"On the contrary, he's actually been lovely."

"I'm very lucky to have him as a mentor of sorts."

These two statements rang around Severus's head until they no longer belonged there. Okay, maybe it was wrong for him to hang back and eavesdrop on what should have been a private conversation but in his defence, Miss Lupin in Hogwarts was very suspicious and it was his job to protect the students. (He conveniently forgot the fact that Miss Lupin was very non-threatening and that even if she was, Albus could have handled it). Really, it was Albus's fault for not putting any sort of barrier to prevent just that. After all, since when had Severus ever minded his own business?

Except, he wasn't sure whether he regretted it or not since he couldn't stop fucking thinking about it now. Lovely, that was the word she used to describe him. The idea of him being lovely was laughable. Who would ever think him to be lovely? She must be delusional. Still, it touched a part of his shrivelled, black heart. He didn't stay much longer, deciding that he wasn't in the mood to hear them talk about him- she said one nice thing about him, yes, but he very much doubted that would last long. Had she said the same things to his face, he would've assumed she was trying to flatter him, but she must believe it to be true if she told it to Albus. No one would dare lie to him when they assumed their secrets were safe with him.

Severus respected him more than anyone else but he knew Albus's true character. Perhaps he was the only one who did. That only spoke to his patheticness, that he still liked the man knowing he was just as manipulative as his opponent.

Then, came the girl. What to do with her? He knew that she had somewhat of a crush on him but he hadn't, would never have ever guessed that she truly liked him. But, she saw him as a mentor, didn't she? Didn't that mean that she didn't have a crush on him? Could he have been seeing things in desperation of wanting her to like him? But, why would he want her to like him? No one liked him, he was fine with that, he didn't like them much either. If he wasn't, he'd have simply stopped being such a bastard a long time ago.

But, no. She was shyer with him than anyone else, to his knowledge. She laughed at his sarcasm and smiled more than was appropriate in his presence. She showed every indication of having a crush. Then again, what did he truly know about that stuff? He was in love with a dead woman who never returned his affections and while he cared very much about Magdalene, he had no feelings for her whatsoever. He'd go insane before coming to a resolution, so maybe it would be best if he forgot about it. It was only a crush and it would only remain a crush, one that she'd get over sooner rather than later once she starts disliking his company (if he wasn't making things up in his head, that is). It was surprising that she hadn't already, he had to give her that.

The sound of a throat being cleared interrupted his thoughts. "Minerva." She was the last person he'd expect, to be honest. Minerva McGonagall was one to hold grudges, it would be a couple of months before she'd forgive him and they'd go on without addressing their issues. It wasn't healthy, but it suited Severus just fine especially since it meant that he could do the same in turn. However, it was much too soon for them to resume their normal friendship so he could safely assume that this interaction was job-related.

He was correct. She barely looked at him whilst telling him of Umbridge planning to supervise their classes the next week. As he watched her leave, he felt gratitude towards the witch. She could have left him completely blind-sighted, he supposed. He really would never have forgiven her for that. Most likely.

He let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair. He needed a firewhiskey. Definitely.

Returning to her apartment, Lyra felt a rush of guilt. Kat waved to her from the couch, immersed in a show made for children, it looked like. She couldn't do this, how could she? She wasn't made to be a spy! It wasn't in her nature to be a backstabber. Dumbledore -he was definitely 'Dumbledore' now- had more...well, not faith, but confidence in her than she did. She'd end up failing him but that was backseat to the betrayal Kat would end up feeling.

Maybe she could just lie to the Headmaster? No, she already knew that would end up failing; she was a terrible liar. "Where were you?"

It only now just occurred to Lyra that Kat was a muggle. If that were true, wouldn't that mean she couldn't be disloyal? It was a point she wished she had thought of before. But, it was possible that Kat was lying about being a muggle, even though, technically she might not be meaning to lie since how would she know that Lyra was a witch?

"I was at...my old school. It's called Hogwarts. Ever heard?" Sadly, a shake of the head was all she received. Well, that was that question answered. "Oh, well, it's a private boarding school up in Scotland. I guess you wouldn't have."

Lyra let Kat watch her show in peace and continued to her room, flopping stomach-side on her bed after retrieving her journal. Opening it with a little more resistance than usual, for some weird reason, she started her entry, something which she had neglected recently.

Entry Date: September 30

It's been a long time, I'd apologize for that but you're just a piece of paper. First, D. called me today, wants me to spy on K. K=muggle, so I suppose that's that, a muggle can't be a threat to us, after all.

Ran into P.S. as well. I can't stop thinking of him and I don't know why. This isn't a crush, so why can't I keep him out of my mind?

Anyways, maybe D. will let me take on a different job.

R. is acting strange recently. He's more angerable these days. Is that a word? 'Angerable?' I feel like it must be. It's different because he's usually so level-headed. I'm worried about him- I don't think S.B. is a good influence on him, but I can't exactly tell him that, can I? They've been friends since they were 11, he has a blind spot when it comes to him.

Maybe that's why S.B. won't leave me alone, he knows that should R. figure out, he'd forgive him just like that. It's always been one of his faults, though not many would call it a 'fault.' R. has always given more than he was given, it's not fair, but he won't see that. I'm only his sister, after all. Why would he listen to me? What do I really know? I'm not that different from him.

Dad's not doing so well either. He has cancer and I'm terrified that it'll kill him. And, I'd seen him so little before, especially after I broke contact off with him. I've lost what little time I had with him, and I'll never get that time back. R. and Dad can't stay in the same room without being

at each other's throats anymore either. I don't even know what the problem is between them, they've always just been like that, thinking about it. It was never this bad only because of Mum, she truly was an angel.

A heavy knot formed in the back of her throat as she swallowed back the tears that always accompanied thoughts of her mother. She remained like that until sleep took her over.

"Hey, Professor Snape," she chirped with more energy than usual. Her chippered tone sounded more forced than usual. He looked her over once- her eyes were slightly swollen as if she'd just been crying and her hands were balled into little fists, although they unclenched once she realized she was doing so. "I don't see what you could possibly be happy about this early in the morning," he grumbled in response.

She chuckled and he could have sworn her smile widened a little bit, "Why not? I'm brewing potions with y- for The Cause."

"You were about to say something else." He amusedly watched as her eyes widened and she scrambled for an excuse, "N-no, I wasn't. I mean, if you had to work with Rita Skeeter, you'd be ecstatic to do just about anything else."

He was quiet for a moment before replying quietly, "I may not have to work with Skeeter, but surely working alongside Dolores Umbridge is worse?"

She turned to him, her face darkening with recognition, "Isn't she that woman who pushed for all those werewolf laws?"

"Among others."

"Oh, I hate her." Severus was surprised to hear the vehemence in her voice, but, then again, her brother was a werewolf so it wasn't a far leap in conclusion that she'd hate the woman who made it nearly impossible for him to ever keep a job in the wizarding world. "You're right," she concluded, "Yours is a fate worse than mine. I'd take Skeeter over Umbridge any day."

"Glad we're on the same page." They exchanged a look, both equally as surprised that they actually had a conversation as equals rather than that of Professor and student. They continued the brewing in silence. This was probably the point where he should do something to reassert their rightful positions -it wasn't appropriate for him to be so relaxed around her- but, it was kind of nice this way.

Nice? What the fuck was wrong with him? He didn't deserve anything 'nice' and even if he did, talking to Miss Lupin shouldn't have anything to do with that. Was he so desperate for human companionship? Maybe he had better get back on Minerva's graces sooner rather than later.

"I think I've got the next step...aconite leaves, right?"

"Crushed."

"Right." She put her hand out, signalling him to place the knife on it. He did and she adjusted her grip so that it was firm and steady. Her other hand kept the leaves in place and she sliced the leaves, probably less precisely than the Professor would have. When they were in small pieces, she was about to put them into the cauldron but he stopped her. She was careful to limit her contact with the aconite but he showed no such care, inspecting the pieces with his fingers. Then, he separated them individually into two separate piles. "These-" he pointed at the smaller pile "-are acceptable, these are not."

"What?" She asked in admiration. He didn't answer her, choosing to do the rest by himself. Again following the same process to determine whether they were safe to use or not (only about a pinch of them were unusable, in contrast to her work), he scraped the tiny pieces into the cauldron and lowered the flames. "Acromantula milk." He poured a white, silky liquid from a glass bottle. Lyra gagged at the smell of it. It smelled like rotten cheese and as if it was dunked with the scent of unwashed socks of adolescent boys for years. Even Professor Snape looked bothered by it. "How do you stand that?"

"There are worse things to smell." And just like that, whatever lightness that remained after their teasing conversation immediately evaporated. Looking into his eyes, he looked to be a thousand miles away in thoughts that she didn't think she ever wanted to know what they were. Whatever it was, she believed him. And, if she felt any pity for him, she kept it to herself. "Of course, a potion master like you would be accustomed to worse… smells."

"Hmm? Yes." With only the sound of the Wolfsbane starting to bubble filling the room, she was all too aware of how close he was to her. Their arms were stretched out next to each other, not touching but so close she could feel his warmth mingling with her own. She stole a not-so-quick glance at their almost connected arms. His forearm was at least twice in diameter as hers but still thin. The skin there matched that of the rest of his body, a smooth porcelain colour. She, for some reason, kind of wished he would move his arm closer so that she could feel his skin on hers.

Her heart beat harder and she could have sworn that the temperature of the room was increased. What was this feeling? It was so familiar, like the feeling of warmth, yet she couldn't assign a name for it. She didn't get to think about it too long, footsteps were running down the stairs. "Lyra," the voice called.

Professor Snape looked positively furious and she couldn't help but groan. "I'll be right back, I promise." Slipping through the curtain, she met a smiling Sirius Black.

"What do you want?"

"Came to save you," he shrugged as if he thought he was doing her a favour. She took a deep breath; having an outburst at him wouldn't do her any good. "I don't need saving, Sirius."

"Of course you do, I wouldn't wish Snivellous on anyone." A sudden fury burned viciously in her chest, leaving her completely speechless for a moment. "Why don't you just leave me alone?"

"And why would I want to do that?"

"Because that's what any decent person would do. Go away."

"But-"

"I'm happy here."

He snorted at that, his demeanour full of confidence, "Please, what sane person would willingly want to be in Snivellous's company?"

"Me, that's who. I'll tell you for the last time, leave me alone." His smile dropped off his face, maybe he finally got that she just wasn't interested in him. She turned back, returning to the lab. "You may go," Professor Snape coldly stated.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, you are free to leave with the mutt."

"But-"

"Leave, I don't want you here." For all of his mean remarks, there was no anger in them, only cold dispassion and annoyance. Except now, he truly sounded angry and she felt physically hurt by it. "Please, I don't want-"

"What part-" he turned around on his heel, his eyes meeting hers, not hiding any of his hatred of her at all "-of go away do you not understand, you stupid little girl?"

A stupid, little girl. That's how he saw her. As a stupid. Little. Girl. "Fuck you," she snarled at him through blurred eyes. She left in a hurry, not being able to say that she didn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

Severus stored the potion away before he chucked it across the room. He knew there was a catch, no one would ever dare be nice towards him like she was. After all, what sane person would want to be in his company? It had somehow missed his attention that she was friends with Black. Fucking Black of all people. It was like history was repeating itself again except Lily turned into Lupin's sister and Black exchanged positions with Potter.

Perhaps he had just been blind-sighted. He didn't expect the betrayal he felt at the realization that Black sent her to spy on him or, perhaps it was a set up- try and get Miss Lupin to seduce him only for her to cruelly laugh at his face, telling him that it was just a prank.

He should have expected that and he was more the fool for allowing himself to almost like her company. Yes, she was alluring in her own way, but he was master at keeping people at a distance. It was on him, really, but he wouldn't allow it to happen again. The only question was how. The meetings needed to come to an end, that was for sure. He would not be taken for a fool.

Try, he did but the Headmaster was relentless in his decision. By the end of the meeting, it became clear that not only would Miss Lupin continue to work with him but that Albus was all too keen on this professional relationship to occur. The reason, Albus kept hidden, as always, because god forbid Severus ever know anything.

Severus ended up storming out as he always did. He was a little tired of this -storm into Albus's office, have a long argument that he always ended up losing, storm out- but another part of him enjoyed the familiarity of this routine.

He skipped going to his quarters, it was about dinnertime anyways. He forewent his usual chair next to the headmaster, taking up one by Charity. She offered him a kind smile and asked him to take her to a muggle store during the Hogsmeade weekend. The Muggle Studies professor had figured out that he knew a lot more about the muggle world than people would expect within her first month here, some 5 years or so ago. Ever since then, he was the person she'd go to when she wanted to experience something within the muggle world.

By now, he was sure that she'd already been to a muggle store at some point in her life, her thirst for knowledge of how muggles live was limitless, but he agreed to her offer all the same. It had become a thing between the two of them, and Severus didn't hate it as much as he would claim to. Somehow Charity likely sensed this since she never took his complaints seriously. Or, maybe it was just that she didn't take him seriously. She was a Hufflepuff, he had the suspicion that she saw him as a sugar cookie that was slightly hardened on the outside and there was just no point in proving her otherwise.

Albus arrived as the first students started trickling in. Severus determinedly didn't look his way, playing with the chicken on his plate that he wasn't going to eat. He was vegetarian, partly because his body didn't react well to meat, partly because he had gone his first 11 years without meat due to not being able to afford it and due to that, not having acquired a taste for it once he got to Hogwarts, and partly because he'd already seen enough death for five lifetimes and simply refused to take any part of it, even if it was only an animal's death on his hands.

"Not cooked to your perfection?"

"Oh, shut it, Hooch." That woman would get on his last nerve if he wasn't careful enough. Their relationship was amicable enough these days but the Quidditch instructor had always trusted him even less than how far she could throw him. "I'm just not hungry." It was fine, he'd sneak to the kitchen like he was still a schoolboy later. The house-elves knew about his particular diet and would have a meal ready for him.

Before anyone could say a thing he was out of his seat and striding down the long aisle to leave, suddenly not in the mood for any more conversation.

A/N: That's 10 chapters in! To be honest, I thought that they'd be together or at least on the verge of getting together by now, but they're being a bit more adamant than I expected.