Throughout the rest of the term, they would work on Potions in the afternoon and try to get together one or two evenings a week. Of course, some afternoons they got less work done than others. Severus was finding it more and more difficult to retain his bitter veneer around her. The cheerfulness he had once found nauseating, he now found refreshing. He still envied her innocence and was thankful she had not pressed him for any more information on where he had gone over the Easter holidays.
Late May, while they were working on the final draft of the Wolfsbane article, he said, "It's a new moon tonight."
She cocked her head, searching her memory. "So it is," she replied coyly.
"I was thinking that perhaps you could Dance for me again, as I so rudely ran out on you last time." He knew that neither of them had a watch tonight.
She smiled warmly at him. He had sounded almost embarrassed when he asked. "That would be nice, though it won't be the same."
He was confused. "Why not? There are Dryads in the Forest."
"Yes, but you really don't want to be part of the Dance with them. Trust me. You live here. If you Dance with them, it will make any trips you need to make into the Forest in the future, um, difficult," she replied uncomfortably.
"Difficult?" he asked. He wondered why women could not just tell you the facts, but made you dig for them.
"Well, there are some things you should know about the Dance." She felt guilty for not bringing them up before, but it had been trivial in Greece.
"What things?" He didn't like the sound of that. Had she somehow tricked him?
"Please, don't be mad at me. I didn't tell you because there wasn't any reason for you to know. It's not like you would be going back to that villa," she replied evasively.
"Athena," he said insistently.
She could tell he was quickly losing patience with her. "Okay, as I'm sure you noticed, the Dance is very sensual. What you saw that night was not the dance that is normally done at New Moon Celebration. What you were a part of was…the Passion Dance," she finished quietly.
"And what exactly is the Passion Dance?" he asked through clenched teeth, trying very hard not to lose his patience.
Athena could tell he was becoming agitated. "It's something similar to, but not quite, the Courting Dance. It's normally done when Dryads find a man in their domain during the Celebration. It's normally the precursor to an…" she looked away from him, unable to finish the sentence.
"Precursor to a what?" he whispered coarsely.
"To an orgy," she said softly. She finally turned to face him and rapidly continued her explanation, "But that's not what would have happened that night. I arranged it with them so that they would leave and I alone would have you."
"You were using the Dance to seduce me?" his voice was strained. It seemed that she was confirming his worst fears.
She stood, wrapped her arms around him and explained quickly, "No, no. I wanted to share the beauty and the power of it with you. I've heard my mother, sisters, and others talk about making love to a man as part of the Dance, and how wonderful it was, and I wanted to experience that with you. I knew that you wouldn't be opposed to making love to me, so I took you to the Dance." She was rubbing against him, hoping it would help dissipate some of his ire.
He was flattered. "And it is not possible for you to have a similar arrangement with the Dryads here?"
She was relieved that he didn't seem to be mad at her. "I could, but once I leave, they would feel no obligation to continue the arrangement. They would see you as a plaything every time you entered the Forest. I can't subject you to that."
He had not considered that. "So…you won't dance for me?" he asked.
"I'll dance, but it won't be quite the same." She gave him a warm smile and pushed him back onto the chair so she could sit on his lap.
He smiled back, but it quickly faded. "You will be leaving soon, won't you?"
She nodded sadly. "At the end of term. Though, can we not think about that yet? We still have a few weeks." She slapped his arm playfully. "Now, why did you have to go and depress me?"
He pulled her close for a kiss. "Dance for me tonight?" he asked, almost pleaded.
Looking deeply into his eyes, she found she couldn't resist. "Meet me at the main entrance at ten-thirty."
"I thought you said you couldn't let the others dance for me?" he asked suspiciously.
"They won't. I know somewhere else we can go." She ran her fingers through his hair.
"I'll be there," he replied as he reciprocated her kisses.
She kissed him one last time and reluctantly pulled away. After a few minutes of work in silence, she asked, "Sev?" She waited for him to look at her before continuing. "Do you think you could wear something different?"
"Is there something wrong with my clothing?" he asked, knowing that his clothes were climate appropriate this time.
"Well, it's all the buttons," she replied shyly.
"Is there a problem with my buttons?" he asked defensively.
"Several. There are too many of them, it's too time consuming and they're too repressive. Wear what you wore for me in Greece," she finished cheerfully.
"My buttons are repressive?" he asked defensively.
"They are. You hide behind them. Why?"
He knew it was an innocent question. He wondered if her innocence came from her Dryad heritage or having grown up in America, where there had been no war and there was no war looming. "It's just part of who I am."
"You shouldn't keep so many secrets," she said softly.
He felt that she was going to start prying about his past again. "I have confided in Albus, and for now, that is for the best."
She knew that he would once again refuse to tell her anything. A part of her knew that it made no difference, since she was leaving in a couple of weeks, but a part of her wanted to know more, to be a true friend to him, one that he felt safe confiding in. Right now, she was not that person. "I need to go change. I'll see you in a little while." She kissed him softly and walked out of his office.
Athena took Severus to a small clearing just inside the bounds of the Forest, far from where the Dryad colony lived. She turned her back to him, slipped off her shoes and let her cloak fall to the ground. She had never sung alone before and was quite nervous.
Closing her eyes, she tried to become one with her surroundings, listening to the music of the forest, as she had been taught, and then began to sing. As she gained more confidence with the song, she started to dance and then began circling Severus.
Once again, he found himself completely entranced by the Dance. Even without the influence of the other Dryads, there was no denying the grace and beauty with which she moved.
Athena lost herself in the Dance, using her long scarf as an extension of her body. She enjoyed twirling around Severus, never quite touching him, just looping her scarf around his body.
Severus couldn't take his eyes off her. Once again, she seemed as if she was in her natural element. It wasn't long after she started her dance that he could feel his groin throbbing. She had hardly touched him, but she was driving him wild. When she looped her scarf around his waist and pulled it slowly across his hips, he took a deep breath. He had no idea what her words meant, but the song had a very sexual feel to it.
He could only take so much of her provocative dancing before he reached out, took hold of the scarf and pulled her close for kiss. When she returned his kiss, he could feel her untying his shirt. He was glad that she was wearing her Greek dress as he unfastened the clips. He gently guided her over to where she had dropped her cloak and lowered her to the ground.
They quickly divested each other of clothing, eager to act on the passions that had been aroused by the Dance.
He kissed her neck. "That was amazing," he whispered.
She writhed under his touch. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"I more than enjoyed it," he said between kisses. Caressing her skin, he savored the softness. He fully intended to make this a very memorable experience. He began by gently twisting her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She moaned and writhed under his touch. "Do you like that?" he asked quietly.
"Yes," she panted. "Don't stop."
He captured her lips in his, letting her know that he had no intention of stopping.
An hour later, Severus and Athena lay under the stars, her cloak protecting them from the slight chill in the air. She wasn't saying anything, but he knew she was awake because she was rubbing his chest. He didn't want to speak just yet; he just wanted to savor the moment. Finally, he said, "I do believe your relatives were correct."
She ran her leg up his body. "That was wonderful, wasn't it?"
He really didn't want this moment to end. For a few brief moments he was being allowed a normal life. But it didn't matter. It would come to an end. They would return to the castle and the realities of teaching students and guarding them from Sirius Black. And, in just a few short weeks, she would be leaving. It was really for the best. His life was too complicated. "Thank you for sharing that with me."
"You're quite welcome." She shifted against him. "You wouldn't be interested in heading back to the castle, would you?"
"I thought you liked the woods?" he asked playfully.
"Well, yes, but it isn't really comfortable to spend the whole night here."
He was actually quite pleased she had made the suggestion; there was a rock poking him in his back. He was about to reply to her, when he thought he saw something moving in the trees. Quickly, he pulled away from her and scrabbled around looking for his wand. Finally, he said, "Accio wand."
Athena wrapped her cloak around her and pulled her own wand out of the pocket. "What is it?" she whispered.
Severus continued to look around the trees. "I'm not sure. I thought I saw something over there." He quickly pulled on his trousers and began investigating.
Athena joined him and lit her wand tip to look for any signs anyone had been there. "All I see are animal tracks," she said. Even though she didn't find anything, she now had the feeling that they were being watched. "I think we should go back to the castle," she said nervously.
"I believe that would be prudent." He kept a wary eye on the trees as they quickly dressed. He didn't sheath his wand until they were safely in the castle. He had no idea what it was that he had seen, but it gave him a very uneasy feeling.
Exams came all too quickly, and, as last minute preparations were made, Severus found he had very little time with Athena. He had thought her quite well organized, but she had been struck by a bout of indecisiveness on her final exams and spent most of the weekend preparing. She had converted several empty classrooms into Muggle-style rooms and she was planning to assign the students a number of tasks to perform using Muggle technology rather than magic.
He found her in her Muggle kitchen on Sunday night. "You have been working on this for nearly a week. I'm sure whatever you have planned will be sufficiently challenging."
She looked around the room and sighed. "I know. I just…don't want it to be too easy."
He entered the room, and, after closing the door, gave her a kiss. "If it has anything to do with Muggle technology I doubt it will be. Come now, you need to get away from exam preparations and I have the perfect distraction for you."
"When you make it sound like that, how can I resist?" she purred.
"Exactly my point. Why don't you meet me down in the dungeon?" He brushed the back of his hand along her cheek.
"I'll be down shortly."
Athena was glad when her last exam was over. Severus had to brew the Wolfsbane Potion, but had said he would come by her quarters after he delivered the potion to Remus. Of course, she was also sad that in a week she would be leaving Hogwarts. It was better that way, wasn't it? Severus kept too many secrets, but he had been a wonderful companion this last semester.
She dug through her closet looking for the green robes that Severus seemed to like so much. She spun in front of the mirror admiring the way the skirt twirled. He should be here soon and the elves had been more than happy to oblige her on her special request for dinner.
Severus ladled the Wolfsbane Potion into the goblet to carry it up to Lupin. This would be the last time this school year he would have to brew the potion and it felt wonderful. Unfortunately, he still had not proven that Lupin had anything to do with Black. Entering Lupin's office, he looked around and didn't see anyone. He frowned and called out, "Lupin?"
When there was no answer, he moved across the office to place the goblet on the desk. As he set the goblet down, he noticed a familiar piece of parchment, but this time it was not blank or insulting him. He now knew where Lupin was, heading down a familiar tunnel. He sneered as he realized he now had all the proof he needed. This was the same tunnel Black had lured him into all those years ago. He now had the opportunity to capture Black and his accomplice, Lupin. Finally, he would get the recognition he deserved.
He ran towards the Whomping Willow. Once he froze the tree, he saw something shimmery and silverly lying at the base of the tree. He immediately recognized it as an Invisibility Cloak. This could be very useful, he mused as he picked it up and draped it over himself.
When he arrived in the Shack, he could hear voices coming from upstairs. As quietly as possible, he climbed the stairs to make sure his quarries were there. He could hear an interesting story being told. It seems that Black was an Animagus, and Lupin had known. How typical, he had been correct and no one had listened to him. Of course, why would anyone listen to him? He was a Slytherin and they were all Gryffindors and Gryffindors were always right. Well, he would put a stop to this and prove once and for all what the lot of them truly were.
Athena checked the clock on the mantle. It was getting late. It shouldn't have taken Severus this long to finish the potion and drop it off in Lupin's office. Searching the dungeons, she could see that Severus had not been there in some time. The door to his quarters was locked and there was no answer. There was still a little bit of time until the moon rose. Hopefully, she could catch Remus before he locked himself away, and ask him if he had seen Severus.
She found Lupin's office deserted. When she saw the goblet on the desk, she crossed the room to check the goblet and saw the potion had not been drunk. Not good, she thought as she quickly searched the office. A trip to Remus' quarters showed that they were also deserted.
There was only one thing for her to do; she had to tell the Headmaster. If Remus had not taken his potion, he would be very dangerous when the moon rose. She started to get a very sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew that Severus had never liked Remus and she felt that Remus might be jealous of her turning her attentions to Severus. There was nothing good about this situation.
She ran as fast as she could to the Headmaster's study and knocked fervently on the door. She rushed in when she heard him say, "Come in."
"Headmaster!" She put her hand against the stitch in her side. "We have…problem."
"Sit, catch your breath," Albus offered.
"Remus…no potion…gone…Severus gone," she panted.
"Take some deep breaths, my dear, and start from the beginning," Albus instructed in a fatherly tone.
Athena obeyed his instructions. Once she gained control of her breathing, she began again. "Severus was supposed to meet me for dinner. When he didn't show up, I went to look for him and couldn't find him. I went to Remus' office and found the goblet full of Wolfsbane Potion sitting on his desk. I haven't been able to find either of them anywhere and I'm worried. It's full moon tonight, Albus."
He could tell that she was beyond worried. "Thank you for coming to me. I need you to do a favor for me. I need you to search the grounds. You can accomplish that search more quickly than anyone else. Let me open the window for you."
Athena was grateful for something to do. She had never considered searching the grounds; she had been too worried about Severus. She walked over to the window and transformed. As she spread her wing and took flight, she couldn't help but notice the moon now illuminated the grounds. She only hoped that she wasn't too late.
Using her improved falcon's vision, she searched for any sign of movement. From below, she heard a noise and headed towards it. She could see a werewolf fighting with a large dog. A short distance away she could see several prone shapes lying on the ground. One of them was clothed in black.
Looking back to the werewolf, she saw that the dog was not faring well. She had to do something to distract him. She had no idea how fast a werewolf could run, but hoped it was not as fast as she could fly. She dove down to distract the werewolf from the dog. Once she had the werewolf's attention, she led him into the woods.
Several times, she could hear his jaws snap quite close behind her. Falcons were faster in the dive and not very well suited to level flying. She knew that if he managed to catch her, she would be crushed in his powerful jaws. This was all the motivation she needed.
Once she thought he was far enough from anyone he might harm, she gained altitude and flew back to Albus' study as quickly as possible. She transformed back to her human form and landed with practiced grace. She had not always made it look so effortless.
"I've found them. They aren't that far from the Whomping Willow." She was very concerned about Severus. He had appeared to be unconscious; at least she hoped he was merely unconscious.
"And Remus?"
"I led him into the Forest. He is far enough from the others that he shouldn't be a threat to them anymore."
"Excellent. I will see to Severus and the others." He placed his hand on her shoulder in a fatherly gesture. "If I could ask you one more favor? I would appreciate it if you could keep an eye on Remus. I would hate for him to bite anyone."
She really wanted to make sure that Severus was all right, but knew that she was the only one that could safely watch Remus. She smiled weakly and replied, "Of course."
Albus gave a reassuring squeeze. "I am sure that Severus is fine. He has always been able to take care of himself. I will inform you if anything has happened."
"Thank you," she said. She was still not entirely reassured, but feeling better. Climbing back onto the widow ledge, she dove out of the window and transformed in search of Remus. Fortunately, his howling could be heard echoing across the night.
Once the moon set, Athena landed near Remus, assuming her human form. She approached him cautiously. Several times during the night she had led him deeper into the Forest to keep him from the school grounds proper. Tentatively, she reached for him. "Remus?"
He jumped and looked at her. "Athena?" He took in his surroundings and tried to remember what had happened. "Where…What…Oh, no, I didn't, did I?"
"Shhh. You're in the Forest. You forgot to take your potion last night. After you transformed I led you into the Forest and have kept you here," she reassured.
"You…kept me here?" He was surprised that she had risked herself to protect others from him.
"To protect the others. Come, let's get you back to the castle." She conjured up a cloak for him.
As she helped him to his feet, he asked cautiously, "You stayed with me all night?"
"Don't read anything into this. I only did as the Headmaster instructed." She really wanted to make sure Severus wasn't hurt. The last she had seen him, he was hanging unconscious near the Whomping Willow.
"Athena, I'm sorry to make you watch me last night. I know I should have taken my potion. I found some new information about Sirius Black and had to act. I completely forgot Severus was coming by with my potion." He hoped she would understand.
She berated him, "Do you have any idea how foolish that was? If I hadn't been here someone could have been seriously hurt. There were students near you."
He shuddered and replied sadly, "I know. It was foolish, but time was of the essence. If I had waited too long to act, something horrible might have happened."
"More horrible than running loose as a werewolf?" She had never thought he would be that irresponsible.
"Yes," he said weakly. He then launched into an explanation about the history of the Marauders.
When he finished, she was too stunned to say anything. He had kept more than his affliction secret, from her and the others. Now she understood why Severus had not trusted him. Thankfully, they were at the castle and she could make a graceful exit. "Well, um, see you later."
"Athena," he called and waited for her to turn around. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," she replied politely. She left in search of Severus. She had to make sure he was well.
Severus could not believe what had happened. He didn't know how it had happened, but he knew that Potter was involved. Dumbledore and Fudge were too taken by the Great Harry Potter to see him for what he was, a deceitful glory monger. He threw another book across his room. He heard a knock at his door. "Go away!" he shouted.
"Sev, it's me. Are you all right?" came Athena's muffled voice through the door.
He yanked the door open. "And where have you been?"
She didn't like his tone, or the way he looked. Glancing past him, she could see that his room was in total disarray. "What's wrong?" she asked.
He sneered, "Potter somehow helped Black escape. I don't know how he did it, but he made me look like a fool."
She didn't know what to think. She had heard Remus' version and she knew that Severus had either not heard or not believed everything. She also had no idea what was really the truth. Timidly, she walked into the room and righted a chair. "Did you want to talk about it?"
Severus began explaining his version of events in an angry tirade, but Athena could tell he was running out of steam as the story progressed. When he finished, he asked, "And where were you all evening? I looked for you and you weren't in your quarters."
"When you didn't come by for dinner, I went looking for you and when I saw the potion in Remus' office, I became concerned. I went to Albus and he suggested I search the school grounds. I found you unconscious and then saw Remus as a werewolf. I led him away from all of you and then went back to let Albus know. After that, he wanted me to keep an eye on Remus and make sure he didn't cause any harm."
Severus was glaring at her with stern disapproval.
"In my Animagus form, I could keep an eye on him and his hunter instincts would cause him to chase after a bird that got too close, and, as a falcon, I could keep out of his reach." Just barely, she added silently. There was no need for Severus to know how close to catching her Remus had come.
"You spent all night in the Forest luring a werewolf? That was very foolish," he admonished.
"I knew what I was doing. He wasn't going to catch me. Besides, what else was I going to do? Risk him attacking a student that wandered outside or perhaps let him wander into the village? I couldn't do that."
He wrapped his arms around her, relieved that she was unharmed. "And he didn't bite you?"
"No, I'm fine. Really. I would have much rather been here with you. I was thinking about you all night." She enjoyed his warm embrace. "And there's nothing the Ministry can do?" she asked switching the topic back to his plight.
He sighed. "No. Black is gone and there is no evidence to support that anyone here at Hogwarts aided him. Other than Lupin's friendship with Black in the past, I still have no proof that he has been helping Black. Dumbledore has refused to take my side, so there is nothing to be done."
"I'm sorry to hear that." She stood in his arms for several very long seconds. As she was standing there, she realized that she had never eaten dinner. "Are you hungry?"
"What?" He knew she was prone to asking random questions, but this was quite an abrupt subject shift.
"I never got to eat dinner. I know breakfast is in a couple hours, but I'm starving. I actually found myself looking for mice last night." She shuddered at that thought. "Would you like me to send down for something?"
He tried hard not to laugh at the thought of her hunting as a falcon. "That would be a wonderful idea."
After eating, Severus took Athena back to the bedroom where she fell asleep in his arms. He didn't mind. He would be there when she woke. Slipping out from behind her, he made himself presentable for going to the Great Hall. While he had no proof that Lupin had helped Black, there was one last thing he could do.
Upon entering the Great Hall, he surveyed the Slytherin table. He saw Pansy Parkinson sitting near Draco Malfoy. A cruel grin crossed his face. They were two of the biggest gossips in his House. He wiped the grin off his face and moved close to the two of them. He leaned down and spoke quietly, so that only those in the immediate area could hear what he had to say. "Malfoy, I thought your father would be interested in some information that has just come to my attention. It seems that Lupin is a werewolf."
He walked away from the table with a satisfied grin on his face. He could already hear the buzz at the Slytherin table. It wouldn't be long before the entire School knew about Lupin's affliction.
The leaving feast came all too quickly for Severus' liking. Never before had he been sad to see a school year end. Before now, he had always relished the opportunity for a few months away from the students. But this time, he knew that Athena would be leaving. She had already said that she would be returning to America.
He went to her room and found her packing her trunks. "You'll be leaving soon, won't you?"
She turned to face him and nodded. "I'm still amazed by the amount of stuff I have. I really moved into the room."
He stood in silence, watching her pack for several moments, before saying, "I wanted to thank you."
She smiled at him and laughed softly. "You're welcome. I had a good time this term, even if everything didn't work out as planned."
"As did I. I hope that you will have a safe journey back to Vermont."
"Thank you." While she could have stayed the summer, it was really best if they just broke cleanly. "I'll write." After she said it, she realized how trite it sounded. "I'll let you know how my apprenticeship is going and if I have any questions," she added, trying to sound a bit more intelligent.
"I…would look forward to hearing from you again." This was definitely unfamiliar ground for him.
She stepped forward and hugged and kissed him. "Thank you for being my friend while I was here. You made my stay more enjoyable. Perhaps I'll come back for a visit sometime?"
"Of course. And I would be interested in seeing Reese. You have told me so much about it, I feel I need to experience it first hand." At this point he thought they were just being polite. He had no real expectation that he would ever see her again.
She pulled away from him. They had reached the uncomfortable stage. "I'll see you around, Sev."
"Goodbye, Attie," he said and then walked out of her room.
She watched him go. She had always hated goodbyes.
A/N: That's all folks. Thanks for those that have taken the time to reveiw. I hope that you have enjoyed this story. I had a lot of fun with Athena, trying to make her a bit alien. OCs can be fun and difficult to write. If you enjoyed this story, I recommend you check out my other stories if you haven't done so.