The whole entire week was a botched effort full stop. Between trying to find her cat, getting her window repaired and the arguments at work; Hermione was utterly spent. The board at the local zoo still was rejecting her offer to come in and survey their efforts for the more endangered species. The only thing that wasn't throwing her out the door was her credentials and support.

The university was keen to prove her case. All at-risk cases needed better conservation. It was a fight she was willing to struggle for because even tigers deserve a voice. It wasn't until Friday that she was given a chance to meet their different branches.

Hermione was straightening her suit as she strode by some of the monkeys banging their hands on the fences at her. She smirked up at the animal as she traveled down to the far end of the park toward the back buildings. They were welcoming, and her heart started to thump as she grasped the doorknob. This would be the first time she met the crew that worked with these animals daily.

Walking in, she saw a blond set of hair, and her heart eased up. "Luna?" Hermione questioned as she advanced into the quiet office.

The dreamy looking woman glanced back at her and waved. "Oh, hello, Hermione."

"I didn't realize you worked here," Hermione said a bright smile.

"Just helping in between expeditions," Luna murmured and tapped pages down on the desk. "Hermione, did you know that we feed our animals the highest grade possible for their diet?"

"That's very good. I'm actually here by the uni's orders," Hermione tried with a small tint to her cheeks.

Luna glanced up at her with a nod. "Well, that's alright. We both know we want the same thing. Regardless of how people feel about zoos on both sides, I think your perspective is important."

Hermione felt awkward while standing in the office. Luna was still filing paperwork as if she wasn't interrupted and the curly-haired woman shifted oddly. She was about to ask when they were going to get to work when she heard a door shut. It was as if the sound was tenfold louder, causing the young woman to shudder lightly.

"Miss Lovegood, have you seen those forms?" A familiar voice questioned.

Hermione's vision snapped to her right and saw the bookish man from the café last week. He was in a jumpsuit covered in blood smears. The man was wiping his hands on a towel as he glanced over at a calendar.

"Also, do we have those cubs coming in this week?" He inquired, scratching his facial hair.

Hermione hemmed, causing the man to jerk. "Hello, Sir," The woman murmured.

The man in the green jumpsuit gasped and rubbed his hand in the towel before approaching her. "Oh, Miss Granger? It's so lovely to meet you," he declared holding his hand out.

"Remus," she mused, shaking his hand.

He chuckled and laughed, which made her feel a little heat to her face. "Oh, yes, the café. Remus Lupin. I apologize for my socially inept mate."

He kept shaking her hand as she smirked and nodded. "Quite the moron. So," she paused and glanced down at his hand before back up at him. "You are?"

He yanked his hand away with a blush. "I am the on-site professor and director of the Felidae branch," Remus declared with a small nod.

"Professor Lupin used to run the Canis branch, but changed last year," Luna murmured, tapping pages down.

Remus cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, well, thanks, Miss Lovegood."

"Well, that is inspiring. We might have similar opinions on conservation efforts."

"Um, well, as inspiring as your efforts are, Miss Granger. I do believe your concepts are a little underdeveloped," Remus murmured, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Underdeveloped?"

"We will discuss that later. How about I show you around?" He offered with chagrin.

"Oh, yes, of course," Hermione mumbled.

Hermione bobbed her head slowly, and he unbuttoned his jumpsuit, revealing an older and aged looking attire. The woman noted he dressed probably far older than he really was in age. It was an analysis that Hermione was curious to find out why. They would be working together for the next two months so she would find out eventually.


Remus walked into the house with a small sigh as he unbuttoned his coat. It was a day of ups and down. The ups were when Miss Granger was laughing at his animal jokes and scientific puns. The downs were when they got into a substantial discussion about her views about her conservation efforts. She wants to pose eventual emptying of zoos unless the animal was beyond release.

He tried desperately to convey that many animals would never be able to find the instinct they needed to fight out in the wild. Hermione spieled on about the animal behavior dynamics, and he had to admire her tenacity at least. She was smart. Bookishly so.

Once the conversation turned back to hobbies, they found the delightful similarity of reading and academia. Obviously, because she was flying through her uni classes at such a young age... well, she looked young. Not that he was looking. No, that would have been absolutely appalling to admit.

They traded stories about different books and classes, which only caused Remus more enjoyment. Miss Granger had a doe-eyed view of things he felt at times. It reminded him of Sirius when he wasn't putting on some show. So, quite possibly more ups than downs?

"Get your arse in here and see what Toby is doing!" Sirius shouted, bring Remus out of his thoughts.

Remus fumbled into the sitting room to see Sirius with a laser light flashing it over the carpet. The orange furball was chasing the light and jumping up the curtains. Sirius barked out laughter as the cat hissed and dropped from the cloth and glared at him.

"Toby Jones, don't be so angry," Sirius snickered as the cat pranced off toward Remus.

The professor bent down and scratched the cat a bit before sighing. "How was work today?" Remus asked.

"Excellent. I rehabilitated that deaf dog. He is meeting a possible forever home tomorrow," Sirius declared, pocketing the laser. "How about you? Did you meet the prissy swot from uni today? Was she absolutely a bore?"

"You remember that girl from the café?" Remus inquired as he picked up the giant cat.

Sirius groaned with a broad smile. "Oh, yes. The one that looked like she knew how to knob lick and beg for more?"

"Well, yes. I mean, not in that sentiment, but yes. That is the doctorate candidate that I met with today," Remus mumbled as a tint rose to his cheeks.

The dark-haired man nearly fell over in laughter as he filled the room with it. Sirius was almost crying by the time he recovered enough to speak. "Oh, Moony. Was she as frosty as she was in the café? Did she recognize you?"

"She did… unfortunately. It made for an awkward introduction. Once more, I think we should probably not call her the siren from the corner of Grimmauld. I just don't want that to be commonplace for a woman I'm going to have to work with."

"Was she hot? Did she look done up?" Sirius was interrogating with a grin.

Remus huffed, waving his free hand. "For fuck's sake, Padfoot. She is in her final months at the university. She is going to get her doctorate soon."

"Still, as swotty as she must be, she was a feisty little babe, isn't she?"

The other man groaned loudly and moved toward the doorway. "You're bloody impossible, Sirius," Remus snapped.

The dark-haired man skipped after his flatmate and was chuckling. "Oh, Moony, you have a bit of a crush?"

"Come along, Toby. Let's get you a bit of cream. I don't know how you dealt with him all afternoon," Remus told the purring cat as they entered the kitchen.

Remus set the cat down on the floor and pulled a bowl out from the cupboard. Sirius shuffled at the bar and rested on his hands with his elbows set on the counter. Remus's green eyes were searching in the fridge as he pulled out the small carton of cream, but his face was still in a contorted expression.

Sirius watched the slouching man in contemplation. "Moony, please don't be mad at me," Sirius huffed.

"I'm not," Remus sighed as he poured the bowl for the meowing creature rubbing between his calves.

"I promise I won't be such a tosser," Sirius said with a small smirk.

The studious man snorted and swayed his head. "Far off chance you can stick to it, Pads," he replied but finished with a smile.

"Very true, but that's alright," Sirius snickered.

"I'm going to get into a shower. Warm me up something, yeah?"

"You bet, Remus. Enjoy," Sirius said with a curve to his lips.


Hermione was running on the treadmill next to Harry who was going at a faster pace. Despite their life together as their lives have changed, they still tried to do things together. Working out was one of the things they did together alone. Ron used to when he and Hermione were dating ages ago, but as she realized their chemistry was fading, so did his presence in their group activities.

They soon hopped off and were puffing as they stretched through their cool down. "How was the zoo?" Harry panted as he started lunges.

"It was," she paused and exhaled. "Nice. I met an interesting professor," She mused as she sat down on the ground to stretch her limbs out.

"A handsome, young professor? Preferably with a taste in bookish girls?" Harry inquired with a smirk.

Hermione snorted as she tossed her ponytail. "No, he was older. His name is Remus Lupin. Remember those wankers at the café? He was the logical one," She finished with a swivel of her eyes.

Harry nearly fell into laughter. "One of those blokes is the man you need to work with? Why does that surprise me?" He was shaking his head as he spoke.

The curly-haired woman bent toward one of her legs and sighed. "He spoke about the tosser that is his roommate tons. Gin and I thought they were gay, but it seems clearly that is not the case. Sirius Black is the gent that owns that Sanctuary outside of town."

"Sirius Black, you say?"

Hermione made an agreeing sound. "Mhm, that's the tosser."

Harry frowned and dug for his glasses in his bag. "I wonder if he went to school with my da," He murmured, scratching his chin. "I remember my aunt mentioning a Black."

The woman hemmed and folded her legs. "Possibly. I can poke around if you like. Professor Lupin and I seem to have a very polite decorum," Hermione murmured, pulling out her binding.

The man was cleaning his glasses while stifling a smirk. "Well, polite is a good start."

"Harry," Hermione growled as she narrowed her eyes at him. "He is a professor that could make or break my work. Shall we keep this from getting mucky?"

"Fair enough," Harry grumbled, hiding his smile behind a towel.

"Come along. I want to go do a quick walk around the block before it gets too dark."

"You know, he probably is going to be waiting on your steps when you get home. Some old lady found him and fed him up until he got bored and missed you," Harry sighed.

Hermione huffed and grabbed her jumper. "I hope so, Harry. I miss my cat," She declared with a pout.

Harry scooped her under his arm. "We'll find him, Hermione. Crooks is a smart cat."