Snape's POV
I sat on the edge of my bed, numb with shock and disbelief. It was impossible… but Olivia had not been lying to me. I always knew when people lied and Olivia had never lied to me. So either she had recently become a highly skilled Occlumens…or she was telling the truth.
I had a picture of Lily on my bedside table, identical to the one in my room at Hogwarts. I sat staring at her for the longest time and I eventually heard Olivia come upstairs and go into her room. I remained seated a few moments longer, then stood suddenly, grabbed the picture, and headed for Olivia's room. I had to know for certain.
It was a conscious effort to stop and knock before entering- the last thing I needed was to burst in on her naked.
"Can I come in?" I asked, feeling antsy.
"I suppose," she replied quietly.
I opened the door. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring down at her feet. For some bizarre reason, I noticed her toenails were painted silver.
I hurried over to where she sat and thrust the picture towards her.
"Is this the girl you saw?" I asked eagerly. She took the photo from me.
"Yes," she replied, frowning slightly, "But…she was younger. How…how is that possible?"
I stared down at the picture in her hands, then sat down beside her on the bed- or collapsed, really.
"I don't know. …I can fathom no explanation whatsoever. …The girl in this picture…she's been dead for almost 12 years."
Olivia stared at me wordlessly. Her emerald green eyes tore at my heart but I couldn't help but lose myself in them for a moment before blinking and looking away. It was a few minutes before I trusted myself to speak.
"What all did she say to you?" I asked softly.
"I'm not sure I want to talk about this anymore," she said meekly.
"…Please," I said, sounding desperate even to my own ears. She glanced at me quickly, then sighed.
"I was walking along the river when she appeared- I didn't hear her come up or anything. She told me the mill was the reason the river got messed up. I wanted to go explore it but she told me it was dangerous. She took me to an old park. We swung for a little bit, then…"
I waited expectantly.
"…She disappeared," she finished finally, "She jumped out of the swing and vanished. That's why I thought I was crazy."
I was silent a moment.
"You said she said she knew me. How did the subject of me arise?" I inquired.
"Before we started talking about the mill I asked her name. She told me her name and that she "sort of" lived around here. She asked and I told her my name and that I was staying with my cousin on Spinner's End. She said your name. I asked if she knew you and she replied "you could say that". Then we started talking about the mill…she called me Liv."
I closed my eyes, frowning. It made no logical sense.
"…Who is she?" Olivia ventured quietly.
I stood suddenly and took the picture from her.
"Don't dwell on it," I said quickly, my voice a little sharper than I intended.
I left her room and returned to my own to think some more. I could tell Dumbledore and ask what he thought…but I decided against it. The last thing I wanted to hear right now was Albus going on about love.
I set the picture aside and forced myself to think about something else. Lupin. My old childhood enemy, who Albus had hired to teach the subject that I had always wanted to teach… and to protect Harry Potter, Lily's son, whom I had sworn to protect. Lupin the werewolf. Now I had to brew the Wolfsbane Potion, to keep him from attacking everyone in sight.
I thought about what Dumbledore had said. About telling Olivia about Lupin and letting her help me brew the Wolfsbane Potion. I considered it a moment, then decided against it. I had revealed too much of my true self to her tonight. I didn't want to be any closer to her than was strictly necessary at this point.
September first came quickly, for which I was grateful. I spent most of the month of August at Hogwarts, working on the Wolfsbane Potion and avoiding Olivia, only speaking to her when I had to. I ate my meals at Hogwarts- breakfast, lunch, and dinner- but still found leftovers in the fridge nearly every night from meals that Olivia cooked. I left her Muggle money on the counter for her once a week so she could buy food.
I'm not sure how Olivia took my intentional avoidance. Some nights when I came home, she'd come skipping down the stairs, grinning cheerfully, and ask me how work was or something similar. Other times she was morose and moody. She would be laying on the couch when I came home, her nose buried in one of my books, frowning. Sometimes she locked herself in her room and didn't attempt to speak to me, sometimes for days on end. Either way, she didn't mention Lily again or attempt to question me and for that I was thankful.
Early on the morning of the first of September, I got up and summoned breakfast for two from Hogwarts, which I had never done before. I figured it was her last day here and I should do something special. After summoning breakfast, I went back upstairs and knocked on Olivia's door. There was no response and, after knocking three more times, I pushed the door open.
I peered curiously into the darkness. Olivia had apparently already packed her things- she had had a pile of dirty clothes on the floor, which had accumulated over the month, which were now gone. She'd also had several stuffed animals on shelves she had made, which were now gone as well.
Olivia herself was sprawled on the bed on top of the black comforter. She her face buried in a black pillow, her arms hanging off either side of the bed. She wore nothing but a black tank top and a pair of black underwear.
"Jesus," I muttered, shifting uncomfortably. I waved my wand so that a blanket covered her practically naked form.
"Olivia," I hissed quietly, "Wake up."
She stirred slightly and lifted her head to look at me.
"Snape," she said, sounding surprised, "Hi."
"Hi," I responded, feeling idiotic, "…Uh…Breakfast-" I gestured over my shoulder.
"No shit?" she asked with a yawn.
I suppressed the urge to let out a snort of laughter.
"Language," I warned her.
"Sorry. It's early," she replied sheepishly.
"The Hogwarts Express leaves at 10."
"Can't I just go with you?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"The train is part of the Hogwarts experience. Now get dressed and come downstairs to eat breakfast."
Olivia threw off the covers and slid out of bed, not seeming to care hat she treated me to another unwanted- consciously anyway- view of her long pale legs and her thing black panties that barely covered her-
"Put pants on," I growled, then turned and walked back downstairs before she could respond.
She's fifteen, I chided myself, trying desperately to ignore the tightness in my pants, She's fifteen, she's a student…and she's your cousin.
Ah, but she's not really your cousin, is she? said another part of my brain that had been dormant until now, She's not blood related…and she's not like other students. And she looks so much like Lily…
I kindly told that part of my brain to shut the fuck up.
Olivia came downstairs a few minutes later wearing jeans and an orange t-shirt. She was blushing slightly but didn't say anything as she sat down at the table.
"So presumably that ass- I mean, Lockhart- isn't teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again this year," she said casually.
I smiled briefly. Olivia had hated Gilderoy Lockhart as much as the teachers had.
"No- I believe he's spending an extended amount of time in St. Mungo's, trying to regain his memory," I said.
"Good. He deserves it. So, who is going to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"No one that you would know," I mumbled in reply.
Olivia's POV
After breakfast, Snape told me a cab was coming to pick me up and take me to the train station to catch the Hogwarts Express.
"You're kidding, right?" I growled, "An hour ride in a disgusting Muggle taxi with a creeper driver who leers at me in the rearview mirror the whole ride?"
Snape appeared at a loss for words.
"It's what Ellen does," I explained, "Or has done. Not always. I thought you would be different, though… Can't you just Floo me there?"
"Well… I suppose you could. We don't want anyone leering at you, do we?"
About an hour later I dragged my trunk downstairs to the sitting room where Snape was standing by the fireplace with a small pouch of Floo powder.
"You have used Floo powder before, haven't you?" he asked me.
"Of course."
"Good. When you step into the flames, say Platform 9 ¾. It'll take you directly to the magical side of the barrier."
I nodded briefly and took a fistful of glittered green powder. I tossed it into the fire and the flames turned emerald green. I took a deep breath and stepped into the fireplace.
"Platform 9 ¾," I said clearly.
When I stepped out onto the platform, I looked around curiously. I was earlier than normal and there were only a few kids there- luckily, one of these was my friend Mari, who was a sixth year.
"Hi Olivia," she said as she walked over to me, smiling, "Want to go find a compartment before more people start showing up?"
"Definitely."
Mari and I found a compartment close to the front of the train. We dragged our trunks and Mari's cat's cage into the empty compartment. As soon as Mari shut the compartment door, I opened the door to the cage. Her stripped orange cat, Nemo, stepped out of the cage regally. I scratched his ears and talked to him softly and within minutes, Nemo was curled up in my lap, asleep.
"You're so good with animals," Mari remarked, staring absently out the window, "Why don't you have a pet?"
"Ellen's allergic," I replied, wrinkling my nose, "But I feed the stray cats and dogs in the alley behind me house."
"Oh. Hey- who is that? I thought only students rode on the Hogwarts Express."
Curious, I craned my neck to see who she was looking at. There was a man on the platform. From what I could see he had brown hair and wore shabby robes that were patched in some places.
"He must be a teacher. Maybe he's the one whose taking Lockhart's place," I said.
"He looked homeless," she said, wrinkling her nose.
The train took off shortly after that. Mari and I spent the ride playing with Nemo and talking about our Summers. She had stayed with her grandma in Ireland. As for me…
"You stayed with Snape?" she asked, both shocked and intrigued, "What was it like?"
"Lonely," I replied truthfully, "He spent most of the time at Hogwarts."
"What was his house like?" she asked eagerly, "Was it old and creepy?"
"Yeah," I said, nodding enthusiastically, "It was awesome. He has tons of books on Potions and the Dark Arts."
"I almost forgot you have a thing for Snape," she said, grinning.
"Why do you have to make it sound like that?" I demanded, "I don't 'have a thing for Snape'. He's my cousin."
"Yeah, but not really," she said bracingly.
"Can we talk about something else now?" I asked hurriedly.
"No, we can't. In all your years at Hogwarts you've never had a boyfriend. You've turned down every guy that's ever asked you out."
"I have no interest in boys."
"Girls, then."
"Mari-" I began exasperatedly.
At that moment the train started to slow down. Frowning, Mari turned and looked out the window.
"What's going on? We're nowhere near Hogwarts."
I shrugged my shoulders. The train squealed to a stop. Outside the window it was cold and foggy.
All of a sudden, the lights went out. I heard several screams throughout the train. I jumped to my feet, whipping out my wand. Nemo, who had still been sleeping on my lap, clawed me, hissing angrily, then streaked beneath the seat.
The door to the compartment flew open suddenly, bringing with it a flow of air so cold it chilled me to the bone. A hooded figure stood in the doorway. A sudden feeling of dread swept over me and for some reason I was reminded of the day Lily disappeared. My heart felt wrenched painfully.
"S-Stupefy!" I stammered, aiming my wand at the figure, which was so clearly evil. The spell didn't work quite right however and passed harmlessly through the figure, which immediately turned and started to glide towards me. I lost my grip on my wand and slid to the floor, numb with cold, grief, and fear. Nemo came out from underneath the seat and hissed at the figure in the doorway.
I didn't fall unconscious but I did close my eyes and found that my eyelids were too heavy to open, even when the lights came back on. I was vaguely aware of Mari saying my name, but I couldn't made myself speak. I was suddenly aware of another presence in the room.
"What happened?" asked a voice. Male. Definitely not a kid.
"She collapsed," Mari replied anxiously.
Whoever it was leaned down close to me. He smelled warm, like forest and dog. Something was pressed to my lips and I closed my mouth tight, recalling in a second several deadly poisons I had recently read about.
"Eat it, girl. It's chocolate. It'll help," said the voice. He called me 'girl' like Snape sometimes did. This was perhaps the only reason I opened my mouth. That and the fact that I liked the voice that was speaking to me. It was soft and certain…comforting.
Warmth tingled in my lips, then spread to my stomach and flooded my body. I opened my eyes to find a pair of concerned brown eyes inches from my own. A smile spread over his face and he stepped backwards. It was the man from the Platform.
I chewed the chocolate slowly, savoring the flavor and the warmth.
"That was a dementor, wasn't it?" I asked as the man helped me to my feet.
"Yes. Are you alright?"
"…Yeah."
"Good. I'm going to have a word with the driver," he replied, stepping out of our compartment.
Once he was gone I collapsed back into my seat, staring after him.
"Are you sure you're not going to faint again?" Mari asked, "You look pale."
"I didn't faint. I could still hear you. Everything just got really…heavy," I murmured, "I'm fine now thought. ….Looks like we finally got a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher that knows what he's talking about."
Mari was silent a moment, also looking towards the door, which he had left open.
"That really was a dementor, wasn't it?" she said with a shudder, "I've never seen one before."
"Me neither. I've read about them though."
"Snape didn't mention they'd be on the train, did he? I wonder if the teachers even knew."
"He appeared disconcerted," I said, gesturing towards the door, "I don't think Snape knew. He would've said something."
A short while later, the man who had given me the chocolate stopped back by.
"We should be at Hogwarts soon," he said to us.
"Are you the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" I asked quickly. He smiled.
"Yes."
"What's your name?" I inquired.
"Professor Remus Lupin."
"Professor Lupin, huh? I like your surname. It's Latin for 'wolf'."
He looked a little startled, but smiled.
"Yes, it is. I've got to go check on a few other people. You weren't the only one who was badly affected. I need to pass out more chocolate."
"Do you want some help?" I offered.
"Well…sure," he said, surprised, "Thanks."
"No problem."
Mari looked at me curiously as I followed Lupin out and I shrugged at her.
Once out in the corridor, Lupin handed me several large bars of chocolate.
"What House are you in?" he inquired.
"Slytherin."
"Right- you go to the Slytherin and Ravenclaw boxcars and give chocolate to anyone who needs it. If someone looks like they need it but refuse, come tell me. I'll be in the Gryffindor or Hufflepuff boxcar. If you start to run out of chocolate, I can do a Geminio charm-"
"I can do a Geminio charm, too," I interrupted.
"Really? You're quite bright, aren't you?" he asked with a smile, "…What's your name?"
"Olivia. Olivia Cain," I replied.
"Well Miss Cain…shall we get to work?"
I nodded my head briefly and took off towards the Slytherin compartments.
By the time the train pulled to a stop at Hogsmeade I had given away most of the chocolate. I got out on the Platform and followed my fellow students to where the carriages waited to take us to the castle. I climbed into an empty carriage and looked around to see if Mari was anywhere around. I immediately spotted Lupin, who was waiting for the students to pile into the carriages before getting in one himself.
"Professor Lupin?" I called and motioned for him to come sit with me. He smiled and accepted my offer.
"You are possibly the nicest Slytherin I've ever met," he said once he was seated.
"Not really," I said, shaking my head, "I don't have many friends. I don't particularly like people, especially my classmates. …I'm better with animals to be honest. Animals and potions."
"You like animals?" he asked interestedly.
"Yeah. I want to be a wizard veterinarian when I leave Hogwarts. I'm going to invent potions for animals- I've already got a few actually. I've been the Potion Master's apprentice for two years."
"You work with Snape a lot then?"
"Yeah," I replied and smiled, "He's my cousin. Well, sort of- His cousin Ellen adopted me."
"You like him?"
"Well enough. He can be difficult at times, but I've gotten used to it. …Underneath his cold exterior, he's really a good person."
"We went to school together. I haven't seen him in ages. …He used to hate me. I hope he doesn't still hold a grudge."
"Why did he hate you?"
"We didn't get along at all when we were in school. I was in Gryffindor, he was in Slytherin."
I had noticed that Lupin wasn't looking at me when he spoke. I followed his gaze to see Potter and his friends.
"He's not all that interesting, really- Potter that is. Everyone's always trying to get a glimpse of the famous Harry Potter, but he's nothing special. He's an average student with more-talented friends. That Hermione Granger- the bushy haired girl sitting with him- she's infinitely more interesting than Potter. She's top of the class for Gryffindor, like I am for Slytherin."
"Conceited much?" he asked, smiling.
"No," I said quickly, "I'm just smart. I read a lot. I was able to do magic before I started school."
"I take it you mean actual spells and not the random magic most underage wizards do."
"Exactly."
"You're a lot like Snape then."
"I…am?"
"Yes. He could do more magic than anyone else our first year of school. He was forever inventing spells."
I was intrigued by this tidbit of information.
As the carriages rolled through Hogwarts Gates, I spotted several dementors flanking either side of the gate. I gripped my wand tightly in my sweaty hand. Lupin didn't speak until we were past them.
"They're going to be at all the entrances to Hogwarts this year," he said.
"Why?"
"Sirius Black."
"The escaped convict?"
He nodded.
"What would he want with Hogwarts?"
"Who knows?" he said, looking away from me and back at the dementors, "…He's crazy."
I sensed something almost sad in his voice and it puzzled me.
"Oh look, the lake," Lupin said, quickly changing the subject. As the path to the castle took us close to the lake, Lupin stared down at the water.
"Have any of your previous Defense teachers taught you about the creatures that live in the lake?" he asked me.
"No," I said with a snort of laughter, "Last year we had Lockhart, the self-obsessed incompetent ass. The only animal he ever brought to class was Cornish pixies. They escaped and destroyed the classroom. Before Lockhart we had Quirrel, who was scared of his own subject and, let's face it, had the Dark Lord sticking out of the back of his head. Before Quirrel-"
"Why do you call Voldemort the Dark Lord?" he asked curiously. The use of the Dark Lord's true name startled me.
"Why do you use his real name?" I asked.
"Not using his name only increases the widespread fear of Voldemort himself. Voldemort himself is already frightening enough. We don't need to make him more so by not using his name."
"Oh."
"Why do you call him the Dark Lord?"
"…I don't know. It's what Snape always calls him. I guess I picked up on it. He's not the only one. I am in Slytherin, after all. Some of my classmates brag about the fact their parents were Death Eaters," I said quietly.
As the carriages pulled up at Hogwarts, we saw Potter and his friends facing off with a Slytherin boy named Draco Malfoy and his mindless cronies. Draco was a few years younger than me. I'd seen him before and Snape liked him well enough. He seemed like a suck up to me.
"You fainted Potter? You actually fainted?" Malfoy said to Potter as Lupin climbed out of the carriage.
"Is there a problem?" Lupin asked mildly, interfering.
"Oh no, er, professor," Malfoy said with a smirk, eyeing Lupin's shabby clothes distastefully.
Malfoy and his friends turned and went into the castle and Potter went in as well. I scowled after Malfoy, mildly annoyed that he had been disrespectful to Lupin, who I had a growing respect for.
Al of a sudden, it felt like something stepped on my foot. I turned. Inches from my face, fog appeared in midair, as if something invisible was breathing.
"Professor Lupin?" I asked somewhat anxiously, "I think something stepped on my foot."
He turned and stared at the something in front of me.
"It's a Thestral," he said calmly, "They pull the Hogwarts carriages. Do you know what a Thestral is?"
"Oh yeah. I've read about them," I said, relaxing slightly. I reached out tentatively and felt the solid skeletal outline of the creature I couldn't see. I patted its scaly head and it nudged me affectionately.
"You can only see them if you've seen death, right?" I asked as we headed into the castle.
"Right. Most people think they're scary or dangerous because they're associated with bad luck," Lupin replied.
"That's just stupid. They're completely harmless."
Snape's POV
I was sitting at the staff table when the doors to the Great Hall opened and children began to trickle in. I found myself subconsciously scanning the sea of students for her face. She entered the hall suddenly and my heart skipped a beat- then turned cold as ice when Is aw that she was walking alongside, and even talking to, Lupin.
How? I thought to myself, How did this happen? Lupin…and Olivia- my Olivia? Chatting like they've been friends for years.
I tentatively prodded Olivia's mind, despite my promise to myself that I never would again.
Perhaps it would've been better if I had kept my promise and stayed out of her mind. I found in her subconscious a growing respect and fondness for Lupin. I hated that this made me feel hurt so I steeled myself against it and plunged myself into the mind of my hated enemy.
Rage filled me when I found the fondness he felt for her as well. He was immensely intrigued by her, the kind young Slytherin girl who loved animals.
My rage caused the werewolf to notice my presence in his mind. I withdrew from his mind quickly and Lupin looked around, alert. I turned and let myself be engaged in a conversation between Sprout and Albus about adding a new plant to Greenhouse 4.
I watched indiscreetly as Lupin and Olivia parted ways upon reaching the Slytherin table. Olivia sat down by her friend Mari Pirelli, as she always did. They both watched as Lupin made his way up to the staff table. He glanced back at her once and they shared a smile. Anger bubbled up inside of me.
As Lupin walked past me, he smiled politely.
"Hello Severus."
I said nothing but ignored him completely as he sat down, not even looking his way.
The first years soon entered the Great Hall and the Sorting commenced. Then came the feast and Albus' speech. When Albus announced Lupin's appointment as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, I glanced at him without meaning to, unable to keep myself from glaring.
When the feast was over and all the kids headed for their dormitories I stood to leave as well, wondering if Olivia would be waiting for me in the Entrance Hall, as she sometimes did.
"Severus," a voice said loudly as I reached the door to the Great Hall. I turned reluctantly to face Lupin as he came after me.
"Hello…Lupin," I said, narrowing my eyes at him.
"I met your cousin," he said casually.
"Really?" I replied disinterestedly.
"She's a brilliant girl."
"I am aware."
I turned and left the Great Hall. Lupin followed.
"Severus. I wanted to apologize… for when we were kids-"
"Forget it," I snapped. He inclined his head and stopped following me. I glanced around the Entrance Hall. Olivia was nowhere to be seen. I continued on to the dungeons alone and headed to my office.
A short while later there was a knock on my office door. Thinking it was Olivia, I smiled to myself and waved my wand, opening the door by magic. It wasn't Olivia, however- it was Albus. My smile faded.
"Disappointed to see me?" Albus asked.
"No. I was expecting-…well, it doesn't matter."
"I could come back?" he offered.
"No, no. Sit," I insisted.
He sat down.
"I couldn't help but notice your open hostility towards Remus," he said to me. I scowled.
"Never mind. You can come back alter," I said sarcastically, "…Well what do you expect from me, Albus?"
"Why do you still hold a grudge against Remus?"
"I hate him. He's an ass."
"Severus, he's really not that bad. He's polite and quiet. You're holding his past against him."
"He and Potter and Black made my life hell. You know that."
"Severus…" he said, exasperated, "…If everyone held grudges like you held grudges, you would be in Azkaban now."
I sighed heavily and stared at him, saying nothing. As if my night hadn't sucked enough already.
"I saw him and Olivia together. I know you saw them, too," Albus said.
"Just another reason for me to hate him. What kind of grown man- a teacher, no less- would make friends with a fifteen-year-old girl?"
"How about yourself?"
I scowled at him.
"She's my cousin."
"Not really."
"Then she's my apprentice. We aren't friends."
"Then why are you jealous?"
"I'm not jealous," I sneered, "It's inappropriate for Lupin to be friends with her. And he's a werewolf."
Dumbledore heaved a sigh.
"You can't be openly hostile towards Remus. This is a school and children are perceptive."
"…Fine. I'm not going to be nice to him, but I won't be openly hostile."
"That's all I ask," he said, standing up.
Once Albus was gone, I sat up for about an hour at my desk, reading but not really absorbing what I was reading because I half-expected there to be a knock at my door any minute.
By midnight no knock had come. I knew she wasn't going to come. I also knew I wasn't going to sleep very well. I decided a walk around the grounds might help a bit so I got up, locked my office door, and headed outside.
Olivia's POV
I slipped out the door to the castle, invisible. I had mastered the Disillusionment Charm last year, which would turn you completely invisible if you were skilled enough which, after a lot of practice, I was.
I didn't know why I was sneaking out, except that I hoped the fresh air would clear my head enough for me to feel sleepy.
I was heading down to the lake when I saw I wasn't the only one out and about. Lupin was standing down by the lake, his face turned towards the night sky. The moon was a little sliver of a smile in the night sky, amongst the bright twinkling stars.
Lupin turned suddenly and looked around.
"I know there's someone there," he said loudly, his wand in his hand, "Show yourself!"
I hesitated, then decided to trust him. The worst that could happen was a detention with him, which I wasn't sure I would mind at all. I lifted my Disillusionment Charm.
"Hello again," I said with a faint smile.
"It's you," he said, surprised, "You know Legilimency?"
"Legili- what?"
"Legilimency. The art of infiltrating the minds of others. …Someone's been in my mind at least twice tonight. It's not you?"
"No way. I can't do that… sounds kinda awesome though."
"It's really difficult. Especially if you can't employ Occlumency to defend yourself. I'm surprised Snape hasn't taught you Occlumency- he's quite skilled at it. I never learned it myself, but I can feel it when someone's in my head, especially if their Occlumency is faulty."
"Okay, that's weird. Who would be reading your thoughts?"
He shrugged.
"What're you doing out here anyway?" he asked.
"I wanted to go for a walk and clear my head so I could sleep. I didn't think I was going to get accosted."
"Oh am I accosting you?" he asked with a grin.
"Are you going to report me for being out after hours?"
"Hm… I think not. That would require me to converse with your Head of House and that's not the best of ideas, as I found out earlier."
"Are you going to give me detention?"
"We'll see," he said with a smile, "Would you like to help me with something?"
"Sure," I replied eagerly.
"I want to capture a grindylow for my Defense Against the Dark Arts class. You can help. Now, what do you know about grindylows?"
"They're water demons. Relatively harmless, classified XX by the Ministry. Some Muggles believe in them and think they eat children, though most think they don't exist. They're generally opposed to humans. Merpeople have been known to keep them as pets."
"Is there anything you don't know?" he asked, amused.
"How are we going to catch one?"
"I've been thinking about that. I thought about just levitating one out of the water, but it just didn't seem fair."
I nodded my head in agreement.
"What if you use a net?" I suggested, "You could make one and use magic to drag it across the bottom. Just throw back whatever isn't a grindylow.
"Like fishing," he said, "But what if I accidentally catch a merperson?"
"It's not going to kill them. Besides, they're probably asleep."
"Alright," Lupin said agreeably, "Let's do this."
He turned to the lake, his wand raised. He waved his wand and a magical net appeared. He cast his wand and the net followed the movement. He played with the net a moment, getting used to controlling it, then he plunged it into the lake. He dragged it across the bottom a moment, then pulled it up. Caught in the net were several fish, a few snakes, and one pale-green grindylow. The snakes and the fish slid unharmed through the holes in the net back into the lake. The magical netting kept both water and grindylow in the shape of a sphere. As Lupin brought the sphere towards land, the grindylow glared at us and stuck it's long fingers through the holes in the net, trying to grab us.
"Hm. How good are you at casting a Shield Charm?" Lupin asked me, keeping the grindylow a safe distance from us, "I don't want him to stick his fingers through the net and grab hold of anything…or anyone."
I nodded my head and pulled out my wand.
"Protego," I said, forming the magic into a circle around he net, which kept anything from getting in or out."
"Very good, Miss Cain."
"You can call me Olivia," I said, "Do you have a tank to put the grindylow in?"
"In my office," he said with a nod. We started back towards the castle.
"Are you going to put him back in the lake after you use him for teaching?" I asked Lupin, looking at the grindylow who was scowling at us through the net. He reminds me a little of Snape, I thought, smiling to myself.
"Of course," Lupin replied.
As we got closer to the castle, I reapplied my Disillusionment Charm so that if anyone was lurking about they would only see Lupin. I didn't remove the charm until we were upstairs in Lupin's office. A large tank was against one wall of the room. Lupin dropped the water and the grindylow into the tank carefully.
"I should've gotten fish," Lupin said, watching as the grindylow swam around its new environment.
"You should take one of your younger classes and get them to get fish to feed the grindylow. They'd probably think it was cool," I suggested.
"That's a very good idea, Olivia. I could take my second-year students."
"When will the fifth years take your class?" I asked curiously.
"Tomorrow, after lunch. That reminds me- you know you should probably go to bed now. You do have classes tomorrow."
"Yeah, alright. Goodnight Professor," I said with a small smile.
"Goodnight Olivia."
I hurried down to the dungeons to the Slytherin Common Room. I paused briefly outside of the empty Potions classroom. I thought about going to see Snape. I did want to talk to him about he dementors, but I decided against so late. He'd act huffy about it. Besides, he'd probably seen enough of me the past month.
When I reached the Slytherin Common Room, I was surprised to find Mari sitting up waiting for me.
"What've you been doing?" she asked with a smirk.
"I went for a walk. …I ended up helping Professor Lupin catch a grindylow."
"He caught you out?"
"Yep."
"And he didn't report you?"
"Nope."
"Or give you detention?"
"Nope."
"He must like you," she said with a mischievous grin.
"Or he could just be a nice person. Why do you always have to make things sound so inappropriate?" I said as I headed towards the dormitory.
"Well he is kinda cute, don't you think?" she asked following me.
"Goodnight Mari," I said, shaking my head incredulously.
"Oh come on, Livvy- you think he's cute, right? What about Snape?"
"Goodnight Mari," I repeated firmly.
Snape's POV
The next morning during breakfast I handed out the Slytherin schedules. I passed them out by hand, rather than buy magic, like I usually did. When I approached Olivia, I overheard her talking to her friend Mari.
"They're both old," she said irritably, "Now stop making lewd implications and eat your breakfast."
They stopped talking when they saw me approach and Olivia blushed faintly. I handed them their class schedules wordlessly and continued down the line of students.
Once all the schedules had been handed out, I left the Great Hall and headed towards the Potions classroom to prepare for my first class of the year. Halfway across the Entrance Hall, a voice called out to me.
"Oi! Wait up," Olivia said, hurrying after me, her schoolbag slung over one shoulder. I didn't stop walking but continued on towards the classroom. She followed me.
"I want to talk to you," she said.
"So talk," I replied shortly.
She waited until we reached the Potions classroom.
"Why don't you like Lupin?" she asked, sitting on top of the desk that was closest to mine.
"I have my reasons," I replied.
"I didn't really expect you to tell me," she said with a sigh, "So it's not good for me to be friends with him?"
"I don't care who you're friends with," I snapped, "Why should I?"
"You're mad. I can tell you're mad. I won't be friends with him."
"Do whatever you want. …I saw you out with him last night and I didn't report you."
"Really? You didn't report us?"
"No."
"So you really don't care?"
"Not in the least."
"Okay then. Can I help you prepare for your class?"
"Sure. Get the book off my desk and write the directions for the Hunger-Suppressing Potion on the blackboard."
She got the book and picked up the chalk and began to write. I checked the store cupboards and walked around the room, listening to the sound of the chalk on the chalkboard. I found myself watching her as she wrote. The way her hair went in waves down her back reminded me of Lily.
"There were dementors on the Hogwarts Express," she said conversationally.
"I heard. You didn't faint, did you?"
"Of course not," she replied, "…But it was still really horrible. Cold and…heavy."
"I don't particularly like them either. Dumbledore especially hates them."
"Why did he let them on the train, then? And all around the castle?" she asked curiously.
"Safety measures."
"Because of Sirius Black, right? I don't get it- what would he want at Hogwarts."
"He's crazy, Olivia. He murdered 13 people with a single curse."
"Lupin's very weird about it."
I felt briefly irritated.
"…They were friends when they were kids," I said to her.
"Really?" she asked, surprised, "…That explains it then."
At that moment the bell rang. Olivia hurried to finish writing the directions on the chalkboard, then grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder.
"Off to Transfiguration," she said with a sigh.
I said nothing, merely watched her as she left the classroom.
"Good luck with your classes," she said as she opened the door.
"Right," I replied sardonically.
My first class of the day entered the room and I set them to work brewing Potions. While most of the class got off to a wretched start, I sat at my desk, for once not caring that they were failing miserably or bothering to ridicule their efforts. Even when William Berek melted his cauldron into a disfigured blob, I didn't so much as glance up. Instead I found myself absently staring at the writing on the chalkboard. The way her 'y's looped and her letters flowed together in her distinctly feminine handwriting.
I shook my head and forced myself to look elsewhere. I stared down at my desk, frowning. Olivia would have her first class with Lupin after lunch. I should've told her I didn't approve of their friendship…but that would have meant admitting to her that I actually cared about her.
Author's Note: I promise I'll have the next chapter up soon. Stay tuned to read about Olivia's first class with Lupin. J In the meantime, leave me some good reviews! Thanks all.
~TheVampyre13