The Favor

~7~              

Renae walked into the Great Hall about an hour late for breakfast. Sirius had just left and she couldn't possibly make it until lunch, so she figured anything left to eat would be better than nothing at all. As was her usual custom, Renae opened her copy of the Daily Prophet as she drank her coffee. With all the depressing news lately, you'd think I'd stop reading this everyday! At least once a week she told herself that, but she knew she would do it again the next morning.

"Wallis."

Renae looked over to see Snape sit down beside her. She folded up her paper. "Snape, for the last time, call me Renae."

"Did it ever occur to you, Renae, that I would prefer if you didn't call me Snape?"

It was like a slap in the face. The thought hadn't crossed her mind. "You didn't ask me not to," she said somewhat defiantly.

His face was hard, but his eyes were gentle. "Consider this my asking."

"Then what do you want me to call you?" She retorted, crossing her arms mockingly.

"My first name would be acceptable."

It was then Renae realized she didn't even know his first name. The Marauders never referred to him by anything other than "Snape" or "Snivellus". She snapped out of her thoughts. He seemed to have read her mind.

"Severus," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, Severus," she responded, uncrossing her arms. A smile spread across his face, an expression she was still trying to get use to seeing on him. Renae couldn't help but smile back as a thought crossed her mind. I have a feeling there's more about you I'll have to get use to.

~~~*~~~

Sirius walked into his and James' office early. The past few weeks had been rather good, compared to normal at least, and he had spent yet another glorious evening with Renae. He was feeling good, cheery even, and felt as though he'd be able to get through the day without losing his smile, no matter what he might face. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a new picture of Renae, and placed it prominently on his desk. As he did, the office door opened.

"Sirius?"

Sirius looked up as James mockingly grabbed at his chest and caught himself on the doorframe. "Hell must have frozen over for Padfoot to come early for work!"

Sirius let his friend enjoy his joke, his own smile not fading. "Yes, Prongs, I do feel a little ill today. Perhaps I should go back to bed." He began to stand up and reach for his cloak.

James put his hand on Sirius' shoulder, pushing him back into the chair. "Alright, enough joking. Since we're both here, we might as well get to work."

"But it's only ten to nine," Sirius protested. He's turning into Moony!

James hung up his cloak. "And what would you rather do for the next ten minutes? Stare at Renae's picture?" Before Sirius could confirm James' prediction, there came a knock at the door. Since he was still standing, James went to answer it. "Mr. Crouch."

Sirius jumped to his feet and began straightening his robes. Barty Crouch, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, stood in the doorway, clearing his throat. "James Potter, may I see you in my office, immediately?"

"Certainly, Sir." James gave Sirius a quick glance before closing the door behind them.

****

"Renae?" Standing in front of the violet painting leading to her room, Renae turned to see Severus walking towards her, "Could we talk for a moment?"

Over the past few weeks, they had become more than civil towards each other; they had become friends. Renae had found that beneath his hard shell, Severus was rather witty, and even light hearted at times. She smiled at him. "Several even. Why don't you come in?" She pointed at the painting, knowing he had to know it that led to her room, after seeing her emerge from it so many times.

He smiled and crossed his arms. "Wouldn't it concern you that I would then know your password?"

She laughed. "Do you really think I'd give a shit if I'm offering in the first place?"

He chuckled. "No, I suppose not."

Turning to the painting, Renae said, "Falcon." As the narrow passageway was revealed, she led Severus into her room.

As Severus sat down on her couch, Renae dropped her copy of Transfiguration Today on the table before filling two glasses with ice tea. As she carried them to the couch, she noticed Severus looking around the room. "Nice chamber."

"Thanks," she held out a glass, "would you like a drink?" Severus took the glass, inspecting its contents carefully. "It's tea, Severus." He lifted an eyebrow before focusing on the tan liquid again. Renae rolled her eyes. "Merlin! Just give it a try! If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't be so damn subtle!"

A smirk spread on his face before he carefully tasted the beverage. After taking a tiny first sip, he proceeded to take a nice long gulp. As he did, Renae drained her glass. She never was much for sipping.

"It's not that bad," he said, inspecting the ice tea for a third time.

"You're the first one to say that, everyone else around here can't stand it. Then again, I can't stand hot tea." Severus laughed and drank half his tea. "So," she set down her empty glass, "what did you want to talk about?"

The smile that had sat on his face, now dropped. He quietly set down his half empty glass. "I wanted to ask you a favor."

Renae was shocked at first, Severus Snape asking her for a favor? Sure, they were more at ease around each other, but she had no idea he considered her a close enough friend to ask a favor of her. But then again, he wasn't the same man she had known only months before. "Alright, what is it?" Severus paused for a moment, probably trying to make sure he phrased it correctly. That was one thing she found he never forgot - how to choose his words carefully.

"Would you find out what happened to a particular piece of jewelry of Aleanor's? I believe Lily or Potter may know, or be able to find out, but I can't ask them myself. We both know the reception I'd receive."

Renae nodded. She knew James and Lily wouldn't be very forthcoming to him, but she was a different story. Then she became curious, why would Severus be interested in a piece of jewelry?

"But why…" it hit her as she saw his face drop a little more, "you gave it to her, didn't you?" He nodded. I can't tell him, no. She leaned in a bit. "Okay, what exactly is this piece of jewelry?"

"A sapphire necklace," he answered, looking down. This couldn't be easy on him.

Her eyes nearly bulged out. "Sapphire necklace? When did that happen?"

"Seventh year, I gave it to her for Christmas," he took a steadying breath, "It matched her eyes."

Renae saw that he was holding back tears. She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll find out what I can, and don't worry, they won't find out you wanted to know."

A look of relief crossed Severus' face. "Thank you, Renae."

She smiled. "Don't thank me yet."

~~~*~~~

Sirius practically ran from Hogsmeade to the castle. Renae wasn't expecting him; she had the feast that night, and he knew the students were probably arriving even as he thought of it.

Reaching the great oak doors, he followed behind the last few students as they walked into the Entrance Hall. He quickly weaved his way through the crowd of returning students heading for the Great Hall. Reaching the open doorway, he peeked inside for Renae. There came a tap on his shoulder as he stood in the doorway.

"Mr. Black," Sirius turned around to Professor McGonagall standing behind him, "I trust there is a good reason for this intrusion? I do believe the feast is for students and staff only."

He ran a hand through his hair before answering sheepishly, "Sorry Professor McGonagall, I was just looking for Renae." Sirius breathed a sigh of relief when he realized the stern look on her face was more for the students surrounding them than it was for him.

Stepping closer to him, McGonagall lowered her voice so only he would hear. "She is needed at the feast. But I am sure she will not mind if you wait in her chambers," she gave him a small smile, "I will tell her you are here."

"Thanks," he smiled and made his way to the violet painting.

As he walked into her chambers, he found a plate piled with food on her table. McGonagall thinks of everything! He grabbed a chair and sat down to eat.

~~~*~~~

When the Welcoming Feast was finished, Renae quickly went to her room, to find Sirius passed out on the couch. She walked over and sat beside him. Reaching in her robes, she pulled out her wand and turned a hair strand into a feather and began tickling his nose.

"Sirius," she whispered as his nose twitched, "Sirius… wake up," she sang. Suddenly he gave a great snort as his eyes bolted open.

He rubbed at his nose. "Ah, you know I hate that!"

"Yeah, but it works." She laughed. "So why are you here tonight?"

"I had to tell you what happened today." Renae's heart raced a mile a minute. Dear Merlin, now what happened? Sirius grabbed her arm. "Calm down…no one died. At least, not that I know of." Renae sighed. "James was promoted."

"What?"

Sirius reached for his glass of pumpkin juice, which sat on the floor next to the couch, and emptied it. "He was promoted, he's just under Crouch now. Odd, really, now he's my superior." They both chuckled. "Anyways, now he reports directly to Crouch, and will get all his assignments from him. From what James told me, it looks like he's going to be tracking down You-Know-Who himself. Forget about Death Eaters, Crouch wants to take out the top."

Renae didn't feel good about this, at all. "You mean James is going to be tracking You-Know-Who?"

"Yes."

"Don't you think that will make him You-Know-Who's primary target?"

"Possibly."

Renae couldn't believe how calm he was being about this. "Possibly! What does James think, what did he say?"

"He took the promotion, of course, he said he'd rather it be him than anyone else."

"But what about Lily and Harry? You-Know-Who will target them too, don't you think?"

"Not necessarily. James wants to do this for Lily and Harry. If he can bring You-Know-Who down, then they'll be safe," he ran his hand along her cheek, "I would do the same for you." She smiled. "And that's not all. You'll never believe what Crouch has done as well." He stopped for a moment as Renae hung on his every word. "He's authorized the Aurors to use the Unforgivable Curses."

Now she had heard it all. What the hell was wrong with Crouch? Here, he was poised to become Minister of Magic, and he was stooping to You-Know-Who's level. "Is Crouch mad? What's he trying to do, compete with You-Know-Who?"

Sirius' face was as gloomy as hers. "Unfortunately, I think so, and if not, Merlin help us all." He pulled Renae to him, wrapping his arms around her as she buried her face in his neck.

They remained that way for a while, before Renae realized she was growing tired. "I'm sorry, but I really need to go to bed."

Sirius grinned. "Mind if I join you?"

She laughed. "Alright, but I do need some sleep tonight, the first day of classes are tomorrow."

He picked her up and carried her to the bed. "Some sleep, okay, I can handle that." The grin on his face told her she'd be lucky if she got any at all.

~~~*~~~

Sirius awoke the next morning to Renae making a good deal of noise getting dressed. He realized something was wrong from the panicked look on her face.

"Renae, what's wrong? You don't have class until nine."

She grabbed her wand and stuffed it down her robes. "I know, but there's something I have to do. I'll see you later." With that she gave him a quick kiss and disappeared down the narrow passageway.

Sirius shook his head before getting up to get ready for work.

****

Renae practically ran to the dungeons, carrying the small empty bottle. I can't believe we knocked over the bottle! I have an hour left in which to take it, I only hope Severus has more. She ran through the Potions classroom and banged on his office door. "Severus!" there was no response. Damn it, we have classes in a little over an hour, you HAVE to be here! She banged again. "SEVERUS!"

"Enter." She barely made the word through the thick door.

She pushed open the door, quickly closing it behind her. "Severus, do you have any Anne's Lace potion?"

"Again, Renae?"

"Yes, again. We, ah, knocked over this one." She held up the empty bottle.

A grin spread across his face. "A little rough last night, weren't you?"

He loved to torment her, but this time she didn't have time to joke. "Oh, get off it. Do you have any? I only have an hour left to take it."

"Perhaps you should have thought about the fact that Anne's Lace must be taken within 6 hours of 'play' in order to work, before you began your night of 'rough housing'."

Renae felt her face grow hot. "Damn it Severus, it was an accident! Will you just answer my question!"

He sat back in his chair, lacing his hands together. "No, Renae, I don't."

She ran to his desk, leaning on it. "Please tell me you can make more."

"I could, but I'm afraid it won't help you."

How the hell could he remain so calm with her yelling?

"Why?" she asked.

"After being mixed, it takes two hours to brew."

"SHIT!" Renae threw the empty bottle across the room, shattering it against the far wall.

~~~*~~~

Lily and James had invited them over for dinner. Sirius now sat next to Renae, watching her eat. By the look in her eyes, he could tell she was thinking about something. For the past several weeks she had that look in her eyes from time to time, but each time he would question her about it, she seemed to snap out of it.

Harry sat between James and Lily and had launched his cup across the table. Without looking up from her plate, Lily picked her wand up off the table and stopped the air born cup. Sirius couldn't help but chuckle at Lily's nonchalant reflex. Renae didn't seem to notice, even though the cup was suspended in the air only inches from her head.

"Renae, are you alright?" he asked her.

Like before, she seemed to snap out of a trance. "What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." She quickly emptied her glass of juice as Lily began clearing the table, starting with the floating cup.

"Sorry about that Renae, he likes to see me stop it." Lily apologized as Harry sat clapping.

Renae laughed. "It's okay Lily."

****

After clearing the table, Sirius and James put Harry to bed and went in the living room to talk, leaving Lily and Renae alone in the kitchen. Lily made coffee, and they sat across the table from each other, sipping their drinks. "Lily, I heard Aleanor had a sapphire necklace, and that Snape gave it to her. Is that true?"

Lily nodded her head while setting down her coffee. "Yes, he gave it to her our seventh year… for Christmas I think." Lily looked down at her drink. Renae knew it was still tough for her to talk about Aleanor. She looked back up at Renae. "She wore it all the time, never took it off for anything. She wore it the last time I saw her."

Renae smiled. "Did Gregory have her buried with it?" She knew Lily had helped Gregory with the funeral plans, since he lives in America and their parents didn't have the heart to do it.

"No. Actually, Gregory gave the necklace to his mother. She had asked for it for some reason," Lily sipped her coffee, "it probably reminded her of Aleanor."

Renae nodded and finished her coffee. Now to tell Severus…