Hermione was almost skipping at the prospect of seeing her newest friend. She had brought him more chocolate, a small reminder that tomorrow night was the full moon. Kurt may not understand it, or even if he was just slashed up with a dragon, it felt like she was repeating her actions. The little witch used to secretly leave stashes for the werewolf around Grimmauld Place when Sirius… he left them too…

The bell jingled as she entered and she set the bag of goodies on the counter. "Kurt?" she called out.

Glancing around, she noted the silence as her hands fumbled for her wand. It was almost instinct when things were too quiet. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand it prepared adrenaline rush.

"Hello, Miss," A gentle voice said, but Hermione's wand flicked out of her pocket toward the sound. "I am sorry I did not mean to startle you," Mr. Blott murmured and held up his hands with a smile.

The witch lowered her wand and huffed. "My apologies, Mr. Blott. I was looking for Kurt."

His face contorted slightly, and he exhaled. "Kurt no longer works for me. His position was temporary until he found a more permanent posting. He informed me he had to leave last night."

Hermione thinned her lips and nodded. "Alright, thank you for letting me know. I am glad he got his affairs in order." The witch sighed and gave a small wave. "Have a good day, Mr. Blott."

"I will see you soon. I am positive." He replied, and she made for the door, sweeping the bag off the counter.

When she was outside, she was grumbling to herself. "It isn't even September yet." She growled and chided herself inwardly for being bitter.

"Hey, bookworm!" a female voice called out, and Hermione glanced through the crowd to see Ginny.

Ginny finished closing the distance, and they embraced. "Merlin, it is nice to see you, Gin," Hermione muttered, and Ginny scowled.

"I thought you were going to visit the copy of Moony today? Harry told me that you were drooling all over him." The redhead teased and Hermione huffed, pulling away.

"Well, I attempted to do so. He wasn't there. Kurt left for Hogwarts last night," Hermione informed her.

"Curious, indeed…" Ginny trailed off and grinned at her. "You do have a bit of residual crushing on him due to our once bookish werewolf."

"I do not, Ginevra," She snapped in retort and Ginny pointed to the bag.

"And that is just shopping for you?"

Hermione took out a small chocolate bite and unwrapped it, popping it in her mouth with a nod. "Not all of us shag, some of us just eat chocolate," She said after swallowing.

Ginny belted out laughter and shook her head. "Care to take the rest of the day off? I need help with some draughts for training. Nothing worse than being bruised up and Harry getting twitchy." She finished with a waggle of her eyebrows.

Hermione's cheeks bloomed with vivid color. "Gin, it still disturbs me how much you are willing to tell me."

"Is that your form of a yes?"

The curly-haired witch waved her to follow. "Let me go talk to my boss and make positive that he is fine with it. He was accusing me of overworking, so I might be able to."

It was a quick visit, and Hermione's superior gave her a resounding yes to her taking the rest of the day off due to family. She sometimes got the feeling that he was annoyed with her but tolerated her for her mind. It did not bother her; she was used to most either finding her annoying or entirely mental… except for a handful that dwindled over the years.

She met the redhead outside the Ministry, and they made their way to the Potions supplier. "So, are you going to tell me?" Ginny asked, and Hermione deflated.

"I don't know, Ginny. We didn't talk enough, but sometimes I had this brief moment of seeing who Remus was before the wars. Before the pain. Before the loneliness. Kurt isn't him. I know that, but my mind still convinces me I have seen his smile and heard his laugh before."

The redhead exhaled and patted Hermione's shoulder. "That is rough. Ron was saying he was the spitting image of Remus. Are you sure you guys aren't projecting?"

Hermione nodded as they reached the shop. "It is most likely. I wouldn't be surprised actually."

They entered the Apothecary, and Ginny made a face as they traversed through the aisles. Hermione was snagging up ingredients and handing them to her, which she placed in their basket. The witches would have continued their shopping if they did not run into an old professor.

"Professor Slughorn? What are you doing with Powered Moonstone?" Hermione asked suspiciously, and the older man dithered.

"Oh! Miss Granger, it is charming to see you. Continuing with your skilled potion making?" He asked, apparently ignoring her question.

"Just some pain draughts and bruising paste for Ginny after practices," Hermione replied, and the man grinned brightly as he fixed his glasses.

"Very good, well, I am just preparing for the year ahead. All those young minds to influence the finer ways of potion and poison brewing." Slughorn pulled out some typical ingredients from his basket, but her eyes caught the Monkshood.

"Professor, are you brewing something advanced?" Hermione questioned, and he noted her eyes traced the dark jar.

"Aren't you a brilliant girl? I always tell my students that you may not have been the acutest at potions, but by far the most intelligent muggle born I ever taught."

Hermione gave him a polite smile and tilted her hand. "I always wanted to learn how to brew the specific potion that needs Monkshood, Professor Slughorn. If you are willing to teach me, I will not object to spending some of my holiday time on going to Hogwarts. An expert Potion Master can only teach it," She gave him a wide-eyed hopeful stare.

"Now- what- why would you need to learn that?" Slughorn stuttered as he pulled his basket closer.

Hermione sighed heavily and cast her view to the side in theatrics. "Well, I am working my way into the sentient beings quadrant at the Magical Creatures Division in the Ministry. If I can learn how to brew that properly, maybe I could help the dispersion of the ingredients to Hogwarts easier so that eventually it can be taught at an N.E.W.T.S. level. I always thought that if someone of your caliber taught it, it could be easier to understand…"

Professor Slughorn grinned and clapped his hands together. "Oh, aren't you full of surprises, Miss Granger! I will see if Minerva will let me teach you. Now, I must go, unfortunately. I have a meeting to retain and cannot be tardy. Good day, Miss Granger, Miss Weasley." He finished with a flourish and smile before turning to pay for his items.

Ginny waited for the older professor to leave the shop before grabbing Hermione roughly. "Have you gone off the bend entirely?" She hissed, and Hermione smirked.

"Ginny, who would he be making Wolfsbane Potion for at Hogwarts?" Hermione questioned and the redhead blanched.

"You are telling me he is a werewolf?" Ginny hissed, and Hermione snorted.

"There is going to be a new DADA professor this year," The curly-haired witch retorted with a wicked grin.

Ginny gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. "You are telling me he is a werewolf too?" she murmured through her hands.

"He is, and now there is too much coincidence to ignore now."

Ginny pulled her hands away and shook her head. "What happened? How?"

"That is what I am going to find out…" she trailed off and lifted the dittany. "We will need this too. Let's finish up. I am going to talk to Harry when he gets home."

"Alright, let's just tread carefully, Hermione. There is a reason that McGonagall didn't tell us about him."

~O~O~O~O~O~O~

The young wizard was running the paved path near the lake as the sun was setting. The air he was breathing, the smell of the lake. The sounds of the nightlife waking. It all felt familiar in a way. Kurt was sure that he had forgotten his life for a good reason, but after meeting Hermione, he wasn't so confident. He knew she was too young, too sweet and kind, also… much? He heard snickering in the back of his mind. Someone was telling him that he was self-deprecating again. Who was that voice?

Stopping at the edge of the water, he was gasping for breath. What was his life before? If he was indeed shot forward in time, then who was responsible? Things that caressed his doubts and stoked the fire of anger and pain. Gods, he wanted to smell her again. Books. Her. The beast within him growled and snapped at him.

"I had to go. You know that," he spat at the primal emotion.

Where did he come from? "Kurtis?" a gentle voice caressed the air.

He erected himself from his bent pose and turned to see the woman he knew as Luna. "Hello, how are you this evening?"

She gave him a faraway smile and tilted her head. "Would you like to take a walk before you need to go in and take your Wolfsbane?" her question made him ease a bit.

"Yes, that sounds pleasant enough. How has your research been coming along?" He inquired as he decreased their distance.

"Very well, I will be leaving before school starts, of course," she told him and patted his damp shoulder. "I know the changes are hard. Professor Lupin was very tormented by them as well."

He sent her an exasperated expression. "Luna, what if we were the same person?"

She laughed and exhaled as they walked on the path. "Well, that was quite evident, wasn't it? I always knew that, Kurt."

"How? I don't remember anything but ending up on a field. I remember school. I remember ghosts of people in my life, but nothing tangible."

Luna shifted her head and pointed up at the stars. "Look, Sirius is saying hello. I told Harry he is never far away."

Kurt glanced up and saw the star she was pointing at. "He hated that he was a bloody star," he said without thinking and gasped. "He did?"

"Sirius was an interesting man," Luna commented, still looking to the stars.

"I wish I could remember... It feels as if I am a half-empty goblet," the werewolf grumbled and scrubbed his face.

Luna smirked over at him and patted his arm. "It all takes time, even our minds. You will find your way, even if it is never full encompassing again. The ones we love, never truly leave us."

The werewolf huffed and ran a hand through his hair. "I hope that I can at least grow an understanding of who I was."

They stepped inside the castle, and she gazed at him. "You will never be the Remus we remember, Kurt. He was broken in so many ways. You might be like him, but you aren't him. Better, in my opinion. You will get to learn from our past and become a better future. It is clear you cannot go back to where you came from." She finished and patted his arm again. "Just try not to get lost. Wrackspurts have a bad habit of making us fairly confused as it is. See you tomorrow, Kurtis." She bid him farewell, and he waved.

"Good night, Luna. Thank you," he murmured, and she smiled back at him.

"She was right. You are quite charming when you are unawares." Luna muttered and left with a bounce in her step.