Author's Note: My first graphic smut-fic. Unbeta'd, I bashed this out in less than three weeks flat despite having a bunch of 10 year old fics still half-finished! In curiosity I opened one document labelled "HGSS PWP", to discover it only contained the title 'HGSS - PWP' at the top, underlined, and nothing else. Probably just as well lol! Clearly I had a plot bunny at some point, but it hopped away...

After seeing John Sessions' impression of the dear departed Alan Rickman on QI, I forever read Snape's lines in the same way: without letting your lips touch your teeth. Surprisingly effective to help get into character when writing for our beloved potions master! Go look up the video if you fancy a chuckle.

I also hate 'sex words' for anatomy! I use them out of necessity, to keep the mood and to avoid having such scenes read like a biology textbook, but I'll say now: it makes me cringe. Hopefully it doesn't have the same effect on you guys!

This story is dedicated to "Joe" (Troooooooll in the dungeons!): my anonymous initial reviewer from my first published fic 'Meet the Grangers', who absolutely hated it, and will probably loathe this with a passion as well! Enjoy Joe ;)

On that note, please enjoy, and review if you would like. Always nice to know what people think - good or bad!

A Wolf in Wolf's Clothing

Chapter One

In the grand, though slightly shabby living room at number twelve Grimmauld Place, Hermione Granger and Remus Lupin were sat together on the equally shabby sofa in front of a roaring fire on an uncharacteristically cold August evening. Hermione had her nose in a heavy-looking book, but was multitasking, periodically lifting her head from the pages to chat with her companion.

"... I was talking to this little old witch in Hogsmeade once, and she asked me if I'd ever been to the shack there? It was all I could do not to laugh at her, poor old dear! Didn't dare tell her the truth of course - just said I'd visited once or twice in the past. Somehow I think mentioning that I was the one who put the 'Shriek' in the 'Shrieking Shack' would probably have killed the conversation a little(!)"

Hermione smiled warmly at him, the corners of her mouth curling in amusement. Remus looked away wistfully into the flames crackling in the hearth.

"I'm unbelievably lucky to have such a good group of friends who don't judge me for my... condition... My life is far from perfect, I can't deny it, but I'm aware it could have been so very much worse. I'll forever be grateful to everybody who treats me like a human being and not an animal."

Hermione looked up from the pages of her book once more and snapped it shut with a dull thud, laying it down on the arm of the sofa, her eyebrows knitted together in mild concern.

"Remus, of course you're not an animal - you know that as well as I do! And it's hardly your fault you know! It makes me so cross to think that there's people out there who still think werewolves are somehow less than deserving of living a normal life." She reached out and patted him on the arm gently, resting her hand on his forearm in a gesture of reassurance. Lupin turned to look at her, the wistful look turning into a weak smile.

"Thank you Hermione, you're uncommonly kind, you know that? You remind me a little of Harry's mother... A great many people would not be so compassionate towards me - particularly given that I accidentally tried to eat you and the boys a few years ago!" He chuckled lightly, embarrassed; hoping his humour wasn't too distasteful for her.

"Oh Remus, you really should have more confidence in yourself you know! You're an amazing wizard, and a lovely man to boot. Don't do yourself down all the time!" Suddenly self-conscious, she withdrew her hand back into her lap, and they sat in silence for a second.

"Do you really think I'm... lovely, Hermione?" Lupin was regarding her intently now, with a slightly earnest expression. He tentatively slid his hand over a little, and rested it lightly on her leg, their fingers a hair's breadth away from each other.

"Remus, I..." her voice faltered, not wanting to upset him. The former professor suddenly yanked his arm away from her as if stung - a look of disappointment, shame, and several other emotions flashing across his features in rapid succession.

"My apologies - I shouldn't have done that, I... I'm... well-used rejection, don't worry. Comes with the territory of Lycanthropy I'm afraid!" He gave her a small wry grin.

Hermione reacted with a start. "No, no..." she said hurriedly, "It's nothing like that! I think you're very sweet Remus but... it's just... there's someone else..." Her cheeks coloured slightly; suddenly bashful.

Lupin raised an eyebrow at her in mild surprise. "Oh...! Well, in that case... About time, in fact! I've been wondering when you and Harry were finally going to get together." He managed to force a smile that he hoped looked at least vaguely genuine.

"Oh, it's not Harry!" she said.

"Ahh, shame. The two of you would make a most handsome couple, I'm sure. Ronald, then? He seems very fond of you too?"

"No, no - it's not Ron either!" She was blushing heavily now, and shuffling her feet awkwardly.

"Neville?" Lupin was running out of viable candidates and seemed genuinely stumped. "Not that it matters of course! I can't blame you for turning me down, Hermione - I am something of a fossil. I was never a great catch even in my younger days, so I certainly shouldn't expect to get the pick of the witches now at my advanced age(!)" He smiled self-deprecatingly.

Hermione looked almost annoyed now. "It's not Neville either! It's a member of the Order." she added, "And anyway, age has nothing to do with it! In fact he's the about same age as you, give or take." She looked oddly reluctant to have volunteered this much information, even merely as reassurance for him.

Now Lupin appeared more thoughtful. As a Muggle-born, she wouldn't have had the opportunity to know a huge number of his contemporaries from Hogwarts. Hmm... James was gone; a girl was almost certainly not Sirius's type, he had the suspicion; Wormtail was both in the wind, and also not a particularly obvious candidate for schoolgirl crushes... Hermione saw the cogs turning in Remus' brain, and could tell the exact moment when he finally put two and two together.

"Severus?!" The furiously deepening blush of her already-pink cheeks was all the confirmation he needed. "My, my..." He now had both eyebrows raised in surprise at her. "You are full of surprises, Miss Granger." The werewolf chuckled at her, though not in an unfriendly way.

"That's what he said." Mumbling absent-mindedly, she instantly clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide as she realised she'd almost definitely shared a little too much with him this time. Lupin looked over the top of his glasses at her slightly suggestively - both eyebrows now nearly disappearing into his receding hairline - and shot her an amused smile.

"Well good luck with that!" he said. "Professor Snape is rather a complicated man, but I daresay that if anyone can bring out the best in him, it would be you, my dear."

Hermione looked slightly relieved at his reaction. "Thanks, Remus. Severus is certainly complicated... He's a good man really though - it just sounds to me like he's not had the easiest life so far. At first I think he worried that I saw him as another project for salvation, you know? Like he was a house-elf or something! I hope he's finally starting to come around to the idea that I just like him for who he is though - who he really is! I just find him so fascinating; he has such a brilliant mind! I know on the surface he gives the impression of a hard-hearted killjoy, but you can hardly blame him after everything he's gone through since his school days."

Seeing Lupin shifting slightly uncomfortably in his seat, Hermione realised that maybe the reason Snape had had such an unpleasant time during his youth was partly down to the actions of Remus and friends, although probably less so directly due to Remus himself. Still - better to change the subject to avoid making the poor man feel any worse than he already did.

"You won't tell Dumbledore, will you Remus? I know it's a bit awkward - what with me still being at Hogwarts for the next couple of years, but I just hate the thought that he might get into trouble. It wasn't him that made the first move at all! I sort of dropped a couple of hints to let him know how I felt one evening when I bumped into him about to leave after an Order meeting here a while back. I think he thought the twins had put me up to it at first!" She smiled to herself in mild amusement, remembering the guarded wizard's initial puzzlement, and reluctance to acknowledge what she was trying to convey to him.

Lupin shrugged at her. "You're near enough of age - it's your birthday in a few weeks isn't it? I can't see why it would be relevant; clearly you're both consenting adults. Not that I'm suggesting you've...-" Now it was Lupin's turn for his face to redden. "I mean, not that that would be...-" He took his glasses off and fiddled with them uncomfortably, wiping the lenses on the hem of his pullover.

Hermione put her hand on his arm gently. "It's fine Remus, honestly. I know what you mean." Brightening suddenly, and breaking the awkward silence that persisted for a heartbeat, she poked him in the ribs playfully with an index finger.

"By the way," she said, "if you're in the market for a girlfriend, you should talk to Tonks, you know - Ginny was telling me the other day she has quite the hots for you!"

"Tonks?" Lupin seemed genuinely surprised. "Really? I thought Nymphadora would find me far too staid and boring for her liking!"

Picking her book up and getting off the sofa, Hermione shot him a grin. "Ah well, you do have a bit of a dark side to you Remus - you may be a good man, but you're not exactly squeaky clean. Girls love a chap with a rakish scar or two, so I hear - maybe she has a thing for the bad boy image? Certainly works for Sirius, as he always likes to remind everybody! Can't hurt to ask her..."

With that, she exited the living room, closing the door behind her and leaving the werewolf to his thoughts.

"Tonks...?!" he muttered to himself, scratching at his beard absent-mindedly. "Who knew?" Thinking about the very unexpected direction the evening had taken, and the new secret he found himself entrusted with, Lupin was sure he would eventually get over the indignity of his failed advances. "Snivellus gets one over on the Marauders yet again(!)" he murmured ruefully under his breath.