Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Wizarding World.

Impassioned plea for forgiveness: I am so incredibly sorry for the wait. I really didn't intend for it to take this long. We may be (though it's now at an 85% chance) relocating cross-country (again, sigh) for a job opportunity, so that has kind of been a bit of a hurdle to prepare for, mentally. If updates from here on out continue to be sporadic, it's because we're trying to purge, clean, fix up the house, etc., before we put it on the market.

Thank you all so much for sticking with the story! I do hope it won't take another 3+ weeks for the next chapter, but please don't be surprised if it does. Sigh.

Chapter Three

Hermione waited exactly eighteen hours.

By 11 o'clock Saturday morning, Harry stepped out of her Floo and with a wave of his wand, vanished the fine layer of soot covering his clothing. He ran a hand through his messy black hair, then smiled her favorite crooked smile when he spotted her sitting at the small island in the attached kitchen.

"Tea?" Hermione offered, though she knew his answer would be a resounding 'yes' and poured the hot liquid into a second teacup.

"Thanks," he said, sitting down, plopping a cube of sugar and a dash of milk into his tea. He stirred it absentmindedly, craning his neck to watch her scratch out a few lines on the parchment in front of her. "Still on van Wyck?"

"Mm," Hermione responded, taking a sip of her own tea. "I just need this case to be solid. There can't be any surprises. Will you recheck his file for me? Birth name, birth date, birth place, any aliases, family, double check he doesn't have a license on file, maybe-"

"Hermione," Harry interrupted with a chuckle, "Not only do you have copies of his file in your file, but I've checked him out – three times! I even spoke with his closest, er, well acquaintance. The bloke doesn't really have any friends. But his acquaintance said that he was a quiet guy in school, never bothered anyone. He left after Durmstrang to travel a bit before moving to England, and that's when he started breeding the Crups, sans license. Open and close case."

Hermione frowned slightly, but nodded. She did know all this; she knew it like she knew the back of her hand. But she obsessively worried over the details, almost as if she'd forget them all in front of the Wizengamot and her bloke would slither right back into the shadows of society to continue to break the law.

She couldn't let that happen.

"And security for the hearing?"

"Pucey and Flint."

Hermione looked at Harry, leaning back in her chair. "Ah, leaving me with the underlings, as Head Auror Potter is too good for such inconsequential matters."

Harry snorted and rolled his eyes. "I asked to be there, but Robards said no."

"Oh?" She asked, lifting a brow.

Harry nodded, and with a sly smirk said, "Yes. He said I'm too good for such inconsequential matters."

Hermione laughed.

"But really, Pucey is a good guy. Flint… Eh, well, he's still a prat, but that's just the Slytherin in him."

"Pucey was a snake, too," Hermione pointed out.

Harry took a sip of his tea. "Closet Puff."

"Kind of like Theo," Hermione chuckled.

"And Draco?"

Hermione threw her head back and laughed, though her heart warmed as she thought about one of her closest friends. "No. He's the embodiment of what it means to be a snake. A mainpulative snake, at that. He conned me into taking Scorp the other night, not that I minded, of course. But he could have just asked instead of, well, being all Draco about it."

Harry smile wryly, not responding to her quip, but peered at her over the rim of his teacup. "Adrian fancies you."

Hermione's brow lifted high in surprise, a small smile curling at the corner of her lips, but her eyes drifted downward, watching the steam gently rise from the amber colored tea. She felt her heart stammer briefly in her chest at the thought of the handsome, sandy-haired Slytherin, but ultimately huffed out a laugh. "He flirts. That doesn't mean he 'fancies' me."

It was Harry's turn to chuckle. "I've never seen Adrian flirt with anyone but you."

Her second brow met its twin near her hairline, and she lifted her gaze to meet Harry's.

That bit of information was… intriguing.

Her heart stuttered again, and she cleared her throat. "Even if – and that's a big 'if', Harry – Adrian is flirting with me, I don't have time to date anyone."

He sighed. "Hermione, you're turning twenty-eight in September. Don't you think it's about time to, I don't know-"

"Harry James Potter, if you finish that sentence, I'll hex your bollocks off and there won't be a baby number four," she threatened, a spark of irritation flaring in her chest, and sat forward, pointing a finger in his face.

She almost felt bad for her threat as Harry's jaw clicked closed, the mirth in his emerald green eyes morphing into concern. But for as bad as she felt, she was equally as frustrated. If it weren't Harry or Ginny pushing Hermione into the dating pool, it was Molly's constant hints during Sunday dinners that had been constantly grating on her nerves. Once she realized there would be no salvaging a relationship between Ron and Hermione, Molly had began teasing her about her relationship with Theo. It didn't matter how many times Hermione would reiterate that she and Theo were as close as she and Harry, Molly still insisted they were secretly dating.

Hermione sighed. She knew her friends meant well, but why couldn't they understand a serious relationship was something she was not looking for – even if she did have the time?

"Sorry," Harry offered, "We just care about you."

She closed her eyes and sat back in her chair again, pinching the bridge of her nose, allowing the minuscule amount of guilt she felt to swirl uncomfortably in her chest before pushing it away. "I know. I love you all, I do. But I've had these plans for years, a decade and longer. I don't know why I have to keep defending them. You, of all people, know I'm not built to settle down early – and it's still early, Harry."

"I'm not asking you to settle down, Hermione. Just… if Adrian asks you to go out with him – just one date, 'Mione – would you?"

Hermione opened her eyes, allowing her hand to fall to her lap, and studied her friend's hopeful face. She thought back to the stutter of her heart just mere moments earlier when Harry revealed Adrian openly flirts with her – and no one else. She had been surprised, yes, but pleasantly so. Perhaps a little doubtful that she was the only person Adrian flirted with, but… the intrigue was still there. The man was funny, charming, and incredibly good looking with his golden skin, sleek jawline, piercing sky-blue eyes…

Harry often spoke of him as he would one of his closest mates, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't curious.

One date wasn't settling down, she compromised and locked eyes with Harry, nodding.

He smiled broadly and clapped his hands together. "Brilliant!"

She should have known their conversation had been planned. It took less than an hour after Harry left before a beautiful barn owl was pecking at her kitchen window. She let the bird in, and it dropped a piece of folded parchment on her scone, perched on the windowsill, then cocked its head to the side as if to study her.

"Your owner wants a response, I take it," Hermione said, breaking the red wax seal to open the letter, her brows furrowing when she didn't immediately recognize the elegant handwriting.

Hermione,

Meet me at The Leaky at five?

Adrian

She huffed a small laugh. Short, to the point. She liked him even more already.

Tearing off the bottom half of the parchment, she wrote, 'Sure,' then gave the owl a bit of her scone before handing her the folded response. The magnificent creature didn't waste another second as she flapped her wings and set off into the bright sky to deliver the missive.

The rest of her afternoon passed swiftly, and by the time Hermione closed the book she had been reading, it was already fifteen minutes until five. Hurriedly, she dressed in Muggle jeans and a light jumper suitable for the Spring, opting to forgo the more traditional formal Wizarding wear in lieu of comfort.

She Apparated to The Leaky Cauldron, appearing in an alley between the famous little pub and the Muggle bookstore next door. Stepping out on the streets of Muggle London, she took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her racing heart. Truth be told, it was more than just Adrian that made her nervous. Aside from her last legitimate romantic attraction to the opposite sex (Theo's handsome face swam in her mind's eye, and she shuddered because while he was an incredibly attractive man, he was as much her brother as Harry was), she hadn't been on a proper date in… years. It had been right before graduating University, and it had only been a single date with the cute Muggle from her Large Animal Surgery course. It hadn't gone beyond a short hug at the end of the night because while she enjoyed herself, a familiar little swirl of guilt twisted in her gut, letting her know that she didn't have the time to pursue anything, well, more.

And that was the other matter. The more part.

The sex part.

It wasn't as if she was a blushing virgin. There was the awkward placement of limbs and other anatomical parts that comes with losing one's virginity during the summer after the War – and then again after 8th year. Both times had been with Ron. There was the half-drunken one off at Ginny's hen party at that Muggle University pub. The last time had been during a three night long escapade in Prague celebrating her admission into Law school. Draco, Tori, and Theo met her, Harry, and Ginny at the ritzy hotel Draco insisted he pay for – and she ended night three by holing herself up in her room, wrapped around famed Italian Magizoologist Giovanni Bianchi.

That was almost three years ago.

She sighed and straightened her spine. It's just one date, she reminded herself, and opened the heavy wooden door that guarded the entrance to the magically hidden pub.

Just one date, and it doesn't have to end with sex.

It was crowded, as she expected, but she easily spotted Adrian's head of sandy-blonde hair sitting at the same booth their friends had occupied the night before. Taking a deep breath, she held her head high as she waded through the throng of witches and wizards, sliding into the booth across from him.

He smiled widely when he saw her, then sat his tumbler of Firewhiskey down in front of him, holding his hand out to her across the table. She eyed it for a moment before placing her hand in his, and shook it.

"Thought we could get off on the right foot," Adrian said with a wink.

Hermione chuckled. "I would be lying if I said I hadn't been surprised by the conversation with Harry. I'm assuming you had something to do with that?"

Adrian tucked his bottom lip between his straight white teeth – her eyes following the motion, a small swooping sensation tingling in her belly – before he flashed her a sheepish smile.

"I can't say that I'm sorry for that," he admitted, curling his hands around his tumbler, "I'm a Slytherin. I use what tools I have at my disposal, and Harry was just the person to put those feelers out there for me."

"Ah," Hermione chuckled again, her eyes meeting his, "Afraid of my reaction had you asked me directly?"

"Frankly? Yes. Another Slytherin trait that I possess, unfortunately, is my sense of self-preservation. I don't think I could take that kind of hit to my ego had you told me 'no' to my face." It was said in jest, with a small huff of a laugh at the end, but the underlying vulnerability in his statement made her wiggle in her seat. Was she really that intimidating? Unapproachable? Maybe she was. Maybe it was done on purpose. She didn't need another Ron trying to derail everything she'd worked so hard for and just maybe she was keeping men at an arm's length because she was afraid of that happening.

At least you recognize it for what it is, she told herself, but she felt her stomach twist with the realization.

"Care for a drink?" Adrian's voice broke through her thoughts, and her heart sputtered.

"Sure," she responded, swallowing thickly.

He rapped his knuckles quickly on the table before standing, "I'll be right back."

She watched him squeeze through the crowd, her eyes drifting downwards, her gaze landing – inappropriately – on his shaply arse, clearly visible in the dark wash Muggle jeans he was wearing. Her first thought was that he had an amazing bum, the second was the astonishment that he was wearing jeans instead of a three-piece suit she was so accustomed to seeing her pureblooded friends wear. Well, Draco, at least. He was the most obnoxious of the lot, after all.

He returned quickly, a tumbler of amber liquor in each hand, and set both in front of her. She looked at him, cocking an eyebrow.

"This is my second," he explained with a wink, nodding to the tumbler in front of him, "Thought you could play catch up."

Smiling, she sipped on her Firewhiskey, relishing in the burn as it slid down her esophagus. She needed to relax. She needed to calm her increasingly pounding heart.

"So," Adrian said, once again breaking through her thoughts, "I know you work with Draco and Theo at their barrister's office. You're also a magizoologist, right?"

Casual conversation. Good. She could do casual conversation.

Taking another sip of her Firewhiskey, she set the tumbler on the table front of her and nodded. "Among other things. Theo and I studied under Galton Scamander together – Newt Scamander's son – to gain our Masteries in Care of Magical Creatures. That only took a year, but I went to a Muggle uni for veterinary studies."

A look of confusion passed over Adrian's face. "Veterinary?"

"Oh, erm, a healer for animals. I have my own little clinic where I take on both Muggle and Wizard clients."

"Interesting. I thought magizoologists were healers for animals, too?"

Hermione nodded again, swallowing another sip of her drink. "To an extent. Magizoology is the study of magical animals. We study their structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, distribution, and how they interact with their ecosystem. There isn't a lot of healing involved with magizoology, but most magizoologists do have some healing knowledge in case of an injured animal. I, however, am the only magizoologist who doesn't use just healing magic since it can only go so far, in that aspect," she paused and shifted in her seat knowing her next words were the hardest for most wizards to accept. "For instance, I perform surgical operations on animals, when needed. This includes magical animals."

Hermione watched Adrian's eyes widen, his mouth forming an 'o' in astonishment. Frowning, she looked down at her drink again. She knew most pureblooded wizards thought Muggle doctors were primitive, and just the mention of using sharp tools to cut open a body was immediately dismissed as 'ghastly' and 'archaic.'

He didn't say anything for a minute before he let out a low whistle. "That's pretty wicked."

Hermione's head popped up, her own eyes widening in surprise. "Really?"

Adrian shrugged. "I think so. Theo gets a lot of credit for being the Slytherin who didn't – doesn't – believe in all of that pureblood bullshite, but there are actually a lot of us out there. Outside of school, especially during Auror training, there's a lot of firsthand experience to help us understand that magic isn't the only resource we have."

She stared at him for a moment, at a loss for words. Ron's disgust with Muggle operations was something that had been at the forefront of her mind for years, especially when she told him what she was studying at uni. It surprised her that a handful of Slytherins - over one of her oldest friends, ex-friends - would be the most accepting of it.

"I wish it was understood more in school, too," Hermione managed after a minute. It was one of ten thoughts that had flew through her head in the short amount of time between his response and hers. She could have responded with enthusiasm, or more surprise, or even ask him how Auror training helped him realize this. But the most prominent thought in her head was something she consistently advocated for for over a decade – Muggle Studies should be mandatory.

Adrian bobbed his head. "Agreed."

Hermione's lips curled up into a smile and she raised her glass to him before sipping it.

He returned her smile and rapped his knuckles on the table again. "So, Marcus and I are providing security for your Crups case on Wednesday."

It wasn't a question, but an open-ended statement that made her smile widen and her blood rushed with nervous excitement.

"Yes, and thank you for that. I don't expect van Wyck to get violent or anything, but better safe than sorry."

"They normally don't, but you're right. Better safe than sorry," Adrian assured her, then reached across the table to lay his hand over hers.

She froze, her eyes drifting down to his tan hand covering her own. Neither of them said anything for a moment before he withdrew his hand, and reached for his tumbler, swigging the rest of the amber liquor.

"Erm, so, anyway… Harry only told us the basics. This bloke – van Wyck? – breeds the Crups illegally?"

Hermione swallowed, her gaze drifting back up to Adrian's. His face was relaxed, his mouth curved into a lackadaisical smile, but his shoulders were tense, as if the moment they shared was just as awkward for him as it was for her. Swallowing again, she nodded. "Yes. I've been pushing the Wizengamot for two years to prosecute, but they've kind of ignored it. It took Draco's influence to finally move it to the top of the hearing list."

Adrian looked at her incredulously and shook his head. Hermione braced herself for a response like her friends' – like Theo's – but when Adrian said, "Illegal is illegal. They shouldn't have been ignoring you – or your case," her heart stuttered in her chest, warmth flowing through her veins.

"You," Hermione began, then cleared her throat, "keep surprising me, Adrian Pucey."

"That's a good thing, I hope?" he said, a smile forming on his lips.

She returned his smile. "Definitely."

Hermione was shocked when she glanced down at her wristwatch and saw four hours had passed. They spent time talking, exchanging Hogwarts stories, stories about their families (the Puceys were neutral during the war, and she had been a little surprised to learn that Adrian's mother's mother was Muggle-born), talked more about Hermione's job as a magizoologist and how her veterinarian training helped with that. They had ended with Adrian's continued astonishment that Hermione was back in school yet again, pursuing her law degree so she could finally fight for legislation concerning magical beings and beasts rights.

As the conversation died down, Adrian left more than enough galleons to pay their tab, and walked her outside of the Leaky, to the alley between the buildings, then turned to face her. Her heart began to beat harder in her chest as Adrian's eyes darkened and he lifted a hand, tucking a loose strand of curly hair behind her ear.

"I had a really nice time tonight. I'm glad I was able to manipulate Harry into asking you to go out with me."

Hermione huffed out a laugh. "Me, too. Listen, Adrian-"

"I know. You're not looking for anything serious."

She peered up at him, but the corners of his lips curled up as he smirked at her, and he cupped her cheek.

She cleared her throat, ignoring the way her blood rushed through her veins. "No, I'm not."

"I'm not, either," he said, his free hand raising to caress her other cheek, "But you are an astonishing witch, Hermione. When – if – you have time, I'd love to see you again soon."

Adrian's gaze bore into hers, and she licked her lips. "I… wouldn't be opposed."

"Good. I'm going to kiss you now."

He hesitated, as if to give her time to refuse. Her thoughts warred: Did she want to kiss him? She barely knew him. Was kissing on the first date even appropriate? He seems a lot more confident now than he did a couple of hours ago when he touched her hand. Did a kiss bump this into more than a casual thing? Adrian said he wasn't looking for anything serious, either. Did he just want to have a good time? A friend with benefits? A small burst of offensiveness rushed through her, but she pushed it away. What if a kiss lead to that 'something more'? Did she want it to lead to something more? No… No, she really didn't. But a kiss… A kiss was harmless enough.

Exhaling heavily, she lifted her gaze and gave him an infinitesimal nod of permission. His smirk grew and he lowered his head slowly, running his thumbs softly across the skin of her cheeks, giving her more time to back out if she wanted.

When his lips softly brushed hers, her heart thudded in her chest. It felt odd being kissed after so many years, but it was nice. It felt good, his full lips molding into hers as he deepened the kiss, cantering his lips to the side to get a better angle, their noses pressing into the others' cheek. Unexpected warmth seeped into her veins and flowed downward, settling into her lower belly, and she shuddered. Hermione parted her lips to take a quick breath, then pressed them to his again, her hands splayed across his shoulder blades as she pulled him closer into her. She felt him smile against her lips as he kissed her once more before pulling away and allowing his hands to drop away from her face.

"We probably should stop there," Adrian chuckled, running his thumb across his lower lip.

Hermione felt her cheeks redden, and she breathed in deeply, tucking her bottom lip in between her teeth. She cleared her throat, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

Holding his hand out to her, she took it, and they shook. "I," he also cleared his throat, "had a fantastic evening, Hermione. Thank you for joining me."

"Thank you for manipulating Harry," she responded using his words, earning a belly laugh from Adrian.

"You're welcome. I'll owl you soon?"

"Okay."

"Okay," he said, flashing her a wide smile before stepping back from her. There were no other words passed between them before he turned on the spot and Apparated with a loud crack.

Hermione leaned against the damp brick of The Leaky Cauldron, a small smile growing on her face, and brought her fingertips to her lips. She could still feel the softness of his kiss, the way his lips melded into hers, the way her heart pitter patted in her chest. She didn't want – or need – anything serious.

Kissing wasn't settling down.

A second date wasn't settling down.

Author's Note: Oh, what's this? Throwing an Adrian-shaped wrench into the mix? Hmm...

I'm also estimating another two chapters before we head back to Romania. I know everyone's anxious to get this show on the road. While they may not seem like it, these pre-Romania chapters are important chapters. :)