Disclaimer - It's not mine. Never was.

A/N - And I would like to give a special thanks out to the following people who were absolute dears and reviewed, (as well as wishing me a happy belated birthday)the last chapter:

Sarah -I'm glad you liked the chapter. Sable is kinda forward, isn't she? Reminds me of someone else I know... Anyhow, hope you enjoy this chapter. And sorry it took so long for me to get out.

angel-girl-xxx : Thanks forthe wishes. I do plan on using the description within the next few chapters. So, watch out for it. Thanks for being a faithful reviewer, as your comments continue to help out. Lotsa love to you!

Nimrodel Telcontar - Brazil, huh? Cool. I always wanted to go there. I'm glad you like this story. Heck, even I think I like it better than the origial. Weird, eh? As for Harry finding out about the two of them...it will come in time. He will get to see more than he needs to, that much is for sure! Anyhow, hope you enjoy this chapter.

Camilinh - Sorry about the delay. Things have been hectic around here lately. Hope this makes up for it. And the little talk between Remus and Ailric will come next chapter. Promise. :) Later. And I hope you finally got a break away from your job. ;)

-

Wolf's Bane II: Return to Hogwarts

Chapter Eight

A Much Needed Lesson on Family

-

Harry jumped as Hermione dropped another book onto the desktop, causing dust to go flying all over the place. He, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were all currently sitting in the large office of Dr. Lee's working on the summer homework they had been assigned by the professors before the end of last term. Despite the fact that the leaving fifth years had had to endure the O.W.L.'s at to the end of term, many of the professors had deemed it necessary to send them home with an exorbent amount of homework.

Snape and McGonagall seemed to be the worse of the two. Of course, the half dozen or so essays that Flitwick had set for them to finish was nothing to sneeze at. Suffice to say, all four of the Hogwarts students were up to their necks in parchment, quills, and ink pots.

Harry was on the worst end of it now, especially since he had agreed to begin Occulemency lessons with Dr. Lee later on that evening, and needed to get as much done as possible. After that nice little explosion in her office the other evening with Remus, Harry had come to understand how the woman thought, at least a little more.

It had not taken long to see that Dr. Lee was almost the complete polar opposite of Mrs. Weasley, at least as far as Harry's involvement with Order matters was concerned. Mrs. Weasley still fervently believed that Harry did not need to know what was going on, or at least know the bare minimum of facts if any, considering he was not a member of the Order. But Dr. Lee, however, had her own ideas of what was right.

And her idea of what was right included Harry knowing what was going on. Needless to say, the two women had been on uneasy terms since Dr. Lee had voiced her opinion a few days before on Harry continuing his Occulemency lessons with her, and the Weasley matriarch saying there was no use in putting Harry through any more torture by delving into his memories. Harry had heard Mr. Weasley latercomment that he'd rather '…face Voldemort any day of the week before getting between two grown women trying to run the same house..' And Harry could see where the sense was in that.

Mrs. Weasley, who usually had a large number of people at the Burrow to coddle and look after, was somewhat out of place at Haven's Hollow, where Dr. Lee ran most of the day to day activities. Even Ron and Ginny had noticed that their mother avoided the place whenever possible. Harry just thought she stayed away because she didn't like Dr. Lee all that much.

"I think I've found something that will help with that Charms essay you are working on, Harry." Hermione said, taking her seat at the desk and flipping through the newest book in the pile. "Dr. Lee has quite an extensive research collection. Not as good as Hogwart's, mind you, but good none the less." She handed the book to Harry, who just put it on top of the other four she had searched out and given him within the past hour.

"Can we take a break yet?" came Ron's voice from behind an overly large pile of books that towered over his head. "We've been at this for ever!"

"We've been working for barely an hour, Ron." she answered.

"We've got all summer to finish this stuff, Hermione." the red head said, pushing some of the books out of his way so he could see the young woman in question. "It's nice outside today. So why are we staying cooped up in this bloody house? Homework can wait!"

"Stop procrastinating and just finish the essay." Ginny said with a frown, not even looking up from her own parchment as she scribbled the essay for Snape on a Vanishing potion. Ron just grumbled incoherently and returned to his homework, muttering something about obsessive-compulsive gits while Hermione abdicated her chair once again to search for something to help her finish her own Potions essay.

Harry, who heartily agreed with Ron about being cooped up inside on such a nice day, never the less went back to reading and trying to formulate a reasonable paragraph on the use of Concealment charms.

They had not received their O.W.L scores yet, but Harry knew they were scheduled to arrive within the next few weeks. He was actually quite anxious to find out how he did, considering Snape had not proctored the Potions practical, and he had fallen asleep during the History of Magic test.

A half hour passed without a word being spoken, and the only sounds were that of quills scratching out answers on parchment, or the thud of Hermione dropping another book into a pile somewhere along the rows of tomes. Harry was seriously beginning to wonder if Hermione had gotten herself lost in the shelves of books somewhere.

"Hey," Hermione called out a few moments later. "come look at this." She walked over to the table she and Harry had been sharing and flipped open what looked like a bound journal. Harry could see her face creased in confusion as she flipped through the pages, trying to decipher the meaning of the words on the parchment in front of her.

"What is it now, Hermione?" Ron asked crossly, coming over to look. "First you tell us to get to work. And now you're interrupting us. Make up your mind, woman!"

"What is it, Hermione." Ginny asked over her brother's ranting. "What did you find?"

"It's Dr. Lee's journals." Hermione said, her brow furrowing. "I found it at the end of one of the shelves. But look at what she's written."

Harry glanced, noticing the diagrams and pictures that graced the pages, but not really comprehending what the text was telling him. It all seemed like a bunch of babblish to him, just groupings of random letters that made absolutely no sense. Apparently Ron had the same idea because he shook his head and looked down at Hermione with a frown.

"What exactly is this supposed to be, Hermione?" he asked.

"It's the outline of a potion that is supposed to shield from the Unforgivables." Hermione said, her voice full of awe. "But more specifically, the Avada Kedavra curse."

"And you know this…how?" Ron asked skeptically. "It's nothing but gibberish and nonsense!"

"Honestly, Ron." Ginny said, pushing her brother back so she could get a closer look. "You don't see things unless they jump out and bite you on your arse, do you? The text is backwards."

Ron made a noise that Harry vaguely took as understanding before redirecting his attention to the journal. Sure enough, the lines were backwards, just like Hermione had said.

"Why would she write it backwards, and upside down, at that?" Ron asked, scratching his head. "Doesn't make much sense to me."

"I don't know." Hermione said. "But this outline is quite thorough. It details all of her attempts at creating this potion, and the results of each experiment. It's fascinating that such a thing even exists. I've never heard of it before."

"This is the one that Ms. Meadows told us about." Harry said. "She called it the Draught of Lazarus, or something like that."

"But a potion to stop the Avada curse?" Hermione asked, shaking her head. "Potions usually aren't used to counteract a spell or curse, a countercurse is. Potions are usually used only as a preemptive form of…"

"What are your four up to?" came someone's voice from behind them. They turned and found Ailric Robbins leaning against the door casing, a grin on his face.

"We're working on homework." Harry said, taking in the blond headed man carefully. Despite the fact that they had all been at Haven's Hallow for going into two weeks now, Harry had seen very little of this man. The little Harry and the others had seen of him, especially the interactions with Ms. Meadows and Mr. Tartavu, reminded them all of Tonks. He was very vivacious and outgoing, just not as clumsy as the Metamorphagous.

"Homework? During the summer?" he asked, seemingly appalled at that thought, though his grin was even wider. "Surely you jest?"

"My thoughts exactly." Ron murmured, only to receive an elbow in the stomach from Ginny, and a glare from Hermione.

"What are you working on?" Mr. Robbins asked, walking over to them and peering down at the book Hermione had brought out. Harry caught the faint flinch and frown before the man covered it up.

"Potions." Hermione and Ginny replied in unison.

"Charms." Harry said.

"Whatever it is Hermione's harping on me about." Ron said, shrugging.

"Well, if I didn't harp, Ronald, then you'd get nothing done." Hermione answered, leveling him with a glare that would have made Snape proud. "Honestly, if it wasn't for the last minute, I doubt you'd finish any of your work!"

"Okay, let's derail this argument before you two destroy Dr. Lee's library." Mr. Robbins said, getting between the two teenagers, and picking up the book Hermione had placed on the table, snapping it shut and putting it under his arm.

"We were looking at that." Ginny said, eyeing the book. "And we weren't finished."

"I highly doubt you would find any useful information in Mikayla's old research journals, Ms. Weasley." the man answered. "It's not exactly information Professor Snape is going to assign for summer reading."

"Yes, but…."

"Anyhow, maybe I can get someone to help you out that is better in potion brewing than myself. I can do charms and spells, but potions have never been my strongest subject." he said. "It is more efficient, and you'll have more time to have a little fun on this wonderfully beautiful day. What say you?"

"Sounds good to me." Ron said, grinning. "I've got to do that essay for that vampire next anyhow."

"I guess so." Hermione said, looking a little crestfallen that she would possibly be taken out of the library.

"Wonderful." Mr. Robbins said. "Just a moment." The man walked over to a nearby window, opened it, and stuck his head out. He hollered for Mr. Tartavu, who Harry had seen out back with the menagerie of animals that called Haven's Hallow home. A few minutes later, the man in question walked through the door, wiping his hands off with a rag, and Ms. Meadows right behind him.

"What have you done now, Ailric?" the auburn haired woman asked, frowning slightly.

"Nothing." the man said, his hands in the air defensively in front of him as if to ward off the other woman's evil glare. "I've done nothing. Just wanted to talk to Gabe."

"What is it, Ailric?" he asked grimly. "I'm kinda o' busy for yeh antics atta the moment."

"No antics." the blond man said. "The kids are working on some summer homework, and seem to be stuck on their essays for the Bat."

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked. "Who are you referring to?"

"Professor Snape." Ms. Meadows said. "It seems that he did not make a very good impression on Ailric, and he's nicknamed him the Bat."

"Well, he looks like one, doesn't he?" Ailric asked, turning to Gabe. "Admit it."

"Acts like one if you stay around him long enough." Ginny muttered, causing Ailric to grin even more. "Life sucking, biased git!"

"At any rate," Mr. Tartavu said. "I'll help yeh, lads. What're yeh lookin' for?"

"Vanishing potions." Ginny said sullenly.

"O.W.L level revision?" Ms. Meadows asked. Ginny only nodded.

"Well, let me see wha' I can do here now." Mr. Tartavu said, going over to the place where Ginny was working. Hermione gathered up her parchment and went to sit next to the red headed girl, quickly asking Mr. Tartavu questions about her own essay.

"What are you two working on?" Ms. Meadows asked, turning back to the two boys.

"Charms." Harry said. "Flitwick set us a three and a half foot parchment on Concealment charms and their uses."

"Herbology." Ron shuddered. "At least, I think that's what Hermione threw at me earlier."

"Well, let's see if that is what it is, shall we?" Ms. Meadows asked, gesturing for Ron to lead the way. "Ailric, give Mr. Potter a hand if he needs it. You're the best at Charms out of the three of us anyhow. And none of your ridiculously concocted hexes, either!"

"Yes ma'am." Mr. Robbins said, saluting the woman, although Harry sincerely believed the man didn't mean it. He turned to Harry and grinned.

"So, Potter," he said, an evil grin on his face that was infectious. "You ever heard of the Bructricia hex?"

"No."

"Got anybody that you just can't stand at this school of yours?" he asked. Harry immediately thought of Draco Malfoy and his goons Crabbe and Goyle.

"Yeah."

"Well then," Mr. Robbins said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Let's get this essay about ruddy Concealment charms out of the way. And I'll teach you a few nice little hexes that'll have your favorite enemy running to his dear mummy in fright!"

Later on that evening, long after dinner was over with, Harry descended the steps from the second floor and down Dr. Lee's office. He knocked on the door, then let himself in when he heard the woman's voice.

"Ah, Mr. Potter." she said, turning to face him. "Glad to see you made it. I was beginning to wonder if you would show."

"Yeah, well, I figured it couldn't hurt." Harry said. Despite the fact that she seemed trustworthy, and even Remus had vouched for her, Harry still remained a little more distanced from her than he should have.

"Well, not exactly the reasoning I was hoping for, but it will do." she said, nodding. "Please, have a seat. Now, there are a few things I need to explain to you, since you have consented to these lessons."

"Like what?"

"As you well know, Occulemency is a very personal art. From the little I've gathered from Snape and Dumbledore, your altercation revolved around you poking around in Snape's Pensieve, correct?"

"Yes."

"And then that, coupled with his long running assessment that you are a hopeless basket case, despite what anyone else tries to teach you……" Dr. Lee cut off and shook her head sadly. "Well, I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did with Snape. And for that, I commend you greatly, Mr. Potter."

"What?"

"I'm afraid that my tolerance of Severus Snape has greatly diminished over the years. At one point, we put up with each other quite well due to our common interest in the subject of Potions. Unfortunately, it did not last. After an altercation…..well, suffice to say I've avoided him as much as I could ever since I was eighteen years old."

"And what does this have to do with me?" Harry asked. "I already know Snape is a git that hates my guts."

"I know when he tried to teach you before, he bombarded your mind repeatedly without really giving you specific instructions on how to defend yourself." she explained. "Why he done this, I am not sure. Although I suspect it's because he wanted to humiliate you as much as possible before you finally muddled through and figured it out on your own. Or you got angry enough and forced him out."

"I done it once." Harry said quietly. "I saw his memories from when he was younger."

"So I've heard." she said. "And I doubt they were memories of sunshine and daisies." Harry shook his head, remembering the graying memories he had picked up from his professor. "However, there is a better of posting your mental defenses than the way he showed you. It makes the strong, more durable."

"Why didn't he teach me that way then?" Harry asked, confused. "Seems to make more sense to me."

"Because it takes longer." she replied. "But the length of time is offset by the stability of your defenses. It is more effort on the teacher's part, and patience is a necessity."

"Which is what Snape doesn't have anytime I am concerned."

"Yes, well, the animosity he has for you is a carry over from your father." she said. "I'd figured he'd have grown out of it by now, but it apparently hasn't. Then again, Snape's tolerance of your mother also plays a large part in why he continues to help both you and Dumbledore."

"My mum? What's she got to do with why Snape hates me?" Harry asked.

"More than you may realize, but not as much as you may think." she said. "Lily was a kind hearted individual who accepted people for what they were. She got along with most everyone, despite the prejudices she was faced with during our school time. She hated when bullies pushed on the younger students, and wound up with many a hex mark on her face for jumping between a Slytherin and some younger student."

"When she first came to Hogwarts, she actually managed to befriend Snape, despite the rivalry of the Houses. They were friends for a number of years. And James knew they were on good terms with each other, so he started making Snape the target of he Marauder's pranks. I think James was trying to scare him away from Lily. Unfortunately, the only thing it did was make your mother angry. Of course, when Sirius was added into the equation, things really got explosive."

"Finally, there was a huge fight between Snape and the Marauders at the beginning of their fifth year. Snape and Lily's friendship was exposed to the whole school, courtesy of Regulus Black and Bellatrix Black. And instead of standing beside your mother, Snape denounced her in front of the whole school, calling her a Mudblood, and denying that he'd even spoken more than a dozen words to her. Of course, Lily was hurt, and that spurred James into action. One big fight ensued, and James and Snape wound up dueling near the lake one night, with Regulus and Sirius as their seconds."

"When Lily found out, through Remus no less, she went down there to try and stop them. She jumped in between the two of them, which was one of her not so smart moments. Anyhow, Snape wouldn't hex her, but Regulus did. That hex landed her in the hospital wing for two weeks. But of course, Regulus wound up in there too, courtesy of James fists. That was twice, but Lily wouldn't give up on Snape. But after the O.W.L.'s that year, when she made James let Snape down when your father turned him upside down by the lake, and Snape called her a Mudblood, she lost it."

"Ever since then, she had washed her hands with Snape, despite the fact that she thought he wasn't all that bad, at least not to her. Unfortunately, Severus didn't have the option of turning his back on his housemates, and Lily knew that. But when he refused to even speak to her, she was forced to let their friendship die."

"And then my dad stepped in." Harry said.

"Yes." Dr. Lee answered. "Once James deflated his ego a little, Lily was more than willing to give him a chance. He made her happy, more so than any other guy had."

"But, she hated him so much…"

"Harry, I won't deny that your father was big-headed, and even a bit egotistical; nor will I deny the fact that your mother was a quick tempered, nosey prat at times. They both were." Dr. Lee chuckled. "But they worked well together in the end. They grew to love each other, and your proof of that."

Harry was not sure as to what to say to that. It was kind of shocking, hearing the back story about his parents and Snape. He remembered Remus telling him that his mother was a kind individual, but he had never said she had befriended Snape while they were at school.

Things were slowly starting to fall into place now. And Harry was glad too. He'd felt so mad when he'd seen Snape's memory in the Pensieve of his father hexing him just for the fun of it. It had taken his father of the imaginary pedestal Harry had placed him on, making him realize that James Potter had been far from the perfected being he had been so proud of.

But now, knowing a little more of the back story, Harry didn't feel so bad knowing that Snape had been asking for it by turning his back on Harry's mother.

"But how…" Harry began, still somewhat confused. This woman knew all about his mom and dad, but he didn't remember seeing her in his picture album of his parent's, or the original Order picture Moody had showed him. "Why weren't you in the original Order? How do you know them so well, yet I've never seen a picture of you? Not even Remus and Sirius have ever mentioned you before."

"I wasn't in the original Order for a number of reasons, mostly because the path between what is easy and safe, is not necessarily the one that is right."" she said sadly. "Sixteen years ago, I took the easy way out, but running because I was scared. Now, however, I am doing what is right, if only to protect the reasons I ran in the first place."

"So…"

"To put it simply, Mr. Potter, I did the right thing, but for all the wrong reasons. Now, I'm back to try and fix it. But that's enough for tonight." Dr. Lee said, smiling at him. "Rehashing old memories is not a favorite past time of mine. But you did need to understand more so than what you already did. There are a few other things I wanted to ask you about, concerning the club you set up last year for Defense class."

"The DA?" Harry asked.

"Yes." she said. "Now, what exactly have you taught the students? And how far along are you with these charms?" She slid a piece of parchment in front of him that showed a list of some familiar and not so familiar spells. Harry frowned and told her what they had went over, and who the members were, as well as the story of Marietta Edgecomb and her betrayal to Umbridge.

"Do you plan on letting us continue?" Harry asked.

"Well, I don't see why not." she answered. "No harm in it, as long as Dumbledore agrees. And I'll make sure you don't have to mead in the Hogs Head for meetings either, if he agrees."

By the time Harry got out of Dr. Lee's office an hour and a half later, all he wanted to do was go get some sleep. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side, because he saw Ginny at the top of the stairs, a displeased look on her face when there was an audible thump of something hitting the floor coming from the room he shared with Ron.

"Something wrong?" he asked her.

"Yeah. Hermione hag a letter from Krum, and Ron found it." she said, rolling her eyes. "He read it, and she caught him, and now they're fighting."

"Over what now?"

"Apparently Krum wants to come see her on the first Hogsmeade weekend we have." Ginny said. "She told him to come on, if he had the time, and Ron's jealous."

"This is getting ridiculous." Harry muttered, moving towards the room. He opened the door, and the shrill yells of one Hermione Granger flowed into the hallway, causing him to wince.

"…just coming for a visit, Ronald! It's no reason to get upset!"

"WHY IS HE STILL HANGING AROUND! HE'S OUT OF SCHOOL! SO WHY'S HE STILL WRITING TO YOU!"

"He's a pen pal!" Hermione defended herself. "Ginny! Tell him!"

"PENPALS DON'T COME HALFWAY ACOSS THE CONTENENT TO VISIT ON A REGULAR BASIS!"

"And my best friend isn't supposed to accuse me of being some kind of harlot just because he doesn't like said pen pal!" Hermione snarled, brandishing the letters in her hand at Ron. "And then you have the nerve to read MY private letters! How could you!"

"HE'S THREE YEARS OLDER THAN YOU! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT KIND OF RUMORS YOU COULD START BEIND SEEN TOGETHR AGAIN? THE WHOLE BLOODY WORLD WILL THIN YOUR'E DATING THE GIT AGAIN!"

"And there is a problem with that?" Hermione snapped, glaring at him.

"HE'S TOO BLOODY OLD!" Ron yelled. "Harry, back me up here, will you, mate?"

"SO I'M SUPPOSED TO DATE IMMATURE GITS LIKEYOU, RONALD! GUYS WHO BLOW THEIR TOPS AT EVER LITTLE THING?" That seemed to knock some wind out of Ron's sails, but Hermione was on a roll, her anger at it's limit now, and breaking like furious storm waves on the beach.

"I didn't…."

"THANKS, BUT I'D RATHER HAVE RITA SKEETER BUZZING AROUND AGAIN, MAKING UP STUPID LIES AND QUESTIONING MY REPUTATION THAT DATE SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T EVEN TRUST ME!"

Hermione stormed past Harry and Ginny, and out the door. The three remaining teenagers flinched collectively when they heard a door slam shut. Beside him, Ginny groaned and shook her head.

"Ron, you are perhaps the most thick-headed git alive." she seethed. "Calm down, before you blow your head off your shoulders. I've got to go do damage control now, thanks to you, you bloody bugger!"

"Stay out of this, Ginny." Ron barked.

"And let you ruin your friendship with Hermione because you're acting like this?" Ginny snapped back, glaring at him. "Fat chance, my dear big headed brother." She walked over to a small shelf and picked up a few folded parchments. "I think I'll just take these with me before you decide to rip them to pieces. Bye, Harry." Ron just glared and folded his arms across his chest as he walked out the room. When Harry was sure that Ginny was now safely within the room, trying to comfort a distraught Hermione, he turned to his still fuming best friend.

"Ron?" Harry asked, watching as the red head's face slowly began to return to it's normal color. "Ron?"

"Not now, Harry." he said angrily, picking up his broomstick and heading towards the door. "Just….not now…." Harry watched, concerned, as Ron stomped down the stairs and out towards the back part of the property, where they had been flying earlier that day after finishing a large part of their summer homework.

The arguments between Ron and Hermione had been escalating for some days now. It was almost like they couldn't been in the same room with each other without picking a fight. If it wasn't Ron questioning her about Krum, or teasing her about S.P.E.W, then it was Hermione nagging him about homework, and how he never understood anything.

Ginny swore that it was just frustrated tension because Ron wanted to get Hermione's attention on him, and not Krum. Well, Ron was getting his wish. He was getting her attention, but it was driving the rest of them crazy. It had even got to the point where Ginny told Ron just to go kiss Hermione to shut her up. Needless to say, that had not went over really well with Ron, who only turned beet red and began stammering. Harry had gotten so aggravated then, that he was tempted to tell Hermione to come snog Ron, just to get him to quit stammering. But he refrained from doing so.

Harry just wished they'd fix whatever it was between them, and soon. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

The basement of Haven's Hallow was a Potion researchers dream come true. When Sable had moved into the house after the Tartavu's had passed on, she had brought all of her research material to the house, and stored it until she could get back to work on it. There were cauldrons of every size and shape all around the large set of rooms, gold, silver, pewter, iron, steel, glass. There was a large set of shelves across the room where she kept her ingredients, and another, smaller cabinet that held her most precious ingredients, phoenix tears, nundu fur, dragon's blood, and the like. That cabinet was warded, locked, and secured with every spell she knew, since the contents were so valuable.

She added another few drops of ivory oil to the cauldron in front of her, waiting for it to change to the acidic green color she was hoping for. The potion she was working on was only in it's experimental stages, and highly volatile. She'd been working on it for a number of months, hoping to find a working order. Unfortunately, trying to find a potion that could minimize the effects of the Avada curse was more than likely impossible to do with out slipping into the forbidden area of Dark Arts, but she was willing to try.

She had come down here to clear her mind right after her meeting with Harry, only to find Gabemincing up scorpion stingers to add to one of the many bubbling cauldrons along the tabletops. Her youngest had said nothing as she entered into the room and quickly got to work. Of all the children, Gabe always seemed to understand her moods the best of all, and he knew whent to stay out from underfoot and just let her focus on a potion. He recognized it as a theraputic way for her to clear her mind, or so she thought. Whatever it was though, she was grateful for his understanding.

She stirred the cauldron before her again, then careened her head towards the door when two sets of footsteps were heard coming down the stairs and towards them.

"It's Ailric and Sabine." Gabe said calmly, wiping his knife blade with a nearby rag.

"What are they coming down here for?" Sable asked, more to herself than to her son.

"No clue." the young man asked.

"Hey, mom, Gabe." Ailric said, walking into the room, Sabine not too far behind him. "What you two making now?"

"Nothing." Gabe said, shrugging.

"What brings you two down here?" Sable asked, returning to her notebook to note the color change of the solution in the cauldron.

"Had to get away from the yelling." Sabine said wearily.

"Yelling?"

"Hermione and Ron are screaming at each other again." Ailric said.

"About what now?" Gabe asked, remembering how the bushy haired girl had given his overly sensitive ears a reason to wring for hours after their last shouting match the day before.

"Apparently it's about some letter she got earlier." Sabine said, checking the jars of ingredients on the storage shelves. She usually kept her mom's plant ingredients full to the brim with the plants she grew. "I'll bet it was from Krum again."

"More than likely. Tonks told me that Hermione kept in touch with the guy after their fourth year." Sable said absently. "Apparently the youngest Weasley son is quite jealous of the Bulgarian."

"That's almost comical." Gabe said absently, stirring the scorpion stingers into a milky white concoction. "He's already got her, if he'd just open his eyes."

"True, how very true." Ailric said dramatically. "But, then again, a fool in love is a fool indeed."

"So is that the excuse you're always using to get by?" Sabine shot to him, a grin on her face.

"Not funny, you old hag." Ailric bit out, glaring at his sister. "Although I am concerned about how long we can pull this ruse over their heads."

"I am as well, son." Sable said. "Hermione's quick on the uptake. And Harry's no dense teenager."

"Can we pull this off without them figuring it out?" Sabine asked her mother, somewhat concerned herself. "If they find out who we are, we are all in trouble. Especially if Voldemort tries picking through their dreams again to find information."

"We can do this." Sable said. "I need to talk to Remus when he gets back, though. He can clear up a few gray areas with Harry concerning his parents, since the boy doesn't seem to trust me all that well."

"Do you really blame him?" Gabe asked.

"No. I don't." Sable said. "I wouldn't trust me either if I was in his position."

"Well, that's reassuring." Ailric asked, the sarcasm thick in his voice.

"I know it's rough. But we can do this, kids." Sable said.

"Speaking of Remus, have you heard anything from him since he left for Stratford, mom?" Sabine asked.

"Not yet." she said, shaking her head. "I'm kind of worried. We should have heard something by now." Her three children only shrugged and looked up to the clock as it chimed eleven times.

"Well, I'm off to bed." Ailric said, stretching and yawning. "See you good people in the morning."

"Yeah, I'm going to go see if Weasley's broken his neck yet." Sabine said. "Then I'm hitting the sack."

"I'm going too." Gabe said. "I'm all finished here. And this potion has to sit until tomorrow anyway. Goodnight, mom."

"Night, kids." Sable said. "Sweet dreams." They just nodded and left out the lab, leaving Sable to finish up her work and retire to her own bed.

The only problem seemed to be that her mind was whirling a mile a minute. Her concerns for Remus were foremost. He'd been gone for nearly a week, and no word from him about anything. Not only that, but her meeting with Harry earlier that day had really shown her how little the boy knew of his own family history, which was disturbing.

And she couldn't tell him half of it because she needed Remus there to back her story up, or the boy wouldn't believe her. She just sighed and wiped her hands off, casting a spell to put the potion she was working on in a stasis until she was ready to work on it again.

Sable gathered up her cloak and walked out the basement, toward the steps, taking note that the next full moon was in a couple of days. She just groaned and made her way to bed, hoping things would be better after a few hours sleep.

A/N - Okay, I hope everyone enjoyed that little chapter. And I am really sorry for taking so long to get this one out. Things are majorly hectic in my life now, so bare with me please.

Until next time.

Avonnalay

Oh, and remember to review, I want to know what you all think.

Thanks.