Author's Note: Hey everyone! Guess what- I just finished writing the end of this year! Woo-hoo! AND I came up with a brilliant idea for the ending for the whole story. I am so psyched. Anyways, thanks for all the reviews (there weren't as many as I had hoped though). Here's the next chapter. I'm sure you're all eager to know what happens between Olivia and Blackie…
~LilReporterGirl
After dinner I went down to the kitchens. I told the house elves I was feeding strays again and needed some extra food- not that they needed an excuse to pile as much food as they could into a basket and give it to me.
At nine o'clock that night I went into the dormitory then emerged, invisible, and left the Common Room. It wasn't difficult to slip out of the castle undetected but the walk to Hogsmeade was a long one and my arms grew tired from carrying the invisible basket.
When I reached the end of the road in Hogsmeade a dog stepped out of the shadows. Even though I was invisible he looked right at me and wagged his tail…though I suppose it could have been the smell of food.
"You're insane, you know that," I said and made myself visible. He just wagged his tail some more and walked away, glancing back over his shoulder like he expected me to follow him. I sighed and transformed into my Animagus form. I picked the basket up in my mouth and followed Sirius into the darkness.
I followed him to the foot of the mountain and up a little ways, over rocky terrain, until he disappeared into a small crack. I followed him inside, having some difficulty because of the basket. Once inside the small cave, Sirius transformed back into his human self, who I had only seen before on Wanted posters. His appearance was rather frightening- he was way too thin, his hair was matted and he was dirty.
"Food," he said hoarsely. I dropped the basket and stepped away from it. I transformed into human as well and was engulfed in darkness. After a brief moment of panic I realized that I could only see in the dark as a wolf.
I pulled out my wand and lit the tip. It cast a dim light and I could see Sirius devouring the food I had brought. There were several old newspapers in one corner of the cave and it was basically void of everything else but rocks. After thinking a minute, I transfigured one of the rocks into a jar and put flames in it. To make the light dimmer I turned the flames green with a color-changing charm.
"Very Slytherin-y," Sirius said through a mouthful of food.
"You're an idiot, you know that?" I said shortly, putting the jar on the ground and leaning against the wall of the cave, arms crossed. "If I were you, I'd be a million miles from here. I'd been in fucking South America. Anywhere but here. Why come back?"
Sirius had found the flask of water the elves had packed and was drinking it like he'd been lost in the desert for a week.
"I came back to be near my godson," he said after he finished drinking. Then he resumed eating with renewed fervor.
"Stop that," I said crossly, "You're going to make yourself sick."
"I've been living off of rats since I got here, Olivia."
"That's positively disgusting," I said. "And how do you know my name? I don't think I ever told you my name."
"Moony told me," he said with a shrug.
My heart skipped a beat.
"You talk to Lupin?" I asked.
"Occasionally. It's bit risky to send letters when you're in hiding."
"You sent a letter to me- another stupid move. I could easily have turned you in."
"You wouldn't," he said confidentially, "You are a good person. You liked me before."
"Yeah, when you were a lovable stray named Blackie! I don't even like people- well, except for Severus and my two friends…and Dumbledore, I suppose."
"Severus is a wanker, he doesn't count as a person," he said lightly.
"He's not a wanker," I defended immediately.
"Yeah, okay," he said in an annoyingly passive way, "…I could turn back into a dog if you like."
"No. Now it's just creepy. I don't even know why I came."
He grinned.
"You were curious," he said.
"I suppose so."
"Curiosity killed the cat."
"Yeah…but I'm a wolf. And a witch. I know curses that would expel your guts from your body and shove them down your throat."
"Charming," he said with a snort, then continued eating.
"Why me?" I said. "Why get me to come out here?"
"I was starving," he said simply, "And Moony said you were nice."
"Well, I feel used."
He laughed.
"Tell me what's been going on at Hogwarts," he said.
I shook my head in wonder then, because I didn't know what else to do, sat cross-legged on the floor of the cave and proceeded to tell him about the second task- or what I had been told about it anyway. He listened intently to me as I told him about Rita Skeeter's article in Witch Weekly.
"That's ridiculous," he snorted, "Harry doesn't even like Hermione like that."
"That's what Severus and I thought as well."
"Hm...Just how close are you and Snivellus?"
"Don't call him that," I snapped and when Sirius looked rather amused I blushed. "Well he is the Potions Master and I am his apprentice. We see a lot of each other."
Sirius grinned broadly. He didn't have to say it, I know what he was thinking.
"Not like that Sirius," I said, rolling my eyes at his immaturity, even if he was right. "We are cousins."
"Yeah, that doesn't mean much in the way of purebloods," he said dismissively. "Everybody marries their cousin in that lot."
"Severus isn't a pureblood and I'm probably not either- I never knew my father."
"Wait- Snape isn't pureblood?" Sirius said in disbelief.
"Er…not common knowledge, I take it?"
"No, but- he's a Slytherin! You're a Slytherin-"
"Well spotted," I said dryly.
"I thought the lot of them were pureblood."
"I doubt there is enough pureblood in this school to fill a goblet," I snorted.
"Wait- he's not Muggleborn is he? The hypocrite!"
"Of course he's not. The Sorting Hat doesn't put Muggleborns in Slytherin. He's half-blood, same as most everyone else."
"Not me. I'm 'pureblood'. Not that I'm proud of it," he said, disgusted.
"But you're a Gryffindor. How'd you get away with that one?"
"Well the Sorting Hat did want to put me in Slytherin… but I'd had my Mum's pureblood smut shoved down my throat for eleven years and I knew I wasn't like the rest of my family. Eventually they disowned me, kicked me out of the house."
"Where did you go?" I asked curiously.
"To James Potter's place. His parents loved me."
There came a sudden rustling noise outside the cave and I stood alert, wand in hand.
"Relax," Sirius said as a large animal slipped into the cave with us, "It's only Buckbeak."
The hippogriff shook his feathers and eyed me suspiciously. I immediately lowered my wand and bowed to him. After a moment of scrutiny he bowed in return and I moved forward to pet him.
"So you're Buckbeak. I heard a lot about you last year. Slashed Malfoy up right good, didn't you? Then escaped execution. You're quite clever," I said, stroking his feathers. He seemed to enjoy the praise.
"He's been a good companion," Sirius said. "I've been letting him go out at night. He always comes back."
I pet the hippogriff for a while, talking softly to him. Sirius finished off the food and Buckbeak began crunching any discarded bones or gristle. Sirius sighed contentedly and stretched out on the ground.
"Why do you hate Severus?" I asked after a while.
"Because he's a git," he said lightly. "He was a git when we were kids and he is a git now."
"But he is a good person. Dumbledore trusts him…just like he trusts you. You and Severus have a lot in common- you are both supposed to be bad guys, but you're not."
"Yeah…but I'm not a git. And Snape hates me. And he makes everyone hate him. I'm not like that- I'm a lovable person," he replied with an endearing smile.
"…He is scared to get close to people emotionally. He thinks it is easier to make everyone hate him…but not everyone hates him," I said softly. "He has a good heart."
"Whatever," he said, rolling his eyes. "You should probably go back to school now, before somebody notices you're missing."
"Sure," I scoffed. "You just wanted me for my food."
"Yeah, kinda," he said with a grin. "…I really do appreciate it though. And if there is anything I can ever do for you, just let me know."
Snape's POV
Saturday was another trip to Hogsmeade for the older students. Immediately after breakfast Olivia showed up in my office, which was not unexpected. She had resigned herself to helping me grade homework or brew potions, but when she arrived in my office I was fastening my traveling cloak.
"Hey! Where are you going?" she asked, surprised.
"We are going to Hogsmeade," I replied simply.
"Isn't that rather risky?"
"No. Well…we aren't going anywhere we're likely to run into anyone we know," I said. "Besides…everyone knows Dumbledore trusts me."
"What about Moody? He's mad as a hatter," she said. "He could be lurking anywhere."
"Moody won't be going to Hogsmeade today. He has a slew of my students in detention."
"You sound rather cheerful about that," she said with a grin.
"They're third years. They should know better than to goof off during a Defense class…especially a Defense class with Moody. I'm surprised he didn't turn them all into frogs. Now do you want to go or not?"
"Yeah," she said enthusiastically. "Let's go."
We left the castle then and went out into the cool morning air. It was cool but not uncomfortable.
"It's going to be a rather warm day," I commented as we walked along the path. There were no students or other teachers to be seen. Olivia just looked at me and grinned.
As we entered the village we passed a group of Durmstrang boys who stopped talking to watch Olivia as we walked away. They resumed talking Russian and laughed.
I didn't speak Russian but I could guess at what they were saying. I scowled over my shoulder at them and they only laughed harder.
"Ignore them, Severus. They're idiots. They just have twisted minds because their headmaster is a child-molester," she said loud enough to shut the Durmstrang boys and cause several passers-by to give her bizarre looks before hurrying on. I smirked at her and shook my head.
I led her down the road to the most obscure place I could think of- the Hogs Head Pub. It was dusty and dim inside the pub. There were five people there, including the bar tender who was wiping the counter down with a filthy rag. Everyone else was dirty and grubby, with their hoods up, save for one bloke with long matted hair who appeared to be blind. Certainly none of them would care that I was there with a student. Even still, I led Olivia to the darkest corner of the pub where we wouldn't be seen should someone like Hagrid come in for a drink.
"Good choice," Olivia said quietly to me. "No one from Hogwarts would come here."
I smiled slightly.
"Butterbeer?" I asked her. She nodded.
I went to the counter and asked the bartender for a bottle of butterbeer and a glass of mulled mead. The bartender handed me both then continued wiping the counter with the rag, which only served to smear the grime around the surface.
"I'm glad it's in a bottle," Olivia said in a low voice as I sat down. "I'm not sure I would drink out of one of those cups."
I shrugged indifferently and took a sip of my drink.
We sat there for a while, talking and drinking and eventually we just linked our minds to avoid having to worry about keeping our voices low…though this made it so much more difficult to hide how much we wanted each other and knowing that we both wanted it made it even worse.
You know, Olivia thought with a sly look, You said not at Hogwarts…and technically…we're not at Hogwarts.
I hesitated, all my doubts running through my mind. Finally, my desire overrode my common sense.
Where? I thought.
Shrieking Shack? she suggested.
Excellent…but we don't want to look too conspicuous. I'll go on ahead once we leave here. You go to Honeydukes for a few minutes or something, then follow.
She nodded. We finished off our drinks, then left the pub.
I walked up the main road of Hogsmeade, passing students and teachers, all of who avoided eye contact with me. Alone, I was invisible, as it should be. I started up the deserted road to the Shrieking Shack.
I stood just outside the Shrieking Shack, waiting for Olivia. I saw her coming up the path. She jumped the fence and made her way to me. Without speaking we slipped into the building. I did a quick spell to make sure there was no one else there. Then, alone at least, we fell into each other's arms. She kissed me passionately, frantically clawing at the front of my robes. I chuckled at her eagerness and, without further ado, pushed her back against the wall.
It was hot and fast, but it relieved us both of a tenseness that had been building up between us and as we walked back to the castle, we felt relaxed and worry-free…for the time being, anyway.
Olivia's POV
Monday morning at breakfast I saw Hermione Granger running out of the Great Hall, visibly upset. Unlike most of the other Slytherins, I didn't really care, choosing instead to think about my first class of the day, which would be Potions.
I was the first to line up outside the Potions classroom that morning. When Snape came to let us in he gave me a small smile. I made my way to my desk at the front of the classroom, listening intently as Snape gave instructions for the Hiccupping Solution we would be brewing.
Rather disappointed, as this seemed a mundane task, I began to gather my ingredients, as did my classmates. I had just sat down again when the door opened and Albus Dumbledore walked in.
"Back to work," Snape said loudly to the students who had stopped to watch the headmaster as he strolled to the front of the room. I knew better. I continued to look busy, hovering over my cauldron, but watching them and listening intently as they began to talk quietly. I could only catch snatches of their conversation.
"I will watch your class," Dumbledore said. Snape looked rather startled, but inclined his head. He looked past Dumbledore and met my gaze.
"May my apprentice come as well?" he asked.
"Yes," the headmaster replied with a smile at me. "It will be a good experience for her."
Snape stood to leave the classroom.
"You will continue to work on your potions- I will inspect them when I return and grade them accordingly," Snape said icily to the class. "Miss Cain- you will leave your things and come with me."
"Yes sir," I said obediently, trying not to sound too enthusiastic. I stood, winked at my friends, and followed Snape out of the room.
"What's up?" I asked once he had shut the door, no longer bothering to hide my enthusiasm.
"Hermione Granger apparently received hate mail this morning at breakfast, because of the article in Witch Weekly. One of the envelopes contained undiluted Bubotober Pus," he said.
"Ouch," I said with a wince.
"Madam Pomfrey has asked for my assistance. I brought you along for the experience and to spare you a class that is beneath your abilities," he said. "So…what would you use to treat the abrasions caused by undiluted bubotober pus?"
I thought for a moment.
"Hm…Essence of Murtlap?" I suggested.
"Excellent. That is exactly what I would have suggested," he said, sounding pleased.
I grinned, feeling quite pleased with myself, and we made our way to his office to retrieve the murtlap.
When we reached the hospital wing the curtains were completely drawn around one bed. There were several student peering curiously at the veiled bed from their own hospital beds. One sharp look from Snape and all of them averted their eyes or quickly lay down. The sound of quiet sobs could be heard from behind the curtains. Snape cleared his throat.
"Madame Pomfrey?" he said. She immediately poked her head out.
"Yes, Severus dear, come on. Olivia, too. Let's see if you two can sort her out," she said, holding the curtain open just enough for us to slip through.
Hermione Granger was sitting on the bed, her knees drawn up in front of her. On wither side of her were her hands which were covered in abrasions, swollen and blistering, obviously causing her a great deal of pain. She stopped crying, with some effort, when she saw Snape. She attempted to wipe her face on her sleeve and a steely, determined look came into her eye. I glanced curiously at Snape, who was sneering at her. I shot him a look that clearly said 'be nice' and he assumed a neutral expression.
"Madam Pomfrey, have you a large bowl?" I asked the nurse. "I believe this will help Miss Granger."
I had been carrying the large bottle containing Murtlap concoction since we had left Snape's office.
"Yes of course dear," she said and hurried off to get it.
"You must be Professor Snape's apprentice," Granger said, her voice stronger than I expected. "I've heard of you…seen you from a distance."
"Olivia Cain," I said, inclining my head slightly. "I've heard of you as well. You are friends with Harry Potter."
She nodded.
"Is that Essence of Murtlap?" she asked curiously, nodding to the bottle.
"…Yes, it is," Is aid, surprised. "You're quite clever for a fourth year."
"Miss Granger is the smartest, most talented witch in her year," Madam Pomfrey said as she returned with the bowl. Granger blushed and look away modestly. Snape scoffed quietly.
The nurse set the bowl on the bedside table and I poured the bottle into it. I added a bit of water and mixed it with my wand.
"There," I said, setting the bowl in front of her. "Soak your hands in that for at least- what would you say, Professor? A half hour?"
"What?" Snape said. "Oh…yes, a half hour."
"That means I'll have to miss Herbology," she said miserably.
"It won't kill you to miss one class," I said with a slight smile. "And your hands will need to be bandaged for a while anyway."
"…Thank you Olivia," she said quietly. "And thank you Professor Snape."
I shrugged rather uncomfortably. Snape said nothing, but turned on his heel and left the Hospital Wing. I hastened to follow.
"You know, I think she has a thing for you Severus," I said once we were alone in the hallway.
"Don't be ridiculous," he snorted, a little too quickly.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
"…She's intrigued by me, just because I'm the only teacher who doesn't fawn over her like she's teacher who doesn't fawn over her like she's some sort of protégé."
"Is she really that talented?" I inquired.
"She is a very capable witch…but not so much as you."
"Are you trying to distract me with flattery?"
"Is it working?"
"A little. I don't really care if the Granger girl has a thing for you…just so long as you don't have a thing for her."
"Do I look like I have a thing for her?" he said, scowling. "She's fourteen. And a Gryffindor. …I only have a thing for you. You can do so much more than Hermione Granger."
He said these last two things in a whisper and I knew he wasn't just talking about my capabilities as a witch. I smiled and continued walking with him back to the dungeons, even though my class was over. I had a study period next and I rather hoped Snape would invite me to help with his next class.
We were almost to the classroom when we saw Dumbledore coming up the hallway. Snape frowned.
"Did you leave my third years alone?" Snape asked. "They are a rambunctious lot, they'll have destroyed the classroom."
"No, of course not Severus. I wouldn't violate the sanctity of your classroom," the headmaster said with a twinkle in his blue eyes. "I gave them the class period off."
"You…what?" Snape asked.
"I'm not that great at potions and I have work to do, so I let them go. It does everyone good to take a break every now and then," he replied. "I gave them a reading assignment."
Snape scoffed and I chuckled. Dumbledore looked curiously at me.
"No offense, sir," I said, "But to a majority of kids 'read these pages' translates to 'no homework'."
He nodded his head thoughtfully.
"Oh well," he said cheerfully. "You can always quiz them later. How did it go with Miss Granger?"
"She'll be fine," Snape said dismissively. "Just as long as she doesn't open any more 'fan mail'. The next envelope could contain a hex or a curse."
Dumbledore nodded solemnly.
"I shall speak with her before I return to my office. Thank you Severus."
The headmaster continued on his way and we continued down to the classroom.
"I can't believe he dismissed my class," Snape said, annoyed.
"Relax, Severus. You can just swamp them with homework tomorrow."
"That is true…"
"And in the meantime, you get a free class period, and I've got a class period. We could…grade papers."
He chuckled quietly and smiled a little.
"Yeah," he said. "I suppose we could…if you actually mean grade papers."
"Of course," I said innocently.