A/N: I know this chapter will be a little different than what you are expecting or used to, but please bear with me. It is important to set up some things and I also wanted to give you guys an insight to what Hermione is thinking as well as give you a better glimpse at her relationship with Ginny. Enjoy!
The morning after Remus and Hermione's emotional love-making, she woke up before him. They were twisted in the sheets and he was dead asleep still. Judging by the fact that the sun hadn't crept all the way through the window, she knew it was earlier than usual. But she had this awful feeling that was clawing and clenching at her stomach and she just couldn't bring herself to have a lazy morning in bed.
She grabbed a spare bit of parchment and quickly wrote out a note to Remus telling him she'd gone back to her room to shower, leaving it on the pillow besides him. She grabbed her things and got dressed, pulling her robes over herself before leaving his rooms and hastily walking through his classroom before departing out into the hallway.
She relaxed when she caught sight of a clock and realized it was earlier than she thought – 5:45 in the morning. She made it back to her room, changed and decided to go for a run instead. She hadn't had a chance to run since she had started working there, and granted it had only been a few days, she needed the release and the alone time to think about what was really plaguing her.
Within minutes she was running around the lake, the cold early morning air stinging her face and making her ears burn. For a while her mind was empty of anything other than her heartbeat and the rhythmic footfall of her strides. Yet soon her thoughts grew more complicated, directing themselves at Remus and she felt that uncomfortable ache in her stomach again.
She was in love with him, and he with her. She felt so strongly about the man in so many ways that she didn't understand what had possessed her to leave him so early this morning. She knew he would worry, and question his actions from the night before. But that was exactly the reason her stomach was hurting—she needed more from him. She had finally had someone other than Ron tell her he loved her and suddenly Remus had drawn back everything she loved about him. His intensity, his passion, his warmth: all of that wasn't present in his lovemaking. The love was there, but only from the few kisses he gave her and the unspoken bond between them. Everything else, however, had gone missing in a matter of moments.
Her thoughts morphed quickly to Sirius, and she had an overwhelming urge to talk to him, and ask his opinion, to ask him for help. She had gone from being so skeptical and wary of him to thoroughly trusting him with her life in a matter of weeks. She knew she could talk to him about anything; even if it was his best mate who also happened to be her other boyfriend.
As Hermione ended her run, slowing down to a light jog and then to a walk; catching her breath outside the castle, she realized just how complicated things really were. It had all started so quickly, and she had naively thought it could go on like this maybe forever. But now that the 'love' word had surfaced, she knew that all of them were undoubtedly playing a game they might not all be ready to play.
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Hermione was thankful that Remus didn't seem to think anything odd of her early departure, and things were rather normal for the remainder of the first week of classes. She was slowly getting the hang of teaching and giving out assignments, and grading things. She finally felt at home, like she belonged somewhere again, but she couldn't forget the fact that she as more than ready to return to London for the weekend.
On Friday afternoon, Remus and Hermione walked cheerfully to the designated apparition point in Hogsmeade, chatting casually about the week and the spells he was teaching his students in Defense. They gripped each other tightly and concentrated hard on the front door of the penthouse, apparating there quickly and without much trouble. Sirius was already opening the door, having anxiously awaited the tell-tale 'pop' that signaled their arrival.
Hermione flung her arms around Sirius and kissed him on the cheek. Remus hugged him without any hint of jealousy. Despite the war for Hermione's affection; nothing would ever change the fact that they were best friends.
"Ahem…why have you been ignoring my owls?" Ginny Weasley interrupted the love fest in the hallway by walking towards them with her arms crossed. Hermione looked up at Sirius in question.
"She's been here for hours waiting," she couldn't ignore the exhaustion and annoyance in Sirius's voice, and if she knew Ginny—she had probably given Sirius a lecture about everything and anything she perceived he had done wrong.
"I've been a bit busy with my first week of classes," Hermione answered her best friend uncharacteristically coldly. All she wanted to do was have dinner with Remus and Sirius and call it a night. But Ginny seemed intent on other plans.
"Well, we have a lot to catching up to do. Harry's out with my brothers…not all of them…" she added when she saw the frown on Hermione's face, "And you and I need a girl's night. So go on then…change and get your ass out here so we can go!"
Hermione looked up at Remus and Sirius for help but they both just shrugged.
"Best not keep her waiting, love…" Remus stifled a laugh and Hermione just marched to her room, threw on some of the new clothes that Sirius bought her: a black skirt and a low cut white blouse. She slipped on some black heels, put on a dab of lipstick and walked back out to the living room where all three of them were waiting in silence.
Remus bit his lip when he saw her, clearly upset about something but trying not to say it. Sirius, however, had no problem voicing his opinion.
"Go change again. You are not wearing that out of the house," he said, and his tone was so parental, Hermione couldn't help but laugh.
"You bought these clothes for me Sirius, and now you don't want me to wear them?"
Ginny was impatiently tapping her foot as Sirius ran his gaze down from her beautiful face to her collarbone to the more than hint of cleavage her shirt was showing.
"No. Just no," he stated firmly and Ginny snapped, grabbing Hermione by the arm.
"This is bullshit, I am going out with my best friend, so feel free to sit and whine about it Black, but I'm not waiting a second longer—goodbye!" Ginny waved over her head to them, pulling Hermione out the door and slamming it shut behind her.
Once they were in the elevator, Hermione finally found the courage to talk to her seemingly irrational best friend.
"You can't just barge into my apartment and hold my boyfriend hostage and demand I go out with you!"
"Your boyfriend?!" Ginny nearly shrieked as the elevator came to a halt on the first floor of the apartment building and they momentarily had to act like adults until they were out on the street. Ginny walked fast down the sidewalk.
"Yes, my boyfriend, so please…explain this," Hermione asked, starting to calm down as she was one step behind Ginny.
"You didn't answer me, and I got worried. You've closed yourself off. Harry's really upset with you, and so am I. But beyond that, I just really want some normal time with you, to just be girls," Ginny's eyes were wide and sincere as they walked down an alley between two apartment complexes and came upon a wizard pub that Hermione had heard her friends talk about but had never been. The two girls grabbed a booth inside and ordered some butterbeers.
"I'm sorry, I guess I have been distant," she apologized to the red head that finally cracked a smile. The girls sat and drank for a while in silence, forgiveness passing through the looks exchanged. It was hard for them to ever stay mad at each other, and they rarely ever fought. They were practically like sisters.
"Look, 'Mione, it's just been hard. When that article came out, Mum and Dad went a little crazy. They think of you like a daughter, and since Harry and I are the only ones that know it got a tad bit awkward when we had to explain to them what was going on. And I told them that none of the stuff in there was true. So please tell me it isn't…" Ginny asked pleadingly. Hermione was happy to smile and give her the answer she wanted. The youngest Weasley sighed in relief.
"So it's that bad huh?" Hermione leaned back into the booth with a regretful look on her face. She had been so caught up in the secrets and the romance that she hadn't realized she had completely pushed out the people she called family, and neglected to tell them anything.
"Everyone thinks Sirius is trying to corrupt you. Harry's convinced himself that he's turned you into a right slut. And Mum's really worried about Remus and his…"
"Stop…please," Hermione sighed. For educated, compassionate wizards, they sure were all jumping to a lot of conclusions, "Yes I am having sex with both of them, but I am far from a slut…so Harry is certainly going to hear about that, and Remus is safe with me. Almost too safe now really."
Ginny's eyes went wide. This was her territory. And she had missed gossiping and chatting with her best girl, "Alright, the drama can be put on hold with my family for now. But I sense there is a little trouble in paradise?"
"No, not trouble," Hermione thought about it for a second, "I'm just confused. I'm dating two best friends. More than dating, actually, they are my boyfriends, and I think I am in love with both of them."
"This is worse than I thought…"
"I know! Ginny, do you think it is possible to be in love with two men at the exact same time?" Hermione asked. Even though the girl was younger than she was, she seemed to have a firmer grasp of love and how to have a successful relationship than Hermione had ever had.
"Lust, yes. Love, no. Although, if you love both of them for completely different reasons, I can see it happening. After all, they are practically polar opposites of each other," she sighed and looked at Hermione after setting down her empty butterbeer glass and ordering another.
"Wonderful," Hermione answered sarcastically, "I thought I could keep them separate. But now I can't. Remus and I had a weird night the other night and I so badly wanted to tell Sirius about it, for him to comfort me. In what world is that normal?"
Ginny just laughed, "My best friend, the smartest witch of our age is dating two devastatingly handsome older men and is all over the tabloids because of it… I don't think anything is surprising or normal anymore."
"How are you and Harry?" Hermione exasperatedly changed the subject. Now that she realized exactly how complicated her love life really was, it was giving her a headache.
"Great. Besides the fact that he's mourning the loss of your innocence which I politely tried to tell him came a hell of a long time ago- just fine. We are talking about a little one, maybe," Ginny smiled brightly and Hermione took her friends' hands over the table and grinned along with her.
"Ginny, that's amazing, you are going to make such a great mum!"
"I know, and Harry will be a great father. I really want you to get married Hermione. You deserve that happiness…"
"I'm not ready. And there is no one to marry…." She said evasively.
"No one to marry?…not one of your boyfriends?" Ginny goaded.
"First of all, one wants to be a bachelor forever…"
"I'm not so sure of that," Ginny smirked under her breath.
"What did you say to him? What did he tell you?" Hermione, catching her mumblings, blushed.
"Nothing…nothing go on…" Ginny said quickly and Hermione shot her a dirty look before continuing.
"And the other doesn't think he deserves the time of day from any witch, let alone me. So to answer your question Ginny, no, I am not out ring shopping." She huffed and crossed her arms as their second round arrived.
"Fine fine, but I am curious to know…who's better in bed?" Ginny leaned over the table and asked, the glint in her eye devilish.
Hermione's face flamed the reddest Ginny had ever seen it.
A/N: Thanks for reading! If you took the time to read, please take a second to review! Also, I structured this chapter to extend the 'sexy submissions' for one more chapter. I have gotten a lot for Remus, so I wanted to give Sirius fans one last chance to weigh in. Once the next chapter is posted, all submissions will be closed and we will get on with the story!