Forty-four people are following this story now, I'm amazed by how much people seem to be enjoying it.

This chapter finishes the March 1998 flashback (the Malfoy Manor incident) that I started in the last chapter. Also, this is the chapter that the story starts to earn its M rating. Yes, there is sexual content. If you don't like it, don't read it (and also don't read if you're under age). I'm a little bit nervous about publishing this chapter because of the lemons so I'd really like your thoughts.

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling and I don't own any of the characters.

March 1998

Remus awoke slowly and discovered that only a few hours had passed since he had fallen asleep. He turned and looked at Hermione. She slumbered on and showed no signs of having woken. Remus wasn't worried. He realised she must be so exhausted.

Remus, hating having slept in his clothes, went into his adjacent bathroom and turned on the shower. He stepped under the warm spray and sighed in contentment. He spent a little longer in the shower than he usually allowed himself. After he had washed his hair and body he simply stood and let his not entirely innocent thoughts of Hermione slowly unleash. He was thrilled that the woman- a sexy, alluring woman- he loved was currently in his bed. He was reminded of all the times he had imagined this in the past and he grew hard.

He was slowly reaching down, ready to grasp his erection, but he stopped himself. He felt uncomfortable. How could he stand in his shower and pleasure himself to the thought of a young woman lying injured in his bed? He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, swiftly drying himself off.

As he hadn't brought any fresh clothes into the bathroom with him, he stepped into his bedroom wearing only a towel wrapped round his narrow waist. He noticed that Hermione was now awake. She smiled as soon as she saw him and he smiled back at her.

'Remus,' she said, her voice husky with sleep.

'You're awake,' he said happily. 'How are you feeling?'

'Not bad,' she said, 'considering…'

She had been about to mention what had happened to her but the memory of it made her shudder.

'Are you hungry?' Remus said, trying to distract her. 'I can make golden syrup pancakes.'

'Sounds delicious,' she said with a smile.

'Coming right up,' he said, going into the kitchen still dressed only in his towel.

He started making the pancakes, preparing the mixture while setting his old kettle to boil. He was just making the tea while keeping an eye on the pancakes in the pan when Hermione padded quietly into the kitchen wearing only his top. She looked deliciously dishevelled and the sight of her made Remus's erection rise up again.

'What are you doing out of bed?' he asked, trying not to ogle her too much. 'You should be resting.'

'Do you think I could just lie in bed while you're in here, dressed in a towel?' She laughed, running her eyes over his naked chest and down to the strip of light brown hair that went from his belly button down to his growing erection. Her eyes flashed with surprised desire.

Hermione approached him, quietly but assuredly, stopping when she was less that a foot away. She reached out with both hands and ran them lightly over the skin of his back and then snaked round to stroke his chest, playing with his nipples.

Remus sucked in a breath, enjoying the soft, tantalising feel of her small, warm hands on his skin.

'Hermione,' he whispered with a groan.

Although he knew he should halt her advances, he turned around so that he was facing her and put his hands on her hips, immediately pulled her closer, meeting her lips with his own in an exquisite, searing kiss. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and opened for him, allowing his questing tongue to delve into her mouth.

She made a little moaning sound that delighted him and soon, his hands were venturing down, sliding beneath the t-shirt she wore and softly grazing the smooth skin of her waist. She kissed him more fervently, as if urging him to continue. Under her shirt, his hands moved higher, stroking her ribcage before rising up to cup her breasts. Hermione pushed her chest into his hands and without being fully conscious of it, one of his hands was reaching round to unclasp her bra. He pushed up the silky material and her breasts were spilling into his hands. He circled her nipples with his thumbs and then stroked them, feeling them hardening.

Hermione broke off the kiss and breathed heavily. Her smile had the distracted sexiness of a woman thoroughly enjoying the pleasure she was being given. She moaned again as he pinched her nipples slightly and cock his throbbed and strained against the towel that concealed it.

Remus began planting soft, teasing kisses along her neck and she tilted her head to allow him better access. His right hand caressed her breast once more and then it was moving down again, tickling her lightly until it reached the apex of her thighs. With the lightest of touches, he grazed his finger along her silken panties and moaned quietly with irrepressible lust. She was soaking.

One of Hermione's hands released the hold on his neck and was copying his actions, gliding slowly down his torso. He knew what she was about to do and if he let her do it, he'd be unable to stop their passion, despite his better judgement. Her hand slowly descended and was about to enter the folds of his towel… he gasped in anticipation.

And then he smelled burning pancakes. He immediately turned and looked at the pan. The pancakes were blackened, ruined. He turned the hob off. He looked down at Hermione and she smiled up at him sensuously. Her hand was still descending…

'Hermione,' he moaned and finally reason overrode lust. He gently took her hand and stopped its progress towards his straining erection.

She immediately looked hurt and rejected.

'No, no,' Remus said, almost in a whisper. 'I want to, believe me. You don't know how badly I want you. But… this isn't the right moment. You've barely recovered. You should be resting. And I should be taking care of you, not taking advantage.'

She looked as if she was about to argue but then she sighed. 'You're right.' She reached up a hand and touched her hair. 'Besides rest, I need a bath. I must be a complete state.'

He gently stroked a thumb down her cheek and gazed into her eyes. 'No, you're as beautiful as ever.'

She smiled at him tenderly and then seemed to notice the burned pancakes on the stove. 'Oh dear,' she said in slight amusement.

'Yes,' he agreed with a lopsided smile. Her stomach growled insistently. 'Why don't you get back into bed and I'll bring you breakfast?'

She glanced at the stove again, looking as though she was about to offer her assistance but then she noticed his mock-stern expression and she gave in.

'Okay,' she agreed. She pulled him down for a quick kiss that was full of promise. 'Hurry back, though.'

He nodded and watched her walking away, looking undeniably sexy in his t-shirt. His persistent erection surged again, reminding him that was still as horny as hell. He ignored it and resumed making breakfast.

Remus had drawn Hermione a soothing, hot bath and left her to relax. His mind wandered, imagining her naked in his bath tub and he decided that he needed a distraction. He went back into the kitchen and began washing up. After the breakfast plates and mugs were washed and dry, he began cleaning the oven.

He liked cleaning. He wasn't obsessive about it but he'd always found it to be a simple, methodical exercise that served to calm and relax his mind, especially when it was done the Muggle way.

After the oven, sink and counter-tops were gleaming and spotless, he moved into the bedroom to see what he could do in there. He noticed that the sheets were stained with Hermione's blood. He didn't mind at all, but he didn't want her to climb back into spoiled sheets. He changed them, enjoying the scent of the freshly laundered ones he had retrieved from his airing cupboard. He threw the blood-stained ones away.

When Remus had just about finished, the bathroom door opened and Hermione emerged. This time, it was she who was only wearing a towel and at the sight of her, with water glistening on her bare shoulders and her hair dark and damp, Remus's cock hardened yet again.

But he looked down at her arm and noticed that it was bleeding freely again.

'You need that bandaged again,' he said and directed her to sit on the edge of the freshly- made bed.

Remus fetched more supplies and sat close to her on the bed. He gently gripped her arm and cleaned the blood away. He noticed that she was having difficulty looking at her injury so she seemed to be distracting herself by gazing at him. As he carefully bandaged her arm he inhaled the scent of her hair, which smelled of his shampoo. This close to her, he could see the individual droplets of water on her skin. She was so alluring to his senses that he was having difficulty concentrating. Finally, he finished bandaging her arm.

'Thank you,' she said, smiling slightly.

He nodded. 'How are you feeling now?'

'Much better, especially after that bath.'

He ran the tips of fingers tenderly over her bandage.

'As soon as we can stabilise this, you'll be able to travel,' he said. 'I'll take you to Bill's safe house.'

'Okay,' she said. 'Good. I need to give the sword to Harry.'

Remus wished that she didn't have to leave his cottage. She was safe here, and protected. And if she left after their brief interlude, he knew her absence would pain him all the more.

'Where are you planning on going after you meet up with Harry and Ron again?' he asked casually.

She shook her head. 'I don't know. I'm hoping Harry will have an idea. It was my fault that we got caught by Snatchers.'

He was puzzled so she explained how she had persuaded Harry to take them to see Xenophilius Lovegood but that the wizard had betrayed them out of fear for his daughter's life. Remus was troubled to learn that they had very nearly been caught at Lovegood's house and that in trying to escape they had apparated directly into the path of Snatchers.

Remus knew what had happened after that. He remembered the sight of her, lying almost unconscious on the floor of the Manor. The realisation of how close he had come to losing her in that moment made his heart ache. There were tears in his eyes.

'Hermione,' he said, his voice sounding strange to his own ears. 'If something had happened to you last night, I don't know what I'd have done…'

'I know,' she said, gazing up at him.

She took his hand and entwined his fingers with hers. Slowly she leaned forward, closing the small gap between them inch by inch until their lips touched. She kissed him so sweetly that a tear slid down his nose. He let her continue in this tender, completely innocent way but all the while he felt his need growing, fuelled by his fear of losing her.

After a few minutes, his passion got the better of him and he took her face in both of his hands and kissed her more urgently. His tongue slid out, seeking entrance to her mouth, which she granted him immediately. His tongue caressed hers wildly. Soon, she was breathless so they broke apart and he used the opportunity to blaze a trail of hot kisses along her jaw bone, then down her neck and onto her shoulder. She gasped and held his head to her as he nibbled her collar bone. Her breathing grew heavier.

'Remus… I want you,' she murmured.

'Mmm,' he agreed, as he continued to kiss and lick his way back up her neck.

'I don't care if I haven't fully recovered. I want you… now.'

He had been biting her earlobe but when he heard her words he stilled.

He looked at her with all the seriousness that his lust-fuelled mind would allow. 'Are you sure?'

'Yes,' she said clearly, and slowly she reached down and opened her towel, revealing her naked breasts.

Remus groaned at the sight of her nipples hardening. He lowered his head and sucked one of them into his mouth, laving it with his tongue and biting it playfully. He sucked it until it was raw and then he turned his attention to the other one.

Hermione reached down and began unbuttoning his shirt with trembling fingers. As soon as his chest was revealed to her again she ran her hands all over it, feeling every muscle and every scar.

He released her nipple and looked at them both, pleased that he made them so hard. He looked up at Hermione and saw that her eyes with glazed with lust. He leaned in and began to kiss her again, and while he did, he grasped her shoulders and pushed her slowly down to lie on the bed.

Hermione laughed softly against his mouth, seemingly thrilled about what he was doing. With the backs of his fingers, he stroked the underside of her breast. It was an area so sensitive that she squirmed with pleasure. He kissed her until her lips were red and swollen.

After a while he broke away and gazed down at her. His hand stroked down over her ribcage and her flat belly. He parted her legs slightly and Hermione stilled and held her breath. His hand moved further down and he stroked her clit with one finger.

'More,' Hermione moaned again.

He stroked her again, deftly, and she writhed with desire. He gazed up at her. Her skin was flushed. Her eyes had fluttered shut and her mouth was open in wonder at the bliss he was giving her. He smiled and continued, his fingers slipping over her hot, wet clit.

With each stroke, he drew the pleasure out of her. She began to shake and Remus knew that she was close. He rubbed her faster, willing her to let go.

'Come for me, my darling,' he said and as soon as she heard him, she did.

She cried out and bucked off the bed. Her pleasure exploded in wave upon wave, her limbs trembling, and her face the picture of passion. The sight of her like that was so breathtaking that his cock surged and he almost came himself.

Eventually, her orgasm faded and she stilled as her breathing slowly returned to normal. She gazed up at him with a deliciously sated expression on her face. Her brown eyes shone.

Remus's hand was still between her legs. He removed it. He lay down on his side close to her and propped his head up with his hand.

'That was… magnificent,' Hermione breathed.

Remus smiled at her. 'I'm glad you enjoyed it.'

Hermione's eyes travelled down the length of his body and came to rest at the tent in his trousers.

'Mmm, I think you enjoyed it too, didn't you?' she said with a smile.

He nodded. He knew what she was thinking of doing. 'You don't have to.'

'But I want to,' she whispered. She sat up and pushed his shoulder, encouraging him to lie down flat on the bed. 'It's your turn now.'

She leaned down, her still damp hair and hanging like curtains either side of her face. She kissed him, eliciting a moan from him before too long. She pulled away, much too soon, and he leaned up, eagerly trying to capture her lips again. She dodged out of his reach and smiled playfully, pushing him back down. She stroked her hand over the rough stubble on his jaw and bent over him once again, this time to kiss and lick and bite his neck. It didn't take much to get him gasping, his rigid cock straining against the fabric of his boxer shorts.

Hermione began a trail of kisses down his body, stopping briefly to tease his nipples with her tongue. She continued down until she reached the top of trousers. He waited in anticipation. His cock jumped at the proximity of her hand.

With steady fingers, she undid the button and drew down the zip of his trousers. With a little help from him, she removed them all together and his boxers soon followed. His erection was freed, jutting hard and proud for her to see. Initially, he feared she was disappointed but that seemed not to be the case because, with slow deliberation, she reached out and grasped it firmly.

He almost cried out at having her small hand wrapped around his cock. He wasn't normally very vocal when he was receiving pleasure, but it seemed everything changed when he was with Hermione.

She gripped him for a long moment, seeming to delight in the feel of him. And, when he was almost begging her, she finally began to move her hand slowly up and down his shaft. Remus's eyes rolled back into his head and his mouth dropped open as she pleasured him.

She seemed to be moving intentionally slowly and he moaned at the sweet agony of having his release postponed. He thought she must be able to read his mind because just as he cried out, 'More,' she tightened her hold on him and increased the speed of her hand.

Remus felt his muscles tensing. His hands gripped the edge of the bed until his knuckles went white. His pleasure built and built, spiralling him almost out of control. Just as he thought he couldn't handle anymore, his body went rigid and he momentarily lost his vision. Then he was coming into her hand, his cock surging its release in one, two, three hot bursts. He groaned loudly and his vision returned to him.

Hermione was still holding him, but she was at him with a satisfied smile on her face. It was the first time she had pleasured a man, Remus remembered, and it looked like she had thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Beautiful, Remus thought as he gazed back at her.

With seeming reluctance, Hermione let go of him. She looked down at her hand, noting that it was covered in his sticky release. Remus heaved himself into a sitting position.

'Sorry about that,' he said.

'Don't be,' she said with a smile.

She stood up, intending to wash her hands in the bathroom, Remus assumed, but as soon as she was on her feet, she swayed and sat back down on the bed. Her wound had been bleeding again. She looked pale.

'You need a blood replenishing potion,' Remus said, unable to keep the concern out of his voice. 'Get in to bed, darling, and I'll take care of you.'

She smiled weakly and did as he said. Remus got up and went to the bathroom to wash the last remains of his pleasure away. He returned with the potion from his medicine cabinet and gave her a dose. Then he reached into his wardrobe and gave her another of his t-shirts to wear and his favourite brown jumper, because she was now shivering from the cold.

'Your hair's still wet,' Remus said, realising that she wouldn't warm up any faster with damp hair. 'Let me dry it for you.'

He reached for a hairdryer, which he plugged in.

'No, it's ok, Remus,' she said, picking up her wand. 'I can do it by magic.'

He shook his head. 'I want to.'

She shrugged. 'Okay.' She turned to allow him better access.

He climbed onto the bed next to her and began carefully brushing her long, wavy hair.

Hermione sighed in contentment. 'You know, it's interesting how you've gotten electricity to work within a magical household. Most people wouldn't bother.'

'I know,' he said as he methodically brushed out the tangles that were caused by her thrashing about in ecstasy as he pleasured her. 'But my mother was a Muggle-born, so she always liked to have electrical items around the house. She taught me the charm that dampers magical background radiation that allows electronics to function well in a building where spells are being performed regularly.'

She nodded. 'It's a good idea.'

He spent a long time on her hair. After brushing it he dried it until it became silky, smooth, and hanging in waves down her back. They hardly spoke, both enjoying the comfort and intimacy that the activity afforded them. They were immeasurably happy, but deep down they could feel time slipping away from them and knew the moment would soon arise when she would need to go to Shell Cottage. They would be separated once more.

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