Remus stood slightly behind a bookcase, looking at her. He didn't want to alert her to his presence quite yet; he simply enjoyed watching her. He loved the way she wrinkled her nose when she read, and the way she wound that soft hair around her fingers. Hermione Granger was the most appealing girl Remus had ever encountered. Lily was beautiful, smart and funny, but she had none of Hermione's wistfulness, none of her mystery. No other Hogwarts student compared to her. Hermione had an air of sadness and loss around her, even when she joked and laughed. Remus, who had his own demons, was drawn to her. He wanted to grab her and kiss away the tears he felt were always just about to fall. He wanted to lose himself in those deep chocolate eyes, wanted to run his hands through that impossibly thick, wonderful hair - but he didn't. That would come later. For now, he still didn't trust her, nor did he fully trust himself around her. He needed more time.

He stood watching her a moment longer, until she looked up, feeling his gaze. Her eyes lit up and her mouth curled into a welcoming smile. He heart lurched at her reaction to him. She looked beautiful, and genuinely happy to see him. A killer combination.

"Hermione," he greeted her, sliding into the chair next to her. "Fancy meeting you here."

"It is a bit of a stretch. I'm not generally known as the scholarly type." Hermione grinned at him. She spent almost as much as time in the library now as in her own time. The Marauders teased her endlessly about this.

"Oh? So that wasn't a copy of Hogwarts, a History you needed to buy in Hogsmeade?" he asked.

"That must have been Lily's copy. I swear, all she does is read that book. It gets a bit boring. It's not like she hasn't already memorized the past headmasters." Remus laughed. Hermione was able to pass her enthusiasm for the book off on wanting to know everything possible about her new school. The boys were as understanding of this quirk as Ron and Harry had been. In short, it was amusing, but annoying, too. Hermione had been a bit uncomfortable around the boys after Sirius's teasing the night before, but since they were acting unchanged, she would, too. She was glad Remus had joined her.

"Are you actually doing homework, or is this more of your dream research?" Remus asked. "A little of both," said Hermione. In truth, she was reading about time travel, but she obviously couldn't share that with Remus.

"In your dreams, were you always with us, or were you more of an observer?" He was interested in her story. True or not, he thought it would be very telling.

"A little of both for that, too," she replied. "At first, I was with your animagus forms. I can't really remember what we were doing, but it must have been fun."

"Fun?" he asked. "Weren't you ever afraid of me? A werewolf's a bit different from a rat."

How true, she thought ruefully. This werewolf's a lot better than that rat.

"No," she said aloud. "I've never been afraid of you." This was far from true. She had been plenty afraid in third year, that night outside the Shrieking Shack, but it was a necessary lie. She felt safe with him now.

"Then you're stupid," he said darkly. "If you ran into me during a full moon, I'd hurt you."

"I know," Hermione said honestly. "But it wouldn't be you."

"It is me, though," said Remus. "It's part of who I am. That's never going away."

"No," Hermione agreed. "But you can't control that. It's not the real you."

"Sometimes I think it is."

"I don't believe that. Neither do you. Give me some credit, Remus. I have no intention of inviting you for tea during a full moon. You have no reason to be worried or embarrassed. I know you're a werewolf. Your friends know you're a werewolf. Dumbledore does, too. We all like and trust you. That's all that matters."

Remus's cheeks burned. Of course she was right. His friends had risked expulsion for him - probably even Azkaban. Still, his friends were not the pretty witch sitting beside him. He could not help thinking Hermione would - and should - shun him.

"And a werewolf's not that bad, anyway," she said, teasing him. "You could be a troll or something. I'm not too fond of trolls."

"I'll keep that in mind. I'll be sure to use you as a character reference when I'm being pursued by a bloodthirsty mob, too."

"They'd just be jealous. You know, there have been occasions when I've been described as a 'long-molared mud blood.' We can't take these things personally." She smiled at him, displaying her perfect teeth. Who would insult that smile?

"Was it Snivellus?" he asked, ready to hex him at first sight. His blood boiled at the thought of that slimy git saying such a thing to Hermione.

"No, but they are similar," she replied. "Replace dark greasy hair with over-styled blond, and an overlarge nose with one permanently stuck in the air. That should give you a clear picture of him. Just as big a jerk as Snape, too."

"Lucius Malfoy?" Remus asked incredulously. "How do you know him?"

It was Hermione's turn to go red. Careful, she thought. Don't blow your cover. Her stomach lurched at the thought of Malfoy and his cruel, taunting smile.

"No, he went to Beauxbatons," she covered. "I don't know anyone named Malfoy."

"You're lucky," said Remus. "Real nasty piece of work. You described him pretty accurately, so God forbid if there are more out there like him. He's married to Padfoot's cousin.

Of course! Hermione had forgotten the Black connection. You'll be involved with Sirius's cousin one day, too, she thought wistfully. The thought of Tonks gave her an unexpected pang of jealousy. She really needed to get her head straight.

"Too bad for Sirius," she said lightly, trying to act normal. "Snape did call me an insufferable know-it-all once, though. You can hex him for that."

"Done," Remus said.

Hermione laughed. You have that coming, Snivellus.

"So are you any closer to deciphering your dreams?" Remus asked, returning to her work.

"Not really," Hermione said. "I've been studying books on dreams, prophecies and visions, but nothing really helpful. I don't think we've been linked through a spell, either." She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Does it matter?" he asked suddenly. He realized that he didn't care if she was lying or not, or how she had come to him. The knowledge hit him like a bolt of lightning. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was here, and he wanted her.

"What do you mean?"

"You're here. You found us. We're happy you're here," he said shyly. "Does it matter why? I think we should just be grateful." This was the exact antithesis of everything Remus had been saying since Hermione got here, but he realized it was the truth. Perhaps he had just been fighting his attraction to her.

For a moment, Hermione was grateful. She had been given a tremendous gift to be here. Meeting James and Lily, experiencing Remus and Sirius as teenagers - it was extraordinary. She valued her new friendships. They had welcomed her and she was continually amazed at how easy it was to be with them. However, the guilt she felt that she could not change their fates threatened to erupt all the time. Keeping the secret was taking its toll on her. She missed Ron and Harry terribly. She was afraid that her burgeoning feelings for Remus would confuse things with Ron. It added up to one tremendous mess. Yes, she was grateful. But she could not stop trying to get home.

"You're right," she said, burying her other feelings for now. "I am glad I met you." They smiled dopily at each other. He really did have the nicest smile.

"I hope Sirius didn't embarrass you too badly last night," he said, abruptly switching the subject. "You left in a hurry."

"Er, not too bad," Hermione said, blushing. "I knew he was teasing. I mean, he started practically the first day I was here, so…"

"He does like to give pretty girls a hard time," Remus said. His cheeks were as pink as Hermione's. "He likes to rile up their boyfriends, too. He was merciless to James before he started dating Lily. Not much better now, come to think." Remus looked down. The strong implication that Sirius was goading Hermione because Remus liked her hung in the air between them. "Are you disappointed?"

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Because he would go out with you, if you're interested," he said, still avoiding her eyes. "I mean, if you're disappointed because you thought he really liked you, I know that he would be interested, if you are."

"No!" Hermione said quickly. "I'm not interested in Sirius that way." Sirius was handsome and charming, but the idea of snogging her best friend's godfather - well, the more Hermione thought about it, the weirder it got. She should feel the same way about her former professor, but she didn't.

"Good," Remus grinned, his whole face lighting up. "Padfoot doesn't need any more girls making his head big."

"Oh?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "And who does need a bigger head?" She was flirting with danger now, blatantly encouraging him. What in the hell was wrong with her? She was defenseless against those hazel eyes and lop-sided grin.

"I do," he said boldly, meeting her eyes. Hermione flushed again. There was no turning back now. He had just stated his interest in her. He appeared as shocked at his statement as she was, but Hermione could see he was glad he said it. She saw his resolve strengthen in front of her. "Let's get out of here."

Wordlessly, Hermione took his outstretched hand. She muttered a quick spell, pointing her wand over her shoulder; her books flew back onto the shelf. Remus was looking hungrily at her, and she had the feeling the same look was reflected in her eyes. She felt out of control, as she had in Hogsmeade with Lucius, but now her fear was mingled with excitement and desire. She was afraid - afraid she was making a huge mistake, one from which she would never recover. There was that guilt, too. Ron's face flashed before her eyes as she allowed Remus to lead her out of the library. If - when - she returned home, what was she going to tell Ron? How would she ever look Remus in the face again? This wasn't her! Hermione started to pull back at last, started to come to her senses, until she saw where Remus was taking her.

"The Room of Requirement?" she squeaked.

"You know about this room?" he asked, his face hot with her close proximity.

"I've heard about it."

"Convenient, at times," Remus remarked as the door appeared before them. Before Hermione could protest - would she have protested? - he pulled her into the room behind him. The light was dim and Hermione could not see any furniture, only blankets and cushions. She realized the light was coming from a crackling fire, which encased the room in a warm, rosy glow. The intimacy of the scene shocked her; it screamed seduction. This is what he conjured for them?

"Remus I don't think -" And then his lips were on hers as he swallowed her protests and took away her breath. He pulled her flush against him, winding his hands in her hair and devouring her with an animal hunger. Hermione responded eagerly, pulling him even closer and playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. He dragged his lips from her mouth, trailing kisses on her neck, her ears, everywhere he could reach. Hermione moaned and pulled his mouth back to hers. His fingers left her hair and started pulling at her blouse. His scorching hands rubbed circles on her belly and inched up her side. Alarmed, she finally pushed away from him. She stared at him, gasping for breath and straightening her clothes.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," he panted. His eyes were wide, as if surprised at his brazenness. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to -"

"It's okay," she said. "Maybe we should go back to the common room."

"I'm really sorry," he said again. "I've just wanted to do that for a long time. I didn't mean to come on so strong."

"You didn't," Hermione reassured him. "Really. I mean, that was pretty incredible."

"Yeah, it was," he said, looking into her eyes again. She could see flecks of gold in them. He had such beautiful eyes…

She mentally shook herself. Stay on track, girl, or you're going to wind up on those cushions.

"Maybe this just isn't the best place for right now" she said aloud.

"You're right," he said sheepishly. "I got a little carried away. Lily said something about studying in the common room tonight. Let me take you back to her. I want to have a chat with Padfoot."

Hermione allowed Remus to lead her back out of the Room of Requirement. Her mind was a jumble. She loved Ron. She knew this beyond a shadow of a doubt. It wasn't a brotherly, friends-only love, either. It was fiery, passionate and true. But Hermione found herself wanting Remus, too. That kiss… She knew that she wanted a repeat. Soon. It came down to Ron and Remus. What was she going to do about this?