"Hello Remus…"

Horrified, the wolf let her go and backed away, whimpering. Hermione had no doubt that, if wolves could cry… he'd be bawling his eyes out.

She looked at her hand and watched as it slowly started healing.

"Well, I guess that answers the question of what I am now…" she whispered.

Remus turned away from her and hid his face with his paws.

"Look Remus… It's fine! I know that you weren't the one to give me the bite…" she said, prying the paws away to look into his eyes. Remus whimpered again as she scratched his ears and he nudged her hand with his nose.

Hermione smiled and sat on the sofa.

"That's okay Remus. It's not your fault. I should have known better than to approach a sleeping wolf… or anyone lately for that matter!" 'Everyone's been so paranoid lately that I'm likely to get hexed if I tried it… 'Constant Vigilance!' and all that rot…'

She crossed her legs to sit Indian style and caught the look he threw at her shirt.

Looking down, she thought, 'Well, his shirt actually…'

"Yes, it's your shirt. I don't think you would have liked me to walk around in what I was wearing earlier," she said sarcastically, poking him until he turned his body to the back of the sofa. He looked at her quizzically.

"I'm going to use you as a furry pillow," she explained, laying her head on his belly and stretching her legs.

Remus blinked, stared at her and then barked.

"Of course I can understand you! You're speaking Eng-Oh Merlin!!! I'm talking werewolf!" she wailed, covering her eyes with her uninjured arm.

/What happened to you? We found your parents and that Deatheater dead at your house. And another one in the park where you were,/ Remus barked. Hermione answered in English, removing the arm to rest it behind her head.

"I attacked the Deatheater after he killed my parents. Then I ran and the other one was chasing me. After that, a wolf attacked and the last thing I remember was seeing the full moon while thinking that I'm going to be a werewolf. I am, aren't I?"

Remus cocked his head to the side, looking down at her.

/You don't smell like a wolf…/ he said, sniffing her hair and then her neck, making her giggle and swat his nose away.

"That tickles!" she scolded but reached up to scratch behind his ears anyway. She gazed thoughtfully at the ceiling, totally unmindful of the mental war going on inside the gray wolf's head.

'God she smells so sweet… I want to just take her right now!' he thought as Hermione unconsciously played with his ears. He snuggled closer but took care to keep her away from his hardening erection. 'I can't. She's my student for Merlin's sake!' But the wolf insisted, it's instincts screaming that this female was meant to be it's mate and should, therefore, be taken.

In a compromise, Moony laid his head on her shoulder.

"Remus-" Hermione started to say, but was cut off by a low growl.

/Moony… I am Moony…/

'Merlin but this day is utterly wacked! First my parents die, I actually KILL someone (even if he WAS a Deatheater!), and I get bitten by a werewolf who just HAPPENED to save my sorry hide and NOW, apparently, I can speak werewolf and am attracted to a wolf who just INSISTS on my calling it 'Moony'! God, if anyone ever finds out I'm attracted to what is, for all intents and purposes at the moment, an animal… I'd probably be locked up for bestiality!!!'

Hermione nodded, stroking the soft grey fur. 'I can figure things out later. I can break down later if I want to for that matter… but I NEED to know-'

"Moony… if I'm not a wolf… Is it possible that I'm a werecat instead?"

Moony's head lifted and a golden eye gazed into hers.

/Why would you say that?/ he asked. Hermione shrugged, blushing a little.

"Well, you can't tell anyone, but in my Second year, the boys and I made the Polyjuice Potion. It was successful and Harry and Ron both changed but I accidentally got a cat hair instead of Mil-"she cut herself off and cleared her throat.

"Anyway, I got a tail and ears on top of my head for 3 weeks before Professor Snape and Madame Pomfrey finally turned me back."

Moony caught on to what she was implying and nudged her with his cold nose.

/But you were never normal were you?/

Hermione grinned.

"Nope… had claws, and a few other extra things. Stuff like balance and agility. My sense of smell too!" Hermione turned on her stomach to face him. "It's how I knew that this was your shirt. But it HAS gotten better so… yeah."

/It's possible… as far as I know, no one's really made that mistake before./

Hermione nodded, sighed and then wrapped her arms around Moony's furry neck.

"I'm going to change tomorrow night huh?" she said quietly into his ruff. "Hopefully, I can control myself…"

Hermione pulled away as a though occurred to her. She let go of him and sat up abruptly.

"I'm a cat… I'm a cat and you're a wolf…" she whispered, turning her head to looking into his amber eyes. 'Please don't let us fight! Oh God! I couldn't take it if we fought!' she thought, tears falling from her eyes.

Moony, who didn't know why she was so upset and only that she was, whined and stood up to lick the tears off of her face.

Sobbing, Hermione flung her arms around him and buried her face into his thick fur.

Moony could feel his joints and bones reshaping themselves and groaned as he started to turn human again. Hermione, too distraught at the idea that she and Remus would be mortal enemies, didn't realize that a pair of furry arms had wrapped themselves around her waist.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Hermione now sitting in Remus' lap.

Remus, tired, naked and aroused, sighed and buried his face into her long curly hair.

"Hermione…"he groaned.

Hermione gasped and pulled away, tear tracks on her face.

"I…I…-"

He smirked and just brought her close to him once more, burying his nose into her cloud of hair to take in her scent.

"I never thought I'd see the day that Hermione Granger would be speechless," he whispered teasingly into her ear.

Reluctantly, Remus untangled himself from her and pulled back after one last long lungful of her delicious scent.

"I have to get dressed… The others will be here soon," he said, standing up. Hermione nodded, eyes wide as she looked him over.

Remus was thin, yes… But his lean form was muscled and tone. A firm broad chest tapered down to a slim waist with… 2, 4, 6… 8 abs! And all covered with the same slightly tanned skin…

Even lower and- Hermione snapped her head up to look Remus in the eyes, a light blush on her cheeks.

He smiled sheepishly at her and rubbed the back of his head ruefully…

"Sorry 'Mione… It's a sort of- um, side effect… of the er… transformation," he said, trying to play off his arousal as normal. Which it was, every time he got close to her, or smelled her or- He snapped out of his thoughts as she nodded, not taking her eyes away from his. They stared at each other until something caught his attention.

'What the-? I could have sworn-!' he thought, cocking his head to the side.

"Hermione…"

"Mmm?"

"What color are your eyes?" he asked. She blinked, startled by the strange question.

"Brown, why?"

Remus shook his head, seemingly unconcerned by his nakedness.

"Because they're green."

"WHAT?!"