Sirius was still grumbling on and off about the potions project. He hated having to be paired with a Slytherin for it. He blinked and glanced around when he thought he felt someone's gaze on him, and ended up meeting the eyes of that Hufflepuff girl from before.

Olivia quirked an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything. Instead she smirked at him and turned her attention to Professor Sprout, who had just come in and was starting their lesson.

"Put your eyes back in before Sprout notices you looking," Lupin teased quietly.

Sirius blinked and looked away again.

"Shove off, Moony," he muttered.

Remus snickered at that quietly but refrained from further teasing.

He did, however, beckon Olivia over to their table when Sprout set them to work. They still had room, they were working in groups of four to six today, after all. Really. He was just being a nice person.

Olivia raised her eyebrows but shrugged and meandered over to the Gryffindors. She didn't have anyone else currently trying to get her attention, after all.

Sirius sent him a wounded look when he realized Remus had invited Olivia over.

"Why?" he murmured. "That's cruel, Moony, just evil."

"She needs to work somewhere," Remus said too-innocently.

"Am I interrupting?" Olivia asked dryly, raising her eyebrows at the two of them.

"Of course not," Remus said without missing a beat. "Plenty of room here."

"I'll get you back for this," Sirius muttered to Remus as he rummaged around in his bag for a decent quill. He sat up again once he had one and grinned at Olivia. "May as well join us, looks like the rest of the groups are full already."

Olivia quirked an eyebrow at him but didn't object. Instead she simply set her stuff down and went to grab a pair of shears. They were pruning some plants today.

Sirius couldn't help but steal a couple of glances at her as they worked. He did, however, kick Remus under the table when the werewolf snickered at him.

Remus grinned unrepentantly. Oh the kick was worth it. Olivia, on the other hand, didn't really notice the looks. She did notice when one of the plants near Sirius decided to try to nibble on him, and discouraged that with a swat. The plant sulked.

Sirius blinked at that.

"What just happened?" he asked, glancing from her to the plant and back again.

"It wanted a nibble," Olivia told him, her voice bland. "You wouldn't like being nibbled on by this one."

Remus stifled a laugh behind his hand.

"I take it you're good at Herbology?" Sirius asked. "That's good, I guess. I rather like Charms more."

"Charms is fun," Olivia agreed. "Herbology I kind of can't get away from, since most of my House seems to be good at it, in general." She grinned a bit. "Defense Against the Dark Arts is my favorite, though."

Sirius smirked.

"Remus here is good at that," he said, jerking his thumb at his friend. "That, and Care of Magical Creatures."

"Well, I hope your Potions knowledge is decent," Olivia told Remus. "Because Cat is very good, and she probably won't slow down for you unless you ask nicely."

Remus smiled. "I think I'll manage."

Sirius snickered.

"If she wasn't a Slytherin I'd say it's cute that you like her," he said to Remus.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Sirius, your insistence on finding romance in things is amusing."

Olivia snorted.

"I can't help that you were making eyes at her," Sirius said with a shrug. "Not my fault."

Remus just sighed and shook his head. Olivia snorted quietly and went back to tending the plants, distinctly amused now.

A few nights later, Cat found herself up on the astronomy tower, making some notes on her most recent star chart. It was late and the moon was shining brightly out over the Forbidden Forest, casting a comforting silver glow over the grounds. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of movement, and she turned to see what it was.

A large black dog was loping across the grounds toward the fighting tree. The tree took a couple of swipes at the dog, which jumped out of the way expertly. The dog jumped and landed on a large knot on the tree trunk and the tree froze, a hole opening up at the base. Fascinated, Cat watched the dog disappear down the hole. After another moment or two, the tree started swaying again.

Cat deliberated with herself for a moment before packing up her things heading down from the tower. She was too curious not to investigate.

Soon, a black cat was darting across the grounds, sleek fur glimmering in the moonlight. She pounced on the same knot she saw the dog hit, and disappeared down the same hole that opened up. Time to see what was going on.

Olivia had been lounging about doing some homework, but she happened to see Cat darting across the grounds. While not abnormal, she was supposed to be in Astronomy, and if she found mischief to get into she at least notified Olivia first.

So, Olivia did the only reasonable thing. She snuck out of the castle after Cat, heading for the Whomping Willow.

Cat was already making her way up the secret passage. She could hear all sorts of noise coming from up ahead, so she was being cautious, but she still couldn't suppress her curiosity. She just had to know what was going on.

No one inside the shack at the end of the passage noticed the cat. They were all too busy with the werewolf who was packing around the main room.

Cat crouched in the corner nearest the entrance, watching the werewolf pace. She had no idea this was something that was happening so close to the school every month, and it kind of worried her. And the dog and stag didn't help things, either. It was obvious they weren't normal animals, and she hadn't heard of other animagi in the area.