When she was finally done with classes in the late afternoon, she returned to his quarters, her arms full of parchments his students had handed in from the last lesson's assignments. This time her knock was answered by a curt 'Enter'. She opened the door in trepidation – time to face the music.

He was sitting in a chair in front of the cold fireplace. The fact that he didn't stand up when she entered let her know that he was not yet up to par.

"How are you doing? Are you feeling better?" she asked.

Instead of giving an answer, he motioned to the chair next to his. "Sit down. Now."

Marya nervously took a seat.

"I will only tell you this once. If you ever administer a potion to me without my knowledge or permission again, I am going to make life very unpleasant for you. You absolutely overstepped your bounds, and you will never do anything like that again, do I make myself clear?" he said in that silky-cold voice, barely above a whisper, which made her feel his anger more keenly than any amount of yelling would have done.

"I am sorry. You are right," she said in a small voice. As the day had progressed, the feeling that this had been the right decision to make had evaporated. At the time, she had just wanted to ensure that he would get the rest she thought he needed. How much of a disregard for his right to make his own decisions it was hadn't occurred to her until later. He had a right to be angry. "I should not have done that. Please forgive me."

"You will from now on stay away from my quarters. I have gotten along just fine without you up to now, and I would have survived just fine this time," he continued, as if he had not heard her at all. He pointed to the door. "You may leave now."

Marya had had enough as well. She was tired. So tired. "I told you I am sorry. And it will not happen again. But at the same time, I can tell you that it was done with the best intentions. You are better now, and I am glad to see that." She got up to leave and unceremoniously dumped the parchments on the chair. At the door, she paused and looked back at him. "I guess you are the only one entitled to second chances," she said bitterly. There was a look on his face as if this at least had registered – but she didn't wait around for a reply.

The next few weeks felt horrible to Marya. It just seemed like she was running into Severus everywhere – at meal times, in the hallways, on the way to class. She hadn't thought it would be so hard to be around him. But just catching a glimpse of his black-robed figure in the distance was enough to throw her heart into a state of serious disarray.

She found herself spending more time at the headquarters of the Order. The house at Grimmauld Place was a blessedly Snape-free zone. He only showed up if he needed to give a briefing, and left as soon as the meeting was over.

Marya felt much a part of the Order now. For the most part, it was less exciting than she had though. She mostly got stuck with grunt work – the more dangerous and interesting assignments seemed to go to those members of the Order with much better combat and dueling skills. But her medical skills had come in handy on a few occasion, and she felt at ease there now. There was a place for her here, a role she could fill.

This evening, Marya was standing in the kitchen with Molly Weasley, getting dinner ready before the meeting tonight. Getting to know most of the extended Weasley clan made her sorry that she wasn't part of a large family. There was so much warmth and affection there – and much of it seemed to originate with Molly, who was an absolute delight. Marya liked to help her with the cooking, listening to her chatting away the whole time. It seemed homey, somehow.

The door to the kitchen opened, and Remus Lupin came in. "Smells good," he said, and stuck his finger in the pot to taste. Molly good-naturedly slapped in his direction with a cooking spoon, but he dodged her skillfully. Marya, her hands covered in flour, stood laughing at both of them.

"You get out now, Remus; you can wait like everyone else," Molly said in mock indignation, hands on hips. "Unless you want to help, of course?" Soon he was ensconced on one side of the kitchen, chopping vegetables for a salad.

As the only full-time resident of the house, Remus Lupin was often the only one there when Marya Floo'd in. Further acquaintance had only improved her opinion of him. He was kind, considerate, and level headed, and she much enjoyed talking with him. It hadn't taken her long to feel completely comfortable around him, something that didn't happen to her very often. She grinned to herself as she thought about the way she had seen him look at Nymphadora Tonks when he thought no one was watching. In her opinion, they would fit together quite nicely. She liked them both.

Tantalizing smells filled the kitchen, and it wasn't long until Marya was sending steaming dishes in the direction of the table with a flick of her wand. She had just picked up a casserole dish to take to the table when she turned around and found herself face to face with Severus Snape. Her face turned first white, then red. His appearance was most unexpected, and she had been utterly unprepared – he usually didn't show up until well after dinner was over. Off to the side, Remus Lupin was watching her curiously.

"I need to ask you if you could wait with dinner for a few minutes. I will not be able to be here later, and there is something I needed to talk to everyone about. I assure you it will not take long," Snape addressed Molly, looking straight over Marya's head.

"Certainly, Severus," Molly answered. "Marya, could you just stick the dishes back in the oven to keep warm?" While Molly went to gather everyone, Marya directed the dishes back. She was one of the last to sit down, taking an empty seat at the far end of the table, next to Remus.

While they were waiting for Snape to organize his papers to give his latest report, Remus leaned over to Marya. "You like him a lot, don't you?" he whispered.

Marya brought her hands up to her cheeks, trying to cover up the furious blush that had sprung up at those words. "Is it that obvious?" she whispered back.

"No. I just happened to see the look on your face at the right time..." he said teasingly.

Marya turned to him and whispered, "Did it look like your face when you look at Tonks?"

Now it was Remus whose cheeks turned pink just a bit. "Is it that obvious?" he asked sheepishly.

"No," Marya said, "I just happened to see the look on your face at the right time..." They looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

It was a laughter that they quickly suppressed when they noticed the disapproving scowl of Severus Snape on them. "If you two are quite finished?" he sneered.

"We'll talk later," Remus whispered in Marya's ear.