Alice

Remus scooped Alice up and ran with her in his arms all the way to the hospital wing. As he ran, he chanced the occasional glance down to make sure she was still alive. She was covered in blood, her clothes were ripped, and there was a nasty blue tinge to her complexion. If it weren't for her ragged, gasping breaths Remus would have thought she was dead.

He got to the hospital wing in record time, and bursting through the doors, started screaming for Madam Pomfrey.

"Poppy!...Poppy! Quickly."

He gently lay Alice down on a bed. "POPPY!!" The nurse came scurrying down the hall.

"Professor Lupin, you'll wake the school..." The words died on her lips when she saw Alice on the bed. She looked briefly shocked, but then got straight down to business. She pulled her wand out, scanned Alice, then started calling for potions.

"Accio Pepper-Up, Skele-Grow." The bottles flew into Madam Pomfrey's hand. She pulled a dropper from her pocket and administered both immediately. Then she looked up at Remus. He was pale as a ghost and clinging to the bottom of Alice's bed like his life depended on it.

"How did this happen?"

"I don't know...she knocked on my door...collapsed...." Remus looked up at Madam Pomfrey, who was taking Alice's pulse. "What's wrong with her?"

"Three broken ribs, a sprained ankle, exhaustion, shock, hypothermia. She has some gashes on her chest which appear to have been caused by an animal, possibly a lion. She has also been poisoned at some stage, but I don't know with what because she has also been administered an antidote."

Remus swayed slightly, feeling sick. This was all his fault.

"Oh God, she was at Malfoy Manor, but she was meant to be safe," he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. Madam Pomfrey raised her eyebrows at Remus, fully aware that the last place anyone would be safe was Malfoy Manor. "You'd better get Albus. I'll clean Alice up."

Remus looked at Alice, concern etching new lines upon his face. "She will be okay won't she?"

"She should be." Madam Pomfrey patted Remus's hand. He obviously cared a great deal about the girl.

Remus ran from the hospital wing to the headmaster's office, cursing himself for not doing enough. He was curious as to how Alice had gotten that way with Snape around. Maybe they had all been fooled by him; yet Remus wanted to talk to him before making any accusations or hexing him out of existence, which Sirius would do.

He reached the gargoyle and said the password, "Cadbury", then bounded up the stairs to Dumbledore's office, yelling out to the headmaster as he went. He reached the office out of breath, and had to put his hands on his knees and inhale deeply to recover himself. When he finally stood up, he found Dumbledore in his sleeping robes looking at him with concern. Remus didn't wait to be asked to speak, and hurriedly told Dumbledore about Alice.

"It´s Alice, she went to Malfoy Manor with Severus. She's just got back and is in the hospital wing with broken ribs, a sprained ankle, exhaustion, shock, hypothermia..."

"Take me to her."

They left Dumbledore's office and headed down to the hospital wing, Remus explaining how Alice had ended up going to Malfoy Manor.

"I wish you or Severus had told me," Dumbledore commented gravely after Remus had finished.

"We thought we had it in hand, but now I'm beginning to question Severus's motives and loyalties."

Dumbledore stopped and turned to face Remus, his eyes blazing.

"I can tell you now Remus, that Severus's loyalties are not what they once were. I can understand why you would still question him, but you don´t know him like I do. I would trust him with my life. I can only assume that something has happened to Severus to prevent his return, or that he helped Alice escape but stayed at the Manor to keep his front up with Lucius. But until I hear his version of events I won't be rushing to judge." Dumbledore then smiled fondly at Remus. "[well,] Let us go now and find out what happened at Malfoy Manor, shall we?" Remus nodded his head and followed quietly.

When they got to the hospital wing, Remus was relieved to see Alice propped up in bed, sipping a hot chocolate. However, she was paler than the white hospital gown she was wearing and the memory of recent fear remained etched upon her face and reflected in her eyes. She seemed to be trembling slightly.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm warm and at Hogwarts. I don't want to think about anything else," she said quietly.

Dumbledore walked over. "I'm sorry Alice, but I need to know what happened tonight."

Alice's lower lip trembled and a tear splashed onto her hand. Remus sat down on the edge of her bed, took the mug from her hands and put it on the bedside cupboard. He then took both of her hands in his and held them tightly. Alice looked at Remus. If she had him sitting next to her, she'd get through this. Dumbledore pulled up a chair and sat on Alice's other side, and she started to recount her tale, slowly and painfully, beginning with the invitation to spend the weekend at the Manor. Dumbledore listened in silence, occasionally raising his eyebrows. Alice went on to explain Declan's absence and Snape's plan to shadow her and not to let her out of his sight. She then told them about being drugged during dinner and how Snape had taken her down to the dungeon. Here she got upset as she recounted Lucius's actions toward her. Remus tightened his grip on Alice's hand and Dumbledore shifted his chair closer to Alice's bed.

"So Severus assisted Lucius?" Remus asked quietly.

Alice took a deep breath. "Lucius told Snape to take me down to the dungeons and to prepare me. Snape chained me to a slab, but he didn't do it properly. I think he also got his potions mixed up. I shouldn't have been able to move again after the second batch of whatever it was, but instead I got all my movement back. It was almost as if he gave me an antidote. But Snape didn't do anything, he didn´t touch me or kiss me, that was all Lucius," Alice said quietly. She breathed deeply and slowly, trying to calm herself.

Madam Pomfrey walked in to check on her patient, saw Dumbledore with her, and gave him a grave look that suggested he shouldn't be making Alice talk.

"Ten minutes, Poppy."

"Fine, but in ten minutes she will be getting a dose of dreamless sleep potion." Madam Pomfrey bustled off muttering under her breath.

Dumbledore smiled kindly at Alice. "Continue my dear."

Alice then told them about escaping from the dungeons and the house. Here Remus stopped her again.

"You put Lucius Malfoy under Cruciatus?"

Alice nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. Remus opened his mouth to say something, but Dumbledore spoke first.

"Alice, I need hardly remind you of the severity of what you did. I understand that you felt very threatened by Lucius and may have thought that what you did was the only option available to you. But you walk a very fine line between good and evil whenever you cast an Unforgivable Curse. Only the very strong minded can resist the temptation of evil."

Alice looked at Dumbledore, unsure if she should tell him how she'd killed the manticore. She decided that she needed to tell him, to at least be honest with him.

"There was a manticore outside and I finally killed it using Avada Kedavra."

Alice looked Dumbledore in the eye as she spoke. She knew what she had done had been borderline illegal and unethical, but she also knew that she'd cast both spells in self-defence, in a kill or be killed moment.

"There was a what?" Remus asked.

"I was trying to get to the Quidditch pitch to borrow Draco's broom, when I stumbled into the path of a manticore, a very playful manticore. It knocked me to the ground and I stabbed it with my wand so I could curse it. And I succeeded, but the curses I used weren't working fast enough. I thought I could use Engorgio and blow it up to kill it, but when that didn't work, I killed it using..." Alice swallowed hard and kept going. "I didn´t want a manticore chasing me as well as Lucius, Snape and God knows what else."

"Very well." Dumbledore looked at Remus and shook his head, an indication to drop the matter. "I take it you managed to borrow one of Draco's brooms?"

Alice nodded.

"Is that it?"

"Yes."

"Well Alice, I'm glad you got back to Hogwarts." Dumbledore patted Alice's arm. "Now as far as Severus is concerned, I am sure he tried to save you, in his own peculiar way. Severus Snape does not forget to tie people up properly, nor does he get his potions confused. From what I have heard of Lucius Malfoy, you were lucky to have Severus there." Dumbledore looked at both Alice and Remus. "I trust you both not to go repeating this to anyone. This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened. During the height of the Death Eater's reign, young wizarding, and also Muggle, girls would periodically go missing. Lucius Malfoy would kidnap them, then torture and rape them."

"So it's true," Remus muttered, as Alice gripped his hand harder.

"I'm afraid so. Unfortunately, I know all this because Severus was often a witness to these events. He killed two of the girls involved so to spare them of any further torment. He didn't think Obliviate would have been powerful enough for them to forget."

Dumbledore looked sadly down at his hands and said quietly, "We have to make the Ministry realize that Voldemort is back or we will loose more innocent lives."

Alice was silent, slowly digesting what Dumbledore had said. Remus sat watching her, quietly thanking God that Severus had helped to save Alice from a lifetime of nightmares.

"Well, I think that is enough for one night. I can hear Poppy returning with your sleeping draught." Dumbledore stood up and bid them all a goodnight and swept from the hospital wing.

* * * *

At Malfoy Manor the next day, Declan Kyteler strode up the front stairs two at a time. Anger was coursing through his veins. He'd received an owl from Dumbledore informing him that Alice had been at the Manor, under the escort of Severus Snape, and had almost been raped. Dumbledore had cautioned him against being too harsh with Snape, advising him that it was possible that he had helped Alice to escape somehow and reminding him that Snape was still a valuable spy. But as for Lucius... Declan had never liked Lucius. He suppressed his natural instincts for the good of the cause, for the good of the fight. But right now he felt like screaming "fuck the cause" at the top of his lungs. No one dared hurt a hair on his daughter's head. No one. Lucius would be lucky to survive Declan's fury.

He barged in through the front doors, stopped and listened for Lucius, and heard voices from his right. He walked angrily through the library and into the study, where he found Snape and Lucius arguing loudly about the quality of a potion in Lucius's supplies.

Without thinking, he aimed his wand at both of them and fired, hitting them with Impedimenta first to impede their actions. He would have frozen them, but he wanted them to be able to talk. He wanted answers to his questions. He fired off a volley of curses, each one worse than the previous one until he got to Cruciatus. He let Lucius have it, bringing him to his knees. Eventually he stopped, breathing deeply.

"You fucking, sick bastards! What the hell do you think you were doing to my daughter?"

Lucius looked up and groggily replied, "It's a test, Declan. How badly do you want to become a Death Eater?"

The breath caught in Declan's throat and he paused, thinking quickly. He looked at Snape hoping for some guidance but none was forthcoming as he was still suffering some nasty side effects from several of the curses.

"I still want to be a Death Eater, but my daughter is not part of the bargain. Touch her again and I will kill you," he said quietly.

Lucius dragged himself up and walked over to where Declan stood. The two men faced one another.

"If you don't give her to me I will be most displeased, but that is nothing compared to what my lord and master will be. I will tell him you failed your first test, and not even in your wildest dreams could you imagine what Lord Voldemort will do to your entire family - all if you don't give Alice to me."

Declan swallowed. "You can't have her!" he said forcefully. "Take me instead."

"A poor substitute, Declan."

"I will do anything Lucius, but don't ask me to give up my only child."

"I'd give up my son."

"To Lord Voldemort? To be raped and God knows what else? Really Lucius, I thought the boy meant more to you than that."

Lucius considered for a moment. "I could always have another son!"

"And wait eighteen years for him to grow up to inherit your mantle?" Declan realized that appealing to Lucius´s compassionate side wasn't going to work, because he didn´t have one. He decided to try a different approach. "We are very similar Lucius, both of us have invested everything we have into our only children, and I doubt either of us really wants to throw that investment away. Touch Alice again and I will kill Draco. "

Lucius paused for a moment, considering what Declan had just said. He looked across the room at Snape, who was wisely staying out of both men's way.

"I think we should discuss this in the dungeon. Severus, return to your room. I will send everything you need up to you there."

Then turning, Lucius swept down to the dungeon, Declan following behind. As he left, he looked up and caught Snape's eye. Snape looked concerned and worried, which just made Declan worry even more. What was he doing? What had he gotten himself, and Alice, into?

* * * *

Alice woke up some time after lunch on Saturday. She felt sore, but was grateful for it because it was a reminder that she was still alive. She rolled over in bed and found Remus sitting close by, reading a book. He looked up and smiled.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Sore, but at least I'm alive."

"Yeah, " said Remus quietly. He then bent down and picked something up from the floor. Alice strained to see what it was, but she didn't have to wait long - Madox excitedly wriggled out of Remus´s arms, bounced up upon the bed, and started to lick Alice´s face. She giggled slightly.

"Do you think I'll be allowed out today?"

"Probably not. But listen, when you are, Dumbledore and I talked this morning and we decided that you should share my quarters for a while, at least until you feel safe on your own again."

Alice looked at Remus in surprise. She hadn't really thought about it, but it made sense. She didn't want to be on her own at the moment. "Thanks, I appreciate it. Are you sure you don´t mind?"

"Not at all. Sirius has been sent off on a secret mission, so I wouldn't mind the company."

Alice yawned.

"I'll let you get some sleep."

"I'll be okay."

"Do you want me to get you something to eat?" Remus asked. Alice nodded. "Will you be all right if I leave you on your own for awhile?"

"I've got Madox." Alice smiled wanly.

Remus walked out. When he was gone, Alice picked up the book he had been reading to see what it was. It was a collection of poetry by Christina Rossetti. Alice thought it was odd that Remus was reading poetry; he didn't really seem the type. She flicked the book open and started to read. It was all fairly depressing, angst-ridden verses.

She was engrossed in it when Remus came back with some food. The melancholy nature of the poetry suited her mood perfectly.

"Can I borrow it?"

"Sure." Remus sat down and put a plate of food on the bedside table next to Alice. Looking at her, he wondered if he should ask her about Snape, to find out if she agreed with Dumbledore's assessment of the situation. Remus hoped that if they discussed it, Alice would avoid making any ill-judged, inflammatory accusations when Snape returned. He nervously began.

"So what do you think of Dumbledore's theory about Snape helping you?"

"I don't know," Alice said quietly. "I know that he has done and seen things that no normal person would. I know that he is a murderer and probably other things as well. But I also know that he wouldn't be here if Dumbledore didn't completely trust him. So I don't know, Remus. I think he helped, but I want to talk to him first."

Remus looked at Alice in surprise; that wasn't the answer that he had expected. It was almost as if Alice was trying to work out a larger question than if Snape had helped her or not.

"What do you think?" she asked.

Remus paused before answering. Alice looked at him expectantly, waiting for some kind of confirmation in his answer.

"I agree with Dumbledore. Severus doesn't make mistakes, I think he acted with a purpose. I think you stunned him before he could help you further."

Alice nodded and hugged Madox to her. She sat for a while thinking, Remus quietly sitting by her watching her. What Alice really wanted was for Remus to disappear for a while so she could be alone with her thoughts. She had been silently going over events in her mind when she realized that she should owl her father. Remus noticed her start suddenly.

"What's wrong?"

"Has anyone heard from my father, or owled him?"

"Dumbledore owled him and told him what happened. Apparently he never received the owl you sent yesterday. He was heading straight for the Manor."

The color drained from Alice's face.

"He could be dead."

Remus didn't say anything. It was a possibility and another reason Snape was anxiously expected back from the Manor. Hopefully Lucius hadn't taken his anger out on Declan, but after the weekend that had passed, Remus had learnt that Lucius Malfoy was capable of anything.

Alice snuggled down into the bed, turning her back to Remus and starting to silently cry until she fell asleep. She spent the rest of that day sleeping, not waking again until early Sunday morning. She rolled over and noticed someone sleeping in the bed next to her; it was Remus. In the early hours of the morning, with no one else around and Remus sleeping, she could finally think. So had Snape tried to save her? And if he had, why? Was it because she was a colleague? A former pupil and member of his house? Because she was Declan's daughter and he thought he should? Or was it something else altogether? Alice wanted to talk to Snape. She wanted to know what he was thinking. She wondered if he was back from the Manor yet.

Alice sat up, quietly pulled the covers off, and tentatively got out of bed. Her foot felt fine and it didn't hurt to breathe. All good signs. Grabbing a blanket from the bed, and carefully pulling it out from under Madox, she wrapped it around her shoulders and started to tip toe toward the door. A voice from the darkness stopped her in her tracks.

"And where do you think you're going?"

A candle flared to life and Alice saw Remus, sitting up in bed and looking at her with a very suspicious expression on his face.

"I wanted to go to the potions dungeon to see if Severus is back," Alice mumbled quietly.

"At four in the morning?"

Alice nodded.

"On your own?"

Alice looked down at the floor.

"He isn't back yet. He wasn't at dinner," Remus said quietly. Alice looked at him, feeling slightly alarmed, and sensing this, Remus tried to allay her fears. "Dumbledore isn't too worried. It isn't unusual for Snape to return from the Manor until late Sunday, but Dumbledore said if he wasn't back by Monday, we'd have to do something."

Alice walked over to the bed and sat down.

"You want to talk?"

Alice shook her head.

"You tired?"

"Not really..." Alice paused and looked at Remus speculatively. "Why do you think he did it?"

"What?"

"Try to save me."

Remus shrugged. "I don't know."

They sat in silence for a minute or so before Remus spoke again.

"Do you want to go down to my quarters? We can check the potions dungeon on our way, and then Severus's quarters, if you want."

Alice nodded. She woke Madox up, then grabbed her wand and Remus's book. Remus offered her his arm and she took it and clung to it for her peace of mind, desperate to feel that she wasn't alone and was with someone she could trust.

They made their way downstairs. There was no sign of light coming from under the door to the potions dungeon.

"He's not there," Alice said.

They walked slowly along the corridor then to Snape's quarters and knocked on the door, but Alice already knew that he wasn't there either. He was still at the Manor, because of her. Because he and Remus thought she should be protected. Because she hadn't listened, hadn't wanted to listen, and had charged in like a fool. Now she was sure Severus was paying the price for her foolishness.

They walked quietly back to Remus's quarters. Alice drifted in in a trance-like state and sank down on to the couch. Remus leaned against a wall and studied her anguished face. A tear slowly fell down one of her cheeks. Remus wished he could take the pain away, but knew he probably couldn't do much if Alice didn't want to talk about it. If Sirius were here he'd probably force the issue, but he wasn't and Remus wasn't that sort of person.

* * * *

At Malfoy Manor, Severus Snape was having a hell of a time. He was impatient to leave and get away before Lucius could put two and two together. So far his implacable anger had blinded him to Severus's partial hand in Alice's escape. Lucius had laid most of the blame upon his own lack of defenses at the Manor and directed most of his anger at anyone he came across. He and Snape had argued and cursed each other for several hours about Snape's potion making abilities, but in the end Lucius had seemed to accept his explanation about Alice's sudden return to full mobility. Severus had insisted that the potion must have been old and had lost its potency.

Snape also wanted to see Alice with his own eyes, to know that she was okay for himself. He knew she had returned to the school in one piece since Declan had turned up on Saturday and threatened both he and Lucius within an inch of their lives. Snape was still suffering the after effects of a couple of Declan´s curses. After Declan had turned up, he and Lucius had disappeared to talk. They'd gone down to the dungeons and Lucius had sent all Snape's potions ingredients and instruments up to his room.

And that was where Snape still was, pacing his room, worrying about Alice, and hoping that Lucius hadn´t been too harsh on Declan because of his daughter.

"Oh Alice." Snape lay down on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. He hadn´t slept since Thursday. He'd tried earlier but had found himself slipping into a dream about Alice and he'd decided that no sleep would be better sleep filled with thoughts of her. Snape knew that his feelings for Alice were beginning to impair his judgement, tearing him in half. He had a responsibility to Dumbledore to continue spying on Voldemort, but he was starting to consider Alice in the whole scheme of things and how he could keep her safe from Lucius and stop her from making any more foolish mistakes.

Snape rested his hand on his stomach, his mind flitting back to Friday night when he'd walked in on Alice half dressed. The curves of her body had haunted his thoughts ever since. Against his will he wished to stretch out his hand in memory and touch those curves; though he hated to admit it, he wanted to feel that body against his own. It had been so long - so long since he had been with a woman, so long since these feelings had stirred inside of him. Snape groaned. He wanted her: physically, emotionally, totally.

His hand slid lower as he saw her again in that black lace bra.

"No!" Snape sat up. He could not give in to into physical urges and sentimental emotions, especially not now, not after what had happened with her in the dungeons. He needed to pack and get back to the school. He just needed to see Alice. Then, being in close proximity to her, he could focus on work rather than speculate about what might have happened to her. He'd tell Lucius that he had to see Draco. That wouldn't raise his suspicions too much; yet if he had any, the batches of Comatus Snape had brewed would dispel them. He looked at the bottles of clear fluid on the shelf; he pitied the recipient of that potion.

Once he'd packed, he headed downstairs to see if he could find Lucius, but instead he found Jeeves. "Professor Snape." The ghoul butler bowed his head slightly.

"Is Lucius around?" Snape asked coldly.

"No, Professor."

"I need to return to Hogwarts. I have a tutoring session with Draco."

"I see. I'll get you a portkey."

The butler turned and went off in the direction of the back of the house. Snape waited impatiently in the entrance hall. Jeeves returned shortly, disdainfully holding an old tire in front of him.

"On the front stairs in two minutes, Professor."

"Thank you."

The butler bowed again. Snape picked his bag up; he took the portkey from Jeeves and went outside to wait.

Three minutes later he was back behind Hagrid's cabin, from which he began running up to the school. Barging through a group of startled students in the entrance hall, he looked madly around for someone to ask about Alice's whereabouts, but he couldn´t see any staff members.

"Remus - Remus will know where she is," he muttered to himself, and ran down to Remus's quarters. Snape thumped on the door impatiently, all rational thought having disappeared since his arrival back at the school.

Alice sat up on the couch, woken by the thumping at the door. Automatically, she glanced towards Remus' bedroom, but he was not there - his unmade bed was clearly visible through the opening. Then she remembered that she was on her own; Remus was up seeing Dumbledore about something. She grabbed her wand and pointed it at his door.

"Come in."

Snape burst in, saw Alice sitting on the couch, and almost fainted from relief. Alice looked at him; he was still wearing the Muggle clothes he´d had on Friday night, but now he wore a long black leather coat over them and his hair was tied back. However, it was the expression on his face, not how he looked, that left Alice speechless. He had looked almost deranged when he first burst in; upon seeing her, he looked passionately relieved.

"You're okay," Snape breathed out. He shut the door and leaned on it for support whilst he stared at Alice.

"Yeah." Alice looked at him cautiously, her wand still pointing at him just in case.

"What happened?"

Alice looked at Snape in disbelief. "Lucius Malfoy tried to rape me, remember?" She couldn't keep the bitterness or sarcasm from her voice.

"Yes, yes I know, I'm not making much sense." Snape almost sounded desperate. Alice grunted in agreement. "How did you manage to get away?" he asked, breathing deeply, trying to bring his emotions under control.

Alice swallowed. She looked at Snape. "I ran. I killed a manticore I found using Avada Kedavra -- after getting three broken ribs and a battering. Then I borrowed a broom, flew, apparated, and then ran some more."

Snape took a couple of steps forward. "But are you okay?" Concern was etched across his brow.

Alice nodded. "Madam Pomfrey filled me up on potions, so I'll be fine."

"Oh God Alice, I'm so sorry." Snape looked grief stricken. Alice regarded him, contemplating his role in Friday night's nightmare. Her instincts told her to trust him and she lowered her wand.

"Can I ask you something?" she said quietly. Snape looked slightly uncomfortable. "Yes, of course."

"Did you deliberately give me the antidote to the potion?"

"Yes," he replied quietly, his eyes not wavering from Alice's.

"And failed to chain me up properly?"

"Yes."

Alice looked at Snape. He stood there, still staring at her, his arms hanging loosely by his sides, his expression and body language completely open.

"Were you trying to help me?"

"Yes... Alice, if Lucius Malfoy had gone any further I would have killed him."

Alice was stunned. What had Snape just said?

"But that would have meant... You do realize that every Death Eater in the country would have come after you?"

"Yes. But if that was the consequence of you living...then so be it. I would have died to save you."

Alice stared at Snape. Whatever she had been about to say was forgotten and any new words were dying in her throat.

Remus chose that moment to come back. He walked in to find Snape and Alice staring at each other in stunned silence.

"Hello Severus," he said hesitatingly, not quite sure what he had walked in on. Snape turned and looked at Remus, then back at Alice and then toward the bedroom. A flicker of emotion crossed his face and he turned and stalked from the room. Alice stared after him, a look of disbelief still marking her features. Remus looked from Alice to the door and back again.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"Fine," Alice replied.

"Should I be concerned?"

"What?" Alice snapped out of her trance-like state. "No, no need to be concerned. Dumbledore was right, Snape helped me."

"Come as a bit of a shock has it?" Remus asked playfully.

"No, it was something else that he said." Alice stood there quietly, thinking about the possible ramifications of what Snape had just admitted. She saw that Remus was looking at her with renewed concern. "I'm sure it was nothing."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing. I'm sure it was nothing. Don't worry, I'm not about to hex something or go running off on an impulse."

Remus sat down slowly, looking as if he didn't trust Alice not to do just such a thing.

* * * *

Snape left Remus's quarters and stormed down to his own. He couldn't believe what he had just done, what he'd just confessed to. He'd all but told Alice that he was in love with her. He had no idea where the sentiments he had just expressed had come from and he couldn´t believe he had voiced them. He felt like an idiot, especially when Alice's only response had been to stare at him open mouthed. She was probably horrified at the thought that he had formed an attachment to her. Of course, it was also obvious to him that she and Remus had something going on, something that went a lot deeper than friendship.

Snape sat down, groaning as he thought of Remus making love to Alice. The idea made him sick and strengthened his resolve not to allow himself to become unduly influenced and ruled by emotions. When he rose again, Snape had resolved in his mind to have as little to do with Alice as was humanly possible.