A/N

To the Guest who said that an update on A03 generally means an update here... you are completely right haha! That is often what I do, but just before I uploaded this chapter I decided to change it around a little bit, hence the delay! I'm so sorry you were checking for updates loads, I want to get the chapters out as soon as possible but at the same time don't want there to be any errors etc.,

I'm sorry to those people who were worried because I was gone for so long, I was just insanely busy this month! I wanted to update the story just to let everyone know I was still around, but I also didn't want to disappoint people with an update that was just an author's note, so in future I'll give indications as to when the next chapter will be ready on my profile page.

Thank you so much for all the reviews! They mean the world to me :D

Chapter 38: The Síog's Partner

"What the fuck were you thinking, Black?" A familiar voice snarled. "That some impromptu sparring with a bunch of teenagers, one of whose magic is immensely powerful and unstable, would make you appear useful for once?"

Róisín scrunched her brow, her eyes refusing to open.

"Is her magic unstable? Weren't you supposed to take care of that?" Another deep voice.

"Sirius," A third warned evenly. Lupin, Róisín realised. She was lying on something soft -a couch. Her body felt like it weighed a thousand stone.

"Except you'd actually have to get a sióg off to stabilise their magic, wouldn't you?" Black added.

"-Sirius." Lupin said more forcefully. The air crackled with angry magic. Róisín's heart beat faster.

"Don't speculate on issues well above your paygrade, Black," Snape said slowly.

"You're not the only expert on sióga, Snivellus. Don't forget, I'm the wizard who did the research for the Order when you were still hanging off your Dark Lord's coattails. So I should add, despite what your side thinks, to deal with a sióg you'd also need another thing; consent."

BANG

CRACK

A light exploded behind Róisín's eyelids and she jerked in fright. Squinting, she saw they were in the parlour, and Lupin was holding a bright, shimmering protego amicis around Black, whose wand was pointed squarely at Snape. The potions professor was backlit by the fireplace, his wand at his side and a tear in the shoulder of his jacket. Both wizard's chests were rising and falling with barely contained rage.

"Enough!" Lupin barked and dropped the shield. "Sirius, wand down."

Róisín tried to sit up, but as soon as she moved the room spun. She whimpered as her stomach convulsed and her throat felt suddenly scratchy, making her cough and splutter.

"Stay still, Feral," Snape ordered, his eyes still pinned on Black.

Róisín felt the other men's eyes on her as she covered her face with her hand, her head throbbing. "It hurts…" she moaned.

"We'll be in the kitchen, tell us if there is anything you need," Lupin muttered to Snape.

"I'm not leaving him alone with her," Black grit out. Róisín glanced through her fingers at the potions master, who rolled his eyes and sent the other man an incredulous look.

"Isn't it a bit late for that, Black?" he said smoothly.

Black lurched forward, his wand hand raising, but Lupin stepped in front of Snape, who hadn't moved in response.

"Sirius, leave them," Lupin ordered.

"No. Feral's clearly afraid of him. She got to the point of collapsing from exhaustion trying to control her magic instead of asking for him, which says something about how the bastard's been treating her."

Snape's jaw muscles tightened and Róisin's heart gave a guilty lurch.

"Perhaps, Black, if you hadn't tied her up after disarming her, she wouldn't have collapsed with terror," Snape said quietly through gritted teeth. "Tell me, are you in the habit of continuing the duel after you have your opponent's wand in hand? Or is that only your policy when you're sparring against teenage girls?"

"Róisín wanted to continue," Black snapped back.

"Did she?"

"Fuck off, Snivellus."

Róisín wanted to climb into the creases of the worn couch and be forgotten like an old galleon, but as a fresh wave of nausea passed over her she couldn't stop herself from pressing her fist against her mouth and letting out a small groan.

"Sirius, leave Snape to treat Róisín," Lupin ordered. "I'll ask Tonks to chat with her while he's checking her over."

Róisín's head was pounding and she felt her heavy eyelids start to close again.

"Hey," A deep, low voice roused her, and she felt a hand lift her chin. "Don't fall asleep." Snape was kneeling by the couch, trailing his wand down her chest and stomach.

"Wotcher Professor."

Róisín blinked awake again. There was a woman with bright turquoise hair sitting on the couch opposite.

"Good of you to agree to chaperone, Nymphadora, otherwise Black might've had a conniption," Snape muttered between Greek diagnostic charms that Róisín couldn't follow.

The woman chuckled and said, "Well, he couldn't leave the poor little síog in the hands of the big bad Death Eater; you know he's always hated following official Order Policy."

Snape's lips twitched in a rare smile.

"D'ye remember me?" The woman asked and Róisín realised she'd been staring at her with unfocused eyes.

"I…" -Róisín cleared her throat- "I think so?"

"In my final year, Professor McGonagall brought me into her second year classes." The woman's face elongated, her hair darkened, stretching downwards, and abruptly, something strongly resembling Snape was smiling at her from the other couch. Róisín jerked with fear and the Snape impression giggled and morphed into Professor Dumbledore, his long beard coiling in his lap.

The real potions master didn't even glance around as he unstoppered a vial and handed it to Róisín,

"Anti-" he began to explain, but Róisín drank it before he finished saying, "-Nausea". He gave her a curious look. Róisín however, was distracted by the woman sitting on the couch opposite.

"Oh yeah, Tonks! I thought you were, like, the coolest witch I'd ever seen!" Róisín vividly remembered Tonks metamorphosing into a caricature of every Hogwarts staff member one by one, surrounded by the gasps and laughter of her classmates. "And you're a member of the Order now?"

"Yeah, just recently, I joined as soon as I qualified as an auror."

"Wow, impressive! Was the auror training difficult?"

"Not as difficult as the NEWTS potions I needed to get in. That was the most painful thing I've ever had to do. No offence, Professor."

"I assure you Miss Tonks, the feeling was mutual," Snape drawled and placed two firm fingers against the pulse point on Róisín's neck. Róisín swallowed and looked away from his dark eyes.

"So you don't find yourself frequently in need of Gout Tonic and Cobra Anti-Venom as an auror then?" she asked Tonks.

"Fortunately not, and we have access to the potioneers at the ministry, although whether we should trust them or not is another thing. Still, brewing is something best left in my past life, back when I was a student and your potions professor was even younger than I am now."

Snape scoffed and stated, "When you started Hogwarts I was older than you currently are."

"You were not, you were like a teenager."

"I was twenty one when I began teaching at Hogwarts, and I was twenty-four when your unique presence first graced my classroom."

"Ok, well, I'm twenty-three so you were around my age when you first started teaching me."

Róisín couldn't imagine teaching at Hogwarts at only twenty-one. She was afraid of some of her fellow seventh years now, just dealing with them as a peer, let alone if she had to teach and control such unruly teenagers in only two years time.

"I know it's hard to believe Róisín, but the potions master was even scarier in his early years as a professor. I think he had something to prove," Tonks added.

Snape rolled his eyes and muttered,

"Accio Supressivo potion."

"He certainly doesn't have anything to prove anymore," Róisín commented under her breath. Tonks chuckled and Snape's dark eyebrows rose a little as he regarded her. Róisín blushed and looked away, realising she felt a little silly like she'd had a shot or two of firewhiskey.

The large potions bottle soared into the room and Snape caught it in the air. It was two-thirds empty.

"Look at me," he ordered sharply. Róisín flinched backwards as his large hand grabbed her face and pried open one of her eyelids. He put two fingers against her pulse again. "When did you last drink the Supressivo potion and how much did you drink?"

"Em… I dunno.. I took two gulps right before I went downstairs to duel… around eight o'clock?"

"What's wrong, Professor?" Tonks asked.

"I'm trying to decide whether to administer an emetic potion or not."

"Emetic?" Róisín repeated tentatively.

"A potion to induce vomiting." Róisín grimaced, her stomach contracting in anticipation. "At least now I know why you collapsed so dramatically," Snape drawled. "Are you incapable of following basic instruction, Feral, or did you think the dosage I gave you was a vague suggestion?"

Róisín winced in apology and struggled to sit up. "I'm sorry, I was just so jittery and your potion made me feel so good." Snape arched an eyebrow and Róisín bit her lip, immediately wishing she could take back her breathless admission.

The potions master stood up and looked down at her. He was still in his travelling cloak. "Yes, calming draughts, magical suppressants, analgesics and satisfaction brew would have that effect," he said dryly. "I told you to take up to two mouthfuls a day. It's been two days, Feral."

"I'm sorry, sir."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled, "Stop with the "sirs"."

Tonks gave an amused snort from the opposite couch and Snape's scowl darkened. He scrutinised Róisín for a long moment.

"The high concentration of magical suppressant in your bloodstream likely caused you to lose consciousness. I'm going to put you in a potion-induced sleep, then use a charm to speed up your metabolism in order to flush out the suppressants. Understood?"

Róisín nodded.

"Lie down and close your eyes."

He placed something that felt like a cold gel on her forehead which disappeared as soon as it touched her skin. A numbing sensation crept from her forehead down her face and neck while he muttered something in Greek. She felt the light weight of a blanket covering her.

"I can watch over her, if you have things to do," Tonks said and then Snape replied, his voice muffled as though he were underwater,

"That's not necessary, I've finished what I had to do this evening."

Tonks looked up from Róisín, who was already sound asleep.

"What was it that you had to do?" she asked Snape. The dark wizard ignored her, grabbing a Daily Prophet and taking the armchair near the fire. "Judging from your silence, I'm guessing shady Death Eater things."

He raised an eyebrow at her but his eyes continued to scan the newspaper. Tonks leant back into the couch."That was pretty deadly, you know, the way her patronus submitted to you," she commented.

"Not her patronus, her laoch."

"Still, I think she has a crush."

"It's natural her laoch would acknowledge me, our partnering entwined our magic," Snape replied, still not looking up from the article he was reading.

"Yeah, but it didn't have to bow to you like that and practically hand her over to you. Even Sirius was impressed, I could tell."

Snape growled, a low gutteral sound of annoyance. "Black should've stayed the bloody hell away from her."

Tonks lips twitched. "Jealous are you?"

"Stop projecting Nymphadora. When our resident werewolf discussed his meetings with Elena Wolfstar at last week's meeting the abject pain on your face was nauseating."

Tonks frowned and looked away into the fire as she muttered, "Piss off."

"Language, Miss Tonks," Snape admonished as he folded the newspaper and put it down. "And when did you stop referring to me as sir?" A smirk was playing at the corner of his lips that made Tonks uneasy, and she felt the turquoise of her hair turn even brighter.

"Why should I? You're not my professor anymore."

Snape leaned back into his armchair and pinned her with his dark eyes. "Most of my past students call me sir."

"I'm an Order member now, just like you."

"I outrank you five times over."

"You don't like it when Feral calls you sir." Snape raised an eyebrow at her, as if to say they both knew that was different. "It's weird for me to call you sir, you're not that much older than me," Tonks argued.

"Yes, your point earlier about how young I was when I first met you was a pretty transparent attempt to make the case that another Hogwarts professor isn't prohibitively older than you."

"Well he isn't," Tonks muttered, not meeting the potion professor's dark eyes.

"If you say so."

She bit her lip and said jokingly, "Would you tell him that?"

"If you believe I would play matchmaker for a metamorphagus and a werewolf then I have been severely remiss in the sculpting of my persona."

"Do you think Remus knows?" Tonks asked, knowing she was pressing her luck but curious to see what Snape would reveal.

"Merlin's bollocks," he muttered under his breath.

"Do you?"

Snape sighed and said, "You're the only witch in the Order who didn't have strong reservations about my partnering with the síog. At the time I suspected it was due to your interest in the werewolf and the fact that my partnering with the síog would mean you two wouldn't be the most objectionable pairing in the Order. That probably escaped Lupin's notice however."

"Hey! I'm a Hufflepuff, I'm not capable of such Slytherin behaviour."

"I never said you were subtle."

Tonks chuckled. "That's not fair, I genuinely thought this"- she vaguely gestured between Snape and the sleeping girl- "was the best option out of a list of bad ones for Feral."

"Because it left the wolf free."

Tonks huffed. "Remus wasn't an option. He couldn't help her during his transformations obviously, and the days before he could be-" Too aggressive? Tonks thought and bit her lip, thinking about all the research she'd done last summer on werewolves and their fluctuating libidos. Snape raised both eyebrows as he watched her, that damnable smirk still playing at his thin lips, - "Before his transformation he could be too unstable and after he'd be too weak," Tonks finally finished.

"I see you've given a lot of thought to the percentage of time the werewolf would be available for service," Snape drawled.

"Also," Tonks said firmly, ignoring his remark and trying to make sure her hair didn't turn an embarrassingly revealing shade of pink, "He doesn't meet the mature wizard requirement."

"Yes by the Headmaster's assessment, which was convenient."

"Are you implying Remus is more powerful than you? I'll be sure to pass on the compliment."

Snape scoffed. "I could wipe the floor with your wolf, Nymphadora. However, I'm doubtful a síog's magic will only accept a powerful wizard. The theories of mature wizards and síoga are also rather convenient."

"Because powerful wizards who wanted síoga all to themselves were the ones who wrote those theories?"

"Ten points to Hufflepuff," Snape muttered.

"So you really think it would've worked with Remus and her?" Tonks asked quietly. For some reason she felt a little guilty.

Snape sighed. "Perhaps. He lives in the castle and is a relatively capable wizard likely able to accept her surplus magic. If Feral had been given the choice, she undoubtedly would've chosen him over myself. The headmaster should've at least instructed Lupin to attempt to partner with her."

"Because passing her around the men in the Order until one of them worked out, that would've been a good idea," Tonks replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I wasn't surprised the headmaster decided you should be the one to do it, you were the obvious choice."

"Is that so?" Snape asked bitterly.

"You can watch over her at Hogwarts, and you know what you're doing. And-" Tonks felt her cheeks redden at Snape's raised eyebrows and the look of humour in his eyes and she faltered and added, "Don't give me that look, I didn't mean it like that. I meant you know more than any of us about síoga, and know how to protect her from You-Know-Who."

"Black is relatively informed about síoga."

"He's not in the castle. And he's not… doing so well -Don't look so pleased. You need to back off him. He may be a shit to you but as the one who didn't spend twelve years in Azkaban for something he didn't even do, maybe you need to start cutting him some slack."

"Are you implying I should've spent twelve years in Azkaban for things I did do?"

"I'm saying you should stop goading him."

Snape averted his eyes from her and spoke to the fire as he said, "It'd be easier if he refrained from implying I'm a rapist."

"Ok, fair. But maybe you should be the bigger man."

"Did Lupin send you in to provide company for Feral or to lecture me?"

Tonks looked away from his dark scowl and watched Feral stretch a little in her sleep.

"Are you going to stay for her, after she wakes?"

"I think I'll have to," Snape muttered.

"Oh, my heart bleeds for you. How's all that extra síog magic?"

Snape snorted with little humour and looked from the fire back at her. "Fuck off. I didn't ask for this."

Tonks held up her hands and said placatingly, "I know you didn't."

Róisín had no sense of how much time had passed when she realised that she could hear Snape's low voice. She turned her face into the couch cushion, not wanting to crawl out of the deep warmth of her sleep.

"I was hoping the potion I brewed for her would enable us to hold off until after the Christmas break, but evidently not."

"Everyone here is under the fidelius charm, what do you have to lose?" Tonks asked.

"Not everyone. The youngest Weasley girl doesn't know and if she finds out by herself then the fidelius charm won't protect Feral from being revealed by her."

"So get the headmaster to tell her through the charm."

"Circe," Snape cursed. "She's fourteen years old. I still have to teach her for another year, maybe three, if British wizarding society doesn't collapse into war in the meantime. The only reason the other teenagers know is because the headmaster wouldn't let me obliviate his favourite student. I suspect he concluded that the boy knowing information that could lead to my brutal murder would be an excellent incentive to encourage me to teach him occlumency more… expeditiously." Tonks chuckled and Snape added, "Although being tortured slowly to death sometimes seems preferable to trying to teach that dunderhead."

Tonks let out a bark of laughter. "Stop it, Harry's great. And if it's not convenient for you and Feral at Headquarters, why don't you bring her to your house?"

"It's not safe. I can't guarantee one of my colleagues won't pop over."

"Also Sirius would probably castrate you if you whisked her out of here."

"He'd probably think I was giving her to Him." Tonks didn't offer anything in reply and Snape added in a low voice, "Apologies, I shouldn't be flippant about such an idea."

"I'm just scared for her," Tonks said in a whisper. "Are you still pretending to search for her for Him? Do you think He suspects anything?"

Róisín's heartbeat sped up and her fingers grasped at the blanket covering her. Suddenly, Snape asked sharply, "Feral, are you awake?"

Her eyes blinked open. "Just a little," she mumbled.

His voice was still stern as he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Ok." She felt exhausted, and strangely detached from her own body. She tried to sit up and it took a lot more effort than she had expected. "Why do I feel like this?"

"Like what?"

"So… drunk?"

"The metabolism acceleration charm could cause certain elements of the potion to remain in the bloodstream which could cause that effect. How bad is it?"

"I dunno, 'just feel funny."

"Oooh! I can do the test for Intoxicated Flyers," Tonks said, jumping off the couch.

"That test is unlikely to prove effective, considering Feral's magic can be erratic even when she's entirely sober," Snape drawled.

Tonks turned to Róisín, and said with her back to the professor, smirking,

"That just means someone's not doing their job." Róisín's eyes widened but Snape simply scowled at the back of her head and said nothing. "Normally I'd start off by asking you to stand on your broom but obviously you weren't flying so that doesn't apply."

"S-stand?" Róisín echoed.

"So we'll start with the second task; levitating something to land on your head." Tonks reached for a Daily Prophet that was folded on a side table.

Róisín's eyes darted around for her wand and found it on the armrest beside her. Pointing it with a shaky grip at the newspaper, she mumbled, "Wingardium Leviosa." The paper used its pages as wings as it fluttered into the air, and then promptly burst into flames. Róisín let out a small cry and hopped in a tangle of blankets off the couch and away from the flames.

"Were you finished with that, professor?" Tonks asked dryly.

"I am now," Snape replied.

"Ok, so that's a zero so far," Tonks stated cheerily, "But don't worry, it's not like you were flying a broomstick over a populous area and I'm going to charge you or anything. It's just for fun. Next, you have to conjure some water."

Róisín nodded and tried to focus. "Augamenti" she cast, expecting the usual light stream, but instead a jet of water spurted out of her wand and hit Tonks square in the face, who raised her arms with a shriek and laughed. She only realised afterwards that Tonks had held out a glass for her to fill. "I'm ssorry," Róisín slurred. Tonks used a drying charm on herself and smiled brightly at Róisín, clearly having fun.

"Ok, you can have half a point for that. Next, you have to change the colour of something you're wearing."

"Erm, ok, I'll try to change the colour of my -" Róisín looked down. "Bottoms... Co-colovaria."

Róisín felt the chilly air of the parlour on her bare legs for a split second before loose, black pyjamas popped onto her. She looked around in confusion.

"I conjured something to cover you," Snape supplied. "You vanished your leggings."

"Wow, that was quick professor," Tonks said. "You get full points. Unfortunately Róisín, that's another zero, although at least you didn't set them on fire. Last task, you have to answer my questions in full sentences while under the giggle charm."

"Ok," Róisín replied warily.

Tonks pointed her wand at her and pronounced, "Kikikolida".

A snort erupted out of Róisín like a sneeze and she fell backwards onto the couch as shrieks and giggles gushed out from deep in her belly. Only when her giggling abruptly stopped did she realise that Tonks was bent over herself crying with laughter and that Snape must have cast "Finite incantatem." The auror took a deep breath between her chuckles, wiped her eyes and said, "Ok, that's definitely another zero. I'd be written up if I didn't charge you for intoxication after that reaction."

"What happened? What did I do wrong?" Róisín asked.

"Nothing, don't worry," Tonks said. "I just found it so funny because I didn't even ask you anything and you just exploded." She started to chuckle again.

Róisín must have looked confused because Snape added, "Intoxicated subjects won't be able to hold a conversation without laughing while under the charm, while sober subjects can answer even amusing questions without laughing aloud. However, even intoxicated, the Kikikolida does not normally cause one to collapse into a fit of giggles apropos of nothing. "

"I think you're underestimating the power of the charm, professor," Tonks said. "I've seen loads of sober people crack up under it, it all depends on the questions. Why don't I try it on you?"

Snape leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "Go ahead."

"Kikikolida" The professor's jaw jutted forward slightly, but otherwise his face remained in its usual scowl. "What's the most compromising thing you've found in the Slytherin dormitory?" Tonks asked eagerly.

A muscle in Snape's jaw twitched. "No comment."

"Is he allowed not to answer?" Róisín asked and Snape rolled his eyes.

"Yes, as long as he's coherent," Tonks replied. "As his Head of House for the past four and a half years, have you ever wanted to strangle my dear cousin Draco?"

"No comment." Snape's face remained impassive.

"What about his father?"

The corner of Snape's lip twitched for a second. "No comment," he repeated but this time his tone was a little dry.

"When you join the Death Eaters do you get a Borgin and Burkes loyalty card?"

"No," Snape stated, sounding bored, although Róisín started to giggle, thinking of a hooded figure holding out a little card for the shopkeeper to stamp.

"Is it true that Hogwarts professors are always sleeping with each other?"

Róisín snorted in surprise, clapping her hand to her face, and for a second, a smile broke out across Snape's features, making him look warm and handsome. Then it disappeared, although the corner of his lip tugged twice.

"Of course not."

"Well professor, I have to admit that's the most impressive withstanding of the charm I've seen," Tonks said with a grin. "Finite Incantatem."

Róisín snorted with laughter again, because of course Snape was good at withstanding a giggle charm, how could Tonks be surprised?

She realised both of them were looking at her and she tried to swallow her laughter. "Sorry," -she hiccoughed- "I still feel a little drunk."

Snape sighed and said to Tonks, "Go tell your werewolf-"

"He's not my werewolf," Tonks grumbled between her teeth.

"-that Miss Feral is no longer critically unwell, despite her temporary loss of mental acuity."

Tonks nodded and smiled at Róisín before she left the room.

Snape got to his feet and Róisín hoped he wasn't going to leave again.

"May I apparate you to your room?" he asked stiffly.

"Oh, em, sure," she replied as she was hit with a rush of nerves and anticipation.

He gestured for her to come closer and wrapped his arms around her and Róisín felt a strange, unpleasant weight in her chest at the realisation that she loved the feeling of being huddled against him. He squeezed her a little as if in a hug, and then she was squished into nothing before they popped into her bedroom.

A/N

Please leave a review if you have a moment! They make me so happy and really encourage me to keep writing :) Also please let me know if the point of view shift from Róisín to Tonks and back again wasn't clear enough. I don't really like author notes in the middle of chapters to indicate changes in perspectives, and generally like to keep the story all in Róisín POV because I want us to go on the journey with her, but every so often I want the readers to know just a little bit more than she does!

As always thanks for reading!