Hey! Three chapters in two days is pretty good, yeah? Well, I had strep over the weekend and yesterday and today, so I'll probably be in school again tomorrow. I can't talk, but I'll make it work. This chapter I had plenty already planned and typed out, so it was a lot of copy and pasting. Tell me if you see an error! I didn't really take the time to reread this chapter, but anyway, enjoy!

THE MEMORY.

"Here," I said gently, handing Lupin a glass filled with a clear potion. He swirled it around and sniffed it. "It's for your headache."

"Ah," he said graciously and he drank the whole thing in one sip, handing the cup back to me. I felt his forehead with my hand. He was sweating and burning up, the usual symptoms after the full moon. He was lying naked underneath a light sheet and I ran my fingers through his damp hair and smiled down at him. "Thank you."

I smiled at him. "You're welcome."

He stared at me and I sat down beside him. "You're just like your mother. You know that?"

I chuckled. "Snape says I'm like my father."

"He doesn't know you well enough to be comparing you to your parents," Lupin told me with a nod. "You're a little bit of both, but I think you are your mother all over again."

"That's not the only reason why you love me though, right?" I smiled weakly.

"Of course not," he said, wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. "I love that you're so good to me."

I grinned wider and touched his cheeks, kissing his lips. We laid there for a while, just in each other arms, my face buried in his chest.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Term resumed a few days later and it amazed me how much I had actually missed teaching classes at Hogwarts. I was glad that everything was starting back up again – the huge feasts, the many people, and the cheerful atmosphere. Slughorn had informed me the day before that I would be teaching the classes the first day back and he greeted me in the classroom with a large hug.

No other classes gave me trouble except for Harry's. Malfoy gave me the most trouble, actually, and after what Harry had told me on the Hogwarts Express going to the Weasleys, I was even more determined to keep an eye on him. I also was determined not to get hurt by him again.

I stood at the front of the class, dressed in my teaching robes, my long, auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail. Surprisingly, the class of sixth years quieted down without me having to say anything. When Slughorn taught, most of them continued to talk, thinking he was a pushover.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen," I announced, looking at all of them. "Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday –" Harry and I locked eyes, thinking the same thing. "But for now, we must focus on antidotes. Golpalott's Third Law… who can tell me – Hermione? Can you?"

Hermione's hand was in the air before I finished speaking and when she spoke, it was so fast that I had to repeat the law in my head and slow her voice down. "Golpalott's Third Law states that the antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separate components."

"Good job, Hermione," I grinned. "Ten points to Gryffindor! Now, if this law is true, it appears to be saying that the antidote for a poison created by mixing several poisons together must be made up of more than just a blended antidote; which is to say, an antidote made up of different antidotes for the different poisons mixed together in the blended poison. Does that make sense to everyone?"

Everyone nodded slowly and I smiled and nodded back at them.

"So," I finished. "What I want you to do," I looked down at my papers. "I want each of you to come and take one of these phials from over here on my desk. You are to create an antidote for the poison within it before the end of this class! Good luck and don't forget your protective gloves!"

The class sped up to the front of the room and all of them grabbed a different phial. As Malfoy reached for one available, I snatched it and held it away from him. He sneered at me and I smirked.

"This poison is a little something called Dragon Poison," I told him. "And if touched with bare skin, it will melt the skin just like your potion did to me. Thankfully, I know the antidote to this and you do not. It gets on my skin," I lowered my voice. "I'm fine, it'll just hurt. It gets on your skin, and you will have a gaping hole in your body where the poison touched you. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Wow," Harry breathed as he grabbed the last poison up on the front table. "You kind of sounded a bit like Snape there."

I glared at him, but then relaxed. "I just really don't like him," I replied. "There's something going on with Malfoy and I'm going to find out what."

"We are going to find out what."

"Yes, yes," I said. "Go on, Harry. Go brew your antidote."

Halfway through the lesson, everyone's cauldrons were bubbling frantically. The students were tearing through their books, sneaking peaks at each other's antidotes, and looking panicked. Hermione's hair was a mess and she was growing more frustrated by the minute. The whole room smelled like death and even Slughorn got up to inspect some cauldrons. Even Harry looked like he was having trouble.

An hour later, I held up my hand. "Time's up!" I yelled and several students added some last minute ingredients, stirring quickly. Most of them groaned. I walked over to Ron's cauldron first and held my nose. "That's horrid, Ron."

The class laughed and Ron's face was redder than his hair. "I didn't understand the law!" Ron sighed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Then you should have asked me to explain it again!" I grinned. "Go dump it out, Ron." I looked into Harry's cauldron, which had been emptied earlier. "Harry? Where's yours?"

He quickly held up a small, round, stone looking thing in a plastic bag and I laughed, shaking my head.

"A bezoar?" I took it from him. "I suppose this would be an antidote, wouldn't it? This is stone taken from the stomach of a goat," I explained to the class. "It can be used as an antidote for many poisons, although it is extremely rare and does not work on everything." I handed it back to Harry. "Cheeky, Harry. Ten points to Gryffindor, but don't think you'll be getting full marks for today. Go put it back."

Hermione scowled. Her antidote was one of the better ones and I smiled reassuringly at her.

Finally, I reached Malfoy's cauldron. The liquid inside was almost solid. It was thick and bubbling and it smelled like burning rubber. I cringed. "That looks like cat sick," I said. Malfoy clenched his fists. "If you were being poisoned, would you really want that shoved down your throat?" A roar of laughter from the class. "The antidote for dragon poison should be a thin, yellowish looking liquid, not like rotten oatmeal. We'll continue antidotes at a later date. Class dismissed."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That night, Lupin was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for us around ten at night. He brought them to the sitting area by the fire and set them down on the coffee table when someone knocked at the door.

"Hang on," I told him, standing up and answering the door. No one was there, but I knew better. "Hello, Harry."

Harry tore the Invisibility Cloak off and I let him in. Lupin was already eating a sandwich and I tore mine in half, offering one to Harry. He took it gratefully and ate it like he hadn't eaten in weeks. Lupin watched him carefully. "Does liking peanut butter and jelly run in the family?"

I laughed. "What's going on, Harry?"

He breathed in and glanced at Lupin.

"Do I need to make him leave?" I asked Harry, nodding towards Lupin.

"No, no, he can stay," Harry replied. "I've got a favor to ask you."

"Sure. Anything."

"I had another meeting with Dumbledore today," Harry continued, finishing his sandwich. I put mine back down on the plate and sat up straighter, a little more interested. "And he showed me a memory of Slughorn's, but upon watching it, I found out that Slughorn tampered with it somehow."

"Tampered with his own memory?" I repeated. "Why?"

"Well, I reckon he's ashamed of the truth."

"Okay, what was the memory, exactly?" I said, thinking hard and biting my lower lip.

"It had to do with Slughorn and Voldemort – but when he was Tom Riddle. Slughorn was close to Voldemort, I guess," Harry paused. "And it began with Voldemort saying he'd been in the Restricted Section of the library and he was reading about Dark Magic… and when Voldemort asked about what it was, Slughorn got angry and the memory ended…"

"Well, what was it that Voldemort read about?" Lupin asked and I looked at him.

Harry shrugged. "I – I don't know… the world was kind of… muffled, you know? And if Slughorn tampered with it, that's not how he really acted when Voldemort asked him about whatever he found in the library."

"So what's the favor I have to do for you?" I asked.

"Dumbledore has assigned me the task of getting Slughorn's real memory." Harry hesitated and as he sat in the armchair next to the couch, his leg bounced up and down quickly. "I don't know how to do it, but I was planning on asking him. But the favor I wanted to ask you – it has to do with Snape."

"Snape?" Lupin suddenly said.

"Well, he's the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Harry told me. "And I think it's obvious that he likes you a bit more than me. So could you possibly try asking if there are things at Hogwarts that he isn't allowed to teach? Dark Magic?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I can try, but asking Snape won't help get Slughorn's true memory."

"But Snape may know what Voldemort was talking about in the memory. And that's better than nothing."

"Okay," I sighed. "I'll ask tomorrow."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

True to my word, after classes the next day, I knocked on Snape's door and let myself in. Snape was standing at his desk, packing up his books for the day. I cleared my throat.

"Can I help you, Miss Potter?"

"Yes, actually," I said slowly and nervously. Snape glanced up at me with a cocked eyebrow and then continued packing his stuff away. I walked up to his desk and sat down on top of one of the students tables in the front row. "I've got a question about teaching."

"Ask away, then," he waved his hand impatiently.

"Are there, perhaps, some kinds of magic that you aren't allowed to teach her at Hogwarts?" I asked. "I mean, you are the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I thought it would be appropriate to ask you."

"What do you mean?"

"Like, Dark Magic," I continued desperately. "When you got this job, did Dumbledore or someone tell you that there were some kinds of magic that you weren't allowed to teach the students? Or even talk about?"

Snape looked up and eyed me carefully. It looked as if he were debating whether to tell me or not what he was thinking. "Yes, there are some kinds of magic that we professors aren't to speak of around the students."

"Like what?" I pressed. "You can tell me, can't you? I'm a professor, not a student…"

"I can't tell you that."

"What? And why not?" I shouted, sighing with frustration.

"Because I know the kinds of trouble you get into," he shrugged calmly. "And I don't need you getting into any more trouble."

"Oh, come on, don't make me beg!"

"Don't."

"Please!"

"No. I'm not to speak of them and I won't just because you're begging."

"Professor!"

"Enough, Darcy!" he clenched his jaw. "Who put you up to this?"

"No one," I said firmly.

"Darcy Potter, who put you up to this?"

"I told you! No one put me up to this! I was just curious!"

"Fine," he stated, shoving his books back on the bookshelf behind his desk. "Well, I'm leaving now. Let's go, move along, back to your quarters, Miss Potter." He pushed me out of the room and we went our separate ways.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry and I met up after I got back to my quarters. Lupin was reading in an armchair, trying hard to ignore us. I told Harry what happened with Snape and Harry told me that he had no luck asking Slughorn either, but Slughorn expected something else.

"He knew Dumbledore put me up to it," Harry said. "He knows something is going on. It's going to be hard to get that memory from him."

Harry and I sighed and sat back on the couch.

"Do you have the map?"

"The map?" I asked. Lupin glanced at me over his book, giving me an angry look. "Why? Who do you need to spy on?"

"Malfoy."

Lupin cleared his throat, but Harry and I ignored him. "Malfoy," I repeated and I grinned. "I'll be right back." I ran into my bedroom and rummaged through my trunk, pulling out the Marauders Map. I pulled out my wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Writing formed on the parchment and I read it outloud. "What is this? Mr. Moony thinks Darcy Potter should keep her – Remus!"

He chuckled and I hit him over the head with the map. When I looked at it again, the words were gone. I regained my composure and opened the map up and laid it across the coffee table in front of me. Harry and I searched for the little dot labeled Draco Malfoy, but he was nowhere to be found.

Hundreds of black dots were moving about the corridors and I looked harder. Harry had found Crabbe and Goyle, so we looked for Malfoy some more. Malfoy should have been with Crabbe and Goyle… "He's not here," I said, leaning back and rubbing my eyes.

"Oh, wait! Here! He's in the Slytherin common room!" Harry exclaimed and I shot up, looking at the map to see that Malfoy was indeed by himself in his common room.

Harry and I exchanged disappointed looks. "Well, I'll be keeping an eye on him from now on while you try to get that memory." Harry nodded and I tapped the map. "Mischief managed."

Harry shook his head. "Or un-managed."