Lierin discovers an old wound that still haunts Severus. She's curious and determined to find out more about this mystery girl. More about her in later chapters.

For those who have reviewed my story so far, thank you very much.

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Chapter 12

The Mystery of Serena Romero

It became a familiar fact that Professor Heartilly loved to visit Professor Lupin in-between classes. After several weeks of teaching this had become a habit of hers. So, after a while they stopped looking for Professor Heartilly in her own office altogether whenever someone needed her, but immediately went to Lupins' office. You could usually find her chatting with Professor Lupin, or you could find them silently working together, marking essays and such. There were all kinds of speculations about their relationship, but Professor Heartilly and Professor Lupin did nothing but smile and send each other meaningful looks. This Thursday afternoon wasn't an exception. Lierin was sat on Remus' desk, her feet dangling in the air, talking to Remus who was relaxing in his comfortable leather chair.

"So, you and Snape... you knew each other before you came here?" asked Lierin.

"Yes, didn't you know? We were in the same year. He was Slytherin, of course."

"I figured as much."

"That he used to be Slytherin?"

"That too, but I meant that you seem to know each other, you using his first name and such."

"You use his first name as well."

"Yes, well, I knew him, too. He WAS my Potions Master, after all. Besides, I'd be damned before I'd call him Professor Snape again! Remus, has it ever occurred to you that... I mean... judging by his behaviour that time in the Hospital Wing... and judging by his overall behaviour... Snape, he hates you, you know."

"Yes, I do. No big surprise there."

"Oh, so... he hated you in your school days as well?"

"Loathed is a better word. He always used to follow James, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and me around, hoping to find out something nasty about us that would get us expelled."

Lierin snorted and when she spoke, her voice was filled with contempt. "Yes, that sounds like Snape all right."

"He was also VERY curious about my strange "outings" once a month. He was determined to find out, nearly got himself killed one time trying to find out about my little "secret."

"Hmm, so curiosity didn't kill the cat that time. Too bad, he would have done the world a great favour by dying."

Remus couldn't help himself; he had to laugh when he heard her spiteful voice. "Come on Lierin, you don't hate him THAT much. You just asked about him so he clearly must be of some interest to you."

"I'm NOT interested in Snappy Snape! I just wanted to know if he had always been such a pain in the ass!"

Remus laughed again. "Snappy Snape? Is that what you used to call him... ?"

Suddenly, the door creaked open and in came Snape, carrying a smoking goblet. Lierin grew crimson red and excused herself , but when she tried to leave, Snape was in her way. For an intense moment, he looked at her with an odd closed expression on his face until he finally bothered to step aside to let her pass.

"You forgot your potion. Again," said Snape with his iciest of voices.

"Yes, terribly sorry. Thank you, Severus..."

Lierin left the room in a hurry, leaving two archenemies behind in one room. Well, if Snape went all prickly and everything, Remus could always tear him apart.

Confused, annoyed, distraught and shaky, Lierin let herself rest against the door. Okay, time to figure out what she really felt. Confusion? Oh yes, she definitely felt confused about Snape. Most of the time she felt nothing but disgust for the man but after - how long ago was it? - that day when he came barging in and...

With flushed cheeks Lierin forced herself to be "Annoyed".

Was she annoyed? Hell yes! Of course, "Annoyed" was a feeling born out of "Confused," but annoyed she was, nevertheless. She was also annoyed because most of the time Snape was being an insufferable git who could do nothing else than criticise her work, scold her at every given opportunity, and bully all students at school - especially first years - except, of course, his precious Slytherins like Draco Malfoy. Lierin was now pacing restlessly in front of Remus' office and she was getting angry - fast. Better move on to distraught. Hmm, wasn't that the same as confused? Distraught sounded better though. Shaky? Lierin looked at her hands and noticed they trembled slightly. Lierin rammed her fist against the wall and cursed loudly. What was this man doing to her? He invaded her thoughts uninvited and worse, once he was there, it was impossible to get rid of him.

He taunted her, provoked her, and drove her mad with his bland smiles, the casual flicks of his hair, his silky voice and his detached and suave composure. Realisation hit her hard. She was falling for Snape and she was falling hard. Good heavens, how deep could she fall? Damn, things were getting complicated and things were already complicated enough as they were. Damn, of all the men in existence, she of course had to fall for the most ill-mannered one of them all. Lierin sighed deeply and warily. How on earth could she ever be nasty to him again? Things would never be the same again. He would keep on loathing her, and be as nasty and cruel as always, and she would be left behind with a broken heart because of the simple fact that she loved him. Excuse me? Who said anything about love? We are talking about Snape here, thought Lierin. Snape as in Severus Snape as in S-N-A-P-E. The one who could not love, would not love and never would be loved. Okay, so she was thinking about him more than she usually did, especially considering the fact that usually she didn't think about him at all, but that didn't necessarily mean that she was actually in love with the guy.

So, maybe she did feel something for him, but it didn't mean that she "loved" him. She desired him, and that was bad enough. For a moment Lierin tried to imagine what it must be like to love the man, a love that would never be returned. Suddenly she felt it. It was only for a brief moment but it struck her as sudden and as ruthless as a bolt of lightning, for a moment she actually felt what it was like to love him and to lose him. Actually, she didn't 'feel' what it would be like to lose him, she remembered what it had been like to lose him. That small fragment of intense emotion was a memory! Accompanied with the sensation of loving and losing love, Lierin felt a feeling of betrayal, a feeling of anger and hate that was so intense, that for a short moment she desired Snape's death, and that feeling too was a memory! Lierin's hand flew to her throat the moment she realised what she was thinking and her eyes widened in disbelief.

She just had a memory of something she shouldn't even have a single memory about! A love for Snape and a hate that could only be the result of betrayal.

His betrayal! But that never happened!

She started to pace around restlessly in front of Remus' office in a desperate attempt to calm herself down. The confusion she felt in this situation, and the fact that she didn't have the foggiest idea about what was going on, why her mind would play such cruel tricks on her, almost drove her to tears. She could already feel the stinging sensation in her eyes but she didn't allow the tears to fall. With a not too friendly blast, the door to Remus' office flung open and Snape came out with his robes billowing behind him in his trail. The moment he spotted Lierin with tear-filled eyes, Snape stopped dead in his tracks causing his robes to flow forward and hug his body. She stared back at him in shock, her eyes wide open. One single tear fell down her cheek and her hand immediately flew to her eyes to wipe the others away.

"Severus..." said Lierin with a squeaky voice.

Severus could only stare at her. He remembered another girl, about the same height and build, but years younger. He remembered her standing outside his dungeons where he had caught her lingering around."Professor Snape..." she had said in the same timid manner as the lovely creature that was standing in front of him now. It had been in his fifth year of teaching and he wasn't as harsh on the Gryffindor students as he was now, but the girl was still a Gryffindor and … well… Gryffindor and Slytherin didn't go well together.

"Miss Romero, please enlighten me and tell me what a young Gryffindor girl such as yourself might be doing in the dungeons on a day like this?"

Ah, yes, he could still remember her. Little Miss Serena Romero.

A tiny fragile looking girl with a pleasing countenance though it was clear she would never turn into a beauty. Yet, there was an alluring air of innocence around her that would eventually turn her into an attractive young woman.

Her wheat coloured hair was loosely pulled away in a braid and she looked at him with her bright tanzanite eyes.

"I'm here professor, because I wanted to ask you a question… and I didn't dare to enter your office … because I wasn't sure if I should… ask you this question."

There was a striking simplicity in those words and from her lips they almost sounded mature, yet when he looked down, he saw nothing but a child. His sarcasm fled and made way for concern. Snape took a step back, opened the door leading to his dungeons and bade her to come in. She entered without hesitating. A young Gryffindor girl putting all her trust in the head of Slytherin House.

"Severus? Are you all right? Severus?"

A slight tug at his sleeve pulled Severus back to the present. He looked down and looked into Lierin's eyes full of concern. It really was striking to notice how much the two girls had in common… and yet… it was also striking to notice how little the two girls had in common. But, Lierin standing in front of him wasn't a girl, Lierin had grown into a beautiful young woman. Yes, she had been a girl, a girl he had taught potions or better yet, whom had had tried to teach potions. She had been horrible in his class... It really was amazing how much pleasure one could receive from simply looking into a beautiful young woman's face.

Lierin was shocked to see Severus stalking out of Remus' office. She had completely forgotten about his presence there or else she had completely lost track of all reality. Either way, it came as a shock to her senses to see the object of her confusion standing very lively in front of her. She noticed the peculiar look that crossed his face almost at the same time that she noticed a tear had slipped away from her right eye. Immediately, she wiped the inferior tears away and she hoped he hadn't noticed. If he had, he didn't let her know, his stoic posture betrayed nothing. In fact, he seemed a bit at a loss, as though he had no idea where he was. He was studying her, as if he had never seen her before… as if he had never seen a woman before. That was when she noticed. His eyes, they were filled with an emotion that Lierin couldn't place. She found it astonishing enough to see emotion in those black voids for once, without determining what it meant. His gaze traveled up and down her body and a sadness crept over his face that made Lierin yearn to comfort him. Without saying a word, Lierin approached the man in front of her. He didn't seem to notice.

"Severus? Are you all right? Severus?"

The words were barely a whisper so it was no wonder that he didn't hear her. She hesitated for a moment and then she tugged at his sleeve for his attention, like a little girl would do to get the attention of her father. Slowly he lowered his head to look at her and Lierin held her breath, overwhelmed by all the emotion she saw burning in his eyes. The sadness was still there. Lierin could tell by a certain tweak near the corner of his mouth. In a sudden fit of boldness, curiosity and desire, Lierin lifted her hand to touch his cheek, to caress his grief away. Snape didn't seem to be bothered by this gesture. No, he seemed to return it by placing his hand over hers. Unfortunately, Lierin made one mistake, she blinked. And suddenly all the emotion was gone from his eyes, and they had changed into empty voids once more. Gently he removed her hand from her face but he didn't scold her for having touched him unwontedly.

"I'm sorry. I have no idea what came over me. I … never mind."

He turned around and would have left her standing like that if she hadn't appealed to his sense of humanity.

"Severus, are you sure you're all right? You look terribly upset. Is there anything … anything at all I can help you with?" The moment she had said those words she regretted them. Now she had given him the perfect opportunity to humiliate her again. Snape didn't want help ; he didn't want help from anyone and especially not from her.

"Sorry. Just forget I said that. You don't want help. At least, not from me."

She couldn't keep the pain from her voice and, had Snape been in his usual demeanour, he had a perfect reason to hurt her even more. She turned around quickly to walk away from the source of her confusion...

"Wait. Please, don't go away. I feel that… I must explain things to you if you are to understand why I was just standing there like a bloody fool."

"Are you sure you want to tell me? I mean, not that I don't want to hear what you have to say… it's just that… you always seem so closed. Totally clamped up like an oyster. Afraid someone might steal away your pearl."

"A pearl?" Snape snorted, "Better try a handful of mud!"

"All right, if you wish. Just don't forget that mud, or actually a grain of sand is what initially created the pearl. You shouldn't think so low of yourself, there's no reason to. Anyway, if you still want to tell your story, I'd like to listen."

Snape observed her for a moment. Probably determining whether she was jesting or not.

"Very well. I don't know whether you know this story or not, though I warn you, it's a sad one. It's a story that, unfortunately, also involves me, and not only that, it affected me as well. It hurt me if you can imagine that - Severus Snape, head of Slytherin House possesses something as humane as feelings or compassion."

"Hmm, I've had my fair share of my old Potions Master. Why don't you tell me about the man behind the potions."

"Ah, I'm afraid you won't find him. But let me continue. Though you might not want to hear it. You see, it also involves Gryffindor House in a - I'm afraid - not so pleasant way."

Lierin smirked at hearing that and she doubted that he was, indeed, sorry about it.

"I think I'll take my chances."

"Very well. Years ago, it was in the fifth year that I was teaching potions at Hogwarts, there was this young Gryffindor girl, a third year student. She was a bit like Miss Granger I imagine. Though not so incredibly insufferable and annoying. Her name was … Serena Romero."

Obviously Snape had trouble talking about this. He curled his upper lip outwards, bearing his teeth for a split-second, at the mention of her name.

"She was a quiet girl and she always tried to do her best to please me. Her efforts didn't go unnoticed but I never praised them nor did I damn them. She didn't quite seem to fit in Gryffindor. She was neither brave nor courageous and she didn't make friends easily. Needless to say, she became a loner. Alone in Gryffindor because she didn't fit in and alone in the other houses simply because she wasn't one of them. The Hufflepuffs were friendly enough, though they saw little use in spending their precious time on her and the Ravenclaws were too self-centred to notice her. The Slytherins were the only ones who really seemed to understand her, even though they didn't trust her at first. Later on, her best friend turned out to be a Slytherin…"

Snape almost added "me" to that last sentence, but that confession would leave him too vulnerable so he left that part out. Better to stick to the main plot.

"Anyway, one day I found Miss Romero outside my dungeons. She'd been crying, I could tell. She said she wanted to ask me a question and she told me about her suspicion that in her case the Sorting Hat had placed her wrongly. She had reasons to believe that she belonged in Slytherin and she practically begged me to take it to McGonagall."

Suddenly Lierin detected a change in Snape's attitude. It went below zero again. The calmness of their conversation had obviously given him the time to recompose himself again and now the formidable and intimidating Potions Master was back again.

The cold glare returned and the snarl was back, as if it had never left his face. Gone was the feeling of connection, the spell was broken and Lierin wished she hadn't touched his face.

"I did take it to McGonagall but she refused to listen. Eventually Miss Romero's desire to become a Slytherin lead to her death. End of story. I told you this because when I exited Lupin's office, you reminded me of her. Now, if I may make one suggestion, you'd do best to forget this ever happened. Forget what I told you. It's better that way."

With those words Snape left her behind and she watched him go, his robes billowing behind him like they always had.

"But how can I forget," thought Lierin, "when this was the first time I ever saw you act like a person? And why would it be better that way? Or would it be better for yourself?"

Her curiosity was aroused. Who was Serena Romero? What had happened to her? Was there a connection between her and Snape's grudge against Gryffindor and McGonagall? There was only one way to find out. The school records. Unfortunately her newly planned trip to the library had to wait until the next day. Her next class was about to begin and she still had to prepare the lessons for the next day. Lierin grimaced when the thought hit her that she really was becoming a sophisticated teacher. At that she spread her robes and darted through the hallways like a lunatic and she laughed all the way to her class. Nah, that day wouldn't come. Never once did it cross Lierin's mind that she wouldn't be able to visit the library for a while.

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It was night and all inhabitants of Hogwarts were fast asleep. Well, maybe except for the Hogwarts ghosts and the one single person sneaking through the hallways. Maybe sneaking wasn't the right word, for this person walked through the hallways as if he was used to taking strolls through the hallways in the middle of the night. His fingers played with a small vial that he carried with him. This lonely figure seemed to have a certain goal, for his steps betrayed a certain air of confidence. The darkened hallways hid his features but obviously this person was not afraid of being caught sneaking through the hallways. So, this person couldn't be a student. The lonely figure stopped in front of a painting and he seemed to search for something, maybe a certain point of recognition. But, this person seemed to have found what he was looking for and a long slender but bony finger slid over the surface of the painting. A small pear started to wriggle and giggle and the painting flapped sideways, revealing the entrance to the kitchen. The lonely figure hoisted up his long wizards robes and entered. The busy house elves in the kitchen almost jumped a hole in the ceiling when they saw who it was that decided to honor their kitchen with a visit. Slowly the lonely figure stepped into the light and the soft beams of light caressed his features, his long beard, pointy hat and his crescent moon spectacles.

"Headmaster Dumbledore!" cried one of the shy creatures.

"Flobby honored to see headmaster here. Headmaster want something to eat or drink? No?" asked the little house elf. Dumbledore shook his head and the little creature cocked his head, a big imaginary question mark above his head.

"But then why is headmaster here?" and immediately after that: "Bad Flobby, bad Flobby, headmaster business none of Flobby's business. Bad Flobby!"

"It's all right Flobby. Actually, I'm here because I need your help with something. It's a very delicate situation so you have to promise me you won't tell anyone about this."

"Flobby promises, sir. Flobby would do anything for Professor Dumbledore. How can Flobby help you?"

A sad smile curved Dumbledore's lips. His fingers were still playing with the small vial.

"Good... good, this vial contains the potion Evoke. It's a harmless potion but very affective for what I want to achieve with it. I want you to put one drop of this in each drink for Professor Heartilly. Now, you must never forget to do this, not unless I tell you otherwise."

"Flobby promises, sir. And Professor Dumbledore needn't worry. Flobby take care of everything. Professor Heartilly forget something?"

"Yes Flobby, indeed, she forgot something. Something of vital importance.

But she doesn't know she has forgotten it. That's why she needs the potion.

But Flobby, she must never know the potion came from me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. Flobby understands. Flobby will be very careful."

"Thank you. Good night, Flobby."

"Good night, sir."