Friday, July 24, 1998
The next three weeks had passed in a blur for Hermione as she helped with the efforts rebuilding Hogwarts, helping Ginny plan her wedding, and spending time with Harry and the marauders.
Moreover, her parents had fallen in love with one of the houses they had seen the day after their golf outing and had put a fast track on the closing. They had already been preapproved well over the house's listing price, and they had pulled from their emergency funds for a downpayment. Her dad had called in a favor from a couple of his former loyal patients, who were happy the couple had decided to move back, to inspect the house and do the appraisal as quickly as possible. The family had already found another house, so they were perfectly fine with her dad trying to get the house as quickly as possible. Everything had fallen right into place, and unbelievably, they had finalized everything in just over two weeks.
Which is where she stood now, staring disbelievingly at her mom.
"You were the one who told me I shouldn't use magic on everyday chores to simply convenience me."
"Yes, well, moving halfway across the world isn't an everyday chore, now is it?" Her mom joked with a smile. "Besides, if anyone asks how we moved in so fast, I can just say the movers did most of it."
Her dad, with his hands in his pockets, looked down at the ground, trying to hide the smile that broke across his face. Hermione turned to Remus for support but found no help when he just shrugged with a smirk of his own and said, "The two of us could knock it out quick enough."
"Oh, come on, Hermione. I want to have a housewarming party next weekend then I can help you plan your wedding." Her mom tried to rationalize with her.
"We're not even engaged yet. You don't need to rush to settle in." Hermione argued back, waving a hand absently at Remus.
"It only takes two sentences to be engaged. Him to ask, and you to say yes." Her dad mumbled, throwing a pointed look at Remus, who raised his eyebrows in return.
"He's right, you know? I could ask at any time."
Hermione gave him a scathing look. "Fine, but Ginny says she needs me back at the house at four for some bridesmaid thing. Remus, why don't you and dad go out to the truck and start bringing everything in. Mom and I will put everything away."
Hermione watched as they walked outside and turned to her mom. "Have you cleaned the house yet, or do we need to do that as well?"
"I did, but a little swish of your wand wouldn't hurt, would it?" Her mom offered her a smile, to which Hermione rolled her eyes before walking through the house casting Scourgify on everything in sight; every nook and cranny.
When she was sure everything was clean, she looked at the steadily growing pile by the door. She quickly levitated the furniture and boxes to wherever her mom pointed to. She didn't go through the boxes yet, preferring to make sure the furniture was placed first.
When she did take a break, she laughed along with her mom while they watched her dad pretend to struggle with the heavy furniture that Remus had put a Feather-light charm on, while Remus helped him with an amused smile on his face.
~
As three o'clock approached, Hermione and Remus tried their best to get everything finished up, but Hermione's mom started to rush them, saying she couldn't be late for whatever Ginny had planned.
"It's ok if I'm a little late, mom. We're almost finished. It shouldn't be any later than five. Ginny will understand. She hasn't even told me what we're supposed to be doing." Hermione grumbled as she levitated picture frames into the empty slots of the bookshelves.
"Hermione Jean, you made a commitment to that girl. What will you do when you get to Sirius' and they have already left to go wherever it is they're going? You don't know where it is and you'll miss it. You would be letting Ginny down." Her mother reprimanded her.
Hermione's shoulder sagged because she knew her mom was right.
"How about I finish helping them while you go help Ginny?" Remus suggested from where he stood next to her dad at the dining room door.
"You would do that?" Hermione said, her voice laced with wonder and gratitude.
"Of course." Remus said with a warm smile.
"There you have it." Her dad said, giving Remus a firm pat on the back."You go help Ginny; Remus will help us finish up here."
Hermione's eyes slid from each of her parents and settled on Remus. "As long as you're sure."
"I am." He assured her.
"Ok, then." She said hesitantly before walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his waist, to which he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her a small squeeze, ignoring the look her parents exchanged. "Thank you so much, Remus."
"You're more than welcome." Remus whispered in her ear.
She bid her parents goodbye, hugging each of them, and turned on the spot, apparating right inside the front door of Grimmauld Place. She heard Ginny talking and followed her voice into the parlor, where she found Ginny surrounded by Fleur, Lily, Luna, and Lavender.
All of them had their hair done, similar to how Ginny planned for them to wear during her wedding, and they had a light bit of makeup on. Ginny's hair and makeup were a bit more dramatic, with her hair twisted with flowers into a half updo.
"We were doing a trial run for hair and makeup, we've all finished, now it's just up to you." Ginny said cheerfully, glowing at Lily's side.
Fleur came over and gave Hermione a once over, "Maybe you should shower first?" She suggested, with just the slightest scrunch of her nose.
Hermione stared at her for several seconds, to which Fleur just arched an eyebrow.
Hermione rolled her eyes and headed up to the room she was currently sharing with Remus, all five young women following.
"I can take a shower by myself, you know?" Hermione said exasperatedly as she watched Lavender, Lily, and Luna sit on the edge of the bed while Ginny and Fleur made their way to her wardrobe.
"We know we just want to pick out an outfit for dinner tonight." Ginny said.
"We decided to have a bit of a girls' night and go get something to eat ahead of time." Lily said, and Hermione was barely able to contain the eyeroll and the irritated sigh at the thought of going anywhere with Lavender. She didn't say anything as she made her way to the bathroom, for fear of upsetting one of the girls, especially Ginny, who currently had a small bounce to her as she skimmed through Hermione's wardrobe.
Several minutes later, while Hermione was in the middle of conditioning her hair, the door opened, and Ginny told her not to forget to shave. When the door closed again, Hermione didn't hold back the sigh as she placed her forehead against the cool, smooth surface of the shower wall.
When Hermione finally finished, she walked back into the bedroom in only her towel, cautiously opening the door and examining the room, just to make sure that Remus hadn't returned early. All she found, however, were the girls sitting on the bed chattering away. When she walked out of the room, Fleur stood up, handing her a pale blue bra and a matching set of underwear, while Lily held up one of her dresses. Hermione felt her hair dry instantly and looked at Ginny, who had her wand aimed at Hermione's head.
Leaving her towel on, Hermione shimmied her underwear on before turning around, dropping her towel, and putting on her bra. A year on the run with the boys taught her how to get dressed quickly and without giving a show. Someone had already removed the straps on it, so she didn't have to fuss with them. She turned back around and took the dress from Lily's outstretched hands.
The navy floral dress had a cinched waist that flared out a bit and fell to her knees. But it was the straps that Hermione loved about the dress, two thin spaghetti straps on each shoulder that caused the top of the dress to be slightly loose fitted.
Once she was finished, Lavender stood up before suggesting, "We already have everything set up downstairs, so we can just go down there."
Hermione just nodded as she followed them downstairs, and Lavender told her to sit on James and Lily's bed. Ginny and Lily started to tackle Hermione's hair, and thankfully, it was Fleur and not Lavender, who started to work on Hermione's makeup. She preferred Fleur's natural beauty approach to Lavender's experimental ideas. All while listening to Luna talk about her invisible creatures and Lavender giving the inside scoop on everyone who was engaged or matched and when they were planning to actually wed. It amazed Hermione how she got so much information.
At five-thirty, Hermione stood in front of a full-length mirror, appreciating the job the girls had done. Ginny and Fleur continued to fuss over her appearance, which she found odd. That was until she saw Remus' reflection in the mirror, leaning against the door frame with his hands shoved in his pockets. He had changed his clothes, now wearing navy slacks and a light blue button down.
Her eyes slid over the faces of Fleur, Lily, and Ginny, their eyes shined with unbridled joy while they each wore a mischievous smirk.
Ginny pulled her into a tight hug.
"So we're not going anywhere?" Hermione whispered in her ear.
"We aren't going anywhere, but you are going to dinner with Remus. He was the one who planned this whole thing." Ginny whispered back, pulling away with a smile before turning Hermione around and giving her a little push in Remus' direction and declaring, "I need to get this stuff off my face and meet the boys to play some quidditch."
She gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek before she went to the bathroom, Lily, and Luna followed her, the latter practically dragging Lavender along.
"You look very handsome, Remus." Fleur said as she made her way past him and out of the room.
Remus and Hermione stood in the room, alone, looking at each other. Remus pushed himself off the doorframe and made his way over to her. He stopped right in front of her, and she had to tilt her head back to be able to see him properly.
"You look lovely."
She couldn't help the blush that crept across her face but still tried to duck her head to hide it all the same. "Thank you. Fleur is right. You do look handsome."
She bit her bottom lip and looked back up at him.
"Well, thank you. Are you ready?" Remus asked with a mischievous smile.
"I suppose. I take it I'm not allowed to ask where we are going?" Hermione asked as she followed Remus out of the room.
"You know us marauders, we like our surprises and secrets."
The butterflies in Hermione's stomach sprang to life at the playful glint in his eye when he looked at her over his shoulder. He led her to the front door and offered his arm to her, which she took and he immediately apparated.
They landed in a dark, narrow alley. Remus moved to stand slightly behind her, putting a hand on the small of her back, close to her hip opposite where he stood, leading her out of the alley. The gesture seemed rather protective, and he ensured he had a hand on her at all times. However, he didn't make it feel overbearing, as though if something were to happen, he trusted she was able to take care of herself but would still step in if needed. It was something she appreciated. He knew she was able to take care of herself, and he wasn't going to overstep.
He led her out of the alley, and she knew exactly where she was. It was one of her favorite restaurants her parents used to take her to when they were visiting London on family outings.
She worried, however, that Rules was more expensive than she could imagine Remus willing to pay and she didn't want him to feel obligated to take her to more expensive places because that was how she was raised.
"What made you choose this place?" She asked as he opened the door for her.
"I asked Elizabeth and Anthony where some of your favorite restaurants were, and this place sounded the best." He said nonchalantly, as they waited for the hostess.
"I do love this place. I love looking at all of the old pictures and drawings. Did you know that this is the oldest restaurant in London?" She asked, looking over at one of the paintings on the wall.
"Your mother mentioned it."
The hostess, a woman who appeared to be in her late forties, came up to greet them. "Hermione, is that you, dear?" She asked cheerfully.
Hermione looked up at her and smiled, "It is, Margaret."
Margaret looked at Hermione with a wistful sort of look. "It's been a while since you've been here, you know."
"Things got a little crazy for me last year, and mom and dad just moved back from Australia."
"Australia?" Margaret said, disbelievingly.
"Yes, they moved there for a year. It was on their bucket list. They did it but missed home, so they came back." Hermione explained nonchalantly. It was the excuse they decided on while they had been in Australia.
"I see, and who do we have here?" She said, looking at Remus a bit skeptically.
"This is Remus. He's my um… boyfriend." Hermione stuttered over the word. Boyfriend just seemed childish when she looked at him.
Margaret's eyes slid from Remus to Hermione and back to Remus.
"It's good to meet you, Margaret. Elizabeth and Anthony mentioned you when they were telling me about this place." Remus said politely.
Margaret made a humming noise and nodded. "The Grangers have been coming here a few times a month since Hermione was a little girl. When she was little, they always requested a different spot so Hermione could look at the different displays." Margaret smiled warmly before giving a small clap of her hands. "So, reservation?"
"Yes, it should be under Lupin." Remus answered.
"Of course, right this way." Margaret smiled at him and led them to their seats. Remus walked behind Hermione with his hand still on the small of her back, and when they arrived at their table, he waited until she was settled into the booth before sitting down himself.
~
Dinner had gone over well. The conversation was steady and focused more on themselves than their normal conversations that generally consisted of literature, theories, and such. Their conversation tonight focused more on actually learning about each other. Favorite foods, colors, places, memories, and other topics of a similar nature.
However, as they split a caramel chocolate mousse cake, which felt like the most intimate action they had shared thus far, Hermione began to wonder if she had been wrong in believing that he was going to propose to her tonight.
She was having such a good time, though. She didn't dwell on it. When the bill came, Remus pulled some muggle money out of a wallet that was similar to her dad's with no hesitation.
A few minutes later, they stood in the alley, and Remus offered his arm, which she took while looking up at him as if his face would give something away. He looked down at her and smiled that smile that reminded her he was and always would be a marauder.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked, tucking a loose curl behind her ear.
"No, I really enjoyed this evening. Dinner was wonderful."
"Well it's not quite over yet." He said, just before he apparated them again, but instead of arriving at Grimmauld Place, they arrived in a thicket of trees. He grabbed her hand and led her out into the open and straight into Kensington Garden, right next to the Peter Pan statue. She turned to look at him, but he was taking in the sights around him, his hand still a hold of her own. She felt a soft smile pull at her lips.
"Aren't you full of surprises?" She said, causing him to turn to look at her.
"Thought you'd have caught on to that by now." He jested.
The conversation continued to flow as easily as it had at Rules, as they walked around for nearly fifteen minutes, until Remus stopped and rested his forearms on the concrete railing at the edge of the Italian Gardens overlooking the Long Water. Hermione stopped and looked over the edge at the water below as Remus let out a heavy sigh.
He looked up at the setting sun before straightening up, and then he did the one thing Hermione couldn't have ever pictured him doing.
He pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket and got down on one knee. While she had expected him to propose, an actual 'down on one knee' proposal wasn't something she thought he would have actually done because they were basically being forced to marry, they weren't in love, though she really hoped that would eventually change. But she didn't want to ruin the moment with her questions because he clearly had one of his own.
"Hermione, will you marry me?"
Despite their true emotional standpoint on the matter, the butterflies in her stomach fluttered to life, and she happily replied, "Yes, of course."
He stood up, and she couldn't help but wrap her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. She felt him press a kiss onto the side of her head. He pulled back, as he took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her left ring finger.
The ring was a size or two too big. He looked around before stealthily pulling his wand out, tapping the ring, and putting his wand away. The ring tightened slightly to fit her hand perfectly.
Hermione examined the ring. It was a simple white gold ring with a solitaire diamond. As she examined it more closely, one of the prongs holding the diamond was ever so slightly bent, a sign she wasn't the first person to wear it. She wondered who it belonged to before her, hoping to all the gods that it was a Black Family heirloom he had got from Sirius, but she didn't have to wait long.
Remus watched her, rubbing the back of his neck, "It was mom's, I hope you don't mind."
Hermione felt the tears sting her eyes as she looked up at him.
"Of course not. It's beautiful," she exclaimed. "But you needn't give me something so valuable to you. It should go to someone who means something to you."
There was a bit of a pause where he looked between her eyes and the ring.
"Hermione, I never planned to marry, and if it weren't for this law, I wouldn't be." He explained as he held her hand, running his thumb over the diamond. "I do not plan to remarry, even if we should ever decide to go our separate ways. But I promised mom that I would give it to the woman I do marry."
He let go of her hands before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Besides, what makes you think you don't mean something to me? My feelings may not be exactly romantic, but you are one of the handful of people who mean the world to me."
Hermione was left speechless and had to tip her head back and squeeze her eyes shut to keep the tears at bay, not wanting her makeup to run because she wasn't confident she would be able to fix it, even with magic.
"Anthony and Elizabeth wanted us to stop by before we head back to Grimmauld Place, so whenever you're ready." He said.
"Does everyone know? Back at the house," she asked quietly as they turned and made their way back to the Peter Pan statue.
"I'm rather certain of it. Had to pull it off somehow. You wouldn't believe how excited Sirius was to plan this. He went a little extravagant, but I didn't think you would want all the flourish." He said, running his hand through his hair.
He pulled back, coming to a stop just in front of the statue. "I should warn you the housewarming party your mom was talking about is actually our engagement party."
"Sounds about right. Are you ok with that?"
"Yes. You should have heard all the questions she was asking me after you left. I think she already has half the wedding planned." He said as he took her hands and pulled her gently into the trees, but she pulled back.
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"She was just asking what I was comfortable with. She asked if I was ok to have a muggle wedding, possibly in their church. I said as long as you were ok with it." He said, giving her another gentle pull. When he did, she tripped over a fallen tree branch and tumbled right into his chest.
He caught her easily enough, and he gave her one of those marauder grins, "I didn't take you for one of those women who goes head over heels for a man, but I'm flattered."
"Oh shut up, you." She said as she straightened up and gave him a little shove, not that it did much. He took her hand, and they made their way into the trees enough that the muggles wouldn't be able to see them apparate. Instead of offering her his arm this time, though, he pulled her into his chest and held her tightly.
~
Several hours later, Hermione stood in the middle of the room she shared with Remus. She was a tad overwhelmed from all of the attention everyone had given the couple, from her parents to literally every single person in Grimmauld Place, plus a few others.
Mrs. Weasley had to be consoled a couple of times by her husband because Hermione was her "last baby to get engaged," which had caused Hermione to blush furiously. Remus had been correct that her mom had already clearly started planning as well as a few others, Ginny and Fleur being among them. Even Professor Snape had congratulated them, going as far as shaking Remus' hand. And Hope and Lyall, a couple who was possibly the one couple Hermione had met that loved so openly and completely, congratulated them. Hope had given her a hug that she was sure the woman would never let go before doing the same to Remus. It was only one of the handful of times Hermione had seen Remus get emotional.
She had excused herself from the impromptu party, as soon as midnight rolled around, saying she was exhausted and reassuring Remus he could stay as Sirius handed him another tumbler of Firewhiskey.
After she washed the makeup off her face and brushed her teeth, she walked back into the bedroom and took her dress off. Just as she was about to reach behind her to unclasp her bra, the door opened, and Remus walked in.
He looked at her, and they locked eyes for several moments. The air left her lungs, and Hermione found she wasn't able to do anything but stand there frozen, unable to breathe or even tear her eyes away from him.
His gaze dropped down, and clearly, the Firewhiskey had got the best of him because he didn't seem to be able to look away.
A door slammed downstairs, startling them. Remus' eyes went wide, and he spun on his heel, turning his back to her, while he exclaimed, "Jesus Christ, Hermione! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to walk in on you, I should have knocked, or something. I just didn't-"
"You should have knocked on your own bedroom door?" Hermione said as she quickly took her bra off and pulled her top and shorts on. "You can turn around, I'm dressed."
"It's not just my room anymore. I should have knocked," He said, sounding a bit dejected as he turned around, this time unable to even look in her direction as he made his way to his dresser. "I'm going to go to the bathroom and get ready for bed."
Hermione watched as he walked to the bathroom, a pair of sweatpants slung over his shoulder. Why was he able to walk around shirtless with nothing but his sweatpants on, and she felt immeasurable guilt at him seeing her in her bra and underwear. She tried not to think about it as she crawled into the bed.
Several minutes later, the bathroom door opened, and he walked in wearing only his sweatpants, making his way to their bed. She did find comfort in the fact that he didn't try to hide the scars around her, that he was usually so self-conscious of. He flicked his wand, and the lights went out.
"Remus, have you ever had sex before?" She asked, not sure if it was the fact that she knew his eyes had yet to adjust to the dark or the two glasses of champagne she had that gave her the courage to ask such a question.
"I have." He answered hesitantly.
"A fair bit?"
"Why?"
"Just curious." She shrugged, even though she was sure he wasn't able to see it. "I find it odd that you haven't attempted anything untoward. You still place so much distance between us, but we both know that in the morning, there won't be any space between us. I asked you to have sex with me in Australia, which should at the very least give you an idea of where I stand when it comes to sexual thoughts of you. Now that we are engaged, you still keep me at arms length. For some reason, the thought of you being a virgin seemed absurd to me, but I also remember Sirius saying that you have never been in a relationship either and I've never seen you with anyone, so… as I said, I was just curious."
"No, I have never had a relationship because of my affliction. I didn't want to burden anyone, among other things. Any relations I've had with women have been purely physical."
"Oh." For some reason, the thought of Remus with other women twisted her gut uncomfortably. "So, neither of us have ever been in a real relationship, and we're getting married. So, we will have to learn how to navigate the process together, with no prior experience, while making a commitment that takes many others years to decide if they want to or not?"
"Something of that nature." He said, and she rolled over to face away from him, not knowing what else to say. As soon as she was settled, his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush against his chest. She wasn't able to contain the small squeal of surprise that overtook her.
"However, that's the thing, isn't it?" He whispered, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear. The feeling sent a shiver throughout her body to a place low in her stomach, causing her breath to come out ragged. "You are my first relationship that has any romantic intent. Now that we are officially engaged and we will be married soon, I plan to do this whole thing correctly.
"Therefore, what I may want," his lips dropped down and brushed against her neck, "I will continue to consciously hold you at arm's length unless the need arises. Sex, however, will wait until we're married."
He moved the hand that was around her waist so it laid spread open on her stomach, and he used that hand to pull her even closer to him, as he kissed her neck. She wasn't able to contain the moan that escaped her, and he kissed her just below the ear. "I may have had a little too much to drink tonight."
"So, you do want me?" Hermione asked, her voice sounded more breathy than she would have liked.
"Hermione, you are a beautiful and intelligent young lady, and you unconsciously make it difficult for someone to not want you, especially when you share a bed with them."
She hummed a response before thinking over their whole conversation. "Is this what you meant when you said unless the need arises?"
"You seemed a bit self conscious and decided to question my sexual experience, just wanted to make sure you knew there was no need to feel that way and prove I'm a bit more experienced than I let on. Now go to sleep. It's been a long day, and I feel like it's going to be an even longer week."
"Yea, goodnight, Remus."
The hand that still pressed against her stomach flexed and tightened once more.
"Good night, Hermione."
You guys, I am so sorry!
I'm going to go ahead and say if there is a holiday (American or Christian, I personally celebrate Pagan holidays as well) I will probably miss that week. If I remember, I will make sure to say as much in my notes the week prior.
Also, I'm currently on vacation for two weeks, which is why I'm late this week so most likely I won't be posting next Friday, so I felt it crucial to make sure I posted today.
Lastly, this chapter was a monster to write, I had the vision in my head but could not get it written down. So, I hope you guys enjoy it!
I appreciate all of the continued support!
-Jade