Chapter 1 - September

September 5th

Harry and I met in the Owlery today. I longed to tell him how much I missed him over the summer holidays, but didn't because I didn't want to add guilt to the burdens he has to bear. A good girlfriend doesn't nag, and I'm a good girlfriend. I accept that Harry wants to keep our relationship private. That's why I don't complain when he doesn't write to me during breaks, or speak to me in the common room. That's why I don't make a scene when he flirts with a pretty girl. I know he is only keeping up appearances. The Owlery is our special place.

Some people think that Hermione Granger is Harry's girlfriend because he wrapped his cloak around her during the boat ride to the castle. I know better. He was just keeping up appearances. Hermione Granger would not be a good girlfriend. She nags him constantly about his schoolwork. She nags him about getting into mischief with Ron. She nags him about spending too much time on Quidditch. A good girlfriend doesn't nag. Hermione Granger would be a very bad girlfriend. She's just a big toothed, bushy haired bitch, who'd do well to leave my boyfriend alone.

Harry came to me today when I was taking care of Hedwig. Our owl is the most beautiful at Hogwarts. She only lets Harry and I handle her. Harry loves the way I take such good care of her.

When he saw me he gave me that quirky little smile that he only gives to me. It just makes me melt!

Harry told me that he was sending a letter to Professor Lupin. I think it's so wonderful that Harry secretly writes to the old DADA professor after he got sacked for lying about being a werewolf. Most people wouldn't be caught dead associating with a werewolf, but my Harry is so brave and compassionate. Poor, lonely Professor Lupin is lucky to have a friend like my Harry.

I'm so happy that Harry trusts me so much that he shares his secrets with me. Harry tells me everything. A good girlfriend never tells her boyfriend's secrets and Harry's secret friendship with a lonely werewolf is safe with me. Harry was in a hurry so he sent off his letter and promised to meet me later. I can hardly wait until he comes to Owlery again!

~**~**~

"Poor, lonely Lupin, indeed."

Severus nearly spewed the tea he was sipping all over the diary when he read that bit of the entry. Many people were openly friendly with Lupin. The werewolf had been working for Ollivander and shagging the old man's granddaughter for a bit over a year when Miss Tilly wrote the entry, and could hardly be described as either poor or lonely. He wondered if Potter was lying to Miss Tilly or if she was making up the details of her relationship with Potter. It was an important clue to her state of mind.

He found her references to Hermione disturbing.

'Big toothed, bushy haired bitch? Bah!' he thought. Hermione wasn't beautiful in the classical sense, but she had qualities that he found stunning. It didn't surprise him that those qualities were completely beyond the comprehension of the insipid Miss Tilly.

Severus thumbed through the diary and saw that there were at least a hundred more pages filled with the troubled ramblings of the gawky adolescent. He doubted he would have made it more that halfway through the first entry if his life didn't actually depend on gleaning something useful from the girl's delusional notations. He wondered if all eighteen-year-old girls were focused on such trivial pursuits. Hermione was his only frame of reference and she was certainly more well rounded than Miss Tilly; Hermione was surely mature beyond her years.

His heart sank when he thought about Hermione. He'd sent her away less than an hour ago and already he missed her quick wit, discerning intellect, and insatiable curiosity. He would be lying if he didn't admit to also missing her less cerebral virtues.

His breath caught and he felt himself rousing as he thought about the Hermione only he knew. Her small breasts, so responsive to his touch…the smell of her hair…her small hands stroking him, at first hesitantly, now confidently…the way their bodies fit together, so tight, hot and wet…the gorgeous expression on her face when he gave her pleasure --

'Focus, damn it!' Severus reprimanded himself. This was no time to be pining away like a lovesick schoolboy. He took a sip of his tea and delved back into the diary.

~**~**~

September 18th

Harry hasn't been back to the Owlery and I know why. That bushy haired bitch, Granger, won't let him out of her sight! She's always harping on him about his schoolwork. NEWTs are almost a whole school year away and she's already nagging him about studying for them. Harry and Ron were talking about the Quidditch season in the common room last night and she actually yelled at them for being so caught up in unimportant things. I would never behave like that. A good girlfriend doesn't nag.

Quidditch unimportant? How can she call herself his friend and say something like that? Doesn't she know how important Quidditch is to Harry? He was the youngest Seeker in a century and he's the best Seeker EVER! When she says Quidditch isn't important, she's really saying that HE isn't important. Hermione is a very bad friend. The only reason Harry and I tolerate her is because he needs her help to stay on top of his marks. He's so busy being the greatest Seeker and fighting You-Know-Who that he needs a little extra help. I'd love to give her a piece of my mind, but I can't because that would give away Harry's secret about me. A good girlfriend always keeps her boyfriend's secrets.

I'm sure Harry will come to the Owlery as soon as he can get away from Granger's constant surveillance. I wonder if Harry misses me as much as I miss him.

~**~**~

"Somehow I doubt it, Miss Tilly," Severus said, in answer to her question.

The girl was obsessed with Potter. He found the entire notion of a female aching for 'the boy-who-lived-to-torment-him' nauseating. He supposed there was no accounting for taste. His musings on the fickle nature of female attraction were interrupted by a knock on his chamber door.

"Enter," Severus called out as he tucked the diary safely away in his desk drawer.

"Wotcher, Severus," said Tonks with uncharacteristic seriousness as she entered his chambers. "Do you have time to answer a few questions for me?"

"Time is something I now have in abundance, Tonks," he answered ruefully. "What would you like to know?"

"How well did you know Miss Tilly?" Tonks asked as she took a seat in front of his desk.

Severus shook his head at the irony of their positions. Generally, the person sitting in her chair was an errant student, squirming as he interrogated them. Now he was the one being interrogated, and he didn't like it.

"She was an unexceptional student. I only knew her well enough to put her face with her name."

Severus became uneasy when he saw that his answer concerned Tonks.

"Those were the exact words that Hermione used to describe her relationship with Miss Tilly," Tonks observed.

'Sloppy! Damn sloppy, Snape!' Severus reprimanded himself. He knew Tonks wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw for nothing. Her frivolous and clumsy manner hid a keen intellect. He trusted her to be fair with him, but he knew that she would uphold her responsibilities as an Auror. If he continued to make mistakes like the one he just made, she would have him moved to Azkaban in a heartbeat.

"I wouldn't know," Severus answered with a practiced aloofness that he hoped would allay her suspicions. "Have you been able to determine Miss Tilly's motives for attacking Miss Granger?"

"Not yet," Tonks answered. "I can't find anyone who was close enough to her to tell me much about her."

"What is there to know? What does any silly eighteen year old girl think about?" Severus attempted to subtly steer Tonks' investigation in the right direction.

"I don't know…eighteen year old boys, I suppose," Tonks said with a laugh.

"Perhaps it would be prudent to interview the boys closest to Miss Granger again," Severus suggested. "They may know more than they think they do."

"Good point, Sev," Tonks conceded. "That would be Harry and Ron I'm guessing. I'll get right on it."

"May I accompany you when you question them?"

Severus wanted to compare Harry's interpretation of events to Miss Tilly's. It would be useful to know to what extent the diary actually corresponded with reality.

"I don't know about that. I don't think it will be to your advantage to have any irregularities in the investigation. Not everyone trusts in your innocence as I do, Sev."

"Please Tonks," Severus asked with sincere humility, "my life is on the line. I can't just sit here and do nothing while others determine my fate. Please, just let me observe."

Tonks sighed deeply and considered his request.

"I don't suppose there would be any harm in you observing the questioning so long as you don't interfere," she reluctantly agreed. "You can come with me as long as you leave you wand behind."

"You know my wand isn't good for much more than opening my door and flushing the john," he said with a slightly humorous sneer. "You put the wards on it yourself."

"So I did," she laughed, "but you're a cagey bastard. I don't put anything past you."

"Fine. The wand stays. Shall we go now?"

"A cagey, impatient bastard," Tonks complained. "That's understandable. Let's go talk to Harry and Ron."

~**~**~

Severus sat in a wing chair in front the fireplace in the teacher's lounge as Tonks interrogated Potter and Weasley. He gave an appearance of indifference, but was actually carefully considering every word the boys said.

"Did you think Miss Tilly was unusual in any way?" Tonks asked the boys.

Both boys were concerned about Hermione, and took the question very seriously.

"She had a mustache," Ron offered earnestly. "That's unusual, isn't it? I've never seen another girl with a mustache. You don't think that maybe she was a bloke, do you?"

Severus struggled to suppress a laugh. It wasn't often that he found Weasley's idiocy amusing.

"She hung out in the Owlery a lot," said Harry, ignoring Ron's comment. "She talked to the birds. She acted like they all belonged to her. She made me feel nervous and uncomfortable, like there was something not quite right about her."

'Now we're getting somewhere,' Severus thought. 'Keep him talking, Tonks.'

"What did she say to the birds, Harry?"

"I don't remember anything specifically. She would stop when she saw me," he answered.

"Did she say anything to you?"

"She would ask me who I was owling all the time. It made me uncomfortable to tell her that I was owling Katie so I always told her that I was owling Remus. She wouldn't ask me questions about him."

Ron laughed.

"Remember the time that Hedwig got confused and delivered your letter to Katie to Remus? The poor man probably thought you were in love with him. That was funny!"

"I didn't think so," Harry complained. "This is serious Ron. Will you stop joking around?"

"What did you say to her, Harry?" asked Tonks.

"I just said hello…thanks for giving Hedwig treats…see you later…you know, polite stuff," Harry answered.

'Harry loves the way I take care of his owl…He said he'd meet me later. -- Of course,' Severus thought. 'The girl was reading much too much into simple social exchanges.'

He was beginning to get the answers he needed.

"I don't see the big deal," Ron spat. "That weird girl tried to kill Hermione. Professor Snape did what he had to do to save her. They should be pinning the Order of Merlin on his chest as far as I'm concerned, not trying to put him in Azkaban."

Severus found himself wishing he could award house points to Gryffindor on Weasley's behalf. It was an uncomfortable feeling that he hoped would pass quickly.

"I tend to agree, Ron," Tonks said, patting him on the shoulder. "Understand, I have to do my job. You can go boys."

Tonks escorted the boys to the door and turned to address Severus.

"Ok, back to your chambers, Sev. Sorry this wasn't more productive."

"On the contrary Tonks. I thought it was very interesting,"