(A/N: I'm not sure how well this would really work out with the actual cycles of the full moon….but for the sake of the plot and my sanity, please just pretend it works!)

By the time Hermione had returned, Remus had fallen back asleep. After Hermione had assured everyone that Remus was alright, she was busy talking to Harry and Ginny about their honeymoon. Although they were furious that they had not been told about Remus, they had a pleasant time in France.

As she flooed back over to her house however, she realized with a thrill of horror that she had forgotten to tell Remus that his extended leave of absence was not taken well by his workplace and he had been fired. She knew that he would feel more of a burden without having even his small amount of income.

The next morning when Lupin awoke, he found breakfast laid out for him on the table, along with the letter his work had sent. Hermione had attached a note of her own to it.

Remus, I know you're going to be upset by this. I'm sorry that I forgot to tell you, but it probably wasn't the best thing to tell you right when you got back. I'll be back home right after work. Just promise me you won't get upset again. Or do anything rash.

Hermione

Lupin read the note and Hermione was right. He was upset; now he would contribute absolutely nothing to this forced marriage. Don't do anything rash. That sounded like he was a small child needing scolding, but in light of recent events he supposed that she was right. He felt this need to do something nice for Hermione. She was probably going to rush home in fear of what he was going to do.

Sure enough, Hermione came right home after a work. She was surprised to find, instead of a depressed Remus, a cheerful one. He was dressed up in a shirt and tie holding a bouquet of roses, red this time. He offered her the roses.

"Hermione, would you allow me to take you out to dinner with me? Formally, I'm paying."

She grinned at him. "Like a date?"

"I suppose so. It's a 'thank-you for being so wonderful to me' sort of date."

"I would be more than happy, let me go and put these roses in a vase and then I'll get dressed in something better."

She came back from the bedroom a few minutes later. Remus was amazed at how quickly she has managed to get dressed. Her hair was done up the same as it had on the day of the wedding. She was wearing a simple blue dress that went just below her knees. She was still holding on of the roses that Remus had gave her, and with her free hand she took Remus's offered hand.

He apperated them to a muggle restaurant in the middle of London. It was an upper scale restaurant, but still in his limited price range. He and Hermione were seated quickly and placed their orders.

"I used to come to this restaurant with my parents when I was younger. My mother didn't like going into wizarding restaurants because she felt out of place."

"It's a nice place. I still prefer muggle places. It just-it's rather silly- but I think because I know everything is done by hand rather than magic."

"Magic can take the simple fun out of things."

"Exactly! I still cook and do chores mostly by hand. I don't think magic should be an excuse for everything."

"I agree. Except for cooking; I am notorious bad at cooking. Lily decided that James, Sirius, Peter and I should learn how to cook when she was pregnant with Harry. James had asked her for help with the oven, and, James swears it was the hormones, she went off on him that he couldn't cook and wanted her to do everything. Having all of us in the kitchen at once was an awful idea; we were supposed to be making chocolate- chip cookies. Sirius kept adding in too much butter, James got the flour all over, Peter ate the chocolate chips, and I tried to stop Lily from going into hysterics and ended up trying to do it all myself. I ended up accidentally leaving in some eggshells and then by burning the whole thing! " He got a far away look in his eyes as he thought about the days when Lily and James and been alive and when Peter had not been believed to be a traitor.

Hermione gently nudged him with his foot and he looked at her with an apologetic look.

"Well, after hearing that story, it's a definitely good thing that I do all the cooking then."

The waiter came back to their table. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there has been a delay in the kitchen and your food will not be ready for a few more minutes. If you need anything in the meantime please let me or the rest of the staff know."

He walked off.

"There's not many people here tonight," Hermione observed. There was one couple at the door who were leaving. The rest of the restaurant was deserted.

"This place is usually crowded. It must be an off night for them," Remus shrugged. "It mostly does most of its business on the weekends."

The conversation was disrupted a few minutes later when the waiter came back to the table with their plates of food.

The rest of the night went smoothly on, and Remus, laughing and talking in between bites of food, realized that he loved her. It was really not a sudden revelation; it wasn't like he just looked at her and realized, 'Hey! I love her!' It was more like he realized what she wasn't. He thought, at first, when he was her teacher, that he was like a father figure to her and Harry and Ron. Then he realized that Hermione was fiercely intelligent, loyal, and brave, certainly not in need of any of his guidance. The next time he saw her, she was a young woman, just the same as he had known her, but more beautiful, more fiercely intelligent.

She was more than a friend, he realized now. He felt too strongly towards her for that. He was protective of her, like his well-being was tied into her own. She was everything to him now. She was the most accepting, caring – she was simply everything – more than what he could have even imagine as a love. Of course, she was only with him out of a Ministry law. So he could only imagine what she really felt about him, the man she had sacrificed everything for, but not out of love, just because she was a giving person like that. What would she do if she found out the man she had to live with actually loved her? A man twice her age? A lycan?

"Remus?"

He was startled out of his thoughts and looked up at her. She was standing in front him, putting on her coat.

"We're leaving. Are you okay?"

"Just thinking."

He stood up and offered her his arm, which she took.

"Remus, thanks. I had a great time."

"Well, thank you for agreeing –" he started pulling at the key to the front door, "I hate these muggle locks, can never get the bloody things opened…" He pulled his wand out of his pocket, but before he had a chance to open the door, there were shouts from behind him, and he and Hermione crumpled to the ground.