enough time with Hermione dating Anthony, she couldn't imagine what he would think of her dating Remus. Not to mention Molly and Andromeda. What would Andromeda say?

Hermione shook her head. This was all just ridiculous speculation. While her mother might have had a point, it didn't mean that it was true. Hermione couldn't fathom that Remus would feel anything for her but friendship. It made no sense to even worry about what her friends would think of something that wasn't going to happen.

When Hermione looked over, her mum had gone back to reading her book. Hermione sighed and closed her eyes, trying to put Remus out of her mind.

30 December 1999

Remus stood nervously waiting for Emily to arrive. He had attempted to give Andromeda the idea that this dinner was somehow work related, but he didn't think she'd believed him. Likely because he didn't actually work at the bookshop anymore. Remus wondered what Andromeda thought of him having dinner with another woman. She hadn't seemed upset when he left, but she was excellent at hiding her emotions.

Sighing, Remus glanced at his watch again, thankful he had cast a warming charm on himself before he left the Leaky Cauldron. Arriving fifteen minutes early in this cold hadn't been his smartest move.

As he waited, his thoughts continually drifted to Hermione. He knew that she was still in Australia visiting her parents. Harry had told him that she was returning tomorrow to attend Harry's New Year's Eve party. Harry had invited Remus, but he had declined. It was going to be a young crowd and Remus doubted that his former students wanted to spend the night before a new millennium with their old professor. Another reason why a relationship between he and Hermione would never work. Of course, dating a Muggle would bring up an entirely different set of issues, but Remus chose to ignore those.

Remus heard the tell-tale click of high heels on the pavement and looked up to see Emily walking towards him. She had a wide smile on her face and Remus tried to return it. He must have managed fairly well, as the smile on her face never wavered as she reached him.

"You haven't been waiting long, have you?" she asked as he held the door to the restaurant open for her.

"No, just a few moments," he lied.

They were shown to a table and spent the first ten minutes studying the menu. Emily made a few suggestions as she had eaten there before. When the server had taken their orders, they glanced at each other nervously a few times before Emily finally laughed.

"This is silly," she said. "We've never had a problem talking at the shop before."

"True," Remus said with a chuckle. He relaxed a bit and the two of them began discussing books, one of their favorite subjects.

By the time the food came, they had moved on to their children and families and Remus was beginning to enjoy himself. They spoke about all manner of things as they ate and sipped wine. When they had finished and the bill had been settled, Remus offered to walk Emily to her car. He had to stop himself from casting a warming charm on the both of them, despite how cold it was.

"I'm very glad you came to work in my shop, Remus," Emily said when they had reached her car.

"As am I," he said. "I enjoyed working there."

"I'm glad, but that's not what I meant. It's very hard to meet someone as busy as I am with the shop and Rebecca." Emily reached out and took his hand in hers. "It was a bit of good luck that brought you to my door." Remus attempted to smile but knew he had failed miserably. Emily didn't seem to notice, however, as she leaned towards him. Remus' heart began to pound as she moved to kiss him, although not for the reason it should have been. All that he could think was that this was wrong.

Just before she reached his lips, Remus turned his head slightly, so she only caught the corner of his mouth. As she pulled back, she studied him quite intently, then smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry, Emily," Remus said earnestly. He wasn't lying. He almost wished he could fall for her, Muggle or not.

"It's all right," she said.

"I very much enjoyed this evening. It's just that, I, I'm not, not ready for…another relationship," he said lamely. Emily nodded.

"I understand," she said. She opened the door to her car and looked back at him. "She's a lucky woman."

"Sorry?" Remus said.

"Whoever you've given your heart to," Emily said. With that she climbed into her car and shut the door. She drove off moments later, leaving Remus standing dumbstruck on the pavement.

31 December 1999

"Hermione!" Ginny said in delight as Hermione stepped into the house. Hermione smiled and hugged her friend. "How was Australia?"

"Heavenly," Hermione said with a smile as she handed her cloak to Kreacher who was answering the door.

"And your parents?"

"They're doing well," Hermione said. "It was great to spend some time with them."

"Good, come on," Ginny said, pulling Hermione up to the drawing room which was already crowded with people. Nearly all the D.A. was here, as well as a few of Ginny's teammates and friends from her year. Hermione hadn't seen any of them since they'd left Hogwarts and spent some time catching up.

Neville arrived a bit later and Hannah Abbott was with him. Hermione looked at Ginny who raised her eyebrows, before dragging Hermione over to the two.

"Happy New Year, Nev," Ginny said, hugging him.

"You too, Gin, Hermione," Neville greeted.

"Hannah, it's so good to see you," Hermione said. "What have you been up to?"

"I'm taking over the Leaky Cauldron, actually," Hannah said with a grin.

"Really?" Ginny said. Hannah nodded.

"Tom is my great-grandmother's brother and he's decided it's time to retire. He never married or had children and no one else in the family is interested in the pub."

"Wow, congratulations!" Ginny said.

"Thanks, I'm really excited about it," Hannah said. "Uncle Tom is staying on for a few more months until I've figured everything out, but by this summer, it should be mine."

"That's amazing, Hannah," Hermione said. She looked at Neville. "Did you two come together?"

"Oh, no," Neville said as he blushed. Hermione saw Hannah glancing at him shyly. "We just ran into each other in the entry."

"Well, come on in and help yourself," Ginny said, waving a hand at the tables laden with food and drinks.

Hermione continued to socialize, sipping the very excellent punch that Kreacher had made. She was soon laughing and enjoying herself quite a bit.

"Might want to go easy on the punch," Ron said as he settled next to her on one of the couches.

"Why?" Hermione asked with a grin. She was feeling rather good.

"George spiked it," Ron said. Hermione looked confused.

"I thought there was already alcohol in it?"

"There was," Ron said with a laugh. "That's why I said go easy." Hermione wrinkled her nose and shrugged. She didn't have to work tomorrow and it was New Year's Eve.

"It's weird, isn't it?" Ron asked.

"What is?"

"That tomorrow it will be the year two thousand."

"Yeah, it is strange." Hermione agreed. Harry plopped down on the couch on Hermione's other side, making her bounce a bit. She grinned and hugged him, having not had a chance to talk to him since she arrived.

"This is a great party, Harry."

"Thanks," he said. "How was Australia?"

"It was good," Hermione said. "Just what I needed."

"I'm glad," Harry said.

"Aw, shite," Hermione heard. They looked over and saw Seamus trapped in the middle of the room, holding two bottles of ale, George's mistletoe hanging over his head. Hermione had been irritated when she found out George had brought it with him. It was a disaster just waiting to happen, in her opinion.

Seamus glanced around the room and Hermione saw Dean push himself away the wall where he was talking to Parvati. He walked up to Seamus and took one of the bottles of ale.

"Thanks, mate," he said and turned around. Seamus glared at his back before Dean stopped and turned back. "Oh, right, forgot." He moved back to Seamus and proceeded to snog him. Seamus didn't protest. Hermione laughed at the spluttering Ron next to her.

"Did you know about this?" Ron said as the two men pulled apart to cat-calls and whistles around the room. Seamus' face was quite red as he flipped off the room at large before following Dean back to Parvati.

"I suspected," Hermione said with a shrug.

"Since when?" Ron demanded.

"End of sixth year," Hermione said taking another sip of punch.

"Harry?" Ron said.

"I sort of figured it out right after the Final Battle," Harry said.

"Why didn't I know?" Ron asked. Hermione and Harry looked at each other and burst out laughing. Ron scowled.

"Hermione always did say you had the emotional range of a teaspoon, Ron."

"Shut it, wanker," Ron said. Hermione laughed harder. Harry grinned.

"What's so funny?" Ginny asked as she sat down on Harry's lap.

"Ron was a bit surprised about Dean and Seamus," Harry explained.

"Really?" Ginny said. "I knew about that ages ago." Ron grumbled something under his breath about no one ever telling him anything. Hermione smiled and bumped his shoulder with hers. It was nice to tease him like this again.

It was an hour later when Hermione was trapped under the mistletoe herself. She looked around the room hoping to spot Neville or Harry or even Ron, but before she could find either of them, Ernie Macmillan walked up and kissed her. When he attempted to stick his tongue in her mouth, Hermione pushed him away and glared at him.

"Sorry, Hermione," he said, although he didn't look sorry at all. He raised his drink to her and Hermione rolled her eyes before she walked away.

Getting another glass of punch, she sat down on the couch and decided that Ernie was a terrible kisser. There was nothing gentle about his approach and there had been no build-up at all. Plus, he was entirely too sloppy. It was nothing like the way Remus had kissed her.

No, she wasn't going to think about that. It was never going to happen again anyway. Hermione looked around the room and saw Ron standing and talking to Susan Bones. The two of them were standing awfully close together and then Susan smiled at something Ron said. He smiled back and Susan blushed slightly. Hermione wondered what they were talking about.

Hannah was walking across the room with a plate full of food in her hand when she jerked to a stop. Hermione looked up and saw the mistletoe, then watched as Neville nervously approached Hannah. She smiled at him and he leaned in and kissed her softly. It didn't last very long, but Hannah was smiling when Neville pulled away. Hermione sighed. That's how she had felt after Remus had kissed her.

Hermione groaned and put her head in her hand. She had managed to go the entire night without thinking about Remus and now she couldn't stop. Looking around the room at all the people that were coupling off, Hermione scowled. She drank the rest of her punch and got up to get another glass.

Hermione glowered again sometime later as Harry snogged Ginny under the mistletoe. Stupid invention. George dropped down on the couch next to her, pulling Angelina onto his lap. Hermione scowled at him too.

"What's with the look, Granger?" George asked.

"Don't like your mistletoe."

"Why not?" George asked. "Seems like Harry enjoys it quite a bit."

"Sure, s'fine for them," she said, waving her glass towards the still snogging couple, although the mistletoe had disappeared long ago. George grinned as some of Hermione's punch sloshed onto her hand. "But not when the per-person doesn't wanna kiss you."

"You're pissed, aren't you?" George asked with a laugh. Hermione glowered at him.

"I'm tryin' to s'plain about your product."

"Who kissed you that didn't want to?" George asked. "Macmillan didn't look like he objected. In fact, he'd probably be happy to have another go." George winked at her and Hermione rolled her eyes. Angelina slapped the back of his head.

"Ow," George said rubbing the spot before looking at his girlfriend. She gave him a glare and he sighed.

"Not now," Hermione said. "Chris'mas."

"Charlie wasn't complaining either," George said. Hermione shook her head.

"Not him," she said. "Th'other one."

"What other one?" George asked. Hermione's eyes widened as she realized her slip.

"No one." She took another swig of her drink. George's eyes lit up.

"You kissed someone else at Christmas?"

"No," Hermione said with a scowl.

"Yes, you did," George said.

"Didn't," Hermione replied.

"You just told me you did."

"Did not."

"Come on, Hermione, who else did you kiss?" George pressed.

"George, leave her alone" Angelina said. George pouted at his girlfriend. "Hermione doesn't have to tell you if she doesn't want to." Hermione nodded and clinked her glass against Angelina's.

"Thank you, Ang," Hermione said.

"One minute!" Harry called from the other side of the room. Hermione blearily looked up at the clock on the mantel. Harry was right, it was only one minute until midnight. Sighing, Hermione looked around the room at all the couples. Hannah moved closer to Neville on the couch and Ron put an arm around Susan. Harry and Ginny were practically one person with as close to each other as they were standing. Even Dean and Seamus were off in their own private corner. Hermione saw Ernie looking around and stood before he could catch her eye. She wasn't in the mood to watch all the happy couples snog each other's faces off and there was no way in hell she was letting Macmillan stick his tongue down her throat.

Hermione walked down the stairs towards the door to the kitchen. The last thing she needed was to interrupt anyone's 'private time' and she doubted that anyone would have hidden out in the kitchen with Kreacher there. The Elf still wasn't Hermione's biggest fan, but he was at least cordial to her now.

She reached the bottom of the kitchen stairs and swayed a little before grabbing the wall and regaining her balance. George was right, she was pissed. Hermione heard the countdown begin from upstairs.

"Ten, nine, eight…"

"Stupid holiday," she muttered.

"Five, four, three…"

"Stupid tradition." She sat down at the kitchen table.

"One! Happy New Year!"

Hermione raised her glass to the empty room and took a large drink. Sighing, she laid her head down on her arms. She should just go home, but she didn't trust herself to Apparate.

Kreacher shuffled into the room a few moments later and looked surprised to see her there. He stared at her for a moment before turning to the sink and snapping his fingers. A pile of pans began washing themselves.

"Happy New Year, Kreacher," she said quietly. The House-Elf turned and regarded her for a moment before nodding his head.

"Happy New Year, Miss." He then shuffled back to the small pantry that Harry had designated as his quarters. Hermione watched him go, eyes drooping shut.

"Hermione!" Hermione jumped, looking up blearily at Ginny. "I've been looking for you everywhere!" Ginny sat down, a sappy grin on her face. "Happy New Year!"

"Wha's good 'bout it?" Hermione muttered. Ginny frowned.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?"

"Gin," Hermione said ignoring her question. She leaned back in her chair and looking up at the ceiling. It started spinning. "I think I'm pissed." Ginny giggled.

"Me too." Hermione joined in and they were soon laughing so hard tears were running down their cheeks.

"Time is it?" Hermione asked.

"After one," Ginny said. "Most everyone's gone home." Hermione yawned and laid her head back down on the table.

"M'tired," she said.

"You can't sleep here," Ginny said, pulling on Hermione's arm.

"Can," Hermione said.

"No," Ginny said. "Come up to your room." Hermione protested, but Ginny got her to her feet. The two of them somehow managed to make it across the kitchen and up the stairs, falling into a fit of giggles when they reached the landing.

"There you are, Hermione," Harry said, looking at the two of them in amusement.

"'Mione's pissed," Ginny said.

"So're you," Hermione said.

"Not as pissed as you," Ginny said with a grin.

"Are too," Hermione said swaying where she stood.

"Okay, let's get the both of you up to bed," Harry said, putting one arm around Hermione and taking Ginny's hand with the other. He led them up the stairs to Hermione's room.

"Do you need help?" he asked when she was inside.

"You can't help me, Harry. You're a boy," she whispered as if it were some great secret. Harry rolled his eyes.

"I'll help you," Ginny said. Harry looked at the two of them dubiously. "I'm fine, love. I'll be there in a minute." Harry finally left the room and Hermione pulled out her beaded bag. "You still have that?"

"Sometimes," Hermione said with a shrug, searching through it until she pulled out an old t-shirt and sleep shorts. She started to take off her jeans and nearly fell on her arse. Ginny laughed.

"Why'd you leave the party?" Ginny asked sitting Hermione down on the bed while she got out of her jeans and into the shorts.

"Didn't wanna watch all the kissin'," Hermione said.

"There wasn't anyone there you wanted to kiss?" Ginny asked with a grin, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"No," Hermione said with a yawn after she'd put on her t-shirt. She climbed into the bed and Ginny threw the blankets up over her. Hermione yawned again and mumbled something.

"What?" Ginny said, leaning closer.

"No one kisses good as Remus," Hermione repeated, her eyes drooping shut.