"Thank you again for your time Professor Flitwick." Holly said leaving Flitwick's office the next day. She took out a piece of paper and check off "Flitwick" off of her list. She had stared right after breakfast, and had gotten though a good number of the staff, it was now after dinner, and she thought she could maybe get through two more before calling it quits for the day, and start searching the grounds.

Holly figured she could do this, sense no student had asked for help yet. Naturally she would be happy to help, but she had more important things on her mind. She looked down at the next name on her list. "Severus Snape."

"This is going to be fun." she said to herself sarcastically, as she shoved the paper back into her black robe.

She walked the familiar path down to the dungeons, not really paying any attention to the students, but on the task at hand. When she got there, Severus' class was just letting out. She took a deep breath, reminded herself, he couldn't pull anything on her that she couldn't handle, stood tall, and knocked on the door.

"Yes, come in." a gruff voice said from inside. He was alone. Thank goodness.

"Professor Snape. I would like to have a word with you."

"I can't I have a class to teach." she looked around the class room, not a student to be found.

"Dumbledore gave me you schedule and you have no such things. Come on Severus, we both know you don't have a class to teach." She said coolly, approaching the desk at the front of the class, where he was sitting.

"Look, we could do this the easy, way, or the hard way. Personally I suggest the easy way, but, then again, I find the hard way so much more fun." she had a cocky smile hung on her lips.

"Fine. What is this all about?" he looked angry, as he leaned back into his chair.

"Just a few questions. Potentially harmless."

"Get on with it if you must." he spat each word at her like poison.

"Have you way." she pressed her palms against his desk and leaned over a bit. "Do you have any knowledge of the whereabouts of the fugitive Sirius Black?"

"No." he said as if offended by the mere thought of it.

"Did you have any knowledge of his escape from Azkaban Prison?"

"No. But you'd know all about that wouldn't you?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" she played coolly. She highly doubted that Severus had anything to do with Black's escape, but she had to ask. But she would love to get some dirt on him none the less.

"You tell me."

"I don't know what your getting at. But if your suggesting that I had something to do with his escape you are sorely mistaken."

"I see." he eyed her up and down. "You may have not but what about your dear friend Remus Lupin."

"What do you know?"

"Nothing." he said shrugging one shoulder.

"I do believe that you forgot who is getting questioned here. I have not gotten to Mr. Lupin yet and unless you have some knowledge on Mr. Lupin, I suggest you drop the subject."

"Fine. Are you done?"

"No." she was getting angry. "Are you hiding Sirius Black."

"How dare you." Severus stood up and reached for his wand but Holly was the quicker of the two. She held her wand to his throat.

"Believe me Servie, I would like nothing more to send you back to Azkaban, were you should be." she said calmly and sternly, paused letting her words sink in.

"Or is it you forgot who put you there in the first place? Naming names, won't fool me Servie. I've got my eye on you."

"Do really think that the Ministry would really appreciate you treating me like this?" he challenged, she pushed her wand closer to his skin, his black eyes were focused on her gray ones.

"Lucky for me I don't work for the Ministry." she had beaten him at his game.

"I just want five words from you. All you have to say is "I'm not hiding Sirius Black", and I'm gone. For now." Severus did not move, or say anything.

"Come on, I just need you to say those five little words. Otherwise, if I find out you were hiding him, your ass is mine, and you'll be back in Azkaban with your friends, Bellatrix, Victor, Rodoluphus, and the others who haven't died yet." she raised an eye brow. Capturing both Severus and Bellatrix were among the proudest days of her life.

"I am NOT hiding Sirius Black, nor would I ever hide a blood traitor like him."

"Oh good, I'm glad we've got all this cleared up. Have a nice day Severus, and remember, people may buy this act, but sure as hell don't."

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing about you."

"Go to hell Servie." she said calmly with a smile and left. It was childish she knew, but she couldn't help it. She checked off his name, and looked at the next, "Remus J. Lupin.".

"What am I doing?" she asked herself for the hundredth time on her way to his classroom. "Ok, it's just Remus. Same Remus. Same old, steady Remus." She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in." a voice said from inside, his voice. She opened the door. She saw him sitting next to a boy who had his head down, and seemed to be eating something.

"Professor Lupin, I was wondering if I might have a word with you." The boy looked up. It was Harry.

"Ah. Hol…Ms. Thane. Of course. I'll see you in class Harry."

"Thanks again Professor Lupin. Goodnight. Goodnight Ms. Thane." It killed her a little inside that he had no idea who she was.

"Goodnight Harry." she watched him leave and shut the door before she taking a deep breath, and turning to face Remus. He was still sitting, and had a calm look on his face. They were like that for a while.

It had been ten years sense they had been each other's company. The letters were there every now and then, now here they were. Together in the very room they had become friends in the first place, so many years ago.

"He does look like James doesn't he? Lily's eyes though." Remus finally broke the silence as if he could read her mind.

"Yes. Very much so. Professor Lupin." she said shaking her head. "I told you so." she smiled at him. He returned the smile.

"As I told you, you'd ruin your eye sight if you kept reading in the dark." he motioned to her glasses.

"Small prescription, I can see just fine without them."

"What can I do for you Holly?" He finally stood up and walked towards her. And did something unexpected. He hugged her. She couldn't help but hug him back. She put her head against his chest and breathed in. She never realized how much she missed Remus until this moment. The broke away.

"I need to ask you a few questions. Very standard, even though I'm pretty sure I know the answers to them, but it's formality. Then we can play the catch-up game." she paused. "That is if you want."

"Naturally. It's a Friday evening. No classes tomorrow, so what better way than with an old friend." Remus moved over to his desk and sat down. Holly sat on top of the desk, old habits dying hard.

"Alright, let's get the hard stuff out of the way." she took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "Do you have any knowledge of the whereabouts of the fugitive Sirius Black?"

"No." his eyes went dark, but his voice remained calm and steady.

"Did you, in any way, help Sirius Black escape from Azkaban Prison?"

"No."

"Are you hiding Black?"

"No."

"Do you have any information that could assist in his recapture?"

"No I do not."

"Thank you." Neither one said anything. It was a painful memory for both of them. One that Holly wasn't sure Remus had come to terms with yet.

"You didn't marry him."

"I didn't marry who?" She was confused, she drew her legs so she was sitting cross legged on his desk, hands resting in her lap.

"You didn't marry Avrik."

"How could you tell?" he pointed to her left hand, and the silver ring that she wore on her ring finger. "Oh." was all she could say.

"Does he know your using his last name?"

"Dead men don't tell any tales." she said flatly.

"When?" Holly thought for a moment.

"Four years ago."

"How?"

"Maybe some other time."

"Why do you still wear it then?"

"I can't get the bloody thing off." she looked at her hand. She looked at the silver ring, which never chipped, scratched, or faded. It still shone like the night she got it. "Believe me I've tried everything. I think it's cursed."

"Possibly. I wouldn't put it passed him to give you a cursed engagement ring."

"It's not an engagement ring. It's a Promise Ring." she corrected.

"Same thing isn't it?"

"Not exactly. It was a promise that it would have happened one day, very unofficial."

"I see." Neither one spoke for a while.

"You think you could look at it sometime? It is after all your area of expertise, Professor Lupin." the air around them immediately lightened. "God. Professor. I never thought I'd see the day. Congratulations Remus. Why didn't you tell me?" he smiled and shrugged.

"Probably the same reason why you didn't tell me you were coming here."

"I didn't know…oh. Touché Remus."

"Why don't we head into my privet quarters, and have a drink? That is if you still drink."

"Duh." she followed him over to a door behind his desk. It wasn't set up much different from her own.

A extremely large room, one side was his bed, on the other was a sitting area, complete a with couch and chair set. Holly plopped herself down at one end of the leather couch, took out her wand and lit his fire place. He poured two goblets of drink and sat down next to her.

"So, the Ministry send you here?"

"Nope. Dumbledore need help, and he asked me to help guard the castle. I'm back in free lance bounty hunting. More money, besides it's easer to catch the bad guys without the rule book breathing down your neck." Remus gave her a glace. "And Mad-eye." she laughed a bit. "You know it's not like we never got along, I think he started losing his mind, you know he was forced to retire not long after I left."

"So I've read."

"What's been going on with you Remus? How do you like teaching back here?"

"I like it."

"Remus."

"Fine. I love it. It's the best job I've ever had. Not to mention the longest. People don't look at me funny, they respect me Holly. Me. The student's hang on my every word, and I get along with most of my fellow teachers." his brown eyes dancing in the candle light.

"Severus?"

"How did you guess?" it was his turn to laugh, but this was more of a anxious laugh.

"What did that bastard do now?"

"Nothing."

"Remus John Lupin, you could never lie to me."

"I was…sick…and he assigned a paper on…well…you know…

"Remus you're a grown man, just say it."

"He assigned a paper on Wearwolfs, on how to identify them, to the third years, and I'm afraid someone might pick up on it."

"Third years?"

"Yeah."

"Not likely. Unless they're all like you in the brains department. I've been watching them, and it's not likely." he laughed. "You know I had to hold old Servie at wand point to get a straight answer out of him earlier."

"Really? Well, you two didn't waste anytime picking up where you left off."

"Ah yes, but this time he has a reason to hate me. You know, other than hatred by association."