Fifty Farging Reviews!! Woot!!! I can’t tell you all how tickled I am!

Now that I have lots of time on my hands I have been finding it very difficult to make myself write. I think I'd rather just lie around on my bed all day, staring at the ceiling and eating my boogers. What else are summer vacations for? But I don't eat my boogers. Honestly.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. We get to see a little Remus Lupin, and there's also some glorious sexual tension. Although the two aren't mixed.

My beta didn't get to do this chapter. She was very busy, being in the emergency ward with an allergic reaction to a wasp sting and all.

X X X

Celeste was sitting at the kitchen table, face in one hand, as Constanza rhythmically kneaded some dough. She appreciated her time in the kitchen with Constanza, who was quiet and did not pose the threat of interruption to her thoughts. The smells and sounds of cooking were soothing, and the sight of Constanza's slim, floured fingers chopping, tearing, wiping, and stirring was transfixing.

She was replaying the events of yesterday afternoon in her head; the revelation at Gringott's, the implications of Severus's business with that plant shop, and most of all, the encounter with Lucius Malfoy. It was this last event that puzzled and worried her.

Celeste's eyes turned back to Constanza's face, entreating a distraction. "Constanza, will you teach me how to cook?"

Constanza raised her eyebrows but said nothing. She kneaded a moment longer, then beckoned for Celeste to stand by her at her side of the table. Celeste complied.

"You knead it like so," she said, showing how to roll the flab of dough while working it with her fingers at the same time. "And when it begins to stick to the table you sprinkle on some more flour. But not too much, or it will get duro, tough." She finished her demonstration and stepped back.

Celeste did a quick cleaning charm on her hands, and then, tentatively, rested them on the white lump of dough. Its warmth surprised her. She pushed her fingers in gently and realized that she would have to be more forceful with it; she pushed harder, then began flipping and rolling it the way she had seen Constanza do. The work was oddly satisfying, the dough sticky and soft at the same time. In a few minutes her hands were floury white like her teacher's.

"Good," Constanza said. "Now we'll put it back in the bowl and let it rise some more." Constanza tossed a clean cotton towel over the earthenware bowl and set it by the hearth.

"Is there anything else to be done?"

Constanza replied to this by setting a pot of olives from the back pantry onto the table. "Help me slice these."

Celeste slowly pitted and sliced three olives in the time it took Constanza to do the same to a dozen. After a moment of watching Constanza's deft hands manipulate her knife with perfect ease Celeste was beginning to feel decidedly inferior. Sighing, she popped an olive in her mouth and could not repress the face she made.

"It is a strong flavor, I know," Constanza said kindly. She looked out the window. "It doesn't appeal to everyone. You have to learn to appreciate it."

Celeste sighed and looked out the window too. Severus was in the garden surveying his plots.

In the corner Speranza stirred in her basket. Constanza wiped her hands on a cloth and went to check on the baby while Celeste continued to struggle with her knife. "Silenzio, Fiorella," she cooed, kissing the soles of the baby's feet, who gurgled and went back to sleep.

"Severus took her some flowers the other day," Celeste said.

Constanza nodded, eyes still on the baby. "Did he tie the flowers above the cradle?"

"Yes," Celeste said, watching Constanza closely now.

Constanza merely nodded again. "He used to do that, a long time ago."

X X X

Severus was rather pleased. He had had more than enough seeds to fill the plots, and the next moon was in precisely two weeks, providing more than enough time for the aconite to grow to maturity with the help of some growth potions. Besides the aconite he had also planted some seeds for flowering perennials. He had bought these as an afterthought as he was waiting for Celeste to make her own purchases. He thought his mother might appreciate them.

The sun was getting lower in the sky and he knew supper would soon be ready, so he peeled off his gloves and tossed them into a nearby wheelbarrow. He passed through the kitchen upon entering the house but found it empty. He assumed that wherever his mother was, she was probably with Celeste; they seemed to have taken to each other.

He began climbing the stairs to get to his room so that he could change before supper when he met Celeste, who was going down.

"Why do I always seem to run into you as you are descending the stairs?" Severus asked.

"Pardon?'

"You are always at the top of the stairs when I am at the bottom."

"Oh." Celeste shrugged and looked around her. "It gives me a view of the room."

"And makes you seem more imposing to whomever is at the bottom of the stairs, does it not?"

"Perhaps," she said, tucking an errant lock of hair behind her ear in a bid for casualness and stepping around Severus on the stairs. Severus turned to watch her descend.

Before she reached the bottom of the stairs he spoke again.

"I noticed a book in your collection on common cyclical illnesses. May I borrow it?"

Surprised, Celeste considered him for a moment and nodded.

"I'll fetch it from you later, then." Severus turned to ascend the stairs.

In his room Severus briskly changed into some clean robes. The dinner gong rang and he made his way to the dining room, where his mother and Celeste were already seated. He sat in silence while they talked, thinking about a letter that he would have to send out after supper. He had been thinking for several weeks about this letter, and how to word it; it had to be very persuasive, he thought, to make Remus Lupin want to see him again.

Remus Lupin, the last of that childish gang—the Marauders, as Potter and Black used to call themselves—had never exhibited the outright antagonism towards him that his friends had; but Severus was still unsure as to exactly how cooperative he would be. However, the comment Celeste had made the other day, about the money, had suddenly given him insight into a new means of persuasion that he had not thought of before—a means of persuasion that would have a lot of influence for a person who had difficulty finding work because of his condition.

As for how, exactly, to word the letter, he was not sure. His instinct called for brevity and succinctness, but perhaps it would be best not to fully reveal his intentions until Lupin had been convinced to see him in person. Then again, would Lupin even consider seeing him if he did not know what it was about? Of all the people Severus had known, Lupin had always been one of the most difficult to interpret. His Gryffindor foolhardiness had been easy to identify in the old school days, as well as his loyalty to his friends, but there was an element of shrewdness and wisdom to his character that had always been difficult to anticipate in action.

When dinner came to a close Severus dismissed himself from the table and climbed the stairs to his study. There, he sat at his desk and wrote a brief letter, in a steady black script, to Remus Lupin. It made no mention of his real reasons for summoning his presence; it merely requested to see him at his manor to discuss a matter of business. In fact, it was so open- ended a letter that Lupin would most likely assume that Severus wanted to discuss what happened during the last week of school that he had missed. This worked well for Severus, who knew that duty would oblige Lupin to come.

He folded the letter and tied it to the leg of his owl, Vesuvius, and opened the window for the bird to fly through. He watched thoughtfully as the owl arced through the air and headed north.

X X X

At around nine o'clock Severus entered the main library to search for a book that he needed for his research. He had been positive that he had moved it to his study, but perhaps one of the house elves had found it lying on his desk and had removed it back to the library for him. He made a note to himself to proscribe the house elves from entering his study.

He pushed back the heavy double doors and made for the tall shelf on the far side of the room. He did not notice that a chair near the fireplace was occupied.

"Evening, Severus."

Severus started. Celeste was sitting in an armchair with Speranza lying against her arm. A heavy book was resting in her lap.

Severus gave a curt nod and turned back to the shelf, somewhat disconcerted at having been snuck up upon. He could not find the book he was looking for, however. He moved over to another shelf to check there. As he crossed the floor he glanced over his shoulder once more to check on Celeste; she had immersed herself in her book.

"What are you reading?" he inquired.

Celeste glanced up, and Severus noted the way the firelight flickered against her hair and skin. "It is a treatise on the properties of some common herbs in relation to the cycle of the moon."

Already in the process of scanning the spines of the books, Severus stepped back. "Ah," he said. She was reading the book he had been searching for.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Nothing. Perhaps when you are finished with that book you could let me have it?" Severus's words were generous but his tone indicated he wanted the book promptly.

Celeste looked at him again. "Do you need it for you research, then?"

"Yes."

She considered him for a moment. "Are you going to tell me what exactly it is that you're researching?"

"I am just continuing some research on aconite that I started when I was doing my internship at St. Mungo's," he said peevishly.

"You never finished there, did you?"

Severus shook his head.

"It's just as well. I don't think I could ever picture you as a Healer myself."

"I didn't want to be a Healer. I was interested in how potions reacted with the human body. That is all."

"And how does aconite react with the human body?" she asked.

"It is not its reaction with the human body that concerns me. It is its reaction with a non-human body that I find intriguing."

Celeste gave him an openly aggravated and bewildered look. "Do you have many friends?"

Severus frowned at her remark. He could not anticipate the point she was evidently trying to make.

"Besides Lucius Malfoy, that is."

"I would not consider Lucius Malfoy to be one of my nearest and dearest, by any means," Severus huffed.

"He seemed to know you fairly intimately when he talked to you the other day."

"No one knows me intimately."

"That's what I thought." Celeste was quiet again. "What sort of "proposition" do you think he had in mind?"

"How should I know," Severus snapped.

"He has a small son, does he not? He must be nearly four years old now."

"I doubt that that is his reason for wanting to see me. The Malfoys are somewhat more modern than either of our families."

Celeste appeared to be somewhat eased at this response. She shut the book in her lap with one hand and held it out for Severus to take.

"It's late. I should put Speranza to bed."

Severus looked down at the small girl, asleep in her mother's arms with her mouth slightly open. Celeste rose, hoisting the baby up against her shoulder, and walked from the room. Severus banked the fire with a wave of his wand and followed her out.

In the hallway outside her room Celeste noticed that Severus had followed her instead of heading the opposite way down the hall to his own room. She turned to face him, silently asking him to explain himself, but he merely cocked one eyebrow and opened her bedroom door for her. She entered and he followed her in, shutting the door behind them.

Celeste didn't see a way out. She was afraid of asking him to leave outright, in case he was angered. She backed up towards the door to the nursery. "I need to put her to bed," she said.

"Very well. I will wait." Severus moved to sit on a chair near the bed. Celeste nodded reluctantly and went through the door to the nursery.

Celeste took her time preparing Speranza for bed, and eventually lowered her into her cradle. The daisies hanging from the canopy bar were beginning to wilt so she pulled them down and tossed them out the open window before shutting it against the rain that was coming in with the dark storm clouds on the horizon. When there really was nothing else for her to do she went back into her room, where Severus was waiting for her.

"Well?" Severus said expectantly when Celeste appeared. Celeste looked at him uncertainly.

"I'll need a few minutes," she said.

"What for?" Severus asked, rising and walking towards her. Celeste backed up as he drew closer. "It shouldn't take long." Severus then walked past her and approached the tall bookcase against the wall. "I think it had a brown spine."

"Pardon?" Celeste said.

"The book I'm borrowing from you," Severus said. "Well? Are you going to help me find it?"

"Oh," Celeste breathed. "Yes. The book."

Severus narrowed his eyes at her. "What did you think I wanted?"

Celeste shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and pulled a book from the shelf. "Nothing. Here's the book."

Severus accepted the book but stared at her intently for a moment longer. He walked to the door and opened it, but before stepping through it he turned to face her once more.

"Good night," he said in an impatient tone. The door snapped shut behind him.

X X X

The following day, a house elf approached Constanza and Celeste as they were in the sitting room with Speranza.

"Mistresses, someone is here to see Master Snape."

"Show him in here, Bitsy. I will go to fetch Severus." Constanza stood and left the room, leaving it to Celeste to entertain the visitor.

A minute later the house elf returned with the guest following close behind. He was a young man, approximately her husband's age, but he had deep lines of concern etched into his kind face.

"Mister Remus Lupin," Bitsy announced before leaving again.

Celeste stood to offer the man her hand. He smiled and took it. "Celeste Snape," she said. "Please have a seat."

He complied and sat down opposite of her. "I was not aware that Severus had married," he said conversationally.

"We've been married several years now."

The conversation seemed to die there, as Lupin looked awkwardly about the grim room, but then he noticed the basket at Celeste's feet and smiled.

"Yours?" he asked.

"Yes," Celeste said. Remus ducked down for a closer look at the baby. To oblige him, Celeste lifted her out of her basket and held her out for him to take.

"You want me to hold her?" Lupin asked, surprised.

"She likes being held. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Lupin held out his arms to take the baby. "It's been years since I've held one," he said. "The last baby I held...he was my friend's son." Lupin seemed to grow sad at this, but Speranza's happy gurgling soon made him smile once more.

"Her name's Speranza," Celeste said.

"Speranza Snape," Remus chuckled. "It's oddly fitting for Severus's daughter."

At that moment, Severus walked in. He took in the scene before him with a cool gaze.

"Lupin," he nodded.

"Severus," Remus smiled hesitantly. "I received your owl. You said you wanted to discuss something with me? I could only assume it had to do with my substituting your classes." Remus shifted the baby nervously in his arms.

Severus didn't say anything for a moment, but merely looked at Lupin and the baby in his arms, a slightly amused expression playing at his lips. He turned to Celeste. "You did realize when you let him hold the baby that he is a werewolf, didn't you, Celeste?"

Celeste swallowed in surprise and stared at Lupin. "Is that true?" she asked.

Turning a little white, Lupin gave her a dismayed look before stepping back to her to return her baby. "I'm sorry," he said. "I assumed you knew."

Celeste took Speranza back in her arms.

"If you'll step up to my study I will tell you what this is all about," Severus said, gesturing toward the door.

Lupin nodded and silently moved for the door. Celeste stared at the two of them, the gears in her head whirring.

"Wait," she said. "Wait."

Severus and Lupin turned to face her.

"Is this what your research is all about?" she asked. "First the wolfsbane, now him...I've figured it out, haven't I?" she demanded triumphantly.

Severus considered her, still somewhat amused; Lupin was looking downright confused. He glanced mistrustfully between Celeste and Severus.

"Well done, madam," he said, sarcastically. "I can't keep anything hidden from your keen mind." With a swish of his robes he led Lupin from the room.

X X X

Little Tigger—He he. I know what you mean. Last summer I was practically nocturnal because of my fanfiction habit.

Penfanna—What sort of allusions are you talking about?

Floria—So, can you guess what the research is about now?

Nebula Zirconia—About the aconite: You're probably perfectly correct, but in the first Harry Potter book Snape uses the three terms aconite, monkshood, and wolfsbane interchangeably. Who am I to argue with canon? I am merely a mortal, unlike J.K. I would have stuck to using wolfsbane or monkshood (it took me hours of brain-wracking to remember what the third term was) but I thought that people would be able to guess too easily what was going to happen with the research if they could easily identify the plant. As for Celeste's naïveté: I often have trouble with her myself. The whole character development thing is befuddling me. Snape is easy because the reader already knows what he's supposed to be like, but the others...I picture Celeste as being book-smart, but not necessarily people- smart; kind, but quick to make judgments; brave, but wary and at times afraid for herself; idealistic, but at the same time resigned to certain inevitable facts—her marriage for instance. She's only twenty-two, grew up in a controlled and protected environment without much freedom to have a social life, and hasn't ever needed to manage anything before she had her baby; so I think it's okay for her to be a little naïve. Of course, I hope it's not an annoying naïveté. And I hope she grows a bit during the course of the story.

Everyone Else—Of course I'm continuing with the story!! I just hope it finishes itself soon. I want to start a new one.

If you enjoyed it, please review! Or I won't ever update and you'll be left hanging. For the rest of eternity. The end.

Keep you eyes peeled for my next one-shot. It should be posted within the week, I think.