Disclaimer:  Everything recognizable from the Harry Potter universe belongs to J K Rowling, no infringement is intended to any copyright holder

Beloved on this Earth

~ 0 ~

'Remus, I can't do this.' Lois growled in frustration, rubbing wearily at her eyes.

'You're nearly there Lois.'  He said encouragingly. 'Don't give up now – you've practically got it.'

Lois looked into his pale face, such a positive gleam in his warm brown eyes that she felt a renewed spurt of enthusiasm wash over her.  Remus Lupin, the first returning Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, had arrived back at Hogwarts three days ago.  She had been pleased to discover that Harry and not Snape had been right about him – he was "really nice" and anyone less aggressively wolf-like would be hard to find.  On first impression he looked instead tired and careworn, his light brown hair heavily sprinkled with grey, seeming incongruous on his young looking features.  It was obvious that his disease affected him physically as well as socially, but he apparently hadn't allowed it to embitter him or sour his outlook on life and Lois admired him greatly for that. 

As term time approached the Professors had slowly begun trickling back to the school in dribs and drabs.  Lois had been extremely glad they hadn't arrived en masse; it would have been just too intimidating.  Luckily this way she was able to take it slowly and as each Professor arrived, her tutoring sessions increased.  Once she started her mediwizard studies, it was quite possible she would have to drop some of the non-essential tutoring until she had more time, but for now she was happily taking as many classes as she could.

The start of lessons which used real magic had been intensely nerve racking – so far with potions, she hadn't really needed any actual knowledge of spells or wand waving, just the ability to follow instructions precisely and with meticulous care, both skills Lois had routinely been called upon to use in her career as a nurse.  As nervous as she was, she had been very pleased to find that Professor McGonagall's outwardly stern demeanour did indeed hide a warm nature.  Better still she seemed to have a genuine desire to impart knowledge, which made her an excellent teacher.  Unfortunately, much as she liked McGonagall, Lois was finding transfiguration exceedingly difficult and she didn't see herself changing even a matchstick into a needle any time soon. 

Professor Flitwick though was a different matter, whether it was due to his teaching methods, or just sheer good luck on her part, she had discovered to her relief that she had a definite aptitude for charms.  He said her wrist movements were exquisite and her pronunciation first rate.  She had already asked his opinion as to whether she would benefit from choosing a wand of her own rather than continuing with her mother's.  He had advised her to wait until she had spoken with Poppy – apparently mediwizards generally used only specific types of wands and the Hogwarts Matron would obviously know more about that than he did.

As there were in effect three DADA Professors this year, Dumbledore had suggested that Remus Lupin be her main tutor and she could flit between Roupe and Moody as necessary.  Her Defence Against the Dark Arts classes had begun with theory and quickly moved on to practical studies.  Remus admitted that there wasn't an awful lot of use covered in the first two years and after a brief overview, he had given her the relevant textbooks to read at her own pace.  They had then started on the third year syllabus, which she was finding much harder going – reading about dark creatures was fine, but actually examining and confronting them?  Lois was beginning to wonder whether she had bitten of more than she could chew.

Remus had arrived in class today with a Pogrebin – a hairy Russian demon only a foot tall, which had the ability to hide in plain view due to the fact that when crouching only its smooth grey head, which looked like a rock, could be seen.  The Pogrebin posed no real threat to any wizard and could be easily defeated with a simple hex, or even a sharp kick if the worst came to the worst.  The demon only truly became a danger when you were unaware of its presence – if allowed to trail a human for many hours a sense of great futility would sweep over them, eventually turning into lethargy and despair.  When the victim finally sank to their knees to weep at the pointlessness of existence, the Pogrebin would jump onto their uncaring backs to devour them.  While Lois was perfectly safe from that unpleasant fate within the classroom, the hex Remus had taught her just wouldn't come out right and she was quite dispirited enough from her failure, without the faint air of gloom that was slowly encompassing her thanks to the demon's magic.

'Ready?'  Remus asked and Lois snapped back to the present with a jerk.  Heaving a heavy sigh in response she nodded.

They both turned their backs and Lois waited until she was sure the Pogrebin would have stood up, before pivoting to face it and shouting as firmly as she could, 'Apage Deperandum.'  A feeble shower of silver sparks flew from her wand, landing far short of the ugly little demon that was already sinking back down to the floor.  'This isn't going to work.'  She said dispiritedly.

Remus smiled at her glum expression.  'Why don't we have a break from it,' he soothed.  'And then give it one more go.'  Lois immediately began shaking her head, but he carried on before she could interrupt.  'Just one more try.'  He coaxed.  'And if you still can't do it, we'll leave it for today, I promise.'  He sat down on a desk and Lois slumped gratefully onto the one next to him, giving a tired smile of thanks at his offer of tea.

'So Lois.'  He said handing her a cup.  'How are you coping with all this?'  He asked waving his arm to indicate he meant Hogwarts as a whole.

'Okay I suppose.'  She answered carefully.  'It's a bit bewildering of course having it dumped on you out of the blue, but even so I haven't been this happy in years.'  She admitted, realising the truth of the words only as she said them.  She was almost instantly swamped with a rush of guilt, as though enjoying life again was an insult to her father and David's memories.  She pushed the feeling determinedly aside, knowing for certain that neither of them would ever have wanted her to be unhappy.  'Although I am a little worried about how everyone will react to me when school actually starts.' She confessed.

'Why?'  Remus asked puzzled.  'I would have thought finding out was the hard part.'

'It was but I just feel a bit silly sometimes; turning up like this at my age and being completely ignorant about even the basics.  I know I'm not the only person to discover that they're a witch with no forewarning, but I think it's probably easier for children to accept.  Plus of course they have the consolation of being with people of the same age, in the same situation and with the security and support of their House behind them - like a little family unit.'

'Yes I can see how that would be difficult.'  Remus said meditatively.  'But I'm sure the other Professors would be happy to advise you about any problems and you can always talk to me if you want.'   He offered kindly.

'Thank you.'  Lois said sincerely.  'I don't want you to think I'm grumbling, I don't regret finding out I'm a witch for a minute but it's not easy sometimes.'

'You know,' Remus said slowly.  'I'm sure the Headmaster would let you be sorted, if you think it might make you feel more as though you belong.'

'At my age?!'  Lois said with a laugh.

'I don't see why not.'  Remus replied.  'Wouldn't you like to know?'

'I'm not sure.'  Lois said honestly.  'You were in Gryffindor weren't you?'  She asked.  'Like Harry?'

'I was.'  He said with smile, his eyes twinkling.  'Best House there is obviously.  Filled with only the bravest, truest, most courageous souls.  You could do a lot worse.'  He insisted as Lois rolled her eyes at his teasing words.

'I see.'  She grinned. 'And is being an incurable braggart a requirement for entry into Gryffindor, or is that something specific only to you?' 

Remus feigned a thoughtful look, lifting a fingertip to tap consideringly against his pursed lips.  'You know I can't recall that ever being mentioned in any of the sorting hat songs I heard.'  He finally declared and Lois gave a small laugh, her melancholy mood lifting, as she was sure was his intention.

'What do you think though, really?  He asked serious once more. 'Would it help?' 

Lois gave it some thought before finally saying, 'No, I don't think so.  I suppose it would have been nice to know if I'd have been a Ravenclaw like my mom, but other than that it doesn't really matter.  Anyway.'  She smiled at him.  'What if I got sorted into Slytherin?  We'd have to be archenemies.'

'If you were, I would have done my very best not to hold it against you.'  Remus assured her his eyes gleaming with humour.

'Yes, but I can't promise the same.'  Lois said.  'Who knows what sort of an effect it would have on me?'  She said straight-faced.  'I might suddenly be compelled to hex Gryffindors on sight or save all the good bandages for Slytherin students.'

Remus shook his head at her smiling, before standing and grabbing her hand pulling her up from the desk.  'Come on.'  He said firmly.  'You owe me one last go with the Pogrebin.' 

Lois groaned and sucked in a deep breath before rolling her neck in an attempt to loosen her knotted shoulder muscles.  Remus nodded encouragingly and they both turned their backs on the small rock like object so that it would stand up again, giving Lois the chance to hex it.

A sharp rapping sound had them swivelling around, the classroom door swinging open before Remus had time to call, "Come in."  Snape stood in the doorway an annoyed expression on his face, which darkened as he took in the two of them standing closely together, apparently staring at a blank wall.

'There you are!'  He growled walking further into the room, dispensing with any other greeting.  'Do you realise you are twenty minutes late for your potions lesson Achelois?'  He barked reprovingly as she looked at him questioningly.  'Unlike Professor Lupin, who will only be teaching part-time,' he disparaged.  'I have a great deal of work to prepare for the new term, which I have uncomplainingly put to one side to assist with your studies.  While I do not expect endless gratitude, I would ask that at the very least you be on time.'

'Oh Severus, I'm sorry!'  Lois said guilty, completely unaware of her lateness until he had arrived.  'It's just that this damn… can you wait a second?  I promised I'd have one more….  "Apage Desperandum!"  She shouted whipping round suddenly to catch the Pogrebin in the act of sneakily rising, her curse finally causing him to fly backwards across the room and land on his head, before leaping up and making a very rude gesture at her.  'Yes!'  She gave a triumphant yell as the ugly little creature stomped back into the box it had arrived in and sulkily yanked the lid into place.

'Well done.'  Lupin congratulated pleased.  'I knew you could do it!'

Lois pushed her hair away from her perspiring forehead, feeling slightly limp now that the intense concentration she had needed for the past hour was over.  'I can't believe how difficult this is.'  She confessed to the two men as she hurriedly collected her books together.  'I mean, I'm holding the wand and saying the words, but it just doesn't do what I know it should do.'

'Don't be so hard on yourself.'  Remus commiserated.  'You're doing fine for a beginner and even if you're never a natural at DADA, I'm positive you'll be able to learn enough to at least defend yourself.'

'That's another worry.'  Lois admitted.  'I've never met a Banshee or a Bundimun in my life.  I hope that they're not suddenly going to come crawling out of the woodwork after me now that I know they exist.'  She shuddered.

Remus smiled, but Snape's dark expression hadn't changed since he had arrived.  'If you are ready?'  He asked in a cool voice.

'Coming, coming.'  She grumbled.  'Bye Remus and thanks.  Same time tomorrow?'

He nodded in agreement but his voice halted their progress just as they reached the door.  'Severus, I forgot to tell you – Snuffles insisted that I send you his regards.'  He said ruefully.

Snape nodded coldly in acknowledgment before guiding Lois from the room

'Who's Snuffles?'  She asked curiously as they headed for the dungeons.

'No one of any importance.'  He said impatiently, before a cunning look came over his face and his eyes narrowed slyly, something that would have instantly set alarm bells ringing had she seen it.  Unfortunately however, her attention was firmly fixed on placing her wand carefully in her pocket, still not entirely trusting it not to go off accidentally and vaporise a limb. 

'Actually,' Snape continued meaningfully, his face now wiped clear of all expression. 'He's the man Lupin lives with.'  

'What do you mean, lives with?  I… Oh.'  Lois said in dawning realisation.  'You mean Remus is…'

'I really wouldn't know.'  Snape interjected blithely before she could finish her sentence.  'We are hardly what you would call confidants; however, there have been… rumours for a good many years.  He's never actually come right out and admitted it, but more tellingly, he's never denied it either.' 

It wasn't strictly a lie he assured himself - he just hadn't mentioned that Lupin had never denied it because as far as he knew, no one had ever asked him; while Lupin might not have had Black's success with the opposite sex when they had been at school, he certainly hadn't done too badly.  Snape pushed his vague guilt over misleading Lois to one side.  With any luck she would never find out anyway.  'After all, he does live with a man he affectionately calls "Snuffles" and he is closer to forty than thirty and still unmarried.' He continued casually.

'Well so are you.'  Pointed out Lois fairly. 

'The reason I am not married is that women, for the main, are twittering idiots who are far more effort than they are worth, not because my natural inclination lies in another direction.'  He snorted disparagingly.  In the murky depths of his often-underused conscience, a small flicker of shame spluttered to life at stooping to such low tactics, before being almost instantly extinguished by the crystal clear image of Lois and Lupin standing so comfortably closely together.  He'd never claimed to be an honourable man.

'With sweet talk like that it's hard to believe some lucky woman hasn't snapped you up.'  She mocked, before returning to their discussion.  'I wonder why Remus never mentioned him though?'

'You know him well enough to believe that he would have?'  Snape asked sharply.

'No, I suppose not, we did only meet a few days ago.'  Lois admitted thoughtfully.  'Still, you have surprised me, I never would have guessed.'

'To each his own.'  He sermonised.

'Oh, absolutely.'  Lois agreed.  'Do you know him then, this Snuffles – if he sent you his regards I mean.'

'Simply trying to antagonise me no doubt.'  Snape said in a hard voice, happy to tell the complete truth when it came to Black.  'He attended Hogwarts at the same time as I did.  I never could tolerate him; an insufferable, arrogant egotist who has only worsened with age.' 

'I can't image Remus would be with someone so horrible.'  Lois said doubtfully.

'Yes, well, none of our business after all.'  Snape said with careful disinterest.  'One thing though.'  He warned.  'I wouldn't imagine he would be comfortable in discussing this with you unless he brings it up himself.'  Not much chance of that, he assured himself, pleased.

'Of course not!'  Lois said impatiently.  'I wouldn't dream of sticking my nose uninvited into someone else's business.'  She said self-righteously.

Snape looked at her incredulously, amazed that she had the nerve to actually say that out loud, and to him of all people.  The only reason she was here in the first place was because of her inability to leave things that didn't concern her well alone!

'Alright.'  She said grumpily, acknowledging his silent disbelief.  'But I would only do it out of genuine concern, not because of some puerile interest in my co-workers private lives.

Lois ignored Snape's snort of sceptical laughter, which quickly changed to a huff of pain as her elbow made contact with his ribs.

**************

The glorious summer blazed on and Lois gradually became accustomed to the peculiarities of living within a magical castle, falling a little more in love with its high ceilings and flickering lamp lit passageways with every passing day. 

Sadly her sense of direction had always been poor and her main gripe, if she was forced to admit it, was that she was still finding it almost impossible to navigate Hogwarts winding corridors.  Harry had assured her that he and his friends had had similar problems when they first arrived, but he had to admit that they had managed to sort it out after being here as long as Lois had. 

Despite her very best efforts Lois often remained completely clueless.  Worst of all on the occasions when she truly had no idea where she was, she could guarantee that the only people she would bump into were either Peeves or Filch, one of whom delighted in her confusion because that was what he lived, or rather died for and the other simply out of sheer dislike for her.  When Filch came across her wandering about lost, he never actually refused to direct her as Peeves did, but instead gave her very precise instructions, which when she followed left her even more lost than she had originally been.  After the second time Lois realised the fault was his, not hers and when she happened across him from then on would simply give him a breezy hello, pretending she knew exactly where she was.

The main reason Lois was unable to find her way was that there were almost no permanent signposts in the castle.  Staircases regularly changed direction and entire rooms occasionally disappeared only to reappear days later on a different floor.  The portraits that lined the walls were so huge and recognisable that they should have made excellent markers for her travels, but as Harry had discovered soon after he came to Hogwarts, the people in the paintings could not be relied upon to stay put. 

Since arriving back, Harry had insisted that the pictures were empty more often than usual.  At first Lois had thought he was just trying to make her feel better, but it turned out he was right; apparently Dumbledore made sure that the summer holidays extended not only to the students and staff, but to the paintings too.  In an attempt to locate the fat lady to gain entrance to his common room one day, Harry had stumbled across two huge murals painted on the walls of connecting corridors up on the sixth floor, filled with vacationing portrait subjects.

The first mural was a blindingly sunny golden beach with soft foaming waves breaking in an impossible blue sea.  Brightly coloured deckchairs lined the seawall and old-fashioned changing huts on wheels were set up along the waters edge.  In the distance along a winding promenade was a small fairground from which piped organ music could be heard.  For the more sedate portrait dweller, the second mural had been enchanted to take the form of a lush green meadow with a babbling brook running through it and soft blankets scattered about under large, shade providing parasols.  Almost out of frame an elegant old manor house could be seen, obviously filled with merry guests. On discovering practically all the painting people spent their summer holidays in one mural all the other, Lois had wisely started memorising the picture frames rather than the subjects to help her find her way.  It was slow going, but she was getting there.

Her only other real problem was the robes.  She had not yet ventured to Hogsmeade; she didn't really want to go alone and Harry wasn't allowed out of the castle unless an adult wizard accompanied him.  Sadly she didn't quite have the nerve to ask Severus to come with her on what was basically a shopping trip.  It had been her experience that most men hated clothes buying expeditions and she doubted male wizards were any different.  Consequently, if she wanted to wear robes Lois had to use her mother's, which the house-elves had efficiently cleaned and returned to her room the same day she had arrived back with them.  Unfortunately, although the robes fitted perfectly in the body, her guess from the photographs had been correct - her mother had been slightly taller than she was.  As a result the hem of the robes dragged along the floor and she was constantly at risk of falling down any one of Hogwarts many stone steps.  Not only that, she hated how restrictive they were - not tight because the robes were as loose and flowing as everyone else's, it was just that they covered her so completely from the neck down.  The yards of material swamping her, bothered her immensely and she was constantly yanking at the high choking neckline and pushing the sleeves impatiently up her arms, only to have them fall back down seconds later.

She had taken therefore to wearing muggle clothing and luckily after speaking to Dumbledore, she had been pleased to learn that robes were not compulsory for the staff, simply customary.  He had warned her though in his normal kindly manner, that she might feel less conspicuous and therefore settle in quicker, if she wore robes at least some of the time.  Lois had taken his gentle hint to heart and wore the robes as often as she could bear to.

Term was due to begin in four days time and Hugo Quade, the temporary Care of Magical Creatures professor and Poppy Pomfrey had both arrived that morning. Lois had yet to meet Quade but had managed a short meeting with Poppy; as term was so close she had asked if Lois would mind if she spent tomorrow readying the Infirmary for the arrival of the students and then the two of them could really get down to work.  Lois had happily agreed, relieved to find Poppy almost as eager to begin training as Lois was.

They were now only waiting for the arrival of Professor Roupe for a full teaching compliment.  As it was uncertain whether Roupe would be able to arrive until the very last minute, the meal to officially welcome the staff back had been set for tonight.

Lois, as usual, was worried about finding her way to the private dining room they would be eating in and Snape had uncommonly kindly offered to meet her in the entrance foyer.  She had unhappily donned one of her mothers robes for the event, knowing that if she didn't she would stand out like a sore thumb.  Unfortunately the robe, like all the others, was slightly too long on her and she had almost fallen twice simply trying to leave her room.  Noticing she was nearly late, she hoisted the long hem in her hands and dashed off to meet Snape; she suspected he might well leave without her if she didn't get there on time.  She arrived in a breathless rush to find Snape, standing with his arms folded across his chest, tapping his foot impatiently at the bottom of the long staircase.

'Finally.'  He said in a growling voice.  'Is there a genetic flaw men are unaware of that renders women incapable of being anywhere on time?'

'I'm a minute late Severus!'  Lois said annoyed at his chauvinism.

'And as I arrived ten minutes early to ensure you were not inconvenienced, I have consequently had to stand here for the last eleven minutes waiting for you.'

'Oh, well thanks for that.'  Lois said resentfully.  'But you can't really blame me – you just admitted you were ten minutes early after all.'

'As ever, no good dead goes unpunished.'  Snape quoted sarcastically.

Lois decided it was time to change the subject before he sank into a mood that would blight the whole evening.  'So, Severus, do I look alright in these?'  She asked nervously still dreadfully uncomfortable in the wretched robes.

She instantly wished she hadn't mentioned it when she was subjected to Snape's thorough study of her slim form.  When he had finally examined her from the top of her gleaming hair, which was worn loose tonight, to the tips of her hidden toes, her stomach was tingling warmly and her mouth was dry.  As her heart began to thump uncomfortably against her chest wall, his eyes finally rose back up to hers to deliver his assessment. 

'The robes are too large for you.'

'Thanks for that morale booster!'  Lois said wrathfully, her heated emotions immediately taking a backseat to her pique.

'I'm sorry, did you want me to lie?'  He asked calmly.

'No, I wanted you to gloss over the bad parts and exaggerate wildly about the good ones!'

He smirked slightly and Lois realised he was paying her back for making him wait – he was such an irritating swine she thought, torn between amusement and annoyance. 

'Very well.'  He said before taking a deep breath and continuing in a falsely fawning tone.  'Achelois, you look absolutely stunning, a vision of rare beauty unsurpassed by any I have ever seen before, or will ever see again.  Your hair is a fragrant, silken waterfall that seems to shine with a million lights gleaming from within.  Everything I have known before pales in comparison with the utter perfection of your exquisite face - your eyes bluer and more tranquil than the deepest lagoon and the softest peach would seem harsh and dull in contrast to your flawless skin.  While your robe is a little large for you, it is practically unnoticeable due to the sheer blinding radiance of your presence.  All in all Mrs Scott, a finer creature I cannot imagine.'

Towards the very end of the speech his voice had changed from its original ironic drawl, becoming slightly gruffer and deeper and Lois was suddenly aware of how difficult the simple act of breathing really was.  She gave a half laugh, which sounded odd to her own ears and stepped away from him. 

'See, now that's what I was talking about.'  She said in a forcedly jolly voice breaking the spell his words had created.  They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before Snape gave a mocking half bow and indicated she should precede him down the corridor. 

On reaching their destination, Lois stepped past Snape into the full dinning room noticing they seemed to be the last to arrive.  Before she had chance to exchange a single greeting, she was pounced on by Filius Flitwick, eager to discover how she was getting along with the charms book he had lent her the day before.  Lois had fully expected Snape to abandon her the second she was safely delivered and was pleasantly surprised when he stuck by her side as the staff mingled, chatting desultory while enjoying pre-dinner drinks.  Standing in a corner with Snape, Lois was laughing at some snarky comment he had just made about Trelawney, when she looked up a smile still on her lips into her husbands face. 

Lois gave a shocked gasp, jumping guiltily away from Snape's side, staring at the man across the room as though she had seen a ghost, which of course if it really were him, she had.  As her heart slowly returned to her chest from its new position lodged in her throat, she began to breath again, realising as the stranger turned his head in response to some question Professor McGonagall was asking him that the likeness to David had been only superficial.

His height and muscular build were certainly correct, but on closer inspection there were many slight differences.  While his hair was almost the same tousled blond, it didn't have the streaks of gold David's had had from the many hours he spent outdoors.  His eyes were blue, but not the friendly glinting sky blue of her husbands and this man's chin in comparison seemed weaker, less determined.  His age too was wrong, she saw as he stepped fully into the glow of a nearby candle – he was probably in his forties as opposed to David who, if had been alive would still have been only in his late twenties.  She breathed a sigh of relief chiding herself for her stupidity.  At least he hadn't noticed, she realised thankfully, only then remembering the person standing next to her who obviously had noticed her strange reaction judging by the raised eyebrows and questioning stare.

'Do you know him?'  Snape demanded suspiciously a hard gleam in his eyes.

'No, of course not.'  Lois replied truthfully.

'You certainly acted as though you did.'  He retorted, his glance roving swiftly between the other man and herself.  Lois groaned inwardly, unwilling to expose her stupidity but knowing Snape would not rest until she had given him some kind of explanation.

'He… for a moment I thought he looked like someone I knew, that's all.'

He impaled her with a gimlet-eyed stare, obviously not happy with her half-truth.  'Fine!' She relented. 'I thought he was David – my husband.'  She added as he looked at her blankly.

His eyes shot back over to the stranger, assessing and cold.  'Your husband was older than you was he?' 

'No.' Lois said patiently, desperately wanting to change the topic.  'That was one of the many reasons I immediately saw I was mistaken.'

'I see.'  Snape said like a dog with a bone. 'I must confess, seeing what he looked like has made me curious as to what attracted you to him in the first place; was it the fact that you had so much in common, or purely because of his looks?'  He asked in a critical tone.

'Severus!'  Lois said surprised.  'What's the matter with you?' She asked realising that his dark stare had gained the man's attention, who was she noticed worriedly, now looking curiously over at the two of them.

'There is nothing the matter with me Lois, I have simply always been interested in human relationships - what attracts one person to another, as opposed to any one of a million other possible matches. I suppose if I had given it any thought, that would be precisely the type of man I would have expected you to have chosen.'  He said in a coldly analytical voice. 

Lois looked across and was alarmed to see the mystery man approaching them.  'Be quiet!'  She hissed angrily at Snape as he opened his mouth again.  She quickly plastered a pleasant smile on her face in greeting as he arrived at their side.

'How do you do?'  He said smiling at them both.  'I thought I'd better come over and say hello, I don't think you were here when Professor Dumbledore introduced me around earlier – I'm Hugo Quade, temporary Care of Magical Creatures Professor.'

'Lois Scott.'  Lois replied shaking his hand.  Up close he was practically as tall as Snape, but apart from that they were as different as night and day, Quade's open friendliness making Snape appear even darker and more brooding than usual.  'I'm due to start training under Madam Pomfrey soon and this is Severus Snape, Hogwarts Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House.'  She added when Snape made no attempt to join the conversation.

'Well you two seemed to be in the middle of a rather intense conversation.'  Quade said when the silence began to be awkward.  'I hope I'm not interrupting anything?'

'No, of course not.'  Lois said apologetically.

'As a matter of fact,' she heard Snape's silky voice interrupt with dread.  'You were actually the topic of our discussion.'

'I was?'  Quade said surprised.  'And may I ask to what I owe that honour?'

'Oh nothing …' Lois said hurriedly only to be interrupted by Snape again with a devilish gleam in his eyes.

'Actually, Lois here practically fainted away at the sight of you; it seems you bear an uncanny resemblance to her husband.'

'Really?' The other professor smiled. 'And will I get to meet my incredibly lucky doppelganger this evening?'  He asked looking around the room, before refocusing on Lois with a warmly appreciative glance.

Snape seemed to tire suddenly of his baiting at Quade's flirting manner and said in an arctic voice.  'Very doubtful as the man in question is dead.'

Lois drew in a sharp breath in shock at his harsh words and was unable to meet Quade's embarrassed eyes.

'I do apologise.'  He said sincerely.  'I had no idea or I would never have…'

'Really, there's nothing to apologise for.'  Lois said rushing into speech.  'It was a long time ago now and truly the resemblance was only very fleeting.'

He nodded obviously relieved, a sympathetic expression on his face which became speculative as he noticed Snape's tense features.

'If you gentleman will excuse me.'  Lois said politely.  'I must just speak with Professor McGonagall for a moment.  It was nice to meet you Professor Quade.'  She said with an attempt at a genuine smile.

'Please call me Hugo,' he insisted.  'It will take me a while to get used to being addressed as Professor by the students, and it'll be much easier if my colleagues at least stick to first names.'

Lois nodded and smiled again before shooting Snape a killing glare and heading blindly off into the noisy throng.

Lois chatted brightly with Professor McGonagall, but later would have no recollection of a single word spoken.  She was still in a state of shock over Snape's behaviour; what on earth had gotten into him?  If she hadn't known better she would have thought it was jealously, but that was definitely one emotion she would never associate with him.  She could only assume his bad mood had been brought on by having to attend this shindig tonight; she knew he avoided the school's social gatherings wherever possible because he had told her so himself however, this was not an event he could have reasonably missed.  Not that that was any excuse for the way he had behaved she thought again angrily.  She was shaken from her musings by Minerva's hand on her arm, informing her they were about to go through to dinner.  Lois followed behind the others, taking a seat at the far end of the long table.  She looked up as someone pulled out the chair at her left.

'I'm not talking to you.'  She whispered in a cold voice as Snape sat down next to her.

He sighed deeply.  'I want to apologise for my behaviour earlier.'

'And that makes it all okay?'  She said annoyed, but keeping her voice soft so no one else would be able to listen in on their conversation.

'I rather thought that was the whole point of apologising.'

'Don't get clever with me Severus.'  She warned.  'You're the one in trouble here.'

He sighed again. 'I am sorry.  I've had an absolutely foul day and having to come to this bloody thing was the icing on the cake, but that's no excuse; I shouldn't have said what I did.'  He admitted in a sincere voice.

'No you shouldn't.'  Try as she might, Lois had always had great difficulty in holding a grudge and now that he seemed genuinely regretful, her anger was deflating like a burst balloon.  She didn't want to make it too easy for him though.  'Thanks to you, every time I talk to him for the rest of the year I'm going to feel awkward.  He'll probably think I fancy him now you've told him he looks like David.'  She groaned in embarrassment.

'And are you?'  He questioned casually.

'Am I what?'  She asked bewildered by the apparent subject change.

'Attracted to him?'  He said purposely avoiding her gaze.

'I don't know.' She said impatiently.  'I spoke to him for all of two minutes, during which time the only thought running through my head was the desperate wish that the ground would open up and swallow me whole!' 

She did know though she admitted silently; the answer was a most definite no, which was actually vaguely surprising.  Although the resemblance wasn't as great as she had first thought Hugo Quade was still very physically similar to her husband, so one would assume there would be a spark of attraction for that reason alone but, Lois realised the new Professor left her completely cold, unlike the bad tempered beast sitting next to her right now who merely nodded at her response, placing his napkin over his lap as the first course appeared.

Looking at him from under her lashes, Lois saw that he seemed unusually forbidding, even for him.  She wondered if perhaps there had been an element of jealousy in his words.  The idea caused a sharp leap of excitement, which she did her best to suppress.  She risked another sideways glance, oddly awkward about being caught watching him, only to find him with the same scowling expression on his face that he had had when looking at Quade, except this time it was directed at Alastor Moody who was chatting with Dumbledore.  She shook her head in wry amusement, not jealously then she mocked her own arrogance, like you're so irresistible Lois, unless of course that dark glower meant he was jealous of Moody too.  It must just have been the usual Severus ill humour worsened, as he had said himself, by a bad day she realised feeling slightly disappointed.

Lois sighed silently, blinking in surprise as Snape nudged her arm slightly indicating that everyone else was eating.  She looked down at her soup; it smelt delicious and she resolutely shook off her unsettling thoughts as the last of her anger melted away in the quiet pleasure of good food and interesting dining companions. 

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A/N   The Pogrebin comes from Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them and Apage Desperandum should mean – begone despair.  Whether it actually does is another matter entirely.

And thanks again folks for your wonderfully heartening feedback - it's a shame there's no little box to click to go and review reviewers; you all deserve oodles of it!