{Disclaimer:  The Harry Potter World was created by J.K. Rowling and rights are owned by, but not limited to Scholastic Books and Warner Brothers.  I, therefore, own no parts of this, save for the characters of Andromeda McGee and Wyvern, who were created by my own imagination.}

{Yet again, this goes to Jess who wrote me another section which I was able to manipulate into something rather scary.}

Chapter 29

Twisted Plans

** Just a day, just an ordinary day/ Just trying to get by/ Just a boy, just an ordinary boy/ But he was looking to the sky/ And as he asked if I would come along/ I started to realize/ That every day he finds just what he's looking for/ And like a shooting star he shines "Ordinary Day" Vanessa Carlton**

Andy stalked into the Three Broomsticks, feeling extremely frustrated.  Sirius was bothering her again.  He just didn't know when to give up.  He could at least realize by now that she wanted nothing to do with him and it would be much easier to just get the hell out of her life.  But no!  He didn't!  She smacked her fist into her open palm as she took a seat into a dark corner table where she could sulk for a bit.  Ordering a rather stiff drink, she contented herself with glaring at everyone who looked her way.  If Sirius even dared to set one foot inside to try and find her, he was going to get it!  She was ready to go full out ballistic on him.  He would get exactly what he deserved.  That was what one would expect from a McGee.  Tempers always ran high in the family.  Ben had one, she had one, and her mother most definitely had a rather hasty one.  Her father was almost calm compared to the rest of them.  Oh, well.  C'est la vie.  That's life and Sirius would have to deal with it in his own way, when the time came for a confrontation.  He would pay.  Oh, yes, he would pay dearly.  "That's what you'll get for calling me a traitorous, little bitch!" she hissed quietly to herself.

"I don't believe I have ever called you those exact words.  I will admit to have called you other things, but never those exact words."

"Leave me alone."

Snape didn't listen.  He gracefully pulled up a chair next to her, saying nothing.

"I told you to leave me alone.  I want to be alone.  I need to be alone."

"Why?"

Andy turned and glowered at him, eyes narrowing dangerously.  "Because it is much easier to plot my revenge without other people annoying me."

"Yet you choose to sit in a crowded building."

"This crowded building happens to have a large supply of ideas."

"Uh-huh," Snape once again doubted her mental sanity.  "By large supply of ideas you mean this?"  He gestured briefly to the half empty martini glass by her elbow.

"No, I could make my own in the castle.  It's rather easy if you have the correct recipe and a large supply of green olives."

"I suppose you don't?"

"Actually…I just bought a jar of them with hopes of making a few last week."

"What happened to it?"

She looked rather puzzled for a moment.  "I think Wyvern got into them.  She seems to have taken a liking for olives."

"Right."

"You didn't come here just to ask about my choice of location."  It was a statement not a question.

"You're rather blunt tonight."

"So?  Answer my question.  It's perfectly legitimate."

Snape paused, figuring briefly the best way to word his thoughts.  "I have a proposal to make to you."

"Oh, really?  I had no idea you were going to propose to me!  This is all so sudden!  I don't know what to say!"  Sarcasm was dripping from her voice.

"Cut the sarcasm, McGee.  You said you were plotting revenge, against Black, I assume?"

"No, against your pair of fuzzy pink bunny slippers.  Who do you think?"

"You are spiteful.  Good to know.  I'm trying to give you an opportunity to hurt Black, just like he hurt you."

Andy perked up slightly.  "You have my full, undivided attention."

"This plan would involve the assistance of another male."

"You mean try to…"

"Make Black insanely jealous," he finished with a smirk.  "Do you have any idea how much it hurts to see someone who you're crazy about with your worst enemy?"

"Do you?"

"No, but I've heard that it is extremely devastating."

"Hey, wait a second," she interrupted.  "You said 'enemy.'  Who exactly did you have in mind?"  Andy stopped, realization dawning.  "Oh, no…you didn't mean… Severus Snape, this isn't your way of asking me out, is it?"

Snape looked offended at the idea.  "Don't get your hopes up, McGee.  I would never sink low enough to date a Gryffindor."

"Well, it would be *ahem* an improvement on your current relationship status."  Somehow she withheld from laughing hysterically at the entire idea.  A grain of doubt crept into her mind about whatever Snape was planning, but she brushed it away without a thought.

"I am not doing this for you!  Black almost killed me more times than I can count!"  His face darkened in the shadows of the flickering candle light.  "He will never get away with it.  He deserves only the worst."

Andy stared at him intently.  "You're serious about this, aren't you?"

He nodded.  "Yes.  It would be nothing sincere, nothing true, just enough to completely infuriate Black."

She chuckled briefly, causing Snape to give her an odd look.  'You really are, aren't you?' she thought to herself, deciding that there was more to this than the Slytherin had thought.  "Alright, you have deal."  She stuck out her hand to close the bargain with a shake.  "You get your revenge, I get my revenge, and Sirius Black is made completely miserable.  I like it.  Ingenious, if I do say so myself."

"My plans are always ingenious."

"I know.  That's what you Slytherins are good for: plotting against the rest of the world."

"That's just because the Gryffindors are too hasty and stubborn to think things out for themselves."

"I was doing quite well on my own, thank you very much!"

"Then what did you come up with?"

"Something that involved hurting Sirius rather badly."

"Obviously, but with what?"

"My bare fists, for the most part."

"See what I mean?  A Slytherin would never have come up with anything that fool-hardy."

"No, probably not, but it is rather satisfying to picture him on the ground writhing in pain while pummeling him mercilessly as he screams in agony for me to stop."

Snape raised his eyebrows at her.  "You are one sadistic pit bull."

"I know, but it's a good image."

"McGee, sometimes…"

"What?" Andy attempted to sound innocent.

"Never mind."

"No, I want to know."

"Let me add impatient and obstinate to the list of adjectives."

"I think I've been called those before, too and maybe mean and evil and odd and annoying and dangerous and probably a few others that I don't remember.  And most of them were by you and some of Ben's friends, though not at the same time."  She stared into the martini glass.  Finding no answers that the olive could bring her, she finished the drink.  "I'm going to disappear back to the castle now.  See you, Sev."  Andy stood up, leaving Snape alone at the table.

Snape watched her weave her way through the throng of people and out the door.  He had never understood her at all.  She was one of those impossible people that could change moods in 3.5 seconds.  She was hasty, more stubborn than an ox-cart mule, and as fierce as the Gryffindor lion itself.  Yet, to have his plan work, he would have to trust her.  It wouldn't be that difficult to do.  Somehow, he knew that he was one of the few people she did trust.

Andy wandered slowly back to the castle, having no reason to return.  Black was there…She gazed up at the stars.  There were so many of them.  It had always amazed her.  She grew up with the stars.  Her father had worked in conjuncture with an astronomy observatory.  It was her name sake.  He had named her after the constellation, Andromeda.  He had taught her about the stars, planets, and such.  From an early age, she had shared his fascination.  She had been her father's daughter through and through.  Astronomy had been one of her better subjects, like potions.

Potions…The thought brought her back to the present.  She sighed, wondering if she had made the right choice.  Sirius had been a bastard to her.  Between the insults and the doors slammed in her face, he deserved it!  He didn't understand how it felt to come back to a world that you barely remembered and then be shunned away by one you loved.  It hurt too much.  Yes, he did deserve it!  He had damaged her beyond all limits. What he had done was one of the worse things that he could have done to her.  She needed people.  After being alone in a cell, with no thoughts and memories, people were important to her existent.  Human contact was a need and he had turned away from her.  There were a few people left who had yet to hurt her:  Remus…and Severus Snape.

That brought her back even further.  Why had she agreed with him?  He was one of the people she had never fully comprehended.  He was an enigma in life.  He had saved her life, given her back her existence.  She had repaid the debt by healing him.  He had never been one of the friendliest people.  Calling him friendly and personable would be a down right lie.  He was barely civil to her.  They had gotten into many, many fights in the past, both verbal and physical.  Yet some how, they had put their differences aside when it came to potions.  It was the Potions Master's fault!  He had brought them together during their first year at Hogwarts and forced them to combine their efforts into bettering their potions skills.  The Potions Master had seen their talents.  He had taught them more than most students, taking them under his wing.  Both of them had excelled in the field.  They had spent many nights together in the dark dungeons, brewing and experimenting.  That was where a cultivated respect grew.  Yes, she definitely respected the man, even now.

But why had he asked her now?  She didn't get it.  Andy cursed him for being a conniving Slytherin.  What he wanted to do had almost struck her as hilarious.  The whole idea of going out with Severus Snape gave her reason to laugh.  A Gryffindor with a Slytherin, that would be the day.  He had said it wouldn't be serious.  Some how, she doubted it.  He had always struck her as a serious person.  He was so different from all the other men she had known.  Sirius had been sensitive and loving when he wanted to be.  Snape was none of those things.  He was cold at the best, insensitive to people, closed off to the world.  He kept himself hid in his own dark corner.  Once or twice, she had gotten him to open up, if only for moment.  To be honest, she found his ways intriguing.  If they were going to be together, even as a non-serious relationship, she was going to figure him out.  "Poor man," she whispered to the stars above.  "Probably doesn't realize what he's diving into.  Probably thinks that this would be easy to do, act like a couple, and make Black miserable.  That isn't all it is, is it, Sev?  I don't think so and I think you're too blind to realize it."  Andy let herself get lost in the heavens with a slight smirk on her face.

Snape sighed, leaving the Three Broomsticks in a flurry of dark robes.  There was no reason to stay there.  He walked quickly up the paths back to Hogwarts, noticing a lone figure on the path ahead simply standing there.  He knew who it was.  Obviously, McGee hadn't gotten back to the castle yet.  He really did not want to talk with her again.  Once was enough for tonight, though he had a feeling he didn't have a choice.  He paused by her side, glancing up to what ever she was looking at.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" her voice was a little more than a whisper.

Snape personally could care less about the stars.  "If you say so."

"There's so many of them.  It's hard to imagine all of them up there shining, growing, moving…It's like they're almost alive."

"Snap out of it, McGee.  They are only balls of gases and other substances reacting with each other."

"That's no fun.  You take all the imagination out of it."

"I see them for what the actually are, nothing more, nothing less."

"Aw, where's your sense of vision?"

"On this planet, right here."

Andy laughed.  "You're too well grounded to think outside your own sphere of influence."

"Very funny, McGee," he caught her obvious sarcasm with ease.  "Weren't you planning on returning by now?"

"Originally, but I got side tracked."

"By the stars?"

"No, by memories."  She started down the path towards the castle, Snape by her side.  He didn't bother to ask for an explanation.  Andy reached out her hand to grasp his.  She could feel him tense up slightly.  He wasn't used to this.  She could feel the strength in his grip, the calluses on his palm and figured from their constant use.  His fingers were long and thin, but not as fragile as they looked.

Snape had not expected her to be this forthcoming.  Then again, Andy had never been known for her patience or her logic.  At least she hadn't done anything major yet.  Holding hands he could deal with, as awkward as it was for him.  He hadn't held anyone's hand like this for years on end.  He was a bachelor at heart.  As much as people had tried to play match maker with him, no one had been a match.  None of the women he had seen had understood his ambitions or his goals.  The matches hadn't lasted very long.  The women had given up with him and he had given up trying to find some one.  He had never been lonely; he was a loner by nature.

As they reached the castle, Andy let him go.  There was no reason to embarrass him in front of anyone who saw them.  They continued in silence down to the dungeons, Snape deep in thought, Andy focused on her own ideas.  She stopped in front of her room, pushed open the door, and turned to completely face Snape.  "Thanks, Sev."

"For what?"

"For being yourself."

"Explain."

"When everyone else changes, you don't.  You're still the dark, dreary, sarcastic Slytherin no matter what happens."

"Right," Snape decided that she had one too many drinks that night.

Andy took a quick glance down the corridor.  No one was there.  She stood up on her tip toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek.  Not waiting for a reaction, she quickly stepped inside the room and gently closed the door.

Snape's eyes widened as he realized what she had done.  "You little bitch!" he hissed dangerously at the closed door.  He flew back to his room in rage.  How dare she think that she could do something like that to him?  What the hell had gotten into her?  Yes, it was his idea, but he didn't want to go that far this soon, maybe not at all.  He let his breathing slow back down to normal and unclenched his fists from the tight knots they had curled into.  He was a Slytherin!  He was not meant to be lovable!  He was meant to be cruel, cunning, and manipulative! What ever she had been thinking about him, it was wrong.  She was going to have to learn very quickly how things worked.

{Author's Note:  Bwahahaha!  Just a warning, the first part of this chapter was written between one and two in the morning and the rest of it was written during a Friday, so if none of it makes any sense what so ever, oh, well…I will say one thing:  Poor Sev.  He doesn't know what he's jumping into.  And I GOT 62 REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  If any of you want to be notified when I post, either leave your e-mail address in a review or click the little box in the corner that says Author Alert or something like that.

Hikahi:  Thank you, I'm tickled.  I should be doing a Physics lab instead of posting this, so you're not the only one.  I'm not your friend Erica, though.  My actual name does not even resemble the name Erica.  I'm glad you liked it.

Michelle:  Thanks.  My best friend is a Newsies fanatic and forced me to listen to the soundtrack almost nonstop for two weeks at a summer camp we went to.

Silver Jinx:  I'm not sure if they fight, but things definitely happen.  I purposely choose not to describe things just because in another story I was writing I went over board on descriptions and that bugged the hell out of me.  Thanks, though I will say there are better than I am and I'm not as great as most people think I am.

Ignominia:  Yes, it is!  Which nagging errors would these be?

WeasleyTwinsLover1112:  Exactly my point.  Thanks.

Anna Black:  I know the feeling.  I'm not sure if Remus will have to be a mediator again. I am honestly almost done writing this thing.  I'm working on 34 as I write this, which may or may not be the ending.  I might use the quote.  I don't know yet.  I like my flash backs.  Those usually tend to go through my head until they drive me upo a wall to get written.  I also read the LOTR thingy you wrote.  It was interesting.  I thought you were going to go in depth a bit more and start a whole chapter book, but for a short piece it wasn't bad.  Could have used a bit more detail, though.

Enjoy!  Peace, Love, and Fuzzy Bunny Slippers, Nataly Ravenlock}