A/N: Soooo. I'm procrastinating my homework. And everything else. Here's an update!

Hermione was feeling guilty.

The whole reason she'd come to New York was to help the obscurus before it was too late. On paper, it was simple. She'd do her research, head out into the city, find the child, and talk them down before anyone could get hurt. It was a miracle no one had gotten hurt already.

But she'd gotten sidetracked. Quite easily. Simply meeting Newt Scamander had thrown every possible wrench into her plan. She was now not only trying to look for the obscurus – doing a poor job of it – but she was also on the lookout for Grindelwald and helping Newt get his creatures back. One was the entire reason she had been brought to 1926, and the other was actually a bit noble and selfless.

That didn't change the fact that there was a kid out there hurting.

Jacob was leading them to Central Park where Newt hoped he'd find his erumpent. Erumpent. So, there they were. The three of them walking through the empty streets at night in the middle of the biting cold. Hermione saw old fashioned cars parked on the curb and had to grit her teeth because for a split second a small part of her brain thought she was just on a movie set.

She looked at the clothing her companions were wearing. Nope, it was real. Still in 1926. Still ripped away from everyone she loves. Still relied on to fight a war that was entirely not her problem.

The rounded the corner and came across a small shopping district of sorts. It was most likely geared toward a higher class. Most of the shop windows showcased expensive coats and dresses and more jewelry than Hermione had ever seen. The street lights made the diamonds glow and sparkle.

"I was watching you at dinner." Newt intoned, looking toward Jacob.

"Yeah."

"People like you, don't they, Mr. Kowalski?" Newt asked him.

Hermione frowned and looked up at Newt. Jacob looked startled by his question. Hermione couldn't really blame him it was rather odd. Though, it doesn't exactly phase Hermione, Luna takes the cake for weirdest questions asked.

"Well, I'm sure people like you too, huh?" Jacob answered, sounding unsure.

"No, not really. I annoy people." Newt said simply.

Hermione had to hold back an inappropriate giggle. She looked away from the pair watching the shop windows. If there were ever a place for a sneaky creature that liked shiny things…

"Ah." Jacob said not quite sure how to answer that. "And you, Hermione? People must like.. you?"

Hermione looked back at them, leaning forward a bit to see him from around Newt. The poor man didn't quite know what to do.

"God, no." She snorted. "I'm told I have an abrasive personality. It doesn't help that I'm a bit of a know-it-all."

She made it through Hogwarts with only two friends. One of which she fought with most of the time, and the other had his own life crisis going on all the time. It wasn't until they'd grown up and survived a war that others warmed up to her. Even then, she knew she grated on people's nerves. Some people only put up with it because she was a war hero and best friends with the Chosen One.

Her companions looked at her with disbelieving frowns. She held back a snort and rolled her eyes. They'd only just met, and she'd been quiet most of the time. She's sure they won't to remain friends after they find Newt's creatures.

She also didn't miss the irony that she was once again going on a quest with two men while a dark lord was out and about.

"Why did you decide to be a baker?" Newt turned back to Jacob.

"Well, because I'm dying in that canning factory. Everyone there's dying." Jacob sighed. "It just crushes the life outta you. You like canned food?" He asked them.

"No."

"Not really, no." Thoughts of sitting in a tent scraping cold beans out of a dented can floated through her memory.

"Yeah. Me neither. That's why I want to make pastries, you know. It makes people happy. We're going this way."

He led them to the right across the street. They followed.

"I think I like that answer, Jacob." Hermione smiled at him. "To make people happy."

Jacob chuckled and shrugged.

The wind blew making Hermione shiver and wrap her coat tighter around her. She shoved her hands into her pockets.

"So did you get your loan?" Newt asked him.

"No, I ain't got no collateral. Stayed in the army too long, apparently, I don't know."

"You fought in the war?"

"Of course I fought in the war, everyone fought in the war." Jacob frowned. "You didn't fight in the war?"

"I worked mostly with dragons, Ukrainian Ironbellies, Eastern Front."

"Ironbellies? Really?" Hermione chuckled. "I freed one a few years ago."

Newt looked over at her, intrigued.

"It was being used to guard treasure. Poor thing had been conditioned to expect pain when it heard a certain noise." Hermione continued.

"How did you manage to get it free? They're volatile at the best of times…" Newt trailed off, eyebrows knit together.

"Well," Hermione began in a strained voice. "We were being chased at the time. And one thing led to another: the chains were broken, we we're climbing on top of it, I bombarda-ed the ceiling and we flew away."

Newt looked speechless, mouth gaping slightly. Hermione cringed internally.

"Dragons, really? You flew on the back of a dragon." Jacob stated. Another wondrous thing he'd learned about. Dragons.

Suddenly, Newt stopped. Hermione nearly walked into him. She banged her knee into his case. She reached down to rub the sore spot and spotted what she assumed made Newt pause.

Diamonds. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets, gems. They littered the pavement in front of them leaving a trail towards one of the stores. Newt followed it. He was careful with his movements, precise and quiet. His eyes darted around trying to find the little thing.

Hermione and Jacob shared a look then began following behind him.

Newt stopped again then stepped backward a few steps. He turned his head and Hermione followed his gaze.

She had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.

The niffler was posed as if to imitate a jewelry stand. Their arm outstretched with necklaces and bracelets draped over it. It slowly turned its head and made eye contact with Newt.

Newt raised his eyebrows. The niffler scampered away into the store.

Newt jumped into action, wand in hand. "Finestra!"

The window shattered and Newt climbed through.

"Oh, Merlin." Hermione murmured, eyes wide as she watches him desperately pull open drawers and cupboards.

The niffler scrambled over his shoulders and onto the chandelier. Hermione pulled out her wand to help. Newt stood on a table reaching out. He overbalanced and grabbed onto the chandelier. Both of them hanging on swinging wildly.

Jacob looked up and down the street, running his hand over his slicked back hair hoping no one was noticing this.

"Petrificus totalus!" Hermione cried, but her spell missed accidentally hitting the chandelier. She thought frantically for another spell to use. "Immobulus!"

Everything paused. Newt and the niffler were frozen still hanging on. She moved to get them down, but the chandelier gave way crashing to the floor. Hermione cringed hoping they were alright.

A roar drew Hermione's attention to Newt's case. One of the latches had flicked open. She shared a look with Jacob. She could hear Newt chasing the niffler again. Jacob reached over and pushed the latch closed.

Glass broke and Newt fell through the window with the niffler. The creature ran off again, and Newt quickly got to his feet brandishing his wand.

"Accio!"

They rushed after the niffler, dodging jewelry along the way. The niffler looked at another display of beautiful sparkling gems and grabbed onto a lamppost. The creature was sent flying into the window which Hermione quickly transfigured into a sticky jelly, trapping it.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief glad they'd finally caught the little thing. She set about dusting jewelry off of her while Newt got the niffler and shook it out. She could hear sirens in the distance steadily growing louder, but she was more focused on releasing a necklace that had gotten thoroughly tangled in her curls.

The slamming of car doors and sound of guns being cocked drew Hermione's attention to the crowd of cops before them pointing weapons their way. She threw her hands up leaving the necklace to dangle in front of her face.

"They went that way, Officer." Jacob pointed down the street. Jewelry fell from his person.

"Hands up!"

A small squeak made Hermione look over to see the niffler peeking out from inside Newt's coat.

"What the hell is that?" One of the officers questioned.

Hermione's mind went into overdrive thinking of how they could get out of this situation without causing more trouble than they already have.

Jacob made a strangled noise looking to his left drawing everyone's attention. "Lion..."

Hermione sucked in a breath. The cops turned pointing their shaking guns at the lion walking toward them.

"You know, New York is considerably more interesting than Id expected." Newt said, amused by the turn of events.

He apperated them away.

The closer they got to the zoo, the faster Newt walked.

They saw the crumbled structures and broken enclosures. Large holes in the brick walls showed that something large must have broken through. The cold weather was more apparent away from the city streets. The ground and path before them was covered in snow. The lake nearby was frozen. An ostrich ran by nearly toppling them. They could hear distant roars coming from inside.

Hermione was falling behind slightly. She had gotten rid of all the jewelry except the stubborn necklace that was still tangled in her hair.

They stopped and Newt crouched down pulling something out of his case.

"Put this on." He handed Jacob a protective chest piece and headgear.

"Why would I have to wear something like this?" He asked as Newt strapped Jacob in.

"Because your skull is susceptible to breakage under immense force."

Newt looked over at Hermione contemplating whether to give her something or not. He frowned noticing her fiddling with the necklace in her hair. Without thinking, he walked over gently pushing her hands out of the way and carefully set about untangling it.

Hermione watched him, surprised at his actions. His hands, calloused from years of hard work with creatures, were gentle. She took the moment while he was focused to study him. His eyes, which she assumed were merely green, had a ring of brown surrounding his pupils, bleeding out and merging with the green. Freckles dusted across his nose and on his cheeks. His unruly fringe hung down over his eyes, his tongue darted out wetting his lips.

"I suppose you're capable of protecting yourself?" He asked her.

She blinked. "Of course." She looked around and saw Jacob standing with protective gear on.

"Oh." She scrunched her nose in distaste at the outdated items.

Newt let out a chuckle and stepped away. He tossed the freed necklace away and began leading them at a quick pace. She and Jacob scrambled to follow.

The closer they got, the louder the roars could be heard. Jacob visibly began to get more nervous. Hermione's heart went out to him. If she hadn't have already been through so much worse than a simple erumpent, she would have been the same as him.

Hermione started up a stream of information telling Jacob most everything she knew about erumpents and their habits. Newt looked a little impressed and intrigued. She used to do this for Harry when he was really worried about something. She'd just start talking and spilling her knowledge. It gave him something to focus on other than his troubles. Jacob seemed to be calming bit by bit.

They stopped at the rhino exhibit and saw a giant creature with leathery skin and a glowing horn protruding from its snout. The erumpent had cornered a considerably smaller rhino.

"Now, there's absolutely nothing for you to worry about." Newt told Jacob attempting to reassure him.

"Tell me, has anyone ever believed you when you told them not to worry?" It didn't work.

"My philosophy is that worrying means you suffer twice." Newt supplied.

He turned away to check back on his creature.

"Have some faith, Jacob, we won't let you get hurt." Hermione said patting his shoulder.

He gave her a weak smile.

"She's in season. She needs to mate." Newt explained, coming back over to them and pulling out a vial of liquid. "Erumpent musk, she's mad for it."

He unstopped the flask and dabbed it on his wrists. He can't truly think…? Hermione caught a whiff of it and turned her head away scrunching her nose in distaste. Newt handed the rest of it to Jacob, picked up his case and slowly walked out toward the erumpent.

With a flourish he opened his case and crouched.

Hermione frowned tilting her head to the side watching him. She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers.

"What is he…?" Jacob trailed off.

Newt continued to dance about the case making noises and grunts gaining the erumpent's attention.

Hermione let out a giggle and covered her mouth to contain her mirth.

"He's performing a mating ritual or dance of some kind." She said just as Newt flipped the tails of his coat. Her giggles began anew despite admiring the view presented.

Jacob looked more amused than terrified. He smiled along with Hermione.

Something hit Hermione's shoulder bumping her into Jacob who then spilled the phial of musk on them both. Hermione rubbed her shoulder where it was hit looking down to see a fish. Thoroughly confused, she looked around and saw everyone frozen. She could now smell the musk on her and the erumpent was looking at them.

It charged at them and Jacob grabbed her arm dragging her behind him as he ran. She flicked her wrist bringing her wand into her hand. She looked behind them and saw the erumpent gaining on them. She knew spells would be useless on the erumpent's hide, so she adjusted her grip on Jacob and apperated them away.

They landed on the other side of the penguin exhibit and the erumpent charged after them once more. They ran again hearing the ice breaking behind them. She apperated them once more at the base of a tree outside the zoo.

They paused to catch their breath. They met each other's eyes and laughed.

The erumpent broke through the wall startling them. Jacob started climbing the tree and after a moment's hesitation, Hermione followed.

"We're not safe here." Hermione told him once they made it on a sturdy branch.

The erumpent pushed on the tree jostling them causing them to nearly fall.

"You think so?"

"Look at her!" Hermione gestured toward the erumpent who was now shoving her horn into the base of the tree.

"Newt!" Jacob called, panicked.

Hermione grabbed Jacob's hand and apperated them out onto the icy lake just as the tree exploded. The large creature raced after the again and they scrambled to get to their feet. They ran as fast as they could while trying not to slip.

The erumpent's steps shook the ice beneath them causing them to fall. They turned to face the erumpent just as Newt captured it, closing the case.

All three of them were breathing heavily. Hermione let out a relieved laugh.

Back in the case once more, they were still giggling. Even as Newt went off to repair the erumpent enclosure and make sure she was alright, her and Jacob couldn't stop laughing.

"Not how you expected your day to go, I assume?" She asked Jacob, finally calming down.

"Not at all." He breathed in deep and let it flow out in a sigh. "What about you? Is this sort of thing common in your world?"

"Oh no, I do believe this to be a special case." Her eyes sparkled at her word play. Jacob laughed. "I've worked with creatures before, but I haven't had this much fun in ages."

And she meant it. She could remember one night shortly after the war ended, their grief had taken a momentary reprieve. Harry, Ron, and she sat around the fireplace at Grimauld and laughed. They reminisced on the past few years, absurdities, pranks, meltdowns, classmates, professors, ridiculousness. It felt good. It felt like healing. She hadn't had fun like that in a while.

The door to the shack opened and Newt walked in paying them no mind. He opened a small book and began writing in it. He inked words with frantic movements trying to get all his thoughts on the page before he lost them.

Jacob made a passing comment about going to see the mooncalves again and Newt through a mumbled warning about the obscurus over his shoulder.

Hermione stepped closer noting the sketches of creatures and scattered notes strewn about the table. She peered over his shoulder to read some of his writing. She was unsurprised to find multiple bullets about erumpents. She heard Newt mumbling under his breath, thoughts that couldn't be contained.

Newt noticed her inch closer and looked up at her. He saw curiosity and amusement etched into her smile. He found her fascinating, he'd yet to meet someone with such a wide range of both knowledge and compassion for all creatures.

"You were there," He mentioned, unable to stop himself from sharing his thoughts. "The erumpent's exploding liquid didn't explode right away. Erumpent horns almost always explode on contact which means-"

"That there's a level of reactivity either in the liquid or the horn itself." Hermione finished with a smile. She already knew this, of course. She read it in his book. Not to mention the explosive experience of the latent reaction from the erumpent horn Xenophilius Lovegood thought was the horn of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.

Newt looked a little surprised at her contribution, but he was quickly coming to accept her being knowledgeable about creatures.

"Personally, I think that the erumpet can control it. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing when she exploded the tree. Not to mention how unstable erumpent horns can be when separated from the creature." Hermione rambled, unable to contain her knowledge.

At Newt's expression, she clamped her mouth shut, blush staining her cheeks. She fiddled with the sleeves of her coat and looked away. Know-it-all.

Newt smiled. She was… a breath of fresh air. Most witches and wizards he's met in his travels reacted to creatures with fear and scorn. But not her.

"How did you get involved with creatures?" Newt wondered, bringing her attention back to him.

Hermione thought for a moment about when she began to care for these creatures. She traced it back to her third year, before she learned about house elves, before she knew about Professor Lupin's struggles as a werewolf.

"A hippogriff was put on trial for hurting a student, which in itself is rather idiotic, but I spent a long time put a case together to free him from a death sentence. It was barbaric." She sighed thinking back to her third year. She shook her head.

"And were you able to get it acquitted?"

Hermione gave an amused smile. "Not at all." She laughed. "We snuck him away under their noses."

Hermione sighed. Those were much simpler times.

"And you?" She asked him. "What inspired you to…" She trailed off gesturing around her at the case in general.

He shook his head and looked down at his feet. "My mother loved hippogriffs. She bred them for a living. She showed me how to care for them." He looked off into the distance, wistful. "My mother taught me a lot of things."

Hermione smiled. Her fingers spun one of the buttons on her coat around.

"I've been thinking a lot, you know." He set his quill down and turned to face her. He was frowning and seemed unsure. "As a pureblood, my mother made sure my brother and I knew pureblood politics. We had to know the other pureblood families. The Lawsons being one of those."

Hermione dropped her gaze clasping her hands together to keep from fidgeting.

"Edwin was a few years younger than I was in school. He and I never really spoke, but I'm sure I would have known if he had another family member named Hermione about his age."

Hermione had to curse the Ministry again. They come up with this grand idea to stop Grindelwald by using a time traveler but they don't even give them a solid cover. They thought as long as she had her papers, no one would question it. Never mind the fact that her "parents" are the same age as her. Anyone with half a brain can deduce that she hadn't been here for the entirety of her life.

Hermione tried to think of some excuse, but he continued on.

"It doesn't add up. Your ease and knowledge of creatures, the scar on your arm despite being from a pureblood family, you're age despite claiming the Lawson name…" His eyebrows were pinched, looking at the woman before him, he wanted to trust her.

She opened her mouth to say something, anything.

"Please don't lie to me." Newt said. For once he was looking her in the eye.

Hermione's chest tightened. She wanted to trust Newt. She wanted so desperately to have someone in this time that she could trust. She remembered how Dumbledore had used her position, manipulated her bleeding heart, and sent her to New York to fight his battle. She couldn't take someone else using her.

She opened her eyes, not realizing they'd closed in the first place, and met Newt's pleading, wary stare. He's a good man. He so clearly tries to be. Maybe…

A knock sounded through the case breaking the moment.

A/N: Originally, this chapter was going to be a bit longer, but then the chapter was already getting long enough.

You all know what's next though! I'm excited.

Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think, yeah?