I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters

I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters

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Mmmm... Naughty naughty Godric... mmmmmmm

Enjoy ;

--

Until Godric had recieved the letter from Dumbledore, the days had crept by as though in slow motion, and yet as soon as he recieved it, the days ran by faster than he could keep track. One minute, it was wednesday, the next it was Saturday afternoon, and he was sat with Sirius in the kitchen, until they heard the opening of the front door, and the voices of several loud, happy teenagers. Sirius glanced at Godric concernedly, who had suddenly gone extremely pale and clenched his jaw. One laugh reached his ears, and Godric recognized it instantly as Hermione's, before reaching for the bottle of Firewhiskey.

Sirius swept it out of Godric's reach and shook his head. "Later," he said, "they're just kids. They don't need you getting pissed out of your skull."

Biting back a retort, Godric headed instead for the back door, which lead out onto an ugly and overgrown garden, just as he heard the voices coming closer, heading down the hall towards the kitchen. He kept his back turned from the window, not wanting to look in and see her face. He heard a jolly exclamation of "Sirius!" from Harry, but kept his head turned resolutely towards the garden. There were several minutes of greetings, before Molly emerged from the kitchen to speak to Godric.

"Come and say hello, dear!" She said happily, and he could tell instantly that she was happy to have her family with her - she never called him dear. He sighed and turned around, slouching after her. He could see over her shoulder, and Hermione was facing away from him, to yet another red-headed boy, who was laughing at something that Harry had just said. "Everyone, settle down now!" Molly said loudly. "This is Godric. Godric, this is Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione." Both Ron and Ginny smiled at him and raised a hand in greeting. Harry looked at him slightly coldly, but did not say anything; When Hermione turned to look at him, his whole world felt as thought it was collapsing.

The shock on her face was understandable - he would most probably have been shocked too had he thought she had gone back a thousand years, only to find her in the house he was staying at for Christmas - yet the horror, the anguish, the pain, seemed unfair, given that it was she and not him that had brought about their argument. She stared at him for several moments, looking almost on the brink of tears, before pushing past the others in the kitchen and fleeing up the stairs. Godric resisted calling after her, and looked instead at Molly, who seemed oblivious to the fact they knew each other at all.

"She must be tired, poor dear, it's a long trip you know!"

Godric nodded along glumly and looked at Sirius who was biting his lip and grimacing. "I think I'll use the bathroom," Godric said softly, gently moving past those in the kitchen and walking deliberately slowly up the stairs, before opening every door in an effort to find her. She was on the second floor, in a small room, quite similar to his, that had twin beds. He looked at her, supporting herself on the writing desk and staring blankly at a space on the wall, before walking inside and shutting the door. She jumped around at the sound of it's click, then looked at him blankly.

"Hermione..." Godric began, walking forwards and reaching out for her. She shook her head vigorously, and he dropped his hand.

"You told me you were going back!" She said angrily. "You told me it was goodbye!"

"I said I was leaving!" Godric corrected, "and I thought it would be goodbye! How was I to know you'd pop up here for Christmas?"

She rolled her eyes in exaggerated disbelief. "Oh, so I was supposed to know that when you said leaving you meant staying?"

"What? I said I was leaving! I didn't say where. You didn't ask. I simply said what I said, and you never questioned it!"

"I didn't know I had a reason to!" Her voice was full of anger, yet somewhere in their he could hear hurt, and as far as he was concerned, that meant she cared.

"Why are you so bothered I'm here anyway?" He said, sneering. "Scared you'll fall in love with me?"

"Don't be so ridiculous!" Hermione snapped back, flicking a tendril of hair out of her eyes.

Godric laughed. "I'm being ridiculous? You're the one acting like a child! So what if I'm here? What does it matter? You don't care for me, it's not like you've got feelings for me and staying in a house with me's going to make them difficult! You told me yourself you didn't love me!"

"I said I didn't love you, not that I didn't care!" She looked away from him as soon as she'd said it and wiped her streaming eyes.

He stared at her, taking in every inch of her being. "You care about me?" He asked finally, voice much softer than before.

She hesitated, then shook her head. "No, I don't."

"Why'd you say that then?" He whispered, moving closer to her and reaching out to cup her cheek in his hands.

"It was just... a spur of the moment thing." She looked away from his searching eyes, and Godric released a breathy sigh.

"You don't care about me?"

"No..." she said throatily.

"And you don't love me?"

"No..."

"You sure?"

She nodded. He pressed his lips forcibly to hers and waited for her to react; she pushed him away roughly. He smirked. "You know I still don't believe you, right?"

This time she met his eyes and spoke levelly. "Well you should." After a moments hesitation she said, "please just leave me be, Godric. I'm not interested."

He waited, then nodded slowly, dropping his hand and stepping backward. "Fine," he said softly. "But just so you know... I meant what I said before... and I've missed you... a great deal."

He walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him and exhaling deeply, just as he heard footsteps on the stairs. He turned to find Harry looking at him with anger. "Leave her alone," Harry warned. "She doesn't need you. Just do what you came to do and then leave."

Not even trying to correct him, Godric walked down the stairs, entering the kitchen to find the young, female Weasley looking at him with interest. She was better looking than the rest of the bunch; her hair was shiny, and hung straight down her back. She was slim, with rather large breasts in proportion to her body, and gentle curves on her calves. "Do you work out?" She asked, the second he entered. Her eyes scanned his body appreciatively and he couldn't contain a grin. If Hermione really cared nothing for him, he could flirt with her friend without a problem - as long as Molly didn't catch him at it.

"I suppose so... I do endurance activity... weights occasionally..." he grinned at Sirius whose face was red as he attempted to contain his laughter. "Do you work out, Red?" he took a seat next to her and smirked. She blushed pink, giggling, before shaking her head.

"Nope. I'm lazy. I let the guy do all the work..."

He managed a small smile, little more than a twitch at the corner of his mouth, before Molly burst in with Ron, and he was saved from replying, for a little while at least. He avoided Sirius' gaze, given that the other man was looking at him in disbelief, and looked at Molly as she began to speak. "Ginny, you'll be ok sharing with Hermione won't you?"

"Definitely," Ginny said sweetly.

"And try not to make things too awkward with Harry - you don't want to ruin everyones Christmas!"

A beaming smile was sent in her mothers direction, and Godric knew instantly that Ginny Weasley was a clever one. "I won't. I'm sure we can handle being just friends!" She waited until her Mother had turned away before adding, "we've been acting it for about a month."

Godric snorted in laughter, then covered it up with a cough at Molly's bemused look. "Sorry," he said simply. "Tickle in my throat."

"Hmmm," Molly eyed him carefully, then headed for the door, "Ron, could you please clean your face, it looks as though you've been rolling in a chicken pen!" The other Weasley traipsed out of the room after her, and Sirius glanced at Ginny and Sirius before saying, "do you want a cup of tea?"

"Love one," Ginny said instantly, smiling brightly at Godric.

"Me too," Godric said, not looking away from the red-head and smirking slightly.

Sirius scraped his chair along the floor as loud as possible, commenting on how loud the echo was in the kitchen, and then how miserable the day outside was. Ginny grinned, winking at Godric as she said in an undertone, "bet I could make the day better." This, however, was not quite as quiet as they had assumed, Godric realized, and Sirius jumped ing shock, spilling boiling water over his hand and swearing.

"Fuck! Shit! Argh, the little bastards..." He seemed to suck on his hand for several moments before pointing his wand at it. Godric could practically feel how cold it was, and shuddered at the thought.

Ginny stood up, smiling at Godric rather alluringly. "I'm off to the loo," she said, and somehow, it sounded sexy.

Godric winked. "See you there."

She laughed, trailing her hand over his shoulder as she walked by. The moment the door closed, Sirius rounded on him. "What is the matter with you?" He hissed. "You've just met her, and you're meant to be crazy about Hermione."

"I know," Godric said, shrugging. "But Hermione 'doesn't care' so I'm trying to prove that she does."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You're digging a hole." Sirius said softly. "She's got six older brothers. You'll get killed."

Godric shrugged. "You can't tell me you'd say no if she was flirting with you?"

"This isn't about me!"

"Sure it's not, because she flirted with me not you, and someones getting jealous." He smirked smugly.

"She's my godsons ex-girlfriend." Sirius said darkly. "And she's 17. What happens if she falls for you, and Hermione gets jealous? What if you like her and Hermione? What are you going to do then?"

"I'm not going to fall in love with Ginny," Godric said confidently. "I love Hermione... it's just a matter of proving that she loves me back."

Sirius sighed. "Why don't you just accept that maybe she doesn't?"

"I will," Godric said, "if and when she doesn't act as though she cares that I flirt with Ginny."

With a groan, Sirius said, "why? Just leave it! If she likes you, she'll come to you. Don't drag Ginny in as well!"

Godric smirked. "I'll be careful."

--

It was most awkward for Godric, sitting across the table from Hermione over the next few days, not being able to touch her, flirt with her or even talk to her without getting cold-shouldered. The same seemed true of Harry and Ginny, who despite their best efforts to act comfortable around each other, had an uncomfortable tension coursing between them at all times. This, however, made it somehow easier to flirt with Ginny, but only when Molly was not in the room. Occasionally, one of her brothers would cast him a wary glare, but he mostly looked for the glances from Hermione, which were almost always occuring, but he couldn't decipher exactly what they meant. He would, of course, love to believe that they were of jealousy, but he was not going to confront her, he decided; if she wished to have him, she'd have to confront him, not the other way around.

"You look nice this morning," he said on the monday morning, smiling as Ginny sat down next to him. "Beauty sleep did it's job I see."

She smiled and patted his arm in a patronising manner. "Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for you."

He chuckled and leant to whisper in her ear. "I beg to differ, because you didn't see my body this morning. It was more than satisfactory, I'll have you know."

She giggled and tucked into her breakfast without another word. Looking smug, and with a small smile to Hermione, Godric began to sip at his coffee. Hermione rolled her eyes at him and ate her own breakfast in silence. He was shocked, a few minutes later, when a soft hand slid over his thigh seductively. He choked, dropping his coffee cup and swearing as its contents spilled over the table. Ginny giggled, whilst Hermione looked at him in disgust, then waved her wand in annoyance, settling down to read the newspaper. He stared at her for several moments, then nodded his thanks, before placing his hand under the table and catching Ginny's with his. He looked at her warningly, gave a small shake of his head, and squeezed her hand gently, before leaving the room quickly. Sirius followed him, just as Godric expected, waiting until they were out of earshot of the kitchen before he spoke.

"Don't you think you've gone a little overboard with the whole Ginny thing? And what was that about back there, jacking you off under the table?"

"She was not jacking me off," Godric hissed back angrily. The door opened and Molly walked past, oblivious to them. After waiting until she had disappeared into the kitchen he went on. "She touched my leg, that's it! I'm not screwing her!"

"You realize she still likes Harry?"

"Of course I do," Godric snapped, "which makes this the most ideal situation. We both have other people to like, it's just a matter of making them realize it!"

Sirius looked at him for several moments, then shook his head. "What happened to Gryffindor loyalty?"

Godric flinched at that, but hid it well. "This isn't a matter of loyalty," he said softly.

"If you love her so much, leave her friend alone!" They stood in silence for a while after that, both glaring at the other. "Does Ginny know about Hermione and you?" Sirius asked finally.

"Not that I'm aware of." Godric's voice was stiff and full of resentment. Sirius nodded.

"Good. Leave it that way."

--

Sirius' words, Godric soon realized, were correct. In his need to make Hermione jealous, he'd forgotten all of the qualities he held in such high esteem; true, he was no longer with Hermione, yet the fact he still loved her meant that flirting with her friend was being disloyal to her, and his feelings for her. He sat looking at his hands, anger at his own idiocy coursing through his veins. How could he act so childishly? He found himself walking towards Sirius room, pushing the door open and sitting on his bed, looking at the other an and saying, quite simply, "how do I get her back?" His voice was laced with need, pleading for help, as though if Sirius were to refuse to help him, his whole world would crumble into dust.

Sirius surveyed the younger man carefully, then sighed, swinging his legs off the chair heavily and smirking with intent. "It's Christmas in two days, is it not?" He winked. "I think I've got a plan?"

--

Two days passed by, two days where Godric sat smugly in the corner of the living room, somewhat cold-shouldering Ginny's flirtatious glances and conversational attempts, looking instead at Hermione, who seemed, as a rule, to ignore his every look and comment, though sometimes, when his head was turned, he thought he could feel the burning of her eyes on the back of his head, and would detain turning back around just so he could enjoy the sensation, until eventually he was forced to turn round; sometimes, she was as serene as ever she was, apparently oblivious as she buried her face in a book; at other times, she looked flustered and red, and would instantly turn the page as though to convince him of her involvement in the book. He would smile at her for a moment, catch her looking up to meet his eyes on occasion, then smirk and leave the room with confidence. Then, he would sit in the privacy of another room, silently going over the plan that he and Sirius had worked out in his head.

Wednesday morning arrived, with the sound of excitement coursing through the whole house, doors slamming open and closed on the floors above him, feet pattering around and echoing through the air. Godric sighed as he sat up, ruffling his hair with a hand, before rubbing the sleep from his eyes. There was a knock on the door, and Godric managed a muffled 'come in', looking up to find Molly smiling at him with a tired smile.

"Will you be joining us for breakfast, dear?"

He nodded, smiling. "Of course." Walking over to the door he pressed a light kiss to Molly's cheek. "Merry Christmas, Molly."

She blushed, slapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Yes... you too... now... the showers free, if you hurry."

He grinned. "Thanks."

Used to the havoc in the mornings by now, he dashed across to the bathroom, towel in hand, only to run into a messy-haired Hermione, who looked tired and teary. With a concerned frown on his face, Godric reached out to touch her arm. "Hermione, are you ok?" His hand rubbed gently on her bare shoulder, but she pulled away, shaking her head violently. "Do you want to..?" He trailed off as she interrupted his words.

"No. I don't want to talk. I just want a shower."

Godric frowned, then stepped away from the door, worry coursing through him. "You first," he said, nodding towards the door. "I'll go later."

She looked at him in confusion, through eyes that glistened. "I..."

He smiled shakily. "I don't need a shower that badly."

She managed a slight quirk of the lips, though it did not reach her eyes, and he wondered how he could possibly make her feel better. It came to him in a sudden spark of inspiration as she flicked a stray piece of hair out of her teary eyes, letting it catch the light and shimmer with enticing brightness. Her eyes glittered and the light illuminated the tear tracks that lined her face, and as she walked forwards to open the door, he said, without real debate or thought, "you look beautiful." Only when her face turned to his did he really understand what he had said, then swore to himself, turning away from her and returning to his room in embarrassment.

--

She didn't look at him as they sat down for breakfast; she was resolutely absorbed in the newspaper, promptly ignoring almost everyones greetings of 'merry christmas', all except for those of Molly, who swept down on her in a large embrace and patted her head. Godric stifled a laugh at the red look on Hermione's face, and sat behind Sirius, who smirked at him and said in a soft undertone, "smooth moves this morning. Very sly. Absolutely inconspicuous."

Godric turned slightly red. "She was upset... I was just... trying to cheer her up."

"You might have done," Sirius yawned, covering his mouth with a hand briefly, "if you hadn't then walked off in shame."

Sighing, Godric sipped his coffee. "I think I'll stick to the plan for the rest of the day."

"Yeah, you better. I'm not going to have wasted all those hours drinking Firewhiskey for nothing."

With a smirk, he clapped Godric on the shoulder and headed for the sink, placing his dirty dishes in and turning to engage Bill in a conversation concerning the optimum tooth-brushing time for Goblins. He chanced a glance at Hermione, who was picking at her food absently, then stood up, excusing himself from the table and returning to his room.

--

Hermione averted her gaze as Godric joined them for dinner, and ploughed through a main course of roast turkey with heaps of potatoes, carrots, sausages, peas and other vegetables, in an attempt to appear busy and avoid any kind of interaction. Godric sat opposite her, apparently oblivious as he piled his plate so high she might wonder how he could see over the top of the mountain of food. As he ladled gravy on to his plate by the load, Sirius asked, from down the bottom of the table where he was sat next to Harry and Fleur, "Godric, is there anything you do differently at Christmas?"

"How do you mean?" Godric asked in reply, exactly as they had rehearsed.

Sirius smiled. "I mean, traditionally, do you do anything before you get up, or after you eat, or anything like that?"

Frowning, Godric said, "well... usually every man at the table has to kiss every woman before anyone can leave the table... but I assume that went out the window?"

Sirius nodded slowly. "Yeah... we don't do that... it's a shame really..." he glanced around the table, looking at Hermione who had paled considerably at Godric's words.

Godric smiled briefly. "It's probably something to do with sanctity of marriage or something these days.."

Molly suddenly spoke up, slightly tipsy from several glasses of wine, saying from the other end of the table. "Well if it would make you feel more at home, dear... it must be so difficult being so far away from your family and friends..." she smiled sweetly at him, her face slightly red. Godric positively beamed back at her.

"Why thank you Molly, you're right, it would make me feel more homely..." He glanced at Sirius, who winked conspiratorially, before spiking a roast potato on his fork.

Molly waved a hand airily. "Don't be silly dear... don't be.." she was interrupted by a hiccup, and Godric took the oppurtunity to meet Hermione's eyes, which bore into him with undecipherable emotions. He smiled, winked at her, and then proceeded to shovel his food into his mouth enthusiastically. She fiddled with her fork, drawing patterns in the gravy, apparently distracted.

"You know there was also another tradition back in my time..."

He was interrupted by Hermione's somewhat louder than normal voice. "Look it's snowing!"

The heads at the table turned around to peer out of the kitchen window, and indeed, there were white flakes falling thick and fast to the ground. Sirius and Harry made identical whooping noises, while Ginny and Tonks both jumped to their feet.

"Hang on!" Sirius said as they went to leave the table. "We have to follow a tradition before we go outside..." he smirked at Godric as he turned to Fleur with a smile on his face. "My dearest lady, you truly are beautiful!" And he pressed his lips softly to Fleurs. Bill laughed, before pushing the man away from his wife and stealing her lips. Godric grinned at Hermione before turning to Ginny and bending down to press his lips gently to the redheads, pulling back when her hand found his cheek. Smiling ever so slightly, he turned to Molly who had just recieved a rather worryingly fierce kiss from her husband, and kissed her too. Bizarrely, and quite horrifyingly, she seemed to kiss back with some vigour and he pulled back rather quickly. "Lovely, thank you Molly."

Fleur and Tonks were then kissed too, though most of the Weasley's opted out of the kissing, given that to do so would be to kiss their mother and sister. Hermione, too, attempted to do so, but given that she was not related to anyone there, the others would not allow it, and so much to his delight, Godric found himself looking down at her with questioning eyes and a slightly smug expression on his face. She looked back at him with as much venom as he had amusement, but he interrupted it by pressing his lips to hers, cupping her face with his hands and gently moving his lips over hers. He could feel her anticipation, her acceptance, building up from within her, until she was tentatively responding to his lips with the movement of her own.

A wolf-whistle from nearby alerted them to the rest of the room, and Godric pulled back, masking his intense disorientation with a seductive wink and a smirk at the others in the room. Hermione looked at him, slightly dumbfounded, before clearing her throat and picking up her glass to take a sip. Godric noted, somewhat amusedly, that Ginny and Harry were also locked mouth-to-mouth, and smile at he and Sirius' ingenious plan.

"Outside it is then?" Godric suggested.

"What about the food?" Ron asked, shocked. "It'll go cold."

"You're a wizard," Sirius pointed out, to which he added, prompted by Ron's questioning look, "heat it up!"

The group headed outside, Godric making sure to keep himself slightly distanced from Hermione, walking next to Sirius and muttering his thanks.

"No problem," Sirius chortled. "Looked like she enjoyed it."

Shaking his head in amusement, Godric replied, "maybe she did, but she'll never admit it!"

"And that," Sirius said softly, "is where you're wrong. I bet she'd admit it in a second to anyone else but you..." He smirked. "See you in the drawing room at ten?"

"You're on." Godric said, somewhat intrigued as Sirius sidled over to Hermione, putting an arm around her shoulder and saying something to her that he couldn't hear. Godric turned to Remus who was rolling his eyes at Godric as if he knew exactly what he and Sirius had schemed for over the last two days.

"I'd expect nothing less of him," Remus muttered, "but you... you surprise me. You're not quite the role model we've been told of for years."

Godric lowered his voice and replied, "I believe it's common practice to accentuate the good points of a person, and not the bad, am I correct?"

Remus smiled. "A thousand years has changed your character very much. I'm not so sure this would be considered Gryffindor behaviour."

Having become used to such comments, Godric shrugged it off. "Perhaps I'm not matured yet. Perhaps my future has things to define my character. Perhaps you'll never know for sure." He smirked. "I'm going to talk to that pretty brunette over there. See you later I suppose."

--

Hermione sighed as Sirius spoke to her, his words somehow sinking in as though for the first time, almost like she had not noticed before that her heart had quickened and her whole body had responded to that gentle kiss only minutes earlier, as though somehow she had neglected to see that she was still recovering, that her knees were shaky, and the only thing holding her up was the wooden fencing around the veranda, and Sirius' chest beneath her cheek.

"I think you liked it," he said nonchalantly, and she could practically feel his grin. "You kissed him back didn't you?"

"I've had a few glasses," Hermione shot back helplessly.

He chuckled. "Not as much as Molly..."

She sighed. "Sirius, I don't want to talk about Godric and I..."

"There is a Godric and you then?"

"You know there is!" Hermione replied, sighing.

Sirius shook his head, before realizing she could not see him, then said, "no, I mean, you still see the two of you as... a couple?"

"How did you get that from what I just said?" She asked, frowning up at him.

"Because you'd have said you didn't want to talk about what had happened if you didn't." He smirked. "I know more about girls than you do."

She laughed. "I doubt that. You probably know where the clitoris is, and that's all you think matters."

Sirius laughed, lowering his voice ever so slightly and saying, "that is all that matters Hermione. You know it. Godric knows it. I know it. Love's all well and good till you get to bed, but if you can't make the headboard shake you've got a helluva long ride ahead of you."

Hermione giggled, then shook her head. "Only a man could say that."

"Oh admit it! If Godric hadn't been good the first time you wouldn't have gone back for seconds!"

Shaking her head, Hermione tried to change the subject. "It's cold, I'm getting snow down my top."

"I'm sure if you asked nicely, Godric would fish it out for you..."

"Would you please stop making obscene..." she trailed off as Godric joined them, standing on her other side and pretending to look out at the garden, at the heavy falling snow and swirling of the flakes in the wind.

"You really do look incredible," he said in a soft voice, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. When she didn't say anything, he added, "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable a moment ago. I wanted to hold you again Hermione, is that such a crime?"

"You were manipulative and cruel." She snapped.

"You enjoyed every second of it." His retort was, she knew, completely true, but she would not bring herself to say it. He sighed afterwards, nudging her hand lightly with his as he went on. "I'm sorry. Not just for this. For letting you think I was leaving... for saying things that, in truth, I shouldn't have said. I know I shouldn't expect love from you... but it's a cruel world, and I can't help if I feel that way for you. I don't want to lose you because I love you... I mean, can you see the irony of that situation?"

Sirius chose this moment to step away, heading to talk to Remus and leaving the two of them alone. Hermione looked at her feet and whispered, "Godric, I don't want to fall in love with you."

He nodded. "I know that."

"It's not fair... you'll have to leave some time, and I can't... I won't be able to do it."

Godric looked at her properly, eyes soft and full of emotion. "You know you're not the only one who'd have someone to lose..." He rather daringly - at least in his own opinion- wrapped his little finger around hers. "I'm not going to find it any easier than you are. In fact, I daresay I'll find it harder. I'm the one who'll have to make that decision at the end of the day, I'm the one who'll have to do something to reverse the fact I'm here..." he turned so that he was facing her, his head close to hers as he spoke softly to her. "I've considered what I might have to do to leave you. It hurts, and I know it'll only hurt more, but when I'm with you I don't care about that. So I have to go back a thousand years in the end? I love you. And if I can go back, and say I honestly know what being in love is about, and that I had it for however long I'm here, thats worth more than anything to me. Just because I'm not sleeping with you Hermione, it doesn't mean the feelings are going away any time soon... I can't stop thinking about you... I go over all the things you've said to me in my head at night, and I can't stop falling in love with you! And us being apart's not going to make it easier! If I can't say goodbye to you, then I'm never going to be at peace with myself, whether here or in my own time."

"Godric, I don't want to fall for you any more than I already have! Can't you see that?" Her voice had risen slightly, and Sirius turned to look at them with warning in his eyes. Godric rolled his eyes and pulled her away from the others gently.

"I don't want to make you hurt Hermione," he said softly, squeezing her hand. "I just want to know why everything we have shouldn't be love. It's not a crime to fall for someone!"

"You don't understand," she whispered, swiping irritably at a snowflake that landed on her nose. "I'm already... I did... I do... I just..."

"Breathe," Godric whispered. "Just tell me what you want to say..."

She looked at him, eyes tearful. "I do love you," she said softly, voice breaking. "And I can't be with you because I know it's just going to end in pain."

He looked at her for several moments, not saying a word, feeling the full force of her words hit him like a curse. She loved him, and yet... in some ways the beautiful truth of those words was extinguished by the fact she didn't want to.

"It doesn't have to," he said softly, grasping her hands. "I can stay here. Or you could come back with me... we could be together Hermione, we could... I know we could make it work!"

She looked at him and shook her head. "We couldn't... it would ruin things, completely. I can't do it Godric... I'm sorry..." she went to pull her hand away from his, but he held it strongly, pulling her back and crashin his lips down on hers in plain view of everyone.

He felt their eyes on them. He heard the gasps of shock as they saw him envelop her against his chest. He could feel snowflakes freezing in her hair as he grasped her scalp with passion, could feel the chilling wind in his ears as he swept flurry after flurry of snowflakes all over the place. He felt the pounding of her heart, heard the moan that errupted from her throat, and then, interrupting that momentary bliss, he felt her hands shoving him away, their lips torn apart before she ran into the house, tears pouring down her face. His first reaction was to go after her, but as he went to run forward both Sirius and Remus grabbed him and pulled him away from the house.

"No," Sirius said quietly. "Don't."

"She loves me," Godric murmured. "I can't let her go. She loves me."

"Mate, maybe you should accept that she doesn't."

Godric shook his head, trying to push past them. "She told me she does. I need to talk to her. You don't understand..."

Remus put a hand on Godric's shoulder. "Even if she loves you Godric, she doesn't want to... and you can't have a relationship without want."

It was as though someone punched him in the stomach, forcing the air from his lungs. He stumbled backwards and leant on the fence for support, looking from Remus to Sirius. "It's over isn't it?" He said bitterly.

The other two exchanged glances, then nodded slowly. Godric nodded back, and turned around walking down the snow covered lawn shakily and sitting himself next to a tall tree, not noting the cold snow beneath him, or the chill of the wind as it stung his eyes and face. All he felt was the cold, unmistakeable rejection, one of such great intensity he could feel nothing else. It tore ragged, icy breath from his lungs, forced tears that froze on his skin from his eyes, and made the calls of the others seem like distant whisperings of the wind, drowned out by a hurricane of pain so great that he felt caught up in the centre, as though at any moment he might be thrown against a wall so hard he would turn into dust. And there it was, once more, the unmistakeable beckoning of the dark abyss of death.

--

Heehee.

I liked writing this chapter. I liked the Ginny/Godric.

And Molly having a LITTTLE bit of a crush...

Review!!

Mage of the Heart