A/N: Extra long chapter this time. I used a slightly modified Downton Abbey quote in this chapter - bonus points to whoever finds it ;) Thank you for all of the adds and favs! I really appreciate it. And keep the reviews coming, I really want to know what you all think :)

Eliza waited patiently for Number 12 Grimmuald place to appear. There was no meeting planned for that evening, but she was sure that Sirius wouldn't mind her dropping by unannounced. When the house finally came into view, Eliza quickly crossed the street and stepped through the door without catching the attention of any muggles nearby. Knowing her cousin's favorite room in the house, she made her way down to the kitchen.

"Bloody hell!" shouted Sirius as she banged the kitchen door open. Eliza smirked at the newly formed tea stain on the front of his shirt. "Have you ever heard of knocking?"

"What fun is knocking?"

Sirius glared at her, mopping up the mess he had just made. "And to what do I owe this visit," he snapped.

"I had some errands to run in Diagon Alley," she answered, showing him her shopping bag and new owl inside its cage. Two weeks before, Eliza had managed to get ahold of her research notes and materials. It was time for her first trial run, so she had gone to Diagon Alley to stock up on potion supplies. "I also need to talk to Remus and I figured you would know the best way to reach him."

"Uh oh, I guess you can't us an owl as an excuse to show up to Order meetings now," jeered Sirius. Carefully, he lifted the cage onto the table so he could inspect her new pet.

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Here I was thinking that you could use a little company. If you are just going to mock me, then I am going home."

Sirius chuckled and sat back in his favorite chair. Putting his feet his feet on the table (making Eliza cringe), he gestured for her to join him. "You are most welcome to stay, cousin. Remus is not here at the moment, but he will be back soon. Would you like a drink while we wait?" Eliza shook her head no. "Well then, tell me about working with old Snape-" he spit the name out like it tasted bad"-what made you so eager to team up with that git?"

Eliza crossed her arms and scowled at Sirius. He was baiting her already, she knew it, but it still peeved her that he was acting like a school boy again. "Grow up, Sirius. You know why I am working with him."

Sirius cocked his head, surveying Eliza who was desperately avoiding his gaze. "Do I really know why you are doing it? Let's see, you will say that Dumbledore is making you do it. That's it, Dumbledore told you that you had to do it so there is no way that you would refuse." Eliza snorted irritably. "Because you have always done everything that Dumbledore asks of you," he added sarcastically.

"Just drop it," Eliza said through clenched teeth. "I am doing this for me and me only. Snape has the knowledge and connections I need, it is only logical that I would work with him."

Sirius shook his head in disbelief. "You don't trust Snape enough to let him help you. I know you have seen his dark mark. Nothing has changed."

"Dumbledore trusts him, that's enough for me," she said coldly. In that short time he had managed hit a nerve and she was considering leaving without talking to Lupin.

Sirius' barking laugh made Eliza jump and narrow her eyes at him. "Now you are going to tell me that you believe that Dumbledore's judgment is sound. The muggle life has changed you. Or else you are just lying to me and yourself."

Eliza remained silent, her fury clearly etched on her face. She was beyond tired of Sirius thinking he could read her mind. How dare he think that he knew her motives better than she.

"You know what I think," he continued. "I think you are picking up where you left off at Hogwarts." Eliza's eyes flashed with anger and mortification. How did he know about that?

"Oh yes, I knew about your book, your hobby." Sirius was leering at her with a look of disgust. "Does Snivellus know about his little stalker?"

Before Eliza could react with the rage building up inside her, Lupin walked into the kitchen. Raising an eyebrow, he gave the fuming cousins a curious glance. "Hello, Eliza. We weren't expecting you," he said politely.

Another moment of silence passed before Sirius stood, muttered something about feeding Buckbeak, and stomped upstairs. Lupin watched him leave with his brow furrowed.

"I came to talk to you, Remus," Eliza said wearily, nodding towards the chair that Sirius had just abandoned. Lupin sat down quickly. "I was thinking the other day about some potions and it occurred to me that you may be having a hard time getting Wolfsbane Potion. Am I right?"

Lupin looked down shamefully. "I haven't been able to get it since I worked at Hogwarts. Severus was kind enough to brew it for me, but he quit the moment I left the school. Nobody else seems to have his skill for it."

Eliza bit her lip sympathetically. She never could understand Snape's contempt for Lupin other than the fact that he was friends with James Potter. True, she was not a friend of his by any means, she actually found him to be as irresponsible as the other marauders, but she respected him. And it was so unfortunate that he was a werewolf, he had such potential.

"How have your transformations been since then? The usual?"

Lupin smiled at the healer tone that Eliza's voice had taken. "Transformations have been as horrible as usual. But it is okay, I have a place to go when they happen, an old house to barricade myself in."

Clicking her tongue in disapproval (sounding more like Molly Weasley than herself), Eliza reached into her pocket and withdrew a flask. "Here is a dose of Wolfsbane for this coming full moon. I will continue to brew it for you. There is no reason that you shouldn't be getting the potion you need."

Lupin stared down at the flask, his eyes wide. "I-I-I can't, Eliza," he said quietly. "I can't waste your time when you have such important work to do."

"Nonsense. This potion practically makes itself, it just takes so many days that people think it is hard to do. Remus, you are too valuable to the Order. We can't have you missing out for days because you are recovering from a transformation. " Eliza said all of this very matter-of-factly without meeting his eyes. Inside she was squirming from the awkwardness. While there was no doubt that she cared about people, acts of kindness just weren't her thing.

"At least let me pay for this," he said weakly, reaching for his pocket.

"Absolutely not." Eliza cut him off firmly. "You can repay me by being at every meeting and answering every question I have about werewolves."

Lupin grinned widely. "I will do just that. Seriously, Eliza, I can't thank you enough."

"No need," Eliza said, standing up and retrieving her bags. As she walked out of the kitchen, Eliza paused and looked back at Lupin. "One more thing. Take good care of my niece. Keep her safe."

A panicked expression quickly crossed Lupin's face. "I don't know…how do…what do you mean?"

Eliza smiled and shook her head. "I have seen the way you two look at each other. I don't know what kind of relationship you have now or intend to have, but I am counting on you to take care of her. She is in the Black family, and I can guarantee that she thinks she is invincible. I believe that you are the right man for the job." With that, Eliza left behind a very shocked Remus Lupin and made her way home.

At home, Eliza set to work unloading her bag of potions ingredients into the pantry. She also took her new owl out of the cage and to the area in the mudroom that she set up for him. The shopkeeper said that he was a Eurasian Eagle Owl and that he had been there for a long time because he was not the cute owls that most people wanted. Eliza immediately took pity on him and decided he was perfect. He was a very large owl with a spotted front and massive black "eyebrows" that gave him the appearance of an old man.

Giggling at the grouchy look that he was giving her, Eliza decided to let him make his first delivery. Getting out a piece of parchment, she scribbled a quick note:

I need to pick your brain – E.S.

With a grumbly squawk, the large owl flew out of the kitchen window, carrying the message to Hogwarts. With that taken care of, Eliza set to making her first experimental potion. She wasn't planning on making the full potion yet, she just want to test the properties of various ingredients and combinations.

That night there was a knock at her front door. Smiling to herself, she knew that Snape had understood her message. Going to greet him, she noticed right away that the wizard seemed to fill the doorway with his looming height and billowing robes. His expression was stern and probing, making Eliza's heart skip a beat, feeling much like a punch to the chest. She hated to admit it, but he made a rather impressive image. Stepping out of his way, she waved Snape into her house.

"Good evening, Severus. I see you received my message and it wasn't too cryptic for you." Eliza smiled cheekily at him, noting the way his clenched smile twitched at her joking.

"I did receive it, Eliza. I do hope you have something useful to discuss as my time is quite valuable," he said coolly, following her into the kitchen.

Eliza laughed lightly. "Yes, I am sure whatever book you are reading is much more important than saving the wizarding world." His lip curled in annoyance, making Eliza laugh even more. She was beginning to see why people enjoyed poking fun at the irritable professor.

Setting Snape down at the table, Eliza busied herself with making tea. Her new owl sat on the windowsill above the sink, filling the whole space of the open window. He made a disgruntled sound when she stroked his eyebrows, but was more than happy to take the bit of bread she offered him.

"What do you think of my new owl?" asked Eliza.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "The owl seems quite adequate for deliveries," he answered.

Eliza chuckled at his answer and gave the owl another bit of bread. "Oh yes, he is quite adequate. I still haven't named him. He is such a grouch that I was thinking of calling him Severus."

Snape's face turned an odd purple color and his lips were pressed together in a narrow line. "I don't think that would be appropriate," he ground out.

Snickering at his reaction, Eliza brought the tray of tea and biscuits over to the table. "Alright, I will go with a different name. Do you have any ideas? I was thinking about calling him Maximus"

Snape paused, midway through picking up a biscuit. "Any particular reason for that name," he asked softly. The glint in his eye made Eliza think that he probably knew the reference for the name.

"Maximus Cavill was the inventor of the Amortentia Potion. It is my favorite to make." She answered, smiling faintly as she remembered the scents that she usually smelled with it: wood smoke, rosemary, and firewhisky.

"That is an interesting potion, but it useless. I have always preferred making Veritaserum." Snape said, all coolness gone from his voice.

Eliza realized that they were having a real conversation. "That is a good potion too," she said thoughtfully. "Darwin Perryfoot was the creator that one, so I could name my owl after him."

"No," said Snape solemnly. "The other potion suits you better, at least the brewing process does. You should stick with Maximus. Besides, Darwin is the name of my owl."

Eliza grinned wildly, excited that they used the same method to name their pets. Seeing her approval, Snape cleared his throat loudly and quickly looked about the room for a distraction.

"What potion are you working on now?" he asked, his eyes settling on the cauldron that sat on the stove. On the counter beside it sat several tubes of a golden yellow liquid.

"It's not a potion yet," explained Eliza," I am testing the magical properties of different ingredients. The liquid in the tubes is foxglove extract that I made earlier this afternoon. I am now boiling valerian root. And I have several more to go."

Snape nodded as she explained. He often liked to test his potions ingredients before using them to make sure that he always received optimum results with his concoctions. "How long do you think it will take to test all of your ingredients?"

Eliza frowned. "Right now I have a list of over 200 possible ingredients to test, so it could easily take 2-3 months for the initial tests. Once I have narrowed it down a bit, I then have to run another series of tests. And then there are the combination tests…. I definitely have my work cut out for me."

Snape looked down at the table and crunched a biscuit loudly. He seemed to be thinking carefully about what he wanted to say. "It sounds like you need someone to share the responsibilities. I can only offer my services yet again, but you will no doubt refuse. I understand that you do not trust me, you are wise not to trust me, but I am afraid that there is not a better option. The other Order members are abysmal at potions and Dumbledore cannot be bothered with such work."

Snape seemed to be getting increasingly flustered as his speech went on. Eliza wanted so badly to reach across the table and pat his hand in comfort, but she refrained from doing so. It pained her that he could so easily read her, that he knew about her reservations and concerns.

"Severus," Eliza said softly. Snape's eyes met hers. "Do not think that you are the only person that I don't trust. The Order, Dumbledore, my own family…I don't trust any of them. Hell, I don't even trust myself. I know that you are the best person to help me, and I will seek your help when I need it, but this is something that I need to do alone. I really messed things up the first time around and lost everything. If I can save just one family from the fate of mine, my efforts will be worth it."

Snape sighed and looked away. Eliza grimaced, thinking of how those words must ring true with him as well. She knew about his friendship with Lily Evans, and although he would never admit it, she was sure that her death was related to him joining the Order. Just like Eliza, Snape had messed up the first time and needed to finish his mission alone.

"Why did you ask for me if you don't need my help," Snape asked, his normal scowl and cold tone of voice returning.

Eliza looked at him sadly. She hated it that he clammed up and shut her out every time she upset him. "I need your perspective tonight. I have chosen to not join the Order but I am working closely with them. Sirius continues to make me feel guilty about not being in it, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I feel like you are the closest to understanding my reasoning, maybe you can help me see if I am being foolish or not."

Snape pondered her for a moment. Sitting back in his chair, he crossed his arms tightly, defensively, in front of him. "Well that depends upon your reasons for not joining the Order."

Eliza furrowed her brow. "I guess I just hate the superiority of it all. The Order seems to think that they have the have the monopoly on honor. I don't believe that the Dark Lord or Death Eaters are in the right by any means, but I don't like being told that people from my background and from my house at Hogwarts are the equivalent of Death Eaters. And I don't think it is as black and white as Sirius and the others think. When you grow up in a pureblood family you are raised under a certain belief system. It is not excusable, and I did not allow myself to be taken in by those beliefs, but I can see why so many were too weak to resist."

Snape's expression remained neutral while Eliza poured out her frustration with the Order. When he finally responded, his voice was edged in coolness, but lacked the bite it usually carried. "I do not think that you are wrong in your judgment of the Order. The other members do not understand the mindset of the Death Eaters. That is why they have me. But I also think that you should consider another perspective. There is a lot of work, planning, and expertise going into the demise of the Dark Lord. The Order needs every intelligent witch and wizard available to assist. Your intelligence is both necessary and desired by the Order. It is no wonder that they are so persistent."

"Oh Severus," sighed Eliza, rubbing her face in frustration, "You are not making this easier."

Snape smirked slightly at the frazzled witch. "I suggest you hold out a bit longer. The pure annoyance for Black makes it worthwhile."

Eliza laughed. "You are just what I needed tonight," she said, her green eyes locking with Snape's rather wide eyes.

Just then the clock chimed 12 times. Sighing, Snape stood slowly. "It is midnight, I must be getting back to the school."

Eliza wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but it sounded like Snape was disappointed that he had to leave. Getting up, Eliza walked him to the back door, where he would apparate from her back yard. Leaning against the doorframe, Eliza watched as he found a good spot to take off from.

"There is a quidditch match coming up in a couple of weeks, right?" she called to him as he turned to face her.

Surprised, Snape nodded. "Yes, it is between Slytherin and Gryffindor."

"Hmmm, I have missed watching quidditch," Eliza said, more to herself than him. "See you soon, Severus."

With an odd glance toward Eliza, Snape spun and disappeared on the spot.

Eliza stayed at her door, staring out into the night where Snape had been moments before. She couldn't pinpoint her exact reasoning, but something made her want to go to that match, made her want to spend more time with Snape. She knew then that this partnership would extend beyond research and bring up feelings that she had buried back at Hogwarts so many years before.