Remus hadn't been waiting long before he heard a knock on his office door. That'll be Liv, he thought. He was a bit nervous, but didn't know why. She was just a student, after all. A very talented, mischievous, student… He didn't want to think too much about it beyond that. But as he tried to push it out of his mind, he remembered the way she had squeezed his arm earlier that day before class.

He opened the door to his office and invited Liv in. After exchanging greetings, he invited her to sit down.

"Tea? Sorry I don't have any coffee," he said with a wink. Damn, he must have picked that up from her.

"Tea will be fine, thanks," Liv said, smiling.

Remus poured her a cup. "So," he said, handing her a cup. "What can I do for you, Liv? You said you needed help navigating the castle?"

"Yeah, it's been a bit of a struggle finding my way around."

"I imagine it's a bit bigger than your previous campus," he said, picturing her living in a large manor common to pure blood families.

"I suppose it is," Liv said thoughtfully. "We didn't have any of those moving staircases that keep fucking up my sense of direction. You don't have a map to the castle, do you?"

"I did have one once," said Remus smiling nostalgically. "I made one with some friends during our 5th year. I don't remember what happened to it, though. Is there somewhere specifically in the castle you need help getting to?"

"Well," said Liv thinking. "The Weasley twins managed to answer a few of my questions over dinner, but I'd really like to know about anything near the Gryffindor Tower, or anything you think might helpful for me to know."

Remus chatted away casually telling her all about the hidden staircases and shortcuts near the Gryffindor common room he could remember. A few times he scribbled the location of things on paper to map it out for her. As he spoke, memories of his time at Hogwarts flooded his mind. If he hadn't been sitting in the DADA teacher's office he could have sworn he was still a student.

It hit him suddenly that that's what made him nervous around Liv. She was exactly the kind of girl he would have fancied if they'd been at school together. But you are at school together, said a voice in his head that sounded like Sirius. Remus drank his tea and tried to push that thought out of his mind.

"You know a lot about that side of the castle," Liv said. "Were you a Gryffindor at school?"

"I was. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention that to anyone. Teachers aren't supposed to be biased."

"I can keep a secret," Liv said with a wink that made him feel like his teenage self again. "I wonder which house I would have been sorted into if I hadn't been assigned to be in Gryffindor."

Remus nodded. He supposed the Slytherin girls he'd overheard gossiping in the library were wrong about Liv being sorted in Dumbledore's office.

"I think Gryffindor suits you," he said reassuringly.

"Yeah?"

"When I first met you on the train you had your wand out as if you were going to take on the dementor. And then you said you wanted to learn to do a patronus in class. If taking on a dementor without the right spell isn't foolhardy Gryffindor bravery, I don't know what is."

Liv laughed. He liked making her laugh.

"My patronus could use some work I suppose," Liv said.

"Can you do one," Remus asked, impressed.

"Sort of. It's all wispy, not something in any particular shape."

"That's not something most 6th years can do," Remus said.

"I'll try not to show off then," said Liv playfully.

There she goes again, thought Remus. She's holding back on her skill to fit in with her classmates.

"I admit, I've been very impressed with your magical abilities. Especially your use of non-verbal spells."

Liv blushed a little. "It's nothing really. My teachers always made it a priority." Liv paused for a moment before continuing. "But I appreciate the compliment. This is my first time out here doing something big like this on my own, so, it's a bit… daunting."

Remus felt some sympathy for her, coming to Hogwarts years after her peers must have been really hard. "Well, you've got all the staff here to support you, myself included," he said kindly. "I think you're up to the challenge."

Liv smiled again. The clock chimed just then.

"Thanks for your help, but I'd better get back to the dormitories," she said, checking the clock on his wall. "I wouldn't want to be caught out after hours and get detention," she teased.

Remus laughed as they stood and he escorted her to his office door.

"Maybe I should get a detention, though, to help blend in a little bit more. Would it surprise you to know I was a well behaved student back home," Liv asked.

"A little," Remus said, leaning against the door as Liv passed through it. "You seem to be prone to mischief."

"Do you like mischief," Liv asked. Remus felt his mouth become very dry. Liv must have noticed that it caught him off guard because she smiled and said, "night, Remus," and she left.

Remus closed the door behind her. He had to admit she had nerve to call him, her teacher, by his first name. Foolhardy Gryffindor bravery, he thought to himself. That voice in the back of his mind that sounded like Sirius spoke again; but you liked it.