1"Behind Closed Doors" By Meg

A/n: I don't own Harry Potter…I simply enjoy using the characters conjured up J.K. Rowling for my own sweet pleasure.

Pairing: Hermione/Ron and Hermione/Mystery man (okay, the cat's outta the bag. It's Remus.)

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The tiny bristles of his beard tickled her cheek as he leaned into her, whispering into her ear and kissing her soft, pink earlobe. No longer could they stand there, making a scene of their passions. They agreed to meet in his room at the inn in half an hour with a gentle nod of their heads. Hermione could feel bubbles of excitement boil up into chest, flooding her heart with waves of giddiness from anticipation.

She watched as he walked away, robes clinging to his eternally attractive, lithe frame. She marveled at his body's astounding ability to look so young, despite his years. The gap in their ages never really bothered her, though she knew that some people would find it a ridiculous span. She'd just has her twenty-fourth birthday. When she thought about it, that meant that Remus was no younger than forty. She guessed he was nearer to forty-five.

After he had disappeared from view, she felt the urge to move from where they had stood. She shifted her weight forward, away from the cool stone of the building she'd been pressed against in their moments of passion. Her heels clicked only faintly as she walked down the alley, her spirits too high for her feet to strike with any sort of weight to them. When she rounded the corner she found herself only a few feet from a women with a tiny baby girl. The woman had the baby in a sling around her neck, where the baby could nestle against her mother's body and hear the comforting noise of such a familiar heart beat.

"What am I getting myself into?" She wondered aloud.

She knew that bringing Remus back into her life was not for the best. She loved Ron with all her heart, despite sometimes feeling tied down. She was content with her life to eventually become a Molly Weasley. There was nothing wrong with that kind of life, but she knew it didn't suit her. She was proud that Ron had taken a job at the ministry assisting Harry Potter (who was now the youngest Minister of Magic in all of history). She wanted a successful husband and the security that came with it. She just didn't know is she was ready for it all yet.

Deep down, in Hermione's core, there was still a wild spirit that she'd never been able to let roam. She'd gone from being a mousy young girl to being a wife before she'd had time to be wild and carefree. She didn't resent it, but she just didn't feel complete. She knew it would be best to get this out now if she was going to get it out of her system.

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Remus stood by the dusty window in his room, bathed in the mellow sunlight that flooded the room. He tapped his fingers on the warped wooden window sill as he watched for Hermione to come up the street. The clock chimed down the hall.

"It's been an hour..." He murmured. "Where are you?"

He saw woman after woman cross in front of the inn, and each time he saw a woman with the same gingery-colored hair Hermione had, his heart jumped. He was beginning to feel resigned, beginning to wonder if Hermione had changed her mind about meeting him. Changed her mind about having this affair with him.

He wasn't sure he could bear that kind of rejection. She'd become some sort of goddess to him over the years; she was the first thing he thought of in the morning and the last thing at night. In his spare moments, he wondered what they would be doing if their babies had survived. Would they be living in the same little house the Ron and Hermione shared now? Would the live in the woods and let the children, who'd be nearly six years old, wander through the depths of the forest?

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Hermione found herself walking the familiar way to the inn without thinking. How many times had she been there since her first year at Hogwarts? Too many times to count. She wondered if her life would've been different had she and Ron not married immediately after she'd miscarried. She imagined they would have still married after Remus had left so suddenly. She still would be here, but maybe not meeting Remus as prospective lovers. She wondered if Remus and herself could be friends without being lovers. Perhaps they could even be close friends; they could be each other's confidant, pillar of strength and always be there when the other needed them.

Hermione didn't think she was the type of woman to cheat on her husband, especially one as wonderful and responsible as Ronald Weasley. She didn't think she was the type of woman to have gotten pregnant in school by a man almost twice her age. Hermione was a lot of things she never could've imagined she'd be by the time she was twenty-five. She was a wife, she was a prospective teacher for Hogwarts, and she was adulteress, already.

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Okay. What do you think? This is last chapter before I take the story in the two different directions.

Chapter will be labeled either "a" or "b". "A" will be the happier side of the story, with a more fairy-tale type feeling. "B" will be the drama-packed, darker, angst-ier side of the story (this will be my preferred side, btw). I'll try to post one of each when I post, as opposed to one story line faster than the other. Who knows if that'll work out though.

Please review! I don't know if you people even dig my story all that much anymore.

Meg