I'm baaaaack! Yes, yes, I know, I can hear you all now - for how long...I'm sorry guys. These last few years have really been kicking me while I'm down, my MH has taken a bashing and honestly, I want to write, but the words just wouldn't come. But, for now, I am here and I am posting at least one more chapter since this one isn't very long.

As always, all things HP belong to JK Rowling - I merely play.

Remus returned to Hermione at his garden table and sat down heavily, scrubbing a hand over his face. "You really should have let him know, Hermione."

"I was going to, I just didn't know how to. We'd talked about sleeping with other people so neither of us would be giving away something as precious as our virginity, so we weren't forced to do so. . But, I couldn't think of anyone I would want to sleep with, and I also didn't want it to just be some meaningless sex that I would spend the rest of my life regretting. Having sex with someone else for the sake of not letting this stupid law take my virginity too is ridiculous when Harry is there, who would cherish the hell out of something so important."

He was startled at her blunt approach, but in the end, it was very Hermione to just tackle something head on. "Did Harry say he was going to do the same?"

She shrugged. "Not really, I just assumed he would do."

Remus chuckled sadly and shook his head, running a hand through his hair and grimacing when some strands came out. "You really need to remember who you're married to, Hermione. Harry won't have been with anyone else at all. He'll have decided that if he can give you anything in this marriage, it's himself. Look a little harder when he smiles at you, or when he holds your hand, or he does something small and seemingly insignificant, you'll see what I'm talking about."

Hermione sat back completely flummoxed and studied her mug of tea. He could see the cogs of her mind turning, putting all the pieces together. "I need to find him."

Remus took her mug and grasped her hands. "Hermione give him some time to cool off. You gave him a shock and struck him. He'll be wanting to calm down before talking to you again. Harry is a kind-hearted young man, but he has a fierce temper, just like his mother." She looked startled a moment. "Oh, don't misunderstand me, he would never, ever, hurt you. But he could say something in anger that he doesn't mean, and words can't be taken back once they're voiced. Look at what he's already said, you know Harry is rarely so crude."

She nodded and sat back, drinking her tea when Remus refilled it for her. "Thank you, for your advice, and your parcel."

He smiled. "Of course, I hope it doesn't have to come in handy, but if it does, I'm glad to help. Have you read what I gave you the day you got married?"

Hermione smiled and patted his hand. "I'm grateful to have you here, Remus. And I'm especially grateful for what you gave me. But we talked about the reasons why it would have been a bad idea."

They talked for a while, Hermione filled him in on Malfoy, and Remus had raged in fury for her. He'd promised to help her with wandless magic if Severus was busy. He gave her advice on how to make it simpler, and reminded her that if she needed it, his cottage was always open, to the both of them, if they needed an escape.

When the sun started to set, Remus walked Hermione back to the wards of the castle and waited until she passed through them before leaving. He glanced at the grounds and gave a sigh, he missed the place greatly. He caught Severus coming out of the forest and raised his hand in a wave. There was a moment's pause before the man returned it, a scowl on his face.

-oo0oo-

Harry had debated staying in the Room of Requirement for the night, but with it being just two more days until Malfoy was due to return to the school, he didn't want Hermione to be alone in their rooms and dwelling on that. He might be angry with her but he wouldn't leave her alone with her thoughts, not when he knew she was doing her best to hold it together with the ferret's impending return.

So, he had settled in their bedroom, a book opened in his lap and reading as he nibbled on a muffin Dobby had fetched from the kitchens for him. His cheek was still throbbing angrily and a quick diagnostic spell had revealed his zygomatic bone was fractured. He could heal it himself or go see Pomfrey but, truthfully, he knew he'd deserved that slap. He heard the door to their rooms open and shut, some shuffling about in the living room before Hermione appeared in the doorway to the bedroom.

He saw her eyes flicker to the bruised cheek she had struck, shame reddening her face. "Let me heal your cheek," she whispered.

Harry eyed her for a moment before he nodded once, sharply. Hermione moved into the room and knelt on the bed, drew her wand. "Episkey," she murmured, healing the fracture. She summoned her jar of bruise paste and rubbed it into the skin, cleaning it off once it had done as needed, the bruise gone.

"Thank you," he said flatly.

She fumbled with the covers, twisting them in her hands and chewing her lip. Harry waited, patiently, for her to say whatever it was she wanted. "I was wrong," she whispered.

Harry blinked. That was not what he had expected. "Wrong about what, exactly?"

She gestured between them. "This."

His heart sank. "I see," he said bitterly.

Her head shot up and her eyes widened. "No! Harry, that isn't want I meant! I am not saying we were wrong to marry!"

"Then what are you saying?!" He bit out. "You're really not making this easy for me. I'm doing my best to behave as I should, as your husband, just as you asked me to. But you're keeping secrets from me?"

She sighed and shifted so she could sit cross-legged. "I thought we could remain platonic through this, at first, but I know that was a fool's errand. Sex will change everything, I know that, but it's also something special. Yes, I could have shagged someone else but truth be told, Harry, I didn't want to give such a large piece of myself to someone I don't care about. I might not be in love with you but I still want to give this to you. I shouldn't have kept my virginity quiet, I'm sorry. And I am so, so sorry that I hit you, Harry. I hate violence and it's the first thing I resorted to, I was wrong."

He folded his arms over his chest, then lowered them, realising crossed arms were a sign of defensive body language. "Yes, you were wrong to hide something like that from me. But…you were not wrong to hit me. I was crass and rude, there is no excuse for how I spoke to you."

"Let's just forget it, Harry, we both were wrong."

Harry nodded and gave her a little smile, more a quirk of the lips than anything. She rose to her knees and shuffled closer, bringing her face within inches of his. "You know, I never really noticed before, but your eyes really are the most wonderful green."

He laughed, the tension broken and kissed her cheek. "Good ice breaker."

She grinned and kissed his lips quickly, then settled at his side and wandlessly summoned a book. He laughed again and reopened his own, reading in silence together until they were yawning and falling asleep.