For FireFly81.
"They're just boys," Hermione complained. "None of them can hold a grown up or civilised conversation. They are just morons."
Harry sat in silence. He was used to Hermione's little outbursts now. From what he gathered, her date the previous night went terribly.
Like they all did.
"Complete and utter morons and when they do accidently stumble upon an interesting topic and ask my opinion and I share it, it scares them because I'm smarter than the lot of them."
Harry hid a smile.
"Are all the smart older guys just hiding out there?" Hermione moaned. "They see me coming and run away, leaving these utter morons who are not much more than cavemen for me. Why can't I just find someone smart?"
Harry sat up quickly, an idea popping into his head. "Wait, I have an idea. How about I set you up with -"
"I'm not going on another date with your Godfather," Hermione quickly interrupted.
"I wasn't thinking of him," Harry told her. "I have someone else in mind."
"It's not Ron again is it?" Hermione asked warily, recalling the disastrous date with the redhead.
"No," Harry said with a grin. "Someone I think you'd get on great with actually. His name is Remus. He moved away from the area before I met you, he was working in a boarding school in Scotland for a while, but he's moved back quite recently. A date with a hot woman such as yourself is just what he needs."
Hermione snorted. "An opinionated, bossy know-it-all you mean," she muttered.
"A hot, opinionated, bossy, know-it-all," Harry corrected her. "Trust me, third time lucky, right?"
"You better be sure about this. The other two dates - not your best efforts, Harry. Plus, you owe me. I did introduce you to Lucius Malfoy."
Harry grinned. "That you did," he replied. "I owe you for that, and you'll be thanking me soon enough. I'll text you the details. Trust me, you two are perfect for each other."
Hermione looked completely unconvinced.
...oOo...
Remus didn't know why he let Sirius and Harry talk him into this date.
He considered all the women that his best friend had introduced him to in the past and shuddered at the thought of what his latest date would be like.
It was his own fault really. He struggled to say no to Sirius, but when Harry got involved too... Well, they were his family and he couldn't deal when they ganged up on him like this. Plus, Harry had never tried to set him up on a date before.
"You have to, Moony. She's a gorgeous little fox, I took her out for drinks. Bloody hell, when she slapped me, she didn't hold back in the slightest."
"She's smart, really smart," Harry insisted.
"But, isn't she too young -" Remus tried, very aware of the few grey hairs that littered his dark blonde hair.
"Well, her own words are that she's looking for a smart, older man," Harry said with a grin. "The fact that you're a Professor... she won't be able to resist you."
"There you go," Sirius said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Hot, smart little kitten who has a thing for Professors. Perfect for you!"
"I'm not sure," Remus muttered. Normally he would say no straight away - as he told Sirius with the last blind date with the scary blonde with too much make-up. He still wasn't sure if it had been a man or a woman he had politely taken to dinner.
But he was curious as to the sort of woman that Harry thought was right for him.
"Hermione is expecting to meet you for dinner tonight," Harry said. "She'd be disappointed if she went and found herself stood up."
"Can't you call and cancel?" Remus tried. He already knew it was no use. It was too short notice to cancel and Remus was too polite to stand her up. He knew right then that he'd be going on this date whether he wanted to or not.
"Two hours before her date?" Harry scoffed. "You know what girls are like. She's probably spent the last two hours getting ready for this. She's going to be waiting at the Bronze Wolf for you at eight," Harry said.
"She had better not be anything like those women that Sirius sets me up with," he warned, before turning to leave the room so he could get changed.
...oOo...
At ten to eight, Remus turned up at the restaurant and got himself seated. He took the seat facing the door so he could prepare himself should he see an under-dressed blonde head his way. He hoped that Harry had a better opinion than Sirius, though Harry was dating a blonde... so Remus couldn't be sure about what sort of woman Harry would pick for him.
Five minutes later, he saw a woman walk in and a waiter gesture to his table. He thought that there was some mistake - surely this woman wasn't his date? She was the opposite of all the women (and possible men in drag thanks to Sirius) that he had been set up with in the past. She was a petite, well dressed brunette.
He had always had a thing for brunettes (something Sirius liked to forget each time he set Remus up).
Remus quickly stood up from his seat as the girl stopped at his table.
"Hermione?" He asked.
She nodded and smiled. "And you must be Remus?" She replied.
"I am." He quickly moved around the table and pulling out the other chair for the woman. She smiled warmly at him and sat down as he returned to his own seat.
He took in the woman in front of him. Minimal make-up, wild curls and smartly dressed. Remus was suddenly looking forward to this date.
"Thank you," she said, surprised at his manners. Men didn't usually pull out chairs for her. She sat down and watched him walk around the table, curious as to how Harry knew this man. He told her this Remus was a lot older, but Hermione didn't mind.
Age was just a number after all.
"So, how do you know Harry?" She asked.
"I was a friend of his parents," Remus replied, slightly concerned that she'd be upset at knowing how old he was. He watched her for a sign that she was put off by this fact, but it didn't seem to faze her.
"Ah, a friend of Sirius' too?" She asked, grinning at him instead.
"Yes, I was the sensible one of the group," Remus replied with a smile, relieved that she didn't seem put off at all.
"Wait, you mean to tell me that there was a sensible Marauder?" Hermione asked looking amused. "Here I was led to believe that that wasn't possible."
"There was," Remus agreed. "I managed to talk down the worst of the pranks - the ones that probably would have gotten us expelled, and managed to convince them to study once in a while. So, how do you know Harry?"
"It turns out Harry really isn't the sit down and study type either," Hermione said, still smiling at him. " We met a couple of years ago in Uni, I helped him through his exams and we became good friends."
The two of them stopped to place their orders with the waiter. Remus opted for ordering a bottle of wine.
"So, what do you do now?" Remus asked.
"I work in Law," Hermione replied."I'm only in a junior role, but I'm at one of the best companies, and even a junior role there will give me the most amazing opportunities, what about you?"
"I'm a Professor," Remus told her. "I was working up in Scotland for a few years in Harry's old boarding school, but I got offered another teaching position down here. I did enjoy working in Scotland, but Harry and Sirius are my family and I missed them too much so I decided to move back down here and work."
"I can understand that. It must have been nice going back to your old school though," Hermione said. "So, what do you teach?"
"English Literature," Remus replied. "Though I did cover History at times."
"Really?" Hermione said, fascinated. "So, do you read much?"
Remus smiled at the interest in Hermione's voice.
...oOo...
"So you work for Malfoy and Malfoy Law firm?"
Hermione nodded, sipping on the last glass of wine. "I took a lower position job there as I could progress there better than any other law-firm," she said.
"And Harry told me about his boyfriend - Lucius is it? Can I make the assumption that you were the cause of their meeting?"
Hermione grinned at him. "It wasn't my intention. I thought that Harry would hit it off with Draco Malfoy, Lucius' son, so I brought Harry with me to the company Christmas party. It just turns out I'm not the only one who prefers someone a bit more mature."
"That's a very polite way of saying old," Remus teased.
"Mature and old are very different, Remus," she said. "You -"
"I'm sorry to bother you both, but the restaurant is closing now," a waiter informed them, interrupting the conversation.
Hermione pulled out her phone, checking the time. "It's after midnight," she said, feeling disappointed. She didn't want the date to end.
"I'm so sorry," Remus replied. "I didn't mean to keep you out so late." He stood up, pulling her chair back so she could do the same and put some money on the table to cover their bill and a generous tip.
He helped Hermione into her coat and offered his arm and led her from the restaurant with a thank you to the remaining staff.
"I don't mind that you kept me out so late, I've had a great time," Hermione told him as they stepped outside.
"Let me escort you home," he said. "We can share a cab. I'll drop you home first of course."
Hermione nodded and kept a hold of his arm as he led her down the street to the cab office, hoping that there would be a second date.
...oOo...
Remus asked the driver to wait and got out of the car, walking around quickly to open the door for Hermione. She stepped out and Remus walked her to her door.
"I had a wonderful night, Remus," She said, smiling at him.
"I did too," Remus admitted. "I'm so used to Sirius setting me up on dates, I was actually dreading this. You weren't what I expected at all, and I'll have to thank Harry for introducing us."
"I'll have to thank Harry too. I must admit that I was worried too. The last two dates he set me up on were his friend, Ron and Sirius." She gave a little shake of her head. "Remus, if it's not too forward of me to say, I would really like to do this again."
"So would I," he replied.
"Unless... do you want to come up for a cup of tea?"
"Ah, the cab -" He turned around to see that the car had gone without him even noticing.
"I already paid him," Hermione smiled seductively. "So, tea?"
Without waiting for an answer, she stood on her tip-toes and placed her lips against his for a second.
"Tea sounds lovely," he whispered, allowing her to take his hand and lead him inside.
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