Remus was fixing his olive jumper as he walked down the usual pathway. He had enjoyed Thursday, despite the snafu with their hanging conversation. She was engaging, pleasant, and smart. Sirius got just tipsy enough to mellow out, and they played monopoly until Teddy was falling asleep on his hand.

She had waited until he was in bed to depart, leaving soft kisses on each of their cheeks. Boy, did he have a hard time not asking for another, just to enjoy it a bit longer? This was horrible—a horrible mess. Sirius was on the opposition but said nothing about it throughout the weekend.

Remus entered the wing and sighed as he approached his office. He hadn't been teaching but helping with the English department. They stopped him from teaching a few years ago…

When he had settled down at his desk, he went through the recent messages and scowled. He missed teaching. He missed the classroom, but this is where they put unfit professors. Stored away under mountains of paperwork and funding proposals.

"Why so blue, Lupin?" The familiar voice of his coworker crept into the room.

Remus glanced at the door to see Chester smirking into the office. "I'm not. What can I do for you, Professor Davies."

"Absolutely nothing. Just inquisitive on where you've been? Son out of school?" Chester asked as he walked inside.

"Yes, and Andromeda was having a hard month," Remus mumbled as he organized the paperwork.

"Interesting," Chester mused as he sat down. "What's that sound?"

Remus jumped and realized the buzzing was his phone. He checked and scowled at the message.

Hello, Mr. Bashful. I know I didn't ask, and it was quite presumptuous of me to ask Sirius, but I got your number from him. I was wondering if you were in town sometime this week and wanted to do me a favor?

Remus couldn't help the color rise to his cheek and set the phone aside. "What can I do for you?" He asked.

"Who was that?" Chester grinned. "Don't deny it, you're as scarlet as the letter."

"Just a friend. She was seeing if I could do her a favor this week," Remus grumbled and breathed.

"Who's this friend? I didn't know you had friends outside of Sirius," Davies laughed as he leaned forward. "Come on. You can tell a former student."

Remus straightened his jumper and twitched his nose. "Her name is Hermione, like from Shakespeare."

Chester's eyebrows rose. "Not Hermione Granger, right?"

"Why?" Remus asked.

Chester laughed and shook his head. "Oh, boy, that woman? Remus, she's a bloody basket case. When did you become friends with her?"

"Basket case is a harsh name," Remus declared with a frown.

"You know what she does for a living?" Chester asked.

"How do you know her?" Remus inquired.

Davies relaxed in his chair and smiled while waving his hand. "We had a go a few years ago. She has a thing for older blokes, and I happened to have been at the right place at the right time. Daddy issues for sure. The girl strips her clothes off for money."

Remus narrowed his eyes and knitted his fingers together. "I don't believe we have any right to judge how someone pays for tuition, Davies."

Chester arched an eyebrow and scratched his chin. "I suppose not, but I can tell you this: don't bother, Remus. She's completely ruined. The girl lost her parents, quit school to strip, and now thinks she runs the world with her tits. It wasn't until she stopped shagging me that I realized she was shagging her boss. Wanker came out and admitted it. So, if I were you, I'd keep that hot mess a meter from you," he finished and stood up.

Remus kept his frosty expression as he spoke. "Don't call her those things, Davies. She's not a bad woman."

"Your death sentence, Lupin," Chester scoffed and left the office.

Remus exhaled and picked up his phone. He needed to touch base.

Sirius was running with several dogs on his waist lead when his phone buzzed. He checked it and scowled at the message.

I don't think I want to do this job anymore, Pads.

Sirius blinked and glanced back at the boy on his scooter. "Hey, kid, let's go to the grass a moment," he called.

Teddy gave him a thumbs up and rolled in the grass before flopping down. Sirius jogged over and sat down, the dogs panting and relaxing on the cool ground. Sirius pulled his phone from the plastic case.

What's going on, Moony?

Sirius breathed and rolled his neck. Whatever it was, it was a big deal.

I'm going to kill my prick of a coworker if he says one more thing about her. I suppose they used to date and he said shit that made me want to wring his neck.

Sirius exhaled and closed his eyes. "Oh, your daddy is in a bad way today, kid."

"Hm? Why?"

"Because he hates his job and now hates his coworkers. Maybe if I gave him something else to do, he would be happier?"

Then quit. No one should be talking shit about her. You already hate that they made you step back from teaching because of the complaint, which isn't your fucking fault! You can't change what happened to you as a kid. Just fucking quit, and I'll give you something else to do. Reggie just told me that he doesn't have the intellect to deal with the paperwork involved with the club.

"Does dad care that you don't work at the bar as much anymore?" Teddy asked.

Sirius glanced over after wiping his brow on his t-shirt. "No, I think he's happier for it. We can spend more time together then. Are you excited to go to camp tomorrow?"

Teddy shifted, and shrugged. "It will be fun, I guess."

"Now, what's wrong with you, kid?"

Teddy exhaled and pouted. "It was so nice to have a friend that was a girl over, Uncle Sirius. We never have that."

Sirius knew that Teddy often talked about his mum and missing someone he didn't really know. It was a sad thing. He also knew this was going to come up after having Hermione at the house. Teddy loved him and his father, but nothing replaces the love of a missing parent. He watched James go through similar… James.

"Well, we might just have to fix that," Sirius sighed.

His phone buzzed again. I'll be home after I help Hermione with something. She said it was of importance. By the way, thank you ever so much for being the bugger of a friend and giving her my number…

Sirius barked out a stream of laughter, which caused the dogs to jump. "Oh, your dad is sooooo mad at me," he snickered.

Did you quit?

"Uncle Sirius?" Teddy questioned.

"Yes, kid?"

"Do you think that we can visit the zoo when I get home from camp?"

Sirius grinned and nodded. "Of course."

His phone jerked, and Sirius smirked. You bet your arse I did, Pads. Fuck these pretentious assholes. I tolerated a whole mess from them for the last three years. That was that.

"Seems like your dad's fire is back. Good, he needed a bit of flame," Sirius teased and glanced over at the boy. "Let's take these dogs back to the shelter, and we'll get dressed."

"Okay, Uncle Sirius," Teddy beamed and climbed off the grass.

Good. I got you, Moony. Don't you worry about a thing. We're gonna make sure life doesn't suck anymore. He finished his text and climbed from the grass.

Hermione was flitting around the flat, and Pansy watched her clean the same table twice before pulling the lollipop from her mouth. The woman was high strung and not her usual zen self. To top it, she was manically racing around without saying a word.

"What is wrong?" Pansy questioned.

Hermione puffed and looked at the clock. "Hey, aren't you going to Blaise's soon?" she asked.

Pansy's eyebrows shot toward her hairline. "Why?"

"Well," Hermione huffed and glanced at her phone. "I asked Remus to help me sort through my books. I didn't mean today, but he said he's in town and free."

Pansy's mouth opened as her eyes widened. "Granger! Are you trying to get laid?"

"No, of course not," Hermione grumbled. "But, I didn't want him to think," she paused and winced. "I don't want him to think that."

"Then I'll just stay," Pansy snickered.

Hermione grimaced and waved her hand in the air. "Don't, don't do that. He isn't like that."

Pansy bounced in her seat and grabbed her phone. "I'm gonna tell Blaise to come here. We're going to make you so uncomfortable."

"Pansy, please, I never ask you for anything," Hermione implored.

Pansy shrugged and sighed. "Oops, I just texted him."

"Bloody Slytherins," Hermione groaned.

There was a knock at the door, and Hermione jerked. Pansy launched from the couch and pushed her out of the way to try and get to the door. Hermione grappled with her and pulled away when Pansy pinched her arm. "That hurt," Hermione hissed.

Pansy smirked and unlocked the door to see Remus running his hand through his hair. "Well, hello. You must be the bookish roommate of Sirius's?"

He smiled and held out his hand. "Remus Lupin."

"Pansy Parkinson," Pansy shook it and grinned with wicked mischief. "Had I known Hermione was having company, I wouldn't have had my boyfriend come over in a few."

Remus cleared his throat as he stepped inside. "Just here on request. Good afternoon, Hermione," he declared with a nod.

Hermione shifted and realized she probably looked like a mess. Her hair was frizzy, she didn't have on makeup, and her loungewear was baggy. "I appreciate you coming over to help," she murmured while rubbing her arm.

Remus smiled and nodded. "You said you needed help with your books?"

"Did you want something to drink before we start?" Hermione asked.

Remus bounced his shoulders. "Either way is fine. Where's your study?"

"Oh, we don't have a study, they're in her room," Pansy snickered as she launched over the sofa back to relax and grin at them.

Remus cleared his throat and straightened his jumper. "Alright."

"Oh, I could bring them out here," Hermione declared in swift measure. "I'm sure Pansy wouldn't mind."

"I mind," Pansy grumbled and turned on the sofa, turning up the tv.

Hermione was glaring at her and then glanced at Remus. "Flatmates," she huffed.

"That's alright," Remus smiled. "So, where are we going?"

Hermione gestured to the hallway. "This way."

"You crazy kids keep that door open! Don't let Jane Austen flutter your bleeding heart!" Pansy snickered.

Hermione covered her face and breathed as they marched down the hall. "I'm so sorry. She's usually less Slytherin."

Remus was smiling at the ridiculous situation. Here he was, in her flat, going to her room, and she was the abashed one. It was quite cute. She opened the door and walked inside, not looking in his direction as she bent to the long bookshelf. There were books everywhere. Under the bed, above the desk, stacked in the closet next to expensive shoes.

This woman was barmy about the written word, and he crushed harder. "Seems you are a busy reader," he laughed.

Next to her walk-in closet was a yoga mat. She didn't lie about yoga… He stepped toward her dresser and noted pictures. One caught his eye. "Who's this?"

"Harry, my best friend. Ron is next to him. He's my other friend. We used to be closer, but our past relationship ended on disjointed notes," Hermione mused as she pulled out stacks of books.

"These are your parents?" He gestured to another picture.

Hermione smiled up at him and nodded. "Yes."

"You look like your mother," he commented.

Hermione scrambled across the floor and crawled somewhat under her bed. Remus watched with a pinched brow as she dug. This girl wasn't kidding when she said she needed help with her books.

"Why has it taken you so long to decide to donate?" Remus questioned.

Hermione reappeared and flattened her hair. "Well, I have a hard time letting things go."

Remus maneuvered to the floor and bobbed his head. "Me too."

Hermione jerked as her phone went off. "Oh, it seems Sirius is coming to town," she noted while glancing at it.

"You've been talking to Sirius all weekend?" Remus asked.

Hermione smiled and nodded. "Yes, he was going over some ideas with me. You both are incredibly fascinating."

"Fascinating? I haven't heard someone call me that in quite some time," Remus laughed.

Hermione sat up and crossed her legs in front of Remus. "Well, it's true. I spend my time with my family or being gawked at by men who would rather me screaming or silent. Neither of you treats me with disregard and have this whole different element. It's refreshing. I think we could be great friends," Hermione said with a smile.

Remus cleared his throat and tugged on his shirt collar. "So, what were you thinking of letting go?"

Hermione leaned forward, and Remus could swear she was going to kiss him. She maneuvered her arm around him, and his breath hitched, only for her to pull away with a book. "When am I going to need a book on taxation from the 1600s?" She smirked.

Remus breathed and smiled as his cheeks warmed. "Likely never."

"That's what I thought," she laughed and set it aside.

The front door sounded, and there was a shriek. Remus glanced over to see Pansy was waving at someone in the entrance. When he turned the corner, Remus snorted. It was the bartender from the club. He entered Hermione's doorway and eyed Remus.

"So, you were going to kick my girlfriend out to go through books, S.C.? Come off it. If you want to shag him, just say so," he teased and shut the door.

Pansy was cackling from the other room, and Hermione covered her face. "I'm going to kill her," she growled.

Remus scrunched his eyebrows despite his smile. "You were nervous about me coming over? So much so that you asked your flatmate to leave?"

Hermione exhaled as she pulled away her hands from her face. "Do you see the type of teasing they're doing? It's only going to get worse," Hermione grumbled.

"Well, it is quite comical. We're on the floor of your bedroom, which I never thought I'd ever be in, going through books."

Hermione stopped her brooding and laughed. "Yes, that is quite silly. I don't know why you make me so nervous, Remus."

"Well," Remus hemmed. "I don't know if you noticed, but you make me nervous as well. You're the brightest woman I know," he said.

She laughed and pulled up a tattered volume. "I have old school books still," she boasted.

"Hermione, we have to fix this," He chuckled. "You should have cleared most of this to storage or donations years ago."

"Sentimental value!" She insisted with a broad smile.

"Now you sound like Sirius," he snickered.

Remus checked his phone and scowled.

I'll be coming in two hours. We'll all have dinner in the city. Sirius texted.

"I know, he told me too," Hermione sighed. "For now, help me?"

Remus laughed and snatched up the next book. It was an afternoon he wouldn't forget. Just them and books.