A/N: Thank you all so much for your feedback on this story! I have really enjoyed sharing it and dipping my toe in this pairing again, so I am glad so many of you enjoyed it as well! You can find me over on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where you can see more of my other work.

Please let me know what you thought of the story!

Hermione spent another week at the Burrow with the Weasleys and the Potters, spending most of her time swearing Ginny and Harry to secrecy about her side profession. Although she was pleased that they didn't judge her for the content of her writing, Hermione would still get flustered at all the endless questions Ginny had for her, as well as some of her more adventurous suggestions, which all seemed to be something she'd done with Harry.

Hermione didn't really want to think about Harry in that way.

Harry was happy to let the topic go, especially when she said she didn't exactly have official permission from Hogwarts to be moonlighting. He was far more interested in her relationship with Marcus Flint of all people, when and how it began, and how it was going to go. He was surprisingly welcoming to the idea. She'd known that her friends would accept who she dated so long as he treated her right, ultimately, but she hadn't expected the pair of them to get along quite so well.

A week after the Kneazle got out of the bag, Hermione broke the news to Ron as well. As expected, he was the most vocal about his concern that Hermione was now dating a Slytherin, let alone such a bogeyman that was the former Slytherin Quidditch captain. But, when Hermione gave him a firm warning that this was who she was dating and he could either get on board or see her much less, he quickly changed his tone, expressing his sadness that he already saw her for such a limited amount of time.

He also was the first to comment on the fact that Hermione obviously had a type since she was always ending up with Quidditch players, which made her blush furiously. And he was tickled pink to learn that Hermione had learned to fly a broom again to impress Marcus. And, he was secretly delighted to have another person to chat Quidditch with. Not to mention that Marcus had all sorts of secret insider gossip about the other professional players.

(Who was the gossip obsessed one, now, Marcus?)

But, after her brief time at the Burrow, Hermione left to go on a two week trip to visit Luna and her long-term boyfriend in the Canary Islands, as she'd already agreed to go. It was hard to say goodbye to Marcus after they had just so recently been reunited, but they made it work with frequent floo calls. Hermione thoroughly enjoyed her time exploring the islands with Luna, looking for (non-existent? Hermione could never really be certain) magical creatures that never seemed to materialize.

When she got back to England, sun-kissed and well rested, Marcus tentatively approached her about going on a vacation with him. Apparently, he had more than enough galleons in his bank account and he was looking to splurge a little bit. Since Hermione's own bank account wasn't hurting either, she readily agreed and they quickly put together an itinerary that took them to Italy and Greece, before coming home just in time to return to Hogwarts for the school year.

Hermione had thoroughly enjoyed herself and found Marcus to be a fantastic travel partner. He did not have too much to complain about on her frequent academic stops and he encouraged her to relax a bit and spend some time on the beaches. It was fun to recharge and swim around in the sea with him. Hermione had never gone on this sort of a vacation with a boyfriend, and she found that she thoroughly enjoyed it.

Marcus had been spending the vacation reading through her entire catalog of Clementine Dearly novels and was even taking notes and annotations, with all sorts of questions. She teased him for being her biggest fan, but he wasn't even embarrassed.

"Hey, I can't remember the last time I read a book, period," he told her with a grin on his face. "If the stories are good enough to have me coming back for more, then, yeah, I'm a fan."

"Surely they aren't that spectacular," Hermione answered with a blush. While she knew that her work had plenty of fans, she had always thought of the books as casual reading, something someone would pick up when they needed easy reading.

"Hermione, your writing was so engrossing that I just learned more about the Vampire Uprisings than I ever did in Magical History," he said with a smirk. "I know that you secretly enjoy educating us in between the sexy bits! Do you think that I would be reading about Vampire Uprisings if I didn't thoroughly enjoy the writing?"

She supposed that was true. Marcus certainly was reading the books from cover to cover, not just skipping around to the sexy bits — as he called them. And the questions that he had for her were not always related to the sexy bits, either. He liked to talk through different characters' motivations or how he thought certain people were pining after one another for far too long, until she reminded him about the slow start to their own relationship.

He did also like to talk about the sexy bits, which she apparently did a fantastic job of describing. There were a few scenarios that he was interested in trying out, if she was also game for them. But mostly, he was just in awe of her imagination.

"How do you come up with all this stuff?" he asked, showing her a particular scene from her Quidditch book that involved a hovering broom, and well—

"That actually came to me during our first flying lesson," Hermione admitted, pressing her hands to her hot cheeks, feeling a nervous laugh start to bubble up in her chest. "I don't think I listened to a single thing you said. My mind was already twenty steps ahead of me."

"Ah, so you see this as being a future possibility?" he asked, shrewdly.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," she answered, though the thought of it did send a thrill up her spine. "I just meant... thinking ahead in our relationship. Besides, I don't even know if something like that is physically possible."

Marcus let out a huff of air. "You underestimate what I'm capable of on a broom," he said, looking disappointed.

"Never!" Hermione countered. "You are the best flyer I've ever known. It's... inspiring."

"Well, it's settled then," he said, proudly, rather feeling like he'd tricked her into agreeing (though of course he would never pressure her into doing something she didn't want to). "When we get back to Hogwarts — but before those little gremlins we call students return — we'll sneak off down to the pitch and give it a go."

"I don't think we are really as sneaky as we'd like to believe," Hermione mused, though she was certainly not going to disagree with his plan. If anything, she was looking forward to trying it out. "I think everyone in the castle knew what we were up to... before we knew what we were up to."

"Well, then, they will all know not to bother us while we are down there," Marcus said with a big grin on his face. "We might have to recreate our first lesson. I'm disappointed to know that you didn't even bother to pay attention to me."

"You can be very — distracting," Hermione said, letting her foot graze his calf under the table. "It wasn't that I wanted to. I just couldn't help myself."

"I might have to give you a pop quiz," he quipped, knowing how much she liked the teaching method. "Let's see how much you can recall while I have my hands up under your robes."

Hermione felt herself go red to the roots of her hair, surprising herself with how much she really liked the sound of that. It honestly wasn't something that had ever crossed her mind, but now... it was all consuming. "Oh, I'll have to study," she said, biting her lower lip to hide her smile. "And you'll reward me if I get all the answers right?"

Marcus gave her a dark sort of look and a crooked smile that told her all she needed to know — he was deeply interested in the idea, as well. "Stop tempting me," he said, his voice gravelly and low. "You are almost making me wish we were back at Hogwarts now."

She sighed, completely understanding what he meant. They still had a few days left on their vacation before they had to return to reality. There was no point in rushing the inevitable, especially not when they were enjoying themselves so much on holiday. She grabbed his hand in hers, pressing a kiss to the flat of his palm, before tucking her fingers into his. "I am going to miss being in your bed every night," she revealed, before seeing the lascivious grin on his face. "And not just for the sex! I just like waking up next to you... you holding me all night long."

"Or as long as you can stand the heat," he said with snort.

Hermione nodded. He did produce an ungodly amount of body heat, which she was sure would be lovely when it was December and they were in a drafty old castle in Scotland... less so when they were in a seaside room in Greece during August.

"I was actually thinking the same thing," Marcus admitted. "I don't know how I'm going to sleep without you. I was wondering... do you maybe want to approach Minerva about sharing an apartment when we get back?"

The thought had her heart galloping away. She would love nothing more. But then she deflated. "I would love to ask, but I don't think she'll agree. They would want us to set a good example for the students and we aren't married," she said with a frown.

"I was thinking we could still maintain separate entrances, living rooms, and offices, of course. That way, no one has to know, not really," he suggested, hopefully. "I think the old castle could manage to put something together for us. Besides, the way I see it, Hogwarts kind of owes you."

"Look at you," Hermione said with a smirk. "You just have everything worked out, don't you?"

"Just wanted to head off any objections she might have," Marcus answered.

Hermione thought that the idea was a good one. "I think that we could convince her to see things our way," she quipped. "After all, it's better than being caught sneaking around the castle with one another. Good thinking, Marcus."

"I'm pleased you think so," he said, loving the compliment.

"And it will be good to have a separate office, for when I need to lock myself away and work on my next best seller," Hermione said. "I've already whiled away a whole summer with you and I did absolutely no writing. My publisher has already been sending me notes about when they can expect my first draft."

"I promise that I won't monopolize all of your time," he said, knowing how important both her work as a professor and as a secret romance novelist were to her. "If you need to work, I'll leave you be."

"Thank you," Hermione said, appreciating that he understood that side of her. That was always something that she struggled a bit with her friends on. "Not that it matters too much. I haven't had much for inspiration recently, anyway. I wouldn't even know where to start."

"Well, now that you mention it, I did have some ideas," he teased, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Since I've read your collection and am now your biggest fan."

"Oh yeah? Do tell."

"I was thinking, what if you did something like two professors at a boarding school who fall in love?" he suggested. "I think that it could make for some very riveting content. And, I'd definitely read it."

Hermione laughed, hating how good the idea really was. It seemed like Marcus would be an endless font of inspiration for her for many years to come.