A/N: *jaw drops open at MandaB's comment* I have been writing fanfiction for almost a year?!

Kenomee - Geetings to a fellow DVM. (VMD?) I do a lot of work with exotic pets and some wildlife rehab. I actually saw two dragons this week. Ok, so they were only a foot long. They're still dragons! ;)

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Snape stands there in the kitchen, not quite believing what he's seeing.

"What is HE doing here?" He demands, pointing at Malfoy who is sitting at Nytd's kitchen table, teacup in hand, and one leg crossed over the other.

"Really, Severus," drawled Malfoy, "where are your manners? Is that how you greet an old friend?"

Snape gives him a look without answering and turns back to Nytd. "Well?" he asks.

Nytd starts to answer. "Now, Severus..."

Snape cuts her off mid-sentence. "I realize that you fancy yourself a Slytherin, but since when does that mean you need to consort with Death Eaters?" He shoots Malfoy another glare and looks back at the author expectantly.

Nytd frowns. "I am not consorting with anyone. Lucius was merely here because..."

"Lucius?" Snape demands. "So now you're on a first name basis with criminal like him?"

Malfoy pipes up from where he has been sipping his tea. "Stop talking as if I weren't sitting right in front of you, Severus. It's rather annoying."

"Speaking of annoying..What exactly ARE you doing here, Lucius?" Snape asks suspiciously. "Why are you bothering Nytd anyway?"

"Bothering?" Malfoy laughs. "Why, I would assume that I'm not bothering her if she asked me to be here."

Snape whirls to face Nytd again. "Did you?"

"Of course," she says, matter-of-factly. "I try to meet with everyone before I write them into the story." She gets up and goes to stand next to Snape and places a hand on his arm. "I assure you it's only business," she says softly.

"Huh!" Snape snorts at her but doesn't pull his arm away. "Having tea with Death Eaters! And what's next? Brunch with Voldemort?" he asks, obviously still annoyed.

"Actually, we're meeting next Tuesday for cappuccino." Nytd stands on tiptoe to give Snape a peck on the cheek and then smiles sweetly at him before sauntering off down the hall.

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Sirius Black's Revenge ~*~

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Shortly after dawn, Lorien made her way sleepily up the stairs out of the dungeon on her way to Remus's rooms. He was always a wreck after the full moon, and she wanted to get there as soon as he was awake to get rid of his migraine.

She stopped dead as she reached the top of the stairs and found Marlina blocking her way. She eyed the attractive redhead warily. "Good morning, Marlina," she said, climbing the last stair to stand even with her.

Marlina gazed at her steadily. "Good morning, Mistress Lorien. Up early to see Remus?" She asked.

"Yes." Lorien replied coolly. "He always has a migraine the next morning."

"I see," said Marlina. "Here." She handed Lorien one of the two mugs she was holding.

Lorien looked at it suspiciously.

"I heard you're a coffee drinker as well." Marlina said. "I figured that I'm not the only one that could use it this early."

Lorien began to smile at the other woman. Obviously she was making an effort. "Thank you, Marlina." She sipped her coffee.

Marlina nodded. "And thank you, Lorien, for taking good care of Remus."

"I'm always happy to help him." Lorien replied, as they walked together toward the Gryffindor tower.

"Remus and I had an interesting conversation yesterday." Marlina said.

"About?" Lorien asked.

"The two of you." Marlina replied.

Lorien was caught off guard. "Marlina, I hope you know that I...."

Marlina placed a hand reassuringly on Lorien's arm. "He told me everything. I hope that you two will always remain such good friends, Lorien."

Lorien was grateful to have Marlina's blessing. "I hope that we can be friends as well, Marlina," she said sincerely.

Marlina smiled at her. "I'm sure we will be."

Lorien laughed a little. "So, he told you everything? I'm so relieved it's all out in the open and we can all move on from here," she said as they arrived at Remus's rooms. "Pretty funny about the dragon, huh?" She asked.

Marlina suddenly looked confused and Lorien realized that Remus must not have told her absolutely everything.

Marlina saw the look on Lorien's face. "What about the dragon?"

Lorien looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Maybe Remus should explain that to you, Marlina."

"Lorien, what do you know about the dragon?" Marlina asked. "Did those two do something illegal to get it for me? I'll kill them both if they did. So will Kaneene."

Lorien finally laughed. "No, Marlina. They didn't do anything remotely illegal, I can assure you."

"Ok, I brought you coffee, now spill your guts, girl." Marlina said with a grin.

Lorien sighed and handed her mug back to Marlina. She walked a few paces away. "You're sure you don't want Remus to tell you?"

"Spill it." Marlina demanded playfully.

"Ok, if you say so." Lorien looked at Marlina for a moment and then changed there in the hallway.

Marlina nearly dropped both cups of coffee.

"Merlin's beard!" She said. "Damn it! No one tells me anything around here! I'm the last idiot to know that I'm dating a werewolf, and no one told me you were the bloody dragon, Lorien!"

She looked perturbed for a minute as the dragon stood there blinking at her, and then she began to smile. "You took a heck of a beating for him, didn't you?" She asked, and Lorien re-appeared to answer her.

"That silver tape was murder." Lorien said, agreeing.

"Why did you do it?" Marlina asked, handing Lorien her coffee again.

"Well, I knew the way you felt about werewolves at the time," Lorien replied. "I knew you didn't know about Remus yet, and I wanted to help you see what a wonderful person he was before you found out. I figured that if he actually managed to pull it off it would be a way for you to see how helpful and nice he is."

Kaneene came down the hallway on her way to find Sirius. "Good morning, ladies," she said. They greeted her back.

"Care to join us in a wake up call?" Marlina asked her.

"You bet." Kaneene said, and Lorien knocked on the door.

Sirius opened the door and looked a bit surprised to find three witches in the hall, but didn't have a chance to say anything as they pushed past him.

"Good morning," they each said as they went by.

Marlina and Lorien went to Remus, who was curled up on the couch. Kaneene kissed Sirius and then joined them.

When Remus finally opened his eyes, he smiled to see the women gathered near him. All three of them sat him up and then helped him to his feet. He looked at Sirius and smiled weakly. "I could get used to this," he said as the three women helped him to his bedroom.

Marlina and Kaneene stepped aside to let Lorien sit next to Remus on the bed, and watched as the Nemorosi healer dealt with the migraine in short order.

"There." She said. "Better?"

"Better. Thanks." He said.

"Good," she said, and rose to smile at Marlina. "Make sure he gets some rest."

Marlina nodded and smiled and then went to sit on the edge of the bed next to Remus.

Lorien turned to Sirius. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

He walked her to the door.

"Has Harry talked to you yet?" she asked.

Sirius nodded. "About going to the Council thing?"

"Yes. What did you tell him?" She asked, hoping that maybe she wouldn't have to discuss the situation with Severus if Sirius told Harry he couldn't go.

"He finally convinced me. I think it's a good idea for him to do this, Lorien." Sirius said evenly.

"What? You said he could?" She asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"Yes." Sirius sounded the tiniest bit amused.

"He told you everything? That he and I won't be going alone?" She blurted out.

"Yes." Sirius was now looking very amused.

"And you don't have a problem with that?" She demanded quietly.

"No. You know how I feel about Snape, but I know he wouldn't hurt Harry," Sirius said, "especially if I'm going with you." He grinned devilishly at her. "Going to have your work cut out for you convincing the big 'S' now, aren't you?"

Lorien's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, wouldn't I?" he teased her. "Harry is my responsibility, after all. I should supervise him on any trip that he takes, don't you think?"

Lorien was beginning to panic. "It's really not necessary, Sirius. He'll be with me every minute. I'll watch him carefully. There will be lots of ...."

"Lorien." He cut her off. "I know he'll be safe with you. That's not why I'm going."

"Then why are you trying to make my life difficult, Sirius?" she asked, only half joking.

"One word." He said.

"What?" She demanded.

"Crows." Sirius gave her his most charming smile.

Lorien stared at him, as she realized his payback had arrived. "You bastard." She whispered. "This is going to send him right over the edge," she said.

"That, sweetheart, would be an added bonus." He teased her.

She shook her head. "Please, please tell me you're joking."

He shook his head, still smiling. "I'm dead serious."

She frowned at him and then walked to the door. "Now at least there's a thought to cheer me up a little."

"What's that?" he asked.

"You being dead Sirius," she quipped and gave him her sweetest smile.

"Very funny, lizard lips," he said.

Lorien frowned. "Mangy mutt."

"Dragonbreath." He added.

"Fleabag." She said quickly and slammed the door.

"Damn!" Sirius said, unhappy that she got the last word in. He almost got another chance when she stormed back in.

Lorien crossed strait to Remus's desk, pulled open the bottom drawer and pulled out the bottle of whatever that potent stuff was that Remus and Sirius drank together.

"What, you're going to get him drunk to talk him in to it?" Sirius asked, terribly amused.

"No. It's not for him. It's for me." She said, and she went through the door again.

Sirius wondered how much she was going to have to drink before she was brave enough to tell Snape that he was now being accompanied by himself and Harry on his holiday.

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Lorien was very grateful that it was one, Friday night, and two, Poppy's night on call. If this didn't go well she was probably going to need a good deal of what was in the bottle she had stolen from Remus. Even if it did go well, it was likely that she would.

She paced in her rooms, knowing that Severus would be here soon, and dreading the thought of the conversation she was about to have with him. She'd passed the bookcase for the seventh time when she decided that she was being ridiculous. They were both adults. They could handle this. She'd simply tell him that plans had changed slightly, they'd discuss it, and things would be fine.

'Yeah, right.' She told herself, and she finally drank the contents of the shot glass on the table to calm her nerves.

A knock sounded at her door and she panicked. She was debating about running and climbing out the bedroom window, when Remus poked his head in her rooms. "Hi."

"Hi. What are you doing here?" She asked, surprised to see him.

"I just wanted to tell you that I heard what Sirius had planned, and I talked him out of it." Remus said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.

"Oh, thank Merlin!" She said, utterly relieved. She ran to him and hugged him fiercely.

"I told him I didn't think it was a good idea for him to just tag along on his own like that." Remus said, his sly tone going unnoticed by the witch.

"You have no idea how much better I feel." Lorien said as she released Remus.

Remus gave her such a sweet smile, that she suddenly knew she was in big trouble.

"Therefore," Remus announced, "I convinced him that he should let me go along with him. It'll be safer that way.".

Lorien stared at him with her mouth open. He couldn't possibly do this to her.

Remus patted her arm and went to the table. He really only had a tiny bit of a mean streak in him, but he figured that he, of all people, was entitled to aggravating her at least a little. He handed her the shot glass he poured and went to the door.

"Better drink that quick." He winked at her, and opened the door.

Snape stood on the other side, looking a bit surprised at finding the werewolf in front of him.

Remus smiled at him as he walked into the room. "Ben notan, Severus," he said cheerfully, and walked out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.

Severus looked at the door the werewolf had just gone through, and then back at Lorien who was standing in the middle of the room downing the contents of a shot glass.

"Do I want to know what this is all about?" He asked her, as he walked to where she was wiping the back of her sleeve across her lips.

"No." She said, her voice hoarse after swallowing the harsh liquid. "You're not ready," she said, and she handed him a refilled glass. "Drink this first."

He stared at it and then back at her.

She suddenly took the shot glass back. "On second thought, I'm not ready." She tossed her head back again as Severus watched her, horrified.

"Why are you drinking that, and why are you drinking it so quickly?" He asked her, as he watched her fill the glass and make as if to empty it a third time.

"I'm getting drunk," she informed him.

He grabbed her hand before she could drink, and took the glass away from her. "Care to tell me why?" He asked.

She took the glass back and downed it before she answered him. "Not partic....particul.....not really," she said, struggling. It was apparent the first of the effects of what she had to drink already were starting to kick in.

Severus regarded her carefully. "Three shots is quite enough, Lorien," he said, knowing she was used to only drinking wine.

"Four." She informed him and swayed a little as he took the glass away from her. She giggled and decided that she had been silly for ever worrying about telling him about their newly acquired traveling companions. It really didn't seem all that awful now.

"I have something to tell you," she began dramatically, a little louder than was necessary.

Severus stared at her, not knowing whether to be appalled or amused. He settled on amused for the moment and moved to put his arms around her. "So, what sort of announcement warrants that you drink yourself into a stupor?" he asked, trying not to smile.

Lorien gazed into the intense black eyes and felt herself melt as he looked at her. She forgot what she was going to say.

"Kiss me." She requested, putting her arms around his neck. He complied with her request, and the effects of the alcohol and his kiss erased all thoughts of the trip, and she found herself with a completely different set of thoughts instead.

Snape had to admit that he was definitely being entertained by the now moderately inebriated and quite amorous Mistress of the Healing Arts as she kissed him again and moved him back toward the couch in an unsteady but determined way. She shoved him so that he ended up sitting, nearly falling on top of him in the process. He caught her and managed to pull her onto the couch to sit next to him. "Lorien, you're drunk." He said.

She gazed at him with intoxicated longing and then grabbed him and kissed him while she held him in a strangle hold.

Severus tried to avoid the idea of pursuing things any further while only one of them was sober at first, but as Lorien continued her aggressive advances, and began pulling his robes open, he decided that it might prove to be an interesting experience. He decided that she would forgive him later for taking slight advantage of her. After all, she had started it.

His own kisses became more insistent, and he would have reached for her robes as well until she suddenly reached up and ungracefully pried their faces apart.

"Wait. Almost forgot." She said.

"What?" He asked, pulling her back in, gaze on her lips.

She snickered. "My announcement, Sev." She waved her arm dramatically.

He stopped what he was doing completely. She was really drunk now. Not just a little bit, but really truly intoxicated. She had never, ever addressed him that way. He frowned as she tried to stand and failed, and grabbed onto her so she didn't fall off the couch.

"Ready?" She asked him.

He nodded hesitantly, not knowing if he was or not.

She took a deep breath. "HarrySiriusandRemusaregoingwithus," she blurted out.

"What?" He wasn't sure he'd understood what she said. "It sounded like you said something about Harry, Sirius, and Remus," he said, not the slightest bit amused anymore.

She nodded. "Uh huh. Going with us." She gazed at him in an unfocused way.

"Where?" He asked, not really wanting to know.

She sputtered as if he were stupid. "The Council on holiday, silly."

Snape could not have been any more horrified. "WHAT? Are you quite serious?" He demanded.

Lorien laughed out loud as the thought struck her funny. "Dead Sirius." She said, echoing her own joke of earlier. She laughed at Severus once more and then proceeded to topple off the couch. When she hit the floor she was out cold.
Snape sat there staring at the crumpled woman on the floor for several long minutes, trying to make sense of what she'd just said. For some unknown reason, they had apparently acquired three most unwanted traveling companions for their trip.

He'd actually begun to look forward to the break from Hogwarts, and had planned on being able to spend time one on one with Lorien. Well, apparently that all just got tossed out the window into a flaming pile of hippogriff dung.

He wondered how things had suddenly gone so very wrong, but he knew Lorien well enough to know what must have transpired. There was little doubt in his mind as he sat there seething that she must have decided that Potter needed to be exposed to more of the Nemorosi ways, and invited him along. It certainly wasn't hard to figure out that Black would want to tag along to keep an eye on Harry, and often of course, where Black went, Lupin went.

Snape looked at her on the floor again, lying there in a most uncomfortable- looking position, and knew what had to be done. He had to kill her. No question at all. He would just wrap his fingers around that neck of hers and ....he shook his head. He already knew that he was going to go along with this, and it was only because it was something she would want.

He had no doubt that she was torn between her feeling of obligation to Potter's training, her affection for her two Gryffindor friends, and her sense of loyalty to him. It must be a difficult place to be caught in. Well, obviously it was or she wouldn't have downed three...no, four shots of whatever that awful stuff was to get up the nerve to tell him.

She hadn't told them no, though, had she? Or considered that he might change his own mind about going? The foolish witch wanted to have her cauldroncake and to eat it too.

And she was foolish, wasn't she? Foolish enough to give someone like him a chance, no matter what other people thought. Foolish enough to fall in love with him, despite the consequences. Foolish enough to think that she could ever hope to get him to get along with Black. And foolish enough to not realize that four shots of that stuff would knock her on her lovely Ravenclaw ass.

Severus sighed and dropped to one knee to pick Lorien up off the floor and placed her back on the couch. He conjured a blanket and draped it over her, and then pulled up a chair nearby. He wanted to watch to make sure that she didn't get sick from consuming that much alcohol that quickly, but he was just irritated enough to let her deal with the consequences of the hangover she was probably going to have in the morning.

He turned to the bookcase to find something to read while he sat with her, and his eyes went to the worn purple binding on the last shelf. Curious, he picked it up, sat in the chair, opened it, and read. 'It was seven o'clock of a very warm evening in the Seeonee hills...'

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A/N: *places hand over heart* I promise that will be the only Sirius/serious pun I use. *hears great sigh of relief from readers*

And of course, Snape is reading the opening line from Lorien's copy of 'The Jungle Books'.