Snape had expected that seeing Lupin again would irritate him, but in reality… The man was so much more annoying than he remembered. Lupin had never taken part in humiliating Snape like his friends did, but it sickened him thinking of how that mutant had grinned while they tortured him. The same grin he gave him as he draped himself all over Millwood in the great hall. He wasn't sure he could endure a whole year of putting up with him and playing nurse by bringing him his pathetic potion. He wondered what might happen if he forgot to brew it for one month?
The thought faded quickly as it came. While he certainly didn't like Lupin, who knows what he would do to the people in the castle. The students. No, he would play along. It would be hard not to let his dirty little secret slip though.
Snape had released the first year slytherins to their dorms and now he could think clearly in the darkness of the corridors. Why would Lupin agree to come here in the first place? And what coincidence was it that his old chum was headed to Hogwarts as well? Somehow he felt Dumbledore had an ulterior motive in all of this, but he didn't expect him to share it. The headmaster shared a lot with Snape, but he suspected he liked keeping a few tricks up his sleeve. Plus he had already told Snape he was "irrational" and "shamelessly vindictive" when it came to James Potter and his friends. Well maybe that was so, but for good reason.
Then there was Millwood. She had actually brightened up his night before Lupin came along. He felt silly admitting it to himself, but he was enjoying her cheerful humor and conversation. It wasn't often he got to chat with someone his age at Hogwarts. And she had interesting tastes. That perfume she wore, something mixed with almond. Maybe cherries… Anyways, she certainly had a reaction to Lupin. Snape noticed what she had tried to hide, the subtle shifting away. The way she shut down when he had arrived. Lost her appetite. It was a shame too because the pie was exquisite tonight.
Perhaps she would turn out to be a new friend for him in this lonely old castle. Sure he didn't mind sharing a drink with Minerva, and flitwick was fine for talking quidditch, but he sensed that Millwood was more like minded than those two. She certainly knew her way around potions ingredients.
Over the next few days of school, Snape happened to meet Millwood at the table in the Great Hall for breakfast at the same time. She was doing well with the students. While it wasn't Snape's style to be popular with his pupils, they seemed to like and respect her. He warned her that she had to be firm in the start so they wouldn't walk all over her. Then she smiled wickedly and told him about how she tricked Lee Jordan into opening a rune box that cursed him with a mouth full of spiced sand for over an hour.
"Well I didn't invite him to open it, you know. I just noticed him slinking around trying to knick some of my things."
"Next time, add a detention on top of that." He laughed.
It became a part of their routine, and their conversations grew more lively as time went on.
"Have they really not found him yet?" Millwood flopped her copy of the Prophet down next to a platter of sausages. Sirius Black stood out in the headline above a shadowy picture of a street corner.
"They keep getting sightings of him from all over. I guess they're trying to keep it under wraps that they know he's trying to come here."
"It bloody well sounds like he's on his way. They say they've tracked him to London."
"The man really must be insane. He gets freedom after 11 years and immediately chases down a child."
"Oh he's something alright. Insanely disgusting and relentless. I wouldn't consider him an evil genius like some people are making him out to be. He's just sly and weasley. He got lucky, that's the only way he made it out."
"You sure seem to feel strongly about it, Snape. How do you know he's not an evil genius?" She teased.
"Because, I had the misfortune of knowing him. We were in the same year at Hogwarts." He growled.
"Oh that's right! I remember him being an upperclassman while I was there. He seemed like a self absorbed layabout from what I recall seeing him in the library. Rarely that is."
Snape snorted. "Yes I have a rather blistering history with him. Maybe one of these days I'll share it with you. But regardless, I doubt he'll make it through the gates. The dementors are famished these days."
Just then, a large pair of tawny owls swooped into the hall. They split apart and one dropped off a huge parcel to a student. The other drifted down to sit before Millwood. She became very still. Her hand shook slightly as she removed a slight note from the bird's claw and skimmed its contents. He watched her curiously as a bead of sweat drew across her brow. She hurriedly crumpled the note in a fist and dropped it atop a pile of food scraps on her plate.
"Excuse me…" She jolted up and marched out of the hall in distraction. Snape waited until no one was looking to carefully pry the note from some greasy potatoes. He only noticed the Malfoy family crest before he shoved it into the pocket of his robes.