Chapter Eighty-Three: Attack in a Blur

Chapter Eighty-Three: Attack in a Blur

Sunday, 28 March – Monday, 29 March 1999

Severus stopped in mid-snarl when he saw who stood on the other side of the door. "Minerva? What's wrong?"

Minerva looked at his half-buttoned shirt, lack of cufflinks, and heard the music drifting from the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Severus."

"Come in." Severus opened the door more widely for her and saw that she was wearing a teaching robe over her nightgown, though she had put on shoes. Clearly, it wasn't only his evening that had been disturbed.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Minerva repeated as she entered to the opening strains of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

"I just applied some salve to Severus's chest," Poppy said.

Minerva nodded distractedly. "I thought you might have a date this evening, that's why I came down myself. Severus, there's been another attack."

"Oh, lord," Poppy said, sitting back down on the sofa.

"Who?" Severus asked.

"Moody is here. He has the details. It would be better to hear it all from him...especially as I don't know precisely what happened. I came straight down; he's waiting in my office with Albus. But it was Millicent Bulstrode, and she survived."

"Bulstrode?" Poppy and Severus said at the same time.

"Aye. Outside her home, I believe."

"Isn't she a Beater for the Pride of Portree or something?" Poppy asked.

"Puddlemere, actually," Severus said. "But aren't they playing in Luxembourg now?"

Minerva shrugged. "That sounds right. They must be back. I don't follow Quidditch much. Moody wants to see you." She looked at the empty coffee cups and Severus's jacket and waistcoat folded over a chair. "I do apologise."

"I was about to leave, anyway," Poppy said.

Minerva raised a sceptical eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"You should take your flowers," Severus said as he finished buttoning his shirt and tucked it in. He looked around for his cufflinks, then Summoned them from the coffee table, and pulled his braces up. He didn't bother with the tie. Poppy handed him his waistcoat and then held his jacket for him.

"Why don't you come up, too, Poppy," Minerva suggested. "It might be helpful."

Severus shot Minerva a sharp glance. "No, don't," he said to Poppy. "I'm sure it's not necessary. And I don't see how she could help."

"Severus, I..." Poppy began.

Severus turned to her and took one of her hands in his. He raised it briefly to his heart. "Please. I don't want you worrying about all this," he said softly.

Poppy shook her head. "I will worry more if I don't know as much as possible. I've spent too long not knowing what's going on...you know what it feels like to be kept in the dark whilst knowing there's something going on, Sev," she said. "Unless Moody kicks me out, I'm coming with you."

Severus looked at her for a moment, then nodded once. "I'll have Twiskett bring your flowers to your sitting room, then."

"I suggest we Floo," Minerva said, crossing over to the fireplace.

"I'll be along in just a tick," Poppy said. She Summoned her grey robe and pinny.

"You go on ahead, Severus," Minerva said. "I'll follow, and then Poppy can take her time."

Severus showed his agreement by pointing his wand at the fireplace, which flared up brightly, then tossing in a dusting of Floo Powder. "Headmistress's Office."

After Severus had departed, Minerva reached into the jar of Floo Powder and took out a pinch.

"I really was just about to leave, Minerva," Poppy said. "I'd wanted to take care of his chest injury before I left for the night." She had put on her grey robe and was now pulling on her starched white pinny.

"If you say so." Minerva smirked.

"Minerva! Wait...don't go yet! We are taking things more slowly. And it feels really . . . right. So please don't say anything that might make Severus uncomfortable."

"I wouldn't." Minerva paused. "But I'll be careful how I say things. It does seem as though things must be going well...the way he took your hand, that spoke volumes, I think. Especially since I was standing right here."

"I know. You'd better go. I'll be right behind you." Poppy bent and picked up her potions basket. "I'll take care of the candles before I leave."

Minerva tossed her Floo Powder into the fireplace and stepped in. A moment later, after extinguishing all the candles but those in the chandelier, Poppy followed.

"...his Pensieve," Moody was saying as Poppy landed in the Headmistress's Office. "As I told Dumbledore, there's not much to see, but more than in any of the others." Moody's magical eye swivelled toward Poppy, and he turned to her and nodded. "Snape said he was with you this evening. You corroborate that?"

"Of course!" Poppy said, somewhat taken aback by the sudden question.

"From what time?"

"Eight o'clock, and I just came from his suite, as Minerva can tell you. I was away from the castle today. Professor Snape had an injury earlier this morning. I was checking on him and treating his injury."

"For almost four hours?" Moody asked, looking at Minerva's grandfather clock, which showed that it was ten minutes till midnight.

"We also talked for a while and had something to eat. I hadn't had any dinner, since I didn't return to the school until after seven. So yes, we were together the entire time."

"And who were you with before you returned to Hogwarts?"

"Moody..."

"It's all right, Severus," Poppy said. "I was in Wales at my sister's. You know Violet. I was with her and the family all day. When I got back, I checked the infirmary for messages, changed my clothes, spoke with Strilpa...that's one of the infirmary house-elves...and then I went down to see Professor Snape."

"And you went straight from Wales to here? No other stops...shorter Apparitions?"

Poppy laughed. "No, I have no trouble Apparating from Wales to Hogsmeade in one hop. And I made no clandestine side trips to Durham today."

"Durham?" Moody immediately straightened and looked at her with both eyes. "Why do you say that?"

"Minerva told us it was Millicent Bulstrode. She plays for Puddlemere. I just guessed that she lived somewhere nearby, that's all! Bad joke. Sorry."

"Don't joke during criminal investigations," Alastor said gruffly. "You're not a suspect, but you could make yourself one if y'aren't careful!"

As Poppy nodded, trying to look chastised, but shooting Severus an amused look, Albus came down the stairs in his dressing gown and slippers, his Pensieve floating in front of him.

"Good. You have it," Moody said. "The desk would be fine."

Poppy looked puzzled by the arrival of the Pensieve, but Severus nodded.

Moody turned back to Severus. "You were telling me what you did today after you left the grounds."

"As I said, I met Gareth McGonagall in McTavish Street at one. We took a walk in Muggle Edinburgh...the Muggle shop we visited was closed, so we walked for a while. I don't know exactly where we walked since I'm unfamiliar with the area...McGonagall might know, if it's important. After that, we went to the Tyree estate. I was with someone the entire time. Professor Birnbaum gave me a tour of the grounds, then we went up to Eoghan Tyree's library. We spent several minutes there, then we all had tea with Madam Tyree. When we...McGonagall and I...left, he Disapparated first. To be cautious, we Apparated to where the Shrieking Shack used to be rather than Apparating directly to the gates. We walked back up together, and he left after I entered the grounds. That was between four-thirty and quarter to five. I went to my quarters, spoke with Twiskett, went to dinner at about six, and then afterward met with Flitwick in my quarters. He left at . . . seven-fifteen, I think, and then about forty-five minutes later, Madam Pomfrey arrived."

"You spend a lot of time with McGonagall and Pomfrey," Moody observed with a frown. "They were your alibis last time, too."

"A person naturally spends a lot of time with one's friends and colleagues," Minerva said. "I imagine that my alibis would usually involve the same few people repeatedly."

"Fair enough," Moody said.

"Now, you were saying something about the Pensieve when Poppy arrived," Minerva said.

"Yes, as I already explained to Dumbledore...and was in the midst of telling Snape...we finally have a memory to observe. We have attempted this with survivors of the earlier attacks, but either the trauma of the injury affected the formation of the memory, or there was simply nothing there to see. The attacker hides very well. We now believe that he...or she...also uses a Disillusionment Charm."

"So you want us to view the memory and see whether we know the person?" Albus asked. "It's no one Miss Bulstrode recognised?"

Moody shook his head. "You'll see why when you enter the memory. Consciously, she only had a vague impression...which I will repeat to you only after you have seen the memory...and could not give a description."

"You said 'he or she' this time," Minerva said. "Do you think it might be a witch?"

"We don't know whether it's a wizard or a witch, although the Ministry is beginning to come around to my way of thinking...that it's only one person who's committing the attacks. The person may have accomplices, but we are all agreed that it's very likely there's only one attacker. Come on, no more gabbing!" He pulled out a vial. "I brought a copy of the memory..."

"A copy?" Severus broke in. "It's hard enough to see detail in most Pensieve memories, copies are next to worthless..."

"It's not a memory of the memory...it's some hush-hush method the Department of Mysteries has. Twisted an arm or two to get them to make me a copy when they made one for the MLE...they returned the original to Bulstrode. Healers insisted on it." He rolled both eyes. "Some codswallop about easing her 'psychological trauma.'"

Poppy was restrained from her retort by Minerva's hand on her arm. This was typical Moody, and it would be pointless to try to change his views and priorities then and there.

"Any road, as I was saying, we've tried viewing other victims' memories in a Pensieve, but there's been nothing to see in any of them until now. Even this one...eh! I'll just let you see it. Don't pay any attention to Bulstrode or anything else. Just focus on the wall at the end of the walk; you'll see it when we enter the memory. Look right at the corner and don't even blink, or you may miss it. You'll probably miss it, anyway."

"You dragged me up here at midnight to view something that we're likely not even be able to see?" Severus asked. "You couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"The attack was already several hours ago..." Moody began.

"And so why did you need to know where I was this evening?" Severus demanded.

"Continuity, cover-up, that sort of thing. Don't think you're involved, though, or I wouldn't show you this." Moody looked at Severus carefully. "Mind you, it still could be you. It isn't, but it could be."

"You're barking, Moody. Bloody barking, you know that?" Severus glared at him.

"It's late, we're all tired, so let's stop squabbling, look at the memory, and then maybe we can all go to bed before dawn," Minerva said, adding with a sigh, "or back to bed."

"All right," Moody said. He poured the silvery contents of the vial into the Pensieve. "How many people can use this Pensieve at once?"

"Comfortably, three. But if you don't mind being chummy," Albus said, "we could all squeeze around it."

"No, it's very short. Less than a minute. I'll take you and Minerva in first, then Poppy and Snape."

As Minerva, Albus, and Moody stood around the Pensieve and dipped into it, Poppy moved to stand beside Severus.

"This is good, isn't it?" Poppy whispered. "They might be able to catch him now, if they can identify him."

Severus twitched one shoulder. "Perhaps. It does not sound promising to me. Presumably, Moody and the investigating Aurors have already viewed the memory several times and have not been able to identify the person."

"But Albus is older than any of them, and he's been at Hogwarts for decades, too. He probably knows more people in the wizarding world than all those Aurors combined."

"The British wizarding world is relatively small; someone would recognise the person...if there's anything recognisable in the memory," Severus said slowly. "You know, perhaps it's not a British witch or wizard. It could be a foreigner."

"But wouldn't a foreign wizard...or witch...stand out? I don't know . . . It's been a long day. I don't know whether it would be harder or easier for a foreign wizard to commit the attacks. But it could also explain the odd targets if the wizard was foreign. He might not know the British wizarding world very well."

"It was just an idea. It could also be someone very young." Severus stopped speaking as the other three emerged from the Pensieve.

Minerva and Albus looked at each other, but Severus couldn't read their expressions.

"Now you two," Moody said.

Severus and Poppy stepped over to the desk, and at Alastor's signal, the three entered the memory.

"Look there," Moody said, pointing toward a wall.

Poppy and Severus directed their attention to the spot Alastor indicated. Poppy reminded herself not to watch Millicent as she walked up the pavement toward the row house where she apparently lived, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see Millicent pause and look around, then shrug and shake herself slightly. Suddenly, Millicent turned quickly, drawing her wand, and as she did so, just for a moment Poppy could see a blurry figure come around the wall. There was a flash and Millicent cried out in pain, then there was a loud crack as the figure vanished in a noisy Disapparition. The memory ended.

When they emerged from the memory, Severus asked, "Has anyone walked around the wall in the memory to get a better view?"

"The view I showed you was the best there is. Even going further back in Bulstrode's memory, there's nothing to be seen on the other side of the wall but deep shadows from the surrounding trees and shrubbery," Moody replied. "The person was too well hidden."

"Can you see more with your eye?" Poppy asked.

Moody shook his head. "If I'd actually been there, I could, but not in a memory. It has to be perceptible to the person whose memory it is...perceptible even if not consciously perceived."

"I'd like to see it once more," Severus said.

Moody nodded shortly. "Anyone else?"

Albus joined Severus in the Pensieve this time. "Shh, listen," Severus said, holding up his hand.

They heard Millicent's footsteps coming up the walk, a breeze rustling the leaves, a few birds calling, and some distant traffic sounds. Severus cocked his head and nodded silently. Again, they saw the indistinct figure slip around the shadowy wall and cast the curse. This time, Severus followed the curse's path and watched as Millicent was hit just as she finished drawing her wand. The hex hit her in the right shoulder as she turned toward her assailant, and it knocked her back. The last thing Severus saw was blood blossoming on Millicent's shoulder and upper chest as she fell, and the memory ended.

As soon as they had backed out of the memory, Moody said, "Poppy and Minerva have already written down their impressions of what they saw. I don't want to share them until you've recorded yours." He gestured toward some parchment and quills on a side table, then took his wand and extracted the memory from the Pensieve and returned it to the vial.

Severus picked up a peacock feather quill and a piece of parchment. There was no ink, so he presumed the quills were charmed to be self-inking. He sat down at a small table next to Poppy and began to write.

The attack appeared to be in late afternoon or early evening. The MLE should check the shadows on the other side of the wall before and after the attack to see whether there is a shadow that the perpetrator cast. By measuring that shadow, if there is one, and the lengths of the other objects casting shadows, they may be able to estimate the height of the attacker. They should also be able to pinpoint the time of day by measuring the shadows. Without that information, I estimate that the attacker was approximately 5' 8" to 5' 10" tall. The person appeared fairly slim, certainly not fat or heavily muscled.

Whoever made the attack may not be magically powerful or even particularly adept, but he or she has likely had practice in casting multiple charms to achieve a single goal, although the layering and integration of the charms here was sloppy. It is unlikely to be a person with significant experience with the sort of skills a curse-breaker, Auror, or hit wizard would have, since the integration was as sloppy as it was, and yet it was likely the best charms work the attacker could perform, since escaping detection is most important to the attacker, more important than success in the attack itself.

Severus put his quill down and glanced over what he had written. He thought that if he could view the memory a few more times, he might observe more, and he doubted that he'd added anything to what Moody already knew, but the man had asked for their impressions. There might something there in his report that hadn't already been noticed. He shoved the parchment toward Moody. As he looked up, he saw Poppy's face. Severus couldn't name the expression she wore, but it wasn't one of distress, which he might have expected from her after having to view the bloody attack. She appeared almost . . . pleased. She was relaxed and there was a slight smile around her eyes.

Moody had already read the other parchments, and Severus could see now that they were much shorter.

"You aren't being graded by the inch, Snape," Moody grumbled, but as he began to read, his scowl disappeared. "Hmmph."

Moody handed the parchment to Albus, who read it and nodded.

"Good idea of mine, bringing the memory here tonight," Moody said.

"Excellent insights, Severus," Albus said approvingly. "You noticed more than I did."

"On the second visit, I knew what I needed to pay attention to," Severus said. He saw Poppy smile. She was pleased and proud of him. He felt happiness well up in his chest. Perhaps it had not been a mistake to have her come with them. He had worried that it would upset her unnecessarily, but perhaps it would have been worse for her to imagine what they were discussing. He wouldn't keep her in the dark; he would trust her. "I also spent years . . . doing similar things. Remaining unseen, undetected, and making sure I wasn't being followed by someone else who was likewise trying to remain unnoticed." He gestured toward the Pensieve. "This person is a novice. A clever novice. And he, or she, may have a teacher. She might be an acolyte to a master. Or she may simply be learning through her own trial and error as she goes."

"You've said 'she,'" Moody said. "You think it could be a woman?" He looked at all four of them.

They each nodded.

"But I wouldn't swear to it," Poppy said. "It could have been a woman, or it could have been a young man. I would be surprised, though, if it were an older man, one over . . . fifty or so, anyway. Something about the movement."

Moody nodded. "Bulstrode said that was her impression. She repeatedly used the feminine pronoun when speaking of her attacker, but not consistently." Moody looked at Severus's notes. "You think she's wearing a Chameleon Cloak? Not just using a good Disillusionment Charm?"

Severus twitched one shoulder. "She could be. It was an impression. It didn't look like an ordinary Disillusionment Charm. I think the person doesn't possess much talent, but is clever enough to use a charm over a Chameleon Cloak...which, although rare and expensive, is not as difficult to obtain as an Invisibility Cloak."

"I've known a few people over the years who have owned Chameleon Cloaks," Albus said wearily. "I doubt that any of them would be involved in something like this, but they may have given, sold, or loaned their Cloak to someone. I'll send you a list tomorrow."

"My nephew David has a Chameleon Cloak," Minerva said, "but he uses it in his work all of the time. He wouldn't give it to anyone. He works for the wizarding forestry service in the Pertwee Project."

"I'll have to check him out, since he's related to so many of the primary participants in the Death Eater conflict," Moody said.

"He doesn't leave the reserve very often. He'll be easy to find."

"If I ever knew anyone who owned a Chameleon Cloak, I never knew about it," Poppy said. "I don't think I've even seen one since my fifth-year Defence Against the Dark Arts class with Professor Merrythought."

"Snape? Know anyone with a Chameleon Cloak?"

"There were a few Death Eaters who had one. Old Stearns did. He's incarcerated somewhere. Hyatt Crabbe did. I know there were one or two others, but I don't know who owned them." Severus hesitated. "Also . . . the reason it came to mind that there might be a charm layered over a Chameleon Cloak is that I have seen a Chameleon Cloak recently. Helena Benetti owns one. She wears it sometimes when she's flying. But she's much, much shorter than the person in this memory appeared to be, and she's not only athletic, but she's a talented witch. You might check with her and see whether she still has her Cloak, or had it stolen or something, but she isn't the one in the memory."

"Can't be positive about something like that," Moody said. "The impression of height may be deceptive. We'll check her out, too. If you can remember any other Death Eaters who owned Chameleon Cloaks, report it to me or to Auror Plummer. I know a few wizards at the Ministry who have Cloaks, and I'll be checking them out, too."

"Um, in the interests of full disclosure," Minerva said, "my nephew isn't the only member of my family who has a Chameleon Cloak. There are two at the Tyree estate, too. They're old ones, and they don't belong to anyone in particular...I suppose they belong to my grandmother, in that everything at the estate is under her control...but they're kept in a cloakroom near the kitchen. They're for general use."

Moody sighed. "And everyone at the estate has access to the cloakroom, I assume, not just the residents of the main house."

Minerva nodded. "I've used one occasionally when I've been there."

"It's Professor Birnbaum, Madam Tyree, and Eoghan at the main house, right?" Moody asked. "Eoghan's out...too small, and not skilled enough at his age. Your grandmother is petite, and if she did it . . . we wouldn't see anything at all, I'm sure. In fact, knowing her, we probably wouldn't even know a crime had been committed..."

"Are you implying that my grandmother is a criminal? Just too clever to be caught?" Minerva asked indignantly.

Moody barked a laugh and didn't deny it. "You know your grandmother better than I do, Minerva. But this wouldn't have been her. Not her style, I'd say. I wouldn't dare say she's too old, but she's probably too short. And Birnbaum is too tall...too broad-shouldered, as well, I think. He also would have to have completely gone off his noggin to do something like this. I don't think the man swats flies. Still, we'll see whether the Cloaks are both there. If one is missing, we can see if we can trace visitors to the house."

"Was there a note left at the scene?" Severus suddenly asked. "Or a letter sent? I didn't see any note in the memory."

"No note at the scene this time," Moody replied. "Bulstrode said she receives some strange post now that she's off the reserves and playing as a regular Beater. She said she usually doesn't read beyond the first line or two if it's from a 'nutter,' as she put it. Plummer was going to the house tonight to look through the correspondence there, but the girl may already have tossed it out."

"It's late," Albus said. "Do you want to ask us anything more now? We can let you know if we think of anything else, but if you haven't got any other questions, I think we should retire for the night. I know I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow, and I think everyone else here does, too."

"No, this has been helpful," Moody said. "I will pass this information on to Plummer in the morning."

"How is Millicent?" Poppy asked as everyone stood and prepared to leave. "Her injury looked terrible."

"It was a Conruptus, they think. It caused a good deal of damage, but it could have been worse if she had been hit someplace more vital. I don't know if she'll be wielding a Bludger bat for a while, though...if at all. It may have destroyed her career. But she'll live."

"That's the same curse that lamed Ron Weasley," Minerva said. "Could there be a connection? They both play Quidditch. Weasley's with the Chudley Cannons now...his injury didn't keep him from a Quidditch career . . ." Minerva sighed. "I don't know where I'm going with this. I'm tired."

"It could be that the attacker sees it as some kind of symmetrical retribution," Severus said. "If the person is deluded into thinking that she, or he, is an instrument of justice, she may see cursing Millicent Bulstrode, a Quidditch player who was in Weasley's year, as a way of obtaining justice."

Albus nodded. "And Mr Weasley fought in the Battle of Hogwarts whilst Miss Bulstrode had been locked up with other members of her House. Although Miss Bulstrode was not one of the students who participated in the . . . the incident with Nott and Goyle, she could be seen as guilty by association. Nothing ever happened to her; the Ministry cleared her, so she was never punished for anything. It seems she would be an ideal target."

"For someone with a twisted mind," Minerva said. "It was Stearns who cast the Conruptus on Weasley, wasn't it? And he's in prison for that and for everything else he did. And wherever Bulstrode's sympathies may have lain during the war, she never did anything to deserve something like that."

"No, no, she didn't," Moody agreed with a shake of his head. "It was a nasty looking injury, even when I saw her after the Healers had already started their work on her. She lay outside there on the ground for a while before one of her flatmates found her. The damage kept expanding, rotting her flesh away. Healer Caldwell said that they might be able to pinpoint the time of the attack from the progress of the curse. In fact, they'd called your niece in, Minerva. She's supposed to have a report to Plummer in the morning. That will narrow it down. That and measuring those shadows of yours, Snape."

"I'll walk you down and open the gates for you," Minerva said. She turned to Albus. "You go on back upstairs. I won't be long."

Albus nodded. "I'll call Blampa for some warm milk for us both."

"I think I'd rather have a warmed Scotch, actually," Minerva said, "the way Dad used to fix it."

Albus smiled. "I think we can arrange that!"

Minerva led Alastor out of her office to the moving staircase.

"Do you two want to use the Floo, then?" Albus asked.

Severus glanced quickly at Poppy.

"I'd just as soon walk down," Poppy said.

"I will accompany you," Severus said. "Good night, Albus. I hope you are able to get back to sleep." He thought the older wizard looked tired.

"I hope you sleep well, both of you. This was not a pleasant topic to discuss just before bed," Albus replied. "Good night, Poppy dear. It was good of you to come up, too."

"Good night, Albus." Impulsively, she kissed the old wizard's cheek. "Sleep well."

As Albus began up the stairs, leaving the large Pensieve on Minerva's desk, Severus opened the door for Poppy. They stepped onto the moving stairs, Severus behind Poppy. She leaned back, and he put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. They rode down in silence, and when they reached the bottom, Poppy sighed.

"That was unpleasant for you to see," Severus said. "I am sorry."

The gargoyle opened the door for them, and they stepped into the second floor corridor.

"I've seen worse injuries, you know. And I witnessed the battle, stood at my windows and watched them fight . . . unable to do anything. So this was sad and disturbing, but not new. Even though we only had a brief glance at the spell and the wound, I thought it might have been the Conruptus. I was the first one at the Burrow after that raid on Malfoy manor."

"Yes, that's right . . . that was not even a year ago now. It seems sometimes as though it was a hundred years ago, and other times . . ."

"As though it was ten minutes ago. I know." Poppy wrapped her arm around his, then paused and looked up at him.

Severus pulled her slightly closer and nodded. "If there are any students out after curfew, I think an Obliviate would be quite justified," he said with a slight smile. They reached the main staircase. "Let me walk you up to the Hospital Wing."

"It's late; you don't have to," Poppy said.

"I want to. I would feel deprived, in fact, if I could not." He leaned closer to her. "I believe I would sleep better after a good-night kiss from you."

Poppy smiled. "I would, too."

They started up the stairs together, and Severus put his arm around her.

"So do you think that Moody asks all those questions because he thinks he has to, out of habit, or because he's just plain nosy?" Poppy asked.

Severus gave a coughed laugh. "A little of each, I'd think. Although I'm an unlikely suspect and have alibis for the other attacks, I suppose there are people who would not want to think that I was being put above suspicion out of some favouritism, so he probably thinks he has to get my alibi for the record. And after so many years of asking those sorts of questions, he probably can't help himself. He probably interrogates the milkman like that when he delivers his milk. Which cow did this come from? Where was she pastured? Poison anyone's yoghurt this morning? What's your grandmother's maiden name?"

"And he's nosy," Poppy added, laughing.

"Yes, that, too," Severus said. He mimicked gruffly, "You spend a lot of time with McGonagall and Pomfrey. As if he's surprised or suspicious about it."

"Oh, you're probably subverting us both," Poppy said with a chuckle. "Doing it so cleverly, we don't notice."

"Hmpf. I don't know if I even want to joke about that," Severus said. He was getting better at dealing with teasing in general, and he didn't mind when Poppy specifically teased him, but this particular direction for teasing...he didn't know whether he would ever be very comfortable with joking about his Dark past. Any of his own jokes about it were still filled with so much self-loathing, that sometimes seemed the only reaction they could evoke in him.

"I'm sorry. I'm just tired. That was a bad joke."

"It's all right. It's just . . . so much of what I was . . . it was..."

"Not now, Sev," Poppy said softly. "Not now. Any time you want to talk about it, any of it, no matter how bleak or how dark, I'll listen. But this isn't a good time for a real talk, you know?"

Severus gave a crooked smile. "Yes, I know. Not the best time, nor is the fourth floor corridor the best place for it. But you also don't know what you're offering."

"If I couldn't offer it, if I couldn't listen, then I don't deserve you," Poppy said firmly. "You are worth it. I believe that, and you need to, as well."

They stopped at Poppy's door. Severus dropped his left arm from around her, but took her hand and reached up with his right hand to caress her cheek softly. "You know, when you believe in me, when you say that, I almost can believe it, too."

"Do believe it, Severus." Her grey-blue eyes met his dark ones. "Believe in yourself, in your worth. Really believe."

"Poppy . . ." His breath met hers before their lips touched, and it seemed to him that he could feel her magic and her warmth, her bright spirit, in her breath. His kiss lingered, and her arms went around him.

He held her for a moment, then finally, as a distant bell chimed the hour, Severus let her go.

"I'm sorry this evening didn't have a better ending," he said softly. "I'd wanted it to be perfect."

"It was still perfect. It was a perfect date, just with a bit of a distraction before we could quite finish it."

"Do you want to spend time together tomorrow evening? I have some work, but after that, perhaps."

"Yes, I would like that. Just come by when you can. I'll be here. And if it's essays or school budgets or something of the sort, you could just . . . well, I wouldn't mind being company for you, if you'd like to bring it along. Then we can have a drink after you're done."

"I have some things I need to do in the classroom and in my office, but I'll come up as soon as I can. It feels as though the Easter holiday will be here too soon, and you'll be gone," he said, caressing her face.

Poppy smiled. "It will be here soon, but I'll only be gone a few days, you know. We'll still have a lot of time after that."

"Yes, of course." Severus nodded. "Good night, Poppy. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll have Twiskett get your lilacs to you."

"Good night, Severus." Poppy reached up and kissed his cheek. "This was wonderful. Thank you."

She gave her password, plentitude, passed through the door, and it closed behind her with a click. Severus stood there a moment, breathing in the space she had just occupied, then he turned and walked slowly back down to his dungeon rooms.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this installment. I hope to have another chapter posted in a week or so for you. Thank you for your reviews! I really appreciate them.