Between Love and War

Chapter 5

February 1979

Remus,

There have been some new developments in the research we discussed. It's not much, but I think you would rather talk in person. I am now working the night shift, so you can stop by the hospital anytime from midnight to 8 a.m. I'm sorry if this is inconvenient, but I would prefer if you did not come to my home.

-VS

Vivian attached the note to the leg of her owl. She thought it would be best to meet at the hospital because during the day Severus was usually home. He had held a job for almost two months before being fired. Apparently he spent so much time thinking about the Dark Lord's needs that he was usually late for or distracted at work. Now he spent most of his time in her kitchen working on potions. However, that morning Lucius had given Severus an important assignment, so that he could spend his lunch hour with Vivian. Vivian sat on the couch and watched the owl fly out the window. After it was out of sight, she continued to stare at the view as she waited for Lucius.

By this time everyone knew about her affair with Lucius. She had begun to think of "Lucius Malfoy's mistress" as a character she was playing. It seemed to help to separate herself from that role. While the Death Eaters had recruited a couple Healers to their ranks, Vivian was sometimes called upon to mix up healing potions. So far she had been fortunate enough to avoid the Dark Lord.

Things with Lucius were not going too well, though. He never wanted to talk any more, and that was a problem for Vivian. She did not think she had learned anything of value in the last month, and she did not know what she should do. She had tried to start conversations, but he always said they had no time for small talk. She did not think it would be beneficial to push and nag, lest he decide he should move on to a less demanding girlfriend.

However, Vivian was starting to think that she should move on to a more informative boyfriend. She had decided that day to insist that they talk. It had been a while since she had insisted on anything. So she sat and waited with a nervous feeling in her stomach. She was glad when she heard the door open because she was almost eager to get it over with. She turned to look at Lucius.

Lucius just stood in the doorway for a few seconds. When he started to walk toward her with a hungry look in his eyes, Vivian held up her hand to stop him. "Wait, Lucius, I want to talk to you."

He stopped a few feet from her. "There's no time for-"

"I think that we need to make time. Maybe we won't have time for other things."

Lucius sighed and sat in the armchair. "What do you want to talk about?"

So far, so good. "I want to talk about the fact that we never talk any more. Every time you come over, you tell me that there isn't enough time. I just want to remind you that, no matter what the general population is saying, I am not a prostitute. This is supposed to be a relationship. No, sorry. I didn't mean to be that confrontational. I just think that you're taking me for granted."

"I understand where you're coming from, but the fact is that you're working nights and sharing an flat with your brother. There isn't a lot of time."

"And so the priority is sex?"

"Yes, that is a priority for me. I have a wife, and we talk all the time."

Vivian laughed. "You have no idea how wrong that is."

"That I talk to my wife?"

"That you just compared our conversations to those with your wife. Maybe you talk all the time about how the house elf... forgot to clean the drapes in the main living room. But we used to talk too, about interesting things. It was always the high point of my day. And just because you have a wife to talk to, it doesn't mean I have anyone."

"You have Severus."

That was true. Severus had been very forthcoming about his work, but it made Vivian queasy to use her brother. "He doesn't talk. He hogs the kitchen and makes potions all day."

"Look, I've been under a lot of stress, what with the Aurors showing up at the raid in Hogsmeade last weekend."

"I didn't even know there was a raid last weekend." Actually, Vivian had known about the raid and been the one to tip off the Order. She just wanted to see if he would notice.

He didn't. "I'm sorry if I don't keep you informed of every move I'm going to make. Is that why you're with me? To hear the bloody war stories?"

Vivian's eyes grew wide. "I'm with you because I love you! But yes, those bloody war stories are one of the things that attracted me to you. It was the way you talked to me like a person. In a way Evan never did. All he cared about was getting me into bed. Sounds familiar."

"Why would you bring up Rosier right now? Do you wish you were still with him?"

"I feel like I already am." This made Lucius angry. She could see the muscle in his jaw tighten and knew that she had gone too far. She walked over to him and sat in his lap. "I'm sorry."

"I don't want to fight."

"Right, because that involves more talking, which cuts into your sex time."

Lucius sighed. "Clearly, you're not going to let this go."

"I love having sex with you, I really do, but I miss the talking. Will you just at least promise me that you will make an effort to treat me like an equal and not just a sex object?"

"Vivian, I'm sorry if that's how I've made you feel. It's just been a rough couple of months. I promise we will get this thing back on track, but today I think we've talked enough."

His eyes were like pools of silver, and Vivian found her resolve weakening. Pools of silver? She wondered if maybe she was getting too into character. "We are losing precious minutes." She stood and, taking his hand, led him to her bedroom.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Vivian struggled to stay awake. Even after five months on the night shift, she still wasn't used to staying up all night. She was about to give in and take a quick nap, when there was a knock on the laboratory door. She looked over at Benjy. He was sleeping peacefully, and she was under strict orders not to wake him unless there was an emergency. Vivian sort of hoped this was one because she was bored out of her mind. She got up and walked sleepily to the door. When she opened it, she found Sirius Black talking to Carl. "You didn't have to knock."

Carl looked at her. "I didn't knock. Sirius did, before I showed up." He spoke slowly as if it should have been obvious.

She turned to Sirius. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I came to see you. Remus couldn't make it."

Carl looked at Vivian expectantly. She wondered what he was expecting. She yawned loudly. "What time is it?"

"Three a.m.," Sirius answered.

"You're one of those night people, aren't you?"

Sirius nodded, his eyes shining.

"I'll be in a consultation room if you need me," she said to Carl. She turned to Sirius, stifling another yawn. "Let's go."

Once Vivian was sure they were out of earshot of Carl, she said, "Do you remember that time you made me get up at two?"

"Vividly. I figured this time you'd be awake though, since you're at work."

"Oh, you were wrong."

"You told Remus to come in anytime during your shift."

"I know." Vivian saw Sara sitting at the receptionist desk. "What is she doing here?"

"Who is she?"

"A woman who I suspect exists solely to make my life miserable."

This was said within hearing distance of Sara, who said, "Believe it or not, the world does not revolve around you."

"Then why are you here?"

Sara eyed Sirius lustfully. "Luck."

Vivian rolled her eyes. "I need a consultation room."

"Have you been informed of your rights, Mr...?"

Sirius looked over at Vivian and then back at Sara. "Black, and why, no, I haven't." He appeared highly amused while Sara explained that he had a right to a qualified healer. "She's still in training? She didn't tell me that."

Sara shot Vivian a smug glance. "It is possible that she was purposefully misleading you. You should make a formal complaint."

"I just might. Where should I go to do that?"

"At the patient services office. It's on the-"

Vivian broke in. "Really, Sara, what are you doing here?"

Sara's eyes did not leave Sirius. "I'm filling in for a friend."

"Can we have a consultation room now?"

"If Mr. Black still wants to consult you."

Sirius smiled. "Why not?"

Sara looked disappointed. "Room one then."

"Thank you." Vivian was glad to finally get away from Sara.

Once they were in the room, Vivian said, "This seems like a lot to go through to tell you about a minor development with the Wolfsbane Potion. And why is it that Remus wasn't able to attend his own consultation?"

"He's not a night person."

"That's not a good reason."

Sirius shrugged. "You did ask me to keep him away from you at certain times of the month, and it's getting close."

Vivian was about to say that the full moon was a week away, but then she thought about what he had said. "Do you know how great it is that you still remember that after two years?"

"I seem to recall you saying that it was annoying the way I remembered every word you said."

"Yeah, well I had no idea how much more annoying it would be to know that he's not even listening."

Sirius smirked. "Who? Lucius Malfoy?"

"He can't even remember things we talked about two weeks ago. Forget about Lucius. So really, you talked Remus into letting you come so that you could see me again, right?"

"Yes, and it took a lot of persuading. Apparently there are things that you were going to tell him at this next consultation."

Vivian feigned confusion. She had hoped that after all these months Remus would have forgotten. "Really? What were they?"

"Why it is your job to anticipate what people are thinking. Also he's pretty sure there was something else, but he can't remember what it was."

"The reasons I chose the side I chose."

"Yes, well, he wanted me to make sure that I find out the answer to those questions."

"What about the potion?"

Sirius smiled. "Yeah, he wants me to find out about that too."

"So,... you really couldn't stay away?"

"Remus told me about how crazy conversations with you can be. It made me nostalgic."

Vivian changed the subject just to humor him. "I need to be able to anticipate what people are thinking for my job as a spy. How am I supposed to make that relate to potions maker?"

"I have no idea."

"I need more time to think about that one."

"You've had months." His eyes twinkled in a way that was so inappropriate for that hour. Vivian imagined that her own eyes looked hooded and lifeless and just generally the way eyes should look at three in the morning.

She struggled to concentrate on the conversation at hand. "In reference to my reasons, I was going say fear played a large role. The Dark Lord is rather scary. I would not want to cross him."

"And yet you are."

"I'm just telling you what to tell Remus. In fact, you can tell him whatever you want. You come up with the reason for the other thing."

"That was your mistake. Why should I have to justify it?"

"Because you wanted me to be a spy. You're distracting me with conversation. I'm supposed to be working here. We should get to the point."

Sirius didn't miss a beat. "Healers need to be prepared beforehand for any questions that might come up in the consultation."

"Okay. That works. Why couldn't I think of that? Now that you say it, it sounds obvious."

"Well, I'm obviously smarter than you, and hindsight is 20/20."

Vivian smiled skeptically. "Obviously. The Wolfsbane Potion is really coming along, or so they tell me. It's not ready, and it may not be for quite a while, but the witch I talked to is positive that it can be done. In fact, she thinks it's time to do human trials, but the other researchers want to err on the side of caution. That's really all there is to say about that."

"And who is this witch?"

"She's one of the researchers. She's a night person too. I mean really a night person; she requested the night shift. Anyway, we have 'midnight lunches' together and sometimes she talks about her research." Vivian yawned again.

"Am I keeping you up?"

"Actually, yes, you are."

Sirius stood. "I guess I should be going then,"

"No, it's a good thing." She made a hand gesture that signified he should sit back down. "I'm supposed to be awake. I just have to do the night shift for six months as part of my training and then hopefully never again. And the six months is almost over." She paused. "I'm glad you came. I was actually starting to think-" Vivian cut herself off.

"Starting to think what?"

"I... don't want to say."

Sirius sat down again. "Fascinating. Now I have to know."

Vivian thought for a moment. "A few months ago I started to distinguish the real Vivian Snape, this charming woman you get to talk to, from the... Supports-Death-Eaters-and-Is-In-Love-With-Lucius-Malfoy Vivian Snape. You see, they're two different people, but I was starting... I was afraid that I was losing myself in the other Vivian."

"How does my showing up here help you with that?"

"I was afraid... Lucius thinks I'm in love with him. I was starting to wonder... I'm not saying this right."

Sirius smirked again. "Am I getting you all flustered again?"

"You were, but I don't want to be flustered, so I'm going to go ahead and tell you. I was beginning to think that I had feelings for Lucius, but looking at you and talking to you now, I realize I don't really want him. On the other hand, maybe that's a bad thing. Wouldn't it be easier if I did? Maybe I'm not glad you came."

"You just contradicted yourself." He was still smirking.

"Yeah, well, I've been known to do that. You remind me of things and that's going to make it more difficult to do my job."

"You're going to have to be more specific than 'things.'"

"Oh, okay. You want to know? The things that are wrong in my relationship, this elusive good side that I'm supposed to be working for but never get to see, happiness, schoolgirl crushes, the life I should have had but can't until the Dark Lord is stopped."

That wiped the smirk off his face. "The life-"

"I'm not saying that I should have a life with you. I mean that I should be able to think of relationships in terms of how I think of you, not how I think of Lucius. And you remind me of things I never admitted to myself, like how much I admire your courage."

"What courage? Where did that come from?"

"The courage it took to turn your back on your family. I told you it was stupid to do that. It did seem that way from my cunning and ambitious Slytherin point of view, but really, it was quite brave."

"What you're doing takes courage too."

Vivian shook her head. "It's not the same. You stand up and look Bellatrix, psychotic Bellatrix, in the eye and openly challenge her. You fight out in the open. I hide in shadows and pretend to support, to like, those people. I praise Bellatrix to her face. That isn't the braver option. I may have thought it was once, but I can see it clearly now."

"But if you were discovered..."

"If I were discovered, I would not face anything worse than you would if you were captured."

"Rape?"

"Oh, rape could be a possibility for you too, pretty boy." She sighed and sat up straighter. "In all honesty, yes, rape is more likely for me, but that's because I'm a woman, not because I'm a traitor."

"Okay, but you face those possibilities--rape, torture, death--every day. The coward's way would be to do nothing. Or to become a Death Eater out of fear."

"I don't think I'm a coward. I was just commenting on your courage."

"Well, thank you. What other things have you never admitted to yourself?"

Vivian hesitated. "That depends. Can you remember other things I said after all these years?"

"I remember the conversations rather well."

"And you remember that night in the classroom vividly?"

Sirius gave her an odd look. "Yes."

Vivian took a deep breath. "I never quite wanted to admit to myself that I had developed a severe crush on you. I'll admit it now, to myself and to you. I can't do anything about it though. Lucius would kill me, and that's not just a figure of speech."

"I'm actually going through a really bad break-up."

"Then wouldn't it be great if you could rebound with an old friend?"

Sirius' smirk found its way back to his lips. "I wasn't aware we were friends. I thought you were angry with me. In fact, you don't need friends like me, right?"

She thought about it for a second. "I was angry. Time seems to have dulled that. With whom did you break-up?"

"Dorcas Meadowes." Vivian had no idea who Dorcas Meadowes was. "Actually, she broke up with me, after almost a year and a half. And I'm not looking to rebound."

"Then why did you convince Remus to let you come in his place? Why did you want to see me?"

"I... missed this."

Vivian nodded. "Rebound sex."

"No, not rebound sex."

"So it was subconscious. Interesting. Still, we have a hospital bed right there. All you have to do is ask."

"I thought Lucius would kill you."

Vivian rolled her eyes. "I was kidding, Sirius."

"About which part?"

"About having sex with you on the hospital bed."

Sirius shook his head. "That's too bad."

"I thought you didn't want to rebound. Who is Dorcas Meadowes?"

"She was in Gryffindor, a few years ahead of you. Tall, blond."

"How many years ahead of me?"

Sirius thought for a second. "Three."

"So you have a thing for older women. How did you meet?"

"I don't want to talk about it. And you don't really count as an older woman."

Vivian laughed. "I never said you had a thing for me." She cleared her throat. "Incidentally, I notice that you said Dorcas is a blonde."

"Oh, you caught that, did you?"

"I thought you liked brunettes."

"I have a certain fondness for brunettes, but I don't judge women based on their hair color."

"Well, I think you should." This elicited a genuine smile from him. Vivian noticed it was much less annoying than his smirk.

"Shouldn't you be working?"

"Yes, if you don't have any more medical questions."

"When was the last time I asked you a medical question?"

"Okay, in fairness, I rarely slack off like this, and I had a break coming anyway. And if Carl needed me he'd know where to find me. And if you weren't here I'd probably be asleep."

"But you rarely slack off?"

"When there's work to be done. Do you have any medical questions, especially any to do with potions?"

"Yes, the Pepperup Potion, what exactly do you know about it?"

"Wow, you're stalling. That particular potion was invented by Glover Hipworth in 1798. It cures the common cold by-"

Sirius held up his hand. "I don't actually want to know, but now that I've asked you a job-related question, we have five more minutes for pointless chatter."

"Oh, what do you want to talk about?"

"Your work as a spy. Dumbledore says you're very good at it. He was surprised by your talent."

She didn't know how to take that. "Well, it's always nice to be underestimated."

"It's just that you had no training in it. He was worried about sending you out to Bellatrix and... Lucius. Of course, he probably didn't foresee you shagging Malfoy."

"That kills you, doesn't it? Actually, I don't think he did underestimate me in that regard. Clearly that is the strongest weapon in my arsenal. He thought you were endorsing me because you had fallen prey to my charms."

"Really? How did you get him to trust you?"

Vivian shrugged. "What was there really to trust me with? I have no contact with the Order. I have no information whatsoever about the Order. He can just take any information I pass on with a grain of salt and see if it's a trap or an ambush. The only thing I could do is turn in Benjy, and I would not do that to poor Benjy."

"Why? I mean why poor Benjy?"

"To clarify, I would not betray the Order in any way, but especially not Benjy. Benjy had a brilliant career as a potions brewer and he put that on hold because of me, because I needed a contact. He requested the training job, saying he wanted to go into semi-retirement. He hates it there. Poor Benjy. But we all have to make sacrifices, right?"

He nodded. "Right."

"How long ago did Dorcas break up with you?"

"I don't want to talk about her."

Vivian leaned forward and placed her chin in her hand. "Fascinating. Now I have to know."

"Why do you do that?"

"What"

"Repeat my exact words back to me."

"Um, you do it too, and far more often. This time was to point out that I didn't want to talk about Lucius and you 'had to know.'"

Sirius sighed. "Five weeks. And I had to know why you were glad I came. You think sex is the strongest weapon in your arsenal?"

Vivian sat back. "Well, I know that... Things changed when I started shagging Lucius. Information was so much easier to come by. Of course that well is starting to dry up."

"That is disgusting imagery."

Vivian wrinkled up her nose. "You are a disgusting person. I meant the information well is-- You know what, I'm not even going there. I wonder if Evan would have been more forthcoming if I'd actually slept with him. It doesn't matter; Lucius knows more about You-Know-Who's plans anyway."

"He would have been more forthcoming though."

"And that is why I think sex is the strongest weapon in my arsenal."

"Yes, I see your point, but what about your cunning or levelheadedness?"

"Levelheadedness?"

"You rarely get flustered."

"True, because you're the only one who does that to me, right?" she replied sarcastically.

"Right."

"I don't think levelheadedness is a word."

"Well, it should be. Aren't you cool under pressure?"

"I manage. How pathetic is it that this is the best conversation I've had since--" She was about to say it was the best conversation since their last one, but she didn't want to be quite that pathetic. "--in a long time?"

"We were talking about rape a few minutes ago."

"Definitely the best conversation I've ever had in which rape figured."

"It doesn't really surprise me that you enjoy our conversations. You are absolutely smitten with me."

"Are you going to crash all these consultations?"

"Do you want me to?"

"Well, no offense to Remus, but it is easier to talk to someone who knows my secret."

"What- Oh, the good witch thing."

Vivian was confused by his word choice. "As opposed to a bad witch?"

Sirius shrugged. "It's something Lily used to say all the time. 'Are you a good witch or a bad witch?' I think it might be a Muggle thing."

"I had a friend who was a Muggle once. I mean she was Muggleborn. She used to say crazy things."

"You were friends with a Muggleborn?"

"Adeline Stader. She was my partner in N.E.W.T. level Herbology. Narcissa wasn't in that class and Adeline had no one to partner with either. Wasn't she a Gryffindor?"

Sirius thought for a moment. "Oh, that Adeline. I remember her. She did say crazy things. She hated men. Wasn't she dating that one girl from Hufflepuff?"

"There were rumors. She didn't really- Well, maybe she did hate men a little bit. She thought women were superior to men. Actually, she may have been right about that. She was just funny; that's why I kept her around."

"What did she call it? That thing she was-"

"Feminism. You should really learn that word; it's creeping into the wizarding world now too. But she was particularly radical." Vivian grew pensive. "At least I thought she was at the time. Looking back some of the things she said made sense."

"Like what?"

"She said... that sex is the means of physiologically subjugating women. That sounded crazy then, but when I think about it..."

"Um, please don't get into any details of your sex life. If that statement makes sense to you, it's because Malfoy enjoys subjugating everyone."

"You may have a point there."

"As a man who's had sex, I know I have a point there."

She eyed him with curiosity. "That's good to know."

"I still don't want rebound sex."

"I'm still not offering. So, why did she break up with you? Is it because of the age difference?"

"That's a really personal question."

"I'm a really nosy person."

"I already told you, I don't want to talk about Dorcas. Do you want to talk about your father?"

"Sure. I don't know if Remus told you, but Severus moved in with me to get away from our father. Of course, Remus wouldn't know that was why, but still, even after I've moved out, Dad is screwing me over."

"Did he ever actually..."

"Actually what?" Suddenly realization dawned. "Oh, ew! No! He was never sexually abusive. I can be grateful about that at least. And thank you for putting that thought in my head."

"I just wasn't sure after what Adeline said. Because that could really screw you up about sex."

"I'm not screwed up about sex. I love sex. I just wish I had a better partner."

"See, now you're offering."

"No, I'm not. I still have a boyfriend. You're the one who's so desperate to get some of this." She made a sweeping gesture toward her body.

Sirius nodded absently. "Yeah, um, okay. Can I ask you a question?"

"Okay, why not? What do you want to know, Sirius?"

"Do you ever wonder about your biological parents? I mean, growing up with... that man--"

"Well, I do occasionally wonder, but they didn't want me. I wouldn't have been any better off with them. Well, maybe financially; I hear my real mother was a Dolohov. I think she's dead now. Galina Dolohov, have you heard anything about her?"

"Yeah, I think so. Didn't she move back to the Soviet Union about twenty years ago?"

"The story I was told is... Actually let me tell you the story as I heard it. First, I realized that it is practically impossible for my mother to have had both Severus and me due to our age difference. I realized it when someone pointed it out at my eleventh birthday party. One of the mothers asked Severus when his birthday was and pointed out that it was only eight months after mine. I confronted my mother with this. I was eleven throughout this entire story; bear that in mind. She told me the typical adoption spiel, 'We chose to love you and that makes you special.' Not that helpful, so I went to my father. A good rule of thumb is if you want to know something that's not being told to you, ask the drunk man. 'Ask your Uncle Alistair,' he slurred. Again, no major revelation, but he did give me a clue. Uncle Alistair knows something.

"It was two more months before I saw Uncle Alistair again. Finally, I got the opportunity to ask him. He hemmed and hawed, 'How should I know anything about your adoption?' And I told him that my father had said so. 'There's your first mistake. Never ask the drunk man.' That, of course, directly contradicts my rule, but as it turned out that Uncle Alistair had a wealth of information on the subject, my rule holds.

"Right, so good old Alistair tells me a tale of Galina Dolohov and a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, neglecting the fact that he was that boy. It was really obvious in the way he told the story. They'd had a short affair, which resulted in a pregnancy. Galina went back to the Soviet Union to have the baby in secret and then sent it, I mean me, back to England to live with my real father. Here's where we depart from his original story, in which the boy had died. The rest is courtesy of my drunk father. My real father didn't want me, so he took me over to his sister's house and told her that either she could take me or he was going to leave me at St. Mungo's with a note saying I'm an orphan. She took me in and they raised me as their own. Uncle Alistair would come around occasionally and never said a word, either before or after. In fact, he was quite distant. It doesn't matter though. Uncle Alistair still doesn't-- I mean, my home life wasn't great, but it was... home. They are my parents. I don't know how to explain this."

Sirius nodded. "No, I think I understand. So I guess that's why you have abandonment issues."

"Who says I have abandonment issues?"

"That's why you don't let anyone in, you're afraid of being abandoned."

"I thought it was because of my dad, that I'm afraid of being hurt. Merlin, you must think I'm an emotional basketcase."

"Well, you have to admit that it's a rather dramatic tale. Abandoned at birth, beaten by a drunken--"

"Wait." She cocked her head to the side. "You don't get it, do you? I don't want to be like my mother."

"What are you getting at?"

"We kids didn't bear the brunt of his alcoholic rages. That honor fell on my mother. And she could have left him or done something, anything, but she loved him. Whatever issues I have, they're not about Tobias Snape. When I found out that I was adopted, everything changed. I had hated him, but that was all shifted to the parents who abandoned me. At least Dad loved me and raised me as his own."

"So you blame your mother? You are an emotional basketcase." Vivian opened her mouth to say something, but Sirius didn't give her the chance. "Well, I should let you get back to work now, but I am definitely crashing the next consultation, even if Remus is there." Sirius stood and Vivian quickly followed suit.

"You know, Remus thinks we slept together." For some reason, Vivian felt compelled to mention this fact.

"What? Did you tell him that?"

"Yes, I go around indiscriminately claiming I shagged random guys. No, it must've come somewhere from your reputation. It wasn't mine; I'm cold."

"I know where it came from. He told me to do whatever it takes to get you to talk about what you knew."

"Wow, I'm flattered. To think that Sirius Black was considering using me and I just offered up the information for free. What a missed opportunity!"

"I think your brother's sarcasm is rubbing off on you."

"Yeah, well, hopefully he'll get his own flat soon. Shall we go?"

Sirius gestured toward the door. "After you."

When they left the consultation room, Sara smiled. "I hope you enjoyed your time here, Mr. Black."

Vivian fixed her with a withering look. "This isn't a hotel, Sara."

Sara matched her glare. "I'm glad you realize that, Vivian."

Vivian heard Sirius chuckle behind her. She thought for a moment, but could not come up with a retort to that. So she bade Sirius goodbye and headed back to her job.

Upon arriving back at the laboratory, Vivian saw that Carl and Benjy were both asleep. She figured that was probably best for her, as they would not know how long she'd been gone. She also figured that this reflected very poorly on the competence of the potions staff.