Author's Note:

Hmm, I decided to add a small subplot involving Snape because well...I just like Snape haha, especially when you mix him up with the Marauders and basically all the people he doesn't like, like Harry, SIRIUS, Remus, Tonks, etc. I hope this chapter is ok. Enjoy ^_^ Thanks for reading and please review.

Chapter 13 – What is Dangerous, What is Not

Using her long, sword like wand, Tonks shot a small flame at the pile of wood under Remus' mantle, hoping to warm up the room before he returns. It was nearing mid December and waiting in his office became sort of a ritual. Every night, Remus, Tonks, and Lexi would have to patrol the castle for a while under Mad-Eye and Dumbledore's orders. Since her route was the shortest, Tonks would always be the first one back, then Remus, and then Lexi. That night was no different as Tonks poked at the blazing fire.

Once she thought the fire was big enough, Tonks leaned back into Remus' threadbare sofa her eyes looking around his office as she subconsciously changed her eye color from one to another in her boredom. Lying there, Tonks noticed that the office was so…Remus, from his carefully aligned books on the shelves to his many papers and folders lying in neat piles in their specific spots in the room. Everything was reminding her of him. Tonks began to think about his wolfish grin. Then her mind wandered to his gentle eyes and how whenever she was close to him he'd have a comforting scent of chocolate mixed with old parchment and dried ink. Soon she wondered about her feelings for him and what she should do about them. She'd kissed him twice already, never on the lips, but still, he didn't seem to be opposing them. She wondered if she should move on with it and tell him how she feels. She was Nymphadora Tonks, she was bold and brave so letting him know shouldn't be too hard. But yet again, she'd never felt the same about any other man before until him. Putting all logical thoughts aside, Tonks could easily say she loves him. But she'd never been in love before and she was afraid.

"Hello Nymphadora," Remus smiled as his soft voice gently pulled Tonks out of her thoughts. "Did I interrupt a deep thought? I'm sorry," he spoke, still so softly.

Tonks smiled and shook her head as she began to blush. "No. Wotcher Remus."

He sat down on his threadbare sofa beside her, poking at the warm fire Tonks already had going. He licked his lips, staring nervously at the ground. He felt flustered around her and his heart was beating at a pace far too fast to be healthy. Remus even remembered receiving yet another kiss from her in his dreams from when she visited him in the hospital wing during the last moon. Since then, every day his already wild feelings for her would only grow stronger no matter how much Remus told himself he wasn't worthy of her. He even scolded himself to keep his feelings and emotions hidden, for her sake, for both their sakes. But day by day it became harder and harder to resist those soulful, clairvoyant eyes, that playful voice and cheeky grin, that colorful hair and equally colorful personality. Day by day it became harder to resist the brilliant and beautiful young witch. And her scent, lavender chamomile with new parchment and fresh ink, was so comforting, it became unforgettable.

"Um…how was your walk?" They asked quickly and at the same time and blushed. Like flustered school boys and girls they turned away from each other for a brief moment but then looked back. "Fine what about yours?" They asked again in perfect harmony with each other.

"Um…oh I ran into Harry during my patrol," Remus spoke quickly. His heart was beating at a dangerously unhealthy pace now as he tried to hide his feelings from her. She seemed to be acting differently and Remus thought he was making it awkward for her. He scolded himself again mentally to keep his feelings in check. "Guess what I found."

Tonks smiled at him, trying so hard to calm herself down. He was acting differently and Tonks feared she was making it awkward for him as he saw her as nothing more than a friend. "What'd you find Remus?" she asked, hiding most of her feelings behind her enthusiastic grin.

Remus swallowed and licked his lips nervously. There was that cheeky grin of hers again and he was scared his heart would rupture or melt away. "Oh um I ran into Harry and confiscated this off him," he spoke, taking out a blank set of old, yellowing parchment. He tapped his wand on it and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." When he was finished and glanced up at Tonks, he realized what sort of irony his message had beneath the surface.

The parchment began to reveal itself as the layout of Hogwarts and its grounds appeared on it, showing names and corridors and everything. "The Marauder's Map," she gasped.

Looking at the map, his wolfish and mischievous grin appeared as he looked at his old creation, the Marauder's creation. "Harry had it this whole time."

"No way," Tonks grinned. "That's how he got to Hogsmeade! This could help us so much," she spoke excitedly, her hand stroking over his as he handed her the map.

His heart skipped a few beats and then raced faster to recover those missing beats. Remus licked his lips again. "This is very unhealthy. For Merlin's sake keep a hold of yourself, Moony," he mentally scolded himself yet again. "Oh and Harry said he saw Peter's name on the map. He's getting suspicious about it and thought the map was lying. I guess that's a good thing."

"Yeah, and now he'll suspect there might be more to the story they all believed in. And there's Pettigrew, right in Snape's office. I'm guessing Snape isn't aware of it as he's still coming down from the second floor," Tonks spoke, quickly and easily figuring out the map.

"We should get down there," Remus spoke, flustered still.

"Oh I'll be down there for detention later. I forgot to serve the one after dinner. And it's only seven. I can look for Pettigrew while I'm down there and you can keep an eye on the map."

"Sounds like a plan Nymphadora."

She only meant to look up and glare at him but ended up getting lost in his gentle blue eyes, glare forgotten. Remus' body heat rose significantly as he looked into her eyes. They were an unnaturally brilliant blue and he wished they wouldn't change back into her deep and lucid green because otherwise he may just explode. Soon they slipped back to her beautiful green and Remus' heart danced like a foolish jester inside his chest. Little did he know, Tonks' heart did the same when she looked him in the eyes. Remus quickly cleared his throat and managed to break free from her spell. They looked around nervously and their eyes finally fell on the open door where their blushes reached an immediate crescendo.

Standing in the doorway was a very amused Alexis Black. She had her arms crossed, leaning to the side with a playful smirk on her face. Remus and Tonks blushed, each wondering how long she'd been there. "Ah, shy love, always so amusing to watch," she teased. "Don't worry. I haven't been here long," she spoke, answering their unspoken question.

"Alexis, come in, we've found the map," Remus spoke slowly, choking on his words.

"I feel like I'm intruding. Perhaps I should take another walk and come back later."

"Uh what are you talking about Lexi? Get in here," Tonks spoke after regaining herself. Remus thought Alexis could be so like Sirius, more than any of them cared to admit.

"Alright, whatever you say," Alexis smiled, sitting in the armchair opposite of them.

"Uh alright," Remus cleared his throat. "Alexis, you'll be glad to hear that I've found the map. Harry's had it this whole time. And we spotted Peter here in Severus' private office."

"And um Snape seems to be unaware of Pettigrew's presence since he's just getting into the dungeon now," Tonks spoke. She looked up to see Lexi still smirking at them. "What?"

"Nothing," Lexi smiled. "Ok, so well there's something I want to know about the map and no doubt Remus could help me," she spoke, becoming serious. "How and why was the map created and how much of Hogwarts does it cover, and is it fooled by animagi or invisibility cloaks or even Ghost necklaces?"

"Merlin, one question at a time Lexi," Tonks sighed.

"Well I guess I'll start with the first question then," Remus sighed, managing a small smile as with Alexis' presence, he and Tonks were finally recovering from their fluster moments ago. "The main reason why the map was created was simply because of me. After James, Sirius, and Peter learned to become animagi, we were sneaking out of the castle a lot. I could openly go to the Shrieking Shack but to the teachers, the other Marauders have no business there. And to accompany me, often they'd have to sneak past all the watchful eyes of Hogwarts, as you girls would understand. So Sirius decided to make a simple map of the few passage ways we could take to get to me and charm it so that it shows the location of anyone on that passage way. Well that small map slowly grew and grew because once we got the charms down, we just found it so fascinating that we slowly decided to map the whole school of Hogwarts and its grounds. As for how it was created, we actually studied a lot on the charm Homenum Revelio, of which we used a method we learned in a book called Spell Binding, to set the spell onto the map to detect all people and become permanent. I'm sure Alexis is familiar with the term Spell Binding as with James' invisibility cloak, he, Sirius and I found it in the restricted section and the book specifically states that the only news ever leaked from the Department of Mysteries was in 1924 by an unnamed Unspeakable and he spoke about Spell Binding."

Tonks turned to Lexi as she spoke. "1924, Leopold Spann was the Unspeakable who revealed the art of Spell Binding. It's a rather complicated thing but in shortness, it's to use a previously known spell and add onto it, furthering the use of it, and it requires a whole lot of work with mathematics surprisingly. Spann was the first Unspeakable to know of a way to counter the Confidant Charm and I figured it out through research about him."

"And what happened to him after he revealed about this Spell Binding?" Tonks asked.

"Well let's just say he wasn't so smart and revealed what he knew to the public and they had definite proof of him doing it. He was…obliviated and they snapped his wand. He thinks he's a retired dentist now, living somewhere in Yorkshire."

"Lexi, you break more rules than he does as an Unspeakable, on a daily basis. You better watch yourself. I don't want my dear cousin thinking she's a boring old dentist," Tonks warned.

"Relax, I've thought everything through and I can confidently assure you I won't ever get busted for bending the rules as an Unspeakable," she scoffed. "Now Remus, please continue."

Remus had been looking at Tonks and had to pry his eyes away from her less his heart began to beat at a dangerously unhealthy pace again. It hadn't slowed down to a normal rhythm yet and he didn't think it ever would with her around, but at least it wasn't pounding out of his chest. "As for how much of Hogwarts the map covers, well I'd say it covers the entire thing right up to the fences. But that means that it doesn't cover the Shrieking Shack and those that are technically beyond the castle grounds because it would go right off the map. And the map can detect every single person in its boundaries. So it can't detect goblins or house elves, but it can detect ghosts and such. The map is not fooled by animagi, polyjuice potion, or the invisibility cloak as James and Sirius made sure to that while we were finalizing it. And if you look here, you can see Broderick Bode and Augustus Rookwood patrolling the castle." Remus pointed to two dots with their names on it, moving about in the upper corridors. "If you and Alexis have your necklaces back, I'm sure they have too and are possibly using it. Meaning, the map can see through the effects of the Ghost necklace of the Department of Mysteries as well."

"Of course, because when we made it we solely imitated the essence of ghosts and the only difference being we make ourselves completely invisible. If the map can see ghosts, it can see those under the necklace," Alexis spoke. "Remus this is impressive."

"I can't believe you made this while you were still in school," Tonks spoke, studying the map closely. "This is so neat."

Remus couldn't help but chuckle looking at her and just when he thought he'd finally got a hold of himself his heart was beating up a storm yet again. Discreetly he glanced up and saw Alexis' eyes shift from himself to Tonks and then back to him. She had on a familiar smirk on her face, a smirk he'd seen so many times on that of his best friend. Hers was slightly different however, there was more subtlety to hers as she didn't break out into a full fit of laughter afterwards like Sirius always would, and hers was much sharper. Remus was surprised to say that Alexis Black held more of the patrician Black beauty than neither Nymphadora nor Sirius.

"Your smirk is very familiar to Sirius, did you know that?" Remus chuckled nervously.

Tonks' eyes widened when she heard Remus say that and looked up from the map. She knew her cousin always hated being compared to the Black family even though she was more like them than she cared to admit, but Remus was comparing her to Sirius and Tonks wondered how her cousin was going to take it. Her smirk dropped. "Oh bloody hell, way to go Remus."

But then Alexis suddenly grinned, a yet again very familiar mischievous grin resembling Sirius. "Does this look like Paddy's grin too?" she laughed. "People have said that."

Tonks let out a breath as Remus chuckled. He was searching for something to pull his attention away from Tonks, and Alexis' strong resemblance to Sirius and the rest of the Black family seemed to be the only thing capable of doing so, but only for a fleeting moment as he was soon distracted by Tonks again. After a while, it was Lexi who subtly cleared her throat and both Remus and Tonks looked up. The young witch gestured to the clock that was nearing eight and Tonks remembered she still had to serve detention with Snape that night, much to her dismay.

"Oh I'm about to scream bloody murder," Tonks groaned, getting up. "Remus is there any way you can help me get out of this?"

He managed a shy, almost timid smile, afraid he'd get lost in her eyes. "I'm afraid not Nymphadora. Severus won't listen to anything I say."

"Ugh come on, you're twenty-one for god's sake, stop complaining," Alexis sighed and rolled her eyes as she pulled Tonks out of the room.

Exiting the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Tonks and Alexis turned and headed down an empty corridor together, both in comfortable silence for a while until Tonks began to notice that mischievous smirk that kept dancing its way across her cousin's lips the entire night. She turned to Lexi, wondering what could be so amusing to her.

"You know your smirk really worries me. Is something going to fall on me or something?" Tonks asked, double checking just in case her cousin did plan a prank on her.

"Cuz, you are bloody brilliant, but sometimes you can be so daft," Alexis sighed. "What were you and dear old bookworm Moony doing before I came in?"

Tonks felt herself blush uncontrollably. "We weren't doing anything," she protested.

"Right," Alexis nodded with obvious sarcasm. "Those in love would never admit they're in love until it hits them in the face," Alexis sighed, shaking her head.

"That's not me, I admit I'm in love and it still hits me in the face," Tonks grumbled but then wanted to slap herself. Her feet weren't the only things clumsy about her. "You weasel," she scowled at Alexis. "How do you get to me so easily?"

"We're cousins and I've known you since forever. Now tell me about this love of yours."

"Um…well…putting all logical thoughts aside…I could very well say I love him. But it may just be a very strong infatuation at the moment and will die away soon. After all, he'd never have the same feelings for someone like me and I'm smart enough not to get too attached."

"Ah, denial is always a sucker punch in every relationship," Alexis sighed, shaking her head again. "And no one is smart in love Tonks. When we fall in love, we're just as foolish as anybody, but that's the fun of it. In love, we're all clumsy, reckless, and truthful."

"You don't seem like a fool in love," Tonks grumbled.

"That's because I've never been in love," Alexis laughed. "Tonks, if you feel that you've fallen in love now, just follow your heart and go it all. And besides, Professor Lupin seems like a good bloke. At a glance you two are from opposite worlds, but looking closer, he matches you perfectly," Alexis grinned, patting her cousin's shoulder.

"You really think I should give this silly crush a go?"

"Don't ask me if you should fall in love or not, I can't make the decision for you. All I'm saying is that you should do whatever your heart feels right, no matter how much your brain is telling you that it's wrong. Put all logical thoughts aside, it'll be easier. And don't think. Thinking only complicates everything. Thinking is dangerous my silly cousin."

"You think all the time," Tonks replied. "Don't deny it. Even when you don't fall into your habit of stroking your cheek, I know that you're thinking hard about things with that look in your eyes. It seems that when you think, things tend to work out a lot better."

"Not really," the black haired young woman sighed. "It complicates everything, gets you all angst and worried, and confused. I just do a good job of hiding it. Just try not to think about it and allow your emotions to judge whether you should fall in love or not. But from what I see, it seems you've already fallen, and the kind professor has already fallen for you."

"Please don't say that, you'll only get my hopes up."

"Alright I won't. But when Remus and you get together, I warn you, I won't have the manners not to say I told you so."

Tonks smiled and shook her head, thoughts on Remus lingering in the back of her mind. "What will I do without you?" she sighed. "So what have you been thinking about? I know that look in your eyes and I think it's only fair that after you've basically unraveled me that you allow me to see a little bit into that crazy mind of yours."

Alexis laughed as she leaned on her cousin, pushing each other playfully as if they were simple schoolgirls at Hogwarts all over again. "To be completely honest, I had two thoughts on my mind the whole time while we were discussing the map with Remus. One, was Kingston."

Tonks laughed while playfully teasing her cousin. "I remember you told me you had a crush on him in your second year but when he began to keep foiling our plans, you completely hated him. Now I'm thinking that hate is gone?"

She shrugged and grinned but didn't blush madly. Tonks noticed she'd never seen Alexis blush, ever before. "Ah it's a love hate relationship we've got," she laughed.

"Alright," Tonks chuckled, knowing if her cousin didn't want to say more, unlike Tonks, no matter what happens, she wasn't going to say more. She was after all an Unspeakable. "Now what's the second thing you had on your mind?"

"Unlike you I wasn't completely flustered about romance," Alexis teased. "And I happen to notice that before Snape entered his office, Pettigrew's dot was standing still in Snape's office and then once Snape came to the door, he scurried and possibly turned back into a rat and hid around the room. What could Pettigrew be doing in Snape's office? And is Snape really not aware? He hates Padfoot more than anything and if Pettigrew wants to ruin Padfoot again, it's not impossible that he could be seeking the help of old Snivellus."

"Lexi you are bloody brilliant. We have to question Snape about this. Leave it to me."

"Wait, don't do anything rash. It's only a thought Tonks, a thought with no concrete evidence to prove it true. Sometimes, you shouldn't act out everything that comes to your mind."

"But Sirius' innocence…we have to check…"

"Alexis, Tonks," Silvia's serious voice called out to them as Tonks looked up to see the woman taking the Ghost necklace off her neck, revealing her presence to them. Tonks rolled her eyes when she realized Silvia could have overheard their entire conversation. She was a total sweetheart, but the woman took her work way too seriously. At least she was level-headed and listened to reason. Tonks had never argued with her, otherwise, they'd probably be enemies. "What are you two girls doing out here this late? Your shift was over an hour ago."

"Yes but Tonks here, brilliantly earned herself a month's worth of detention with our dreary old potions master," Alexis grinned, unfazed by the serious expression on Silvia's face.

She nodded but seemed unbelieving. "And out of curiosity, what were you two girls talking about earlier about Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew?"

"We were discussing the possibility that Sirius could be innocent," Tonks spoke without hiding. "You've told me before that the ministry made a mistake in not giving him a proper trial and isn't it odd how nothing else of Pettigrew survived but a finger did in the explosion?"

Silvia's stern expression lowered and she nodded. "Yes, true. We have discussed this before." She was quiet for a moment and Alexis and Tonks were about to leave until she seemed to have suddenly realized something and looked up at them, now with worry in her eyes. "You two are his cousins…"

"Yes," Alexis replied a little too dryly.

"Don't tell me…no…you two aren't helping him are you?"

Tonks knew being around Mad-Eye and having him scream constant vigilance in your face fifty times a day was taking its desired effect. Silvia was getting paranoid, and Tonks can't blame her. She wasn't wrong. "Of course not. I rather like my job thank you," Tonks replied.

She nodded slowly, still unbelieving. "But Alexis, you've been known to bend the rules."

"Please Silvia, this is a pretty big rule to break. Even if I don't like my job I still wouldn't want to end up in Azkaban and join the rest of my deranged family," Lexi sighed easily.

Silvia nodded a final time and began to put her Ghost necklace around her neck. "You two are wonderful girls. You're a great auror Tonks and Lexi, you're a brilliant Unspeakable. Please don't go doing anything reckless. I don't want to have to visit you and hear your carefree jokes through a prison bar," Silvia sighed and concealed herself under the necklace.

Tonks and Alexis walked for a moment longer when they were sure that Silvia had gone somewhere else. Lexi turned to Tonks and mouthed the words don't get caught to her cousin. Tonks sighed but nodded. It was just like how they were in school, all over again. Except the difference this time was that there were more risks when they were breaking the rules. In school, the biggest risk they had was a month's detention with Snape. Now, even that punishment seemed like nothing when they know that with one screw up, not only will they be unable to clear their innocent cousin's name, they'll be found in the cells beside him in Azkaban.

From her days at school, the one thing Tonks remembered about the dungeon was that during the late evenings, it was a perfect scene for one of those muggle horror movies. Returning to Hogwarts, she didn't have much hope in it changing, and she was right in having no hope. Sitting in Severus Snape's personal office, scraping clean the black brass and copper cauldrons, she searched desperately for some sort of color. But everywhere she turned, all she saw was black, drear, and more drear. Then she turned to the front of the room where Severus Snape sat beside a boiling cauldron of coppery golden liquid, and she thought she'd much rather return to the drear than look at him, the dreariest man alive.

"When am I done? I'm too bloody old for this," Tonks thought to herself.

"Psst." She turned around to see her cousin had returned from her rounds in the dungeon.

"What did you find?" Tonks whispered.

"Absolutely nothing. Pettigrew was in here but now he's gone. He's not even in the bloody dungeon!" said Alexis, her voice a normal volume as she was under the Ghost necklace.

"So what was he doing here?" Tonks whispered again.

"Nymphadora if you wish to speak with your visitor there's no point in whispering when I can still here you," Snape sneered dryly as he stirred the potion. "Tell whoever is hiding to come out. You all are adults I hope and secrets stir suspicion," he drew out the last syllables.

Tonks turned around to glare at him. He didn't notice her however as he kept glaring at his cauldron and calming down the fire beneath it. "Git," Tonks grumbled.

Lexi took the necklace off her neck and without greeting Snape, sat down on one of his bookshelves. She grinned brilliantly at Tonks, her grin a total difference from all the black, drear, and more drear. Tonks was thankful. She sighed and tried to forget the fact that she was in the same room as Severus Snape and he'd just called her by her dreadful first name.

"Did you find anything interesting on your walk Lexi?" she asked openly.

"I've already told you. It's rather suspicious. Why here?"

Tonks shrugged and sighed, pushing the last cauldron aside as she wiped her soot marred face with the back of her hand. "Hey Severus, I'm done can I leave now?"

"In a minute. Since you'll be seeing Lupin again soon you might as well take this up to him and save me the trouble," he replied, scooping the contents in the burning cauldron into smaller glasses with metal lids.

Upon seeing the faint and sickly looking blue smoke lingering at the surface of the concoction Snape had just finished brewing, Tonks knew immediately that it was the wolfsbane potion. Then she looked around, able to sense the distinct smell of the wolfsbane plant in the room. She turned back and realized Snape had already made his way over to her and practically shoved the cauldron of seven cups of potion doses into her face.

"Is it just me or does the wolfsbane smell from it wreaks more than other months?" Tonks asked, turning to Lexi and then glaring at Snape.

"It's how wolfsbane is supposed to smell. It's no surprise that you wouldn't know after barely passing my class," he sneered with complete indifference.

Tonks was sure there was something off about the potion. She forced herself to be quiet.

"Make sure he remembers to take it before that mutt goes on a rampage."

Tonks took the cauldron and growled, standing up and openly glaring at him. "He has a name and his name is Remus Lupin. He's no mutt."

"Really? Coming from you Nymphadora, it means nothing," Snape replied.

"Tonks, calm down, let's go," Alexis spoke from the side when she saw Tonks' hair turn a flaming shade of red, the oh-so-familiar color of her anger.

Speaking through clenched teeth, Tonks raised a pointed finger at him. "You're rather immature for an adult and you definitely hold a grudge," she growled.

Alexis was nudging Tonks' elbow now as her hair grew to an even brighter shade of red.

"It is completely understandable to hold a grudge against someone who nearly killed you," Snape replied, his voice low and growing colder.

"Remus would never hurt anyone. You're just holding a childish grudge."

Sitting at the side, Lexi sighed and shook her head. She'd heard Sirius tell them the story about how he tricked Severus Snape into following them through to the Shrieking Shack during a full moon, knowing that Remus' werewolf self would no doubt kill the greasy haired git as he called Snape. She wondered if Tonks still remembers the story. If it wasn't for James Potter's last minute guilt trip, Snape would have been dead and it would have, under unfortunate and completely uncontrollable circumstances, been completely Remus' doing.

"Your friend and arrogant prat of a cousin tricked me and nearly got me killed. He's lucky I'm willing to brew wolfsbane potion for him otherwise who knew how many more innocent children would fall victim to him and his beast." Snape spitted out each word.

"Tonks, come on," Alexis nudged again but her efforts seemed futile.

"Look, don't ever call Remus Lupin a beast, and my cousin is not an arrogant prat."

"And I suppose those years he and his friends spent seeking happiness while torturing other students were all harmless childhood humor?" Snape asked and Alexis, even Tonks were surprised when they sensed a feeling of hurt in his words. Tonks was about to grind her teeth back and walk away with Alexis' pull, but suddenly Snape said something that made her snap. "Lupin and Black were insufferable sadists who enjoy making a misery out of others' lives for petty amusement. They're nothing but dangerous beasts in human form."

"They are not dangerous!" Tonks shrieked and a few of the potion glasses shattered. "You can't tell the difference between what is dangerous and what is not!" Tonks was fuming, her knuckles turning white as her hair seemed stuck in the color of enraged, flaming red. There was a harsh gust of wind around her and a few more glasses shattered. Alexis knew that Tonks would lose her top soon and her non-verbal magic would become uncontrollable. She stroked her cousin's back in what she hoped to be a comforting gesture and continued to try to pull her away. Snape had a reason to really dislike or rather hate Remus and Sirius, but as an adult he should know better than to purposely press Tonks' buttons.

"I guess he's only human," Alexis sighed while the thought ran through her head.

Alexis glanced back at Snape while she still was trying to pull Tonks out of the room, holding onto the hopefully unbroken batch of wolfsbane potion. She saw Snape heave a heavy sigh as he spoke to Tonks, perhaps regaining himself.

"Control yourself," Severus Snape spoke to the enraged auror but she wouldn't listen. "Look at me," the man spoke in a calm, cold, and dry voice but with underlying emotions. "Keep your emotions intact Nymphadora."

Suddenly, pulling Tonks out of the classroom was no longer a worry of hers. Her surroundings were blurred out as the voice replayed itself in her head. Alexis remembered that night very clearly. She'd heard that same tone of voice before, the same words as well. Inside her head, she kept remembering those five words, those five words a masked man said to get the attention of her crazy and homicidal aunt those many years ago. Control yourself. Look at me. Alexis' eyes turned back to Snape and she didn't glare at him but she shot him a gaze of bemusement that was so loud it even drew his attention.

"Black, I suggest taking your cousin back to her room," he sneered.

"Black," Alexis nodded, still keeping her head and calming Tonks down. She had a look of bemusement in her eyes. "That voice…you knew Bellatrix Lestrange."

His eyes showed surprise and shock and Alexis knew he didn't even have to speak anymore. It really was him, the man who held her back. "I have no idea what you're saying."

"I may be jumping to conclusions here…but I'm willing to bet my petty life that you were one of the Death Eaters present at the scene when Bellatrix Lestrange killed her oldest brother Marcus Black and his wife Michelle Black," she spoke. Her voice was shockingly even, making Tonks take a second glance at her cousin. Alexis didn't seem enraged, or angered, or hurt. She was just very simply…confused.

Snape was quiet, his beady eyes unable to feign innocence as he looked back at the young Black. He remembered that night, and after she reminded him, he remembered it quite clearly now. It had been the night when the Dark Lord forced Bellatrix to prove her loyalty by murdering her beloved brother and his wife. It was also when they met the little girl, Bellatrix's niece she had no knowledge of until then. Severus remembered that after Marcus and Michelle Black, their only daughter, a girl he did not know the name of, picked up the wizard's wand and sent the Cruciatus Curse at Bella. It impressed even him that a child that young could do such thing. He'd always thought the girl would become a Slytherin if she ever went to Hogwarts. And then he remembered Sirius Black, running in and saving her that night, even stunning him.

"Does this wand look familiar, professor?" Alexis Black asked, holding up her long Black wand, thirteen inches at a guess, a very familiar wand he'd seen in the hands of Marcus Black. "It's my father's wand. To jog your memory, I was the little girl who cursed that Lestrange woman," she spoke in a shockingly even and conversational voice, a skill of the Black family to keep their aristocratic hauteur in any situation.

He wondered why he never noticed. He'd taught Alexis and Nymphadora potions for all seven years and yet he never noticed that she had possession of that wand.

"Professor…you were a Death Eater…correct?" she asked. Again, Tonks saw no anger, no hurt or pain in Lexi's eyes. She saw simple bemusement. He was a Death Eater. Another glance in Alexis' eyes, Tonks saw the forming of an idea. She knew that look Alexis had all too well, and she knew that something…something important was forming in her mind.

"Alexis there is no use bringing up the past when it no longer matters," Snape spoke in an even voice but Tonks learned from Mad-Eye to pay attention to their eyes, and she noticed his eyes showed signs of disbelief and surprise.

Tonks saw that Lexi grinned. Obviously Snape had just admitted that in his past he was a Death Eater. Alexis tightened her grip around Tonks' shoulder and pulled her out of the room just as Snape was about to kick them out. "Thank you Severus. Good night."

After Snape had kicked them out of his room, Tonks was walking slowly beside her cousin down the empty corridors with a cauldron of wolfsbane potion in her arms. Alexis was mumbling something, stroking the side of her cheek, an obvious sign that she was deep in thought. Luckily, even when she was deep in thought she was coordinated enough to maneuver around a sudden statue in the hall, unlike Tonks who tripped on the corner of the stone knight's foot and nearly spilled Remus' wolfsbane potion.

"Watch it Tonksie," Alexis spoke in a low voice, her mind somewhere else.

"Thanks cuz," Tonks sighed. "Lexi, curious question but where were you going with asking Snape about his Death Eater background?"

"No, I was just thinking too much. Nothing to worry about," Alexis sighed.

Tonks placed a hand on her cousin's shoulder and held her back. "Tell me."

"It's really just a thought."

"I don't care."

Alexis sighed and rolled her eyes. She took out her wand and placed a strong silencing spell around them so that no one could eavesdrop. "Well, if Severus Snape was a Death Eater and Peter Pettigrew was a spy for Voldemort…Snape would have known about Pettigrew. He would've known that Peter Pettigrew was the spy all along…right?"

Tonks didn't flinch when Alexis said Voldemort, because they'd been taught by Mad-Eye Moody not to fear the word, for reasons still unknown. Her eyes widened as she clapped her hands together. "Yes! And Snape would be a solid witness account to prove Sirius' innocence!"

"I'm no lawyer or Wizengamot member but if Snape agrees to tell us and well the bloody Ministry what he knew about the night the Potters were killed…then it will serve as valid evidence against Pettigrew and in favor of Sirius!"

"We may have something solid to base our beliefs on!" Both girls screamed. Tonks would have jumped up and down if not for the cauldron in her hands.

"Oh bugger," Alexis suddenly groaned.

"What's wrong?"

"Snape despises Sirius…he's not going to help."

"Can't we use Veritaserum?"

"He brews them Tonks, he knows the antidote…and I heard from Rookwood that Snape is an accomplished Occlumens. He's as good as us Unspeakables and will be able to resist Veritaserum without any problems at all."

"Wait…to become an Unspeakable you must know Occlumency?"

"It's part of the whole secret keeping idea Tonks. Occlumency, how to brew Veritaserum and its antidote, oh and Legilimency," Alexis nodded. "But now…what do we do about Snape? I wouldn't bother asking him because after your argument with him, he won't help us so easily."

"We could go over this with Remus and see what he thinks about it. But yes, if Snape is a Death Eater, he'd know about Peter Pettigrew. And also, if Snape is a Death Eater, how come Dumbledore trusts him enough to give him this post?"

"I'm guessing the same way he trusts Remus," Alexis shrugged. "Sure Snape's a total sod, but I doubt he'd really openly harm anyone of us. And let's not forget what Remus is, so I guess they have the same kind of genuine trust from Dumbledore. All I know is that if Snape's a Death Eater and none of us are dead yet, he's still trustworthy for the moment," Alexis replied.

Tonks nodded. "We have to find out what he knows about Peter Pettigrew during the time of the First Wizarding War. Do you think we could ask Dumbledore about this?"

"But Dumbledore thinks we're still trying to catch Sirius, not Pettigrew."

"Right…let's talk this over with Remus first. If we can get anything useful off Snape, it would really help in Sirius' case and we can real easily prove his innocence," Tonks grinned.

"Yes. Now come on, I need sleep. We'll speak with Remus right after class tomorrow and we'll even skip dinner. We can give him his wolfsbane potion then. Happy cousin? You get to see him more," Alexis teased.

"Shut up Black," Tonks sighed. After a few more steps, Tonks suddenly thought of something she needed to ask her cousin. "Wait, if you don't want to talk about this you don't have to I completely understand…but how come when you remember that Snape was one of the Death Eaters present when Bellatrix Lestrange killed…you know…you weren't angry or emotional or anything?" Tonks asked, voicing her curiosity.

"Simple. Because he's not Bellatrix Lestrange," Alexis shrugged. Besides, the man wasn't the one who fired the curses that killed her parents. "It was Lestrange who killed my parents. My grudge is between her and me and no one else."

"You're always the level-headed one Alexis," Tonks sighed.

"And you're always the reckless one Nymphadora," Alexis teased.

"I'm going to hex you into next week!" Tonks yelled, grabbing Lexi's neck with her hands while still trying hard to not spill the cauldron of Remus' wolfsbane potion. She was happy. Thanks to her cousin's close observation and attention to minor details, they were coming closer to a solid piece of evidence to support Sirius' case and prove him innocent. She was wrestling with Alexis down the hall, the strong silencing charm still around them. After a moment, both Tonks and Lexi could hear the faint chimes of the clock tower as the clock hit midnight, moving onto the next day.

Tonks looked up, her arm still around Alexis' neck. "Hey Lexi, what day's today?"

"The fifteenth of December I believe," she spoke after the last bell chimed.

Letting her cousin go from the playful headlock, Tonks grinned at the raven haired girl. Lexi was always the brilliant one who pays attention to the minor details. If they could get anything, any information at all off Snape, she knew it would be useful. "What would I do without this nutcase?" Tonks thought to herself, looking at her cousin. Alexis raised a bemused eyebrow at Tonks who was grinning oddly. "And she probably forgot the special day again, the idiot," Tonks continued to think.

"Um…Tonks…I know you're happy we're finally getting somewhere with Sirius' case…but can you stop that grin? It's creeping me out."

"Happy birthday Lexi."