Friday June 5th, 1998

Hermione felt the stirrings of her conscious mind awaken and tried desperately to fall back into the black abyss of sleep but it was in vain.

Hermione slowly opened her eyes to the now familiar sight of Remus' bedroom. Her back was to Remus but she was tightly pressed against his chest with his arm around her waist. As she became more aware she realized she had a hold of the hand that rested on her stomach.

She knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so, she slowly let go of his hand but as she did Remus' hold on her tightened slightly. A part of her wanted to stay where she was. Remus had always made her feel safe, even before the events that happened at Malfoy Manor.

She would be a liar if she said she didn't harbor a crush on him that had started sometime during her third year. She had spent most of the summer before her fifth year picking his mind and for once she felt like she could converse regularly with someone who was able to keep up with her intellectually besides her parents. Then, when she had broken into the Department of Mysteries with her friends and Dolohov had hit her with his infamous curse, Remus was the one who had taken her back to Hogwarts and sat by her side until she had been deemed healthy enough to leave by the ever so vigilant Madam Pomfrey.

Hermione closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths as she enjoyed the peace she found before she carefully tried to extract herself from the arms of the resident werewolf. As she gently moved his arm from around her, she grimaced when he gave a bit of a sleepy groan and shifted on his own.

As he sat up and rubbed a hand down his face, he gave a raspy, "Morning."

"Morning," Hermione replied quietly, as she stood up from the bed to face him and ducked her head to avoid his eye contact. She shuffled her weight from side to side awkwardly before she quietly thanked him and slipped out of the bedroom. As she closed his door she heard his quiet response of "You're welcome."

She walked back to her bedroom and found that Harry or Ginny had left a plate of breakfast for her on her nightstand. She sat cross-legged on her bed and had just started to eat when Ginny walked in.

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Yes. I'm sorry I woke you up again." Hermione said softly as she stared down at her plate. She felt so guilty that she woke Ginny every night (and the boys, most nights) and that she was only able to get any sleep in Remus' presence. She would never admit it to any of them but it made her feel insubstantial. She wished she could just get over it but the memories seemed to want to stick to her like a permanent sticking charm.

"Hermione, you are perfectly fine. Everyone has demons from the war. Yours just screams louder than everyone else's." Ginny's voice was gentle as she sat down on her bed across from Hermione. "But I think, maybe, you should ask Remus to let you go to sleep in his room, for your sake. You would sleep better and not have to relive all of it every night. I highly doubt Remus would mind since he is perfectly fine with you sneaking into his room in the middle of the night anyway."

"But what if he's not fine with it and he is just being nice?" Hermione whispered despondently.

"Do you honestly believe that?" Her voice was heavy with exasperation. Hermione shrugged as she took another bite of her food.

"Well, does he say anything?" Ginny said as she leaned back on her hands and watched Hermione.

"We don't talk about it." She replied with another shrug.

"Ok… well do you just walk in and crawl in his bed?" Ginny asked, to which Hermione only shook her head. "You don't?"

Hermione bit her bottom lip, her eyes darted from Ginny to the door, and back to Ginny before they returned to her plate.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Hermione!" Ginny muttered exasperatedly as she pulled her wand out and with a few waves she had the door closed, locked, and a silencing charm up. She looked back to Hermione and raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"I knock." Hermione's voice was barely audible. She wasn't sure if she was ready to talk about this.

"And?"

Hermione looked at her and shrugged, "He tells me to come in."

"What happens when you go in?"

Hermione looked back down at her plate and started to push what little food was left around with her fork. "He lifts the blanket and I get in his bed."

"And what? You just go to sleep?" Ginny asked while she tried to catch Hermione's eye.

"Mhmm…" Hermione hummed as she looked anywhere but at Ginny.

"Why do I get the feeling you are hiding something from me? I'm not one of the boys, I'm not going to tease you for anything. I already know you've had a crush on him for, like, ever." Ginny said the last part offhandedly.

Hermione's head snapped towards her with a confused look on her face, which only caused Ginny to smirk back at her.

"What? Like I said, I'm not one of the boys, I notice things." Ginny gestured openly with an eye roll.

"Since the third year," Hermione admitted in a whisper. "But after Greyback, I just- I- I don't know. I feel-" Hermione paused, she closed her eyes and tried to gather herself before she continued. "I'm not even sure… tainted, abhorrent- no repugnant. Then almost every morning- I swear if you so much as hint this to anyone else Ginerva." Hermione pointed an accusing finger at the younger woman across the room.

"I swear, not even Harry," Ginny promised as she unconsciously leaned toward Hermione.

"Almost every morning we wake up and we're curled up with one another and for a moment, just for that moment, I just- I forget it all. Forget how dirty I feel, all the time and I just feel so safe." By the time she finished bearing herself to Ginny, she realized she had let quiet tears slip down her face.

"Oh, Hermione!" Ginny quietly exclaimed at her confession, as she jumped from her bed and walked over to her friend, moved the plate off her lap, and wrapped Hermione in a tight hug. "You are so far from dirty. None of that was your fault and I know that deep down you believe that too."

"I know. It's just- just that he took a piece of me that day and I'll never get that back."

Hermione started to cry a bit harder and Ginny did the only thing she could think to do, she held her tightly and whispered comforting words in her ear.

Once Hermione's sniffles eventually faded, Ginny tried her hand to brighten Hermione's mood.

"So," Ginny dragged the word out a bit with a big smile on her face, "Professor Lupin is a cuddler."

Hermione snickered before she shyly replied, "A bit."

Ginny raised an eyebrow at her with a smirk on her face.

"This morning, he had my back pressed against his chest and his arm wrapped around me. The first time I tried to sneak out he tightened his grip on me. Under different circumstances, it would have been cute, but like I said, I worry he's just being his nice, thoughtful self."

"Hermione, listen to yourself. He doesn't say a word when you go in, just lifts the blankets for you to crawl in next to him and then he wakes up cuddling you? And you think he's just being nice." Ginny's sarcasm was thick with the statement, as she clearly tried to get a point across.

Hermione just shrugged and Ginny rolled her eyes at her.

"You are a brilliant witch, Hermione, but sometimes, I question your knowledge of relationships." Ginny laughed before she stuck her tongue out at the older witch, who playfully shoved her shoulder.

~

Remus watched as Hermione quietly left his room before he stood up to stretch and then sat back down on the edge of his bed, and exhaled roughly as he put his head in his hands.

With only four days until the moon, Moony had already started to get more restless. He also seemed to be intrigued by Hermione and the fact that she slept in their bed, which worried Remus.

Werewolves were very carnal creatures and Remus was concerned how Hermione's presence would affect him as the full moon drew near. This would be the second time which lead up to the moon that Hermione would be sleeping with him and he was worried about how Moony (and his own treacherous body with Moony in control) would react to having a female in their bed every night, especially when he woke up holding her the way he had been. Last month had barely been a week after the Final Battle and everything had been pandemonium, Moony had been too overstimulated to be focused on one specific thing. Not that there hasn't been a morning or two where Remus woke up with a raging hard-on but he was a man and he seemed to hide it well. At least well enough that Hermione didn't seem to be any more embarrassed than she normally did.

Yesterday, however, anytime Remus saw Hermione or caught her scent, Moony perked up and watched her the same way he would his prey.

Remus threw himself back on the bed and realized his mistake as soon his head landed on the other side of the bed, as he surrounded himself in Hermione's scent. Moony sprung to attention and instantly fired images of Remus and Hermione as they had been when they woke up. Only in these images, fed by Moony, she pushed herself back into him, a breathy moan escaped her mouth as she pressed herself against his hardened cock.

Remus' body reacted instantly to the image and he sighed as he dragged his hands over his face because he knew he would have to take an ice-cold shower this morning.

It's going to be a long week, he thought with a groan, he probably needed to vent to someone. The only person he would be comfortable talking to about such a thing would be Sirius but he already dreaded the immense amount of teasing he would have to endure by doing so.

Remus grabbed his wand off his nightstand and directed it to his old quaffle in the corner of the room before he made it levitate up and knock against the ceiling a few times then he lowered it back down to its usual spot. He put his wand back on the nightstand before he headed to the bathroom to take his shower.

Remus took his shower, where he stayed under the icy cold water until his body's earlier reaction had altogether disappeared. He dried off, wrapped his towel around his waist, and walked back into his bedroom, to find Sirius sat in his armchair, as he thumbed through the Daily Prophet.

Neither said anything as Remus dressed, they had spent enough of Remus' transformations together neither was even slightly embarrassed as Remus dropped his towel and got dressed.

Once he was finished, Remus sat back down on the edge of his bed and looked at the last of his best friends.

"You… umm knocked?" Sirius said absently as he flicked another page over.

"I am royally screwed, Sirius." Remus sighed despondently.

Sirius looked over to Remus and studied him for a few moments, he noticed the telltale signs that the wolf had started to make his presence more known. Sirius' eyes unfocused for a second as he studied the werewolf in front of him before they narrowed as he took notice of the bed that Remus currently sat on, he most likely noticed it was not only Remus' usual side that was disheveled but the entire bed.

"Ah. Would this have something to do with the time of the month and your nightly visitor?"

Remus closed his eyes dejectedly. Merlin help him, he felt like an old pervert.

"I take it Moony is excited about the new sleeping arrangements?" Sirius said with a smirk, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"Unfortunately," Remus said through gritted teeth.

Sirius looked solemnly at Remus once more.

"Remus, it's a natural thing, even without Moony's interference. She's a brilliant and beautiful young woman. I'm sure any man who found her in his bed would have some sort of reaction, it's human nature. I'm actually kind of surprised this is just now an issue. However, you have always been excellent at denying yourself of any pleasures the world has offered you."

"She is half my age, Sirius!" Remus exclaimed so loudly that he looked fearfully at the door.

"I put up a Silencio while you were in the shower."

Remus let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I just- I don't know. She was raped by a werewolf, the same werewolf who turned me."

"Yet, somehow, you are the one she seems to feel the safest with."

"How safe would she feel if she knew the things Moony wanted to do to her!" Remus hollered as he stood up, he wildly gestured between himself and Sirius. His usual careful hold over his temperament struggled this close to the full moon and his anger rose quickly as the shame of Sirius' words sunk in. She felt safe with him, yet all he could think at the moment was all of the things he (and Moony) could imagine doing to her that would most likely terrify her after what she had experienced.

"Hermione is smarter than you are currently giving her credit for, Moony!" Sirius' voice started to rise as he stood to face off with Remus, he shoved an accusing finger at the werewolf. Sirius had dealt with Moony and Remus enough to not back down when faced with their unyielding disposition. "She knows everything there is to know about werewolves! She knows their temperaments and tendencies. There is no doubt in my mind that she is aware of their mating and breeding habits. Your mating and breeding habits. Just because you are a stubborn asshole who denies himself any chance of happiness doesn't mean that she is ignorant in regards to you or Moony."

Sirius' words were like a punch to the chest, they knocked the wind out of his lungs and caused Remus to exhale sharply. As he did so, his whole body seemed to deflate, he knew Sirius was right. They didn't call Hermione "the brightest witch of her age" for shits and giggles; she had more than earned the name. Her werewolf assignment in her third year had been extremely well executed with facts and not the general assumptions and rumors that surrounded his kind. She had never shied away from asking him questions about his condition, fueling her need for knowledge while she showed him she saw him no differently than she saw anyone else. She knew. He knew she knew. And while she may have not thought about it yet, if an event arose she would easily put the pieces together.

Remus looked at Sirius and then down at his feet before he shoved his hands in his pockets dejectedly.

"You're right. I'm worrying about issues that she is more than capable of dealing with."

Sirius smirked.

"You know, I don't hear those words come out of your mouth often but I always enjoy hearing them." Sirius laughed loudly as Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm going to find something to eat, I'm starving," Remus said, as he grabbed his wand before he headed to the door.

"That's what happens when the two of you sleep past breakfast. But before you go, since we are talking about the subject, I'm curious."

Remus, who had his hand on the doorknob, sighed loudly before he threw the silencing charm back up again. "I was worried about this." He said just loudly enough for Sirius to hear as he rested his head against the door.

"So how does this little arrangement work? Does she just crawl into bed beside you? How close do you both sleep together? You do have a big enough bed that you would be able to put space between you, given how modest the both of you are. Does she still have nightmares when she's here? How-"

"Pads." Remus had turned himself around and leaned against the door with his ankles crossed and his arms crossed over his chest. "You can ask one at a time you know. I promise to answer them. After Ginny or the boys go back to sleep, she comes up and knocks on the door. When I tell her to come in, she does so but looks so insecure, that I can't bring myself to say anything for fear of making her feel worse, so I just lift the bed sheets and let her climb in. She keeps a decent amount of space between us and no she hasn't had any nightmares in here."

Sirius studied Remus as he answered his questions. He nodded thoughtfully when Remus was finished and then smirked. Remus closed his eyes in resignation as he tried to think of what he had said that Sirius could think was amusing.

"She keeps a decent amount of space between you? What about you?"

"Well, I don't just ignore her wishes." Remus paused as Sirius considered him.

After a couple of minutes, Remus started to feel his jaw twitch with the determination to hold Sirius' gaze. "Consciously."

"Consciously?" Sirius quirked an eyebrow at him.

Remus deliberately looked anywhere in the room except at Sirius.

"Remus John, explain yourself you scoundrel."

"We tend to wake up," Remus paused and Sirius motioned for him to continue. "Together."

Sirius looked like the Cheshire cat, which Remus doubted he would understand the connotation if he mentioned it to the man.

"Please. By all means, elaborate."

Remus huffed.

"For example, the first morning, I woke up to find her pressed against my side, with her head on my chest, and one of her legs thrown over mine."

"Is our innocent little Hermione provoking the big, bad wolf?"

Remus chose to ignore Sirius' jibe. "Then there are times like this morning, where I wake up and I'm the one holding her." Remus shrugged, intentionally neglecting to mention how much Moony (and, if he were really honest, he) enjoyed those early morning moments.

"You sly dog, Moony." Sirius walked over to the door and clapped Remus on the back. "Just enjoy the next few days and if you think she's starting to become uncomfortable, blame it on the moon."

"Right," Remus muttered under his breath as he followed Sirius out into the hallway.


I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was just a bit of a look on Hermione and Remus' thoughts on the situation.

-Jade