cookie jar ficlet (re-posting)

It took me the better part of two months, and several false starts, but I have FINALLY finished my ficlet for the cookie jar.  (Wonderful thing, the cookie jar.  Everyone should visit and participate.)  setissma requested:

"a Remus/Hermione ficlet along the lines of Mousapelli's Gasp. Hermione should, of course, be over the age of consent, and I'd love it if it was last-year-at-Hogwarts or just-out-of, though it's a fine line, and all. The key bit here is, though - and this is why it's perfectly okay if you wait until she's older - Remus should initiate the relationship. Uneven power dynamic is fine, but it should be completely consentual, and he shouldn't be taking advantage of her. Bonus points for UST, school uniforms, and making it plausible."

Title: Quick Study
Rating:  R although it's mostly suggestion and imagery.  Even the actual sex isn't very graphic.
Pairing: Remus/Hermione
Warnings: Student/Teacher dynamic and role-playing (although Hermione is post-Hogwarts), and clothing fetish.  I wasn't sure if you wanted actual smut, setissma, but I can't take UST for very long, so I wrote a smutty ending.  Hope that's okay!</span>
Notes: Remus missed teaching.  But he didn't know what he'd been missing.

Remus missed teaching. Not in the sense that he wished he could go back and be doing it again, but rather that he missed things about teaching. He missed the sense of pride when one of his students mastered something. He missed the noble sense that he was doing some good in someone's life.

He didn't bother to think about it much, and when he did, it invoked a vague, but pleasant, nostalgia. There was no regret. There wasn't anything about it, in whole or part, that he wanted back.

Until Hermione called in a favour.

She was about to start her practical Auror training, but first she had to demonstrate mastery of the theoretical aspects of magic: common curses and enchantments, ingredients in poisons and their antidotes, and the like. Aurors had to be powerful and cast a good hex, but they had to be smart too.

"Please," she had said. "I'm going to have to give a full presentation and then pass an oral examination. They want to see me think on my feet, not work it out on paper. They'll be absolutely brutal, and I can't afford to get anything wrong, and you're the only one who can test me. Harry and Ron would just laugh and say I know it already, but I can't just assume that. I have to know! Please!"

In the end, he had agreed. This was because he was a kind and generous person, and she was his friend. Not, he decided, because he'd had any sort of reaction to her saying "oral examination."

So, the night before her exam, she came by his flat and shoved a stack of notes into his hands. "It's everything I'm supposed to know. Pick anything from it and ask me. But I'll start with my prepared portion."

He settled himself on his sofa and looked expectantly up at Hermione. She bit her lip, and after a moment said, "Don't be too nice about this. Glare at me or something. Make me nervous. I need to be used to it."

Remus laughed. "I'll see what I can do," he said, and tried to remember what it felt like to turn a disapproving look at a student. Apparently he remembered because she gulped audibly and then began, hesitantly, on her presentation.

He listened for a while, but couldn't fake an interest in what she was talking about for long. History and theory had never particularly interested him. He preferred to learn by doing. So after a while he stopped listening and started watching intently. He wasn't meant to give her feedback on her material, after all. He was meant to give her a chance to see how uncomfortable this situation could be. Well then, he'd have to see what he could do.

So far he'd merely been staring at her. She seemed to be coping with this fairly well. It did seem as though her mouth was drying out as she talked. He became much more interested in watching closely as she stopped talking to re-wet her lips or take a drink from the glass of water she had brought with her.

He supposed he really couldn't claim he hadn't noticed that Hermione had become a rather striking young woman. He hadn't thought of her as a student in years, certainly not since she had started calling him Remus. And he had seen her for her own merits, not just as a friend of Harry Potter's. She certainly deserved her own admirers. Remus had admired her cleverness and determination when she was a student. He still admired those things, but now he was free to admire other things about her as well.

This whole ordeal was clearly making her uncomfortable, but she was just as clearly going to soldier on regardless. She had a remarkable intensity while fighting her nerves, and Remus found it terribly enticing.

He leaned back on the sofa and crossed his arms. And he noticed that she stammered just a bit as he shifted. Ah, that was interesting. She blinked a few times and then dropped her eyes from his. Such a demure gesture. Was she just a little shy, then? Was she trying to fight that as well?

He wondered then if she was always this intense and shy in new and unfamiliar situations. For example, would she drop her eyes, just like that, if he were to touch her jaw, tilt her chin up ever so slightly? Would she defer to him as he kissed her, try to pretend she wasn't surprised and nervous as he ran his hands down her arms, along her sides, over her breasts? She would never swallow her pride and admit that she didn't know what she was doing, he was sure.

He raised a hand to his face and stroked a finger across his upper lip. Her eyes followed the movement and she quickly looked away. Remus smiled behind his hand. He did have her attention then. She kept raising her eyes as she talked, presumably being aware of the importance of eye contact during a presentation, and he kept his gaze locked on hers. She only held it for a few seconds before looking away, but she came back without fail, and every time she held it for a bit longer.

So she was gaining confidence. What other little gems would he learn about her during this session? So she would be nervous at first, but try to downplay it. She would let him set the pace, touch her as he pleased and show her how this seduction business was meant to go, provided he went slow enough that she could pretend she knew what was going to happen next. That was the key with Hermione, he was certain. As long as he didn't point out her inexperience and lack of knowledge, it could hang between them and guide every action.

She would let him show her how to kiss a man properly, to open her mouth and use her tongue. He would guide her hands up to his neck, and she would catch on and pull herself closer. He would teach her to tip her head back as he kissed down her jaw and neck, to give him room and let him explore. And he would be the one to show her what it felt like to let someone do that to her.

He could teach her so many things. But first, he needed to study his subject a bit more.

The next time she met his gaze, he held it for a moment before allowing it to flick meaningfully down and then back up. He nearly broke his facade and smiled when she gasped very slightly. Was she unused to having people appreciate her appearance? He'd have to teach her to become comfortable with being looked at. No time like the present.

He leaned on one of the armrests of the sofa, propped on leg up on the other, and rested his head on his fist with one finger extended along the side of his face. He also stopped looking at her eyes. She took a few deep breaths, blinked very rapidly and started talking again. She was seeking his eyes more frequently now, and when she broke contact, she wasn't looking at the floor or the pictures on his walls. She kept looking at him.

Excellent, Hermione, he thought. You catch on remarkably quickly. She had stopped pacing and fidgeting, which seemed to mean that she was becoming more comfortable. She knows this isn't about her presentation anymore, he realized, and she's getting comfortable with that! He suppressed another smile. And then thought better of suppressing it, and let it slowly pull at one corner of his mouth. He raised an eyebrow as well.

And Hermione looked back without flinching. Instead, she tossed her hair out of her face, and then ran a hand over it a few times to smooth it. Her hand, tangled in some strands, pressed against the base of her neck and stayed there. She kept talking.

So that's where it would lead. So shy at first, but so quick to play once she knew the rules. She would take the initiative once he had guided her for a few steps. Would she kiss him of her own accord? Or would she try something new? She would be curious, of course, to find out what it felt like to slide her hands under his shirt, to see how he responded as she trailed fingers across his chest and pushed the fabric off his shoulders.

But she would look to him for cues, as well. If he tilted his head just a bit, she would certainly know to kiss along his neck and collar bone. If he placed her hands on his hips, she would slide her fingers under his waistband. If he kissed her at the moments when she touched just the right places, she would remember them forever.

And if he-

"Remus?" He nearly jumped she said his name so loudly. He blinked a few times and when he looked at her, realized that everything had somehow changed. She was biting her lip again, and her stance had lost its confidence.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Well, I'm finished," she said. At least she was still looking at him. "How did I do?"

Ah. That explained the change. She'd probably never grow comfortable with being evaluated. He smiled at her.

"Excellent. You were perfect," he said. And meant it. "In fact," he said, getting up and walking over to her. "I don't think I need to ask you any questions at all. You're clearly prepared," he stopped only inches from her, well within her personal space, "and I don't think you have anything to worry about." He nearly whispered the last bit.

Her breathing slowed and he could practically feel her calm down. He raised a hand and touched the side of her face, and felt a twinge of excitement when she dropped her eyes from him. He tilted her chin up, just slightly, and kissed her.

She reacted only seconds after he did, opening her mouth as soon as his tongue touched her lips, changing the angle of her head to fit better against him. Oh, he had been so right about her! He wanted to find out the rest; right now. But...

He pulled away and handed her the stack of notes. "Good luck tomorrow," he said, grinning at her.

She stood there for a second, her mouth still open, but collected herself quickly enough to protest. "But-" she started, but he held up a hand.

"I shouldn't...monopolize your evening any further," he said deliberately. "You should get a good night's sleep. I'll see you as soon as it's over." He winked at her, and she smiled.

"Of course," she said. "Tomorrow." And she left, leaving Remus to begin planning the next lesson.

Maybe he missed teaching more than he had thought.

* * *

His prudent side told him that this was a bad idea, that he was presuming too much and would embarrass them both. But once upon a time Remus had been young and reckless, and he still mostly remembered how it was done. So he told his prudent side to go hang itself.

He made reservations at a bed and breakfast in the country, and then Apparated to the flat Hermione shared with Ginny. She let him in and smirked knowingly when he said he needed to pack a weekend bag for Hermione.

"I'll take care of it," she said, still smirking. "Give me half a minute and I'll make sure she has everything she needs." And she disappeared into one of the bedrooms. True to her word, she was only gone a few minutes.

"All the necessities," she said, pressing the bag into his hands. "And a few extra things I thought you two might like. Have a good weekend, Professor." He suddenly had a desire to deduct house points for impishness, but thanked her and left.

He took his time heading over to the Ministry. He wasn't sure where, exactly, Hermione's exam would be held, so he opted to wait on a bench outside for her to come out. When she did, she spotted him immediately and hurried over.

"I passed! They said I was more prepared than any candidate they'd seen in ten years! I start practical training next week!"

He really wanted to pick her up, spin her around and kiss her until they couldn't breathe, but decided against it. "That's wonderful Hermione. I did say as much, last night." He didn't think he imagined the very slight flush when he said "last night."

"You need to celebrate. Come here, then, I have a surprise for you." She gave him a puzzled look, but let him wrap his arm around her. "Close your eyes, we're going to Apparate," he said in her ear, and knew he didn't imagine that shiver.

She closed her eyes, and he took them directly to the room he had booked for the weekend. He had come in earlier to deposit their bags, open the windows and check that the view was satisfactory. It certainly was. Hermione gasped when she opened her eyes.

"I thought you might like a weekend holiday, after all that studying," he said.

She smiled at him. "And will I have any company?" she asked.

"If you like," he said, putting his other arm around her.

"Yes, I think I would like that," she said, and turned in his arms to kiss him.

"I brought a bag for you," he said, after he had been persuaded to end the kiss. "If you need anything more, I'll be happy to fetch it."

She pulled out of his arms and picked up the bag. After digging through it for a few moments she looked up, one eyebrow raised, and said, "Ginny packed this, didn't she?"

"She did, why?"

Remus hadn't been prepared for what the sly, knowing smile that crossed Hermione's face would do to him. Not so shy today, he thought.

"She sent along some...surprises. Wait here. I'll be right back." She slipped off into the private bathroom.

Hoping he knew where this would end up, and feeling pretty sure he did, he kicked his shoes and socks off and moved his own bag off the bed and tossed it onto the writing desk that was sitting under the window. Whatever Hermione was doing didn't take long, and as the door opened Remus's jaw dropped.

Ginny's "surprise" had been to include Hermione's Hogwarts uniform. Although he was fairly sure that the skirt hadn't been that short when he had been a professor, he would have noticed, surely, or that the blouse had been quite that tight. The buttons where barely closing in places, and she certainly hadn't made an effort to straighten her Gryffindor tie.

She stepped out of the bathroom and hopped up onto the writing desk, still looking at Remus. "I had a chat with Ginny last night, after my meeting with you," she said. "I may have mentioned an interest in something along these lines,” she gestured to the uniform. “Oh, and she sent something along for you." She reached into the bag and pulled out a large wad of fabric and tossed it to him.

He caught it, and shook it out. "Where did she get this?" he asked, incredulous.

"Transfigured it, I'm sure. You must admit, it does look remarkably like the one you wore at Hogwarts," she said.

Remus regarded her with a newfound respect. A quick study indeed. Not only had she learned the rules, but she seemed to be inventing her own.

"Put it on," Hermione said. He couldn't imagine why she would want to see him wearing a shabby, patched robe, but he did as she asked. And decided, when she smiled that sly, knowing grin again, that he was happy to do anything she asked if this was the reward.

"I'm very glad I asked you to help me last night, even if you didn't hear a word I was saying," she said, indicating with her head that he should come closer. He did.

"What makes you think I wasn't listening?" he said, resting one hand on one of her knees, and playing with the top of her knee-sock with the other.

"Just a feeling I had," she said. "You seemed a bit...distracted." He had most of his hand down her sock now, and was massaging her calf muscle. He was surprised that she didn't seem more distracted at the moment. He'd have to try harder.

"What were you," she stopped and gasped as he stroked behind her knee, "thinking AH-about?" she asked.

He smiled. That was more the reaction he was hoping for. "I was wondering," he said leaning closer to her, "what you would do," he put both his hands on the sides of her legs, "if I did this," he finished, grabbed her around her waist and kissed her. She made some fabulous noises, and he began to move the hand up her thigh, rucking up the skirt, until he found...

...that she had already removed her knickers. Points to Miss Granger, for upping the stakes, he thought. "I don't think this is proper uniform, Hermione," he said.

"Thought you'd like it," she said and, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, pulled him as close as possible while still sitting on the desk.

For a few minutes he didn't think about anything except the feel and taste of her. All his plans to teach and guide vanished. Not that it seemed she needed to be taught much. If she had ever been as shy as he’d thought, she’d gotten over it very quickly. But when they pulled apart he decided that, since they looked the part, it would be a shame to waste his lesson plan.

He dipped his head to kiss just below her ear, and she tilted her head up and back as he moved downward until he met the collar of her school blouse. He loosened the tie, but only enough to ease the collar out from under it. Then he started undoing the buttons, following his fingers with his lips. Not surprisingly, the blouse was all she was wearing up top as well.

Once her shirt was open, she took some initiative of her own. Sitting on the desk, the top of her head came up barely past Remus's chin, which put her in the perfect position to start exploring his own neck and shoulders. She followed his example, undoing his shirt and pushing it out of her way, and made it a point to touch with her mouth any sensitive patches of skin that her fingers found in doing so.

He didn't appreciate having to take his hands out of her shirt, as it seems that they both enjoyed having them there, but it was for a worthy cause. She pushed the shirt and robe off onto the floor and started working on his belt and fly.

"Now that I have your attention," she said after sliding a hand into his pants, causing him to freeze. "The desk is fun and all, but I'd rather move this to that lovely bed about now."

"Certainly,” he said. “But can I request that this," he tugged at her uniform, "stays?"

For a second it looked like she was going to laugh at him. In the end, she just raised an eyebrow. "All right," she said, and hopped off the desk. She didn't remove her hand from his trousers and Remus felt compelled to follow as she pulled him towards the bed. When she reached it, she shoved his trousers off and said, "But only if you put that back on," and nodded at his discarded robe.

He raised an eyebrow back at her but collected the robe and pulled it on, leaving it open in the front. "Does this suit?" he asked.

"Very much," Hermione answered, grabbing the front of the robe and pulling him down onto the bed. She scooted back to lean against the headboard, and Remus sat for a while and just looked at her. There was a lot of pleasure to be had just in the picture she was presenting, and Remus didn't care for missing opportunities.

The situation was so delightfully taboo. The stocking he had been playing with earlier had fallen down nearly to her ankle. Her skirt, scandalously short as it already was, had twisted and ridden up on her hips. Her blouse was untucked and unbuttoned and the tie that he hadn't bothered to remove hung around her neck and fell between her naked breasts.

He leaned forward to kiss her again, and there was nothing shy or deferential in her now. She gripped his head, pulling at his hair and then his shoulders to bring him closer and sliding her hand under the robe to stroke his back. And while she did this, he forgot all about "lesson plans" and "teaching," and his mind filled with questions instead. What would she do if he touched...here...?

She gasped. And...here? A moan. If he nuzzled at her neck just under the tie and kissed down her stomach? Was there a way to make her wriggle against him just like that again? Ah, kiss and suck just there. What combinations of touches and licks would produce that same needy whimper?

And just how long could she stand it, with his hands under her skirt and his mouth on her breasts, stomach and neck in turn?

"Remus! Please!"

Ah. Exactly that long.

He discovered how it felt to have her hold and guide him into her. And what it was like to feel completely equal as they fit perfectly and began to move together. First him, then her, doing everything in perfect sync and balance until first she, then he, cried out and they collapsed into each other.

He kissed her neck, then her jaw, and finally her mouth. And this kiss was nothing like any of the ones before it, and he rather thought it was his favourite so far. It was slow and just a little bit sloppy, but so very familiar.

When he decided he was willing to move again, he pulled the robe off. Hermione did likewise with her uniform and they snuggled under the blankets. "So," Hermione said, laying her head against his chest, "Have school uniforms always had such an effect on you?"

"It depends entirely on who's wearing the uniform," Remus answered with a smile. "And you can hardly fault me. It really looked less like a uniform than some kind of fetish costume. I must accuse you of altering it on purpose."

"I'm afraid not, though that would have been a brilliant idea," she said. "It was Ginny's uniform. She's always been quite a bit smaller than me."

"Ah," Remus said, and thought about this for a bit. "Do you think she'd miss it terribly if she never got it back?"