A/N: I'm baaaack! Lol. Did yous miss me? I hope so! Haha :P Okay, cheesy moment over, here is the next chapter! It's mostly a filler but, like most of my readers seem to be wondering, it is leading to a slightly steamier than usual next chapter. So hopefully you lot can hang on in until then. :P Anyways, big thanks to DZAuthor as usual for Beta-ing for me. :] Please read and review!

Chapter Twenty-One: Lily's a Werewolf!

My wrist cracked as I clumsily flicked my wand before me and mumbled incoherent words under my breath as though they were hidden secrets of mine that I didn't want to be made public. I was rubbish at charms and was still struggling with the Freezing Charm even after a double period of practising it this morning. I leaned further into the stone stairs that I was currently sitting on causing the thin layer of frost that covered them to seep further through my woollen tights and chill my alabaster thighs underneath. I usually never wore tights unless it was absolutely necessary. I didn't like how they made me look like I was ten and going to public school again like any other ordinary little child. Instead, I was just a seventeen-year-old witch who couldn't bear to freeze another day in her knee high socks. Fashion was easily sacrificed for comfort in my world, unlike my best friend who was currently still sporting a bum-skimming school skirt and bare legs in mid November. How she hadn't caught the flu by now was beyond me, although she was much better at body warming spells than I was. Hence the real reason why I was condemned to wearing rhino-skin-thick tights at my age: my crappy Wizards skills!

"Sorry I was late. I, uhm, slept in this morning..."

I cocked an eyebrow in apprehension at the tall boy's reply. Remus hardly ever slept in as he was the one who was responsible for getting the other three out of bed and dressed in time for classes. He was the Marauder version of Lily Evans, only much more polite and kind. The last time Lily had woken me up, last Monday to be precise, she had conjured a cup of cold water to be thrown over my head in bed. And she only went out her way to do that because McGonagall was on her case for being Head Girl and not doing enough to stop me from missing classes. Needless to say, the next day she woke up to the same rude awakening she had given me, only I had used a bucket instead of a cup. Her shocked expression alone was worth the loss of house points I had gotten.

"Wow, Sirius and the others must of actually crawled out their beds of their own free will this morning, then, as I saw Peter and James in charms just now." I smirked as I peeled my frozen butt off the stairs and made my way over to the boy before me. My expression dropped however when I realised a flaw in Remus' story. "Didn't none of them wake you up? I can't imagine the three of them would of just let you sleep in like that. They know how much you love school and all."

Remus scratched the back of his neck awkwardly before coughing and changing the subject. "So how was Potions Monday, then? Everything go smoothly?"

My suspicion was quickly replaced with delight, and then embarrassment, over having to now talk about Severus with the curious boy walking in sync beside me. "It was fine. Easy, if you must know. I got fifty points Monday for being the first one to finish brewing a successful potion, although Severus got seventy points for his being better than mine even though his took ten minutes longer to complete. It was pretty flawless, mind, where as mine was just the slightest shade of darker brown than it should have been."

"Did you and Severus have to change partners, then?" Remus asked, shock evident on his forlorn face. I eyed his reactions with suspicion again. He was acting like he knew something more than he was letting on and I didn't like it.

"No. I'm still his partner. It was just a singular potion brewing lesson, nothing overly shocking about it or unusual."

He smiled knowingly at me as he nodded his head in reply.

His actions were really starting to annoy me now. I wasn't overly good friends with the gangly Gryffindor for many reasons, the biggest being his overly aloof personality. He would raise his eyebrow in a knowing way to almost everything while his mouth remained tightly shut. It was aggravating to someone as nosy as me. I found it too easy to fall out with him sometimes over it.

"I'm annoying you, aren't I?" He casually asked as his heavily lidded eyes crinkled in delight at my childish frown. "I don't know anything interesting, I swear. But I had an inkling that Severus wouldn't of been able to keep being angry at you for much longer. Even he isn't that cruel."

My brow crinkled in confusion as I quickened my pace to keep up with Remus' long strides. "What's that supposed to mean then? I thought you hated Severus?"

The sandy-haired boy sighed slightly before rubbing his temple in frustration. "I don't hate him, not as much as James and Sirius do anyway. I just think that he is, well, misunderstood per say. I think there is a lot going on with him that makes him act the way he does. We all have dark parts in our lives..." His eyes crinkled closed for a moment before he opened them again, a small smile on his thin lips as he spoke once more. "I think he likes you, you know. That's why he has been acting so mean to you recently. He doesn't know how to act around you any more now he knows how he feels. It's what boys do when they like a girl."

My eyes darted to the frosty grass below the moment the words had left his mouth. How embarrassing could this get? I am seriously not talking about me and Sev with Remus Lupin of all people. No, it was never going to happen.

An airy laugh graced my ears as I looked up to see Remus chuckling down at me. His ashen face looked extremely young when he laughed, the many mysterious scars covering it seeming to disappear every time he did so. I couldn't help the smile that made its way onto my own lips as I nudged the light hearted boy beside me, chastising him slightly as I did so. "You're so embarrassing, you know that? Only you could come up with something as crazy as that, then have the brass-neck to go and tell me about it!" I giggled slightly as I shook my head at his absurd but wonderfully hopeful reasonings. I opened my red lips to speak again, my voice much lower this time as I noticed how near the green houses we were. "Besides, I thought boys stalked the girls they liked? Or is that only James?" Remus rolled his eyes before laughing with me. "Seems to have paid off mind. Lily is obsessed with him now. Most likely cause she has him wrapped around her bony fingers though. You should hear some of the crazy things she says she has made him do for her. Its mental!"

"Lily is a bit strong willed at times..." I raised my eyebrow in a 'What, really?' way causing Remus to sigh before continuing his defence of the red hot head. "Well, maybe a little pushy, also, but I think they are made for each other. She's just coming to terms with the fact that James isn't just an obnoxious fool, while he is still struggling to believe that Lily is actually his girlfriend. Give them another month, and I am sure they'll be fine."

I eyed him disbelievingly as I opened the door to greenhouse seven. "Yeah sure, Lily's just been acting the bitch recently as she's in a state of shock. Happens to us all, so it does!"

Remus gave me the eyes, the ones that usually meant 'Are you listening to yourself Olivia?' before retorting with his own sarcasm-laced comment. "Yes, it does. Mostly only to red heads, though, it seems."

I frowned childishly at him just as he broke out in silent laughter and took his seat in our usual position in the back. Pulling a face that my eight-year-old cousin would be extremely proud of, I sank down in my seat beside him just as Sprout began addressing the class about how we would be potting teenage Mandrakes today. Oh goody! I thought ruefully as I searched my bag for my dragon hide gloves and thick sheep wool earmuffs. I didn't fancy dying today from the cries of a moaning spotty plant. I had enough moaning myself to do later which I very much wanted to be alive for. I glared one last time to the still-smiling boy beside me before pulling my gloves and earmuffs on and thanking the Lord that he was leaving tonight to go visit his mum in St. Mungo's like he did most months around this time. He may be a sweetheart and all, but he was a talkative one it seems. So I was more than happy that he wouldn't be here for a while, getting my hopes up any further about Severus. I didn't think I could handle another fall from grace this month.

"I'm not going. I can't be bothered. Go away!" I huffed as I rolled over to face the back of the couch, my legs outstretched down the length of the three red leather seats, daring someone to come and try to move them.

"You have an essay to be handed in tomorrow so you need to come. Whether you like it or not!"

I squeezed my eyes shut at Lexi's condescending tones, before silently agreeing that she was right. I did have an essay due tomorrow and if I ever wanted to graduate and become a healer I would need to hand it in.

"Fine, but I refuse to sit in that suffocating Library with Miss Culture Vulture looming over my shoulders. I say we go outside, sit next to the lake and laugh at the first years getting scared to death by the Giant Squid. Merlin knows I will need some entertainment to get me through writing twelve inches for Flitwick. I'm clueless when it comes to his class!" I rolled my legs off the couch before sitting myself up, my right hand stretching out to Lexi for her to help my lazy arse up into a standing position.

"Deal." She happily sighed before grabbing my hand in hers and tugging me onto my feet. "But, only if you help me with my Defence homework tomorrow, and indoors. Merlin knows I'm clueless when it comes to explaining theories in that class! Performing spells I'm good at, but when having to go into great detail over how they work? I'm as clueless as Peter!"

I smiled before nodding in agreement. I had no problem explaining the ins and outs of spells to anyone. I enjoyed it actually. I just couldn't perform them well whenever the need came to showcase my knowledge. I think it was fate that Lexi and I were such best friends. We complimented each other so well sometimes it was unreal.

"So, potions tutoring with Snape tonight still, yeah?" Lexi tentatively asked as she handed me my cloak, scarf and gloves before summoning her own to put on. I nodded cheerfully at her before grabbing my bag from under the table before us and heading out the portrait hole, a sudden spring in my step at the mere mention of Severus' name.

"Meeting him at eight down in one of the unused potions classrooms. No-one ever goes down there, so it's perfect for brewing potions after class."

"Just as long as you make it back unharmed and in one piece at ten o'clock, then I'm not fussed about what or where you go with him tonight. If he doesn't act like a prick again to you, then I'm in reluctant acceptance of him."

I grinned at her statement as though she had just told me that she wanted to be his new best friend. "Thanks, Lex. Means a lot to me. It would kill me if you still wanted to castrate him. Would take away all his manly goodness and I wouldn't want him any more."

She quirked an eyebrow at my feeble attempt at humour as we continued our way down the never-ending flight of moving stairs. "As if anything could put you off him! Even after he has acted like the biggest jerk to you ever, you still have the total hots for him. I can see it in the lines of drool you get from gazing at him during meals. It's disgusting!"

"Not as disgusting as walking in on you and Sirius swapping saliva every two minutes! Can you guys not even go an hour without sucking each others faces off? I was just telling Remus this morning how you two should be chaperoned in case one of you sucks the other dry!" I laughed back at her, my eyes twinkling with mirth to match her own amusement-filled ones. It was nice to be able to talk to her freely again. It had felt like years since we had both been able to tease each other like this over our crushes. It was nice. It was normal. It was us.

"Ha ha, extremely funny as usual." She rolled her eyes at me before tightening her ebony robes around herself as we reached the Entrance Hall doors and left the castle. The wind might have been mild, but the chill that whirled around us the moment we stepped outside was enough to make me want to retreat back inside to the warmth of the worn Gryffindor couch. I continued making my way towards the lake in stubbornness, realizing that to retreat now would only mean going back on my own suggestion of coming out here in the first place. So I wrapped my own cloak tighter around me in defiance as I folded my arms and stuck my heavily gloved hands under my forearms for added warmth.

"C'mon, let's sit over there under our tree." I chattered out as my feet crunched their way through the frosty ground and over towards the ever-familiar dreary-looking oak tree. It felt like ages since the last time we had all sat out under this tree even though in reality it was only a month ago. The weather had changed so much since then, just like everything else, it seems.

Lexi had her wand out and had transfigured her scarf into a thick woollen blanket before I could even blink. Most spells seemed to come easy to her whereas for me it took more than a few good tries for them to even remotely succeed. I personally thought I was just inadequate at them. Lexi, on the other hand, seemed to think it had something to do with me only being able to give my full attention to something for seconds at a time.

"There, now we won't be completely frozen to death." She smiled as she conjured a small flame to hover before us as we sat down on the cosy blanket. I had to admit, I was only slightly jealous of her abilities. Spells were so much more useful in the majority of situations than potions. What use would potion brewing be in a duel? Exactly, pointless! "So, charms essay then? I think it shouldn't take us too long to do."

I smiled at her as I dug through the many random items in my bag before fishing out a few sheets of blank parchment, a quill and an ink pot. It was purple ink that turned black once dried. My mum bought me it during the summer, knowing that I would like it as I liked anything purple this year. Sadly, McGonagall didn't seem to share my sentiments whenever she saw me use it. Party pooper!

"How much have you written so far, Ollie?" I looked over at my smiling friend sitting elegantly next to me. She was holding a filled sheet of parchment in her hands. She looked over at my own blank sheets before shaking her head all-knowingly. "I assume that's a nothing, then? Merlin, you have a lot of work to do! Please tell me you at least know the spell and have practised that?"

I smiled weakly at her before shrugging my shoulders. "What can I say? I'm useless!"

She rolled her eyes at my sarcasm before grabbing her wand and showing me how to flick it properly while freezing an unsuspecting bug that was currently crawling along the frost-ridden grass before us.

"See, it's easy." She smiled proudly before re-animating the black beetle and letting it go on its way.

"I know it's easy. It's just hard for me, is all." I huffed out before following her instructions and causing only the bug's back legs to become frozen while the rest of it continued moving, squirming along and trying desperately to move its frozen rear legs. "See? Merlin, first years can even do this spell! I assume it is a sign of how I'm going to fail my charm N.E.W.T.'s, considering this was only supposed to be revision."

"Stop being so dramatic, Olivia. You always pass your charm tests with at least an 'acceptable'. So stop worrying."

I nodded at Lexi's words before crossing my arms across my chest and leaning back against the tree behind me. My thoughts drifted off as talking about our exams reminded me of something else looming over us this year. "You think You-Know-Who is still going to be causing havoc when we leave school? I mean, if I can't even do a simple Freezing Charm what use am I gonna be in a real life situation when I need to act fast?"

The blonde next to me stopped scribbling away on her parchment as her honey-coloured eyes looked at me with complete understanding. It seems she had been thinking of something similar that moment also. "I don't know what's going to be out there when we leave Hogwarts, Olivia. But I know for certain that whatever your grades in class, nothing will happen to you." Her eyes smiled with mirth for a moment as she continued, "If you can't remember a spell, you always have that tongue of yours to fall back on. I'm sure that alone will be enough to scare anyone off. Even You-Know-Who!"

I rolled my eyes at her comforting comment. "True. But I will also have beside me as backup the fearsome Lexi Kingsley who has a serious talent in using Shield charms, so I know I will be fine."

Lexi smirked next to me before casting a shield around us and our little fire to protect us further from the cold. "That she does. Nothing can get through them."

I laughed lightly from her comments before becoming distracted with the small sprinkle of other students outside, walking near the lake. Most of them were fourth year couples strolling hand-in-hand with each other through the grounds with not a care in the world. I knew that would all change the moment they began fifth year. Lots of couples seemed to break up around that time due to the amount of stress and time studying for O.W.L.'s added to your life. I smiled ruefully at the odd first or second year I could spot near us trying to peer into the Great Lake. They were obviously trying to test out the rumours about the Giant Squid to see if they were true or not. I was sure the moment that they got soaked down to their bones by it splashing them with ice-cold water that they would never be doubting any rumours that flew about Hogwarts ever again.

"How's you and Sirius? You two seem to be getting on quite well again."

Once again, my words caused Lexi to stop writing and look up at me. Only this time her face was beaming brightly at me as she practically radiated joy off every pore in her body. "He's an even better kisser than what I imagined. Does this thing with his-"

"With his tongue, I know. It's horrid and slevery and I think you need your head checked if you like it!"

She scowled at me for cutting her off before continuing her love-struck description of her lover boy Sirius. "Well, I like it and I think he is an amazing kisser. He's near perfect, actually. He might not be the most attentive boyfriend, what with him running off with his other woman James and causing havoc all the time, but he more than makes up for it when I do see him."

I grimaced at her loved-up nonsense. "Eww, please, don't tell me any more. I don't want to know!"

"No, no, nothing like that, you filthy slut!" She laughed as her cheeks tinged the slightest of pink. "I just meant that he isn't so tough and guarded when it's just me and him. He manages to make the most unusual of things romantic, like the Astronomy Tower, for example. He took me there last night and was showing me the stars. Was much more interesting than when Professor Horlicks taught us them, that was for certain. Did you know Sirius was named after a star?"

I nodded at her ramblings before rolling my eyes at her nonsense. Was that really how I sounded when I spoke about Severus? Dear Lord, surely I don't sound that deranged! I looked over at Lexi once more to see her looking longingly out across the lake. Her eyes were glossed over as she smiled out over the stagnant waters surface.

"You think Dumbledore will let us go ice skating again this year if the lake freezes over?" I asked her. I was only mildly interested as I wasn't exactly the best skater in the world. Give me a sledge to go down any day, but anything with less support and I would be on my arse within moments.

"I hope so! It was so much fun last year, what with you and Lily showing us all what skating was and then you falling over too many times to count. You have the funniest of falls ever Olivia. Only you could fall into several awkward and knicker-flashing moments, one right after another!"

I shot her a look as she continued to giggle gently at my expense. I knew she meant no harm, but sometimes I didn't like to be reminded of my constant awkwardness. It was just too embarrassing, recalling some of the crazy things I had done in the past. I felt like I was jinxed by bad luck some days. I probably should keep a cauldron full of Felix Felicis brewing at all times just to help me get by unscathed most days. I didn't want to chance the side effects of long-term usage though. The last thing I needed was to be turning into a female full-of-it Sirius Black!

"I'm only joking, Ollie! You know you don't flash your panties every time you fall, just most of the time."

"Very amusing," I countered, my face stony, before I rolled my eyes and smiled at my loony best mate. These moments were rare between us the past few months. It felt as though my Severus obsession had drifted us apart slightly and I was almost starting to think that him not liking me the way I liked him was a good thing. Almost, that is.

Lexi absent-mindedly began tugging at the frosty grass beneath us, pulling the the short blades from the icy ground sharply before tossing them into the conjured flame still hovering before us. Her books were now abandoned completely as she focused her full attention on the flickering little flame, her brow furrowed and confused as though something was hanging heavily on her mind.

"Do you think the boys have been acting strange at all?" Her sudden route of conversation took me by surprise and I was sure my face showed it. She pulled her gaze from the fire and onto me as she smiled a little and shook her head a few times. "Random, I know, but I swear they are up to something. Have you not noticed how shifty they become sometimes?"

I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. "Are they not always shifty?"

"Well, yes. But this is different... I think they sneak off somewhere every month and do something...something dodgy..."

I eyed her curious expression with one of my one. What the hell was she going on about? They were always sneaking off doing dodgy things!

Her blank gaze fell onto the flame once more before she continued. "Sirius cancelled on our date tomorrow night, almost the exact same time last month when I found him sneaking out Gryffindor Tower with James and Peter. Clearly they do something important each month around the same time or else he wouldn't of bailed on me. He knows how uptight I am about that sort of thing."

I smiled at my friend's tight lipped face as I recalled just how anxious she was about people cancelling plans on her. It had caused the majority of our arguments, actually, what with me being so flighty all the time.

"Maybe they have a Marauder's orgy every month and we're not invited!" I giggled aloud, causing Lexi to draw me a dirty look for not taking her seriously. Suddenly a thought hit me then which made me stop laughing and frown slightly. "You only said James, Sirius and Peter. Where was Remus? I mean, I know he doesn't like breaking rules and what-not, with him being Prefect and all, but he is a Marauder for a reason. Trouble appeals to him just as much as the rest of them, so why wasn't he there? He must have been there, too, as I don't think he visited his mum last month. Remember Sirius saying something about him not wanting to miss a test."

I found myself totally enticed by this line of conversation now that the seed of curiosity had been planted in my head. I felt the old cogs turning as I tried to reason out what exactly they could be up to that didn't include Remus.

"Exactly what I asked Sirius the day after when I saw him!" Lexi exclaimed, her hands fanned out in front of her excitedly as she talked animatedly about the situation. "He, however, brushed my questions off by smugly stating that they were just sneaking out to set a prank on Filch and that Remus wasn't with them as he wasn't feeling well. I find it extremely hard to swallow, though. Its all just way too suspicious sounding. Remus can't be ill or away at St. Mungo's with his mum every time I have seen them sneak out. It's just not plausible! Why would they do something every month without him?"

I nodded in agreement.

"You don't think they are secretly mean to Remus or anything, do you? I mean, he is a bit of a stick in the mud at times over some of their more outrageous ideas, and this morning, for example, they all just left him to sleep in and miss his first two classes! That isn't really what you would expect from best friends, is it?"

"Hmm... I doubt it, but something is definitely up with them anyway, and they don't want Remus knowing, that's for sure. I remember I noticed them all acting suspiciously last year also without Remus with them, so clearly since they are all best mates its probably something to do with protecting him rather than being mean to him. It has to be. Maybe they just do something every month while he's away to take their minds off missing him? It's something related to Remus for definite though."

Sighing, I nodded to no-one in particular as my mind began filling with silly ideas as to what they could be up to. Maybe they just don't tell Remus about some of their more dangerous pranks, as they know how he gets and don't want him to lose his Prefect status? Or, maybe they are excluding him on some 'boys night out' for some reason or another? I shook my head as I resigned to the knowledge that they would never exclude Remus out of anything. They were all too close to each other to be petty over something silly like that, so it most definitely had to do with him being Prefect. It just had to. So with my curiosity semi-convinced that was the truth, I put the matter to the back of my mind and picked up my textbook, looking for a distraction.

"So, show me how you did that freezing charm again before we both freeze out here ourselves."

Severus' POV

As usual, I found myself pacing the corridor outside the unused Potions classroom after our arranged time. It seemed no matter what time we agreed to meet at, Olivia would always seem to find a way of being late no matter what. Usually, I would find myself cursing her out under my breath at this point and plotting to leave, but today my mind was occupied with other thoughts.

You see, ever since I had decided to distance myself from Olivia last week, I had decided to focus my attentions on something else, anything else, to distract me from re-thinking my idea through and pulling the plug on it entirely. As absurd as it sounds, I felt my usual curiosity over the four idiots she called friends re-ignite itself to a fully wonderful and fascinating distraction. It allowed my mind to still linger on things it shouldn't, like the sweetness of Olivia's breath on my neck in class every time she leaned in to whisper the next step of a potion to me, all-the-while still finding enough distraction through the ever-suspicious Black and co. to keep my thoughts about her from going any further than they should. Ratting out people as troublesome as them was quite a full-time and thought-provoking job.

Just now, I felt my mind blissfully occupied with the mysterious absence of Lupin from the Gryffindor table during dinner and not of the whereabouts of another equally mysterious Gryffindor at all. I strided back and forth fully absorbed in wondering of how to find out exactly what they were up to and what all the suspicious whispering between the three remaining idiots at the table was all about. It was plainly obvious that they had sent the Prefect off to do something while they plotted the rest of their rule breaking plan out in full. I had already checked out their silly excuse of his mother being unwell. There was no-one in any of the wards in St. Mungo's whose name ever bared a resemblance to that of Lupin. It reminded me of just why I hated them so much in the first place; their constant need to act superior to the rules everyone else had to follow. It was absurd how many times they had managed to get away with things without any consequences at all. If any Slytherin had done even half of the things they had, they would have been expelled on the spot. It made me snarl even to think about it.

"Sorry! Sorry!"

I looked up from pacing to see a flustered red head running at me, the sight alone being more than enough to wipe all current thoughts of the Gryffindor idiots from my mind as I focused solely on her. My deep gaze drank in every inch of her delicious frame as it bounced its way over to greet me. I found my resolve slowly weakening the moment I noticed she was dressed casually in snug denim bell bottoms and a tight orange-striped polo shirt which had a very strategically placed v-neck.

I suddenly became aware of her now-smirking face, causing me to cough to try to distract her from my outlandish staring. "You're late."

"I know. Sorry." She breathed heavily as her hands gripped at her sides as though she had run here at a speed she wasn't used to. I found myself smirking slightly as I caught the sight of sweat gliding teasingly down her milky skin before vanishing under her suggestive 'mountain range' which her top seemed to do nothing but enhance. Her faced paled suddenly as she stood straight as a board before me, a quizzical and flustered expression gracing her features as she peered over at me. "Why are you staring at me like that? I haven't got food down me again do I? Merlin, I have, haven't I!"

I raised an eyebrow as she began flapping oddly before me, her hands rubbing up and down her body as though she was trying to wipe some sort of invisible force from her frame. Before the smile that was currently trying to break across my lips could fully form, I cleared my throat loudly, causing her to stop her absurd randomness and to stare at me with bright eyes.

"If you wouldn't mind, stop acting foolish and head into the classroom so we can start something tonight before our tutoring session is over before it has even begun." I held my hands out towards the door standing between us. She shyly nodded at and made her way through rather quickly. Before following after her and closing the door firmly behind me, I congratulated myself internally at not falling victim to my emotions so soon after we met up.

"So, what is it we will be working on tonight, then? Suppose we should probably work on something that I missed last week to keep McGonagall happy, unless you have any other exciting ideas you would like to share?"

Her smile lingered with me even after she had turned back to unpacking her things from her bag. I moved over to the empty space next to her before doing the same with my own satchel.

"I thought we could look over the new Wolfsbane Potion tonight. Slughorn has been speaking about it all week. Seems he is rather friendly with the potioneer who invented it: Damocles."

She nodded her head happily before readying her quill and some parchments for writing. I watched in interest as she placed the delicate feathered tip between her lips, her tongue lightly licking the end of it as though she was deliberately teasing me somehow with this simple show of wetting her quill for writing. I swallowed hard before turning away and busying myself with something less enticing. Agreeing to tutor her again after all that had transpired between us was clearly one of the worse ideas I had ever agreed to. I had totally misjudged how large of a hold she had over me. It was ridiculous!

"Can I see your notes over it, then? I already know a lot about it, mind, as my Dad's quite good friends with the guy anyway. That, and he is obsessed with Potions. If I need to hear him go on about the effects of the lunar movements on potions one more time I'm going to pull my hair out!" She laughed heartedly as she shook her head.

I looked at her curiously for a moment before deciding to finally voice my own thoughts aloud. "Your father brews Potions? I thought he worked for the Ministry?"

She paused in her actions to turn and face me full on, giving me her complete attention. One of her eyebrows was raised as though she was almost suspicious of my line of questioning. I was just surprised by her revelation. I was sure her father had been some Muggle-lover who had a silly job at the Ministry Of Magic, nothing of importance. But by the way she was speaking about him and the contacts he held, I felt like I had judged him all wrong so far and that he was possibly someone I should take note of after all.

"Oh, he does. He works in the Muggle Liaison Department and he has a great respect for all things Muggle, my mother included." She beamed proudly, her hands flying through the air with animation as though she had great joy talking about her family and their roots. I myself couldn't say I could relate to her on that aspect. I would rather forget my family even existed most of the time. Her eyes shined with great excitement as she continued in her usual upbeat and contagious voice. "But he loves tampering with Potions in his free time. Whenever he gets some these days, that is. He is actually the reason I know so much about Potion making. He would always have old Starky round when I was younger. The stuff she would come out with was unreal. I swear, she had such a mouth on her for an old lady. Also, the stories she could tell you about old Dumbledore were just shocking! Who knew he liked to sing opera as a teenager? I certainly didn't. anyway."

My brows furrowed even deeper than before. "Starky? Hesper Starky? Your father was friends with the Hesper Starky?"

I suddenly felt a small wave of adoration form inside me for Olivia's father. He might be soft when it came to Muggles, but if such Potioneer geniuses as Damocles and Starky considered him worthy enough to be around then surely he must have some clue as to what he was doing. There was no question now as to why Olivia seemed so easy-going when it came to Potion brewing. Her father and his famous friends had probably been teaching her since she was little. I felt a small pang of envy towards her then as I was reminded of my own childhood, and just how polar opposite it had been from her own. The only thing my father had gone out his way to teach me was how to hate someone with a vengeance. I ground my teeth in anger as I recalled just how he had taught me that fact.

"Yeah, old Hesper was over at my house all the time. She was a sweetheart, really, but she would just come out with such the- Are you okay, Severus? You look upset about something?"

A small white hand reached over to my shoulder as chewed purple-coloured fingernails dug into my arm in a comforting manner. She looked quite hesitant over her actions as though she had regretted ever making them. I ignored the comfort her small gesture made me feel as I shook her off my arm and moved away from her slightly, my face an unreadable book as I busied myself with the various Potions notes on the desk before us. It wouldn't help anyone for her to know about my life. It would just do nothing but procure her sympathy, something I never wanted of anyone. Especially her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I shouldn't have rambled on like that as you are just here to tutor me on what I missed in Potions, not to listen to me rambling on about my boring life. Why would you want to hear about that?"

Her laugh was strained somehow as though she didn't fully know how to react in our current situation. I myself was just as unsure as to what to do either. There seemed to be a tension in the air every time we where together the last week or so. It was almost as though it had become second nature in the past few months for us to fall into the routine of her rambling on about something in her private life, something emotional, while I would just hover around her and pretend I wasn't interested in the slightest about what she had to say, all the while asking her simple but intruding little questions for her to open up some more to me. This awkwardness that was now between us was because that easy flowing conversation didn't exist any more. I had ruined that the moment I had shunned her for a week. I sighed deeply before speaking as though nothing had shifted between us at all.

"The Wolfsbane Potion is extremely hard to make and takes several months to prepare. It hasn't been fully tested out yet and no-one else has attempted to brew it but Damocles himself, so although it is tempting to brew, we will only be running through the notes that I have made in class and discussing the benefits and complications this potion might cause if brewed globally."

"Complications? Why would it cause any complications?" Her tone was sharp almost as it rang out in the stone-walled room. I didn't need to be able to see what she was thinking to know that she knew I didn't approve of Werewolves, or of the help this potion could give them if proven successful. Why should society accept things so downtrodden and aggressive as them into the world? They were mangy dogs that did nothing more than prey on wizards and witches, tainting them with their disgusting disease and forcing them to become like them: dirt. They were almost as bad as the Muggles.

I chose not to express my true feelings, however, knowing full well that she held very different feelings on the matter entirely. "As ground-breaking as the discovery is, I cannot see much other benefit to it other than protecting innocent lives from the wolves themselves. It doesn't improve their life quality at all or help cure the disease."

Her frame uncurled slightly as she reached for my notes and began reading through them at a very inhuman pace. "I still think it's a great advancement in helping them, though. I mean, yes, it protects others from getting hurt by them and things, but I'm more than sure that isn't their main objective in life anyway; hurting people, that is. I mean, have you never seen an old black and white horror movie? All the creatures in them want is someone to love and accept them for what they are. They never mean to hurt a fly and are just misjudged and misunderstood entirely. It's very sad, actually, even if wolves in general do give me the creepies. I mean, why do they have to be so angry looking all the time? It's scary as hell!"

"Hmm, indeed," I mumbled out before mentally noting down just how contradictory Olivia's sentence was. It was strange how she was arguing that a race of creatures, creatures that she found utterly terrifying herself, should be accepted into the world by everyone else. Was everything with this girl complicated? Then again, if she wasn't so complex and confusing in nature, I wouldn't have had the fascination I had with her, now would I?

"Hesper seems to think the lunar cycle changes the outcomes of certain potions when brewed at different times. Do you think this potion would be more or less effective if it was brewed earlier or later than specified? I always did find her theories quite fascinating, even if she has made my dad obsessed with her ideas now. He vowed to continue her work after she died. Think it hit hard as he looked up to her as a mother at times."

I placed a finger to my taut lips in thought as I sat down defeated. How had I not thought of this idea before? Was it that difficult for me to even think of it before the Gryffindor beside me? I was just as intrigued by this idea as she was now. "I'm not a hundred percent sure. It is possible, but it would need to be tested out to be proven right or wrong. And not only do we not have all the ingredients here to test our theory, but we have no werewolf available to try it out on either." I smirked at the last bit of my statement. As though a werewolf would be anywhere near the grounds of Hogwarts. Dumbledore was many things, but he wasn't stupid enough to let creatures like that roam the Forbidden Forest unchecked.

Olivia's sweet laughter erupted next to me. "I don't know about that, mind. You should see Lily every third week of the month. She's a right snarly wolf around then so we might actually be in luck! Will need to start comparing her mood-swings to my lunar calender to see if there's any truth in the matter. Fingers crossed for our experiments, she is, eh?"

"Let's hope she is snarling tomorrow night, then, shall we?" I couldn't help but let the light-hearted sarcastic comment fall from my lips. It was just too easy to be comfortable around Olivia with her smiling the way she was. I always found myself saying things that I usually wouldn't in front of others the moment one of her alluring, mischievous grins caught my gaze. They were very hard to ignore. Just like her, in general.

"Is tomorrow night a full moon, then? Didn't even notice! Will keep an eye on her, then, just in case she starts resembling Lon Chaney, Jr. by tomorrow night and begins growing fur and a snout."

Lon Chaney Jr? Some Muggle reference, I assumed, by the smile Olivia was now wearing at my confusion. I smiled back as I confidently began listing off the numerous plot holes in her make-believe plan.

"First off, a werewolf would resemble a real wolf almost to an extent that you would find it difficult to distinguish both apart. Therefore, your black-and-white-movie-era images are pointless. Secondly, they would show signs of illness before and after the full moon and would need to go into hiding of some sort for a few days, making your humourless joke that Lily could be a wolf seriously doubtful, considering she hasn't missed a day of school in her entire life. And thirdly, the prospect of a student being a Werewolf is almost laughable. Dumbledore would never allow something that dangerous into the school. Even he isn't that stupid."

Her smile turned into a large smirk as she leaned over towards me and began whispering to me in an almost seductive tone. Something which was making me feel incredibly hot and flustered in the rather cold dungeon classroom. "You, Severus Snape, need to learn how to appreciate a joke better." Her pointer finger poked into my chest gently before her smirk deepened even more and her face became even closer to my own. Sweet, hot, delicious breath lingered on my neck as she spoke slowly and calmly to me, almost as though she was enjoying our current position almost as much as I. My legs crossed involuntarily over each other in order to attempt to hide my growing excitement from her. "If I ever find a Werewolf, though, I shall make sure I send them to you, considering you seem to be the all-knowing expert on them."

She leaned away from me then, offering me one last mind-numbing seductive smile and began copying down my notes as though nothing had transpired between us in the slightest. I followed her lead and continued looking over my own notes again, all the while smirking to myself at how wrong this situation was entirely. As much as I wanted to distance myself from her, I found the idea of ignoring my obscure sense of care towards her was much less valuable than one taste of those plush, red lips upon my own. If this was the way she was making me feel by just being close to me, Merlin only knows what sort of state she would have me in if I ever went against my better judgement and told her my feelings for her. Assuming she would feel the same way as I do.

I chanced a quick glance at her small frame writing furiously away next to me and all hope and fun was gone as reality fell down on me harshly once again.

No, I had to restrain my teenage hormones and not get too close. I would ignore her fully tomorrow and concentrate all my efforts on my revenge on Black and Potter by foiling whatever stupid deed they had been planning tonight. Yes, I had to concentrate fully on them, and not the lustful and playful Lion beside me instead, as that was leading to nothing but wet dreams.