Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JK Rowling. No infringement is intended. Just a bit of harmless fun.

A/N : Thanks so much to everyone that has sent reviews. I love the feedback, and I hope that everyone is having fun reading this silly thing. (You'd probably be amused watching me sit in front of my computer giggling as I type.) This chapter is kinda all over the place mood wise, but I guess it works.

Headaches and Insomnia ~*~

The rest of the week passed quickly for Lorien. She had spoken to Neville and they had met for their first session, which did not go as well as she had hoped. The boy was forgetful and got flustered easily, and Lorien hoped they made progress the next time.

Remus had filled her in on what he had been covering in DADA classes, and together they had come up with a plan for Monday's classes.

It was a transfiguration class on Friday afternoon that sent three student to the hospital wing. An overzealous second year student misspoke the transforming spell for changing a pincushion into a hedgehog, and his panicked classmates found themselves dealing with a large angry porcupine in a painful fashion until Professor McGonagall stepped in to render the animal harmless once again. Lorien had spent the afternoon removing long black and white quills from a variety of Hufflepuff anatomical locations.

Saturday proved to be a glorious sunny day, and much of the student body spent the day lounging outside, or making half-hearted attempts to do their homework on the lawn. Quidditch practices had begun and there was much talk of which house would likely win the house cup this year.

Remus Lupin stood outside the door to the hospital ward that afternoon, waging an inner battle. He hated to have to ask for help, and especially hated to ask her, but he could hardly see straight. The migraines that often arrived just before the transformation were often excruciating. He went in.

Lorien looked up.

"Hello...Remus what's wrong?" She could see that the smile he gave her was strained and that there were dark circles under his eyes.

"Bit of a headache."

"You look exhausted. Migraine?"

He managed a nod.

"Does this happen every month?"

Remus could hear the concern behind the question.

"Yes, sometimes worse than others."

"Here, sit," she ordered, patting the edge of a hospital bed.

He sat and she went to work.

She placed a hand under his chin and tipped his head up, gazing into his tired gray eyes. She leaned close as she evaluated him and he became aware of her soft scent. Despite the mind-numbing pain behind his eyes, he suddenly realized that in a less clinical setting he would very much enjoy having her this close.

Gentle fingers went to his throat, evaluating his pulse.

He hoped it wasn't too fast.

Warm hands on either side of his neck, palpating under his jaw.

He closed his eyes, letting his mind wander a little.

"...vision today?"

"What?" He hadn't heard all of what she'd said.

"Have you had any double vision today?" she repeated patiently.

"No."

"Vomiting?"

"No." The image sobered him up.

"Ok, we can deal with this." She smiled. "Lie back." She propped the pillows up so he remained seated but could recline a bit.

He did as he was told.

"You've got a potion strong enough for this, huh?"

"No drugs." She sat on the edge of the bed next to him. "Close your eyes. This may feel a little funny at first."

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

He could hear her take a deep breath as she concentrated.

She reached out and smoothed away the gray-flecked brown hair and placed the tips of her fingers on either temple. Remus didn't catch all the words she softly spoke, but became aware of the warmth of her touch becoming slightly more intense. Slowly the warm sensation spread, across his temples and behind his eyes, as if the pain were being replaced with a soothing heat. The headache receded.

He opened his eyes and watched her for a moment, her own eyes closed in concentration, her breathing slow and steady. He watched her inhale deeply and then forced his gaze upward again.

Her eyes opened and she smiled at him, removing her hands.

"Better?"

"You have no idea. Thank you."

"Good." She stood up and offered her hand. "Come on."

He gripped her hand and she helped pull him to his feet.

"Where to?"

"Outside for a walk. The fresh air will do you good."

He became self-conscious as he realized he his fingers were still twined around hers. He yanked his hand away and saluted her smartly.

"Yes, ma'am."

She gave him a playful shove and walked past him.

He tipped his head and watched her walking away from him for a moment, and then he hurried to catch up.

Quidditch practice had been grueling. As much as Harry loved flying he was glad when the end of practice rolled around and he was free for the rest of the afternoon. He had run back up to the Gryffindor tower to put his broom away and shower, and was anxious to find Ron and Hermione.

He found them outside on the lawn enjoying the beautiful afternoon, each in their own way. Hermione had propped open an enormous tome that she was thoroughly engrossed in, and Ron had dozed off on the grass nearby.

"How was practice?" Hermione asked as Harry flopped down on the grass.

"Brutal." Harry smiled.

"Hi, Harry." Ron sat up and yawned.

"Working hard, Ron?" Harry teased his friend.

Ron punched him in the shoulder.

"Hey, Who's that? I think it's Remus."

"Where?" Harry and Hermione turned to see what Ron was talking about.

"Over there, across the lawn. I think that's Lorien with him," Ron continued.

Hermione stared across the grounds at the two distant figures.

"I hear she's nice," Ron added.

"Yeah," said Harry, "Neville says she's pretty cool."

"So how was Quidditch practice?" Ron asked Harry.

Hermione said nothing but smiled and went back to her book.

It may have been the perfect afternoon for a walk outside, but Severus Snape had other things on his mind.

He was pacing the floor in his office, clutching a small roll of parchment . The letter had arrive earlier by owl, and he knew what it was the moment he saw the seal on the outside.

The writing inside confirmed his suspicions. It indicated that he would be needed soon, and would be summoned to a secret location when the time was right.

'Already,' he sighed.

It all came down to this. All the secrecy, the planning, the waiting, the dreadful waiting...he would know after this if it had all paid off. He would know the moment he arrived at the meeting if he had succeeded or failed. If he had succeeded he would once more be the Death Eater, the faithful servant, the spy. If he had failed, he would.... well, he would be dead, wouldn't he?

Once again all he could do was wait.

He flung the letter into the fire, and heard it crackle as he turned to his desk.

He sank into the chair and sat staring into space, hands idly toying with an object on his desk Slowly his attention focused on the small silken pouch that lay before him.

He considered the conversation he'd had about the sleeping potions with the woman and was amused as he thought about the look on her face when he'd insinuated that she was prying into his private life. She'd recovered her composure quickly and even managed to pique his curiosity.

He decided that he would try her remedy. Not that he expected it to work, at least not for him. On the nights that he suffered from sleeplessness (and they were frequent) he never bothered with standard strength potions anymore. He often required something stronger. He smiled as he realized the young witch so versed in the healing arts would be probably be horrified at the frequency with which he used the absinthe. He himself, no longer cared. Wormwood was the only thing that helped him to sleep, on the nights he chose to do so, and when you lived many days worrying about whether you'd live another day, why be concerned about the possibility of a little addiction?

Yes, he'd try her formula, but only for the knowledge.

Sunday found Lorien standing in front of the painting that was the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. She nodded to several seventh year girls as they left the dormitory and stepped through into the large room.

It was fairly quiet and a handful of students were gathered in small groups, talking or reading. She looked around for Neville. When she didn't see him she decided to approach a group of students seated together near the large fireplace.

Harry was the first of the three to see her approach and he tapped Ron on the arm. Hermione's gaze followed theirs.

"Excuse me, but have any of you seen Neville?"

"He's in the library studying." Hermione volunteered an answer first.

"Thank you."

"You're Miss Desjardins."

"Yes. We haven't met yet, have we? Probably a good thing, right?"

Hermione smiled at the older witch. "I'm Hermione Granger."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Granger."

Lorien already knew who Hermione, Ron and Harry were. (After all, who didn't know about the famous Harry Potter and his two best friends?)

Hermione introduced the boys. "This is Ron Weasley. And this is Harry Potter."

"Hello," said Ron.

"Nice to meet you." Harry smiled at her.

Lorien smiled back, forcing her gaze to stay on Harry's green eyes. "Pleasure to meet you both. You're all G5, right?"

"What?" Ron asked.

"Gryffindor fifth year."

"Oh...yeah." Ron and Harry grinned at each other.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I better find Neville."

"It's nice of you to help him," Hermione spoke again.

"I'm sure that all he needs is a little extra guidance," Lorien replied.

"You're talking about Neville? Have you seen what happens when he gets near a cauldron?" Ron's eyes were wide.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded

Lorien laughed. "Yes, Ron. I've had some firsthand experience."

"Do you think you can really help him?" Harry asked.

"I have no delusions about Neville acing Potions this term, Harry. I'm merely hoping that I can help him just get through it a little easier, and maybe survive until Christmas without another meltdown." She smiled. "Thanks, guys."

Ron spoke up first when the blonde witch had left.

"Hey. We're G5. Wicked!"

"It doesn't get much cooler that being G5," Harry added with a smile. "Maybe being G7, but that's about it."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her young male friends, but she was smiling. It was definitely cool being G5.

After another trying session with Neville, Lorien sighed as she watched the teenager leave. She was going to have to think about a different approach.

She realized that she hadn't run into Remus at all today, and she decided that she ought to make sure that he wasn't being plagued with another migraine. She glanced out the window at the slowly sinking sun, and decided against going to dinner first. If she was going to check on him she needed to do it soon.

She headed down the hall to where she knew his rooms were and ran into Snape, just leaving.

"He's had the last dose?" She skipped a greeting.

Snape nodded. "He should be fine, once the door is secured."

"Good." She reached for the door.

"You're going in?" Snape asked.

"Only for a moment," she replied.

"I assume I need not caution you against staying too long?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

She gave him a small smile. "I just want to check in on him quickly."

Snape nodded and spun, moving away from her and down the hall with long strides.

"Remus?" She opened the door, stepped through and shut it quickly behind her.

"Lorien, what are you doing here?" He was smiling, but his voice was tired and there was a hint of concern.

"I wanted to make sure that your headache hadn't returned, and that you were ok before..."she trailed off uneasily.

"I'm fine," he lied, not wanting to concern her.

"You'll be ok?"

"I always am," he answered with another weak smile. "You should go."

She hesitated. "I hate to leave you alone."

"There is nothing else that can be done at this point." He crossed the room to stand close to her. "Please, Lorien." He placed his hand on her elbow gently urging her toward the door. "Really, it's ok. I'm used to it."

"You're a liar," she said softly, not looking at him.

"Yes, I would be lying again if I said I didn't want you to stay... if I said I wanted to be alone."

"The wolfsbane potion should make you safe...." she started.

"Yes."

"Then maybe...."

"No!" He cut her off more sharply than he meant to. " I won't chance it. I would never take the slightest risk that this could happen to someone else!" His voice was a hoarse whisper.

"I'll wait with you outside the door," she offered.

"It's not necessary." Remus shook his head.

She looked up at him. "I want to."

"I'd like that....but...." he trailed off uneasily.

"I know what happens, Remus. It's nothing to be ashamed of," Lorien spoke kindly.

"Very well." Remus agreed.

She stepped through the door and he closed it. She heard him speak the powerful locking charm.