History: Part Three

by bowtruckle90

Third installment of the parable of Severus and Joanna. Rated M for a reason. Everything but Joanna belongs to JK Rowling.

There were lots of changes around the house in the summer. Joanna downsized. Instead of keeping the triple sized townhouse she closed up the sections to their original state and sold two of them fully furnished on the muggle market, keeping the one that contained the study used as a workroom, her old bedroom and the menagerie. The servants' quarters were on the ground floor, which was turned into a kitchen, and the parlor adjacent to it was made into a dining room, smaller than the old one, but cozy all the same and retaining a small section near the front windows for sitting and reading.

She retained two bedrooms, a bath and a half, had a kitchen, dining room, a workroom, and a den. Actually, she turned the old workroom into the den after a few weeks of cramped space being shared with the potions master, and made the old den remained empty, and moved the workspace into the finished attic.

When it was all said and done the ground floor held the kitchen and dining room and the half bathroom, the second floor had the menagerie and the old den which was now an empty room, and the walk in closet, and the third floor had the two bedrooms with the full bath and there was a drop down staircase at the end leading into the attic workroom.

The most amusing part was having muggles around all the time for about a month. But in the end it gave Joanna a great fortune to put in her vault after exchanging the muggle pounds at the Ministry. After that she put away all of her old robes of extravagant design in her new attic-closet, following which she bought a new wardrobe of simple robes. Still as many colors, but they were all simply made, with only skirt pockets for carrying her wand and other small things and made of tightly woven cotton.

And to top it off, Marvin was now living in the second floor walk in closet; he even made up a corner for himself with a bed of linens, a small array of makeshift clothes which were always as clean as the day he made them, and some books (a literate house elf; and Severus thought he's seen it all).

Joanna worked more than usual, and consequently so did Severus. They spent their days making eyes at one another from across the worktable which stood in the center of the attic, and letting their hands brush one another when reaching for the same book on one of the shelves that lines every wall of the room or an instrument on the table. They started with breakfast every morning with the sun and ended with hugs and kisses late at night. Never on the lips, though. The cheeks were the norm, occasionally Severus would bestow a peck on the crown of Joanna's head.

They still visited Diagon Alley often, and Severus would sometimes purchase something for her. A new book, a scarf once, he even sprung for a new cloak when hers tore, making sure it was in the same bright Kelly green that brought out the creaminess of her skin and the sprinkle of green in her eyes. Even when they made an occasional appearance at their favorite obscure corner tavern The Elf's Inn (owned by a wizard but run entirely by house elves) for dinner and good conversation based around poking fun at the lonely old wizards and witches that normally ate there, they sat more towards the back, at a more private table.

But their couple of episodes of stripping had never escalated past that one afternoon the previous academic year.

Nevertheless, it was a productive summer. Joanna had made some breakthroughs with a substance called theravitum, which could only be produced when sage's sand was boiled down to a liquid form and then left to harden. The effect created an almost matte metallic powder substance when the concoction dried naturally that when thrown at a hard surface would make a fantastic explosion. Joanna had destroyed half the den testing it, but nothing that couldn't be repaired with a few charms. She sent the findings to her father's old contact in Italy with Arthur the fruit bat and when he returned several weeks later, Arthur was laden with enough gold to wreck his flight pattern. Italians paid dearly for new secrets to the world's elemental capacities, no matter how small or insignificant. In the northern part of Europe, wizard kind didn't find it nearly as useful, and therefore where one might only collect a few galleons for their findings, instead you brought home enough to refurnish your entire house.

Not that that was what Joanna did with it. She put most of it away in her vault. When Severus went with her that afternoon he discovered two things about his protégée: one was that she had two vaults, one for artifacts and findings and important documentations, and the other for her gold. The second finding was exactly how much gold she had. The vault was so full to brimming that the goblins had added a cage to the entrance through which there was a two foot by two foot door that Joanna reached through to draw her coins out; otherwise the gold would have flown out of the vault like a tsunami. Now Severus understood how Flamel had gotten so rich. The answer was foreign trade.

With the little of the commission Joanna kept, she spent it on a few items the house needed, and also bought some more personal items which, when she returned from the alley, Joanna would not take out of the bag until she was behind her closed bedroom door.

While packing for the new school year, rather too late for the staff's welcome feast and just barely in time for the official welcome back feast, Joanna brought up something that had been bothering her for a while. "What about moving the menagerie out?"

They were in the workroom. Severus was pulling books off a shelf and packing them into a small trunk. "Why?"

"Because I don't need three dozen rats, twenty snakes and everything else in there. Any animal essences I experiment with I can get through Ollivander or the menagerie down the street, I don't need my own menagerie."

"It's useful to have it so close…and without cost."

"Aside from feeding everything." Joanna sat on the worktable beside the trunk and rested her eight on her hands as they grasped the edge. "I know, but at the very least I could stand to downsize. Get rid of some of the animals and move the menagerie into the empty room."

"And what of the old menagerie?" Severus asked, closing the lid of the trunk and leaning on it. Joanna shrugged. "It was an idea. Nothing pressing. Maybe next summer."

She smiled and hopped off the table lightly touching his shoulder as she passed behind him and heading down the stairs to pack the rest of her things from her bedroom and leave instructions for Marvin.

Severus finished packing up his supplies while thinking about Joanna and the changes she had made in the home and her appearance. Joanna had shed her childhood; or at least the parts that disagreed with her these days. She was only twenty and yet she was now taking herself as seriously as though she were done her apprenticeship and had officially stepped into her father's shoes, which of course was the plan, but entirely sooner than Severus would have anticipated. He supposed the expectation of her first successful sale had emboldened her to instigate her more adult lifestyle. Severus would miss the revealing robes, but he was certain she would bring at least the green one for Christmas and the yellow one for Easter. The new robes were nothing if not revealing in their own manner. The old ones which had all been gifts from her father were alluring due to their baubles and intricacies which added a certain touch to Joanna making her look unattainable. These new sets hugged her body closer and were free of frivolous adornments, making it seem so incredible easy to just slip them off that tiny body of hers. The robes, the coziness of the downsized home…

Yes, Severus thought as he levitated his trunk downstairs to his own bedroom, this change of pace would suit him just fine.

Severus was in a sour mood. The feast to welcome the students back at the beginning of the year always made him descend into annoyed silence, but this was different. Severus wasn't merely annoyed, but downright peeved to the point of sulking. It didn't take long for Joanna to identify the causes. Severus always at least said hello to every staff member, only stopping to chat with a select few, but the one person he had completely snubbed to the end that he would not stand within five feet of the man was the new Defense teacher. That was the first cause.

The second was something they hadn't heard about by some miracle until they arrived at the school: Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban. Joanna knew about Sirius black; whenever Severus talked about the trouble he had in school there were always three major players, Lily, James and Sirius. Joanna knew everything about that history by now. In fact, she knew it all, save for the one detail that continued to haunt Severus every time he looked at her angelic face.

Joanna decided to sit between the two of them at the feast. When the speech had been made and Professor Lupin had been introduced the food appeared and as she piled mashed potatoes, roasted pork tenderloin, and vegetables onto her plate, Joanna asked the new professor some questions.

"So, Lupin. I make it a point to call my equals by their first names around here. I'm not a student anymore and rarely call anyone formally anymore. What should I call you?"

Lupin swallowed from his goblet of pumpkin juice and smiled in her direction. "Well it's a pleasure to meet Nicholas Flamel's daughter I must say. You can call me Remus."

Joanna stopped spooning potatoes onto her plate and looked at him, barely registering Severus' irritated grunt in her right ear. "You're Remus Lupin?" She turned her head towards Severus. "The Remus Lupin?"

"Severus has mentioned me I see."

Remus sounded a little nervous, as though Joanna's opinion of him must be tainted. But she turned back to him with smile and a tilt to her head. "Only from his perspective. I'd like to hear form you."

Severus sighed loudly and after giving him one last smile, Joanna focused on her meal. She and Remus did not exchange another word during the feast, and Severus would like things to stay that way. Preferably for the rest of the year.

Joanna was walking down a corridor with a stack of parchment. She was working out an equation for a new project of hers involving snake venoms and powdered asphodel. She was attempting a new kind of poison. Not that poisons were a good thing, and technically a snake bite could kill a man on its own merit, but not like this. Not as fast and not as assuredly. But the testing had not been going on well, and her rats kept refusing to die, or they seemed to but not very fast and then miraculously recovered. Joanna thought a nice walk would help her puzzle it out. She intended on keeping this one for herself and lock it in Gringotts when it was finished. It would be too dangerous to sell. She had other projects she was working on, but this was had her most puzzled.

She was passing by the Defense classroom when she heard music and Remus calling, "Next!"

Joanna bit her lip. Severus was waiting for her in the Great Hall to catch lunch early, but she was simply too interested to pass this up. Quietly she opened the door and slipped inside. The third years students were filed in a line and at the back of the classroom was a wardrobe, in front of which at the moment was a very large spider with roller skates. It fell over and Remus called for a new opponent for whatever it was before the students. Ron moved towards the back of the line and the thing turned into a snake.

Joanna now understood; they were messing with a boggart. The snake was turned into a giant jack in the box for a slight girl, at which point Harry stepped forward. The jack turned into a dementor. Remus jumped in front of the boy and the boggart shifted into the moon. After disposing of it, Remus dismissed his class. And when the last of the pupils had left and only Joanna was left, Remus smiled and stopped the playing record. "Hello," he said brightly.

"Hello,'" she answered. "That looked like a good lesson. I can't stand boggarts though."

Remus stuffed his hands in his pockets and strode forward. "Why is that?'

"I can take care of one, but I hate what it becomes." Joanna hesitated. "Boggarts turn into something terrible; they turned into the masked Death Eater who killed my mother and kidnapped me. The thought that still terrifies me is he could come back for me one day, even though I know it's irrational."

Remus was now standing directly in front of Joanna. He shrugged, "Fears are irrational, and your experience was difficult. Did you see the dementors on the way in?"

Joanna nodded, "Yes, but they stayed well enough away. Severus cast his patronus and it kind of pranced along ahead of us. Strange animal for him; I would have picked something a little more menacing."

"What was it," Remus chuckled.

"A doe."

Remus pulled the corners of his mouth down and raised his eyebrows. He was a little surprised too. He then went to the door and opened it. He gestured towards the hall, "Lunch?"

They walked together towards the hall, talking amicably. Eventually they reached the ground floor and the hall entrance. They paused when they got there. Severus was standing at the Griffindor table berating a kid for something or other, handing out detention time.

"Is there anything you like about your mentor?" Remus was smiling and shaking his head, still digging his hands into his pockets.

"Aside from the fact that I was the only student he ever treated fairly in his twelve years here," she paused and watched as Severus stalked back towards the staff table. She hadn't seen them together, and by all accounts that was a good thing. Best make themselves split before he turned to sit. "He's a good man. He just has a hard time dealing with his past."

She started to walk away and Severus climbed the steps toward the table. Remus called to her softly enough so the noise wouldn't carry. "What does he say about me?"

Joanna stopped and turned her head to the side towards him. "Nothing good."

She turned back and Severus caught her eye. He smiled, she smiled back, and hustled up to the table. Remus waited a few minutes, watching Severus and Joanna interact. They smiled and Severus passed a book to her. She took it and they both seemed to glow in one another's company. They were more than just mentor and mentee. Even more than friends, or so it seemed to Remus. No wonder Severus got so unglued at the feast when she was talking to him. He was marking his territory. Joanna was the kind of girl who always went for Remus when he was a student. Severus was trying not to lose her.

Remus liked her, and under different circumstances he might have gone for it, but she was young. Perhaps the age didn't bother Severus, but it bothered Remus…particularly with all the extra baggage on his shoulders.

The second week of school Joanna was sick. It didn't happen often that anyone got sick and stayed sick at Hogwarts since Poppy cold fix anything in a jiff. This was different though; Joanna was suffering from a severe fever to the point of delirium and extreme fatigue. She slept almost twenty hours in a day.

Poppy couldn't identify what Joanna had, be she was convinced that she would get better with time and rest and various potions to make her comfortable. Madame Pomfry's best guess was she had contracted something on her recent trip to Florence to hand off some findings about the black dragon's blood she was working with shipped in from central Africa. She decided to hand it off to her consult Caroli personally; since she was worried the vial would break if it flew, Joanna had taken a day to get there, a day with Caroli, and a day to get back. She had done a lot of apparating, giving disease a very small window to get to her, but she had stopped for lunch twice in a tavern in France, a little village just east of Lyon. On her second trip she could recall that there was a man near her at the bar who was ill.

However it had happened, the point was that it seemed to be something English wizard Folk had never suffered, because nothing worked to relieve her. Severus decided on the second day to take Joanna out of the Hospital Wing and brought her back to her bedroom in their quarters.

Severus couldn't take time off to take care of her; he was the only potions master at the school. A week after she was bed ridden Joanna missed a quiddich match, and that tore her up. And it was two weeks later that, while Severus was up administering another dose of potion for the fever that there was a knock on his door.

It was a Saturday and the students had been out on a Hogsmeade trip. At around eight, they had all returned, eaten dinner, swapped stories of the day with friends and were heading to their dormitories. That was when there was a very insistent knock on the door to the quarters Severus and Joanna shared. When he opened it the Headmaster was on the other side.

"Severus, there's been an incident. I'll need you and Joanna to report to the Great Hall and, Severus, I'll need your help." Severus lingered at the door for a moment, expecting Dumbledore to leave. Instead the headmaster remained there and added, "Quick as you can, please, Severus."

He turned back into the hall and rushed back to Joanna's room. He collected his antidotes and packed them into their chest and wrapped Joanna in a blanket. With the girl in his arms and the chest in one hand, Severus left his quarters. Handing his chest off to Dumbledore together the three of them made their way to the Great Hall, and upon arriving Severus saw that all the students and faculty in the school were there.

Severus took one of the sleeping bags and made it up for Joanna in the farthest corner he could find, out near the bell jars containing the gems counting the points for each house. They glowed at night from the stars in the painted ceiling so Severus had plenty of light to see from. When she was comfortable and Severus was sure Joanna was still sleeping he reported to Dumbledore.

"The Fat Lady who guards Griffindor tower has been attacked by Sirius Black. I am asking all the teachers to check the school. If he is still here he is to be taken, alive, and brought directly to me."

Severus nodded and started away, but he turned once and opened his mouth to speak. Dumbledore interrupted. "Poppy is on her way from checking the hospital. I'll send her to watch after Joanna when she arrives."

Severus sighed, "Thank you, sir," and headed for the dungeons. They were massive, and he estimated it would take him at least an hour to search the whole thing. By now it was almost nine and the lights were about to be shut off and the students made to go to bed. He looked one more time on his way out towards Joanna. She slept on, oblivious to the fact that she was not even in her own room anymore. Hopefully she wouldn't wake up before Severus could return. Otherwise she could suffer a nasty shock in her state of mind.

It was well past midnight when Severus returned. He had checked the dungeons and took reports from the other teachers who had checked other various parts of the castle. After reporting to Dumbledore he tried very hard to throw Lupin under the bus, even though Severus was very sure that the teacher had nothing to do with this particular incident. After the allusion had been dismissed and the headmaster decided that Potter should not be warned of his connection to the outlaw, Severus returned to Joanna, still lying in the corner, and shooed Poppy away to resume taking care of her himself.

She was awake. "How do you feel?' Severus asked.

Joanna sighed and looked up over her head where the house gems sat in their jars. She then turned away looking upset and saying, "Tell the treasurer to count my treasury again…I'm missing some."

Severus patted her forehead with a cooling serum and responded, "Of course."

"Of course what?"

Severus took a guess. "Your majesty?"

She reached up and patted his cheek twice. "That's right."

Joanna then fell back into a fitful sleep. She didn't wake a again for a long time, but often times she would kick and squirm as though she was trying to run from something in a nightmare. She woke up another time in the night, maybe around four in the morning, and started making predictions based on the stars and planets on the ceiling.

She slept soundly after that and soon Severus himself succumbed to a dreamless doze.

When he woke up the next morning it very early, maybe five. The ceiling was a dove gray color and stars still hung dimly in it. The students were all still asleep in their sleeping bags and Minerva was on duty keeping the peace and ushering our the few who woke up quietly out of the hall and back to their houses. Severus rolled over, wincing slightly at the pain in his back from sleeping a couple of hours on the stone floor and noticed that Joanna was gone.

A wave of panic rushed through him. If she had entered another delirium while he slept she could have gone anywhere. But he had not fallen asleep until nearly three. Two hours was long enough to make it all the way through Hogsmeade on foot.

Taking solace in the fact she did not have her wand, Severus headed out of the hall to look for Joanna. He didn't have to go far, as he ran out the front doors and out into the damp morning he saw Joanna hustling back up to the castle along the dirt path, barefooted and rubbing her arms for warmth. She got to him and he transfigured a rock into a quilt for her. He draped it over her and drew her close as they walked together back up to the castle.

When they made it back to their place in the hall, Severus evaluated her. He felt her forehead. "Your fever is gone, and you seem awake enough."

Joanna nodded and drew her knees into her chest wrapping her arms around them, "Three weeks and suddenly it broke."

"How?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I think a dementor shocked me awake. I found myself on the grounds this morning and absolutely freezing because there was a dementor nearby. I was able to produce some patronus material and get away but I was completely lucid." She looked sheepish for a moment, then added, "And starving."

Severus nodded in understanding and handed her a bar of chocolate all teachers were keeping on their person these days, which Joanna tore into as though she hadn't eaten in weeks, which of course she pretty much hadn't. However he frowned, trying to puzzle it out. "You noticed the cold first. Maybe that's what snapped you out of it." Joanna shrugged and finished her breakfast of fine swiss chocolate, after which she let Severus shepherd her back to her room and even stayed there for one more day on his request. She was more than happy to stay in bed on a Sunday, just so long as she was allowed to bring her several parchment scrolls with her so she could work on some equations.

By Monday three weeks after she contracted this terrible disease, Joanna was back in the workroom more than able to carry on her work and holding fast to a promise to fly everything from then on.

Madame Pomfrey came into Severus' office while Joanna was sitting at his desk reading an essential text. She looked up as the healer entered and greeted her. "Poppy, what can I help you with?"

"Actually dear," she said lowly. "I was wondering if you could help me with Professor Lupin. I need to take my lunch, but he should still have someone looking after him."

"Of course." Joanna closed her book and followed Madame Pomfrey towards the third floor where Remus was staying.

She knew he was sick, in fact Severus was taking his classes today. Though what was specifically wrong with him Severus wouldn't say, even though Joanna asked with concern that morning. She had figured he had simply not wanted her asking personal questions of the Defense professor. The reality was much more disturbing than Joanna had realized.

When Poppy led her into Remus' private rooms. The professor was in bed looking deathly pale and there were several scratches on his face that were healing. After reheating a mug of tea with a tap of her wand and motioning for Joanna to have a seat on the wooden chair beside his bed, Poppy left them alone.

Joanna didn't know what to say. Given the fact that she knew it was a full moon the night before and considering his appearance, it didn't take a prodigy to figure out what was wrong with the professor, which of course she was.

He was lively enough though, and turned his head and smiled at her. On seeing her face he said, "It's not as bad as all that."

Joanna nodded. "I believe you, it's just…Severus never mentioned anything. We got here late, you know, and I rarely see anyone besides him during the day and he just…he didn't tell me. I'm afraid I'm perhaps the only person who isn't a student who didn't know. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Remus shook his head and smiled again. "You're a good girl. A good friend. Thank you for sitting with me."

Joanna nodded, and considering the fact that they were alone and no one would interrupt them, she sighed and scooted her chair closer to the bed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why does Severus hate you? Does it have anything to do with your condition?"

Remus nodded and kept eye contact with her. "We went to school together, with James Potter and Sirius Black, I imagine he mentioned." Joanna nodded. "Well I was friends with them. When they found out about me they kept the secret. Sirius got drunk one night and told Severus to go and poke the knot on the whomping willow to freeze the branches so he could find out what we were doing ever full moon. What he didn't mention was that Severus would have come face to face with a full-grown werewolf without restraint. After all, Wolfsbane is a-"

"New potion," Joanna finished.

"Yes. Anyway, Severus assumed I was in on it."

"You weren't?"

"No. And it took a considerable amount of pleading from Dumbledore to get him to promise not to say anything." Remus sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "We were all young, and foolish. Sirius was perhaps the most foolish. Peter was never much for childish games unless someone else instigated it. James calmed down once he grew up a little, but Sirius was always after the next thrill." He looked back at Joanna who had a curious look on her face. "What is it?"

"Who is Peter? Not the one Sirius Black killed." Remus raised a hand to his face and swept it over his eyes. Joanna cast her eyes downward and let out a held breath in one swift puff. "Seems Severus still didn't tell me the whole truth." She looked back at Remus. "If you're up to it," she said carefully, "I'd like to know the truth. From you as it seems are not a biased party."

Remus nodded. When Poppy came back, Joanna sent her away. Dinner came and went without them, and when the bell tower rang at midnight Joanna finally stood up and walked out of the room. Walking back to the dungeons she realized she now had a much more thorough understanding of her mentor…and her friend.

He was still up when Joanna walked by the sitting room. She knew he was there, but she didn't stop to acknowledge him. Instead Joanna moved right to her room. While she was stepping out of her shoes, Severus knocked on her doorframe. "You weren't at dinner."

Without looking back, Joanna responded, "I was having a very interesting conversation. With Remus." Severus was silent, and Joanna, her back to him, could only imagine the look on his face. "You never told me about your connection to these men. Remus, Sirius, Peter."

"I told you," he pled.

"You omitted certain details which happen to change the color of the entire course of events. Why?"

"Because I didn't want you to know them."

"But why? You're making it hard for me to trust what you say. Who knows what else you've been hiding from me?...Could you?" She was having a hard time getting the hooks undone in the back of her robes.

Severus knew exactly what he'd been hiding from her. His Death Eater involvement, who had killed Joanna's mother. These things were tidbits of information he was trying to avoid having to discuss with Joanna. If she knew the truth…he would never have a chance to win her heart.

"I keep certain things from you to protect you," he said as he worked the hooks out of their eyes.

"From what?"

"From hurt…there are things about me and my past that I worry you'll look at me differently if you knew." Severus finished and let his hands drop back to his sides.

Joanna spun around now that the hooks were undone. She let the dress fall away from her body and stepped out of it, getting closer to Severus in nothing but her undergarments in ivory lace. She looked hard at him for a minute, but then let out a breath and shook her head. "I know you can't tell me everything about you, and it's unfair to ask you to. Why should I know?"

"Because I care about how you look at me."

Severus had blurted it out before he realized he was speaking. Joanna looked away, but almost immediately shifted her eye back to his. "You do?"

Severus stepped up to her and took her by the waist. As he pulled her close to him until their bodies touched, he whispered to her, "Yes…I do."

He bent his head and kissed her lips. Joanna didn't resist, and after a moment she threw her arms around his neck and returned his kiss with ferocity. She pressed her body to him, popping one knee and wrapping her foot around his calf. Severus could feel the heat of her sex on his thigh. Severus stooped a little and picked Joanna up by her buttocks. She wrapped her legs around his waist and let him carry her towards her bed while she placed chaste kisses around his jaw and wind her fingers through his hair. They fell down together into bed and Severus kicked off his shoes. Joanna tried to unbutton his frockcoat, but the process would not go fast enough. Severus stood and began to unbutton it himself, but Joanna retrieved her wand from the pocket of her skirts splayed across the floor and jabbed it towards Severus, whose clothes fell away from him of their own accord. He leapt back onto the bed with intensity in his eyes, and practically tore off Joanna's bra. With access to her breasts unabated, Severus massaged one while suckling on the other, rolling it with his tongue and lightly taking the nipple in his teeth. He kissed down her stomach until he reached her lace underwear, which he promptly tugged off with his teeth. Severus sat up to view her body, but he didn't get long to see. Joanna reached up and pulled him back down by the neck into an insistent kiss. Severus ground his erection into Joanna's crotch. He eyed her and, seeing the need in her eyes, Severus delved into her while watching the features of her face contort in ecstasy. He thrust into her, slowly at first, then as she beckoned him to speed up, faster and harder. Their moans bounced off the walls and echoed throughout the bedroom, probably throughout the entire living space. Finally they both came and collapsed in a sweaty tangled mess on the bed.

A half hour later, Severus was passing a small vial of blue potion to Joanna, who downed it in one gulp. Contraception potions were remarkably simple to make, comprised of cold ingredients taking only about five minutes to put together and mix.

Afterwards, Severus returned to Joanna's bed and they wrapped themselves in her quilt. After she fell asleep, Severus was still awake, noting how her eyelashes fluttered during a dream or how she smiled slightly in her sleep. If it were possible, Joanna was even more beautiful asleep than she was awake.

Severus also wondered if anyone would notice a change in their relationship on Monday.

She was gone again. Severus had awoken from where he lay asleep unintentionally on his couch needing the toilet around two in the morning, and instead of going, he immediately left his quarters upon finding the front door standing wide open. Joanna had done this before; the year before last it happened when Quirrill was bothering her. Now it happened often, and Severus was rather certain that the dementors had something to do with it. They were having a strange effect on Joanna. No matter for the moment. He was sure he could find her easily.

As it turned out, she was in the kitchen eating a cake. She was still sleepwalking however, so he gently wrested the fork away when he found her and led her back out the portrait hole while thanking the elves who were still cleaning from dinner. Just as he was coming out, leading Joanna by the shoulders, one of the portraits, a witch with an unusually large rack, was making herself comfortable with her lover, the Egyptian scribe, for what looked like the first time that night. (It was not a well-known fact, but Severus did like the portraits and often spoke with them outside prying eyes and ears.) Considering the time, he thought it was a bit odd,

He slowed to a stop and asked her, "All right Ellie?"

Ellie sighed in a frustrated way and delved into the scribe's bed while he stuffed cotton swatches in his ears and rolled over. "No, certainly not. There's someone in my corridor with a light brighter than a star. It's impossible to sleep."

Severus sighed. It must be a student. He drew his wand and said to Ellie, "Can you just call out if she moves from this spot." Ellie nodded, so Severus sat Joanna down gently with her back against the wall and headed toward Ellie's frame's corridor.

Even as he was coming upon it, Severus could see the light from around the corner. He drew his wand and continued to walk toward the student in question, but just as he was about to get to the corner, her heard a muttering of something and the light went out. Severus hurried along, even in the dark and came close enough by his judgment before lighting his own wand.

And there was Harry Potter standing there as though he were up to nothing.

"Potter," he sneered. "What are you doing wandering the corridors at night?"

The boy looked nervous, then as one hand gripped the leg of his pajama pants and responded, "I was sleepwalking."

That struck a nerve with Severus. It seemed exactly such the thing his father would have said, and suddenly Severus was back in the halls as a student, recognizing the look on Potter's face as he continued to lie.

"You're are extraordinarily like your father; he too was exceedingly arrogant, strutting about the castle."

"My dad didn't strut," the boy said with a hard tone. Ah, yes, the knowledge of precisely where to poke a sharp stick was ever invaluable. "Nor do I. Now if you don't mind I would appreciate it if you could lower your wand."

The boy was right of course. Severus had no need to be holding the boy at wand point the way he was. As he was lowering his wand, however, he noted that the pocket of the boy's sweatshirt was a rather unusual shape. "Turn out your pockets." The boy hesitated. "Turn out your pockets," Severus repeated more insistently. He did and drew out a folded piece of parchment. Something about it was terribly familiar, like his flashback had been only moments ago. Though he decided to play along. "What's this?'

"Spare bit of parchment."

"Really. Open it." The boy merely stood for a moment before doing as he was told, and when he did Severus put the tip of his wand to it. With an air of importance, Severus commanded, "Reveal your secrets."

Writing appeared to be scrawling across the parchment. With the warm glow of triumph radiating from his belly, Severus then commanded the boy, "Read it."

Potter took it back and read, "Mssrs . Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs offer their compliments to Professor Snape and-"

"Go on."

"And request that he keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business."

Severus was boiling. "Why you insolent little-!"

"Professor."

Severus spun around and there was Remus, behind which was Joanna. He ignored this fact and concentrated on Lupin. "Well well, Lupin. Out for a little walk…in the moonlight, are we?"

How he delighted in making minute little hints, even if students were too thick to understand them. Joanna began rubbing her eyes and when she looked again she rested her eyes on Harry. She came forward and asked, "Harry, are you all right?"

Attempting to keep the conversation flowing so nothing would be mentioned about Joanna's sleepwalking, Severus pressed on. "That remains to be seen." He grabbed the parchment, which had only just insulted him and held it towards Lupin. "I have just now confiscated a rather curious artifact from Mr. Potter. Take a look Lupin, it supposed to be your area of expertise. Clearly it's full of dark magic."

Remus laughed a little and turned the parchment over in his hands. Severus looked at Joanna. She had her head on her chest and her hands were on either side of her temples. "I seriously doubt it, Severus" Remus was saying. "This merely looks like a parchment designed to insult anyone who tries to read it. I expect it's a Zonko product."

Severus wasn't listening much anymore. He had to get Joanna back to bed, if that was at all possible anymore. He made to reach for the parchment, at least realizing that Remus had shot down his attempt to discredit the boy. But Remus moved it from Severus' grasp and said, "Nevertheless, I shall investigate any hidden qualities it may possess; it is, after all as you say, my area of expertise. Harry would you come with me please?" The boy moved for Remus, who then turned to Severus saying, "Professor, good night."

They went off, and when they were gone, Severus took Joanna by the shoulders. "Darling, are you all right?" She elicited a whiny groan and shook her head. "All right, come on, we're going back."

When they were comfortably in their quarters again around three in the morning, Severus administered an elixir for the headache Joanna was experiencing, which dulled the pain enough to let her speak cohesively, though not enough to warrant more sleep until much later. So he decided to piece together the evening now while she still remembered. "When did you wake up?"

"In the corridor, but Ellie said you'd already gone some five minutes ago."

Severus nodded as they sat on his bed. "I thought so. I suppose before that you must have come across Lupin, either you got up and wandered around or he happened upon where I sat you down." She gave him a look, and Severus shrugged. "Ellie told me about a student out of bed, and I couldn't take you with me since you were still sleeping."

Joanna flopped down and lay in Severus' arms. "What was I doing this time?"

"You went to the kitchens for a cake."

Joanna groaned. "A whole cake?"

"Indeed."

She laughed and snuggled closer into his chest. "I guess I'll be running sprints in the morning then."

"Or we could take care of that cake tonight." Severus raised himself over Joanna and kissed her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Severus reached one hand up under the hem of her nightgown and touched the soft folds between her thighs, feeling the moisture growing there. He kissed down her neck and onto her collarbone. Joanna sighed contentedly. Severus inserted a finger in her and the sighs turned into moans as he pumped in and out, adding a finger after a while as he pulled down the neck of her gown and began suckling on her nipples. Her hands worked at the buttons and fly of his trousers and when they were undone, Severus leapt off her for a moment to shake them and his underwear down to the floor, stepping out of his shoes in the end and crawling back onto the bed, grasping her calves and pulling her toward him and sheathing himself in her in one motion. They moved rapidly against one another from the start, grinding at breakneck speeds and groaning throatily until they came together.

As they lay together, Joanna sleeping by some miracle and Severus watching her with a small smile on his lips, he wondered if perhaps he was falling for Joanna so much…that maybe Lily was not the only woman with that level of importance in his life anymore.

Severus burst into the upper room of the Shrieking Shack and disarmed Sirius, who whipped around turning his back on the three students in the corner. Sirius and Remus stepped forward toward Severus. Joanna appeared a moment later, huffing and saying, "Severus I told you to leave it all alone! Let someone else handle it!" Her wand was out, but she was not even raising it as she leaned on the doorframe clutching her ribs and half doubled over with a stitch.

"Ah," Severus said. "Vengeance is sweet. How I hoped I would be the one to catch you."

Remus and Joanna both called his name at the same time, Remus in a quiet reasoning tone, Joanna much more sharply. She was unable t move for him since she was still breathing hard and supporting her weight on the frame.

"I told Dumbledore you were helping your old friend into the castle," Severus directed at Remus as the werewolf moved toward the piano, placing his body between Remus and Joanna. "And now, here's the proof."

"Brilliant Snape," Sirius began taunting. "Once again you've put your keen and penetrating mind to and as usual come to the wrong conclusion. Now if you don't mind, Remus and I have some unfinished business to attend to."

Sirius had gotten too close. Severus thrust his wand at Sirius' throat. "No," Joanna cried. She made for his wand arm and attempted to pull it down but Severus shrugged her off. It was harder than he meant, and had Remus not been there to catch her Joanna would have fallen to the floor. "Give me a reason," he said as Remus was helping Joanna stand. "I beg you."

Joanna was clutching to Remus by now with a frightened look on her face. He was standing in front of her, clearly concerned by Severus' rage. "Severus," he said with his teacher's voice. "Don't be a fool."

"He can't help it," Sirius said, not able to move away from Severus, so only slightly turning his head. "It's habit by now."

"Sirius, be quiet."

"Oh, quiet yourself Remus!"

Now Severus was amused. "Listen to you, quarrelling like an old married couple."

"Why don't you run along and play with your chemistry set?"

Severus jabbed his wand even harder into Sirius' neck. "Severus please! Just listen to him!" Joanna had begun to cry. She was on the verge of pleading.

"Be quiet," Severus snapped at her. "I could do it you know," he turned back to Sirius as Joanna turned away from the scene with her hand over her mouth and tears welling in her eyes, listening to Severus' every word. "But why deny the dementors? They're so longing to see you. Do I detect a flicker of fear? The dementor's kiss one can only imagine what that must be like to endure." Severus was walking Sirius back now, until he was up against the piano and leaning backward over the cover. "It's said to be nearly unbearable to witness but I'll do my best."

"Severus, please," Remus said, but Joanna was front facing again and set her hand on his arm and strode forward. Severus removed his wand and with that arm gestured towards the door. "After you," he spoke with a hard stare at Sirius, who did not move. Joanna took the opportunity. She raised her wand to Severus chest and cried, "Expelliarmus!"

Severus was knocked off his feet by the hex and thrown right into a four-poster bed on the other side of the room. All the others in the room were staring at her in disbelief. "You attacked your mentor," Hermione pointed out to her.

"Well aware," she answered. "I am entangled in this whole mess because I am entangled in his life. I never got a straight answer from him, I want the rest of the story," she glared toward Remus. "Now." She motioned for Harry to come to her. "Harry…"

Together they held Remus and Sirius at wand point. Clearly neither of them knew if this was the right course of action, but both were looking for answers to the big question in this whole mess.

"Tell me about Peter Pettigrew," Harry demanded.

"He was at school with us," Remus answered. "We thought he was our friend."

"But Pettigrew's dead, that what you told me. Sirius killed him."

"No, Joanna I thought so too until Harry mentioned seeing him on the map that night." Joanna's mouth dropped and she lowered her wand.

"The map was lying then," Harry pursued.

"The map never lies," Joanna and Sirius said this together, though Sirius was more frustrated over Joanna's tone of slight shock. They eyed one another, and Sirius continued. "Pettigrew's alive, and he right there." Sirius pointed toward Ron seated on the dirty chaise.

"Me?" Ron burst. "He's mental!"

"Not you," Sirius sniped. "Your rat!"

"Scabbers has been in my family for-"

"Twelve years," Sirius butt in. "Curiously long life for a common garden rat. He's missing a toe isn't he?"

"So what?"

Joanna lowered her wand completely now. "All they could find of Pettigrew was his finger."

"The coward cut it off of him to let everyone think he was dead…and then he transformed into a rat!" Sirius and Joanna were piecing the story together quite nicely, but it wasn't the same as having it from the horse's mouth.

So Harry said, "Show me."

Sirius grabbed Scabbers from Ron's hands while the boy wailed. Sirius walked him over to the piano and set him on it. With Remus and Joanna standing by, Sirius let go. The rat scurried over this way and that. The men each took a couple shots, moving to try and keep up with the animal and by doing so blocking Joanna, who eventually shook her head and pushed her way through "For heaven's sake…" She thrust her wand at the rat as he scurried across the floor. And from the form of the rat sprang the form of a man. He was rather portly and very, very dirty with matted hair and yellowing teeth. Remus and Sirius sprang forward the drag him to his feet and throw him backward deeper into the room and away from the door.

The man looked up and tried to make a show of being pleasantly surprised. "Remus? Sirius! My old friends!" He then ducked his head and attempted to push his way through the two men and Joanna toward the door. They threw him back and while Peter was looking for another escape, his eyes fell on Harry.

"Harry," he said, "look at you. You look so much like your father, like James." Peter drew close to Harry and almost made to touch him. "We were the best of friends!"

"How dare you speak to Harry," Sirius rushed to Peter and put his at wand point. Peter scurried away and went behind the piano, Sirius chasing him and saying, "How dare you talk about James in front of him?"

Peter was behind the piano, Sirius cutting off his exit from the right, Remus from the left, and Joanna still in front of the door. "You sold James and Lily to Voldemort," Remus said, "Didn't you!"

"I didn't mean to," Peter simpered. "The Dark Lord, you have no idea the weapons he possesses." He turned to Sirius. "Think Sirius…what would you have done, what would you have done?"
"I would have died! I would have died rather than betray my friends!"

Peter scurried under the piano and made for the door, but Joanna small as she was couldn't stop him on her own. Harry stepped in and together they blocked his escape. "Harry," Peter said, grabbing the boy's shoulder and shoving Joanna out of the way. Sirius caught her and Peter was whispering into Harry's ear. Together she, and Sirius dragged Peter back and up against the piano again. Remus stepped in and both the men leveled their wands. "You should have realized, Peter," Sirius said. "If Voldemort didn't kill you than we would, together!"

"No!" Harry was the one who cried out against it.

Joanna shook her head. "Harry," she said quietly, "This man is-"

"I know what he is. But we'll take him to the castle."

Harry stepped forward and Peter fell to his knees. "Bless you boy," he said. "Bless you!" He made to kiss Harry's feet, but Harry kicked out at him. "Get off!" Peter looked up. "I said we'd bring you to the castle. After that the dementors can have you."

Peter put his hands to his mouth and his eyes widened as he whimpered in fear.

Remus held onto Peter while Hermione and Harry lifted Ron to his feet and helped him to the door. Remus followed with Peter at wand point and only Sirius and Joanna were left. They both looked toward the bed.

"What do you think we should do about him," Sirius asked.

"Considering his behavior," Joanna responded hands on hips. "I think it would be appropriate for him to stay here until you're safe."

Sirius smiled. "Thank you." He extended a hand to her as they headed for the door. "Sirius Black."

She took it and smiled back. "Joanna Flamel."

Sirius nodded and clasped his hands behind his back as they descended the stairs, Joanna in front. "Well," he said, "I'll be damned."

When they got to the surface, Joanna made to go back to the castle and alert Dumbledore to the circumstances. The headmaster was more than happy to hear the story for himself, but by the time they made it back to the willow Peter was gone, Ron was sitting at the foot of the tree, Harry and Sirius were at the lake with Hermione nearby, and Severus was busy taking credit for sending the dementors on their way. After Ron ad Harry had been moved to the hospital, Severus had strutted back to the castle and Sirius was sent to a tower cell, Dumbledore came back to collect Joanna.

But she was busy. She was touching the stone around her neck with one hand and the ground with her other. And her eyes were glowing slightly gold. When she broke her connection to the soil by the lake, she looked up to the headmaster.

"I take it you've seen what happened here?" Dumbledore said.

Joanna stood up and nodded. "Yes, and there's someone I need to talk to, right now." Dumbledore nodded and as they walked back up to the castle, Joanna filled him in. Dumbledore rushed off to fix the mess, and asked Joanna for her help with it, requesting she be in the west courtyard walkway by eleven that night. Joanna agreed and headed for the dungeons, but at the main stairwell, she met Severus.

Joanna shook her head and walked right past him. Severus followed, saying, "What?"

"You."

"What about me?"

They were walking along the corridors. "You, Severus. You won't listen to anyone else's point of view. You were ready to kill him before anyone had the chance to explain."

"So? It's Sirius Black he's so-"

"He was a child, Severus. You'll never let go of this." She turned as they had reached their quarters. "And now I have to let go of you."

She opened the door and let her self in. After watching her rush down the hall, Severus closed the door and followed her to her bedroom. Inside, he found that she was packing her things. The trunks were out and items were flying from all directions and packing themselves. "What do you mean let go of me?"

"I mean," she said as the wardrobe's contents whizzed by Severus, "That I can't love you if you can't be honest with me, or yourself. You lied about what happened down there. I saw for myself."

"How?"

Joanna pointed to her stone chip around her neck. "Seems it holds some power after all. I can't live with you under these circumstances. And if can't live or work with you, then my apprenticeship is over. Now, I can't be an alchemist without an apprenticeship," she grabbed a letter, which was sailing by as the final things packed themselves and the lids shut. "So I'm changing my sights."

She held out the letter to him. Severus took the letter and scanned over it. "You're…working for the Priory?"

"I got this letter a few weeks ago. They would like to utilize me. With my prodigal skill in unorthodox practices and abilities in unusual spells, they're anxious to give me a membership." Severus read and reread the letter, and finally looked up to catch Joanna pulling on her cloak. She looked at him as she lifted a rucksack onto her shoulder.

She was going to trade in an honest lifestyle for one of secrecy and danger. Priory members had all suffered irreversible injuries at some point or another. The thought of Joanna, tiny little Joanna, participating in that anti-government society made him sick with worry. Funnily enough, it didn't seem to bother her.

Severus handed the letter back to Joanna who stepped forward to retrieve it. "I thought you loved me," he said disparagingly as she folded the letter and tucked it in her wand holster's breast pocket. She was gong on a rather dangerous journey it seemed, as she was wearing the holster beneath her cloak but over her robes. Joanna looked back and raised a hand to his cheek. There were tears in her eyes as she answered.

"I was about to say the same thing." She kissed his cheek and went out the door, and all Severus could do was sit on her bed and watch as house elves came and removed the trunks one by one long after the front door had shut behind her.

Severus had lost Joanna, just like he lost Lily: by not being honest from day one.

At eleven that night, just like Dumbledore requested, Joanna was in the courtyard. Not long after she arrived Harry, Hermione and a liberated Sirius flew into the east walkway of the courtyard on Buckbeak. Joanna was confused; as she understood the beast had disappeared some time earlier. But there would be time for explanations later.

They dismounted and Sirius said goodbye to Harry and Hermione briefly before he swung once again up onto Buckbeak's back. He offered a hand to Joanna, who took it and was pleasantly surprised by Sirius' strength as he easily pulled her up behind him.

Before they left, Harry looked to Joanna. "Will you be coming back here next year?"

Joanna shrugged. "I'm not sure. We'll see, Harry."

Sirius was holding onto Buckbeak's neck and turned his head. "Hold on tight," he said to Joanna. She slipped her arms around Sirius' waist, but was tentative to get too close. "Tighter," he said with a hint of laughter in his voice. He slipped his hand into hers and held them fast to his waist. "Ready." Joanna nodded. "All right."

Joanna was never much for flying, but taking off with Sirius, a felon on the lam, she felt safer than on any broom she had ever attempted to fly on.