**All Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling. ** **A/N - I would like to apologize for a mistake I made and noticed after I already loaded it. In chapter 7, Athena states it is the twentieth century, I meant to say the twenty-first century. Please excuse this mistake I accidentally made. Thank-you! **

Chapter 9 - Apologizing

Several days went by. She hadn't talked to Severus, Remus, or Sirius since arriving back at Hogwarts. She desperately wanted to apologize to Sirius for saying what she said, she wanted to talk to Remus, and she just wanted to be near Severus. She really missed Severus the most, she noticed he wasn't at the Great Hall during meal times, and he wasn't roaming the halls.

She decided to head to the dungeons, where the Potions classroom was. She was finally getting to know the hallways of the school and where the classrooms were. Hardly ever getting lost too!

The pathway to the dungeons was dark, damp, and quite chilly. (For it only being August) She approached the door and placed her hand upon, almost to afraid to knock. But how could this be? How could she be afraid to knock? She finally built up enough courage to tap against it. There was no answer.

"Severus, are you in there?"

"Come in," yelled an irritated voice that she knew quite well. She opened the door to see Severus hunched over his desk, scribbling notes amongst the yellowed parchment. "Yes Ms. Smithton."

"What's with the formality Severus?"

"Is there something you need? I have a lot of work to do and it is going to take me awhile. So if you would please hurry it up."

"Excuse me?" she questioned, as she stepped in front of his desk and leaned onto it. "What the hell did I do to you, Severus? All of a sudden you're acting like a stubborn bastard with a stick shoved up your ass sideways! What the hell has happened to you?"

"I don't have time to deal with this."

"Well you are going to have to make some time. I did because I care about you." Oh, no! Athena suddenly noticed she said too much. "I have to go."

"Wait!" said Severus as he quickly got up from his chair and went towards Athena, who was making a mad dash for the door. She was about half way out before Severus grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. "You care for me?"

She stared up into his dark black eyes. Usually when you look into someone's eyes deeply, you could see their soul. But when Athena looked into Severus dark black eyes, she saw a pained man that went through something terrible.

"Answer me Athena," he said, holding onto her arm tightly.

"I care for you Severus, I really do."

There was a long silence that slowly moved throughout the room. Severus said, "That is the first time someone ever told me they care for me", suddenly broke it.

"You were never told that before? I mean never told before, like by your parents or family or someone else who loved you?"

"I never felt love."

"Your parents never loved you?"

"This isn't about me," he said as he let her go and headed back to his desk.

"This is Severus, it is about you. I want to know you, your past and all."

"My past is my past, and that is where it shall stay."

She followed him back to his desk and sat down in one of the student's chairs. "I think people need to talk about there past, to help understand their future."

"I told you I'm not bringing up the past."

"What did you do that's so bad in the past that you can't talk about it now? It's in the past, it's gone."

"Because my past still haunts me. To this day I'm still trying to be forgiven, still trying to understand why I got a second chance that I didn't deserve. I shouldn't be at this school right now I shouldn't even be alive. There are some things that I know that can't be forgiven, and my past is one of them. If I told you about my past, then I'm putting you in danger."

"I'm in enough danger as it is. A little more won't hurt."

"You aren't in danger, not the kind I face."

Athena sighed; she was getting quite irritated with all the arguing about his past. Couldn't he trust her? And what did he do in the past that was so terrible? "Severus just please think about talking me. I promise I won't ridicule or even hold things against you that you did in the past. It's in the past and it can be forgiven. I think I'm going to go now. I'll see you later Severus."

~*~*~*~*~

As she left the dungeons, she wasn't totally thinking straight. Her mind was still back there with Severus, yet her legs led her somewhere that she paid no attention to. All of a sudden she bumped into someone and fell back onto the floor. It was Sirius. "Sirius!" she exclaimed, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to bump into you! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going I guess."

"It's all right," he said as he helped her off the floor. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, "I was hoping I would bump into you. Well not literally bump into to you like I just did. I really wanted to apologize for the other night, I was…wrong."

"It's all right. I also wanted to apologize for the way I acted, and the way I've been acting. I tend to flirt, a lot."

"So I've noticed. It's okay though, even though I did get tired of your constant flirting ever time I saw you, I do like the occasional flirting with a handsome guy." They both laughed.

"Would you like to join me for dinner tonight, in Hogsmeade?"

"I'd love too."