Hello, m'dears! This is my very first Harry Potter story here on FF so I hope people will enjoy it. This was born from my dislike of the Ron/Hermione pairing really; I mean, let's face it, she needs a man not a boy! I would appreciate any reviews or feedback which may come my way but please no flames. Hope you enjoy! :)

Summary: Remus and Hermione both get what they want most this Christmas. Fluffy and smutty ficlet. AU
Pairing: Remus/Hermione.
Rating: M - definitely M for smut & sexual content! So if you don't like that sort of thing, I suggest you turn back now.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the completely brilliant Jo Rowling, I only borrow them to play with ;) All lyrics used at the beginning of each chapter belong to their artists respectively.

Kiss Me On This Cold December Night | Part I

Stockings are hung with care as children sleep with one eye open
Well, now there's more than toys at stake 'cause I'm older now, but not done hoping
The twinkling of the lights, as Santa carols fill the household
Old Saint Nick has taken flight with a heart on board, so please be careful
Each year I ask for many different things
But now I know what my heart wants you to bring
So please just fall in love with me this Christmas
There's nothing else that I will need this Christmas
Won't be wrapped under a tree, I want something that lasts forever
So kiss me on this cold December night
'Cold December Night' | Michael Bublé

Number twelve, Grimmauld Place barely looked recognisable. Hermione thought that newly-weds, Harry and Ginny had really outdone themselves in making the old Black family home a comfortable and much more hospitable place to live. It looked even more splendid at the moment for it had been lavishly decorated for the Christmas party that Harry and Ginny were throwing to celebrate their first Christmas together as a couple. However, the season of joy and goodwill was not cause for happy celebration for everyone.

Hermione Granger was sat in a chair in the corner of the drawing room where the party was being held, staring unseeingly into a glass of wine, trying with all her might to keep her gaze off a certain Remus Lupin. She really couldn't complain about her life these days. She had a circle of close and faithful friends whom she loved dearly, and a great, well-paid job at the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, where she worked tirelessly to improve the livelihoods of house elves. Remus was now working in the same department as her and the pair of them had become extremely close friends, especially in the aftermath of the War and so many lives of loved ones had been lost.

Remus had tragically lost his beloved Nymphadora in battle, leaving him a widowed father of little Teddy. And while he adored his young son with all his heart, the struggle of single-handedly raising a baby while dealing with his lycanthropy was more than he could bear at times. And that was when Hermione had stepped up to help him. During Remus' monthly transformations, she would take care of Teddy, and she had been a great support for him and Remus following Tonks' death. As a result, a great friendship had blossomed between the pair of them, finding solace and a confidant in one another. They would talk, laugh, share meals and read together, each enjoying the other's company immeasurably.

But as time went on, Hermione had discovered that what she felt towards Remus went beyond friendship. She had fallen deeply in love with him...and she was utterly afraid of telling him so. She had held her tongue all this time because she didn't want to ruin their friendship. But it was driving her mad, having to control her true feelings.

What made matters worse, for the past week or so, Remus had seemed to be avoiding her and Hermione felt a bit hurt as she didn't understand what she had done to provoke such actions. Did he know how she really felt about him and now couldn't bear to even be in the same presence as her? The very thought was both saddening and embarrassing.

She'd had the teensiest hint of a crush on him back in her third year at Hogwarts but she hadn't dared tell anyone that – not even Harry and Ron. Especially not Ron. After the way he had reacted to her having a crush on Lockhart the previous year, he would never had let her live it down if he found out she had a thing for Lupin as well. He would've made out she had some sort of strange fetish for Defence professors.

She had tried distracting her attentions by dating other men, though none of those relationships (if she could call them that) ever lasted. Those guys only ever seemed to be after one thing, and even if they weren't, Hermione couldn't help but keep comparing them to Remus. To her, there was no one else like him.

Once again, her gaze was drawn to Remus like a moth to a flame and she watched him for a moment as he was chatting with Hagrid on the other side of the room. Hermione let out a laboured sigh.

Unbeknownst to her, however, Remus was having exactly the same battle in his own mind.

For about the thousandth time that evening, Remus found his eyes straying to a certain beautiful witch. It was very hard not to as she looked particularly lovely tonight, dressed in a simple but elegant mauve dress for the occasion, her bushy hair swept back into a messy bun. It was all he could do to stop himself marching over to her and snogging her senseless. A couple of times, he caught her looking at him but he was hardly surprised; he had been deliberately avoiding her the last week and no doubt she would've been wondering why.

He honestly couldn't have gotten through those first few months after losing Dora without Hermione's help and support. She was there to help pick up the pieces when he was feeling at his lowest, to lend a sympathetic ear when he needed it and he had come to eagerly look forward to their time spent together. He tried to tell himself that what he felt for Hermione was strictly platonic. She was his best friend's son's best friend for Merlin's sake! And no doubt, there would be those who would heartily disapprove of them being a couple. But Remus couldn't help the way he felt. Yes, he had loved Tonks and always would do. But he knew that Dora wouldn't have wanted him to be miserable and lonely for the rest of his life; she would've wanted him to be happy. But what if Hermione didn't feel the same way?

Foolishly, he had thought that perhaps in distancing himself from Hermione would purge her from his system. But no; the more he avoided her, the more she seemed to consume his every thought.

"Remus," spoke up Mrs Weasley, jarring the werewolf out his musings. "Would you mind rushing down to the cellar for some more Butterbeer? They're drinking us dry here..."

"No, of course not, Molly..."

He was extremely grateful for the distraction and the opportunity to escape from the noise and raucousness of the party, so he left for the cellar without any protest.

Hermione watched Remus exit the drawing room, her mind buzzing. It was now or never...She could now get him on his own. She had to tell him how she felt! She chugged down the rest of her remaining wine for Dutch courage and also headed for the door. She managed to slip away without anyone questioning her; most were too drunk to notice anyway.

Remus' keen hearing told him of her arrival before she had even entered the cellar. He looked up as she hovered in the doorway and his heart couldn't help but skip a few beats at the sight of her.

"Hello," she said, plastering on what she hoped was an easy smile, which he returned.

"Hello," he answered, not entirely sure what to say. God, he felt like a teenager again!

"I haven't seen you around recently," Hermione said, trying to sound casual but was nervously wringing her hands.

"No...well, you know how it is – with the run up to Christmas...everything's so hectic – " Remus invented quickly.

Hermione took a deep breath, screwing up all the courage she could muster, helped along a bit by the wine she'd been drinking that evening.

'Oh, for Merlin's sake, Granger, just do it!' her mind screamed at her.

"I wanted to tell you something..." she said, stepping closer to him slowly as she spoke. "...because at Christmas, people are meant to tell the truth..."

Then it all happened so fast, Remus couldn't quite decipher how it happened. One moment she was about a couple of feet away from him...the next thing he knew, she was pushed flush against him.

Her lips felt soft, warm and inviting as she reached up to pull his head down to hers. She opened her mouth, inviting his tongue to dance with hers and delved her fingers of one hand into his greying hair, whilst the other clutched at the lapels of his jacket. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, battling with his. Her hands rubbed his body sensually. It drove him insane; Remus' mind screamed at him he needed to end this. His wolfish alter-ego, Moony, however, was having other ideas entirely. But Remus knew not stopping now would cause him to lose his last shred of self-control. He couldn't quite remember the last time he had felt the passionate, loving want for a woman that was now coursing through his veins.

After a few more seconds of delightful torture, Remus forced himself to break the kiss. As gently as he could, he backed Hermione up a step so that she was at arm's length.

"Hermione..." he managed at last, his voice cracking slightly, "I'm enormously flattered...but – "

But he instantly regretted saying those words when he saw it...the hurt that had flashed in her eyes, something that he had hoped never to see.

Hermione let out a choked, shuddering gasp like someone had just thrown freezing cold water over her, trying to cover the horror of her actions. Abruptly, she backed further away from him, tears welling in her eyes and her hands covering her mouth in anguish. Those same hands which had brought him such pleasure only moments before.

He wanted so badly to wrap his arms around her, to hold her close to him to quell her fears of rejection; rejection that wasn't actually there. He wanted to tell her that it was her that brought such light and meaning back into his life. That it was her of whom he dreamed about each night. And yet he also wanted to try and make her see sense; he was a werewolf – a monster, he wasn't fit to be with her. She deserved so much better...

But his conflicting thoughts were driven clean out of his mind completely when he heard the words come tumbling from her mouth that he had so longed to hear.

"I've fallen in love with you, Remus," she cried in a rush, the words almost falling over one another. "I've tried not to...and there are probably lots of reasons why I shouldn't and I understand them – but I do love you, Remus! I'm really, really sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you – that's the last thing I wanted to do, I will never speak of it again!"

Before Remus could even contemplate an answer, Hermione turned on her heel and had hurtled out of the room. He stood there rooted to the spot, his eyes fixed on the place where she had just stood, completely stunned, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Hermione flew up the stairs to the upper storeys of Grimmauld Place, trying and failing appallingly to stop the onslaught of tears threatening to break loose. Luckily she didn't meet anyone on her way up, so there was no one to stop her and ask awkward questions. Finally, she reached the room that she and Ginny had shared in the past, barrelled inside and collapsed onto one of the lumpy beds after slamming the door shut behind her, magically locking it with a loud click. The tears flowed more freely now and it was quite some time before Hermione managed to calm herself down. She felt humiliated and heart-broken. That had been her one chance to finally confess her true feelings to Remus and it had failed miserably.

Hermione sighed heavily and rolled over onto her back to stare unseeingly at the ceiling. She had well and truly blown it. She had ruined her and Remus' friendship now; things would never be the same between them again and she hated herself for it because she treasured their friendship more than anything else.

To make matters worse, she knew it was unfair to Remus, to think of him in such a manner when he didn't feel the same for her, though the way his body had reacted earlier had made it appear otherwise.

"Hermione? Hermione, please open the door, we have to talk..."

Remus felt his self-control slipping away as the minutes passed and Hermione still did not open the bedroom door. But now wasn't the moment for him to get all worked up; now was the time to get to Hermione. To hold her and to kiss her and maybe...other things.

After several more seconds of countless different fantasies rampaging through his mind, Remus reached out a hand to turn the door handle. It refused to budge and Remus was a little on the shocked side to know that Hermione had actually locked it. Had his reaction truly been that awful?

She had declared her love to him, kissed him passionately, run her hands over his form, and all he had said was that he was 'very flattered'? Definitely the wrong thing to say. It was the sort of thing one would say in order to be diplomatic; to try and not hurt the other's feelings when you didn't reciprocate their affections. When Remus had said those words to Hermione, it was because he was so unsure of himself.

Remus shook his head before finally deciding to go through with what his mind was telling him needed to be done. He turned slightly, his enhanced werewolf hearing straining to listen if Hermione was standing anywhere near the entrance of her room. Then he pulled his wand from the inside of his robes and aimed it at the door.

"Bombarda!"

Remus felt as if a great weight had lifted off of him as the lock broke under the force of his minor Blasting Charm. The door swung back on its hinges and banged against the wall. Remus looked around towards Hermione's bed, his chest heaving from the built-up adrenaline and feelings of passion and hope coursing through him.

Hermione had let out a startled muffled shriek and sat up straight on the bed. Her eyes flew towards the door, fear pounding in her heart for a moment. She had thought for one crazy second that someone had broken into Grimmauld Place and was there to harm her, but she knew Remus had just been standing outside and wouldn't allow someone to hurt her. Her mind began to completely shut down as she spotted her friend standing in her doorway. The look in his eyes almost caused her to faint and rethink what she had thought happened.

The euphoria was short-lived, however, as Remus made his way towards her, his eyes dark with an emotion she had seen many a time in the eyes of guys she had dated in the past when they thought they were about to get lucky.

Hermione moved her slender form off the bed and took a step away from it. She watched as he froze for a moment as if she was his prey and he feared her jumpy behaviour. Remus then continued to approach her, not stopping again until he was standing right in front of her. He stood a good head taller than she, and as she looked up into his eyes, Hermione instinctively took a step backwards, only for Remus to grab hold of her arm, strong enough to stop her but not cause her any discomfort. His lips formed words but none fully registered in her mind.

She felt him tug her against him; she could hear his heart pounding by her ear. It was then that she felt herself being pushed back onto the lumpy bed, and then next thing she knew, Remus' face was inches from her own. She met his gaze, unsure on how to react. His eyes found whatever it was they were searching for and his lips crashed down onto hers, pushing her back onto the bedspread; his hands were everywhere, and after a moment's hesitation of shock, Hermione began to slide hers across his broad shoulders. His lips left a trail of wet kisses up her cheekbone, his face nuzzling into her bushy hair.

"As I was saying, Hermione...I am greatly flattered...However, I feel we should move this to someplace much more comfortable... "

His voice was strained and husky; the feeling of his warm breath on her neck caused her body to arch into him, her mind flying through the words, barely able to make sense of them. Remus' hands, which had been snaking their way down her waist, came to rest on her hips, pulling her ever tighter against him. He groaned when he felt her small but well-formed breasts press against his chest, longing to feel more of her. His mouth moved back to her lips, capturing them in a smooth kiss, trying to show all his feelings in one motion.

Hermione, who was having real trouble trying to keep her wits about her, came back to her senses enough to realise something. This was not the place where she wished to give herself to Remus for the first time; not in this damp, dusty and musty bedroom. She prised her lips away from his.

"Remus – wait – " she said. Remus stared at her, thinking for a moment she wanted to stop and had a change of heart. But his fears were put to rest as she continued, "I think my place would be a much better setting... "