Alaina was extremely tired by the time she finished with her classes that evening. Luckily she didn't seem to have any problem children. She saw Fred and George Weasley on her way back to her office and they tried to charm her into having dinner with one or both of them in the library as a joke. She laughed and politely declined, telling them she would take a raincheck. She missed having a class with them in it. She went on to her office and ducked inside.
She changed into a silky nightgown and wrapped her robe around her in case Harry decided to stop by for some reason or another and then settled in. She was going over her lesson plans for the next day when she heard a quiet knock on the door. She stood and adjusted her robe so it covered every single inch of her before she answered it. She opened it slowly and was surprised to see who her visitor was. Her eyes widened. It definitely wasn't who she suspected it would be.
"Hermione, hi."
Hermione twisted her foot nervously in the doorway. "Hello, Professor Evans. I was wondering if maybe I might come in."
Alaina frowned, wondering what could be troubling her, but she didn't object. "Sure, come in, sweetheart."
Hermione came through the door and Alaina closed it tightly behind her. She stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.
"You can have a seat, Hermione."
She looked up. Her cheeks were flushed and she seemed terribly apprehensive. "Thank you, Professor Evans." She took a seat on the couch.
Alaina walked over and sat down beside of her. "It's Alaina when we're alone, okay?" When Hermione nodded, she asked, "So, what can I do for you?"
She figeted with her hands for a moment trying to gather what she was going to say in her head. "Well, I wanted to ask you a question and it's a bit personal." She looked up. "Do you mind?"
"No," Alaina said slowly, "but I may not answer it if it's too personal."
She nodded. "I understand. I'm just curious." She sighed. "I'm older now and I've been having all of these strange...feelings. I'm not even sure if I should be talking to you about this or not, but there is someone that I feel...strange around and I'm not sure I know what to do about it."
Alaina smiled. She knew exactly what this was about. Suddenly the smile faded and she became serious because she wanted to make sure Hermione knew she wasn't making fun of her. "When did these feelings start?"
Hermione looked a little uncomfortable. "Over the summer. Well, at the end of last year really."
"Let me ask you this. Is it one of your friends?"
"Yes, but I don't want to tell you which one."
She smiled. "That's fine." A sigh escaped her. "It's a difficult decision to cross the line of friendship, Hermione."
"But you and Professor Snape were friends, right?"
"Yes, we were."
"And the two of you are dating now and everything is fine."
"Yes, but we're adults. It's different with you, sweetie. Boys your age take a long time to mature. And depending on who it is, he may not think of you the way you think of him."
Hermione frowned. "There were moments though. When he would look at me and smile or when he'd accidentally touch my hand that I thought he might feel the same way. But now-"
"Now you're not so sure."
"Exactly. But I feel different toward him. All warm inside and it makes it weird to be around him."
Alaina grinned. "I assure you that is completely normal." She leaned in close and placed her hand on Hermione's leg. "Listen to me. I'm going to advise you just to take your time and let things run their course, okay? Don't make any rash decisions. Just be yourself and if he likes you that same way you like him, the two of you will come together. But you have to be patient."
Hermione smiled. With a sigh of relief, she said, "Thank you. I feel much better."
"I hoped you would."
She got up and gave Alaina a quick squeeze. "I really needed that."
"I'm here to help," Alaina told her. "Any time you need to talk, you let me know."
"Okay. I have to get back to the library and do some studying. I'll see you later, Alaina."
Alaina got up and showed her out the door. Hermione stood there for a second before she left. "Good luck," she called after her. Hermione turned and smiled, then went on toward the library. Alaina closed the door and leaned up against it for a moment before returning to her lesson plans. She hoped that she had given her advice she could eventually use.
~ * ~
The torches were burning bright in Severus's office. He was busily gathering potion ingredients. He really hadn't gotten many potions brewed over the summer. He felt his time was well spent with Alaina and Harry especially now that Voldemort was back and all three of them were on his hitlist so to speak. So, every night for at least a couple of weeks he was going to have to brew potions to catch up on what he should have done over the summer. He hadn't realized how low his stores had gotten until he happened to look inside of the closet. He was completely out of Veritaserum and that was something he would possibly need in the coming weeks. For what, he hated to imagine, but he didn't want to be out of it.
Severus had a whole basket full of ingredients to transfer to his Potions classroom ready. He was about to scoop it up and walk out the door with it when there was a quiet knock. He let out an exasperated sigh. His potions would have to wait.
"Come in," he barked. He really wasn't in a very good mood. He watched as the door swung open. He raised his eyebrows the moment he laid eyes on who stood in the doorway. "What brings you all the way down here, Lupin?"
Remus stepped inside. He had never been in the Dungeons even when he had gone to school there. It was dark and dank. He thought it fit Severus's personality perfectly, but he said nothing. He had witnessed firsthand on the Hogwarts Express that he was a changed man and there was no need to bring up something that was just going to end in an arguement anyway. Plus, he needed a favor.
"I realize that you're probably busy, Severus, but I need to ask a favor of you."
Severus stared at him, his expression bored. He crossed his arms on top of his chest. What could he possibly need from him?
Lupin continued. "I realize that you and I have not had the best history in the world, but I would really appreciate it if you could brew a potion for me. Wolfsbane Potion to be exact. It calls for a practiced hand and I'm afraid I'm not very good at it."
His eyebrows raised suspiciously. "And you would trust me to brew it for you?"
"Yes," Lupin answered without hesitation. "I don't know what happened to you, Severus, but I saw on the train that you're not the man I knew all those years ago. Alaina and Dumbledore trust you. Therefore, so do I. Will you make it for me?"
Severus thought for a moment. He could be really childish and mean and say no or he could do the right thing. He sighed. "I will make you enough to do you for the first half of the semester for now and I'll brew the second half once you're out."
"You have no idea how much I appreciate this."
"This doesn't mean we're friends, Lupin."
He smiled. "Of course not."
"You can pick it up in the morning."
"Thank you, Severus."
Severus nodded. Lupin showed himself back out the door. He gathered his potion ingredients and then walked to his classroom. He had a lot of tedious work to do before morning.
~ * ~
He had to stop running. No matter how much longer it was before he made it to Hogwarts, he had to rest. He would be no good to Harry and Alaina if he was injured in any way. He had to be careful.
Sirius was exhausted. He had been running for days and days it seemed, trying to get to where he needed to be. The Shrieking Shack wasn't much farther. All he had to do was get there, but first he needed to rest.
Sirius had stayed in Grimmauld Place, his old family home, after escaping over the summer. He thought it was strange that no one had thought to look there. The days passed slowly. He cleaned the place up and it looked decent now instead of a piece of garbage. Kreacher, the Black family house elf, was still there watching over the place. Sirius had hated him as a child. He had never been nice to him in the least. The sight of the elf disgusted him.
Once he figured out what day it was and that it was time for school to start he knew he had to get there. He couldn't get what Lucius had said out of his mind. He had told him that there was a plant at Hogwarts and that this person was going to kill Alaina and Harry and Severus Snape. He wasn't sure if he could even believe what the elder Malfoy had said. He told him that Severus had betrayed Voldemort and fell in love with Alaina too. But he knew Severus from school. The man wasn't capable of love. Lucius had definitely been mistaken about that part.
Sirius stopped in a thicket in the forest he was going through. He sat up against a tree and rested for a few minutes, thinking some things through. He had to find out who the plant was that Voldemort had stationed at Hogwarts. Plus, he needed a wand of his own too. He had disarmed a wizard on his way to Grimmauld Place and took his, but he missed having one that would bend to his every whim. They had snapped his in half when he was thrown into Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit. Twelve years of torture all because of Peter Pettigrew. The thought of the man caused Sirius's blood to boil beneath his skin.
He got up a few minutes and turned himself back into his animagus form. He was much faster on four legs than two and darkness had fallen. A dog could see better at night than a human. He let the thought of Harry and Alaina propel him forward and he disappeared with lightning speed into the night, careful not to be seen by any passing Muggles.