Chapter 13 No Pain and Nothing that Lasts More Than a Day

Muriel looked up from Aunt Rosa's letter to see Severus coming across the lawn. The warm spring air was blowing her hair sideways. She smiled at him, glad that he'd finally started talking to her again, and put the letter into her bag.

Mur had approached Macnair at dinner two months ago and told him in no uncertain terms that she would be spending the entire summer outside Severus' bedroom door if he didn't meet her at the greenhouses in twenty minutes. Macnair relayed the message, and Severus rolled his eyes and stalked out of the dungeons and across the grounds. Considering who all was scheduled to make appearances at his house this summer, he couldn't risk her making good on that threat.

An unspoken set of rules had come into existence. Muriel no longer pestered him about going home for breaks, and Severus no longer asked her whom she was seeing. They talked about classes, and resumed doing homework together in the library. As a result, her time with Sirius lessened considerably, but he hadn't complained, at least, not to Muriel.

"How'd you do?" she asked as he plopped down beside her.

Severus smiled stiffly. They were 2 of only 15 students in the Defense Against The Dark Arts N.E.W.T. program, and he'd just completed his exam. "Professor Tantry said I could've passed the N.E.W.T. this year."

"How generous of him," Muriel said sarcastically. "You could've passed the Dark Arts N.E.W.T. third year, if he'd let you try. So what are you up to now?"

"We've still got Potions on Monday, I should get started on that." Severus looked sideways at her, and caught her rolling her eyes.

"Sev, the last thing you need is to spend more quality time with your cauldron. How about a nice, friendly duel?" She was grinning at him now.

"Alright. Rules?"

"No pain, and nothing that lasts more than a day."

"Done."

They walked together toward the lake, leaving their bags behind. It wasn't long before they had a huge audience of 5th year students, who'd finished their O.W.L.s the previous week, as well as other 6th years who were finishing their end-of-year tests. They started small: blocking things and sending them back to one another to dodge. Soon they were casting the funniest and most harmless hexes they knew and ricocheting them into the crowd on purpose. Muriel paused after each curse to undo it, still managing to block what Severus cast. Then they switched, and he performed the counter curses. The people around them were laughing hysterically by the time they called it quits and went to grab their bags. Severus was wearing the first real smile Muriel had seen on him in months. "Hey, the last Hogsmeade trip of the year is tomorrow," he said suddenly. "Do you want to go with me?"

"Of course, I always go with you," she said, tossing her bag over her shoulder. This dampened his mood slightly. He'd been hoping she'd see it as something different than what she always did with her best friend. He followed her silently back into the castle, reminding himself again that he was supposed to be keeping his distance.

"Let me know if you need any help with Potions," he said in spite of himself as she headed up the stairs toward the Ravenclaw common room.

"You've helped me so much in the last few weeks that I don't think I can stand to look at my cauldron again until the exam," she said laughingly, and ran up the last few steps, disappearing down the corridor.

"Doesn't that bother you, Sirius?" Peter asked as they watched Muriel and Snape walking toward the castle.

"Nah, why would I worry about a slimeball like that?" Sirius replied easily. Remus shot him a look, but didn't say anything.

James scowled. "Just wait until this weekend. I'm going to get them both back for what happened last time." Sirius smiled indulgently. Lily had been in Zonko's when Muriel had broken up that fight and no one had seen James and Lily together since. He could see why his mate was upset. They made their way up towards the castle with the other students. It was almost time for dinner.

"Doesn't THAT bother you, Padfoot?" Remus asked quietly as they entered the Great Hall.

"Mur can take care of herself, Moony," he answered. "I should think that she and Snivellous together are more than enough to keep James in check." Remus gave him another reproachful look.

"I'll warn her." Sirius whispered in response.

Severus went to find Muriel at the Ravenclaw table after breakfast the next morning. "Ready?" The entire table burst out in giggles as Muriel got up. "What was that all about?" he asked as they walked out of the hall.

"The girls in my dorm are convinced that it's you I'm dating." Severus looked back into the hall as she spoke. Every girl at the Ravenclaw table was watching them. He felt himself turning red.

"So, this guy you're dating: he doesn't care if you go to Hogsmeade with me instead?" He kept his voice light.

"We talked about it once or twice and I think he understands now. You and I have been through a lot together. It's important to me that we can still spend time together." She was silent for the rest of the walk. It wasn't until they were standing outside the Three Broomsticks that she spoke again suddenly. "I missed you, those months when you didn't want to talk to me."

"I'm sorry about that," he said immediately, looking uncomfortable. "I just wasn't ready to talk about it all." She nodded in understanding, and didn't press him. If he still wasn't ready to talk she didn't want him to start avoiding her again.

They went in just about every shop, but Muriel stopped him outside the jewelry store at the very edge of town. She was afraid that the witch who'd sold Sirius her necklace would recognize it. She also resisted his suggestion to stop at Madam Puddifoot's for tea. She knew exactly what people went in there to do, and was surprised that Severus didn't. But then, he'd never been one to pay much attention to such things.

James, Lily, and Sirius were walking back to the Three Broomsticks for one, last butter beer when Muriel and Severus passed them in the street. Severus didn't notice them at first, but turned toward them suddenly when Sirius waved covertly at Muriel. He stopped dead and turned to watch them pass. James watched out of the corner of his eye, and when Severus turned back to Muriel, he aimed his wand carefully and mouthed a jinx.

It was a simple clarity of mind spell, but it did what he'd intended: It helped Severus Snape put together the puzzle he'd been working on all year. Lily and Sirius turned around in alarm at the sound of Severus' voice.

"HIM? That's it, isn't it? All this time you've been dating SIRIUS BLACK?" Severus was shaking, and Muriel suddenly looked a bit green.

"Yes, I've been dating Sirius," she said softly. She didn't take her eyes off Severus. She'd seen him angry before and knew he was as likely to pull out his wand and turn her into a porcupine as he was to stomp off in a huff. Her wand was already in her hand.

"HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT TO GO OUT WITH THAT CONCEITED PRAT?" he screamed, too distracted to even reach for his own wand. Students were sticking their heads out of shop doors now, and Muriel was a little annoyed that he was making such a scene.

"Well, Sev, it turns out he's not such a prat after all, and I can tell, since HE doesn't try to hide who he really is." She kept her voice level, but only barely. She wiped an angry tear away with her shoulder.

"I learned Occlumency to protect you from the things my father was telling me about the Dark Lord," he whispered furiously.

'At least he has the presence of mind not to shout that his father's a Death Eater to all of Hogsmeade,' Muriel thought to herself, but this didn't soften her reply. "Maybe I didn't want your PROTECTION, Severus. Maybe all I needed was your trust. But you chose to close me out, and -"

"And you chose to look elsewhere for friends," he finished for her. She was crying openly now. "I can't be friends with a marauder, Deesia," he said coldly, his face suddenly expressionless. He turned on his heel to leave.

"So be it," she whispered. He almost stopped and went back, then. He could hear the pain in her voice. He remembered the rules of their last duel. 'No pain and nothing that lasts more than a day.' He'd broken both of them now, he knew. Muriel ran blindly in the other direction, and it was all Sirius could do to catch her.

Author's Note: This is the end of their 6th year, but it is not the end of the story! I'll be posting the seventh year as part of this fic, rather than as a separate one, since they fit so well together. It'll come out to just under 30 chapters. Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed so far, especially:

Jim (Rocky, as I still think of him, in spite of many e-mails signed Jim.), who has faithfully reviewed almost every chapter I've posted since the very beginning, and always has something kind to say. You review like clockwork, so it reminds me when it's time to post a new chapter!;

Hydra-star and Strayct, who've both offered interesting ideas that I'll probably use later in the series, though perhaps not in the way you expect. Watch for shrinking head spells, several years (fic time) hence;

Akasha Ravensong, Joshua Glass, and Daisie, who are always cheerful and supportive in their reviews, even when they make suggestions I can't live up to since my fic is already complete. Also, since I beta my own stuff, it's great to have Daisie's eagle eye finding my spelling and grammar errors. I just can't seem to get passed (past?) some of the more common ones. And I was an ENGLISH MAJOR in college!!!!! Just goes to show that everyone needs good friends. No man (or woman) is an island unto himself and all that jazz;

Copper Heart, Kalystia, and SuIcIdl, who've also stuck with me a while, and been very generous in their reviews. Thanks for putting up with my cliff hangers. Honestly I didn't design the story that way! I wrote the entire thing at once, then broke it up into (mostly) even sections. It just happened that the breaks sometimes fall at the worst times.

I know OC fics aren't the most popular on this site, and I really appreciate everyone's interest in my character. In over 500 hundred reviews, Mary Sue has only been mentioned twice, once to say 'thank Merlin she isn't one,' and once by someone who'd only read a chapter or two of the saga at that point. Mur is definitely a dark witch, and isn't likely to get any nicer. And she's not infallible, otherwise she'd certainly know by now that Severus has the mark. Anyway, further up and further in, as Aslan would say. Here comes the summer!

Brandy