Remus Lupin had kissed her. Remus Lupin had kissed her.

A couple of hours after the fact and Hermione still couldn't believe what had happened. She'd kissed the young man who'd become Professor Lupin, and in her mind's eye she could clearly see the Remus she knew in her time, his expression reproachful as he stared at her, demanding an explanation for her actions here in the past. How could she have kissed the younger Remus without the older Remus's knowledge and consent?

Their kiss had been incredible, but she knew full well that she shouldn't have allowed it to happen. She shouldn't have allowed any of this to occur. She should've never befriended the younger Remus. But how could she have helped it? They'd practically been forced together. She'd woken up in his bed for goodness sake! He had been appointed her study partner, they had all the same classes and would have had all the same friends in common anyway. They were bound to become friends themselves, or at least friendly classmates. Even so, she knew she should have tried to keep more of a distance between them. Maybe then she wouldn't be in this position.

After a restless night filled with a lot of thought and little sleep, Hermione awoke feeling weary and tense and reluctant the next morning. She didn't want to get up because getting up meant facing Remus and having the talk she knew they had to have. She'd tell him she only wanted to be friends. She'd discourage the possibility of anything more developing between them, even if that meant accepting the inevitable awkwardness that would ensue from their talk as well as the risk of losing his friendship. But it was better, she reasoned, to give up her friendship with him here in the past, the time in which she was only temporarily residing, than to tarnish their relationship in her proper time in the future. So, with exceptional effort, she got out of bed.

Lily chatted cheerfully about Slughorn's party as they dressed, but Hermione was too preoccupied going over exactly what she wanted to say to Remus to pay her friend much attention. Lily took notice.

"What's up with you, Jean?" When Hermione didn't respond, Lily nudged her. "Jean?"

"What?"

"Where have you been this morning?"

"I'm so sorry, Lily. I'm a little distracted."

"I can see that," Lily said, looking more curious than irritated at Hermione's inattentiveness. "You were distracted last night, too."

Hermione knew Lily was intimating that she was open to hearing all about what was bothering her, but she didn't want to talk about it. Instead, she prompted her friend to tell her more about Slughorn's party. Lily picked up where she left off.

The two girls left their dormitory and descended through the castle together toward the Great Hall, but when they reached the first floor, Hermione told Lily she'd meet up with her later.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked, looking surprised.

"To the library. I need to get a book. Study."

"Don't you want breakfast first?"

"I'm not very hungry," Hermione told her truthfully.

She also didn't want to go down to the Great Hall because she didn't want to face Remus in front of the others without first speaking to him alone about last night. She would wait until she could get him on his own later.

Lily didn't seem to find it too unusual for Hermione to miss breakfast on a Sunday morning to study. Sometimes when a question struck her Hermione would stop whatever she was doing to hurry to the library and find the answer. Too bad the library couldn't help her in this situation. She couldn't research what a girl should do when she inexplicably gets thrown back to a time before she was even born and kisses the seventeen-year-old version of the professor she secretly has feelings for.

Still, Hermione went to the library and browsed through the section on time travel until she found the book she sought, a book she'd perused before, when she'd first arrived to this time. She wanted to take another look, though she wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for.

With the volume in hand, she started toward one of the tables to skim through the book's contents, but she'd only gone a few paces before she abruptly froze — Remus was there, briskly travelling up the aisle and glancing along the rows between the shelves opposite her.

A tremor of panic ran through Hermione at the unexpected sight of him, and the book she held somehow fell from her grasp. It hit the floor with a heavy thud and Remus's roaming gaze snapped to her. Their eyes locked. The memory of their kiss vivid in Hermione's mind, she was torn between the strong impulse to run away as she'd done last night and the sudden and intense desire to kiss him again.

She wasn't ready to face him yet. She wasn't prepared to fight these feelings that overcame her whenever she was in his presence. But while she hesitated, Remus approached her tentatively. He picked up the book she'd dropped and handed it back to her.

"Thanks," Hermione muttered, hugging the book over her hammering heart.

"Jean," Remus said, regarding her uncertainly. "Can we talk?"

They had to eventually, and she wasn't sure she'd ever be better prepared for it than she was now, so she said, "Yes. I think we should."

A loud shush reached them from Madam Pince at the front desk. Though they'd been speaking softly, their voices had carried across the library which was quieter than normal, seemingly deserted besides the three of them.

"Let me put this back first," Hermione whispered, indicating the book on time travel.

Remus followed her back into the row in which she'd found the book, and apparently unable to hold off talking until they were out of the library, he said, "I want to apologize."

Another loud shush from Madam Pince. Remus drew his wand and pointed it in the librarian's direction, silently casting what Hermione guessed to be the Muffliato Charm or a similar spell that would allow them to speak without being overheard.

"I'm sorry about last night," Remus continued in a normal volume. "I shouldn't have kissed you. You were all mixed up thinking about — about determinism and time complexities, I shouldn't have—"

"I really like you too, Remus," Hermione blurted out, the words slipping out of her mouth involuntarily, astonishing her just as much as they did him.

That was definitely not what she had planned to say to him. She should amend her statement right away. She should tell him that she really liked him but only as a friend so he didn't get the wrong impression, or rather the true impression.

But as she looked into Remus's handsome face and his kind and clever, green-gray eyes, Hermione suddenly found that she didn't want to hide the way she felt about him. What she wanted to do was kiss him. Would it be so wrong if she did that? She'd kissed him last night so the damage was already done anyway, wasn't it?

"I'm sorry?" Remus said, looking as though he didn't dare believe what he thought he'd heard her say.

With the pretext of replacing her book upon its shelf, Hermione turned away from him, trying to buy some time to get a better grip on her emotions. Her fingers fumbled, though, as they slid the book back in its place, and her thoughts and following words fumbled just as badly.

"What happened last night…" she started when she'd faced him again. "I'm sorry I ran away like I did. I didn't mean… I was just — I was afraid..."

"Oh. I — I understand," he said, taking a step back, his brow slightly furrowed. "You probably… What I am must—"

"No, it wasn't because of that," she said, automatically reaching out a hand to touch his arm reassuringly, but she withdrew it quickly, fearing that any physical contact with him would destroy what little resolve she had left. "It — it had nothing to do with that. I was afraid of — of what the kiss meant."

Hermione bit her lip as Remus gazed at her questioningly. She wasn't sure what to say or do next. Everything she'd rehearsed in her mind earlier was completely useless now.

"I don't want to ruin our friendship," she told him finally. She feared what would happen if the older Remus ever found out about their kiss last night. How would he react? Would he be embarrassed that his younger self had had feelings for her? Would he, being the reserved and proper man that he was, be ashamed he'd kissed her, his much younger student? Would he be upset with her for not preventing it?

"Neither do I," the teenage Remus said.

Hermione searched his eyes. She knew if she told him that she only wanted to be friends he would accept it. He wouldn't try to be anything more than that again. Is that what she wanted? No, but it was what she knew she should do.

There was a small part of her, however, that felt she was wrong about this. It was telling her she would regret never exploring what could be between her and Remus, of never discovering where this could lead.

No regrets.

Remus's words from the previous night came to Hermione's mind: We should do what we feel is right with the time we are given. She was given the chance to go back in time. She was given this time, here with the teenage Remus, and Dumbledore said it could be to learn something important. Last night Remus had revealed his feelings for her. Was that what she was meant to learn? If the younger Remus had feelings for her, did that mean the Remus she knew in her time could have them too?

"I don't want what I said last night, I don't want what happened to mess things up between us," Remus continued.

What happened was that he'd kissed her and it'd felt perfect. She'd only fled afterwards because she'd let her fears and uncertainty get the best of her. She'd let her ever dominant mind with its irksome thoughts get in the way of what her heart was clearly telling her.

"It hasn't," Hermione said.

She knew the ramifications of her next words could be great and disastrous, but she had to do what she felt was right. That way she could live with whatever came next. Whether it be unbelievable happiness or unimaginable heartache that awaited her, she didn't know. What she did know was that she had very strong feelings for the person standing before her.

So she told him once more, "I really like you too, Remus."

For a moment he only stared at her, his sage colored eyes still anxious. But then, slowly, a smile crossed his lips, and Hermione wanted nothing more than to feel those lips upon hers again. Remus fulfilled her unspoken wish not a second later. He pulled her into an eager kiss and her heart rejoiced and glowed with pleasure. It felt, if possible, even more amazing than it had the first time.

"Studying, eh?"

Hermione and Remus hastily broke apart to see Sirius grinning at the pair of them.

"If I had known this is what studying meant, I'd have joined you. Well, joined you," Sirius indicated Hermione, then pulled a face as he said to Remus, "Not so much you."

"What are you doing here?" Remus asked.

"Spying, of course," Sirius told his friend. "I knew something was up with you, the state you've been in since detention last night. Then Lily said Jean was missing breakfast to study and you claim you had to do the same. I figured something was going on and decided to check up on you. And I catch you studying." Sirius appeared utterly amused. "Studying in the middle of the library, of all places."

"Stop saying 'studying' like that, will you?" Hermione said, and Sirius laughed.

"So, I assume this means you're officially together now, right?" he asked them. "Because it's about time. The others and I were getting worried that the two of you might never admit your feelings for each other. I suppose I'd better go tell everyone the good news. You two carry on with your studies. Forget I was ever here."

Sirius winked at Hermione and clapped Remus on the back before leaving them alone again. Remus turned to Hermione.

"So…are we officially together?" he asked.

Hermione felt a flutter of joy in her chest. "Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"I am."

There was no turning back now. In response to his question, she happily pressed her lips to his.

When she pulled away again, Remus asked her, his eyes twinkling, "Was that a yes?"

Hermione smiled.

Through his half-moon glasses, Dumbledore's piercing blue eyes examined Hermione's faintly flushed and nervous face as she sat down across from him. Then, clasping his hands together over his desk, he asked, "To what do I owe this pleasant surprise, Miss Granger?"

"Professor, I — I wanted to speak to you about something that's happened. Something I've done."

Hermione paused, unsure how to proceed. Dumbledore waited patiently for her to go on.

"Sir," she began at last, "when I first I arrived here and asked you for help, you told me that while I was here I didn't necessarily have to avoid the people I know from my time in the future, and we came up with a plan to protect the future from being altered due to my presence in this time. May we go over that again, please?"

"Certainly, Miss Granger. The most crucial part of the plan involves Obliviating the memories of all those you know from the future. You have already given me a sealed envelope containing a list of these students and professors, and as soon as we succeed in returning you to your time, I will take care of removing you from their memories."

So the Remus in her time would never know that she had travelled to the past and that his younger self had befriended her. He would never know that they'd become romantically involved…

"Furthermore," Dumbledore continued, "we agreed you would go by an alias while you are here. This will make it more difficult for the rest of your classmates and professors to connect 'Jean Wilkins' to 'Hermione Granger' in the future should you ever meet again."

Hermione nodded, still thinking of the older Remus.

"Miss Granger, you said you wanted to talk to me about something you've done," Dumbledore reminded her.

"Yes, sir." And she proceeded to tell him about her quandary, but as a precaution she spoke only vaguely. "Something happened yesterday between me and a person I'm friends with in the future. Then some things were said between us this morning, and I — I had to make a decision. I'm not sure if this person would approve of the choice I made. In my time, I mean."

"In your time this person will not remember the choice you made," Dumbledore told her. "It would be as if you never made it."

"But I'll remember it. I'll know what I did."

"Do you feel as though you have made the right choice?"

"Yes, but I also feel guilty. I wish I could tell this person the truth about the situation, to see if he would approve."

"You mustn't tell anyone of your time travel or the future, Miss Granger. Remember, you have already given me your word that you would not do so, when you first arrived here."

"I remember, sir, but I thought…maybe…since his memory is going to be Obliviated anyway—"

"I am afraid that would be unwise. Obliviating the memories of those you know from the future can only do so much to protect the future you know from being altered."

"What do you mean, Professor?"

Dumbledore pressed his steepled fingers to his lips, looking thoughtful for a few moments, before explaining.

"Imagine for a moment a man who was, as a toddler, bitten by his pet rabbit. As an adult this person may not remember the incident and may have never been told by his parents that the incident ever occurred, but that does not change the reality that he was bitten by the rabbit. It does not change the fact that he has the scar on his hand to mark the event as well as a fear of bunnies he cannot quite explain.

"Similarly," Dumbledore went on, "Obliviating a person's memory does not necessarily erase the impact that those removed memories had on him. Certain experiences, certain bits of knowledge gained, can have a profound and intricate impact on us. They can mark us and shape us in ways that may be subtle and difficult to see, yet that nonetheless affect who we are and the choices we make. To tell someone information as significant as what the future will bring him may mark him and have unknowable consequences, and I must ask you not to further heighten the risk of your presence here in that manner."

"I understand, Professor. I won't," Hermione promised reluctantly, and she wondered with unease if her relationship with Remus here would mark him somehow. And if it did, how would it affect him? "Sir, what if the choice I made is one my friend wouldn't agree with and it marks him in some way?"

Dumbledore surveyed her worried expression. "Tell me, Miss Granger, did your friend approve of your decision now, in this time?"

"Yes, but, well, this situation, the time travel — it's made things very complicated."

"Then let us consider the crux of the matter. If in the future you were presented with the same decision to make of which you speak now, would you make the same choice?"

"Yes," Hermione answered almost at once. She knew that if the Remus in her time were to confess he had feelings for her, and if he were to ask her, she would be his in a heartbeat. She wouldn't care about anything else.

"Time can make situations complicated, indeed," Dumbledore agreed. "However, perhaps the choice you have made now you would always make, regardless of the time or circumstance, because of who you are at the most fundamental level. The same goes for your friend, who presently chose to approve of your decision."

Dumbledore's words reflected in a way some of the jumbled thoughts she'd had on the Astronomy Tower the night before, and Hermione asked him curiously, "Do you believe in fate, sir?"

"I do not discount the theory," Dumbledore answered rather ambiguously. "Do you believe it is fate for you to have been sent back in time?"

"I don't discount the possibility," she replied.

Dumbledore smiled. "The reason — if there is a reason — for you being here has been unclear to us thus far. Have you learned anything you believe to be of significance?"

"I might have," Hermione said, but didn't expand on her thoughts.

"Has it given you any indication as to how you were sent back in time?"

She shook her head. "Sir, has there been word about the Time-Turner request?"

"I will be meeting with the Ministry again later this week and will inform you as soon I know anything."

"Thank you, Professor."

Hermione left Dumbledore's office, somewhat reassured. The Remus in her time would never know that his younger self had become romantically involved with her, and though she didn't know for sure what his reaction to it would be if he were to find out, she knew the teenage version of him approved of what was going on and that meant something. Remus was the one who had instigated this — he had feelings for her too — and she felt like she was doing what was right.

That feeling was further confirmed when she met Remus waiting for her in the corridor. He beamed at her as she walked his way and Hermione, her heart leaping at the sight of him, brightly returned his smile. Then, hand and hand, they walked together along the passageway.

A/N: Loved reading your reactions to the last chapter, and I'm curious to know what you make of this.