Nothing Like You and I

Margaritama – You make an excellent stipulation as to the nature of Remus and Hermione’s relationship and I would holy agree with you. Just like Gone with the Wind, or even Romeo and Juliette, Hermione is struggling with the alternatives. Be happy with a man she knows she can love who is real and there for her, or keep chasing the forbidden dream of true love. I know it’s not what everyone wants to read – happy love stories are always fun but not realistic – then again this is Harry Potter. While they do need to stop relying on each other for support, it is the familiar bond they have for one another that makes it simple. Remus, as a single dad, is very shy and withdrawn when it comes to finding love as he wants what is best for his son. Hermione has always been there and she understands his need for solitude as well as what it is like to take care of children (she took care of Harry and Ron all those years). But enough of my rambling and trying to explain myself in hopes that not everyone hates me for the Remus/Hermione stint; this story is far from over and I still have a few tricks up my sleeves…muahaha.

Moon Goddess – I knew a few people wouldn’t like the whole relationship between Remus and Hermione but I think that it is really important to show that she can move on with good results. Remus and Teddy are familiar to her and have been there for her during her time of need. It’s only natural for her to develop more feelings of love toward Remus – especially considering he doesn’t pry and generally wants to make her happy. As for not returning to the cottage, she is, in a way, trying not to face up with the fact that Draco wasn’t ‘real’ and is not mentally ready to face that challenge. (hint: she expects Draco to be wrapping his arms around her, not Remus) It’s selfish of her, yes, but she has been through a lot. Escaping places that have haunted you for five years is one way for her to regain her independence. If you’ve noticed, when Draco was around she was noted to have been sullen and withdrawn but now that she is away from a place that reminds her of him she is more independent and outgoing. ::shrugs:: That was my whole interpretation of the situation – I know I’d do the same and being a psych student it is common for people to avoid places that elicit harmful or heartbreaking memories.


Songs:
Fear Has Always Held Me Down
Perishers – Midnight Sky

I Hope You Know
Howie Day – She Says
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKVXES6YVps


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Fear Has Always Held Me Down
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Hermione sat propped up against the bed she and Remus shared, a book resting on her lap. She didn’t read a single word in the last two hours. Her mind was plagued with the flickering images of the man who resembled the reason she was alive this day. His blond hair was cut short, swooping bangs over his forehead, tall, athletic with pale peachy skin. There could have been many people who resembled him but what struck a cord with her were his eyes. Those cobalt blue eyes pierced into her soul for that brief moment inside the store. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip at the image of Draco, flashing across her mind rapidly. But, this wasn’t Draco. His name was David according to the owner of the store and he was not her Draco.

The water in the bathroom shut off and Hermione heard the familiar clank of a razor against the edge of the sink. With a click of the light, Remus emerged toweling his face as he had just finished shaving. His light brown hair was mussed up from having just gotten out of the shower and he looked tired from the day’s event. She noticed a small hue of red across the bridge of his nose and knew he had been in the sun far too long.

“That was a lovely dinner, Hermione,” Remus said, draping the towel over a chair near the vanity. “I think you’re going to give me a heart attack with how well you cook.”

“You need to get more meat on those bones of yours,” Hermione replied, smiling at him.

He smiled back and crawled into bed, pulling out several of his missives from the desk. Remus and Hermione sat in silence while he read his missives and she pretended to read her book. She couldn’t focus on the words and closed her eyes. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Hermione closed the book and set it on the night stand. She ran her fingers through her own damp hair and heard a rustle of Remus’ papers. Turning to look at him, she found that his amber eyes were trained on her.

Leaning in ever so gently, Remus pressed his lips against hers. She hesitated when she felt his tongue trace her bottom lip but gave in after a moment. Pressing herself against his chest, Hermione tilted her head back when he deepened the kiss. She felt herself lowering to her back, his missives scattering across the floor as he moved over her. Hermione let out a small moan as he settled between her thighs, his weight heavier than Draco’s had ever been but far less then Lucius. Remus slipped his hands under her head, cupping her skull at the nape of her neck as his mustache tickled her lips.

She brought her hand to his head, running her fingers through his light brown hair. He was so gentle, all the time, and loving. Would it be too bad of her to move on and accept this man? The decision had been plaguing her for weeks. Nearly a year of being free of Draco hadn’t turned her world upside down. In fact, she had been happy. She was happy and for once she had accepted that. Remus’ hands traveled down her sides, pulling up the hem of her large night gown.

Hermione exhaled when his calloused fingers grazed over the swell of her hips, slowly pulling her knickers lower. She automatically lifted her hips and felt a small brush of cool air run along her inner thighs. Her hands moved to their own accord, running over his bare chest. She could feel the scars under her touch, evidence of the curse he was suffering from and those wounds that would never disappear. His hand moved up her night gown, slowly pulling it from her and Hermione let the cool hair brush against her bare shoulders.

Remus pulled from her briefly, staring at her in all her glory. She didn’t blush at his misusing, not the way she had when Draco looked over her. He brought his lips to the center of her chest, trailing lower until his lips traced over the small scar laden across the swell of her belly. His lips traveled back up to her the crook of her neck, whispering some thing incoherent into her ear. Hermione traced her hands over the center of his muscular back as he settled between her thighs and let out a small whimper when he glided himself into the snugness of her heat.

Their sex had always been sensual and slow, often times excruciatingly slow. It was as if both were too frightened to do anything more in fear of breaking the other. Remus was gentle in every way, shape and form. Hermione closed her eyes tightly and tilted her head back when he withdrew and pushed his entire length to the hilt. A small moan escaped her lips and she slowly parted her eyes to see that his eyes were closed as well. He kept the same slow rhythm, thrusting only enough to shake her but not jolt her back as she had once experienced.

His hands were brought under her shoulders, grasping onto them lightly as his hips slapped against the apex of her thighs. Hermione moaned frequently but closed her eyes, her lips parted for air. Remus’ lips brushed against hers as his rhythm grew more rapid and fluctuating. Her legs trembled when she brought them up against his waist and she cried softly when her body shuddered against him. Her walls collapsed around his length, feeling the warmth of his seed spread into her through a mutual orgasm.

Remus rasped quietly, resting his hand on her lower abdomen as he whispered a contraceptive charm and rolled from her to his back. Hermione opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. With her head resting on his chest, Hermione closed her eyes and drifted off into a small slumber. She was satiated but not satisfied and it was killing her. It was killing her to love a man like Remus yet truly love a man who had died. Died five years ago and appeared eight hours ago as a different person.

That morning she was roused to a small tapping noise on the window of their bedroom. Untangling herself from Remus’ embrace, Hermione pulled her night gown over her nude form and padded over to the window. She pushed the window open and leaned back as the owl fluttered inside and landed on the vanity. It extended its leg and Hermione moved to untie the small roll. She rummaged through one drawer and pulled out a small sickle, handing it to the owl and watched the creature take flight.

Her eyes scanned the envelope and sighed, another missive for Remus. She closed her eyes and leaned against the vanity, resting her hand on the edge. Remus stirred, causing her to open her eyes, and watch his hand graze over her empty spot in bed. His eyes fluttered open and met with her mocha colored gems. She smiled when he did and watched him sit up, yawning and stretching. His muscles twitched and she found that while he was two decades older than she was, he was still very fit and attractive.

“Good morning,” Remus said softly, shaking his head like a dog would to dry off, and brought his hands to his eyes to rub the sleep from them, “What do you have there?”

“Another missive for you,” Hermione replied lightly padding over to the bed where she climbed onto her side over him. “It seems you are a very important man, Mr. Lupin.”

“Aye, I am dreadfully important,” Remus chuckled, tearing the envelop open, “I was thinking…maybe we could go somewhere with just us? Teddy is going to visit his gran and….”

Hermione watched his smile fade as his eyes scanned over the parchment in front of her. Flickering amber eyes of anger filled his look and he crumpled the paper into a wad.

“What’s wrong?” Hermione asked, watching Remus pull the sheets from him and storm into the bathroom.

She kept her eyes on the center of his back when he moved. It wasn’t that she was afraid to look at him in his proverbial birthday suit. She didn’t really know why she couldn’t, something was wrong with her. The bathroom door shut and water ran for a few seconds before the door opened again. Remus stepped out clad in a pair of dark boxers with a toothbrush hanging from his mouth.

“The Ministry bollixed up a treaty with the centaurs in Northern Ireland,” Remus replied, finally answering her question, “I have been summoned to smooth things out.”

“Oh,” Hermione replied, drawing her legs up slightly as her hands rested between her thighs clasped together, “When do you think you’ll be back?”

“Who knows,” Remus shrugged, disappearing into the bathroom to spit the foamy toothpaste from his mouth. More water ran and he exited, “I’m really sorry about this, Hermione.”

“Why? I’ll be here when you return,” Hermione laughed, noting the sorrow on his face for constantly having to leave on these extended trips.

She didn’t mind, really, she actually liked being able to be alone for the time being. Teddy was going to spend a few days with his grandma and she would be able to catch up on some work before her sick leave was out.

“I really wanted to ask you something over the next few days, but it’ll have to wait,” Remus huffed, pulling on a pair of muddy brown slacks. He clasped the button together and strode over to the closet where he pulled on a white button down dress shirt.

“Is it anything important?” Hermione asked, still watching him as he buttoned the cuff of his shirt.

“Kind of,” Remus replied, folding the collar of his shirt as he pulled on a tie, “But it can wait, it’s nothing too drastic.”

“You can’t ask me now?’ Hermione teased, pulling the sheets over her cold feet.

“It’s not proper to ask you while you’re sitting on my bed wearing my t-shirt,” Remus mused, grinning at her.

“Fine,” Hermione laughed, falling onto her face, “Ask me when you get back.”

“I love you,” Remus whispered when he approached the bed and leaned down kissing her lightly.

“Mmm,” Hermione moaned, leaning up to grasp him around the neck and pull him to her.

Her lips crashed against his as she stood on her knees with one hand holding onto the back of his head. Passion between them had been relatively calm and, for once, she wanted to see what he’d do when offered the chance to show more than a serene love for her. Her hand traced up his chest as she parted her lips and sought entry into his mouth. Remus was rigid but complied slowly, his hands resting on her shoulder. Just as Hermione was about to press herself against him, he pushed her back.

“I have to go,” he said with a small breath, averting his eyes from her. “I’ll owl you when I can, ok?”

“Yeah,” Hermione whispered, leaning back onto her backside.

She watched his grab his shoes from the end of the bed and leave the bedroom, closing the door tightly behind him. Her eyes instantly darted to her hands and she tried to stifle a sob. Leaning back against the bed, Hermione closed her eyes tightly and let a small slumber encase her.


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I Hope You Know
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After taking Teddy via the tube to Diagon Alley where he was picked up by Andromeda, Hermione made her way back to the flat she shared with him and Remus. She intended on using the extra few days she had alone to figure things out and prepare to get back to work. Deep within her mind she thought about that bloke, David, but had ruled out that he was merely a look alike. There were bound to be plenty of people who just so happened to have Draco’s eyes…right?

Fumbling with her oversized purse, that was enchanted to carry just about everything, Hermione walked the streets of the town she lived in. She looked up and stopped at the sight of a bookstore, newly erected and family owned. Family owned businesses always appealed to her as they held a kind of homey feel to it, and it reminded her of her parents. Hermione smiled and darted into the store, prepared to spend a good afternoon curled up in the history section.

The bell jingled and she was greeted with an older lady with cotton candy type gray hair and large reading glasses perched on her long nose. Beads of every color hung from the sides of her glasses and traveled down to her jumper. She reminded her greatly of McGonagall, bringing back memories of her time in Hogwarts and that, in turn, brought about those missing memories with Draco. She wondered how many other people knew, but that was trivial at this point.

Nodding a hello, Hermione disappeared behind a stack of books. The sweet smell of old pages and dust filled her senses and she smiled happily. Her index finger danced along the shelf of books about the history of Venice, gathering quite a smidge of dust under the pad of her finger. She paused and looked at one large text that sat three shelves above her, almost to the point where she could hardly read the title. Looking around, Hermione stood on her toes, fingers reaching for the book.

She should have asked for assistance but she had a feeling the old codger couldn’t have helped if she wanted her not to break her back over this book. It was obvious that no one had touched it as it was caked in a thin layer of dust. Hermione frowned and tried to stand as high as she could, fingers lightly touching the spine. She paused when a hand shot out and grabbed the book for her with little effort.

Landing on the balls of her feet, Hermione smiled and looked up to thank the person who saved her from toppling over but her smile faded. Draco…no David stood there holding a pile of books in his own arms with hers still in his right hand. He smiled at her and she felt her cheeks flush. Clearing her throat, Hermione grasped the book when he held it out.

“Thank you,” she replied, dusting the book off with her hand.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, brushing past her.

Her eyes followed him as he disappeared around the corner and she slowly found herself shuffling to the edge of the aisle to peer over. He sat at a small table in the corner of the store, books strewn about everywhere. Hermione gasped when his cobalt eyes darted to her for a second, and plastered herself against the shelf. Hermione swallowed and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself.

“You’re that girl from the convenience store, aren’t you?” came his sultry drawl from beside her.

Hermione’s eyes shot open and she tilted her head to the right, staring up at him as he leaned against the shelf. His hand was perched up above him, posing himself in such a casual way that it made her want to faint.

“Yes,” Hermione said in a tiny hoarse whisper.

“Ah,” he replied, nodding, “Is there any reason why you’re staring at me like that?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, standing up from the shelf, “It’s just…you remind me of some one.”

“Beckham perhaps? I wouldn’t mind being reminded of him,” he grinned, causing Hermione’s cheeks to flush.

“He was a…friend of mine. Passed away a few years ago,” Hermione watched his grin disappear and he looked at her with sad eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said awkwardly.

“It’s alright,” Hermione replied, smiling at him uneasily, “I’m sorry for acting so funny the two times I’ve seen you.”

“Are you still grieving?” he asked, “I find that people tend to associate individuals with their loved ones when they’re still grieving. I’m a researcher at Oxford, so we conduct a lot of interviews with grieving individuals.”

“Oh, no no. I’ve had closure,” Hermione was quick to sat, clutching the book to her chest.

“Alright then,” David smiled, “I’m David by the way.”

“Hermione,” she answered, taking his hand when he offered it to her, “Hermione Granger.”

“Hermione?” he quirked an eyebrow and she looked eagerly at him, hoping in some small world that he would recall her name and be that Draco but he just smiled, “Like Queen Hermione of Sicily in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale?”

“My mum liked Shakespeare,” Hermione said, a little sadder.

David nodded and looked around the store before offering, “Why don’t you sit with me? I mean, if that’s not too weird. A bloke coming up to a pretty girl in a dusty old bookstore asking if she wants to sit with him. I could be a serial killer for all you know…”

“Believe me,” Hermione said, smiling back, “I could take care of myself. I’m not as useless as I seem.”

“I don’t think you seem useless,” he shrugged and backed up, walking with Hermione to the table, “People say they’re useless but, in reality, everyone does something even if it’s sitting on your arse eating teriyaki flavored crisps.”

“Do you sit on your arse and eat teriyaki flavored crisps?” Hermione asked, nodding as he pulled the chair out for her to sit.

“I stick with plain. Crisps should always be salted not with all these mad flavors,” David laughed, sitting down as well, “Let me move this stuff. The owner is quite kind with letting me do some research here. I live in a small flat that not very conductive to work.”

“Ah,” Hermione nodded, placing her book on the desk.

They sat in silence, looking over their books, although Hermione couldn’t help but cast glances at him. He looked just like Draco, even down to the color of his eyes, which she always knew were rare considering. Her eyes searched for his left forearm, hoping to find a little hint of ink but she found none. His eyes glanced toward her as well and he smiled, causing her to blush and resume looking over her book.

“So…” Hermione said quietly, “Where are you from?”

“Well, I was born in Wales but my mum and I moved to Midsomer Norton when I was two,” David answered, leaning back from his text, “Moved out here a few months back.”

“Oh,” Hermione nodded, “How do you like it here so far?”

“It’s pretty nice, not used to the crowds. Too much smog for my taste,” he chuckled and Hermione followed, “What about you? How long have you been here?”

“A few months,” she shrugged, “I was on extended holiday for awhile but I have a cottage in Port of Inverness in Scotland.”

“Port of Inverness? I’ve never been there, then again I don’t really travel,” he laughed, leaning on the table with his elbows, “I don’t want to sound too forward but…do you want to maybe get together for some tea? Assuming you’re not dating anyone and if you are we can always go as friends.”

“Oh, um…” Hermione’s eyes darted away, “I am seeing some one…”

“Then friends it is,” David insisted, “Whoever he is, he’s a lucky bloke.”

Hermione quirked an eyebrow, “Why would you say that? You don’t know me.”

“True but any girl who wants to read Death in Venice for fun is the picture of perfection in my book,” he smiled, closing his books as he looked at his watch, “Oh, I’m going to be late. The professor I am conducting research for needs me to go over some statistics. How about we meet tomorrow at noon in front of La Café Petite?”

“Yeah,” Hermione was quick to say, a little too quick as she covered her mouth.

He smiled none the less and raised from his seat books piled in his arms, “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Bye,” Hermione replied, watching him disappear behind the aisles. She sighed and threw her head against the desk, banging it lightly.