Draco-luver - Ah, but I did tell you in chapter 18. As a matter of fact, Severus himself tells you. *wink*

Atheis - No! Not that! Not the orange cough syrup! Really, it was only a tiny little flame.

Many thanks as usual to everyone who reviewed!! I guess even to Jigglydot. :P







Auror's Apology ~*~



Blaise Zabini was in the hospital ward in a good deal of discomfort after the fifth year had been hexed by one of his housemates with the conjunctivitis curse, and sat on an exam table wincing as Lorien applied several drops of the appropriate healing potion to each eye. She finished and waited for the student in front of her to stop blinking at the feel of the cold medication.

"That looks a bit better." She said, checking the tall Slytherin's second eye. "Feel better?" She asked.

Zabini nodded.

"How's your vision now? Less blurry?" Lorien asked.

"It's much better now." He confirmed as he hopped down off the exam table. He headed for the door.

"You'll still have a bit of difficulty for a few hours in bright light." Lorien called after the teenager.

Blaise nodded and stood there for a moment, and then looked back at the medical witch. "Mistress Lorien?" He called back to where Lorien had started to put away the medications she'd used. She looked up at him. "Thanks." He said awkwardly.

"You're quite welcome." She replied with a smile as he left. She knew that 'thank you' wasn't always the easiest thing for a lot of Slytherins to manage.

She was just picking up the roll of parchment that was the student's chart, when two long-eared owls flew into the room and landed on the exam table. She sighed and looked from owl to owl as the two birds waited patiently. It wasn't likely that they were both from Perth, and that meant that there was a good chance that one of the letters was going to make her angry.

She finally reached for the letter on her left, and recognized the writing at once as that of her best friend, Rachel, and smiled. The smile was short-lived however, as she read the note her friend wrote about the Nemorosi witch that had been tortured and killed the day before; a woman that both of them were acquainted with.

"Damnit." Lorien swore aloud after reading the letter. It was more bad news today after the story in the Daily Prophet this morning that had told of an alleged Death Eater attack on the Department of Magical Transportation building.

Lorien suddenly felt very tired after dealing with the news of witch executions, Death Eater attacks, and the mounting tensions in the House of Slytherin evidenced by the increasing frequency of spats like the one Zabini was involved in. She looked at the second owl after dismissing the first, and sincerely hoped that the letter was from Perth.

It wasn't, but Lorien still recognized the handwriting.

Marius.

Again.

Lorien grabbed a potion vial off the shelf, and took two swigs to deal with the developing headache she was too agitated to tackle on her own. She finally opted to open the letter and once more was irritated at the audacity of the man, as she had been on Valentine's day when she read the contents.

She tossed the letter into the fireplace once again, and fumed. Marius just wasn't getting it, was he? It didn't matter how much she had insisted that it was OVER, the Nemorosi wizard just wasn't letting the issue drop.

Why did he think she left her old job and came all the way to Hogwarts in the first place? Why did he think she never answered his letters? Why did he think that she refused to even see him when she'd been visiting Perth over the winter?

As far as she was concerned, there'd been very little worthwhile between them at the time, and there was definitely nothing now. She was actually beginning to thoroughly dislike the man.

As a matter of fact, it was only her concern for his well being as a Nemorosi that kept her from voicing her displeasure to Severus. Her beloved but dark companion would probably be less than pleased to learn of Marius's persistence in making her unhappy, and Lorien decided that for now, silence was best if she wanted to allow Marius to keep the same number of limbs. (Whether the Slytherin mage would opt for providing Marius with more or fewer limbs, was hard to say.)

Lorien decided that she needed to relax at the end of a stressful day, and she grabbed a quill and parchment, and head for the dungeon.







Kaneene picked the night she was not on duty to go to the dungeon to try to speak with Snape. She didn't realize that she had picked the night one week before the full moon and that she wouldn't find him in his office. It took her a moment to brace herself outside the door to the potions classroom, and then she knocked and went in.

Snape looked up when she entered and she thought she saw the briefest look of surprise on his face before his expression neutralized. He was standing near the cauldron he had just kindled a flame under.

"Something I can do for you, Moody?" His voice was icy and he appeared impatient.

"Do you have a minute?" She asked, firming her resolve and walking closer to the table where he was working.

He stared at her and then finally spoke. "One."

Lorien was right. He wasn't going to make this easy. Kaneene took a deep breath and blew it out before she walked closer to where he was working. She glanced at the water starting to heat in the cauldron and the components he had spread across the table. "What on earth are you making?" She asked, picking up a small vial of pale green fluid and looking at it curiously.

Snape's eyes narrowed for an instant, and he lifted the vial from her fingers and set it back in its position on the table. "Wolfsbane potion." He said tersely.

"Oh." She searched for what to say first.

"Miss Moody, is there something you actually wanted to say?" Snape asked, obviously annoyed.

Kaneene kicked herself mentally. "Yes, as a matter of fact, there is something that I would like to speak to you about."

"Which would be...?" Snape asked sarcastically.

"My brother." She replied. "I understand now what you did for him."

"Do you? And I suppose you're here to condemn me for my use of illegal magic? Going to arrest me like a good little auror, Moody?" Snape sneered at her.

"No." She said, uncharacteristically holding her tongue. "I came because I know you saved his life. I wanted the opportunity to let you know how much I appreciate it."

Snape said nothing but watched her intently as she moved to stand near him.

"Severus? I really just wanted to say thank you." She said. "You have no idea how much my brother means to me."

He looked at her for a long time, gauging her sincerity, and finally he answered in a civilized tone. "You are quite welcome."

Kaneene smiled at him. "One other thing." She said, after hesitating a moment.

He raised an eyebrow.

"I'd like to apologize for making assumptions about you that apparently aren't true." She said, meeting his midnight gaze steadily. "I hope that we might be able to work together better in the future, Severus."

He merely nodded.

She smiled with relief that he had accepted her apology. "I'll let you get back to your work." She turned and walked across the room.

"Moody." She heard him call, as she almost reached the door, and she turned back to look at him again.

"Thank you, Kaneene." He said, and went back to work at the cauldron.







Kaneene was relieved when the encounter was over. It had gone well, and Snape had actually remained civil to her the whole time. Perhaps it was a good thing after all that she'd been wrong about him.

She was still puzzled by one thing though - why hadn't Snape ever said anything before? At present, she and Lorien were the only other ones that knew why Keath was still alive. Obviously the man must have his reasons, and she decided that she would not tell Keath either. When one wizard saved the life of another, it created a bond between them, and if Keath didn't know, his burden of indebtedness fell to her to repay since she did.

As much as her feelings about Snape had changed, she still preferred that it be her and not her little brother that owed such a debt to the dark robed mage.



Kaneene met Lorien on her way out of the dungeon and the Hogwarts healer smiled knowingly.

Lorien spoke first "So, I assume that you're coming from speaking with Severus."

Kaneene nodded and sighed again with relief.

"How did it go?" Lorien asked.

"Well." Said Kaneene. "It went well. You gave me good advice, Lorien."

"Glad to help." Lorien replied cordially. "It benefits us all if everyone trusts each other."

Kaneene nodded in agreement. "He even said 'thank you' before I left."

"He must have felt you were sincere." Lorien replied, impressed that the auror had gotten such a reaction out of the man.

"I was." Said Kaneene softly.







Lorien saw that Severus was about to start the potion when she walked into the room, and she walked quietly to the front of the room as he double checked all the components on the table.

He glanced up at her briefly and said nothing, but she could see he smiled just a little at the thought of the fact that she was always here on the night a week before the full moon.

"Something you need?" A typical question from him, but in a gentle voice.

Lorien shook her head and stood next to him. "Nothing. I just came to keep you company." She kissed him on the cheek and sat down nearby with the quill and parchment she carried to write a letter to Perth while he worked.

As Snape sprinkled the dragonroot powder in the cauldron and the water went murky black, Lorien started her letter.

She wrote saying that she hoped he was well, and told of everything lately had been happening at Hogwarts. She told him of the bounty hunters in Hogsmeade and quite a bit about her lessons with Harry.

Lorien looked up briefly, to watch Severus at work for a few minutes as she thought about what else she wanted to say.

She included a few more pleasantries and told him about some of the interesting cases she had treated lately. She ended the letter and sat staring at it for a minute and then looked up as the reflected light from the cauldron changed. The potion was bluish. She found herself watching Severus work again for a long time. He didn't appear to notice from where he was focused on the task before him.

The potion was opaque white now, and Lorien added a postscript to her letter.

~ P.S. I've decided. ~

She smiled, and wondered if Perth had already guessed. She hoped he had because she wasn't going to tell him.

"Lorien." Snape's voice pulled her out of her own musings. She looked up at him, and then at the potion. It was still white, so she knew he wasn't done.

"Here." He pointed next to him and spoke softly.

She rose and went to stand next to him, wondering what he needed from her. "What is it?" She asked.

He pointed to the last three components on the table. "You're going to help me finish this."

Lorien suddenly felt apprehensive. He couldn't be serious. She couldn't risk jeopardizing all the work he had just done. "Severus, I don't think....."

"Only three components." He must have seen her hesitation and he drew her to stand in front of him before the cauldron. She still hesitated.

"Go on." He said, and she realized that she was going to upset the timing if she waited any longer. She reached for the vial of passionflower infusion on the table, and he gave her instructions, speaking softly just behind her. "Eight drops for the eight phases of the moon."

She nodded to acknowledge him, and raised the vial over the cauldron. Her hand was unsteady. Of all things. She had brewed a few simple potions in her day, and quite competently, but now with this particular potion, and here in front of him of all people, she could feel her hand shaking. So much for coming to the dungeon to relax.

His hands rested against her shoulders. "Go on." He said again, very softly.

Lorien added six drops quickly, and then hesitantly two more. She set the vial down, relieved that she hadn't accidentally added too much in her unsteadiness.

"Counterclockwise eight times." He instructed her, ignoring the fact that she seemed uncertain about continuing.

Lorien hesitated for a second, and then felt his hand slide along her arm as she held her hand out over the cauldron. He rested his hand on top of hers as they changed the direction of the opaque liquid in front of them. By the eighth swirl in the cauldron, Lorien could feel Severus press closer from behind, and his free arm went around her waist to pull her back against him a little.

Lorien now had distraction to contend with as well as nerves, and she wondered if he was tormenting her on purpose. She reached for the next vial and waited for instruction. Severus said nothing. "How much?" She asked, and still got no reply. She turned to look over her shoulder at him.

"How many times have you watched me do this, Miss Desjardins?" He asked sardonically.

Lorien thought there was the tiniest hint of mischief in his voice as she turned to face forward again. "Many." She replied, as she felt her face getting warm. "I confess my attention was not always on the process." She admitted, blushing redder. She was glad that he was standing behind her now.

"Three." He said, tightening his grip around her waist, and nuzzling her ear.

"Three drops? And then what?" She was trying to focus, and he was obviously out to make this more difficult.

"Clockwise fifteen." He replied, amused that she was floundering a little. "You have about four seconds left to add the wood betony, Lorien." He informed her as he continued his distractions.

Lorien nearly panicked at the thought of ruining all his work, and added three drops too quickly to the potion, and caught her breath as she saw the fourth drop clinging to the lip of the vial suspended over the cauldron. She froze so it wouldn't shake loose and slowly started to move her other hand to catch the drop if it fell.

Severus chose that moment to playfully nip her neck, and the fourth drop of wood betany fell loose when she inhaled sharply. She swung her free hand frantically and the fourth drop splashed harmlessly on her palm. She blew out the breath that she'd been holding.

"Severus, honestly! You ask me to help..."

"Fifteen times." He said, interrupting her and sliding his right hand along her arm again to rest his hand on hers.

Lorien began counting as they stirred the potion, but was having trouble keeping count with Severus at work behind her.

She finally resorted to counting out loud. "Five....six...Quit that!.....Seven.....eight...Stop it!....nine.....ten...Severus!" She squealed and lost count. "Damnit! Was that eleven or twelve?"

"Twelve." He said distractedly.

"Are you sure?" She asked, completely flustered now.

"Quite."

She stirred it three more times and looked at the powdered wolfsbane. Thank Merlin, it was the last component. "Just throw it in?" She asked, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"Yes." He replied.

She reached for the gray-green powder and cast it into the cauldron. She knew to stir it five times counterclockwise, but was stopped short by the gasp she heard from Severus behind her.

"Left hand, Lorien!" He said sharply. "You always add the wolfsbane with your left hand!" He let go of her completely and stepped quickly away.

Lorien was sure she was going to faint.

She'd just ruined the whole thing and he was going to be up all night starting from scratch. She turned to him, with a devastated expression, intent on trying to apologize in some way. He was standing with his arms folded across his chest, jaw clenched in an apparent effort to not yell at her.

"Severus, I....I'm so sorry." She began. "I didn't know...." Obviously she'd done more than irritate him this time. "Look. I'll help you get everything ready again...."

She trailed off , puzzled, as Severus stepped quickly past her and stirred the potion five times counterclockwise. He remained standing with his back to her for a moment, and then went to sit in the nearby chair. He rested an elbow on the arm of the chair and leaned his forehead against his fingers.

"Severus?" She asked tentatively, her heart sinking.

"What?" His normally controlled voice cracked.

That was when Lorien's eyes narrowed and she quickly went to where he was sitting. "Severus!" She said more sharply, as he looked away from her. His shoulders were shaking now and she knew she was going to kill him.

"Severus Snape! I swear that if you're laughing....if you were lying to me...."

Snape couldn't help himself any longer and threw his head back and laughed.

Lorien realized that she'd been had again by the devious Slytherin. "That left hand stuff was a load of wyvern dung, wasn't it?" She asked, very annoyed now.

He nodded, trying to regain his composure.

Lorien angrily uttered something at him in Nemorosi that was best not repeated in polite company, and Severus began to laugh again when he got the gist of what she was suggesting to him.







Marlina was finishing with her last class of the week, and noticed that Remus was waiting for her as usual.

"Hey, great class." He said appreciatively from where he was standing at the edge of the courtyard.

"Thanks." She smiled, pleased that he was here, waiting for her.

"Are you going to get Noah?" He asked, as they walked inside together.

"Yes. Want to come with me?" She asked him.

"Can't." He said, shaking his head "There are a few things I need to do before dinner, but I'll see you there."

She nodded and went to get Noah as Remus went to the hospital wing.





When Marlina and Noah had returned to their rooms for the evening, Marlina was still smiling to herself when she thought about Remus coming every week to watch her last class.

She sighed and sat on the small couch as Noah busied himself playing with some of his toys on the floor. She was lucky, she knew. Luck to have met someone that liked her AND her son. Someone so thoughtful and caring. Someone like Remus Lupin.

She smiled again when she thought of their date, and all the silly questions she'd had so much fun tormenting him with.

'Remus Jarett Lupin.' She mused, closing her eyes and thinking about kissing him by the whomping willow. 'R.J. Lupin.' She thought and let her head fall back against the couch. She was suddenly amused, and wondered if anyone had called him R.J. as a child.

Suddenly her eyes flew open and she sat up. 'R. J. Lupin.' She pictured it differently in her mind. 'Lupin, R. J.' A large knot quickly tightened in her stomach. It couldn't be. She had to be mistaken. She must have part of the name wrong.

She nodded to herself. 'That's all. Just have something mixed up.' She thought and she sat back again.

It still bothered her.

Marlina knew she was being silly, but she just wanted to put that nagging corner of her mind at ease, so she got up and gathered a quill and sheet of parchment. She saw that Noah was absorbed in what he was doing and she sat down to write a letter. It was addressed to Tenny Offut.







Harry, Ron and Hermione were excited about the announcement that had been circulating around the school, as were many of their classmates. It concerned a party that had been planned for a night in three weeks.

Due to the security concerns and the recommendations made by Sirius, he felt that there should be another distraction for the students since they were not able to go to Hogsmeade, and the quidditch matches had been indefinitely postponed. When he suggested the idea to Minerva she was at first reluctant, but it wasn't long before he was able to convince her that it was a good idea. Dumbledore was all for it.

Ron joined Harry and Hermione at a table in the common room after coming from talking to Fred and George.

"They're up to something." Ron began. "But they won't tell me what. They'll only say they have an idea to liven up the party."

"That's scary." Said Hermione.

"Well, they're going to have their work cut out for them trying to pull any stunts." Harry said. "They need to remember that Sirius is in charge of security and he's likely to have thought of a lot of things they might come up with."

"You mean he's probably already tried a lot of the things they might come up with." Ron said with a grin.







Fred and George had been working together the last few weeks on a new project and were thrilled that it looked like they were going to have the perfect opportunity to try it out.

It was about a week later that they found their way up into the Astronomy tower one evening in order to fine tune things.

"You're sure you've got the timing on these?" George asked Fred. "You don't really want to see Mistress Lorien a fourth time, do you?"

"I've got it, I've got it. Although I don't see a problem with having to see HER again." Fred said dreamily.

George shook his head at his brother. Since the night of the welcoming feast Fred had had a crush on the older woman, and it never bothered him to go to the hospital ward.*

George spoke again as they climbed out of the stairwell. "Well, be sure you've got it right. Remember, you could end up seeing Madame Pomfrey instead." He smiled.

"Hadn't thought of that." Fred said with a grin. "Oh well. I'm sure we've got it down."

"How many did you bring?" Asked George.

"Three." Said Fred.

"Did you bring the one with the message?"

"Yeah, and two others. I've got the silencing spell on these." Fred revealed the three orange-sized orbs he carried and set them on the floor. Two were silver and one was red.

"Excellent. Ready? I'll go first." George took a silver orb and spoke the charm to light the fuse. He hurled the orb as far out into the night sky as he could.

A few seconds later a silent explosion of light filled the sky with an intricate display of dazzling white light. It continued to change and reshape itself into different fiery blossoms for well over thirty seconds.

"Cool. You got that down." George said to Fred.

"I told you." Fred said, smiling at his brother. "May I?" He indicated the red orb.

"Of course."

Fred rifled the red orb off the top of the tower. It silently exploded a few seconds later.

Both Fred and George stood at the wall with their arms folded, nodding with satisfaction as they admired their work.

"These are going to be great." Fred said as he watched the sky.

For approximately half a minute the darkness was lit up with the words 'GRYFFINDOR #1' in giant red and gold letters.

The two brothers completed a high five and turned away from the wall to pick up the last one of the fireworks. It was gone.

Unfortunately, it was being held by Professor Sinistra, who now stood smiling at the twins as she idly tossed it up and down with one hand.

"Lose something, gentlemen?" She asked sweetly.

Neither of the twins said a word.









*You'll recall in WW&S that after seeing Lorien for the first time, Fred says, "Not bad, eh gentlemen? I think I feel sick." And grins like an idiot.

Wood betony was used in the middle ages for many things, including warding off mad dogs. I thought it belonged in the wolfsbane potion in that case. ;)

Next chapter - Severus repays a debt, Sirius starts planning the party, and a bit more flirting between Kaneene and the handsome Gryff.