No one moved. No one spoke. Even Harry seemed turned to stone as they all stared at the naked, prone form of one Sirius Black. Hermione snapped her eyes from him, and spotted Arthur's cloak dangling over one of the chairs. "Thank Merlin he's on his stomach!" She scooped it up and gently draped it over Sirius, as if afraid that touching him would make him disappear. Still no one moved. She turned to Harry, who's eyes were void of emotion, his mouth agape. Next she turned to Lupin, who oddly wore the same expression as Harry.

She huffed and with a single, loud stomp of her foot, jarred everyone out of their stupor.

"Would someone like to help me get him off of the table, please?"

Lupin and Harry jumped forward and, cradling the man between them while careful to keep his privates as covered as possible, carried him up the stairs.. Molly followed them, while Hermione grabbed her own cloak off the rack.

"I'm going to get Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey. I have a feeling we're going to need both of them."

Hermione lay in bed, her mind racing with possibilities. It was nearly 2am, 7 hours after Sirius, a man who was supposed to be dead, dropped onto their dining room table. As soon as McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey had arrived, they'd shooed everyone from the room, and were not allowing Sirius any visitors.

Around midnight McGonagall had emerged from Sirius' room and informed them that he was awake, but his memory was hazy. He had no perception of time, and how long he'd been in the Veil. What had been a few years, had seemed an eternity to him. He didn't know how he'd returned, only that something had called to him, had been calling to him for as long as he could remember. When he finally reached what he'd been longing to find, he lost all thought, and eventually woke in his bed.

Now Hermione found herself wondering how Sirius had returned from the Veil. No one knew what was in there, and not only had he fallen in, but he'd been murdered before his body even entered it.

With a frustrated grunt she tossed her covers aside, quietly left her room, and made her way down to the kitchen. Normally she boiled her water for tea without magic, but tonight her mind was going too fast a pace to wait. She magically heated the kettle and prepared the tea, conjuring a second cup for her usual nighttime guest. A shadow passed across the door and she turned, cup extended to hand to George. Though the face she met was not George's, it was the startled face of her former Professor.

It had been happening every night for the past 3 weeks. Between midnight and 2am, someone tiptoed out of their room, into the kitchen, and within minutes the sweetest smell would drift through the house. Remus believed that only he could smell it, but soon another person began joining the first in the kitchen. Like clockwork he heard it, and the following smell would keep him awake for hours. The only thing that kept him from following the entrancing smell down the stairs was his inability to interrupt whomever the couple was who met so routinely.

But this night was different. Out of thin air, when he needed him most, Sirius had appeared, nude as the day he was born without even a tattoo to mar his figure. It was as if the Gods had seen fit to give him a second chance, with a new body to boot. Remus' mind was racing, and he hoped that sweet, sweet smell would be able to calm his frayed nerves.

He waited a few minutes to see if the second, heavier pair of footsteps made the path down the stairs, but none came. He couldn't stand it any longer. He followed the intoxicating aroma down the stairs and into the kitchen. As he rounded the corner, the sight he met was almost enough to cause a heart attack.

Hermione, whom he never saw any way but completely composed, was standing in the kitchen in a pair of sleeping shorts and a tank top, her feet bare. Her hair, which she had learned to tame to calm sophisticated curls, was once again a tangled mess framing her face.

Her back was to him and he was certainly seeing her in a new light, and in the minimal attire he could truly see the woman she had grown to be. No longer the pre-teen book worm, Hermione was all woman. Where the only other girl in the house her age was small and muscular from years of playing quidditch, Hermione was full figured and curvaceous.

Remus' eyes darted over her body, from her perfectly shaped legs, to a round firm arse, over full hips, and up to that messy hair. His breath caught as she shifted to pour the tea before he finally realized what he was doing. "Bloody hell man, you just ogled your former student!"

He felt a second presence welling inside him, and internally groaned. He felt the wolf before he heard him. "And why wouldn't we ogle her. She's prime meat. If you only knew what I would do to that beautiful, round-" Remus interrupted the wolf's thought process, feeling the heat he was causing rise up in him. "I don't want to know what you would do to her, because it is never going to happen. We have Dora. We should never look at Hermione that way." The wolf let out a dissatisfied moan. "That girl could never give us what we need. She only cares about her own pleasure. You never let me out when with her, and you cannot be fully satisfied if I am not satisfied. But Hermione, she could take me. I know she could. I can smell it."

The heat rose within him again and Remus forced the wolf back down, shaking his head to clear it of the unclean thoughts. He took an unsteady breath and stepped fully into the kitchen, and just as he was about to announce his presence she turned with a smile on her face. The smile faded as she saw him and he began to shrink back.

"Professor! I wasn't expecting to see you up so late." Hermione had been expecting to see George when she turned around. Her surprise caught her off guard, and somehow she felt she may have offended her former professor.

"One could say the same of you I suppose." he said with a slight shrug. "I'm sorry if I bothered you, I'll just leave-"

"Oh no Professor, you don't have to leave. Is there something you needed?" she sat at the table, levitating the tea kettle and cups to her. Remus took a step into the kitchen, his head bowed slightly and hands tucked into his pockets.

"Well, for a few weeks now I've been smelling the sweetest aroma every night. I just couldn't help myself. I had to come down and see what it was." Hermione's eyes widened and a flush rose from her neck to her face.

"I am so sorry Professor. I didn't realize anyone could smell my tea. Usually George comes down and joins me for a cup, but that's just because he has trouble sleeping."

"So that was who had been following her." The wolf growled inside but Remus ignored it. "Well, anyone other than me wouldn't smell it. The wolf in me gives me a much keener sense of hearing and smell."

With a groan Hermione smacked her forehead. "I should have known that. I'm so sorry Professor, I didn't mean to keep you up."

Remus chuckled and took a seat at the table. "It's quite alright Hermione. You can repay me by sliding that spare cup you have there over to me." Hermione floated the cup across the table to him, smiling. "And one other thing. You don't have to call me Professor anymore. You can call me Remus."

A fresh blush crept into her cheeks and she shook her head fiercely. "Considering you were probably the best professor I ever had in school, I can't imagine calling you anything else."

Remus nodded, feeling his heart sink slightly. "No matter, whatever you feel comfortable with. Now, if you don't mind my asking, what in the world are you doing up so late?"

Hermione sipped her tea, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I've been having problems sleeping as of late, so as you know, I've been making myself some tea every night. But tonight was different. I just can't get the questions out of my head!"

Remus' back straightened, fairly sure he knew what was bothering her. "You can't stop wondering how Sirius came back from the Veil, can you?"

Without a response, Hermione stood and began to pace rapidly around the kitchen. He watched her as she circled, thinking out loud. "It is mind boggling. He was dead before he fell in. I saw the curse hit him! And did you see his body on the table? Not a tattoo or scar, just fresh skin, like that of a newborn baby. I just can't seem to wrap my mind around an answer. It is beyond irritating."

He chuckled and finished his tea, feeling more relaxed. "Perhaps, after hearing all the facts from Sirius himself, you and I can work on an answer together. It can be our little project before you return to school. I'm sure you could use something to keep that mind of yours occupied."

Hermione's eyes danced and a smile lit her face. "Would you help me? I know the boys are just as curious, and I don't mean to be rude, but I need someone of more intellect for this. And you are just the person!"

This time it was Remus' turn to blush, and he tried to stop the flutter in his heart at her compliment. "Of course I will help you, Hermione. As soon as Sirius is able to speak to us, we'll get working on it. Now, it's late. Young ladies like you should be in bed, and werewolves like me need a midnight snack." He watched her as she bounced up the stairs before groaning and dropping his head onto the table. "What has gotten into me? I'm acting like a love struck school boy, and now I've gone and gotten myself mixed up in a project with her."

As a final thought hit him he groaned again, slamming his head once more for good measure. "What is Dora going to say?"

~Author's Note~ Thank you so much for the reviews. I had meant to post this chapter this morning, but unforeseeable circumstances got in the way. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up by tomorrow night.