Disclaimer - It's not mine, never was.

A/N : The opening of this chapter is dedicated to all of you Severus Snape fans out there. One of my best friends is a Snape fanatic, and she told me that there needed to be more of him in this story. So, to keep her happy (luv u H...), the opening is for all people who enjoy that reclusive Potion's maser. Enjoy.


Wolf's Bane

Chapter 10

Enter, Snape


Anyone who had ever met Severus Snape would tell you that he is not a young man to cross. His shoulder length black hair and pale complexion often reminded people of a vampire. Many even believed that he had vampire blood in his family line, but none were ever brave enough to ask. An intimidating figure standing at right about six foot, four inches, this was not a boy you would want to tangle with. His snappy temper and nasty disposition gave him a reputation of being the perfect embodiment of Salazaar Slytherin himself. Cold and reclusive, he very seldom ventured out of the dungeons, where he brewed various potions.

But his ambition to prove himself to anyone was only overshadowed by the loneliness he endured during the school year. He had no friends, and very few acquaintances. Due to this fact, he was not a popular person. Friendship was not on his top list of priorities. And due to his reclusive nature, and surprisingly skillful manipulation of potions, he had been called upon to join in the ranks of the group of wizards who were rising against the wizarding world, the Death Eaters. He had already received his Dark Mark over the summer, a constant reminder of where his loyalties would now lie.

He had pledged himself to the dark wizard Voldemort, to be forever his servant. His amazing skill and ruthless nature had quickly caused him to propel to the top of the Death Eater ranks. Voldemort saw the unrest and hurt deep within the seventeen year old boy, and he fed off of the knowledge that Severus wanted to prove himself to anyone. Never one to disappoint, Voldemort had given Severus the respect and admiration that he lacked as he had grown from an innocent child into a strong young man. Even though what Severus done was wrong, even illegal at times, Voldemort always gave him praise for an accomplished mission.

His primary goal at Hogwart's this year was to scope out new recruits for the Death Eater ranks. Up until now, he had found no one promising, but when he found out that Sable was coming back, his attention had been piqued. A powerful witch, and one almost as good if not better than himself in potion manipulation, would be greatly appreciated by the Dark Lord. He set out to do the impossible after finding this out. He planned on turning her against everyone of her so-called friends, breaking her moral and self-esteem down to nothing, then handing her over to Voldemort, tied up with a pretty red ribbon. Little did he know, the plan would not be as easily executed as thought out.


Severus was sitting at the Slytherin table the next morning at breakfast when the 'dream team' walked in. He noticed that little Peter lagged behind his house mates, observing their interactions with a look of longing. He continued his meal as the schedules were handed out through the hall to the seventh year students. 'Hmm, Potions and Transfiguration with the Gryffindors. Charms and History of Magic with the Ravenclaws. Good. No classes with those dense as mud Hufflepuffs.' he thought. He looked up as a loud bang erupted from the other end of the Slythrein table. Severus heard the shrieks of the first and second years as the small ball of smoke dissipated.

The younger Slytherins were covered in a greenish, silvery goo that acted as an adhesive. Every time they moved, one of their house mates would become stuck to them. It would have been quite funny, had it happened to someone else, but the whole Slytherin table was instantly in an uproar. But the entire upper-class of the Slytherin house immediately turned their attentions to the four resident pranksters of Gryffindor, the Marauders. Above the heads of the now sticky first and second years hung a banner that said:

Welcome back to Hogwarts for another fun filled year. Slytherins beware. Compliments of ?

Many of the members of the other houses, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, smiled or whistled at the four pranksters of Gryffindor, thinking they had conjured up the prank. Little known to the others, this time, the boys were completely innocent. They hadn't planted the prank.

Severus Snape glanced up to the Head table where Dumbledore was fighting to hide an amused grin. Professor Treble, the Slytherin Head and Potion's Master, was fuming with indignation and shooting threatening glances to everyone. McGonagall was making her way down from the Head's table and down to the place where the now stunned Marauders sat. Snape grinned as she swept over to the surprised group. The boys were actually looking worried. 'Serves them right for pulling these childish pranks, just to get attention.' he thought wryly.

He watched in amusement, as did the other Slytherins, when McGonagall pulled the boys out of the hall, berating them the whole time. Surprisingly, the looks of innocence present on the boys faces looked almost authentic. He looked at the reactions of the various members of the Gryffindor House. Lily and Sable seemed upset that another prank had happened. As the two girls watched as their friends were led out of the hall by a very angry looking McGonagall, he noticed that Sable had seemed to stay as far away from Remus Lupin as possible. That was the oddest of all, because those two always seemed to stick together. 'That's the smartest thing she could do. No telling what that werewolf would do to her.' he thought. 'What am I saying? It shouldn't matter what he does to her. I don't care. As long as she's in one piece for me to hand over to Voldemort.'


Minerva McGonagall was one of the best teachers at Hogwart's. However, this did not make her a very lenient person, especially to her own house. She was unusually strict with the students under her watch. The Marauders had always been pranksters, not so much troublemakers, and she knew it. Had even revelled in the discomfort that the four boys had put the Potion's Master through over the years. Of course, she'd never admit to it.

She pulled the four boys into an empty classroom and shut the door. Turning to face theguilty party, she was surprised to see their own looks of surprise.

"Mr. Potter," she began angrily, "what is the meaning of the? I distinctly remember you telling me that there would be no more pranks in the Great Hall this year, courtesy of you and your friends. You swore on your Head badge that it would stop!" She surveyed the boys carefully, knowing they would try to fudge their way out.

"Honestly, Professor, I don't know what happened in there. But we weren't responsible for it." he said, jerking his thumb towards the hall where the rest of the student population was.

"I am afraid I have a hard time believing that, Mr. Potter, considering your track record of childish pranks." she replied. Then looking to the others, she continued, "What have the rest of you got to say for yourselves?"

"Really, Professor, we haven't been anywhere near the other Houses. We've been with Lily and Sable since about noon yesterday." Sirius said.

"What about last night, and yesterday evening?"

"Still with the girls." Peter said quickly.

"Yeah, all of us were out on the Quidditch Pitch most of yesterday. They were trying to get me and Sable on a broom up until right before dinner. After that, we went to the dorms. Spent the rest of the evening in there, playing chess." Remus said. McGonagall looked at the boys carefully. 'They are either telling the truth, or have gotten better at bluffing over the summer vacation.' she thought.

"Very well, boys. However, if I happen to question anyone as to you whereabouts, will they tell me the same as you four?" she inquired, casting a wary eye on them.

"Yes, ma'am." James said. "Professor Swift, the flying instructor, saw us on the field all evening. In fact, he tried to talk Sable into trying out for the House team. He can validate our story." The other boys nodded in agreement. After finally getting Remus and Sable calmed down after the episode in the Head's Common Room, they had all decided to go outside for a little while. Sable had told Lily what had happened, as did Remus to Sirius and James. Apparently, the two parties concerned had decided not to mention it to the other. So they started acting like it hadn't happened, but the tension was still apparent anytime they were withing shouting distance of each other, which made for some entertaining moments between the two.

"Is there anyone in the Gryffindor Common Room who can verify your appearances there?" she questioned, still not quite trusting the boys.

"Yes, there were a lot of younger kids in there. One of them, Thomas I think, he talked with Sable for a long time. You can also ask any of the Quidditch team, we were all in there." Sirius said.

Minerva McGonagall was stunned. She looked over the faces of the boys, trying to detect a lie. But nothing could be found. They had a solid alibi, since she had spoken with Professor Swift at dinner the evening before. They had spoke about the Gryffindor's team for the upcoming Quidditch season, andSwift had told her that six of her students, four boys and two girls, had spent all evening on the Pitch. The rest of their story seemed plausible enough, so there was nothing she could do.

"Well, since I happen to know you all were on the Pitch all evening, as you say you seem to have been cleared.. You are free to go. However, if I find out that any of this alibi is false, the whole lot of you will be in detention for the next month, all with Professor Treble."

"Thank you, Professor." Remus said. They all turned to leave, but she stopped them once more.

"The rest of you may go. Potter, I need a word with you, if you don't mind." she said. The other boys left for the hall, while James went back to McGonagall.

"Yes, Professor."

"James, do you know who is responsible for that?"

"No ma'am. I really don't. But we were not responsible. I swore on my Head boy position that the Marauders would stop with pranks in the Great Hall. We haven't done anything to anyone." he said confidently. 'Not yet, anyway.' he thought slyly. The Transfiguration teacher nodded her head in acceptance. She gave him a weak smile that James found disconcerting.

"I didn't think you were responsible. When Mr. Snape and Mr. Flint got away unscathed, I figured it wasn't you four. Besides, it wasn't that well planned of a prank. Definitely not up to par with your usual caliber of work." James looked at the woman like she was nuts. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'Is she praising us for the pranks?' he thought. "However, I am afraid that Professor Treble is now out for blood. Too bad someone can't make his disposition improve a little.You may go back to breakfast, you are dismissed." she said with a wave of her hand. James nodded and left the room.

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall." he said with a grin, then slipped through the door back to the Great Hall, laughing the whole way.


"What have they done now?" Lily asked, completely exasperated as her boyfriend was led out of the Great Hall by their Head of House. "They know about James's promise. Now he's going to be in trouble." Sable looked over at her friend with a frown.

"Promise?"

"When James got his Head Boy badge, McGonagall made him swear to stop the pranks on the Slytherins while in the Great Hall. He swore on his position as Head Boy that they would quiet. Now look at what happened." The two girls watched as their Head of House marched the four boys out of the hall.

"Lily, they were with us all day yesterday, and this morning. They didn't have time to do anything." Sable said.

"I know that. But convincing McGonagall of that will be tough." she answered. "Thanks to the boy's record, every time something goes wrong they are the first suspects. They'll get out of it I suppose, just don't be surprised if McGonagall starts asking you about their alibi."

"Don't worry, I won't." she replied. She turned back to her food and finished off her breakfast. Meanwhile, the schedules were being passed out to the seventh years in Gryffindor. Someone passed her hers, and she almost groaned when she looked at it. 'Advanced Potions first thing in the morning? And with the Slytherins! Man, I'm not even that dedicated. Let's see, what else do we have here?' she thought as she scanned over the parchment. She stuffed the paper into her bag and checked her watch. It wasn't time to go to class yet, so she got up and walked down the table to where little Thomas was sitting with some of his new friends. There was an empty place next to him, so she sat down. He seemed a little surprised to see her, but he overcome it quickly enough.

"Hey, Thomas," she said, "ready for your first day of official schoolwork?"

"Yeah, I think I am, actually." he said with a smile. "Did you see what happened this morning? Who did it? Do you know?" Sable grinned at his overly enthusiastic attitude. Many of the other younger kids seemed to find it funny about the unexpected explosion. She only grinned and shook her head.

"No, I don't know who did it. I think McGonagall may have an idea, though."

"Is it true that it was the Marauders?" a little girl with bright blue eyes and curly black hair asked timidly.

"I don't know. I am pretty sure that it wasn't though. The Head Girl and I were with them all day yesterday, and this morning. They didn't have time to go anywhere." she replied. The little girl's eyes got as large as saucers, as well as a few other kids who were sitting there.

"You spent the whole time with the Marauders?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yes. We're old friends." she said, confused at the children's reactions. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, they are the most popular students in the entire school. I just didn't think that anyone who knew them would come talk to us. I mean, all of the older kids just kind of ignore us, except the Prefects and Heads of course, and you." one of the boys stated. Sable never realized that many of the younger kids were indeed overlooked. 'Well, there is something I can do about that.' she thought.

"Well, I'll tell you what." she said. "If you guys ever need anything, come to me or to one of the Heads, James or Lily. That's what they are here for. Whether you need help with you homework orwhatever, there is always someone there. Don't be afraid of us, we don't bite." she grinned and winked. "Well not hard anyways. And the ones of us that do have had our shots." Some of the kids grinned and laughed at her. "So, how's your schedule's looking?" she asked the kids. The black headed girl reached for hers and presented it to Sable with a flush. She scanned the parchment and smiled.

"Hmm, Charms and Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Potions with the Ravenclaws. And History of Magic and Transfiguration with the Slytherins. Not a bad schedule." she said. She glanced at the kids and frowned, "But I am going to give you one piece of advice. The Potion's master, Professor Treble, is not the nicest person in the world. Just to give you a head's up. Usually, he favors his own House over everyone else, and he can do it since he's Head of Slytherin House. Just watch out for the Slytherin students. Some of them can be really mean." The gathered children only nodded and looked at the girl in amazement.

"Sable, what are your classes like?" Thomas asked.

"Well, the majority of my classes are pretty much the same as the rest of you." She noticed that Remus, Sirius, and Peter had made it back to the Hall and were all sitting downto finish eating. Sable looked over to her young charges and smiled.

"I've got to go. I'll see you guys later. Good luck with your classes today." she said. The younger students only nodded and smiled, saying goodbye to the older girl. She walked back up to the head and sat in her place across from Remus and Lily.


"...I can't believe it. Someone pulled a trick on those stupid snakes, and we're getting blamed for it. It's a conspiracy I tell you!" Sirius said vehemently. Sable smiled and looked at the boy.

"I'm guessing McGonagall gave you all a month of detentions, huh?" she asked.

"Surprisingly, no she didn't." Remus answered. " We told her that we didn't do anything and that we were with you guys all evening." He pointed to the girls in reference. " She seemed to believe us, but she kept James after to talk to him."

"Probably grilling him for a confession." Peter said. About this time, James came walking through the double doors that led to the Great Hall, a huge smile on his face. He sat down with his friends and started laughing.

"What's gotten into you?" Sirius asked. James told them about McGonagall's comments about the prank not being up to par with the usual standards of their pranking. The whole group almost laughed themselves into a frenzy. The clock sounded for the morning classes to begin and the group picked up their bags, leaving to go to their respective classrooms.

"Where you guys headed?" James asked the girls.

"Advanced Potions." Lily answered with a grimace. "You?"

"Muggle Studies." Sirius answered.

"We'll catch up with you guys in Charms. Bye." Sable said as she and Lily left for the dank, damp dungeons.

"You think they would at least wait until later in the day to give us this class." Sable said. Lily looked stunned.

"This coming from the girl that could rival Severus with her talent for manipulating potions!" Lily said in astonishment. They walked down the corridor to the Potions classroom, talking the whole way. When they reached the classroom, they realized exactly how few people were in the class. The students had been hand chosen for the class by Professor Treble himself. Sable had gotten permission to take the class before she ever arrived at the school. Dumbledore had okayed it himself. She and Lily took the two seats closest to the front and waited for the others to come in.

Come to find out, there were only eight people in the Advanced class. Lily and Sable were the only two Gryffindors. Three of the students were from Ravenclaw, one from Hufflepuff, and two from Slytherin. The only other person Sable recognized was Severus Snape, her Potions rival from fourth year, and the arch-nemesis of the Marauders. They all took there seats and Professor Treble began with his usual beginning of the year threats. His dark robes billowed out behind him as he walked from his desk to stand in front of the students. His lanky, gray hair fell out of a ponytail and he gave them all the a cursory looking over.

"Now, I will tell all of you up front that this is not going to be like your other classes. This year, you will learn how to concoct certain potions that have normally been off limits to students your age. They are some of the most powerful brews ever created. And I will not have any fooling around in this classroom. As you have all been hand selected due to your particular talents in this field of study, I take it that I will have no problems with discipline. Now for the rest of the year, you will have two major long term projects going on..." he looked around the room at the gathering of students, wondering if this was such a good idea after all.

"The first one will be a running journal of everything you will learn in the class this year. I will collect it before the Christmas holidays. In this journal, you are to take notes of any and all potions you brew. The second project will begin in a few days. As your final test at the end of the year, you will have to make your own potion. By that time, you will know the properties of the majority of the ingredients we use, as well as the reactions they have when used in conjunction with other ingredients. The potion can be for anything, but it must be useful in some way. However, it must also be accompanied with specific notes and a major report explaining different reasons why you choose to contrive this particular type of potion. Next time we meet, I will have the details mapped out for you. As for today, we will begin setting up the classroom, since I have been to busy to actually prepare yet." He turned to the Severus and the other Slytherin student, Carlos Pucey.

"I need you two to go get the stores of ingredients from the cooler chambers in the dungeons." He handed the keys to the two boys, and they promptly left the room to get the ingredients. He turned back to the others and waved an impatient hand.

"Is there anything we can do, Professor?" Lily asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact there is, Ms. Evans. You and Ms. Robbins can help me finish my inventory checklist before the others come back. Please come with me." He promptly set the other remaining students to straightening up the classroom while he sent Sable and Lily to check off the list of ingredients already in the storage closet. When Severus and Carlos returned, they were landed with boxes, bottles, and containers of any shape, form, or size. Professor Treble immediately instructed them to take the extras to the two girls working in the ingredients room.


When Severus brought the first box of vials into the room, he almost ran right into Sable. She was standing on her tip-toes, trying to reach a top shelf to put one of the bottles. Severus nearly slammed into the girl, almost causing her to loose her balance. Lily was sitting on the floor checking off more ingredients when he sat the box down. Not wanting to start any trouble with the girls, since he really had no grudge against either of them, he turned to leave.

"Severus, how many boxes of ingredients are there in the classroom?" Sable asked. Snape looked at her with an odd expression.Anytime a Gryffindor spoke to a Slytherin, some form of derogatory statements were usually being issued.

"There are six boxes left, along with a few vial holders of various liquids." he answered curtly.

"Is there anymore monksbane in those boxes, Severus? Or does it say?" Lily asked.

"No, I don't think so, Lily. There was nothing on the outside of the boxes to indicate it." he said. The redhead nodded and continued to work.

"I am guessing there is some unicorn hairs out there in one of the boxes. There's no more in here." Sable commented. Severus picked up a small rectangular box and opened it. Contained in the black velvet was the silvery tail hairs of a unicorn. He tapped Sable on the shoulder and handed her the box.

"Okay, thank you. I just wanted to make sure there was enough room in here for them." she answered, taking the box carefully from his hands. 'Well, his mood has obviously improved some what.' she thought. After putting the box in its proper place, she took another bottle and tried to put it on the top shelf, but couldn't reach it. Frustrated, Sable looked around for something to stand on. Finding nothing, she set the bottle aside for later.

"Lily, do you have enough room down there for a few more bottles of wormwood? I need to move these." Sable asked, turning back to the shelves and handing two bottles to the redhead on the floor. Severus went back out to retrieve the other boxes and bring them to the girls for distribution. Upon returning to the store room, he found Sable by herself. Lily had spilled some of the liquids on herself and was trying to find a towel to clean it up.

"So Severus," Sable asked, trying to make conversation, "How is life treating you these days? Good I hope." She grabbed another container out of the first box and searched for the correct place to put it. She hadn't really expected him to answer, but he did.

"I am fine. And you?" he asked, although a little forced. Sable turned to smile at the boy.

"I have seen better, really. So, are you still working on your research for the potions you had been making when I left?" She knew that the only decent conversation she would get out of him would be about a subject they mutually enjoyed. So it was the safest route for the time being.

"It's getting better, actually. I've made some headway with a few of them, nothing major yet."

"I see." she answered truthfully, "I didn't get to work on my research as much as I had hoped this summer. Hopefully, I'll make some of it up in this class, though."

"So no advancements? Tsk, tsk, Ms. Robbins, I am ashamed. You are surely one of the better Potions students this school has, yet you have let your work go." He prodded. Sable looked over at the boy and glared.

"Well thank you for that compliment. But I do believe that I am the best Potions student this school has, thank you very much." she said primly, holding her head up.

"Second best, if I have any say-so." Severus replied with a smirk. He had a bottle of worm bile in his hand when Sable turned to face him. She plucked the bottle out of his hand and gave him a sly grin.

"That's just the problem, Mr. Snape." she said, "you have no say-so. I'm better, admit it. You know it's the truth."

"Not bloody likely." Snape replied with a frown.

"Really, Severus. Language. Well, we'll just have to see about that. Won't we?" she asked, grinning at him.

Severus was completely stunned. 'Why is she even talking to me? I'm a Slytherin, she's a Gryffindor. Mixing those two are caustic the last time I checked.I am supposed to be trying to recruit her to Voldemort, not making idle chitchat.' He eyed the girl as she once again tried to reach a top shelf. Noticing her predicament, Severus moved to take the bottle from her hands. He walked up behind her and reached up to put the bottle away.

"Having problems?" he asked sarcastically.

"Unfortunately, I lack the height that many of you are so gifted with." she said with a frown. She felt his hands close around the bottle and she let go, sure that he had it. He placed the bottle on the shelf but didn't move away from the her. Professor Treble came into the room then, pushing the empty boxes out of the way. He looked a little surprised to see two rival House students within such a close proximity without one of the cursing the other into a million pieces.

"It is time for the next class to begin. You can store what you haven't got put up away for now. I'll have the other seventh years finish what you've already begun." he said briefly.

"Yes sir, Professor." they said in unison. The two teens made there way back out to the classroom when Professor Treble dismissed them. Lily caught up with Sable and pulled her off to the Charms classroom. Severus saw Sable give him a small smile before she allowed the Head Girl to drag her off down the corridor.

The burning sensation on his arm brought him back to reality, the calling sign for a Death Eater meeting. 'It is time for another meeting tonight.' he thought suddenly, 'Tonight, I will tell the Lord of my plans for the girl. If he agrees, we will have another follower in our ranks before this year is out.' Severus gathered up his books and looked down at his schedule. His next class was History of Magic. 'Useless class!' he thought as he walked out of the doors to the dungeons.


Classes for the rest of the day continued on without an interruption, except for the Care of magical Creatures where Sirius was chased by a stray hinky-punk. The Heads had a meeting that night, after classes ended. So when the last bell rang, James and Lily left the remaining Marauders and Sable to their own devices in the Gryffindor Common Room. They were all discussing the first day back when Sableremembered that she had to work on the werewolf potion. She grabbed her bag and went to walk back out of the portrait hole.

"Where you headed?" Sirius asked, "Classes are over for the day."

"Out to the lake. I've got to study, and I can't stay in here. It's too noisy." she replied. It was loud since almost all of the years were in there playing chess, Gobstones, or some other form of game.

"Mind if I go with you?" Remus piped up. Sable tried to figure out a way out of her lie. Coming up with nothing, she nodded at the boy. "Thanks, Treble has already loaded us down with essays. And it's only the first day!" he said , grabbing his bag and meeting Sable at the portrait.

Figuring that she was not going to get out of the lie, she left out of the Common Room and made her way down the stairs and out to the lake. Neither would speak until they were safely outside and away from everybody's prying ears. They sat down underneath a large willow tree. Looking over the lake, Sable realized that the Quidditch season would be starting soon.

"You weren't really coming out here, were you." Remus asked. Figuring that lying to him would do no good, since he already knew about her potions room, she nodded.

"No, I wasn't." she admitted. "Actually, I was going to work on the potion."

"Have you already started it?" he asked, seemingly more confident than before, but not looking directly at her.

"No, not yet. I had planned on starting it this evening, but I haven't gotten down there yet."

"I have an idea," Remus volunteered, "how about you go start it now. I can do my homework and you can help me out on Treble's essays. Potions never was my strongest subject." Sable grinned and nodded in acceptance. Grabbing their bags, they left off for the castle with out another word. Remus followed behind her for a little while before catching up. He noticed that tension between them was slowly dissipating. He was tired of walking on eggshells every time the girl was around, Remus caught her off guard with the next conversation topic.

"Sable, can I ask you something?" he said quietly.

"Shoot." Remus stopped walking, causing her to stop and face him with a worried expression. "What's wrong?"

"Sable, what's wrong with us?" She gave him an odd look and shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not following you."

"When you left two years ago,we were best friends. I realize that the only contact we've had since then was the letters every month, but you never mentioned anything changing with you. When you came back, we were so happy for you. We had missed you so much. But something's different now. You're not the same as you were when you left. What in America changed you so much?"

"What's so different about me, other than the physical changes. Has my personality changed that much?" she asked lightly, trying to place why she feltso high strung all of a sudden."What's so different?"

"You hide stuff now. It used to be we knew everything about each other. It's just not the same….something's different about you, about all of us, I think. You're not as open as you used to be. Everyone's noticed, even Peter."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize…" she began. Sable hadn't thought that she had hurt her friends with coming back. But according to what Remus was saying, it sounded like her coming back was just throwing a kink in everything.

"Look, I'm not worried about everyone else. What I want to know is what happened to OUR friendship."

"Nothing's happened….has it?" she asked.

"Ever since that…episode… in the Common Room, you haven't wanted to talk to me." Sable smiled at his use of tact..

"I thought it was a mutual consensus not to talk about that." she said stiffly.

"Well, considering we haven't been by ourselves to talk about anything since then, I think now is as good a time as any." Sable nodded, but did not want to say anything that he could pin her about later. They started walking towards the castle again, once again in silence.

"Where do you want to start?" she asked, diverting her attention to the strap of her bag.

"How about why we did it to begin with?" he proffered. Sable frowned, saying nothing. She knew why she had not stopped him, or blew up at him after it happened, simply because it hadn't really bothered her…..until now.

"I think we got caught up in the moment." she rationalized. "Our adrenaline was still pumping because of the pillow fight, so that didn't help matters any." 'Not that I minded to begin with.' she thought.

"Question is," she finished, "why did you even do it?" Remus looked a little uncomfortable, but she wanted some answers as to why his defensive walls had suddenly collapsed the other day.

"Caught up in the moment, I guess." he answered, blushing slightly. "I don't know….I guess when you finally told me that the experiment worked, I was just so happy. It hit me exactly how much you take time to help me out. With the potions and everything, I mean. I wanted you to know how much I appreciated what you do. It seemed like the best way to get it across to you at the time." he shrugged. They had made it to the doors of the castle, and fell silent again. Pushing open the huge double doors, the two teenagers made their way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts hallway in no time.

They turned the corner to the hall and ran into two people that Remus least wanted to see, Cody Flint and Severus Snape. Sable and Snape collided and she had to take a step back to keep from falling. She felt Remus tense up as she looked up to the two Slytherins. 'Oh, shit!' she though.

"Watch were you're going, you mindless peon!" Snape snapped, straightening out the wrinkles in his robes, then realizing who was in front of him. "Sable." The girl glared at him with a certain hatred tinged with respect.

"Severus." she acknowledged.

"How about you take a little bit of the advice you give out." Remus answered back, oblivious to the prior exchange. He turned back to Sable, who was still glaring at Snape. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, Remus." she answered.

"What are you doing hanging around wit riff-raff like him?" Flint sneered, pointing ac accusing finger at Remus.

"And I suppose going anywhere with you would be a step up on the social ladder of Hogwarts?" Sable snapped back at the Slytherin Quidditch captain. The burly boy looked amused at her comeback. He looked at Snape and shook his head, a smile on his face. He looked her over one quick time before continuing.

"Damn, woman." he said. "Too bad you weren't put into Slytherin. With assets like yours, you'd make a wonderful addition to the House. Not to mention, you got the attitude to go with those……'assets". Sable's face began burning with indignation and embarrassment.

"I'm sure I would have been. However, you'll never know, will you?" she answered curtly. She felt Remus' hand go around her waist and tighten until it almost hurt. Once again eyeing her, Cody only nodded.

"Maybe, maybe not." he smirked. By now, Remus had reached his breaking point. He lashed out at the Slytherin captain with the pent up anger.

"The only part a Slytherin like you would have with her 'assets' would be a fist in your face!" he growled, letting go of Sable and getting between her and the burly boy. "And that's only if I leave enough of you after I'm done tearing you to pieces. If I were you, I would suggest you quit worrying about what 'assets' she would bring to Slytherin House, because she's more of a Gryffindor than either of you will ever realize!"

"And what are you going do about it if I don't?" Flint challenged. He walked closer to Remus, who was now having a hard time keeping his temper in check and his fists by his side. Remus normally was not a very violent person, and perferred to reason with people. But when Sable was involved with anything, he always lost his cool. He'd always been like that, and he blamed it on the lycanthropy, and his instincts to protect one of his dearest friends. But that excuse was slowly starting to wear thin.

"Now gentlemen," Snape intervened, "There is no need to have an act of violence in the middle of the hallway. Besides, there is a lady present" He looked over to Sable and smiled….actually smiled. "We can continue this at another time, can't we, Cody?" he finished. When the other boy did not answer, Snape put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. Flint flinched at the contact, but backed up, a sour expression on his face. "Can't we?" Snape asked again.

"I guess we will." the shorter boy replied, still glaring at the two Gryffindors.

"That's what I thought." Snape replied stonily. He turned back to the others present. "Besides, we wouldn't want Mr. Lupin to turn into some wild beast trying to protect his property." He gave Remus an evil smirk, but continued to prod the sensitive subject. Remus immediately tensed up in anger and frustration at the mention of his lycanthropy. Sable noticed and put her hand on his arm, trying to calm him down.

"It's not worth fighting over, Remus. Calm down." Snape noticed the exchange and sneered.

"Well, they say that a woman's touch can sooth the savage beast in any man. I guess some of those old sayings hold a sliver of truth after all." he looked at Remus, who was wishing desperately that Sable would not be with him right now so he could kill the Slytherin standing in front of him. "Good day to the both of you." he said, turning to leave them. Cody Flint followed behind him, occasionally looking behind him at the two friends and sneering. When they turned the corner, Sable tried to calm Remus down some more.

"Remus, calm down, please. He was only doing that to get under your skin." she whispered. She felt the muscles in his arm tensed to the breaking point. He was gritting his teeth and fighting to get his own anger under control. "Don't pay him any attention. He's just being the slimy git he was born." Slowly, the tension began to leave the scene. Remus calmed down and took a few deep breaths, thenfinally turned to her with a concerned look on his face.

"You okay?" Sable smiled at hisworry and nodded.

"I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about." she answered, starting to walk towards the entrance to her room.

"I'll be okay. I just really don't like that slime ball. Ever since Sirius's played that trick on him last year, he reminds me of it every time he possibly can." Sable nodded in understanding.

They had sent her a letter telling her about how Sirius had tricked Snape into going down to the Shrieking Shack one night when Remus had changed on a full moon. James got wind of it and pulled him out before a full grown werewolf attacked him. Snape had been harboring a hatred for the Marauders sine before then; but after that, it only got worse.

She walked to the sixth suit of armor and gave the password to get into the room. When the statue slid out of the way, she pulled out a little silver key to unlock the door. She let Remus in, then followed, locking the door behind her. Remus was sitting in a chair when she came into the room he still looked upset and tense, so Sable tried to get him to relax a little before they started their work. She walked behind him and started massaging his shoulder. Surprised at the contact, Remus quickly pulled away. Sable smiled and shook her head.

"I'm not going to bite you, you know. Sit down." Remus complied and Sable soon had him feeling a little less stressed. The rigidity was leaving his muscles and he seemed to be out of the rotten mood Snape had put him in. She left him sitting gin the chair when she went to go get the ingredients for her work. When she came back, Remus surprised her with a pop question.

"Since when are you and Snape on a first name basis with each other?" he asked. Sable shrugged and dismissed the question.

"I don't know, honestly." she said. "He quit calling me by my last name before I left here two years ago. I remember him muttering something about Robbins reminding him of baby birds and flowers. I guess he liked Sable better because it makes you think of something dark."

"When did you quit calling him Snape, and start calling him Severus?" Remus asked, not completely believing her.

"I guess I go by that old saying. The one that says you should keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. My mom always says that, and I guess it's rubbed off on me. Maybe one of my 'assets' is my naïveness." Remus was surprised at her answer. The thought of Severus Snape or Cody Flint coming anywhere near Sable and any of her 'assets' made his blood pressure go through the roof. He stood up and grabbed her shoulders, all traces of happiness gone from his face.

"If any of those bastards ever lay so much as a finger on you, I'll kill them myself." he said quietly. Sable was a little surprised at the fierceness in his voice.

"I was only kidding, Remus. Calm down." she whispered. "I wouldn't keep them any closer to me than necessary. You and the others are the only ones I really want near me."

"I'm telling you, Sable." he said, still holding onto her. "If anyone, especially a Slytherin ever so much as looks at you the wrong way, they'll wish they hadn't. You mean too much to me…..to everyone, all of us……to see you hurt. And you know the reputation of the Slytherins. You know what happens to the girls in there. I just got you back. I don't want to loose you again, especially not to one of them." he finished. Sable could still see the fear in his eyes. 'He cares.. He actually thinks that I am going to take one of the Slytherin boys over him and the others.' she thought.

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise." she said, wrapping her arms around her friend. "And if any of them ever make me uncomfortable you'll be the first person to know." Remus smiled and looked down at the head of black hair below him. He smiled a the warm feeling of acceptance and respect she gave off.

"I know, I know." he said, hugging her more to reassure himself of her existence than anything else. A sudden thought hit him as he was standing there, holding one of his best friends in a tight hug and trying to convince himself that he was in no threat of losing her to anyone else. "You know what, Sable," he asked. "I think I've figured out why we were acting so weird around each other yesterday." Sable tensed up when he said that, and tried to pull out of his hug. For some odd reason, she was scared to hear what he was about to say. But he held her to him, oblivious to everything else.

"Really, why?" she asked, still not sure she wanted to hear his answer.

"It just hit me that maybe we….. Never mind. It's stupid." he said abruptly. Pulling away form her, he suddenly seemed embarrassed. Sable was confused by his actions.

"What is it, Remus?" she asked. 'Oh, Merlin, it's now or never.' Remus thought quickly.

"It's just that, you're more of a friend than just a friend to me." Sable gritted her teeth, suddenly nervous around her friend.

"I think so, but try again just to make sure." she said quietly.

"It's just that ever since the Sorting Feast, when we found out who you were, I've been trying to figure out here you go. What I feel for you is different than what I feel for Lily. But you're both two of my best friends. I think that's what made me feel so distant from you. After not seeing you for two years, it was kind of awkward having you back here. I'm not sure how to handle you now, and it's driving me crazy. I thought maybe the confusion would leave after the full moon passed, but it didn't. I'm just as confused now as I was when I first laid eyes on you in Diagon Alley weeks ago." he finished quickly.

Sable was completely floored with his explanation, yet she held back a grin at his struggle to find the right words to tell her what was going on inside his head. He's usually the most articulate of all of us, and I'm doing this to him? Scary stuff.' she thought.

"Are you trying to tell me that I make you feel awkward when I'm around?" she asked, dead serious. "Remus I'm no different than I was two years ago. It's still the same old me, only two years older. It's not like I have a completely new personality or anything. Just treat me like you did back in fourth year; it's not that hard." she said, trying to reassure him, anyway she could think of.

"It's different than fourth year, though." he said quietly, not looking at her. "I think I see you as more than just a friend now." Sable wasn't sure she heard what he had just said too clearly. She blinked rapidly and shook her head in disbelief.

"Are you saying what I think you are?" she asked cautiously, not wanting to push the subject on him too fast.

" I don't know what I'm saying to be honest with you." he admitted. "It's just what when we ran into Snape and Flint back there, something just clicked when they started talking so lewd to you. They've done the same thing to Lily and the other girls around here, but I never reacted like that." Sable saw that there was no way she was going to get a straight answer out of him like this, so she decided to change the direction of the conversation.

"Remus, I think I know what you're trying to tell me. But I don't think you do. Maybe you need to talk to James about some of this stuff you're thinking. It think a lot of it's just confusion about me coming back. I can't tell you anything that is going to help settle your mind, but maybe James or Sirius can. They can see this from a guy's point of view; I'm kind of at a disadvantage there Talk to them after dinner. I bet they'll be able to help you more than I can." Remus looked at her and nodded, but Sable started kicking herself as soon as the last word was out of her mouth. 'What am I thinking? Telling him to go the Sirius and James. I might as well have sent him to Snape! My God, what's wrong with me? I've lost my mind!'

Remus nodded and stared down at his books, his mind suddenly not wanting to concentrate on the words in front of him. 'I know what I want to tell her, but I don't know how.' he thought. 'Maybe she's right. Maybe if I talk to James, some of this mess will make some type of sense to me. Merlin I hate the week after a full moon! Everything is so bloody confusing to me.' He looked up and saw Sable measuring out some ingredients for the potion she was working on. He tried to focus on the essay about ingredient properties for Professor Treble, but it was pointless. Sable noticed his restlessness almost immediately.

"Want to help with the potion?" she asked, smiling at him. "doesn't seem like your concentration level is too high right now. What's the essay on, by the way?" Remus nodded and moved to stir the cauldron while she added a few more bottles of some weird colored liquid to the cauldron. Opened to one side was the notebook she had filled up with the partly translated Celtic potions.

"The essay topic is the properties of potion's ingredients. We have to have four parchments in by the next class on the properties of at least twelve basic potion ingredients. Treble said it was a review, since half of us had probably forgotten most of it over the summer break." he laughed and continued to stir the cauldron.

"Well, do you remember at least twelve from last year?" she asked, consulting her notebook on the next ingredient. It was wolfsbane, not something she really liked to deal with. The plant always made her sick, reacting to the lycanthropy present in her body, and usually causing her to get a queasy stomach ache and blisters anywhere it came into contact with her skin

"Yeah, I think I know enough. But that's why I wanted you to help me, in case I couldn't remember enough."

"Well, I'll make you a deal, Remus." she said. "the next ingredient for this potion is wolfsbane. It'll make you sick if you get around it, so why don't you go over into that room until I get it all dissolved into the cauldron. You know if you even smell it, you'll be hurling chunks for an hour." Remus nodded and went through the door, into the room where Sable had set up her desk and bed.

Quickly grabbing the offending ingredient, she measured out the required amount and dumped it into the cauldron. Where the herb had touched her skin, there was a blood red blister and some whelps. 'Good think it doesn't do this to the inside of you when you drink it.' she though with a grimace. She continued to stir the cauldron for another ten minutes until the last bit of the dried plant was dissolve and the particles in the air had time to settle. Stepping back form the now bubbling concoction, she walked over to the door Remus had gone through. As she reached for the handle, it was drug open from the other side. A very happy looking Remus Lupin was standing in the doorway.

"Did you know that you had a passageway in your room that led straight into the Common Rooms of all four houses and the kitchens?" he asked excitedly.

"What are you talking about?" she questioned, "There is only one picture in that room. The one of Agrippa and Merlin."

"I know, and there is a passage way behind it. Come and see." he said, pulling her into the room. Sure enough, behind the portrait of the witch and wizard was a passage way that branched out into five different hallways.

"How'd you know where they all lead?" she asked. Still peering into the darkness. Remus pulled out his wand and cast a light spell while pulling a very reluctant Sable into the tunnel.

"I went down three of them while you were working on the potion. I am just guessing about the other two, though." he answered. They came to a five way split in the tunnel "The first one leads to the kitchens. The fourth to the Gryffindor Common Room. The second to the Ravenclaw Common Room."

"How did you find this?" she asked, still looking surprised.

"I make it a habit to look for new passageways when we find new rooms. Usually, they are hidden behind the portraits hanging on the walls. When I went into your room, I noticed the portrait was unusually large. So, I pulled it back a little, and sure enough, there was the passageway." he said happily.

"How did you know which one went were?"

"I followed those three to the end. Before you got to the end of the first one, you could smell the food form the kitchens. I heard Sirius and Peter playing a game of chess when I got to the end of the other one, and the Ravenclaw dormitory had a whole bunch of people talking about books, it was a dead give away." he said with a grin. "By the way, it's dinner time. Come on, I'm hungry." Sable grinned at his childishness and allowed herself to be pulled form the corridor, through her bedroom and laboratory, and out into the hallway before saying anything else.

"Slow down, Remus." she said after he had almost jerked her arm off. "I'm sure the food isn't going to grow wings and fly off."

"You'd be surprised around here," he said with a grin. "especially with Sirius around." They laughed and headed for the Great Hall, each one thinking about the possibilities lying ahead of them for the school year. 'There is hope for this school year yet.' they both thought.


A/N -Okay peeps. How'd I do? Good I hope. Anyhow, remember to leave me a review.