Wikeni could not stand herself the whole day. It was Saturday, her term on the job was over, and all of her friends were out of town. She was completely alone in the house. Miserably alone in the house.

She wished Severus would show up already.

But she knew he had an important "business meeting" with his boss, some guy named Bumbledoor or something like that. She wondered what kind of business he was in… could he be a doctor? She giggled. Personally, she would prefer a police officer, but eh, he didn't seem the type. He was too high strung and grumpy to be an officer.

Wikeni's mind raced all day. How would he treat her? Would things be awkward? Would he be in a different mood? How long would he take? What did he consider "tonight?" Was it late? How late? Would she be up to greet him? Would he even show?

She forced herself to relax and sit down on her favorite chair to watch TV. As she flipped through the stations, she realized most were still showing romantic movies in honor of Valentine's Day, which had been less than a week before. God, how she suddenly hated TV.

All of a sudden, a loud knock on the door rang through the living room.

Wikeni jumped up from her seat to catch the door, but tripped over the small round coffee table and fell flat on her face, spilling the doily and fake flowers onto the floor. She hopped quickly up again and leapt to the door, but took a second to straighten herself before answering with a flourish.

It was the mailman.

"Hello, madam, I've got a package here for you? Ms. Elli Spade?"

"Uh, no, she's on vacation, but I can sign for it."

Wikeni gently scrawled her name on the form, then took the small box inside.

Immediately she sat down and moaned. Would evening never come?

Severus stood in the small village of Milton-on-Serpeste, anxiously awaiting Dumbledore's arrival and the moment in which he could leave to see Wikeni. Hatred and loathing suddenly filled his body… he hated Dumbledore for keeping him waiting, it was keeping him from other duties, and yet he could find nothing else to occupy his mind but the girl, and then the girl herself, dancing, smiling, snarling Wikeni. But even though he felt immense joy at the sudden thought of her, he also felt coldness in his heart, seething anger and hatred and loneliness. He had had a heart made of stone almost all of his life, and suddenly this girl entered his life wielding a sledgehammer, and in a matter of seconds, had demolished all the protection he had worked for years to build. His icy front, for years, never failed to make a child cower or a student recoil. How could she – no, how dare she try and break him?

Suddenly, a loud crack! Sounded in the still, cold air, and Severus turned to see Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Good morning, Severus. I trust you slept well?"

"Fine, Headmaster. I thought it was illegal to apparate in this area?" Dumbledore seemed to know what had happened already, as he always did. After all, it was he who had taught Severus occlumency and legillimency.

"Ah, but only from your location, not to this town. Now, do you know why I brought you here?"

"Yes," he fumed.

"Very good, then we are already a step ahead!"

The rest of the day went by very slowly, and somehow the old man seemed to take more time explaining things than usual. Severus already knew what he had to do… he did not like it, he, admittedly, was scared, but decided it was his duty to repay Dumbledore for his forgiveness. It had not been easy to prostrate himself before the Headmaster years ago, and it was no easier today to try and tell him no. Severus, of course, knew that this would not only help the Order, but would help Dumbledore's precious little Potter as well. Star student, hero of the masses, Harry Potter. Half of him did hope that the boy would fail, but the other half, the truthful half, knew that he would not. Luck always followed the righteous, and perhaps that was why he had had none of his own.

Either way, he wanted to be out from under Dumbledore's thumb as soon as possible, and preferably into the small cottage he had suddenly grown to adore overnight. It was almost five o'clock.