Just a Wizard

Chapter Four

Hermione sorted through her small collection of clothes and gave a sigh. She would be wearing jeans again today, but she didn't want to wear a sweater again as she had been far too hot in it the day before. The problem was that she didn't have anything else that she deemed large enough to sufficiently cover her up.

Hermione hated her figure. Feeling like she was too full in some places and far too fat in others and, besides, she didn't like attracting attention. She stopped what she was doing and stared blankly at the wardrobe. So why then did she let Ron kiss her? It was so unlike her to allow a man any sort of liberties, but just one look from his beautiful blue eyes and she had turned to jelly just like she had at the age of fifteen. She supposed she should be feeling ashamed of her actions, but all she felt was warmth inside that she had never experienced before.

No one had ever really been interested in her in that way, except for a couple of lowlifes, the men from the Legion, and that had nothing to do with romance. Ron had romanced her. Even after only seeing her again for a couple of days, he had actually romanced her.

She shook herself out of her musings when there was a knock at the door and Daphne Vance, Emmaline's daughter from her previous marriage, walked in. "Hi, Hermione. We're leaving in a few minutes, aren't you ready yet?"

Hermione looked down at the huge towel she was currently wrapped in and grimaced. "Not yet. I can't decide what to wear."

"Is that all?" Daphne said, raking through Hermione's clothes before she could stop her. "Here, this is perfect, comfortable and casual. Put it on and we'll see you downstairs in a few." Daffy, as she was affectionately called by everyone grinned at her and left the room, leaving Hermione staring at the clothes she had handed her.

Jeans, they were okay. But the top she had selected was one Hermione had been given by her mother before she died, an attempt by the older woman to make Hermione dress more alluringly. It wasn't much, really, just a T-shirt style top, but it was cropped and had a v-neck that would show her midriff and cleavage.

She swallowed down her doubts and put the clothes on, staring at herself in the mirror. Okay, she thought, it isn't that bad. It doesn't show too much. The only thing showing was a smooth strip of her stomach barely visible above her jeans and her cleavage was only just peeking out of the v-neck. She sighed and wondered whether to just put on a big old T-shirt that covered it all up again, but Daffy burst into the room and grabbed her arm before she could even think about it.

"You look great, come on, we've got to get to work!"

Hermione found herself dragged downstairs and bundled into an enormous magically enhanced Cadillac DeVille with the rest of the Lupin family, listening idly to their conversation as they drove towards the Arena.

It was so different in the wizarding world these days Hermione mused, as the car jumped ahead of the queue of cars at a stoplight. Their entire society had made huge progress now that muggles were not so looked down upon. The destruction of Voldemort had finally brought them out of the dark ages, and into a pleasant mix of Old world and New world combined. What with shell phones, and Cipherboxes, directly connected to the floo network and Wiznet for text messaging and instant owls, air-carriages for long distance travel, the Wizarding Video Network, enchanted cars.

She sighed again, yes, things certainly had changed drastically in four years and Hermione wondered idly what Ron would think of her outfit. He probably wouldn't even notice, not with the extremely tight fitting outfits the women agents wore around the arena. Compared to those women she felt like a dowdy old frump, despite her youth.

Before long they pulled up at the Arena and everyone rushed off in their separate directions to start the day, leaving Hermione with Remus in his office. Tabitha, the surveillance agent, came in as Hermione was sipping at a cup of coffee, holding a huge basket in her arms.

"Hi, Remus," she said, turning to smile at him as she sat next to Hermione. "Hi Hermione, how are you today?"

"I'm fine, thank you. What's all this?" she asked the other woman. Motioning towards the basket she was holding.

"This," Tabitha said, pulling out some tops, "is a basket full of clothing that needs to have muggle listening devices sewn into them. I thought we'd start you on this for now, see how good you are and all that! You should know the sewing charm, am I right? If you could just install the wires into the seams on all these and then bring them back to me, I can assess what you'll be ready for next. Besides, you'll be saving me a ton of work. I have so much to do today that I don't think I'll have time for all this as well!"

Hermione smiled. It felt good having something to do. "No problem. I'll start now and hopefully it won't take me too long."

"Great. Well, take your time, everything you need should be right there and you know where to find me, okay?"

Hermione nodded and immediately started pulling out the bundle of colourful clothing that had been or would be worn by one agent or another, selecting one piece and using her want to thread a needle with the appropriate coloured thread. Remus turned on the WV box, and pulled up a program.

"Here you go, something to watch whilst you're busy," he said, giving her a quick grin before leaving the room.

Hermione hardly glanced up, until she heard the unmistakable sound of a roaring crowd and then a much younger looking Ron waving at her from atop his broomstick, and hovering in front of the Quidditch goals. She fixed her gaze on the screen and watched an old recording of Ron playing keeper in the Quidditch world cup the summer she left. It was much the same as when she had watched him play when she was fifteen and she found she couldn't tear her eyes away. After the short match had finished she suddenly remembered what she should be doing and tried to get her mind back on her work. Another match of sorts began, this one also featuring Ron, but obviously a little more recent as she noticed it must have been a training session in which Ron was engaged in physical combat with a much smaller trainee. Hermione soon got the hang of keeping her eye on the needle she'd charmed into sewing and watching WV in turn, and managed to see most of the video whilst also working.

It seemed that Remus had made a compilation tape of some of Ron's matches, training sessions and duelling practises showing how his appearance had changed over the years, up to the present day. She didn't have the faintest idea what the time was, for all she knew she could have been sitting there for hours.

She fished the last piece of clothing out of the basket and found it was a pair of black leather trousers with the crotch ripped open. After all the clothing she had already fixed, she didn't even stop to wonder who they had belonged to and merely set her wand about fixing them with small neat stitches. Her attention was drawn once again to the screen when Ron had his voice booming under a sonorous charm and was promising the cheering crowd that the "Lupin Security Agency" was going to destroy the Ministy's Auror Team in a Charity Quidditch match the very next night. She was so transfixed by the sound of his voice when in 'Public relations mode' that she didn't hear the door open.

Ron walked in the room and saw Hermione staring at the wizard-vision box, watching a recent recording of him whilst holding onto what appeared to be a pair of his trousers. He walked up behind her and looked down to see what she was doing, noting her fingers were sticking through the hole in the crotch of his leather pants, ones he had recently torn when the undercover investigation he was working on turned awry.

"You know, if you wanted to get your hands in my pants, you only had to ask!" he said, leaning down to growl the words in her ear.

Hermione shrieked in fright and instantly stabbed herself deep in the finger with the needle in her hand as she struggled to jump out of the chair. She whirled around to see Ron standing there, looking half amused and half concerned at her reaction. "I didn't hear you!" she gasped, holding her hand up and wincing as she pulled the needle out of her finger.

"I noticed," he said, walking around the chair and taking her hand. "Sorry, Ninny, I didn't mean to make you hurt yourself like that. Let me see," he said, tugging her closer to him so he could inspect the damage.

"It's nothing," she murmured, trying to tug her hand away.

"You've punctured yourself," he said softly, frowning. "The least I can do is kiss it better, don't you think?" He lifted her hand up and slowly drew her finger into his mouth, sucking away the tiny drop of blood and swirling his tongue around the tip before pulling it out again, equally as slowly.

Hermione stared at him open mouthed as he did this, thinking that in all her life she had never felt anything quite as erotic. Her cheeks heated under his intense stare and she suddenly realised that last night hadn't been some dream or illusion. It had really happened. He really thought she was sexy.

"I love the outfit," he said, holding her arms out at the sides so he could examine her more closely. "Very nice."

"I didn't choose it," she admitted, grimacing as she looked at how tight the top was. "Daphne picked it out. I wouldn't normally wear something like this..."

She stopped when he put a finger over her mouth. "Whoever chose it, I'm very grateful. You look wonderful in it. Now," he said, taking her hand and tucking it into the crook of his arm. "Come with me, my lady, and we shall have some lunch!"

"Lunch?" she asked, confused.

"Yes, lunch. You have lunch in New Zealand right?" he said, grinning at her as he led her from the room, guiding her through the maze of corridors.

"Well, yes," she said absently as she tried to follow the path they were taking, completely getting lost after the first two turns. "Where are we going?"

"Well, seeing as how I have to be here all afternoon, I thought we could have something to eat here," he said as he pulled her along with him. When they stopped outside a plain door, Hermione suddenly realised where they were.

"This is your office," she said, staring dumbly at the door.

"Mmm-hmm. Your lunch awaits you, my lady," he said, smiling as he pushed the door open and gave her an elegant bow.

Hermione gasped as she saw what he had set up for her. A large blanket had been laid out on the floor of his office and the couch had been pushed back out of the way. On the blanket was a picnic hamper, plates, knives, forks, wine glasses and a bottle of champagne. She was so overwhelmed that he had gone to so much trouble for her that she couldn't manage to say anything. At her continued silence, Ron straightened up and frowned worriedly.

"It's okay isn't it? I mean, if you don't like it we can order something in, or maybe go out a bit later." He stopped talking when she gazed up at him, unable to define the emotion he could see in her eyes.

She couldn't believe that he thought she didn't like it. He actually sounded worried. "I love it! Thank you!" she said softly, throwing herself at him and wrapping her arms around his chest as far as they would go.

Ron was stunned for a second, but he instinctively closed his arms around her and hugged her back, breathing a sigh of relief that his instincts hadn't been wrong about her. He thought she would still like simple things like this, just as he did, but he hadn't been one hundred percent certain. Before he could say anything, she pulled back and grabbed his arm, dragging him into the room with her and dropping down onto the blanket, forcing him to follow.

"This is great! What's to eat?" she asked, opening the hamper and laying out the food he had put in it. There was a vast selection from a bowl of salad to a still warm roast chicken, and she made herself busy sharing out the food onto the plates.

"You need more than that!" he said, glancing at what appeared to him to be a tiny plateful compared to the mountain she had heaped onto his plate.

"This is plenty! Here, get eating," she said, thrusting his plate in front of him and handing him a knife and fork. "Oh, and pour some champagne!"

He gave a salute. "Yes, ma'am!"

She grinned at him and he found himself grinning right back at her, wondering vaguely if he looked like a huge, hulking moron.

"Sorry, am I being bossy? I don't mean to be, but this is all so nice and...I've never had champagne. Is it nice?" she asked, rambling on.

He blinked at her sudden change of subject and looked blankly down at the bottle he was holding. "It's okay. I prefer butterbeer or ale myself, but this seemed better for a picnic," he said, shrugging.

"Oh, well you shouldn't have gone to all this trouble just for me, you should have brought yourself some ale, I wouldn't have minded. I don't drink as a rule, so it really..." his finger stopped her talking again.

"It was no trouble. I wanted to do it, and I'm glad I did. And I quite like champagne, so that's fine too. The only words I want to hear from you are 'thank you Ron' or 'this is delicious' or even 'Gee, Ron, you're the best looking man I've ever met and I would just love you to put your hands on my...!" This time it was her hand that covered his mouth and he chuckled behind her small palm, his eyes glinting wickedly down at her.

"You're dreadful!" she said in a hushed voice, as if someone was listening to them.

"Yeah, I am, and I make no apologies for it. You'll just have to get used to it, Ninny'. Now then, what are we hanging around for? Let's get eating!" He grabbed his knife and fork and happily tucked into his meal, closing his eyes and giving a very theatrical 'mmmm' as he chewed a mouthful of well-cooked chicken.

Hermione giggled at his expression and his eyes popped open, twinkling with amusement. "Something funny? And be careful how you reply, or you may find yourself duelling the best Agent in this company, especially if I don't like the answer!"

She narrowed her eyes as she contemplated him, a small mischievous smile touching her mouth. "I think I'll wait until I've eaten, if that's alright?"

Now it was his turn to narrow his eyes. He looked at her suspiciously. "Why wait?"

"Because you're bound to hate my answer, and I'm starving. So I'll eat now, before you can stop me."

"And what makes you so sure that I'll hate your answer?"

She rolled her eyes at him, making him smile at how much more confident she was becoming, even though she had seemed so skittish and quirky a short time ago. "I can hardly tell you that, can I? If I told you, then I'd be giving you an answer, and I've already said I won't do that until after I've eaten." She put a forkful of salad into her mouth and eyed him coolly, swallowing before she spoke again. "And you better get some food inside you, as well. Who knows what moves I might have picked up in my own training? You could be in big trouble!"

Ron choked on his food as he laughed at her statement. "You think you can beat me?"

She shrugged, feeling her heart trying to beat her to death at her own boldness. "I think I could give it a try. Why, scared?"

He held one big hand out in front of him, making it shake. "Yeah, I'm just terrified. Look, I'm shaking and everything." He grinned as her expression changed from one of forced nonchalance, to genuine amusement. She was still incredibly easy to read, and he could see that some of her confidence was forced. He felt pleased that she was trying to come out of her shell for him. "I think you're right about eating. I may need all my strength to fight you off!"

She smiled at him and they both continued their strange carpet picnic, eating their fill of all the savoury food before turning to dessert. Hermione pulled out a huge bowl of fruit salad with cream, looking for individual bowls and finding none.

"There isn't anything to serve this into," she said, still searching even though it was obvious that there were no other bowls anywhere. All she came up with were two spoons.

"Well, that's because this is my bowl. But if you're real nice to me, I might be persuaded to let you have a couple of mouthfuls," Ron said, grinning as he took the bowl off her and lifted the lid.

"You couldn't handle all of that! It's huge!"

He gave her a very wicked grin. "Thanks for the compliment, but I believe we were talking about the dessert?"

She blushed furiously as she got his meaning and slapped his arm, making him raise his eyebrows with indignation. "You struck me!" he accused her, pointing to the faint red mark that could barely be made out under a lion tattoo on his bicep.

"You deserved it! You have a filthy mind!" she said, handing him a spoon.

"Indeed I do! Here, want some of my hugeness?" he asked her, grinning unrepentantly as he held the bowl out.

"What am I going to do with you?" she asked, shaking her head in defeat at his continued smuttiness.

"I could give you some pointers, if you'd like?" he offered eagerly, and she glared at him.

"I bet you can, and I think I know just where they'd point, you pervert!"

He laughed at her outraged expression and continued to demolish the fruit salad, allowing her a spoonful every now and then and watching her avidly every time she licked her lips. Hermione wrinkled her nose up at her first taste of champagne, not liking the taste at all. She didn't want to offend him however, so she forced herself to drink half the glass, trying not to grimace at the sharp taste. Ron watched her. Amused that she was forcing the sparkling wine down her throat, despite the fact that she looked as though she were drinking vinegar.

"You don't have to drink it, you know. I don't mind," he said, taking the glass from her and leaning back to open the small refrigerator. He pulled a cold bottle of pumpkin juice out and handed it to her. "Here, I think you may enjoy this a bit more."

"Thank you," she said, taking the bottle from him with relief. "I'm sorry, I know it must have been expensive..."

"But you think it tastes foul, right?"

"Well, yes. I much prefer pumpkin juice or butterbeer. Have you got any ale in there? You could have a one and enjoy yourself a bit more."

"There are lots of ways I could enjoy myself a bit more," he murmured, staring fixedly at her mouth. He blinked and looked up into her eyes as a thought occurred to him. "You haven't told me what was so funny, yet. And, if I remember correctly, you said you could beat me in physical combat. I won't even make a comment about wands, you've always bested me there."

"Indeed I have!" she said cheekily, raising her eyebrows. "So, You haven't forgotten about that then, huh?" she sighed.

"No, I rarely forget about things like that. Not trying to back out are you?" he asked, moving closer to her and starting to clear everything up. When he had put the last of the things into the hamper and moved the hamper itself to the side of the room, he sat down next to her and raised his eyebrows. "Ready?"

"For...for what?" she gulped, shuffling back a short distance.

"Well, first, you've got to tell me what was so funny earlier, Second, I have to decide whether it bothers me or not and, if it does, then I have to fight you. Of course, you said that you could beat me, so we have that to try out too!"

She stared at him warily and he closed the distance between them again, kneeling in front of her and taking her hands. "So, come on, tell me what was so funny. What were you laughing at? And don't lie, I'll be able to tell."

"You," she said, swallowing down the slight apprehension she was feeling.

"Me? Me what?"

"I was laughing at you," she admitted.

"Mmm-hmm. I thought as much. Now, does that answer offend me?" He put one hand on his beard and stroked it thoughtfully, frowning. "You know, I think it does. You want to make the first move, or you want me to?"

"The...the first move?" she stammered, her eyes getting larger as he raised himself up and loomed over her.

"Yeah, as in hand to hand sparring?"

"I don't...I don't know any moves," she said softly, wondering what she had gotten herself into as he looked menacingly down at her. It was a lie, Hermione of course was trained, expertly so, but if she ever used those moves on Ron, not only would she hurt him physically, but she'd hurt his ego as well. Things were going so smoothly, and she didn't want to ruin that.

"Really?" His face brightened. "Then this should be easy, shouldn't it?" He put one hand behind her head and the other on her waist, moving so suddenly that she had no idea what he was going to do until she found herself laying flat on her back, the hand he had placed behind her head protecting her from hitting it on the floor. He grinned at her stunned expression. "That really was easy!" he taunted her, raising his eyebrows and smiling smugly as he waited for her to retaliate. He felt relieved when her eyes narrowed, the look of shock and near horror disappearing as quickly as it had come.

"You think I can't get out of this?" she asked him, trying to calm her breathing as his body covered most of hers and he held one of her arms. Her other arm was free, resting underneath his, and she moved her hand, running her fingers lightly up his side and heading for his armpit. When she got close he jumped and stared at her open mouthed, suddenly realising what she was doing.

"You better stop that!" he warned her, looking faintly amazed.

"Stop what?" she asked innocently, suddenly dipping her hand under his arm and tickling for all she was worth. His reaction was all she could possibly have hoped for and more. He was obviously still extremely ticklish and she hadn't forgotten his most sensitive spot, judging by the bellow of laughter that erupted from him. He released her arm and wriggled away from her, trying to stop her small mobile hands from reaching under his arms. He only succeeded after grabbing both of her wrists and holding her away from him, trying to overcome the weakness that had consumed him.

"That wasn't fair!" he gasped out when he finally stopped laughing.

"I told you I could beat you!" she said, grinning impishly at him, her cheeks flushed from their small tussle.

He stared at her, smiling and surprised at her sudden burst of courage. "You only beat me because I left one of your arms loose. I won't make that mistake again, and now I owe you!"

"You owe me?" she asked quietly, amazed at how relaxed she felt laying next to him like this, even if he was grasping both her wrists.

"Oh yeah, I owe you a damn good tickling! Think I didn't remember you're ticklish as well?" He narrowed his eyes and looked as if he were contemplating where to start.

"Er...no, no I'm not, I don't know what you're talking about." she said, the small lie tumbling out of her mouth with a sound of desperation.

He raised one eyebrow and grinned. "Is that right? How about I find out for myself? Somehow, I don't think you're being honest with me. Not scared are you?"

Hermione was wondering how she could get out of this without getting tickled to death. She shook her head in answer to his question and started trying to tug her hands away from his. He watched her and pursed his lips thoughtfully, not loosening his grip at all.

"Tell me something, Ninny. If you're not ticklish, why are you trying so hard to get away? And, just in case you were wondering, I'm not letting you go!" he smiled smugly at her and moved an inch closer, chuckling as she tried and failed to move further away from him. His amusement made her lift her chin and narrow her eyes, her fighting spirit coming to the fore.

"Typical man! I suppose you think that just because you're a bit bigger than me..."

"A lot bigger," he put in.

"...ok, a lot bigger, that you can just use your slightly superior strength..."

"Slightly superior?" he asked, grinning at her flushed face.

"...will you stop interrupting!"

"I'm sorry," he said, not looking in the least bit apologetic. "Please, continue."

"What I'm saying is, that you're feeling a little bit irritated that I got the better of you, despite your size. Maybe you're feeling a bit uncertain about your abilities," she said, trying not to smile at the comical expression on his face. "I mean, despite your time as a Legion member and Agent, a woman like me could actually render you weak and unable to move. It must be pretty annoying. You wait until the other agents hear about this..."

"Firstly, you didn't get the better of me, you surprised me is all. Secondly, there is no way on earth I'll let you blab about this to the other guys. And thirdly, maybe most importantly, did you say a woman like you?" He moved even closer to her and smiled from a space of maybe two inches. "From what I learned about you last night, you're not really all that experienced at being a woman. At least, not yet."

Hermione's mouth dropped open at his confident statement and she felt her face heat under his steady gaze. "That's not...you can't...you can't say things like that!"

"I can't?" he said, looking vaguely surprised. "But I just did."

"You shouldn't."

"Aw, why not? I do love to see that beautiful colour on your face, and then there's the way your mouth sort of hangs open like that. It's in just the perfect position..." he tailed off and leaned in to claim her lips, his mouth closing over the 'o' of hers completely, his tongue instantly sweeping inside before she could even think about closing her mouth. Her eyes fluttered closed as the pleasurable sensations flooded through her and she responded to his kiss just as she had the previous night. She felt him tug her so she was flush against him and pull her hands up to his shoulders, before releasing them so she could make up her mind where she wanted to put them.

She loved the width of his shoulders and how solid he felt and her arms looped around his neck, holding him to her firmly as if she were afraid this wasn't really happening and he would simply disappear in a puff of smoke. But the feel of his tongue stroking slowly against hers was very real, as was the feel of his massive arms closing around her body, one hand cupping the back of her head and the other running up and down her back.

The kiss moved from gentle to urgent in the blink of an eye and Ron found he couldn't get enough of her. He had thought it might have been his imagination the night before when he had thought she tasted sweet, but it wasn't. No amount of imagination on his part could have conjured up how this girl tasted, or how responsive she was to each change of pressure his lips made as he deepened the kiss. He drew back suddenly to take a breath of air, realizing he had stopped breathing as he savoured the flame of desire that was coursing through him.

Hermione made a soft sound of disappointment when he pulled back and reluctantly raised her eyelids, staring into the dark blue eyes so close to her. Ron smiled at her drowsy expression and dropped a soft kiss on her swollen lips, unable to help himself from bestowing the small caress. "Are you okay?" he asked, moving his mouth across her jaw and down the side of her neck.

"Mmm," Hermione murmured, the only sound she could make as his lips travelled to the curve between neck and shoulder and nibbled at her, making her shiver at the sensations this caused.

Ron lifted his head and gave her a dazzling smile. "Discovered a sensitive spot, did I? Let's try that again," he said, dropping his head to her neck again and using his tongue and teeth on the smooth skin, making her writhe against him as passion made itself known to her. He kept at it until he couldn't bear her movements any more, her hips pressed against his so tightly that each tiny wriggle she gave made his aroused flesh harden even more until it was almost painful.

The speed with which Hermione found herself laying on her own should have made her feel insulted, but she was in too much of a daze to feel anything much except for astonishment. She turned her head to see what Ron was doing and found him laying on his stomach, his hands clutching the sides of his head as he drew in huge gulps of air. She frowned and wondered if he was alright because he was acting as if he were in pain.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly, reaching out a hand to touch his arm. Before she could make contact his hand shot out and grabbed hers, stopping her from touching his body in any way.

"Don't touch me just yet. I can promise that, if you do, you will be utterly starkers in about five seconds!" he said, turning his head and seeing the confusion she couldn't hide. He chuckled and closed his eyes briefly. "Ninny, I haven't been this turned on and actually had to stop for a couple of years. If you touch me, I will not be able to help myself. Do you understand?"

"Oh," she said softly, embarrassed by how frank he could be. Then she realised that it had been her who had put him in his current state, and she felt a sense of elation. To think that this incredibly sexy man was almost out of control and all because of her. She smiled at the thought.

Ron opened his eyes and saw the smile, finding an answering one turning up his lips as his body finally began to relax. "What are you smiling about? You proud of yourself or something?"

Hermione jumped when he spoke because she had been lost in thought and she turned her eyes to his. Her smile widened. "Actually I am, a bit."

"Oh yeah? You think reducing me to this condition is something to be proud of?" he asked as he slowly sat up.

"Well, yes. Sort of," she said softly, watching his huge body move from its prone position, her appreciation of his physique plain to see in her eyes.

Ron smiled at her, his eyes narrowing. "See anything you like?"

Hermione blushed but lifted her chin and stared him straight in the eye, trying to look superior to him. "Not really. You have a beer gut and your...your ears are enormous. Nothing to like there, really."

His eyes widened at her words. He patted his stomach and sucked it in a touch, trying to look worried and failing miserably. "I do not have a beer gut and, as for my ears, well they may be enormous but they go with everything else on my body." He gave her one of his dazzlingly sexy grins and waited for her response. He didn't have to wait long. Her cheeks went a deep scarlet and her mouth dropped open. His rumbling laughter made her slap his arm.

"You're terrible...the things you say!"

"Yep, I know. But you do rise to the bait so beautifully, I just can't resist," he said, still smiling. He looked at his watch and sighed. "I guess we better get moving, we both have work to do."

He pulled Hermione up with him when he stood, bending to give her a brief kiss that left her wanting more.

"I'll walk you back up to Remus' office," he said, taking her hand and leading her from the room.

Hermione was sad to end their lunch, but she knew he would have to get back to work and she had to finish sewing the listening devices into what she now knew were his trousers. She wondered if he would ask to see her again, but secretly thought it was unlikely. No matter how much he had enjoyed her company, she knew she wasn't like the women he would usually be seen with. Still, hope was a wonderful thing.

When they walked into the office they found Remus sitting at his desk, frowning over some paperwork. He looked up as soon as the door opened and gave Hermione a smile, frowning at Ron. "Where have you been? I was getting worried about Hermione and nobody had seen her."

"Sorry about that, but I didn't realize I needed your permission to feed her. We were only in my office," Ron said, surprised at Remus' reaction. But he supposed he had good reason to worry about this particular girl, what with her past and everything.

"You don't need my permission. It would just have been nice to know her whereabouts. So you had lunch then? In your office? Alone?" Remus asked, narrowing his eyes at Ron.

"Ahem, I am here, you know. You could ask me!" Hermione said, staring from one man to the other in confusion.

"Of course I could Ninny," Remus said, his tone softer when he spoke to her. "Did you have a nice lunch, then?"

"Yes, thank you. Ron made us a picnic," she said, smiling at the huge man standing in the doorway. Remus watched as Ron's expression softened as he stared at Hermione, returning the smile.

"A picnic? In his office?"

"Yes and it was really lovely. He even got champagne," Hermione said, sounding excited still by the small gesture.

"Not that she liked the stuff," Ron said.

"It tasted a bit like vinegar, to be honest. But he gave me a pumpkin juice instead."

"Mmm. Did he give you anything else?" Remus asked, making her swing her eyes back to him and frown.

"Like what?" she asked, wondering why the werewolf looked so tense all of a sudden.

"Well, you know, I can't help noticing that every time you go off somewhere alone with him, you come back with strange marks on you. Yesterday it was the rash on your chin, today it's the mark on your neck."

He nodded to her neck and Hermione instantly put her hand up to where Ron had been kissing her, gasping as she realised he must have left his brand on her. "Care to explain that, Mr Weasley?"

"There's nothing to explain bossman. Last time I looked, she was an adult."

"Last time you looked? What the hell does that mean?" Remus asked, his voice hardening as he stood up to glare at Ron.

Hermione was stunned by this turn of events and quickly stood in front of Remus, trying to block his view of Ron. "Remus, it's okay. He didn't do anything to me, we just...er..."she broke off as her embarrassment almost choked her. Remus relented when he saw her face.

"I'm sorry, Ninny. It's hard for me to stop worrying about you, you know?"

"I know. But Ron wouldn't ever hurt me, you know that, you know him."

"Yeah, I know." He gave her a smile and ran his thumb down her cheek before looking up at the younger man. "I'm sorry Ron, I shouldn't have jumped down your throat like that."

Ron had been watching Hermione calm Remus down and smiled. "It's okay, you were worried about her. That's not a bad thing. I'll make sure to let you know where I've taken her next time, okay?"

Hermione turned to look at him when he said this, her heart leaping up into her throat at the thought that he might actually want to see her again. She was shocked when he moved towards her and bent to kiss her right in front of Remus, not reticent about showing his affection.

"Hey, I might not be angry any more, but if I see that tongue make one tiny appearance I'll throw you through the window!" Remus said, raising his voice and glaring at Ron again, only not seriously this time.

Ron grinned, giving Remus a sidelong look and then dropping another kiss on her startled mouth. His fingers brushed gently over her neck, running over the faint bruise that still remained and then towards her shoulder, where the mark he had made was. He smiled wickedly when he studied it, brushing it with his thumb before he moved away from her and then left the room, winking at Hermione as he did so.