The Embittering of Severus Snape

"How was Wood's Quidditch practice?" Severus asked stiffly as they practiced casting banishing charms during a particularly noisy charms lesson.

"It was interesting. They've got a strong team this year." Muriel answered noncommittally. She had been asking him what was wrong with him all week. It was getting harder and harder to tell when he was nearby. Now, a week before Halloween, she had forgotten that he was even sitting beside her.

Severus was seething. As if it wasn't bad enough that she'd agreed to go to the dance with the prat, now she was going to all his practices, too. She'd even sat with him once at lunch already. He felt his stomach contract as he thought about it and said the banishing charm. He had apparently flicked his wand a little too forcefully, however, and Professor Flitwick went sailing across the classroom, letting out a stream of expletives to rival a Malfoy. Most of the class laughed.

"You didn't do that on purpose," Muriel accused suddenly, setting down her wand. Severus wondered for a moment if she really knew that for sure, or if she was guessing. He was having enormous success with blocking his thoughts and emotions. She shouldn't have been able to feel his guilt.

Her eyes were flashing angrily. He smirked. "Maybe I did."

"Liar. I've seen you cast banishing charms before. You've never had any trouble. What's got you so upset?" she kept her voice down, as the Professor still seemed rather annoyed.

"Why should I be upset? I hear Wood's going around telling people you're his girl now." He added bitterly. She fixed him with a piercing gaze.

"Not that I let him get away with it, but why should that upset you? You spent all of last term telling me how much you hate dancing, and you avoided me like the plague at Malfoy's wedding! Don't tell me you were planning to ask me to the dance this year!"

Severus had been planning to do just that. He'd finally gotten his Occlumency abilities to the point where he was sure he wouldn't betray himself. Now he was finding that when she couldn't feel his emotions, he had trouble telling her what they were.

"I do, and it doesn't!" he snapped angrily, banishing another pillow. Unfortunately he was a bit distracted, and the pillow landed right in Professor Flitwick's face. Severus cringed as the Professor threw the pillow angrily into the pile where it belonged, just as the bell rang.

Muriel watched him stalk from the classroom as she gathered her books. 'Well, sod him anyway. At least this year someone WANTED to go with me!'

On Halloween, Marisa taught her several new spells for her hair, and they spent half of the day trying them out. Muriel had bought new robes at Hogsmeade the weekend before, and was gratified when her dorm mates threw a fuss over them. They'd been fussing over her all week, actually. Apparently she was going with one of the most sought-after boys in the school; not that she had noticed him before he'd asked her.

She was unaccountably nervous as she and Marisa headed downstairs. Her pale lilac robes were complimented by the ribbon Vanessa had leant her for her hair, which fell in ringlets from a pony tail on the back of her head. She had borrowed a pair of Marisa's earrings too, since she had gemstones the right color. It had been a bit of a pain to let her friend pierce her ears, but the spell kept it from bleeding, and the effect was definitely worth it.

Severus watched from a staircase above as she took Jeremy's arm and walked into the Great Hall. He wondered if she would dance with him if he showed up. Probably. But that would mean admitting he'd lied to her again. He made his way back to the Slytherin common room briskly. Perhaps he could amuse himself with yelling at the first years.

"Alright, I've got something to tell you, and you probably aren't going to like it," Jeremy said slyly as they entered the hall. She raised an eyebrow, which made him cringe.

She couldn't help but laugh, and he relaxed a bit. "What? Are you going to tell me that your ego fell to the ground and registered an 8 on the Richter Scale?" She'd been teasing him about his ego all month, and he was becoming much more good-natured about it than he'd been the first day.

"Worse. I lost a dare last night." This produced a great deal of confusion until he explained to her the Muggle game of Truth or Dare, which he said he'd been playing with the other boys on his Quidditch team. If he found it odd that she understood the Richter Scale, but not truth or dare, he kept it to himself.

"And you were dared to do what?" Mur asked apprehensively.

"Let you dance with every guy on my team," he said quickly.

Muriel laughed. "It sounds to me like Potter lost in that deal, since the moment he lays a hand on me I'm going to curse him."

Wood looked very grave indeed. "The dare said that whoever you refused to dance with had to sit out the Quidditch match next week," he explained worriedly.

"Ah, yet again the fate of Gryffindor's Quidditch season rests in my hands." She smiled at his confusion as they sat down at a small table to watch the few couples who were already dancing.

"What?"

"Oh, didn't you know that Black and Potter had brooms third year courtesy of yours truly?" His mouth fell open. "Don't do that, you look like a fish."

He laughed as she continued. "Well, it was my fault they didn't have them in the first place, but I DID go out of my way to make sure the game was fair." He nodded, surprised. That game had been against her house. She could easily have let the boys ride school brooms and run the risk of losing.

"So, where are the boys on your team? Oh, never mind. I see them all huddled over there, smirking at us." She waved. "And which one of them came up with this dare?"

"Can't say!" he replied, smirking a bit himself. The expression didn't suit his boyish face at all. She tried to pry the information out of his mind, but his attention span was like a strobe light, and he was already thinking about her lip gloss.

"Well, you can have your keeper," she smiled at him here, and he smiled back, "your beaters and your chasers, but I'm afraid you are going to be a seeker down for the game." Before he could protest, she stood up. The dance floor was nearly full, and she liked this song. "Let's make sure you aren't without a keeper first. We'll worry about the rest later."

By the fourth dance, Wood felt a little sad. He'd already decided that he wasn't going to ask her out again, but he was having a really nice time. She seemed to sense this, so when the song ended, he let her go. "Alright, which of my team should I fetch first?"

"Go get Potter and let's get this over with," she said in a resigned tone of voice. It was his turn to raise his eyebrows. "I really appreciate you asking me to the dance. No one else would have," she explained. "The least I can do is dance with your bloody seeker."

He grinned as he went in search of Potter. He was pretty sure several people would have asked her if he hadn't gotten to it first. It really was a shame that Sirius had to like her so well. But, he wasn't going to make another date with her after what he'd heard last night. He shook his head, remembering when his older cousin, Arthur, had said exactly the same thing about Molly Tucker in THEIR fifth year. And they had a kid already!

James approached Muriel slowly, as if she were a white rhino he didn't want to startle. Muriel smirked and drew her wand. "Stand there," she said, pointing with her wand at a spot on the floor. It was closer to him than she wanted to be, but it would do. He put his feet together, watching her warily.

"Now hold still." Muriel whispered commandingly. He stared at her. "Well, if you thought you were touching me, you were dead wrong." She cast a jelly legs curse on him and his feet began to wobble. She grabbed him by the wrist, swung him around a few times, and ran to find Wood, laughing.

"Dance another one with me before you throw me back to the wolves!" she exclaimed, as she pulled him up from his chair.

Remus took the curse off James, who was more than a little annoyed. He hadn't been part of the Truth or Dare game, because Peter had managed to get himself trapped in the vanishing closet. He'd spent the evening with the marauder's map and his invisibility cloak, running all over the castle to try and find him. If he'd been there, he would have punched whoever had dared Wood to get Deesia to dance with them all.

Of the seven people on their team, only 4 were boys, Wood, Black, Potter and a chaser named Umbridge. Muriel had never met him, so she asked for him next. He turned out to be a decent dancer, but not very attentive. Muriel decided almost immediately that one of the girls on the team must have placed the dare. There just wasn't anyone else who could have.

Wood sat and watched them. Umbridge hadn't been too keen on the idea when he'd heard about it this morning. Wood hadn't told him who had come up with the dare, and Umbridge already had a date that he liked very well. But Deesia hadn't called him a half blood yet, and they appeared to be getting along fine. Wood saw Sirius dancing with the Hufflepuff girl who'd asked him to the dance and grinned at him. Sirius looked confused, which didn't surprise Wood at all.

He let Muriel drag him onto the floor one last time before he made her dance with Sirius. It was a slower song, and he closed his eyes when she rested her head on his shoulder. She really was a nice girl, no matter what his Quidditch team said about her being a spitfire. And he was glad he'd asked her, for his friend's sake. There was no way anyone else would have let her dance with Sirius Black.

Sirius had explained the whole thing to his date, or at least, the version that Wood was giving to Muriel. She'd taken it pretty well, and James was dancing with her in the meantime. He put on his best smirk and walked over to the drink table where Muriel was talking with Wood.

"Isn't it my turn yet?" he whined convincingly. Mur rolled her eyes.

"Does that hex you used on my desk legs work on human legs too?" she asked sweetly. Sirius blanched a bit. He didn't think it would work very well at all. Mur laughed.

"You know, my parents aren't here to keep me in line," she whispered as Wood winked at her and walked away. "Think of all the nasty things I could do to you without the threat of Riddle hanging over my head!"

He smiled. "You mean Voldemort?" he asked as he put an arm around her waist. Her smile fell away.

"NO," she said, in a hard voice. "I mean Riddle. He can pretend he isn't a half blood all he wants, but that only makes him more a fool. If there's one thing I've learned hanging out with Marisa it's that it doesn't make a bloody bit of difference who your parents are. There are purebloods with less talent than she's got running around everywhere. Look at Peter for Merlin's sake!"

Sirius looked at her hard. "I thought I was the only one from our crowd who'd figured all that out," he said finally. He pulled her a little closer but she hardly noticed. She was still thinking hard about Riddle and his ridiculous ideals. And she was angry. She was very angry with Riddle for ruining her mother and getting her killed for nothing, and she wasn't going to afford him the honor of choosing his own name.

Sirius let her think, enjoying the feel of her hand in his and the smell of her hair. "You okay?" he asked finally. They'd been dancing for quite a while, but Muriel hardly seemed to notice. She snapped out of it.

"Fine. I'm still pretty upset with Riddle. It's his fault my mother got killed. Him and his bloody vendetta against Muggles." She fell silent again. He tightened his arm protectively around her waist and this time she looked up. For a minute he was afraid she might reach for her wand. Instead she just looked into his eyes. "I'm going to be an Auror, you know. Like Papa. One day, I'm going to help stop people like Riddle."

Mur didn't know why she was telling this to the one person in the world who was least likely to care. "And you're helping," she added, thinking of their ongoing duel. "You and your mates make really good moving targets." Finally she smiled.

"In that case, maybe I'll be an Auror too. I've certainly done my share of practicing on you." Sirius couldn't help but think of something else he'd much rather practice on her. But as soon as his eyes left hers to look at her lips, she pulled away hard.

"I think I've fulfilled Wood's end of the bargain. Whoever set him that dare should be satisfied that you can all play now." She backed away from him, her eyes wide. Surely she had imagined what she'd heard him thinking. She bit her lip. But then, why would she imagine such a thing from her worst rival? She ran. She couldn't help it. She turned around and went to find Wood, and didn't let him talk her into sitting down the rest of the night.

By the next Hogsmeade weekend, Muriel was thoroughly convinced that no such thought had ever crossed Black's mind. Since then, he'd taken every opportunity to hex her that he could. He had even managed to hit her with a few. Once, she had had to spend the night in the Black and Deesia Ward while a laughing Madam Kinnison administered an hourly potion to get rid of the green and yellow polka dots that had appeared on her skin after a Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

It was hard to know what her Legilimens ability was capable of anymore. She was completely unable to read anything from Severus, thought or emotion, and after that obviously incorrect thought she'd heard from Black, she just wasn't sure that her brain was working right at all. She couldn't remember if there'd been any emotion from him that night, but who could tell? Maybe she just wasn't picking that sort of thing up anymore. It was far easier to believe that than to believe that Severus no longer had any feelings for her.

She had half hoped that Wood would ask her to Hogsmeade this weekend, but he'd barely spoken to her since Halloween. That was odd, too. She KNEW she had felt some emotion from him, and it seemed like a sure thing that he would want to go out again, but somehow, she just KNEW that he didn't.

Maybe once you started dating, Legilimens abilities became a curse rather than a blessing. It still worked fine on her dorm mates, so maybe there was something about boys at this age that just made them impossible to understand, no matter WHAT special insight a girl possessed. She smirked at this thought as she followed Severus to Hogsmeade. His cloak was snapping in the harsh wind, and she had to hold her long hair out of her face to even see where they were going.

They ducked inside the first store they came to, Honeydukes. It looked like all the other students had done the same, because the place was full. She was glad, because it meant they wouldn't have to try and have a conversation. Not being able to hear his thoughts or feel his emotions had made it really hard to make sense out of him. He wasn't nearly as articulate as she remembered him being last year. He often started sentences and didn't finish them, and she realized that a year ago, she would have been able to complete them for him. Maybe that was why he was so distant lately. Maybe he thought she wasn't paying enough attention to catch his thoughts.

When they'd filled their pockets with boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and a few chocolate frogs, they quickly headed for the Three Broomsticks. Muriel immediately emptied the first box of beans onto the table. She picked one up and cast a spell on it. It glowed green, so she put it in her mouth. "Licorice!" she said happily as Severus sat down with their butterbeers.

"So it works?"

She tried another one, but it glowed red. She threw it back in the box and kept trying until she got another green one, then handed it to him.

"Cinnamon! Excellent." Muriel's father had recently invested in the company that made the ambiguous candies, and she had rifled through the literature they sent and come across this spell. It was buried in the fine print, so not very many people had ever bothered to learn it before.

"Anonymous Christmas presents for the marauders, then?" she asked as he started casting the charm on one bean after another, eating the ones that glowed green. He nodded and soon they had four boxes full of the worst tasting beans that Bertie Bott had ever thought up. They left the bar, laughing when they passed the boys on the road.

But Mur wasn't laughing two weeks later as she threw the largest stack of books she had ever tried to carry onto the floor in the library. The pile nearly reached the top of the desk. "How much more homework do they think we can do?" she asked. Severus didn't look up from his book. He had a million things to read as well.

The 5th year students were already staying up well after midnight each night, trying to get the work done! Just today, Professor Averbeck (Divination), Professor Warrington (Potions) AND Professor Kettleburn (Care of Magical Creatures) had all mentioned special projects that would have to be done in addition to the obscene amounts of homework they'd already assigned.

Mur threw herself into the chair and picked up the top book. An hour later her Potions essay was done. When she stopped writing, Sev looked up, then took the essay and read over it. He made a few changes, and she rewrote it. Then she started on History of Magic. Binns couldn't prepare questionnaires, so that was an essay, too, on the Goblin rebellions. That only took another half an hour, since her mother had drilled it into her long before she'd come to Hogwarts.

Severus was still just reading. She finally looked up to see what, and dropped her quill in surprise. "How can you possibly be reading 'Electrical vs. Magical: The Best Way To Take Care of Household Needs' when we've got all this work to do?! You aren't even TAKING Muggle Studies!"

Severus' eyes looked like saucers as he lowered the book. His face was red, and it was spreading all the way down to the top of his robes. Muriel narrowed her eyes. "Did you smuggle something from your father's study in here?" she hissed.

"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to stay calm. If she caught him with an Occlumency book, there was going to be a row right here in the library. Then it clicked. His father's study!

"Of course not!" he snapped, a little too loudly. She was giving him a look of cold fury and holding out a hand. How was he supposed to avoid showing her?

There was only one answer. He snapped the book closed. "Alright," he said, sounding defeated. In a swift motion she snatched the book from his hands and incinerated it before his eyes. Apparently she felt very strongly about his father's stash of books. He would have to keep that in mind in case he ever got the urge to look at such things himself.

"Disgusting!" she spat, gathering up her things. She would study in the common room after all. At least the boys in there weren't blocks of ice with hormones attached! Bloody Slytherins!

Severus started his homework, ignoring the curious glances from across the room. Now he owed Papa a copy of that book, and he'd probably have to make a trip to Knockturn Alley to get it. "Bloody hell," he muttered. By the time the library was closing, he'd finished just about everything. He decided to leave the rest for tomorrow, and tossed his books in a heap on the floor when he reached his room, not caring if he woke up Goyle or Macnair. It was a shame he'd had to let her think he'd been looking at his father's things when it upset her like that. Now he was going to have to apologize for it.

It was quite a while before he got the chance. She didn't want to talk to him at all. He finally cornered her after charms a week before the Christmas holiday, having begged Marisa the day before to leave without her. "I'm sorry about the book," he said quickly, as soon as he was sure they were alone.

"Forget it, Sev. It doesn't matter." She sounded really depressed.

"It does matter," he insisted, stepping in front of her as she tried to get away. "I didn't know it would upset you so much." Muriel rolled her eyes. "If I never look at another one, will you forgive me?"

She looked up at him then. His expression was serious, but she couldn't tell if he was really sincere. As far as her mind was concerned, he wasn't even standing there. The part of Severus Snape that had really been important to her was buried somewhere inside the person in front of her, and she couldn't reach him. She closed her eyes and nodded, willing herself not to cry.

He looked around again, and seeing no one, he put an arm around her. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Mur," he whispered. It was only a moment before she pulled away.

"I've got to get to class. You should, too," she said quickly. "See you later."

But Muriel skipped her next class. Instead, she headed for the kitchens and asked the house elves to deliver some presents to the marauders for her on Christmas morning. They were happy to agree, and gave her several delicious pastries to take back up to Ravenclaw tower, which was good, because she had a feeling she was going to skip dinner as well.

The day before Christmas, most of the school had gone home for the holiday. As things out in the world became more and more dangerous, the students were anxious for any chance they got to see their parents. Many (especially among the Gryffindors) were going home in direct defiance of their parents' wishes. Severus, of course, went to be with his mother. But Papa had written Mur to tell her to stay, and she would listen. She had no desire to end up like her mother.

James Potter was going with his parents to America over the holidays to visit his mother's sister. Sirius had been invited, but decided that was a little too much to ask. It wasn't a big deal for him to stay here for Christmas, even though Remus and Peter were both going home.

Muriel was looking forward to sleeping in, now that everyone was gone from her dorm, but was awoken far earlier than she'd hoped by Kyle's voice calling up from the common room. "Pick up game of Quidditch," he explained when she stomped down the stairs and demanded to know what his problem was. "Three on three. We need a beater! Come on!" He would have dragged her off to the pitch that minute if she'd had her broom, pajamas or no. Instead he had to wait ten whole minutes while she found her gloves and a hooded cloak she could play in. She grabbed her broom and rushed downstairs.

"I didn't think there were 6 of us left!" she exclaimed as they flew out to the pitch.

"There aren't! We're playing the Gryffindors." Muriel brought her broom skidding to a stop. Kyle circled back to face her.

"Who are we playing, Kyle?" she asked quietly.

"Wood, Black and Bell," he said guardedly. "I thought you'd love a chance to show up Black."

"I've never played beater in my life!"

"Here's your chance," he said, grinning and speeding once again toward the pitch.

"This is not at all funny, Kyle," Mur muttered as she chased after him.

Muriel was freezing. Her fingers grasped the stubby bat as she tried again to head Black off and knock that bludger away from Kyle. And yet again she was much too late. She had to chase the thing down, and by the time she knocked it toward the Gryffindor Chaser, Amanda Bell, Black was already beside her to block. It was definitely the most frustrating game of Quidditch she'd ever played.

And if he didn't quit smirking at her like that, she was going to hex him. But at least they were winning. Once in a while. They kept jumping ahead and falling behind. They were only playing to 200. It was just too cold to play much longer.

She dodged Kyle, who had the Quaffle yet again and hit the bludger hard toward Wood. Black was already there, anticipating. Not only did he block the bludger, he caught the Quaffle in one hand as well and tossed it to his captain with an arrogant grin. Wood looked like he'd just thrown him the Quidditch World Cup, he was so happy. But Muriel didn't have time to be disgusted, or impressed. She was already after the bludger again. Amanda and Kyle were now racing toward the Ravenclaw goals, practically joined at the hip. She saw the bludger above her and pulled up sharply to hit it.

Unfortunately, Sirius had already swung his club at it. Instead, his club connected with the side of Muriel's face. He'd swung hard to try and knock it far enough to hit Amos Diggory, the Ravenclaw keeper. There was a wet, crunching sound and her hands went limp on the broom and bat. An instant later she was falling. Sirius sped toward the ground and just managed to catch her, holding the broom with his legs until he could set her down gently. Play had come to a halt above them and everyone landed.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL HAPPENED, BLACK?" Wood shouted furiously.

"She just pulled up out of nowhere. I'd already swung, I didn't see her in time." Sirius was sitting in the snow, his broomstick still beneath him, cradling her in his lap. Her cheek seemed to have gone black instantly and the bruise was spreading. It was obvious that her jawbone had shattered.

Wood's voice softened at the anguished look from Sirius. "Well, don't just look at her, mate, let's get her up to Madam Pomfrey." Wood conjured a stretcher and helped Sirius lift her onto it.

Halfway to the castle, they were all startled when she lifted up a hand. Her eyes didn't open. "Black?" she whispered. She couldn't even grimace, though it hurt so much to talk.

"I'm here," he said quietly, taking her hand.

"Don't leave me," she mumbled. Beside them, Wood smiled a knowing smile. Maybe Sirius would get that girl after all.

Sirius was so angry with himself he could barely see straight. He'd hoped after the game that he would get a chance to talk with her. Although, he would probably have just tried to give her pointers on being a beater, which she would have appreciated only slightly more than what she'd actually got.

He held her hand all the way to the Hospital ward. Madam Pomfrey was mortified. She couldn't even ask the proper questions, and seeing Sirius there with Muriel didn't bespeak much confidence. "Out! Every last one of you! Get out!" She tried to shoo them away, but Muriel had a vice-like grip on Black and Wood. In the end she would have to wake the girl up before she could get rid of them. She went to look up spells for fixing bones in the face.

"Black?" Mur whispered again when she'd gone. "Don't leave. Stay here."

"I'll stay, Mur, as long as you need me to," he said. Wood could hardly believe how sad he looked. Black had knocked countless people off their brooms, some with far worse injuries than this, and never felt a bit of remorse. That's part of the reason he was such a bloody good beater.

"Stay here," she whispered again, her eyes still closed. "Because as soon as I can reach my wand I'm going to hex you until your ears are sprouting out your arse."

Wood felt his eyes widen. Black had been right, she was a spitfire, first order! He thought his beater might make a hasty exit at this point, but was surprised when Sirius only laughed shortly. "You can use my wand," he whispered, pushing her hair away from her face.

Madam Pomfrey bustled back in, looking a good deal happier. "Alright boys, its time to get started, out of the way now." Mur heard and let them go. What followed was three days of fading consciousness. She never did remember what exactly had brought her to the ward, or who had been with her.

Two days after Christmas, she was finally able to sit up in bed without the danger of passing out. Kyle and Amos stopped in to see her each day. Her face was still swollen and tinged with blue, but Madam Pomfrey assured them that it would be back to normal by the time the other students arrived.

"You'd think that would be my question, Kyle," Mur said pleasantly, munching on the scones they'd brought up for her from breakfast.

"Er, well, we were just thinking that maybe Snape wouldn't have to know about this." Kyle said quickly. Mur would have smiled if it didn't still hurt so much.

"Severus lets me fight my own battles. And I assure you, Black will pay sufficiently without any input from Sev." Kyle and Amos exchanged a glance.

"Does that mean you won't tell him?" She narrowed her eyes a bit. Could they really be that afraid of Severus? She pictured him stalking across the grounds to Hogsmeade, cloak snapping in the wind, his eyes flashing at everyone who passed him, friend or foe. Yes, she imagined they COULD be that afraid of Severus Snape.

"I won't tell him how bad it was, but he's going to ask how my holiday went, and I'll have to at least mention it." This seemed to calm them sufficiently, and they nodded. "Now, where did those come from?" She pointed to a huge bouquet of violets that was sitting on the table behind them. She'd only just noticed them, since this was the first day she'd seen anything but the ceiling since the accident.

"The Gryffindors brought them in Christmas day. They feel really bad." Kyle said, shaking his head. Violets were awfully hard to get this time of year. Someone must have learned to conjure them. How did they know she liked purple? She decided that Wood must have remembered that her dress robes the last two years had been different shades of purple.

It was another day before Madam Pomfrey let her out of the ward. She was glad to be back in her dormitory, not least because of all the homework time she'd missed. Classes resumed the very next day, and she'd gotten nothing done! She was also thankful to have Marisa back in the dorm. Boys were starting to become very frustrating to her, and it was nice to have a girlfriend around again.

Sirius picked through the box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans that had been left at the foot of his bed Christmas morning. He had yet to find a good one. He was starting to suspect who they were from, and he closed up the box and put it in the pocket of his robes. This was the worst Christmas he could remember in years. He knew he owed Muriel a huge apology, but she was definitely going to hex him if he went anywhere near her. He'd conjured violets to leave beside her bed, but she probably thought they were from Wood. Maybe he could send Wood to talk to her.

Mur's face was still a little bluish and tender when she and Marisa headed down to breakfast the next morning. But the swelling had gone down, and if you didn't know what had happened, you could hardly tell. Unless, of course, you'd spent as much time looking at her face as Severus had.

"What the bloody hell happened to you?" he exclaimed, as she turned on the bench to say hello. Kyle and Amos looked down the table, wide eyed.

"Quidditch accident. And this is nothing, you should have seen it before." She put a hand gingerly up to her face as Marisa made room for him to sit down.

"Black?" he asked calmly. He didn't know why she would be playing Quidditch with Black, but that was obviously a bruise from a beater's club. She nodded.

"I've already got a plan," she said, grinning wickedly. "Don't muck it up by getting in the way." Down the table, Kyle nodded, understanding that that was her way of keeping Severus out of it. Severus nodded, too.

"Alright, Mur. Listen, I came over here to ask you to dinner." He had determined over break that apologizing hadn't been enough. He was going to have to make the whole picture book thing up to her somehow, even if he hadn't actually been looking at one.

"There is no way I'm eating over there. Avery has left me alone this year because Papa caught him in Knockturn Alley over the summer and threatened his life very convincingly. But I don't want to antagonize him. I'd rather just stay out of his way."

Severus nodded again. It wasn't Papa who'd caught up with Avery in Knockturn Alley, and Sev and Malfoy had been very convincing indeed. Convincing enough to send Avery to St. Mungos for the remainder of the summer. Yet another thing he would rather Mur not find out about.

"Actually, I was thinking next Hogsmeade weekend we could Apparate to London and go out somewhere," he said, suddenly very nervous. The next Hogsmeade weekend fell on Valentine's Day.

Muriel was looking at him strangely, and projecting very confusing emotions. Maybe she didn't want to.

"Alright, Sev. That would be really nice," she said finally.

"Great," he replied, standing up. "Let me know what you're going to do to Black, so I can help."

At this she laughed a little. It still hurt to laugh too hard. "Forget it, Sev. This time it's personal." He went back to the Slytherin table shaking his head.

Muriel sat in the library, her head spinning. She was pretty sure that Severus had just asked her out on a date: A REAL one. And about time, too! Her classes had been a blur, but she was on track with her homework for once. She had three essays to write tonight, and she was only just finishing the first. Her attention was caught, however by the sound of a whispered conversation. She looked over at the table of 7th year Gryffindor girls.

"It was the most amazing flying I've ever seen from a beater. He knocked her off the broom, then spun into this dive. Potter might have done something like it once or twice, but I've never seen anyone else, outside the pros, handle a broom like that. He caught her almost before we'd even realized she was falling. Merlin only knows what else she would've broken if she'd hit the ground from that height!" Amanda Bell was whispering the story of their Quidditch game to her friends.

"I think Wood might have killed him right then and there, if he hadn't nearly broken his own neck to catch her. But it was obvious he hadn't meant to do it. He stayed with her until Pomfrey kicked him out, and I saw him in there twice when I went to visit in the next few days."

Mur looked back at her essay. Bell was obviously taking about Black. She couldn't remember anything after she'd pulled up to chase that bludger, Kyle had had to tell her that Black knocked her out. Had he really caught her? She didn't see any reason why Bell would lie to her friends.

She finished the essay and headed to dinner, late as usual. When she got there, she was more than a little annoyed to see Severus standing beside Sirius and Peter at their table. She knew Remus wouldn't be showing up tonight, but wondered where James was.

Severus had taken the opportunity, while Mur wasn't in the hall, to try and trick a little information out of the boys in front of him.

"Do you know, I saw Lupin playing around the base of the Whomping Willow earlier this evening. Aren't we all a little old for that kind of childishness?" he kept his smirk firmly in place. It wouldn't do for them to figure out just how interested he was in this.

"Sod off, Snivellous," Sirius said angrily.

"And then I saw something really remarkable. He disappeared into the ground!" he faked a shocked tone of voice. "Now, how do you think that happened?"

Sirius was already in a really bad mood because of the Quidditch accident and didn't have the patience it took to put up with Snape's questioning. And Peter was less help than a bucket of bobertuber puss.

"Well, Snape, why don't you prod the knot with a stick and follow him. That'd give us all a laugh. It would also get you to SHUT THE BLOODY HELL UP!" Sirius said, standing. But Severus already had what he wanted.

"Perhaps I will." He swept away, his robes billowing behind him, just as Mur ran into the hall after him.

"I told you to leave it to me!" she exclaimed.

"This was something entirely different. You can do whatever you want to Black. I was after information about Lupin. Have you noticed that he disappears on a pretty regular basis? He's been going into a passageway of some sort beneath the Whomping Willow. This is my chance to get him expelled for good."

Muriel's breath caught in her throat. Could Severus have figured out Lupin's secret? She didn't know, since his mind was closed off entirely. "Sev, let me come with you."

"Alright. Grab some food, let's go."

"No, I can't tonight, let's do it tomorrow," she said desperately. If he was right, and Remus was in that passageway, then tonight was the worst night possible to explore it.

He looked at her hard. "I watched him go in there tonight. There won't be anything to see tomorrow." Then his eyes narrowed. "You know something. What is it?"

"Stay away from that Willow, Sev," she hissed angrily. He looked at her for a long moment, then swept out of the hall, his teeth clenched tightly.

Muriel watched him for a moment before she ran to the Gryffindor table. "What did you tell him?" she demanded angrily. James had joined them, and was looking from Sirius to Muriel with a very worried expression.

"I told him how to get under the Willow," Sirius mumbled. Now that he thought about it, that had been a very bad idea.

"What?" James exclaimed, standing abruptly. "Tonight? Padfoot, what's wrong with you?" He didn't give his friend a chance to explain, but ran from the hall. Sirius didn't look up at Muriel, who was still fuming beside Peter.

"Sirius, don't you think you'd better go inform Dumbledore?" she asked finally. Both boys nodded and scrambled up to the head table, their eyes cast toward the floor. Muriel went to sit just outside the Willow's reach, waiting. She hoped to Merlin that Severus wouldn't hurt Remus. She hoped James reached him before he even SAW Remus.

But on that count, her hopes were dashed when the boys emerged from the tree, just as Sirius, Peter, and Professor Dumbledore came running from the castle. Severus was unmarked, though he'd managed to inflict a good bit of damage on James, from the look of it. Both boys wore expressions of extreme fury.

Potter was panting as he approached Dumbledore. "He saw," was all he said. Muriel watched the Professor nod silently. Then he turned to her.

"Miss Deesia, kindly escort Mr. Potter to the hospital wing while we have a chat in my office." Muriel nodded, and cast a look at Potter. His nose was bleeding profusely, and he had the beginnings of a black eye as well. Professor Dumbledore gestured toward the castle and followed Severus, Sirius and Peter back inside.

Muriel and James walked side by side up the stairs. He was limping a bit, so Muriel took out her wand. He flinched and reached for his own. "Relax, Potter, I'm just going to do a spell to take some of the pain out of your ankle."

"Thanks," he muttered as the spell hit.

She left him with Madam Pomfrey and went to sit outside the Headmaster's office. On the way she met Peter, who'd been sent to check on James. "Dumbledore said to tell you not to sit out here and wait for Snape," he said cautiously. No one wanted to give Deesia bad news.

"Fine!" she snapped, making him cringe. Twenty minutes later found her sitting outside the Slytherin portrait hole. She wasn't one to give up easily. It was another half an hour before Severus showed up. His face was contorted in a mask of rage that she had rarely seen. She jumped up and ran toward him.

"Are you alright?!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck. He didn't answer. Instead, he pried her arms off and pushed her roughly away.

"You knew. You knew on the boat first year, and you never told me."

Mur took a step back and reached for her wand. Severus wasn't often this angry, but when he was it was a good idea to have a wand in your hand.

"It wasn't my secret to -"

"Silencio!" he said quickly. Mur didn't bother to try and finish her explanation. Her mouth closed into a thin line and she waited.

But Severus didn't have anything else to say. He gave the portrait the password, snapped at the other 5th year prefect to change that password that night, and went to bed.

Muriel recognized a nasty situation when she saw one. She was, once again, in the Slytherin dungeons without the ability to cast spells. Avery could come along any minute. An impressive collection of foul words ran through her mind, directed entirely at Severus.

When she finally made it back to Ravenclaw tower, Marisa took the silencing charm off for her, and asked her what was wrong. There was so much wrong that she had no idea where to begin. She just shook her head and climbed into bed.