Author's Note: I do not own any of the characters, with the exception of Simon Harper and Cassandra Talin. And the elusive Her. All other characters belong to JK Rowling, and no money is being made from this fan fiction. If there was, you'd be on my paying list, so aren't you lucky?

As a side note: The reason some of you think it takes me a bit to put out chapters is because I'm actually writing this as I go, and it takes awhile for things to come together. Also, I'm co-teaching at church, relations are flying in from overseas next week, the week after I'm going to Russia, and then I go back to no man's land for a few days, so all in all, it will probably be four more weeks before another chapter. I'm very sorry about the delay, and I'm trying to work on the chapter as much as possible before things get hectic.

Also, I love reviews! Thanks be to all who have reviewed! Also, I think it's neato when you tell me what you think is going to happen. Don't worry about affecting the plot, I've got a plot sheet already devised, but I need to know how things are looking from an outsiders standpoint. Alright, I know Fanfiction has been down a lot, but if you've read Chapter 4 before you could review, I would still appreciate reviews. Thanks!

Ok, ok, enough from me, here's chapter 4!

~

Chapter 4: Hide from the Truth

Severus continued to sit on the base of the statue for some time, turning things over in his mind. His mind was in such a state of shock and disarray that if he stood and walked, he would have probably gotten lost. A horrible thought had struck him, one that doesn't go away for quite some time.

He, Severus Snape, had fallen hard for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

He hated it. All around the school he was known for his sneering attitude and ability to show no compassion for a single soul, yet he had emotions for that argumentative teacher? Cassi wasn't his type; stubborn, compulsive, and damn it, she was pretty too, which certainly wasn't part of his type. Not that he had a type. What had she done to him? Severus was a steadfast, sarcastic, and morbid soul, and she had most assuredly done something to him. Perhaps it was a potion in his drink, something surely within her being to do.

Severus stood again at this thought, though still somewhat dazed. He shook his head to clear his mind, and he walked on, with nowhere in particular to go, still wildly entertaining the thought that he was under a potion, or maybe a spell. Cassi was good at spells, he had seen that just earlier that day. Yes, that must be it. Please let that be it.

His heart sunk horribly as a new thought hit him. Why, of all people, would she choose to charm/drug him? She hated every thin bone in his body; she most certainly would not want to have him. This occurred to him rather harshly in two ways; first, this completely obliterated his magic-induced love theory, and second, it would be the reason Cassi would never look at him as he looked at her. What would she want with him? He was bitter, stubborn, and above all, emotionally scarred (as much as he didn't want to admit it, only because it would admit having emotions and them being hurt).

"Leave me alone, girl!" he shouted out to the hallway. The sounds of his deep voice echoing off the carved stone walls came back and shocked him. He hadn't realized how much he had wanted to shout at something. He hoped to God that no one heard him; it had been quite awhile since he had lost control like that. The VERY last thing he needed was someone else knowing that his feelings for Professor Talin were anything but the purest of hatreds. Yet there was someone else who knew, and that someone would be the Transfiguration teacher. What would she say if she knew that she had been right about him?

"Severus?" called a mature voice down the hall, fast footsteps accompanying it. Severus jumped at the sound of the voice he had been thinking of, and whirled around, pulling a blank face.

"Minerva," he said in acknowledgement. He couldn't help but think of how all the teachers used first name basis with each other when they weren't around students, with the exception of Cassi. And there she was in his thoughts again. Damn her.

"Severus, I'm sorry to disturb you, you looked like you were deep in thought, but I just wanted to see if you were alright from this afternoon," she asked, now walking with him. He bowed his head to shield his face from her with his lank hair; no more expression reading would be going on, he would not have it.

"I'm fine," he said tersely, and she remained silent for some time.

"What do you think of Professor Harper?" she asked curiously after the silence had passed.

"I have no opinion of that stupid git," said Snape, visibly tensing as a new emotion lapped over him like an ocean wave. Jealously as he had never felt it swept through him, making him angry from head to foot. Only fifteen minutes ago he discovered that there might be a possibility that he loved Cassi, and he was already jealous over a worthless prat? This was simply more than he could stand, and Snape wanted to return to his dungeons to think this over. Logically. Something he yearned for in this time of revelation was logic and stability, and perhaps a good sleeping potion.

"I see. No opinion, eh? Hmm, right," she said skeptically, yet still maintaining that matter-of-fact tone she always had. "Severus, if you ever need to talk, you know where my classroom is." She had turned to walk off when Snape spoke.

"Minerva, I'm not sure where you've gotten the notion that there might be some… attraction, I suppose that is the word, between Professor Talin and myself, but I can assure you that is simply isn't true," he said, sounding as sure and cold as he could, hoping against hope that this would change her mind.

"Severus, I may be old, but I'm not blind. I can see perfectly well how much attention you pay to her, how much time you spend thinking about her. Don't worry though," she said, a slight smile on her very serious face, "it's not like I'm off to tell the school."

"A rumor like that would be devastating to my reputation to the school board, as well as among the faculty and students," he said tensely, still trying to prove her wrong, though his attempts were becoming desperate.

"Of course. You are Severus Snape, the Potions Master, who knows perfectly well that relationships among the staff have not been encouraged in the past, though not against the rules. Perhaps the Potions Master should think about the last part of that sentence," she said, and she took the next right and disappeared down a shadowy hallway.

"That did not go well," he said in a quiet growl, then he looked around to figure out where he was so he could find his way back down to his cold dungeons. A statue of a wizard with seven fingers told him that he was on the ground floor, and only had to find the nearest stairs to descend down to the bottom of the school.

In a few short moments, Severus was back in his pungent and dark dungeons. Torches lit themselves as he shut the heavy wooden door behind him and made his way to his desk. The light flickered over the gleaming desks and made the jars containing organs and liquids shimmer in the inconstant light. He absentmindedly picked up his quill to grade papers, but found that there were none to be graded. He had been especially efficient this year so he would have more time to watch the new teachers, but now this had come back to get him when he all he wanted was to escape the new teachers, especially the one…

"That's it, I can not stand this any longer. No more," he said in frustration, and he walked into his office and picked up a flask from a shelf behind his desk. He uncorked it and brought it to his lips, then threw his head back and took a swallow of it. He then opened the door in his office that led to his room, and threw himself on his bed, having an instantaneous dreamless sleep.

~

Cassi, however, was not having an easy time getting to sleep. Severus' voice was echoing around in her memory, angering her as she attempted to sleep. He was the source of most of her problems. When she had come to this job, she had known that she might not get along with everyone, but she didn't know that she would be making enemies with the Head of Slytherin, and that he would be mentally tormenting her. The last thing she needed was someone waltzing about the school throwing cutting remarks at her that actually had basis. Anger coursed through her veins like an electric shock.

She took her pillow out from under her head and covered her face with it, then screamed in frustration. She then promptly put her pillow against the headboard and sat up, grabbing her wand off the nightstand and using the 'Lumos' spell. With another glance at the nightstand, she let her eyes flicker over her potions, now arranged neatly. She closed her eyes in defeat, and reached out for the nearest one, a blue one. She drank a bit with ease, then picked up her other one, the green one. She stared at it hard.

"Almost out," she said, and she became worried. She needed this potion more than the other, but it would be impossibly hard to brew without certain people knowing what it was. This bottle of liquid was very important to her, she needed it, but she only had enough to last her to about mid-November, then she would be out, a thought that made her shudder. She swallowed a bit of this potion too, then fixed her pillow, extinguished her wand, and tried to go to sleep.

~

The teacher's meeting started early that Sunday morning, and Severus arrived early enough to get a seat near Dumbledore at the table in the Staff room. He had slept well that night, and had resolved to do nothing about his 'situation'. Dumbledore and Severus chatted for a bit while waiting for the others to get there. Unfortunately for him, the next person in the room was Cassi, who was about to seat herself at the opposite end of the table when Dumbledore called out to her.

"Professor Talin, would you be so kind as to sit over here so that you can give your account of yesterday's events easier?" he asked warmly. She nodded and sat next to him, which meant she was opposite Snape as Dumbledore was at the head of the table. He turned his eyes to the table and she did the same, but for an entirely different reason.

This was even more torturous than Snape could have imagined. He wasn't acting like himself; he was too caught up in trying not to show anything that he forgot to be himself. Normally he would have continued to talk to Dumbledore to show off how much he was respected, but now all he could do was stare at the boards that made up the table.

At that moment, Harper walked through the door, seating himself next to Cassi.

"Hello Simon," she said kindly, though in a low voice. "How are you doing?"

"I think I should be the one asking you that, Cassi," he said kindheartedly. "After yesterday and all…" He watched her curiously.

"Well, I'm perfectly fine, don't worry about me so," she said in a nervous way.

"Sorry, it's just…" started Simon, but he glanced over at Severus and let his sentence die. Severus had looked up just enough to glare at Simon viciously, scaring the poor man into silence. Simon ran a hand through his dark brown hair nervously and fell silent.

Luckily, more teachers flooded in, and the meeting began as Dumbledore stood to address them, and they fell silent instantly.

"Fellow colleagues, as most of you have heard, an Acromantula broke into the grounds on Saturday, coming dangerously close to injuring or killing at least 12 people, two of them being teachers. Very few creatures are able to break into the grounds on their own free will, which leads me to believe that another person was responsible for this attack. This explains the creature's level of insanity, and the deliberate attack to these specific grounds. I have no reason to suspect anyone inside the castle for doing such a thing, all teachers were either in the lounge with me or in their classrooms. The more advanced students were either attacked or in their Common rooms; everyone was accounted for." Dumbledore spoke with a powerful aire, and all attention was commanded to him as the staff soaked in every word of his speech.

"Severus, did you notice which way the spider came from?" asked Dumbledore. Severus sat up importantly.

"It came from the west end of the forest, or at least that was the direction it was walking away from when I got to it," said Snape, relieved that he was able to act as he normally did. Perhaps it wouldn't be too hard covering up this… affliction of his. That was the best word for it, affliction.

"That rules out some of the theories then. Right. Cassandra, tell me, was the structure of the spider normal for one native to this area? Any specific markings?" His eyes shone as he asked.

Cassi started when he called on her, and she looked up at him nervously, then started to speak. "The structure was exactly that of one found in this country, though no markings. This either means that the outsider trained a native or used a wild one. I assume this is what you meant?" she said very quietly.

"Quite right. That was precisely my point. Alright, if you don't mind, would you please completely repeat your story for the other teachers, and let's see what we've got, Severus. Cassandra can help you," said Dumbledore, sitting back down in his chair. Severus retold his story, straight facts, up until the point where Cassi and him had fallen into the grass, which he skipped. Cassi corrected him at some points, but was quiet while Snape narrated. Everyone nodded along, eyes wide.

Dumbledore addressed a few parts of their story, then dismissed the meeting. All the teachers walked off to breakfast, Snape staying far away from Cassi, who had fallen behind in attempts to cheer Hagrid up. Hagrid eventually smiled at something she said, and Cassi folded her arms, pleased with her success. By that time, they had reached the Hall, where she seated herself silently next to Severus, who was ignoring her completely.

Cassi noticed his cold manner, and became equally cold. All was going fine until Snape turned to her, smirking.

"Ham?" he said politely offered, gesturing to the plate before her.

"Not in the slightest. You may partake of the dead animal if you like, but not I," she said, her voice silky with anger. He smirked again and took a bit of the ham. Cassi rolled her eyes, and Snape heard her mutter something under her breath, but he couldn't quite make out what it meant. He got the gist of it though, and smiled. As long as she didn't suspect anything, he thought he could survive. With luck, she would be gone by the next year and he wouldn't have to do this for more than a few months. Meanwhile, he was having some trouble controlling his mind, as it kept reminding him of some of the finer elements of her beauty. He poked his ham viciously, as if threatening to do the same to his memory.

After Cassi had finished her muffin, she stood without a word to Severus and headed off to her room, bound and determined to find something to do. She decided a more detailed analysis of her next lesson might be needed. When she reached her stone room, she lit the repaired chandelier with a flick of her wand and sat down at her desk. A sudden overwhelming feeling overtook her, and she reached into the second drawer to her left and pulled out a small bottle of her pearly green potion. She sighed and looked at it.

"What are you doing to yourself?" she asked in a whisper to herself, then took a bit of the potion. She was all too aware of the dark circles under her eyes, how hallow her cheeks looked, her inability to focus, but she did her best to ignore it.

She had no choice but to ignore it.

~

Two weeks passed. Halloween had been fun, the students enjoyed the feast immensely, and they also enjoyed a homework free weekend from Defense class, as Cassi had given her test. The test was part essay, part performance, where the student had to put up a shield according to the level of spell that Cassi cast at them. Most students did fairly well, with the exception of a few, like Neville, who had dropped in a dead faint before Cassi even got the words out of her mouth. She had often gotten the impression that a few of her students were afraid of her, some more so than others. Luckily, he was revived a few minutes later, and tried again.

Severus was having a difficult time handling this new 'affliction'. He couldn't be angrier with himself for allowing it to happen, and in turn, he had become even more ruthless in his manner towards Cassi, who was equally as angry at him for being so nasty. They had once again taken to hissing angry words at each other in the hallway, and shooting evil glares at each other. It was no secret in the school that they fought and hated each other, and Cassi found a surprising number of supporters among the students; most of them had been bullied or scolded by him, and had long wanted to see him get his. The Slytherins, no matter how much they respected Cassi, had to stand by the Head of their house, so theirs was the only House that ever had anything bad to say about her, though it was seldom that she was talked about at all, as her vanishing act was working quite well.

During one class when they had been learning how to stop their attacker, a Slytherin student became frustrated with his spell, and slammed his wand down. Cassi looked up from her stool (where she had been staring at the floor), and walked over to the boy's table.

"What's wrong, Smith?" she asked, pulling up a chair next to him and sitting stiffly in it.

"This is stupid," he growled. Cassi bristled.

"Now now, you wouldn't be saying that if a fully grown wizard was attacking you with a wand," said Cassi, prepared to help him master the spell.

"It's stupid, I don't get it. Besides, Professor Snape says it's useless too," he said, still grumpy. Cassi leaned over.

"Does he now?" she said curiously, keeping her motive hidden from her voice.

"Yeah. He said that you weren't teaching the right spells, and that he would expect better spells from flobberworms than what we're doing," Smith said, though a little uneasily. Cassi, however, smiled and patted the boy's head.

"Well I can assure you that this will be useful one day. Now, let's work on this spell together, shall we?" she said kindly, and he nodded.

When the last class dismissed, Cassi sorted their papers out and locked her room up, ready to go to dinner. The child's words were still ringing in her mind. She was going to have to talk to Snape about this, but first, she had an idea. Instead of continuing down the stairs, she turned to the second floor and went to the gargoyle in the wall. Since she was part of the staff, she now knew the password to it, saving her a lot of time. A short hallway stretched in front of her, and off to her right was Dumbledore's office.

Cassi tapped lightly on the door, and Dumbledore called for her to open it. She did so meekly enough, but when Dumbledore smiled at her, she became a little less so, seating herself carefully in a chair across from his desk, where he was sitting.

"How may I help you?" he asked, eyes twinkling and a smile on his face.

"Well, Headmaster, I came across an idea today, inspired by one of my more frustrated students," she started, slightly shaky, and hoping that he would like her idea.

"One of the best inspirations. Continue."

"Well, the student was rather frustrated with a spell, and he didn't seem to think that it would be useful in real life, so I thought it might be a wise idea to show them just how useful this will be. Which brings me to my question; would it be alright if I used an abandoned hallway as an obstacle course?" Cassi spoke fast, the words tumbling out in her light Russian accent, and Dumbledore smiled at her.

"Of course, my dear, of course. Excellent idea, it really is. In fact, if you asked Severus, I'm sure he would find you a suitable hallway, as he knows these halls as well as I do," he said, eyes still twinkling at her idea.

"Snape?" she asked hesitantly.

"He doesn't bite, nor does he hate you as much as you think. He just…doesn't get along with newcomers so well. Don't worry, just ask him, I'm sure it will be fine," said Dumbledore in a reassuring way, and Cassi stood to leave.

"Oh, Professor?" called out Dumbledore as she was about to leave. "Are you well? You look a bit under the weather."

Cassi touched her cheeks and sighed. "I-I'm just…tired." She sounded convincing enough, but Dumbledore still looked concerned.

"Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey," he said, slightly skeptical of her excuse.

"Nono, no, I'm perfectly alright, I'll just catch up on my sleep later, thank you," she quietly mumbled and she slipped out of the room as Dumbledore nodded to her.

He sat back in his chair and sighed thoughtfully.

Cassi ran out into the hallway, walking quickly off to dinner, when she spied a swish of black robes coming out of a smaller hallway and into a bigger one, and Cassi felt her blood boil as she watched Snape stalk down the hall darkly.

"Snape, may I have a word?" Cassi called out, and he stopped without looking back, waiting for her to catch up. Her entire secretive demeanor was gone as she was going to confront him.

"The most interesting thing happened today, wouldn't you know, a student got frustrated in my class, saying that it was stupid and that you thought I wasn't challenging the students enough," she growled in a low whisper. Severus remained silent, confirming her story.

"Listen, I happen to be doing a damn good job with those children, and I don't need you saying lowlife things about me," she said, slightly louder and taking a step closer to him.

"For your information, Talin, I do not go around trying to blacken your name, I've only said that one thing while leafing through one of my student's assignment. Your name doesn't need any more blackening," he growled back, trying very hard to keep his mind on the argument and off her blue-violet eyes.

"What do you mean?" she snapped.

"It's fairly obvious, someone one with your quick mind ought to catch onto things like that. You skulk about all day, hiding in your room, and people wonder about you," he said, his eyes narrow slits of black abyss.

"I do not skulk, I'm perfectly fine-" she began.

"You don't look it. There are shadows under your eyes, your hands are shaking-"

"Because I'm infuriated!"

"AND," he said louder over her interjection, "you're cheek are sunken. Either you're not eating right or you need sleep. Or both."

"I eat perfectly fine, I just haven't been sleeping much lately, so curse me. It's none of you damn business anyway. But, I also have a question," she said, her tone changing from irritation to an ironically sweet.

"What?"

"Where's a good abandoned hallway?" she asked, still patronizingly sweet.

"Third floor hasn't been properly moved into, try that. Why?" he asked, now highly suspicious.

"I'm going to use it as an obstacle course. I got the idea when the student didn't think we would use this in real life. So I have you to thank for that," she said, her tone so evilly sweet that Snape was worried. He was even more so when she stood on her tiptoes slightly and kissed him on the cheek, then walked off to the Hall, leaving him standing there. For about five minutes he stood there blankly, blinking and wondering what the hell had just happened. The spot on his sallow cheek was still tingling, and he mentally slapped himself. He had most certainly not authorized that kiss, not in the slightest. She really should not take liberties with me, he thought grumpily, though another voice in his head popped up, the one he would dearly love to murder. Oh Severus, you know you liked that.

As soon as Cassi rounded a corner, she burst into fits of laughter as she remembered the look of total shock on his face, slightly mixed with horror and fright. His eyes had gotten very wide, and his face very pale, making him almost look dead. It was all Cassi could do not to double up in laughter.

"Oh my, that was worth it. Mind you, now I'm probably infected with scummy icy-hearted bastardness bacteria. But it was worth it, that look was priceless," she said through giggles, coming up to Hall now, and composing herself. She knew she had really broken character to do that, but that's what made it so shocking to him.

She ate dinner with a smile that night, but immediately returned to her room for her potion. Only a few centimeters left…

~

Within another week, Cassi had found herself a particularly dark and dusty hallway on the third floor. She had also enchanted a few of the suits of armor to act as attackers, though they were to be immediately disabled by the correct spell. That had been a tricky spell to devise, but she had managed, though she couldn't help but think that if the Department of Experimental Charms ever got a hold of half the stuff she had created, they would have a field day. Dumbledore was very open to every learning experience though, so she wouldn't have a problem with this. Just for review, she had scrounged up a few Boggarts from the darkest parts of the castle and transported them to her hall, hoping that that would be enough for a good go.

On that Friday, about halfway through November, Cassi waited eagerly for her class of fifth year Gryffindors to walk into class. She was perched on her stool, sitting rigidly as always, but she was smiling, putting a few of her students at ease.

After the bell rang and attendance was taken, she addressed the class. "Today, I've got a bit of a challenge for you, but I have no doubt in your capabilities, as long as you've been understanding what's been going on. So if you would kindly pick up your bags and take them with you, this will take all class period. Thank you, please follow me." With these words, she stood and opened the door of her classroom, leading the students out of it and up to the third floor. She caught a few worried expressions as they entered the dingy floor, only lit by a few stone pedestals at the beginning of the hall.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, this is going to be a test of your skills. This exercise will show you how much we use what we learn, and how it applies to your life outside of Hogwarts. I've got this set up like an obstacle course, starting here and winding down the hall until you eventually come out a bit down the hallway here, basically making a horse-shoe type shape. I will be trailing behind you, grading you and making sure things don't get out of hand. So, who wants to go first?" Her eyes shone bright as she stared at the nervous faces.

"I will, Professor," volunteered a voice, and everyone's head turned to see Hermione raising her hand meekly.

"Good girl. Alright, you may go in when you're ready," offered Cassi, clipboard in hand with her wand ready in her sash.

Hermione nodded and lit her wand up, then started off. She started down the hallway, Cassi about fifteen paces behind her. The first thing they met was a Boggart, which immediately turned into a scolding teacher. As soon as Hermione tackled that, she quickly moved on and ran smack into a suit of armor, which was wielding a club. At first Hermione froze, but then she stuttered through the spell, and the suit froze, mid-swing. This continued on for some time, until eventually Hermione had the hang of it, but was still busy fending off two or three things at a time. Then it was over as she emerged into the original hallway, just a bit farther down from the nervous huddle of students. They clapped when they saw her.

"Full marks, Miss Granger. Well done," said Cassi, marking it down as she said this. Hermione grinned and both rejoined the group.

"Next!" she called, repeating the process until everyone had finished. Most had done pretty decently, and she promised them that they would have another go at it later, when they've had time to hone their skills a bit more. The bell rang as she finished the last person, and she dismissed the class and headed back to her room. It was a free period for her, and she decided to spend it outside.

She grabbed her cloak off a hook and headed towards the giant wooden doors, pulling her cloak around her tightly as she felt the brisk November air whip around the door. She started out towards her rock, beginning to feel the drain of today's tiring experience.

"Hogsmeade trip tomorrow," she reminded herself. I've got to get the ingredients for my potion there, I can brew it the next day. How I'm going to get past Snape is beyond me, I'll have to ask for his facilities, damn it. I'll come up with something.

She arrived at her rock, sitting next to it and leaning her back against it, eyes set on the forest, watching it's dark interior. She could relate to it.

Cassi awoke early the next morning and got ready for her trip to Hogsmeade, deciding to leave her hair down today. She grabbed her cloak off it's hook by the towel-covered mirror (she didn't want to take the towel off of it anymore) and headed down to breakfast quietly, listening to the patter of her soft soled shoes across the hard stone. As she neared the Hall, she heard the click of boots on the stone, and she wondered who was behind her.

"Cassi, Cassi wait up!" called the voice, and she turned around to wait for Simon, relieved that it was just him. He jogged to catch up, then smiled jovially when he reached her side. "Are you an escort for Hogsmeade today?"

"Yes, are you?"

"Yup. Hey, do you want to meet up there later, say about halfway through?" he asked, eyes shining.

"Alright," she agreed in a quiet voice.

"Great, how about at the tavern?" Cassi nodded, and Simon beamed and walked with her to breakfast, both talking the entire way. Neither noticed Snape watching them contemptuously, busy hating himself more and more as he allowed himself to delve into the pools of jealousy in his heart.

Breakfast dismissed, and a majority of the older students lingered back, then crowded themselves in the Entrance Hall. McGonagall arrived a few minutes later, quieting the students down and checking over who all was going. While she did this, Cassi put on her cloak, pulling her hood up and backing away from the crowd, while still keeping an eye on them. She caught a glance of Simon talking enthusiastically to a group of students, and he looked up and winked at her. She smiled back, but found herself trying to get farther away from the crowd. Finally, McGonagall dismissed and Cassi and the other teachers walked alongside the students to town.

The air was brutally icy, and the trees and grass were dead, giving the grounds a drab look on this overcast day. Cassi liked it this way, and she enjoyed the walk, despite the fact that she had to break up a fight between a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff, and ended up deducting points from both.

The town wasn't far off, and the walk was short. The teachers needed only to escort them there, the students would return on their own before lunch, the store owners made sure of that, so Cassi immediately broke away from the group when she entered the colorful little town, and she entered a looming herb shop.

A bell above the door jingled when she entered the warm shop. The entire store was composed of aged and worn looking wood. Wooden shelves held different powders in boxes, and there were barrels full of things like bat eyes and sliced manticore hands. A wrinkly old man with blue eyes and gray hair came out of a back room when the bell sounded, and hobbled up to the counter.

"Need anything?" he asked in a hoarse, weak voice. There was a look in his eyes that made Cassi feel uneasy, and she touched her wand on her sash.

"Do you carry the things on this list?" she asked, handing him a worn piece of parchment from her pocket. He eyed the list and looked up suspiciously.

"What're you making?" he growled, though in a curious tone.

"It's the shopkeeper's place to sell, and the buyer's to buy. There does not need to be any socialization outside of this," she said, quite firm. He cowered under her serious stare and filled her order, placing it in a plain brown bag. She paid him what was owed, and left, having done this enough not to be fooled into telling him what she was making. She looked up at a clock on the chapel, she had spent a mere fifteen minutes in there, and she could continue with the rest of her shopping until about ten.

At 9:50, she started over to the tavern, trying to stay out of other people's way so no one bumped into her, but her efforts were in vain when she rounded a corner and ran straight into a man clad in black. Unfortunately, both lost their balance and fell back.

"Sorry," both murmured to the other, and Cassi looked up to see Snape shaking his head and standing up.

"Running somewhere, Talin, or do you just like attacking me?" he sneered, but he offered his hand to help her stand up. She rolled her eyes and took it, bringing her to her feet, her bag clutched in her hand tightly. Before either could say another thing to the other, Simon spotted them from across the street and walked over casually.

"Severus, Cassi," he said in greeting. Both of them realized they were still holding hands, and they let go at the same time.

"I'm off," Snape stated darkly, for Simon had turned to Cassi and touched her cheek very gently. With a swish of his cloak he was gone, leaving Cassi standing there like a statue.

"Sorry, you had dirt on your face from the fall, and that was the best way to get Snape away," he said with a laugh, and Cassi's face broke into a smile.

"It worked too, I congratulate you," she said, and they laughed as they walked into the tavern, both getting a butterbeer and talking about their classes. Cassi enjoyed talking to Simon, he was one of the few people she liked talking too, but she felt anxious about brewing this potion under Snape's nose. For some reason, she didn't want him to think the less of her if she found out what she had been taking, and this bothered her. Since when did she care what he thought? She mulled over this with the last sip of her butterbeer.

Simon and Cassi paid, then walked back up to the castle, and split at the Entrance Hall. Cassi took her bag back to her room, and added a few ingredients from her suitcase to it, along with her ladle, then waited awhile to give Snape plenty of time to be back. In the meantime, she read a book from her Dark Arts shelf, though she found it to be boring and horribly repetitive of all her other books on the shelf, so she shut it and stared off into space for a bit. Finally, when she could stand it no longer, she left her room with her bag and went down to his cold dungeons.

When she reached his door, she froze before she knocked, her stomach filled with nervous butterflies which she tried to calm, but with no avail. With a deep breath she knocked, and she heard his deep voice call her in. When she pushed open the door, she looked around his classroom. Jars and bottles filled with who knows what parts of animals lined the room, and a few torches on the wall were lit and flickering across the black tables and stools of his classroom, their warmth lost in the wintry coldness of the room. It was altogether gloomy, but very neat and precise, yet somehow she had expected no less from him. Snape himself was at his desk, marking essays that he had assigned the weekend before. He was perched on a stool, lank black hair in his eyes, which were sharp with deep concentration, a fairly complimentary look for him, if it hadn't been so terrifying to her at the moment.

"Uh, Snape?" she asked in a quaking voice. He looked up and looked at her suspiciously.

"Yes, Miss Talin?"

"Well, I needed to brew a potion, but unfortunately I do not posses the facilities or the cauldron for it, so may I borrow that from you?" She stuttered through her question very fast, and her nervousness almost amused him.

"What potion?"

"Just something to rid me of this cold," she lied.

"Couldn't you get that from Madam Pomfrey?" he asked, his tone expectant of her.

"You know I don't like to ask her for things like that. Besides, I prefer to make my own, thank you," she said, eyes now glued to the floor.

"Fine, fine, just don't make a mess. There are spare cauldrons in the back closet. Try not to disturb me," he said, acting bored with her and returning to the essays. She sighed and set her bag on the back table in the corner, then went to the closet to get a cauldron. There was a medium sized one on the top shelf, and she stood on her tiptoes to reach it, and Snape glanced up at this time and watched her struggle to get it out, but eventually manage it. A stab of wild thoughts raced unbridled across his mind, but he halted them immediately to continue grading while she worked away silently, now perched on her stool.

Cassi had already cut, slice, and grated all her ingredients beforehand or the shopkeeper sold them to her like she needed them to be, so organizing the random things took no time at all. She didn't dare bring her instructions in case Snape read them over her shoulder, but she knew the recipe by heart, so that had no impact on it. She filled the cauldron with water from her wand, then lit the fire under it, bringing it to a gentle boil rather fast. She then proceeded to mix in her ingredients in order, one by one, very meticulous in her work, the soft bubbling of the cauldron lulling her into a calmer state.

"You should take sleeping potions. The shadows under your eyes are still there," said a silky voice behind her, making her jump, though she noted that his voice did not hold any arrogant tone, nor sneer.

"I'm already taking a sleeping potion for it," she stammered out.

"Oh, that should benefit you some. So what exactly are you brewing?"

"Umm, I'm not sure exactly what it's called, as my old boss taught it to me, but it works," she lied again. He didn't really seem pleased with this answer, but accepted it quietly, watching her now stir her potion. He was standing very close to her, watching her in silence, and it was causing her hands to shake.

"Here," he said in a quiet voice, and he placed his hand on top of her stirring hand, "with this consistency, it's best to stir it this way." Her hands shook harder, and he noticed this with mild surprise, but continued to stir in the opposite direction she that had been. Cassi closed her eyes for a second, trying to regain her composure, but was unsuccessful.

"Severus," she whispered to him, turning slightly to face him, and fully realizing how close they were when she noticed that his face was about two inches from hers. He held her gaze, looking deep into the blue-violet abyss of her eyes, and she was also staring into his eyes, losing herself in them. A delicate blush spread across her cheeks and she turned away from him to look at her potion, and he released her hand.

He turned to go back to his desk, but before he could, he had to say something. "You called me Severus, you realize," he said quietly, then returned to his desk. She swallowed hard, wondering how she let herself lose that much control, then looking down at her trembling hands.

The potion was soon done though, and she emptied it into her bottles while it still steamed. She then washed her cauldron and put it back, then gathered the bottles and left the room in total and complete silence, butterflies still not vanquished.

Very soon it was dinnertime, and Snape was still not happy with the answer she had given, and he was trying in vain to remember where he had seen that potion. This bothered him all through dinner, in which Cassi did not attend. By the time it was over, it was a torturing curiosity, so he decided to consult the books. He left the Hall with quick steps, and flew down to his dungeons. Once there, he entered his office, scanning the spines of the books on his shelf for a book that would help him out. When he found the one he wanted, a dark blue one with a dingy cover and yellow, water-wrinkled pages, he pulled it down off the shelf and set it on his desk, and settled in his chair. He opened the book with a crackling of the spine, and flipped through the pages, going through the entire book once, then going back through it again before finding the page he wanted. He scanned the page, then reread it to make sure he was reading it correctly.

"Cassi," he breathed with a moan, "you don't know what you're getting yourself into with this." For an indecisive moment, Snape debated with himself as to what he should do, then he stood resolutely and swept out of the dungeons, leaving the book open on his desk

Potente Potion Number 585: Anxiety Relief Potion

This potion is designed to relieve the drinker of stress and worry, but should be used in extreme moderation. Only to be used in the most dire of cases, but may become addictive. Not to be taken for long periods of time. DO NOT mix with other potions.

Coloring: Pearly green

Brewing time: 30 minutes to 2 hours (depending on experience)

Side Effects: Nausea, fatigue, sleeplessness, dizziness, loss of weight and/or appetite, depression (discontinue if occurs), and death…

~

Severus shook his head as he walked through the hall, wondering how he hadn't noticed it before. He worried about how exactly he should word this, as it was a slightly delicate situation. Before he could formulate the right words to describe what he needed to, Snape found himself at her classroom door, and was relieved to see that her lights were still on. He rapped on the door, but no sound came from within. He knocked again, but no call for him came. Even when Cassi was infuriated with him, she always let him into her classroom. Snape's worry mounted, so his only course of action was to let himself in. He placed a hand on the cool doorknob and opened the door with a creak, then stepped in.

A black robed figure lay by the desk on the cold stone floor, long hair splayed out over her arms and face. Completely motionless.