Disclaimer: I own nothing; I bow down to JK and her amazing talent.

Note To The Readers: Firstly I would like to point out that I am new to posting FF, particularly on this site. That is the main reason there was no note to the readers in the first chapter. But I am going to rectify that now. This is my first story that I have posted, and I am sure that is going to be allot of room for improvement. So please be kind and review. As far as I have it planned out in my head, Remus is the only one that was suppose to die that I have brought back to life for the sake of my story. And because of the pairings, I am going to have to find Ron a woman. Besides that I am going to do my best to keep everything as close to the books as I can. More or less! So please, if you are reading, sit back relax and enjoy!

"Ginny you are going to do great tomorrow; I don't know why you are worrying." Ginny glanced across Hermione's small kitchen table and frowned."You've been practicing with Ron and Harry, I mean you even got George to play. I think you are going to be brilliant."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Ginny said sounding impatient as she looked over at her friend. Hermione frowned and sunk back into her chair.

"But that's all you could talk about when you got here" Hermione pointed out wondering what she looked so stressed about. "Is it Harry?" Hermione knew that they were great together, but they were both doing their own thing, Ginny trying out for the Holyhead Harpies, and Harry working as an Auror now that he was done with training. She felt her stomach drop at the thought that they might be having problems. "Is something wrong betw…"

"Hermione!" She look up at Ginny with wide eyes. "Shut up for a second. There is nothing wrong between Harry and I, and I'm not really nervous about try outs."

"Well then wha…"

"What happened between you and Lupin?" Hermione's eyes went wide as she looked at Ginny.

"I don't know what you mean," Hermione said slowly glancing away from her best friend.

"Oh please, you guys barely spoke for almost three months, and you avoided each other like the plague" Ginny smirked and leaned forward resting her head in her hand as she kept her eyes on Hermione. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened," she said as she slid from her chair and headed to her fridge. "Water or Coke?" she asked hoping to change the subject. As far as she knew the incident between herself and Remus was still a secret, she hadn't told anyone and she felt certain that he hadn't either.

"Coke please." Ginny said perking up. "I can't wait until Harry and I get married, then I can keep Muggle stuff in the house" she added with a grin.

"Has he asked you yet?" Both Ginny and Hermione were waiting for Harry to pop the question, they had been together since the war had ended, almost two years ago. She grabbed two cokes and turned around to see Ginny shaking her head.

"No but he will, he just wants it to be a surprise." That was going to be hard to do since everyone knew he was going to ask her eventually. Hermione sat back down fully prepared to tackle their relationship and talk about potential wedding stuff. She heard Ginny speak as she popped the top of her coke, "So what happened?"

"It was nothing." Hermione said rotating her can between her hands. "I mean not really."

"Oh this is going to be good. Did you shag him?" Hermione laughed at Ginny as she raised her eyebrows in a playful wiggle.

"No, we didn't shag." If Hermione could have really heard herself she would have realized that there was a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"But you wanted to didn't you?" She sat back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest.

"No, not…what I mean to say is…oh I don't know." Hermione sighed frustrated and put her head down on the table. "We kissed," she mumbled.

"I'm sorry, you what?" Ginny said trying her best not to laugh.

"We kissed okay." Hermione said pulling her head up and standing up too. "And according to him it was a mistake." She fought the urge to roll her eyes as she headed out of the kitchen.

"Wait a minute?" Ginny said as she got on her feet and followed her into the living, both of them taking a seat on her sofa. "He told you it was a mistake?"

Hermione pulled her feet up underneath her as she made herself comfortable, that's what he had said, that it was a mistake, even though Hermione didn't feel the same way. "That's what he said. Though I think he was just more surprised by it than anything else." She said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"It's about time you jumped him" Ginny said grinning "He'll get used to it."

"Jump him? Why on earth would you think I would jump him?"

"Well," Ginny titled her head trying to find the right words, "you guys have a lot in common, and you always seem comfortable with each other…we kind of figured eventually you two would come around." Ginny trailed off at the end.

Hermione was dumbstruck, did her friends really think about this. Think that she and Remus would make a good couple. Apparently it was something that Ginny and Harry would talk about, it was something that they were waiting for. If she admitted it to herself, for the past three months she had been thinking about it too. That kiss shifted something between them, but if his response was to be taken into consideration nothing was ever going to happen again. "To be honest, I hadn't thought about until now."

"How was it?" Hermione laughed but shrugged her shoulders "Oh come on, I almost can't remember how the first kiss felt, I need to live vicariously through you. Walk me through it."

Hermione sighed defeated and nodded her head. "Well, it was really an accident. When he got back from his trip, we ate, played with Teddy, and talked. Then when I went to leave, I gave him a hug like always , but when I went to give him a kiss on the cheek he just happened to move his head and our lips sort of grazed each other." Ginny's smile softened as she listened to the story. "We just looked at each other for a second, and I thought I was going to make a silly comment and then just get out of there but then he leaned in and…"

"And?"

"Oh Ginny, it was wonderful. I had no idea a kiss could feel like that, all I wanted to do was get carried away." Hermione sighed and sunk back into the sofa. "But then Teddy called for him and pulled us out of the moment. Then he said that I should go. I left and then the first time I saw him since was last night when he told me that he was sorry and that it never should have happened."

"He's crazy" Ginny said waving her hand in the air. "What did you say?"

"I told him yesterday that, it wasn't a mistake, that it felt too right to be a mistake and that I enjoyed it." Hermione felt her cheeks flush as she shared her secret with Ginny. It felt good to admit it out loud.

"What did he say after that?" Ginny urged wanting the full story.

"He said he couldn't be in relationship." She felt the tension in her voice as she shook her head "Which I thought was stupid and I told him that I hadn't asked him for one and that I was fine with that, I told him that I just wanted things to get back to normal, big deal we kissed, we agreed to move past it and be friends again."

Ginny was quiet for a minute and nodded giving Hermione a knowing smile, "So you lied?"

"Excuse me?"

"About being fine with not being in relationship." Hermione opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. "I say give it some time, there is something there."

"I don't really want to worry about it, even if I could really use…" Her cheeks went red and she closed her eyes for a minute feeling completely embarrassed.

"A good shag?" Ginny said laughing. Hermione cheeks flushed further at her friends comment and she buried her head in the sofa. "It's alright you know, you are a grown woman, and it's been a while, like over a year. I would never last that long."

"I hadn't even given it a second though ya know, but that kiss and the feel of his hands on me" Hermione looked up at Ginny sheepishly and shook her head. "It's all I can think about."

"You sound sexually frustrated to me." Ginny grinned "Maybe what you need is to take care of yourself? Maybe that will release some tension and you wouldn't think about Lupin so much."

"Don't you think I've done that, almost every day since then." Hermione sighed "It hasn't help."

"It's too bad you don't have a friend you could call, someone that you could have a little fun with…"

"That sounds awful Ginny, friends with benefits?" Hermione shook her head though she was already running through a few names in her head of who she might be able to call.

"It may sound awful but you are thinking about it, I can tell. Who is it going to be Dean or Seamus?" Ginny smirked when her cheeks went red.

"How on earth did you know that?" she asked her eyes wide.

"You've only casually dated three people, my brother, Dean and Seamus. And since I know my brother wouldn't make that list, it has to be one of those, plus you are on good terms with both so I'm sure they wouldn't mind a little bit of fun."

"They'd think I was a slag or something" Hermione said but the more they talked about this the more she though the idea had merit.

"Oh please, I have never liked that double standard, a guy can go out and get his rocks off and it's alright, but a girl does it and she's a slag. It's not like you want to go out and pick up a stranger." Hermione nodded in agreement,

"That's true."

"I say go for it, live a little, take your mind off Lupin for a while." Hermione bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders in a noncommittal sort of way. "Well I had better get going" Ginny said as she got up. "It took some convincing but Mom and Dad were alright with Harry and I making a trip out of this. We are going to get there tonight, relax" she said wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner "Then try outs for most of the day tomorrow, and then we will come back the following day. I'm excited, I truly get Harry all to myself!"

"You guys are going to have so much fun, and as always be safe." Hermione said as she stood up and gave her friend a quick hug. "Good Luck at try outs, I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back."

"Absolutely, we will have lunch, and same goes for you" she said grabbing her bag. Hermione was about to ask what she meant and Ginny laughed "Be safe." And with that Ginny disappeared.

Hermione glanced at the clock and then without thinking crossed her small living room and headed for her bedroom and grabbed her wand from the bed side table. Sitting on her bed she thought of a message and then cast her Patronus and sent it out. It was the fastest way to get a message to someone, that paired with the fact that he wasn't too far away, meant she would have an answer soon. She slid her wand into her pocket and headed back to the kitchen to clean up the mess that she and Ginny had left. When she was done with that, she settled back in the living room grabbing her book from the end table.

Was she really going to do this? Of course she was, she had already sent the message out, there was no taking it back now. She didn't have to do anything intimate with him she reasoned with herself, they could just go out and enjoy each others company, and if she decided to go for it later, that would be okay. There was nothing wrong with that. She smiled as she turned the page of her book, a night out would be just the ticket, if he was available to go.

After a good thirty pages Hermione saw a sliver light float into her home and she listened as the silver owl hovered for a moment: "Dinner tonight at 8 sounds good, meet you at your place." Hermione grinned at hearing Dean's voice echo in her living room.

Her dress was a nice but casual royal blue strapless number that hugged her trim figure perfectly. She had used a beauty charm to make her hair straight, not something she did all the time, but she felt like going with something a bit different since tonight was sort of a spur of the moment thing. Hermione slipped her arms though her cream white shrug and then checked her appearance in the mirror. Her make-up was light yet flattering. She smiled as she crossed her room and slid her feet into the strappy black heels that would complete her outfit. She ran her hand through her hair and realized with it straight that it hung down to the small of her back.

"Hello?" She smiled and walked out of her bedroom heading toward the living room.

"Hey Dean" she said with a grin as she watched his expression shift from casual to excited.

"You look amazing" he said as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Shall we?" he asked holding his arm out to her. She nodded her head looping her arm through his and then they both disappeared.

It had been so long since she had been out she forgot how nice it felt to get dressed up and enjoy someone's company. She and Dean had always been able to find things to talk about, and even though it had been a while since they had gotten together they feel into an easy rhythm. They shared stories from work, catching each other up on new career developments. She was surprised though when he admitted that he hadn't been having allot of luck in the dating department lately and that he had been more than happy to get her note. They laughed too, and the better their evening went, all through dinner and then during their walk in the park, she kept feeling like this would be a good idea, a really good idea. It was close to 12 when he offered to Apparate them back to her place. She nodded holding her hand out to him.

"Would you care for a drink?" she asked when they appeared back in her living room.

"Please." He nodded sliding his hands in his pocket. Hermione took a deep silent breath wondering how she was going to initiate this, since it wasn't something that she normally did. She took a moment and slid her shoes off her feet followed by her shrug that she tossed it on the arm chair in the corner.

"Make yourself comfortable" she said softly giving him a smile before heading toward the kitchen. Dean hesitated for a minute before he sat down on the sofa, he had been getting mixed signals from her all night and he wasn't sure what she wanted to happen. He wasn't going to pressure her on anything, but he would have to get out of here soon if he had any chance of controlling himself.

"Here ya go" she said handing him a small class of Firewhiskey. She settled in right next to him watching him carefully.

"Something wrong" he asked taking a long sip from his tumbler.

"No" she said shaking her head. "I had a good time with you tonight" she said reaching forward resting her hand on his leg, an intimate gesture for sure, at least she thought so.

Dean glanced down at her hand and then back to her, he didn't hesitate after that. He reached up with his free hand snaking it around to the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. It was long and fluid, both of them falling into a rhythm that they both remembered. He was about to run his tongue along her lips when he heard her gasp and pull back. "Hermione I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" But he stopped when he noticed that she was laughing quietly reaching down to take his now spilled class from his lap. She placed it on the table and then looked back to him.

"I wanted you to" she said biting her lower lip "Do you think it would be okay if we…" she paused not sure how to say what she wanted. "What I mean is, just for tonight, do you think maybe…" He cut her off cupping her face in his hands and kissing her lips lightly.

"I thought you'd never ask" he muttered against her lips as he deepened the kiss sliding his tongue into her mouth. She sighed at the feeling and pushed hers against his. Dean's hands shifted one tangling into her hair the other sliding to cup one of her breasts in his hand. Hermione felt herself respond to him, her breathing becoming ragged as she arched into him. So far this was helping, allot. She let out a soft groan when he kneaded her breast gently.

Wanting to feel closer to him Hermione pulled away from him for a minute her lips plump, her breath shallow. She hiked up the bottom of her dress a bit and moved so that her legs were straddling his thighs. She settled herself in his lap and then bent her head and kissed him again, shifting her hips against his lap feeling him through his pants.

"Merlin woman" He muttered his hands shifting to her legs running up her thighs coming to rest on her bare bum underneath her dress. He sucked in a breath and pulled back to look at her. "All night and no panties?" he asked out of breath. Hermione gave him an innocent look as she caught her lower lip between her teeth and shrugged her shoulders. The next thing she knew he was standing up his hands still on her bum as he walked her down the hallway and straight into her bedroom.

"Hermione" Knock Knock Knock. "Hermione" She lifted her head from her pillow and it took her a minute to realize that someone was knocking on her door and calling her name. She yawned and tried to move only to realize that she was stuck. She looked over and saw that Dean was fast asleep his arm thrown over her. She disentangled her legs from his and then moved his arm so that she would be able to get up and answer the door. She grabbed her satin dressing robe from the bathroom door and slipped it on tying it as she made her way down the hall.

She pulled the door open and her eyes went wide. "Remus" she said watching him as he stood there looking like he was about to break down the door.

"I've been banging on your door for ten minutes." He said looking somewhat worried that it had taken her so long to answer.

"I was asleep" she said reaching up to run one of her hands through her hair only to find that it was a mess, the straightening charm had worn off last night, and her activities certainly hadn't help either.

"It's almost 12, you never sleep this late." He looked at her almost accusingly and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I didn't think you needed me over until later this afternoon" she said sighing lightly feeling herself get impatient.

"I know and you aren't, I was asked to go in to work for a few hours and I was hoping you'd be able to come over sooner. Like now." He glanced around her living room and saw her shoes and shrug had been discarded.

"I can pop over in about 15 minutes, I need to take a shower" she said, and get rid of my company she thought to herself.

"I can wait" he said feeling stubborn for some reason.

"That's really okay" she said shaking her head trying to think of how to get him out of here before…

"Hermione." Her eyes closed when she heard Dean's voice as he came walking down the hallway pulling his shirt on over his head. "Oh, Hi Professor." Hermione looked back over her shoulder at Dean and gave him an apologetic look. "I should go, I'll talk to you later" he said nodding at Hermione. "Nice to see you Professor" he said before disapparating. She took a breath and then looked back at Remus who was still standing there practically rooted to the floor.

"Like I said, I will be over in about 15 minutes" she said "And you don't have to wait on me. I'll Floo over as soon as I'm done." He still hadn't made any movement, so she reached out and gave him a gentle push. He didn't say anything but nodded and then walked out the door.

"Well that wasn't supposed to happen" she thought to herself as she headed back to her bathroom.

Mixed emotions, that's what Remus was dealing with when he got back home thanking his neighbor for watching Teddy for the few short minutes. He had gone over to Hermione's expecting to find her sitting in her arm chair a book in her lap, he would have bet money on that. And if he had, he would have lost, she had been asleep, and she wasn't alone. He felt himself growl, while Teddy laughed and clapped his hands thinking that his Daddy was trying to play with him.

"Raw" Teddy said though it came out in giggles.

"I can't believe her," he said out loud as he paced his living room. "She hasn't mentioned seeing him again. But then again maybe this was just a one time thing." That didn't make him feel any better. The thought of Hermione being so casual about something like sex made him mad, and he wasn't sure why. He had been honest with her before, when he said that he couldn't be in relationship. He had no claim over her whatsoever but still he recognized the feeling that was burning through him at the moment. Jealousy.

"It's because of the moon" He spoke out loud again, still pacing across the living room, but really he was trying to reason away his feelings. He told himself that because the full moon was tonight, that he was just over emotional. "Yes, if it were any other day I wouldn't mind at all." He nodded trying to drill the thought into his head. "Yes it's just the full moon, it's got to be why she was acting like such a…"

"Such a what?" He spun around, wondering how he could have missed the roar of his fireplace as she came through. She was dressed in jeans and a t shirt, her hair still wet but pulled up into a bun. He looked at her for a minute and didn't say anything. Her scent was stronger, because of the shower he reasoned, but it was her scent, fresh, clean and purely Hermione. "Such a what?" she asked again raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing." He said shaking his head. "Just talking out loud." She moved across the floor and reached down for Teddy.

"Miney! We pay" he said nodding his head. Remus grabbed his work bag and then was standing in front of them. He leaned down gave Teddy a kiss and then headed back to the fire.

"I'll be back in the morning." He said with a nod his eyes dark.

"We'll be here."

"Alone I hope." The words slipped out without him even thinking about it. Her eyes narrowed a bit and cursed himself for his lack of control.

"Of course." She said with her matter of fact tone. He nodded not trusting himself to say anything else, instead he turned grabbed a handful of Floo powder and just as he was about to announce his destination she said one other thing, her voice soft but loud enough for him to hear, before he disappeared into the flames.. "I thought you wouldn't care."

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